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2014 Greatest Hits: Presenting The Most Popular Posts Of The Past Year

Tyler Durden's picture




 

A quick glance at the 20 most popular stories of 2014 as determined by you, our readers, shows something troubling: despite the just concluded 6th consecutive year of a rising S&P 500 - the longest such stretch since 1999 of what otherwise would be deemed optimism - despite what should be a steadily improving economy and improving social and economic conditions, what readers founds most fascinating, and troubling, was the increasing preponderance of social disobedience, of covert, proxy or outright wars, and of civil unrest: all phenomena that accompany a world sliding deeper into distress, not as most central banks and their puppet media would have us believe, a global recovery.

But before we get into the details of what has now become an annual tradition for the last day of the year, those who wish to jog down memory lane, can refresh our most popular articles for every year during our brief 6-year existence, starting with 2009 and continuing with 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013: one for every year of the most artificial and fabricated "bull market" in history.

So without further ado, here are the articles that readers found to be the most popular of the past 365 days.

  • In 20th place, with over 143,000 reads, was the first hint that the second cold, and not so cold, war between Russia and the US was going to be not only fought in commodity terms - at least in the beginning - but would do all in America's power to prevent the formation of a Russia-China axis of power, when back in paril we learned that the "US Threatens Russia Over Petrodollar-Busting Deal." As noted above, conflict and its numerous variations, would be the driving feature of what readers were most fascinated by. The ever-escalating conflict between Russia and the US would be merely one of the numerous such developing plotlines that those who were not engrossed by whether Kim Kardashian's ass would indeed break the internet, followed with great interest.
  • In 19th place, and rising rapidly, was Zero Hedge at what we believe is its best: peeking behind the propaganda, and revealing the lies hidding in the headline numbers. We did this most recently with "Here Is The Reason For The "Surge" In Q3 GDP." As it turns out, Obamacare may well have been an abysmal failure for many (and will be for most) and its existence depends largely on the "stupidity of American voters", but when it comes to artificially goosing US GDP at opportune times, it is second to none.
  • In 18th place, and still very much unexplained, was Zero Hedge breaking one of the biggest stories of the first quarter, namely that out of the blue, none other than the small nexus of the Eurozone, Belgium had emerged as the third largest external holder of US Treasurys in "Meet The Brand New, And Shocking, Third Largest Foreign Holder Of US Treasurys." Some said this was merely China using Euroclear as a custodian service, however this story was promptly rejected when it was revealed that China's foreign reserves actually posted their biggest decline in 2014, in line with what we also revealed previously, namely that China, alongside Russia, has in fact been dumping Treasurys and its US paper holdings are now the lowest they have been since February 2013. The "Belgian" mystery continues.
  • In 17th place, with well over 160,000 reads, was the shocking revealtion that in the aftermath of one of the biggest stories of 2013, the Cyprus bail-in, "Europe Considers Wholesale Savings Confiscation, Enforced Redistribution" - hardly surprising for a socialist continent that is rapidly running out of other people's money but quite stunning considering that the European dominoes are always just one bank run away from toppling. Now with Grexit is back on the European stage, keep a close eye on what happens with European deposits: if we are correct, what happened in Cyprus was merely a trial run for what is coming next as the real problem facing Europe, several trillion in bad bank loans, has never been addressed.
  • In 16th place we had a somewhat different glimpse behind the biggest rags to riches story of 2014: that of China's Jack Ma, who overnight became China's richest person following the IPO of Alibaba. But it wasn't his wealth that fascinated readers, it was his austere pragmatism when he said that "If You're Poor At 35, You Deserve It." Is he right, or wrong, we don't know, but well over 100,000 readers clicked to read his opinion.
  • In 15th place, with just under 170,000 reads, was a brief glimpse into what was certainly one the biggest surprise stories of 2014: that of the Islamic State, or ISIS, which emerged as if out of nowhere, and in the span of just a few short weeks controlled a territory within Iraq and Syria the size of the UK. And while ISIS took over enough oil infrastructure (not to mention US army vehicles) to become quickly self-funding, some wonder just who is behind the world's most fearsome adversary of 2014. How gruesome? Read "Footage Of ISIS Atrocities Reveals Al Qaeda Jihadists "Will Stop At Nothing" to find out.
  • In 14th place was one of the most "self-explanatory" posts of the past year: one which showed the symbolic placement of world leaders by China during the APEC economic forum which took place in Beijing a month ago, and which made us wonder if "China was Sending America a Message." Putin and Obama were there, and therein lay the punchline.
  • In 13th spot we are reminded that the biggest international conflict was not that taking place in Iraq between ISIS and everyone else, but in Ukraine, where a proxy government was put in power by the US State Department in order to facilitate the encroachment of NATO and to assure that hostilities with Russia were only a matter of time. How do we know Ukraine's government was a puppet regime of the US? Because as a leak in March revealed, "Behind The Kiev Snipers It Was Somebody From The New Coalition", a new coalition which came into power only after Victoria Nuland's leaked recording confirmed all everyone had to know.
  • In 12th spot we reminded over 150,000 of our readers that as the mainstream media desperately scrambles to sucker in the retail bagholder into the "stock market", which as we have revealed over the past 6 years is rigged by central banks and HFT algos beyond recognition, the richest and smartest people in the room are quietly cashing out in "Icahn, Soros, Druckenmiller, And Now Zell: The Billionaires Are All Quietly Preparing For The Plunge"
  • In 11th spot, and surprisingly not higher was a reminder that while the US president droned on about Russia being isolated, the BRIC nations, those countries which actually produce "stuff", and who collectively account for half the world's population, are "Morphing Into An Anti-Dollar Alliance." What will it take for the metamorphosis to be complete? A few more months of global developing market pain and capital outflow as a result of the soaring dollar, and the BRICs may have no choice but to conclude their transition to a post-dollar world.
  • In 10th spot was an article that dealt with America's own urban decay: not in its shiny, glitzy metropolises, but in the heartland: the city that once symbolized America's manufacturing strength and productive ingenuity, and which now lies in ruins. Literally. Don't believe us? Then see for yourselves in "The Death And Decay Of Detroit, As Seen From The Streets"
  • In 9th, and 7th spots were a vivid reminder of just why the S&P at all time highs feels so wrong: because while in modern US society the richest have never been richer, the schism between the rich and poor has never been greater, and where racial, ethnic and class conflict is stirring and ever more often rising to the surface with deadly consequences. In 2014, the Missouri town of Ferguson symbolized this lethal divide. For those who missed it can relive this preview of what is to come to ever greater parts of the US in "Ferguson In Flames, Shots Fired, Police Car Destroyed, Tear-Gas Deployed, Looting; NYC Brooklyn & Triborough Bridge & LA Freeways Blocked" and "Ferguson Violence: Protesters Warn "The Revolution Won't Be Televised" - 'Rubber Bullets & Tear Gas' Update."
  • Another confirmation that all is not well, and that the disconnect between the S&P and the underlying economy has grown to farcical levels, was revealed with the 8th most popular article of 2014 in "People Not In Labor Force Soar To Record 91.8 Million; Participation Rate Plunges To 1978 Levels." No further explanation is necessary.
  • In 6th place was the "other side" of the argument of the story that shook the world over the summer: who brought down Malaysian airlines flight MH-17 over east Ukraine. The mainstream western media made up its mind within hours that it was all Putin. And then there was the other side of the argument such as when "Russia Says Has Photos Of Ukraine Deploying BUK Missiles In East, Radar Proof Of Warplanes In MH17 Vicinity."
  • The 5th most popular article, with over 184,000 reads, was a simple reminder that math and the current US financial state simply can no coexist, because "Paying Down The Debt Is Now Almost Mathematically Impossible." Sure, the chartalists, acronymists and other monetary dogmatists will say: there is no point in actually repaying the debt. And yes, as long as there are those who are willing to fund America's growth, growth can continue. If and when those benign entities disappear it's game over. In 2014 we saw many such formerly benign entities decide they have had it with the US. But at least there is always the Fed willing to monetize all US debt if it has to...
  • In 4th spot we were reminded that even as the S&P hit new record highs over 50 times in the year, one of the smartest people in the room has zero faith in a rigged, manipulated, liquidity-drrenched "market" which is only where it is simply due to the generosity of printer-armed central planners. Proof? The ""Soros Put" Hits Record As Billionaire's Downside Hedge Rises By 154% in Q4 To $1.3 Billion." One day the put will pay off very handsomely.
  • In 3rd place was a viral reminder that while America is a great country, it does have its drawbacks. Over 250,000 readers agreed when we showed the ""Worst Possible States To Live In" As Ranked By Their Residents." All we have to say here to our readers from Illinois: our condolences.
  • Finally, with over 600,000 combined readers, we leave it to our readers to spot the common theme in the two top articles on Zero Hedge for 2014, titled, simply enough, "OECD Fears Middle Class Civil Unrest Is Coming" and "Martin Armstrong Warns Civil Unrest Is Rising Everywhere: "This Won't End Pretty.""

So with all of this pessimism behind us, does that leave us more optimistic heading into 2015?

We don't know: as frequent readers know, we do not pretend to be able to predict the future. We do know, however, that with $11 trillion in liquidity injected just by the world's developed central banks, and the tens of trillions of credit money created (and misallocated) by China - a country which was the world's growth dynamo for the past three decades and which is now rapidly slowing down - the entire world is floating on an ocean of excess money, which for one more year has succeeded in masking just how ugly the truth beneath the calm surface is. Sooner or later, the tide always comes out, and those swimming naked are always exposed. However, this time it will be the very final backstoppers of the status quo regime, the central banking emperors of the New Normal, who are finally revealed as wearing absolutely nothing. What happens then, and when that happens, is anyone's guess. But, as we have promised - and delivered - every year for the past six, we will be there to document every aspect of it.

Finally, and as always, we wish all our readers the best of luck and success in 2015, and leave off with our unwavering year-end promise: Zero Hedge will be there each and every day helping readers expose, unravel and comprehend the fallacy, fiction, fraud and farce that the system is reduced to (ab)using each and every day just to keep the grand tragicomedy going for at least one more day.

 

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Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:14 | 5610995 justtotaketheedgeoff
justtotaketheedgeoff's picture

ZH is a flicker of light in the darkness and it gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, "We the people..." still are and will remain the most powerful words in the English language.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:19 | 5611000 Bay of Pigs
Bay of Pigs's picture

I raise my glass tonight to all the Tylers, Sac and whoever is left around here. And to you all you ZH bitchez....cheers mates! 

Peace, Aloha and best wishes to all of you in 2015...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:59 | 5611554 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Happy New Year Bay. 

Bay of Pigs did me a great turn when I knew him on a different blog. He got me in on Gold just under 800! Eventually bought silver at 14. We shall see where this goes, eh?

This year, we were definitely "gold's bitchez." But not to worry, it will go all over the place before this carnival ride is over. 

Strong hands on deck! 

Happy New Year, this year and for as many more as we can milk off this rock we are riding through space. On a long enough time line, no one is hedged-->Zero Hedge. This place is as balls to the wall as it gets. Great concept, great integrity. 

I love you fuckers. 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 16:26 | 5612861 Bay of Pigs
Bay of Pigs's picture

And you introduced me to ZH Missy....

Can't thank you enough my friend.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:18 | 5611001 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

Martin Armstrong's opinions get more reads than real important news???

Maybe ZH just gets invaded when his pieces appear. I'm open to an explanation but his ideas were not my most exciting moments at ZH in 2014, or as well shall refer to it in the near future, The Penultimate Year.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:20 | 5611005 RumbleGuts
RumbleGuts's picture

Thank you Tylers, and Happy New Year to all! :-)

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:20 | 5611006 Victory_Garden
Victory_Garden's picture

Blessings and grace to the World's Great People.

May the Spirit of God/Love find you and yours at home and safe in the humbleness of family and friends. Let the warm fires of country and hearth unite. May the righteous human values be the guiding cornerstones of all your good works in the finer legacies carved in Stone, and left behind you in this last year of the awakening.

Out of the wild and into the blue, here comes a new year. May all of life's greatest beauties and goodnesses be shared in appreciation and peace by ALL hands on board the good ship ZH. Light and dark stars gather to steer the ship into safer waters as the storms approach, is what comes next. No moar division or wasted energies, just an all ahead forward into the New Year of even greater things to come.

Embrace the things of the heart, and you can never go wrong in life. Peace. Human values. Truth. Charity. Harmony. Abundance. Healing Teachings. Love. These are the things all religions and all souls have in common besides the four basic elements of this world we ALL are in physical make up, and that spiritual energy we are, or the fifth-element that animates it all, has in common with each and every soul on Earth. In truth, we are all the family of man, some exceptions of course. Dare to be different and announce the differences. Always remember, division is a dis-ease of man, not of God/Love. Originally created as slaves, then set free to be one family. One Tribe. One world of good folks. It is all so easy. Can't we all get along?

Prepare for lift off.

Aye capt'n.

Love's most brilliant Light and a huge ginormous Merry Happy Happy Ha-ha to One, and ALL!

E tu tambien, Barry!

Amor to ya, sweet-cheeks!!!

Extra Credit. Real News that makes one feel good about the future at the end of the day.

The world is sick and tired of the shit show!!

http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/216499-ukraine-politics-economy-culture/

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:25 | 5611013 Duc888
Duc888's picture

 

 

Happy New Year ZH and everyone here, even to the ones that I've slagged.  Peace.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:26 | 5611014 Father Lucifer
Father Lucifer's picture

Zero Hedge thanks everyday for outstanding news coverage and commentary.

Best of luck in 2015.

FL

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:27 | 5611017 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

2014 will go down as the year of "Eric Blair", "George Orwell". Because this year the Western Media revealed for the first time beyond all doubt that it is monolithic, Washington DC centric, totally corporate ,and able to be contolled and used as one unit of propaganda by the Washington DC Neoliberal economic elite and the Neoconservative Global American empire machine.

We suspected that Western Corporate media was falling in line with orders from the Washington DC dictatorship. 2014 revealed this to be fact. All Western Mainstream Media was used as a single propaganda tool of Washington DC and coordinated to one single view being presented, somtimes in the exact same wording. Be it USA, UK or German, the media followed in lock step to what ever orders Washington issued, even if the story they pushed could be proven to be a demonstrable lie. Lets use MH-17 as an example. But we can use the fake economic recovery as an example too. In any number of cases, all Western Media said the same thing, and refused to investigate what Washington claimed.

George Orwell predicted we would have such a media as this in his book "1984", all that Eric got wrong was the year. It should have been:  "2014" by Gerorge Orwell

I can understand the corporate whores writing what Washington tells them, but they now even adopt a demonstable lie, and across all outlets, publish it as truth. Even when people in the comments sections of papers and main stream news sites can demonstrate with evidence that what is printed is a lie, they either ignore the posts or, like the Daily Mail and Guardian, simply delete them.

In 2015, we can only expect the same Media Orwellian Propaganda Machine. All serving Washington and Israel.

ZH stands like a beacon of truth, in a now monolithic MSM of lies. One of a handful of repectable blogs that challanges the lies and allows comments evidencing those lies to be printed. I would call ZH the real nightmare of the Federal Reserve, the US Congress, President Obama and the Orwellian Liars of Western Corporate Media.

2014 an Orwellian nightmare of lies coming from the Whore House on the Patomic. Bought and purchased congressmen with appoval ratings in the 10-15% range, somehow get re-elected in every so called election cycle. One might ask, how do congressmen with approval ratings of 12% win every election with something like 55-74% of the voters? 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:49 | 5611078 Demogorgon
Demogorgon's picture

Excellent post, JB.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:00 | 5611116 Sub MOA
Sub MOA's picture

Ass kisser LOL  ya beat me to it ;)

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:36 | 5611190 Wait What
Wait What's picture

the scary thing is, I knew an Eric Blair. we played on the same football team as youths. he was a drug dealer who idolized Easy-E, last i heard. go figure.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:56 | 5611631 himaroid
himaroid's picture

I can tell a prodigal son when I read one.

Happy New Year SMOA.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:06 | 5611130 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

Can't disagree with the gist of your ideas, but I think Aldous Huxley got it a little more right than George Orwell.

Not that it makes that much difference.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:15 | 5611268 JuliaS
JuliaS's picture

Personal thanks to you, Jack (James). Your comments and insight are often worth more than the articles themselves. Happy new year!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:55 | 5611629 himaroid
himaroid's picture

I trust you to remain vigilant JB.

Happy New Year

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:41 | 5611917 smacker
smacker's picture

Totally agree with you on all that Jack. MSM has become a propaganda whore.

And thanks for your own thoughtful and interesting comments on ZH.

A Very Happy New Year to you and all.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:32 | 5611032 Demogorgon
Demogorgon's picture

Thanks to everyone at ZH for the invaluable info you provide.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:33 | 5611034 Victory_Garden
Victory_Garden's picture

The Sleepers are awakening.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VZC5vFVJJY

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 14:00 | 5612476 Jack Burton
Jack Burton's picture

That was a great short novel, I read it when I was a teenager!

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:33 | 5611038 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

Thank you Zero Hedge for all the articles and to all who comment.

Happy New Year from Commiefornia.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:41 | 5611051 socalbeach
socalbeach's picture

Anybody else getting an error when trying to access ""Soros Put" Hits Record As Billionaire's Downside Hedge Rises By 154% in Q4 To $1.3 Billion."  (#4) ?

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:36 | 5611189 Usurious
Usurious's picture

yes........

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:27 | 5611710 Rusty Shorts
Rusty Shorts's picture

.

 

 

 

Y2KXV

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:42 | 5611061 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

 

 

Happy New Year!!

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:51 | 5611083 Smuckers
Smuckers's picture

Happy new year to all the ZHers, and look forward to more members joining - some of you bitchez really make my day at times. And here's to no more plane crashes, that is soooo 2014.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:58 | 5611097 cristo
cristo's picture

Felix sit annus novus! from Vatican City

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:14 | 5611746 Fuku Ben
Fuku Ben's picture

That almost sounds obscene

So I'll wish the same to you

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:54 | 5611098 seek
seek's picture

Happy New Year fellow ZH MF'ers!

A couple more of these and I think we'll be proven correct.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:23 | 5611166 IridiumRebel
IridiumRebel's picture

Either that or we will die broke....

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:59 | 5611357 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

 

 

just like the way we all arrived

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:54 | 5611102 Serious.Lee
Serious.Lee's picture

Sincere thanks, ZH and ZH posters.  You're the top 1% of the 99%.  

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 21:58 | 5611109 Apostate2
Apostate2's picture

  'The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true'

 

(Tennyson, In Memorium)

Happy New Year

 

 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:02 | 5611119 WTFUD
WTFUD's picture

2014 feels like 10 years in 1. In fact, i have learnt more in this past year from Z/H and 'the folks' than all my other years put together.

Still it puzzles me that despite being sheared ( back ,sack and crack ) on a seasonal basis and over decades the sheep remain obediently in their pen's.

The END (of the PONZI) is NIGH.
My German friends are cursing more than i ( no mean feat ). Merkel is under real pressure from business leaders to shape up OR fuck off out of it.
The sanctimonious sanctions against Russia are biting their asses more than most.

Happy New Year to ALL bar the NSA .Gov Trolls

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:02 | 5611123 IridiumRebel
IridiumRebel's picture

Happy New Year to everyone! Thanks for all I've learned here.
I hope 2015 is calm. Hedge, prep and be patient. It'll pay off.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:53 | 5611626 himaroid
himaroid's picture

Thanks for all you've taught here.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:07 | 5611131 solidus
solidus's picture

Yes, thanks Tyler's. I do so love to be right, it's the being right so damn early that's a bitch.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:09 | 5611134 livefreediefree
livefreediefree's picture

In 46,359,902,123th place is the article "Putin good! Russia good!"

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:24 | 5611152 scrappy
scrappy's picture

What a year 2014.

Art reflects culture.

https://www.youtube.com/user/NMAWorldEdition

That should cover it.

Free booze for all!

Thanks all.

Scrap

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:20 | 5611159 HeavydutyMexica...
HeavydutyMexicanOfTheNorthernKingdom's picture

2014 will be remembered as the year Drudge Report ruined ZH for good.  Happy new year old broke and angry baby boomers!  Hurry up and expire already...the next generation needs the space.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:24 | 5611167 HumanResourceProblem
HumanResourceProblem's picture

Manifesto 2015

 

Government has no right to confer economic benefit.

The benevolence of individuals, not government, creates a just community.

Rich and poor share responsibility to build society.

The greatest philosophy of governance is the balance of executive, legislative and judicial authority.

Civility is a worthy goal.

Government is incompetent in most areas in which it is currently active.

Theocracy kills.

Our challenges are planetary.

Humans are lonely without animals.

Glorifying thugs is civil suicide.

Union members are not the only people who work.  

Be circumspect in speech, for sowing wind reaps the whirlwind.

Propaganda attacks reason.

Torture destroys torturer and victim.

Wealth is a great good.

Benevolence is a great good.

Achievement is a great good.

The family is a great good.

Friendship is a great good.

 

Happy New Year, Zero Hedgers, and thank you so much for keeping a free voice, Tylers!

 

 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:28 | 5611172 socalbeach
socalbeach's picture

I hate this site!

-Janet Yellen

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:36 | 5611188 q99x2
q99x2's picture

If you're going to have the most popular articles you have to have the most popular comments in 2014 too no?

 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:39 | 5611195 CrownedCoke
CrownedCoke's picture

Thanks ZH. After the articles are digested, the comments make me forget about the truth....for a moment.

Happy New Year Everyone.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:10 | 5611202 TalkToLind
TalkToLind's picture

<-- USD Crashes In 2015

<-- Gold, Silver And Oil Crash Further In 2015 

Happy New Year, Bitchez!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:16 | 5611573 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

If you want to mark both do so here. 

I will vote all crash further. 

Slowest fucking train wreck I ever did see...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:10 | 5612027 Ahoy Polloi
Ahoy Polloi's picture

I gotta agree with you on that one Ms.

 

Looks like a round of deflation is in the cards while the crude oil thing plays itself out.

 

TPTB just don't seem ready to 'pull the plug' just yet (which means that they're not IN CONTROL as some people might give them credit for)

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:57 | 5611223 Bernie777
Bernie777's picture

Link to 4th spot article about billionaires' puts in Q4 2013 is broken. By the way, any update about those put positions? Doubled down in 2014? 1 year decay and ~15% underlying adverse move is deadly for puts; overall, that should mean, at best, nearly no advance for those portfolios since Q4 2013, assuming the long portion is not leveraged...

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:02 | 5611238 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

lESBIANS? LO gIRLS LIKE S AND BOYS LIKE GIRZBO

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:04 | 5611239 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

lESBIANS? LO gI vAGINIAS ARE NASTY

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:18 | 5611577 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Yen is cross.

But is Yen cross dressing? Or?

Merry New Year you wonderful, odd, fucker.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:51 | 5611622 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

Sorry, mental prolapse. Thank goodnees I'll never explore politics. carpet munchers welcome.

 Ohh, and retired gavel bangers.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:51 | 5611625 himaroid
himaroid's picture

Did I teach you that?

Time for you to go grasshopper!

 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:02 | 5611242 economessed
economessed's picture

2014 was an amazing year, only because of all the things that didn't happen yet.  I deeply appreciate the effort that goes into keeping the electrons flowing on this site -- best regards to everyone in 2015.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:19 | 5611277 whoknoz
whoknoz's picture

ZH...the Tylers and the Thoughtful Uns...you've been makaing my day for quite awhile now and solid thanks and best wishes are in order...HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND TO ALL THE GOOD FIGHT...

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:21 | 5611281 TalkToLind
TalkToLind's picture

2014, the year of Peak Propaganda.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:18 | 5611580 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Wishful thinking. We ain't even gotten started yet. 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:32 | 5611306 mt paul
mt paul's picture

2014 the year

the delusion died

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:32 | 5611307 dexter_morgan
dexter_morgan's picture

Time to turn the page to a new year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqZCG3LzVac

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:39 | 5611322 TalkToLind
TalkToLind's picture

I'm just sayin', I don't need targeted advertisements.  Hot asian chicks works just fine for 98.7% of ZH readership.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:51 | 5611346 Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights's picture

Happy New Year......folks.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:19 | 5611581 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

We New Yeared some Tyler(s).

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:49 | 5611621 himaroid
himaroid's picture

I hope your foxhole is close by BOR.

 

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 23:59 | 5611354 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

Thanks for all I have been taught this year on Z/H, Tyler. And sorry for getting too stoned and drunk a couple of times and writing drivel whilst

buzzzzzed. Z/H is a good learning environment and I appreciate the effort you and the clone Tylers must be putting in here.

 

Cheers & Happy New Year Z/H.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:42 | 5611608 NuckingFuts
NuckingFuts's picture

We have all posted too stoned, drunk or wasted on pills (or perhaps that's just me). It comes with the territory...when you know the truth you have to dull the pain somehow. For those of you who do not indulge, I salute you, I don't know how you do it. Thanks for putting up with us of a weaker constitution but still equally awake to the horrors around us.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 11:11 | 5612117 Kolchak
Kolchak's picture

Well said Nucks, going on my third lifetime here due to inappropriate questioning, or was it discussion after the fact, either way myself and the news we discuss is sometimes inappropriate so whats it matter.

 

Happy New year ZH may all our pining come to fruition.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 15:22 | 5612672 actionjacksonbrownie
actionjacksonbrownie's picture

How do we do it?

 

While you spend your "money" on booze, pills, and weeeed... we trade our paper and digits for silver and gold.

 

PM's are the most potent pain killer for me ;-))

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:00 | 5611358 ghsebldr
ghsebldr's picture

Been reading this site and comments (that's hard) for about a year now and have a question.

 When does the sky finally fall, I'm getting a stiff neck here.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:01 | 5611363 dexter_morgan
Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:40 | 5611720 Rusty Shorts
Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:24 | 5611586 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

It's called collapse fatigue. You will go back to your normal life and calmly prep and calmly keep tuned in once your obsession wears off. You will tune in and out to us and other websites as events intensify and wane. What we all come to is that it has always been like this, the only difference is we know it now.

I have been following the collapse since 2006. Been through some stages of things.

Happy New Year and best wishes.

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:05 | 5611698 U-P-G-R-A-Y-E-D-D
U-P-G-R-A-Y-E-D-D's picture

HNY Miss.  How the heck did you get a downvote for that wisdom?

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 12:06 | 5612185 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 I was thinking the same thing. (11) upvotes looks nice. ;-)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 06:04 | 5611795 Pareto
Pareto's picture

Its a slow grind man.  If you want to know "when does the sky finally fall?", you're asking the wrong question - or rather a question that is impossible to answer.  ZH is a place of economic process and analysis - where you have to start piecing it together and in the context of your own (and other ZH'er) experiences.  I don't look to ZH for when.  Because that, in itself, wouldn't be very valuable.  I am more interested in how we get there, and what it might look like and thats the greatest benefit ZH affords - in my opinion.  The article sets the stage (the best being some Keynesian monetarist that confronts an Austrian critique of sorts (again in my opinion these are the best) and the ZH community takes the issue to task.  And what I find fascinating is that the "when" that you are after while aptly described by the ZH community with various and many possibilities and under various and many assumptions, it is never actually stated, mostly because that would be a sort of trivial result.  Best guess, in the end, is Fuck - who knows.  I might shudder and lose color otherwise - because some people here have provided some killer insights here independent of any time horizon - but, I am no less shit scared for it and particularly about the very uncertainty you seek clarity on.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't glean something from these fuckers because every ZH'er is trying to figure shit out too and for this I am thankful and grateful because the ZH perspective arrives from people's thoughts and from their experiences - from their gut - and they have taken the time to share it - which makes it real and, therefore, one of the few credible sources of information worth spending any time on.  This is all I really know - and that's probably not saying much.  But, if I may, if you're continuing to experience a stiff neck - stop looking up at the sky - and consider instead other alternatives.  cheers.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:03 | 5611369 kayaky
kayaky's picture

I am an appreciative reader of ZeroHedge. Thanks for all your good work.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:09 | 5611379 ghsebldr
ghsebldr's picture

maybe you know when the sky is going to fall?

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 11:38 | 5612145 Ahoy Polloi
Ahoy Polloi's picture

There is no sky. I hope that helps.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:28 | 5611409 Roger Shermanator
Roger Shermanator's picture

Happy New Years Tylerz and fellow Zeroes!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:30 | 5611410 adeptish
adeptish's picture

Thanks Tylers...

2015 Bitches...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 00:31 | 5611412 scatha
scatha's picture

First rule of zerohedge. You never stop talking about zerohedge.

Second rule of zerohedge. You never stop supporting zerohedge.

Third rule of zerohedge. You never stop contributing to zerohedge.

For Tyler's sake:

 Never stop oposing nonsens.

 Never stop being concerned.

 Never stop questioning authority.

 Never act upon propaganda.

 Never stop learning.

 Never stop teaching.

 Never stop telling the truth.

ZH have great year 2015.

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:20 | 5611897 Pareto
Pareto's picture

+1000

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:02 | 5611453 Urtica ferox
Urtica ferox's picture

Spent a long time looking for a realist news site without a pinkish tinge - so glad I found ZH. Thanks Tylers!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:01 | 5611455 steelrules
steelrules's picture

Happy New Year all, at least there's something to look forward to in 2015.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/12/30/horrifying-ci...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:05 | 5611461 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture
One Hand Loose Charlie Feathers I'm a tip-top daddy and I'm gonna have my way
Keep away from the corners is what I got to say
With a-one hand only, get a-ready for a ride
Give me one hand loose and I'll be satisfied

Give me a free hand baby, 'cause I wanna rock
Turn me loose and maybe I will blow my top
Give me a free hand woman, let it swing by my side
Just give me one hand loose and I'll be satisfied
Turn loose, oh, turn loose

Well, feel the rhythm in your bones and you know how I feel
But don't you grab me close baby, this time is for real
Get ready for some rockin', pick 'em up and put 'em down
Give me one hand loose and I'll be satisfied

Give me a free hand baby, 'cause I wanna rock
Turn me loose and maybe I will blow my top
Give me a free hand baby, let it swing by my side
Just give me one hand loose and I'll be satisfied
Satisfied, oh, do it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe0OeU4Np8w

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:41 | 5611606 himaroid
himaroid's picture

dupey dopey

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:48 | 5611607 himaroid
Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:06 | 5611462 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture

Happy New Year!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:17 | 5611474 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture

ROCKIN' CHAIR DADDY
(Floyd)
HARMONICA FRANK FLOYD (SUN 205, 1954)

Well, I'm a rockin' chair daddy from Mississippi way
And I rock all night and I rock all day
Rock two days, ain't a worry of mine
I can rock two days just any old time
Well, I rock my own way, started rockin' on their own
To take my rockin' your mama can't keep you at home

Well, I never went to college and I never went to school
But when it comes to rockin' I'm a rockin' fool
Need a little rockin' don't you tell me so
Give better rockin' you ever had before (rock it boy)
(Oh, shove, boot it now)

Well, I rock my own way, started rockin' on their own
To take my rockin' your mama can't keep you at home
Play that thing boy, it sure is good
Play it like you mean it
Never had some time with a good cool can of beer
I whoop them blues all away from here

Well, I rock my own way, started rockin' on their own
To take my rockin' your mama can't keep you at home
Rock 'em over and I rock 'em down
Rock 'em in the country and rock 'em in the town
Rock to Memphis on bandstand main
Up walked a lady and she asked me my name
Well, I told her my name was on the tag of shirt
A rockin' chair daddy, don't have to work

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Isxm4HF3c

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:29 | 5611482 nmewn
nmewn's picture

I've never heard so much automatic weapons fire in my life as here in Florida this morning.

God I love my people ;-)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:39 | 5611602 himaroid
himaroid's picture

Did you hear that shiot from halfway up nawth, about 12:15?

I rattled the the fucking bears asses around here.

Rock on NMEWN!

Y'all save me some fucking gator meat. I'm bringing the Tabasco this summer.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:29 | 5611763 Pareto
Pareto's picture

+1 eyyeahass!  The 2nd Amendment - the 1st and all other Amendments bigger brother.  And thats just fine by me.  Best to you nmewn in 2015.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:39 | 5611496 VyseLegendaire
VyseLegendaire's picture

2014 - or is it 4102?? because MSNBS/CNN said so? 

 

Credibility not needed. ~~

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:41 | 5611500 DirkDiggler11
DirkDiggler11's picture

2015, the year in which "The War Of Northern Agression" takes a new twist as the CSA and The US Army BOTH turn against their government and commence to conduct some proper hangin's.

We can start on Wall Street first as a warm up for the operations in Washington DC ...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:51 | 5611530 AgeOfJefferson
AgeOfJefferson's picture

Thanks Tylers for a year of GREAT ARTICLES! I don't know of any other single news source that covers what's really going on in our corrupt and manipulated world. Thanks again for shedding some light on all this darkness and madness, as it helps us better understand our complex world.

2015 will see the beginning of the end for the West. Here's a look into the future:

Demise of the West: The Dystopian Prophecies

http://www.peakprosperity.com/forum/89110/demise-west-dystopian-prophecies

22 predictions of what's in store for the West (including Japan) - and it all starts this year!

Happy New Year to all my fellow ZH'ers!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 01:52 | 5611531 xcehn
xcehn's picture

Thank you for this forum Tylers. Thank you for the commenters. I wish the ZH community the best, because I share your pain and anguish. The closest ones are ironically the most distant ones. Before the Castle.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:00 | 5611553 Steverino
Steverino's picture

...from Martin Armstrong's article... WORD.

 

"The repeal of Glass Steagall was the final straw that broke the back of the world economy. That was the single worst act that could have ever been done and we are now paying the price in spades."

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:04 | 5611564 IronForge
IronForge's picture

Best wishes to all.

Thanks, Tylers, for posting about the events that the Presstitutes leave out.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:23 | 5611583 Counterpunch
Counterpunch's picture

ZH provides a vital offering of alternatives to MSM narratives [we can easily read those anywhere] and remains, thus far, an oasis of free speech.

And should serve as a reminder - the answer for speech/ideas/theories you don't like is more speech.... 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 02:30 | 5611594 Inthemix96
Inthemix96's picture

Thanks Tyler, and thanks all you bitchez who make ZH what it is.

May 2015 bring you interesting times...

Happy New Year folks

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:26 | 5611760 Pareto
Pareto's picture

You the same mate!  I look forward to terse and unedited translations.  Keeps it real.  be well man and the best to you in 2015.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 07:16 | 5611836 Inthemix96
Inthemix96's picture

Right back at you Pareto my friend.

I wish you and your family the very best for the coming year.

96

;-)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:15 | 5611655 Luckhasit
Luckhasit's picture

I think it's time to get drunk.

Thank you Tylers and the ZH Community.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:15 | 5611656 Bolweevil
Bolweevil's picture

I love you goofy bastards.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:18 | 5611659 Racking Horse
Racking Horse's picture

Gold and guns destinguishes liberty from slavery. Zero Hedge is the place to step freely into the ring, exercise your liberty and receive some reality.

The real battle we are all fighting has always been and always will be between those who want to run other peoples’ lives for them, and those who will not be overrun.

Tyler's, I thank you and wish everyone the very best!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:06 | 5611701 Fuku Ben
Fuku Ben's picture

Freedom is in my vocabulary but not Liberty

So here is to the end the tyrants liberty

And let freedom ring

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 21:15 | 5613582 Racking Horse
Racking Horse's picture

Thats cool, and I agree.

Individuals should enjoy the liberty to pursue their own interests and preferences. As long as it does not lead to anarchy in which individuals or groups within a nation would claim rights and privileges which appeal to them, but not guarantee the same privilege to others....

Unfortunately, anarchy is exactly where we are heading.

Long live the freedom to stop it and the Fed!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:29 | 5611671 Grouchy-Bear
Grouchy-Bear's picture

Hmm...

All have a good 2015. It was a bang here in Russia, they still are shooting fireworks, 10.5 hours later...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:51 | 5612074 Volkodav
Volkodav's picture

Windows to Russia

http://windowstorussia.com/

S novym godom kk!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 16:54 | 5612954 Grouchy-Bear
Grouchy-Bear's picture

Thanks and Happy New Year to you also...

S novym godom

They are still shooting fireworks, crazy ass Russians... :)

It is why I love Russia, the Russians are the most wonderful people...

This year, Russians are saying about the New Year, "Happiness and peace from above!"

Means, be happy and hope that no one bombs us from the sky...

Guess who the "no one" is? First two guesses do not count...

Sad...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:33 | 5611675 Runs-With_Toast
Runs-With_Toast's picture

May the SHTF this year, as scavenging will be harder when Im older

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:36 | 5611677 Fuku Ben
Fuku Ben's picture

My hangover today is yours tomorrow

So Happy New Year Bitches!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 03:45 | 5611682 Hapa
Hapa's picture

Thanks for my daily fix.  ZH is a lifeline for many of us.  And thanks for all the insightful comments, you rowdy bunch.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:10 | 5611705 JamaicaJim
JamaicaJim's picture

Happy New Year!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:25 | 5611711 Manic by Proxy
Manic by Proxy's picture

Thanks for another year Tyler(s). Happy New Year bitchez. I continue to read and even learn - God help me. ZHers are collectively amazing. Individually, some of you need medications or a world view transplant. That's what makes Fight Club interesting. The slide into the well-disguised Great Depression II continues. But I have 65" HDTV, iPhone and Costco membership. I'm ready.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 04:51 | 5611729 Fuku Ben
Fuku Ben's picture

And as a bonus New Years gift for you bottom feeders that regularly post at the end and get so few up votes here was my two best calls last year. Take them for what you will and do with them what you want as the New Year begins

1. Gold/Silver bottom call - $1150/$15 (Almost spot on) Called months in advance

2. 3rd Airline Crash 11/26 Prediction - This was an easy call for many reasons. Just follow the pagan death cults running the planet. They couldn't be creative if they wanted to because they have to tie everything to their magick numbers. Think of it like an OCD for satanists

My prediction was far ahead of the "Chinese blogger" (link below) so the media should have given credit to ZH. While the event actually occurred 33 days after this date 11/26 was the mysterious unexplained $250+ gold spike "glitch". So since in a spell 3rd times the charm going for the gold on that date makes more sense. And the death and destruction celebration for the death cult 33 days later with the crash

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20141230/1016394698.html

While I wold never encourage betting on death and destruction for making a profit you all know who would do this and is doing this. And they have actual foreknowledge of the event which makes it premeditated. And they not only don't give a shit they actually love it. So you at least had an opportunity to exit your positions and not be a part of it. Or if you're a greedy psychopath you could have shorted Asian related airlines and made a fortune

But as ZH warns never take investment advice here. Especially in a rigged game. That is unless you know who the riggers are and what their game is then you do your best beat them at their own game and hedge to zero with some insurance

Maybe I'll crowd fund a Globalist Death Cult Hedge Fund in 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOiZP8FS5Ww

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:16 | 5611748 thegr8whorebabylon
thegr8whorebabylon's picture

Christine LaGarde's numerology lessons aside, maybe Soros shorted oil.

Happy New Year   ZEROS   from the wet coast.

tHANKS FOR ALL YOU DO TYLERZ, A WONDERFUL FORUM.

 

can anyone read the NA continental lake-heiroglyphics?

http://www.locutions.org/d

 

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:40 | 5611775 Gaffing_Nome
Gaffing_Nome's picture

Popping in...

Thanks Tyler's and ZH'ers. Big wave to George Washington.

I'd go nuts without this nut-house.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:53 | 5611783 TeethVillage88s
TeethVillage88s's picture

Thing is Bankers can't take over Assets, Real Estate, Buildings, Companies, and US Debt unless one of several things takes place

- Stiffer Bankruptcy laws - Check, Completed
- LIRP or ZIRP while having liberal Banking Policies
- Banking Monopolies, Like on Wall Street
- Financial Bubbles, Asset Bubbles
- Stock market Crashes or Economic Crashes
- Control the Stock Market, make the Stock Market continually Rise
- Control US Congress & all Legislation/Write the Legislation
- Create Inflation, hold wages down, spread debt, ensure employee loyalty to either money or to Career (Fear of Debt)

These things ensure that bankers always win, always profit, always have new opportunity.

Like Thomas Jefferson Said... if ever the Bankers get control of the Currency they will control the country... But bankers have a lot of Angles worked out over 5,000 years since Mesopotamia.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 05:55 | 5611788 Batman11
Batman11's picture

European and US history are very different.

In Europe we still have an aristocracy of very rich people whose families have been bone idle for centuries. This wealth is just inherited and not earned.

So taxing the rich falls on much more receptive ears within Europe.

 

The US was a new country where everything was up for grabs (Europe had been carved up centuries ago and was now mostly in the hands of a small elite).

The US was a land of opportunity where anyone could make it to the top.

But now the US is starting to look like old Europe; all the land is owned by a few families and it is forming it's own Aristocracy.

This Aristocracy will be just the same as the old European one and get used to living off inherited wealth and do evrything possible to ensure they survive in the luxury thay have become accustomed to.

 

In Europe the battle to spread wealth out from the few to the many has been going on for millenia.

The Magna Carta (on which the US constitution is based) was the first step in barons taking power away from an absolute monarch.

Since then we have had an aritocracy that has held on to wealth and power and only in the last century have we chipped away at their money and power for the common good.

 

The US is now formimg it's aristocracy and maybe one of these families will dominate and you will live history backwards to create an absolute monarch.

The US is going backwards compared to Europe, wake up. 

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 06:59 | 5611824 Batman11
Batman11's picture

In the Uk our rich list is topped by the Duke of Westminster, a member of the old aristocracy who did absolutely nothing to earn this wealth.

Not surprisingly, we don't see all wealth as being earned.

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 07:45 | 5611859 Batman11
Batman11's picture

Now the US has been carved up and the wealth lies with a few families, it is as dead as old Europe.

It is hardly surprising all the dynamism is now in the East.

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:33 | 5611912 Batman11
Batman11's picture

Nominations for the first King of America:

Jamie I (Dimon) 

or

Lloyd I (Blankfein)

They are in all but name anyway.

 

 

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:36 | 5612066 trader1
trader1's picture

The US has always had and still has an aristocracy.

Remember our fearless leader George Washington?

https://archive.org/details/georgewashington009211mbp 

This history is not different, rather an alternate track of Europeans who sought to escape the homefront for better opportunities and who had a thirst for new adventures.

Many Europeans and their children (Franklin, Hancock, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, etc.) all did very well for themselves.

They were part of the New World aristocracy

inhabiting a land continent of "manifest destiny" potential.

By 1776, we see the battle cries of this nouveau American aristocracy against Old English aristocracy

opening a door for self-preservation (of land, wealth) and self-determination (of governance). 

We know how the story ended.  

But, do we understand all the power plays that led to its climax?

SHIFTS IN POWER

which set the US-juggernaut in motion and onto the current course it finds itself.

Somehow, a mythos was erected around the founding of the USA.

"Land of the Free, Home of the Brave"

"Liberty and Justice for ALL"

"That ALL men are born equally free, and independent; and have certain, natural, inherent, and inalienable rights; amongst which are; the enjoying and defending of life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."

ALL (WO)MEN?

Or just those who belong to the

PROPERTY-OWNING CLASS?

 

The hidden in plain sight story is that we've always lived in an Old European-esque style of aristocracy since 1776, if not earlier.

The founders constructed a political economy and society that would benefit themselves / their families first in addition to the pursuit of their dreams.

All of which is understandable, but not necessarily a strong foundation for sound, long-term planning for governing a "melting pot" nation of 320 million people today.

The main players simply changed their allegiances, brands, appearances, and words to align with their interests for a

NEW WORLD ORDER

The rabbit hole runs deep.

One aspect of the journey begins here:

http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2014/02/james-wilson-political...

http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/james-wilson/

http://colonialhall.com/wilson/wilsonRachael.php

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bhp/blackhistory/african-american-labor-in-p...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Constitution_of_1776

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 13:44 | 5612435 trader1
trader1's picture

junk and run.

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 13:56 | 5612470 trader1
trader1's picture

Washington stood for a system in which one man enriches himself by skimming off the excess value of his underlings’ work....From the founding of this country up until the Civil War, Washington’s order was dominant. It’s been dominant in our era, too, ever since Washington’s native South regained control of the federal government in the 1970s.

If you want to understand why the United States has never achieved the same level of economic equality as other industrialized nations, you have to look back at Washington’s life and career. And then you have to look back even further, to Washington’s ancestors, who settled Virginia. You’ll find that inequality was one of this nation’s founding principles.

In his socio-historical study “Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America,” David Hackett Fischer argued that American slavery did not result in a stratified society, but was established in order to create one. The early Virginia settlers were the second and third sons of aristocratic families in the south and west of England, and they intended to enjoy in the New World the lifestyle that primogeniture had denied them on their fathers’ manors in the Old. At first, they tried to enslave the Natives. When that failed, they imported Africans.

“Virginia’s ruling elite … required an underclass that would remain firmly fixed in its condition of subordination,” Fischer wrote. “The culture of the English countryside could not be reproduced in the New World without this rural proletariat.”

From its origins in America’s first colony, this aristocratic system spread throughout the entire South. Its success could be found “in the small and very powerful class of landed gentry, in the large majority of landless tenants and laborers, in the minority status of its middle class, in the general level of wealth inequality (Gini ratios of .60 to .75), in the magnitude of poverty and in the degradation of the poor.”

As a result of the Virginians’ social engineering, the United States became a colonial nation in which a European elite has traditionally dominated a combination of indigenous people and descendants of Africans imported to work as slaves. We’re a first-world country and a third-world country, coexisting within the same borders.

...

No one benefited from the top-heavy economic structure of colonial Virginia more than George Washington. Washington was a country squire who rode to hounds, danced at cotillions and ordered china and fashionable breeches from London. By the end of his life, he was master of 277 slaves, on whose backs he built the fortune that enabled him to serve as commander in chief of the Continental Army, and then president. Washington was one of the wealthiest men in the United States, and is still the wealthiest man ever to hold the presidency.

...

Sam Walton built his business on a plantation model with which Washington would have been familiar. The merchant opened his first Wal-Marts in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, paying wages that were low even for a region accustomed to extremes of wealth. He started his cashiers at 50 cents an hour — half the minimum wage — on the grounds that the law applied only to businesses with 50 employees or more, and each of his stores was more lightly staffed than that. Wal-Mart cashiers got raises only when the Labor Department stepped in. Like Washington’s tobacco plantation, Walton’s stores were labor-intensive operations that could only turn a profit if workers were bargained down to the lowest possible nickel. Walton’s product was low prices, which were possible only if his workers earned low wages. Undistracted by war or politics, Walton did Washington better, becoming the wealthiest man in America, with a fortune of $20 billion — the surplus he skimmed off the labor of 1.1 million employees. Wal-Mart also became the largest employer in the U.S., displacing General Motors, which practiced Fordism on an even larger scale than Ford.

“It is doubtful Wal-Mart would have met similar success in an earlier period of American economic history, or in a different social and political environment,” wrote Jeff Madrick in “Age of Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America, 1970 to the Present.” “Labor laws were increasingly poorly enforced in this era, starting with the Reagan administration. The number of government labor inspectors was not increased even as the nation’s workforce grew vastly in number … Across the nation, a rapidly growing number of workers were illegally fired when they tried to organize fellow workers into unions. Congress also deliberately kept the minimum wage down, raising it rarely, so it fell compared to inflation.”

...

Actually, the economic deregulation that would help make Sam Walton a multibillionaire began one president earlier, under Jimmy Carter. Carter, the son of a moderately prosperous peanut farmer whose land was worked by sharecroppers, was the first Southerner to win the presidency in his own right since Zachary Taylor. His election began a three-decade period during which every president either hailed from a Southern state or, in Ronald Reagan’s case, was elected with strong Southern support. George Washington’s region had returned to power, and that return brought political support for the stratified society that has existed in the South since the Father of Our Country’s day...

For a long time, that was a regional economic strategy, but once the South recaptured the federal government, it attempted to spread that ethos throughout the entire nation — with great success, as evidenced by today’s weak labor laws and lagging minimum wages. Wal-Mart could not have broken out of its cradle in Dixie and become the nation’s dominant retailer without those policies. Even Indiana and Michigan, once-reliable redoubts of free labor, recently became right-to-work states, putting themselves on the same page as every member of the old Confederacy.

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/17/they_spawned_the_1_percent_how_washingto...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 14:37 | 5612574 Batman11
Batman11's picture

Interesting stuff 

Sun, 01/04/2015 - 04:53 | 5620156 gallistic
gallistic's picture

While everybody else is having a mass masturbatory session about the past year and how great the ZH community is, it is good to see someone who actually posted something that demonstrates why this is so.

I agree with the general thrust of your post, and would add two relevant observations.

1. American historian Charles A. Beard undertook an exhaustive review of the occupations and property holdings of the members of the constitutional convention from the original tax and census records, supporting your view of the "American aristocracy", and clearly demonstrated the degree to which each stood to benefit from various Constitutional provisions. He wrote an absolutely phenomenal book about this in 1913 titled An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.

2. Howard Zinn's simple observations captured in his essay A Kind of Revolution (Chapter 5 of A People's History of the United States) on the Constitution that was ratified are absolutely correct, and illustrate the point you make about the "American Aristocracy" and "property-owning class".

-------------------------

Zinn

Howard Zinn subscribes to the idea that the makers of the Constitution had direct economic interest in establishing a strong federal government without disturbing the relation of wealth and power that had developed over 150 years of colonial history. He essentially sees it as the work of the aristocratic groups you mentioned, trying to maintain their privileges, while giving just enough rights and liberties to small property owners, for middle-income mechanics and farmers, to build a broad base of support to ensure passage.

Zinn also points to other provisions of the Constitution, like the clause forbidding states to "impair the obligation of contract”, and asks us to consider that contracts made between rich and poor, between employer and employee, landlord and tenant, creditor and debtor, generally favor the more powerful of the two parties. Thus, to protect these contracts is to put the great power of the government, its laws, courts, sheriffs, police, on the side of the privileged; and to do it not as in pre-modern times, as an exercise of brute force against the weak, but as a matter of law.

The fundamental problem of democracy in the post-Revolutionary society was the disparity in wealth and power, and the implementation of government. A small elite had great wealth and great influence; they had the land, the money, the newspapers, the church, the educational system etc. The only direct voting was for the “lower” house of Congress, the House of Representatives. Also, the qualifications to vote were set by the state legislatures (which required property-holding for voting in almost all the states), and excluded all women, all indentured servants, men without property, and all slaves. This group constituted the vast majority of the population, and they had no voice or say at all in government.

This majority was also not represented in the Philadelphia convention where the Constitution was hammered out, so the final constitutional product did not reflect important interests of those groups.

The Constitution as ratified was lopsided, because it provided for Senators to be elected by the state legislators, for the President to be elected by electors chosen by the state legislators, and for the Supreme Court to be appointed by the President. The Executive, the Judiciary, and half of the legislative branch was controlled by the moneyed elite, who could essentially pick, negotiate, and appoint candidates who would not be accountable to the mass of people.

This almost monolithic dominance was by design. If one were to put it mathematically, the elite had control of 5/6 or 83% of the government (Executive, Judiciary, and half of Legislative). The other 17% of government was elected by property owning white males, whose interest was often aligned with the elite’s.

Zinn concludes that when one looks at the economic interests, the social backgrounds, of the makers of the Constitution, the disorder they feared is the disorder of popular rebellion against those monopolizing the society's wealth. The founding fathers in fact, did not want a balance, except one which kept things as they were; a balance among the dominant forces at that time. They most certainly did not want an equal balance between slaves and masters, property-less and property holders, or Indians and white.

-----------------------

Beard

The primary pieces of evidence used by Mr. Beard were the records of the Treasury Department at the Library of Congress in Washington, which throw light upon the economic conditions of the United States in the years 1783-1787, and specifically document the financial interests of the framers of the Constitution.  He also makes extensive reference to many more well-known and mainstream historical documents throughout his book.

The general thesis of Charles Beard’s Theory is that “economic elements are the chief factors in the development of political institutions and that social progress in general is the result of contending interests in society”.

As to the motivation of the founding fathers, he contends that “the formation of the Constitution was taken by a small and active group of men immediately interested through their personal possessions in the outcome of their labours (sic). The members of the Philadelphia Convention which drafted the Constitution were, with a few exceptions, immediately, directly, and personally interested in, and derived economic advantages from, the establishment of the new system. The Constitution was essentially an economic document based upon the concept that the fundamental private rights of property are anterior to government and morally beyond the reach of popular majorities”.

Beard’s published book ignited a firestorm, because the prevailing view and historical narrative tended (and still does!) to treat the founding fathers as divine, enlightened statesmen. Beard’s analysis ran contrary to the generally accepted narrative and is perhaps captured best in this quote from Beard: "The thing to do is to lay a mine, store it with nitro, and then let it off in such a fashion that it rips the bowels out of something important, making it impossible for the fools to travel that way anymore".

I believe he is undeniably correct in his observations. Besides, I personally love truth bombs that rip the bowels out of accepted myths, truisms, and manufactured consent, so yeah, I can’t help but love this guy.

 

 

Man, do not even get me started on George Washington...

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 06:58 | 5611822 Svendblaaskaeg
Svendblaaskaeg's picture

Thanks Tylers and commenters!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 07:46 | 5611862 Stud Duck
Stud Duck's picture

To all you ZH fucker, thanks! You have been super entertaining to say the least. 

I guess what an old time cowboy told me long ago applies to what we are are trying to express here on ZH.

That piece of wisdom is as follows:

1)  If you ain;t pulling your weight, your pushing your luck"

2) "Friends will come and go, but if you make an enemy you got that SOB for life"

3) Watch how your friends treat other people, they well get around to treating you the same way"

4) "It is not the return ON my money that I am worried about, it is the return OF my money that I am worried about: (Will Rogers)

To all, lets keep pouring it to 'em.

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 12:09 | 5612191 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

As my dear old mom would say:

If you don't want to listen to my advice, go to HELL your own way.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:19 | 5611895 Euro Monster
Euro Monster's picture

All the best people! Hope that sooner than later we will witness some real chanages but without a bloodshed, that will finally give us peace and joy of life! Again. All the best and a happy new year :)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:45 | 5611925 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

All the best and a happy new year :)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:48 | 5611928 smacker
smacker's picture

I can't see any comment from "JR" here today, so let me take this moment to thank him for his valuable and well researched contributions to ZH.

Apart from the Tylers and numerous Guest Posters, the many informed commenters add to the educational interest of ZH.

HNY to all.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:50 | 5611929 Manipuflation
Manipuflation's picture

No kidding.  I just love sending people who are assholes to absolute paperwork hell and I did so many times in 2014.  The assholes are not ZHer's but rather people whom we do business with and/or the state.  It's about calling up the state or calling your vendor and calling them into question about what the fuck they think they are doing.  I made several hundred phones calls in 2014.  I had go arounds from insurance claims to some sort licensing all the way into trying to settle my mom's real estate three years after her death.  I really had to just call them all and ask questions. 

I got the REA paperwork yesterday and the contract evaporated last night at 12:00 AM.  I guess he is not going to sue me because my buyer is not listed in his protected buyer list.  I suppose not you asshole REA.  If you can't make a deal and the REA before you could not do so either then someone else needed to step up and that someone was me.  I DID THE FUCKING JOB that I hired your lazy ass to do.  What the fuck is your problem you fucking moron?  How bad do you suck?  REAs for most part seem not to be not professionals.  There must be some good ones out there but I guess I am one.  Come on man.   

Now I have the legal paperwork in hand as the REA waited until the last minute.  The last minute is over now.  Happy New Year!  Come on man, I gave you a year to get the job done and you didn't do it.  Good idea to drop any lawsuit because in the contract it says that I can sue you back for breach of contract and this guy knows I would win.  I could start naming names.  I won't do that right now but I could.  No one says I can't do so later on.         

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 08:56 | 5611937 Inthemix96
Inthemix96's picture

Happy new year mani my friend, and dont let the bastards get you down.

Its 1pm here and me and the good lady are getting ready to out and celebrate with a few friends.  All the very best for the coming year mate, pass my best wishes onto the wife and kids.

:-)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 14:26 | 5612549 Manipuflation
Manipuflation's picture

Yes Sir.  I wish you the best.  Thank you.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 09:37 | 5611983 Escapedgoat
Escapedgoat's picture

A Great big thanks to Tylers and the Rowdy Zerohedge Crowd.

It never fails to make my day, especially thanks to the uncompromising ones.

Have  a great  2015 fit for Freedom and justice to all mankind.

Oh before I forget , To all the banksters and politicians as well as their Presstitutes have what you deserve, a rope and a guillotine.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 09:56 | 5612005 Grouchy Marx
Grouchy Marx's picture

"fallacy, fiction, fraud, and farce"...

How I love ZH: the raw truth, and alliteration to boot!

HNY to all.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:05 | 5612017 freedom123
freedom123's picture

USDRUB 64,47

http://www.forexpf.ru/currency_usd.asp

The Ruble Is Plunging

The ruble is getting slammed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ruble-plunging-again-2014-12

 

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:18 | 5612036 GCT
GCT's picture

Happy New Tylers and Happy New Year's to some of the best commenters on the internet.  Speaking of some hilarious commenters that I miss.

Robotrader was funny, but Milliondollarbonus definitly would win my vote!

See you all in another year of keeping it real an staying informed.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:33 | 5612067 F0ster
F0ster's picture

To all at ZH, thanks for torturing all the right folks! Thanks also for givbg us the best read on the Internet!!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:34 | 5612071 dirty belly
dirty belly's picture
Thursday, January 1, 2015

Opening of the Box

 

[I] have been contacted by a certain benefactor who is willing to donate considerable funds to sponsor projects that are supporting the Lightworkers and Light forces as we are approaching the planetary liberation. This charitable account is an ongoing fund to provide humanitarian aid and financial support where the need is the greatest. Funds can be given ONLY to 501 (c) (3) organizations, registered within the US, preferably to a specific charitable or scientific project.    These funds are NOT part of the collateral accounts, are NOT part of the Reset process and may or may not be connected with the Dragon sources.    If you own a 501 (c) (3) organization and have projects that need funding, you can send an email with a clear and concise description of your project (1000 words maximum) to cobraresistance@gmail.com. All email requests for donations from non-501 (c) (3)  sources will be deleted without being read. From all propositions received, a few projects will be selected for funding according to the Resistance Movement protocols and guidelines to achieve the maximum positive effect on humanity.   

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:39 | 5612075 Anasteus
Anasteus's picture

All the best to all and thank you Zerohedge for another year of superb work and being with us!

Happy new year.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:43 | 5612085 Griffin
Griffin's picture

Best wishes for a great new year from Iceland.

Somehow i suspect this year will be a eventful and interesting one.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 10:50 | 5612090 Volkodav
Volkodav's picture

Natalia Poklonskaya's New Years Message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=187PtO46Wsk

Crimea's Chief Prosecutor

S novyn godem!

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 11:09 | 5612115 GRDguy
GRDguy's picture

Thanks Tylers for helping with the "washing" effort:

"Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth,
but by washing away from it all that is not gold."
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 12:14 | 5612159 pauldia
pauldia's picture

Yes but the S&P tripled, oil fell dramaticallly, the dollar is King , gold puked, and many who read these musings are left to scapegoat Jews for their masochistic abuse. Some things never change, now commence projected hate and Happy New Year.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 12:08 | 5612179 falak pema
falak pema's picture

While you guys celebrate the past here is a view about 2015 which should please the Tylers  down to their shoes :

http://www.businessinsider.com/2015-will-be-the-year-of-dollar-danger-fo...

Not that this forsees Armageddon or US economy collapse but it should stoke the fires of ZH debate.

So happy new year! 

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!