While You Were Sleeping… The Economy Collapsed
85 Comments »By Giordano Bruno
Neithercorp Press – 12/21/2009
One of the most powerful forces in human psychology is the force of habit. Consistency, apathetic comfort, ties men to the ocean bottom to squeeze every ounce of oxygen from their last breath until it is gone, and we wake up at 50 or 60, only realizing then that we have done the same things and thought the same thoughts for decades without err. Repetition makes us easy to startle and easy to control. Any sudden break in daily routine can cause most people to freeze; animals gripped with terror at the very possibility of necessary individual action or adaptation.
This same repetition induces a type of “sleepwalk” in the average person, a zombie-like reanimation of brain functions that shriveled up and died years before, giving the impression of “life,” but in reality, it is merely a life on autopilot.
This is what makes catastrophes so catastrophic. It is not always the events themselves that reap such destruction, but people’s delayed reactions and dulled senses. The more ignorant the populace, the more magnified and painful such events become. Our lack of knowledge and reasonable action sets our own house ablaze, brings economies to ruin, and murders civilizations. Others may tip the problems into motion, but in the end, all of us, each and every individual, is responsible for the final result.
It is nearly Christmas, 2009, and the dangers of routine are never more blindingly obvious than they are at this time of year. A dangerous economic storm looms, its effects culminating most likely sometime in 2010. Many people know its there, they can feel it, but the chains of routine drag them back. “Our world will remain the same tomorrow as it was today…” they tell themselves, “…how could things possibly change?”
Mixed Signals Indicate Economic Disinformation
There are a number of half truths and financial fantasies floating around the U.S. today, which may explain why some have decided to throw caution to the wind, adopting a cult-like blind faith in the “unsinkable” American economy. I suspect that the consequences for this error in judgment will become quite clear to most by the end of next year, but until then, let’s examine our current situation, what the government has to say about it, and the reality they wish to gloss over.
Unemployment Thwarted By Bailouts?
Unfortunately, it depends on who you ask. If you ask the Labor Department, the U.S. lost only 11,000 jobs in November, far less than forecast, and unemployment evened out to 10% from 10.2%. Great news, right? It would be, if it were true…
Other data shows that the major revision in job losses may be an overenthusiastic calculation by the Labor Department.
First, the holiday season is notorious for generating thousands of temporary, low-paying part time jobs with an average of only 15-20 hours a week. The Labor Department counts people working these jobs as fully employed even though they do not make nearly enough money to support themselves and most will likely lose their positions once the Christmas season is over. Even with this influx of minimum wage holiday jobs to dilute unemployment numbers, it appears most retailers are only hiring about half of the number of temporary workers they did last year:
http://www.kidk.com/news/local/78476852.html
What this means is, unemployment will probably hit very hard in February and March when retailers begin cutting back once more, especially if Christmas profits fall short of target.
Second, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that the Labor Department is grossly and deliberately misreporting unemployment figures. Other groups which measure unemployment, including the ADP, have released national job loss reports that greatly differ from that of the Labor Department for November. In most cases, the Labor Department “adjusts” its numbers a month later to match ADP’s more accurate assessments. Very rarely do the ADP’s numbers completely overshoot actual job loss calculations. For November however, the Labor Department predicted only 11,000 jobs lost, while the ADP measured 169,000 jobs lost!
http://www.adpemploymentreport.com/
This is a major discrepancy! Either the ADP has somehow calculated way off the mark (which rarely if ever happens), or the Labor Department has rigged the numbers. Such a discrepancy by the Labor Department could not be made accidentally. It is hard to say which one is the case, but since the ADP is consistently accurate, and the Labor Department has more reason to flub the statistics, I will have to lean towards the ADP’s numbers as a realistic representation of November job losses.
What is more frightening is that eventually, the Labor Department will have to account for all the lost jobs they hid last month. When they make this adjustment, it will seem as though job loss has exploded after a short lull. This will send an abrasive shock through markets next year. In fact, markets recently took a hit as the government reported that the number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance at the beginning of December jumped much higher than analyst expectations:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/10/news/economy/initial_jobless_claims/index.htm
One would think claims should begin to dissipate after the miracle jobless drop in November.
Adding a sharper edge to this realization is the fact that a record 37.2 million Americans now require food stamps in order to survive, while the media blathers on about imminent recovery. That is 1 out of every 8 people in this country:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601012&sid=aFbqGE.lEdi0
It is these kinds of mixed signals that reveal misinformation and half-truths by MSM and government sources.
Waiting For The Return Of The Dollar? Don’t Hold Your Breath…
As we have predicted in the past, erratic market movements have begun to occur this holiday season, and the artificial Dow rally will probably not make it through the winter. With uncertainty in stocks comes a flight to “safe haven” investments. Historically, the U.S. Dollar has been considered a safe haven, and out of habit, some investors continue to dump their assets into dollars when expecting fickle market conditions.
Recent weakness in the Euro has also lifted the dollar. Not drastically by any means, but enough to give the impression that the Greenback may soon make its return. Great news, right? Again, not quite…
Many investors make the mistake of looking only at the relative weakness of other world currencies when assessing the Dollar’s strength, but there are many other factors to consider. The Greenback is unique in that it derives its strength not so much from the overall health of the U.S. economy, or any solid circulation fundamentals, but from the fact that it is the “world reserve currency”. When we examine the foundation of the Dollar, we find an extremely weak overprinted currency belonging to a country with a $9.2 Trillion projected deficit and totally reliant on foreign investment. However, as long as the Dollar retains its label as the world reserve currency, it will continue to have a psychological significance to investors.
It would not take massive inflation to collapse the Greenback (although this is occurring). Wholesale prices jumped 1.8 percent last month, more than double the gain analysts expected, and sparking fears that the Fed will soon be forced to raise interest rates:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Spike-in-wholesale-inflation-apf-2682030532.html?x=0
Mainstream economists are attempting to downplay these numbers by claiming that the inflation will be temporary, but in reality, we are only seeing the beginning. This also throws a monkey wrench into the arguments made by some financial advisors that the dollar is safe, and we are more likely to see deflation than inflation. If this was truly a deflationary collapse like the Great Depression, then why have prices on goods increased instead of decreased? We should have seen substantial price cuts on commodities and base manufacturing materials if deflation was the threat, but this has not occurred.
A deflationary collapse would be far preferable to an inflationary collapse. With the dollar still intact, the economy could be rebuilt without help from outside agencies like the IMF. We know that the Elites are attempting to force the U.S. to answer to a centralized economic authority and accept a global currency in the form of Special Drawing Rights. They cannot accomplish this goal without collapsing the dollar. Period.
Setting the inflation threat aside, though, the only trigger necessary for a Dollar implosion would be for it to lose its reserve status in the eyes of the international financial community. Once this superfluous status is removed, the Dollar would no longer be considered a safe haven investment, and its value would plummet.
The signs that this event is about to occur are becoming more evident, most especially in Treasury Bond auctions and investment:
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg443.htm
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1730-TIC-Data-Confirms-Foreign-Appetite-Gone.html
The “Treasury Yield Curve” is now the steepest it has been since at least 1980:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=atmWh_C.Afkk
Foreign investment in U.S. debt has plummeted. Barack Obama is attempting to auction off $150 Billion in U.S. T-bills, but net foreign acquisition of long-term securities, taking into account adjustments, is estimated to have been only $8.3 billion. Even more disturbing, foreign holdings of dollar-denominated short-term U.S. securities, including Treasury bills, and other custody liabilities decreased $43.9 billion. Foreign holdings of Treasury bills decreased $38.3 billion. Meaning, not only are foreign investors NOT buying American debt, they are also beginning to get rid of the treasuries they already own! The biggest purchaser of U.S. Treasury debt is now the private Federal Reserve, printing money out of thin air and buying T-bills in order to prop up the value of its own currency! This cannot go on for much longer.
In order to permanently strengthen the basic value of the dollar, one of two things must happen; either the Fed must decrease the supply of dollars in the system (they are doing the opposite, printing up to $24 Trillion out of thin air in the span of a year), or, the Fed must somehow increase demand for all the dollars being created. As the dismal results of recent treasury auctions show, NO ONE wants dollars, especially not for the long term.
The consequences of this are obvious. Eventually, our incredible debt will become unserviceable, and the dollar will become completely undesirable. The Federal Reserve will be forced to raise interest rates and stop its endless printing, which will then pull the rug out from under the Dow and the T-bill market, making things even worse. Dollar proponents always seem to forget this very important detail; America is taking on more debt than it or any other country has in history. Without continued exponential investment from other countries, this debt will end the dollar, regardless of the weakness or strength of other national currencies, or the true rate of inflation.
For now, the Dollar will enjoy an increase in value due to weakness in Europe and uncertainty in stocks, sending more crisscrossed signals to the public as to the actual health of the economy. As far as the basics are concerned however, this increase will be short lived.
Credit Market Recovery? Not A Chance…
The stated purpose, the entire reason for the Banker Bailouts and the flood of printed money into our financial systems, was to “restore credit markets” so that banks could begin lending again.
First off, such a concept is astoundingly moronic. What caused the collapse of the housing market in the first place? Unhindered accumulation of debt by people who could not afford to pay it back! This debt was, of course, facilitated by the private Federal Reserve’s artificially low interest rates, which gave banks free reign to throw cheap money wherever they pleased. When people began to default on their loans en masse, the bubble burst, and triggered the landslide we are seeing today.
How exactly would the creation of more lending, and therefore more debt, fix a problem caused by too much debt? If the average American can’t afford to pay back their old debts, then why in the world would they want to take on new debt? The philosophy of forcing liquidity into the same debt mechanisms which caused the problem in the first place to save the economy could only be dreamed up by someone with the mind of a naive child, unless, that someone wanted to deliberately make the problem worse….
If that is the case, then they have succeeded admirably.
Banks received trillions of dollars in bailout money, but still have not returned to standard lending practices. In fact many have tightened their restrictions on lending even further:
http://moneyfeatures.blogs.money.cnn.com/2009/12/07/mortgage-lenders-still-arent-lending/
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/banks_need_to_lend_now_wIZJF5AD5gzJPV8ICjaByK
The Treasury has reported that bank lending balances continued to drop nine consecutive months through October:
So the goal of the bailouts, the goal given as an excuse to assuage the anger of the American people, was never accomplished, and probably never will be.
If banks aren’t using the bailout money they were given to create new loans then what are they doing with it? Some are hoarding the cash, while others have been gambling with it in the stock market! If the bailout money is still sitting in the pockets of bankers, and it never went into credit markets, then how can the Fed claim that it stopped the collapse? The fact is, the bailouts have done absolutely nothing except prop up the Dow and give the illusion that things are improving. No amount of spin, though, can change the fundamentals.
Banks across the country continue to shut down at an alarming rate. The FDIC has closed 140 so far this year, and recently announced the closure of two banks in California with assets totaling in excess of $10 Billion!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091219/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_closures
Not only this, but the FDIC is in many cases unable to sell off these bankrupt assets to other banks, meaning, they are forced to absorb the entire debt instead of a small piece of it. Any depositors at the RockBridge Commercial Bank with savings of more than $250,000 in their accounts have essentially lost the remainder. Recovery of their savings could take months, and even then they may get only a portion of what they had in their accounts.
What does this mean? It means that the FDIC is having trouble guaranteeing your deposits. Why? Because the FDIC is broke. Before the announcement of the two California banks totaling $10 Billion, the FDIC was officially in the red for $8.2 Billion. The real amount of debt the FDIC has incurred is probably far more than reported.
I have heard it argued that 140 closed banks is not such a terrible number. During the Great Depression, over 3000 banks were shut down. This is another straw man debate point. Yes, thousands of banks were closed during the depression, but there were numerous small private banks and city banks in those days, and their total deposits were miniscule compared to modern corporate banks. It is not the number of banks closed that is important, it is the size of their assets and deposits which makes or breaks the FDIC.
How long can the Treasury go printing money to bailout the FDIC? I suspect not very long.
Housing Is Still In Trouble
The bottom line is, nothing has changed except how we are told to perceive the situation. Changing how one looks at a problem does not make the problem go away, as much as we would like it to. This fact goes for the housing issue as well.
We are told constantly by the MSM that the markets are improving, but if this is so, then why are large banks continuing to go bankrupt due to defaults on home loans? Why is it that mortgage delinquencies continue to rise to record levels every month?
Even families that received direct help from the U.S. government “foreclosure prevention plan” are behind on their payments!
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B41ME20091205
A glut of foreclosed homes are now on the market, but banks are having trouble finding anyone to buy, even at discount price ranges:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091215/ts_nm/us_usa_housing_foreclosures
In response, the Federal Reserve is executing a plan to pump $1.25 Trillion into mortgage backed securities in order to bring interest rates down to record lows. This is very similar to the policy which they used to cause the housing crash in the first place:
Again, what we are told by the MSM and the government, and what seems to be occurring at the foundations of the economy, are in total opposition. Someone somewhere is lying.
On The Other Side Of The World…
Terrible events can occur while the masses are psychologically unaware or “asleep”, but they can also occur while we are literally asleep too. In a world designed around the concept of Globalization, that which damages the economy of one country, can have drastic effects on another. This was made evident by the recent trouble in Dubai, however, there is much more happening on the other side of the world that we rarely hear about.
Both Greece and Spain are currently in dire straights with mounting and unserviceable debt:
http://moneynews.com/Economy/greece-downgrade-credit-rating/2009/12/16/id/343500
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14973182
But these are not the only European countries in danger of default. If one examines debt as a percentage of a country’s GDP, one can see which nations are on the edge of collapse.
Nations with a high debt to GDP ratio have a tendency to default, that is, to go bankrupt. Greece and Italy already have a national debt larger then their entire GDP, which means the revenue of each country for a whole year is not enough to pay off what they owe! This indicates the very real possibility of economic collapse in these countries. Spain, UK, and Germany are all on the edge of the abyss as well.
It is important to note here that America’s debt is now around 75% of our GDP, and is projected to increase to 100% of our GDP by the end of Obama’s first term:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt
Debt is the major driving force that will trigger collapse, and the U.S. is well on its way to accumulating epic amounts of it.
If any of these countries default on their debt (including the U.S.) the shockwave will send the rest of the globe into financial retreat.
Smoke And Mirrors
It’s nice to maintain a rosy outlook on the economic situation we face. It makes us feel safe. The fact is, though, that we are far from safe, and denying the problem will not make it go away. The MSM’s main drive, at least for now, is to promote a sense of well being. Some of them do it because they believe the markets are driven by psychology and that by creating a positive atmosphere, we can somehow make our troubles disappear through shear force of will. Of course, this is an absurd notion.
Others ignore the facts and spin ideas of recovery deliberately and with malicious intent, because they know comfortable people are not alert, and those that are not alert are easy to surprise, and surprised people are easy to control. The globalist George Soros for instance has lately been denying all signs of collapse, and making claims countries like Greece, Dubai, and the UK, have nothing to worry about:
http://moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Soros-Greece-Dubai-Default/2009/12/14/id/342566
Gee, I know that makes me feel a whole lot better.
What we are witnessing today is perhaps the greatest faux recovery in the history of the world. There is a reason why there is so much conflicting evidence. There is a reason why many economists are confused as to where the economy is going; because some of the evidence is based in fact, while the rest is designed to deceive. Learning and standing by economic fundamentals can help one in discerning what rings true and what does not. The fundamentals cannot be changed, they can only be hidden. Stick with the foundations of the system, ignore the fluff, the fog and shadows media game, and you will never be caught unaware when disaster strikes.
Another absolutely great article!! Keep up the great work. You should throw in the other “tell-all” indicator for the level of mindless investing taking place. The P/E ratio. Last I checked the S&P was somewhere around 145, thats over 10 times its historical average! Yeah, these times will be lauhed at in our childrens Mandarin text books. Sad but true. Also, Giordano have you been following the salted tungston bars? Thanks again for the great journalism
Yes, we talked about the major discrepancy in the PE Ratio here:
http://neithercorp.us/npress/?p=167
I am following the Tungsten fake gold bar issue closely, but I feel like we need more concrete data before committing to an article. I believe something will surface on this issue very soon.
Thanks for visiting and I’m glad you liked the article. We try our best to do the deepest research possible.
Giordano,
Excellent piece! Exactly what I’ve been telling anyone who will listen (and some who won’t).
Did this add to your article or just coincidence?
http://www.neithercorp.us/nforum/economics/china_no_more_money_for_us_treasuries-t1098.0.html
There’s a lot of conflicting info out there on US debt vs. GDP. I find info ranging (EOY 2009) from 53% – 90%. Also look into Finland, Sweden, and Norway…their percentage is sky-high from what I’ve seen.
It’s time to go against the grain and prudently prepare for the inevitable. It’s only a matter of time.
Thanks for another great collection of info and thoughtful commentary. …will be sharing.
-Gantoris
The year-end display of happily-inflated good news is designed to increase tax revenues for the IRS. Look to late January-February for more accurate economic figures, which will be bad, no doubt.
For along time I’ve felt a recall of all elected officials and new General Elections is the only alternative to an actual revolution, which frightens me greatly since I can’t protect my children and grandchildren from the anarchy that would follow.
Maybe a holiday from banks (much like FDR’s “bank holidays”), wherein we just stop paying everything except local merchants is a solution. Not a happy one, but we’re screwed either way.
Maybe they’ll patch something together, but it could be too late.
Based on what I see and hear in my community, this country is ready to blow, and Washington and Wall Street will suffer casualties. Sad that it’s come to this.
down with the nwo
This article was written with pure accuracy and alertness to what is taking place day by day. Sleeping, YES, even when we are paying attention we are still sleeping because, we have not hit the skids fully yet! 2010 will be catastrophic financially for global economies. False flags of recovery are pure quick sand and will take many to the bottom. We are moving rapidly from globalism to World Order with new fiat junk paper, the difference will be the price we pay with our souls. Keep your wits about you, don’t be deceived by the elect. Your article was refreshing because, the fluff was taken out to reveal the truth. The Truth is hard to come by these days. I encourage you to keep telling it like it truly is, and enjoyed reading every last word of it.
Yer nuts
Excellent article. The bullsh** can last so long before the truth hits people between the eyes. The USS amerika is sinking and main street media would like you to believe otherwise. We are a nation of food, hospitals, banks, and government. All the idiots voted for change, they got a different name, but business as usual. The parties are both bought and paid for.
agree with article completely: following is a warning message I sent hoping to wake up people:(e-mail addresses deleted)
Subject: God’s 2009 Chanukah Miracle To The World
God’s 2009 Chanukah Miracle To The World
By
Louis A. Romo
The timing of the rare snows in Copenhagen and blizzard conditions in Washington D. C. truly show Divine Intervention to humiliate the organizers and WARN Jews and Christians that just as the first Chanukah celebrated the end of a tyrannical period, THIS Chanukah is at the beginning of a new violent dictatorial era for all mankind and end of life as we have known. We have stepped into an era of trouble such as never seen since creation of man or ever will be again in future. Truly we have entered a time that all men and women must face a danger and decide whether in eternity they will shine as bright stars forever or live in shame or everlasting contempt.
It will be some time before people look back to 2009 Chanukah as the year God warned the rulers of earth that He exists, is still alive, in control of human events, and will not tolerate too much longer human enslavement of mankind by a few families. The Global Warming Conference in Copenhagen was to use “global warming” as the disguise and excuse to bring the nations under a one world totalitarian government. Once again man wants to build his “Tower OF Babel” with all peoples forced to live under a new feudalistic system, struggling to survive with minimum food allowances and necessities; with majority of the fruits of their labor going to the rulers.
The conference was doomed from the start when the e-mails were published for the whole world to see, showing the data used to scare people was all fabricated. – intended to collapse capitalism and transfer wealth from the productive countries, primarily the United States, seen as the primary target because Americans love too much their freedom and guns. The double edged sword of Forced Health govenment care and wealth distribution via “global warming will break America forever, just like humpty-dumpty..never to rise again.
At the same time Americans are being attacked with the obama health care plan. What most people do not know is that there is a section: National Medical Device registry Sub Title C-11 Sec:2521 which discusses RFID tracking microchips. Supposedly, this part is written innocently enough, but can be changed later to FORCE ALL AMERICANS TO BE IMPLANTED WITH A MICROCHIP IF THEY WANT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS OR MEDICARE… YOU ARE ALL AWARE OF THE BIBLICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THAT.. I have not read the health care bill but have received numerous e-mails concerning that section.
If you are the individuals i think you are, I know you will fight with all you power to defeat oBAMA’S HEALTH CARE BILL because when it passes it will guarantee the death of democracy and a fascist government forever with all pretense of supporting Israel dropped and America’s extreme left sinks their claws into our throats to destroy us.
As if the threats of global warming and obama-care were not enough; there are now many religous “Christian” organizations that consider anyone who believes in the Hebrew Prophets and Book of Revelations are nothing but dangerous psychological misfits. They will not rest until they have a one-world religion, tolerant toward all and picking portions from each major religion so as not to offend anybody..The Ultimate “hellinization” of all humanity.
In other words, think; DESTRUCTION OF Those Jews and Christians believing we are in the redemption period…((and if you are silent enough to listen to the Holy Spirit in Your Heart, you can hear the footsteps of Messiah.))
I truly believe God has shown us a last generation Chanukah Miracle to prove HE IS STILL WITH US AND WILL BE STANDING BY EACH OF US AS WE DO OUR FINAL WALK AND NOT JUST TALK. As for myself i will keep transmitting news to any that will listen until I am silenced by the enemy ….Those were my final instructions in 1955 when I had finished a special course at our U.SAF. Security Service World Hqs, San Antonio, Texas, learning how I was to use the Russian Language I had been taught at the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California(Old Army Language School). DO YOU BELIEVE GOD HAS GIVEN US AN INSPIRATIONAL CHANUKAH 2009 MIRACLE TO CARRY US ACROSS THE FINISH LINE INTO THE MILLENIUM REIGN OF OUR LORD??
[...] Is the U.S. economy on the verge of a total collapse? [...]
The deregulation of the banknig and Saving loan industries during the 1970′s has now returned to haunt the industry. The banks now make their profits on service fees and not on their loan profolios and the loan profo requirements were changed in the 1970′s by the good old USA Government when they told the banks they had to change some of their loan requirements. I was in the industry at the time and have seen the liberal changes to loan requirements, which of course, made the economy grow. Grow – yes Grow along with high risk loans. In any case it has now caught up with itself and your article shows- again the irresponsibility of politicians running a country. Hyper inflation is on the way and to counter it will be a tightening of expenses. Look for the expense of war to end and the troops coming home. Are expenses comming down? No! Here we are again increasing expenses (health care) when we should closing down our wars and closing our military bases in foreign countries and balancing the budget. Please keep writing your articles as it willhelp people to prepare for harder time ahead.
Death to the new world order!
http://www.myspace.com/resist-tyranny
EDUCATE YOURSELF
Hey Giordano,
Is there an e-mail to message you directly? I have a link to a great story, I’m sure your already looking into it. —- john
http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/12/2010-food-crisis-for-dummies.html
Johnnyboy,
You can post it on the forum:
http://www.neithercorp.us/nforum/
Johnny:
You can email me in the forum section of this site, or, if you sign up on the forum, you can post your article and start a discussion thread.
The food shortage issue is very important. I’ve been meaning to do a full article on the subject actually…
[...] Continues: While You Were Sleeping [...]
God Bless the Republic!
All Freedom Minded….
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RonPaulWarRoom.com
Great article. Keep them coming!
This article is correct but leaves out the collossal amount of worthless derivatives 600 T and counting. This is the real elaphant in the room and it is the sinkhole that the bailout money has gone into. The housing bubble is but a small part of the equation. Read http://www.worldreports.org
surely the end is near for the system we live in.only a revolution can save us now.we have been played like cheap violins by the powers to be.sad, but a lot of the country is in a coma! not merely sleeping
Another incredible article! Thanks for the great writing Gio. I look forward to reading your work like a 13 year old girl looks forward to watching American Idol.
its time to storm the white house take the constituition back…by force..!!!
Greetings Mr. Giordano,
Your article sums up what the reality of this economic situation is, and is true that most of America is unaware of the dire consequenses that are about to befall not only them, but unfortunately the rest of the planet.
I don’t disagree with any point you have made. I will add two very important points that you left out, that you and your readers I hope will take to heart.
One, there are roughly $600 trillion in toxic derivatives sitting out there in every major bank in the world. It is the shadow gambling casino that Goldman Sachs and the Feds have let run rampant to fill the pockets of the very rich Wall Street gangsters.These derivatives are basically worthless.
The day of reckoning is near. Dubai World is the canary lying at the bottom of its gilded gold cage in the mine,breathless. This is a warning for the rest of the world that this fake holographic economic absurdity the world calls an economic system, and that mankind is a slave to, is about to implode on itself.
This system is based on the imagination of a few Elite people that think they are eventually going to control this planet and all that live on it. This system they conjured up was doomed to fail from the start, as they are also doomed. It is based on nothing but air. It’s not real!
Secondly, humanity is unaware of the two things humans cannot survive without. That is food and water, both of which there are coming shortages of thru out this planet. Humans have polluted this planets waterways, oceans, land, and dessimated her forests. The time has come to end this chapter of destruction.
The coming shortages will put the final nail in the coffin of humanity, and if that doesn’t, in all likellyhood there will be a major conflict in the world that will.
This play is in the final act, and the curtain is about to fall, and there is nothing that any human at this point in time will be able to do to stop it. This planet is awakening with an energy that will put an end to all the suffering on this planet. Humans don’t seem to understand that we are all of the same star matter that makes up the whole universe.
Everything is interconnected, and this planet has felt enough hurt. Its molten heart as is the human heart, is pure, and what gives us life. We have abused our privelage of living on her, and the time has come to put an end to this chapter. If only people would awaken to the fact that we are all the same.
There is no need for fear. There is no safe place to hide. The Elite have underground bases. They will not be safe from what is about to occur! There is only one way to prepare, and that is to believe in the heart virtues, and with that, all it takes is 25% of the human consciousness to enter a new paradigm of existance.
I hope you will post these comments, as I can only hope that if one reader understands this, its one more human that may be able to consciously help the transformation of humanity to the next journey that lies ahead.
Its time to leave behind the greed and corruption, money, and politics. Its time to reach for the stars where we were meant to go and gain the knowledge and wisdom of the universe. Then we will join the civilizations of the multiverse, and maybe eons from now, we will meet our creator with open arms, the true source of where it all began. But its not the end of the journey that we should be looking forward to, but the journey itself that gets us there.
May we all meet in a better place soon!
One simple article that sums up my total incapacity to resist the buying of Food, Fuel and Firearms.
Once again, Gio hits it out of the park with the blunt truth that NOBODY wants to talk about.
Stock your shelves, people! …and load your guns. There is a rumble in the distance but those hoof beats are not the calvary.
The more people we can wake out of their slumber, the better off we will be. But, like in the article, once they realize what is happening there is a tendency to be gripped by panic and then a desire to go back to sleep. …like waking up into a bad dream. Thinking, “Oh! If I just go back to sleep, I’ll be OK.” Help them through their panic. Help them see what to do.
I never thought I would have to treat truth like a religion. But, it has come down to that. Truth and fact have become such that the elites and the TPTB only want to suppress them to continue the slumber of the USA (and other 1st world countries) so they can come and slaughter us in our sleep.
Wake up. Rise up. Force them to realize you won’t be lied to anymore.
Keep your ammo dry and your food hidden.
While you’ve done an excellent Job covering the economic aspects of the sinking Titanic there is another more dangerous one brewing.
Our enemies are not fooled by the MSM lies and spin and are preparing to make their move to kill off the dying beast.
This is why Iran is so bold in telling the Empire running on empty to take a hike.They and their anti American axis have set a trap for the US navy in the Persian Gulf when the wimpy Obama decides to start looking like a leader and toughen sanctions by way of a US Naval Blockade.The surprise attack on our sitting duck Naval fleet and military bases surrounding Iran will make our economic troubles pale in comparision to the fallout from this apocalyptic event.
[...] department this morning I’d draw your attention to an article by Giordano Bruno called “While You Were Sleeping…the Economy Collapsed.” Not only are the facts lined up much as we try to line them up around here every day, but [...]
[...] this day and age, the smoke and mirrors continue. As a citizen you do you a responsibility to do your best to ignore distractions, pay attention, [...]
[...] this day and age, the smoke and mirrors continue. As a citizen you do you have a responsibility to do your best to ignore distractions, pay [...]
Great article, I joined!! Have you read http://www.worldreports.org current info by Christopher Story??
A decade or two ago, as the USA was just starting to jigger the numbers, I was asked by a Russian statesman how we managed to get people to ignore the obvious lies. He was most interested, as he knew their lies were always called out quickly.
I told him, among other things, it was the efficiency of our education system; not in promoting learning — but in creating easily managed workers and citizens.
Perhaps we are no longer asleep, but are entering a coma. Articles like this may provide a needed shot of adrenaline. What will happen if we wake up?
Actually those banks are not “gambling” in the stock market when they are part of the system that controls the news and rigs the stock market, shorting it on its way down. What I want to know is how much money has this sucked out of investors and what do they plan on doing with it.
Amen brother. Thanks for a great read.
Excellent article.Personally I believe that the current financial crisis has been delberately engineered by those who seek total domination and control of humanity. People will be soon so desperate, and scared and hungry, that they will probaly accept a new global currency/power structure with open arms.
Im waiting for the next big bait and switch. We have just had a monumental one with Copenhagen, thinly disguised as Climate talks, but which in reality was the signing of a treaty which will in effect give birth to a Global government. All nations signing this effectively hand over total control. see http://www.rense.com/general88/pay.htm
which quotes clauses of the actual treaty signed. Just like the federal reserve act in 1913 which was signed off on Dec 23rd when most of Congress had gone home for Xmas, the Copenhagen treaty was signed after many had left. It explains why Obomber didnt turn up until the end…the rest of the talks meant nothing and weren’t important.
Climate problem?> solution global climate government, read ” one total global government”. (this why none of the carbon trading, C02, global warming science deos not add up. It doesn’t have to make sense! it is not and never was the reason for HopeInhagen.
There seems to be a desperate race to get the NWO in place before 2012, and before we collectively wake up and fully realize our supreme power within us all to do away with all of his nonsense. The NWO cannot function without us, just as war cannot function without troops. Goverments cannot function without us. We have the power and the numbers…we just have to take responsibility and take it all back.
i think 2012 will not be the end of the world, but rather the beginning of a new truth era. Im not into he bible but I think the theme will be “And the truth shall set ye free!” Once the truth surfaces for all to see, and the bandits that hijacked the USA and UK and other nations hell bent on world domination, are tried and put behind bars, liberty and comon sense will stand a chance of full recovery.
The internet is one key step in exposing Truth and steering us toward the new cycle.. When we personally become truthful with ourseves, and all those with whom we deal, much of the current nonsense will vanish.
The current challenge of course is that most of us prefer to be told lies rather than face the fact hat absolute power corrupts absolutely, and we have been too lazy to keep, those who are supposed to represent us, in check.
You know things are evil when:
1.oBomber wins the Nobel peace Prize
1a A Kenyan gains USA presidency
2.Burntbanke gets another term
3.kissinger heads up the 9/11 investigation
4. the investigation into B Liar is not actualy for the purpose of trialling him for war crimes
5 Al whore has the gall and the support to speak at noHopeinhagen when he has been repeatedly exposed as a fraud and a liar.
6 we are told that we are in a global warming period at the same time people are freezing to death across Europe, the trains stops for the first time and the USA is experiencing 10 dgree colder temps than previously recorded in some parts.
Im sure you can easily cite plenty of other bizarre facts that should tell everyone that things are indeed upside down.
WE do have the power to right it. Are you with us?
While You Were Sleeping… The Economy Collapsed : Neithercorp Press
One of the most powerful forces in human psychology is the force of habit. Consistency, apathetic comfort, ties men to the ocean bottom to squeeze every ounce of oxygen from their last breath until it is gone, and we wake up at 50 or 60, only realizing…
The USA has been an empire since WW1. The creation of the Federal Reserve and income tax to soak the populace were just tools to meet that end. Now, like all empires in history, we are getting our just comeuppance. The values of the Founders and their ideals no longer hold sway in society. The power elite keep the vast entitlement class quiet with a small amount of money (bread) and television (circus). They figure the few of us wise enough to see the truth can be controlled or silenced. If you understand this, get ready for what is coming!
What strikes me is the sickening arrogance of our leaders and the bloated fat cats on Wall Street. The President has dropped the populist rhetoric and signed the wealth of the American people over to Wall Street speculators and the military industrial complex. All promises of change are revealed as lies while the media directs the outrage of the people not against Wall Street and our fascist government, but to the “horror” of socialized medicine. Their is a huge propaganda war to subvert the rage of the population and it just might be working.
Dreamerdick has alerted us to a website that I have been following for awhile now. It reads like a script for a suspense/crime/thriller. The scary part is that it may actually be true, and if predictions/allegations are correct we may be witnessing a great unravelling that even MSM wont be able to ignore… I am left wondering how the MSM will spin the events however..
Take the the Fort Hood shooting for example. Fort Hoodwink appears to be well and truly implicated in this Christopher Story story, as do other recent that MSM has covered, albeit with completely different spin. His Fort Hoodwink version makes more sense to me than the garbage I read in MSM re that incident.
http://green-agenda.com/
Explains the black lining of the green agenda.
Congress Budget
Dept of Defense 57%
Health & Human service 6%
Transportation 6%
State and other Int’l programs 4%
Housing/Uban development 4%
Other agencies 4%
Homeland Security 3%
Energy 2% Agriculture 2%
Justice 2%
Environment 1%
NASA 1%
Commerce 1%
Larbor 1%
Treasury 1%
Interior1%
I would think this is enough evidence, that they do not have their hearts in the right place. The horror for the deniers are going to get ugly!!
God Bless The Planet Earth
May there be PEACE ON EARTH and let it begin with ME!
C0ULDN’T AGREE MORE:
“In a dark time, the eye begins to see,” poet Theodore Roethke.
“Apocalypse” is a Greek word meaning “the lifting of the veil between you and God,” (or Knowledge of Reality).
The Internet is the vehicle through which the Apocalypse is now leaking knowledge, and the leaks are out of control
By Tom Dennen, author of ‘Grand Theft, Planet or Heidi’s Free Bar & Grill’.)
It’s becoming clear to many more people how the ‘matrix’ – the system – works, and how the Internet is the leaky bucket out of which the truth is flying.
Since the early goldsmiths discovered fractional lending and made money out of thin air (predatory lending), they have been thrown out of every courntry they set up in, after which those countries returned to resource-based economies and went through several decades of economic recovery.
Until the sixteenth century, in Holland.
Then and there, when the goldsmiths were discovered creating usurious debt, the already wealthy government and merchant classes simply joined them in the first full “collusion among corporatocracy, authoritarian government, and controlled media and education.”
Add bankers to that list and you have the recipe for the last three hundred years of fascist fiscal theft through market manipulation.
Holland was the site of the first experiment in money market manipulation, today called ‘Tulip Mania’, also a generic phrase given to an ‘out-of-control’ Bull Market.
‘Tulip Mania’ is however, just the opposite – it’s a controlled boom situation; controlled by those who run the Great Wealth Shift every generation, starting with the South Sea Bubble crash in 1720.
Every fifty years or so since then, the markets have peaked – and exactly nine years later, crashed – followed by a depression during which, bracketed by expensive wars, vast amounts of properties were foreclosed and the ‘masters’ transfered huge amounts of the wealth accumulated by the working class – “all wealth is created by work” (Adam Smith) – who were left to starve.
Just like today.
THE SHIFT IN WORLD ECONOMIC PREDOMINANCE
“All long-term credit cycles end with asset crashes in the markets of the leading economy. Measuring from crash to crash the dates of the modern credit cycles are as follows:”(starting with the South Sea Bubble)
Span Duration
1720 – 1772 52 years
1772 – 1825 53 years
1825 – 1873 48 years
1873 – 1929 56 years
1929 – 1990 61 years
“The crashes and resulting depressions appear to be less intense and traumatic when the end of the cycle does not coincide with a shift in world economic predominance.” – The Great Reckoning, James Dale Davidson & William Rees-Mogg, 1993.
Recent benchmarks:
1907 Financial Panic
1913 The Reserve System Created
1929 Great Depression
1933 Executive Order outlaws owning gold
1934 Gold Reserve Act freezes gold at $35 per ounce
1971 United States abandons gold standard
1974 U.S. citizens allowed to own gold
2009 Gold exceeds $1100 per ounce
The depression following the 1990 crash is fully and globally upon us and, because we are in the middle of the biggest shift in world economic predominance, we will not see the end of it for a long while.
SOVEREIGN MONEY
Both Lincoln and Kennedy were assassinated after introducing sovereign currencies, which were quickly removed from circulation after the killings.
What happened to Schwartzenegger’s IOUs? They were de facto sovereign currency paid back on maturity by the state at a 3.75% interest.
(It took the entire western world including Russia, incidentally, to crush Hitler who had introduced sovereign money).
The American Colonies, with their debt- and interest-free sovereign currency called Colonial Scrip were doing very prosperously in the 1700′s until the British Banking Act of 1775 forbade its use. Two years later the colonies were in a depression and declared independence from Great Britain’s financial oppression.
The most significant leak in Ellen Brown’s book, ‘Web of Debt’ is coming from the Global Warming lies now out in the open.
The Bilderbergs / governments / banks / merchants / landowners / fake scientists / Big Pharma and the rest are now too big to fail at keeping their secrets.
Solution? This will set us free.
Return to resource-based economies.
Do not borrow unless it’s from a state, county, city or people-owned bank that does not charge interest.
Gather together and itemize all the resources of your community and barter.
Keep your wealth to yourselves.
Above all, don’t listen to snake oil salesmen like Obummer and Al Bore who are just stealing while callously killing your children for money.
(Required reading: http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm
Tacitus, “The Annals of Rome”, Book Six).
(Optional: http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/grandtheft.php)
Book of James Chapter 5
Warning to Rich Oppressors.
Your best bet is to get or renew your personal relationship with God through Christ.
Obama, Bush Jr., Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, etc are all puppets groomed in the aristocracy run higher education centers of Harvard, Yale, Oxford, etc. They all do exactly what they are told to do. They frost the poop cake for their base with various liberal or conservative efforts.
Recent example is Obama’s health care reform. No public option regardless of the fact that he campaigned and promised it. Apparently his Reverend Wright tried to warn when he said Obama will say anything to be elected.
Book of Luke 23:24
28Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
Revelation 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Accept the free gift for grace from Christ before you must make a choice of worshiping the beast or worshiping God. For as in the days of Noah, many will scoff and few will believe and then God will close the door that no man can open.
Come back to Christ before else you will perish.
[...] While You Were Sleeping… The Economy Collapsed [...]
Religion is another major “truthout” that we will have to be frank about and confront head-on if we are to truly progress. It will be like accepting that there is no santa claus…not easy for some.
All religions are prisons for the mind. They separate us, put us in various boxes,some encourage war, help us to forget who we really are, and encourage us to think that something outside of ourselves is running the show.
These mostly fear-based long running franchises have to vanish. We forget too easily that we are all brothers and sisters.
Believing in nonsensical fairy tales, fear based stories and fudged records is what helped to get us to where we are today, and what the powers that be still hrow at us..e.g global warming.
What a tremendous article!
Another place to bookmark in the growing list of people who have their eyes open and are not afraid to see and speak the truth. Let’s hope all these little voices wake up the sheeple.
Now THEY are trying to drag us into IRAN…the same morons who swore on their mothers graves that IRAQ had WMDs, are telling us IRAN has WMDs. MORE LIES
YOU want a war? YOU pay for it-hold bake sales-demand a larger cut taken from your paycheck towards a war
DONT DRAG US INTO IT
WE ARE BROKE
BROKE BROKE…we dont need to go further into debt the THE FEDERAL RESERVE to pay for this-FINANCE IT YOURSELVES
THE DANGER FROM IRAN IS ABOUT AS REAL AS THE DANGER FROM GLOBAL WARMING;
If you want war LET SEE YOU DOWN AT THE RECRUITING OFFICES- our men are dropping like flies from the exhaustion of constant redeployment;
WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS or else a DRAFT
AH….this is where the armchair patriots go and hide in the basement
Its FUN playing war on your PC-but horror of horrors-dont ask us to SERVE OUR COUNTRY let some else die in our place
Beside we have lost enough men in IRAQ via deception that we should be charging mssrs BUSH and CHENEY-and now OB with MURDER.
The first 2 KNOWING lied to our boys and to US to con us into fighting
OB should be impeached, while BUSH and CHENEY should be hung for TREASON
This idea is going viral
Nofear says:
“Religion is another major ‘truthout’ that we will have to be frank about and confront head-on if we are to truly progress. It will be like accepting that there is no santa claus…not easy for some.”
Evil people often don’t understand how religion is used by the same powers to motivate people into slavery much like the money changers. People that are spiritually ignorant deride and defame religion and the religious only to look foolish to all. As is said, “The Gospel is as foolishness to the wise.” Religion is seen by most as a tool to be maniplated and used to subdue the masses while making the subjects think they are free. So many things from the Bible are totally misinterpreted. Words of rebellion are re-interpreted to mean forgiveness. The responsibility to defend yourself is somehow re-interpreted to mean you should be a pacifist.
Organized religion is another tool of the powers that be that they buy off, pervert and manipulate. Don’t fall into their traps. There are a few pure religions out there. Unfortunately most are still culturalized by people coming in from other churches.
Yes, Jesus loves you but the way he loves you and died for you is far different from what you’re told.
You want proof of all this? Its easy. God is omnipotent. You’re not going to insult him by telling him he’s crazy the way he runs things or that he makes you mad because of what he allows to happen. God, wants you to be honest, because, he knows your thoughts anyway.
“Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.” -Thomas Jefferson
One nice thing about God, if you tell him to go away lost, He’ll leave you alone until you ask Him to return. God will not pester you.
…and let me know how it goes.
natrngr@yahoo.com
Hahaha! You know, I actually *BELIEVED* them when they said there were WMDs in Iraq. I carried their banner for months thinking “They’ll find them!”. Ha! There were none. The entire thing was a complete lie. Maybe there were reasons to go into Iraq but the pretense of WMDs was nothing more than a lie.
larouchepac dot com —- can save you time.
I think deflation is going to be the main theme of 2010. Why? People and nations are going to default. Default means debt decreases and that causes deflation because in the criminal Federal Reserve system money is created by debt, so if debt decreases the “money” supply shrinks.
All that Fed monetization of T-Bills is not causing hyperinflation because the dollars are not going into the hands of the debtors. So what if the Fed has trillions? Its just a number in their computer.
Who out there is getting a wheelbarrow full of dollars that would be the fuel to cause massive inflation? No one I know, in fact almost everyone is having trouble with debt service. Consumers are tapped out, deficits are reaching a limit also because foreigners won’t buy treasuries just as your excellent articles states.
Hyperinflation ain’t happening. The banks are hoarding the cash, consumers are changing their minds about debt, and the default rate is accelerating.
These trends have already started and when the masses figure out the deflation is a long term trend (like Japan for the past 15 years) they are going to pitch in the towel on their falling home price and increasing ARM mortgage payments.
The result is going to be a sudden catastrophic deflation crash worse than the Great Depression.
I have a great amount to say about all of this and its online free, just google phishna. I write annual predictions and you can read them here:
http://phishna2009predictions.blogspot.com/
Phishna
What you are describing is the “Prechter/Shedlock” model of deflationary collapse, but again, you are forgetting several major points.
The most important being that default does not erase the debt if the Fed is bailing out every entity that goes bankrupt. Also, the Fed IS printing money to do this. Its not all in the computer, which is a common misconception. Also, as I point out in the article, it does not take a large amount of printing to collapse the Dollar’s value, all the Fed has to do is force other nations to stop using the dollar as a World Reserve Currency.
Inflation is caused ultimately by the drop in the dollar’s value, NOT over printing. Over printing is just one of the many mechanisms that can cause the dollar to implode.
The other point, which we also covered in the article, is that if the Dollar remains strong, the Globalists FAIL. Period.
They cannot introduce the SDR as a world reserve currency as long as the Dollar exists in that role. They must remove the dollar, and the most efficient way to do that is through inflation.
The deflationary argument is interesting, but it has no legs when you apply the fundamentals.
You want proof of all this? Its easy. God is omnipotent.
That isn’t proof. It’s nothing more than an attempt to rationalize a chosen belief in the absence of supporting evidence.
Oddly enough, this odd little quirk in human behavior is one of the major reasons why so many people are in denial with regards to the current economic situation.
Burrow Owl,
Did you try it? But, hey, we’re off topic. You believe what you wanna believe, its OK with me, really. I know the damage pushy religious types can do. They damaged me years ago. I finally found the ultimate truth but it took about 10 years. I have faith you’ll find your path, one way or another.
Of course, pushy anti-religious types can do great damage too. Never underestimate the power of evil, or you in its grip.
Merry Christmas!
I would have to agree with Netranger…
Extremism, whether religious, or atheist, creates a dangerous atmosphere of projection. Monsters are made in such fashion. Look at the Inquisition and the Dark Ages; Religious extremism. Look at Stalinist Communism; Atheistic Extremism.
Belief systems are a personal quest for understanding. An internal search for answers. They should STAY personal, instead of being forced on others. Its really nobody’s business anyway. Who cares if one man is Christian and another man is Atheist? As long as they value honesty, and are open to the truth, no matter where it may lead…..I will have respect for them.
Giordano,
Agree with your premise…however I believe the scale of “honest/principled atheists” vs. “everything is relative” and “end’s justify the means” atheist’s is tipped toward the latter.
As the founders recognized Atheism in our society/gov’t, so do I. Free to live among us (not as 2nd class citizens), yet do not let them into a position of gov’t power. Judge them on their merits as you should any person, but be aware that their world view is void of a final judgement.
There is no answer for an Athiest’s actions. While there are decent and even honest people who do not believe in a higher power, I would not trust those people to represent me in a position of power. A common misconception is that we are/were a Christian nation. Not the case, we were created as a nation of sovereign Christian states (all original states had a ‘state religion’). In almost all of the original state constitutions were clauses where elected officials had to affirm their belief in a supreme being (many specified the bible’s God). But more importantly, they affirmed that the elected officials believed they had to answer to that supreme being for their actions here on earth (i.e. judgement). This is a key peice to our representative republic that is little understood today.
In the late 1700′s, public service was a sense of duty and to be only for a vituous person. Surely no longer the case.
Circling back to the topic, this is very much part of the root of the problems that we face in our current environment. Albeit, much off the beaten path as well as much a less tangible part. …Can’t just point to it and say, “hey, there’s the connection!”
Netranger/Giordano:
Good points, no disagreement here.
Gantoris:
Your argument sounds a whole lot like the ‘separate but equal’ fallacy.
Anyway, the point that I was trying to make is that humans will, as often as not, ignore the facts (or lack thereof) when these facts either contradict or fail to support their beliefs. This applies to all aspects of life- be spiritual, financial, etc.
In other words, humans, as a group, tend to be highly irrational.
[...] Read more… Free downlaod: US ARMY FM 21-76 – Survival, Evasion & Escape [...]
Burrow Owl,
I’ll have to respectfully disagree as they are entirely different.
Regardless of what you or I believe, what I stated in brief above is our history. What we choose to believe does not alter the past.
“Free to live among us (not as 2nd class citizens), yet do not let them into a position of gov’t power. Judge them on their merits as you should any person, but be aware that their world view is void of a final judgement.”
The old ‘Separate but equal.’ fallacy.
IOW, pretend that those ‘other people’ are equal… without having to actually let them enjoy the benefits of equality.
Absurd comparison…
Cheers,
-G
Burrow Owl,
As much as I respect the merits of your argument, you seem to be forgetting that any slime politician can just say he believes in a “higher power,” and that he will be held accountable for his actions on this earth. Keeping atheists out of government accomplishes nothing, because any power hungry atheist will simply lie and claim his a simple God fearing man to get elected. Your solution simply keeps any potentially honest atheist out of government.
Wikity:
Those weren’t my words- I was quoting Gantoris in a previous post.(note the quotation marks)
FWIW, I agree with you.
Gantoris, OTOH, seems to be bound and determined to reinforce my argument- whether or not he/she realizes it.
[...] While You Were Sleeping… The Economy Collapsed : Neithercorp Press [...]
Burrow / wikity,
I don’t want to take away from the excellent article with going back and forth on something off topic. Not my intent, but I’ll clarify and move on (as comments aren’t a debate forum).
My point is that ‘separate but equal’ (1860s forward, and something dispicable based on the color of ones skin) is not the same as how the founders established the states (1770′s) and viewed atheism.
I happen to agree with the founders that we should not elect non-believers into office (for reasons mentioned in my comment above). I also recognize I’m in the minority today and that it also isn’t the same environment.
Could someone falsely claim to be a God-fearing ‘believer’? Of course…but citizens must base their decisions (i.e. votes) on the politician’s actions not just their words. Most politicians today say they believe, but their faith is but a miniscule part of their life – something to be brought out and dusted off only when advantageous.
At the end of the day, there are two topics in question here. I’m simply stating what the founders established (which simply…is) as well as my personal view that their system was what I would prefer. Secondly, I disagree that this is the same as ‘equal but separate’. One is how our nation (i.e. the states) was established and the other is a perverted method of keeping people segregated because of the skin they were born into. These are not the same although they may be likened.
Lastly, check out what an oath meant to the founders and why it was so important to them 9and whom the oath was between). It fits into this discussion.
Cheers,
-Gantoris
(BTW…dude, not a chick)
[...] long but good read on what to expect in 2010 While You Were Sleeping… The Economy Collapsed : Neithercorp Press Looks like it’s going to be a rough ride. __________________ Absolute Tan & Spa [...]
Though Gantoris appears to be way more educated in the ways of the founders (…my research shows he is correct, the “separate but equal” is different from God anchored officials…)
However, there is a quote that I see as very relaven to this discussion (even as I recognize we are way off track from this excellent article). That quote is:
“Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.”
-Thomas Jefferson to James Smith, 1822.
Myself, being a baptized believer in the salvation of Jesus Christ, one would tend to think me of the belief that reason is based in that salvation. I say it is. However, the Athiest, being purely not believing in a higher power is sometimes described as being “without faith” or “without religion”. That is a misconception. The Aheist is a full faith believer in humanism, be it ever changing.
While a Christian such as myself sees the things in the Bible as an unchanging set of rules that are to be applied to my life using reason, an Atheist would not have such rules. So, what rules would the Atheist use? The changing rules of a society? The changing rules of humanism? Surely not! Moral relativism only leads to death and destruction, never understanding.
Pure reason, possibly, but more than likely and self imposed set of codes to follow. But, without a set of tried and true codes to follow, how would one know what is right or wrong. Again, the humanist influence rears its head.
I say this, flame me if you wish, an Atheist, though not believing, will follow the same codes as the Christian until it is clear to him that, as an Atheist, he is not bound by then and it become inconvenient. He then would go off on his own as per the aforementioned quote.
As you prepare your flame for me, also realize that most Christians, being imperfect, will do the same, for a time. However, while the Atheist will likely wander forever away from truth, possibly never to return, the Christian, educated in those unchanging codes, will forever be called back by them through a conscience known as the Holy Spirit. The Atheist, though having that same conscience but denying it, would wander forever “like a ship without a rudder being the sport of every wind”.
In that sense, one must watch out, equally, for Aheists and Christians (and poeple of other faiths) that have forsaken their codes.
All in all, what I am saying is, Atheist, Agnostic, Christians, Buddists, Hindus, Islam, Wiccans, etc, are all dangerous when they stray. But, those that are not in denial are destined, more than likely, to return to reason and conscience after their departure. Those that never believed in those unchanging codes in the first place are more likely to wander forever.
-NR
this is great!! Very accessible, easy to understand, and directly to the point without making people feel like they have to pick a side (which I’m getting tired of MSM doing to every single issue they cover) I’m passing this link on to everyone I know. Thank you!
Look for the rapture of the Church (those who believe in Jesus Christ and follow his ways) to occur in the Spring of 2010. Once the ‘Church’ is removed from the earth, that is when all hell is going to break loose. The beginning of the 7 year tribulation is almost upon us…..I am talking DAYS
Netranger/Gantoris:
Last post on this:
The extreme level of mental gymnastics that some people will engage in while attempting to rationalize their convictions never ceases to amaze me.
I do thank you, however, for continuing to reinforce my point by providing shining examples of the ‘separate but equal’ fallacy.
‘Separate but equal’ is a *concept* as well as a reference to unfortunate historical events.
(see post #60 -last sentence)
And no, Netranger, I’m not going to flame you- but I will point out that the indoctrination of your faith seems to have blinded you to the fact that belief in supernatural beings is not a prerequisite to maintaining a moral code.
(see ‘non-aggression principle’)
[...] You Were Sleeping…. The Economy Collapsed. While You Were Sleeping… The Economy Collapsed : Neithercorp Press __________________ A man with an experience, is never at the mercy of a man with an [...]
Burrow Owl,
If I were to take your word for it, it would totally and completely contradict my experience. Without a Supreme Being to be accountable to, Atheists stray quite easily.
But, you surprise me! You represent Atheism well, my friend, and do contradict my experience. My compliments. Normally, when faced with a stern representative that cannot be swayed, Atheists resort to name calling and cursing.
I do base my life on experience. Though my faith may influence my actions, it does not influence fact. And, the fact is my last post would throw every Atheist I know into a tirade of cursing and venom-spitting.
God does not require me to “justify” Him via “mental gymnastics”. Most people call it “thinking”, however, I understand that your religion (which, by the way, takes way more faith than mine, which I admire) may consider it something different if applied to spiritual matters.
Back to politics, the economy and TEOTWAWKI.
David,
Concerning the Rapture (which is not used in the Bible, it is the Day of The Lord), I have been looking intently for its signature.
What evidence do you have that we may see it soon?
-NR
Burrow Owl, NetRanger/Gantoris,
Good points on both sides here. It’s just extremely refreshing to find a website where we can engage in respectful/well-reasoned debate… without the cointelpro race/religion/hate baiting that has infected most sites.
Wikity:
This is one site you will not see cointelpro trolls. Being that our site often examines disinfo tactics specifically, and we know exactly how they operate, we are able to pick them out immediately. We used to debate disinfo trolls daily on various boards before we even started this site, and they always stood out as opposed to those people who just had legitimate and intelligent arguments.
We support all honest debate here, regardless of the person’s beliefs, even if they disagree with us. However, disinfo trolls WILL be spotted and annihilated without mercy. We have a zero tolerance policy here when it comes to cointelpro.
For the sake of getting back on topic, I’ll pose a question for anyone who wants to chime in; does anyone have info on the rumblings that OPEC is going to create their own currency?
I believe that this event could be the true tipping point for the psychological balancing act required to keep the dollar propped up as the world reserve currency–seeing as the dollar is the current standard for “petro” trading.
Wikity,
If you read some of the early comments, you find that many believe that it was what Saddam was trying to do and that’s why Iraq was “targeted”. Other targets include Lincoln for the greenbacks and Kennedy for the silver certs.
But now, it looks like there are several groups testing the waters. OPEC and the Asian countries come to mind. There may be others. They realize the IMF is simply a subsidiary of the fed and they are all tired of getting screwed, thus, they want to bail. I’m betting that our next “Terrorist” attack will have something to do with the country most responsible for instituting a sovereign currency. Look for it on a front page near you!
(BTW, I have learned more in my life from people that were dead wrong and thought they were right than all the people that were ever considered “smart”.)
Ah yes, well aware of saddamm, lincon, jackson, kennedy, et al. challenging the international fractional reserve fiat ponzi scheme. Iran seems to be the obvious choice for next on the chopping block. How dare they maintain any semblance of sovereignty in the face of globalist collectivism! And then of course we have the constant Af-Pak disruption as an attempt to further destabilize the Middle East. It seems to me that the globalists are doing everything in their power to light a fire under OPEC’s butt in order to motivate them to decouple themselves from the dollar. As I’m sure most the readers here are well aware, the endgame for the global elite is the elimination of all national sovereignty (ESPECIALLY the U.S.). In my analysis, the communistic control freak elite must accomplish this through stealth and manipulation. What better way than to piss off OPEC so much that they completely abandon the U.S. dollar. This of course serves another purpose–the western TV watching zombies can go on blaming brown people on the other side of the world for all of our problems without ever addressing the root cause of our newfound serfdom.
With regards to my original question, I suppose I was just wondering if there were any real practical developments on the OPEC petro dollar front, or if it’s all just talk at the moment. Most the info I’m finding on this front appears to be a few months old: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-demise-of-the-dollar-1798175.html
wikiti: OPEC and China amongst others such as Russia are all wanted to dump the US debt and drop using the dollar as a currency.
A site I find interesting is http://www.urbansurvival.com/week.htm.
NetRanger is right on about the PTB using various methods to ensure domination. Such as the latest terrorist on the Delta (I think) plane. He is a Yemeni tool. It is interesting that the US has had two military incursions into Yemen in the past two weeks.
I used to believe the hype. Now with the help of faith, as opposed to religion, scripture, non-MSM info such as neithercorp, and good sense (as opposed to common sense), I suspect everything.
Such as Obama. What a tool, blatant now. He has his “progressives” all wacked out. You should hear them on Air America, they are pissed, yelling and wanting impeachment even. It is amazing that they do not see that he along with most every president save for the assassinated ones is a tool of the PTB. Each groomed to be puppets but always keeping the sheeple, in particular their voting base, happy by doing various frosting efforts. Such as Obama, after MONTHS of TARP appoints some dude who says, “no bonuses for employees of companies that accepted TARP funds”. Suddenly the money returns, interesting that the progressives a couple of weeks ago (like Randi Rhodes) were all gaga about how the Obama stimulus (that Bush and Paulson started) was working. However, those scum bag companies will be right back at the TARP trough in Feb 2010. They *conveniently* returned the money at *bonus time*. But they are part of the PTB structure.
As for my use of Scripture and suggesting people accept the free gift of Grace. I did not mean to go off topic. I was pointing out that the PTBs are noted in Scripture (James 5) amongst many other books as being among the ultimate losers in the end.
One little note, in Revelation those who do not worship the beast cannot buy or sell. It is interesting that the first tool used to bully a misbehaving nation is “economic sanctions == cannot buy or sell”.
Oh and religion is not the same as faith. That is what Christ was trying to get across to the Pharisees.
To me, the Bible helps explain all the turmoil and abject confusion of the current times. The wackiness happening now is not logical. I mean come on, how can a tract house worth $80,000 in 1998 be worth $320,000 in 2006. And ARM loans, those make no good sense. Except to the PTB taking advantage of all the CDS, hedging, recycled loans at higher principles. Home prices are a function of rent (as Peter Schiff puts it). No one can pay for a house that exceeds their income. And the dot com bust that ended with, guess what 911, that was stupid. How could a company that has never made anything let alone sold anything be worth $250M (or $2B in some cases) at IPO.
If it sounds too good to be true then it is and the purveyors (the PTB) of such nonsense are the only ones who will gain on the up and down side of the deal.
Netranger,
“The wackiness happening now is not logical. I mean come on, how can a tract house worth $80,000 in 1998 be worth $320,000 in 2006.”
Exactly..it cant. However, we tend to forget that what really contributes to this, is the fact that our dollar progressively lost value over time. The house you quote is not worth $320,000 1998 dollars, but 320,000 2006 dollars.
I’m the first to admit that things got seriously out of whack in recent years.. But I am tired of the mases beeiveing that thier houses have gone up in value, when realy it is their dollars that have lost value. Not something to celebrate…
I make this point because we have so many people thinking of their houses as investments rather than as shelter. I claim this is as a major reason for our current plight.
Hpusing costs over the decades truly highlights how badly our currency has fallen, but it’s so starnge to me how the massses dont get this, preferring to see rising house prices as proof of apreciating value and a sign of prosperity in good times…
You may have guessed by now that Im very critical of the housing game where people are willingly enslaving themselves with usuary rates of interest making banks rich and all the while thinking that they are the ones making money. Truth is, everyone is making money out of this farce except for the mortgagee. He has been duped.
I can’t wait for a massive house price and interest rate correction. Whne we stop looking at houses as get rich vehicles, maybe our children will be ale to enjoy what our parents did…a manageable mortgage on a single average income, with the wife or husband able to say home and raise children properly.
Ho Ho Ho,,, are the holiday shopping figures in yet? The consumer spending report will be interesting.
Here’s why.
For as long as I can remember the holiday retail sales never seemed to meet or go above their benchmark, even in the best holiday spending seasons.
I would be hesitant to believe a report that this years spending exceeded all retail spending expectations.
nofear,
Actually that quote about housing was nink’s. But, regardless, I would point you to a chart that gives you the picture: low interest rates and “if you’re breathing” loan policies made for a huge bubble…
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeqrguz/housingbubble/united_states.png
Though this doesn’t take you back very far in history, it does go back plenty far to see the bubble. Now thats a bubble! Notice at the end where it takes a little uptick? Yeah, your tax money at work. All that money to stabilize it 30% or so above where it should be. We have, on the one hand corrupt geniuses and on the other a complacent and crooked and stupid press that perpetuates these crimes. Not much longer people! Our government is broke. Its all about to fall in on top of them. Frankly, I can’t wait. Sure, it will be tough but it will guarantee to wake up the sheeple and boot the corruption out. A crash now will save our grandchildren mega pain.
Hopefully the crash will come before the dishonest bastard-thieves pass the health care deform bill. I would say that the only reason the US Gov is padding this crash is so they can try and make health deform palatable. Once they get that done it is key to controlling EVERYTHING in this country. I mean, EVERYTHING. There are provisions in there that will tell you how long you can have your toenails!
If it doesn’t crash before they pass it, it will pass after they pass it because they won’t give a rats behind after its passed. Health care deformation is the finish line for them because it is a way to castrate American progress and performance.
A final plea: call, write, e-mail, fax your senators: “If you pass this bill into law life for you will become very difficult!” Send the message.
Wikity,
Yes, great to have a place to converse even though we may not agree.
Also, about the OPEC/Arab currency. Here’s the latest that hit the MSM:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/6819136/Gulf-petro-powers-to-launch-currency-in-latest-threat-to-dollar-hegemony.html
This coupled with the goings-on with Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC)…and the ‘net-selling’ of Treasuries by foreigners…I think we’re seeing some real birth-pangs.
Oh, and don’t forget China’s relationship with ASEAN:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpXnq4ZwAW7GXKVSlioPhqrT12EQ
Not good….(for us).
-Gantoris
Netranger, thanks for your post.
As a person with some previous journalistic experience, I too am disgusted with the news media and hold them equally responsible for the wars and the economy, together with Global warming, H1N1 and other fearmongering.
Without such complicity, much of this non-sense could not have even germinated, let alone survived and thrived.
Mainstream media may become a dinosaur, clinging on to, and bolstering the blatant lies and deceptions well beyond their use-by-date. Meanwhile,alternative media,largely unsponsored, seeks the truth and wins an ever-growing audience.
thanks for the links Gantoris
great picture,thats my son