EU MEP Blasts Nigel Farage on Immigration"Its as Likely as 1000's of Mar...

Meet Angelina Jolie's look alike; Elena BĂSESCU EU Parliament

Meet Angelina Jolie's incredible look alike,Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)Elena Băsescu, sometimes referred to as EBA, (born 24 April 1980 in Constanța) is a Romanian politician, secretary general of the youth wing of Romania's Democratic Liberal Party,and a Member of the European Parliament. She is the youngest daughter of Traian Băsescu, the current President of Romania. She was formerly a model,and entered politics in 2007.She has a degree in economics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_B%C4%83sescu

Member
European Parliament
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees
Delegation for relations with Israel

credit
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/

Ukraine: Watch Violent Police Beatings and Protesters Scrambling

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been rallying in Kiev against their President's U-turn on Europe, amid increasingly chaotic scenes.
They defied a ban to gather.
But while most of the demonstration was peaceful, young radicals used a bulldozer to try to break into Viktor Yanukovich's headquarters.
Their approach to the building was blocked by a line of buses, requisitioned by the Interior Ministry.Police used tear gas to force back the crowd.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/kiev-protesters-lenin-statue-ukraine

Obama Praises Deal to limit Iran's Nuclear Activities, Israel slams 'Ira...

Statement By The President On First Step Agreement On Iran's Nuclear Program

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Today, the United States -- together with our close allies and partners -- took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program.   

Since I took office, I’ve made clear my determination to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  As I’ve said many times, my strong preference is to resolve this issue peacefully, and we’ve extended the hand of diplomacy.  Yet for many years, Iran has been unwilling to meet its obligations to the international community.  So my administration worked with Congress, the United Nations Security Council and countries around the world to impose unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian government.

These sanctions have had a substantial impact on the Iranian economy, and with the election of a new Iranian President earlier this year, an opening for diplomacy emerged.  I spoke personally with President Rouhani of Iran earlier this fall.  Secretary Kerry has met multiple times with Iran’s Foreign Minister.  And we have pursued intensive diplomacy -- bilaterally with the Iranians, and together with our P5-plus-1 partners -- the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union.

Today, that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure -- a future in which we can verify that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and that it cannot build a nuclear weapon. 

While today’s announcement is just a first step, it achieves a great deal.  For the first time in nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program, and key parts of the program will be rolled back.  Iran has committed to halting certain levels of enrichment and neutralizing part of its stockpiles.  Iran cannot use its next-generation centrifuges, which are used for enriching uranium.  Iran cannot install or start up new centrifuges, and its production of centrifuges will be limited.  Iran will halt work at its plutonium reactor.  And new inspections will provide extensive access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and allow the international community to verify whether Iran is keeping its commitments.

These are substantial limitations which will help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.  Simply put, they cut off Iran’s most likely paths to a bomb.  Meanwhile, this first step will create time and space over the next six months for more negotiations to fully address our comprehensive concerns about the Iranian program.  And because of this agreement, Iran cannot use negotiations as cover to advance its program.

On our side, the United States and our friends and allies have agreed to provide Iran with modest relief, while continuing to apply our toughest sanctions.  We will refrain from imposing new sanctions, and we will allow the Iranian government access to a portion of the revenue that they have been denied through sanctions.  But the broader architecture of sanctions will remain in place and we will continue to enforce them vigorously.  And if Iran does not fully meet its commitments during this six-month phase, we will turn off the relief and ratchet up the pressure.

Over the next six months, we will work to negotiate a comprehensive solution.  We approach these negotiations with a basic understanding:  Iran, like any nation, should be able to access peaceful nuclear energy.  But because of its record of violating its obligations, Iran must accept strict limitations on its nuclear program that make it impossible to develop a nuclear weapon. 

In these negotiations, nothing will be agreed to unless everything is agreed to.  The burden is on Iran to prove to the world that its nuclear program will be exclusively for peaceful purposes.

If Iran seizes this opportunity, the Iranian people will benefit from rejoining the international community, and we can begin to chip away at the mistrust between our two nations.  This would provide Iran with a dignified path to forge a new beginning with the wider world based on mutual respect.  If, on the other hand, Iran refuses, it will face growing pressure and isolation.

Over the last few years, Congress has been a key partner in imposing sanctions on the Iranian government, and that bipartisan effort made possible the progress that was achieved today.  Going forward, we will continue to work closely with Congress.  However, now is not the time to move forward on new sanctions -– because doing so would derail this promising first step, alienate us from our allies and risk unraveling the coalition that enabled our sanctions to be enforced in the first place. 

That international unity is on display today.  The world is united in support of our determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.  Iran must know that security and prosperity will never come through the pursuit of nuclear weapons -- it must be reached through fully verifiable agreements that make Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons impossible.

As we go forward, the resolve of the United States will remain firm, as will our commitments to our friends and allies –- particularly Israel and our Gulf partners, who have good reason to be skeptical about Iran’s intentions. 

Ultimately, only diplomacy can bring about a durable solution to the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program.  As President and Commander-in-Chief, I will do what is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  But I have a profound responsibility to try to resolve our differences peacefully, rather than rush towards conflict.  Today, we have a real opportunity to achieve a comprehensive, peaceful settlement, and I believe we must test it.

The first step that we’ve taken today marks the most significant and tangible progress that we’ve made with Iran since I took office.  And now we must use the months ahead to pursue a lasting and comprehensive settlement that would resolve an issue that has threatened our security -- and the security of our allies -- for decades.  It won’t be easy, and huge challenges remain ahead.  But through strong and principled diplomacy, the United States of America will do our part on behalf of a world of greater peace, security, and cooperation among nations.

Thank you very much.

Close Transcript

‘Greece sliding towards third-world status’

‘Greece sliding towards third-world status’

Published: 20 February, 2012, 21:13

Greece needs a greater rescue package than the one being negotiated in Brussels, says economist Johan van Overtveldt. In fact, the new bailout should be worth at least as much as the entire Greek economy.

­As eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels to decide if Greece has done enough to get an additional 130-billion euro financial aid package, Overtveldt told RT that Greece actually needs around 170 billion euros to make it through the next few years.

On top of that, he says, Greece needs an additional 35 billion euros to recapitalize its banks.
“So we are talking now about a package that in reality is about 200 billion euros, which happens to be exactly the amount equal to Greek gross domestic product,” he explained.
But even a bigger aid package will not pull the Greek economy out of a deep recession, Overtveldt believes.



“The negative spiral in which the Greek economy and Greek society have been imprisoned for almost two years will only get worse,” he explained. “The austerity program that is imposed on the country will worsen the recession, which in its turn will worsen the budget outlook.”
Overtveldt says what Greece really needs at the moment is a growth perspective for its economy – which can be achieved only by exiting the eurozone.
“It will lead, of course, to a devaluation of the new drachma but that is exactly what is needed to get the economy growing again through international trade,” he concluded.

Over the last two years, Greece has seen a number of rallies and demonstrations that often escalate into clashes of angry and desperate people with the police. Last Saturday, the approval of a new austerity package was followed by a major clash with tear gas being used against some demonstrators. One person was injured and about 60 detained over the violence. 

­‘Greece sliding towards third-world status’

­What Greece really needs right now is a redevelopment plan – and the IMF is the best pick for for the job, economist Harlan Green told RT.
“Greece is sliding very quickly into being a third world country, and the IMF knows how to deal with third world countries,” the editor of PopularEconomics.com said. “In Greece’s case, they’ve lost productivity, they’ve lost what economists call aggregate demand, by just demanding austerity without a plan for recovery.”
Green says that productivity has fallen dramatically not only in Greece, but in Europe as a whole when compared with the US.
“Greeks themselves are very hard workers,” he added. “But it is very inefficient.”

http://rt.com/news/greece-rescue-package-economy-779/

Greece downgraded next to default level by Fitch
Published: 22 February, 2012, 17:32

Fitch has downgraded Greece to a pre - default level (Reuters / John Kolesidis)

TAGS: Crisis, Greece

Fitch rating agency wasn’t impressed by the EU leaders’ decision to grant a second bailout for Greece.It downgraded the country to pre-default level.
The sovereign long-term default rating of Greece now stands at the pre-default "С" level, down from "ССС".
The decision comes after the Eurogroup agreed on Tuesday it’ll release a second lifeline of 130 billion euro to Greece, with private creditors also writing off 53.5% of the country’s debt. Fitch says should private creditors complete a bond swap, the agency will have the grounds to announce a Greek default.
“The rating downgrade won’t influence the world markets dramatically, as they have already taken into consideration the unsteady Greek economy and its probable default. If markets demonstrate any reaction to the rating decrease, these will be short-term changes. Long-term trends might not change,” says Anna Bodrova from Investcafe.
However, the downgrade, which reflects existing doubts whether Greece will be able to solve longer term Greek debt problem, “sets a negative tone for other South European countries, like Portugal and Spain,” Dimitri Kryukov, a head of Russian office of Verno Investment Research, tells Business RT.

http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/currency-currents/2012/02/21/
So what?” he asked. “Things will only get worse. We have reached a point where we’re trying to figure out how to survive just the next day, let alone the next 10 days, the next month, the next year.”


           -Anastasis Chrisopoulos, Athens taxi driver (from Reuters)

130-billion-euro here, 130-billion-euro there, and pretty soon you have to start finding some growth!

One adage that seems to work as much as anything else, and why it is an adage I guess, is “buy the rumor and sell the news.” I won’t bore you with the behavioral aspects of why this works, I think you know. We are seeing it a bit this morning on display on news a Greek default has been averted: the euro is lower, and ditto for most Eurozone bonds since the announcement of a deal that gives Greece another 130-billion-euro it can pour down the rabbit hole with the rest of the money funneled in by Eurozone taxpayers.


Of course, sooner or later financial engineering reaches the limits of its public relations effect and there must be some underlying payoff from said engineering besides getting funds to follow banks chasing into periphery debt for a trade. It’s not that rising periphery bond prices, i.e. lower yields, isn’t helpful; it is. But even at current rate levels, it will be mighty hard for many countries to maintain austerity pledges; all attempts to do so will likely accentuate the trend we see in the chart below:



And of course, this chart is the mirror image of the domestic adjustments periphery countries have to make because they do not have a free-floating currency available to help them make these adjustments:



Thus, periphery economies desperately need some growth. Rising unemployment and tighter budgets will not produce revenues needed to pay debt; instead it produces a self-feeing vicious spiral downward. This view seems completely at odds with the Troika program even though the Greek economy provides them with live test case of abject failure stemming directly from the implementation of their own flawed theories.


And here is why it will likely get worse for Greece and other periphery countries whose growth is heading lower—the real economy will be starved.


We have already witnessed this economic/money/manipulation phenomenon in the US, from the WSJ this morning:


“The eight giant European banks that have disclosed their annual results in recent weeks reported holding a total of about $816 billion in cash and deposits at central banks as of Dec. 31. That is up 50% from a year earlier, when the same banks were holding roughly $543 billion.”


Does any of this sound familiar? You can lead a horse to water, in fact you can force-feed said horse with massive amounts of reserves, but you can’t make him lend any of it to the real economy where real people build real businesses and hire other real people who need real jobs.


Just in case you forgot just how tightly US banks have held on to their Fed sponsored reserves via the massively steep yield curve that impoverishes savers to subsidize bank healing, here is a look. This chart shows reserves in the US banking system ... hmmm ... three years and counting so far since Bernanke and Company decided this is the only viable strategy for the economy. Viable for financial assets, but the other side of the economy is still starved...



The point is, despite the new Greek rescue (I am losing count how many we have had so far), it appears the Eurozone, now clearly a two-track world with Germany bathing in credit and low rates and low unemployment (which adds to more angst and animosity toward Germans amongst the PIIGS), appears collectively heading into deeper recession.


One wonders if now, finally, EU leaders have run out of rabbits of financial engineering to pull from their hats. Financial engineering is a lot easier than real growth. If you don’t believe me, go ask Goldman; after all it is their fun and games that caused much of this Greek problem in the first place.