Sunday, November 30, 2008
Someone please wake me up and tell me I'm dreaming all of this...
Here's a delightful piece of news hidden away at the very end of a long, innocuous looking BBC article...
"...Under the plans, which have been devised by former cabinet minister Alan Milburn, 10-year "franchises" for services such as GPs and colleges would be up for tender.
Others proposals include making grant-funded students who drop out of university pay back part or all the money.
Also, forcing local authorities to spend more money on youth services and the creation of civilian security force consisting of military trainers, civil servants, police officers, judges and other logistical staff.".
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Austrian Monopoly
One of the cornerstones of the official narrative of the current economic meltdown is the excuse that 'no-one saw the collapse of the housing market coming'
This is, of course, nonsense
Anyone vaguely numerate, or blessed with even a passing knowledge of history, was equipped with all that was needed to anticipate the inevitable crash
Greed, stupidity, ignorance and the endless human capacity for self-deception all contributed to ensuring that the majority of people played along with the madness for as long as the people who orchestrated it considered to be expedient
I had reason to consider the ignorance part of the equation whilst, of all things, playing a game of Monopoly with some kids a few days ago
From an amateur economician's point of view, one of the interesting things about Monopoly is that the longer a game lasts the more money goes on the table. Regular cash injections are made into the game every time a player circuits the board and receives a crisp £200 from the bank for their trouble.
The Monopoly economy goes from strength to strength and players are able to buy land and build houses thanks to the generous handouts from the bank
The problem with the Monopoly economy and the reason why it dawned on me the other day that it is a particularly sneaky example of subliminal programming is that, unlike the world the children grow up into, the Monopoly bank never gets round to clawing all the money back
One simple rule change would transform a game of Monopoly into a powerful educational tool that could possibly help junior avoid turning into a financial fuckwit when he grows up...
As each player succumbs to inevitable bankruptcy they are forced to stand outside on the street, in the rain, holding a half empty can of budget lager
Play continues until the bank has removed all liquidity from the game and repossessed all the property
Anyone who was daft enough to have played the game then has to ask the banker's permission to take a piss for the rest of their lives...
Next Week - 'Thomas the Tank Engine - A Marxist Analysis'
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This is, of course, nonsense
Anyone vaguely numerate, or blessed with even a passing knowledge of history, was equipped with all that was needed to anticipate the inevitable crash
Greed, stupidity, ignorance and the endless human capacity for self-deception all contributed to ensuring that the majority of people played along with the madness for as long as the people who orchestrated it considered to be expedient
I had reason to consider the ignorance part of the equation whilst, of all things, playing a game of Monopoly with some kids a few days ago
From an amateur economician's point of view, one of the interesting things about Monopoly is that the longer a game lasts the more money goes on the table. Regular cash injections are made into the game every time a player circuits the board and receives a crisp £200 from the bank for their trouble.
The Monopoly economy goes from strength to strength and players are able to buy land and build houses thanks to the generous handouts from the bank
The problem with the Monopoly economy and the reason why it dawned on me the other day that it is a particularly sneaky example of subliminal programming is that, unlike the world the children grow up into, the Monopoly bank never gets round to clawing all the money back
One simple rule change would transform a game of Monopoly into a powerful educational tool that could possibly help junior avoid turning into a financial fuckwit when he grows up...
After the first 30 minutes of play, the bank stops giving out £200 every time the player goes round the board and demands payment of £250 each time instead
As each player succumbs to inevitable bankruptcy they are forced to stand outside on the street, in the rain, holding a half empty can of budget lager
Play continues until the bank has removed all liquidity from the game and repossessed all the property
Anyone who was daft enough to have played the game then has to ask the banker's permission to take a piss for the rest of their lives...
Next Week - 'Thomas the Tank Engine - A Marxist Analysis'
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Friday, November 28, 2008
Giving up Liberties for Freedom pt315
I've just been booking tickets for my dear old Mum to fly to New Zealand next year
You can either fly via Asia or via the US. If you travel through the US you get twice the baggage allowance
Unfortunately, my Mum's passport isn't one of the new chipped jobbies required to travel through the US - which means she has to either get a new passport or apply for a C1 Transit Visa...
C-1 Visa - Transit
In general, travelers in transit through the United States require valid C-1 visas. That is unless they are eligible to transit the United States visa free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), or they are a national of a country which has an agreement with the United States allowing their citizens to travel to the United States without visas.
If you are not eligible to transit the United States under the VWP, or are not a national of a country where visa requirements are waived, you will be required to apply for a transit (C-1) visa before traveling.
All C-1 visa applicants, even children and babies listed in parents' passports are required to:
* Complete the visa application form DS-156.
* Pay a visa application fee;
* Present a passport or other travel document valid for at least six months beyond the holder's period of stay in the United States with at least one blank page - the six-month requirement does not apply to United Kingdom passports;
* Provide one photograph which meet State Department regulations;
and present evidence of
* sufficient funds to cover all expenses while in the United States; and
* evidence to show that the applicant has a residence abroad to which he/she intends to return at the end of the stay in the United States. This is generally established by evidence of family, professional, property, employment or other ties and commitments to some country other than the United States sufficient to cause the applicant to return there at the conclusion of his/her stay.
plus, of course, there's the compulsory fingerprinting of all arrivals to the US, even if they're transiting on the way to somewhere else
We've opted to give the Land of the Free a miss and fly through Commie controlled Hong Kong instead
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Blah
I'm currently suffering from that strange, joyless feeling serial pessimists experience when their worst fears are fulfilled
Where's the fun in being right about something if people are suffering
Whilst not monster-significant in itself, the UK pre budget report earlier this week was, for me, the final straw
The UK is officially broke
The only solution the UK government has to offer is a small reduction in tax on discretionary consumption. A cynical incentive to encourage a few more people to buy just a little bit more imported shit to stick on the final bill
Even using the most optimistic figures, our government has admitted that the country will be driven deeper and deeper into debt until at least 2015
The banksters have won
Again
The reaping will begin shortly
What a lot of people don't comprehend is that the really big fortunes are made not in economically good times but in the immediate aftermath of economically awful times
As mentioned previously, the heavily promoted ideas of the likes of Klein and Taleb support the fairy tale that 'Disaster Capitalism' and the exploitation of completely unexpected financial catastrophes is in some way a new idea
That's a lie
The truth is that these kind of events are totally predictable, often deliberately engineered. and carpetbagging is as old as the hills
...though the concept of people funding their own serfdom, by thoughtfully stuffing their future overlords' carpetbags full of 'bail-out' cash, is a nice new touch
Ordinary UK citizens will now endure decades of debt slavery, where increasingly huge slabs of national income are siphoned off, directly and indirectly, in interest payments
At some point the government will attempt to reduce the value of debt with a Weimar/ Zimbabwe style printing frenzy...
That's assuming the existing system actually holds up
Otherwise things could get very interesting indeed
The New Look UK Treasury Team c. 2012
On the bright side, British police will be packing 10,000 shiny new tasers real soon now and the roll-out of the new ID/ Ration/ Travel Permit/ Record of Personal Indebtedness Card is well on its way.
The UK will start looking and feeling just a teensy wee bit like a naturally-moated, open prison
There are paths we can follow to avoid the oncoming mess but no-one in mainstream media and politics, and depressingly few in the alternative media are talking about them
Of course, these are just the worst fears of a serial pessimist
For everyone else, here's a picture of a puppy...
.
Where's the fun in being right about something if people are suffering
Whilst not monster-significant in itself, the UK pre budget report earlier this week was, for me, the final straw
The UK is officially broke
The only solution the UK government has to offer is a small reduction in tax on discretionary consumption. A cynical incentive to encourage a few more people to buy just a little bit more imported shit to stick on the final bill
Even using the most optimistic figures, our government has admitted that the country will be driven deeper and deeper into debt until at least 2015
The banksters have won
Again
The reaping will begin shortly
What a lot of people don't comprehend is that the really big fortunes are made not in economically good times but in the immediate aftermath of economically awful times
As mentioned previously, the heavily promoted ideas of the likes of Klein and Taleb support the fairy tale that 'Disaster Capitalism' and the exploitation of completely unexpected financial catastrophes is in some way a new idea
That's a lie
The truth is that these kind of events are totally predictable, often deliberately engineered. and carpetbagging is as old as the hills
...though the concept of people funding their own serfdom, by thoughtfully stuffing their future overlords' carpetbags full of 'bail-out' cash, is a nice new touch
Ordinary UK citizens will now endure decades of debt slavery, where increasingly huge slabs of national income are siphoned off, directly and indirectly, in interest payments
At some point the government will attempt to reduce the value of debt with a Weimar/ Zimbabwe style printing frenzy...
That's assuming the existing system actually holds up
Otherwise things could get very interesting indeed
The New Look UK Treasury Team c. 2012On the bright side, British police will be packing 10,000 shiny new tasers real soon now and the roll-out of the new ID/ Ration/ Travel Permit/ Record of Personal Indebtedness Card is well on its way.
The UK will start looking and feeling just a teensy wee bit like a naturally-moated, open prison
Snake Plissken - reportedly thinking about settling down in SE London
There are paths we can follow to avoid the oncoming mess but no-one in mainstream media and politics, and depressingly few in the alternative media are talking about them
Of course, these are just the worst fears of a serial pessimist
For everyone else, here's a picture of a puppy...
.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Beat the impending Economic Apocalypse with 2.5% off take-away pizza (for a limited time only)
You don't have to look very hard to see that British retailers are expecting a pretty awful Consumptionmas season this year
Every day both my physical and virtual mailboxes are stuffed full of 'We miss you. Here's a 5%/ 10%/ £5 off money voucher which expires in a month's time. Please do some shopping. Please. Because otherwise we're totally fucked. Go on. Please....'
The UK government also appears to be about to get in on the act
When faced with the prospect of the greatest economic recession in a lifetime, the powers that be could have chosen to pour state-funded investment into great public works which would create real jobs and benefit future generations - solar powered personal jetpacks, a national maglev train network, fusion powered hydroponic food for all - or it could take the braver and more farsighted decision to spank all that money on some discount vouchers on imported crap instead
I'm delighted to say that it looks like the imported crap is going to win
According to the latest news from the Ministry of Official Speculation...
VAT cut mooted for recovery plan
A VAT cut could be at the centre of the pre-Budget report on Monday, according to widespread speculation.
Reports suggest VAT could drop by 2.5% to 15% as part of Alistair Darling's plan to revive the flagging economy.
My latest money off voucher from ebay - 2.5% more than on offer from UK plc but it expires a little sooner
Readers of Robert 'He is become Pure News' Peston's blog will already be aware that major VAT changes are in the works, as yesterday he wrote...
Robert Peston
Robert is indeed transparent
in the words of one adoring commentator...
"From that I think we can all read that Alistair Darling has already given you the lowdown on what he's planning and that this too shall come I to pass. Much like your blog a month or two ago where you said "This may be hubris, but I think the way to solve the problem would be for the Government to take large stakes in banks and be paid a very high rate of interest". And what do you know, a few days later this is what was announced. Not foresight on your part - more like insider information. This blog seems to be the Government's new leak machine of choice, where future policy decisions are "suggested" by Robert to sound out opinion and get people used to the idea. Robert does this for reasons of hubris, as he can then claim he had the idea first, even though it's no such thing."
Personally, it seems only fair that the business editor of the State Broadcasting Company should serve such a valuable public function
The fact that the UK government is about to evaporate billions of pounds (which will be added to the tab owed to the banksters) on a stunt that is so obviously destined to fail is, however, just a tad perplexing
If the current government isn't engaged in the final stages of a deliberate plan to destroy the UK economy that started way back in the reign of Thatchler, it continues to do a fucking good impression of one
.
Every day both my physical and virtual mailboxes are stuffed full of 'We miss you. Here's a 5%/ 10%/ £5 off money voucher which expires in a month's time. Please do some shopping. Please. Because otherwise we're totally fucked. Go on. Please....'
(The reason why so many retailers are potentially fucked is that they have colossal debt obligations, either directly in the form of loan charges or indirectly through rent, and need to clear a certain amount of money every month just to keep their bankers happy. For every £1 spent on British retail a large chunk goes straight to the banks, a similar chunk goes to the government (and then to the banks) and the teensy weensy bit left over goes to some Shanghai sweatshop owner. This is how vibrant, sustainable, 21st century economies work apparently)
The UK government also appears to be about to get in on the act
When faced with the prospect of the greatest economic recession in a lifetime, the powers that be could have chosen to pour state-funded investment into great public works which would create real jobs and benefit future generations - solar powered personal jetpacks, a national maglev train network, fusion powered hydroponic food for all - or it could take the braver and more farsighted decision to spank all that money on some discount vouchers on imported crap instead
I'm delighted to say that it looks like the imported crap is going to win
According to the latest news from the Ministry of Official Speculation...
VAT cut mooted for recovery plan
A VAT cut could be at the centre of the pre-Budget report on Monday, according to widespread speculation.
Reports suggest VAT could drop by 2.5% to 15% as part of Alistair Darling's plan to revive the flagging economy.
My latest money off voucher from ebay - 2.5% more than on offer from UK plc but it expires a little soonerReaders of Robert 'He is become Pure News' Peston's blog will already be aware that major VAT changes are in the works, as yesterday he wrote...
"For the sake of transparency I should say that I don't know that there will be a VAT rise (after a temporary VAT reduction)"
Robert Peston Robert is indeed transparent
in the words of one adoring commentator...
"From that I think we can all read that Alistair Darling has already given you the lowdown on what he's planning and that this too shall come I to pass. Much like your blog a month or two ago where you said "This may be hubris, but I think the way to solve the problem would be for the Government to take large stakes in banks and be paid a very high rate of interest". And what do you know, a few days later this is what was announced. Not foresight on your part - more like insider information. This blog seems to be the Government's new leak machine of choice, where future policy decisions are "suggested" by Robert to sound out opinion and get people used to the idea. Robert does this for reasons of hubris, as he can then claim he had the idea first, even though it's no such thing."
Personally, it seems only fair that the business editor of the State Broadcasting Company should serve such a valuable public function
The fact that the UK government is about to evaporate billions of pounds (which will be added to the tab owed to the banksters) on a stunt that is so obviously destined to fail is, however, just a tad perplexing
If the current government isn't engaged in the final stages of a deliberate plan to destroy the UK economy that started way back in the reign of Thatchler, it continues to do a fucking good impression of one
.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Compulsory Redundancy
Hot off the Press from Conspiraloon Alliance Central...
Mr Rauf before he was given his jotters
'Suspected' terrorist and 'alleged matermind' Rashid Rauf is 'reported' to have been killed by 'a suspected United States drone', the guardian cautiously informs us.
A great blow in the war on terror or merely a lightening of the load on our over burdened public purse?
Which ever it is, it seems we will now never know the shocking, chilling truth behind the transatlantic liquid bombing plot which our government has so singularly failed to prove existed.
It is hard for the civilised human mind to encompass this man's awesome potential for destruction. What kind of evil genius could carry out such an enterprise? What crazy plans was he hatching as he wandered in and out of police custody?
It is our tragedy that a monster of his talents worked for our enemies.
If only we had people like that on our side!
Winter Patriot fills in the details of the West Midlands pimpernel far better than we, or the hated mainstream media, ever could.
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Mr Rauf before he was given his jottersA great blow in the war on terror or merely a lightening of the load on our over burdened public purse?
Which ever it is, it seems we will now never know the shocking, chilling truth behind the transatlantic liquid bombing plot which our government has so singularly failed to prove existed.
It is hard for the civilised human mind to encompass this man's awesome potential for destruction. What kind of evil genius could carry out such an enterprise? What crazy plans was he hatching as he wandered in and out of police custody?
It is our tragedy that a monster of his talents worked for our enemies.
If only we had people like that on our side!
Winter Patriot fills in the details of the West Midlands pimpernel far better than we, or the hated mainstream media, ever could.
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Iceland, not funny at all...
...and whilst on the subject of the attractions of alcohol-induced oblivion in troubled times, there's an 1/2 hour BBC podcast entitled 'Iceland after the Crash' which is worth a spin for anyone who fancies a taste of what might be in store for certain countries considerably larger than Iceland (direct link to the MP3 here - it'll probably only stay live for a few days)
see also a worthwhile, but curiously titled, piece in the Times-
Personally, I haven't encountered that many people having a laugh at the economic implosion of an entire nation. Maybe I don't mix with the right kind of people. Most of the people I speak with are afflicted, to one extent or another, with a niggling sense that something similar might be headed our way sooner rather than later
I can't resist a link to this though
Reading around a bit I'm also detecting that Icelanders are starting to realise that their country didn't implode because of, outrageous as it was, the UK government's use of anti-terror legislation to seize assets but because Icelanders and corrupt Icelandic institutions spunked an awful lot of money they had not earned up against the wall. That particular distractive deceit did, however, work a treat for a useful amount of time
- and I haven't half ploughed through a colossal amount of bollocks written by very Net savvy, very intelligent, very articulate Icelanders who persisted in deluding themselves that the recent economic boom was somehow based on something that wasn't insane
Of course, none of this could ever happen again anywhere else
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see also a worthwhile, but curiously titled, piece in the Times-
Personally, I haven't encountered that many people having a laugh at the economic implosion of an entire nation. Maybe I don't mix with the right kind of people. Most of the people I speak with are afflicted, to one extent or another, with a niggling sense that something similar might be headed our way sooner rather than later
I can't resist a link to this though
Reading around a bit I'm also detecting that Icelanders are starting to realise that their country didn't implode because of, outrageous as it was, the UK government's use of anti-terror legislation to seize assets but because Icelanders and corrupt Icelandic institutions spunked an awful lot of money they had not earned up against the wall. That particular distractive deceit did, however, work a treat for a useful amount of time
- and I haven't half ploughed through a colossal amount of bollocks written by very Net savvy, very intelligent, very articulate Icelanders who persisted in deluding themselves that the recent economic boom was somehow based on something that wasn't insane
Of course, none of this could ever happen again anywhere else
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Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The F words
Whilst the UK might be the undisputed CCTV/ data mining capital of the world we Brits do currently lag a little behind some other countries when it comes to actual boots on the pavement
I've spent a fair bit of time in Italy this year and its government is leading the way when it comes to deploying combat troops within its own borders
In July the army was deployed to deal with those pesky immigrants...
In September it was shhhh, you know who's turn...
A somewhat unsettling precursor to martial law for some. A welcome return to the good old days for others
The underlying motive for reacquainting Italians with the joys of soldiers on their streets might possibly have something to do with the fact that the Italian economy is, oooh that close, to going completely tits up. A lot of money is currently being bet, in the form of Credit Default Swaps, on the possibility that Italy may default on its debt obligations
In keeping with the retro theme of soldiers on insolvent Italian streets, former Nazi/ CIA/ fascist junta collaborator and freemasonic puppetmaster par excellence, Licio Gelli also appears to be making a bit of a comeback
Not only is Gelli going to get his own TV show but it is rumoured that, in the wake of his appearance in a series of hard-hitting vermouth adverts, George Clooney is set to play Gelli in a major motion picture of his inspiring life story
Licio Gelli
Gelli's life story is, of course, Conspiraloon Heaven, featuring as it does...
The only essential ingredient missing from the mix as far as I can tell is a few Zionists, which must be an awful disappointment for those Loons out there who are certain that Zionists are responsible for all of the world's ills
It's no surprise that anti-Loons do their very best to encourage collective amnesia about the whole Gelli/ P2/ Gladio/ Strategy of Tension/ Bologna Bombing thing. What it represents is a very well documented, undeniable example of the kind of covert wickedness we 'tinfoil hatters' believe to be taking place in the here and now. The sheer, all-pervading lameness of the excuses used to discount the significance and implications of the P2 scandal would almost be amusing if the issue wasn't so serious
Now that someone with the powerful gravitas of Clooney is on the case, the days of the conspiracy of silence are clearly coming to an end.
In the meantime, I heartily recommend reading up on The Strategy of Tension/ Gladio because, contrary to the line taken by the ignorant, establishment arse kissing twunts who make up the officially sanctioned voice of dissent, it wasn't that long ago and it wasn't that far away
-
edit: and whilst on the subject of Freemasons and their fruity little ways, belated thanks to The Antagonist for this synchronistic snippet...
The Petronas Towers
All in all, it's been a good few years for twin tower symbolism - what with the Tolkien thing and that unfortunate business in New York...
.
I've spent a fair bit of time in Italy this year and its government is leading the way when it comes to deploying combat troops within its own borders
In July the army was deployed to deal with those pesky immigrants...
In September it was shhhh, you know who's turn...
A somewhat unsettling precursor to martial law for some. A welcome return to the good old days for others
The underlying motive for reacquainting Italians with the joys of soldiers on their streets might possibly have something to do with the fact that the Italian economy is, oooh that close, to going completely tits up. A lot of money is currently being bet, in the form of Credit Default Swaps, on the possibility that Italy may default on its debt obligations
In keeping with the retro theme of soldiers on insolvent Italian streets, former Nazi/ CIA/ fascist junta collaborator and freemasonic puppetmaster par excellence, Licio Gelli also appears to be making a bit of a comeback
Not only is Gelli going to get his own TV show but it is rumoured that, in the wake of his appearance in a series of hard-hitting vermouth adverts, George Clooney is set to play Gelli in a major motion picture of his inspiring life story
Licio Gelli Gelli's life story is, of course, Conspiraloon Heaven, featuring as it does...
- False flag, state sponsored terrorism, including train bombings
- CIA backed destabilisation of democratic governments
- Shadow governments
- Corporate corruption of media, religion and politics
- Massively dodgy banks
- Lots and lots of Freemasons ...Fascist Freemasons
The only essential ingredient missing from the mix as far as I can tell is a few Zionists, which must be an awful disappointment for those Loons out there who are certain that Zionists are responsible for all of the world's ills
It's no surprise that anti-Loons do their very best to encourage collective amnesia about the whole Gelli/ P2/ Gladio/ Strategy of Tension/ Bologna Bombing thing. What it represents is a very well documented, undeniable example of the kind of covert wickedness we 'tinfoil hatters' believe to be taking place in the here and now. The sheer, all-pervading lameness of the excuses used to discount the significance and implications of the P2 scandal would almost be amusing if the issue wasn't so serious
Now that someone with the powerful gravitas of Clooney is on the case, the days of the conspiracy of silence are clearly coming to an end.
In the meantime, I heartily recommend reading up on The Strategy of Tension/ Gladio because, contrary to the line taken by the ignorant, establishment arse kissing twunts who make up the officially sanctioned voice of dissent, it wasn't that long ago and it wasn't that far away
-
edit: and whilst on the subject of Freemasons and their fruity little ways, belated thanks to The Antagonist for this synchronistic snippet...
The Petronas Towers
All in all, it's been a good few years for twin tower symbolism - what with the Tolkien thing and that unfortunate business in New York...
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Welcome to Helloway
Fans of the sublime beauty of North London's Holloway Road might appreciate this quality signage seen outside an ex(?) squat the other day...
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Saturday, November 15, 2008
All my life, I've been in love with its colour, its brilliance, its divine heaviness...
There is much talk of the virtues of putting one's savings, if one is blessed with any savings, into gold at the moment
Given that leaders of the 20 richest (sic.) economies in the world are meeting in Washington today to discuss just how much more money they're going to print, this is perfectly understandable
One of the big problems with gold however (aside from the fact that its supply is controlled by the same bastards who are responsible for the current economic crisis) is that, here in the UK anyway, the retail gold business and its practitioners have a somewhat, um, sleazy image
On many internet financial forums, people who talk about gold and gold dealers are treated by other forum members in more or less the same way as if they'd admitted to a taste for visiting specialty prostitutes
Well, the specialty prostitutes have started going door to door
I just pulled this out of my Mum's letterbox...
Apparently, now that gold is fetching a 'record breaking price' a local jeweller is altruistically soliciting to take that crappy old gold off people's hands in exchange for wads of valuable cash
The 'top prices paid' are considerable...
...topping out at a breathtaking £250 /oz for 22ct gold*
"Do you expect me to talk Goldfinger?"
"No Mr Bond, I expect you to sell at £250 an ounce"
I'd recommend getting in touch with these guys and selling your granny's wedding ring tout suite, before the gold price crumples and people are queuing in their thousands trying to offload wheelbarrows full of their increasingly worthless bullion in exchange for valuable, high-interest bearing British pounds which people are clamouring to get their hands on all over the world
Though, unfortunately, by some inexplicable oversight, I've scrubbed the contact details off the flier
*NB UK Dealers are currently selling 1.09oz 22ct Krugerrands at £550-600 plus, if and when they have any stock - which isn't very often
(Personally, I would have thought that if someone had five hundred quid to spare and believed that things really could get that bad they'd arguably be better off buying a few sacks of rice or something)
.
Given that leaders of the 20 richest (sic.) economies in the world are meeting in Washington today to discuss just how much more money they're going to print, this is perfectly understandable
One of the big problems with gold however (aside from the fact that its supply is controlled by the same bastards who are responsible for the current economic crisis) is that, here in the UK anyway, the retail gold business and its practitioners have a somewhat, um, sleazy image
On many internet financial forums, people who talk about gold and gold dealers are treated by other forum members in more or less the same way as if they'd admitted to a taste for visiting specialty prostitutes
Well, the specialty prostitutes have started going door to door
I just pulled this out of my Mum's letterbox...
Apparently, now that gold is fetching a 'record breaking price' a local jeweller is altruistically soliciting to take that crappy old gold off people's hands in exchange for wads of valuable cash
The 'top prices paid' are considerable...
...topping out at a breathtaking £250 /oz for 22ct gold*
"Do you expect me to talk Goldfinger?""No Mr Bond, I expect you to sell at £250 an ounce"
I'd recommend getting in touch with these guys and selling your granny's wedding ring tout suite, before the gold price crumples and people are queuing in their thousands trying to offload wheelbarrows full of their increasingly worthless bullion in exchange for valuable, high-interest bearing British pounds which people are clamouring to get their hands on all over the world
Though, unfortunately, by some inexplicable oversight, I've scrubbed the contact details off the flier
*NB UK Dealers are currently selling 1.09oz 22ct Krugerrands at £550-600 plus, if and when they have any stock - which isn't very often
(Personally, I would have thought that if someone had five hundred quid to spare and believed that things really could get that bad they'd arguably be better off buying a few sacks of rice or something)
.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Damn those pesky schoolboy errors
Cheers to anon for these clips of Nassim Taleb and Benoit Mandelbrot strutting their funky stuff
Personally, I agree with virtually everything Taleb is saying, and has been saying for some time now
Except one tiny little thing
Taleb seems to think he was the only fucker out there who saw what was coming
Taleb is essentially promoting a varient of the 'cockup not conspiracy' aka 'tragic schoolboy error' explanation of how the world works
This is important, I think, because some variant of Taleb's Black Swan' thesis is set to become the orthodox explanation for what is happening to the world's finances
and, as such, no-one is to be held accountable for what lies ahead
Sure, the majority of mid-level contributors to this mess were daft fools driven by greed and fear; with no comprehension of where they were headed
But to believe that only Nassim Taleb, and some net based Loons, were the only people who could see a crash coming is nonsense - and more than a little arrogant
It's also worth remembering that, at the same time the seeds for the current crash were being sown, the key components of a fully-blown surveillance and detention state were being rushed into place in the same countries that were inflating the bubble.
It's also worth asking yourself just how much, or little, wealth the people responsible for inflating the bubble have lost personally
The fact that history is littered with, admittedly simpler, smaller scale, occurrences of the same kind of kleptocratic economic terrorism is also a bit of a give away
No doubt any non Loons passing through this blog would, if they could be bothered, dismiss my outpourings as being those of a deranged paranoid lunatic
But then there's the small matter of my blog, and countless others out there, detailing quite specifically what lay ahead
So, sorry, claims that what is happening was inherently unpredictable don't impress me much at all. And shame on all those fuckers out there in cyberspace and the mainstream media who devoted their time to sticking the knife into us 'tinfoil hatters' when the infrastructure for chaos-driven rape and pillage was being laid down piece by piece
Taleb's almost certainly correct when he argues that the specific outcomes of this crash can't be predicted with any degree of certainty
But, there again, if you control all the guns, money and food would you need to?
(Something which dawned on me whilst pondering the Conspiraloon vs the Non Conspiraloon mental models for comprehending how the world of high finance works is that the Loon looks upon the financial markets as being a means of waging war on ordinary people. And, in war, any successful general makes provision for the unexpected, engages in contingency planning, retains reserves, and makes cold-blooded calculations about what proportion of his own forces he is willing to expend. In warfare, chaos and Black Swan events are pretty much a given and positively encouraged. Your objective is to comprehensively fuck up your enemy's ability to comprehend and respond to what you are doing, and then kill him. Non Loons who simply take the markets at face value will probably lose me totally at this point...)
.
Personally, I agree with virtually everything Taleb is saying, and has been saying for some time now
Except one tiny little thing
Taleb seems to think he was the only fucker out there who saw what was coming
Taleb is essentially promoting a varient of the 'cockup not conspiracy' aka 'tragic schoolboy error' explanation of how the world works
This is important, I think, because some variant of Taleb's Black Swan' thesis is set to become the orthodox explanation for what is happening to the world's finances
and, as such, no-one is to be held accountable for what lies ahead
Sure, the majority of mid-level contributors to this mess were daft fools driven by greed and fear; with no comprehension of where they were headed
But to believe that only Nassim Taleb, and some net based Loons, were the only people who could see a crash coming is nonsense - and more than a little arrogant
It's also worth remembering that, at the same time the seeds for the current crash were being sown, the key components of a fully-blown surveillance and detention state were being rushed into place in the same countries that were inflating the bubble.
It's also worth asking yourself just how much, or little, wealth the people responsible for inflating the bubble have lost personally
The fact that history is littered with, admittedly simpler, smaller scale, occurrences of the same kind of kleptocratic economic terrorism is also a bit of a give away
No doubt any non Loons passing through this blog would, if they could be bothered, dismiss my outpourings as being those of a deranged paranoid lunatic
But then there's the small matter of my blog, and countless others out there, detailing quite specifically what lay ahead
So, sorry, claims that what is happening was inherently unpredictable don't impress me much at all. And shame on all those fuckers out there in cyberspace and the mainstream media who devoted their time to sticking the knife into us 'tinfoil hatters' when the infrastructure for chaos-driven rape and pillage was being laid down piece by piece
Taleb's almost certainly correct when he argues that the specific outcomes of this crash can't be predicted with any degree of certainty
But, there again, if you control all the guns, money and food would you need to?
(Something which dawned on me whilst pondering the Conspiraloon vs the Non Conspiraloon mental models for comprehending how the world of high finance works is that the Loon looks upon the financial markets as being a means of waging war on ordinary people. And, in war, any successful general makes provision for the unexpected, engages in contingency planning, retains reserves, and makes cold-blooded calculations about what proportion of his own forces he is willing to expend. In warfare, chaos and Black Swan events are pretty much a given and positively encouraged. Your objective is to comprehensively fuck up your enemy's ability to comprehend and respond to what you are doing, and then kill him. Non Loons who simply take the markets at face value will probably lose me totally at this point...)
.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
... or how about some Tugriks?
If you're the kind of person who relies on BBC News to keep you up date with what's going on in the world it may have escaped your attention that sterling is in the process of being ritually slaughtered in the world's markets
Lord Patel has chosen to illustrate that slaughter by posting a UK £ / Singapore $ exchange rate chart
Personally, I've always been more of a Mongolian Tugrik kind of guy
In a world filled with competing currencies that are steadily turning to shit, the mighty British pound can hold its head up high as being one of the very shittiest
If you live in the UK and were planning to buy any Christmas presents made in the US, Europe, the Far East ...or Mongolia ...or anywhere really, they just got 4% more expensive today alone
(Why foreign investors aren't falling over themselves to buy sterling so that they can invest in quality, bargain-priced properties like this is a complete mystery which defies all rational analysis)
.
Lord Patel has chosen to illustrate that slaughter by posting a UK £ / Singapore $ exchange rate chart
Personally, I've always been more of a Mongolian Tugrik kind of guy
In a world filled with competing currencies that are steadily turning to shit, the mighty British pound can hold its head up high as being one of the very shittiest
If you live in the UK and were planning to buy any Christmas presents made in the US, Europe, the Far East ...or Mongolia ...or anywhere really, they just got 4% more expensive today alone
(Why foreign investors aren't falling over themselves to buy sterling so that they can invest in quality, bargain-priced properties like this is a complete mystery which defies all rational analysis)
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Time to buy some roubles?
Cheers to anon for this link to a clip of Dmitry Medvedev declaring war on the dollar whilst simultaneously doing a very passable Thomas Jefferson impression
Peculiar times indeed
The really impressive thing is that you can hardly see Putin's lips move throughout
.
Peculiar times indeed
The really impressive thing is that you can hardly see Putin's lips move throughout
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Monday, November 10, 2008
Black Swans and Austrian Teddy Bears
At the bottom of an earlier post there's a little discussion about a couple of books I've been reading that contain some overlapping themes
The first is Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan
- Black Swans being large-impact, hard-to-predict, random, unplanned and rare events beyond the realm of normal expectations.
The second is Naomi Kein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
- Disaster Capitalism being the corporate exploitation of people in the wake of disasters or upheavals
The big problem I have with both Taleb and Klein is that they both do a stand-up job of peddling that absolutist, stochastic, 'shit just happens' world view which is so useful to those people who gain the most when things get fucked up
Klein pays nowhere near enough attention to the possibility that many of the disasters and upheavals she refers to were staged, or at least anticipated
Taleb quotes events like the 9/11 attacks and stock market crashes as being examples of unpredictable, Black Swan events, when there's copious evidence that they were anything but. One person's Black Swan; be it due to deceit, dissonance, indoctrination, or plain incompetence, is very often another person's Bleeding Obvious.
Even the majority of natural, as opposed to man-made, disasters cannot fairly be described as Black Swan events. The people who live in places like New Orleans, Mexico City, Los Angeles or Naples know full well that their cities are inevitably going to get creamed sooner or later, and very possibly within the span of a human lifetime. The fact that many of those people engage in denial doesn't change the predictability of that creaming
Property Hot Spots of the Future #17 - Napoli
As such, both Klein and Taleb and the output of many others given prominence in the supposedly alternative, dissenting media, is paving the way for a truly useless, profoundly ineffective analysis of the ghastliness which many of us believe may be begining to overtake our world
-
At the heart of the ghastliness which many of us believe may be begining to overtake our world lies the imminent (?) collapse of the dollar and related currencies
The Imminent (?) Collapse of the Dollar Story goes something like this...
On-line economician Peter Schiff tells a story about five Asians and an American stranded on a desert island. One of the Asians is responsible for fishing, another for hunting, another for growing vegetables, and so on. The American's 'job' is to eat a big fuck off meal prepared by the Asians every night and leave them enough crumbs to survive through to the next day...
Schiff is one of a loose group of bearish, Libertarian, Austrian School Economicians much beloved by Internet Loons, including my goodself
Other members of this elite club include Jim Rogers, Jim Puplava and, of course, Maaaaaaaax Keiser
(and Michael Hudson and F W Engdahl, sort of)
All of these guys have, to one degree or another, predicted that...
As it happens, commodities did rise and the dollar did fall earlier this year - to accompanying cries of 'this is it!', 'this is it!' from the little dollar bears
but it wasn't 'it'
The US dollar has subsequently strengthened massively and commodities, commodity-based shares and commodity-based currencies have dived to the floor
Any private investors following the advice of Schiff, Rogers, Keiser and Puplava will have lost up to 50% in two or three months. Anyone who follows their podcasts can't help but have been entertained by listening to Schiff attempting to placate one of his investors who called up after losing half of his life savings or the sound of Keiser melting down into a pool of despair and babbling about buying into dollars a few days ago
It's not that Schiff, Keiser, et al are actually wrong about the future
Their problem is that the secret of good economic commentary, as with all forms of comedy, is
... timing
These guys have got their timing wrong because...
1. They underestimated just how crooked supposedly free markets are.
The Chinese increased their oil imports by 46% in September and bullion traders around the world cannot meet demand, yet the reported market price of oil and gold have fallen dramatically. Conclusion? The markets are bent
2. They are attempting to comment in real time about insanely volatile markets
The poor quality of market information available to mere mortals and the volume of market 'noise' is such that only a completely bow-tie wearing berk would attempt to extrapolate daily moves out into the future. The Internet deserves a lot of blame for the rise of this kind of commentary
3. They are nowhere near Loony enough
A lot of people have heard the famous Jefferson quote...
...but don't seem to have understood its implications.
The process Jefferson was talking about 200 years ago is deliberate and managed. Switches between inflation and deflation are only nurtured when it suits the people doing the managing and they are not in the business of telegraphing when that would be.
Years of inflation have already ensnared the bulk of people in debt. All that remains is to mop up the minority of people, mostly Baby Boomers who until a few months ago were expecting a nice, cushy retirement, who actually put money aside over that time
And those who placed their money in the markets have just lost 40-50% of their savings
Those who've kept away from the markets and are holding cash instead can look forward to a 0% interest rate, whilst prices are rising 10%+, as their reward
Once the savers have been rogered good and proper, that's everyone in the bottom 99.99% of society accounted for, then all the money our governments have released to the shadow banking system can be unleashed to buy everything that's worth buying unopposed
A massive transfer of real wealth will then take place and a glittering future of supercharged debt-serfdom secured
And even if some ordinary people manage to avoid mortgaging their lives away and actually retain some savings, there will still be plenty of tricks left in the toybox to deal with them
None of this is too far off now but I won't be picking any dates
.
The first is Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan
- Black Swans being large-impact, hard-to-predict, random, unplanned and rare events beyond the realm of normal expectations.
The second is Naomi Kein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
- Disaster Capitalism being the corporate exploitation of people in the wake of disasters or upheavals
The big problem I have with both Taleb and Klein is that they both do a stand-up job of peddling that absolutist, stochastic, 'shit just happens' world view which is so useful to those people who gain the most when things get fucked up
Klein pays nowhere near enough attention to the possibility that many of the disasters and upheavals she refers to were staged, or at least anticipated
Taleb quotes events like the 9/11 attacks and stock market crashes as being examples of unpredictable, Black Swan events, when there's copious evidence that they were anything but. One person's Black Swan; be it due to deceit, dissonance, indoctrination, or plain incompetence, is very often another person's Bleeding Obvious.
Even the majority of natural, as opposed to man-made, disasters cannot fairly be described as Black Swan events. The people who live in places like New Orleans, Mexico City, Los Angeles or Naples know full well that their cities are inevitably going to get creamed sooner or later, and very possibly within the span of a human lifetime. The fact that many of those people engage in denial doesn't change the predictability of that creaming
Property Hot Spots of the Future #17 - NapoliAs such, both Klein and Taleb and the output of many others given prominence in the supposedly alternative, dissenting media, is paving the way for a truly useless, profoundly ineffective analysis of the ghastliness which many of us believe may be begining to overtake our world
-
At the heart of the ghastliness which many of us believe may be begining to overtake our world lies the imminent (?) collapse of the dollar and related currencies
The Imminent (?) Collapse of the Dollar Story goes something like this...
- Forty or more years ago America abandoned the Gold Standard and embarked on a policy of paying for its imports with increasingly devalued, worthless dollars
- America simply printed as many worthless dollars as it needed and exchanged them for imported stuff that was actually worth something
- This was made possible by the fact that everything sold on global markets was priced in dollars, so everyone around the world had to hold stocks of this intrinsically useless paper to buy essential commodities
- Any time anyone comes anywhere to buying and selling essential commodities with anything but dollars the Americans blow the shit out of them
- There are now so many useless dollars in circulation globally that the entire system is about to choke catastrophically. The Russians, the Chinese and others have had enough and are about to walk away from the whole stinking mess
On-line economician Peter Schiff tells a story about five Asians and an American stranded on a desert island. One of the Asians is responsible for fishing, another for hunting, another for growing vegetables, and so on. The American's 'job' is to eat a big fuck off meal prepared by the Asians every night and leave them enough crumbs to survive through to the next day...
Schiff is one of a loose group of bearish, Libertarian, Austrian School Economicians much beloved by Internet Loons, including my goodself
Other members of this elite club include Jim Rogers, Jim Puplava and, of course, Maaaaaaaax Keiser
(and Michael Hudson and F W Engdahl, sort of)
All of these guys have, to one degree or another, predicted that...
- The dollar and other fiat currencies of non productive countries will tank
- There will be a commensurate and massive rise in the dollar price of tangible commodities such as oil, wheat and gold
As it happens, commodities did rise and the dollar did fall earlier this year - to accompanying cries of 'this is it!', 'this is it!' from the little dollar bears
but it wasn't 'it'
The US dollar has subsequently strengthened massively and commodities, commodity-based shares and commodity-based currencies have dived to the floor
Any private investors following the advice of Schiff, Rogers, Keiser and Puplava will have lost up to 50% in two or three months. Anyone who follows their podcasts can't help but have been entertained by listening to Schiff attempting to placate one of his investors who called up after losing half of his life savings or the sound of Keiser melting down into a pool of despair and babbling about buying into dollars a few days ago
It's not that Schiff, Keiser, et al are actually wrong about the future
- The dollar and associated currencies are fucked
- The prices of things we can't do without - oil, food, water - will go up in a big, scary, unaffordable way
- The prices of things we can do without, or need a loan to buy - houses, cars, plastic tat will fall
Their problem is that the secret of good economic commentary, as with all forms of comedy, is
... timing
These guys have got their timing wrong because...
1. They underestimated just how crooked supposedly free markets are.
The Chinese increased their oil imports by 46% in September and bullion traders around the world cannot meet demand, yet the reported market price of oil and gold have fallen dramatically. Conclusion? The markets are bent
2. They are attempting to comment in real time about insanely volatile markets
The poor quality of market information available to mere mortals and the volume of market 'noise' is such that only a completely bow-tie wearing berk would attempt to extrapolate daily moves out into the future. The Internet deserves a lot of blame for the rise of this kind of commentary
3. They are nowhere near Loony enough
A lot of people have heard the famous Jefferson quote...
"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
...but don't seem to have understood its implications.
The process Jefferson was talking about 200 years ago is deliberate and managed. Switches between inflation and deflation are only nurtured when it suits the people doing the managing and they are not in the business of telegraphing when that would be.
Years of inflation have already ensnared the bulk of people in debt. All that remains is to mop up the minority of people, mostly Baby Boomers who until a few months ago were expecting a nice, cushy retirement, who actually put money aside over that time
And those who placed their money in the markets have just lost 40-50% of their savings
Those who've kept away from the markets and are holding cash instead can look forward to a 0% interest rate, whilst prices are rising 10%+, as their reward
Once the savers have been rogered good and proper, that's everyone in the bottom 99.99% of society accounted for, then all the money our governments have released to the shadow banking system can be unleashed to buy everything that's worth buying unopposed
A massive transfer of real wealth will then take place and a glittering future of supercharged debt-serfdom secured
And even if some ordinary people manage to avoid mortgaging their lives away and actually retain some savings, there will still be plenty of tricks left in the toybox to deal with them
None of this is too far off now but I won't be picking any dates
.
Mainstream Conspiraloons #129 - Baron West of Spithead
"Some of the measures that we have put into place in the past 15 months have made us safer, but that does not mean that we are safe"
"The threat is huge. It dipped slightly and is now rising again within the context of 'severe'.
"There are large complex plots. We unravelled one, which caused damage to al-Qaeda and the plots faded slightly.
"However, another great plot is building up again, which we are monitoring.
"We have done a great deal to protect ourselves and to look after our water supplies, our resilience, underground trains, our preparedness and communications.
"We have done all the things that we need to do, but the threat is building - the complex plots are building."
"The threat is huge. It dipped slightly and is now rising again within the context of 'severe'.
"There are large complex plots. We unravelled one, which caused damage to al-Qaeda and the plots faded slightly.
"However, another great plot is building up again, which we are monitoring.
"We have done a great deal to protect ourselves and to look after our water supplies, our resilience, underground trains, our preparedness and communications.
"We have done all the things that we need to do, but the threat is building - the complex plots are building."
.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Political Puppets ...now available in Black
Back again
After a couple of weeks away in the Boondocks I returned home to discover that billions of people around the world appear to be gripped by post-election euphoria...
The astute voters of New Zealand can now look forward to a future of glittering prosperity, packed with the kind of economic 'reforms' much beloved by the likes of the IMF and the World Bank, delivered by an ex.(?) employee of the Federal Reserve
There really is nowhere to run to
-
Meanwhile, in the wake of a only slightly less globally significant election, quite a few people appear to be whacking off deliriously at the prospect of America's first Blackish President
Yay!
Presumably, the people who think that Obama's election is going to change anything are the same kind of fucknuts who thought that the election of Margaret Thatcher 30 years ago heralded a new era in gender equality or who didn't feel like vomiting when exposed to the 'Things Can Only Get Better' mediawankfest that accompanied the 1997 General Election
As it happens, clips of people dancing in the Millennium Dome to 'Things Can Only Get Better' in 1997 are thin on the Internet - I suspect eternal, irredeemable shame has got something to do with it - and I've only been able to locate this partial record put up by a Labour Party droid...
One comment underneath that clip's page on Youtube really did bring out the misanthrope in me. Does any species capable of supporting even a solitary individual as stupid as this really deserve to survive...
"The Conservatives may be leading in the polls at the moment, however, would David Cameron be able to take on the world banking system like Gordon Brown has? I think not..."
Fast forward back to 2008 and anyone who expects true change for the good from a President-elect who surrounds himself with psychos like Emanuel, Volcker or Brzezinski truly is an uttter, utter fucknut
One comment I saw over at Lord P.'s blog sums up my own feelings about the US Presidential Election nicely...
A very good question imho. One we're about to find the answer to
.
After a couple of weeks away in the Boondocks I returned home to discover that billions of people around the world appear to be gripped by post-election euphoria...
The astute voters of New Zealand can now look forward to a future of glittering prosperity, packed with the kind of economic 'reforms' much beloved by the likes of the IMF and the World Bank, delivered by an ex.(?) employee of the Federal Reserve
There really is nowhere to run to
-
Meanwhile, in the wake of a only slightly less globally significant election, quite a few people appear to be whacking off deliriously at the prospect of America's first Blackish President
Yay!
Presumably, the people who think that Obama's election is going to change anything are the same kind of fucknuts who thought that the election of Margaret Thatcher 30 years ago heralded a new era in gender equality or who didn't feel like vomiting when exposed to the 'Things Can Only Get Better' mediawankfest that accompanied the 1997 General Election
As it happens, clips of people dancing in the Millennium Dome to 'Things Can Only Get Better' in 1997 are thin on the Internet - I suspect eternal, irredeemable shame has got something to do with it - and I've only been able to locate this partial record put up by a Labour Party droid...
One comment underneath that clip's page on Youtube really did bring out the misanthrope in me. Does any species capable of supporting even a solitary individual as stupid as this really deserve to survive...
"The Conservatives may be leading in the polls at the moment, however, would David Cameron be able to take on the world banking system like Gordon Brown has? I think not..."
Fast forward back to 2008 and anyone who expects true change for the good from a President-elect who surrounds himself with psychos like Emanuel, Volcker or Brzezinski truly is an uttter, utter fucknut
One comment I saw over at Lord P.'s blog sums up my own feelings about the US Presidential Election nicely...
"What happens when you replace a sociopathic lunatic with an eloquent, sane man who espouses the exact same policies?
A very good question imho. One we're about to find the answer to
.
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