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Guest Post: The Rats Are Cornered
From Mike Krieger, former macro analyst of Bernstein Research, and currently of KAM LP
The Rats Are Cornered
Be the change you want to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Back from the Road
I have just come back from a 40 day road trip across the United States of America. It was without a doubt the single best experience of my life on every level imaginable. I recognize how hard such a trip is for most people given individual circumstances but at some point in life if possible I would highly recommend doing something similar. It was a total game changer for me.
I started Memorial Day weekend and went from NYC to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania then on to Alexandria, Virginia; Bedford, Virginia; Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; Clarksdale, Mississippi; Shreveport, Louisiana (not recommended unless you live on the East Texas border and have a gambling problem); Dallas, Texas; Sweetwater, Texas; Alamogordo, New Mexico (White Sands); Santa Fe, New Mexico; The Grand Canyon; Sedona, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Mt. Zion National Park, Utah (where my brother got married); Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; Jackson, Wyoming (Grand Teton National Park); Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; Bozeman, Montana; Mt. Rushmore/The Badlands, South Dakota; Omaha, Nebraska (home of the sellout and recent propaganda mouthpiece Warren Buffett); Indianapolis, Indiana; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Montauk, New York.
For a kid that grew up in Manhattan this was almost too much to handle, but in a profoundly positive way. The communion with nature, the amazing conversations with random people in far off places about the things I write about in these emails and the new friends I made. To the new people on this list that I met along the way, thanks for being a very important part of this trip which will forever hold a powerful grip on me. Now onto the other stuff…
The Rats are Cornered
This email will be pretty brief as I am still getting used to getting back to the fake world. Although I did work a little every day and kept up with the major news both financial and otherwise I am certainly behind on the details. This is how I would summarize what has gone on and where we are headed. The stimulus and gimmicks initiated by a desperate political class prodded on by our Keynesian witch-doctors Summers and Geithner ran their course and at the end of that road was a massive pile of debt, chronic unemployment, a populace that doesn’t believe or trust anything the government says or does and a housing market set to resume its downward spiral. So basically the forces of deflation have taken over once again. Banana Ben Bernanke knows it and he knows what he wants to do about it. He wants to print so much money it would make your head spin. He wants to drop nuclear bombs of QE2 all over this great land. That is his answer to everything. The man is 100% insane according to Einstein’s definition. I quote: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
There is a major problem however. Bernanke knows how unpopular he and his fascist institution are right now after all of the crimes they have committed in plain view since 2008. As such, he knows he needs cover for QE2 and that means some sort of deflationary shock that scares the masses and makes many clamor for help like sad, scared little children (we are being conditioned like animals). This is why I think the Fed and others have been fine with the recent market plunge. The only issue for them is they absolutely need gold, silver and other commodities to collapse as well. Bernanke cannot have the S&P500 at 850 and gold at 1,200 and announce QE2. Gold would surge to new highs and it would look horrible. This is why so much emphasis is being placed on getting gold and silver to retreat in a major way via propaganda pieces and also likely surreptitious selling behind the scenes. While there has been a decent pullback, it is nothing close to what they need and I am particularly impressed with how well silver is hanging in. I think this is due to a run on physical silver by investors and the dearth of government or central bank stockpiles to sell in the shadows.
This is what I mean by the rats being cornered. So far they have failed in decimating the precious metals markets and if they can’t do that in a deflationary scare then they are in huge trouble. Of course they will never stop trying because they are addicted to power and control and will do almost anything to protect their positions. I think a key thing to think about now that we must accept that they are in a corner is what is the next move on the chess board. I read this from Jesse’s Café yesterday (http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/07/currency-wars-selling-them-rope.html)
What is disconcerting to me, and you can see it to some extent in Rickards own work, is that the Wall Street financiers clearly have their eyes on the Pentagon budget: opaque, patriotically defensible, and huge. A currency war, with the Wall Street crowd providing tactics and weaponry and mercenaries to both the US and to its adversaries, might make the bonuses taken from the mortgage bubble look like pocket change by comparison. It’s an old idea really, the basis of some legendary fortunes, adapted to the modern world. It produces nothing but misery, while transferring wealth from the many to the few.
Ok, so this fits into a lot of what I have been warning about for some time now. Namely that once they lose control they will go to the next plan which is pure desperation. They will single out the two greatest threats to their power and I think those two things are: 1) Gold and Silver (independent money) 2) The Internet (free speech). If they can’t control the population with inane television and propaganda they will demonize these major threats. This will probably be sold to public in the name of national security since who could argue with that (if you do argue you will be labeled unpatriotic or a terrorist). So expect more and more announcements of Russian and Chinese cyber attacks or the like, which will be used as an attempt to censor the web and there will also be more and more news stories related to gold and silver being used by terrorists or those that wish to harm “America” (which is not the Republic but a small group of corporate, financial and political elites from both owned parties that have control via the monetary system). This group will then use “national security concerns” as a further justification to grab even more power and wield it in the name of protecting us from whatever threat they wish to use, real or fabricated.
What can we Do?
For those that care about real freedom, genuine progressive reforms and this Republic in general there are all sorts of things you can do and they are being done all over the place. I actually think this group will fail miserably and ultimately be brought to justice. I simply think too many smart people have woken up to the scam and the entire system will implode on itself. So as I have written before the key is NOT to be consumed by fear but rather to take action. Get your finances in order with gold and silver and other real assets but also get mentally and emotionally prepared. This is because if you are not in a position to help your neighbors then you are no good to anyone. This will not be about hunkering down in a bunker and emerging rich once the dust settles. It is about staying intact financially and emotionally so that you can help rebuild a better nation when the current world paradigm comes to an end which should happen swiftly within the next 1-2 years. Most importantly do not look for leaders to save anything or anyone. It not about looking outside it’s about looking inside as Gandhi said. If we become the change we want to see in the world the world will change. Messianic leaders are a myth and meant to control you and stop you from personal action and independent thought. Thinking a new leader will change the world just gives you an excuse to be lazy.
Let’s do this,
Mike
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Roger,
Yes, even LONG time Expats are having their accounts closed.
BUT, more and more folks (Companies) are moving overseas(leaving the US), and this will stop some of that........
But, it's them MOVING that's paramount...........it's part of the Agenda.
An excellent commentary that includes excellent advice.
While I concur with almost everything you've said, I think there are many of these "Rats" who will fall off the radar screen, and be able to evade their eventual "date with destiny" until the end of their life.
Your commentary should be "required reading" for the masses!
"An excellent commentary that includes excellent advice."
Agreed.
BTW, has anyone else noticed 2 relatively recent changes here on ZH?
1) That Tyler is finally moving away from strictly publishing economic "truth" articles and towards social/polictical commentary?
2) That this immediately brings out a special set of trolls?
Didn't know if i'd been on here long enough to notice the change in articles, but yeah.
I'm convinced that 75% of the trolls are paid.. In one form or another.. F'n traitors..
I don't know any well-read person that thinks things are good or getting better unless they are simply being disingenuous..
No production = No Jobs = No money = bad economy. It's pretty simple.. even for a dumb engineer like me..
With 20% of the worforce unemployed, that leaves 80% with jobs. With income. Which they spend. And save. And buy things. And take vacations. And work at pursuing happiness.
How are the 20% going to get the 80% to revolt? Morph maybe. Probably. Resetting to how we used to be before the baby boomers and excess credit created such an abnormal demand on the supply side. The supply side must and will shrink to a lower level of demand. And life will go on.
CD,
bingo. the trolling must be the grand results of some TARP/stimulus deal, or soros payroll-ees types getting scared
their behavior/tools are pretty obvious:
- call names
- skip the concept/idea entirely
- offer no interesting counter dialogue
- call names again
lather, rinse, repeat.
noise...
keep ignoring them and contributing reason. truth wins 1000 to 1 for those really have the balls to seek it out.
cheers to you sir.
Its astro-turfing. It happened to every other econ blog all through the summer of 2008 as soon as a post had the word McCain, Palin or Obama in it. Then in November..*poof* all the "long time readers first time posters" vanished and it was back to regulars.
CD,
Yes, and he's almost obligated to have done it, they are all intertwined.
And to change socio/political,one must change fiscal / financial FIRST,with the sheeple it's mandatory.
Ends, justifies the means..back to what I am doing w/my left hand, while cutting your jugular w/my right..........
The PTB, are using Hegalian Dialectics to a "T"...................
One man's troll is another man's sayan.
Exactly. That's why I personally prefer to debate people who call me names and go off on a tangent over those who take exception to my point of view by offering a contrasting opinion.
CogDis--I'm scrolling down through this ..er.. discussion thinking that we may have one or several ZH indicators:
lmao--does this mean that Tyler has separated effects and he has us as chum to "his" sharks? No PID control going on, just characterizing the ZH market which is obviously f(t) as some of us have lives to live in our time zone.
TYLER--WE NEED NEW ZH INDICATORS!!!
The we can backtest them and .. er .. someone will come up with something that is brilliant and we can make a bunch of .. er ..
- Ned
[edit above to make sure it is Tyler's job to separate effects--lmao and Mrs. Clancy is now hitting my knuckles for a bad read of the draft]
[edit below: we need theta on divergence from the original post. lol]
"Bernanke cannot have the S&P500 at 850 and gold at 1,200 and announce QE2. Gold would surge to new highs and it would look horrible."
nailed it!!!
Yeah, I agree with that as well.
Banana Ben may need to push the S&P to 450 and give big time lip service toward fiscal austerity and protecting the value of the almighty US dollar before gold collapses.
That being said, I think Banana Ben is certainly capable of deceiving the investing public and herd us into believing financial armageddon is quickly approaching. The scare tactics certainly wouldn't hurt Turbo Timmy's efforts in refinancing the US goverment's massive overextended-ness, either.
I think Jim Rogers would agree with Krieger on a lot of his points, based on his comments here:
http://www.goldalert.com/stories/Gold-Price-Steady-Rogers-Targets-2000
Just got back from the National Rainbow Gathering in the Pennsylvania Allegheny National Forest. Ten thousand of us gathered to celebrate a different attitude. Very refreshing and it has allowed me to develop a "family" network of individuals who know how to help neighbors and create kitchens, sanitation, water and more to instantly handle a little city that blooms for one week in a forest.
It has been a wonderful social experiment to watch too in the 38 years it has been going on.
Great perspective changer as you realize you do have a safety net. And it is a good one.
Lovinya
de-junking you jimijon.
there are so many groups that don't command attention, that are known word-of-mouth, that are inclusive & supportive, that are preparing more than a personal "homestash". . . they are networked, and have been there, right in front of people's eyes, for decades now. . .
'course, if all you see is individuals hunkering down, you may not "see" them.
Tyler--another vote for a "de-junk" or an "un-junk" function. Useful and (I'd suspect you might not want) a flame-war feature. Flame-wars: the first one who mentions ... LOSES.
- Ned
Jimijon
I read that while that group is usually very liberal, Obamas economic ignorance was quite the hot topic. Any truth to that?
The guy from monticello said "The key to a successful democracy is an informed citizenry". A slightly less intellectual votewithabullet said "which is why we are fucked".
lol +++
or "we're friggin doomed", ala mogambo guru...
what would TJ be thinking these days? sigh.
Just got back from the National Rainbow Gathering in the Pennsylvania Allegheny National Forest. Ten thousand of us gathered to celebrate a different attitude. Very refreshing and it has allowed me to develop a "family" network of individuals who know how to help neighbors and create kitchens, sanitation, water and more to instantly handle a little city that blooms for one week in a forest.
It has been a wonderful social experiment to watch too in the 38 years it has been going on.
Great perspective changer as you realize you do have a safety net. And it is a good one.
Lovinya
Thanks for the reminder that All is possible Now.
Thanks for the reminder that All is possible...
you got junked.. for what?
perchance he made a loner's butt pucker with fear. . .
anger is a helluva drug.
its gotten so that if someone disagrees with you they just hit junk rather than make a counter post. Its lazy and they don't have to confront their own ideas. Having said that I am one of them, project me continues...
I think that gathering sounds really really cool.
"they are addicted to power and control and will do almost anything to protect their positions."
"almost anything"? leave out the "almost" and you know what we're in for.
Nice one. This crisis would have been better handled from the begining if people living in the fake world travelled around and got first hand information rather than rely on fucked up statistics that the gubmint puts out.
The guy from monticello said "The key to a successful democracy is an informed citizenry". A slightly less intellectual votewithabullet said "which is why we are fucked".
What is the average number of US citizens who travel outside of their own country/continent to experience the world?
Granted a trip across the US probbaly reveals a lot about it and I'd love to do it but the point I'm making is that a large proprotion of US citizens are closed off from world news, cultures, etc.
Sadly, most americans who travel outside the US stay at american chain hotels, eat at american fast food chains, etc.
Is this "experiencing the world"??
Do you not see the lunacy in this behaviour?
Why bother travelling if you want to feel at home while travelling?
Let go of youselves, then you will get to know yourselves better...inside out.
I always crack up when seeing Americans in foreign countries. What morons. Steven Speilberg (sp?) built a fake "Old Belize" Disney style in Belize, cuz americans couldn't deal with the poverty, "non-whiteness" and reality of the real Belize. I hate cruise line tourists the worst. Fat, lazy, entitled, wasteful dolts with blinders on. The 2yr old temper tantrums I've seen when things don't go the way they expect or want is amazing to see. No effort to blend with the locals. They want the locals to assimilate to American sensitivities. Ugly americans indeed.
hmm.... Belize is a super place to start. Go and mix in,
there are no holiday inns in Corozal Town or Orange Walk. None.
Pretty much everybody is poor and the food is mediocre.
That said,
you've got your spanish descendants,
indians, black slave descendents,
asian slave descendants,
your Jimmy Buffets who escaped there to have some kind of self-respect,
and the Mennonites who escaped from Hitler and hold the whole economy together.
Everyone sorta keeps to his own kind and yet everyone intermingles and does business,
respectably and decently.
Its quite an eye-opener for anyone in the United States,
exposed to the constant denial of racial prejudice, discrimination, resentment and fear
The only enemy is "La Pupa"
(elsewhere known as "Lord Cashcroft"....)
You don't have to go abroad to get your laughs. San Francisco is full of American tourists shopping at chains like Old Navy.
Americans, throw down your chains. Shop with Mom & Pop in the place where you live.
Good comment. Also need to TALK to the people, get to know them, have new experiences. This is what traveling is all about
There is a difference between a vacation and traveling. I've had to explain the difference to most of my fellow US citizens.
Traveling outside the US makes me feel free. Being in the US doesn't.
Long live Joe Sixpack!
Good stuff. Kudos.
If you're right about the politics of gold and silver, then we can roughly measure corruption by how much a nation's leaders suppress these metals. Given that China actually spends money on trying to get its people to think about and buy gold and silver, makes you think.
US = bad guys
China = good guys
If there's a war, which side would you fight on? Be a henchman for the evil US empire or a freedom fighter the Chinese?
It's not nearly so black and white as that. Both govs are totally corrupt and evil. Just the US owns the current system and China wants a bigger part of it or to be the one exploiting the system. After all the CCP in China wants to keep it's position of power and if China gets wiped out by a failure in CCP policy then the people will rise up.
How about standing aside and letting evil fight evil?
I said it was a rough measure and was basing it on the assumptions made clear in the article. If China is so corrupt and totalitarian, why are they sponsoring advertisements and moving so quickly to empower their citizens with the greatest economic means, gold and silver? It's no less significant than a government handing over its weapons to its people (as opposed to taking them away over here) considering that gold and silver were once banned from private hands in China just a few years ago.
It's a massive shift that is downplayed by anyone who doesn't understand why gold and silver are important.
I have no national identity, so, no, I'm not taking sides really.
Do what millions of patriots are doing already....send money to Sarah Palin
Are you serious ? We need a leader and what is lacking in our country is leadership.
King_of_simpletons
"We need a leader and what is lacking in our country is leadership."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvm2Guvuudo&feature=related
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds
Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed
Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero (hero)
I’m holding on for a hero ‘till the morning light (‘till the morning light)
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life (gotta be larger than life)
Duu-duu-duu-duu...
Duu-duu-duu-duu...
Duu-duu-duu-duu...
Aaa-aaaa
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I could swear there is someone somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like a fire in my blood
(Like a fire in my blood)
(Like a fire in my blood)
(Like a fire in my blood)
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero (hero)
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the morning light (‘till the morning light)
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life (gotta be larger than life)
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero (hero)
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the morning light (‘till the morning light)
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life (gotta be larger than life)
I need a hero
I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night
Uuuu-uuu-uuu-uuuuu... (fading background)
I curse you a thousand times for getting this song stuck in my head.
Now I have to bring out the Wall of Voodoo to try to cleanse the palate...
docj
I counter with the surprising image relavant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFq4E9XTueY
Well I see them every night in tight blue jeans
In the pages of a blue boy magazine
Hey I've been thinkin' of a new sensation
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
Oop she bop she bop
Do I wanna go out with a lion's roar?
Huh, yea, I wanna go south and get me some more
Hey, they say that a stitch in time saves nine
They say I better stop or I'll go blind
Oop she bop she bop
She bop he bop a we bop
I bop you bop a they bop
Be bop be bop a lu bop
(I hope he will understand)
She bop he bop a we bop
I bop you bop a they bop
Be bop be bop a lu she bop
Oh she do she bop
Hey, hey they say I better get a chaperone
Because I can't stop messin' with the danger zone
I won't worry, and I won't fret
Ain't no law against it yet
Oop she bop she bop
She bop he bop a we bop
I bop you bop a they bop
Be bop be bop a lu bop
(I hope he will understand)
She bop he bop a we bop
I bop you bop a they bop
Be bop be bop a lu she bop
Oh she do she bop she bop
She bop he bop a we bop
I bop you bop a they bop
Be bop be bop a lu bop
(I hope he will understand)
She bop he bop a we bop
I bop you bop a they bop
Be bop be bop a lu she bop
Oh she do she bop
Oh she do she bop
Another epic post by Gully
Ripped Chunk
I knew you would enjoy She Bop. I knew it in my soul.
BLUSH.....
I'm sarcastic and not at all normal.
What I meant (and you know it) was you are taking up valuable server space. I have already recommended on several occasions that you get your own blog. I even recommended some Malaysian gentlemen that can get you set up for minimal cost.
Ripped Chunk
Aww, you big tease.
Either way I'm not into that whole Homo scene. I watched Cruising, and I just don't understand how your people handle that whole group Anal fisting thing.
Ok I am warming up to you.
You know it's about relaxing and proper lubrication. Like I had to tell you.
KMK - Superhero
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGcleWgtyWA
schoolsout
Bah,
Tandi Iman Dupreehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWEbL133hP8
Oh yes, I have her on auto debit, she gets 100 from me every time she farts on Fox News.
King, laddie, you're getting leadership. Ok, lad, here, over here, yes laddie that's the way, noo, over here a bit more, yes, lad that's it, now over here, yes, OH, mind the post, yes, it is OK, yes, just up the shoot and you'll be there.
- Ned
Meanwhile, from al-Reuters, demonstrating that TPTB are willing to shell-out any lie - no matter how ludicrous - to try to keep us "pacified": http://bit.ly/aKZ6zH
That was a good read.
All of this financial noise will be seen for what it is. I agree, I don't think we should panic. Simply prepare, talk to friends, leave a comment somewhere, write a blog. The time will come for action. We need everyone we can in que for when that happens.
Once the said rats know there is no way out, you can expect a major event i.e. war, disaster, false flag terrorism.
The bad news is simply coming at such a steady stream that all the propoganda, lies, illusions are simply losing their effect.
The number of people becoming aware is growing. It's not the other way around. It's just a matter of time.
Max Hunter
The Moscow Rules is the name for rules said to have been developed by the CIA during the Cold War to be used by spies and others working in Moscow.
Martin Cruz Smith: frightening.
Blink, blink, blink
- Ned
(and one of the Trades that they are making tonight is named Foley).
(and the Marine saying: "Be professional, Be friendly, have a plan to kill everyone in sight").
Failure of Keynsian economics à la Krugman to correctly diagnose the economy and prescribe solutions
I quote from the book "Why Stock Markets Crash" by Didier Sornette:
"...the well-known economist P Krugman wrote on July 14, 1998, at the time of the banking scandal:
'The central problem with Japan right now is that there is not enough demand to go around--that consumers and corporations are saving too much and borrowing too little...So seizing these banks and putting them under responsible management is, if anything, going to further reduce spending; it certainly will not in and of itself stimulate the economy back to where it was a year or two ago--that is, depressed, but not actually plunging.'
Then, on January 20, 1999, Krugman wrote: 'The story is starting to look like a tragedy. A great economy, which does not deserve or need to be in a slump at all, is heading for the edge of the cliff--and its drivers refuse to turn the wheel' In an October 1998 poll of thirty economists performed by Reuters...only two economists predicted growth for the fiscal year of 1998-99. For the year 1999-2000 the prediction was a meager 0.1% growth. This majority of economists said that 'a vicious cycle in the economy was unlikely to disappear any time soon as they expected little help from the government's stimulus measures...Economists blamed moribund domestic demand, falling prices, weak capital spending and problems in the bad-loan laden banking sector for dragging down the economy'
'It is in this context that we predicted an approximately 50% increase of the market in the 12 months following January 1999...Predictions of trend reversals is notably difficult and unreliable...far the most difficult challenge posed to forcasters."
Sornette and his colleages made an astonishingly accurate prediction of the Nikkei using advanced mathematical models that are based on quantitative algorithms for modelling herd behavior (the greater fool theory, which is the raison d'être of technical analysis). They completely sidestepped the Keynesian or economic analysis in making their prediction. Using their mathematical techniques, they were able to obtain a mathematical curve for fitting the Nikkei that was within 2% of the data over a period of 10 years. This prediction is based on a single equation and involved no updating the data or making subsequent adjustments to the model.
Given that Nobel Prize laureat Krugman may eventually find himself in the Obama administration replacing Geithner or fat Larry Summers sitting eating a bowl of cookies (to paraphrase another ZH poster), it should be obvious from the above that there are better approaches to understanding markets and the economy than those used by economists like Krugman. This is particularly true with respect to making predictions based on hypothetical stimulus models. In effect, the Keynsians are performing experiments in real time. It's really time that this nonsense stops and other approaches are tried that rely on better prediction methods, such as those applied by Sornette. I should mention that this is but one example out of many of the successful applications of Sornettes methods.
If there's a war, which side would you fight on? Be a henchman for the evil US empire or a freedom fighter the Chinese?
^^^^
That was funny!
Winterland
Can't I play both sides, a double, triple, quadruple agent?
I'm just saying, if we really believe what we're saying about gold and silver, what do we make of a country that has recently seen its government working so hard and fast to get gold and silver into the hands of its people? They've recently rewritten policy so that citizens can own gold and silver, and they have government freak'n sponsored commercials advertising gold and silver. How cool is that?
Well, at least the Greeks have some balls to stand up against the crooks, they are fighting again today in the streets. Notice no media is reporting on this on TV again.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100708/ts_afp/greecepoliticsstrikeeconomy
The people in the cart are protesting against the people driving the cart who have figured out the hard way that there aren't enough people pulling the cart.
Who are the crooks here - the people pulling the cart?
Where are all these gold plated entitlements for life to come from exactly?
This isn't being reported in the media because even a moron can figure out we've turned down the same road and are right behind Greece.
Not good PR for The One.
I do notice. Thank you for mentioning this. More power to them.
"This is because if you are not in a position to help your neighbors then you are no good to anyone."
I have already scoped out the neighbors. My empire begins soon, very soon. BBBBBWWWWWAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAHHHHHAAAAA
cough, cough
lol, yes. Find new neighbors.
before the s#@& really hits the fan, they have to restrict the net big time. i see a false flag cyber event in the very near future. after that... the dominos start falling quick.
arnoldsimage
"i see a false flag cyber event in the very near future"
Not until after the 2012 election.
They need the faux populism to enforce the myth of the coming Great White Hope.
Not a chance. With 8 million behind on their mortgage payment and unemployment rising, they cannot sustain status quo.. Not possible..
I'm saying by the end of the year MAX ! Probably even sooner. When the writing is on the wall, they will move on us..
Max Hunter
"I'm saying by the end of the year MAX !"
Won't work.
Right now one side despises Obama and the other is starting to come to their senses. By the next election in 2012 the Barky supporters will be devastated.
BIGOV needs that faux mandate.
You don't think like a calculating little bitch of a political manipulator.
Thinking like them is half the game.
Forget Obama, forget elections, forget politics.
Nobody can control that tidal wave of a liquidty crunch when bills coming due, debts cannot be refinanced or rolled over, tax receipts are crashing and so on.
The fascist elite will hide, not lead. They always did.
It will be up to you and your family personally to pull through. A police force or army that doesn't get paid will not work for their masters. You bribe them, you get their protection.
Gosh, people this is not rocket science. When shit hits the fan and things really fall apart, not just on the fringes as is happening now already, then all bets are off.
The fascist elite will have made off with their stash someplace safe or commit suicide.
walküre
Still not thinking like a power broker.
The ILLUSION of mandate is required. How else will we still maintain our hypocrisy on the world stage. While that has worn thin, some still have hope or refuse to have their dreams dashed.
They can prop shit up for two more years.
it's ludicrous to even think about 2012. the freight train is barreling down upon us as i speak.
+1 Right. I feel paralyzed TODAY. I'd prefer to just get on with it rather than be in limbo.
problem with my "today" paralysis is i've been feeling this way for two years now...
(aaaanny minuutte nooow.... can't hooold oon liiike thiis muuch loongeerrrrr....)
dam these guys are good. f---ing bastards...
i'm not liking this 'new awareness' crap much.
Don't know if they got it yet but the bamma admin has been pushing for an OFF SWITCH for the internet and more control of broadcast outlets since he took office....
you apparently run an asset management company. are you sure you are not a part of the problem? the idea of creating value through speculation is just as deranged as the idea of messianic leader solving our problems. correct me if i am wrong, maybe you actually start up actual projects that produce goods and services and employ real people but in todays world, chances are you click your mouse around shuffling virtual money and call it your job which would make you just as useless as the new age prophets at Fed or JPM.
ratava
Dude, don't talk crazy. Everyone knows all you need is Guns and Gold and some Ayn Rand.
+10, the "ass-eat mgrs" are actually in the cart, just like generational welfare addicts. Being pulled by the people who produce.
The consequnces of speaking freely in the land of free speech:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100708/tv_nm/us_mideast_cnn;_ylt=ArBlQDo2Wf...
I would venture a guess that if ZH runs this article, we'll see 400+ comments and challenge the record for "junks" in a thread.
Hmm...refresh my memory. Which group is it that has a pathological aversion to anything non-negative regarding a muslim? Whose #1 enemy is Hezbollah, anyway?
Yup, we understand that the trolls would appear in exactly 5.83 seconds, courtesy of Megaphone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaphone_desktop_tool
CNN is not the land of free speech.
Let them fire their best reporters so that those reporters will hopefully go on to do some real reporting.
"Free" does not mean without consequences.
It is a political article that will have no impact on markets so it won't be on ZH.
The piece last week about US warships off the coast of Iran is a situation that will affect markets so it appeared on ZH. And that one drew some major flac from the "faithful" (on both sides)
chances of "cyber attack" against the FED before one time aduit?
They have had months to alter the books. What is the point?
There are no books. There have never been any books.
"This will not be about hunkering down in a bunker and emerging rich once the dust settles. It is about staying intact financially and emotionally so that you can help rebuild a better nation..."
This is a message you don't see often enough, on ZH or the web in general. Ultimately, our ability to build a sense of community with our neighbors will be more valuable than a big box of hollow-points. Want to load up on gold, silver, food, heritage seeds, and, yes, even ammo? Fine, just don't forget that these things are best used as building blocks for a new, re-humanized community, not as the means to some imaginary personal triumph, where you have annihilated your last enemy.
Amish Hacker
"Fine, just don't forget that these things are best used as building blocks for a new, re-humanized community"
Cartman: Hippies.They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad.
I would hardly call the Amish hippies. They will probably have the last laugh on most of us. Humans are social animals, they need communities. Rambos like gully are like rabid feral dogs. They usually are dispatched pretty quickly when they cause too many problems in the neighborhood.
Kali
Kind of think you missed the point.
"Rambos like gully are like rabid feral dogs."
You REALLY don't read what I post do you?
I gotta ask, are you dense? I don't think you are stupid. But you made assumptions based on absolutely nothing. That makes you dense.
Thick is a far more descriptive.
Yes, I do. But you often revert to the reptilian part of your brain. I enjoy a lot of what you post. But you also advocate stealing and killing for what you want. That is not good for social cohesiveness. I would say you are reactive more than anything. How did I "misintepret" your post? You chided an "Amish Hacker" as a "hippie". Ridiculous. Don't think Cartman is a good role model for anyone. He's a joke, that is what makes him so funny. I often read while I am working and sometimes, due to the structure of comment responses, it's hard to follow a line of commentary. If I did so, I apologize. Apparently, any one who doesn't agree with you is stupid or thick. That reduces your credibility.
Hey...
It is about staying intact financially and emotionally
You are obviously further along in life than some. What do young people do? We are in our 30's and quit our paycheck to paycheck jobs in '06 to start our company. We were making great money even still in '08. But now we are starting to sink slowly. We had a great plan for the wrong times. We didn't get a chance to acquire our meet our potential. What do 20 year olds do? My daughter is almost 16, and we are having conflicting feelings about college for the first time. There are some serious decisions to be made and we need a freaking crystal ball to move even an inch. Hire? Close? Exist? Everything is too up in the air.
You skipped Colorado. You should come back and see what you missed.
Good summer for a road trip since gas did not go up by 20% 40% 60% like in summers past. Kind of makes you wonder about all the summers gone by doesn't it? Perhaps we were just getting gouged every summer for the past 30 + years? Hmmmmm.
I do know that they count cars at the Eisenhower tunnel on I70 and the number of cars going through on July 4th holiday has been going up every year so the demand for gas did not retreat at all this year. I think other areas of the country (except for the Gulf) will report that the people are coming.
So think about this little story when you watch TV news, buy gas, go to the store to buy necessities, vote etc.
Because We The People have been getting fucked up the ass for decades and it is TIME TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY.
NOVEMBER INCUMBENT BLOODBATH !!! MAKE IT HAPPEN !!!
OUR LEADERS ARE SHIT. LET's LET THEM KNOW WHAT WE THINK OF THEM
END THE FED
END THE FED
JAIL THE CRIMINALS
+2
Some good thoughts. WE are responsible for ourselves, and responsible to others....Small issue, most folks are woefully out of touch with themselves. Ghandi and all great leaders were better at the internal stuff than many are today. Therefore we have total tyrants and soft tyrants leading the 'masses' to their very slaughter with narry a bark.
AS my dad said, wake up and die right.
crzyhun
"WE are responsible for ourselves, and responsible to others"
Um, no. We are responsible for our own self. You can not force someone else to become something they are not. Each individual chooses.
There in lies the problem. Once anyone starts saying that their choice is good for me they lose. Is it responsible for you to stop me if I choose to smke? To shoot smack, to drink or fuck like a Bunny?
GF
If we are responsible for ourselves, we will not smack, drink, or f like a bunny. I look after myself first. I act defensively in relationship to all others. And pity the poor fools that behave like they have not a clue.
I happen to like fucking like a bunny. But I have a vasectomy.
Gully, I think the smack idea is a good one though.
Ripped Chunk
You will not be smacking my ass.
Go find a park or bath house.
Ever notice how on American TV your people are portaryed as giving head but on foriegn TV they are always shown humping that ass. Is that done so as not to scare us Heterosexuals? Or do you prefer to call us Breeders?
I'm not up on my slang.
Not sure why you think I am gay but I guess it's your sophmoric humor showing through. Do you have a rationalization or do you just call people that pick on you queers as some sort of lame defense mechanism?
As expected no reply from Gully the cock craver.
crzyhun
One of the first rules in prison is not to do someone elses time.
You would know I guess? Goo collector.
Not there yet, Ben now still think he can save Stock market in his mission "Gold Down". Let's bring down Stock a little and see how Gold works out, when Gold did down and bring up Stock. So far it works very well.
The solution is available - see Paul Ryan's Roadmap for a New America. We must gte rid of the Dems in congress in November and Obama in 2012.
The housing crisis is a magnificent opportunity to buy a house for those who work hard and can afford it. You will look back ten years from now and say, "What a great house I could have bought, for a song."
so, buy a house and vote?
you've got a ways to go I'm afraid.
Gold does not seem to be providing the kind of short term leverage that momentum traders are looking for.
Momentum traders will soon be relegated to the dustbin of history.
While this is a technicality, last time I checked grocery stores still accepted pre-1965 quarters and dimes, just at a really shitty exchange rate...
And remember, eating too much human flesh makes your hands shakey.
Quinvarius
Wendigo!
Yep. Just like black people and their pork rinds. The sad thing is, I am the kind of person that can eat the same thing for weeks on end. I ate honey nut cheerios for 2 months straight. Before that it was banquet chicken nuggets. Before that General Tso's chicken. So if I ever eat a person and enjoy it, you might as well right off the whole neighborhood.
Quinvarius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO98NMMgp0Y
RavenousColhoun: We left in April. Six of us in all. Mr. MacCready and his wife, from Ireland. Mr. Janus, from Virginia, I believe. With his servant, Jones. Myself. And our guide. A military man, coincidently. A Col. Ives. He professed to know a new, shorter route through the Nevada's. Quite a route that was. Longer than the normal one. Impossible to travel. We worked very very hard. By the time of the first snowfall we were still one hundred miles from this place, that was November. Preceding though the snow was futile. We took shelter in a cave. Decided to wait until the storm had passed. The storm did not pass. The trails soon became impossible, and we had run out of food. We ate the Oxen. All the horses. Even my own dog. And that lasted us about a month. After that we turned to out belts, shoes, and roots we could dig up... but you know there's no real nourishment in those. We remained famished. The day that Jones died I was out collecting wood. He had expired from malnourishment. And when I returned, the others were cooking his legs for dinner. Would I have stopped it had I been there? I don't know. But I must say. When I stepped inside that cave... the smell of meat cooking... I thanked the lord! I thanked the lord!
Dude! One of me & hubby's favourite films - most underrated and one of Guy Pierce's best parts.
Soundtrack RULES.
Oh! Don't overlook Pierce in The Proposition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7V-CW_SUos
My husband LOVES that film. I think he's seen it 20 times.
I agree that it's probably very good, but alas, I had to stop watching it fairly early in. The part I saw was good. Disturbingly good. Some kinds of violence I just have to stay away from, unfortunately...and yes, I know I miss out on some incredible art by doing so. Which does suck but I guess we can't have everything.
trust your instincts Renfield. . . it's not really "incredible art" if it uses imagery that numbs the heart / soul. . . a true artist can convey bitter sadness, pain, even fear in a way that expands perspectives rather than contracts them.
Cathartes Aura
A true artist creates a roller coaster of emotion.
If numbing leads to something else, some new revelation then it works.
Sometimes it is the only to portray a life grinding existence.
Ever watch The Blood of Heroes? Great cast. Not what one would consider art. But it is straight to the point. It is not creating any illusions about the type of lives which are being lead.
On the other hand only Asians understand true sadness. Damn near everything from Anime to bad scifi captures that gut wrenching bittersweet felling of deep emotional pain which one can never escape.
WaterWings
Yep. And Ray Winstone was excellent.
Have you seen 44 inch chest? Winstone is riveting.
That sounded so Gay, like something Ripped Chink would have said.
Ray Winstone: 1
Gully Foyle : 0
BTW gay isn't capitalized.
great example of "you are what you eat". . .
lol! Indeed.
" eating too much human flesh makes your hands shakey..."
That is exactly why you eat their brains and "big breasteses"...
Great start, but only half right. The prions that we're trying to avoid are concentrated in the neural tissue. Avoid the brain and spine.
Now, as for the "big breasteses", make sure they're real and not filled with silicone. While not necessarily bad for you, silicone can really wreck the gravy.
Now eat hearty, but eat WISELY!
Action cures fear!!
buzlightening
Fear is healthy, makes you think before doing something really, really stupid.
And fear motivates action.
The trick is to fear the fearful things, and move in the right directions to get away from them. A lot harder than it sounds, since we are taught from infancy to fear and act in ways that profit corporations and limit our options for self change, rather than to free ourselves from their clutches.
Fear normalcy, then. Because you are already deep in the trap.
I think natural selection will soon decide who's right and who's wrong.
STFU you whackjob, go play with Richard Dawkins' cock.
Let's see, registered for 3 weeks and 20 hours and already reverting back to his/her Yazoo roots.
What is it exactly that bothered you so terribly that your obviously severe case of Tourette Syndrome would be triggered?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourette_syndrome
CD, it's because his brain has rotted from scratching and sniffing his balls. Toxic shit. I would say another case of arrested development, has brain of 14yr old. (No offense to the smart 14yr olds I know, the exception, not the rule)
I dont know how the fuck it took me 3 weeks and 20 hours...
Indeed. It must be painful to come to a place to play, only to find serious work is being done and the play is at risk.
Once you see clearly, you see that all those ideas are really made of knives. But that's okay, you get cut a little but you learn to handle dangerous things. Then the knives are your toys. Then the toys are your tools. Then the tools become weapons and you are yourself become a dangerous thing.
Then you ride out with your toys and you cut through the smoke and fog and the illusion falls as ribbons behind you.
It's called the work of the moment. It is a game but not all games are diversions.
I think we are comming at things from differing angles cougar, thanks for the advice though, i appreciate that...
Eloquent, coug.
solid
that problem will take care of itself
There seems to be a lot of nitpicking and idle bitching about this post, but I think he makes three important points:
1 This is more a political crisis than an economic one.
2 The population is increasingly united against the scum in Washington.
3 As the classic song Closing Time points out "it's later than you think."
;-) An even more classic Closing Time:
Ah we're drinking and we're dancing
and the band is really happening
and the Johnnie Walker wisdom running high
And my very sweet companion
she's the Angel of Compassion
she's rubbing half the world against her thigh
And every drinker every dancer
lifts a happy face to thank her
the fiddler fiddles something so sublime
all the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it's closing time
Ah we're lonely, we're romantic
And the cider laced with acid
And the Holy Spirit's crying "Where's the beef?"
And the moon is swimming naked
and the summer night is fragrant
with a mighty expectation of relief
So we struggle and we stagger
down the snakes and up the ladder
to the tower where the blessed hours chime
and I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
the Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
but closing time
I loved you for your beauty
but that doesn't make a fool of me:
you were in it for your beauty too
and I loved you for your body
there's a voice that sounds like God to me
declaring, declaring, declaring that your body's really you
And I loved you when our love was blessed
and I love you now there's nothing left
but sorrow and a sense of overtime
and I missed you since the place got wrecked
And I just don't care what happens next
looks like freedom but it feels like death
it's something in between, I guess
it's closing time
Yeah we're drinking and we're dancing
but there's nothing really happening
and the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night
And my very close companion
gets me fumbling gets me laughing
she's a hundred but she's wearing
something tight
and I lift my glass to the Awful Truth
which you can't reveal to the Ears of Youth
except to say it isn't worth a dime
And the whole damn place goes crazy twice
and it's once for the devil and once for Christ
but the Boss don't like these dizzy heights
we're busted in the blinding lights,
busted in the blinding lights
of closing time
Oh the women tear their blouses off the men they dance on the polka-dots
It's closing time
And it's partner found, it's partner lost
and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops
It's closing time
I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
It's closing time
The Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can't say much has happened since
But closing time
I loved you when our love was blessed
I love you now there's nothing left
But closing time
I miss you since the place got wrecked
By the winds of change and the weeds of sex.
- Leonard Cohen
"1 This is more a political crisis than an economic one."
Several people like Jesse have pointed out this is a crisis of the US political class, owned by oligarchy and intellectually failing to manage the complexity.
The US stopped being a merit-ocracy where the cream rises to the top and has become a crony-ocracy where the connected idiots never fail out of the top... Insert picture of Dickweed Robert Rubin HERE.
Decade after decade the US political class and elite oligarchy get dumber and greedier as none of them ever fail and none are ever purged.
In the words of James Carville:
"It's the corruption, stupid."
Nice writing Mike. Respect! +1000
A viable option? States seceeding from the Union and away from federal control?
This is an older article from about 2-3 yrs ago, but boy oh boy does it ring a bell today.
http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2007/10/a.html
The level of ideological confusion in the American society today is staggering...
Zina, I'd say its the level of dumbed-down Idiocracy thats staggering. Most people have NO 'ideology' today other than 'Obama OH LORDY he gonna pay my rent, my gas bill, my car payment'!! Thats not ideology! Its trained ingrained generations of chatel slavery!
Gunz n ammo, bitchez!
As some do, I've borrowed from a song. Really. This says it all about why it will end in tears.
"We strut about like lions, but we sacrifice like lambs".