Thursday, August 30, 2012

Keiser Report: Fat Gorillas vs Middle-Class Monkeys (E333)

Economist Appearing On Max Keiser Show Forced To Resign - Forbes

Economist Appearing On Max Keiser Show Forced To Resign - Forbes
It’s been confirmed now that economist Sandeep Jaitly has been forced to resign his position from The Gold Standard Institute following his on-air remarks about Ludwig von Mises and Ayn Rand. Jaitly, a follower of Antal Fekete, originally tweeted that “If it ain’t Menger or his direct student Eugene [sic] Von BB, it ain’t Austrian. Sorry #Mises: respectfully, too many mistakes were made.”
On August 16th, Jaitly elaborated further on Russia Today’s Keiser Report:

Mises didn’t look back to Menger’s original axiom which was that value is not outside of your own consciousness. And he didn’t observe what Menger observed about market action in the sense that there are always two prices, there’s a bid and an offer. And von Mises didn’t like to admit that interest was a market phenomenon. He sort of wanted to imply that it’s a sort of natural consequence of not having a present good basically. So to develop a theory of interest without going back to Menger’s original observations is not continuing the tradition in the Austrian way as we would see it.
Then, after much debate in the blogosphere, someone known as kdt posted this text purporting to come from The Gold Standard Institute on August 25th:

then, after much debate in the blogosphere, someone known as kdt posted this text purporting to come from The Gold Standard Institute on August 25th:
Lest there be any misunderstanding, the views expressed by Sandeep Jaitly in his interview with Max Keiser (http://maxkeiser.com/tag/carl-menger/) are not the views of The Gold Standard Institute. To the contrary, we strongly disagree with those views. There is no doubt that Ludwig von Mises made mistakes; that should not diminish the respect due to a great scholar. The mistakes of Mises are dwarfed by the enormity of his positive contributions. The Institute believes that history will judge Ludwig von Mises far more kindly than does Mr. Jaitly. The Ayn Rand diatribe was of a tone that displayed little understanding of her philosophy and needs no further comment. The philosophy of The Gold Standard Institute has always been, and will remain, to debate and promote ideas, not to attack people.
Sandeep Jaitly has resigned from his position as Senior Research Fellow with the Institute and we sincerely thank him for his past contributions.
Philip Barton
President

In an email confirming the action, Sandeep Jaitly explained to me, “apparently, they don’t want to burn bridges,” and I take this to mean bridges with large benefactors and partners. However, Jaitly is unfazed and vows to continue his work including a PhD acceptance speech on the Ludwig von Mises split from Carl Menger and Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk regarding certain aspects of interest rate theory.
I like Sandeep because he challenges orthodoxy in a thoughtful way. Aside from the illuminating monetary debate sparked by Jaitly, as a guest on the Keiser Report myself, the forced resignation of an economist is both interesting and disturbing. Frequently, I find myself challenging the orthodoxy of the Mises’ Regression Theorem on the origin of money when it comes to the nature and value of bitcoin as money.
Mises has written that, “Value is not intrinsic, it is not in things. It is within us; it is the way in which man reacts to the conditions of his environment.”
While I and other Austrians wholeheartedly agree with Mises on this, the notion of a decentralized bitcoin has eluded many in the economics profession. Peer-to-peer bootstrapped currencies secured by cryptography in a distributed computing project were not anticipated by Menger nor Mises. They are a reaction to our ‘politically-hostile’ environment for free market currencies. Public-key cryptography, as opposed to symmetric key cryptography, is a relatively new phenomenon that Austrian economics has not yet come to terms with.
Some may not like it, but bitcoin is a Mengerian-, Misean-, Rothbardian-, Austrian-currency in its purest form. Still actively debated within the Austrian economics community on whether or not bitcoin satisfies the regression theorem, I have gone so far as to propose a corollary.
It’s not surprising that this Max Keiser television dialogue caught the attention of Austrian scholar Tom Woods who responded swiftly on LewRockwell.com. According to Jaitly, Woods is still refusing to appear on a television debate about the issues. I encourage Woods to accept Jaitly’s offer to appear and I also agree with John Robb who said, “The only real debate that remotely matters between the Mises faction and the Fekete faction regards their difference in perspectives on the merits and pitfalls of the Real Bills Doctrine. That would make a fine core issue for debate between Sandeep Jaitly and Joe Salerno or Guido Hülsmann.”
As Lawrence White has pointed out, while real bills circulation via discounting can function adequately as a credit instrument in an environment of free banking, the Real Bills Doctrine is a dangerous idea when applied to a central bank that has no true market-based restrictions on issuance. The fractional-reserve free banking contingent within the Austrian School would largely agree with this notion too. (For the anti-fractional-reserve Austrian viewpoint on real bills, please see Did Real Bills Enable the Growth of Trade? by Robert Blumen.)
Lately, I have become a regular reader of Dave Harrison’s Trade With Dave, which covered Keiser’s original interview with Jaitly in July 2011. Dave also writes a lot about how the Austrian School of  economics is “being co-opted by the progressive political movement through a very crafty scheme known as Libertarian Paternalism.” He sums up the entire Keiser – Woods, Fekete – Mises debate nicely:
What is relevant, at least from Dave’s perspective is how the debate revolving around gold is most definitely rising in the consciousness both inside and outside the Beltway. Just this week, as you probably read, the Republicans are forming a ‘gold commission’ as part of their official platform pre-convention. You can attack this subject matter on lots of levels. There’s a debate at the lowest level that I would say is where the powers that be in the Republican Party are coalescing around the subject matter. There’s a debate at a slightly higher level between the libertarians and libertarian paternalists which is how I would describe the debate between Max and Tom and the Fekete – Mises smackdown that I have provided numerous links to below. That’s a very interesting and highly educational debate which I would encourage anyone who wants to expand their mind should dive right into. But there’s a third level to this debate.  That level is about free will, [and...] human consciousness.
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Keiser Report: Monopolies, Military, Mayhem (E334)

Keiser Report: Frankenmarket (E328)

Keiser Report: Monopolies, Military, Mayhem (E334)

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Bill Murphy- JP Morgan Is FINISHED!

12 New GM Crops Up For USDA Approval

12 New GM Crops Up For USDA Approval
Earlier this summer, the USDA posted twelve new GE crops for public comment with a September 11 deadline, and nine are under the new fast-tracked process. That's twelve new GMOs to review and issue comments on in two months!

Here's the lowdown. Three of the new crops are under the old petition process. Under the old process there is only one 60-day public comment period. Here are the three crops under the old process:

--- Dow 2,4-D and Glufosinate Tolerant Soybean (APHIS-2012-0019)
Take Action!


Since the introduction of GM crops, the US has seen herbicide use increase by over 300 million pounds.  Big Biotech originally claimed that weeds would not develop resistance to glyphosate (RoundUp), but they have and these new "superweeds" have become the driving force behind new crops engineered for stacked, or multiple, herbicide tolerances. Adoption of these new crops will lead to dramatic increases in the use of higher risk herbicides such as 2,4-D and dicamba, perpetuating the herbicide treadmill that is already in place.

2,4-D is already the third-most-used US herbicide, after glyphosate and atrazine, and as a leading source of dioxin pollution, it's one of the most deadly.  As of yet, however, it's hardly used on soy at all. Just 3 percent of total US soybean acres were treated with 2,4-D in 2006. Not only will this percentage skyrocket once Agent Orange Soy hits the market, the amount used per acre may triple, according to the USDA.

---Bayer Glyphosate and Isoxaflutole Tolerant Soybean (APHIS-2012-0029)

---Syngenta Corn Rootworm Resistant Corn (APHIS-2012-0024)
Take Action!

Syngenta's genetically engineered Bt crops have been banned in many countries because of the documented harm they cause to people, animals and insects. Bt corn produces its own insecticide that kills bad bugs and good bugs alike, Bt corn pollen has reportedly killed peasants in the Philippines, Bt livestock feed harms animals, and the Bt toxin is now found in the blood of over 80% of women and their unborn children.

Under the new process, USDA has also opened nine additional new crops for public comment. This initial comment period applies to the petitions for nonregulated status which include information submitted by the petitioning company. Once USDA has the completed their environmental analyses they will open a final 30-day comment period for the decision-making documents.

Here are the 9 crops under the new process with the same September 11 deadline:

---Okanagan Non-Browning Apple (APHIS-2012-0025)
Take Action!


Okanagan's "Arctic" apple would be the first genetically engineered version of a food that people directly bite into. According to the latest study by the Environmental Working Group, conventionally grown apples are the most pesticide contaminated fruit or vegetable on the market. Conventional apples are dangerous, and GMO apples are just a dumb idea - one not even supported by many in the apple industry itself!

---Dow 2,4-D, Glyphosate and Glufosinate tolerant Soybean (APHIS-2012-0032)
Take Action!


---Monsanto Dicamba Tolerant Soybean (APHIS-2012-0047)
Take Action!


According to the Institute for Science in Society (ISIS), "dicamba is actually an old herbicide that served alongside "agent orange" in Vietnam, and has been resurrected as an environmentally friendly chemical through the magic of public relations."   

---BASF Imidazolinone Tolerant Soybean (APHIS-2012-0028)

---Monsanto High Yield Soybean (APHIS-2012-0020)

---Monsanto Glyphosate Tolerant Canola (APHIS-2012-0035)

---Pioneer Glyphosate Tolerant Canola (APHIS-2012-0031)

---Monsanto Hybrid Corn (APHIS-2012-0027)

---Genective Glyphosate Tolerant Corn (APHIS-2012-0046)


USDA Fast-Tracks GMO Crop Approval Process

Despite massive public opposition, last year the USDA announced plans   to streamline its genetically engineered petition process under the  Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Earlier this year these controversial changes were implemented, speeding up the approval process for new genetically engineered seeds and crops. The new process will cut in half the time it takes for new GE seeds and crops to enter the market.

USDA claims that the new fast-track process allows for earlier input from the public to improve the quality of its environmental analyses. But according to a USDA press release,  the new process is a part of efforts by the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to "transform USDA into a high-performing organization that focuses on its customers." The customers that USDA is so keen on assisting are none other than Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, BASF, Syngenta, and the rest of the Biotech bullies! 

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The FEMA Faceoff: Truth as an Urban Legend

The FEMA Faceoff: Truth as an Urban Legend
The article you are about to read was originally posted on Gaye’s Backdoor Survival site and George’s Peoplenomics site.  This is something that the two of us have been working on for a number of months – since early May to be exact.
We both harbor a great deal of concern over what we see happening in our country but in fairness to the PTB, wanted to come to terms with real facts.  Our goal was to uncover the truth and debunk what we thought were internet myth’s about FEMA and FEMA activities.
Now we are not so sure.
FEMA Faceoff
In recent months we have all read and seen videos of the large scale movement of military gear, including equipment which could be used to control an unruly US civilian population. To add to that, the US Army’s forward training documents reveal that the military is contingency planning for major US in civil turmoil in 2016. That this could theoretically be caused by the hard bite of the Second Depression and people not seeing it coming is of great concern to us. That plus the fact that the majority of the population will not be properly prepped when it all comes tumbling down.
When writing about tank movement and such on our websites, one of our readers suggested that this was “normal” movement and that the tanks and other heavy gear were likely headed for Fort Irwin (near Barstow) for war gaming and to be fitted with the latest and greatest electronics. But in the hundreds? That fails the “smell test” when we are told that Afghanistan will be winding down.  Something simply is not adding up.
So while the economic side of things is George’s bailiwick and the prepping side is Gaye’s, we both feel that the two cannot be separated when dire times hit and further, that the truth about what is coming needs to be exposed for the greater good of our citizens.7743900588 236e1c7245 o The FEMA Faceoff: Truth as an Urban Legend
Given that, what is the responsible, journalistic thing to do? Get ahead of the problem – help dispel paranoia and BS on the net and get some tough questions answered.
Attempting to Debunk the Internet Rumor Mill
Last April, while vacationing, Gaye had the opportunity to have cocktails with a high ranking FEMA official. During the course of the conversation, she discussed the work she was doing at the Backdoor Survival and Strategic Living websites and asked this official if he would be willing to be interviewed. He graciously and without hesitation agreed.
When Gaye returned home, she called George and the two of us put our heads together and come up with some questions that we hoped would debunk the internet rumor mill as it relates to FEMA.  You know what we are talking about: body bags, army equipment, limits on banking . . . all that troubling “stuff” that is increasingly getting play on the internet.
Why? While quite simply, there are all kinds of grim “It’s the end of the world, it’s 2012, go hide under the bed with the cat while you can!” stories on the Internet.  In fact, we’ve estimated that “world ending” stories, books, videos, speaking appearances, radio, and online advertising probably adds up to perhaps $400-million (or more) which is an interesting industry.  Add to that all of the revenue from late night talk shows, the survival gear and prepping goods industries and to some extent, even the increases in gun and ammunition sales.  None of which, by the way, has slowed down since the recent massacre in Aurora.
But the problem we all have is this: Whenever one of those stories about  “Concentration camps are being built in America to house Americans!” comes along, how many “news” sources in the Mainstream Media [also known as the MSM or olde media] actually make an effort to get the flip side of the story;  the response from officialdom?
Zip, zilch, nadda.  So we began our quest for the truth with a FEMA faceoff.

Photographed doc lays out Assange police tactics - Business - Boston.com

Photographed doc lays out Assange police tactics - Business - Boston.com


Photographed doc lays out Assange police tactics

By RAPHAEL SATTER Associated Press  / August 24, 2012


LONDON (AP) — A confidential document photographed by Britain’s Press Association news agency lays out Scotland Yard’s simple strategy for dealing with Julian Assange should he ever try to leave Ecuador’s Embassy in London.
‘‘Assange to be arrested under all circumstances,’’ the hand-written note says.
The briefing paper, captured by an eagle-eyed photographer as an official carried it in his hand, lays out the major difficulty the WikiLeaks founder faces, even though he’s received diplomatic asylum. He’s safe as long as he remains in the embassy. The minute he steps outside, he faces immediate arrest — and speedy extradition to Sweden — over sex crimes allegations leveled against him there.
Scotland Yard acknowledged the hand-written note was from a briefing and stressed that the force’s objective is to arrest Assange for breach of bail.
‘‘Under no circumstances would any arrest be made which was in breach of diplomatic immunity,’’ Scotland Yard said.
The embassy standoff has the potential to drag on for weeks, months, or even years, and it’s one that has pitted the United Kingdom — which has warned it could revoke the embassy’s status if diplomats continue to shelter the Australian computer expert — against the small Andean nation of Ecuador and many of its left-leaning Latin American allies.
The world’s media have followed every move in the increasing convoluted WikiLeaks saga — which has elements of journalistic intrigue, conspiracy theory, legal wrangling, and international diplomacy.

Society in a Collapsing Empire by Jorge Gato

Society in a Collapsing Empire by Jorge Gato
Morris Berman is a prolific writer on the social decline of the American Colossus and a fellow expat to Mexico. In Dark Ages America and Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline, he details the sordid mess the empire finds itself in. His conclusion is true;  there will be no happy ending. At least, not for the indoctrinated, self-centered, materialist masses who failed to note the writing on the wall.
Indeed, without valiant role models, today's youth have degenerated into a pack of animals, not surprisingly since they are taught that they are animals. Not unlike how the US Government uses social networking to overthrow foreign regimes, teenagers trash and rob businesses by the hundreds in coordinated Facebook fashion.
Quoting social scientists before him, Berman establishes a theory of a hustler mentality of the average American and the solitary goals of self-indulgence and compulsive consumerism. Where once there were family, friends and culture now resides a "technopoly" or a "totalitarian technocracy" which "eliminates everything else". Where people are treated like machines and cultural life forms bequeathed to the "sovereignty of technology." Where if one is not very careful, the virtual world and (social) network lead one to isolation "because if you are at home alone with a screen, that's where you are." Where brain function takes on the characteristics of the telecommunication device. Where the Internet teaches malleable users to skim read and not contemplate, permanently fragmenting the thought process and ability to attach oneself to a thought or idea.
Yes, we are all guilty at times of being sucked into the Internet Matrix. Nevertheless, this study points out the obvious: "people who are constantly online can develop mental disorders".
Essentially, we get a nation of aggressive, rude, zombie, techno-boor buffoons. Berman contrasts the clash-of-civilizations between the Civil War North and South. One can spot the same differences between a place like the USSA and Mexico today, although even that is rapidly in a state of flux. The Northerner robot is "coldly burning spirit, tenacious, egotistic, cold" and with "frozen imagination."
Considering this mentality, I recall passing through O'Hare Airport recently. I asked a food stand operator and her co-worker, who had the register open and was counting currency, if she would give me a dollar's worth of change so I could make a phone call the old fashioned way. She immediately went into an incoherent rant, something about "no authorization...manager" and that I had to make a purchase. Conversely, in Mexico I recall a $2.50 taxi ride I once took to work where the driver so enjoyed our conversation on life in America that he waived the cab fare – which I of course paid nevertheless.

After the Storm by Jeff Thomas

After the Storm

Recently by Jeff Thomas: Ignoring the Obvious
 
   
With all the study and thought that are required to make sense out of how the Great Unraveling will play out, we seldom take time to think of what it will be like on the other side. Those of us who are, by nature, long-term thinkers and/or optimistic, have a vague picture in mind of a rebirth of libertarian thinking, and a vibrant economy. However, we tend not to think too much more about these hopes than that, because we are caught up in the Great Unraveling itself - a very time-consuming topic.
The other day, an associate whom I like to think of as having a decent, if not holistic, view of the present depression, commented to me, "I wish we could just have the crash tomorrow and everything that goes with it, so that, next year, we can get back to normal."
Oops ... maybe his expectations are a bit more simplified than I thought. And, if others share his view, possibly the topic needs a bit of fleshing-out. While it may not be ready to be a prime topic of the ongoing conversation, possibly an outline of what may happen after all the fireworks have gone off would be in order.

Ten Years Down and Ten Years Up

Economic wizard (and favourite 'Uncle') Harry Schultz stated back in the early 2000's that what he anticipated was "ten years down and ten years up." At the time, many thought that his projection was extremely prolonged. I didn't think so. People do commonly seem to take the view that, once the various crashes have taken place, we simply walk out into the sun, brush the dirt off the knees of our trousers, and, with a spring in our step, walk into the bright new day.
However, a depression is not at all like that. It is more like a town after a hurricane has hit. The storm may have been swift, but the recovery is not. Power lines are down. Roads are blocked. Homes and stores have been destroyed. Having personally been highly involved in the reconstruction of a small country after the devastation wrought by a category five hurricane, I can attest that, even if the population is hardworking and motivated (which they were), the task of rebuilding is monumental, and the time period required to achieve it is prolonged.
I see the period after the various crashes very differently from those who anticipate immediate recovery symptoms. This is not because I imagine myself a visionary; my view is based on history. If we look at the economic collapses of the past, (inclusive of their possible knock-on effects, such as hyperinflation and destruction of the currency), from the fall of the Roman Empire to Weimar Germany, to Argentina and Zimbabwe - take your pick - the pattern is extremely similar.
So, let's have a look at that pattern and ask ourselves if the present situation might not play out much the same (except far worse and more prolonged, as the conditions that led to this particular depression have been more extreme). The various stages are likely to be a given, but the various factors within each stage are a bit more uncertain. In every major economic collapse, some combination of these factors takes place.
Also, consider that the stages themselves are like dominoes - they almost always fall in order. The reason? Details change in history, but human nature remains the same. The same knee-jerk reactions by people will repeat themselves over and over. (As an example, we are now experiencing a decline in exports from the First World. I believe that a repeat of the disastrous Smoot-Hawley Tariff of the 1930's will be passed in America, which undoubtedly would trigger increased hardship for Americans.)

Stages of The Crash

The stages are laid out below. The first three have already occurred.
1 INITIAL CRASHES
  • Crash of the residential property market
  • Crash of the commercial property market
  • Crash of the stock market
2 INITIAL KNOCK-ON EFFECTS OF CRASHES
  • Loss of homes
  • Loss of jobs
  • Inflation
3 IMMEDIATE ACTIONS BY GOVERNMENT
  • Bailouts for select groups
  • Dramatic increase of debt
  • Politicians going in the opposite direction of a real solution
The first knee-jerk reaction began immediately, with the Government attempting to "make the problem go away" as quickly as possible. Almost invariably, at this stage, the corrective strategy is hastily prepared and shortsighted, assuring further deterioration of the economy.
In this stage, the politicians on both sides fail to focus on a real solution. Instead, their primary focuses are, first, to avoid a painful real solution, and, second, to engage in finger-pointing, each political party blaming the other for the problem. The problem worsens steadily until one of the next series of major dominoes falls. This is usually sudden and triggers the toppling of other dominoes.
4 SECOND WAVE OF CRASHES
  • Major crash in stock market
  • Currency plummets
  • Increased bankruptcies
  • Increased unemployment
5 INTERNATIONAL TRADING PARTNERS REACT
  • Foreign countries refuse to accept more debt
  • Foreign trade slows dramatically
At this point, the Government introduces dramatic change, such as ill-conceived protectionism, which backfires almost immediately.
6 GOVERNMENT INSTITUTES DESPERATE SELF-DESTRUCTIVE MEASURES
  • Defaults on debt
  • Restrictive tariffs on imports
  • Currency controls
7 ECONOMY REACTS IN LOCKSTEP TO GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
  • Hyperinflation - dramatic increase in food and fuel costs
  • Massive unemployment
  • Extensive foreclosures
  • Extensive bankruptcies
At this point, the dominoes are tumbling quickly, and a rapid unraveling of control is about to take place.
8 SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE
  • Bank closures
  • Extensive homelessness
  • Food and fuel shortages
  • Electric power becomes sporadic, blackouts common
As these factors unravel, the public mood turns to a combination of blind fear and anger.
9 SOCIAL COLLAPSE
  • Crime rises dramatically (particularly street crime)
  • Food riots
  • Tax revolts
  • Squatters' rebellions
10 MARTIAL LAW
  • Creation of special army to address "domestic terrorism"
  • Random killings become commonplace
At first, the authorities focus mostly on violent subjugation and arrests; then, as prisons quickly become hopelessly overcrowded, camps become the norm. Soon, these too become unmanageable, particularly as a result of high cost of food and manpower. At that point, the solution turns to the killing of anyone who is suspected of a crime and, more frequently, anyone who is not submissive. (This will not resemble the Gestapo of the late 1930's. It will be less organized and more chaotic.)
11 REVOLUTION
If revolution is to occur, it will happen at this point. Many people will feel that they have nothing to lose, and anger will be at its peak. If revolution does take place, it will not be an organized movement as such. It will be spontaneous, and breakouts will manifest themselves like popcorn popping, largely at random, with ever-increasing frequency. At some point, it may possibly evolve into something more organized.
If you enjoyed this article, you might like our complimentary report, The Best of Jeff Thomas. Pulling no punches, Jeff shares his thoughts on the greatest threat to gold ownership, finding a bolthole on a budget, as well as the coming hyperinflation. You may download this free report immediately in our member's area. Or, if you are not a member, register for free here.
Reprinted from International Man with permission.
August 25, 2012
Jeff Thomas [send him mail] is British and resides in the Caribbean. The son of an economist and historian, he learned early to be distrustful of governments as a general principle. He began his study of economics around 1990, learning initially from Sir John Templeton, then Harry Schulz and Doug Casey and later others of an Austrian persuasion.
Copyright © 2012 International Man

Marc Faber Sill Sees Global Recession in 2013, Says Stimulus Has Impoverished the U.S.

Marc Faber Sill Sees Global Recession in 2013, Says Stimulus Has Impoverished the U.S.
Dr. Marc Faber the Swiss fund manager and Gloom Boom & Doom editor is still expecting a global recession in 2013 when the economies of the world could take a hit from negative developments.
Speaking to CNBC's Closing Bell on Thursday, Faber still sees a 100% chance the world heads into recession, echoing a call he made in May, as he simply can't see where growth will come from.
"If you look at the world, essentially Europe, the US, China and emerging economies that depend heavily on China, Europe is already in recession, the German economy is still growing slightly but likely to go into recession, the other economies are already in recession. The US has decelerated and I don't see much growth in the next 6-12 months," he said.
Faber was about to elaborate on China's slowdown when he was interrupted by the CNBC anchor.
China's manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low in August as firms struggled with global woes. Preliminary figures from HSBC's closely watched purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges nationwide manufacturing activity, hit 47.8 this month, the lowest since November. New export business declined at its sharpest rate since March 2009, HSBC said, without giving a figure
In May, Faber warned that a global recession was on its way. "As an observer of markets whenever everyone focuses on one thing like Greece and Europe maybe they miss issues that are far more important such as a meaningful slowdown in India and China," he cautioned.
"There are more and more stocks that are breaking down, economic sensitive stocks and companies that cater to the high-end," he said, adding "that suggests to me the economy is likely to weaken and the huge asset run is likely to come to an end with significant asset deflation."

After the Storm by Jeff Thomas

After the Storm by Jeff Thomas: ith all the study and thought that are required to make sense out of how the Great Unraveling will play out, we seldom take time to think of what it will be like on the other side. Those of us who are, by nature, long-term thinkers and/or optimistic, have a vague picture in mind of a rebirth of libertarian thinking, and a vibrant economy. However, we tend not to think too much more about these hopes than that, because we are caught up in the Great Unraveling itself - a very time-consuming topic.

The other day, an associate whom I like to think of as having a decent, if not holistic, view of the present depression, commented to me, "I wish we could just have the crash tomorrow and everything that goes with it, so that, next year, we can get back to normal."

Oops ... maybe his expectations are a bit more simplified than I thought. And, if others share his view, possibly the topic needs a bit of fleshing-out. While it may not be ready to be a prime topic of the ongoing conversation, possibly an outline of what may happen after all the fireworks have gone off would be in order.
Ten Years Down and Ten Years Up

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

From the Archive, 18 August 1970: Kennedy Talked of Possibility of Killing Castro

From the Archive, 18 August 1970: Kennedy Talked of Possibility of Killing Castro
President Kennedy discussed the possibility of assassinating Fidel Castro during the 1960 presidential campaign, according to former Californian Senator George Smathers, a close friend who frequently accompanied the President on trips to the South.
Senator Smathers, a political maverick, with Right-wing views on Latin America, made the statement in documents just released by the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, published in the New York Times today: "I don't know whether he brought it up or I brought it up. We had further conversations on the assassination of Fidel Castro, what would be the reaction, how would the people react, would the people be gratified."
"As I recollect," added Mr Smathers, who has since retired, "he was just throwing out a great barrage of questions – he was certain it could be accomplished – I remember that – it would be no great problem. But the question was whether it would accomplish that which he wanted it to, whether or not the reaction throughout South America would be good or bad and I talked with him about it; and frankly, at this particular time I felt and later on I learnt that he did, that I wasn't so much for the idea of assassination, particularly where it could be pinned to the US."
When the assassination idea was discarded Mr Smathers suggested provoking an incident at the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay on the eastern tip of Cuba as a pretext for a US invasion.

How Big Should the Banks Be? by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

How Big Should the Banks Be? by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
Simon Johnson has a piece at Bloomberg today that urges the Romney/Ryan ticket to make reining in the big banks a major campaign issue. (Thanks to Michael Brendan Dougherty.)
Oddly enough, Johnson makes some good points. (Forget his stuff about how great Teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting was, and that the firms in question were exploiting the consumer; prices were falling in the industries he targeted.) The big banks do indeed receive market-distorting subsidies of various kinds, the result of which is that they grow bigger than they would otherwise be.
If anything, Johnson is being too timid. The Federal Reserve System itself is a subsidy to the banking system (what could be more obvious?), but no mainstream economist is going to say so.
Various proposals are being put forward, including raising capital requirements on the largest institutions. This would force them to rest on a sounder footing, the argument goes, and would counter the incentives to be reckless that their too-big-to-fail status encourages.
I am not sure exactly how to deal with the present condition of the banks apart from root-and-branch monetary reform, but I wouldn’t rule out a proposal like this one as a second-best alternative. No doubt some people will claim that it’s a violation of the free market to impose common-sense controls on financial institutions. But how so? These institutions enjoy various forms of government privilege, and commercial banks even have FDIC coverage. They are shielded from the free market, which means their behavior is not the behavior they would engage in on an actual free market.

Class Warfare in 2012. Ho, Ho, Ho by Gary North

Class Warfare in 2012. Ho, Ho, Ho by Gary North
The media are filled with stories claiming that the Obama vs. Romney race is all about class warfare. I have my doubts. Here is why.
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, in their then-anonymous tract, The Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848), began chapter 1 with these words: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."
You would be hard-pressed to find any theory of history more wrong-headed than this one.
To prove their case, they should have defined "class." They never did. In the unpublished third volume of Das Kapital, Marx wrote this: "The first question to he answered is this: What constitutes a class? – I see. The first question. This appears in Chapter 52. Three paragraphs later, the manuscript broke off.
This was written around 1865. He died in 1883. He never wrote another book. It appeared in 1895. Engels edited it. It would have helped if Marx had told us what a class is. In The Manifesto, he followed sentence one with this:

Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.
I see. And what of these conflicts: racial, religious, linguistic, tribal, and geographical? Nothing to them, Marx said. Illusions. They are nothing more than conflicts over the social superstructure. The mode of production: that is what counts. Always. Just find out the answer to this: Who owns the tools of production? Then you will be able to know who the players are in world history.
Then what was the wave of the future, according to Marx? The conflict between the proletarians and the capitalists. The proletarian revolution will overthrow the rule of capitalists forever, he said.
The proletarian is the factory laborer. What percentage of the American work force is involved in manufacturing? About 10%. It was 30% in 1950. About 83% were involved in services in 2007.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

House Passes Bill Eliminating Senate Approval of Presidential Appointments

House Passes Bill Eliminating Senate Approval of Presidential Appointments: By a vote of 261-116, the House of Representatives passed a bill rewriting Article II of the Constitution and divesting the Senate of the power to accept or reject the appointment of many presidential nominees.

Last year, the Senate passed the measure by a vote of 79-20, so it now goes to the desk of President Obama for his signature.

"Important positions will be filled faster, government agencies will be more capable of offering valuable services to their constituents, and the overall confirmation process will be more efficient,” said Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Kevlar Tires Now Required to Traverse 'Spear-Like' GMO Crops

Kevlar Tires Now Required to Traverse 'Spear-Like' GMO Crops: The news surrounding GMO crops continues to get further and further outlandish as the crops are increasingly mutated and sprayed with a medley of harsh pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. The latest news comes from an unlikely source — an automotive publication known as Autoblog. The website reports that farmers who have opted to plant Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds have run into one daunting problem (outside of decreased yields and an extremely higher risk of disease): little ‘spear-like’ stalks from the harvested GMOs are absolutely wreaking havoc on the heavy duty tractor tires.

Described by one farmer as a ‘field of little spears’, farmers are now turning to kevlar tires. In case you’re not aware, kevlar is the same material used in bulletproof vests to protect from gun bullets.

GMOs cause animals to lose their ability to reproduce, Russian scientists discover

GMOs cause animals to lose their ability to reproduce, Russian scientists discover: (NaturalNews) A study presented at the Days of Defense Against Environmental Hazards in Russia has unveiled once again the implicit dangers associated with the consumption of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). According to Voice of Russia, scientists from the National Association for Gene Security and the Institute of Ecological and Evolutional Problems discovered that animals fed GMOs as part of their normal diet eventually develop the inability to reproduce.

A shocking revelation; the study is one of several that has identified a link between GMO consumption and infertility in recent years. And because it was conducted independently of the biotechnology industry, it came to far different conclusions than have most of the studies offered up for mainstream consumption in defense of GMOs

GMOs cause animals to lose their ability to reproduce, Russian scientists discover

GMOs cause animals to lose their ability to reproduce, Russian scientists discover: (NaturalNews) A study presented at the Days of Defense Against Environmental Hazards in Russia has unveiled once again the implicit dangers associated with the consumption of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). According to Voice of Russia, scientists from the National Association for Gene Security and the Institute of Ecological and Evolutional Problems discovered that animals fed GMOs as part of their normal diet eventually develop the inability to reproduce.

A shocking revelation; the study is one of several that has identified a link between GMO consumption and infertility in recent years. And because it was conducted independently of the biotechnology industry, it came to far different conclusions than have most of the studies offered up for mainstream consumption in defense of GMOs

Above the Law: Court Throws Out Warrantless Wiretap Suit -- News from Antiwar.com

Above the Law: Court Throws Out Warrantless Wiretap Suit -- News from Antiwar.com: Feds Can't Be Sued for Illegally Spying on Americans
by Jason Ditz, August 07, 2012
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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has thrown out the only lawsuit ever likely to advance on the federal government’s warrantless wiretapping, declaring in their ruling that the executive branch is above the law in this case.

The lawsuit centered on illegally intercepting lawyers’ telephone calls without judicial approval, and while the court didn’t dispute the previous ruling that the surveillance was against the law, they insisted that no damages could be paid to the plaintiffs.

The ruling says that since Congress never explicitly allowed the government to be sued for damages in this case, no such damages could ever be awarded and that the executive branch has “sovereign immunity” from being sued even for breaking the law.

Richard Duncan on Riding out this Depression on a Deflationary Debt Raft!

(What If) Algo Bot Shrugged

Baja Real Estate Blog: Assange asylum rumors false, no decision yet

Baja Real Estate Blog: Assange asylum rumors false, no decision yet

Wozniak: Web crackdown coming, freedom failing

Friday, August 3, 2012

Currency Wars: CIA Advisor James Rickards Warns Americans of Coming "Financial Pearl Harbor"

Currency Wars: CIA Advisor James Rickards Warns Americans of Coming "Financial Pearl Harbor"

Presidential Appointees No Longer Need to be Confirmed by Senate | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

Presidential Appointees No Longer Need to be Confirmed by Senate | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Revolution

Presidential Appointees No Longer Need to be Confirmed by Senate



UPDATE: The House passed the legislation Tuesday night by a vote of 261-116. The bill now goes to President Obama’s desk for his signature.
The House of Representatives is set to consider legislation Tuesday that would exempt certain presidential appointees from having to be confirmed by the Senate.
But a number of conservative groups are arguing that the “Presidential Efficiency and Streamlining Act” amounts to Congress neutering itself and giving the executive branch unprecedented power. Presidential appointees that would no longer require Senate confirmation under the legislation include the treasurer of the United States and the deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The United States Constitution does not bestow kingly powers on the President to appoint the senior officers of the government with no process,” wrote Thomas McClusky, the senior vice president for the Family Research Council’s legislative arm, in a Monday memo to lawmakers.
More: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/31/house-to-consider-eliminat...

Alan Greenspan ~ The Federal Reserve Is Above The Law

Too Big To Fail On Suicide Watch

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Peter Tchir on the ECB's Printers, LIBOR Litigation and the German Tippi...

Why in the World Are They Spraying?

Why in the World Are They Spraying?: This documentary is a follow up to What in the World Are They Spraying, the video that has awakened millions of people around the world to the reality that, despite official denials, we ARE being systematically sprayed with an array of toxic chemicals, including aluminum, barium, and strontium. This new program tackles the obvious question: Why would anyone want to do that?

Surprisingly, the answers are not difficult to find. The first is that these metallic nano-particles in the stratosphere make it possible to, literally, control the weather, which is a high military priority for many countries, including the US. Scientists are quick to assure the public that their only concern is to combat so-called global warming, but military applications provide the true motivation.

LOCUSTA FINANCIALIS - Max Keiser

LOCUSTA FINANCIALIS - Max Keiser