Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Lord Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild was a member of Blackstone's board. What did Rothschild know and when did he know it?

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/02/18464823.php

http://www.rense.com/general77/POWERS.HTM

Blackstone Rejects SEC Request for Fund Data as Fortress Agrees

http://www.dejanlucic.net/THE%20ROTHSCHILD%20OCTOPUS

What Bloomberg news report does not reveal: For over a year (2007-2008), Lord Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild was a member of Blackstone's board. What did Rothschild know and when did he know it?

http://iamthewitness.com/books/George.Armstrong/Rothschild.Money.Trust.htm


March 30 -- Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest private-equity firm, rebuffed a request from securities regulators to publicly disclose the performance of its buyout and hedge funds while Fortress Investment Group LLC agreed.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked both New York-based companies to include fund returns in their financial reports, according to letters the agency released earlier this month. Fortress did so in its annual report. Blackstone told the SEC it wouldn’t....

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article1101531.ece

Buyout firms and hedge-fund managers are accustomed to operating in private, and the decisions by both companies to sell shares to the public in 2007 sparked debate over how much information they would divulge. Returns are an important indicator of a firm’s ability to attract new cash from clients and increase revenue, said Conrad Weymann, managing partner at Mallory Capital Group LLC, a Darien, Connecticut-based investment bank.

“In this game, it’s track record, track record, track record,” said Weyman, whose firm raises money for private- equity and private real-estate funds.

The SEC asked Blackstone and Fortress last year to publish “performance information” in future filings. The SEC requested details including the name of each fund, the date it was formed, assets under management and net return for each period presented in the filing.

In explaining why investors should get the data, the SEC cited Blackstone’s and Fortress’s own words in previous filings. Both had warned investors that subpar performance could hinder future revenue and their ability to start new funds.

Augmentations

Daniel Bass, Fortress’s chief financial officer, responded in a Jan. 26 letter to the SEC that the company would “augment our disclosure” by providing a performance table for “all significant funds” in its annual report.

The chart in the company’s annual report, issued March 16, included returns on 25 private-equity funds and seven hedge funds with combined assets of about $29 billion at Dec. 31.

The company didn’t provide annual performance figures for buyout funds that were still making investments or were less than a year old, stating instead that some had returns to date that were “significantly negative.”

Blackstone Chief Financial Officer Laurence Tosi told the SEC in a Dec. 5 letter that disclosure of detailed performance data wasn’t required under applicable regulations and wasn’t a meaningful measurement of operating results.

“The individual rates of return have no direct impact on our financials and therefore we question the relevance to our investors,” Tosi said in the letter.

No Fund Data

Blackstone’s March 2 annual report disclosed that the fair value of its private-equity funds had a net depreciation of 32 percent last year, compared with net appreciation of 16 percent in 2007.

Blackstone had about $91 billion in fee-earning assets under management at Dec. 31, including $25.5 billion in private- equity funds and $22.9 billion in real-estate funds. The remaining $42.6 billion was in hedge funds and funds that invest in hedge funds.

Peter Rose, a Blackstone spokesman, declined to comment of the firm’s letter, which the SEC released March 16. Fortress spokeswoman Lilly Donohue didn’t return a telephone call seeking comment on its letter, released March 20.

In the prospectus for its initial public offering, Blackstone said it intends to be a “different kind of public company” whose managers take a long-term perspective. The firm won’t provide earnings forecasts because the performance of its businesses may vary in “significant and unexpected ways” from quarter to quarter, according to the filing.

Review Finished

The SEC said in a Jan. 30 follow-up letter to Blackstone that the agency had completed its review and had no further comments “at this time.”

Andy Schoeffler, a staff attorney in the agency’s division of corporation finance who was listed as a contact in the letter, declined to comment.

Buyout funds use a combination of capital raised from investors and debt to take over companies. They seek to boost the companies’ earnings through increased sales and cost- cutting. Hedge funds are private pools of capital, largely unregulated, that invest in anything from stocks and bonds to commodities, futures, derivatives and real estate.

Long Term

Because private-equity funds earn their returns by purchasing and then selling companies over a seven- to 10-year period, annual performance figures can be misleading, particularly in the early life of the partnership, said Marc Bonavitacola, who analyzes and examines buyout funds for Boston- based SVG Advisers Inc.

A private-equity fund’s actual returns can’t be judged until all the companies it has invested in have been fixed up and sold, he said.

While it would be helpful to have more disclosure, “I understand why Blackstone doesn’t want to do it,” said Daniel Fannon, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. in San Francisco. “These are points in time and the private-equity funds have a much longer life.”

Workers Rights in America: Unraveling the Card Check Debate

Where's Eliot Spitzer Now That We Need Him?

Rothschilds & Rockefellers – Trillionaires Of The World: The power of the Rothschild family was evidenced on 24 Sept 2002 when a helicopter touched down on the lawn of Waddedson Manor, their ancestral home in Buckinghamshire, England. Out of the helicopter strode Warren Buffet, – touted as the second richest man in the World but really a lower ranking player- and Arnold Schwarzenegger (the gropinator), at that time a candidate for the Governorship of California. Also in attendance at this two day meeting of the World’s most powerful businessmen and financiers hosted by Jacob Rothschild were James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank and Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers. Arnold went on to secure the governorship of one of the biggest economies on the planet a year later. That he was initiated into the ruling class in the Rothschilds’ English country manor suggests that the centre of gravity of the three hundred trillion dollar cartel is in the U.K. and Europe not the U.S....


Jacob Frank, et l'alliance des faux Juifs avec les Rothschild et les
Illuminati.
....

Le règne millénaire du Messie n'était pas venu !

Mais les œuvres de Shabbatai Zevi circulèrent sous le manteau, et son
influence continua à s'étendre. Cinquante ans plus tard, naissait en
Pologne Yakov Ben Judah Leib Frankovitch (1726-1791), fils d'un rabbin.
Devenu négociant, il parcourut le Moyen-Orient. En Turquie, à l'âge de
29 ans, il fut pleinement initié aux rites secrets de la secte des
Donmeh, héritiers de Shabbatai Zevi. De retour en Pologne, il changea
son nom en celui de "Frank".

Les enseignements mystiques secrets de Shabbatai Zevi étaient
complètement contraires aux commandements de la Torah et du Talmud.
Frank transmit ces enseignements en Europe Centrale. Il fonda la secte
hérétique Juive des Frankistes.

Frank prétendait recevoir des révélations directes du Seigneur. Il
poussa ses partisans à se convertir au Christianisme (en fait, au
Catholicisme), tout en continuant à suivre leur religion secrète. Comme
Shabbatai Zevi et Nathan de Gaza, ils s'engageaient dans toutes les
activités interdites par la Loi, en particulier sur le plan sexuel. Tout
cela devait prouver qu'en abandonnant la Torah, ils pouvaient avoir
accès à une sagesse divine plus élevée et à des connaissances mystiques
plus profondes. En fait, leurs pratiques étaient du pur satanisme.

De cette manière, les disciples de Shabbatai et de Frank, en refusant de
se soumettre à la Torah et d'obéir aux commandements de Dieu, avaient
inventé une nouvelle loi qu'ils pouvaient librement contrôler. Tels la
"petite corne" de Daniel, ils en étaient venus à se proclamer eux-mêmes
Dieu.

Cette fausse conversion des Frankistes au Christianisme ne devait être,
pour eux, qu'une étape pour atteindre leur future religion messianique
mondiale.

Un grand nombre de Juifs Polonais se convertirent au Frankisme, ce qui
attira l'attention de la noblesse polonaise. Devant l'ampleur du
phénomène, l'Eglise Catholique fit juger Jacob Frank, qui fut emprisonné
pendant 13 ans, de 1760 à 1773.

A sa sortie de prison, Frank émigra en Autriche, où Marie-Thérèse,
l'Archiduchesse d'Autriche, l'engagea pour servir de porte-parole des
Chrétiens auprès des Juifs. Fort de la protection de l'Archiduchesse,
Frank commença à vouloir se faire passer pour le Messie. Mais, cette
fois, à l'image de son maître Shabbatai Zevi qui s'était "sacrifié pour
racheter l'Islam", ce nouveau faux Messie s'était "sacrifié pour
racheter l'Eglise Catholique", en se convertissant au Christianisme.
Frank en vint à nommer douze disciples féminins, qui étaient en fait ses
concubines, ainsi que douze disciples masculins, qui étaient ses émissaires.

La cour de Vienne commença à douter de la conversion de Frank, et à
penser qu'il n'était en fait qu'un Juif sous une apparence Chrétienne.

Déjà excommunié par les rabbins Juifs, Frank fut expulsé de Vienne par
les autorités Catholiques. A l'âge de 60 ans, en 1786, il vint se fixer
dans le petit village d'Offenbach, en Hesse, près de Francfort,
entraînant avec lui une véritable cour de 600 personnes.

De mystérieux nouveaux bienfaiteurs avaient pourvu à ses besoins financiers.

A cette époque, Francfort était le quartier général d'un Jésuite, Adam
Weishaupt, fondateur des Illuminati, ainsi que le siège des Rothschild,
qui étaient en train de se tailler un empire financier. Il est important
de comprendre que la ville allemande de Francfort a été le berceau à la
fois des Illuminati et de l'empire Rothschild.

Quand Frank vint s'installer à Offenbach, dans la banlieue de Francfort,
il avait déjà conclu une alliance avec Weishaupt et les Rothschild.
Weishaupt apportait toutes les ressources de l'Ordre des Jésuites, et
les Rothschild fournissaient les finances. Quant à Frank, il leur
faisait bénéficier de tout le réseau de ses agents, dans le monde
Chrétien comme dans le monde Islamique.

Plus tard, Weishaupt s'infiltra, avec les agents Frankistes, dans les
Loges Maçonniques. Tous les rituels initiatiques furent modifiés. Par le
moyen des loges maçonniques, le message secret anti-Torah de Shabbatai
Zevi se répandit dans le monde entier.

Les Frankistes furent aussi très actifs pendant la Révolution française
et l'Empire Napoléonien, dissimulés sous une apparence de bons et loyaux
Catholiques.

On peut affirmer que Frank maintint en vie et développa les idées de
Shabbatai Zevi, pour en faire l'un des mouvements les plus importants du
18e siècle. Selon de nombreux spécialistes, ce furent ces idées qui
inspirèrent, entre autres, les Révolutions Américaine, Française et
Turque. Elles contribuèrent aussi à créer les branches du Judaïsme
Conservateur et du Judaïsme Réformé.

En 1994, le Rabbi Marvin Antelman, Président de la Cour Suprême
Rabbinique d'Israël, publia deux ouvrages fondamentaux : "To Eliminate
the Opiate, Vol. 1 and 2".

Il explique dans ces livres de quelle manière certains responsables
politiques Israéliens travaillent en fait à détruire le cœur et l'âme
d'Israël.

Ce fut ce même Rabbi Antelman qui excommunia Henry Kissinger....

...

"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who
makes her laws"

Meyer Rothschild, the most powerful man who ever lived.

For many years the words international banker, Rothschild, Money and Gold have held a mystical type of fascination for many people around the world but particularly in the United States.

Over the years in the United States, the international bankers have come in for a great deal of criticism by a wide variety of individuals who have held high offices of public trust - men whose opinions are worthy of note and whose responsibilities placed them in positions where they knew what was going on behind the scenes in politics and high finance.

President Andrew Jackson, the only one of our presidents whose administration totally abolished the National Debt, condemned the international bankers as a "den of vipers" which he was determined to "rout out" of the fabric of American life. Jackson claimed that if only the American people understood how these vipers operated on the American scene "there would a revolution before morning."

Congressman Louis T. McFadden who, for more than ten years, served as chairman of the Banking and Currency Committee, stated that the international bankers are a "dark crew of financial pirates who would cut a man's throat to get a dollar out of his pocket... They prey upon the people of these United States."

John F. Hylan, then mayor of New York, said in 1911 that "the real menace of our republic is the invisible government which, like a giant octopus, sprawls its slimy length over our city, state and nation. At the head is a small group of banking houses, generally referred to as 'international bankers.'"

Were these leading public figures correct in their assessment of the situation, or were they the victims of some exotic form of paranoia?

Let's examine history analytically and unemotionally and uncover the facts. The truth, as it unfolds, will prove to be eye-opening and educational to those who are seeking to more clearly understand the mind-boggling events that have been (and are) taking place on the national and international scenes.

http://der-stuermer.org/rothschildeng.htm


Swiss National bank (Banque Nationale Suisse) agreed to sell half of all its Gold in 1998 under pressure from the Jewish groups....

Swiss National Bank sold its gold when its price was lowest in international markets in 2004.

http://www.horizons-et-debats.ch/12/adieu%20or.htm

Swiss National Bank bailed out Jewish UBS-Warburg (USA) with 60 billion CHF loan in 2008.

Swiss National bank borrowed money from Jewish-FEDERAL RESERVE at interest... thus compromising GREATLY its monetary independence while it could have just printed the money at no charge (& without the risk of inflation).

Swiss National bank makes a loss of 21 billion Swiss Francs in 2010 on currency exchange.

Swiss National Bank announces it will not be able to pay 2 billion CHF to Swiss Cantons annually anymore because of the loss of 21 billion CHF.

Some Jews have control of Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Federal council is utterly silent.... If it is not FULL control, it is incompetence for the least but i am among those silent people who think it is infiltration of Switzerland by JEWS and Zionist-JEWS only.

"Establish the FACTS (as above) and TRUTH will attend to itself"
"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who
makes her laws"
Meyer Rothschild, the most powerful man who ever lived.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, discusses the global financial crisis as an opportunity for strategic investments


'We Are Coming to Invest, says the smartest Leader'

Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, discusses the global financial crisis as an opportunity for strategic investments, how it is changing the balance of economic powers and his country's role in fostering peace in the tinderbox Middle East and Gulf region.

New construction in Doha: After years of spending domestically, Qatar is now considering foreign investments as the crisis drives down the value of blue-chip firms in Europe.

New construction in Doha: After years of spending domestically, Qatar is now considering foreign investments as the crisis drives down the value of blue-chip firms in Europe.

SPIEGEL: Your Highness, Qatar's economy may grow another 13 percent in 2009, and your people, with a per capita income of €72,000 Euros, are one of the richest in the world. Are people in Qatar even noticing the fact we are currently experiencing a worldwide economic crisis?

Hamad: Of course we feel this. Within one year the price of oil fell from almost $150 per barrel to less than $50. This limits our ambitions. But I expected the price of oil to go down one day because we already suffered from this after 1973. When the oil price went up we became so rich. People bought a lot of things and they travelled every summer. Then the oil price went down and everything shrank. Since then, I have sought to avoid letting this happen again.

SPIEGEL: The Gulf countries have accumulated enormous wealth over the past years. How do you plan to invest it?

Hamad: Up until now, we have spent most of this money domestically, on infrastructure, on factories, hospitals and universities. But two years ago we started to invest outside the country. With the current crisis, many countries prefer to keep their money instead of investing it abroad. For us, though, this is an opportunity that will not be repeated in the next 20 years. We have, for example, acquired 16 percent of shares in Barclays bank (in Britain) and 10 percent of Credit Suisse. We are going ahead.

SPIEGEL: Kuwait and, just a week ago, Abu Dhabi have invested in the Daimler group. What plans do you have in Germany?

Hamad: Germany is a very important industrial country. We know that the Germans are hard workers, we know that they will fight for their economy. We also discussed Daimler. To invest in such companies is a first rate opportunity. Of course we are coming to invest in Germany -- that is certain. Most airplanes in the fleet of Qatar Airways are from Airbus. We went for Boeing last year for once because you were not able to produce your airplanes in time.

SPIEGEL: Your Highness, have you heard of a car manufacturer named Opel?

Hamad: Yes.

SPIEGEL: Could you imagine investing in Opel or any other German car manufacturer?

Hamad: In most of the Gulf countries German cars are used. German trucks are the most important in the world and they have been used heavily here in our region. For sure we will invest in the car manufacturers in Germany. But we will have to find the right time and the right price. We are also trying to bring high tech to our country, which we want to make a place of science and technology.

SPIEGEL: Abu Dhabi and Daimler want to build electric cars together.

Hamad: Such industrial projects require countries with thousands of laborers. We are a small country so we will not ask carmakers to come and open a branch here for production. We do care about ecological engineering and solar energy. But this is part of our domestic investment, it is of interest for our science park.

SPIEGEL: So far you have brought mainly American universities on board to educate Arab students.

Hamad: We are open to any country. The Germans should be more engaged about approaching us.

SPIEGEL: You think the Germans aren't active enough?

Hamad: They are not active enough and with (a country such as) Qatar they have to bring something which fits us. To invest in a carmaker is good because automobiles are not only sold in a small country, but rather all over the world. In fact, in the 1960s, our ruler Sheikh Ahmad was the first Gulf leader to visit Daimler. We were rich before oil because we exported pearls. Then the Japanese came with the artificial pearl and we became poor again. All things change, and this is often on my mind.

SPIEGEL: Are you interested in having German universities in your science park as well?

Hamad: They are welcome. But are they ready? The same question applies to the British: We have had relations with them for a long time, but they have only started to talk to us (about this issue) recently. I really don't want you to think of Qatar as a hydrocarbon country alone. We know that hydrocarbons will come and go. But education will stay. It is the most important thing for us.

SPIEGEL: How do you believe oil prices will develop now?

Hamad: I think the oil price should continue (to stay) in the $40 range for at least one or two more years.

SPIEGEL: Why so modest?

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, the emir of Qatar.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, the emir of Qatar.

Hamad: Because this way we can help the world out of this crisis. If the world economy recovers, it will be good for us, too. Automatically, the price of oil will go up again. I don't see why OPEC countries should continue to cut production just to keep the price of oil high. This will not affect the industrial countries alone, it will also hit poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Who will look after them?

SPIEGEL: That's not the kind of argument you often hear when talking to oil producers.

Hamad: Yes, but I believe this battle is a battle for the whole world. Everybody should be helping each other for the next two years.

SPIEGEL: The United States and many European countries have been hit hard by the crisis. Do you think they will rebound?

Hamad: We hope so. Because when the Americans recover from their depression, the world will recover. I don't think Europe is going to suffer as badly as America -- the United Kingdom perhaps and possibly Spain, but I don't think the rest of Europe will.

'China, India and Russia Are Coming'

SPIEGEL: Who will be the world's economic superpower after this crisis?

Hamad: China is coming, India is coming and Russia is on its way, too, although they are suffering because the price of oil has come down. China has almost 30 million jobless now. But I think they will recover. I don't know if America and Europe will still be leading. The main thing now, though, is that they prevent the world economy from collapsing.

SPIEGEL: Europe has staked its future on natural gas, but we are concerned about supplies. Can Qatar step in to fill the breach if Russia fails to deliver?

Hamad: We are selling gas to Italy, Spain, Belgium and, starting within the next few weeks, to Britain. I know that the Germans prefer to have their own gas supply, but I think our gas could come to Germany through another European country. However, this depends on the quantities we have on hand and the price.

SPIEGEL: Europeans are also worried about the creation of a so-called Gas-OPEC. Is there another cartel in the making that will be able to set prices at will?

Hamad: With OPEC they have a cartel. Why don't we have this gas cartel as well? And why don't we make a sort of agreement between consumers and producers? I wouldn't mind such a gas cartel, but it will take time because some countries today sell for high prices and others sell for low prices. It will be hard for those selling high to bring their prices down. So we will need time.

SPIEGEL: Will gas, like oil, eventually be sold on the spot market, where prices change on a daily basis?

Hamad: You cannot handle gas the way you do oil. To shut down gas takes six months, and to open it again takes another three to four months. For me it is more secure to supply gas than oil. If you come to Qatar to reach an agreement we will make it for 20 years. We cannot stop it at will. And, for example, if you are unable to take it you will still have to pay us. For us, it is a win-win-project.

SPIEGEL: Your country is located just 180 kilometers from the shores of Iran. Could you live with a nuclear-armed Iran?

The tiny state of Qatar has poured its vast energy wealth into initiatives such as Arabic news network Al Jazeera and a campus containing outposts of all-American universities. Its latest creation is a science and technology park aimed at further diversifying the its economy away from fossil fuels. The $800 million project, backed by blue-chip names like General Electric and ExxonMobil, shows that Qatar -- one of the world's richest countries -- remains willing and able to spend despite the economic gloom.

The tiny state of Qatar has poured its vast energy wealth into initiatives such as Arabic news network Al Jazeera and a campus containing outposts of all-American universities. Its latest creation is a science and technology park aimed at further diversifying the its economy away from fossil fuels. The $800 million project, backed by blue-chip names like General Electric and ExxonMobil, shows that Qatar -- one of the world's richest countries -- remains willing and able to spend despite the economic gloom.

Hamad: We are a small country and we can live with anything around us. We will not be an enemy to anybody, but of course we will not allow anybody to use us against others. We will not, for example, stand with America against Iran. For sure. Iran never bothered us, it never created a problem for us.

SPIEGEL: So will you join Iran in its stance against America? When he was here in Doha, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested the creation of a regional Gulf security pact that would include Iran.

Hamad: It will be hard for the Gulf countries to be with Iran against the United States. And I believe Iran knows this. But let us ask ourselves: Why don't we establish a common market with the Iranians?

SPIEGEL: A precondition for that would be that you would have to defy sanctions imposed against Iran by the United Nations. How do you judge US President Barack Obama's approach to Tehran?

Hamad: We were happy about this approach, but we are waiting for President Obama to do more about the Middle East. It is not only Iran. The Palestinians, the Iraqis, many countries suffered because of American policy. America has made mistakes before, but thank god America is a democratic country and they can correct their policies.

SPIEGEL: You are one of the very few Arab heads of state who, without a peace treaty in place, has hosted high-ranking Israeli politicians. Did you end this relationship following the war in Gaza?

Hamad: No, we didn't cut relations. We tried to get Egypt and Jordan to do that so that they could put more pressure on Israel. I am sure that if Egypt and Jordan had moved from the beginning that Israel would not have continued in Gaza. Now there will be a generation remembering forever what happened there. How can you make peace now?

SPIEGEL: Will you invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Qatar?

Hamad: The Israelis can continue to come and go -- we harbor no animus. We just state our opinion. And we want peace.

SPIEGEL: Do you still believe in the two-state solution?

Map: Qatar

Map: Qatar

Hamad: For sure. And this is what we tell all Palestinians we talk to -- including Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. Everything depends on Mashaal now. People say that Hamas does not recognize Israel now. But I am sure that if Hamas were offered the borders of 1967, they would have no alternative. Then other Arabs would recognize Israel -- and the Palestinians would be busy building their state.

SPIEGEL: Do you still believe in the Arab peace plan of 2002?

Hamad: I think Israel will not accept the return of the Palestinian refugees. But on the issue of dividing the city of Jerusalem (and turning over East Jerusalem to the Palestinians), I think they should accept it.

SPIEGEL: The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir. Why are you opposed to this?

Hamad: If anything happened to Omar al-Bashir und Sudan ended up in chaos, the whole of Africa would also sink into chaos. Sudan is a vast land with a lot of borders. Al-Qaida would be happy to see Sudan become like Iraq.

SPIEGEL: Isn't it time for the Arab world to finally do something about the Darfur problem?

Hamad: We have been mediating in Sudan for a long time, particularly because the groups in Darfur do not want the Arab League to get involved. My hope is that we do not see interference from some other Arab countries. We are confident. We need to give the parties time -- we have to let them shout and issue their grievances, and finally we need to get the process of negotiations going and discuss the future of their country.

SPIEGEL: Al-Bashir is now in Doha to attend the Arab summit.

Hamad: I sent my prime minister to invite him.

SPIEGEL: Will Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also attend as he did at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit 2007?

Hamad: I don't think so this time, because some Arab countries do not want this. They are not realizing that America is talking to Ahmadinejad. They took their action because America was against Iran. But they do not realize that a big change is happening in the US. It will take some time, but they will run to Teheran. I know this very well.

SPIEGEL: You are hosting two summits this week -- one with the leaders from the Arab World and another with those from Latin America. What will you discuss with them?

Hamad: We in the Middle East like to talk politics, we like to argue. Just look at the three prophets -- Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. They are all from this small region which creates problems all the time. So I think we will talk politics. But of course in the Arab countries this is leaders' politics, since there are no elections that any leader will be tied to. Finding a link to Latin America will be an economic issue. The apples that come from Chile are always very well kept and of the best quality compared to fruit coming from Egypt or Yemen. That's just one example I like to cite when it comes to our shortcomings as Arabs. We need Latin America.

SPIEGEL: Will Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez come?

Hamad: Yes, my friend Hugo Chavez is coming....

Your Highness, we thank you for your time and for your Leadership .

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29988679/


وسط مطوِّري العقارات في لندن، وكبرى دور المزادات في الغرب والعاملين في قطاع المصارف الاستثمارية، إحدى أكثر الكلمات حلاوة الآن هي قطر.
فعلى الرغم من الأزمة المالية العالمية والاضطرابات في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، الإمارة الخليجية الصغيرة هي صانعة صفقات ناشطة جداً، سواء تعلّق الأمر بشراء متاجر "هارودز" في لندن أو الاستثمار في الفرع البرازيلي من مجموعة "سانتاندير" المصرفية أو الاستحواذ على كنوز في المزادات العلنية لمتحفها الجديد للفن الإسلامي.
لقد تحوّلت قطر التي يقودها أمير جريء وإصلاحي، من بلد منعزل وناعس إلى أكبر مصدِّر للغاز الطبيعي المسيَّل في العالم. ويُستثمَر جزء من تلك الأرباح في الخارج، ولا سيما من خلال صندوق للثروات السيادية قيمته 85 مليار دولار أميركي أنشئ قبل سبع سنوات فقط من أجل الادّخار لأجيال المستقبل.
لكن كما في الإمارات الخليجية الأخرى حيث الأسرة الحاكمة مطلقة النفوذ، يتوقّف مصير قطر الاقتصادي والاستثماري والسياسي في شكل أساسي وحاسم على طموحات قائدها، الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني، وقدراته.

فالأمير البالغ من العمر 58 عاماً – الذي تسلّم زمام السلطة قبل 15 عاماً بعد تنحية والده وإنهاء ما اعتبره مرحلة من الانحراف السياسي والمالي – يشتهر بفطنته وتقدّميته الحذرة في حكمه. ويُعرَف عنه رغبته الشديدة في حمل قطر على ممارسة ثقل أكبر من وزنها الحقيقي، سواء في السياسة الإقليمية (من خلال الوساطة الرفيعة المستوى) أو على الساحة العالمية (تسعى قطر إلى استضافة كأس العالم في كرة القدم سنة 2022) أو في الاستثمارات الخارجية.
يقول في مقابلة نادرة أجريت في بلاطه الملكي الذي ينفح الهواء في أرجائه في العاصمة القطرية، الدوحة، قبيل زيارة رسمية يقوم بها إلى بريطانيا هذا الأسبوع [الأسبوع الماضي] "نحن نستثمر في كل مكان. حتى متاجر هارودز عندكم قمنا بشرائها".
الأمير المكتنز الجسم ذو الشاربين الذي يهوى الصيد مع الصقور والغطس، هو متحدِّث صريح في منطقة يندر فيها المتحدِّثون الصريحون، ويتمتّع بحس دعابة، فهو يطلق النكات عن النساء اللواتي يقدن السيارات وعن مراقبة زوجته له، الشيخة موزة بن ناصر المسند – التي تتمتع بنفوذها الخاص في السياسات.
وهو يثير استياء جيرانه إلى حد كبير باستمتاعه في اتّباع سياسة خارجية مستقلّة غالباً ما تسير عكس المواقف السائدة للدول العربية لكنّها تجلب له الاستحسان في أوساط الفاعلين غير الدولتيين الأكثر راديكالية.

يبدو أن أكثر ما يحرّك طموحات الشيخ حمد هو إخفاق قطر في الماضي في الإفادة من مواردها الطبيعية. فالأمير يعرف حق المعرفة أنّ الثروات الكبرى والمفاجئة يمكن أن تدمّر المجتمع. يقول "كانت قطر تشتهر بنشاطات البحث عن اللؤلؤ، لكن عندما اخترع اليابانيون اللؤلؤ الاصطناعي، إذا صح التعبير... تسبّب ذلك بالكثير من الفقر والحرمان في قطر. لكن عندما اكتشفنا النفط، لم نتعلّم مما حصل في مرحلة اللؤلؤ، أي إننا أوشكنا على أن نصبح فقراء".
ويضيف أنه مع الارتفاع الكبير في أسعار النفط في السبعينات "وجدنا أنفسنا فجأة في الجنّة هنا، المال في كل مكان. لم نحاول وضع... خطة جيدة للاحتفاظ بجزء من هذا المال للمستقبل". في الواقع، بحلول أواخر التسعينات، عندما هبطت أسعار النفط، وجدت قطر نفسها على شفا الإفلاس.
أطلق الأمير، من خلال الاقتراض والاستثمارات الموجَّهة نحو الداخل، خطة كبرى لاستغلال موقع قطر التي تملك ثالث أكبر احتياطي للغاز في العالم، واستثمر في منشآت تصدير الغاز (ليست الإمارة منتجة كبيرة للنفط). بدأ إنتاج الغاز الطبيغي المسيّل بالارتفاع، مع التصدير إلى أوروبا وآسيا والولايات المتحدة، وكانت العائدات تُستثمَر في الداخل في بعض القطاعات المفضَّلة بالنسبة إلى الأمير مثل التعليم والرياضة والرعاية الصحية والثقافة، ويوضَع جزء منها جانباً لاستثماره في الخارج. يقول الشيخ حمد "همّي الآن هو الاستثمار في الداخل والخارج بما يفيد أجيالنا المقبلة".
فيما تُراكم قطر الثروات – مع عدد سكانها الضئيل البالغ 1.7 مليون نسمة 300000 منهم فقط هم من أبناء البلد – تواجه ثلاثة أسئلة أساسية. هل تستخدم ثرواتها بأفضل ما يكون؟ ما هو السبيل الأفضل لتحمي نفسها من مخاطر نزاع شرق أوسطي، ولا سيما نزاع تشارك فيه إيران؟ وهل يستطيع الأمير والشيخة موزة أن يحملا القطريين معهما فيما يدفعان في اتجاه تحديث واسع النطاق في مجتمع لا يزال تقليدياً جداً؟

بالنسبة إلى الشيخ حمد، يكمن الجزء الأكبر من الجواب حول مستقبل قطر في التعليم. أحد المشاريع الطموحة التي تديرها "مؤسسة قطر" برئاسة الشيخة موزة هو إنشاء جامعات أميركية في الدوحة، والاستثمار في الأبحاث في مجالات مثل الرعاية الصحية وتكنولوجيا المعلومات.
يقول "أظنّ أن التحصيل العلمي الجيد هو الذي سيؤمِّن وظائف للقطريين. لهذا نعمل على إنشاء جامعات أميركية تمنح الشهادات نفسها كما في الولايات المتحدة".
لكن هناك من ينتقدون في الداخل السياسة التربوية. ففي مجتمع محافظ يواجه انقضاضاً من العمّال الأجانب والمعايير الأجنبية، تتردّد بعض العائلات في إرسال أولادها إلى جامعات تختلط فيها الشابات بالشبان. كما أن عدداً كبيراً من الطلاب يبلغون المرحلة الجامعية من دون أن يكونوا مجهَّزين كما يجب لمقتضيات التعليم الأميركي. ويثير الإلغاء التدريجي المزمع للتدريس باللغة العربية في المدارس والجامعات المحلية، التململ أيضاً.
يحافظ الأمير على رباطة جأشه. فهو يقول "نحن فخورون بلغتنا وثقافتنا – لكن أحياناً، ولا سيما في المدارس الثانوية، يجب أن يتعلّم الطلاب الذين يريدون الانضمام إلى هذه الجامعات، اللغة الإنكليزية".

ويعتبر أن تطوّر قطر يقدّم للعائلات خياراً ولا يفرض عليها مطالب. يقول "يذكّرني هذا بقرار السماح للسيدات بقيادة السيارات. لم يتقبّل الناس الأمر لكن... نجدهنّ الآن يقدن في كل مكان، مع أنهن يتسبّبن ببعض المشكلات في الشوارع".
لا شك في أن الشيخ حمد ليس من نوع القادة الذي يُردَع بسهولة أمام المقاومة لخططه. فمنذ إطلاقه قناة "الجزيرة" قبل أكثر من عقد – هذه الشبكة التلفزيونية التي أدخلت النقاش إلى العالم العربي لكنّها أثارت أيضاً سخط الولايات المتحدة بمنحها منبراً لقادة تنظيم "القاعدة" – يبدو وكأنّه يستمدّ قوّته من إثارة غضب جيرانه العرب.
يقول "أعرف أن الجزيرة تسبّب لي الكثير من المشكلات... في الماضي، كان قادة عرب كثر... يرفضون التكلّم معي. لكن من الجيّد أنهم فهموا أنني لن أغيّر رأيي".
كما أنّ الجهود التي تبذلها قطر لترسيخ أمنها عبر الحفاظ على مجموعة متعارضة من الصداقات تثير شكوك جيرانها. فهي تستضيف على أراضيها قاعدة عسكرية أميركية للقيادة والسيطرة (كانت هذه القاعدة موجودة في السعودية)، وتقيم في الوقت نفسه علاقات جيّدة مع إيران. قبل الهجوم الإسرائيلي في غزة قبل عامَين، كانت أكثر صداقة مع الدولة اليهودية من معظم البلدان العربية الأخرى، ومع ذلك نجحت في أن تكون من القلّة التي يثق بها عدوّا إسرائيل اللدودان، حركة "حماس" الفلسطينية و"حزب الله" اللبناني.
يعتبر الشيخ حمد أنّ مجموعة الصداقات الغريبة هي نقطة قوّة تمنحه حضوراً ديبلوماسياً فاعلاً فيما يسعى إلى التوسّط في النزاعات الكبرى. قبل عامَين، أحضر الأفرقاء السياسيين المتناحرين في لبنان إلى الدوحة، وعمل مع الولايات المتحدة وإيران والسعودية وسوريا من أجل التوصّل إلى اتفاق وضع حداً لمأزق سياسي مستمر منذ عامَين، وجنّب بيروت حرباً أهلية. يقول الأمير "سياستنا هي أن نكون أصدقاء مع الجميع... نبحث عن السلام. لا يعني هذا أنّه إذا انقلب فريق على الآخر، يجب أن نؤيّد أحد الفريقَين، لا؛ نودّ الوقوف إلى جانب الفريقَين".
لكنّ التوفيق بين تحالفات متنافسة له ثمنه أيضاً: فعلى الرغم من استمرار التعاون العسكري والاقتصادي مع الولايات المتحدة، ساءت العلاقات السياسية بين البلدَين. ينتقد الأمير السياسة الأميركية حيال إيران معتبراً أنّ العقوبات لن تحقّق هدفها. ويصرّ على أنّه لن يُسمَح للطائرات الأميركية بالانطلاق من القاعدة الأميركية في قطر لقصف أهداف في إيران على الرغم من أنّ الدوحة استضافت مقرّ التحالف على أراضيها خلال اجتياح العراق الذي قادته الولايات المتحدة عام 2003.
يقول "إيران بلد كبير وعظيم تحيط به بلدان عدّة. حسناً، سوف تؤثّر فيها العقوبات بطريقة ما لكن السؤال المطروح هو، هل نريد أن تتعاون إيران مع العالم... أم نريد حشرها في الزاوية؟"
وعلى الصعيد الداخلي أيضاً، تتقدّم قطر على مسارَين يجب التوفيق بينهما. فهي تبرز في الخليج من خلال ترويجها للنقاش من طريق البرامج المتلفزة التي تحطّم المحرّمات السياسية. لكنّها بطيئة في تبنّي الديموقراطية التي تبشّر بها. يحمي دستور جديد تمّت الموافقة عليه في استفتاء أجري عام 2003، حرية التعبير والمعتقد الديني، وينص على انتخاب ثلثَي مجلس النواب، إلا أنّ استطلاع الآراء الذي من شأنه أن يجعل الهيئة التشريعية تبصر النور، مؤجَّل.

وفي هذه الأثناء، تسيطر الأسرة الحاكمة على السياسة والأعمال على السواء، ويتولّى عضو مرموق فيها هو الشيخ حمد بن جاسم آل ثاني المحنّك والمفرط النشاط رئاسة الوزراء، ويتمتّع بسلطة قيادة أجندة ديبلوماسية وكذلك الإشراف على الاستثمارات الخارجية لقطر.
على الأرجح أن أي منافسة سياسية في المستقبل القريب ستكون من داخل العائلة الحاكمة، مع ارتقاء جيل جديد من أفرادها عبر الهرمية القيادية. ومن هؤلاء ولي العهد الأمير تميم الذي يعزّز نفوذه على الرغم من أنّه ما زال يعمل في الظل. يقول الأمير إن ولي العهد يدير الآن "85 في المئة من البلاد"، ويضيف ممازحاً أنّه يشعر أحياناً أن الجيل الشاب "ليس سعيداً بأن نعمل معه".
يعد الشيخ حمد بأنّ الانتخابات لن تكون بعيدة جداً، لكنّه لا يحدّد موعداً لها. يقول إن الديموقراطية "يجب أن تتمّ خطوة خطوة – يجب أن يهضمها البلد ككل".
في الوقت الراهن، لا يواجه ضغوطاً كبيرة للتحرّر السياسي، فيما ينهمك القطريون بالتمكين الاقتصادي. بيد أنّ نجاح الخطط التي يضعها الأمير لبناء مجتمع أفضل تعليماً وأكثر أماناً على الصعيد المالي قد يصبح القوّة المحرِّكة وراء المطالبات بالتغيير السياسي في المستقبل


Crise economique et Financiere: Le Pire est devant nous

Voici maintenant trois semaines que les marchés financiers ont repris le chemin de la hausse. Depuis son plus bas de début mars Wall Street a regagné 17 %. Les marchés européens et asiatiques ont suivi faisant preuve du même esprit moutonnier que d'habitude. Pourtant cette hausse spectaculaire est artificielle. Elle ne repose sur rien. Ou plus exactement sur des illusions.

- L'illusion de croire que Citigroup et d'autres établissements financiers sont redevenus bénéficiaires depuit le début de l'année. Cela est faux et les prochaines semaines vont rapidement se charger de faire revenir les marchés sur terre. Et j'ajoute à cela que des mauvaises surprises comme de nouvelles faillites d'établissements bancaires ou de crédit immobilier sont probables.

- L'illusion également des bonnes nouvelles macro-économiques. Pourtant ce à quoi nous assistons depuis quelques jours avec la publication des statistiques économiques aux Etats-Unis ne marque en rien un retour à la croissance ni même le début d'une légère reprise économique. Les marchés veulent croire que ces statistiques prouvent que nous avons touché le fond (peut-être) mais oublient surtout qu'elles montrent la profondeur de la crise. Ces statistiques sont en effet souvent les plus mauvaises depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Alors peut-être, je dis bien peut-être, touchons nous le fond mais la véritable question que les marchés doivent se poser désormais c'est : combien de temps allons-nous y rester ?

- Mais tout cela n'est finalement pas si grave au regard de l'illusion suprême. Celle qui consiste à croire que le salut viendra de la multiplication des plans de relance au niveau des Etats.
http://www.rebelles.info/article-23521805.html) :

"Depuis le départ j'ai critiqué le plan Paulson (voir notre dossier Crise financière ainsi que les dernières brèves du jour). Je suis aujourd'hui convaincu que ce plan ou les interventions identiques sous des formes déguisées en Europe auront aggravé cette crise. Car il n'y a pas que les spéculateurs qui peuvent créer des bulles. Les Etats également. Alors que les Etats-Unis ou les Etats européens étaient déjà endettés jusqu'au cou voilà qu'ils se lancent à corps perdu dans le sauvetage des banques en engraissant leurs dettes publiques en engageant des milliers de milliards. Contrairement a ce qui se dit un peu partout je suis persuadé que ces dépenses folles non seulement ne permettront pas d'empêcher la récession mais qu'elles n'auront fait que prolonger la maladie à l'origine de cette crise en maintenant artificiellement en vie ceux qui auraient du payer pour leurs fautes. Plutôt que racheter les actifs pourris des subprimes il fallait avoir le courage et prendre le risque de couper les branches pourries. Que cette bulle des déficits publics vienne à crever et alors... ". Aujourd'hui, je ne retire aucune ligne d'autant plus que la situation n'a fait qu'empirer avec les dernières mesures de la nouvelle administration américaine.

Or le 02 mars de cette année voici ce que Warren Buffet a déclaré : "Lorsque l'histoire financière de la décennie sera écrite, on parlera certainement de la bulle Internet de la fin des années 1990 et de la bulle immobilière des années 2000. Mais la bulle des bons du Trésor américains observée fin 2008 devrait être regardée comme tout aussi extraordinaire". Or nous savons ce qu'il est advenu des deux premières bulles... Si Warren Buffet commence, enfin, à s'inquièter de cette dernière c'est qu'il s'est produit au début de l'année un événement important dont j'avais parlé dans mes brèves du jour du 11 janvier (
http://www.rebelles.info/article-26581943.html). L'événement capital de ce début d'année n'a pas été l'investiture de Barack Hussein Obama mais l'incapacité de l'Allemagne à lever les 6 milliards en obligation d'Etat auprès des marchés. Si les investisseurs devenaient plus frileux, même vis-à-vis de la dette des Etats jugés sûrs comme l’Allemagne, comment la France, qui ne cesse de s'endetter, pourrait-elle financer ses nouvelles dépenses astronomiques si elle ne pouvait compter sur les marchés ?

Malgré l'avertissement de ces derniers la politique de l'autruche s'est poursuivie. Depuis Barack Hussein Obama a lancé un plan de relance de plus de 800 milliards de dollars. Quant à Tim Geithner, le secrétaire au Trésor de l'administration Obama, il a présenté en mars un nouveau plan de sauvetage des établissements financiers, après les deux qu'avait mis en œuvre son prédécesseur Henry Paulson, en mobilisant 500 à 1.000 milliards de dollars pour racheter les créances douteuses de l'immobilier. Le rédacteur en chef de "La Tribune", François Lenglet, a parfaitement résumé la situation : "Le roi Danaos eut cinquante filles, les Danaïdes, qui furent condamnées à remplir un tonneau percé pour l'éternité, pour avoir commis des atrocités - elles avaient tué leurs maris le soir même de leurs noces. Ce que la mythologie grecque ne dit pas, c'est que les Danaïdes avaient un frère : Tim Geithner, le secrétaire au Trésor de l'administration Obama.
Ce financier remplit, lui, le bilan des banques, avec l'argent des contribuables qui file entre les lames disjointes d'une barrique vermoulue."

Comme les Autruches n'ont font qu'à leur tête les marchés, dans leur grande bonté, ont lancé la semaine dernière un nouvel avertissement (le dernier ?). L’État britannique voulait em­prunter comme il le fait régulièrement auprès des investisseurs institutionnels. Mais ces derniers n’ont pas répondu présents et l’émission de 1,75 milliard de livres n’a pu être placée en totalité. Une première depuis 1995 pour ce type d’emprunt. Et cela au moment ou la dette publique britannique explose comme celle de la plupart des États. Aux Etats-Unis la FED, banque centrale américaine, a du en venir... à acheter les bons du trésor US car elle sait que les marchés ne sont déjà plus capables d'absorber les emprunts d'Etats qui se multiplient. Pour résumer la situation cela revient à ce que les initateurs de la dette rachettent leur propre dette en faisant marcher la planche à billets. Ce qui revient peu ou prou à fabriquer de la fausse monnaie. On marche vraiment sur la tête.

Mais cette frilosité des marchés veut dire qu'à l'avenir on sait déjà que toutes les dettes d’Etat ne pourront pas forcément être souscrites. Par conséquent la banqueroute guette de nombreux Etats. On comprend mieux pourquoi il est illusoire d'attendre de la multiplication des plans de relance une lumière au bout du tunnel. C'est tout le contraire. Ces plans risquent de provoquer un éboulement.

L'économiste Steen Jakobsen est celui qui résume le mieux mon état d'esprit. Pour lui comme pour moi il ne faut rien attendre de ces plans : "L'Etat résout un problème de dette en rajoutant de la dette. Il faut revoir les manuels d'economie ! ".
.......................................................

Useful Idiots in Modern America

Robeson and other Americans who were duped by the communist leaders - like playwright George Bernard Shaw - were called "useful idiots" by Lenin and Stalin. "Idiots" because they couldn't see the communists for the tyrants they were, "useful" because those tyrants could use them to spread propaganda to the West.
Idiots were not just useful for the USSR....

Today, in modern America, there are useful idiots on the right who blindly support anyone who attacks Obama because Obama is a so-called "liberal".

Equally, there are useful idiots on the left who blindly support Obama and try to defend his bailouts of the financial giants, his escalation of the Afghanistan war, his defense of Bush administration torturers and war criminals, and other indefensible acts because they think he is the great liberal savior.

Stalin's useful idiots - like Robeson - were blind to the reality of what the communist tyrants were actually doing. They were too caught up in ideas about what was happening, instead of looking at the effect of the actual policies being carried out.

Those on both the left and the right who fall for the rhetoric of the Democratic and Republican party leaders are useful idiots who are failing to look at the effect that those parties' policies are actually having.

The End of the American Century


The US government is utterly corrupt to the core and beyond redemption. It is run by a shadow group of thugs and criminals...

The End of the American Century

Professor Michael T. Klare of Hampshire College and Human Rights Watch has
already received these references and thanked me, stating: "I especially
appreciate the additional references you sent - I will examine them
closely." ("A Planet at the Brink. Will Economic Brushfires Prove Too
Virulent to Contain?")

David S. Mason, Professor of Political Science at Butler University in
Indianapolis, has posted them on his personal blog.
("The End of the American Century")

http://www.endoftheamericancentury.blogspot.com/

Economic Depression and Systemic Collapse in America.

"My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about
what's really going on to be scared." - P. J. Plauger, Computer Language,
March 1983

The resources I've enclosed below are by credible people - professionals,
educators, journalists, policy makers, businessmen and nationally and
internationally recognized experts. For example, Joseph M. Miller retired as
a board member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. One of his associates is a
physicist who worked for Control Data Corporation. The other, Marion Butler,
has a background as a CFO. Niall Ferguson holds a Chair in the history
department at Harvard.

http://www.mises.org/store/Rise-and-Decline-of-the-State-The-P271.aspx

http://www.rense.com/general34/dutchisraelimilitary.htm

http://unjobs.org/authors/martin-van-creveld

There's an article by Israeli historian Martin van Creveld. Dr. Krassimir
Petrov is from Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia. Pranab Bardhan is a
professor of economics at Berkley. David Rosenberg is Merril Lynch's North
American Economist. Carmen M. Reinhart is a professor of economics at the
University of Maryland. Phil Howison is from Victoria University, Wellington,
New Zealand
. Professor Michael T. Klare's article is also included.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-179279370.html

Most of the other resources were prepared by people with similar backgrounds.
Individually, and as a group, their work appears to lead to the same general
conclusion: Life as we've always known it is just about over.

The complete 'bibliography' is twenty-three pages long...and growing.

additional links: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tentrillion/themes/obama.html

"Economic Depression and Systemic Collapse in America."

http://tinyurl.com/cmzt92

http://news.kontentkonsult.com

http://www.endoftheamericancentury.blogspot.com/

http://tinyurl.com/9we7v5

http://americandaily.com/index.php/article/784

"Beyond Conspiracy: Police State America."

http://tinyurl.com/cops4p

http://dijaspora.wordpress.com

http://accesstoinfo.blogspot.com/2009/03/certain-tarp-recipients.html

http://tinyurl.com/cksg3v

http://jaghunters.blogspot.com/

Sunday, March 29, 2009

US Calls For ‘Urgent’ NATO Help As Unemployment Set to Soar Over 25%


Cannot speak to the truth of this one way or the other, but sadly meshes with the direction we are headed... Worth heeding and filing away mentally for future reference...





"March 25, 2009

US Calls For ‘Urgent’ NATO Help As Unemployment Set to Soar Over 25%

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

Kremlin sources are reporting today that during the secret meetings held last week between former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, President Obama and other White House officials in preparation for the first meeting of President Medvedev and Obama at next weeks G-20 London Summit, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that the Americans was set to issue an ‘urgent’ plea for NATO troops to be deployed in the United States ahead of what they are saying will be a ‘summer of fear’ as economic riots are expected to erupt across North America.
This disturbing news coming from the new Obama administration over their fears of growing unrest in their country echo those of former US President George Bush, who as we had previously reported, told the Czech Prime Minister late last year that “We'll be there for you, if we survive.”, and which the US television network Fox inadvertently confirmed this past month.
New information coming from the United States does, indeed, support these fears as the latest unemployment figures show that nearly 15% of Americans are now jobless; an astounding number which is also expected to hit 25% by July, 2009 as the US sinks ever further into the economic abyss.

It is important to note that the ‘official’ US unemployment rate is listed at 7.6%, which is a figure designed solely for propaganda purposes based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics U-1, U-2, U-3, U-4 and U-5 reports, and not the most important U-6 report that gives the actual total of all unemployed persons in the United States, and which for February, 2009 was listed at 14.8%.
So dire have conditions deteriorated in the United States that one of their foremost experts, and future trends forecaster, Gerald Celente (who accurately predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the collapse of the Soviet Union) stated during his recent interview with Russia Today News Service that the US is facing an “Economic collapse the likes of which the World has never seen before.” Even worse, Celente stated that the United States is the most “depressed Nation on Earth”, that the American people are “desperate and fearful”, nearing the “end of their limits”, and as crime soars to “levels seen only in Third World countries” the United States will go into “full rebellion” beginning with a massive “tax revolt” by its citizens against their government.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has further warned that “The world is in a dire economic crisis that will push millions into poverty and unemployment, risking social unrest and even war.”

Russian economists further point out in these reports that the United States, Britain and Japanese stimulus plans involving the printing of Trillions of Dollars is ‘doomed to failure’, a sentiment echoed by the Governor of the Bank of England who has warned Prime Minister Brown that the United Kingdom is now broke and cannot afford another stimulus plan to revive their crippled economy.

These new reports also mesh with our March 20th report, “All Private Guns Will Be Confiscated By September 2009, US Tells Russia” wherein we stated about the US economy:

“Leading the United States to the shocking conclusion that their very survival is at risk has been the evaporation of 45 percent of the World’s wealth which has caused a rapid plunge in Global manufacturing leading to a 49 percent collapse in US trade exports which the International Monetary Fund is reported has caused the World’s economy to shrink for the first time in 60 years and has lead Canada’s Central Bank chief David Dodge to state the World is “facing a long and deep recession that will fundamentally alter the nature of capitalism.”

Also to note about the coming collapse of the US are the warnings issued by Igor Panarin, diplomatic professor in Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who “created a stir” this past November when he predicted that the troubled economy would cause the United States of America to collapse by spring 2009, and as we can read:

“Now Russian foreign policy Russian Foreign Policy Expert Igor Panarin Revises US Collapse Prediction: New Rationale, New Date expert Igor Panarin has moved the predicted U.S. collapse date forward to 2010 and cited new reasons for the country's projected demise.
The Russian Panarin, who is known as an information warfare specialist, has long believed that the United States will fail. Panarin first went public with his pessimistic prognostications in 1998. Interestingly enough, back then his predicted collapse timetable called for the US breakup as early as autumn 2009. In November, with the U.S. and world economies nosediving, Panarin startled the world with a grim prediction, published in Izvestia, that the US breakup was imminent. Due to widespread dissatisfaction with the economic crisis, the US would splinter into 6 distinct nations, as early as spring 2009, Panarin predicted.

Panarin issued a revised prediction Tuesday. The Russian foreign policy expert told students, professors, diplomats and invited press corps representatives at the Russian Diplomatic Academy that the breakup will occur before 2011. Panarin said President Obama will impose martial law on the citizens of the U.S. this year preceding the breakup.”
To the American people placing their hopes in President Obama to rescue them, and their Nation, from total economic collapse there remains no evidence to justify such feelings, especially when viewed from the light of facts showing that “Seven of the Obama campaign’s top 14 donors consisted of officers and employees of the same Wall Street firms charged time and again with looting the public and newly implicated in originating and/or bundling fraudulently made mortgages.”, and that since assuming office he has packed his administration with a virtual ‘who’s who’ of Wall Street insiders and greedy bankers.

Sadly though, there remains little evidence that the American people are preparing themselves for the catastrophes soon to befall them and who continue to believe the pronouncements of their corrupt leaders, and who as Gerald Celente has so pointedly remarked, gave these poor deluded souls such advice as “Go back to your offices.” to World Trade Center workers seeking to flee their burning buildings; “There are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq” to support their invasion of that country; “I have not had sex with that woman” to a Nation wanting the truth from their President….and too many others to count, but all adding up to the same conclusion….one would have to be certified as insane to ever believe anything they were told by this gang of criminals.....

Preparing for Civil Unrest in America: Legislation to Establish Internment Camps on US Military Bases



The Economic and Social Crisis


The financial meltdown has unleashed a latent and emergent social crisis across the United States.

What is at stake is the fraudulent confiscation of lifelong savings and pension funds, the appropriation of tax revenues to finance the trillion dollar "bank bailouts", which ultimately serve to line the pockets of the richest people in America.

This economic crisis is in large part the result of financial manipulation and outright fraud to the detriment of entire populations, to a renewed wave of corporate bankruptcies, mass unemployment and poverty.

The criminalization of the global financial system, characterized by a "Shadow Banking" network has resulted in the centralization of bank power and an unprecedented concentration of private wealth.

Obama's "economic stimulus" package and budget proposals contribute to a further process of concentration and centralization of bank power, the cumulative effects of which will eventually resul in large scale corporate, bankruptcies, a new wave of foreclosures not to mention fiscal collapse and the downfall of State social programs. (For further details see Michel Chossudovsky, America's Fiscal Collapse, Global Research, March 2, 2009).

The cumulative decline of real economic activity backlashes on employment and wages, which in turn leads to a collapse in purchaisng power. The proposed "solution" under the Obama administration contributes to exacerbating rather than alleviating social inequalities and the process of wealth concentration.

The Protest Movement

When people across America, whose lives have been shattered and destroyed, come to realize the true face of the global "free market" system, the legitimacy of the Wall Street, the Federal Reserve and the US administration will be challenged.

A latent protest movement directed against the seat of economic and political power is unfolding.

How this process will occur is hard to predict. All sectors of American society are potentially affected: wage earners, small, medium and even large businesses, farmers, professionals, federal, State and municipal employees, students, teachers, health workers, and unemployed. Protests will initially emerge from these various sectors. There is, however, at this stage, no organized national resistance movement directed against the administration's economic and financial agenda.

Obama's populist rhetoric conceals the true nature of macro-economic policy. Acting on behalf of Wall Street, the administration's economic package, which includes close to a trillion dollar "aid" package for the financial services industry, coupled with massive austerity measures, contributes to precipitating America into a bottomless crisis.

"Orwellian Solution" to the Great Depression: Curbing Civil Unrest

At this particular juncture, there is no economic recovery program in sight. The Washington-Wall Street consensus prevails. There are no policies, no alternatives formulated from within the political and economic system. .

What is the way out? How will the US government face an impending social catastrophe?

The solution is to curb social unrest. The chosen avenue, inherited from the outgoing Bush administration is the reinforcement of the Homeland Security apparatus and the militarization of civilian State institutions.

The outgoing administration has laid the groundwork. Various pieces of "anti-terrorist" legislation (including the Patriot Acts) and presidential directives have been put in place since 2001, largely using the pretext of the "Global War on Terrorism."

Homeland Security's Internment Camps

Directly related to the issue of curbing social unrest, cohesive system of detention camps is also envisaged, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.

A bill entitled the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act (HR 645) was introduced in the US Congress in January. It calls for the establishment of six national emergency centers in major regions in the US to be located on existing military installations. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-645

The stated purpose of the "national emergency centers" is to provide "temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster." In actuality, what we are dealing with are FEMA internment camps. HR 645 states that the camps can be used to "meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security."

There has been virtually no press coverage of HR 645.

These "civilian facilities" on US military bases are to be established in cooperation with the US Military. Modeled on Guantanamo, what we are dealing with is the militarization of FEMA internment facilities.

Once a person is arrested and interned in a FEMA camp located on a military base, that person would in all likelihood, under a national emergency, fall under the de facto jurisdiction of the Military: civilian justice and law enforcement including habeas corpus would no longer apply.

HR 645 bears a direct relationship to the economic crisis and the likelihood of mass protests across America. It constitutes a further move to militarize civilian law enforcement, repealing the Posse Comitatus Act.

In the words of Rep. Ron Paul:

"...the fusion centers, militarized police, surveillance cameras and a domestic military command is not enough... Even though we know that detention facilities are already in place, they now want to legalize the construction of FEMA camps on military installations using the ever popular excuse that the facilities are for the purposes of a national emergency. With the phony debt-based economy getting worse and worse by the day, the possibility of civil unrest is becoming a greater threat to the establishment. One need only look at Iceland, Greece and other nations for what might happen in the United States next." (Daily Paul, September 2008, emphasis added)

The proposed internment camps should be seen in relation to the broader process of militarization of civilian institutions. The construction of internment camps predates the introduction of HR 645 (Establishment of Emergency Centers) in January 2009. There are, according to various (unconfirmed) reports, some 800 FEMA prison camps in different regions of the U.S. Moreover, since the 1980s, the US military has developed "tactics, techniques and procedures" to suppress civilian dissent, to be used in the eventuality of mass protests (United States Army Field Manual 19-15 under Operation Garden Plot, entitled "Civil Disturbances" was issued in 1985)

In early 2006, tax revenues were allocated to building modern internment camp facilities. In January 2006, Kellogg Brown and Roots, which at the time was a subsidiary of Halliburton, received a $385 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

"The contract, which is effective immediately [January 2006], provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs...

The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other U.S. Government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster. (KBR, 24 January 2006, emphasis added)

The stated objectives of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are to:

"protect national security and uphold public safety by targeting criminal networks and terrorist organizations that seek to exploit vulnerabilities in our immigration system, in our financial networks, along our border, at federal facilities and elsewhere in order to do harm to the United States. The end result is a safer, more secure America" (ICE homepage)

The US media is mum on the issue of the internment camps on US soil. While casually acknowledging the multimillion dollar contract granted to Halliburton's subsidiary, the news reports largely focused their attention on possible "cost overruns" (similar to those which occurred with KBR in Iraq).

What is the political intent and purpose of these camps? The potential use of these internment facilities to detain American citizens under a martial law situation are not an object of media debate or discussion.

Combat Units Assigned to the Homeland

In the last months of the Bush administration, prior to the November 2008 presidential elections, the Department of Defense ordered the recall of the 3rd Infantry's 1st Brigade Combat Team from Iraq. The relocation of a combat unit from the war theater to domestic front is an integral part of the Homeland Security agenda. The BCT was assigned to assist in law enforcement activities within the US.

The BCT combat unit was attached to US Army North, the Army's component of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). The 1st BCT and other combat units would be called upon to perform specific military functions in the case of civil unrest:

The 1st BCT's soldiers also will learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.(

(See Gina Cavallaro, Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1, Army Times, September 8, 2008).

Under the proposed withdrawal of US forces from Iraq under the Obama administration, one expects that other combat units will be brought home from the war theater and reassigned in the United States.

The evolving national security scenario is characterized by a mesh of civilian and military institutions:

-Army combat units working with civilian law enforcement, with the stated mission to curb "social unrest".

- the establishment of new internment camps under civilian jurisdiction located on US military facilities.

The FEMA internment camps are part of the Continuity of Government (COG), which would be put in place in the case of martial law.

The internment camps are intended to "protect the government" against its citizens, by locking up protesters as well as political activists who might challenge the legitimacy of the Administration's national security, economic or military agenda.

Spying on Americans: The Big Brother Data Bank

Related to the issue of internment and mass protests, how will data on American citizens be collected?

How will individuals across America be categorized?

What are the criteria of the Department of Homeland Security?

In a 2004 report of the Homeland Security Council entitled Planning Scenarios, pertaining to the defense of the Homeland, the following categories of potential "conspirators" were identified:

"foreign [Islamic] terrorists" ,

"domestic radical groups", [antiwar and civil rights groups]

"state sponsored adversaries" ["rogue states", "unstable nations"]

"disgruntled employees" [labor and union activists].

In June of last year, the Bush administration issued a National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD 59- HSPD 24) entitled Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security (For Further details see Michel Chossudovsky, "Big Brother" Presidential Directive: "Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security", Global Research, June 2008)

Adopted without public debate or Congressional approval, its relevant procedures are far-reaching. They are related to the issue of civil unrest. They are also part of the logic behind the establishment of FEMA internment camps under HR 645. .

NSPD 59 (Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security) goes far beyond the narrow issue of biometric identification, it recommends the collection and storage of "associated biographic" information, meaning information on the private lives of US citizens, in minute detail, all of which will be "accomplished within the law":

"The contextual data that accompanies biometric data includes information on date and place of birth, citizenship, current address and address history, current employment and employment history, current phone numbers and phone number history, use of government services and tax filings. Other contextual data may include bank account and credit card histories, plus criminal database records on a local, state and federal level. The database also could include legal judgments or other public records documenting involvement in legal disputes, child custody records and marriage or divorce records."(See Jerome Corsi, June 2008)

The directive uses 9/11 and the "Global War on Terrorism" as an all encompassing justification to wage a witch hunt against dissenting citizens, establishing at the same time an atmosphere of fear and intimidation across the land.

It also calls for the integration of various data banks as well as inter-agency cooperation in the sharing of information, with a view to eventually centralizing the information on American citizens.

In a carefully worded text, NSPD 59 "establishes a framework" to enable the Federal government and its various police and intelligence agencies to:

"use mutually compatible methods and procedures in the collection, storage, use, analysis, and sharing of biometric and associated biographic and contextual information of individuals in a lawful and appropriate manner, while respecting their information privacy and other legal rights under United States law."

The NSPD 59 Directive recommends: "actions and associated timelines for enhancing the existing terrorist-oriented identification and screening processes by expanding the use of biometrics".

The procedures under NSPD 59 are consistent with an earlier June 2005 decision which consisted increating a "domestic spy service", under the auspices of the FBI. (For further details see Michel Chossudovsky, Bush Administration creates "Secret State Police", June 30, 2005)

Working hand in glove with Homeland Security (DHS), the proposed "domestic intelligence department" would combine FBI counterterrorism, intelligence and espionage operations into a single service.

The new department operating under the auspices of the FBI would have the authority to "seize the property of people deemed to be helping the spread of WMD": They would be able to "spy on people in America suspected of terrorism or having critical intelligence information, even if they are not suspected of committing a crime." (NBC Tonight, 29 June 2005).\


ANNEX


Text of H.R. 645: National Emergency Centers Establishment Act

This version: Introduced in House.

This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the House for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill available on this website.

[SOURCE: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-645]



HR 645 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 645

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2009

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘National Emergency Centers Establishment Act'.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure--

(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;

(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;

(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and

(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate not fewer than 6 military installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency centers.

(b) Minimum Requirements- A site designated as a national emergency center shall be--

(1) capable of meeting for an extended period of time the housing, health, transportation, education, public works, humanitarian and other transition needs of a large number of individuals affected by an emergency or major disaster;

(2) environmentally safe and shall not pose a health risk to individuals who may use the center;

(3) capable of being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures;

(4) capable of housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet training and first responders coordination requirements during nondisaster periods;

(5) capable of hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs;

(6) required to consist of a complete operations command center, including 2 state-of-the art command and control centers that will comprise a 24/7 operations watch center as follows:

(A) one of the command and control centers shall be in full ready mode; and

(B) the other shall be used daily for training; and

(7) easily accessible at all times and be able to facilitate handicapped and medical facilities, including during an emergency or major disaster.

(c) Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:

(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.

(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.

(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.

(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.

(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.

(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.

(d) Preference for Designation of Closed Military Installations- Wherever possible, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate a closed military installation as a site for a national emergency center. If the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense jointly determine that there is not a sufficient number of closed military installations that meet the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), the Secretaries shall jointly designate portions of existing military installations other than closed military installations as national emergency centers.

(e) Transfer of Control of Closed Military Installations- If a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Defense shall transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security administrative jurisdiction over such closed military installation.

(f) Cooperative Agreement for Joint Use of Existing Military Installations- If an existing military installation other than a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a cooperative agreement to provide for the establishment of the national emergency center.

(g) Reports-

(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an outline of the reasons why the site was selected;

(B) an outline of the need to construct, repair, or update any existing infrastructure at the site;

(C) an outline of the need to conduct any necessary environmental clean-up at the site;

(D) an outline of preliminary plans for the transfer of control of the site from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Homeland Security, if necessary under subsection (e); and

(E) an outline of preliminary plans for entering into a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f).

(2) UPDATE REPORT- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an update on the information contained in the report as required by paragraph (1);

(B) an outline of the progress made toward the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(C) an outline of the progress made toward entering a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(D) recommendations regarding any authorizations and appropriations that may be necessary to provide for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(3) FINAL REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) finalized information detailing the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(B) the finalized cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(C) any additional information pertinent to the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(4) ADDITIONAL REPORTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, may submit to Congress additional reports as necessary to provide updates on steps being taken to meet the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

This Act does not affect--

(1) the authority of the Federal Government to provide emergency or major disaster assistance or to implement any disaster mitigation and response program, including any program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); or

(2) the authority of a State or local government to respond to an emergency.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following definitions apply:

(1) CLOSED MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term ‘closed military installation' means a military installation, or portion thereof, approved for closure or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) that meet all, or 2 out of the 3 following requirements:

(A) Is located in close proximity to a transportation corridor.

(B) Is located in a State with a high level or threat of disaster related activities.

(C) Is located near a major metropolitan center.

(2) EMERGENCY- The term ‘emergency' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(3) MAJOR DISASTER- The term ‘major disaster' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(4) MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term ‘military installation' has the meaning given such term in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).