Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Monday, Jan 11, 2010

Explosive emails released last week could see Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner become embroiled in criminal charges for his role in a cover up that exposes the monumental criminality behind the $182.3 billion bailout of American International Group Inc.

In November and December 2008, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York instructed the bailed out AIG to hide from the public details regarding payments the insurance giant made to banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA.

Using Fed secured taxpayer bailout money, AIG paid several banks 100 percent of the face value of credit-default swaps, as other financial institutions were negotiating deep discounts for the unregulated paper assets that do not have to be backed by cash.

The decision to pay the banks in full may have cost AIG, and therefore taxpayers, at least $13 billion over the odds.

The “backdoor bailout” of the banks, as it has been dubbed was exposed in March 2009 after the SEC challenged AIG’s filing, however, e-mails obtained by Representative Darrell Issa, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, have re ignited the situation as they conclusively expose a collusion between AIG and the Fed to deceive the public.

The e-mails between company and regulator, released last Thursday, show that The New York Fed crossed out reference to the payments and that AIG also omitted the details when the Securities and Exchange Commission filing was made public on Dec. 24, 2008.

The emails, the content of which are highlighted in this Bloomberg News article, also show that the Fed wanted numerous other details about the AIG bailout withheld or delayed from public oversight.

“It appears that the New York Fed deliberately pressured AIG to restrict and delay the disclosure of important information,” said Issa, a California Republican. Taxpayers “deserve full and complete disclosure under our nation’s securities laws, not the withholding of politically inconvenient information.”

Despite denials from the Treasury and the New York Fed that Geithner was involved in the scandal, as the President of the New York Fed at the time, his head now rests firmly on the chopping block where he awaits his fate.

Issa is seeking more information from the New York Fed on the matter, following the statements of general counsel Thomas Baxter, who declared in a letter in defense of Geithner Friday “In my judgment, as the New York Fed’s chief legal officer, disclosure matters of this nature did not warrant the attention of the president.”

“It’s a staggering admission by Mr. Baxter that he felt strong enough that Secretary Geithner wanted him to limit AIG’s disclosures on counterparty payments to the SEC that he says he didn’t even feel a need to bring the details to his boss’ attention,” Issa said in a statement. “This letter raises more questions on the inner-workings of the New York Fed during one of the most pivotal periods in our nation’s history.”

Geithner’s extensive connections to Goldman Sachs also raise serious questions, given that the investment bank directly profited from the AIG payments.

Geithner’s predecessor and Treasury Secretary at the time all of this unfolded, Hank Paulson, also once served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Goldman Sachs, after working for the firm for decades.

Paulson rammed through the bailout of AIG with threats of financial armageddon and physical martial law, claiming he “felt the pain of AIG”, comments for which he was slammed by Republican Congressman Cliff Stearns earlier this year.

AIG’s outstanding debts to Goldman Sachs meant that $13 billion of the money handed over to AIG by Paulson went directly to Goldman Sachs.

Meanwhile, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers — both investment banks in direct competition with Goldman Sachs — were not bailed out when bad debt forced them to cease operating under the same circumstances as AIG.

Congressman Stearns pressed Paulson on his conflicts of interest, stating, “Isn’t there some point where you say hey, I’ve got a conflict of interest here, you don’t feel any kind of scintilla of ethics on this thing at all?” Paulson responded by claiming that he got a waiver from the ethics agreement.

Paulson’s appointment, at the height of the financial crisis, of ex-Goldman Sachs executive Neel Kashkari to oversee the distribution of bailout monies also highlights the vast conflict of interest surrounding this scandal.

As the New York Times reported earlier this year, Goldman Sachs effectively bailed itself out. Since that time the bank has been making record profits on trading and now completely dominates the program trading market.

This blatantly criminal activity has led to Goldman being labeled “Financial Terrorists” by analysts. Even Rolling Stone magazine has exposed Goldman Sachs’ persistent role in steering and manipulating the economy over the last century.

At the time of the bailout we warned that the so called financial saviours represented nothing more than the old guard of the corporate elite, the very people responsible for the financial crisis in the first instance.

Judge Andrew Napolitano, appearing on Shepard Smith’s Fox News show last week, stated that he believes Geithner could face a criminal probe:

Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the e-mail exchanges were “troubling” and that he plans to hold congressional hearings on the matter.

Watch Alex Jones breakdown “bankergate” in detail:

NEW YORK — As economists and investors reel from a surprisingly weak jobs number, there are 3,300 people that may actually be cheering December’s report.

That’s the number of employees that were added to the federal government’s payroll last month.

As job losses continued in construction, manufacturing, retail, leisure and hospitality, as well as at the state and local government level, the Federal government was one of the few areas that posted a job gain.

The federal government, excluding the U.S. Postal Service, has notched an increase in jobs for seven consecutive months bringing December’s total to 2,167,000, up from 2,163,700 in November.

NEW YORK — President Obama unveiled a program Friday that will provide $2.3 billion in tax credits for the clean energy manufacturing sector, a move aimed at creating 17,000 jobs.

The funding, which comes from the $787 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, has been awarded to 183 projects in 43 states, the White House announced.

"If we harness ingenuity, take the talent of our workers and innovators, and we invest in it, we’ll forge a future where life is better in our country over the long run," Obama said.

The projects selected must be commissioned by February 2013, and the government expects about one-third of those will be completed this year. The program provides a 30% tax credit for those projects.

	December was the worst month for US unemployment since the Great Recession began.

The labour force contracted by 661,000. This did not show up in the headline jobless rate because so many Americans dropped out of the system. The broad U6 category of unemployment rose to 17.3pc. That is the one that matters.

Wall Street rallied. Bulls hope that weak jobs data will postpone monetary tightening: a silver lining in every catastrophe, or perhaps a further exhibit of market infantilism.

The home foreclosure guillotine usually drops a year or so after people lose their job, and exhaust their savings. The local sheriff will escort them out of the door, often with some sympathy — just like the police in 1932, mostly Irish Catholics who tithed 1pc of their pay for soup kitchens.

Realtytrac says defaults and repossessions have been running at over 300,000 a month since February. One million American families lost their homes in the fourth quarter. Moody’s Economy.com expects another 2.4m homes to go this year. Taken together, this looks awfully like Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath.

Read entire article

NAFTA has extended from economic integration into a political and regional security pact which has been achieved through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America, Plan Mexico, as well as other initiatives. Various pieces of legislation and reports, along with influential individuals have called for closer trilateral cooperation regarding common rules for immigration and security enforcement around the perimeter of the continent. A major part of the U.S. security agenda already includes the defense of North America, but a full blown security zone would bring Canada and Mexico further under its control. A Fortress North America poses a serious threat to our sovereignty and would mean the loss of more civil liberties

	What many Canadians think of the Security and Prosperity Partnership.

Plans for a North America security perimeter might have seemed like a pipe dream just a short time ago, but it could become a reality sooner than one thinks. Some believe that a perimeter approach to security would be a more effective way of providing safety while ensuring the free flow of trade and investment. For those pushing for deep continental integration, this move is seen as the next logical step. A recent article from the Toronto Star, Canada warms to idea of a tougher ‘perimeter’ suggests that Canadians might now be ready to debate the concept of perimeter security. David Biette who specializes in U.S.-Canada relations and is a member of the Woodrow Wilson Center stated that a, “Perimeter is no longer a dirty word. It’s beginning to come up again, at least in academic circles.” He went on to say, “Canada held back when it first came up and I can certainly understand why. There was still such bad feeling left over on free trade and what that might mean for Canadian sovereignty that perimeter security was just not palatable to Canadians.” Biette also added, “You ask yourself, ‘What would a mutually improved relationship look like?’ and really, there is nothing else. Perimeter is the one big thing - the last truly huge step on the horizon.” A North American security perimeter would be one of the final steps needed in the creation of a North American Union.

It was clear before Obama became president that he wished to relax immigration restrictions with Mexico and supported some sort of amnesty program. In mid-December of last year, H.R. 4321 the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2009 was introduced in the House of Representatives. The Obama administration has been criticized for its lack of immigration enforcement. Many have warned that the new legislation would not only grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, but also increase legal immigration and create more loopholes in the system. In Sec. 143. Reports on Improving the Exchange of Information on North American Security, there is wording which could further promote deep continental integration. This includes yearly status reports, “in developing and implementing an immigration security strategy for North America that works toward the development of a common security perimeter.” Previous failed security and immigration bills also contained similar language referring to a shared security perimeter around the continent.

The Merida Initiative, also known as Plan Mexico is an extension of NAFTA and has its roots in the SPP. It is based on America’s failed war on drugs, which has been costly and ineffective. The Merida Initiative relies primarily on military and law enforcement solutions and is advancing police state measures. In a recent interview, Laura Carlsen director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City described how Plan Mexico, “was designed in Washington as a way to ‘push out the borders’ of the US security perimeter, that is, that Mexico would take on US security priorities including policing its southern border and allowing US companies and agents into Mexico’s intelligence and security operations.” She also commented that, “The Obama administration has supported the plan and even requested, and received from Congress, additional funds beyond what the Bush administration requested.” The Plan Mexico strategy is working towards the development of a common security perimeter and is further encouraging the militarization of Mexico. Continued drug violence in the country could be used as a pretext to set up a North American security perimeter

The recent foiled terrorist attack on Christmas day is accelerating the implementation of a high-tech control grid which could restrict, track and trace our movements. With the war on terrorism back in the forefront, the continued merging of North America might include Canada and Mexico playing a bigger role in regards to perimeter security. Canadian officials have announced that within the next several months, body scanners will be installed in 11 airports across the country. Some proponents of a continental security zone believe that it is the best way to secure North America, but at the same time falsely claim that this could be done with respect to each nation’s sovereignty. We are well on the way towards a North American security perimeter where trade and investment will be able to roam freely, while we are all forced to endure new security practices dominated by U.S. interests.

In this oldie but a goodie, Ron Paul hammers home the point of why the Federal Reserve needs to finally be accountable and transparent, despite the desires of Barney Frank, Wall Street, Ben Bernanke and all the current failed system’s apparatchicks who will stop at nothing to perpetuate the broken status quo. For regular readers none of this should be news. For everyone else, this 1 hour program is a must watch. Clip courtesy of Fora TV and the Cato Institute.

Full 1+ hour clip here.

Or independent chapters:

Update: CNBC: “I Guess You Can Use the Word Ponzi Scheme”

–End Update–

Am I reading this right!? Someone tell me I’m not reading this right.

Via: Pimco:

Here’s the problem that the U.S. Fed’s “exit” poses in simple English: Our fiscal 2009 deficit totaled nearly 12% of GDP and required over $1.5 trillion of new debt to finance it. The Chinese bought a little ($100 billion) of that, other sovereign wealth funds bought some more, but as shown in Chart 2, foreign investors as a group bought only 20% of the total - perhaps $300 billion or so. The balance over the past 12 months was substantially purchased by the Federal Reserve. Of course they purchased more 30-year Agency mortgages than Treasuries, but PIMCO and others sold them those mortgages and bought - you guessed it - Treasuries with the proceeds. The conclusion of this fairytale is that the government got to run up a 1.5 trillion dollar deficit, didn’t have to sell much of it to private investors, and lived happily ever - ever - well, not ever after, but certainly in 2009. Now, however, the Fed tells us that they’re “fed up,” or that they think the economy is strong enough for them to gracefully “exit,” or that they’re confident that private investors are capable of absorbing the balance. Not likely.

China supplanted the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market after its 2009 vehicle sales jumped 46 percent, ending more than a century of American dominance that started with the Model T Ford.

The nation’s sales of passenger cars, buses and trucks rose to 13.6 million, the fastest pace in at least 10 years, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In the U.S., sales slumped 21 percent to 10.4 million, the fewest since 1982, according to Autodata Corp.

China’s vehicle sales have surged since 1999 as economic growth averaging more than 9 percent a year has helped automakers including General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG compensate for slumping demand in the U.S. and Europe. The market will likely remain the world’s largest, even as sales slow this year on a reduction in tax cuts, according to Booz & Co.

“China is becoming the center stage of development for the 21st century global auto industry,” said Bill Russo, a Beijing- based senior adviser at Booz & Co., which advises automakers. “Economic growth has directly translated into growth in automobile sales.”

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

]]> http://www.truthnews.us/?feed=rss2&p=3607 http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3606 http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3606#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:45:16 +0000 admin http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3606 Patrick Jenkins
FT
Monday , January 11th, 2010

Chinese banks have cemented their position as the most highly valued financial institutions, taking four of the top five slots in a ranking of banks’ share prices as a multiple of their book values.

China Merchants Bank, China Citic, ICBC and China Construction Bank lead the table, followed by Itau Unibanco of Brazil, all with a price-to-book multiple of more than three.

Over the past six years, the average price-to-book value of the biggest 50 banks has halved from two to one.

This means that investors believe the average bank is worth no more than the value of its balance sheet. Most western banks are trading at well below their book value.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

]]> http://www.truthnews.us/?feed=rss2&p=3606 http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3605 http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3605#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:41:57 +0000 admin http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3605 AFP
Monday , January 11th, 2010

Afghanistan and Iraq on Wednesday joined a chorus of protest over a new US watchlist targeting visitors from 14 countries, describing the measure as ineffective and “counterproductive.”

“I think it is unfair,” said Samir Sumadaie, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States. “And more important than being fair or unfair is whether it is actually going to work.”

“If you treat the entire populations of so many countries as suspects with one blanket decision it is counterproductive,” he said. “It tends to alienate people and its very, very doubtful that it will produce any significant increase in the security of air travelers.”

Said Jawad, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, echoed those concerns.

Full article here

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” – Fall Of The Republic – Buy the DVD here

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