Finns Prepare For Euro's End: "Deeply Suspicious" of EU's 'Gang of Four'

While not advocating the break-up of the Euro-zone, Finland's foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja told the Daily Telegraph this evening that "it is only a matter of time". In a somewhat stunning show of truthiness, perhaps the first cracks in Europe's Nash Equilibrium are starting to show through following Monti's 'threats', Draghi's 'promises', and Merkel's 'well, nothings'. The Finn continues, via Reuters, "Either the south or the north will break away because this currency strait-jacket is causing misery for millions and destroying Europe's future." Finland, which has a veto that could be used to block any new bailout measures, has already stirred the pot unilaterally by demanding collateral from Greece and Spain, is quite clear in its view that Europe "is a total catastrophe" but adds that no-one wants to be first to get out of the Euro and take all the blame. Insisting that the break-up of the Euro does not mean the end of the European Union, Tuomioja believes "it could make the EU function better," but comments that he is deeply suspicious of the 'gang of four' - which includes Draghi - with regard his promises (especially ESM seniority) adding that he "does not trust these people."

 

Soros Unloads All Investments in Major Financial Stocks; Invests Over $130 Million In Gold

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:

n a harbinger of what may be coming our way in the Fall of 2012, billionaire financier George Soros has sold all of his equity positions in major financial stocks according to a 13-F report filed with the SEC for the quarter ending June 30, 2012.
Soros, who manages funds through various accounts in the US and the Cayman Islands, has reportedly unloaded over one million shares of stock in financial companies and banks that include Citigroup (420,000 shares), JP Morgan (701,400 shares) and Goldman Sachs (120,000 shares). The total value of the stock sales amounts to nearly $50 million.
What’s equally as interesting as his sale of major financials is where Soros has shifted his money. At the same time he was selling bank stocks, he was acquiring some 884,000 shares (approx. $130 million) of Gold via the SPDR Gold Trust.
When a major global player with direct ties to the White House, Wall Street, and the banking system starts off-loading stocks and starts stacking gold, it suggests a very serious market move is set to happen.
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com

Startling Evidence That Central Banks And Wall Street Insiders Are Rapidly Preparing For Something BIG

from The Economic Collapse Blog:

If you want to figure out what is going to happen next in the financial markets, carefully watch what the insiders are doing. Those that are “connected” have access to far better sources of information than the rest of us have, and if they hear that something big is coming up they will often make very significant moves with their money in anticipation of what is about to happen. Right now, Wall Street insiders and central banks all around the globe are making some very unusual moves. In fact, they appear to be rapidly preparing for something really big. So exactly what are they up to? In a previous article entitled “Are The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse?“, I speculated that they may be preparing for a financial meltdown of some sort. As I noted in that article, more than 600 banking executives have resigned from their positions over the past 12 months, and I have been personally told that a substantial number of Wall Street bankers have been shopping for “prepper properties” this summer. But now even more evidence has emerged that quiet preparations are being made for an imminent financial collapse. That doesn’t guarantee that something will happen or won’t happen. Like any good detective, we are gathering clues and trying to figure out what the evidence is telling us.
Read More @ TheEconomicCollpaseBlog.com

Expect Massive Short Covering In Gold Within Weeks

from KingWorldNews:

Today Egon von Greyerz told King World News, “… the paper shorts in gold and silver are going to have real problems.” Greyerz, who is founder and managing partner at Matterhorn Asset Management out of Switzerland, also said, “The short covering during the next few weeks and during this autumn is going to be massive.”
Here is what Greyerz had to say: “The real underlying figures (for the global economy) are still deteriorating. Just look at what’s happening in Europe now. A few days ago the eurozone GDP came out and it was down .2% for the quarter, and for the last twelve months it was down .4%. So Europe is suffering. But that’s just the beginning in my view.
I wouldn’t be surprised over the next two or three years to see a fall of 10% in GDP in the eurozone, and in other countries also, the UK and US. Just take an example of commercial property in Italy. In the second quarter of this year there were (only) 2 commercial property transactions in Italy. This was against 56 in the previous quarter.
I mean a drop from 56 to 2, it’s just come to a total standstill….”
Dan Norcini continues @ KingWorldNews.com

Chris Hedges: Empire of Illusion and the Cult of Spectacle and the Self

How to Introduce a Gold Standard

by Rafał Rudowski, Financial Sense:
The idea of restoring gold to its former monetary status (or, as it is often described, “returning to the gold standard”) seems to be increasingly popular all around the world. The main reason is the continuous debasement of all paper currencies that forces people to look for ways to protect their wealth. Additionally, it is commonly expected that the ongoing monetization of sovereign debts will lead to much higher inflation down the road. There is also a growing awareness that the government’s, or central bank’s, interference in the monetary sphere leads to various detrimental economic consequences such as distortions of price signals or inadequate levels of interest rates. Therefore, there is a need for a commodity money that would be hard to control and manipulate, and gold is the most obvious candidate to perform that role. Apart from that, it is becoming increasingly evident that the ability to create money by arbitrary decisions, which is a feature of fiat monetary systems, is a source of tremendous power and opens space for various forms of corruption. There are also many advocates of the idea of a global currency that would facilitate trade by removing costs, inconveniences, and risks connected with foreign exchange.
Read More @ Financial Sense.com

Doug Casey on Gun Control

by Louis James, Casey Research:
Doug: There’s been a spate of mass shootings and attempted shootings recently, which has all sorts of people calling for stricter, so-called gun-control laws.
L: I like my gun control: I’m no great marksman, but I can hit a man-sized target with a pistol at over 100 yards. I like having the tools to protect my family in case of need, and the training on how to do it.
Doug: Unfortunately, a majority in Congress don’t see it that way; their idea of gun control is to disarm citizens. It’s inevitable, I’m afraid. The type of person who gets into politics is naturally a busybody who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone else and is anxious to enforce his opinions using the state. Historically, one of the main differences between a slave and a free man has always been that a free man has the right to own weapons and defend himself. The average person the world over – absolutely including the US – has devolved into little better than a slave. He thinks he’s free because he has a relatively high standard of living, but he’s not much more than a lapdog who does as he’s told. And he better not even growl, much less try to defend himself, or his masters will lock him in a cage.
Read More @ CaseyResearch.com

Select Group of Federal Retirees Collect Six-Figure Pensions

by Dennis Cauchon, CNBC:
More than 21,000 retired federal workers receive lifetime government pensions of $100,000 or more per year, a USA TODAY/Gannett analysis finds.
Of these, nearly 2,000 have federal pensions that pay $125,000 or more annually, and 151 take home $150,000 or more. Six federal retirees get more than $200,000 a year.
Some 1.2 percent of federal retirees collect six-figure pensions. By comparison, 0.1 percent of military retirees collect as much.
Read More @ CNBC

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What? Me Worry?

by Bill Holter, MilesFranklin.com:
Just a little bit of news in the last 24 hours: The Hoarding Continues: China Has Imported More Gold In Six Months Than Portugal’s Entire Gold Reserve

No One Will Charged With a Crime for the MF Global Collapse

Social Security Administration To Purchase 174 Thousand Rounds Of Hollow Point Bullets
First, we learned that China has purchased 382 tonnes of Gold in the first 6 months of the year. This amounts to over 750 tonnes annualized and better than 25% of the worlds’ global production. When you add in their own production of over 200 tonnes, they will have accumulated nearly as much as the WGC says are their official holdings. Do you think that they may have a tad more than the 1054 tonnes that we are told? Of course, if you were already asking yourself this question, the next logical question would be “why are they so hellbent on accumulating more”? Especially at these current prices that we are assured daily that represent bubble prices in the stratosphere.
We also got the (good) news (for Jon Corzine) that NO ONE will be prosecuted for the commingling and THEFT of over $1 Billion in client funds at MF Global. …uh, is anyone surprised? Yep, under the rug with this one too. It was a “mistake” and as the CFTC has promised us, new regulations have been put in place to prevent this from ever happening again…until last month with PFG Best’s downfall. The fraud is so “in your face rampant” that even with the admission and paper trail that client funds were outright STOLEN (and looks to have ended up in JP Morgan’s pocket), NO ONE will even pay a penny in penalty or even 30 minutes time to be “booked”. No, it is now so bad that they don’t even bother to arrest anyone even for “appearance” sake. Meanwhile, back at the grocery store, the guy who stole a loaf of bread worth $1 to feed his family, got caught and will do 5 years time and charged a $10,000 fine. Gee…with this as precedent, I wonder how what the CFTC will be saying about the Silver investigation…anything?
Read more @ MilesFranklin.com

Britain’s Tax Fugitives Program Should be Seen Within a Larger Aggressive Ambit

from Staff Report, The Daily Bell:

HMRC publishes mugshots of 20 most wanted tax fugitives for first time … The names and faces of 20 most wanted “tax fugitives” who owe HM Revenue and Customs more than £700m are being published for the first time today. Plans published by Treasury minister David Gauke on Monday “to crack down on the promoters of aggressive, contrived tax avoidance schemes.” HMRC has decided to publish the FBI-style list of mugshots to try to enlist the support of the public in tracking them down. The names on the Most Wanted list are described as “tax criminals who have absconded after being charged with a crime or during trial.” – UK Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: Not paying your fair share is morally wrong.
Free-Market Analysis: What’s going on with Britain these days? As with America, its top government officials are getting increasingly aggressive when it comes to projecting power overseas.
Now they’re going to distribute “most wanted” posters of tax cheats. Being this is the 21st century, a lot of the distribution will take place electronically. Apparently, it’s enough to be simply charged with a crime (see article excerpt above).
It’s not just taxes; it’s everything … That’s the bigger concern.
This is a new century but Western nation-states are increasingly acting as if citizens’ rights had not been gorily established throughout the preceding centuries. Governing officials in both America and England have basically proclaimed that it is within the rights of the state to hold certain people indefinitely without trial and even to torture them.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com

Portugal being drained of its gold

by Jeff Nielson, SilverGoldBull:

This post is about tragedy, but there is also an important life-lesson here. First the tragedy. One of the Corporate carrion-feeders (Bloomberg) describes it nicely:
Gold Runs Out In Lisbon As Price Drop Compounds Money Misery
Understand the dual aspects of the tragedy being presented here. On the one hand we have the bankers having caused/created all the economic devastation (and loss of employment/incomes) being experienced by ordinary Portuguese residents. I’ve explained this in considerable detail in past commentaries, most notably a prior four-part series.
On the other hand, because of the success the bankers have had in suppressing the price of bullion over the past 18 months; desperate Portuguese residents who have been forced to exchange their gold (simply to feed their families) have been getting much less “money” (i.e. paper) in return.
The combined effect is that the banksters’ initial act of “economic rape” is forcing the Portuguese to use their gold (to survive), while their price suppression results in these people using up their gold much more rapidly. Think of clothing being “put through the wringer” of a washing-machine.
Read More @ SilverGoldBull

Lowest Rating Ever: 90% of Americans Disapprove With How Congress Is Handling Its Job

by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:

If you aren’t happy with how things are going in Congress you’re not alone. The most recent Gallup Survey, which asked respondents whether they “approve or disapprove with how Congress is handling its job,” shows that nine out of ten Americans are not happy.
It’s the lowest approval rating Congress has received in Gallup’s 38 years of performing the survey. 

Congress approval was 30% in Gallup’s first measure using this question wording in April 1974, and has averaged 34% across the more than 230 times it has been measured since.
Before 2007, Congress approval had been below 20% only twice — in 1979 and 1992. The highest congressional job approval in Gallup’s history was 84% in October 2001, a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com

The Fourth Amendment and the Drones: How Will It Apply?

by Joe Wolverton, II, The New American:

On a near daily basis, The New American chronicles the approach of the day when squadrons of drones will fill the skies of the United States. Scores of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will be deployed by state and local law enforcement, adding to the many already deployed by the federal government.
With the rise of the drones comes the rise of several critical questions of Constitutionality of their potential uses. One of the most crucial of those inquiries concerns the application of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against “unlawful searches and seizures” and the requirement that warrants be supported by affidavits “particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
As readers will recall, in June Senator Rand Paul introduced a bill “To protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles commonly called drones.” Paul’s bill mandates that:

[A] person or entity acting under the authority [of], or funded in whole or in part by, the Government of the United States shall not use a drone to gather evidence or other information pertaining to criminal conduct or conduct in violation of a statute or regulation except to the extent authorized in a warrant that satisfies the requirements of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

In support of his measure, Senator Paul explained that “Americans going about their everyday lives should not be treated like criminals or terrorists and have their rights infringed upon by military tactics.”
Read More @ TheNewAmerican.com

Europe Has Two Potential “Hail Mary” Passes … Would Either of Them Work?

from gpc1981, Gains Pains & Capital:

Mario Draghi claims he can save the Euro.
I don’t buy it… even for one second. As far as I can see the ECB has one of two “Bail Mary” options. They are:
1) Massive money printing and buying of sovereign debt
2) The issuance of Euro-bonds along with across the board banking backstops.
As I noted in a recent article, #1 is impossible. If the ECB does this it will implode the bond market, which means GAME OVER for all intervention. Look at the impact QE had on Treasuries and you’ll see what I mean. And that’s Treasuries we’re talking about… not PIIGS debt.
Now let’s consider the ECB’s second “Hail Mary” option: the issuance of Euro-bonds and across the board backstopping of EU banking deposits.
For starters, Angela Merkel has said that there will not be Euro-bonds for “as long as [she] live[s].” This is not a bluff. The issuance of Euro-bonds goes against the German constitution. If Merkel were to even consider this option she would likely be kicked out of office (remember she’s up for re-election next year).
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com

Global power grid failures being used to push smart grids

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:
India’s recent massive power grid failure – the largest in history which left some 670 million people without power – has renewed calls for so-called smart grids in the United States, as some analysts have questioned whether a similar event could occur in North America.
Initial thoughts of a similar situation happening in the U.S. draw criticism from many quarters, especially from power industry officials who note that the American grid is much more hearty.
“But there are still situations that can cause major failures, and the interconnected nature of the electrical grid means a problem in one place can be far-reaching,” writes Jesse Emspak at Discovery News.
Steven Greenlee, a spokesman for the California Independent System Operator Corporation, which manages power distribution for much of the state, notes that interconnectivity.
“Our grid is just one big machine,” he said.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com

Lindsey Williams: Death of the Dollar in 2012 – $3,000 Gold, $75 Silver

from LindseyWilliams.net:

Lindsey Williams on Radio Liberty in August 2012 talking with Dr. Stan Monteith regarding the latest information from a globalist insider, they have stopped drilling at the liberty rig in Alaska until the price of oil is $150 a barrel, gold and silver are going up to $3,000 and $75 per ounce respectively, every country in the middle east will be given to the MI5 controlled Muslim Brotherhood and the last country that will be taken over will be Saudi Arabia, the elite are six months behind in their take over of middle eastern countries because Russia stepped in to assist Syria, and the elite want to drown every country in debt before crashing the dollar after the elections and then issuing a new currency backed by gold.

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