Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis
In times of crisis people seek strong leaders and simple solutions. But what if their solutions are identical to the mistakes that caused the very crisis? This is the story of the greatest economic crisis of our age, the one that awaits us.
When the world's financial bubble blew, the solution was to lower interest rates and pump trillions of dollars into the sick banking system. "The solution is the problem, that's why we had a problem in the first place". For Economics Nobel laureate Vernon Smith, the Catch 22 is self-evident. But interest rates have been at rock bottom for years, and governments are running out of fuel to feed the economy. "The governments can save the banks, but who can save the governments?" Forecasts predict all countries' debt will reach 100% of GDP by next year. Greece and Iceland have already crumbled, who will be next?
The storm that would rock the world, began brewing in the US when congress pushed the idea of home ownership for all, propping up those who couldn't make the down payments. The Market even coined a term, NINA loans: "No Income, No Assets, No Problem!" Enter FannieMae and FreddieMac, privately owned, government sponsored. "Want that vacation? Wanna buy some new clothes? Use your house as a piggie bank!" Why earn money to pay for your home when you can make money just living in it? With the government covering all losses, you'd have been a fool not to borrow.
The years of growth had been a continuous party. But when the punchbowl ran dry, instead of letting investors go home to nurse their hangovers as usual, the Federal Reserve just filled it up again with phoney money. For analyst Peter Schiff, the consequence of the spending binge was crystal clear: "we're in so much trouble now because we got drunk on all that Fed alcohol". Yet along with other worried experts, he was mocked and derided during the boom.
Have you taken out a mortgage, invested capital or bought shares? If you have, likelihood is you lost out in the latest bust. Governments promised decisive action, the biggest financial stimulus packages in history, gargantuan bailouts: but what crazed logic is this, propping up debt with...more debt? This documentary brings an entirely fresh voice to the hottest topic of today.
87 comments:
James, you're a star! Thanks a million. We'll be back with a vengeance now, never fear. We knew you wouldn't throw our precious legacy away with nary a second thought.
I found Overdose absoltuely splendid. A great find! Shall do my best to circulate it far and wide. But will the ignorant majority ever bother to come out of their drug-induced sleep? Somehow, I doubt it very much.
Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis gives us an excellent, straightforward account of how the West prolapse, starting with US, is building up and leading inevitably to Sovereign default. The one serious omission there, as far as I could see, was no mention was made of US loss of its reserve currency status,the first blow of which fell as early as 2006. Otherwise, everything else was spot on.
Banks in Georgia, Illinois Shuttered as U.S. Failures Mount
By Dakin Campbell - Feb 5, 2011
Regulators shut two banks in Georgia and another in Illinois as U.S. lenders buckle under souring real estate loans, pushing this year’s failure count to 14.
Georgia banking regulators closed American Trust Bank and North Georgia Bank today, according to statements by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was named receiver in each of the three transactions. The closures, including a lender in Chicago, cost the FDIC’s deposit-insurance fund $118.4 million.
Fourteen U.S. lenders have collapsed since year-end and 336 since the start of 2008. Lenders are failing after the financial crisis drove down home and commercial property values and pushed the unemployment rate above 10 percent.
RE: Overdose, I did like the presentation of the facts and the way they were marshalled to prove th point of impending financial disaster. Thanks, James.
That said, 9/11 was taken in a very cavierly manner and interpreted according to the official version of events. But what I missed most was any reference to the latest (and last?) bubble of all: the military-industrial complex and the oxymoron to beat all oxymorons: the Pepetual War for Perpetual Peace slogan. This bubble will finally burst when US & Co are chased out of Afghanistan.
Egypt, the 15th Day of the Revolution. 300 dead, countless injured, 600 arrested, things at a standstill for the moment.
So back to business as usual? It's legitimate to doubt such an eventuality. We expect a lot more fireworks from the young revolutionaries. So far they have not shown themselves devoid of imagination. Let's see what the day brings.
Occasionally even mousetrap Switzerland plays the right card:
Bush calls off trip to Switzerland
Plan cancelled amid fear of violence at demonstration by human rights groups over the treatment of detainees at Guantánamo Bay.
Hope Blair enjoys the same persona non grata status in the eyes of the people of Switzerland.
06:47 - The wrong Mubarak quits. Gamal not Hosni. Soon the right one will go. When Mubarak Senior goes, terrible truths will be revealed. Until then the world waits but none wait more attentively than those in Tahrir Square. If they are on the edge of victory, they are safe. If not, there will come a midnight knock on many a door. And what a massacre there will be then.
Meanwhile US warships and soldiers are headed towards Iraq, the pretext being the evacuation of US citizens.
Field Notes on American-Style Democracy
Perhaps George Bernard Shaw was thinking of Obama's administration when he said, "Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the incompetent many for the appointment of the corrupt few." Obama upholds the tradition and then some, doing more harm globally in two years than most of history's tinpot despots in decades, yet most of it gets little attention. Imagine what's planned ahead. Already, his legacy includes: -- breaking every key promise he made across the board; -- looting the nation's wealth, wrecking the economy, and consigning growing millions to impoverishment without jobs, homes, savings, social services, or futures; -- enacting greater Wall Street empowerment, disguised as financial reform...
US should overdose on its fiancial bubble heroin sooner rather than later.
Hell's bells: It's good ol' Johan Norberg -- a nasty, little compatriot of mine. Neatly explains why the very opening footage showed my home town. Can't resist the temptation to start out by offering you a little gossip about the guy. Up to the very last, Johan Norberg was an accomplice of Sweden's very powerful Association of Industrialists, contributing chiefly by writing Reactionary Utter Garbage en masse eulogising capitalism in general and its bloody neoliberal nightmare worldwide in particular. Has he begun to get cold feet, all of a sudden? Wouldn't think so, actually. My take is that the film is an outburst of sheer opportunism on his part, arguably for the sake of some imagined 'credibility/objectivity'. This, then, brings us to the REAL topic: that of the film's contents (at long last).
Even if "Overdose" does offer some useful insights, the crucial component is all but absent: Imperialist coercion. This is exactly what props up that unbelievably sick joke of a currency which we know as the US Dollar. It's pure fiat money backed up by joint US government/corporate gangsterism. Poiuytr was right on the mark in his assessment to the effect that the US is one great Ponzi scheme sucking in the world's resources, goods, and services in exchange for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. But, then again, Johan Norberg is definitely not on a par with Poiuytr; nowhere near it.
I wonder what's coming up soon?
All Ambassadors Called Back to Washington!
06 February 2011 19:21:34
In an unprecedented move, apparently one that has never happened before, nearly all U.S. Ambassadors to all nations have been called back to Washington for a summit conference this week.
politico.com reports, "Ambassadors from almost all 260 U.S. embassies, consulates and other posts in more than 180 countries are expected to convene at the State Department for what’s being billed as the first meeting of its kind."
huffingtonpost.com, "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is convening an unprecedented mass meeting of U.S. ambassadors."
The first logical thought that comes to mind…
Looking back at all previous world crisis, what might now be so important, evidently more-so than anything ever in the past, to call all Ambassadors back to Washington?
The sky’s the limit with ideas and conspiracy…
To get all their stories ‘straight’ ahead of time – for something
To prearrange settling the debt score between nations prior to a new world currency roll-out
A dollar currency devaluation
China is calling in our debt
New severely damaging Wikileaks about to release
Afraid of electronic communication leaks of something very important to discuss
???
----------
While the main stream and most Americans are involved with the SuperBowl at the moment, hardly any reporting on the event can be found. Fine time to do something 'under the radar'.
Could this actually be simply a 'first time' of such a gathering to discuss 'normal' business?
At first instinct, suspicion is aroused.
stay tuned…
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/399/615/All_Ambassadors_Called_Back_to_Washington.html
Egyptian woman: Mossad used me to topple Mubarak regime
Pro-government TV channel interviews woman who claims she was sent to Qatar by US organization, trained by 'Israelis and Jews'. Why confess? Mubarak 'was like father to me', she says
Roee Nahmias Published: 02.03.11, 09:26 / Israel News
'Israeli connection' to Egypt riots? A young Egyptian woman claims that the Mossad trained her to assist in bringing down Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime. In an interview with Egypt's Al Mehwar network the woman, who noted that her facebook page was extremely popular, said that she was sent by an American organization to be specially trained "by Israelis and Jews" in Qatar.
The woman remained anonymous and was interviewed with her voice distorted and her face blurred. She told of her training and financial support from an American organization called Freedom House. She claims that her trainers were Jews and Israelis whose main job was recruiting "young and unexperienced" students from universities.
The organization is well known, and its website states that its purpose is to "support the expansion of freedom around the world" and that it was founded by "prominent Americans concerned with the mounting threats to peace and democracy".
According to the young woman, after her initial recruitment, she was sent to Doha in Qatar with a group of other young people for the next stage in the process. "We received intensive training for four days. The trainers had different citizenships but a predominant number among them were Israelis," she said.
At the end of the interview the woman was asked what led her to confess her secret activities. At this point, she burst into tears and answered that President Mubarak was "like a father to me," which is why she decided to share what happened to her.
Protests in Cairo escalated to violence after Mubarak's supporters started to confront the opposition supporters in al-Tahrir Square. At least five people were killed and according to doctors' reports, the number of those injured at the square reached 1,500. Mubarak announced that he would not be running for another term in office in the next elections, but protestors are demanding his immediate resignation.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4023319,00.html
Hey James, Lovely to hear your voice again on the blog. I'll just comment on your ynetnews article here. But what a laugh, what a joke! Mubarak, her loving Dad and Netanyahu her beloved step-Dad. I say, come on, you powers-that-be! Surely you can do better than that. I can just see Tahrir Square emptying of its heartbroken revolutionaries after such earth-shattering revelations!
US Unempolyment Rate
9 % Unemployment Rate is a Statistical Lie, writes one US shill, going on to say: "If unemployment was computed the way BLS did it prior to 1994, the true unemployment rate would be 22.2%.*
Typical US: Even when they are trying to be open and candid, they fail miserably. We've know for sometime now that unemplyoment in US has reached upto 30% for several years now. And nothing in what we've seen or read since then has given us any sign that things have changed. If anything, they've probably grown worse. So, overdose, here we come.
Nussiminen, fabulous comment you made above there. At least it goes to show that even while we are busy spreading evil, we may manage to do a bit of good at the same time. Norberg's Overdoes was an example of this duality. It was very well done. Yet failed in some respects: Imperial Coercion as you put it, US Ponzi Scheme as poiuytr did. That is the point. West "dissidents" even go only a bit of the way and palm us off with half-truths. But the way to the full truth begins perhaps at the halfway mark.
BTW: Hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl nonsense. Hope our pet Ami did, too. Wonder whether his team won or not.
James W, You posted something very important above. Why this gathering of the US Ravens, i.e. so-called ambassadors?
US is really running scared these days, was my first reaction. And let's hope it means the bad news is being conveyed them that China is calling in the debt, as you suggested among other things above.
But if it's not that, one thing is sure, US foreign policy is in tatters and they need to mount a new offensive to win back lost ground.
However, whatever they may try next, one thing is certain: the world will never again be the same for US might. They are on the downward path per the law of gravity and the rules of inevitable historical change.
As I had a closer look at the captions right after the film my suspicions were corroborated, accompanied by a shred of amusement. The film was indeed "PRODUCED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE SWEDISH FREE ENTERPRICE FOUNDATION", and that 'Freudian' misspelling is most certainly authentic -- to wit, unintentional (judging by an Internet search, anyway). So unless Swedish monopoly capital suddenly has turned against its very own fabric of society, the film is rank opportunism. George Soros' writings along similar lines come to mind immediately, the only difference being Soros' ability to afford the publishing himself. Johan Norberg, for his part, is a mere prostitute pure and simple. But still, the film does have its merits all right.
As for the nonsensical Super Bowl rubbish, my commitment to it is infinitesimal at best. The same goes for Europe's proud piece of utter mega-trash too, known as the "Eurovision Song Contest".
Can We Swap Obama for Chavez? (I)
By Mike Whitney
Feburary 08, 2011 "Information Clearing House" --
On Monday, while Barack Obama was hob-nobbing with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hugo Chavez was busy handing out laptop computers to second graders at a school in Caracas. After that, the Venezuelan president rushed off to a food distribution plant which is providing $110 million in prepared meals for Venezuela's poor. Finally, he ended his afternoon by making an appearance at one of the many construction sites where new homes are being built for the victims of January's massive floods. It's all in day's work for Hugo Chavez.
While Obama has turned out to be the most disappointing president in the last century, Chavez continues to impress with his resolve to improve the lives of ordinary working people. For example, in just 12 years, Chavez has created a thriving national public health care system with 533 diagnostic centers and medical facilities spread throughout the capital. Health care is free and there have been over over 55 million medical consultations since Chavez launched the Misión Barrio Adentro program. Compare that to Obama's wretched cash-giveaway to the giant US HMO's which he has tried to promote as universal health care. What a joke.
Chavez has also led the way to greater political engagement and activism by establishing over 30,000 communal councils and 236 communes, all focused on entering more people into the political process and empowering them to bring about change. In the US, grassroots organizations are routinely shrugged off by party leaders who take their marching orders from deep-pocket elites who control both parties. For his part, Obama is less interested in what his supporters want than even his predecessor George W. Bush.
And what has Chavez done to loosen the stranglehold that corporations have on media? Here's what Gregory Wilpert says in his article titled "An Assessment of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution at Twelve Years":
"With regard to the media, ordinary Venezuelans now participate in the creation of hundreds of new and independent community radio and television stations across the country. Previous governments persecuted community media, but state institutions now actively support them - not with ongoing financing, but with training and start-up equipment.
The combination of greater inclusion and greater participation has led to a greater acceptance of Venezuela’s democratic political system, according to the annual Latinobarometro opinion polls, which allow for comparisons with other democracies in Latin America. That is, more Venezuelans believe in democracy than citizens of any other country in Latin America. Eighty-four percent of Venezuelans say, “democracy is preferable to any other system of government.” ("An Assessment of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution at Twelve Years", Gregory Wilpert, Venezuelanalysis.com)
Last week, Chavez joined the battle against Coca-Cola by attending a rally of striking workers in the city of Valencia, home to the main Coca-Cola bottling plant in Venezuela. Chavez blasted Coke saying that if they didn't want to follow "the constitution and the laws" then Venezuela could "live without Coca-Cola".
Right on, Hugo! Tell Coke to pack sand!
The 1,3000 striking workers are only asking for a meager raise to meet their growing expenses, but of course that cuts into corporate profits, so Coke is fighting their demands tooth-and-nail.
Try to imagine a scenario in which "business-friendly" Obama would do-battle with a major corporation?
Can We Swap Obama for Chavez (II)
And what effect has Chavez had on the Venezuelan economy? Here's Wilpert again:
"Just as the Chavez government has democratized Venezuela’s political system over the past 12 years; it has done the same with its economic system, both on a macro-economic level and on a micro-economic level.
On a macro-economic level this has been achieved by increasing state control over the economy and by dismantling neo-liberalism in Venezuela. The Chavez government has regained state control over the previously quasi-independent national oil industry. The government nationalized private sub-contractors of the oil industry and incorporated them into the state oil company, giving workers full benefits and better pay. It also partially nationalized transnational oil company operations so that they control no more than 40% of any given oil production site. Then, the government eliminated the practice of “service agreements,” whereby transnational oil companies enjoyed lucrative concessions for oil production. Perhaps most importantly, the government increased royalties from oil production from as low as 1% to a minimum of 33%.
In the non-oil sector the government nationalized key (previously privatized) industries, such as: steel production (Sidor), telecommunications (Cantv), electricity distribution (production was already in state hands), cement production (Cemex), banking (Banco de Venezuela), and food distribution (Éxito)." ("An Assessment of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution at Twelve Years", Gregory Wilpert, Venezuelanalysis.com)
So, are people better off with the telecommunications and electric companies privately owned by cutthroats like Enron (and the other Wall Street pirates) or should they be turned into public utilities?
How about oil? Are BP and Exxon better suited for the task than the public sector?
What about banking: Would you feel safer with Uncle Sam or Goldman Sachs?
Chavez has slashed the poverty rate in half, lowered unemployment from 15% in 1999 to 7% today, and shrunk inequality to the lowest level in Latin America. In Venezuela people are getting healthier and living longer. They're better paid and more politically engaged. "84% of Venezuelans say that they are satisfied with life, which is the second highest level in Latin America." And, guess what, Chavez is strengthening social security and retirement programs, not trying to destroy them by handing them over to Wall Street in the form of private accounts.
And, Chavez's generosity has not been limited to Venezuela either. In fact, he was the first world leader to offer medical and food aid to Katrina victims. And, he still provides free heating fuel to poor people in the northeast United States. Venezuela-owned Citgo joined with Citizens Energy "to provide hundreds of thousands of gallons of free and low-cost heating oil to needy American families and homeless shelters across the US." According to Citizens Energy President Joseph P. Kennedy, "Every year, we ask major oil companies and oil-producing nations to help our senior citizens and the poor make it through winter, and only one company, CITGO, and one country, Venezuela, has responded to our appeals."
That's right; no other oil company has given even one stinking dime to the charity. Chavez has provided over over 170 million gallons of heating oil since 2005.
In contrast, Barack Obama has done nothing for the poor, the homeless, ordinary workers, or the middle class. Zilch. He's been a dead-loss for everyone except the richest of the rich. Maybe we should swap him for Chavez?
It's worth a try.
Ireland 'faces jobless recovery'
Report by Dublin financial firm NCB paints a bleak picture of falling house prices and rising national debt.
The new face of west economy in keywords:
- jobless recovery
- falling house prices
- rising national debt
- galloping inflation
So, then, where on earth is the "recovery" in this latest mantra? But self-congratulating, celebratory baboons will believe anything they are told. It needs idiot humans like ourselves to carp and cavil.
US War Rampage since 1980
US Attacks on:
El Salvador (1980), Libya (1981), Sinai (1982), Lebanon (1982 1983), Egypt (1983), Grenada (1983), Honduras (1983), Chad (1983), Persian Gulf (1984), Libya (1986) , Bolivia (1986), Iran (1987), Persian Gulf (1987), Kuwait (1987), Iran (1988), Honduras (1988), Panama (1988), Libya (1989), Panama (1989), Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru (1989), Philippines (1989), Panama (1989-1990), Liberia (1990), Saudi Arabia (1990), Iraq (1991), Zaire (1991), Sierra Leone (1992), Somalia (1992), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1993 to present), Macedonia (1993), Haiti (1994), Macedonia (1994), Bosnia (1995), Liberia (1996), Central African Republic (1996), Albania (1997), Congo/Gabon (1997), Sierra Leon (1997), Cambodia (1997), Iraq (1998), Guinea/Bissau (1998), Kenya/Tanzania (1998 to 1999), Afghanistan/Sudan (1998), Liberia (1998), East Timor (1999), Serbia (1999), Sierra Leon (2000), Yemen (2000), East Timor (2000), Afghanistan (2001 to present), Yemen (2002), Philippines (2002) , Cote d'Ivoire (2002), Iraq (2003 to present), Liberia (2003), Georgia/Djibouti (2003), Haiti (2004), Georgia/Djibouti/Kenya/Ethiopia/Yemen/Eritrea War on Terror (2004), Pakistan drone attacks (2004 to present), Somalia (2007), South Ossetia/Georgia (2008), Syria (2008), Yemen (2009), Haiti (2010), etc. etc. etc. etc.
@Nussiminen
Let the sheeple have their bread and circus, why not? How else after all will the little Caesars the west over hang on to their power?
A thinking populace is strictly banned in Caesar-ruled democracies.
Those of you who might hate the Stockmarket as much as I do myself will enjoy this story.
LSE and TMX, Deutsche Borse and NYSE Euronext shatter the truce in Borse War (10.2.11)
Throughout the bourse wars, the LSE was always on the battlefield because London was seen as the least likely to offer protection to the company on nationalist grounds. But instead, the LSE had a far more passionate defender: "Queen" Clara Furse who fought doggedly for independence, even turning down a whopping £12.43-a-share, £2.7bn bid from Nasdaq.
Middle East investors finally bought 48pc of the LSE's shares - Dubia International acquired NASDAQ's 28pc holding while Qatar picked up a 20pc stake, effectively making the London bourse bid-proof. With the NYSE buying Euronext, a draw was called.
Yesterday this truce was shattered. The $6.9bn (£4.3bn) merger of LSE and TMX in Canada was revealed overnight, followed by the plans for a $24bn combination of NYSE Euronext with Deutsche Borse. Around the world, the shares of other stock exchanges soared, from Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange in America to BMX in Spain.
(This magic world of easy money at its pinnacle. Now down, down, down and finally buried in the rubble as the year advances.)
The Egyptian Revolution
Hundreds killed, injured in Kharga
Hundreds of protesters have been killed and wounded in Kharga in southern Egypt, as the nationwide revolution in the crisis-hit country enters its 16th consecutive day.
Egyptian security forces targeted the anti-government protesters with live bullets on Wednesday, killing at least five protesters and wounding hundreds of others.
Army deploys more tanks in Cairo
Reports say Egyptian armed forces have stationed a large column of tanks and mechanized infantry vehicles in and around Cairo's Liberation Square.
It comes as thousands of protesters are camping outside the parliament as part of their campaign to topple President Hosni Mubarak.
Pro-democracy protesters have also attempted to block the parliament building.
Opposition parties plan a massive march towards the Presidential Palace on Friday.
Egyptian opposition leaders say the revolution will expand and Mubarak's regime has to go.
Opposition leader Ayman Nour has told press TV that the Egyptian revolution will go on until it topples Mubarak and his associates.
Tensions are running high across the country as protests continue for the 16th straight day.
On the positive side, work strikes have spread throughout Egypt. Huge numbers are still joining the protests and the army has just come out said that all of the protesters demands would be met, whatever that might mean.
When pro-U.S. tyrants topple
As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s regime teeters, Beltway speculation on what could follow shifts almost daily “Only he knows what he’s going to do,” President Barack Obama said of Mubarak on Sunday.
Optimists express cautious hope that a truly democratic successor government, one also friendly to the West, will emerge from the turmoil. Pessimists fear that Egypt in 2011 will instead be distressingly similar to Iran in 1979, with the Muslim Brotherhood pushing aside more secular factions and creating a staunchly Islamic, anti-U.S. state.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Since becoming an Islamic Republic, who, precisely, has Iran invaded?!?
Short answer: NOT ONE COUNTRY!!!
Who and what have both Israel and the US invaded since 1979?!?
It's a really long list, folks; so it may not be the worse thing in the world if Egypt does become an Islamic republic.
But what current events in Egypt indicate is a factor to which those in the bowels of power in Washington appear to be pathologically blind, and that is the reality that ultimately, when peaceful revolution is impossible, violent revolution is inevitable.
Also, please to note, that the rank and file in the Egyptian army was on a mutiny footing, saying fircefully that if ordered to shoot down proteters they would refuse to do so and turn their guns against their commnaders instead.
(WRH)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has called for a new world currency that would challenge the dominance of the dollar and protect against future financial instability. (10.2.11)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn saw a greater role for the IMF's Special Drawing Rights, which is currently composed of the dollar, sterling, euro and yen
“Global imbalances are back, with issues that worried us before the crisis - large and volatile capital flows, exchange rate pressures, rapidly growing excess reserves - on the front burner once again,” Strauss-Kahn said. “Left unresolved, these problems could even sow the seeds of the next crisis.”
“When we worry about the deficiencies of the international monetary system, we are mostly worrying about volatility,” he added. There is “a sense that money sometimes flows around the globe in too-volatile a fashion and that countries need a more stable, more predictable external environment in order to prosper”, he said.
He suggested adding emerging market countries' currencies, such as the yuan, to a basket of currencies that the IMF administers could add stability to the global system.
China, which holds much of its $2.85 trillion mountain of reserves in US Treasury bonds, has repeatedly expressed unease about the value of the dollar, while American politicians have complained that Beijing gains an unfair advantage by keeping its own currency cheap.
Strauss-Kahn saw a greater role for the IMF's Special Drawing Rights, which is currently composed of the dollar, sterling, euro and yen, over time but said it will take a great deal of international cooperation to make that work.
Showdown in Egypt as Mubarak hangs on - The Egyptian Revolution Begins
- Egypt’s people-power protesters, reeling with disillusion and anger after President Hosni Mubarak disappointed hopes he was about to resign, planned massive new demonstrations on Friday that may test the army’s loyalties.
Increasingly sour confrontation after 17 days of unrest has raised fears of violence.
- Protesters camp near Mubarak's palace
At least 10,000 protesters have gathered in front of the building of the state television, while thousands others are setting up camps close to Mubarak's presidential palace, a Press TV correspondent reported.
More protesters are marching towards the presidential palace in Cairo's suburb of Heliopolis amid tight security measures by troops guarding the building, the report said.
In a televised speech broadcast by state television on Thursday afternoon, the 82-year-old president dampened widespread speculations that he would abandon power after 30 years in office, and instead transferred some powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman.
That's it for now, then, all! Dictator Mubarak has resigned. He's stepping down. Long Live Egypt and the People of Egypt!
Congratulatons Egypt. You just made the history books in a special chapter all of your own.
Henceforth, you become the latest member country of the Freeworld. But that "latest" status might be lifted before too long. Hot on your heels comes Algeria whose people's march through the capital will be taking place today. And Bahrain is on the list to start off action on Feb 14.
US trade deficit widened by 33% in 2010: The trade deficit - the difference between imports and exports - hit $497.8bn (£311bn) last year, up 32.8% on the year before, the biggest annual percentage gain since 2000.
(And this Evil Empire should rule the world? Hah, bloody hah!)
The Empire's Arab puppets are hitting the road, which is G-R-E-A-T. If and when this begins to bite on the prospects of the bloody Ziocolony, the Corporate Media whores won't have much left in stock, Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism having already saturated the atmosphere in the West for decades.
Nussiminen, spot on. Boy, you have an eye for essentials. Of course, west has run out of things to say. Their rhetoric is only stale fish now, stinking to high heaven. Time will come when even west dwellers, stupid as they have become, will open their eyes and ears at long last and begin asking the right questions.
BTW: When will "neutral" Sweden finally step out of the Afghan War?
How Israel Plans to Rule the World: Part 1 The Plan
THE PLAN
There are a number of major forces in the world today but by far the most aggressive of them is the force that lies behind the state of Israel, Zionism. And the force that lies, in turn, behind Zionism is the international bankers and, in particular, those bankers that form the Jewish clique who are by far the biggest players within the banking circle. They control the two most influential central banks in the world, the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of the the US. They also control the body that co-ordinates central banks throughout the world, the Bank for International Settlements in Basle Switzerland.
http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-israel-plans-to-rule-world-part-1.html
(This is one angle from which to view ongoing events. How true it is will be left to each blogger to decide),
China is the world's second largest economy
Japanese data confirms China's economy surpassed its own in 2010 to take the number two spot Japan had held for 42 years. (14.2.11) - The Telegraph
(MSM even when pretending to tell the truth never fails in its lying activities. Well, the more they lie, the more it serves the purpose of the Freewordl).
Well put indeed, those quotation marks:
"Neutral" Sweden.
Personally, I feel disposed to believe that the powers that be here are essentially indifferent to all these utter deranged, New World Order misadventures such as Afghanistan. Their support stems predominantly from sheer cynicism and crass opportunism. You see, foreign battlefields just work miracles in a myriad of ways all at once, immensely facilitating:
Export of armaments.
"Export" of unemployable, potentially dangerous social trash to rot elsewhere, voluntarily so at that.
Preservation of political respectability and, by extension, business opportunities vis-a-vis Yankistan and its more significant lackeys.
Boosting of "domestic morale"; to wit, the fanning of arrogance and chauvinism among the proud, howling baboons.
In view of the foregoing, Sweden will commit itself to foreign wars as long as the latter don't "spill over" here (read "dead baboons sent back in coffins en masse" and "t-t-t-terrorist attacks").
Thanks, Nussiminen, that gave a very good picture of why Sweden has no qualms about going against basic principles. We wish them luck with their new status as full-fledged members of the War Club. Though we can't help hoping that they too someday will not escape their come-uppance.
Egypt Labor Unrest Grows After Anti-Mubarak Uprising - 14.2.11
Egypt's military rulers called for an end to strikes and protests Monday as thousands of state employees, from ambulance drivers to police and transport workers, demonstrated to demand better pay in a growing wave of labor unrest unleashed by the democracy uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak's regime.
The statement by the ruling military council that took power from Mubarak appeared to be a final warning to protest organizers in labor and professional unions before the army intervenes and imposes an outright ban on gatherings and strikes-
The Egyptian military commanders had better think very carefully about how they are going to handle this. Force and oppression against the Egyptian people would be a very bad idea right now. In any case, the Egyptian Revolution has only now begun to take on shape. If our calculations are correct, it may take another six months at least before we can pronounce on its failure or success.
Moody’s rates Irish banks as ‘junk’
14.2.11
The credit ratings agency Moody's yesterday cut its rating of four Irish banks to junk status, citing its concerns over the imminence of new funding which was due at the end of February.
The outgoing Irish government told the press this week it will not make extra funds available before the general election on 25 February.
But the main Irish opposition parties, who are assured to form the next government, have expressed their opposition to further bank aid for Ireland.
IMF Calls For New Global Currency To Replace Dollar (Or the latest IMF Scam) - 14.2.11
Speaking yesterday at an IMF conference in Washington, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF, warned of growing "global imbalances" in currencies and excess reserves. As a measure to combat these imbalances, he said that the SDR (Special Drawing Right) should begin replacing the dollar as the global reserve currency. He went further to suggest the benefits of issueing SDR-denominated bonds to replace Treasuries, and in a related report, the IMF even touts the benefits of private trading of SDR-denominated bonds and notes. You can just imagine the possibilities for creating arbitrage and mayhem under that scenario, especially as the component currencies of the SDR would only be re-balanced on a weekly or daily basis, at best.
Middle East Protests Spread - 15 2.11
Unrest in the Gulf island state of Bahrain on a "day of rage" organised by activists using Twitter and Facebook appeared to be similarly inspired by events in Cairo and Tunis but rooted in local factors, especially anger at discrimination against the Shia majority by the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty.
It was the first sign of post-Egypt unrest anywhere in the wealthy Gulf states. Riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets at demonstrators demanding the release of Shia detainees. "Our movement is peaceful and our demands are legitimate," read one slogan. At least 14 people were injured in Newidrat in the south-west of the kingdom, — a key western ally that hosts the US fifth fleet. "We are only asking for political reforms, right of political participation, respect for human rights, stopping of systematic discrimination against Shias," activist Nabeel Rajab told al-Jazeera. He said one person had died of injuries sustained during the protests.
Apart from Bahrain, protests took place in Yemen and Iran. For the last named, please to note that the twitter messages announcing the event were sent out by US authorities, so we all know what that means. Plus one death in Iran has already been announced. See the media whores go crazy over the whole thing. Up Iran, counter the swines with your usual composure!
West involvement in Tunisa and Egypt Uprisings
You might ask why did all this happen in Tunisia and Egypt? It was a distraction pure and simple and an expensive one. The elitists behind the scenes are trying to find a way to deal with the eminent collapse of the municipal bond market as hundreds of municipalities choose bankruptcy. Newt Gingrich, neocon Bilderberger, wants to pass legislation to allow states to go bankrupt. That would allow the states to dispense with all or part of their pension and benefit obligations changing their financial obligations dramatically. The concept is horrible for people who worked all their lives for a pension.
The Fed continues to buy all the new Treasury bonds and others in circulation. This is a policy that cannot continue indefinitely because it will lead to hyperinflation. Europe has similar problems. The healthier countries have pledged $1 trillion to rescue the spend thrifts. There is a problem, as we sited last May, and that is that they are going to need $3 trillion plus to accomplish rescue – a sum that will bankrupt solvent European states and bring depression to the entire region. Yes, China and Japan have ridden to the rescue in an effort to dump Treasuries and buy the euro bonds of Greece, Portugal and Spain. This is an exercise in futility. Do the Chinese and Japanese intend on coming up with $2 trillion? We don’t think so, and if they did, by selling treasuries, the US dollar would collapse. Another short-term stopgap measure doomed to failure.
By early May Congress has to pass an extension of the debt limit. The Republicans do not want a new extension unless there are major cuts in the budget deficit. In the interim solutions presented to Treasury Secretary Geithner have been found by him to be unworkable. Things are going to come to a head in this game of chicken. Wall Street and banking want the extension, so their game of looting can continue. No extension means financial chaos, which had to come sooner or later. Monetization of debt is inflationary and destructive. The quicker we bite the bullet the better.
That should have happened three years ago. We have reminded you of the problems faced by the US, UK and Europe, because they were the reason for the distractions in Tunisia and Egypt. They are extremely serious problems indeed, but the risks for distraction were too high and now we are witnessing that in a scenario where the US, UK and Israel could lose a key element of control in the Middle East. We will soon find out who wins – the people or the elitists.
Deutsche Boerse buys NYSE Euronext - 15.2.11
Deutsche Boerse, operator of the Frankfurt bourse, and NYSE Euronext have agreed to merge to create the world's biggest stock exchange by revenues and profit.
Knowing no boundaries: The deal will create the largest stock exchange in the world by revenues and profit.
Deutsche Boerse shareholders will own 60pc of the new company, and will swap one share of its own stock for one share in the new company, while every NYSE Euronext share will be exchanged for 0.47 new shares.
NYSE Euronext's revenues have fallen recently because of competition from cheaper computerized stock exchanges in the US and Europe. Many other global stock exchanges have also combined to save costs.
The deal will give NYSE Euronext a larger footprint in the more lucrative business of trading in futures and options contracts.
Reto Francioni, the chief executive officer of Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse, will serve as chairman of the merged company, while Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of New York-based NYSE Euronext, will keep his title.
The merger creates an powerhouse with more than $20 trillion (£12.5 trillion) in annual trading volume and operations in Germany, France, Britain, Amsterdam, Portugal, Belgium, and the United States.
(Will this save west from prolapse? Although it does extend the boundaries of the corporatist takeover of the NWO.)
Gore Vidal: "Our Only Political Party Has Two Right Wings, One Called Republican, The Other Democrat"
"Our only political party has two right wings, one called Republican, the other Democratic. But Henry Adams figured all that out back in the 1890s. 'We have a single system,' he wrote, and 'in that system the only question is the price at which the proletariat is to be bought and sold, the bread and circuses."
(If anyone believes that there exists any democratic state anywhere in the world, I fear they are much mistaken. All that exists the world over is oligarchy in various disguises.)
Jobs market turmoil
Former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member David Blanchflower says that the UK economy could go "belly up" with millions of job losses.
(Rising inflation, rising unemployment figures, wage cuts, dismantling of the welfare state, slowly but steadily we are getting there: the terminal prolapse of the west. Poiuytr, you always knew what you you were talking about.)
The Mideast in an Uproar
This week has been marked by street protests in faces as far apart as Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and Iran.
We'll begin with the last named. A colour revolution steered from the fastnesses of the US State Department. The other three are genuine protest movements fuelled by people power.
Bahrain, in particular, has just suffered losses of life and considerable numbers of injured in a horrid display of State might. Iran apart, the other three will not be stopped in a hurry.
Is this perhaps the new face of the Freeworld emerging?
US Going Broke without a Murmur
Afghan war costs US $300 million a day said the Pentagon. The withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will allow for a reduced US defense budget in 2012 but the war in Afghanistan still costs the United States close to 300 million dollars a day. Spending for the Afghan mission calls for $107.3 billion, down slightly from the last budget, which requested $113.5 billion.
Have a look at these figures, folks, and see your head sping:
The global size of the derivatives bubble which was calculated last year at USD 190k per person-on-planet, has risen to USD 206k per person-on-planet. The ever rising commitment of governments for the repeated bailouts of financial institutions is partially linked to various flavours of derivatives exposure settlements and “black hole” losses emanating from off-balance-sheet vehicles.”
Indeed, the entire GDP of every single country in the world only amounts to around $60 trillion. How can we ever hope to pay off $1,400 trillion dollars?
We can’t and we won’t. The only way that this $1.4 Quadrillion mountain of debt will disappear is a total and complete collapse of the global economy and its replacement with a new financial system.
Whether that also simultaneously brings down the US dollar and the United States itself as a first world country remains to be seen, but anyone who believes that a few years of austerity can redress the balance is living in cloud cuckoo land.
(Say "termianl prolapse" and you've said the same thng in fewer words).
2011 Could Be Setting The Stage For A Global Economic Meltdown In 2012
Is the world approaching a devastating global economic meltdown? Right now there are a large number of factors that are creating economic stress points all over the globe. All of the crazy money printing that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have been doing is putting inflationary pressure on agricultural commodities, oil and precious metals. Massive floods, horrific droughts and extreme weather patterns all over the globe are ruining crops and creating food shortages. Some nations are now actually hoarding food, and in other nations rising prices have sparked food riots. The price of oil has been moving back towards $100 a barrel, and if it stays at a high level for an extended period of time that is going to have very serious consequences for the global economy. In addition, the growing sovereign debt crisis could erupt again at any time. Half a dozen nations in Europe are on the verge of insolvency, Japan's national debt is now well over 200 percent of GDP, and the global financial system is growing increasingly concerned about the exploding national debt of the United States. The truth is that the entire world financial system is a house of cards balanced on a razor's edge and it could come down at any time.
G20 Paris: Nicolas Sarkozy calls for action against inflation's 'great threat'- 18.2.11
Inflation poses a "great threat" to global growth, risking dangerous unrest if food prices soar out of people's reach, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has warned the world's finance ministers.
Rising prices pushed up by the climbing costs of raw commodities present a "social issue" , he argued in a rallying cry to avoid the "hunger riots" he sees looming.
Mr Sarkozy called for a "global strategy aimed at… ensuring food stability" as he formally kicked off a two-day meeting of finance ministers from the G20 countries, which together account for 85pc of world economic output.
France wants greater transparency and regulation of commodities prices and derivative trading to stop markets being driven by speculation, as opposed to demand.
"A market without rules is a market which is governed by speculation," Mr Sarzoky said. "Markets have to have, woven into them, rules."
(to all of the above, the US is strongly opposed.
As for the second pillar of this conference, addressing the matter of global trade imbalances, China is in no mood for compromise. Expect another G20 to end in a stalemate.)
The Winds of Change
- Bahrein, after a bloody Friday of protests, the army has been withdrawn from the city periphery and the protestors have re-entered Pearl Square.
- Libya, with its highest number of deaths so far, 58, has withdrawn its forces of law and order from the streets. As in Bahrein, foreign intervention has been evoked. in the case of Bahrein, that of Saudia Arabia and other Muslim countries, in Libya's case, that of mercenaries from Black Africa.
- Yemen has lost a few people also today in the demonstrations.
- Algeria is in an uproar, too.
- No special news from Iran yet.
- US seems to be entering into the spirit of things as well with an uprising on the part of State employees in Wisconsin and now Ohio, all protesting against the measures being taken against their labour union and their collective bargaining power.
In early 2011, most of the world has no doubt that we are engaged in a process of historic proportions which is seeing the world after 1945 collapse before our eyes, the US in the lead, while the international community breaks down a little more each day, like the social and economic fabric of most countries in the world. But the current evidence didn’t, of course, prevent “decision-makers and experts” to be sure in 2006 that there was no risk of a serious crisis on the horizon and, in 2009, that it was absurd to imagine the slightest risk of breakdown in the existing world order, let alone the social order. Alas, today, the elite’s intellectual capacity to cope with the changes currently taking place doesn’t seem to have improved since the same “decision-makers and experts” never imagined it possible just two months ago that Tunisia and then Egypt would shortly see their regimes overthrown. Blind governments and international institutions, outdated experts and media ... the Western elite and their clones in different regions of the world continue to sink in the “holzweg” of history, those forest trails that lead nowhere, or more precisely as Heidegger pointed out, that lead somewhere only if you have the humility to be constantly listening to the forest and its signals. And yet, the fall of the wall of the Petro Dollar or the Reserve currency worldwide is nigh.
Current events in the Arab world are above all the regional translation of fundamental trends of the global systemic crisis, and in particular global geopolitical dislocation. As such, they are evidence of major shocks in the coming quarters. The end of 2011 will be marked by what one might call the "Fall of the petro-dollar Wall" that will immediately generate a major monetary-oil shock for the United States, a sort of death blow as it were.
Folks,
So-called decision-makers/experts/analysts and what-have-you are just a bunch of "idiots savants" with grossly inflated salaries. Their main function amounts to spout banal, reassuring platitudes to Capital and its grovelling baboons alike (with a good deal of stupid deceit being added for the latter). To this self-appointed, comfortable gentry competence -- or lack thereof -- is of little actual relevance since they provide no critical "output" whatsoever. What REALLY matters to Capital is the very tangible in/competence attributable to its repressive apparatus: Spying and infiltration in plain language.
Anyway, what makes these times we're living in appear promising indeed is the fact that the West is run. Consequently, Capital has no viable options left but to take on its proud baboons most ferociously. This clearly will bring outright civil war (between two equally reactionary camps, at that) to the West, thus immensely loosening the latter's grip on the Third World. This is exactly what poiuytr has been envisaging all along.
The West is deluding itself over the extent of China's growth
The Middle East could be heading for a game-changing implosion. US bond yields are surging and Western central banks, despite growing tension within their ranks, remain in ostrich mode.
Meanwhile, China is in "advanced talks" with the Colombian government to build an alternative to the Panama canal. The mooted 220km rail link would run from the Pacific to a new port near Cartagena on Colombia's Atlantic coast. Imported Chinese goods would be assembled for re-export through the Americas and beyond, with Colombia-sourced raw materials filling ships making the return journey to Asia. Beijing is now reaching very high, pushing China onwards to the zenith of its modern-day power.
Nussiminen, you said it, brother. You summed up poiuytr's thought in a masterly manner. Civil war between well-matched groups of zombies is what awaits west in the near future.
On February 18, 2011, the UN condemnation of Israel's expanded settlement activities was defeated by just one vote, that of US. Hear David Duke on that scandal on link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA-mMA18dXU
Libyan protesters have taken over a military base and weapons and the Libyan army has apparently begun to defect from the regime in growing numbers,
G20 reaches compromise on economic indicators
After impassioned debates between member nations, the G20 has decided which economic indicators to monitor in its assessment of the global economy. Exchange rates were dropped under Chinese pressure.
Crippling food shortages and worldwide inflation.
discussions did not seem to lead to much of a conclusion.
Meeting in Paris, financial ministers and central bankers from 20 of the world's largest economies reached an agreement on which indicators they would monitor in their efforts to avoid a repeat of the 2008 global financial crisis.
G20 members, who account for 85 percent of the world's economy, decided to track countries' public debt and fiscal deficits, private savings rate and private debt, as well as trade balances and net investment income flows.
(What a meagre result after so much talk. Nothing of any consequence at all was achieved).
While the US slips deeped and deeper into prolapse. the wealth elite grows richer and richer. Nearly all luxury brands experienced a resurgence in US in 2010. Just look at some of the sales increases for luxury car brands….
Porsche: 29%
Cadillac 36%
Rolls-Royce 171%
(WOW. I'd go for the Rolls, too. Come on, Baboons. Wake up and fight back. Haven't you seen enough brave people in the Mideast doing it
by now? Think of Libya, for instance and show some guts for a change.)
News from UK for today - 23.2.11
- Cameron (our Cameraman, specialised in self-photography)defends UK's arms trade
PM says expecting small countries such as Kuwait to make all their defence weapons is at odds with reality. (There you have it in a nutshell. Switzerland can do it, Kuwait can't. Super!)
- NHS cuts mean 50,000 job losses
Union-funded website reveals big job losses, despite coalition MPs' election campaigns to save services.
- BP's North Sea sale
Oil company to sell stakes in gas fields in southern North Sea. Meanwhile, BP seeks to enter the shale oil market. (North Sea out, Libya out, etc., etc. Poor BP!)
Please to note as well, 10.01, that Cameraman is securing arms deals in wrong places at the wrong times. All this will come to haunt the Brits as the prolapse continues and the Freeworld strengthens.
Afghanistan
German soldiers are in a near mutiny state against their commanders over their continued presence in the graveyard of empires.
Human rights lawyers are considering charges of complicity in torture of Afghans against Canadian forces and their commanders in that occupied country.
Housing market bubble "will burst" (Sweden)
23.2.11
A government agency says Sweden is in the midst of a housing bubble, with an overinflated market which will burst as interest rates return to a "normal" level of 5.5 percent.
In the large cities, the National Housing Credit Guarantee Board (BKN) said that in some cases, house prices can be 20 percent above what is reasonable.
In its report published on Wednesday, BKN said that house prices were too high and were propped up by low interest rates which would in future go up to 5.5 percent.
However not everyone agrees that the housing market is set to deflate with Hans Lind a real estate economist at the Royal Institute of Technology stating that there is no housing bubble in Sweden and won't be in the near future.
Protests slowly returning to west
Greece: 30,000 attend mass rally, which turns violent.
23.2.11
30,000 people attended a rally in Athens today. Today's rally was organised as part of a general strike, which caused chaos. Whether it was recent events in the middle east that caused the police to overreact is hard to determine but they used tear gas and stun grenades.
Some protesters had been throwing stones and fire bombs at police but many of the protesters were peaceful. Peaceful protesters fled from the scene in their thousands. They hid in side streets where possible.
A mob of protesters smashed the paving stones in front of the Bank of Greece. In Syntagma Square a police officer was injured when his uniform caught light. To date there have been three arrests and a couple of people injured.
So there- Haven't we been saying all along that the people protests tearing apart the Mideast actually originated in the West, namely Greece. Now, after a detour in the Muslim countries, it is returning to Greece. And from there, to the rest of Europe, mark our words. The dismantling of the Welfare State cannot be carried out with anything approaching simply peaceful means. As poiuytr used to say, kill as many of those darker skinned bastards as you like, we don't care the least bit. Wars in outlandish places is none of our business. But put a finger on our wallets and you'll get a taste of our fury.
As for the US, is a protest movement slowly taking shape there too. And, no. no. We don't mean the nefarious Tea Party farce. Something a bit more serious: organised labour, i.e. the labour unions. Keep an eye on Wisconsin, Idaho, Indiana, etc. No more collective bargaining powers for the unions and people suddenly standing up and saying: Enough is enough. Could something have sunk through the congealed brains in the heads of even the baboons? Just a question. Time will tell.
South Africa has suddenly been bitten by the bug of insurrection. God knows they needed it. Violence has broken out in the streets of the cities. So far it seems to be a matter of throwing stones. Tomorrow it could be quite a different matter.
It's Not an Arab Revolution ... It's a GLOBAL Revolution - 24.2.11
While the revolution in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other North African countries may seem like an "Arab revolt", it's actually worldwide.
Protests involving thousands of protesters have recently been held in:
* Greece
* India
* North Korea
* China
* Halabja, Kut, Sulaimaniya, Baghdad and other Iraqi towns
* US - Wisconsin Labour Union movement has now spread to Montana as well
Prediction: No need for complacency, no country will be spared.
Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi - February 24, 2011
Thousands of people have gathered in the Indian capital, Delhi, to take part in a rally to protest against rising food prices and unemployment.
A steady stream of protesters, carrying red flags, has been marching through the streets of central Delhi since early morning.
The rally has led to massive traffic jams in the city.
Trade unions who have called the rally say nearly 40,000 people will attend a meeting at the Ramlila grounds.
Oil prices up and up, stockmarket down for the week and the euro behaving erratically between highs and lows, such was the state of the past seven days. The latest in word to describe the economy now is stagflation, stagnation as to jobs and inflation as to prices. This, we are told, is th enew face of the west "economic recovery". If this is recovery, some wonder what form recession might take.
RE: Revolutions in the Arab world
Three theories possible here:
1 - Absolutely genuine, modern electronic means' gift to mankind.
2 - The NWO pulling strings in the background. To what exact purpose still remains to be determined.
3 - Genuine and, in the process, taken over and guided by the NWO on the principle that if you can't beat 'em join 'em.
Wish poiuytr were here with his eagle eye to help us sort it out! Anyone else?
Economy shrinks faster - 26.2.11
Britain's economy contracted 0.6pc in Q4, more than previously thought.
(Bye, bye recession. Welcome recovery à la prolapsed west!)
Valley Community Bank in Illinois closed by regulators - 26.2.11
Regulators closed one bank in the U.S. on Friday, bringing to 23 the total number of bank failures in 2011.
(That's more than a little unsettling; after all, it's only the end of February!) - WRH
Irish election: Fianna Fáil government routed, according to exit poll - 26.2.11
Ireland's most dominant political party, Fianna Fáil, is on the road to an historic and devastating defeat in the republic's general election.
Just months after accepting an EU/IMF bailout, the government is likely to be beaten into third place by a slew of independent candidates.
The scale of Fianna Fáil's losses are so great that a number of high-profile ministers, including finance minister Brian Lenihan, who negotiated the bailout, are in danger of losing their seats. His outgoing ministerial colleague Mary Hanafin also faces the possibility of being unseated in her Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown constituency.
Fianna Fáil trounced in Irish polls - 27.2.11
Enda Kenny set to be new Taoiseach as financial crisis pushes ruling elite into fourth place in Ireland's general election.
Gulf unrest spreads to Oman; 2 killed in protests
27.2.11
Unrest in the Middle East has now apparently reached the Persian Gulf kingdom of Oman where two people are reported to have died following clashes between state security officers and anti-government protesters. Another ten people were wounded by police firing rubber bullets and tear gas, according to reports.
Meanwhile, in Manama, capital of Bahrain, a flow of portesters have jammed the streets of the city calling for the overthrow of the monarchy.
Wisconsis, US, also held its day of rage with over 100.000 people taking to the streets.
Today's news in brief
One goes from newspaper to newspaper, from blog site to blog site, and one gets the impression nothing of note has been offered to adorn this first day of the week. But here goes all the same:
- The pristine clarity of the Libyan revolution has grown murky beyond words, with west having a great day with alternating threats and placatory words. Textbook hypocrisy. This should be Gaddafi's last week in Tripoli.
- More interestingly, Bahrain and, beyond, Saudi Arabia. Ongoing protests with swelling numbers. Also, Oman has registered its first deaths. Anyone who thinks a Rev can take place without counting its deaths should have their head examined.
- Dismantling of the welfare state. GB is having a high old time. Pious words and nefarious activities. Everything to be privatised, NHS, Public Service, Education. Lovely! And all this being sold to the eager baboons under the name of the "Good Society". Laugh your heads off at the first word perhaps.
- Wisconsin, still going strong. Learning from the Egyptians. But those baboons might not wake up to the dangers ever.
- Econ news in short supply. As soon as something comes, it will be posted here. Oh, one more thing, Ireland's new boss has already begun backtracking on electoral promises. And he hasn't even been sworn into office yet. Long live the banks of the dying west,
Farrakhan: Mideast uprisings will come to US
February 28, 2011
Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan predicted on Sunday that America faces imminent uprisings that mirror those in the Middle East.
“What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt … Libya, in Bahrain … what you see happening there … you’d better prepare because it will be coming to your door,” Farrakhan said in a booming voice, thousands of followers cheering in his wake.
Farrakhan also called on President Barack Obama to allow protesters to march, urging the president not to attack innocent people when they do.
The dollar fell to a four-month low Monday, resuming a recent downward trend as currency traders pushed the euro higher ahead of this week’s meeting of European Central Bank policy makers.
Traders turned their focus to countries expected to soon raise interest rates, something that would make their currencies and debt yields more attractive to investors. Political turmoil in the Middle East, which has lately driven traders to so-called safe-haven currencies, has shifted to support currencies that benefit from higher energy prices.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six currencies, fell as far as 76.756, the lowest point since early November.
Oil prices could derail recovery - Oil has been hovering around $100 a barrel, which could potentially drive gas prices in the U.S. to $4 a gallon and put a crimp on consumer confidence and spending.
The index lately stood at 76.909, down from 77.24 late Friday.
It’s lost 1.1% in February and has fallen 2.7% since the start of the year.
The euro extended gains since the Asian session to change hands at $1.3804, up from around $1.3750 in late North American trading Friday.
Europe’s shared currency has gained 0.6% this month.
Has anyone even noticed something very special about this blog? At the time when Poiuytr and James W. started it off, it hadn't even occurred to most people that something special was awaiting us in the years ahead.
Look at the title they chose for it: Insurrection Daily. Look at the subtitle: The Global Insurrection against Western Occupation.
I ask you: Could anything have been more visionary than that?
March first, a magical day. Fought tooth and nail going hungry for the winter to feed my birds and Raccoons here on Vancouver Island. As if by an unwritten script, after coming nightly and daily since the end of September, today they have seemingly scattered with the four winds. I am feeling truly happy to have pulled it off.
Godspeed my beloved creatures. Long life to all life. Blessings to all you resolute NBN'ers
Pilot
Should have clarified. its been no small feat. I'm talking about 100 pounds of bird seed, 50 pounds of Raisins, Dozens of loaves of the best bread, best cookies, best Cereals, Blueberries,Sunflower seeds, 25 pounds of peanuts. My dozen Raccoons including big mama with one eye and no tail and ten types of Birds have known true love.
Hi Pilot, believe me, you're a lifelong friend!
To us humans and to the animal kingdom whom the rest of us often treat like dirt. I'm so glad your birds and racoons have survived another harsh winter season. May they be back as autumn comes to an end.
Today, March 2, is a special day for me and I'll share it with you. It's my Mum's birthday. She died some 20 years ago. Oh, well, death comes to us all sometime or other.
Blessings to you, too, dear Pilot and a long and serene life, indeed!
Good posts above, thanks. And now to murky, murky Libya, apparently on the verge of a west invasion: A UN SC resolution seems out of the question. China, Russia and France have already voiced their opposition to such a move. Is it NATO then which will be doing the attacking? If so, so much the better for Afghanistan and Iraq. And so much faster the final prolapse. Let the other murderous Muslim countries take their fair share of the burden now. We are awaiting the fall of KSA especially.
Whatever, one might think of the Libyan uprising with the threat of west invasion growing stonger by the day, this snippet from today's Telegraph is a very welcome piece of news indeed.
"Saudi Arabia contagion triggers Gulf rout
Fears of sectarian uprisings in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have set off the first serious wave of investor flight from the Gulf, compounding market turmoil as civil war in Libya pushes Brent crude over $116 a barrel."
Libya is for kids compared to KSA. That's the one which must go for the world to change its genocidal ways.
China's holdings of US debt larger than reported China's holdings of US bonds reached $1.16 trillion at the end of December, almost $270 billion more than previously estimated, new data showed Monday. Beijing, which has converted much of a huge trade surplus with the United States over the past two decades into buying up US treasuries and other securities, held 26.1 percent of the total of $4.44 trillion held by foreigners, the Treasury said. The figures came as the US government recalculated its data on foreign holdings of US securities from June 2010. Chinese-held Treasuries have fallen since hitting a high of $1.18 trillion in October, under the revised figures. Japan remained by far the second largest holder of US government debt, with $882 billion in December, around $1.3 billion less than original estimates. Britain was third at $272.1 billion.
The Financial Crisis
Gerald Celente dates the financial crisis back to august 2007.
Received wisdom usually takes the turmoil of 2008 as the starting point.
Poiuytr akways attrubuted it to mid-2006 when the reserve status currency of the dollar was finally "nuked" to use his own word.
Whichever explanation one prefers, the prolapse is there for all to contemplate. To quote Woody Guthrie: "See what your greed for money has done."
Support the free people of Libya with phone calls & letters to your govenrment representives, urging them to petition the President to impose a no fly zone and arm the rebels with weapons & ammunition and whatever else they need to topple this evil regime as quickly as possible. Our economic survivial is in jeopardy, this rapid rise in the price of fuel is going to derail our financial recovery. If you are a true American you will let our leaders in Washington know that the time for action is now. Pass this string along "True Sons of Liberty"!..
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