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To: Brumar89 who wrote (363621)	5/10/2010 7:13:53 AM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 793895

Here we go again. The FED opens the printing press to help solve Europe's problem. "Swap Lines" with no limit. Central banks reopen U.S.-dollar swap lines Related stories May 10, 2010, 3:03 a.m. EDT TOKYO (MarketWatch) - Japan's central bank joined five major global counterparts Monday in reopening temporary U.S. dollar-liquidity swap facilities as part of coordinated global centra l-bank efforts to maintain normal money-market function. The U.S. Federal Reserve said in a statement late Sunday that the move by the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank was "in response to the reemergence of strains in U.S. dollar short-term funding markets in Europe." To help contain the European fiscal crisis, the facility will enable central banks to lend U.S. dollars to banks in their respective countries that need dollar funding. Also Sunday, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund announced a new loan program that could top 750 billion euros ($970.6 billion), designed to keep the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other vulnerable European countries. See full story on EU rescue plan. The swap arrangement with the Bank of Canada would support drawings of as much as $30 billion, as was the case previously, the Fed said. The new swap arrangements have been authorized through January 2011. "These are the same swap facilities closed down by the Fed in February of this year, judging that the financial crisis of 2008/2009 was a thing of the past," said Uwe Parpart, chief Asia strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. The Fed said the facilities "are designed to help improve liquidity conditions in U.S. dollar funding markets and to prevent the spread of strains to other markets and financial centers." It added that central banks "will continue to work together closely as needed" to address pressures in funding markets. The tone of the Fed statement "appears to be a watered-down version of similar announcements throughout 2008," said Thomas Lam, group chief economist with OSK-DMG. One reason for the less urgent tone might be that the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, has risen modestly compared with its spikes during the global crisis, he said. The 1-month and 3-month rates are at 0.349% and 0.428%, respectively, up 0.09 to 0.12 percentage point over the past few weeks. By contrast, on September 17, 2008, when the bankruptcy of Wall Street icon Lehman Brothers was followed a few days later by news that the U.S. government effectively took control of American International Group /quotes/comstock/13*!aig/quotes/nls/aig (AIG 40.99, +2.29, +5.92%) , three-month Libor in U.S. dollars jumped 0.19 percentage point. "Nevertheless, since the center of attention is on the euro zone, the brunt lies with the ECB at this juncture," Lam added in emailed comments. "The bank will continue to strive to maintain financial-market stability through proper implementation of money-market operations," the BoJ said in its Monday statement. The BOJ board also affirmed at its special meeting that its key overnight call-rate target would remain at 0.1%, by unanimous vote. Lisa Twaronite is MarketWatch's Tokyo bureau chief. marketwatch.com

To: Brumar89 who wrote (363621)	5/10/2010 7:15:33 AM
From: FJB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793895

RE:STRATFOR heard from sources that the FBI and other law enforcement organizations had been ordered to “back off” of counterterrorism investigations into the activities of Black Muslim converts. At this point, it is unclear to us if that guidance was given by the White House or the Department of Justice, or if it was promulgated by the agencies themselves, anticipating the wishes of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. Wow. White House and Holder directly responsible for allowing terrorists to commit crimes. That is messed up...

To: Brumar89 who wrote (363621)	5/11/2010 11:31:08 AM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Respond to of 793895

Israel says N.Korea shipping WMDs to Syria 2 hrs 46 mins ago JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday accused nuclear power North Korea of supplying Syria with weapons of mass destruction. Lieberman's office quoted him as telling Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama at a meeting in Tokyo that such activity threatened to destabilise east Asia as well as the Middle East. "The cooperation between Syria and North Korea is not focused on economic development and growth but rather on weapons of mass destruction" Lieberman said. In evidence he cited the December 2009 seizure at Bangkok airport of an illicit North Korean arms shipment which US intelligence said was bound for an unnamed Middle East country. Lieberman said Syria intended to pass the weapons on to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and to the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules Gaza and has its political headquarters in Damascus. "This cooperation endangers stability in both southeast Asia and also in the Middle East and is against all the accepted norms in the international arena," Lieberman was quoted as telling Hatoyama. Thai officials at the time said that acting on a tipoff from Washington they confiscated about 30 tonnes of missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons when the North Korean plane landed for refuelling in Bangkok. Israel has accused North Korea in the past of transferring nuclear technology to Syria, which is technically in a state of war with the neighbouring Jewish state, although the two last fought openly in 1973. Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported in 2007 that Israel seized North Korean nuclear material in a commando raid on a secret military site in Syria and then destroyed the site in an air attack. Syria denied the report. The communist regime in North Korea has denied collaborating on nuclear activity with Syria, while Israel has maintained an official silence on the reported September 2007 raid and strike.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (363621)	5/11/2010 2:48:08 PM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Respond to of 793895

Russia says may build nuclear power plant in Syria Tue May 11, 2010 6:17pm IST By Denis Dyomkin DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Russia may help build a nuclear power plant in Syria, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told Reuters on Tuesday as the Kremlin moved to strengthen ties with a Soviet-era ally in the Middle East. On the first state visit to Syria by a Kremlin chief since the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev played up prospects for nuclear power cooperation and said Washington should work harder for peace in the Middle East. "Cooperation on atomic energy could get a second wind," Medvedev said at a news conference with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after their talks. Assad said he and Medvedev "talked about oil and gas cooperation, as well as constructing conventional or nuclear powered electricity stations." Asked whether Russia would build an atomic power plant in Syria, Shmatko told Reuters: "We are studying this question." Syria is under investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency for a suspected nuclear site that Israeli warplanes destroyed in 2007. Syria said the site was a conventional military complex. The nation has been plagued for years with huge electricity shortages, with power generation falling one-third short of demand and the population expanding at 2.5 percent a year. Israel has opposed Russian arms sales to Syria in the last several years, and nuclear energy cooperation between Damascus and Moscow may anger the Jewish state. Shmatko said that cooperation with Russia on a possible nuclear plant would require Damascus to abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. MORE ATOMIC PLANTS IN IRAN? He also suggested Russia might build more nuclear power reactors in Iran beyond the one it plans to switch on this year near the city of Bushehr despite likely U.S. disapproval. "We are in favour of continuing cooperation with Iran in the energy sphere to the full extent, including in building light-water reactors," Shmatko told journalists. Russia says all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear power programmes and is aggressively seeking contracts abroad to build nuclear power plants. But Medvedev, who has indicated Russia could support new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, called for "constructive cooperation with the international community on Iran's part." The United States and some European countries believe Iran's nuclear programme is a front for an effort to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies it. Moscow backed Syria through the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Kremlin is seeking to reinvigorate ties in the Middle East nations. It forgave most of Syria's multi-billion dollar debt. Russia has also improved ties with Israel and tried to increase its clout to advance the Middle East peace process. Medvedev repeated Russia's proposal for a Middle East peace conference in Moscow, but he suggested the United States would have to do more if peace efforts are to make headway. "I agree with my colleague that the American side could take a more active position," Medvedev said at the news conference with Assad. He said shuttle diplomacy and indirect talks could be helpful.