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Conscious Capitalism, And Open Thread
Zero Hedge will be out of pocket for several hours: please use this post as an open thread opportunity to discuss how honest and transparent the government economic data dissemination complex is, how efficient the stock market is, how free of monopoly the Wall Street Fixed Income trading complex is, how altruistic the Federal Reserve is, and everything else that tickles your fancy. In the meantime, here is the latest controversial, and very much must read letter from Mike Krieger: Conscious Capitalism.
From Mike Krieger of Kam LP
Conscious Capitalism
Action alone is the province, never the fruits thereof.
Let not thy motive be the fruit of action, nor shouldst thou desire to avoid action.
- The Bhagavad Gita
Renunciation means absence of hankering after fruit.
As a matter of fact he who renounces reaps a thousandfold.
He who is ever brooding over result often loses nerve in the performance of his duty.
He becomes impatient and then gives vent to anger and begins to do unworthy things;
He jumps from action to action, never remaining faithful to any.
- Mahatma Ghandi
A Merging of the “Left” and the “Right”
During my most recent interview with Max Keiser I briefly introduced a concept that I referred to as “conscious capitalism” and I promised to expound on this idea in future writings. When I look around me I see a lot of encouraging signs but I also see a political, military and industrial establishment that is fighting with all its might to squash what I think could be a very powerful merging of forces on both the motivated and moral “left” and “right” sides of the political spectrum. As I have mentioned previously I tend to be libertarian philosophically yet I find myself in agreement with many of those who the mainstream media tells me are on the “other side.” Side issues like who is “racist” and the ground zero mosque are used to emotionally separate us and we must not give into such tactics. I think the most important thing for people that really want to change things for the better and lessen the stranglehold of the current corrupt and dependency/warfare model that is the United States of America should do two things. First, find the issues that we can agree upon and secondly as Ghandi instructed us “be the change that you want to see in the world” and spread this idea to everyone you come in contact with. We must remember that we have the ultimate power as individuals and consumers and at the end of the day this nasty little system we’ve got going survives based on our compliance whether we want to admit that or not.
What are the Main Issues we can Agree On?
End the Fed. I think the first issue to be dealt with is the Federal Reserve. Either it needs to be castrated or ended. As I have said before I think we are already on the road to achieving this end but we can’t give up now. The keys to ending the Fed in its current form are several fold. The first is to educate the masses on how and when the Fed was formed, what the Fed is, and finally who it ultimately answers to. Secondly, we need to support Congressmen like Ron Paul in their bi-partisan efforts to “Audit the Fed” or audit the gold reserves in Fort Knox. Despite having had considerable support from Congressional Democrats the bill was not passed as Mr. Paul intended and indeed the Fed was given more powers in that laughing stock of a Financial Reform Bill. Many will view this as a setback and in some ways it was; however, it was also a victory in that it served to “awaken” a growing percentage of the citizenry to how things work and to recognize that the Congress does not listen to the will of the people but rather protects the corrupt establishment at all costs. Having the power to create money and credit out of thin air, the Federal Reserve is the ultimate tool of the establishment and the noose around the necks of us serfs. When we have forced the Fed to respond to our inquiries their response in all cases is to grab further power and fight to avoid any disclosures of the actions they have taken in the shadows. Whereas truth can always shine through even the darkest night, lies must be compounded upon themselves indefinitely to maintain themselves. To quote Ghandi yet again: “The wicked can prevail only when they number multitudes, but goodness will rule when embodied to perfection even in one person.” This is a man who was able to boot the most powerful empire the world has ever seen using nonviolent methods. I think we can learn a lot from him.
End the Warfare State. When 9/11 happened I was working in the World Financial Center. I saw the buildings come down with my own two eyes. I saw the people falling out of the towers. I was scared and traumatized and for a while felt like I needed the government to protect me. Initially I was willing to give up some civil liberties to achieve some sense of comfort. I have since realized the grave error of my ways and I now shudder to think of the police state the establishment is trying to move us toward. Yesterday I read an article about how a Virginia court has upheld the right of police to place a GPS tracking device on a car without a warrant. Article can be found here http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime/Va-appeals-court-upholds-tracking-suspects-with-GPS-102431294.html. Someone tell me how this does not violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution? This is really terrifying stuff. What is so hard about getting warrant? Is this the type of country we want to live in? Beyond this, there is a clear trend toward more invasive screening tactics to prevent terrorism. The bottom line is this, if someone wants to blow something up or hurt people they will do it. Furthermore, instead of us sheepishly just giving away whatever self-respect we have left so that Janet Napolitano can scan your naked body before getting on a plane how about we stop invading countries in the Middle East and killing people. Sounds like a good start to me.
End the Stranglehold of the Large Banks, Multi-National Corporations and Unproductive and Overpaid Government Workers. When you look at the latest polls about what Americans have faith in at the top of the list is small business and at the bottom are Congress and the Banks. This is perfectly rational as everyone that has observed with an unbiased eye how things have unfolded since the financial crisis occurred has seen that the political establishment and Fed have made it their primary order of business to protect the big banks, big corporations and the overpaid and bloated public sector at the expense of the productive and hardworking citizenry and at the end of the day what they have really sacrificed is our currency (this will become painfully obvious soon enough) and our standing in the rest of the world (we are now seen as the third world banana republic we are).
First, the large banks. If there is anything anyone that dislikes the system as it stands should be against it is the TBTF (Too Big To Fail) banks. They played a huge role in destroying the global financial system and the long-term wealth creation mechanism of the United States. Not only that, but as a punishment for their sins they have taken taxpayer bailouts, paid enormous bonuses while 35 million Americans entered the food stamp breadline, fought real reform every step of the way (successfully I might add) and the executives have escaped punishment. We protect these banks as if they are some sort of national treasure. The one trend that becomes clear when it comes to the banks, the Fed and the power players in Washington D.C. is the more you screw up the more power you get. It is amazingly Orwellian.
As far as the Unproductive and Overpaid government sector I am not going to spend much time on it myself. Rather, I ask you to listen to this compelling interview given by Stephen Meister to King World News http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/9/4_Stephen_Meister.html. One of the key points he makes is that there are 7.9 million public sector union members and that for the first time in 2009 there are now more public union members than private sector union members (7.4 million). More importantly, the private sector workforce is five times as large as the public sector workforce so what you get is a situation where union membership is 34% in the public sector and 7% in the private sector. A lot of “conservatives” like to demonize auto unions and the like but the real issue is the public sector unions. He goes on to point out that at least at a private company there is a profit motive and so if the unions push too far they end up hurting themselves. Not so with a government union since there is no profit motive and their pay is just subsidized by the taxpayer! To summarize, what are we subsidizing? The TBTF banks, the war machine, a growing police state, and public sector unions that keep taking more and more. Everything is completely backwards. We live in and participate in a complete and total insane asylum.
Finally, the multi-nationals. As many are starting to understand we do not live in a world of “free trade” we live in a world of rigged trade where China manipulates its currency lower to keep the labor arbitrage alive. Due to rising inflation and wages in the coastal areas this is beginning to change, but the key is not to have companies now move from China to Vietnam or Mexico. We need jobs here. Our days of pushing paper around as a nation of traders, lawyers and bureaucrats is OVER. We don’t know it yet since the currency crisis hasn’t fully shown up in commodity inflation but it is happening underneath the surface. As a result, it is key to get producing jobs back to American shores as soon as possible. That way we will be able to provide for ourselves better after the currency loses much of its purchasing power abroad. This will not be easy but it is necessary. Furthermore, the longer we export such jobs abroad and continue to just collect food stamps, day-trade and file lawsuits the less skills we will have here to do the necessary things when the time comes.
Implementing Conscious Capitalism
So now we are back full circle to the idea of conscious capitalism. Back in 2002 in my personal journal I wrote a little essay titled “Ambivalence Toward Capitalism.” I decided to go back and read it before writing today and one of the lines stuck out to me. I wrote: “In my opinion capitalism is the best form of society that has graced this earth and yet is the worst form of ideology that has ever become so widely accepted.” What I meant by this was that I saw the inherent dangers of using a system based in large part on the selfish desires prevalent in mankind. Harnessing the abilities of man to produce, innovate and create to the best of his or her ability by offering rewards is essentially what capitalism does when it works well. However, what has become abundantly clear as of late is that if the society itself is immoral then capitalism will fail to function and it can be as destructive as any other system. This is where I disagree with many libertarians AND big government folks. There is nothing wrong with some limited federal government and there is nothing wrong with capitalism, where we get into problems is when we view either as a panacea or a religion. This is because they are both merely systems devised by imperfect human beings and as such will ultimately reflect the morality and ethics of the human beings interacting within that system. The United States has become in recent years, decadent, aggressive, immoral and brainwashed by television and mainstream media. As such, should we really be surprised that nothing seems to work whether it be Federal government or capitalism?
At the end of the day I still think as long as human nature remains the same capitalism is the best thing we’ve got. The reason it is the best thing we have come up with is because at the end of the day it is not something we came up with. Real capitalism, as opposed to the crony capitalism we have today, consists of the natural state of affairs in complex societies. As is wisely noted over and over in the epic Bhagavad Gita, we run into trouble when we become obsessed with the “fruits of action” since then we would lie, cheat and steal to achieve ones ends. However, those that attempt to demonize capitalism must understand that if the moral base of a society is unchanged it doesn’t matter what system is in place it will eventually become corrupt and tyrannical.
Therefore, what I think is of paramount importance in today’s America is we need to get a grip on reality as it is not as we wish to see it. The first thing is to understand how the financial system operates and how the Federal Reserve controls it. The second thing is to spread this knowledge to everyone you know. The third and final stage, which is the one we are entering in my view, is to be the change you want to see in the world. The most effective way to protest the system is to shed counterfeit money for honest money. This means for everyone that has the means to should sell a certain percent of their dollars and buy physical gold. If we did this the Fed would be history tomorrow. More importantly, once this happens the last thing we should do is accept another fiat currency devised by these same insane academics and central bankers that want to push this ridiculous idea of an SDR on us. Other things people can do is to look at their own lives and be more thoughtful about what bank one uses or what products one buys. I do not bank at the TBTFs and this is a conscious choice. This is conscious capitalism. Buying local goods produced nearby rather than something produced by Asian slave labor is another way. If we do these things based on a sense of morality, then not only can we get back to real capital markets rather than praying to the false god of crony capitalism, but indeed we can change the world through a paradigm shift in our collective consciousness.
All the best,
Mike
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You left me a great post on the other thread. It is worth while answering but I have not had the time to do it justice.
“Do you want a name for this world? A solution for all its riddles? A light for you, too, you best-concealed, strongest, most intrepid, most midnightly men? This world is the will to power-and nothing besides! And you yourselves are also this will to power-and nothing besides!”
Friedrich Nietzsche.
I agree with the 'get out now' part. I also agree that a power vacuum is probable in any widespread collapse scenario. However, I don't agree that an overt dictatorship is a foregone conclusion. I think we would see popular armed insurrection before that (or because of that). The US is so large that any political shifts will have to be more subtle than a public hostile takeover, if the ring-grabbers don't want to pay too big of a price.
I think there is mounting evidence that people are growing more aware, and the more that happens, the higher the price of a takeover is going to be.
I agree. The power vacuum/transition is already here... as state and local governments cut back, it will be more apparent. The odd part is that it's a horse race for who fills it... obviously there are front runners, but anything can happen at this point. I don't think we could put a renaissance out of the question, in which we ultimately receive more freedom and create a better place to live for our children than our parents left us. I would put it at a smaller chance than a robber baron/plantation/fiefdom scenario (we're not far from it), but still too large of a possibility to ignore.
We will not have a dictator... period, end of story. If we have anything, it will be regional robber barons and new state lines, with the possibility of multiple countries. No one is going to invade us and no one is going to have the means in which to overtly control and contain us. This thing falls apart before any single world government can be fruitfully realized and before any dictator can usurp what little rights remain of our constitution. I suspect that legally speaking, we will have many more rights in the future.. however, we will likely have no means in which to implement them (economically), rendering them ineffective. Skynet and its terminators will run out of energy...
Spot on!
People need to realize that there will be less monoliths; and, that nothing will be stagnant. There will be near chaos, in different places and at different times, but not ALL the time, and not all at once. It may appear that way, but it really won't be so. There won't be any single best solution. Adaptability will be key.
do you mean borne, as in to support or to bear or bring forth? as in your confidence is supported by a life spent leveraging?
and did you mean you keep close counsel? as in advice?
Are you from India by chance? just a guess, just wondering...
B9K9 et. al.
Isn't it obvious who will take over?
Remember Spain, Italy, Germany in the 20's? Especially if the crash you are talking about will be a hyperinflationary one, then it will more likely be a right wing fascist development.
It will be the middle class turning right wing. It will be a fascist state proper, backed up by the religious right (both Protestant, Catholic). Palin and the 911 site mosque fracas is just a humorous foreshadowing of what is to come. The real ring-leader will appear like a kick-ass version of American apple pie with a Reagenesque charisma that will disarm many.
In the end, I think the right wing Protestant and Catholic interests will have their chance at a modified theocracy.
Mel Gibson?
+1 !
"Many believe I was born of the manner,"
Um, did you mean manor? Is English not your first language?
B9K9, I find your posts very intriguing. However, how about naming some names of past perpetrators. Real names, not generalities.
Knowing who is going to possibly grab the brass ring is fun to think about, but how about knowing the fuckers that planned the whole thing. This would be useful in case one wanted to take some specific perpetrators down prior to oneself going down. Or maybe oneself wouldn't have to go down because one could be successful at exacting justice.
Speaking of that, perhaps some day someone will form a club or brotherhood of former snipers to clean house in a systematic sort of way. Of course I would never do such a thing and would discourage any one from organizing such a group because it would be highly illegal. We should all make sure to vote in November instead because our vote really matters.
But please humor us and name some names of those responsible.
To me this human nature argument is a BS cop out. It implies that it's always been that way and it always will be that way. Well I don't accept that in the future it necessarily has to be that way.
Evolution is often described as a process of natural selection. Selection carries a connotation of a conscious choice, and that leads me to think that if we are going to evolve past the wars and the other nasty parts of ourselves, we must make that choice.
"My confidence is born by a life spent profiting from leveraging human nature"
Seriously B9, spare us the movie script and cut loose with some of those mushrooms. We all like a little break too you know.
Namelist FAIL.
How about a real list of names. and addresses. and where their kids go to school.
It is all but impossible to attack a collective or a legal persona. The individuals responsible need to be exposed. everywhere.
i confess, it was me...i pulled those damn strings...
LOL
I should have know. It's always some clown who's pulling the strings and fucks things up. :>)
actually i am funny mushroom cloud :P
We're coming after you, too. You'd better hide.
You & me, baby, you & me, the names aren't a coincidence after all.....
The bottom line of the whole current situation comes down to who is running America: the drones in the Beltway and special interests who can afford hordes of lobbyists to manipulate the "license raj" that we are now living in(virtually all of the actions of the DOE andEPA, for example: or (2) the people who actually work, invest, innovate, sacrifice and provide the civic virtue of the country. If it is (1), then we are serfs and it is time for a revolution, as foreseen by Jefferson and many other Founding Fathers of the American Republic.
Look at me! I used a handle from Psych 1001! I'm SO Kewl!
Maybe this group working behind the scenes does.
http://republicoftheunitedstates.org/
You stated it perfectly, my brother B9K9, you stated it perfectly.
Global capitalism is dead -- and that will become obvious to everyone, to those dunderheads who have yet to get "it" -- by 2012.
Global Capitalism, RIP, 2012.
That's all, folks!
Sooner. The unwind in Europe is already underway. Currencies are in a race to the bottom. The complete collapse might take that long, but the unwind is progressing...
When you play a game of Monopoly - what do you do when 1 person has ALL the chips or money?
YOU CLEAR THE BOARD & RESET THE GAME!!!!
WTF are people waiting for?
Put it this way, all you really need to do is start TAKING THE BALLS from the elites! LITERALLY!
How much do you think Ben's balls in a glass showing case will be worth in 50 years?
Clueless? Excuse me, but was I the only one listening?
.
Show me the super model, I'll fjuck her!
You are right, it not about the actual money for the super duper masters of the universe, it is about winning and ego.
That said, if they do not have a middle class to siphon wealth from, they will turn on each other and play a dangerous game of musical chairs.
The right thing to do for everyone's survival is to give some back. Corporations (esp banks) should donate a % of calculated after tax and after bonus profits directly into the economy. Ideally through a grant/lending vehicle to smaller businesses.
Innovation drives long term wealth....look who is throwing off crazy cash now, google & apple......fund it, buy it, then monopolize it!
there is nothing to say on this open thread. I have said for two years that we are like the Roman Empire. We are hopelessly going broke and its like watching a slow motion train wreck. We will wake up one day with our money worth 1/2 of what it is and no manufacturing base for which to export and grow jobs. We have two loser parties who either support the big banks or the unions and we the people are doomed until it collapses. once the elites are no longer in control (revolution is coming), we will be able to reform america allowing its great ingenuity and vision to direct us. We are a broken democracy with no moral fabric. "FREEDOM WITHOUT MORALITY CREATES CHAOS"
"We will wake up one day with our money worth 1/2 of what it is and no manufacturing base for which to export and grow jobs."
Didnt this already happen, only that the money is 20% worth measured in gold
How would you feel if a gang of criminals broke into your home, stole your most valuable possessions, and then went on national TV to claim it was for your own good? ->
http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/capital-preservation/
"How would you feel if a gang of criminals broke into your home, stole your most valuable possessions, and then went on national TV to claim it was for your own good? ->"
I wouldn't see it because I'd be busy watching re-runs of "The Real Housewives of Seacaucus."
"Constitutional Republic"
Go down this thread and see what some apes are saying about morality. Look up web bot post.
Traderjoe,
You are a complete and utter idiot.
Oh, my bad, everyone on the forum already knows that.
sorry for repeating the obvious.
.
Oh would you be willing to tell me why, or would I be too idiotic to understand?
Are you just jealous that I got the top spot for the "Bitchez" comment? Maybe next time you can be just like me...
Cheers, Troll!
I hate central banks, thats it
ah, don't hate them. they have created a lovely buying opportunity in the gold and silver stocks today as they try to chase out whatever retail investors there are there.
i mean, they are desperate for retail to come back....but only to the RIGHT stocks that they have pumped to the moon....
damn little scumlets are staying in, and others are now moving into the ONE group that they've spent a fortune trying to keep down this past year.......
but, that doesn't stop them from trying a smash and grab whenever they can.....
so, i wanna say...thanks JPM, i didn't have enough AUY....
Well, you're right about one thing.
Their intention is to transfer their positions to retail investors for the final dump to come.
You won't be thanking them when gold crashes though, I'm sure.
Here here!!!
Hear! Hear! :-)
Lennon you're back, and still mangling the language! Now please don't flip out on me, I'm just messin' with ya dude.
+ 1.25 trillion
I hate the fact that there is Zero accountability any more. There will be no more losses again...ever.
RoboTrader - please post some pics. I'm dying over here.
Platizow, below.....
PCLN getting 'crushed' today. RCL up big. Go figure.
I said the same thing today! It's not my fault, it's everybody's else their fault!
BUY A GUN AND GO APESHIT MAN!! HELL YEAH!! BAM!
You live in where? Like, Belgium or someplace?
When ya coming over the The States and cause some trouble?
"You live in where? Like, Belgium or someplace?"
ROTFLMAO +++++++++++
You forgot to extend your pinky finger during conversation...he probably didn't understand you...LOL.
And don't forget that bomb-laden underwear.
It's very GQ...
"It's never my fault when I lose money on trades! It's the HFT bilderberger zionist new american century project shadowy banksters at Goldman Sachs! And to top it all off, those fuckers made it rain today too! Now, I have to put a tarp over my porch before I can hide under it!"
Everybody has differing opinions on that.
Here are two articles with different conclusions using the same graphs!
Pick your poison, triple top or cup-and-handle...
Precious Metals Equity Index Forms Triple Top
http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/precious-metals-prec...
Technical Targets for Gold, Silver, and the Gold Stocks
http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/sentiment-technicals...
Why don't you reply to one of my three other replies to this copied and pasted post?
I've already told you why the cup and handle AND triple top are wrong.
Gold's longer term rising wedge will break down.
My previous call was for it to break in October. It still may be on track for that.
If not, it may make it to be November.
It looks like it wants to bust before then.
Also, GLD is turning down.
Last but not least, S&P will be down tomorrow, finding new support at 1075 when the downtrend stops.
It's forming a triangle. Which way it breaks, nobody knows... probably down. 1075 may not hold, but it's trendline support.
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...[we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our miss-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers... And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for[ another]... till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery... And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."
-Thomas Jefferson
Nice words, Tom. I'll do my part:
Remove money from big banks and put it locally.
Stop buying crap I don't need.
Shop at local thrift stores first.
Shop at local hardware, outlet, and clothing stores next.
Keep planting a garden, adding a few new veggies each year.
Use resources sensibly while maintaining what comfort I can.
Never use an ATM card, as I have never had one anyhow.
Buy precious metals with any excess funds, to stop debt.
Be nice to my neighbors.
Maintain self-employment as always.
That should help some. Inhibiting the Ponzi at every turn.
Ouch. I didn't think enough about that one. I was so busy being smug about the fact that I don't use credit anymore that it slipped my mind.
Yeah, those greedy sons of whores at Visa still get 3% of the action, even if I'm not paying interest on the deal.
Thanks for reminding me! I'm going to greatly reduce the ATM action and carry more cash around to do my daily dirty deeds and dealings.
Now I await another check from MY self-employment to buy more shiny, clunky silver.
I had a problem logging onto the online banking thingie and the site asked for something about my ATM card info to verify. Ooops. I placed a call to the 1-800 number and the chick at the other end asked the same thing. I explained that I don't have/never have had an ATM card. You'd have thought I grew another head or something. I finally convinced her I had not just landed from Mars and would like to access my account info. I think that bank may just be too big. Gotta find a smaller one.
It's easy to make those changes when you do not have a job or money anyway, Rocky Racoon!
You spelled raccoon wrong.
I was just copying your handle.
You didn't even spell your screen name right. I'm glad you acknowledge this.
Johnny, you can't even copy and paste. Please, take a nap or something.
Johnny B seems to be the reigning king junk collector.
He gets to ride up on top of the truck with Jethro.
Load your own ammunition, AND be nice to your neighbors ... but seriously .
Hope & Change, bitchez!!
Yeah. Hope that the economy doesn't get worse on a day-today basis and Change is the only thing we have left in our pockets after the tax and spend policies of Obammy.
Hope and change, America, bought and sold.
I was like, being sarcastic and stuff. :\
Obama? Is that you?!
How's Michel doing? Did she got rid of those crabs yet?
Only one junk for the obama slight - telling.
"Nooner" bitchez ...
Best wishes to the pocket.
Aren't we talking about "Compassionate Capitalism"?
MUHAHAHAHAHAHA
Funny, I had never heard the term "out of pocket" until I started to work at banks.
Same here. Except replace "out of pocket" with "nothing is fucked here".
I've only heard it used in this way once, and we all laughed because we thought the lady was just butchering the colloquialism. I hope in this case it's an intentional misuse, for humorous effect.
Unless ZH is literally paying for server time using spare change and petty cash right now.
they can't be skint i've just bought a mug.
T PARTY ANARCHIST
http://williambanzai7.blogspot.com/2010/08/tea-anarchist-shirt.html
ROPE
http://williambanzai7.blogspot.com/2010/09/rope.html
Try variants with the words: cope, dope, nope, mope
William
I want a shirt
Me too! Except, it needs to add "F*CK THE NWO" "F*CK THE PENTAGON" etc...
The Market........................
"A cross between lair's poker, hot potato and musical chairs"
Fake jobs report this morning didn't work
This is going to get ugly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am curious as to how this thread evolves today...
By natural selection as always...
...so be the evolution you want to see in this thread.
My kid says that each year more people die from coconuts falling on their head than from terroism. I wonder if this is true?
Easy to stay away from a coconut tree. How do you stay away from an Allah freak with some C5 on a subway?
"Easy to stay away from a coconut tree. How do you stay away from an Allah freak with some C5 on a subway?"
Here's a thought. We have a nutcase preacher from Gainesville heading up to meet Imam Rauf in NY about the Cordoba mosque being built in the debris field of ground zero.
My question is...what kind of vest will he be wearing?
Let the fur fly peeps...LOL.
"My question is...what kind of vest will he be wearing?"
A "ballsy" one? As in steely balls? I'm sorry for imagining someone other than a Muslim wearing a vest full of hard metal bits. It's just that it's been all over the news for so long. Sorry.
Imam Rauf won't meet with him.
Shit Richard you locked me out of my post. That edit feature is a lifesaver for the VI. Example: My above post makes no sense and needs to be rephrased.
What would the fallout look like if a Christian(?) Minister walked into a Mosque and blew himself up? Taking countless innocent lives. How would such an act be viewed by the Muslim faith?
Exactly...or all other people/faiths.
One wonders if the "moderates" within would finally find a way to voice their displeasure with acts of suicide & mass murder. Perhaps even to the point of turning on those within their midst to prevent it in the future.
Sigh...it's early...maybe I'm still dreaming ;-)
I had the question of moderates in there,but figured it would distract from my key point, which wasn't really a point, but a statement of the obvious - radical vest wearing Muslims and their ilk would go apeshit. But yes, where are the voices of the moderates? You are in your own death struggle right now and better get with it, brothers and sisters.
Rauf supports Hamas. Neither man is moderate/temperate.
He's wise not to...LOL.
Edit;
This was to RichardP.
400+ dead 1000+ injuries this year in terrorist attacks, there must be a LOT of dumb fucks standing under coconut trees for that fact to be true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_2010
I live in Hawaii. The stats are that more people die from being hit in the head by a coconut than from SHARK attacks, not terrorist attacks. LOL. Someone took a little license, I guess. (Not saying it was your kid.) Aloha. :)
Coconuts is dangerous business!
DCRB
I may have misunderstood; but it seems that in "Der Schweiz" the "Nationalrat" representatives serve but one six month stint, with no re-election and with no "lobbyists dispensing cash to get legislation passed.
A corporation there is not a "person" and cannot bribe legislators. And to top it off; this is in a country with a long history of "citizen's home defense" where the Sunday morning's entertainment is not on TV, but close by at the local firing range. A pastoral setting of ordinary people practicing their rifle and sub-machinegun skills. Meant to be used if required to encourage the "people's representatives" not to do anything which would piss off the folks at home (with their fingers on all those triggers) EVERYONE has their automatic weapons loaded and ready at home at all times. The Swiss system is to be highly recommended to the long-suffering residents of the USA...
Confuchius, I presume you are asking me about Switzerland.
I am an American 54 yr old white guy, I have been to Suisse before, but you know more about their gun laws than I do and their political system than I do. Just your words alone demonstrate.
I would guess that more guns and requirements to practice would indeed help restrain big .gov.
In fact, I am doing my part by being armed with an AK-47 and a Beretta 9 mm!
Also, I have anti-gov insurance: Gold!
Ahoy, Do Chen,
Switzerland is a small country with no army and no enemies. Hence, mandatory civilian defence fits them.
They never had to defend themselves, but they may in the near future against their own elite government as the reveared solid Swiss banks were allowed fall victims of the greedy and nefarious financing globalists.
Bye some anti-government insurance everyone.
If you have cash or other valuables, Wrap them with specialty welding blanket first and then put them in the safe. Safes are only good for a few hours and you need the extra protection.
These blankets are good to 1800 degrees F. http://www.steelguardsafety.com/welding-blankets.htm?gclid=CNfn1dDe_qMCFVw65QoddB-bLA pick the white spark silica cloth.
I am considering this. Thanks.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
That in a nutshell is the answer and the problem.
Aggregating the actions of each person to form the whole.
That doesn't work too well in a system where most people are on the lookout to fleece people with that mindset.
We agree. I don't think there has been much evolution. We are just cavemen with automatic rifles. As long as a dog will fight another dog for a bone we are alike.
I read an insider rumor yesterday on survivalblog.com that said in effect (at least in Illinois) the FDIC is running out of buyers for failed banks.
I saw that as well. A rumor in Illinois that the FDIC is finding no interest among healthy banks wanting to buy any more of the ones who go down.
We may see pretty soon if that is true. If so, then the crash comes faster.
I find this really interesting. The FDIC is already coercing buyers by entering into significant loss-share agreements. If now buyers are unwilling, even with the loss-sharing...well, you can imagine the consequences.
There will be perpetual demand in the banking industry for consolidation because it means a second chance at life. The more you consolidate, the less the government can dictate your affairs and splinter your organization.
Many banks are simply in a position where they do not have enough wherewithal to consolidate enough to get a pardon. If these banks have dried up, then they'll just have to keep reducing the price. The biggest problem with the situation is WHO gets to purchase the failed institution and is the bidding truly open, valid, and honest. And if so, then how did the purchaser derive his/her/its capital for the purchase price?
I bet if you look at some of the "healthier" banks, you find banks who cannibalized their brethren.
The other issue is that the FDIC's insolvency has been discussed to death. When you pull forward 3 years of fees from banks and still can't muster enough to operate, it's time to throw in the towel.
The only way the FDIC gets paid is if banks increase cash position. The only way banks can participate is through lapping up everything they can borrow at the discount window and hitting up treasuries for the spread or stuffing money into computers who fuck the world out of its life savings. The problem is when the funding sources run dry. In this case, banks are not only susceptible to runs on their deposits, but their sources of operating income because if they do not grow/accumulate cash quickly enough, they're left out in the cold this round of musical chairs.
In other words, the revolution has started and it was done without a shot fired. People woke up and started pulling their money out of rigged markets. Through all the talk of pulling money out of your account at certain times, going to a credit union, stuffing it in a mattress, etc., the real kill shot will be a complete withdrawal from the funding (theft) sources that the banks use to bolster cash position to prepare for being forced to recognize loan/toxic investment losses. (even if we did not wake up and it's purely a function of desperation to pay bills/perpetuate lifestyle, then the result is the same... unwitting revolutionaries are still revolutionaries).
As it stands, the funding attempts by banks are failing... their failures are larger than the FDIC can keep up with... in short, the economy is deteriorating faster than they had hoped and the mechanisms they designed to perpetuate the status quo long enough to recapitalize financial institutions are breaking down... due to our refusal to participate.
This is an example of individual actors being able to make a difference. And you do not need any organization or collective thought to do it... much more telling I believe than a political stunt to withdraw money out of an account at a certain day and time... this money isn't going to be redeposited the next day...
To continue replying to myself... we have the simple issue of math here. If there is consolidation in the banking industry, then the fewer pillars that remain standing will not need a footprint at every corner. There will be an incredible amount of CRE that has been designed specifically as banks that will need to be converted/demolished. I suspect a lot of it will be difficult at best to sell, even by commercial real estate standards. I smell more security instruments.
It's a bank eat bank world! ...after they devour us first -- the appetizer.
There will be perpetual demand in the banking industry for consolidation because it means a second chance at life. The more you consolidate, the less the government can dictate your affairs and splinter your organization.
They are in business together.
I think it's vastly more complicated than that and subject to change at any time... eventually, the political structure will have to distance itself from the evils of our present banking system to survive. In traditional terms, this means throwing a few lambs to the slaughter... but, could very well mean something more given what's at stake and how far the rabbit hole goes.
There's no honor among thieves.
I think you underestimate the bank cartel, but just my opinion. I also think they will use this present crisis to introduce the new monetary system, and believe it will be the same people in control of the old system. Sacrificial lambs of course there will be some. The people in the forefront aren't the ones in control. IMO
The banking system is just a temporary vehicle for pillage and plunder. Actually, have you ever seen the movie "the box"? It's kinda like that... We keep choosing to open the box... again and again and again.
You have to separate the entities and their mechanisms from their principal actors. The actors routinely take money out (derisk) of the entities. The entities got in trouble, but many have been replenished by our handouts (at gunpoint). However, the entities were always designed to have a limited lifespan. Even the mighty FED will be fed to the wolves (us) before this is over. Simply put, too many nonperforming assets on the books of any entity will kill it (despite trying to offload them into GSEs). It will fail like the GSEs. Of course, the assets will have to be purchased by someone... and by that juncture, we'll all be broke (almost there) and they'll have sole dibs.
The trick is to watch the people behind the entities, not the entities... the entities and, thus, their control mechanisms will be sacrificed to keep the spoils of the war (the last... 60+ years?). Depending on the political climate, they will either leave to set up shop somewhere else (they're global players) or come right back here and rinse and repeat. They'll ring our doorbell and leave a box... and we'll fucking open it again. The entities are just abstractions used as a first line of defense... once those are destroyed, things will get interesting... until then, the mechanisms continue.
The banking system is just a temporary vehicle for pillage and plunder.
Indeed sir. Look close enough and you can see the Investment Banks going through metamorphosis right before you. They are reinventing themselves right out in the open and there are few who actually "see" it.
"Look close enough and you can see the Investment Banks going through metamorphosis right before you. They are reinventing themselves right out in the open and there are few who actually "see" it."
Probably a better movie reference, but this is the one that popped into my mind.
The Thing is a 1982 science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter, written by Bill Lancaster, and starring Kurt Russell. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a parasitic extraterrestrial lifeform that assimilates other organisms and in turn imitates them. It infiltrates an Antarctic research team, taking the appearance of the researchers that it kills, and paranoia occurs within the group.
Yes agreed, and not much different from what I was saying. The banking cartel control countries, governments, legislation, ect... and monetary policy is the means to control. Having had control for some time now they have access to very powerful people everywhere.
Thus when this system crumbles they will introduce a new system (entity or any name you want to call it). Of course they are already positioned for this.
You have to separate the entities and their mechanisms from their principal actors.
The people at the forefront are not the people in control.
Depending on the political climate, they will either leave to set up shop somewhere else (they're global players) or come right back here and rinse and repeat.
If they do have to leave they will be coming back no matter the type of Government. Look at almost every country and they are there regardless, and of course the Bank Cartel controls more than banks and they are global players.
The transition period is going to be quite a while. We will be long dead before we open the box again. Just like children of the depression were generally smart (dead) enough to avoid the present fiasco... some images can never be removed once seen. Look at the time between our independence and the FED's creation...
In the power vacuum, the only people who could possibly do anything are the present top tier... there will be some sifting through no doubt, but I suspect by and large that any betting man would wager his chips on the upper crust to come out of this thing with power. Obviously as middle america has been hacked, slashed, and put in a dumpster, you have a lot of very well educated, very capable people who have little to lose. Some of these people will be fortunate to sit atop the power struggle. Most wont. There is already a class system here. And with perpetual and meticulous record keeping, it will be here to stay (you thought you were going to strategically default? Maybe against one bank, but not another... not after the credit bubble pops).
The people you need to look for are the people who take the spoils of the organizations... their principal actors (not necessarily shareholders). These are the elite. If a person is not deriving spoils from the organizations, they are not involved in the game... I just cannot connect the dots to a magical group of anonymous people who pull the strings for nothing but the pleasure of doing so... complete fiction.
The organizations and their mechanisms of control will be sacrificed to stave off the pitchforks. The power vacuum will likely be filled by the elite, but they will have kinder, gentler machine gun hands or, if not, then more obvious hands. Before you know it, we'll be riding their coat tails too tightly and this whole thing will start again.
The "new" system was and could only be a world wide system. That's what happens when the world's reserve currency dies... It's america's currency and although it is distributed world wide, the only place left to pass the baton is a true "world" currency. The only way that can happen is with the invention of a neo fiat. That fiat was scheduled to be carbon credits, but the hackers (thank you) and Chinese shat all over that nonsense, given they feel they're slated to be the next top dog. The ability for the present reserve currency to move into a new regime has ended... there will be no new world government... there will be isolationism and painful introspection.
The "new" system will be vastly more distributed and there will have to be a new pecking order established for king of the fiats... presuming we even get that far (PM/et al. standard).
The "banks" will lose this war... they were destined to... they're just kamikaze planes... it's the principal actors that have won... and have been winning for decades. The only question is how high our conviction is to return the ill obtained capital. Whether they start anew or not is largely irrelevant at this point. They'll be limited by the world's growth cycle... it is very possible this represents the last ability to perform The robbery...
Thanks for your replies, and agree with you.
Yup, exactly why (I strongly suspect) the FDIC got into the securitization issuing biz....
They never had any real buyers in the first place... and the price will get lower, and lower, and lower... and who swoops in to save the day for pennies on the dollar? (hint: not directly the government).
I dunno...with a bankrupt DIF and all deposits insured up to $250k, it sure seems like the "full faith and credit" is gonna hit the fan pretty soon.
It hit the fan a long time ago... The FDIC got 3 years fees pulled from banks and is still insolvent. They used to go campaigning for more money and speak more candidly of their financial situation, but we haven't heard much out of them lately.
Who are the only people with enough capital to even conceptually purchase any of these things and how did they come about the wherewithal to pay? These things don't get sold bit by bit... they auction off the whole thing at a time... (like the government has something better to do with its time?).
The same thing that happen in 2008 will happen again. We'll have a run on small/regional banks because everyone expects the full faith and credit of the government on the TBTF banks... only banks with systemic importance will continue. (unless the yokel banks were lucky/sucky enough not to have any CRE/toxic asset exposure). After that, it's anyone's guess... but consolidation is a certainty. We made that choice when we bailed out the TBTF instead of nationalization + auction.
Agreed...I guess what I meant by it hitting the fan 'soon' was the upcoming runs on the smaller banks. Because if deposits cease to be insured at some point...well consolidation isn't going to help much to bolster confidence, especially at pennies on the dollar.
Actually, I think you may even see a run away from insurance and a upspring of ~100% reserve banks. No need to insure anything that does not have leverage or risk outside of the value of the currency (borrow, if any, in dollars and insurance will only pay in dollars). There will only be little money in this venture... but, the quest for ANY return will do very strange things to us all in a very short while.
I suspect that the FDIC will get a perpetual backstop, but that smaller/regional banks will still be utilized to consolidate into the TBTF and bolster their balance sheets in the hopes of righting the ship. The government might even take on a little run as speculator/manipulator to recoup some losses. (already doing it).
Eventually, the only "small" or "local" banking that can happen will be with no insurance because the premiums will be too onerous. That will lead them to be full reserve (or close thereto) banks... they'll shed jobs... and the party continues. Wouldn't even doubt it if these were city/county/state run...
This is fascinating stuff, Macho. Thanks. It's odd that the VI would have seen anything like this, but being in mortgage banking I have seen a continual push to consolidate (mortgage origination anyway) going back many years. I remember people talking about how the business was angling for maybe five big players. What really strikes me is that that number is pretty spot on, or could be. I know you are speaking of something much larger, but your post gave me the same creeps I felt when I heard /saw it for myself, way back then.
I read the same article- the modus operandi has been banks closing on Friday, a larger bank gets FDIC cash to take over the failed bank over the weekend, then business as usual for customers Monday. Instead, the author (who apparently works for the FDIC setting these things up) says they cannot find banks to "take over" other banks in this way anymore, as all those who wanted to expand via acquisition had already done so- and there is now no market left.
My question is this: He essentially was saying that if we begin to see banks taking longer and longer to reopen due to lack of buyers, or beginning to simply be placed under the semi-permanent care of the Gov, that this might be a signal for a coming collapse... but my question is, how? How would this trigger a siesmic event within the country, banking system, currency, etc? I just didn't understand how he thought we would get from point A (banks failing w/o being subsumed into larger banks) to point b (econ armaggedon)... am I missing something here? Any thoughts?
Top of my head, there would be a tipping point in mass psychology, a sudden breakdown of trust. Tipping points are pretty discontinuous on a graph.
But there may be other causes.
You're probably right, FB- I'll have to think this over as a potential causal factor or tipping point re: Gonzalo Lira's recent musings on the nature of hyperinflation. There is also no reason the Fed couldn't basically use this as a stealth QE tool and just print $ to keep smaller zombie banks solvent... have to think this one through, lotta strands in the ol' duders head.
Where you see a series of points needing only someone to draw a straight line between them all, thereby creating a path from A-to-B, I see two different sets of points and there is no connection between them. We are now, someone will get to then, you and I will not because we will have changed and are no longer us.
Not being critical, just pointing out. We don't get there from here, at all. "There" is a different world that already exists except we are not aware it is here, one day the curtain will part and you (but not you anymore) will have arrived. But there were no steps in between, only a curtain moved. Part of the latter is simply looking.
Probably not easy to follow. That's my fault. Google "event horizon".
Down the rabb i t h o l e
...ummm... in the twinkling of an eye... when the last trump has sounded...
Yeah yeah, just like that. Cool.
Will there be any pain involved(?), because I have a low tolerance to pain and a high tolerance to pain medications.
Regarding this:
A (banks failing w/o being subsumed into larger banks) to point b (econ armaggedon)... am I missing something here? Any thoughts?
This literally just happened to me! I went to sleep one night, woke up the next day, and *poof* Old Cypress was gone and replaced by Center State bank. All my paper was transferred to the new bank without issue.
HOWEVER, what if the transition was not orderly? What if I had to go 2-3 days without access to my funds or knowing the status of my paper? And then this reaches the local news and starts a panic, other people get scared and pull their funds out of their other banks in the area? I can see this can cause ripple effects and widespread damage. The larger the banks that fail in an un-orderly fashion, the larger the ripples.
It would be contained to local media. Would never hit the msm. They'd deny it or say it was already fixed.. Then they'd push the mosqe (oh wait, have to use the term Islamic center now) or book burnning stories. Throw in a little Paris and Lindsay and the sheeple will move right along..
What pisses me off where my wife works there is no option but direct deposit. so we pay the bills every week & put the rest in the safe, not in fiat but the shiny shit, Sometimes I feel like IIndiana Jones when I open it. When I feel the time is near it's Mason jars buried all over the property. One day my grand kids will be out with metal detectors, Saying granny told us grand pa had jars buried all over this property , and all we keep finding is these fucking ball bearings
Fjords
Here is a good tip on when bank runs will start:
Watch the ethnic Chinese Americans:
They were the first to hoard rice in 2007 and created a shortage, I am sure they are hoarding cash as well as many others. Sales of safes have skyrocketed.
Google "rice hoarding" or "rice sales" or "rice shortage" every morning and you will get your clue in time to do what you need to do. Or do it before needing to do it.
Chinese have lived for eons in fear of fiat money, food scarcity, waring factions and they are a close knit community. They act as a group. They spread the news to all chinese fast.
The smartest and richest live in Vancouver. Check Vancouver blogs and newspapers.
Coffee hoarding must be going on. How is it possible that the price skyrockets like that?
Maybe that is a prodrome of things to come? Sugar next? Rice after that? Then banks
I'm a buyer of failed banks, at least one of them.
If you are reading this, Ms. Blair, I'm willing to pay a trillion rubles worth of 1917-issue Perpetual Russian Czarist Bonds for the Marriner Eccles Building and all who inhabit it. In particular I want those fair Maidens, Lane I, II and III.
Then I'm going to climb on to my bulldozer........
priceless...
Give her six months and she might take you up on that deal.
So all I said to the girl was "$40" and the next thing I know....
UN-concious capitalism?
But it is not blank, so your intent was not realized in your post. This could end up being a lot of talk about nothing.
:-)
Nothing is the ever present vapors that we seek; knowing not what it contains, we yern for that which we can not have, and are drawn like bugs to light; such is the darkness.
Probably either written to Gubamint standards or most likely a form of existential French humor, known as Sartre-tire.
"Ze page esss blank be-cuz eye zay eet es blank, poof! Stupide Americain."
.
this is not a reply
rrrrowww.
That's some serious Kaiko shit man. Deep!