Euro "Secret Meeting" Not a Secret Anymore, Bill Frezza Nails It, and Ron Paul Now the Image of the Republican Party?

So you know that secret meeting last Friday where many big Euro financiers discussed whether to kick Greece out of the Euro Zone?  You know, the one that was denied by a number of officials from Greece?  Well, it looks like the cat is out of the bag via WSJ:

Is lying considered an appropriate mode of communication for euro-zone leaders?
We have to wonder after a strange episode on Friday evening. Here’s what happened:
Just before 6 p.m., German news magazine Spiegel Online distributed a report saying that euro-zone finance ministers were convening a secret, emergency meeting in Luxembourg that evening to discuss a Greek demand to quit the euro zone.

Calls from reporters flooded in to Guy Schuller, the spokesman for Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, the man who is the head of the Eurogroup council of euro-zone finance ministers.
In a phone call and text messages with two reporters for Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Schuller repeatedly said no meeting would be held. He apparently said the same to other news outlets; at least one more moved his denials on financial newswires.
Of course, there was a meeting–although not, apparently, to talk about Greece quitting the currency, which would be an extreme step to say the least.

So why the lie?  It wasn't to protect the financial industry was it?

“I was told to say there was no meeting,” said Mr. Schuller, reached by telephone Monday. “We had certain necessities to consider.”

Evening in Europe is midday in the United States. “We had Wall Street open at that point in time,” Mr. Schuller said. The euro was falling on the Spiegel report, which had overhyped the meeting. “There was a very good reason to deny that the meeting was taking place.” It was, he said, “self-preservation.”

Okay let me get this straight: the spokesman for the Prime Minister of Luxembourg lies directly to the media by denying that a "secret" meeting took place where the topic of discussions was not kicking Greece out yet the meeting had to be kept secret anyway to not spook the markets?  In the words of the infamous Judge Judy, "don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."  It's simply pathetic to think Mr. Schuller will retain any credibility after this massive screw up.  Speaking of politicians lying, I would absolutely love to see if this has any ounce of truth to it:

Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi said Tehran has evidence that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died of disease long before the United States' alleged raid on the terrorist, FARS Iranian news agency said.
Bin Laden was killed on May 2 in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, north of the capital Islamabad, during a raid by U.S. Navy Seals.
"We have accurate information that bin Laden died of illness some time ago," Moslehi said.

If there is anything Iran is good at, it's saying they have evidence of something but not releasing it.
Politicians can lie all they want, but eventually the truth is uncovered.  Look at Greece leaving the Euro Zone.  It is denied by those in charge, yet the market is already planning for a default:

Credit-default swaps on Greek debt rose 19 basis points to a record 1,360, according to CMA, signaling a 68 percent probability of default within five years.

And so much for trying to trick the marketplace last Friday:

Greece’s credit rating was cut two levels to B from BB- by Standard & Poor’s, which said further reductions are possible as the risk of default rises.
Another cut would make Greece the lowest-rated country in Europe as today’s reduction, the fourth by S&P since April 2010, left it even with Belarus. The yield on Greek 10-year bonds rose 21 basis points to 15.7 percent, more than twice the level of a year ago when Greece accepted an international bailout.

Bill Frezza has a great article on RealClearMarkets today making the perfect analogy of fractional reserve casinos to the fractional reserve banking this country saw in the 19th century and the establishment of the Fed.  It is highly recommended and too good to pull a few excerpts from it.

Juan Williams has a column out on The Hill today claiming that Ron Paul is driving the Republican platform this election cycle.  Paul is undoubtedly having an influence due to his fiscally conservative views and desire to reign in the military, but I haven't heard any potential candidate even mention the Fed yet.  Here is an excerpt:

Here’s a news bulletin — it is becoming increasingly clear that we are living in a time when Republican politics are being shaped by a 75-year-old, 12-term Texas congressman with a son in the Senate. And incredibly, it is no longer out of the realm of possibility that this outcast of the GOP establishment may win the party’s presidential nomination.
If you have not been paying attention, it is time to look around and realize that we are living in the political age of Rep. Ron Paul.

It is too early in the election cycle to make a claim like that, but the Revolution is growing.
I will end by posting up this semi-good chart from Medical Billing and Coding on The Big Picture:

While many of the myths may be true, the graphs makes the assertion that government price controls will be effective at cutting costs.  Someone clearly hasn't done their research on previous cases of price controls and their unintended consequences.  In short, the graph is helpful in dispelling some myths associated with our current health care system, but provides hardly any real solutions to control costs without government-caused shortages and rationing.

Update- Zerohedge has just confirmed that Bill Gross, owner of the PIMCO, has actually increased its short position on U.S. Treasuries rather than increasing his holdings as many have speculated: