Peponis Widens Probe Into CDS Controversy Against Papandreou Family

Earlier this year, financial affairs prosecutor Grigoris Peponis was ordered by a council of appeals court judges to conclude his investigation into allegations that the brother of former Prime Minister George Papandreou, Andrikos, profited from the purchase of credit default swaps insuring against a Greek bankruptcy. On Wednesday it was revealed that Peponis ordered Public Prosecutor Aris Korea to leave no stones unturned in this case and broaden the investigation.

Peponis disagrees with Korea who has been probing the case for the past few months, and who believes that the involvement of Andrikos (Andreas) Papandreou is unsubstantiated, and might not support criminal offense.

Peponis who had reportedly told his superiors last December that the case was at a "procedural deadlock" today notes that the case rather requires further investigation and that is why he ordered Korea to explore the entire course of the Hellenic Postal Savings Bank (TT) risk premium bonds from autumn of 2009 and onwards.

Under the command of Peponis, Korea is now obligated to ask judicial authorities in Switzerland, where the headquarters of investment firm are, for assistance in the following areas:

• what exactly was Andikos Papandreou's position in this international asset management company during the period 2009-2010, and what degree of responsibility did he have in decision making and the execution of decisions
• did the company purchase CDS on Greek debt
• If CDS were sold by the Postal Savings Bank in this company.
• If the distribution of these bonds are linked to internal information that company may of had from Andrikos Papandreou since he is the ex-PM's brother.

After collecting the data requested by Mr. Peponis, Korea will be assess and evaluate the material along with a team of financial experts and determine the further course of the case. (Source in Greek - tvxs )

Please click here to read all about this controversial case - George Papandreou accused of committing treason on CDS contracts

Editor's Note - Peponis is very determined to leave no stones unturned in this controversial case.  (And so are we) Obviously those who support Papandreou do not want the case to be thoroughly investigated, because if Andrikos is implicated or there is evidence that links him to his scandalous crime (and that is backed by solid and undeniable evidence) then his brother George Papandreou will automatically be implicated in this scam as well as the whole former gang at the Greek Finance Ministry, especially ex-minister George Papakonstantinou.

CONSPIRACY - Obama Pleads For Russian Help As US Drought Apocalypse Grows

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A startling report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture that is circulating in the Kremlin today states that the Obama regime has begun making “strident overtures” for Russia to expand it grain exports this year as the United States faces its worst agricultural disaster in over a quarter century, and perhaps its greatest since the Dust Bowl era of the Great Depression.

Fears of another Russian grain export ban were raised this past week after the catastrophic floods that hit Russia's Black Sea coast and wrought chaos on major road and rail links to the main grain export outlet at the port of Novorossiisk.

Further fears were raised after Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan announced their combined wheat crop would fall 22 percent to 78.9 million tonnes this year from 2011, with the biggest impact on yields from winterkill and spring drought in Russia and Ukraine.

Barely 2 years ago then Prime Minister Putin ordered a total ban on grain exports after more than a third of cultivable land in Russia was destroyed due to an historic drought and wildfires.

The concerns raising alarms among Obama regime officials, this report says, is that the US President will be faced with unprecedented rises in food prices during the exact same time Americans will be voting for a new leader in November that could very well lead to his defeat, and possibly mass civil unrest.

To how fearful the Obama regime has become as its ability to feed its own people comes into question was revealed this past week with new reports showing the US Army has begun training its soldiers to use deadly force against American civilians and be their jailers in mass concentration camps in the event civil uprisings occur.

Even more frightening are new reports coming from the US that the Obama regime has ordered cell phone companies to begin surveillance on nearly 1.5 million American civilians and on 6 July the US President signed an Executive Order giving his government the power over all communications during a time of national crisis. 

The worst US drought since Ronald Reagan was President is withering the world’s largest corn crop, and the speed of the damage said may spur the Obama regime to make a record cut in its July estimate for domestic inventories. Talk among the main global grain experts faced with historic corn prices further state that up to one million tonnes of Brazilian corn would be imported into the US East Coast in the last quarter of the year, an unprecedented action never seen before.

Since 75% of US grocery store products use corn as a key ingredient, food prices are expected to skyrocket dooming Obama’s chances at reelection thus putting his regime in danger, this report says.

Even worse, this report continues, is the toll being exacted upon the State of Texas which since last year has seen massive dust storms blow away billions of tonnes of its most fertile farm land reminiscent of the Dust Bowl years of the 1930’s and has, also, seen the destruction of over 500 million trees in that State alone.

Historic drought conditions and soaring grain prices have, also, forced US ranchers from Wyoming to Arkansas to sell their cattle herds in record numbers meaning that price rises could very well push beef off of the dinner tables of tens of millions of average Americans.

Not to be overlooked regarding this agricultural apocalypse are that world food prices are likely to rise in the coming months in the wake of record-breaking temperatures and drought in the corn and soybean producing regions of the United States, economists say.  It would be the third spike in food prices in the past five years.

Previous hikes - during 2007 and 2008, and again in 2010 and 2011 - triggered riots and social instability in dozens of countries around the world.

While rising prices may threaten food security for the poor, experts note they can create unrest among consumers whose standard of living had been rising.  Iowa State University’s Dermot Hayes says it could be an irritant in China, a country with a growing middle class but significant social inequality.  “It’s a tinderbox over there, it’s not a real homogenous or pleasant society the way it’s structured right now. So there could be some issues.”

To what “issues” will be faced by the American people as many of them will near the point of starvation because they can’t afford food is not known.

What is known, however, is that during the last American agricultural apocalypse during the 1930’s over 7 million of these people died in what is now termed one of the greatest mass deaths in human history.

The research revealing this shocking genocide was conducted by Russian researcher Boris Borisov who in his 2008 article titled “The American Famine” used only official US documents and historical records to reveal the shocking truth, but nevertheless was ordered censored in the United States causing Wikipedia, the world’s largest free Internet encyclopedia to delete it in its entirety.

To how much worse it will be for the Americans of today was revealed in a 2008 report titled “Famine in America? Why 99% of the U.S. Is in Danger of Starvation” that, in part, says:

“At the turn of the 20th century, more than fifty percent of the American labor force earned a living through direct involvement in agriculture, but this number decreased to just 2% by the year 2000. Even more frighteningly, only .8% of Americans are involved in the industry full-time.

During the Great Depression, formerly wealthy executives stood in line for hours waiting in ragged clothes for a hand-out of hot soup, while the rural "poor" went about life as usual, barely noticing the Depression. Survivors of the Depression who lived in agrarian regions often joked that they were "too poor to notice the stock market crash", but they were, in fact, better off than the majority of inner-city workers in that they never went hungry. As a result of this, the one-half of Americans with access to their own home-grown foods were exempt from the horrors of the Great Depression.

Now imagine that, instead of 50% of the population suffering from the woes of an economic collapse, it was the 99.2% who are not involved in agriculture full-time. The comparison makes 1929 look like a walk in the park. Worse still, our food transportation services are now fully dependent on massive amounts of petroleum for transport, and the distances of food transportation have increased from tens of miles to thousands, which makes the modern grocery network look even more fragile by comparison.

Lost in our false sense of security, America has now forgotten the fine arts of gardening, canning, tending livestock, and cooking from scratch, and people who continue to do so are considered to be old-fashioned or out-dated. Anyone who tries to prepare and begins stockpiling food or raising hens is called an alarmist, and the vast majority of urban and suburban Americans make no attempt to prepare for the impending collapse.”

By Sorcha Faal
WhatDoesItMean

Turkish Military Exercises Right Above Cyprus' Plot 12!

In its effort to gain ground in the gas fields that have already been detected around Cyprus, Turkey is once again provoking the situation by deciding to suddenly hold military exercises right over Plot 12 where Nobel energy and Cyprus authorities are currently conducting drilling for natural gas and oil.  The aviation exercises are the first of their sort within Cyprus EEZ as well is the first provocation of Ankara since Cyprus assumed the presidency of the EU.

Quite coincidentally, the exercises are going to span across the neighboring Plots 8 and 9 which are also suspected of having large quantities of natural gas as well.

It looks like Turkey is purposely ignoring the Syrian crisis which is unfolding on its doorstep and has rather turned its attention to Greece and Cyprus, whom it knows it can easily bully around with its impressive military units. The force consists of F-16C / D fighter planes, naval helicopters, air refueling aircraft, frigates, two CN-235 aircraft, etc.

When informed about this new Turkish move, Israel authorities immediately asked permission from Nicosia to also hold military exercises and according to reports they will instead be using F-16 Sufa jets and electronic warfare aircraft so as to "analyze" every Turkish move.

The Turkish military exercises will continue until Thursday, or July 13 (between 0:500 -13:00 hours).

Source in Greek - Defencenet

Fury In Cyprus Over Land Swap Payout

The Cyprus government's decision to approve the friendly settlement between Greek Cypriot refugee Mike Tymvios and Turkey for the exchange of property north and south was met with widespread disapproval among political parties  All parties bar ruling AKEL saw as negative the cabinet decision to approve the transfer of Turkish Cypriot land in Larnaca to Tymvios as agreed in an amicable settlement at the Immoveable Property Commission (IPC) in the north, followed by the purchase of that land by the state for €13m.

EDEK’s second vice-president Costis Efstathiou described the decision as an “unfortunate development”. He accused the government of doing more harm to the national cause than those Greek Cypriot refugees seeking remedies at the IPC.Giving an official stamp of approval to the exchange of property between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot refugees was “unprecedented”, said Efstathiou.

EDEK considers it another “gift” that should be revoked and withdrawn along with Greek Cypriot proposals at the peace talks on property, a rotating presidency, weighted voting, Turkish settlers and rights given to Turkish nationals in a reunified Cyprus, he said. DIKO released a statement echoing the views of EDEK about this being the latest in a long line of “unacceptable proposals” to come from the current government.  The latest decision will have negative consequences on the property issue in the peace talks, warned DIKO.

The minority opposition party questioned how it was possible for a near bankrupt Cyprus to give a semblance of legitimacy to the Turkish side while also spending €13m “to enable an act by an illegal committee of the pseudostate and the occupying power”.

DIKO deputy Nicolas Papadopoulos said: “The exchange of property should not replace other remedies like restitution of ownership,” as this would serve Turkey’s aim to completely segregate the two communities on the island. He also questioned the wisdom of the Cyprus Republic paying for Turkey’s violations of property rights.

DISY deputy Lefteris Christoforou said the government had a duty to discuss the matter with parliament and the national council before deciding to approve the exchange of property.

The House Refugee Committee will discuss the Tymvios case tomorrow in an ad hoc meeting. AKEL deputy and committee chair Skevi Koukouma said the latest decision in no way opens the floodgates, arguing these were a very special set of circumstances.

In 2007, Tymvios reached an amicable settlement with Turkey after applying to the IPC for a remedy against a substantial amount of property he owned in the north. The IPC offered in exchange 27 donums of Turkish Cypriot land in Larnaca. However, the Land Registry in Larnaca, on the advice of the Attorney-general, refused to allow the transfer of title deeds to Tymvios.

The Greek Cypriot refugee filed two lawsuits against the Republic for refusing to allow the transfer of property, as well as an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and a complaint at the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, the body responsible for monitoring implementation of ECHR decisions.

On Monday, Attorney-general Petros Clerides confirmed reports that the government had agreed to transfer Turkish Cypriot land in Larnaca to Tymvios and then purchase the land for €13m off him. He argued this was a ‘one-off’ case as the amicable settlement had been endorsed by the ECHR in 2008. This is unlikely to happen again since a subsequent ECHR ruling put an end to Greek Cypriot property applications to the Strasbourg court, he argued. Furthermore, he said, the land in question was home to two schools and a number of businesses owned by Greek Cypriot refugees. It was also bought by the state for nearly half its estimated value. One legal analyst told the Cyprus Mail that the decision was bound to encourage more Greek Cypriot refugees to agree to an exchange of property at the IPC.

According to Politis, three Greek Cypriots are on the verge of approving friendly settlements at the IPC for exchange of property, buoyed by the results of the Tymvios case. The government will have a hard time explaining why it refuses to endorse new transfers of property in the future, said the analyst, adding that failure to do so may result in appeals in local courts and recourse to the ECHR again.

By Stefanos Evripidou
Cyprus-Mail

IT'S ABOUT TIME - Independent Greeks And Golden Dawn Demand Abolition of Greek Nationality Law

Two draft laws for abolition of the so-called Ragoussis Law on acquiring Greek nationality were tabled in parliament separately by the Independent Greeks party and the ultra-right Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn) party. The draft law by the Independent Greeks was tabled after midnight Sunday upon completion of the vote of confidence following the coalition government's policy statement, and had been a campaign pledge by party leader Panos Kammenos. Chryssi Avghi MPs, in turn, said that the Council of State has ruled as unconstitutional the provisions for Greek nationality.  (Source in Greek - TO BHMA)

Samos Union With Greece To Celebrate its 100th Birthday

A concert marking the 100th anniversary of the union of the island of Samos with Greece will be performed on July 18 at the ancient theatre of Pythagorion. The Greek radio and television - ERT National Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform two works by composer Dimitris Themelis, a native of the island, directed by conductor Andreas Pylarinos. After the Greek State was established in 1827, the Great Powers of the time England, France and Russia did not include Samos as a part of it, even though it was at liberty. The Samians would not accept it, so in 1834 they were granted a form of political independence, under the patronage of the Great Powers, with the obligation of paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire. This regime remained until 1912, when Samos joined Greece. During this period, Samos experienced a significant economic prosperity.

Driving At Night Through Forests Now Banned in Peloponnese To Prevent Fires

Peloponnese Regional Authority chief Petros Tatoulis issued an order banning the circulation of vehicles and overnight stays by hikers and excursionists in woodlands, forests and other vulnerable wild country on Mount Taygetus until October 15, in a bid to protect the forests from the danger of fires. Exempted from the ban is the Sparti-Kalamata national road and the roads leading to the villages on the mountain, as well as local villagers, livestock owners, members of voluntary organisations and those carrying out forestry work on the mountain. A similar ban has been issued by the deputy regional authority head of Arcadia for the Mainalos forest, the woodlands around the city of Tripolis and the Parnonas National Forest. (AMNA)

Authorities Hunt For Pimps Who Threaten Nigerian Women With Voodoo To Work As Prostitutes

In our quest to find an offbeat story to add to the column this week, we came across this next story from Thessaloniki and as tragically hysterical as it sounds, it is also alarming since the women who fall victim to this type of brainwashing and manipulation actually believe it and live through terrible ordeals.

Thessaloniki authorities issued several arrest warrants against a ring of pimps who were threatening Nigerian women that they would perform "voodoo" on them unless they worked as prostitutes. Four Nigerian men and two Greek nationals are now charged as being members of the ring.

Authorities cracked down on the ring, after a 23-year-old Nigerian woman found the courage to speak to a friend of hers, and then report the case to the police.

Reports said her ordeal began in February 2010 when a woman from her country, aged 31, persuaded her to illegally immigrate to Greece. The older woman apparently threatened that she would exercise voodoo on the 23-year old and her family if she did not work as a prostitute and so initially the young solicited sex in a bar in the city of Arta and then in apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki until she decided to report the case to authorities. 

*Editor's Note - Human trafficking is a crime, as is illegal immigration. Those who support illegal immigration usually are involved in the smuggling and trafficking of women as well. Most of these women are from third world nations, and have never been educated and this is why they fall victim to sex traffickers who use religion to profit off of them. The largest group of prostitutes from Sub-Saharan Africa come from Nigeria, and they are usually recruited through a specific type of trafficking network. Most of these trafficking rings are concentrated in the state of Edo in the South-Central part of the country. A survey by Women's Health and Action Research Centre in Edo's capital Benin City a few years ago showed that one in three young women had received offers to go to Europe. A number of African women have claimed that they underwent terrifying voodoo rituals in Nigeria before they were trafficked into Europe on a promise of work or gaining an education. Sometimes, traffickers will find a corrupt religious official to "sanction" their abuses, or will threaten to expose the victims' "sins" to their loved ones and sometimes they even use Voodoo, a religion mostly followed in Africa and the Caribbean, to enslave these women. The followers of Voodoo believe in the power of such rituals to destroy their souls are are very vulnerable to such abuses. We posted a video by the MEGA series "Protagonistes" which was broadcasted about three years ago and cleverly analyzes this very subject with subject reports from the streets of Athens. It is in the Greek language, and does not have English subtitles, but is definitely a must watch.