None dare call it conspiracy - FBI: No Oklahoma City bombing videos found

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The FBI has not found videotapes from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that are being sought by a Utah lawyer and do not believe another records search is reasonable or will uncover the information, the agency has told a federal judge.

FBI officials are "unaware of the existence or likely location of additional tapes" that would fulfill the Freedom of Information Act request filed by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, agency attorneys said in court papers filed last week.

Trentadue sued the FBI and the CIA in 2008 to get the videos and contended the FBI's efforts to locate the information have been inadequate. He is looking for surveillance tapes taken the morning of the bombing from exterior cameras on the Murrah building and dashboard camera video from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's arrest of Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh was convicted of and executed for the bombing.

Trentadue asserts that the videos exist and will expose that others were involved in the domestic terrorist attack that killed 168 people.......read on

Changing US CPI definition and cuts to Social Security in pursuing budget compromise

This is why I publish the US CPI figures from Shadowstats.com at the bottom of this blog page to show what the real life, pre-Clinton era, CPI figures are - currently running at over 10% pa.

From Zerohedge.com:

While it is unclear what precisely has given Obama confidence to announce that his meeting with congressional leaders on deficit reduction and the debt limit was "very constructive" one thing is very likely: it involved the change of the definition of CPI. As we reported some time ago, one of the serious proposals to deal with the deficit situation is to make a revolutionary actuarial adjustment and change the way the actual definition of inflation. As we reported: "Lawmakers are considering changing how the Consumer Price Index is calculated, a move that could save perhaps $220 billion and represent significant progress in the ongoing federal debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks. According to congressional aides familiar with the discussions, the proposal would shift how the Consumer Price Index is calculated to reflect how people tend to change spending patterns when prices increase.

For example, consumers tend to drive less when gas prices increase dramatically. Such a move is widely seen by economists as resulting in a slower rise in inflation."

Today the WSJ's Damian Paletta follows up on this ludicrous yet serious proposal: "One proposal in the budget talks that is getting a serious look from all sides would switch the government’s way of measuring inflation and delivering a big impact on tax, spending, and entitlement programs. How big? It could save roughly $300 billion over 10 years. That big. The idea of using this different measure of inflation, known as a “chained” consumer price index, has won support from numerous deficit-reduction commissions as well as many liberal and conservative economists."

Yet reminding everyone that there is no such thing as a free lunch in finance, the "biggest savings—an estimated $112 billion—would be from slowing the growth in the cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries." Sure enough someone is unhappy. Enter the AARP which is already screaming, justifiably, bloody murder should the administration proceed with what will be an outright slashing of Social Security obligations. "AARP will not accept any cuts to Social Security as part of a deal to pay the nation’s bills,” said Rand. “Social Security did not cause the deficit, and it should not be cut to reduce a deficit it did not cause." Did Obama's war with America's seniors just enter Defcon 1?.......read on

Keiser Report: Europe's Neo Feudalism

by RussiaToday on Jul 7, 2011

This week Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, report on selling Greece's sovereignty and Spain's El Gordo. In the second half of the show, Max talks to economist Michael Hudson about the IMF assassins sent in to destroy the Greek economy.

Portugal Junked: 'Bailouts - outrageous anti-taxpayer scam'

From: RussiaToday | Jul 6, 2011

Europe's ongoing struggle to save the Euro has been dealt another blow as Portugal has had its debt downgraded to junk status. Moody's, the credit rating agency behind the move, says a default is likely unless the country is given another bailout. Many analysts have questioned the logic of saddling struggling economies with more debt as speculation grows over whether the EU is ready to come to Portugal's rescue again. And the direction the EU and the IMF are taking in solving this crisis may well lead to severe consequences - that's according to Douglas Carswell, an MP from the British Conservative Party.

Perils of Imperialism

by PressTVGlobalNews on 5 Jul 2011

The Fourth of July: the day America celebrates its independence. Historically it was when the US gained independence from British rule, through the American Revolution, marked by the Declaration of Independence. But is the America of today, involved militarily in 6 countries, violating the independence and sovereignty of other nations, as it celebrates its own, and at what cost?

Gold Price Will Increase in 2011, Says Terranova

June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Frank Terranova, chief executive officer of Allied Gold Ltd., talks about the outlook for the price of gold. He speaks with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move.”

Certifigate - Mathematical 'proof' Obama birth certificate a forgery

From WND:

The signature of President Obama's mother on the White House-released long-form birth certificate provides a mathematically certain proof of forgery, according to a prominent software engineer who works as a high-level programmer for a state government.

Many computer experts have noted that the PDF Obama birth certificate released April 27 has nine layers when viewed in Adobe Illustrator.

Read more: Mathematical 'proof' Obama birth certificate a forgery http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=319221#ixzz1RMyD1hfv

Continued Portuguese & Irish debt concerns push Silver & Gold higher as Safe Haven trades

From Bloomberg.com:

Portugal’s downgrade to junk status and wrangling over the role of investors in a new Greek bailout package fueled concern about the solvency of the region’s high- debt nations, sending their bonds tumbling.

The extra yield investors demand to hold Portugal’s 10-year bonds over German bunds surged 148 basis points to a euro-era record 949 after Moody’s slashed yesterday its credit rating four levels to Ba2, below investment grade. The yield on Italy’s 10-year bond reached the highest in almost three years, while Ireland’s 2-year yield topped 15 percent for the first time.

“It’s a reminder that the sovereign debt crisis does not end with Greece and that risks remain with other nations in addition to Greece,” said Gary Pollack, who helps oversee $12 billion as head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank AG’s Private Wealth Management unit in New York.......read on

From Bloomberg.com:

Ireland’s credit rating may be cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service after Portugal yesterday lost its investment grade rating, according to analysts.

Moody, which slashed Portugal to Ba2 from Baa1, in April lowered Ireland’s credit rating to the lowest investment grade Baa3 and left country’s outlook on negative.

The ratings company cut Portugal’s rating in part because the nation may not be able to return to debt markets in the second half of 2013. Ireland has been locked out of markets since September, and the yield on 10-year Irish bonds climbed to 12.44 percent today, a euro-area record for the country that agreed to a rescue package with the European Union and International Monetary Fund last November.

“If not re-entering the public funding markets has significance for a sovereign’s rating, then clearly if our view proves correct, then Ireland will suffer an imminent downgrade,” Cathal O’Leary, head of fixed income sales at Dublin-based NCB Stockbrokers, said in a note today.

The yield on Irish two-year notes climbed 239 basis points to 15.27 percent as of 2:35 p.m. in London, the first time it has been above 15 percent......read on

ETFs Face U.K. Serious Fraud Office Review

From Bloomberg.com:

U.K. fraud prosecutors are reviewing how exchange-traded funds are marketed and whether they have the proper tools to prosecute any wrongdoing in the industry, a person directly involved with the probe said.

The Serious Fraud Office, which prosecutes white collar crime, hired a consultant to interview bankers and lawyers to determine whether there is a risk that sales of the products may involve criminal conduct in the future. The Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee have warned of a lack of transparency in the ETF market.

ETFs are exchange-listed products that mirror indexes, commodities, bonds and currencies and allow investors to buy and sell them like stocks. They became more popular in the aftermath of the 2008 selloff that wiped $37 trillion from global equity markets because they carry lower fees than other funds, require lower initial investment than futures, can be traded throughout the day and cover most indexes.

Terry Smith, chief executive officer at London-based inter- dealer broker Tullett Prebon Plc, has said the products often fail to track the underlying asset whose behavior they’re designed follow, are exposed to a provider going bankrupt and vulnerable to short-selling.

The mixture of “people buying things they don’t understand, complex structures, synthetic structures with counterparty risk, and huge short selling without enough assets in the underlying ETF” to meet demand makes the products sound like “something that we’ve been through before,” Smith said.......read on

Gold Price to Increase to $2300, Says Stoeferle

An Austrian talking Austrian Economics: