Beiträge von michael777

These days even in Mainstream Media we are reading about the idea of a world currency.
The Single Global Currency Association is proposing Switzerland for a while now as the
perfect place for THE BANK. Regarding a headquarter for the Global Central Bank, the
President of SGCA Mr. Bonpasse suggests Basel, Zurich, or Geneva.

“Switzerland has a reputation for sound money
and locating the GCB in Switzerland just might be the necessary incentive for
that country to join the Global Monetary Union as a member.”

Swiss history is quite special in Europe, because we are the only country that didn’t
have a monarchy. 1291 we became the uncontrollable freedom rebels by a covenant
under farmers to defend each other against the surrounding kings. In many
battles we defended our freedom against the Habsburgs and other royal families.
In 1506 we got compromised in our independence by sending guards to the pope. Later
in the 18th century European royalties preferred the neutral Swiss guards,
because of their good reputation. With the occupation of Napoleon and the
Helvetic Republic, Switzerland became a federation with a capital and later a
central banking system was established. After the occupation we got our flag,
the anthem and our religious freedom back, but not the confederation.
The French left obvious signs of freemason, mystery religion symbolism, seen to this day, like
the goddess Helvetia which was copied from the Worship of Minerva on Capitol(ine)
Hill, one of Rome’s seven hills. Now we are again under attack by the internationalist
IMF and the OECD to harmonize tax practices with the EU and the US after we
lost the economic freedoms of a gold standard as the last country on earth, fulfilling IMF member rules. Our
democratic freedoms and the reputation of our currency is probably why we are
still seen as a safe haven for capital and considered an obstacle for a new World
Currency Order, that needs to be overcome by an incentive.

After reading the article End of National Currency by Benn Steil from the “Watchtower” of the Council on Foreign
Relations, one could think that they seem to see their new currency a bit like
the good old sound money that brings back the confidence after the Phoenix has landed on the ashes of the casino
money system led by the Federal Reserve. Knowing the role of the Rockefellers
in the establishment of both the Fed and the CFR one should see through these hypocritical
approaches. The old chairman of the Federal Casino Reserves Alan Greenspan has
also mysteriously changed from Saulus to Paulus in his opinion on Gold Standard
versus Casino Capitalism just after leaving the Fed. It seems that now that
they have accumulated enough gold in their hands, they will use it as a
covering for their planed digital world currency in the manner of Breton Woods,
as quasi Gold Standard.

Basel is the headquarter of the Bank for International Settlements, The Central Bank of the Central Banks,
frequently hosting meetings for the Central Banking elite, even though they
have known Nazi ties: Emil Puhl was one of BIS’s president during the war,
while also vice president of Hitler’s Reichsbank. The president of the Reichsbank
Walther Funk is known to have supplied Hitler with money from Fritz Thyssen,
who himself has ties with Senator and Bonesman Prescott Bush.

Geneva in neutral Switzerland became something of world capital by hosting the LEAGUE OF
NATIONS. The League was formed with President Wilson’s help at the Treaty of Versailles.
Many believe that those “peace talks” of World War I were in fact a stepping
stone for the World War II, because Germany was held in a slave mode with war
reparations, defined at the treaty. So it happened that after WWII the League
of Nations rose to the United Nations, including even the stubborn United
States.

Today, we find in Geneva the United Nations just a small park away from the Rothschild
property, The Red Cross, WHO, WTO and many NGO’s. Jogging in Geneva I discovered
once a diplomatic complex of the Knights of Malta, Iraq and Germany, guarded by
the Swiss army. Even the religious direction of this brave new world is
obvious. Lucis Trust, formerly known as “Lucifer Publishing Company” is
situated right in front of the UN main building. The NGO is a member of the United Nations
Economic and Social Council.

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http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13239

"Aidstherapie" konventionell und untoxisch
US5676977 oxysilver.pdf

http://findarticles.com/p/arti…88/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

In Vivo Testing
Thirty Central American female patients, diagnosed with breast cancer by an oncologist utilizing mammograms and biopsies, comprised a subject group 32 to 52 years of age. Each received a single intravenous dosage of silver-oxide-hydrosol ([Ag.sub.4][O.sub.4]) to achieve a blood plasma concentration of 10 ppm. The 30 subjects were equally divided by three histologic groups: infiltrative canalicular breast carcinoma (Group I), ductile carcinoma, medular breast cancer (Group II), and infiltrative lobular breast cancer (Group III). The dose was administered to 50% of the patients over ten minutes and to the other 50% over four hours within each respective group. (33)

Results
* Group I: At 19 days post-treatment, a re-biopsy of all patients was performed, with a resulting diagnosis of 100% normal mammary tissue.
* Group II: At 23 days post-treatment, re-biopsy of all patients revealed 100% normal mammary tissue.
* Group III: At 29 days post-treatment, re-biopsy showed 100% normal mammary tissue.
Conclusions
Four out of the 30 patients (13%) experienced JHEs (die-off effects) from treatment. These side reactions were minimal, confined to self-resolving, self-limiting, and uneventful hepatomegaly and mild fever. At 30 days post-treatment, silver-oxide-hydrosol appeared to have cured the breast cancers of the 30 test subjects.

http://bachmann.house.gov/News…le.aspx?DocumentID=116036

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/l…NewsID=13682035&PageNum=0

MOSCOW, March 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia suggests the G20 summit in London in April should start establishing a system of managing the process of globalization and consider the possibility of creating a supra-national reserve currency or a “super-reserve currency.” The Russian Federation’s proposals for ways out of the ongoing financial and economic crisis and for a post-crisis order of the world financial system have been published on the Kremlin’s website. The proposals have been dispatched to the leadership of the G20 countries, the CIS and international organizations.
“The current global economic crisis points to the need for discarding standard approaches and requires the adoption of collective decisions, agreed at the international level and geared to creating a system of globalization process management,” the document says. Russia suggests “acting with the maximum resolution in order to restore sustainable economic development and also confidence and stability in the financial markets.”
The Russian side believes the summit should seek and achieve accord on the main parameters of a new world financial system. It suggests calling an international conference that would produce the basic parameters of a world financial architecture and adopt international conventions regarding a new financial world order.
Russia believes that the “obsolete mono-polar structure of the world economy should give way to a system based on cooperation by several major centers.”
In the sphere of control and supervision Russia suggests drafting and adopting an international agreement setting global standards of control and supervision in the financial sector – a Standard Universal Regulatory Framework (SURF).
Russia calls for reforming the international currency and financial system with the aim to strengthen its stability and control. In that connection the Russian side suggests discussing the possibility of expanding the list of currencies to be used as reserve ones, on the basis of the adoption of agreed measures to stimulate the development of major regional financial centers, and also “the creation of a supra-national reserve currency that will be issued by international financial institutions.”
“It looks expedient to reconsider the role of the IMF in that process and also to determine the possibility and need for taking measures that would allow for the SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) to become a super-reserve currency recognized by the world community,” the document says.
Also, Russia in the medium and long-term is for a revision of the role and mandate of the IMF in order to adjust both to a new structure of the world currency and financial system, whose modification is to be completed as a result of the current crisis.
For the purpose of overcoming the current crisis it will be necessary to considerably increase the resources of the IMF.
“The decisions we shall make at the London summit must be not only adequate to the current situation, but also meet the requirements of a new, post-crisis world,” the document says.

quecksilber hat ähnliche wirkungen auf unser hirn wie tcp. dieses wird als "konservierungsstoff" eingesetzt für impfstoffe, also unseren kleinsten direkt ins blut gespritzt. die letzte deutschsprachige gemeinde in den usa, die amish, machen aus religiösen gründen keine impfungen, da gibt es deswegen auch keine autismus fälle.
quecksilber wurde kürzlich in mehr als der hälfte maissirup proben gefunden worden in den usa. da gibt es sicher auch produkte, die importiert werden.
gleich sieht es mit den süssungsmitteln hier aus. die cola zero copie vom denner hat 3 verschiedene süssstoffe 2 (gem wikipedia) kanzerogen und eins sterilisierend. wobei die pflanzlichen stoffe verboten waren.
die liste geht noch weiter und weiter aber schon jetzt steht bag nich gut da. vielleicht sind die so hell wie die ubs kapitäne..

beste grüsse

http://www.youtube.com/profile…e&view=videos&query=amish

Wieso sollte jemand eingesperrt werden, wenn er nicht gleicher Meinung über ein Geschichtsereignis ist, solang er niemanden schädigt? Oder haben Sie schon mal einen Skandal gesehen, weil jemand verneint, dass China bibelgläubige Christen in Lagern zum schweigen bringt? Ja, ja, die Chinesen haben einiges gelernt vom Führer, ein Vorkämpfer für die "tapferen" Feministen, die ihre Lizenz zum "wählen" einfordern. Eugenik, Sozialdarwinismus hat schon Hitler bewogen Abtreibung zu fördern, China führt heute Zwangsabtreibungen durch! Ich bin dagegen...aber bald darf man dass nicht mehr laut sagen, denn morgen schon sieht der UNO-Plan vor, dies und z.b Homophobie auf die gleiche Stelle wie Holocaust-leugen stellen!

Dann geht das gleiche Spiel wieder los, wie damals als in Europa die Millionen Christen, wie die Amish verfolgt wurden von der weltlichen und religiösen Inquisition, weil Sie die Bibel über den Papst stellten. In dem sie sich Wiedertaufen liessen und das Sabattsgebot hielten, das vom Papst vom 7. auf den 1. Tag verschoben wurde auf den Sonntag. Und das Götzengebot hielten.

Und heutzutage wird der Bischof wegen seiner "bibeltreue" angegriffen, dann gutnacht...

http://www.sf.tv/sf1/rundschau/forum/forum.php?forumid=1698

[tube]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pLPOeQZdHYw&hl=de&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pLPOeQZdHYw&hl=de&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/tube]

http://wirtschaft.blog.sf.tv/s…sich-warten.html#comments

wie können wir weiter den leuten die zügel in die hand geben, die falsch lagen mit ihren prognosen, die schon mit den goldverkäufen ca. 10 mia. franken verlust eingefahren haben, die per gold-carry trade unser gold sowie "the bailout money" privatisieren.

warum habe ich noch nie in den medien gehört, dass eigentlich der geplante markt versagt hat und nicht der freie, wie jetzt stolz herumtrompetet wird. die zentralbank hat ihren namen von zentraler planung, sie dreht an der zinsschraube und kontrolliert so indirekt die preise aller güter und so werden wir auch verslavt von den privaten zentralbanken besitzer. hätten wir einen freien markt und der markt würde den preis von geld (zins) bestimmen, hätten wir nie soviel schulden/geld kreieren können.
wäre ich an der spitze der snb gewesen, hätte es keine goldverkäufe gegeben und kein fall ubs, da ich schon frühzeitig gewarnt habe, obwohl ich niemals studiert habe. ich stelle fest nur ein kleiner elitärer teil der ökonomen kennt die wirklichen, brauchbaren theorien.

übrigens war ich erschreckt über die verblüffenden paralellen zwischen dem untergang der titanic und der weltwirtschaft/$. Rettungsboote/edelmetalle gab/gibt es nur für die elite und diese vermied/vermeiden die 2. und 3. klasse in panik zu versetzen, damit sie in aller ruhe die rettungsbote besteigen konnten.
im notfall schaffe vertrauen durch lügen, denn die wahrheit schafft nicht immer vertrauen.

Dienst Du dem Geld oder dient das Geld Dir - wem dienst Du?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a03…07658.html?nclick_check=1

And now for a world government
By Gideon Rachman
Published: December 8 2008 19:13 | Last updated: December 8 2008 19:13

I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take
over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky
above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the
formation of some sort of world government is plausible.
A “world
government” would involve much more than co-operation between nations.
It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body
of laws. The European Union has already set up a continental government
for 27 countries, which could be a model. The EU has a supreme court, a
currency, thousands of pages of law, a large civil service and the
ability to deploy military force.
So could the European model go global? There are three reasons for thinking that it might.
First,
it is increasingly clear that the most difficult issues facing national
governments are international in nature: there is global warming, a
global financial crisis and a “global war on terror”.
Second, it
could be done. The transport and communications revolutions have shrunk
the world so that, as Geoffrey Blainey, an eminent Australian
historian, has written: “For the first time in human history, world
government of some sort is now possible.” Mr Blainey foresees an
attempt to form a world government at some point in the next two
centuries, which is an unusually long time horizon for the average
newspaper column.
But – the third point – a change in the
political atmosphere suggests that “global governance” could come much
sooner than that. The financial crisis and climate change
are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in
countries such as China and the US that are traditionally fierce
guardians of national sovereignty.
Barack Obama, America’s
president-in-waiting, does not share the Bush administration’s disdain
for international agreements and treaties. In his book, The Audacity of Hope,
he argued that: “When the world’s sole superpower willingly restrains
its power and abides by internationally agreed-upon standards of
conduct, it sends a message that these are rules worth following.” The
importance that Mr Obama attaches to the UN is shown by the fact that
he has appointed Susan Rice, one of his closest aides, as America’s ambassador to the UN, and given her a seat in the cabinet.
A
taste of the ideas doing the rounds in Obama circles is offered by a
recent report from the Managing Global Insecurity project, whose small
US advisory group includes John Podesta, the man heading Mr Obama’s
transition team and Strobe Talbott, the president of the Brookings
Institution, from which Ms Rice has just emerged.
The MGI
report argues for the creation of a UN high commissioner for
counter-terrorist activity, a legally binding climate-change agreement
negotiated under the auspices of the UN and the creation of a
50,000-strong UN peacekeeping force. Once countries had pledged troops
to this reserve army, the UN would have first call upon them.
These
are the kind of ideas that get people reaching for their rifles in
America’s talk-radio heartland. Aware of the political sensitivity of
its ideas, the MGI report opts for soothing language. It emphasises the
need for American leadership and uses the term, “responsible
sovereignty” – when calling for international co-operation – rather
than the more radical-sounding phrase favoured in Europe, “shared
sovereignty”. It also talks about “global governance” rather than world
government.
But some European thinkers think that they recognise
what is going on. Jacques Attali, an adviser to President Nicolas
Sarkozy of France, argues that: “Global governance is just a euphemism
for global government.” As far as he is concerned, some form of global
government cannot come too soon. Mr Attali believes that the “core of
the international financial crisis is that we have global financial
markets and no global rule of law”.
So, it seems, everything is
in place. For the first time since homo sapiens began to doodle on cave
walls, there is an argument, an opportunity and a means to make serious
steps towards a world government.
But let us not get carried
away. While it seems feasible that some sort of world government might
emerge over the next century, any push for “global governance” in the
here and now will be a painful, slow process.
There are good and
bad reasons for this. The bad reason is a lack of will and
determination on the part of national, political leaders who – while
they might like to talk about “a planet in peril” – are ultimately
still much more focused on their next election, at home.
But this
“problem” also hints at a more welcome reason why making progress on
global governance will be slow sledding. Even in the EU – the heartland
of law-based international government – the idea remains unpopular. The
EU has suffered a series of humiliating defeats in referendums, when
plans for “ever closer union” have been referred to the voters. In
general, the Union has progressed fastest when far-reaching deals have
been agreed by technocrats and politicians – and then pushed through
without direct reference to the voters. International governance tends
to be effective, only when it is anti-democratic.
The world’s
most pressing political problems may indeed be international in nature,
but the average citizen’s political identity remains stubbornly local.
Until somebody cracks this problem, that plan for world government may
have to stay locked away in a safe at the UN.
gideon.rachman@ft.com

http://de.biz.yahoo.com/300520…-amero-zwischenstufe.html

Stuttgart (www.rohstoffe-go.de) Führender Ökonom Robert Mundell plädiert dafür, eine
Währungsunion zwischen den USA und Euroland zu gründen/ Hochrangiger Top-Insider Ben Steil prognostiziert den Zusammenbruch des Papiergeld-Systems und sagt voraus, dass Gold in naher Zukunft alle Währungen ersetzen wird.
Sprachrohr der Hochfinanz favorisiert nicht nur eine gemeinsame Währung für die gesamte Welt, sondern plädiert auch für eine Währungsunion zwischen den USA und Euroland!

Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says members of Congress have voiced support for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran.

"I hear members of Congress saying 'if we could only nuke them'," said the congressman Thursday.

"If we do (attack) it is going to be a disaster," he told the Alex Jones Show.

The 72-year-old veteran politician added that the atmosphere in Congress indicates that a military strike on Iran has already been condoned.

"It is still totally bewildering to me when I see men and women in the Congress that I know and like doing this just to get along. Most of them will say, 'I agree with you on all you say but the Iranians are bad people and they might attack us some day," Paul said.

Referring to House Congressional Resolution 362 that he calls the 'Virtual Iran War Resolution', Paul explained the president plans to impose 'an absolute blockade of the entire country of Iran, and punish any country or any business group around the world if they trade with Iran'.

Despite the recent UN nuclear watchdog report conceding that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and the 'alleged studies' of weaponization in Iran's nuclear facilities, Washington accuses Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program. Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says members of Congress have voiced support for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran.

"I hear members of Congress saying 'if we could only nuke them'," said the congressman Thursday.

"If we do (attack) it is going to be a disaster," he told the Alex Jones Show.

The 72-year-old veteran politician added that the atmosphere in Congress indicates that a military strike on Iran has already been condoned.

"It is still totally bewildering to me when I see men and women in the Congress that I know and like doing this just to get along. Most of them will say, 'I agree with you on all you say but the Iranians are bad people and they might attack us some day," Paul said.

Referring to House Congressional Resolution 362 that he calls the 'Virtual Iran War Resolution', Paul explained the president plans to impose 'an absolute blockade of the entire country of Iran, and punish any country or any business group around the world if they trade with Iran'.

Despite the recent UN nuclear watchdog report conceding that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and the 'alleged studies' of weaponization in Iran's nuclear facilities, Washington accuses Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.a…62812&sectionid=351020104

http://www.safehaven.com/article-10280.htm

Let's examine some of the claims being made: On March 18, 2008, a "closed door" session of Congress was held for only the fourth time in history. According to House Rule XVII, clause 9, it is forbidden for members of the U.S. House of Representatives to reveal the discussions held behind those doors. The penalty for leaking such information includes loss of seniority, fines, reprimand, censure or expulsion. According to news sources, one purpose of the meetings was to discuss new surveillance techniques to be used by U.S. Homeland Security. Rumors continue to swirl as to what the other topics of discussion took place in that meeting.

According to the Australia.TO newspaper, as reported in the May 2008 Last Trumpet Newsletter (LTM), several congressmen were so incensed about what was discussed behind those doors that they were compelled to leak the contents of the meeting. Following is what is rumored to have been discussed: Imminent collapse of the U.S. economy by September 2008; imminent collapse of the U.S. Government finances by February 2009; possibility of civil war within the U.S. resulting from the collapse; detainment of "insurgent U.S. citizens" in anticipation of their moving against the government; the potential for violent action taken by citizens against members of Congress due to the collapses; the merger of the U.S. economy with those of Canada and Mexico as a solution to the collapse; the introduction of a new tri-national currency called the "AMERO" as another economic solution.

Zitat

Original von GOLD_Baron
Ich bin dafür, dass die UBS diese Woche Konkurs anmeldet!

Wird Zeit, dass die arroganten Schweizer ihre Lektion lernen!

Trichet ist auch am Zug: wird Zeit, dass die europäischen Goldbugs auch profitieren.

Die Zeit ist reif für "etwas Neues"

Alles anzeigen

die schweizer sind in dieser bank längst nur noch marionetten... die schweiz muss kastriert werden, bevor sie endgültig übernommen werden kann... die deutschen wurden es die letzten 2 weltkriege...

lustig, hier in der schweiz haben die deutschen den ruf arrogant zu sein..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new…/2008/02/15/wputin115.xml

Vladimir Putin has delivered perhaps his most menacing tirade against the West yet, repeating threats to train nuclear missiles on Europe and warning of unspecified retaliation if Kosovo declared independence.

Addressing his last press conference as Russian president, Mr Putin mounted a defiant display that demonstrated more emphatically than ever the widening gulf between Moscow and its former Cold War rivals.

Vladimir Putin delivered his most menacing tirade against the West yet
Vladimir Putin used the language of the Russian street in his tirade

In a vintage performance, the former KGB spy laced almost five hours of invective with crude insults, threats and admonitions often expressed in the argot of the Russian street.

Reserving his greatest ire for the United States, which he accused of harbouring a colonial mentality towards Russia, Mr Putin again said that Europe would pay the consequences for a Washington-backed plan to erect a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"Our generals, our security council, consider these moves a threat to our national security," he said. "We asked our partners to stop but no one listened to us. So if they continue we will have to react appropriately by retargeting our missiles." Mr Putin also made similar threats against Ukraine if it joined Nato.

The Russian leader - often accused of returning his country to a state of autocracy - portrayed his nuclear threat as an act of democratic generosity, saying he was acting in the interests of Europeans who opposed American military expansionism.

Few western countries escaped the vitriol. Europe was scolded for its "silly", "immoral" and "illegal" backing of Kosovo's imminent unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.

Although he did not elaborate, Mr Putin gave warning of retaliation once Kosovo broke away - a threat likely to chill Western leaders. "We have a ready-made plan and we know what we are going to do," he said.
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Although Mr Putin is expected to hand over power to Dmitry Medvedev, his handpicked and pliant protégé, after elections next month, there was little sign of a swansong in his final press conference as president.

Indeed, this was Mr Putin at his most combative. To the delight of fawning Russian journalists, he confirmed his intention to re-emerge as a powerful prime minister in a Medvedev administration - and pointedly told reporters that he had no intention of hanging his successor's portrait on his office wall.

Encouraged by enthusiastic applause from his audience, Mr Putin often resorted to crude rhetoric to condemn his critics.

He told western observers who refused to monitor the forthcoming election, widely seen as a sham, that they should "rather teach their own wives how to cook cabbage soup.".

He later compared British newspaper stories that carried allegations of his alleged multi-billion- pound fortune to "detritus excavated from someone's nostril and smeared across bits of paper.".

Critics have accused Mr Putin of creating a personality cult during his years in power - an allegation that may have been borne out by the sycophantic and even simpering questions put to him by local reporters.

A Chechen journalist asked the president when he would grace the ravaged province with another visit, while a female reporter presented the president with a golden heart as a gift for Valentine's Day.

Asked what had made him such a great leader, Mr Putin suggested that he had been anointed by God to make Russia a great state and boasted that he had made no mistakes during his eight years in power.

Giving a brief insight into how his mind works, Mr Putin attributed his success to the fact that he approached politics with a tough-man attitude.

"Heads of state have no right to whinge or drool for any reason," he said. "If they are going to slobber and blow snot and say things are bad, bad, then that's how it will be."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new…2008/02/12/wrussia112.xml

Russia threatens nuclear attack on Ukraine

By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Last Updated: 7:57pm GMT 12/02/2008

Russia has threatened to target the Ukraine with nuclear warheads if the former Soviet republic joins Nato and accepts the deployment of United States anti-missile defences on its territory.

Russia threatens nuclear attack on Ukraine
The Russian and Ukrainian leaders had just held emergency talks in the Kremlin

President Vladimir Putin of Russia warned Ukraine's leader Viktor Yushchenko of "retaliatory actions" should his country join the Western alliance during a joint press conference in Moscow.

"It's frightening not just to talk about this, but even to think about, that in response to such deployment, the possibility of such deployments - and one can't theoretically exclude these deployments - that Russia will have to point its warheads at Ukrainian territory," he said.

The Russian and Ukrainian leaders had just held emergency talks in the Kremlin to avert a energy supply crisis over Kiev gas bill - a similar dispute two years ago led to power cuts across Europe.

Mr Yushchenko responded to the Russian pressure by insisting on Ukraine's right to decide its own foreign policy while stressing that his country's constitution would not allow US military bases on its territory.
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"You understand well that everything that Ukraine does in this direction is not in any way directed at any third country, including Russia," he replied.

"We follow the principle that any nation has the right to define its own security. Our constitution does not allow deployment by a third country or bloc on Ukrainian territory."

Mr Putin has condemned Washington's plans to include Poland and the Czech Republic in a missile defence shield as a "new phase in the arms race".

Russia fears the shield will threaten its national security and tip strategic military balance in Europe.

"The goal [of the missile shield] is to neutralise our nuclear capabilities," said Mr Putin.

"This would prompt Russia to take retaliatory action."

Moscow has already declared that Russia will pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), which came into force in 1992 and restricts the deployment of troops and tanks near sensitive European frontiers.

Last week, John Chipman, the head of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, warned that the "next target of Moscow's assertive revisionism "could be the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987.

Both would be moves that would allow Russia to build a new generation of medium-range nuclear missiles capable of striking Western Europe. As relations between Russia and many of its near neighbours deteriorate, Ukraine has submitted a formal membership request to Nato, to be considered a summit of alliance leaders in the Romanian capital of Bucharest this April.

Mr Putin has accepted an invitation to attend the meeting and Russia's parliament last month voted to stop using Soviet-built military radars in Ukraine because of Kiev's Nato ambitions.

The prospect of Nato membership is also deeply controversial in the Ukraine, where opinion polls show that over half of the country opposes it.

Russia has revived the long-range air patrols that were once a standard feature of the Cold War and US defence officials confirmed that a pair of Russian TU-95 Bear bombers overflew a US aircraft carrier in the western Pacific at an altitude of 2,000 feet (660 meters) over the weekend.

Four F-18 fighters jets intercepted the Russian bombers on Saturday morning, but not before they had overflown the USS Nimitz.

It was the second time since July 2004 that a Russian Bear bomber has overflown a US aircraft carrier.

It was not immediately known whether the United States issued any protests with the Russians.

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB118954417476624138.html

A Secret Time Bomb Made of Gold

THE VOLATILITY SEEN THIS QUARTER IN the stock and credit markets may be new to younger investors. But there is something lurking out there that can make things really dicey.

A little-known fountain of free money called the "gold carry trade" is in danger of drying up. And if it does, then markets from gold to bonds and even stocks can be in for a wild ride.

Before even explaining what the gold carry trade entails, let me first say that its demise has been forecast for nearly a decade. In researching this topic, I found articles as far back as 1998 looking for an explosion in gold prices and commensurate damage to other markets, if not the economy. In other words, this is a story that is as old as Methuselah.

But with a sinking dollar, soaring commodities, and several diverse technical conditions on the charts, the dynamics are coming together to make the end of the gold carry trade a lot closer to reality than ever before.

The gold carry trade is similar to the yen carry trade, which has been a hot topic in the markets this year. Basically, money is borrowed from one source at a low interest rate and invested elsewhere at a higher rate. As long as relevant exchange rates and asset prices remain stable, a profit is made with little effort.

Central banks are sitting on huge supplies of gold that earn them no interest and cost them money just to store securely. To earn a little revenue on these static assets, they loan their gold to banks, called buillon banks, at a ridiculously low interest rate on the order of 1%.

The banks turn around and sell the gold in the market, typically in the London bullion market, and invest the proceeds in a higher-paying asset, such as long-term Treasury bonds. If bonds pay 4.6% then the banks earn an easy 3.6%.

The problem is that if the gold price starts to rise, profits can be wiped out or turned to losses. And in today's market, a falling dollar not only boosts gold prices but it also makes Treasury bonds less attractive to foreign investors. That reduces demand and weakens prices to create a potential double-edged sword for carry traders.

The banks, of course, realize this and hedge their gold sales by buying gold futures. According to Kevin Schweitzer, senior vice president with Hudson Securities, a firm that makes markets in gold stocks, the hedge is not perfect. If central banks call in their gold loans, the banks cannot wait for contract expiration to take delivery on the gold they purchased via their futures contracts. They have to pay back their loans right away and if gold prices are stable, there is no problem for the banks going into the physical market to buy back their gold.

However, if gold starts to rise quickly, the added demand from the banks to buy gold can exacerbate the rally causing what amounts to a mad dash for the metal. The market will respond with steeply higher prices, and Schweitzer sees this pushing gold to $850 by the end of the year.

All of this is fundamental in nature so let's examine the technicals a bit more. As the chart shows, gold peaked in May 2006 in what some labeled a speculative bubble. However, rather than falling quickly as burst bubbles portend, the market moved sideways for the next 15 months (see Chart 1).

Chart 1
[gold]

Last month, gold broke out from that range to resume its bull market, moving quickly from 670 to 721 in just eight trading days. A 7.6% move in such a short period is a wake-up call for the carry traders.

Schweitzer also points out that open interest in gold futures, which measures the current size of bets made by futures traders, is 34% lower than it was last year at the presumed speculative price peak. In other words, the speculation present today is lower than it was the last time prices went up like they are now, and Schweitzer thinks that this gives the market a lot of room to the upside. Traders who buy momentum markets -- think Nasdaq in 1999 -- have not yet piled on.

Seasonally, gold is also entering one of the stronger parts of the year. Commercial players in the gold industry, the so-called smart money, are still buying and otherwise acting as if they expect prices to continue to rise (see Getting Technical, "Gold Stocks Are Precious Again," Sept. 10). Put it all together and the technicals support higher prices, short-term corrections excepted, and that will continue to pressure the gold carry trade.

What is the price that breaks the bank, so to speak? It is hard to say. But with so many factors conspiring to keep the rally going, it does look as if the carry trade is finally about to unwind. Banks that hold big short positions in gold are going to be very vulnerable. Investors sitting on a stash of Krugerrands or Maple Leafs will be a lot happier.

Also read Getting Technical, Sector Alert:
"Gold Stocks Are Precious Again," Sept. 10, 2007.

Getting Technical Mailbag: Send your questions on technical analysis to us at online.editors@barrons.com. We'll cover as many as we can, but please remember that we cannot give investment advice.

Michael Kahn, author of three books on technical analysis, former Chief Technical Analyst for BridgeNews and former director for the Market Technicians Association, also blogs at http://www.quicktakespro.com/blog.

Comments? E-mail us at online.editors@barrons.com

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Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Barton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with ``seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.''

The ``etc.'' must mean guns.

``A few rounds over the approaching brigands' heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage,'' he writes in his new book, ``Wealth, War and Wisdom.''

Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners. He doesn't lock and load until the last page of this smart look at how World War II warped share prices, gutted wealth and remains a warning to investors. His message: Listen to markets, learn from history and prepare for the worst.

``Wealth, War and Wisdom'' fills a void. Library shelves are packed with volumes on World War II. The history of stock markets also has been ably recorded, notably in Robert Sobel's ``The Big Board.'' Yet how many books track the intersection of the two?

The ``wisdom'' in the alliterative title refers to the spooky way markets can foreshadow the future. Biggs became fascinated with this phenomenon after discovering by chance that equity markets sensed major turning points in the war.

The British stock market bottomed out in late June 1940 and started rising again before the truly grim days of the Battle of Britain in July to October, when the Germans were splintering London with bombs and preparing to invade the U.K.

`Epic Bottom'

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plumbed ``an epic bottom'' in late April and early May of 1942, then began climbing well before the U.S. victory in the Battle of Midway in June turned the tide against the Japanese.

Berlin shares ``peaked at the high-water mark of the German attack on Russia just before the advance German patrols actually saw the spires of Moscow in early December of 1941.''

``Those were the three great momentum changes of World War II -- although at the time, no one except the stock markets recognized them as such.''

Biggs isn't suggesting that Mr. Market is infallible: He can get ``panicky and crazy in the heat of the moment,'' he says. Over the long haul, though, markets display what James Surowiecki calls ``the wisdom of crowds.''

Like giant voting machines, they aggregate the judgments of individuals acting independently into a collective assessment. Biggs stress-tests this theory against events that shook nations from the Depression through the Korean War, which he calls ``the last battle of World War II.''

Refresher Course

Biggs has read widely and thought deeply. He has a pleasing conversational style, an eye for memorable anecdotes and a weakness for Winston Churchill's quips. His book works as a brisk refresher course.

What really packs a wallop, though, is his combination of military history, market action, maps and charts. It's one thing to say that the London market scraped bottom before the Battle of Britain. It's another to show it.

In May and June 1940, some 338,000 British and French troops had been evacuated from Dunkirk by a flotilla of fishing boats, tugs, barges, yachts and river steamers. The French and Belgian armies had collapsed; the Dutch had surrendered. Britain stood alone, as bombs shattered London and the Nazis prepared to invade. Yet stocks rallied.

Mankind endures ``an episode of great wealth destruction'' at least once every century, Biggs reminds us. So the wealthy should prepare to ride out a disaster, be it a tsunami, a market meltdown or Islamic terrorists with a dirty bomb.

The rich get complacent, assuming they will have time ``to extricate themselves and their wealth'' when trouble comes, Biggs says. The rich are mistaken, as the Holocaust proves.

``Events move much faster than anyone expects,'' he says, ``and the barbarians are on top of you before you can escape.''

``Wealth, War and Wisdom'' is from Wiley (358 pages, $29.95, 15.99 pounds).

(James Pressley writes for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this review: James Pressley in Brussels at jpressley@bloomberg.net .