Wealthy New York town installs network of 'Big Brother' cameras to background check every single car that drives through

From the UK Daily Mail:

A wealthy village is installing one of most extensive municipal surveillance systems in the United States in a controversial bid to crack down on crime.

Residents of King's Point in Long Island, New York are paying for 44 'Big Brother' style CCTV cameras to be installed covering its entire 3.3 square mile area.

On every single one of the 19 roads in and out of the village cameras will take pictures of passing vehicles, scan licence plates and check them against criminal databases.

When an offender or stolen car strays into King's Point an alert will be sent to the local police department.......read on

Silver's "Golden Moment"

John Soltez
27 April 2011

What's up with silver? The question is what isn't up with it, the white metal having risen a Viagra-inspired 150 percent in less than a year. With silver roaring to within a whisker of its all-time high over the Easter weekend, the warning wolves have come out in packs. Yet for all the cries of "bubble" from the top-callers (who've been wrong since $25), silver well could run further before this current move's exhausted.

What the bubble brigade fails to realize is that silver is undergoing a normal parabolic response to years of a distorted supply-demand picture. This isn't a bubble, it's a coming-out party, silver announcing it's arrived. Enjoy the hors d'ouevres, as the party is only getting started. And while you're at it, throw out your "normal" chart analysis, from here to the top it's pure fundamentals. Has silver historically corrected once it's reached "X" level on some indicator? Never mind, just don't get in the way of the train.

What's going on with silver right now - something I'm surprised nobody seems to be talking about - is simply that it's having its own "golden moment." That is to say, silver is poised to beat its own all-time nominal high, just as gold did back in '08 when that metal was the one making the big upside move. In other words, Silver 2011 = Gold 2008. Let's now examine the implications this has for prices going forward.

As a student of fractals, I look for repeat patterns in markets, and this one's a real standout. As the above chart shows, once gold equaled its high of $850 (set in 1980) it didn't stop there - it went on to scrape the $1,000 level, an overshot of roughly 17 percent. Should the pattern maintain, this gives us an upside silver target between $56-$59 based on the all-time intraday $50 high.

From there, if the golden precedent holds, we'll at last have that correction they've been crowing about - a brutal 20 or 30 percent meltdown that will deliver to the newly-minted silver bulls what Mr. Jim Sinclair calls a "religious experience." Out will jump the bubble brigade, and once again financial TV will buzz with "I-told-you-so" top-callers and tulip-mania-talking trolls.

Then, the gold chart hints, silver will do what all bull markets do: frustrate both longs and shorts. As you can see, gold fairly flat lined once it made its initial post-$1000 drop, drifting until it finally bottomed near the end of '08. Those of you expecting another big buying-opportunity dip before the summer may end up disappointed - same goes for any bears looking for a further beat down. Rather than rising to new all-time highs, silver could switch to a rather dull range-trade mode, slowly leaking downward, wringing out all the excess optimism in preparation for the next launch. Unfortunately for the impatient, that's a process that's usually measured in months, not days.

A key to watch: the USDX, which is what this whole metals bull has really been about all along. A drop to as far as 70.75, and the whole picture changes, as the U.S. monetary authorities must finally intervene on behalf of their bonds and currency. That won't be precious-metals positive.

Disclaimer: the preceding is for academic purposes only, and should not be treated as trading advice. Trading and investing involves risk.

JOHN SOLTEZ is a trader and the author of the novel Only in America, the story of a young professional struggling to cope with life during a time of economic and social turbulence. You can check out this critically-praised book at www.amazon.com/dp/061533007X Reach John with comments at: jsoltez@gmail.com .

Everything's OK with Economy, Go Back to Sleep

By Greg Hunter:

It appears economist Paul Krugman thinks the budget and the economy are not in that bad of shape because he thinks the dire warnings are overdone. In his latest Op-Ed piece this week, he said, "When I listen to current discussions of the federal budget, the message I hear sounds like this: We're in crisis! We must take drastic action immediately! And we must keep taxes low, if not actually cut them further! You have to wonder: If things are that serious, shouldn't we be raising taxes, not cutting them?" (Click here for the complete Op-Ed post from the New York Times.) Yes, that's right, Mr. Krugman wants to raise taxes just as inflation in food and gasoline are heating up. It is hard to understand why a Nobel Prize winner in economics wants to raise taxes in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression. He doesn't just want to raise taxes on the wealthy, but on the middle class as well. He goes on to say the plan he backs, ". . . also calls for a rise in the Social Security cap, significantly raising taxes on around 6 percent of workers. And, by rescinding many of the Bush tax cuts, not just those affecting top incomes, it would modestly raise taxes even on middle-income families. . . .And the proposal achieves this without dismantling the legacy of the New Deal, which gave us Social Security, and the Great Society, which gave us Medicare and Medicaid." So, in Krugman's eyes, we should continue going broke over the funding of Medicare and Medicaid?

Mr. Krugman also points out that taxes in the U.S., ". . . are much lower as a percentage of national income than taxes in most other wealthy nations." Who are those "other wealthy nations?" Japan, France, Spain, the UK? What Krugman conveniently leaves out is there is a sovereign debt crisis going on with many "wealthy" western countries. Many are broke and are in severe budget crisis because of their cradle to grave nanny states. Right now, the economy is in such bad shape that a record number of people require government handouts to survive. A USA Today article said yesterday, "A record 18.3% of the nation's total personal income was a payment from the government for Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, unemployment benefits and other programs in 2010. Wages accounted for the lowest share of income - 51.0% - since the government began keeping track in 1929." (Click here to read the complete USA Today article.) I don't see how we can be in a recovery if record numbers of people require government handouts. The last thing these people need are tax increases, on top of crushing inflation that will only get worse.

Inflation goes hand in hand with money printing, and America is printing dollars at an alarming pace. Recently on his website, Congressman Ron Paul said, "Even the most conservative budget that has been proposed by Republican leadership requires raising the debt ceiling by an additional $9 trillion by 2021. This demonstrates absolutely that no one in power right now has any real intention of addressing our spending problems or paying down the debt. They simply expect to continue to borrow and run up more debt forever, without limit. Yet they always imagine our dollar will have value no matter how many we print. This expectation is foolish and naïve. I guarantee that those buying our debt are not foolish and naïve enough to go along with this charade forever." (Click here for the complete Ron Paul post.)

Other countries are not happy with the money printing by the U.S. which is currently the world's reserve currency. BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) held a summit recently, and according to financial writer JR Nyquist, the BRIC countries would like nothing better than to crush the U.S. dollar and change the balance of power. Nyquist writes, "The sequence of unraveling is easy to follow. If you dump U.S. Treasuries, how will the U.S. dollar remain the global reserve currency? In that event, how will the United States finance its deficit spending? Interest rates would skyrocket, with predictable consequences." (Click here for the complete Nyquist post.) The U.S. would be forced to print even more money to finance its debt, and the dollar would hyper-inflate. This is not some farfetched scenario, but a definite possibility. Nyquist goes on to say, "The BRIC summit testifies to the desire of Russia and China to undermine the dollar. However crazy you think such a scheme, they are nonetheless pursuing it. You might say it makes no sense, but you are not a "former" KGB officer or a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Do you really imagine that KGB officers and Communists are bourgeois, like you? No, they are not. They are the declared enemies of the bourgeoisie."

The U.S. is in a very serious economic and budget quagmire with no easy road out. The Paul Krugmans of the world would like you to think that everything is okay with the economy - go back to sleep. But if you do that, you will surely wake up in a nightmare.

Greg is the producer and creator of Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is "analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on." The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin.

Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.

Greg is a hard hitting reporter who has a history of getting to the truth no matter how difficult the subject. Some of his stories include "Dangerous Deadly Depleted Uranium Munitions," where Hunter uncovered the Army’s failure to warn our troops of their exposure to radioactive dust on the battlefield.

In a story called "Produce the Note", Hunter uncovered in 40 percent of foreclosures the bankers cannot prove they legally own the property. If an embattled homeowner knows that fact, it could mean the difference between being thrown out in the cold and having a roof over his head.

And in a report in March of 2008, Hunter exposed the hidden fact the banks were in trouble and the economy was headed for a fall. Greg warned viewers of the coming problems long before other reporters picked up on the looming financial catastrophe. In 2009, many in the mainstream media said things such as "no one saw the crisis coming."

Hunter joined ABC News in 1999 from WTSP-TV in Tampa. He has earned a "National Headliner Award," an International "Freddie Award" for health and medical reporting, as well as investigative reporting awards from both the "Society of Professional Journalists" and the "Radio Television News Directors Association."

usawatchdog.com

Buy Silver Today - At A Discount

By Jeff Nielson:

Having just written a commentary explaining why gold and/or silver "mania" is much more of an imminent event in Asia than in the West, when I saw silver leap more than $2/oz in early, Asian trading on Monday that definitely got my attention.

Silver was then unceremoniously slammed back down by about $3/oz - once Western markets opened and the predatory bullion-bankers went to work. The $2+ move higher was very close to being (in absolute terms) the largest upward move in this entire bull market, to date - likewise the $3+ move lower. It would only be natural for shell-shocked investors to ask themselves "what is the real price of silver?"

Before I get into that topic, I just want to spend a moment to discuss the "surprising" reversal in the silver market today. Obviously the pattern of bullion prices starting strongly (in Asian trading) and then "suddenly plunging" when Western markets open is as blatant as it is absurd.

The simple fact that bullion prices have moved relentlessly higher over more than a decade, while Western bankers have been consistently selling them lower, day after day, week after week, month after month can only lead to one of two conclusions: either Western bankers are grossly incompetent (and never learn from their mistakes); or they have been relentlessly manipulating gold and silver prices lower. On second thought, it is certainly possible that both conclusions are correct.

In this particular instance, the desperation of the bankers to push gold and silver lower is especially rabid. The bankers are absolutely determined to preserve the myth there are still 'seasons' in the precious metals sector (a topic I intend to explore in the near future) - and we are now (supposedly) entering the "off season".

Seeing bullion prices surging higher at this time of year has them terrified, and has already resulted in the most massive shorting frenzy with the gold and silver miners since the Crash of '08. The shorting of the miners has been all the more frantic given that the bankers have clearly failed to control surging bullion prices. This has resulted in a radical disconnect in the prices of the miners versus the price of bullion, or (put another way) the miners are now as cheap as they have been in close to two years. Obviously both bullion and the miners are heading much, much higher in the future, so it remains to be seen whether these "shorts" can manage a profitable exit from the miners - or simply a reenactment of "Custer's Last Stand". But I digress.

With there being "two prices" for gold and silver, the Eastern price and the Western price, confused investors/traders will be wondering which price is a valid reflection of the market. In fact, with the silver market being the most excessively manipulated market in the history of commodities, neither price is "valid" with respect to the true, fundamental value of silver.

Much has been written on this topic (including several of my own commentaries), so I don't have nearly enough space to devote to why (even at close to $50/oz) silver remains grossly undervalued. Let it suffice to say that with there being less refined silver in the world today (relative to gold) than at any time in thousands of years, the price ratio of silver to gold is certain to descend to well below its long-term average of 15:1 - very likely lower than 10:1. If we were to assume that gold is "fairly priced" today, rather than still being seriously undervalued, this would put the present value of silver today at a minimum of $150/oz.

However, another simple way of illustrating the fraudulent "official" price(s) of silver is to point to the third price - it's unofficial price in the large "cash settlements" which are now apparently taking place each month in the apex of silver-fraud: the COMEX exchange.

Knowing that the huge "shorts" in this market (the bullion banks) are literally nothing more than "paper tigers", with not nearly enough metal to back their massive (and illegal) bets, large traders are now engaged in a very fun and profitable game. While most of these traders have, themselves always focused exclusively on trading paper-bullion - rarely if ever taking possession of the "physical" metal - now many/most of them are demanding "delivery" each month with their COMEX contracts.

These traders do this knowing that there isn't nearly enough silver in COMEX warehouses to satisfy these binding, legal contracts for the delivery of silver. In other words, Western bullion markets are already in "technical default" - an unheard-of situation for a major commodities market. To prevent this technical default from becoming an actual default, every month the bullion banks are forced to buy-off these traders with large cash-settlement bribes. The bankers "deliver" only paper to the traders rather than silver, and to get these traders to accept this, the bankers add a large premium - estimated to be as much as 25% (or more) of the official "spot" price.

This game has also apparently been taking place in the London gold market even before it started occurring in New York. The big difference is that (theoretically, at least) the charade in the gold market could go on and on indefinitely - while the silver market must "implode", and likely sooner rather than later.

The big difference between the two markets is the massive "industrial demand" for silver, which (ironically) was created by the bankers. Decades of manipulating the price of silver to only a tiny fraction of its real worth has (naturally) over-stimulated demand. Unlike the paper-traders, industrial users of silver would never accept these cash bribes, since you can't manufacture any of the countless products which now use/contain silver with Bernanke-bills.

Thus while both the gold and silver markets could "detonate", due to the radical imbalance between supply and demand (and between their present prices and their real value), only the silver market has a lit fuse - and a short fuse, at that.

Understanding these dynamics, I hear many knowledgeable silver investors expressing frustration with the phony, official prices - and the secret unofficial price being paid to large traders. This attitude surprises me, since not one of these individuals wants to sell any of their silver today. They are simply annoyed that the "sticker price" on the silver they are already holding isn't higher. Given that many of these investors are still accumulating silver, their attitude is irrational, if not childish.

What does it really mean when the "official price" of silver is well below its unofficial (but much more realistic) price? It means that this precious commodity, which has not been this scarce in hundreds of years is on sale - and ordinary investors can buy it at a discount.

Keep in mind that in this permanent era of high demand and inadequate supply that buyers of physical bullion frequently complain about the high "premiums" which we must pay to buy our silver from dealers. Given the reality of these cash settlements (and assuming the rumors about the size of these bribes are reasonably accurate), this means that even with these premiums ordinary buyers are still able to buy their physical bullion below the actual, current price.

As I continue to remind readers in replies to their comments and mail, the bankers now work for us (although for those of us who also hold shares in the miners, it may not seem like that at the moment!). I say that if the bankers want to make it possible for me to buy my silver below the actual, current price, then who am I to argue?

Indeed, if not for this cash-settlement charade delaying the inevitable implosion of this market, we would have already seen the price of silver skyrocket to a level where few of us would want to purchase it. Such an event would very likely precipitate the investor mania in this sector I wrote about - prematurely - and as I warned previously, this is not a desirable scenario, even for the holders of precious metals.

Consider the insanity of the world we live in. The bankers who are terrified that gold and silver will rise to their true, fundamental values (many multiples of current prices) continually push the price lower (rather than merely seeking to keep them stable). This radically over-stimulates demand, leading to much more buying and (over the longer term) much higher prices than if the bankers had not manipulated prices in such a rabid and predatory manner in the first place.

Meanwhile, gold and silver investors - who are still only wanting to accumulate bullion, and have no desire to sell any of it - are complaining that gold and silver remain too affordable. As I frequently point out to people in chats on our forum, few emotions short-circuit our capacity to act (and think) rationally as much as greed, and the attitudes in the bullion market (on both sides) illustrate this principle vividly.

"Be careful what you wish for - as you just might get it," goes the old adage. Never were those words more applicable than with respect to the precious metals market today. Precious metals investors (most of whom still know they need to accumulate more bullion) are "wishing" for prices which more accurately reflect the value of their asset - while if they get their wish, all that it really means is that they will never be able to buy any more of this good at a discount.

Celebrate the fact that our most-scarce commodity remains affordable to us, even while it appreciates faster than any other asset class. Silver investors who are not satisfied with this current reality can only be characterized as "greedy". It is a character flaw which invites self-destructive behavior, and thus we must rid ourselves of any/all such thinking.

Regular readers know how partial I am to the aphorisms of wisdom which have enriched our minds and our cultures, and so I will end this piece with one more of those pearls: "good things come to those who wait." If we replace the vice of greed with the virtue of patience we will be doubly rewarded: not only will our self-improvement inevitably be reflected in a superior return on our investments, but we obtain the added "dividend" of greater peace of mind.

Jeff Nielson

www.bullionbullscanada.com

People&Power: Vatican Inc.

From: AlJazeeraEnglish | Apr 28, 2011

Earlier this month, the Vatican, the sovereign papal state at the heart of Rome, introduced new rules to clean up its financial system.

At the heart of that system is the Vatican's own bank, the Institute of Religious Works (IOR).

Filmmakers Alessandro Righi and Emanuele Piano have been examining this latest chapter in the history of a notoriously secretive organisation.

NATO strikes hit rebels

From Bloomberg:

NATO said its warplanes attacked combat vehicles near the besieged Libyan port city of Misrata yesterday, following reports that one of its strikes killed rebel fighters battling Muammar Qaddafi’s forces in the area.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization can’t confirm the strike yesterday 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of the port hit rebels, an alliance official said. Twelve rebels were killed in a strike carried out as part of the alliance’s air campaign, the Associated Press reported, citing a doctor in the city.

NATO “deeply regrets” any loss of life, said the official by telephone from Brussels who declined to be identified in accordance with alliance policy. A deadly strike on rebel forces would be the third of its kind since the campaign began......read on

Japan nuclear update

Above is the static map based on real time tabulations of the Norwegian Institute of Air Research pertaining to potential releases of radiation from the Fukushima plant.

For the dynamic version of this map, regional dynamic maps as well as technical information click below. Japan and North America static maps are indicated below

http://transport.nilu.no/browser/fpv_fuku?fpp=conccol_Xe-133_;region=NH

~ There is a lot to be said for living in the Southern Hemisphere

Keiser Report: Blind Cult of America

From: RussiaToday | Apr 28, 2011

This time Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, report on downgrades, gold bars and third worlds. In the second half of the show, Max talks to Chris Martenson about the breakdown drawing near!

Charts of the Week

US vs. China: Winner Takes It All?

From: RussiaToday | Apr 28, 2011

Leading economists predict America's age will end in five years. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that, after more than a century as the world's largest economy, the U.S. will be usurped by CHINA as early as 2016. RT's Kaelyn Forde looks at the sun's definitely rising in the east.
For some foreign policy watchers, it's not as though America doesn't have the money. It's the world's biggest military spender and, as analysts tell RT, other nations are being much wiser with their cash.