XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Friday, 12 November 2010

Gary Dell'Abate went on "Kimmel" last night -- and he beaned an audience member in the head with a baseball -

Gary Dell'Abate went on "Kimmel" last night -- and he beaned an audience member in the head with a baseball -

Gary Dell'Abate went on "Kimmel" last night -- and finally got a chance to try to make up for that famously terrible first pitch he threw at a Mets game last year ... instead, he beaned an audience member in the head.


Why Is Russia Building 5000 More Nuclear Bomb Shelters In Moscow By The End Of 2012? -

Why Is Russia Building 5000 More Nuclear Bomb Shelters In Moscow By The End Of 2012? -

41 Facts About The History Of Central Banks In The United States That Our Children Are No Longer Taught In School -

41 Facts About The History Of Central Banks In The United States That Our Children Are No Longer Taught In School - 


Today, most American students don’t even understand what a central bank is, much less that the battle over central banks is one of the most important themes in U.S. history.  The truth is that our nation was birthed in the midst of a conflict over taxation and the control of our money.  Central banking has played a key role in nearly all of the wars that America has fought.  Presidents that resisted the central bankers were shot, while others shamefully caved in to their demands.  Our current central bank is called the Federal Reserve and it is about as “federal” as Federal Express is.  The truth is that it is a privately-owned financial institution that is designed to ensnare the U.S. government in an endlessly expanding spiral of debt from which there is no escape.  The Federal Reserve caused the Great Depression and the Federal Reserve is at the core of our current economic crisis.  None of these things is taught to students in America’s schools today.
In 2010, young Americans are taught a sanitized version of American history that doesn’t even make any sense.  As with so many things, if you want to know what really happened just follow the money.
The following are 41 facts about the history of central banks in the United States that every American should know….
#1 As a result of the Seven Years War with France, King George III of England was deeply in debt to the central bankers of England.
#2 In an attempt to raise revenue, King George tried to heavily tax the colonies in America.
#3 In 1763, Benjamin Franklin was asked by the Bank of England why the colonies were so prosperous, and this was his response….
“That is simple. In the colonies we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Script. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers.
In this manner, creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay to no one.”
#4 The Currency Act of 1764 ordered the American Colonists to stop printing their own money.  Colonial script (the money the colonists were using at the time) was to be exchanged at a two-to-one ratio for “notes” from the Bank of England.
#5 Later, in his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin explained the impact that this currency change had on the colonies….
“In one year, the conditions were so reversed that the era of prosperity ended, and a depression set in, to such an extent that the streets of the Colonies were filled with unemployed.”
#6 In fact, Benjamin Franklin stated unequivocally in his autobiography that the power to issue currency was the primary reason for the Revolutionary War….
“The colonies would gladly have borne the little tax on tea and other matters had it not been that England took away from the colonies their money, which created unemployment and dissatisfaction. The inability of the colonists to get power to issue their own money permanently out of the hands of George III and the international bankers was the prime reason for the Revolutionary War.”
#7 Gouverneur Morris, one of the authors of the U.S. Constitution, solemnly warned us in 1787 that we must not allow the bankers to enslave us….
“The rich will strive to establish their dominion and enslave the rest. They always did. They always will… They will have the same effect here as elsewhere, if we do not, by (the power of) government, keep them in their proper spheres.”
#8 Unfortunately, those warning us about the dangers of a central bank did not prevail.  After an aborted attempt to establish a central bank in the 1780s, the First Bank of the United States was established in 1791.  Alexander Hamilton (who had close ties to the Rothschild banking family) cut a deal under which he would support the move of the nation’s capital to Washington D.C. in exchange for southern support for the establishment of a central bank.
#9 George Washington signed the bill creating the First Bank of the United States on April 25, 1791.  It was given a 20 year charter.
#10 In the first five years of the First Bank of the United States, the U.S. government borrowed 8.2 million dollars and prices rose by 72 percent.


#11 The opponents of central banking were not pleased.  In 1798, Thomas Jefferson said the following….
“I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution – taking from the federal government their power of borrowing.”
#12 In 1811, the charter of the First Bank of the United States was not renewed.
#13 One year later, the War of 1812 erupted.  The British and the Americans were at war once again.
#14 In 1814, the British captured and burned Washington D.C., but the Americans subsequently experienced key victories at New York and at New Orleans.
#15 The Treaty of Ghent, officially ending the war, was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 16th, 1815 and was ratified by the British on February 18th, 1815.
#16 In 1816, another central bank was created.  The Second Bank of the United States was established and was given a 20 year charter.
#17 Andrew Jackson, who became president in 1828, was determined to end the power of the central bankers over the United States.
#18 In fact, in 1832, Andrew Jackson’s re-election slogan was “JACKSON and NO BANK!”
#19 On July 10th, 1832 President Jackson said the following about the danger of a central bank….
“It is not our own citizens only who are to receive the bounty of our government. More than eight millions of the stock of this bank are held by foreigners… is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a bank that in its nature has so little to bind it to our country? … Controlling our currency, receiving our public moneys, and holding thousands of our citizens in dependence… would be more formidable and dangerous than a military power of the enemy.”
#20 In 1835, President Jackson completely paid off the U.S. national debt.  He is the only U.S. president that has ever been able to accomplish this.
#21 President Jackson vetoed the attempt to renew the charter of the Second Bank of the United States in 1836.
#22 Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot Andrew Jackson, but he survived.  It is alleged that Lawrence said that “wealthy people in Europe” had put him up to it.
#23 The Civil War was another opportunity for the central bankers of Europe to get their hooks into America.  In fact, it is claimed that Abraham Lincoln actually contacted Rothschild banking interests in Europe in an attempt to finance the war effort.  Reportedly, the Rothschilds were demanding very high interest rates and Lincoln balked at paying them.
#24 Instead, Lincoln pushed through the Legal Tender Act of 1862. Under that act, the U.S. government issued $449,338,902 of debt-free money.
#25 This debt-free money was known as “Greenbacks” because of the green ink that was used.
#26 The central bankers of Europe were not pleased.  The following quote appeared in the London Times in 1865….
“If this mischievous financial policy, which has its origin in North America, shall become endurated down to a fixture, then that Government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off debts and be without debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous without precedent in the history of the world. The brains, and wealth of all countries will go to North America. That country must be destroyed or it will destroy every monarchy on the globe.”
#27 Abraham Lincoln was shot dead by John Wilkes Booth on April 14th, 1865.
#28 After the Civil War, all money in the United States was created by bankers buying U.S. government bonds in exchange for bank notes.
#29 James A. Garfield became president in 1881, and he was a staunch opponent of the banking powers.  In 1881 he said the following….
“Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce…and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.”
#30 President Garfield was shot about two weeks later by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2nd, 1881.  He died from medical complications on September 19th, 1881.
#31 In 1906, the U.S. stock market was setting all kinds of records.  However, in March 1907 the U.S. stock market absolutely crashed.  It is alleged that elite New York bankers were responsible.
#32 In addition, in 1907 J.P. Morgan circulated rumors that a major New York bank had gone bankrupt.  This caused a massive run on the banks.  In turn, the banks started recalling all of their loans.  The panic of 1907 resulted in a congressional investigation that ended up concluding that a central bank was “necessary” so that these kinds of panics would never happen again.
#33 It took a few years, but the international bankers finally got their central bank in 1913.
#34 Congress voted on the Federal Reserve Act on December 22nd, 1913 between the hours of 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM.
#35 A significant portion of Congress was either sleeping at the time or was already at home with their families celebrating the holidays.
#36 The president that signed the law that created the Federal Reserve, Woodrow Wilson, later sounded like he very much regretted the decision when he wrote the following….
“A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men … [W]e have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated, governments in the civilized world–no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.”
#37 Between 1921 and 1929 the Federal Reserve increased the U.S. money supply by 62 percent.  This was the time known as “The Roaring 20s”.
#38 In addition, highly leveraged “margin loans” became very common during this time period.
#39 In October 1929, the New York bankers started calling in these margin loans on a massive scale.  This created the initial crash that launched the Great Depression.
#40 Rather than expand the money supply in response to this crisis, the Federal Reserve really tightened it up.
#41 In fact, it was reported the the U.S. money supply contracted by eight billion dollars between 1929 and 1933.  That was an extraordinary amount of money in those days.  Over one-third of all U.S. banks went bankrupt.  The New York bankers were able to buy up other banks and all kinds of other assets for pennies on the dollar.
But are American students being taught any of this today?
Of course not.
In fact, it is a rare student that can even adequately explain what a central bank is.
We have lost so much of what is important about our history.
And you know what they say – those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
It is absolutely critical that we educate as many Americans as possible about what is really going on in our financial system and about why we need to make some truly fundamental changes.
So what is your opinion about central banks?  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below….

Seven of the nation's 10 richest counties are in the Washington D.C. area -

Seven of the nation's 10 richest counties are in the Washington D.C. area - 



The D.C. area makes plenty of Top 10 lists, and this one shows its residents make the big bucks.
According to a new report from Newsweek, seven of the nation's 10 richest counties are in this region.
Virginia's Loudoun County takes home the top spot, with its median household income exceeding $114,000 per year. Seventeen percent of Loudoun households make more than $200,000, while only 16 percent earn less than the national average household income of $50,000.
The survey, based on 2009 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, names Loudoun neighbor Fairfax County the No. 2 breadwinner in the country. The county was the first in America to hit six figures with its median household income, and more than half its homes make more than that number now.
"Fairfax County has traditionally been home away from home for many diplomats and officials who want to live in a rural community close to Washington, D.C.," Newsweek explains.
Maryland makes its entry onto the list with Howard County at No. 3. Thirty percent of its employed population earns six figures.
The rundown on the rest of this area's well-to-do counties goes like this: Arlington County at No. 5, Montgomery County and its median household income of $94,420 at No. 6 and Maryland's Calvert and Charles counties at Nos. 9 and 10.
The other counties on the list sit close to New York City in either New Jersey or New York state.
Speaking of states, this area takes home the "richest" title in that category, too: Maryland's median household income of $69,272 just edges out second-place state New Jersey.
The full list is below:

    1. Loudoun County, Va.

    2. Fairfax County, Va.

    3. Howard County, Md.

    4. Morris County, N.J.

    5. Arlington County, Va.

    6. Montgomery County, Md.

    7. Nassau County, N.Y.

    8. Somerset County, N.J.

    9. Calvert County, Md.

    10. Charles County, Md.
For the full survey and information from Newsweek, click here.

Locally acquired case of Dengue Fever turns up in Miami - is the first in more than 50 years -

Locally acquired case of Dengue Fever turns up in Miami - is the first in more than 50 years - 


The first locally acquired case of dengue fever in Miami-Dade County in more than 50 years was confirmed Thursday by health officials. They warned people to take precautions against the mosquitoes that carry it.
``This is a big deal,'' said Lillian Rivera, administrator of the Miami-Dade Health Department.
``We have not had a locally acquired case of dengue fever since the 1950s,'' said Dr. Fermin Leguen, the department's chief epidemiologist.
The victim, described only as a man who had not traveled outside Miami-Dade County for more than two weeks, was briefly hospitalized but has fully recovered, Rivera said. His case was confirmed by laboratory tests.
Health officials said they don't know where the man acquired the disease. It was a different strain from the one that has caused 57 locally acquired cases in Key West and one in Broward County.
In an unusual Veterans Day press conference, Miami-Dade health officials also reminded the public that the Florida-wide alert issued in July about Eastern Equine Encephalitis has not been lifted, with four non-fatal human cases reported then in Hillsborough, Wakulla and Leon counties.
Leguen also repeated the warning to local doctors and hospitals to be on the lookout for cholera cases that might be spread by people returning from Haiti, where a cholera epidemic has killed more than 600 people.
And Rivera said efforts by Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach are increasing to handle an outbreak of hookworm spreading on the Atlantic Ocean beach between 40th and 60th streets. Six human cases have been reported. The disease is spread primarily by the feces of dogs and cats.
Asked if her department feels it's under siege, Rivera said, ``It's just part of living. We're ready 24/7 to deal with all that Mother Nature has thrown at us.''

G-20 Refuses to Back U.S. push to get China to let its currency rise, keeping alive the specter of a global trade war -

G-20 Refuses to Back U.S. push to get China to let its currency rise, keeping alive the specter of a global trade war - 


Leaders of 20 majoreconomies on Friday refused to endorse a U.S. push to get China to let its currency rise, keeping alive a dispute that has raised the specter of a global trade war.
At the end of their two-day summit, the leaders of the Group of 20 rich and developing economies -- including President Barack Obama and China's Hu Jintao -- issued a watered-down statement that only said they agreed to refrain from "competitive devaluation" of currencies.
Such a statement is of little consequence since countries usually only devalue their currenciesin extreme situations like a severe financial crisis.
The real dispute is over Washington's allegations that Beijing resorts to "competitive undervaluation" -- artificially keeping its currency, the yuan, weak to gain a trade advantage. But the U.S. position itself has been undermined by its own recent policy of printing money to boost a sluggish economy, which is weakening the dollar.
The joint statement avoided the words "competitive undervaluation," which was a reference to China's currency policy that had been inserted into a draft of the statement by officials during pre-summit negotiations.
The dispute over whether China and the United States are manipulating their currencies is threatening to resurrect destructive protectionist policies like those that worsened the Great Depression in the 1930s.
The biggest fear is that trade barriers will send the global economy back into recession. A law the United States passed in 1930 that raised tariffs on imports is widely thought to have deepened the Great Depression by stifling trade.
The G-20 leaders pledged to move toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and enhance exchange rate flexibility. Although directed against China, the statement leaves significant room for interpretation since the language is vague and does not impose any timeframe for enforcing a market-determined exchange rate.
The U.S. says a higher-valued yuan would make Chinese exports costlier abroad and make U.S. imports cheaper for the Chinese to buy. It would shrink the U.S. trade deficit with China, which is on track this year to match its 2008 record of $268 billion, and encourage Chinese companies to sell more to their own consumers rather than rely so much on the U.S. and others to buy low-priced Chinese goods.
Other countries are irate over the Federal Reserve's plans to pump $600 billion into the sluggish American economy. They see that move as a reckless and selfish scheme to flood markets with dollars, driving down the value of the U.S. currency and giving American exporters an advantage.
Some critics warn that U.S. interest rates kept too low for too long could inflate new bubbles in the prices of commodities, stocks and other assets. Developing countries like Thailand and Indonesia fear that falling yields on U.S. government bonds will send money flooding their way in search of higher returns. Such emerging markets could be left vulnerable to a crash if investorslater decide to pull out and move their money elsewhere.
Friday's statement is unlikely to immediately resolve the most vexing problem facing the G-20 members: how to fix a global economy that's long been nourished by huge U.S. trade deficits with China, Germany and Japan.
Exports to the United States powered those countries' economies for years. But they've also produced enormous trade gaps for the U.S. because Americans consume far more in foreign goods and services than they sell abroad.

Golf Fan KO'd at Australian Masters - That is gonna leave a mark -

Golf Fan KO'd at Australian Masters - That is gonna leave a mark -

School Makes Boy Take American Flag Off Bike -

School Makes Boy Take American Flag Off Bike - 


Cody Alicea, 13, rides his bicycle with his American Flag attached.



13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was told to take it down. 
A school official at Denair Middle School told Cody some students had been complaining about the flag and it was no longer allowed on school property.

"In this country we're supposed to be free," said Cody. "And I should be able to wave my flag wherever I want to. And they're telling me I can't." Cody had to take the flag off his bike and put it in his backpack, where he kept it all week.

Cody's grandfather says the school was concerned about racial tensions or uprisings because of the flag. He feels if there was really a problem it should have been brought up two months ago, not during Veterans week. And if it was an issue of safety, parents should have been contacted

Get an AK-47 With Your Truck Purchase at One Florida Dealership - truck-and-gun deal thru month in honor of veterans -

Get an AK-47 With Your Truck Purchase at One Florida Dealership - truck-and-gun deal thru month in honor of veterans - 






A truck dealership in Florida has found a new way to drive sales: When you buy a truck, you also get a free AK-47, MyFoxOrlando.com reports.
It’s not a joke.
After purchasing a truck from a Sanford, Fla., dealership, customers get a voucher for a gun shop, which will fill out the required federal and state forms and perform a background check. If you pass, you’ll be entitled to a gun. And if you’re not in the market for a gun, you get $400 off your truck purchase or vouchers for other stores.
The gimmick appears to be working.
“People are calling us, don’t believe it. They want to come in and see it,” general sales manager Nick Ginetta said.
The Sanford Police Chief said he is not concerned about the deal as long as the rules of gun ownership are followed, according to MyFoxOrlando.com.
Ginetta said he’s offering the truck-and-gun deal, which runs through the end of the month, in honor of veterans.