From the Trenches World Report

Information Clearinghouse – by Mike Whitney

“The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good.” – Harold Pinter, Nobel Acceptance Speech

“Obama is just a willing executioner. From the ruling class’s point of view, he’s the perfect figurehead because his mere appearance confuses and disarms so many. He seems to have spent his whole life trying to get chosen to play Judas. And that’s all there is in his resume.” -bevin, Comments line, Moon of Alabama   Continue reading “Obama: The Willing Executioner”

RT News

Fears of possible armed assaults and provocation in Ukraine and neighboring countries are on the rise after yet another report that rocket grenade launchers, firearms and munitions have been stolen from a military warehouse in western Ukraine.

A source in the Ukrainian Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti that the coup appointed Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has recently been notified that a large cache of guns and ammunition was missing from one of the military warehouses.   Continue reading “Over 5,000 Kalashnikovs, other guns stolen from Ukrainian military bases – report”

Mail.com

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In the nearly 40 years after he escaped from the maximum-security military prison at Fort Leavenworth, convicted killer James Robert Jones carved out a new life for himself in Florida, living under an assumed name, getting married and working for an air conditioning company.

It all came to an end this week when Jones — or Bruce Walter Keith, as the former Army private was known in Florida — was recaptured with the help of technology that was more sci-fi than reality when he broke out during the disco era: facial-recognition software.   Continue reading “After 37 years on lam, killer caught in Fla.”

Jim Stone Freelance, Jan 8 2012

There is a reason why the U.S. government is waging war all over the world, even obviously against the good of the nation.

There is a reason why the U.S. government rapidly rolled over and did the banker bailout without question, in an amount which exceeded the value of every mortgage in the country by more than 3x, and every mortgage in default by over 15x; an amount which will destroy America once the ripple effect is finished.   Continue reading “Nuclear Blackmail”

Pat Dollard

(Reuters) – Investigators believe someone aboard a missing Malaysian airliner deliberately shut off its communications and tracking systems, turned the plane around and flew for nearly seven hours after it vanished, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday.

As the unprecedented search for Flight MH370 and its 239 passengers and crew entered its second week, Najib told a news conference that the hunt for wreckage around the scheduled flight path to the east of Malaysia was being called off.   Continue reading “Investigators Presume #MH370 Ran Out Of Gas, Crashed Into Indian Ocean”

Bayou Renaissance Man

The Telegraph has an interesting column by a correspondent who knows Russia and Vladimir Putin fairly well.  He thinks Putin’s actions in Ukraine are driven by paranoia.

As Sunday’s referendum, in which the people of Crimea will decide whether to join Russia, approaches, the images on Russian television are astonishing. They are more propagandistic and venomous than anything I can remember even from Soviet times. Continue reading “Is Putin paranoid over Ukraine?”

The New Zealand Herald – by Bruno Waterfield, Damien McElroy

Ukraine must be ready for a full-scale Russian invasion “at any moment”, the country’s Acting President warned yesterday, as officials announced the emergency call-up of a 60,000-strong national guard force.

Oleksander Turchynov said Moscow was ready to go much further than the annexation of the Black Sea territory of Crimea, which is expected to vote to secede from Ukraine in a referendum tomorrow.   Continue reading “Ukraine orders up 60,000 emergency force to face Russia”

The Raw Story – by Tim Ghianni

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – Tennessee must recognize the legal same-sex marriages of three couples who wed in other states, a federal judge in Nashville ruled on Friday in a limited decision that echoed a similar case in neighboring Kentucky.

Judge Aleta Trauger granted the couples a preliminary injunction that requires Tennessee to recognize their marriages pending a final decision on the constitutionality of Tennessee’s ban on same-sex nuptials.   Continue reading “Federal judge rules that Tennessee must recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages”

Reuters – by NILUKSI KOSWANAGE AND SIVA GOVINDASAMY

Military radar data suggests a Malaysia Airlines jetliner missing for nearly a week was deliberately flown hundreds of miles off course, heightening suspicions of foul play among investigators, sources told Reuters on Friday.

Analysis of the Malaysia data suggests the plane, with 239 people on board, diverted from its intended northeast route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and flew west instead, using airline flight corridors normally employed for routes to the Middle East and Europe, said sources familiar with investigations into the Boeing 777’s disappearance.   Continue reading “Radar data suggests missing Malaysia plane deliberately flown way off course”

LA Times – by Kate Mather

Judge Henry J. Hall was blunt when he addressed Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee in court Friday, calling his 2011 attack on a homeless man both “horrendous” and “fairly merciless.”

Reuters – by Nate Raymond and Aruna Viswanatha

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp sued 16 of the world’s largest banks on Friday, accusing them of cheating dozens of other now defunct banks by manipulating the Libor interest rate.

The global financial institutions broke certain swaps contracts they had entered into with the now-closed banks, by separately colluding to rig the Libor rate to which the contracts were tied, the FDIC said.   Continue reading “U.S. regulator sues 16 banks for rigging Libor rate”

SHTF Plan – by Mac Slavo

Yesterday Secretary of State and flip-flopper extraordinaire John Kerry advised Russia that Vladimir Putin has until Monday to pull back his forces from Ukraine. Failure to do so would lead to serious repercussions. Kerry was light on details, but we can assume he was talking about some sort of economic sanctions:   Continue reading “The Tiger Awakens: China Warns of “Retaliatory Action” and “Unforeseeable Consequences” Over U.S. Monday Deadline”

Sovereign Man – by Ambergris Caye, Belize

One of the key lessons we can take away from history is that the global financial system changes… frequently.

In ancient times, Roman coins were used across the region by Romans and non-Romans alike who engaged in trade and commerce.

Given how destructively successive Roman governments debased their coins, however, the reserve burden eventually fell to the Byzantine Empire, whose gold solidus coin became the dominant currency in world trade.   Continue reading “The World Is Screaming For A New Financial System”

The Wall Street Journal – by MIN ZENG

Foreign central banks’ Treasury bond holdings parked at the Federal Reserve dropped by the most on record in the latest week. Some analysts think the crisis in Ukraine is sparking the move.

Their theory: Russia is shifting its Treasury bond holdings out of the Fed and into offshore accounts. That way, Russia would be able to buy or sell its portfolio if the U.S. and its European allies impose economic sanctions amid growing geopolitical tensions in Ukraine.   Continue reading “Did Russia Just Move Its Treasury Holdings Offshore?”