Iceland’s Economy now growing faster than the U.S. and EU after arresting corrupt bankers

Iceland’s Economy now growing faster than the U.S. and EU after arresting corrupt bankers


 

So Iceland decided not to follow the rest of the world by bailing out the bankers. Instead, they chose to arrest them. Now their economy is recovering faster than the EU and the United States. Hmmmm.

Remember when the United States government told the American people that immediate action was required to save the banks, and save our nation from complete collapse? An action in the form of Billions of dollars in National Debt? Yeah, we remember that! Now Trillions of dollars in National debt later, we are in the same position we were in 4 years ago, just more debt. As a matter of fact Federal Reserve Chairmen Ben Bernanke has called for yet another stimulus that will add more debt onto the mountain we already have.

At the start of the world wide 2008 economic collapse, Iceland was in worse shape than almost any other country in the world. Now they are one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Imagine what America would be like today if we bailed out the victims of poor banking practices, while punishing the bankers who were responsible?

After watching this video tell us what you think? Was Iceland off their rocker for sending the bankers to jail, or on to something that America should have done as well?

Read more at http://americanlivewire.com/world-economic-news-icelands-economy-now-growing-fas/#w3QA14e71B08cJzR.99 

Monsanto Banned from EU - US approves genetically-modified corn sales?

Filed under WTF....

EU: France Asks To Ban Monsanto's 810 Corn GMO Crop From EU

BRUSSELS –  The European Commission received a request by France to ban the cultivation of Monsanto 810, a type of genetically-modified corn crop that has been grown in the European Union for 15 years, a spokesman said Tuesday.

"France yesterday sent a message to the European Commission indicating that they had new scientific information on Monsanto 810 and so they requested the commission to take urgent steps to ban the cultivation of this crop," the spokesman said.

The French government said Monday said it has asked the Commission to suspend the authorization to grow genetically-modified corn crops.

Copyright © 2012 Dow Jones Newswires

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/02/21/eu-france-asks-to-ban-monsantos-810-corn-gmo-crop-from-eu/#ixzz1nWEhyOZH

Monsanto genetically engineered corn approved for sale in U.S.
Washington - Monsanto has been given the go-ahead to sell its genetically engineered, drought-resistant corn after the Obama administration quietly approved the variety, with the announcement being made during December’s Christmas break.

Read more: [link to www.digitaljournal.com] 

Washington - Monsanto has been given the go-ahead to sell its genetically engineered, drought-resistant corn after the Obama administration quietly approved the variety, with the announcement being made during December’s Christmas break.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved the controversial product after Monsanto submitted a petition for its approval in 2009. Monsanto maintains 40 percent of North American crop losses occur as a result of sub-optimal moisture.

In a news release, Monsanto states the GE corn, MON 87460, carries the drought-tolerant trait to help maintain yield potential during drought stress.

“Our drought system is designed to help farmers mitigate the risk of yield loss when experiencing drought stress, primarily in areas of annual drought stress,” said Hobart Beeghly, Monsanto’s U.S. product management lead, in the company statement. “This spring farmers in the Western Great Plains will have an opportunity to see how the system performs on their farm through on-farm trials.”

Development of Monsanto’s drought-tolerant trait was part of a joint effort with Germany’s chemical giant, BASF.

In a determination (pdf) of Monsanto’s GE corn, the USDA states the

corn and progeny derived from it are unlikely to pose plant pest risks and is no longer to be considered regulated article under APHIS’ Biotechnology Regulations.

According to the USDA, the determination was based on its analyses of field and laboratory data submitted by Monsanto, among other relevant information.

The USDA goes on to note MON 87460 corn and its progeny

would have no significant impacts, individually or collectively, on the quality of the human environment and will have no effect on federally listed threatened or endangered species, species proposed for listing, or their designated or proposed critical habitats.

The USDA states on its website (pdf) the basic charge of its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is “Protecting American Agriculture,” and adds the U.S. government has been regulating genetically engineered (GE) organisms since 1986.

The Cornucopia Institute notes the USDA received almost 45,000 public comments opposed to MON 87460, with only 23 comments in favor.

“President Obama and Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack just sent a clear message to the American public that they do not care about our concerns with genetically engineered food and their questionable safety, adverse environmental impacts, and detrimental effects on farmers, especially organic farmers,” said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst with Cornucopia, in a news release.

Also in the pipeline for genetically modified food is a corn by Dow which is being engineered to be more resistant to 2,4-D, a poisonous herbicide most famous for its being a primary ingredient in Agent Orange, prolifically used during the Vietnam War for defoliating forests and croplands.

In addition to announcing Monsanto’s approval, the USDA is taking public comments on Dow’s 2,4-D corn here.

Monsanto recently made other news when Canada’s NGO Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Conservation (ETC Group) released a report on the growing green economy, which noted large corporations, such as Monsanto, Dow, Exxon, BP, BASF, and the U.S. military, among others, are positioning themselves as conglomerates over who will control biomass development, DNA data generation, and other vital areas of the bioeconomy movement.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/317358#ixzz1nWCoVx7z

Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning

French beekeepers demonstrate to protest the use of genetically-modified organisms in front of French Monsanto headquarters in Bron. Sign reads, "Principle of Precaution = No to GMO". (Reuters / Robert Pratta)

A French court ruled that a controversial US biotech company Monsanto is guilty of unintentional chemical poisoning of a French farmer. The verdict sets a French precedent for pesticide-poisoning and more cases are expected to follow.

Grain farmer Paul Francois, says he suffered a number of neurological problems, including memory loss, stammering and headaches, after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weed killer in 2004. He blamed the company for failing to provide adequate warning labels on its products.

"I am alive today, but part of the farming population is going to be sacrificed and is going to die because of this,"Reuters quoted Francois as saying. 

The present case is not the first of its kind. All previous health claims have reportedly failed because of the difficulties with proving the links between health issues and exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. Francois’s claims appeared to be easier to substantiate because he could describe a particular incident – the inhaling of a particular pesticide while cleaning the tank of his crop sprayer. The man was only able to obtain his work invalidity status after a court appeal.

The court in Lyon has now ordered experts to establish the sum of damages. Monsanto’s lawyers have not commented since the court’s ruling.

French authorities claim that they are getting around 200 pesticides-related alerts per year. As few as 47 cases have been officially recognized in the past decade.

Paul Francois’s case dates back to when EU countries actively used crop-protection chemicals. Many have now been banned, and the European Union is targeting a further reduction in pesticide use. Monsanto’s Lasso is now considered dangerous in many EU countries. In France, it was withdrawn in 2007.

France's health and environment safety agency ANSES is reportedly conducting a study on farming-related health issues. The results are expected next year.

The Monsanto company is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation which is particularly famous for its genetically modified products and herbicides. It is also notable for its involvement in high-profile lawsuits, where fines and damages have run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of them were related to health damage caused by Monsanto’s products.

Goldman Sachs - Greece's teetering government

In 2010 Goldman Sachs was criticized for its involvement in the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis. Goldman Sachs between the years 1998-2009 has been reported to systematically help the Greek government to mask its national true debt facts.[66] In September 2009, though, Goldman Sachs among others, created a special Credit Default Swap (CDS) index for the cover of high risk national debt of Greece. This led the interest-rates of Greek national bonds to a very high level, leading the Greek economy very close to bankruptcy in March 2010....

(Reuters) - Greece's teetering government backed away from a proposed referendum on staying in the euro on Thursday, while European leaders talked for the first time of a possible Greek exit to preserve the single currency.

Fast-moving events in Athens overshadowed the first day of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies on the French Riviera, with world leaders again anxiously urging Europe to act to stop contagion from its sovereign debt crisis.

They discussed increasing the International Monetary Fund's resources to help distressed states and constructing a financial firewall to protect vulnerable euro zone economies Italy and Spain from a possible Greek default, participants said.

In Athens, beleaguered Prime Minister George Papandreou said his call this week for a referendum, which sparked panic on global financial markets, "was never a purpose in itself," and he would be happy if the vote were not held.

Papandreou told lawmakers from his Socialist party he had agreed to talks with the center-right opposition on a transitional government to implement a new EU/IMF bailout program. If that led to a consensus in support of the plan, there would be no need for a referendum.

At a bruising meeting in Cannes on Wednesday night, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Papandreou that Athens would not receive a cent more in aid until it met its commitments to the euro zone.

Greece was due to get a vital 8 billion euro installment this month and says it will run out of money in mid-December if it does not get the loan.

Despite the turmoil in Athens and uncertainty over the euro zone, European stock markets and the euro rallied in volatile trading as the likelihood grew that Greece would not hold the highly risky public vote.

The European Central Bank also provided a surprise boost by cutting interest rates by 25 points to 1.25 percent and saying its policy of buying euro zone government bonds would continue for now with limited scope to support its monetary policy.

The leaders of China, Russia and the United States pressed the Europeans to move more swiftly to contain the debt crisis, with Washington urging Germany to relent and let the ECB play a greater role in financial firefighting, G20 sources said.

"Europe should aid itself. The European Union has everything for that today -- the political authority, the financial resources and the backing of many countries," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the leaders had discussed contingency plans if Greece were to leave the euro zone, "but my expectation is that cooler heads will prevail and the package will be accepted (by Greece)."

WILL TO COMPROMISE?

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos broke ranks with Papandreou, saying Greece's euro membership was a historic achievement and "cannot depend on a referendum." He demanded that the government openly ditch the referendum idea.

Dissident lawmakers in the ruling PASOK party also spoke out against a plebiscite and called for a national unity government or early elections, casting doubt on whether Papandreou would survive the week in office. Some suggested former ECB vice-president Lucas Papademos should head such an administration.

Signaling a will to compromise, opposition leader Antonis Samaras called for a transitional government to lead Greece to early elections and said parliament should first ratify last week's 130 billion euro ($178 billion) bailout deal.

European Union leaders have long called for national unity in Greece in support of painful austerity measures needed to cut the country's crippling debt, expected to reach 160 percent of gross domestic product this year.

Sarkozy told a news conference the tough message delivered by France and Germany to Greece's political class was showing signs of bearing fruit. "Things are progressing," he said, welcoming Samaras' support for the bailout plan.

Euro area leaders talked openly of a possible Greek exit from the 17-nation currency area, seeking to maximize pressure on Athens and preserve the euro in case of a "no" vote.

Merkel repeated on Thursday that the stability of the euro had priority for Germany over Greece's euro membership, touching a popular nerve at home. Germany's best selling Bild newspaper railed against Greece and demanded it be ejected from the euro.

Merkel also said Italy and Spain must press on with economic reforms.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, said policymakers were working on possible scenarios for a Greek exit.

The specter of a possible hard Greek default and euro exit hung over the G20 summit, highlighting Europe's frailty and divisions just when Sarkozy had hoped to showcase his leadership of the world's major economies.

The summit had been meant to focus on reforms of the global monetary system and steps to rein in speculative capital flows and regulate commodities markets, but the shockwaves from Greece upended the talks.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Europe had made some important steps toward a comprehensive solution to its debt crisis but needed to flesh out and implement the plan quickly.

A disorderly Greek default would reverberate across the euro zone, engulfing big economies like Italy and Spain, and potentially plunging the global economy into a recession.

CREDIT LINES?

Earlier in Cannes, leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Spain and top officials from the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and EU explored ways of accelerating implementation of a euro zone anti-crisis package agreed on October 27.

That plan, which includes debt relief for Greece, a recapitalization of European banks and a leveraging of the bloc's rescue fund, was meant to stem the two-year old crisis before Papandreou's referendum call cast the bloc into turmoil.

Officials said the meeting focused on speeding up the creation of a firewall to protect other vulnerable euro zone states from the fallout from Greece.

The G20 is considering an IMF proposal to create a new short-term line of credit to help countries that are facing economic shocks beyond their control, a G20 official familiar with the talks said.

British finance minister George Osborne said leaders discussed increasing the global lender's resources, which China strongly backed, and he had heard no dissenting voices.

The risk premium on Italian bonds over safe-haven German Bunds has hit euro-lifetime highs this week, despite European Central Bank buying of its bonds. Spain had to pay its highest yield since 2008 at a bond auction on Thursday. SOURCE:

http://www.reuters.com/article/video/idUSTRE7A20E920111103?videoId=224209479