Assistant Police Chief Mike Sanford stumbles on his way to confront black-clad May Day protesters in downtown Seattle last year.
One year after a May Day demonstration erupted in vandalism and caught Seattle police ill-prepared, the Police Department says it has learned from its mistakes and is ready to respond to problems when marchers return to the streets for Wednesday’s events.
Capt. Chris Fowler, who has been assigned to oversee this year’s planning, said Monday he was given a clear directive from the police brass about a month ago: Allow peaceful marchers to exercise their free-speech rights but be prepared to arrest people who commit crimes against people or property.
That message got muddled last year, when planning didn’t begin until a week before May Day and officers were sporadically deployed, with conflicting messages regarding when they could use force to stop violence.
As a result, police found themselves undermanned when dozens of violent protesters, including black-clad anarchists, broke away from a midday march, smashing windows at the William Kenzo Nakamura U.S. Courthouse, businesses and cars in the downtown core.
Assistant Chief Mike Sanford became a lightning rod for some critics when he bolted on his own in civilian clothing to make an arrest — forcing officers to come to his rescue and use force when he tripped and found himself surrounded by hostile protesters.
While no one was hurt, the business-oriented Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), upset at the police response, called for a thorough review.
The department responded with two reviews, one internal and another by a former Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief, but they were only released April 2 after delays.
This year, police are preparing for a 1:30 p.m. rally at Judkins Park in South Seattle, followed by a march to the downtown Henry M. Jackson Federal Building beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Local police are hoping for the best, and planning for the worst.
At a small coffee shop on 5th and Water in downtown Olympia, protesters, some who consider themselves anarchists, gathered for a strategy session… May Day planning, but they didn’t let the media in and declined to send somebody out to talk with us.
We did talk with Mark McElroy across the street.
He’s not a protester but he supports their right to do so.
“I think it’s important for people to have the right to protest. That’s one of the cornerstones of American democracy is protest so I think that’s a valuable component of being an American citizen,” Mark McElroy said.
Valuable component as long as it doesn’t go too far.
Police fear the violence that erupted in Seattle last year.
“Peaceful protests are fine. Our concern is a criminal element getting mixed up in legitimate protests and causing trouble and for those folks we want them to know that won’t be tolerated,” Olympia Police department spokesperson Laura Wohl said.
Germany and The Central Bank are Pressuring Cyprus to steal from it’s citizens as and answer for fiscal irresponsibility. The Central Bank has ordered banks to block citizens access to their own personal accounts. Thereby barring access to their own money. I suppose they are biding their time making sure that people do not empty their accounts before the decision to allow them to steal the money is reached.
Since when is this kind of blatant theft not an unlawful act? Who do they EU and the Central Bank think they are to be coercing the government to commit this crime against it’s people?
Cyprus’s central bank has written to the island’s lenders to ask them to block customer’s transfers and payments, according to reports on the island.
Cypriot website 24h revealed on Sunday that the Central Bank of Cyprus wrote to Cypriot lenders on Saturday, March 16 to ask them to stop all form of payments from their accounts, even those that were from one account at the bank to another.
The measure comes after the Eurogroup asked Cyprus to impose a one-off tax on depositors as part of its bailout.
Kathimerini English Edition understands that the capital controls do not apply to the units of Cypriot banks in Greece. Normal restrictions on cash withdrawals and electronic transfers are in place.
The depositor tax will not apply to Cypriot bank units in Greece but the branches are set to be absored by a Greek lender by Tuesday.
The proposed levy had caused an outcry among many Cypriots
Germany’s finance minister has warned Cyprus that its crisis-stricken banks may never be able to reopen if it rejects the terms of a bailout.
Wolfgang Schaeuble said major Cypriot banks were “insolvent if there are no emergency funds”.
He was speaking after the Cypriot parliament rejected an international bailout deal that would have imposed a one-off tax on bank deposits.
Frantic talks are under way to try to agree an alternative plan.
Leaders of political parties in Cyprus are due to meet later after parliament rejected the controversial levy, proposed as part of a 10bn-euro (£8.7bn; $13bn) bailout package.
The BBC’s Mark Lowen, in Nicosia, says the country is in turmoil and the eurozone’s plan has completely unravelled,
Analysis
Mark Lowen BBC News, Nicosia
There may have been jubilation among many Cypriots at Tuesday night’s parliamentary defeat of the hated banking tax, but now the country faces a tough reality.
The EU bailout has been derailed and Cyprus is edging towards bankruptcy. But talks are also continuing with the EU to find a credible alternative.
The eurozone’s third smallest economy has just sent a resounding message of defiance to Brussels. And the impact will spread far beyond this tiny island.
Not a single MP voted in favour of the controversial deal, sending a clear message to Brussels that the strategy needs a drastic rethink, our correspondent adds.
Late on Tuesday, Mr Schaeuble said that he “regretted” the vote.
“The ECB (European Central Bank) has made it clear that without a reform programme for Cyprus the aid can’t continue. Someone has to explain this to the Cypriots and I think there’s a danger that they won’t be able to open the banks again at all,” he said.
“Two big Cypriot banks are insolvent if there are no emergency funds from the European Central Bank,” Mr Schaeuble added.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades called the talks between party leaders when it became clear that the measure would not be passed by parliament.
Fearing a run on accounts, Cyprus has shut its banks until at least Thursday. The local stock exchange also remains closed.
Cyprus’ banks were badly exposed to Greece, which has itself been the recipient of two huge bailouts.
People line up at an ATM in Nicosia to withdraw cash on Thursday.
Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images
The clock is ticking on Cyprus’ fiscal cliff.
The European Central Bank has given the Mediterranean country just four days to come up with its own bailout plan, or a eurozone lifeline to its struggling banks will be severed.
The ultimatum comes after Cypriot lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a highly unpopular proposal put forward by the European Central bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund to give the country’s banks half of a $13 billion bailout package if they can raise the other half from a steep levy on the country’s personal savings accounts.
Since then, the Cyprus government has been struggling to come up with a “Plan B” that will satisfy international lenders. If Cyprus can’t do it by Monday, the ECB will pull the plug on Cypriot banks, which would likely precipitate a collapse of the island’s financial institutions and send shock waves through European and world markets.
Update at 2:40 p.m. ET: Cyprus Bank To Be Restructured:
NPR’s Joanna Kakissis reports that the governor of Cyprus’ central bank, Panicos Demetriades, says country’s second largest bank, Cyprus Popular Bank, will be restructured to forestall its imminent collapse next week. Cyprus Popular Bank has placed a $336 (260 euro) limit on ATM withdrawals.
Our original post:
Kakissis, reporting from the Cypriot capital Nicosia, says the country’s banks were drained by exposure to the Greek debt crisis. But EU and IMF leaders see the island as a haven for offshore investment, especially by wealthy Russians, and want depositors to pay for part of a bailout.
Banks have been closed until Tuesday to prevent a bank run, but ATMs have been restocked so people can withdraw money, Kakissis says.
The Parliament in Cyprus could vote on a plan to raise the $7.5 billion as early as Thursday
Of course people will protest. They have closed the banks and block access to their money. I would dare say it is a very logical reaction to being robbed,wouldn’t you ?
And yet it is typical of this type of strong arm tactic for the victim to be treated as the criminal,while the criminal is protected. Truly ironic is it not ?
Demonstrators outside the House of Representatives yesterday wearing Angela Merkel masks
AROUND 1,000 people gathered outside Parliament yesterday despite a vote on the proposed haircut being postponed until today at 6pm.
Around half of the protesters dispersed quite quickly after receiving news that the vote had been put back, planning on regrouping outside the House today.
“I’m here for the same reason as everyone else to protest the bill and we will come tomorrow and the next day if required,” 56-year-old insurance salesman Lambros Kannaouros said.
“The decision to make the people pay is unfair,” he added.
Petros Heracleous a 26-year-old unemployed protester believed that attempts to restructure the haircut were pre-planned to make the people think that the politicians were trying to change something. “We prefer to keep our pride instead of suffering the repercussions of a haircut,” he said.
Forty-year-old telecommunications regulator, Yiannos Demetriou felt that a haircut would go against human rights and against the Cyprus constitution. “They are trying to take advantage of us so they can take our natural gas and impose a solution to the Cyprus problem that will suit foreign powers,” he said. “If Anastasiades is assuming the political cost of the haircut then he should call for a referendum or even call a general election,” he added.
Cyprus finance minister Michalis Saris arrives to meet his Russian counterpart in Moscow. Photo:
Banks in Cyprus are to remain closed on Thursday and Friday, the government has said, amid continuing uncertainty over an EU bailout that required a 10 per cent tax on savings.
President Nicos Anastasiades will chair a meeting with the parliamentary party leaders tomorrow at 9.30am at the Presidential Palace.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the EU and Cyprus’ handling of the country’s ongoing economic crisis, saying they are acting “like a bull in a china shop”, the state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron has reaffirmed that any British military or government personnel in Cyprus would not lose their savings due to the crisis.
Local news in Cyprus is reporting an escalation in the protests that have begun in the wake of attempts by EU chiefs to confiscate the savings of depositors. The news of possible bank closures has enraged the public. It appears that in order to keep things under control, the Central Bank is discussing a possible bank merger rather than a full shut down.
The Central Bank of Cyprus today intervened to quash frantic reports that Cyprus Popular Bank is to be closed down.
The reports sent hundreds of Cyprus Popular Bank employees and holders of the bank’s bonds out into the streets. Police deployed a strong force outside the Bank’s headquarters in the capital Nicosia to prevent them smashing into the building. (Source)
Here is a video showing police in riot gear on the scene:
Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation says the following:
The European Central Bank today said it had decided to allow the Central Bank of Cyprus to keep providing banks with emergency funding until this coming Monday.
An ECB statement said that thereafter, Emergency Liquidity Assistance can only be considered if a rescue programme is in place that would ensure the solvency of the banks involved. (Source)
Meanwhile, President Anastasiades supposedly has a Plan B ready:
Cyprus’s political leadership today decided on a package of measures dubbed “plan B” to avert a financial meltdown, as the finance minister is engaged in rescue talks with Russian officials in Moscow….
No details of the plan were immediately announced, but Averof Neophytou, a close associate of President Nicos Anastasiades said that there had been a unanimous decision to establish a “Solidarity Fund”. (Source)
Recent photos of the protests were posted at ZeroHedge, which you can see HERE. One protester can be seen holding a sign that says, “Where is the solidarity?”
We’ll keep you posted as this develops. Previous updates and videos can be found below…
ATMs in Cyprus were drained over the weekend, electronic transfers were halted, and riots ensued following a decision by European Union chiefs to raid private savings accounts to help pay for the country’s $13 billion bailout. It was believed that there were plans to stretch a bank holiday to at least one week, while the exact measures were decided upon. However, yesterday the Cypriot parliament rejected the scheme outright, leading many to speculate that this would be the start of something even worse.
Sure enough, much like the U.S. Federal Reserve threatened martial law and blood in the streets if Congress didn’t accept sweeping bailouts in 2008, now Germany is saying that Cypriot banks might never reopen after parliament’s decision:
Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble said major Cypriot banks were “insolvent if there are no emergency funds,” according to a BBC report, meaning savers might lose all their money if no deal was reached. (Source)
There is extreme worry that if the banks do reopen, capital flight is all but assured. Meanwhile, similar confiscation schemes are being proposed for Italy and New Zealand (more on that below), spurring questions about which other nations are in line for a “haircut” . . . perhaps better called “the chopping block.”
Whether or not Cyprus gets its bailout in one form or another — perhaps from Russia — this is a precedent-setting crisis that is already leading to such a level of distrust in Cyprus that merchants are even refusing credit card payments. This is indeed shaping up to be a potential “Lehman Brothers Moment” with ramifications that could extend even beyond the troubled nations of Europe.
The euro zone agreed on Saturday to hand Cyprus a bailout worth 10 billion euros ($13 billion), but demanded depositors in its banks forfeit some money to stave off bankruptcy despite the risk of a wider run on savings.
….
In a radical departure from previous aid packages – and one that gave rise to incredulity and anger across the country – euro zone finance ministers forced Cyprus’ savers to pay up to 10 percent of their deposits to raise almost 6 billion euros.
Cyprus president Nicos Anastasiades agreed to the deal, which completely reversed his previous assurances that it would not happen. It sets a very dangerous precedent for future bailouts. As if brutal austerity wasn’t enough, the EU is now demanding a bailout tax making citizens and expat depositors alike personally liable for government and private bank debts. Reuters also notes that according to a draft of the legislation, criminal penalties of up to 3 years in jail and 50,000 euros could be imposed upon anyone who doesn’t comply.
Most of the 10 billion euros will go to bail out Cypriot banks, which took a blow when their substantial holdings of Greek government bonds were written down as part of that country’s second bailout.
Britain has 60,000 depositors in Cypriot banks, including thousands of military and government personnel stationed on the island. George Osborne highlighted that Cypriot banks in England would not be subjected to the tax (originally proposed at 6.75% for accounts under 100,000 Euros; 9.9% for those over 100,000), but expat depositors apparently will – government and military excluded:
George Osborne vowed today that those serving in Britain’s military or government in Cyprus will be protected after European finance chiefs ordered an unprecedented raid on personal bank accounts.
Up to 60,000 British savers are to lose thousands of pounds each as expats in Cyprus have their savings decimated in part of a painful bid to bail out the bankrupt island.
The Chancellor said the financial situation in Cyprus was ‘an example of what happens if you don’t show the world that you can pay your way’, adding: ‘We are not part of the bailout.’ (Source)
The tax is being justified as a last-ditch effort to raise money and keep Cyprus from supposedly causing a domino effect across the Eurozone as indebted nations begin to collapse. Cyprus had set itself up as a strong banking center for investors, but many are outraged over Anastasiades’ about-face:
Those affected will include rich Russians with deposits in Cyprus and Europeans who have retired to the island, as well as Cypriots themselves.
“I’m furious,” said Chris Drake, a former Middle East correspondent for the BBC who lives in Cyprus. “There were plenty of opportunities to take our money out; we didn’t because we were promised it was a red line which would not be crossed.”
“I’ve lost several thousand,” he told Reuters.
ZeroHedge reports that it is those “rich Russians” who could wind up angriest. Eurogroup had suggested that depositors under 100,000 euros should maintain their insurance against such a scheme, but it is possible that larger depositors will absorb their percentage by moving the top percentage tax to 15.6%.
The Eurogroup will give Cyprus more flexibility on bank levy, and that Cyprus should safeguard depositors under €100,000, even as the full €5.8 billion deposit goal must still be hit.
….
(The) Russian response to the discovery that haircuts on big deposits just rose from 9.9% to over 15.6% will hardly be warm and cuddly. Now may be a good time to ban gun (and plutonium) sales to angry Russian billionaire oligarchs. (Source)
However, the changes continue today, 3/19.
The President just proposed the ‘levy’ on deposits begin at EUR 20,000 just hours ahead of today’s planned vote.
CYPRUS REVISED BILL SEES NO LEVY ON DEPOSITS UP TO EU 20,000
However, it is still theft of private property which appears to be the philosophical stumbling block for the parties involved and therefore today’s vote appears to be delayed:
ANASTASIADES TO MEET PARTY LEADERS 9 AM TOMORROW: SPOKESPERSON
CYPRUS PARLIAMENT BANK-LEVY VOTE MAY HAPPEN TOMORROW, CYBC SAYS (Source)
Members of the troika of international lenders arrive at the Presidential Palace yesterday (Christos Theodorides)
THE government yesterday ordered banks to stay shut until next week as it toyed with the idea of re-submitting a proposal on tax deposits – at a much lower rate than the previous scheme – as it scrambled to avert a financial meltdown.
The government was yesterday trying to find alternative solutions after parliament on Tuesday rejected the terms of a bailout from the European Union and turned instead to Russia for a lifeline.
“We don’t have days or weeks, we have only hours to save our country,” Averof Neophytou, ruling DISY deputy chairman, told reporters as crisis talks in Nicosia dragged into the evening.
Neophytou tried to get the message through to other parties.
“I believe we will not be the cursed generation of politicians who will let our country go bankrupt,” Neophytou added.
It was suggested yesterday that the government may submit a bill today proposing a haircut on deposits but at lower rates than legislation that was rejected by parliament on Tuesday.
MPs threw out a proposed tax on bank deposits in exchange for a €10-billion bailout from the EU, a stunning rejection of the kind of strict austerity accepted over the past three years by crisis-hit Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy.
The tax — 6.7 per cent on deposits under €100,000 and 9.9 per cent on deposits over €100,000 — was designed to fetch the government €5.8 billion.
The shortfall from the lower rates could be covered by nationalising the provident funds of semi-state companies.
Bank of Cyprus vice president Evdokimos Xenophontos said the situation could be reversed but warned against touching foreign deposits.
“We cannot do it to foreign depositors who trusted us. This could be theft,” he told reporters after meeting President Nicos Anastasiades last night.
Xenophontos said only Cypriots must foot the bill in exchange for bank warrants, better interest rates, etc.
“If we protect them (foreigners) even if they leave, they will come back. We lived through an invasion and we overcame the difficulties on our own,” he said.
THE NUMBER of non-Cypriots living on the island number over 170.000, the vast majority of whom would have Cypriot bank accounts and are would be affected by a deposit haircut.
The full figure of 170,383 is from the population census carried out by the statistical services in October 2011, published in January this year.
Of the 170,383 non-Cypriots living in Cyprus at the time, 106,270 were EU citizens and 64,113 were non-European. From the European citizens, statistics show that the number of Greeks was the highest at 29,321, then Britons at 24,046, Romanians 23,706, and Bulgarians 18,536.
From the non-European citizen, Filippinos numbered 9,413, Russians 8,164, Sri Lankans 7,269, and Vietnamese 7,028.
Greeks, Romanians and Bulgarians mainly resided in Nicosia while most UK citizens resided in coastal areas such as, Paphos during the research period. The majority of Russian citizens resided in Limassol.
From the non-European citizens the majority lived in Nicosia.
“The population census is carried out once every ten years,” Georgia Ioannou, a statistics officer said. “Since 1982, we have been conducting this survey on October 1. We do not do the survey during the summer period as many people are on holiday and we also do not want to visit people’s homes during Christmas or Easter,” she said.
“We use the traditional method of going from home to home with a questionnaire. We mark down all residents of Cyprus who have been in the country for more than one year or are planning to stay for over a year,” Ioannou said.
The population of Cyprus during the latest population census was 840,407 people, 431,627 were women compared to 408,780 men. From the 106.270 European citizens, 53,607 were men and 52,663 were women. From the 64,113 Non-European citizens, the women were 41,114 and men were 22,999.
ATMs in Cyprus were drained over the weekend, electronic transfers were halted, and riots ensued following a decision by European Union chiefs to raid private savings accounts to help pay for the country’s $13 billion bailout. It was believed that there were plans to stretch a bank holiday to at least one week, while the exact measures were decided upon. However, yesterday the Cypriot parliament rejected the scheme outright, leading many to speculate that this would be the start of something even worse.
Sure enough, much like the U.S. Federal Reserve threatened martial law and blood in the streets if Congress didn’t accept sweeping bailouts in 2008, now Germany is saying that Cypriot banks might never reopen after parliament’s decision:
Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble said major Cypriot banks were “insolvent if there are no emergency funds,” according to a BBC report, meaning savers might lose all their money if no deal was reached. (Source) There is extreme worry that if the banks do reopen, capital flight is all but assured. Meanwhile, similar confiscation schemes are being proposed for Italy and New Zealand (more on that below), spurring questions about which other nations are in line for a “haircut” . . . perhaps better called “the chopping block.”
Whether or not Cyprus gets its bailout in one form or another — perhaps from Russia — this is a precedent-setting crisis that is already leading to such a level of distrust in Cyprus that merchants are even refusing credit card payments. This is indeed shaping up to be a potential “Lehman Brothers Moment” with ramifications that could extend even beyond the troubled nations of Europe.
The euro zone agreed on Saturday to hand Cyprus a bailout worth 10 billion euros ($13 billion), but demanded depositors in its banks forfeit some money to stave off bankruptcy despite the risk of a wider run on savings.
….
In a radical departure from previous aid packages – and one that gave rise to incredulity and anger across the country - euro zone finance ministers forced Cyprus’ savers to pay up to 10 percent of their deposits to raise almost 6 billion euros.
Cyprus president Nicos Anastasiades agreed to the deal, which completely reversed his previous assurances that it would not happen. It sets a very dangerous precedent for future bailouts. As if brutal austerity wasn’t enough, the EU is now demanding a bailout tax making citizens and expat depositors alike personally liable for government and private bank debts. Reuters also notes that according to a draft of the legislation, criminal penalties of up to 3 years in jail and 50,000 euros could be imposed upon anyone who doesn’t comply.
The Cypriot central bank has denied reports today that stricken Cyprus Popular Bank, the island’s second-largest lender, is to be closed down, Reuters is reporting.
“We deny these reports. Efforts are under way right now to find the best possible solution for this bank,” Central Bank spokeswoman Aliki Stylianou told state television.
A man reads a note on the shutters of a Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB) branch informing customers that the bank will remain closed. Credit: Reuters
Cyprus pins hopes on creation of solidarity fund as ECB threatens to cut off lending
Political leaders in Cyprus have agreed that their country should form an investment fund to raise the capital needed to agree a bailout with the eurozone and International Monetary Fund and avert a collapse of its banking system.
The deputy leader of Cyprus’s conservative DISY party Averof Neofytou announced the agreement within a few hours of the European Central Bank saying that it was set to cut off lending to insolvent Cypriot banks on Monday.
“We will find a solution,” said Neofytou. “We have no other choice. We are making a united effort to avoid our country’s bankruptcy and I think we will succeed.”
Nicosia plans to create a fund collateralized by state assets, possibly including natural gas revenues, church property and social security fund reserves. A proposal is due to be submitted to the House of Representatives on Thursday evening.
A government official who declined to be named told Bloomberg that some kind of deposit tax was not being ruled out.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris continued talks in Moscow, with Cyprus hoping there would be Russian interest in Cypriot banks or in contributing to the investment fund being created.
Sarris told Cypriot state broadcaster that he would meet two Russian ministers on Thursday evening and that the main aim would be to convince Moscow to invest in the wealth fund to be set up by the Nicosia government.
“We are asking for help clearly, but something that would make also economic sense for Russia,” Sarris told reporters earlier.
Cyprus is also asking Moscow to extend the maturity of an existing 2.5-billion-euro loan. Sarris said that Russia was unable to provide Cyprus with a new loan.
Neofytou said that Cyprus would welcome Russian assistance but still needed to balance this against the requirements of remaining in the eurozone.
“We cannot reject any form of help but we are in the euros and we need the continue support of the ECB for liquidity,” he said. “Any support is welcome but we should not forget that we are in Europe and we need European institutions to stabilize our economy.”
I seem to recall a country that was also being pressured to accept the terms of a bailout. Its people were upset and angered over the aspect of having to bailout a bank for their fiscal irresponsibility. The government listened to it’s People and rejected the terms of the bailout. Lo and behold the world did not implode and they are still there. Doing quite nicely I might add….
When I first heard Iceland was allowing its taxpayers to vote on whether or not they should repay $5.7 billion that one of its defunct banks owes the U.K. and Netherlands, the angry taxpayer in me took hold and I hoped that they’d vote against repaying.
Turns out the Icelanders felt the same the resentment and said so today when they voted down a deal to repay the British and Dutch. Their rejection essentially revolts against the idea that taxpayers should be held responsible for banks’ financial problems.
Think about it this way, if given the choice back in 2008, would you have paid your share to save AIG, or any other financial institution, and in turn its creditors?
The situation in Iceland is a little trickier than that since the institution in question was a bank, Landsbanki Islands, whose depositors included folks from Britain and the Netherlands. When Landsbanki Islands blew up in 2008 leaving depositors without their money, the British and Dutch government stepped in and bailed out their respective depositors to keep them from panicking.
Now though, those governments want that money back. And since whatever assets are left of Landsbanki Islands are not enough to recover the total $5.7 billion, the people of Iceland are left footing what remains of the bill–estimated to be around $2 billion.
Help comes from Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden
The IMF will pump about $827 million into the Icelandic economy immediately
The goal is to stabilize the country’s finances and shore up its currency
Iceland is facing severe recession after a series of bank failures in October
(CNN) — Nordic countries agreed to lend struggling Iceland $2.5 billion to help it recover from a series of crippling bank failures, bolstering a $2.1 billion aid package from the International Monetary Fund, their governments announced Thursday.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde has been trying to drum up support for Iceland’s bailout.
“This is a first step to get Iceland out of its current serious financial and economic situation,” the governments of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden announced in a joint statement. “The banking crisis in Iceland is of unprecedented proportions and has serious implications for the country’s economy.”
The statement follows the IMF’s decision on Wednesday to pump about $827 million into the Icelandic economy immediately, with another $1.3 billion coming in eight installments. Both moves are aimed at stabilizing Iceland’s finances and shoring up its currency, which plummeted after a series of bank failures in October.
Iceland sought IMF help after its government was forced to nationalize three banks to head off a complete collapse of its financial system. Trading on the country’s stock market was suspended for nearly a week, economic growth nearly flatlined and inflation jumped to more than 12 percent.
“As a result,Iceland is facing a severe recession, given the high debt level in the economy and significant dependence of the private sector on foreign currency and inflation-indexed debt,” John Lipsky, the IMF’s acting chairman, said in a statement announcing the decision.
A look at what Putin gains—newfound economic might
It’s mere coincidence, of course. But to Vladimir Putin, the man who called the Soviet Union’s demise the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century, just the thought of saving Iceland’s hide must seem like redemption.
In 1986 Iceland hosted the Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, a meeting momentous for its unplanned evolution into a conversation on nuclear disarmament between the two leaders—but also as a catalyst for the 1991 August coup against Gorbachev that sparked the USSR’s implosion.
“It was a sign of change in the Soviet Union, in many ways in the decline of the Soviet Union,” says Shamil Yenikeyeff, a Russia expert at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Now Reykjavik is asking Moscow for a $5.5 billion emergency loan to prop up its economy after its banking system collapsed two weeks ago amid the global credit disaster. And Russia is positioned, as a revitalized once-superpower flush with cash, to rescue Iceland, a NATO member praised for its chart-topping living standard! To Putin and the Kremlin, could there be a sweeter arc to the last two decades of Russian history?
That may be putting it a bit too strongly: even if Moscow grants the loan, Iceland will need a lot more cash, probably from the International Monetary Fund’s pocket. Still, Putin’s famous lament suggests a partial answer to the question that’s abounded since reports of the loan surfaced: What’s Russia after here?
True, $5.5 billion isn’t a staggering sum for a country with around 100 times as much in cash reserves. Nor is the loan a done deal: agreement wasn’t reached in the first round of negotiations last week. But the gesture alone—even the possibility—is significant. After all, Russia was a financial and political basket case just 10 years ago and has its own economic woes at the moment.
Pride, surely, isn’t the only prize: the seas of the “High North” are rich in fish and energy resources, and Moscow needs to show the world it’s a good global citizen after trouncing Georgia this summer. But for a leadership keenly aware of Russia’s less than auspicious place in modern history texts, this is an opportunity to further demonstrate that indeed there is a new world order, and it’s not the one George H.W. Bush foresaw in 1990.
Now let’s be honest. We all know that unless something goes extremely wrong we will not be seeing any zombies like the ones in the Hollywood Horror flicks B or otherwise. The CDC claims they are using the term tongue in cheek to get younger people interested in preparedness. Ok, I can deal with that. However, more than just the CDC are referring to zombies. So what exactly are they referring to if they are not talking about the brain eating , gnaw on your entrails kind of zombie?
Well in most instances they are referring to those who have laughed when approached with the concept of preparing for a potential disaster. Neighbors, Co- workers, family members, people that we run into in our everyday lives You know who they are , we have all run into them now and again. Some maybe more than others. Or the multitude that will become ill from lack of medicine, water, hygiene as well as accidents.
Now I really think that referring to these people as zombies is a bit over the top. However, I think we can agree that in a disaster scenario where despair , hunger or perhaps injury of themselves or a loved one will propel anyone of these individuals to an act of violence in the grips of fear .
All one need do is watch a video of the Black Friday Madness, or what happens during a blackout to understand what the potential for violence and lawlessness can be. Think Hurricane Katrina and the scenario in New Orleans. Think Hurricane Sandy and the multitude of people who were unprepared. How many resorted to dumpster diving because they had nothing to eat in their homes and there was nothing available in the surrounding area. If Occupy had not taken it upon themselves to start helping when FEMA and the government failed to do their job, what could have developed?
Now let’s go a bit further and imagine with all the people affected by Hurricane Sandy. What happens if there are neighbors that they are aware of had been storing food and water. The government is not helping. FEMA is not helping. Occupy had not been a factor. Their children are going hungry, they have elderly that must be cared for and they neither have food nor supplies. Now please understand I am an eternal optimist and I believe there are a lot of good people out there. However, if there is something life has taught me is that there are not so good people out there as well. This is what you must prepare for. The good people, the ones that understand that violence is not the answer will not be an issue.
What do you do about the ones who are?
Have you considered it?
Have you prepared?
Can you tell me aside from the fact that zombies are dead and out to eat you rather than your supplies what the difference would be? In either case they would threaten the survival of your loved ones and yourself. And , well there is always the possibility that the development of mutant and killer virus’ in government and military research labs should be a concern to everyone.
As we already know things will be difficult enough with the sheer amount of people that will be sickened and dying in a scenario such as this lasting an extended period of time especially in a collapse , as the following article details……
Electricity hasn’t been around all that long. For most of our history mankind has managed very well without it. Large numbers of people around the world still live without an electricity supply. If the grid goes down does it really mean the end of the human race?
On June 3rd I did a post about pandemics. I said in the introduction, that in my opinion only two things could be serious enough to put an end to humans. Pandemic and grid failure. Looking at the figures for the 1918-1920 pandemic, and using those percentages with current population, it seems I may have been wrong in my assumptions about pandemics.
So, onto grid failure, which to cover all the things that would be affected, and the speed at which they would be affected would need a large book, it is way too big a subject for an article. This article is based the things we have all heard, that 99% of the population of the United States would be dead within a year and that the world population will plummet. Let’s see.
I have chosen 2010 as the year all of the figures relate to, as that is the closest year that has a full set of statistics available. Figures are taken from World Health Organization records, love them or hate them they are very good pen pushers and compile statistics about anything and everything.
Okay, we all know that if the grid goes down, so does everything else in short order. Food supply chain, large scale agriculture,hospitals, traffic lights, everything that we regard as part of the very fabric of our lives. We have come to rely on electricity to such an extent that should it vanish from our lives it really would mean the end of the world as we know it. The question is though, would it be an extinction level event?
In 2010 there were 133,000,000 million births and 57,000,000 deaths from all causes. The WHO records the following for 2010:
34,000,000 known type 1 diabetics world wide.
64,234,000 known COPD (chronic obstructive airways disease sufferers)world wide.
22,800,000 known cancer sufferers world wide.
These conditions are considered to be those that contribute most to the mean global death rates. Now I am not a statistician, and it is impossible to know the life expectancy of the people suffering from these conditions, so, for the purposes of the exercise I am going to assume they all die in the first year.
This would add 120,000,000 deaths to the 57,000,0000 ‘usual’ deaths giving us 177,000,000 deaths for the first year. On top of this there would be a rise in the murder rate, the death rate from heart attacks would soar, mainly due to unfit people having to engage in hard physical labor, and deaths from lack of medication and medical intervention would skyrocket, as would deaths from malnutrition and disease.
Then we have those in the Prepper and non Prepper community usually at odds with the way one or the other chooses to prepare . As well as their outlook. Not to mention those who outright ridicule and insult those who seriously prepare for a future unseen disaster scenario. Anyone who has seriously embarked on preparing and have tried to explain to family and friends why they should as well, have experienced this. So you are well aware of what I mean when I say this…..
Why is there such a chasm between preppers and non-preppers? It’s because of ignorance on BOTH sides.
1. Preppers look down on non-preppers.
Many seem to be thinking that non-preppers are silly, ignorant little children.
2. Non-preppers think that preppers are insane.
They think that preppers are focused on ridiculous problems and wasting money on solutions that they will never use.
Both are wrong.
Most people ARE preppers.
You might be a prepper if:
*you check your car’s spare tire
*you keep bandaids in your house
*you are saving money for a rainy day
*you keep a can of Fix-a-flat in your car
Those are preps!
There are more preppers than either side is willing to admit.
WE aren’t arguing apples and oranges. We are arguing about how many apples we need. It’s a matter of scale.
It isn’t a matter of intelligence. It’s a matter of having different priorities.
And then we have those unprepared neighbors that you spoke to early on and tried to get them to think seriously about prepping. All they would do was kid you about your preparing for the end of the world. Laugh a little at you , shake their heads and walk away always turning your concerned advice into jokes and an opportunity to poke fun at you. If not just outright call you nuts?
The following is an episode from the Twilight Zone. Yes it is just a show , it’s not real. However, if you watch it , you will see in the developing drama that everything that happens is indeed plausible. If you watch it you can see how a scenario like that can easily develop even among people you thought you knew well. One never knows and can never be sure how any one individual will react or behave in a situation such as this. Watch the videos and think about it….. I bet the possibility of it taking place won’t seem so crazy then…..
A Twilight Zone episode called “The Shelter” illustrates one scenario in being surrounded by people who are unprepared yet know you have been preparing and scoff at your efforts. I thought I would share this with everyone and thank DEMCAD for bringing it to my attention
Here we have a situation that is growing incrementally with every passing day in the US alone. We have seen the devastating circumstances in Greece, Spain and throughout the Middle East. Austerity, government corrupt exorbitant spending, rising food and energy prices, loss of jobs, corrupt banks and financial institutions, etc , etc , etc.
The number of homeless can no longer be ignored. For those who deny that there is a problem and that the economy is indeed recovering. Those who choose to believe the lies and the manipulated numbers for unemployment and job creation wake up and face reality. The homeless of today are working middle class that have lost their jobs, their homes . They live in tent cities, in their cars, in public parks when they can. They hide their homelessness and their need due to pride and those who refuse to see the truth accept the subterfuge because it is easier to lie to themselves than admit that it could very well happen to them.
Why do you lie to yourselves?
How long do you believe you can keep those blinkers on?
Do you really believe that ignoring reality will change it or make it go away?
The longer it is ignored the longer it goes unchallenged the worse it will get.
How many children have to be homeless for those of you in denial to get it ?
How many children in the US have to go hungry before you can deal with the truth of what is going on beneath your very nose?
I don’t know about you , but I see people now more than ever on the street asking for help because they are homeless and unemployed. Today a man with a sign stating that they were homeless and he had 3 children with him. Everyone looking the other way.
How can you live with yourself?
I gave what I had. Granted I don’t have much but no matter how bad off I am I have a roof over my head and even if it is peanut butter sandwiches I have food to eat even on the worst day. So many just passed by this man and his children not even giving them a passing glance. How sad , how very sad that we have turned into this kind of Nation.
Well I am here to disturb your little fantasy world. These are videos of the very real homeless situation in this country. If you know of anyone in denial please bring it to their attention. If you have heard but are not sure you believe , please take some time to watch and see the suffering , the need and the tragedy that has befallen these people. Understand that this could happen to anyone and it is not reason to look down nor feel ashamed.
As time goes by one must understand that this situation will continue to worsen, unless by some miracle the lunacy that has gripped the government and the financial world is dealt with. For those who are preppers I urge you to take this into account. I know things are tight for most, trust me I know this very well as I sometimes find it difficult to purchase staples for our everyday living . Much less items for storage. I think about this often and every time I buy an item for my storage I think of how it can be used or prepared to maximize the amount of people it can feed . Thereby , ensuring that I will be able to feed any additional people that may show up in need and hungry.
The government will not be helping, look at the victims of Hurricane Sandy. What kind of help did they receive? It will be up to us to take care of each other. Which means preparing to extend a hand to those who were unable or too poor to prepare.
This MC-TV documentary tells the story of one homeless person in rural Western Illinois. Thru her story we see the special challenges that confront those individuals who find themselves homeless in area with limited services.
……
Homeless In America Families Living In Cars
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homeless in america…….part 1
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“Signs of The Time” a homeless documentary
Published on Jun 25, 2012
A feature documentary about homelessness in the Seattle and surrounding areas
I know there are quite a few people who have been preparing for quite sometime. Just as I know there are people who recently started or are starting now to prepare. Please, please take this to heart and understand what the possibilities are so that you can properly prepare and survive whatever may occur. Please know that I am not trying to belittle anyone. This has been on my mind for quite sometime and I simply did not know how to present it . Ready or not , presentable or not here it is . Please accept it in the spirit in which it has been given. A heartfelt wish that all who read this may prepare , be safe and help as many people as they are able.
In Egypt, violent clashes have continued in the city of Port Said. A football riot there last year left 74 Cairo fans dead, and after the trials of the alleged perpetrators, the government has struggled to maintain order. Now what some locals see as a heavy-handed police crackdown is adding to the city’s tensions. Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught reports from Port Said.
A Bahraini protester in Manama. Photograph: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images
In late March 2011, as the Arab Spring was spreading, CNN sent a four-person crew to Bahrain to produce a one-hour documentary on the use of internet technologies and social media by democracy activists in the region. Featuring on-air investigative correspondent Amber Lyon, the CNN team had a very eventful eight-day stay in that small, US-backed kingdom.
By the time the CNN crew arrived, many of the sources who had agreed to speak to them were either in hiding or had disappeared. Regime opponents whom they interviewed suffered recriminations, as did ordinary citizens who worked with them as fixers. Leading human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was charged with crimes shortly after speaking to the CNN team. A doctor who gave the crew a tour of his village and arranged meetings with government opponents, Saeed Ayyad, had his house burned to the ground shortly after. Their local fixer was fired ten days after working with them.
The CNN crew itself was violently detained by regime agents in front of Rajab’s house. As they described it after returning to the US, “20 heavily-armed men”, whose faces were “covered with black ski masks”, “jumped from military vehicles”, and then “pointed machine guns at” the journalists, forcing them to the ground. The regime’s security forces seized their cameras and deleted their photos and video footage, and then detained and interrogated them for the next six hours.
Lyon’s experience both shocked and emboldened her. The morning after her detention, newspapers in Bahrain prominently featured articles about the incident containing what she said were “outright fabrications” from the government. “It made clear just how willing the regime is to lie,” she told me in a phone interview last week.
But she also resolved to expose just how abusive and thuggish the regime had become in attempting to snuff out the burgeoning democracy movement, along with any negative coverage of the government.
“I realized there was a correlation between the amount of media attention activists receive and the regime’s ability to harm them, so I felt an obligation to show the world what our sources, who risked their lives to talk to us, were facing.”
CNN’s total cost for the documentary, ultimately titled “iRevolution: Online Warriors of the Arab Spring”, was in excess of $100,000, an unusually high amount for a one-hour program of this type. The portion Lyon and her team produced on Bahrain ended up as a 13-minute segment in the documentary. That segment, which as of now is available on YouTube, is a hard-hitting and unflinching piece of reporting that depicts the regime in a very negative light.
Amber Lyon on CNN, commenting on the March 2011 repression in Bahrain
Abby Interviews former CNN Investigative Journalist, Amber Lyon, about CNN’s corrupt media empire, calling into question a media establishment where censorship can be bought.
Former CNN Reporter (Amber Lyon) threatened & silenced by CNN reveals CNN Lies & War Propaganda
Published on Oct 9, 2012
‘Real Arab Spring in Bahrain which West ignores’
Published on Aug 16, 2012
Bahraini Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been sentenced to three years in jail for “participation in an illegal assembly” and “calling for a march without prior notification.” – READ MORE http://on.rt.com/y95tqy
Patrick Henningsen, who’s a geopolitical analyst, believes human rights chaos in Bahrain is beneficial for Western states.
Bahrain uprising anniversary: Worst clashes in months
Published on Feb 14, 2013
http://www.euronews.com/ Two years after their Arab Spring uprising against Bahrain’s ruling family, protesters have been back on the streets in what they said was a day of civil disobedience.
Security forces fired warning shots to try to disperse a crowd of youths gathered in a village near the capital Manama.
They killed a teenager and several others were injured during the most violent clashes in months.
Thousands of people were arrested during the first uprising in early 2011. Dozens of political prisoners are still in jail.
Of those originally detained, seven prisoners have been interviewed by Amnesty International at Bahrain’s Jaw prison.
All of them say they’ve been jailed on false charges or under laws that repress basic rights. Many were allegedly tortured in the first weeks of their arrests.
Human rights groups also claim security forces used excessive force two years ago.
Bahrain Shouting in the dark البحرين تصرخ في الظلام
Uploaded on Aug 4, 2011
Bahrain: An island kingdom in the Arabian Gulf where the Shia Muslim majority are ruled by a family from the Sunni minority. Where people fighting for democratic rights broke the barriers of fear, only to find themselves alone and crushed.
This is their story and Al Jazeera is their witness – the only TV journalists who remained to follow their journey of hope to the carnage that followed.
This is the Arab revolution that was abandoned by the Arabs, forsaken by the West and forgotten by the world.
Shouting in the dark can be seen from Thursday, August 4, at the following times GMT: Thursday: 2000; Friday: 1200; Saturday: 0100; Sunday: 0600; Monday: 2000; Tuesday: 1200; Wednesday: 0100; Thursday: 0600.
JIHAN HAFIZ, TRNN CORRESPONDENT, CAIRO: It’s a grim reality that has lately united Egyptian women from all walks of life. Two years of increased sexualized violence against female protesters has forced an ugly epidemic into the national spotlight. The gang rapes and attacks on women in the revolution’s iconic Tahrir Square enraged many Egyptians to organize this protest specifically against sexualized violence. Angry chants condemned a system that condones and perpetuates violence targeting women.
JIHAN FADEL, EGYPTIAN ACTRESS (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): There was harassment before the revolution, but what we have now is gangs. I’m talking about 30, 40, 50 men attacking with knives. That’s not harassment. They’re attacking women with pocket knives. Is that harassment? These are crimes.HAFIZ: Increased attacks singling out female protesters exploded over the past two years, culminating in scenes like this on January 25 last month. Volunteers and activists with anti-harassment campaigns filmed these mob attacks against women this past January 25.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): That’s Reem! There’s Reem! She’s in that one! There is another girl!HAFIZ: Some of them were their fellow volunteers. Here one woman tries to comfort her infant daughter as a mob moves in. Inside these mobs, over a dozen women were gang-raped, relentlessly groped, stripped naked of their clothes, and assaulted with knives and iron rods. In one case, a 19-year-old girl was rushed to emergency surgery with large gashes to her genitalia. Such savagery has provoked women to arm themselves, brandishing their weapons during this march as a clear warning to their attackers.~~~REPORTER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Why are you holding this knife in the march?DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Because no one is going to force us into our homes, no one is going to scare us into hiding in our homes. and we are going to arm ourselves to defend ourselves. And any dog who dares to come near us, I will slice him! These crimes are orchestrated. It’s a social disease and it’s present in this society. But what is happening now is organized crime.~~~HAFIZ: Rights groups and activists are convinced the systematic attacks are products of state-sponsored repression. LODNA DARWISH, ORGANIZER, OPANTISH: This is not the first time that the government uses sexual violence to intimidate men and women, especially women. We’ve been seeing, since Mubarak years until now, the government paying thugs—and it’s proven—to come and sexually harass women. They would come to the protest and not beat up women, just sexually harass them, undress them, drag them undressed—and everybody probably saw the video of the blue-bra girl who was stripped of her clothes and dragged on the streets. This was the army. And then there was the virginity test, the so-called virginity test, which was like a rape incident of the army again, forcing 18 women to go through virginity tests. So it’s a continuous pattern of sexual humiliation.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Hi. I’m with the campaign against sexual harassment. If there is any harassment in the square—.HAFIZ: A number of newly-formed campaigns combating sexual harassment have been mobilizing within communities and on the streets.DEMONSTRATORS (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We the women will free Egypt!HAFIZ: As the march roars through this busy neighborhood, scuffles break out between some of the female marchers and male onlookers.DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): He said women are raped and harassed depending on how they dress. So I shamed him! In Arabic and English! I said, does anyone leave their home naked? Even if she dressed indecent, would she leave her home naked? Dog! That’s the Brotherhood’s mentality! They do this so we go back to our homes. But we will never!HAFIZ: Although daily harassment is prevalent in this socially conservative society, the subject is often ignored when addressed.~~~DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): I no longer take my wife out because of harassment. DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We take a short trip on the metro, and I get into 36 fights.DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): No, no.DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We don’t have the money to take a cab. If we take any public transportation, I have to sit her far against the window.DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): No, no! There is no such thing!DEMONSTRATOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Don’t put Egypt in that category.~~~SALMA SAID, ORGANIZER, OPANTISH: We’re not only facing the problem of harassment, of sexual harassment; we’re also facing a huge problem of society wanting to be silent about it, the men being extremely aggressive when anyone trying to discuss what is happening.HAFIZ: A recent study found over 80 percent of Egyptian women and over 95 percent of foreign women have experienced sexual harassment. Videos of mob assaults of women started appearing on YouTube years before the revolution. Salma was among some of the first to blog about it several years ago.SAID: And I wrote my testimony about the time, the many, many, many times that I was sexually abused or sexually harassed from when I was a child till, like, now. And I asked other women to write about it as well, because I was—I mean, I was going to go—going crazy because men said that these things don’t happen in Egypt and that Egypt is a religious country and these kind of things. So it happened, and I was sure that the same people who were saying this are the people who are harassing women in the street.HAFIZ: Considered a taboo subject, victims are commonly blamed for the attack while the perpetrator is let off.FADEL: But no one speaks out against it. Why? Because the victim is a woman, because they argue: what brought her there in the first place? Why is she in the streets? Women are supposed to be at home. Those who come to the streets are indecent. Rather than elicit a response, people are mocking it [rather] than responding to it.HAFIZ: In the urban slums and among the rural poor, the issue is practically ignored.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): There is no religion. There’s no life. There is no father who tells their sons, that’s wrong. There is no concern for it. No one walks in the street and considers, this could be my mother or sister and it might happen to her. There is no such talk.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): It used to be just one individual, not the entire society against the girl. And there is no distinction. It doesn’t matter if she’s covered, showing her hair, elderly, a child. There is no distinction.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): I sat down and had a talk with my daughter, because rape and harassment also happens between teachers and the girls, to children my daughter’s age. Of course, she is just a child. She doesn’t understand anything. But I speak with her, and so does Sheren. We tell her not to go into the bathroom with the teacher.HAFIZ: These women have quietly formed a support group to deal with harassment and sexual abuse in their community.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): She didn’t have any pants on.HAFIZ: The silence is slowly being broken. Public discussion is opening up after the latest survivors of the mob attacks braved the backlash and recounted their experiences on national television.UNIDENTIFIED (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): I felt as if I would die in that moment.SAID: They have done an amazing favor for the rest of us, for everyone else, because they didn’t worry about facing their neighbors, their families. They were like, it’s not our fault that we were assaulted; it’s your fault, it’s society’s fault, it’s the men’s fault, it’s the government’s fault; and we are not going to suffer above our suffering from what happened; we have to solve this, and we’re going to speak up and we’re going to talk about it and we’re going to, like, make it explode in everyone’s faces.HAFIZ: But it remains a long upward battle in this patriarchal society. A sheikh from the prominent Al-Azhar Institution issued a fatwa encouraging the rape of women during protests. During Friday’s protests and on the front lines during clashes, women roamed amongst their male counterparts, asserting their resolve and participation in Egypt’s ongoing revolution will remain. Jihan Hafiz for The Real News, Cairo, Egypt.
End
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
Troops Ordered To Kill All Americans Who Do Not Turn In Guns
Published on Jul 16, 2012
Please spread the Word. http://www.infowars.com/un-gun-grab-follows-state-department-plan/ http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/arms/freedom_war.html http://www.infowars.com/army-manual-outlines-plan-to-kill-rioters-in-america/ http://www.prisonplanet.com/army-course-manual-trains-soldiers-to-confiscate-…
“Complete disarmament” of the American people
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Monday, July 16, 2012
The UN Arms Trade Treaty that has been identified by observers as a flagrant threat to the second amendment and which Barack Obama is determined to sign has its roots in a 1961 State Department memorandum which explains how the United Nations will oversee “complete disarmament” of the American people under the ruse of preventing war. The UN Arms Treaty has caused so much controversy because it outlines a plan to target “all types of conventional weapons, notably including small arms and light weapons,” according to Forbes’ Larry Bell.
Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton also warns that the agreement “is trying to act as though this is really just a treaty about international arms trade between nation states, but there is no doubt that the real agenda here is domestic firearms control.”
A letter sent last month by 130 Republican House members to President Obama argued that the treaty should be rejected because it infringes on the “fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms”. The letter adds that “…the U.N.’s actions to date indicate that the ATT is likely to pose significant threats to our national security, foreign policy, and economic interests as well as our constitutional rights.”
Using the rhetoric of the threat post by terrorists, insurgents and “international crime syndicates,” the UN is busy trying to imply that all weapons are somehow involved in illegal activity on a global scale and should therefore be controlled and regulated by a global authority.
This is precisely the same language used in a 1961 U.S. State Department briefing which outlined a long term agenda to carry out a “Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World.”
Invoking the threat of nuclear warfare, the document spells out a plan to create a “United Nations Peace Force” that would “enforce the peace as the disarmament process proceeds.”
While the document initially focuses on scrapping nuclear weapons, it later makes it clear that the only groups allowed to own weapons of any kind would be governing authorities, “for the purpose of maintaining internal order,” and the UN “peacekeeping” force itself, which would require “agreed manpower.”
“The manufacture of armaments would be prohibited except for those of agreed types and quantities to be used by the U.N. Peace Force and those required to maintain internal order. All other armaments would be destroyed or converted to peaceful purposes,” states the document. While the memorandum outlines a broader mandate to destroy national sovereignty, eviscerate national armies and institute the UN as the planet’s supreme authority with a world army, the document serves as a stark reminder that the plan for the United Nations to oversee the abolition of the second amendment has been in the works for decades.
As Bell points out in his Forbes article, the threat of the Obama administration relying on a UN treaty to do what successive administrations have tried but failed to accomplish — taking a huge bite out of the second amendment — is by no means far fetched.
After all, a plethora of UN treaties and international agreements have already stripped the United States of its sovereignty and its power to decide its own laws. The power to authorize U.S. involvement in wars and conflicts has now been almost completely stripped from Congress and handed to the United Nations.
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
So begins the Oath of Enlistment for the U.S. military, but in an explosive interview with a National Guard whistleblower shown below, soldiers are now being advised they will be ordered to break that oath should civil unrest erupt across the country.
Referred to only as “Soldier X” under promise of anonymity, an Army National Guardsman spoke via phone with Infowars Nightly News Producer Rob Dew regarding a recent briefing his unit underwent on actions the military would take in the event that an Obama election loss sparked rioting in America’s streets.
Citing not only recent widespread threats to riot if Mitt Romney were to become the next U.S. president, but threats to actually assassinate him should he win, Soldier X’s superiors dispensed plans of how the National Guard would be responsible for “taking over” and quelling such unrest.
The soldiers were reportedly told “Doomsday preppers will be treated as terrorists.”
In addition, guns will be confiscated.
“They have a list compiled of all these doomsday preppers that have gone public and they plan to go after them first,” Soldier X said. He claimed those in charge are acting under the belief that preppers will be “the worst part” of any potential civil unrest.
Soldier X was also told that any soldiers in the ranks who are known as preppers will be deemed “defects.” He explained the label meant these soldiers would be treated as traitors. “If you don’t conform, they will get rid of you,” he added.
Unit members also warned not to associate with any fellow soldiers who are preppers.
Not only does the military reportedly plan to target preppers should mass chaos break out, but Soldier X also voiced his concerns regarding civilian gun confiscation.
Soldier X admitted, “Our worry is that Obama’s gonna do what he said he’s gonna do and he’s gonna outlaw all weapons altogether and anybody’s name who is on a weapon, they’re gonna come to your house and try to take them.”
It would not be the first time the National Guard has been used to unconstitutionally disarm law-abiding citizens, robbing them of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, police and military took to the streets disarming lawful gun owners, including those who were on dry land and had plenty of stored food and water.
Fast forward to this past summer when a leaked Army manual dated 2006 entitled, “Civil Disturbance Operations” surfaced outlining plans not only to confiscate firearms domestically during mass unrest, but to actually detain and even kill American citizens who refuse to hand over their guns. This manual works in conjunction with “FM 3-39.40 Internment and Resettlement Operations,” another Army manual leaked this year, which instructs troops on how to properly detain and intern Americans into re-education camps, including ways that so-called “psy-op officers” will “indoctrinate” incarcerated “political activists” into developing an “understanding and appreciation of U.S. policies and actions.”
The culminating training event was an opportunity for Troopers of 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment, XVIII Fires Brigade, to prepare for their upcoming assignment as a quick reaction and rapid response force for U.S. Army North Command in support of emergencies in the United States.
“If the tasks over-exceed the capabilities of the civilian and local governments, U.S. Army North has the capability of deploying units to the continental United States to assist with everything from security operations and critical infrastructure to humanitarian assistance,” said Maj. Roy Beeson, the operations officer for 3-321 FAR.
The Thunderbolt battalion’s training centered on preparing to deploy by both ground and air, securing an airfield, establishing local security, responding to civil disturbances, reacting to a biochemical threat and conducting operational decontamination.
“Batteries A and B simulated a ground deployment, securing the aerial port of debarkation where humanitarian support supplies will fly into and establishing a humanitarian assistance site,” said 3-321 FAR Commander Lt. Col. Joe Bookard. “Battery C trained to deploy via air, conducting an initial joint technical inspection of vehicles and equipment to prepare them for the aircraft.”
After securing and establishing a humanitarian assistance site, the Bulldog Troopers of Battery B prepared to distribute food to a crowd of simulated U.S. hurricane victims. Sgt. Wesley Powell, an artillery section chief, helped search citizens for weapons using a metal detector before they entered the site to receive aid.
“I needed to ensure their safety and my own,” said the Cisco, Texas, native. “I want the civilians to have confidence in us and what we are trying to do for them. I was trying to talk to them and reassure them while I searched them, but I needed to make sure they didn’t have any weapons or things that could be used to harm other civilians or my unit.”
While distributing the food, some of the citizens became upset as they waited, and began to harass the unit and other hurricane victims, inciting a riot-like situation.
CAIRO — President Mohammed Morsi issued a decree on Wednesday, Dec. 12 declaring that Egypt’s controversial constitutional referendum will be held in two phases. The first will cover 10 governorates, including the capital of Cairo, on Saturday Dec. 15, while the second will cover the remaining 17 governorates on Dec. 22.
About this Article
Summary:
The crisis between President Mohammed Morsi and Egypt’s judiciary has intensified after Eastern Cairo Attorney General Mustafa Khater publicly embarrassed the president by releasing all 137 suspects detained after the recent clashes between his opponents and supporters.
The decision comes after weeks of failed attempts by the presidency and Egypt’s Supreme Judicial Council to sway thousands of judges not to boycott the referendum. The vote was rushed in response to a political crisis instigated by President Morsi’s Nov. 22 decree that granted him sweeping powers and immunity from judicial bodies.
Judge Zaghloul Al-Balshi, Deputy Justice Minister and secretary-general of the committee overseeing the referendum, reported to local press that the “number of judges who agreed to participate had reached 7,276″ — around 4,000 fewer judges than the number required to hold the referendum in one phase.
The crisis between Morsi and Egypt’s judiciary intensified after Eastern Cairo Attorney General Mustafa Khater publicly embarrassed the president by releasing all 137 suspects detained after the violent clashes on Wednesday, Dec. 5. A few hours before the release order, Morsi said in a public speech that some of the suspects have “admitted receiving money to instigate violence, and there was evidence to be announced by the prosecutors.”
All of the suspects were originally held and tortured for more than 12 hours by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties who demonstrated on Wednesday, Dec. 5, in support of Morsi’s decision that ignited the political crisis and caused severe damage to Egypt’s ailing stock market and economy.
Egypt vote sparks violent clashes between Islamists and opponents
Hassan Ammar / AP
Supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans as one holds up the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during a demonstration after the Friday prayer, in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 14. Opposing sides in Egypt’s political crisis were staging rival rallies on Friday, the final day before voting starts on a contentious draft constitution that has plunged the country into turmoil and deeply divided the nation. Arabic reads, “yes to the constitution.”
Khalil Hamra / AP
Egyptian protesters attend Friday prayers before a demonstration against a constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi in Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 14. Opposing sides in Egypt’s political crisis were staging rival rallies on Friday, the final day before voting starts on a contentious draft constitution that has plunged the country into turmoil and deeply divided the nation.
Petr David Josek / AP
Protesters play with a ball in front of a tank securing the area around the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 14. Opposing sides in Egypt’s political crisis were staging rival rallies on Friday, the final day before voting starts on a contentious draft constitution that has plunged the country into turmoil and deeply divided the nation.
Reuters – Stone-throwing supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi clashed in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday ahead of a referendum on a new constitution that has divided the Arab world’s most populous nation.
Dozens of activists fought with clubs and swords, witnesses said, and a number of cars were set alight on the streets of Egypt’s second biggest city on the eve of a vote that Mursi hopes will bring an end to the country’s worsening political crisis.
Scuffles started near a mosque in Alexandria when opposition members handing out flyers clashed with Mursi supporters.
In Cairo, flag-waving pro-Mursi Islamists staged a final rally on Friday before the referendum, but the gathering outside one of the capital’s main mosques was peaceful.
AP
Opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi hold pamphlets urging a “no vote” on a constitutional referendum as cars burn during clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi in Alexandria, Egypt, on Dec. 14, a day before the referendum on the constitution. Opposing sides in Egypt’s political crisis were staging rival rallies on Friday, the final day before voting starts on a contentious draft constitution that has plunged the country into turmoil and deeply divided the nation.
At a small coffee shop on 5th and Water in downtown Olympia, protesters, some who consider themselves anarchists, gathered for a strategy session… May Day planning, but they didn’t let the media in and declined to send somebody out to talk with us.
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