U.S.: Drowning In Hypocrisy

U.S.: Drowning In Hypocrisy


by Paul Craig Roberts




The US government is so full of self-righteousness that it has become a caricature of hypocrisy. Leon Panetta, a former congressman whom Obama appointed CIA director and now head of the Pentagon, just told the sailors on the USS Enterprise, an aircraft carrier, that the US is maintaining a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers in order to project sea power against Iran and to convince Iran that “it’s better for them to try to deal with us through diplomacy.”

Germany's Role in Europe and the European Debt Crisis

Germany's Role in Europe and the European Debt Crisis

By George Friedman

The German government proposed last week that a European commissioner be appointed to supplant the Greek government. While phrasing the German proposal this way might seem extreme, it is not unreasonable. Under the German proposal, this commissioner would hold power over the Greek national budget and taxation. Since the European Central Bank already controls the Greek currency, the euro, this would effectively transfer control of the Greek government to the European Union, since whoever controls a country's government expenditures, tax rates and monetary policy effectively controls that country. The German proposal therefore would suspend Greek sovereignty and the democratic process as the price of financial aid to Greece.

Though the European Commission rejected the proposal, the concept is far from dead, as it flows directly from the logic of the situation. The Greeks are in the midst of a financial crisis that has made Greece unable to repay money Athens borrowed. Their options are to default on the debt or to negotiate a settlement with their creditors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union are managing these negotiations.

Any settlement will have three parts. The first is an agreement by creditors to forego repayment on part of the debt. The second is financial help from the IMF and the European Union to help pay back the remaining debt. The third is an agreement by the Greek government to curtail government spending and increase taxes so that it can avoid future sovereign debt crises and repay at least part of the debt.

European criticism of Angie's Greek policies

European criticism of Angie's Greek policies

What happened the last few days with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies toward Greece is really remarkable. She proposed what can only be described as a dictator for Greece, responsible in theory to the EU but all but surely to be controlled by her. It would have given the new Gauleiter (the title for area chiefs for the Nazi Party back in the day) for Greece complete power over the Greek national budget with the restriction that repaying the sovereign debt would be the top priority over all others.

The good news is that the negative reaction from Greece and other EU members finally made Angie back off, though she was still pushing the idea on Monday. And the fiscal restrictions that the current EU summit may agree upon seem, according to the news reports, to be modified to the point that Germany won't have a routine veto over all the EU national budgets, which is what Angie actually wanted.

Why it's too late to save Greece's sovereignty

Why it's too late to save Greece's sovereignty

Editor's note: Yanis Varoufakis is professor economic theory at the University of Athens and author of "The Global Minotaur: America, the true causes of the financial crisis and the future of the world economy."

Athens, Greece (CNN) -- German leaders are furious with Greece. Yet again they have to go back to their electorates asking for more billions to throw down the black hole that is the Hellenic Republic. They have now become so angry that they are even openly proposing that Greece's fiscal affairs be deferred to some European Commissioner, preferably one of a Teutonic disposition.

Will Israel Attack Iran?

Will Israel Attack Iran?



By RONEN BERGMAN





As the Sabbath evening approached on Jan. 13, Ehud Barak paced the wide living-room floor of his home high above a street in north Tel Aviv, its walls lined with thousands of books on subjects ranging from philosophy and poetry to military strategy. Barak, the Israeli defense minister, is the most decorated soldier in the country’s history and one of its most experienced and controversial politicians. He has served as chief of the general staff for the Israel Defense Forces, interior minister, foreign minister and prime minister. He now faces, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 12 other members of Israel’s inner security cabinet, the most important decision of his life — whether to launch a pre-emptive attack against Iran. We met in the late afternoon, and our conversation — the first of several over the next week — lasted for two and a half hours, long past nightfall. “This is not about some abstract concept,” Barak said as he gazed out at the lights of Tel Aviv, “but a genuine concern. The Iranians are, after all, a nation whose leaders have set themselves a strategic goal of wiping Israel off the map.”

War in Iran would mean WWIII

War in Iran would mean WWIII’





he 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.

Tensions between Iran and the West are close to crisis level. With massive help from the western media, Iran has firmly become embedded as the root of all evil in the minds of many westerners.

Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s bluff

Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s bluff



Summary
Iranian military action in the Strait of Hormuz is highly unlikely. It would not at all benefit most global and regional powers and would have disastrous consequences for Iran itself.


Analysis
On January 3, Tehran threatened to block off the world’s most strategically important crude oil export route, the Strait of Hormuz. However, this gateway to oil importing countries no longer has the strategic significance that many observers attribute to it, as only one-fourth or even one-fifth of the world’s crude export currently pass through the strait, which means that Iran’s threats are not perceived as so intimidating as would once have been the case.

Tiger Turkey at the crossroads

Tiger Turkey at the crossroads


The country is one of success stories of the last decade, but is its increasingly autocratic government slowly threatening progress?








Ιn the tea houses of Istanbul the mood is generally optimistic as customers listen to the news of the European economic crisis. "Turkey doesn't need Europe," says one tea drinker.


"Look at Greece – it was inside the European Union and they're going bankrupt." Osman, a middle-aged estate agent, adds that "when you compare Turkey today with Turkey 20 years ago, everything has got better."

Greek debt deal hit by eurozone ratings downgrades

Greek debt deal hit by eurozone ratings downgrades

Hopes of a Greek debt deal were undermined on Friday night after Fitch downgraded the ratings of five eurozone countries, including Italy and Spain.

Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, cheered markets by claiming a deal to end Greek's debt impasse was "very close" but hopes were hit by the rating agency's actions.

How much better

How much better it is to laugh at ourselves than to be angry with the world. 

~Dr. Marilyn Arnold

You will

You will discover that, whatever you thought before, you are a child of the Universe and like the stars in the sky or the trees in the forest, you have a right to be here.

~Clotier

Like....

Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate you grew up with, there's just some things that make life important.... people you know are special.... and you KEEP them close! 

~Author Unknown 

Embrace

Embrace 

Too often we underestimate the power

of a touch, a smile, a kind word,

a listening ear, an honest compliment,

or the smallest act of caring,

all of which have the potential

to turn a life around.

People come into our lives for

a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

Embrace all equally!

Don't fear death

Don't fear death 

by Aleksandr Blok
Don't fear death in earthly travels.
Don't fear enemies or friends.
Just listen to the words of prayers,
To pass the facets of the dreads.

Your death will come to you, and never
You shall be, else, a slave of life,
Just waiting for a dawn's favor,
From nights of poverty and strife.

She'll build with you a common law,
One will of the Eternal Reign.
And you are not condemned to slow
And everlasting deadly pain.

The Sad Message

The Sad Message

by Russell Edson

The Captain becomes moody at sea. He's
afraid of water; such bully amounts that prove the
seas. . .

A glass of water is one thing. A man easily downs
it, capturing its menace in his bladder; pissing it
away. A few drops of rain do little harm, save to
remind of how grief looks upon the cheek.

One day the water is willing to bear your ship
upon its back like a liquid elephant. The next day
the elephant doesn't want you on its back, and
says, I have no more willingness to have you
there; get off.

At sea this is a sad message.

The Captain sits in his cabin wearing a
parachute, listening to what the sea might say. . .

The Sorrow Of Love

The Sorrow Of Love 

by William Butler Yeats
The brawling of a sparrow in the eaves,
The brilliant moon and all the milky sky,
And all that famous harmony of leaves,
Had blotted out man's image and his cry.

A girl arose that had red mournful lips
And seemed the greatness of the world in tears,
Doomed like Odysseus and the labouring ships
And proud as Priam murdered with his peers;

Arose, and on the instant clamorous eaves,
A climbing moon upon an empty sky,
And all that lamentation of the leaves,
Could but compose man's image and his cry.

Our Eyes

Our Eyes

 by Nazim Hikmet

Our eyes

are limpid

drops of water.

In each drop exists

a tiny sign

of our genius

which has given life to cold iron.

Our eyes

are limpid

drops of water

merged absolutely in the Ocean

that you could hardly recognize

the drop in a block of ice

in a boiling pan.

The masterpiece of these eyes

the fulfillment of their genius

the living iron.

In these eyes

filled with limpid

pure tears

had failed to emerge

from the infinite Ocean

if the strength

had dispersed,

we could never have mated

the dynamo with the turbine,

never have moved

those steel mountains in water

easily

as if made of hollow wood.

The masterpiece of these eyes

the fulfillment of their genius

of our unified labour

the living iron.

ATHENS TALKS UPDATE: NO WONDER ‘CHAOS’ COMES FROM THE GREEK

ATHENS TALKS UPDATE: NO WONDER ‘CHAOS’ COMES FROM THE GREEK






Why all is now confusion in the Greek debt talks

After today, I’m unlikely to get any more input from my Greek debt negotiator source…for reasons I can’t go into without revealing his identity. So this is his last despatch. Those with a heart condition should look away now.

Another element has entered the bull ring. We used to have three picadors fighting two bulls at once. Then the bulls retreated as, somewhat late, a matador entered the stadium and started a fight with the picadors. Now several bears have made an entrance, and are accusing the picadors of not trying hard enough.

EU, IMF, press Greece on reforms before aid flows

EU, IMF, press Greece on reforms before aid flows

* EU/IMF/ECB list reform measures on which Greek aid depends

* Call for government to pass supplementary budget

* Talks with private creditors on bond swap continue Friday

By Ingrid Melander

ATHENS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The European Union and IMF want Greece to push through more budget cuts and implement a series of long-agreed austerity reforms before they agree on a new bailout the country needs to avert bankruptcy, a report obtained by Reuters shows.

All eyes have been on Athens' tortuous debt swap talks with its private creditors over the past week, but Greece also needs to convince its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund to release a 130-billion euro package if it is to avoid a chaotic default.

A Shape with Forty Wings

A Shape with Forty Wings

 Luke Hankins

Love is strange and calls me to stranger things.
When I was young I thought that I'd know why.
I've drawn my life—a shape with forty wings.

The woods at night are full of awesome beings.
Listen carefully and you can hear them cry:
Love is strange and calls us to stranger things.

I want to follow everything that sings,
but I cannot tell you how afraid I am to fly.
I've drawn my life—a shape with forty wings.

The unseen Being deep inside me brings
ideas to mind I hope I'll never try—
Love is strange and calls me to stranger things.

Possibilities surround me in concentric rings.
A light shines down that I cannot see by,
yet I've drawn my life—a shape with forty wings.

I walk about as if I understood my wanderings.
If You are near, show me how to die.
Love is strange and calls me to stranger things.
I've drawn my life—a shape with forty wings.

Saint Kosmas Aetolos (1714-1779) the equal to Apostles -part 2

Saint Kosmas Aetolos (1714-1779) the equal to Apostles -part 2



61. "First will come a pseudo-Roman (false Greek). Not to believe in it. It will flee back."

62. "It will be gathered the "1000 ships Navy" to Skaloma (Agioi Saranta) and the redvested shall come, to fight for you." (“We talk about a “thousand ship Navy”. That’s not just our ships. It’s an international fleet of like-minded nations participating in security operations around the world." It is from the official website of the US Navy:www.navy.mil/navydata/leadership/quotes.asp?q=11&c=2) So, the time is ...now! -LMD.

63. "The Turks will go away, but will come back again and will arrive up to the
Hexamilia (6-miles location). Finally you will drive them out into the “Red Apple tree”.From the Turks the 1/3 will be killed, the other third will be baptized, and only 1/3 will go to Red Apple Tree". ("Red Apple Tree": Location, which the imagination of enslaved Greeks put into the depths of the Great Asia, see and Pr. 30).

64. "So many terrible events will happen, that the mothers will give birth prematurely from their fear."

65. "Animals will not be left. They will eat them. Eat you too with them. At Tzoumerka you will get seed (their breed)." (Whoever will anticipate let go to high mountains, away from the streets! -LMD). In Albanian manuscript we read: "Horses will not be left. And you will go
with them. From (Mount) Tzoumerka you will take their breed again."

Saint Kosmas Aetolos (1714-1779) the equal to Apostles part 1

Saint Kosmas Aetolos (1714-1779) the equal to Apostles- part-1

The complete PROPHECIES of Saint Kosmas from

Aetolia Greece, who was a Hieromonk on Holy Mount Athos.

"When you will see the "one thousand ship" in Greek waters, then it will come." Saint Kosmas Aetolos From the book "Kosmas of Aetolia" by the Metropolitan of Florina Augustinos Kantiotis, ed. Orthodox Missionary Brotherhood "The Cross" from which is the numbering. Prophecies also have been added from other manuscripts referredin the book "SAINT KOSMAS THE AETOLOS, Life and Prophecies" by the theologian Mr.Triantafyllou, and the excellent work of the Abbess of St. Kosmas Aetolos’ Monastery in Megadendro Thermo, Nun Efthymia: "The prophecies of Saint Cosmas Aetolos in History." (See more at the end of this text). Notes added by Leontios Monahos Dionysiatis (LMD) of Holy Mount Athos.

+ + + + + + +

1. "This one day will be Roman (Greek) and fortunate whoever lives in this kingdom."(He used to say this in various parts of enslaved Greece, which thereafter gained their freedom from the Turkish yoke).

2. "Oh blessed mountain, how many souls of women and children you will save, when the adverse years come!" (He said this prophecy in Siatista, northwestern Greece, and elsewhere facing the mountains, which at the time of the Greek Revolution were dens of women and children).

3. "You here, who are found up in these high mountains are fortunate, because these will keep you away from many evils. You will hear and you will not see the danger. Three hours or three days you will suffer." (It was said at the region of Siatista).

4. "The desired fact will come about the third generation. It will be seen by your
grandchildren." (It was said in Himara - This very important prophecy of the Saint, which nursed the sweetest hope of the enslaved Greek nation, took amazing verification. Because the time of the liberation of the Nation is actually the third generation by the year prophesied that from the Saint, because as we know, each generation is estimated at 25 years).

5. "There will come a time for your enemies to take even the ash from the fire, but do not change your faith like others will." (It was said in Siatista).

6. "I pity you because of the pride you have. My leg will not step here again. And if you don't stop these things that you do, the arbitrariness and robbery, you will be destroyed. In this branch, where you hang your swords, it will come a day that the gypsies will hang their musical instruments." (It was said in the village of Saint Donatos, Souli).

7. "There will come the red caps and then the Englishmen for 54 years, and then it will become Roman (Greek)." (It was said in Cephalonia on the liberation of the Ionian Islands -"Red hats" are called the French soldiers from the color of their headgear during the Napoleonic period. This prophecy found amazing fulfillment. Because after the Venetians the Ionian Islands were taken over by the French, and after their departure there came the English, whose stay lasted 54 years, that are as many as prophesied by the Saint. In 1810 the English seized the Ionian Islands. (Except Corfu, which surrendered in 1815 to Campbell, and in 1864 they handed it to Greece).

8. "The boundaries of Romans will be the Vovousa (River Aoos)." (It was said in the Old Arta). -It happened already, see the next prophecy. LMD-

9. "From there will come the Romans." (This prophecy was said by the Saint in Preveza showing that part of the mainland from which would come the army of freedom. This occurred in 1912).

Voyage to Cythera

Voyage to Cythera -ΤΑΞΙΔΙ ΣΤΑ ΚΥΘΗΡΑ 

Heart unwell, can't find redress to forgetfulness

Getting lost in hoarfrost in the north, into the foreign lands 

And always waiting for the moment to return again 

The boat will appear in the harbor 

A marine bird in our dreams 

People's frost has touched you again, and solitude 

How can you heal that old wound, so deep inside your soul? 

And always waiting for the moment to return again 

The boat will appear in the harbor 

A marine bird in our dreams

Merkel: Greece remains on knife-edge

Merkel: Greece remains on knife-edge




(CNN) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected Wednesday to give a stark warning to economic policymakers that Greece may yet face meltdown amid a crisis that has brought the European single currency to the brink of collapse.

The leader of Europe's biggest economy will deliver the opening address at the annual Davos Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps the day after the International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for the world economy. It called for immediate action to avert a global depression -- raising the specter of the downturn of the 1930s.

PROFILE-Dallara the helmsman for banks on Greek rocks

PROFILE-Dallara the helmsman for banks on Greek rocks

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Charles Dallara spent two years inGreece with the U.S. Navy in the early 1970s. Four decades later he is a regular visitor again, representing the banks owed money by a near-bankrupt Athens government.

The 62-year old American who still sails, swims and plays baseball was once a managing director of U.S. investment bank JPMorgan. He also held positions in the Bush and Reagan administrations and is a veteran of the sovereign debt crises of the 1980s and 90s.

Ulysses´Gaze

Ulysses´Gaze

Are George Soros, The IMF And The World Bank Purposely Trying To Scare The Living Daylights Out Of Us?

Are George Soros, The IMF And The World Bank Purposely Trying To Scare The Living Daylights Out Of Us?









Over the past couple of weeks, George Soros, the IMF and the World Bank have all issued incredibly chilling warnings about the possibility of an impending economic collapse. Considering the power and the influence that Soros, the IMF and the World Bank all have over the global financial system, this is very alarming. So are they purposely trying to scare the living daylights out of us? Soros is even warning of riots in the streets of America. Unfortunately, way too often top global leaders say something in public because they want to "push" events in a certain direction. Do George Soros and officials at the IMF and World Bank hope to prevent a worldwide financial collapse by making these statements, or are other agendas at work? We may never know. But one thing is for sure - many of the top financial officials in the world are using language that is downright "apocalyptic", and that is not a good sign for the rest of 2012.

SMYRNA -ATHENS

SMYRNA -ATHENS 

Smyrna 1922 from Davidian Video Productions on Vimeo.

Greece is defaulting – don't pretend otherwise

Greece is defaulting – don't pretend otherwise





Suppose that I buy insurance against my house being burned down, and my house burns down. Should the insurance pay out? Maybe yes, maybe no. The simplest “no” case would be if I had volunteered to have my house burned down – say, had asked the arsonist to burn it. So if I purchase house insurance, there must be some provision that the insurance company doesn’t pay if the thing insured against was voluntary. Otherwise the insurance policyholder could arrange to have the insurance trigger, and engage in side-payments to bring that triggering about.

Guest Post: Yet Another Reminder That Democracy Is An Illusion

Guest Post: Yet Another Reminder That Democracy Is An Illusion




Submitted by Simon Black from Sovereign Man

Yet Another Reminder That Democracy Is An Illusion

With over 150 million registered users, the file sharing site MegaUpload.com is one of the most popular on the Internet. At least, it was.



The site has now been seized by the US government and its homepage converted to an FBI anti-piracy warning. Its founder, a high tech entrepreneur named Kim Dotcom (yes, he had it legally changed), was arrested in New Zealand after his homes were raided and assets seized.

Charles Dallara on IIF Greek Debt Swap Offer

Charles Dallara on IIF Greek Debt Swap Offer

Woman locked in bathroom for 10 years is freed

Woman locked in bathroom for 10 years is freed






A YOUNG PALESTINIAN woman who was imprisoned for 10 years in a series of dark rooms by her father said Monday she survived the ordeal by listening to the radio, dreaming of seeing sunshine again and finding small pleasure in an apple she was fed each day.

Baraa Melhem, 20, said she was enjoying her first taste of freedom after a decade of isolation and threats of rape and abuse, and she hopes to use her experience to help others.

IMF's Christine Lagarde warns of '1930s moment'

IMF's Christine Lagarde warns of '1930s moment'



IMF chief Christine Lagarde has warned the world faces an economic spiral reminiscent of the 1930s unless action is taken on the eurozone crisis.

Ms Lagarde, speaking in Berlin, warned of a danger of rising unemployment if governments did not act together.

Eurozone crisis live: Euro ministers reject Greek debt deal

Eurozone crisis live: Euro ministers reject Greek debt deal







9.38am: Here's more detail on the UK's public finance figures for December.

Public borrowing in the financial year so far is now £103.3bn, down from £114.6bn at this stage last year. Tax receipts were boosted by the levy imposed on banks while government spending also fell slightly.

But the bad news is that public sector net debt (excluding the impact of the banking bailouts) rose to £1.004 trillion in December, the highest since records began in 1993 and equivalent to 64.2% of GDP.

Everlasting - Archangel

Everlasting - Archangel

Great news: Turkey has 1500-km range missiles and says it can reach 2500 km

Great news: Turkey has 1500-km range missiles and says it can reach 2500 km

Turkey has announced that it has missiles with a 1500-kilometer range, and that it is developing missiles with a 2500-kilometer range. A 2500-kilometer range from Turkey would include Athens, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Geneva, Algiers, Jeddah, Cairo, Copenhagen, Kiev, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Damascus, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tripoli, Warsaw, Vienna, Zurich and Amman. Presumably, the missiles could be equipped with biological, chemical and/or nuclear weapons. But the really interesting question is why. Turkey has an Air Force that is far more efficient than these missiles. And none of the countries whose cities are listed above threaten Turkey. So why does Turkey need long-range ballistic missiles (Hat Tip: Will)?
And the big question here is why should Turkey, which boasts a modern air force with highly deterrent firepower, need ballistic or cruise missiles? With which countries within a diameter of 2,500 km does Turkey think it may, in the future, have to battle? Which targets within a range of 2,500 kilometers may it hope to hit which it cannot with a 1,000-km missile?

Super Mario’s bank rescue no lifesaver for a dying Greece

Super Mario’s bank rescue no lifesaver for a dying Greece

Bravo Mario Draghi. The European Central Bank president seems to have prevented, or at least greatly reduced, the odds of a potentially catastrophic Lehman Bros. moment on European soil.

He did so by pumping almost €500-billion ($655-billion) of cheapo loans into the euro zone’s dying banks. Italy’s banks alone sucked up €50-billion of the emergency loot. A blowup of a bank the size of Milan’s UniCredit would have hit the industry like a cluster bomb.

EU approves ban on Iranian oil imports

EU approves ban on Iranian oil imports





The European Union formally adopted an oil embargo today against Iran
and a freeze of the assets of the country's central bank.


Diplomats said the measures, which were adopted in Brussels by the EU's 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products, while existing contracts will be allowed to run until July.

EU diplomats are calling the measure part of a twin track approach toward Iran: increase sanctions to discourage what they suspect is Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons but emphasize at the same time the international community's willingness to talk. Iran says its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Beautiful Greece [Hd]

Beautiful Greece

Greece pressured to buy German armaments with bail-out loans

Greece pressured to buy German armaments with bail-out loans






Greece fought hard for independence from the Ottoman Empire, to then suffer under German occupation. As a result it ensures a strong modern defense system, but it is under undue pressure to buy armaments from Germany.

The Euro Elephant in the German Living Room

The Euro Elephant in the German Living Room

David Miles
Managing editor, 

Global Politics Magazine


"The current crisis has uncovered the deficiencies in the construction of EMU (European monetary union) mercilessly," was the uncharacteristically frankadmission from Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy in a joint letter to the European Council President on the eve of the December 9th summit. What is typically exasperating about this telling diagnosis of the euro's ills is that the treatment that the heads of government recommended at the close of the summit -- namely tougher budgetary rules with fines -- neither addresses the deficiencies in the construction of EMU which the leaders referred to, nor offers any prescription for ameliorating the severity of the current crisis.

‘Israel to Give Obama 12 Hours Notice on Attacking Iran’

‘Israel to Give Obama 12 Hours Notice on Attacking Iran’
Ιsrael told visiting US Gen. Dempsey that Obama would get no more than 12 hours notice before an attack on Iran, the London Times reports.
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

F-15 fighter jet

Israel news photo: Wikimedia Commons/US Air F

Israeli officials told visiting USS Chief Joint of Staffs Martin Dempsey that it would give President Barack Obama no more than 12 hours notice if and when it attacks Iran, The LondonTimes reported Sunday.

The Netanyahu government also will not coordinate with the United States an attack on the Islamic Republic, according to the report, the latest in a number of suposed scenarios concerning cooperation or lack of it between Jerusalem and Washington.

Dallara hardens stance on PSI

Dallara hardens stance on PSI 

Prospects for debt swap unclear after head of group representing bondholders sets limit

The prospects for talks between Greece and private investors holding Greek debt appeared unclear again late on Sunday as the head a steering committee representing the bondholders hardened his stance in negotiations.

As Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos travels to Brussels on Monday for a Eurogroup summit where a second bailout for Greece had been due to be discussed, the comments by the head of the Institute of International Finance, Charles Dallara, have created fresh concern about the outlook of a crucial debt swap that must be sealed before further rescue aid will be released.

WAR - ORLOG

WAR

Whereas the story goes that it has been told
and finished with - but it breaks off

oh yes, I’ve been told it, told it
and yet

I see that grey, well-thumbed photograph
but again the grass is still greener than grass
and the blossom still whiter than blossom

in that grey garden it must have been war
in that man, that woman, that child
in that grey grass under that grey blossoming tree

I’ve been told and told how they had had
to disappear from there, be carried of,
in goods trains, never come back

whereas the story goes that it has been told
and finished with - but it breaks off

oh. yes, I’ve been told and told
how peace returned

but there is still no other photograph but this
in which it has yet to happen




ORLOG

Terwijl het verhaal wil dat het verteld en
voorbij is - maar het breekt af

zeker, het is mij verteld en verteld
maar nog

ik zie die grijze beduimelde foto
maar nog is het gras weer groener dan gras
en de bloesem weer witter dan bloesem

in die grijze tuin moet het oorlog zijn geweest
in die man, die vrouw, dat kind
in dat grijze gras onder die grijs bloeiende boom

het is mij verteld en verteld hoe zij daar
hadden moeten verdwijnen, worden weggevoerd
in goederentreinen, nooit terugkomen

terwijl het verhaal wil dat het verteld en
voorbij is - maar het breekt af

zeker, het is mij verteld en verteld
hoe vrede weerkeerde

maar nog is er geen andere foto dan deze
waarin het nog moet

RUTGER KOPLAND

A NOTE FROM THE WAR IN KOSOVO

A NOTE FROM THE WAR IN KOSOVO

Down in the basement I couldn’t see a thing
because, I discovered, I had my sunglasses on.
When I finally took them off
I threw them from me in a rage.

Now I sit and can’t make out the sea
because I have my reading glasses on.
And I can’t read what I’ve written
because the sun’s too bright.

Out of stubbornness I keep my reading glasses on
and nothing
will get me to go down in the basement after the sunglasses!
That’s my life. That’s all of our lives.

That’s how the war continues.

NOTAT FRA KOSOVOKRIGEN

Nede i kælderen kunne jeg intet se
på grund af mine solbriller
fandt jeg ud af, da jeg endelig tog dem af
og smed dem fra mig i vrede.

Nu sidder jeg og kan ikke se havet ordentligt
fordi jeg har læsebriller på
og heller ikke læse hvad jeg skriver
fordi solen er for stærk.

Af stædighed beholder jeg læsebrillerne på
og ingen magt
skal få mig til at gå ned i kælderen efter solbrillerne!
Sådan er mit liv. Sådan er menneskelivet.

Sådan fortsætter krigen.

HENRIK NORDBRANDT

THE MORNING WOMAN - MORGENKVINNEN

THE MORNING WOMAN



There is no doubt that there is a body
inside the music
The music would have made love with her
if it could
don’t you think?
If she were not a woman I mean
if she were music
Would she have made love with him if he weren’t music?
She didn’t throw herself out the window
when the music stopped
The morning woman
waits for the continuation
waits for the music
waits for a sign
Would she really have loved him if he were a man
and not music?
Where shall she find him when the music stops
other than deep inside herself
There where she is
The morning woman


MORGENKVINNEN



Det er ingen tvil om at det er en kropp
inne i musikken
Musikken ville elsket med henne
hvis den kunne
tror du ikke?
Hvis ikke hun var kvinne mener jeg
hvis hun var musikk
ville hun elsket med ham hvis han ikke var musikk?
Hun kastet seg ikke ut vinduet
da musikken stanset
Morgenkvinnen
venter på fortsettelsen
venter på musikken
venter på et tegn
Ville hun virkelig elsket ham hvis han var en mann
og ikke musikk?
Hvor skal hun finne ham når musikken slutter
annet enn dypt inne i seg selv
Der hvor hun er
Morgenkvinnen

CECILIE LØVEID

SOMETHING’S COMING - DE KOMST

SOMETHING’S COMING

If it happens, I’ll have to live through
the past,
since the past knows no fear.

I hope it happens,
since the site is unlocatable,
the landing spot suspicious,
the crops leery.

If it happens, it will come.

DE KOMST
Als het doorgaat moet ik het verleden
beleven
want het verleden kent geen vrees.

Ik hoop dat het doorgaat,
want de verblijfplaats is onvindbaar,

de landingsplaats argwanend,
de gewassen op hun hoede.

Als het doorgaat komt het.

Armando

Hedging bets on a Greek default

Hedging bets on a Greek default
by Costas Papachlimintzos









They are defined as investment vehicles, portfolios of investments or private investment funds. No matter how one tries to explain their name, their purpose does not change: hedge funds try to make money whatever the costs and to maximise the profits of their clients.

In private sector involvement (PSI) plans in the Greek public debt restructuring, not only is this purpose not being fulfilled, but hedge funds that hold Greek bonds are being called to accept losses.

Fourth Reich, Hitler’s Dream & Monetary Fraud

Fourth Reich, Hitler’s Dream & Monetary Fraud

by SPLOTCH


Hitler’s dream of a Europe “united” under the jackboot of Germany with its partner Vichy France has come one step closer to being fulfilled with the recent Eurozone agreement designed to resolve the so-called sovereign debt crisis. Where Stukas, panzers and black uniformed SS divisions failed, the huge banking scam which intentionally created the so-called sovereign debt crisis has succeeded. It is war by other means, war by psychological subterfuge rather than by direct military conquest – but the result is the same: the dissolution of national sovereignties and “Deutchland Deutchland uber alles”.

Remember, body...

Remember, body...

Body, remember not only how much you were loved,
not only the beds on which you lay,
but also those desires which for you
plainly glowed in the eyes,
and trembled in the voice -- and some
chance obstacle made them futile.
Now that all belongs to the past,
it is almost as if you had yielded
to those desires too -- remember,
how they glowed, in the eyes looking at you;
how they trembled in the voice, for you, remember, body.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1918)

7 Ways to Manage Seasonal Depression

7 Ways to Manage Seasonal Depression


Seasonal depression is also known as seasonal affective disorder, winter depression, summer blues or winter blues. This type of depression affects individuals only at the same time or season each year but they are seemingly normal throughout the year. Clinically, medical experts are quite skeptical about this type of depression however, there is an increase number of an individual who may feel depressed during specific times of the year.

Symptoms of seasonal depression may start to appear during the fall season and it may continue or may even get worse during winter. Some individuals may also feel depressed during the summer.

Cyprus Hydrocarbons – A Presentation

Cyprus Hydrocarbons – A Presentation


A most interesting, with a point of view presentation titled “Cyprus Hydrocarbons – A Presentation” was published by Harris Samaras, Chairman & CEO of Pytheas. We provide herewith extracts of the Presentation.

The confirmation of significant quantities of hydrocarbons in Cyprus, (the Levantine Basin, the Nile Delta Cone, the Eratosthenes Continental Block and the Herodotus Basin) may prove to be a tremendous opportunity not only for the island but for the EU as a whole. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the aforementioned areas hold an estimated 13.8 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of natural gas. Also as per the BEICIP/FRANLAB and the Institut Français du Pétrole, the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone alone holds an estimated 3 tcm of natural gas.

Factbox: What happens if Greece defaults?

Factbox: What happens if Greece defaults?

(Reuters) - Greece is expected to announce a bond swap deal with private sector creditors which will see at least half the value of their investments in its debt written off.

Such a deal is likely to tip the country into default, although that could mean several different things.