Monthly Archives: September 2013

David Stockman on his Book and the Bailouts

"The panic and bailouts that followed were really about protecting the bonuses and incomes of very wealthy and politically well-connected managers at banks and other heavily leveraged businesses that were eventually deemed too big to fail. What followed was a massive transfer of wealth from the taxpayers and middle-class savers, in the form of bailouts and zero interest rates on bank deposits imposed by the Fed, to the so-called One Percent. As I show in my book, none of this was necessary to save the larger economy, since the losses that would have taken place as a result of the collapse would have been largely limited to Wall Street." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Where did the US$ 700 billion go?

"You remember TARP? It was the feds' $700 billion program to rescue the US economy from a correction. Neil Barofsky was in charge of it. So we decided to go down and ask him how it turned out: '[..] What did they do with the money? They were supposed to increase lending so as to help bring about a recovery. None of them did that. Instead, they used it to repay each other's loans. In other words, they used it to reduce the amount of credit available...not increase it. And they bought US agency bonds...just as you'd expect. And they paid out their bonuses. In other words, they looked out for themselves...just as you'd expect.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Where did the US$ 700 billion go?

Treasury: $238b financial bailout ‘avoided catastrophe,’ only $3b outstanding

"The US Treasury said Wednesday the government’s massive response to the economic crisis five years ago paid off, avoiding a catastrophic breakdown of the financial system. In a report marking the anniversary of the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers — which snowballed into the worst crisis since the 1930s — the Treasury defended deploying hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to save other banks, major financial institutions and auto companies. While the rescue effort required piling up government debt, it was necessary, said Treasury officials who briefed reporters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTreasury: $238b financial bailout ‘avoided catastrophe,’ only $3b outstanding

Mises’ Answer to Would-Be Conspirators: You Will Lose

"The heart, mind, and soul of Austrian school economics is this: the free market provides better information and better incentives to satisfy customers than any rival system can ever offer. Therefore, the free market will grow at the expense of central planning. The decentralized decisions of people with money -- decisions informed by market pricing -- will be more accurate than the centralized decisions of any committee. This is why I really do not pay a lot of attention to the Bilderberg, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. Ultimately, they are going to lose, just as their British equivalents and predecessors lost, 1914-1945. The digital genie is out of the bottle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMises’ Answer to Would-Be Conspirators: You Will Lose

Luke Rudkowski Questions Larry Silverstein On WTC 7 [2011]

"There are so many unanswered questions about the days 9/11, and instead of making up theories and speculating, we go to the horses mouth to get answers. Sadly, the response we get from these questions only invites more speculation about what happened on 9/11." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLuke Rudkowski Questions Larry Silverstein On WTC 7 [2011]

Richard Gage Talks Global ReThink 911 Campaign

"The engineers and architects who signed the ReThink911 petition question the physics and science of the collapse of the twin towers as defined by the US Government. These building professionals are being joined in their calls by a growing number of lawmakers in Washington. Former Senators Bob Graham and Mike Gravel have called for re-opening the 9-11 investigation. But most recently Alan Grayson of Florida. Grayson recently stated on CSPAN that classified 9/11 documents should be released." Continue reading →

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FBI continues to investigate Hastings for ‘controversial reporting’

"The FBI released a heavily redacted document on Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings, which revealed the law-enforcement agency is continuing to investigate what it characterized as 'controversial reporting' by the journalist, who died in a late-night car crash in Los Angeles in June. The FBI'S public liaison officer wrote that after the agency searched for responsive records it located one 'cross reference' file pertaining to a pending criminal investigation. The papers revealed that the FBI still considers Hastings' work highly sensitive; even the title of the case file has been withheld under claims that the information could interfere with an ongoing law-enforcement investigation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI continues to investigate Hastings for ‘controversial reporting’

What if everything you know is wrong?

"The revelation that Kurras was a long-term and highly valued agent of East German intelligence exploded like a bombshell, turning a generation’s worldview on its head. The man that Germany’s baby boomers loathed as the archetype of fascism, a living symbol of the evil Nazi-ish past, actually was a Stasi hero, a loyal servant of Communism. Many had no idea what to make of it, as the implications of the news were so stunning.The important question arose at once: Did Kurras kill Ohnesorg on the orders of the MfS, to bolster the radical Left movement in West Germany? It is impossible to answer this question with certainty, though it seems to be the obvious explanation for the crime." Continue reading →

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NSA evidence may be key to Hammarskjold mystery death

"America's National Security Agency may hold crucial evidence about one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Cold War — the cause of the 1961 plane crash which killed United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, a commission of prominent jurists says. Widely considered the U.N.'s most effective chief, Hammarskjold died as he was attempting to bring peace to the newly independent Congo. It's long been rumored that his DC-6 plane was shot down, and an independent commission set up to evaluate new evidence surrounding his death on Monday recommended a fresh investigation — citing radio intercepts held by the NSA as the possible key to solving the case." Continue reading →

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What it costs to raise a royal baby

"How much does it cost to live like a prince these days? William earns £35,000 ($54,000) or so as a helicopter air-sea rescue pilot for the Royal Air Force. More importantly, he is also supported by his father, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who has an annual income of about £19 million ($29 million), essentially real-estate income from the 133,000-acre Duchy of Cornwall estate. William and Harry also jointly inherited around £17 million ($26 million), before tax, from their mother’s estate. But for all American rubberneckers, here’s some good news. You could probably live like a prince for a lot less than that. Here’s where you’ll spend your money." Continue reading →

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