US Pulls Unesco Funding After Palestine is Granted Full Membership

Source: The Guardian
Harriet Sherwood

The United States has cut off funds to Unesco as a punitive action after the Palestinian Authority was accepted into the UN agency as a full member in defiance of American, Israeli and European pressure.

The overwhelming backing for the Palestinians' bid to join the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation was a huge boost for their campaign for international recognition of an independent state, and a blow to Israel and the US, who had opposed the move.

Members voted by 107 votes to 14 to accept Palestine as a full member state to loud cheers from delegates in Paris. Fifty-two countries, including the UK, abstained.

Within hours, the US announced it would withhold its huge contribution to Unesco's budget as a result of the vote. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US had no choice due to a 21-year-old law prohibiting the payment of funds to any UN body accepting the Palestinians as full members.

A $60m (£38m) transfer that was due later this month would be halted in a move that will have serious consequences for Unesco activities. The US contributes 22% of the agency's annual budget.

6.5M Quake Strikes Off Coast of Taiwan

Source: Intel Hub

A strong earthquake hit off the northeastern seaboard of Taiwan Sunday morning at 11:23 AM at a depth of around 221 KM, not much damage was reported.
Taiwan News reports;

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau says the quake registered magnitude 6.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey puts it at 5.5.

The earthquake struck Sunday morning at sea, about 88 miles (141 kilometers) east of the Taiwanese county of Keelung. Keelung is about 17 miles (28 kilometers) east of the capital, Taipei.

Imran Khan Leads 100,000 Rally Against Pakistan's US Alliance

Source: The Telegraph

Khan, 58, entered politics 15 years ago when he founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or the Movement for Justice Party, but up to now he has struggled to translate his fame into votes.

The rally in the eastern city of Lahore indicated his message may have found new resonance at a time when Pakistanis are fed up with the country's chronic insecurity and economic malaise.

"I have come here to register my hatred against this corrupt system," said 29-year-old Nadeem Iqbal, who attended the rally.

A poll conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center in June found Khan, the captain of Pakistan's 1992 world champion cricket team, to be the most popular political figure in the country.

He has been especially critical of U.S. drone strikes targeting militants in Pakistan's rugged tribal region along the Afghan border. The latest suspected strike killed six alleged militants on Sunday. Khan has argued that Pakistan's alliance with the U.S. is the main reason Pakistan is facing a home-grown Taliban insurgency.

"Our leaders owned this war on terror for the sake of dollars," Khan told the crowd assembled around the country's most important national monument, the Minar-e-Pakistan. "Let me curse you. You sold out the blood of innocent people."

Max Igan : The Vatican and the Central Banking System

Source: Trends and Forecasts
Max Igan

The Occupy movement is not complaining about the economic downturn it is complaining about the economic system itself, it's the money that's the problem it is not the economic downturn, the problems that we face in the planet are because of the central banking system which has been imposed around the planet by the crown Corporation which is created by the Vatican. The Vatican controls all these central banks anyway and now their answer to the problem is to further centralize the power and give more power to the Vatican.

China-US Energy Geopolitics: The Battle for Oil in the South China Sea

Source: Global Research.ca
Prof. Michel Chossudovsky

A new area of potential confrontation is developing between China and the U.S. According to reports, Exxon Mobil which has acquired exploration and production rights from Vietnam has discovered substantial gas reserves in the South China Sea  off the coast of North Vietnam.

"U.S. oil company ExxonMobil is reporting a "potentially significant" gas discovery off the coast of Vietnam, stating in a press release, "We can confirm ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Vietnam Limited drilled its second exploration well offshore Danang in August 2011 and encountered hydrocarbons." (See John C.K. Daly, Apocalypse Redux? U.S. Natural Gas Find off Vietnam Could Raise Tensions with China,  http://oilprice.com )

It is important to note that  these off-shore reserves are located between the North Vietnam coastline and China's Hainan island in area of disputed jurisdiction between Vietnam and China. The contested area is made up of blocks 117, 118 and 119, which according to Hanoi falls well within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone under international maritime law (Ibid).

Chile: Earth Changes Are Intensifying As More Volcanoes Become Active

Source: Intel Hub

In recent days Chile’s Hudson Volcano has been very active.

An excerpt from The Washington Post reads;

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile’s Hudson Volcano released three huge columns of steam and ash that combined in a cloud more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) high on Friday, threatening a much larger eruption that had authorities in Chile and Argentina on red alert.

Chilean officials evacuated 119 people from the immediate area, and other nearby residents prepared to flee as melting snow and ice caused the Aysen river to overflow its banks.

Experts fear a large scale eruption in the near future.