8 Feb 2012

Iran's gold and currency markets - Iran Today

The dust is slowly settling after weeks of furious activity in Iran's gold and currency markets. When news hit of yet another round of sanctions on Iran's oil industry, and worse still, on Iran's central bank, panic ensued.

The word on the street was that gold was going to spike, and the exchange rate for dollars and other foreign currencies was set to soar, and so the stampede ensued. People started buying up gold coins, the Iranian nation's favorite form of investment, and withdrawing large amounts of money from the bank to convert into dollars.

Iran threatens to hit US targets worldwide in case of war

On Wednesday the Iranian ambassador to Moscow, Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi declared that Iran has the capabilities to carry out military strikes on US interests around the globe. This comes after President Obama announced the United States would freeze all Iranian assets held in the US. The executive order which was signed on Monday was in reaction to what the US is calling deceptive practices by Iran.

"The issue of a military attack from America on the Islamic Republic of Iran has been on the agenda for several years," said Sajjadi. 
The building provocation by Washington has been cornering Tehran and Sajjadi has stated that a US-led attack on Iran would be like committing suicide. Sajjadi went on to say Iran would by no means attack first. According to Sajjadi, Even if it (US) attacks, we have a list of counter actions.”

S&P Threatens US With Another Downgrade In As Little As 6 Months


Tyler Durden's picture
Will A be the new AA+? Perhaps, if the S&P follows through with its latest threat. Bloomberg reports that, "the U.S., lacking a plan to contain $1 trillion deficits, faces the prospect of another rating cut in six to 24 months depending on the outcome of November elections, according to John Chambers of Standard & Poor’s. America has had an AA+ rating with a negative outlook since Aug. 5 when the New York-based unit of McGraw-Hill Cos. stripped the nation of its AAA ranking for the first time, citing the government’s failure to agree on a path to reduce deficits. The U.S. has a one-in-three chance of another downgrade, Chamber said today during an S&P sponsored Webcast. “What the U.S. needs is not so much a short-term fiscal tightening, but it has to have a credible medium-term fiscal plan,” said Chambers, managing director of sovereign ratings." Too bad the US doesn't even have a fiscal plan what it will do tomorrow, let alone in the "medium-term" courtesy of the most deadlocked political system ever. As for "credible" - forget it. And as was shown, if the first US downgrade from August 5, 2011 broke the US stock market, we can't wait to find out how the Citadel-controlled, FRBNY-blessed stock market will deal with this particular event. In other news, we are still waiting to hear from Moody's on both the US and France.

27% Second Place Finish in Minnesota: Ron Paul Breaks through Yet Another Ceiling!

Newt Gingrich discusses hairy chests, Rick James, frilly panties, and more — via Bad Lip Reading. +


Press-free NATO summit? Filming cops on the street illegal in Chicago

Chicago, Illinois plans to host more than 7,500 international dignitaries and 3,000 journalists at the G8 Summit this spring.

But if history is any indication, those numbers will be dwarfed by tens of thousands of demonstrators descending on the Windy City this year to protest the massive gathering of world leaders.
And as police prepare to clash with protesters who picket the annual meeting of the minds, the crime scenes that are expected to be marred by messy arrests might never be made available outside of Chicago. In the state of Illinois, an obscure eavesdropping law prohibits recordings of unknowing individuals. Even if a cop is caught clobbering a protester on the streets of Chicago, recording the incident can land both amateur photographers and seasoned journalists alike behind bars, where they could face sentencing on par with charges of rape and murder.

'Eurocratic fantasies push Greece to agony'

More than ten thousand Greeks surrounded the Parliament on Tuesday - clashing with police while protesting the latest reforms. Many see their livelihoods, and the country, being 'sold out' with little benefit for them.

Parliamentary opposition is also strong, with deputies wary of more cuts and tax hikes expected to accompany the deal. Greece has until March to secure financing, or face default.

According to Investment advisor Patrick Young, the EU's hopes of a positive outcome are fading fast. Source

The Coming Global EPA's Gestapo Units with Marc Morano

Marc Morano is the executive editor and chief correspondent for ClimateDepot.com, a global warming and eco-news center founded in 2009. Morano served for three years as a senior advisor, speechwriter, and climate researcher for U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as he also managed the award-winning communication operations of the GOP side. Morano, who has spent years researching climate change, environmental, and energy issues, traveled to Greenland in 2007 to investigate global warming claims. As Senate staff, Morano also attended the United Nation's climate eco-conferences held in Kenya, Indonesia, and Poland in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Morano authored and compiled the 2007 groundbreaking report of 400-plus dissenting scientists and the follow-up 2009 report of 700-plus scientists dissenting from man-made global warming fears.

UK Supreme Court not supreme enough for EU

Outrage has swept Britain after the European Court of Human Rights ordered the release of Bin Laden's former right-hand man in Europe. The decision is reinforcing the opinion in the UK that the EU is interfering in matters it has nothing to do with.

As a result, in this sovereign land – with its own queen, currency and parliament, but laws made by someone else – patience with the EU is wearing thin.

Alex Issues Emergency False Flag Terror Alert


Threat of a false flag event has never been greater. Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones. Parts 2 and 3 >>

The Devil's Game: MI6, CIA Run The Muslim Brotherhood - Dr. Stan Monteith Reports


On the Tuesday, February 7 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Alex announces a key terror alert with specific threats. He also talks with retired orthopedic surgeon, author, and radio talk show host Stan Monteith. Alex and Mr. Monteith talk about the impending attack on Iran and the distinct possibility the conflict will turn into World War III. Stan Monteith is the author of several books, including AIDS: the Unnecessary Epidemic, Hidden Agenda: The Fluoride Deception and Iraq: the Untold Story. Video Part 2>>

Webster Tarpley in Iran: "US wages wars to avoid dollar collapse"

Webster G. Tarpley visits the PressTV studio in Tehran, Iran to discuss anti-war protesters who also condemn the assassinations of Iran's high profile nuclear scientists. Find the transcript and see more information athttp://www.presstv.ir/detail/225241.html Guy Fawkes Webster G. Tarpley lectures, interviews, articles, and his weekly World Crisis Radio show are available first at http://tarpley.net . Source

Chris Hedges: 'Black Bloc' Could Kill OWS

We're continuing our discussion of wanting to take the influence of money out of politics with Author and Truthout columnist Chris Hedges. Overturning Citizens United is just one step, but for those that have been monitoring the Occupy movement for over the last four months, they know that it's about much more. But where does public opinion stand on Occupy now that the majority of the camps have been evicted? Now that we've seen in some cities, violence come into play, in what's meant to be a peaceful movement. Hedges pin points the black bloc anarchists, and calls them the cancer within Occupy. And says that if their confrontational tactics begin to shape public opinion, and allow local governments to justify draconian forms of control, the Occupy movement is finished. Source

Ron Paul: Bernanke Failed to Predict the Economic Crisis

Nomi Prins on Bernanke's testimony, Obama's Mortgage Plan and Greece's missed "Bailout" Deadline

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate today - last week he testified before the House - and the media wanted to hear if the "good" US jobs report, which came out since he last spoke, changes anything about monetary policy. The jobs report has been deemed "good" because the headline unemployment number went down a little to 8.3%. Bernanke actually said this understates the weakness of the labor market, but do these monthly numbers matter at all? People who crunch the numbers seem to say no. David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's former budget director in an email that's been made public wrote you basically can pick and choose what you want from the reports to support your thesis but, "In short, if you spend a little time with these numbers you will know that they are being made up."

Believe In A Return To The Gold Standard? You Are Now Officially An Extremist According To The FBI

Just when we thought the US could not sink any further in its usurpation of civil rights, here comes the FBI to advise all those who tend to think that the broken economic model of the past century is the cause for the global insolvency, that wanton fiat diluation and reckless debt issuance does not 'fix' the problem of uber-leverage, and that the gold standard is the proper way to return to monetary stability, will henceforth be considered extremists. From Reuters: "Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday. These extremists, sometimes known as "sovereign citizens," believe they can live outside any type of government authority, FBI agents said at a news conference." And the most epic line ever written: "The extremists may refuse to pay taxes, defy government environmental regulations and believe the United States went bankrupt by going off the gold standard." So... the US did not go bankrupt by going off the gold standard? But why did the US "go bankrupt" then? We are confused.
Undesirable #1:

'Robo-camera' threatens residents with prosecution and police officer 'chased himself' for 20 minutes

Camden council says sorry for installing flash-equipped camera with robotic American accent that takes indiscriminate pictures
Camden residents oppose council's 'robo-camera'A council has apologised for installing a "robo-camera" in a housing estate garden which indiscriminately takes pictures of anyone entering, residents included, before warning them they are in a restricted area and face prosecution. 
London's Camden council said it recently installed the flash-equipped cameras in the borough to tackle antisocial behaviour but mistakenly activated the robotic voice message for one in the communal gardens of the Walker House estate, near Euston station. In darkness the camera automatically takes a photo when triggered by a motion sensor. A voice then warns: "Stop! This is a restricted area and your photograph was just taken. We will use it to prosecute you. Leave the area now."

'Moon rock' given to Holland by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is fake

Curators at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, where the rock has attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year, discovered that the "lunar rock", valued at £308,000, was in fact petrified wood.



A moon rock given to the Dutch prime minister by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969 has turned out to be a fake.

Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation, said the museum would continue to keep the stone as a curiosity.
"It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered," she said. "We can laugh about it."
The rock was given to Willem Drees, a former Dutch leader, during a global tour by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin following their moon mission 50 years ago.
J. William Middendorf, the former American ambassador to the Netherlands, made the presentation to Mr Drees and the rock was then donated to the Rijksmuseum after his death in 1988.