Violent Protests in Greece; 6 Cabinet Members Resign
by ilene - February 11th, 2012 3:28 am
Violent Protests in Greece; 6 Cabinet Members Resign; LAOS leader "I Would Rather Starve Than be Under German Jackboot"; Controversy Over Missing Paragraphs
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Courtesy of Mish
Imagine you are asked to sign a document but three pages were missing. Further imagine the documents you were asked to sign were written in English but you only speak Greek. Would you sign?
That is exactly the predicament Greek officials were placed in by the Troika. Here is the story sent to me by Demetri Kofinas at Capital Account.
Hello Mish
George Karatzaferis leader of LOAS political party gave a speech today addressing why he refused to sign this latest agreement. In his speech, he said that he asked for a translated document of the agreement so that he could read it and sign it since his English is not as good as Papademos'.
When he got a copy, it was not only smaller than the English version, but was also missing pieces, including the last paragraph! He refused to sign it because he felt pressured and wants more time.
Youtube has a video of Karatzaferis where he compares the documents. At the 11:35 mark he translates the last paragraph for the listeners, which was not provided to him in the translated copy that he was to read.
The video is in Greek so not many can understand it. Moreover, the video was somewhat garbled and some things do not easily translate, so I do not have a good account of the missing paragraphs, but it is clearly absurd that anything should be missing.
"I Would Rather Starve Than be Under German Jackboot"
Facing down protests, dissent, Greece vows to push through austerity warns of default 'chaos'
Greece's future in the eurozone came under renewed threat Friday as popular protests again turned violent and dissent grew among its lawmakers after European leaders demanded deeper spending cuts.
The country's beleaguered coalition government promised to push through the tough new austerity measures and rescue a crucial euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout deal after six members of the Cabinet resigned.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos promised to "do everything necessary" to ensure parliament passes the new austerity measures that would slap Greeks with a minimum wage cut during a fifth year of recession. He also promised to replace any other Cabinet members who did not fully back
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DiggJPMorgan Chase Caps Martin Luther King PR Campaign By Foreclosing on Civil Rights Activist
by ilene - February 10th, 2012 5:42 am
Courtesy of Jesse's Cafe Americain
It's not really about the money, its the hypocrisy.
$9,000 is not a lot of money to many people in America these days. And certainly such an amount could be raised fairly quickly with an online drive for funds. Over 40,000 people have signed the online petition protesting this.
What has people upset is the blatant hypocrisy of JPMorgan, in this and so many other things. It is what drives the Occupy people. It is the entirety of the bank bailout with public money, despite the propaganda campaign and deceit of the Fed to the contrary, and the subsequent massive manipulation of the political and legal process especially in regard to the foreclosure frauds, not to mention the theft of customer funds.
The Banks even cheated returning war veterans. So why should an elderly black woman be treated any better?
Back in the 1950's and 1960's people could have raised bus fare to take Helen Bailey to a less hostile envinronment in which to live. But she chose to stand her ground and fight. It was a matter of principle to her. And such principled stands mystify those without any moral principles, such as the TBTF banks and the pampered princes of Wall Street, whose only principles are self-delusional superiority, self-centered excess, deceit, fraud, and greed.
Helen Bailey does not stand alone, then and now. That is the message that the Banks just don't get. But they will.
MFI-Miami
Chase Refuses To Give 78 Year Old Hero A $9000 Principal Write Down
By Steve Dibert
February 7, 2012JPMorgan Chase, like their competitors, has been attempting to improve their public image with an American public who blames them for the recession. In order to show their commitment to some of the hardest hit segments of economy, JPMorgan Chase has reached out to African-American communities across the U.S. by starting a public relations campaign to help “fulfill” the “vision” of Martin Luther King Jr. to coincides with Black History Month.
Now that campaign is turning into a public relations nightmare for the banking behemoth. Chase is now threatening to foreclose on 78-year old, Helen Bailey, a former Nashville area
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ILLUSION OF RECOVERY – FEELINGS VERSUS FACTS
by ilene - February 7th, 2012 1:33 am
Courtesy of The Burning Platform
“There is no means of avoiding a final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as the final and total catastrophe of the currency involved.” – Ludwig von Mises
The last week has offered an amusing display of the difference between the cheerleading corporate mainstream media, lying Wall Street shills and the critical thinking analysts like Zero Hedge, Mike Shedlock, Jesse, and John Hussman. What passes for journalism at CNBC and the rest of the mainstream print and TV media is beyond laughable. Their America is all about feelings. Are we confident? Are we bullish? Are we optimistic about the future? America has turned into a giant confidence game. The governing elite spend their time spinning stories about recovery and manipulating public opinion so people will feel good and spend money. Facts are inconvenient to their storyline. The truth is for suckers. They know what is best for us and will tell us what to do and when to do it.
The false storyline last week was the dramatic surge in new jobs. This fantastic news was utilized by the six banks that account for 80% of the stock market trading to propel the NASDAQ to an eleven year high and the Dow Jones to a four year high. The compliant corporate press did their part with blaring headlines of good cheer. The entire sham was designed to make Joe the Plumber pull out one of his 15 credit cards and buy a new 72 inch 3D HDTV for this weekend’s Super Bowl. When you watch a CNBC talking head interviewing a Wall Street shyster realize you have the 1% interviewing the .01% about how great things are.
What you most certainly did not hear from the MSM is that the NASDAQ is still down 42% from its 2000 high of 5,048. None of the brain dead twits on CNBC pointed out the S&P 500 is trading at the exact same level it reached on April 8, 1999. Twelve or thirteen years of zero or negative returns are meaningless when a story needs to be sold. On Friday the hyperbole utilized by the media mouthpieces was off the charts, leading to an all-out brawl between the critical thinking blogosphere and the non-thinking ”professionals” spouting the government sanctioned propaganda. Accusations flew back and forth about…
CBO Solution to Budget Crisis – Everyone Bend Over!
by ilene - February 6th, 2012 9:03 pm
CBO Solution to Budget Crisis – Everyone Bend Over!
Courtesy of Bruce Krasting
I look at the political landscape and conclude that we’ve got more of the same in front of us. I think Obama will win, and the Republicans will control the legislative side. For the sake of this discussion, assume that is how it works out.
As of today, there is an economic firestorm that is programmed to hit on January 1, 2013. It’s the kitchen sink - the Bush tax cuts (all of them), the payroll tax cuts, the AMT patch, the ending of extended unemployment benefits, the Sequestered Amounts (11’ budget deal), the debt ceiling, the need to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government and a bunch of other landmines. Many of the things that have been kicked down the road during the past few year come due on New Year's Eve.
If there is a hostile mood in D.C. (there will be) this list of “must fix” issues will be impossible to tackle following the election.
It’s difficult to see around the corner on this. One possibility is that nothing happens in the six weeks post-election. If nothing is accomplished, it would bring about an immediate and significant recession.
I say that doesn’t happen. For once, both the Republicans and the Democrats will pay a big price if there is no deal. For the Republicans, the mandatory cuts in the Military, and for the Democrats, the mandated cuts in the rest of the budget, means there has to be a deal.
But what deal could there be? The problem is enormous. The budget “hole” will be at least a trillion in 2012. It will get bigger every year. The Republicans have said “no more taxes.” The Democrats have said, “We need to spend more”. These seem like irreconcilable differences.
Fortunately, the Congressional Budget Office has come up with a solution. It’s a neat one at that. Neither overt new taxes nor cutbacks in spending would be required. This magic would be accomplished with a very big stealth tax. The CBO looked at eliminating all tax deductions. That would generate a ton of additional revenue. The CBO put the extra annual loot for the Feds at $800 billion plus, exactly what is needed.
Of course the idea of cutting/eliminating tax deductions is an
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Stock World Weekly: The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics
by SWW - February 5th, 2012 5:19 am
NEW: Elliott and Ilene are available to chat with Members regarding topics presented in SWW, comments are found below each post.
Here's the latest Stock World Weekly, called "The Relentless Pursuit of Meaningless Metrics."
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CBO REPORT – OMG!
by ilene - January 31st, 2012 9:47 pm
Courtesy of Bruce Krasting
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is out with its annual report. It’s a blockbuster. This 165 page monster is filled with dozens of charts, graphs and detailed projections. It will be talked about for weeks. The report provides a dismal outlook for the economy. There is one data point I'd like to focus on.
Here is the CBO forecast for real GDP for 2012 and 2013:
The 1.1% Real GDP number for 2013 surprised me. The CBO’s expectations are way under those of both the “Blue Chip” economists and the Federal Reserve:
What does it mean if the economy is going to slow, as CBO now thinks? Some consequences:
The CBO now forecasts Social Security to run into trouble in just a few years. This is a very substantial change in the outlook for SS. Changed fortunes make it certain that America’s favorite entitlement program will be on the table for a significant re-vamp.
The CBO has answered two critical question:
1) In what year does SS first goes into deficit (including interest)?
2) What is the size of the SS Trust Fund when #1 has been achieved?
Key data is here:
Using this information, we can estimate the Trust Funds (TF) balances over time, and compare them to what SS forecast in its report to Congress ten-months ago:
The bottom line is that the SSTF is going to top out three years ahead of “schedule” and be $800B shy of what it was “supposed” to be.
I think the CBO report has created a big headache for a good number of folks in D.C. Most of them are running for office this year. They certainly won't be able to wave the CBO report as a measure of how well they are doing.
Stock World Weekly: Entering the Debt Dimension
by SWW - January 29th, 2012 6:27 am
NEW: Elliott and Ilene are available to chat with Members regarding topics presented in SWW, comments are found below each post.
Here's the latest Stock World Weekly newsletter, Entering the Debt Dimension. Click here to sign in or sign up.
To really understand, you have to start thinking differently.
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Chris Martenson Interviews John Mauldin: “Time to Make the Hard Decisions”
by ilene - January 28th, 2012 12:05 pm
Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.
Submitted by Chris Martenson
Back in the 1930's, Irving Fisher introduced a concept called the 'debt supercycle.' Simply put, it posits that when there is a buildup of too much debt within an economy, there reaches a point where there simply is no other available solution but to let it rewind.
We are at that point in our economy, as are most other major economies around the world, claims John Maudlin, author of the popular Thoughts from the Frontline newsletter and the recent bestselling book Endgame: The End of the Debt Supercycle and How It Changes Everything
For the past several decades, excessive and increasing amounts of credit in the system have allowed us to live above our means as both individuals and nations. We've been able to have our cake and eat it, too. Now that the supercycle has ended and the inevitable de-leveraging cycle is staring us in the face, we will be forced to set priorities in a way that has been foreign to our society for over a generation.
On The Debt Supercycle
You can’t look to monetary policy for help (which will try to stimulate businesses to get more debt) because debt is the problem. If you are drunk and you need to cure yourself; another fifth of the whiskey is not the answer. So when debt becomes the problem, when it gets to be too much, more debt is not the issue. You've just simply got to work it off. There’s no easy way out of it. And, it takes years to work through it. It takes a long time, generally — 60 to 70 years, in the US's case — for these debt cycles to build up. It’s when you can no longer adequately service your debt and the market loses confidence in your ability to service the debt at a price that it finds adequate.
On the Slow-to-No-Growth Future
The problem is, there are only really two ways that you can deal with the debt. You can grow your way out of it, which is what you can do in normal business cycles. For most times in most places, we can grow our way out of debt problems, which is what the central bank is coming in and trying to do. The problem is, when you’re
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Largest Central Banks Now Hold Over 15 Trillion in Fictitious Capital
by ilene - January 28th, 2012 3:52 am
Russ focuses on Japan's problems in this article, but Japan's not alone when it comes to the list of countries with ponzi-like financial systems. ~ Ilene
Largest Central Banks Now Hold Over 15 Trillion in Fictitious Capital
Courtesy of Russ Winter of Winter Watch at Wall Street Examiner
I could not help noticing that China’s imports from Japan fell 16.2pc in December. Imports from Taiwan fell 6.2pc. The strong yen strikes again: Honda decides to build a high-performance hybrid Acura in Ohio – instead of its home nation of Japan. The firm’s continued shift in production to North American capacity signals a wider trend of Japan’s automakers to battle currency-related losses by moving operations.
Japan is on life support. The largest buyers of its debt are now sellers. Japan Post Holdings holds almost 3 trillion dollars of JGB’s and GPIF, the retirement fund, holds over $1 Trillion of JGB’s. Japan Post is the largest financial institution in the world and has 75% of assets in JGB’s and now wants to diversify. The retirement fund is liquidating $80+ billion per year to pay out benefits. I just read that the banks across Japan have 25% of assets in JGB’s. If rates were to move 1% (double), what would be the impact to the capital of the banks?
One argument is that Japan's banks are going to step in lieu of the big dwindling pensions. I merely point out that the IMF is go to stress test the banks against a modest move higher in rates. That would discourage the banks from buying debt at current levels.
The insurance companies are big holders and the people are getting old and dying. The savings rate is at 2% and headed negative (also demographics). The trade surplus has turned to deficit. The budget for this year was to have more JGB issuance than government revenue (about 50% of spending to be borrowed), then the earthquake hit. There are projections that the end total may approach two thirds of total spending that will be borrowed for the current fiscal year. There are no new large buyers to replace the ones mentioned above, and to sell bonds outside of Japan would require much higher rates. The Japanese people have trusted their financial institutions to the government and the trust has been violated. The money is gone and the government is not fiscally responsible. This
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PAYCHECKS, PERCEPTION, PROPAGANDA & POWER
by ilene - January 23rd, 2012 9:49 pm
PAYCHECKS, PERCEPTION, PROPAGANDA & POWER
Courtesy of Jim Quinn, The Burning Platform
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” - Upton Sinclair
I began to write this article in early December. I had just written a piece that attempted to scrutinize how the American public could stand idly by while heavily armed mercenary thugs viciously crushed the Occupy encampments across the country in a Department of Homeland Security coordinated attack at the behest of the ruling oligarchy. Comfortably Numb made a case that the political and economic systems of the United States have been captured by a few evil men and they use their wealth and power to control the message hammered into the psyches of an apathetic, distracted, vincibly ignorant public. I started to tackle the question of why Americans could stand by as the new Greatest Generation was being abandoned, derided, scorned, beaten, tear gassed, and arrested for having the courage and audacity to stand up to a powerful corrupt unholy alliance between Wall Street psychopaths, corporate fascist barbarians, and Washington DC power hungry jackals. But I became overwhelmed with a feeling of disillusionment and hopelessness and was unable to write anything for about a month. I found myself questioning whether it was worth fighting such a powerful foe after seeing how easily they crushed the opposition put forth by OWS. After a month I decided I am not one to love my servitude.
“Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution.” – Huxley’s Brave New World
I owe it to my three sons to keep fighting the good fight. They deserve a future. Day by day we draw ever closer to a showdown with the traitors who have sold this country into debt slavery. I don’t dream of revolution, but my eyes are wide open and I see it coming. I had been trying to wrap my head around what happened with the Occupy Movement since the Department of Homeland Security coordinated destruction of most of the encampments around the country in November. The corporate mainstream media immediately moved onto more pressing issues like the Kim Kardashian divorce and Jessica Simpson’s weight gain. The American public has been instructed by the media the Occupy story…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site
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