Zero Hedge 

Just when one thought the story of Ukraine and its (now non-existant) gold could not get any more surreal, it did.

As a reminder, it was about a month ago when we learned courtesy of an interview on Ukraine TV with the country’s central bank head Valeriya Gontareva, that Ukraine’s gold was virtually all gone, when she made the stunning admission that “in the vaults of the central bank there is almost no gold left. There is a small amount of gold bullion left, but it’s just 1% of reserves.”    Continue reading “Ukraine Central Bank Conned Into Swapping Its Gold For Lead Bricks”

Press TV

The United States sees the restoring of relations with Cuba as a “new front in its war against Russia” and upsetting the Russian interests, a political analyst says.

“I think what has gone under the radar as far as the Cuba-America agreement is concerned, a lot of people are taken by surprise, but in fact this is one of the few possibilities that the United States has to actually upset the new Russian order,” Daniel Estulin, author and presenter from Madrid, told Press TV in an interview on Sunday.   Continue reading “US-Cuba deal ‘new front for Russia war’: Analyst”

grunge-police-backThe Daily Sheeple – by Melissa Melton

Why is there so much focus on police lately in this country?

Much of it has to do with an overwhelming sense that our rights don’t seem to matter to the cops anymore, and that they perceive ordinary citizens more like potential enemy combatants than the people these guys have supposedly sworn to protect and serve.

Here’s another case highlighting the fact that many officers are either in contempt of our Bill of Rights, or too ignorant to respect them.   Continue reading “Houston Officer Investigates Open Carry Protest, Tries to Delete Cell Phone Video”

[undated photo from Haaretz]Middle East Monitor

In the clearest indication of the growing dangers threatening Al-Aqsa Mosque, in an opinion piece published on Saturday, Haaretz discussed a group of rabbis who met to discuss the scheme for the establishment of the Third Temple on the ruins of the mosque. The newspaper published a photograph of a number of rabbis and engineers studying a map of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a piece written by Professor Ronnie Ellenblum entitled “Bells are ringing for the ultra-Orthodox and Secular” [hebrew], the paper discussed the future of Al-Aqsa Mosque which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount.   Continue reading “Rabbis plan to build temple on Al-Aqsa ruins”

bloomberg-gunsSHTF Plan – by Mac Slavo

State by state encroachments of the 2nd Amendment are on the move, and they are marching to beat of the drums of billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and publishing mogul, and his complex of gun control organizations.

As SHTF previously noted, Bloomberg used the magic of billionaire-backed lobby groups to pass gun control in Washington state…   Continue reading ““$38 Billion Reasons” 2nd Amendment is Crumbling: Bloomberg Targets 12 More States with Gun Control”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

For the past 150 years, crude oil prices have varied between around $10 per barrel and around $120 per barrel. For many decades, oil prices were relatively “stable” but a funny thing happened in the early 70s and everything changed – whether coincidental or causative the linkages between the oil crisis and Nixon’s Gold-Standard-busting of Bretton Woods are clear in the chart below. Goldman expects continued high oil price volatility with risks skewed to the downside as the market searches for a new equilibrium… and a period of macroeconomic adjustment to structurally lower oil prices. Is oil adjusting to a new ‘gold-standard-esque’ normal?   Continue reading “A Funny Thing Happened To Oil Prices When Nixon Killed The Gold Standard”

An ambulance carrying one of the two New York Police officers who were shot dead passes by a New York Fire Department honor guard along Broadway in the Brooklyn borough of New York, December 20, 2014. (Reuters / Carlo Allegri)RT

The gunman who killed two police officers in New York before turning his gun on himself posted assassination threats on Instagram several hours before the killings. The man’s phone was traced by police just minutes before the tragedy.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a 28-year-old Afro-American, who was identified as the shooter by police, posted a picture of an automatic pistol and threatening messages on Instagram. They bore hashtags with the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, who were killed by police officers who were themselves later acquitted, sparking mass protests against police brutality across the US.    Continue reading “NY cops shooter was almost tracked after posting threats to avenge Brown and Garner”

Media mogul Simon Cowell (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)Times of Israel, October 25, 2013

For media mogul and celebrity judge Simon Cowell, the Israel Defense Forces, it seems, has the X factor

Cowell, best known for his acid-tongued judgments on “American Idol” and “The X Factor,” attended a fundraiser for Israeli soldiers on Wednesday and shelled out $150,000 of his own money for the cause. The event was hosted by billionaire Haim Saban, the Israeli creator of “Power Rangers.”   Continue reading “Simon Cowell gives $150K to Israeli soldiers”

1-Torture-CIAWashington’s Blog

We’ve Known for Thousands of Years that Torture Doesn’t Work

Mark Costanzo (Claremont McKenna professor of psychology) and Ellen Gerrity (Duke University professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) note in a study published in the journal Social Issues and Policy Review:   Continue reading “We’ve Known for 1,700 Years that Torture Nets False Confessions”

US soldiers board a Chinook helicopter at Front Operation Base Lightning in Gardez Afghanistan in 2011.Press TV

The United States has spent a whopping $1.6 trillion for the wars it has launched in other countries as well as for “counterterrorism operations” since the September, 11, 2001 attacks, according to a new analysis.

The analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) found that from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2014, the US government spent $815 billion for the war in Iraq, $686 billion for warfare in Afghanistan and $81 billion for other war-related operations.   Continue reading “US wars since 9/11 attacks cost $1.6 trillion: Analysis”

CNN – by Ralph Ellis, Holly Yan and Kyung Lah

The United States has asked China for help battling North Korean hacking of American information systems, such as the Sony Pictures incident, a senior administration official told CNN on Saturday.

“We have discussed this issue with the Chinese to share information, express our concerns about this attack, and to ask for their cooperation,” the official said. “In our cybersecurity discussions, both China and the United States have expressed the view that conducting destructive attacks in cyberspace is outside the norms of appropriate cyber behavior.”   Continue reading “U.S. seeks China’s help against North Korean cyberattacks”

Liberty Fight – by Martin Hill

Governor Rick Perry of Texas is trying, and has succeeded, to ‘out-Jew’ both Rand Paul and Jeb Bush combined, in his apparent preparations of bid for the 2016 GOP presidential primary.

Perry first participated in a Menorah lighting ceremony, and then did a wild dance in the street with a bunch of Jewish rabbis.   Continue reading “Rick Perry One-Ups Both Rand & Jeb, Does Crazy-Dance With Rabbis In the Street For Hanukkah”

Is the US behind the current Russian economic crisis? (Picture: Alexei Nikolsky)News AU

RUSSIA’S economy is on the brink of major crisis, hit by the double-whammy of a plummeting oil price and crippling western sanctions.

And it’s no accident.

Many believe the US is in the midst of a secret war with Russia, and that the current crisis is all part of a plot to drive Russian economy to the brink of collapse.   Continue reading “‘Pump them to death’: The secret war on Russia”