Federal Reserve Lies, Economic Woes Continue

In a rare exclusive 60 Minutes interview tonight, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke when asked when the current recession will end, answered that it is likely to stabilize by the end of 2009. However, the things what Bernanke would not say and what CBS refuses to investigate is the outgrowth of a long line of corruption and outside domination of the United States.

Portraying Bernanke as a visionary economist sensitive to the lives of “main street” Americans, CBS exerted much effort to reveal the power and importance behind the office of the man who is “keeping the economy together”. However, while CBS touts his powers which even extend beyond that of President as essentially unanswerable to anyone, they fail to question the indivisible authority of the Federal Reserve System in this age of continual bailout and banker takeover.

Bernanke remained somber throughout the interview, often sounding on the verge of tears as he slowly and calmly commented on the failure of the private conglomerate of major banks to foresee and act appropriately on the world financial crisis.

The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 to take over the U.S. government’s job of regulating the money supply as well as minting coinage for use. At the same time, the federal income tax became the Sixteenth Amendment. Many opponents of the tax on labor argue that the amendment was never fully ratified.

Since the Federal Reserve System’s founding, America has experienced the Great Depression, over four other recessions as well as the Great Recession that now exists. The Federal Reserve has yet to inform the public of how it has doled out over $2 trillion in federal bailout funds to major private banks. Two similar bills, one proposed in the Senate by Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont and one in Congress by Republican Ron Paul of Texas, would create a first-time congressional audit of the private Federal Reserve System and shed light on its power to authoritatively grant funds and print an excess supply of Federal Reserve notes.

The Federal Reserve is magically keeping the U.S. economy and much more-so the U.S. government on life alert. By printing enormous sums of greenbacks, the private conglomerate is desperately seeking to stave off the inevitable crash of insolvent institutions. Usurping wealth from citizenry to bank executives, CBS reports the average American family lost 18% of its wealth during 2008. Sapping from the economy precious capital, the Federal Reserve’s actions have downsized economic investment and output, ultimately leaving the American citizen to pay. In addition, a federal debt surpassing the $13 trillion mark (much owed to foreign nations), is of no mention in economic discussion.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke remains under heavy fire. In a time of strong economic uncertainty and major political upheaval through backroom banker deals, he is a highly visible figure in the coup of the millennia. Yet, Bernanke retains his position as master of the sword with the hair-line thinness of political majority. His comments on 60 Minutes alluding to a quick recovery may be in the end, bad news for the Federal Reserve. For with the extremeness of their action, in the hatching of the ultimate plot, its result may unravel the system and expose at last, what it really is.

American Shot by Israeli Soldier

Reports confirmed indicate that 38 year old American Tristan Anderson was shot on Saturday by an Israeli soldier during a protest against the construction of a border wall in the town of Naalin. Hit in the face by a cannister of tear gas fired at lightning bolt speed, Anderson remains in critical condition.

Anderson was at the time participating in a protest with Palestinian people as part of the International Solidarity Movement. Upon being treated by medical personnel, the ambulance carrying Anderson was allegedly not allowed to pass through an Israeli checkpoint for well over ten minutes while Anderson's face bled profusely.

This violent act comes after a string of bloodletting following Israel's offensive into Gaza which began late in December and concluded days before the American presidential inauguration. Four Israelis and over 1,000 Palestinians died in the month long seige.

Russia Steps Down Air Defense for Iran, Obama Extends Sanctions

According to CTK, Russia announced Tuesday that it will be not be deploying to Iran an airspace defense radar system, originally planned for Tehran after the announcement of the United States’ central European Missile Defense Shield.

Cautious in its steps toward détente, Russia through this conciliatory gesture has shown a willingness to negotiate, but only with a reasonable and clear-headed American policy in return. However, this news comes as an ever stranger and more obscure twist in the saga of Missile Defense and the 21st century continuation of the Cold War.

In comparison, President Barack Obama has acted as well this week in regards to Iran. Thursday, he extended Clinton-era sanctions against the country accusing it of being a “state sponsor of terror” and harboring disdainful sentiments toward the United States.

According to the AP, Obama said “"The actions and policies of the Government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat". His rhetoric and stance on Iran strongly resembles that of President Bush, who also was a strong supporter of placing sanctions and trade embargoes on Iran.

Europe Continues Militarization

Over the past week, revelations that Nicolas Sarkozy wants France to join NATO after a forty year absence and that the United States will begin constructing a $117 million embassy in Belgrade, Serbia has jolted the intensification of American military influence in Europe.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that France will soon be the subject of a confidence vote to rejoin NATO after leaving in 1966 under the leadership of Charles DeGaulle. DeGaulle claimed that membership in NATO was a subversion of national autonomy.

Sarkozy praised rejoining NATO by citing the importance of cooperation in the U.S.-led War on Terror. Sarkozy has been a strong advocate of partnering with U.S. designs to eliminate evil from the world. France is heavily involved in NATO operations and currently has troops in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the United States government along with Serb President Tadic announced that a vast new $117 million embassy will be built outside of the Serb capitol, Belgrade. The former U.S. embassy was burned to the ground during riots last summer in opposition to the NATO-enforced declaration of independence of Kosovo. A large majority of Serbs believe that Kosovo is the spiritual heart of their country and strongly oppose American intervention.

Serbia endured U.S.-led NATO bombing raids on their cities in 1999 that killed many civilians. These bombings lauded in the American media as “humanitarian” and "worth it" remain a deep insult to Serb people.

Bernie Sanders: Audit the Fed!

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont asks Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to name the banks who received over $2 trillion in government bailout funds. Bernanke is not forthcoming with any answer to this simple question.

Polish President Holds '08 Treaty, Obama to Missile Defense

In a new turn of events in the saga of the planned U.S. Missile Defense shield, CTK (the Czech news service)reports that Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Sunday that he will hold President Obama to honor the 2008 treaty allowing the placing of nuclear anti-missile rockets in Poland. The treaty signed by Condoleeza Rice and her Polish foreign secretary counterpart has not yet been ratified by the Polish Parliament. A similar bill approving the connected radar installation in Czech Republic was also signed, but has yet to pass the lower Czech assembly.

While Central European news reports have described President Obama as "reserved" compared to former President Bush about establishing a Missile Defense Shield in Europe, new developments reveal the continuance of the Robert Gates-obsessed project.

According to CTK, the conservative and Euro-sceptic Lech Kaczynski said that President Obama's recent secret letter to Medvedev to stave off deploying the radar in exchange for political pressure on Iran is "clearly not a friendly gesture" to the Polish government. Kaczynski also noted that since the SOFA (Strategic Operation of Forces Agreement) was signed last summer, the treaty holds precedence no matter who is in power.

Relations between Poland and Russia have been strained since the announcement of their part in Missile Defense in exchange for the United States to pay for modernizing the Polish air force. Russia has responded by threatening to place nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad, putting the area between major nuclear weapon launchers within the 100 mile range.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Polish and Czech citizens last week for their support of a "visionary" project. However, according to recent polls, in both countries public opposition to the Missile Defense Shield is above 65 percent.

Hillary Clinton Threatens Iran, Insults Czechs

The disdainfully hawkish rhetoric Hillary Clinton has been using against Iran for some time now is beginning to reach a new brashness that irks both enemies and allies. According to CTK (The Czech News Service), Secretary of State Clinton spoke yesterday at a NATO summit in Brussels. Upon being asked by press about the likelihood of a continued radar project in Czech Republic and positioning of nuclear missiles in Poland, Mrs. Clinton responded by exalting the Czech and Polish people for agreeing to host U.S. military installations manning the Missile Defense System.

According to CTK, a February poll showed that 65% of Czechs surveyed vehemently opposed plans for the U.S. radar. Domestic opposition is reported to be even stronger in Poland.

Mrs. Clinton said "Missile Defense is a very important tool in our defense arsenal for the future." She added, "The Czech Republic and Poland were according to our opinion very visionary and to look out on the horizon, to see what awaits us if we are not be successful in the prevention of those wanting to obtain and develop these weapons of mass destruction." Mrs. Clinton's last phrase raised the specter of WMD's in Iran as she echoed former President Bush's assertion on the reason behind invading and occupying Iraq.

Missile Defense is the brainchild of still Secretary of Defense Robert and Gates and a key part of Bush administration policies. However, discussion surrounding the project dates back to 1997 when the Czech Republic and Poland joined NATO.

NATO was established in 1949 as a military alliance in face of the Soviet Union. Since the USSR's collapse, NATO has expanded to ____ countries and remains a deep international insult to the eastern Slavic state. The United States lobbied NATO in 2008 to grant Ukraine and Georgia membership but were rebuked by France.

Meanwhile, despite opposition at home, governments in the Czech Republic and Poland have pushed Missile Defense nearly into law by a 2008 SOFA (Strategic Operation of Forces Agreement) treaty with the United States. In addition, bills authorizing the radar and missiles are within their own parliaments. One bill that passed the Czech Senate authorizing the U.S. base and radar in Brdy, Bohemia (sixty miles southwest of Prague. has yet to be approved by the Czech lower assembly. The bill has languished without a vote call for over four months because it is expected to fail by a few votes.

Yet, Czechs are already seeing the benefits of imperial "partnership" when earlier this year the United States cancelled the long-held requirement of Czechs needing visas for temporary visits to the United States. In addition, the United States has cranked up its military commitment with the Czech and Polish armed forces. The Polish government has asked for a modernization of their air forces in exchange for the basing of missiles. The Czech Republic has already been offered several military incentives as well. Missile Defense remains a politically explosive issue for Central Europe.

Secretary of State Clinton has been highly critical of Iran, stepping up media events to shoot relentless moral exhortations at Tehran. Yet, the exhortations seem to carry little moral. Like the Bush administration, Obama's policy in regards to Iran has been much of the same. America continues to use ultimatum by news conference as Iran pushes ahead with what they claim is a peaceful civilian nuclear power program. Yet, it appears that trying the same methods of imperial push-shove won't budge the Ayllatolah.

A CIA-report released in November 2007 concluded that Iran ended its arms program in 2003 under pressure from Washington. President Obama now warns of the "clenched-fist" but has shown his "compassionate conservatism" by telling press he would use the carrot-and-stick strategy with Iran. What exactly the carrot-and-stick represents is unclear. But as Hillary Clinton so well put it, "if Iran fired missiles into Israel, they would be completely obliterated". Mrs. Clinton is the highest diplomat of the United States.

A spirit of detente would suggest it is nigh time the United States reopen diplomatic relations with Iran that have been severed for thirty years since the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in 1979. The CIA overthrew democratically-elected President Mossadeq and installed the Shah as dictator in 1953.

Nine nations own nuclear weapons. These nations include the United States, Russia, China, England, France, Australia, Pakistan, India, North Korea and Israel. While nations like Israel, India and France possess a few hundred, heavyweights United States and Russia still collectively hold nearly 30,000 nuclear weapons. At the height of the Cold War that number surpassed 100,000 weapons of mass destruction.

Moreover, the site of Central Europe as epicenter for 21st century militarization is without precedent and historical context. The Czech Republic and Poland are both former Medieval and Rennaissance kingdoms that have been displaced forcibly in the past under imperial rule. Former political unions controlling the destiny of the Czech Republic includes the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. From these precedents, many defense experts have long stressed the importance of a neutralized Central Europe as a key to peace. Unfortunately, not heeding this advice may make the United States the next imperial giant on that list.

Mrs. Clinton's comments lead many to believe she is unaware of the reality of the situation. Clinton continued to flex her muscle as head-imperialist, she said, "Europe has the right to protect itself from the threats of the 21st century." Maybe, what she really meant was "America has the right to use Europe to protect itself from the threats of the 21st century." But, maybe the truth of the matter is American militarization in Europe is the threat of the 21st century.