Monday's headlines

German vice chancellor: no to eurobonds

CNBC

BERLIN - Germany's vice chancellor is insisting his country's government will hold out against any moves to create eurozone-wide government bonds.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's president have rejected talk of so-called eurobonds, viewed by some as a logical solution to the debt crisis that has pushed up troubled countries' borrowing costs. But that hasn't stopped advocates — in Germany's opposition and elsewhere — pushing for them.

For article GO HERE

Why Germany might let Europe fail

By Fareed Zakaria, CNN

This is the moment of truth for Europe.

For the last year or so, the Europeans have repeatedly produced workable compromises that kicked the can forward. They hoped these compromises would quiet the markets.

This strategy was often quite successful. Europeans kept promising, “Yes, we are going to bail out the weaker countries with the greatest debt load, but we want some structural reforms in return. And as we get more structural reforms, we’ll bail them out more. And if the crisis seems more intense, we’ll bail them out again.”

The Europeans repeatedly produced packages that were enough to satisfy the markets.  Their hope was that at some point concerns would dampen down and then in the quiet of the night they could allow a country like Greece to soft default - a restructuring that doesn't spook everyone and doesn’t become a Lehman Brothers-like event.  They sought a quiet reshuffling of debt.

I think this soft landing has now become impossible.

For article GO HERE

Central Banks' Demand for Gold Quadrupled in Second Quarter

Wall Street Journal

August 19, 2011

LONDON—Central banks are topping up their gold reserves, quadrupling their total purchases from the market in the last quarter as they seek to reduce their dependence on traditional reserve currencies such as the U.S. dollar.

Even with gold prices at record highs, emerging markets' central banks have revived the official sector's gold-buying interest. They are diversifying their foreign-exchange reserves, which have grown along with their export industries. More recently, they have also bought gold in reaction to the persistent sovereign-debt crises affecting traditional reserve currencies, like the dollar and the euro. Analysts say this trend is likely to continue.

For article GO HERE

The Great Collapse Has Officially Begun

Zero Hedge

I’ve been warning of this for well over two years. My primary warnings were:

• 1)   That 2008 was just a warm-up

• 2)   That the REAL Crisis had yet to unfold

• 3)   That the REAL Crisis would make 2008 look like a picnic

Well, the period I’ve been warning of is now here.  What’s happening right now is not just a market crash, bear market, deflation, or any other item related to just one asset class.

Instead, this is a collapse of the entire US monetary and political system and the mentality of spending one’s way to wealth.

For article GO HERE

Casualties mount in Gaza -Israel violence

In wake of British riots, New York police prepare for unrest

wsws.org

19 August 2011

New York police anti-riot units assembled last week at a training facility on Randall’s Island to prepare for an outbreak of civil unrest similar to those that have occurred recently in Britain.

The August 12 “mobilization exercises” brought together police from all five of the city’s boroughs, including specialized units such as mounted police and aviation.

The riot training was held just days after the New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the formation of a new “juvenile justice unit,” which is to include detachments of cops assigned to troll Internet social media sites like Facebook and Twitter in search of any indication of impending disturbances.

For article GO HERE