Greeks Take to the Streets for Dueling Rallies That Reflect a Divided Nation

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By Griff Witte and Michael Birnbaum. Dueling rallies of tens of thousands of people apiece took over central Athens on Friday evening, with demonstrators making their final push before a referendum on Sunday that has passionately divided this flailing nation between those terrified Greece will lose its place in Europe and others determined to transform the continent at all costs.

With Greece’s 19th-century Olympic stadium as a backdrop, “yes” supporters shouted their contempt for the government and demanded an end to the brinkmanship that has characterized the country’s relationship with Europe for the past five months.

Across town, in the shadow of the neo­classical Parliament building, those siding with Greece’s leaders in urging a “no” vote on European bailout proposals swayed to the tunes of revolutionary anthems and pledged not to bend to creditors’ “blackmail.”

“Here in the place where democracy was born,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told an energized crowd that stretched for blocks in every direction, “we will start to rebuild European democracy.”

But beneath the bravado was an emerging recognition within Greece’s radical leftist government that regardless of how Sunday’s referendum turns out, the country may be on the verge of defeat in its epic standoff with European heavyweights over the terms of the country’s bailouts. (Read more from “Greeks Take to the Streets for Dueling Rallies That Reflect a Divided Nation” HERE)


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Greek Bank Closures May Deplete Supermarket Shelves

By Martinne Geller and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos. A halt to international payments from Greek bank accounts is hurting Greek businesses and their foreign partners and threatening supplies of vital goods like food and clothing into the debt-crippled country.

With banks closed, people limited to withdrawing 60 euros ($66.62) per day and Greece’s future in the euro possibly hinging on a referendum on Sunday, Greek shoppers have been stocking up on essentials like sugar, flour, pasta, rice, beans, canned and paper goods.

Shelves remain full for now as retailers have inventories in storage. But capital controls put in place after Greece defaulted on a loan to international creditors have essentially frozen companies’ cash flows and credit.

This has severely hampered production and shipping, meaning that goods are in finite supply. With this week’s rush to supermarkets, shortages could be around the corner although budget limits are providing some cushion.

“At this stage there is no problem of shortages. There is sufficient stock in our warehouses and we renew it frequently,” said Melina Varoutsikou, spokeswoman for Sklavenitis, one of Greece’s largest supermarket chains. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama Administration Spied on German Media as Well as Its Government

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An investigation by the German parliament is raising questions on whether the Obama administration not only spied on journalists in that country, but interfered in the exercise of the free press under the guise of U.S. national security.

On Thursday, Germany’s intelligence coordinator, Günter Heiss, testified before a parliamentary investigative committee of the German parliament, the Bundestag, focused on the activities of the U.S. National Security Agency’s spying on Germany and the knowledge and/or role of German intelligence, the Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND.

That the NSA was spying on German officials is not new, though it continues to upset free press advocates and those with memories of repressive governments both Communist and Nazi. That the NSA was spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone was first reported by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2013 with information gleaned from the stolen then leaked files of Edward Snowden.

On Thursday, WikiLeaks released more information, presumably from that surveillance, with Merkel said “professed to be at a loss” over the Greek financial crisis, and information suggesting that the NSA was spying on German ministers in addition to Merkel. U.S. ambassador to Germany, John Emerson, was summoned to meet with the Chancellery chief of staff Peter Altmaier to discuss the news . . .

CNN has learned that in early Summer 2011, the CIA station chief in Berlin (also representing the NSA at the U.S. Embassy) met with Heiss, and his assistant, Guido Müller. The CIA station chief urged the two men to take action against Heiss’ deputy, Hans-Josef Vorbeck, whom he said was leaking classified information to journalists. (Read more from “Obama Administration Spied on German Media as Well as Its Government” HERE)

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Cruz: ‘Sad’ US Will Have Embassy in Havana Before Embassy in Jerusalem

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By Ian Hanchett. Republican presidential candidate and Texas Senator Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) denounced the US opening an embassy in Cuba wondering “How sad is it that under the Obama administration the United States is going to have an embassy in Havana before we have an embassy in Jerusalem?” on Wednesday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show.”

Cruz said, “I think this is a serious mistake. It’s a manifestation of the pattern of weakness and appeasement towards our enemies that has characterized the Obama-Clinton foreign policy. It’s the same pattern that occurred — that is occurring with regard to Russia, with regard to Iran, and it’s a very dangerous pattern. How sad is it that under the Obama administration the United States is going to have an embassy in Havana before we have an embassy in Jerusalem, that this administration will be friendlier to a Communist dictator who hates America and seeks to undermine our nation, than it is willing to stand with our close friend and ally, the nation of Israel? I think it’s wrong.”

Cruz continued, “The very first truth-teller featured in the book is a gentleman named Guillermo Farinas. He was a Cuban dissident. He used to be a member of Castro’s army. He was a Communist. In fact, his nickname was El Coco. And he describes how he went to the Soviet Union and somehow got his hand on a copy of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm.’ And it touched him powerfully, and he became a dissident, and he became a critic. He’s been imprisoned, he’s had hunger strikes. And Guillermo, and also another Cuban dissident named Elizardo Sanchez, both came to the United States about a year ago. I interviewed both of them for about a half hour in Spanish. We put out the video interview, but it was interesting, both of them predicted what the Obama administration has done. And both of them said that the Castros are following Putinissimo is what they called it, basically the philosophy of Putin, of appearing to liberalize, while in fact strengthening the repression. What Obama’s doing is sending billions of dollars that will only make the Castros stronger, oppressing, torturing, murdering their people, and also spreading terrorism throughout Latin America.” (Read more from “Cruz: ‘Sad’ US Will Have Embassy in Havana Before Embassy in Jerusalem” HERE)


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Cruz Bashes Obama on Cuba Embassy Opening; Calls It ‘a Slap in the Face’ to Israel

By Latino Fox News. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz lashed out Wednesday at President Barack Obama’s decision to reopen the U.S. embassy in Cuba, calling the move a “slap in the face” to Israel.

The Republican presidential candidate said that Obama’s move was “unacceptable and a slap in the face of a close ally,” The Hill reported.

“The United States will have an embassy in Havana before one in Jerusalem,” he added.

The embassy agreement marks the biggest tangible step toward normalizing relations since the surprise announcement in December that the U.S. and Cuba were restarting diplomatic ties. The posts in Washington and Havana are scheduled to open July 20, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said.

Cruz, a Cuban-American himself, has repeatedly tried to have the U.S. embassy in Israel moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and, along with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, has backed legislation to do away with a national security waiver that allows the administration to bypass a 1995 law to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem. (Read more from this story HERE)

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IMF Warns of Huge Financial Hole as Greek Vote Looms

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By David Chance. The International Monetary Fund delivered a stark warning on Thursday of the huge financial hole facing Greece as angry and uncertain voters prepare for a referendum that could decide their country’s future in Europe.

Days after Greece defaulted on part of its IMF debt, the Fund, part of the lenders’ “troika” behind successive international bailouts, said Greece needed an extra 50 billion euros over the next three years, including 36 billion from its European partners, to stay afloat. It also needed significant debt relief.

The assessment, in a preliminary draft of the Fund’s latest debt sustainability report, underlines the scale of the problems facing Athens, whatever the result of Sunday’s referendum on the bailout offered by creditors last month.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ rejection of what he terms the “blackmail” of EU and IMF creditors demanding spending cuts and tax hikes has so angered Greece’s partners that there is no hope of reconciliation before Sunday.

With banks closed for a fourth day and capital controls in place, the future of the left-wing government hangs on the result, given the angry mood of voters in Greece, torn between resentment of the lenders and scorn for their own politicians. (Read more from “IMF Warns of Huge Financial Hole as Greek Vote Looms” HERE)

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‘Yes’ Camp Takes Slim Lead in Greek Bailout Referendum Poll

By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos and George Georgiopoulos. Supporters of Greece’s bailout terms have taken a wafer-thin lead over the “No” vote backed by the leftist government, 48 hours before a referendum that may determine the country’s future in the euro zone, a poll showed.

The opinion poll by the respected ALCO institute, published in the Ethnos newspaper on Friday, put the “Yes” camp on 44.8 percent against 43.4 percent for the No” vote. But the lead was within the pollster’s 3.1 percentage point margin of error, with 11.8 percent saying they are still undecided.

With banks shuttered all week, cash withdrawals rationed and commerce seizing up, the vote could decide whether Greece gets another last-ditch financial rescue in exchange for more harsh austerity measures or plunges deeper into economic crisis.

It could also determine whether Greece becomes the first country to crash out of the 19-nation European single currency area, membership of which is meant to be irrevocable.

The survey found that 74 percent of Greeks want to stay in the euro, while just 15 percent want to return to a national currency, with 11 percent undecided. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Economic Exodus Means Two-Thirds of Puerto Ricans May Soon Live in US

By Alan Yuhas. Facing a crisis of monumental proportions at home, tens of thousands of people are fleeing a Caribbean island in search of a better life in the United States only to find hardship and struggle on American shores. Their stories sound like those of millions of migrants – poverty at home, where the economy lies in tatters – but they differ from millions of others: they’re already American.

Unable to pay its $73bn debt, Puerto Rico has begun rationing water, closing schools and watching its healthcare system collapse and 45% of its people living in poverty. Emigration to the mainland has accelerated in recent years, activists say, and data shows that from 2003 to 2013 there was a population swing of more than 1.5 million people.

“This new wave of immigration can be compared with the immigration in the 1930s and 40s,” said Edgardo González, coordinator of the Defenders of Puerto Rico, an activist group. The Great Depression and second world war spurred the so-called “Great Migration”, when tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans moved to New York every year for nearly two decades.

Now most Puerto Ricans are arriving in central Florida, González said, but many cannot find jobs or even housing. “Some might stay with family for a few weeks, but for those who don’t have family, people end up homeless because of the lack of services,” he said.

“People end up living in hotels, living in cars or on the street. Then you have people who are homeless with kids, who get in trouble with the law, and you have to get into it with childcare and welfare services.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Volcanic Activity, Earthquake Fears Increasing Worldwide

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Photo Credit: APBy The Japan Times. Authorities on Tuesday raised the volcano alert for Mount Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, restricting access to the area after a small eruption at the popular tourist site.

The Meteorological Agency said it confirmed volcanic ash was emitted from the area, which has been venting unusual amounts of steam in recent months.

The agency said the ash deposits indicate that a small eruption occurred between Monday evening and Tuesday.

Mount Hakone, about 80 km south of Tokyo, last erupted between the late 12th century and 13th century, according to experts.

Volcanic activity in the area began intensifying in late April but recently showed signs of subsiding. (Read more from “Volcanic Activity, Earthquake Fears Increasing Worldwide” HERE)

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62: Indonesia Raises Alert as Mt Raung Volcano Erupts

By Channel News Asia. Indonesian authorities on Monday (Jun 29) raised the alert level after Mount Raung in East Java erupted, causing ash to land in surrounding villages.

The eruption at Mount Raung on Sunday evening was heard 20 kilometres away, and ash fall was seen in villages about 10 kilometres away from the summit. Aircraft pilots also reported seeing large amounts of ash at a height of 3,500 metres.

Authorities cordoned off a two-kilometre radius around the volcano, and raised the alert level to “Siaga”, the second highest level. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Fear of Volcano Eruption in Ukhrul, as Fire Gushes From the Ground

By Nagaland Post. A continuous flow of smoke and ashes from a swamp at a place near Old Wahong village of Manipur’s Ukhrul district has left villagers fearing of natural calamity in the form of volcanic eruption any time, a daily reported Tuesday.

Villagers said that smoke radius of about two feet along with ashes have been seen gushing out from the earth’s surface at Shitru area, since last two weeks.

Shitru is located a place border Manipur, Nagaland and Myanmar.

Villagers and onlookers feared volcanic eruption at the area in a short time. (Read more from this story HERE)
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Los Angeles Grows Even More Nervous About the ‘Big One’

By Yahoo News. When hi-tech movies are then replicated in life – we see it as a positive step forwards.

However, no-one wants to see disaster movies repeated in real-life, but it looks like LA may be on the verge of getting the ‘San Andreas’ treatment.

Geologists from UC Santa Barbara have found helium leaking from the Newport-Inglewood fault in central Los Angeles increasing the potential damage of an earthquake on the mega city.

This discovery comes after the US Geological Survey warned that the city is building up to a ‘big one’ in the next 30 years with chances of a magnitude 8 earthquake hitting the mega-city increasing from 4.7 to 7 per cent. (Read more from this story HERE)

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World Unhinged: Pedophilia Is Natural and Normal for Males, According to This University

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“Paedophilic interest is natural and normal for human males,” said the presentation. “At least a sizeable minority of normal males would like to have sex with children … Normal males are aroused by children.”

Some yellowing tract from the Seventies or early Eighties, era of abusive celebrities and the infamous PIE, the Paedophile Information Exchange? No. Anonymous commenters on some underground website? No again.

The statement that pedophilia is natural and normal was made not three decades ago but last July. It was made not in private but as one of the central claims of an academic presentation delivered, at the invitation of the organizers, to many of the key experts in the field at a conference held by the University of Cambridge.

Other presentations included “Liberating the paedophile: a discursive analysis,” and “Danger and difference: the stakes of hebephilia” (the sexual preference for children in early puberty, typically 11 to 14-year-olds) . . .

Another attendee, and enthusiastic participant from the floor, was one Tom O’Carroll, a multiple child sex offender, long-time campaigner for the legalization of sex with children and former head of the Paedophile Information Exchange. “Wonderful!” he wrote on his blog afterwards. “It was a rare few days when I could feel relatively popular!” (Read more from “Pedophilia Is Natural and Normal for Males, According to This University” HERE)

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ISIS Says Allah Will Reward Ten Times as Much to Jihadists Who Die During Ramadan

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By Stoyan Zaimov. Terror group ISIS has marked one year since the establishment of its self-proclaimed Islamic Caliphate in the territory of Iraq and Syria. The militants marked the occasion by calling for more jihadist attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, claiming that allah will reward jihadists who die with “10 times as much” during the period.

“ISIS’ Ramadan message specifically preaches that jihad is 10 times more obligatory during Ramadan and that those who die in jihad will be rewarded by allah 10 times as much as during the rest of the year,” said Ryan Mauro, national security analyst and adjunct professor of Homeland Security for the Clarion Project, according to Fox News.

“There will be ISIS supporters who have waited to strike until now in order to get the maximum award and those who were considering an attack and will now feel more pressure to actually do it.”

June 29, 2014, marked the official formation of the Islamic State, as the group is also known, when it also named its leader “Caliph Ibrahim,” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The U.S. and a broad team of international allies have been hitting ISIS targets across Iraq and Syria with airstrikes, and have armed and trained local forces on the ground fighting the militants. The terror group has continued attacking and capturing new cities throughout the year, however, and has been expanding its attacks in a host of other countries. (Read more from “ISIS Says Allah Will Reward Ten Times as Much to Jihadists Who Die During Ramadan” HERE)

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Jihadists Vow to Attack Christians During Ramadan

By Stoyan Zaimov. The al-Shabaab terror group, which back in April murdered 152 people, mostly Christian students, have vowed to attack “non-believers” throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a pledge echoing ISIS’ threats.

News 24 reported that at least 15 people were killed on Monday in clashes between al-Shabaab and Somali and African Union troops near the southern port of Kismayo, though eight Islamic militants were also killed in the battle.

AFP noted that another 80 soldiers were killed on Friday in a separate attack on the Leego base in southern Somalia, with the jihadists claiming to have brought back 60 of the bodies.

“Al-Shabaab has consistently shown its ability to strike in urban areas and regroup in rural bases. It will take much longer to defeat the group and require Somalia’s security services to be significantly improved,” Ahmed Soliman, Horn of Africa analyst at the London-based Chatham House, told the Bloomberg news.

The total death toll could still be higher, with reports that some captured troop members have been beheaded. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Gay Rights Activist Arrested, Banned From International Travel, Assets Seized After Death Stemming From ‘Rainbow Party’ Fireball That Injured 500

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Taiwan gay rights activist and “rainbow party” (Color Play) organizer Zhong Ji Lu was taken into custody by Taiwan police today for his role in the massive, deadly fireball that rained down upon 500 youth celebrating over the weekend. He was questioned and released on NT$1 million bail, with investigations pending.

Zhong Ji Lu is the key founder of Gay Rights Taiwan according to Storm Media Group in Taiwan. Mr. Lu is well known as a gay rights activist according to Liberty Times Net Taiwan. He’s also been the subject of top news on Pridewatch Taiwan as a gay rights activist. Since this link was first publicized, the Pridewatch Taiwan website has been down, likely due to the very large amount of traffic referred by Natural News.

The Color Play Creative Company and Rui Bo Marketing Agency are responsible for this tragedy, reports China Times. Both organizations are owned by Taiwan gay rights activist Zhong Ji Lu, who has been linked to numerous business scandals, according to the Times.

“…[P]rosecutors from New Taipei’s Bali District held event organizer Lu Chung-chi for questioning,” reports the English-language China Post. (The China Post uses a Taiwan spelling structure for Mandarin Chinese names, spelling his name as Chung-chi instead of the more conventional pin-ying spelling of “Zhong Ji.” The two spellings refer to the same person.) “He was later released after posting NT$1 million bail, though he must periodically report to police and is barred from leaving the country pending investigation. Police also released Chiu Po-ming, the technician at the company headed by Lu on NT$300,000 bail” . . .

The weekend catastrophe involved the spontaneous ignition of a multi-colored special effect which was launched into the air by event organizers using air cannons. The “special effect” turned out to be highly explosive particulate corn flour, the same substance frequently responsible for grain silo explosions in the grain belts of the world. The airborne corn flour ignited and burst into flames, raining down fire upon the heads of nearly 500 youth who were attending the event (Read more from “Gay Rights Activist Arrested, Banned From International Travel, Assets Seized After Death Stemming From ‘Rainbow Party’ Fireball That Injured 500” HERE)

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Who’s the “Evil Empire” Now? Russia Says It’s Godless America

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At the height of the Cold War, it was common for American conservatives to label the officially atheist Soviet Union a “godless nation.”

More than two decades on, history has come full circle, as the Kremlin and its allies in the Russian Orthodox Church hurl the same allegation at the West.

“Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent keynote speech. “Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.”

In his state of the nation address in mid-December, Mr. Putin also portrayed Russia as a staunch defender of “traditional values” against what he depicted as the morally bankrupt West. Social and religious conservatism, the former KGB officer insisted, is the only way to prevent the world from slipping into “chaotic darkness.”

As part of this defense of “Christian values,” Russia has adopted a law banning “homosexual propaganda” and another that makes it a criminal offense to “insult” the religious sensibilities of believers. (Read more from “Who’s the “Evil Empire” Now? Russia Says It’s Godless America” HERE)

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The World Is Defenseless Against the Next Financial Crisis, Warns BIS

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The world will be unable to fight the next global financial crash as central banks have used up their ammunition trying to tackle the last crises, the Bank of International Settlements has warned.

The so-called central bank of central banks launched a scatching critique of global monetary policy in its annual report. The BIS claimed that central banks have backed themselves into a corner after repeatedly cutting interest rates to shore up their economies.

These low interest rates have in turn fuelled economic booms, encouraging excessive risk taking. Booms have then turned to busts, which policymakers have responded to with even lower rates.

Claudio Borio, head of the organisation’s monetary and economic department, said: “Persistent exceptionally low rates reflect the central banks’ and market participants’ response to the unusually weak post-crisis recovery as they fumble in the dark in search of new certainties” . . .

Extraordinarily low interest rates are not a “new equilibrium” said Jaime Caruana, general manager of the BIS, rejecting the theory of so-called “secular stagnation” which some economists blame for the continued decline in global lending rates. (Read more from “The World Is Defenceless Against the Next Financial Crisis, Warns BIS” HERE)

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