This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Guest Post: Has Italy Gone Fascist?
Submitted by Morpheus
Has Italy Gone Fascist?
In August this year, CLSA’s Russell Napier wrote: “Italy is scary – yields will rise when governments chose to take money from their savers – what Russell calls THE GREAT THEFT - Expect massive capital flight”. Yet while Russell was commenting on Italy’s opening move in repressing private capital by raising the capital gains tax, but not on gains of government debt, the situation has moved with such speed over the past 5 months that the emergence of the first Fascist regime following the 2008 crisis can probably now be associated with the new Monti government.
And while Doug Casey addresses getting out of Dodge on these pages (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/doug-casey-addresses-getting-out-dodge), it may be time for Italian to get themselves as well as their capital even faster out of Pizzaland.
Here are the latest developments which are coming in at extraordinary speed:
- The appointment in December of an unelected government. This government has no accountability and no fixed time mandate. It is being sold as being “technocratic”, but is in fact headed by a University Professor who is distinguished for: (i) having been head of the EU Internal Market Commission, where he used the power of the State to fine Microsoft and other corporate that were “getting too big for their boots”;(ii) being a good friend of Romano Prodi, another University Professor from the Communist heartland of the University of Bologna and creator of the Euro (more on him later);(iii) a paid hand of Goldman Sachs and a friend of Mario Draghi, another Goldman puppet who dispatched of the government of Berlusconi within days of taking the helm of the ECB; (iv) a fervent believer in the pre-eminence of the state over the individual;
- Prodi, the original architect of this catastrophe, famously made this comment in 2001, indicating that this cabal of Professors are playing a very long game indeed:
I am sure the Euro will oblige us to introduce a new set of economic policy instruments. It is politically impossible to propose that now. But some day there will be a crisis and new instruments will be created.”
Romano Prodi, EU Commission President, December 2001
- Thanks to his friendship with Monti and the current government, he is very much still involved in shaping just what such instruments can be;
- The passing of an extraordinary edict making cash transactions of more than Euro 1,000 illegal (not subject to reporting – just plain illegal). Following Prodi’s own desire, the existing regime has indicated that this level will be progressively reduced to a limit as low as Euro 300. Hence cash is maybe for the first time in history no longer legal tender (over Euro 1,000, for now);
- A requirement that credit card companies report all transactions carried out by Italians, in Italy and abroad to the fiscal authorities;
- Delays and refusals by banks in allowing customers to withdraw cash balances of as little as Euro 10,000;
- Finance Police has placed cameras at the physical borders with Switzerland (see below) to register all license plates. In addition, currency-sniffing dogs have been deployed at the border (http://www.cdt.ch/ticino-e-regioni/cronaca/56250/fiscovelox-riapparsi-no...).
Events in Italy must be watched closely. The country that gifted Fascism to the world in the 1930s was widely admired even by FDR, who held Mussolini in high regard and was no doubt inspired in many of his own policy choices. Will Italy lead the way once more, as politicians in Europe and the US watch to see what oppressive policies they may get away with?
And while Russell Napier (correctly) foresees capital controls being imposed and suggested that one parks his cash in Singapore dollars, Italians may want to get themselves out as well before the current group of Professors slams the gates shut. Things are moving even faster than one of the world’s leading financial historians could foresee.
»
- 40897 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Ahem! I think the banks call that cash-processing operation "off-balance sheet funding". Ooops!
Look at who was trading with Kadaffi and Libya's money. You will find in general the same bank thieves.
ROTFL...there was a FrontLine episode on NAFTA many years ago (back when anyone gave a shit about NAFTA and how the industrial base was collapsing as a result) and the government and its bank auditors had found something like $30 billion in unaccountable funds in border banks on deposit. Parked. Done. Kosher cash now.
WB got busted for allowing wires out the yinyang...nice fee machine they thought they had.
Nobody goes to jail of course...corporations are persons only when it benefits their executives.
cherry picker
Be that as it may, the LAW is $10k, all he had to do was declare it.
Now he's out chump change for him.
They could have fined him $250, not the whole wad. For him he could handle it easily enough, but it is the principle of it. It was his money.
A few years ago a Mexican came here with $33,000 to purchase equipment for his business. He declared it, but they confiscated it if I remember correctly because they didn't believe him.
He was legit. I don't remember if he ever got it back or not.
Education comes in many ways and tuition for real education does not come cheap until you learn to FAIL early, often and cheap.
I lived in Italy for about a dozen years...
One time (on a return from the USA to Italy)... I was carrying a suitcase full of Whey protein powders, and many more TOTALLY LEGAL nutritional supplements... They confiscated the whole thing because they none of them were on any "approved" lists...
Now - if I had been carrying cigarettes & booze, that would have passed easily...
The world is fucked up...
You didn't realize their threat to confiscate was the opening of the transaction - they were expecting you to offer to bribe them, so they could get their share of the cut...
Since no offer to bribe, they considered it an insult & took everything...
Pasta!!!
You're probably right...
I'm a pragmatist at heart... I take my lumps (losses) and move on (wiser in the end)... I wish I was more like RoboTrader (who evidently has this kind of 'time machine' which can bend YESTERDAY'S stock movements into retrofitted daily profits)...
What was that shit they used to do back in the 90's "dot.com" boom, where they could retrofit execution of stock options... RoboTrader must have made a killing back then... He only lives in his grandma's basement now because he's independently wealthy and is thus fully immersed in philanthropy... I expect him to buy the Getty museum in LA in 5...4...3...2...
Once had a bag of avacados confiscated by TSA. On a later flight I asked a supervisor what reason they had to confiscate them he replied "Probably guacamole". Not everything has to be a dark conspiracy, there's plenty of ordinary thieving and stupidity as well.
indeed, it's not so much about the individuals who benefit from enforcing the laws, as it is about getting those laws put in place.
each new law is a brick they build their pyramids on. . .
Guys like me take cash out every week and keep it home,
go to just about any grocery store in the western USA (especially California) and watch while to "Mexican peons" check out. Nearly all will have a huge wad of cash which they use to pay for their goodies. Same goes for department stores during Xmas. Now look to see who uses plastic or writes checks. Yup! The illegals come and go at will without a trace. It's the citizens who are tracked and tagged and in danger.
more power to their elbows
watch while "Mexican peons" check out. Nearly all will have a huge wad of cash which they use to pay for their goodies.
...because businesses who illegally hire them need to pay them in cash to skirt the declarations and the employment taxes. I don't know how much you can blame folks for responding to an incentive if their accomplices are willing to cut corners to provide it.
Guys like me take cash out every week and keep it home, because I don't trust banks and don't think it is anyone's business what I purchase, which is traced through debit or credit cards.
Brilliant, but keep that practice under wraps. I've been tucking away dribs and drabs of fiat for some time now. $100 here, $200 there. Also, due to some international engagements, I have been able to accumulate in USD and two other currencies without notice. I figure when the ATMs are milked dry, that stuff might just come in handy before the PM stacks need to be mobilized.
Carry on.
Yes, we are legion.
You have hit the nail on the head why this is happening. 27% of Italy's GDP is in the 'shadow economy'. The government is not getting its juice from it but wants it. Facists versus Mafia...could be an upcoming episode of 'Deadliest Warrior' on SpikeTV.
No worries - the Mafia is getting its cut - Burlesqueoni was one of them & returned the favor of getting him in power (and all that fresh young pussy for the old fart) by helping create the infrastructure over the last 20 years so that it is now all seamless.
"Burlesqueoni" ~ now that's an instant classic (& gets a +)... I lived there for a dozen years and I've never heard that one before...
Anyway... As a subtle sidenote... One CANNOT simply cross boundaries by association with "Mafia" & "Italians" (which is too convenient)... Hell, there's MAFIA everywhere... Jews, Japs, Mexicans, Chicago politicans (oh hell ~ ALL politicians)... It doesn't ever stop...
Then, there are many who PLAY THE MAFIA GAME (in other ways), but are not classic mafia...
illegal like this:
http://www.babcockpartners.com/blog/chasetettleton/2011/10/23/louisiana-outlaws-cash-certain-transactions
cash above certain amounts already is.
There is a cash smuggling operation that runs in reverse of the drug smuggling operation.
Drugs flow into the US, cash flows out so that the cash can take advantage of laxer deposit and laundering rules in Mexico and latin america. Just deposit money there and it shows up as equivalent deposits in a branch of the same bank here. You may have to pay the bankers there a cut, but NAFTA ensures that cross-border banking must be respected.
Italy can't afford to go facist! Socialist / anarchist maybe? GDP/ 143% of debt!
Fascism is Socialism. Socialism is the main archetype, Fascism is the sub-type. Socialism includes Communism, Facism, Marxism, and Maoism. They all fall under the umbrella of theory that originated with Hegel.
I find it excedingly annoying that proponents of Socialism simply do not understand what it is themselves, and seem to think they can differentiate their idea of Socialism from the original idea.
Even I as a Individualist, do not fein to hide that most of the theory that grounded my principles comes from the application of the break off French Libertarian-Socialists Called Anarcho-Libertarians and Austrian Econo-Philosophers.
I'm not in open blantant denial about what I am, you know a sack of shit, flesh, and bones. That's fine though, your narcissism will be corrected by natural order soon enough. The Markets will speak about whatever the Eco(Nature/Reality/Sum of Material World) tells them to say. You will get crushed along with the rest of the sacks of bones shit and flesh.
"..rest of the sacks of bones shit and flesh. "
that there sounds like Jimmy Rodgers's getting up on "Honeycomb, won'tcha' be my baby...
Unless it is free market capitalism together with a constitutional democracy, it is all collectivism.
http://farmwars.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Trevor-and-the-dog.jpg
+1 for that, and the link to farmwars, they work hard at exposing all the new "laws" affecting our foods.
Will the people of Italy wake up and put a stop to this?
fightthepower
How?, they are unarmed................that's why what's left of this Republic should never relinquish willingly our weapons.
NEVER.
Lol, the thought that Americans armed with their pea-shooter pistols and AR15s will fight off the mikitarised PDs let alone the air force and army should government become more fascist is laughable. USA is 8/10 of the way there and still no resistance has been formed. Abe Lincoln put down 600,000 Americans when they resisted his tyranny, Obama/Romney/Santorum would not hesitate to do the same.
Oh contrare mon ami!
Who junked you DZ. My guess... the GOP candidates sans RP.
Molon labe. 80,000,000 gun owners in the USA.
US Citizens still own quite bit of "the hedge that mows" - not so easy to deal with in a big country given that many also have military training/experience.
They are all wearing body armor that will not stop a 7.62 NATO round. You know the most popular hunting round after the .30-06', which also penentrates up to Level 4 Body Armor.Learn your ballistics son, because you might be needing it someday.
Those armored vehicles have a weakness as well, they run on fuel that burns very well with the right conditions.
No Government in the world would take on the armed American populace. Any Government that would wish to enslave the American people would do so through subversive means only.
Sanford Levinson talked about this issue in his now rather famous essay The Embarrassing Second Amendment. http://www.firearmsandliberty.com/embar.html
“As the Tianamen Square tragedy showed so graphically, AK 47's fall into that category of weapons, and that is why they are protected by the Second Amendment." [95] It is simply silly to respond that small arms are irrelevant against nuclear armed states; Witness contemporary Northern Ireland and the territories occupied by Israel, where the sophisticated weaponry of Great Britain and Israel have proved almost totally beside the point. The fact that these may not be pleasant examples does not affect the principal point, that a state facing a totally disarmed population is in a far better position, for good or ill, to suppress popular demonstrations and uprisings than one that must calculate the possibilities of its soldiers and officials being injured or killed. [96] ”
The truth is a resolute minority working with the support of the population in which they operate is nearly impossible to ferret out. It is a mistake to look at the police or the military as one monolithic thing. They are not. It is true that these organizations attract specific personality types that enjoy employing the use of force to acquire their goals. Having said that, there are many within the ranks of both the military and the police that take their oaths to uphold the Constitution quite seriously. Consider the Oath Keepers. http://oathkeepers.org/oath/
Even the psychopaths among the ranks of the police and military would take pause if they had credible reason to believe that their lives were in jeopardy every time they kicked someone’s door in. The new National Defense Authorization Act gives the federal government the legal authority to disappear American citizens. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/02/president-obama-signed-the-national-defense-authorization-act-now-what/
In years past when your home was raided you had a reasonable expectation that you would have your day in court. This was a compelling reason to submit to the arresting authorities. Now there is a distinct possibility that the arresting authority has no intention of allowing you to survive your arrest and interrogation. The rules have changed. On the federal level, the Bill of Rights has been suspended.
Should the DOD expand its arrests to include say the White Supremacists by one administration and the Nation of Islam by another, the deadly nature of these new powers will become readily apparent to the population at large. As a consequence of these efforts, the utilization of deadly force to resist such arrest will invariably rise.
Members within the military and police will break ranks and join the ethnic groups they are drawn from. Fragmentation will result. At some point, a sitting president will use these new powers to arrest and detain his or her political opponents. It has happened in the past. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Vallandigham
At that point we will be in or about to begin our second civil war.
Let's not just assume that the US government would try to subdue the citizenry with heavy arms. A simple "We don't know where it came from and there is no known antidote" virus that wiped out, say, 60-70% of the population would not be stopped by 80 million armed citizens. It could be engineered to come and go inside of 3-4 weeks, leaving those who survive ( guess who they would be) in complete possession of all assets in this country, with enough fully controlled serfs left to do the grunt work.
I know, I know - sheer paranoia. But I'm just saying - it doesn't necessarily take soldiers to do the job, and there are some very smart and ruthless people who are beginning to get very worried about staying in power. And in their eyes, most of the population is more trouble than it's worth.
Go Long on gas masks, detecting filter paper, and extra filter cartridges. You can actually buy them off the internet ManBearPig invented.
+1 for bringing the alternatives to the table. . .
what if all the gun 'n' ammo sales are seen by the overlords as consumer revenue, and not "feared" at all? amrka is a BIG country compared to Ireland or any European nationstate - I wonder how "resistance" would work with no reliable "news" source and the sporadic, strategic internet "outages" - would the gun owners in say, Texas, be able to assist a northern city under govt. "siege"? or would people hunker down locally and wait for the steamroller to turn up nearby?
but the ultimate weapon here is biowarfare, and "they" have that one going at full speed ahead, for a long time now. . .
U.S. asks journals to censor bird flu studieshttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/20/us-birdflu-usa-censorship-idUS...
America's farmlands to be carpet-bombed with Vietnam-era Agent Orange chemical if Dow petition approvedhttp://www.naturalnews.com/034500_Agent_Orange_Dow_2-4-D.html#ixzz1hl7syNBG
the method of delivery has been in place, right over your heads, for over a decade, with nary a peep from most. . .
Thank Cathartes - as you say, bird flu, agent orange, and let's not forget the syphillis experiments on black people in the 30's, plus god know what else. I'm not altogether sure that the anti-fluoridation folks are so nutty either. And don't get me started on what the government has allowed the cigarette industry to do in exchange for $250 million a DAY in tax revenues. As you say, not only have the delivery systems all been thoroughly tested ( usually not in Amerika but on brown and black people far far away) but the gullibility of Americans has also been tested and found very satisfactory. So while I'm not getting rid of my firepower I have little confidence that armed force is the main plan for 'dealing with' us when the time is right. Anf BTW nothing, absolutely nothing that is available commercially will stop whatever they decide to let loose. Even being completely isolated in a mountain retreat will only be a temporary respite because you can bet that they will be on the lookout for heat signals after the main ethnic cleansing has been done. I'm afraid that, like nuclear material reaching critical mass, this thing is unstoppable. A grim outlook, but it makes me all the more determined to be good to myself and others while there is still time to do so, and I am not under any illusions that 'they' will be made to pay for their sins by some grand old man in the sky. I'm afraid that evil has already won. Although perhaps, just perhaps, there will be time and opportunity to take a few of the evil ones with us when the time comes and not let them enjoy their survival. Keep them in your sights (yes, guns do have a purpose) and do not go quietly into that dark night.
I need to be more clear that I am not against the ownership of guns, at any level - I only hope that folk will also consider that there are other "weapons" being used against them, daily, by the corporate governance. . . and if one doesn't look into the environment we live in, thoroughly, then "illness" and its "treatment" will be the thing that takes many out over time.
the fluoride issue is very interesting when traced historically:
http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/fluoride.html
this article sources the use of fluoride on people in Auschwitz, as yet another social project:
http://farmwars.info/?p=3613
it also pulls in Monsanto & Codex Alimentarius to show an ongoing agenda over many many decades.
the more we remove ourselves from the system(s) created to pen us in, the clearer the agenda becomes - incrementally.
just like you know from your research & experiences with tobacco, and its journey to "corporate cigarettes" - grow yer own!
http://www.cultivatorshandbook.com/cultivators/Tobacco_Handbook.html
*smile*
Hi Cathartes - smiling back at you, kindred soul. A real pleasure to make your acquaintance.
“The most important point on this issue is the same as underscored in the prior two points: the “compromise” reached by Congress includes language preserving the status quo,” he continues. “That’s because the Obama administration already argues that the original 2001 AUMF authorizes them to act against U.S. citizens (obviously, if they believe they have thepower to target U.S. citizens for assassination, then they believe they have the power to detain U.S. citizens as enemy combatants). The proof that this bill does not expressly exempt U.S. citizens or those captured on U.S. soil is that amendments offered by Sen. Feinstein providing expressly for those exemptions were rejected. The “compromise” was to preserve the status quo by including the provision that the bill is not intended to alter it with regard to American citizens, but that’s because proponents of broad detention powers are confident that the status quo already permits such detention.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3KCSm3ui4
Nice Toy!!
2nd Amendment BITCHEZ!!
I think you're right. We don't have anything except a facade of rule of law. In times past, you would have your day in court. With the NDAA negating that Right, it is getting too close to Crunch Time. You can submit, but now if they come to your door, you're probably dead anyway. It's a sobering and difficult decision and realization, but if you are 'attacked,' you may as well end it there and take at least two or more of 'them' out. They are not all-powerful. To have the moral strength to defend your freedom up to the point of death is difficult.
I never thought this would come to the US, but although exceptional by virtue of our Constitution, we are just as vulnerable as any other people to the designs of psychopathic control freaks as any other nation has been.
I would never attack our police or soldiers, but Defense of Liberty is no vice.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3116/show
Sponsor
Representative
Peter KingR-NY
View Co-Sponsors (12)Hide Co-Sponsors
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
Added October 06, 2011
H.R.3116 - See Something, Say Something Act of 2011
To authorize certain programs of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes
that's why what's left of this Republic should never relinquish willingly our weapons.
Sure, hold on to them with your life ...but don't ever start a revolution with them, we must have "peaceful protest".
400,000,000 guns? 80,000,000 gunowners?
Doesn't matter. By the time any of you pick up those guns against government intrusion you'll be facing a swat team more than happy to blow you away (and your family).
Waiting till they come after you is waiting too long. You're fucked at that point.
Just ask Jews in Germany under Hitler. Very few left when he came to power. Most stuck around hoping things wouldn't get too bad, hoping they could muddle through somehow without leaving.
And that's what every one of you gunowners will do. Wait till they come after you ...and those guns will be useless.
That right there is why America won't be saved. There won't be a revolution. If it hasn't happened by now, especially with this recent military detention of citizens legislation, it won't happen at all.
Don't count on America being saved. Save yourself instead.
Obviously, the history of war is lost on you. Guerilla warfare has been and continues to be ABSOLUTELY effective against large miltaries- especially if the guerillas are defending home turf. From The American Revolutionary war to China to WWII France to Vietnam, etc.
Urban dwellers are in a tight spot, but out in the country, those people will be sitting ducks.
From The American Revolutionary war to China to WWII France to Vietnam, etc.
Apparently the history of war is lost on you. Neither the American Revolutionary war nor WWII nor Vietnam were guerrilla actions. In all three cases both sides went into full offensive mode. And yes the French revolution was full on offensive action. Go read about it.
No victory has ever been won on mere guerrilla action, and it won't happen now.
Face it, Americans are too lazy and sheepish to mount anything approaching a revolution. Everybody wants "peaceful protest". Like that's going to accomplish anything.
Your 400,000,00 guns are worthless.
Your so-called 2nd amendment is worthless ...which means your Bill of Rights is worthless.
The 5th amendment right of due process is the single most important right in that list during peacetime. It protects all the other rights.
It's gone now. And no revolution.
The 2nd amendment right of arms is the single most important right in wartime. The above "declaration" says there's a state of war now. But it says no offensive action. We'll leave them alone if they leave us alone.
It's wishful thinking. Hoping they'll leave us alone.
They will leave us alone in broad terms. They'll just go after individual people here and there.
And when they come for those individual people, it will be too late for them to mount any sort of defense and hope to prevail.
"When they came after the Jews, I didn't mind because I wasn't a Jew".
"When they came after the man down the street, I was glad because they weren't coming after me".
"Now they're on my doorstep, and no one is coming to to help me."
The so-called "declaration" above is pure bullshit. It's ridiculous. It's laughable.
Americans are the laziest sheep on the planet. All your millions of guns are completely worthless as far as "saving America" goes.
And the government knows it.
Hell, I might go hire on with some police department somewhere, which would make me a defacto part of that 4+ million strong federal domestic mercenary force, so when the time comes I can help them blow away a few of you gutless worthless sheep.
Along the way you gutless worthless sheep will pay my salary and benefits ...way better than yours incidentally ...and you'll pay for those wonderful high-tech weapons we'll be using on you ...way better than anything you have.
Actually they were. The standard military action during the revolutionary war was forces facing forces in set pieces. The US did not fight that way. The French underground was a guerilla action. China employed the same tactics as did the vietnamese- unless you consider tunnel warfare and non descript forces "Standard military operations.
The Taliban continue to operate effectively and control huge swaths of the country. Fidel who?
It is the police that are the gutless sheep. They depend on a compliant population to protect them. When that disappears, they will get off their big, fat asses and join the revolution. Oathkeepers, local militias, millions of hunters, billions of rounds of ammo against a US force that is conflicted and unwilling to kill mom and dad?
As for the declaration? All those nabobs said the same thing in 1776. How did that work out?
dont worry!
Wall Street has a Private Army PLUS! the 5th Largest Standing Army in the World on the pay roll! and New York's Finest didnt seem to troubled to let other officers spray corraled little girls in the face with pepper spray!
so what makes you think that any of the other Metter Maids that are Playing Dress Up like Marines will give a FUCK about You or Me?
They will want a pay check and they will want to be at the front of the Government Welfare Line! Period!
as for Americans standing up to this ongoing Rape of the Constitution? No One Cares! they have a Job and Kids and little league practice and in0laws coming to visit.. and until they wake up.. which they are to fucking drunk on the Kool-Aid to do.. nothing will change!
America IS! a Police State!
The Majority of Americans spend more than 50% of their income on survival! which makes them 3rd world personalities!
The things that made America Great! are gone or on the way to being gone!
and all this so that America can be on equal footing to the rest of the World!
One World!
One People!
and America has to be part of that World! We have to lead the other Countries to the death of their individualism!
it is over!
“The most important point on this issue is the same as underscored in the prior two points: the “compromise” reached by Congress includes language preserving the status quo,” he continues. “That’s because the Obama administration already argues that the original 2001 AUMF authorizes them to act against U.S. citizens (obviously, if they believe they have thepower to target U.S. citizens for assassination, then they believe they have the power to detain U.S. citizens as enemy combatants). The proof that this bill does not expressly exempt U.S. citizens or those captured on U.S. soil is that amendments offered by Sen. Feinstein providing expressly for those exemptions were rejected. The “compromise” was to preserve the status quo by including the provision that the bill is not intended to alter it with regard to American citizens, but that’s because proponents of broad detention powers are confident that the status quo already permits such detention.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/02/president-obama-signed-the-national-defense-authorization-act-now-what/
all credit for this nice Grab goes too Cloud9.5 Thank You! Kind Sir!!
The way to resist this monster is for us to help the body politic to come to the clear understanding that the sitting congress and the sitting president have suspended the Constitution. We must help them forget everything they have come to believe about the two party system and help them come to understand that the two parties are in fact a tag team working for the same oligarchs. Congressmen have an election cycle of two years, presidents four years and senators six years. We must forget about parties and vote the sitting incumbents out. We have a duty to inform as many people as possible. I for one will not give up on the republic. In time, I am quite convinced, the people will make the right choice.
America will be remembered in history as the nation having plenty of privately owned weapons for the people to take back their government ...but they were just too lazy and sheepish to do it.
beers at your place tonite Cranky? I've just a got the latest installment of "Barely Legal"...thought i'd bring it over...
Weapons, what weapons? ZH ain't relinquishing no pens. Ridicule works, ask Molière and Voltaire. Human Nature is a constant in the calculus of history.
Who junked you DosZap? My suspicion... The GOP candidates sans RP!
Will the people of Italy wake up and put a stop to this?
That is complicated, Italy has a split personality. The North is relatively wealthy and looks toward France and Switzerland. The South is relatively poor and surrounded by sea. It looks inward, and Rome seems far away and meaningless in the mountain provinces.
I would say the odds are against a general uprising. These economic conditions have been seen before. We are talking about Italy here...
Indeed. The North's solution is likely to be secession. Italy is in many ways an artificial country.
The north of Italy is richer than tha average region in the US! It's one of the richest areas in the world!
It's true, an artificial state.. 150 years of "unity" and still sometimes one from the south can't understand when one from the north speaks! (valid both ways)
Sounds like America, where reality TV shows about southern rednecks (rasslin' alligators, catchin shrimp, makin moonshine, blowin shit up, et al) have to be subtitled, even though they're supposedly speaking English.
Nice pictures on your blog, btw! Here's a clip for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVE30p2CXoA
Naples survives by "Arrangiarsi" because it has nothing but real people making the best of the printing press that makes hard wheat into pasta.
There's not going to be any REVOLUTION in Italy... I lived there for a dozen years (umbria), pre-Euro & post Euro... There was ALWAYS talk of splitting the country up (because the wealthy northerners [per capita] always bitched about their taxes going to support the poorer southern provinces... Basically ~ same shit as the United States...
The thing about Italy, at this stage of the game, probably has more to do with DEMOGRAPHICS than anything else... There's negative population growth (one of the worst in all of western culture)... There's no new workforce to come in and supply the pensions for the ever increasing ones going on the pension rolls... It's 10x worse than the USA for several reasons...
1. Here, it's somewhat mitigated by illegal aliens coming in, but there you're talking about Albanians & North Africans coming in (which the Italians don't like to see AT ALL)...
2. Most kids go to school, possibly into their 30's (and thus either are living at home & not working, or starting families very late)...
3. Italians have a fairly decent life expectancy (that's something that can change, but right now it's working against them)...
4. Even when kids finally go to work, there's very little in terms of jobs... A great deal just end up working in the family business... A great portion of the family businesses operate in the "black market" (basically transacting in cash, & just doing enough accounting to stay barely ahead of the surprise visits from the Guardia di Finanzia (tax police)...
In the end though... Italians (as a whole) are very resilient (because they have been forced to be flexible over many decades & centuries)... Change of the sort described in this article (for Italians), will be infinitely easier to manage than when the same happens to Americans... Most don't have a clue...
Viva' Mark Steyn, if you have not read his books yet I would recommend them starting with his treatise on demographics as destiny. "America Alone" Light but filling.
I have not read Mark Steyn (but I might check into it, as I'm always open to new knowledge if it has any merit)...
I'll say this... I've been to over 45 countries around the world (not as a "tourist", but working, NOT MILITARY)... So I've engaged with a lot of people & seen a lot of things... That doesn't make me an EXPERT on anything, but only says that I'm not positioning myself as a 2 bit "academic"...
I've come to the conclusion that DEMOGRAPHICS will be the thing that plays the LARGEST ROLE in the shaping of the next, say, 200 years on this planet than anything else... FUCK THE ECONOMICS (that'll take care of itself)...
But basically there are a little over a BILLION on the planet (of economically fortunate WESTERNERS who are in decline in both their procreation & standard of living)... Then you have 6 BILLION non-westerners who are gaining both in terms of standard of living & measures of procreation...
Put that in your pipe... Smoke it... & get back to me later...
How? With a revolution?
ITALY HAS NEVER STOPPED TO BE FASCIST ... i mean some kind of socialism mixed with medioeval & rinascimental society ... no, even before that, from the roman empire's FAMILIES & CLIENTES.
Look, the two guys in the photo are both cristian democrats of the old school. Prodi lives some hundred meters by my home in Bologna.. you always see police & carabinieri around his house. I confirm Bologna was "the capital" of the comunist party in Italy.. nowadays the same party votes Monti together with Banana's (Berlusconi) party. We do not have a right wing and a left wing.. it's all about preserve your own little field's prosperity
On topic:
http://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/speeches/2012/dud120106.html
Time will tell whether their intentions are civic.
But I must admit the idea of "bundling" foreclosures on government backed mortgages for sale into private hands smacks of yet another shakedown. Welcome to a toll booth nation of citizens working for corporations, which are all morphing into banks, scanned for roadway fees on their way home to corporate housing...
Fascism begins at home. Italy ~ TAKE NOTE!
So then, Wal-Mart is the "company store"?
Six Walton family members *cough* = more $$ than the bottom 30% of amrkns. . . .
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/12/14/six-waltons-have-more...
This post is bogus. Syrah is a Facist country, Albania is a fascist country. Italy is not fascist country and the word fascism has little to do with any events outlined in this post.
Fascism ( /?fæ??z?m/) is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology.[1][2] Fascists seek rejuvenatation of their nation based on commitment to an organic national community where its individuals are united together as one people in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood through a totalitarian single-party state that seeks the mass mobilization of a nation through discipline, indoctrination, physical education, and eugenics.[3][4] This state is led by a supreme leader who exercises a dictatorship over the fascist movement, the government and other state institutions.[5] Fascism's basis of legitimacy of this state is its conception of the nation and its well-being in qualitative values and belief that a nation must be led by qualitatively-able leaders while rejecting democracies for being based on quantitative evaluation of individuals and their opinions rather than qualities.[6] To achieve its goals, fascists purge forces, ideas, people, and systems deemed to be the cause of decadence and degeneration.[7] It claims to represent a synthesis of cohesive ideas previously divided between traditional political ideologies.[8]
stop picking on syrah, its a great wine............
Que syrah, Sarah....
Syrah, cabernet, grenache -- there's a whole bunch of 'em.
Must have had syrah on my mind when I posted, it was 5 pm
Syria.
Not even Shiraz
Here's more from the same wikipedia page
One common definition of fascism focuses on three groups of ideas:
The Fascist Negations of anti-liberalism, anti-communism and anti-conservatism.
Nationalist, authoritarian goals for the creation of a regulated economic structure to transform social relations within a modern, self-determined culture.
A political aesthetic using romantic symbolism, mass mobilisation, a positive view of violence, promotion of masculinity and youth and charismatic leadership.[41][42][43]
My simplified definition: Crony private enterprise backed by government at taxpayer expense without joint ownership and in the name of something, usually "the state". Aka privatized gains with socialized risks. It's a gradual spectrum. In the extreme form of fascism, you simply get told what to buy, for how much and from whom and told who you work for for how many hours and for how much. That phase involves jackboots. But don't expect jackboots in the electronic age. Not needed to assure enforcement of "the rules"
That's, of course, not the fascism people signed up for when their movements were alive. Equal suffrage between consumers, labour and managers within such enterprises would be called fascism.
actually the most simple definition of fascism is "a state the hates the private aquisition and holding of gold and forces the bulk thereof to be turned over to the State and its representatives such that it can never be called money." That would not make Italy "fascist" per se but it would make them "through the enitity of Europe" so since in order to join the euro-zone Italian Banks had to turn over their vast holdings of gold over to the State. Think about what those gold holdings of say...the 800 year old banking metropolis called "Venice" would be worth now? How about the equally as aged Milanese? "Phuckin' bullshit" comes to my mind. Obviously the Fed stole all of Morgan's gold back in 1908...was it held "in trust"?...i don't know actually--but certainly New York City would be a vastly different place (and better place in my view..."beyond compare" comes to mind) if the Fed had never come into being. Italy of "pre-euro" makes me think of what New York (state and City i might add) should have become...but couldn't because it was forever limited by debt markets, tax collections and all the perennial "speculations" caused thereof. Needless to say the amount of wealth that can be lost to the State...as Europe well knows...is pretty much total. And i have never called Europe...nor the "Europeans"...poor. I would think "stealing the banks gold"...while not rewarding said...dynasties?...with a great economy but in fact the exact opposite...well, one need only go to an Opera...ANY Italian Opera for that matter...to see how that story plays out.
The Digital Jackboot is already in place.
The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
by Lawrence Britt
Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy.
The 14 characteristics are:
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
i under my fascist dictatorship i would only decree "rampant sexy-ism." everything else would be modeled on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Nights Dream" and i would order my people to sit under apple trees and read and write poetry to their lovers. Lute playing would by highly encouraged. So would walking on stilts and breathing fire. And once every year i would issue my people a mask for the "Big Bash!"
How many people did the Nazis and Italian Fascists kill in their countries? A few thousand? The jewish bolsheviks murdered 66 million, mostly Christians, in Russia according to Solzhenitsyn.
.
it would be very interesting to put this list up as a "guest post" and have an actual discussion of each point on thread - maybe a weekend page-hit draw?? *hint*
thanks for including it laosuwan.
A political aesthetic using romantic symbolism, mass mobilisation, a positive view of violence, promotion of masculinity and youth and charismatic leadership.[41][42][43]
very gayish, if you think about it. I always thought fascism to be the heaven of closet homosexuality. the depraved kind. not that I have anything against homosexuals if they're not in close proximity of my pristine back.
f??tn?t?s B?tch?z!
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
That sounds like what's going on in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
21 people voted down wikipedia
heh heh
I guess they want to be like their American couzins.......The Fascist States of America....
seeing that the entire world is drowning in debt, and seeing that the entire world is "dodge", where are we supposed to go to get out of dodge????
only richard branson has a space craft................
Two options:
Iceland
Bhutan
Maybe even Uruguay (Montevideo is lovely this time of year)
Pitcairn Island. No one would bother looking for you there and there's a good chance that the new deadly (without the vaccine) influenza epidemic won't arrive there.
67 people and tough citizenship rules, but I like the way you think!
.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Pitcairn_sexual_assault_t...
nothing new under the sun.
Orwellian world we have become bitchez!
Is America fascist? Yes.
A Declaration
Whereas, on the 14th of December, 2011, the House of Representatives of these United States voted, in the form of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, in favor of indefinite military detention, without charges, of American citizens on American soil, without due process of law, at the discretion of the government alone;
Whereas, on the 15th of December, 2011, the Senate of these United States voted in favor of the same bill;
Whereas, on the 31st of December, the President of these United States signed the same bill into law;
Whereas, the proscription against the use of military force to police the populous has been an essential feature of American civic life and civic liberty since the arrival of our civilization upon this continent;
Whereas, the wanton violation of this proscription was one of the chief causes of the separation of the American people from their government in Great Britain;
Whereas, the Constitution so chartering the government of these United States, in Article III Section III, states that “No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”
Whereas, the Constitution so chartering the government of these United States, in the Fifth Amendment, states that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”;
Whereas, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President of these United States have disregarded the plain text of the Constitution;
Whereas, in openly disregarding its founding document, the government of these United States has lost any semblance of legitimacy;
Whereas, the use of such draconian measures has been an essential feature of the enforcement of tyranny by every totalitarian governments of the 20th century;
Whereas, the use of such draconian measures is carefully calculated to quash all political dissent amongst a captive people;
Whereas, the codification of such draconian measures effectively nullifies all civil liberties the people may hope to hold;
And whereas, the codification of such draconian measures is an act of war against the populous at large; Therefore, be it declared that a STATE OF WAR formally exists between the Government of these United States and the People of these United States, perpetrated by that Government against the People.
We, the People of these United States, declare any and all attempts to enforce the provisions of the NDAA to be unlawful, void, and of no force.
We declare ALL WHO voted in favor of the NDAA, and ALL WHO attempt to enforce the NDAA to be traitors to these United States, punishable under law.
We SHALL DISOBEY, APPREHEND, OR RESIST WITH FORCE, at our discretion, any person who attempts to enforce the provisions of the NDAA.
We SHALL NOT aggress against any Federal, State or local government employee who shall not attempt to enforce or aid and abet the enforcement of the NDAA, they being as trapped as the rest of the populous.
Such STATE OF WAR shall continue until the NDAA is stricken from the code of law, and all who had hand in the NDAA are removed from positions of power.
Man, life is enough of a bitch without being slapped in the face with the reality of it. Tale of a nail and a hammer and we are the fuckin board.
Milestones
me, no way i'm a nail or board! i'm a hammer! they call me "hammeroid!" y'all choose what you want to be! remember, if it's got a neck, it can be hung.!
Lex mala lex nulla
This.
And whereas, the codification of such draconian measures is an act of war against the populous at large; Therefore, be it declared that a STATE OF WAR formally exists between the Government of these United States and the People of these United States, perpetrated by that Government against the People.
Declaring a state of war, yet NO offensive action against "the enemy"?
If they leave us alone we'll leave them alone?
What kind of bullshit is that?
It's ridiculous. It's laughable.
And this bullshit got 22 up votes?
Says the geezer posting panties. How many up votes do you think you'll get?
I wouldn't count the Italians out just yet. They are masters of tax evasion. Second only to the French.
I think you are forgetting about the Greeks.
The Greeks consider this a sport. They are beyond first place. They actually compare notes in the cafés about how they do it, a million different ways.
you're forgetting about timmy g.!
still pretending some of the developed Western economies aren't fascist yet?
Um...yeah, Italy definitely just went fascist. Everything's OK in all the other places, tho. Like Germany and France and the UK and America.
Can't talk, I'm going shopping for the next great product or service that I can afford! (I may have to charge it.)
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137011/suzanne-maloney/obamas-counterproductive-new-iran-sanctions
Interesting article on the new Iranian sanctions.
"The White House's embrace of open-ended pressure means that it has backed itself into a policy of regime change, something Washington has little ability to influence."
"Lest Washington forgets, the Islamic Republic has endured more draconian economic pressures in the past. Despite its phenomenal petroleum resources, rarely in its 32-year history has the Islamic Republic been flush. During the height of its war with Iraq, Iran's annual oil revenues fell under $6 billion -- less than ten percent of its 2010 take. Skyrocketing income from oil sales over the last decade has been a welcome anomaly for Iran's revolutionaries, but it is hardly certain that constricting that spigot will doom the regime, much less force it to capitulate on the nuclear issue. Tehran remains confident in its ability to adopt austerity as needed. In fact, blaming an international bogeyman will offer convenient cover for the regime's own economic mismanagement."
what if you get "regime fall" instead?
Sure, but since foreign affairs is written by the Council of Foreign Relations- the same people that brought us Obama, Geithner, Cheney, Paulsen, et al, it pays to read between the lines...
The CFR and Bilderbergers achieved "Regime Change" a long time ago here in the US.
Obama would fit right in.
THE UNITED STATES CORPORATION IS FASCIST! TAKE THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT!
italy shows us why bartering will be so important when the inevitable collapse makes its way to the u.s. ---stock up now on tradeable items, learn skills that you can exchange for food. bartering gives us plan b should the govt ban precious physical dollars, gold, or any other form of "currency" that undermines the precious ponzified banking system..............
i've heard it argued just this evening that the US has in fact been a barter economy for decades. it was quite fascinating actually.
Don't get caught as it's still illegal. The gov does not collect tax that way and they "loose money" they say as if they have any.
i just traded my i-pod for "free tolls on the New York State Thruway for a year." The government people didn't seem to mind...
bravo, Mussolina would be proud
It is the world central banks’ bad credit policies that are making money bad. Bad money is destabilizing the world economically and politically. The investment, political and economic tectonic plates are shifting, and an authoritarian tsunami is on the way. In 1974, the world’s elite met at the Club of Rome, and their Clarion Call for regional global governance will come to the forefront to provide order out of chaos, as the world deleverages and derisks out of Neoliberalism, that is the Milton Friedman Free To Choose Floating Currency Regime. The new regime of Neoauthoritarianism, the Beast Regime, which is rising out off the profligate Mediterranean Sea countries of Greece and Italy, is very much spiritual as its seven heads will come to occupy in all of mankind’s seven institutions and its ten horns will rule in the world’s ten regions is a fulfillment of bible prophecy of Revelation 13:1-4. This regime is also known as the ten toed kingdom of regional global governance seen in Daniel 2:31-33. Eventually, the ten toes, being comprised of the clay of democracy, and the iron of diktat will crumble, as these are non compatible building materials. The very worst of all governments will rise to rule mankind. This one world government, Revelation 7:7, will provide a one world currency whose seigniorage will be global mandated as a charagma, meaning mark in or tattoo upon a person, which will be required in order to buy or sell, Revelation 13:17-18.
Seigniorage, that is moneyness, will no longer come from banking and national governments, but rather come from the diktat of regional sovereigns. Currencies are now sinking, and global financial derisking and deleveraging is underway, with the result that the new dynamo of diktat is driving economic and political action. Political capital is replacing investment capital. The seigniorage of fiat money, is being replaced by the seigniorage of diktat.
Fate is operating to pass the baton of sovereign authority from nation states to sovereign leaders and bankers. Bible prophecy reveals, that God, and not any human action, will open the curtains, and the most credible leader, Europe’s New Charlemagne, Revelation 13:5-10, together with his banking partner, Revelation 13:11-18, will step onto Europe’s stage. They will not be elected; rather destiny will bring them forth in a Eurozone coup d etat, Revelation 6:1-2, to provide order out of chaos. These sovereigns will develop the Eurzone into a type of revived Roman Empire. The word, will and way of these two will provide a new seigniorage, and the people will be amazed and follow after it, placing their confidence and trust in it, giving it their full allegiance, Revelation 13:3-4.
actually the "free to choose" economy has been really quite an extraordinary achievement..."all things considered" of course. the dollar has been in fact strengthening as a reserve currency...even though we have easily the worst economy this country has probably ever had EVER (once you factor in all that has to be paid for.) It still amazes me. Why hasn't the dollar collapsed? Why haven't our interest rates soared? Why haven't the USA had riots and total mayhem throughout the major cities or the country as a whole? is it for lack of this being the natural order of things? i say with trillion dollar deficits and an EMPLOYMENT rate that isn't enough to support a phone company...let alone the entire edifice of Federal largesse..."the freedom to choose" economy as excelled beyond belief itself. To Ludicrous Speed! May it be capable of going One Louder as well!
Why the surprise?
Why look to Italy? Fascism is and has been creeping into American life every day.
There are 2 components: Economic and Political.
For nascent political fascism, look no further than the NDAA law signed over Christmas from Hawaii which states that the military can detain citizens on suspicion without trial. The writ of Habeus Corpus has been suspended after over 200 years in this country. The Patriot Act, covert and continuous surveillance of citizens, repression of OWS...all part of the picture.
Economic fascism began to grow under the Nixon Administration when crony private enterprises became immune to emergency national price controls in return for kickbacks (Milk Fund scandal http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/nixon/103097milk.htm), others were backed by CIA assassination plots (ITT) and the very first taxpayer bailout of em all of private enterprise took place (Lockheed). Since the crisis, we've reached the point where certain sectors of the economy have been declared officially immune from the laws of capitalism. Hence fascism: Private enterprise supported by government and taxpayers without joint ownership. No bankers or Wall Streeters have been tried or jailed for fraud, theft or even gross negligence. And they won't be.
The next level of economic fascism is just a slippery step away: legalized monopolies, wage and price controls for all except cronies, capital controls, and eventually you simply get told who to work for and for how much, and what to buy and for how much. Your taxes will support these enterprises but you'll derive no benefit aka privatizing gains while socializing risk.
The MILF Fund scandal. I thought for a moment...
Disgusting.
Italy and Hungary (and Greece) are on their way to fascism.
Hey. That woulda been Bubba's scandal, not Tricky Dicky.
the milk fund scandal? really? "try cheese then." Now THAT'S a scandal! Anywho you have to have a state dependent media for fascism to even be a glimmer in the eye. There is no more "wilding" a place than American media. Is there any government in there period? "Only on-line" as they say...and course as we all know the on-line space is the utmost in decorum and decency! And here we are complaining about what comes out of politicians' mouths...
I think we can agree media has been quashed since 9/11. They report positives only. People, especially traders, getting US news increasingly from foreign sources.
No joke. The increasing monopoly of media into fewer hands only increases the power of the elitists. When you see the seamless homogenous out put of the old big 3 news networks, it's too obvious.
Due to the rise of independent media, TPTB have introduced a threat, namely foreign attacks on the network structure by foreign enemies. Solution? Control the 'net. It has been going on for a while, with DHS seizure of domains illegally providing copyrighted material. Soon, it will morph into seizure of bloggers' sites, censorship of foreign sites, and thanks to the NDAA, prison for the most egregious "criminals" who post non-approved political thought.
The DoD has already established that the internet is a "battlefield." The upside is we can now screw with the legitimate enemies who are constantly attacking our defense and industrial sites for access to classified information and economic intel to use against us. But, put this in the hands of a fascist government, and it becomes a tool of repression.
The are not all-powerful, however. Freedom-loving individuals will still find ways to get out the information. The final step of the fascist government will be to require a unique identifier of every user on the internet.
Everybody in IT really needs to get inventive. There will be a work-around.
We are entering very dangerous times. Go long on PMs and copper-clad lead.
I'm a big fan of Wolf Blitzer actually. He's even as a studio guy a rock solid reporter...and reporters are the rock stars of my world. But mostly I just watch to see what "the girls" are up to. (While I do put Maria B and Karen Finerman (married) in the "girl" camp their total "woman-ness" makes my whole body get steamy.) Obviously I only come here to Zero Hedge for the news...mostly because I am the news now! (Hunter S. Thompson's spirit was apparently directly transferred to my body upon his death)...from you i might add Caviar...and Cranky Old Geezer when i'm feeling down. And of course i attack Anderson Cooper every chance i get because his show comes on right after Erin Burnett's...and that's MY girl mofo! And then there's the Baldwin girls of CNN (oh, yeah...oh, yeah...) and Sarah Eisen with her "KGB tattoo on her butt that she only shows me on her radio show"...actually all the girls on Bloomberg are totally awesome. There's my fellow Wahoo Margaret Brennan who i rage at Mayor Bloomberg because she's not on at the 10 o'clock hour anymore on my Satellite Radio. Then of course there's the Weather Channel...Jennifer "soft taco" Carfagno and Steph "I'm pretty sure i couldn't handle you but i'd like to buy you an ice cream cone so we can talk about our problem child" Abrams. The list goes on really...Fredricka "navy seal" Whitfield...Carol "book worm" Costello...Christine "Roman Candle" Romans...would you like me stop now?....
Naomi Wolf On Obama’s Slide Into Fascismhttp://deanesmay.com/2009/09/01/naomi-wolf-on-obamas-slide-into-fascism/
currency-sniffing female dogs...
OT~~some credit info from doug noland's weekly (PrudentBear):
One and three-month Treasury bill rates ended the week near one basis point. Two-year government yields rose 2 bps to 0.25%. Five-year T-note yields ended the week up 2 bps to 0.81%. Ten-year yields jumped 8 bps to 1.96%. Long bond yields ended 12 bps higher at 2.99%. Benchmark Fannie MBS yields were down 8 bps to 2.80%.
The spread between 10-year Treasury yields and benchmark MBS yields narrowed a notable 16 bps to 84 bps. Agency 10-yr debt spreads declined 3 bps to negative 4 bps. The implied yield on December 2012 eurodollar futures declined 6.5 bps to 0.69%. The two-year dollar swap spread declined about 6.5 bps to 41.8 bps. The 10-year dollar swap spread fell 3 bps to 13.75 bps. Corporate bond spreads were mixed. An index of investment grade bond risk was unchanged at 120 bps. An index of junk bond risk dropped 15 bps to 666 bps.
[the emph is mine: front-running the FED's alleged "upcoming QE3 for MBS"?]
Now THAT'S fascism dammit! Where's my "made in America twenty percent interest" dag nabbit! I think we should start a Zero Hedge chant: "WHAT DO WANT?!!" "TWENTY PERCENT!!!" "WHEN DO WE WANT IT???!!!" "NOW!!!!"
it may be time for Italian to get themselves as well as their capital even faster out of PizzaPonziland. slight correction
Italy will have to bring back that special brigade. Creating immense fear under austerity and/or assassinating suspected terrorist rings who go against the grain. How did that work out in the past attempt? LOL
Nations and Nationalism, Volume 1
Berlusconi is gone. The Media no longer is the President. His popularity has soared of course and as a consequence now that he is..."but a commoner" (in the political sense.) And therein lies the lesson: media here, government there. And that's that...save for the internet of course.
the road to hell is paved by the Vatican
STACKING PHYZZZ BITCHEZZZ!!!
Most of the world has gone fascist ... they just don't realize it yet.
Corporatism :-P
Power is simply the wonderful ability to tell other people what to do. It is extraordinarily addictive to most human beings, and should be seen as the root cause of humanity's problems.
Seriously, it is extraordinary to examine the shifting dichotomy of the "Left Wing" versus "Right Wing" paralellogram as commonly set forth, where the "left" is socialist, and the "right" is fascist.
The whole "Left" versus "Right" precis has been totally corrupted. It is now a political Ouroboros where the entire spectrum is presented as circular, starting from "Communism" on the Left, and ending at "Fascism" on the Right.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and it has been created for nefarious purposes by our policital and societal overlords.
The true Left Wing is assessed by the maximum amount of governmental interference in one's life. Place on the "left" wing the Marxists, the Communists, and their entire command-economy cohorts. Think North Korea. Think Cuba. Private ownership is verboten, except for the chosen few.
Moving slightly towards the "right", we have the theocracies, where control is governed by and through the theocrats. Think Iran, and most of the Middle East. Total Government control through mandated religion - what a peachy idea!
What is the next shift "right"? I think military governments, such as Fiji, Turkey, and many other countries, owned and governed by a divine right of succession betweeen military leaders and their immediate families and cohorts.
Slide a little further towards the "right", in terms of governmental control. Now we get to those states who have significant control over their economy and populace, but allow private ownership of business (when it suits them!). This, friends, is known as fascism. It can also be described as "crony capitalism", where government rules allow the "friends" of the government to make out like bandits, whilst competitors are either run out of business, or thrown into jail.
It is a perfect power-vacuum/corruption mechanism. Think South American dictatorships, Asian Tiger economies (India?), and the ramshackle remnants of the collapsed USSR.
Now, let's slide over a little bit towards the right, and you can insert the "semi" command-economy, former Communist states which haven't entirely embraced free-market systems, but have loosened the chains of control on their respective populaces. Think Vietnam, think Cambodia, think Bosnia.
Let's move the lever a bit further to the "right". Now we have economies that command and control, but have some semblance of private input. This includes the USA, most of the Eurozone, and unfortunately, most of the world's "democracies". Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc. This is what I like to call "proto fascism", where the bankers and friends make out like bandits, but governmental controls are exercised excessively towards their citizens - One World Government, kow-towing to the UN as some sort of "authority", TSA groping, rules, regulations and new taxes coming out of our arseholes.......
The next step to the "Right" are the former communist countries that have embraced their idea of "capitalism" - for a perfect example, see China....
Further to the "right" (i.e. less governmental interference) are the morally-derelict states of private fiefdoms, such as in most of Africa and South America. The "government" works solely for the power-brokers, and voting (where allowed) does not change this one iota. Warlords and the suchlike flourish in such an environment, absent any governmental controls.
Next silding along to the right, we have the libertarians. Minimal government, and a society based upon the admittedly impossible precept of "do no harm". Who the fuck enforces this?
Finally, we have the Anarchists, with no government whatsoever. And yes, I think that they are rightfully far-right extremists.
This is how the "left wing" vs "right wing" political divide should be presented. All else is propaganda to suit an agenda.
"There are more similarities than differences between opposites." Eric Hoeffer-- "The True Believer". Milestones
to "tell people what to do" and to then "have people do it" are two different things. The latter is true power of course. In the USA the latter comes in a multitude of forms...and outside of having to do your taxes government is pretty far down on that list.
Burn the fucking Vatican!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, you go ahead there badass, we'll watch.
Silly article, there was an article earlier today in FT w/ eurocrats talking about guaranteeing bank deposits to staunch panic.
Threatening capital controls would trigger the very thing the eurocrats fear. All the money would come to America and be dumped into the stock market ...
(hmmm....)
Looks like China's model of technocratic authoritarianism is trumping America's liberal democracy. America itself will certainly also slowly transition to a technocratic dictatorship.
Which candidate spent most time on K street or with the K street gang?
should be telling.
When fascists come to power the only way to get rid of them is by killing them.
And that is all there is to say about that.
only a communist talks like that. The NWO is not fascism. The faccists loved their countries, their citizens, and their culture, and the people under it like it too, etc. The NWO wants to wreck all these things and takes an adversarial position against their people.
You are one sick fuck Nottingham. Fascists love only one thing: violence. They believe in violence - preferably by the army - and chaos in order to gain and stay in power.
There is only one way to learn and that's from history, and if you look at history you see that fascism equals violence.
Why don't you just say it Nottingham... you're a fascist, right?
Most fascist movements did believe in violence, but not maintaining chaos, as a means to gain state power. That was due to the social milieu they were in.
Your denunciation, however, makes very little sense in light of their opposition who, if they did not employ the selfsame tactics (if not as openly and honestly), were still uniformly traitorous shitbags on a political level, much like the current political class in the Western world.
Unless you're a moron, you'll admit that getting rid of self-serving hostile elites protected by the state was not something that was amenable to half-measures, compromises, payola, pork, or mere political rhetoric.
Actual fascist rule in peacetime, in contrast, observed relative tranquillity and prosperity in comparison with the former dictatorial set-ups that they emerged from (like Weimar). See hard statistics rather than whines from displaced plutocrats.
As for the current Italian Government being fascist, that makes very little sense in light of its commitment to race-replacement immigration and globalist plutocracies rather than the welfare of living and future Italians.
As to violence being the "only one thing" loved by fascists, that's untrue. Violence is also a major asset of all "liberal" illiberal states in the West; just try effectively opposing them and the shit-eating PR grin stops. Being so common, it is not a major characteristic of any state. You do seem to believe in the self-serving Communist redefinition of fascism, popularised in Western academia as a fad.