Friday, December 31, 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL THE READERS AND THANK YOU!
I would like to THANK the very few who have generously donated to this blog. It means A LOT to me! THANK YOU!
The Shadow Banking System: A Third Of All The Wealth In The World Is Held In Offshore Banks
You and I live in a totally different world than the ultra-rich and the international banking elite do. Many of them live in a world where they simply do not pay income taxes. Today, it is estimated that a third of all the wealth in the world is held in offshore banks. So why is so much of the wealth of the globe located in places such as Monaco, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Isle of Man? It isn't because those are fun places to visit. It is to avoid taxes. The super wealthy and the international banking elite think that it is really funny that our paychecks are constantly being drained by federal taxes, state taxes and Social Security taxes while they literally pay nothing at all. These incredibly rich elitists make a ton of money doing business in wealthy western nations and then they transfer virtually all of their profits offshore where they don't have to contribute any of it in taxes. It works out really great for them, but it sucks for the rest of us.
It is estimated that approximately $1.4 trillion is held in offshore banks in the Cayman Islands alone. According to an article in Forbes magazine, there is a total of approximately 15 trillion to 20 trillion dollars in offshore bank accounts, brokerage accounts and hedge fund portfolios.
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No, most Americans just go to work every week and have their hard earned paychecks raped by an oppressive taxation system.
To the ultra-wealthy and the international banking system we are all just a bunch of suckers. In fact, a big portion of our taxes ends up going into their pockets to pay the interest on all of the government debt that they are holding.
50% Of Americans One Paycheck Away From Needing Government Assistance
Many Americans especially young adults realize that saving large amounts of money is a key to a sustainable retirement:
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Real Unemployment is over 30 Million
The storyline being sold to the American public by the White House and the corporate mainstream media is that the economy is growing, jobs are being created, corporations are generating record profits, consumers are spending and all will be well in 2011. The 2% payroll tax cut, stolen from future generations to be spent in 2011, will jumpstart a sound economic recovery. Joseph Goebbels would be proud.
More Here..
PROPAGANDA MINISTERS
It was another wise old man named Ben Franklin who captured the essence of what those in control are peddling:
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”
The economy is growing due to unprecedented deficit spending by the government, fraudulent accounting by the Wall Street banks, the Federal Reserve buying $1.5 trillion of toxic mortgage “assets” from their Wall Street owners, various home buyer and auto tax credits and gimmick programs, and Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA accumulating taxpayer loses so morons can continue to purchase houses. Jobs are being created. According to the BLS, we’ve added 951,000 jobs since December 2009, an average of 79,000 per month. Of course, the population of the US is growing at 175,000 per month. It seems that there are millions of jobs being created, just not here as shown on these graphs from the NYT.
Hiding A Depression: How The US Government Does It
The real US unemployment rate is not 9.8% but between 25% and 30%. That is a depression level of job losses - so why doesn't it look like a depression for many people? How can so large of a statistical discrepancy exist, and how is it that holiday shopping malls are so crowded in a depression?
The true devastation is hidden by essentially placing the job losses inside three different "boxes": the official unemployment box, the true full unemployment box, and most importantly, the staggering and persistent private sector job loss box that has been temporarily covered over by a fantastic level of governmental deficit spending. The "recovering and out of the recession" cover story is only plausible when nobody connects the dots and adds all the boxes together.
Actor Getting Ready For Armageddon
We will add together the three boxes herein - using US government statistics for all three - and convincingly show that the US economy is in far worse condition than what is presented by the government or by the mainstream media. No, we have not emerged from "recession" and there will be no "double dip" - because the first "dip" was straight down to a depression-level economy in 2008/2009, and we haven't come back up.
Creating artificial "free money" on a massive scale that artificially boosts short-term employment is how you segment depression level unemployment into the separate boxes and hide what is really happening. It is this radical strategy that most distinguishes the current downturn from the 1970s and 1930s. The ultimate source of most of the current "free money" that hides the depression is the government risking the impoverishment of US savers and investors for potentially decades to come, with the worst of the damage concentrated on retirees and Boomers.
To have a chance of defending your hoped-for future lifestyle, there is simply no substitute for seeing the truth clearly. For it is only when we see through the lies with clarity that we can distinguish the false opportunity of manipulated markets from the real opportunities that can be found in unexpected places.
More Here..Actor Getting Ready For Armageddon
From An Expat: The American Collapse
As an American expat living in the European Union, I’ve started to see America from a different perspective.
More Here..The European Union has a larger economy and more people than America does. Though it spends less -- right around 9 percent of GNP on medical, whereas we in the U.S. spend close to between 15 to 16 percent of GNP on medical -- the EU pretty much insures 100 percent of its population.
The U.S. has 59 million people medically uninsured; 132 million without dental insurance; 60 million without paid sick leave; 40 million on food stamps. Everybody in the European Union has cradle-to-grave access to universal medical and a dental plan by law. The law also requires paid sick leave; paid annual leave; paid maternity leave. When you realize all of that, it becomes easy to understand why many Europeans think America has gone insane.
Der Spiegel has run an interesting feature called "A Superpower in Decline," which attempts to explain to a German audience such odd phenomena as the rise of the Tea Party, without the hedging or attempts at "balance" found in mainstream U.S. media.Thousands Without Water In Ireland
Feed Me, Obama, Feed Me: The Plan for Food Dependency
What does any would-be tyrant need in order to gain control over the lives of citizens? Three things come to mind: martial law, socialized medicine, and food dependency.
In at least two of these categories, President Obama has already succeeded.
Martial Law
By way of executive proclamation, President Obama has secured for himself the power to declare martial law in the event of a national "emergency," real or contrived, and without the accountability typically required by the Posse Comitatus Act and the National Emergencies Act of 1976.
This is the legacy of the "conservative" Bush administration. National emergencies have now been transformed into power-grabbing devices thanks to the virtually unnoticed National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) 51.
NSPD 51 empowers the president to co-opt all state and local government authority in the event that he declares a national emergency. This is a self-declared power not subjugated to the National Emergencies Act of 1976 as in previous directives.
President Obama quickly went beyond NSPD 51, signing an order creating a "Council of Governors" who would be put in charge of declaring martial law. The directive is in direct violation of Posse Comitatus and the Insurrection Act. This "Council of Governors" answers only to President Obama.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Almost Entire Town In Alabama Starving
Bayou la Batre-- It's hard to put a number on the economic losses the Gulf region has experienced since the B-P oil spill. But it's clear that communities along the coast are hurting. The tiny Alabama fishing town of Bayou la Batre was still recovering from hurricanes Katrina and Ivan when the oil spill sent it into another tailspin. For many residents there just isn't enough money for basics, even food. WBHM's Tanner Latham has a profile of one church that's using its food pantry to feed a large segment of the population.
Bosarge volunteers weekly for this program, the Hemley Road Church of Christ Food Pantry. She organizes the order of the people who shuffle through the food distribution line-long tables butting end-to-end, piled with canned goods, eggs, peanut butter, and other groceries.
Anna Bosarge paces the gymnasium floor at the Bayou la Batre Community Center. She calls numbers out to the men, women, and children crowding the rows of metal folding chairs. They're black, white, Hispanic, Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese. They all live in and around this South Alabama community. They're all either unemployed, live on supplemental security incomes, or receive food stamps. And they've all been directly affected by the Gulf oil spill.
Bosarge volunteers weekly for this program, the Hemley Road Church of Christ Food Pantry. She organizes the order of the people who shuffle through the food distribution line-long tables butting end-to-end, piled with canned goods, eggs, peanut butter, and other groceries.After hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, Daphne German co-founded the church and the food pantry in 2006.
"It was just something I wanted to do. I wanted to have a small food pantry, so I could help people in the community. And we have two rooms and a hall in our main church building that was our food pantry, and we were serving, a high for me would be 124 twice a month. I was opening it twice a month."
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Gulf of Mexico is Dying
It is with deep regret that we publish this report. We do not take this responsibility lightly, as the consequences of the following observations are of such great import and have such far-reaching ramifications for the entire planet. Truly, the fate of the oceans of the world hangs in the balance, as does the future of humankind.
The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) does not exist in isolation and is, in fact, connected to the Seven Seas. Hence, we publish these findings in order that the world community will come together to further contemplate this dire and demanding predicament. We also do so with the hope that an appropriate global response will be formulated, and acted upon, for the sake of future generations. It is the most basic responsibility for every civilization to leave their world in a better condition than that which they inherited from their forbears.
After conducting the Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference for over seven months, we can now disseminate the following information with the authority and confidence of those who have thoroughly investigated a crime scene. There are many research articles, investigative reports and penetrating exposes archived at the following website. Particularly those posted from August through November provide a unique body of evidence, many with compelling photo-documentaries, which portray the true state of affairs at the Macondo Prospect in the GOM.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Economic Rant: The Silver Vault Is Empty..And More
You want to know how stupid the sheeple really are? Only 1% of airline passengers demand a patdown when told to go thru the Pervert Scan X-Ray machine. 99% get irradiated. Hopefully it is a secret delayed death ray, and all the sheeple will fall over dead six months down the road. What is wrong with people that they will get dangerous X-radiation for no reason? Refuse to go thru the Pervert Scan! If everyone did this, they would all be removed tomorrow morning. 99% of the brain dead sheeple go right thru them without any hesitation! This is real world proof they aren’t human.
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U.S. homes will lose a total of $1.7 trillion in value in 2010, according to real estate site Zillow.com. The value lost this year will be 63% more than in 2009, and will take the total value lost since June 2006 to more than $9 trillion, Zillow said on its blog.
"Since the peak of home values in June 2006, more than $9 trillion in values has come out of the housing market,"
"As a comparison, that's more than the cost of 12 wars in Iraq, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service."
Real estate will keep collapsing for at least three more years. The average home will fall to $120,000 and you will be able to buy it for a mere 600 ounces of silver. Maybe even 300 ounces of silver. Yes, things will get that bad.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
THE BEAR WILL RETURN IN 2011
I think they are all going to be wrong, horribly wrong. I believe next year the stock market will begin the third leg down in the secular bear market. And the global economy will tip over into the next recession that will be much worse than the last one.
I've gone over the 3 year cycle in the dollar index many times. The dip down into the next 3 year cycle low this spring should drive the final leg up in gold's massive C-wave. What I haven't talked much about is what happens after the dollar bottoms.
I actually expect this three year cycle in the dollar to play out almost exactly like it did during the last three year cycle. When the dollar collapses this spring it will not only drive the price of gold to a final C-wave top, it will drive virtually all commodity prices through the roof, the most important being energy and to some extent food.
It was the sudden massive spike in energy that drove the global economy over the edge into recession in late `07 and early `08. The implosion of the credit markets just exacerbated the problem. You can see on the following chart just as soon as Bernanke drove the dollar below long term historical support (80) oil took off on its parabolic move to $147.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Harvey Organ: Criminality Of The Bankers
Promptly after those two cuddly bears explained how the JP Morgue is manipulating the silver market, and the xtranormal video went viral, forcing the FT to release an indemnification that "according to sources" JPM had covered a major portion of its silver short (only to subsequently end up with 90% control of other metals markets), here they are back, explaining in Part 2 of the series just what the next steps in the unwind of the biggest metal manipulation scheme will look like. The kicker: a JPM insider has told one of the bears that there is no commercial silver left, "it's all smoke and mirrors, and the CFTC can do nothing about it other than pray." Other topical items explained: silver backwardation, that there are two commissioners at the CFTC on the JP Morgue's payroll, the BIS' fractional gold system and the usage of side pockets for sovereign gold, and pretty much everything that ties the loose odds and ends in the PM manipulation story.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Seniors Broke: Moving In With Kids
When the value of stocks and bonds in your portfolio has declined, tapping the bonds of your family can be a valuable asset — especially in retirement.
Joseph Jastrzebski, a 68-year-old manager at Home Depot, wants to retire soon. When he does, he and his wife, Valerie, plan to move in with extended family.
The Sayreville, N.J., couple already live part-time with their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Once they sell the family home the Jastrzebskis will move in permanently.
"It will afford us an opportunity to save money and have something left for our children," says Valerie, a 63-year-old secretary. "We are doing it because this is a situation that presented itself that is ideal for everyone."
Valerie's daughter, Sarah, mother of a five-month-old boy and step-mom to two teenagers, is working as an administrative assistant while studying for a master's degree in holistic health studies. She agrees combining their households makes sense.
"A lot of times now with retirement we see someone ends up in a nursing home or other facility like that," Sarah says. "I think staying with your family is the way to go."
Alabama Town’s Failed Pension Is a Warning
“Prichard is the future,” said Michael Aguirre, the former San Diego city attorney, who has called for San Diego to declare bankruptcy and restructure its own outsize pension obligations. “We’re all on the same conveyor belt. Prichard is just a little further down the road.”
Many cities and states are struggling to keep their pension plans adequately funded, with varying success. New York City plans to put $8.3 billion into its pension fund next year, twice what it paid five years ago. Maryland is considering a proposal to raise the retirement age to 62 for all public workers with fewer than five years of service.
Illinois keeps borrowing money to invest in its pension funds, gambling that the funds’ investments will earn enough to pay back the debt with interest. New Jersey simply decided not to pay the $3.1 billion that was due its pension plan this year.
Colorado, Minnesota and South Dakota have all taken the unusual step of reducing the benefits they pay their current retirees by cutting cost-of-living increases; retirees in all three states are suing.
No state or city wants to wind up like Prichard.
More Here..Police Mace Sheeple (Sneaker) Buyers
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Las Vegas The Next Detroit
If Wall Street is the hub of American finance then Las Vegas was the manifestation of credit dreams going viral. Las Vegas, the beating heart of Nevada had a tremendous boom with the real estate bubble because it played into the narrative of making it big. Where else can unknowns strike it big and have their name put up in lights? With Wall Street feeding the frenzy Las Vegas seemed to be an endless playground of free flowing capital. During the boom it was hard not to notice the high end Rodeo Drive like stores of Gucci, DKNY, and Prada covering the floors of many casinos.
The stores were full and money seemed to flow like the exhaust of Maserati’s cruising up and down Las Vegas Blvd. If heaven on Earth for kids is Disneyland Las Vegas was the heaven of debt. What once seemed as an endless dream has burst into a barren desert nightmare. Las Vegas once boasting some of the fastest growth rates now has largely led Nevada into having the highest unemployment rate of all states in the country. If Michigan was the result of the offshoring of American manufacturing and the demise of the US auto industry Nevada is the exclamation mark at the end of the credit bubble era.
The stores were full and money seemed to flow like the exhaust of Maserati’s cruising up and down Las Vegas Blvd. If heaven on Earth for kids is Disneyland Las Vegas was the heaven of debt. What once seemed as an endless dream has burst into a barren desert nightmare. Las Vegas once boasting some of the fastest growth rates now has largely led Nevada into having the highest unemployment rate of all states in the country. If Michigan was the result of the offshoring of American manufacturing and the demise of the US auto industry Nevada is the exclamation mark at the end of the credit bubble era.
You only need to look at the drastic collapse in real estate prices to see how quickly the bubble burst in Nevada:
What took from 1980 to 2000 in terms of price growth was achieved in four years from 2000 to 2004. The rapid rise in Las Vegas was largely due to the real estate bubble, both residential and commercial. The bust in commercial real estate values in Las Vegas was all but set in stone but the bubble grew to a point where many started believing that the mania would last forever:
More Here..
More Here..
Completed: Americans Submitting To "Control" And "Safety" Easily
NEW YORK (AP) - Explosive snow globes? You've got to be kidding, Robyn Burford thought when security inspectors at the Portland, Ore., airport demanded she hand over her two glitter-filled souvenirs.
The snow globes might contain explosive nitroglycerin, an officer informed the 16-year-old from Houston. Instead of complaining, Burford did what thousands of other travelers are doing when confronted with pat-downs, body scanners and the other indignities of air travel this holiday season.
She bit her tongue and obeyed.
"I think we're actually getting used to the fact that we have to go through so much to go places," Burford said.As the Christmas travel week arrives, it appears Americans are getting used to flying under the specter of terrorism and the new inconveniences the government deems necessary to combat it. Most people surrender to body scans and invasive pat-downs with little fuss. Resignation has replaced fear. More Here..
The snow globes might contain explosive nitroglycerin, an officer informed the 16-year-old from Houston. Instead of complaining, Burford did what thousands of other travelers are doing when confronted with pat-downs, body scanners and the other indignities of air travel this holiday season.
She bit her tongue and obeyed.
"I think we're actually getting used to the fact that we have to go through so much to go places," Burford said.
Banks Breaking In Homes And Taking Everything
TRUCKEE, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks.
When she finally got into the house, it was empty. All of her possessions were gone: furniture, her son’s ski medals, winter clothes and family photos. Also missing was a wooden box, its top inscribed with the words “Together Forever,” that contained the ashes of her late husband, Robert.
The culprit, Ms. Ash soon learned, was not a burglar but her bank. According to a federal lawsuit filed in October by Ms. Ash, Bank of America had wrongfully foreclosed on her house and thrown out her belongings, without alerting Ms. Ash beforehand.
In an era when millions of homes have received foreclosure notices nationwide, lawsuits detailing bank break-ins like the one at Ms. Ash’s house keep surfacing. And in the wake of the scandal involving shoddy, sometimes illegal paperwork that has buffeted the nation’s biggest banks in recent months, critics say these situations reinforce their claims that the foreclosure process is fundamentally flawed.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
No Money: City By City The Lights Go Out
VISTA (AP) — To trim $9 million from their budget, Vista officials say they will shut off half of the city’s residential street lights in March unless property owners agree to pay higher lighting fees.
Fees could cost residents of the north San Diego County city between $4 and $20 a year.
SoCal To Turn Off Street Lights In Budget Cuts
In turn, Vista residents complained about bright lights at the new City Hall.
City spokeswoman Andrea McCullough tells the North County Times that lights in the park behind the building have been shut off and lights in front of the Civic Center have been dimmed.
Inside the building, she says lights are being dimmed at 7 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.
Passed 3-2: Internet To Be Regulated
The FCC has voted 3-2 along political lines to extend the government’s reach and regulate the internet via net neutrality.
The vote to institute net neutrality rules marks the first time the government has stepped into the world of internet regulation. Proponent’s of the net neutrality rules say that the move allows the government to stop companies from controlling too much of the internet, while opponents view it as a scary example of government control and an impediment of private business.
“As we stand here now, the freedom and openness of the Internet are unprotected… . That will change once we vote to approve this strong and balanced order,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at a commission meeting on Tuesday, according to The Hill.
The paper says the new rules “create new transparency standards for wired and wireless carriers,“ while also preventing ”wired carriers from blocking lawful applications and services.” For example, “wireless carriers are prohibited from blocking websites as well as applications that compete with their services.”
James Turk - Writing on the Wall, Hyperinflation is Very Near
“Rising interest rates along with the surge in commodity prices that we have been seeing in the back half of this year is writing on the wall that hyperinflation is very near. If anyone needs further proof just look at what QE2 is already doing. The Fed is turning government debt that the market doesn’t want into currency which is the cause of all hyperinflation.”
2010 was another good year for the precious metals. Although we still have two weeks to go, gold will be up for the tenth year in a row against the dollar. The significant change this year is that a lot more people are paying attention to gold’s rise. Because we are in stage II of a bull market now, as I said, you are seeing many more people take notice of both gold and silver’s rise. The continuing talk about gold being in a bubble is complete nonsense, the stage III speculative phase is still far into the future.
2010 was another good year for the precious metals. Although we still have two weeks to go, gold will be up for the tenth year in a row against the dollar. The significant change this year is that a lot more people are paying attention to gold’s rise. Because we are in stage II of a bull market now, as I said, you are seeing many more people take notice of both gold and silver’s rise. The continuing talk about gold being in a bubble is complete nonsense, the stage III speculative phase is still far into the future.
The theme for the balance of this year and into next will be determined accumulation of physical gold and silver. The reason for that is that the drivers for gold and silver remain the same, monetary problems around the world. Individuals and institutions need a safe haven because of all of the monetary turmoil as well as ongoing crises. With physical gold and silver they know their money is safe.
The interesting point Eric is that I think all of these crises are going to come to a head in 2011. So far they have been developing serially, but everything is shaping up for a big bang. The reason is that debt holders are finally waking up to the risks and demanding higher interest rates, which is something over-leveraged debtors cannot afford to pay.
So the way I see it, we need gold and silver now more than ever, which is the same message the mining shares are telling us. The strong accumulation that we are seeing in the mining shares bodes well for next year in terms of performance both for the metals, but in particular the mining shares.”
Turk is correct, we are seeing tremendous accumulation in the mining shares. It’s not that the commercials can’t wiggle some of these mining shares lower in price from time to time. It’s just that the commercials and other professionals will be buying the shares from weak-handed sellers in each of those dips. This is just the reality of massive professional accumulation as we move through phase II. That’s just the way bull markets work.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Bernanke The Grinch Who Stole From The Poor, Weak And Elderly
Bernanke’s latest theoretical venture into manipulating the puppet strings of the economy began with his speech at Jackson Hole in August and concluded with his Op-Ed on November 4. His master plan to buy an additional $600 billion of Long-term Treasuries is being implemented on a daily basis. This QE2 follows his previous QE1, which consisted of buying $1.4 trillion of toxic mortgage securities from his masters, the insolvent Wall Street banks. What follows are Ben Bernanke’s own words:
“I believe that additional purchases of longer-term securities, should the FOMC choose to undertake them, would be effective in further easing financial conditions.” – Ben Bernanke – August 27, 2010 - Jackson Hole
“Given the Committee’s objectives, there would appear–all else being equal–to be a case for further action. For example, a means of providing additional monetary stimulus, if warranted, would be to expand the Federal Reserve’s holdings of longer-term securities. Empirical evidence suggests that our previous program of securities purchases was successful in bringing down longer-term interest rates and thereby supporting the economic recovery.” – Ben Bernake – October 15, 2010 – Boston Speech
“To promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to expand its holdings of securities. The Committee will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. In addition, the Committee intends to purchase a further $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011, a pace of about $75 billion per month.” – Ben Bernanke Fed Announcement – November 3, 2010
“This approach eased financial conditions in the past and, so far, looks to be effective again. Stock prices rose and long-term interest rates fell when investors began to anticipate the most recent action. Easier financial conditions will promote economic growth. For example, lower mortgage rates will make housing more affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance. Lower corporate bond rates will encourage investment. And higher stock prices will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can also spur spending. Increased spending will lead to higher incomes and profits that, in a virtuous circle, will further support economic expansion.” – Ben Bernanke – November 4, 2010 – Washington Post Op-Ed
Ben and his friends on the Federal Reserve have a PR machine to help sell their lies. Let’s assess whether Ben and his Federal Reserve have helped or hurt the average American.
Throwing Senior Citizens Under the Bus
Then he slunk to the ice box. He took the Whos’ feast, he took the who pudding, he took the roast beast. He cleaned out that ice box as quick as a flash. Why, the Grinch even took their last can of Who hash. - Dr Seuss
There are approximately 40 million senior citizens living in 25 million households in the US. According to the Census Bureau, more than 12 million of these households survive on less than $30,000 of income per year. The median household income in the US is $49,777. A full 70% of all over 65 households make less than the median income. A recent study found that 58% of those between 60 and 84 will at some point fail to have enough liquid assets to allow them to get through unanticipated expenses or declining income.
More Here..
“I believe that additional purchases of longer-term securities, should the FOMC choose to undertake them, would be effective in further easing financial conditions.” – Ben Bernanke – August 27, 2010 - Jackson Hole
“Given the Committee’s objectives, there would appear–all else being equal–to be a case for further action. For example, a means of providing additional monetary stimulus, if warranted, would be to expand the Federal Reserve’s holdings of longer-term securities. Empirical evidence suggests that our previous program of securities purchases was successful in bringing down longer-term interest rates and thereby supporting the economic recovery.” – Ben Bernake – October 15, 2010 – Boston Speech
“To promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to expand its holdings of securities. The Committee will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. In addition, the Committee intends to purchase a further $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011, a pace of about $75 billion per month.” – Ben Bernanke Fed Announcement – November 3, 2010
“This approach eased financial conditions in the past and, so far, looks to be effective again. Stock prices rose and long-term interest rates fell when investors began to anticipate the most recent action. Easier financial conditions will promote economic growth. For example, lower mortgage rates will make housing more affordable and allow more homeowners to refinance. Lower corporate bond rates will encourage investment. And higher stock prices will boost consumer wealth and help increase confidence, which can also spur spending. Increased spending will lead to higher incomes and profits that, in a virtuous circle, will further support economic expansion.” – Ben Bernanke – November 4, 2010 – Washington Post Op-Ed
Ben and his friends on the Federal Reserve have a PR machine to help sell their lies. Let’s assess whether Ben and his Federal Reserve have helped or hurt the average American.
Throwing Senior Citizens Under the Bus
Then he slunk to the ice box. He took the Whos’ feast, he took the who pudding, he took the roast beast. He cleaned out that ice box as quick as a flash. Why, the Grinch even took their last can of Who hash. - Dr Seuss
There are approximately 40 million senior citizens living in 25 million households in the US. According to the Census Bureau, more than 12 million of these households survive on less than $30,000 of income per year. The median household income in the US is $49,777. A full 70% of all over 65 households make less than the median income. A recent study found that 58% of those between 60 and 84 will at some point fail to have enough liquid assets to allow them to get through unanticipated expenses or declining income.
More Here..
The FBI Is Assembling A Massive Database On Thousands of Americans
Here are five striking revelations in their piece:
1. The FBI's Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, or SAR, currently contains 161,948 suspicious activity files, into which authorities can put information they've gathered about the people at the center of the files: employment history, financial documents, phone numbers, photos. In many cases, the people in the files have not been accused of any crime but have attracted the suspicions of a local cop, FBI agent or even fellow citizen. The files have led to five arrests but no convictions, the FBI says. Some of the files are unclassified so that local police agencies and even businesses can submit reports on anyone they deem suspicious.
2. The Department of Homeland Security does not know how much it spends in funding state fusion centers, which synthesize security information from all state agencies and feed information to SAR. But since 2001, the department has doled out $31 billion to states and localities for domestic security initiatives.
The FCC's Threat to Internet Freedom
'Net neutrality' sounds nice, but the Web is working fine now. The new rules will inhibit investment, deter innovation and create a billable-hours bonanza for lawyers.
Tomorrow morning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will mark the winter solstice by taking an unprecedented step to expand government's reach into the Internet by attempting to regulate its inner workings. In doing so, the agency will circumvent Congress and disregard a recent court ruling.
How did the FCC get here?
For years, proponents of so-called "net neutrality" have been calling for strong regulation of broadband "on-ramps" to the Internet, like those provided by your local cable or phone companies. Rules are needed, the argument goes, to ensure that the Internet remains open and free, and to discourage broadband providers from thwarting consumer demand. That sounds good if you say it fast.
More Here...
Atlanta: The Land Of Foreclosure After Foreclosure
ALL Government Spending Is Inflationary-
(Inflation.US Video)
How did the FCC get here?
For years, proponents of so-called "net neutrality" have been calling for strong regulation of broadband "on-ramps" to the Internet, like those provided by your local cable or phone companies. Rules are needed, the argument goes, to ensure that the Internet remains open and free, and to discourage broadband providers from thwarting consumer demand. That sounds good if you say it fast.
More Here...
Atlanta: The Land Of Foreclosure After Foreclosure
ALL Government Spending Is Inflationary-
(Inflation.US Video)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
America's Second Great Depression 2010 Year-End Update (Part 1)
As clueless as Bernanke has been, if you follow what he says closely, on occasion you will see his own admission that the U.S. is either in a depression or is certainly headed for one.
For instance, on Tuesday November 30, 2010, as Bernanke attempted to defend his recent decision to buy $600 billion of U.S. Treasuries, he made ridiculous claims that this quantitative easing would lead to more jobs. He then used the often used scare tactic to justify this move by saying that a long period of high unemployment could exact a steep social cost.
For instance, on Tuesday November 30, 2010, as Bernanke attempted to defend his recent decision to buy $600 billion of U.S. Treasuries, he made ridiculous claims that this quantitative easing would lead to more jobs. He then used the often used scare tactic to justify this move by saying that a long period of high unemployment could exact a steep social cost.
"There are obviously very severe economic and social consequences from this level of unemployment," so getting new jobs, getting unemployment down is of an incredible importance."
“The unemployment rate is still going to be high for a while, and that means that a lot of people are going to be under financial stress.”Recently, Bernanke predicted unemployment will remain high for "four or five years." [2]
So what is Bernanke trying to say? Read between the lines for yourself. First, he has said that there will be very severe social and economic consequences from this high level of unemployment. What does “Very severe social and economic consequences” mean? Quite simply, it means a depression.
Then, on December 5, 2010, Bernanke stated that unemployment will remain high for four or five years. By now I’m sure you realize any estimate that sides with optimism by the Fed is a severe understatement. What that means is that high unemployment will last much longer.
But this by no means provides any useful guidance by Bernanke. It should be obvious to any rational adult that we are in a depression. I detailed the causes and effects of this depression in America’s Financial Apocalypse four years ago.
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Censor Web Or Else...
Sweeping New Internet Rules
Financial Meltdown Coming: 60 Minutes (Video)
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Censor Web Or Else...
Sweeping New Internet Rules
Financial Meltdown Coming: 60 Minutes (Video)
IMF Director: “No Other Solution” To Greek-Style Austerity
Speaking to Triple Crown Charlie (CFR and Trilateral Commission member and Bilderberg attendee) Rose on December 16, 2010, IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn ran cover for failed Euro and IMF interventionist policies.
“I’m a big advocate of the single currency,“
Greater economic integration often leads to greater political integration, as demonstrated by the progression in Europe from the European Coal and Steel Community to the European Economic Community to the European Union and then the Euro.
“and it provides a lot of results.“
Yes, like the 110 billion Euro Greek bailout and the 85 billion Euro Irish bailout.
“CHARLIE ROSE: Can you have austerity and growth at the same time?
DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN: Well, I would answer no.“
He’s obviously unaware of or deliberately omitting that the U.S. had unprecedented economic growth from 1945-1950, in the face of federal budget cuts of over 50%.
“But the problem in the banking sector is limited to small number of banks. The big banks are safe and so I think it’s manageable.“
Safe like three of the five biggest investment banks in the U.S., one of which went bankrupt (Lehman Brothers) and two others which collapsed (Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch) and were bought up at a fraction of their 52-week highs by the biggest commercial banks? Or safe like the biggest commercial banks that were bailed out by the federal government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Plan and the Federal Reserve’s $3.3 trillion bailout fund they fought so hard to keep secret?
More Here..
“I’m a big advocate of the single currency,“
Greater economic integration often leads to greater political integration, as demonstrated by the progression in Europe from the European Coal and Steel Community to the European Economic Community to the European Union and then the Euro.
“and it provides a lot of results.“
Yes, like the 110 billion Euro Greek bailout and the 85 billion Euro Irish bailout.
“CHARLIE ROSE: Can you have austerity and growth at the same time?
DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN: Well, I would answer no.“
He’s obviously unaware of or deliberately omitting that the U.S. had unprecedented economic growth from 1945-1950, in the face of federal budget cuts of over 50%.
“But the problem in the banking sector is limited to small number of banks. The big banks are safe and so I think it’s manageable.“
Safe like three of the five biggest investment banks in the U.S., one of which went bankrupt (Lehman Brothers) and two others which collapsed (Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch) and were bought up at a fraction of their 52-week highs by the biggest commercial banks? Or safe like the biggest commercial banks that were bailed out by the federal government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Plan and the Federal Reserve’s $3.3 trillion bailout fund they fought so hard to keep secret?
Saturday, December 18, 2010
US Empire Could Collapse At Any Time, Pulitzer Winner Tells Raw Story
America's military and economic empire could collapse at any time, but predicting the precise day, week or month of its potential demise is unattainable, according to a former New York Times war correspondent who spoke with Raw Story.
"The when and how is very dangerous to predict because there's always some factor that blindsides you that you didn't expect," Pulitzer-winning journalist Chris Hedges said in an exclusive interview. "It doesn't look good. But exactly how it plays out and when it plays out, having covered disintegrating societies, it's impossible to tell."
He explained that he learned this lesson as events unfolded around him in the fall of 1989. Then, members of the opposition to the Soviet Empire told him that they predicted travel across the Berlin Wall separating East from West Germany would open within the year.
"Within a few hours, the wall didn't exist," he said.
Hedges was one of the 131 activists were arrested in an act of civil disobedience outside the White House yesterday, even as Obama was unveiling a new report citing progress in the Afghanistan war.
Speaking to Raw Story on Wednesday night, he said the signs of US collapse are plain to see and compared the country's course through Afghanistan to Soviet Russia's.
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