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Paul Farrell On The 4 Time Bombs That Would "Ignite A Wall Street Revolution"
That the bankrupt US is living on borrowed time between various can kicking episodes is by now not news to anyone. Neither is it news that as long as the broader population finds brief distractions, such as the latest iPad app or the occasional Charlie Sheen scandal, which keep them busy in peak advertising hours, few if any will care about the sordid details of the unsustainable big picture. This ongoing apathy is starting to get to some market commentators most notably Paul Farrell of MarketWatch who summarizes events in the past 2 years as follows: " Admit it, we lost the opportunity. Jail a bank CEO and Wall Street will miraculously reform? You’re joking, right? Wall Street got away with a “legal” bank heist. Today the should-be/would-be inmates are running the prison. Wall Street’s corrupt banks have lost their moral compass … their insatiable greed has become a deadly virus destroying its host nation … their campaign billions buy senate votes, stop regulators’ actions, manipulate presidential decisions. Wall Street money controls voters, runs America, both parties. Yes, Wall Street is bankrupting America." But nobody cares. So what would make America care? Here are the four time-bombs which Farrell believes will be sufficient to blow up Wall Street.
From MarketWatch:
4 ticking time bombs that will ignite the Wall Street revolution
Yes, the rich live in a different world. And no, information won’t change them. But a revolution will. Revolutions build slowly over a long time. Then, suddenly, a critical mass, a flash point, something totally unexpected ignites the ticking bomb.
It happened recently in a remote Tunisian village. Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old college graduate, unable to pay bribes, set himself on fire to protest police confiscation of his unlicensed vegetable cart. That triggered a revolution. And his death rapidly led to the collapse of a 24-year dictatorship.
Today we have four hot time bombs, tick-ticking, soon to make history; any one can easily accelerate the revolution that’s already killing Wall Street from within.
1. Wealth gap: Super-Rich vs class wars, death of democracy
The gap: In one generation, America’s wealthiest 1% has exploded from 9% to 23% of America’s income, while middle-class income has stagnated. Even Buffett admits: “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and winning.”
But my rich friend tells the real story, of their social disconnect. The rich just don’t care. They live in a different world, live by a self-centered code lacking a moral compass. The public welfare is honored only if supported by tax benefits.
The wealth gap is widening and soon something unpredictable will ignite a Wall Street revolution.
2. Wall Street’s doomsday capitalism vs rule by anarchy
A key Supreme Court decision accelerated and codified Wall Street’s ability to use billions stolen from taxpayers to lobby Washington and solidify its power, all for its own self-interest, through campaign payola, senators’ votes, presidential access, manipulation of regulators, grabbing tax benefits, etc. And it’s every man and woman for themselves.
Don’t believe it? Know this, democracy is dead and you’re in denial. Wall Street CEOs and Forbes 400 billionaires are either engaged in a secret conspiracy, or a classic anarchy picking apart America, oblivious of the fact they are setting up the next big revolution.
3. Pentagon’s perpetual war machine vs America’s budget time bomb
The mathematics of our $75 trillion Social Security and Medicare deficits often seem insurmountable, but can be recalibrated. However, the war-loving mindset of America’s neocons — fueled by China’s military actions, the insatiable expansion of our military spending and a Pentagon prediction that global population growth — is putting more and more pressure on the world’s scarce resources, and will, in turn, increase global wars and the demand for more war spending, increasing the risk of sudden revolutions everywhere.
4. Global population explosion vs resources, jobs, better lifestyles
As the world population explodes from 7 billion to 10 billion in the next generation, the demand for more jobs and the pressure on scarce resources will increase, while expectations will fall as the ratio of haves to have-nots increases, making the world all around Wall Street a burning powder keg setting up a revolution.
Bottom line: Forget jailing Wall Street’s dictators. It’s naïve and too late. We missed that opportunity. But a revolution will do the trick, give us a second chance to jail the crooks.
Until then, remember, these four factors are building to a head, merging into a critical mass that will accelerate into a revolution and destroy Wall Street from within: The widening wealth gap, capitalism’s new rule-by-anarchy, the high cost of feeding the Pentagon’s costly war machine, and the huge global population explosion.
Perhaps Paul is right. One thing is certain: the ongoing divergence from economic equilibrium driven by a global central planning cartel which hopes to fill valuation holes will infinite money printing has been working so far, yet the simplest laws of physics say that eventually every equilibrium asserts itself. So far most guesses of how much longer this can continue have been wrong. And whereas we indeed had a chance to reassert a fair market value after the Lehman crash, we simply papered it over with another round of the same failed policies that resulted in a historic crash. What is truly interesting, and deserves a study in itself, is the seemingly endless ability of those in control to delude not only themselves but all those around them. Alas, this is primarily driven by the non-overlap of the various key cycles in the current world: from the hedge fund manager performance cycle of a few months at most, to the Wall Street bonus cycle of one year, to the political cycle of 4 years, and lastly, to the actual business cycle which lasts between 7-10 years, and the generational cycle of just over 20 years. As long as there are extensive conflicts of interest pushing and pulling all four of these in different directions, and as long as the Fed believes it can control them successfully, the kinds of time bombs that Farrell writes about are guaranteed.
h/t Steve
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when you get older you will understand. i'm not having a heart attack, but, i do worry & care about others, especially now that i am an older person. children are to be loved & cherished & protected.
if her posts, which do vary depending on time of day, etc. are to be believed, she's about 60 years old, probably not so far removed from your age lynnybee.
just sayin'
You know what V-Babe?
There's hope and help for your anger and hurt. Go to a good twelve step program and start loving yourself again.
"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclisastes 1:9
Where did it start? It started in Eden, when Man fell to sin. There has never been, and there never will be, a politician who did not succumb to the temptations of power and money. Some are less committed to these temptations, but all participate in them to some degree.
As for the United States, it began when the Revolution ended. The Articles of Confederation did not allow for enough power and profiteering, so it had to be changed. The Constitution, which established one of the most sound structures of government in history, nevertheless bound millions to permanent slavery and many more millions (women, particularly) to 2nd class citizen status. Moroever, the politicians of our first 70 years invaded Mexico, slaughtered Indians, and stole more land than even our government knew.
But for the U.S., the genuine beginning of the collapse was 1861, when Lincoln sent his Army to invade a neighboring and sovereign nation. All discussion of slavery aside, the C.S.A. was a sovereign nation, and Lincoln's aggression was simply the result of his Will to Power. By winning his war, Lincoln guaranteed that the U.S. would forever throw out meaningful federalism and would instead suffer under tyranny. The national government would be all things to all people.
What followed were the likes of Wilson forcing America into a war she did not want so that he could attempt to save the world in his version of a New World Order. Then there was FDR, who might as well have burned the Constitution on the White House lawn for all he cared about it. JFK, LBJ, RMN, rotten to the core Jimmy, RR, GHWB, WJC, W, and now Barack Hussein Obama--all they did was take turns seeing how many votes they purchase by bilking the Middle Class to pay the idle rich and the idle poor. And they all had Congresses that were in cahoots with them, even if it appeared that they hated each other's guts.
But I am the last one to cry for revolution. Lincoln's invasion of the C.S.A. left 600,000 Americans dead in a time when our population was next to nothing compared to our population today. Millions could die in any sort of revolution these days.
Be careful what you wish for. . .
I continue to marvel at the lengths by which politicians and their symbiotic lobbyists/bankstas engage in the ancient, and still self-destructive, functions of parasitic cannibalism while the host is force fed BS to keep the red cell count maximized. While the host craves bread and entertainment as did the Romans and as long as supplied the tranquilizer works. Human behavior typically only changes drastically if and only if catastrophe strikes...the alcoholic must hit bottom first and still no guarantees. In the meantime BTFD.
It started before FRD, but Reagan perfected the art (Nixon was more ballsy, though. I liked him for that.)
The rest just try to get up to Reagan's level of deceit.
I'm all for a geriatric revolution. Who the hell's gonna shoot old grandmas and grandpas?
I'll kick in the door, and then you go in first, granny!
meh
hem.
ehh
Starvation on a massive scale is the only thing that will lead to a revolution at this point. By then, 99% of us will be insolvent (or dead) anyway and I would guess that the right to bear arms will have long since been taken away.
Starvation precludes the peeps from having enough energy to fight.
First the soldiers must be fed.
A good army travels on its stomach.
Starvation precludes the peeps from having enough energy to fight.
First the soldiers must be fed.
A good army travels on its stomach.
Did you not get the new talking points?
No mention of "insolvent" - the new term of art is "almost solvent".
Like a glass that is 1/50 full, it's to be referred to as "almost full", not 49/50 empty.
I prefer the term "liquidity strapped"
The laws of Physics are suspended in government and in most all other relationships between human beans.
Girl on girl? Make it the law. Man on man? Make it the law. Withhold taxes so people can't decide not to pay? Make it the law. Execute a serial killer before he makes parole and kills again? Make execution illegal.
Intoning physics or attempting to people is likely insane.
Funny thing about "classes".
A while ago, I promoted 2 clerks to teamleaders. It took about 1 day before they turned into bragging snobs. After 1 week I gave them the choice: threath the people like they want to be treated or get fired.
Every week I check up on them behind their backs and they changed it into their own dictator little world.
Poor, rich : People will be people. Nobody cares about anybody but expects everybody to care about them.
I care only for me and I don't expect somebody to care about me. I take care for myself and so should everybody else.
Very perceptive. The only difference between the poor and the rich is money. Look what happens to some people when they put on a police uniform. We all have the seeds of good and evil inside of us. Watch out for those who profess their holiness too loudly.
Watch out for those who profess their holiness too loudly.
Hehe, exactly. Manager at old job, I called him Mr. Jesus. Has "jesus" paraphernalia hanging above his desk with a bible handy for show but he is the biggest bullshitter you could ever want to meet, and a liar to boot.
The one thing I disagree with in that post is the world population going to 10 billion people in 20 years. Nope. Not going to get there. There is no way the world's food production can increase by the 40% needed to feed the 40% more people. Not in the face of peak oil, soil degradation, and so on. Peak population will occur well before 10 billion.
Very provincial thinking. The galaxy let alone the universe can handle all the people we create. There is no peak anything. Instead there is infinite abundance. We will see this more clearly after 2012. Until then... BTFD.
Is the surface of a planet the right place for an expanding
technological civilization?
The banking and corporate elite own this fucking place. It is a giant conspiracy, it is class warfare and the working stiffs lost.
In a nutshell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RhIxxvYtRE
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1417.htm
America has lost its soul.....no one cares... Yes the Banksters rule.
Wow. This is the best pull-numbers-out-of-my-ass analysis I've read in a long time.
If I don't get a fish, it's over!
There is no way out now. It must play out to its logical conclusion. The lackwits in government can't or won't stop the Ben Bernanke and the bankers.
It pains me (somewhat) to say it, but I am cheering for rapid implosion. If present trends continue, the most likely flashpoint will be (3). There is just no way the US war machine can continue to rampage across the globe. Strong-arming only works for so long....and anyone who is not a pro-US military tard can see the mighty, mighty war machine has been crippled by homemade bombs and a handful of folks defending their homeland. The US military needs to be withdrawn immediately from all corners of the globe. Not tomorrow, not after the installation of a puppet government, but now. And the first act of the new US foreign policy should be to apologize to everyone from Germany to Korea to Iraq to Cuba for almost 100 years of oppression.
I have no more interest in saving the US (which really means saving the US government) than I have in saving the life of any other aggressor who continues to harass me. Let it burn, I say. Let's push this bitch over the cliff and let life begin anew.
I concur in every detail and sentiment.
while I agree with most of what you say Pants, my perspective differs slightly. . . when you say
I believe the military is "there" perpetually, they are in the long list of places, some in a war context, because the MIC is HUGE, and has to be some-where, keeping everyone in their jobs, occupied (in all definitions of that word). . . the amount of money, oil, resources the military consumes is enormous, and plenty of corporations benefit; therefore, it is maintained.
one of the most important things we can all do is unwind the fairy tale of "heroic warrior protecting the beloved nation" - this is such outdated bullshit, and overlooking the fact the military is VOLUNTARY, even with all the information available about why someone should not sign up to kill & be killed, amounts to co-dependant behaviour. . . it's one of the reasons I often refer to the results of depleted uranium used in the ME and elsewhere, hoping that someone will pay attention, share, stop someone else from enlisting, or even seek attention if they are feeling the effects in their own body.
enough with the flag waving of a military that is invasive, and truly in the service of the parasitic elites that people here are calling out.
(the bit about apologising, ah, if only. . .)
War might be a "healthy" outlet for the psychopaths among us.
Some may be attracted by the idea of "honor" or "saving your country" but I have to believe the majority of enlisted are anti-social aggressives, who like the idea of doing battle, like the "high" it gives them to torture and destroy, like their counterparts in Name-The-Enemy-troops.
Our psychopathic leaders understand this and will always organize and pay those people who would kill willingly in order to achieve their goals of domination.
I disagree completely. I hope it takes forever, a long, hard grind downward.
Why?
Because I am the man in the middle. I am smarter than those below me and not important enough to matter to those above me. I can fuck with both sides of the equation.
Take ebay for instance. I sell a lot of the same collectibles over and over. There's a huge supply and constant demand. Rich and poor appreciate what I sell, and I am happy selling to the poor folks for $4-8 per sale, but every now and then along comes some rich guy who doesn't mind paying $25 for the exact same thing. I buy from people going broke and practically begging me to take their collections for a song, and sell at extraordinary mark-ups. And the rich guys usually buy in bunches, 4 or 5 at a time at big money.
It's all around us. Middle class people have to understand how to work the middle against both sides. It's not easy, but it isn't that hard either. Hope this lasts a long time. I'll be one of the people other peope want to shoot because I'll be rich. But I'll also be long gone by then, too.
Singapore, probably.
I'll see you on the streets, armored with a few lbs of body armor and enough weaponry to keep the friendlies safe while they cause the havoc.
People care. People care more than you would think.
The problem is that they feel completely powerless because not only are their choices in elected officials limited by the criminals and the laws, just as Mubarek limited candidates in Egypt (money controls electrions and the criminal bankers control money) ... but the bankers and their pet government and MSM are waging a war of terror on the American people, driving them apart and frightened into the corners.
... and people who would make a difference are smeared, slandered or killed.
People want to fight, but they are frightened and kept weak and polarized through financial means. The enslavement of the US people is complete.
one needn't take on the whole system to "fight" back - remember the old 60's meme "drop out"?
turn your back on it, for now at least, and work towards being more self-sufficient, beginning with your mind. . . fuck what "the US people" as a mass do, change your own perspective, see what happens.
fuck what "the US people" as a mass do, change your own perspective, see what happens.
Yes.
The DOW being up 178 points today is a great example of Wall Street greed. This is not little people with their 401 K's trading this market.
This is those greedy bastards running software to make millions with free money from the FED. Take it up 200 points, knock it down with shorts. I am amazed how stupid people are, their life savings are riding this fake market. How can anyone want to own stocks trading at 20 times price to earnings?? How the fuck does that make sense?It is all fake money!!! A stock should be based only on book value of assets, not some pie in the sky number. The whole premise is a joke.Capitalism has failed
`CAPITALISM` has been bastardised and hijacked. Under capitalism the thieves would have been allowed to go bust in 2008.
Have you been to Vegas lately? Most of the table games are set up so you lose your money in about 1 hour. Next sucker please.
As a study of human nature and intelligence, Vegas is an infinitely depressing place.
We will stop Wall Street fraudsters by suing them into liquidation of all of their assets!
Fat cats are not off the hook, not by a long shot.
The industry itself had contributed over $10 BILLION over the last decade on "contributions" to both parties, as to continuously disband and repeal all meaningfull and structurally important regulation. Conspiracy to commit fraud, strict liability for failed financial products and instruments, wire fraud and obstruction of justice, RICO - all come to mind. At http://www.WallStreetClassAction.com we organize a class action against the banks, the ratings agencies and other financial institutions involved in staging the colossal securitization fraud and subsequently crashing the economy and resulting in over $5 Trillion in asset losses in the US alone. We realize that our own government is effectively a captured entity, so no criminal indictments will be forthcoming. But WE THE PEOPLE will hold the fraudsters accountable. Sign up on our site, we already have more than 3,000 users within last 2 days. UNITED WE STAND www.WallStreetClassAction.com
I believe that in America, just as good working class people can no longer afford to have one job, take care of a family, own a house, send their children to college and afford a retirement at age 65; politicians can no longer be elected and afford the life of a politician without becomes slaves to debt (financial and power).
It is a sad state of affairs and clear proof that the system is completely broken. For the most aprt, only criminals and the ethically void can succees... or those connected and protected by the criminals.
good luck with that, about 15-50 yrs until a jury gets seated.
They own the judges.
re: "extensive conflicts of interest" -- there will be even more post-revolution. And this is the problem with all revolutions: Just who will be the new boss? The right wing nutcases will want a "Christian" (their flavor) republic; the anarchists will want no government; the libertatians will want minimal government; etc. Where it all stops, nobody knows.
"La Revolucion is like a great love affair. In the beginning, she is a goddess. A holy cause. But... every love affair has a terrible enemy: time. We see her as she is. La Revolucion is not a goddess but a whore. She was never pure, never saintly, never perfect."
-Jack Palance, as 'Jesus Raza', in, 'The Professionals' (1966)
awesome quote from a great semi-lost classic man.
A revolution will only come if the POTUS flips the internet kill switch...other than that the popudumbation is clueless.
"That the bankrupt US is living on borrowed time between various can kicking episodes is by now not news to anyone."
This is an ongoing discussion item for my brother and me. Are we living on borrowed time, just kicking the SHTF can down the road? I don't know about that. Is it not possible that ZH readers are largely alarmists whose obsessive postings on ZH lead to more alarmism? Are ZH readers merely a bunch of Chicken Littles waiting for the sky to fall while millions of non-ZH types are making billions of dollars by investing in markets that are sound and will be sound for hundreds of years?
Moreover, even if we are merely kicking the can down the road, and we one day face TEOTWAWKI, what makes us think that this is NOT news to alot of people? I think it would be news to the vast majority of people--people who go to work each day, come home and take care of their families, read KIPLINGER's and follow MORNINGSTAR online, and invest in the U.S. stock markets routinely in their IRAs or 401Ks. It would also be news to KIPLINGER'S, MORNINGSTAR, MONEY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, and so forth.
I have asked this question of my brother many times, and have asked it on ZH before--why do we think that 300,000,000 Americans are blind or wrong in their thinking about the financial future of Americans? Are we few million so much more brilliant than those 300,000,000?
Perhaps we're just Blessed by teh Gods.
Go long on Wendigo Meats, LLC.
And what makes you think the 300mil are right - is it just their numbers?
Argumentum ad populum -- invalid, of course.
I don't have any idea if the 300M or the 8M are right. I have been hedging by throwing money at gold and silver while keeping more of it in a home/mortgage and savings account. When I read ZH, SHTFPlan, and other such sites, I lean towards buying nothing but physical PMs. When I read mainstream media, I think all ZH and SHTFPlan readers are nuts, myself included! Who know! I sure don't. But if you do, and you see the really big, no-kidding, SHTF event coming, please let me know so I can get the hell out of Dodge with my food, fuel, water, guns, ammo, wife, and kids.
It does not matter if 300.000.000 are wrong. we need one person right who runs the country.
I think that people just desperately want things to be like they were before, but most of the prosperity of the last couple decades has been built on asset bubbles. It's not sustainable.
Sadly, I don't know that so many people are truly ignorant that something is amiss, they ust don't want to know. I think that a majority of Americans would happily accept a dictator if the alternative was a lowering of living standards. In many ways this is what Americans have accepted over the last ten years (eg. The USA Patriot Act, massive bailouts for banks, more and more government intrusion into privacy.).
Living standards: America's blessing, and its doom. There is no chance that the US middle class can continue to live like it has since WWII. Even if the world's natural resources were infinite, we now live in a world with real economic competitors. Think about it: this is the first time since WWII that this has been true. But it's worse: we now have competitors, AND the world's resources are finite. And noone is cutting back. We are all accelerating toward the cliff. Your appetite for entertainment will soon be gratified.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcW_Ygs6hm0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Q-sRdV7SY&feature=related
"Are we few million so much more brilliant than those 300,000,000?"
Brilliant? No.
I just pay attention to MATH.
MATH is going to kick Wall Street, DC, and Bernanke ass.
Good question. I think history provides plenty of examples where fiat money led to the downfall of an empire. I'm certain citizens of those empires were focused on their day to day tasks as well...perhaps even focused on the glory days of years gone by.
That said, there is no way to guarantee ZH posters know more than the masses or are even privileged to any form of secret knowledge. In simple terms, perhaps you're right - ZH is a form of group think. But its a form of group think with sound theoretical backing....plus a few thousand years of history on its side.
There will always be comfort and strength in groups. But as another poster alluded to yesterday (I think it was akak), there exists a strong contrarian theme in some people. Not everyone is content to run with the herd. Here, ironically, contrarians find community. Maybe what it comes down to is, would you rather assimilate or be morally/philosophically correct? Not that those conditions are mutually exclusive, but I think it takes courage to run against the crowd and take a stand for what is morally/philosophically correct. The same cannot be said for assimilation.
For me, it's simple. No one can consume more than they produce for an extended period of time. Fiat currencies are based on lies. Debt is slavery. Arguing against any of the above would be like arguing against gravity. It is only a matter of time.
(I'm not sure I answered your question. My apologies....kind of thinking out loud here)
Nicely said, PMP.
To address the original poster's question --- why are one or two million right, and over 300 million wrong? --- I can only relate that the more I study history, the more I realize that in fact the majority is not just sometimes wrong, but is frequently wrong. And not just wrong, but spineless and unwilling to challenge evil even when they recognize it. "Can't rock the boat", "Don't want to endanger my job", "Wouldn't want my (friends, neighbors, fellow churchgoers, coworkers, etc. etc.) to think I'm a nut." Was the majority right who for centuries in Europe "knew" that witches existed and had to burned? Was the overwhelming majority right who "knew" that kings, no matter how corrupt or depraved, were ordained by God to rule over them? Was the huge majority of Americans in 2003 who "knew" that Saddam Hussein was a threat and that the USA was justified in invading Iraq, at the cost of over a million lives, correct now in hindsight, or just easily mislead sheep?
Right and wrong are never determined by majority vote, but if such a vote were ever taken, particularly in a situation of inflamed political passions, I would probably instinctively side with the losing vote.
PS: Thanks for the attribution to my post from yesterday.
You're welcome - it's uplifting to see other people of similar mindset....makes me re-think my own insanity! Ha.
You're right.
I suggest people read some Socrates. He's got some answers for you, which is vindicated by history.
Well stated.
There are 230,000,000 hits on 3:40 min clip of Justen Berbar and 231 hits on Max Keiser. this is where the economy will go.
RE: Watauga;
The short answer to your question is that - denial is a powerful thing. So are conditioning and belief.
We have been conditioned to believe in our Constitutional Government and its institutions. The idea that American government and its institutions have stopped serving the needs of American citizens, is an alien concept. At a primal level it does not resonate with the majority. Politics, religion, patriotism and our concept of self as Americans will not allow us to think differently. This is not merely apathy, it is the fight within ourselves that something is indeed wrong and it requires change. That simple admission is a bitter pill to swallow. Why do we not understand that most people do not want to swallow such a bitter pill?
Are we few million so much more brilliant than those 300,000,000?
More like we few 300,000. And, yes.
Thank you, Michael Moore...
On another note, allow me to point out that the last thing we want is a revolution. If it ever happened here, there is no telling how many people would die. It could run into the hundreds of thousands, or even millions. Likely the latter. And, after years of turmoil and death and destruction, most Americans would be begging for a tyranny just to have some order in life. There is NO doubt that the result of revolution here would be decades of tyranny (and that after burying our dead). Even that most "enlightened" soul John Lennon screamed that if you were talking about revolution, you could count him out.
Your nation was founded on a revolution. Then later nearly torn apart by a civil war. The difference is that the revolutionaries of that era were products of the enlightenment, and believed in philosophy. I don't know that people like that even exist today.
If for some reason frequent riots make the big democrat cities uninhabitable for decent working people, we can continue to vote with our feet and leave. Those socialist losers can have their imploding blue state cities and angry underclass.
The American Revolution was a picnic compared to what we experience in terms of real revolution in 2011. Thousands died in that revolution. Moreover, it really was a colonial war more than a revolution in that the British were attempting to subdue colonies in an uprising from 4000 miles away and at a time when she was much more committed to the preservation of her Continental power. Lincoln's War versus the C.S.A. was only a taste of what we would experience in present day America. 600,000 died in that war, horrible as it was. But with modern weaponry, the Balkanization of our population, the likelihood of military personnel choosing sides, all would culminate in catastrophic results. Millions would die. Maybe tens of millions. And if anyone in the fight decided to use nukes, look out. It would be a free-for-all, with what was left of the U.S. government and its loyal military and police forces fighting on a dozen fronts against millions of people, all led by disloyal military types. All would have the most lethal of modern weapons. I cannot imagine anyone thinking revolution would be a good thing. You have to go way, way beyond the romantic notion of the American Revolution. You have to look at the scale of war, murder, chaos, the breakdown of law, and the consequent tyranny of events such as the French Revolution (only on a much more massive and horrific scale), the Russian Revolution (through the tyranny of the Soviet Union), the Chinese Communist Revolution (through the tyranny suffered in China to this day), and even the period of 1919-1945 in Germany. And none of those terrors were conducted with anything even close to modern weaponry. Those revolutions, together, costs well over 100,000,000 lives. If a truly violent revolution occurs in America, millions, or even tens of millions of lives, lost would be a sobering reminder of how foolish was your wish for revolution.
"...the breakdown of law, and the consequent tyranny..."
Hello, where have you been? America is no longer a country "under law." It is a fascist plutarchy owned and operated by and for the benefit of the Wall Street fueled International cabal of banksters and other corporate racketeers who have thoroughly bribed/corrupted our political system and society through their monied control of elections and the media.
So long as these sociopath crims are permitted/enabled to lie cheat and steal trillions with impunity, they will continue to do so precipitating popular demand for their heads-- and whatever it takes to bring that about.
John was right.
I enjoy reading Paul Farrel. He is a populist on steroids. Even though he writes for MSM, he puts majority of the bloggers to shame.
Save a cow,eat a "Fat Fucking Bankster".
Ps .Remove Gold coins from pockets to aid digestion.
Bankster-in-my-feces
Denninger says THORIUM will save us. LOL. I'm headed to the university to become an unemployed physicist.
Liesman says Hopium will save us.
Nope. Both wrong. Only Unobtainium will save us now. We need to get into outer space and steal everyone's shit on other planets. They won't mind as long as we give them blue jeans and lite beer.
Cobalt Thorium G is even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yfXgu37iyI&feature=player_embedded
To para-phrase Wael Ghonim the google exec who was instrumental in the egyption uprising:
The only thing stopping a revolution is fear, once the people move past that there is nothing left in the way.
that dovetails well with the "Story of Your Enslavement" vid that's been linked to in comments before
highly recommended.
# 5 The white Indo-European race will be 5% of those 10 billion mouths to feed.
and in charge of the majority of the food production to do it.
I don't need Cognitive Dissonance to write 50 page article's on world philosophy to know that the only thing that matters is:
"WHOSE GOT RESERVE CURRENCY STATUS?"
CHINA!!!
Something to keep in mind: the PTB are not your ordinary parasites. The Anglo-American empire will collapse, but the elite running it will not be destroyed in the collapse. they have planned the collapse, are prepared for it, and are prepared to move into the new host post-collapse: i.e. the world, through a new world government. Don't ever foolishly conflate the United States with the people who rule it. They have no national loyalty, and no desire to go down with the ship that they themselves shot out of the water. So, they won't. China, Russia, India, and any other potential rivals to the U.S. are not going to 'take advantage' of the collapse of the Anglo-American empire, they are merely playing their role. The U.N. and the other international organizations have been predicting (i.e. planning/hoping for) a 'multi-polar world' for two decades. It's coming, and it won't mean a change in the balance of power. The nations will have new roles, but the same people will rule that new system as they do the current one.
One of the best posts today John.
One disadvantage most people have is that tend to think in terms of Nations, as you correctly said, "They have NO national Loyalty". and "Don't ever foolishly conflate the United States with the people who rule it."
Great post.
BUT, They CAN'T DO A DAMN THING ABOUT PEAK OIL. It's Geology baby.
If it wasn't for Peak Oil(and the follow ons like Food, water etc) they would indeed keep it going with another Host for a long time yet.
TPTB post-collapse planning session:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iesXUFOlWC0&feature=related
With NEW rules, and Regs, No Constitution(like the old), and if you think your serfs now?.Wait.
They are not building these evac camps, re-ed centers, to house millions for no reason.
Bank it.
Now you're talking.
Hamp-a Damp-a Doo..
This is what the resplendent, all-knowing administration conjures up (HAMP) as a reaction to the self-realizing Bankenfreude perpetrated on investors and the public. It is a sham. It looked like a sham, steamed like a sham and smelled like a sham...glad I didn't step in it. Excellent article on it:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/261152/time-kill-hamp-kevin-d-williamson
Set up by the resplendent administration primarily so the banks could gain documentation to foreclose (they don't have investor authority to modify, see "trial" HAMPs), get fees and continue to the blitzkrieg.
Freedom and Justice, Resplendent American Government style.
The solution is simple: You simply have to take the Art of Killing to a new level...that is the victims won't even know they have been whacked. Thats why all this nuclear shit is a big waste of time. Its too visible and nasty in an age of cameras all over the place. Will do wonders to get that SS scheme back to where most people croak well before 65.
I have already suggested a solution here on ZH : collective suicide of all Boomers, cause of the doomsday financials/war machine/unlimited entitlements model. It will clear the tables of all principal usual culprits, including true ones, in one fell swoop. I suggest that this be globally programmed for april fool's day of april 1, 2012. What say you? I'm ready to jump as a member of this club, who had it all and lost it like the true decadent romans that we are.
I suggest that our storm trooper WB7 organize a rallying campaign to take our breath away and give us the galvanizing electro shock, the open throttle adrenaline shot, into our deadened, saddened hearts to launch us in our common project like members of Apollo 13 on hydrogen propelled blast-off into Uber alles.
You first, douche bag.
Paul Farrell is a fucking idiot. Bob Farrell is the guy you need to be listening to.
PF is a low candlepower, left-wing ideologue masquerading as a financial analyst. He should be writing for The Nation.
But that doesn't make him a bad person.
Well, I will just say this. We have so many social connects today through FB, Twitter, etc...that we have no excuse as Americans to sit back and keep letting it happen. We need to spread the word, just like they did in Libya, Egypt, etc... and organize some serious protests with millions large on Wall St. and on Capital Hill. Millions willing to stand up for a cause greater than themselves, for their children. The way to blow up Wall Street is to have 2 million+ people line the streets outside the stock excahnges and start taking it down ourselves, along with these crooked bankers. How do you get rid of corrupt politicans? Line the streets of D.C. millions strong and tell them to get out, and if they refuse like Ghaddafi, then we go in and personally remove them. Yes, its that simple. But, the people have to be organized and it doesn't take violence to do it. Unless, that is the road they(government and bankers) want to take. They are so greedy and arrogant, it will probably come to that. If so, then so be it. Our forefathers did not win this country's freedom by being afraid to act.
I have seen people talk and talk about this since the bank bailouts, and yet here we are two years later unorganized and still talking. I don't consider myself a leader to take charge of a movement like this, but I know there are people out there who are leaders of this sort for the people, and I give my word right here that I would be there when the dates are set to begin the mission.
What say ye?
>We need to spread the word, just like they did in Libya, Egypt, etc... and organize some serious protests with millions large on Wall St. and on Capital Hill. Millions willing to stand up for a cause greater than themselves, for their children. The way to blow up Wall Street is to have 2 million+ people line the streets outside the stock excahnges
Why bother? You face countless legions of ignorant voters content with the status quo.
Most people are too damn busy choosing sides in the false left-right paradigm to think a bit about what has been done and who is to blame.
Publik "education" brainwashing has worked well.
And besides, who can afford the gas to get to DC or NYC these days? ;)
here's a good place to start:
http://ampedstatus.org/network/about/
do you think they are not monitoring these kinds of groups?
A Modest Proposal
The collapse of the nation started with the demonizing of cigarette smoking. If we still smoked cigarettes at the rate we did up through the 1950s, life expectancy would be sufficiently short so that our demographically-caused financial problems would not exist. I recommend that the government start mandating cigarette smoking, beginning at age 12. Hand them out on the street corners. Most people would be dead long before age 60. There would be some increase in healthcare costs for early cancer victims, but these would be more than offset by the savings from having to support unproductive people long into their dotage.
Not only that, but once all the cancers and tumors were trimmed away, the pre-60 deceased would still be relatively young enough for their freshly-dead corpses to provide an additional and highly nutritious source of protein. This efficient recycling of the dead would give a whole new meaning to the phrase "meat wagon" as well.
Really, it's win-win.
Excellent, I can hire a few hands and start raising Tobacco again.
Somebody once said that America was a lot better place when cigarette companies could advertise on Tv, and lawyers couldn't. Hm.
My generation is only focused on making as much money as our parents and not at all with helping the world; with this mentality it will only get worse. What is needed is an overhaul of the education system to put more focus on growth and new ideas, rather than capitalizing on the old ideas of the 20th century.
May not agree to sum it up in those 4 points, but at least someone else is starting to talk about it.
Imbalances are the core foundation to this and the manipulative rhetoric to paint a false reality capitulates it, and lastly the avenues for debate and effective change are closing and have been sold out.
The time for peaceful revolution is now, the time for a violent one is on the horizon.
Paul Farrell has been talking about it for a long time. You should follow his column for more of the same. He has a popular forum as well since he writes for MarketWatch.
Why steal less when you can steal more, right Ben?
Why steal less when you can steal more, right Ben?
I dont want Democracy - this is what democracy gave us - I want the Republic back! This guy's an idiot
"The rich just don’t care. "
this is so true with many of them being psychopaths....
their triumph will be short lived....the last shall be first and the first shall be last...let them enjoy their few days of luxury...
If you look at resource distribution, we here in america are in pretty good shape. India, China, Pakistan, and the middle east are going to be crowded, polluted, dry, hungry shit holes.
The population bomb is the biggest, and we will have to stop immigration at some point in the future to avoid the same fate.
20 years ago would have been a good time for that.
WELCOME TO THE PARTY PAL!
Where is John Galt?
I think he got run over by a train.
The way to handle it is with mass arrests. Take 30,000 Wall Streeters, lobbyists, influence peddlers, parasites and politicians and throw them in prison. Now they cannot pay their way our of the country or lobby. Next, start sorting things out and filing charges. Third, break up the banks into fifty pieces and hand them over to the states. Fourth, put every single one of the accused on trial in front of a middle class jury of honest citizens. No plea bargains.
After all this, the U.S. can go back to being the country it was.
Ok, Robespierre. Have fun with that. When the next wave comes calling for you, don't ask for any sort of reason or facts or evidence. Just go peacefully to the guillotine.
Yeah, that was a bit scary, eh? He was just reacting with his gut and that's ok. I would like to see at least one high-profile banker be indicted with the Sarb-Ox laws already on the books. This looting is not going to stop otherwise.
Ain't gonna stop. They're fukking junkies.
Thats hilarious. How can you really expect something so tremendous to be undertaken by this country at this point? Are there even enough people who care about this country to do that? Not a chance in hell.
The traditional bombing of Gold the day before the Jobs report is due.
This is really all about the ~$175+ trillion dollars of derivatives by our big banks (I mean the Federal Reserve)
-
http://thehardrightedge.com/budget/
$175 trillion? Well then, I recommend holding onto your house if you have one, shit's going sky high.
While these are all possible factors, here's another one.
Tony Benn once said, what's the best way to control a population? Keep them poor and ill-informed. Many are fighting to survive and feel that they don't have time to study the facts and follow what's really going on.
Another part of the problem is the overlapping of progressive news sources. Forget Huff Post as a progressive source. One, they merged with AOL. Two, even before that a large part of their content is tabloid stuff. How is Charlie Sheen's sex life "progressive news"? If they only had real progressive content, the merger never would have happened. So is Arianna Huffington a sellout? In one sense, yes she is.
The MSM won't listen to progressives. Which means there's more pressure on everyone to be heard. There's only so much time in the broadcast day and space online or in print. Did you know that now there are progressive media buy agencies to help get messages out? What does that tell you?
Find the most accurate information you can. Then, if others won't listen to you, start your own network. Hopefully, the system will somehow balance itself out.
"poor, ill-informed" and on numerous SSRI's, and other meds to slow the thought processes. . . some people have already given up, given in, surrendered.
and yes, I realise some folk need meds to "live" - but if you look at this subject honestly, you'll realise just how embedded the pharma is in the average amrkn. . . mind.
"on numerous SSRI's, and other meds to "
my work and income depend on the sale of legal drugs, but like much of American life a calling to aid the sick has become vampiric and to use an old term: evil.
Of all the elephants in the room we ignore the over medication of our people is a major one.
Opiates & pain meds, antipsychotics, anti depressants, anti anxiety,ADHD (speed)..make up over 60% of drug use..the number of people willing to take mind altering prescriptions is in the millions here in USA. add the illegal mind numbing recreational drugs the numbers skyrocket.
this massive Medication abuse has added to the bread and circus ploy to turn our people into complacent drug zombies..
G_D help us. The elites have poisoned all who are ignorant enough to blindly take these drugs of "control"..
America get strait living in drugged mind numb world is aiding the elites in the take over of our people.
This is hilarious...Watch the video 'Chairman Ben Bernanke - National Recovery Hero!' at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr86PkjTrPQ).
Laughed so hard I cried. Thanks. I needed that.
Hint... watch the entire video.
Fall of Rome part deux.... we are repeating the same mistakes ... corruption ... compliancy.. greed ... at least I got my gold dracmas.... I pitty the fools who own paper gold!
There is no hyper-inflation cuming... (Remember what I told you?)
There is a DEFLATIONARY DEEEEEPREEESION, cuming!
This is 1930s print, guyz.
THIS IS THE DEPTHS OF HELL TO WITCH HE HAVE DESCENDED!
There are 6,000 nuclear weapons and NOTHNG ELSE! (THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!).
What do you think you are entititled to?
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! GOING LONG?!
--
No, I wasn't out of my mind. The index has doubled!
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/
Funny how in the same article claiming middle class wages have stagnated, he mentions a popular device that makes the PADD from Star Trek look ancient. The only way you can claim middle class wages haven't gone up is by ignoring how much cheaper and more diverse today's food and clothes are, and how much better and cheaper today's cars, computers, TVs, and radios are (which is exactly what government statistics do). I actually went ahead and put together a little spreadsheet comparing the price in labor-hours (for both minimum and average wage) of goods in 1970 versus 2004 (it takes a few years for stats to come out).
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlOLF1NyEvCudGYwdVhKeHhDakNzcG1SeDdqNS1MVXc&hl=en&authkey=CI2v-M0L#gid=0
Note how most things are cheaper, meaning real wages had gone up in terms of those things. Housing was more expensive in 2004 than 1970 because the bubble hadn't popped yet. The Mustang is a bit more expensive, but given that a 2004 Mustang will last about twice as long as a 1970, it more than compensates.
Those things are cheaper because productivity / efficiency increases outpaced inflation.
How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a lie' people claim they want to be free ' everybody insists that freedom is what they want the most, the most sacred and precious thing a man can possess. But that's bullshit! People are terrified to be set free - they hold on to their chains. They fight anyone who tries to break those chains. It's their security…How can they expect me or anyone else to set them free if they don't really want to be free?
- Jim Morrison
should be a massive rest coming...gonna be brutal.
"their campaign billions buy senate votes, stop regulators’ actions, manipulate presidential decisions. Wall Street money controls voters, runs America, both parties."
That is primarily a government problem - not a bank problem. If the government was not so easily swayed, banks would not be able to direct government actions. We have the power to replace elected officials who are corruptible. Having the government entangle banks in more regulation does not stop the problem.
Not a banker......
May I suggest we get off the negative feedback loop and take a positive attitude like Catherine Austin Fitts. Focus on building a new system. Pick out garden seeds or develop a new skill. Seek out those you aspire to be like and backburner (without anger) those who are not presently getting it. I have found that sometimes in life those who used to not get it can leapfrog over me and become truly inspirational. Let them have their path.
absolutely!
true leaders lead by example, followers happen by observing the changes in others around them, naturally.
I'll say it again......"but it was all fine and dandy when credit was expanding wasn't it and the little man had food in his belly". No one cared! In fact not only didn't they care but they idolized guys like Gates and Buffet for years. It wasn't good enough to become a millionaire...no sir a Billionarie was the real wealthy mans way. This all lead to higher borrowing and higher risk taking. There is this pervading thought that the poor working class guy was set up? Really? I didn't see anyone holding a gun to his head to buy over priced real estate. I didn't see anyone forcing him by law to buy over priced stocks. Or any other decision that caused him to lose his money. The rich don't look at high yields in the short run....(neither does Buffet by the way). They invest over a period of time but they are the ultimate value buyers. Greedy bankers were supported by a greedy society in a bull market. Nothing more. However the end result is a collapse unless REAL wealth is created. Real wealth hasn't been created in North America in quite some time through no fault other than our own.
re: "I didn't see anyone holding a gun to his head to buy over priced real estate. I didn't see anyone forcing him by law to buy over priced stocks..."
No, no one was "forced" -- they were swindled. That's how con men work.
They weren't swindled they were affluent, and making hay.
It's called confident, and greedy in a lot of cases.
While the 2 worker families were making $300k a year, all was rosy, and a few bought to roll n dump, for even a bigger Housus.
BUT, it backfired......when those pink slips came in.
Never underestimate the replacement power of equities within an inflationary spiral.....repeat, repeat, repeat.
Long live the Barnank. Long live Wall Street. Long live Zimbabwe.
Hm,...might as well rack up those credit cards, live it up, fuck the banks and gov and don't give a fuck.
The SHEEPLE are waking up..............
I went into a local Stock Broker( Nationwide Chain), to open an account today.
The young lady was very hip,and up on the goings on.
She said they were not really busy anymore, as all their clients were cashing out and moving into Gold and Silver.
She said she understood, and she got MANY calls a day from people asking her if they sold PM's.
The area I live is (county wise) #2 in the state last year as far as growth, and the people who live within a 30 mile sq area make very good money.
Very Tech Savvy area.
Since these well off folks are closing down equity accounts, I figure it wont be long before whats left of the Middle class starts entering the fray also.
Which means:
2011: Gold $2150; silver $55
2012: Gold $3000; silver $100
2013: Gold $5000; silver ?? Holy shit, Batman, a 16-1 ratio is normal?
Come on folks; be realistic.
The people in the UK are going to do nothing. The reason is that they are more worried about watching the soaps on TV and as long as they believe that their neighbours are just as badly off and able to do as little with their income as they; then they are content.
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