Syria developments

Shadow of War: Dozens dead in Damascus as army regains control

RT
Syrian troops backed by tanks and heavy ammunition have reportedly regained control over the outskirts of Damascus. Activists suggest over sixty people have been killed in the latest fighting, just over a day after the Arab's League mission was frozen.

and from al-Jazeera....

This is an example of one-sided reporting from al-Jazeera and fairly crude anti-Russian propaganda.

Just remember the postiion of Qatar and ask yourself whether al-Jazeera might jsut have its own political bias.

While we all know that Putin and his government is les than lilly-white and their suppression of revolt in the Caucausus is to be condemned at the moment Russia’s diplomatic role in the Middle east is a positive one.

Russia and China are doing their best to stop the West from launching a new Libyan war in Syria and also launching World War 111 in Iran.

It talks of Russian arm sales - I suppose that countries like Britain (and every other power) are not not endulging in the same!

Russia and Syria's alliance remains resilient 

Russia has repeatedly blocked efforts towards a UN resolution that could pave the way for intervention in Syria's 10-month crackdown on protesters.

Moscow, a long-standing ally of Damascus and veto-wielding member of the UN, says it fears NATO intervention in Syria would result in another Libya-like scenario and could destabilise the region.

Western countries accuse Russia, which continues to sell heavy weapons to its close Arab friend, of failing to "uphold human rights" by backing the government's military offensive, which has claimed thousands of civilian lives across the country.

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports from Moscow on the enduring alliance between the two countries.

Occupation Oakland

'OWS camps banned - where do we convene?'

RT

The Mayor of Oakland has asked courts to throw any Occupy activist with a record of protest arrests out of the city. Her demand follows one of the most dramatic clampdowns on the movement in its history.

More than 400 people were arrested when what began as a peaceful rally against inequality and police brutality turned rough.

Riot clad cops jumped into action - firing volleys of tear gas and flash grenades at protesters hiding behind makeshift barriers bearing peace symbols. 

First-hand accounts say that police were carrying lists of demonstrators with them, which they used to arrest attendants. 

Sara Flounders, from the International Action Center, believes the Occupy movement is like an alarm clock for a dying American dream.

Arrests in Oakland protests rise to more than 400

Crews cleaned up Oakland's historic City Hall on Sunday from damage inflicted overnight during violent anti-Wall Street protests that resulted in about 400 arrests, marking one of the largest mass arrests since nationwide protests began last year.

Reuters, 

30 January, 2012

At a press conference on Sunday, Oakland police and city officials said they did not have a final tally of arrests. Earlier in the day, the city's emergency operations office put the figure at around 400. The skirmishes injured three officers and at least one demonstrator.

Police said a group of protesters burned an American flag in front of City Hall, then entered the building and destroyed a vending machine, light fixtures and a historic scale model of the edifice. The city's 911 emergency system was overwhelmed during the disturbances.

"While City Hall sustained damage, we anticipate that all city offices will be open for regular business tomorrow," said Deanna Santana, Oakland city administrator.

Oakland has become an unlikely flashpoint for the national "Occupy" protests against economic inequality that began last year in New York's financial district and spread to dozens of cities.

The protests in most cities have been peaceful and sparked a national debate over how much of the country's wealth is held by the richest 1 percent of the population. President Barack Obama has sought to capitalize on the attention by calling for higher taxes on the richest Americans.

Occupy protests focused on Oakland after a former Marine and Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, was critically injured during a demonstration in October. Protesters said he was hit in the head by a tear gas canister but authorities have never said exactly how he was hurt.

The Occupy movement appeared to lose momentum late last year as police cleared protest camps in several cities.

Violence erupted again in Oakland on Saturday afternoon when protesters attempted to take over the apparently empty downtown convention center to establish a new headquarters and draw attention to the problem of homelessness.

Police in riot gear moved in to drive back the crowd, which they estimated at about 500 protesters.

BOTTLES, METAL PIPE

"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "The Oakland Police Department deployed smoke, tear gas and beanbag projectiles in response to this activity."

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan accused a "violent splinter group" of the Occupy movement of fomenting the Saturday protests and using the city as its playground. Protesters have accused the city of overreacting and using heavyhanded tactics.

By early evening on Sunday, about 80 to 100 protesters were gathered in the plaza next to Oakland City Hall, but there was no police presence and the park was peaceful.

Oakland Police warned protesters that they would not tolerate a repeat of the protest actions on Saturday.

Tension also flared on Sunday in Washington where police used a taser on an Occupy protester during an arrest at a park near the White House, U.S. Park police said.

The National Park Service has said it will begin enforcing a ban on Occupy protesters camping overnight in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, two parks near the White House where they have been living since October.

That order, if carried out as promised starting at noon on Monday, could be a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement.

Energy news

Coal Starts Shutting Down Across US

As a result of new air quality regulations, many coal-fired power plants are preparing to shut down across the Midwest

Energy Digital,

27 January, 2012

FirstEnergy Corp announced Thursday that new environmental regulations released by the EPA have led the company to a decision to shut down six of its older, coal-fired power plants throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Some 500 employees will be affected when the plants are officially retired on September 1st.

Global refinery surplus narrowest since 2007 on Hovensa closure

Commodity Online,

28 January, 2012

Hovensa, another major refinery in the Atlantic Basin has recently announced permanent idling of capacity. The company said it would mothball its 350kbd refinery in the US Virgin Islands by mid-February due to poor margins and convert it into a storage facility.

The US East Coast products deficit was already set to widen this year due to refinery closures in PADD I. The region will face further supply loss due to Hovensa’s closure, which may lead to greater import needs and potential opportunities for European suppliers depending on the US demand outlook.

The golden age of refiners

The Hovensa closure narrows the global refinery surplus to 3% from our prior estimate of 3.4% making it the narrowest since 2007, and implying a healthier margin environment than our prior estimate for this year.

If we include the permanent mothballing of Petroplus’ three refineries that are currently shuttered, then the surplus drops to 2.7% and the permanent loss of all Petroplus refineries narrows the surplus to 2.4%, closer to the 2% surplus that characterized the golden period for refiners in the middle of the past decade.

We note that while the baseline implies a far healthier margin environment for this year, the key uncertainty in our balance remains demand due to ongoing concerns on the macro- front with the debt-crisis in Europe as a potential catalyst for global economic contagion.

Fuel shortages continue throughout Egypt

Egypt Independant, 

29 January, 2012

The shortage of fuel and butane gas cylinders is continuing in many governorates amidst protests against soaring black market prices.

Qena residents blocked the highway in protest of their demands being ignored.

In Beni Suef, drivers clashed at gas stations, accusing owners of hiding fuel to increase prices.

Beheira residents formed popular committees to protect trucks supplying the gas stations from vandalism.

In Minya, more than 1,500 butane gas cylinders and 5,000 liters of diesel were seized prior to being sold on the black market.

Taxi drivers in Qalyubiyathreatened to raise fares

Pakistan:41 power related projects could not get single penny in seven months

Sana News,

29 January, 2012

The level of seriousness of the government for handling the prevailing energy crises in the country is showed that power related 41 mega projects out of 43 could not get single penny from allocated funds during seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year 2011-12, “SANA” has learned.

Peak Oil

Global Oil Production Update: A Strange Future Has Arrived

by Gregor MacDonald

Business Insider, 

30 January, 2012

Since 2005, European oil consumption has fallen by 1.5 million barrels a day. And, in the same period, US oil consumption has fallen by 2 million barrels a day. If oil was priced at $60 a barrel, rather than $100 a barrel, then a fair portion of that lost demand might return. Instead, since 2005, global crude oil production has been bumping up against a ceiling around 74 million barrels a day. Thus, the tremendous growth in oil demand which emanates from the developing world, in Asia primarily, has been supplied by the reduction of demand in Europe and the United States. Why doesn’t the world simply increase the production of oil to 77, or 78 million barrels a day? After all, that is precisely the history of global oil production: a continual increase in supply to capture the advantage of rising prices.

Today, in 2012, I observe that many analysts of global oil production—and the interaction between oil prices and the global economy—continue to engage in a guessing game about the future. But, frankly, the future has already arrived. And it is not a random future, but a future that was held to be improbable, if not impossible. For each extra barrel of oil produced over the past seven years from Russia, and Canada, there has been a loss of production from the North Sea, from Mexico, from Indonesia and elsewhere. And in the case of OPEC, there has been a stubborn flatlining of production growth, which, in the true spirit of argumentum ad ignorantium, has been taken as proof of OPEC’s hidden and secret supply. Thus, we are led to the newest and strangest meme of all: the failure of global oil production to grow over seven years, in the face of a phase transition in oil prices, is not even suggestive of peak oil. But rather, proof of oil’s imminent supply resurrection.

Eurozone crisis

Europe Awakes To Sea Of CDS Redness

Zero Hedge,

30 January, 2012

With a Greek default imminent, and this time ISDA having no chance to kill CDS as a hedging mechanism as the trigger event will be more than present, investors have once again jumped at the opportunity to close lucrative basis trade opportunities, as a result sending all of Europe broadly red in spread terms. 

Notable: Portugal CDS, which contrary to media reports elsewhere has been trading points up front for a few weeks now, just hit a record 40 pts up. 

And what is worse is that the 5/10s, which should be inverted for a country as distressed as this, isn't.

                         5Y                       10Y                  5/10's Rolls                     

ITALY             416/426 +21       393/413          -23/-13

SPAIN            368/378 +20       342/362          -20/-10

PORTUGAL  39/40.5 +0.5       41.5/44.5         2.5/5.5

IRELAND      610/640 +5          440/510          -180/-120

GREECE       62/64   0              63/67              0.5/3.5

BELGIUM      238/248  +8         226/246         -14/0

FRANCE       169/174  +6.5     190.5/198.5    19/23

AUSTRIA      170/176  +5         184.5/194.5    14/19

UK                  77/81   +2             92/98               14/18

GERMANY   88/91   +4.5          107.5/113.5     18/22

Holy Cow, Portuguese Bonds!

Business Insider, 

30 January, 2012

Yield on the 10-year going astronomical.

Here's the intraday look. It's now above 17%.

Chinese housing market

Shanghai New Home Prices Tumble 41% In Past Week

Zero Hedge, 

30 Janaury, 2012

While the number is likely influenced by the Chinese Lunar New Year, property consultant Shanghai UWin Real Estate Information Services Co. released an update on the Chinese new home sales market which is, to say the least troubling. 

Specifically, according to UWin, Shanghai new home prices fell 40.96% in the week ended January 29, compared to the previous week, to 16,144 yuan/square meter. 

If correct, it means that local homeowner violence is about to come back with a vengeance, as happened back in October when property developer office were stormed by angry mobs of home purchasers who saw an implosion in the indicated values of their purchases. 

Furthermore, not only has the market stalled, but it appears to be frozen, with just 4,400 square meters of new transactions closing, or an 89.21% drop on the week. And while the holiday has an impact, the volume is 36% of the 7 year average for Chinese holidays, so there is more in play here than just a seasonal grind. 

So just like the Baltic Dry where everyone is expecting a surge "any minute now" that the Chinese new year is over, nervous China bulls will have this new vertical to keep track of and make sure that it is merely a blip, as the alternative is a full blown Chinese housing bubble collapse.

More specifics from Bloomberg:

• New home transactions by area plunged 89% W/w in Jan. 23-Jan. 29 to 4,400 sq/m, Uwin says in e-mailed statement.

• Sales during Chinese New Year holiday decline to lowest level since 2006 for same period; volume 36% of 7-yr avg. for CNY holiday

• Avg. new home price down 41% W/w

• New home supplies plunged 87% W/w

• Property developers may have to continue price cuts for cashflow to survive, Uwin analyst Zhijian Huang says

• China may remove or relax home purchase restrictions during June-Oct period: Huang

• Policy turnaround may boost sales before home prices rebound moderately: Huang

Iran delays vote

From Mike Ruppert:

I am not as alarmed as Zero Hedge about this and there's good reason for that. It has been made abundantly clear that Russia and China will immediately respond militarily against the west if Iran is attacked by the US or Israel. Japan, India, Korea,  and China have refused to participate in the scheduled July embargo against Iranian oil. It will never happen because there is one key fact I am absolutely sure of. -- There is absolutely nothing that can replace Iranian oil in the global supply chain. I think Zero Hedge needs to firmly understand that. This is Peak Oil and there is zero swing production capacity anywhere to replace it. Every nation is not being caught on their own lies about production and reserves.

Iran  just turned the tables on Europe by moving towards something it can do, which is to shut off supplies to Europe. The rest of the world would still gulp down all Iranian production. Europe has no luxury of getting oil someplace else, especially with the puppet regime in Libya so vulnerable. I believe these renewed escalations are saber rattling with Europe and the U.S. essentially saying the same thing that the rest of the world said to the U.S.... If anyone cuts off anybody's oil supplies anywhere it will mean nuclear war.

Peak Oil overrides everything.

And I believe Iran will stand down on its threat to embargo Europe. I am not treating these developments as reasons to get fearful over an attack on Iran or closure of Hormuz again. If that situation changes I'll tell you but my personal anxiety levels are not elevated with these developments.  -- MCR

I hope you're right!

Iran Blinks, Delays Vote On European Crude Export Halt Even As US Escalates Military Developments Against Country

Zero Hedge,

29 January, 2012

After it was the west backing down from further unnecessary escalation with Iran two weeks ago, when Israel and the US delayed indefinitely joint naval operations in the Arabian Gulf, it is now Iran's turn to blink.

Following reports that Iran would pass a law halting crude exports to European countries, in advance of the full-blown embargo expected to take place some time by June, or as soon as European countries have found alternative supplies, we now learn that "Iran's parliament on Sunday postponed the debate over the bill."

This is happening just as nuclear inspectors are arriving in the country "to probe allegations of a secret atomic weapons program." Yet does this mean that Iran has just exposed a major weakness that the West will immediately pounce on? It is still unclear - Reuters reports that "Iran's oil minister said on Sunday the Islamic state would soon stop exporting crude to "some" countries, the state news agency IRNA reported."

Naturally the vague, open-endedness of this statement makes it quite clear that it was Iran's turn to de-escalate this time around. Or does this simply mean that Iran has been unable to conclude alternative oil trade arrangements with China, Russia and India just yet?

According to Reuters:  "Soon we will cut exporting oil to some countries," Rostam Qasemi was quoted by IRNA as saying."

Yet instead of taking this cue to attempt some additional deescalation in its own part, the US has decided to double down in further belaboring already tense relations.

On one hand, WaPo reported late on Friday that the Navy wants a commando "mothership" in the Middle East, something which Iran will be delighted to hear.

The Pentagon is rushing to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East as tensions rise with Iran, al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates, among other threats.

In response to requests from U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, the Navy is converting an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos. Unofficially dubbed a “mothership,” the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, procurement documents show.

Lt. Cmdr. Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, declined to elaborate on the floating base’s purpose or to say where, exactly, it will be deployed in the Middle East. Other Navy officials acknowledged that they were moving with unusual haste to complete the conversion and send the mothership to the region by early summer.

Navy documents indicate that it could be headed to the Persian Gulf, where Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for much of the world’s oil supply. A market survey proposal from the Military Sealift Command, dated Dec. 22 and posted online, states that the floating base needed to be delivered to the Persian Gulf.

U.S. military officials declined to say what prompted them to give the Ponce a sudden new lease on life. But contract and bidding documents underscore the urgency of the project.

One no-bid contract for engineering work states that the military was waiving normal procurement rules because any delay presented a “national security risk.” Other contract bids are due Feb. 3. The Navy wants the conversion work to begin 10 days later on the Ponce, which is docked in Virginia Beach

Also on Friday, the WSJ reported that the Pentagon seeks a mightier bomb vs Iran, one whose name could have only been inspired by the Adult Entertainment Expo: the "Massive Ordnance Penetrator."

Pentagon war planners have concluded that their largest conventional bomb isn't yet capable of destroying Iran's most heavily fortified underground facilities, and are stepping up efforts to make it more powerful, according to U.S. officials briefed on the plan.

The 30,000-pound "bunker-buster" bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, was specifically designed to take out the hardened fortifications built by Iran and North Korea to cloak their nuclear programs.

But initial tests indicated that the bomb, as currently configured, wouldn't be capable of destroying some of Iran's facilities, either because of their depth or because Tehran has added new fortifications to protect them.

Doubts about the MOP's effectiveness prompted the Pentagon this month to secretly submit a request to Congress for funding to enhance the bomb's ability to penetrate deeper into rock, concrete and steel before exploding, the officials said.

The push to boost the power of the MOP is part of stepped-up contingency planning for a possible strike against Iran's nuclear program, say U.S. officials.

Alas, in light of these two additional escalating developments, we are rather confident that Iran's latest gambit to show a modicum of goodwill behind the scenes will soon be extinguished.

Occupation London

Occupy London assault: Bailiff plows car through protesters

RT

Police in London have been accused of excessive force in their efforts to clear out Occupy demonstrators. Protesters stood together last night as officers broke down the doors to their camps. RT's Laura Smith has more on the London based battle between occupiers and officers.

RT interview with Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky continues to have a more pessimistic interpretation of events in the Persian Gulf.

Michel Chossudovsky: 'US needs human face for Iran invasion'

The military build-up and economic sanctions against Iran are designed to unleash a global war from the Mediterranean to China with unpredictable consequences, warns Michel Chossudovsky, Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization.

Inflation or Deflation?

Merle Hazard and Bretton Wood

Portugal

The Hot New Worry In The Eurozone...

Joe Wiesenthal

Business Insider,

30 January, 2012

Greece is still furiously working out a haircut deal with its creditors, but the hot new worry in Europe is unquestionably Portugal, land of the surging bond yields.

In a note that identifies: "TOP CLIENT QUESTIONS", SocGen's Global Head Of Economics Michala Marcussen writes

Will Portugal follow Greece? 

Portuguese bond yields have increased on the back of downgrades and fears that Portugal will follow in the footsteps of Greece. 

Under the current EU/IMF program, Portugal is due to return to market funding in 2013. For this to become realistic, 10-year bond yields would have to decline substantially from the current level of 15.1%. 

In our opinion, the Portuguese government will bite the bullet and deliver deep reaching structural reform and austerity in 2012. 

The risk, however, is that even a successful  program may not be enough to secure a sufficient decline in bond yields. 

That would leave  only two options:
(1) a second official package or
(2) PSI. (private sector involvement) 

A firm commitment from euro area  policymakers that Portugal will not see PSI (private sector involvement) and, if necessary, funds would be made available  would clearly be helpful and push bond yields lower (and thus reduce the risk that an official  second package would be needed!)

And just in case you haven't seen the chart on the 10-year Portuguese bond...

Tobin tax for France

Sarkozy announces French financial transaction tax

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans to introduce a tax on financial transactions.

BBC,

30 January, 2012

The 0.1% levy will be introduced in August regardless of whether other European countries follow suit.

The tax is part of a package of measures set out by the president to promote growth and create jobs.

Mr Sarkozy faces a presidential election in April, but is currently trailing in the opinion polls behind his Socialist rival, Francois Hollande.

In an interview with French television, Mr Sarkozy said he hoped the tax would push other countries to take action.

"What we want to do is create a shockwave and set an example that there is absolutely no reason why those who helped bring about the crisis shouldn't pay to restore the finances," he said.

"We hope the tax will generate one billion euros ($1.3bn, £0.8bn) of new income and and thus cut our budget deficit."

Mr Sarkozy gave no further details on the tax, but a government source later told Reuters news agency it would target shares and not bonds.

French and German proposals for an EU-wide financial transaction tax were among the reasons the British Prime Minister David Cameron vetoed EU treaty changes at a summit in Brussels in December.

Mr Cameron argued that such a tax would penalise the City of London where 75% of European financial transactions take place.

Competitiveness

Among the other measures announced by Mr Sarkozy are an increase in sales tax of 1.6% which will be used to fund a reduction in the charges paid to the government by employers.

The intention is to create employment and discourage industry from moving abroad.

The president also said that labour laws would be freed up to allow companies and trades unions to negotiate on pay and conditions at a local level.

This measure appears intended to end the 35-hour working week for which France has often been criticised by economists.

All these ideas on restoring French competitiveness are directly inspired by Germany, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.

Mr Sarkozy is reportedly hoping to rush the measure through the French parliament before the presidential vote.

However, with the election less than three months away and Mr Sarkozy a long way behind Mr Hollande in the opinion polls it is far from clear whether these ideas will ever see the light of day, our correspondent adds.

President Sarkozy received a boost on Saturday from Germany's governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which said that Chancellor Angela Merkel would appear at French election rallies to give her backing to Mr Sarkozy's campaign.

Inflation

Chicago: Prices jump in food, transportation, other everyday costs

Chicago Sun-Times,

29 January, 2012

Want to go somewhere? Whether by plane, train or automobile, it’s costing you more.

Feeling hungry? Some grocery prices are enough to make you sick. But don’t get too ill; the medical co-pays will hurt.

Own a house, its value has plummeted. But, surprise! Your homeowner’s insurance premium hasn’t. And what you’re paying for water and sewer service now could make you cry.

The prices on a wide range of goods and services spiked last year and over the past few years. While overall consumer prices increased an average of 2.7 percent in the Chicago area last year over 2010, that Labor Department statistic doesn’t paint the full picture of the bigger hits higher prices in some key categories have been delivering to consumers’ wallets.

“There are a lot of things that are up and up a lot,” said Morningstar Inc. economist Robert Johnson. “I don’t know too many people who got a three percent raise last year.”

Indeed, many workers are grappling with pay cuts and shorter hours in the wake of the Great Recession and the loss of income after a spouse’s job was axed.

Health care and transportation saw some of the sharpest jumps.

Chicago area employees paid about 12 percent more in health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs last year than a year earlier and 41.6 percent more than they did in 2007, the year the recession started, according to Lincolnshire-based Aon-Hewitt.

Gasoline prices spiked an average 27 percent in the Chicago area in 2011 from 2010. That builds on an average 20 percent jump in 2010, according to AAA Chicago. And when looking at overall transportation, which besides gasoline also includes the price of new and used vehicles, automobile maintenance costs, parking fees, tolls, and other expenses, the average annual percent increase was 10 percent from 2010, Labor Department data shows.

State and local governments didn’t help. Highway tolls in the state nearly doubled this year to help pay for a construction and capital improvement plan. As of Feb. 1, Metra train fares are going up an average of 25 percent — higher in certain zones and for certain types of tickets, such as 10-rides, which will jump an average 30 percent.

Even a glass of water or a shower costs you more. The first of four water and sewer rate increases by the city of Chicago for Lake Michigan water users began this year with a 25 percent hike. Fifteen percent increases are on tap for the next three years

.

Grocery food price increases averaged 4.3 percent in the Chicago area last year. The worst month was November, when prices jumped 6.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Labor Department. Those averages don’t make readily apparent the sticker-shock brought on by double-digit price increases in some kitchen staples 

It’s not as if consumers have more money to burn. Among private industry workers, wages and salaries in the Chicago area rose only 1.5 percent in the third quarter of last year from a year earlier.

“People are absolutely being squeezed,” said Johnson. “People really had to dip into their savings last year to finance some of their spending. Clearly they were strapped last year. . . . And if the recovery is going to continue in 2012, we need to see moderate prices because nothing stops an economic recovery faster than inflation, nothing.”

While inflation affects everybody, higher food and gas prices can be particularly problematic for lower-income households, who can spend as much as 30 percent of their income on such necessities, Johnson said.

Norridge resident Elden Keeler, who works as a part-time music teacher and musician to supplement his Social Security and pension income, says higher prices for food, gas and health care have made it difficult for him.

“I need to spend on gas to drive the couple of days that I work and to visit my mother in a nursing home, so I’m cutting back in other areas,” he said. “I’ve cut back on clothing, entertainment, things like that.”

Keeler, 65, shares his home with his 39-year-old son, Christopher, who has been living with him for more than a year since the Palatine restaurant he worked at as a cook shut down. The younger Keeler worries about not being able to help his dad with expenses.

“Many of my retirees and soon-to-retire are worried,” about higher prices, said Jeffrey Bruce, financial adviser with Crystal Lake-based Exemplar Financial Network and director of public awareness with the Financial Planning Association of Illinois.

“Inflation is very real, we see it in our food, fuel, education, medical, etc.”

Bill Gates embraces du Pont and Monsanto

Bill Gates Warns Countries Need To Embrace GMOs Or Citizens Will Starve

UK Progressive,

29 January, 2012

Entrenched in action and always on the front lines of saving the world and feeding the hungry, Bill Gates gets right to the “root” of solving the world’s food shortage by putting his money where his friends at the Rockefeller Foundation tell him to.

This week, The Associated Press reported Bill Gates believes “Countries can embrace modern seed technology and genetic modification or their citizens will starve.” This comment was directed at the naysayer’s of genetically modified (GM) seeds and the belief that “high-tech” solutions to world hunger are bad for the environment.

Why are Bill Gates and The Rockefeller Foundation supporting the proliferation of patented seeds, GMOs, and at the same time, investing tens of millions of dollars to preserve every natural seed variety on this planet in a bomb-proof doomsday vault? Wouldn’t it be best to cultivate the world’s natural seeds, while preserving them, and nourishing and nurturing our world’s farms and precious soil?

Is Gates confused and misled? I think not.

The Global Crop Diversity Trust is based in Rome. Its Board is chaired by Margaret Catley-Carlson a Canadian also on the advisory board of Group Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, one of the world’s largest private water companies. Catley-Carlson was also president until 1998 of the New York-based Population Council, John D. Rockefeller’s population reduction organization, set up in 1952 to advance the Rockefeller family’s eugenics program under the cover of promoting “family planning,” birth control devices, sterilization and “population control” in developing countries.

Other GCDT board members include former Bank of America executive presently head of the Hollywood DreamWorks Animation, Lewis Coleman. Coleman is also the lead Board Director of Northrup Grumman Corporation, one of America’s largest military industry Pentagon contractors.

And so the plot thickens. Are Gates and his GCDT buddies on a mission from God to feed and serve the world’s hungry, or are they on a mission to control the world’s population through mass planting and distribution of GMOs?

Cables released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, reveal new details of the US effort to push foreign governments to approve GE crops and promote the worldwide interests of agribusiness giants like Monsanto and DuPont.

A key component of the US plan to dominate world agriculture with GM seeds is the absence of labeling of GM foods. No labeling means US consumers can not exercise informed choices in the marketplace, reducing the likelihood of a consumer revolt.

Last year, Miriam E. Sapiro, Deputy US Trade Representative, urged the European Commission to break its longstanding impasse blocking GM foods. Because GM seeds are patented it is illegal for a farmer to retain seeds for next years crops – offering huge financial benefits over traditional seeds.

If I were to gander a guess why Gates is so keen on feeding the hungry, I’d have to go with keeping up appearances as a free-spirited generous guy who’s only concern is for the health and advancement of his own, yet to be revealed, agenda.

Theodora Filis is an accomplished journalist, editor, writer, and blogger. Theodora's articles on Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking), Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Nuclear Fallout's, Poisonous Chemicals and Ground Water Pollutants have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. Theodora has been a guest speaker on several radio shows, is a college instructor, and the Contributing Editor for UK Progressive Magazine, Moderator for LinkedIn Climate sub-group, and the Publisher & Editor of The Gaia Reports. You can view Theodora's blog "The Gaia Reports" here: http://thegaiareports.weebly.com/#/

Fukushima

Frozen water causes leakages at Fukushima nuclear power plant

Japan Today, 

30 Janaury, 2012

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said Sunday that cooling operations at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were suspended for a short time due to water leakages.

TEPCO said leakages were found at 14 locations, including the cooling system for the spent fuel pool at the No. 4 reactor, NTV reported. Cooling operations were suspended for 100 minutes on Sunday morning. Leakages were also found at the pump that sends water to the reactor cooling system.

A TEPCO spokesman said it is likely that the leakages were caused by frozen water overnight on Saturday. The Japan Meteorological Agency said temperatures on Saturday night and early Sunday in the area fell to minus 5 degrees, NTV report.