Yearly Archives: 2013

A Fiscal Lesson in Cyprus for Americans

"Would the U.S. government ever do these sorts of things? Well, don’t forget that President Roosevelt did it during the Great Depression when he nationalized gold and made it a felony offense to own it, notwithstanding the fact that it had been the official constitutional money of the United States since the founding of the nation. FDR ordered Americans to deliver their gold to the federal government, which paid them off in cheapened, devalued, irredeemable notes. It was a confiscation of wealth no different in principle from that that was done by the Argentine government and that is now being conducted by the Cyprus government." Continue reading →

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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is accused of hiding information about big losses

"Washington dealt a double blow Thursday to JPMorgan Chase as a Senate report accused its iconic chief executive of hiding information about a massive loss from regulators while the Federal Reserve unexpectedly said it had found a 'weakness' in the bank’s capital plans. The report takes the bank to task for hiding losses for three months last year, overstating the value of its trading positions and ignoring red flags. When regulators grew concerned, JPMorgan withheld information about the nature of the portfolio, Senate investigators say." Continue reading →

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The Deeper Meanings of Cyprus

"This is not just the perfection of neocolonialism but of neofeudalism as well. The peripheral nations of the E.U. are effectively neocolonial debtors of the core (quasi-Imperial) banks, and the taxpayers of the core nations (now reduced to Germany and The Netherlands) are now feudal serfs whose labor is devoted to making good on any bank loans to the periphery that go bad. Though we can term the E.U. a plutocracy or oligarchy, the neofeudal structure compels us to distinguish a class of those holding wealth and political power that is not limited to national border: this is an Aristocracy." Continue reading →

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Gold Rises, Dollar Rises, Stocks Fall: The Cyprus Disaster Begins

"Over the weekend, Eurozone bureaucrats at a closed meeting came up with a plan. The committee demanded that the government of Cyprus impose a tax of 3% on all bank accounts under $130,000, and close to 10% on all accounts over $130,000. If the government refuses, the Eurozone will not provide a $13 billion bailout for the banks of Cyprus. The story is all over the European press, for good reason. The Eurocrats had always said that bank accounts would be sacrosanct. This announcement says, 'We lied.' But they also assured depositors that this will never happen again. 'Trust us.'" Continue reading →

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Believe a Politician and You Will Lose Your Money

"The president of Cyprus assured voters that he would never, ever tax their bank accounts. Now he says the government must do this. Any voter who heard this assurance should have gone to his bank immediately and withdrawn half of his money. Then he should have sent another 40% to a German bank. The other 10% he might have left in his bank to meet existing expenses. Anyone who left all of his money in the bank was a fool. He trusted the head of the country." Continue reading →

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Conspiracy Theories vs. the Religion of Democracy

"The proponents of any conspiracy view of historical events are pariahs in academia. That is because these theories get close to the truth, namely, that mass democracy has not prevented special-interest messianic groups from seeking political power and wealth as ways to re-shape mankind. These groups exercise power behind many thrones. They are not pro-democracy. They are not pro-free market. They are men in search of ways to achieve what they want: a new humanity. They will use money and politics to attain this goal. The best way to overcome a conspiracy is to take away its leverage: political power in defense of the existing distribution of wealth." Continue reading →

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An Orwellian America

"We have been gradually disempowered by a corporate state that, as Huxley foresaw, seduced and manipulated us through sensual gratification, cheap mass-produced goods, boundless credit, political theater and amusement. Now that credit is drying up, good jobs for the working class are gone forever and mass-produced goods are unaffordable, we find ourselves transported from 'Brave New World' to '1984.' The state, crippled by massive deficits, endless war and corporate malfeasance, is clearly sliding toward unavoidable bankruptcy. It is time for Big Brother to take over from Huxley’s feelies, the orgy-porgy and the centrifugal bumble-puppy." Continue reading →

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In crisis-ravaged Greece, ‘laughter clubs’ are booming

"Three years into a crippling recession that has reduced incomes here by as much as 60 percent, increased the number of suicides by 40 percent and forced 1.3 million people onto growing unemployment lines, Greeks are grappling with ways to remain sane. Many of them are turning to what some call a free cure to just about any ailment: laughter. In one improvised routine, members are taught to laugh at the sight of an electricity bill or the kind of tax notice that Greeks have been repeatedly served in recent years as part of new austerity measures intended to make up for decades of profligate spending by the state." Continue reading →

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In Greece: As ‘Austerity’ Ignites Masses, Elites Turn To Imperial Stormtroopers

"The usually reserved waitress at our favorite Greek-owned Sunday breakfast place approached us in dismay. Her daughter and son-in-law were escaping Greece for the US. Even middle class professionals were finding themselves digging in the garbage for food to eat, she said. Former Greek career diplomat Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos says that the government has hired Blackwater, the American private military firm infamous for its activities in Iraq, which now goes by the name 'Academi', along with five other international for-profit security outfits. He says bluntly: 'The Greek government does not trust the police whose salaries have also been cut.'" Continue reading →

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