Massive Bank and High Profile Resignations Across the World

[Sabrina]

http://www.cmn.tv/news/michael-telli...ign=WordSocial

South Africa

Michael Tellinger takes on the big banks
Comments (0)
April 22, 2012

Many of you will have seen our interviews with Michael Tellinger, especially the one on Contributionism. Michael is in the process of taking on the big banks in his native country of South Africa and we are posting this press release to spread the word and gain support for his work.

Please click the link to the website and pledge your support.

Constitutional Court Action Against
Standard Bank;
and The South African Reserve Bank;
and The Minister of Finance.

Global history will be made on Friday 20th April 2012, at 11am in Braamfontein, Johannesburg when Michael Tellinger will deliver his petition regarding the unscrupulous activity of the banks, particularly Standard Bank, to the Constitutional Court.

Tellinger will also serve the NOTICE OF MOTION on the RESERVE BANK and the MINISTER OF FINANCE on the same day. There is hardly any South African who has not been harmed in some way by the actions of the banks. For too long have banking giants been unassailable and untouchable by the common man.

This is an historic event in South Africa and the rest of the world where for the first time a layperson has been given direct access to petition the Constitutional Court regarding the devious activities of the banks. The people of South Africa and members of the media are invited to report on this historic event.

This case may have started as a matter of principle for Michael Tellinger against STD Bank, but it has escalated to such a degree that every South African and everyone in the world could be affected, because a positive outcome will result in a major public policy shift and the changing of the laws that govern the banks.

Tellinger will argue that the lack of control and intervention by the MINISTER OF FINANCE has allowed the banks and the RESERVE BANK to do as they please with impunity and without recourse by the citizens, and in the process have enslaved millions of honest, hard-working South Africans to a life of misery and debt through a the banks’ malicious activities.
This historic landmark case will attempt to redress the imbalance that has taken place for centuries by the few that have been called the banking elite. The Constitutional Court is the highest court on constitutional matters, its very foundation being the protector of human rights and democracy.

The Court is mandated to bring legislation in par with the constitutional framework principles and to develop common law principles. The legacy follows that of Nelson Mandela’s vision, that no matter who or what you represent, equality, justice and the people’s voice shall be harmonised before an independent, unbiased judicial system founded on the principles of rights enshrined in the Constitution.

This case will be a challenge for the Constitutional Court, and we trust that it will make its findings proper, considering all the facts to redress the laws and do whatever it needs to do, to redress the hardship of the people caused by financial abuse, and to harmonise the future of financial entities.

But this case will also need the moral support of as many people as possible in support of Tellinger’s appeal. So that it truly represents millions of honest, hardworking and trusting citizens who have been unable to do so for themselves, continuously being frustrated by the invisible protective legal shield around the banks, and the legal system that seems to support the banks.

“Many people carry severe personal grudges against the banks that have done them financial harm, but most people are completely oblivious to how they have been conned and deceived by their banks about money and how it is created” Said Tellinger.

“But once they find out the terrible truth about how banks really operate and how they use our signature to profiteer on us, and how they make money out of thin air, they will be very angry and realise how important this action against the banks is” he added.

Tellinger urges each and every South African to read as much about this case as possible to inform themselves and to join the petition of signatures that will represent the rest of the people. Please go to www.thebigcase.co.za and sign the petition page.

Michael Tellinger will address members of the media and the public who are present on the steps of the Constitutional Court around 11am Friday 20th April 2012, immediately after the documents have been delivered on the Constitutional Court.

Details of the hearing will follow as soon as we have been allocated a date by the court. We will keep everyone informed on the above website .

For more information contact Michael Tellinger at michael@zuluplanet.com

[Sabrina]

http://demonocracy.info/infographics..._exposure.html

Derivatives: The Unregulated Global Casino for Banks

SHORT STORY: Pick something of value, make bets on the future value of "something", add contract & you have a derivative.
Banks make massive profits on derivatives, and when the bubble bursts chances are the tax payer will end up with the bill.
This visualizes the total coverage for derivatives (notional). Similar to insurance company's total coverage for all cars.

LONG STORY: A derivative is a legal bet (contract) that derives its value from another asset, such as the future or current value of oil, government bonds or anything else. Ex- A derivative buys you the option (but not obligation) to buy oil in 6 months for today's price/any agreed price, hoping that oil will cost more in future. (I'll bet you it'll cost more in 6 months). Derivative can also be used as insurance, betting that a loan will or won't default before a given date. So its a big betting system, like a Casino, but instead of betting on cards and roulette, you bet on future values and performance of practically anything that holds value. The system is not regulated what-so-ever, and you can buy a derivative on an existing derivative.
Most large banks try to prevent smaller investors from gaining access to the derivative market on the basis of there being too much risk. Deriv. market has blown a galactic bubble, just like the real estate bubble or stock market bubble (that's going on right now). Since there is literally no economist in the world that knows exactly how the derivative money flows or how the system works, while derivatives are traded in microseconds by computers, we really don't know what will trigger the crash, or when it will happen, but considering the global financial crisis this system is in for tough times, that will be catastrophic for the world financial system since the 9 largest banks shown below hold a total of $228.72 trillion in Derivatives - Approximately 3 times the entire world economy. No government in world has money for this bailout. Lets take a look at what banks have the biggest Derivative Exposures and what scandals they've been lately involved in. Derivative Data Source: ZeroHedge


full story and graphics at the link

[Sabrina]

http://www.banglanews24.com/English/...39643&toppos=1


23 Apr 2012 12:09:46 PM Monday BdST

Sohel Taj resigns as MP
Parliament correspondent
banglanews24.com

DHAKA: Awami League (AL) lawmaker and former state minister for home Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj resigned as parliament member on Monday.

A confidential parliament source confirmed banglanews about the matter on Monday.

According to source, Sohel’s additional personal assistant Abu Kawsar sent the resignation letter to the speaker’s office at about 10:30am.

However, acting parliament secretary Mahfujur Rahman said that he knew nothing in this regard.

Earlier, Sohel Taj, son of country`s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed, sent a letter to cabinet secretariat asking why a huge amount of money was sent to his account after two and a half years and why no gazette notification on his resignation was issued.

[Sabrina]

http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/04/23/...-up-in-tweets/

Monday, 23 April 2012

Rupert’s tactics just his old obfuscation tricks wrapped up in tweets
by Glenn Dyer

Rupert Murdoch was up to his old tricks at the weekend, this time diverting attention from pressure that is about to be applied to himself and son James in London.

Observers of Rupert have noticed down the years that whenever he’s under pressure in an interview (such as before the House of Commissions Committee investigating phone hacking last year), Rupert will come up with a comment on someone or something, or an outrageous remark that switches the focus to whatever he said, rather than the issue at hand.

In last year’s appearance before the Commons Committee, Murdoch was assisted by the grandstanding idiot who attempted to assault him with a cream pie, and then by wife Wendi who whacked the cream-pie man, thereby diverting attention away from the obfuscation that Murdoch was trying to baffle the committee with.

So it was no surprise then that Murdoch returned to Twitter at the weekend (as he has done twice earlier this year) to remind us that the old obfuscator was back on deck. He ridiculed the UK government’s “mad” plans to lend more money to the International Monetary Fund and criticised its energy, education and tax policies: all this on Saturday after arriving in London ahead of his appearance at the Leveson inquiry on Wednesday.

His first target was Britain’s pledge of nearly £10 billion pounds to help the IMF tackle any fallout from the eurozone crisis, as well as a new tax on hot takeaway snacks put forward by finance minister George Osborne. (That’s old news, it was in the UK budget in March and has festered as a low-key political story). The story involves the government’s so-called “pasty tax”, a new levy that means freshly baked hot food (such as a pasty) sold in any shop will for the first time incur the VAT sales tax.

“Back in Britain,” Murdoch said in one message. “Govt sending IMF another ten bn to the euro. Must be mad. Not even U.S. or China chipping in. Same time taxing hot food.” Rupert is obviously a gourmet and wants to protect the tax-free hot pasty.

And the money for the IMF is for a “firewall that could protect Murdoch’s main European TV markets in Italy and Germany. In Italy, Sky Italia is the country’s major satellite broadcaster, and in Germany, is struggling but growing. An IMF financial firewall, backed by money from the UK and Australia, plus China, Brazil and other countries, would help stabilise the eurozone and protect Murdoch’s media interests. That’s a rare example of Murdoch not understanding where his best interests lie and preferring the jibe to the clever quip.

And, last week saw business as usual in Germany where the financially strapped Sky Deutschland (49.9% by News Corp), grabbed a greater share of the country’s first division soccer competition, paying nearly double the amount.

Sky retained key broadcasting rights to main matches in the German Bundesliga. Sky Deutschland currently pays between €225 million ($US295.7 million) and €275 million a season for a package that includes rights for live Bundesliga broadcasts via satellite and cable. It will pay €485.7 million under the new deal, which includes rights to more platforms, including —  IPTV — as well as web and mobile TV.

In another comment, Murdoch attacked the government over the building of wind turbines to generate greener energy. “English spring countryside as beautiful as ever if and when sun appears! About to be wrecked by uneconomic ugly bird killing windmills. Mad.” That has been going on now for the best part of the past decade, so Murdoch is late to an issue, as usual (when it suits him).

And he then criticised the state of publicly funded education in the UK as a “crime against the young”. “Only one answer, really fix public education and give everyone equal opportunity,” he Tweeted. News Corp has a growing education testing and resources business, so there’s the usual conflict of interest for Murdoch.

Of course there was no comment about the latest arrests last week of the former royal editor of The Sun over a corruption charges. Nor was there any remarks on Twitter of a surge in the number of new civil claims for damages over alleged News of the World phone hacking: 46 more cases were disclosed in the UK High Court on Friday.

London papers reported that at a case management conference at the High Court in London on Friday, Hugh Tomlinson, QC, representing victims of alleged phone hacking, told Mr Justice Vos that he had 44 new cases filed while two others had submitted their claims via another legal representative. And the court was told that a further 200 new claims will be filed over the coming months.

The new cases are part of a second wave of civil actions following the settlement of more than 50 cases earlier this year including claims by Jude Law, Charlotte Church and Lord Prescott.

The court was told by Tomlinson that News International had received 100 requests for discovery of preliminary disclosure. He said there were 4791 potential phone-hacking victims, of which 1892 had been contacted by the police. The police believed 1174 were “likely victims”.

Murdoch is expected to appear for at least six hours of questioning before Mr Justice Leveson next Wednesday night, our time. He will be under oath. That will be interesting. Son James appears the day before. This morning’s Guardian has a good backgrounder on Robert Jay QC, the man who will do the questioning on behalf of the inquiry.

The Ruperster clearly blames the UK government of Prime Minister David Cameron for the pressure on himself, son James and the company over the hacking and bribery allegations, and not his slack management and trusting courtiers like Les Hinton and Rebekah Brooks. Murdoch clearly feels that Cameron should have protected Murdoch and News in exchange for the support his papers gave the Conservatives (but not the coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats) at the last election.

It’s an odd world view inside that 81-year-old head, but he’s still as cunning as ever.

[Rogerc]

Posted by Lifebringer (here)
Those other sights must be OWNED by the ptw, and they are hiding the firing, or resigning from the people. So glad Huff at least allowed 269 comments, but this should go global viral on twitter, facebook, or chat.

Thank God I put my money in a credit union three years ago.

Sorry but the credit unions still use Rothschilds money

[Sabrina]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/0...83M0BF20120423


LONDON | Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:39am BST
Commodities, banks lead FTSE drop on Euro zone jitters

(Reuters) - Britain's top shares dropped in early trade on Monday, led lower by banks and commodity stocks as euro zone debt jitters exacerbated by a political crisis in the Netherlands and French election results sapped demand for riskier assets.

In France, results from the first round of a presidential election showed Socialist candidate Francois Hollande marginally ahead of incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Some analysts said a defeat for Sarkozy in the May 6 second round could weaken cooperation between France and Germany in dealing with the debt crisis.

The Netherlands, a core euro zone member, was drawn into the crisis at the weekend when its government failed to agree on budget cuts, making elections almost unavoidable and casting doubt on its support for future euro zone measures.

"With Holland being one of the cornerstones on which the euro zone was founded, rejection of austerity measures there has amplified ramifications for the rest of the euro zone," said Mike McCudden, Head of Derivatives at Interactive Investor.

"More market talk of the dominoes taking their positions for the fall, with the spotlight cast over Spain and now Holland, has investors taking flight this morning as there is little news in the global picture to provide comfort."




Could someone give those dominoes a kick...S

[Sabrina]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...l-7670130.html
23 April

Dutch government collapses after economic talks fail


The Dutch government, one of the biggest critics of European countries failing to rein in their budgets, has resigned after disagreeing on a plan to bring its own deficit in line with EU rules.

Queen Beatrix accepted the resignation of prime minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet after a meeting in which he told her talks on a new austerity package had failed over the weekend.

Mr Rutte will address parliament on Tuesday to discuss interim measures to keep public finances in order and schedule new elections. No date for elections was immediately announced, but opposition MPs called for a vote as soon as possible.

The collapse came a day after the first round election victory of France's soft-on-austerity socialist candidate Francois Hollande. It calls into question whether austerity policies that are causing trauma in countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal can be enforced even in "core" European countries such as France - or the Netherlands, one of the few along with Germany to maintain an AAA credit rating.

Mr Rutte's hopes to clinch a deal to cut the target below the EU's 3% target evaporated on Saturday, when his most important political ally, populist eurosceptic Geert Wilders walked out of the talks, saying a slavish adherence to European rules was foolish and would harm the Dutch economy.

That view is shared by some, such as the government's own Central Plan Bureau, and opposed by others, such as Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot.

Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager insisted he still plans to submit an outline budget to Brussels by April 30, as mandated by European rules.

Opposition MPs say they are prepared to work with Mr Rutte to draw up a 2013 budget.

However, Diederik Samsom, leader of the opposition Labour Party, signalled he would not insist on bringing the Dutch deficit back in line with EU norms next year.

Although the Netherlands has relatively low levels of national debt, its economy is in recession and it is expected to post a deficit of 4.6% in 2012.

[Alie]

Last night on 60 MINUTES I heard (didn't watch) that they did an expose on Lehman Brothers going bankrupt and exposed the fact that they manipulated $50 Million (hid it in Caribbean) so they could go bankrupt. Don't know what the public reaction to this was/is but that's pretty mainstream.

[Sabrina]

Wal-Mart faces big fines amid bribery charges

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer – 24 April

NEW YORK (AP) — Allegations that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. covered up the findings of an internal probe that proved its Mexican subsidiary bribed officials in that country could have huge implications for the world's biggest retailer and its executives.

The alleged bribery scheme was revealed by The New York Times, which reported that Wal-Mart failed to notify law enforcement after the company's investigators found evidence of millions of dollars in bribes given to Mexican officials in exchange for getting building permits faster and other favors to help it aggressively expand in the region.

Two Democratic U.S. congressmen Elijah Cummings and Henry Waxman said on Monday that they were launching an investigation into the matter, and they sent a letter to CEO Mike Duke asking for a meeting. And The Washington Post reported late Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a criminal probe of the allegations since December, citing people familiar with the matter.

If Wal-Mart is found to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids paying bribes to foreign officials, the company could face fines of hundreds of millions of dollars. Top Wal-Mart executives could lose their jobs — or worse, go to jail. And the retailer could suffer a public relations nightmare if a lengthy investigation ensues.


"Unlike prior bad PR stories in recent years, this will be a material distraction for Wal-Mart on multiple fronts," said Charles Grom, a retail analyst at Deutsche Bank.

The Times reported on Saturday that a former company executive in 2005 told Wal-Mart top brass about a bribery campaign that was used to help the retailer expand in Mexico. The paper said Wal-Mart officials launched an investigation into its Wal-Mart de Mexico subsidiary, but shut down the probe despite a report by its lead investigator that Mexican and U.S. laws likely were violated.

In December, Wal-Mart said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had begun an investigation into an overseas operation related to its compliance with the foreign corrupt practices law. Over the weekend, the company revealed that it had met with officials from the SEC and the Justice Department to discuss the company's ongoing investigation. But, according to the Times, Wal-Mart only did so after being informed that the paper was looking into the allegations.

"We are committed to getting to the bottom of this matter," Dave Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in a statement.
The Justice Department and the SEC declined to comment for this story. But legal experts say if there is a government investigation into the bribery allegations, the results could vary widely. In recent probes into corporations— and their executives — the penalties for violating the foreign corruption law have ranged from big fines for the companies to jail time for the executives.

[Sabrina]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...-eurozone.html
24 April
Billions wiped off Europe's biggest companies as political rebellion rocks eurozone

More than £122.3bn was wiped off the value of Europe's biggest companies on Monday amid fears that the eurozone's commitment to austerity was being swept away by political rebellion - just as its debts hit record levels.


Stockmarkets plunged as traders panicked that Angela Merkel could lose her key allies in France and the Netherlands and that the debt crisis rescue plans could unravel.

The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who is one of the eurozone's "hardliners" on fiscal discipline, dramatically quit in the wake of his coalition's refusal to accept Europe's debt pact. Snap elections could be called as early as June.

Traders were also rattled by Francois Hollande's victory over Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of the French presidential election. The socialist Mr Hollande has vowed to renegotiate the fiscal pact that including a 3pc of GDP deficit limit.

The political concerns were compounded by data that showed eurozone debt has hit 87.2pc of GDP - the highest level since the launch of the single currency in 1999. Eurostat said that the 17 eurozone members had reduced their deficits from 6.2pc of GDP in 2010 to 4.1pc in 2011 - but overall debt levels had risen by 1.9pc.

Spain, meanwhile, officially sank back into recession as the economy shrank 0.4pc in the first quarter of the year, and German manufacturing shrank at its fastest rate for three years in March. The French composite PMI also fell, according to Markit.

By the end of the day, the Stoxx Europe 600 index has sunk 2.3pc to its lowest level for three months. The German Dax dropped 3.4pc, while France's CAC and Spain's Ibex were down 2.8pc each. In London, the FTSE 100 closed down 1.9pc. In the US, the Dow closed down 0.8pc, the S&P 500 lost 0.8pc and the Nasdaq shed 1pc.

Borrowing costs for the core "sinner states" of Spain and Italy rose back towards "unsustainable" levels. French borrowing costs also rose, widening the spread between oats and German bunds to a record 146.9 basis points. The euro fell almost 1pc against the dollar.

The ECB's bond-buying programme went unused for the sixth week in a row last week, the central bank said. But Brussels moved to reassure markets that the fiscal pact, which Ms Merkel said would "last forever", was still intact.

[Sabrina]

http://news.egypt.com/english/permalink/106780.html
24 April Egypt


A number of Nour Party members resigned from the party, protesting "the party's failure to manage political issues, and not expressing the concerns of the street."

The secretary general of the party, Hesham Abul Nasser, the head of the economic committee, Hassan al-Zayat, and the deputy secretary general of the party in Giza, Mahmoud Radwan, handed in their resignations. A party leader said the resignations were meant to be propaganda.

An MP for the party, Nezar Ghourab, resigned due to the party ignoring the crisis of Abu Ismail's disqualification from the presidential race. Secretary General of the media committee in Alexandria, Rehab Sabry, resigned in protest of the party's method of handling political files in the media, confirming that he will go back to preaching and that he will abandon politics.

Zayat said that there are a lot of unannounced resignations from the party, due to fatwas inside the party that prohibit resignation from religious parties. He justified his resignation by the party's dependence on Salafi Dawah, which controls all its decisions.

The party has no right to express its opinion in any case without reference to the Salafi sheikhs who have no political experience, thus all the decisions by the party become wrong, he added.

Nour Party leader Radi Sharara said resignations are meant for the media, adding that he did not receive official resignations.

There is a crisis in the party due to the elimination of Abu Ismail from the presidential race, but this crisis will not last, he added.

[Sabrina]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...e-found-guilty

Iceland ex-PM Geir Haarde found guilty of banking crash failure

Former prime minister neglected to hold emergency cabinet meeting. But court clears him of more serious charges


Geir Haarde, the former prime minister of Iceland and the only politician in the world to face prosecution for his role in the 2008 financial crisis, has been found guilty of failing to hold emergency cabinet meetings in the runup to the crisis. But he was cleared of three more serious charges, which could have jailed him for two years.

Haarde, who served as prime minister between 2006 and 2009, had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, including gross negligence over the government’s failure to prepare for the impending disaster.

Haarde attacked the guilty verdict as “absurd”, and accused the judges of bowing to political pressure. “It is obvious that the majority of the judges have found themselves pressed to come up with a guilty verdict on one point, however minor, to save the neck of the parliamentarians who instigated this,” he said outside the country’s specially convened Landsdómur criminal court in Reykjavik.

Haarde was the first person in history to stand trial at the 15-judge court, which was created in 1905 to hear any charges brought against ministers.

Haarde fell from power after the country's three biggest banks collapsed, the country's economy went into meltdown, and the government was forced to borrow $10bn (£6.3bn) to prop up its economy.

During the trial, he said: "None of us realised at the time that there was something fishy within the banking system itself, as now appears to have been the case.

"I think it's illogical to think that I or anyone else in the government could have reduced the size of the banks to a greater extent than was done at the time."

Haarde was instrumental in transforming Iceland from a fishing and whaling backwater into an international financial powerhouse before the credit crunch caused the economy to crash almost overnight.

He was accused of failing to rein in the country's fast-growing banks, whose paper value before the crash had ballooned to 10 times the gross domestic product of the island state of 320,000 people.

The country's three biggest banks – Glitnir, Kaupthing and Landsbanki – went bust within weeks of each other after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the US sparked the credit crunch, in 2008.

Haarde, 61, was also cleared of charges related to his failure to prevent the contagion from spreading to the UK by not insisting that Icelandic banks ringfence their overseas operations. The crisis sparked a diplomatic row with the UK as the demise of Landsbanki brought down its British internet banking arm, Icesave, leaving British councils, universities and hospitals more than £1bn out of pocket.

Gordon Brown, the prime minister at the time of the collapse, accused Haarde of unacceptable and illegal behaviour over its failure to guarantee to reimburse UK customers of the bank. The British government stepped in to protect most savers, at a cost of £3.2bn, but it is continuing to demand compensation from Iceland to cover the cost.

The crisis also led to the demise of the British retail investor Baugur, which owned stakes in House of Fraser, Debenhams and Woolworths.

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Doyle quits as Zurich CEO

Breaking News, 20 April 2012

Zurich CEO Shane Doyle today announced his resignation from the company.

While no official reason has been given at this point for the move, a reliable source told insuranceNEWS.com.au Mr Doyle’s decision to resign was “a personal decision based on a change in career direction”.

Mr Doyle told Zurich staff around Australia of his decision earlier this afternoon.

A Zurich spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au Mr Doyle will leave the company by September 30 “to take up a new opportunity”.

“It’s business as usual and the search for a successor has begun,” she said.

[Sabrina]

More on the Dutch cabinet collapse:



http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive...spute_over.php
24 April


Political crisis: dispute over election date continues, parliament meets

Tuesday 24 April 2012 Netherlands

Parliament will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the collapse of the cabinet and the government's finances amid continued uncertainty about the date of the next election.

The electoral council said on Monday evening it considered September 5 to be the first possible date for a general election, but a majority of MPs say June 27 would be a better date.

The cabinet is responsible for taking the final decision on when the country should go to the polls. Under electoral law, after the collapse of the government there are 40 days for new candidates to come forward, followed by a further 43 days of campaigning.

Early elections

Supporters of early elections – the VVD, SP and PvdA – are all performing well in the polls. The other parties want more time to draw up an election manifesto, choose a campaign leader, organise a party congress and compile a list of potential MPs.

The Christian Democratic party, which is struggling in the polls, is also concerned about an early date because it does not have an official party leader. Maxime Verhagen, acting chief since the last election, has already said he will not be a candidate.

Meanwhile, all parties in parliament have said they are willing to work to put together a budget for 2013. Brussels wants clarity on the Netherlands' spending plans by the end of the month, in line with monetary union rules.

Finances

Prime minister Mark Rutte tendered his resignation to queen Beatrix on Monday afternoon, following the collapse of talks aimed at restoring order to the government's finances.

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration PVV, pulled out of the negotiations on Saturday, saying the impact of the spending cuts ‘ordered by Brussels’ was too great.

[KiwiElf]

How fast the domino's are falling ...

[Limor Wolf]

Posted by Sabrina (here)
Ah sack me and I can go to bed ...(want my bonus tho')....

Thats a one resignation I WOULD NOT like to see. Thank you very much Sabrina, for all your effort, this investment will eventually pay off, not in money but with Justice.

Cheers

[Sabrina]

http://kauilapele.wordpress.com/
Bix Weir via Kauliapele's blog:

A Note from the Bix Weir… “Turning The Tables on the “Doubters”…PROVE IT!!!”
Posted on April 23, 2012
I now receive email updates from Bix Weir (www.roadtoroota.com), and just received the one I am posting below.

Remember that David Wilcock, in the Drake interview and his transcript of that interview, pointed out how some folks often look at any idea or article or evidence that says, “‘Good’ things really are happening for us… now!!” And then think or say or write, “That MUST be wrong.” No matter what it is, and no matter any evidence to the contrary. A completely negative, dark view like that, in my mind, simply assists the dark (the shadows) in hanging around just a little bit longer. Personally, I have no time for such views, and have no time for such people in my consciousness space.

So looking at what those “negative view of it all” folks often say, I felt this message from the Bix was appropriate to post.

—————————————————————————

Turning The Tables on the “Doubters”…PROVE IT!
by Bix Weir

“May you live in interesting times”…a Chinese curse :-o
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_you...eresting_times

This weekend I’ve been knee deep in analyzing all the “Conspiracy Theories” about the Good Guys taking out the Bad Guys and where it’s all going. It was supposed to be in the Friday Road Trip but I have clearly missed my own deadline. Should be out early next week.

But what I am coming across is a plethora of articles lately slamming the Conspiracy Theories and telling people to “give up the ghost” and wake up to the reality that we are 100% screwed no matter what happens. They claim that facing the reality of poverty, death and destruction is the only honest way to see the future and to “grow up and deal with it”.

So here’s what I have to say them…PROVE IT!

Prove that there isn’t a group of Good Guys working to take down the Banking Cabal. Prove that we are not about to return to a Gold Standard. Prove that our future is not full of hope and recovery. Prove the we are wasting our time and energy putting faith in the likes of Drake, Fulford, Wilcock and Roota!

That’s what the world made me do when I first discovered there was a plan to end the reign of the Banking Cabal! I spent the last 10 years PROVING IT and I’ve come up with mountains of evidence and connections:

The Road to Roota Theory
http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/190.cfm

I was attacking the status quo of the Conspiracy Theories and everyone threw the gloves down and said “Before we believe you – you have to prove it.” Those who have followed my work and research have come to the conclusion that I am right….there IS a group of Good Guys that are working to take down the Bad Guys.

So now it’s their turn.

PROVE IT!

Don’t just say that all these people are lying and we shouldn’t believe them. Don’t just say that it’s all misinformation and is harmful to get peoples hopes up.

PROVE IT!
PROVE IT!

What gives them the right to throw a blanket claim over all the Conspiracy Theories that we are about to take the Bad Guys down without any proof that it is NOT happening? The world didn’t let GATA off the hook 13 years ago when they said Gold was being manipulated…they had to prove it. And they did.

So now it’s their turn. Anyone who claims that there is not a plan to take down the Bad Guys…

PROVE IT!

I had to.

May the Road you choose be the Right Road.
Bix Weir
www.roadtoroota.com

[Sabrina]

http://eclinik.wordpress.com/2012/04...april-22-2012/

Cabal Takedown Advisory: Get Everyone Ready!


We were waiting for that “final advisory” from Drake before the final takedown of the Dark Cabal. We feel this could be it. This update came after the reported attempt to plunder Philippine Gold cloaked as military exercise Balikatan 2012 held in Palawan and Fort Magsaysay, Philippines.

Previously, Drake indicated that “scrambling of patriots” are ongoing which means mass arrests are imminent.

At the header of this site is the latest conversation with Drake » http://www.wolfspiritradio.com/main/ [click the play button of the audio player]

Here’s Drake interview last April 22, 2012 at Wolf Spirit Radio » http://k002.kiwi6.com/hotlink/416dfn...012_edited.mp3

Here’s the latest Ben Fulford update for 23rd April 2012 » Major confrontations in South China Sea as desperate cabal tries to steal Asian gold deposits

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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Message from Drake to the Patriots

MESSAGE from Drake: To ALL, I have requested/asked to contact everyone I know, now it is your turn.

Because of the many places that can be hit by the bad guys, I have been asked IF you all would like to help out? IF so, there are several things that are needed.

1- Deploying scouts as best you can. These need to have radio com to someone who is listening. Yes, cell phones are ok, but if a cell tower goes, the phone is worthless…a radio is suggested.

Infrastructure is The target.

-With enough eyes, any funny business can be seen, reported, and the militia can be back up. Unless, it is obvious that those acting funny are a demo team. Then a quick deployment is critical. At the same time as you deploy, be sure the local Sheriff/law enforcement is notified AND that a group of you are enroute and will meet up with them or effect action.

2- You may be asked to secure certain places, power substations, etc. You will be contacted, most likely by a field officer in this event. A local patrol or other standing military…

3- See if one of you can obtain a military band radio. This will allow you to know what is going on and respond accordingly…

I am hoping that this is a peaceful event, BUT I would expect everyone to be ready in case it is not.

I am posting this to all groups I have contact with.

http://wramsite.com/forum/topics/ins...mments:wizard:
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One of the significant sources of funds for the Cabal is the healthcare industry which registered a whopping $2.7 trillion in 2011, and are projected to soar to $3.6 trillion in 2016, in the US alone. We believe that this is just a conservative figure.

You can join the fight against the Dark Cabal and accelerate its demise just by boycotting Big Pharma. You can effectively do this by downloading “Towards Healthcare Emancipation“, a fully illustrated do-it-yourself instructional eBook that will help you in implementing all eClinik methods that would negate the use of expensive medicine, avoid radioactive diagnostics and treatments in completely defeating cancer, AIDS and all other parasitic diseases. These methods, when faithfully followed, work 100% all the time. Find out more about this here.

[Sabrina]

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=138779
24 April Bulgaria

Deputy Chair of Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission Resigns

Dimana Rankova, Deputy Chair of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in charge of the Investment Activity Supervision unit, has resigned.

The resignation was submitted Tuesday in Parliament, which is to nominate Rankova's successor.

She was appointed Deputy Chair of the FSC for a five-year term in office on July 15, 2010.

No official motives have been presented for the resignation.

Sources close to the matter have attributed the move to intra-institutional disagreements.

[Sabrina]

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/...ds/?ref=global
23 APril

‘Tainted,’ but Still Serving on Corporate Boards
BY ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg News

When David M. Poppe sat down a little over a week ago to write a letter to his investors, he knew he was taking an unusual step.

Mr. Poppe, who manages money for the Sequoia Fund, one of the most well-respected institutional investment firms in the country, made his letter public last Thursday, setting off a debate within the upper echelons of corporate boardrooms.

His letter, which he wrote with his partner, implored his firm’s investors to vote against the re-election of one of Goldman Sachs’s most prominent board members, James A. Johnson, a former chief executive of Fannie Mae. Mr. Poppe characterized Mr. Johnson’s tenure as being “at the center of several egregious corporate governance debacles.” Mr. Johnson also is a board member of Target, and Mr. Poppe also advises his investors to vote against his re-election if he is nominated again.

It may be surprising that the former chief of Fannie Mae still remains the director of a public company as prominent as Goldman Sachs and Target. But perhaps more surprising, many other executives who had tumultuous reigns are also board members of major public companies: Charles O. Prince III, the former chief executive of Citigroup, who resigned under pressure in 2007 amid huge write-downs at the bank, is a director of Xerox and Johnson & Johnson. E. Stanley O’Neal, the former chief executive of Merrill Lynch on whose watch the firm loaded up on subprime debt that almost bankrupted the company, is a director of the aluminum giant Alcoa.

And a number of other prominent executives could soon be added to that head-scratching list. Eduardo Castro-Wright, a vice chairman at Wal-Mart Stores who oversaw the company’s Mexico unit and was identified by a former executive there as being part of a bribery scandal that was recently uncovered by The New York Times, is a director at MetLife.

While we’re on the topic of bribery scandals, it’s worth pointing out that Andrea Jung, who recently stepped down as the chief executive of Avon amid a bribery investigation and financial struggles like declining sales, is a director of Apple. (She remains chairwoman of Avon, though it’s unclear how long she will stay.)

“It always surprises us when we see these directors without any questions being asked,” Paul Hodgson, senior research associate at GMI, a governance ratings firm, said generally of executives who oversaw failed companies or companies that were involved with scandals. “Shareholders are starting to wake up to this.”

Mr. Poppe said he and his partner, Robert D. Goldfarb, had been considering these issues for some time, but had rarely spoken out publicly. In the case of Mr. Johnson, they said that they had voted against him when he was up for re-election last year at the boards of Goldman and Target.

This year, Mr. Poppe said they decided to be more public, in part, because they were surprised that Goldman had nominated Mr. Johnson for re-election and felt he had “a longtime record of failure at public companies.” He cited Mr. Johnson’s role at Fannie Mae in the 1990s as helping to establish the problems that unfolded after he departed.

Mr. Johnson stepped down in 1999, but there has long been a debate about whether he was responsible for creating the culture that led to Fannie Mae’s failure. In fairness to Mr. Johnson, the vast majority of losses racked up by Fannie were the results of loans bought after he departed.

Mr. Poppe also cited Mr. Johnson’s board memberships at the UnitedHealth Group, in which the company’s chief settled claims of backdating stock options, and KB Home, in which its chief was convicted of felony charges for backdating.

Mr. Poppe noted that in both cases, Mr. Johnson was on the compensation committee. “What does that say?” he asked.

He then recounted a famous line from Warren E. Buffett: “I’ve been on 19 boards and they put me on one comp committee — and they regretted it. They’re looking for cocker spaniels, not Dobermans.”

Mr. Poppe added that he felt that when Mr. Johnson was on a board’s compensation committee, the executive pay had “been excessive.”

Mr. Johnson declined to comment.

Goldman Sachs, in a statement, said: “The board has recommended shareholders re-elect Mr. Johnson. He has served them well since 1999 and will continue to do so.” In the firm’s proxy, the company said, “Mr. Johnson offers deep insight into governmental affairs and the regulatory process, gained from, among other things, his tenure at Fannie Mae and his work with Vice President Walter F. Mondale, including as the vice president’s executive assistant.”

Mr. Poppe did concede, “I imagine he’s got a good Rolodex.”

But his letter raises an important question: Does an executive’s failed history at one company automatically disqualify him from serving on the boards of others?

Mr. Hodgson says directors who have been at companies with problems often argue to him “that going through an experience like that makes them a better board member.” He adds, “That’s the excuse we get.” He said that while there might be some merit to that argument for certain directors, most are “tainted” by the experience.

Surprisingly, at least to me, one person close to the Alcoa board praised the work of Mr. O’Neal, formerly of Merrill Lynch, during the summer and fall of 2008 during the peak of the financial crisis. This person, who was not authorized to speak publicly because board conversations are confidential, said that Mr. O’Neal’s intimate knowledge of the financial markets and the impending problems that financial firms were having allowed the company to make smarter decision about lines of credit. Mr. O’Neal, who saw that credit was drying up, urged Alcoa to take out longer-term loans that were more expensive, rather than shorter-term loans that some members of management were supporting.

As for Mr. Poppe, he said he did not buy that previous experience at a failed company should be considered a qualification for board membership.

In the end, he is not hopeful that he will win the vote to oust Mr. Johnson. After all, he said, most investors follow the recommendation of management.

“In terms of winning the vote, it’s tough,” he said. “We’ve gotten good feedback. But the phone isn’t ringing off the hook.”

[Sabrina]

http://professionalmanager.co.uk/deb...eson-testimony



James Murdoch hurls buck at employees in Leveson testimony
Web Exclusive
Tuesday, 24 April 2012 UK

Murdoch Jr’s appearance at the Leveson Inquiry has featured an implausible mixture of reflected blame and double standards, writes Matt Packer

A lengthy drum roll elapsed this morning as 2012’s four-time board and leadership resignee James Murdoch appeared at the Leveson Inquiry.

Looking somewhat dishevelled compared to the razor-sharp, grade-one cut he sported at last summer’s father-and-son grilling before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (you remember: back in the days when he still had some semblance of managerial control?), the News Corporation’s equivalent of a minister without portfolio held out against inquisitor Robert Jay’s suggestions that his meagre brand of governance had effectively rubber-stamped illegal phone hacking at the News of the World.

Instead of simply confirming what the management community already knows – that his coverage on News International’s legal affairs was, at best, threadbare – he chose to dump the blame for much of the fallout at the feet of former NI counsel Tom Crone and former NOTW editor Colin Myler for not keeping him up to speed on the level of exposure the paper was facing. This was an odd manoeuvre, to say the least – especially considering that Murdoch had already publicly admitted to ignoring a 2008 email that had warned him of that very risk.

So, with the “what you know” area of his skill set left every bit as tarnished as popular perception would suggest, Jay turned to the “who you know” part. In that section, Murdoch was every bit as frustrating – his circuits set to full-on Double Standard mode.

Pressing him on the build-up to News International’s abortive attempt to gain a controlling interest in BSkyB, Jay proposed that controversy over the bid had heightened once it became clear that Vince Cable – who would have decided the matter, were it not for a sting operation by the Telegraph – “had not approached the decision with an entirely open mind.”

Bristling at Jay’s tame characterisation, Murdoch pounced in to clarify that Cable “was removed from his position of responsibility for acute bias”. But when Jay later sought to engage with the thought that Cable’s replacement on the judicial decision – Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt – was, to all intents and purposes, a News International “cheerleader”, Murdoch was having none of it. He could not accept that the bias revealed in the Telegraph’s sting on Cable had its direct opposite in Hunt, who would almost certainly have approved the bid had it not been for the dramatic escalation of the phone hacking saga, following revelations that the News of the World had accessed the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

In the same part of the morning’s session, it became clear that Murdoch had enjoyed a “tiny conversation” over the bid with Prime Minister David Cameron at a dinner organised by former NI chief executive Rebekah Brooks.

Well, that clears up the bias issue, then, doesn’t it?


Jay has spent the opening of the afternoon session mining the huge conflict-of-interest issue of how Jeremy Hunt could have been functioning as a de facto NI consultant on the BSkyB bid. Curiouser and curiouser…