FIN-REG LETS BANKS HAVE U.S. OVER A BARREL

ALEX JONES WEEKLY SHOWS AFTER 3PM
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100725_Sun_Alex.mp3
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http://rss.nfowars.net/20100727_Tue_Alex.mp3
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100728_Wed_Alex.mp3
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100729_Thu_Alex.mp3
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100730_Fri_Alex.mp3
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STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Flooding causes millions in damage in Iowa
Sun Jul 25, 5:24 pm ET

MONTICELLO, Iowa – Flooding from the Maquoketa River after the Lake Delhi dam failed has damaged dozens of homes and businesses, causing millions of dollars in damage in Monticello, officials said Sunday.The Lake Delhi dam in eastern Iowa failed Saturday as rising floodwater from the Maquoketa River ate a 30-foot-wide hole in it. Areas below the dam, including in Hopkinton and Monticello were evacuated.It is simply unbelievable. This is unprecedented. We've had floods before and we've always been able to contain the situation and minimize the damage, but with Mother Nature's fury ... there was no way to do anything about it, said Mike Willey, president of the board of directors at the Lake Delhi Recreation Association.There was simply too much water.The river crested upstream of the dam at Manchester early Saturday afternoon at 24.53 feet — more than 10 feet above flood stage and well above its 2004record of 21.66 feet — before it began to slowly recede.About 50 homes and 20 businesses had major flood damage and the city's sewer plant had been flooded and shut down about 7 p.m. Saturday, said Monticello Public Works Director Dana Edwards.

Most of the city's 3,700 residents could flush their toilets, but the waste was pouring into the river. Still, environmental damage shouldn't be great because the waste was being diluted by the flood water, Edwards said.The city's drinking water system was working, but we are asking people to use as little water as possible, Edwards said.Damage to private property would likely be in the millions of dollars, Edwards said. The cost of repairing the sewer plant wouldn't be known until workers could get inside to assess the damage.Pumps from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city were being put into the city's main sewer lines to try to keep water out of residents' basements.The hydroelectric dam on the Maquoketa River that created Lake Delhi in the 1920s is no longer used for power but maintains the lake for recreational purposes.Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com

Floods close Chicago interstate, damage Iowa dam
Sun Jul 25, 6:50 am ET

CHICAGO – Standing water on Chicago-area expressways turned what should have been an easy Saturday morning drive into a soggy, snarled mess after heavy rains across the Midwest closed roads, stranded residents and punched a hole through an Iowa dam.In Chicago, officials say more than 7 inches of rain fell early Saturday, inundating the sewer system and overwhelming waterways. Water covered portions of several Chicago interstates and the commuter train tracks that run along them, leading crews to divert traffic and call in bus shuttles. Portions of Interstate 290 west of downtown were closed for several hours.Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and other officials urged residents to call for help if they need it.Our goal is to get the city back to normal as quickly as possible, Daley said at a news conference Saturday.

West of Chicago in suburban Westchester, crews in boats were searching for people who were stranded in their flooded homes or trapped in cars under viaducts.In eastern Iowa, the Lake Delhi dam failed as rising floodwater from the Maquoketa River ate a 30-foot-wide hole in the earthen dam, causing water to drop 45 feet to the river below and threatening the small town of Hopkinton.Lake Delhi was created in the 1920s by damming the Maquoketa River. The resort area now has about 700 cabins and homes.Areas below and above the dam had been evacuated after heavy rain has pushed the river to 23.92 feet — more than 2 feet above its previous record of 21.66 feet in 2004.Jack Klaus, a spokesman with the Delaware County emergency management office, said warning sirens sounded in Hopkinton as water began to surround homes Saturday afternoon.There's going to be significant losses of property there,Klaus said.Donna Dubberke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport, said areas below the dam will see an initial crest in the river caused by the dam's failure followed by a secondary crest as the high water above the dam made its way downstream.There will be initial wave from the sudden shot of water and a secondary shot behind it from the rainfall,she said.Heavy rains have also wreaked havoc in the Milwaukee area in the past few days, and Gov. Jim Doyle planned to tour affected areas Saturday, including the intersection where a sink hole swallowed an SUV.County Executive Scott Walker estimated Thursday's torrential rains caused more than $10 million in damage to public property and another $18 million to private property. Doyle has already declared a state of emergency in the county.

Floods and landslide in Indonesia kill 21: official
Sun Jul 25, 4:54 am ET

JAKARTA (AFP) – At least 21 people have been killed in floods and a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Indonesia, an official said Sunday.The landslide on Buru island in eastern Maluku province took place on Friday after heavy rains in a hilly area, Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told AFP.We've pulled out 18 bodies from the landslide and rescued seven others who were injured, he said.

Elsewhere, three people drowned and three went missing after days of continuous rain in South Kalimantan province caused a river there to overflow, he added.More than 3,000 families were affected by the floods, local media reported.Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia, which is densely populated and prone to frequent heavy rains.

Floods and landslides kill 10 in Vietnam: govt
Sun Jul 25, 12:18 am ET

HANOI (AFP) – Flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain have killed at least 10 people in Vietnam's northern mountainous provinces near China, the government said Sunday.The biggest death toll of five came in Ha Giang province, where people were buried in their homes or swept away in floods, the Hanoi-based national flood and storm control department said in an online statement.Of the victims, four were children aged between two and 15 years old, the agency said.Hundreds of houses in five northern provinces have been inundated while roads and crops were severely damaged in up to 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain, which began falling on Thursday, it said.At least 10 communes in Bac Giang province have been cut off.
Weather forecasters in Vietnam said the country had been influenced by the effects of Typhoon Chanthu, which lashed southern China late last week.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Eastern US cooks in summer heat, temps reach 100s By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jul 25, 6:51 am ET

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – Another wave of oppressive heat clamped down on a broad swath of Eastern states on Saturday, with temperatures in the high 90s and 100s and residents scrambling for shade or just staying indoors.In the Mid-Atlantic, already the locus for brutal temperatures several times in July, weather experts warned of the dangerous conditions and residents resigned themselves to coping with the discomfort.

Oh, it's disgusting. It's already really hot, meteorologist Heather Sheffield of the National Weather Service said of morning temperatures in Washington, D.C.One possible weather-related death was reported in Maryland, where paramedics said the high temperatures and humidity likely played a role in the death of a 20-year-old man who was biking, went into cardiac arrest and hit his head on a tree as he fell.

With the heat and humidity combining for a possible heat index of over 110 degrees, the weather service issued an excessive heat warning for the first time this year for an area stretching from south of Washington to north of Baltimore, along the Interstate 95 corridor. By midday Saturday, a wide band from lower New England to the Deep South was under a heat advisory.The thermometer hit 100 degrees in Washington and Baltimore by mid-afternoon, where the heat index was 109. In Norfolk, Va., it was 104 degrees and 108 degrees with the heat index. Elsewhere, record highs for July 24 of 97 degrees in New York and Philadelphia and 99 degrees in Newark, N.J., were reported.As temperatures soared toward 100 degrees in New Jersey, Harry Oliver was trying to make sense of it all as he waited to get sandwiches inside a Toms River convenience store.When I complain about the heat and humidity, my wife reminds me that I was begging for this type of weather when I was shoveling all that snow this past winter, the 47-year-old Lakehurst resident said. Now I'm looking forward to the snow again.Oliver said he and his wife didn't want to cook.It's hot enough in the house already, even with my air conditioning running 24/7,he said.In New York City, the heat brought out the inner entrepreneur in one resident.A.J. Ousmane, 27, a native of the West African nation of Mali, sold ice-cold water bottles for $1 from a cooler on a Harlem sidewalk. He planned to stay out all afternoon, and hoped to make about $55 for the day, after expenses.I keep moving with the shade, he said, as he positioned himself in the creeping shadow of a coin-operated laundry.Poolside, 20-year-old Meredith Watkins slathered herself with SPF 15 and filled her water bottle before working a shift as a lifeguard in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Watkins scouted the swimming pool for an excuse to jump in — something she says she does at least once an hour on hot days.

You still gotta do your job when it's this hot,she said, twirling a whistle on a red lanyard.Especially with the humidity, it makes it awful. You just sit there and sweat and sweat.Kristin Kline, a weather service meteorologist at Mount Holly, N.J., said this summer hasn't been record-setting hot in most places. The off-and-on scorching heat that's been felt in the Mid-Atlantic can be blamed on a Bermuda high between Bermuda and North Carolina that is pushing hot, humid air into the region, Kline said.In Pennsylvania, Louie Correa, 55, of Louie's Appliances was out trundling a fan and a kitchen table into a South Philadelphia home. He said that earlier in the day, he had been by the homes of some older residents to make sure they were all right.Sometimes they see me knocking on the door, and the neighbors say What you want there? Like this morning, I said Oh, just making sure Miss Regina is all right,Just making sure Frank is all right, Correa said.While temperatures climbed, Jason Wish dabbed a sweaty T-shirt on his brow as he loaded crates of tomatoes and bushels of peppers into a truck at a farmer's market in suburban Columbus, Ohio. He and dozens of other farmhands hurried to pack up their produce and escape to air-conditioned vans and pickups. It makes me wanna jump in the pond and go swimming,Wish said.Many hit the beach for relief, though not all were there to soak up the sun.Jeff Clarkson, 47, and his 12-year-old son Chuck planned to hit the arcades along the Point Pleasant area boardwalk in New Jersey.I don't want him out there too long cause it could be dangerous,said the elder Clarkson, whose family was visiting from suburban Philadelphia.But in here, we can spend time together and stay kind of cool, though it's likely to cost me a lot of money by the time we're through.Not much relief was in the forecast Sunday. Sunday's highs were expected to reach into the low- to mid-90s, but heat indices should be slightly lower — in the high 90s, possibly as high as 101 in cities. Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko and Kathleen Miller in Washington, D.C., Verena Dobnik in New York City, Ron Todt in Philadelphia, and Jeannie Nuss in Columbus, Ohio., contributed to this story.

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

BP chief likely to resign in wake of US oil spill
JULY 25,10

LONDON (AFP) – The chief executive of British oil giant BP, Tony Hayward, was likely to resign within the next 24 hours in the aftermath of the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BBC reported.Citing a senior BP source, the BBC said that an announcement was due shortly on Hayward, whose future has been in doubt for several weeks over his handling of the worst environmental disaster in US history.There is a strong likelihood that he would be replaced by Bob Dudley, who took over management of BP's response to the spill from Hayward last month, the public broadcaster added.

Earlier, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that Hayward was poised to resign before London-based BP announces its half-year results on Tuesday. The BP board is expected to meet on Monday ahead of the announcement.Last Monday BP put the cost of its response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill at 3.95 billion dollars (3.05 billion euros).Reports have suggested for days that Hayward would resign at some point in the coming weeks as BP battles to recover its reputation.The Sunday Telegraph said that there could be wrangling over Hayward's severance package, under which he is likely to be paid a minimum figure of just over one million pounds (1.5 million dollars, 1.2 million euros).Asked about the BBC report, a BP spokesman told AFP he would not comment on speculation. He added: Tony Hayward is our chief executive. He has the full support of the board and management.In the Gulf itself, engineers moved ahead Sunday with preparations for a well kill operation that officials hope will permanently plug the oil leak that erupted April 20 when an offshore oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers.A drill rig vessel charged with sinking a relief well that should finally stop the deep-sea oil leak arrived back at the site of the spill on Saturday after briefly moving away due to a tropical storm.US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said the first chance to seal the well for good could come soon. That is a very rough estimate, three to five days from now, he said.

The returning drill rig, Development Driller 3, was among about 10 ships that fled the area ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie. A cap has been lowered over the wellhead, but it has been leaking since July 15.Local residents are desperate to permanently resolve the disaster, more than three months after the April 20 explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil platform.The International Energy Agency estimates that between 2.3 million and 4.5 million barrels of crude have gushed into the sea.A BP spokesman, Bryan Ferguson, said it would take around 21 hours to reconnect the Development Driller 3 to drilling operations some 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the sea surface.The rig is drilling the first of two relief wells that will be used to definitively plug the devastating spill.BP and US officials currently plan two operations to kill the well.The first, a static kill, involves pumping heavy drilling fluid known as mud through a blowout preventer valve system that sits on top of the well, and then injecting cement to seal it. The process is similar to a top kill attempt that failed in May, but officials say the cap now in place over the leak will make the operation easier and more likely to succeed. However, BP and US officials have said the ultimate solution to the leak will be the relief wells, which will intersect the original well.Using the same process as the static kill, drilling fluid, which is denser than oil, will be pumped via the relief well until the flow of crude is overcome, allowing the damaged well to be sealed with cement.

Before either can begin, the last section of the relief well must be secured with a 3,000-foot piece of steel pipe called a casing run, which will be cemented in place.

You're probably into three to five days from now when they might be able to be in a position to have the casing pipe in place and we could probably start the static kill at that point, Allen said. The spill has now washed up oil along the shorelines of all five US states on the Gulf Coast, but some experts said high waves kicked up by Tropical Storm Bonnie might actually help dissolve some of the oil faster.Other experts argued that surface currents bolstered by high winds would likely shift the near-surface oil closer to the Gulf Coast and spread it over a larger area, and that a hurrican-like storm could send fouled water far up into the bayous, contaminating spawning grounds for fish and shrimp.

Federal Government Working to Remove Sovereignty of States
Activist Post July 25, 2010

It has been reported that 46 states are on the verge of bankruptcy. Since states are Constitutionally mandated to balance their budgets, and do not possess the ability to print money, they’re finding themselves in a critically weakened position to challenge the Federal Government.The Federal government is overstepping their authority and infringing on the sovereignty of states. In our republic, states have sovereignty to create and enforce their own laws as long as they don’t violate the U.S. Constitution. The Tenth Amendment gives states the freedom from Federal laws and regulations if they deem them to be unconstitutional.The Tenth Amendment: which makes explicit the idea that the Federal government is limited only to the powers granted in the Constitution, is generally recognized to be a truism. States and local governments have occasionally attempted to assert exemption from various federal regulations, especially in the areas of labor and environmental controls, using the Tenth Amendment as a basis for their claim.

An oft-repeated quote, from United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 124 (1941), reads as follows:The amendment states but a truism that all is retained which has not been surrendered. There is nothing in the history of its adoption to suggest that it was more than declaratory of the relationship between the national and state governments as it had been established by the Constitution before the amendment or that its purpose was other than to allay fears that the new national government might seek to exercise powers not granted, and that the states might not be able to exercise fully their reserved powers…(Source)Recently, it seems the Federal government is overstepping their authority and infringing on the sovereignty of states. Furthermore, given that many broke states will most certainly require a Federal bailout to maintain their basic social structures, we can assume that the Feds will use that to impose even stronger controls.The Federal government has clearly violated California state law regarding medical marijuana by raiding state-approved legal dispensaries and grow-ops. And now, Obama and company are suing Arizona to overturn their new anti-illegal immigration law, which is essentially a reiteration of the Federal law, just with plans to actually prosecute it.Additionally, we have seen the steady erosion of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of the military for local law enforcement. Stories of active military and the National Guard helping local law enforcement on operations as routine as random traffic checkpoints and local crimes such as illegal gun and drug searches are becoming everyday news — again a clear violation of the Tenth Amendment.It is clear that the goal of Federal government is to centralize and consolidate control as much as possible. Liberty advocates have a growing concern that states teetering on the verge of bankruptcy will require Federal bailouts that will come with sovereignty-smashing strings attached. Based on the clear violations already exhibited by the Federal government, we can only assume that more centralized oppression is on the way.

Former CIA Boss: Iran Attack Inexorable Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com
July 25, 2010

According to Michael Hayden, a CIA boss under George W. Bush, Iran’s not having a nuke is just as dangerous as it having one.Killing Iranians now seems inexorable and may not be the worst of all possible outcomes,according to Hayden.Hayden predicted Iran plans to get itself to that step right below a nuclear weapon, that permanent breakout stage, so the needle isn’t quite in the red for the international community.Hayden said that reaching even that level would be as destabilizing to the region as actually having a weapon and it will result in an attack by the U.S., Israel, or both.Killing Iranians now seems inexorable and may not be the worst of all possible outcomes,according to Hayden.Meanwhile, Iran’s leadership remains steeped in denial. Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday saying that Israel and the United States would never strike Iran, saying that both the U.S. and Zionist regime face internal problems and they know that we make many troubles for them if they attack Iranian territory.

Despite the rhetoric, Iran appears ready to respond in the event of an attack

Yahya Rahim Safav told Iran’s ISNA news agency that Iran’s armed forces were fully prepared and enemies are aware of that, they do not have the power to take a political decision on the issue, because they know they can start the war but are not able to finish it.Mohammad-Ali Ja’fari, commander of the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards, said the United States would not dare to attack Iran as it is fully aware of Iran’s defense power and its nation’s determination, according to Haaretz in Israel.Ja’fari said that he considered his forces’ preparedness as being at their highest level,adding that recent sanctions imposed on Iran would have no impact on Iran’s ability to respond to an attack.In addition, a former naval chief in the Revolutionary Guard said Iran has set aside 100 military vessels to confront each U.S. warship that poses a threat. The Revolutionary Guard is in charge of defending the country’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. General Morteza Saffari said Saturday that troops aboard U.S. warships are morsels for Iran to target in the event of any American threat against Iran.Over recent days, warnings about imminent war and direct calls for war have been proliferating in the world media,Webster G. Tarpley wrote last week, citing warnings issued by former communist leader Fidel Castro and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Tarpley also cited an editorial penned by former Senator Chuck Robb and former NATO deputy commander General Charles Wald calling for the U.S. to begin preparing an attack. We cannot afford to wait indefinitely to determine the effectiveness of diplomacy and sanctions. Sanctions can be effective only if coupled with open preparation for the military option as a last resort,Robb and Wald wrote.

Obama signs a bill that lets banks have US over a barrel once more - Last week, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill – hailed as the most sweeping overhaul of US financial regulation since the 1930s. By Liam Halligan Published: 9:26PM BST 24 Jul 2010

Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes,Obama boomed at the schmaltzy signing ceremony, amid bursts of applause.Obama makes right moves on regulating Wall Street but misses chance of a full rebuild These reforms will put a stop to a lot of the bad loans that fuelled this debt-based bubble,the President gushed to America and the rest of the world.This bill also empowers consumerse_SLpsdelivering the strongest consumer financial protections in history.It would be reassuring if we could agree with Obama, concluding that Dodd-Frank will help to prevent the next systemic crisis and associated bail-out of too-big-to-fail banks. Reassuring, but wrong. For despite some marginal regulatory improvements, this is no Rooseveltian legislative milestone. Amid the hype and back-slapping of last week's launch, the sad reality is that Dodd-Frank fails to address the fundamental problems that resulted in the sub-prime fiasco and the related damage to not just America, but the entire global economy.The inherent feebleness of this door-stopping bundle of statute and its lack of desperately needed substance, was brilliantly captured by Laurence Kotlikoff, a highly-respected professor of economics at Boston University. This law is like being invited to dinner and served pictures of food,Kotlikoff remarked.

It would be tempting to smile at such a wry observation if the situation it described wasn't so depressing. For what the US political establishment's non-response to the credit crunch illustrates is this: such is the lobbying power of the big Wall Street institutions that they not only caused a global economic crisis and then forced the US government to pay for a massive bail-out, but then used a slice of that bail-out cash to bribe politicians with campaign donations in order to block rule changes that might prevent a repeat performance.That leaves the politicians and high-flying bankers happy, of course, while regular citizens – and their children and grandchildren – foot the multi-billion dollar bill.The principal function of a financial services industry is to link savers with investors and creditors with borrowers, so facilitating broader commercial activity. Such intermediary functions are crucial to economic progress and can be the basis of a profitable and socially useful business.What we've created, instead, is a group of institutions that between them comprise nothing less than a financial oligarchy. These guys have Western taxpayers over a barrel. And what's alarming is that there is almost nothing in this bill that will stop yet more too-big-to-fail calamities. Mr President, you have missed a historic opportunity and, for that, history's judgment will be severe. In 1933, in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash, America introduced the Glass-Steagall divide – a firewall separating high-risk investment banks from regular commercial banks. The idea was to draw a regulatory line in the sand, preventing Wall Street from playing fast and loose with the deposits of ordinary firms and households, deposits rightly covered by a state guarantee.

For more than 60 years that divide stood firm. But during the late 1980s and 1990s, increasingly powerful vested interests, first in the City and then Wall Street, pushed for the co-mingling of banking activities. The resulting universal banks eventually bestrode the Western world, particularly after Bill Clinton succumbed to the lobbyists' dime and formally repealed Glass-Steagall in 1999.It is an indisputable fact that since that repeal, the Western world has lurched from crisis to crisis. Little wonder, given that the end of Glass-Steagall allowed investment banks to borrow heavily against their taxpayer-backed deposits, then place vastly leveraged heads-I-win-tails-the-government-loses bets on risky investments such as internet stocksor sliced-and-diced sub-prime mortgages. Yes, bank failures happened under Glass-Steagall, but they were less frequent and far smaller.Obama didn't consider re-instating Glass-Steagall. On the contrary, he packed his administration with the same people who helped Clinton remove it.During his first year in office, the President dithered over financial reform but then, in the aftermath of an electoral mauling in Massachusetts, he placated those calling for root-and-branch banking reform by calling in former Federal Reserve Chairman, Paul Volcker.The so-called Volcker Rule is the centrepiece of Dodd-Frank and as such, is indicative of the entire package. It's designed to restrict the ability of universal banks to speculate with taxpayer-backed money, rather than making sure by keeping deposit takers and investment banks separate. Volcker places limits on so-called prop trading without defining what it is, so allowing banks to exploit what they claim is the grey area between market-making and speculation.Wall Street firms will also still be able to lever up punters' money and deal in credit-default swaps – the main culprits in the AIG bankruptcy, which cost US taxpayers $182bn and counting – while also destroying Bear Stearns and Lehman. The only stipulation is that ratings agencies should classify such derivates as investment grade. Such agencies are unreformed and were at the heart of the last debacle – so that's hardly reassuring.

Last-minute changes mean that banks can, anyway, use 3pc of their tier-one capital for out-and-out speculation, circumventing Volcker. That doesn't sound much, but once levered up 50-times – and such a figure isn't unusual – this huge loophole in Volcker is more than enough to allow investment banks to keep destroying themselves in full knowledge the state will pay. Adding insult to injury, Wall Street then secured delays to the introduction of Volcker – or what's left of it – that in some cases will last for more than 10 years.The closer you look at Dodd-Frank, the more apparent becomes Wall Street's influence. Limits on leverage – rejected. Limits on bank size – rejected. Restrictions on derivatives – well, some trading will go through a central exchange, allowing more scrutiny, but it's entirely unclear how much. At every turn, this bill avoids decisions, delegating them instead to an army of regulators who will turn generalities into actual rules. If the banks were able to skew Dodd-Frank their way , think of the influence they'll have when the details are hammered out behind closed doors. Obama put the spotlight on the creation of a consumer protection bureau – an attempt, before November's mid-term elections, to make arcane legislation meaningful to the public. Are there limits on credit card interest, ensnaring adjustable rate mortgages or predatory pay-day loans? Nope. Some other omissions in the bill are breath-taking. There is no mention of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – the government-sponsored mortgage-providers that have already cost $145bn in bail-out cash, rising to almost $400bn by 2019. No mention, either, of capital requirements – which means the global banking system must rely, once again, on the ridiculous Basel process for resolving this crucial issue. Once again, Obama missed a chance to give a lead when it comes to financial reform.Based on sound-thinking courageous judgment, the Glass-Steagall legislation was only 17 pages long. Packed with wheezes and loop-holes, Dodd-Frank runs to 2,319 pages. Enough said.

Goldman Sachs Names European Banks It Paid Amid AIG's U.S.-Funded Bailout
By Christine Harper and Jesse Westbrook - Jul 23, 2010

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it made payments to banks including Germany’s DZ Bank AG and Banco Santander SA of Spain for mortgage-related losses as it received U.S. taxpayer funds through the American International Group Inc. bailout in 2008. The list of 32 counterparties to Goldman Sachs on collateralized debt obligations was released today by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley. The largest payments were to European lenders that also included the London branch of Rabobank Nederland NV, Zuercher Kantonalbank and Dexia Bank SA.The majority of these beneficiaries appear to be foreign entities, Grassley wrote in a set of questions directed at Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, and published on his website. Can you please explain how ensuring that these institutions were paid in full, rather than required to suffer the consequences of the risks that they took, benefited the U.S. taxpayer? Goldman Sachs turned over the list to the Congressional Oversight Panel and Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which are reviewing the use of taxpayer funds in financial bailouts. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, had suggested Goldman Sachs could be subpoenaed if the New York-based bank didn’t provide the information.Goldman Sachs executives including Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn and Chief Financial Officer David Viniar had defended the firm’s collection of $8.1 billion after AIG’s bailout, tied to swaps contracts. The money helped Goldman Sachs pay out offsetting contracts with other parties, they said, without naming the companies until now. In addition, Goldman Sachs received $4.8 billion after the bailout for securities lending contracts.

Buyers and Sellers

We had transactions on the other side, Cohn, 49, told members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission at a hearing earlier this month.In AIG, we sat in the middle of buyers and sellers.The documents released by Grassley’s office show that Goldman Sachs’s counterparties received a total of about $14 billion in payments for the bonds that ended up going into the Maiden Lane III special purpose vehicle established by the Federal Reserve for AIG’s bailout.Other names on the list include the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan and a GSAM Credit CDO Ltd., a collateralized debt obligation managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, are securities backed by pools of financial instruments such as mortgage bonds or loans.To contact the reporters on this story: Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net; Jesse Westbrook in Washington at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net.

EU bank stress tests face their own test in markets
By Paul Taylor – Sun Jul 25, 8:34 pm ET

PARIS (Reuters) – EU tests of banks' ability to withstand financial shocks, criticized as too easy after only 7 out of 91 failed, face their own stress test in the markets on Monday with early signs pointing to a more positive response.European Union policymakers and regulators voiced relief at Friday's results but some market analysts and many media commentators derided an exercise in which all listed banks passed as lacking in credibility.I see nothing stressful about this test. It's like sending the banks away for a weekend of R&R, said Stephen Pope, chief global equity strategist at brokers Cantor Fitzgerald.There was skepticism about EU regulators' conclusion that banks need only a total of 3.5 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in extra capital. Market expectations had ranged from 30 to 100 billion euros, although many European banks have already raised capital during the financial crisis.Only five small Spanish banks, Germany's state-rescued Hypo Real Estate and Greece's Atebank failed outright. More than a dozen others scraped through with just over the required 6 percent of Tier 1 capital in the most stressful scenario and are likely to come under market scrutiny.However, the wealth of data disclosed by banks representing 65 percent of assets, and the commitment of banks, regulators and governments to follow-up action may well outweigh doubts about the stringency of the tests.In a first market reaction in New York late on Friday, the cost of insuring the debt of large European banks fell further and the euro rose against the dollar despite worries about the tests' credibility.Better-than-expected economic data and business confidence surveys suggesting the euro zone will avoid a double-dip recession despite fiscal austerity measures are also helping revive investor confidence in Europe.

HAGGLING

Given the haggling among EU governments and regulators about the stress tests right up to the last moment, the degree of transparency was greater than had been expected a few weeks ago.Sources familiar with the discussions said Germany fought hard behind closed doors to limit the extent of disclosure.In the end, most banks -- except Deutsche -- issued a detailed breakdown of their exposure to the sovereign debt of EU countries, enabling investors to run their own risk simulations to gauge a counterparty's solidity.We have all the sovereign exposure data, and we can go ahead and do our own tests,said Nial O'Connor, a banking analyst at Credit Suisse.

That should help reopen the interbank lending market, which partially froze at the height of the euro zone debt crisis in May and has remained tight due to fears that banks have been hiding big exposures.It also responds to one of the major criticisms of the exercise -- that the scenario assumed a haircut on sovereign debt of countries such as Greece held in banks' trading books, but not on a longer-term basis in their banking books.The EU authorities were chastised for refusing to test the impact of a default by Greece.But European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer said euro zone states have put several hundreds of billions of euros on the table with the support of the IMF to make this hypothesis completely excluded.

TRANSPARENCY

Spain, which spearheaded the drive for transparency, tested a larger part of its banking system and disclosed more data than any other country, hoping to clear away lingering market suspicion of its smaller banks' solvency. However economist Nicolas Veron of the Bruegel think-tank said Madrid had underplayed the recapitalization needs of the cajas, regional savings banks, although its bank resolution fund (FROBE) is well on the way to meeting those needs. The Spanish wanted to be seen as the most transparent and deserve praise for the catalyst role they played, but in the end they clearly understated what the cajas need,he said in a telephone interview. Veron said follow-up actions by governments and regulators should include pressing weaker banks to recapitalize, if necessary with state help and facilitating cross-border takeovers of weaker banks. Even before the results were published, National Bank of Greece, Slovenia's NLB and Civica in Spain announced plans to raise capital.Italy said it would reopen an offer of government-backed bonds to support its banks, although none failed. Monte dei Paschi di Siena squeaked through with 6.2 percent of Tier 1 capital under the most stressful scenario, and UBI Banca with 6.8 percent.Veron said the success of the exercise would depend partly on whether European regulators adopt a more cooperative approach after the stress tests than they did before them.If this is the start of a beautiful friendship among EU supervisors, then that's not the same as if the united front crumbles next week and they start criticizing each other again,he said.(Editing by Andrew Roche)

US holds drills off Korea as Pyongyang talks war By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jul 25, 12:15 pm ET

ABOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON – Fighter jets buzzed the skies and submarines cruised underwater Sunday as a flotilla of U.S. and South Korean warships led by a nuclear-powered U.S. supercarrier began exercises that have enraged North Korea.U.S. officials denied North Korea's claims the maneuvers off Korea's east coast were a provocation, but said they were meant to send a strong message over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March that left 46 sailors dead.The drills, set to run through Wednesday, involve about 8,000 U.S. and South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft. The USS George Washington, with several thousand sailors and dozens of fighter jets aboard, was deployed from Japan.We are showing our resolve, said Capt. David Lausman, the carrier's commanding officer.The exercises will be the first in a series of U.S.-South Korean maneuvers conducted in the East Sea off Korea and in the Yellow Sea closer to China's shores in international waters.The exercises also are the first to employ the F-22 stealth fighter — which can evade North Korean air defenses — in South Korea.North Korea has called the drills an unpardonable provocation and threatened to retaliate with nuclear deterrence and sacred war.The North routinely threatens attacks whenever South Korea and the U.S. hold joint military drills, which Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for an invasion. The U.S. keeps 28,500 troops in South Korea and another 50,000 in Japan, but says it has no intention of invading the North.Still, the North's latest rhetoric carries extra weight following the sinking of the Cheonan warship in late March.Rear Adm. Daniel Cloyd, the top U.S. official in the exercise, said he was confident the United States could respond to any threat. He said no significant action by the North's military had been observed.We are monitoring the region all the time and we are very confident we can respond to any situation,he said.

Washington and Seoul blame Pyongyang for the sinking of the 1,200-ton Cheonan warship near the Koreas' maritime border. A five-nation team of investigators concluded a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan, considered the worst military attack on the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking, has warned the United States against attempting to punish it.Our military and people will squarely respond to the nuclear war preparation by the American imperialists and the South Korean puppet regime with our powerful nuclear deterrent,the North's government-run Minju Joson newspaper said in a commentary headlined, We also have nuclear weapons.The commentary was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.The North's powerful National Defense Commission issued a similar threat Saturday, saying the country will start a retaliatory sacred war.Pyongyang's rhetoric was seen by most as bluster, but its angry response to the maneuvers underscores the rising tension in the region.Capt. Ross Myers, the commander of the George Washington's air wing, said the exercises were not intended to raise tensions. But the George Washington, one of the biggest ships in the U.S. Navy, is a potent symbol of American military power, with about 5,000 sailors and aviators and the capacity to carry up to 70 planes. North Korea may contend that it is a provocation, but I would say the opposite, Myers said.It is a provocation to those who don't want peace and stability. North Korea doesn't want this. They know that one of South Korea's strengths is its alliance with the United States.Myers said North Korea's threats to retaliate are being taken seriously, however.There is a lot they can do, he said. They have ships, they have subs, they have airplanes. They are a credible threat.The maneuvers underscore a diplomatic blitz by the United States aimed at further tightening the screws on North Korea. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Wednesday, after visiting the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, that the U.S. would slap new sanctions on the North to stifle its nuclear ambitions and punish it for the Cheonan sinking. The European Union is also considering new sanctions on North Korea. The deployment of the supercarrier to the area off Korea was also raising eyebrows in China — which was believed to have been concerned about having the carrier operate too close to its own shores.In what has been seen as a bow to Chinese sensitivities, the George Washington will not be joining the maneuvers later this summer in the Yellow Sea.But Cloyd, the top U.S. official in the exercise, said the carrier may be back.We reserve the right to exercise in international waters anywhere in the world, he said.

The Nimitz-class carrier had been expected to join in exercises — code-named Invincible Spirit — off South Korea sooner, but the Navy delayed those plans as the United Nations Security Council met to deliberate what action it should take over the Cheonan sinking. The council eventually condemned the incident, but stopped short of naming North Korea as the perpetrator. In Seoul, meanwhile, about 150 anti-war activists rallied Sunday near the U.S. Embassy, chanting slogans such as We are opposing the drills! and Scrap the South Korean-U.S. alliance! The activists said the training would only deepen tension in the region. The rally was peaceful and there was no reports of clashes with riot police.Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim and AP photographer Young-joon Ahn in Seoul contributed to this report.

Japan to OK exports of missile interceptors: report
JULY 25,10

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is set to allow exports of missile interceptors it is developing jointly with the United States, Kyodo news agency said, relaxing its ban on arms exports.Europe is considered a likely destination for the ship-based Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, Kyodo said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources close to Japan-U.S. relations.The advanced missile defense system is key to U.S. plans to be able to defend all of NATO's European territory from a perceived Iranian ballistic-missile threat.Separately, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Monday an advisory panel to Prime Minister Naoto Kan will call for relaxation of Japan's weapons export ban in a report next month.Japan has banned arms sales since 1967 to countries with communist governments or that are involved in international conflicts or subject to United Nations sanctions.The rules have meant virtually a blanket ban on arms exports and the development or production of weapons with countries other than the United States, hurting the competitiveness of defense contractors such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.Nippon Keidanren, Japan's largest business lobby, has called for an easing of the restriction, which has prohibited the country's defense industry from joining multinational projects such as Lockheed Martin-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Michael Watson)

Iran says it has 100 vessels for each US warship By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer - Sat Jul 24, 11:34 am ET

TEHRAN, Iran – The former naval chief for Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the country has set aside 100 military vessels to confront each warship from the U.S. or any other foreign power that might pose a threat, an Iranian newspaper reported Saturday.Such a military confrontation in the vital oil lanes of the Persian Gulf would be of major global concern. The warning builds on earlier threats by Iran to seal off the Gulf's strategic Strait of Hormuz — through which 40 percent of the world's oil passes — in response to any military attack.We have set aside 100 military vessels for each (U.S.) warship to attack at the time of necessity, Gen. Morteza Saffari was quoted as saying by the conservative weekly Panjereh.The U.S. and Israel have said military force could be used if diplomacy fails to stop what they suspect is an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Iran denies any aim to develop such weapons and says its nuclear work is for peaceful purposes like power generation.The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters is based just across the Gulf from Iran in Bahrain.Saffari said more than 100 foreign warships were currently in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, adding that their sailors were morsels for Iran's military to target, the newspaper reported.Any moment the exalted supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) orders — or should the enemy carry out the smallest threat against (Iran's ruling) Islamic system — the Guard ... is ready for quick reaction, he was quoted as saying.

By putting the number of foreign warships at 100, the general appeared to suggest Iran has 10,000 military vessels at the ready. Iran is known to have many speed boats used by the Guard, but there is no public information about how many larger military vessels it has.In January 2008, five small high-speed vessels believed to be from Iran's Revolutionary Guard briefly swarmed three U.S. Navy ships passing near Iranian waters in the Gulf and delivered a radio threat to blow them up.The war of words has intensified between Iran and the West since the U.N. Security Council imposed tougher sanctions last month in response to Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or material for an atomic bomb.Iran put its most powerful military force, the Revolutionary Guard, in charge of defending the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf in 2008.We believe the enemy, through extensive psychological warfare, wants to coerce us, but Iran ... is ready,said Saffari, who was the Guard's navy chief until early May.The enemy won't dare attack Iran.

Abbas says entire world wants direct Mideast talks By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer - Sun Jul 25, 7:04 am ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that despite intense international pressure from the entire world, he is still not willing to start direct negotiations with Israel.Abbas told the Voice of Palestine radio that talks would be doomed without a clear framework.The Palestinians are wary of entering open-ended negotiations with Israel's hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. They want Israel to first accept the principle of a Palestinian state in the lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast War, with some alterations.Netanyahu has endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state but refuses to be pinned down on the details before direct talks begin. Since May, U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell has shuttling between Abbas and Netanyahu to try to narrow the gaps, so far in vain.Abbas aides said he has received phone calls in recent days from the leaders of Germany, Britain and Italy, among others, urging him to go to direct talks.The entire world is asking us to go for direct negotiations, but going to negotiations without a clear reference might make them collapse from the first moment,Abbas told the radio from Uganda, where he was visiting.We are not against meetings, whether in Ramallah or Tel Aviv, Abbas added.The issue is to set the ... reference for negotiations. After that, we are ready to go anywhere.

Direct talks between Abbas and Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, broke down in late 2008. Abbas wants talks to pick up where they left off. Netanyahu has refused to do so.On Thursday, Arab League foreign ministers are to meet in Cairo to decide whether to back the move to direct negotiations.Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians would ask the Arab world to recommend continuing with indirect talks until they are slated to end Sept. 8, at which point the Palestinians will decide how to proceed. However, President Barack Obama is pushing for direct talks to start as quickly as possible, and it's unclear how much longer Abbas can withstand the mounting pressure.In other developments Sunday, a prominent Muslim cleric in Israel began serving a jail term for spitting at a police officer and leading a demonstration near Jerusalem's Old City in 2007. He is slated to serve five months after an Israeli court shortened his original nine-month sentence.At the time, Raed Salah was protesting Israeli renovation work near the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Salah heads a small, hardline Muslim group whose members come from Israel's one-fifth Arab minority. He has had repeated run-ins with Israeli authorities.In 2003 Salah was jailed for two years on charges that his organization funneled money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings targeting Israelis.

Israeli warplanes strike Gaza tunnels
JULY 25,10

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli planes fired missiles at two smuggling tunnels near the Gaza Strip border with Egypt early Monday, causing damage but no casualties, officials from the Hamas-run security forces said.The Israeli army had no immediate comment. Israel has frequently targeted the tunnels in retaliation for rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.The impoverished territory of 1.5 million people has largely relied on the vast network of tunnels on the border since Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza off to all but vital aid in 2006 after militants captured an Israeli soldier.The Israeli blockade was tightened after the Islamist movement Hamas seized power in June 2007.Most of the tunnels are used to bring in basic goods like food, household appliances and livestock but Hamas and other militant groups reportedly use their own tunnels to bring in arms and money.

Gaza-based militants fired four rockets into southern Israel over the weekend, a military spokesman said on Sunday.In December 2008, Israel launched a devastating assault on Gaza in a bid to halt near daily rocket fire from the besieged Palestinian territory.Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the 22-day war.After a year of quiet following the assault, Gaza militants have recently stepped up the cross-border rocket fire.

EU to hammer Iran with oil sanctions by Laurent Thomet – Sun Jul 25, 3:23 pm ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union will hit Iran with tough sanctions against its vital oil and gas industry on Monday in a bid to lure Tehran back to the negotiating table over its disputed nuclear programme.This (package of sanctions) is about applying pressure, but applying pressure in order to bring the Iranians to the table to talk, a European diplomat said.EU foreign ministers will formally approve the sanctions following Iran's repeated refusals to halt sensitive nuclear activities, which the West fears are aimed at building a bomb.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the EU against imposing unilateral sanctions, in remarks directed at the EU, which were translated into English by the Press TV channel.We do not welcome any tension or a new resolution. We seek logic and friendship, Ahmadinejad said.I should tell you that anyone who adopts a measure against the Iranian nation, such as inspection of our ships and planes, should know that Iran will react swiftly, he added.Although the UN Security Council imposed a fourth set of sanctions on Tehran in early June, EU leaders and the United States decided shortly after to impose their own penalties against the Iranian energy sector.The sanctions are part of a twin-track approach, with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton seeking to revive moribund talks between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.Western powers have demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme, fearing that Tehran would use the material to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran says its atomic programme is a peaceful drive to produce energy.The new EU sanctions include a ban on the sale of equipment, technology and services to Iran's energy sector, hitting activities in refining, liquefied natural gas, exploration and production, diplomats said.The EU will ban dual-use goods that can be used for conventional weapons. It will also step up vigilance of the activities of Iranian-connected banks operating in the EU and bar them from setting up branches.

A number of (EU) member states have had to overcome considerable problems with their economic interests in order to adopt this package,the European diplomat said.It will be in some way the most substantive and far-reaching autonomous sanctions package which the EU has adopted against Iran or any other country,he added.Iran is the world's fourth largest producer of crude oil, but imports 40 percent of its fuel needs because it lacks enough refining capabilities to meet demand.The unilateral US and EU sanctions were expected to have a material impact on the country's energy industry,the International Energy Agency said last week.It was significant that China and Russia had agreed to back the UN sanctions, but that those did not include specific measures aimed at Iran's energy sector, the IAEA noted.The US and EU sanctions were harder, and longer term, development of the country's oil and gas industry will clearly be adversely impacted, the IEA said.These sanctions are surprisingly strong, said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the nonproliferation programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. They go much further than the UN sanctions.As tough as they were however, they could persuade Iran back to talks, he added. In the past, Iran has always moved once it was under pressure of the international community.The last high-level talks between Iran and the six world powers were held in Geneva in October 2009 when the two sides agreed a nuclear fuel swap that has since stalled.

EU foreign ministers meeting Monday will urge Iran to set a date for new talks, according to draft conclusions. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, during a visit to Istanbul Sunday, said Iran was ready to start talks immediately with Western powers over a nuclear fuel swap deal, brokered by Turkey and Brazil in May.
Under the deal, Iran agreed to send 1,200 kilogrammes of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey to be supplied at a later date with high-enriched uranium by Russia and France.But this deal has already been dismissed by world powers, who backed the renewed UN sanctions in June.