http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/28/Your-Car-and-Home-Could-Soon-Be-Powered-By-Your-Urine.aspx
Urine-powered cars, homes and personal electronic devices could be available in six months.
Using a nickel-based electrode, scientists can create large amounts of cheap hydrogen from urine that could be burned or used in fuel cells. One cow can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses.
One molecule of urea, a major component of urine, contains four atoms of hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. If you place a special nickel electrode into a pool of urine and apply an electrical current, hydrogen gas is released.
A urine-powered vehicle could theoretically travel 90 miles per gallon.Sources:
MSNBC July 8, 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Monday, 27 July 2009
How To subdue Insurgency.
First militarily oppress Insurgents and no matter your losses, attack, while saying we are doing it for a different reason, (get the International OK).
Then invite their moderates for a political solution, and waite until you find enough about the Insurgent heiracky. Put under cover people into the mix. You will not take any knowledge about your spies. They will die and thats what you got to pay.
Now you got the most of the leaders, now either kill them if they do not agree to your way, or pay them well to get themselves to be your medium level of law makers in the country.
Then invite their moderates for a political solution, and waite until you find enough about the Insurgent heiracky. Put under cover people into the mix. You will not take any knowledge about your spies. They will die and thats what you got to pay.
Now you got the most of the leaders, now either kill them if they do not agree to your way, or pay them well to get themselves to be your medium level of law makers in the country.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
US “rigged” elections Kyrgyzstan
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/pers-j25.shtml
25 July 2009
The brazen rigging of an election, the repression of the opposition and the use of police violence and live ammunition against demonstrators has been met with silence and indifference on the part of the Obama administration and the US media.
These events were taking place Thursday not in Iran, but rather in the landlocked Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan.
In their habitual diplomatic language, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe election monitors declared that the Kyrgyz vote “fell short of key standards” and constituted a “disappointment.”
A closer reading of the OSCE report, however, discloses genuinely criminal methods used to deliver a nearly 90 percent majority to incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
The OSCE cites “ballot stuffing” and “multiple voting” on election day, while physical force, including the use of tear gas, was employed to stop observers from the opposition party from entering a polling place. “The process further deteriorated during the vote count,” the organization said.
When thousands of people took to the streets of Kyrgyzstan’s capital to protest the vote fraud, police attacked them with percussion grenades and tear gas, while firing live ammunition over their heads.
In the run-up to the election, the OSCE said, “The distinction between the ruling party and the state was blurred.” Concretely, this meant that the offices of Bakiyev’s Ak-Zhol party were set up inside government buildings. Government workers and students were coerced into attending the party’s rallies under threat of being fired or thrown out of school.
Campaign events by the opposition were blocked by the police and its leaders and supporters were subjected to a reign of terror. One of the opposition leaders, Emilbek Kaptagaev, reported being kidnapped by a group of men, one wearing a police uniform, taken to the edge of the capital and brutally beaten. He received a call three weeks later warning him that if he didn’t stop campaigning for the leading opposition candidate—former prime minister Almazbek Atambaev of the Social Democratic Party—he would get more of the same and worse.
The opposition was virtually blacked out in the mass media. Three national television stations suspended all news coverage at the end of June as the vote approached. Over the past year, the government has carried out the systematic suppression of opposition newspapers, taking them to court on charges of libeling the president’s relatives, imposing massive fines and confiscating equipment.
Earlier this month, the journalist Almaz Tashiyev, who had published articles critical of the government, suffered a fatal beating at the hands of eight policemen. It was the sixth violent attack on journalists this year and the second fatal attack since October 2007, when independent journalist Alisher Saipov was gunned down execution style. No one has been arrested for that killing.
The electoral fraud hardly came as a surprise. During the run-up to local elections last year, the head of the Central election commission fled the country after saying that the president’s son had threatened her life.
Human rights groups say torture of detainees in Kyrgyzstan is common. Among the more infamous cases is that of the arrest of 32 people last year at a protest in the town of Nookat. While awaiting trial, police beat them on the soles of their feet, poured hot and cold water on them and brought them to the brink of suffocation by putting plastic bags over their heads. When one of the women prisoners told her tormentors that she was pregnant, they assaulted her, causing a miscarriage.
Last month, President Barack Obama sent a letter to President Bakiyev, praising his regime for its “efforts in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan and the fight against international terrorism.”
This remains Washington’s position. Why haven’t Obama and Hillary Clinton declared
25 July 2009
The brazen rigging of an election, the repression of the opposition and the use of police violence and live ammunition against demonstrators has been met with silence and indifference on the part of the Obama administration and the US media.
These events were taking place Thursday not in Iran, but rather in the landlocked Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan.
In their habitual diplomatic language, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe election monitors declared that the Kyrgyz vote “fell short of key standards” and constituted a “disappointment.”
A closer reading of the OSCE report, however, discloses genuinely criminal methods used to deliver a nearly 90 percent majority to incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
The OSCE cites “ballot stuffing” and “multiple voting” on election day, while physical force, including the use of tear gas, was employed to stop observers from the opposition party from entering a polling place. “The process further deteriorated during the vote count,” the organization said.
When thousands of people took to the streets of Kyrgyzstan’s capital to protest the vote fraud, police attacked them with percussion grenades and tear gas, while firing live ammunition over their heads.
In the run-up to the election, the OSCE said, “The distinction between the ruling party and the state was blurred.” Concretely, this meant that the offices of Bakiyev’s Ak-Zhol party were set up inside government buildings. Government workers and students were coerced into attending the party’s rallies under threat of being fired or thrown out of school.
Campaign events by the opposition were blocked by the police and its leaders and supporters were subjected to a reign of terror. One of the opposition leaders, Emilbek Kaptagaev, reported being kidnapped by a group of men, one wearing a police uniform, taken to the edge of the capital and brutally beaten. He received a call three weeks later warning him that if he didn’t stop campaigning for the leading opposition candidate—former prime minister Almazbek Atambaev of the Social Democratic Party—he would get more of the same and worse.
The opposition was virtually blacked out in the mass media. Three national television stations suspended all news coverage at the end of June as the vote approached. Over the past year, the government has carried out the systematic suppression of opposition newspapers, taking them to court on charges of libeling the president’s relatives, imposing massive fines and confiscating equipment.
Earlier this month, the journalist Almaz Tashiyev, who had published articles critical of the government, suffered a fatal beating at the hands of eight policemen. It was the sixth violent attack on journalists this year and the second fatal attack since October 2007, when independent journalist Alisher Saipov was gunned down execution style. No one has been arrested for that killing.
The electoral fraud hardly came as a surprise. During the run-up to local elections last year, the head of the Central election commission fled the country after saying that the president’s son had threatened her life.
Human rights groups say torture of detainees in Kyrgyzstan is common. Among the more infamous cases is that of the arrest of 32 people last year at a protest in the town of Nookat. While awaiting trial, police beat them on the soles of their feet, poured hot and cold water on them and brought them to the brink of suffocation by putting plastic bags over their heads. When one of the women prisoners told her tormentors that she was pregnant, they assaulted her, causing a miscarriage.
Last month, President Barack Obama sent a letter to President Bakiyev, praising his regime for its “efforts in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan and the fight against international terrorism.”
This remains Washington’s position. Why haven’t Obama and Hillary Clinton declared
Friday, 24 July 2009
Afghanistan NATO Forces
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/628.php?nid=&id=&pnt=628&lb=
new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of nations around the world finds that most publics polled believe that the Afghan people want NATO forces to leave Afghanistan now. On average 53 percent have this belief, while 30 percent assume that most Afghans want NATO forces to stay.
Among those who believe that the Afghan people want NATO forces to leave, 76 percent say that NATO forces should leave. Among those who believe that the Afghan people want NATO forces to stay, 83 percent say NATO forces should stay. Overall, on average, 37 percent think that NATO forces should remain in Afghanistan, while 50 percent think the mission should be ended now.
new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of nations around the world finds that most publics polled believe that the Afghan people want NATO forces to leave Afghanistan now. On average 53 percent have this belief, while 30 percent assume that most Afghans want NATO forces to stay.
Among those who believe that the Afghan people want NATO forces to leave, 76 percent say that NATO forces should leave. Among those who believe that the Afghan people want NATO forces to stay, 83 percent say NATO forces should stay. Overall, on average, 37 percent think that NATO forces should remain in Afghanistan, while 50 percent think the mission should be ended now.
Swine Flu GlaxoSmithKline
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,637748,00.html#ref=nlint
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has orders for its swine flu vaccine from 16 countries and is in talks with 50 more.
British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is set to reap billions as fear of the swine flu pandemic grows. The world's second-largest drug company has secured orders from 16 countries for 195 million doses of the vaccine it is developing against the H1N1 virus, which has killed more than 740 people worldwide.
The Brentford (England)-based drugmaker began production of its new flu vaccine in June and is on track to begin shipping the first doses in September.
==================================================================================
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/28/What-are-the-Dangers-of-Mandatory-Swine-Flu-Vaccination.aspx
By Dr. Mercola
In early May, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted the swine flu virus was not quite the fearsome plague it was widely reported to be in April when the novel influenza A strain (official name H1N1) first emerged in the U.S.
On May 6, Sebelius said:
“We are cautiously optimistic that what we are seeing right now is presenting itself as a much milder virus than the initial cases ... in Mexico.”[1]
Ms. Sebelius’ remark was likely prompted by the fact the swine flu virus is showing itself to have mild symptoms, quick recovery time, and low incidence of death among the vast majority of H1N1 patients throughout the world (with the single exception of Mexico).
A little over a month later, on June 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its swine flu pandemic alert from a 5 to a 6. [2] Phase 6 is the highest level alert, and reflects the speed with which a virus is spreading – not its severity.
WHO actually considers the severity of the H1N1 virus to be moderate, generally defined as an illness requiring neither hospitalization nor even medical care.[3]
...........................
===================================================================================
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13433
............"According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the flu kills up to 2,500 Canadians and about 36,000 Americans annually. Worldwide, the number of deaths attributed to the flu each year is between 250,000 and 500,000" .................
................ The Mexican Minister of Health, José Ángel Córdova confirmed that there were "2498 serious cases of atypical pneumonia associated with a flu condition" ...[which] could be related to the A/H1N1 virus". Out of those 2498 cases of influenza, 159 died, of influenza or related ailments, but only seven of these deaths were related to the swine flu, according to the official statement of the Minister of Health.
The figures above are consistent with the overall pattern of influenza observed in Mexico in previous years. "In a normal year, between 6,500 and 7,500 Mexicans die from pneumonia-like diseases" (Ibid)
159 reported deaths "have been blamed on the outbreak" but the lab reports suggest that the swine flu was the cause of death only in seven out of 159 cases.
For instance, in the Veracruz town of La Gloria where there was an outbreak of acute respiratory infections, out of 450 cases, 35 were tested for the swine flu virus and only one came back positive. (That is a ratio of 1/450) .............
........... In the US there have been 109 reported cases of the virus (April 30, 2009), of which only five were hospitalized. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmed that a 23 month child in Texas had died from the swine flu virus, following hospitalisation and clinical examination. ................
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has orders for its swine flu vaccine from 16 countries and is in talks with 50 more.
British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is set to reap billions as fear of the swine flu pandemic grows. The world's second-largest drug company has secured orders from 16 countries for 195 million doses of the vaccine it is developing against the H1N1 virus, which has killed more than 740 people worldwide.
The Brentford (England)-based drugmaker began production of its new flu vaccine in June and is on track to begin shipping the first doses in September.
==================================================================================
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/28/What-are-the-Dangers-of-Mandatory-Swine-Flu-Vaccination.aspx
By Dr. Mercola
In early May, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted the swine flu virus was not quite the fearsome plague it was widely reported to be in April when the novel influenza A strain (official name H1N1) first emerged in the U.S.
On May 6, Sebelius said:
“We are cautiously optimistic that what we are seeing right now is presenting itself as a much milder virus than the initial cases ... in Mexico.”[1]
Ms. Sebelius’ remark was likely prompted by the fact the swine flu virus is showing itself to have mild symptoms, quick recovery time, and low incidence of death among the vast majority of H1N1 patients throughout the world (with the single exception of Mexico).
A little over a month later, on June 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its swine flu pandemic alert from a 5 to a 6. [2] Phase 6 is the highest level alert, and reflects the speed with which a virus is spreading – not its severity.
WHO actually considers the severity of the H1N1 virus to be moderate, generally defined as an illness requiring neither hospitalization nor even medical care.[3]
...........................
===================================================================================
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13433
............"According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the flu kills up to 2,500 Canadians and about 36,000 Americans annually. Worldwide, the number of deaths attributed to the flu each year is between 250,000 and 500,000" .................
................ The Mexican Minister of Health, José Ángel Córdova confirmed that there were "2498 serious cases of atypical pneumonia associated with a flu condition" ...[which] could be related to the A/H1N1 virus". Out of those 2498 cases of influenza, 159 died, of influenza or related ailments, but only seven of these deaths were related to the swine flu, according to the official statement of the Minister of Health.
The figures above are consistent with the overall pattern of influenza observed in Mexico in previous years. "In a normal year, between 6,500 and 7,500 Mexicans die from pneumonia-like diseases" (Ibid)
159 reported deaths "have been blamed on the outbreak" but the lab reports suggest that the swine flu was the cause of death only in seven out of 159 cases.
For instance, in the Veracruz town of La Gloria where there was an outbreak of acute respiratory infections, out of 450 cases, 35 were tested for the swine flu virus and only one came back positive. (That is a ratio of 1/450) .............
........... In the US there have been 109 reported cases of the virus (April 30, 2009), of which only five were hospitalized. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmed that a 23 month child in Texas had died from the swine flu virus, following hospitalisation and clinical examination. ................
Mahmoud al-Sarsak, IDF, Sccer Player
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=56280&s2=24
Israel arrests soccer player of Palestinian national team
Xinhua
GAZA, July 23, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Israel arrested a Palestinian soccer player en route from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to the West Bank, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said Thursday.
"This is an Israeli piracy targeting sport in Palestine," the PFA said in a statement, adding that "We call on the FIFA to press the Israeli authorities to release al-Sarsak immediately."
Mahmoud al-Sarsak, 22, a Gaza-based player and a member of the national team, was detained late Wednesday at Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel, a source in the PFA told Xinhua.
Two of his colleagues have been turned back to Gaza, said the source on condition of anonymity.
The three were on their way to the West Bank to play for Balataclub in Nablus town. The PFA said it had contacted with Israel in advance to allow the players to cross.
The PFA said Israeli intelligence officers interrogated al-Sarsak and other players for eight hours at the crossing and then detained al-Sarsak.
Meanwhile, relatives of al-Sarsak confirmed the arrest, saying they have received a phone call from the Israeli army Thursday telling them that al-Sarsak was under detention in a prison at Ashkelon town.
Israel arrests soccer player of Palestinian national team
Xinhua
GAZA, July 23, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Israel arrested a Palestinian soccer player en route from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to the West Bank, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said Thursday.
"This is an Israeli piracy targeting sport in Palestine," the PFA said in a statement, adding that "We call on the FIFA to press the Israeli authorities to release al-Sarsak immediately."
Mahmoud al-Sarsak, 22, a Gaza-based player and a member of the national team, was detained late Wednesday at Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel, a source in the PFA told Xinhua.
Two of his colleagues have been turned back to Gaza, said the source on condition of anonymity.
The three were on their way to the West Bank to play for Balataclub in Nablus town. The PFA said it had contacted with Israel in advance to allow the players to cross.
The PFA said Israeli intelligence officers interrogated al-Sarsak and other players for eight hours at the crossing and then detained al-Sarsak.
Meanwhile, relatives of al-Sarsak confirmed the arrest, saying they have received a phone call from the Israeli army Thursday telling them that al-Sarsak was under detention in a prison at Ashkelon town.
Mohammad Srour IDF Kidnapping UN
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=56274&s2=24
Soldiers kidnap Ni’lin resident for testifying before a UN Committee probing Israeli violations
Saed Bannoura
- IMEMC - July 23, 2009
Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Wednesday a Palestinian resident of Ni’lin village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah immediately after he returned from Geneva after testifying before a UN committee investigating the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, and other Israeli violations.
The resident was identified as Mohammad Srour. He was previously shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers who attacked a nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall in the West Bank village, near Ramallah. Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during the attack.
Israeli activist, Jonathan Pollack of the Anarchists Against the Wall also testified before the committee of Judge Richard Goldstone.
Srour returned to his village two days ago and was kidnapped by Israeli security officials at the Allenby Bridge between Jordan and the West Bank, and was moved to Ofer detention center.
His family told the Israeli Ynet News that the army kidnapped him because he testified before the international committee, and exposed the Israeli violations against the Palestinians and against nonviolent protests against the illegal Annexation Wall.
Israeli security officials claimed that Srour was not detained because he testified in Geneva, and added that he was detained due to alleged involvement of what Israel described as a 'terror activity’.
His brother said that the Israeli claim is bogus especially since Mohammad received a permission from Israel to leave the country, and crossed via the Israeli-controlled bridge between the West Bank and Jordan.
Soldiers kidnap Ni’lin resident for testifying before a UN Committee probing Israeli violations
Saed Bannoura
- IMEMC - July 23, 2009
Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Wednesday a Palestinian resident of Ni’lin village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah immediately after he returned from Geneva after testifying before a UN committee investigating the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, and other Israeli violations.
The resident was identified as Mohammad Srour. He was previously shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers who attacked a nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall in the West Bank village, near Ramallah. Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during the attack.
Israeli activist, Jonathan Pollack of the Anarchists Against the Wall also testified before the committee of Judge Richard Goldstone.
Srour returned to his village two days ago and was kidnapped by Israeli security officials at the Allenby Bridge between Jordan and the West Bank, and was moved to Ofer detention center.
His family told the Israeli Ynet News that the army kidnapped him because he testified before the international committee, and exposed the Israeli violations against the Palestinians and against nonviolent protests against the illegal Annexation Wall.
Israeli security officials claimed that Srour was not detained because he testified in Geneva, and added that he was detained due to alleged involvement of what Israel described as a 'terror activity’.
His brother said that the Israeli claim is bogus especially since Mohammad received a permission from Israel to leave the country, and crossed via the Israeli-controlled bridge between the West Bank and Jordan.
U.S. rabbis human kidneys
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=56288&s2=24
U.S. rabbis suspected of brokering sale of human kidneys
Reuters
July 23, 2009
Three New Jersey mayors and several rabbis were arrested on Thursday in a sweeping federal investigation into political corruption that also uncovered human kidney sales and money laundering from Brooklyn to Israel, authorities said.
Among the 44 people arrested were Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who took office 23 days ago.
Cammarano, at 31 the city's youngest-ever mayor, was charged with taking $25,000 in bribes, including e10,000 last Thursday, said the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark, New Jersey.
The case exposed "a corrupt network of public officials who were all too willing to take cash in exchange for promised official action," Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said in a statement. "It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of the action. The corruption was widespread and pervasive."
U.S. rabbis suspected of brokering sale of human kidneys
Reuters
July 23, 2009
Three New Jersey mayors and several rabbis were arrested on Thursday in a sweeping federal investigation into political corruption that also uncovered human kidney sales and money laundering from Brooklyn to Israel, authorities said.
Among the 44 people arrested were Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who took office 23 days ago.
Cammarano, at 31 the city's youngest-ever mayor, was charged with taking $25,000 in bribes, including e10,000 last Thursday, said the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark, New Jersey.
The case exposed "a corrupt network of public officials who were all too willing to take cash in exchange for promised official action," Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said in a statement. "It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of the action. The corruption was widespread and pervasive."
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Bird flu
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/21/pandemic.warning
Up to 75,000 Britons will in die in an "inevitable" flu pandemic that could kill as many as 50 million people worldwide, a parliamentary committee warns today.
The outbreak, most likely to be caused by a strain of bird flu, will be on a scale not seen for 40 years and cause "massive" disruption in the UK.
The committee report (click for PDF) warns that surveillance of emerging disease threats around the world needs to be overhauled to provide early warning of potential pandemics.
A new and potentially deadly infectious disease emerges somewhere in the world every year, threatening "devastating consequences" across the globe, warns the Lords intergovernmental organisations committee. Its report, published today, criticises Britain's "poorly coordinated" disease control systems.
Reform of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is "essential", as the global health agency is "dysfunctional" and lacking the organisation and resources to curb a major outbreak, it says.........................
================================================================================
Diseases Know No Frontiers: How effective are Intergovernmental Organisations in
controlling their pread?
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldintergov/143/143.pdf
Up to 75,000 Britons will in die in an "inevitable" flu pandemic that could kill as many as 50 million people worldwide, a parliamentary committee warns today.
The outbreak, most likely to be caused by a strain of bird flu, will be on a scale not seen for 40 years and cause "massive" disruption in the UK.
The committee report (click for PDF) warns that surveillance of emerging disease threats around the world needs to be overhauled to provide early warning of potential pandemics.
A new and potentially deadly infectious disease emerges somewhere in the world every year, threatening "devastating consequences" across the globe, warns the Lords intergovernmental organisations committee. Its report, published today, criticises Britain's "poorly coordinated" disease control systems.
Reform of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is "essential", as the global health agency is "dysfunctional" and lacking the organisation and resources to curb a major outbreak, it says.........................
================================================================================
Diseases Know No Frontiers: How effective are Intergovernmental Organisations in
controlling their pread?
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldintergov/143/143.pdf
whales, Intelligence
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/magazine/12whales-t.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
TO DATE, NO neurological studies of the gray-whale brain have been done. In 2006, however, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine analyzed the brains of two other baleen species — humpback and finback whales — as well as those of a number of toothed whales like dolphins and killer and sperm whales. The study revealed brain structures surprisingly similar to our own. Some, in fact, contained large concentrations of spindle cells — often referred to as the cells that make us human because of their link to higher cognitive functions like self-awareness, a sense of compassion and linguistic expression — with the added kick that whales evolved these same highly specialized neurons as many as 15 million years before we humans did, a stunning instance of a phenomenon biologists refer to as parallel evolution.
“In spite of the relative scarcity of information on many cetacean species,” the Mount Sinai scientists concluded in a report in the November 2006 edition of the journal The Anatomical Record, “it is important to note in this context that sperm whales, killer whales and certainly humpback whales exhibit complex social patterns that include intricate communication skills, coalition formation, cooperation, cultural transmission and tool usage.” They added that it is therefore “likely that some of these abilities” are related to the comparable complexity in the brain structures of whales and hominids.
The sperm whale, for example, which has the largest brain on earth, weighing as much as 19 pounds, has been found to live in large, elaborately structured societal groups, or clans, that typically number in the tens of thousands and wander over many thousands of miles of ocean. The whales of a clan are not all related, but within each clan there are smaller, close-knit, matriarchal family units. Young whales are raised within an extended, multitiered network of doting female caregivers, including the mother, aunts and grandmothers, who help in the nurturing of babies and, researchers suspect, in teaching them patterns of movement, hunting techniques and communication skills. “It’s like they’re living in these massive, multicultural, undersea societies,” says Hal Whitehead, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and the world’s foremost expert on the sperm whale. “It’s sort of strange. Really the closest analogy we have for it would be ourselves.”
Whitehead has even discovered distinct clan dialects using different codas, what he describes as a “Morse code-like pattern of clicks” that the whales make with their long head cavities and use to communicate with one another over many miles, reinforcing social bonds and declaring clan affiliation. Whitehead, who has been tracking and recording sperm whales around the globe since the early 1980s, has positively identified five distinct clan dialects and studied two extensively. “The regular clan,” he told me in a phone conversation from his lab in Nova Scotia, “makes three to eight equally spaced clicks. And then there are the Plus-One clans. They have two to eight clicks and then a pause and an added click at the end, kind of like the Canadian ‘eh.’ We’ve also noticed that these clans ply the water differently. Regular groups move in wiggly tracks closer to shore, while the Plus-Ones swim further from shore in straight lines.”
Whales display an incredible degree of coordination and cooperation in their efforts. Aaron Thode, an associate research scientist from the Scripps Institution, who was in Baja doing acoustical studies of grays, told me of another project he is involved in, using the latest research tools to gain insights into how whales perceive the world. He showed me an extraordinary video of sperm whales pilfering catch from fishermen’s lines in Alaska, 50-foot-long, massive-jawed behemoths delicately snatching a single black cod from a longline’s dangling hook, like an hors d’oeuvre from a cocktail toothpick. Fishermen are currently losing 5 to 10 percent of their yearly haul and fear the problem could become worse because whales who have mastered the technique are busily teaching it to others. The news seems to be rapidly spreading, as reports of similar fish-snatching are coming in from fishermen all over the world.
Humpback whales, meanwhile, have devised a prime example of what Fred Sharpe, executive director of the Alaska Whale Foundation, has described as “communal tool use.” Based on 20 years of observing humpbacks at sea and simulating their behaviors in the laboratory, Sharpe has been able to piece together the humpback’s rather ingenious fishing strategy. A group of humpbacks will get together and begin herding prey — herring, for example — toward the sea surface through the use of coordinated hunting calls. A designated leader of the group, meanwhile, will dive beneath the herded fish and emit from its blowhole an intense stream of rising bubbles, essentially forming a tube-shaped net to hold the fish in place. Waiting for the precise moment when the net has fully formed and captured the optimum number of fish, the group then rises as one, mouths agape, toward the surface.
Somehow the more we learn about whales, the more we’re coming to appreciate the sublimely discomfiting reality that a kind of parallel “us” has long been out there roaming the oceans' depths, succumbing to our assaults. Indeed, when that baby gray calf bobbed up out of the sea and held there that first morning, staring at me with his huge, slow-blinking eye, it felt to me as if he were taking one impossibly long and quizzical look in the mirror.
I asked Frohoff at one point if, given both the dark past of human-whale interactions in those lagoons and what we’ve now come to know about whale intelligence, there could possibly be some element of knowing forgiveness behind their actions. She took a deep breath and widened her eyes, making it clear that she wanted to be very careful about how she answered such a question.
“Those are the kinds of things that for the longest time a scientist wouldn’t dare consider,” she said. “But thank goodness we’ve gone through a kind of cognitive revolution when it comes to studying the intelligence and emotion of other species. In fact, I’d say now that it is my obligation as a scientist not to discount that possibility. We do have compelling evidence of the experience of grief in cetaceans; and of joy, anger, frustration and distress and self-awareness and tool use; and of protecting not just their young but also their companions from humans and other predators. So these are reasons why something like forgiveness is a possibility. And even if it’s not that exactly, I believe it’s something. That there’s something very potent occurring here from a behavioral and a biological perspective. I mean, I’d put my career on the line and challenge anybody to say that these whales are not actively soliciting and engaging in a form of communication with humans, both through eye contact and tactile interaction and perhaps acoustically in ways that we have not yet determined. I find the reality of it far more enthralling than all our past whale mythology.”
A female humpback was spotted in December 2005 east of the Farallon Islands, just off the coast of San Francisco. She was entangled in a web of crab-trap lines, hundreds of yards of nylon rope that had become wrapped around her mouth, torso and tail, the weight of the traps causing her to struggle to stay afloat. A rescue team arrived within a few hours and decided that the only way to save her was to dive in and cut her loose.
For an hour they cut at the lines and rope with curved knives, all the while trying to steer clear of a tail they knew could kill them with one swipe. When the whale was finally freed, the divers said, she swam around them for a time in what appeared to be joyous circles. She then came back and visited with each one of them, nudging them all gently, as if in thanks. The divers said it was the most beautiful experience they ever had. As for the diver who cut free the rope that was entangled in the whale’s mouth, her huge eye was following him the entire time, and he said that he will never be the same.
TO DATE, NO neurological studies of the gray-whale brain have been done. In 2006, however, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine analyzed the brains of two other baleen species — humpback and finback whales — as well as those of a number of toothed whales like dolphins and killer and sperm whales. The study revealed brain structures surprisingly similar to our own. Some, in fact, contained large concentrations of spindle cells — often referred to as the cells that make us human because of their link to higher cognitive functions like self-awareness, a sense of compassion and linguistic expression — with the added kick that whales evolved these same highly specialized neurons as many as 15 million years before we humans did, a stunning instance of a phenomenon biologists refer to as parallel evolution.
“In spite of the relative scarcity of information on many cetacean species,” the Mount Sinai scientists concluded in a report in the November 2006 edition of the journal The Anatomical Record, “it is important to note in this context that sperm whales, killer whales and certainly humpback whales exhibit complex social patterns that include intricate communication skills, coalition formation, cooperation, cultural transmission and tool usage.” They added that it is therefore “likely that some of these abilities” are related to the comparable complexity in the brain structures of whales and hominids.
The sperm whale, for example, which has the largest brain on earth, weighing as much as 19 pounds, has been found to live in large, elaborately structured societal groups, or clans, that typically number in the tens of thousands and wander over many thousands of miles of ocean. The whales of a clan are not all related, but within each clan there are smaller, close-knit, matriarchal family units. Young whales are raised within an extended, multitiered network of doting female caregivers, including the mother, aunts and grandmothers, who help in the nurturing of babies and, researchers suspect, in teaching them patterns of movement, hunting techniques and communication skills. “It’s like they’re living in these massive, multicultural, undersea societies,” says Hal Whitehead, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and the world’s foremost expert on the sperm whale. “It’s sort of strange. Really the closest analogy we have for it would be ourselves.”
Whitehead has even discovered distinct clan dialects using different codas, what he describes as a “Morse code-like pattern of clicks” that the whales make with their long head cavities and use to communicate with one another over many miles, reinforcing social bonds and declaring clan affiliation. Whitehead, who has been tracking and recording sperm whales around the globe since the early 1980s, has positively identified five distinct clan dialects and studied two extensively. “The regular clan,” he told me in a phone conversation from his lab in Nova Scotia, “makes three to eight equally spaced clicks. And then there are the Plus-One clans. They have two to eight clicks and then a pause and an added click at the end, kind of like the Canadian ‘eh.’ We’ve also noticed that these clans ply the water differently. Regular groups move in wiggly tracks closer to shore, while the Plus-Ones swim further from shore in straight lines.”
Whales display an incredible degree of coordination and cooperation in their efforts. Aaron Thode, an associate research scientist from the Scripps Institution, who was in Baja doing acoustical studies of grays, told me of another project he is involved in, using the latest research tools to gain insights into how whales perceive the world. He showed me an extraordinary video of sperm whales pilfering catch from fishermen’s lines in Alaska, 50-foot-long, massive-jawed behemoths delicately snatching a single black cod from a longline’s dangling hook, like an hors d’oeuvre from a cocktail toothpick. Fishermen are currently losing 5 to 10 percent of their yearly haul and fear the problem could become worse because whales who have mastered the technique are busily teaching it to others. The news seems to be rapidly spreading, as reports of similar fish-snatching are coming in from fishermen all over the world.
Humpback whales, meanwhile, have devised a prime example of what Fred Sharpe, executive director of the Alaska Whale Foundation, has described as “communal tool use.” Based on 20 years of observing humpbacks at sea and simulating their behaviors in the laboratory, Sharpe has been able to piece together the humpback’s rather ingenious fishing strategy. A group of humpbacks will get together and begin herding prey — herring, for example — toward the sea surface through the use of coordinated hunting calls. A designated leader of the group, meanwhile, will dive beneath the herded fish and emit from its blowhole an intense stream of rising bubbles, essentially forming a tube-shaped net to hold the fish in place. Waiting for the precise moment when the net has fully formed and captured the optimum number of fish, the group then rises as one, mouths agape, toward the surface.
Somehow the more we learn about whales, the more we’re coming to appreciate the sublimely discomfiting reality that a kind of parallel “us” has long been out there roaming the oceans' depths, succumbing to our assaults. Indeed, when that baby gray calf bobbed up out of the sea and held there that first morning, staring at me with his huge, slow-blinking eye, it felt to me as if he were taking one impossibly long and quizzical look in the mirror.
I asked Frohoff at one point if, given both the dark past of human-whale interactions in those lagoons and what we’ve now come to know about whale intelligence, there could possibly be some element of knowing forgiveness behind their actions. She took a deep breath and widened her eyes, making it clear that she wanted to be very careful about how she answered such a question.
“Those are the kinds of things that for the longest time a scientist wouldn’t dare consider,” she said. “But thank goodness we’ve gone through a kind of cognitive revolution when it comes to studying the intelligence and emotion of other species. In fact, I’d say now that it is my obligation as a scientist not to discount that possibility. We do have compelling evidence of the experience of grief in cetaceans; and of joy, anger, frustration and distress and self-awareness and tool use; and of protecting not just their young but also their companions from humans and other predators. So these are reasons why something like forgiveness is a possibility. And even if it’s not that exactly, I believe it’s something. That there’s something very potent occurring here from a behavioral and a biological perspective. I mean, I’d put my career on the line and challenge anybody to say that these whales are not actively soliciting and engaging in a form of communication with humans, both through eye contact and tactile interaction and perhaps acoustically in ways that we have not yet determined. I find the reality of it far more enthralling than all our past whale mythology.”
Monday, 20 July 2009
US Terror Interrogation Unit
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=56130&s2=19
July 18, 2009
WASHINGTON, AP – The Obama administration is considering creating a special unit of professional interrogators to handle key terror suspects, focusing on intelligence-gathering rather than building criminal cases for prosecution, a government official said Saturday.
The recommendation is expected from a presidential task force on interrogation methods that plans to send some findings to the White House on Tuesday.
The official said the panel, which has not completed its work, has concluded that the unit of intelligence and law enforcement agencies should be created. The task force is unsure which agencies should have a role, though the CIA and FBI are expected to be important players, according to the official. He was not authorized to publicly discuss the panel's work and spoke on condition of anonymity.
July 18, 2009
WASHINGTON, AP – The Obama administration is considering creating a special unit of professional interrogators to handle key terror suspects, focusing on intelligence-gathering rather than building criminal cases for prosecution, a government official said Saturday.
The recommendation is expected from a presidential task force on interrogation methods that plans to send some findings to the White House on Tuesday.
The official said the panel, which has not completed its work, has concluded that the unit of intelligence and law enforcement agencies should be created. The task force is unsure which agencies should have a role, though the CIA and FBI are expected to be important players, according to the official. He was not authorized to publicly discuss the panel's work and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Harry Truman, Christian Zionist
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article23098.htm
Harry Truman, a Christian Zionist, remains one of the more notable recipients of funds. In 1948, he was trailing badly in the polls and in fundraising. His prospects brightened dramatically in May after he recognized as a legitimate state an enclave of Jewish extremists who originally planned to settle in Argentina before putting their sights on Palestine.
That recognition was opposed by Secretary of State George C. Marshall, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the bulk of the diplomatic corps, the fledgling Central Intelligence Agency and numerous distinguished Americans, including moderate and secular Jews concerned at the troubles that were certain to follow. Not until 1984 was it revealed that a network of Jewish Zionists had funded Truman’s campaign by financially refueling his whistle-stop campaign train with $400,000 in cash ($3 million in 2009 dollars).
Harry Truman, a Christian Zionist, remains one of the more notable recipients of funds. In 1948, he was trailing badly in the polls and in fundraising. His prospects brightened dramatically in May after he recognized as a legitimate state an enclave of Jewish extremists who originally planned to settle in Argentina before putting their sights on Palestine.
That recognition was opposed by Secretary of State George C. Marshall, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the bulk of the diplomatic corps, the fledgling Central Intelligence Agency and numerous distinguished Americans, including moderate and secular Jews concerned at the troubles that were certain to follow. Not until 1984 was it revealed that a network of Jewish Zionists had funded Truman’s campaign by financially refueling his whistle-stop campaign train with $400,000 in cash ($3 million in 2009 dollars).
AIPAC
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article23098.htm
Jewish Achievement reports that 42% of the largest political donors to the 2000 election cycle were Jewish, including four of the top five. That compares to less than 2% of Americans who are Jewish. Of the Forbes 400 richest Americans, 25% are Jewish according to Michael Steinhardt, a key funder of the Democratic Leadership Council. The DLC was led by Jewish Zionist Senator Joe Lieberman when he resigned in 2000 to run as vice president with pro-Israeli presidential candidate Al Gore.
Money was never a constraint. Pro-Israeli donors were limited only by how much they could lawfully contribute to AIPAC-screened candidates. McCain-Feingold raised a key limit. The full impact of this foreign influence has yet to be tallied. What’s known, however, is sufficient to apply the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Of the top 50 neoconservatives who advocated war in Iraq, 26 were Jewish (52%).
Jewish Achievement reports that 42% of the largest political donors to the 2000 election cycle were Jewish, including four of the top five. That compares to less than 2% of Americans who are Jewish. Of the Forbes 400 richest Americans, 25% are Jewish according to Michael Steinhardt, a key funder of the Democratic Leadership Council. The DLC was led by Jewish Zionist Senator Joe Lieberman when he resigned in 2000 to run as vice president with pro-Israeli presidential candidate Al Gore.
Money was never a constraint. Pro-Israeli donors were limited only by how much they could lawfully contribute to AIPAC-screened candidates. McCain-Feingold raised a key limit. The full impact of this foreign influence has yet to be tallied. What’s known, however, is sufficient to apply the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Of the top 50 neoconservatives who advocated war in Iraq, 26 were Jewish (52%).
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Credit Rating
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score
Universal credit ratings are a myth, they don't exist in the UK. Each lender scores you based on its ‘perfect customer’ wish list. Yet so many people are under this misapprehension, and look for info on it, we've had to deliberately mis-title this article.
This is a step-by-step guide to how banks and others assess you, and how to boost your ability to get mortgages, credit cards and more. It includes details on hidden fraud scoring, a trick to instantly get all your credit files for free, and the unique, quick Credit Checker tool that assesses your history and allows you to work out your credit weakness.
Get a loan, mortgage, overdraft, credit card, contract mobile phone or even monthly car insurance and lenders ‘score’ you to predict your likely behaviour. Scoring systems are never published and differ lender-to-lender, and product-to-product. So just because one company rejects you, it doesn't automatically mean another will.
Credit scoring doesn't just dictate what products you'll receive, but also how good the ones you actually get are. For example, most loan rates are ‘typical', meaning the APR depends on your credit score; with credit cards, if your score's too low for the sexy deal you wanted, you might get accepted but sent a different product.
There are two big myths to clear up though…
Universal credit ‘ratings’ and ‘blacklists’ DON’T exist.
It mightn't feel like that though, as while each lender scores differently, the information they use is similar. A bad risk for one lender is often a bad risk for others too. You'll be given a different credit rating by each of the three credit agencies (a snapshot on the day you get it). But lenders use that score as just one part of their decision to lend, and each lender will look for a different type of borrower.
Lenders aren't obliged to dole out credit.
Applications are aggregated into millions, and banks prefer to deny a few good quality applicants rather than overspend on personalised vetting procedures or accepting large numbers of unprofitable customers.
It’s all about how financially attractive you are...
Many people still find it deeply frustrating that they get rejected. Yet as the saying sometimes goes, “it's not you, it's them”. While it's crucial to check for errors and do all you can to be as attractive to a lender as possible, sometimes you just aren’t what they’re looking for. Think of it like this:
Jane Bank and Sarah Lender are out on the pull. Neither like guys who are overweight, and both are looking for dark hair, dark eyes and good looks. Yet while Jane leans towards guys with a stubble, Sarah likes a clean shaven man. While Jane likes intense men, Sarah values a sense of humour. So while there's lots of guys they both reject without question, and some they both lust after, they can still end up fancying different blokes.
Credit scoring works the same way. Different companies are looking for different things so a rejection by one doesn't necessarily mean a rejection by all. Yet some borrowers are unattractive to almost all lenders so if you're a bad risk most will turn you down. However, a few (very few in the credit crunch) may have a fetish for those with poor credit histories as they can charge more.
And sadly for those rejected, just as when the guys ask Sarah or Jane why they're not interested, they just say: "Cos I don't fancy you," and that's about it. We don't always get to know other than: "Your credit score wasn’t high enough."
The aim of this guide is to make sure that lenders see you in the best possible light, that when they’re looking at you, you’re always dressed up to the nines, looking as hot as you can, and your skirt/shirt isn't tucked into your pants without you knowing.
Credit scoring's about profit not risk...
This is so important, let's make it as clear as possible.
Even good risks can be rejected simply because they won't make the bank money!
Banks pick customers for their own good, NOT yours, so the scoring process is about profit not risk. Of course, risk plays a part, as those unlikely to repay are a threat to profits. Yet even the most solvent may be rejected if they're unlikely to act in a way that'll generate profit for lenders.
The credit crunch has only magnified this. The sooner we understand banks are there to make money, not help us, the better we can play the system
It’s about sophisticated customer weeding
At the high end, the whole process is about lenders picking their perfect customers, and their reasons for rejection can seem bizarre on the outside, but make perfect sense to them. For example…
Credit card companies may reject you for always repaying cards in full.
While you feel like the perfect punter, for credit card companies, you’re a nightmare. If they can spot this trend, you’re likely to be rejected. The most profitable credit card customers are those who are perpetually in debt, never defaulting, but always managing to meet the minimum repayment.
Pay off in full every month, don’t use cards enough, or always shift debt to 0% cards, and if they can spot you, they may reject you.
Banks score you based on products they'd like to sell you in future.
Imagine this scenario: a bank wants new mortgage customers, yet that’s a costly sell. Instead, it draws you in with a current account paying a high rate of interest on a small amount kept in it. Yet, when you apply, rather than scoring you as a bank account customer, it could actually be scoring to see if you’re likely to be a profitable mortgage borrower in the future.
What they know about you
Banks use a variety of information to make their decision whether to lend to you, including data held by three companies known as ‘credit reference agencies’: Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. Yet the info they have is by no means comprehensive.
What banks know about you…
There are three prime sources of information used for scores.
The application form.
Here, lenders obtain the crucial details of your postcode, salary, family size, reason for the loan and whether you're a home owner. Ensure you fill the forms in carefully. One slight slip, such as “£2,000” salary rather than “£20,000”, can immediately kibosh any application and possibly future ones too. See the fraud scoring section
Past dealings with the company.
Companies use any previous dealings with you to help assess your behaviour, though complicated data protection rules can limit which separate units of a company can communicate to each other. This could mean if you've behaved well with one company, but poorly with others, it's more likely to give you credit.
Credit reference agency files.
Experian, Equifax and Callcredit compile information, allowing them to send data on any UK individual to prospective lenders. All lenders use at least one agency when assessing your file. This data comes from five main sources:
Electoral roll information. This is publicly available and contains address and who lives with whom details.
Court records. County Court Judgements (CCJs) and Bankruptcies indicate if you have a history of debt problems.
Search, address and linked data. This includes records of other lenders who've searched your file when you've applied for credit, addresses you're linked to or other people you have a financial association with.
Fraud data. If you've committed a fraud (or someone has stolen your identity and committed fraud) this will be held on your file under the CIFAS section. More on that below.
Account data. Banks, building societies and other organisations compile details of all your payments and transactions on credit/store cards, loans, mortgages, bank accounts and mobile phone contracts. In theory, they could also hold your record of paying utility bills, though few, if any, utility firms submit the necessary data.
Around 350 million records a month are tracked including details 'default data', where you're officially in default, and 'full data' which incorporates how you generally operate the account, from being the model customer to defaulting.
‘Default data’ has always been shared by financial companies but now ‘full data’ is shared too. This means each lender now has access to all information about you from other organisations.
Now, the 'full data' that credit card companies share about you is increasing. From 1 December 2008, Barclaycard, Capital One, GE Money, HBOS and MBNA began sharing a lot more.
As well as your available credit, actual debts, and whether you've missed repayments, they'll include the amount you repay (ie, if it's the minimum, or repaying in full) and whether you've a promotional deal (plus, if you use credit card cash advances, which you NEVER EVER should).
While, overall, the aim is to stop irresponsible lending, we suspect lenders are salivating that they'll now have info to score out those customers who play the system, and constantly shift from 0% to 0% deals.
What banks don't know about you…
There are many myths about what information is held on credit files. Don't be fooled, though. They hold an enormous amount of financial data, but not everything.
The following things are NOT listed on your report that lenders can see:
Parking or Driving Fines. Any fines you have incurred, for example parking or driving fines. Even though they’re issued by the courts they aren’t ‘credit’ issues so they’re not listed.
Race, Religion, Colour. None of these personal details about you are held.
Whether you've checked your file. While this info is held, and does appear when you check your file, it isn't passed on to lenders and doesn't play any role in any assessment of you.
Salary. How much you earn isn't on your file either, though you will usually be asked on the application form.
Savings Accounts. As savings are not a credit product they don’t appear on credit files.
Medical History. Medical problems you may have had in the past aren't listed.
Criminal record. No criminal convictions are listed.
Child Support Agency. Information from the Child Support Agency is excluded.
Information on relatives. Provided you don’t have any joint financial products (see later) there is no information about members of your family who live, or have lived, with you or any other third parties.
Student Loans (for some). Until recently, no info about official Student Loans Company loans was passed to credit reference agencies, unless you had a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against you for lack of payment. That meant they don't know whether you have one or not.
However, in early 2009, the SLC has said it will start including defaults on old-style 'mortgage-loans' which students who started Uni pre-1998 have, as part of credit reference agency data. This doesn't apply to the modern loans which are paid through the tax system.
Declined applications. Lenders can only see whether you've applied for credit elsewhere, not whether you've been accepted or declined. However, they may be able to guess by examining the credit accounts you have open.
Some defaults or missed payments. Usually, these stay on your file for six years, so anything before that may be wiped off. However, if you close an account, then missed payments could remain on your file until the sixth anniversary of account closure. With bankruptcy, it is wiped six years from the date you're declared bankrupt, as long as you're been discharged from the bankruptcy.
Check your credit files for free
As every company uses a different credit scoring procedure, pinpointing how any given one will view you is impossible. Yet keeping an eye on your general credit healthiness is important.
You’ve a statutory right under the Consumer Credit Act to write and get your files, yet this is slow and costs £2 per agency (see the officially checking credit files note). Instead, there’s a trick to instantly get more detailed info online for free at the two main agencies (see the section below). After you’ve done this, have a play with the quick, anonymous credit checker below to see if you can improve your score too.
How many and how often?
If possible, check all three agencies, as there’s no harm. While doing a check is recorded on your file, it does NOT add a ‘credit search’ that a lender can see, so has no impact. It's worth checking because an error can cause you a problem. It’s a good idea to do a check-up roughly every year to 18 months, and always do one in good time before making any important applications.
If time is short and you can only use one, then choose Experian or Equifax.
Check your file for free online...
Credit ratings have become big business. In the old days, the agencies made their money flogging their data to lenders, but our desire for credit means they spotted a lucrative market to sell it back to us too. Luckily, this leaves open a nice loophole.
The top end service offered is ‘credit monitoring', which costs around £70 a year (find out more about other credit services ). To tempt you in, they offer free month-long trials, which require you to set up a Direct Debit or regular credit card payment.
Of course, the aim is you’ll not bother to cancel it when the month’s up so it still drips from your account, so much so, often it may look like you're just signing up for a freebie, until they ask for your card details, that is.
The Trick…
As part of the monitoring service you get to see your credit file online whenever you want, and laid out in a much easier to understand way than if you order the statutory file.
Therefore sign up, then view your file at no cost (you may be able to do this instantly, though may have to be posted a passcode), and then cancel the subscription. Even though they allow 30 days, it's best to cancel straight away, as leave it a month, and you may forget.
The different systems are as follows:
Experian’s Credit Expert.
Details: Credit Expert* offers a ‘free 30-day trial, then £6.99 per month' service which includes your credit report, so if you want your credit reference file just sign up and cancel this. Don’t confuse it with the Credit Score service which costs a one off £5.95.
How to cancel: It makes it very easy, just call the free-phone number 0800 656 9000.
Equifax’s Credit Watch Gold.
Details: Credit Watch Gold* has two options, one at £7.50 a month, but the one you need to choose is the ‘Free for 30 days and then £69.99 for the year'. When you sign up, a payment card will need to be authorised but the £1 fee is not actually charged to your card if you cancel in time.
How to cancel: To request cancellation call 0870 0100583 and quote your account reference.
If you're worried about hassle, then the best system is simply use the official credit checking system.
Get paid to check your file
And even better, you can sometimes get paid up to £7 to check your credit file if you go via a Cashback Websites. It’s worth checking.
What to check on your file
Once you’ve got your credit files, the key is to check the accuracy of the info that banks are judging you on. As we're talking billions of pieces of data, there are always mistakes. So, quite simply…
Check EVERYTHING! One mistake can be a hammer-blow to credit applications
First, the obvious stuff. Are all your debts correctly listed? Are there any inaccuracies on your repayment history?
Yet other details are important too. Check your present and past address details. Errors here can lead to you being judged on someone else's credit history. Also, your finances may be incorrectly linked with someone else's. Focus especially on any currently active accounts. If they're still open, even if you haven't used them for years, it can cause problems.
What to do if there's an error?
If you disagree with anything on your file, just write to the agency and request it's changed. If the agency agrees it should quickly change the file, though sometimes you'll need to talk to the company that originally filed the data.
Unfortunately, sometimes it may refuse to amend your file. If this happens you're entitled to add your own comments as a ‘notice of correction'. This will often mean your credit applications take longer, but it may help you to obtain better deals.
Don't go on too much when explaining the error, though, and don't overly berate. Be concise, explanatory and factual.
Fraud Scoring... the hidden credit killer.
When you apply for a product, it isn't just a case of assessing whether you're desirable, but also checking that the application is legitimate. Therefore, as well as the credit reference agencies, lenders also use completely separate anti-fraud agencies to try and weed out problems. The two big ones work in very different ways
National Hunter. Spots anomolies on application forms, so be consistent
How it operates. This system's much less factual and therefore is prone to greater errors. However, it's used by almost all major banks and building societies, receives 100,000 applications a day and has a real impact, yet is very rarely mentioned.
It works by looking for inconsistencies between your current application form and any past applications you've made, trying to spot factual errors. While it can't block your application itself, it triggers a red warning flag to lenders, and this happens roughly 1 in 20 times. Lenders can then check the info, and either ignore it, or do further checks. They are not allowed to reject you based on the National Hunter ref flag alone.
Things like a number of applications in a few days can also trigger warnings, though generally that's more acceptable with mortgages where it's more common than with credit cards.
What to watch for. It's crucial to be consistent, even over long periods, when you fill in application forms. If you have a number of job titles or phone numbers try and use the same one, on every application. Changes to guidance introduced in 2009 mean lenders are supposed to tell you if National Hunter has been a contributing reason for your rejection.
Check your file. To check the info it holds on you, it's necessary to write to it making a data protection request and enclosing £10. The National Hunter website explains this. This can also be a useful thing to do if you think you're a victim of ID fraud.
What you'll get is effectively a list of the information you've put on past applications. If there's an error on the file, which is possible, you can't correct it directly with National Hunter, you'll need to go back to the lender who submitted that application to have it corrected.
CIFAS: Lists confirmed past fraud
How it operates. It is simply a record of known fraud, so if you're on there, in general, you should know about it. It's also the organisation to speak to if you think you've been a victim of ID fraud. Worryingly, any fraud committed at your address could appear on your CIFAS file, even if you did not commit the fraud.
Though like with National Hunter, a lender cannot refuse your application based on the CIFAS data, but must investigate first. Hopefully, that should prove you were not the perpetrator.
Check your file. The info it holds on you should be contained on your credit report under the CIFAS section. For a £10 fee, you can also request a copy of any files CIFAS holds on you (which is hopefully nothing). Full details on the CIFAS website.
If you've a dispute with the info held, you need to contact the company that logged the information on your CIFAS file first. If you're not happy with the response, once you've recevied a final response letter, you can then contact CIFAS to investigate.
For more information on ID fraud protection see the free ID fraud help guide.
Manage and improve your credit score
Once you know what lenders see, you are in a better position to sway their opinion. You do this by thinking tactically and behaving appropriately. Unfortunately though, there's no magic. After all, every lender does it differently, but there are easy ways to improve the odds.
A quick note, though. You may've seen adverts for credit repair agencies promising to improve your ‘rating' for a fee, yet there's nothing they can legally do that you can't do yourself for nowt (find out more about credit repair agencies ).
The quick Credit Checker tool...
Answering ten quick questions gives you a rough indication of how good a risk you’re likely to be to lenders. Of course, risk isn’t everything, profitability is, but this is a good clue to general attitudes.
Don’t be afraid to play
The most used credit reference agency, Experian*, provided the calculations and data to build this tool, so the results are kosher. Try playing with different answers, and see the impact on your score. Once you’ve pondered the list below and thought what you can possibly improve, plug some different answers into the checker and see if it affects the results.
Improve your credit score...
While it's not an exact science, there are a number of specific things you can do as good practice to improve both your credit score and lenders' attitudes towards you.
Get on the electoral roll.
If you're not on the roll, it's unlikely you'll get any credit. Write to your local council to ensure you are. Do it immediately, don't wait for it to send round the annual forms.
For those who aren't eligible to vote (mainly foreign nationals), send all the credit reference agencies proof of residency and ask them to add a note to verify this.
Time applications correctly.
Lots of credit searches, the notes left on your file when you apply for things, in a short space of time hurt your score. Space out applications, not just for credit but for car insurance, mobile phones and others, as all can leave searches on your file.
Moving house also disrupts a score, so make important applications pre-moving. Plus, you'll score better when you're earning, so if you're about to take time off, go on maternity leave or suspect potential redundancy, apply beforehand - though never lie on applications, if asked.
Building a good credit history/repairing past problems.
Credit scoring tries to predict your behaviour. If you've no credit history it's more difficult for lenders to do this, so you're more likely to be rejected. Therefore, both for those with poor and no credit histories, you need to build a good one.
Use ‘expensive’ credit cards.
If you can't get credit, sadly, the solution is apply for hideous 30%-ish rate credit cards offered by the likes of Barclaycard Initial*, Capital One Classic*, Monument, Aquacard* and Vanquis*
You can also try the special Smartsearch from comparison site MoneySupermarket*, which effectively assesses your credit worthiness (a bit like our Credit Checker), then tries to match you up with the best card.
Importantly, it doesn’t do a credit search, as that itself would hit your credit score. Instead, it just asks a few basic credit history questions and works with credit reference agency Equifax to give a rough and ready assessment, followed by indicating ‘suitable cards’.
To help rebuild your credit rating, you can use these for six to twelve months, spending a little every month. It's even better if you can use two cards to build more data. But there is a vital golden rule....
Strictly repay EVERY month, in FULL, so there's no interest cost.
After that, you should've built a credit history allowing you to move into the mainstream. This tactic is also useful for those who've defaulted in the past.
As a last resort pay for a special prepaid card.
If you've been rejected for cards like this, there is a 'last resort' solution. The Cashplus Creditbuilder* is a prepaid card costing £9.95, meaning you have to load it with cash before spending, rather than having a credit facility.
Cunningly, it charges a £4.95 monthly fee, which technically counts as a £59.40/year loan. As long as you pay the fee every month for a year, this info will be passed on to credit reference agency Experian.
Crucially, though, no credit check is needed to get the card. Once you've made 12 payments, it should show on your credit history as a fully repaid loan agreement, making you a more attractive customer (to those companies that use Experian for credit scoring, which is the vast majority of them) and hopefully meaning you can apply for better credit card and loan deals. Though you are, of course, paying £70 for it!
For more details on this, including pros and cons, read Cashplus Creditbuilder discussion.
Keep up payments and never be late.
Always try to follow at least the minimum repayment plan for your financial products. Even if you're struggling, don't default or miss payments. Doing this once or twice could cause problems that can cost you for years (though you may be able to get past charges back – see Bank Charges Reclaiming article). Though those in the previous 12 months will hurt you the most.
If you are in difficulties, the cliché 'contact your lender' is a good one. Hopefully, it will try and help a little. Changing your repayment schedule is preferable to you defaulting - and though it will hit your credit score, it's better than a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you.
For repaying credit cards, the simplest method is to set up a Direct Debit to repay it each month. Then, you'll always hit the key criteria. If you have to, just do it for the minimum repayment, but then always try and pay extra by web, phone or post to get rid of the debt quicker (see the minimum repayments guide)
Marriage doesn't hurt, joint finances do.
Simply marrying or living with someone with a bad credit score shouldn't impact your finances, as third-party data (ie, someone else's info) doesn't appear on your file.
Yet if you're 'financially linked' to someone on any product, it can have an impact. Even just a joint bills account for flat sharers can mean you are co-scored. If one partner has a poor history, keep your finances rigidly separate, and it should maintain access to good credit for the other.
In fact, there are only two common products that can infer financial linking: mortgages and joint bank accounts. As a note, there's no such thing as a ‘joint' credit card. Technically, it's one person's account and the other just has access to it. It is technically possible that joint utility bills could be reported on credit files, though current practice is not to do so.
If you split up with someone you've joint finances with, once the accounts are separated or no longer active, always write to the credit reference agencies and ask for a notice of 'disassociation', to stop their credit history affecting yours in future.
Get a 'quotation search' not a 'credit search'.
If you're just trying to get a specific quote for a loan, ask the lender to do a ‘quotation search' and not a ‘credit search'. This means the enquiry won't have a negative impact on your credit score. Sadly, many lenders haven't yet adopted this practice, but it is worth asking. If not, consider whether you really want to get a quote - if it's unlikely you'll get the product, don't bother.
In both the Personal Loan and Credit Card Balance Transfer articles, there are details on special comparisons available to find out who's likely to accept you, without actually applying. Plus the credit checker gives you an idea for free of the type of cards you’ll get.
Frankly, this situation is a disgrace, we should have a right to know the rate you’ll get before applications go on credit files. Apply for a product and it puts a search on your credit file which hits your credit score, yet many products are rate for risk, without applying you can’t know the rate. This vicious circle thats hurts comparing products should be stopped. Until it does, be careful.
Evidence of stability is good.
Home owners rather than renters, and those who are employed, rather than self-employed, tend to be accepted more. Putting a fixed (land) line rather than a mobile number on application forms can help with security checks and improve your chances. Being with the same employer, bank and current address for a while all help too.
Check the address on all active accounts.
You may not have used your old mobile contract or credit card for five years, but if the account is still listed as open and you had a different address this can stymie applications due to ID checks. Check your file and go through every active account's address to ensure it's up to date.
Avoid the ‘rejection spiral'.
There’s a nightmare scenario you need to avoid, called the rejection spiral. It works like this:
You apply.
You get rejected (sometimes falsely, due to an error).
You apply elsewhere.
You get rejected again.
This continues, until finally you check your files and get the error corrected.
You apply again
You’re rejected, not due to the error, but because of all the recent ‘searches’.
Thus, if you're rejected once, immediately check the files are correct, otherwise you may mess up your score for an age as more applications mean more searches, which compounds the problem. You'll be told by the lender which credit reference agency it used to assess your info, so focus on that.
It is possible after an error to get successive searches wiped, but it involves negotiation both with the agency and the lender, and isn't easy.
The rejection spiral also applies when you apply for credit normally reserved for those with an 'excellent' score when you, say, only have a good score (sadly, many lenders do not publish their criteria so it's difficult to know in advance). So you're a perfectly acceptable risk for most, yet once you get that first rejection, it can harm your chances of getting further credit because a search has been registered. So check your file and call lenders you plan to apply to in advance to check.
Dealing with defaults on your file.
One of the major problems people face are past debt defaults on your file, these can easily hamper most apppications to get new credit and if they're genuine and fair are tough to deal with. There are a few things you can try though especially if the default is unfair.
Complain to the Ombudsman. First write to the company and complain the default isn't fair and lay out your terms. Ask it to wipe the fault from your file, which it can do if it's disputed. If that fails, complain to the Financial Ombudsman the free independent arbiteur of disputes, it can rule both that the debt is unfair and that the default can be wiped.
Negotiate with the lender. If you are prepared to settle the debt, either in part or in full, then you can enter a negotiation with whomever you owe the money. As part of this you can make a condition of settlement that the default is wiped off your credit file. Companies are allowed to do this for disputed defaults.
Add a 'Notice of Correction'. If all else fails, and you believe the default's justifiably unfair, add a notice of correction to the file explaining the problem eg,saying: "It was a joint account and the debt was run up once I no longer had access by my errant ex-husband/wife." This will slow applications down, as most companies will look at it manually, but as a substantial default is likely to stop you getting credit anyway, that's usually not a problem, providing it helps.
Cancel unused credit cards, debts and accounts.
Access to too much credit, even if it isn't used, can be a problem. If you have a range of unused credit cards, cancel most of them; this lowers your available credit and should help (see the Cancel Old Cards article for full info on what to close when).
However long standing bank accounts with good credit histories can be a benefit to your credit score, so they're often best left open.
Use any savings to pay off debts.
The amount of outstanding debt you have is part of the info lenders have access to, so minimising this is a clever strategy. In general, you’ll be better off by using savings to pay off expensive debts anyway (read Pay off Debts with Savings).
With the credit crunch biting, this is particularly true if the product you’re applying for is a mortgage. People who haven’t paid much of their mortgage debt off are struggling to get decent new deals (see the Remortgage guide).
For those with an LTV (Loan to Value ratio) of over 90%, meaning your mortgage debt is at least 90% of the house’s value, getting a new mortgage has become very difficult. For those with an 80% to 90% LTV you should get a new deal, but it won’t be too cheap.
So if you have savings, and can use them to significantly lower your mortgage borrowing, enabling you to get a better deal, it's often worth doing. The extra amount your savings will earn isn’t likely to be as much as the benefit from a cheaper mortgage. Read Should I Pay Off My Mortgage?
And a final thought. Though it may be tempting, lying on your application form doesn't help. Firstly it's an offence, but also if lenders can't corroborate your information you may well get rejected anyway.
Universal credit ratings are a myth, they don't exist in the UK. Each lender scores you based on its ‘perfect customer’ wish list. Yet so many people are under this misapprehension, and look for info on it, we've had to deliberately mis-title this article.
This is a step-by-step guide to how banks and others assess you, and how to boost your ability to get mortgages, credit cards and more. It includes details on hidden fraud scoring, a trick to instantly get all your credit files for free, and the unique, quick Credit Checker tool that assesses your history and allows you to work out your credit weakness.
Get a loan, mortgage, overdraft, credit card, contract mobile phone or even monthly car insurance and lenders ‘score’ you to predict your likely behaviour. Scoring systems are never published and differ lender-to-lender, and product-to-product. So just because one company rejects you, it doesn't automatically mean another will.
Credit scoring doesn't just dictate what products you'll receive, but also how good the ones you actually get are. For example, most loan rates are ‘typical', meaning the APR depends on your credit score; with credit cards, if your score's too low for the sexy deal you wanted, you might get accepted but sent a different product.
There are two big myths to clear up though…
Universal credit ‘ratings’ and ‘blacklists’ DON’T exist.
It mightn't feel like that though, as while each lender scores differently, the information they use is similar. A bad risk for one lender is often a bad risk for others too. You'll be given a different credit rating by each of the three credit agencies (a snapshot on the day you get it). But lenders use that score as just one part of their decision to lend, and each lender will look for a different type of borrower.
Lenders aren't obliged to dole out credit.
Applications are aggregated into millions, and banks prefer to deny a few good quality applicants rather than overspend on personalised vetting procedures or accepting large numbers of unprofitable customers.
It’s all about how financially attractive you are...
Many people still find it deeply frustrating that they get rejected. Yet as the saying sometimes goes, “it's not you, it's them”. While it's crucial to check for errors and do all you can to be as attractive to a lender as possible, sometimes you just aren’t what they’re looking for. Think of it like this:
Jane Bank and Sarah Lender are out on the pull. Neither like guys who are overweight, and both are looking for dark hair, dark eyes and good looks. Yet while Jane leans towards guys with a stubble, Sarah likes a clean shaven man. While Jane likes intense men, Sarah values a sense of humour. So while there's lots of guys they both reject without question, and some they both lust after, they can still end up fancying different blokes.
Credit scoring works the same way. Different companies are looking for different things so a rejection by one doesn't necessarily mean a rejection by all. Yet some borrowers are unattractive to almost all lenders so if you're a bad risk most will turn you down. However, a few (very few in the credit crunch) may have a fetish for those with poor credit histories as they can charge more.
And sadly for those rejected, just as when the guys ask Sarah or Jane why they're not interested, they just say: "Cos I don't fancy you," and that's about it. We don't always get to know other than: "Your credit score wasn’t high enough."
The aim of this guide is to make sure that lenders see you in the best possible light, that when they’re looking at you, you’re always dressed up to the nines, looking as hot as you can, and your skirt/shirt isn't tucked into your pants without you knowing.
Credit scoring's about profit not risk...
This is so important, let's make it as clear as possible.
Even good risks can be rejected simply because they won't make the bank money!
Banks pick customers for their own good, NOT yours, so the scoring process is about profit not risk. Of course, risk plays a part, as those unlikely to repay are a threat to profits. Yet even the most solvent may be rejected if they're unlikely to act in a way that'll generate profit for lenders.
The credit crunch has only magnified this. The sooner we understand banks are there to make money, not help us, the better we can play the system
It’s about sophisticated customer weeding
At the high end, the whole process is about lenders picking their perfect customers, and their reasons for rejection can seem bizarre on the outside, but make perfect sense to them. For example…
Credit card companies may reject you for always repaying cards in full.
While you feel like the perfect punter, for credit card companies, you’re a nightmare. If they can spot this trend, you’re likely to be rejected. The most profitable credit card customers are those who are perpetually in debt, never defaulting, but always managing to meet the minimum repayment.
Pay off in full every month, don’t use cards enough, or always shift debt to 0% cards, and if they can spot you, they may reject you.
Banks score you based on products they'd like to sell you in future.
Imagine this scenario: a bank wants new mortgage customers, yet that’s a costly sell. Instead, it draws you in with a current account paying a high rate of interest on a small amount kept in it. Yet, when you apply, rather than scoring you as a bank account customer, it could actually be scoring to see if you’re likely to be a profitable mortgage borrower in the future.
What they know about you
Banks use a variety of information to make their decision whether to lend to you, including data held by three companies known as ‘credit reference agencies’: Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. Yet the info they have is by no means comprehensive.
What banks know about you…
There are three prime sources of information used for scores.
The application form.
Here, lenders obtain the crucial details of your postcode, salary, family size, reason for the loan and whether you're a home owner. Ensure you fill the forms in carefully. One slight slip, such as “£2,000” salary rather than “£20,000”, can immediately kibosh any application and possibly future ones too. See the fraud scoring section
Past dealings with the company.
Companies use any previous dealings with you to help assess your behaviour, though complicated data protection rules can limit which separate units of a company can communicate to each other. This could mean if you've behaved well with one company, but poorly with others, it's more likely to give you credit.
Credit reference agency files.
Experian, Equifax and Callcredit compile information, allowing them to send data on any UK individual to prospective lenders. All lenders use at least one agency when assessing your file. This data comes from five main sources:
Electoral roll information. This is publicly available and contains address and who lives with whom details.
Court records. County Court Judgements (CCJs) and Bankruptcies indicate if you have a history of debt problems.
Search, address and linked data. This includes records of other lenders who've searched your file when you've applied for credit, addresses you're linked to or other people you have a financial association with.
Fraud data. If you've committed a fraud (or someone has stolen your identity and committed fraud) this will be held on your file under the CIFAS section. More on that below.
Account data. Banks, building societies and other organisations compile details of all your payments and transactions on credit/store cards, loans, mortgages, bank accounts and mobile phone contracts. In theory, they could also hold your record of paying utility bills, though few, if any, utility firms submit the necessary data.
Around 350 million records a month are tracked including details 'default data', where you're officially in default, and 'full data' which incorporates how you generally operate the account, from being the model customer to defaulting.
‘Default data’ has always been shared by financial companies but now ‘full data’ is shared too. This means each lender now has access to all information about you from other organisations.
Now, the 'full data' that credit card companies share about you is increasing. From 1 December 2008, Barclaycard, Capital One, GE Money, HBOS and MBNA began sharing a lot more.
As well as your available credit, actual debts, and whether you've missed repayments, they'll include the amount you repay (ie, if it's the minimum, or repaying in full) and whether you've a promotional deal (plus, if you use credit card cash advances, which you NEVER EVER should).
While, overall, the aim is to stop irresponsible lending, we suspect lenders are salivating that they'll now have info to score out those customers who play the system, and constantly shift from 0% to 0% deals.
What banks don't know about you…
There are many myths about what information is held on credit files. Don't be fooled, though. They hold an enormous amount of financial data, but not everything.
The following things are NOT listed on your report that lenders can see:
Parking or Driving Fines. Any fines you have incurred, for example parking or driving fines. Even though they’re issued by the courts they aren’t ‘credit’ issues so they’re not listed.
Race, Religion, Colour. None of these personal details about you are held.
Whether you've checked your file. While this info is held, and does appear when you check your file, it isn't passed on to lenders and doesn't play any role in any assessment of you.
Salary. How much you earn isn't on your file either, though you will usually be asked on the application form.
Savings Accounts. As savings are not a credit product they don’t appear on credit files.
Medical History. Medical problems you may have had in the past aren't listed.
Criminal record. No criminal convictions are listed.
Child Support Agency. Information from the Child Support Agency is excluded.
Information on relatives. Provided you don’t have any joint financial products (see later) there is no information about members of your family who live, or have lived, with you or any other third parties.
Student Loans (for some). Until recently, no info about official Student Loans Company loans was passed to credit reference agencies, unless you had a County Court Judgement (CCJ) against you for lack of payment. That meant they don't know whether you have one or not.
However, in early 2009, the SLC has said it will start including defaults on old-style 'mortgage-loans' which students who started Uni pre-1998 have, as part of credit reference agency data. This doesn't apply to the modern loans which are paid through the tax system.
Declined applications. Lenders can only see whether you've applied for credit elsewhere, not whether you've been accepted or declined. However, they may be able to guess by examining the credit accounts you have open.
Some defaults or missed payments. Usually, these stay on your file for six years, so anything before that may be wiped off. However, if you close an account, then missed payments could remain on your file until the sixth anniversary of account closure. With bankruptcy, it is wiped six years from the date you're declared bankrupt, as long as you're been discharged from the bankruptcy.
Check your credit files for free
As every company uses a different credit scoring procedure, pinpointing how any given one will view you is impossible. Yet keeping an eye on your general credit healthiness is important.
You’ve a statutory right under the Consumer Credit Act to write and get your files, yet this is slow and costs £2 per agency (see the officially checking credit files note). Instead, there’s a trick to instantly get more detailed info online for free at the two main agencies (see the section below). After you’ve done this, have a play with the quick, anonymous credit checker below to see if you can improve your score too.
How many and how often?
If possible, check all three agencies, as there’s no harm. While doing a check is recorded on your file, it does NOT add a ‘credit search’ that a lender can see, so has no impact. It's worth checking because an error can cause you a problem. It’s a good idea to do a check-up roughly every year to 18 months, and always do one in good time before making any important applications.
If time is short and you can only use one, then choose Experian or Equifax.
Check your file for free online...
Credit ratings have become big business. In the old days, the agencies made their money flogging their data to lenders, but our desire for credit means they spotted a lucrative market to sell it back to us too. Luckily, this leaves open a nice loophole.
The top end service offered is ‘credit monitoring', which costs around £70 a year (find out more about other credit services ). To tempt you in, they offer free month-long trials, which require you to set up a Direct Debit or regular credit card payment.
Of course, the aim is you’ll not bother to cancel it when the month’s up so it still drips from your account, so much so, often it may look like you're just signing up for a freebie, until they ask for your card details, that is.
The Trick…
As part of the monitoring service you get to see your credit file online whenever you want, and laid out in a much easier to understand way than if you order the statutory file.
Therefore sign up, then view your file at no cost (you may be able to do this instantly, though may have to be posted a passcode), and then cancel the subscription. Even though they allow 30 days, it's best to cancel straight away, as leave it a month, and you may forget.
The different systems are as follows:
Experian’s Credit Expert.
Details: Credit Expert* offers a ‘free 30-day trial, then £6.99 per month' service which includes your credit report, so if you want your credit reference file just sign up and cancel this. Don’t confuse it with the Credit Score service which costs a one off £5.95.
How to cancel: It makes it very easy, just call the free-phone number 0800 656 9000.
Equifax’s Credit Watch Gold.
Details: Credit Watch Gold* has two options, one at £7.50 a month, but the one you need to choose is the ‘Free for 30 days and then £69.99 for the year'. When you sign up, a payment card will need to be authorised but the £1 fee is not actually charged to your card if you cancel in time.
How to cancel: To request cancellation call 0870 0100583 and quote your account reference.
If you're worried about hassle, then the best system is simply use the official credit checking system.
Get paid to check your file
And even better, you can sometimes get paid up to £7 to check your credit file if you go via a Cashback Websites. It’s worth checking.
What to check on your file
Once you’ve got your credit files, the key is to check the accuracy of the info that banks are judging you on. As we're talking billions of pieces of data, there are always mistakes. So, quite simply…
Check EVERYTHING! One mistake can be a hammer-blow to credit applications
First, the obvious stuff. Are all your debts correctly listed? Are there any inaccuracies on your repayment history?
Yet other details are important too. Check your present and past address details. Errors here can lead to you being judged on someone else's credit history. Also, your finances may be incorrectly linked with someone else's. Focus especially on any currently active accounts. If they're still open, even if you haven't used them for years, it can cause problems.
What to do if there's an error?
If you disagree with anything on your file, just write to the agency and request it's changed. If the agency agrees it should quickly change the file, though sometimes you'll need to talk to the company that originally filed the data.
Unfortunately, sometimes it may refuse to amend your file. If this happens you're entitled to add your own comments as a ‘notice of correction'. This will often mean your credit applications take longer, but it may help you to obtain better deals.
Don't go on too much when explaining the error, though, and don't overly berate. Be concise, explanatory and factual.
Fraud Scoring... the hidden credit killer.
When you apply for a product, it isn't just a case of assessing whether you're desirable, but also checking that the application is legitimate. Therefore, as well as the credit reference agencies, lenders also use completely separate anti-fraud agencies to try and weed out problems. The two big ones work in very different ways
National Hunter. Spots anomolies on application forms, so be consistent
How it operates. This system's much less factual and therefore is prone to greater errors. However, it's used by almost all major banks and building societies, receives 100,000 applications a day and has a real impact, yet is very rarely mentioned.
It works by looking for inconsistencies between your current application form and any past applications you've made, trying to spot factual errors. While it can't block your application itself, it triggers a red warning flag to lenders, and this happens roughly 1 in 20 times. Lenders can then check the info, and either ignore it, or do further checks. They are not allowed to reject you based on the National Hunter ref flag alone.
Things like a number of applications in a few days can also trigger warnings, though generally that's more acceptable with mortgages where it's more common than with credit cards.
What to watch for. It's crucial to be consistent, even over long periods, when you fill in application forms. If you have a number of job titles or phone numbers try and use the same one, on every application. Changes to guidance introduced in 2009 mean lenders are supposed to tell you if National Hunter has been a contributing reason for your rejection.
Check your file. To check the info it holds on you, it's necessary to write to it making a data protection request and enclosing £10. The National Hunter website explains this. This can also be a useful thing to do if you think you're a victim of ID fraud.
What you'll get is effectively a list of the information you've put on past applications. If there's an error on the file, which is possible, you can't correct it directly with National Hunter, you'll need to go back to the lender who submitted that application to have it corrected.
CIFAS: Lists confirmed past fraud
How it operates. It is simply a record of known fraud, so if you're on there, in general, you should know about it. It's also the organisation to speak to if you think you've been a victim of ID fraud. Worryingly, any fraud committed at your address could appear on your CIFAS file, even if you did not commit the fraud.
Though like with National Hunter, a lender cannot refuse your application based on the CIFAS data, but must investigate first. Hopefully, that should prove you were not the perpetrator.
Check your file. The info it holds on you should be contained on your credit report under the CIFAS section. For a £10 fee, you can also request a copy of any files CIFAS holds on you (which is hopefully nothing). Full details on the CIFAS website.
If you've a dispute with the info held, you need to contact the company that logged the information on your CIFAS file first. If you're not happy with the response, once you've recevied a final response letter, you can then contact CIFAS to investigate.
For more information on ID fraud protection see the free ID fraud help guide.
Manage and improve your credit score
Once you know what lenders see, you are in a better position to sway their opinion. You do this by thinking tactically and behaving appropriately. Unfortunately though, there's no magic. After all, every lender does it differently, but there are easy ways to improve the odds.
A quick note, though. You may've seen adverts for credit repair agencies promising to improve your ‘rating' for a fee, yet there's nothing they can legally do that you can't do yourself for nowt (find out more about credit repair agencies ).
The quick Credit Checker tool...
Answering ten quick questions gives you a rough indication of how good a risk you’re likely to be to lenders. Of course, risk isn’t everything, profitability is, but this is a good clue to general attitudes.
Don’t be afraid to play
The most used credit reference agency, Experian*, provided the calculations and data to build this tool, so the results are kosher. Try playing with different answers, and see the impact on your score. Once you’ve pondered the list below and thought what you can possibly improve, plug some different answers into the checker and see if it affects the results.
Improve your credit score...
While it's not an exact science, there are a number of specific things you can do as good practice to improve both your credit score and lenders' attitudes towards you.
Get on the electoral roll.
If you're not on the roll, it's unlikely you'll get any credit. Write to your local council to ensure you are. Do it immediately, don't wait for it to send round the annual forms.
For those who aren't eligible to vote (mainly foreign nationals), send all the credit reference agencies proof of residency and ask them to add a note to verify this.
Time applications correctly.
Lots of credit searches, the notes left on your file when you apply for things, in a short space of time hurt your score. Space out applications, not just for credit but for car insurance, mobile phones and others, as all can leave searches on your file.
Moving house also disrupts a score, so make important applications pre-moving. Plus, you'll score better when you're earning, so if you're about to take time off, go on maternity leave or suspect potential redundancy, apply beforehand - though never lie on applications, if asked.
Building a good credit history/repairing past problems.
Credit scoring tries to predict your behaviour. If you've no credit history it's more difficult for lenders to do this, so you're more likely to be rejected. Therefore, both for those with poor and no credit histories, you need to build a good one.
Use ‘expensive’ credit cards.
If you can't get credit, sadly, the solution is apply for hideous 30%-ish rate credit cards offered by the likes of Barclaycard Initial*, Capital One Classic*, Monument, Aquacard* and Vanquis*
You can also try the special Smartsearch from comparison site MoneySupermarket*, which effectively assesses your credit worthiness (a bit like our Credit Checker), then tries to match you up with the best card.
Importantly, it doesn’t do a credit search, as that itself would hit your credit score. Instead, it just asks a few basic credit history questions and works with credit reference agency Equifax to give a rough and ready assessment, followed by indicating ‘suitable cards’.
To help rebuild your credit rating, you can use these for six to twelve months, spending a little every month. It's even better if you can use two cards to build more data. But there is a vital golden rule....
Strictly repay EVERY month, in FULL, so there's no interest cost.
After that, you should've built a credit history allowing you to move into the mainstream. This tactic is also useful for those who've defaulted in the past.
As a last resort pay for a special prepaid card.
If you've been rejected for cards like this, there is a 'last resort' solution. The Cashplus Creditbuilder* is a prepaid card costing £9.95, meaning you have to load it with cash before spending, rather than having a credit facility.
Cunningly, it charges a £4.95 monthly fee, which technically counts as a £59.40/year loan. As long as you pay the fee every month for a year, this info will be passed on to credit reference agency Experian.
Crucially, though, no credit check is needed to get the card. Once you've made 12 payments, it should show on your credit history as a fully repaid loan agreement, making you a more attractive customer (to those companies that use Experian for credit scoring, which is the vast majority of them) and hopefully meaning you can apply for better credit card and loan deals. Though you are, of course, paying £70 for it!
For more details on this, including pros and cons, read Cashplus Creditbuilder discussion.
Keep up payments and never be late.
Always try to follow at least the minimum repayment plan for your financial products. Even if you're struggling, don't default or miss payments. Doing this once or twice could cause problems that can cost you for years (though you may be able to get past charges back – see Bank Charges Reclaiming article). Though those in the previous 12 months will hurt you the most.
If you are in difficulties, the cliché 'contact your lender' is a good one. Hopefully, it will try and help a little. Changing your repayment schedule is preferable to you defaulting - and though it will hit your credit score, it's better than a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you.
For repaying credit cards, the simplest method is to set up a Direct Debit to repay it each month. Then, you'll always hit the key criteria. If you have to, just do it for the minimum repayment, but then always try and pay extra by web, phone or post to get rid of the debt quicker (see the minimum repayments guide)
Marriage doesn't hurt, joint finances do.
Simply marrying or living with someone with a bad credit score shouldn't impact your finances, as third-party data (ie, someone else's info) doesn't appear on your file.
Yet if you're 'financially linked' to someone on any product, it can have an impact. Even just a joint bills account for flat sharers can mean you are co-scored. If one partner has a poor history, keep your finances rigidly separate, and it should maintain access to good credit for the other.
In fact, there are only two common products that can infer financial linking: mortgages and joint bank accounts. As a note, there's no such thing as a ‘joint' credit card. Technically, it's one person's account and the other just has access to it. It is technically possible that joint utility bills could be reported on credit files, though current practice is not to do so.
If you split up with someone you've joint finances with, once the accounts are separated or no longer active, always write to the credit reference agencies and ask for a notice of 'disassociation', to stop their credit history affecting yours in future.
Get a 'quotation search' not a 'credit search'.
If you're just trying to get a specific quote for a loan, ask the lender to do a ‘quotation search' and not a ‘credit search'. This means the enquiry won't have a negative impact on your credit score. Sadly, many lenders haven't yet adopted this practice, but it is worth asking. If not, consider whether you really want to get a quote - if it's unlikely you'll get the product, don't bother.
In both the Personal Loan and Credit Card Balance Transfer articles, there are details on special comparisons available to find out who's likely to accept you, without actually applying. Plus the credit checker gives you an idea for free of the type of cards you’ll get.
Frankly, this situation is a disgrace, we should have a right to know the rate you’ll get before applications go on credit files. Apply for a product and it puts a search on your credit file which hits your credit score, yet many products are rate for risk, without applying you can’t know the rate. This vicious circle thats hurts comparing products should be stopped. Until it does, be careful.
Evidence of stability is good.
Home owners rather than renters, and those who are employed, rather than self-employed, tend to be accepted more. Putting a fixed (land) line rather than a mobile number on application forms can help with security checks and improve your chances. Being with the same employer, bank and current address for a while all help too.
Check the address on all active accounts.
You may not have used your old mobile contract or credit card for five years, but if the account is still listed as open and you had a different address this can stymie applications due to ID checks. Check your file and go through every active account's address to ensure it's up to date.
Avoid the ‘rejection spiral'.
There’s a nightmare scenario you need to avoid, called the rejection spiral. It works like this:
You apply.
You get rejected (sometimes falsely, due to an error).
You apply elsewhere.
You get rejected again.
This continues, until finally you check your files and get the error corrected.
You apply again
You’re rejected, not due to the error, but because of all the recent ‘searches’.
Thus, if you're rejected once, immediately check the files are correct, otherwise you may mess up your score for an age as more applications mean more searches, which compounds the problem. You'll be told by the lender which credit reference agency it used to assess your info, so focus on that.
It is possible after an error to get successive searches wiped, but it involves negotiation both with the agency and the lender, and isn't easy.
The rejection spiral also applies when you apply for credit normally reserved for those with an 'excellent' score when you, say, only have a good score (sadly, many lenders do not publish their criteria so it's difficult to know in advance). So you're a perfectly acceptable risk for most, yet once you get that first rejection, it can harm your chances of getting further credit because a search has been registered. So check your file and call lenders you plan to apply to in advance to check.
Dealing with defaults on your file.
One of the major problems people face are past debt defaults on your file, these can easily hamper most apppications to get new credit and if they're genuine and fair are tough to deal with. There are a few things you can try though especially if the default is unfair.
Complain to the Ombudsman. First write to the company and complain the default isn't fair and lay out your terms. Ask it to wipe the fault from your file, which it can do if it's disputed. If that fails, complain to the Financial Ombudsman the free independent arbiteur of disputes, it can rule both that the debt is unfair and that the default can be wiped.
Negotiate with the lender. If you are prepared to settle the debt, either in part or in full, then you can enter a negotiation with whomever you owe the money. As part of this you can make a condition of settlement that the default is wiped off your credit file. Companies are allowed to do this for disputed defaults.
Add a 'Notice of Correction'. If all else fails, and you believe the default's justifiably unfair, add a notice of correction to the file explaining the problem eg,saying: "It was a joint account and the debt was run up once I no longer had access by my errant ex-husband/wife." This will slow applications down, as most companies will look at it manually, but as a substantial default is likely to stop you getting credit anyway, that's usually not a problem, providing it helps.
Cancel unused credit cards, debts and accounts.
Access to too much credit, even if it isn't used, can be a problem. If you have a range of unused credit cards, cancel most of them; this lowers your available credit and should help (see the Cancel Old Cards article for full info on what to close when).
However long standing bank accounts with good credit histories can be a benefit to your credit score, so they're often best left open.
Use any savings to pay off debts.
The amount of outstanding debt you have is part of the info lenders have access to, so minimising this is a clever strategy. In general, you’ll be better off by using savings to pay off expensive debts anyway (read Pay off Debts with Savings).
With the credit crunch biting, this is particularly true if the product you’re applying for is a mortgage. People who haven’t paid much of their mortgage debt off are struggling to get decent new deals (see the Remortgage guide).
For those with an LTV (Loan to Value ratio) of over 90%, meaning your mortgage debt is at least 90% of the house’s value, getting a new mortgage has become very difficult. For those with an 80% to 90% LTV you should get a new deal, but it won’t be too cheap.
So if you have savings, and can use them to significantly lower your mortgage borrowing, enabling you to get a better deal, it's often worth doing. The extra amount your savings will earn isn’t likely to be as much as the benefit from a cheaper mortgage. Read Should I Pay Off My Mortgage?
And a final thought. Though it may be tempting, lying on your application form doesn't help. Firstly it's an offence, but also if lenders can't corroborate your information you may well get rejected anyway.
33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep
http://www.mercola.com/article/sleep.htm
If you are having sleep problems, whether you are not able to fall asleep, wake up too often, don't feel well-rested when you wake up in the morning, or simply want to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep, try as many of the following techniques below as possible:
My current favorite for insomnia is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Most people can learn this gentle tapping technique in several minutes.
EFT can help balance your body's bioenergy system and resolve some of the emotional stresses that are contributing to the insomnia at a very deep level. The results are typically long lasting and the improvement is remarkably rapid.
Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD.
Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings (Click Here).
Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm™ SA-2002 provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time - ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. Personally, I have been doing this for 15 years, but prefer to do it in the morning when my brain is functioning at its peak and my coritsol levels are high (CLICK HERE)
Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin's precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). L-tryptophan is obtainable by prescription only. However, don't be afraid or intimidated by its prescription status. It is just a simple amino acid.
Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To purchase a gauss meter to measure EMFs try Cutcat at 800-497-9516. They have a model for around $40. One doctor even recommends that people pull their circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in the house (Dr. Herbert Ross, author of "Sleep Disorders").
Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed by following the guidelines elsewhere on this web site.
Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep. CLICK HERE for my diet recommendations.
Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m. ...
Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.
Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 2001; 86:3787-3794).
If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.
Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.
Wear an eye mask to block out light. As said above, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can help to block out the remaining light.
Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.
If you are having sleep problems, whether you are not able to fall asleep, wake up too often, don't feel well-rested when you wake up in the morning, or simply want to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep, try as many of the following techniques below as possible:
My current favorite for insomnia is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Most people can learn this gentle tapping technique in several minutes.
EFT can help balance your body's bioenergy system and resolve some of the emotional stresses that are contributing to the insomnia at a very deep level. The results are typically long lasting and the improvement is remarkably rapid.
Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD.
Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings (Click Here).
Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm™ SA-2002 provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time - ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. Personally, I have been doing this for 15 years, but prefer to do it in the morning when my brain is functioning at its peak and my coritsol levels are high (CLICK HERE)
Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin's precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). L-tryptophan is obtainable by prescription only. However, don't be afraid or intimidated by its prescription status. It is just a simple amino acid.
Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To purchase a gauss meter to measure EMFs try Cutcat at 800-497-9516. They have a model for around $40. One doctor even recommends that people pull their circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in the house (Dr. Herbert Ross, author of "Sleep Disorders").
Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed by following the guidelines elsewhere on this web site.
Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep. CLICK HERE for my diet recommendations.
Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m. ...
Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.
Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 2001; 86:3787-3794).
If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.
Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.
Wear an eye mask to block out light. As said above, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can help to block out the remaining light.
Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Arafat, Abu Mazen, Sharon, Farouk Kaddoumi
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/200971683533717728.html
Farouk Kaddoumi, a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) official, has told Al Jazeera he stands by documents that he says show that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Yasser Arafat, his predecessor.
Abbas's Fatah party has dismissed Kaddoumi's claim that Abbas had in a meeting with Ariel Sharon, the ex-Israeli prime minister, discussed Arafat's killing.
Kaddoumi, the head of the political department of the PLO and the second-most senior leader of Fatah, first levelled the allegations on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, he defended his charge and said: "I have not made accusations against anyone, but I have meeting transcripts which accuse people … Transcripts of meetings between Sharon, Abu Mazen [Abbas], and [former Palestinian security adviser Mohammed] Dahlan.
"I have not accused anyone. I just offered a document. If the document, as they claim, has no basis, they are welcome to prove their point.
"However, I strongly believe that the document is an original one and all information included in it is correct. And, since 2004 until today, the actions of some members of the Palestinian Authority have definitely proven to me that these issues are correct."
Arafat died in a Paris hospital in November 2004 after falling into a coma
================================================================================
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=56059&s2=17
Comrade Mallouh calls for full and independent investigation into the death of Arafat
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -PFLP
July 16, 2009
Comrade Abdel-Rahim Mallouh, Deputy General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for a full and independent investigation into the death of former President Yasser Arafat in order to fully determine who is responsible for his death.
Comrade Mallouh called for this commission of inquiry on July 15, 2009 when asked about recent allegations and documents raised by Farouk al-Qaddumi, Fateh general secretary, accusing Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan of conspiring with Israel to eliminate Arafat and other key Palestinian political leaders. He noted that the PFLP has always called for such an investigation and that it is very much needed.
He stated further that no statement had been issued by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as the committee has not met for over 2 weeks, dismissing recent statements attributed to the Executive Committee denouncing Qaddumi. Comrade Mallouh called for an end to the misuse of the name of the Executive Committee of the PLO in making such statements.
For reference purposes, and because it has not been widely distributed in English, we present the alleged transcript released by Qaddumi below. This is alleged by Qaddumi to be a transcript of a meeting between former Israeli prime minister and war criminal Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas, Muhammad Dahlan, and a U.S. delegation, that took place in 2003 before the Aqaba summit. Discussion of these allegations is the excuse that was provided in order to shut down Al-Jazeera offices in the West Bank by the PA in Ramallah under Salam Fayyad. In the interests of presenting information to the people, the document is below:
Meeting Transcript
Sharon: I insisted on this meeting before the summit so we can finalize all security matters and put these final touches so as not to encounter any confusion or discrepancies in the future.
Dahlan: If you didn’t ask for this meeting, I would have.
Sharon: To begin with, work must begin on eliminating all the military and political leaders of Hamas, Jihad, Al-Aqsa Brigades and the Popular Front so as to create a state of chaos in their ranks that will allow you to pounce on them easily.
Abu Mazen: In this way, we will inevitably fail. We won’t be able to get rid of them or confront them.
Sharon: So then what’s your plan?
Dahlan: We told you our plan and informed you of it. And to the Americans, in writing. We need first to have a period of quiet so we can wrest control over all of the security services and all of the institutions.
Sharon: As long as Arafat is planted in al-Muqata'a watching you in Ramallah, you will certainly fail. This fox will surprise you as he did in the past. Because he knows what you intend to do. And he will work towards your failure and delay you. He’ll proclaim, as the street does, that you are being used for the "dirty era."
Dahlan: We’ll see who uses the other.
Sharon: The first step needs to be to kill Arafat through poisoning. I do not want him exiled, except if there are guarantees from the involved states that he will be under house arrest, otherwise Arafat will return to living on a plane.
Abu Mazen: If Arafat dies before we are able to have control on the ground and all the institutions, and over Fateh, and the Al Aqsa Brigades, then we will face great complications.
Sharon: To the contrary you will not control anything as long as Arafat is alive.
Abu Mazen: The plan needs to be where we pass everything through Arafat. This will be more successful for us and for you. During the period of clashing with Palestinian organizations and the assassination of its leadership and its membership - these matters will bring with them consequences for Arafat himself. And he can’t say to the people that this is the work of Abu Mazen. But it is the work of the head of the PA. I know Arafat well. He will not accept to be on the margins. He wants to be the leader even if he has lost all options, and when he has no option in front of him but civil war. Even then he prefers to be the leader.
Sharon: You used to say before Camp David that Arafat is the last to know and Barak, Clinton and Tenet were surprised that he is free in deciding who surrounds him. Perhaps you do not learn from the past.
Dahlan: We have now gone about creating an apparatus composed of the police and the Preventative Security, numbering over 1800. This combination is so that we are able to integrate those you nominated on the basis that each of the police and the PS, will believe that the members are from the other apparatus. We can increase where we want. We are now putting all the officers from all the agencies before difficult choices. We’ll squeeze them by all means so they follow us. And we will work to isolate all the officers who will be an obstacle for us. And we will not wait. We have started to work intensely. And we put the most dangerous figures from Hamas and Jihad and Al-Aqsa Brigades under surveillance. So that if you were to now ask me the most dangerous five people, I would be able to tell you their location with precision. This facilitates your quick response for any activity that takes place against you. We are now working on penetrating the Palestinian organizations forcefully, so in the coming period we will be able to dismember and eliminate them.
Sharon: You will find me supportive of you from the skies for the targets that are difficult for you. But I fear that Arafat has penetrated you, and has leaked your plans to Hamas, Jihad and others.
Dahlan: This structure has no relation to Arafat, not from near, nor from far, with the exception that the members of each entity receive their salaries from the Ministry of Finance [in which Salam Fayyad was then minister of finance, under the government of Abu Alaa, Ahmed Qureia]. We were able to deduct for the apparatus a specific budget to be able to cover all the expenses and Arafat is losing control. We will not leave him alone in this stage.
Sharon: We need to make it easier for you to liquidate the leaders of Hamas by way of creating a problem from the outset, so we can kill all the military and political leaders. In doing so we will pave the way for you to take control on the ground.
Abu Mazen: In this way we will fail entirely and we will not be able to accomplish anything from the plan. Rather the situation will explode without control.
The American delegation: We see Dahlan’s plan is good. And we need to give them a period of quiet so as to achieve full control and you need to withdraw for them from some of the areas to allow the Palestinian police to take over security. And if any operation takes place, you return and you reoccupy the area harshly, so the people feel that those fighters are a disaster upon them, and that they are the ones who force the Israeli army to return from the areas from which they has departed.
Sharon: Abu Mazen himself used to advise us that we should not withdraw before liquidating the infrastructure of terror not to reward it.
Abu Mazen: Yes I advised you of that but you did not succeed in that until now. I thought that you would succeed with this more quickly.
Dahlan: The levers of success are in our hands. Arafat has begun to lose control over matters bit by bit and we have begun to take control over institutions more than in the past in addition to the joint security force from the Preventive Security and the police. It is under Col. Hamdi Al-Riffi. You know him well. And we sent you all the documents concerning these matters in detail. What is important here is that this force does not submit to Arafat, and takes no orders from him. We will begin our work in the north of the Gaza strip as a beginning. As for the Al-Aqsa Brigades, soon it will be like an open book before us. We have put in place a plan so that they will have a single leader, and he will liquidate anyone who hinders us.
Sharon: I agree to this plan. And so that it quickly succeeds, and doesn’t take a long time, there is a need to kill all the most important political leaders, besides the military leaders. Like Rantisi [Hamas leader], Abdallah Shami [Islamic Jihad leader], Zahhar [Hamas leader], and Abu Shanab [Hamas leader] and Haniyeh [Hamas leader], Majdalawi [PFLP leader] Mohammed Al Hindi [Islamic Jihad leader], Nafez Azzam [Islamic Jihad leader].
Abu Mazen: This will explode the situation and will make us lose control on all affairs. We need to start to work for a hudna, so we can control the situation on the ground. This will be more successful for you and for us.
Dahlan: Without a doubt, there is need for your support of us in the field. I support the killing of Rantisi and Abdalla Shami because those, if killed, will create confusion and a large vacuum in the ranks of Hamas and Jihad. Because they are the effective leadership.
Sharon: Now you have begun to get it, Dahlan.
Dahlan: But not now. It’s necessary for you to withdraw for us from large parts of Gaza so we can have the stronger argument, before the people. And when Hamas and Islamic Jihad violates the hudna, you can kill them.
Sharon: And if they don’t violate the hudna? Are you going to leave them to organize and prepare operations against us so that we will be surprised that this hudna worked against us?
Dahlan: They will not be patient on the hudna while their organizations are being dismantled. Then they will break the ceasefire. After that will be the chance to go after them. Then it is your grace, Sharon.
The American delegation: This is a reasonable and logical solution.
Sharon: I will not forget when you used to say to the Labor Party and even to us that you have control of everything, and the reality proved the opposite. Allow me to guide the way my own special way.
Abu Mazen: The first condition in the Road Map stipulates that you undertake steps supporting in confronting terror. We see that the best support that you can give us is to give us a part of the Gaza Strip so that we will be able to exercise control over it. We told you that we will not allow any authority other than us to exist on the ground.
Sharon: We told you more than once that supportive steps means that we will support you in fighting terror, i.e. with planes and tanks.
Abu Mazen: This is not support for us.
Farouk Kaddoumi, a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) official, has told Al Jazeera he stands by documents that he says show that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Yasser Arafat, his predecessor.
Abbas's Fatah party has dismissed Kaddoumi's claim that Abbas had in a meeting with Ariel Sharon, the ex-Israeli prime minister, discussed Arafat's killing.
Kaddoumi, the head of the political department of the PLO and the second-most senior leader of Fatah, first levelled the allegations on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, he defended his charge and said: "I have not made accusations against anyone, but I have meeting transcripts which accuse people … Transcripts of meetings between Sharon, Abu Mazen [Abbas], and [former Palestinian security adviser Mohammed] Dahlan.
"I have not accused anyone. I just offered a document. If the document, as they claim, has no basis, they are welcome to prove their point.
"However, I strongly believe that the document is an original one and all information included in it is correct. And, since 2004 until today, the actions of some members of the Palestinian Authority have definitely proven to me that these issues are correct."
Arafat died in a Paris hospital in November 2004 after falling into a coma
================================================================================
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=56059&s2=17
Comrade Mallouh calls for full and independent investigation into the death of Arafat
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -PFLP
July 16, 2009
Comrade Abdel-Rahim Mallouh, Deputy General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for a full and independent investigation into the death of former President Yasser Arafat in order to fully determine who is responsible for his death.
Comrade Mallouh called for this commission of inquiry on July 15, 2009 when asked about recent allegations and documents raised by Farouk al-Qaddumi, Fateh general secretary, accusing Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan of conspiring with Israel to eliminate Arafat and other key Palestinian political leaders. He noted that the PFLP has always called for such an investigation and that it is very much needed.
He stated further that no statement had been issued by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as the committee has not met for over 2 weeks, dismissing recent statements attributed to the Executive Committee denouncing Qaddumi. Comrade Mallouh called for an end to the misuse of the name of the Executive Committee of the PLO in making such statements.
For reference purposes, and because it has not been widely distributed in English, we present the alleged transcript released by Qaddumi below. This is alleged by Qaddumi to be a transcript of a meeting between former Israeli prime minister and war criminal Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas, Muhammad Dahlan, and a U.S. delegation, that took place in 2003 before the Aqaba summit. Discussion of these allegations is the excuse that was provided in order to shut down Al-Jazeera offices in the West Bank by the PA in Ramallah under Salam Fayyad. In the interests of presenting information to the people, the document is below:
Meeting Transcript
Sharon: I insisted on this meeting before the summit so we can finalize all security matters and put these final touches so as not to encounter any confusion or discrepancies in the future.
Dahlan: If you didn’t ask for this meeting, I would have.
Sharon: To begin with, work must begin on eliminating all the military and political leaders of Hamas, Jihad, Al-Aqsa Brigades and the Popular Front so as to create a state of chaos in their ranks that will allow you to pounce on them easily.
Abu Mazen: In this way, we will inevitably fail. We won’t be able to get rid of them or confront them.
Sharon: So then what’s your plan?
Dahlan: We told you our plan and informed you of it. And to the Americans, in writing. We need first to have a period of quiet so we can wrest control over all of the security services and all of the institutions.
Sharon: As long as Arafat is planted in al-Muqata'a watching you in Ramallah, you will certainly fail. This fox will surprise you as he did in the past. Because he knows what you intend to do. And he will work towards your failure and delay you. He’ll proclaim, as the street does, that you are being used for the "dirty era."
Dahlan: We’ll see who uses the other.
Sharon: The first step needs to be to kill Arafat through poisoning. I do not want him exiled, except if there are guarantees from the involved states that he will be under house arrest, otherwise Arafat will return to living on a plane.
Abu Mazen: If Arafat dies before we are able to have control on the ground and all the institutions, and over Fateh, and the Al Aqsa Brigades, then we will face great complications.
Sharon: To the contrary you will not control anything as long as Arafat is alive.
Abu Mazen: The plan needs to be where we pass everything through Arafat. This will be more successful for us and for you. During the period of clashing with Palestinian organizations and the assassination of its leadership and its membership - these matters will bring with them consequences for Arafat himself. And he can’t say to the people that this is the work of Abu Mazen. But it is the work of the head of the PA. I know Arafat well. He will not accept to be on the margins. He wants to be the leader even if he has lost all options, and when he has no option in front of him but civil war. Even then he prefers to be the leader.
Sharon: You used to say before Camp David that Arafat is the last to know and Barak, Clinton and Tenet were surprised that he is free in deciding who surrounds him. Perhaps you do not learn from the past.
Dahlan: We have now gone about creating an apparatus composed of the police and the Preventative Security, numbering over 1800. This combination is so that we are able to integrate those you nominated on the basis that each of the police and the PS, will believe that the members are from the other apparatus. We can increase where we want. We are now putting all the officers from all the agencies before difficult choices. We’ll squeeze them by all means so they follow us. And we will work to isolate all the officers who will be an obstacle for us. And we will not wait. We have started to work intensely. And we put the most dangerous figures from Hamas and Jihad and Al-Aqsa Brigades under surveillance. So that if you were to now ask me the most dangerous five people, I would be able to tell you their location with precision. This facilitates your quick response for any activity that takes place against you. We are now working on penetrating the Palestinian organizations forcefully, so in the coming period we will be able to dismember and eliminate them.
Sharon: You will find me supportive of you from the skies for the targets that are difficult for you. But I fear that Arafat has penetrated you, and has leaked your plans to Hamas, Jihad and others.
Dahlan: This structure has no relation to Arafat, not from near, nor from far, with the exception that the members of each entity receive their salaries from the Ministry of Finance [in which Salam Fayyad was then minister of finance, under the government of Abu Alaa, Ahmed Qureia]. We were able to deduct for the apparatus a specific budget to be able to cover all the expenses and Arafat is losing control. We will not leave him alone in this stage.
Sharon: We need to make it easier for you to liquidate the leaders of Hamas by way of creating a problem from the outset, so we can kill all the military and political leaders. In doing so we will pave the way for you to take control on the ground.
Abu Mazen: In this way we will fail entirely and we will not be able to accomplish anything from the plan. Rather the situation will explode without control.
The American delegation: We see Dahlan’s plan is good. And we need to give them a period of quiet so as to achieve full control and you need to withdraw for them from some of the areas to allow the Palestinian police to take over security. And if any operation takes place, you return and you reoccupy the area harshly, so the people feel that those fighters are a disaster upon them, and that they are the ones who force the Israeli army to return from the areas from which they has departed.
Sharon: Abu Mazen himself used to advise us that we should not withdraw before liquidating the infrastructure of terror not to reward it.
Abu Mazen: Yes I advised you of that but you did not succeed in that until now. I thought that you would succeed with this more quickly.
Dahlan: The levers of success are in our hands. Arafat has begun to lose control over matters bit by bit and we have begun to take control over institutions more than in the past in addition to the joint security force from the Preventive Security and the police. It is under Col. Hamdi Al-Riffi. You know him well. And we sent you all the documents concerning these matters in detail. What is important here is that this force does not submit to Arafat, and takes no orders from him. We will begin our work in the north of the Gaza strip as a beginning. As for the Al-Aqsa Brigades, soon it will be like an open book before us. We have put in place a plan so that they will have a single leader, and he will liquidate anyone who hinders us.
Sharon: I agree to this plan. And so that it quickly succeeds, and doesn’t take a long time, there is a need to kill all the most important political leaders, besides the military leaders. Like Rantisi [Hamas leader], Abdallah Shami [Islamic Jihad leader], Zahhar [Hamas leader], and Abu Shanab [Hamas leader] and Haniyeh [Hamas leader], Majdalawi [PFLP leader] Mohammed Al Hindi [Islamic Jihad leader], Nafez Azzam [Islamic Jihad leader].
Abu Mazen: This will explode the situation and will make us lose control on all affairs. We need to start to work for a hudna, so we can control the situation on the ground. This will be more successful for you and for us.
Dahlan: Without a doubt, there is need for your support of us in the field. I support the killing of Rantisi and Abdalla Shami because those, if killed, will create confusion and a large vacuum in the ranks of Hamas and Jihad. Because they are the effective leadership.
Sharon: Now you have begun to get it, Dahlan.
Dahlan: But not now. It’s necessary for you to withdraw for us from large parts of Gaza so we can have the stronger argument, before the people. And when Hamas and Islamic Jihad violates the hudna, you can kill them.
Sharon: And if they don’t violate the hudna? Are you going to leave them to organize and prepare operations against us so that we will be surprised that this hudna worked against us?
Dahlan: They will not be patient on the hudna while their organizations are being dismantled. Then they will break the ceasefire. After that will be the chance to go after them. Then it is your grace, Sharon.
The American delegation: This is a reasonable and logical solution.
Sharon: I will not forget when you used to say to the Labor Party and even to us that you have control of everything, and the reality proved the opposite. Allow me to guide the way my own special way.
Abu Mazen: The first condition in the Road Map stipulates that you undertake steps supporting in confronting terror. We see that the best support that you can give us is to give us a part of the Gaza Strip so that we will be able to exercise control over it. We told you that we will not allow any authority other than us to exist on the ground.
Sharon: We told you more than once that supportive steps means that we will support you in fighting terror, i.e. with planes and tanks.
Abu Mazen: This is not support for us.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Thomas Pickering
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/pers-j15.shtml
Toward the end of his article, Dreyfuss quotes “Tom” Pickering, whom he indentifies as “a veteran US diplomat who’s been involved in unofficial talks with Iranian counterparts.”
Thomas Pickering is a long-time US State Department operative who served as US ambassador to El Salvador in the 1980s and was implicated in the Reagan administration’s Iran-Contra scheme to illegally fund the US proxy war against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. He later served as US ambassador to Israel, US ambassador to the United Nations and, under Clinton, as US ambassador to Russia.
Pickering sits on the board of directors for the American-Iranian Council. This organization was granted permission by the US government to open an office in Iran, making it, according to Wikipedia, “the only US-based peace and conflict resolution non-governmental organization operating in Iran.”
There can be little doubt about the character of Pickering’s “unofficial talks with Iranian counterparts.”
Toward the end of his article, Dreyfuss quotes “Tom” Pickering, whom he indentifies as “a veteran US diplomat who’s been involved in unofficial talks with Iranian counterparts.”
Thomas Pickering is a long-time US State Department operative who served as US ambassador to El Salvador in the 1980s and was implicated in the Reagan administration’s Iran-Contra scheme to illegally fund the US proxy war against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. He later served as US ambassador to Israel, US ambassador to the United Nations and, under Clinton, as US ambassador to Russia.
Pickering sits on the board of directors for the American-Iranian Council. This organization was granted permission by the US government to open an office in Iran, making it, according to Wikipedia, “the only US-based peace and conflict resolution non-governmental organization operating in Iran.”
There can be little doubt about the character of Pickering’s “unofficial talks with Iranian counterparts.”
Richard Dreyfuss
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/pers-j15.shtml
The World Socialist Web Site has pointed out Dreyfuss’s curious credentials as a supposed proponent of democracy in Iran. A former member of the fascistic organization led by Lyndon LaRouche, Dreyfuss was “Middle East intelligence director” of its magazine Executive Intelligence Review. In 1981, Dreyfuss published a book—Hostage to Khomeini—calling for the Reagan administration to organize the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and denouncing President Jimmy Carter for having betrayed the Shah.
The current issue of the Nation features a lengthy article by Dreyfuss entitled “Iran’s Green Wave.” What is remarkable about this article is its frank characterization of the forces that dominate the Iranian opposition and the reactionary and anti-working class policies upon which it is based.
The World Socialist Web Site has pointed out Dreyfuss’s curious credentials as a supposed proponent of democracy in Iran. A former member of the fascistic organization led by Lyndon LaRouche, Dreyfuss was “Middle East intelligence director” of its magazine Executive Intelligence Review. In 1981, Dreyfuss published a book—Hostage to Khomeini—calling for the Reagan administration to organize the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and denouncing President Jimmy Carter for having betrayed the Shah.
The current issue of the Nation features a lengthy article by Dreyfuss entitled “Iran’s Green Wave.” What is remarkable about this article is its frank characterization of the forces that dominate the Iranian opposition and the reactionary and anti-working class policies upon which it is based.
Israel to hold missile test in US
http://www.uruknet.de:80/?s1=1&p=55997&s2=15
July 14, 2009
Israel is set to hold a missile test on a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean in an exercise that will also see the US test three missile defence systems, a senior US general has said.
The test site will allow Israel to measure its Arrow interceptor missile system against a target at a range of more than 1,000km, Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said on Tuesday.
"They [Israel] are having a flight test soon this summer," he said.
"They are limited to the range of the missile they can test in the eastern Mediterranean. There's a safety issue.
"That's the primary purpose of them coming to the United States to use our test range."
The Arrow system, which was developed by Israel and the United States, is intended to defend Israel against possible ballistic missile attacks from Iran and Syria.
July 14, 2009
Israel is set to hold a missile test on a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean in an exercise that will also see the US test three missile defence systems, a senior US general has said.
The test site will allow Israel to measure its Arrow interceptor missile system against a target at a range of more than 1,000km, Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said on Tuesday.
"They [Israel] are having a flight test soon this summer," he said.
"They are limited to the range of the missile they can test in the eastern Mediterranean. There's a safety issue.
"That's the primary purpose of them coming to the United States to use our test range."
The Arrow system, which was developed by Israel and the United States, is intended to defend Israel against possible ballistic missile attacks from Iran and Syria.
Michael Jackson
.......Jackson, by the end, was heavily in debt and had weathered a $22 million out-of-court settlement payment to Jordy Chandler, as well as seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in order to commit a felony......
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Control by the few
Good old days the people in the western world, didn't have controls on them. So they did things like going to the moon. Those days there were not many restrictions put on people by the adminstration. There are so many people pen pushing and do research into various ways we live. They sort of live in a different world where they get more money than the rest of the people. They have their own world. They do not mix with the others. They live in a closseted secretive world. But they determine whow we live.
There was a time when everyone applauded when dergulation came about. But derulation is just change in the existing laws, create a differnt work force and carry on as isual. The loop holes in the system is found out by a few people in the work force, who rip the sytem in various ways, and sometimes bring the whole system down.
There was a time when everyone applauded when dergulation came about. But derulation is just change in the existing laws, create a differnt work force and carry on as isual. The loop holes in the system is found out by a few people in the work force, who rip the sytem in various ways, and sometimes bring the whole system down.
Iranian Jews Israel Ahmadinejad
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443737189&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many Mashadi Jews fled to the United States, primarily New York City - where some 6,000 Jews with ties to Mashad now live. There are almost no Jews in Mashad today, though an estimated 25,000 still live in Iran, concentrated in Teheran.
"They've found it very safe and pleasant, no problems," said Bahman Kamali, founder of the federation. "Actually, the regime during [the time of reformist president Mohammad] Khatami and the regime now have been very good with Jewish people. There has not been any problem."
Despite unrest and violence following last month's presidential elections in Iran, some Jewish Iranians living in Israel and abroad say life in the Islamic republic is better under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than it would be under challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.
At a conference of Iranian Jews in Jerusalem on Monday, leaders of the Mashadi Jewish community said that despite Ahmadinejad's blustery rhetoric against Israel, Iran is a safe place for Jews to practice their religion.
"Ahmadinejad speaks badly about Jews, but he is preferable to Mousavi," said Shlomo Zabihi, a Mashadi rabbi. The current government is relatively stable and provides a safe environment for Jews, he said.
Monday's event marked the first meeting of the Global Mashadi Jewish Federation, an umbrella organization of community and religious groups preserving the historical and cultural identity of Jews from Mashad, Iran's second largest city, with a population of about 2.5 million.
During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many Mashadi Jews fled to the United States, primarily New York City - where some 6,000 Jews with ties to Mashad now live. There are almost no Jews in Mashad today, though an estimated 25,000 still live in Iran, concentrated in Teheran.
"They've found it very safe and pleasant, no problems," said Bahman Kamali, founder of the federation. "Actually, the regime during [the time of reformist president Mohammad] Khatami and the regime now have been very good with Jewish people. There has not been any problem."
Despite unrest and violence following last month's presidential elections in Iran, some Jewish Iranians living in Israel and abroad say life in the Islamic republic is better under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than it would be under challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.
At a conference of Iranian Jews in Jerusalem on Monday, leaders of the Mashadi Jewish community said that despite Ahmadinejad's blustery rhetoric against Israel, Iran is a safe place for Jews to practice their religion.
"Ahmadinejad speaks badly about Jews, but he is preferable to Mousavi," said Shlomo Zabihi, a Mashadi rabbi. The current government is relatively stable and provides a safe environment for Jews, he said.
Monday's event marked the first meeting of the Global Mashadi Jewish Federation, an umbrella organization of community and religious groups preserving the historical and cultural identity of Jews from Mashad, Iran's second largest city, with a population of about 2.5 million.
Jose Couso and a Ukrainian cameraman, Taras Protsyuk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8150596.stm
A Spanish court has thrown out charges against three US soldiers over the death of a Spanish journalist in Iraq.
The National Court said that there was no new evidence to suggest that the troops had acted incorrectly in the 2003 incident.
Jose Couso and a Ukrainian cameraman, Taras Protsyuk, were killed when a tank shell was fired at the Palestine hotel in Baghdad, known to house journalists.
A US inquiry in 2004 concluded that the three soldiers had done nothing wrong.
Sgt Thomas Gibson, Capt Philip Wolford and Lt Col Philip de Camp said they thought they were being shot at when they opened fire.
The National Court dropped the murder charges against the soldiers last year, ruling there was "insufficient evidence" to continue with the trial.
But investigative magistrate Santiago Pedraz reinstated the case in May, citing new evidence.
In its ruling, the National Court's three-judge panel recommended that the case be closed. There can be no appeal against the ruling.
A Spanish court has thrown out charges against three US soldiers over the death of a Spanish journalist in Iraq.
The National Court said that there was no new evidence to suggest that the troops had acted incorrectly in the 2003 incident.
Jose Couso and a Ukrainian cameraman, Taras Protsyuk, were killed when a tank shell was fired at the Palestine hotel in Baghdad, known to house journalists.
A US inquiry in 2004 concluded that the three soldiers had done nothing wrong.
Sgt Thomas Gibson, Capt Philip Wolford and Lt Col Philip de Camp said they thought they were being shot at when they opened fire.
The National Court dropped the murder charges against the soldiers last year, ruling there was "insufficient evidence" to continue with the trial.
But investigative magistrate Santiago Pedraz reinstated the case in May, citing new evidence.
In its ruling, the National Court's three-judge panel recommended that the case be closed. There can be no appeal against the ruling.
All-White Swimming Pool
http://www.alternet.org/rights/141311/the_valley_club%27s_exclusive_all-white_swimming_pool_--_let%27s_protest_and_stage_a_pee-in/
And so it was just the other day, when a swim club on the outskirts of Philadelphia made the news after expelling from their pool a summer camp group of approximately sixty kids of color from the city. Not because they had done anything wrong--no bad behavior, no inappropriate conduct, nothing like that, as they had just arrived and most of the children hadn't even had a chance to enter the pool yet--and not because they had crashed the private environs uninvited (the camp had paid over $1900 for the right to swim there once a week), but because, as club president, John Duesler explained in a letter: the kids would "change the complexion and atmosphere" of the club. Got that? The complexion.
Of course, Duesler, about whom I'll have more to say in a minute, insists that the decision wasn't racial. Yet several of the youth denied access to the pool overheard a white club member openly complaining about the arrival of the "black kids," and all but a few of the white children swimming when they arrived were yanked from the pool by their parents, in a move reminiscent of the 1950s, suggesting that the club's racism is not some inanimate institutional force, but a lived reality for many of its white members as well. One woman at the club, for instance, fretted openly that the black kids might "do something" to her child. Of course, because that's what fifth graders from the 'hood do: they roll out to the 'burbs, pretending to be interested in swimming, when really, the plan is to find some white kids and cut 'em the hell up, in some kinda pee-wee gang initiation ritual. Of course.
That the expulsion was racial is beyond dispute, or at least should be. The club knew how many kids were going to be there when they accepted the membership fee, so they can't claim they were overwhelmed by the size of the group, although they seem to be offering that as their excuse now that the story has gone public. And this excuse is one they offer, despite the fact that a mere twelve days before they expelled the black kids, the same club, in the same pool, hosted nearly 80 children (78 of whom were white), from four 6th grade classes from a local school. Apparently white children, even when they are part of a group that is almost one-third larger, magically don't take up as much space.
And so it was just the other day, when a swim club on the outskirts of Philadelphia made the news after expelling from their pool a summer camp group of approximately sixty kids of color from the city. Not because they had done anything wrong--no bad behavior, no inappropriate conduct, nothing like that, as they had just arrived and most of the children hadn't even had a chance to enter the pool yet--and not because they had crashed the private environs uninvited (the camp had paid over $1900 for the right to swim there once a week), but because, as club president, John Duesler explained in a letter: the kids would "change the complexion and atmosphere" of the club. Got that? The complexion.
Of course, Duesler, about whom I'll have more to say in a minute, insists that the decision wasn't racial. Yet several of the youth denied access to the pool overheard a white club member openly complaining about the arrival of the "black kids," and all but a few of the white children swimming when they arrived were yanked from the pool by their parents, in a move reminiscent of the 1950s, suggesting that the club's racism is not some inanimate institutional force, but a lived reality for many of its white members as well. One woman at the club, for instance, fretted openly that the black kids might "do something" to her child. Of course, because that's what fifth graders from the 'hood do: they roll out to the 'burbs, pretending to be interested in swimming, when really, the plan is to find some white kids and cut 'em the hell up, in some kinda pee-wee gang initiation ritual. Of course.
That the expulsion was racial is beyond dispute, or at least should be. The club knew how many kids were going to be there when they accepted the membership fee, so they can't claim they were overwhelmed by the size of the group, although they seem to be offering that as their excuse now that the story has gone public. And this excuse is one they offer, despite the fact that a mere twelve days before they expelled the black kids, the same club, in the same pool, hosted nearly 80 children (78 of whom were white), from four 6th grade classes from a local school. Apparently white children, even when they are part of a group that is almost one-third larger, magically don't take up as much space.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
7/7
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1197419/Conspiracy-fever-As-rumours-swell-government-staged-7-7-victims-relatives-proper-inquiry.html
The country's worst-ever terrorist atrocity during London's morning rush hour on July 7, 2005, shattered for ever the heady euphoria in which the capital was basking the morning after winning the bid for the 2012 Olympics. That afternoon, Tony Blair - who was hosting the G8 summit on global poverty in Gleneagles, Scotland - returned to Downing Street to pronounce that the attack was an act in the 'name of Islam'. Later, at a meeting of the Government's national emergency committee COBRA, London's anti-terror police chief Andy Hayman told senior ministers that he suspected suicide bombers. And so the story of 7/7 that we have come to accept was pieced together: four British Muslims ... blew themselves up using home-made explosives, killing 56 and injuring 700 on three Tube trains and a double-decker bus. But families of the dead victims and an increasing number of 7/7 survivors claim there are inconsistencies and basic mistakes in the official accounts that need explanation. And they are demanding a full public inquiry to answer key questions about what the Intelligence Services and the police did and did not know before the bombings. Meanwhile, the Government's determined refusal to meet their demands is having a very dangerous side-effect - fuelling myriad conspiracy theories about 7/7. Books, blogs and several video documentaries point to oddities in the official accounts. [Some] of them suggest that the attacks were not the work of Muslim terrorists at all, but were carried out by the Government to boost support for the Iraq war. The survivors are so intent on an independent inquiry that they are now taking legal action in the High Court.
The country's worst-ever terrorist atrocity during London's morning rush hour on July 7, 2005, shattered for ever the heady euphoria in which the capital was basking the morning after winning the bid for the 2012 Olympics. That afternoon, Tony Blair - who was hosting the G8 summit on global poverty in Gleneagles, Scotland - returned to Downing Street to pronounce that the attack was an act in the 'name of Islam'. Later, at a meeting of the Government's national emergency committee COBRA, London's anti-terror police chief Andy Hayman told senior ministers that he suspected suicide bombers. And so the story of 7/7 that we have come to accept was pieced together: four British Muslims ... blew themselves up using home-made explosives, killing 56 and injuring 700 on three Tube trains and a double-decker bus. But families of the dead victims and an increasing number of 7/7 survivors claim there are inconsistencies and basic mistakes in the official accounts that need explanation. And they are demanding a full public inquiry to answer key questions about what the Intelligence Services and the police did and did not know before the bombings. Meanwhile, the Government's determined refusal to meet their demands is having a very dangerous side-effect - fuelling myriad conspiracy theories about 7/7. Books, blogs and several video documentaries point to oddities in the official accounts. [Some] of them suggest that the attacks were not the work of Muslim terrorists at all, but were carried out by the Government to boost support for the Iraq war. The survivors are so intent on an independent inquiry that they are now taking legal action in the High Court.
Monday, 13 July 2009
Feds, China etc
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aKLGZEc7qoqA#
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Returning from China last month, U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk had a bearish take on a high-level visit by American officials.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner claimed the U.S.’s biggest creditor voiced great confidence in its debt. Kirk, an Illinois Republican, came back with the opposite impression.
“China is beginning to cancel Congress’s credit card,” he told Fox News on June 10. It “doesn’t want to lend much more money to the United States and especially is worried about the Fed’s policy of printing money to buy new debt.”
A month later, there’s no doubt about whose assessment was more accurate. Chinese leaders are clearly very concerned about the dollar. How they will react is a key question hanging over markets, and it’s time to take the discussion to the next level.
Everyone knows China wants to reduce its dollar holdings. Little is known about how that process may unfold and how much work and preparation needs to go into it. Lots, in fact.
Think of China and the U.S. in history’s most expensive divorce. The two economies total $17 trillion of output, and polls in China show little support for adding to almost $800 billion of U.S. Treasuries.
This argument can be broadened to the rest of Asia. The idea that China or Japan -- with $686 billion of Treasuries -- can just start selling massive blocks of dollars is ridiculous. It would devastate markets the world over and the fallout would boomerang back on Asia. If you think markets are shaky now, just wait until word of a central-bank fire sale gets around.
Copycat Selling
Sure, Singapore (with $40 billion of Treasuries), India ($39 billion) or South Korea ($35 billion) could try to dump dollars on the stealth. Good luck in this highly connected, around-the-clock world. News that a key economy seeks a first- mover advantage over peers would inspire copycat selling. Expect investors and traders to respond with massive sell orders.
================================================================================
http://www.alternet.org/politics/141373/a_dark_hole_of_democracy:_how_the_fed_prints_money_out_of_thin_air/?cID=1264218#c1264218
.....During the past year, the Fed has flooded the streets with money -- distributing trillions of dollars to banks, financial markets and commercial interests -- in an attempt to revive the credit system and get the economy growing again. As a result, the awesome authority of this cloistered institution is visible to many ordinary Americans for the first time. People and politicians are shocked and confused, and also angered, by what they see. They are beginning to ask some hard questions for which Federal Reserve governors do not have satisfactory answers.
Where did the central bank get all the money it is handing out? Basically, the Fed printed it, out of thin air. That is what central banks do. Who told the Fed governors they could do this? Nobody, really -- not Congress or the president. The Federal Reserve Board, alone among government agencies, does not submit its budgets to Congress for authorization and appropriation. It raises its own money, sets its own priorities......
..... The antiquated quality of this institution is reflected in the map of the Fed's twelve regional banks. Five of them are located in the Midwest (better known today as the industrial Rust Belt). Missouri has two Federal Reserve banks (St. Louis and Kansas City), while the entire West Coast has only one (located in San Francisco, not Los Angeles or Seattle). Virginia has one; Florida does not. Among its functions, the Federal Reserve directly regulates the largest banks, but it also looks out for their well-being -- providing regular liquidity loans for those caught short and bailing out endangered banks it deems "too big to fail." Critics look askance at these peculiar arrangements and see "conspiracy." But it's not really secret. This duck was created by an act of Congress. The Fed's favoritism toward bankers is embedded in its DNA. ......
....... Six reasons why granting the Fed even more power is a really bad idea:
1. It would reward failure. Like the largest banks that have been bailed out, the Fed was a co-author of the destruction. During the past twenty-five years, it failed to protect the country against reckless banking and finance adventures. It also failed in its most basic function -- moderating the expansion of credit to keep it in balance with economic growth. The Fed instead allowed, even encouraged, the explosion of debt and inflation of financial assets that have now collapsed. The central bank was derelict in enforcing regulations and led cheers for dismantling them. Above all, the Fed did not see this disaster coming, or so it claims. It certainly did nothing to warn people.
2. Cumulatively, Fed policy was a central force in destabilizing the US economy. Its extreme swings in monetary policy, combined with utter disregard for timely regulatory enforcement, steadily shifted economic rewards away from the real economy of production, work and wages and toward the financial realm, where profits and incomes were wildly inflated by false valuations. Abandoning its role as neutral arbitrator, the Fed tilted in favor of capital over labor. The institution was remolded to conform with the right-wing market doctrine of chairman Alan Greenspan, and it was blinded to reality by his ideology (see my Nation article "The One-Eyed Chairman," September 19, 2005).
3. The Fed cannot possibly examine "systemic risk" objectively because it helped to create the very structural flaws that led to breakdown. The Fed served as midwife to Citigroup, the failed conglomerate now on government life support. Greenspan unilaterally authorized this new financial/banking combine in the 1990s -- even before Congress had repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which prohibited such mergers. Now the Fed keeps Citigroup alive with a $300 billion loan guarantee. The central bank, in other words, is deeply invested in protecting the banking behemoths that it promoted, if only to cover its own mistakes.
4. The Fed can't be trusted to defend the public in its private deal-making with bank executives. The numerous revelations of collusion have shocked the public, and more scandals are certain if Congress conducts a thorough investigation. When Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was president of the New York Fed, he supervised the demise of Bear Stearns with a sweet deal for JPMorgan Chase, which took over the failed brokerage -- $30 billion to cover any losses. Geithner was negotiating with Morgan Chase CEO and New York Fed board member Jamie Dimon. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein got similar solicitude when the Fed bailed out insurance giant AIG, a Goldman counterparty: a side-door payout of $13 billion. The new president at the New York Fed, William Dudley, is another Goldman man.
5. Instead of disowning the notorious policy of "too big to fail," the Fed will be bound to embrace the doctrine more explicitly as "systemic risk" regulator. A new superclass of forty or fifty financial giants will emerge as the born-again "money trust" that citizens railed against 100 years ago. But this time, it will be armed with a permanent line of credit from Washington. The Fed, having restored and consolidated the battered Wall Street club, will doubtless also shield a few of the largest industrial-financial corporations, like General Electric (whose CEO also sits on the New York Fed board). Whatever officials may claim, financial-market investors will understand that these mammoth institutions are insured against failure. Everyone else gets to experience capitalism in the raw.
6. This road leads to the corporate state -- a fusion of private and public power, a privileged club that dominates everything else from the top down. This will likely foster even greater concentration of financial power, since any large company left out of the protected class will want to join by growing larger and acquiring the banking elements needed to qualify. Most enterprises in banking and commerce will compete with the big boys at greater disadvantage, vulnerable to predatory power plays the Fed has implicitly blessed. .......
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Returning from China last month, U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk had a bearish take on a high-level visit by American officials.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner claimed the U.S.’s biggest creditor voiced great confidence in its debt. Kirk, an Illinois Republican, came back with the opposite impression.
“China is beginning to cancel Congress’s credit card,” he told Fox News on June 10. It “doesn’t want to lend much more money to the United States and especially is worried about the Fed’s policy of printing money to buy new debt.”
A month later, there’s no doubt about whose assessment was more accurate. Chinese leaders are clearly very concerned about the dollar. How they will react is a key question hanging over markets, and it’s time to take the discussion to the next level.
Everyone knows China wants to reduce its dollar holdings. Little is known about how that process may unfold and how much work and preparation needs to go into it. Lots, in fact.
Think of China and the U.S. in history’s most expensive divorce. The two economies total $17 trillion of output, and polls in China show little support for adding to almost $800 billion of U.S. Treasuries.
This argument can be broadened to the rest of Asia. The idea that China or Japan -- with $686 billion of Treasuries -- can just start selling massive blocks of dollars is ridiculous. It would devastate markets the world over and the fallout would boomerang back on Asia. If you think markets are shaky now, just wait until word of a central-bank fire sale gets around.
Copycat Selling
Sure, Singapore (with $40 billion of Treasuries), India ($39 billion) or South Korea ($35 billion) could try to dump dollars on the stealth. Good luck in this highly connected, around-the-clock world. News that a key economy seeks a first- mover advantage over peers would inspire copycat selling. Expect investors and traders to respond with massive sell orders.
================================================================================
http://www.alternet.org/politics/141373/a_dark_hole_of_democracy:_how_the_fed_prints_money_out_of_thin_air/?cID=1264218#c1264218
.....During the past year, the Fed has flooded the streets with money -- distributing trillions of dollars to banks, financial markets and commercial interests -- in an attempt to revive the credit system and get the economy growing again. As a result, the awesome authority of this cloistered institution is visible to many ordinary Americans for the first time. People and politicians are shocked and confused, and also angered, by what they see. They are beginning to ask some hard questions for which Federal Reserve governors do not have satisfactory answers.
Where did the central bank get all the money it is handing out? Basically, the Fed printed it, out of thin air. That is what central banks do. Who told the Fed governors they could do this? Nobody, really -- not Congress or the president. The Federal Reserve Board, alone among government agencies, does not submit its budgets to Congress for authorization and appropriation. It raises its own money, sets its own priorities......
..... The antiquated quality of this institution is reflected in the map of the Fed's twelve regional banks. Five of them are located in the Midwest (better known today as the industrial Rust Belt). Missouri has two Federal Reserve banks (St. Louis and Kansas City), while the entire West Coast has only one (located in San Francisco, not Los Angeles or Seattle). Virginia has one; Florida does not. Among its functions, the Federal Reserve directly regulates the largest banks, but it also looks out for their well-being -- providing regular liquidity loans for those caught short and bailing out endangered banks it deems "too big to fail." Critics look askance at these peculiar arrangements and see "conspiracy." But it's not really secret. This duck was created by an act of Congress. The Fed's favoritism toward bankers is embedded in its DNA. ......
....... Six reasons why granting the Fed even more power is a really bad idea:
1. It would reward failure. Like the largest banks that have been bailed out, the Fed was a co-author of the destruction. During the past twenty-five years, it failed to protect the country against reckless banking and finance adventures. It also failed in its most basic function -- moderating the expansion of credit to keep it in balance with economic growth. The Fed instead allowed, even encouraged, the explosion of debt and inflation of financial assets that have now collapsed. The central bank was derelict in enforcing regulations and led cheers for dismantling them. Above all, the Fed did not see this disaster coming, or so it claims. It certainly did nothing to warn people.
2. Cumulatively, Fed policy was a central force in destabilizing the US economy. Its extreme swings in monetary policy, combined with utter disregard for timely regulatory enforcement, steadily shifted economic rewards away from the real economy of production, work and wages and toward the financial realm, where profits and incomes were wildly inflated by false valuations. Abandoning its role as neutral arbitrator, the Fed tilted in favor of capital over labor. The institution was remolded to conform with the right-wing market doctrine of chairman Alan Greenspan, and it was blinded to reality by his ideology (see my Nation article "The One-Eyed Chairman," September 19, 2005).
3. The Fed cannot possibly examine "systemic risk" objectively because it helped to create the very structural flaws that led to breakdown. The Fed served as midwife to Citigroup, the failed conglomerate now on government life support. Greenspan unilaterally authorized this new financial/banking combine in the 1990s -- even before Congress had repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which prohibited such mergers. Now the Fed keeps Citigroup alive with a $300 billion loan guarantee. The central bank, in other words, is deeply invested in protecting the banking behemoths that it promoted, if only to cover its own mistakes.
4. The Fed can't be trusted to defend the public in its private deal-making with bank executives. The numerous revelations of collusion have shocked the public, and more scandals are certain if Congress conducts a thorough investigation. When Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was president of the New York Fed, he supervised the demise of Bear Stearns with a sweet deal for JPMorgan Chase, which took over the failed brokerage -- $30 billion to cover any losses. Geithner was negotiating with Morgan Chase CEO and New York Fed board member Jamie Dimon. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein got similar solicitude when the Fed bailed out insurance giant AIG, a Goldman counterparty: a side-door payout of $13 billion. The new president at the New York Fed, William Dudley, is another Goldman man.
5. Instead of disowning the notorious policy of "too big to fail," the Fed will be bound to embrace the doctrine more explicitly as "systemic risk" regulator. A new superclass of forty or fifty financial giants will emerge as the born-again "money trust" that citizens railed against 100 years ago. But this time, it will be armed with a permanent line of credit from Washington. The Fed, having restored and consolidated the battered Wall Street club, will doubtless also shield a few of the largest industrial-financial corporations, like General Electric (whose CEO also sits on the New York Fed board). Whatever officials may claim, financial-market investors will understand that these mammoth institutions are insured against failure. Everyone else gets to experience capitalism in the raw.
6. This road leads to the corporate state -- a fusion of private and public power, a privileged club that dominates everything else from the top down. This will likely foster even greater concentration of financial power, since any large company left out of the protected class will want to join by growing larger and acquiring the banking elements needed to qualify. Most enterprises in banking and commerce will compete with the big boys at greater disadvantage, vulnerable to predatory power plays the Fed has implicitly blessed. .......
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