Greek Government survives vote

From Athens News:

Greece's embattled government on Wednesday survived a confidence vote crucial to avoiding a sovereign default, as thousands of protesters chanted insults outside parliament.

The assembly voted confidence in the government, reshuffled by Prime Minister George Papandreou to stiffen resolve behind a painful new austerity programme, by 155 votes to 143 with two abstentions. All Papandreou's Socialist Party deputies voted solidly with the government.

"If we are afraid, if we throw away this opportunity, then history will judge us very harshly," Papandreou said in a final appeal for support before the vote.

The closely watched vote had an immediate impact with the euro making gains, although traders said continuing concerns about implementation of the measures contained the currency's advance.

Protesters besieged parliament in Syntagma square, chanting slogans against the politicians, shining hundreds of green laser lights at the building and into the eyes of riot police outside and pushing their hands forward in a traditional insult.

Papandreou's government must rapidly pass two more tests -- enacting the austerity plan and the laws needed to implement it -- to win a new bailout to avert the euro zone's first sovereign default and possible global economic disaster. The vote follows a European ultimatum requiring the debt-choked Mediterranean state to implement a new five-year package of deeply unpopular reforms in two weeks or miss out on a 12-billion euro aid tranche and plunge into bankruptcy.....read on

Silver coin sales boom as investors seek haven

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

Silver-coin sales from the Perth Mint have surged to a record as buyers seek to protect their wealth with the metal known as poor man’s gold.

The mint sold 10.7 million one ounce silver coins since July 1 last year, according to Sales and Marketing Director Ron Currie. That’s 66 per cent higher than the previous full fiscal year and about 10-fold more than five years earlier. Sales of one ounce gold coins will be close to a record, he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/silver-coin-sales-boom-as-investors-seek-haven-20110622-1gdzo.html#ixzz1Q0VLqQOi

Brother turns on Brother

Minister Louis Farrakhan speaking to over 500 religious leaders in New York on May 28, 2011

Greek debt tragedy: 'Slow agonizing death of the Euro'

From: RussiaToday | Jun 21, 2011

The Greek Prime Minister is facing a crucial confidence vote in parliament. It will determine whether he'll be able to secure another injection of cash from the EU, and save the country from plunging into deeper crisis. On Monday, EU finance ministers piled further pressure on Greece. They gave Athens two weeks to pass fresh budget cuts and tax increases, conditions that must be met to secure a previously agreed installment of twelve billion euro. MEP William Dartmouth, whose UK Independence Party wants Britain out of the EU, says the uncertainty over the next payment for Greece, is understandable.

TSA Is Searching Your Car, Subway, Ferry, Bus, AND Plane

From Mother Jones:

Think you could avoid the TSA's body scanners and pat-downs by taking Amtrak? Think again. Even your daily commute isn't safe from TSA screenings. And because the TSA is working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, you may have your immigration status examined along with your "junk".

As part of the TSA's request for FY 2012 funding, TSA Administrator John Pistole told Congress last week that the TSA conducts 8,000 unannounced security screenings every year. These screenings, conducted with local law enforcement agencies as well as immigration, can be as simple as checking out cargo at a busy seaport. But more and more, they seem to involve giving airport-style pat-downs and screenings of unsuspecting passengers at bus terminals, ferries, and even subways.

..............

VIPR operations are now even targeting freight trucks on highways. In addition to the random checks on public transit systems, it makes you wonder: can private vehicles be far behind? Will there be any mode of transportation beyond the reach of the TSA?

UPDATE: According to at least one news report out of Brownsville, Texas, TSA/VIPR has already conducted unannounced inspections of private passenger cars and trucks........read story in full

Keiser Report: Financial No-Go Zone

by RussiaToday on Jun 21, 2011

This week Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, report on how to improve your self esteem with mountains of debt. In the second half of the show, Max talks to Demetri Kofinas in Athens about the global insurrection against banker occupation happening in Syntagma Square and the role of credit default swaps and mountains of debt in making that occupation possible in the first place.

Turkish choppers over Syria

Debkafile reports war fever in and around Syria after Syrian President Bashar Assad's speech Monday, June 20, sparked riots by disappointed protesters in Damascus and Latakia. Our military sources checked reports from Cypriot aviation sources that Syria had closed its airspace to civilian traffic and found its skies were still open.

According to other sources, some Iranian, Turkish military helicopters are infiltrating northern Syria on reconnaissance missions. Arab sources report NATO is planning to fly extra troops from Spanish and Germany bases to the Izmir Air base in western Turkey to expand the current number of 400. Damascus accuses Turkey of seeking to seize Syrian territory on the pretext of providing a buffer zone for Syrian refugees.

Indian imports of gold and silver up 222%

Author: Shivom Seth
MUMBAI -

The import of gold and silver by India has risen by a whopping 222% between April and May 2011, as compared to a year ago. In the month of May alone, imports were a staggering $9 billion, with gold demand growing 25%.

"Even as inflation and a widening trade deficit to $15 billion in May continues to weigh on the minds of Indian investors, the demand for fresh gold has continued to grow. This is very confusing, especially when one sees it against the backdrop of a 400% rise in the value of the rupee over the last decade,'' said bullion analyst Anand Patnaik with a brokerage firm.

Imports of gold and silver were at $8.96 billion in May, a growth of 500% over the previous month and 222% over last year.

"Rapid inflation is eroding the earnings of the common man. One has to understand how the import of gold has reached $9 billion for a month, while the yearly average is around $22 billion,'' said Sudhir Chakraborty, bullion analyst at Standard Chartered bank.
"The gold story is puzzling,'' added financial analyst A S Kirolar. "Consumers are shying away from stocks and bonds and heading to safe assets like gold and real estate, but one cannot understand this given the meagre 12% growth in imports of petroleum and oil products.''.....read in full

PBOC issues more commemorative coins to meet soaring demands

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, announced on Monday that it will issue more gold and silver commemorative coins featuring the giant pandas to meet soaring demands for precious metals in the country.

PBOC said the maximum circulation of the one-ounce gold coins with a face value of 500 yuan (77.3 U.S. dollars) will be raised to 500,000 from 300,000 previously set at the end of last year.

The maximum circulation of four other gold coins with different gold purity and face values ranging from 20 yuan to 200 yuan will increase to 600,000 each set from the previous 200,000.

Also, the maximum issuance of one-ounce silver coins with a face value of 10 yuan each will double to 6 million from the previous 3 million, according to PBOC. Chinese investors have rushed to buy precious metals this year to hedge against rising inflation, where the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, shot up to 5.5 percent year-on-year in May. The CPI rose 5 percent in the first quarter and 5.3 percent in April.

The benchmark interest rate of one-year deposits stood at 3.25 percent after the central bank raised the interest rate twice this year to curb inflation.

In contrast, the price of gold has so far risen by about 9.4 percent from the end of last year, making precious metals more attractive to investors.

Webster Tarpley & Alex Jones discuss the coming wars

Webster Tarpley & Alex Jones discuss the coming wars......download or play the interview here