The Big Picture

March 29, 2013

Federal government of the United States

Political system of the United States. The government of the United States of America is the federal government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that constitute the United States, as well as one capitol district, and several other territories. The federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive and judicial, which powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, respectively; the powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court. The full name of the republic is "The United States of America". No other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party (e.g., Charles T. Schenck v. United States). The terms "Government of the United States of America" or "United States Government" are often used in official documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term "Federal Government" is often used, and the term "National Government" is sometimes used. The terms "Federal" and "National" in government agency or program names generally indicates affiliation with the federal government (e.g., Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, etc.). Because the seat of government is in Washington, D.C., "Washington" is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government.

History

Diagram of Federal Government and American Union, 1862. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution. The government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the world's first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republic.[1] The United States government is based on the principle of federalism, in which power is shared between the federal government and state governments. The details of American federalism, including what powers the federal government should have and how those powers can be exercised, have been debated ever since the adoption of the Constitution. Some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. Since the U.S. Civil War, the powers of the federal government have generally expanded greatly, although there have been periods since that time of legislative branch dominance (e.g., the decades immediately following the Civil War) or when states' rights proponents have succeeded in limiting federal power through legislative action, executive prerogative or by constitutional interpretation by the courts.[2][3] One of the theoretical pillars of the United States Constitution is the idea of "checks and balances" among the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of American government: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. For example, while the legislative (Congress) has the power to create law, the executive (President) can veto any legislation an act which, in turn, can be overridden by Congress.[4] The President nominates judges to the nation's highest judiciary authority (Supreme Court), but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as "unconstitutional" any law passed by the Congress. These and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. Legislative branch Main article: United States Congress

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. Powers of Congress The Constitution grants numerous powers to Congress. Enumerated in Article I, Section 8, these include the powers to levy and collect taxes; to coin money and regulate its value; provide for punishment for counterfeiting; establish post offices and roads, promote progress of science by issuing patents, create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, combat piracies and felonies, declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, make rules for the regulation of land and naval forces, provide for, arm and discipline the militia, exercise exclusive legislation in the District of Columbia, and to make laws necessary to properly execute powers. Over the two centuries since the United States was formed, many disputes have arisen over the limits on the powers of the federal government. These disputes have often been the subject of lawsuits that have ultimately been decided by the United States Supreme Court. Makeup of Congress House of Representatives The House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of representatives each state has in the House is based on each state's population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term. Each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. In order to be elected as a representative, an individual must be at least 25 years of age, and must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve. In addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. There is one delegate each from the District of Columbia, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the resident commissioner from Puerto Rico.[5] Senate

In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population. There are currently 100 senators (two from each of the 50 states), who each serve six-year terms. Approximately one third of the Senate stands for election every two years. Different powers The House and Senate each have particular exclusive powers. For example, the Senate must approve (give "advice and consent" to) many important Presidential appointments, including cabinet officers, federal judges (including nominees to the Supreme Court), department secretaries (heads of federal executive branch departments), U.S. military and naval officers, and ambassadors to foreign countries. All legislative bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives. The approval of both chambers is required to pass any legislation, which then may only become law by being signed by the President (or, if the President vetoes the bill, both houses of Congress then repass the bill, but by a two-thirds majority of each chamber, in which case the bill becomes law without the President's signature). The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the "Necessary and Proper Clause", which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers." Members of the House and Senate are elected by first-past-the-post voting in every state except Louisiana, California and Washington, which have runoffs. Impeachment of federal officers Congress has the power to remove the President, federal judges, and other federal officers from office. The House of Representatives and Senate have separate roles in this process. The House must first vote to "impeach" the official. Then, a trial is held in the Senate to decide whether the official should be removed from office. Although two presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton), neither of them was removed following trial in the Senate. Congressional procedures Article I, Section 2, paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives each chamber the power to "determine the rules of its proceedings." From this provision were created congressional committees, which do the work of drafting legislation and conducting congressional investigations into national matters. The 108th Congress (20032005) had 19 standing committees in the House and 17 in the Senate, plus four joint permanent committees with members from both houses overseeing the Library of Congress, printing, taxation and the economy. In addition, each house may name special, or select, committees to study specific problems. Today, much of the congressional workload is borne by subcommittees, of which there are some 150. Powers of Congress Main article: Article One of the United States Constitution

The United States Capitol is the seat of government for Congress. Congressional oversight Main article: Congressional oversight Congressional oversight is intended to prevent waste and fraud, protect civil liberties and individual rights, ensure executive compliance with the law, gather information for making laws and educating the public, and evaluate executive performance.[6] It applies to cabinet departments, executive agencies, regulatory commissions and the presidency. Congress's oversight function takes many forms: Committee inquiries and hearings Formal consultations with and reports from the President Senate advice and consent for presidential nominations and for treaties House impeachment proceedings and subsequent Senate trials House and Senate proceedings under the 25th Amendment in the event that the President becomes disabled or the office of the Vice President falls vacant. Informal meetings between legislators and executive officials Congressional membership: each state is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D.C.) in the House of Representatives. Each state is allocated two Senators regardless of its population. As of January 2010, the District of Columbia elects a non-voting representative to the House of Representatives along with American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Executive branch See also: Article Two of the United States Constitution The executive power in the federal government is vested in the President of the United States,[7] although power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials.[8][9] The President and Vice President are elected as running mates by the Electoral College, for which each state, as

well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D.C.) in both houses of Congress.[7][10] The President is limited to a maximum of two four-year terms.[11] If the President has already served two years or more of a term to which some other person was elected, he may only serve one more additional fouryear term.[7] President Main article: President of the United States

The executive branch consists of the President and those to whom the President's powers are delegated. The President is both the head of state and government, as well as the military commander-in-chief and chief diplomat. The President, according to the Constitution, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed", and "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution". The President presides over the executive branch of the federal government, an organization numbering about 5 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel and 600,000 postal service employees. The forty-fourth and current president is Barack Obama. The President may sign legislation passed by Congress into law or may veto it, preventing it from becoming law unless two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to override the veto. The President may unilaterally sign treaties with foreign nations. However, ratification of international treaties requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. The President may be impeached by a majority in the House and removed from office by a two-thirds majority in the Senate for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". The President may not dissolve Congress or call special elections but does have the power to pardon, or release, criminals convicted of offenses against the federal government (except in cases of impeachment), enact executive orders, and (with the consent of the Senate) appoint Supreme Court justices and federal judges. Vice President Main article: Vice President of the United States

The Vice President is the second-highest executive official in rank of the government. As first in the U.S. presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes President upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President, which has happened nine times in U.S. history. Under the Constitution, the Vice President is President of the Senate. By virtue of this role, he or she is the head of the Senate. In that capacity, the Vice President is allowed to vote in the Senate, but only when necessary to break a tie vote. Pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment, the Vice President presides over the joint session of Congress when it convenes to count the vote of the Electoral College. While the Vice President's only constitutionally prescribed functions, aside from presidential succession, relate to his or her role as President of the Senate, the office is now commonly viewed as a member of the executive branch of the federal government. The U.S. Constitution does not expressly assign the office to any one branch, causing scholars to dispute whether it belongs to the executive branch, the legislative branch, or both.[12][13] Cabinet, executive departments and agencies Main articles: United States Cabinet and List of United States federal agencies The day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands of the various federal executive departments, created by Congress to deal with specific areas of national and international affairs. The heads of the 15 departments, chosen by the President and approved with the "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate, form a council of advisers generally known as the President's "Cabinet". In addition to departments, a number of staff organizations are grouped into the Executive Office of the President. These include the White House staff, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The employees in these United States government agencies are called federal civil servants. There are also independent agencies such as the United States Postal Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Agency for International Development. In

addition, there are government-owned corporations such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Judicial branch Main article: United States federal courts See also: Article Three of the United States Constitution The Judiciary explains and applies the laws. This branch does this by hearing and eventually making decisions on various legal cases.

Overview of the federal judiciary Article III section I of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court of the United States and authorizes the United States Congress to establish inferior courts as their need shall arise. Section I also establishes a lifetime tenure for all federal judges and states that their compensation may not be diminished during their time in office. Article II section II establishes that all federal judges are to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. The Judiciary Act of 1789 subdivided the nation jurisdictionally into judicial districts and created federal courts for each district. The three tiered structure of this act established the basic structure of the national judiciary: the Supreme Court, 13 courts of appeals, 94 district courts, and two courts of special jurisdiction. Congress retains the power to re-organize or even abolish federal courts lower than the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court adjudicates "cases and controversies" matters pertaining to the federal government, disputes between states, and interpretation of the United States Constitution, and, in general, can declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. The United States Constitution does not grant the judicial branch the power of judicial review (the power to declare a law Unconstitutional). The power of judicial review was asserted by Chief Justice Marshall in the landmark Supreme Court Case Marbury v. Madison (1803). There have been instances in the

past where such declarations have been ignored by the other two branches. Below the U.S. Supreme Court are the United States Courts of Appeals, and below them in turn are the United States District Courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law, and for certain controversies between litigants who are not deemed citizens of the same state ("diversity jurisdiction"). There are three levels of federal courts with general jurisdiction, meaning that these courts handle criminal cases and civil lawsuits between individuals. The other courts, such as the bankruptcy courts and the Tax Court, are specialized courts handling only certain kinds of cases ("subject matter jurisdiction"). The Bankruptcy Courts are "under" the district courts, and as such are not considered part of the "Article III" judiciary and also as such their judges do not have lifetime tenure, nor are they Constitutionally exempt from diminution of their remuneration. Also the Tax Court is not an Article III court (but is, instead an "Article I Court"). The district courts are the trial courts wherein cases that are considered under the Judicial Code (Title 28, United States Code) consistent with the jurisdictional precepts of "federal question jurisdiction" and "diversity jurisdiction" and "pendent jurisdiction" can be filed and decided. The district courts can also hear cases under "removal jurisdiction", wherein a case brought in State court meets the requirements for diversity jurisdiction, and one party litigant chooses to "remove" the case from state court to federal court. The United States Courts of Appeals are appellate courts that hear appeals of cases decided by the district courts, and some direct appeals from administrative agencies, and some interlocutory appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court hears appeals from the decisions of the courts of appeals or state supreme courts, and in addition has original jurisdiction over a small number of cases. The judicial power extends to cases arising under the Constitution, an Act of Congress; a U.S. treaty; cases affecting ambassadors, ministers and consuls of foreign countries in the U.S.; cases and controversies to which the federal government is a party; controversies between states (or their citizens) and foreign nations (or their citizens or subjects); and bankruptcy cases (collectively "federalquestion jurisdiction"). The Eleventh Amendment removed from federal jurisdiction cases in which citizens of one state were the plaintiffs and the government of another state was the defendant. It did not disturb federal jurisdiction in cases in which a state government is a plaintiff and a citizen of another state the defendant. The power of the federal courts extends both to civil actions for damages and other redress, and to criminal cases arising under federal law. The interplay of the Supremacy Clause and Article III has resulted in a complex set of relationships between state and federal courts. Federal courts can sometimes hear cases arising under state law pursuant to diversity jurisdiction, state courts can decide certain matters involving federal law, and a handful of federal claims are primarily reserved by federal statute to the state courts (for example, those arising from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991). Both court systems thus can be said to have exclusive jurisdiction in some areas and concurrent jurisdiction in others. The U.S. Constitution safeguards judicial independence by providing that federal judges shall hold office "during good behavior"; in practice, this usually means they serve until they die, retire, or

resign. A judge who commits an offense while in office may be impeached in the same way as the President or other officials of the federal government. U.S. judges are appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Another Constitutional provision prohibits Congress from reducing the pay of any Article III judge (Congress is able to set a lower salary for all future judges that take office after the reduction, but may not decrease the rate of pay for judges already in office). Relationships between state and federal courts Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the court systems of each state, each dealing with, in addition to federal law when not deemed preempted, a state's own laws, and having its own court rules and procedures. Although state governments and the federal government are legally dual sovereigns, the Supreme Court of the United States is in many cases the appellate court from the State Supreme Courts (e.g., absent the Court countenancing the applicability of the doctrine of adequate and independent State grounds). The Supreme Courts of each state are by this doctrine the final authority on the interpretation of the applicable state's laws and Constitution. Many state constitution provisions are equal in breadth to those of the U.S. Constitution, but are considered "parallel" (thus, where, for example, the right to privacy pursuant to a state constitution is broader than the federal right to privacy, and the asserted ground is explicitly held to be "independent", the question can be finally decided in a State Supreme Court the U.S. Supreme Court will decline to take jurisdiction). A State Supreme Court, other than of its own accord, is bound only by the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of federal law, but is not bound by interpretation of federal law by the federal court of appeals for the federal circuit in which the state is included, or even the federal district courts located in the state, a result of the dual sovereigns concept. Conversely, a federal district court hearing a matter involving only a question of state law (usually through diversity jurisdiction) must apply the substantive law of the state in which the court sits, a result of the application of the Erie Doctrine; however, at the same time, the case is heard under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence instead of state procedural rules (that is, the application of the Erie Doctrine only extends to a requirement that a federal court asserting diversity jurisdiction apply substantive state law, but not procedural state law, which may be different). Together, the laws of the federal and state governments form U.S. law. Elections and voting Main article: Elections in the United States Suffrage, commonly known as the ability to vote, has changed significantly over time. In the early years of the United States, voting was considered a matter for state governments, and was commonly restricted to white men who owned land. Direct elections were mostly held only for the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures, although what specific bodies were elected by the electorate varied from state to state. Under this original system, both senators representing each state in the U.S. Senate were chosen by a majority vote of the state legislature. Since the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, members of both houses of Congress have been directly elected. Today, U.S. citizens have almost universal suffrage from the age of 18, regardless of race, gender, or

wealth. The only significant exception to this is the disenfranchisement of convicted felons, and in some states former felons as well. Under the U.S. Constitution, the national representation of territories and the federal district of Washington, D.C., in Congress is limited: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes, but their only congressional representative is a non-voting delegate. Residents of U.S. territories have varying rights; for example, only some residents of Puerto Rico pay federal income taxes (though all residents must pay all other federal taxes, including import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes and federal payroll taxes, including Social Security and Medicare). All federal laws that are "not locally inapplicable" are automatically the law of the land in Puerto Rico but their current representation in the U.S. Congress is in the form of a Resident Commissioner, a nonvoting delegate.[14] State, tribal and local governments Main articles: State governments of the United States, Tribal sovereignty in the United States, and Local government in the United States

The states of the United States as divided into counties (or, in Louisiana and Alaska, parishes and boroughs, respectively). Alaska and Hawaii are not to scale and the Aleutian and uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been omitted. The state governments tend to have the greatest influence over most Americans' daily lives. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from exercising any power not delegated to it by the States in the Constitution; as a result, states handle the majority of issues most relevant to individuals within their jurisdiction. Because state governments lack the power to print currency, they must raise revenue through either taxes or bonds. As a result, state governments tend to impose severe budget cuts at any time the economy is faltering, which are strongly felt by the public for which they are responsible.[15] Each state has its own written constitution, government and code of laws. The Constitution stipulates only that each state must have, "a Republican Government." Thus, there are often great differences in law and procedure between individual states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected state legislature (bicameralism is a feature of every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the voters of the state. Each state maintains its own state court system. In some states,

supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. As a result of the Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia, Indian tribes are considered "domestic dependent nations" that operate as sovereign governments subject to federal authority but, generally and where possible, outside of the influence of state governments. Hundreds of laws, executive orders and court cases have modified the governmental status of tribes vis--vis individual states, but the two have continued to be recognized as separate bodies. Tribal capacity to operate robust governments varies, from a simple council used to manage all aspects of tribal affairs, to large and complex bureaucracies with several branches of government. Tribes are empowered to form their own governments, with power resting in elected tribal councils, elected tribal chairpersons, or religiously appointed leaders (as is the case with pueblos). Tribal citizenship (and voting rights) is generally restricted to individuals of native descent, but tribes are free to set whatever membership requirements they wish. The institutions that are responsible for local government within states are typically town, city, or county boards, water management districts, fire management districts, library districts and other similar governmental units which make laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol and the keeping of animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In New England, towns operate in a direct democratic fashion, and in some states, such as Rhode Island and Connecticut, counties have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies.

Executive Orders

Leland-Boker Authorized Edition of the Emancipation Proclamation, printed in June 1864 with a presidential signature United States Presidents issue executive orders to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations within the federal government itself. Executive orders have the full force of law, [1] since issuances are typically made in pursuance of certain Acts of Congress, some of which specifically delegate to the President some degree of discretionary power (delegated legislation), or are believed to take authority from a power granted directly to the Executive by the Constitution. However, these perceived justifications cited by Presidents when authoring Executive Orders have come under criticism for exceeding executive authority; at various times throughout U.S. history, challenges to the legal validity or justification for an order have resulted in legal proceedings. In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, or orders in council.

Campaign Contribution in 2012 election

http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/politicial_spending/2012_elections.html

Electoral college

Presidential Election Votes by State, 2012 An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way. Many times, though, the electors are simply important people whose wisdom would ideally provide a better choice than a larger body. The system can ignore the wishes of a general membership. Origins of electoral colleges Early Germanic law stated that the German king led only with the support of his nobles. Thus, Pelayo needed to be elected by his Visigothic nobles before becoming king of Asturias, and so did Pepin the Short by Frankish nobles in order to become the first Carolingian king. While most other Germanic nations had developed a strictly hereditary system by the end of the first millennium, the Holy Roman Empire did not, and the King of the Romans, who would become Holy Roman Emperor or at least Emperor-elect, was selected by the college of prince-electors from the late Middle Ages until 1806 (the last election actually took place in 1792). Church, both the clergy and laity, elected the bishop or presiding presbyter. However, for various reasons, such as, perhaps, a desire to reduce the influence of the state or the laity in ecclesiastical matters, electoral power became restricted to the clergy and, in the case of the Church in the West, exclusively to a college of the canons of the cathedral church. In the Pope's case, the system of people and clergy was eventually replaced by a college of the important clergy of Rome, which eventually became known as the College of Cardinals. Since 1059, it has had exclusive authority over papal selection.

In the 19th century and beyond, it was usual in many countries that voters did not directly vote the members of parliament. In Prussia for example, in 18491918 the voters were Urwhler (original voters), appointing with their vote a Wahlmann (elector). The group of electors in a district elected the deputy for the Prussian House of Representatives. Such indirect suffrage was a means to steer the voting, to make sure that the electors were "able" persons. For electors, the requirements were usually higher than for the original voters. The left wing opposition was very much opposed against the indirect suffrage, though. Even today in the Netherlands, the deputies of the First Chamber are elected by the provincial parliaments. Those provincial parliaments form the electoral colleges for the First Chamber elections; the lists of candidates are national. Modern electoral colleges

The breakdown of votes in the U.S. Electoral College after redistricting based on the 2010 census. Countries with complex regional electorates may elect a head of state by means of an electoral college rather than a direct popular election. The United States is the only current example of an indirectly elected executive president, with an electoral college comprising electors representing the 50 states and the federal district. Each state has a number of electors equal to its Congressional representation (in both houses), with the non-state District of Columbia receiving three electors and other non-state territories having no electors. The electors generally cast their votes for the winner of the popular vote in their respective states. However, there are several states where this is not required by law. In the United States, 270 electoral votes are required to win the presidential election.

Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

Established Country Location

1789 United States Washington, D.C. 385326N 770016W / 38.89056N Coordinates 77.00444WCoordinates: 385326N 770016W / 38.89056N 77.00444W Composition Presidential nomination with method Senate confirmation Authorized U.S. Constitution by Judge term Life tenure length Number of 9, by statute positions Website supremecourt.gov Chief Justice of the United States Currently John Roberts Since September 29, 2005 The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate (and largely discretionary) appellate jurisdiction over all federal courts and over state court cases involving issues of federal law, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases.[1] The Court, which meets in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate. Once appointed, justices have life tenure unless they resign, retire, or are removed after impeachment.[2][3]

United States Marshals Service

United States Marshals Service Common name Marshals Service, U.S. Marshals Abbreviation USMS

Official seal of the U.S. Marshals Service

United States Marshal's star badge Agency overview Formed September 24, 1789 Governmental: Government Legal personality agency Jurisdictional structure Federal agency United States Constituting United States Code, Title 28, instrument Chapter 37[1] Federal law enforcement General nature Civilian agency Operational structure Headquarters Sworn members Agency executives Arlington, Virginia 94 U.S. Marshals, 3,953 Deputy U.S. Marshals and Criminal Investigators[2] Stacia Hylton, Director[3] James Thompson, Acting

Deputy Director Parent agency Department of Justice Website usmarshals.gov The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice (see 28 U.S.C. 561). The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States though second to the U.S. Customs Service as the oldest federal agency (July 1789); it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It assumed its current name in 1969.[4] The Marshals Service is part of the executive branch of government, and is the enforcement arm of the United States federal courts. The U.S. Marshals are responsible for the protection of court officers and buildings and the effective operation of the judiciary. The service also assists with court security and prisoner transport, serves arrest warrants, and seeks fugitives.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a governmental agency belonging to the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency (counterintelligence). Also, it is the government agency responsible for investigating crimes on Indian reservations in the United States[2] under the Major Crimes Act. The branch has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime.[3] The agency was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI). Its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935. The agency headquarters is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C. The agency has fifty-six field offices located in major cities throughout the United States, and more than 400 resident agencies in lesser cities and areas across the nation. More than 50 international offices called "legal attachs" exist in U.S. embassies and consulates general worldwide.

National Security Agency

National Security Agency

Seal of the National Security Agency

Flag of the National Security Agency Agency overview Formed Preceding Agency Jurisdiction Headquarters Employees November 4, 1952 (60 years ago) Armed Forces Security Agency United States of America Fort Meade, Maryland, U.S. Classified

Annual budget Classified General Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Army, Agency executives
Director of the National Security Agency

John C. Inglis, Deputy Director of the

National Security Agency

Parent Agency United States Department of Defense Website www.nsa.gov

The National Security Agency (NSA) is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and

foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S. government communications and information systems,[1] which involves information security and cryptanalysis/cryptography.The NSA is directed by at least a lieutenant general or vice admiral. NSA is a key component of the U.S. Intelligence Community, which is headed by the Director of National Intelligence. The Central Security Service is a co-located agency created to coordinate intelligence activities and co-operation between NSA and other U.S. military cryptanalysis agencies. The Director of the National Security Agency serves as the Commander of the United States Cyber Command and Chief of the Central Security Service.[2]By law, NSA's intelligence gathering is limited to foreign communications, although domestic incidents such as the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy have

Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

Seal of the Central Intelligence Agency

Flag of the Central Intelligence Agency Agency overview Formed Preceding Agency Headquarters September 18, 1947 (65 years ago) Office of Strategic Services[1] George Bush Center for Intelligence Langley, Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S. "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)[2]

Motto

Classified[3] Employees 20,000 estimated[4] Annual budget Classified[5][6] Agency executives John O. Brennan, Director Michael Morell, Deputy Director

Parent Agency Independent Website www.cia.gov

The entrance of the CIA New Headquarters Building (NHB) of the George Bush Center for Intelligence. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence,[7] with responsibility for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers. Intelligence-gathering is performed by non-military commissioned civilian intelligence agents, many of whom are trained to avoid tactical situations. The CIA also oversees and sometimes engages in tactical and covert activities at the request of the President of the United States.[8] Often, when such field operations are organized, the U.S. military or other warfare tacticians carry these tactical operations out on behalf of the agency while the CIA oversees them. [9] Although intelligence-gathering is the agency's main agenda, tactical divisions were established in the agency to carry out emergency field operations that require immediate suppression or dismantling of a threat or weapon.[10] The CIA's headquarters is located in Langley, McLean, Fairfax County, Virginia,[11] a few miles west of Washington, D.C.. The CIA succeeded the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), formed during World War II to coordinate espionage activities against the Axis Powers for the branches of the United States Armed Forces. The National Security Act of 1947 established the CIA, affording it "no police or law enforcement functions, either at home or abroad". [12][13] Through interagency cooperation, the CIA has Cooperative Security Locations at its disposal. These locations are called "lily pads" by the Air Force.[14][15] The primary function of the CIA is to collect information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and to advise public policymakers, but it does conduct emergency tactical operations and carries out covert operations,[16][17] and exerts foreign political influence through its tactical divisions, such as the Special Activities Division.[18]

There has been considerable criticism of the CIA relating to: security and counterintelligence failures, failures in intelligence analysis, human rights concerns, external investigations and document releases, influencing public opinion and law enforcement, drug trafficking, and lying to Congress. [19] Others, such as Eastern bloc defector Ion Mihai Pacepa, have defended the CIA as "by far the worlds best intelligence organization," and argued that CIA activities are su bjected to scrutiny unprecedented among the world's intelligence agencies. [20]

United States Department of Homeland Security

United States Department of Homeland Security

Agency overview Formed Jurisdiction Headquarters Employees November 25, 2002 United States of America Nebraska Avenue Complex Washington, D.C., United States 240,000

Annual budget US$60.4 billion (FY 2012) Agency executives Janet Napolitano, Secretary[1] Jane Holl Lute, Deputy Secretary[2] United States Citizenship and Immigration Services U.S. Customs and Border Protection Child agencies Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Transportation Security Administration

United States Coast Guard National Protection and Programs Directorate United States Secret Service Website dhs.gov

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the United States of America and U.S. territories (including Protectorates) from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters. Despite the Department of the Interior's name, DHS is the equivalent to the Interior ministries of other countries, not the Department of the Interior. In fiscal year 2011, DHS was allocated a budget of $98.8 billion and spent, net, $66.4 billion. Where the Department of Defense is charged with military actions abroad, the Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.[3] On March 1, 2003, DHS absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. The investigative divisions and intelligence gathering units of the INS and Customs Service were merged forming Homeland Security Investigations. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, including the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Federal Protective Service falls under the National Protection and Programs Directorate. With more than 200,000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.[4] Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy. According to the Homeland Security Research Corporation, the combined financial year 2010 state and local HLS markets, which employ more than 2.2 million first responders, totaled $16.5 billion, whereas the DHS HLS market totaled $13 billion. [5] According to the Washington Post, "DHS has given $31 billion in grants since 2003 to state and local governments for homeland security and to improve their ability to find and protect against terrorists, including $3.8 billion in 2010." [6] According to Peter Andreas, a border theorist, the creation of DHS constituted the most significant government reorganization since the Cold War,[7] and the most substantial reorganization of federal agencies since the National Security Act of 1947, which placed the different military departments under a secretary of defense and created the National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency. DHS also constitutes the most diverse merger of federal functions and responsibilities, incorporating 22 government agencies into a single organization. [8]

National Security Council

A National Security Council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a national security advisor and staffed with senior-level officials from military, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement and other governmental bodies. The functions and responsibilities of an NSC at the strategic state level are different from those of the United Nations Security Council, which is more of a diplomatic forum. Occasionally a nation will be ruled by a similarly named body, such as "the National Security Committee" or "Council for National Security". These bodies are often a result of the establishment or preservation of a military dictatorship (or some other national crisis), do not always have statutory approval, and are usually intended to have transitory or provisional powers.

Council on Foreign Relations

CFR Headquarters located in the former Harold Pratt House in New York City Abbreviation CFR Formation 1921 Type Public policy think tank Headquarters 58 East 68th Street New York City and Location Washington, D.C. President Richard N. Haass Website www.cfr.org The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs. Founded in 1921 and headquartered at 58 East 68th Street in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C., the CFR is considered to be the nation's "most influential foreign-policy think tank".[1] It publishes a bi-monthly journal, Foreign Affairs.

United States Armed Forces

The United States Armed Forces[4] are the military forces of the United States of America. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.[5] The U.S. has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military. The President is the military's overall head, and helps form military policy with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), a federal executive department, acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out. The DoD is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and Cabinet member. The Defense Secretary is second in the military's chain of command, just below the President, and serves as the principal assistant to the President in all DoD-related matters.[6] To coordinate military action with diplomacy, the President has an advisory National Security Council headed by a National Security Advisor. Both the President and Secretary of Defense are advised by a seven-member Joint Chiefs of Staff, which includes the head of each of the Defense Department's service branches as well as the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Leadership is provided by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[7] The Commandant of the Coast Guard is not a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. All of the branches work together during operations and joint missions, under the Unified Combatant Commands, under the authority of the Secretary of Defense with the exception of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard falls under the administration of the Department of Homeland Security and receives its operational orders from the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard may be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President or Congress during a time of war.[8] All five armed services are among the seven uniformed services of the United States; the others are the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps. From the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of national unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War, as well as the War of 1812. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and not until the outbreak of World War II did a large standing army become

officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold War's onset, created the modern U.S. military framework; the Act merged previously Cabinet-level Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (renamed the Department of Defense in 1949), headed by the Secretary of Defense; and created the Department of the Air Force and National Security Council. The U.S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its manpower from a large pool of paid volunteers; although conscription has been used in the past in various times of both war and peace, it has not been used since 1972. As of 2011, the U.S. spends about $550 billion annually to fund its military forces,[3] and appropriates approximately $160 billion to fund Overseas Contingency Operations. Put together, the U.S. constitutes roughly 43 percent of the world's military expenditures. The U.S. Armed Forces as a whole possess large quantities of advanced and powerful equipment, along with widespread placement of forces around the world, giving them significant capabilities in both defense and power projection.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC

Agency overview Formed Jurisdiction Headquarters Employees Agency executive June 6, 1934 Federal government of the United States Washington, D.C. 3,748 (2010)[1]

Mary Jo White Website Official Website

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal agency. It holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States.[2] In addition to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that created it, the SEC enforces the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002, and other statutes. The SEC was created by Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (now codified as 15 U.S.C. 78d and commonly referred to as the 1934 Act).

United States Department of the Treasury

Department of the Treasury

Treasury Seal

Agency overview Formed Preceding Agency Jurisdiction September 2, 1789 (223 years ago) Board of Treasury Federal government of the United States Treasury Building Headquarters 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 385354N 7723W / 38.89833N 77.03417W 115,897 (2007)

Employees

Annual budget $14 billion (2013) PDF Agency executives Jacob Lew, Secretary Neal S. Wolin, Deputy Secretary Rosa Gumataotao Rios, Treasurer

Internal Revenue Service United States Mint Child agencies Bureau of Engraving and Printing Several others Website treasury.gov The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue. The Department is administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, who is a member of the Cabinet. Jack Lew is the current Secretary of the Treasury; he was sworn in on February 28, 2013. The first Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton, who was sworn into office on September 11, 1789. Hamilton was asked by President George Washington to serve after first having asked Robert Morris (who declined, recommending Hamilton instead). Hamilton almost single-handedly worked out the nation's early financial system, and for several years was a major presence in Washington's administration as well. His portrait is on the obverse of the U.S. ten-dollar bill while the Treasury Department building is shown on the reverse. Besides the Secretary, one of the best-known Treasury officials is the Treasurer of the United States whose signature, along with the Treasury Secretary's, appears on all Federal Reserve notes. The Treasury prints and mints all paper currency and coins in circulation through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint. The Department also collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service, and manages U.S. government debt instruments.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Agency overview

Formed Headquarters Employees Agency executive Parent Agency

August 29, 1862[1] Washington, D.C. 2,169 (2006) Larry R. Felix, Director Department of the Treasury Website

www.moneyfactory.gov The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is the central bank of the United States of America. In addition to paper currency, the B.E.P. produces Treasury securities; military commissions and award certificates; invitations and admission cards; and many different types of identification cards, forms, and other special security documents for a variety of government agencies. The B.E.P. does not produce coins; all coinage is produced by the United States Mint. With production facilities in Washington, DC, and Fort Worth, Texas, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is the largest producer of government security documents in the United States.

United States Federal Budget

Fiscal Year 2012 U.S. Federal Spending Cash or Budget Basis.

Fiscal Year 2012 U.S. Federal Receipts. The Budget of the United States Government often begins as the President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1. However, Congress is the body required by law to pass a budget annually and to submit the budget passed by both houses to the President for signature. Congressional decisions are governed by rules and legislation regarding the federal budget process. Budget committees set spending limits for the House and Senate committees and for Appropriations subcommittees, which then approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to various federal programs. If Congress fails to pass an annual budget (as has been the case since 2009), a series of Appropriations bills must be passed as "stop gap" measures. After Congress approves an appropriations bill, it is sent to the President, who may sign it into law, or may veto it (as he would a budget when passed by the Congress). A vetoed bill is sent back to Congress, which can pass it into law with a two-thirds majority in each chamber. Congress may also combine all or some appropriations bills into an omnibus reconciliation bill. In addition, the president may request and the Congress may pass supplemental appropriations bills or emergency supplemental appropriations bills. Several government agencies provide budget data and analysis. These include the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Treasury Department. These agencies have reported that the federal government is facing a series of important financing challenges. In the short-run, tax revenues have declined significantly due to a severe recession and tax policy choices, while expenditures have expanded for wars, unemployment insurance and other safety net spending.[1][2] In the long-run, expenditures related to healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid areprojected to grow faster than the economy overall as the population matures.[3][4]

http://demonocracy.info/infogra

phics/usa/us_government_budget/us_govt_budget.html History of Monetery Policy in the United States http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HfpO-WBz_mw#! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfEBupAeo4

Federal Reserve System

.

Seal

Federal Reserve System headquarters (Eccles Building)

Headquarters Established Chairman Central bank of Currency ISO 4217 Code Base borrowing rate Website

Washington, D.C. December 23, 1913 (99 years ago) Ben Bernanke United States United States dollar USD 0%0.25%[1] federalreserve.gov

The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve, and informally as the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System have expanded and its structure has evolved. [3][8] Events such as the Great Depression were major factors leading to changes in the system. [9] The US Congress established three key objectives for monetary policy in the Federal Reserve Act: Maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.[10] The first two objectives are sometimes referred to as the Federal Reserve's dual mandate. [11] Its duties have expanded over the years, and today, according to official Federal Reserve documentation, include conducting the nation's monetary policy, supervising and regulating banking institutions, maintaining the stability of the financial system and providing financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions. [12] The Fed also conducts research into the economy and releases numerous publications, such as the Beige Book. The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors (or Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation, numerous privately owned U.S. member banks and various advisory councils. [13][14][15] The FOMC is the committee responsible for setting monetary policy and consists of all seven members of the Board of Governors and the twelve regional bank presidents, though only five bank presidents vote at any given time (the president of the New York Fed and four others who rotate through one-year terms).

The Federal Reserve System has both private and public components, and was designed to serve the interests of both the general public and private bankers. The result is a structure that is considered unique among central banks. It is also unusual in that an entity outside of the central bank, namely the United States Department of the Treasury, creates the currency used.[16] According to the Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve System "is considered an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by the Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms."[17] The authority of the Federal Reserve System is derived from statutes enacted by the U.S. Congress and the System is subject to congressional oversight. The members of the Board of Governors, including its chairman and vice-chairman, are chosen by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system's highest-level employees. Nationally chartered commercial banks are required to hold stock in the Federal Reserve Bank of their region; this entitles them to elect some of the members of the board of the regional Federal Reserve Bank. Thus the Federal Reserve system has both public and private aspects.[18][19][20][21] The U.S. Government receives all of the system's annual profits, after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks' capital investment is paid, and an account surplus is maintained. In 2010, the Federal Reserve made a profit of $82 billion and transferred $79 billion to the U.S. Treasury.[22] This was followed at the end of 2011 with a transfer of $77 billion in profits to the U.S. Treasury Department.[23] http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/federal_reserve-qe3/money_printing-2012-2013.html

ISO 9362-SWIFT
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search ISO 9362 (also known as SWIFT-BIC, BIC code, SWIFT ID or SWIFT code) is a standard format of Business Identifier Codes approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is a unique identification code for both financial and non-financial institutions.[1] (When assigned to a non-financial institution, a code may also be known as a Business Entity Identifier or BEI. These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers, and also for the exchange of other messages between banks. The codes can sometimes be found on account statements. The overlapping issue between ISO 9362 and ISO 13616 is discussed in the article International Bank Account Number (also called IBAN). The SWIFT network does not require a specific format for the transaction so the identification of accounts and transaction types is left to agreements of the transaction partners. In the process of the Single Euro Payments Area the European central banks have agreed on a common format based on IBAN and BIC including an XML-based transmission format for standardized transactions; the TARGET2 is a joint gross clearing system in the European Union that does not require the SWIFT network for transmission (see EBICS). The TARGET-directory lists all the BICs of the banks that are attached to the TARGET2-network being a subset of the SWIFT-directory of BICs.[2]

Foreign exchange market

The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a form of exchange for the global decentralized trading of international currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. EBS and Reuters' dealing 3000 are two main interbank FX trading platforms. The foreign exchange market determines the relative values of different currencies. [1] The foreign exchange market assists international trade and investment by enabling currency conversion. For example, it permits a business in the United States to import goods from the European Union member states especially Eurozone members and pay Euros, even though its income is in United States dollars. It also supports direct speculation in the value of currencies, and the carry trade, speculation based on the interest rate differential between two currencies. [2] In a typical foreign exchange transaction, a party purchases some quantity of one currency by paying some quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market began forming during the 1970s after three decades of government restrictions on foreign exchange transactions (the Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states after World War II), when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system. The foreign exchange market is unique because of the following characteristics: its huge trading volume representing the largest asset class in the world leading to high liquidity; its geographical dispersion; its continuous operation: 24 hours a day except weekends, i.e., trading from 20:15 GMT on Sunday until 22:00 GMT Friday; the variety of factors that affect exchange rates; the low margins of relative profit compared with other markets of fixed income; and the use of leverage to enhance profit and loss margins and with respect to account size. As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal of perfect competition, notwithstanding currency intervention by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[3] as of April 2010, average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion, a growth of approximately 20% over the $3.21 trillion daily volume as of April 2007. Some firms specializing on foreign exchange market had put the average daily turnover in excess of US$4 trillion.[4] The $3.98 trillion break-down is as follows: $1.490 trillion in spot transactions $475 billion in outright forwards $1.765 trillion in foreign exchange swaps $43 billion currency swaps $207 billion in options and other products

Institute for the Works of Religion (Vatican Bank)

Type Industry

Private Financial services 27 June 1942 (absorption of the Founded Administration of the Works of Religion) Headquarters Vatican City Ernst von Freyberg (President) Key people Ronaldo Hermann Schmitz (Vicepresident)

Website

http://www.vatican.va/

The Institute for the Works of Religion (Italian: Istituto per le Opere di Religione IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute[1] located inside Vatican City and run by a CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope (or the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church during a sede vacante). Since its assets are not considered property of the Holy See, it is not overseen by the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See,[2] and it is listed in the Annuario Pontificio not under "Holy See" or "Vatican City State", but after the pages on religious institutes,[3] and cultural institutes,[4] and placed with charitable foundations[5] such as the John Paul Foundation for the Sahel.[6] The bank's most recent President, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was removed from his post by the board of directors in May 2012, for dereliction of duty. [7] The Institute was involved in a major political and financial scandal in the 1980s, concerning the 1982 $4.7 billion collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, of which it was a major shareholder. The head of IOR from 1971 to 1989, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, was under consideration for indictment in 1982 in Italy as an accessory of the bankruptcy; however, he was never brought to trial due to the Italian courts' ruling that the priest, being a high-ranking prelate of the Vatican, had diplomatic immunity from prosecution.[8] As a private organization performing banking-like functions for religious institutions, it is not subject to public scrutiny. It nonetheless, presented a short presentation on its operations in 2012, apparently in response to recent criticism. [9] The Bank Identifier Code of the Institute for the Works of Religion is IOPRVAVX.

Wells Fargo

Type

Public NYSE: WFC Traded as [S&P 500 Industry Banking, Financial services New York City, New York, U.S. Founded (March 18, 1852)[1] Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S. Area served Worldwide John G. Stumpf Key people (Chairman, President & CEO) Credit cards, consumer banking, corporate banking, investment Products banking, global wealth management, financial analysis, private equity Revenue US$ 86.08 billion (2012)[2] Operating US$ 28.47 billion (2012)[2] income Profit US$ 18.89 billion (2012)[2] Total assets US$ 1.422 trillion (2012)[2] Total equity US$ 157.55 billion (2012)[2] Employees 265,000 (2012)[2] Website WellsFargo.com Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization.[3] Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home mortgage servicing, and debit cards. In 2011, Wells Fargo was the 23rd largest company in the United States.[4] Wells Fargo is headquartered in San Francisco, California, but has major "hubquarters" in other cities throughout the country. [5] In 2007 it was the only bank in the United States to be rated AAA by S&P,[6] though its rating has since been lowered to AA-[7] in light of the financial crisis of 20072012. The firm's primary U.S. operating subsidiary is national bank Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which designates its main office as Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Wells Fargo in its

present form is a result of an acquisition of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Company by Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation in 1998 and the subsequent 2008 acquisition of Charlottebased Wachovia. Although Norwest was technically the surviving entity in the 1998 merger, the new company renamed itself Wells Fargo, capitalizing on the 150-year history of the nationally recognized name and its trademark stagecoach. Following the acquisition, the company transferred its headquarters to Wells Fargo's headquarters in San Francisco and merged its operating subsidiary with Wells Fargo's operating subsidiary in Sioux Falls. In 2012, Wells Fargo had more than 9,000 retail branches and 12,198 automated teller machines in 39 states and the District of Columbia. It has over 270,000 employees and over 70 million customers. [8] Wells Fargo is one of the Big Four banks of the United States with Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase.[9][10]

Fractional Reserve Banking

Fractional-reserve banking is the practice whereby a bank retains funds equal to only a portion of the amount of its customers' deposits as readily available reserves (currency on hand at the bank plus deposit accounts for that bank at the central bank) from which to satisfy demands for payment. The remainder of customer-deposited funds is used to fund investments or loans that the bank makes to other customers.[1] Most of these loaned funds are later redeposited into banks, allowing further lending. Because bank deposits are usually considered money in their own right, fractional-reserve banking permits the money supply to grow to a multiple of the underlying reserves of base money originally created by the central bank.[2][3] To mitigate the risks of bank runs (when a large proportion of depositors seek withdrawal of their demand deposits at the same time) or, when problems are extreme and widespread, systemic crises, the governments of most countries regulate and oversee commercial banks, provide deposit insurance and act as lender of last resort to commercial banks.[2][3] In most countries, the central bank (or other monetary authority) regulates bank credit creation, imposing reserve requirements and other capital adequacy ratios. This limits the amount of money creation that occurs in the commercial banking system, and helps ensure that banks have enough funds to meet the demand for withdrawals.[3] Fractional-reserve banking is the current form of banking in all countries worldwide. [4]

Deficit spending
Government deficit spending is a central point of controversy in economics, with prominent economists holding differing views.[1] The "mainstream economics" position is that deficit spending is desirable and necessary as part of countercyclical fiscal policy, but that there should not be a structural deficit: run deficits during recessions to compensate for the shortfall in aggregate demand, but run surpluses in boom times so that there is no net deficit over an economic cycle, i.e., only run cyclical deficits. This is derived from Keynesian economics, and gained acceptance (especially in the Anglo-Saxon world) during the period between the Great Depression in the 1930s and post-WWII in the 1950s.

That position is attacked from both sides advocates of sound finance argue that deficit spending is always bad policy, while some Post-Keynesian economists, particularly Chartalists, argue that deficit spending is necessary, and not only for fiscal stimulus. Fiscal Conservatism Advocates of fiscal conservatism reject Keynesianism by arguing that government should always run a balanced budget (and a surplus to pay down any outstanding debt), and that deficit spending is always bad policy. Fiscal conservatism has academic support, predominantly associated with the neoclassical-inclined Chicago school of economics, and has significant political and institutional support, with all but one state of the United States (Vermont is the exception) having a balanced budget amendment to its state constitution, and the Stability and Growth Pact of the European Monetary Union punishing government deficits of 3% of GDP or greater. Proponents of fiscal conservatism date back to Adam Smith, founder of modern economics. Fiscal conservatism was the dominant position until the Great Depression, associated with the gold standard and expressed in the now outdated Treasury View that government fiscal policy is ineffective. The usual argument against deficit spending, dating to Adam Smith, is that households should not run deficits one should have money before one spends it, from prudence and that what is correct for a household is correct for a nation and its government. A further argument is that debts must be repaid, and thus it is burdening future generations to run deficits today, for little or no gain. A similar argument is that deficit spending today will require increased taxation in the future, thus burdening future generations see generational accounting and 'intergenerational transfer of wealth' for discussion. Others argue that because debt is both owed by and owed to private individuals, there is no net debt burden of government debt, just wealth transfer (redistribution) from those who owe debt (government, backed by tax payers) to those who hold debt (holders of government bonds).[2] A related line of argument, associated with the Austrian school of economics, is that government deficits are inflationary. Anything other than mild or moderate inflation is generally accepted in economics to be a bad thing. In practice this is argued to be because governments pay off debts by printing money, increasing the money supply and creating inflation, and is taken further by some as an argument against fiat money and in favor of hard money, especially the gold standard. Post-Keynesian economics Conversely, some Post-Keynesian economists argue that deficit spending is necessary, either to create the money supply (Chartalism) or to satisfy demand for savings in excess of what can be satisfied by private investment. Chartalists argue that deficit spending is logically necessary because, in their view, fiat money is created by deficit spending: one cannot collect fiat money in taxes before one has issued it and spent it, and the amount of fiat money in circulation is exactly the government debt money spent but not collected in taxes. In a quip, "fiat money governments are 'spend and tax', not 'tax and spend',"

deficit spending comes first. Chartalists argue that nations are fundamentally different from households. Governments in a fiat money system which only have debt in their own currency can issue other liabilities, their fiat money, to pay off their interesting bearing bond debt. They cannot go bankrupt involuntarily because this fiat money is what is used in their economy to settle debts, while household liabilities are not so used. This view is summarized as: But it is hard to understand how the concept of "budget busting" applies to a government which, as a sovereign issuer of its own currency, can always create dollars to spend. There is, in other words, no budget to "bust". A national "budget" is merely an account of national spending priorities, and does not represent an external constraint in the manner of a household budget.[3] Continuing in this vein, Chartalists argue that a structural deficit is necessary for monetary expansion in an expanding economy: if the economy grows, the money supply should as well, which should be accomplished by government deficit spending. Private sector savings are equal to government sector deficits, to the penny. In the absence of sufficient deficit spending, money supply can increase by increasing financial leverage in the economy the amount of bank money grows, while the base money supply remains unchanged or grows at a slower rate, and thus the ratio (leverage = credit/base) increases, which can lead to a credit bubble and a financial crisis. Chartalism is a small minority view in economics; while it has had advocates over the years, and influenced Keynes, who specifically credited it,[4] it is categorically rejected or ignored by virtually all contemporary mainstream economists. A notable proponent was Ukrainian American economist Abba P. Lerner, who founded the school of Neo-Chartalism, and advocated deficit spending in his theory of functional finance. A contemporary center of Neo-Chartalism is the Kansas City School of economics. Chartalists, like other Keynesians accept the paradox of thrift, which argues that identifying behavior of individual households and the nation as a whole commits the fallacy of composition; while the paradox of thrift (and thus deficit spending for fiscal stimulus) is widely accepted in economics, the Chartalist form is not. An alternative argument for the necessity of deficits was given by celebrated American economist William Vickrey, who argued that deficits were necessary to satisfy demand for savings in excess of what can be satisfied by private investment. Larger deficits, sufficient to recycle savings out of a growing gross domestic product (GDP) in excess of what can be recycled by profit-seeking private investment, are not an economic sin but an economic necessity.[5] Government deficits When the outlay of a government (its purchases of goods and services, plus its transfers (grants) to individuals and corporations, in addition to its net interest payments) exceed its tax revenues, the government budget is said to be in deficit; government spending in excess of tax receipts is known as deficit spending. Governments usually issue Government bonds to match their deficits. They can be bought by its Central Bank through Quantitative easing. Otherwise the debt issuance can increase

the level of (i) public debt, (ii) private sector net worth, (iii) debt service (interest payments) and (iv) interest rates (See: "crowding out" below). Deficit spending may, however, be consistent with public debt remaining stable as a proportion of GDP, depending on the level of GDP growth. The opposite of a budget deficit is a budget surplus; in this case, tax revenues exceed government purchases and transfer payments. For the public sector to be in deficit implies that the private sector (domestic and foreign) is in surplus. An increase in public indebtedness must necessarily therefore correspond to an equal decrease in private sector net indebtedness. In other words, deficit spending permits the private sector to accumulate net worth. On average, through the economic cycle, most governments have traditionally tended to run budget deficits, as can be seen from the large debt balances accumulated by governments across the world. Keynesian Effect Following John Maynard Keynes, many economists recommend deficit spending to moderate or end a recession, especially a severe one. When the economy has high unemployment, an increase in government purchases creates a market for business output, creating income and encouraging increases in consumer spending, which creates further increases in the demand for business output. (This is the multiplier effect). This raises the real gross domestic product (GDP) and the employment of labour, and if all else is constant, lowers the unemployment rate. (The connection between demand for GDP and unemployment is called Okun's Law.) The increased size of the market, due to government deficits, can further stimulate the economy by raising business profitability and spurring optimism, which encourages private fixed investment in factories, machines, and the like to rise. This accelerator effect stimulates demand further and encourages rising employment. Increase in government payroll has been shown to depress the economy in the long run.[citation needed] Similarly, running a government surplus or reducing its deficit reduces consumer and business spending and raises unemployment. This can lower the inflation rate. Any use of the government deficit to steer the macro-economy is called fiscal policy. A deficit does not simply stimulate demand. If private investment is stimulated, that increases the ability of the economy to supply output in the long run. Also, if the government's deficit is spent on such things as infrastructure, basic research, public health, and education, that can also increase potential output in the long run. Finally, the high demand that a government deficit provides may actually allow greater growth of potential supply, following Verdoorn's Law. There is, however, a danger that deficit spending may create inflation - or encourage existing inflation to persist. (In the United States, this is seen most clearly when Vietnam-war era deficits encouraged inflation.) This is especially true at low unemployment rates (say, below 4% unemployment in the U.S.). But government deficits are not the only cause of inflation: it can arise due to such supply-side shocks as the "oil crises" of the 1970s and inflation left over from the past (inflationary expectations

and the price/wage spiral). If equilibrium is located on the classical range of the supply graph, an increase in government spending will lead to inflation without affecting unemployment. There must also be enough money circulating in the system to allow inflation to persist so that inflation depends on monetary policy. Loanable funds Many economists believe government deficits influence the economy through the loanable funds market, whose existence Chartalists and other Post-Keynesians dispute. Government borrowing in this market increases the demand for loanable funds and thus (ignoring other changes) pushes up interest rates. Rising interest rates can "crowd out" (discourage) fixed private investment spending, canceling out some or even all of the demand stimulus arising from the deficit and perhaps hurting long-term supply-side growth. But increased deficits also raise the amount of total income received, which raises the amount of saving done by individuals and corporations and thus the supply of loanable funds, lowering interest rates. Thus, crowding out is a problem only when the economy is already close to full employment (say, at about 4% unemployment) and the scope for increasing income and saving is blocked by resource constraints (potential output). Despite a government debt that exceeded GDP in 1945, the U.S. saw the long prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s. The growth of the "supply side", it seems, was not hurt by the large deficits and debts. A government deficit increases government debt. In the U.S., the government borrows by selling bonds (T-bills, etc.) rather than getting loans from banks. The most important burden of this debt is the interest that must be paid to bond-holders, which restricts a government's ability to raise its outlays or cut taxes to attain other goals. "Crowding out" Main article: Crowding out (economics) Usually when economists use the term "crowding out" they are referring to the government spending using up financial and other resources that would otherwise be used by private enterprise. However, some commentators use "crowding out" to refer to government providing a service or good that would otherwise be a business opportunity for private industry. Government deficits: good or bad? Whether government deficits are good or bad cannot be decided without examining the specifics. Just as with borrowing by individuals or businesses, it can be good or bad. If the government borrows (runs a deficit) to deal with a severe recession (or depression), to help self-defense, or spends on public investment (in infrastructure, education, basic research, or public health), the vast majority of economists would agree that the deficit is bearable, beneficial, and even necessary. If, on the other hand, the deficit finances wasteful expenditure or current consumption, most would recommend tax cuts to stimulate private investment, transfer cuts, and/or cuts in government purchases to balance the budget.

Unintentional deficits Not all national government deficits are intentional, a result of policy decisions. When an economy goes into a recession (say, due to monetary policy), deficits usually rise, at least in the U.S. and other large, rich, countries: with less economic activity, a relatively progressive tax system based on economic activity (income, expenditure, or transactions) implies that tax revenues automatically fall. Similarly, transfer payments such as unemployment insurance benefits and food stamp grants rise. By contrast, other sources of tax revenue such as wealth taxes, notably property taxes, are not subject to recessions, though they are subject to asset price bubbles. The reliance of California on state income tax, rather than property tax, due to property taxes being limited by Proposition 13, has been cited as an example of the dangers of an income tax-reliant tax system and a cause of the 200810 California budget crisis Automatic vs. active deficit policies Further information: Automatic stabilizer Most economists favor the use of automatic stabilization over active or discretionary use of deficits to fight mild recessions (or surpluses to combat inflation). Active policy-making takes too long for politicians to institute and too long to affect the economy. Often, the medicine ends up affecting the economy only after its disease has been cured, leaving the economy with side-effects such as inflation. For example, President John F. Kennedy proposed tax cuts in response to the high unemployment of 1960, but these were instituted only in 1964 and impacted the economy only in 1965 or 1966 and the increased debt encouraged inflation, reinforcing the effect of Vietnam war deficit spending.

http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/fiscal_cliff/fiscal_cliff.html http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/us_deficit/us_deficit.html

Government debt (National Debt)

Government debt (also known as public debt and national debt)[1][2] is the debt owed by a central government. (In the U.S. and other federal states, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a state or provincial government, municipal or local government.) By contrast, the annual "government deficit" refers to the difference between government receipts and spending in a single year, that is, the increase of debt over a particular year. Government debt is one method of financing government operations, but it is not the only method. Governments can also create money to monetize their debts, thereby removing the need to pay interest. But this practice simply reduces government interest costs rather than truly canceling government debt[3], and can result in hyperinflation if used unsparingly.

Governments usually borrow by issuing securities, government bonds and bills. Less creditworthy countries sometimes borrow directly from a supranational organization (e.g. the World Bank) or international financial institutions. As the government draws its income from much of the population, government debt is an indirect debt of the taxpayers. Government debt can be categorized as internal debt (owed to lenders within the country) and external debt (owed to foreign lenders). Sovereign debt usually refers to government debt that has been issued in a foreign currency. Another common division of government debt is by duration until repayment is due. Short term debt is generally considered to be for one year or less, long term is for more than ten years. Medium term debt falls between these two boundaries. A broader definition of government debt may consider all government liabilities, including future pension payments and payments for goods and services the government has contracted but not yet paid.

Government and sovereign bonds Main article: government bond

Public debt as a percent of GDP, evolution for USA, Japan and the main EU economies.

Public debt as a percent of GDP (2010).

Public debt as a percent of GDP (2011) A government bond is a bond issued by a national government. Such bonds are often denominated in the country's domestic currency. Government bonds are sometimes regarded as risk-free bonds, because national governments can raise taxes or reduce spending up to a certain point; in many cases they "print more money" to redeem the bond at maturity. Most developed country governments are prohibited by law from printing money directly, that function having been relegated to their central banks. However, central banks may buy government bonds in order to finance government spending, thereby monetizing the debt. Bonds issued by national governments in foreign currencies are normally referred to as sovereign bonds. Investors in sovereign bonds denominated in foreign currency have the additional risk that the issuer may be unable to obtain foreign currency to redeem the bonds. In the 2010 Greek debt crisis, for example, the debt is held by Greece in Euros, and one proposed solution (advanced notably by World Pensions Council (WPC) financial economists) is for Greece to go back to issuing its own Drachma.[4][5][6] 1. Primary Market: Government Bonds are often issued via auctions at Stock Exchanges. There are several different methods of issuing such as Auctions, Guarantee, Combined Auction and Guarantee, and others. There are two main depository types: Book-Entry and Certificate. There are two different methods of the payments: at the beginning and at the end. There are two types of interest rates: Fixed and Floating. Procedure of an auction: a. Disclose auction information: Information about the bonds: interest ra tes, maturity year, type, and issuers (Central bank or Treasury) Method of issuing Method of payments b. Auction:

 Bidding interest rate Ceiling interest rate Big lot or not Maturity Disclose information of the final interest rate c. Depository: Book Entry Certificate d. Pre-listing Stock Exchanges send the information of the auction to Depository Center e. Listing: At the Stock Exchanges 2. Secondary Market: The G-bonds are traded at Stock Exchanges. Unlikely equity system, the bond secondary market uses a completely different system with different method of trading. Most of the system is real time trading. At the secondary market, each bond will be assigned with very own bond code (ISIN code). There are two types of trading: Outright and Repos. By country Further information: List of countries by public debt and List of countries by future gross government debt Public Debt Top 20, 2010 estimate (CIA World Factbook 2011) [7] Public Debt Note (2008 estimate) Country % of GDP per capita (USD) (billion USD) (billion USD) USA $ 9,133 62% $ 29,158 ($ 5,415, 38%) Japan $ 8,512 198% $ 67,303 ($ 7,469, 172%) Germany $ 2,446 83% $ 30,024 ($ 1,931, 66%) Italy $ 2,113 119% $ 34,627 ($ 1,933, 106%) India $ 2,107 52% $ 1,489 ($ 1,863, 56%) China $ 1,907 19% $ 5,430 ($ 1,247, 16%) France $ 1,767 82% $ 27,062 ($ 1,453, 68%) UK $ 1,654 76% $ 26,375 ($ 1,158, 52%) Brazil $ 1,281 59% $ 6,299 ($ 775, 39%) Canada $ 1,117 84% $ 32,829 ($ 831, 64%) Spain $ 823 60% $ 17,598 ($ 571, 41%) Mexico $ 577 37% $ 5,071 ($ 561, 36%) Greece $ 454 143% $ 42,216 ($ 335, 97%) Netherlands $ 424 63% $ 25,152 ($ 392, 58%)

Public Debt Top 20, 2010 estimate (CIA World Factbook 2011) [7] Public Debt Note (2008 estimate) Country % of GDP per capita (USD) (billion USD) (billion USD) Turkey $ 411 43% $ 5,218 ($ 362, 40%) Belgium $ 398 101% $ 38,139 ($ 350, 90%) Egypt $ 398 80% $ 4,846 ($ 385, 87%) Poland $ 381 53% $ 9,907 ($ 303, 45%) South Korea $ 331 23% $ 6,793 ($ 326, 24%) Singapore $ 309 106% $ 65,144 Taiwan $ 279 34% $ 12,075 Public Debt is the total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. * CIA's World Factbook list only percentage of GDP, the debt amount and per capita is calculated with GDP (PPP) and population figures of same report. Municipal, provincial, or state bonds Further information: Municipal bond Municipal bonds, "munis" in the United States, are debt securities issued by local governments (municipalities). Denominated in reserve currencies Governments often borrow money in a currency in which the demand for debt securities is strong. An advantage of issuing bonds in a currency such as the US dollar, the pound sterling, or the euro is that many investors wish to invest in such bonds. Countries such as the United States, Germany, Italy and France have only issued in their domestic currency (or in the Euro in the case of Euro members). Relatively few investors are willing to invest in currencies that do not have a long track record of stability. A disadvantage for a government issuing bonds in a foreign currency is that there is a risk that it will not be able to obtain the foreign currency to pay the interest or redeem the bonds. In 1997 and 1998, during the Asian financial crisis, this became a serious problem when many countries were unable to keep their exchange rate fixed due to speculative attacks. Risk Main article: Credit risk Lending to a national government in the country's own sovereign currency is often considered "risk free" and is done at a so-called "risk-free interest rate." This is because, up to a point, the debt and interest can be repaid by raising tax receipts (either by economic growth or raising tax rates), a reduction in spending, or failing that by simply printing more money. It is widely considered that this would increase inflation and thus reduce the value of the invested capital (at least for debt not linked to inflation). This has happened many times throughout history, and a typical example of this is

provided by Weimar Germany of the 1920s which suffered from hyperinflation due to its government's inability to pay the national debt deriving from the costs of World War I. In practice, the market interest rate tends to be different for debts of different countries. An example is in borrowing by different European Union countries denominated in euros. Even though the currency is the same in each case, the yield required by the market is higher for some countries' debt than for others. This reflects the views of the market on the relative solvency of the various countries and the likelihood that the debt will be repaid. Further, there are historical examples where countries defaulted, i.e., refused to pay their debts, even when they had the ability of paying it with printed money. This is because printing money has other effects that the government may see as more problematic than defaulting. A politically unstable state is anything but risk-free as it maybeing sovereigncease its payments. Examples of this phenomenon include Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries, which nullified its government debt seven times during a century, and revolutionary Russia of 1917 which refused to accept the responsibility for Imperial Russia's foreign debt.[8] Another political risk is caused by external threats. It is mostly uncommon for invaders to accept responsibility for the national debt of the annexed state or that of an organization it considered as rebels. For example, all borrowings by the Confederate States of America were left unpaid after the American Civil War. On the other hand, in the modern era, the transition from dictatorship and illegitimate governments to democracy does not automatically free the country of the debt contracted by the former government. Today's highly developed global credit markets would be less likely to lend to a country that negated its previous debt, or might require punishing levels of interest rates that would be unacceptable to the borrower. U.S. Treasury bonds denominated in U.S. dollars are often considered "risk free" in the U.S. This disregards the risk to foreign purchasers of depreciation in the dollar relative to the lender's currency. In addition, a risk-free status implicitly assumes the stability of the US government and its ability to continue repayments during any financial crisis. Lending to a national government in a currency other than its own does not give the same confidence in the ability to repay, but this may be offset by reducing the exchange rate risk to foreign lenders. On the other hand, national debt in foreign currency cannot be disposed of by starting a hyperinflation; and this increases the credibility of the debtor. Usually small states with volatile economies have most of their national debt in foreign currency. For countries in the Eurozone, the euro is the local currency, although no single state can trigger inflation by creating more currency. Lending to a local or municipal government can be just as risky as a loan to a private company, unless the local or municipal government has sufficient power to tax. In this case, the local government could to a certain extent pay its debts by increasing the taxes, or reduce spending, just as a national one could. Further, local government loans are sometimes guaranteed by the national government, and this reduces the risk. In some jurisdictions, interest earned on local or municipal bonds is tax-exempt income, which can be an important consideration for the wealthy. Clearing and defaults Main articles: sovereign default, clearing (finance), and default (finance) Public debt clearing standards are set by the Bank for International Settlements, but defaults are governed by extremely complex laws which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Globally, the

International Monetary Fund can take certain steps to intervene to prevent anticipated defaults. It is sometimes criticized for the measures it advises nations to take, which often involve cutting back on government spending as part of an economic austerity regime. In triple bottom line analysis, this can be seen as degrading capital on which the nation's economy ultimately depends. Those considerations do not apply to private debts, by contrast: credit risk (or the consumer credit rating) determines the interest rate, more or less, and entities go bankrupt if they fail to repay. Governments cannot really go bankrupt (and suddenly stop providing services to citizens), thus a far more complex way of managing defaults is required. Smaller jurisdictions, such as cities, are usually guaranteed by their regional or national levels of government. When New York City declined into what would have been a bankrupt status during the 1970s (had it been a private entity), by the mid- 1970s a "bailout" was required from New York State and the United States. In general, such measures amount to merging the smaller entity's debt into that of the larger entity and thereby giving it access to the lower interest rates the larger entity enjoys. The larger entity may then assume some agreed-upon oversight in order to prevent recurrence of the problem. Structure In the dominant economic policy generally ascribed to theories of John Maynard Keynes, sometimes called Keynesian economics, there is tolerance for fairly high levels of public debt to pay for public investment in lean times, which, if boom times follow, can then be paid back from rising tax revenues. As this theory gained global popularity in the 1930s, many nations took on public debt to finance large infrastructural capital projects such as highways or large hydroelectric dams. It was thought that this could start a virtuous cycle and a rising business confidence since there would be more workers with money to spend. Some[who?] have argued that the greatly increased military spending of World War II really ended the Great Depression. Of course, military expenditures are based upon the same tax (or debt) and spend fundamentals as the rest of the national budget, so this argument does little to undermine Keynesian theory. Indeed, some [who?] have suggested that significantly higher national spending necessitated by war essentially confirms the basic Keynesian analysis (see Military Keynesianism). Nonetheless, the Keynesian scheme remained dominant, thanks in part to Keynes' own pamphlet How to Pay for the War, published in the United Kingdom in 1940. Since the war was being paid for, and being won, Keynes and Harry Dexter White, Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury, were, according to John Kenneth Galbraith, the dominating influences on the Bretton Woods agreements. These agreements set the policies for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank, the so-called Bretton Woods Institutions, launched in the late 1940s for the last two (the BIS was founded in 1930). These are the dominant economic entities setting policies regarding public debt. Due to its role in setting policies for trade disputes, the World Trade Organization also has immense power to affect foreign exchange relations, as many nations are dependent on specific commodity markets for the balance of payments they require to repay debt. Understanding the structure of public debt and analyzing its risk requires one to:

Assess the expected value of any public asset being constructed, at least in future tax terms if not in direct revenues. A choice must be made about its status as a public good some public "assets" end up as public bads, such as nuclear power plants which are extremely expensive to decommission these costs must also be worked in to asset values. Determine whether any public debt is being used to finance consumption, which includes all social assistance and all military spending. Determine whether triple bottom line issues are likely to lead to failure or defaults of governments say due to being overthrown. Determine whether any of the debt being undertaken may be held to be odious debt, which might permit it to be disavowed without any effect on a country's credit status. This includes any loans to purchase "assets" such as leaders' palaces, or the people's suppression or extermination. International law does not permit people to be held responsible for such debts as they did not benefit in any way from the spending and had no control over it. Determine if any future entitlements are being created by expenditures financing a public swimming pool for instance may create some right to recreation where it did not previously exist, by precedent and expectations. Scale

General government debt as percent of GDP, USA, Japan, Germany.

Interest burden of public debt with respect to GDP.

National Debt Clock outside the IRS office in NYC, July 1, 2010 Global debt is of great concern since interest payments can often place great demands on governments and individuals. This has led to calls for universal debt relief for poorer countries. A less extreme and more innovative measure would be to permit civil society groups in every nation to buy the debt in exchange for minority equity positions in community organizations. Even in dictatorships, the combination of banks and civil society power could force land reform and overthrow unaccountable governments, since the people and banks would be aligned against the oppressive government. Using a debt to GDP ratio is one of the most accepted measures of assessing a nation's debt. For example, in theory one of the criteria of admission to the European Union's Euro currency is that a country's debt should not exceed 60% of that country's GDP. The debt of the United States over time is documented online at the Department of the Treasury's website TreasuryDirect.[9] Problems Sovereign debt problems have been a major public policy issue since World War II, including the treatment of debt related to that war, the developing country "debt crisis" in the 1980s, and the shocks of the 1998 Russian financial crisis and Argentina's default in 2001. Not all developing countries have been affected to the same extent. For example Yugoslavia had low government debt (perhaps because it was unable to borrow on world markets) [citation needed] until its breakup and the coming of democracy, when the new national governments started to borrow money from the IMF. Croatia has a government debt of $47 billion today while the whole of Yugoslavia (six times as many people as Croatia) in 1980 had debt of $14 billion. [citation needed] Implicit debt Government "implicit" debt is the promise by a government of future payments from the state. Usually this refers to long term promises of social payments such as pensions and health expenditure; not promises of other expenditure such as education or defense (which are largely paid on a "quid pro quo" basis to government employees and contractors). A problem with these implicit government insurance liabilities is that it is hard to cost them accurately, since the amounts of future payments depend on so many factors. First of all, the social security claims are not "open" bonds or debt papers with a stated time frame, "time to maturity", "nominal value", or "net present value".

In the United States, as in most other countries, there is no money earmarked in the government's coffers for future social insurance payments. This insurance system is called PAYGO (pay-as-yougo). Alternative social insurance strategies might have included a system that involved save and invest. Furthermore, population projections predict that when the "baby boomers" start to retire, the working population in the United States, and in many other countries, will be a smaller percentage of the population than it is now, for many years to come. This will increase the burden on the country of these promised pension and other payments - larger than the 65 percent[10] of GDP that it is now. The "burden" of the government is what it spends, since it can only pay its bills through taxes, debt, and increasing the money supply (government spending = tax revenues + change in government debt held by public + change in monetary base held by the public). "Government social benefits" paid by the United States government during 2003 totaled $1.3 trillion.[11] In 2010 the European Commission required EU Member Countries to publish their debt information in standardized methodology, explicitly including debts that were previously hidden in a number of ways to satisfy minimum requirements on local (national) and European (Stability and Growth Pact) level.[12]

Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state. In some jurisdictions the text of the constitution itself is altered; in others the text is not changed, but the amendments change its effect. Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation. Examples of such special procedures include super-majorities in the legislature, or direct approval by the electorate in a referendum, or even a combination of two or more different special procedures. A referendum to amend the constitution may also be triggered in some jurisdictions by popular initiative. Australia and the Republic of Ireland provide examples of constitutions requiring that all amendments are first passed by the legislature before being submitted to the people; in the case of Ireland, a simple majority of those voting at the electorate is all that is required, whereas a more complex set of criteria must be met in Australia (a majority of voters in a majority of states is also necessary). Switzerland has a similar procedure to Australia's. Denmark provides an example of multiple special procedures that must be followed. After an amendment has been approved by parliament, a general election must be held; the new parliament must then approve the amendment again before it is finally submitted to a referendum. There is also a requirement that at least 40% of eligible voters must vote at the referendum in order for an amendment to be validly passed. The special procedures for the amendment of some constitutions have proven to be so exacting that of proposed amendments either few, as in Australia, or none, as in Japan, have been passed over a period of several decades. In contrast, the constitution of the US state of Alabama has been amended over 800 times since 1901.

Basel III
Basel III (or the Third Basel Accord) is a global, voluntary regulatory standard on bank capital adequacy, stress testing and market liquidity risk. It was agreed upon by the members of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in 201011, and was scheduled to be introduced from 2013 until 2015; changes from January 7, 2013 extended implementation until 2019 however. [1][2] The third installment of the Basel Accords (see Basel I, Basel II) was developed in response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the late-2000s financial crisis. Basel III was supposed to strengthen bank capital requirements by increasing bank liquidity and bank leverage. Basel III has been criticized by banks, organized in the Institute of International Finance in Washington D.C. (large American and European banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank) with the argument it would hurt them and economic growth.OECD estimated that implementation of Basel III would decrease annual GDP growth by 0.05 0.15%.[3][4] blaming regulation as responsible for slow recovery from the late-2000s financial crisis,[5][6]. Basel III was also criticized to negatively affect the stability of the financial system by increasing incentives of banks to game the regulatory framework;[7]. The American Banker's Association,[8], the community banks, organized in the Independent Community Bankers of America,and some of the most liberal Democrats in the U.S. Congress. including the entire Maryland congressional delegation with Democratic Sens. Cardin and Mikulski and Reps. Van Hollen and Cummings voiced opposition to Basel III in their comments submitted to FDIC [9] as hurting small banks, by increasing "their capital holdings dramatically on mortgage and small business loans.", a theme repeated at H.R. hearings on 11/29/12 [10]. Others have argued that Basel III did not go far enough to regulate banks as inadequate regulation was a cause of the financial crisis. [11]. On January 6, 2013 the global banking sector won a significant easing of Basel III Rules, when the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision extended not only the implementation schedule to 2019, but broadened the definition of liquid assets.[12]

Bretton Woods
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states in the mid-20th century. The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent nation-states. Preparing to rebuild the international economic system as World War II was still raging, 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations gathered at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. The delegates deliberated during 122 July 1944, and signed the Agreement on its final day. Setting up a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system, the planners at Bretton Woods established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group. These organizations became operational in 1945 after a sufficient number of countries had ratified the agreement.

The chief features of the Bretton Woods system were an obligation for each country to adopt a monetary policy that maintained the exchange rate by tying its currency to the U.S. dollar and the ability of the IMF to bridge temporary imbalances of payments. On 15 August 1971, the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US$ to gold. This brought the Bretton Woods system to an end and saw the dollar become fiat currency.[1] This action, referred to as the Nixon shock, created the situation in which the United States dollar became a reserve currency used by many states. At the same time, many fixed currencies (such as GBP, for example), also became free floating.

Derivatives market
The derivatives market is the financial market for derivatives, financial instruments like futures contracts or options, which are derived from other forms of assets. The market can be divided into two, that for exchange-traded derivatives and that for over-the-counter derivatives. The legal nature of these products is very different as well as the way they are traded, though many market participants are active in both. http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/derivatives/bank_exposure.html

Naked short selling

Schematic representation of naked short selling in two steps. The short seller sells shares without owning them. He then purchases and delivers the shares for a different market price. If the short seller cannot afford the shares in the second step, or the shares are not available, a "fail to deliver" results. Naked short selling, or naked shorting, is the practice of short-selling a tradable asset of any kind without first borrowing the security or ensuring that the security can be borrowed, as is conventionally done in a short sale. When the seller does not obtain the shares within the required time frame, the result is known as a "failure to deliver". The transaction generally remains open until the shares are acquired by the seller, or the seller's broker settles the trade. [1] Short selling is used to anticipate a price fall, but exposes the seller to the risk of a price rise.

In 2008, the SEC banned what it called "abusive naked short selling"[2] in the United States, as well as some other jurisdictions, as a method of driving down share prices. Failing to deliver shares is legal under certain circumstances, and naked short selling is not per se illegal.[3][4][5] In the United States, naked short selling is covered by various SEC regulations which prohibit the practice. [6] Critics, including Overstock.com's Patrick M. Byrne, have advocated for stricter regulations against naked short selling. In 2005, "Regulation SHO" was enacted, requiring that broker-dealers have grounds to believe that shares will be available for a given stock transaction, and requiring that delivery take place within a limited time period. [4][7] As part of its response to the crisis in the North American markets in 2008, the SEC issued a temporary order restricting short-selling in the shares of 19 financial firms deemed systemically important, by reinforcing the penalties for failing to deliver the shares in time.[8] Effective September 18, 2008, amid claims that aggressive short selling had played a role in the failure of financial giant Lehman Brothers, the SEC extended and expanded the rules to remove exceptions and to cover all companies, including market makers.[2][9] Some commentators have contended that despite regulations, naked shorting is widespread and that the SEC regulations are poorly enforced. Its critics have contended that the practice is susceptible to abuse, can be damaging to targeted companies struggling to raise capital, and has led to numerous bankruptcies.[6][10] However, other commentators have said that the naked shorting issue is a "devil theory",[11] not a bona fide market issue and a waste of regulatory resources. [12]

Reserve currency

The US dollar and the Euro make up 90% of Allocated Reserves globally. Unallocated Reserves are not included in this graph, although they make up over 45% of total world foreign exchange holdings A reserve currency, or anchor currency, is a currency that is held in significant quantities by many governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. It also tends to be the international pricing currency for products traded on a global market, and commodities such as oil, gold, etc.[citation needed]

This permits the issuing country to purchase the commodities at a marginally lower rate than other nations, which must exchange their currencies with each purchase and pay a transaction cost. For major currencies, this transaction cost is negligible with respect to the price of the commodity. It also permits the government issuing the currency to borrow money at a better rate, as there will always be a larger market for that currency than others.

FIAT Currency

Yuan dynasty banknotes were the earliest fiat money. Fiat money is money that derives its value from government regulation or law. The term fiat currency is used when the fiat money is used as the main currency of the country. The term derives from the Latin fiat ("let it be done", "it shall be").[1] Fiat money originated in 11th century China,[2] and its use became widespread during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.[3] During the 13th century, Marco Polo described the fiat money of the Yuan Dynasty in his book The Travels of Marco Polo.[4][5] The Nixon Shock of 1971 ended the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. Since then all reserve currencies have been fiat currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the Euro.[6]

Gold standard

Under a gold standard, paper notes are convertible into preset, fixed quantities of gold.

Gold certificates were used as paper currency in the United States from 1882 to 1933. These certificates were freely convertible into gold coins. The gold standard is a monetary system where the standard economic unit of account is based on the fixed weight of gold. There are three distinct types of "gold standards". The gold specie standard is a system in which the monetary unit is associated with the value of circulating gold coins or has the value of a certain circulating gold coin along with other coins made of less valuable metal. The gold exchange standard usually does not involve the circulation of gold coins. The main feature of the gold exchange standard is that the government guarantees a fixed exchange rate with another country that does use the gold standard (specie or bullion), regardless of what type of notes or coins are used as a means of exchange. This creates a de facto gold standard, where the value of the means of exchange has a fixed external value in terms of gold that is independent of the inherent value of the means of exchange itself. Finally, the gold bullion standard is a system in which gold coins do not circulate, but the authorities agree to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price in exchange for circulating currency. No country currently uses the gold standard as the basis of its monetary system although most hold substantial gold reserves. http://demonocracy.info/infographics/world/gold/gold.html

United States Bullion Depository

The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located adjacent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves and occasionally other precious items belonging or entrusted to the federal government.

The United States Bullion Depository holds 4,578 metric tons (5,046.3 short tons) of gold bullion (147.2 million oz. troy). This is roughly 3 percent of all the gold ever refined throughout human history. Even so, the depository is second in the United States to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's underground vault in Manhattan, which holds 7,000 metric tons (7,716 tons) of gold bullion (225.1 million oz. troy), some of it in trust for foreign nations, central banks and official international organizations.

History

Seal of the U.S. Mint In 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, which outlawed the private ownership of gold coins, gold bullion, and gold certificates by American citizens, forcing them to sell these to the Federal Reserve. As a result, the value of the gold held by the Federal Reserve increased from $4 billion to $12 billion between 1933 and 1937. [2] This left the federal government with a large gold reserve and no place to store it. In 1936, the U.S. Treasury Department began construction of the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, on land transferred from the military. The Gold Vault was completed in December 1936 for US $560,000, or $8.5 million in 2009 dollars. The site is located on what is now Bullion Boulevard at the intersection of Gold Vault Road. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, in recognition of its significance in the economic history of the United States and its status as a well-known landmark.[3] The first gold shipments were made from January to July 1937. The majority of the United States' gold reserves were gradually shipped to the site, including old bullion and newly made bars made from melted gold coins. Some intact coins were stored. The transfer used 500 rail cars and was sent by registered mail, protected by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Treasury Department agents.[citation needed] During World War II, the depository held the original U.S. Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. It held the reserves of European countries and key documents from Western history; for example, it held the Crown of St. Stephen, part of the Hungarian crown jewels, given to American soldiers to prevent them from falling into Soviet hands. The repository held one of four copies (exemplifications) of the Magna Carta, which had been sent for display at the 1939 New York World's Fair, and which, when war broke out, was kept in the United States for the duration. During World War II and into the Cold War, until the invention of synthetic painkillers, a supply of processed morphine and opium was kept in the Depository as a hedge against the United States being cut off from the sources of supply of raw opium.[4]

Construction and security Below the fortress-like structure lies the gold vault lined with granite walls and protected by a blastproof door weighing 22 tons. Members of the Depository staff must dial separate combinations known only to them. Beyond the main vault door, smaller compartments provide further protection. [5] According to a Mosler Safe Company brochure: "The most famous, if not the largest, vault door order came from the Federal government in 1935 for the newly-constructed gold depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Both the vault door and emergency door were 21-inches thick and made of the latest torch- and drill-resistant material. The main vault door weighed 20 tons and the vault casing was 25-inches thick." [6] The facility is ringed with fences and is guarded by the United States Mint Police. The Depository premises are within the site of Fort Knox, a United States Army post, allowing the Army to provide additional protection. The Depository is protected by layers of physical security, alarms, video cameras, mine fields, barbed razor wire, electric fences, heavily armed guards, and the Army units based at Fort Knox, including unmarked Apache helicopter gunships of 8/229 Aviation based at Godman Army Airfield, the 16th Cavalry Regiment, the 19th Engineer Battalion, formerly training battalions of the United States Army Armor School, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division, totaling 30,000 soldiers, with associated tanks, armored personnel carriers, attack helicopters, and artillery. There is an escape tunnel from the lower level of the vault to be used by someone accidentally locked in.[7] For security reasons, no visitors are allowed inside the depository grounds. This policy has been enforced ever since the vault opened and the only exception was an inspection by members of the United States Congress and the news media on September 23, 1974 led by then Director of the United States Mint Mary Brooks.[7] Gold Gold holdings peaked during World War II at 20,205 metric tons (649.6 million oz. troy). Today, holdings are 4,578 metric tons (147.2 million oz. troy) in 368,000 standard, 400 oz. troy (12.4 kg or 27.4 lb avoirdupois) gold bars. At the June 17, 2012 rate of $1,618.82 an ounce [8] it is worth $238.290 billion, while the World War II total of 649.6 million oz. troy would be worth $1.051 trillion. The depository also holds monetary gold coins. The 1933 Double Eagle was also a temporary resident after transfer from 7 World Trade Center in July 2001, until its sale in July 2002 for $7.59 million. Sometime in 2004, 10 additional allegedly stolen 1933 Double Eagles were transported to Fort Knox for safekeeping. Not all the gold bars held in the depository are of exactly the same composition. The mint gold bars are nearly pure gold. Bars made from melted gold coins, however, called "coin bars", are the same composition as the original coins, which is only 90% gold. Unlike many .999 fine gold bullion coins minted in modern times for holding-purposes today, the coin alloy for pre-1933 U.S. coins, which were intended for circulation, was a much tougher and wear-resistant .900 fine alloy (balance copper) used for all U.S. gold coins since 1837. (See crown gold for further gold coin alloy history.)

All of the gold in the depository, if pure, could form a cube 20.3 feet (6.19 m) on a side a volume of 237 m. In comparison, all the gold ever refined in history (an estimated 165,000 tonnes) is about 40 times greater, so the facility alone holds about 2.5% of all gold ever refined.[9] The United States holds more gold bullion than any other country, with about 2.39 times that of the next leading country, Germany.

LIBOR

The Libor gets its name from the City of London, one of the largest financial centres in the world. The London Interbank Offered Rate is the average interest rate estimated by leading banks in London that they would be charged if borrowing from other banks.[1] It is usually abbreviated to Libor (pron.: /labr/) or LIBOR, or more officially to BBA Libor (for British Bankers' Association Libor) or the trademark bbalibor. It is the primary benchmark, along with the Euribor, for short term interest rates around the world.[2][3] Libor rates are calculated for ten currencies and 15 borrowing periods ranging from overnight to one year and are published daily at 11:30 am (London time) by Thomson Reuters.[4][5] Many financial institutions, mortgage lenders and credit card agencies set their own rates relative to it. At least $350 trillion in derivatives and other financial products are tied to the Libor.[6] In June 2012, multiple criminal settlements by Barclays Bank revealed significant fraud and collusion by member banks connected to the rate submissions, leading to the Libor scandal.[7][8][9] The British Bankers Association said on September 25, 2012 that it would transfer oversight of LIBOR to UK regulators, as proposed by Financial Services Authority Managing Director Martin Wheatley's independent review recommendations.[10] Wheatly's review recommended that banks submitting rates to LIBOR must base them on actual inter-bank deposit market transactions and keep records of those transactions, that individual banks' LIBOR submissions be published after three months, and recommended criminal sanctions specifically for manipulation of benchmark interest rates. [11] Financial institution customers may experience higher and more volatile borrowing and hedging costs after implementation of the recommended reforms. [12] The UK government agreed to accept all of the Wheatly Review's recommendations and press for legislation implementing them. [13]

Petrodollar
A petrodollar is a United States dollar earned by a country through the sale of its petroleum to another country.[1] The term was coined in 1973 by Georgetown University economics professor, Ibrahim Oweiss, who recognized the need for a term that could describe the dollar received by petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) in exchange for oil. The term petrodollar should not be confused with petrocurrency which refers to the actual national currency of each petroleum exporting country. In addition to the United States petrodollar, a petrodollar can also refer to the Canadian dollar in transactions that involve the sale of Canadian oil to other nations. Large inflow of petrodollar in a country often has a impact on the value of its currency. For Canada it was shown that an increase of 10% in the price of oil increases the Canadian dollar value versus the US dollar by 3%[2] and vice versa.

Worldwide use of the U.S. dollar and the euro: United States External adopters of the US dollar Currencies pegged to the US dollar - includes many oil producing countries Currencies pegged to the US dollar w/ narrow band Eurozone External adopters of the euro Currencies pegged to the euro Currencies pegged to the euro w/ narrow band Note that the Belarusian ruble is pegged to the Euro, Russian Ruble and U.S. Dollar in a currency basket.

Ponzi scheme

1910 police mugshot of Charles Ponzi, the namesake of the scheme A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering higher returns than other investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. Perpetuation of the high returns requires an ever-increasing flow of money from new investors to keep the scheme going.[1] The system is destined to collapse because the earnings, if any, are less than the payments to investors. Usually, the scheme is interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses because a Ponzi scheme is suspected or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. As more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities increases. [1] The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi,[2] who became notorious for using the technique in 1920. [3] Ponzi did not invent the scheme (for example, Charles Dickens' 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit and 1857 novel Little Dorrit each described such a scheme),[4] but his operation took in so much money that it was the first to become known throughout the United States. Ponzi's original scheme was based on the arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps; however, he soon diverted investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and himself.

BRIC

In economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development. It is typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC countries" or "the BRIC economies" or alternatively as the "Big Four". The acronym was coined by Jim O'Neill in a 2001 paper entitled "Building Better Global Economic BRICs".[1][2][3] The acronym has come into widespread use as a symbol of the shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies towards the developing world. It is estimated that BRIC economies will overtake G7 economies by 2027. [4] According to a paper published in 2005, Mexico and South Korea were the only other countries comparable to the BRICs, but their economies were excluded initially because they were considered already more developed, as they were already members of the OECD.[5] The same creator of the term "BRICS" coined the term MIKT, that includes Mexico and (South) Korea. Several of the more developed of the N-11 countries, in particular Turkey, Mexico, Indonesia and Nigeria, are seen as the most likely contenders to the BRICs. Some other developing countries that have not yet reached the N-11 economic level, such as South Africa, aspire to BRIC status. Economists at the Reuters 2011 Investment Outlook Summit, held on 6 7 December 2010, dismissed the notion of South Africa joining BRIC.[6] Jim O'Neill told the summit that he was constantly being lobbied about BRIC status by various countries. He said that South Africa, at a population of under 50 million people, was just too small an economy to join the BRIC ranks. [7] However, after the BRIC countries formed a political organization among themselves, they later expanded to include South Africa, becoming the BRICS.[8] Goldman Sachs has argued that, since the four BRIC countries are developing rapidly, by 2050 their combined economies could eclipse the combined economies of the current richest countries of the world. These four countries, combined, currently account for more than a quarter of the world's land area and more than 40% of the world's population.[9][10] Goldman Sachs did not argue that the BRICs would organize themselves into an economic bloc, or a formal trading association, as the European Union has done.[11] However, there are some indications that the "four BRIC countries have been seeking to form a 'political club' or 'alliance'", and thereby converting "their growing economic power into greater geopolitical clout". [12][13] On June 16, 2009, the leaders of the BRIC countries held their first summit in Yekaterinburg, and issued a declaration calling

for the establishment of an equitable, democratic and multipolar world order. Since then they have met in Braslia in 2010, met in Sanya in 2011 and in New Delhi, India in 2012. [14] In recent years, the BRICs have received increasing scholarly attention. Brazilian political economist Marcos Troyjo and French investment banker Christian Dsglise founded the BRICLab at Columbia University, a Forum examining the strategic, political and economic consequences of the rise of BRIC countries, especially by analyzing their projects for power, prosperity and prestige through graduate courses, special sessions with guest speakers, Executive Education programs, and annual conferences for policymakers, business and academic leaders, and students. [15]

G-20

The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (also known as the G-20, G20, and Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.[2] The G-20 heads of government or heads of state have also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for more than 80 percent of the gross world product (GWP),[3] 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and two-thirds of the world population.[2] They furthermore account for 84.1 percent and 82.2 percent of the world's economic growth by nominal GDP and GDP (PPP) respectively from the years 2010 to 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin[4] as a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system. The group was formally inaugurated in September 1999, and held its first meeting in December 1999. It studies, reviews, and promotes high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability, and seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization. With the G-20 growing in stature after the 2008 Washington summit, its leaders announced on September 25, 2009, that the group would replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.[5] Since its inception, the G-20's membership policies have been criticized by numerous intellectuals,[6][7] and its summits have been a focus for major protests. [8] The heads of the G-20 nations met biannually at G-20 summits between 2008 and 2011. Since the November 2011 Cannes summit, all G-20 summits have been held annually.[2] Russia currently holds the chair of the G-20, and will host the eighth G-20 summit in September 2013.[9]

G8

The Group of Eight (G8) is for the governments of eight of the world's wealthiest countries. The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 following year with the addition of Canada. The G7, that is active even after the creation of the G8, is composed by the 7 wealthiest countries on Earth (as net wealth and not GDP). In 1997, Russia was added to the group which then became known as the G8. [1] The European Union is represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits. [2] "G8" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8 environment ministers. Collectively, the G8 nations comprise 51.0% of 2011 global nominal GDP and 42.5% of global GDP (PPP). Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group to include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil, People's Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5. With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, world leaders from the group announced at their Pittsburgh summit on September 25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations. [3][4] The most recent G8 meeting was the 38th G8 summit.

Interpol
International Criminal Police Organization INTERPOL
Common name Abbreviation Interpol ICPO

Logo of the International Criminal Police Organization INTERPOL.

Agency overview Formed Employees Annual budget Legal personality International agency Countries Governing body Constituting instrument General nature 190 member states Interpol General Assembly ICPO-INTERPOL Constitution and General Regulations Law enforcement Civilian agency Operational structure Headquarters Agency executives Lyon, France Mireille Balestrazzi, President Ronald Noble, Secretary General Facilities National Central Bureaus 190 Website interpol.int 7 September 1923 673 (2011)[1] 60 million (2011)[2] equals $78,452,000 Governmental: Government agency Jurisdictional structure

Interpol headquarters in Lyon. The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO, French: Organisation internationale de Police Criminelle - OIPC), widely known as INTERPOL,[3] is an intergovernmental organization facilitating international police cooperation. It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in 1923 and adopted its telegraphic address as its common name in 1956. Its membership of 190We are a group of people who have been brought together to assist in the world's awakening by reporting truth and exposing our fraudulent corporate government. We bring forth information that the mainstream media (msm) refuses to report and our news comes from high level "inside" intelligence sources. countries provides a budget of around 60 million through annual contributions. The organization's headquarters is in Lyon, France. It is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations by member states. In 2011, the Interpol General Secretariat employed a staff of 673 representing 93 member countries.[1] Its current Secretary-General is Ronald Noble, a former United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement. Succeeding Khoo Boon Hui, its current President is Deputy Central Director of the French Judicial Police Mireille Ballestrazzi. In order to maintain as politically neutral a role as possible, Interpol's constitution forbids it to undertake any interventions or activities of a political, military, religious, or racial nature. [4] Its work focuses primarily on public safety, terrorism, organized crime, crimes against humanity, environmental crime, genocide, war crimes, piracy, illicit traffic in works of art, illicit drug production, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, child pornography, whitecollar crime, computer crime, intellectual property crime and corruption.

Trilateral Commission
The Trilateral Commission

Founder(s) Type Founded

David Rockefeller Annual conference 1973 Washington, DC (main meeting Headquarters place); Paris; Tokyo Joseph S. Nye, Jr. (North American chairman) Yotaro Kobayashi (Pacific Asian Key people chairman) Jean-Claude Trichet (European chairman) Members More than 390 Website www.trilateral.org The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller[1] in July 1973, to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Paris Club

Map of the members of the Paris Club

The Paris Club (French: Club de Paris) is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors. Debtors are often recommended by the International Monetary Fund after alternative solutions have failed.[citation
needed]

It meets every six weeks at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance in Paris. It is chaired by a senior official of the French Treasury, currently the Director General of the Treasury [Ramon Fernandez]. The club grew out of crisis talks held in Paris in 1956 between the nation of Argentina and its various creditors. Its principles and procedures were codified at the end of the 1970s in the context of the North-South Dialogue.[citation needed]

United Nations
United Nations
Organisation des Nations unies Organizacin de las Naciones Unidas

Flag

Motto: It's your world! [1]

. Headquarters International territory, New York City Arabic Chinese English French Russian

Official languages

Membership -

Spanish 193 member states Leaders Ban Ki-moon

Secretary-General

- Deputy SecretaryJan Eliasson General - General Assembly Vuk Jeremi President - Security Council Vitaly Churkin President Establishment - United Nations Charter 26 June 1945 signed - Entry into force of 24 October 1945 Charter Website UN.org The United Nations (UN; French: Organisation des Nations unies, ONU) is the world's largest, foremost, and most prominent international organization. The stated aims of the United Nations include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions. Since 2011, the UN has 193 member states. From its offices around the world, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the year. The organization has six principal organs: the General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly); the Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development); the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN); the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ); and the United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive). Other prominent UN System agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The UN's most prominent position is that of the office of Secretary-General which has been held by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea since 2007. The United Nations Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City, with further main offices at Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.[3]

World Bank
World Bank

World Bank logo Type Legal status Purpose/focus Location Membership

International organization Treaty Crediting Washington, D.C., U.S. 188 countries [1](IBRD)

172 countries (IDA) President Jim Yong Kim Main organ Board of Directors[2] Parent organization World Bank Group Website worldbank.org The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans[3] to developing countries for capital programs. The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty. According to the World Bank's Articles of Agreement (as amended effective 16 February 1989), all of its decisions must be guided by a commitment to promote foreign investment, international trade, and facilitate capital investment.[4]The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), whereas the latter incorporates these two in addition to three more:[5] International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Bank for International Settlements

Bank for International Settlements
Type Purpose/focus Location Membership General manager Main organ Website International organization Central bank cooperation Basel, Switzerland 58 central banks Jaime Caruana Board of directors[1] www.bis.org

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks".[2] As an international institution, it is not accountable to any single national government.The BIS carries out its work through subcommittees, the secretariats it hosts and through an annual general meeting of all member banks. It also provides banking services, but only to central banks and other international organizations. It is based in Basel, Switzerland, with representative offices in Hong Kong and Mexico City.

International Court of Justice

International Court of Justice
Cour internationale de justice

Established 1945 Country Worldwide, 193 State Parties Location The Hague, Netherlands Coordinates 520511.76N 41743.80E / 52.0866000N

Authorized by Judge term 9 years length Number of 15 positions Website www.icj-cij.org President Currently Peter Tomka[1] Since 6 February 2012 Lead position 5 February 2015 ends Vice President Currently Bernardo Seplveda-Amor[1] Since 6 February 2012 Lead position 5 February 2015 ends

4.2955000ECoordinates: 520511.76N 41743.80E / 52.0866000N 4.2955000E UN Charter ICJ Statute

Peace Palace, seat of the ICJ

The International Court of Justice (French: Cour internationale de Justice; commonly referred to as the World Court or ICJ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly .

International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

Official logo for the IMF Formally December 27, 1945 (67 years ago) Formation Actually March 1, 1947 (66 years ago) International Economic Type Organization Washington, D.C., United Headquarters States 29 countries (founding); 188 Membership countries (to date) English, French, and Official languages Spanish Managing Christine Lagarde Director Main organ Board of Governors Website www.imf.org The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that was initiated in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference and formally created in 1945 by 29 member countries. The IMF's stated goal was to stabilize exchange rates and assist the reconstruction of the worlds international payment system post-World War II. Countries contribute money to a pool through a quota system from which countries with payment imbalances can borrow funds temporarily. Through this activity and others such as surveillance of its members' economies and policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries.[1] The IMF describes itself as an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty

around the world.[2] The organization's stated objectives are to promote international economic cooperation, international trade, employment, and exchange rate stability, including by making financial resources available to member countries to meet balance of payments needs.[3] Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., United States.

Financial Action Task Force

Financial Action Task Force
Abbreviation Formation FATF 1989 Intergovernmental Type organization Combat money laundering Purpose/focus and terrorism financing Headquarters Paris, France Region served Worldwide Membership 36 Official languages English, French President Mr. Bjrn S. Aamo [1] Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) The Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and Affiliations the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering in South America (GAFISUD) Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) Website http://www.fatf-gafi.org The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financire (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.

The purpose of the FATF is to develop policies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the headquarters of the OECD in Paris.

Patriot Act
The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The title of the act is a ten letter backronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. [1] The act, as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, significantly reduced restrictions in law enforcement agencies' gathering of intelligence within the United States; expanded the Secretary of the Treasurys authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadened the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Acts expanded law enforcement powers can be applied. On May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama used an Autopen to sign a four-year extension of three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act while he was in France: [2] roving wiretaps, searches of business records (the "library records provision"), and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves" individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities not linked to terrorist groups.[3] Republican leaders[4] questioned if the use of the Autopen met the constitutional requirements for signing a bill into law.[

Madam Wu Yi
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wu.

Wu Yi

Wu Yi with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. First Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
Acting

In office

2 June 2007 17 March 2008 Premier Wen Jiabao Preceded by Huang Ju Succeeded by Li Keqiang Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China In office 15 March 2003 2 June 2007 Serving with Zeng Peiyan Hui Liangyu Premier Wen Jiabao Qian Qichen Preceded by Wu Bangguo Wen Jiabao Zeng Peiyan Succeeded by Hui Liangyu Personal details November 1938 (age 74) Born Wuhan, Republic of China Political party Communist Party Alma mater China University of Petroleum

Wu Yi
Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese

Wu Yi (born November 1938 in Wuhan, Hubei, China) was one of four Vice Premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, overseeing the country's economy until March 2008. Known as the "iron lady", Wu is one of the toughest negotiators in China's government. In April 1962, she joined the Communist Party of China. In August of the same year, she graduated from the Petroleum Refinery department at the Beijing Petroleum Institute, with a degree in petroleum engineering. She spent much of her career as a petroleum technician, eventually becoming deputy manager at the Beijing Dongfang Hong refinery, and assistant manager and party secretary at the Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Corporation. She was elected deputy mayor of Beijing in 1988, and held that office until 1991. Following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, she persuaded coal workers threatening to go on strike to continue working after some of their colleagues had been killed. From 1991 until 1998, she held successively the posts of Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, and member of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. A protg of Zhu Rongji, she became a state councillor in 1998, and was appointed Vice Premier of the State Council in March 2003. She was the first woman to hold the position since economic and political reforms in 1978, and the most powerful

woman in Chinese politics since Jiang Qing. She helped negotiate the PRC's entry into the World Trade Organization and reorganised the customs service after U.S. complaints over the widespread violation of intellectual property rights. During the SARS crisis, she replaced Zhang Wenkang, who had been fired for his coverup of the crisis, as health minister and headed a committee to solve the crisis. She was called the "Goddess of Transparency" by Time magazine for her leadership during the SARS crisis and named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2004. In the middle of the SARS endemic, Wu fiercely snubbed the advocation for Republic of China's WHO participation during the WHO general assembly. One video clip aired widely in Taiwan showed Wu rebuffing the question of Taiwan's representation during an interview by a Taiwanese reporter. After the assembly, a Taiwanese reporter asked the Chinese delegation if they knew what the needs were of the 23 million citizens of Taiwan. Surprisingly, an official beside Wu Yi replied, "Who cares about you people!" to the Taiwanese reporter. Called by Chinese media as the "Iron Lady of China", Wu is regarded as a firm and direct woman who, unlike her colleagues, has not dyed her graying hair black. Since becoming Vice Premier, Wu has been an able diplomat in signing agreements with neighboring Asian countries. She also makes frequent inspection visits to many southern Chinese regions. Since the death of Huang Ju, the senior Vice Premier, Wu has taken on the portfolio of overseeing financial work. Vice Premier Wu announced at the end of 2007 that she would retire in March 2008. During the last few months of her tenure she was involved in negotiations with U.S. toy giant Mattel over toy lead content that brought significant woe to the reputation of Chinese products. At a meeting held with Chinese business leaders in early 2008 Wu revealed that her personal salary totaled RMB 120,000, or 17,582.40 U.S. dollars per year,[citation needed] and told the business leaders that they should only "take money from the right places".

The Creature from Jekyll Island

Griffin enrolled in the College for Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado, and became a Certified Financial Planner in 1989.[26] He described the U.S. money system in his 1993 movie and 1994 book on the Federal Reserve System, The Creature from Jekyll Island.[1] This popular book[27][28] has been a business bestseller;[29][30] it has been reprinted in Japanese, 2005, and German, 2006. The book

also influenced Ron Paul during the writing of a chapter on money and the Federal Reserve in Paul's New York Times number-one bestseller, The Revolution: A Manifesto, which recommended Griffin's book on its "Reading List for a Free and Prosperous America".[31] The title refers to the November 1910 meeting at Jekyll Island, Georgia, of six bankers and economic policymakers, who represented the financial elite of the Western world.[32][33] The meeting was recounted by Forbes founder B. C. Forbes in 1916,[34] and recalled by participant Frank Vanderlip as "the actual conception of what eventually became the Federal Reserve System".[35] Griffin states that participant Paul Warburg describes the Jekyll Island meeting as "this most interesting conference concerning which Senator Aldrich pledged all participants to secrecy".[36] Griffin's work stresses[37] the point which Federal Reserve chair Marriner Eccles made in Congressional testimony in 1941: "If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn't be any money." [32] Griffin advocates against the debt-based fiat money system on several grounds, stating that it devours individual prosperity through inflation and it is used to perpetuate war. He also described a framework of central bankers underwriting both sides of an ongoing war or revolution.[38] Griffin says that the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the World Bank are working to destroy American sovereignty through a system of world military and financial control, and he advocates for United States withdrawal from the United Nations.[11][39] Edward Flaherty, an academic economist,[40] characterized Griffin's description of the secret meeting on Jekyll Island as "conspiratorial", "amateurish", and "suspect". [41] Griffin's response was that Flaherty had miscategorized the book with other publications and had labeled all criticisms of the Federal Reserve as the results of conspiracy theory.[42] Griffin's advocation of a free-market, private-money system superior to the Fed caused Bernard von NotHaus to deploy such a system in 1998. Griffin states that von NotHaus's private silver certificates, known as Liberty Dollars, are "real money".[43]

White Hats
We are a group of people who have been brought together to assist in the world's awakening by reporting truth and exposing our fraudulent corporate government. We bring forth information that the mainstream media (msm) refuses to report and our news comes from high level "inside" intelligence sources. White hats have no politicial agena nor is affeliated with any party or federal agency. As a organizations they do not control any part of new monetary policy making. http://tdarkcabal.blogspot.com/

Global Settlements
http://projectcamelotportal.com/kerrys-blog/1371-mp3-of-tman-white-hats-interview http://projectcamelotportal.com/images/Tman_Transcript_10-19-12.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WhTXJ_8H3g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnSrlBk-4sE&feature=player_embedded

This is my understanding from everything I've been told and researched: World Global Settlements-Dr. Todd The truth of the Global Settlements http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnSrlBk-4sE&feature=player_embedded

What are the global settlements? Then name is global settlements. The origin of this and another key factor is that these funds were to be completely paid off by 2008. According to a Treasury Treaty that was set up for 50 years in 1958. The origin of those funds that were included at that time, in 1958, and how did this come about at that time? The duration of that 50 years was decided post WWII. The banks in Europe had little that they could be put in as acceptable assets that could be used for the redevelopment of Europe at that time as they were thinking. This was set up initially in the Marshall Plan, then in the European Reconstruction Acts that came through. They were limited to just a few years, initially three years, then certain specific extensions for several years. Then it went out as having a legislative base. The US supported those with guarantees from the Treasury that were never ever made public. Again, there was the origination with the reconstruction of Europe funds. Now, where did they get the funds that the banks initially used to come into this? The Marshall Plan was not developed in any way to take care of the Far East, and the tremendous reconstruction that needed to take place there. But there were more gold and real assets in the Far East than were currently available in Europe at that time. General McArthur had the complete control of reconstruction and everything else immediately after the war and during the Korean War in the Far East. That authority was not relinquished until he was fired by President Thurman in 1951. And that came so suddenly that his successor, General Ridgeway, took over as the UN and US Supreme Headquarters for the Far East in Tokyo. General McArthurs Chief of Staff - General Whitney, a full general not a five star, but he ranked General Ridgeway just slightly on what is known in the service as date of rank. General Ridgeways mission and command made him the senior person. But the chief thing they had to do there was to work out everything from an economic and financial standpoint that General McArthur had started. General Whitney was given complete control of that reporting back to General Bradley, who was at that time Chief of Staff, and to the president. By Treasury Treaty we further guaranteed much of the bank operations of top banks in Europe at that time. The person, who was in control of this and still remains in control of this to this day, is Queen Elizabeth. I think that very soon she will be divesting herself of this and the funding will come about. How did it occur that Queen Elizabeth got control of these funds? These funds were so important and meaningful internationally and would be for a number of years, they want a person with real longevity to have it. Initially they went to the Vatican, and the Vatican turned it down. When they took a second look at it, they wanted a person with longevity, so they looked at Queen Elizabeth and the status of GB, both long term prior to that, and even then saying their Treasury was down, they felt they could trust the long term longevity to the Monarchy. Queen Elizabeth's father setup a sacred oath that Queen Elizabeth would take this on and see it through for a 50 year term. A 50 year term was selected because they didnt feel that the reconstruction could be completed in less time than that. We all know that it did occurred, the reconstruction in Japan and in Europe over a 20 year period. They were back with a lot that had been accomplished in the worst hit areas of Europe and Japan during those years.

Because of the firing of McArthur, and the reconstruction of that, most of this work was not completed until about 1954 in the Far East command that General Ridgeway had and General Whitney was working on. The funds based there at that time does not sound like a great deal in the world today,

but all of you are aware of private placement now. The nomenclature of these things since WWII has taken on several names, as have the global settlements over those periods of time. They were looking at something at times just above and at times just below 100 billion dollars. And of that, the US had guaranteed somewhat in excess of 20 billion dollars. But the value of gold and where it was in getting those things together and signed over in transactions, over the 50 years, brought this figure over into the trillions of dollars. And this should have been paid out in full prior to 2008. Which was the 50th anniversary of 1958? So this culminates into trillions of dollars. *** As a side note, Dr. Todd was one of the ten original people to put this plan together. *** The question that comes at this time is how do I know about these things? I was an Air Control Officer just after hostilities with Korea. They had been working on this for some time, but the needed to be able to move things back and forth secretly, particularly in the Far East to settle the final things. There was a committee to make the report, and I was the Jr. Officer that helped write the report that went to our president, Queen Elizabeth, and the key person in the Far East that it went to, is in the Emperor's records themselves. I think that the point to make after that is how did these things grow and was there any litigation involving any of this. There was litigation, all of which was set aside. It doesn't mean there they didn't get certain things out of it and there weren't certain uses out of it, because there were. If you recall in the later 50's, there was quite a bit of contention between Taiwan and China, during the earliest parts if those years. The shelling of Maxious and Quemoy ( TS understanding of the words) , which were close to the Chinese mainland. Now, this was settled out and some of those funds were deemed necessary because China did not initially have any of these funds. Things had settled down with the communist take over of mainland China, and the things in Taiwan. They needed some funds to solidify that transaction and to satisfy china. Some gold and certain other parts of this were moved around to accomplish this. Not large amounts of it, but modest amounts. That was the rebirth in mainland China of some of its earliest holdings of gold by communist government. They had not gotten in full force of getting there's together, and that is also how they come into this today as things were involved. With this having essentially not been paid out before 2008, it long about this time that the dinar situation had come up. One of the stipulations of the settlement that General Swartscough had in the cease fire in the tent in the desert, via a admin memorandum that came about a week later from Washington. Washington was leading that collation that substantially beat Iraq during the Kuwait war. In this admin memorandum, it showed that in order for Iraq to regain soveriety , it had to have in place a new currency, a new dinar. It was in writing, in the admin memorandum; it was supposed to be before Iraq could take full sovereignty. There could be no time frame placed on that. This administration apparently changed that, because we know that Iraq gained sovereignty about a year ago. So rather than make the payments, that should have been coming from at least 2004, when all of these things were set up in 1954, but they extended that time to 2008, based on 50 years after the US Treasury Treaty. So that's what gave the origin and those 50 years was a building of the banks in Europe. The active bank in the Far East that was handling that is Mitsubishi Bank. That is where part of the funds that still have to be paid out now that is designated as the global settlements. Part is there and part is controlled in London by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Queen had initially set it

earlier on in Barclays, but moved it about 5 years ago to the responsibility of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Most of the key banks in Europe will be taking care of their part of the settlement, but the Queen has not designated yet, but will most likely have it moved through the Royal Bank of Scotland and that is the bank that she controls. The Bank of England being the central Bank of UK doesn't want to do it, they want a key commercial bank in the UK to do it. So that is where these things will come out from. None of this was fully done until Ike took over from President Thurman, that was when it was signed and most of the things went through... All of the presidents since then have been aware of this and have let it remain where it was. When Bush I went to China as the ambassador, arrangements were made for them to have greater participation with the settlements, and is being followed through until this time. There are both govt and private sector groups where these funds will be paid out. That is where the original gold and other assets came from, not just govt, but private sectors as well. Some of that private sector was in the Far East, Europe and some in the US. It was guaranteed up to about 20 billion dollars by the US. The US will be getting paid the largest amount out of the global settlements. The settlements have been under different names such as the patriot package, and prosperity packages, and some in Europe under the reconstruction act. However, all of it was aggregated and the person who took the responsibility was the queen. All of this has been kept quiet. I dont think any of you involved in this have seen anything in the major media or in any of the financial papers, most of them that are authentic such as the wall street journal, or the Economist out of the UK, and a few of the others but nothing has been mentioned about this. Citizens in the US and worldwide, the vast majority of them know nothing about this. Most of the legal suits that have been presented have been held up until the world court, The Hague, makes determinations as necessary as they are paid out. The vast majority of the suits will be dismissed, as they feel that all will be satisfied when all is done. Tony asked if people can put their money in now and get a portion of the lawsuits. Dr. Todd states that he doesnt feel any lawsuits are active or have been laid aside to be adjudicated at a later time, if in fact they arent dismissed entirely. The thinking is that they will be dismissed as they feel that all will be satisfied. As far as people putting money into them, as a private group, yes there have been actions related to this. One of the biggest ones involved a major bank. It involved the miss identification on the part of the bank. They turned down claims and was UBS that handled a lot of the gold that moved out of the Far East through their bank. They disavowed this. They disavowed that they had been involved with Nazi Germany in taking the gold from many of the people who were involved, such as the families in the concentration camps and were exterminated. Many of the families in the Far East, where certain codes were given, and certain members were nominated if the elders died, UBS was famous for saying that the names and the codes were not correct and claims were turned down. There has been a lot of litigation going on and still going on involved in that, but the funds have not been hurt. They have not identified the funds with the global funds, but they are identified back to the specific bank that handled them. How did the RV of the dinar and global settlements become related? Many of the banks that are holding the funds of the global settlements which were released some time ago, have not been paid out by the banks. However preparations are being made right NOW to complete some parts of that.

Why did it get hung up in 2008? Thats 4 years ago and did not get clarified. Its pretty simply really. When you have a multiplier of dollars of 5, 10 or even more, or the equal or the same increase even though they are going to use the pound sterling backing it, or something else, those ratios have been worked out so that relating it to dollars it will be from 5 to more than 10. The banks knew that and the banks will sit on it until they have their difference on that and in most cases theirs will be more than 10. With a multiplier of 10, there isnt a bank board worldwide that wont take that. Therefore this is the reason for the hold up. Tony states, So, they should have been paid in 2008. Dr. Todd states the global settlements were. Dr. Todd states that when he went into the Air Force just after the Korean War stated in 1950, he graduated from the University of Maryland. One of his closes professors was to become the Agriturial attach to Iraq at that time, and I was selected to become his assistance. I received some of the training and when it came down to what I was to be, I was selected to become part of the CIA and I said under no circumstances will I accept this position under those conditions. So yes, Ive followed Iraq a good bit since that time and its ironic that the two eventually tired together with me in my mid 80s. I know both sides of it pretty well. The only reason for the global settlements and RV of the dinar to be together was that the banks insisted that they get their money through the markup of the revaluation of the dinar. The banks wanted the increase in dollars based on the new Iraqi dinar. Which will be a markup from about 3.5 when their international currency was no longer recognized? It is recognized now that the markup will be some place plus or minus 5 for the individuals or what they are calling the 3rd level of the payouts. The banks and countries are in the 1 and 2 levels. At the present time, the central banks have already made the arrangements with regard to the dinar. Regardless of whether it is released or not. Each of the central banks have the call on what the dinars will be to them. They can release this as they want, not totally as they want. There is a committee of central bank officers that met about a month ago in Beijing and Gov. Shabbi was with them and that was essentially concluded at that time. It seems to me that the central banks could allow a commercial bank in their country to handle what was there, in the manner they want it done. Now where the global settlements are coming out, the banks that are going to be paying it out, the banks are satisfied with their markup that those banks will have. They have their markup as they are paying out the global settlements. That may come before level 3 people are announced to cash in. Will Level 1 and 2 be paid out before that? You know what private placements are; you know what blocked accounts are. Nothing in the international portfolios, either with the ICC that I am aware of, or with the basil I, 2, that have been approved or basil 3 this is sort of hanging fire, nothing states that blocked accounts have to be in currencies that are complete at that time for international trade. It is whatever the traders will accept, and the banks working with the traders. It is my understanding that in most cases, it has gone into private placements and is being allowed by the traders. Now what has come out I certainly dont know. Gary states it is being held there and there was a point where the global funds and the IQD were basically moving forward, but were separate transactions and they were impacting each other but werent connect to ea ch other. The banks will not need those global packets to pay out the dinar. They are no longer connected to each other. Dr. Todd states the banks are satisfied or they would not have proceeded. The dinar payouts have been moving forward since last April. Last year when we heard that the back screens have been activated and the dinar was being traded, the banks were being satisfied. Dr. Todd states that is a guess. He has no verification

of that. The banks are going to be getting something over 10, you can bet on that. When it comes down to level 3 and the individuals involved, they will get something close to 5 but something over the 3.5. The key thing is to understand is that a central bank and the big money people that allow yes allow is a good word for this. How does the US get away with printing all the money that it has printed and it is just printed, as nothing has been added to our gold reserves in Ft. Knox or elsewhere substantially, and certainly it hasnt backed that other currency. So, that is where we are today. There is accountability that comes into play at some point. Tony states you have given us a rate more or less, but asked does this seem like a good time for this to happen. Dr. Todds states very much so, that the highest likelihood that most of this will come out yet this month - remember the real blow up in 2008, there were a lot of things prior to Oct of 2008, but I think before the anniversary of that which means this month, it will take place. There may be some things that come out in financial documents, etc. That will push it along; I cant tell you for certain. It would appear to me and I have reason to believe that some of the global settlements are going to take place within less than ten 10 days. Some of them may have already occurred this month. And when this becomes somewhat know, it will force some of the other things to move with some greater speed than they have in the past year. Tony wanted to know if the level 3 RV will occur before then. Because we have been hearing about 1 and 2 levels for some time. Dr. Todd states he thinks it could be announced before the end of the month, and doesnt see how it could go past the middle of this month (OCT) at the latest. Too many things going on in Europe with the euro and the banks, with China and getting the stability that is needed. I think a lot will be going on within 60 days and a lot within 30 days. Gary states there is a lot of history here. Dr. Todd states there is, and he stated he just wished that this administration was aware of this history and was acting upon it, but it doesnt seem they are acting appropriately. Well see one of these days he stated. The St. Germaine Trust - The St. Germaine Trust is said to be a grant program to the people of the planet which contains huge sums of money. This trust fund is said to have a history which dates back to the 18th century, one that surrounds a plan to create a global system of asset-backed currencies, thus eliminating the fiat system of currency control that has been used by banking bloodline families in an attempt to enslave the planet. This idea of global asset-backed currencies would seem to be a direct challenge to the plan laid forth by Adam Smith in his famed 1776 economic text An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which argued against such hard currency systems. A story broke in the latter stages of 2012 in which it was reported amongst independent news outlets that the Trust was quietly opening its coffers for applications from the American people. Apparently, many thousands did in fact apply. Little is available in the public domain in regards to the parameters of this Trust Fund or of the inner workings of its origins, and thus, like all of the other supposed trust funds listed in this section, it must be approached cautiously. Still, at least one source whose information this writer has come to trust has vouched for the validity of this Trust, and thus we must wait and see what exactly (if anything) comes of it. The Saint Germaine Trust Fund is very VERY real- I will be posting a little bit of information about this later tonight The Wanta-Reagan-Mitterand Protocols - The main individuals whom have reported upon this angle of affairs are Tom Heneghan, a self-described International Intelligence

Expert, and Ambassador Leo Wanta, a top financial intelligence operative during the Reagan administration. Independent media reporter Stew Webb frequently uses Heneghan as a source for information. The Wanta-Reagan-Mitterand Protocols are said to contain monies which total $27.5 trillion dollars in value. Ambassador Leo Wanta has continued for years to release information concerning the fact that this money belongs to the American people, and has clamored for these funds to be used partly to fund a new high-speed rail system throughout the united States. Wanta has recently released an online book compiled by well-respected author and radio host Marilyn MacGruder Barnewall. Heneghan himself makes some interesting connections between these protocols and the role of Christine LaGarde of the IMF, which seem at least on the surface to fall in line with other, more reliable information released by the IMF itself in its supposed attempts to 'push back' against the global banking cartel. However, there exist several glaring issues in regards to these purported 'protocols'. First and foremost is the fact that Leo Wanta was intimately involved in the Project Hammer affair, which was a hostile corporate takeover of the former Soviet Union from the inside out. His main goal was that of the destabilization of the Russian Ruble. Wanta openly admits as much (though he fails to mention Project Hammer specifically), yet he continues to insist that the $27.5 trillion dollars taken under control by the united States as part of this operation somehow belongs to the American people. What about the Russian people? Should not the financial assets stolen from Russia as part of Project Hammer be returned to the people of Russia? Another glaring error that seems to be lost in this entire affair is that Project Hammer itself appears to have been funded by 73,000 tonnes of gold bullion taken from the coffers of Malacanang Palace in the Philippines in 1986 upon the removal of Ferdinand Marcos from power. This new gold recovery, said to have been spearheaded ultimately by George H.W. Bush and George Soros, was used to back this massive operation to take apart the Soviet economy. The actual amount stolen from the Russian people was $74 Trillion dollars- which begs the question: If Wanta is saying that $23.5 Trillion is for the American People (leaving him with a tidy $4 trillion for himself), then where is the other $50.5 Trillion Dollars? A second issue that continues to arise in regards to these so-called protocols is the fact that, as with the Intel being put out by the aforementioned 'reporters' concerning the global collateral accounts, we are continually being fed information that the implementation of these protocols is 'imminent'; one report even stating that the protocols would be implemented 'within hours'. Once again, many promises, many timelines come and gone; and nothing to show for it. And as a final note: It is particularly curious that Wanta wishes to use these $27.5 trillion dollars in funds to build a new nationwide high-speed rail system. It must be clearly understood that this idea is a central part of the United Nations global fascist Agenda 21. Should not $27.5 trillion dollars in financial assets, (which would seem to belong to the Soviet people to begin with), go directly into the hands of the people of the united States, rather than into a massive building project that will most likely fall under the control of the same banking and corporate powers that have brought the U.S. to the brink of complete financial collapse in the first place? Should not the CAFR's, which run

up into the hundreds of trillions of dollars, be opened up to fund such a project? Or would such an action collapse the entire system as we know it? As a final note: There is scuttlebutt amongst certain folks in the intelligence community of the possible attempts by President Reagan to create what was known as the Rainbow Dollar, which is said to have been a plan t o implement a new asset-backed currency in the united States. If such a thing is true, then it may possibly explain the attempt that was made on Reagans life, possibly by forces connected with then Vice President George H.W. Bush. Whether or not Leo Wanta s efforts were ultimately meant to serve some sort of role in this attempt to create a new asset-backed Treasury dollar remains an unanswered question. Links: Leo Wanta official biography by Marilyn MacGruder Barnewall http://theglobalnewsandviews.com/lee-wantas-official-biography/ Tom Heneghan - http://www.myspace.com/tom_heneghan_intel Codename: White Spiritual Boy/Spiritual Wonder Boy This particular agreement seems to be one of the more mysterious floating around in the public sector. This agreement appears to link to information previously reported upon concerning paperwork apparently signed by President Ronald Reagan and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to deposit vast sums of metals (either from stores held in the Philippines and/or from the combined global collateral accounts), into the treasury vaults of bullion banks around the world. Additional documentation supposedly contains the authentic signatures of some very powerful people, including Queen Elizabeth of Windsor, Pope Benedict XVI, and others. The entire agreement seems to center around the ASBLP Group of Companies and Banks, which stands for Ang Samahan ng mga Bayani at Lipunang Pilipino. The sole trustee of this account is said to be a one HRH, Anthony Santiago Martin. 2- I have a copy of Ferdinand Marcos' Last Will and Testament, and not only does it show the White Spirit Boy account information (with a hell of a lot of zeros) it also names Anthony Santiago Martin. I will try to get permission to release the copy of Will- damn interesting reading. Once again, when one factors in the reports that Reagan may have somehow been attempting to implement a new asset-backed U.S. Rainbow Dollar, these documents cause one to raise an eyebrow. However, knowing that Marcos himself was a brutal dictator who guarded his treasure hoards throughout the Philippines with an iron fist, and also knowing that Queen Elizabeth and Pope Benedict XVI are two of the most powerful oligarchs on Earth, it strains credibility to think that this agreement, if it is real, is in some way meant to benefit the people of this planet. Link: All of the relevant documents pertaining to this agreement are housed at this website (scroll down towards the bottom). *Note: All of the documents are hosted on the website of the Fountain of Life Research Foundation, Inc, which appears only to be hosting them here due to the perceived magnitude of the information put forth by the paperwork:

http://www.foundlifegh3.com/BLANK.html Prosperity Programs- there are many of them and they come from different areas- some are bank roll programs as you said. Omega is confirmed in the mix As I understand it the IQD revaluation and the CMKZ payouts are all tied together with the WGS and the PPs. How exactly they are tied together? Which is funding which?..... very few people know the exact answers to those questions.

Wanta-Reagan-Mitterrand Protocols
INTRODUCTION Whenever I talk or write about Ambassador Lee/Leo Emil Wanta, I know people will scoff. I know they will shake their heads in disbelief. Good heavens, the say in disbelief, no one man has ever created a $27.5 trillion fortune! And when I talk about Leo Wanta, I know Im placing myself in danger. The people who stole Lee Wantas money have held the highest offices in the land in the political and intelligence worlds and in our system of justice in our courts and in our Congress and our military. They dont like having this story told. This is the life story of a real man a story that challenges anything Ian Fleming ever wrote about a man called James Bond. Well, let me expand on that thought. There will be no Pussy Galore characters or scenes where Wanta skis down a hill on one ski (just a winters foggy breath ahead of expert archers shooting at his shadowy figure which gleams against the white snow on a moonlit night). Though Pussy or the snow scene exemplify wonderful Hollywood fiction, in this case truth is far more interesting. And yet, its a story based on lies the lies of government versus the integrity and honesty of one man who loves his country. The lies involve what happened to Manuel Noriega in Panama, (NORIEGA 1988 ARTICLES AP) the Iran-Contra scandal, Osama bin Laden and stinger missiles, (STINGER MISSILES PDF) a Vice President who, according to Americas top spy, Leo Emil Wanta, became President and brought with him into office an organized criminal cabal that resulted in the theft of trillions of dollars belonging to the American people. These lies (and there are many, only three are mentioned here) have been verified by international journalists who are currency experts. If you are alive, you need to understand what happened to Ambassador Leo Emil Wanta. His life has had a major impact on yours, even if youve never heard his name. It will continue to impact the lives of your children and grandchildren. Why? Hes the guy who brought down the economy of the Soviet Union and, while doing it, lawfully purchased 2,000 metric tones of gold from the Soviet Unions Central Bank. Hes been called the $27.5 Trillion Man and its an apt title. He got that name through savvy investing that resulted in the fall of the Iron Curtain and by putting together money from over 200 banks around the world to pay off the debt that is currently driving the United States into unnecessary bankruptcy. Unnecessary? Yes if that portion of the American government that has gone rogue hadnt stolen the funds President Ronald Reagan had the foresight to have Leo Emil Wanta put aside for the American people, there would be no debt for you, your children, your grandchildren and their

children for generations to come to pay. His life has, indeed, impacted yours though you may never hear the name Leo Wanta spoken. Our economy would be humming. Everyone who wanted a job would have one. Foreclosures 46 percent of which are fraudulent, according to the experts wouldnt openly practice fraud that kicks so many Americans out of their homes. The entire world wouldnt be heading into slavery via the New World Order. You remember the New World Order comments first voiced by George Herbert Walker Bush, dont you? Many Americans have figured out that the New World Order of which George H.W. Bush spoke is a two-class system an oligarchy destined to end in socialism (which is always destined to end in communism): An elitist class and a labor class. Its not an easy task to write about a covert intelligence operative. The entire purpose of such a persons life is secrecy. Finding facts that support the story can be difficult. I know because Ive spent years digging them up, researching them, and either abandoning them or trying to figure out just where in the story they belong. Here are some things to keep in mind as you read this book. This is the man who, by bringing down the Soviet Union Ruble (SUR), caused the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall to come tumbling down. This is the man who generated the largest fortune ever amassed by one person with the intent of giving almost all of it to his country to America. Leo Wanta created a $27.5 trillion fortune and wants to give $23 trillion of it to you to pay off the irresponsible debt of the Federal Reserve and numerous corrupt politicians, debt that was created as a means to tearing down our Republic. You may hear references to the Wanta -Reagan-Mitterrand Protocols. Those funds represent money Wanta has personally agreed to pay from his own funds the $4.5 trillion he earned in commissions for risking his life day-after-day for so many years in service to his government. He wasnt paid a salary. He worked on commission and the $4.5 trillion represents commissions due him for 30 years of very dangerous work. From that sum, Wanta has agreed to pay billions of dollars to several European nations most notably, $30 billion goes to the Russian Federation. Other nations involved in the Protocols include $5 billion each to the Governments of Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico and Spain. The Protocols will settle the rocky financial markets so close to failure in Europe and that, in turn, will go a long ways toward settling the markets of the United States. The point is, when he served as President Ronald Reagans personal inte lligence coordinator, he promised Reagan he would bring down the Soviet Union Ruble which he did and he would save the profits from that endeavor to pay America out of debt when the overspending crooks in government put the nation into bankruptcy that would be now. He is one of the nicest people you will ever meet truly a gentleman. Lee Wantas story involves well-known people like Hillary Clinton, Vince Foster, George Herbert Walker and George W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, Barrack Obama, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, George Soros, Vladimir Putin, and many other recognizable names. The story is filled with intrigue that involves the Soviet Union, stinger missiles, Osama Bin Laden or, Tim Osman as he was known when he was a CIA agent. I dont think Ive ever talked or written about Lee/Leo Wanta without being asked if he is for real. So lets talk some Wanta World history. The things Leo Wanta has done fall into the realm of the

unreal but he did them. As his official biographer, I have verified the things you will read on the following pages to the degree its possible to verify things about a super secret intelligence operative. When I talk about court cases, I have every court transcript involving every court action involving Leo Wanta. I know with certainty when I speak of the court cases that the information is absolutely accurate because my source is court transcripts. When I write about the secret intelligence operations Leo Wanta was involved in, I have documents that support what Im saying. Do I have all of the documents? No. The things Leo Wanta was involved in were highly secret operations, but I do have copies of Wantas field reports, his letters to Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney and to Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barrack Obama. I have documents from the Ronald Reagan Library. I have copies of the answers Leo gave under penalty of perjury to those questioning him (from various intelligence agencies) while he sat on the floor of his prison cells, handwriting responses. Lee has a very distinctive script and I dont believe anyone could copy it to write the hundreds of pages involved. And, generally speaking, when I received those documents he verified on the telephone that he was the one who sent them. The most logical question any reader might ask me is: How do you know that the person you talk with on the telephone and those handwritten records belong to the real Leo Wanta? I have copies of the mortgage papers Leo Wanta signed when he and his wife purchased their home in Appleton, Wisconsinin 1977 before he became President Reagans personal intelligence coordinator, before he got involved in Reagans Presidential Task Force to take down the Soviet Union Ruble. I have copies of other documents he signed long before his status as a secret agent involved the Office of the President of the United States which placed him at the top of the list maintained by people who want to destroy our Republic. I have copies of his handwriting from legal documents signed by Leo Emil Wanta when he was a partner at Aneko Credit Point Limited in Singapore, as Chief Executive Officer of New Republic in Austria, as Chief Executive Officer of AmeriTrust in Virginia. I had his handwriting analyzed by two experts trained by the FBI. I have pictures of him. How do I know theyre him? Last year, I sent him a baseball cap with the words Wanta University embroidered on it. He had a picture taken of himself wearing the cap in front of the Federal Reserve Building. I sent a copy to the woman who was his case manager when he was in prison in Oklahoma and she verified that it is Lee/Leo Wanta. How do I know she is who she says she is? I made two trips to Oklahoma to meet and spend days talking with her. I met her friends and family. She is who she says she is. I met a second case manager while in Oklahoma who also made verifications. My background is that of banking. I was a commercial banker with Denvers largest bank, United (now Wells Fargo). I believe only someone schooled in banking (I hold a graduate degree in that subject from the University of Colorado School of Business) would be capable of understanding the significance of what Leo Wanta accomplished and be able to write about it. Prior to beginning my career as a banker, I was a journalist and while a banker I wrote numerous articles for national bank publications. After becoming disabled in 1993 and leaving my banking career behind, I once again began writing. You can find my editorials at World Net Daily, News With Views, Canada Free Press, and others online. I also write for print publications you wont find online. I have hesitated to write this book because the material contained in it is so difficult to believe. As I begin, Im 75 years old. I have spent a lifetime working to make sure my reputation was built on truth.

I spent 20 years as a banker and another 20 years as a journalist and I do not, at this late stage, want to write anything that would damage my reputation for truth and honesty. Seniors will understand what Im saying theres no more time available to go out and right a mistake you might make. Thus, I have hesitated to write this book. But it is an important book and the story of Lee/Leo Emil Wanta needs to be told. Americans need to know that our nation still breeds patriots worthy of being called hero but who remain in the hidden shadows of the unrecognizable. Lee/Leo Emil Wanta is one such hero. It has taken almost four years of daily conversations with Lee Wanta and thousands of pages of documents, most from him but thousands I received from outside sources like courts and lawyers, Wantas friends, investigative reporters and currency experts and the Reagan Library. It has required reading some of the most obscene court documents from the State of Wisconsin I have ever read and I hope to never see the likes of again. Lee Wanta and I have never met and probably never will it wouldnt be safe for me and he refuses to endanger me but I know him. As I take the first step of writing this very important story, I pray the Lord will enable me to hold the interest of readers and keep my feet on the path of truth and facts. Though I have written non-fiction books about banks and banking (some of which were published by the American Bankers Association and at least two of which are archived at Oxford and Cambridge University Libraries), I hope my writing skills are up to the subject matter. You, the reader, will hand down the verdict on that subject. This is one of the most important stories ever told and I hope to tell it well. The life of Leo Emil Wanta is complex and filled with details. I have made every effort as an author to include only the details and the complexities required to tell the story thoroughly. If I put all of the material available in this manuscript, it would take you four years to digest it just as it has taken me. I wish you a pleasant journey into the life and times of Leo Emil Wanta though think it doubtful y ou will find many of the details surrounding his life and the treatment of this American hero by the government he served anything but pleasant.

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and Grand Lodge of Ireland, over a quarter of a million under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England,[1] and just under two million in the United States.[2] The fraternity is administratively organised into independent Grand Lodges or sometimes Orients, each of which governs its own jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. The various Grand Lodges recognise each other, or not, based upon adherence to landmarks. A Grand Lodge will usually deem other Grand Lodges who share common landmarks to be regular, and those that do not to be "irregular" or "clandestine".There are also appendant bodies, which are organisations related to the main branch of Freemasonry, but with their own independent administration.

Knights Templar (Freemasonry)

A cross and crown laid upon a cross patte inscribed with "In Hoc Signo Vinces" resting upon downward pointing swords in saltire is often used to represent the Knights Templar. (The various symbols used allude to the orders of the body, though the cross and crown is often used alone as well.)

This article is part of or related to the Knights Templar series The Knights Templar is an international philanthropic chivalric order affiliated with Freemasonry. Unlike the initial degrees conferred in a Masonic Lodge, which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religious affiliation, the Knights Templar is one of several additional Masonic Orders in which membership is open only to Freemasons who profess a belief in the Christian religion. The full title of this Order is The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta . The word "United" in this title indicates that more than one historical tradition and more than one actual Order are jointly controlled within this system. The individual Orders 'united' within this system are principally the Knights of the Temple (Knights Templar), the Knights of Malta, the Knights of St Paul, and only within the York Rite,

the Knights of the Red Cross. The Order derives its name from the historical Knights Templar. One theory of the origins of Freemasonry claims direct descent from the historical Knights Templar through its final fourteenth-century members who took refuge in Scotland, or other countries where the Templar suppression was not enforced. Although the theory may not be dismissed, it is usually deprecated on grounds of lack of evidence by both masonic authorities [1] and historians.[2]

Illuminati

Adam Weishaupt (17481830), founder of the Bavarian Illuminati. The Illuminati (plural of Latin illuminatus, "enlightened") is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776 to oppose superstition, prejudice, religious influence over public life, abuses of state power, and to support women's education and gender equality. The Illuminati were outlawed along with other secret societies by the Bavarian government leadership with the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church, and permanently disbanded in 1785.[1] In the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed they had regrouped and were responsible for the French Revolution. In subsequent use, "Illuminati" refers to various organizations claiming or purported to have unsubstantiated links to the original Bavarian Illuminati or similar secret societies, and often alleged to conspire to control world affairs by masterminding events and planting agents in government and corporations to establish a New World Order and gain further political power and influence. Central to some of the most widely known and elaborate conspiracy theories, the Illuminati have been depicted as lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings and levers of power in dozens of novels, movies, television shows, comics, video games, and music videos.

Skull and Crossbones Society

The skull and crossbones was a common fraternal motiff as a symbol of mortality and warning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The symbol was adopted, for various reasons, by many sporting teams, clubs and societies in both America and Europe. The skull and crossbones motif was used by many American college fraternities, sororities and secret societies founded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The most well-known example of

this usage is the Skull and Bones society, a secret society at Yale University which derives its very name from the symbol . Other well-known college fraternal organizations
which use the skull and bones in some capacity in their public symbols include, but are not limited to: Delta Sigma Pi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Phi Kappa Sigma, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Chi Psi and Zeta Beta Tau Fraternities and Sigma Sigma Sigma and Chi Omega Sororities. Other fraternal groups also use the skull and crossbones in their symbolism or in their secret fraternal rituals. These groups include the Knights of Columbus as well as the Knights Templar degree of Freemasonry.[citation needed] In fraternal usage, the skull and crossbones along with full skeletons and the skull alone are a very common motif due to their common association with death. The significance of these symbols varies from group to group. For some, they are a symbolic reminder of mortality. For others, the symbol has a religious reference (as with the Masonic Knights Templar, for which the skull and bones symbolize Golgotha, the place of Jesus' crucifixion). Another common fraternal use is one of warning wherein the skull and crossbones symbolize a dire warning against betraying the group's secrets and/or failing to keep one's oath.

Bohemian Grove
Coordinates: 382805N 1230010W / 38.468091N 123.002671W

Summer, 1967 at Owls Nest Camp with two future U.S. presidents. Around the table, left to right: Preston Hotchkis, Ronald Reagan, Harvey Hancock (standing), Richard Nixon, Glenn T. Seaborg, Jack Sparks, (unidentified individual), Frank Lindine, and Edwin W. Pauley. Retrieved July 15, 2009

Bohemian Grove is a 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground located at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, belonging to a private San Francisco-based men's art club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, Bohemian Grove hosts a two-week, three-weekend encampment of some of the most powerful men in the world. [1][2] Introduction The Bohemian Club's all-male membership and guest list includes artists, particularly musicians, as well as many prominent business leaders, government officials (including U.S. presidents), senior media executives, and people of power. [3][4] Members may invite guests to the Grove although those guests are subject to a screening procedure. A guest's first glimpse of the Grove typically is during the "Spring Jinks" in June, preceding the main July encampment. Bohemian club members can schedule private day-use events at the Grove any time it is not being used for Club-wide purposes, and are allowed at these times to bring spouses, family and friends, though female and minor guests must be off the property by 9 or 10 pm.[5] After 40 years of membership the men earn "Old Guard" status, giving them reserved seating at the Grove's daily talks, as well as other perquisites. Former president Herbert Hoover was inducted into the Old Guard on March 19, 1953; he had joined the club exactly 40 years prior.[6] Redwood branches from the Grove were flown to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City where they were used to decorate a banquet room for the celebration. In his acceptance speech, Hoover compared the honor of the "Old Guard" status to his frequent role as veteran counselor to later presidents. [7] The Club motto is "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here," which implies that outside concerns and business deals are to be left outside. When gathered in groups, Bohemians usually adhere to the injunction, though discussion of business often occurs between pairs of members. [2] Important political and business deals have been developed at the Grove.[5] The Grove is particularly famous for a Manhattan Project planning meeting that took place there in September 1942, which subsequently led to the atomic bomb. Those attending this meeting, apart from Ernest Lawrence and military officials, included the president of Harvard and representatives of Standard Oil and General Electric. Grove members take particular pride in this event and often relate the story to new attendees. [2] History

In the 1870s, Henry "Harry" Edwards was an actor with the California Theatre Stock Company, a founding Bohemian and the head entomologist at the California Academy of Sciences The tradition of a summer encampment was established six years after the Bohemian Club was formed in 1872.[2] Henry "Harry" Edwards, a stage actor and founding member, announced that he was relocating to New York City to further his career. On June 29, 1878, somewhat fewer than 100 Bohemians gathered in the Redwoods in Marin County near Taylorville (present-day Samuel P. Taylor State Park) for an evening sendoff party in Edwards' honor. [8] Freely flowing liquor and some Japanese lanterns put a glow on the festivities, and club members retired at a late hour to the modest comfort of blankets laid on the dense mat of Redwood needles. This festive gathering was repeated the next year without Edwards, and became the club's yearly encampment. [9] By 1882 the members of the Club camped together at various locations in both Marin and Sonoma County, including the present-day Muir Woods and a redwood grove that once stood near Duncans Mills, several miles down the Russian River from the current location. From 1893 Bohemians rented the current location, and in 1899 purchased it from Melvin Cyrus Meeker who had developed a successful logging operation in the area.[2] Gradually over the next decades, members of the Club purchased land surrounding the original location to the perimeter of the basin in which it resides. [2] Writer and journalist William Henry Irwin said of the Grove, You come upon it suddenly. One step and its glory is over you. There is no perspective; you cannot get far enough away from one of the trees to see it as a whole. There they stand, a world of height above you, their pinnacles hidden by their topmost fringes of branches or lost in the sky.[10] Not long after the Club's establishment by newspaper journalists, it was commandeered by prominent San Francisco-based businessmen, who provided the financial resources necessary to acquire further land and facilities at the Grove. However, they still retained the "bohemians"the artists and musicianswho continued to entertain international members and guests. [2] Membership and operation The Bohemian Club is a private club; only active members of the Club (known as "Bohos" or "Grovers"[11]) and their guests may visit the Grove. These guests have been known to include politicians and notable figures from countries outside the U.S. [2] Particularly during the midsummer encampment, the number of guests is strictly limited due to the small size of the facilities. Nevertheless, up to 2,900 members and guests have been reported as attending some of the annual encampments.[citation needed] The membership list has included every Republican and some Democratic U.S. presidents since 1923, many cabinet officials, directors and CEOs of large corporations including major financial institutions. Major military contractors, oil companies, banks (including the Federal Reserve), utilities (including nuclear power) and national media (broadcast and print) have high-ranking officials as club members or guests.[12] Camp valets Camp valets are responsible for the operation of the individual camps. The "head" valets are akin to a general manager's position at a resort, club, restaurant, or hotel. Service staff include female workers whose presence at the Grove is limited to daylight hours and to central areas close to the main gate.

Male workers may be housed at the Grove within the boundaries of the camp to which they are assigned or in peripheral service areas. High-status workers stay in small private quarters but most workers are housed in rustic bunkhouses.[2] Facilities The main encampment area consists of 160 acres (0.65 km2) of old-growth redwood trees over 1,000 years old, with some trees exceeding 300 feet (90 m) in height.[13] The primary activities taking place at the Grove are varied and expansive entertainment, such as a grand main stage and a smaller, more intimate stage. Thus, the majority of common facilities are entertainment venues, interspersed among the giant redwoods.

A Bohemian tent in the 1900s, sheltering Porter Garnett, George Sterling and Jack London There are also sleeping quarters, or "camps" scattered throughout the grove, of which it is reported there were a total of 118 as of 2007. These camps, which are frequently patrilineal, are the principal means through which high-level business and political contacts and friendships are formed.[2] The pre-eminent camps are:[2][14] Hill Billies (Big Business/Banking/Politics/Universities/Media/Texas Business); Mandalay (Big Business/Defense Contractors/Politics/U.S. Presidents); Cave Man (Think Tanks/Oil Companies/Banking/Defense Contractors/Universities/Media); Stowaway (Rockefeller Family Members/Oil Companies/Banking/Think Tanks); Uplifters (Corporate Executives/Big Business); Owls Nest (U.S. Presidents/Military/Defense Contractors); Hideaway (Foundations/Military/Defense Contractors); Isle of Aves (Military/Defense Contractors); Lost Angels (Banking/Defense Contractors/Media); Silverado squatters (Big Business/Defense Contractors);

Sempervirens (California-based Corporations); Hillside (MilitaryJoint Chiefs of Staff); Idlewild (California-based Corporations) The central spaces for recreation and entertainment are: Grove Stagean amphitheater with seating for 2,000 used primarily for the Grove Play production, on the last weekend of the midsummer encampment. The stage extends up the hillside, and is also home to the second largest outdoor pipe organ in the world. Field Circlea bowl-shaped amphitheater used for the mid-encampment "Low Jinks" musical comedy, for "Spring Jinks" in early June and for a variety of other performances. Campfire Circlehas a campfire pit in the middle of the circle, surrounded by carved redwood log benches. Used for smaller performances in a more intimate setting. Museum Stagea semi-outdoor venue with a covered stage. Lectures and small ensemble performances. Dining Circleseating approximately 1,500 diners simultaneously. Clubhousedesigned by Bernard Maybeck in 1903, completed in 1904 on a bluff overlooking the Russian River;[15] a multi-purpose dining, drinking and entertainment building; the site of the Manhattan Project planning meeting held in 1942. The Owl Shrine and the Lakean artificial lake in the middle of the grove, used for the noontime concerts and also the venue of the Cremation of Care, that takes place on the first Saturday of the encampment. It is also the location of the 12:30 pm daily "Lakeside Talks." These significant informal talks (many on public policy issues) have been given over the years by entertainers, professors, astronauts, business leaders, cabinet officers, CIA directors, future presidents and former presidents.[16] Symbolism and rituals Since the founding of the club, the Bohemian Grove's mascot has been an owl, symbolizing knowledge. A 40-foot (12 m) hollow owl statue made of concrete over steel supports stands at the head of the lake in the Grove; this Owl Shrine was designed by sculptor and two-time club president Haig Patigian, and built in the 1920s.[17] Since 1929, the Owl Shrine has served as the backdrop of the yearly Cremation of Care ceremony.[2] The Club's patron saint is John of Nepomuk, who legend says suffered death at the hands of a Bohemian monarch rather than disclose the confessional secrets of the queen. A large wood carving of St. John in cleric robes with his index finger over his lips stands at the shore of the lake in the Grove, symbolizing the secrecy kept by the Grove's attendees throughout its long history.[2]

Cremation of Care

Cremation of Care in 1907

A dress rehearsal for the 1909 Grove Play, St. Patrick at Tara The Cremation of Care ceremony was first conducted in the Bohemian Grove at the Midsummer encampment in 1881, devised by James F. Bowman with George T. Bromley playing the High Priest.[18] It was originally set up within the plot of the serious "High Jinks" dramatic performance on the first weekend of the summer encampment, after which the spirit of "Care", slain by the Jinks hero, was solemnly cremated. The ceremony served as a catharsis for pent-up high spirits, and "to present symbolically the salvation of the trees by the club..." [19] The Cremation of Care was separated from the Grove Play in 1913 and moved to the first night to become "an exorcising of the Demon to ensure the success of the ensuing two weeks."[20] The Grove Play was moved to the last weekend of the encampment.[21] The ceremony takes place in front of the Owl Shrine, a 40-foot (12 m) hollow owl statue made of concrete over steel supports. The moss- and lichen-covered statue simulates a natural rock formation, yet holds electrical and audio equipment within it. For many years, a recording of the voice of club member Walter Cronkite was used as the voice of The Owl during the ceremony. [1] Music and pyrotechnics accompany the ritual for dramatic effect. Grove Play Main article: List of Grove Plays

Each year, a Grove Play is performed for one night during the final weekend of the summer encampment. The play is a large-scale musical theatrical production, written and composed by club members, involving some 300 people, including chorus, cast, stage crew and orchestra. [22] The first Grove Play was performed in 1902; during the war years 19431945 the stage was dark. In 1975, an observer estimated that the Grove Play cost between $20,00030,000, an amount that would be as high as $130,000 in today's dollars.[22] Protests and controversies With its combination of wealth and power, Bohemian Grove's secrecy has been a target for protest for many years. The Bohemian Grove Action Network of Occidental, California organizes protests and has aided journalists who wish to penetrate the secrecy surrounding the encampment. Over the years, individuals have infiltrated the Grove then later published video and claimed accounts of the activities at Bohemian Grove. Infiltrations In the summer of 1989, Spy magazine writer Philip Weiss spent some seven days in the camp posing as a guest, which led to his November 1989 article "Inside Bohemian Grove". [1] He wrote about uninhibited behavior he witnessed: "You know you are inside the Bohemian Grove when you come down a trail in the woods and hear piano music from amid a group of tents and then round a bend to see a man with a beer in one hand and his penis in the other, urinating into the bushes. This is the most gloried-in ritual of the encampment, the freedom of powerful men to pee wherever they like..." [1] Weiss noticed "hundreds of cigars whose smokers had ignited them in defiance of the California Forest Service's posted warnings."[1] On July 15, 2000, controversial conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his cameraman, Mike Hanson, walked into the Grove. With a hidden camera, Jones and Hanson were able to film the Cremation of Care ceremony. The footage was the centerpiece of Jones' documentary Dark Secrets: Inside Bohemian Grove.[23] Jones claimed that the Cremation of Care was an "ancient Canaanite, Luciferian, Babylon mystery religion ceremony," and that the owl statue was Moloch. The Grove and Jones' investigation were covered by Jon Ronson in Channel 4's four-part documentary, Secret Rulers of the World. Ronson documented his view of the ritual in his book, Them: Adventures With Extremists, writing "My lasting impression was of an all-pervading sense of immaturity: the Elvis impersonators, the pseudo-pagan spooky rituals, the heavy drinking. These people might have reached the apex of their professions but emotionally they seemed trapped in their college years." [24]

The Owl Shrine covered in moss, standing among trees behind a stage at one edge of a man-made pond Also filmed for The Order of Death[25] was Jones' return to the entrance of the Bohemian Grove in 2005 where he filmed a protest organized by the Bohemian Grove Action Network that took place at the Grove's entrance on Bohemian Highway, only to discover a majority of the protesters engaging in an "occult counter-ritual" known as the Resurrection of Care, supposedly a counter-ritual against the Cremation of Care. Jones' narration for the film lambasted the protesters' actions and motivations from a religious standpoint. In 2005, Chris Jones (no relation) walked into the Grove when hired as an employee, and videotaped the Owl Shrine in daylight, even venturing inside the hollow statue.[26] He also got footage of effigies, the lakeside, and select camps; as well as stealing a membership list. Chris Jones said he was propositioned for sex several times by the Grovers. Alex Jones included Chris Jones' video in "The Order of Death". [27] On January 19, 2002, 37-year-old Richard McCaslin was arrested after his nighttime infiltration of the Bohemian Grove, where he set several fires. He was heavily armed and wearing a skull mask and outfit with "Phantom Patriot" written across the chest. [28] Actor/writer Harry Shearer (This Is Spinal Tap, Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons), who has attended at least one Bohemian Club event, wrote and directed The Teddy Bears' Picnic, a parody of Bohemian Grove mock pagan pageantry and drunken revelry. [29] Women Though no woman has ever been given full membership in the Bohemian Club, the four female honorary members were hostess Margaret Bowman, poet Ina Coolbrith (who served as librarian for the Club), actress Elizabeth Crocker Bowers and writer Sara Jane Lippincott.[21] Since Coolbrith's death in 1928, no other woman was made a member. These honorary members and other women guests have been allowed into the Bohemian "City Club" building and as daytime guests of the Grove, but not to the upper floors of the City Club nor as guests to the main summer encampment at the Grove.[21] Annual "Ladies' Jinks" were held at the Club especially for spouses and invited guests.[21] In 1978 the Bohemian Club was charged with discrimination by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing over its refusal to hire women employees. In January 1981 Judge Robert Kendall issued a decision supporting the practices of the Club, noting that club members at the Grove "urinate in the open without even the use of rudimentary toilet facilities" and that the presence of females would alter club members' behavior. [30] On October 17, 1981, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing countered the Kendall ruling by ordering the Club to begin recruiting and hiring women as employees.[31] In 1986 the Bohemian Club went to the California Supreme Court over the issue, arguing that their freedom of association was being harmed; the Court found against the Club and denied a review in 1987, forcing the Club to begin hiring female workers during the summer encampment at the Grove in Monte Rio. [32] This ruling became quoted as a legal precedent and was discussed during the 19951996 floor debate surrounding California Senate Bill SB 2110 (Maddy), a proposed bill concerning whether tax-exempt organizations (including fraternal clubs) should be exempt from the Unruh Civil Rights Act.[33]

Logging Outside of the central camp area which is the site of the old-growth grove, but within the 2,712 acres (10.98 km2) owned by the Bohemian Club, logging activities have been underway since 1984. Approximately 11,000,000 board feet (26,000 m3) of lumber equivalents were removed from the surrounding redwood and Douglas fir forest from 1984 to 2007. In 2007, the Bohemian Club board filed application for a nonindustrial logging permit available to landowners with less than 2,500 acres (10 km2) of timberland, which would allow them to steadily increase their logging in the secondgrowth stands from 800,000 board feet (1,900 m3) per year to 1,700,000 board feet (4,000 m3) over the course of the 50-year permit.[34] The board had been advised by Tom Bonnicksen, a retired forestry professor with more than 35 years of experience in the field, that they should conduct group selection logging to reduce the risk of fire burning through the dense second-growth stands, damaging the old-growth forest the Club wants to protect. The Bohemian Club stated that an expansion of logging activities was needed to prevent fires, and that money made from the sale of the lumber would be used to stabilize access roads and to clear fire-promoting species like tanoaks and underbrush.[35] The California Department of Fish and Game, have instead recommended single-tree logging to preserve the habitats of murrelets and spotted owls in senescent trees. Philip Rundel, University of California, Berkeley professor of biology said that redwoods are not very flammable and "This is clearly a logging project, not a project to reduce fire hazard". [34] Reed F. Noss, professor at the University of California, Davis, has written that fires within redwood forests do not need to be prevented, that young redwoods are adapted to regenerate well in the destruction left behind by the fires typical of the climate.[36] After controversy raised by opponents of the harvesting plan, the club moved to clearly establish their qualification for the permit by offering 163 acres (0.66 km2) to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in Missoula, Montana for a conservation easement. A further 56.75 acres (229,700 m2) were written off as not being available for commercial logging, bringing the total to 2,316 acres (9.37 km2) and thereby qualifying for the permit. Opponents and their lawyers interpret the relevant law as counting all timberland and not just that actually subject to the logging permit. They state that if the total of timberland is counted, 2,535.75 acres (10.2618 km2) are owned by the club, so the permit should not be granted.[34] On March 10, 2011, Judge Ren A. Chouteau rejected the Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP) that Cal-Fire had approved. The suit, brought by the Sierra Club and the Bohemian Redwood Rescue Club, sought to have the NTMP annulled. The ruling calls on the Bohemian Club to draft a new NTMP that offers alternatives to its proposed rate of logging. At present the Bohemian Club is not allowed to log any of its property. [37]

Quotations "The Bohemian club! Did you say Bohemian club? That's where all those rich Republicans go up and stand naked against redwood trees right? I've never been to the Bohemian club but you oughta go. It'd be good for you. You'd get some fresh air." President Bill Clinton to a heckler[38] "The Bohemian Grove, that I attend from time to time the Easterners and the others come therebut it is the most faggy goddamn thing you could ever imagine, that San Francisco crowd that goes in there; it's just terrible! I mean I won't shake hands with anybody from San

Francisco."President Richard M. Nixon on the Watergate tapes, Bohemian Club member starting in 1953.[39][16] "If I were to choose the speech that gave me the most pleasure and satisfaction in my political career, it would be my Lakeside Speech at the Bohemian Grove in July 1967. Because this speech traditionally was off the record it received no publicity at the time. But in many important ways it marked the first milestone on my road to the presidency."President Richard Nixon, Memoirs (1978).[16]

The Shadow Government

The secret "shadow" government is the large organisational network which operates alongside the officially elected and appointed government of the United States of America. Just as with the official government, the secret government has functional branches. http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/politicial_spending/2012_elections.html Just as with the official government, the Shadow Government has functional branches. However, unlike the official government, the purpose of the non-executive branches of the Shadow Government is simply to distribute various functions, but not to achieve a system of checks and balances, as was supposed to happen constitutionally between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the U.S. Government. That is because the Shadow Government is a creature of a powerful elite, who need not fear being dominated by an instrument of their own creation. In the Shadow Government five branches may be identified. These branches are: the Executive Branch, the Intelligence Branch, the War Department, the Weapons Industry Branch, and the Financial Department. The reporting lines of the Intelligence Branch and the War Department to the Executive Branch are straightforward and obvious. Intelligence exists to provide the Executive Branch with sufficient necessary information to make adequately informed policy decisions. The War Department exists to provide coercive force to carry out Executive policy decisions which could meet with public resistance. The Special Operations units within the Intelligence Branch and War Department exist to carry out policy directives requiring covert action and official deniability. The Weapons Industry Branch reports to the Executive Branch most often indirectly, through the War Department and/or the Intelligence Branch (for Black Budget weapons systems). The Financial Department theoretically reports to the Executive Branch for fiscal policy implementation, but de facto also reports directly to the international power brokers who have created the ShadowGovernment. The Financial Department serves at times directly as their instrument of fiscal policyimplementation. An analysis of the overall purposes of these five branches suggests that the overall purpose of the Shadow Government is to exercise covert control by: Collecting comprehensive institutional and personal informationBy establishing national and international policy independently of the established Government By developing high-tech arms and

equipment, and, with these, establishing small, specialized,highly mobile, elite military units to effect these covert policies, when need arises, without having to relyon the official (and "unreliable") Armed Services, (whose subservience to the Shadow Government isreasonably suspect) By developing an armed capability to repel any threat to the status quo, (including the uncertain ontological, social,and economic impacts of any revelation of the reality of UFO and extraterrestrial presence) through thedevelopment of a Star Wars/BMDO ground and space-based surveillance and SDI weapons network By denying information compromising to the Shadow Government from all those outside "need-to-know"policy-making levels By exercising control on the money supply, availability of credit, and the worth of money, through policy decisions made outside of the official Government

EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Council on Foreign Relations Trilateral Commission Bilderberg Group National Security Council Joint Chiefs of Staff (CFR) includes George Bush, Bill Clinton, all modern CIA Directors, most modern Joint Chiefs of Staff, most modern Cabinet and top Executive Branch appointed officeholders, etc. David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, John D. Rockefeller, Alan Greenspan, Zbignew Brzezinski, Anthony Lake, John Glenn, David Packard, David Gergen, Diane Feinstein, Jimmy Carter, Adm. William Crowe, etc. Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein, Prince Bernhard of Netherlands, Bill Clinton, Lloyd Bentsen, etc. (NCS), the military and intelligence policy-making and control group for national and international security, which reports directly to the President, its secret 5412 Committee (which directs black [covert] operations), and its PI-40 Subcommittee (aka MJ-12: which exercises policy direction and control of the UFO Cover-Up). (JCS)'s Special Operations compartment, the operations directorate which implements the orders of the NSC's 5412 Committee, utilizing the U.S. Special Forces Command.

(NPO), which operates the Continuity of Government Project (COG), an ongoing secret project to maintain command, control, communication and intelligence National executive centers during an extreme National Emergency by operating Program Office clandestine, secure, underground cities staffed by surrogates for above ground national leaders. Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA's black projects compartment, which operates federal preventive-detention camps [often located on military bases or Federal Bureau of Land Management lands], secure underground shelters for the elite during cataclysms, etc.

INTELLIGENCE BRANCH
National Security Agency (NSA), monitors and screens all telephone, telegraph, computer modem, radio, television, cellular, microwave, and satellite communications, and electromagnetic fields "of interest" around the world, and orchestrates information-control and cover-up activities related to UFO secrecy and surveillance of extra-terrestrial operations, Fort Meade, MD. (NRO), controls and collects information from global spy satellites, monitors UFO traffic entering and leaving Earth's atmosphere, coordinates firing of energy beam weapons from orbiting Star Wars satellites at selected human ground and airborne targets and selectively at extra-terrestrial craft, Pentagon basement and Dulles Airport area, VA. (NRO) (aka MJ-TF), the military/intelligence operations arm of the PI-40 Subcommittee, conducts surveillance, interdiction, capture and confiscation of UFOs and their extra-terrestrial occupants for intelligence and "International Security" purposes; surveilles and "interacts" with close encounter experiencers, including occasional physically and sexually assaultive mind control kidnappings disguised as "Alien abductions" for psychological warfare and dis-informational purposes, headquarters unknown, probably compartmented and dispersed among various elite Delta Force Special Operations units, such as the USAF Blue Light at Hurlburt Field, Mary Esther, FL and Beale Air Force Base, Marysville, CA. (CIA), commands, often controls, and sometimes coordinates, the gathering of secret overseas information gathered by spies (HUMINT), electronic surveillance (SIGINT), and other means; carries out covert unconstitutional paramilitary counterinsurgency operations and preemptive political pacification projects in violation of international law, as well as counter-intelligence sting operations against foreign agents; engages in domestic surveillance, and manipulation of the U.S. political process, "in the National interest" in direct violation of its congressional charter; operates proprietary "false front" companies for profit; conducts a major share of international trans-shipment of illegal drugs, using National Security cover and immunity; and cooperates with NSA's UFO cover-up operations, Langley, VA, and worldwide branches. The branch which investigates, surveilles and neutralizes foreign Intelligence agents operating within the U.S., and cooperates with the National Reconnaissance Organization in the surveillance of those involved in close encounters with UFOs and extra-terrestrials. (DOE-INTEL), which conducts internal security checks and external security threat countermeasures, often through its contract civilian instrumentality, the Wackenhut Corporation. Which respectively spy on the spies, and conduct special operations which cannot be entrusted to line intelligence officers, Ft. Meade, MD and Langley, VA.

National Reconnaissance Office

National Reconnaissance Organization

Central Intelligence Agency

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counter Intelligence Division Department of Energy Intelligence NSA's Central Security Service and CIA's Special Security Office U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence

(INSCOM) whose assignments include psychological and psychotronic warfare (PSYOPS), para-psychological intelligence (PSYINT), and electromagnetic intelligence (ELMINT), Ft. Meade, MD. (ONI), which gathers intelligence affecting naval operations, and has a compartmented unit involved in UFO and USO [Unidentified Submerged Objects] information gathering.

(AFOSI), which gathers intelligence affecting aerospace operations, and U.S. Air Force Office has a compartmented unit involved in investigating UFO sightings, extraof Special terrestrial contact reports, as well as IAC [Identified Alien Craft] Investigations surveillance, and coordination with NRO interdiction operations, Bolling Air Force Base, MD. (DIA), which coordinates the intelligence data gathered from the various Armed Services intelligence branches (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Special Forces), and provides counter-threat measures, Defense Intelligence (which include providing security at ultra-classified installations by the Agency deployment of U.S. "Thought Police", who conduct surveillance, by remote viewing and other para-psychological measures, against penetrations and scanning by foreign or civilian remote viewers [clairvoyants/out-of-body seers], Pentagon, VA, Fort Meade, MD, and the entire astral plane. Which gathers intelligence data relating to space flights, sabotage threats, astronaut and reconnaissance satellite encounters with UFOs and ETs, and coordinates the transfer of alien technology to U.S. and allies' aerospace operations. Which is an NSA/USAF joint intelligence operations unit dealing with possible threats to aerospace operations from foreign powers, terrestrial or otherwise. (DISCO), which conducts intelligence operations within and on behalf of the civilian defense contractor corporations engaged in classified research, development, and production.

NASA Intelligence

Air Force Special Security Service Defense Industry Security Command

Defense (DIS), which conducts investigations into people and situations deemed a Investigative Service possible threat to any operation of the Department of Defense. Naval Investigative Service (NIS), which conducts investigations against threats to Naval operations.

Which conducts surveillance and interdiction of threats to the security of Air Air Force Electronic Force electronic transmissions and telemetry, and to the integrity of Security Command electronic countermeasure (ECM) warfare equipment. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Intelligence Federal Police Agency Intelligence Defense Electronic Security Command Which conducts surveillance and interdiction of drug smuggling operations, unless exempted under "National Security" waivers. Which coordinates intelligence relating to threats against federal property and personnel. Which coordinates intelligence surveillance and countermeasures against threats to the integrity of military electronic equipment and electronic battlefield operations), Fort Worth, TX. The ongoing effects of the compromised personnel, sources and methods resulting from the secret importation of Hitler's own Nazi Intelligence chief, Gen. Reinhard Gehlen, to redesign the US's Intelligence apparatus. The ongoing results of the secret importation of Nazi weapons and aerospace/UFO scientists into U.S. secret military research and development bases.

Project Deep Water

Project Paperclip

WAR DEPARTMENT
Which gathers information with promise for scientific and technological developments which present a superiority advantage for, or a threat against, CIA's Directorate for the National Security, [also contains the "Weird Desk", which centrally Science and processes intelligence about UFOs and ETs and their interaction with Technology Earth], current Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Science and Technology is Ron Pandolfi. Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO)Ballistic

Missile Defense Org. (BMDO)

Which coordinates research, development and deployment of Star Wars electromagnetic pulse, killer laser, particle beam, plasmoid, and other advanced technology aerospace weapons.

Department of Energy

(DOE) which, besides its cover story of researching cleaner-burning coal and gasoline and more solar power, is principally involved in research and development of: more specialized nuclear weapons; compact, selfsustaining, fusion powered, particle and wave weapons, including electromagnetic pulse, gravitational/anti-gravitational, laser, particle beam and plasmoid applied weapons research; high energy invisibility "cloaking" technology, etc.

Lawrence Livermore Which are involved in nuclear warhead "refinements", development of new National transuranic elements for weapons and energy applications, development of Laboratoriesanti-matter weapons (the Teller Bomb: 10,000 times the force of a hydrogen Sandia National bomb), laser/maser technology applications, and, reportedly, successful Laboratories-West teleportation experiments, among other projects, at this Russian nicknamed "City of Death"), Livermore, CA. (SNL-W) Idaho National Engineering Laboratories (INEL), which houses numerous underground facilities in an immense desert installations complex larger than Rhode Island, has security provided by its own secret Navy Base, is involved in nuclear, high energy electromagnetic, and other research, and includes Argonne National Laboratory, West), Arco, ID Which are sequestered on Kirtland Air Force Base/Sandia Military Reservation, and conduct the translation of theoretical and experimental nuclear and Star Wars weapons research done at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories into practical, working weapons), Albuquerque, NM. SNL's DOE weapons testing facility for operationally testing Star Wars weapons in realistic target situations, and is adjacent to classified stealth and cloaked aerospace craft and United States-UFO bases at the Groom Lake [USAF/DOE/CIA] Base [Area 51] and Papoose Lake Base [S-4]), Nevada Test Site/Nellis AFB Range, Tonopah, NV. A 30 levels deep, extreme security facility reportedly engaged in alien technology retro-engineering. The premiere research lab for nuclear, subatomic particle, high magnetic field, exometallurgical, exobiological and other exotic technologies research, Los Alamos County, NM.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Phillips Air Force Laboratory

Tonopah Test Range

Haystack (Buttes) USAF Laboratory, Edwards AFB, CA Los Alamos National Laboratories

Area 51/Groom Lake Ultra-secure "non-existent" deployment bases where extremely classified (USAF/DOE/CIA) aerospace vehicles are tested and operationally flown, including the Aurora Base) hypersonic spyplane, the Black Manta [TR-3A] stealth fighter follow-on to

and S-4 (Papoose Lake Base)

the F-117A, the Pumpkinseed hyper-speed unmanned aerospace reconnaissance vehicle, and several variants of anti-gravitational craft (U.S.UFOs). Hurlburt Field, Mary Esther, Fl, along with its Western U.S. Headquarters, Special Forces Command, Beale AFB, Marysville, CA, coordinating:

U.S. Special Forces Command

U.S. Army 'Delta' Forces (Green Berets) U.S. Navy SEALs (Black Berets), Coronado, CA. USAF Blue Light (Red Berets) Strike Force
(DARPA), which coordinates the application of latest scientific findings to the development of new generations of weapons. Elite weapons application scientists, developing cutting-edge science weapons for DARPA, and operating under the cover of the Mitre Corporation. UFO technology application scientists, reportedly working under the guidance of the Dolphin Society, an elite group of scientists privy to extremely classified science and technology findings. Which serves as the Defense Department's intermediary between weapons needs and the physical sciences. Currently concentrating on fusion powered, high energy particle beam, X-ray laser, and EM forcefield weapons development and deployment. Space War Headquarters for operating "the next war, which will be fought and won in space", Falcon AFB, CO. (NORAD), operating the nuclear survivable space surveillance and war command center deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, CO. Which coordinates the development of future technology for operating and fighting in space. (NASA), which operates covert space defense, ET research, and space weapons compartments, in addition to manned Shuttle and unmanned scientific satellite launches. Which conducts the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Project, Exobiology (alien life forms) Division, and "Human Factors" (PSY-Warfare) Division), Sunnyvale, CA.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The Jason Group

Aquarius Group Defense Science Board Defense Nuclear Agency U.S. Space Command North American Aerospace Defense Command Air Force Office of Space Systems National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA's Ames Research Center

Project Cold Empire SDI weapons research - Classified Project Snowbird Project Aquarius Project MILSTAR Project Tacit Rainbow Pseudo-UFO's used as misinformation. UFO research - Classified Development and deployment of WW III [space war] command, control, communication and intelligence satellites. Stealth drones/pseudo-UFO's.

Project Timberwind Nuclear powered space vehicles. Project Code EVA Space walk based technology.

Project Cobra Mist Project Cold Witness

SDI energy -beam (plasmoid?) weapon research. SDI weapons - Classified

WEAPONS INDUSTRY BRANCH

Stanford Research Institute, Inc. AT&T RAND Corporation Edgerton, Germhausen & Greer Corporation An Intelligence contractor involved in psychotronic, para-psychological and PSY-WAR research. Sandia Labs, Bell Labs, etc. Star Wars weapons research and NSA telephone/satellite communications interception facilitation. CIA-front involved in Intelligence projects, weapons development, and underground bases development. NSA/DOE contractor involved in Star Wars weapons development, fusion applications, and security for Area 51 and nuclear installations, etc. (NSA/CIA/DOE cut-out contractor) involved in contract security operations for Top Secret Ultra and Black Budget surface and underground military reservations, such as Area S-4 (U.S. UFO base), NV and Sandia National Labs, (Star Wars weapons base), NM), and, reportedly, "dirty jobs" for CIA and Defense Intelligence agencies. CIA's main contractor for covert projects and experimental underground bases. Military nuclear applications.

Wackenhut Corporation

Bechtel Corporation United Nuclear Corporation Walsh Construction Company Aerojet (Genstar Corp.) Reynolds Electronics Engineering Lear Aircraft Company Northrop Corporation Hughes Aircraft Lockheed-Martin Corporation McDonnellDouglas Corporation BDM Corporation

Seems to undertake CIA projects contracts.

Makes DSP-1 Star Wars battle satellites for the NRO.

Seems to undertake CIA and DoD projects.

Black budget technology. Makes U.S. anti-gravity craft, back-engineered from alien technology, near Lancaster, CA. Classified projects compartment. Black Budget aerospace projects.

Black Budget aerospace projects. CIA contractor, involved in UFO back-engineering and psychotronic projects, etc.

General Electric Corporation PSI-TECH Corporation Science Applications International Corp.

Electronic warfare and weapons systems. Involved in military/Intelligence applications of research into psychotronics, parapsychology, remote viewing, and contacting extra-terrestrial consciousness.

(SAIC) - "black projects" contractor, reportedly including psychic warfare.

FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT
Federal Reserve System CIA selffinancing Cartel of private banks overseen by elite super-wealthy financiers, such as the Rockefellers, Mellons, DuPonts, Rothschilds, etc., which dictates to the Government the flow of money, worth of money, and the interests rates. The operation and/or control of much of the international drug trade in heroin, cocaine and marijuana, as well as "front" business enterprises, as a source of cash for off-the-books covert operations, and the purchase of exotic munitions and strategic bribe funds.

Department of the use of confiscated money and valuables from "targets of investigation" to Justice finance "special projects". self-financing Special The self-use of confiscated money from covert military operations to fund other Forces clandestine operations. self-financing