Fed insider exposes giant central bank “easing” swindle

A former Federal Reserve official who helped the Central Bank manage its bond buying program, dubbed QE, has admitted that the program is a fraud.

By: Mike Whitney, CounterPunch

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/11/16/335041/fed-insider-easing-swindle-banks/

“This was a program (QE) that was devised to help mortgage lending in America…Instead, what we saw was massive Wall Street earnings.” Andrew Huszar, Bloomberg TV Interview

A former Federal Reserve official who helped the Central Bank manage its bond buying program, dubbed QE, has admitted that the program is a fraud. In a shocking op-ed in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Andrew Huszar apologized for his role in the Fed’s $1.25 trillion asset purchase program which he described as “the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time.”

So far, no one at the Fed has responded to the charges, nor has Congress or the Department of Justice (DOJ) taken steps to investigate allegations that the multi-trillion dollar program was not intended to help Main Street as announced, but to shore up flagging bank balance sheets and zombie financial institutions that would have defaulted without the Fed’s stealth welfare program.

Surprisingly, Huszar’s credibility has not yet been challenged nor his claim that he played a pivotal role in overseeing the program. As he notes in his confession, he was “managing what was at the heart of QE’s bond-buying spree-a wild attempt to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage bonds in 12 months.” He was asked “to quarterback” the largest giveaway to Big Finance on record. The fact that his allegations have not prompted an thorough investigation of criminal malfeasance at the Fed boggles the mind and points to a justice system that makes no pretense of operating in the interests of the people it is supposed to serve.

Huszar admits that he left the Fed -where he’d worked for seven years- because he’d “witnessed the institution deferring more and more to Wall Street”, that is, implementing policies which only benefited the banks.

“I had come to believe that the Fed’s independence was eroding,” says Huszar. These feelings were reinforced when Huszar was asked to purchase hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities, which according to him, put the system at risk of another crash.

“We constantly risked driving bond prices too high and crashing global confidence in key financial markets,” he said. “We were working feverishly to preserve the impression that the Fed knew what it was doing.” (“Andrew Huszar: Confessions of a Quantitative Easer“, Wall Street Journal)

The implication is clear, the Fed shrugged off its mandate of “price stability” and deliberately put the system at risk in order to assist its primary constituents, the banks.

It wasn’t long before Huszar figured out the program was a fake and that QE “wasn’t helping to make credit any more accessible for the average American. The banks were issuing fewer and fewer loans,” he said. “More insidiously, whatever credit they were extending wasn’t getting much cheaper. QE may have been driving down the wholesale cost for banks to make loans, but Wall Street was pocketing most of the extra cash.” (WSJ)

This column (Mike Whitney - CounterPunch) has been making this same point for more than two years, that all the profits on the interest rate spreads were going to the banks. QE has not led to a credit expansion nor was it designed to do so. It is a lavish subsidy to the financial elites and deep pocket bondholders who control the political-economic system. Huszar’s testimony further underscores that point.

Huszar again: “From the trenches, several other Fed managers also began voicing the concern that QE wasn’t working as planned. Our warnings fell on deaf ears. In the past, Fed leaders-even if they ultimately erred-would have worried obsessively about the costs versus the benefits of any major initiative. Now the only obsession seemed to be with the newest survey of financial-market expectations or the latest in-person feedback from Wall Street’s leading bankers and hedge-fund managers.” (WSJ)

No one cared that QE was not stimulating credit, because that was not the objective. The real goal was to boost profits at the banks so they could offset the massive losses on their trove of mortgage-backed assets which dropped precipitously following the Crash of ’08 leaving them exposed to potential restructuring and nationalization. The $700 billion from the TARP bailout merely provided enough operating capital for the banks to continue to run their businesses. In contrast, QE was a strategy to drain the ocean of red ink from bank balance sheets and restore them to profitability. What mattered was profits. Profits at the expense of employment, profits at the expense of growth, profits at the expense the nation’s economic future. Profits, profits, profits. How can anyone fail to see that now?

Huszar again: “Trading for the first round of QE ended on March 31, 2010. The final results confirmed that, while there had been only trivial relief for Main Street, the U.S. central bank’s bond purchases had been an absolute coup for Wall Street. The banks hadn’t just benefited from the lower cost of making loans. They’d also enjoyed huge capital gains on the rising values of their securities holdings and fat commissions from brokering most of the Fed’s QE transactions. Wall Street had experienced its most profitable year ever in 2009, and 2010 was starting off in much the same way.” (WSJ)

See? It was an “absolute coup for Wall Street”…the “most profitable year ever.” In other words, QE was a transparent ripoff from the get go, and the Bernanke Fed orchestrated the entire affair.

And it didn’t stop there either, because the Fed launched three more versions of QE increasing its balance sheet by nearly $4 trillion while inflating asset bubbles in US Treasuries, equities, junk bonds, farmland, housing and financial assets across-the-board. The Fed has created a gigantic bubble in long-term Treasuries which threatens the world’s biggest and most liquid bond market and puts the dollar at risk of losing its position as the world’s reserve currency.

Huszar admits that the Fed’s actions have dealt a blow to the so called “free market” calling QE “the largest financial-markets intervention by any government in world history.” He also dispels the illusion that QE spurred growth in the real economy. (“Even by the Fed’s sunniest calculations, aggressive QE over five years has generated only a few percentage points of U.S. growth.”) He also admits that the Wall Street banks are a cartel that’s been strengthened by the Fed’s actions. (“The biggest ones have only become more of a cartel: 0.2% of them now control more than 70% of the U.S. bank assets.”) And, he also suggests that the Fed suffers from “regulatory capture”, that is, that monetary policy is shaped in a way that best advances the interests of the banks. (“I had come to believe that the Fed’s independence was eroding.”)

Huszar’s testimony leaves little doubt that QE is a P.R. scam designed to pull the wool over the publics eyes. While the Fed’s critics have always said that that was the case, Huszar is the first insider to confirm those claims and to denounce the program as a blatant bailout for the banks.

So where are the regulators? Where are the investigations? Where is the DOJ or the US Congress?

Where is the outrage?

Links:

Andrew Huszar – Confessions of a Quantitative Easer – Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303763804579183680751473884
Original Post by: Mike Whitney (CounterPunch)
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/15/fed-insider-exposes-giant-central-bank-easing-swindle/

 

Corruption, Fraud and Thuggery by an Out of Control Montreal STM

UPDATE: 2014 August 03 (See bottom of story for update)

 



Is the Montreal Transit Authority’s Claim of “OPUS Card Fraud” a Fraud itself and a Pretext to More Draconian Legislation in the Near Future? A look at Montreal’s STM (RFID) OPUS Cards, Fraud Claims, STM Security, and What Comes Next.

By: Stewart Brennan

World United News

In 2008, the Montreal Transit Commission (STM) adopted a new system for their monthly bus passes and single fare ticketing from European corporation “Calypso Networks Association” (C.N.A.) with, the integration corporation “Spirtech” assisting in the implementation and engineering of C.N.A. software. 

Montreal had jumped into the RFID OPUS technology for monthly bus passes while also using a magnetic strip card reader for single transit fares. We were told then that the reason they were moving to this new $219 Million dollar system was to prevent Bus pass fraud in the old system.

On the surface it seemed that there wouldn’t be too many problems associated with this new technology, with the exception of the STM’S South Shore “Longueuil Metro Station” which did not, and still does not accept STM Magnetic cards bought anywhere else but in the Longueuil metro station. Not good if you prepaid all your STM trips somewhere else and do not have any money left to pay for an additional one…which did happen to me the first time I used the system going home from the South Shore. It was a very frustrating experience that I wont get into here.

The STM, Fraud, & OPUS Cards

Since 2009, Michele Labrecque has been the chairman and the primary representative of the STM. He oversees the performance and execution of the STM’s functions and powers…and, in agreement with other board members, sets corporate orientations. He also chairs the Board’s public meetings and approves the agenda in collaboration with the STM’s Chief executive officer and is the Transit Users’ Representative…

Recently, Michele Labrecque estimated that the STM saves $12 million a year on fraud by using the OPUS Card technology but did not give any details on how they do this exactly. His statement raised a lot of unanswered questions to say the least.

When you invest 219 million dollars of taxpayers money into a NEW system that is supposed to be Fraud proof and a benefit to the citizens, you certainly wouldn’t want to skip out on purchasing the Fraud Detection Option when purchasing this system…especially when stopping Fraud is the reason they bought the system in the first place. So it is very strange and disturbing to see more and more STM Security Inspectors harassing passengers for their tickets and bus passes in the name of Fraud.

These STM directives and security actions clearly state that either the system they bought is totally useless in detecting Fraud, that someone grossly incompetent is responsible for not acquiring the proper equipment and programming, or there is corruption happening inside the STM.

Regardless of the answer, the people of Montreal and the surrounding communities should not have to be shoulder the Orwellian directives by Government & Corporate decisions that harass the public, especially when the STM are to blame in the first place.

“Spirtech” an OPUS Technology engineering firm and partner with Calypso Networks claims that their system is virtually Fraud proof. Who am I to believe? (http://www.spirtech.com/products/fraud-detector)

If Fraud is not a problem with this new technology, then why do we need STM Security checking everyone’s Monthly OPUS Bus passes and Magnetic Strip single fare tickets?

If indeed the STM has reduced Fraud by 12 million dollars as per MICHEL LABRECQUE, why is the STM giving themselves huge pay raises as stated in an article by the Montreal Gazette on July 25^th, 2013 to the tune of millions of dollars? And WHY have they hired an army of bus pass inspectors?

Does this 12 million dollar savings at the STM mean that STM management get to pocket this money? Are the STM Security Army, who also received big raises, becoming the cash cow tool of the STM’s corporate management? (See Gazette Report for security personnel salaries)

Court Orders STM to pay $123,000.00 in back pay to STM Security Officers

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Court+orders+back+security+officers/7840875/story.html

Failure to show these STM Inspectors your ticket will land you a huge fine and in the hospital if you refuse to budge, as was the case with me on August 03^rd, 2013. One might look at it as strong-armed tactics by the STM to ensure every passenger obays whatever they are told by STM Security or face being roughed up and fined without any recourse to challenge them…because the STM Board of Directors, who are also municipal legislators, passed a municipal law that grants this corporation police powers.

As stated in the Montreal Gazette on July 25^th, 2013 the STM gave themselves big pay raises. I wonder where they got the money to inflate their already massive salaries?

STM Got Big Pay Raises

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/managers+raises/8703628/story.html

When the size of your STM Salary is dependent on growth and there are no other means to create that growth how exactly does one create growth and give themselves large pay increases?  All the pay increases of the STM payroll have to come from somewhere…and a job needs to be a benefit to the corporation for profitability. So I wonder why they have hired more people in the STM Security department?

The STM’s Michel Labrecque also stated that they want a 40% increase in rider-ship by 2020…in my opinion, harassing and beating up their customers is certainly not the way to go. If they keep up their current pace by treating everyone as a potential criminal, more people will stop using their system.

Coming to Montreal by 2015 OPUS 2.0

During his opening remarks for AQTR’s conference on Urban mobility in the age of electronic payment (Feb 25, 2012), the president of the STM’S governing board Michel Labrecque stated, “We transport millions of people…soon we will get to know who they are.” What Mr. Lebreque was referring to was the implementation of OPUS 2.0 and having access to all your personal information in the future on the Montreal Transit Bus Pass. Security related? Fraud free?

OPUS Background Info

The OPUS card uses RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology which can be read by anyone with an RFID transmitter / receiver. The OPUS card technology is owned by “Calypso Networks Association”; this European company’s primary goal is to use this technology on all digital transactions worldwide and to eventually replace the worlds currencies to become the Global technology and system for all monetary transactions. We are already seeing this technology being used by the Banks through Debit Cards, and Credit Cards, but we are also seeing this technology on Medicare cards, Drivers Licenses, passports, and soon there will be an upgrade to the Transit Authority’s OPUS 2 Cards.

Is there OPUS Card Fraud in Montreal?

So if this OPUS card fraud is real then what makes the Bankcards safe and the Bus Pass not safe? The bigger question is, of course, why are we allowing our governments to bully us into this RFID technology if it isn’t reliable? On a larger scale, We are talking about a massive corporation merger interconnected with many national governments, banks, and powerful shareholders that have the potential to end all national sovereignty by economic merger when financial controls of this technology are in place. “Spirtech” is the company being used to help engineer the OPUS RFID technology merger between corporations, banks, and governments. So their claim to be a safe system certainly needs to be proven since it conflicts with the STM’s assessment…but then it’s all about control, money and security isn’t it; but security for who?

Is it really necessary for Montreal’s STM Security to harass transit passengers because THEY SAY there is fraud in the OPUS system? If the answer is yes, then what about debit cards, credit cards, and Medicare Cards? Are these same technology cards at risk of fraud as well? And if so are we to expect a future where security people threaten debit and credit card holders to show ID and threaten us with arrest if we do not show them what they want?

As far as “Spirtech” is concerned, programming is all that is required to secure the cards…If that is so, why is Montreal’s STM spending Millions of Taxpayers dollars to hire an army of security inspectors to harass the public, instead of fixing the system?

The South Shore Transit System (RTL)

The South Shore of Montreal has a different Transit System (RTL), which also adopted the OPUS card and has a combination OPUS card with the STM for passengers requiring both transportation systems. However the RTL did not choose to adopt the single transit fare magnetic strip cards, so there is no proof of payments or transfers for single use. Even still there doesn’t seem to be a breach of security with their OPUS cards nor do they employ an army of security people to harass their passengers.

The RTL does have an OPUS card for occasional RTL riders who can’t purchase a monthly rechargeable OPUS card. The commuter can choose to load 6, 12, 18 or 24 RTL trips on a Solo card at the regular rate ($3.25 each x number of trips). Valid on all RTL buses, where a transfer is automatically issued on the Solo card. But they do not have a single fare proof of purchase to issue a passenger when they pay $3.25 on the bus.

Although the Quebec Government represents both transit systems (RTL & STM) together for a better price when approaching corporations for retrofits or Spare Parts such as implementing the new OPUS technology, the “South Shore Transit Commission” (RTL), chose not to use the exact same system as the STM. The only difference is the magnetic strip single fare cards…and the number of security personnel hired…

RTL & Municipal Governments

I’ve learned that at the municipal council level of government on the South Shore there are Paid RTL representatives that receive a minimum $15,000.00 just for being an RTL corporate representative. In my opinion there is a huge conflict of interest here since the money comes from the citizen’s taxes to pay them this bonus over and above the salary they receive for being on the council. Those chosen to represent the RTL are usually favoured by the Mayor of the specific community, if, of course, they do not claim the bonus for themselves.

This got me to thinking, “Does the STM also Pay the City Councillors in Montreal and the West Island a Bonus”?

If we take a look at who is on the STM Corporate Board of Directors and the STM Committees the answer is “YES”. The same people are on both Corporate and government posts. My question is how much are these municipal government reps being paid just to rubber stamp their STM corporate directives? Am I wrong to think this is corruption?

STM – Members of the Board of Directors

https://www2.stm.info/English/en-bref/a-ca_membres.htm

Attacked By STM Security Agents

On Saturday August 3^rd, 2013, STM Security attacked me for not showing them the magnetic strip bus pass I received after paying for a single fare on Bus #204 in the West Island of Montreal. They put me in the hospital. The incident is an ongoing nightmare for me now because I will not take public transport for fear of a repeat performance by the STM Security. It also stops me from visiting my 87-year-old mother on the South Shore who needs help because of her complications from dementia. I don’t have a car nor do I know anyone here that can take me to the South Shore once a week so I will need to find a way to rectify this. I will not bow to this authoritarian minded corporation, nor will I allow my dignity as a human being to be trampled on.

One of my fears is based on being singled out by STM security personnel with the Security software programs the STM have installed with all of the security cameras throughout the transit system. “Facial Recognition Technology” allows the STM Security Inspectors to profile passengers at will and is reason enough for me to stay away from ever taking the bus again simply because I feel I will be targeted and because my plea for justice has fallen on deaf ears by the STM, Municipal Governments, Gazette, CBC, CTV and other mainstream media. The NEWS mediums simply have not done their jobs in investigating and bringing the public’s attention to the ongoing conflicts of interest, corruption, and unjust laws that enable thuggery by the STM and its security apparatus.

According to Calypso Network Association, the creators of the OPUS technology and the engineering group Spirtech that works with C.N.A., there is no Fraud with their system…but the STM hires security to run around all day long harassing passengers by insisting on checking everyone’s OPUS cards and magnetic strip single fare cards…In my opinion, the STM, which is a merger of government and corporation is a completely corrupt organization operating as a parasite on the tax payers of Montreal and the citizens of the surrounding service area’s. The STM and all it’s Board members need to be investigated through a public inquiry including a forensic audit investigation of their books. The Harassment by STM Security on the population using public transit has to stop!  

My Personal Request to the STM

I want an apology from the STM for their security personnel roughing me up and putting me in the hospital because I wouldn’t show them the ticket I had just paid for. I want a complete stop to the STM security’s harassment of the public. I want the $333.00 fine they imposed on me for not showing them my ticket to be dropped, and I want the STM to pay for the damages inflicted on me by their security personnel.

Stewart Brennan

---------------------------

UPDATE: 2014 August 03

It has been one year to the day since the violent incident involving the STM and their belligerent security thugs who accosted me on Bus number 204 and put me in the hospital. Here’s what I hope will be my final update on this matter:

I challenged the ticket issued to me by the STM in court and won, in fact the judge shook her finger at the STM representatives for their brutality and warned that she hopes there will not be anymore incidents like this in the future by the STM and its security…not long afterwards the STM security blended into the background and stopped pulling busses over; this is a “Victory” for the citizens who use public transport in Montreal. We all win when a bully is put in its place. Stand up and don’t back down when you have been wronged. There are still some credible people within the justice system that know the difference between right and wrong. Peace!

Links:

Calypso Networks Association

http://www.calypsonet-asso.org/
Spirtech
http://www.spirtech.com/spirtech-consulting/calypso-networks-association
OPUS 2.0 Urban Mobility in the Age of Electronic Payment
http://spacing.ca/montreal/2012/02/23/opus-2-0-urban-mobility-in-the-age-of-electronic-payment/
Court Orders STM to pay $123,000.00 in back pay to STM Security Officiers
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Court+orders+back+security+officers/7840875/story.html
STM Got Big Pay Raises
http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/managers+raises/8703628/story.html
STM – Members of the Board of Directors
https://www2.stm.info/English/en-bref/a-ca_membres.htm
Calypso Networks Association & STM – (PDF File)
http://www.calypsonet-asso.org/downloads/open_session_2012/2012%2011%20STM.pdf
NOVA Bus
http://www.novabus.com/transit-solutions/service.html
RFID
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification
Metro Security think they are Policemen
http://archemdis.com/2010/04/08/montreal-metro-security-thinks-they-are-policemen/
Woman Fined $219.00 for not paying bus fare with exact change
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/08/02/montreal-stm-verdun-pauline-tantost-fine.html
Montreal’s STM Transit Security is Violently Out of Control
http://worldunitednews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/montreals-stm-transit-security-are.html

 

Who Rules America? A Press TV Documentary

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Greek journalist acquitted of breach of privacy for Lagarde list

 

Greek editor of "Hot Doc" weekly magazine Kostas Vaxevanis waits outside a courthouse in Athens November 1, 2012 (Reuters / Yorgos Karahalis)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/greek-journalist-acquitted-list-787/

Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis has been acquitted of breach of privacy. He was arrested after publishing a list of 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts in his Hot Doc magazine.

­His trial began earlier on Thursday for publishing the so called 'Lagarde list'.

Vaxevanis' defense centered around claims that he published the same list as the one that French authorities handed over to their Greek counterparts two years ago. His legal team also argued that no one had complained of privacy violation.

The Greek authorities said that there was no evidence that names mentioned in the list, businessmen, politicians and high-ranking officals, did actually break the law.

While the case was wrapping up, another journalist Spiros Karatzaferis, was also arrested in Athens.

His detention comes after threats to expose damaging allegations about the country’s economy. He claimed to have proof that the Greek deficit, which forced the embattled country to seek bailouts, was fraudulent. Karatzaferis insists he received this information from the hacker group Anonymous.

Two TV presenters were also recently suspended for criticizing authorities on-air.

Cases of what local journalists call increasing government censorship has sparked mass protest, started by state television staff.

Greek editor Kostas Vaxevanis makes statements outside a courthouse in Athens November 1, 2012 (Reuters / Yorgos Karahalis)

‘Journalists arrested for doing their job’- editor

­Before Kostas Vaxevanis was acquitted, RT talked to editor Tim Gopsill, who said that journalists in Greece are simply trying to do their job and are being arrested for it.

­RT:In light of these arrests, do you see a problem with media freedom brewing in Greece?

Tim Gopsill: I would say so, journalists in Greece are absolutely doing their job. The country is in crisis, people need to know what is going on.

RT:Do you think the quick and heavy-handed response of Greek authorities – when one of these journalists didn't even get to reveal the information he claims to have – proves that they have something they want to keep hidden?

TG: I would say so, yes. They are trying to close it down, aren’t they? Because what these journalists are doing is trying to reveal to the public the important information relating to the economic crisis. Kostas Vaxevanis’s exposé relates to the real crisis in Greece and in other countries too, which is tax avoidance and the export of capital, the taking the money out of the country, which is what happened to the Greek economy.

RT: Are you surprised by all this?

TG: Well, I am not surprised that the government is in absolute crisis in Greece. The economy is tottering, it is the most terrible social deprivation. It is a terrible time for Greek people and they are being treated very badly, not only by the Greek government but the whole EU financial establishment. They need to know the truth, but the thing is that avoiding the tax and taking money off the country is one of the main causes of the crisis. It is absolutely right that it should be publicized.

RT:Both these journalists were arrested within days of each other, while two TV presenters were also suspended for criticizing on -air the authorities. What can we read into the timing of all this?

TG: The timing is related to the economic position. It is getting closer and closer to a confrontation between Greece and the EU and eurozone. The eurozone is showing very little mercy to the suffering people. The bailout to Greece is not going to people’s pockets or to the income of the livelihood of the people. It is going to the banks, who rather rashly lent Greece money in the past.

RT: The journalists strike left Greeks with no news for 24 hours on Wednesday. That's when the politicians were debating new cuts for next year's budget. Was it playing into the lawmakers hands, as the public were left with no information on this divisive issue?

TG: What else can they do? All they can do is try to do their job, to tell the truth. But when they do they get arrested.

RT: But should they go on strike?

TG: Yes, I think so. They have got to put pressure on the government.

RT: All these events have drawn attention to the situation of media freedom in Greece. Have the authorities' efforts at guarding any secrets been counterproductive?

TG: I don’t see how they can get way with prosecuting these people. It is actually going to be a very interesting test of freedom in Greece, not just the press, but the court. I would expect that these journalists under what is the Greek version of the Human rights legislation that we have in this country, that we have around Europe, and the European convention and so on, will make sure that the court don’t convict them.

RT: Are other countries suffering from the crisis going to see more of this?

TG: If things get worse, yes.

 

Greek police, firefighters, coast guards, medics protest against cuts

 

Greek police officers, firefighters, and coast guards protest outside parliament during an anti-austerity demonstration in central Athens on November 1, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/01/269989/1000s-of-greeks-hold-demo-against-cuts/

Thousands of Greek police officers, coast guards, firefighters, and medical professionals have held demonstrations to protest against the government’s austerity measures.

The protesters took to the streets in the capital Athens on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Thousands of police officers and coast guards from various Greek regions marched to parliament to protest against salary cuts expected to be included in a new austerity bill.

Next week, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras is likely to send the parliament a bill of labor reforms, which includes the officers' salary cuts.

In protest to the cuts, the police officers and the coast guards also handed out bowls of bean soup to the needy.

"[We say] 'No' to modern slavery. Our rage is overflowing. They lied to us again; those pre-election promises became dust after the elections, and will lead us to new medieval times," said Dimitris Sarantakis, the president of the Panhellenic Coast Guard Officers' Federation.

"Even if these measures pass the way they have arranged them, we will overturn them because we have not only reached our limits, we have now surpassed our limits," said Dimitris Vogiatzis, the president of the Police Officers' Federation.

A large number of Greek firefighters chanting anti-austerity slogans also marched on the parliament.

Earlier in the day, public hospital staff including doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers, walked off the job and staged a demonstration outside Greek Health Ministry headquarters. They said austerity cuts have weakened citizens' health and made their jobs more difficult.

They carried banners reading, "Austerity measures are bad for your health" and "Free public health care for all".

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left about half a million people without jobs.

One in every five Greek workers is currently unemployed, banks are in a shaky position, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.

Greek youths have also been badly affected, and more than half of them are unemployed.

The long-drawn-out eurozone debt crisis, which began in Greece in late 2009 and reached Italy, Spain, and France in 2011, is viewed as a threat not only to Europe but also to many of the world’s other developed economies.

Also on Thursday, a Greek court ruled that some of the spending cuts needed to secure more bailout funds for the near-bankrupt country are unconstitutional.

The Court of Auditors, which examines Greek laws before they are presented to parliament, said planned austerity measures such as raising the age of retirement to 67 and reducing pensions by 5 to 10 percent, could be against the constitution.

The court said the pension cuts for a fifth time since May 2010 violated many constitutional provisions, including the principles of individual dignity and equality before the law.

Tens of thousands hit Tbilisi streets in 'largest-ever' rally on eve of election (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Source: Russia Today

Around 200,000 people have reportedly come out in support of opposition party Georgian Dream in what may become the biggest ever rally to hit Tbilisi. Georgia is set to cast votes in a parliamentary poll Monday.

­The Georgian capital was strewn with blue colors Saturday as the South Caucasian country's parliamentary campaign comes to a climax.

“One of my promises has already come true: all of Georgia is standing united today,” opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili told tens of thousands people gathered at central Freedom Square to show their support for him. “All Georgia tells the authorities…”

“…leave!” responded the crowd

“The authorities cannot pretend they did not know what happens in our prisons,” continued the billionaire tycoon, referring to a recent torture scandal that led to the resignations of several top officials and left President Mikhail Saakashvili playing spin-doctor for himself at the UN General Assembly.

Reports on the rally's turnout vary, with Russia's RIA Novosti agency estimating the demo to be 200,000 strong, while the multinational channel MTRK MIR says 300,000 people were in attendance. MIR remarks that Tbilisi's last most massive rally was held in 2010, and gathered around 100,000 people

Tycoon-turned-politician Ivanishvili founded his public movement, Georgian Dream, in December 2011. In April 2012, it transformed into an opposition coalition, called Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia. The current election is generally viewed as a struggle between billionaire Ivanishvili, whose wealth at $6.4 billion equals nearly half of Georgia's economic output, and President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Saakashvili’s role in Georgian history remains highly controversial. In its "Doing Business 2012" report, the World Bank named Georgia a "top reformer." According to that assessment, the South Caucasus country, which serves as an important transit route for oil and gas to the West, showed an astounding improvement since 2005 in terms of the ease of doing business, climbing from 112th to 16th place.

But the opposition has little praise to spare for the leader. Nino Burdzhanadze, the ex-chairperson of the Georgian Parliament and Saakashvili’s former ally, claims that "we have less democracy today than before the revolution", as Spiegel quotes her. Like many others, Burdzhanadze accuses the president of authoritarian dictatorship that has suppressed the opposition, while engaging the country in all-around corruption and money laundering.

Saakashvili, in his turn, says the Georgian opposition are simply Kremlin agents.

Ivanishvili has taken great pains to deny the claim. During the rally, he said he did not go to politics after some foreign powers told him so, but because he could not come to terms with the escalating poverty and injustice that are choking the country.

"Saakashvili's system must be destroyed. The fate of the country is being decided at these elections," Ivanishvili told the rally, promising to create “a truly democratic country free of violence or fear.”

Georgia's opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili and the leader of the Georgian Dream political party gestures during a rally in central Tbilisi, on September 29, 2012. (AFP Photo / Vano Shlamov)

A parallel opposition demonstration was held in Georgia’s second largest city, Kutaisi. Rally organizers say tens of thousands people are there.

Ivanishvili’s party, whose platform seems to be centered on displacing the incumbent president, is expected to come out as the main rival to Saakashvili’s United National Movement.

UNM’s convention Friday gathered around 70 thousand people at a central stadium in Tbilisi. On Saturday, Saakashvili also addressed voters in the port city of Poti, stressing the upcoming election may be a turning point for the country. “A force which wants to destroy everything we have created in the last nine years is keen to grab power,” he told supporters, hinting at the coalition headed by Ivanishvili.

Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili enters the podium to address a showpiece rally of his party three days before elections in central Tbilisi, on September 28, 2012. (AFP Photo / Vano Shlamov

Abuse of inmates happens in every Georgian jail, says torture whistleblower

Source Video: Russia Today

Interview: Russia Today

The penal system in Georgia is rife with the sadistic abuse of inmates covered under a glossy façade, claims an ex-deputy chief warden, who released footage of beatings and rape allegedly taken in a Tbilisi prison.

Vladimir Bedukadze alleges that top Georgian officials, including President Saakashvili, were aware of the abuses at the Gdlani prison, which triggered a major political scandal in the country. He claims that inmates in Georgia face inhumane treatment for political reasons or simply for the amusement of those in charge of jails.

Bedukadze told RT that he wanted to release the footage after bringing his family to Belgium, where he is seeking political asylum. But the Georgian authorities found out about the incriminating evidence and tried to undermine it by painting him a crook and a fabricator.

Vladimir Bedukadze

RT: Vladimir, how long have you been making these videos?

Vladimir Bedukadze: I have been working as the prison’s deputy chief warden since 2008.

RT: Who gave the orders? Who in the government knew what was going on? And who kept this matter under wraps?

V.B.: I made those videos on the instruction of the chief warden, and then the chief warden showed these videos to Minister Akhalaia. I made those videos over the period of a year, or maybe six months, I’m not sure. I didn’t make them in a day or two. They were accumulated over a period of time, and eventually I had two hours of video. Minister Akhalaia was in charge of all correctional facilities. Then Saakashvili made him Deputy Defense Minister. Then he became Defense Minister, and then, Minister of Internal Affairs. Throughout this time, Akhalaia remained in charge of Georgia’s prison system.

RT: How do you know the chief warden showed those videos to Akhalaia?

V.B.: I just did what I was told to do. I made those videos for him, and then he would take the tape, and I don’t know what he would do with it. But Akhalaia would often come to the Gdlani prison, perhaps once or twice a week. He used to spend a lot of time talking to the chief warden in his office. Akhalaia was a very close ally of President Saakashvili, whom President Bush called a “beacon of democracy.” He was fully aware of what was going on in the prisons. This is why I insist that Saakashvili should resign. In a democratic country, it wouldn’t be the Minister of Interior Affairs or Defense Minister stepping down; the President would resign. President Saakashvili must step down if he is a democrat. But he’s no democrat. He keeps the entire nation in chaos and fear. He relies on criminals. He has people with blood on their hands working in high positions in the government.

RT: Was Saakashvili aware of what was going on?

V.B.: Of course he knew. Saakashvili was fully aware of what was going on. When Akhalaia was appointed minister in 2005, the system was very far from European standards. Then Saakashvili appointed Akhalaia minister, and Akhalaia started taking very tough steps. He would send security forces into prisons. They would break into prisons and beat up inmates. Even Akhalaia himself would often be there with a camera, filming everything. And then, I think, he would show those videos to Saakashvili in order to show him what kind of system he had built. European MPs would visit the Gdlani prison, and they were impressed. They would say, “How did you manage to build such a system? You have 4,000 inmates there, and this place is so quiet, we haven’t heard as much as somebody speaking loudly. It’s almost as if there were no inmates there at all.

RT: You’re saying this has been going on for some time. Why did you release these materials now?

V.B.: In May, I asked myself whether I wanted to serve the regime or be a man. I tendered my resignation, took the videos I had made and left the country. I was afraid because I thought they would kill me. So I came to Belgium and asked for political asylum. My family is currently in Georgia, held hostage by the Saakashvili regime. This is why I asked the Belgian authorities to grant me and my family political asylum as soon as possible.

RT: Are you afraid that something may happen?

V.B.: Yes. Saakashvili is mentally unstable. Nobody knows what he may do.

RT: Do you have specific reasons to be concerned about your family? Have you received any threats?

V.B.: Yes, after I released those videos, some people called me on the phone a few times, telling me to keep my mouth shut.

RT: And then you moved to Belgium?

V.B.: No. Those phone calls were just a couple of days ago. I secretly left Georgia and came to Belgium in July. I have been here for three months now, and for financial reasons I have been unable to bring my family here. Belgian institutions tell me my videos can’t be published before my family comes here, because nobody knows what Saakashvili may do to them. As soon as my family is in Belgium, this footage will be released. When I came to Belgium, I played those tapes to the European Commission and the European Parliament, and they assured me that they would keep it secret and that Saakashvili would never find out about it. They kept their word, but somehow four or five days ago President Saakashvili found out about this tape, and then he told Akhalaia to get two of my friends who worked with me at the prison, and stage a beating of an inmate. So those two guys beat up an innocent inmate, and then that video was aired on Georgian television. They claim that they did it on my orders. The purpose of this fabrication was to create an impression that I was connected to the opposition. They say I was paid 2 million dollars for those videos. But I have never been involved in politics. I have never been in a political party. I didn’t care about politics.

RT: Your critics say the upcoming election is the reason why you have published these videos now.

V.B.: No, no. They started this by publishing their video! They contacted two of my friends, made that video with an inmate and played it on Georgian TV. What could I do? I had this tape with two hours of footage. I had to defend myself. They forced me to release those videos.

RT: You mean you released your videos in response to what they did?

V.B.: Right. This had nothing to do with the election.

RT: Let me get this straight. You’re saying that Saakashvili somehow found out that you had these videos…

V.B.: Actually, it was not Saakashvili. It was Minister Akhalaia who found out.

RT: And then they published their video to accuse you, and after that you released your videos.

V.B.: Right. Except that their video was staged, it was a fabrication. Those two friends of mine are in prison now. Actually, four of my friends are in prison. This is just to put psychological pressure on me. Saakashvili and Akhalaia accused me of torture and issued a warrant for me. I’m a wanted man now.

RT: Who gave you the order to make those videos? And who among the high-ranking officials knew about what was going on?

V.B.: Nobody – just the chief warden and I. I was deputy chief warden. He wanted me to film some interesting moments: for example, when police arrest an opposition activist, or a prominent figure, is arrested, he wanted it on tape. Probably, they intended to use those videos later against those people. The chief warden would take those videos to Akhalaia, and Akhalaia would take them to the President. They used it for entertainment. They enjoyed watching how helpless people were in their hands. Once they take you to prison, you are nobody. You have no dignity. This is why these videos caused such an outrage in Georgia. This is why all those young people are protesting.

RT: How did they pick inmates for torture?

V.B.: They just did it for entertainment, or, if an inmate had something to do with politics, if he was Saakashvili’s enemy, they would pick him. The system is extremely politicized. If you work in.

Vatican slams new book of leaked documents as ‘criminal’

Pope Benedict XVI ( REUTERS/Max Rossi)

Source: Russia Today
http://www.rt.com/news/vatican-slams-leaked-documents-criminal-694/

The Vatican is threatening to take legal action against those responsible for publishing a new book of leaked internal documents. The book sheds light on power struggles and corruption inside the Holy See and the thinking of its embattled top banker.

Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the “Vatileaks” scandal. It erupted earlier this year with the publication of leaked memos alleging corruption and mismanagement in Holy See affairs and internal squabbles over its efforts to comply with international anti-money-laundering norms.

The publication Saturday of “His Holiness” by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, added fuel to the fire, reproducing confidential letters and memos to and from Pope Benedict and his personal secretary which, according to the Vatican, violated the pope's right to privacy.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said in a statement Saturday the book was an “objectively defamatory” work that “clearly assumes characters of a criminal act.” He warned the Holy See would get to the bottom of who “stole” the documents, who received them and who published them. He warned the Holy See would seek international cooperation in its quest for justice, presumably with Italian magistrates.

The Vatican had already warned of legal action against Nuzzi after he published letters in January from the former second-highest Vatican administrator to the pope. In those letters the administrator begged not to be transferred for having exposed alleged corruption that cost the Holy See millions of euro in higher contract prices. The prelate, Monsignor Carlo Maria Vigano, is now the Vatican's US ambassador.

Nuzzi, author of Vatican SpA, a 2009 volume laying out shady dealings of the Vatican Bank based on leaked documents, said he was approached by sources inside the Vatican with the trove of new documents. Most of them are of fairly recent vintage and many of them painting the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a negative light.

Much of the documentation is fairly Italy-centric: about a 2009 scandal over the ex-editor of the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference, a previously-unknown dinner between Benedict and Italy's president, and even a 2011 letter from Italy's pre-eminent talk show host Bruno Vespa to the pope enclosing a check for 10,000 euro for his charity work and asking for a private audience in exchange.

But there are international leaks as well, including diplomatic cables from Vatican embassies from Jerusalem to Cameroon. Some concern the conclusions of the pope's delegate to the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order. In a memo sent to the pope last autumn he warned that the financial situation of the order, beset by a scandal over its pedophile founder, “while not grave, is serious and pressing.”

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the head of the Institute for Religious Works, otherwise known as the Vatican Bank, gets significant ink. His private memos to the pope with his take on the Vatican's response to the global financial crisis and how to handle the church's tax exempt status amid Italian government efforts to crack down on tax evasion have also been published.

The bank has been trying for some two years to remedy its reputation as a shady tax haven beset by scandals. One of them is the collapse of Italy's Banco Ambrosiano and the death of its head, Roberto Calvi, who also helped manage Vatican investments and was found hanging from London's Blackfriars Bridge in 1982.

In a bid to show it has mended its ways, the Institute for Religious Works this week invited ambassadors from 35 countries in for a tour and a chat with its managing director as part of a new transparency campaign. The tour came on the same day Holy See representatives were in Strasbourg discussing the first draft of a report from a Council of Europe committee on the Vatican's compliance with international norms to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.

British Ambassador Nigel Baker, who went on the Institute for Religious Works tour, later blogged that the Vatican's reputation depends on showing that its institutions are transparent.

“Plenty still needs to be done. But the Holy See needs to stick to its guns. It is in their interest, and ours,” Baker wrote

Pakistan's Supreme Court convicts Gilani of contempt

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (C) waves upon his arrival at the Supreme Court in Islamabad on February 13, 2012.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/238157.html

Pakistani Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani has been convicted of contempt of court for refusing to reopen old corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

After a three-month trial, the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday found the premier guilty for failing to follow its order to write to the authorities in Switzerland and ask them to reopen graft cases against Zardari, AFP reported.

Gilani denies that he was in contempt for failing to reopen the cases due to the fact that Zardari, who also rejects the corruption charges, enjoys immunity as the country's president.

The Supreme Court, however, spared Gilani a prison term in a case that has sparked political tensions in the country.

His lawyer says the premier would appeal the verdict, which means a further delay for any action that could see Gilani lose his job.

The Pakistani prime minister arrived at the court in the capital, Islamabad, along with members of his cabinet earlier in the day.

The embattled premier left the court while smiling and waving to his supporters.

The government alleges that the judges are attempting to bring down the president and the prime minster.

Explosions rock Yenagoa in Nigeria

Smoke and debris fill the sky seconds after a car bomb explodes alongside firemen responding to an initial car bomb that exploded earlier in Abuja, Nigeria. (File photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/222265.html

Two explosions have rocked Nigeria's southern city of Yenagoa hours after a wave of deadly blasts and gunfire hit the city of Kano.

According to a Saturday statement from the office of Governor Timipre Sylva, the bomb blasts were related to upcoming governorship elections in Yenogoa.

"Governor Timipre Sylva has just been informed of two explosions that rocked parts of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, late Friday night," the statement said.

One bomb went off on the Tombia Bridge and an explosive-laden car was detonated near the Government House, according to sources.

The explosions came in the wake of a string of violent attacks in the northern city of Kano where at least eight people were killed.

The Boko Haram militant group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying the offensive was in response to Nigerian authorities' refusal to release a number of group's members arrested in Kano.

Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew in Kano to curb the violence.

In December 2011, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a series of bombings near the Nigerian capital, Abuja, which killed 40 people and injured scores of others.

Nigeria slashes fuel prices over strike

Motorists queue for fuel at a filling station, Lagos, Nigeria, January 14, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/221300.html

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a decrease in fuel prices in a bid to end a nationwide strike heading into a second week.

President Jonathan said that the government decided to reduce petrol prices by 30 percent to 97 naira (about 60 US cents) per liter “after due consideration and consultations with state governors and the leadership of the National Assembly.”

"[The] government will continue to pursue full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector," he said in a televised address on Monday.

Jonathan made the remarks after the latest round of talks between the government and trade unions ended with no sign of a compromise over the removal of fuel subsidies.

On January 1, the government hiked petrol prices to more than double from 65 naira (40 cents) per liter to about 150 naira (92 cents).

The decision sparked nationwide strikes and protests that paralyzed the oil-rich country since January 9. The strikes also cost the economy billions of dollars in lost revenue.

The unions on Sunday vowed in a statement to continue the strikes and protests if the government did not reverse its decision on the subsidies.

The unions had demanded the government to restore an estimated USD 8 billion a year in fuel subsidies, but the government only promised to slightly lower the prices.

Nigeria produces over 2 million barrels of crude per day and is a key supplier to the US, Europe, and Asia.

The developments come as concerns over Nigerian oil supplies have pushed up global oil prices.

Nigeria unions vow to keep up protest

Angry protesters burn debris in the city of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria on January 10, 2012 following the removal of a fuel subsidy by the government

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/221284.html

Two major unions in Nigeria have vowed to continue nationwide strikes and protests over spiraling fuel prices in the country after negotiations with the government failed.

The assertion, which was made in a joint statement by Nigeria Labor Congress and Trade Union Congress, came after Nigeria's labor unions ended talks with President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday with no clear-cut results.

Tens of thousands of Nigerians demonstrated over five successive days last week in protest against the removal of fuel subsidies on January 1, which more than doubled the price of petrol to 150 naira (92 cents) per liter from 65 naira (40 cents).

The unions also vowed in the statement to continue the strikes and protests if the government did not reverse its decision on the subsidies.

The labor unions also said they needed to consider their next move. "We have come and listened to the president ... on the issue of removal of fuel subsidy and we are going now to analyze the submission of Mr. President and take a decision," said Nigeria Labour Congress chief, Abdulwahed Omar.

The unions had demanded the government to restore an estimated USD 8 billion a year in fuel subsidies, but the government only promised to slightly lower the prices.

Jonathan absented himself from a Saturday meeting with union representatives.

He has said that the subsidies on oil were unsustainable for the country. The government has alleged it would use USD 8 billion in savings to make much-needed infrastructure improvements in the country.

Demonstrations have turned violent across the country over the last week, leaving many Nigerians dead and scores injured.

Nigeria produces over 2 million barrels of crude per day and is a key supplier to the US, Europe, and Asia.

The developments come as concerns over Nigerian oil supplies have pushed up global oil prices.

Nigeria declares state of emergency

A security barrier marks the scene of a car bomb explosion at St. Theresa Catholic Church at Madalla, Suleja, just outside Nigeria's capital Abuja, December 25, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218752.html

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in the areas hit by a series of deadly attacks on Christmas Day last week.

In a televised address on Saturday, Jonathan declared an indefinite state of emergency in some parts of Borno, Yobe, Niger and Plateau states, which would all allow security agencies to make arrests without evidence and conduct searches without warrants.

The president also ordered the closure of parts of the country's borders to control "cross-border terrorist activities".

The moves come nearly a week after a wave of deadly attacks struck parts of Africa's most populous nation.

Jonathan has vowed to crush the group blamed for the bloody attacks.

At least 49 people were killed and several others injured in a wave of bombings which targeted government offices and churches in Nigeria on Christmas Day.

The Boko Haram militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The latest blasts came following days of violent clashes between Nigerian troops and Boko Haram militants in Damaturu city which claimed the lives of least 60 people.

According to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, ethnic and religious conflicts in Nigeria claimed the lives of over 14,000 people between 1999 and 2009.