GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar drops as more monetary stimulus seen

NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Rising expectations central banks will step up monetary stimulus to support fragile economies drove the dollar to a five-month low against the euro on Wednesday and fed profit taking in stocks.

Investors trimmed their U.S. and European equity positions while an uncertain economic outlook kept commodity prices from rallying too strongly despite the benefit they often get from a sagging U.S. dollar.

Spot gold XAU= did edge up to fresh record high of $1,313.20 and silver XAG= set its best level in 30 years. Oil made only a modest gain on the day.

"We obviously have a negative combination for the U.S. dollar, and the Fed opening the door for potential easing has just stoked fears of dollar weakness and currency debasement generally," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.

Wednesday's contrasting reports of Chinese [ID:nTOE68S046] and European [ID:nLDE68S0LU] economic and business sentiment advancing this month added to pressure on the greenback.

There is mounting speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may engage in quantitative easing -- a process of buying up bonds and other assets to put fresh cash into the economy rather than through lower borrowing costs -- sooner rather than later.

Last week, the Fed said it was prepared to do just that if it were necessary to stimulate the recovery and avoid deflation. The Fed's benchmark interest rate is already at zero to 0.25 percent, leaving no room to stimulate through conventional measures.

In midday U.S. trade, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 45.45 points, or 0.42 percent, at 10,812.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 9.69 points, or 0.41 percent, at 2,369.90.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX lost 5.52 points, or 0.48 percent, at 1,142.18. However, for the month the index is up nearly 9 percent, its best monthly performance since May 2009 and before that the best showing since March 2000.

Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) rose 1.4 percent to $42.25 after the computer and printer maker forecast 2011 profits above estimates. For details, see [ID:nN28273797]

Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco, said the market was technically overextended, but a recent pattern of buying on dips could re-emerge as fund managers "window dress" their portfolios.

European shares gave up earlier gains after the U.S. market opened weaker.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.61 percent at 1070.77. Weaker retail shares after disappointing figures from Swedish fashion group Hennes & Mauritz (HMb.ST), the world's third largest clothing retailer, proved a drag on the index.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Social Media User Guidelines

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Social Media User Guidelines
These are the official guidelines for use of social media at USACE, Jacksonville District. We expect all who participate in social media on behalf of Jacksonville District to adhere to and follow these guidelines. Failure to do so could affect your future participation on these sites. Currently, Jacksonville District maintains four official social media sites, all under the username “JaxStrong,” on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. No additional sites or social media platforms will be established at this time.
INTERNAL USER GUIDELINES
If you are a Jacksonville District employee or contractor contributing to the District’s social media sites, blog, or any other kind of social media in an official or unofficial capacity — these guidelines are for you.
Once You Decide To Engage
If you participate in Jacksonville District social media, please follow these guiding principles:
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Do not use your army.mil e-mail address to establish an account on a social media platform.
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Post honest, informative and respectful comments—no spam and no off-topic or offensive remarks.
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No posting of classified, proprietary, privileged or FOUO information.
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No posting of personal information on District sites. The District’s social media sites are to educate and inform the public of Jacksonville District programs and projects.
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Assume personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided.
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Always pause and think before posting. If your comments give you pause, don’t post them.
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When disagreeing with others' opinions, keep it appropriate and polite.
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Bottom line: Maintain professional conduct in the virtual world as you would in the real world.
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT SOCIAL MEDIA USER GUIDELINES
Rules of Engagement
Operations Security is paramount. Any information that may compromise OPSEC should not be discussed. If in doubt as to whether information may violate OPSEC, contact your supervisor or CCO.
Be transparent. This translates to “be honest.” In a social media environment, honesty is important to credibility. If you are writing about your work at the Corps of Engineers, use your real name, identify that you work for the Corps, and be clear about your role. Stay in your lane.
Be judicious. Make sure that your efforts to be transparent don't violate USACE and U.S. Army policy, privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines. Never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation or any parties in which we are in litigation. Remember, what you publish is widely accessible. Consider the content carefully. If your comments give you pause, don’t post them.
Stay in your lane. Make sure you write and post about your areas of expertise. It applies in public forums as much as it applies to conversations with the media. If you’re not the best person to comment on a topic, you shouldn’t do so in an official capacity. Contact CCO if you encounter a situation where another subject matter expert is needed.
Create interest. As a Corps employee and a citizen, your view of the Corps’ work is unique and the public wants to hear from you. The Corps of Engineers is making important contributions to the world and social media is providing a forum to reach new audiences and educate them on those contributions. Your comments will give the public an inside look at the Corps’ work.
If you make a mistake, admit it. Be quick to provide a correction and contact the Corporate Communications Office.
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT SOCIAL MEDIA USER GUIDELINES
EXTERNAL USER GUIDELINES
These are the official social media user guidelines for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District. We ask that you follow our posting guidelines. If you don't comply, your message will be removed. These are the official guidelines for use of Jacksonville District social media sites.
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We do not allow graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or
submissions nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful or
intended to defame anyone or any organization.
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We do not allow solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency.
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We do not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity.
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Assume personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided.
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We will review all comments prior to posting and reserve the right to discard messages containing inappropriate content.
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The appearance of external links on this site does not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense

HR 646: U.S. Preparing for Civil Unrest?

In their quest for the truth ~ over 60,000 infuriated Greek citizens take to the streets in central Athens because the cash strapped government faces a financial reckoning. The Obama administration has prepared itself for eventually the same demands for the truth with HR 645 which is, in essence, militarized FEMA internment camps: Allen L Roland

Recently, street clashes broke out on March11th between rioting youths and police in central Athens as tens of thousands demonstrated during a nationwide strike against the cash-strapped government. Hundreds of masked and hooded youths punched and kicked motorcycle police, knocking several off their bikes, as police responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1257243/Greek-riots-Up-60-000-people-streets-protest-government.html

It's only a matter of time before the American people take to the streets particularly when they realize the full extent of cash strapped America's indebtedness as well as the financial backlash of Wall Street's ponzi scheme of offshore derivatives which has also brought Greece to its knees. We are talking trillions of dollars here. Meanwhile the U.S. Defense budget for 2011 will go up 7.1% .

Robert Reich, RobertReich.org, writes of the present sham recovery ~ "Are we finally in a recovery? Who's 'we,' kemosabe? Big global companies, Wall Street, and high-income Americans who hold their savings in financial instruments are clearly doing better. As to the rest of us – small businesses along Main Streets, and middle and lower-income Americans ~ forget it."
www.truthout.org/the-sham-recovery57638

Since the Obama administration is just as committed as the Bush administration to shielding the American public from honestly disclosing the full extent of its indebtedness ~ relying instead on a bank bailout buoyed mini recovery with the hopes of re-inflating the same debt bubble that just burst ~ it's just a matter of time before infuriated American citizens realize what has really happened and take to the streets.

Michel Chossudovsky spelled it out the consequences on March 18, 2009 Global Research , in an article entitled Preparing for Civil Unrest in America Legislation to Establish Internment Camps on US Military Bases

Excerpt: " A bill entitled the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act (HR 645) was introduced in the US Congress in January. It calls for the establishment of six national emergency centers in major regions in the US to be located on existing military installations.www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-645

The stated purpose of the "national emergency centers" is to provide "temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster." In actuality, what we are dealing with are FEMA internment camps. HR 645 states that the camps can be used to "meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security."

There has been virtually no press coverage of HR 645.
These "civilian facilities" on US military bases are to be established in cooperation with the US Military. Modeled on Guantanamo, what we are dealing with is the militarization of FEMA internment facilities.

Once a person is arrested and interned in a FEMA camp located on a military base, that person would in all likelihood, under a national emergency, fall under the de facto jurisdiction of the Military: civilian justice and law enforcement including habeas corpus would no longer apply.

HR 645 bears a direct relationship to the economic crisis and the likelihood of mass protests across America. It constitutes a further move to militarize civilian law enforcement, repealing the Posse Comitatus Act. "

Theodore Roosevelt once said that Honesty is the prerequisite for a strong and healthy Republic and our government, in that sense, obviously does not trust the people it represents with the truth ~ "We cannot afford to differ on the question of honesty if we expect our republic permanently to endure. Honesty is not so much a credit as an absolute prerequisite to efficient service to the public. Unless a man is honest, we have no right to keep him in public life; it matters not how brilliant his capacity.": Theodore Roosevelt - (1858-1919) 26th US President

We are no longer a Republic, we are now a Oligarchy where corporations now have tremendous financial and political leverage and their deepest fear is an informed, angry and rebellious public seeking the truth.

Take to the streets but be forewarned ~ the chips are increasingly being stacked against us.

FEMA Detention Site Plans Exposed

If, God forbid, Americans are ever rounded up in large numbers during a natural or manmade disaster, where could they be detained? Well, perhaps look no further than the school building next door, the office building around the corner or the stadium downtown. And besides existing military installations, state fair grounds, horse stables, airports “and maybe even a hotel” also could be used as detention centers.

That’s according to Restore the Republic’s Gary Franchi at Freedom Law School’s recent Health & Freedom Conference. Franchi was one of several speakers who gathered at the Airport Hilton in Ontario, Calif., March 12-15 to talk about cutting-edge developments in health and politics.

Many vigilant Americans have become aware of some apparently underutilized military facilities and other installations around the nation that seem designed to detain large numbers of people but are largely empty.

Unsubstantiated rumors and urban legends have been circulated, and Franchi was careful not to overstate this issue. But he said there is cause for considerable concern in these post-9-11 days when the normal patriotic impulses of Americans are being relabeled as radical or even on par with terrorism by federal agencies.

Franchi told the conference audience that on April 1, 1979, under Executive Order 12127, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created but it unfortunately was “no joke” for April Fools Day. Just as FEMA was absorbed nearly 25 years later by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA at its birth absorbed the Department of Defense civil-preparedness functions that designated schools, office buildings and other structures as atom bomb “fallout shelters” starting in the 1950s during the Cold War days with the Soviet Union.

DHS, created on the direct recommendation of the 9-11 Commission, that purported to deeply study what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, says, under its “Goals and Objectives” statement (Part VI), that its mission is to “protect our nation from dangerous people.”

Now under the DHS umbrella, FEMA’s three basic objectives, according to its own policy, are: national emergency recovery, continuity of government and “to combat perceived threats to the social and political order,” Franchi emphasized.

He showed an aerial picture of “FEMA City,” the drab barracks set up in Florida after Hurricane Charlie. These cookie-cutter mobile homes were “free housing with nosebleeds,” Franchi said, referring to the effects of chemical fumes emitted from the shoddy building materials.

The area, courtesy of FEMA, became a crime haven. Any genuine public benefit was marginal at best.

Fast-forward to Highland Mall in Austin, Texas, claimed by FEMA in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a place to put Louisiana refugees entering Texas. The New Orleans Superdome itself was “another
private building used to house refugees,” Franchi added.

Given the ongoing “war on terror” and the threat to the people’s liberties that can arise from “anti-terror” measures, combined with steep economic decline and the procedures and policies that FEMA and DHS have developed or are still developing, Franchi says the situation looks grim unless Americans protest now and show they are informed of, and actively opposed to, potential plans to imprison large numbers of people, lest Americans bite the dust the way the USSR people did when they were sent to brutal labor camps amid political turmoil and the demonizing of “unlawful” political beliefs.

Pointing to the World War II detention of thousands of Japanese-Americans, Franchi said the detaining of Americans has already happened. Recall that during Woodrow Wilson’s days, many notable war dissenters were imprisoned in a nation supposedly dedicated to free speech. So it’s only a question of circumstance, as Franchi sees it.

The FBI’s Project Megiddo in 1999, the Missouri Information Analysis Center “militia” report from February 2009 and the April 2009 DHS report Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment, are among the reports that have tried to tie Americans’ concerns and beliefs to supposed violent tendencies, so these linkages can be transformed into the “truth” and used to arrest political dissidents, just like what happened in the early 20th century, said Franchi.

He added that the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has long tried to influence law enforcement and legislation, has issued yet another report that follows a similar tack. His research is in the documentary Camp FEMA. “We cannot let these people . . . intimidate us; we are sovereign U.S. citizens, and nothing is going to stop us from [resisting] this tyranny,” Franchi said, noting that public television stations may help.
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* For a great primer on FEMA camps, get a copy of AFP’s special report Concentration Camps in America. One copy is $3, six copies are $10 and 40 or more are 50 cents each. Send check or money order to AFP at 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 100, Washington, D.C. 20003.