Dr Deagle Show 110107 - EARTH CHANGES AND PREPAREDNESShttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rYk1-6BAnU Central Banks are Acquiring Gold, Dumping US Dollarslink There is evidence that central banks in several regions of the World are building up their gold reserves. What is published are the official purchases. A large part of these Central Bank purchases of gold bullion are not disclosed. They are undertaken through third party contracting companies, with utmost discretion.  US dollar holdings and US dollar denominated debt instruments are in effect being traded in for gold, which in turn puts pressure on the US dollar.   In turn, both China and Russia have boosted domestic production of gold, a large share of  which is being purchased by their central banks: It has long been assumed that China is surreptitiously building up its gold reserves through buying local production. Russia is another major gold miner where the Central bank has been purchasing gold from another state entity, Gokhran, which is the marketing arm and central repository for the country's mined gold production. Now it has been reported by Bloomberg that the Venezuelan Central Bank director, Jose Khan, has said that country will boost its gold reserves through purchasing more than half the gold produced from its rapidly growing domestic gold mining industry. In Russia, for example, Gokhran sold some 30 tonnes of gold to the Central Bank in an internal accounting exercise late last year. In part, so it was said at the time, the direct sale was made rather than placing the metal on the open market and perhaps adversely affecting the gold price. China is currently the world's largest gold producer and last year it confirmed it had raised its own Central Bank gold holdings by more than 450 tones over the previous six years. Mineweb.com - The world's premier mining and mining investment website Venezuela taking own gold production into Central Bank reserves - GOLD NEWS | Mineweb The 450 tons figure corresponds to an increase in the gold reserves of the central bank from 600 tons in 2003 to 1054 tons in 2009. If we go by official statements, China's gold reserves are increasing by approximately 10 percent per annum: China has risen to now be the largest gold producing nation in the world at around 270 tonnes. The amount bought in by the government initially looks like 90 tonnes per annum or just under, 2 tonnes a week. Before 2003 the announcement by the Chinese central bank that gold reserves had been doubled to 600 tonnes, accounted for similar purchases before that date. Why so small an amount you may well ask? We think local and national issues clouded the central bank’s view as it was the government that bought the gold since 2003 and have now placed it on the central bank’s Balance Sheet. So we would conclude that the government has ensured central bank gold purchasing must continue. "How will Chinese Central Bank Gold Buying affect the Gold Price short & Long-Term?" by Julian Phillips. FSO Editorial 05/07/2009 Russia Russia's Central bank holdings are in excess of 20 million troy ounces (January 2010) click to enlarge Russia’s Central Bank reserves have increased markedly in recent years. The RCB reported in May 2010 purchasing 34.2 tons of gold in a single month. Russian Central Bank Gold Purchases Soar In May – China Too? | The Daily Gold The diagram below shows a significant increase in monthly purchases by the the RCB since June 2009. (click on chart to enlarge) Central Banks in the Middle East are also building up their gold reserves, while reducing their dollar forex holding. Gold reserves of GCC states is less than 5 percent:  Dubai International Financial Centre Authority economists released a report yesterday calling for local countries to build gold reserves, according to The National. Despite a high interest in gold, GCC states maintain less than 5 percent of their total reserves in gold. Compared to the ECB, which holds 25 percent of reserves in gold, that leaves a lot of room for growth. http://www.businessinsider.com/gcc-boost-gold-holdings-2010-12#ixzz18FEqpTy3 GCC states should boost their foreign reserve holdings of gold to help shield their billions of dollars of assets from turbulence in global currency markets, say economists at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA). Diversifying more of their reserves from US dollars to the yellow metal would help to offer central banks in the region higher investment returns, said Dr Nasser Saidi, the chief economist of DIFCA, and Dr Fabio Scacciavillani, the director of macroeconomics and statistics at the authority. "When you have a great deal of economic uncertainty, going into paper assets, whatever they may be - stocks, bonds, other types of equity - is not attractive," said Dr Saidi. "That makes gold more attractive." Declines in the dollar during recent months have dented the value of GCC oil revenues, which are predominantly weighted in the greenback. GCC urged to boost gold reserves According to a report in People`s Daily; The latest rankings of gold reserves show that, as of mid-December, the United States remains the top country and the Chinese mainland is ranked sixth with 1,054 tons of reserves, the World Gold Council announced recently. Russia climbed to eighth place because its gold reserves increased by 167.5 tons since December 2009. The top ten in 2010 remains the same compared to the rankings of the same period of last year. And Saudi Arabia squeezed to the top 20. Developing countries and regions, including Saudi Arabia and South Africa, have become the main force driving the gold reserve increase. ... . The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European central bank are the major gold sellers, and the IMF's gold reserves decreased by 158.6 tons. (China's gold reserves rank 6th worldwide - People's Daily Online It should be understood that actual purchases of physical gold are not the only factor in explaining the movement of gold prices. The gold market is marked by organized speculation by large scale financial institutions. The gold market is characterised by numerous paper instruments, gold index funds, gold certificates, OTC gold derivatives (including options, swaps and forwards), which play a strong role, particularly in short-term movement of gold prices. The recent increase and subsequent decline of gold prices are the result of manipulation by powerful financial actors More rain worsens floods in Australialink BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Almost a foot (300 millimeters) of rain in just a few hours renewed flood fears in Australia's already waterlogged Queensland state Saturday, sending a surging river over its banks and into another large town. Officials said about only 20 buildings in Maryborough, where about 22,000 people live, were expected to be flooded after the river burst its banks in the overnight downpour. The waters were expected to peak on Sunday. "A number of businesses ... will have floodwaters in their basements," Mayor Mick Kruger said. But the new flooding was a reminder that the state has almost no capacity to absorb more heavy rains after weeks of drenching tropical weather submerged an area the size of Germany and France combined. Ten people have died since late November and about 200,000 have been affected by the floods. Roads and rail lines have been cut, Queensland's big-exporting coal industry has virtually shut down, and cattle ranching and farming across a large part of the state are at a standstill. While new rain is causing problems in some parts of the state, officials say a massive relief operation has moved from emergency operations to recovery, as the city of Rockhampton and other towns wait for waters to drop, and dozens of others begin the mopping up of sludge. Prime Minister Julia Gillard flew Saturday to several towns cut off by floodwaters or partially underwater, and sought to reassure residents their towns would be restored in an operation led by an army general who said it might take years to fix all the damaged roads, rail lines and bridges. "Until we see these floodwaters recede, we won't see the true extent of the damage," Gillard told reporters in the town of St. George. Queensland Premier has said the price of rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure, coupled with economic losses, could be as high as $5 billion. Floodwaters draining east toward the ocean were still rising in some places, such as St. George, where about 2,500 residents are bracing for the second major floods in less than a year. St. George, one of a few towns where floodwaters were still rising, received a reprieve Saturday when forecasters said the waters would peak about 2 feet (60 centimeters) lower than previously thought, and threaten only about 10 homes. "It gives us a flood peak that puts our mind at rest," Mayor Donna Stewart said. Australia's worst flooding in some 50 years was caused by tropical rains that fell for days, starting just before Christmas. Some 1,200 homes were inundated and almost 11,000 more have water damage. Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated, and many are still staying with friends or in relief shelters. Melting snow swells rivers in Germanylink Heavy downpours and melting snow have caused rivers in western Germany to overflow their banks. (file photo) Heavy rain and melting snow have caused swollen rivers in western Germany to burst their banks, wreaking havoc in some 30 towns and several villages along the rivers. According to state officials in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, water engulfed the towns of Cochem and Zell in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate on Sunday after the Mosel River breached it banks and flooded dozens of apartment basement in the area, the Associated Press reported. The water level at the Rhine River has also continued to rise and reached dangerous levels, causing widespread travel disruption and blocking many roads in the Rhine Valley. The report also said that floods swept part the city of Konstanz, located in southwest corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland and brought normal activities of commercial ships to a halt. Authorities say some 30 towns and villages have been affected by high water levels and more rivers are expected to reach their highest points in other western cities in the coming weeks. A spokesman for rail operator Deutsche Bahn said that rail travel had to be diverted away from flooded tracks in the city of Wuppertal, in North-Rhine Westphalia. Meanwhile, the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt also issued top alert levels and experienced initial flooding along its rivers. Water levels receded slightly in some parts of Germany, but in the state of Thuringia, road bridges had to be closed due to high levels of water. Down East Blizzard: Corexit from Gulf Oil Spill linked to weather conditions by Roger Marsh, articles on LINK Oceanographic satellite data now shows that the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico has stalled as a consequence of the BP oil spill disaster. This according to Dr. Gianluigi Zangari, an Italian theoretical physicist, and major complex and chaotic systems analyst at the Frascati National Laboratories in Italy. He further notes that the effects of this stall have also begun to spread to the Gulf Stream. This is because the Loop Current is a crucial element of the Gulf Stream itself and why it is commonly referred to as the “main engine” of the Stream. While pundits are certain to trivialize the ramifications of this event, “the real worry” says Zangari, “is that that there is no historical precedent for the sudden replacement of a natural system, with a dysfunctional man-made system. That is, except for the atomic bomb blasts and contamination as a result of nuclear waste and nuclear plant accidents, such as the April 1986, Chernobyl disaster.” link to vid Russian ships still trapped in thick ice Things are becoming serious, says Russian Ministry of Transportlink

9 Jan 11 - The rescue operation to free Russian ships trapped in the ice since December 31 in the Sea of Okhotsk has been delayed due to bad weather. Things are becoming serious amid the stormy wind, near-zero visibility and strong ice pressure, the Russian Ministry of Transport said. The icebreaker Krasin, sailing at full speed to assist the icebreaker Admiral Makarov, is expected to arrive at the site later today.  Earlier, the Admiral Makarov rescued scientific research ship The Professor Kizevetter. Meanwhile, the crew of the schooner The Partner, which disappeared earlier in the Sea of Okhotsk, is still missing and presumed dead.       (Whatever happened to the dreaded ice-free Arctic?) http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/01/09/39131533.html Thanks to Lyn Jenkins for this link See earlier post: Three Russian vessels stuck in ice 3 Jan 11 - Icebreaker laboring through howling winds and heavy snow to rescue 500 trapped seamen. (Thanks to Steve Barlog for this link)

The Met Office ‘secret’ prediction and the political implicationslink

The UK Met Office

Guest Post by Barry Woods
Roger Harrabin, an environment analyst at the BBC, told the Radio Times:

“The trouble is that we simply don’t know how much to trust the Met Office. How often does it get the weather right and wrong. And we don’t know how it compares with other, independent forecasters.

As the UK government, Heathrow airport particularly, were woefully under-prepared AGAIN this winter, the big budget UK taxpayer-funded Met Office have finally moved from being a laughing-stock, into surely a public enquiry by that ‘secret’ statement. In the time of recession, big budget organisations like the Met Office have to be seen to be performing, not acting in the public’s eyes as a global warming campaigning lobby group.
Therefore New Scientists optimism is misplaced by the Met Office story alone, because this time politicians have been publicly embarrassed by it.
Continue reading →

Snow hits the south – air travel woes cominglink

Image from 11:27 PM EST Sunday night

Expect a really ugly day for air travel on Monday as Atlanta’s forecast is not one of encouragement, and we all know just how important Atlanta is an a regional air hub.
From NWS Atlanta/Peachtree City, GA: