The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has vowed to clean up his fiscal house, has a new tax lien to pay.
Sharpton owes $359,973 to the IRS for 2009 personal income tax, according to documents on file with the city.
Public records show he owes a total of $3.7 million in city, state and federal taxes, including penalties, dating to 2002. But Sharpton's spokeswoman, Rachel Noerdlinger, said that he had paid back "well over seven figures" as part of agreements with the state and IRS and that the liens remained on the books as "a matter of bureaucracy."
Sharpton made $250,000 as head of the nonprofit National Action Network in 2009, a year that ended with the group owing $1.1 million in taxes and having just $36,397 cash on hand.
The organization also pays for first-class or charter travel for Sharpton and other NAN staff, according to its 2009 tax return. Noerdlinger declined to say for whom.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Eminem Endorsed Chrysler In New $9 Million Taxpayer Super Bowl Ad
(AllHipHop News) Chart topping rapper Eminem has landed a second, high profile commercial spot that will air during Super Bowl XLV, which will take place tonight at 6:25PM EST at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The rapper will appear in a commercial promoting the new Chrysler 200 during a two-minute commercial, that will air during the Super Bowl.
Eminem will endorse the new Chysler 200 in front of Detroit's famous Fox Theatre during the commercial.
According to the The Detroit Free Press, the commercial, which cost almost $9 million dollars to produce, is one of the most expensive ever produced in Super Bowl history.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Eminem would be featured as an animated Claymation figure in a commercial for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea during Super Bowl XLV, where advertising spots are selling for upwards of $3 million dollars for :30 seconds.
The news of two Eminem commercials being aired during Super Bowl XLV underscores Hip-Hop music's status as the dominant music of choice for the NFL this year.
The music returns in full force after a seven-year hiatus, stemming from a controversial, crotch-grabbing performance by Nelly, the same year as Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction with singer Justin Timberlake.
Hip-Hop music came under fire in the weeks and months after the performance, which resulted in a 550,000 fine for CBS in 2004, which was later suspended.
This year, Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa's "Black & Yellow" has become the unofficial anthem for The Steelers, who have adopted their own Hip-Hop monikers in homage to Lil Wayne's Hip-Hop label, Young Money.
Ironically, Lil Wayne is an official "Cheesehead." Earlier this week, he released his own remix to Wiz' hit titled "Green & Yellow," in support of his favorite NFL team, The Green Bay Packers.
Additionally, top selling Hip-Hop group The Black Eyed Peas will provide the halftime entertainment for over 1 billion people who are expected to watch The Steelers take on The Green Bay Packers.
The rapper will appear in a commercial promoting the new Chrysler 200 during a two-minute commercial, that will air during the Super Bowl.
Eminem will endorse the new Chysler 200 in front of Detroit's famous Fox Theatre during the commercial.
According to the The Detroit Free Press, the commercial, which cost almost $9 million dollars to produce, is one of the most expensive ever produced in Super Bowl history.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Eminem would be featured as an animated Claymation figure in a commercial for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea during Super Bowl XLV, where advertising spots are selling for upwards of $3 million dollars for :30 seconds.
The news of two Eminem commercials being aired during Super Bowl XLV underscores Hip-Hop music's status as the dominant music of choice for the NFL this year.
The music returns in full force after a seven-year hiatus, stemming from a controversial, crotch-grabbing performance by Nelly, the same year as Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction with singer Justin Timberlake.
Hip-Hop music came under fire in the weeks and months after the performance, which resulted in a 550,000 fine for CBS in 2004, which was later suspended.
This year, Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa's "Black & Yellow" has become the unofficial anthem for The Steelers, who have adopted their own Hip-Hop monikers in homage to Lil Wayne's Hip-Hop label, Young Money.
Ironically, Lil Wayne is an official "Cheesehead." Earlier this week, he released his own remix to Wiz' hit titled "Green & Yellow," in support of his favorite NFL team, The Green Bay Packers.
Additionally, top selling Hip-Hop group The Black Eyed Peas will provide the halftime entertainment for over 1 billion people who are expected to watch The Steelers take on The Green Bay Packers.
Teenager Builds Death Ray Machine"; Can Burn Almost Anything.
While many teenagers are content to sit at home playing computer games, this one has set his sights on something a little more ambitious.
Eric Jacqmain, from Indiana in the US, covered an ordinary fibreglass satellite dish with 5,800 tiny mirror tiles - and made his very own 'death ray'.
When aligned correctly it can generate a heat spot a couple of centimetres across, with an intensity of 5,000 shining suns, the 19-year-old claims.
Scroll down for the video...
Solar power: Eric Jacqmain's 'death ray' dish was covered in about 5800 mirror tiles and had an intensity of 5000 suns
Solar power: Eric Jacqmain labelled his 'death ray' dish his 'latest and greatest solar invention' - and he is working on further developments
Power: This piece of wood stood no chance against Eric Jacqmain's spectacular invention
Power: This piece of wood stood no chance against Eric Jacqmain's spectacular invention
The inventor then posted video of his invention on YouTube, with people commenting in awe of the power of the satellite.
The ray generates enough power to melt steel, vaporize aluminum, boil concrete, turn dirt into lava, and obliterate any organic material in an instant.
It stands at 5ft 9ins and measures just 42 inches across.
Jacqmain, commenting on YouTube said : 'I drilled a small hole in the dish and glued a piece of PVC pipe on the back.
'Light shines through the hole and hits the translucent plastic on the end of the pipe. All I had to do was aim the dish once and mark the spot.
'As long as the target doesn't conduct heat away too fast it will melt or vaporize just about anything eventually.
'I have vaporized before carbon, which occurs above 6,500 Fahrenheit.'
Next up: The paint can lid is next to feel the power of the satellite
Next up: The paint can lid is next to feel the power of the satellite
...but as a hole appears in the lid, the 'death ray' emerges as the easy victor
...but as a hole appears in the lid, the 'death ray' emerges as the easy victor
The American teenager called his invention the R5800 solar 'death ray'.
Putting it into context, just the tiny fraction of the Sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over.
In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole year - if only we could harness it properly.
Sturdy stuff? Up steps the rock to take on the solar beast
Sturdy stuff? Up steps the rock to take on the solar beast
....but it's the same result as the rays melt through the tough substance
....but it's the same result as the rays melt through the tough substance
Unfortunately for Jacqmain, his 'death ray' dish met it's own grisly end when it was destroyed in a shed fire.
Jacqmain added: 'Yeah. It "committed suicide". It's very likely that it was the cause of the fire. Nothing left of it but half melted wagon parts and the adjustable mount.'
If there was ever a case of self-destruction, this was it.
But Jacqmain's despair at the death of his 'death ray' has simply spurred him on to develop a yet more powerful alternative.
'Plans already in place for the new one, he added.
'The goal is to use about 32,000 mirrors this time.'
Eric Jacqmain, from Indiana in the US, covered an ordinary fibreglass satellite dish with 5,800 tiny mirror tiles - and made his very own 'death ray'.
When aligned correctly it can generate a heat spot a couple of centimetres across, with an intensity of 5,000 shining suns, the 19-year-old claims.
Scroll down for the video...
Solar power: Eric Jacqmain's 'death ray' dish was covered in about 5800 mirror tiles and had an intensity of 5000 suns
Solar power: Eric Jacqmain labelled his 'death ray' dish his 'latest and greatest solar invention' - and he is working on further developments
Power: This piece of wood stood no chance against Eric Jacqmain's spectacular invention
Power: This piece of wood stood no chance against Eric Jacqmain's spectacular invention
The inventor then posted video of his invention on YouTube, with people commenting in awe of the power of the satellite.
The ray generates enough power to melt steel, vaporize aluminum, boil concrete, turn dirt into lava, and obliterate any organic material in an instant.
It stands at 5ft 9ins and measures just 42 inches across.
Jacqmain, commenting on YouTube said : 'I drilled a small hole in the dish and glued a piece of PVC pipe on the back.
'Light shines through the hole and hits the translucent plastic on the end of the pipe. All I had to do was aim the dish once and mark the spot.
'As long as the target doesn't conduct heat away too fast it will melt or vaporize just about anything eventually.
'I have vaporized before carbon, which occurs above 6,500 Fahrenheit.'
Next up: The paint can lid is next to feel the power of the satellite
Next up: The paint can lid is next to feel the power of the satellite
...but as a hole appears in the lid, the 'death ray' emerges as the easy victor
...but as a hole appears in the lid, the 'death ray' emerges as the easy victor
The American teenager called his invention the R5800 solar 'death ray'.
Putting it into context, just the tiny fraction of the Sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over.
In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole year - if only we could harness it properly.
Sturdy stuff? Up steps the rock to take on the solar beast
Sturdy stuff? Up steps the rock to take on the solar beast
....but it's the same result as the rays melt through the tough substance
....but it's the same result as the rays melt through the tough substance
Unfortunately for Jacqmain, his 'death ray' dish met it's own grisly end when it was destroyed in a shed fire.
Jacqmain added: 'Yeah. It "committed suicide". It's very likely that it was the cause of the fire. Nothing left of it but half melted wagon parts and the adjustable mount.'
If there was ever a case of self-destruction, this was it.
But Jacqmain's despair at the death of his 'death ray' has simply spurred him on to develop a yet more powerful alternative.
'Plans already in place for the new one, he added.
'The goal is to use about 32,000 mirrors this time.'
Israel Worried About Change In Egypt
Sify News - Israeli President Shimon Peres Saturday expressed concern about the changes that the revolts in Egypt may bring to the Middle East.
'We are very worried about having any change in a government, or in the system of elections,' Peres said.
'If the Muslim Brotherhood are elected (in Egypt), they will not bring peace,' he added.
Peres made the remarks in a speech to 430 parliamentarians from 32 European countries in Jerusalem.
Since the beginning of the protests in Egypt 12 days ago, Israel has expressed its support to the government of President Hosni Mubarak and has warned that the banned Muslim Brotherhood could exploit free elections to establish a 'fanatic, religious, oppressive regime'.
'A change of government is not a guarantee that the poverty will disappear', Peres said emphasising the need to 'change the situation (in Egypt) not the government'.
He stressed the 'unprecedented' events in the Middle East, saying the new generation is surprising the world with a revolt against poverty and oppression. He called the international community to help the region to fight against poverty with the creation of an economic quartet representing the non-governmental sector.
'The economy of the land is crucial in the Middle East, I suggest to the international community: let's save water, save land, boost technology, and to overcome poverty by modernity. I don't see any other way,' he said.
Regarding peace negotiations with the Palestinians, frozen since the end of September when Israel restarted the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Peres said 'Israel is serious in finding a compromise' and supported a solution based in 'two democratic scientific states' living side by side
'We are very worried about having any change in a government, or in the system of elections,' Peres said.
'If the Muslim Brotherhood are elected (in Egypt), they will not bring peace,' he added.
Peres made the remarks in a speech to 430 parliamentarians from 32 European countries in Jerusalem.
Since the beginning of the protests in Egypt 12 days ago, Israel has expressed its support to the government of President Hosni Mubarak and has warned that the banned Muslim Brotherhood could exploit free elections to establish a 'fanatic, religious, oppressive regime'.
'A change of government is not a guarantee that the poverty will disappear', Peres said emphasising the need to 'change the situation (in Egypt) not the government'.
He stressed the 'unprecedented' events in the Middle East, saying the new generation is surprising the world with a revolt against poverty and oppression. He called the international community to help the region to fight against poverty with the creation of an economic quartet representing the non-governmental sector.
'The economy of the land is crucial in the Middle East, I suggest to the international community: let's save water, save land, boost technology, and to overcome poverty by modernity. I don't see any other way,' he said.
Regarding peace negotiations with the Palestinians, frozen since the end of September when Israel restarted the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Peres said 'Israel is serious in finding a compromise' and supported a solution based in 'two democratic scientific states' living side by side
Great Global Debt Prision
Giordano Bruno - Tense and terrible times inevitably summon an odd coupling of two very different and difficult human conditions; honesty, and brutality. Certain painful truths are revealed, and often, a palpable fury erupts. Being that times today are particularly tense, and on the verge of being spectacularly terrible, perhaps we should embrace both conditions in a constructive manner, and become brutally honest with ourselves. This begins by admitting to that which most ails us. It begins by admitting how far we have fallen…
Our economy, our culture, our entire world, is built upon debt. No one ever asked us if that’s how we wanted it, it is simply how the system was designed when we came into it. Many of us have lived our entire lives under the assumption that debt is a necessary function of daily commerce and a valuable driver of successful society. Most households in America operate at a steep loss, trapped in constantly building cycles of liability and interest. There are even widely held schools of economic thought that are centered completely on the production and utilization of nothing but debt. Only recently have many people begun to ask themselves what the tangible benefits are (if any) in being dependent on debt based finance.
After careful examination, it becomes evident that debt does not fuel economy, it suffocates it. It does not nurture growth, it stunts and poisons it. Extreme debt is not a fundamental organ in a body of commerce; it is an aberration, a spreading cancer which disrupts the circulation of healthy trade. Debt is, in large part, unnecessary.
Of course, debt can be very useful if you are the controller or determining overseer of a system, especially if you wish to centralize and maintain power over that system. The tactical wielding of debt has been used by elites for centuries as a means to imprison the masses, or to create an atmosphere of endless dependency. Let’s take a look at what debt really is, and how it is being used against the average American today…
Understanding Debt
The Charles Dickens classic ‘Little Dorrit’ is commonly misinterpreted as a “love story”, however, the primary character in the book is not Little Dorrit, or the kindly Arthur Clennam, but the debt system of Britain itself, and its effects on every social class from the street beggar to the elitist socialite. Dickens despised the idea of debt and debtors prisons, being that his father was thrown into one for a good portion of his life, forcing young Charles to work just to support his parents. Dickens understood well the evil intent behind the debt system, and railed against it often in his writings.
One figure in ‘Little Dorrit’ which fascinated me was the character of Mr. Merdle, a national banking superstar who dominates the investment world with the help of British treasury officials and various political deviants. Merdle is referred to by merchant circles as “the man of the age”, a financial marvel who seems to make fortunes in every endeavor he touches. Little does anyone realize that Merdle is a fraud, a Ponzi scheme artist who takes money from unwary speculators and sinks it into increasingly more tenuous investments. In order to continue hiding the fact that all his financial ventures are ending in ruin, he lures more and more depositors to pay off previous debts. The problem is that Merdle is creating debt to chase debt. Eventually, his insolvency, and that of all those who trusted him, will catch up and overtake the lie he has carefully projected. All economic instability is invariably revealed, no matter how expertly it is hidden.
Mr. Merdle, in my mind, is an almost perfect literary representation of today’s private Federal Reserve and the global banking syndicates of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, etc. The Federal Reserve, with the help of politicians on both sides of the aisle, created a series of illusory incentives (through interest rate cuts) which allowed banks to begin lending almost unlimited fiat at rock bottom prices. America was awash in credit, to the point that it was nearly impossible for the average person to avoid the temptation of borrowing. What we didn’t understand then, but are beginning to grasp now, is that credit derived from fiat is not “capital”, it is NOT wealth. Credit is the creation of an obligation, to be paid at a later date, if it is paid at all, and because there are no rules to tie the debt to any legitimate collateral (at least for banks), there is nothing to back the obligation if it falters. Therefore, fiat induced credit is not the creation of wealth (as Keynesians seem to believe), but the destruction of wealth!
Because of its lack of tangibility, debt can be packaged and repackaged into whatever form banks like. Derivatives are a perfect example of the phantom nature of debt; securities which have no real value whatsoever yet are rated and traded as if they are a solid commodity. This brand of commerce is, at its very root, a kind of fiscal time bomb. Just as in the literary world of ‘Little Dorrit’, the Ponzi scheme in our very literal world had to reach a tipping point, and in 2008, it did.
One glaring difference between our troubles and those of Dickens’ fiction is that Merdle actually feels guilt over what he has done (or he at least fears the justice that will be dealt him), causing him to commit suicide towards the end of the novel. In the real world, the Merdles of our era appear fully content to watch this country crumble due to their intrigues, and rarely suffer any consequences for what they pursue. In fact, the modern banking elite are more liable to revel in the searing shockwave of a credit detonation, rather than feel any “remorse”. The point is, Dickens saw clearly over 150 years ago what many Americans today still do not; debt is an abstract idea, an absurd game which confuses and ensnares innocent people. Debt based systems con the citizenry into trading away their tangible wealth and labor for the promise of future settlements that will never come. Debt serves only to weaken the masses, and empower creditors.
The Consequences Of Debt
How has debt based economics served us so far?
The credit card debt of the average American household ranges from $8000 to $15,000. Total household debt including mortgage and home equity loans has hit an average of 136% of annual household income:
Approximately 80% of mortgage loans issued to subprime borrowers over the past decade were Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM), meaning 80% of mortgages in the U.S. have reset or are ready to reset at much higher interest rates. There were approximately 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in 2009, and 1.5 million in 2010. One in every 45 homes in America received a foreclosure filing in 2010:
Keep in mind that in 2005, new government regulations were implemented making filing for bankruptcy much more difficult. In 2006, filings collapsed. Now, despite stringent obstacles, filings are up again over 100%.
The “official” national debt now stands at over $14 trillion, which is around 100% of U.S. GDP (with entitlement programs like social security included, this number is probably closer to 400% of GDP) . The 100% mark is often cited as the breaking point for most countries struggling to sustain liabilities. Greece’s national debt stood at 108% – 113% of GDP when it collapsed into austerity. From 2004, to 2010 (a span of only six years) our national debt has doubled. To put this in perspective, it took the U.S. over 200 years to reach its first trillion dollars of debt. Now, we are looking at the accumulation of at least a trillion every year. This is unsustainable.
The much talked about debt ceiling has been raised six times in the past three years. This frequency is unprecedented. International ratings agencies are now openly suggesting an end to America’s AAA credit rating:
A credit rating downgrade would be devastating to what little foreign interest is left in the U.S. Treasury bond investment.
On the local front, cities and states are on the verge of folding due to the evaporation of municipal bond markets. Cities depend greatly on two sources of revenue in order to continue operations; property taxes, and municipal investment. Property taxes, obviously, are disappearing as property values continue to spiral downwards. This leaves only municipals, which have also unfortunately fallen off the map:
Wall Street analyst, Meredith Witney, recently stated in an interview with 60 Minutes that she believed 50 to 100 American cities would default in the midst of a municipal crisis in 2011. She was promptly lambasted by the rest of the MSM for her prediction. In my opinion, she was rather minimalist in her estimates, especially if the Federal Reserve does not commit to another round of quantitative easing (QE3) for the states (Bernanke denies this policy would be enacted by the Fed, though, which means there is a good chance it will be).
To summarize, the U.S. is swimming in debt. Absolutely nothing has been changed for the better in terms of wealth destruction and liabilities since the credit crisis began, and the situation only looks more precarious with each passing quarter.
Where Is The Debt Roller Coaster Taking Us?
What is the most likely outcome of the conditions described above? The vital factor will be the continued Federal Reserve policy of fiat bailouts as a “counterbalance” to the evolving debt crisis.
As is clearly explored in the Dickens novel we discussed earlier, staving off the effects of debt by creating more debt is a temporary solution that only leads to greater calamity down the road. Anyone who believes that fiat inflation actually “cancels out” debt instability is going to find themselves sorely disappointed. At bottom, government created stimulus is not a solution to corporate engineered debt burdens, but a reallocation of debt away from banks and into the laps of the American taxpayer. The Federal Reserve and our own Treasury have not paid off anything. They merely shifted the responsibility of payment away from the banks that created the problem, and handed that responsibility to us. On top of this, they have also set the dollar up for a crushing blow of devaluation. Here is where the prison bars enclose…
If our historic debt is not being diminished, but only moved around while it expands, then this means that eventually our credit worthiness will come into question. In fact, it already has. Foreign investment in long term Treasuries has dwindled. Our own central bank is now the largest holder of U.S. debt, surpassing even China (Note: this news has so far been ignored by almost all mainstream outlets):
So, the question of debt default turns from theoretical to quite imperative. If the Federal Reserve continues buying our debt with fiat, it means that the effects of the debt will only be delayed, the dollar will be dropped as the world reserve currency, and hyperinflation is a certainty. If they do not continue buying, then our government defaults, the country’s financial infrastructure ceases to exist, the dollar loses its world reserve status, and hyperinflation is a certainty. The banking elites haven’t just erected a prison, they’ve tossed us in Alcatraz!
The battle over yet another increase of the debt ceiling has obscured the fact that the debt has already done all the damage it needs to do. Freezing the ceiling in place becomes a battle of principle, and an important one, but it would in no way stop the dysfunction and chaos to come. At best, it might shorten the duration of the disaster by a few years. The important thing to remember is that government intervention will only incur greater loss. There is no easy way out, no magic shortcut, no last minute brilliant idea that will wrap up this mess. Years of hard work, determination, honesty, and sacrifice are ahead of us.
Inflation will be the buzzword of 2011. Endless debt facilitates endless Keynesian liquidity. Expect to see commodities double once again this year.
Household debt will probably level off through 2011, as more Americans abandon their credit habits and make more concerted efforts to save. In 2009, Visa lost 11% of its credit use, while MasterCard lost 22%. Over 8 million consumers have stopped using credit cards altogether since the end of 2009:
Will credit use and debt based consumption ever return to levels similar to 2006? Not a chance. One might predict then that savings will rise dramatically as credit use falls, but this too is unlikely. Why? Because over the next year Americans will be spending far more on essential goods due to inflation than they ever have before. Whatever savings they would have accrued will be eaten up by the relentless spike in commodity prices. The term used for the combination of chronic debt, low job growth, and burgeoning inflation, is “stagflation”. I honestly can’t think of a worse situation than being subject to exploding costs in light of a dilapidated standard of living. As Dickens points out plainly in ‘Little Dorrit’, how can a man be expected to settle his obligations when he is imprisoned for them?
Breaking The Cycle In The Midst Of Global Strife
Why after thirty years under the despotic rule of the Hosni Mubarak regime did the Egyptian people suddenly decide to revolt? Why now? The MSM will field a number of political tales, but the key to most popular uprisings, especially in the Middle East, has been the lack of necessities. The last time Egypt saw an uprising of this magnitude was during the Bread Riots of 1977, when the IMF terminated state subsidies of basic foodstuffs. Is it any wonder that turmoil has developed so quickly in the region as grain prices double? This is the devastating power of debt, and the so called “solutions” which merely perpetuate debt.
Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, are only the beginning. The sting of inflation will be unbearable as austerity measures take hold in Europe, and the potential for riots in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy looms large. The most volatile environment on the planet to date, however, is the United States, which, as we have shown in previous articles, is being dismantled deliberately and viciously in preparation for IMF regulation and centralization. Today, the IMF is stalking Egypt, ready to pounce as the nation goes mad. Tomorrow, it will be us. I will be very surprised if we are not hearing about IMF intervention in the U.S. economy and the dollar by the end of this year, offering more debt, and more unaccountable governance.
The secret to breaking the circle of debt is to adopt a policy of decentralization, and self sufficiency. To take back control of our local commerce and to establish micro-economies with self contained methods of trade. Debt must be removed from the equation altogether, and systems protected by flexibility and redundancy must be applied. Savings and meaningful production would have to take the place of endless spending and outsourcing. The claustrophobic nurse-maid philosophies of globalism would have to be cast aside and replaced with goals of independence and self reliance. By cutting our dependency on the corrupt establishment, we sever its ability to feed off of us. By building a better system, we make the faulty one obsolete. Whether or not we throw off the trappings of the debt machine is entirely up to us.
Two very important steps are required; the realization that debt is not the only way, and, the realization that debt is the worst way. Prosperity is not achieved at the expense of the future. The society that finally takes this fact to heart will accomplish incredible things indeed…
Our economy, our culture, our entire world, is built upon debt. No one ever asked us if that’s how we wanted it, it is simply how the system was designed when we came into it. Many of us have lived our entire lives under the assumption that debt is a necessary function of daily commerce and a valuable driver of successful society. Most households in America operate at a steep loss, trapped in constantly building cycles of liability and interest. There are even widely held schools of economic thought that are centered completely on the production and utilization of nothing but debt. Only recently have many people begun to ask themselves what the tangible benefits are (if any) in being dependent on debt based finance.
After careful examination, it becomes evident that debt does not fuel economy, it suffocates it. It does not nurture growth, it stunts and poisons it. Extreme debt is not a fundamental organ in a body of commerce; it is an aberration, a spreading cancer which disrupts the circulation of healthy trade. Debt is, in large part, unnecessary.
Of course, debt can be very useful if you are the controller or determining overseer of a system, especially if you wish to centralize and maintain power over that system. The tactical wielding of debt has been used by elites for centuries as a means to imprison the masses, or to create an atmosphere of endless dependency. Let’s take a look at what debt really is, and how it is being used against the average American today…
Understanding Debt
The Charles Dickens classic ‘Little Dorrit’ is commonly misinterpreted as a “love story”, however, the primary character in the book is not Little Dorrit, or the kindly Arthur Clennam, but the debt system of Britain itself, and its effects on every social class from the street beggar to the elitist socialite. Dickens despised the idea of debt and debtors prisons, being that his father was thrown into one for a good portion of his life, forcing young Charles to work just to support his parents. Dickens understood well the evil intent behind the debt system, and railed against it often in his writings.
One figure in ‘Little Dorrit’ which fascinated me was the character of Mr. Merdle, a national banking superstar who dominates the investment world with the help of British treasury officials and various political deviants. Merdle is referred to by merchant circles as “the man of the age”, a financial marvel who seems to make fortunes in every endeavor he touches. Little does anyone realize that Merdle is a fraud, a Ponzi scheme artist who takes money from unwary speculators and sinks it into increasingly more tenuous investments. In order to continue hiding the fact that all his financial ventures are ending in ruin, he lures more and more depositors to pay off previous debts. The problem is that Merdle is creating debt to chase debt. Eventually, his insolvency, and that of all those who trusted him, will catch up and overtake the lie he has carefully projected. All economic instability is invariably revealed, no matter how expertly it is hidden.
Mr. Merdle, in my mind, is an almost perfect literary representation of today’s private Federal Reserve and the global banking syndicates of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, etc. The Federal Reserve, with the help of politicians on both sides of the aisle, created a series of illusory incentives (through interest rate cuts) which allowed banks to begin lending almost unlimited fiat at rock bottom prices. America was awash in credit, to the point that it was nearly impossible for the average person to avoid the temptation of borrowing. What we didn’t understand then, but are beginning to grasp now, is that credit derived from fiat is not “capital”, it is NOT wealth. Credit is the creation of an obligation, to be paid at a later date, if it is paid at all, and because there are no rules to tie the debt to any legitimate collateral (at least for banks), there is nothing to back the obligation if it falters. Therefore, fiat induced credit is not the creation of wealth (as Keynesians seem to believe), but the destruction of wealth!
Because of its lack of tangibility, debt can be packaged and repackaged into whatever form banks like. Derivatives are a perfect example of the phantom nature of debt; securities which have no real value whatsoever yet are rated and traded as if they are a solid commodity. This brand of commerce is, at its very root, a kind of fiscal time bomb. Just as in the literary world of ‘Little Dorrit’, the Ponzi scheme in our very literal world had to reach a tipping point, and in 2008, it did.
One glaring difference between our troubles and those of Dickens’ fiction is that Merdle actually feels guilt over what he has done (or he at least fears the justice that will be dealt him), causing him to commit suicide towards the end of the novel. In the real world, the Merdles of our era appear fully content to watch this country crumble due to their intrigues, and rarely suffer any consequences for what they pursue. In fact, the modern banking elite are more liable to revel in the searing shockwave of a credit detonation, rather than feel any “remorse”. The point is, Dickens saw clearly over 150 years ago what many Americans today still do not; debt is an abstract idea, an absurd game which confuses and ensnares innocent people. Debt based systems con the citizenry into trading away their tangible wealth and labor for the promise of future settlements that will never come. Debt serves only to weaken the masses, and empower creditors.
The Consequences Of Debt
How has debt based economics served us so far?
The credit card debt of the average American household ranges from $8000 to $15,000. Total household debt including mortgage and home equity loans has hit an average of 136% of annual household income:
Approximately 80% of mortgage loans issued to subprime borrowers over the past decade were Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM), meaning 80% of mortgages in the U.S. have reset or are ready to reset at much higher interest rates. There were approximately 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in 2009, and 1.5 million in 2010. One in every 45 homes in America received a foreclosure filing in 2010:
Keep in mind that in 2005, new government regulations were implemented making filing for bankruptcy much more difficult. In 2006, filings collapsed. Now, despite stringent obstacles, filings are up again over 100%.
The “official” national debt now stands at over $14 trillion, which is around 100% of U.S. GDP (with entitlement programs like social security included, this number is probably closer to 400% of GDP) . The 100% mark is often cited as the breaking point for most countries struggling to sustain liabilities. Greece’s national debt stood at 108% – 113% of GDP when it collapsed into austerity. From 2004, to 2010 (a span of only six years) our national debt has doubled. To put this in perspective, it took the U.S. over 200 years to reach its first trillion dollars of debt. Now, we are looking at the accumulation of at least a trillion every year. This is unsustainable.
The much talked about debt ceiling has been raised six times in the past three years. This frequency is unprecedented. International ratings agencies are now openly suggesting an end to America’s AAA credit rating:
A credit rating downgrade would be devastating to what little foreign interest is left in the U.S. Treasury bond investment.
On the local front, cities and states are on the verge of folding due to the evaporation of municipal bond markets. Cities depend greatly on two sources of revenue in order to continue operations; property taxes, and municipal investment. Property taxes, obviously, are disappearing as property values continue to spiral downwards. This leaves only municipals, which have also unfortunately fallen off the map:
Wall Street analyst, Meredith Witney, recently stated in an interview with 60 Minutes that she believed 50 to 100 American cities would default in the midst of a municipal crisis in 2011. She was promptly lambasted by the rest of the MSM for her prediction. In my opinion, she was rather minimalist in her estimates, especially if the Federal Reserve does not commit to another round of quantitative easing (QE3) for the states (Bernanke denies this policy would be enacted by the Fed, though, which means there is a good chance it will be).
To summarize, the U.S. is swimming in debt. Absolutely nothing has been changed for the better in terms of wealth destruction and liabilities since the credit crisis began, and the situation only looks more precarious with each passing quarter.
Where Is The Debt Roller Coaster Taking Us?
What is the most likely outcome of the conditions described above? The vital factor will be the continued Federal Reserve policy of fiat bailouts as a “counterbalance” to the evolving debt crisis.
As is clearly explored in the Dickens novel we discussed earlier, staving off the effects of debt by creating more debt is a temporary solution that only leads to greater calamity down the road. Anyone who believes that fiat inflation actually “cancels out” debt instability is going to find themselves sorely disappointed. At bottom, government created stimulus is not a solution to corporate engineered debt burdens, but a reallocation of debt away from banks and into the laps of the American taxpayer. The Federal Reserve and our own Treasury have not paid off anything. They merely shifted the responsibility of payment away from the banks that created the problem, and handed that responsibility to us. On top of this, they have also set the dollar up for a crushing blow of devaluation. Here is where the prison bars enclose…
If our historic debt is not being diminished, but only moved around while it expands, then this means that eventually our credit worthiness will come into question. In fact, it already has. Foreign investment in long term Treasuries has dwindled. Our own central bank is now the largest holder of U.S. debt, surpassing even China (Note: this news has so far been ignored by almost all mainstream outlets):
So, the question of debt default turns from theoretical to quite imperative. If the Federal Reserve continues buying our debt with fiat, it means that the effects of the debt will only be delayed, the dollar will be dropped as the world reserve currency, and hyperinflation is a certainty. If they do not continue buying, then our government defaults, the country’s financial infrastructure ceases to exist, the dollar loses its world reserve status, and hyperinflation is a certainty. The banking elites haven’t just erected a prison, they’ve tossed us in Alcatraz!
The battle over yet another increase of the debt ceiling has obscured the fact that the debt has already done all the damage it needs to do. Freezing the ceiling in place becomes a battle of principle, and an important one, but it would in no way stop the dysfunction and chaos to come. At best, it might shorten the duration of the disaster by a few years. The important thing to remember is that government intervention will only incur greater loss. There is no easy way out, no magic shortcut, no last minute brilliant idea that will wrap up this mess. Years of hard work, determination, honesty, and sacrifice are ahead of us.
Inflation will be the buzzword of 2011. Endless debt facilitates endless Keynesian liquidity. Expect to see commodities double once again this year.
Household debt will probably level off through 2011, as more Americans abandon their credit habits and make more concerted efforts to save. In 2009, Visa lost 11% of its credit use, while MasterCard lost 22%. Over 8 million consumers have stopped using credit cards altogether since the end of 2009:
Will credit use and debt based consumption ever return to levels similar to 2006? Not a chance. One might predict then that savings will rise dramatically as credit use falls, but this too is unlikely. Why? Because over the next year Americans will be spending far more on essential goods due to inflation than they ever have before. Whatever savings they would have accrued will be eaten up by the relentless spike in commodity prices. The term used for the combination of chronic debt, low job growth, and burgeoning inflation, is “stagflation”. I honestly can’t think of a worse situation than being subject to exploding costs in light of a dilapidated standard of living. As Dickens points out plainly in ‘Little Dorrit’, how can a man be expected to settle his obligations when he is imprisoned for them?
Breaking The Cycle In The Midst Of Global Strife
Why after thirty years under the despotic rule of the Hosni Mubarak regime did the Egyptian people suddenly decide to revolt? Why now? The MSM will field a number of political tales, but the key to most popular uprisings, especially in the Middle East, has been the lack of necessities. The last time Egypt saw an uprising of this magnitude was during the Bread Riots of 1977, when the IMF terminated state subsidies of basic foodstuffs. Is it any wonder that turmoil has developed so quickly in the region as grain prices double? This is the devastating power of debt, and the so called “solutions” which merely perpetuate debt.
Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, are only the beginning. The sting of inflation will be unbearable as austerity measures take hold in Europe, and the potential for riots in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy looms large. The most volatile environment on the planet to date, however, is the United States, which, as we have shown in previous articles, is being dismantled deliberately and viciously in preparation for IMF regulation and centralization. Today, the IMF is stalking Egypt, ready to pounce as the nation goes mad. Tomorrow, it will be us. I will be very surprised if we are not hearing about IMF intervention in the U.S. economy and the dollar by the end of this year, offering more debt, and more unaccountable governance.
The secret to breaking the circle of debt is to adopt a policy of decentralization, and self sufficiency. To take back control of our local commerce and to establish micro-economies with self contained methods of trade. Debt must be removed from the equation altogether, and systems protected by flexibility and redundancy must be applied. Savings and meaningful production would have to take the place of endless spending and outsourcing. The claustrophobic nurse-maid philosophies of globalism would have to be cast aside and replaced with goals of independence and self reliance. By cutting our dependency on the corrupt establishment, we sever its ability to feed off of us. By building a better system, we make the faulty one obsolete. Whether or not we throw off the trappings of the debt machine is entirely up to us.
Two very important steps are required; the realization that debt is not the only way, and, the realization that debt is the worst way. Prosperity is not achieved at the expense of the future. The society that finally takes this fact to heart will accomplish incredible things indeed…
Sunday, February 6, 2011
President Obama's Egypt Debacle
Larry Johnson - Winston Churchill. Battle of Britain. His finest moment. Barack Obama? Egypt? God save us!! What a debacle. In the last eleven days Obama has succeeded in creating doubts about America’s policy goals in Egypt, fueled uncertainty and fear in Israel, painted his Administration into a no-win policy position and fed the image of America as a paper tiger. Way to go kid!
The latest gaffe in Obama’s feckless policy towards Egypt comes via his new special envoy, Ambassador Frank Wisner. Ambassador Wisner speaking today said:
We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those changes,” he told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
“I believe that President Mubarak’s continued leadership is critical – it’s his chance to write his own legacy.
“He has given 60 years of his life to the service of his country, this is an ideal moment for him to show the way forward.”
Oops. Seems that Ambassador Wisner, one of the most experienced Americans on the subject of Egypt, had strayed off the Obama reservation:
But in Washington, state department spokesman PJ Crowley said: “We have great respect for Frank Wisner and we were deeply appreciative of his willingness to travel to Egypt last week.”
“He has not continued in any official capacity following the trip. The views he expressed today are his own. He did not co-ordinate his comments with the US government.”
This is one of those “YOU GOT TO BE SHITTING ME” moments.
An old hand like Wisner does not just happen to casually say something diametrically opposed to the President’s policy one day after leaving Egypt having just carried water for Obama. Obama and his mouthpiece, Robert Gibbs, have been insisting that Mubarak must leave NOW, NOW, NOW! Wisner delivered that message. And Mubarak? He matter of factly told the U.S. to “fuck off.” He wasn’t going to violate Egyptian law just to make some kid from Hawaii happy.
But Mubarak apparently was not the only one tired of Obama’s weak, silly threats. Ambassador Wisner also signaled unmistakably that he was fed up with the amateur conduct of our boy President. Not-Ready-For Primettime Obama was so inexperienced and so arrogant that rather than keep his mouth shut in public and work quietly behind the scenes to reassure Israel that its border would be secure and persuade Mubarak to leave his office he decided to play it ghetto. IN YO FACE MUTHAFUCKER!!
The comedy continued. While Wisner was saying Mubarak should stay, Biden was now saying, “he should go:”
In a phone call with Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, Vice President Biden called for President Hosni Mubarak to spell out when he intends to leave office.
In the strongest words to date, the White House said that during the phone call to Suleiman, Biden “stressed the need for a concrete reform agenda, a clear timeline, and immediate steps that demonstrate to the public and the opposition that the Egyptian government is committed to reform.”
Is this Husni Mubarak’s secret song?
Yep, Barack Obama got out in front of the cameras and lectured and hectored Mubarak, telling him he must go. Only problem is that no President of the United States should be standing in front of a camera saying shit unless he has the ability to deliver on what he’s saying. The rest of the world understands this point very clearly. If Barack Obama says “NOW” then it is expected (and was expected) that Mubarak would be gone. But Mubarak is not going anywhere on Barak Obama’s schedule. He will go when he is good and ready and not a moment sooner. And the world is seeing that Obama is an inexperienced goof. He is the anti-Roosevelt–He talks loudly and carries a toothpick.
This is not just a personal disaster for Obama. It is dangerous for America. Just wait till the next crisis looms and lilly lips Obama stands before a camera and solemnly intones his line in the sand. Rest of the world will just laugh quietly and know that this man has no deep seated principles. He’ll do anything to win popular support but is too inexperienced and shallow to realize when he is getting into deep water.
How should Barack have managed the Egypt crisis? Very simple. You ensure that everyone in your Adminstration is saying the same thing. And what is that message? In public the Administration should have reaffirmed its support for Egypt as a valuable ally in fighting Islamic extremism and keeping the peace with Israel. Privately the United States should have sent very strong messages early on via trusted envoys like Wisner that Mubarak’s days were over and that an exit plan must be charted. These details should have been worked out behind the scenes with no public lecturing from Obama.
But that’s not what happened. Once Obama shook his metaphorical finger at Mubarak the old man dug in his heels and decided he would go on his own terms. Hillary Clinton warned America that Barack was not ready to answer a crisis at an inopportune moment. The last two weeks have proved Hillary’s warnings about Obama to be all too true.
The latest gaffe in Obama’s feckless policy towards Egypt comes via his new special envoy, Ambassador Frank Wisner. Ambassador Wisner speaking today said:
We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those changes,” he told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
“I believe that President Mubarak’s continued leadership is critical – it’s his chance to write his own legacy.
“He has given 60 years of his life to the service of his country, this is an ideal moment for him to show the way forward.”
Oops. Seems that Ambassador Wisner, one of the most experienced Americans on the subject of Egypt, had strayed off the Obama reservation:
But in Washington, state department spokesman PJ Crowley said: “We have great respect for Frank Wisner and we were deeply appreciative of his willingness to travel to Egypt last week.”
“He has not continued in any official capacity following the trip. The views he expressed today are his own. He did not co-ordinate his comments with the US government.”
This is one of those “YOU GOT TO BE SHITTING ME” moments.
An old hand like Wisner does not just happen to casually say something diametrically opposed to the President’s policy one day after leaving Egypt having just carried water for Obama. Obama and his mouthpiece, Robert Gibbs, have been insisting that Mubarak must leave NOW, NOW, NOW! Wisner delivered that message. And Mubarak? He matter of factly told the U.S. to “fuck off.” He wasn’t going to violate Egyptian law just to make some kid from Hawaii happy.
But Mubarak apparently was not the only one tired of Obama’s weak, silly threats. Ambassador Wisner also signaled unmistakably that he was fed up with the amateur conduct of our boy President. Not-Ready-For Primettime Obama was so inexperienced and so arrogant that rather than keep his mouth shut in public and work quietly behind the scenes to reassure Israel that its border would be secure and persuade Mubarak to leave his office he decided to play it ghetto. IN YO FACE MUTHAFUCKER!!
The comedy continued. While Wisner was saying Mubarak should stay, Biden was now saying, “he should go:”
In a phone call with Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, Vice President Biden called for President Hosni Mubarak to spell out when he intends to leave office.
In the strongest words to date, the White House said that during the phone call to Suleiman, Biden “stressed the need for a concrete reform agenda, a clear timeline, and immediate steps that demonstrate to the public and the opposition that the Egyptian government is committed to reform.”
Is this Husni Mubarak’s secret song?
Yep, Barack Obama got out in front of the cameras and lectured and hectored Mubarak, telling him he must go. Only problem is that no President of the United States should be standing in front of a camera saying shit unless he has the ability to deliver on what he’s saying. The rest of the world understands this point very clearly. If Barack Obama says “NOW” then it is expected (and was expected) that Mubarak would be gone. But Mubarak is not going anywhere on Barak Obama’s schedule. He will go when he is good and ready and not a moment sooner. And the world is seeing that Obama is an inexperienced goof. He is the anti-Roosevelt–He talks loudly and carries a toothpick.
This is not just a personal disaster for Obama. It is dangerous for America. Just wait till the next crisis looms and lilly lips Obama stands before a camera and solemnly intones his line in the sand. Rest of the world will just laugh quietly and know that this man has no deep seated principles. He’ll do anything to win popular support but is too inexperienced and shallow to realize when he is getting into deep water.
How should Barack have managed the Egypt crisis? Very simple. You ensure that everyone in your Adminstration is saying the same thing. And what is that message? In public the Administration should have reaffirmed its support for Egypt as a valuable ally in fighting Islamic extremism and keeping the peace with Israel. Privately the United States should have sent very strong messages early on via trusted envoys like Wisner that Mubarak’s days were over and that an exit plan must be charted. These details should have been worked out behind the scenes with no public lecturing from Obama.
But that’s not what happened. Once Obama shook his metaphorical finger at Mubarak the old man dug in his heels and decided he would go on his own terms. Hillary Clinton warned America that Barack was not ready to answer a crisis at an inopportune moment. The last two weeks have proved Hillary’s warnings about Obama to be all too true.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
9 States And Counting To Consider Nullification Of Obamacare
Tenth Amendment - While Congress wrangles over repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, lawmakers in nine states have taken steps to bypass Washington D.C. completely and take matters into their own hands.
The latest? North Dakota. Introduced by State Senators Sitte, Berry, and Dever is Senate Bill 2309 (SB2309), the National Health Care Nullification Act. (h/t Chris Stevens)
It states, in part:
The legislative assembly declares that the federal laws known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [Pub . L. 111 - 148] and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 [Pub . L. 111 - 152] are not authorized by the United States Constitution and violate its true meaning and intent as given by the founders and ratifiers and are declared to be invalid in this state, may not be recognized by this state, are specifically rejected by this state, and are considered to be null in this state.
The bill also establishes penalties, including fines and jail time, for any agent seeking to enforce the federal health care bill within the state’s borders:
Any official, agent, or employee of the United States government or any employee of a corporation providing services to the United States government who enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the government of the United States in violation of this Act is guilty of a class C felony.
State legislators in Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming have already introduced similar bills. Another is expected for introduction in Idaho any day now as well.
In 2007, 2 years after the Bush administration and the republican congress gave us the unconstitutional Real ID act, states like Maine and New Hampshire began the process of passing resolutions and laws rejecting the federal law. Now, nearly 25 states have gotten on board with the nullification efforts led by democrats and the ACLU – and the result? The law is virtually null and void in most of the country.
Today, less than a year after the Affordable care act – already 7 states have passed Health Care Freedom Acts, rejecting the mandates in the federal law. Those states are focusing primarily on a strategy of trying to win in federal court to affirm their state laws.
But introduction of the nullification act in nine states already (sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center tell us to expect a number of other states do the same this year) – indicate that there’s a growing segment of the population that is looking to exercise their rights in their states whether Congress or the federal courts want to give them permission to or not.
Will these bills go anywhere? Only time will tell. But, whether they do or not, there is much to be learned from the left-wing nullification efforts of the last few years and beyond. Whether it’s 25 states saying no to Real ID, or 15 states rejecting federal laws on marijuana – there’s a blueprint. When enough people say no to federal laws, and enough states back them up by passing laws to do the same – there’s not much that Washington D.C. can do about it.
The latest? North Dakota. Introduced by State Senators Sitte, Berry, and Dever is Senate Bill 2309 (SB2309), the National Health Care Nullification Act. (h/t Chris Stevens)
It states, in part:
The legislative assembly declares that the federal laws known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [Pub . L. 111 - 148] and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 [Pub . L. 111 - 152] are not authorized by the United States Constitution and violate its true meaning and intent as given by the founders and ratifiers and are declared to be invalid in this state, may not be recognized by this state, are specifically rejected by this state, and are considered to be null in this state.
The bill also establishes penalties, including fines and jail time, for any agent seeking to enforce the federal health care bill within the state’s borders:
Any official, agent, or employee of the United States government or any employee of a corporation providing services to the United States government who enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the government of the United States in violation of this Act is guilty of a class C felony.
State legislators in Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming have already introduced similar bills. Another is expected for introduction in Idaho any day now as well.
In 2007, 2 years after the Bush administration and the republican congress gave us the unconstitutional Real ID act, states like Maine and New Hampshire began the process of passing resolutions and laws rejecting the federal law. Now, nearly 25 states have gotten on board with the nullification efforts led by democrats and the ACLU – and the result? The law is virtually null and void in most of the country.
Today, less than a year after the Affordable care act – already 7 states have passed Health Care Freedom Acts, rejecting the mandates in the federal law. Those states are focusing primarily on a strategy of trying to win in federal court to affirm their state laws.
But introduction of the nullification act in nine states already (sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center tell us to expect a number of other states do the same this year) – indicate that there’s a growing segment of the population that is looking to exercise their rights in their states whether Congress or the federal courts want to give them permission to or not.
Will these bills go anywhere? Only time will tell. But, whether they do or not, there is much to be learned from the left-wing nullification efforts of the last few years and beyond. Whether it’s 25 states saying no to Real ID, or 15 states rejecting federal laws on marijuana – there’s a blueprint. When enough people say no to federal laws, and enough states back them up by passing laws to do the same – there’s not much that Washington D.C. can do about it.
Iran: Riots In Egypt Sign Of Islamic Awakening
Ynet -Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says recent anti-government riots in Tunisia and Egypt are "a sign of the awakening of Islam inspired by the Islamic Revolution's victory in Iran."
In a sermon delivered Friday morning at a Tehran mosque, Khamenei said that "the Americans and Zionists are more concerned than anyone else about the situation in Egypt, but they are helpless and will not succeed in finding a remedy for the situation."
Intelligence minister warns youth against 'falling prey' to promises of cash rewards for information
Full story
He accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of "cooperating with the Zionists" and helping Israel impose its siege on the Gaza Strip.
"Egypt wouldn't let the aid convoy from Iran enter the area," he explained. "The main reason for the uprising is not just the economic situation, but the Egyptian people's feeling of humiliation."
The Iranian supreme leader said the events in Egypt would have far-reaching implication on the entire Middle East. "This is an earthquake, and if the Egyptian people carry on they will defeat the American policy in the region. The Zionist enemies are more concerned than anyone else, as they are aware of what might happen if Egypt cut off the alliance with them."
'Revolution has given hope'
Khamenei interpreted the Egypt uprising as a victory of the Islamic Republic's policy. "After years of struggle, the Iranian people see their voice is being heard loudly in other places in the Islamic world."
"Our revolution has succeeded in giving hope and setting an example, due to the stability and insistence on our principles while facing all the pressure," the Iranian supreme leader said.
He stressed that before the Islamic Revolution Iran was dependent on Western powers, but that after the revolution the country became independent and no power has the ability to affect the Iranian people's desires.
Khamenei added that although the West was trying to boycott the export of fuel to Iran, "I have received reports that in the coming days Iran will become an independent fuel manufacturer and even a fuel exporter."
According to the supreme leader, "Today the entire world knows that despite the pressure they exerted, America, Europe and their allies have been unsuccessful in beating Iran in the nuclear issue."
Brotherhood: No plans for presidential bid
Khamenei's speech was broadcast live on Iranian TV on a split screen, alongside a live broadcast from Cairo's Tahrir Square, where protestors where calling on President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
Iranian officials have claimed that the popular uprising in Egypt is a continuation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 32nd anniversary of which will be marked this month. The Iranian and Egyptian regimes have been in an ongoing state of hostility since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel.
Despite Khamenei's remarks, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohammed al-Beltagi, told Al-Jazeera on Friday that the group had no ambitions to run for the Egyptian presidency after the end of President Hosni Mubarak's term.
The 11th day of the Egyptian uprising has been dubbed "Departure Day", and the protestors believe that at its conclusion they will have managed to bring Mubarak's term to an end.
The Egyptian president, who has been in power since 1981, has declared that he would not run for another term, but the opposition is calling for an immediate transition of power – a demand backed by the United States.
The top American military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the unrest in Egypt and other Middle East countries over the past week took the US and others by surprise. He said he was focusing on insuring that the military is ready to provide any support needed in Egypt.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said governments throughout the Middle East were concerned "about where this goes and how contagious it is."
He told Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central that he had spoken to his military counterparts in Egypt and was reassured they have no intention of firing on their own people
In a sermon delivered Friday morning at a Tehran mosque, Khamenei said that "the Americans and Zionists are more concerned than anyone else about the situation in Egypt, but they are helpless and will not succeed in finding a remedy for the situation."
Intelligence minister warns youth against 'falling prey' to promises of cash rewards for information
Full story
He accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of "cooperating with the Zionists" and helping Israel impose its siege on the Gaza Strip.
"Egypt wouldn't let the aid convoy from Iran enter the area," he explained. "The main reason for the uprising is not just the economic situation, but the Egyptian people's feeling of humiliation."
The Iranian supreme leader said the events in Egypt would have far-reaching implication on the entire Middle East. "This is an earthquake, and if the Egyptian people carry on they will defeat the American policy in the region. The Zionist enemies are more concerned than anyone else, as they are aware of what might happen if Egypt cut off the alliance with them."
'Revolution has given hope'
Khamenei interpreted the Egypt uprising as a victory of the Islamic Republic's policy. "After years of struggle, the Iranian people see their voice is being heard loudly in other places in the Islamic world."
"Our revolution has succeeded in giving hope and setting an example, due to the stability and insistence on our principles while facing all the pressure," the Iranian supreme leader said.
He stressed that before the Islamic Revolution Iran was dependent on Western powers, but that after the revolution the country became independent and no power has the ability to affect the Iranian people's desires.
Khamenei added that although the West was trying to boycott the export of fuel to Iran, "I have received reports that in the coming days Iran will become an independent fuel manufacturer and even a fuel exporter."
According to the supreme leader, "Today the entire world knows that despite the pressure they exerted, America, Europe and their allies have been unsuccessful in beating Iran in the nuclear issue."
Brotherhood: No plans for presidential bid
Khamenei's speech was broadcast live on Iranian TV on a split screen, alongside a live broadcast from Cairo's Tahrir Square, where protestors where calling on President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
Iranian officials have claimed that the popular uprising in Egypt is a continuation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 32nd anniversary of which will be marked this month. The Iranian and Egyptian regimes have been in an ongoing state of hostility since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel.
Despite Khamenei's remarks, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohammed al-Beltagi, told Al-Jazeera on Friday that the group had no ambitions to run for the Egyptian presidency after the end of President Hosni Mubarak's term.
The 11th day of the Egyptian uprising has been dubbed "Departure Day", and the protestors believe that at its conclusion they will have managed to bring Mubarak's term to an end.
The Egyptian president, who has been in power since 1981, has declared that he would not run for another term, but the opposition is calling for an immediate transition of power – a demand backed by the United States.
The top American military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the unrest in Egypt and other Middle East countries over the past week took the US and others by surprise. He said he was focusing on insuring that the military is ready to provide any support needed in Egypt.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said governments throughout the Middle East were concerned "about where this goes and how contagious it is."
He told Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central that he had spoken to his military counterparts in Egypt and was reassured they have no intention of firing on their own people
Friday, February 4, 2011
World Food Prices Hit Record High
World food prices reached their highest level ever recorded in January and are set to keep rising for months, the UN food agency said on Thursday, warning that the hardest-hit countries could face turmoil.
Rising food prices have been cited among the driving forces behind recent popular revolts in north Africa, including the uprising in Egypt and the toppling of Tunisia's long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
And in its latest survey, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said its index which monitors monthly price changes for a variety of staples averaged 231 points in January -- the highest level since records began in 1990.
"The new figures clearly show that the upward pressure on world food prices is not abating. These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come," FAO economist and grains expert Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.
The Index rose by 3.4 percent from December -- with big increases in particular for dairy, cereal and oil prices. The rises were most significant in China, India, Indonesia and Russia, data from FAO's monthly report showed.
"There are a lot of factors that could spark turmoil in countries and food is one of them," Abbassian said, pointing out however that several countries have become better at managing prices after a series of riots in 2007 and 2008.
"They have learnt from previous episodes," he said, adding however: "These are obviously not very easy times. There is now no hope that prices will return to anything we can consider normal, at least until the summer."
The data from the Rome-based FAO showed that prices for dairy products rose by 6.2 percent from December, oils and fats gained 5.6 percent, while cereals went up by 3.0 percent because of lower global supply of wheat and maize.
"The increase in prices follows stronger export demand during the last month and concerns about tightening supplies of high quality wheat. The market was also supported by higher oil prices and a weaker US dollar," FAO said.
Meat prices remained broadly stable due to a fall in prices in Europe caused by last month's scare over dioxin poisoning in eggs and pork in Germany, compensated by a slight increase in export prices from Brazil and the US.
"High food prices are of major concern especially for low-income food deficit countries that may face problems in financing food imports and for poor households which spend a large share of their income on food," Abbassian said.
Global aid agency Oxfam said: "Millions of people's lives are at risk."
"Poor people in developing countries spend between 50 and 80 percent of their income on food, making higher prices, as well as unpredictable prices, a serious threat to their ability to eat," Oxfam said in a statement.
Oxfam blamed the price rises on reduced production due to bad weather, increased oil prices making fertilizer and transport more expensive, increased demand for biofuels, export restrictions and financial speculation.
It called on governments to implement social protection programmes for the people hardest hit by the price rises and to help control prices "by increasing support and investments in small scale agriculture."
The FAO data showed the Food Price Index hit 200 points over the whole of 2008 at the height of the 2007/2008 food crisis. It breached that level for the first time in October 2010 with 205 points.
In Africa, Somalia has been particularly hard hit by a rise in prices for red sorghum and maize due to a poor 2010 crop, while Uganda has seen a rise in the price of maize because of strong demand from neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile ongoing unrest in Ivory Coast had helped push up prices in West Africa as a whole because of its status as a key transport hub, it said.
But the most dramatic rises were seen in Asia and in particular in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and China, it added.
Rising food prices have been cited among the driving forces behind recent popular revolts in north Africa, including the uprising in Egypt and the toppling of Tunisia's long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
And in its latest survey, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said its index which monitors monthly price changes for a variety of staples averaged 231 points in January -- the highest level since records began in 1990.
"The new figures clearly show that the upward pressure on world food prices is not abating. These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come," FAO economist and grains expert Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.
The Index rose by 3.4 percent from December -- with big increases in particular for dairy, cereal and oil prices. The rises were most significant in China, India, Indonesia and Russia, data from FAO's monthly report showed.
"There are a lot of factors that could spark turmoil in countries and food is one of them," Abbassian said, pointing out however that several countries have become better at managing prices after a series of riots in 2007 and 2008.
"They have learnt from previous episodes," he said, adding however: "These are obviously not very easy times. There is now no hope that prices will return to anything we can consider normal, at least until the summer."
The data from the Rome-based FAO showed that prices for dairy products rose by 6.2 percent from December, oils and fats gained 5.6 percent, while cereals went up by 3.0 percent because of lower global supply of wheat and maize.
"The increase in prices follows stronger export demand during the last month and concerns about tightening supplies of high quality wheat. The market was also supported by higher oil prices and a weaker US dollar," FAO said.
Meat prices remained broadly stable due to a fall in prices in Europe caused by last month's scare over dioxin poisoning in eggs and pork in Germany, compensated by a slight increase in export prices from Brazil and the US.
"High food prices are of major concern especially for low-income food deficit countries that may face problems in financing food imports and for poor households which spend a large share of their income on food," Abbassian said.
Global aid agency Oxfam said: "Millions of people's lives are at risk."
"Poor people in developing countries spend between 50 and 80 percent of their income on food, making higher prices, as well as unpredictable prices, a serious threat to their ability to eat," Oxfam said in a statement.
Oxfam blamed the price rises on reduced production due to bad weather, increased oil prices making fertilizer and transport more expensive, increased demand for biofuels, export restrictions and financial speculation.
It called on governments to implement social protection programmes for the people hardest hit by the price rises and to help control prices "by increasing support and investments in small scale agriculture."
The FAO data showed the Food Price Index hit 200 points over the whole of 2008 at the height of the 2007/2008 food crisis. It breached that level for the first time in October 2010 with 205 points.
In Africa, Somalia has been particularly hard hit by a rise in prices for red sorghum and maize due to a poor 2010 crop, while Uganda has seen a rise in the price of maize because of strong demand from neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile ongoing unrest in Ivory Coast had helped push up prices in West Africa as a whole because of its status as a key transport hub, it said.
But the most dramatic rises were seen in Asia and in particular in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and China, it added.
Voodoo Economics: Unemployment Rate Drops To 9% But Almost No New Jobs Created
Legal Insurrection - Good political news for the Obama administration. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a report for January 2011 showing that the unemployment rate dropped to 9%, with over 500,000 people finding jobs.
But only 36,000 new jobs were created in the economy, which essentially is none given the magnitude of the labor force:
"The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 9.0 percent in January, while nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+36,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in manufacturing and in retail trade but was down in construction and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in most other major industries changed little over the month."
I've linked the report, which itself has various underlying statistical tables linked.
I never could figure out how Houdini got out of the chains. So how did the unemployment rate drop sharply without the creation of new jobs?
Update: I'm not sure if this is the key, so correct me if you think I am wrong, but it looks like BLS started using new labor force numbers starting January 2011, based on the most recent census data:
"Effective with data for January 2011, updated population estimates have been used in the household survey. Population estimates for the household survey are developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each year, the Census Bureau updates the estimates to reflect new information and assumptions about the growth of the population during the decade. The change in population reflected in the new estimates results from adjustments for net international migration, updated vital statistics and other information, and some methodological changes in the estimation process."
In Table B just below this disclosure, BLS describes the effect of the data change on the December 2010 numbers, and low and behold, it decreases the "civilian labor force" by 504,000 people. Would this downward adjustment explain why over 500,000 appeared to find jobs even though almost no new jobs were created? If this is correct, then BLS simply took 504,000 people out of the labor force which would have the effect of dropping the unemployment rate (which is based on people in the labor force). Tell me why I am wrong, because I must be wrong, it cannot be so simple, or I must be misreading something.
But only 36,000 new jobs were created in the economy, which essentially is none given the magnitude of the labor force:
"The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 9.0 percent in January, while nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+36,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in manufacturing and in retail trade but was down in construction and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in most other major industries changed little over the month."
I've linked the report, which itself has various underlying statistical tables linked.
I never could figure out how Houdini got out of the chains. So how did the unemployment rate drop sharply without the creation of new jobs?
Update: I'm not sure if this is the key, so correct me if you think I am wrong, but it looks like BLS started using new labor force numbers starting January 2011, based on the most recent census data:
"Effective with data for January 2011, updated population estimates have been used in the household survey. Population estimates for the household survey are developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each year, the Census Bureau updates the estimates to reflect new information and assumptions about the growth of the population during the decade. The change in population reflected in the new estimates results from adjustments for net international migration, updated vital statistics and other information, and some methodological changes in the estimation process."
In Table B just below this disclosure, BLS describes the effect of the data change on the December 2010 numbers, and low and behold, it decreases the "civilian labor force" by 504,000 people. Would this downward adjustment explain why over 500,000 appeared to find jobs even though almost no new jobs were created? If this is correct, then BLS simply took 504,000 people out of the labor force which would have the effect of dropping the unemployment rate (which is based on people in the labor force). Tell me why I am wrong, because I must be wrong, it cannot be so simple, or I must be misreading something.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Donald Trump Is Warning That an Economic Collapse Is Coming
Economic Collapse - In a shocking new interview, Donald Trump has gone farther than he ever has before in discussing a potential economic collapse in America. Using phrases such as “you’re going to pay $25 for a loaf of bread pretty soon” and “we could end up being another Egypt”, Trump explained to Newsmax that he is incredibly concerned about the direction our economy is headed. Whatever you may think of Donald Trump on a personal level, it is undeniable that he has been extremely successful in business. As one of the most prominent businessmen in America, he is absolutely horrified about what is happening to this nation. In fact, he is so disturbed about the direction that this country is heading that he is seriously considering running for president in 2012. But whether he decides to run in 2012 or not, what Trump is now saying about the U.S. economy should be a huge wake up call for all of us.
Trump says that the U.S. government is broke, that all of our jobs are being shipped overseas, that other nations are heavily taking advantage of us and that the value of the U.S. dollar is being destroyed. The following interview with Trump was originally posted on Newsmax and it is really worth watching….
Now, you may or may not think much of Donald Trump as a politician, but when a businessman of his caliber starts using apocalyptic language to describe where the U.S. economy is headed perhaps we should all pay attention.
The following are 12 key quotes that were pulled out of Trump’s new interview along with some facts and statistics that show that what Trump is saying is really happening.
#1 “If oil prices are allowed to inflate and keep inflating, if the dollar keeps going down in value, I think there’s a very distinct possibility that things could get worse.”
Donald Trump is exactly right – we are headed for big trouble if we continue to allow the Federal Reserve to pump hundreds of billions of new dollars into the system. As I have written about previously, all of this new money will give us the illusion of short-term economic growth and it will pump up the stock market, but in the end all of the inflation the new money is gong to cause is going to be very painful. Just look at how rapidly M1 has been skyrocketing over the last couple of years. Is there any way that we are going to be able to avoid paying a very serious price for all of this reckless money printing?….
Even Donald Trump Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming Money Supply
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Even Donald Trump Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming 260310banner2
Already all of this money printing has had a very serious affect on world financial markets. The price of agricultural commodities is skyrocketing and the price of oil has almost reached $100 a barrel once again. The last time that the price of oil soared above $100 a barrel was in the early part of 2008, and we all remember the horrific financial collapse that followed in the fall of 2008.
#2 “….you’re going to pay $25 for a loaf of bread pretty soon. Look at what’s happening with our food prices. They’re going through the roof. We could end up being another Egypt. You could have riots in our streets also.”
The price of corn has risen 88 percent over the past year and the price of wheat has soared a whopping 114 percent over the past year. Let’s hope that we don’t have to pay $25 for a loaf of bread in the United States any time soon, but in some areas of the world that is what it now feels like.
Approximately 3 billion people in the world today live on the equivalent of $2 a day or less, and most of that money ends up getting spent on food. When food prices go up 10 or 20 percent in deeply impoverished areas of the globe, suddenly the lives of millions are threatened. The riots that we have seen in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and other nations recently were not entirely caused by rising food prices, but they were certainly a big factor.
#3 “I think gold will go up as long as people don’t have confidence in our president and our country. And they don’t have confidence in our president.”
Investors run to gold and other precious metals when they don’t feel secure. We saw that happen a lot in 2010. As confidence in the paper currencies and the financial systems of the world has rapidly diminished, precious metals have become increasingly attractive.
In fact, the price of gold has doubled since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2007. As the global financial situation continues to become more unstable, the demand for precious metals is likely only going to become more intense.
#4 “The banks have really let us down. Number one, they did some bad things and caused some bad problems. Number two, if you have something that you want to buy, like a house, they’re generally not there for you.”
Banks were given massive bailouts with the understanding that they would open up the vaults and start lending money to average Americans again.
Well, that has not happened.
In particular, it has become much, much harder to get a mortgage in the United States today. Not that the big banks didn’t need to make changes to their lending practices, but things have gotten so tight now that it is choking the real estate market to death.
#5 “I see $3.50 for a gallon of gas for cars, and cars are lined up trying to get it and it’s $3.50. It’s a shame, a ridiculous shame.”
Our lack of a cohesive energy policy is a national disgrace. There is no way in the world that a gallon of gas should be $3.50 a gallon.
The U.S. has massive reserves of oil and natural gas that it should be using. In addition, the lack of progress on developing alternative energy sources in light of our sickening dependence on foreign oil is very puzzling. We should be very far along towards solving our energy problems by this point.
Meanwhile, we keep pouring billions into the pockets of foreign oil barons every single month. Unfortunately, Trump was exactly correct in the interview – if something is not done the price of gas is going to keep going higher.
#6 “I think the biggest threat is that our jobs are being stolen by other countries. We’re not going to have any jobs here pretty soon.”
Donal Trump is one of the few prominent leaders that is openly speaking the truth about the predatory economic practices of some of our “trading partners”. Most of our politicians have just kept endlessly promising us that free trade is “good for us” even as tens of thousands of factories and millions upon millions of jobs have been shipped overseas.
Back in 1970, 25 percent of all jobs in the United States were manufacturing jobs. Today, only 9 percent of the jobs in the United States are manufacturing jobs.
Yes, computers and robots have replaced a lot of manual labor today, but technology does not account for most of the decline we have seen in manufacturing.
* A d v e r t i s e m e n t
*
In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent. Meanwhile, manufacturing in the “developing world” has absolutely exploded.
#7 “We’re like a whipping post for other countries. We are standing there and just being beaten by South Korea, by Mexico, by China, by India.”
Most Americans have absolutely no idea how lopsided many of our “trade agreements” actually are. Other nations openly manipulate their currencies in order to keep their exports dirt cheap and we allow it. Other nations openly subsidize their domestic industries that are directly competing with businesses in the United States and we don’t complain. Other nations make it incredibly difficult for American companies to do business in their countries while we allow foreign corporations to come on in and do pretty much whatever they want here.
Then there are certain nations (such as China) that brazenly rip off trade secrets from foreign corporations time after time after time and never get penalized for it.
Meanwhile, our economy continues to bleed jobs at a staggering pace. The number of net jobs gained by the U.S. economy during this past decade was smaller than during any other decade since World War 2.
Fortunately, more Americans than ever seem to be waking up and are realizing that globalism is causing many of these problems. A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted last year discovered that 69 percent of Americans now believe that free trade agreements have cost America jobs.
#8 “All of our jobs are going to China. We’re rebuilding China and other places.”
China is doing great. China is now the number one producer in the world of wind and solar power. They now possess the fastest supercomputeron the entire globe. China also now has the world’s fastest train and the world’s biggest high-speed rail network.
Most Americans don’t realize that China is literally kicking the crap out of us.
Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world’s high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Ten years later, the United States had less than 15 percent and China’s share had soared to 20 percent.
Every single month we buy about 4 times as much stuff from them as they buy from us. Our trade deficit with China has ballooned to enormous proportions. In fact, the U.S. trade deficit with China during this past August was more than 4,600 times larger than the U.S. trade deficit with China was for the entire year of 1985.
So when Donald Trump says that we are rebuilding China he is not joking around.
Nobel economist Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040 if current trends continue.
Yes, that is how serious things have become.
#9 “We are a laughingstock throughout the world.”
Donald Trump has said on several occasions that his friends and business partners in China just laugh and laugh at us. They can’t even believe what they are getting away with.
We have become an incompetent giant that is the butt of all the jokes.
According to Stanford University economics professor Ed Lazear, if the U.S. economy and the Chinese economy continue to grow at current rates, the average Chinese citizen will be wealthier than the average American citizen in just 30 years.
Our formerly great industrial cities are slowly becoming ghost towns. The number of long-term unemployed Americans is at an all-time high. Tens of millions of Americans can’t even survive without government assistance anymore. The number of Americans on food stamps set a new all-time record every single month during 2010, and now well over 43 million Americans are enrolled in the program.
We really have become a joke.
#10 “The federal government has no money.”
Unfortunately, our federal government has continued to borrow and spend like there is no tomorrow.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. government will have the biggest budget deficit ever recorded (approximately 1.5 trillion dollars) this year.
So much for fiscal discipline, eh?
It is being projected that the U.S. national debt will increase by $150,000 per U.S. household between 2009 and 2021.
Do you have an extra $150,000 to contribute for your share?
By 2015 our national debt will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 trillion dollars.
It is the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world by far, and it is the gift that we are going to pass down to future generations of Americans.
Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (Ad)
If there are any future generations of Americans.
#11 “I hate what is happening to this country.”
We should all hate what is happening to this country. Our economic guts are being ripped out, we are being abused by the rest of the world, America’s infrastructure is being sold off piece by piece, our federal government is drowning in debt, our state governments are drowning in debt and our local governments are drowning in debt.
The only way we can even keep going is to run around to the rest of the world and beg them to keep lending us more money.
The mainstream media keeps proclaiming that we are the greatest economy on earth, but the truth is that we are being transformed into a pathetic loser and our politicians are just standing there with their hands in their pockets letting it happens.
All red-blooded Americans should be horrified by what is happening to this nation. We have been betrayed by corrupt and incompetent leaders. As a nation, we have become fat, lazy and stupid.
Hopefully what Donald Trump and others are saying about a coming economic collapse will serve as a huge wake up call and the sleeping giant will arise once again.
If the sleeping giant does not arise, we are in a massive amount of trouble, because right now the road we are on is leading to the biggest economic collapse the world has ever seen.
Trump says that the U.S. government is broke, that all of our jobs are being shipped overseas, that other nations are heavily taking advantage of us and that the value of the U.S. dollar is being destroyed. The following interview with Trump was originally posted on Newsmax and it is really worth watching….
Now, you may or may not think much of Donald Trump as a politician, but when a businessman of his caliber starts using apocalyptic language to describe where the U.S. economy is headed perhaps we should all pay attention.
The following are 12 key quotes that were pulled out of Trump’s new interview along with some facts and statistics that show that what Trump is saying is really happening.
#1 “If oil prices are allowed to inflate and keep inflating, if the dollar keeps going down in value, I think there’s a very distinct possibility that things could get worse.”
Donald Trump is exactly right – we are headed for big trouble if we continue to allow the Federal Reserve to pump hundreds of billions of new dollars into the system. As I have written about previously, all of this new money will give us the illusion of short-term economic growth and it will pump up the stock market, but in the end all of the inflation the new money is gong to cause is going to be very painful. Just look at how rapidly M1 has been skyrocketing over the last couple of years. Is there any way that we are going to be able to avoid paying a very serious price for all of this reckless money printing?….
Even Donald Trump Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming Money Supply
Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (AD)
Even Donald Trump Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming 260310banner2
Already all of this money printing has had a very serious affect on world financial markets. The price of agricultural commodities is skyrocketing and the price of oil has almost reached $100 a barrel once again. The last time that the price of oil soared above $100 a barrel was in the early part of 2008, and we all remember the horrific financial collapse that followed in the fall of 2008.
#2 “….you’re going to pay $25 for a loaf of bread pretty soon. Look at what’s happening with our food prices. They’re going through the roof. We could end up being another Egypt. You could have riots in our streets also.”
The price of corn has risen 88 percent over the past year and the price of wheat has soared a whopping 114 percent over the past year. Let’s hope that we don’t have to pay $25 for a loaf of bread in the United States any time soon, but in some areas of the world that is what it now feels like.
Approximately 3 billion people in the world today live on the equivalent of $2 a day or less, and most of that money ends up getting spent on food. When food prices go up 10 or 20 percent in deeply impoverished areas of the globe, suddenly the lives of millions are threatened. The riots that we have seen in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and other nations recently were not entirely caused by rising food prices, but they were certainly a big factor.
#3 “I think gold will go up as long as people don’t have confidence in our president and our country. And they don’t have confidence in our president.”
Investors run to gold and other precious metals when they don’t feel secure. We saw that happen a lot in 2010. As confidence in the paper currencies and the financial systems of the world has rapidly diminished, precious metals have become increasingly attractive.
In fact, the price of gold has doubled since the beginning of the economic downturn in 2007. As the global financial situation continues to become more unstable, the demand for precious metals is likely only going to become more intense.
#4 “The banks have really let us down. Number one, they did some bad things and caused some bad problems. Number two, if you have something that you want to buy, like a house, they’re generally not there for you.”
Banks were given massive bailouts with the understanding that they would open up the vaults and start lending money to average Americans again.
Well, that has not happened.
In particular, it has become much, much harder to get a mortgage in the United States today. Not that the big banks didn’t need to make changes to their lending practices, but things have gotten so tight now that it is choking the real estate market to death.
#5 “I see $3.50 for a gallon of gas for cars, and cars are lined up trying to get it and it’s $3.50. It’s a shame, a ridiculous shame.”
Our lack of a cohesive energy policy is a national disgrace. There is no way in the world that a gallon of gas should be $3.50 a gallon.
The U.S. has massive reserves of oil and natural gas that it should be using. In addition, the lack of progress on developing alternative energy sources in light of our sickening dependence on foreign oil is very puzzling. We should be very far along towards solving our energy problems by this point.
Meanwhile, we keep pouring billions into the pockets of foreign oil barons every single month. Unfortunately, Trump was exactly correct in the interview – if something is not done the price of gas is going to keep going higher.
#6 “I think the biggest threat is that our jobs are being stolen by other countries. We’re not going to have any jobs here pretty soon.”
Donal Trump is one of the few prominent leaders that is openly speaking the truth about the predatory economic practices of some of our “trading partners”. Most of our politicians have just kept endlessly promising us that free trade is “good for us” even as tens of thousands of factories and millions upon millions of jobs have been shipped overseas.
Back in 1970, 25 percent of all jobs in the United States were manufacturing jobs. Today, only 9 percent of the jobs in the United States are manufacturing jobs.
Yes, computers and robots have replaced a lot of manual labor today, but technology does not account for most of the decline we have seen in manufacturing.
* A d v e r t i s e m e n t
*
In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent. Meanwhile, manufacturing in the “developing world” has absolutely exploded.
#7 “We’re like a whipping post for other countries. We are standing there and just being beaten by South Korea, by Mexico, by China, by India.”
Most Americans have absolutely no idea how lopsided many of our “trade agreements” actually are. Other nations openly manipulate their currencies in order to keep their exports dirt cheap and we allow it. Other nations openly subsidize their domestic industries that are directly competing with businesses in the United States and we don’t complain. Other nations make it incredibly difficult for American companies to do business in their countries while we allow foreign corporations to come on in and do pretty much whatever they want here.
Then there are certain nations (such as China) that brazenly rip off trade secrets from foreign corporations time after time after time and never get penalized for it.
Meanwhile, our economy continues to bleed jobs at a staggering pace. The number of net jobs gained by the U.S. economy during this past decade was smaller than during any other decade since World War 2.
Fortunately, more Americans than ever seem to be waking up and are realizing that globalism is causing many of these problems. A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted last year discovered that 69 percent of Americans now believe that free trade agreements have cost America jobs.
#8 “All of our jobs are going to China. We’re rebuilding China and other places.”
China is doing great. China is now the number one producer in the world of wind and solar power. They now possess the fastest supercomputeron the entire globe. China also now has the world’s fastest train and the world’s biggest high-speed rail network.
Most Americans don’t realize that China is literally kicking the crap out of us.
Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world’s high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Ten years later, the United States had less than 15 percent and China’s share had soared to 20 percent.
Every single month we buy about 4 times as much stuff from them as they buy from us. Our trade deficit with China has ballooned to enormous proportions. In fact, the U.S. trade deficit with China during this past August was more than 4,600 times larger than the U.S. trade deficit with China was for the entire year of 1985.
So when Donald Trump says that we are rebuilding China he is not joking around.
Nobel economist Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040 if current trends continue.
Yes, that is how serious things have become.
#9 “We are a laughingstock throughout the world.”
Donald Trump has said on several occasions that his friends and business partners in China just laugh and laugh at us. They can’t even believe what they are getting away with.
We have become an incompetent giant that is the butt of all the jokes.
According to Stanford University economics professor Ed Lazear, if the U.S. economy and the Chinese economy continue to grow at current rates, the average Chinese citizen will be wealthier than the average American citizen in just 30 years.
Our formerly great industrial cities are slowly becoming ghost towns. The number of long-term unemployed Americans is at an all-time high. Tens of millions of Americans can’t even survive without government assistance anymore. The number of Americans on food stamps set a new all-time record every single month during 2010, and now well over 43 million Americans are enrolled in the program.
We really have become a joke.
#10 “The federal government has no money.”
Unfortunately, our federal government has continued to borrow and spend like there is no tomorrow.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. government will have the biggest budget deficit ever recorded (approximately 1.5 trillion dollars) this year.
So much for fiscal discipline, eh?
It is being projected that the U.S. national debt will increase by $150,000 per U.S. household between 2009 and 2021.
Do you have an extra $150,000 to contribute for your share?
By 2015 our national debt will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 trillion dollars.
It is the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world by far, and it is the gift that we are going to pass down to future generations of Americans.
Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (Ad)
If there are any future generations of Americans.
#11 “I hate what is happening to this country.”
We should all hate what is happening to this country. Our economic guts are being ripped out, we are being abused by the rest of the world, America’s infrastructure is being sold off piece by piece, our federal government is drowning in debt, our state governments are drowning in debt and our local governments are drowning in debt.
The only way we can even keep going is to run around to the rest of the world and beg them to keep lending us more money.
The mainstream media keeps proclaiming that we are the greatest economy on earth, but the truth is that we are being transformed into a pathetic loser and our politicians are just standing there with their hands in their pockets letting it happens.
All red-blooded Americans should be horrified by what is happening to this nation. We have been betrayed by corrupt and incompetent leaders. As a nation, we have become fat, lazy and stupid.
Hopefully what Donald Trump and others are saying about a coming economic collapse will serve as a huge wake up call and the sleeping giant will arise once again.
If the sleeping giant does not arise, we are in a massive amount of trouble, because right now the road we are on is leading to the biggest economic collapse the world has ever seen.
Obama Civility Watch: Koch Protests Include Calls To Lynch Clarence Thomas
Ed Morrissey - Yes, these comments come from the attendees, not the speakers at the protest organized by Common Cause at the Koch political conference, but according to the media rules on covering the Tea Party, that makes all liberals racists, and also responsible for the murders committed by Kermit Gosnell in his abortion clinic in Philadelphia. Right?
Granted, the cameraman is trying to get the people to say something outrageous, but he also doesn’t have to try very hard. He asks people at the rally what “we” should do after impeaching Clarence Thomas to get justice for Anita Hill, and he gets some mighty interesting answers: Send him “back to the fields.” “String him up.” “Hang him.” “Torture.” One older woman wants his wife Ginny Thomas strung up as well. A younger and more creative woman wants Justice Thomas’ toes chopped off and forced-fed to him. Thomas isn’t the only one to get the necktie treatment; one protester wants Fox News executive Roger Ailes to get hung as well.
Big Government notes the hypocrisy of the protests:
Among Common Cause’s, well, common causes, are campaign finance reform, net neutrality, outlawing the filibuster, promoting cap and trade, and in this particular case, herding a mass of protesters outside a nearby hotel to yell at Charles and David Koch for being conservative and rich.
Unfortunately several “haves” have missed the memo that you’re not to be both rich and conservative at the same time, and that bankrolling your pet causes is an extra no-no if you’re conservative—thus exempting left-wing billionaire philanthropists George Soros (from whom Common Cause has received $2 million over the past eight years) Peter Lewis, John Doerr, Julian Robertson, Nicolas Berggruen, and many others from being yelled at too.
At the morning panel event featuring UCI Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, activist Jim Hightower, Center for American Progress journalist and “Koch Brothers expert” Lee Fang, California Nurses Association co-president DeAnn McEwan, and President Obama’s former green jobs czar Van Jones, we were forewarned of the impending demise of both the environment and democracy at the hands of corporate lobbyists and their government shills.
There was eerily no mention of GE, AEP, Goldmann Sachs, Pfizer, Aetna, Alcoa, Xerox, Google, Motorola, IBM, or several other corporate giants who profit at taxpayer expense via their K Street connections to the Obama White House as well as the very economic and regulatory policies they lobby that these Common Cause panelists commonly endorse. But I’m sure that’s only because no one wanted to point out the obvious. Right?
Will the media cover the violence inherent on the Left with the same passion they pursued those non-existent connections between the Tucson shooter and Sarah Palin? Will the Southern Poverty Law Center report on the “Rage on the Left” and label Common Cause a racist hate group?
Update: My friend RB at The RightSphere makes my point more eloquently:
How long have we heard the steady mantra: “The Tea Party is racist”? Since day one. Nearly every Leftist pundit, columnist, and “journalist” on the planet has at some point or another implied or flat out stated that the Tea Party movement is racist. Congressmen have even accused Tea Party / Anti-HCR protesters of using the “n word” and spitting on them during rallies. To this day many still claim this happened despite the lack of evidence.
Are there racists who are also Tea Partiers? Of course. As the video proves, there are racists everywhere… even on the Left. Do those racists speak for the entire movement? Of course not. Do those racists represent even a significant portion of the movement? Only insofar as the racists in the video above represent a significant portion of the Left. But that has never stopped the Left from hurling their accusations against the entire conservative movement or the Tea Party, has it?
Let’s just imagine if the video above was taken during a Tea Party rally and several participants stated that a sitting US Supreme Court Justice should be sent “back to the fields” or “strung up”. Picture the news coverage. Predict what Chris Matthews or Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann (if he still had a show) would be saying right now and over the next few days. It would be non-stop. Democrat Congressional members would be using the tape as “proof” of what is really behind the opposition to ObamaCare or any other piece of legislation they want to get passed.
“The racist Tea Party.” That’s all you’d hear.
All you’ll hear about this in the national media is … the sounds of crickets chirping.
Granted, the cameraman is trying to get the people to say something outrageous, but he also doesn’t have to try very hard. He asks people at the rally what “we” should do after impeaching Clarence Thomas to get justice for Anita Hill, and he gets some mighty interesting answers: Send him “back to the fields.” “String him up.” “Hang him.” “Torture.” One older woman wants his wife Ginny Thomas strung up as well. A younger and more creative woman wants Justice Thomas’ toes chopped off and forced-fed to him. Thomas isn’t the only one to get the necktie treatment; one protester wants Fox News executive Roger Ailes to get hung as well.
Big Government notes the hypocrisy of the protests:
Among Common Cause’s, well, common causes, are campaign finance reform, net neutrality, outlawing the filibuster, promoting cap and trade, and in this particular case, herding a mass of protesters outside a nearby hotel to yell at Charles and David Koch for being conservative and rich.
Unfortunately several “haves” have missed the memo that you’re not to be both rich and conservative at the same time, and that bankrolling your pet causes is an extra no-no if you’re conservative—thus exempting left-wing billionaire philanthropists George Soros (from whom Common Cause has received $2 million over the past eight years) Peter Lewis, John Doerr, Julian Robertson, Nicolas Berggruen, and many others from being yelled at too.
At the morning panel event featuring UCI Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, activist Jim Hightower, Center for American Progress journalist and “Koch Brothers expert” Lee Fang, California Nurses Association co-president DeAnn McEwan, and President Obama’s former green jobs czar Van Jones, we were forewarned of the impending demise of both the environment and democracy at the hands of corporate lobbyists and their government shills.
There was eerily no mention of GE, AEP, Goldmann Sachs, Pfizer, Aetna, Alcoa, Xerox, Google, Motorola, IBM, or several other corporate giants who profit at taxpayer expense via their K Street connections to the Obama White House as well as the very economic and regulatory policies they lobby that these Common Cause panelists commonly endorse. But I’m sure that’s only because no one wanted to point out the obvious. Right?
Will the media cover the violence inherent on the Left with the same passion they pursued those non-existent connections between the Tucson shooter and Sarah Palin? Will the Southern Poverty Law Center report on the “Rage on the Left” and label Common Cause a racist hate group?
Update: My friend RB at The RightSphere makes my point more eloquently:
How long have we heard the steady mantra: “The Tea Party is racist”? Since day one. Nearly every Leftist pundit, columnist, and “journalist” on the planet has at some point or another implied or flat out stated that the Tea Party movement is racist. Congressmen have even accused Tea Party / Anti-HCR protesters of using the “n word” and spitting on them during rallies. To this day many still claim this happened despite the lack of evidence.
Are there racists who are also Tea Partiers? Of course. As the video proves, there are racists everywhere… even on the Left. Do those racists speak for the entire movement? Of course not. Do those racists represent even a significant portion of the movement? Only insofar as the racists in the video above represent a significant portion of the Left. But that has never stopped the Left from hurling their accusations against the entire conservative movement or the Tea Party, has it?
Let’s just imagine if the video above was taken during a Tea Party rally and several participants stated that a sitting US Supreme Court Justice should be sent “back to the fields” or “strung up”. Picture the news coverage. Predict what Chris Matthews or Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann (if he still had a show) would be saying right now and over the next few days. It would be non-stop. Democrat Congressional members would be using the tape as “proof” of what is really behind the opposition to ObamaCare or any other piece of legislation they want to get passed.
“The racist Tea Party.” That’s all you’d hear.
All you’ll hear about this in the national media is … the sounds of crickets chirping.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
'Al-Qaida On The Brink Of Using Nuclear Weapon'
Heidi Blake and Christopher Hope, Daily Telegraph - Al-Qaida is on the verge of producing radioactive weapons after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build "dirty" bombs, according to leaked diplomatic documents.
A leading atomic regulator has privately warned that the world stands on the brink of a "nuclear 9/11".
Security briefings suggest that jihadi groups are also close to producing "workable and efficient" biological and chemical weapons that could kill thousands if unleashed in attacks on the West.
Thousands of classified American cables obtained by the WikiLeaks website and passed to The Daily Telegraph detail the international struggle to stop the spread of weapons-grade nuclear, chemical and biological material around the globe.
At a Nato meeting in January 2009, security chiefs briefed member states that al-Qaida was plotting a program of "dirty radioactive IEDs", makeshift nuclear roadside bombs that could be used against British troops in Afghanistan.
As well as causing a large explosion, a "dirty bomb" attack would contaminate the area for many years.
The briefings also state that al-Qaida documents found in Afghanistan in 2007 revealed that "greater advances" had been made in bioterrorism than was previously realized. An Indian national security adviser told American security personnel in June 2008 that terrorists had made a "manifest attempt to get fissile material" and "have the technical competence to manufacture an explosive device beyond a mere dirty bomb".
Alerts about the smuggling of nuclear material, sent to Washington from foreign U.S. embassies, document how criminal and terrorist gangs were trafficking large amounts of highly radioactive material across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The alerts explain how customs guards at remote border crossings used radiation alarms to identify and seize cargoes of uranium and plutonium.
Freight trains were found to be carrying weapons-grade nuclear material across the Kazakhstan-Russia border, highly enriched uranium was transported across Uganda by bus, and a "small time hustler" in Lisbon offered to sell radioactive plates stolen from Chernobyl.
In one incident in September 2009, two employees at the Rossing Uranium Mine in Namibia smuggled almost half a ton of uranium concentrate powder - yellowcake - out of the compound in plastic bags.
"Acute safety and security concerns" were even raised in 2008 about the uranium and plutonium laboratory of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear safety watchdog.
Tomihiro Taniguchi, the deputy director general of the IAEA, has privately warned America that the world faces the threat of a "nuclear 9/11" if stores of uranium and plutonium were not secured against terrorists.
But diplomats visiting the IAEA's Austrian headquarters in April 2008 said that there was "no way to provide perimeter security" to its own laboratory because it has windows that leave it vulnerable to break-ins.
Senior British defence officials have raised "deep concerns" that a rogue scientist in the Pakistani nuclear program "could gradually smuggle enough material out to make a weapon", according to a document detailing official talks in London in February 2009.
Agricultural stores of deadly biological pathogens in Pakistan are also vulnerable to "extremists" who could use supplies of anthrax, foot and mouth disease and avian flu to develop lethal biological weapons.
Anthrax and other biological agents including smallpox, and avian flu could be sprayed from a shop-bought aerosol can in a crowded area, leaked security briefings warn.
The security of the world's only two declared smallpox stores in Atlanta, America, and Novosibirsk, Russia, has repeatedly been called into doubt by "a growing chorus of voices" at meetings of the World Health Assembly documented in the leaked cables.
The alarming disclosures come after Barack Obama, the U.S. president, last year declared nuclear terrorism "the single biggest threat" to international security with the potential to cause "extraordinary loss of life".
A leading atomic regulator has privately warned that the world stands on the brink of a "nuclear 9/11".
Security briefings suggest that jihadi groups are also close to producing "workable and efficient" biological and chemical weapons that could kill thousands if unleashed in attacks on the West.
Thousands of classified American cables obtained by the WikiLeaks website and passed to The Daily Telegraph detail the international struggle to stop the spread of weapons-grade nuclear, chemical and biological material around the globe.
At a Nato meeting in January 2009, security chiefs briefed member states that al-Qaida was plotting a program of "dirty radioactive IEDs", makeshift nuclear roadside bombs that could be used against British troops in Afghanistan.
As well as causing a large explosion, a "dirty bomb" attack would contaminate the area for many years.
The briefings also state that al-Qaida documents found in Afghanistan in 2007 revealed that "greater advances" had been made in bioterrorism than was previously realized. An Indian national security adviser told American security personnel in June 2008 that terrorists had made a "manifest attempt to get fissile material" and "have the technical competence to manufacture an explosive device beyond a mere dirty bomb".
Alerts about the smuggling of nuclear material, sent to Washington from foreign U.S. embassies, document how criminal and terrorist gangs were trafficking large amounts of highly radioactive material across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The alerts explain how customs guards at remote border crossings used radiation alarms to identify and seize cargoes of uranium and plutonium.
Freight trains were found to be carrying weapons-grade nuclear material across the Kazakhstan-Russia border, highly enriched uranium was transported across Uganda by bus, and a "small time hustler" in Lisbon offered to sell radioactive plates stolen from Chernobyl.
In one incident in September 2009, two employees at the Rossing Uranium Mine in Namibia smuggled almost half a ton of uranium concentrate powder - yellowcake - out of the compound in plastic bags.
"Acute safety and security concerns" were even raised in 2008 about the uranium and plutonium laboratory of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear safety watchdog.
Tomihiro Taniguchi, the deputy director general of the IAEA, has privately warned America that the world faces the threat of a "nuclear 9/11" if stores of uranium and plutonium were not secured against terrorists.
But diplomats visiting the IAEA's Austrian headquarters in April 2008 said that there was "no way to provide perimeter security" to its own laboratory because it has windows that leave it vulnerable to break-ins.
Senior British defence officials have raised "deep concerns" that a rogue scientist in the Pakistani nuclear program "could gradually smuggle enough material out to make a weapon", according to a document detailing official talks in London in February 2009.
Agricultural stores of deadly biological pathogens in Pakistan are also vulnerable to "extremists" who could use supplies of anthrax, foot and mouth disease and avian flu to develop lethal biological weapons.
Anthrax and other biological agents including smallpox, and avian flu could be sprayed from a shop-bought aerosol can in a crowded area, leaked security briefings warn.
The security of the world's only two declared smallpox stores in Atlanta, America, and Novosibirsk, Russia, has repeatedly been called into doubt by "a growing chorus of voices" at meetings of the World Health Assembly documented in the leaked cables.
The alarming disclosures come after Barack Obama, the U.S. president, last year declared nuclear terrorism "the single biggest threat" to international security with the potential to cause "extraordinary loss of life".
Muslim Brotherhood And Army Help Plan Mubarak's Demise
Sky News - The Muslim Brotherhood has told Sky News it is in talks with other opposition groups and the army about the removal of President Hosni Mubarak.
The Islamist organisation is still officialy banned, but has joined with secular opposition groups to bring about the end of the Mubarak regime.
One of the leaders of the Brotherhood, Dr Abd al Monem Abo al Fotouh, told Sky News that Mr Mubarak was deluded if he thought the army could save him now.
"He wants to say 'The army is with me, and not with the people,' but this is wrong because the Egyptian army is apart from Egypt."
:: Q&A: Why are Egyptians protesting?
The military has tried to appear above the struggle between the people and the regime.
Tanks and soldiers are on the streets of Cairo but commanders are using a softly-softly approach and avoiding confrontation.
Mr Mubarak may be defying calls to stand down but he is looking increasingly impotent in the face of the extraordinary "people power" uprising.
The Muslim Brotherhood are not the only ones claiming the military is plotting Mr Mubarak's overthrow.
The Islamist organisation is still officialy banned, but has joined with secular opposition groups to bring about the end of the Mubarak regime.
One of the leaders of the Brotherhood, Dr Abd al Monem Abo al Fotouh, told Sky News that Mr Mubarak was deluded if he thought the army could save him now.
"He wants to say 'The army is with me, and not with the people,' but this is wrong because the Egyptian army is apart from Egypt."
:: Q&A: Why are Egyptians protesting?
The military has tried to appear above the struggle between the people and the regime.
Tanks and soldiers are on the streets of Cairo but commanders are using a softly-softly approach and avoiding confrontation.
Mr Mubarak may be defying calls to stand down but he is looking increasingly impotent in the face of the extraordinary "people power" uprising.
The Muslim Brotherhood are not the only ones claiming the military is plotting Mr Mubarak's overthrow.
Jordan's King Abudullah In Panic Mode
Aaron Goldstein - This morning, Jordan's King Abdullah replaced his Prime Minister.
This move comes amid protests of rising food prices in the Hashemite Kingdom, the same grievances which have plagued both Tunisia and Egypt. The $64.37 question is whether King Abdullah has nipped unrest in the bud or if he has rashly pressed the panic button? If it is the latter it might very well serve only to intensify protests as has been the case in Tunisia and Egypt.
As with Tunisia and Egypt, Jordanians should be able to improve their lot in life and determine their own destiny. We must wonder though if Jordanians will soon call for the ouster of King Abdullah. Should Abdullah be ousted with what and whom will he be replaced?
Although the situation in Jordan has not escalated to the level it has in Egypt, I am certain Israel is surely as uneasy with the developments in Jordan as it is in Egypt. The prospect of renewed hostilities with both Egypt and Jordan at a time when the regime in Iran is bent on Israel's destruction (along with Syria and Hezbollah controlled Lebanon) and not to mention its ongoing troubles with Hamas in Gaza could result in the worst crisis in Israel's six plus decades.
This move comes amid protests of rising food prices in the Hashemite Kingdom, the same grievances which have plagued both Tunisia and Egypt. The $64.37 question is whether King Abdullah has nipped unrest in the bud or if he has rashly pressed the panic button? If it is the latter it might very well serve only to intensify protests as has been the case in Tunisia and Egypt.
As with Tunisia and Egypt, Jordanians should be able to improve their lot in life and determine their own destiny. We must wonder though if Jordanians will soon call for the ouster of King Abdullah. Should Abdullah be ousted with what and whom will he be replaced?
Although the situation in Jordan has not escalated to the level it has in Egypt, I am certain Israel is surely as uneasy with the developments in Jordan as it is in Egypt. The prospect of renewed hostilities with both Egypt and Jordan at a time when the regime in Iran is bent on Israel's destruction (along with Syria and Hezbollah controlled Lebanon) and not to mention its ongoing troubles with Hamas in Gaza could result in the worst crisis in Israel's six plus decades.
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