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Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever
by MATT TAIBBI
The Illuminati were amateurs. The second huge financial scandal of the year reveals the real international conspiracy: There's no price the big banks can't fix
Conspiracy theorists of the world, believers in the hidden hands of the Rothschilds and the Masons and the Illuminati, we skeptics owe you an apology. You were right. The players may be a little different, but your basic premise is correct: The world is a rigged game. We found this out in recent months, when a series of related corruption stories spilled out of the financial sector, suggesting the world's largest banks may be fixing the prices of, well, just about everything.
You may have heard of the Libor scandal, in which at least three – and perhaps as many as 16 – of the name-brand too-big-to-fail banks have been manipulating global interest rates, in the process messing around with the prices of upward of $500 trillion (that's trillion, with a "t") worth of financial instruments. When that sprawling con burst into public view last year, it was easily the biggest financial scandal in history – MIT professor Andrew Lo even said it "dwarfs by orders of magnitude any financial scam in the history of markets."
Boston and Venezuela: Terrorism There and Here
James Petras
Introduction
Two major terrorists’ attacks took place almost simultaneously: in Boston, two Chechen terrorists set off bombs during the annual Boston Marathon killing three people and injuring 170; in Venezuela, terrorist-supporters of defeated presidential candidate, Henrique Capriles, assassinated 8 and injured 70 supporters of victorious Socialist Party candidate Nicolas Maduro, in the course of firebombing 8 health clinics and several Party offices and homes. In the case of Boston, the terrorist spree resulted in one further fatality - one of the perpetrators; in Venezuela, some of the terrorists are under arrest but their political mentors are still free and active – in fact they are now presented as ‘victims of repression’ by the US media.
By examining the context, politics, government responses and mass media treatment of these terrorist acts we can gain insight into the larger meaning of terrorism and how it reflects, not merely the hypocrisy of the US government and mass media, but the underlying politics that encourages terrorism.
Torture Remains Official US Policy
by Stephen Lendman
International law is clear and unequivocal. Torture is illegal at all times, under all circumstances with no allowed exceptions.
It violates constitutional protections. They include the 8th Amendment's guarantee against "cruel and unusual punishments."
Treaties America signed prohibit torture and other forms of ill-treatment. They're binding under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause.
It states:
"….all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding."
FBI Responsibility for US Terror Plots
by Stephen Lendman
Boston's marathon bombings leave disturbing questions unanswered. Official accounts lack credibility. Mounting evidence suggests FBI responsibility. It doesn't surprise.
Project Censored's fourth top 2013 censored story headlined "FBI Agents Responsible for Majority of Terrorist Plots in the United States." More on that below.
Post-9/11, George Bush declared war on terrorism. It continues under Obama. America needs enemies. When none exist, they're invented.
Muslims are America's target of choice. Numerous innocent victims are entrapped. It occurs when law enforcement officials or agents induce, influence, or provoke crimes that otherwise wouldn't be committed.
Obama Heads Closer to War on Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Obama plans lots more death and destruction. Current multiple direct and proxy wars aren't enough. His appetite for more is insatiable.
A previous article discussed spurious allegations of Syrian chemical weapons use. Obama calls using them a "game changer." He also said their use crosses a "red line." Syrian officials categorically deny using them. According to Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi:
"Even if Syria does have chemical weapons, our leadership and our military will not use them either against Syrians or against Israelis, above all for moral reasons and secondarily on legal and political grounds."
Tamerlan Tsarnaev trip to Russia - 2012
By Michael Collins
The Russian newspaper Izvestia (4/24) reported that during his 2012 trip to Russia, Tamerlan Tsarnaev attended a conference sponsored by the Fund of Caucasus, "which cooperates with the U.S. organization Jamestown" [Jamestown Foundation], a nonpartisan DC based research organization. The paper reported that the July 2012 conferences and others like it are used to recruit intelligence assets to gain information and influence in the Caucasus region. The United States and regional ally Georgia compete with Russia to win the favor of peoples and regional powers for energy transport and exploitation. (Image)
Izvestia reported that this information came from the Republic of Georgia Ministry of Internal Affairs Counterintelligence Department. The Fund of Caucasus denied any connection to Tamerlan and the other allegations from in the Izvestia article.
Tamerlan made two trips to Russia, one in 2011 and another between January and the summer of 2012. Tamerlan was in the TIDE database of potential terrorists. There are currently 700,000 names in the TIDE system.
The Russian intelligence apparatus alerted U.S. intelligence with a warning about Tamerlan but U.S. officials gave the warning with a less than urgent status.
The Bush Legacy
by Stephen Lendman
Throughout his tenure, media scoundrels were largely supportive. They ignored his 2000 electoral theft. In 2004, they did so again.
They backed his imperial wars. They turned a blind eye to police state injustice. They ignored torture on a global scale. They mischaracterized the measure of the man.
Early on, The New York Times praised his "new gravitas." It was days after he attacked Afghanistan. It was premeditated lawless aggression. It was two weeks before he signed the Patriot Act. Times editors called him "confident" and "determined."
He showed "statesmanship." "It was heartening to hear him say" America will fight in Afghanistan "as long as it takes." They ignored an imperial war planned long before 9/11.
They called him "a leader whom the nation could follow in these difficult times." They're comfortable with his legacy. Two recent articles feature his new presidential library and museum. More on them below.
America's War on Terror 2.0
by Stephen Lendman
Post-Boston bombings, expect Obama and Congress to take full advantage. Perhaps more war is planned. Big lies launch them. Fear-mongering enlists public support. Anything ahead is possible.
A previous article discussed dubious allegations of Syria's chemical weapons use. They resemble fabricated claims about Saddam's nonexistent WMDs. It's similar to false charges against all US enemies.
Iran's repeatedly targeted. New baseless accusations followed earlier ones. More on that below.
Earlier Iran was accused of a fabricated US Saudi ambassador assassination plot. It's falsely called the world's leading state sponsor of terror. Claims that it's developing nuclear weapons don't wash.
Other recent bogus charges included targeting Israeli officials in India, Georgia and Thailand, as well as planning former Defense Minister Ehud Barak's assassination.
“Human Beings Have No Right to Water” and other Words of Wisdom from Your Friendly Neighborhood Global Oligarch
By Andrew Gavin Marshall
Peter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestlé
In the 2005 documentary, We Feed the World, then-CEO of Nestlé, the world’s largest foodstuff corporation, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, shared some of his own views and ‘wisdom’ about the world and humanity. Brabeck believes that nature is not “good,” that there is nothing to worry about with GMO foods, that profits matter above all else, that people should work more, and that human beings do not have a right to water. Today, he explained, “people believe that everything that comes from Nature is good,” marking a large change in perception, as previously, “we always learnt that Nature could be pitiless.” Humanity, Brabeck stated, “is now in the position of being able to provide some balance to Nature, but in spite of this we have something approaching a shibboleth that everything that comes from Nature is good.” He then referenced the “organic movement” as an example of this thinking, premising that “organic is best.” But rest assured, he corrected, “organic is not best.” In 15 years of GMO food consumption in the United States, “not one single case of illness has occurred.” In spite of this, he noted, “we’re all so uneasy about it in Europe, that something might happen to us.” This view, according to Brabeck, is “hypocrisy more than anything else.”
EMBRACE LIFE BY EMBRACING THE EARTH
Allen L Roland
The Earth's safety belt is the Honey Bee who is gradually being destroyed through a new class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids to the extent that 40 to 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation’s fruits and vegetables could collapse.
This Earth Day, I am again reminded that my greatest teacher is nature who I return to time and time again in order to witness the living design of a loving plan in action as well as my humble part in expressing and sharing what I see and feel.
Fed up with the violence of the main stream press and the worship of the military, I am increasingly drawn to love and hope centered messages which express the fragility of life on earth and how we can protect it.
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