Argentina Coming Full Circle

Folks, I know it is difficult to give a hoot about countries so far away, especially when the Cowboys have lost their quarterback. I know it is even more difficult when speaking upon far away countries involves the "f" word. That's right, finance.

Depending on whom you ask, the present situation is either socialism or fascism. The choice of words probably more reflects political affiliations than any substantive differences. We're witnessing a mass concentration of power, which is being rationalized as "for our own good."

The cases of Argentina and SE Asia are subjects that I like to visit with regularity because they are examples of what global finance has in store for us all. As Americans, you're right to ask what any of this has to do with you. Well, for all that good that America and global capital has been doing for (to) the world, as civilian-killing fighter hero John McCain proclaims, is now coming full circle. We are now about to get IMF-ed royally.

Cosmetic Politics

Here's an interesting clip, which incriminates the Florida electorate. The battle cry has be for us to vote. It doesn't matter if you know what you're voting for, just vote.



With regard to a candidate I can support, I want one who can do the following:

1) Withdrawal from and reparations for Iraq and Afghanistan
2) Revocation of the so-called Patriot Acts
3) Cessation of prison privatization and the so-called war on drugs.
4) The end of farm subsidies with a reallocation of money to fund green agriculture
5) Dismantling the so-called Department of Homeland Security.

Four of the five policies relate to the policing/military fetish that our country rationalizes as being necessary. If you get a chance to see a documentary out there called Fuel, then by all means see it. One of the most interesting things I learned from it is that President Carter reduced energy consumption in the US by 25% during his tenure. That's huge. Regardless of who assumes power, if we push for energy reform we'll have tremendous positive impact on our neighbors and the earth.

Popsicle Index

Catherine Austin-Fitts has a site called Solari.com. Here she explains the Popsicle Index.

Comrade Bush?

Here's the opening sentence from an article discussing S. America's response to the crisis.

CARACAS, Venezuela — They don't call him President Bush in Venezuela anymore. Now he's known as "Comrade."

Now that the US is rapidly nationalizing banks, it is a good time for us to reconsider the reasons why we despise leaders like Hugo Chavez, right? Chavez is the first self-identified indigenous leader of Venezuela. It appears that a significant part of the socialist wave taking place in S. America is informed by Indian pride and values, particularly in Bolivia but throughout the reason. Clearly Indian pride is a threat to peace, democracy, and all that stuff that we've been exporting to places like Vietnam, Iraq, Guatemala, and the Philippines for the past century.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Ron Paul on Obama

Here's a little something for the keepers of the faith in the Democratic Party from presidential candidate Ron Paul. I think good Democrats should be concerned about what Senator Paul says here, because it's not very nice and asks for substance over symbolism.

Every smart person knows that at a time of crisis, we can't let substance get in the way of hope. Let's not let the facts about who Obama's largest contributors are get in the way of hoping for change; let's allow ourselves to feel good about voting for a black man, instead of asking the question of how it is a one-time black Senator could miraculously gets legitimacy by appearing on the cover of propaganda instruments like Time Magazine long before the race heated up.

The Rush Limbaugh types have been cracking fun at the messianic regard that Obama receives among his supporters. I detest Limbaugh. He's just another propaganda parrot to dupe alienated and disgruntled whites. Even though these types' solution is to seek refuge in the time-tested American tradition of racism, there's something to what they're saying. Obama supporters are content with "hoping" for "change," holding "faith" that somehow we will be "saved" (can you say born again) by one who by my best estimation has been "chosen" this country's true rulers, i.e., Goldman Sacs, et al.

Senator Paul comes from the ilk of disaffected whites, I know. Nonetheless, like Kuchinich, Nader, and Cynthia McKinney, he's actually telling the truth.

Money, Politics, and Forclosures

I'm posting a few links here that you may find informative. The first is an interview with Timothy Canova, law professor at Chapman U. here in So. Cal. This is an MP3 recording. Professor Canova's perspectives on the history of money are instructive here.

The second article I'll quote from and allow for you to decide whether it's worth exploring further.

The principal technique employed in the US is to get people so busy that they don't have time to think about anything, and it is important to remember that with one person, one vote, this doesn't have to be everyone, just the majority. Thus, both men and women are encouraged to work long hours and coerced into accepting work with virtually no vacation time, and a sizable proportion of their free time is eaten up by bureaucratic concerns, such as paying bills etc. With what little time they have left they are often too fatigued to do much else and end up doing something like watching a movie. The long working hours and lack of vacation time also mean more profits for the politicians' pals and associates in the business world. Another technique involves what is called atomization in order to undermine the sense of community and the empowerment that a sense of community brings. This is achieved again through distraction, the principal weapon being the television, but also trivia such as video games.

A simple example of the way this works would be a person choosing to stay home and play a video game rather than going to have a chat with a neighbour. Still another important technique employed is obfuscation - making it hard for ordinary citizens to connect them with particular actions by acting as a group or through intermediaries. Perhaps the greatest factor contributing to the concentration of power and impending end of democracy in the US however is comfort. The majority of citizens have lived comfortable, affluent lives for many decades. This has led to unquestioning trust in politicians and a "leave it to them" attitude. Many people have more important things to do than keep tabs on what their politicians are up to, such as watching the ball game, drinking with their pals or going to the racetrack. The attitude has also been cultivated amongst all classes of society that "money talks" and "might is right".

The entire article can be read here.

Finally, here's a more personal look at the impact of foreclosures here in So Cal. The foreclosed home is probably of a Korean family judging from the rice cooker and Korean ramen box filled with junk on the kitchen counter, as well as the Christian cross in the bedroom. Although those affected have been presented have having primarily black and brown faces, there's little doubt that this is an equal opportunity disaster, even for model minorities.

Sensible Proposition: Smart Voters Only

Folks, after considerable thought, I regrettably have decided that stupid people shouldn't vote. Again, I come to this decision regrettably, but I've come to realize that our democracy depends on it.

There could be lot's of ways to determine an individuals stupidity: we could go by SAT scores; we could use IQ; we may even consider family history. It seems to me that these are relatively arbitrary measures of one's smarts. I believe a flat smart standard should be applied that is based purely on income. After all, there are plenty of individuals with high test scores who don't have any money. Now in all honesty, of what good is such intelligence if it cannot be converted into the objective basis of existence: money? Clearly, none at all. Money-making is the only true measure of smarts.

But how much money makes one among the ranks of the smart? This is where our social engineers will have to think hard, but I would estimate that an annal income of one million or a net worth of over 5 million should be the starting point.

Of course, stupid people will probably take exception to this proposition, but we cannot pander to lowest common denominator. This pandering is what has got us in the position we're in today. Some may argue that such a proposition is elitist, but if smart and elitism are synonymous then so be it. We'll let the philosophers decide, but we people of action cannot idly sit by why the morons have their benighted way.

Now before one concludes that my thinking is out of line, I content that this is precisely what happened this week when Congress voted for the bailout. The smart people, that would be all the governors of European banks and the heads of Wall St, insisted that Congress and Senate not fall prey to the stupid masses by listening to them.

Individuals working for Wall Street finance, insurance and real estate companies and the companies’ political action committees have contributed more than $47 million to the campaigns of Senator Obama (three of top five sources) and Senator McCain (top five sources), both of whom voted for the bailout.

More to the point, Wall Street has contributed more than $1.1 billion dollars to congressional candidates since 2002. Nine of the top ten House recipients of Wall Street largesse, who each received an average of $1.5 million, are on the financial oversight and taxation committees.

Even more telling, the bipartisan Congressional "leaders" most responsible for pushing the bailout through Congress, Senators Dodd and Gregg and Representatives Frank and Blunt have taken almost $20 million from Wall Street sources during the last 20 years. Dodd recently received $6 million in contributions during his presidential primary campaign, and Frank has collected $720,000 this year.

You can go here for more. The fact is that Congress does precisely this.

Derivatives: Bigger than Sub-prime Mortgages

Folks,

Here's a bit of a discussion on this important topic of derivatives and why you need to call your congress person and tell them to vote NO. It's an MP3 file.

Here.

The role of Buffet here is important, but I'd be interested in what others believe what the trends are given his recent purchases. Buffett On Derivatives: 'A Fool's Game' is an article written a year and a-half ago quoting the sage himself.

We need to be clear that the problem is much larger than sub-prime mortgages, which is the principle way that this story is being spun. People's stock portfolios rose in the 90s and 2000s, but no one seemed to ask why and how as jobs flowed overseas and most rural and industrial America became ghost towns. Those who remained wrapped themselves in a bloody flag, meth labs, and Nascar.

The tranquilizing effects of "entertainment" also ensnared the cynical sophisticates of the urban meccas. They had been to college and believed that they as Americans were beyond reproach. Never mind that the militarization they intended for the world became a karmic noose that tightened progressively with each collateral mistake, with each uranium bullet, with each refugee, and hollow claims for "human rights." Of course they were hollow, every one knows you put your money where your mouth is and everyone's money is still in Ratheon and Goldman.

Well, now that it's becoming increasing apparent that this model may not actually be in their best interest, the question becomes what is the best solution? First is to stop funding "them", and reallocating these resources in ways that increase revenue within communities as opposed to centralizing it in the hands of corportists.

The Shock Doctrine has been getting some coverage from the media. In it you'll find a discussion of how the current situation resembles happenings in S. America over the last 20 years. I feel I've belabored the point about SE Asia and Argentina, but these were lies I saw unfold before my eyes and affected people I know. The arrogance from Sorros to Bush to Clinton to Rubin to Summers to Greenspan to NPR to Wall St. Journal to NYT, all the glib disregard!

Catherine Austin-Fitts runs a site called Solari, which analogizes Wall St. to a parasite draining from the "host"-- Main St. As a Wharton graduate and one who has worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations, few have her insider expertise and smarts. Here.

# 25 Bush’s Real Problem with Eliot Spitzer

Here's an article that you may find interesting given the present situation:

Spitzer had become increasingly public in blaming the Bush administration for the subprime crisis. He testified in mid-February before the US House of Representatives Financial Services subcommittee and later that day, in a national CNBC interview, laid blame squarely on the administration for creating an environment ripe for predatory lenders.

Go here for the whole story.

Wonder why Obama and McCain are both supporting this welfare for Greenspan and company?

we have a campaign of personalities and platitudes. There is a race candidate, a gender candidate and a tortured veteran candidate, each talking about change in America, national security, freedom, and the American way. The candidates are running with support of political parties so deeply embedded with the military industrial complex, the health insurance companies, Wall Street, and corporate media that it is undeterminable where the board rooms separate from the state rooms.

The whole article here.

Folks, the Bush administration hasn't gotten anything right so far, how is Obama thinking he's going to change anything by going along with this horrible payoff? Either he doesn't understand the issues or his largest contributor is Goldman Sachs. Hmm.