Newspaper

• Merkel Blames SPD’s Schroeder for Letting Greece Into Euro (BBG)
• U.S. Bank Legal Bills Exceed $100 Billion (BBG)
• U.K. to Request U.N. Action to Protect Syrians From Chemical Weapons  (WSJ) - and Russia to veto any decision
• U.N. inspectors in new Syria mission as West prepares to strike (Reuters)
• Emerging-Market Rout Intensifies on Syria Jitters (WSJ)
• Rebels Without a Leader Show Limit to U.S. Role in Syria War (BBG)
• Anger at IRS Powers Tea-Party Comeback (WSJ)
• China has much at risk but no reach in Middle East (Reuters)
• 'London Whale' Penalties Put at $500 Million to $600 Million (WSJ)
• U.S. lawmaker says 'compelling' evidence of Syrian chemical attack (Reuters)

President Bashar al-Assad stressed that "Syria is a sovereign country that will fight terrorism and will freely build relationships with countries in a way that best serves the interests of the Syrian people." As Syrian TV reports, in an interview with the Russian newspaper of Izvestia, President al-Assad stressed that "the majority of those we are fighting are Takfiris, who adopt the al-Qaeda doctrine, in addition to a small number of outlaws." On the alleged use of chemical weapons, President al-Assad said that the statements by the US administration, the West and other countries were made with disdain and blatant disrespect of their own public opinion, adding that "there isn’t a body in the world, let alone a superpower, that makes an accusation and then goes about collecting evidence to prove its point." Al-Assad stressed that these accusations are completely politicised and come on the back of the advances made by the Syrian Army against the terrorists.

Following John Kerry's press briefing, it appears the Obama administration seems absolutely determined to help radical Islamic jihadists that have beheaded Christians, that have massacred entire Christian villages, and that have pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda topple the Assad regime and take over Syria.  Yes, the Assad regime is horrible, but if these jihadist lunatics take control it will destabilize the entire region, make the prospect of a major regional war much more probable, and plunge the entire nation of Syria into a complete and utter nightmare.  This is setting up to become a colossal foreign policy disaster for the United States.

Demand that Fish Be Tested for Radiation (Or Buy a Geiger Counter)

• Bankers Brace for Fed Wind-Down (WSJ)
• A Veteran Saudi Power Player Works To Build Support to Topple Assad (WSJ)
• Gunmen shoot at weapons experts' vehicle in Damascus: U.N (Reuters) - as long as it's not drones
• ECB Council Members Split in Jackson Hole Over Rate Cuts (BBG)
• Fed Officials Rebuff Coordination Calls as QE Taper Looms (BBG)
• As Egyptians Ignore Curfew, Talk of a U.S.-Brotherhood Conspiracy (NYT)
• Pipeline-Capacity Squeeze Reroutes Crude Oil (WSJ)
• Lawmakers Probe Willful Abuses of Power by NSA Analysts (BBG)
• Indictments Expected in Alleged Trading Code Theft (WSJ)
• India’s ONGC takes Africa gasfield stake (FT)
• Capital Flight Drains Reserves as Rupee, Rupiah Fall (BBG)
• Banks scale back rates business (FT)

Chinese society is on the verge of a structural transformation even more profound than the long and painful project of economic rebalancing, which the Communist Party is anxiously beginning to undertake. As we recently discussed, Stratfor warns China's population is aging more rapidly than it is getting rich, giving rise to a great demographic imbalance with important implications for the Party's efforts to transform the Chinese economy and preserve its own power in the coming decade. In fact, as BofAML notes, China's working-age population peaked last year (3 years ahead of demographers' schedule) representing a major turning  point for the world's economy.

The USA puts men behind bars for revealing what the country and the world should have been told a long time ago: the laws are different for those in one place that is high on the hill and for the rest of the population we can whistle until the cows come home because those laws will be applied in a different way

We have yet to see secondary confirmation of the following breaking news from the second largest French newspaper, Le Figaro, but if accurate, it means the Nobel Peace Prize winning president has just engaged in yet another unsanctioned by Congress war.

You know it's bad when Russia accuses Britain of breaking human-rights and freed-of-the-press declarations, but that is what it has done following the revelations that the UK Prime Minister Cameron was behind the decision to 'pulverize' The Guardian's hard-drives in an effort to suppress more leaks. As Reuters reports, two sources with direct knowledge confirm Cameron ordered his top civil servant to "deal with this matter." Falling back on the old playbook, the government defends its actions on the basis of 'threatening national security', and adds, "we won't go into specific cases but if highly sensitive information was being held insecurely we have a responsibility to secure it," with regard the 'pulverization'.

India has no proposal to lease gold bought from the IMF according to India’s Economic Affairs Secretary, Arvind Mayaram. His comments came in a text message.

The influential in India, Hindu Business Line newspaper, had reported earlier that the government will consider leasing out 200 tons of gold bought from IMF in 2009, citing finance ministry officials it didn’t identify.

With strains in the  LBMA gold market, further pressure may be being applied to India to now help with supply after their recent draconian attempted measures to restrict demand.

Just how far have our countries gone in the so-called fight against terrorism that they have been waging every single second since 9/11?

In the biggest non-news of the day, Germany's Finance Minister Wolfy Schaeuble finally admitted, officially for the first time, what everyone knows: Greece will need a third bailout. His exact words, as cited by Reuters, "There will have to be another programme in Greece," Wolfgang Schaeuble told a campaign audience in northern Germany, in comments that raised prospect of a step that could be deeply unpopular domestically just five weeks before national elections.

The story of the German Finance Ministry stating Bitcoin is essentially “legal tender” has been making the rounds all over the virtual currency and technology world this morning and for good reason. This is a very, very big deal. Not just because some bureaucrat seemingly “legitimizes” the crypto-currency, but because it is the first commonsense approach from a major economy to-date. While the U.S. government runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, issuing subpoenas and launching Senate investigations on Bitcoin, Germany is merely accepting the obvious. A lot of people will state this is merely a veiled move of support in order to make sure the government can install a system of taxation on Bitcoin. While that is no doubt part of it, do not underestimate Mr. Schaeffler quoting Hayek. More than anything else, we believe this represents a psychological and cultural step change toward the realities of the future. A more decentralized and freer world.

It's sad to see that Fascism 101 is alive and well in the UK. And that free speech is about to be dead and buried everywhere.

Over the weekend we posted an in-depth narrative of what may happen in a theoretical worst case scenario in Fukushima, one in which the government continues to do nothing and pretends all is well, and where the end casualties are millions of innocent Japanese (and other) citizens, whose only crime is believing their government. Sadly, with every passing day the theoretical is becoming all too real, and moments ago reality struck again, when the Nikkei newspaper reported that readings of tritium in seawater taken from the bay near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has shown 4700 becquerels per liter. This was the highest tritium level in the measurement history. It gets better: Earlier, Tepco admitted that an estimated 20 to 40 trillion becquerels of tritium may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean since the nuclear disaster.