Weekly News Wrap Up 8.23.13
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
I am mainly focusing on two areas today–the Middle East and the coming financial calamity. Let’s start with Syria. There have been new reports about another poison gas attack, and this one is particularly gruesome. The number of reported deaths could be as high as 1,300. The al-Qaeda backed Syrian rebels say it was the Assad regime. So does the U.S. The Russians say it was a false flag attack perpetrated by the rebels. The UN has called an emergency meeting and is promising a “thorough investigation.”
Meanwhile, remember those U.S. troops and the 1st armored division I have been telling you about in northern Jordan in the Southern Syrian border? There are also Patriot missile batteries and F-16’s stations there. A French newspaper is reporting, “Jordanian, Israeli and American commandos moving towards Damascus since mid-August.” Don’t think these forces will not be meeting Russian and Iranian forces on the battlefield. This has awful implications for a wider war in the region at the very least.
In Egypt, the civil war there is just getting started. It is between the Egyptian army and the Muslim Brotherhood. Hundreds have been killed, and many more have been injured in violent clashes. There is no end in sight to the bloodshed. It’s all because the Army removed President Morsi from power. The Suez Canal runs right through Egypt. Eight percent of the world’s oil flows through there by tanker. If civil war shuts down, the canal oil prices will spike.
Lebanon is already a boiling caldron, and Saudi Arabia could easily be destabilized. Recently, a Saudi prince defected to Russia because the ruling family is cracking down on anti-regime activists. Political prisoners in Saudi Arabia now total more than 40,000, and the defecting prince fears the Royal Family will be overthrown. What do you think would happen to the petro dollar if the Royal Family was kicked out of Saudi Arabia? How long do you think the U.S dollar would survive as the world’s reserve currency?
In the financial world, NASDAQ mysteriously shut down for three hours just yesterday. CNBC went crazy. It seemed every guest was on saying things like, “don’t worry, everything is ok. There are no real losses. Things like this just happen.” I say things like this do not “just happen.” Let me explain. Did you know in the last week or so, Google, The New York Times, Microsoft’s Outlook.com and Amazon.com all went down for anywhere from ~5 minutes to a couple of hours each (Outlook.com for days)? My consultant tipped me off to this. My consultant, who has more than two decades in the internet search business, told me that all of these companies have redundant systems. They are very strong and might be occasionally down for short periods of time, but the odds of all of them going down sequentially in the past several days is astronomical. Again, “things” like this do NOT just happen. Even Maria Bartiromo blurted out a question to one guest asking if this was “some sort of test.” She quickly changed the subject.
Finally, Moody’s is doing a review on the debt of the six biggest banks in the nation. Bank of America, Goldman, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citi are in the ratings agency’s crosshairs. Why? According to Moody’s, in the next financial crisis, the government is probably not going to be bailing out the big banks. You think that is a coincidence that they are taking a close look at this now? There is little scrutiny or jail time for bankers, but there are new revelations about NSA spying on innocent Americans. That seems to be job one for the government. Join Greg Hunter as he gives his analysis in the Weekly News Wrap-Up.
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About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
A great wrap up for my birthday! What would they be “testing?” I understand they are all HUGE corps with redundancy checks and systems in place but I cant understand what an online store, a search engine and the NASDAQ have in common to test with/for.
Happy Birthday Brody!! Maybe different parts of the online economy? I don’t know.
Greg
Greg, If you want to know more about the Middle East you should read more Iranian websites like Presstv.ir or Farsnews.
greg
A lot of top financial people ie. Fed, sec, and more met in an emergency meeting at white house hmmmn.
Have u read jim willies 2 new hat trick letters?
Might want him back on wed. To follow jim rogers on Monday.
Finger on the pulse @ usa watchdog
Thanks. Al ols
Thanks Allen for your support.
Greg
Greg, the NASDAQ was a test in my mind. How long will the other indexes wait in the dark before they start to fall and or some type of a panic sell off starts to set in was what was tested, among many possible others. Frankly, it was a very clever test. Waited for the Index to be on the up side over 30 points before it was halted. Clearly, CNBC didn’t understand what was going on, they just sit there like monkeys without bananas, eyes going back & forth in anxious formats and all talking about nothing. Halting the markets will have to be done first or simultaneously before a national emergency is declared. I see this as a Government which is preparing for all contingencies and just might know we are about to be tested in many areas such as a wider war in the middle east as you discussed today or a FED that is going to start tapering in earnest especially with the debt ceiling upon us again. Who knows what black swan is out there that the Government is worried about, we can only speculate, but it wasn’t just a fluke you can bet on that.
Thank You Art and Andy for weighing in here.
Greg
I do not think it was a test, i have no proof but time will tell, It is a kind of theft from investors, later on, the amount of losses during those 3 hours cut off will be revealed and this is one of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xudh95RXMn8
the money went from losers to Banksters.
This stresses the point of Mr. Sinclair GOTS (Get Out of The System)
More of this to come, there is ton of money sitting and just waiting to be looted by the banksters before the melt down.
A very important event that most did not get was the MF Global which was a BREAK IN THE MARKET MECHANISM, and if you do not exit now your money is going to end up in the banksters kid’s new Ferrari.
Thankyou Greg your insights and opinions are most apreciated and your spot on my friend, thanx for keeping it real… tc
Greg thanks for another great week of reporting. It is refreshing to have access to the “real news” for a change. I happen to come from the camp that professes that the financial collapse that is coming is preplanned, and will not be triggered by some type of event (foreign or otherwise).
The NWO that is firmly in control of our Banking System is simply waiting until they have all of their props in place before they pull the plug. I totally believe their objective is two fold.
1. To get rid of all the toxic debt that has piled up under the old Banking System with a reset.
2. To set up a new uniform Banking System world wide.
Make no mistake, they are setting the stage for this event. The NASDAQ shut down the other day was a test.
Greg I’m looking forward to your interview Monday with Jim Rodgers.
I hope you ask him about some of the things I mentioned. I find it odd that so many of the Big Money people I know, have already moved their money offshore.
Jerry,
Whether planned or not a financial calamity bigger than the last one is coming. Rogers is counting on it too he just doesn’t know when but I smell smoke!
Great news coverage. Whats your opinion on the fires out west? Here in Colorado Springs two major fires costing nearly 1 billion dollars in damages. Some opin ember bombs from al queda. They were all arson started but no evidence to point who did it. Now with the flash floods, millions more in damages, plus several people drowned. Interesting that all these fires but no arrests nothing. Hmmm.
Rich,
It underscores the sever drought problems the Western U.S. is having. It is not getting much coverage but it is a huge problem because about 40% of the continental U.S. is affected. There are enormous agricultural and livestock producers that may be put out of business because of this drought. At the very least, it will drive food prices higher!! Peace bro.
Greg
Greg, you are true beacon of light in a world that grows darker by the day. Hopefully your site will not suffer a “technical glitch” as we near the “end-game”.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/larry-summers-and-the-secret-end-game-memo
Too bad so many live in ignorance of the corruption that surrounds them. Of course paying them off with entitlements and other goodies keeps them dependent and subservient. A complicit media that is so idealistic that it cannot recognize or acknowledge reality does not help either.
These a-hole banksters and their government cronies realized along time ago that if they give the “sheeple” a treat (a.k.a. free stuff) they can slowly drive them into economic slavery.
Mike,
I was taken down several months ago and it cost me dearly and still does. Thank you for your support.
Greg
Thanks again, I say this to you everyday, but don’t want to e-mail you everyday, just know that you very much appreciated and shared with my friends.
Cathy
Cathy Downes,
Thank you for the kind words of support. I hope your friends are listening. Please watch the Jim Rogers interview on Monday. One of the last things he said was “It’s coming, be worried and be careful.”
Greg
Greg,
A few million gallons of radioactive water diluted into a billion cubic miles of sea water doesnt seem to be of a concern to me…I am on the east coast. In fact, a little radiation may help the California gene pool!
Remember when we were exploding the dirties mega nukes on Bimini? Not saying that there is no impact on Japan. I’ll look at the map you provided but I see so much Junk science in the MSM and the blogasphere. We are having multiple whooping cough outbreaks in NC because of junk science on vaccinations. No link to vacinations and autism but there is a link to older fathers and autism. But then it can NEVER be problem with the parents!!! It must be something else.
Obamacare news flash…I went to a large medical practice for a visit yesterday. They had a sign up that as of Sept 1, they will no longer accept Medicare as payment.
droidX-G
I think the radiation could be far worse than what is being portrayed. Thank you for adding the real world reporting about Obama Care.
Greg
Jee, the NASDAQ shut down wouldn’t have anything to do with the closed door meeting Obama had with the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the CFTC, the SEC, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would it? I’ve heard that there is no such thing as coincidence. Crazy times we live in. Thank you Greg for continuing your fight in and for information so that we can try to understand what is happening around us.
Michael,
Thanks for adding this point to the Wrap-Up. There are no coincidences when it comes to this economy.
Greg
Greg, we will be talking a lot about the very subjects you laid out today!
# 1 should be Fukushima and this word & what it means to every living thing on this planet! BIOACCUMULATION, HOW RADIATION BUILDS UP IN ALL ORGANISMS!
# 2 might be wars or WW3.
# 3 might be Bail Ins, inflation, deflation & stagflation! What is the easy pickings for the government? Savings, insurance policies, 401K’s, any form of savings the government can get their hands on.
Looking forward to Monday!
Links on what is not being told about & at Fukushima, the Pacific, food & cover ups! http://plumegate.wordpress.com/ folks may want to download the FOIA pages on this site!
http://enenews.com/ a site about energy of all kinds!
http://www.fukushimafacts.com/ This site has info & links with many experts in the nuclear & medical fields with radiation readings map done by volunteers across the USA. A radio show & much more from around the world!
Have a great week end!
Thank you for the comment and the links Mickey!
Greg
Greg,
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the bizarre incident that occurred last week. Goldman Sachs made hundreds of millions in losing “automated, erroneous” trades on Tuesday only to have them undone before the week was out. …..WTF????…If I could call my broker and undo bad trades the next day I would be richer than Goldman Sachs!
Mal,
Can’t cover it all, but you added it with your comment. Thank you for that!!
Greg
Thank you, Greg, for the great reporting this week.
I don’t watch MSM and was unaware of Amazon, NYTimes, Google and others going offline. Let me show my ignorance: who would be “testing” and for what reason? I had concerns about a killshot from the sun shutting down the Internet/electric grid, but I have never given thought to the government and “whoever” purposely pulling a switch. What would be the purpose? To hide something or to cause something?
It was all concerning news this week.
Great work on your part pulling it all together.
Rebecca,
You are NOT ignorant. Heck, I don’t know either what is going on, but all these behemoth sites going down sequentially is no coincidence. May be they want to test to see what happens to various parts of the economy? I don’t know but it didn’t “just happen.” Thank you for weighing in here!!
Greg
Another Spot On report Greg!!!
But I wonder just how independent & comprehensive that UN vetting
of the gas attack will be:
“he who pays the piper (the most),
Calls the tune”
David,
If the French newspaper I quoted is correct, the UN investigation is a mute point. Thanks for the comment.
Greg
Greg,
It is suggested that Chernobyl cost Russia the Arms Race; they couldn’t go on spending for military once the disaster struck: it derailed them. Fukashima, in perspective has THREE total meltdowns: and EACH nuclear pile is TWICE the size of the Chernobyl reactor. Plus, the spent fuel pools are a real danger, especially reactor #4 – which if they don’t remove the fuel, with no errors, it could transform into an “open-air” self-sustaining critical nuclear pile. That could preclude any humans ever entering the area ever again. And owing to the fact that the ground is getting mushy from all the water pumping – well, you know. But as you mention – the dispersement of radioactivity into the ocean is dangerous because of “BIOMAGNIFICATION” or “BIOCONCENTRATION” up the food-chain. This sort of ‘damage’ can never be recovered or undone.
As to “Arab Spring” – I find it ironic that Obama was all for it – and it is a DISASTER of impossible proportions. We are even on the wrong side. I know I come-off as a real hard-case; and post some really tough stuff: but truth be known: I wish to be wrong.
And I know lots of people lavish roses on you, as I have done also in the past: but you have made this site rise to a position of comparison with JSMineset, ZeroHedge; KingWorldNews; and the like. Valuation is always by perspective – and many will say you’ve done good work; others great work. I must side with the latter. When you thank us, I always feel that twice the thanks should be returned. Keep up the good, er, great work.
Charles H,
Thank you very much for adding this perspective and analysis to the Weekly News Wrap-Up! Also thank you for your support and very kind words!!
Greg
Hi Greg,
Syria is a line drawn in the sand by the east that i have no doubt in my mind that the west will cross. When that happens the possibilities are wide open and may be the near clash between west and east (not by proxy this time, rather with real boots on the ground ) can explain testing the system for all scenarios.
As an American citizen from Syrian origin following what was going in mother land, i was scratching my head each time the rebels were hitting an easy target of military air defense base, then after having most of the country’s eyes in the sky blinded it occurred to me that an invasion is coming no doubt.
mohammad,
Yes sir it is an all out fight. Both sides know it but nobody is talking about it. Iran knows once Syria falls they are next, so the line has been drawn.
Greg
Mohammad,
Our President won the Nobel Peace Prize. He is too busy destroying the Constitution and illegally eavesdropping and/or killing citizens by drone with due process to invade Syria.
Besides, the rebels are mostly Al-Qaeda, which we are droning; surely we would not support these evil bastards.
For those that are oblivious…sarcasm alert. I leave it up to you to what I am sarcastic about 😉
Peace be unto you and yours and God willing, on me and mine
George,
[quote]”Besides, the rebels are mostly Al-Qaeda, which we are droning; surely we would not support these evil bastards.”[/quote]
You are absolutely right, the rebels are mostly Al-Qaeda that McCain MET WITH IN ALEPPO….right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfsTcJCKDE&feature=youtu.be
Remember Gen Wesley Clark when after few days (10 days to be exact) after 9/11 when he was notified by the plan that we are seeing unfolding in front of our eyes now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8YtF76s-yM
What is happening now is planned way before. so yes an invasion is underway not because of humanitarian reasons rather it is THE PLAN that was put into motion BEFORE 9/11 let me stress on this again please …BEFORE 9/11.
Obama is a president who is not rushing to wars, am not defending him but all his actions were to refrain from wars and not getting US tangled in a bigger mess than what we already have. you can see that military complex is pushing him into accepting a war, may be it is the reason why Netanyahu has a very cold relation with him. Obama does not want to push American soldiers into Israeli’s wars, if the Israelis want to have wars let their moms worry about their kids fighting instead of us worrying about our kids fighting wars that are not ours. Iraq was not our war …. how many kids and fine men and women we lost for the sake of Israeli’s? when we will wake up to the fact that Israel is using us to only build its dream kingdom on the ruins of our country. I guess Obama knows this fact that is why he does not like Netanyahu, that is why he does not want US to be dragged into another war that will cripple us down, but my fear that the military complex and the Israeli’s influence is bigger than what Obama thinks and they will eventually drag our feet into this mess.
I could be wrong, but this is what i sense and am just thinking out loud!
Please note that i differentiate in my mind between Judaism that i believe in and Zionism that is destroying the world.
Peace sir!
Greg,
The NASDAQ “glitch” might have something to do with the SEC’s Regulation SCI…which states “would require self-regulatory organizations such as exchanges, clearing firms and SIPs to adopt policies to prevent failures, stress test their systems to ensure trading continues through a disruption, and report glitches to regulators. The rule also would cover exchange competitors known as alternative trading systems, or dark pools”. I assume that Google/Amazon/NYT would be considered “market” participants for the purposes of stress testing. The Chairman of the SEC has the agenda for ensuring integrity of the markets.
What caused the disruptions may or may not have been directly linked to the Regulation. As you suggest the likelihood of them occuring in quick succession is more than coincidence and we can infer instructions from higher places and importantly that “stress testing” shows inadequacy of the participants.
We know about why its paramount to “stress test” ….but the timing of the testing and the Regulation is intriguing indeed. Forced shutdown or otherwise …we may conclude that systems in the future may be closed under instruction or under duress… OR BOTH !!
Here’s a link to the Bloomberg interview with Bob Greifeld CEO NASDAQ
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2013-08-23/nasdaq-shut-to-stop-information-asymmetry-ceo
Keep up the excellent posts and I really look forward to seeing Jim Rogers on Monday.
Thank you Liquid Motion. I am looking forward to Mr. Rogers too!
Greg
Wow, who pays for all the ‘Wars’ invasions and covert ops that othertrow govt’s (US has overthrown, what, 50 -60 countries so far?)
All the bombings cost money and the country is really Broke…!
The media keeps a lid on all the lies.
Kill MSM and live, or die by stealth brainwashing…up to you….
Great wrap up Greg. There is a lot of contradictions concerning Syria, and Egypt. As I understand it the Muslim brotherhood is a branch of Al-Qaida. They attacked our embassy, and killed our people. Yet we give them guns and support? Syria is not our friend. Why are we even there ? I would like to see the time line of events along with the lies told over the last year…I don’t have the time, or resources to do it.
Greg. I don’t know much about Ben Swann. Here is a link he produced on Syria. You may want to do a interview with him.
http://benswann.com/u-s-trained-fighters-now-crossing-from-jordan-into-syria/
Thank you J.C.!!
Greg
Greg I had to post one more comment, after reading questions about the shutdown on NASDAQ. Shutdowns occur for two reasons mainly.
1. To install a new system. Much like you do with a computer. You have to shut it down to install it. My question is what are they installing?
2. To test a particular system. My question is what are they testing for?
I think its important for us to realize we live in an information age. When you take down the communication grid ( internet, T.V. or Satellite) you virtually have total control of the system. Usually the first military priority for any attack is to take down the communication system. Greg your readers can develop their own conclusions from this statement. I have my own. Thank you for being a true American and having the courage to sponsor this site.
How about this Jerry: Seeing that China has far passed America in the tech industry. China has a submarine that is visually invisible. Shocking our navy war practices.
Maybe it is a test to see what satellite’s to take out first.
http://youtu.be/8GofjDDWX_M
Blame it on gamma rays, and the sheople go right back to sleep. China can send 1/4 of there people to the USA in secret. Just have to shut down the right power first.
Greg. My greatest fear is not a economic collapse. It is a war with Russia, and mostly China. America would lose by far. There is power in unified numbers, and they have both.
We are a country greatly divided. Week. Thanks for allowing me to post on your site.
JC
The whole thing scares me brother!
Greg
GREG: For your upcoming JIM ROGERS INTERVIEW, if you get a chance, please ask Jim about his views on supply of gold in the world today as an update to his comments in his book. In his book HOT COMMODITIES, published in 2004, page 163: “…there is plenty of gold in the world” and last paragraph on page 163: “…mining companies are hardly about to run out of gold anytime soon…” THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Another good report but there are lots of contradictions going on in America. At one point you have Russian troops stationed in USA to supposedly round up the guns, yet over in Syria you are going to fight Russian troops and Obama is not talking to Putin. So maybe someone could explain the contradiction here ? Maybe this Putin and Obama thing is a coverup for the camera’s and press while all the time working together and both leaders not really caring who gets killed as it is all part of the great depopulation plan ? So this is something that needs clarifying .
Greg thanks for being brave enough to tell the truth even though you are located in the USA…..Can you verify that the Saudi Prince you mentioned did indeed defect to Russia? I see he defected as you stated, but cannot find to which country he defected to. The consequence of yet another US puppet, Saudi Arabia, falling is unlike all the other puppet governments collapsing. As you say, it has serious implications for the US dollar hegemony. Thanks again for your great reporting.
Mike,
I think it was Germany and not Russia but he did defect. He says he did it because he fears the Royal Family could fall.
Greg
The Internet is the only place where real journalism is available anymore. The govt knows this. The days of truth may be numbered.
globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/08/outlook-for-jobs-and-confidence-in.html
Recent service disruptions with google etc. These could be a trial cyberattack for a coming attack that could be blamed on Syria or Iran. This could be used to take down the financial house eradicating records and keeping the real thieves from ever being scrutinized and provide the stimulus to goad the public toward the necessity for war.two birds with one stone 🙂
This was also at the sgtreport and I will repeat my comment here also:
You had me until you started yapping about snowden. our corrupt gov needs to be exposed for the criminals that they are and showing how much we waste on these programs is not giving up any treasonous information.
Sorry Greg you lost my respect with this one.
Greg I really like your reporting and I have been following you for years now, I look forward to your interviews and I believe that you “get it” Without Snowden’s releases (which the news organizations were to decide what would be released and what shouldn’t be released) most of the public would never have believed that our gov could spy on all of us, our allies ect. when you see all the info/phone calls/emails they have and the blackmail that they now can do to any of us for any reason they want to, our future seems to be pretty clear. Any one of us can have our live ruined by something we said or wrote in the past (how long in the past they can go is the only question) We are now at their mercy and history will show you what chance anyone has in a police state and he showed us that we are in a police state already….we just didn’t know it before Snowden’s revelations. Everything needs to be exposed (except agents names and ways to indentify them) or we are looking at game over for our Republic. Please rethink your last statement about Snowden and look at it from a angle where we are living in East Germany and not in Kansas anymore.