disclosure

EU fines banks over rate-rigging

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BBC - 12/04/13

European Commission vice-president Joaquin Almunia describes the rate-rigging as "appalling examples of misconduct"
 

The European Commission has fined eight banks - including RBS - a total of 1.7bn euros (£1.4bn) for forming illegal cartels to rig interest rates.

The cartels operated in markets for financial derivatives, which are products used to manage the risk of interest rate movements.

Video and more: BBC.co.uk

 

Spy vs. Spy: Walmart's Corporate Surveillance on Black Friday

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Source: Common Dreams - 12/02/13, Barbara Garson

I took part in one of the 1500 Walmart protests this past Black Friday. It gave me a new perspective on NSA Surveillance.

Walmart "associates" photographed by the author's husband who were busy photographing the gathering protesters, some of them employees themselves, outside a Walmart on Black Friday in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Credit: Frank Leonardo)

Well before noon my husband and I were sitting on a sunny bench in front of theWalmart in Secaucus, New Jersey. To the Walmart security agents, conferring with groups of Hudson County Sheriff's officers, we must have looked like the silver haired elderly couple that we are. They didn't seem to realize that we, like they, were waiting for the demonstrators to arrive.

NSA Sent Home Talking Points for Employees to Use in Conversations with Family & Friends During Holidays

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The Dissenter - 12/02/13, Kevin Gosztola

 

NSA chief Gen. Keith Alexander

 

Firedoglake obtained a copy of a two-page document that was sent out on November 22. It was clearly put together for rebutting statements about the NSA from news stories on documents disclosed by former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden, and it encouraged employees to “share the following points with family members and close friends.”

Why Are So Many Wealthy People Building Futuristic High Tech Security Bunkers?

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RINF - 12/03/13, Michael Snyder

Home Security - Photo by Intel Free Press

The wealthy are spending more to protect themselves from all the rest of us than ever before.  So why are they so concerned about the future?  Do they know something that the rest of us don’t?  Or do they just have the money to buy the type of security that the rest of us would if we could?  Over the past few years, wealthy people all over America have been equipping their homes with futuristic high tech security systems that go far beyond the kinds of things portrayed in recent Hollywood films such as “The Purge“.  We are talking about security bunkers with their own sustainable sources of food and water, hidden passageways that lead to ballistics-proof panic suites, and thermal heat detectors that can detect someone hiding up to 15 kilometers away.  Most of these security measures will probably never even be needed if things stay pretty much as they are today.  But if the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted on a daily basis continues to disintegrate and we see massive civil unrest in the years ahead, then those security measures are going to come in very handy indeed.

TPP: Hollywood, Big Pharma and Global Think-Tanks ‘Merge’ in Trade Takeover

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21st Century Wire - Shawn Helton, 12/03/13
 

USTR plays an important role in the TPP and throughout USTR’S history, many of their officials have taken high-profile positions in favor of Hollywood, the pharmaceutical industry, record companies and technology based firms, all of which, have advocated for stronger property rights. 

Here’s something important many critics of TPP have missed: In addition to USTR’s ties to industry giants, they’ve also been directly linked to the secretive think-tank known as The Trilateral Commission, having had 9 members appointed as head of USTR since 1977. This is of great significance in understanding who’s really been behind the scenes in the implementation of international trade treaties.

More: 21stcenturywire.com

 

Pope: I was once a bar bouncer

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CNN - 12/03/13, Daniel Burke
 

http://www.11alive.com/images/640/360/2/assetpool/images/131203051412_pope1203.jpg

In "Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of the Gospel), officially known as an "apostolic exhortation," Francis calls for church reforms, urges Catholics to be more bold and joyful, and castigates elements of modern capitalism.

"I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets," the Pope said, "rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security."

Video and more: CNN.com

 

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