What Happened To America?

Hi folks and especially you newbies,

I posted this list of quotes several months ago, but a lot of the new people haven't seen this yet, so I'll do it again. Just by reading through these quotes, you will have a very clear picture of what happened to America and how we got in this fix in the first place.

It took me a while to compile this list, but it really belongs to each of you. Feel free to copy it to your hard drive and post quotes from this list on other forums so that others can understand what happened to America.

1. "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks...will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -  Thomas Jefferson

2. "History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance." -  James Madison

3. "If congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to use themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations." -  Andrew Jackson

4. "The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity. " -  Abraham Lincoln 

5. "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the Nation and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the world - no longer a Government of free opinion no longer a Government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men.... Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the U.S., in the field of commerce and manufacturing, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” –  President Woodrow Wilson, In The New Freedom (1913) after signing into passage the Glass Owen Act of 1913 that established the Federal Reserve System

6. "If this mischievous financial policy, which has its' origins in North America, shall be endured down to a fixture, then that government will furnish its own money without cost. It will pay off its debt and be without debt. It will have all the money necessary to carry on its commerce. It will become prosperous without precedence in the history of the world. The brains and the wealth of all countries will go to North America. That country must be destroyed or it will destroy every monarchy on the globe." -  Editorial in the Times of London, 1862
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Silver Rally No Bubble as Price Will Top Record, Coeur d’Alene Chief Says

Doug Casey: Precious Metals vs. the USD

 (snippet)
TGR: So, you're saying we're confusing the market's performance with the economy's performance?

DC: Yes. The fact is that the economy, itself, is doing very badly. The numbers are phonied up. I spend a lot of time in Argentina. Anybody with any sense knows you can't believe the numbers coming out of the Argentinean Government Statistical Bureau, nor can you (any longer) believe the numbers that come out of Washington D.C. The inflation numbers consider only the things the government wants to look at and are artificially low. It's the same with the unemployment numbers. None of these things is believable.

TGR: Isn't the unemployment figure a lagging indicator of a rebounding economy?

DC: If you look at the way unemployment was computed until the early 1980s—something that John Williams from ShadowStats does—the numbers would indicate about 20% unemployment today. Besides, even while the population keeps rising, the number of people reported as actually working is level or even lower. Most indicators of the economic establishment, in my view, don't really make any sense. GDP, for instance, includes government spending—much of which amounts to paying some people to dig ditches during the day and other people to fill in for them at night. So-called "defense" spending is almost totally wasted capital. The practice of economics today is pathetic and laughable.

TGR: So, the economy is not rebounding?

DC: No. My take on this is that we entered what I call the "Greater Depression" in 2007. And now, because the government has printed up trillions of dollars in the last couple of years, we're in the eye of the hurricane. We've only gone through the leading edge of the storm. People think this will just be another cyclical recovery like all the others since WW II. But it's not. It's going to wind up with the currency being destroyed. It's going to be a disaster. . .a worldwide catastrophe.

TGR: You indicated that the government is using these mass infusions of made-up money to prop up the stock market due to the psychological factor—that people will think the economy's doing well because the market is doing well. However, we hear that a lot of that money has been caught up in the banks. Would you comment on that?

DC: As I said, that money has to go somewhere. The banks have been borrowing from the Fed at something like 0.5% and investing it in government securities at 2%, 3% or 4%, depending on the maturity. So, much of that money has been a direct gift to the banks; and they're basically making an arbitrage spread of 2%–4%. So, yes, that's happening with some of the money. Still, it doesn't all just sit in these Treasury securities. A great deal of it, inevitably, goes into the stock market.

TGR: You also said that psychology isn't the only reason the government wants to see the stock market go higher.

DC: Right. Pension funds have a great deal of their assets in stocks. Certainly, many funds run by government entities, such as the state and city employee pension funds, are approaching bankruptcy despite the fact that the Fed has driven interest rates to historic lows, artificially pumping up both stocks and bonds. And, I might add, keeping property prices higher than they would be otherwise. When interest rates rise eventually—and they will go up a lot—it'll be something to behold in the markets.

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China May Buy $1 TRILLION of Gold: Bloomberg

Bloomberg today quoted an analyst who says China may use part of their $3 trillion in foreign reserves to buy $1 trillion dollars worth of gold.
China has been diversifying away from the dollar, and into commodities and other, sounder currencies for years now. Such a large amount would signal a sharp rebuke to the dollar's status as reserve currency, to say the least.
Bloomberg:

China’s Gold Reserves

China, which has just 1.6 percent of its reserves in gold, may invest more than $1 trillion in bullion, [Michael Pento of Euro Pacific Capital] said. “China wants to be an international player, and they need to own more gold than they currently have.”

...“China is out to have more gold than America, and Russia is aspiring to the same,” [Robert] McEwen, [the chief executive officer of producer U.S. Gold Corp] said yesterday in an interview in New York. “When you have debt, you don’t have a lot of flexibility. China wants to show its currency has more backing than the U.S.”

...China, with more than $3 trillion in foreign-currency reserves, plans to set up new funds to invest in precious metals, Century Weekly reported this week. Russia purchased 8 tons of gold in the first quarter.

Gold and silver prices may dip for a little while, and bears will declare the bubble popped (after a one-week correction, usually). Then the uptrend will continue, intact. And they'll say, "bubble! bubble bubble bubble bubble bubble!", again.
And gold bugs will be laughing all the way to the vault.
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Another 2.5 Trillion Stimulus Coming Dollar May Drop 50%

 Asia taking a pass on next round of Quantitative Easing, the threat of debt, prices, inflation, and slowdown, big names dumping US dollars, no more faith in the Fed at PIMCO, a system that runs Congress and the court system.
We believe there will be something similar to a QE3 by another name and the Fed will probably have to create some $2.5 trillion to buy Treasuries, Agencies, and toxic waste and perhaps inject funds into the economy. Japan certainly won’t be a buyer and probably will be a seller. China has indicated that they won’t be purchasers in the future either. The question also arises concerning the continued purchase of these securities by countries in the oil producing Gulf States, which are in turmoil. The three countries make up 45% of Treasury purchases. As we pointed out in previous issues the second half of 2011 should be monstrous. Even if the fed buys all the Treasury and Agency bonds they’ll still have to deal with a lower dollar and high inflation. Then there is high unemployment and raging gold and silver prices. There is also the question of US debt, federal, state and municipal debt, along with wars in the Middle East and North Africa. How many US Treasuries will Japan have to sell and how deeply will its slowdown effect American industry? As you can see America has much to contemplate.

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55% Say Economy Still in Recession or Depression

A pair of recent Gallup Polls shows distinct loss of confidence in the US economy. The first poll shows Americans' Economic Confidence at the 2011 Low. A second poll shows 55% still think the economy is in a recession, or worse.

Please consider Americans' Economic Confidence Declines Further
Gallup's Economic Confidence Index dropped to -39 in the week ending April 24 -- a new weekly low for 2011. This continues a downward trend that began in mid-February. The current deterioration of confidence contrasts sharply with the improving trend found at this time a year ago.


click on chart for sharper image

Optimism About Economic Outlook Drops to 2011 Low

Slightly more than one in four Americans said the economy is "getting better" last week. This measure has been declining since mid-February, and is now at its 2011 low. Far fewer Americans currently feel the economy is improving than held that expectation a year ago, when 41% said things were getting better.
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Economic Collapse: McDonalds Turns Away Almost One Million Applicants

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD), the world’s biggest restaurant chain, said it hired 24 percent more people than planned during an employment event this month.
McDonald’s and its franchisees hired 62,000 people in the U.S. after receiving more than one million applications, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Previously, it said it planned to hire 50,000.
The April 19 national hiring day was the company’s first, said Danya Proud, a McDonald’s spokeswoman. She declined to disclose how many of the jobs were full- versus part-time. McDonald’s employed 400,000 workers worldwide at company-owned stores at the end of 2010, according to a company filing.
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U.S. Gets C Credit Rating, Lower Than Mexico 

CME Group hiking Silver margins for the second time in a week

Is The Birth Certificate Fake?

US government takes down HAARP website to conceal evidence of US weather modification and earthquake inducing warfare.

Don't Believe in HAARP? Here Is The Patent (Pdf) 

Housing Crash 2.0 Is Accelerating

House prices are falling again—and the decline is accelerating.

Today’s big housing numbers comes from the Case-Shiller home price indexes. The indexes, which measure how prices have changed over the previous three months, show prices falling in every major metropolitan area (except, weirdly, Detroit). The 20-city average declined 3.3 percent from a year ago, and 1.1 percent from the previous three-month average.

This is the seventh successive month of widespread price declines.

The housing recovery began to stall last spring, after the government’s home-buyer tax credit expired. The three-month moving average of the Case-Shiller 20-city index showed that gains in home pricing slowing to a crawl in early summer and actually reversing in July and August. By September, it was clear that home prices were going into a serious decline.

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Wal Mart CEO: "Shoppers Are Running Out Of Money"; There Is "No Sign Of A Recovery"

Americans are Preparing at Unprecedented Levels

Do you have enough larder to feed your family and some friends if grocery stores ran out of food? How about several assault rifles and a few thousand rounds of ammo? Solar panels, a water filter, medical kits, bug-out bags, fire starters, tents, sleeping bags, some junk silver and reserve gasoline?/div>

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

It’s becoming apparent to many Americans that depending on our local, state and federal governments in the event of an emergency, catastrophic societal collapse or widespread disaster will not be sufficient to meet the needs of your family. Residents in Colorado (and likely the other 49 states) are stockpiling in droves and preparing to live off the grid if it comes to that:

Four families in Yoder are building a sand bunker and stockpiling ammunition and weapons.

A Black Forest resident has erected a geodesic dome on her 5-acre spread to grow vegetables, keeps horses for emergency transportation, in case she can’t get gasoline for her car, and plans to acquire chickens and goats as food sources.

A husband and wife who have a cabin on 100 acres of secluded land in Park County have weaned their property from the electric grid, acquired a three-year food supply and taken other measures to become self-sufficient.

While there’s little threat of the earthquake and tsumani that rocked Japan last month in landlocked Colorado, other epic crises on the home front are possible: A flood or fire. A terrorist attack. A nuclear weapons launch. World War III. Or an apocalyptic-type scenario.

An increasing number of people say they are getting ready.

“More people are getting into the survivalist mode. I’ve been in business 30 years, and I’ve never sold so many assault rifles as now. The last year was the best we’ve ever had,” said Mel Bernstein, a Class III weapons dealer and owner of Dragon Man’s shooting range east of Colorado Springs.

Israeli gas masks, helmets and sand bags also have been selling well, he said.
“People are putting stuff away in case something big happens,” he said. “I think it’s superstition, but it’s been good for business.”

Interest in the survivalist movement has been heightened, many say, by global turmoil.

The ongoing strife in the Middle East, the lingering possibility that the Obama administration will enact stricter gun laws and the sustained economic downturn, coupled with political unrest in Libya and Japan’s nuclear catastrophe, have made people uneasy.

In addition, doomsday prophesies by Nostradamus and the Mayans pinpointing 2012 are distressing for some. There’s also a group of Christians who say they’ve determined that the end of the world will begin on May 21.

“People are afraid, and they want to be able to protect their families,” Bernstein said.

Y2K — the dawning of the third millennium — brought forth a fury of survivalist instincts, as many believed the nation’s network of electric connections and computer systems would crash.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, raised concern among even the complacent.

But this time in history feels more urgent, say those who identify themselves as “preppers” — people preparing to have all they need to sustain a catastrophe.

“There’s a distinct possibility that some other country could wipe out our electronics and computers, and the U.S. infrastructure is not ready — it would take six months to rebuild a transformer,” said Bob, a retired engineer who said he designed airplanes, power plants and aqueducts for the government.

He asked that his last name not be used because he shares a philosophy common among preppers: the desire for anonymity. Not everyone understands why they’re doing what they’re doing, Bob said, and there’s the possibility of others looting their stockpiles.
“Preppers will give someone a pound of rice and a bowl of soup, but we’ll defend ourselves against people who are going to take everything we have,” he said. “We’re doing this to make sure that we can live the way we’ve been living and we’re not going to be out there scrounging or stealing food from others.”

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Here is the Problem with Obama's Birth Certificate.....

A Run On Silver?

Monetizing Silver: Instant Prosperity

For well over a year, we have been forced to listen to “economic experts”, media talking-heads, and government “leaders” yammering on and on about “currency wars” or “trade wars” – and all because people who know nothing about economics are wailing about how the value of their money isn’t falling fast enough.

In this insane world, serial inflationists like “Helicopter” Ben Bernanke are deemed to be the “winners”, since they are destroying their national currency the fastest. For those who are sickened by continuing to listen to their own governments lament about not destroying our wealth fast enough, let me recommend “taking a vacation” – in the real world.
In the “real world”, people don’t want their money to be worth less and less and less (and eventually nothing), they want it to be worth more. In the real world, it is considered a tremendous advantage for one’s currency to appreciate in value.
Over the past several months, Hugo Salinas Price has trumpeted the growing “political movement” in Mexico to partially “re-monetize” silver – as a parallel currency to the current banker-paper (i.e. the peso). Indeed, commentator Ben Davies speculated that this factor alone would send the price of silver soaring higher, as yet another incremental source of demand (in a world where silver stockpiles are gone).More Here..




IMF Says Next U.S. President Will Be The Last 

Questions for Bernanke

The Federal Reserve System is on the defensive. This has not happened before in my lifetime.
On Wednesday, April 28, Ben Bernanke will hold a press conference. This has never happened before. Journalists will be allowed to ask questions. It will be held at 2:15 in the afternoon, Eastern Daylight Time. The Bankrate site has set up a reminder program so that you won't miss it. It will be broadcast on their site.
We are beginning to see lists of questions that people would like to see asked. These tend to be hostile questions.

• 5 Questions for Bernanke
• 16 Questions for Bernanke

I have 16 questions. I hope at least one of them gets asked and answered.
Here is what the session will not be. It will not be open to all journalists.
Each journalist will not submit one 3x5 card with his question.
Bernanke will not shuffle the cards and answer them in order for the duration of the session.
When he submits to that sort of inquiry, I will be impressed. Not until then.
Here are my questions.
1. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE FED'S EXIT STRATEGY?
For two years, Bernanke spoke about a proposed exit strategy. The monetary base has soared. This is the FED's balance sheet. Nothing like this had ever taken place in the era of the FED, not even in World War II. The exit strategy is the FED's plan to reduce the monetary base. He never said what number is the goal.
Here is his testimony to the House Banking Committee in February 2010. It promised an exit strategy.

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Obama’s Birth Certificate, Dissected

How the Fed Could Kill the U.S. Dollar Tomorrow

Martin Hutchinson writes: Months or years from now, when analysts are studying the death of the U.S. dollar, they'll look back and see that the greenback's demise began on a specific day - Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
As in ... tomorrow.
At 12:15 p.m. tomorrow, at the conclusion of a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, we'll find out whether U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his policymaking posse opted for a sharp increase in U.S. interest rates - which appears to me to be the only solution to a looming third-quarter crunch.
Unfortunately, I don't think that Bernanke & Co. will make the needed move.
And without that sharp rate increase tomorrow, investors can look forward to rampant inflation, an evisceration of the U.S. Treasury bond market and - in a worst-case scenario - the death of the dollar.
Let me show you why....
It's Time to Worry About the Death of the Dollar
For the last two years, the U.S. economy has been supported by the twin catalysts of fiscal and monetary stimuli.
Fiscal stimulus seems likely to continue for some time yet - even the most avid Tea Party budget cutters don't see their way to cutting more than $100 billion or so off this year's $1.6 trillion deficit.
But monetary stimulus is another matter.
The Fed's so-called "QE2" (quantitative easing/second round) purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds are supposed to come to a sharp end on June 30. That makes July a crucial month - for the American economy, for the country's bond markets and, most of all, for the performance of the dollar.
These crucial monetary-policy issues will be reviewed at the two-day policymaking FOMC meeting that begins today (Tuesday) and concludes tomorrow. Policymakers are expected to leave the benchmark Federal Funds target rate in its current range of 0.00% to 0.25%.
If Bernanke wants to devise a "QE3" to follow his QE2, he needs to do it now: The next FOMC meeting is in late June, which is far too close to the expiration of QE2.
The decision as to whether to end quantitative easing - or to extend it - will be a tough one, made no easier by the fact that there is a substantial-and-growing group in the FOMC that did not like QE2 and that will strongly resist a QE3.
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Voodoo Economics: Policy Responses to the Global Financial Crisis 

APMEX Wants Your Silver For Over Spot

Many of you have received an email from APMEX yesterday about buying gold and silver over spot price. This is the first time that I ever remember seeing a tactic like this from them. Now don’t get me wrong, I have had nothing but good things to say about APMEX, I have bought from them in the past and they are an affiliate advertiser on the blog. I have to say that I am a little taken a back from this email and is something we all should be paying close attention to.

My first conclusion that this is the inevitable outcome of the US Mint stopping production of silver American Eagles in March, despite record sales. The normal sources of supply must be drying up for APMEX to try to solicit buying back their product. This could be a sign of real stress in the real physical market of silver. After all there should be a lot of silver on the market with the smack down we saw yesterday. (Do you smell the sarcasm?)

The next thing I would think about is that customers are buying and not selling. I can tell you from all of the people I talk to on a regular basis, that people are dumping their savings accounts, 401ks, IRAs, stocks, bonds and any other paper assets and buying REAL tangible wealth. I have told you my story of a very good friend, that after 6 years of me pestering him about buying silver, finally read the Silver Bullet and the Silver Shield and said to me “I get it now.” This weekend alone, my mother and father in law came to me about buying silver. They are 70+ year old retired autoworkers and they now get it. My neighbor was in a mommy support forum and they got talking about the bad economy. She googled hyperinflation and ran across my blog and was shocked that it was her next door neighbor wrote the article. My wife’s best friend who just beat cancer is “scared” about the economy and the future of her kids and want to buy silver. A guy who I twisted his arm to buy a monster box at Christmas time, gave me a “high five” in the mall over the weekend. A very good friend of mine is considering selling the home he built to buy silver. As I am writing this article I just got Skyped from an old coworker asking about silver. We are close when people around me are waking up on their own. Once you are aware, you can prepare.

Prices MUST be going up, for APMEX to invest into buying more supply over the spot price.

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As radioactive fallout skyrockets, NaturalNews advises readers to consider precautionary doses of iodine, bentonite clay and zeolites

Picking A Fight With 5 Silver Traitors/Traders

Sociapitalism: How the Government Became the Next Bubble

In the last thirteen years, a new financial order replaced capitalism in America. With cat-like tread, this transformation has caught most Americans unaware, let alone some of country’s best financial minds (many of them fascist anyway).

This new order constitutes the socializing of risk, a concept I have termed: Sociapitalism.  Sociapitalism is different than Social Capitalism – a European concept. Social capitalism is the redistribution of wealth through social programs, such as unemployment benefits, food stamps, and government housing. Sociapitalism is not a redistribution of wealth, but a redistribution of risk. The government transfers risk from one entity to the system, securing the safety of the entity.
Social capitalism allows corporate failure. Sociapitalism does not, reducing the only possibility of failure to the sovereign state.

For the most part, our country was founded on the principle that success or failure should be predicated on one’s own merits. The weak died, the strong survived. Depressions and recessions cleansed the system, firming up the foundation for the next economic advancement. Capitalism brought corruption – true - but that corruption was eventually punished with failure. Failure distinguishes capitalism from all other economic systems.
That model has changed, and it became visibly apparent in 1998 when the government orchestrated the bailout of Long Term Capital Management. In hindsight, this intervention may have been the biggest mistake in American financial history. If Long Term Capital Management would have failed, Lehman Brothers would have likely failed at that time, and the United States would have fallen into a recession. Positively, the United States would have averted an equity bubble, Glass Steagall would have never been repealed, and the system would have been cleansed from the froth of the late nineties.
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Deflation or Hyperinflation?

Washington Post and CBS receiving money from Obamacare ’slush fund’

Prepare Yourself for Collapse – The Self-Destruction of Western Society

People ask me all of the time…when will the economy, society, humanity, etc break down and collapse into chaos. My answer has always been the same…it is happening now.
The global economy is in depression and countries around the world are bankrupt, only being kept afloat by printing more money and issuing more debt, deferring repayment to some future date. Throw in wars, natural catastrophes, food shortages, and peak oil, you are met with a cluster fuck of epic proportions that humanity has never faced before.
How that unfolds, I am not sure, but I am sure that mass hysteria, confusion, desperation, and suffering on a global scale are going to cause a large portion of us, as a species, to perish. For the past couple of years I have been preaching about the acquisition of precious metals as a wealth protection hedge. While I am still bullish on precious metals, in particular silver,I have come to the realization that this is not enough.
I can not stress this enough. Collapse is imminent and unless you take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones, no one else is going to do it for you.
Having done some basic research there are a couple of websites that you should look at.
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More Drivers Running out of Gas on the Road 

SIGN THE RON PAUL PETITION HERE!

REVOLUTION

A Guide to Looting When the SHTF (And Your Counter-Strategies)

Law and order will be the first casualty when the shit hits the fan. Recent historical examples the world over, including New Orleans, Haiti, and Chile show that without policing, looting will become an immediate danger.

The following Guide to Looting When the SHTF by Thomas Northrop of No Bullshit Survival shows that survival and preparedness planning does not include just storing food, supplies, guns, and medicine, or creating tactical defense plans for your home and property. There will be organized gangs, whose sole method of acquiring necessities will be through looting. A friend recently mentioned that when discussing possible collapse scenarios at the water cooler, one of his office coworkers suggested that he would simply take what he needs from other people if it came down to it. Thus the looter mentality is not as isolated as we may think. In all likelihood, this person has already considered what he would do, how he would do it, and how far he was willing to go.

This is a reality, so understanding and accepting it as such is important now – so that you are fully prepared to deal with it if ever confronted by such a situation.

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$5,000 Gold And $300 Silver Are Credible Numbers

Price Of Silver About To SKYROCKET Because Of China

Stick A Fork In Them!

US Default Could Be Disastrous Choice for Economy

China getting ready to dump up to $2.2 trillion in U.S. Dollars?

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua)-- China should reduce its excessive foreign exchange reserves and further diversify its holdings, Tang Shuangning, chairman of China Everbright Group, said on Saturday.
The amount of foreign exchange reserves should be restricted to between 800 billion to 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars, Tang told a forum in Beijing, saying that the current reserve amount is too high.
China's foreign exchange reserves increased by 197.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first three months of this year to 3.04 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of March.
Tang's remarks echoed the stance of Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, who said on Monday that China's foreign exchange reserves "exceed our reasonable requirement" and that the government should upgrade and diversify its foreign exchange management using the excessive reserves.
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Mainstream Media Puts Good Spin on Bad Real Estate Market

More and more, I am finding stories produced by the mainstream media where the headline doesn’t jibe with the actual story that follows.  A USA Today (newspaper) story from the “Money” section yesterday is a great example of what I am talking about.  The headline read “Rising home sales point to a recovery.” On the very next line, just under the headline, the sub-headline read “Prices expected to keep falling 5% to 7% this year.” So we have a recovery but prices are falling?  What kind of a recovery is that?  The story goes on to say, “Sales of existing homes rose slightly in March but prices fell as the U.S. housing market continues to struggle.” (Click here to read the complete USA Today story.) What are the writer and editor at USA Today thinking or even trying to say?  This sounds like a story about a struggling real estate market and, in fact, all the evidence says the market is struggling.  It is certainly not recovering.
For evidence of a struggling real estate market, I look no further than the USA Today story.  It said, “Yet median prices in March dropped 5.9% from March 2010 to $159,600. Distressed homes accounted for 40% of sales, up from 35% a year ago, the NAR says. Distressed homes, such as those in foreclosure, typically sell at a 20% discount and pull down market prices.” Let me get this straight, “median prices in March dropped 5.9% from March 2010,” and the USA Today story is projecting prices will fall another “5% to 7% this year.” How is this a recovery in real estate?  On top of that, the “Rising home sales” are comprised of “40% distressed homes.” That’s up “35%” from last year.  That means 4 out of every 10 home sales are a foreclosure, and that seems to account for much of the increase in sales.  This is a recovery?
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Builders of New Homes See No Signs of Recovery

Was Beck Fired For Telling The Truth?

Ok folks, here it is.  I am NOT a Glenn Beck fan.  In my opinion he is a narcissistic, blind and ignorant Mormon blow-hard.  However, he is learning the hard way it would appear.  Perhaps now he understands who actually has paid his exorbitant salary the last couple of years.  Perhaps now he realizes what happens when barking slave dogs bite the hand that feeds them.  Perhaps NOW he may understand exactly who Ruppert Murdock is, and perhaps NOW he MAY take a much closer look into the “Protocols of the Learned Men of Zion.”  Who knows, PERHAPS Beck MAY eventually learn exactly how Rothschild, Soros and Murdock are silently pulling the strings behind his Mormon (LDS) Church as well.  (Lord Rothschild OWNS the LDS Church  corporate stock – and thus controls it.)
Then, perhaps, I may enthusiastically endorse Beck as a truthful and honest host – rather than, perhaps, the naive loud-mouth of the past.  (Then, perhaps, Beck will be likewise broadcasting from all that is left to him:  a small internet station such as The Micro Effect.)
Meanwhile, Brother Nathaniel lets us know the primary reason FOX released Beck.  Keep in mind, as you watch this, that this again is yet again another classic example of “Protocol #1′ in action.  I hope I am wrong, but my bet is that Beck will continue to honor MAMMON, and cease and desist naming specific names and organizations in the future.  Mr. Beck, please don’t ever forget these core truths: The “Pharisees of Zion” – (The Ruling SEVENTY) have successfully murdered two U.S. Presents (Lincoln/J.Kennedy), poisoned & killed a US Senator (Louis T. McFadden), assassinated a Presidential nominee (R.Kennedy), torpedoed and bombed a US Navy Ship (USS Liberty), stole over 3 TRILLION dollars from the Pentagon under Dov Zackheim, pilfered and destroyed the U.S. Treasury (US taxpayers), have sold top secret US national defense secrets to the Soviets and Israelis, successfully executed 9/11, lied to the US government about WMD in Iraq, successfully brought down the US economy & rendered the US government impotent and mute.  Now they are poised to unleash unprecedented “UNNATURAL” Disasters on the earth.
Good luck Mr. Beck — as Brother Nathaniel has declared — the TRUTH has set you free!   What will you do with your newly-found freedom is the salient question.

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Radiation Exposure From Fukushima Is Much Higher Than Mainstream Media Exposure

While Americans are busy focusing on the most ridiculous forms of entertainment such as Dancing With The Stars, American Idol, and whatever mindless reality show currently keeps them glued to their couches, the entire country is in the process of being covered with a cloud of toxic radiation seeping into their food, water, skin, and lungs. Sadly, even if one were to turn the channel in an effort to keep up with the latest in current affairs, there is virtually no chance of one being made aware of the level of contamination the country now faces.

Regardless, since the beginning of the disaster, government regulatory agencies such as the EPA, USDA, CDC, and the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) have all claimed that there is no danger in the radiation coming from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plants. The mainstream media has obediently repeated these claims as fact.  Some media pundits such as Ann Coulter even have promoted the Orwellian and absurd notion that radiation is actually good for you, and that it prevents cancer. (Coulter has yet to explain why she has not purchased an airline ticket for Japan so she can have the opportunity to bathe in it.)

Yet, while numerous states (South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington) have reported through their state agencies that radiation has been detected in drinking water, soil, and milk (among other things), the Federal regulatory agencies and their media subsidiaries refuse to admit that there is any reason for concern. Virtually every media report given about the Fukushima fallout contains the suggestion that the radiation now blanketing the United States is “harmless,” “minute,” or “miniscule,” and that there is no need for alarm.
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Gonzalo Lira: Shakedown Nation

True story: Harold & Maude are a forty-something couple with two teenaged kids. Both are educated, both work in IT, both are fairly sophisticated, financially speaking. 

The Road to Hell, by Paul Stevenson.

Back in 2003, they bought a vacation condo, in Mono County, California—you know, where Mammoth Lake and the Mammoth ski resort are located, right next to Yosemite National Park. They bought the condo in mid 2003, then flipped it later that same year—they closed escrow the first week of 2004, with every t crossed, with every i dotted. 

They went on with their lives: Work, vacations, kids, school, job, carpool—same-old-same-old, just like millions of other ordinary citizens. 

Then one day in March of this year, they get a letter—a pretty frightening letter, actually. 

It was from the Department of Finance of Mono County, informing them—in bold and capitalized letters—that they owed a “DELINQUENT AND UNSECURED PROPERTY TAX”. 

The letter went on to inform them that they owed—in bold, italicized, underlined and oversized lettering (I’m not kidding)—$845.99. 

Guess the letter had to put the figure in bold, italicized, underlined and oversized lettering so as to make it really clear how much was owed—and to whom!

Be advised, a lien has been filed, said the letter in conclusion—in oversized bold lettering. Since they no longer owned the property, Harold and Maude weren’t sure what the county had put a lien on—if not their former vacation condo, then their current home? Their children? Their souls? Who knows—just that something had a lien on it—so you better pay up, buster! Now! 

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Radioactive Fukushima Plutonium And Strontium Bombarding US West Coast Since March 18th

Welcome To The United "Waste" of America

James Turk: $400 Silver Coming

listen at 5:50 mark

The Mysterious Deaths of Nine Gulf Oil Spill Whistleblowers (Vid)

Map Of Radiation Spreading Into North America

Here are the air current radiation plumes expected over the next few days..
CLICK HERE..

There has been a lot of press lately about radiation from the Fukushima disaster being found in our food supply. Many people around the world are being told to avoid drinking milk and eating vegetables due to the contamination. Even though our government is downplaying how widespread this contamination is and the health risks this could create, we should all be taking precautions to protect ourselves. No one wants to be exposed to any avoidable radiation. Calcium Bentonite Clay has been proven to adsorb and remove radiation. Washing your produce in a solution of Calcium Bentonite Clay and water will remove radiation, as well as pesticides and other toxins.
Link HERE..

TEPCO Estimates 520-ton Radioactive Water into Sea

Epidemiologist, Dr. Steven Wing, Discusses Global Radiation Exposures and Consequences with Gundersen

American Public Doesn't Understand Or Care What Is Happening

The Only True Standard of Value Richard Russell snippet Dow Theory Letters Apr 21, 2011 April 20, 2011 -- The dollar is doing just what the Fed wants it to do -- it's sinking, sinking and sinking more. Sadly, the great American public doesn't understand what's happening, and if they were told they couldn't care less. Of course, what the public does notice is the painful result of the dollar's bear market. The result is seen every time Joe six-pack and his wife hit the neighborhood super-market. The rising prices are a shocker. And if the price of your favorite cold cereal has not been raised, there is less of the cereal in the box. Then when Joe has to fill up the buggy to get home, he groans as he sees the gasoline tab. "Sixty bucks to fill up this lemon. I'm going to get a motorized bike," growls Joey. "This country is going to hell in a hand-basket." The US has been getting away with spending more than it takes in ever since World War II. It's a process that isn't sustainable, and if a process is unsustainable it will end. The US's habit of spending more than it's paying for has finally hit a brick wall. The wall is the demise of the famous "Yankee dollar." In order for the US to live over its head, it must borrow. Half of the US's borrowing comes from foreign sources. And that's a problem. The fiat US dollar has no fixed value. It's worth must be measured against other currencies. "The dollar is worth so much in relation to the Brit pound -- or the dollar is worth so much in terms of the euro." Our foreign creditors, many of whom are loaded with dollars, keep a sharp eye on the comparative value of the dollar, and they're now frightened and mulling over the credit-worthiness of the US. The recent warning from the S&P rating agency heightened our creditors worries about both the US and the dollar. The disgraceful battle between Obama and the Democrats vs. Paul Ryan and the Republicans is further raising the fears of our creditors. With commodity inflation now out in the open, Fed head Bernanke has a problem. His absurd defense is to refer to "core inflation" (without the cost of food and energy). Bernanke announces to the world that there's "no inflation," and besides if there is inflation the Fed can end it any time they want. What Bernanke and the Fed can not control is the tell-tale price of gold. As I write the battle is on to keep June gold from closing above 1500. Yesterday June gold hit an intra-day high of 1500, but can it close there? "Ah," Bernanke must be thinking, "If I could only control the price of that damn gold." Yesterday, as I looked at my computer, and I could see the fierce struggle that was going on as gold whipped up six dollars, then five minutes later it is up a dollar-fifty. There must be a powerful contingent (perhaps backed by the Fed) that is desperate to keep the price of gold DOWN and below 1500. But alas for the Fed, gold is traded internationally across the face of the planet and 24 hours a day. Gold is out of the hands of the Fed and Goldman Sachs, and it trades everywhere and where it wants. This year I've been telling my subscribers to think in terms of two concepts: (1) Think in terms of avoiding losses (rather than thinking in terms of building fat profits). (2) Think in terms of PURCHASING POWER. Are you gaining or losing purchasing power? For ten years I've advised my subscribers to climb aboard the great bull market in gold. Early subscribers who have followed my advice now have huge paper profits, many have become millionaires, others have been able to retire on their gold positions. Even new-comers have benefited from their belated investments in gold. Over the last 12 months, the dollar price of gold is up 31.32 percent. Gold is the only true standard of value. The value of everything else must be measured in terms of gold. "How many ounces of gold does it take today to buy a new Ford?" "How many ounces of gold did it require to buy a new ford in 1932?" It costs a lot more (in dollars) to buy a new Ford today. But how many ounces of gold does it cost to buy a new Ford today compared with the ounces required in 1932 to buy a new Ford? What has changed, gold or the dollar? Gold hasn't changed, what has changed is the dollar, which has lost purchasing power. The US public is rapidly being educated about money and gold. Ads are appearing almost daily in the newspapers, telling readers how and why to buy gold. The ads are being confirmed by the rising price of gold. The public is finally "getting it". I've been in this business since 1958, and I've seen a lot of advisory services come and go -- a lot! What I notice is that there are a number of fairly new advisories that are climbing (entering) on the back of the gold bull market. These advisories are sending out mass mailings to the public -- educating them on the fact of the dying dollar and the Fed's plan to solve the debt problem by diminishing the purchasing power of the dollar. As Lincoln put it, "You can't fool all of the people all of the time." Clueless as the American populace is, they are finally learning about gold, something that their great grandparents took for granted. In terms of gold: Assessing real estate values in terms of gold. At its peak, the housing market in March 2007, the median US home price was $262,600, which was equivalent to 340.6 ounces of gold. Today's median income price is $186,100 or 109.2 ounces of gold. So in terms of real money, gold, the US median home price has lost 47% since 2007. Applying the same measurements to the Dow, from the end of 2001 to the end of 2008 an investment in the Dow would have lost 81% of its purchasing power in terms of gold (statistic courtesy Larry Edelson of the outstanding "Uncommon Wisdom" advisory). The great and harsh lesson of history now stares Americans in the face -- no fiat currency in history has ever survived. This fact underscores the growing panic to get out of dollars and out of all fiat currencies. This emphasizes the irony of those who are rushing into dollars or dollar-denominated bonds and blue-chip stocks on the thesis that these are "safe havens." It's a rush out of dollars to get into other forms of dollars. What's happening now is on a greater scale than has ever occurred before in the history of mankind. It's going to hit the current generation of Americans like a whirlwind. It will be historic in its intensity and destructiveness. The great gold rush of 1849 opened up the American West. This gold rush of the early 2000's will open up the eyes of Americans to the danger of the Federal Reserve and fiat money. More Here..

It’s Official: China Will Be Dumping US Dollars

In case you missed it, earlier this week China announced that its foreign currency reserves are excessive and that they need to return to “reasonable” levels.

In politician speak, this is a clear, “we are sick of the US Dollar and will be taking steps to lower our holdings.” Remember, the US Dollar is China’s largest single holding. And China has already begun dumping Treasuries (US Debt).

This comes on the heels of China deciding (along with Russia) to trade in their own currencies, NOT the US Dollar. Not to mention the numerous warnings Chinese politicians have been issuing to the US over the last 24 months.

In simple terms, China is done playing nice and is now actively moving out of US Dollar denominated assets. This is the beginning of the US Dollar’s end as world reserve currency.

The dimwits in Washington don’t understand this because their advisors are all Wall Street stooges who don’t think debt or deficits matter. After all, why would they? Their entire business model is now based on endless cheap debt from the US Fed. So it’s only logically (in their minds) that the US as a sovereign state engage in the same strategies.

What does this mean? We’re on out own in terms of preparing for what’s coming. The US Dollar has already taken out its 2009 low in the overnight futures session. We now have only one line of support before the US Dollar breaks into the abyss (all time lows).

So if you’re not preparing for mega-inflation already, you need to start doing so NOW. The Fed WILL continue to pump money into the system 24/7 and it’s going to result in the death of the US Dollar.

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Beware of the Great Silver Correction

There seems to be a big debate going on now about silver going up too far, too fast. Paper money traitors traders have tried to call the silver top all the way up and have had their heads handed to them by the market. Technical analysts have called for pull backs based off of some squiggly lines on their computer screens. Even Academy members, who get the idea of owning real physical silver, have been asking me about keeping some “powder dry” for the correction.

Let me state that this hyperbolic rocket launch IS THE CORRECTION! There is a little concept called reversion to the mean, that basically states that when something is held down for so long, eventually it is going to rocket up. That is what we are experiencing right now. Think about a huge inflatable silver beach ball that the banksters have been increasing the air/money supply, while using every power they can to keep the silver beach ball under the water. Sooner or later that ball is going to get away from the banksters control and you are going to see it launch out of the water.

“I went to America in the winter of 1872 – 1873, authorized to secure, if I could, the passage of a bill de-monetizing silver.  It was in the interests of those I represented, the governors of the Bank Of England, to have it done.  By 1873, gold coins were the only form of coin money.” -Earnest Seyd

Silver has been used and abused for 138 years since the “Crime of 1873″ when the Rothschilds sought to demonetize silver as money. With the discovery of the huge Comstock Lode in America, the banksters new that this debt free money would soon eliminate the debts the banksters accrued. The Rothschilds hired Earnest Seyd to go to America with $100,000 dollars to bribe every politician to demonetize silver. Samuel Hooper who sponsored the bill admitted that Earnest Seyd actually wrote the legislation himself. This single act effectively cut the money supply in half and forced debts to be repaid in gold, which of course the Elite controlled. This made debt repayments nearly impossible. Within three years of the act being passed, a new dark ages was created in America as the money supply shrank. (Read about the Wizard of Oz being a monetary allegory about the Crime of 1873.)

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DOLLAR CYCLE (Major Crisis)

$50 Silver - It's The End


Small Amounts of Radioactive Iodine Found in Breast Milk

Rumor: China To Revalue Yuan 10% This Weekend? Dollar To Collapse?

Just stated on CNBC.
I have no way to judge that, but if it comes it is both good and bad.
The good: It's about a third of what has to happen, and as a step function it would apply major cooling to the "Chinese miracle" inflation machine.  They need to do that too, which makes the rumor plausible.  Coming on a long trading weekend here (Good Friday/Passover closes us this week) and on a weekend anyway (China's favored time to do this sort of thing) it would be appropriate both in terms of timing and event.
The bad: While there would be no direct dollar impact from this action since the Yuan is not convertible and thus not part of the $DXY index the indirect effects would be tremendously disruptive in the short term.  This has a high probability of forcing corrective actions by The Fed, perhaps even before the futures market reopens Sunday night.  The risk for The Fed and United States is that the dollar winds up gapping down by hundreds of pips, perhaps threatening the all-time low.  Violation of the all-time low could result in massive pressing of short bets and a possible immediate fiscal crisis.
Please don't take this article the wrong way - I strongly support a Chinese action such as this, even though it's not enough on its own.  The move in the dollar today may be related to this rumor and expectation of action over the weekend.
Beware coming into the weekend with this rumor out there; volatility is, in my opinion, radically cheap against reality and the complacency being displayed by the market is flat-out ridiculous..
LINK HERE..

20 Reasons That You Need to Prepare And Store Food

The following are 20 signs that you need to prepare and store food.
#1 According to the World Bank, 44 million people around the globe have been pushed into extreme poverty since last June because of rising food prices.
#2 The world is losing topsoil at an astounding rate.  The National Academy of Sciences has determined that cropland in the U.S. is being eroded at least 10 times faster than the time it takes for lost soil to be replaced.  The U.S. is losing topsoil faster than during the dustbowl of the 1930s.
Read more: Here..
The primary causes are deforestation, overexploitation for fuel wood, overgrazing, agricultural activities and industrialization.
#3 Due to U.S. ethanol subsidies, almost a third of all corn grown in the United States is now used for fuel.  This is causing an increase in the price of corn.
#4 Due to a lack of water, some countries in the Middle East find themselves forced to almost totally rely on other nations for basic food staples.  For example, it is being projected that there will be no more wheat production in Saudi Arabia by the year 2012.
#5 Water tables all over the globe are being depleted at an alarming rate due to “overpumping”.  According to the World Bank, there are 130 million people in China and 175 million people in India that are being fed with grain grown with water that is being pumped out of aquifers faster than it can be replaced.  So what happens once all of that water is gone?
#6 In the United States, the systematic depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer could eventually turn “America’s Breadbasket” back into the “Dust Bowl”.
#7 Diseases such as UG99 wheat rust are wiping out increasingly large segments of the world food supply.

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Geithner has approved plans for (IMF) to absorb the Fed ???

There is word on the street that Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, has approved plans for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to absorb the Federal Reserve System with an eye to the IMF becoming a global central bank. A “basket of currencies” (which includes the Chinese renmenbi/yuan) is to be created to replace the dollar as the international currency of trade. Plans are for “the basket” to become America’s new currency.
Is it true? There’s no way to confirm the rumor. The same spark that lit the fire under the rumor also suggests it will not be long in coming. If true, I believe it is an act that borderlines Treason. I’m no lawyer, but it seems to this citizen of the United States that my Constitution (which defines government’s limitations) says the only authority for currency and coinage in this country is the United States Congress.
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50 Factors Launching Gold

"What's Really Worrisome About Treasury Bonds: Not Its Rating—Its Interest"

David Morgan Analyzes a Dollar Collapse, ROLLOVER 1981

Radiation at No. 2 spent fuel pool millions of times above normal & thousands of times higher than troubled No. 4 pool

LINK HERE

HIGH LEVEL FORECAST of Cesium-137 (not shown to public)

Government Bubble Targeted with S&P Outlook

Debt Will Be Raised-Count On It!

The Shock of a New Paradigm

I wanted to revisit the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme because I feel that there was a very important lesson in there. The day after Bernie Madoff was exposed, hundreds of very wealthy and connected investors faced a new paradigm. Everything that they knew and relied upon turned out to be a lie. Americans, for the most part, passed it off as, “poor billionaires have to live like us now.” I want you to get past that initial reaction and see how they reacted to this new paradigm.
Retired British Army Maj. Bill Foxton was known for his sharp wit and red hair. When he found out that his entire life’s savings were wiped out in the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, he calmly sat down on a park bench near his house and blew his brains out.
An HSBC banker, Christen Schnor hung himself in a 5-star hotel room in West London. He was staying at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel while his apartment was renovated. A hotel worker found Schnor naked and hanging by a belt in the closet. Christen managed $1 billion in funds that were wiped away by the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme.
Magon de la Villehuchet, 65, was found dead at his desk in New York on Tuesday, both of his wrists slashed and a bottle of pills nearby. Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet saw his fortune and his loved ones’ money disappear along with his clients’ when he lost $1.4 billion he had invested with Bernard Madoff. The Magon de la Villehuchet family traces the origins of its wealth to the 17th century. The family was so rich and prominent that it loaned money to Louis XIV.
These three were very sharp, educated, and well connected men. They could have very easily have still have lead a very comfortable life with their knowledge and connections. I believe, in the end, the shock of a new paradigm far out weighed their financial losses. The fact that they were suckered and that they were complicit in the bankruptcy of their friends and family, was too much for them to bear.
“The whole government is a Ponzi Scheme.” -Bernie Madoff
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American Dhimmitude!

Marc Faber: The Dollar's Value In The Future Will Be Zero

Dr. Marc Faber spoke with CNBC this morning about currency markets, notably the recent movements in the euro, global long-term position in the dollar, and the rise of gold and silver.
Earlier, Faber spoke about his view of the U.S. deficit situation. He expects the U.S. government to raise the debt ceiling, but doesn't seem Republicans and Democrats building a budget plan in which taxes are raised and spending cut, the real recipe for deficit reduction.
Faber also encouraged individuals, in a separate conversation, to be their own central bank and buy gold. He warns, however, not to hold it in the U.S., as the government might buy it like they did in the early 1900s.
2:30 We're in a contest for the ugliest currency; I don't think people are heavily position in euros. Most people still have 70-80% of their money in USD. Huge overhang of U.S. dollars globally. If people could sell their dollars and move into something they would believe in, they would. Gold and silver are the best currencies.
5:10 Right now, the U.S. dollar may rebound. The U.S. dollar will be in the future precisely its intrinsic value, namely zero.
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Ready For $7.78 A Gallon Gas?!

GEAB N°54 is Available!

Mystery illnesses plague Louisiana oil spill crews