Blipits

[Jason]

Kim Jong-il actually died on Saturday morning. During the 48 hours until North Korean state TV's official announcement, what North Korea might have done remains a key to understanding the Hermit Kingdom's internal situation. Unfortunately, very few people know about it. It's only an educated guess that Pyongyang firstly broke the news to Beijing and the two have likely to come up with a strategy to "manage" the situation. By Monday afternoon, Beijing had made no official comment.

Yet the fact that Pyongyang decided to go on TV and publicly announce the most earth-shattering news (since Kim Il-sung's death in 1994) indicates that Pyongyang doesn't want any trouble. This signal should be carefully grasped by Seoul.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ML20Dg01.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korean border guard units received orders at 1AM on the night of the 18th to close the border with China with immediate effect.

An inside military source told Daily NK this morning, “At 1AM on the night of the 18th a ‘Special Guard’ order was handed down to the unit. All officers who had finished work were recalled to the base and have been on emergency duty ever since.”

“At the time even commanding officers did not know about the contents of the order, and as per the order to completely close the border, normal patrols in groups of two were stepped up to groups of four. We only learned that the General had died from special broadcasts,” the source added.

Thus, it is clear that the North Korean authorities took steps to avert civilian unrest and potential mass defection attempts by shutting down the border and reinforcing patrols prior to announcing Kim’s death.

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php ... 0&num=8554" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died the morning of Dec. 17, according to an official North Korean News broadcast at noon Dec. 19. Initial reports say Kim died of a heart attack brought on by fatigue while on board a train. Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, and his health has been in question since.

Kim’s death comes as North Korea was preparing for a live leadership transition in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim’s father and North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung, a transition that had been intended to avoid the three years of internal chaos the younger Kim faced after his father’s death in 1994. Kim Jong Il had delayed choosing a successor from among his sons to avoid allowing any one to build up their own support base independent of their father. His expected successor, son Kim Jong Un, was only designated as the heir apparent in 2010 after widespread rumors in 2009 and thus has had little experience and training to run North Korea and little time to solidify his own support base within the various North Korean leadership elements. Now, it is likely that Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, will rule behind the scenes as Kim Jong Un trains on the job. Like the transition from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il, it is likely that North Korea will focus internally over the next few years as the country’s elite adjust to a new balance of power. In any transition, there are those who will gain and those who are likely to be disenfranchised, and this competition can lead to internal conflicts.

The immediate question is the status of the North Korean military. Kim Jong Un is officially the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party of Korea and was recently made a four-star general, but he has no military experience. If the military remains committed to keeping the Kim family at the pinnacle of leadership, then things will likely hold, at least in the near term. There were no reports from South Korea that North Korea’s military had entered a state of heightened alert following Kim Jong Il’s death, suggesting that the military is on board with the transition for now. If that holds, the country likely will remain stable, if internally tense.

Stratfor via email

North Korea Fires Off Missile As Kim Jong-Il Dies
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12 ... a-missile/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies 'of heart attack'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16239693" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

British Propaganda Aims at Triggering Syrian Genocide
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/bri ... ering.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

12.19 Israel Completes Secret 2 year Upgrade to Dolphin Class Submarine
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2011/1 ... submarine/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Appointment of IDF's new 'Iran Command' chief raises eyebrows
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/ne ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel hosts Italian Air Force for joint training exercise
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-d ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US "Withdrawal" In Iraq Paves Way for US-Israeli Strike on Iran
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/us- ... or-us.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pentagon Report: China Military Build-up in Preparation for War Over Taiwan
http://patdollard.com/2011/12/pentagon- ... er-taiwan/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China Is Helping to Arm Iran and Sidestep Sanctions Thanks to an Assist From North Korea
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/12/ ... rom-north/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China Debts Dwarf Official Data With Too-Big-to-Finish Alarm
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-1 ... alarm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China’s November Home Prices Post Worst Performance This Year Amid Curbs
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-1 ... curbs.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China's Meltdown Continues
http://www.thedailybell.com/3354/Chinas ... -Continues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Will China Break?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/opini ... ef=opinion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Medvedev on US: ‘If they continue to push us around, we’ll push back’
https://rt.com/politics/medvedev-obama- ... reset-055/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eurozone crisis: Foreign Office plans evacuation of expatriates - Britons living in Spain and Portugal could get government help to leave the countries if the crisis in the eurozone sends their banks into meltdown
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... iates.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

European Ministers Seek $261B in IMF Funds
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-1 ... wanes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fed May Inject Over $1 Trillion To Bail Out Europe
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fed-may-i ... out-europe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LONDON (MarketWatch) — In retrospect, it wasn’t hard to see that the markets were becoming dangerously unstable. Germany had just adopted a new monetary system, and Europe was being flooded with cheap German money. Greece had signed up to a monetary union with Italy and France but was struggling to hold it together
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-s ... =countdown" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ilargi: 2012 may not bring the end of the world, but it will bring the end of the Eurozone and the European Union as we've known them. There are now too many things that can potentially go wrong, and some of them will.

The fact that the European Union counts 27 different constitutions, and the Eurozone 17, makes it either excruciatingly hard or downright impossible to swiftly adopt or change treaties or laws. Treaties such as the last one, agreed on December 9, can therefore far too easily be dragged down into various legal quagmires, and almost certainly will be.

Moreover, in all those European nations there are people willing to fight for their rights. And they will all fight their own fights. Which will not only tear at the seams of the Union, it will destabilize governments, overthrow governments, and not all of these can or will be replaced with technocrats. At the same time, any country that doesn't move in lock step with Brussels can derail the process of changes for all others.

Even if the richer countries try very hard to get rid of the process of unanimous decision making. The entire EU institution has never been an overly democratic one, but the big boys will undoubtedly try to do themselves one better in this regard. Hardly anybody even complains about the unelected governments of Greece and Italy anymore. So they go for the next step in their doomed effort at dismantling representative democracy in Europe.

Ilargi: 2012 will be a year in which we'll see sovereign defaults, bank defaults, bank runs, banks preying on each other and each other's depositors, the end of the EU and Eurozone as we know them, and more, increasingly desperate and violent, street protests than we have to date been capable of imagining. All simply a culmination of developments long in the pipeline.

And the biggest and most severe credit crunch in human history will have devastating consequences that will be felt for years to come.

Ilargi: Of course, all of the above takes place against the backdrop of a global financial and banking system that seeks to preserve and grow its riches and political and military dominance. In order to preserve its privileges, the financial system will increasingly attempt to take away people's sovereign and democratic rights along with their wealth. And that in turn guarantees much more violent protests going forward, since increasing inequality will become increasingly and glaringly obvious.

Not a pretty picture. A union divided upon itself.

The center cannot hold. The center cannot even hold itself.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... c+Earth%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





A Quick And Dirty Look At Japan's Nearly ¥1 Quadrillion In Debt
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/quick-loo ... llion-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Secret US, Taliban talks reach turning point
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/secret-u ... 35784.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wall Street Insider: President Obama’s Plan To Unionize The American Military
http://newsflavor.com/politics/us-polit ... -military/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(CNSNews.com) - At a campaign fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said that the vision of America he is fighting for “is the vision that is truest to our history.”

He then went on to cite his accomplishments in bringing the federal government to the “rescue” of the economy and the auto industry, in ending the war in Iraq, in lifting the ban on homosexuality in the military, in enacting his health-care reform plan and in bringing “some integrity to the financial sector.”

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/citing- ... ur-history" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The US president takes pride in his administration's having contributed the most generous cash handouts to the Israeli regime in history in the face of dire economic conditions
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/216105.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gingrich: Send U.S. Marshals to compel ‘radical’ judges to explain rulings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ele ... ction-2012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mexican ex-officials work for US intelligence: report
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... 3d2573.1f1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





New Photos Released of Iraq Atrocity, With Documents and Video
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... leId=28275" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Guantanamo Bay To Be The First FEMA Detention Camp For American Citizens
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=7571" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Send in the Drones: The Predator State Goes Domestic
http://lewrockwell.com/grigg/grigg-w239.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Indefinite Detention isn’t the Only Troubling Thing About NDAA
http://www.diatribemedia.com/2011/12/18 ... bout-ndaa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress Enacts Insider Threat Detection Program
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2011/12 ... _ndaa.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On Thursday, December 15 - the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights - Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which can be used by the President to indefinitely detain Americans without charge or trial; an utter eradication of the Fifth Amendment, without apology. Our Congress decided the President needs more power at the expense of the people and the Constitution.

Is this what our veterans and our forefathers fought and gave their lives for? Is this what Americans want their Congress to do? Place power like this in the hands of one man - the President - to do as he wishes with American citizens?

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution recognizes your right to due process: "No person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The Fourth Amendment, for what it's worth, also recognizes that your right to be secure in your person and in your house (among other things) cannot be infringed by sidestepping the legal process. The explicit recognition of these rights by our government is one of the things that has always made our country exceptional. But this new law is a misguided attack on our country's 220-year recognition of these inherent rights.

Let us look at the final text of the bill. In "Subtitle D--Detainee Matters", Sec. 1031, "Congress affirms that the authority of the President...includes the authority...to detain...any person...who was a part of or substantially supported...enemy forces." The keyword here is "substantially supported." This designation is extrajudicial - that is, at the President's discretion. Sec. 1032 says, "The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States." The keyword here is "requirement." In other words, the President has the authority to indefinitely detain any person who "substantially supported" the enemy, and is in fact required to do so - unless it is a U.S. citizen, in which case it is at the President's discretion.

What if opposition to certain government policies - the Patriot Act, or the TSA, or certain military actions, for example - is deemed "substantially supportive" of the enemy? What if a President's discretion, in lieu of a Constitutionally-guaranteed jury trial, is faulty and harms innocents? Obama himself, and those who succeed him, will now decide whether to send government agents to your living room to apprehend and detain you, without charges, for whatever duration they wish (or for as long as there is a War on Terror), under a Congressionally-condoned false pretense and color of law. Did we not learn from Russia, China, and Germany in the past century?

The so-called "conservatives" in Washington who are, at least in public, constantly at odds with the Obama agenda are the majority of whom voted for this bill. How dare they give this (or any) administration even more broad unilateral power to unequivocally control the very lives and liberty of We the People?

Couple that with the fact that Predator drones are now being used inside the United States as police tools, and we are looking at an outrageous reality. We must be honest with ourselves: America is becoming a police state. It cannot be overstated how serious of an offense this is. All those in Congress who supported this legislation must be voted out of office for violation of their oath to uphold the Constitution. That is the least that should happen in response to such an egregious assault on our liberties.

We cannot allow the slow death of our Republic.

Over the past decade, our rights have slowly been dissolved. Some say, "It couldn't happen here. This is America!"

Wake up. Congress just made it happen.

This has got to stop.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=2819953" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fascist Chicago?
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/20 ... nal.com%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Guest Post: Three Charts That Blow The Doors Off Any Hope Of A 2012 Rally
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-pos ... 2012-rally" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thunder Road Report Update: "Dear Portfolio Manager, You Are Heading Into A Full-Spectrum Crisis."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/thunder-r ... rum-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Buyer's Remorse; Record Volume of Returns Before Christmas; $217 Billion Returns Expected, Up 14%
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bank loans to small business fall to 12-year low
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2 ... 2-year-low" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Report: 82% Chance California Pensions Are Going Under and You’ll Be Next
http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2 ... sions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Prediction: Your Standard of Living is Going Down in 2012
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/pre ... ng-is.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bubble Trouble in the U.S. Heartland?
http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2011/12 ... tland.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gallup, which unlike the BLS, does not fudge, Birth/Die, or seasonally adjust its data, has just released its most recent u(n)employment data. And it's not pretty: for all those hoping that the Labor Participation Rate fudge that managed to stun the world a few weeks ago with a major drop in the November jobless rate, don't hold your breath. Gallup which constantly pools 30,000 people on a weekly basis, has found that for the past 4 weeks, both underemployment and unemployment have risen for 4 weeks in a row. And while the number of US workers "working part time and wanting full-time work" one of the traditional short cuts to boosting US jobs has risen to almost a 2 year high, it is the Job Creation Index in December which plunged in the last week, confirming that the Initial Claims data out of the BLS has been spurious and is likely to revert back over 400k on short notice.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/gallup-fi ... s-bls-data" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For Q3 2011, the Net Equity Extraction was minus $75 billion, or a negative 2.6% of Disposable Personal Income (DPI). This is not seasonally adjusted.

This graph shows the net equity extraction, or mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW), results, using the Flow of Funds (and BEA data) compared to the Kennedy-Greenspan method.

The Fed's Flow of Funds report showed that the amount of mortgage debt outstanding declined sharply in Q3. Mortgage debt has declined by $730 billion over the last fourteen quarters. This decline is mostly because of debt cancellation per foreclosures and short sales, and some from modifications. There has also been some reduction in mortgage debt as homeowners paid down their mortgages so they could refinance. Note: most homeowners pay down their principal a little each month unless they have an IO or Neg AM loan, so with no new borrowing, equity extraction would always be slightly negative.

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/ ... ed+Risk%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....deflation....

This week, the Dollar broke above 80 again, and now the key question is whether the 80 level will provide its usual resistance or whether that level will turn into support.
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/no ... laus-rally" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...this week silver broke 30 and has yet to bounce back -
http://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Growth of large private water companies brings higher water rates, little recourse for consumers
http://www.statesman.com/news/statesman ... 38684.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NASA shuts doors, pulls plug on shuttle Discovery
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45715473/ns ... u6WtlbURn8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How Facebook Can Hurt Your Credit Rating
http://www.pcworld.com/article/246511/h ... _multiline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Medical Journal Article: 14,000 U.S. Deaths Tied to Fukushima Reactor Disaster Fallout
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/medica ... 2011-12-19" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stomach flu outbreak hits 52 workers at Fukushima nuclear plant
http://www.japantoday.com/category/nati ... lear-plant" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just In: 348 Bq/Kg of Strontium Discovery in Tokorozawa City in Saitama?
http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/12/just ... overy.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mainstream media dutifully reported that story. But not Shiraishi's "Our Planet TV," which soon broadcast a live interview with five Japanese reporters in Futaba City, a community near the stricken plant. The reporters, who had covered the Chernobyl disaster, told a very different tale.

"They held up Geiger counters showing the level of radiation was almost beyond calculation," said Shiraishi, a former network TV journalist who co-founded the Internet venture in 2001, hosts the show and reports many of its stories. "They'd never seen anything like it."

For Shiraishi and others, that broadcast was a turning point, a moment many see as marking a profound shift in the trust younger Japanese place in government and media. Since that show, "Our Planet TV" viewership has shot up from about 1,000 to more than 100,000 as people have begun to seek alternative sources of information.

The change appears to be largely generational. For many older Japanese, the government remains a trusted, paternal overseer. But younger Japanese are now consulting the Internet and other information sources, rather than depending on major media.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 5674.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Planned Parenthood Offers Tips For Pro-Abortion Conversation Around ‘Holiday Table’
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned ... iday-table" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More Than 30 Percent Of Americans Arrested By Age 23, Study Says
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... t=1&f=1001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on a near daily basis, a figure that has reached a 30-year peak even as use of alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine among teenagers continues a slow decline, according to a new government report
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/1 ... agers/?hpw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The drug industry spends nearly twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, and historically one of their key targets has been physicians.

There are drug reps whose sole responsibility is to "educate" physicians about new drugs, a practice that includes lavish gifts, dinners and trips as persuasive perks.

In fact, about $282 million was paid to doctors by drug companies in 2009, which, coupled with their potent brainwashing techniques, allows the industry to heavily influence physicians' prescribing habits.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... _SNL_Art_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The report wisely questions the value of expensive new therapies that prolong patients' lives by mere months. Some cancer drugs, such as Avastin, for example, can cost upwards of $100,000 per year. At that price, even with insurance coverage, your co-payments can easily run as high as $20,000 a year. This despite the fact that studies show the drug prolongs life by just a few months at best, and more recent studies have suggested the drug might be less effective against cancer than the FDA believed when it was approved. It also has potentially lethal side effects that might speed up your ultimate demise.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... _DNL_art_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pharmaceutical Company Raises Drug Price from $10 to $1,500 Per Dose
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/pha ... -drug.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

French Medical Doctors Say, “Delist & Suspend HPV Vaccines”
http://vactruth.com/2011/12/18/medical- ... -vaccines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Canadian judge rules SSRI antidepressants like Prozac can cause children to commit murder
http://www.naturalnews.com/034433_SSRI_ ... urder.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON -- The FDA has revised the label of dronedarone (Multaq), an antiarrhythmic drug, to reflect its increased risk of death or serious cardiovascular events when taken by patients with permanent atrial fibrillation
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealt ... aking-news" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drug Deaths Now Outnumber Traffic Fatalities in US
http://naturalsociety.com/drug-deaths-n ... ies-in-us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Database on the risks of genetically engineered crop plants
http://farmwars.info/?p=7579&utm_source ... rm+Wars%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WHO Deafening Silence On Novel Flu Cases Raises Concerns
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12191 ... _Deaf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Consumers Tricked into Buying Toxic Supplements as Sales Soar
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/con ... toxic.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sun 'stops chickenpox spreading'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16217303" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'Life-threatening' storm set to slam Southwest, Plains
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45721159/ns ... u8w01bURn8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mass burial readied as Philippine flood rescuers struggle
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 19/1/.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The death toll on the Philippine island of Mindanao is at least 632, with hundreds still missing, in the wake of extreme flash flooding from Friday's passage of Tropical Storm Washi. Washi hit Mindanao as a tropical storm with 45 - 55 mph winds, crossing the island in about eighteen hours. Washi was unusually wet, as the storm was able to tap a large stream of tropical moisture extending far to the east (see the University of Wisconsin CIMSS satellite blog for imagery.) Aiding the heavy rains were sea surface temperatures that were nearly 1°C above average off the east coast of Mindanao, one of the top five warmest values on record. The exceptionally warm waters added about 7% more moisture than is usual for this time of year to the atmosphere. Washi hit a portion of the Philippines that does not see tropical storms and typhoons very often. Mindanao lies between 6°N and 9°N latitude, which is too close to the Equator for the Earth's spin to provide much help for a tropical storm trying to get spinning. Mindanao is thus hit only about once every twelve years by a significant tropical storm or typhoon. Washi's rains were not all that unusual for a Philippine tropical storm, with a peak rainfall amount of 7.44" (189 mm) observed in the city of Hinatuan. However, since the rains fell on regions where the natural forest had been illegally logged or converted to pineapple plantations, the heavy rains were able to run off quickly on the relatively barren soils and create devastating flash floods. Since the storm hit in the middle of the night, and affected an unprepared population that had no flood warning system in place, the death toll was tragically high. Washi is currently a tropical depression near the southern coast of Vietnam, and is dissipating.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMa ... rynum=2004" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Massive Storm Strikes Western Europe

One of the most intense storms in recent years carved a path across Western Europe December 15-17th. Named winter-storm ‘Joachim’ (intense extra-tropical storms are named like hurricanes in Europe) the center of the storm passed between France and the United Kingdom and then across the Low Countries and into Northwestern Germany and on to Poland. A peak wind gust of 211 kph (131 mph) was measured at Puy de Dome in Auvergne, France.

Widespread wind damage in northern France brought down power lines resulting in 400,000 homes losing electricity. A large Maltese cargo ship, the TK Bremen, was washed ashore by 25-foot English Channel seas landing on the coast of Brittany. The crew was safe but some 200 tons of fuel oil leaked from the vessel.

In Switzerland wind gusts up to 175 kph (105 mph) were measured at Boenspitzen, a mountaintop site in the northeast of the country. However, high winds effected low elevations as well.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weathe ... ntrynum=54" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Texas drought reduces state's cattle herds

Since Jan. 1, the number of cows in Texas has dropped by about 600,000, a 12 percent decline from the roughly 5 million cows the state had at the beginning of the year, said David Anderson, who monitors beef markets for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. That's likely the largest drop in the number of cows any state has ever seen, though Texas had a larger percentage decline from 1934 to 1935, when ranchers were reeling from the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, Anderson said.

Anderson said many cows were moved "somewhere there's grass," but lots of others were slaughtered. He said that in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas, about 200,000 more cattle were slaughtered this year, a 20 percent increase over last year.

That extra supply could help meet increased demand from China and other countries, but the loss of cows likely will mean fewer cattle in future years.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/2011 ... ght-cattle" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Droughts could push parts of Africa back into famine
http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1218-hanc ... _food.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

Single-Family Home Building Headed For Worst Year on Record
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-1 ... e-day.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Austerity and the Modern Banker
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commen ... 27/English" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bankers Seek to Debunk Attack on Top 1%
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... op-1-.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Return Of Debtor’s Prisons: Thousands Of Americans Jailed For Not Paying Their Bills
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/1 ... eir-bills/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

States brace for loss of extended jobless program
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2 ... ss-program" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Update: Payroll Tax Extension Vote Fails; Motion Moves To Conference
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/house-vot ... nsion-live" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obamas ready for the most expensive vacation ever
http://rt.com/usa/news/vacation-obama-hawaii-cost-195/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Goldman Takes Client Abuse To Next Level: Closes, And Reopens, Copper And Zinc Recommendations At Massive Losses
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/goldman-t ... ons-massiv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The speculative scrum driving up food prices - Bankers, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds are gambling on hunger by speculating on food supply
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-develo ... ood-prices" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Income Inequality Higher Than Roman Empire's Levels: Study
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/1 ... 58926.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

O-Christmas Tree, O-Christmas Tree… U.S. Capitol tree honors Obama but not Jesus
http://www.examiner.com/ny-in-new-york/ ... -not-jesus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Las Vegas looks to California for home sales demand – 1 out of 3 investment property buyers in Las Vegas came from California. A repeat trend from the mania days although home prices are now down 63 percent from the peak reached 5 years ago
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/las- ... e+SoCal%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Empty Las Vegas homes used as pot houses
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas ... 11170.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lender Processing Services, the nation's "dominant" provider of mortgage default services, forged foreclosure documents in exchange for referral kickbacks totaling "millions of dollars," Nevada's attorney general says
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/19/42347.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ultimate money magician in the Federal Reserve and the art of shadow bailouts – The continuing secretive bailout of the $3.5 trillion commercial real estate market
http://www.mybudget360.com/ultimate-mon ... re-market/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...only for the IN crowd...





The Tools of America’s Future Police State
http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2011/1 ... ice-state/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Future Riot Shields Will Suffocate Protestors with Low Frequency Speakers
http://gizmodo.com/5867984/future-riot- ... y-speakers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This New Military Satellite Will Watch The Ground Like Nothing Else Ever Before
http://www.businessinsider.com/darpa-mo ... te-2011-12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gigapixel Photography of Crowds
http://cryptogon.com/?p=26571" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TSA screenings aren't just for airports anymore
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Senator Harry Reid Moves To Approve PROTECT IP And Begin Censoring The Internet
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=37666" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress Ends 2011 With Record-Low 11% Approval
http://www.gallup.com/poll/151628/Congr ... roval.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...they just don't seem to care...obviously the "representative" part of government has pretty much died...must mean they are confident in other means -

We are much more than a systems manufacturer; we are an election solutions company.

http://www.dominionvoting.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





A majority of 28 mostly European countries have failed to comply with freedom of information requests about their involvement in secret CIA flights carrying suspected terrorists, two human rights groups said Monday
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2 ... 83447.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese police ‘fire tear-gas and beat protesters’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/20/c ... rotesters/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;








Alarm as Dutch lab creates highly contagious killer flu
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 79474.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

‘Unprecedented’ bond pressure to hit eurozone next year
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/ ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Draghi warns of new year contagion - ECB chief signals danger from huge volume of debt to be rolled over in first quarter
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011 ... ilout-fund" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spain's new premier Mariano Rajoy has launched a fresh blast of fiscal austerity at his inauguration, describing the national outlook as "desolate" and his task like that of a father feeding four hungry mouths with bread for two
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... epens.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greek Budget Deficit To Pass 10% Of GDP, Country Stops Most Cash Outlays
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/greek-bud ... sh-outlays" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ireland] House prices down 15.6% in year
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... ing30.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

European Unemployment Rates Suggest Pressure Cooker Will Soon Blow Sky High; UK Rejects Additional Money to IMF, Sweden Wants "Conditions"
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan Plans to Bolster Intervention War Chest
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... chest.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan in Talks With China About Purchasing Government Debt
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... -debt.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AFP - The US Federal Reserve is expected to embrace a new global framework that requires giant financial institutions to hold extra capital, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday
http://www.france24.com/en/20111219-fed ... les-report" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...they are purposely drying up the credit and shutting down lending. They've already been at it for a couple of years in the US via paying high interest rates on excess banking reserves thus creating a risk free situation for the banks where they can profit and pay bills while avoiding risky loans....

Today's 5 Year bond auction merely confirmed what we already knew from the 1 month Bill auction (and recurring negative yields thereof), namely that heading into year end everyone is scrambling for the "safety" of uncle Sam. The auction priced at a fresh record low yield of just 0.88%. In other words people will collect less than 1%/ year to hold US paper for 5 years.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/5-year-pr ... -low-yield" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CAIRO — Thousands of women massed in Tahrir Square here on Tuesday afternoon and marched to a journalists’ syndicate and back in a demonstration that grew by the minute into an extraordinary expression of anger at the treatment of women by the military police as they protested against continued military rule
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/world ... .html?_r=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dozens of Syrian army deserters shot dead
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 13,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In recent months, a certain number of Arab newspapers, favorable to the Al-Assad administration, discussed the infiltration into Syria of 600 to 1,500 fighters from the Islamic Fighting Group in Libya (IFGL), rebranded Al Qaeda in Libya since November 2007. In late November 2011, the Libyan press reported the attempt by the Zintan militia to detain Abdel Hakim Belhaj, companion of Osama Bin Laden [2] and historic leader of Al Qaeda in Libya, who became military governor of Tripoli by the grace of NATO [3]. The scene took place at Tripoli airport, as he was leaving for Turkey. Finally, Turkish newspapers mentioned Mr. Belhaj’s presence at the Turkish-Syrian.

http://www.voltairenet.org/Free-Syrian- ... mmanded-by" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The U.S. government acknowledges that U.S. military forces were involved in “armed conflict” this year in Libya, but it does not acknowledge that they were engaged in “hostilities.”
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2011/12 ... owers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pentagon Chief: U.S. Can Launch "Preemptive" Strike In Iran
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... leId=28295" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Aid Conditions, Restrictions, and Reporting Requirements
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42116.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kim Jong-il's death: India fears revival of North Korea-Pak nuclear bonding
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 174875.cms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US To Give North Korean Regime Massive Handouts So They Can Stay In Power
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=37668" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. official: North Korea leader died just as deal was struck to halt nuclear program
http://www.haaretz.com/news/internation ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel forms corps for strategic strikes
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/201 ... 324328870/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel Refurbishes Nuke-Capable Sub
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/israel-r ... pable-sub/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...refurbish is probably a major understatement considering the discreet removal from service...

Russia successfully test-fires interceptor missile
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/302132.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON: Russia is pressing ahead with a new nuclear missile which Moscow claims is a part of a renewed effort to bolster the country's missile defense systems.
http://defense.aol.com/2011/12/19/russi ... -with-u-s/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Advanced Hypersonic Weapon Can Reach Anywhere Within Two Hours
http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2011/12 ... two-hours/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bahamas Hosts "Dirty Bomb" Drill
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/bahamas- ... omb-drill/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tokyo decided to buy four F-35A conventional model JSFs next year to kick start its effort to replace two squadrons of ancient F-4 Phantoms.
http://defensetech.org/2011/12/20/japan ... -fighters/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients, 2003-2010
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R42121.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HIV vaccine developed in Canada approved for human studies
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/arti ... an-studies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fluoridation As a Potential Cause of Fibromyalgia Symptoms
http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2011/12 ... -symptoms/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





Philippines Flood Death Toll Nears 1,000, State of Calamity Declared
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/ ... -declared/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Philippine floods: President declares national calamity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16260205" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A volcano erupts in west of Yemen
http://www.yobserver.com/local-news/10021711.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deadly blizzard paralyzes Great Plains
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-573 ... at-plains/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Giant Tsunami-Shape Clouds Roll Across Alabama Sky
http://www.livescience.com/17545-giant- ... a-sky.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Comet survives close encounter with sun
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story ... y-sun.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On November 13, 1946 pilot Curtis Talbot, working for the General Electric Research Laboratory, climbed to an altitude of 14,000 feet about 30 miles east of Schenectady, New York. Talbot, along with scientist Dr. Vincent J. Schaefer, released three pounds of dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) into the clouds. As they turned south, Dr. Schaefer noted, “I looked toward the rear and was thrilled to see long streamers of snow falling from the base of the cloud through which we had just passed. I shouted to Curt to swing around, and as we did so we passed through a mass of glistening snow crystals! Needless to say, we were quite excited.” They had created the world’s first human-made snowstorm.

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofu ... ar-weapon/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HAARP had nothing to do with failure of Russian mission to Mars, officials say
http://newsminer.com/pages/full_story/p ... itors_desk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

JASON on Severe Space Weather and the Electric Grid
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2011/12 ... ather.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Teddy Medina, The World’s Greatest Hitman?
http://kitup.military.com/2011/12/teddy ... itman.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

US Housing Market Was Artificially Inflated By 14% In 2007-2010 NAR Reports
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/us-housin ... ar-reports" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CoreLogic: Existing Home Shadow Inventory remains at 1.6 million units
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/ ... ed+Risk%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Sun on Wednesday consists mainly of three large sized sunspot groups. Sunspot 1376 in the northwest quadrant, Sunspot combo 1381-1382 in the south and Sunspot 1384 towards the northeast quadrant. Atleast fifteen (15) low to mid level C-Class flares were detected in the past 24 hours around these regions. There will be an increasing chance for an M-Class event in the next 24 hours.
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Death Toll Reaches 11 After Floods, Landslide in Indonesia’s Central Java
http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/21/death ... tral-java/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dutch Scientist Agrees to Omit Published Details of Highly Contagious Bird Flu Findings
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/dutch-scie ... d=15204649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hong Kong culls chickens at market, bans trade, as H5N1 found
http://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-culls-c ... 35645.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Will The Newly Created “Killer Bird Flu” Someday Be Used As A Bio-Terror Weapon To Reduce The Population?
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... population" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Flu shot fantasies: How influenza vaccines halt flu infections (even when they don't)
http://www.naturalnews.com/034452_flu_s ... unity.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cold wave in north India, toll 39
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... -cold-wave" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Top Argentine official commits suicide at summit
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id ... _article=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

150 dead in 2 days of Syrian violence
http://www.news24.com/World/News/150-de ... e-20111221" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syria 'massacre': Opposition calls for UN action
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16287926" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syria conducts war games to deter attack
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ttack.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Assad losing control as 10,000 soldiers desert Syrian military
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/ne ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syrian forces accused of machine-gunning hundreds of deserting soldiers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... diers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Panetta: Iran will not be allowed nukes
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-5 ... =broadcast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chinese protesters clash with riot police
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 79846.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China vows support to Jong-un in rapid order
http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/ ... |newslist1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China beefing up military presence in Indian Ocean
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2 ... 83584.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia Demands Probe into Civilian Deaths from NATO Air-strikes in Libya
http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=7530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia to build 100-ton ICBM to penetrate US missile defenses
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20111216/170301667.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gaffney: EMP Attack on US Means 9 Out of 10 Dead Within 12 Months
http://mrctv.org/videos/gaffney-emp-att ... -12-months" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...so in the case of an EMP....have enough food to last 12 months and you'll have 90% of the assets (like gold/silver) available for the effort of collecting them...

Are Guns & Ammo The New Gold? Why More Americans Than Ever Before Are Arming Themselves
http://ammo.net/ammunition" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two Four Star Generals Write New York Times Op-ed Against NDAA and Indefinite Detention of Americans
http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/21/two-f ... americans/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Company Who Lobbied for the NDAA Indefinite Detention Bill Given 23 Million Dollar Contract for Night Raid Equipment
http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/20/compa ... equipment/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Government Says It Can Assassinate or Indefinitely Detain Americans on American Soil Without Any Due Process of Law
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/12/ ... etion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Martial Law Attempt In Louisiana Echoes Ron Paul’s Warning
http://www.prisonplanet.com/martial-law ... rning.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In advance of NATO/G-8, Emanuel to increase fines for resisting arrest
http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/9 ... rrest.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Local Cops Ready for War With Homeland Security-Funded Military Weapons
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... apons.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Local police stockpile high-tech, combat-ready gear
http://americaswarwithin.org/articles/2 ... ready-gear" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FBI Says Activists Who Investigate Factory Farms Can Be Prosecuted as Terrorists
http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/fb ... -act/5440/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Government’s War on Its Own People
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/gov ... eople.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Road to Tyranny: Let Me Count the Ways
http://farmwars.info/?p=7569&utm_source ... rm+Wars%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EXPOSED: US Troops Guarded Terrorist Camp in Iraq - US State Department now races to find a new home for US State Department-listed terrorist organization
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/ ... orist.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US asks banks to keep more cash at hand
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id ... _article=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fed proposes new, tougher rules for big banks
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45740600/ns ... _business/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.K. Stores Brace for Most Insolvencies Since 2008 as Sales Weaken: Retail
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... etail.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ECB to Lend Greater-Than-Forecast $645 Billion as Banks Line Up for Funds
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... owing.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Speaking of impossible math, try this one on and think about the size of these numbers reported by Bloomberg: “The ECB awarded 489 billion euros ($645 billion) in 1,134- day loans, the most ever in a single operation and more than economists’ median estimate of 293 billion euros in a Bloomberg News survey.”

As if more debt money, more “liquidity” is what is needed! Too much money, all in the WRONG HANDS is the problem! Does this look like a money shortage problem to you?

No, the problem never has been about liquidity, the real problem is solvency – the difference being that it requires income to service debt, creating more debt, as in the ECB “operation” above, only makes the solvency problem worse. Ridiculously impossible – laughable.

There’s only one way out of the impossible math, and it involves clearing out the debt. And then there’s only one way to prevent it from happening again, and that involves changing out WHO it is that was wrongly given the authority to control the production of our money.

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1221.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greek "Voluntary" Restructuring On Verge Of Collapse As Hedge Fund Vega Threatens To Sue Greece For Excessive Haircut
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/greek-vol ... essive-hai" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mark Faber: "I Am Convinced The Whole Derivatives Market Will Cease To Exist And Will Go To Zero"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/mark-fabe ... ll-go-zero" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rand]

Jason, it sounds like wars and rumors of wars.

Many thanks again for these amazing, disturbing rundowns of the rundown nature of our society.

[Jason]

Jason, it sounds like wars and rumors of wars.

Many thanks again for these amazing, disturbing rundowns of the rundown nature of our society.

Your welcome!

Yeppers...watching prophecy being fulfilled on a daily basis...

It's Official: US Debt-To-GDP Passes 100%
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/its-offic ... passes-100" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gallup Poll: Government Threat Growing in Minds of Americans
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politi ... -americans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New Bill Authorizes Rendition of American Citizens Living within the United States to Other Countries for Torture
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/ne ... her-countr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

Wave of bombings across Iraqi capital kills 57
http://news.yahoo.com/wave-bombings-acr ... 08550.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Average 30-year mortgage rate a record 3.91 pct
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-3 ... 3QD;_ylv=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...it could go to zero and it wouldn't matter....if you are saturated in debt....more debt won't help nor can you take advantage of it other than to possibly refinance and bite off just a tiny little additional sliver of debt...

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) painted a gloomy picture for the housing markets with its release of the OCC Mortgage Metrics Report for the third quarter of 2011. Mortgage delinquencies remain at high levels and foreclosures increased by double digits.

The OCC report covers mortgages serviced by federal savings associations and large national banks which include approximately 62% of all first mortgages with an outstanding principal balance of $5.6 trillion.

Key findings of the report included the following:

1. One out of every eight mortgages (12%) are currently delinquent. Prior to the relaxation of credit standards that occurred during the housing bubble years, the norm for delinquencies on conforming mortgages was only a fraction of 1%.

2. Foreclosures increased by over 21% during the third quarter as various well intentioned but futile mortgage moratoriums came to an end. At the end of the third quarter, 1.3 million mortgage loans were in the foreclosure process. According to Lender Processing Services, the average time for a foreclosure to work its way through the system set a new record of 631 days or almost 2 years. Keep in mind that this is only the time spent in foreclosure. Many lenders do not begin the foreclosure process until the loan has been delinquent for 6 to 12 months or longer.

http://problembanklist.com/mortgage-def ... nues-0451/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

School funding in Texas is in turmoil. State lawmakers slashed more than $4 billion from education this school year — one of the largest cuts in state history — and more than 12,000 teachers and support staff have been laid off.
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/22/144079041 ... udget-cuts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3yeafBN ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Three dramatic housing trends closing out 2011 – Impact of overstating home sales, foreclosure wave will return in 2012, and a very creative agent picture of a property.
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/thre ... e+SoCal%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just out from Zillow, according to them home values in the United States lost $700 billion in 2011, this is down from the $1.1 trillion in 2010. Still, this is a huge figure that directly impacts the wealth and solvency of Americans. Note that we’re so far into the depression at this point, that the numbers mathematically must start to diminish. In other words, once your home has lost half its value, then the dollar amount of losing the next 50% is far less than the first 50%. I think the same thing is happening to the weekly jobless claims. Once businesses layoff all they can, and a big percentage of them go out of business, then there are simply fewer workers to layoff, and thus the numbers eventually must begin to diminish as the economy gets smaller. And it is smaller despite the phony GDP measurement which really measures debt money production, not real productivity.

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1222.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ilargi: Haven't we been here before?

It's the sort of question you would expect a child to ask in one of those Grimm Brothers fairy tales, a child that walks so far into the woods that it gets lost, and takes another wrong turn and then another, and the forest feels denser and darker all the time, and it doesn't even run around in circles to return to its trail of breadcrumbs, or it doesn't know, because they've all been eaten by the animals. And then night falls slowly.

That's how I increasingly picture our financial situation. We march forward full of faith and feigned innocence into uncharted territory, telling ourselves we will and must find a way out of this mess, boosted by the high priests of our economic belief systems, the media, economists and politicians.

The children in the fairy tales always escape from the dark in the end, but we're not those children. Getting lost in the woods because you ignore the warnings is in general not an act of bravery, but one of stupidity.

Characters in fairy tales serve to teach their young readers and listeners a lesson about the morals of their societies; these characters don’t perish, they get saved because they timely see the errors of their ways. A morality tale.

But whereas the children in these fairy tales go gently into a good night, we go blindly into a bad one.

Perhaps it's fittingly ironic that this time around the rally came before instead of after the announcement by ECB president Mario Draghi of €489 billion in cheap loans for European banks. It fits right in with all the other things we get totally the wrong way around. About 60% of those loans, by the way, are just regurgitated old stuff.

Looking at what they have come up with in episode 1001 of the bailout drama, and just a brief look will do, there's one conclusion and one only: what they say is not what they think.

The ECB claims that it "hopes" the banks will use the money to purchase peripheral debt, but the ECB knows they won't (and what sort of €489 billion deal depends on "hope" only?). It knows, because the ECB itself, along with other parties, has refused to guarantee that debt.

It may be presented as a good deal, but borrowing at 1% to get a 5% return is not all that attractive when you have a 50% chance of an 80% haircut. Or something along those lines.

The ECB also said they hope banks will use the money to loan out to consumers. Just as big a pile of doo-doo. Banks are shedding assets like they're fleas, because they need reserves. That is a solvency issue. Being able to borrow ever cheaper while handing out ever more doubtful collateral addresses a liquidity issue.

There are a few things that this sort of lending will indeed achieve. It will gobble up bad assets from private banks and transfer them to the risk of the public coffer. Nothing new there. The child just gets deeper into the forest, and the light starts fading. A step by step process perceived as progressing so slowly, it raises no alarm. It's still morally repugnant, but who in charge of this thing has any morals left at all in the first place?

Another effect of those €489 billion is that the divide between the ECB and Germany, in particular its central Bundesbank, will widen, and substantially so. Which endangers the entire Eurozone project.

Whatever plan Europe comes up with, be it the European Financial Stability Facility or the European Stability Mechanism, or this latest one from the ECB, there are only two countries left to carry the vast majority of the risk and the burden. One of those countries, France, will soon be downgraded. So will its banks. This will lead to a downgrade of the EFSF and, if there's still time, the ESM.

There will at that point be one country left to carry the entire rest on its shoulders. Germany's allies and relatively strong partners, Holland, Finland, are way too small to do any heavy lifting. Moreover, Holland is on the verge of a housing collapse.

So France soon will no longer be a net contributor to the EFSF. Which is one of the main reasons the expansion didn't materialize. Hence, it's all Germany's responsibility, and Germany is smart enough to understand it's not strong enough to bear that responsibility.

And then out of left field comes Mario Draghi handing out half a trillion euros in loans to 523 different European banks that on average are just about to draw their last breath, selling off profitable assets because they're all buyers are interested in, and keeping the lousy ones, which they now can pledge to the ECB, with a huge chunk of the risk involved landing squarely on the shoulders of the German citizenry.

It's deceptively simple, really. Germany can't guarantee Greek and Italian and Spanish debt with the risk waiting in the wings of France slumping badly. Not without risking its own wealth, its own coherence as a society, in the process.

Staying in the metaphor of the child lost in the darkening forest (and yes, the Grimm brotheres were German), it's like the child, after taking yet another wrong turn, has stumbled upon a big bad wolf.

And though it's already getting almost too dark to see, the last thing the child does notice is that the wolf looks nothing like its sweet old grandmother.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... c+Earth%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Silver (and gold) have had several headwinds: One is the aforementioned speculative blow-off and run-off phase; the other is the lack of adequate collateral that is causing European banks to sell other assets and dump or lend precious metals as fast as they can to get into a more liquid assets to pay off their debts. Some banks are even lending — at nothing or even negative lease rates — their gold and silver to raise dollars.

Let’s look at the question of continued asset liquidation. On the related issue of recapitalizing dead banks, such institutions will effectively be the recipient of capital that has been diverted away from healthy banks and into its toxic financials. Unfortunately, this money will be placed at higher risk in an effort to earn the incremental income needed to backstop bad bets that already are on the books. That means shareholders who are led to believe things are improving will actually find their money at an even higher risk than before. In other words, an honest accounting and debt restructuring is a positive event. In effect, continually subsidizing dead banks forces even healthier banks into a liquidation mode, and in turn would prolong a general liquidation cycle. For, now that seems to be the pattern.

http://www.wallstreetexaminer.com/blogs ... 9+Watch%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...yeppers....that's called deflation (the result of debt saturation - less and less new money created by debt) and will result in a fairly steady continual decline in PM values as well as a steady rise in the value of the dollar...

The Centre for Economics and Business Research expects one in six workers, some five million people, to enjoy an extended holiday from today until Jan 3.
Thousands of businesses will stay closed because their customers have so little money to spend in the downturn they fear they will not make enough to justify opening their doors, it said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs ... stmas.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In effect, students get A Mortgage with Every College Graduation (Dr. Housing Bubble, via Jed H.) with one key difference: there is no way to get out from underneath the student loans. This is the perfection of indentured servitude. How many students pay off their $100,000 loans in a mere seven years? Modern banks and corporate "higher education" diploma mills have improved the old system of indentured servitude, extending the servitude from seven years to decades. The key dynamic here is the transference of risk from the lenders, who stand to reap immense profits from these loans, to the students. This transference is enforced of course not by the banks but by their partner, the Savior State, which obliterated the right to bankruptcy for students while guaranteeing profits to the banks via Sallie Mae, another guarantor of private profits backstopped by taxpayers. The feedback between risk and return has been severed. Lenders can extend massive loans to marginal students attending for-profit colleges, knowing their losses will be backstopped while the gains are theirs to keep, and the debt-serf students are indentured for life.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-pos ... dent-loans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The CDC Has Known All Along How Dangerous Vaccines Are - And Has Covered It Up... (Part Five)
http://www.bolenreport.com/Geier/foiasuit5.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

7 Foods Experts Won’t Eat
http://wakeup-world.com/2011/10/06/7-fo ... -wont-eat/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[I highly recommend watching these two videos for some wonderful (in terms of being informative) insights into current health issues - might mention that this is the first time I've ever seen someone lay out information so bad that Dr. Mercola breaks down in tears (2nd half)]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4swW9OF ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENmc9kHn ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Final Q3 GDP Misses As Personal Consumption Drops Big
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/final-q3- ... -drops-big" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can the U.S. Government close social media accounts?
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/20/the_u_s ... singleton/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Governments that issue their own money don't have to pay off their debts. They actually can't. In fact, they issue money -- the money that's necessary for a growing economy to operate -- by deficit spending.

Private borrowers (and non-sovereign-currency states like Greece and Alabama) do have to pay off their debts (or default). That's why the level of private debt, not sovereign debt, is the big management problem -- a problem that neoclassical economics has not tackled, does not even have the theoretical apparatus to tackle.

Yes, of course: government debt and interest payments as a percentage of GDP are important issues. I'll hand it back to Sandwichman:

The debt burden depends on the ratio of debt to GDP as well as the interest cost in servicing it. The way to reduce this burden is to have a combination of real economic growth, inflation and modest interest rates. If you want to show your solicitude for the well-being of future generations, demand macroeconomic policies that will boost demand and raise inflation a bit, consistent with continued low interest rates.


Today's creditors will hate you. But your grandchildren will love you.

Update (thanks to Buffpilot for finding holes): A more precise explanation of why a sovereign-currency issuer might "have" to pay back their debt: if they have committed to redeem their money for something else. For instance Argentina (dollar-denominated debt) and whole host of others who were on a gold standard, had promised to give gold in return for their money. If they can't or won't do so, that's a default on their promise. The U.S. and the U.K. (among others) do not face that situation.

http://www.angrybearblog.com/2011/12/me ... ry+Bear%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...of course they fail to mention that the US doesn't issue its own money but its issued by private banks....both large (central big dogs) and small (via the fractional reserve system/ratio)...

Growth even weaker than feared
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/22/news/ec ... m?iid=Lead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fitch Again Warns US Debt Burden Threatens AAA Rating
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45761637" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...who does Fitch work for???

If A Global Recession Is Not Looming, Then Why Are Bailouts Flying Around As If The End Of The World Is Coming?
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... -is-coming" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...if you give someone buried in debt another loan - Is it a bailout???

At Wal-Mart a Microcosm of U.S. Inequalities: Jeffrey Goldberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... dberg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shell companies steal hundreds of millions from Medicare - Criminals use incorporation laws, layers of phantom firms to get away with fraud
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45754719/ns ... nd_courts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finland 'finds Patriot missiles' on China-bound ship
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16292244" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

69 Patriot missiles is not some minor load. That’s a bunch of missiles. Were they hijacked?

They belong to somebody. Of course, remember we provide Patriot missiles to our “allies” too.

How in the world do 69 Patriot missiles go missing and end up on a ship bound for China (why spend the money to develop technology when you can steal it and reverse engineer it)?

Anyone?

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2011/12/p ... ACKFIVE%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

British-registered ship caught taking arms to China - Vessel impounded after 160 tonnes of explosives and 69 missiles were discovered on board
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 80392.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So, Finnish Authorities caught someone yesterday trying to ship China 69 Patriot air-defense missiles and another 160 tons of explosives. What!?

The British-flagged merchant ship Thor Liberty apparently left Emden, Germany with the missiles and stopped in Finland to pick up anchor chains when Finnish customs inspectors found the weapons — in crates marked as fireworks — during a routine sweep of the ship.

No one seems to know how 69 of the U.S.’ prized air defense missiles ended up on a ship bound for China but this kind of movement can only happen with the approval of someone in high places.

Keep in mind that Germany has a bunch of Patriot missiles and has sold its older Patriots to South Korea during times of high tension with North Korea. Finnish authorities couldn’t say if the ship was planning on making any stops before it arrived in China. It’s plausible the missiles found aboard the Thor Liberty are a German shipment bound for South Korea but you’d think we’d have heard about the deal; you’d also think they wouldn’t be “badly stored” and marked as fireworks.

Update: Germany is now saying that the missiles are part of a legit arms transfer to South Korea. No word on why it was done in such a shady manner.

http://defensetech.org/2011/12/22/ok-gu ... -to-china/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Lebanese Government source stated Wednesday that Lebanese security apparatus informed the Government of the infiltration of al-Qaeda members into Syria through Arsal border town in East Lebanon.

AFP quoted the Lebanese source, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, as saying that Lebanese Security forces meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, several weeks ago, presented information about the entrance of al-Qaeda members into Syria pretending they were members of the Syrian opposition.

http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/12/21/389867.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hundreds of euro-zone lenders took out €489.19 billion ($640 billion) in low-interest loans from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, as the currency area extended a massive financial lifeline to its struggling banking industry.

The unexpectedly heavy demand from 523 banks for the three-year loans highlighted the severity of Europe's financial crisis, while also stirring some hopes that the action could help defuse it, or at least prevent it from getting worse.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... Collection" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hungary Downgraded to Junk; Expect Defaults on Public and Private Debt, Especially Mortgages
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So it seems Santa could only last one night.

Yesterday I said

…It may just be that banks end up using the facility to roll-over existing debt rather than using it to actively make new purchases.

Given that many of the European banks are attempting to de-leverage and simply hold higher levels of capital in order to meet their requirements under Basel III this makes sense. However, that doesn’t mean that the new LTRO along with the lower reserve requirements wouldn’t have some flow-on effect to bond markets, I am just not sure it is going to be used at the level and/or for the purpose the bond market seems to be suggesting. There are, however, some rumours out of Italy that suggest otherwise.

We will find out the answer to some of those questions tonight when the banks make a choice between the 7-day, 3-month or 3 year ( with a 12 month exit ) repo facility. A good uptake on the later should provide some support for all markets in the short term, at least until it is established exactly what the banks are doing with the facility.

When I said “short term” what I meant was something like a few days in which the market could determine, in the least, if the banks had simply parked the additional new money back into the ECB deposit facility or there were signs that they were using it to buy back their own bonds. However, it looks as though the market decided about one hour after the announcement that 523 banks had used the new 1134 day repo facility to the tune €489.19bn that this new money was going to be for re-capitalisation and de-leveraging operations.

So if we deduct all of those numbers from the headline number what we actually find is that banks got €209.9bn. This is still a large number but considerably less than the headline. If you divide it by the number of banks involved it equates to an average of just over €400 million for each bank. Obviously some banks will get more and others less, but it does put the number into perspective when you see it that way. If an Australian bank raised an additional $400mil it certainly wouldn’t be headline news across the globe.

As I said above the outstanding question is exactly what the banks will do with this additional funds, on top of their other capital that is now available due to the lessening of the reserve requirements. If we see an additional €200bn turn up in the ECB deposit facility tonight then it is most likely that the banks have no interest in re-cycling that money through their sovereigns and the new year’s sovereign bond market is probably going to be ugly. The movement on the Italian and Spanish yields last night may suggest that the markets think this will be the case.

As noted in today’s links, while all of the focus is on banking operations the real economy continues to stumble with Italian GDP contraction signalling recession:

The Italian economy contracted in the third quarter, signaling the country may have entered its fifth recession since 2001 as the government adopts new austerity measures that will further weigh on growth.

Lucky banks have got all that new capital…. They’re going to need it.

http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2011/12 ... -a-fizzer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...LOL...yeah they pound the headlines with the big numbers (which the gold/silver folks interpret as printing) which is actually debt....of which a great portion goes right back to the central banks to meet reserve requirements (or to draw interest on excess reserves - 100% safe guaranteed investment that keeps the bank alive versus loaning to debt saturated edge of the economic knife people)....which at the end of the day does little to change the daily economic reality but does create headlines/propaganda....

The compelling need to stimulate economies, to redeem toxic bonds, and to recapitalize and nationalize the big banks adds to the monetary inflation outcome.
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldenJackass/1324501200.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gold the protector as democracies move towards totalitarianism - Gold, and perhaps silver, are still in a bull market phase which is likely to continue as governments print money, spin figures, manipulate markets and erode basic liberties
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/min ... pid=110649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...speaking of gold/silver propaganda...and the latter article - how in the world does gold protect you from totalitarianism??? If the governments collapse in the process then the supply chain will certainly be destroyed and people will turn on each other (especially at our levels of wickedness)....and blood will run down the streets - how does gold protect you against the use of force by your neighbors??? who will barter (trade production) for gold when everyone is starving to death and no one trusts each other (blue/green/fake gold)???

Infographic - Are Guns And Ammo The New Gold?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/infograph ... o-new-gold" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What is a Combat Handgun?
http://kitup.military.com/2011/12/comba ... draft.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Barclays Hit With "Immense" Copper Trading Loss; 50 Sigma Move In Cancelled Aluminum Warrants
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/barclays- ... m-warrants" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gerald Celente: Top 12 Trends 2012 - Hold onto your hat, your wallet, and your wits
http://lewrockwell.com/celente/celente90.1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drought has killed up to 10 percent of Texas woodland trees
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/21/1 ... rylink=cpy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Banks Got Bailed Out … We Got Sold Out
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/12/ba ... -sold-out/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Despite three large Sunspot regions visible on the solar disk, only C-Class flares have been detected within the past 24 hours. There will remain a small chance for an M-Class flare on Thursday. Sunspot 1384 is currently the largest of the visible regions.
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Four killed as floods wreak havoc in Tanzania
http://www.africareview.com/News/Four+k ... /g04x4q/-/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More Predator drones fly U.S.-Mexico border
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mor ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cyber War Against U.S. – China Involved In “The Greatest Transfer of Wealth In the History of the World”
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/c ... d_12222011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran worried over plunging currency
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iran-w ... sCatID=344" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ahmadinejad: US plotting to stop Iran's progress
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News ... 50440&R=R1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does This US And Israel Joint Missile Defense Drill Say Anything About Plans For Iran?
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-i ... ll-2011-12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Top US general: Military options achievable - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey warns Iranian regime against 'miscalculating our resolve.' Any miscalculation, he says, 'could mean that we are drawn into conflict, which would be a tragedy for the region and the world'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 95,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US military 'ready to engage in a conflict with Iran'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -Iran.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gulf Arabs back unity after hinting at Iran threat
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article ... 50237&R=R3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran starts building a nuclear weapon: US and Israel tighten cooperation
http://www.debka.com/article/21589/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...they've been stating this for how many years now....what's the truth???

US missiles 'hit Iranian village'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... llage.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran's Navy To Hold Drill In International Waters
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_navy_ ... 30260.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran to hold war games in int'l waters: commander
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world ... 322300.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.K. government says Iran blocked its website
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran Navy to hold 10-day war game in Persian Gulf
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... f-1.402926" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

211 killed by Assad forces in two days of brutal massacre
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_g ... ink=266383" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. warns of new international action against Syria after two-day ‘massacre’ leaves 250 dead
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/21 ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syria: Arab League monitors' advance team arrives
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16296255" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nato blames bad maps for drone strike that killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... order.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Flashpoint Falklands: Britain dusts off war plans amid calls to send a nuclear submarine after Argentina joins forces with Brazil and Uruguay to blockade islands
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -heat.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

First debris from Japanese earthquake/tsunami reaches Olympic Peninsula
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/artic ... es-olympic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mutated vegetables
http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/12/mutated-vegetables/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oS6Xdcn ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0sIHJy3 ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


STATEMENT OF WORK FOR FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY NATIONAL CONTINUITY PROGRAMS (NCP) PROGRAM AND MISSION SUPPORT SERVICES (PAMSS)
http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/1 ... al.law.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Government censors document revealing plans to wage war on Americans
http://www.infowars.com/government-cens ... americans/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FEMA Continuity of Government Plans Prep Total Takeover of Society, Dispatching Military Domestically Under Economic Collapse Emergency
http://www.infowars.com/military-to-des ... -collapse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Exclusive: Military to Designate U.S. Citizens as Enemy During Collapse
http://www.prisonplanet.com/exclusive-m ... lapse.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

From freedom to fascism: U.S. senate gives the 5th Amendment the heave-ho
http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in- ... hout-trial" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Legislation that will let President Obama and future leaders of America detain and torture Americans indefinitely has made it to the White House, where it is expected to be soon signed into law by the commander-in-chief
http://endthelie.com/2011/12/22/indefin ... ite-house/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New riot shields will suffocate protesters with sound waves
http://rt.com/usa/news/raytheon-riot-sound-shield-295/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DHS Spent $9.8M to Store $44M of Steel It Bought But Did Not Use to Build Mexico Border Fence
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dhs-spe ... rder-fence" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Too late to contain killer flu science, say experts - US government's hopes of suppressing details of controversial research may be doomed, say scientists
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 80399.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...so now Al Qaeda can get their hands on it and government isn't responsible....

Officials Warn of Weaponized H5N1 Bird Flu Pandemic Amid Debate
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/off ... -bird.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Outbreak: Man-made super-flu formula to be published?
http://rt.com/news/super-flu-terrorist-threat-251/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zp6A-l- ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gloria Borger is married to LANCE MORGAN. Lance is the chief communications and crisis strategist of POWELL TATE. Powell Tate is a D.C. firm that represents every part of the very same MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX that Ron Paul wants to reduce!

This is a total conflict of interest! Her husband's firm includes overseeing a coalition to support congressional funding to parts of the U.S. Military! All of these "journalists" seem to be profiting these wars!

Thumbs up to expose this lying MIC shill!

- from the comments

The New Republican Primary Rules Make It Possible For The Republican Establishment To Steal The Nomination From A Candidate They Don’t Like
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... -dont-like" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Romney Says He Will Continue Obama's Policy of Having Homosexuals in Military
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/romney- ... s-military" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Navy lesbian couple share first gay dockside kiss
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16297406" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama and the Rule of Law
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-conn ... mail_share" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama and Geithner: Government, Enron-Style
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/bl ... e-20111220" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BroJones]

Thanks again for the blipits, Jason. The use of sound waves to hurt protesters / dissenters is a serious development. One anti-protester development is called the "crap cannon" which resonates with the gut to induce involuntary defecation.

"Are you ready for the Demonstration?"
"Depends."

Request -- when you post embedded vids on youtube, could you also provide the LINK so that the vid can be downloaded from youtube? I'm having trouble with my mac getting the URL link from your posts, but often would like to download the vids you post (which I can do from youtube).

[Jason]

Thanks again for the blipits, Jason. The use of sound waves to hurt protesters / dissenters is a serious development. One anti-protester development is called the "crap cannon" which resonates with the gut to induce involuntary defecation.

"Are you ready for the Demonstration?"
"Depends."

Request -- when you post embedded vids on youtube, could you also provide the LINK so that the vid can be downloaded from youtube? I'm having trouble with my mac getting the URL link from your posts, but often would like to download the vids you post (which I can do from youtube).

Your welcome...glad to be of service!

LOL...."Depends" ehh??? LOL...thank you for the chuckle...though it does have its more serious aspects.

Sorry about that....I've gone back and added links to all the videos in the post above and I'll try to get in the habit of doing that!

fyi - if you are having trouble clicking the little pyramid in the box in the bottom right hand corner of the video to get the link to display....you can quote the post to bring up the display code. If you cut n' paste that link in a new tab or window it will show up full page but you may be able to click the pyramid in the box in the bottom right hand corner now that its directly on Youtube. If that doesn't work you can also cut n' paste the 11 digit ID for the video in YouTube search which will bring up the video.

[Jason]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... LjgBLwH3Wc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Through her research into MS, Dr. Wahls discovered that, for some unknown reason, in addition to the commonly known symptoms, MS patients' brains also tend to shrink. This roused her curiosity, and led her to research other diseases that have similar brain shrinkage, namely Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease. One common denominator is poorly functioning mitochondria. Mitochondria are like little 'batteries' in your cells that manage the energy supply to the cell, and unless you consume the correct nutrients, eventual mitochondrial malfunction is the obvious result.

She discovered that three nutrients in particular are essential for proper mitochondrial function:

Animal-based omega-3 fat
Creatine
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or better yet the reduced version known as Ubiquinol

Just by adding those three to her diet, her decline began to slow. But she wasn't improving, so she continued sleuthing through the medical research in search for an answer. When she discovered the Institute for Functional Medicine, Dr. Wahl began to find more clues.

As mentioned earlier, myelin is an insulating, waxy substance that sheathes the nerves in your central nervous system. Your myelin also needs specific nutrients to function properly, such as:

Vitamin B1
Vitamin B9
Vitamin B12
Animal-based omega-3 fat
Iodine

Furthermore, the neurotransmitters in your brain need sulfur and B6 for optimal functioning. Eventually, Dr. Wahls designed her own eating plan, based on the nutrients she now knew she needed for optimal mitochondrial-, myelin-, and neurotransmitter function, because while your body can create some nutrients, others must be provided through your diet.

Dr. Wahls altered her diet to reflect the Paleo-style diet of the hunter-gatherers of old as follows:

3 cups daily (equal to one dinner plate, piled high) of green leaves, such as kale, which are high in vitamins B, A, C, K, and minerals
3 cups daily of sulfur-rich vegetables from the cabbage- and onion- families, mushrooms and asparagus
3 cups daily of brightly colored vegetables, fruits and/or berries, which are a good source of antioxidants
Wild fish for animal-based omega-3's
Grass-fed meat
Organ meats for vitamins, minerals and CoQ10
Seaweed for iodine and selenium

She eliminated processed foods, grains, and starches (which includes potatoes and corn). Amazingly, she began to notice significant improvement in just three months, and at the nine-month mark of her new diet, she was able to go on an 18-mile bike ride! This is astounding when you consider that over the past seven years her condition had deteriorated to the point that she had to sit in a reclined zero-gravity chair and could only walk short distances using two canes.

That is the power of nutrition!

I'd like to add a few suggestions though. Two factors in particular that can have a profound impact are vitamin D and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. Vitamin D deficiency can play an important role in MS, and aspartame toxicity has been known to mimic diseases such as MS, so addressing these two items should be at the top of your list—in addition to improving your diet, of course; not in lieu of dietary changes.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... _DNL_art_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. beef consumption continues to decline - Surging foreign demand keeps industry flush
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 8055.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...can't afford it at home....

Iran starts building a nuclear weapon: US and Israel tighten cooperation
http://www.debka.com/article/21589/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran Navy to Hold War Games Near Crucial Sea Lanes
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/world ... lanes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran Launching "Massive" Ten Day War Game Tomorrow In Close Proximity To CVN-74 John Stennis
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/iran-laun ... hn-stennis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran’s war games could force U.S. to ‘respond aggressively’
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Jets Enter Iranian Airspace, Oil Depot Bombed
http://www.prisonplanet.com/u-s-jets-en ... ombed.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pak speeds up gas pipeline project with Iran
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/255444" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dozens killed in co-ordinated Baghdad attacks
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16297707" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syria: Twin suicide bombs shake capital, 30 dead
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/syria-twi ... 40459.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Putin’s Eurasian Union takes wings
http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2 ... kes-wings/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe that war with China isn't so far off
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/ML22Ad05.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Fighter Jets and Ships Deployed in the Philippines Against China
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... leId=28325" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.N. urges Libya to sell off cache of ‘yellowcake’ uranium
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2 ... 84055.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How to Control Libya Missiles? Buy Them Up
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/world ... libya.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

North Korea Warns South to Show ‘Respect’ for Kim Jong-il
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/world ... ng-il.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Leland Miller: The Crisis Ahead for China's Policy Banks
http://us1.irabankratings.com/pub/IRAMain.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

David Cameron: Britain will never surrender sovereignty of the Falkland Islands
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... lands.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Italy Goes The Full Monti
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/italy-goes-full-monti" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Italy to Kick the Cash Habit as Monti Cracks Down
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... aders.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spanish Implosion Coming Up; Deficit Up, Receipts Down, a Need to Cut 40 Billion in Expenses from 90 Billion; Spain's "Hidden Deficit"
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Reality? Durable Goods is a national embarrassment. Not only does this not make me proud, it makes me ashamed. Below is a chart showing Durable Goods Orders, as measured in dollars against MZM, the largest dollar measurement currently produced. Note that Durable Goods Orders, measured in dollars, collapsed in 2008 – at the low point it was only $150 Billion, not that far above where it was in the early ‘90s. In dollars, it has now risen to a little over $200 Billion, a figure that is a little short of doubling in the past two decades. But what you have to consider is that the supply of dollar during the same time period went from roughly $2 Trillion all the way to nearly $11 Trillion, more than 5 times the amount!

Let me translate what I said above in a way that is a little easier to understand – the reality is that Durable Goods Orders are massively shrinking! If you were to measure the actual total widgets produced here in the United States, the numbers are dramatically less. What are we producing in reality? Dollars. Dollars backed by DEBT. Debt that pays interest to private individuals. The same individuals who are shipping our manufacturing overseas. The same individuals who where wrongly given the authority to produce money from nothing. Illegally and in direct conflict with the Constitution – Article 1, Section 8.

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1223.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....I disagree with his hypothesis that they have to keep expanding the money supply (total debt is declining and there are multiple games at play which suck up the very debt they inject like bond rollovers/refinancing, excess reserves, etc). He fails to take into account that the name of the game is power and asset ownership transfer. They know this and will not destroy their printing press. They know the endpoint is deflation (default and transfer of ownership)....hence the vastly accelerating efforts at power and control. I believe they will fall into the pit they have dug....which I think will be the result of natural disasters (hand of God) pushing their apple cart over the cliff edge (that they've purposely ran along) and they lose power and control over the masses in the process (which turn on themselves in selfishness - city vs city, blood runs down the streets, plague, etc). All that said....I think we will go through a final phase where it appears that they will be successful and we will feel their iron fists as well as deep deflation thus fulfilling the multiple decades of prophetic warning to stay out of debt and that there will be a Day of Reckoning on debt. Just my thoughts fwiw...

Core Durable, Capital Goods Orders Miss Despite Inventory Stuffing, To Push Q4 GDP Lower; Savings Rate Declines
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/core-dura ... e-declines" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mortgage rates hit another record low
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/22/real_es ... ?iid=HP_LN" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Retailers Are Slashing Prices Ahead of Holiday
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/busin ... f=business" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The calm before the student loan bubble bursts – For-profits make up 9 percent of student enrollment yet produce 27 percent of all private loans. The inevitable pop of the student loan bubble
http://www.mybudget360.com/student-loan ... r-markets/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bank Of America Dumps $75 Trillion In Derivatives On U.S. Taxpayers With Federal Approval
http://seekingalpha.com/article/301260- ... l-approval" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fed’s Once-Secret Data Released to Public
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-2 ... ublic.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...the Excel spreadsheet -
bit.ly/Bloomberg-Fed-Data

....I would like to reiterate a little on yesterday's post concerning this "printing" propaganda...as well as add to my bit above. Here's a tidbit from a pertinent Zerohedge article -

The latest bank heist (LTRO) totaled $641 billion as European banks passed on collateral in exchange for a 3 year, 1% loan. In return the ECB just was handed a gigantic can of worms. The ECB balance sheet is now up to $3.5 trillion USD and at this point an undetermined amount of PIGGS plus Belgium debt.

Illustrating the nature of this circular transaction, Bloomberg reports that Unicredit and Intesa, two insolvent Italian banks are using “state guaranteed bonds” as $52 billion collateral to throw at the ECB. So rather than even using actual Italian sovereigns, the ECB accepts something more nebulous down the food chain. If anybody knows exactly what this collateral is, I’d love to know. It can’t be good, you can’t make this stuff up.

Marketwatch described the complex scams governments are using to just hand money over to banks without going through democratic considerations. Of course at each step along the way transactions can be inflated to benefit banksters. Incredibly these privatizations (and that’s what they are) can be securitized, and pledged as collateral to borrow from the ECB. Explains why a Goldman Sachs crony has taken over in Italy and elsewhere. We are at peak loot.

As part of a broader deficit-reduction tangled web program in Portugal, the government essentially is borrowing money from bank pension funds and could use some of the funds to help state-owned companies repay bank loans. Elsewhere Commerzbank AG is negotiating with the finance ministry to transfer its troubled real-estate finance unit into a government “bad” bank. The bank and government are in talks about ways to structure the deal so it isn’t “considered” a bailout. These Governments can ill afford this at this point.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/peak-heist" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



...please notice my bold and underlined sections in large print. I was able to insert the graphic from the link above to give a visual. This shows you how the flow of ownership of assets goes up the food chain to the Central Banks. The ECB has borrowed from the Federal Reserve...so the food chain doesn't stop there.

There is an element of truth to the printing commentary reiterated over and over by the precious metals community. The central banks do in fact print the money out of nothing. For that matter our local banks do as well to the degree that they are allowed. They extend loans (create money) against IOUs which typically (except for Credit Cards, personal signature, and other non-collateralized loans) are backed by some kind of asset. It didn't cost them anything to print the money (especially when its just 1's and 0's on a computer). In return for the loan (which cost them nothing) though they either get their money back (which is then destroyed) plus interest (which pays their bills and profits)....or they get the pledged asset.

Russ Winter mentioned that he didn't know what the collateral was and that it couldn't be good....does it matter if it cost you nothing for the loan??? If I loan you $100 dollars that cost me less than 10 cents to print....and in exchange you pledged assets worth $90 or even $70 or even $50...which I knew I would eventually own for the 10 cent printing cost....was it a bad deal for the banker???

Look at the vast control of mortgage debt (real estate) via Fannie, Freddie, and FHA...as well as student loans via Sallie. Or Federal control over states via loans and subsidies. Its all about power and control.

Since the money for interest is never created....the economy is dependent on continuous growth in debt. The further we go the more debt we must have to settle obligations. There is a mathematical endpoint called debt saturation (the people as a whole can't sustain more debt - all the assets are already pledged and production is maxed). That end point though isn't set in stone and can be manipulated by adjusting the cost of debt - i.e. interest rates. The lower the interest rates....the more debt you can afford. Also we are not dealing with absolutes....but with tipping points.

Not everyone is willing to go into debt. Some will refuse no matter what....some will take extenuating circumstances (death, health, job loss, family member in trouble, etc)....while others jump right in. So it becomes a game of enticement - propaganda as well as stimulation of economic circumstances. Over a significant amount of time (probably more than a century) we have steadily been sucked into leveraging (going into debt) our assets and future production in return for easy (temporary though) money to buy things (that then either get used up and destroyed...or leveraged). We've gone from a nation of people who carved their way into the wilderness and owned everything they had....to a people who's only future is debt induced slavery (unless saved by divine intervention).

So long story short (too late I know), we are at the crossroads. Some people think that the bankers will just print free money (more debt doesn't work...just hastens the asset transfer process - i.e. default on debt) in order to keep the game going (keep the people from turning on them - i.e. resorting to force and not honoring contractual obligations they willingly signed on for in the beginning)......and some people (like myself) see the bankers as highly knowledgeable individuals (who knew the endpoint before they embarked on the journey) that will use their power and control (money, military, government, law, etc) to enforce their will upon the people. I think that they will absolutely not cave in to the pressures of the people because they see themselves as far superior to the "imbeciles" who bought into their rotten apple. They will use all tools at their disposal to enforce their view of the world and to seek out their own best welfare (to become a law unto themselves - to get gain with immunity from justice).

There is some hope (plus the benefits of following prophetic counsel to not get entangled in debt to begin with) -

And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.

And I will fortify this land against all other nations.

And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.

For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.

Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.

http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/10?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

as well as...

And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the glory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he hath made for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the majesty of his glory shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/12?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

States spend billions on local homeland security
http://projects.cironline.org/police-grants" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress To Fund Massive Expansion Of TSA Checkpoints
http://www.prisonplanet.com/congress-to ... oints.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Homeland Security launches 'If you see something, say something' ads in Spanish
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state ... =rss_state" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Upon Release of Martial Law Documents, The Plan For America's Destruction Becomes Apparent
http://disquietreservations.blogspot.co ... ments.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'Birther' bid to challenge Obama's right to be president rejected
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... thers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Christianity May Be Eradicated in Iraq and Afghanistan, Says Chair of U.S. Religious Freedom Commission
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/christi ... us-freedom" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Walter Reed Banned Family Members From Bringing Bibles to Wounded Warriors
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/walter- ... d-warriors" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's massive new assault on Christmas across U.S.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=380317" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Following statements by Franklin Graham that it would be acceptable for a Christian to vote for a Mormon, a pastor in California has called on the evangelist to repent for his remarks
http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=12530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'Absolutely no progress being made' at Fukushima nuke plant, undercover reporter says
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/201 ... 2000c.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

3.58 microSv/h in Shibuya – in a house
http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/12/3-58 ... -in-house/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japanese lab rejects urine and breast milk test
http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/12/japa ... milk-test/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

#Radioactive Rice from Watari District, Fukushima City: 1540 Bq/Kg
http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/12/radi ... trict.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fukushima power plant is far from 'cold'
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6682457,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan tsunami debris hitting B.C. shores in ecological red flag for West Coast beaches
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/21 ... Stories%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Blizzard Moves Across Southwest United States
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natura ... &src=nhrss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Australia]A cyclone warning has been issued for the area between Cape Don to Milingimbi. Residents have been asked to make final preparations or identify a public emergency shelter, as gale force winds could begin within 24 hours
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/201 ... 397481.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greece: Inclement weather nationwide, heavy snow up north
http://www.emg.rs/en/news/region/171440.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Christchurch rocked by earthquakes
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10775043" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sunspot 1376 is now rotating onto the western limb and will be out of direct Earth view within a couple of days. Sunspot 1384 remains the largest visible sunspot group while region 1381-1382 looks to be diminishing in spot count. A new region did rotate into view on the southeast limb and another spot continues to form to the south of old region 1380 in the southern hemisphere. There will be a slight chance for an M-Class event heading into the weekend.
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pictured: Girl who survived after being swept away in Indonesian tsunami is reunited with her father after seven years
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-ago.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kathedralegs]

Okay Jason, you owe me a nights sleep. Watched the Dr. Mercola interview with Dr. Huber. Some of the most disturbing things I have heard. (That is saying a lot!!) The implications are mind boggling. :ymsick: One more thing I am grateful to be aware of so I can help educate and hopefully (in some small measure) protect those I love and care about. Again thanks for all your efforts on Blipits. :ymhug:

[Jason]

Okay Jason, you owe me a nights sleep. Watched the Dr. Mercola interview with Dr. Huber. Some of the most disturbing things I have heard. (That is saying a lot!!) The implications are mind boggling. :ymsick: One more thing I am grateful to be aware of so I can help educate and hopefully (in some small measure) protect those I love and care about. Again thanks for all your efforts on Blipits. :ymhug:

Thank you and your most welcome! Glad to be of service...

I still need to sit down with the wife and watch that one again. Godspeed in building the Kingdom of God!!!

[Jason]

More retailers pull formula after baby's death
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45762595/ns ... ns_health/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wall Street, the Media, the CIA and Facebook
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/12/22 ... -facebook/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Homeland Battlefield
http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2 ... field.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With All of the Pieces in Place, When Will the Hammer Drop?
http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/22/with- ... mmer-drop/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What To Expect From The Government After The Collapse
http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-prepa ... e_12232011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An Independent America: Voters leaving Republican, Democratic parties in droves
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/ind ... aving.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama Unconstitutionally Claims Unconstitutional War Powers in a Signing Statement
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... leId=28341" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FAIL! Gingrich, Perry, Bachmann, Huntsman and Santorum FAILED to get 10000 signatures to be in Virginia Primary! ONLY PAUL and Romney in Primary
http://sherriequestioningall.blogspot.c ... tsman.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crisis: Greece, 76% of people say worst yet to come, survey
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news ... 11615.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crush Labor and Impose Austerity: ECB Head Draghi’s Real Goal for the Eurozone
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=28335" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





When banks have routinely filed falsified mortgage promissory notes, with tens of thousands of fraudulent documents filed in tens of thousands of cases - "rampant, self-evident, easy to prosecute" fraud - what does it take to get prosecutions? Barry Ritholtz: "It is shocking to watch the U.S... slip into a banana republic."
http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/1 ... ource=feed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Armed American Radio producer posts Gunwalker interview with Gun Rights Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-n ... s-examiner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Top guns: Saudis spent $13.8 billion on Western weapons from 2007-2010
http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2011/12 ... 2007-2010/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Free Syrian Army commanded by Military Governor of Tripoli
http://www.voltairenet.org/Free-Syrian- ... mmanded-by" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syria fires new Russian missiles in exercise as ‘warning to Turkey and NATO’
http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2011/12 ... -and-nato/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seven people killed as Yemeni troops fire on demonstrators
http://rt.com/news/yemen-demonstrations ... ities-593/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As Iraq smolders, Kurds sit on oil riches
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy ... 324580189/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rawalpindi—The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has ruled out a military takeover in the country
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=131693" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran Begins Straits of Hormuz Wargames
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/iran-begi ... z-wargames" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Erosion of N. Korean military discipline prompted repeated warnings from Kim
http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2011/12 ... -from-kim/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tens of thousands rally across Russia against Putin
http://www.haaretz.com/news/internation ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Beijing braces for mass unrest as Hu warns economy faces ‘grim outlook’ in 2012
http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2011/12 ... k-in-2012/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Breaking: Patriot Missiles Seized, Sold To China by Israel
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/12/23 ... -by-israel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sunspot 1376 which expanded rapidly is now rotating onto the western limb. Before it rotates out of direct Earth view, it is putting on a light show and the Solar X-Rays have increased as well. The photo below was taken Saturday morning by SDO.
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


......MERRY CHRISTMAS.......

[BroJones]

Thanks again, Jason.

This that you quoted made an impression:

Let me translate what I said above in a way that is a little easier to understand – the reality is that Durable Goods Orders are massively shrinking! If you were to measure the actual total widgets produced here in the United States, the numbers are dramatically less. What are we producing in reality? Dollars. Dollars backed by DEBT. Debt that pays interest to private individuals. The same individuals who are shipping our manufacturing overseas. The same individuals who where wrongly given the authority to produce money from nothing. Illegally and in direct conflict with the Constitution – Article 1, Section 8.

I'm afraid its quite true -- more an more, the US is "producing" or printing dollars from nothing. Ex nihilo. Federal reserve NOTES -- backed by debt; interest due and payable. Informative, loved the graphs -- very instructive. Compelling data. Thanks for the link -- and the QUOTE which got me started in the article.
Here it is again. http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1223.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Attached is corroborative data from a screen copy I made a while back.

[Jason]

Thanks again, Jason.

This that you quoted made an impression:

Let me translate what I said above in a way that is a little easier to understand – the reality is that Durable Goods Orders are massively shrinking! If you were to measure the actual total widgets produced here in the United States, the numbers are dramatically less. What are we producing in reality? Dollars. Dollars backed by DEBT. Debt that pays interest to private individuals. The same individuals who are shipping our manufacturing overseas. The same individuals who where wrongly given the authority to produce money from nothing. Illegally and in direct conflict with the Constitution – Article 1, Section 8.

I'm afraid its quite true -- more an more, the US is "producing" or printing dollars from nothing. Ex nihilo. Federal reserve NOTES -- backed by debt; interest due and payable. Informative, loved the graphs -- very instructive. Compelling data. Thanks for the link -- and the QUOTE which got me started in the article.
Here it is again. http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1223.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Attached is corroborative data from a screen copy I made a while back.

Of course its true. The banks have been printing money for nothing for decades....nothing new. In fact it required two parties - the bank + you & I. For every dollar created by debt...there is an IOU somewhere that somebody signed. The dollars are backed by the IOUs. The dollars only become worthless if its impossible to make good on the IOU. Hence the need for an iron fist to make sure those IOUs are enforced.

Some of the author's other stuff is misleading....and I say that with all respect as Nathan is one of my favorite financial bloggers. The guy who initially discovered and publicized debt saturation.

The graphic is also misleading. The Fed is a bank like all other banks...actually a corporate front for several private banks....who are a corporate front for several private individuals. It loans money against IOUs...which by nature inflates its balance sheet. But the Fed is only responsible for a small portion of the money created....so while the Fed's balance sheet has increased giving all the gold/silver bugs something to shout about.....the total money supply (as measured by the IOUs - i.e. total debt) has been shrinking since 2008 and is now down by a couple trillion despite government and Federal Reserve increases.

[Jason]

Magnitude 6.6 - SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 007dax.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Indonesia volcano eruption panics villagers
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... 5a7daf.2b1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UPDATE 1-Iran warns could stop oil flow if sanctions -IRNA
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/ ... 9R20111227" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran issues serious warning in naval exercise
http://en.trend.az/regions/iran/1973999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syrians to Arab League monitors: We want international protection
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Montanans Launch Recall of Senators Who Approved NDAA Military Detention. Merry Christmas, US Senate
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/dece ... recall.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gorbachev threatened with Third World War in 2012, when the non-socialist world government New World Order will be installed
http://translate.google.de/translate?sl ... ml&act=url" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...translation isn't the best....but the material is very interesting...

A near M-Class Solar Flare reaching C8.9 took place at 04:22 UTC Tuesday morning, this time located around Sunspot 1386 in the southeast quadrant. This region continues to expand in complexity and may produce stronger flares in the days ahead. The flare did produce a faint CME.
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kabuki financial theatre – Congress net worth up 15 percent from 2004 to 2010 while the average American sees their net worth decline by 8 percent in the same timeframe. Welcome to plutocrat USA
http://www.mybudget360.com/kabuki-finan ... 8-percent/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Home prices continue to decline at a faster pace than the supposed experts think. The Case-Shiller report for October says that the 20 city price index declined a seasonally adjusted .6% for the month, 1.2% not adjusted, and 3.4% for the year. Personally, my home’s assessment declined approximately 10% over that time period, so once again believing these figures is difficult.
http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1227.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wherever you look, unemployment amongst young people is far higher than the average. Still, the older generations think their children will pay to keep their pension money coming in anyway. With what, though?

The baby boomer generation, willingly or not, it makes no difference, have accumulated a large part of their wealth at the cost of the future. And perhaps, but only perhaps, we would be able to keep that mirage of borrowing from infinity going a little longer if we could keep the economy growing at 5-6-7% annually.

Thing is, we can't. We're stuck in the biggest and deepest credit crunch mankind has ever seen, and we haven't even started to see its true character. In fact, the only thing alleged to be a solution is more of the same: borrowing from the future. Which is what each and every bailout plan is. Nothing more, nothing less.

So we’re setting ourselves up for an epic fight that will tear our societies apart, rip them to shreds. Who's going to willingly give up their pension? Who’s going to volunteer to pay for other people's pensions when they can't even earn enough to feed their own kids? In the end, this will be decided by political power. Or rather, it would, provided we would be able to have our societies function more or less normally until then. What are the odds?

This is of course not all the whole coin, not all sides to it. Our major problems are seldom one- or even two-dimensional. The problem is much more perverted. We no longer have a functioning financial system, a functioning banking system, or a functioning political system for that matter. All these systems died on the same battlefield. Credit.

When it's no longer the fruits of his labor that determine a man's wealth, but the fruits of his wagers, when our leaders are those who are best connected to the moneylenders in the temple, instead of those that throw them out, there is no way we could not have ended up where we have.

Still, pitted against each other we will be. Whether in our own countries, or in skirmishes between countries -Europe-, or a WWIII over energy resources that keep the cattle at home docile, we will fall for it all again. We haven't learned much. But then again, maybe it isn't about learning after all.

We are ready and willing to destroy our societies, and eventually our planet, over a few scraps falling off the big table, like a Mac Mansion, an iPod, an SUV, because that is who we really are. Because we can make ourselves believe those are not scraps, that we are indeed kings now, seated at the table, and heaven knows we have lived better than ancient kings of any age over the past decades.

And most of all because we are no good at all at planning long-term. We can pay into a pension plan, that seems long-term, but at the very same time we can't figure out that if at some point there's less new contributors than older ones, that plan must and will implode.

We all will swear we love our children above anything in the world, and most would give their lives for their kids. And we honestly mean it when we say it.

The reality, however, is that we leave our children with a world that is polluted beyond recognition, in which species disappear at a rate 1000 times faster than before, and in which everything we’ve trained our kids for is vanishing right before their eyes.

Our "leaders" are psychopath lackeys of a long bankrupt financial system that uses its servants to gobble up the yet to be earned wealth of our progeny, and we just sit by and watch it happen.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... c+Earth%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2012: The Big Suck (2011 Review, 2012 Outlook)
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=2825821" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...agree wholeheartedly with most of his predictions...

Is There A Method To Their Vaccine Madness?
http://vactruth.com/2011/12/27/method-t ... e-madness/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

America's farmlands to be carpet-bombed with Vietnam-era Agent Orange chemical if Dow petition approved
http://www.naturalnews.com/034500_Agent ... 2-4-D.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

Equities are lower this morning with the dollar rising, oil lower than yesterday’s high but still over $100, gold & silver considerably lower, and unfortunately for the world food prices are significantly higher at the same time.

Yes, it’s the DEBT, stupid, for anyone left on the planet that still doesn’t get it! Deficits DO matter! It’s a viscous circle because our money is debt. Those who produce it profit, while those who service it become slaves to it. That’s the problem, and it doesn’t have to be that way!

Also note that Obama’s $1.2 Trillion continues the trajectory nearly straight up. Straight up is most definitely not sustainable – this WILL come to an end. The end will not be pretty, historic events will be occurring as it does.

And this debt is just the Federal Government debt! Then you must consider that the same population is also responsible to maintain all the debt in state governments, in local governments, in corporations, AND they must service their own personal debts! Impossible math just is.

And it is NOT possible to pay down the debt, because as you do you shrink the supply of money. And it is NOT possible to "inflate away debt" with money creation because our money is debt! Adding money adds debt, just look at the above charts! So, anyone who tells you that it's possible to inflate away our debt simply doesn't understand our money system (control you and profit from you system) or how we became debt saturated in the first place.

Money can come into existence without owing debt to any individuals! And before you shout INFLATION, yes, it is completely possible to do so without creating inflation, but it requires legitimate checks and balances.

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2011/1 ... -1228.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Run On The Global Banking System - How Close Are We?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-pos ... ose-are-we" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ECB's Risky Plan to Flood Banks with Cash
http://www.spiegel.de/international/eur ... 35,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Measure of Fear - Banks Bunker Hundreds of Billions in Deposits at ECB
http://www.spiegel.de/international/bus ... 40,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Obama Nation: Even More Debt And Even More Store Closings
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... e-closings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Home Prices Fall in Most Major US Cities: Case-Shiller
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45795202?__sourc ... g*&par=RSS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Italians Cut Spending in Worst Christmas in 10 Years; Debt in Spanish City of Gandia 50% Higher than Previously Reported; Harsh Times Ahead for All Europe
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Debt Crisis 2012: Forget Europe, Check Out Japan
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/de ... -out-japan" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan Industrial Production Declines 2.6%, 3rd Quarter Capital Spending Drops 9.8%, Corporate Sentiment Drops to Minus 4; Powder Keg Waiting for a Spark
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deflation’s Grip Returns in Japan as Factory Production Declines: Economy
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-1 ... slump.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. says China not currency manipulator; chides Japan
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/2 ... 4N20111228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Afghanistan Signs Major Oil Deal With China
http://www.rferl.org/content/major_afgh ... 36345.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BRIC Decade Ends as Growth Peaked: Goldman
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-1 ... wth-peaked" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

France Urges Iran To Respect Hormuz Shipping Rights
http://www.rferl.org/content/france_urg ... 36311.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. 5th Fleet won’t allow disruption in Hormuz; Iran says ‘really easy’ to close route
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2 ... 85028.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US warns Iran over threat to block oil route
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16348633" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US Navy Says Any Disruption To Straits Of Hormuz "Will Not Be Tolerated"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/us-navy-s ... -tolerated" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Navy: We will not allow Iran to stop flow of oil
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S., Israel Discuss Triggers for Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... cture.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. clandestine war build up
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/28/63048976.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





‘Russia and US are in for a very hard year’
http://rt.com/news/russia-us-reset-pushkov-797/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Russia test fires long-range missile with new warhead
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_ ... d_999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has thyroid cancer
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ancer.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...messing with the Brits in the Falklands...

Libya struggles with militias
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Libya ... s-20111227" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

California prisons shedding inmates fast
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/s ... adlines%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gun sales at record levels, according to FBI background checks
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/27/us/re ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama Nominates Carlyle Group man for “Federal” Reserve Board (History)
http://deadlinelive.info/2011/12/27/oba ... d-history/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your cell phone is out of your control
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/28/technol ... m?iid=Lead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The blame for 9/11 keeps shifting
http://dailycensored.com/2011/12/28/the ... ensored%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Debris Field The Size Of California From Japanese Tsunami Begins To Litter West Coast
http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/28/debri ... est-coast/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan Minister Goshi Hosono: I Think There’s A Very Strong Possibility That There Is Nuclear Fuel Outside The Containment Vessel (Video)
http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2011/12/ ... Unknown%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TEPCO says it 'no longer owns' Fukushima fallout
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/wo ... 6230764047" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mobile fluoride vans to target communities that voted to remove chemical from public water supply
http://www.naturalnews.com/034499_fluor ... upply.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Leading Cause of Breast Cancer: Medical Radiation
http://cryptogon.com/?p=26674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gamalama Eruption Leaves Bitter Taste, Dead Crops in Spice Islands
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/gam ... nds/487412" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Philippine flood toll rises to 1,249
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Phili ... 9_999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

Thanks for the updates today Jason! I liked David vs. Monsanto for sure! And this vaccine video totally hit home - I've lived with Fibromyalgia for years now, and it's horrible to know that I struggle with it as a result of corruption so others can get rich at my expense, and the expense of so many others!

Your welcome Jules! Glad to be of service!!! There will definitely be a price to be paid (justice) for a lot of people (me thinks) who have willingly supported the gadiantons in exchange for their little slice of the pie $$$.....

Iran Outlines Key Steps And Actors In A Potential Straits Of Hormuz Closure
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/iran-outl ... uz-closure" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syria unrest continues as Arab League monitors fan out
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16350047" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dlbww]

.

[Like]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zp6A-l- ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

uncut version of the interview for anyone who maybe interested

[BroJones]

Could it happen here?

(CNN) -- In Homs, Syria's third-largest city and a focus of resistance to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, snipers pose a direct threat to civilians. But the risk of being shot is just one problem they face -- their daily challenge is finding food, fuel and medical care.

One foreign journalist and film-maker who was recently in Homs said trash was piling up in the streets and fighting has led to a shutdown of basic services. CNN has agreed not to name the journalist for his own security.

While people are not yet starving, he said food was becoming harder to find. The journalist filmed a long line of people queueing for bread in the district of al Khalediyah. One man described his struggle to eat: "I have not eaten bread for 10 days. With all these checkpoints and the constant shooting it is almost impossible to move around." ...

[Jason]

Could it happen here?

(CNN) -- In Homs, Syria's third-largest city and a focus of resistance to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, snipers pose a direct threat to civilians. But the risk of being shot is just one problem they face -- their daily challenge is finding food, fuel and medical care.

One foreign journalist and film-maker who was recently in Homs said trash was piling up in the streets and fighting has led to a shutdown of basic services. CNN has agreed not to name the journalist for his own security.

While people are not yet starving, he said food was becoming harder to find. The journalist filmed a long line of people queueing for bread in the district of al Khalediyah. One man described his struggle to eat: "I have not eaten bread for 10 days. With all these checkpoints and the constant shooting it is almost impossible to move around." ...

It will....just a matter of when???? This year? Next year? .....

[Jason]

The failure of Monsanto's genetically modified Bt corn, which accounts for 65 percent of all corn grown in the US, has produced a new generation of insects resistant to the built-in pesticide in such plants. This failure could be the most serious threat ever to a genetically modified crop in the US, with billions of dollars at stake
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... artTest_C3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

3 Filthy Truths About Vaccines and Cancer
http://vactruth.com/2011/12/30/3-filthy ... es-cancer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The federal government's total liabilities, unfunded obligations, and commitments and contingencies grew to over $65 trillion, an increase of over $4 trillion in one year!
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2 ... aspx#page1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

European Credit Crunch Hits Broad Economy As M3, Private Loans Collapse
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/european- ... s-collapse" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eurozone credit crunch fears on M3 money contraction
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... ction.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

European Banks Close 2011 With Near Record Cash On Deposit At ECB, €9 Billion Overnight Increase
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/european- ... t-increase" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

French Unemployment Hits 12-Year High (It's Going to Get Much Worse); Sarkozy Outlines Jobs Plan (Mathematically It Can't Work); Olli Rehn to Give Keynote Speech at Eurobond Seminar
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spain's economy worsening, says central bank
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... -bank.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Explaining Italian Christmas Season Sales (It's Far Worse Than Previously Reported); How Various Austerity Measures Will Affect Spending in 2012; Emails from Italian Readers; Massive European Recession On the Way
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The EU And IMF Watch In Horror As Everything Goes To Hell In Hungary
http://www.businessinsider.com/everythi ... us-2011-12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mom and pop will finally clue in to this in 2012, and get -their money- out of harm's way. Well, either that or lose it. Their money, that is. Perhaps their minds too. And their homes. Their jobs.

$800 billion a month of rollover financing, every single month for three years.

The market for unsecured bonds issued by banks is dead. And they no longer have any collateral left to issue secured bonds. So what will they do?

Saw this Guardian headline yesterday: Liquidity crunch fears stalk markets. I’d say that should have read Solvency crunch fears stalk markets. The ECB has taken care of short term liquidity. But to no avail.

Collateral equals solvency. The ECB loans equal liquidity. And liquidity means nothing if you're insolvent. Inevitably, banks will start to fall by the wayside. Even some of the Too-Big-To-Fail ones.

As will countries. There is no chance - well, I’ll give you 1% or 2% - that Greece will still be part of an unchanged Eurozone a year from now. Chances for Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain may be a bit higher, but certainly not by much. France will face huge market pressure. And presidential elections.

Every government, in Europe and in the US, is busy working on contagion plans, just like this one, over the holidays. Bank holidays are considered, capital controls, travel restrictions.

In order to keep the basics of their economies going in case of financial disaster, governments will need to make sure they have the means to cover basic necessities. In a world where most of the energy and food is imported, that is a herculean task.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... c+Earth%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

$135 Billion Redeemed From US Equity Mutual Funds In 2011, 34 Of 35 Consecutive Weekly Outflows
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/135-billi ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oil Inventories Jump And Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Drops To 28 Month Low
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/oil-inven ... -month-low" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Analyst: Deeper home prices coming, could be a good thing
http://www.housingwire.com/2011/12/30/a ... ingWire%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...sure less ability to leverage new debt (more contraction in the money in circulation)...

Refinery Crunch In Europe
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/refinery-crunch-europe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jim Rogers not optimistic about anything but agriculture
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/fii-vi ... 41651.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...my view as well....although industrial agriculture is on the edge of the razor blade....I'm for local production...

Portraits of the Southwest in the Shadow of Drought
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/scien ... .html?_r=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2011 saw a spike in climate disasters around the world, with a corresponding spike in global food prices.
http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2011/12 ... -2011.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FDA draws criticism after U-turn on antibiotics in animal feed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/de ... sfeed=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Listen – do you want to survive? Do you want to have something edible on your plate? Do you seriously believe that what you currently buy from the supermarkets and hypermarkets is actually providing you with your nutritional needs? Do you even care? Or are you “too busy to think about it.” Do you ever read the label on the packaging? Do you know what all those ‘e’ numbers are or mean? The synthetic preservatives, colours and additives which form a significant part of the ‘food’ you eat – do you realise what they are doing to you and your children and your grandchildren?

Well I’ll tell you: they are destroying your immune systems – that’s what they are doing. They are eating away at your natural resistance to disease. They are hardening your arteries. They are blocking up the valves of your heart. They are contributing to the chances of getting cancer. Have you noticed that people are getting sick more and more frequently? If you haven’t noticed you must have been asleep for the past decade. How many times have you felt “really well” recently? Not often? Have you wondered why?

Do you take an interest in the quality of what you put in your belly? Yes? Then why do you still go to those huge supermarket stores that sell you junk food wrapped up in pretty packaging? Did you know that the ‘fresh food’ they sell you is never less than 4 days old? That it has often travelled half way around the world before it gets to you? That it is coming from huge monocultural fields whose soils have been soused with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and nitrates? You don’t know what nitrates are? They are toxic stimulants that force plants to grow faster and bigger than they would naturally. All large scale commercial farmers use them. The residues from these nitrates land up in our drinking water – and therefore in our bellies – and so do the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. So do you begin to get the picture?

But that’s not all! Oh no, whenever you buy those bakery products chances are you are getting genetically modified soya added to the flour – and ever wondered what that might be doing to you, slowly, over many years? No? Well, nor do the transnational corporations that profit from the sales. But we have strong evidence that they are contributing to the loss of your natural reproductive powers – yes – bringing on sterility. Oh, you don’t mind that you or your family may never be able to have children? You’re willing to risk this most precious gift of reproduction by ingesting GM residues ? They are not only in the bakery products but also come through in the milk and meat from all those livestock being fed GM soya and maize. Did you know that your government has not banned feeding genetically modified feed to animals? That it hasn’t even banned the growing of GM crops? Are you going to simply turn the other way and allow your government to quietly permit the irreversible genetic pollution of your food chain and beautiful countryside? Or will you get involved in preventing such a tragedy from ever happening?

Then what about all the refined white flour and sugar in these bakery foods? And what about this so called ‘flour’ – do you know how much wheat there is in most loaves of bread? Well – no one is going to tell you because if they did you would stop buying it.

Now then, I see some of you are still not convinced. If you don’t care what you put in your tummy, then perhaps you do at least care about what and who you are supporting when you purchase your food? You might care to know that when you buy this ‘stuff’ that passes for food in the big supermarkets and in many other shops unfortunately – you are directly supporting what is known as ‘factory farming’. Factory farming: those two words should make you feel a little sick, but then some of you are so thick skinned that it doesn’t. So I explain: factory farming is mass production of foods using techniques which are just about as inhumane as one could get. In the case of commercial meat, the pigs and chickens that provide a high percent of all meat eaten in your Country are raised in animal concentration camps. Their food is typically composed of genetically modified (maize and soya) that has been grown on vast sterile fields somewhere in the USA, Canada, Argentina, China or Brazil, fields that also demand large additions of agrichemicals. Then they are crushed for animal consumption and have antibiotics and other synthetic additives and fillers added to them. The hens and the pigs that are fed this toxic mix are kept in vast sheds with little or no access to daylight or the outdoors. They have no space. They cannot roam or play, and live out their brief lives on concrete floors under harsh neon lights. How long do they live? The fattening pigs maybe five months and the hens maybe three months. Egg laying hens and those for meat.

Then they get slaughtered – in their thousands. Just three months old. Humanely raised chickens can easily live happy lives for five years. Pigs considerably longer. But, dear supermarket consumer, you would really rather not know all this. You would rather prefer to believe the lovely adverts on TV which show contented hens running around in some field and smiling piggies gobbling buckets of delicious mash in their straw covered yard. Yes, that’s how they sell us the message about our food. And you swallow their sugary virtual reality message without ever questioning it?

Every time you do this you are consciously choosing to give your support to an inhumane factory farm – and to the corporations that manufacture the GM foods and agrichemicals – and to the vast supermarket chains that purchase this sad food, in full knowledge of the way it is raised. You see, we are complicit in the establishment of these vast profit making prisons. They wouldn’t exist if we didn’t support them through buying their produce. WE are the ones who condemn these animals to a life of purgatory. WE are the ones who, by choosing ‘not to know’ give license to huge corporations to take over control of the food chain and of our own lives. WE are submitting ourselves to becoming slaves to systems that are beneath the basic dignity of both the human and animal kingdom.

http://farmwars.info/?p=7671&utm_source ... rm+Wars%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran announces long-range missile test amid Strait of Hormuz row with U.S.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... s-1.404591" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran to start missile tests in the Persian Gulf
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15637376,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Strait of Hormuz standoff: Iran films US aircraft carrier
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... rrier.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran-U.S. brinkmanship over Strait of Hormuz nears breaking point
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/29 ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US commander visits Israel to finalize missile drill
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=250249" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

IDF Chief: Nuclear Iran a threat to entire region, not just to Israel
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-d ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran raises anti-US threat level. Israel's C-of-S warns of potential for regional war
http://www.debka.com/article/21606/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Slip-Sliding to War with Iran: The Stage is Now Set for a New War
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=28412" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Justifying War with Iran
http://whowhatwhy.com/2011/12/26/justif ... with-iran/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

KAHLILI: The coming war with Iran
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... medium=RSS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Turkish PM 'Regrets' Killing Of Kurdish Civilians In Air Strike
http://www.rferl.org/content/turkey_reg ... 38250.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pakistan going ahead with IP pipeline, despite US coercions
http://tribune.com.pk/story/314087/paki ... coercions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pakistan backs Iran’s nuclear bid
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDe ... 369&Cat=13" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syrian opposition: All-out civil uprising near
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 63,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syrians Stage Mass Protests, 11 Dead
http://www.rferl.org/content/clashes_re ... 38426.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hundreds of thousands rally in Syria as 32 reported killed
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MSM News, 6 Months Late: “Obama Secretly Preparing for Syria Intervention”
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/12 ... ht-to-msm/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SOUTH CHINA SEA TURMOIL \'Cold War\' heats-up as Obama declares to assert against China
http://www.radianceweekly.com/283/7939/ ... china.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan, India agree to boost maritime security cooperation
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011 ... ation.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Libyan society falling apart without anti-Gaddafi glue
http://endthelie.com/2011/12/30/libyan- ... the+Lie%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Majority of U.S. Foreign Aid is Now Military Aid
http://publicintelligence.net/the-major ... itary-aid/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Today, Afghanistan provides 90+% of the world's heroin while the largest military action in the 21st Century takes place in that country; the opium poppies in many cases grow right up to the razor wire of American bases.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/12/ ... state.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We went after the Taliban, not because of 9/11, that would require us attacking Tel Aviv and GOP headquarters. We went into Afghanistan because of oil and gas pipelines and to run drugs. We are thieves and liars.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/12/29 ... ith-yemen/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

White House Refuses to Inform Lawmakers About Drone Operations
http://publicintelligence.net/white-hou ... perations/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

‘Fast and Furious’ Linked to Immunity Deal Between U.S. and Sinaloa Cartel, Trafficking Defendant Alleges in Court Papers
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/fast-an ... rafficking" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Implications of September 11 Flight Transponder Signal Losses
http://911blogger.com/news/2011-12-29/i ... nal-losses" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New 9/11 Timeline Entries: Nuclear War Exercise on 9/11, NORAD Commanders' Delayed Response to Attacks, and More
http://911blogger.com/news/2011-12-29/n ... s-and-more" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two Four Star Generals Write New York Times Op-ed Against NDAA and Indefinite Detention of American
http://theintelhub.com/2011/12/21/two-f ... americans/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Government to government plan to seize control of all foods
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/go ... all-foods/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In case you missed it, Google is now a credentialed provider of Trusted Identities for the federal government. This means that the NSTIC, or National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, framework now has federally recognized and certified identity providers.
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/21 ... Google-SEO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. court upholds telecom immunity for surveillance
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-court-u ... 46702.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Reuters: Radiation tests underway on dead and diseased seals in Alaska — Suffering bleeding lesions, hair loss
http://enenews.com/reuters-dead-disease ... loss-photo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gov't request for nuclear storage facility site sends shockwaves through Fukushima
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/201 ... 4000c.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sunspot 1389 is back at it again, this time producing a moderate M2.0 s/f at 21:51 UTC Thursday evening. There is now a 5% chance for an X-Class event according to NOAA
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Finland] A record number of households had to spend the night without electricity in the aftermath of Monday's powerful storm. Up to 200,000 thousand people are suffering from power cuts, as new storm winds caused more damage
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/12/ ... 30070.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[UK] Mystery foam engulfs northern seaside town
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... sfeed=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deadly Cyclone Thane hits southern India
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011 ... 93671.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Alaska volcano erupts, sends ash cloud 15,000 feet into sky
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/a ... 0-feet-sky" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What's erupting? Map of currently active volcanoes
http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/erupting_volcanoes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

South Pole Records Warmest Temperature on Record
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weathe ... ntrynum=55" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

Sunspot 1389 produced two M-Class solar flares on Thursday, the largest of which being an M2.0 event. An M1 flare also took place very early on Friday morning.

C-Class flares were detected Friday afternoon around Sunspot 1387 which is now located on the western limb and also Sunspot 1389. There will remain the threat for moderate solar flares heading into the weekend.
http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US aircraft carrier 'spotted' in Iran wargames zone
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0%2C73 ... %2C00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to operational-level military sources, an Ohio-class nuclear submarine is on its way to the Gulf of Hormuz. Rotation and leave were cancelled for the cruise-missile carrying sub, which is based at the US Navy base in Bremerton, Washington.
http://www.speroforum.com/a/ITRRCTBPLL1 ... Spero+News" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran's senior navy commander is denying state media reports that the Islamic Republic has test-fired long-range missiles during a naval drill.
http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_test_ ... 38864.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran Navy says long-range missile tests delayed, refuting state media
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Arab League monitors demand that Syria remove snipers from rooftops
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. finalizes $30 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... a-1.404461" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. seals $3.48 billion weapons deal with United Arab Emirates
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east ... bled=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Afghanistan's Kandahar Airfield an alleged heroin hotbed
http://www.straight.com/article-571351/ ... oin-hotbed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

European banks hold as much as $10 trillion in claims against their U.S. counterparts, which reflects how vulnerable the North American financial system is to Europe's debt crisis, Forbes reports, citing Princeton University research
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Forbes- ... /id/422564" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. refineries exported a record amount of refined fuels in 2011 to markets in South America, Central America and Europe. It was one reason why Americans spent a record amount on gasoline this year: Supplies that might have helped lower prices here had been shipped abroad.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/30/1 ... fined.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

S. 1698: Enemy Expatriation Act
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-1698" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

H.R. 3166: Enemy Expatriation Act
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3166" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oppose Government, Lose Citizenship, Go Straight to Gitmo
http://farmwars.info/?p=7681&utm_source ... rm+Wars%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI)–the government computer system that projects the dispersal of radioactive substances–was designed to pinpoint which areas should be evacuated after a nuclear accident. However, the government initially withheld SPEEDI’s projections after the Fukushima nuclear crisis erupted, claiming that releasing the data “would cause unnecessary panic.”
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111229004169.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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.....Well folks...I reckon that wraps up 2011. I figure 2012 should prove plenty exciting. As such I'm personally going to cash and making final attempts at clearing out debt. I'm also focusing on doing more than talking. As such I'm signing off of LDSFF. For the most part its just a battle of opinions in which few opinions (if any) really get changed. There are some nuggets of value here and there....and some golden participants....and I won't start naming all of them. But taken as a whole its typically banter about meaningless stuff (boob jobs)....or stuff we can't do much about (voting for XYZ in a Dominion controlled game)....or history and opinions that don't change the history (9/11) and aren't doing much to change the future (martial law). At the end of the day we are in a world of declining moral constraint and will soon reap the rewards for our choices. Nothing except fundamental basic repentance is going to change that. The church is a wheat/tares church. We have folks that have put kids on missions but whom justify violation of fundamental principles of liberty (as well as being fundamentally dishonest in their paradigm). Or folks that claim to be members yet deny doctrine preached and practiced by the prophets like polygamy (again fundamentally dishonest in their paradigm). This isn't to beat people up but simply point out the fact that it is indeed a wheat/tares church and arguing back and forth about it gets us nowhere. Which brings up the key point here -

"What will make the gentiles repent?" And President Hinckley replied, "A plague."
[made after Cleansing of America was written - 1994....President Hinckley became prophet on March 12, 1995]

I've tried to focus on adding value via Blipits and a priority on providing information rather than opinion. That said I'm the first to admit to being very opinionated and ego oriented. Anyways Blipits is really no more than putting a watermark on the side of the Titanic....perhaps useful to some but at the end of the day....does nothing to save the ship or passengers. OK perhaps there's some useful financial or health information that could be useful to some...in fact I tried to put together the history as I know it with an attempt at creating a wake up concerning the big watermark on the Titanic...but its really trivial in the long term and doesn't pay off debt, secure savings, increase spirituality, secure herbs (yarrow - plague), store food, produce food, and is no iron rod. Just a daily watermark.

I'm grateful to have been of service to the many Blipit's readers....but alas....tis time to move on. You can continue to secure 95% or more of that information (though perhaps with some slightly deeper wading....at your own drinking speed) via my blog links on the right hand column of the blog.

http://yophat.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In fact....I'd dare say you could get the vast majority of information via these couple of links (also on the blog) -

http://nakedempire2.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.trunews.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.zerohedge.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://revolutionradio.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dailyjobcuts.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.stevequayle.com/index1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...and most of the sites pull a lot of information from each other. If I had limit it to 4...it would be: Zero Hedge, Naked Empire, Tru News, and The Extinction Protocol.

Also....for a real world look at collapse and everything that goes with it here's my personal favorite (and unlike Dennis' raving picture painting of Argentina - this is the real deal) - Ferfal

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well my friends I wish you the very best in this progression experience we call life (at the end of times). May we do our best to build the kingdom (one that will last) and Godspeed in that effort!!!

[BroJones]

.I reckon that wraps up 2011. I figure 2012 should prove plenty exciting. As such I'm personally going to cash and making final attempts at clearing out debt. I'm also focusing on doing more than talking. -- Jason

Jason -- I just read your "last " post above. Sincerely, I hope you will return! Your insights have had an impact on me. Good idea to go to cash, for example, and getting out of debt.

Now I want to see the vids you posted above. That last one is great!

Come back when you can, brother!

[moonwhim]

Jason, God speed in your efforts for God, Family, and Country......I will miss your strong stands and thirst for knowledge.