FEDERAL RESERVE STATISTICAL RELEASE JUNE 11 2015

FEDERAL RESERVE STATISTICAL RELEASE  JUNE 11 2015


 
(Comprehensive report with interesting information - IF you are interested)

For use at 12:00 noon, eastern time

June 11, 2015

FEDERAL RESERVE STATISTICAL RELEASE 

Flow of Funds, Balance Sheets,

and Integrated Macroeconomic Accounts

First Quarter 2015


BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 


http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/z1.pdf 

The historic nuclear deal with Iran: How it works

THE HISTORIC NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN: HOW IT WORKS


By Ishaan Tharoor July 14  

Gillian Brockell and Julio C. Negro
The Washington Post

                                             

Iran has finally reached a nuclear deal with the U.S. and international partners. Here's what's in the deal, and what happens next.

After more than two weeks of wrangling and missed deadlines in Vienna, Iran and its international interlocutors have finally clinched a historic accord over Tehran's nuclear program. The diplomacy with Iran, an endeavor that faced vociferous opposition throughout, was aimed at curbing the Islamic republic's ability to produce a nuclear weapon. A tentative framework was inked in April between Iran and its negotiating partners, which include the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany.
[Why it was so difficult to reach a deal.]
The deal's proponents argue that the talks have yielded the best guarantee possible that Iran won't be able to move toward nuclear weapons, while also, for the time being, reducing the risk of yet another military escalation in the Middle East.
"This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction. We should seize it," President Obama said Tuesday.
Here's a guide to how it works.
Extending the breakout time
The main benchmark by which analysts gauge Iran's ability to produce an atomic bomb is the "breakout" time — the time needed for Iran to produce enough weapons-grade enriched uranium for one nuclear bomb. It is currently estimated at a couple of months; under the terms of the deal, that time frame has been extended to at least one year.
The implication here is key: One year gives world powers enough time to mobilize action to interrupt Iran's pathway to a bomb. The extended breakout time also presents, in its own right, a strategic obstacle to Iran's leadership, raising the stakes if it ever considered rushing toward building a nuclear arsenal. To be sure, Tehran has always insisted that it has no interest in obtaining a nuclear weapon, but its covert activities in the past raised the world's suspicions and led to tough international trade, banking and financial sanctions.
[Full text of the Iran nuclear deal]
Iran's nuclear facilities
The deal focuses on limiting Iran's ability to produce and maintain the fissile material needed to build nuclear weapons. Along the lines of the April framework agreement, Iran will cut its number of centrifuges — the devices used to enrich uranium gas — from 19,000 to 6,000. Its stockpile of enriched uranium will be reduced from about 10,000 kilograms to 300.

The heavy-water reactor at Arak will be reengineered so that it does not yield material that can be turned into weapons-grade plutonium, and all of its spent fuel is to be shipped out of Iran for the life of the reactor. Iran has committed to not building a similar reactor for the next 15 years.
Uranium enrichment at the underground facility in Fordow — a concern because some outside observers believe it would be difficult to hit with an airstrike — will be strictly curbed. Iran will be prevented from bringing fissile material into the site over the next 15 years; Fordow will lose more than half of its 2,800 centrifuges and be converted into a nuclear physics research center.

Iran: Deal is ‘not perfect’ but ‘important'

Iran's Zarif, EU say nuclear deal is new chapter of hope

Iran and six major powers have reached a landmark deal to curb Tehran's nuclear program. Iran's Foreign Secretary says it represents a new chapter of hope. (Reuters)

Inspections and enforcement
In all these instances, the deal outlines tight guidelines for monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog. IAEA inspectors will be granted regular access to all these major nuclear sites and will monitor Iran's nuclear infrastructure, from its uranium mills to centrifuge storage facilities, for up to 25 years.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz unpacks how access will be guaranteed at Iran's most sensitive sites:

According to the agreement, UN inspectors will be able to enter any suspect facility in Iran within a maximum period of 24 days. Iran will be able to present reservations to the IAEA's requests to visit suspicious facilities. In such cases, a special arbitration committee will be established to make a decision. The committee will include representatives of the six world powers, Iran and the European Union. Iran will be in the minority, with only Russia and China holding positions close to Tehran's.

Sanctions 
The deal, in the next week to 10 days, will be sent to the U.N. Security Council — Iran's negotiating partners included all five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany. There, it will be codified by a new resolution once the IAEA certifies that Iran has stuck to its commitments regarding its enrichment capabilities.
This will lead to the Security Council dropping its wide-reaching sanctions on the Iranian regime, which have crippled the country's economy. If Iran violates any terms of the deal, sanctions could be snapped back within 65 days.
Separately, a U.N. embargo on conventional weapons sales will be lifted within five years, while a ban on missile sales to Iran will be lifted within eight years. In the last few heated days of talks, this particular element of the dispute appeared to be the most intractable, with Russia pushing aggressively for an end to the arms embargo, but it appears both sides have met halfway.
Oil prices have already dropped at the prospect of Iran's huge petroleum industry returning to the fold.
... and how it doesn't work
Critics of the deal, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republican hawks in Washington, warn that, contrary to the Obama administration's talking points, it gives Iran a ticket to becoming a nuclear superpower. These claims are somewhat undermined by the many tough provisions within the deal.
For opponents, though, the issue lies less in the technical details and mechanisms negotiated in Vienna and more in Iran's track record in the region. Since 1979, the Islamic republic has been an avowed enemy of the United States and its interests, and has supported proxy militias across the Middle East, including some groups deemed terrorist organizations.
The Obama administration has been clear that the goal of the negotiations was to place ironclad controls on Iran's nuclear program, not fundamentally change the Iranian regime's outlook or policy.
"Tough talk from Washington does not solve problems," Obama said. "Hard-nosed diplomacy, leadership that has united the world's major powers offers a more effective way to verify that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted the nuclear agreement with Iran would allow the country to continue seeking nuclear weapons. (Reuters)


https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/07/14/the-historic-nuclear-deal-with-iran-how-it-works/

Also see:

Hilary Clinton has no idea what's going on with Iran nuke deal »

Former Secretary of State and current Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is resorting to using double-speak and outright ignoring reporter questions on camera to avoid weighing in on President Obama's deal with Iran. More »

GOP-controlled Congress will likely pass the Iran deal because it looks good — even if it may not be good in actuality »

President Barack Obama's Iran deal will face a moment of truth in Congress within the next three months, but seems very likely to clear that hurdle. More »

Hundreds in Texas Organize ‘Counter Jade Helm’ Surveillance Operation

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Melissa Dykes

Several hundred people in Texas have organized “Counter Jade Helm,” in response to the upcoming multi-agency, multi-state, artificial intelligence-run Jade Helm military drill set to begin on July 15th in Bastrop, Big Spring and Junction, Texas.
From what appears to be the official website CounterJadeHelm.info:

Counter Jade Helm, aka CJH, is a training exercise for the people. In response to the military’s multi-state training, called Jade Helm 2015, citizens will participate in an unofficial fashion to practice counter-insurgency, organizational and intelligence gathering and reporting skills.
CJH is not affiliated with the military’s training exercise.
The objective is not to stop or countermand the military’s training, but to practice our own skills. Anyone can participate. Groups within each state that will play host to the military are being established to streamline the process. Individuals not wishing to be affiliated with a group can also submit information to this website for analysis and publishing.

The website includes a place for the public to turn in “Salute Reports,” which are described as:

SALUTE reports are used by the military to report, in short form, enemy sightings. Containing only 6 sections, it’s quick, easy and effective. It’s also, but less commonly called a SPOT report. When troops observe activity of opposing forces, special targets or other assigned observation targets, SALUTE reports are generated and passed up, typically to the S-2 or intelligence section of the higher command level.

Once reports come in, it appears they will be organized by state to help the public keep tabs on what’s being spotted on the ground. Reports can be submitted here.
The site also includes a helpful military vehicle ID list which has graphics to aid the public in identifying what they might be seeing during Jade Helm for report submission.
Considering a lot of people feel helpless when the government carries out these types of drills in their area, this is one creative, clever way to fight fire with fire (so-to-speak) and to gather and share information.
There are obviously a lot of reasons to be suspicious of this drill.
Again as previously reported on TDS, this is the first massive military drill of its kind ever in America. It is set to include Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Special Ops among other government law agencies, setting loose an estimated grand total of over 1,200 troops. It has been said drill participants are supposed to try and blend in undetected with their surroundings, although how blending in on Main Street U.S.A. is supposed to help our troops do anything overseas has never once been explained to anyone with a critical eye’s satisfaction (mostly because it makes no sense as to how successfully infiltrating America will help our troops in the Middle East, for example… it only really helps them if they plan to occupy America itself).
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called in the Texas State Guard to “monitor” the exercise, supposedly in response to martial law takeover fears, but that’s just as likely cover for the fact that they were set to be part of the exercise all along… why not, so many other military agencies are.
In addition, all media has been banned from witnessing the exercise, as reported in the Washington Post:

Embedded reporters won’t be permitted at any point during the exercise, in which military officials say that secretive Special Operations troops will maneuver through private and publicly owned land in several southern states.

Wapo reportedly made several requests to observe Jade Helm and help quell public fears, but they were refused on the grounds that the exercise will be isolated and the identity of those involved needs to be protected. Wapo’s Dan Lamothe went on to point out this makes no sense, however, as Wapo journalists have been granted access to Special Forces during military drills before.
The Jade Helm 15 drill, named for a DARPA-developed A.I. quantum computing technology that produces holographic battlefield simulations and will be in charge of the drill in order to “master the human” domain and predict human response, is set to run from July 15 through September 15.
Although we have been informed of the three cities the drill will begin in, all other locations are classified.
Of the Counter Jade Helm exercise, the Houston Chronicle reported:

Eric Johnston, a 51-year-old retired firefighter and sheriff’s deputy who lives in Kerrville, is a surveillance team leader in Texas.
…
If a team member sees two Humvees full of soldiers driving through town, they’re going to follow them,” Johnston said. “And they’re going to radio back their ultimate location.”
They aren’t worried about martial law, he said, but feel like they can’t trust the government, and want to make sure the Military isn’t under orders to pull anything funny.

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2015/07/14/hundreds-in-texas-organize-counter-jade-helm-surveillance-operation/