Raleigh
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Gravity – there was a lot of non-conforming public opinion in the “Comment” section of a Guardian story I read a few days ago, and people were strongly questioning everything they were being told. It was refreshing. People who wrote “questioning” posts got most of the “like” votes, while the people who just simply said it was Russia (with no evidence to back them up) had very few “likes”. People were saying, “Where’s the evidence?”
A criminal police investigator said he was told early in his career, “When looking at evidence and trying to tie facts together, you’ll see that the clean just keep getting cleaner, while the dirty just keep getting dirtier.” I think that’s about right. The truth will come out, just like with Syria and Iraq. The separatists have treated the bodies with respect and they’ve handed over the black box. Russia is asking all of the good questions. The U.S. had their spy satellite going overhead at precisely the time the plane went down, coincidentally; they know exactly what happened.
The truth will surface.
On one of the above articles about Chinese debt, the Western bloggers were saying, “China is surviving because they’re bailing everybody out,” to which the Chinese bloggers said, “Yes, the same as America did with Wall Street, Fannie/Freddie, GM,” blah, blah, blah. Same in Europe, Japan…
Whose bailing arm is going to give out first? Because the debt is racking up fast and it’s all being bailed into the taxpayers’ boats, and their boats are starting to sink below the waterline. “It takes many sheep to satisfy one wolf.”
The central banks are either in collusion, one taking over from another in holding the world up by its neck, or they are each waiting for one to blink. Which is it? Whose ship will go down first?
Russia’s side:
“I want to expose the airspace situation in the Donetsk area that day. In the picture you can see the information of the objective air traffic control between 17.10 to 17.30 Moscow time.
During that period, there were 3 civilian aircraft:
Flight from Copenhagen to Singapore at 17.17;
Flight from Paris to Taipei at 17.24
Flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur… Beside it, the Russian system for air traffic control detected a Ukrainian Air Force aircraft, supposedly a Su-25, moving upwards towards the Malaysian Boeing-777. The distance between two aircraft was 3-5 kilometers.
The Su-25 can gain an altitude of 10,000 meters in a short time. It is armed with an air-to-air missile R-60, which is able to lock-on and destroy a target at a distance of 12 kilometers, and destroy it definitely at a distance of 5 kilometers. What was the mission of the combat aircraft, in the flight-path of civilian aircraft, almost at the same time and same altitude with the civilian craft? We want to have this question answered.”
“…MH17 deviated significantly from its usual flight path; routinely it was flying more to the south.”
“…the Ukraine Air Traffic Control ordered the plane’s crew to divert from the regular more southerly route to go north over the combat zone, a Ukraine jet fighter was recorded by Russian radar climbing rapidly towards it just before it went down…”
“According to our records from 17:06 till 17:21 Moscow time on the July 17 over the Southeastern territory of Ukraine, a US space satellite flew overhead.”
The airplane deviated from its course by 14 kilometers. Questions, questions.
Euan – “The real issue here is why did Dutch authorities allow an aircraft to take off from Schiphol, laden with Dutch passengers, to fly over a war zone?” Good question.
“He should get on a plane, fly to Moscow and talk to Putin… before its too late!” I think “too late” is what he’s after. If Obama was after conciliation and friendliness, yes, but he doesn’t want that. He wants the oil and gas.
Ever dealt with someone where you think their motive is genuine, you keep giving them the benefit of the doubt, and it takes quite awhile before you realize their motive is not one of mutual benefit, but a one-sided benefit in favor of them? I have. Of course, if it was someone you didn’t trust, you probably wouldn’t be surprised, but when it is someone you do trust (like the President of your country, a friend, a family member), it’s a hard pill to swallow. It takes some time before you allow the thought to sink in.
I don’t think the U.S. wants the truth (which I’m sure they already know, anyway). They are and have been trying to stir up the hornet’s nest for some time now. If this doesn’t work, expect to see something more horrific in due time.
They want something, and if it takes a fight to get it, that’s what will happen, lives be damned.
Ilargi – “…why base your case on such a questionable source?” Because it gives you the answers you want.
In the real world, there’s no way the U.S. would rely on what Kiev says, but if Kiev is saying exactly what the U.S. wants the world to hear, then they’ll use it.
“If” they are now back pedaling, it’s because Russia has something that they’d like to show the world, and they’d rather not have that happen.
Ilargi – “Putin controls oil and gas, just like Saddam did, and he therefore has to be brought down.” And just like Gaddafi. Look what they did to him. I feel for Putin. Let’s see what happens. The U.S. did not get their way in Syria, and they are getting their way less and less. People all over the world are starting to see through their lies. “False flag” is becoming a common response whenever something happens.
I agree, the excellent questions asked by the Russian military and Ron Paul need to be answered.
rapier – “more Fed printing as is needed, to support the war.” Do you believe Europe will come down hard on Russia? I’m not so sure.
Nassim – “BTW, there has been no investigation into the Maidan shootings. Also, the Odessa massacre has not been investigated and those who carried out this murderous act – many of their pictures are on Youtube – have not been arrested.”
That is very telling.
TonyPrep – “I note only that the investigators apparently have been hampered by separatists. That does seem odd for a group that would have nothing to hide.”
Or are afraid of being set up, maybe having crucial evidence removed that would prove them innocent. Who knows. Only when spy satellites release what they have will we know for sure.
Professor – “And anyone who thinks the US is a dead ringer for victory is mistaken. This nation hasn’t “won” any of the wars it has started since WW II.”
That’s assuming the objective was to “win”. Maybe they care more about keeping the military establishment going, selling lots of armaments, greasing the pockets of the military contractors who support them during their campaigns, than they do about winning. They also get to maintain chaos in the world, a prerequisite for looting.
They absolutely must hate the Internet. Too many eyes watching them, too many good writers exposing them.
Karl Denninger said:
“The sky was quite clear at the time of the incident from public footage of the impact itself. This strongly implies that multiple nations and certainly the US should have satellite footage of the incident. If such a smoking gun does exist, however, it also almost-certainly came from a classified device (e.g. a spy satellite.) The assumption has to be made that within the organs of the major nations involved they know, factually, exactly where the missile came from geographically. Missiles leave a big trail of fire and (for solid-fuel ones) smoke, never mind the explosion on impact.”
I’m sure that answers are available, but for whatever reason we probably won’t get them. We’re apparently responsible enough to pay our taxes that feed this madness, yet we’re not responsible enough to handle the truth. Where is the truth nowadays?
Nassim – “It was escorted by 2 Ukrainian jet fighters until 3 minutes before the explosion.” Denninger also said:
“Irrespective of who fired and why (it’s nearly-certain that whoever fired the missile they thought they were shooting at a military aircraft and not an airliner) the question remains why the airspace in the vicinity of the known presence of these missiles, especially after one was used to down a military transport, was considered open to civilian transit. That’s ****ing idiotic and the entire International community including the ICAO bears full responsibility for not issuing a strong warning to avoid transit of airspace known to be subject to the use of SAM batteries in a conflict.”
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=229214
When you step on an airliner, you expect the people in charge to keep you out of harm’s way, especially out of enemy fire. The poor people on this plane didn’t stand a chance. It’s almost like they were set up.
Four ways rich Chinese elude Forex laws to move money abroad: by using friends’ bank accounts in China and abroad; underground money changers; private banks (example, Bank of China); and setting up offshore companies and then using fake trade contracts.
https://www.tremeritus.com/2014/07/17/how-rich-chinese-elude-forex-laws-to-move-money-abroad/
Gravity – agree with you re MH17. The separatists had nothing – nothing – to gain by downing that plane, but it might have been an accident on their part. But a false flag event? Now you’re talking. Putin is showing incredible restraint, even though the Nobel Peace Prize winner keeps baiting him.
Was watching a documentary about Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers. When the public did not come to his assistance, he said, “The American public see, hear and understand, but then they choose to look the other way.” (Not an exact quote). Whenever we dismiss reality, pain is right around the corner. It is as if, by denying, we are making room for pain to enter.
Ilargi – great post today! Spent my evening listening to Michael Sandel videos. He’s right, we need to be asking the big questions.
We Didn’t Offshore Manufacturing?
“Federal agencies grouped under the bland-sounding Economic Classification Policy Committee (ECPC) are proposing to radically redefine U.S. manufacturing and trade statistics.
Under the proposal, U.S. firms that have offshored their production abroad – like Apple – would become “factoryless goods” manufacturers. The foreign factories that actually manufacture the goods – like the notorious iPhone-producing Foxconn factories in China – would no longer be manufacturers, but “service” providers for the rebranded “manufacturing” firms like Apple.
It appears the administration has been reading Orwell. […]
…this maneuver would obscure the erosion of U.S. manufacturing. It would disguise the mass-offshoring of U.S. middle-class factory jobs incentivized by NAFTA-style trade deals. It would undermine efforts to change the unfair trade and other policies that have led to such decline.”
Whenever I hear them wanting to “radically redefine” something, my antennae go up. Criminals.
“…the Trade In Services Agreement’s Financial Services Annex, if passed, would eliminate the ability of governments to regulate the financial industry.
Incredible as it sounds, the annex, being negotiated in secret among 50 countries with continuing advice from lobbyists, would require signatory governments to allow any corporation that offers a “financial service” — that includes insurance as well as all forms of trading and speculation — to expand operations at will and would prohibit new financial regulations.
The driver of this offensive is the “investor-state dispute mechanism.” Deceptively bland-sounding, the “mechanism” is secret tribunals controlled by corporate lawyers that are commonly used under “free trade” agreements. Corporate executives angered because an environmental or safety rule keeps it from earning the highest possible profit can ask for a hearing at a designated tribunal to adjudicate its “dispute” with a government. Many of the judges who sit on these tribunals are corporate lawyers who otherwise represent corporations, and there is no appeal to their one-sided decisions.”
Good God, y’all. Who needs democracy when these guys have got our backs.
Developers musn’t be allowed to lose money!
“As long as you have enough money, you can buy as many apartments as you wish,” real estate agent Zhang Di told Xinhua.
Over the past couple of months, more than 10 cities nationwide have lifted or eased bans on ownership of more than one home, imposed in early 2011 to cool the market. At that time, more than 40 cities made use of the limits along with other measures, including higher mortgage rates and bigger downpayments on second homes. Three years ago, high home prices were among the top complaints of urban residents.
Xu Chuanming, marketing director of Hopefluent Group Holdings Ltd. (Shandong), said a cooling real estate market hurts economic growth and fiscal revenue.
“It’s quite natural for local authorities to lift the limits to help the property market,” said Xu.
The real estate sector has been a major driver of growth over the past decade. Revenues from land sales are a major source of income for local governments, accounting for about one third of total fiscal revenue. In some regions, the percentage can be above 50 percent.”https://english.people.com.cn/business/n/2014/0711/c90778-8754141.html
Professor – but haven’t real wages being going up, but only for the top 10% or so? The average guy isn’t getting a wage increase. And GDP? Another manufactured print?
China goes after its judges. “The SPC said 683 judges and court staff turned over illegal gains including cash, securities and payment documents, to the value of 3.32 million yuan (540,000 U.S. dollars), in 2013.”
https://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/8551502.html
China is going after “naked officials”, officials who send their families abroad in order to have a base to send illicit money to or in case they need to get out of Dodge fast (following Russia’s lead). Some have had their families return to China, and others have been repositioned, no doubt to a lower rank where they probably don’t have access to bribe money. They said, “If you don’t have confidence in the economic future of China, then you shouldn’t be holding positions of power.”
https://english.peopledaily.com.cn/n/2014/0702/c90882-8749698.html
List of China’s 20 richest individuals and what industries they’re in:
https://english.people.com.cn/business/8399564.html
I don’t know if most of these people are in joint ventures with Western multinationals, but how else would they have gotten the expertise so quickly (other than real estate, of course)? Car manufacturing, heavy machinery, IT? Correct me if I’m wrong.
Yellen: “In a nutshell, she said “It’s not the Fed’s job to pop bubbles”.
No, it’s her job to set them up in the first place, then engineer and steer them. If they look like they’re losing air, she rushes back in and blows harder.
Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon!
John Day – very interesting re hunter/gatherers and sociopaths, also priests/generals/sociopaths being the “free-riders”. Thanks for your advice re being versatile.
Pay cash. Yes, I’m doing this more and more.
Re James Gorman: “After reading it, I have the distinct impression – suspicion – that Mr. Gorman owes his job to his lack of contact with reality, that anyone less prone to delusions would not be able to do the job he does the way he does it. Of course there’s the option he’s faking the entire article – and his “vision”, but something tells me that’s not the case. He leaves me with the idea he means it.”
He does mean it. Sociopaths/narcissists always have a plan, are extremely self-centered, and live in “their own” reality. You read or hear what they have to say, and you are left shaking your head, spending way too much time doubting yourself. That’s what makes them so difficult to fight. They are always very surprised when their plan or vision is questioned as they don’t see any other way. But because they are so planned (their plan), and we are not, they end up controlling things, a kind of “if you build it, they will come” type thinking.
In order to combat these guys, we must do the opposite, have our “own” plan: pay cash.
Carbon – “The 5% psychopaths: If your most dangerous 5% get in positions where they can force debt based collapse and servitude on others, and bend the resources of society to their own narrow will, then they have a disproportionate effect on the directon of society compared to the rest.
It’s like the Maximum Power Principle operating in monetary terms within a society. They outcompete competitors and make them financially extinct, which could in the future translate to actually dead for some people. So they matter more than 5% in practice.”And if they have a very good propaganda arm (media) and an advanced military/surveillance machine on their side, they matter 100%. They dictate the play. You don’t set up these things if you’re not a little paranoid about losing your power. We all notice the rope getting tighter and tighter.
You might say, “Well, that’s not everybody,” but would that be correct? Nature will always seek balance, and sometimes that balance is 75/25 or 90/10. From my observations of families, organizations, societies, it is seldom happy, happy fair. There are almost always dominant players. Psychopaths understand more than others the “motivations” people have: oh, this person is dependent, this one has a fear of failure, this one wants to be seen as intelligent, passive, etc. That is why they get to the top: they see what we don’t even see about ourselves.
How many benevolent leaders have there really been? If you come from a family with a benevolent leader, you are one lucky son of a gun. In small groups, when the actual survival of the group depends on everybody pitching in, when resources are plentiful, I can see it succeeding. There is a common goal: survival.
You never know what you really want until you know what you don’t want. Maybe psychopaths were put on earth to open our eyes to what we “could” have, but I don’t think the majority of the population will see this until they feel a great amount of pain.
It will take pain to open their eyes, and then, if there happens to be a benevolent leader who survives the attacks he will surely encounter and can lead, maybe there is a chance for us. What psychopaths want (power/control) will have to be removed from society, and spirituality take its place. Watch the churches fill up when that happens.
“The world’s major central banks are returning to a more opaque and artful approach to policymaking, ending a crisis-era experiment with explicit promises that they found risked their credibility and did not substitute for action.”
Artful, like the Artful Dodger, picking your pockets without you even knowing. More opaque? What a surprise!
“Secrecy is the freedom tyrants dream of” – Bill Moyers
Good article. I’ll have to mull it over some more before I comment. I’m still thinking about yesterday’s articles.
Re Stephen Roach: “Over the past decade, Chinese subsidiaries of Western multinationals accounted for more than 60% of the cumulative rise in China’s exports.
In other words, the export miracle was sparked not by state-sponsored Chinese companies but by offshore efficiency solutions crafted in the West. This led to the economic equivalent of a personal identity crisis: Who is China — them or us?”
Why, it is “us”, otherwise it wouldn’t be happening. It’s always “us”. China would never have developed like they did (in such a short amount of time) without a great deal of help from their friends in the West. The corporations got what they wanted, and the Chinese Party elite got something too: filthy rich. A match made in Heaven! Both sold their own countries out; opposite ends of the same snake.
Perhaps the corporate gravy train is ending? China goes after pharmaceutical company for bribes and corruption:
“IT READS like a plot from white-collar crime fiction. New twists in the corruption saga enveloping GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) keep adding to the British drug giant’s troubles in China.”
https://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2014/07/corporate-corruption-china
Professor – yes, the enablers have been us. We elect our leaders (the followers always dictate the leaders), and we have not been paying attention (thanks to the media’s steady stream of propaganda). As Ilargi says, it has been a “slow and sneaky scheme,” which makes it very difficult to see. It’s really only seen in retrospect, when you can stand back and put the pieces together.
We have been complacent and ignorant and have allowed our politicians to be bought off. But they do have an almost stranglehold over us, and to try to bring it back is going to be one for the books. The only reason they allowed us greater freedom in the past was because they needed us. They don’t now.
Re Yellen: “…she sees bubbles as “market” events in which the central bank’s role is primarily shock absorption. In other words, idiot investors wholly of their own accord create bubbles and it’s the job of the munificent and enlightened Federal Reserve to help ensure that such “market” madness is “contained” without further economic destruction.”
Yeah, right, it was just “idiot investors wholly of their own accord” who created the bubbles. Like they just moved in a certain direction for no good reason (ha!). I can hardly stand reading this stuff any more. How does Yellen look at herself in the mirror? I know I couldn’t.
Notice how the elite went after her because she had acted against members of her own class, and yet our elite (politicians/media/bankers) are silent or untruthful because they are benefiting so greatly and because the target is only “us”.
jeremiah – the Matrix, indeed. From Hussman: “Let me say that again. The Federal Reserve’s promise to hold safe interest rates at zero for a very long period of time has not created a perpetual motion machine for stocks. No – it has simply created an environment where investors have felt forced to speculate, to the point where stocks – despite their dramatically greater risk – are now also priced to deliver zero total returns for a very long period of time. Put simply, we are already here.”
The central bankers/media/government like to say, “Wow, look at the exuberance of the people,” feigning surprise when the herd moves. How do these guys keep a straight face when they’re saying it, knowing that they set up the game (in order to move the herd) in the first place? Herds move when a force is applied, and it usually contains a healthy dose of fear. They know this; that’s why they do it. Liars, all of them.
Good links. Thanks.
“Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
George Orwell
“NML would still have made a massive profit if it had agreed to the 30 percent payback rate. As it stands, Argentina’s ambassador to the US estimates that repaying the vulture funds in full would net them a 1,300 percent return on investment.”
Nice little return, if they can get it. Vultures are scavengers, usually taking what’s left over after the predators have taken the best stuff. In this case, they get the scraps and then, magically, they also get the whole carcass. Amazing!
“Yellen really is incompetent.” You’re far too kind; she sees just fine.
Professor, from the above article: “So if Greenspan hadn’t run an easy money policy in the first place, there would have been nothing in the mortgage arena for the “animal spirits” to have latched onto. This is always the case with financial asset bubbles. Excess hope only comes into play after the central bank has set the boom in motion. Excess fear is the inevitable follow-up once the bubble is popped.”
Yes, AFTER the central bank has set the boom in motion. The trap is set first, and THEN the herd moves in.
The article is entitled, “Greenspan Still Doesn’t Get it”. I agree with everything said, except I respectfully think the author doesn’t get it if he thinks Greenspan didn’t know exactly what he was doing and exactly where it would go. He laid out the game, called in the herd, and they bit. He’s a liar, plain and simple, along with Geithner, Bernanke, et al.
They all “get it”. I wish people would call them on it. They all should be behind bars.
“Herd behavior is a fundamental aspect of capitalism,” Keen chides, but it is left out of conventional economic theory “because they don’t believe it;” instead having faith that investors are all “rational individuals”, which he notes, means “[economists] can’t foresee any crisis in the future.” The reality is – “we do have herd behavior” and people will follow the herd off a cliff unless they are aware it’s going to happen. “Contrary to herd wisdom, financial crises are not unpredictable black swans…”
It’s not left out of conventional economic theory because “they don’t believe it”. It’s left out because “they do believe it”; they are causing it. If people knew they were purposely being herded, they’d step off. Bernanke, Greenspan, Yellen, Abe, China’s central bank, Congress/Senate, no matter the stripes – they’re all steering the herd. It’s a modern-day Buffalo Jump. Scare people a certain way (make them fear their money will be worthless/they’ll be left behind), entice them with thoughts of riches, work on their egos – it’s being done all day, every day.
I agree that financial crises are not unpredictable. They are beautifully engineered with intent. They might not get the whole herd, but they get enough to eat. Criminal, sociopathic behavior.
I think people are fearful of change, but rather than realize they are fearful, they just deny the truth to themselves. People seem to live in the past or the present, but seldom in the future (except for the short-term) because to many the mere thought of the future produces anxiety. It’s an unknown.
What makes me think of the future is the love I feel for my children. I want this beautiful planet we live on to continue to be beautiful for them. Instead, it seems we can’t ruin it fast enough.
We would rather be ruined than changed.
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.
W.H. Auden“Another source who met Xi in private this year quoted him as saying implementing reforms had been “very difficult” due to opposition from state-owned enterprises along with influential party elders and their children, known as “princelings”.
State-owned firms and princelings in business enjoy many privileges and virtually monopolize certain sectors, something at odds with China’s efforts to steer its economy away from a reliance on heavy industry and investment to one driven more by consumption and innovation. […]
Underscoring the challenge, more than 30 percent of party, government and military officials were found to be involved in some form of corruption, according to a previously unpublished internal party survey carried out in 2013, said one of the sources.
The source, who has seen a copy, did not say how the survey arrived at its conclusions.
While he is walking a political tightrope, the sources said Xi was not meeting much resistance, for now, to the crackdown from party elders or others who might fear they could be next.
But there is a limit to how many people he can purge.
“The government would be paralyzed if Xi went after all the corrupt officials,” said a source who has regular access to Xi.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/16/us-china-corruption-xi-insight-idUSBREA3F1UT20140416
Talk about a free-for-all. These are the people who arrive with suitcases full of cash and push up prices in foreign “yes, we’ll-take-your-bribe-money” destinations.
“Wei, deputy director of the coal division of the National Energy Administration, was found with 100 million renminbi — $16 million — at his home, the financial news publication Caixin reported this week, citing unnamed investigators.
Since the 100-renminbi note is the largest-denomination bill in circulation, that means that Wei’s alleged stash presented a bit of a storage problem. Such a hoard, if stacked in one tall tower, would reach 328 feet high, the Youth Daily said. Laid out end to end, the haul would stretch 96 miles — the length of Beijing’s Third Ring Road and Fifth Ring Road combined.
Investigators had to bring in 16 cash-counting machines to tally the money, Caixin said; four of the devices — which can process 1,000 bills per minute — burned out in the process.”
https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-corruption-20140516-story.html
Ay caramba! He must be slightly ticked off he didn’t get that money out of the country.
“Xi’s anti-corruption program may be headed a little farther afoot — to the United States.
Chinese diplomats in the U.S. suggested Wednesday that they may seek Washington’s help in extraditing what state media has reported is a list, compiled by Beijing, of more than 1,000 corrupt Chinese officials who have sought refuge in the U.S. […]
“This is a huge issue right now in China,” said Arthur T. Dong, a Georgetown professor and expert in Chinese business. “We have a new sheriff in town — the new sheriff is Xi Jinping. He has an aggressive reform agenda he’s trying to propagate. He’s swept up some very senior people in the party and taken them down. He’s made it clear and used them as examples. He’s showed he is serious about instituting new business models.”
The campaign is driving Xi’s targets abroad, Dong said.
“There’s tremendous interest in obtaining residency and finding a way to put their assets in safer havens,” Dong said.”
https://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/14/china-us-corrupt.html
I’m sure this money would account for at least a fair share of the “cash” deals in real estate we’ve heard about.
Trivium – “This requires a change in consciousness…” Yes, but a change in consciousness does not come until people feel pain, and a lot of it. When their world falls apart, when depression is finally realized, they will feel pain like they’ve never known. THIS is what causes a change in consciousness (hitting rock bottom), and this change in consciousness will then force the system to change. “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
Pain brings concentration. Nothing will change until that happens.
“Quietly, subtly, almost imperceptibly, the rules governing global trade and financial markets are changing. It is not happening by accident, but by wilful design. And despite the enormous impact it will have on all our lives, the public is not being consulted on any aspects of the process. Indeed, most people are not even aware it is happening. […]
The ultimate goal of these treaties is to reconfigure the legal apparatus and superstructures that govern national, regional and global trade and business – for the primary, if not exclusive, benefit of the world’s largest multinational corporations. […]
As I warned in early November 2013, the global corporatocracy is almost fully operational. The intentions of those negotiating the multiple trade treaties are now crystal clear: to place complete power and control over our economies in the hands of the largest global corporations, many of which bear the lion’s share of responsibility for the economic and environmental mess we’re already in.
In the meantime, the clock continues to tick down. At any moment, a few quiet strokes of a pen behind the tightly closed doors of a luxury conference room could usher in a new age of corporate domination. With it will come a new kind of dystopia, bearing an uncanny likeness to the inverted totalitarianism foreseen by Sheldon Wolin.”
Re yesterday’s post and Yellen – “A) doesn’t read the news or look at price charts for items or B) has no idea how to interpret data or C) is a liar.”
I’ll take Door No. 3 for the win, Alex. It’s a prerequisite for the job.
rapier – “My crackpot idea is nations are becoming obsolete as corporations are now becoming the dominant model of human organization.” Yes, that’s what I think too. Here’s what I think they want (and I think obviously planned for years ago): surplus labor and lower wages in the West, and rising wages and, therefore, consumerism in the East.
It’s all about selling their products. The West is just about saturated with cell phones, TV’s, blah, blah, but the East is not. I think their thinking was that if we can just get the East going (help China out by developing her), we’ll make vast amounts of money when these ships turn around and start buying our products.
It seems apparent by now that the corporations have the executive, legislative and judicial arms in their back pockets. They are moulding the West to accept less, live with less, while the East develops.
It’s a planned destruction/construction project on the grandest scale. Seems they are long-term thinkers after all. Nixon’s visit to Asia probably won over the elite that there were riches to be had.
I guess I have trouble thinking that China could ever have made it (so quickly) without a lot of help from her friends in the West. What do others think? And don’t tell me there’s no collusion. That’s what the G8 is all about.
If true, what’s a good name for these corporations? Corposites (a mix between corporations and parasites)?
