RUSSIA - One week ago we reported that while Russia was dumping a record amount of Treasurys it was buying gold, or some 900,000 ounces to be precise. Today we learn that as Russia continues to purchase gold, and is likely taking advantage of the recent rout in gold prices, it certainly won't be storing its physical metal with any of the western Central Banks.
USA - Anyone who buys their own groceries (as opposed to having a full-time cook handle such mundane chores) knows that the cost of basic foods keeps rising, despite the official claims that inflation is essentially near-zero. Common-sense causes include severe weather and droughts then reduced crop yields, rising demand from the increasingly wealthy global middle class and money printing, which devalues the purchasing power of income.
USA - The disconnect between what Americans should care about and what Americans actually do care about is really quite frightening. You see, the truth is that far more Americans are drawn to articles with headlines such as the one above than to news stories that actually talk about substantive issues of real importance. But in this article I am also going to discuss some of the hard issues that most of the people in our entertainment-addicted society usually ignore. You see, it is a crying shame that Americans know more about Kim Kardashian than they do about the Federal Reserve. It is a crying shame that a video about a cat playing Jenga can go viral while the systematic destruction of our most basic freedoms and liberties is virtually ignored by a deeply apathetic society. My hope is that we can start to wake up a lot more people, because time is running out.
USA - CNN and Newsweek recently launched dubious tirades against what they called “conspiracy theories.” Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal published ‘UN Considers Reopening Probe into 1961 Crash that Killed Dag Hammarskjöld’, a report that broached the possibility that the United States may have been involved in the death of the secretary-general. As a way to understand such varied messages, I urge readers to evaluate evidence with an open mind — and regard with special suspicion those commentators who slant their coverage with the loaded smear words “conspiracy theory” without citing specific evidence.
GERMANY - The ILA [Internationale Luft und Raumfahrtausstellung] Berlin Air Show which took place from May 20-25 was a grand day out. Children clutching ice creams and airplane enthusiasts munching bratwursts admired the bi-planes as they looped languidly through the blue sky. Or else they wandered around the airstrip behind the German capital's incomplete new airport and admired the Eurofighter Typhoons, the immense US and Russian cargo planes, and the Bundeswehr's drone launchers.
VATICAN - The Pope’s tour of the Holy Land left no doubt that the 266th Pontiff is one of the most politically engaged heads of the Catholic Church in living memory. Rather than follow the cautious and quiescent path of his predecessors when it comes to sensitive issues, Pope Francis has revealed an appetite for engaging them head on. Whether it is to do with social and economic injustice because of government policies across the EU in response to the collapse of neoliberalism, whether it is on the issue of global poverty, or whether war and conflict, this pope has sought to effect positive change.
ISRAEL - IAF fighter jet commanders were informed on Tuesday evening that due to IDF budget cuts it was decided that starting next Sunday, no more training flights will be conducted. According to the decision, flights would only be carried out as part of actual operations, in instances requiring on-call alertness and at flight school. All training would be halted.
GERMANY - Reading the headlines, you might think that the most urgent question about national success in innovation and growth is whether the US or China should get the gold medal. The truth is: Germany wins hands down. Germany does a better job on innovation in areas as diverse as sustainable energy systems, molecular biotech, lasers, and experimental software engineering. Indeed, as part of an effort to learn from Germany about effective innovation, US states have encouraged the Fraunhofer Society, a German applied-science think tank, to set up no fewer than seven institutes in America.
CHINA - A week ago, in retaliation to the inane charges lobbed by the US accusing 5 Chinese army officials of spying on US companies, China announced it would ban the use of Windows 8 on government computers (considering the quality of Windows 8, this is likely a decision government computer experts would have taken on their own regardless). Today, China has expanded its list of sanctioned companies from Microsoft to include IBM as well, following a Bloomberg report that the Chinese government is pushing domestic banks to "remove high-end servers made by International Business Machines Corp and replace them with a local brand."
VIETNAM - As if global investors needed another excuse to buy stocks, China has escalated geopolitical tensions to 11 on the Spinal Tap amplifier of seriousness. With over 70 vessels in and around the Paracel Islands - where China has provocatively placed an oil rig in disputed Vietnamese territorial waters - it was only a matter of time before the blue touch paper was lit. As Yahoo Japan reports, a Vietnamese fishing vessel has sunk after being rammed by a Chinese vessel and the 10 fishermen have been rescued. While Vietnam has not responded yet, the Coast Guard warned "the situation at the site is very tense."
FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN - Experimental approach designed to freeze ground to prevent further groundwater contamination. What engineers will basically do is drive vertical pipes spaced a meter apart between 20 and 40 meters into the ground. A coolant will then be pumped through the pipes which would create a barrier of permafrost, acting as a physical barrier between groundwater and contaminated water. Even though TEPCO has received the go ahead for this project it might be required to review other parts of this project as work goes on. Engineers will have to carefully monitor existing infrastructure such as utilities and drains given that there are concerns about the ice wall affecting them. The project is funded by the government.
UK - Students are completing university degrees without reading a single book because of the availability of information on the internet, a leading academic has warned. Many undergraduates no longer “see the point of wasting time with books” when they can access facts using websites such as Wikipedia and SparkNotes, it was claimed. Orlando Figes, professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, said increased access to computer games and social networking websites had “reduced the attention span” of teenagers. But he said the shift away from books was principally driven by an exams culture in schools, with many pupils being encouraged to scan texts to pass tests rather than “read in ways that advance understanding and knowledge”.
UK - A coroner has expressed “great concern” over the violent video game Call of Duty after four teenagers who regularly played it went on to kill themselves. John Pollard claimed the certificate 18 game, which includes graphic scenes of soldiers killing each other, had featured in several inquests he had presided over. His warning came after a hearing into the death of schoolboy William Menzies, who was “always” playing the game. The 16-year-old, who was studying A-levels in biology, physics, politics and psychology at one of Britain’s top grammar schools, had shown no signs of depression or distress before his sudden death. In March 2012 another teenager Callum Green, hanged himself after playing Call of Duty with his stepfather.
VATICAN - Pope Francis continues to astonish. He dares to go to Israel and pray both at the Wailing Wall, where Jews worship, and at the security wall that symbolises the great divide between Israelis and Palestinians. He then invites both sides to the Vatican, "to pray for peace". Other celebrity do-gooders challenge us to dig in our pockets and give money, or to raise our fists against authoritarian China; the Pope challenges us to change our lives. Not even George Clooney would dream of asking that.
USA - The global derivatives bubble is now 20 percent bigger than it was just before the last great financial crisis struck in 2008. It is a financial bubble far larger than anything the world has ever seen, and when it finally bursts it is going to be a complete and utter nightmare for the financial system of the planet. According to the Bank for International Settlements, the total notional value of derivatives contracts around the world has ballooned to an astounding 710 trillion dollars ($710,000,000,000,000).
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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