Monthly Archives: March 2013

MI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD, claims new documentary

"British and US intelligence agencies were informed by top sources months before the invasion that Iraq had no active WMD programme, and the information was not passed to subsequent inquiries. Naji Sabri, Saddam's foreign minister, told the CIA's station chief in Paris at the time, Bill Murray, through an intermediary that Iraq had 'virtually nothing' in terms of WMD. Three months before the war an MI6 officer met Iraq's head of intelligence, Tahir Habbush al-Tikriti, who also said that Saddam had no active WMD. The meeting in the Jordanian capital took place days before the British government published its now widely discredited Iraqi weapons dossier in September 2002." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMI6 and CIA were told before invasion that Iraq had no active WMD, claims new documentary

U.S. denies alleged plot against Venezuelan government

"The United States on Monday emphatically denied it was involved in any plot against Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles ahead of the April 14 presidential vote. 'Let me say it here extremely clearly… the United States categorically rejects allegations of any US government involvement in any plots to destabilize the Venezuelan government or to harm anyone in Venezuela,' State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Capriles, whom the late president Hugo Chavez defeated in October elections, is running in the upcoming election against Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s handpicked successor." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. denies alleged plot against Venezuelan government

U.S. denies alleged plot against Venezuelan government

"The United States on Monday emphatically denied it was involved in any plot against Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles ahead of the April 14 presidential vote. 'Let me say it here extremely clearly… the United States categorically rejects allegations of any US government involvement in any plots to destabilize the Venezuelan government or to harm anyone in Venezuela,' State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Capriles, whom the late president Hugo Chavez defeated in October elections, is running in the upcoming election against Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s handpicked successor." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. denies alleged plot against Venezuelan government

Is The CIA Trying to Kill Pro-US Venezuelan Opposition?

"That is the claim made by Acting President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, who served as vice president under the late president, Hugo Chavez. Maduro claims that the US is plotting to assassinate the opposition candidate for president, Henrique Capriles Radonski, who polls suggest has almost no chance to win, and then pin the blame on the Venezuelan government. This, Maduro asserts, will bring about the kind of instability and public protest that the US has encouraged numerous times from the Color Revolutions to the Arab Spring." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs The CIA Trying to Kill Pro-US Venezuelan Opposition?

Is The CIA Trying to Kill Pro-US Venezuelan Opposition?

"That is the claim made by Acting President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, who served as vice president under the late president, Hugo Chavez. Maduro claims that the US is plotting to assassinate the opposition candidate for president, Henrique Capriles Radonski, who polls suggest has almost no chance to win, and then pin the blame on the Venezuelan government. This, Maduro asserts, will bring about the kind of instability and public protest that the US has encouraged numerous times from the Color Revolutions to the Arab Spring." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs The CIA Trying to Kill Pro-US Venezuelan Opposition?

Economists warn Cyprus will face a recession ‘for decades’ after EU deposit tax

"The controversial tax is seen hitting Russian pockets hard, with experts estimating that Russian deposits in Cypriot banks amount to at least 15.4 billion euros of the estimated 67 billion euros of deposits held by Cyprus banks. Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised the proposed tax, describing it, according to a Kremlin spokesman, as 'unfair, unprofessional and dangerous'. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was equally forthright. 'We should say this directly: this simply looks like the confiscation of other people’s money,' Russian news agencies quoted him as saying. 'I do not know who the author of this idea is, but this is what it looks like.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEconomists warn Cyprus will face a recession ‘for decades’ after EU deposit tax

Will Grigg: Prison Profiteers

"One aspect of drug prohibition that gets far too little attention is the fact that the drug war is immensely profitable for prohibitionists. No decent person has anything but contempt for Drug Kingpins – but it’s difficult to see how Prohibition Profiteers are any less contemptible. And they’re hardly the only people who have become wealthy by monetizing the misery generated in the prison-industrial complex. Public incarceration is the only consistently growing sector of our increasingly socialized economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: Prison Profiteers

Chinese solar panel company defaults on $541 million worth of bonds

"One of the world’s top two solar cell and panel producers, targeted last year by US trade sanctions, Suntech said it had already entered an agreement with 60 percent of the bond holders to hold off legal claims while a debt restructuring can be negotiated. The European Union began an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar panels in September last year, followed by an anti-subsidy probe in November. The United States last October confirmed hefty anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese solar cell makers, adding to trade tensions between the two economic powers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese solar panel company defaults on $541 million worth of bonds

Junk Bonds Soar in Price as Investors Seek Higher Rates

"Junk bonds are high-risk bonds. They are rated CCC — barely above default status. They pay higher interest rates because there is risk of default. You may not get your money back. The rush to buy junk bonds indicates desperation on the part of investors to get something like a decent return on their money. But to get less than 6%, an investor must put his money at risk — high risk. Investors are saying that they trust Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve. They are saying that the FED can create $1 trillion in fiat money from now on, and prices will not rise -- long-term rates will not rise -- the economy will recover." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJunk Bonds Soar in Price as Investors Seek Higher Rates

Report: Obama officials issued $216 billion in regulations last year

"The Obama administration issued $236 billion worth of new regulations last year, according to a report from a conservative think tank. The analysis from the American Action Forum, led by former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, found that the administration added $216 billion in rules and more than $20 billion in regulatory proposals in 2012. Complying with those rules will require an additional 87 million hours of paperwork, the report said. The group put the total price tag from regulations during Obama’s first term at more than $518 billion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReport: Obama officials issued $216 billion in regulations last year