10 shocking reasons why Zika virus fear is another fraudulent medical hoax and vaccine industry funding scam

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) Think the Zika virus is responsible for all the cases of microcephaly in South America? Think again: There is no reliable scientific evidence linking the two. The developmental deformities are actually caused by exposure to toxic insecticide and larvicide chemicals, not Zika virus.

But because Zika virus fear fits a convenient funding narrative for chemical giants and vaccine manufacturers, it is being played up by the corrupt, criminally-run CDC and the Obama administration to funnel billions of dollars into the hands of vaccine corporations while ignoring the real causes of microcephaly.

Here are the top 10 reasons why the Zika virus fear mongering is a total scam:

#1) The microcephaly cases (shrunken heads) in Brazil were caused by larvicide chemicals, not by zika

A group of doctors from South America are now saying the brain deformations the world is witnessing are caused by the mass fumigation of low-income Brazilian people with a chemical larvicide, not by mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus.

From the doctors at Red Universitaria de Ambiente y Salud (the Red University of Environment and Health):

A dramatic increase of congenital malformations, especially microcephaly in newborns, was detected and quickly linked to the Zika virus by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. However, they fail to recognise that in the area where most sick persons live, a chemical larvicide producing malformations in mosquitoes has been applied for 18 months, and that this poison (pyroproxyfen) is applied by the State on drinking water used by the affected population.

Read more at this Natural News article.

#2) Even according to the CDC, which is aggressively pushing false Zika fear, nearly all Zika infections are harmless, symptomless and require no hospitalization whatsoever

From the CDC's Zika page:

Most people infected with Zika virus won't even know they have the disease because they won't have symptoms... The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week. People usually don't get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected... Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

In other words, Zika infections are no big deal, and nearly everyone self-immunizes against Zika even after they have been infected. So much for the urgent fear for a new vaccine, eh?

#3) The CDC fabricated the science linking Zika to microcephaly

By the way, the CDC is totally fabricating its claim that all cases of microcephaly are caused by Zika virus. This proclamation by the CDC was based on complete fiction, just like everything else the CDC claims about Bird Flu, Swine Flu and even the number of people who die from influenza each year (the CDC claims 35,000, but it's a completely fabricated number).

Remember, the CDC is a criminal organization tied to the financial interests of Big Pharma. It funds researchers like Poul Thorsen who had to flee the country and is now a fugitive from justice. Like all the other fraudsters at the CDC, he worked on vaccine "research" too. From this Natural News report:

CDC researcher Poul Thorsen, who famously headed up the "Denmark Study" that many claim disproved any link between autism and vaccines, has been indicted in Atlanta by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and defrauding research institutions of grant money.

Poul Thorson is a scientist who formerly worked for the CDC, and over the last several years, he oversaw millions of dollars in grant money that was used to conduct research to "prove" that vaccines have no link to autism. Dr. Thorson's research papers include the famous "Danish Study" entitled Thimerosal and the occurrence of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12949291)

#4) Zika virus fear was just used by Congress to remove bans on other toxic pesticide chemicals that cause cancer and Alzheimer's disease

From this Natural News article:

The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to loosen already weak pesticide regulations in a purported effort to combat the spread of the Zika virus. The latest version of the bill is called the Zika Control Act.

They argue it will remove important protections instated by the Clean Water Act. If the legislation becomes law, pesticide applicators will be allowed to dump pesticides into bodies of water without a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They will not have to report the contamination, either.

Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) said that adding more pesticides to water would threaten pregnant women – the same group the GOP claims to be protecting from Zika.

In other words, the Zika virus hype is a conspiracy to legalize the dumping of more toxic chemicals into the environment by powerful chemical companies.

#5) Zika virus hype was also invoked by Obama to funnel another $1.8 billion to the vaccine industry, claiming anyone who opposed the funding "opposed pregnant women"

It always comes down to money, doesn't it? All the Zika hype and fear is being used to take more money from taxpayers and funnel it into the pockets of vaccine / pharma corporations.

From Natural News:

President Obama proposed to Congress that a total of $1.8 billion be dedicated to fighting Zika. This massive investment may be nothing more than tilting at windmills...

#6) Zika virus fear has been used as a weapon of control to terrorize the people of the Americas by violating their private property

Governments in South America are invoking the Zika virus to nullify private property rights. This is totalitarianism via medical hoax!

From this Natural News article:

The latest act of political terrorism on the illusory world stage is yet another alleged disease epidemic – this time the "Zika Virus," which officials are warning (just like they did with Ebola) might turn into a global pandemic. And the martial law pandemonium has already begun in Brazil, where government officials have now declared that they can "legally" break and enter into people's homes and private property, if it's suspected that Zika-harboring mosquitoes might be living there.

Reuters is reporting that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has given the official green light to "authorized health officials" to violate personal property rights in order to address the alleged threat, which has been dubbed an "imminent danger to public health." As long as a property is either abandoned or the owners are not present, government officials can literally break in and enter people's homes without warrant or just cause.

#7) Zika is just the latest viral hoax floated by governments... remember the great Bird Flu hoax that sold billions in vaccines?

Spreading fear about viruses is so effective that the governments and health "authorities" of the world roll out the same scam every few years... and people fall for it every time!

Remember the great Swine Flu hoax? Also from Natural News in 2010:

The great swine flu hoax of 2009 is now falling apart at the seams as one country after another unloads hundreds of millions of doses of unused swine flu vaccines. No informed person wants the injection anymore, and the entire fear-based campaign to promote the vaccines has now been exposed as outright quackery and propaganda.

Even doctors are now calling the pandemic a complete hoax. As reported on FoxNews, Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, a leading health authority in Europe, says that drug companies "organized a 'campaign of panic' to put pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic. He believes it is 'one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century,' and he has called for an inquiry."

#8) Zika virus fear is being used to justify the release of genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild

Not only does Zika fear allow governments to funnel money to vaccine companies and legalize more chemical insecticides; it also justifies their release of genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild (with unknown future consequences).

It's all part of the total destruction of the ecosystem that has been systematically planned and carried out by the globalists governments of the world.

What you're NOT being told is that the epicenter of the Zika virus spread is precisely where GM mosquitoes were released last year. Via this Natural News article:

Oxitec, a company that calls itself "... a pioneer in controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops," unveiled its GM mosquito farm in Brazil in July 2012. Its goal was to reduce dengue fever, a disease which is spread by the Aedes mosquitoes which also spread the Zika virus. Then, in 2015, these GM mosquitoes were released into the wild in Brazil. In July that same year, the release was declared a success by the company, who noted that they'd been able to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads dengue fever, chikungunya ... and the Zika virus. However, in October, people in the general area where the mosquitoes were released began to experience illnesses related to the Zika virus at alarmingly fast rates.

#9) Zika fear is being used to justify spraying MORE of the very chemicals that are causing the shrunken heads in the first place, putting even more children at risk

Now that Zika fear is being hyped up by the corrupt, scientifically illiterate mainstream media, most people just stand aside as governments throughout the Americas spray all sorts of toxic, deadly chemicals all over the place.

Now the new mantra for chemical pollution is, "It's for Zika!" and then everybody backs off. It's almost like "playing the Zika card" to justify almost anything.

Right now, the Obama administration could unleash a nuclear holocaust across America and claim, "The radiation is to stop Zika!" and everybody would just go along with it (because they're totally obedient to false authority).

#10) It's the PERFECT MEDICAL SCAM: Spraying more chemicals will cause more deformed babies, resulting in an even greater cry for more vaccines and more chemical spraying... and the cycle repeats

The most shocking realization in all this is that the mass spraying of chemicals, the release of GM mosquitoes, and the use of Zika vaccines will all spread Zika even faster.

It's the perfect medical scam! Zika is spread by the very things that we're all told are trying to stop Zika, and as the problem gets worse, all the chemical spraying and vaccines get ramped up to insane levels, causing even more insane levels of Zika virus.

It's just like flu shots: They spread the flu, causing more influenza outbreaks, panicking more people into getting more flu shots. And the cycle repeats. It's the greatest medical scam of all time: Make sure the treatments CAUSE the problem they claim to prevent!

Why do you think chemotherapy causes cancer? Why do you think antidepressant drugs cause depression? Why do you think flu shots spread the flu?

It's all by design, folks. And Zika is just the latest chapter of this massive quack science scam being carried out as global medical theater to control the masses.

You are all being played, Orwellian style, under the guise of "public health."

Obama, Romney Tied Among Likely Voters

By Shane Goldmacher

President Obama and Mitt Romney are deadlocked among likely voters as they prepare to square off in their first presidential debate, according to the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll.

The survey showed that voters remain resistant to either Obama or Romney holding full control of the federal government.

Obama and Romney each pulled in 47 percent support in the poll among likely voters. It is among the narrowest margins of several presidential surveys published ahead of the debate this week. Other polls have shown the president with a slim lead. In this survey, while the race is tied among likely voters, Obama has a 5-point lead, 49 percent to 44 percent, among registered voters.

The survey was conducted Sept. 27-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Romney led in the poll among independents, 49 percent to 41 percent, with both candidates winning more than 90 percent support from their respective parties. The survey had Obama winning 81 percent of the nonwhite vote and Romney carrying 55 percent of white voters.

In estimating the turnout on Nov. 6, the poll projects an electorate that is 74 percent white, 11 percent African-American, and 8 percent Latino. The likely-voter party splits are 36 percent Democratic, 29 percent Republican, and 30 percent independent.

The estimates are similar to the 2008 turnout, when, according to CNN exit polling, 74 percent of voters were white, 13 percent black, and 9 percent Latino, with Democratic turnout at 39 percent, Republicans at 32 percent, and independents at 29 percent.

The poll also asked voters which party they would prefer to control the Congress. Democrats were favored there. A slim plurality of likely voters said they preferred that Democrats win enough seats to control the House and keep hold of the Senate, a positive sign for the party five weeks out from the election.

For the House, 45 percent of likely voters said they hoped the Democrats would win a majority, while 43 percent said they preferred that Republicans stay in charge. The margin grew slightly, 45 percent to 41 percent, among registered voters. The result is nearly unchanged from April 2012 (then 46 percent to 43 percent among registered voters) and October 2011 (then 43 percent to 41 percent among registered voters).

In the Senate, 47 percent of registered voters said they preferred Democrats stay in power, compared with 42 percent who hoped Republicans would win the four net seats needed to take control. That represents a slight dip in Democratic support from April 2012, when 50 percent of voters favored the Democrats compared with 39 percent who preferred the GOP.

Few independent analysts give the Democrats much of a chance to win the House in November, but control of the Senate is very much up for grabs.

The poll offered warning signs for both parties.

Whoever wins the presidency, voters don’t want to give the winner’s party a blank check to run the federal government. A solid majority of likely voters (55 percent) said that if Obama is reelected, they still hope that Republicans keep at least one chamber of Congress. Similarly, more than six in 10 voters said that if Romney wins, they prefer that Democrats keep at least one chamber “so they can act as a check” on his agenda.

The desire to curb whichever party is in power is shared by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Among Romney supporters, 32 percent still hope for Democrats to control at least one chamber. And among Obama backers, 23 percent want Republicans to wield the gavel in the House, the Senate, or both.

Notably, fewer than one in 10 likely voters said they didn’t want a check on either the Romney or Obama agenda.

The poll’s findings represent yet another expression of public uneasiness with both political parties.

Voters don’t trust either alone to govern, and they appear to hope the two sides will be able to bridge their differences.

Not that the public appears bullish on the possibility.

Asked why unemployment remains so high, a 53 percent majority blamed “fighting between Democrats and Republicans [that] has blocked needed government action.” Only 16 percent said it was because politicians in Washington have not “come up with any good ideas;” 19 percent said it was because there simply isn’t much that political leaders could do to reduce unemployment.

The results echoed earlier surveys, in July 2012 and October 2011, in which majorities of 52 percent and 54 percent, respectively, blamed “fighting between Democrats and Republicans” as the main reason for persistent high unemployment.

Much of official Washington has been frozen in conflict since Republicans were swept into the House in 2010, with Democrats controlling the Senate and Obama occupying the White House. The infighting, particularly sharp during the debt-ceiling battle during the summer of 2011 that led to the nation’s credit rating being cut for the first time, has clearly made an impression on voters.

After nearly two years of GOP rule in the House, voters believe that Democratic leaders in Congress are more likely to “genuinely seek compromise with a president from the other party.”

Forty-five percent of voters said Democratic leaders were more likely to compromise, while 31 percent said Republicans were, and 8 percent volunteered that neither party was more likely to do so.

The divide among partisans was telling. Far more Democrats viewed their own leaders as more willing to compromise (81 percent) than Republicans did (66 percent). Among independents, 40 percent saw Democrats as more willing to compromise, compared with only 30 percent for Republicans.

Mitt Romney: Democrats threw Israel under bus

Mitt Romney on Wednesday slammed the Democratic Party’s initial decision to remove from its platform a passage affirming Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling it just “one more example of Israel being thrown under the bus by the president.”
By MACKENZIE WEINGER

Romney — in an interview filmed before the Democrats restored both the word “God” and the passage about Jerusalem to the platform — told Fox News’s Carl Cameron that the omission of Jerusalem was a “very troubling development.”

“The president and his party have now changed their position. They now say that they’re not certain what the capital of Israel might be,” Romney said. “I find that one more example of Israel being thrown under the bus by the president. I think it’s a very sad day.”

The Republican presidential nominee told Fox the removal of the passage “will be recognized for what it is by people across America and across the world.”

“When we have our best friend in the Middle East, a nation which shares our values, a nation now under extraordinary threat and distress when nations around it like Syria and Egypt are going through tumult of their own, for us at a stage like this, to take an action of that nature, to cease calling Jerusalem the capital of Israel — this is a very troubling development and I think one which will be recognized for what it is by people across America and across the world,” Romney added.

Romney also said the removal of any reference to God in the initial 2012 version of the platform “suggests a party which is increasingly out of touch with the mainstream of American people. I think this party is veering further and further away to an extreme wing that Americans don’t recognize it.”

Obama Attacked Over Party Platform on Jerusalem

By Jared A. Favole

CHARLOTTE, N.C.–The Democratic Party platform doesn’t state that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, a change from prior years that could provide fuel to critics who say President Barack Obama’s commitment to Israel is weak.

“President Obama and the Democratic Party maintain an unshakable commitment to Israel’s security,” begins the 70-page platform in a section titled “The Middle East.” The three-paragraph section details the Obama administration’s support for Israel—including boosting security assistance—but says nothing about Jerusalem.

Such an omission provide an opening to Mr. Obama’s rival for the presidency, Mitt Romney, as Jewish voters—particularly in the battleground state of Florida—are key to the election.

“It is unfortunate that the entire Democratic Party has embraced President Obama’s shameful refusal to acknowledge that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Mr. Romney said in a statement. He added, “Four years of President Obama’s repeated attempts to create distance between the United States and our cherished ally have led the Democratic Party to remove from their platform an unequivocal acknowledgment of a simple reality. As president, I will restore our relationship with Israel and stand shoulder to shoulder with our close ally.”

A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, Melanie Roussell, said the Obama administration’s policy toward Jerusalem mirrors that of previous administrations. “As the White House said several months ago, the status of Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in final status negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians – which we also said in the 2008 platform. We will continue to work with the parties to resolve this issue as part of a two state solution that secures the future of Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland of the Jewish people.”

Traditionally both the Republicans and Democrats have called during election-year campaigns for Jerusalem to be the capital of the Jewish state. Mr. Obama stated this in a 2008 campaign speech in front of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington most powerful pro-Israel lobby.

But once in office, presidents from both parties have made little effort to implement such a policy, in part, because such steps would undercut efforts to forge a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

For years, both parties’ official platforms have mentioned that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel as part of an effort to show unflagging support to the country (and to garner support with Jewish voters). In 2008, the Democratic Party’s platform said “Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”

The Republican Party’s platform for 2012 says “We support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with secure, defensible borders; and we envision two democratic states—Israel with Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine—living in peace and security.”

The GOP’s platform also omits details about Israel that it had in its 2008 platform. In 2008, the GOP said “We support Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel and moving the American embassy to that undivided capital of Israel.”

This year’s platform makes no mention of moving the embassy. Mr. Romney in July said the U.S. embassy should be moved to Jerusalem and that he’d consult with the Israel about how to do it. Moving the embassy could inflame tensions in the region because Palestinians believe it should be their capital.

Mr. Obama has had a shaky relationship with Israel and its leaders. In 2011, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a rare public rebuke of Mr. Obama at the White House over the president’s comments that peace negotiations should resume based on Israel’s borders before it gained new territory in the 1967 Six Day War.

Mr. Netanyahu, speaking before reports with the president in the Oval Office, turned to face the president while telling him Israel “cannot go back to the 1967 lines” that are “indefensible.”

Jim Rogers: It's Going To Get Really "Bad After The Next Election"

By Terry Weiss, Money Morning

In a riveting interview on CNBC, legendary investor Jim Rogers warned Americans to prepare for "Financial Armageddon," saying he fully expects the economy to implode after the U.S. election.
 Rogers, who for years has been an outspoken critic of the Feds policies of "Quantitative Easing," says the world is "drowning in too much debt." He put the blame squarely on U.S. and European governments for abusing their "license to print money." In the U.S. alone, the national debt has surged to nearly $16 trillion, that's more than $50,000 for every American man, woman and child.
 "[They] need to stop spending money they don't have," Rogers said. "The solution to too much debt is not more debt... What would make me very excited is if a few people [in the government] went bankrupt..." Rogers added.

 Rogers also charged Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel with promoting dangerous policies that create the illusion the economy is stable... but are really only intended to buy time before their upcoming elections.

And according to these experts - who have presented their findings to the United Nations, the UK Parliament and a long list of world governments - the catastrophe may happen well before Americans hit the polls in November.

 "What this pattern represents is a dangerous countdown clock that's quickly approaching zero," said Keith Fitz-Gerald, the Chief Investment Strategist for the Money Map Press, who predicted the 2008 oil shock, the credit default swap crisis that helped bring about the recession, and the Greek and European fiscal catastrophe that is still wreaking havoc until this day.

 "The resulting chaos is going to crush Americans."

Another member of this team, Chris Martenson, a global economic trend forecaster, former VP of a Fortune 300, and an internationally recognized expert on the dangers of exponential growth in the economy, explained their findings further:

 "We found an identical pattern in our debt, total credit market, and money supply that guarantees they're going to fail," Martenson said. "This pattern is nearly the same as in any pyramid scheme, one that escalates exponentially fast before it collapses. Governments around the globe are chiefly responsible."

 "And what's really disturbing about these findings is that the pattern isn't limited to our economy. We found the same catastrophic pattern in our energy, food, and water systems as well."
 According to Martenson, these systems could all implode at the same time.
"Food, water, energy, money. Everything."

Dr. Kent Moors, one of the world's leading energy analysts, who advices 16 world governments on energy matters and who currently serves on two State Department task forces on energy, also voiced concerns over what he and his colleagues uncovered.

 "Most frightening of all is how this exact same pattern keeps appearing in virtually every system critical to our society and way of life," Dr. Moors stated.

"It's a pattern that's hard to see unless you understand the way a catastrophe like this gains traction," Dr. Moors says. "At first, it's almost impossible to perceive. Everything looks fine, just like in every pyramid scheme. Yet the insidious growth of the virus keeps doubling in size, over and over again - in shorter and shorter periods of time - until it hits unsustainable levels. And it collapses the system."
 Martenson points to the U.S. total credit market debt as an example of this unnerving pattern.

"For 30 years - from the 1940s through the 1970s - our total credit market debt was moderate and entirely reasonable," he says. "But then in seven years, from 1970 to 1977, it quickly doubled. And then it doubled again in seven more years. Then five years to double a third time. And then it doubled two more times after that.

"Where we were sitting at a total credit market debt that was 158% larger than our GDP in the early 1940s... By 2011 that figure was 357%."

Dr. Moors warns this type of unsustainable road to collapse can be seen today in our energy, food and water production. All are tightly connected and contributing to the economic disaster that lies directly ahead.

According to polls, the average American is sensing danger. A recent survey found that 61% of Americans believe a catastrophe is looming - yet only 15% feel prepared for such a deeply troubling event.

Fitz-Gerald says people should take immediate steps to protect themselves from what is happening.
"If our research is right," says Fitz-Gerald, "Americans will have to make some tough choices on how they'll go about surviving when basic necessities become nearly unaffordable and the economy becomes dangerously unstable."

"People need to begin to make preparations with their investments, retirement savings, and personal finances before it's too late," says Fitz-Gerald.

Texas Judge Preparing For ‘Civil War’ If Obama Re-Elected

A Texas leader is warning of what he calls a ‘civil war’ and possible invasion of United Nations troops if President Barack Obama is re-elected.

Lubbock County Judge Tom Head is convinced that Mr. Obama winning a second term would lead to a revolt by the American people and he’s is pushing a tax increase for the district attorney’s office and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office. He says the money is needed to “beef up” it’s resources in case President Obama wins the November election.

In the event of civil unrest Judge Head said he’s concerned the President would hand over sovereignty of the United States to the U.N. and that the American public would react violently.

“He’s going to try to hand over the sovereignty of the U.S. to the United Nations, what’s going to happen when that happens?” Judge Head told FOX 34 in Lubbock.

“I’m thinking worse case scenario,” Judge Head explained. “Civil unrest, civil disobedience, civil war maybe…we’re not just talking a few riots or demonstrations.”

The West Texas judge’s proposed tax increase is to help the sheriff’s office hire a law enforcement large enough to protect the county and to drive away the invaders.

“I don’t want rookies,” Head said flatly. “I want trained, equip and seasoned veteran officers to back me.”

The republican judge said that he himself will meet the enemy, “in front of their armored personnel carriers” to tell them they are not welcome, and has the county sheriff to back him up. “I don’t want U.N. troops in Lubbock County,” he said.

Tom Head, a graduate of Highland Park High School, has been a county judge since 1999.

Obama: "A New Vision Of An America In Which Prosperity Is Shared"

"Too many folks still don't have a sense that tomorrow will be better than today. And so, the question in this election is which way do we go?" President Obama asked at a fundraiser in Chicago on Sunday.

"Do we go forward towards a new vision of an America in which prosperity is shared?" Obama asked. "Or do we go backward to the same policies that got us in the mess in the first place?"

"I believe we have to go forward," Obama said. "I believe we have to keep working to create an America where no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, no matter who you love, you can make it here if you try.

That's what's at stake in November. That's what is why I am running for a second term as president of the United States of America."

Romney's new foe: Batman's 'Bane'

This summer's much-anticiapted Hollywood blockbuster, "The Dark Knight Rises," is getting an unusual boost from Democrats and other foes of Mitt Romney who are eager to tie the Gotham crushing villain to the GOP presidential candidate. Their angle: the mask-wearing, "Venom" gas breathing bad guy has a name that sounds just like Romney's former investment firm that President Obama has been blasting as a jobs killer.

"Bane" is the terrorist in the new movie who drives the caped crusader out of semi-retirement in the final Batman movie. Democrats, who believe they have Romney on the ropes over the president's assault on his leadership at Bain Capital, said the comparisons are too rich to ignore.

"It has been observed that movies can reflect the national mood," said Democratic advisor and former Clinton aide Christopher Lehane. "Whether it is spelled Bain and being put out by the Obama campaign or Bane and being out by Hollywood, the narratives are similar: a highly intelligent villain with offshore interests and a past both are seeking to cover up who had a powerful father and is set on pillaging society," he added.

As the Friday release date has neared, liberal blogs were the first to connect Batman's toughest foe with Romney's firm. But now even some conservatives, concerned Romney isn't fighting the Bain attacks hard enough, see a similarity in the epic DC Comics fight and the political campaign.

Conservative commentator Jed Babbin told Secrets, "Now we have the new Batman movie with super-villain Bane, the comic book bad guy who broke the Bat's back. How long will it take for the Obama campaign to link the two, making Romney the man who will break the back of the economy? Romney can't win if he's constantly on the defensive," he said.

Even GOP advisor Frank Luntz jumped into the fray. "Hollywood does it again," he told Secrets. "[Romney] had to know all this was coming and he should have done a lot more to prepare for it."

But conservative analyst Greg Muller doesn't buy the connection or the Bain attacks. "Democrats are truly living in fantasy land if they think the Bain story is anything more than a little summertime blues for Romney," he said. "The election will be a referendum on Obama socialism and the Obama economy. Wonder if the Batmobile was made in China."

Democratic strategist Karl Frisch suggests a Romney comparison instead to Mr. Burns, the devilish nuclear power plant owner on the Simpsons. "The similarities are endless."

And even while playing up the Bane-Bain tie, Lehane suggested that Romney is a weak version. "The 'Bain Romney' should at least endeavor to match the comic book Bane in at least one way: prove to be a worthy adversary. Bane never asked Batman to apologize--neither superheroes nor super villains nor candidates for president should ever ask for apologies from their opponents if they are to be taken serious," he said in a reference to Romney's demand of an apology from Obama for his Bain attacks.

Iran will use Strait of Hormuz as a lever if it faces danger: commander

TEHRAN – The Iranian Army commander has said that the Islamic Republic will use the Strait of Hormuz as a lever if it faces danger.

“The imposition of new sanctions by the hegemonistic countries will not affect our movement, but if a situation arises that the Iranian nation is exposed to danger, we will use all levers including the Strait of Hormuz… to defend (the country),” Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan told reporters on Sunday when asked if Iran would take advantage of the major oil transit waterway if new sanctions are imposed on the country.

Iranian military officials have said that the country’s armed forces are capable of blocking the strategic waterway if the enemy launches an attack on the country.

On the reports claiming that Iran, Russia, and Syria had planned to hold joint military exercises, Pourdastan said that Iranian armed forces have no official plan to hold joint war games with these countries “but the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran has the capability to have its units take part in such war games if it receives a request from the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the commander said that the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps have planned to hold more than one round of joint war games during the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 20.

Germany rebuffs Obama's advice on euro crisis

BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's finance minister is rejecting U.S. President Barack Obama's calls on Europe to move faster in fighting its debt crisis, telling him to get the American deficit under control instead.

Wolfgang Schaeuble told public broadcaster ZDF in an interview late Sunday that "people are always very quick at giving others advice."

He says: "Mr. Obama should first of all take care of reducing the American deficit, which is higher than in the eurozone."

Obama and other leaders fear an escalating crisis in Europe could drag down the world economy.

The 17-nation eurozone is struggling to overhaul its institutions and streamline its decision making to restore investors' confidence. The bloc's debt relative to its economic output stands at about 80 percent, while it is about 100 percent in the U.S.

Obama Asks People Getting Married To Forgo Gifts...

Obama Asks People Getting Married To Forgo Gifts, Ask Their Guests To Donate To His Campaign Instead…


You can even register your wedding on his campaign website. Could he be any more pompous?

US enlists Britain's help to stop ship 'carrying Russian attack helicopters' to Syria

The US government has enlisted Britain's help in a bid to stop a ship suspected of carrying Russian attack helicopters and missiles to conflict-riven Syria, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

By Ruth Sherlock, in Washington, Roland Oliphant in Moscow and Colin Freeman

The MV Alaed, a Russian-operated cargo vessel, is currently thought to be sailing through the North Sea after allegedly picking up a consignment of munitions and MI25 helicopters - known as "flying tanks" - from the Russian Baltic port of Kaliningrad.

Washington, which last week condemned Moscow for continuing to arm the Syrian regime, has asked British officials to help stop the Alaed delivering its alleged cargo by using sanctions legislation to force its London-based insurer to withdraw its cover.

Under the terms of the current European Union arms embargo against Syria, imposed in May last year, there is a ban on the "transfer or export" of arms and any related "brokering" services such as insurance. Withdrawal of a ship's insurance cover would make it difficult for it legally to dock elsewhere and could force it to return the cargo to port.

The request to London from US officials comes after the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, disclosed on Tuesday that Moscow was in the process of shipping a batch of attack helicopters to Syria.

Dismissing Russian government claims that its weapons sales to Syria would not be used for internal repression, Mrs Clinton warned the shipment could "quite dramatically" escalate the conflict, which has already claimed an estimated 10,000 lives. Yesterday, the United Nations monitoring mission said it had suspended its work because of "intensifying" violence on either side, which was putting its teams of unarmed observers at risk.

The helicopters Mrs Clinton was referring to are believed to be part of a 36-strong consignment ordered by the Syrian government at the end of the Soviet era, some of which were transferred back to Russia recently for routine maintenance. They are understood to have been serviced by the state-owned helicopter manufacturer, Mil, at their premises at Factory 150 in Kaliningrad.

While the Kremlin, which has so far vetoed calls for a United Nations arms embargo against Syria, insists that Mil is merely honouring the terms of an existing business contract, critics point that such helicopters have helped spearhead President Bashar al-Assad's attempts to suppress the uprising against him. Last week it was reported that helicopters had repeatedly fired rockets at a hospital in a rebel enclave outside Aleppo in northern Syria.

Shipping records show that on Thursday - the most recent date for which data is available - the Alaed was off the north-west coast of Denmark, apparently heading south towards the entrance to the English Channel. It is insured by Standard P and I Club, which is managed by Charles Taylor and Co Ltd of London, whose offshore syndicate director, Robert Dorey, confirmed on Saturday that they were investigating claims that the ship was carrying arms.

"We were informed on Friday evening that the ship might be carrying weapons, in particular attack helicopters, missiles and non-specific munitions, and we are making inquiries to establish what their side of the story is," said Mr Dorey. "There are exclusion clauses in our cover, and for anyone involved in improper or unlawful trade, we can cancel cover. We are investigating whether or not to do so in this case."

Like most international cargo ships, the Alaed has a complex ownership and management structure. Its registered owner is Volcano Shipping on the island of Curacao in the Dutch Antilles, but it is listed as part of a fleet belonging to a Russian company, FEMCO, which was unavailable for comment last night. According to FEMCO's website, the ship's commercial management and chartering is carried out by United Nordic Shipping, a Danish company based in Copenhagen, but yesterday, United Nordic shipping said that the management agreement had never actually been finalised, and that FEMCO's website was wrong.

"To the best of our knowledge the vessel is managed and operated by FEMCO in Russia," said Soeren Andersen, United Nordic Shipping's managing director. "We have no knowledge of or involvement in the vessel's current charter or trading - a fact we have also satisfactorily accounted for to the Danish authorities."

A source close to United Nordic added: "The Danish authorities contacted us a few days ago to ask about the ship, and said it was related to possible shipments of weapons to Syria."

The claims about the Alaed's cargo will fuel the growing row over Russian involvement in supplying arms to Syria, which Moscow has long seen as a strategic partner because of the Russian naval base in the Syrian port city of Tartus.

Last week, The Sunday Telegraph disclosed how the Professor Katsman, a ship belonging to a firm owned by a Russian billionaire, Vladimir Lisin, docked in Syria with a suspected weapons cache on May 26, one day after the massacre of more than 100 people in the Syrian village of Houla.

Dr Lisin, a steel magnate who is also vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee, now faces calls from British MPs to have his invitation to London 2012 withdrawn. Sources close the Games organisers have said, however, that accredited Olympic representatives of foreign countries enjoy an effective "diplomatic immunity" that would be revoked only in the most serious of circumstances.

On Saturday, Dr Lisin said that the accusations against him were "groundless" and said an internal investigation he ordered at his transport firm, Universal Cargo Logistics (UCL) had found no evidence that the cargo was dangerous or violated international law.

"The evidence I was presented with indicates that according to the documentation the company was not transporting arms for either side of the Syrian conflict," Dr Lisin said in emailed comments.

"To date, I have not received a single [piece of] evidence to the contrary. If at some point someone does bring such evidence to my attention, I shall be grateful and will take all the possible measures available to me."

UCL said that as part of its investigation it requested information on the Professor Katsman's cargo from the owner, which it named as another Russian company. The company told UCL that the containers the Professor Katsman delivered to Syria "was a general cargo of non-military purpose featuring electrical equipment and repair parts (rotor blades) in containers and wooden crates", he said.

Dr Lisin is reported to be one of Russia's richest men and is well-connected to the country's political elite. Victor Olersky, a former board member of Dr Lisin's shipping firm, North Western Shipping Company, is now a Russian deputy transport minister, while Dr Lisin himself has been photographed meeting both the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev.

Dr Lisin also described calls to bar him from the Olympic Games as opportunistic "self promotion."

"I am against armed conflict in any region of the world, including Syria," he said. "Sadly, there are those who try to use the tragedy of the Syrian people for self-promotion... At the same time, I would like to ask those who consider themselves to be reasonable and responsible to refrain from groundless accusations that will do nothing more than aggravate the relations between people, businesses, and states.

"I have no doubt that the International Olympic Committee, the National Olympic Committee of the United Kingdom, and the Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympics will preserve the traditions of the Olympic movement that has always been above political gambling."

Meanwhile, Russia and the West are at further loggerheads over Moscow's plans to press ahead with a deal to supply President Assad's regime with state-of-the art attack jets.

In a move that US intelligence officials fear could plunge the Syrian conflict into even greater long-term bloodshed, the Kremlin is pushing on with an existing 2007 contract to provide two dozen Mig-29M2 fighter aircraft, estimated to be worth £250 million to the Russian defence industry.

While the aircraft may not be ready for delivery for many months, Washington fears if President Assad's regime is still intact it could use them to devastating effect against the country's rebel enclaves. They could also be used to hinder any Western plans for a no-fly zone, which some analysts believe may eventually prove the only way to provide Syria's rebel movement with a safe haven.

"Delivery of the Migs will helps prop Assad up and give him some credibility, which is not the message the US wants to see," said Washington-based national security analyst John Pike. "The Migs would make it more difficult to enforce a no fly zone, and would increase the amount of time that the Syrian air force could survive, although possibly only by a matter of a few days."

Rafif Jouejati, spokeswoman for the Free Syria Foundation, a US-based Syrian activist group, said: "Russian arms are flooding into Syria. If Assad gets these new and advanced Migs it will be terrible – a fearful thing."

She dismissed Russian claims that the aircraft were largely to provide strategic air defences against Syria's historic enemy, Israel. "It is preposterous to argue that Assad needs them as a defence against Israel with everything else that is happening right now."

She also claimed Mr Lisin ought to have ordered his shipping firms be more proactive in finding out what any ships heading to Syria contained.

"When your ship is taking a cargo to Syria – a country embroiled in civil war – it is your duty to know what that cargo contains. You can't hide behind a lack of knowledge when little children are being slaughtered."

The Kremlin has dismissed Western criticisms of its arms policy to Syria as hypocritical, saying that other governments are also fuelling the conflict by arming anti-Assad guerrillas. The Daily Telegraph disclosed yesterday that representatives of the main rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, had held meetings with US government officials to discuss getting them to authorise shipments of heavy weapons, including missiles.

British MPs are calling for Rosoboronexport, the Kremlin-owned arms export firm that has a monopoly on Russian arms exports, to be banned from exhibiting at the trade section of next month's Farnborough Airshow. Last week, Rosoboronexport had a stall at the Eurosatory 2012 arms exhibition in Paris, where videos of Russian attack helicopters were on display. Igor Sevastyanov, the company's deputy CEO, said: "No-one can ever accuse Russia of violating the rules of armaments trade set by the international community.

"The contract (with Syria) was signed long ago and we supply armaments that are self-defence rather than attack weapons."

On Monday Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton, raised the issue of Rosoboronexport's attendance at Farnborough with the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, in Parliament. She said: "It is deeply alarming that while the Russian state-owned company Rosoboronexport continues to sell weapons to the Syrian government – despite appalling state-sponsored atrocities in the country – it will nevertheless be allowed to exhibit its wares on UK soil at Farnborough International Airshow.

"The Foreign Secretary has assured me in Parliament that he will look into the matter, but with the air show only a few weeks away, I would urge him to act now to prevent Rosoboronexport from entering altogether."

She added: "By taking measures to ban Rosoboronexport from Farnborough and revoke Mr Lisin's invitation to the Olympics, the United Kingdom can lead by example in showing that it is prepared to take a moral stand against all of those foreign companies accused of involvement in the sale of weapons to deadly and undemocratic regimes."

An FCO spokesman said that Mr Hague was still considering the matter, but added: "Farnborough International Air Show is a commercial event run by Farnborough International Ltd. The British Government plays no part in deciding which companies are invited to the event."

Asked about the Alaed last night, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said it was “urgently looking into any possible breaches of the EU arms embargo on Syria.”

“We are aware of reports that a ship carrying a consignment of refurbished Russian-made attack helicopters is heading to Syria and that it is travelling in international waters near the UK,” the spokesman added. “The Foreign Secretary made clear to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov when they met on 14 June that all defence shipments to Syria must stop. We are working closely with international partners to ensure that we are doing all we can to stop the Syrian regime’s ability to slaughter civilians being reinforced through assistance from other countries.”

Top global accounting firm Deloitte says US debt crisis is 'bigger than you think'

* US Government debt "could spiral out of control"
* Interest payments add a new level of fiscal pain
WHAT is the real cost of the US Government's nearly $US16 trillion ($16.07 trillion) debt?

"The debt crisis is likely bigger than you think," a report issued by Deloitte, one of the world's largest accounting firms, concluded.

That is because interest payments on the country's massive debt add a whole new level of fiscal pain to the problem.

Interest payments on the national debt alone, it noted, are expected to total some $US4.2 trillion over the next decade.

And that number could go higher depending on rates.

The lead author of the Deloitte study, director Bill Eggers, stressed that US Government debt could quickly spiral out of control if investors become less willing to lend more money.

"If interest rates go up by simply three per cent over the next decade, the additional cost to the Treasury, just for interest payments, would equal the peak combined cost of the wars in both Afghanistan in Iraq," he said.

The report showed that $US4.2 trillion being spent on interest could instead:

- build 130,000 kms of highways
- pay tuition for every science/math/engineering college degree in the country
- triple US government general research and development funding
- build six international space stations
- offset 80 per cent of global warming pollution in the atmosphere as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

But not all economists are on board with the implications of the study.

"The major holders of government bonds are agencies and individuals within the US," Robert Stonebraker, an economics professor at Winthrop University, told FOXNews.com.

"So if you pay $US1 trillion in interest on the debt, a lot of it will go back to Americans anyway."

But Mr Eggers noted that a lot of the interest payments do go overseas.

"If you look at the interest payments going to foreign countries, soon we're going to be spending enough to essentially finance the Chinese military," he said.

Currently, foreigners own some $US5 trillion in US Government bonds, $US1 trillion of which is owned by China.

Not all economists agree with the study.

"I think they're overhyping the need to fix the debit crisis in short run," Dr Stonebraker said.

"It's not appropriate to cut spending during an economic slowdown -- that is exactly when you need deficit spending to stimulate the economy and get people back to work," he said.

Obama Gets Left Behind

Come on now. Is Obama really a “psychopathic megalomaniac”?

I learned of Obama’s problems today. Not from Ron Paul supporters. Not from Glenn Beck‘s Drudge wanna-be news site The Blaze. I read about Obama’s psychosis from left wing Democrats.

Everyday I get emails from former members of Move On, a pro-Democratic Party group that was famously active during the build-up to the Iraq War in 2003. They’re complaining about one man: President Obama.

In these emails, one thing is apparent. When it comes to the left wing liberals, Obama is being left behind.

The left was mostly raptured into political heaven four years ago when they elected Obama on bended knee. He spoke about things dear to their hearts: closing Guantanamo Bay. Ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Getting tough on bankers.

Guantanamo is still open. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, but the military presence remains. (Smacks of imperialism. That’s something the left hates as much as libertarians do.) Then there’s the president’s bit about getting tough on bankers. Where has the White House come down hard on Wall Street? Fuhgeddaboudit. This is New York!

One anti-Obama Saturday in my inbox:

Re: Write-in Kermit the Frog!

If being a ‘pragmatist’ or a ‘realist’ means choosing only amongst evils, count us OUT. Obama betrayed the American voters who expected he would not gut the US Constitution. Both parties are the same. And, in a world of infinite possibilities we choose not between the lesser of two evils. In fact, those of us who are not into denial and work at the human rights front lines prefer to face the Republican snake head-on then the confused and gutless Democrat chameleon whining about being a progressive when they are NOT.” — Ezili Danto, human rights lawyer at the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network

Re: Obama is a psychopath; reminds me of Stalin

There’s a cancer in the presidency called Barack Obama. We have a psychopathic megalomaniac occupying the White house who could be compared to Nero, Caligula, Stalin, or Pol Pot in his disdain for human life. He and his coven of other like minded DC psychopaths and sociopaths are on a murdering spree and like a third world dictator Obama can have someone and their family (including you) executed or blasted to smithereens with a thumbs up or down. This is sickening to me. They are so blase about murdering that they refer to the hit list photos as “baseball cards”. Killing is a game or a sport to them. There is a “cancer on the Presidency” and that cancer has metastasized throughout Washington DC. It was there before Obama arrived but he brought a whole new and virulent strain with him. Every time there is a shameful incident or embarrassing event perpetrated by “a few bad apples” we hear from the DC psychopaths that “That is not who we are”. They are incorrect. It is who they are in DC. It is not who we the real everyday thinking feeling Americans are. I certainly am not one of the people to be included in their cumulative we.” — Alexander Cockburn, writing for his online publication Counterpunch. Alexander is also a columnist at The Nation, though I have a hard time believing this missive will make it passed Katrina Vanden Heuvel. Alex is a firebrand. I’ve written for him once or twice, and he was kind enough to comment on my reporting about the Iraq War for The Boston Globe in 2003 in his Beat the Devil column. This sounds like Alex being Alex, alright. Gotta love his fire.

Re: Bush mighta been better.
Hello!

“Why should the public believe what the Obama administration says about the people being assassinated by drones? Especially since, as we learn in the New York Times, the administration came up with a semantic solution to keep the civilian death toll to a minimum: simply count all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants. The rationale, reminiscent of George Zimmerman’s justification for shooting Trayvon Martin, is that “people in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good.” Talk about profiling! At least when George Bush threw suspected militants into Guantanamo their lives were spared.” — Medea Benjamin, CodePINK

Obama’s dealings with the working stiff, or the perceived lack thereof, plus his foreign policy has caused much of the anger against him among the left wing of the party.

I’m not a blue dog democrat. I’m a hard hat Democrat from Massachusetts; like the guys who climb telephone poles after hurricanes that vote for Kennedy. That’s where I cast my lot.

I voted for Obama through the U.S. Consulate in São Paulo. Obama was different. He was inspiring. I watched the votes unfold on two laptops — one on CNN, one on MSNBC with emails from my American friends flooding in every minute. My Blackberry was on my lap, blowing up with texts – can you believe North Carolina? It never happens!

Obama’s winning was like a moon landing. You noticed it more when you’re overseas. America did it again, Brazilians told me. The world can elect women presidents. It’s happened before. But what advanced economy has ever elected a black man? None. Not Europe. Not Latin America. Not Australia. Not even close. They’re not even on the ballot. Only in America. What a country.
On next page: Yes, You Can My #@$%!…

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Will Bilderberg elect the next US president?

Around 150 of the world’s elite will meet outside of Washington, DC this week at the annual Bilderberg Conference, and although the agenda isn’t advertised to the public, some sources are already speaking out about what this year might bring.

Officially, the details of each Bilderberg Conference aren’t anything its members will go on the record to reveal. According to spectators that have kept a close eye on the event’s happenings each year, however, the annual conference has a reputation for being a kingmaker — and an elusive and exclusive one at that.

Speaking to RT earlier this month, radio host Alex Jones shared his expectations for the coming conference. According to the journalist, “Should the elite get behind Mitt Romney or Barack Obama?” is a question that he expects to be brought up for discussion. “Both men are bought and paid for by the same financial interests, and so the discussion will be which candidate can basically con the American people to lay down the tyranny for another four years.”

But does the biggest election of 2012 really rely that much on a mysterious meeting? Many people will tell you yes, and they are often willing to provide evidence to explain. Before becoming household names, politicians such as former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton both attended Bilderberg conferences in the years before being elected to the Oval Office. Tony Blair was on hand at the 1993 gala before becoming prime minister of England in 1997, and the 2008 conference is believed to be the catalyst for that year’s US presidential election: rumors suggest that attendees settling on backing Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination at that year’s event, only for contender Hillary Clinton to bow out two days later.

“For an entire day, the media in Virginia and in DC saying, ‘Where’s Obama? Where’s Obama?’ And we were there saying he’s inside, the secret service is there,” Alex Jones recalls of the 2004 conference to RT.

As with 2004, this year's Bilderberg Conference will be held at the Chantilly, Virginia Westfield Marriott, and employees there are already privy to the fact that Jones will be ready to scrutinize every action he can witness from the grounds: on Tuesday, his reservation at the establishment was revoked and he was informed that he banned from the hotel; hours later, Jones’ Prison Planet website revealed that “all guests had been kicked out of the hotel, and offered one night’s accommodation at the Residence Inn in Chantilly (also Marriott owned).”

“Policy is being set there and this is one of the most elite meetings out there,” Jones told RT. That, many fear, is precisely why those close to the conference don’t want outsiders to have an inside scoop.

This year Jones expects details of the US presidential election to obviously be discussed, but perhaps the agenda item most interesting to many involves only one side of the race: rumors are quickly evolving about who and how the GOP will go about selecting a vice presidential nominee to run alongside their candidate of choice, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Al Kamen, a writer at the Washington Post, recently compared a recent speech from Senator Marco Rubio with one given at the 2004 Bilderberg Conference by John Edwards — which some say was instrumental in securing the VP nod back in 2004. The rumors of  Bilderberg being a launching pad for a Rubio run under Romney at this week’s conference has since been spun by reporters at Politico, Salon and elsewhere.