Good morning, worker drones: This Week in Mayhem

Good morning, worker drones: This Week in Mayhem
by Project Mayhem

Project Mayhem reviews the most important financial and geopolitical news of the past week and takes a look at the week ahead.

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LAST WEEK IN MAYHEM

Economic:

1) SEC report finds no internal corruption in Madoff scandal, despite near zero money being recovered. Zerohedge calls in the roflcopters in response to this pathetic SEC whitewash.

This was our reaction upon reading the SEC's bullshit report

"SEC inspector general David Kotz's report found no evidence of any improper ties between agency officials and Madoff"  
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/news/sec-madoff-oops-our-bad?cm_ven=msunited

Status: Fail.  Level: Epic.

Bob Chapman writes:
"The Inspector General has found the SEC incompetent, but not corrupt. We disagree - the SEC is corrupt, particularly in the Madoff scam. The current SEC Madoff probe is another scam. Money has yet to be found in any substantial amounts. The Fed, the NY fed and the Treasury know where all the money went and that is to offshore havens and Israel. That means high-ranking members of the SEC were in on it. We have not heard the end of this yet, and the results will be shocking."

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15076

Attorney Representing Amerivet Securities Makes Claim FINRA Insider Confirms Investment in Madoff
"There were a few bombshells that came out of our discussion, including a claim by Mr. Greenfield, the Amerivet Securities attorney, that somebody well-placed within the organization (FINRA) that told us, in no uncertain terms, there was an investment with Madoff."

"Did we just find the smoking gun which indicates that FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) actually invested in the Madoff Ponzi scheme?"
http://www.senseoncents.com/2009/09/attorney-representing-amerivet-securities-makes-claim-finra-insider-confirms-investment-in-madoff/

If you have not watched Harry Markopolos' testimony before Congress on SEC and FINRA corruption, we highly recommend you watch it in its entirety. To be honest it is rather sick the SEC can get away with issuing a report which is obviously lies.

An American hero tells us the goddamned truth for once

[markopolos video]
part1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2001237832838852193
part2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7042347976248432607

2) U-6 'real' unemployment skyrockets to a 26-year high of 16.8%

[u6 image]

This is what recovery looks like

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/real-unemployment-rate-hits-168

3) Gold-To-Dollar ratio reaches July 2008 levels; Hong Kong calls gold back home; Project Mayhem secretly defects to the gold bugs.

PM issues gold price target of $1200 or higher for Jan 2010; prepares to lol @ Prechter. 

Jim Willie writes:
"The Chicago trading pits integrate much more brain wattage than the NYSE floor, and far less bias based in crippling propaganda. The wisdom that emerged from Chicago pointed to the gold price rise as a result of two important factors that seem SPOT ON. Chicago buzz centers upon the perceived Chinese demand for gold, both at the official government level (sovereign wealth funds) and the popular street level (retail coin & bar buyers). The other buzz centers upon what could mushroom as one of the biggest stories to date, as it matures and develops. It is difficult even to describe accurately this factor. The Chinese announced they will permit their state-owned firms to dishonor elements of futures derivative contracts, and thus limit their losses, on a selective contract basis."
in Gold: Separation before Liftoff

Tyler writes on the ancient metal of kings
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gold-dollar-ratio-back-july-2008-levels-surging-au-collapsing-usd

Gold and Systemic Crisis
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gold-and-systemic-crisis

4) Insider Selling/Buying Ratio Doubles to 61.8x

" TrimTabs earlier disclosed that the ratio of insider selling to buying had averaged about 31x for August, with $6.3 billion of insider sales matched by only $210 million on insider buys. Insiders apparently decided to exit August with a bang, with the last week of insider transactions doubling the sell-to-buy ratio to 61.8x! Over half a billion in stock was sold, while a whopping $8 million was purchased."

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/insider-sellingbuying-ratio-doubles-618x

5) This Week In Mayhem Issues Congressman Pete Stark "Idiot of the Century" award

Pete Stark, brain damaged Congress Critter extraordinaire, makes the claim that debt is wealth before telling a reporter to "get the fuck out". Maybe this helps explain the garbage coming out of Washington DC.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/congressman-pete-stark-explains-leverage-tells-reporter-get-fuck-out

6) Dennis Kneale continues to be paid by CNBS to promote vile economic tripe (Kneale you may need to look up these words; remember v comes after t, mkay?). Denninger responds -- and nails the fail whale to the rail. Must watch.

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1406-Kneale-Abuse.html

7) China agrees to buy $50bn in SDR bonds
"The International Monetary Fund(IMF) said on Wednesday that China has agreed to buy the first bonds issued by the agency for about 50 billion dollars." "According to the agreement, China would purchase up to 32 billion (around 50 billion dollars) SDR, or Special Drawing Rights, in IMF notes."

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6746736.html

8) S&P P/E ratio is at 127.43. Nope that's not a typo. Hail mary, full of grace...

Mean-reversion is gonna be a bitch!

And here is the spreadsheet in case you can't believe your eyes, supposing you have a labor day hangover or whatever...
http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/xls/index/SP500EPSEST.XLS

Geopolitics:

1) CDC Forced Quarantine Docs Leak

FL Quarantine to Detention Facility Order Apr 09 252

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/cdc-h1n1-forced-quarantine-docs-leak

H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic: Iowa Contemplates "Forced Confinement" in a "Quarantine Facility"
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15064

2) US Rules Out Negotiations With New Japan Govt on Base Deal 

"Japan's incoming Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has called for a review of the bases agreement, as well as a broader review of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States and the complete closure of the Okinawa base. The party has also promised to end the Japanese military's role in the Afghan War by the end of the year."

http://news.antiwar.com/2009/09/01/us-rules-out-negotiations-with-new-japan-govt-on-base-deal/

3) Georgia/Abkhazia-Russia naval blockade row escalates again

As was predicted in last week's column, the Georgia row has escalated further. MSM is still MIA. We suppose they will only report on this if and when carnage begins. You can be assured if this occurs, some percentage of Americans will confuse Georgia the country with Georgia the US state.
 
[saakashvilli image eating tie]

Saakashvilli, mentally unstable President of Georgia, eats his tie for the cameras.

Abkhaz rebels threaten to destroy Georgian ships
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=106037

[georgia image]

Abkhazia threatens Georgian ships as possibility of Black Sea naval skirmish rises
Mike Rivero notes:  Sergey Bagapsh would not be making these threats without the implicit backing of Moscow.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/georgia/6127798/Abkhazia-threatens-Georgian-ships-as-possibility-of-Black-Sea-naval-skirmish-rises.html

Russia condemns Georgia's attempts to seize ships off Abkhazia
"The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday Georgia's attempts to seize ships off the Abkhazian coast could lead to new armed conflicts."
"Aside from interrupting international maritime shipping, these actions of the Georgian leadership are an attempt to impose a blockade of the Abkhazian coast, which could lead to the deterioration of the situation in the region and new military conflicts," the Foreign Ministry's spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told a news conference in Moscow.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090903/156011368.html

Russia warns Georgia against Abkhaz 'sea blockade'
"A Russian official has warned Georgia that attempts to block ships from reaching a Moscow-aligned separatist region of Georgia could end in military intervention."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hMwNwByhP9L89m6jkmQOXgM6etqQD9AFRT503

4) This week in Mayhem nails it -- Arctic Sea was likely carrying stolen weapons

The individual who originally disclosed that the Russian vessel Arctic Sea was likely carrying weapons rather than Finnish timber receives death threats and is forced to leave Russia.

[picture of ship route]

Russia ship mystery editor flees
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8235647.stm

Let's hope he does not receive a gift of Polonium-210 in his drink like Alexander Litvinenko.

5) Gates requests more troops for Craptakistan; dead soldier photograph leaks; 90 killed in NATO strike

Aug. 14, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh

http://wearestjohns.com/ap-photo-of-lance-cpl-joshua-bernard.html

The United States now has more troops in Afghanistan than the Soviets ever did. ED NOTE: Let me let you in on a little secret: This war is about Caspian energy reserves and protecting the drug trade.
http://www.alternet.org/world/142388/obama_is_leading_the_u.s._into_a_hellish_quagmire/

US commander's report paves way for military escalation in Afghanistan
"The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has issued a dire assessment of the state of military operations there. The classified report sets the stage for an expansion of US troop levels in Afghanistan by as many as 45,000."
http://uruknet.com/?p=m57567&hd=&size=1&l=e

90 killed as NATO hits Afghan fuel trucks

"On August 22nd, a US air strike killed 90 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, according to on-the-ground reports. The US has vehemently denied that claim saying instead that 30-35 Taliban militants were killed and only 4-5 civilians. After mobile phone video footage contradicted those claims, the US now plans to open a joint investigation along with the Afghan government into the incident. "

http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=3226
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/About_90_killed_as_NATO_hits_Afghan_09042009.html

6) Iraq-Syria Row Escalates. Keep in mind Syria is aligned with Russia, who is renovating a deepwater port in Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea.

[syria tartus image]

Maliki Points Finger at Syrian Government for Baghdad Bombings
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today formally asked the United Nations Security Council to launch an inquiry into last month's Baghdad bombings, and in particular into 'outside forces' who supported the attacks, an obvious reference to its publicly broadcast confessions implicating Syria in the attack.
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/09/03/maliki-calls-for-un-inquiry-into-baghdad-bombings/

[syria map]

 
Iraq Masses Security Forces Along Syria Border as Tensions Mount
"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered thousands of additional national police deployed to the border with Syria, saying it was needed to prevent insurgents from infiltrating into the nation. Tensions between Iraq and Syria have been rising in recent weeks as Iraq has sought to implicated Syria in last month's major Baghdad suicide bombings."

http://news.antiwar.com/2009/09/04/iraq-masses-security-forces-along-syria-border-as-tensions-mount/

7) Man leaps into river to escape wife's nagging

A man jumped into a fast-flowing river because he couldn't take his wife's nagging anymore.

Members of the ship's crew saw the man suddenly run out of his cabin with his hands covering his ears, and shouting: "I can't stand it any longer."

ED NOTE:  This sound like my ex-girlfriend. Eva is that you??

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25912783-5013016,00.html

---

THIS WEEK IN MAYHEM

Economic:

1) Watch gold; particularly how it behaves during any sort of systemic deleveraging. PM forecasts a breakout above $1000 but with worst-case possibility of short-term decline to $800-850 during an equity crash. End-of-year forecast is $1200 or higher. And we will definitely get an equity crash. The only question is when.

Chart from Dr. Jim Willie's latest article

2) Weekly calender.  Rather uneventful.

It's mostly foreign news this week, except for Jobless Claims on Thursday and Consumer Sentiment / Treasury Budget on Friday.

source: cmegroup.com

Geopolitics:

1) Russia/Georgia and Af-pak: both these continue to destabilize. Hopefully we can remove them from our watch list soon, but that may be an opimistic assessment, particularly for Af-pak.

2) The Iraq-Syria row is slowly heating up. Remember these countries share a large porous border. There may be something to this or it may be more hot air. ZH eyes are open.

3) H1N1 spread. Governments may use this as a pretext for expanding control. Don't fall for the lies, because there is plenty of that these days.

In summary: We're all f*cked, it's getting worse, have a great weekend!

P.S.
Oh and if you are wondering what our fearless leaders are doing lately -- well let's have a look at Connecticut, shall we?  I have your answer!

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, far right, speaks while colleagues play solitaire on their computers as the House convenes to vote on a new budget for the fiscal year in the Capitol, in Hartford, Conn., Monday, Aug., 31, 2009.

Comments

[Anonymous]

Dr. Mayhem - we need you to weigh in on this please

Twenty Minutes With The President

Charlie Sheen – Good afternoon Mr. President, thank you so much for taking time out of your demanding schedule.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/twenty-minutes-with-the-president.html

[Anonymous]

one of the more interesting points was the sp500 pe ratio chart going back to 1935....since 1982 there has been an unmistakeable rise in the pe trend...i don't understand why investors have been willing to pay more for earnings than they did in the previous 45 year period....

it seems that they would also be taking lower returns....with an ever rising pe ratio it really is not possible to determine whether it is too high or too low...it becomes a meaningless calculation without a reference point....

this could be a rich field for research...it would be interesting to know how roi and irr have changed in such an environment....

[ShankyS]

Well done PM. Very useful info. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Damn, I wish I had photoshop skills. Someone seriously needs to photoshop that haircut onto Bernake.

[Anonymous]

mandy and her cleavage...

man o man....

[Anonymous]

About the virus patterns and the physics : I think the words you are looking for are 'rhythmic entrainment'.

Example : mechanical Swiss Kookoo (sp?) clocks, quartz crystal radios, women in the Army synchronizing their periods, etc.

If you go to a kookoo clock shop in Switzerland you will notice something very interesting. There are groups of 'identical' mechanical clocks (3 or 4) and their pendulums are all swinging in perfect synchronization. Each size of clock has (obviously) a different pendulum speed. How do they do this?

Simple : they just give the pendulums on the clocks a little push and within 24 hours they are in perfect synch with the other clocks of the same size and style. Mechanical clocks in a store full of clocks of different sizes (ie serious interference or 'noise').

Something to think about the next time you try to use natural quartz (it has antimony in it naturally) in a fast moving field to create a cold fusion reactor.

No, I haven't tried this. Might work, though.

And the next time you try to spark your home-grown hot fusion reactor by imploding the bubbles, try it with hydrogen peroxide instead of just plain old water. Who knows? It might work better, huh?

Just for fun from

Namke von Federlein

[sailfished]

As this is my first comment on Zero hedge I thought it apropriate to thank the folks there for taking me to school on the arcane inner workings of our financial fiasco. The geopolitical aspect of my comment is in regards to a 20 min. interview granted to Charlie Sheen by Barack Obama. If the transcript that I read is verbatim then the s,,t has hit the proverbial. Now ,either the fan comes clean ,or the fan needs to go away! Curious , ?You should be , this is huge . Peace

[sailfished]

Shucks, my first comment and I need to retract it . This is an interview that Mr. Sheen would LIKE to have with B.O. , my apologies, still an interesting read though.

[Anonymous]

let me tell you something sailfished. if you or anyone else puts all of your hopes and dreams and aspirations on the back of one, charlie sheen, to maybe just maybe , change the mind of this Machiavellian manchurian president, you will be waiting a very long time for any of your ideas to come to fruition. people like alex jones, who seems to be in love with himself and with movie stars for some reason, push this crap and a lot of idiots follow along. the thing you must do is do your own thinking and don't trust anyone. i am sorry. but those are the cards we have been dealt. don't trust anyone. imho, alex jones, has been compromised, maybe from the start and so has that network he is on, and to tell you the truth, maybe all of the so-called "patriot" networks. just remember this. you can hide truth within truth. be sure and don't get caught up in the minutia of the moment. you can hear someone say things that are truthful, all day long, but in many cases, it won't help you a bit. you will be just spinning your tires in mud, so to speak. staying in one place and never growing. people that listen to alex jones are like this. they stay in one place and never grow. some of them however, break out of it, and do grow. for many though, it seems, that it is good enough to listen to him and let him "lead" them in their thinking and their ideas. this is a very dangerous thing. charlie sheen is not the answer to anything. he is a drug addict and a drunk and like his dad was before him, a very immoral man. therefore anything that he does is nothing more than wall paper on the wall, to make the walls pretty and to cover up the ugly truth.....

[sailfished]

I have read many of your posts ,and respect yor intellect ,but sometimes our hubris will trip us up. Why do you assume that I am not capable of critical thinking . Like any semi intelligent individual I vett the info that I take in and try to separate fact from fiction, Iam not 100% succesful at this and I suspect that you are not either. All that aside this is not a personality parade. Did you read the faux interview?

[Anonymous]

i have never been able to compliment anything on zh so much as this...this nails everything important except china's repudiation of commodities derivatives and maybe i just missed that....

thanks for posting chapman and willie as they often have good insights into what is going on....madoff is not about incompetence or personal greed....this was us intelligence and related to the "fake" bonds story....

does anyone have the names of the solitaire champions?

[ToNYC]

Afghanistan is the latest example of smoke and mirrors while we steal the rights to the oil under their god-forsaken crappy soil. For that matter so is every such bloody engagement we have ever had beyond our borders. Our forefathers would have called it treason. Replace the troops with the Peace Corps if you want peace. Keep the war there if you want war; they don't take to theft of natural resources any more than we would without a fight to the death and retaliation against the local enablers.

[Anonymous]

it ain't crappy soil for poppy plants.

besides, there's a thing called permaculture.

[Anonymous]

the afghanistan war is not about oil.

[What_Me_Worry]

Very nice read.  Thanks for the recap.

[Miles Kendig]

Once more your weekly excels PM.  If events continue to accelerate at their current pace you may well have to do a midweek update to help us keep up.

[Anonymous]

if that one guy got hit by a rpg, he has some serious issues right about now, i would suspect. He is lucky to still be in one piece. i guess the round didn't go off.

also, i have a neighbor of mine who travels a lot in his job. he is a petroleum engineer for british petroleum. they pay him a very nice chunk of change and he is presently working over near the problem areas in georgia. i think the pipeline running not far from where the russians had invaded is the one his working on. i guess that is why they pay him the big bucks. the chances are he may wind up dead.....on a side note, we have absolutely no business being in georgia whatsoever, much less anywhere else we are presently bothering. who is the idiot in charge of sending our coast guard vessels in the black sea area? this is pure insanity. you keep poking a stick in the eyes of the russians and see what happens. they are not like the iraqis or the afghans. they have teeth and can bite back severely. is this what we want?

[Anonymous]

chapman is always talking about the illuminati. who the hell are they anyway? he gets on the radio and discusses things from some remote unknown location outside the united states. yeh, when the stuff hits the fan, old robert will hold your coat for you while you die in the street. there are many like him too.

[gookempucky]

Ignition on as PM Illuminate's the landscape of ZH- an opera on paper that goes where no man has gone before.

Adolphus Washington Greely would be smiling.

[SlimeyLimey]

PM, not sure if you've touched on this before - the battle for control of the indian ocean: India's nuclear submarine "Arihant", China's Gwadar port in Pakistan...

[Project Mayhem]

I mentioned Gwadar two weeks ago because it is a deepwater port but I haven't heard of Arihant... thanks for the tip

[Jacks Medulla O...]

very nice, thanks Project Mayhem

[NRGTDR]

PM:

Not sure if this is legit but here is a story about an (purported) IBM PowerPoint document from 2006. It is making the rounds on the net today. I vaguely recall seeing this float about the net back in 2007. Not sure where I saw it and I am not clear where this site got it....perhaps worth looking into....cheers!

IBM / IOT PREDICT 2009 FLU PANDEMIC— IN 2006!

September 2, 2009

 By Don Nicoloff 

“Services & Global Procurement pan IOT Europe, Pandemic Plan Overview,” an official inter-departmental document was distributed to upper-level management of IBM, France in 2006. Disclosed in this secret document was the prediction of a “planned? pandemic described as having a “100% chance of occurring within the next 5 years.” 

The document also describes “quarantines” and operational procedures to be taken upon the official announcements of the “pandemic” by the World Health Organization. The foreknowledge of such an event could not exist, unless the pandemic was a planned event. Certainly, this document is the “smoking gun? which demonstrates the current bird/swine flu “pandemic” is an orchestrated event.

As evidenced by this secret document (see below), IBM?s primary concerns are focused on maintaining their workforce, even under an official quarantine, and the continuation of sales and services to their clients.

 This single document definitively proves there is international, corporate collusion behind the “bird/swine flu pandemic” and the intentional plan to create disease on a worldwide scale.

http://web.mac.com/donnicoloff/directlightproductions.com/Printable_Articles/Entries/2009/9/2_Entry_1.html

[Project Mayhem]

I'm not taking any shots either

[Anonymous]

mayheim, if my reading serves me well and maybe it doesn't but i would deduce that you live in that den of iniquity known as Washington DC. may i ask what it is that you do there, if you don't mind sharing? the reason why i ask you is that there is that 3 percent out here in the void, that dare to think that it is about time, to tear down and burn the "high places" in this country and that city is one of the hell holes that needs to get leveled. just so the homeland insecurity goons know for sure, i am speaking in allegorical terms (for now) ha ha ha

[Anonymous]

I am not taking any shots. That is one of my lines in the sand. There will be no discussion about it, nor will there be any bending on my part.

[Anonymous]

the only shots we'll be taking is shots of collodial silver. through an eyedropper.

[AN0NYM0US]

some interesting thoughts from Jesse on the $

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2009/09/china-admonishes-us-mon...

[NRGTDR]

In my opinion, payback is coming via the Russians and Chinese albeit economic or otherwise. Google: China Russian Military exercises. They have been getting pretty cosy militarily since 2005, if not earlier. One event I recall from last year, in my mind, really solidified the relationship:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-07/22/content_6865847.htm

7/22/08

China and Russia Monday signed an agreement to delineate their border around two islands, paving the way for the return of 174 sq km of territory to China.

The move also marked "the end of demarcation work of the 4,300-km Sino-Russian boundary", Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said during a joint press conference after signing the document with his visiting Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

.......Land, no mater how small, is something the Russians, as well as most nations, have a hard time giving up.

.

[windiepink]

.....by hook or by crook!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hss3ewUm-ws

[Anonymous]

i love this line from the alternet afghan link:

"It's as if the only thing left that Americans are capable of is accounting fraud -- the only talent we perfected over the past decade was how to move all the bad numbers off the official books, as if it's become an instinctive reflex."

geniusly accurate statement

[Anonymous]

It wasn't my fault.
Love,
Eva

Great work PM. It is about time. I had to read Pravda-CR for 4 years.

[Project Mayhem]

haha clever

[ZerOhead]

Sunlight is the best disinfectant PM.

Excellent work as always... however stepping back to take an objective look at our global conflicts is something that needs to be done on a much more regular basis. As an ardent follower of globalresearch.ca and counterpunch.org amongst others... I commend and salute you.

Long live the Mayhem!

[Comrade de Chaos]

p.s. Election results so far this year:

Western Europe: North: Liberals lost, conservatives & nationalists won reversing the trend of the last 20 years. South: socialists won ~ first time in 20 years communist party in there gained leverage, look forward to more student unrest in Italy, Greece, France.

Eastern Europe: Nationalists won reversing the trend of pro globalization and unification of Europe.

Japan: Nationalists won. (building 2 helo carriers, reversal from the none interference doctrine.)

P.S. An excellent geo-political analysis on Asia / South Asia :

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/china/articles/20090906.aspx

[Project Mayhem]

thanks

[deadhead]

PM...i think your summary is outstanding!  I absolutely love it and find the geopolitical info a fantastic addition to the financial menu at ZH.  I am very grateful that you take the time and put in the effort to produce this piece...I simply love it and find it most helpful.  Naturally, I love the zh commenters and learn so much from this community.

[Comrade de Chaos]

PM, one correction:

We are not fu..d; Everybody is fu...d. 

As for Russia, they will be much less hostile to the West within several years, because the threat of growing China is all too real for them. They had a border war in the 60's, CHinese population in Siberia is huge and growing (dozens of millions of mostly migrant workers.) One of the reasons they are more aggressively pushing their military exports is because they limited their exports to CHina after Chinese (surprise) stole/broke the weapons licensing agreements.  And they need military export to sustain their weapon development / manufacture. Of cause the weakness of such a scenario is the China being a paper tiger to a much higher degree than we all believe. As of the Russian Army, it's in the pitiful state. The belowe is good illustration:

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmoral/articles/20090907.aspx

They keep pressure at the Georgian conflict because they need high OIL prices. However the largest battlefield this year will be Ukraine. They are having elections this winter (happens almost annually) and there is huge anger towards current pro Western government. In addition 40% of population are ether Russians or warm to have close ties historic ties with Russia. What makes everything worse, the Western Ukraine is a breading ground for Nationalists & Nazis. If the world economy deteriorates farther, we might have a civil war in there. However it won't happen by the end of this year, that's why I ve mentioned before that this year might be rather peaceful. 

In the end the reduction in the level of our consumption will effect the world to much higher degree than they are willing to accept. Within the next 6 - 12 month there will be huge political changes (happened in Europe & Japan), conflicts might follow after.

The bright spot, there are way too many unknowns. So if our government plays everything right, we might avoid unneeded conflicts and end up with more allies than ever.

[Project Mayhem]

yeah i agree russia is in bad shape too, but at least they have been through a couple of financial crises before!  plus they've got stolichnaya heheh

[Anonymous]

Politics is the art of moving any problem into the future. I'm sick of hearing about the swine flu (no pun intended), I'm cool to man made global warming (it may be getting warmer - but look up in the sky - that big orange thing) and Health Care Reform makes me ill (pun not intended) needed but won't happen - BUT, these are easy topics to deal with because they are in the future and much easier to blab about than the fundamental financial reforms that need to be made (now). Governments (world wide) are in gridlock - because the ONLY thing of importance is the very next election cycle and for that they need BIG time donors. They can no longer bring about even minor change.
Here's an easy first step.
Income is income - (no matter how it's made)
coupled with a flat tax
coupled with tort reform
coupled with banning corporate political donations
coupled with capping personal political donations ($5,000.-)
Move to the way Canada funds the politicos - $3.- (from the government)for every vote they got in the last election.

[Anonymous]

here's an easy 2nd: legalize marijuana, cocaine & heroin.

[Intuition]

Re: corporate political donations

Keep an eye on Citizens United v. FEC (08-205), a case SCOTUS will re-hear this Wednesday. There have been indications that the justices may issue a broad opinion reviewing the free speech implications of corporate political donations. If the opinion is broad enough they may end up re-writing decades of federal election law.

[AN0NYM0US]

I posted this at the end of PM's H1N1 article last week but if you missed it and are concerned about vaccines, these are a must watch:

Here are a series of videos interviews with Dr. Russel Blaylock Dr. ( board certified neurosurgeon, author and lecturer)

on vaccines etc. - inteviewed Friday September 4 on Alex Jones radio program

1 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4-EoJGNCAM&feature=related

2 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vouX5_XOLxo&feature=related

3 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih9zjNlPRcA&feature=related

4 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHKXDipcK_w&feature=related

5 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRm-dyWhk4w&feature=related

6 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpuwL_wuVj0&feature=related

7 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzW_X3K8Ktk&feature=related

 8 of 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssZWpYZZ9LI&feature=related

[FreddyInBangkok]

like this one?

Below is the memo in support of Bloomberg’s MSJ, which was granted and is now subject to a stay pending appeal. This is a very sound and well reasoned legal and policy argument that persuaded the District Judge. We will see what the Government comes up with when they file their appellate briefs, but based on the Government’s REPLY BRIEF, I predict it will be something along the lines of, “if you don’t let the Fed operate in secrecy, then it will reignite a financial crisis, create a banking panic worthy of Hoover, and the Deathstar will destroy Alderan.”

http://www.thebarricadeblog.com/

[FreddyInBangkok]

Christopher Story ...Triumph of Criminalism: Dark Actors Playing Games: The global hegemony of geomasonic intelligence and Illuminati criminalism.

has a good ring to it don't you think. used to read his stuff in UCI i the 80s. he must be ancient

[AN0NYM0US]

and some more reason for encouragement: (though I am a bit confused given the six months required for basic results not to mention who would offer up their baby for a vaccine trial)

CSL Biotherapies Announces Start Of U.S. H1N1 Vaccine Clinical Trials

CSL Biotherapies has announced the initiation of the company's first U.S. clinical trials of its candidate Influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine. Study investigators will administer vaccinations to the first U.S. study volunteers today, August 24, 2009.

...The goal of CSL's H1N1 clinical trial program is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine in adults and children (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov). Approximately 1,300 adults (aged 18 years and older) and 450 children (aged ≥ 3 months to < 9 years) are expected to be enrolled in the randomized, placebo-controlled U.S. studies. In the adult trials, three doses of the vaccine - 7.5, 15 and 30 mcg - will be evaluated, administered as two vaccinations, three weeks apart.

In the pediatric trials, two doses - 7.5 and 15 mcg - will be evaluated, administered as two vaccinations, three weeks apart. The studies will also evaluate the incidence of adverse events up to six months after first injection. CSL's Influenza A/H1N1 2009 vaccine is manufactured by a process identical to the one used in manufacturing CSL's U.S. Food and Drug Administration-licensed trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine; only the single A/H1N1 flu strain differs between the two.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161824.php

[FreddyInBangkok]

lol @ Prechter.

yohoho. after consulting my twin supermodel accompaniments we voted lol@proctor but that's ok.

[AN0NYM0US]

some reassuring comments from the WHO

Transcript of WHO Virtual Press Conference of 6 August 2009 with Dr
Marie-Paule Kieny, Director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research at
WHO Headquarters and Gregory Hartl, Spokesperson for H1N1
...

excerpt 1

KIENY: Now for pandemic use, there are a number of vaccines which are not the classical
seasonal vaccines. These are the vaccines which have an addition of an adjuvant. These
adjuvanted vaccines have been tested extensively at the time when all manufacturers
were preparing vaccines for a potential H5N1 pandemic. In view of the potential gravity
of an H5N1 vaccine, the European Regulatory Agency had designed a special process by
which manufacturers would test extensively in clinical trials, prototypes of H5N1
vaccines, including with adjuvants, which submit all the safety data of clinical trials,
immunogenicity to the regulatory agency and obtain what is called a "mock-up
registration". So this is a registration for a prototype.
So those manufacturers who do have a mock-up dossier can go and present to
with the regulatory authority, obtain registration without clinical trials. But again as I said
for the USA, all manufacturers will conduct clinical trials and the earliest results of these
clinical trials will be available in September.

...
excerpt 2
ENSERINK: Thank you for taking my question. I actually have two that are related.
First of all I wonder do you prefer, as much as possible, adjuvanted vaccines to be
produced and used and if so, what ways do you have to encourage countries and vaccine
manufacturers to do that. Secondly, you have said in the past that ensuring supply for
developing countries is one of the top priorities for WHO. Where do you stand on that
because there have been very hard facts announced about that?

KIENY: In terms of adjuvants, of course as WHO has already said and stated, we have
reviewed the safety of adjuvanted vaccines as they have been tested for H5 and also, as
they are used and now more than 40 million doses of adjuvanted flu vaccines have been
used in Europe already, so we see no apparent safety signal and really think that the
Organization, based on expert advice - this is not the Secretariat opinion, this is based on
expert advice - that there is no safety concern with using adjuvanted vaccines. As I said,
of course, there will be side effects. People will have sore arms and may have dizziness
and there may be more rare severe side effects but there is no signal to that for the time
being. So, manufacturers will use adjuvanted vaccines, there is no doubt they are
producing those and they will be used in quite a number of countries and even the large
...
excerpt 3

SCHMIDT: There have been specific concerns raised about the adverse events in
pregnant women especially because there has not been a lot of testing of vaccines on
pregnant women obviously. Are there any plans to use non-adjuvant vaccines in this kind
of group?

KIENY: As you rightly point out there is no experience with using adjuvanted vaccines
on pregnant women - there is a lot of experience of using a seasonal non-adjuvanted
vaccine so to answer your question I would like to refer to the recommendation of SAGE
on 7 July where it says that in view of the fact that pregnant women seem to be a group at
risk of more severe adverse events and potentially of death with the H1N1 pandemic, the
recommendation of SAGE was that pregnant women should be considered as one of the
priority targets for vaccination and SAGE goes further in saying that in countries where
un-adjuvanted vaccines are available these used be a priority use for pregnant women but
that in countries where there is no availability of un-adjuvanted vaccines then
governments should consider using what is available in the countries, which means either
live attenuated or inactivated adjuvanted vaccines in view of this benefit.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/pandemic_h1n1_presstranscript_2009_08_06.pdf

[Cindy_Dies_In_T...]

Thanks PM!!

Some useful stories on H1N1

Commentary

Misinformation Linked to Explosion of Swine Flu in US Schools
Recombinomics Commentary 22:42
August 26, 2009

A high number of students at Sylacauga city schools are reporting being sick, but it appears to be a stomach virus doing most of the damage right now instead of the H1N1 strain of influenza that has worried health officials around the world.

Lisa McGrady, the school system's registered nurse, said students are fighting off strep throat, the flu and a stomach virus which are all making the rounds right now.

McGrady said her main complaint has been the stomach virus with students complaining of headaches and being nauseated but without any signs of fever.

The above comments describe a rapidly spreading pandemic H1N1 outbreak in Alabama (see map), but similar statements have been made by others regarding other swine flu outbreaks.  10-20% of the schools population is ill, and only a portion of the illnesses is attributed to swine flu.  However, swine flu causes sore throats, has a gastrointestinal component, and over 50% of infections have no fever.  Consequently, the above comments suggest there is little swine flu, even though step throat and upset stomachs generally do not affect 10-20% of the student population in August.

In addition to the above outbreak, there are similar outbreaks throughout Alabama, as well as other states in the south (see map) where the school season started several weeks ago.  These other outbreaks include students that are influenza A positive and have flu-like symptoms.  However, even in those outbreaks officials are stating that swine flu hasn't been confirmed, even though there is little seasonal flu in August, and over 99% of influenza A positive infections are swine H1N1.

Thus, although it is clear that swine flu is spreading rapidly, the general public is confused by false statements by officials, testing limited to influenza A determinations, or the lack of any testing.

However, at this time of the year, it is clear that swine flu is accounting for the vast majority of absenteeism, and the infections include college as well as younger students.  The older students are told to remain in their rooms and avoid health care centers because those facilities are being overwhelmed, and therefore cannot treat the more serious cases.

Because of the lack of testing, it remains unclear how many students are infected with Tamiflu resistant H1N1.  Many schools are now recommending prophylactic Relenza, suggesting that Tamiflu resistance is more widespread than reported.  Indeed the resistance may be contributing to the rapid spread and may be causing more significant problems in cases at risk patients.

The confusion caused by media broadcasts of misinformation should be addressed now, when diagnosis of swine flu can be accurately made in the absence of lab confirmation, and students lacking fever can be isolated.

Similarly, more information on the anti-viral sensitivity of the rapidly spreading H1N1 would be useful.

++granted this group is a private company, so thats their slant++

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/08260901/H274Y_Misinformation.html

Go TEAM!!

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13270103?source=most_emailed&nclick_check=...

[Veteran]

First rate as always.  Thanks for your articles, PM!