[IH8Rice]

Fortunately, in the mean time, there is always the facepalm meme.

i agree. a facepalm meme about the US turning into Nazi Germany. very fitting.

 

[Knuckleslammer]

wow, if there was ever a need for a tin foil meme, this would be the time.....jon?

It's just conspiracy nonsense right?

"As many as 100 US cities face default on their municipal bonds.
Cities and states issue bonds to pay for public services. The trouble is that municipalities are no longer collecting enough in taxes to meet their budgetary needs. According to a 60 Minutes report Sunday -- which received almost no attention by the popular press -- US cities have spent nearly half a trillion more than they've collected in taxes, and face pension shortfalls of $1 trillion"

"The endgame in the long-running battle over who is to control the internet may be upon us, with the appointment of a little-reported but highly significant new UN committee to look into initiatives for policing the internet.

This follows the decision at the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) 2010-2011 Inter-sessional Panel, reported in RawStory last week for a recently-formed United Nations task force to look at the possibility of creating a new inter-governmental working group to help further international cooperation on policies to police the internet."

"There over 800 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and
ready to receive prisoners. They are all staffed and even surrounded by
full-time guards, but they are all empty. These camps are to be operated by
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be
implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential
signature on a proclamation and the attorney general's signature on a
warrant to which a list of names is attached."

I could go on and on, but it's all conspiracy tinfoil hat rubbish right? I'll let you go back to sleep now.

 

[dante]

^^^^Only you could possibly connect state and municipal budget deficits, FEMA "prisons", Wikileaks and a UN takeover of the internet.

I'm in awe of your Kevin-Bacon-game-style-political-thought-process...

 

[Pesqueeb]

as crazy as it sounds, i kinda agree with reynolds wrap over there, in principle at least.

fear is pretty much the most powerful weapon on earth.

"money and greed fvcks everything up"

~jay adams

Well sure, I think all of us here recognize the whole greed/fear paradigm and the way it can be/is used to try and control things. Think TSA, Iraq war, patriot act, etc. But at some point you cross the line into Alex Jones territory when you start thinking its all orchestrated by the all seeing eye world government black helicopter people.

It's just conspiracy nonsense right?

"As many as 100 US cities face default on their municipal bonds.
Cities and states issue bonds to pay for public services. The trouble is that municipalities are no longer collecting enough in taxes to meet their budgetary needs. According to a 60 Minutes report Sunday -- which received almost no attention by the popular press -- US cities have spent nearly half a trillion more than they've collected in taxes, and face pension shortfalls of $1 trillion"

"The endgame in the long-running battle over who is to control the internet may be upon us, with the appointment of a little-reported but highly significant new UN committee to look into initiatives for policing the internet.

This follows the decision at the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) 2010-2011 Inter-sessional Panel, reported in RawStory last week for a recently-formed United Nations task force to look at the possibility of creating a new inter-governmental working group to help further international cooperation on policies to police the internet."

"There over 800 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and
ready to receive prisoners. They are all staffed and even surrounded by
full-time guards, but they are all empty. These camps are to be operated by
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be
implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential
signature on a proclamation and the attorney general's signature on a
warrant to which a list of names is attached."

I could go on and on, but it's all conspiracy tinfoil hat rubbish right? I'll let you go back to sleep now.

The defense rests.

^^^^Only you could possibly connect state and municipal budget deficits, FEMA "prisons", Wikileaks and a UN takeover of the internet.

I'm in awe of your Kevin-Bacon-game-style-political-thought-process...

Wait, I thought all of this was supposed to be proof about how were turning into Nazi Germany?

 

[jonKranked]

Well sure, I think all of us here recognize the whole greed/fear paradigm and the way it can be/is used to try and control things. Think TSA, Iraq war, patriot act, etc. But at some point you cross the line into Alex Jones territory when you start thinking its all orchestrated by the all seeing eye world government black helicopter people.

Nobody is that smart. Or organized.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Nobody is that smart. Or organized.

I agree, but this place is full of people who seem to think so. Remember the days when Renegade Rick was a quaint distraction? Now we have Knuckleslammer, 3D, and Desmondo all fully invested in this talk because of an unwillingness or inability to deal with the fact that they aren't in control. The world is not fluffy bunnies, cotton candy and ponies for all, therefore it must be a "conspiracy".

 

[X3pilot]

^^^^Only you could possibly connect state and municipal budget deficits, FEMA "prisons", Wikileaks and a UN takeover of the internet.

I'm in awe of your Kevin-Bacon-game-style-political-thought-process...

Orrrrr, he's just watched a lot of Jesse Ventura's TV show..

 

[Demomonkey]

I haven't hooked up on this thread until now and to be honest, I read the first couple of pages then skipped to a quick reply. I have however been devouring wikileaks through other avenues.

Honestlly, I think that transparancy is good and that is all that has happened here.

Has the USA been 'harmed' by the wikileaks? GTFOH. Embaressed yes and deservedly so but harmed about as much as a skeeter bite.

America needs to rethink its place in the world. It has gone from being a shining example of what is right in terms of foreign and domestic policy to one of an octopus trying to control everything that cant sort it own sh*t out at home.

Dont get me wrong, I love America and what she stands for on paper. I just wish its politicians would back that up instead of fronting BS.

Assange is not terrorist, a spy or anti American. He is a truth seeker - and that is something we should all applaud, without worrying about what its going to do to the balance of payments or ability of the USGov to manipulate nation states on behalf of its corporate controllers.

Someone mentioned a parallel to Nazi Germany.............National Socialism is a means to a self-sufficient corporatist economy and a single-party state - do you really think the Dems and GOP are actually any different to one another or in fact seperate entities?

The best bit folks, is that we are less than 10% of the way through the leaks and you know they'll save the best for last.

Democracy is dead. Long live democracy.

 

[IH8Rice]

"There over 800 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and
ready to receive prisoners. They are all staffed and even surrounded by
full-time guards, but they are all empty. These camps are to be operated by
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be
implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential
signature on a proclamation and the attorney general's signature on a
warrant to which a list of names is attached."

lol, link?

 

[moff_quigley]

lol, link?

www.prisonplanet.com Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

 

[Demomonkey]

www.prisonplanet.com Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

That shiz has been going on for over ten years. Just waiting for marshal law to be declared. Then you going to have local militia capping national guard and a whole lotta get outta here. Fun.

 

[IH8Rice]

www.prisonplanet.com Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

haha
i found death camp video!
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/September2006/170906Camp.htm

 

[IH8Rice]

apparently WikiLeaks can still keep a dead B-list celeb in the news

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Anna Nicole Smith may have been just a "B-list celebrity," but she hit the Bahamas like a hurricane, spreading scandals that toppled a string of officials and endangered the whole government, according to newly leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.
The government fell two months after the last cable was written.
"Not since Category 4 Hurricane Betsy made landfall in 1965 has one woman done as much damage in Nassau," reads a colorful November 2006 document, apparently written by Deputy Chief of Mission D. Brent Hardt. It was released by WikiLeaks and published by the British newspaper The Guardian late Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cb_wikileaks_bahamas_anna_nicole_smith

 

[dante]

Did we say death camps? We meant happy camps!!

(best pic I could find... )

 

[Pesqueeb]

The whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks has not been convicted of a crime. The Justice Department has not even pressed charges over its disclosure of confidential State Department communications. Nonetheless, the financial industry is trying to shut it down.

Visa, MasterCard and PayPal announced in the past few weeks that they would not process any transaction intended for WikiLeaks. Earlier this month, Bank of America decided to join the group, arguing that WikiLeaks may be doing things that are “inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments.”

The Federal Reserve, the banking regulator, allows this. Like other companies, banks can choose whom they do business with. Refusing to open an account for some undesirable entity is seen as reasonable risk management. The government even requires banks to keep an eye out for some shady businesses — like drug dealing and money laundering — and refuse to do business with those who engage in them.

But a bank’s ability to block payments to a legal entity raises a troubling prospect. A handful of big banks could potentially bar any organization they disliked from the payments system, essentially cutting them off from the world economy.

The fact of the matter is that banks are not like any other business. They run the payments system. That is one of the main reasons that governments protect them from failure with explicit and implicit guarantees. This makes them look not too unlike other public utilities. A telecommunications company, for example, may not refuse phone or broadband service to an organization it dislikes, arguing that it amounts to risky business.

Our concern is not specifically about payments to WikiLeaks. This isn’t the first time a bank shunned a business on similar risk-management grounds. Banks in Colorado, for instance, have refused to open bank accounts for legal dispensaries of medical marijuana.

Still, there are troubling questions. The decisions to bar the organization came after its founder, Julian Assange, said that next year it will release data revealing corruption in the financial industry. In 2009, Mr. Assange said that WikiLeaks had the hard drive of a Bank of America executive.

What would happen if a clutch of big banks decided that a particularly irksome blogger or other organization was “too risky”? What if they decided — one by one — to shut down financial access to a newspaper that was about to reveal irksome truths about their operations? This decision should not be left solely up to business-as-usual among the banks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26sun3.html?_r=2

Can't wait. God I hope its a sh*t storm.

 

[rockofullr]

www.prisonplanet.com Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

ok so I spent a few mins clicking around that abomination of a site and found this gem!

Ever wonder what British Royalty does with their turds? I know I have!

Well wonder no more!

http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-secret-of-queen-elizabeth-exposed.html




PS was anyone else weirded out by the creepy news reel thing playing in the background at the end?

 

[Pesqueeb]

From the Guardian:

The offshore bank account details of 2,000 "high net worth individuals" and corporations – detailing massive potential tax evasion – will be handed over to the WikiLeaks organisation in London tomorrow by the most important and boldest whistleblower in Swiss banking history, Rudolf Elmer, two days before he goes on trial in his native Switzerland.
British and American individuals and companies are among the offshore clients whose details will be contained on CDs presented to WikiLeaks at the Frontline Club in London. Those involved include, Elmer tells the Observer, "approximately 40 politicians".

Elmer, who after his press conference will return to Switzerland from exile in Mauritius to face trial, is a former chief operating officer in the Cayman Islands and employee of the powerful Julius Baer bank, which accuses him of stealing the information.

He is also – at a time when the activities of banks are a matter of public concern – one of a small band of employees and executives seeking to blow the whistle on what they see as unprofessional, immoral and even potentially criminal activity by powerful international financial institutions.

Along with the City of London and Wall Street, Switzerland is a fortress of banking and financial services, but famously secretive and expert in the concealment of wealth from all over the world for tax evasion and other extra-legal purposes.

Elmer says he is releasing the information "in order to educate society". The list includes "high net worth individuals", multinational conglomerates and financial institutions – hedge funds". They are said to be "using secrecy as a screen to hide behind in order to avoid paying tax". They come from the US, Britain, Germany, Austria and Asia – "from all over".

Clients include "business people, politicians, people who have made their living in the arts and multinational conglomerates – from both sides of the Atlantic". Elmer says: "Well-known pillars of society will hold investment portfolios and may include houses, trading companies, artwork, yachts, jewellery, horses, and so on."

"What I am objecting to is not one particular bank, but a system of structures," he told the Observer. "I have worked for major banks other than Julius Baer, and the one thing on which I am absolutely clear is that the banks know, and the big boys know, that money is being secreted away for tax-evasion purposes, and other things such as money-laundering – although these cases involve tax evasion."

Elmer was held in custody for 30 days in 2005, and is charged with breaking Swiss bank secrecy laws, forging documents and sending threatening messages to two officials at Julius Baer.

Elmer says: "I agree with privacy in banking for the person in the street, and legitimate activity, but in these instances privacy is being abused so that big people can get big banking organisations to service them. The normal, hard-working taxpayer is being abused also.

"Once you become part of senior management," he says, "and gain international experience, as I did, then you are part of the inner circle – and things become much clearer. You are part of the plot. You know what the real products and service are, and why they are so expensive. It should be no surprise that the main product is secrecy … Crimes are committed and lies spread in order to protect this secrecy."

The names on the CDs will not be made public, just as a much shorter list of 15 clients that Elmer handed to WikiLeaks in 2008 has remained hitherto undisclosed by the organisation headed by Julian Assange, currently on bail over alleged sex offences in Sweden, and under investigation in the US for the dissemination of thousands of state department documents.

Elmer has been hounded by the Swiss authorities and media since electing to become a whistleblower, and his health and career have suffered.

"My understanding is that my client's attempts to get the banks to act over various complaints he made came to nothing internally," says Elmer's lawyer, Jack Blum, one of America's leading experts in tracking offshore money. "Neither would the Swiss courts act on his complaints. That's why he went to WikiLeaks."

That first crop of documents was scrutinised by the Guardian newspaper in 2009, which found "details of numerous trusts in which wealthy people have placed capital. This allows them lawfully to avoid paying tax on profits, because legally it belongs to the trust … The trust itself pays no tax, as a Cayman resident", although "the trustees can distribute money to the trust's beneficiaries".

Now, Blum says, "Elmer is being tried for violating Swiss banking secrecy law even though the data is from the Cayman Islands. This is bold extraterritorial nonsense. Swiss secrecy law should apply to Swiss banks in Switzerland, not a Swiss subsidiary in the Cayman Islands."

Julius Baer has denied all wrongdoing, and rejects Elmer's allegations. It has said that Elmer "altered" documents in order to "create a distorted fact pattern".

The bank issued a statement on Friday saying: "The aim of [Elmer's] activities was, and is, to discredit Julius Baer as well as clients in the eyes of the public. With this goal in mind, Mr Elmer spread baseless accusations and passed on unlawfully acquired, respectively retained, documents to the media, and later also to WikiLeaks. To back up his campaign, he also used falsified documents."

The bank also accuses Elmer of threatening colleagues.

And since among those exposed will be "approximately 40 politicians" expect all hell to break loose as photos of Assange having a underage orgy with Al Qaeda members are suddenly made public
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/julius-baer-whistleblower-expose-2000-high-net-worth-tax-evaders-world

 

[ohio]

From the Guardian:

This will be so choice. The Swiss govt has an awful conundrum there... if Swiss criminal law applies to Cayman trusts, then it logically follows Swiss tax law applies to them as well. They can't prosecute him without establishing an extra-territorial precedent.

 

[DaveW]

Given the folks he's now going to p*ss off, I think his first move should be to hire a really good security detail!

 

[IH8Rice]

so what are the odds Assange will be extradited to Sweden?

 

[DaveW]

70% I'd say at a minimum.

 

[valve bouncer]

Extradition will be politically difficult for the British government. I'd go 70% the other way.

 

[IH8Rice]

i hope he doesnt get extradited. especially after prosecutors did a piss poor job. i also support WikiLeaks

 

[MikeD]

Assange abused my cat: WikiLeaks insider

BERLIN (AFP) – Daniel Domscheit-Berg accuses WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of many things in his book presented Thursday, but perhaps the oddest allegation is that he abused the former insider's cat.
"Julian was constantly battling for dominance, even with my tomcat Herr Schmitt," Domscheit-Berg says in his book "Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website."
"Ever since Julian lived with me in Wiesbaden he (the cat) has suffered from psychosis. Julian would constantly attack the animal. He would spread out his fingers like a fork and grab the cat's throat."
The "mad Australian" did not always come off best during his stay in 2009, however, with Herr Schmitt sometimes managing to "dispatch Julian with a quick swipe of the paw."
"It must have been a nightmare for the tomcat," he said in the German-language version of the book, due to be published in more than a dozen countries from Friday.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110210/od_afp/wikileaksgermanypeopleanimaloffbeat_20110210155939

 

[IH8Rice]

back stabber cant even think of his own company name so he has to call his OpenLeaks. calls Asange a genius and of course, lambastes him in his book

 

[IH8Rice]

ruh roh

A British judge ruled Thursday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sex-crimes allegations.
Judge Howard Riddle's decision means Assange, who has been free under strict conditions since he was released him on bail in December, must be extradited within 10 days.
However, the 39-year-old Australian has seven days in which to launch an appeal to London's High Court.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41752636/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/

 

[Pesqueeb]

I'm still praying daily to the FSM for this supposed banking revelation. Time to put up or shut up Julian.

 

[IH8Rice]

I'm still praying daily to the FSM for this supposed banking revelation. Time to put up or shut up Julian.

i would guess if his appeal fails, then expect to see something

 

[rockofullr]

^^^^^

Yup, can't show his hand too soon.

 

[Pesqueeb]

Markets tomorrow could be...............interesting.

 

[stoney]

Markets tomorrow could be...............interesting.

I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride... Not like people freaking out over the phone is going to cost me any money. Although, the names I am underwater on might..

 

[dante]

Server's down, but looks like this information is slowly starting to trickle out.

News story on it...

Looks like it's amateur hour compared to Wikileaks. Wikileaks forwarded all of the files to several news outlets with an embargo on when they could release it, so that all of them were able to read through it and post the juicy parts. This time it was posted to a website that promptly crashed...