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[MONEY] Behind Closed Doors at the IMF
by Zenaan Harkness 10 Aug '16

10 Aug '16

The following provides a plain english note on a couple of foundations of the IMF which some may not have grokked before (SDRs will cause/ be blamed for future inflation ('through the back door')), although it ultimately devolves into a book advertisement (which I guess may be of interest anyway considering the topic). Its structure is mildly deceptive - the author ought to have (in my world shatteringly high opinion) been upfront that his article arises from a new book he is hawking. Zenaan ---------- Behind Closed Doors at the IMF By Jim Rickards, Strategist, Strategic Intelligence The Washington, DC, area is thick with secret agencies with ‘three-letter names’, such as CIA, FBI, NSA and less well-known outfits such as the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). One of the most powerful, and also most secretive, of these agencies is an institution that is not even part of the US government. It’s an autonomous part of an emerging scheme of global governance accountable only to a small elite of central bankers, finance ministers and heads of state. That institution is the International Monetary Fund, or the IMF. Everything about the IMF is designed to deceive you — beginning with the name. The IMF is not really a ‘fund’ in the sense of an endowment or mutual fund; it functions as the central bank of the world, taking deposits, called ‘borrowings’, from countries around the world and making loans to its members. It prints money like most central banks, but this world money has the opaque name of special drawing right, or SDR. Now, when I say world money, it sounds kind of spooky or scary, but special drawing right is a funny name. The global financial elites pick strange names for what they’re doing so people don’t understand what it is. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) can print these SDRs. They have in the past — there’s nothing new about it. SDRs were created in 1969, and hundreds of billions of them have been issued over the years. But the IMF only issues them when there’s a financial panic. They don’t issue them every day or when times are good. You will not be able to use them, touch them or feel them. You will not be able to spend them. You will not have them. SDRs are not going to be walking-around money. You’ll still have dollars, but the dollars will be a local currency, not a global reserve currency. So for example, when I go to Turkey, I cash in some US dollars and get some Turkish lira. I use the lira to pay for taxis in Turkey. Then when I leave, I cash them out again. That will be how the US dollar is used. You’ll use the US dollar when you come to the United States, but it’ll be like the Aussie dollar: something you use when you go there. The dollar won’t be the important global reserve currency. The SDR will be used for the settlement of the balance of payments between countries, the price of oil and perhaps the financial statements of the 100 largest global corporations. The impact on everyday investors will be inflationary. The difference, however, is that, right now, if we have inflation, everyone blames the Fed. In the future, however, you’ll have inflation coming from SDRs. That means when people try to blame the Fed, the Fed will say it’s not us; it’s those guys over there on G Street in Northwest Washington. Go blame them. No one even knows where the IMF is. So the SDR is just a way to get inflation through the back door. The IMF has a convoluted governance structure in which the highest decision-making body, the Board of Governors, has little power because the votes are weighted in favour of the largest economies, such as the US. Actual power rests with the blandly named International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMFC. Everything about the IMF is designed to make it difficult for outsiders like you to have any idea what is going on. The insiders like that arrangement just fine. Given this culture and history, it was surprising to see the publication a few years back of a book by Liaquat Ahamed, Money and Tough Love — On Tour With the IMF . The book is the most detailed account yet from behind the scenes at IMF headquarters. The author also reports on an IMF annual meeting in Tokyo and goes on the road with IMF ‘missions’ as they monitor large and small governments around the world. These missions are the key to forcing governments to conform to the ‘rules of the game’ as established by the global monetary elites. Ahamed had difficulty getting the cooperation of the IMF and access to IMF meetings and missions he needed to write the book. In the opening section, he writes, he soon discovers that gaining access to the world behind its doors will not be easy. The fund is the repository of many secrets, which it guards ferociously. It does its work behind the scenes, out of the public eye, and has a history of being wary of the press… The fund benefits from a certain mystique that could be lost by too much openness. In the end, Ahamed was granted access by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. What follows is a revealing account that is part history, part economics and part James Bond as Ahamed travels from Washington to Tokyo, Dublin, and Maputo, Mozambique. He describes IMF interactions with other members of the global power elite, as well as the IMF’s member countries in both the developed world and among the poorest. Importantly, the book is highly accessible. Ahamed avoids the arcane jargon that fills most accounts of the IMF as well as the IMF’s official publications and reports. Anyone with the slightest interest in the workings of the international monetary system will find this book an excellent guide to how the IMF goes about its business on a day-to-day basis, and how the IMF has the power to make or break sovereign governments by deciding whether or not to make loans when those governments are in financial distress. One of the book’s main takeaways is the demonstration that the IMF is just as powerful as the military and CIA when it comes to forcing regime change in governments that do not follow US orders. Of course, the IMF does this without firing a shot. They use money as a weapon just as effectively as the military uses special operations or the CIA uses drones. Second, if Western nations lose votes in the IMF and those votes are given to communist China, then the IMF money weapons may be aimed at the US in the future. In recent decades, the emerging markets and southern Europe have needed IMF bailouts. In the future, the US may be the one that needs to be bailed out, and we may have to accept conditions imposed by China using the IMF as its monetary agent. The book is also timely. While the IMF has always been opaque, its importance to global finance has waxed and waned over the decades. Now the IMF is about to enter its most powerful stage yet. Central banks bailed out the world in 2008. The next financial panic will be bigger than the ability of central banks to put out the fire. At that point, the only source of global liquidity will be the IMF itself. The issuance of five trillion SDRs, equal to US$7.5 trillion, to paper over the next financial panic will be highly inflationary. The difference between this coming inflation and those in the past is that few investors will know where the inflation is coming from. Politically, it will not be easy to hold the US Treasury or the Federal Reserve accountable, because they will just point a finger at the IMF. The one true advantage of SDRs is that very few people understand them, and there’s no political accountability. Understanding the financial world’s fire department before the next great fire will give you an advantage when it comes. Cheers, Jim Rickards, For The Daily Reckoning Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in The Daily Reckoning US http://click2.portphillippublishing.com.au/t/FA/Fdc/KX8/AAmANg/G_E/AASMFA/A… .

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[LAW] USA sets standard for seizing and distributing foreign assets - karma's boomerang anticipated
by Zenaan Harkness 10 Aug '16

10 Aug '16

Once that standard is set, it is a public record for the future. The USA is quite clear with the world how it would like its "national assets" handled by other nations when eventually the North American hegemon falls... ----- ** Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demands Barack Obama ‘pay another $2 billion’ (http://theduran.com/former-iranian-president-ahmadinejad-tells-barack-obama…) ------------------------------------------------------------ By Alex Christoforou on Aug 08, 2016 10:33 pm Mideast_Iran_500566a As Obama tries to explain away the $400 million (http://theduran.com/barack-obama-says-donald-trump-unfit-president-gets-cau…) he [DEL: airlifted :DEL] paid to Iran last week in return for hostages (http://theduran.com/american-hostage-saeed-abidini-says-plane-not-allowed-l…) , or in line with a a Hague Court agreement (whichever one you are more inclined to believe), former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is figuring that while Obama has his hands in his pockets, might as well ask for a little more. In this case Ahmadinejad is advising US President Barack Obama to return $2 billion seized from Iran in order to help ease a “bitter past”. The letter was delivered to the White House through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US diplomatic interests in Iran. It urges Obama to “quickly fix” the issue surrounding frozen Iranian assets. The letter begins with the traditional Islamic greeting “As-salamun alaykum,” and was released by the Dolate-Bahar (http://www.dolatebahar.com/view/294933/%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D9%86%D8%A…) website, which is run by Ahmadinejad’s supporters. Former Iranian president Ahmadinejad advises @POTUS (https://twitter.com/POTUS) Obama in a letter published on a website run by his supporters: pic.twitter.com/MO44luDVNV (https://t.co/MO44luDVNV) — Bozorgmehr Sharafedi (@bozorgmehr) August 8, 2016 (https://twitter.com/bozorgmehr/status/762587645306437632) In an open letter addressed to the POTUS, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gets straight to the point… “You took office as the president of the United States amidst a climax in global frustration…following several decades of hegemonic policies and behavior of consecutive US administrations.” “Your campaign slogan was ‘change’ and you claimed to be determined to change those policies as well as behaviors.” “On June 9, 2014, a court in America, based on unfounded claims without presenting any reliable documents, issued a sentence based on which about two billion Dollars of the Iranian nation’s assets would be seized unlawfully.” Ahmadinejad further wrote in the letter that Obama’s promise to restore ties with Tehran has never been fulfilled, “and the same hostile policies along with the same trend of enmity were pursued, in alternative ways.” Iran believed a “compensation for the past would have been remedied” during Obama’s terms. RT reports further (https://www.rt.com/news/355082-ahmadinejad-writes-letter-obama/) … In April, the US Supreme Court ruled that Iranian assets worth $2 billion must be paid to American families whose relatives were killed in the Beirut and Saudi Arabia military attacks blamed on Iran, which took place in 1983 and 1996, respectively. Notably, the ruling came despite an apparent easing of tensions between Tehran and the West, and the lifting of most sanctions following a nuclear deal framework agreement. Iran responded angrily at the time, calling the move a “highway robbery” and “property seizure.” In mid-June, it was revealed that Tehran had filed a lawsuit against Washington to the UN International Court of Justice. People in Iran hope “that the particular case of property seizure, which fully occurred during your term in office, and actually toward the end of the term, and which is counter to all international legal principles and rules, be quickly fixed by your excellency,” Ahmadinejad wrote. Ahmadinejad said the letter “is by no means of political nature.” The former Iranian President mention years of “oppression and cruelty by different American governments” against Iran. Ahmadinejad the goes on to advise Obama to not let the moment go to waste, and wishes him well, as his letter concludes…. “I passionately advise you not to let the historical defamation and bitter incident be recorded under your name.” “Best wishes for the health and well-being of all nations.” Via: https://www.rt.com/news/355082-ahmadinejad-writes-letter-obama/ The post Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demands Barack Obama ‘pay another $2 billion’ (http://theduran.com/former-iranian-president-ahmadinejad-tells-barack-obama…) appeared first on The Duran (http://theduran.com) . Read in browser » (http://theduran.com/former-iranian-president-ahmadinejad-tells-barack-obama…) http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheduran.com%2Fformer-iranian-pre… http://us13.campaign-archive2.com/?u=3a63c9fc90debaab0b552af47&id=027b2a548…...

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Re: [tor-talk] Tor Project Corporate Document FOI Request
by Mirimir 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 08/09/2016 02:38 AM, Allen wrote: >> # TOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, For Profit, 250000 shares >> http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN= >> >> 001055985 >> >> > I don't think you've actually looked at any of the information the > Tor Project provides to the public on its website. Because if you > had looked at it, you would know exactly what the legal name of the > corporation was. Did you actually look at that document? | Summary for: TOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION | | ... | | The name and address of the Registered Agent: | | Name: THE TOR PROJECT, INC. | | ... | | PRESIDENT ROGER DINGLEDINE I had never heard of that. I doubt that there's anything on Tor Project website about it. > Given that you are too lazy to actually find and read the publicly > available information, why should the Tor Project honor your > request to provide additional information? I think they are well > justified to simply ignore it. I'm pretty sure that they will ignore it. The truth is probably ugly :( -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.22 (GNU/Linux) iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJXqka5AAoJEGINZVEXwuQ+WA4IAKpJmQnWLbBbh2jV07jcn9G4 U+cIiuK53MrreOpJ1xp/oonxOgWcOMnv5boOeBJ4w5czBIWPfJqCiRuMzx6tLkbt twNaisLL8yC29DcK08tlOnfgt9o7p7vvvLRoGF15mChasfN/8PkbQzzNjsDWar8f 4Sh9I3ZveMUipksXLsGAqpiPUlbQk9yI6YiossFITOkF90KN9txY18SsSLeLEt61 ZKDLCjQGTZ72MtL6LRcA71IauRsBvmAqLnmfEIvSRR8OCTlWiSFhQW8rWD584Ub/ RCZnYp5TRn/0je84tJgwXQU0F6D/BsdXMyElOw+SSM1GapdRpu0/VeEFQjbH7Kg= =BXlI -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: [tor-talk] Tor Project Corporate Document FOI Request
by grarpamp 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

On 8/9/16, ITechGeek <ITG(a)itechgeek.com> wrote: > I think you meant this one: > http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN=208096… > The exact name of the Nonprofit Corporation: THE TOR PROJECT, INC. It's clear from the context exactly which one was meant. On 8/9/16, Allen <allenpmd(a)gmail.com> wrote: > [drivel] Nice try. Cheerio chap :)

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[OT] The ICFP Programming Contest
by Georgi Guninski 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

For those who like coding challenges: http://www.icfpconference.org/contest.html The ICFP Programming Contest -- s="import md5;print'MD5 sum of my source is: '+md5.new('s=%r;exec s'%s).hexdigest()";exec s

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BBC to deploy detection vans to snoop on internet users
by grarpamp 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

http://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2016-August/029866.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/05/bbc-to-deploy-detection-vans-to-… BBC to deploy detection vans to snoop on internet users Patrick Foster 6 August 2016 8:24am The BBC is to spy on internet users in their homes by deploying a new generation of Wi-Fi detection vans to identify those illicitly watching its programmes online. The Telegraph can disclose that from next month, the BBC vans will fan out across the country capturing information from private Wi-Fi networks in homes to "sniff out" those who have not paid the licence fee. The corporation has been given legal dispensation to use the new technology, which is typically only available to crime-fighting agencies, to enforce the new requirement that people watching BBC programmes via the iPlayer must have a TV licence. The disclosure will lead to fears about invasion of privacy and follows years of concern over the heavy-handed approach of the BBC towards those suspected of not paying the licence fee. However, the BBC insists that its inspectors will not be able to spy on other internet browsing habits of viewers. .....

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Re: [tor-talk] Tor Project Corporate Document FOI Request
by grarpamp 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

On 8/8/16, Ken Cline <cline(a)frii.com> wrote: > Others are a matter of public record: Consult the Massachusetts Secretary > of State's web site > [http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corpweb/CorpSearch/CorpSearch.aspx] If you start searching by entity and individual names, here's one example of what shows up that is certainly community relavant and that I don't recall being publicly announced... # TOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, For Profit, 250000 shares http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN=001055… ...at least not until this FOI request from the community came along... https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-talk/2013-September/030164.html https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-talk/2013-September/030169.html https://www.google.com/search?q="tor+solutions+group" https://www.google.com/search?q="tor+solutions+corporation" Might as well include their bylaws, minutes, etc for transparency too.

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I swear I'm not making this up
by juan 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

"Russia has attacked the US in cyberspace in an attempt to influence our national election, many experts have concluded. We need to take this national security threat seriously and both respond and defend, despite the partisan nature of this particular attack" signed - schneier, tor supreme.

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Re: [tor-talk] Tor Project Corporate Document FOI Request
by grarpamp 09 Aug '16

09 Aug '16

On 7/31/16, Paul Syverson <paul.syverson(a)nrl.navy.mil> wrote: > I don't know the extent to which this covers what you were looking for, People are certainly familiar serving on, in, and with boards of directors, founding positions, and executive positions, as such are surely familiar with the name and meaning of the docs listed / requested by name on behalf of the community, familiar enough to which you and everyone else that has responded similarly above, up to and including proffering the not requested and new docs below, or talking FOIA law... that such respondants are, respectfully... full of crap, or at least grossly to negligent misreading, regarding docs thought looking for. It's been almost three weeks now and the silence by those in position to execute this request, to even officially publicly acknowledge and put it in queue... is becoming suspect in some circles. At least there seems now some movement by unofficials around it. Let that not be taken to excuse officials. > but you might want to look at/participate in the thread > https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-project/2016-July/000559.html > that discusses various Tor documents. Maybe later as time permit :) > The second message (from Alison) specifically includes several > documents that seem to cover at least some of what you were asking about. Nice for future, but see new docs above and below. > The thread I reference in general discusses the need for having a good > place to put all such documents and the pros and cons of various > choices. Could be seen as excuse / delay. Nor is a committee on that needed. But hey, fixed that for ya... https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/org/TorProjectCorporateDocume… > So, while I think it's true that the particular thread we're > currently in remains unanswered by anyone from TPI, I'll accept that. > there is clearly > ongoing expenditure of nontrivial time and effort on the general > topic. No doubt plenty of room for improvement. HTH. And that too... while noting that the request calls for existing past docs, not future improved ones. The time and effort required to produce the narrow list therein is trivial matter of pulling them from file drawer.

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[WAR] Why Truman’s regime targeted Hiroshima and Nagasaki with their atomic bombs?
by Zenaan Harkness 08 Aug '16

08 Aug '16

Why Truman’s regime targeted Hiroshima and Nagasaki with their atomic bombs? http://matveychev-oleg.livejournal.com/3810955.html Informative article on the history of Orthodox Christianity in Japan.

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