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Observations On The Road To Serfdom And An Open Thread
Due to some upcoming travel, posting over the next few days will be somewhat sporadic. We will attempt to provide recap thoughts on any major developments, although we have a sense the task will be pretty much comparable to the job of a weatherman in San Diego: "The market was... up. Back to you." Please use this post as an open thread for items of relevance. We leave you with this video in which Bruce Caldwell, a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University and expert "Austrian," discusses a very relevant topic for our day and age: Friedrich Hayek's observations on the Road to Serfdom.
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Troubling signs for me - with seemingly not a care in the world (assets, job, health, family, etc.) I find myself more angry every day. therefore, I am going to enroll in some anger management counseling - for real. Please let me know when the revolution starts - so I can maybe get a partial refund on my sessions. Please...in all seriousness...let me know when it starts. thanks.
Same here. I'm employed, still have a handsome salary, got a great 2009 performance review, and live well within my means.
Yet the anger is visceral. You are not alone. I do think that venting it daily is extremely healthy though. I know that when I am online, or active in REAL grassroots stuff that I vent my frustrations rather than let them buildup. It's the ones that push it deep down inside that worry me.
Government is a “Tool” of the “Lobby”…
The Lobby is a “Tool” of whoever wields the “Lobby”
The “Lobby” today is used by Big Business (AAA rated Corps. / Banks) to ensure market share or more accurately that those businesses do not lose Market Share and hopefully they are able to grow their foot print thru legislation.
Our economy is not dependant on innovation… it is dependent on a Lobby who survives on dollars from “AAA” Rated Corporations… Maintaining Market Share and thusly the circle is complete.
Regardless of who is elected the Lobby will continue to sway legislation; there are no exceptions for this rule.
Control the Lobby and you control the Government.
Kill the Lobby and the Voters are back in control of the Lobby (save the contributors?!).
How many layers can well come up with of legalized corruption? LobbyMonies? Layered Campaign Contribution? Pac Monies? Fund raisers? And on… and on.
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/indivs.php
So, Obama? Who was cutting the Lobby off at the door of the white house?
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=obama+anti+lobby&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=a73b11f867dbecea
***Cough*** “Bullshit” ***Cough***
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/mems.php
The President can do nothing without Congress… or the Senate… support.
So who controls the Government? And who controls the Lobby? And who used Tarp Monies / Fed Window 0% rates to pay for the death of innovation in favor of the fight for middle market share maintenance, growth or control. Free market only works if you can afford to Lobby vigorously.
Behind The Sentiment Disparity: Main Street Vs. Wall Street
http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2010/03/15/behind-the-sentiment-disparity-main-street-vs-wall-street/
Anyone who says Obama is a Socialist? Or that Bush was not? or maybe that there is a difference between the two?
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/torture-under-obama-looks-a-lot-like-bush
Just for the fun of it…
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_obama_related_to_bush
There will be “NO!” fundamental changes due to the Lobby and until all of the fractured weirdo groups pool resources and get on the same fucking page… nothing will change. To many chiefs and not enough Indians… that all want the bully pulpit for personal reasons which over shadows any good that could potential come from their speaking publicly.
Or so that would be my personal view and I am happy to go tit for tat with anyone who sees it differently. Vernacular aside, the position is bullet proof.
Unfortunately, We are following in the footsteps of Weimar Republic German in terms of dealing with our structural economic problems.
We have an unstable debt based 70% consumption economy.
As the "Prophet" stated: Woe to those that reap from what they do not sow.
Collapse Phase II is right around the corner
http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/03/collapse-phase-ii-hyper-deflation.html
Please allow me to fix one of your typos:
"We have an unstable debt based 70% corruption economy."
No prob!
Nein
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Greece should turn to the International Monetary Fund if it needs aid, the chief finance spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said, in a reversal that signals a rift with European leaders Jean-Claude Trichet, Jean-Claude Juncker and Nicolas Sarkozy.
Interesting how both TD and Marla will be "travelling" at the same time, to the point where their posts will be affected. Are they vacationing together?
On the one hand:
"The more we try to turn history into anything other than an enumeration of accounts to be enjoyed with minimal theorizing, the more we get into trouble. Are we so plagued by narrative fallacy?"
--Nassim Taleb, The Black Swan
On the other hand: your 'theory' sounds plausible.
I theorize they're going on their honeymoon.
Ha!
Read Dean Baker's recent article, Rules of the Game: Wall Street Wants a Free Lunch, Not a Free Market.
Nicely reasoned and written, addressing the fundamental issues from the minefield of explosive political labels. Easy yet good. Thanks.
Best St. Pattty's vid ever - if you like crackheads looking for a leprechaun - yes - this was a real news report.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM7CL-Vyo1U
Unemployment/boredom makes the imagination run wild!
Yea I was there yea , I was lucky to get out alive . I mean Jesus ,haven't these people ever seen a Leprechaun before !
Captain Boycott, Its a title to a film set a long time ago. The landowners/Elite kept the farmworkers in poverty working for food and shelter. No work = No food, No house, All taken by force, The elite still wanted more and even work couldnt pay the rents and homes was stolen. The Elite had a lifestyle to keep its there God given right, The elite failed to understand if work cant even pay the rent the farmers have no incentive to work, A person called Boycott got everyone together and all the farmers and servants to the elite just stopped working.
The elite have bills to pay but now the income from the crops etc has gone, Since nothing gets done and the elite is facing severe financial problems they now understand the farmers problems and pay a fair wage or self preservation forces a fair wage.
Today like the olde times the population has no political representation and the elite wants it all and they are going to get it.
Watch the film and learn, If you dont like being ripped off, Boycot the system, If everyone just stops playing that brings change and quick too.
This is something every ZHer can do in our own way.
Um, actually the term boycott stems from actual events in Ireland, when a landowner's agent named boycott was so abusing the tenants that they got together and went on strike against him. He was the OBJECT of the action, not the instigator. If there's a movie, it's at least pretending to be about a real event, but relying on movies for your historical information is about as helpful as relying in the sewer-cleaner for stock picks.
.
Off this topic slightly but has anyone seen the article over on Seeking Apha :
http://seekingalpha.com/article/194119-our-march-market-forecast-project
Apparently Zero Hedge is now the website of choice for 1.98% of internet finance junkies. Shoulder to shoulder with the FT. Not bad at all Mr Durden & Ms. Singer. I think....
Open thread; TBTF component google "fuckmetrics" update (062009/031710):
JP MORGAN CHASE - anger neutral to down
"Fuck JP Morgan" 4820 / 3960
"Fuck Chase" 17800 / 22800
"Fuck Bear Stearns" 1770 /2500
"Fuck Washington Mutual" 8020 / 2210
"Fuck WaMu" 836 / 586
"Fuck Jamie Dimon" 7 / 10
WELLS FARGO - anger way down
"Fuck Wells Fargo" 32800 / 18900
"Fuck Wachovia" 1650 / 687
"Fuck John Stumpf" 0 / 0
"Fuck John Stumf" 0 / 0
[ + covergirl ]
"Fuck Warren Buffett" 10 / 981
"Fuck Warren Buffet" 4470 /1040
CITIGROUP - anger neutral
"Fuck Citibank" 989 / 1030
"Fuck Citigroup" 380 / 344
"Fuck Citi" 122 / 1630
"Fuck Vikram Pandit" 2 / 1
GOLDMAN SACHS - anger volcanically up
"Fuck Goldman Sachs" 3100 / 10200
"Fuck Goldman Sacs" 1 / 1
"Fuck Lloyd Blankfein" 0 / 0
"Fuck Loyd Blankfein" 1 / 1
"Fuck Hank Paulson" 50 / 104
[ + most valuable OBS subsidiary ]
"Fuck the Federal Reserve" 4570 / 70700
"Fuck the Fed" 9240 / 113000
"Fuck Ben Bernanke" 1750 / 1640
"Fuck Ben Bernake" 4 / 7
"Fuck Helicopter Ben" 5 / 4
Most suspects are outlined here..What a service you provide... My compliments..
8 million serfs lost their jobs in the last two years.
The rest are either overworked and under appreciated or under employed and marginalized.
Inflation adjusted take home pay has been going down since the 1970's.
This is the end game of all the financial theft that the International Bankers have been committing while being aided and abetted by a Warmongering Hegemony that is bankrupting our treasury to the delight of interest earning said bankers:
http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/03/and-little-people-wonder-why-theyre.html
http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/03/collapse-phase-ii-hyper-deflation.html
Google is now preparing to leave China as a result of this company’s stubborn refusal to obey Chinese laws. Google is in effect demanding extraterritoriality and immunity to the legal norms of the host nation, a claim which goes back to the unequal treaties imposed by foreign imperialists, notably the British, on China starting in the 19th century. It is not surprising that the Chinese response to this arrogant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state has been stern.
We must also recall that Google was founded with the help of the US intelligence community, and is now acting as a virtual arm of the US National Security Agency, the electronic espionage department of the US government. Google-NSA’s arrogance and hypocrisy are unbearable, especially when we bear in mind the countless times that Google search engines have been used to suppress exposés of the US governments false flag operations, most notably 9/11, and other sensitive topics.
There are two sides to the conflict between Google-NSA and China. One is the Great Cyberwall erected by the Chinese government against attempts by the US-UK to capitalize on ethnic and social tensions inside China to launch a color revolution, CIA people power coup, or postmodern putsch. The other aspect is Google’s claim that hackers working for the Chinese government raided Google’s e-mail servers. The second charge has been formally denied by the Chinese.
Even as Google prepares to shut down its Chinese operations, something larger and more sinister is looming. The US Wall Street-controlled media are gearing up to educate the public about imminent cyberwarfare and cyber-conflict. We can sense that Andrew Marshall, the Pentagon’s infamous octogenarian Yoda of the Office of Net Assessment, is playing a key role behind the scenes. This effort was formally launched in May 2009 by none other than Obama, who announced a buildup of US cyberwar assets, illustrating his project with the claim that his own campaign websites had been hacked during the 2008 campaign, prompting him to seek the assistance of FBI, CIA, NSA and the rest.
One highlight of this US propaganda campaign has been a two-hour docudrama special recently repeated several times on CNN on Feb. 20-21, simulating a massive cyber attack on the United States, starting with cell phones and then taking over into computers.[1] The impact of this attack is to shut down telephone communications, followed by airports and rail services, and finally to knock out most of the US electrical power grid, causing panic and chaos. The simulation is presented in the form of a meeting of the National Security Council while the US is under attack. Several protagonists of the 9/11 cover-up were among the starring players, including Jamie Gorelick (playing the US Attorney General), John Negroponte (playing the Secretary of State), and Michael Chertoff (in the role of the National Security Council Director).
Another important sign of the times is a Feb. 28 op-ed in the Washington Post by Admiral Mike McConnell, who headed up the NSA under Clinton, and is now a top executive for Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the military consulting firms which claims to have the greatest expertise in matters of cyber warfare.[2] Admiral McConnell’s basic idea is that cyber war is now upon us, and that the US must respond using the experience of the Cold War as the relevant model.
The results of this campaign of preparatory propaganda can be summed up under four basic points.
One is the relentless exaggeration of what cyber warfare can actually do in its present state. The public is now expected to believe that computer viruses and denial of service attacks can be used to shut down phone service, cripple airports, prevent trains from running, sabotage nuclear reactors, and paralyze power grids over the quasi-totality of the United States. Many of these claims were launched in relatively obscure articles by CIA officials or Wall Street Journal writers. It is not at all clear that cyber warfare can do what these interested parties are alleging. Rather, the best intelligence estimate right now is that we are in the presence of a new wave of cynical and demagogic fear mongering, similar to the weapons of mass distraction charges made by the neocons against Iraq during the buildup of war hysteria in 2002-2003. The idea that cyber warfare can shut down electrical grids very likely belongs in the same category with Tony Blair’s ludicrous charge that Saddam Hussein had the ability to strike London in 45 minutes. It was a fantastic lie.
A second Leitmotiv is the transposition of the terminology and mindset of the Cold War and nuclear confrontation into the modern cyber arena. The CNN simulation works towards refurbishing notions of deterrence, retaliation, and first strike, dressing them up in the trendy jargon of the computer age. Notions of preventive attack and preemptive attack are also being revamped. One big difference which the propagandists do not point out is that, while nuclear war was considered an unthinkable last resort by most government officials, the new propaganda portrays cyberwarfare as not unthinkable at all, but something that can be indulged in with relative impunity.
Very important legal questions arise in this context. Does a cyber attack constitute an armed attack? Can a cyber attack be casus belli, grounds for issuing a declaration of war? Is escalation from computers to bombs legal? Can a cyber attack represent a threat to international peace and security for the purposes of the United Nations charter? Can a cyber attack be used to invoke article V of the NATO treaty, which calls for common defense?
A third aspect of the current media blitz is that a new cast of enemies is being groomed and brought onstage, even as the shadowy adversaries of yesterday are relegated to a less prominent position – at least as far as cyber-aggression is concerned. In the CNN simulation, there is some discussion of a possible role of “Al Qaeda” and “bin Laden” in the ongoing attack. But this idea is brusquely and almost scornfully dismissed with the reply that those guys are known to live in caves, and therefore could hardly have the equipment necessary to carry on cyber warfare, even though they might desire to do so. For the CNN producers and their intelligence community consultants, the targets are clear: Russia (specifically the city of Irkutsk), China, and Sudan are the three countries mentioned as sources of the cyber attacks shutting down the US economy. With this, we have gone far beyond the narrow confines of the Middle East to target the largest country in the world, the largest country in Asia, and the largest country in Africa. The new target list involves two great powers, and not simply Iraq or Iran. We can see bigger and more lunatic adventures being prepared by the US scenario writers.
The fourth unmistakable overtone of the current propaganda barrage is the danger we can sum up under the heading of virtual flag terrorism. The world of cyber warfare is so opaque and recondite for the average person, and solid confirmation of claims so hard to come by, that rogue bureaucrats in the US and British governments will be able to a surge virtually anything with little fear of being refuted. Google accuses China of hacking without offering any convincing proof, and China denies the charge. What is the average person to believe? What prevents hackers in league with invisible government rogue moles at the NSA from deliberately attacking US facilities, and then blaming it on China, thus ginning up a major international provocation with little risk of being caught?
If millions of people are plunged into the dark, if trains and airliners crash, if other disasters occur, it is child’s play to issue a communiqué blaming hackers in the service of the Russian, Chinese, Sudanese, the Iranians, or other governments. The governments accused can certainly issue denials, but it is not clear how such a charge could be convincingly refuted.
The CNN simulation includes a discussion of the difference between location and attribution, meaning that the mere fact that an attack is launched from the country’s territory does not mean that the government is responsible. “Location is not attribution,” intones Secretary of State Negroponte at one point. But we can already hear the voice of the inevitable neocon warmonger asserting à la Bush that no distinction must be made between the servers spreading a destructive virus and the government whose territory harbors those servers. For the neocon, location and attribution are sure to be the same. This opens the possibility of starting a conflict by infiltrating physical provocateurs onto the territory of the targeted nation, and letting them launch a cyber attack from there. Even easier, so-called botnets of captive computers commandeered by trojans and related viruses can be used to launch the attack.
It goes without saying that the beltway bandits and Pentagon contractors are eager to cash in on the lucrative contracts that are now in the offing. More broadly, cyber warfare can be used as a great alibi for purposes of avoiding civil liability in the age of underfunding and asset stripping. When we have the next crash in the Washington DC metro, the management and the National Transportation Safety Board can ignore decades of underfunding and simply blame everything on Russia, China, and the Sudan, and tell the families of the victims to go and sue those governments. It is therefore time to begin a campaign of counter-inoculation of international public opinion against this new set of ominous lies which is being foisted off on the world.
Take off your tinfoil hat, put up your feet, and have a beer.
You have just defined the effervescent decline of Amerika.. Thankx
geopol, is this the movie you mention?
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3DC7792A3D884FB6
And am I the only one having trouble getting these clips to play?
propaganda at its best...er, worst. YEAH WORST.
He prefers Vodka, I believe....oh, and as far as his tinfoil hat, he doesn't wear one, you will have to steal someone elses if that is what you wanted. However they do not help. The radiation in cell phones will penetrate through them. It is ok, I have a solution; use speaker phone. Besides Merlin, you would look silly wearing a 'magic hat'. Wait a second........
Sure, have a beer, but by all means keep posting; insights are much appreciated; thx.
Ditto.
My choice:
3/4 pint Guinness® stout
1/2 shot Bailey's® Irish cream
1/2 shot Jameson® Irish whiskey
Repeat until it's time for work (hopefully all you fellow wage-workers asked for tomorrow off).
Just polished my third New Amsterdam and tonic( if you haven't tried, don't know what you're missing.) and I have to be up at 4:20 AM to go to work, I probably didn't think this through. You ZH'ers are just so damn entertaining.
I'm not sure what's supposed to be earth-shattering about Google leaving China. Maybe they just figure it's not worth the hassle.
Maybe your own censorship??
+ 1 trillion (formally reserved for astronomy).
"We can see bigger and more lunatic adventures being prepared by the US scenario writers."
I believe it was Webster Griffin Tarpley who said, "Todays oligarchs are a pathetic excuse for a ruling class".
I use that quote when I am asked (refering to the destruction of America and the middle class), "Why would they (banksters) want this?"
Ladies and gentlemen, "they" have no idea what they are doing.
LOL @ quoting Tarpley to Tarpley
Now, now. Don't reveal identities. This is a masked ball after all. Anybody can come as anyone they wish.:>)
Thanks CD... Under the radar... so I thought.. GP
LOL cog; amazed you of all ppl would try to act so precious; especially since it was you who first "outed" him by "not outing" him a week or so ago; good fucking grief.
haha I would not have noticed if it wasn't for CD.
Good grief? Your poking at the wrong belly.
I simply asked geopol a few day ago why he was being so obvious and that it didn't make sense to be so. I didn't use any names. Why did you? Are you hiding behind me because of your usage of the name? At least if someone read my comment, they had to actually do some research. There are a number of posters on ZH who exposed geopol (by name) long before I commented so don't point the finger here. Just like you just did. Every time geopol "appears" someone in the comment section points out the obvious by name.
Try clicking on some of the links in geopol's articles. Occasionally they take you back to the original article, or something else written in the same blog. Since geopol doesn't make any effort to disguise the writing and seldom attributes the writing to someone else (other than the occasional comment about "re-post") I assume geopol isn't too concerned about his identity being discovered.
You don't post a comment that is a word for word pull from an established and well followed author without attribution and not expect to be exposed. Ask geopol what's going on, not me. Writing styles are sometimes like fingerprints, particularly good writing, such as geopol has shown. Click on the name "geopol" above the avatar and do some reading of past posts. Then look at who is exposing geopol. It started way back when geopol began to appear on ZH.
I've kept my mouth shut until this past weekend, when the word for word pull from an outstanding and well received article was soooooooo obvious that I questioned why geopol had done so. If anyone on ZH didn't know who geopol was, then they are not doing much reading off the beaten path. Geopol's alter ego has been on the scene for decades and is well know and well quoted. Hell, he was just quoted and referenced in American Behavioral Scientist.
BTW there are a number of well known authors who post comments here on ZH under alter egos. Their writing style is obvious, even when they try to cover it up. But they rarely post their own published writings under their alter ego and when they do, it is with attribution in order to deflect suspicion. Brilliance always comes to the surface. Even when geopol is not cutting and pasting, it is obvious who he is, if for no other reason than the word usage and vocabulary.
Not trying to start any beef with you, please don't be irrational: I could give a rat's ass about what particular clockwork orange is physically at "geopol"'s IP address. My point to Mr LH was that it's droll to see Tarpley's words quoted to Tarpley's words. I mean forget about backtracking links or teasing out some prosodic clin d'oeil, all it takes are 8 sequential words (probably even fewer) to google that comment's source. And my point to you is that it's equally droll to see YOUR words so preciously criticize someone else's words for alluding to the same authorship as your own words did just a few days ago, especially since your allusion was simply allusion for allusion's sake while mine actually had contextual traction. Anyway, I think "good fucking grief" came off much harsher than I intended; if I could still edit the comment I'd add an exclamation point to clarify the faux exasperation.
cheers,
Not For Reuse
OK, I'll take a step back and revisit. I will still not personally use the name in public because geopol has not directly exposed himself.
You laughed at someone quoting the alter ego to the alter ego. You said "LOL @ quoting Tarpley to Tarpley." It was not a quote to quote thing, it was quote to a person. You were identifing the person.
I then said...
"Now, now. Don't reveal identities. This is a masked ball after all. Anybody can come as anyone they wish.:>)"
Zero Hedge is like a masquerade ball. Some of the people who are at the ball are known to you but because they are wearing masks and costumes, we are expected to suspend dis-belief and assume for the sake of the party that the person is who he or she is represented by the mask or the costume.
This was why I used that analogy. I felt there was no need to use the alter ego's name because we all know we are at the party. It is expected that even if you do know who someone "really" is, you do not expose that person. If the person wishes to be exposed, it should be by his or her own hand. That is the basis behind anonymity. This was why I purposely did not use the alter ego's name over the weekend when I asked geopol why he was allowing his mask to come loose.
"...especially since your allusion was simply allusion for allusion's sake while mine actually had contextual traction..."
There was a very good reason I did and wrote what I did. It was clear to me that geopol was being careless. I was asking why? Professional writers are expected to abide by a code of ethics. They are allowed to assume alter egos (pen names) BUT they are not allowed to use the words of one pen name/original as the words of another pen name/original without attribution. Samuel Clemens is not supposed to use the words of Mark Twain as Samuel Clemens's own and vice a verso. It must be done by attribution, as a quote. You are to treat you alter ego as you would treat another author, by attributing the words you use when they are not your own words. At least this is as I understand it to be based conversations with various authors.
Geopol was not "quoting" his alter ego but simply cutting and pasting, as if it were geopol's words and not his alter ego. I could see no reason for this unless the alter ego wanted people to know who geopol was, probably to drive people to the alter ego's web site and books. People use ZH all the time to promote themselves. I figured the alter ego didn't want to do so directly for fear of being banned by ZH, considering the alter ego is considered "controversial" thus the reason I did not use the name myself. But I was asking why he was allowing the mask to slip.
i am printing your post out, too.
geopol your research is beyond normal. thank you god for ZH and open thread forum.
my goodness you have pointed out something so ubiquitous and terrifying.
dumbing down again what is the meaning or how is it applied a tin hat or foil hat?
oh i wish i could send you some of our wine for all your enlightening thoughts.
http://www.woodycreekcellars.com/
No wine needed,,,You are American...and me... Love for all...We need to join..General Strikes..Mobilize..
got to have it harder and harder for a real good time the WHO
nope the pink floyd
i knew this song was relevant, from animals DOGS
Pink Floyds darkest least assessible album, Waters was partly inspired by George Orwell's political fable Animal Farm in which people are divided up into groups represented by animals. While Orwell was focusing on Communism, Roger was criticizing his own Capitalist government. In Floyd's version the people are either Dogs, Pigs, or Sheep.
Not an expert, and I didn't see the whole CNN propaganda-fest, but the first thing that popped into my mind was that they were laying the groundwork for much tighter control of the internet domestically.
That is, information such as that regularly highlighted on this and similar sites is 'leaking out' despite the best efforts of TPTB to contain it and their pet media pawns to direct our attention elsewhere. Therefore they need to plug this leak. That will require drastic action. Better to get it into people's minds that it is for their own protection - to save them from those evil Chinese/Iranians/fill-in-the-blanks.
Of course, I just traded in my tin-foil hat for a tin-foil tent, so 'reader beware'.
The collapse of the Twin Towers explained, WITH DRAWINGS, by an engineer. MUST WATCH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9KUKuRdBkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOLkBqNR66A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hwJw-LDjmM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbHiwLymyXQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCjrhw73POE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlswqWK6IvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFWU8XX0Vm8
PLEASE DO NOT JUNK! If you want to fight, come get some!
:vP
LH,,,,, Thankx, JV has been censored...
Great attitude, man. It is an open thread, after all.
Will watch tomorrow, must... get... sleep
some jerkface junked you mr lennon. but i looked at each of your utube vids. I was already convinced of 9/11 just recently and it broke my heart. Something died inside as i had such hopes for this wonderful country. Now i fear for my grandchild for whom the world will be even more of a prison than before.
Your family is lucky to have you MH. Do not fret; you, and most of the rest of ZH is waiting to save the day. Now, all America has to do is ask. They will.
Open Thread???
Have at it..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3hZjwWe6Rc&feature=related
Excellent. Thanks, enjoyed it very much, geo. Blistering, unmitigated truth. It's rare to get all that in five minutes.
You have a clear vision when exposed to it...You are correct,,,TRUTH as it was said in "Apocalypse Now" "like a diamond shot through the forehead",,,Relentless logic..Inoculate the little arms..
The truth can be the most bitter pill, but that made it go down pretty damn easily. Strongly recommended.
Geopol! very nice... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-uq7O1RqQQ&NR=1
Thank You! for the video...
Be well, JW
From Mike Whitney at counterpunch.org -
The Next Big Bailout "Any Day Now" Carte Blanche for the BankstersBy MIKE WHITNEY
Housing is still on the rocks and prices are headed lower. Master illusionist Ben Bernanke has managed to engineer a modest 7-month uptick in sales, but the fairydust is set to wear off later this month when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities (MBS). When the program ends, long-term interest rates will creep higher and sales will begin to flag. The objective of Bernanke's $1.25 trillion quantitative easing program was to transfer the banks’ toxic assets onto the Fed's balance sheet. Having achieved that goal, Bernanke will now have to find a way to unload those same assets onto the public. Freddie and Fannie, which have already been used as a government-backed off-balance-sheet dumping ground, appear to be the most likely candidates.
Bernanke's liquidity injections have helped to buoy stock prices and stabilize housing, but the economy is still weak. There's just too much inventory and too few buyers. Now that the Fed is withdrawing its support, matters will only get worse.
Of course, that hasn't stopped the folks at Bloomberg News from cheerleading the "nascent" housing rebound. Here's a clip from Monday's column:
Just for the record; there have been no "increases in jobs". Unemployment is stuck at 9.7 percent with underemployment checking in at 16.8 percent. There's no chance of housing rebound until payrolls start to rise. Jobless people cannot afford to buy homes.
Also, while it is true that the federal homebuyer tax credit did cause a spike in home purchases its effect has been short-lived and sales are gradually returning to normal. It's generally believed that "cash for clunker-type" programs (like the homebuyer tax credit) merely move demand forward and have no meaningful long-term impact.
So, it's likely that housing prices -- particularly on the higher end -- will continue to fall until they return to their historic trend. (probably 10 to 15 per cent lower) That means more trouble for the banks which are already using all kinds of accounting flim-flam ("mark-to-fiction") to conceal the wretched condition of their balance sheets. Despite the surge in stock prices, the banks are drowning in the losses from their non-performing loans and toxic assets. At the same time, they're about to get hit by the next wave of Option ARMs and Alt-As resets which will require another $1 trillion in financing.
The Fed has indicated that it's finished helping the banks for the time being. Now it's Treasury's turn. Bernanke will keep the Fed funds rate at zero, but he is not going to expand the Fed's balance sheet anymore. Geithner understands this and is working frantically to put together the next bailout that will reduce the mortgage principal for underwater homeowners. But it's a thorny problem, because many of the borrowers have second liens which could amount to as much as $477 billion. That means that if the Treasury's mortgage-principal reduction plan is enacted; it could wipe out the banks. Here's an excerpt from an article in the Financial Times which explains it all:
"Accounting guidance"? Either the banks are holding out for a bigger bailout or they want Treasury to approve looser accounting standards to conceal their losses from their shareholders. Either way, it's clear that they're trying to hammer out the best deal possible for themselves regardless of the costs to everyone else.
Financial Times again:
Hold on a minute! Didn't Geithner just run bank "stress tests" last year to prove that the banks could withstand losses on second liens?
Yes. And the banks all passed with flying colors. So, why are the banks whining now about the potential for "catastrophic" losses if the plan goes forward? Either they were lying then or they're lying now; which is it?
According to the Financial Times the banks hold $400 billion in second lien mortgages. But --as Mike Konczal points out--the stress tests projected maximum losses of just "$68 billion. In other words, Geithner rigged the tests so the banks would pass. Now the banks want to have it both ways: They want people to think that they are solvent enough to pass a basic stress test, but they also want to be given another huge chunk of public money to cover their second liens. They want it all, and Geithner's trying to give it to them.
And don't believe the claptrap from Treasury that "they have no plan for mortgage principal reductions.” Baloney! According to the Financial Times:
So, it's not a question of "if" there will be another bank bailout, but just "how big" that bailout will be. The banks clearly expect the taxpayer to foot the entire bill regardless of who was responsible for the losses.
So, let's summarize:
1--Bank bailout #1--$700 billion TARP which allowed the banks to continue operations after the repo and secondary markets froze-over from the putrid loans the banks were peddling to credulous investors.
2--Bank bailout #2--$1.25 trillion Quantitative Easing program which transferred banks toxic assets onto Fed's balance sheet (soon to be dumped on Fannie and Freddie) while rewarding the perpetrators of the biggest financial crackup in history.
3--Bank bailout #3--$1 trillion (or more) to cover all mortgage cramdowns, second liens, as well as any future liabilities including gym fees, energy drinks, double-tall nonfat mocha's, parking meters etc. ad infinitum. Basically, carte blanche for the banksters.
And as far as the banks taking "haircuts"? Forget about it! Banks don't take "haircuts". It looks bad on their quarterly reports and cuts into their bonuses. Taxpayers take haircuts, not banksters. Besides, that's what Geithner gets paid for--to make sure bigshot tycoons don't have to pay for their mistakes or bother with the niggling details of fleecing the little people.
The next big bailout is on the way. Be prepared.
Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com
Nice! Now, how about some bank blood in the streets?
Thanks,,,Well formulated,,,,No free markets
well said
It's not about health care, it's about health control. Circulating in my email this morning, a medical doctor's letter to Senator Bayh.
Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all employers that self-insure!!
Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill: THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.
Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!
Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC benefits for you. You have no choice!
Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non-US citizens, illegal or otherwise.
Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals' finances & a 'National ID Health card' will be issued! (Papers please!)
Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective funds transfer. (Time for more cash and carry)
Page 65 Sec 164: Is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in unions & community organizations: (ACORN).
Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the 'Exchange.'
Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans -- The Govt will ration your health care!
Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. (Translation: illegal aliens.)
Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups (i.e. ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.
Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. (AARP members - your health care WILL be rationed!)
Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid eligible individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. ( No choice.)
Page 12 4 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt monopoly.
Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association - The Govt will tell YOU what salary you can make.
Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto-enroll employees into public option plan. (NO choice!)
Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part-time employees AND their families. (Employees shouldn't get excited about this as employers will be forced to reduce its work force, benefits, and wages/salaries to cover such a huge expense.)
Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not provide public option will pay 8% tax on all payroll! (See the last comment in parenthesis.)
Page 150 Lines 9-13: A business with payroll between $251K & $401K who doesn't provide public option will pay 2-6% tax on all payroll .
Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.
Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes . (Americans will pay.) (Like always)
Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of the GOVT HC Admin.. will have access to ALL Americans' finances and personal records. (I guess so they can 'deduct' their fees)
Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." (Yes, it really says that!) ( a 'fee' instead)
Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors. (Low-income and the poor are affected.)
Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors: It doesn't matter what specialty you have trained yourself in -- you will all be paid the same! (Just TRY to tell me that's not Socialism!)
Page 253 Line 10-18: The Govt sets the value of a doctor's time, profession, judgment, etc. (Literally-- the value of humans.)
Page 265 Sec 1131: The Govt mandates and controls productivity for "private" HC industries.
Page 268 Sec 1141: The federal Govt regulates the rental and purchase of power driven wheelchairs.
Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!
Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever the Govt deems preventable (i.e...re-admissions).
Page 298 Lines 9-11: Doctors: If you treat a patient during initial admission that results in a re-admission -- the Govt will penalize you.
Page 317 L 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. (The Govt tells doctors what and how much they can own!)
Page 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion. (The Govt is mandating that hospitals cannot expand.)
Page 321 2-13: Hospitals have the opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input is required. (Can you say ACORN?)
Page 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339: The Govt mandates establishment of=2 outcome-based measures. (HC the way they want -- rationing.)
Page 341 Lines 3-9: The Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advance Plans, HMOs, etc. (Forcing people into the Govt plan)
Page 354 Sec 1177: The Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of 'special needs people!' Unbelievable !
Page 379 Sec 1191: The Govt creates more bureaucracy via a "Tele-Health Advisory Committee." (Can you say HC by phone?)
Page 425 Lines 4-12: The Govt mandates "Advance-Care Planning Consult." (Think senior citizens end-of-life patients.)
Page 425 Lines 17-19: The Govt will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. (And it's mandatory !)
Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3: The Govt provides an "approved" list of end-of-life resources; guiding you in death. (Also called 'assisted suicide.') (Sounds like Soylent Green to me.)
Page 427 Lines 15-24: The Govt mandates a program for orders on "end-of-life." (The Govt has a say in how your life ends!)
Page 429 Lines 1-9: An "advanced-care planning consultant" will be used frequently as a patient's health deteriorates.
Page 429 Lines 10-12: An "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end-of-life plans.. (AN ORDER TO DIE FROM THE GOVERNMENT?!?)
Page 429 Lines 13-25: The GOVT will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.. (I wouldn't want to stand before God after getting paid for THAT job!)
Page 430 Lines 11-15: The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end-of-life! (Again -- no choice!)
Page 469: Community-Based Home Medical Services = Non-Profit Organizations. (Hello? ACORN Medical Services here!?!)
Page 489 Sec 1308: The Govt will cover marriage and family therapy. (Which means Govt will insert itself into your marriage even.)
Page 494-498: Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, and rationing those services.
i.e., kill the economy, kill all the jobs, kill the USA. Those of you who voted for Obama......you absolutely deserve this.
While all of the above may very well be true, would it not have been easier to provide Section/Title refences?
The text of the bill is here: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text
I/We have not Seen MARLA - post-comment-edit-or do anything in AT least 2 months!!!
WHAT.....
ZH has become of Marla?? and the Great job she has done for this site??
Her involvement trailed off after she banned that guy for what she felt was racist comments. At the time I thought what he said was not appropriate but I wouldn't have banned him. I wonder if there was a serious disagreement within the staff when she summarily banned the guy?
ZH equals real drama...my mama don't even watch Law and Order no mo'.
That guy was back the next day. I think Marla just removed the post and banned him/her from the thread, not ZH. He was posting the next day and even bragged about being back.
Government is a “Tool” of the “Lobby”…
The Lobby is a “Tool” of whoever wields the “Lobby”
The “Lobby” today is used my Big Business (AAA rated Corps. / Banks) to ensure market share or more accurately that those businesses do not lose Market Share and hopefully they are able to grow their foot print thru legislation.
Our economy is not dependant on innovation… it is dependent on Lobby who survives on dollars from “AAA” Rated Corporations… Maintaining Market Share and thusly the circle is complete.
Regardless of who is elected the Lobby will continue to sway legislation; there are no exceptions for this rule.
Control the Lobby and you control the Government.
Kill the Lobby and the Voters are back in control of the Lobby (save the contributors?!).
How many layers can well come up with of legalized corruption? Lobby? Layered Campaign Contribution? Pac Monies? Fund raisers? And on… and on.
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/indivs.php
So, Obama? Who was cutting the Lobby off at the door of the white house?
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=obama+anti+lobby&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=a73b11f867dbecea
***Cough*** “Bullshit” ***Cough***
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/mems.php
The President can do nothing without Congress… or the Senate… support.
So who controls the Government? And who control the Lobby? And who used Tarp Monies / Fed Window 0% rates to pay for the death of innovation in favor of the fight for middle market share maintenance, growth or control. Free market only works if you can afford to Lobby vigorously.
Behind The Sentiment Disparity: Main Street Vs. Wall Street
http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2010/03/15/behind-the-sentiment-disparity-main-street-vs-wall-street/
Anyone who says Obama is a Socialist? Or that Bush was not? or maybe that there is a difference between the two?
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/torture-under-obama-looks-a-lot-like-bush
Just for the fun of it…
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_obama_related_to_bush
There will be “NO!” fundamental changes due to the Lobby and until all of the fractured weirdo groups pool resources and get on the same fucking page… nothing will change. To many chiefs and not enough Indians… that all want the bull pulpit for personal reasons which over shadows any good that could potential come from their speaking publicly.
Or so that would be my personal view and I am happy to go tit for tat with anyone who sees it differently. Vernacular aside, the position is bullet proof.
Happy hour with Celente
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHHAK6F2RXQ
Everybody wants a piece of Gerald Celente....Faux news...even the full boobed hottie at the bar.
Sorry Faux, NO ONE can phase Gerald. No way he is looking down.
....I did...haha.
Also, TD for Pres? Huh? HUH?!?!?!
Nobody sane would run for US president Mr Lennon Hendrix...
USD rally and EURO sell off are telling us something.
http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/latest-market-outlook-0
Since this is an open forum I'd like to solicit feedback from the gang.
I am very seriously considering starting a Meetup group called "Weathering The Storm: Community Networking in Financial Uncertainty" or something like that.
What I propose is first locally (S. Florida), setting up a Meetup.com group that enables like-minded people to get together and share ideas on how to adapt/prepare for even more troubling times ahead.
Let's face it. There are a LOT of us out in the hinterland that feel isolated and on an island. A meetup would allow fellowship, networking, exchange of ideas, resource exchange, ect.
I got the idea from being a member of a few meetup groups, and when I broach the subject of the economy, I am stunned by how many people are awake that don't openly show it. And the first thing I notice is how scared to death and alone they feel. Similar language that we use comes out: Gov't out of control, sheeple, cattle, elitists, ect..
Thoughts? Would you join a meetup like that if it were in your area?
Thanks.
Meetup is a great tool that I've also thought of using to address what you describe. My thought has been to have Zero Hedge meetups . . . everybody wearing a Hi, My Name Is "Tyler Durden" name tags, maybe.
I think its a very good idea.
March 18th: "Get Listed" Day!
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-iss...
Networking? really?
have a safe trip. I must have missed something; where's Marla?
FAT BOTTOMED GOLDMAN GIRLS:
http://williambanzai7.blogspot.com/2010/03/fat-bottomed-goldman-girls.html
***JUNKED***
TO all the SERFS in AMERIKA.....better wake up and kich OUT ur SATANIC Govt....or u will take the whole world down with YOU.....
dont u think just tooo many earthquakes are occuring nowadays....
Something like HAARP comes to mind...another PENtagon product...besides AIDS..(and other flu viruses like the swine FLU)....not to mention all the NUKES u have
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