A very informative series of presentations by Warren Pollock. As Warren says, a comprehensive political, economic and social forecast.
Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 A - Unfreezing
Part 2 B - Unfreezing
Part 3 A - Great Change
Part 3 B - Great Change
Part 4 A - Refreezing
Part 4 B - Refreezing
Hat tip Claudia
Tyler Durden - Founder
Marla Singer - Foil
Travis - Author
Cornelius - Author
Sacrilege - Senior Researcher
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on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:01
#15267
I commend you for educating the ADHD infested masses. Unfortunately that idiom is self defeating with this medium of presentation unless we can telepathically link to their cranium.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:08
#15270
The videos are very good. He does look something like Shrek doesn't he?
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:23
#15279
Yes Shrek,
I agree..
Warren (Wepollock)
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:37
#15380
I just came over from HuffPost and will watch these later, all the while thinking of Warren as Shrek. Thanks for that.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 03:17
#15417
Mr. Pollock's piece is the first I have seen that breaks down what is happening socially. Particularly his comments on denial. I have found that my sphere are either to busy dealing with life challenges or just to ignorant to realize that yes that is a TORNADO and it is coming right for us.
The thing that I disagree with is how he paints the picture that our political and economic system was flawed and doomed from the begining. Take for example high frequency trading, it could be a positive tool for the stock market yet unscrupulous powers that be saw fit to use it for personal gain at the expense of their fellow man. The same could be said of our founding fathers' Republic. A fantastic system that has been abused by the unscrupulous or as Mr. Pollock calls them, "The Iron Triangle" What is happening polically, economically and socially is not by accident. I would encourage you to take a look at one of the best articles I have seen that breaksdown how we arrived to this current crises. (http://waketheherd.blogspot.com) The piece is dated 7-23-2009 and also provides great back up documentation for you to review.
I have a request for TD or anyone to clarify for me... is there anyway that we can unwind this derivative situation. I just read an article that states, "The latest tally: $202 TRILLION in notional value derivatives. And even that pales in comparison to the global tally by the Bank of International Settlements, now at $592 trillion."
"And yes, notional values may overstate the magnitude of the problem. But the OCC’s measure of credit risk does not: Despite some shedding of risk here and there, every single one of the five largest derivatives players is still grossly overexposed to defaults by trading partners: Bank of America has total credit risk in this sector to the tune 169 percent of its capital; Citibank, 216 percent; JPMorgan Chase, 323 percent; HSBC Bank USA, 475 percent; Goldman Sachs, a whopping 1,048 percent, or over TEN times its capital."
Here is the link to the article I just read. (http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/the-great-lie-of-2009-5-34534)
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 07:21
#15439
Here is what Fitch had to say about the derivatives outstanding:
"To assess the improvements in disclosure, Fitch reviewed the quarterly filings of 100 companies from a range of industries representing nearly $6.4 trillion in aggregate
outstanding debt. The 100 companies reviewed were those with the highest levels of total outstanding debt in the S&P 1,500 universe; they represent approximately 75% of
the total debt of S&P 1,500 companies. The companies reviewed had a total notional amount of derivative positions in excess of $296 trillion and a net fair value in excess of
$240 billion. Derivatives were utilized by 89% of the companies reviewed, 90% of which elected to designate derivatives for hedge accounting purposes."
http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=459566
So even after netting there is still exposure to $240 billion. Now the thing that bothers me is that if any entity goes bust then those who have exposure to that entity can eat their losses which will affect their capital and maybe cause them to fail which can adversly affect another entity, etc. etc.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 14:31
#15563
good point Bobby. I read the link of moneyandtheamrkets. Great article.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:15
#15275
Shrek! LMAO...
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:20
#15278
This should be part of any good school curriculum in Political Science. Great food for thought, thanks.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:26
#15281
Great presentation. I disagree with the "Ideal" part though. It would be difficult for a "garage tinkerer" to advance too many technologies. People living in pro-life and pro-choice villages? there's the first of the village battles.
I like the bit about the failure already having occurred. Like we've already driven off a cliff and we're enjoying the fall, not having realizing there is a sudden stop coming.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:29
#15282
what happened to the American dream?
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:42
#15288
It was turned into the American Privilege, until we could no longer afford it. Now it's just a dream again for a lot of people.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 11:03
#15509
Yes, there was such thing as an entitlement to exchange other's work for Fed's paper tickets, but that's going away now.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:37
#15285
OK, so wait. According to this douchebag, genetically modified foods somehow do not equate with "fresh food," McDonald's is a "death merchant," and we all need to dramatically lower our standards and get rid of "materialism" and live like the poorest of the poor in India and throw away all the trappings of modern civilization, because somehow this equates with "getting our priorities straight."
There were a couple good points in the first few videos but video 4A made me realize this guy is just another ignorant hippie. He's anti-government, anti-corporation, anti-special-interest ... What is he in favor of, exactly? Living in a hut in the woods?
Dude ... Go back to Canada.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:49
#15293
Everybody needs to go back to their places of origin. That way this gigantic mess that is called the 'American Nighmare' will be left to those who stay behind.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:33
#15311
Amen.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:09
#15320
Is living in a hut in the woods the only alternative you can think of to an economy based on usustainable permagrowth models that requires ever growing debts to prop up a gdp based on 70% consumption? And much of what we consume is now regulated by Corporations that have captured the government entities that "used" to regulate such goods and services without corporate "assistance."
The hut in the woods has a track record of thousands of years. Consumer driven debt based societies... well, not so long.
However, there is a middle ground. No need to give up on air conditioning just yet... the 5 flatscreen TVs bought on credit during the Christmas season in order to prop up the economy? Maybe that we'll have to learn to live without.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:33
#15328
I am not so sure a cabin in the woods is the correct approach. Just because you attempt to get away from the conflagration, does not mean you can.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:48
#15335
It's not. I was just knocking Missing_Link's knee-jerk reaction to the videos. See his post above mine. The middle ground I refer to involves not eschewing everything modern, but choosing between what we need (e.g. air conditioning) and what we don't need (6 flat screen TVs.)
This choice will be foisted on most of us anyway. As the FIRE economy implodes, watch for unemployment (U6) to reach 30%. Our economy, and world trade, to a large extent, is an unbalanced house of cards. However, the societal and political repercussions I fear the most.
I will not be going to a cabin in the woods... but I will be moving to a quiet island in the Meditterranean that my parents are from. I once thought that I would first accrue a lot of wealth and retire there. Now I realize that I don't have to accrue that much or wait any longer. I'm using this crisis to focus on what's important to me. It's feels good preparing to jump off the hamster wheel of modern life.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 08:15
#15453
"what we need (e.g. air conditioning)"
Air conditioning is a need? I wonder how man survived prior to the 1950's?
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 13:15
#15544
Ever see a graph comparing the pre and post air conditioning population numbers in the SW USA? Without AC, nigh on nobody lived there.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:21
#15342
Way to jump from one extreme to the other hippie lover!
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:45
#15347
As much as i have enjoyed the great run of MON through 2007, i have to admit, sudden loss of interest shown by pollinating bees seems to be a deterrent for me to have any further interest in genetically modified foods--sorry that is what he is talking about.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:22
#15369
...we all need to dramatically lower our standards and get rid of "materialism"
Right, because you are entitled to your cheap Chinese goods you pay for with debt right? Did you actually watch the videos? Because he's talking _about_ You.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 02:48
#15416
I think you are missing more than a link.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 19:43
#15653
Why would anyone be pro government? Because they like to be robbed a gunpoint of 40% their income?
And yes, we need more "materialism." The average American should being buying more things we don't need with money we have to borrow from China.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 19:53
#15657
Yes, if only we could eat more processed food! We would be far better off if we ate more hydorgenated fat, corn syrup and nitrates--we woud be much healthier.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:39
#15287
Posted in prior thread but more apropos to the above - from conspiracy corner (note: the conspiracy types are sounding more and more rationale)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sU5hzx5gkI
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:45
#15290
I'm not sure what how this presentation and the rest of site intersect. This presenter lifts so many ideas from other people, notably John Hobbes, Stephen Hassan, and possibly Stephen Karpman, and tries to repackage them into some coherent financial piece. If you spend an hour clicking through the "Mind Control" and "Social Contract" wiki's, you can get the same information and draw your own conclusions.
As one of many visitors to this site, I realize that my input is limited value in the grand scheme of things. But this is one of the worst posts I've seen yet.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:48
#15291
Correction - "Thomas Hobbes"
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:49
#15294
Agreed. This really is a weak pseudo-political rant completely lacking in specifics and with little usefulness for people interested in understanding trading, investing, or the current state of affairs on Wall Street.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:48
#15350
As if your silly little neck of the woods is the be all and end all of civilization. Get the fuck over yourself and open your mind a little bit, tweaker.
I am Chumbawamba.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 17:38
#15610
chumbawamba,
I like you. Many on this site probably think of you as a kook. I think you very well may be the member of this site most enlightened to the totality of our current circumstances. Never let anybody tell you different (I doubt you do). I sure don't.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:52
#15353
haha! sounds like a case of the very coginitive dissonance that was described.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:51
#15351
Dude flat out stole "The Great Reset" from me, here is my blog started last November.
http://thegreatreset.blogspot.com/
I did a couple posts, got bored and moved on. Obviously he can't come up with an original thought. Thief.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 05:10
#15428
neither can you, it seems.
http://www.indiepages.com/capstanshafts/01.html
http://www.last.fm/user/HappiDude/journal/2007/07/16/6v1hq_the_great_reset
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 08:42
#15460
Yea, great examples of how the economy is being reset. How could I be so blatent? Not even close, it seems.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 11:38
#15518
You were claiming that he had stolen "The Great Reset" from you, not that he had stolen content from your site.
I took this to refer to the term "The Great Reset". However, this term has been used before many times. So you didn't invent it either. That's all I am saying.
Peace.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 01:00
#15377
Buckyballs Fuller may become the architect of the world eventually, but i think, not anytime soon. I am sure his advocates will say that all opponents are STUPID, but too bad.
I am not willing to give up on capitalism yet. BUT, the first several parts of his essay are RIGHT ON. It is a revolutionary time and the interests of our elected officials (except for a few representatives in the house who can't be bought) are aligned with their supporters and at this point, the majority of support all elected officials come from banking interests since the privately held federal reserve has gained so much at the expense of all US taxpayers over the last 96 years.
We have to revoke the ownership of the 300 shares of the federal reserve corporation that are privately held, in order to stop the MONOPOLISTIC POWERS OF THIS ENTITY.
Maybe Buckyball Fuller and his ideals will come to fruition some day, but definitely not now.
NOTE: DIDN'T ANYONE HAVE ORGANIC CHEMISTY, REMEMBER "BUCKY BALLS" ? FULLER TOOK THE CONCEPT OF THIS FORM TO A WHOLE ARCHITECTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL NEW LEVEL. THAT IS WHY I AM CALLING HIM "BUCKY BALL FULLER"
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 15:38
#15587
Check out buckeypaper if you wanna see how mind-boggling the future can be if we don't plunge ourselves into the Dark Ages in the meantime.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 16:28
#15601
C60, Buckminsterfullerene: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerene
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 17:31
#15608
Yeah, it wasn't immediately apparent there that the stuff is >200x stronger than steel at 1/10 the weight, 2x as hard as diamonds, exhibits extreme electrical and thermal conductivity and all that.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 11:14
#15511
Absolutely agree, it's not horrible but all over the place.
One villege pro-life and another village por-choice was the nail to the coffin.
One villege free capitalism, the other village totalitarian control...suuuure we're talking about a stable equilibrium there :)
Any concept of any equilibrium is lost in his stuff.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:51
#15297
Warren Pollock circa 2004
"5.6 The real estate bubble that ate the stock market
Real estate's contribution to the over-inflation of the Dow may prove to be the greatest of all present economic dangers to the US economy..."
http://www.amexpat.com/display.php?id=48&artnls=en&requrl=display_48_en
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:52
#15298
Feel free to criticize what I'm about to say, but...
Is a type of oligarchical Fascism the inevitable end to our complete free market, lack of any effective regulation, economic system?
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 20:58
#15300
Are we not one already ? 'Free Market' has ended, it took a while for us to realize that. We are in a state of high distress and confusion. There is no true leader, just a bunch of talking heads trying to confuse one even more.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:07
#15304
Yes "Oligarchical Fascism" would be the best way to say it.
Against that type government, yes.
Against "special interests" ruling that government, yes.
Thanks for posting the 2004 forecast. As far as that goes it looks to be about 90% on target.
That forecast was just as radical then, as "The Great Reset" is now.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:23
#15307
I have to disagree with your premise. This isn't a free market. We do have a lack of effective regulation, but we also have massive interventionism in a host of other aspects right to the nexus of the problem, fiat emission. The reason things are so lopsided toward big players who enjoy favored positions is in large part from government intervention that plays favorites with well-connected prime lenders and industrials who help players in government achieve policy aims. This is anything BUT a free market.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:33
#15310
Nothing is inevitable. This is still America, and the American people, docile as they are, are still capable of waking up and rising above this bullshit. All we need is that elusive spark. . .
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:50
#15316
This is still America, but what does that mean?
It used to be that distinctions were black and white. "If you're not with us, then you're with them." But who is us? And who is them?
Can we identify with the things we make? We used to say "An American Car". But now Honda's are made in KY and Fords are made in Mexico and Canada. Is the new "us" now the workers of the world and "them" are the companies? What does that say about sovereignty?
If we went to war with Mexico, which side do mexican-americans fight on? Do they stand at the border and straddle the line? The same could be said of any American with a hyphen in front of "American". When the bullets start flying, which side do you choose?
Until we define what it means to be a resident of this country, I think we will have a hard time living here. BTW, I believe that the blurring of these distinctions is not an accident. I could cite numerous other examples, which includes but not limited to, the elected leaders of the country.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:12
#15321
Dunno man, I'm an American because I know it. Not really looking for opinions on that. My people immigrated here just as yours did, unless you're native.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:28
#15323
Interesting observation. The benefit of being in America, hyphen or not, is you are still free to voice your opinion without having to worry about being disappeared, Pinochet style. At least for now. Moreover, we is armed. An armed population will never be a passive population, and that is why our government, (read monied interests), has tried so hard in the past to keep the bread and circuses top notch, (easy credit etc). It has finally come crashing down on the head of the 1 percenters and I would be astounded if they weren't very, very afraid
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 20:07
#15665
You think the top people at Goldman Sachs are afraid? They are laughing at you!
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 15:44
#15589
On what was "this is America" optimism built? Most recently, it was in greatest part our fortuitous separation from Europe by a large ocean during WWII followed by the greatest financial rigging job imaginable in the Bretton Woods "agreement" pushed upon the rest of the world. Well, Wall Street's recent racketeering has expanded the imagination beyond that and will likely finally undo the advantage that Bretton Woods provided . . . things will change and change most drastically.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:52
#15352
WHOWA--BABY! I think you nailed it on the head as far as where we are headed unless we wake up ( unfreeze ) and find better options.!!!!!!!
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:09
#15305
Yes, but for laypeople, having a generalized presentation of these sorts of concepts is very helpful.
If you are immersed in your daily sheeple-lift, the reinforced neural paths that we baa in, I mean, think in each day need to be intellectually battered with this sort of material. It takes a while to overcome intellectual inertia.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:35
#15312
Alot of these people don't give any solutions or provide alternatives...we will pay the piper sometime and boy will we...
So what do you do?
I stocked up on food, set up 3 accounts one in canada, one in austrailia, one in hong kong. IN these actual countries not just currency hedges...
I also got my kids passports as well maybe 'the swine flu' could be an excuse to not issue them in the future...who knows people do some crazy shit in a crisis, like backstop 24 Trillion in assets...perhaps I am not the crazy one....
To those who think I am outta my mind well...I will quote Benjamin Franklin...
"the craziest ideas are often the best"
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:47
#15314
If you are not filling out form TD-F90-22.1 you are a law breaker. If you fill it out you are on the radar. The solutions you mention are good one's.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:47
#15315
You are doing good. It is not illegal to flee.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:28
#15326
they are really pushing that swine flu crap. I am presently going to the VA for medical care. I am a vietnam era veteran. Unfortunately , I am afraid that they will make this shot mandatory etc. They already bug me about shots all the time as it is. I refuse to take any of them.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:42
#15331
I was inoculated in 1976 while in the US Army. I've never been so sick again - high fevers, sweats and the finest hallucinations since I met Oswald. I hope they do a better job with the vaccine this time. Well, I am old now, and have the benefit of my life's experiences to succor and comfort me. They also sprayed all those chemicals all over SE Asia. Never got me though . . .
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:52
#15389
I don't trust the vaccines. Especially since the vaccine makers themselves have almost started pandemics by themselves.
Here I'm talking specifically about Baxter who recently sent a mix of live H3N2 and H5N1 virus out to labs instead of dead ones, and the only way it was caught is that one of the labs used ferrets in their innoculation protocols and it killed them immediately. Had any of that got out of those labs, it would only take resortment in a single individual to have unleashed a chimera in the middle of europe.
To recap: A company in the business of preventing pandemics nearly created and unleashed one in the middle of a highly mobile population.
You can find more technical articles in the czech press and biochemistry industry publications, but this is a good primer to the instance I'm talking about: http://is.gd/1N3Dd
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 21:47
#15313
Tyler was full of shit. The shills were correct. Here is Bloomberg running the same full of shit headline that Zero Intelligence ran 24 hours ago.
S&P 500 Short Interest Drops, Led by Banks, as AIG Bets Shrink
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acYHGvSn1HD0
V
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:06
#15319
Great insight- not what I would expect to find on Zero-but refreshing to see Zero interested in this. This is where we are headed-the stock market will become totally illiquid and irrelevant. The future after the bottom falls out will be a whole new pardigm and will track somwhere on the path that Pollock is suggesting. In the end it will be a happier, better world but not before a tremendous amount of suffering. Those who can't adjust which will be many will not join where all this is going.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:16
#15322
I fail to see how my living in a mud hut will prevent wall street from robbing everyone.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:32
#15345
This is the very lack of imagination and tinkering he is pointing at. Will you be woken up by events or will you wake up to other possibilities. I refuse to believe that life is as binary as the extreme po2sitions on the internet.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:17
#15366
Well said, and I discard that false dichotomy as well. Sure, sometimes I'll say things extreme for effect, but you and I both know that there is a possibility in which we can use our imaginations to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems. I believe it can be done, despite the doomsayers. The partisans are who really crack me up (a sardonic, sad sort of laughter I assure you) when they say "well YOUR guy did this and that, my guy is the savior". I'm sitting here indy watching both sides owned and operated by the same franchisees, if you will. And not just here in the US. So many proposals are framed by that false dichotomy you and I both despise. I'm open to any good ideas, from whatever the source, and THAT's the path to take. People want to discard an idea because it comes from the other team. Foolish. Having a cell phone and a self-parking car doesn't make you intelligent, any more than killing everyone who disagrees with you is winning an argument, know what I mean? Sure, we can walk and talk and build, buy, and sell things, but none of it means there's any understanding or wisdom.
There's a big difference between sentience and sapience.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:44
#15384
nicholsong, are you really obiwankenobie?
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:21
#15324
well let's see here. he thinks the canadians have a great health care system because its free?? duh??
and
he likes chairman mao........
wow! ha ha ha
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:30
#15327
Liking a philosophy is not endorsing it in practice. I'm sure there are many people laughing at our predicament.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:42
#15382
Just a point, our health care is not free. Our tax dollars pay for it.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:42
#15332
I think you guys could benefit with some generational (as in human generations) perspective: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010.htm
Xenakis can come off like a bit of crank but he's been pretty accurate and the theory makes sense.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:15
#15340
"The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler. A very good, but chilling read. Very much in line with these videos.
on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 23:35
#15346
Excellent video - I don't agree with any of the complaints about what Mr. Pollock is saying, but i'm also not a libertardian
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:46
#15386
Where did you glean that he was promoting libertarianism?
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 02:15
#15411
i'm talking about the comments on here
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:04
#15358
Boring, now lets get back to HFT.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:05
#15359
So much active hyperbole in response to his message. Think about the missive he's proposing, we need to prepare for a reset, a paradigm shift in values, a setback of expectations, because the road ahead has rerouted from what our individual maps say.
From researching the past half decade, I've come to the conclusion this is not a matter of unintended consequences, however, a stratagem that has been long in the making.
Endgame is Global Glovernance:
http://www.cfr.org/thinktank/iigg/
http://www.cfr.org/content/thinktank/CFR_Global%20_Governance_%20Program...
Continental consolidation: http://www.cfr.org/region/
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:17
#15367
We the people go from entitlement, to cognitive dissonance about the outcome of our behaviors. Sure it is confusing, but it is our reality.
I am interested in keeping our civil liberties, and this can be accomplished by getting rid of all the corrupt politicians that make a living off of the financial-government complex that has usurped the industrial-government complex.
Maybe term limits and absolute and uncertain reform on how campaigns are funded would settle the glarring fact that our govenment is purchased by our privately held Federal Reserve and all their agents and affiliates.
maybe i am old fashioned, but, i am not willing to give up on capitalism, i think our Lawyer Pollack is envisioning Dr. Fuller's vision is all buckyballs and very confusing and futuristic at this point. And, I quite doubt that messier Fuller is the "messiah" . It is interesting that Mr. Pollack talks about the power vacuum that is always apparent at a time of change like the time we are in, and that is quite the essay on "Obama the messiaism" .
Let's just not think that we have to jump from A to Z. Before considering Lawyer Pollack's Z. and buckyballs Fuller as the Messiah, lets just get our country back by making sure all of our elected officials have limited terms and that they have no allegiance to any supporters.
Thankx
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:35
#15379
Let's not toss the baby with the dirty bathwater? Agreed. There's plenty of reform that can be done to an imperfect framework rather than discarding it all for the Hope --sorry, I meant Hype that a New World Paradigm brings. I fully welcome a reset, I really do, but the question of where to reset it to is critical. Reset it to a new feudalism of a global plantation? No thanks. Reset it to the era where men of the Enlightenment tried to craft (imperfectly) a country that upheld individualism? Sure, we can do that, especially since we have learned a lot in the last couple of centuries.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:52
#15391
Ok good nicholsong, we have work to do! Thank you and Amen ( by the way, the Greek word for prayer means ATTENTION!)
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 02:01
#15410
Sorry, but I am Chumbawamba, and that is rather naive.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:31
#15376
More what I'd expect to see from Oil Drum or maybe even Naked Capitalism. But it's nice to go OT once in a while :)
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:56
#15393
Not off topic at all, but definately, buckey ball fuller's outcome portrayed. But, before presenting buckeyball fuller, he did give a great essay about what happens in societies psychologically when the constructs they have depended upon fail them--and he nailed all of that TOTALLY!
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 00:53
#15392
There are more people voting for their lunch instead of working for the lunch. It's time to hit the reset button.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 06:36
#15434
That reminds me of this quote:
Experience is free, lunch is not.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 01:45
#15405
Some interesting ideas, but a weak foundation...There is an implicit Appeal to the Past running throughout his argument (actually pretty explicit when discussing the founding ideals of the USA). This is related to his concept of a "freezing" or the sense that the nation/world system operates ideally in a somewhat static state. The economic collapse of 2008 is then seen a singular event in comparison. But it seems obvious to me that history, both recent and far, has a steady stream of astonishing and singular events, both good and bad. In the 20th century alone: two world wars and all of their attendant restructuring, fantastic technological advancement, the cold war and the rise/fall of communism, great migrations of populations, birth and death of countless nation states. Yes, the patriot act seems rather icky, but when was it ever the case that governments did not abuse their citizens and the citizens of other nations? Never.
Compare the conduct of our military in the current wars compared to the Vietnam War. We committed unbelievable attrocities that I don't think we could get away with now. See also: covert CIA activities throughout the cold war.
Overall, humans are better off now than they have ever been.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 04:59
#15427
Why, because they bought plasma tvs and hummers on credit?
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 15:13
#15576
No. Because we live longer, with less violence, pain, and suffering than at any previous point in history.
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 01:56
#15407
If you aren't reading Jim Willie, you aren't being properly kicked in the ass.
From his latest article:
I wonder if this means Germa indutsrials might relocate their production facilities to US soil? At least we'd go back to good, honest manufacturing again. Too bad our workforce is entirely unprepared for real work.
Then there's this:
Don't say I (and Jim Willie) didn't warn you. Bank holiday imminent. Get your gold and guns now.
And this:
Hint: "hard assets" = gold, silver, copper, nickel, oil, land, guns, ammunition, liquor, etc.
And this:
Man, just read the whole thing:
http://www.321gold.com/editorials/willie/willie072409.html
I am Chumbawamba, and you are not as prepared as I am.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 10:41
#15501
i like his work but he talks about russia and china, etc, like they are truely independent entities. i submit they are not. their financial system is controlled by the rothschild banking cartel, just like ours is.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 13:48
#15554
I would love evidence of such. Do you have any reading you might recommend?
I am Chumbawamba.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 04:57
#15426
Good presentation. He is on the mark and if you can read (or listen) between the lines, you know exactly what he is saying with his reference to sociopathic behavior and the hint to read Mao.
Reading Mao will make you understand the strategy behind this.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 05:44
#15430
Can anyone tell me by the looks of these SEC violations for this week
http://compliancex.typepad.com/compliancex/2009/07/sec-sunday-july-26-2009.html
If we have a possible system failure?
Oh good, we're ok!
And one more thing, I might be on the dangerous boat to hell, so I'll refer you to a Russ Lee song that helped me understand some of this, Livin Life Upside Down http://bit.ly/Cgv32 It actually changed my life's view.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 08:25
#15457
If we have a possible system failure?
How could Canada be ok if the system is failing?
HUH?
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 08:28
#15459
Alcoa is grateful to ZH for singlehandedly improving next quarter's revenues.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 08:58
#15468
I will say this. The quality of commentary here matches that recently appearing on the evils of HFT. If only we could get rid of the people who get rich by stealing all the money from people who have none.
Gedanken experiments about chaotic systems involving the accumulated capital of 50,000+/- years of human existence, and the interactions of 7B+ thinking agents, are, well, ambitious. I certainly respect your efforts to do so, given how daunting the task is.
Nevertheless....
Good luck staying alive on 20 hours/week of work when all the valuable things you don't understand about society are suddenly gone. You may reorient your concepts of value at that point. Pol Pot's theory of health care and the repurposing of useless medical capital is instructive on this point. Where do you think the massive amount of communications infrastructure came from that permits you to disseminate your ideas so easily and so widely? It's very existence refutes everything you say about the ditch we're in. The fiat money system is obscure, and has tremendous problems, but it turns out people in the system aren't as crazy as you think they are. We've mortgaged a huge future, but the future IS huge.
That's my failed gedanken experiment :)
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 09:38
#15477
So you're pro bailouts? And the whining masses should shut up and be thankful because your "opinion" of future growth is "huge" as you so quantitatively put it?
And the banksters invented the internet? I though it was Al Gore.
I think it's more complicated than that.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 09:59
#15483
Communications Infrastructure are ears and mouth.
Nothing more, nothing less.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 10:28
#15496
First, they take over the government to control you.
Then they use that control to fleece you.
And finally, when you point out the theft, they ridicule you.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 09:00
#15469
Another victim educated beyond ability, blame universal higher education policy for this spreading academic, er, epidemic. Metatwaddle couched in self-disgust is its hallmark.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 09:20
#15473
If the TPTB/Bankers know a reset is coming I'd bet they'd be accumulating physical gold hand over fist while controlling the price they pay for it by selling into the paper gold market with other peoples money which will never be honored once the shit hits the fan.. in the end they own all the physical and the paper gold defaults.. just saying
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 10:09
#15485
Its always intresting to see people that refuse to accept any other perspective than:
This is America, everything will always be ok.
Our Government will never fail at keeping the system going.
America will always be the worlds powerhouse nation.
Becasue we are entitled, we will get and have everything we want.
My advice is to never say never.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 15:36
#15585
OTOH, baba, apocalyptic thinking has not yet produced, nor successfully predicted the apocalypse. The data for emerging markets; the large non-NATO transnational trading blocks, the ASEAN, BRIC, etc.; combined with the tropical world's long-suffering tolerance for double-digit infant mortality political instability and disaster; combined with the utter lack of apocalyptic currents in today's tropical cultures, all tell me that the US story is not apocalyptic, but senescent. The first time your son wrestles you to the ground, it is upsetting. The US has spawned 180 sons and taught them to trade. Our attitudes toward them will determine how they treat us in our dotage. I'd much rather prepare to be Belgium in twenty years, than Haiti. Irrelevant, loved, and quirky is a fine senescence -- hysterical, apocalyptic, and vain isn't even interesting for youth. Ali is still the champ - Tyson is still a punk.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 13:43
#15549
Tell 'em, Alexis:
"I seek to trace the novel features under which despotism may appear in the world. The first thing that strikes the observation is an innumerable multitude of men, all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives. Each of them, living apart, is as a stranger to the fate of all the rest; his children and his private friends constitute to him the whole of mankind. As for the rest of his fellow citizens, he is close to them, but he does not see them; he touches them, but he does not feel them; he exists only in himself and for himself alone; and if his kindred still remain to him, he may be said at any rate to have lost his country.
Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on the contrary, to keep them in perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only arbiter of that happiness; it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living?
Thus it every day renders the exercise of the free agency of man less useful and less frequent; it circumscribes the will within a narrower range and gradually robs a man of all the uses of himself. The principle of equality has prepared men for these things;it has predisposed men to endure them and often to look on them as benefits.
After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.
I have always thought that servitude of the regular, quiet, and gentle kind which I have just described might be combined more easily than is commonly believed with some of the outward forms of freedom, and that it might even establish itself under the wing of the sovereignty of the people."
~Alexis DeToqueville from the "What Sort of Despotsim Democratic Nations Have to Fear" Chapter of his book "Democracy in America" (Vol. 2)
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 15:59
#15594
I agree with about 80% of what he says.
Where I disagree is the amount of value that America has provided - If you look at the last 50 years, the vast majority of the innovation has come from here. Intellectual property is property, an idea is a thing, and things have value (defending it from theft is another matter).
Also, his view of the natural resources of the world is very small and lack-based. We have yet to scratch the surface of the resources of this planet. Those who preach otherwise are infatuated with the illogical and erroneous idea of returning to a simpler and 'easier' time.
Other than that, I agree with him. We will need a brand new financial and monetary system, a massive decrease in bureaucracy (better a scrap and re-build of bureaucracy), and a return of legislative power from the Federal and State governments to county and city governments (community standards).
Hopefully we can do all this without first being reduced to roaming the wasteland in search of "the juice" to keep the machines moving. But if not, well... I'm game for that.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 16:02
#15596
I agree with about 80% of what he says.
Where I disagree is the amount of value that America has provided - If you look at the last 50 years, the vast majority of the innovation has come from here. Intellectual property is property, an idea is a thing, and things have value (defending it from theft is another matter).
Also, his view of the natural resources of the world is very small and lack-based. We have yet to scratch the surface of the resources of this planet. Those who preach otherwise are infatuated with the illogical and erroneous idea of returning to a simpler and 'easier' time.
Other than that, I agree with him. We will need a brand new financial and monetary system, a massive decrease in bureaucracy (better a scrap and re-build of bureaucracy), and a return of legislative power from the Federal and State governments to county and city governments (community standards).
Hopefully we can do all this without first being reduced to roaming the wasteland in search of "the juice" to keep the machines moving. But if not, well... I'm game for that.
on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 06:49
#15816
How can an idea be a thing? A "thing" is something material, that you can touch. An idea is a mental contruct.
on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 11:39
#15963
An idea and a soda will get you $.05 if you bring the container to a recycle center.
I am Chumbawamba.
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 20:40
#15675
Queen Elizabeth told crisis sprung from 'denial'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090726/bs_afp/britainfinanceeconomyroyals_20090726040914
on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 22:12
#15702
One of the most interesting listens and reads ever. dnarby has it right. We must get back to the ethics our fathers won WWII with. Not just thinking of ourselves but thinking some about the good of society. Things should be decentralized for the good of the masses. Give the power back to the locals. America is the best because we give people the right to think for themselves and act for themselves, the freedom to FAIL and not be executed or to succeed and not rule the world. Just reading this blog gives me solace that there are enough good people out there to make the future tolerable.
I missed the captcha
on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 09:10
#15871
Everywhere I look there's denial or failure to recognize that the situation has markedly changed for the US. I just shake my head and go about my business, eventually it'll all come crashing down....when is anyone's guess, but it will happen
on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 09:58
#15904
No one really knows what's coming, but some people have more clues than others. Answer these questions without adult supervision.
1. Why do GW Arbusta and Terd Tuner own thousands of acres of land in South America?
2. Why does Biw Windows support the Norwegian underwater seed bank?
3. Why have some people whose net worth has dropped to "only" $xxx million committed suicide?
Hint: Things really are changing, and in fact the changes probably haven't even really started.
Cheers,
~Hitchhiker #42
on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 20:44
#16378
Bottom Line People:
The Rothchilds of England/ Carnegies of USSA own you all and your government. CFR IMF WB UN your fucked!
It's too late for us common folk... game over. Eugenics's is here and in gear by our government already!
It's been over since 1913 when the Fed was created and the Bank of England took over the US Treasury and the USSA's ability to maintain the gold standard.
Suggestion:
Buy a semi auto rifle (common ammo i.e. .306 cal), a bullet proof level III vest with ballistic plate front and back and a pistol (common ammo .38/.357 or 9mm)
stock up on three month of food drugs water and have an escape plan for you and family to remote areas of country.
It's now just a matter of time... for us all!
You all need to prepare for your own survival- period. I guarantee the USSA Government Troops with their foreign supporters aren't going to take such good care of you as you think. Just look at the laws their passing and the preparations going on, with internal troop build up and weapons being purchased to control the masses. It's gonna get ugly sooner or later... wake the fuck up! And be prepared to kill to protect you and your family. Cause as I was once one of them I know for a fact they'll kill you just as soon as they perceive your a threat to them. With no remorse... you all are no different to them than the million Iraqi's we've killed in Iraq since 2001. And if your a person of color be doubly careful... this is a racial war whether you want to believe it or not.
PS Don't come to Montana we're full as it is with Californians. Ya'll aren't welcome here!
MtnManJoe