TheGuardian – Vatican Clean-Up ‘Has Not Sorted Out Scandal-Hit Bank And Asset Managers’ – 14 December 2013

The Guardian

Council of Europe body finds Holy See regulators need more resources as more reports tell of suspect transactions

John Hooper

The Vatican‘s efforts to clean up its financial institutions were welcomed in a report by a Council of Europe body, published on Thursday. But the authors expressed surprise that the Holy See’s regulators had not done full inspections of the Vatican bank or of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which manages the papacy’s assets.

Read the whole story at:  www.theguardian.com / link to original article

InvestmentWatchBlog – Budget Wars: The American Taxpayers Loses… As Usual – 14 December 2013

DealBook – Weekend Reading: The Twelve Days Of Wall Street – 14 December 2013

DealBook

By ERIC OWLES

Before you head off for your holiday office party, please groan along with this ode to holiday puns.

On the first day of bonus season
my supervisor sent to me:
12 Dwarves for Tossing
11 Padded Bills
10 Leads a Left…………………..

Read the whole lot and see all videos at: http://www.dealbook.nytimes.com /link to original article

Steve Lendman – Hardball US Geopolitics – 14 December 2013

America seeks unchallenged global dominance. No holds barred tactics pursue it. Rule of law principles don’t matter. Means justify ends. Might makes right.

Events are manipulated. Wars, economic disruption, financial terrorism, and other upheavals play out in real time. Grand schemes reflect them.

Ongoing Ukrainian protests didn’t erupt by chance. Washington’s dirty hands manipulated them. Obama officials want Kiev turning West, not East. They’ll stop at nothing to achieve it.

James Corbett – The Corbett Report – Episode 289 – Solutions: Nullification – 14 December 2013

Link to podcast

Hardly a week goes by that we aren’t faced with some new outrageous piece of legislation from the increasingly tyrannical government. But once these bills have been passed, what can we actually do about them? What if stopping this legislation was as simple as saying “no”? Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we explore the nullification solution, a long-repressed piece of political history that offers us a way out.

Judith Dagley – The Celestial Team – From Within The Portal, With Yeshuwah – 14 December 2013

This is Judith, and YES there IS a 12.12 portal– because I am IN it right NOW as I write the following words.

In the midst of chaos, we embody our dreams. Yesterday I found myself living one at the Wildlife Waystation. Today I found myself living another. I was getting “insights” for the Tele-Gathering for Energy Sensitives on 12/17, when suddenly Yeshuwah came through with such overwhelming Love and such amazing “insights”– both so far beyond what “I know” in my human self– that I DID know the experience was FAR REALER than “what I think I know.” It was even far beyond any dream I had consciously allowed myself to know of!

ZeroHedge – Tyler Durden – Spanish Debt-To-GDP Surges To New Record High – 14 December 2013

The last 2 years have seen the clearest indication of the health of Spain deteriorate at its fastest rate on record. In spite of constant reassurances from Rajoy et al. that recovery is here, as we noted here, it’s not just unemployment that is dogging Spain; and now – having risen at a stunning 25.8 percentage points in the last 2 years, as Reuters reports, Spain’s debt-to-GDP has hit 93.4% – the highest level in more than a century. Of course, we should not worry… Spain has reassured investors that sees the debt-to-GDP ratio peaking at 101% in 2015 and 2016, then it’s plain-sailing to nirvana.. (and do not contradict them!)

Read the whole story and see charts at: www.zerohedge.com / link to original article

100 Year Motor Crystal Cell + EZ Spin Combo – 14 December 2013

Uploaded on 13 December 2013 by lasersaber

Laura Bruno – Wow! The C-c-c-Cold Frame Works! – 14 December 2013

It has been in single or negative digits at night for at least a week. Sometimes it didn’t even reach double digits during the day, so, as you can imagine, I haven’t exactly been messing with the cold frame. Yesterday, I even bought some rainbow chard when we ventured out to the Mishawaka Whole Foods. I’ve had this weird sense that all my plants were still alive under the cold frame, but Reason and others’ experiences would seem to have said otherwise. As far as cold frames go, ours is pretty thin plastic, and -2 degrees is the kind of weather that normally kills off everything but mache, which I haven’t planted yet. (Kicking myself. Actually, doubly kicking myself, since I could have planted it today. Doh!)

Mish/ Mike Shedlock – Italy’s “Pitchfork Protests” Spread to Rome; Interior Minister Warns of “Drift Into Rebellion” – 14 December 2013

Over the past four days “pitchfork protests” have spread to numerous cities, disrupting road and rail travel in protest of the state of the economy.

The pitchfork movement started with a loose group of Sicilian farmers concerned about rising taxes and cuts to agricultural state funds, then evolved into a nationwide umbrella grouping of truckers, small businessman, the unemployed, low-paid workers, rightwing extremists and ultras football supporters according to IBTimes.