Phase III – Stealth Is.

“The idea of secret banking cabals that control the country and global economy are a given among conspiracy theorists who stockpile ammo, bottled water and peanut butter. After this week’s congressional hearing into the bailout of American International Group Inc., you have to wonder if those folks are crazy after all.

Wednesday’s hearing described a secretive group deploying billions of dollars to favored banks, operating with little oversight by the public or elected officials.

We’re talking about the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, whose role as the most influential part of the federal-reserve system — apart from the matter of AIG’s bailout — deserves further congressional scrutiny.

The New York Fed is in the hot seat for its decision in November 2008 to buy out, for about $30 billion, insurance contracts AIG sold on toxic debt securities to banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank AG, among others. That decision, critics say, amounted to a back-door bailout for the banks, which received 100 cents on the dollar for contracts that would have been worth far less had AIG been allowed to fail.”

From Bloomberg via Disinfo

Related External Links

• Generated by LinkCurl

Bookmark:

The man who filmed police attacking Ian Tomlinson said today that he was pleased the footage had prompted a full investigation into his death.

The man, an investment fund manager from New York, used his digital camera to film the moment Tomlinson was shoved to the ground from behind by an officer. He said he attended the protests near the Bank of England out of curiosity and saw occasional eruptions of violence.

“There was at least one man I saw who was bleeding from the head from such an encounter,” he said.

“Around 7.20pm or so, the riot police began kettling the crowd away from the Bank [tube] station and the crowd began to panic as the police lines closed in. Then the dogs were brought in. I spotted Mr Tomlinson wandering around Royal Exchange very close to the police line with the dogs, hands in his pockets. He appeared to be only an observer.

“It was then, when Mr Tomlinson’s back was turned to the police line, that a masked riot officer forcibly threw Mr Tomlinson to the ground from behind. With his hands in his pockets, his ability to break his fall was limited. Although he did get his hands out in time, I believe he hit the top of his head on the pavement. This is all captured on the video.”

He only realised the significance of his footage later. “On my way back to Heathrow, I was reviewing the footage I had shot and had a disquieting feeling that the man I had filmed being thrown to the ground was indeed the same man who died that day.

“Over the weekend I confirmed through pictures released by the UK media that it was Ian Tomlinson.”

He decided to release the footage after realising that, despite allegations of assaults by officers, no concrete evidence had emerged of police attacking Tomlinson. “It was then that I decided to bring the video public, for the sake of the Tomlinson family, and getting to the truth of what happened to him.”

That decision, he said, had been correct. “Now that the video has been made public, I am comforted to see that action is being taken and an investigation is under way. My deepest regret goes out to the Tomlinson family for their loss.”

Bookmark:

A protester throws a computer terminal taken from the Royal Bank of Scotland offices at the smashed windows of its branch near the Bank of England

“Many City workers have dressed in casual clothes after banks and other institutions were warned they may be targeted.” – Setting up an “Us Vs. Them” mentality to isolate the working class and keep them in fear while idolizing their protectors – the police?

Whether that was the intent or not it seemed to work:
“Fearing they would be targeted by protesters, some bankers swapped their pinstripe suits for casual wear and others stayed home. Bolder financial workers leaned out their office windows Wednesday, taunting demonstrators and waving 10 pound notes at them.”

On a Similar note:
“Five people are being held under the Terrorism Act.“ from the arrest made prior to the protest and linked to it. – More fear mongering by the press in their hyping this story? It’s somewhat reminiscent of the treatment received by the RNC protest organizers here stateside.

“Royal Bank of Scotland is at the center of protesters’ anger because it had to be bailed out by the British government after a series of disastrous deals brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. The bank is now majority-owned by the British taxpayer.
Despite that, its former chief executive Fred Goodwin — aged just 50 — managed to walk off with a tidy $1 million annual pension for life, while unemployment in Britain now tops 2 million and is heading towards 3 million by the end of this year. Goodwin has been vilified by the British press.”

“Police have turned their attention to the masterminds of yesterday’s violent G20 protests. At 12.20 today officers raided two squats in east London that they say where headquarters for several groups involved in organizing. Officers are pouring over CCTV footage and shots by Met photographers as well as monitoring internet chatter to identify known troublemakers that were at yesterdays demonstrations.” – Technology is awesome for catching yr political dissidents.

“Demonstrators hoisted effigies of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse,” representing war, climate chaos, financial crimes and homelessness.”

Various tidbits from Gaza Solidarity:

This man died during the protest, denied attention by the medical police services in the wake of the chaos. His name has not been released.

Protesters are let out of the pens one by one, but only after they’ve been photographed by police Forward Intelligence Teams.

Police are using anti-terror laws to force people to delete pictures from their cameras.
Police have arrested six demonstrators they describe as being in an ‘armoured vehicle’.

fuckthepolice

Some Condescending-ass reporters:

“Globalization is, in ways, helping out even those who are against Globalization.”
“I don’t know what they were mad about.”

The bottomline price tag on the G20 summit:
a total of $1.1 trillion
Number of Arrest? Alot of different numbers handed out by the media and alot of references to people being “driven away”
G20 will be meeting in NY in the fall and will hopefully be greeted with greater levels of chaos as people see the ineffectual nature of this current consolidation of financial power.

Bookmark:

I’ve never encountered an artist whose work paralelled mine in both utilization of circuit bentding (for video in this purpose) whilst attempting to evoke Qabbalistic perceptions through art – impressive stuff, examples are listed at the bottom of the article – Taken from Greylodge.org:

Currently based out of Chicago, Raymond Salvatore Harmon is a multimedia artist and filmmaker whose work spans the past century of technological cul de sacs. With a filmography extending from performance based 16mm and 8mm film to video circuit-bending and analog feedback installations as well as sound and visual conceptual installations and guerilla media actions. Born in Jackson, Michigan in 1974 to a middle class background Raymond Salvatore Harmon has lived widely throughout the US (New York – NY, Savannah – GA, Ann Arbor, Louisville – KY, Eugene – OR, among many other locations).

Over the course of the past ten years Harmon has been developing and evolving the theoretical and practical applications of non object orient art. Utilizing new media, web based content and interactive architectures in coordination with public performance, graffiti style ad bombing, and web social engineering propaganda Harmon’s work has carved out an over arching form of new media insurgency.

continue reading…

Bookmark: