Friday, November 27, 2009

Bets Rise on Rich Countries Defaulting

From Jenna Orkin:

Bets rise on rich countries defaulting
Britain is out of money
Dump the Dollar! Buy Gold!
CNN!
Sovereign Debt Could Be The Next Subprime
Greece tests the limit of sovereign debt
U.S. faces surge in interest payments
Interest on U.S. debt at $4.8 trillion
Peter Costa: "The US Government Will Be Totally Bankrupt In A Year And A Half" (from Rice Farmer)
Treasury yields plunge sends warning
Don't say we didn't warn you this time -- a new crash is dead ahead (from Rice Farmer)
Dollar slump continues as top analysts see no bottom
Russia Diversifying Into Canadian Dollars
Report: Almost 1 in 4 homeowners underwater on their mortgages
Why the US, China are about to get divorced
Congress is losing its patience with the Fed
House panel votes to audit Federal Reserve
Economists Opposing Fed Audit Are On Fed Payroll
Ron Paul: Fed will self destruct when it destroys the dollar
Should we cheer?
Fed Will Destroy Itself and Gold Price is Rigged: Paul video
Bank Regulators "Reign of Terror" on Small Business Loans
Freefall In Small Business Loans
Housing Starts Green Shoots Wither On Vine
California Students Protest 32% Tuition Hike; State Budget Gridlock II Coming; Massive Deficits In San Francisco
Gulf Single Currency Delayed
...beyond the beginning of 2010. Is everyone sighing with relief?
Markets Take Off as Dollar Weakens
US Credit Shrinking More than Since 1930's
Commercial and Industrial Lending Drop 17% Since October '08
World Oil Demand Growth to Outpace Supply in 2010: Poll
Civil war risk of climate change
In his gloomiest prediction yet, Marc Faber sees big financial bust leading to war (from Rice Farmer)
JO Comment: And then we have the IMF head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn warning of war. So that's three on the same day. Gee.
Clean coal 'just a blueprint'
E.ON chief Paul Golby warns clean coal plans may never be viable.
As Sewers Fill, Waste Poisons Waterways
US: Three Mile Island Radiation "Not Significant"
A Chinese-owned GM?
The Rise of the Chinese Automotive Industry and Its Impact on the US Automotive Industry Lou Dobbs Might Run for Senate, White House
NYT: Anti-terror air defense reviewed
The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style attack.
Investors finally seeing the nonsense in efficient market theory
Study: Wall St. execs cashed in before collapse
GE May Be Closer to Selling Control of NBC to Comcast as Immelt, Levy Meet

UK/Europe/Big Brother
UK Police Routinely Arresting People to Obtain DNA, Report Claims
UK risks 'debt spiral'
Fuel bills blamed for 50% rise in winter deaths
Banks given £62bn were within hours of collapse
Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS received secret bridging loans last year when facing far greater peril than first thought.
Bank of England tells of loan to save RBS and HBOS
Bank secretly lent ailing institutions £62bn to save them from failing.
RBS may need more cash after £33.5bn fillip
Britain rejected Iraq 'regime change' in 2001
British officials heard war 'drum beats' before 9/11
Uproar over Italian Town's Foreigner Registration Drive

Energy/Climate Change
Gas shortage lingers in cities
Pakistan's Natural Gas Shortage to Widen in 2010
Shell favours gas for future production
Gas will be at the heart of Royal Dutch Shell's production strategy 'mistake'.
China Industries Face a Hard Winter on Gas Shortage
New report says world on threshold of irreversible climate change
1.5 billion people have no electricity
Greenhouse gas levels 'reach record high'

Middle East/Asia
Report Starts an Uproar in India
21 politicians and journalists shot dead in Philippines
Philippines declares state of emergency after 46 are killed in election bloodbath
Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites
Ahmedinejad Heads For Brazil and West Africa
US employing Blackwater for Pakistan assassinations
Dubai World’s debt freeze was carefully planned
Dubai Debt Rattles Confidence in Persian Gulf Borrowers
Stocks Slump, Bonds Rise as Dubai Roils Markets; Credit-Default Swaps Soar
Europe's VStoxx Index Jumps Most in Year on Concern About Dubai Debt Delay
Goldman Sachs's Hong Kong-Based Michael Evans Sells $12 Million of Stock
Dubai Surrenders Autonomy as Crisis Bolsters Oil-Rich Emirate of Abu Dhabi
CHINA'S NAVY MAKES "IMPRESSIVE" STRIDES, SAYS ONI
An ongoing modernization effort has provided China with an increasingly sophisticated and proficient naval force, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) said in a new assessment (large pdf).
China’s New Missile May Create a 'No-Go Zone' for U.S. Fleet

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Sincerely,
MediaMentions

stu said...

Just figured I'd share some internal news. I work in retail at a drug store after losing a job that paid a living wage last year about this time. Black friday sales down seven percent yesterday at our best location in the market. Definitely not a good sign considering the headlines for this post. I expect a weak holiday season and then the we'll take that double dip and it will be over. Hope all of you had a great holiday!

businessman said...

In follow-up to stu's post about retail sales being down in the company he works for, I'm expecting we'll see a lot of retailers just hold on through the Holiday season, to bring in whatever final sales they can during their "busy" season, and then close their doors and give their building keys back to their building owners by the end of January.

gamedog said...

Vaccine Failure Confirmed in New York Times by UK National Institute for Medical Research

http://pf11.blogspot.com/2009/11/vaccine-failure-confirmed-in-new-york.html

ecosutra said...

Mike, its been some weeks now since the film. Have you noticed a lack of attention to your project dissolving like the ice caps? No common courtesy in our culture Mike. What will you do to make a difference? Listening to you in Hollywood at your LA opening, I conclude that you are in the 2nd group , in a circle waiting for the Titanic to kill you. You dont seem to be building a network or herding people into a community. That to me is a lifeboat builder. Mike get off the death bed and build a lifeboat eco village. Venice Beach is a waste of time. A land of nowhere. Just try and see if you could be the herder of the sheep. Until then, no one makes a difference.

gamedog said...

The rise of the Carbon Fat Cats
The ‘carbon market’ – trading in an invisible gas which cannot be used – has involved the redistribution of resources to unproductive green pursuits and the creation of a vast bureacracy.

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/reviewofbooks_article/7758/

toner deeski said...

RE: The Philippines

I was just looking over info on Plan Colombia per Mike's recent post, and immediately thought of the Philippines when I pondered the connection between US military "counterinsurgency" campaigns and the always corresponding spike in human rights violations.
Well, US special forces have been in the southernmost province of the Philippines since 2001, allegedly "training" Philippine forces in "counterinsurgency."
Well, 8 years into this "training" we see that human rights violations by the Arroyo government are so rampant, that now one of her own party loyalist supporters brutally raped and murdered the wife and sisters (and all of the journalists who were accompanying them) of a political rival who had the audacity to run against him in an upcoming mayoral election.
That's right, one of President Arroyo's cronies massacred 46 civilians over a mayoral campaign that hadn't even officially started yet, all under the auspices of a 9-year-old US military occupation regime.
Obviously, the local politicians aren't at all afraid of being held accountable in the midst of all those green berets down there.
It would be ludicrous to expect anything but the same sort of lawlessness in Colombia/Venezuela.

agape wins said...

This debate of climate change is getting out of hand, enough.


This Blog is about preparing ourselves, those we Love, & possibly
those around us to survive the change we see coming.
When Has MCR ever suggested it was possible to change the history which
is being/has been written? Wall Street/CIA will not be swayed!

As here, in (Free)Casper,Wyo-Good old US of A; We voted NO
by a large majority, TWICE, to a new Court House (Use the old one,
Remodel, & use the unused 3rd floor); guess what?
The Judges sided with the PTB, went behind our/the Voters back, in
secret, contracted, & authorized Taxpayer Bonds for the Renovation
of a Historic old Hotel as OUR/their new Court House.
4 Million Taxpayers $$$$!!! We can't even generate a Class Action
Lawsuit, "roll over Play Dead", no one complains about being raped?

In China, the People got the Three Gorges Dam stopped, 5 years later
the "Ringleaders" were all in Jail, & the Dam Has been Built!

Reread Crossing The Rubicon; I knew A Presidential Energy Policy
was titled "tongue in Cheek", directed at/toward our newly Elected(?)
Leader(?), if you expected TPTB to Legislate any of Mike's policy's
you live on a different planet. I expected the "Hard Copy" to have a
different Title, protect your copy of "policy" it could have value someday.

Any changes you make/get made WILL be subverted.

Dedicate your energy toward after we "Cross The Rubicon", there is no
saving Egypt!

Amae.

agape wins said...

This debate of climate change is getting out of hand, enough.


This Blog is about preparing ourselves, those we Love, & possibly
those around us to survive the change we see coming.
When Has MCR ever suggested it was possible to change the history which
is being/has been written? Wall Street/CIA will not be swayed!

As here, in (Free)Casper,Wyo-Good old US of A; We voted NO
by a large majority, TWICE, to a new Court House (Use the old one,
Remodel, & use the unused 3rd floor); guess what?
The Judges sided with the PTB, went behind our/the Voters back, in
secret, contracted, & authorized Taxpayer Bonds for the Renovation
of a Historic old Hotel as OUR/their new Court House.
4 Million Taxpayers $$$$!!! We can't even generate a Class Action
Lawsuit, "roll over Play Dead", no one complains about being raped?

In China, the People got the Three Gorges Dam stopped, 5 years later
the "Ringleaders" were all in Jail, & the Dam Has been Built!

Reread Crossing The Rubicon; I knew A Presidential Energy Policy
was titled "tongue in Cheek", directed at/toward our newly Elected(?)
Leader(?), if you expected TPTB to Legislate any of Mike's policy's
you live on a different planet. I expected the "Hard Copy" to have a
different Title, protect your copy of "policy" it could have value someday.

Any changes you make/get made WILL be subverted.

Dedicate your energy toward after we "Cross The Rubicon", there is no
saving Egypt!

Amae.

RanD said...

A sampling across the general media (from MSM to FTW to what we're given locally here in the Ozarks right on into our personal household) provides these quarters with a quite secure picture of general & household-understood incoherence.

Does this sampling portend imminent chaos? Perhaps? Of course? Why not? Should the most sincere, concerned, attentive and patiently focused analytical minds and warm hearts here at FTW expect otherwise? Is this not what FTW has been telling us over the recent years, ultimately, would progressively be the case according to the very best info we've from the outset been reaching for, finding, grasping and sharing amongst ourselves?

We're on the quintessential roller coaster ride, precious fellows male & female; one which leads to an ultimately good end; guaranteed. Anything else would be stupid; reality is ultimately not stupid.

There's much good to be said about the-good-&-the-bad from these quarters; but, right now, these quarters have already put in a good hard day's work: chopping wood, prepping one of next yr's gdn spots. Be talking with you all later. Have a good night's sleep; dream well.

Love to us all.

RanD said...

@Ecosutra... We, R & D, are died-in-the-wool permaculturists and have been for the twenty years we've very very happily been together -- just the two of us, interacting as collaboratively & honestly as we possibly can with everybody we routinely connect with in our daily lives. And -- from that basis -- we judge your last post directed to MCR to be a piece of mindless and insensitive purely self-serving bullshit!

Hef Lee said...

hulu has about 10 hours of Obama administration video that is absolutely mind numbing. Its crazy to think that more people than ever don't know they are being duped.

ecosutra said...

Do you have a food forest bringing in diverse wildlife so that you can produce phosphorous?

Where is the swale that is producing your bio char?

And where is your community?

Self serving? Ya, I spend $400 a month to keep the number one tracker in permaculture online, waiting for the 100th monkey. I am so self serving.

But ya, if me leaving urban life for isolation on a farm with the likes of your hippie "types" . Ya I am trying to create something better than that. Hence the word create, rather than just get by with a life of scarcity, as a peasant.

What if I told you I have come up with a budget to get 4000 people together to start mining a landfill and create an energy park permaculture? For only 4 grand a person? Making 2 mega watts of power?

What inputs do you use?

agape wins said...

Eyeballs had a fine post about Human involvement.

RanD, Your last 2 were hot-spot on; there is still too much Judgment/Boxing, even here, MY/or yours is not the only way, we each of us has to know what we do best, Mike's movie is more than I have ever/or will do, he is in another Universe, from me! I look up to/Admire all you excellent minds
that post here, i (small) would/could never judge what you are capable of, or where you fit in-YOU do have a place.

There are many of you who think I am heavy on Destiny,& Quantum, it's just what I do, something is at work here.
Please go to; & click on the program link at the end:

http://www.projectpegasus.net/

I am convinced of the context of what, Andy says, not everything; you can judge for yourself, you have to listen, think about what he says/knows, how he says it, what he does not say, the motivation for the program, who was involved,t hat he met as a child & his comments about Brainwashing.
Also "Policing" of time travel. The "Multiverse", & change of "viewing"!

He says he viewed the Crucification of Christ, the signing of the Constitution, a plane striking the World Trade Center, along with his
thoughts as to why it was not prevented/interfered with, & his travel to the year 2045! Note to Sebastian, was the "Break down" avoided or did he travel beyond it?
You decide truth/fiction, how much TPTB knows, or is making up/staging.
My Dreams, & their defects convince me that time/space is a constrict we do not/can not understand, I am not a "Key"(?),controlled, so my dreams
just show me I am where/when I should be.
Now you know how insane I am.

pstajk said...

Ecosutra,

Hey I'm starting up some garden beds in my backyard this coming spring and I have a million questions. Could you answer a few?

--Do you use BioChar in conjunction with other organic fertilizers - limestone, blood meal, fish bone, or is it fine by itself?

In other words, would introducing a combination of all these substances be over doing it to the soil and plant seedlings?

--I've heard of swales, but how the hell do you make one?

--Do you know how I could get in contact with permaculture people located near New Jersey? Do you know of any or are there any websites with group info?

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Ecosutra:

Much respect for many of your earlier posts, but the idea that Mike is failing if he doesn't rush out and herd sheep strikes me as a bit much. Have you ever tried to herd sheeple? How about that commune project you're trying to build? Are people jumping on and doing just as you would have them do? Even sheeple are not really sheep, they're more like monkeys on valium. It's a huge drain on energy to try to "move the masses" unless you're trying to move them in their default direction, i.e. "Tits! Free beer! Let's celebrate our mediocrity together with some grand ritual!" Then it can even be profitable.

But Mike has done his bit. And if he has other works in mind, that's his business. If he wants to play guitar in a hammock and let us take over, that's cool too.

Re: House panel votes to audit Federal Reserve


This October article

sort of deflates the celebration, as far as I can tell.

‘The bill, with 308 co-sponsors, has been stripped of provisions that would remove Fed exemptions from audits of transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee and communications between the Board, the reserve banks and staff, Paul said today.

‘“There’s nothing left, it’s been gutted,” he said in a telephone interview.’

Did the de-clawed bill grow new and effective provisions over the last month? Or are we looking at something like the health care package, that seems to fulfil expectations without threatening business as usual? I, for one, never really expected "real change", but maybe I'm just cynical.

RanD said...

Your 8:38 PM response indeed reveals that you're definitely measurably way better than the rest of us at doing what you do; and our specific "inputs" are available for reading here at FTW, just like yours are. With this we rest our case.

gamedog said...

I watched this...

A message to the environmental movement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEggt0ldQUI

...and I was confused by mentions of links to the Eugenics movement, then I found this...

1975 'Endangered Atmosphere'
Conference: Where the
Global Warming Hoax Was Born

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2007/sci_techs/3423init_warming_hoax.html

...which has had me pondering most of the night. I found it difficult to disagree with the original ideas (addressing human induced ecocide) But I am abhorrent to the methods enacted.

================
Ecosutra: I'd say Mike has done his bit already! And if you wouldn't mind chucking us peasants a bone, how can I get biochar from a swale?

Your plans sound grand, I hope the wealthy disciples you get won't be disappointed by their leader, the peasants of course are already disappointed.
=========
Agape: I agree completely, the only thing we can do now is prepare. Just that after so much time forming the map, it's kind of hard not to watch Rome burn, and continue to delve into it's workings as it crumbles and another layer is revealed.

Cheers

RanD said...

Agape: Excellent to read dead on the bull's eye post above! Kudus!

ecosutra said...

Everything you need to know about Permaculture science is online on video from Geoff Lawton www.ecosutra.com, its all in there.

I am not the leader of anything. I have some great scientists and engineers leading the USGBC that are willing to lead such an expedition. I told them, "if I get the entertainment industry to develop a power park and we start a theatrical production theme camp" then , they would consider leading, And If I sound elitists, well , what is more elite? A 10k investment with 5000 people, or me going and purchasing a farm for myself and all the equipment=budget for that? 1 million.

I am not your typical eco guy. I see this as a major evolving creation. So great that it is like a gold mine to me. And the line is empty. On the other hand, I do acknowledge the wolf in me and the kill I taste. Of course, I am not opening those thoughts in this modern time. BUt when the 5th stage of collapse comes, Im sure to get my wish. I am fine either way humanity takes me.

Which Wolf Do You Feed?
By Ronnie Ann

The Two Wolves

A Cherokee elder was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me… it is a terrible fight between two wolves.

One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, hatefulness, and lies.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, humbleness, kindness, friendship, generosity, faith, and truth.

This same fight is going on inside of you, and inside every other person, too.”

The children thought about it for a minute. Then one child asked his grandfather,

“Which wolf will win?”

The Cherokee elder replied…

“The one you feed.”

agape wins said...

ecosutra.
Your 12:29 pm Post was great, I know the Wolves well; the danger is that we may be feeding
both on the sly/under the table, when it comes to "nip or tuck", i(small) fear selfishness/FEAR
is vary strong.
Make sure you are feeding Agape/Amae (the positive Wolf) the prime, not the scraps!
Seems you have a good thinker!
Remember; Everyone, we each of us is different, in a different place-Which will change in
different ways, only you will/can "Feel" the change & adapt, hopefully for the good of those
around you.
You may find those who have NOTHING,& show up as things come apart, are a better bet than
those with Money/position, the latter have the most shock at their loss, they can become Vary Dependent!

The "A" WOLF needs sharp teeth,
along with a quick mind, things
will be Bloody!

agape wins said...

Something strange happened here,
my post about climate was posted
twice, the one at 2:44 pm is the
only one I sent--the 4:17 did not come from my system????

ecosutra.
Your 12:29 pm Post was great, I know the Wolves well; the danger is that we may be feeding
both on the sly/under the table, when it comes to "nip or tuck", i(small) fear selfishness/FEAR
is vary strong.
Make sure you are feeding Agape/Amae (the positive Wolf) the prime, not the scraps!
Seems you have a good thinker!
Remember; Everyone, we each of us is different, in a different place-Which will change in
different ways, only you will/can "Feel" the change & adapt, hopefully for the good of those
around you.
You may find those who have NOTHING,& show up as things come apart, are a better bet than
those with Money/position, the latter have the most shock at their loss, they can become Vary Dependent!

The "A" WOLF needs sharp teeth,
along with a quick mind, things
will be Bloody!

agape wins said...

Something strange happened here,
my post about climate was posted
twice, the one at 2:44 pm is the
only one I sent--the 4:17 did not come from my system????

ecosutra.
Your 12:29 pm Post was great, I know the Wolves well; the danger is that we may be feeding
both on the sly/under the table, when it comes to "nip or tuck", i(small) fear selfishness/FEAR
is vary strong.
Make sure you are feeding Agape/Amae (the positive Wolf) the prime, not the scraps!
Seems you have a good thinker!
Remember; Everyone, we each of us is different, in a different place-Which will change in
different ways, only you will/can "Feel" the change & adapt, hopefully for the good of those
around you.
You may find those who have NOTHING,& show up as things come apart, are a better bet than
those with Money/position, the latter have the most shock at their loss, they can become Vary Dependent!

The "A" WOLF needs sharp teeth,
along with a quick mind, things
will be Bloody!

Jenna Orkin said...

agape wins

PLEASE stop sending in comments twice

Agroinnovations said...

All,

Great community here. See the Agroinnovations Podcast for similar themes/discussions. Very permaculture focused.

http://agroinnovations.com/podcast

Agroinnovations said...

BTW, absolutely INSANE that people are issuing credit default swaps on the debt default of sovreign nations. Remember how bad the fallout from this was when the banks did it against one another? This will be several orders of magnitude worse when it hits.

Peddler on the Hoof said...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=afp8OC.OvRnI

Reporter Who Challenged Fed Secrecy, Dies at 52

(mysterious heart related death)

RanD said...

Agape, Once again you display your penchant for slipping from excellent reasoning as displayed in your above 4:17 PM post right back into self-defeating incoherence with your 9:56 PM post, shortly below it; and then capped off with your closing statement: "Now you know how insane I am."

The fact is you're not the least bit insane.

Slipping back and forth from displaying your beautiful genius to displaying linguistic garble with such facility tells me you've been inculcated by the circumstances of your intellectual development to behave in this way as a means of 'acceptably conforming' with the impositions of those circumstances as brought upon you by your correspondingly unwitting peers and overseers. This reflects a common and all-encompassing socio-psychological phenomenon we all, as individuals and thus as societies, are subject to experiencing and suffering from until we educate and begin consciously moving ourselves beyond its self-defeating influence.

And if you still think 'ambiguity' and 'dependence' are intrinsically virtuous, I suggest you look anywhere you wish across our planet and you will see exactly how far such virtues take the ignorant minds of mankind.

Dr. Bruce Lipton's "The Biology of Belief" is a good place from which to start making things better.

Here's wishing us all well.

dalex said...

Gamedog: Thank you for posting the Genewurx.com material. Their August 25, 2009 "Contents" post, at:
http://pf11-trends-and-issues.blogspot.com/
provides a must-read background on H1N1. For due diligence purposes, does anyone know who created the blog, and/or which institute or organization is involved? The writing is very authoritative, but we need to know the author...

pstajk: I'm delighted to hear about your gardening plans! You might consider purchasing Bill Mollison's Permaculture: A Designers' Manual. It's the textbook (all 576 pages of it) used in most Permaculture design courses. It's expensive, but encyclopedic in coverage. I recently bought a copy through Amazon's "Used" section for about $80, and can highly recommend Rose's Books (Cape Cod) as a seller. My copy looks (and probably is) brand new...

Regarding biochar and fertilizers -- If you haven't already, get your soil tested first! Biochar is probably a helpful amendment to most soils, but there's no sense in getting carried away with fertilizers if there are no deficiencies to remedy... :-) My soil is only "Average" in fertility, but still does well with most vegetables. Soil analysis is very cheap (your county agricultural agent can provide details), but it may take 4 or 5 weeks to get results, so get started now! Good luck!

RanD said...

Our Primary Standard of Value - #20

dalex, To present for general consumption such in-depth information of the sort that NS1/Genewurx does is to all but put heads-with-names on ye olde 'accidental' chopping block. I suggest going to who-gains-&-who-loses to improve (but of course still not perfectly substantiate) one's perspective. The thing is, it's going to be this way (who, what, why, when & where is the bogeyman that's gonna get us?) for exactly as long as we use graven objects as our primary standard of value.

It's strictly an unwitting socio-psycho-pathological habit we have and need to one day begin fully consciously addressing. Once that happens, we'll begin opening the doors to everything we can't see as it always has been, presently is, and always will be.

Guaranteed.

F.Kamilov said...

Agape Wins: You would do well to pay heed to what “RanD” says about your writing. Garbled babble about things quantum won’t get you anywhere in any era, and if as you say, your wish is to render practical help in the coming times of crisis, then that is the least anyone needs.
I have been following your references to me and my alleged ideas in many of your posts for several days now. I have been meaning to point this out, but have little time and energy to waste in useless argument and hollering with someone who refuses to listen and insists on bulldozing through his own flawed interpretation of a person’s views, in a style the coherence of which is like a tangled skein at best. Thank you for references to me, but I must correct you if you think that the purpose of my ideas is only to emphasise and support the differences that exist in humanity at different stages of development in the world. What I actually mean is that America is at the helm of the world’s affairs like it or not, and yet your society knows naught about the rest nor cares to. You need to learn about the rest, so that the vast differences can be erased and nullified and the world can then come closer to being ONE WHOLE HUMAN ENTITY as it now properly should be, by retaining the best. Those who are unable or unwilling to join this new evolutionary level should know what is coming to them. I do support healthy diffences among different people, but not to the extent of cultural chaos and delinquencies, which are regarded as such by any society at any stage in history. Put simply, I like gardens but not weeds. But you continue to ramble on that I point to the differences only, and use this to push through your “quantum” ideas, whatever they may be. I am also a student of quantum mechanics, but have not lost my perspective on the reality of life either. So kindly stop misquoting me, and understand the true meaning of what what I am trying to get across: which is not only to pinpoint these cultural differences, but to do so to emphasise that they need to be recognised and eliminated, so that they can be narrowed down and transformed into the best qualitative denominator for a future global human entity, now that humanity stands at the threshold of such a true global potential.

1_Crazy_Canuck said...

Not sure if anyone remembers the little "blip" this made in the MSM a little while back, but it appears that my so-called Government has been playing fast and loose with its gold.

The article and link is from Darryl Robert Schoon Posted Oct 20, 2009 but still worth mentioning. Excerpt below.

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/schoon/schoon102009.html

In this struggle, too, central bankers are losing control. Only by selling more and more of their gold have they been able to slow gold's rise. Today, literally, they are scrapping the bottom of the barrel as they are running out of deliverable gold.

Toronto analyst Rob Kirby's recounting of the behind-the-scenes activity that recently drove up the price of gold is but one example of this on-going battle. On the last day in September, Kirby reported large buyers of gold entered the futures market and demanded immediate physical delivery on the September contract.

The counterparties, allegedly JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, both complicit in the central bank suppression of gold, counter offered with premiums 25% above spot if the contracts could be settled with paper money instead of physical gold but the buyers refused, sending gold to record highs as the banks scrambled to deliver gold they did not own.

Questions were also raised about the quality of the gold bars delivered. Evidently, the bars provided by the Bank of England had to be re-cast as to meet the .999 quality necessary for delivery; and Professor Antal Fekete in his current article, The Gold Basis Is Dead - Long Live The Gold Basis, adds more to the controversy surrounding deliverable gold.

Reports are circulating that similar audits of certain Asian depositories have already produced "good" delivery bars (400 oz or 12.5 kg gold bricks) that have been gutted and stuffed with tungsten - a metal whose specific weight approximates that of gold, so that the famous test of Archimedes (fl. 287-212 B.C.) based on the Law of Buoyancy, designed to expose fraudulent goldsmiths, would be inapplicable.

The shortage of deliverable gold may, in fact, be the reason for the 17,500 ounces of gold bullion missing from the Royal Mint of Canada, almost exactly ½ tonne gone without a clue from a secure government facility. It is reasonable to suspect that government conveyance may have played a part in this unresolved crime.

Central bankers and governments are increasingly desperate to cap gold's price and government chicanery cannot be ruled out, indeed, it almost can be assumed in these times.


Scary to think that all central banks are engaging in massive fraud with fake gold in their coffers.

I have not had a chance to verify the validity of such claims, but there should be a concerted effort to determine the legitimacy of any reports that banks are using fake gold on their balance sheets.

Anyone have a legitimate source on this?

Hotspringswizard said...

RanD chides Agape Wins ( 5:23AM post ) for, " displaying linguistic garble ". Look in the mirror RanD, your certainly not immune to the same yourself :-) Happy Holidays and great work on all the links Jenna :-)

Jenna Orkin said...

Hotspringswizard has left a new comment on your post "Bets Rise on Rich Countries Defaulting":

Here's a secession article Sebastian you might want to check out:

http://www.vtcommons.org/journal/2009/11/editorial-beyond-baracks-bamboozling-obamamania-fizzles-vermonters-take-fresh-look-i

RanD said...

Hotspringswizard, Hey ol' buddy, that's a classy bit of observation (or was it a question :-) there. Thank you! Seriously! I'll do my best to respond to your response as if it's both :-), okay?

There's a profound difference between what RanD's words convey and what Agape Wins' words convey, sometimes :-); and there's a reason for that:

RanD's words & symbols are consciously chosen with the objective of conveying to others what RanD knows, explicitly. This is not meant to imply that RanD always chooses the "perfect" word or symbol; but RanD does know that RanD is not "perfect", and is very careful when making a statement, always. Also, anyone who reads RanD and likewise does so 'carefully', will come very close to understanding exactly what RanD means... (as long as all parties' egos aren't greater than their intellects :-), that is... and that RanD didn't let one of those damned faux pas' slip through, of course :-)). Meaning:

What you're reading here is not "garble", but is very-carefully/very-consciously written to serve the purpose for which language came into existence -- in the first place! Which, from RanD's perspective has always been, is, and always will be to share oneself with one's others.

Agape Wins does not always perceive and correspondingly write like RanD does. Agape Wins' writing "does not alway coherently connect" linguistically/logically (which defines "garble") to convey a readily understandable, certain, or confident message of where Agape Wins is coming from. But Agape Wins is also a profoundly intelligent, confidant & proficient writer at times, who knows RanD can perhaps be difficult to read, yet conveys to him a curious (if perhaps sometimes also troubling) perspective that stimulates his desire to investigate. You know: friendly human beings sniff-sniffing, woof-woofing. I.e., it's how all intelligent beasts share and enhance each others' lives.

We rest our case. And have a nice evening, too!

Hotspringswizard said...

RanD, Thanks for proving my point in that last post of yours :-) I'm left wondering, is RanD really two people so utterly intertwined and connected in their thoughts that they always speak as one, as if they are part of a Borg Collective of two, or, are you just one dude/dudet with a split personality? Siamese twins perhaps?

And this, " but RanD does know that RanD is not "perfect". Just wondering, which one of you, R or D, realized this first, or did you both think it up at the same time?

I'm sure an entertaining RanD style answer will ensue :-)

RanD said...

Love your excellent response, HSW.

RanD, as pointed out here before, are husband & wife who live & work interdependently to produce what you read of them/her/me/us here. R is for Ruthie, D is for David. David is writer/editor; Ruthie is David's constant consultant and critic. We are not joined at the hips (except occasionally, almost); but our minds, spirits, work & play are virtually inseparable.

We exhaustively know, and routinely share & discuss literally everything we think, feel & do, what we experience and have ever experienced, with each other, unabashedly. We each, independently, devote our lives -- not to each other, but -- exclusively to what we commonly perceive to be and define as the Source of everything that exists; which "Source" we thus also see as being, in principle, synonymous with existence, and is therefore, in principle, also life, itself. We co-produced and self-published "The Little Book of Life" a few yrs back.

As for the knowing of our being less than "perfect", we each figured that out independently, many years of experience before we met; which meeting occurred right at twenty years ago at the local watering hole, each of us lookin' for some tail. (She's 60, I'm 68; each of us were born in the first week of June.)

Hope this satisfies your curiosity; thanks for asking! And consider letting us in on what HotSpringsWizard is all about, too!

Hotspringswizard said...

Well thanks for that small window into the world of RanD :-) I go by HotSpringsWizard because for one I love to frequent hotsprings, the main one being Deep Creek Hot Springs in the San Bernardino Mountains of So Cal ( for 25 years now ).

Another part of it is that I have posted for many years as Wizard at the Deep Creek Hot Springs Forum. When I years ago tried to get a hotmail e-mail account under Wizard, of course it was already taken, so I just put Hotsprings in front of and attached to Wizard and Walla!

I now use HotSpringsWizard when posting except when I post at the DCHS Forum. Google hotspringswizard and see what you find :-)

RanD said...

HSW... Thanks much for the peek :-)!