Thankfully we need not carry the sins of another, as each of us has enough our own. Only Christ is able to carry the sins of all mankind. The blood He shed on the cross is sufficient for all mankind to be saved. If those who perpetrated this evil would turn to Christ and repent, he/she/they WILL be saved. No one is too wicked to be saved.

What an amazing Gospel; such a loving Saviour!

Romans 10:13
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
King James Version (KJV)

I've just hit the 1-hour mark. I'm learning so much real history that there's too much to summarize, except to say this. It would not be an understatement to say that the BIGGEST difference between the so-called "history" in our text-books and actual history is that any/all references to the Rothschilds and their influence over GLOBAL events for the past two centuries has been totally erased.

Their list of financial crimes makes the acts of even the Wall Street robber-barons today pale in significance -- at least on an individual basis.

I'm currently (in historical terms) at roughly the 1850 mark. At that time, the Rothschilds were acknowledged unequivocably (and by a vast margin) as the richest family on the planet. Most of their money has been made by war-profiteering, thus starting wars has always been very "good for business".

Ever wonder who really came up with the idea for the (never-ending) "War on Terror" -- and then whispered it into the ears of U.S. Neo-cons???

samix wrote:
With this declaration, Jawlani ratcheted up suspicions in the West that significant elements of the Syrian opposition are ideologically and tactically aligned with al-Qaeda. Nusra is now officially considered a "terrorist" organisation by the US State Department.

So what are the list of crimes of this feared Terrorist organization do ?...



Samix, to appreciate what's taking place here; you must take a step back and think about what has been done to Western Sheep. They have been brainwashed literally to the point of mental retardation. There's no brainwave activity. No (introspective) asking of questions like "how" or "why".

Nusra is (allegedly) "tactically aligned" with Al Qaeda. Forget about the phrase "tactically aligned" are mere weasel-words which could be used to represent nothing more than expressing "best wishes" to each other (lol). Forget about the fact that "Al Qaeda" is nothing more than a new name for the U.S.'s old allies -- the Mujahadeen. Forget about what Al Qaeda actually represents today, it's irrelevant.

All that matters in the tiny minds of the Sheep is that Al Qaeda has been labeled "Bad Guys." And now Nusra has been associated with Al Qaeda. And the Sheep have already been programmed that if you're "associated" with Bad Guys that this makes you "Bad Guys" too -- and anything goes.

...unless you're a Wall Street bank LAUNDERING MONEY for the "terrorists". When you "associate" with Bad Guys in that manner you don't get a Predator Drone between the eyes. Rather, the government wags its finger at you and says "please don't do this again" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

But the minds of the Sheep are too tiny to be able to comprehend such contradictions, unless (like a puppy which has peed on the floor) some trusted authority 'rubs their nose' in the contradiction.



We see precisely the same infantile mentality on display with respect to the reporting of business news. The Sheep have been trained to respond only to the words "beat expectations" and (rarely) "missed expectations". It doesn't matter whether the actual news is good or bad (even officially). It doesn't even matter (to the Sheep) what type of news it is.

If they hear the words "beat expectations"; they simply know they are supposed to applaud -- and then buy Dow stocks or U.S. Treasuries...



The masses are literally being devolved. Should the Oligarchs somehow managed to stay in power for even a century; they could devolve our species (behaviorally) to a degree equal to 1,000's (tens of thousands) of years of evolution.

We are being devolved BELOW the level of children, as some level of "curiosity" (i.e. brain-wave activity) is still encouraged in children.

I'm late getting going on the Forum this weekend because I put a lot of time into today's commentary; but this is pretty shocking stuff.

Essentially we've gone well beyond the original "Patriot Act era" in this phony War on Terror. In the new phase which this Fascist dictatorship has entered, it no longer sees the need to bother passing new laws.

It DECREES that it already has the "authority" to do anything it wants; and it simply IGNORES any trivial laws or documents (like the Constitution) which claim otherwise. It's hardly a surprise however, in the same regime where the U.S. Attorney General recently publicly pledged to cover-up any/all Wall Street crime.

The Rule of Law is obviously dead in the U.S. But it's important to note that it has not died of "natural causes"; rather it has been brutally assassinated.

samix wrote:
It is hard to resist the conclusion that this war has no purpose other than its own eternal perpetuation. This war is not a means to any end but rather is the end in itself. Not only is it the end itself, but it is also its own fuel: it is precisely this endless war - justified in the name of stopping the threat of terrorism - that is the single greatest cause of that threat.

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/ma...-war-on-terror-obama

This is the myopic view that emerges with most commentators looking at the war from secular lenses, inspite of being sincere, they fail to realize that, though they may not be driven due to religious motivations and religion does not constitute a important factor in decision making for them, that is not the same for everyone in the world. This is clearly a religious war that is not just going to continue for another 20 years but will continue even further, maybe, what the US officials mean is that the US has only 20 more years left to lead this war, then a new western country will have to pick the baton.

Nonetheless, due to these myopic lenses, reasons like Oil, Gold, Economy, "US needs a boogeyman" are attributed to this war that confuses people more on each side.



Samix, I prefer to break down this analysis into even more elementary terms. For somewhere around 2,000 years; humanity has known that if you want to actually "defeat terrorism" (where it actually exists) that you use the POLICE to combat such crime.

On the other hand, if you want to increase (or simply CREATE) terrorism; then you use military force. The simple fact that the U.S. has chosen to make it so-called "anti-terrorism" 100% militaristic in form is proof that the goal all along has been to create terrorism.

I prefer this to other arguments that this is a phony, manufactured "war", because it can't be undermined through geopolitical tangents or other rhetoric.

For another example, we can look to apartheid Israel. When (genuine) Palestinian terrorism first commenced; the Israelis themselves fought it purely with POLICE methods -- and had spectacular success.

In fact they had too much success. When Israeli politicians figured out they could USE (supposed) "terrorism" as a device to continue stealing Palestinian land (and never engaging in good-faith negotiations for "two states"); suddenly Israel immediately STOPPED the police-tactics which had successfully eradicated such terrorism -- and they began using their military instead...to create terrorism.

samix wrote:
Earl wrote:
No, it doesn't taste like chicken,
Earl

Yes Earl, it tastes exactly like a cockroach should. Slimy and crisp. LOL



Well, it's at least somewhat comforting to know we don't have to worry about being fed "cockroach steaks"...

There is still certainly a place for discussing the changes which should be made to our economies/governments/societies. At the very least, such discussions make newer readers aware that there ARE positive options instead of the cycle of self-destruction initiated by our Traitor Governments.

At the same time, (IMO) it's essential for us to separate such discussions from the more practically-oriented dialogues on which changes MUST come first. And returning to a gold standard is an excellent example of how/where we must "draw the line" here.

Among the many points I've gotten out of the "Money Masters" clip posted by Debsyl (and I'm still not 1/3rd through - lol) is that in a thoroughly corrupt system even a gold standard is no panacea against financial crime and a predatory monetary system.

The English government used a gold standard to cripple the American Colonies, which ultimately precipitated Revolution. So clearly our top priority (ahead of financial reform specifically) is to "clean up the system."

But (as I also recently pointed out); it's literally impossible to even reduce the level of corruption in our System as long as you have a world full of mega-corporations who can "buy" all of our politicians...out of their "petty cash" drawer.

So this is why in almost any discussion, at some point you will hear my familiar refrain:

Smash all the monopolies and oligopolies into little pieces.

Think of it as a 21st century replacement for "Amen."

Something a little different,

Thank You
Earl


THIS IS RARE FOOTAGE OF GEORGE HARRISON AND FRIENDS
This rehearsal was for Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert

agau121 wrote:
Jeff Nielson wrote:
More complete insanity from Bloomberg, and we're still in the same day here. What's the latest news? Because of all the terrible U.S. economic news; the Fed may begin its long-promised "exit strategy."





Hmmm...black is white, up is down, hot is cold, war is peace, freedom is slavery. What used to be the disease (not enough money printing) is now the cure--at least this week. Possibly next week, or shortly thereafter, history will be rewritten, and money printing will once again be the cure. Quoting the party from 1984: "We've always been at war with Eastasia."


Of course we've already devolved below that cliche. We're past the point of examples like...

We've always been at war with Eastasia.

Today, with our super-charged propaganda machine, it's even more generic:

We've always been at war with ________________.

...and the Oligarchs (and their propaganda machine) simply insert new names into the "blank" with complete impunity. Put another way, most of our "new, mortal enemies" were usually previous "close friends."

When I posted my thoughts on evil Bankster, Jeffrey Sachs; naturally I was borrowing the phrase "economic hit-man" from his own lexicon. However, ironically, I've never read the book myself.

I was considering remedying that deficiency (lol), but at the least I'll make sure I squeeze in time over the weekend to listen to the interview. More detail is usually helpful in increasing clarity.

agau121 wrote:
Jeff Nielson wrote:
Still (throwing out yet more cliches - lol), Rome wasn't built in a day, and you have to crawl before you can walk (let alone run). Hopefully one day it won't be a shocking headline to read "Banker Arrested"...



To this I will add my own cliche: A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

Fortunately for Mr. Blesa, the former chairman of the bank in question, he had the 2.5 million euros needed to post bail and was able to return to a more desirable housing situation than the gated community where he spent last night. Had his crime been something less serious such as small-time pot dealing, he most likely would still be living in that gated community and wearing far less desirable clothing.



Sadly, this comes in the context of a different news item I saw a couple of months back (not sure if I posted it). In that article, a South American government was being sued for daring to even arrest a banker -- successfully sued by the banker they tried to arrest.

In much of the world there is no such thing as "financial crime"; but it is a 'crime' to attempt to stop the Criminals from committing more crimes.

You could sense even the smug Liars at Bloomberg shaking in their boots ever so slightly while reporting this: a (criminal) banker actually arrested for committing crimes.



Images such as pigs flying, blue Moons, or Hell freezing-over immediately come to mind. Of course it's one thing to merely arrest one of these predators, and quite another to actually lock one up (and throw away the key) as these Career Criminals so richly deserve.

Still (throwing out yet more cliches - lol), Rome wasn't built in a day, and you have to crawl before you can walk (let alone run). Hopefully one day it won't be a shocking headline to read "Banker Arrested"...




Banker in Jail Suggests Spain Is Calling Lenders to Account

www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-17/first-...ders-to-account.html

The sight of Miguel Blesa, the former chairman of Caja Madrid, being driven to jail in a police van suggests Spain may be calling bankers to account after the nation needed European Union funds to bail out lenders.

Judge Elpidio-Jose Silva jailed Blesa yesterday while he investigates the circumstances around a U.S. bank purchase in 2008. Television images last night showed Blesa, 65, being driven into the 1,008-cell Soto del Real jail outside Madrid. He was released today after posting bail of 2.5 million euros ($3.2 million), a court spokesman said by telephone...

agau121 wrote:
...Mr. Stan Jonas of Axiom Management Partners in New York, seemed to me to be engaging in the time-tested propaganda method of name calling as a way to manipulate the sheep into helping further reinflate the real estate bubble already in progress. www.propagandacritic.com/articles/ct.wg.name.html


D'oh!



I wish you had ended your reply just a couple of sentences sooner (lol). Obviously in "nominating" Mr. Jonas for Idiot of the Year I was doing exactly the same thing. At this point I have only one refuge: pointing out that when I did exactly the same thing that I was being "intentionally ironic." Hopefully that line holds up...

agau121 wrote:
Just over a week ago (before I headed off for a backpacking trip), I encouraged other BBC members to consider reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes (or at least reading a few of the short stories as a way of "sticking your toe in the water"). I have found the activity to be somewhat addictive, although benignly so, and certainly instructive.

Just before I left for my recent backpacking trip, I ordered a used copy of the software program Chessmaster 9000 (from an Amazon seller) which allows you to play chess against your computer (originally designed for Windows XP but also compatible with Windows 7). Since returning I have installed it and have been working through the tutorials. I have found these tutorials to be both instructive and enjoyable, more enjoyable in fact that I had expected. Soon I will start playing full games against the computer. Already, however, just by doing the tutorials and exercises, I can see that the activity of playing chess will very likely be, at least for me, just the sort of brain training activity that Jeff presented it to be because it involves pure strategy and requires you to both consider all options before you make a move and to think several steps ahead. In other words, it requires dynamic analysis as opposed to static analysis.

Often the practice of meditation (Buddhist or otherwise) is spoken of as a laboratory for handling the real life challenges of constant change and impermanence. So far my experience of playing chess (even against a computer) seems to be like a laboratory for developing the ability to engage in dynamic analysis. Granted, I'm just in the beginning stages, but I can already see the potential this activity offers. I would strongly encourage other BBC members to consider playing chess as a way to develop these skills as Jeff has suggested. If necessary, you can begin as I have done, by playing against your computer.


Ironically, my own "discovery process" which led me to (finally) understand how the mind functioned as a muscle was when I returned to the gym in my late thirties for training/rehabilitation.

I had entertained the casual hypothesis of "mind as a muscle" for many years. But it was while working out (and with not a lot to occupy one's thoughts - lol); that I began exploring the concept more rigorously.

Part of the understanding came with understanding the totally bifurcated manner in which our minds operate.

Our conscious minds are little more than sensory "interfaces". The "skill" of our conscious minds lies in the ability to rapidly process sensory input...and that's pretty much it.



In no way am I denigrating the conscious, human mind. The capacity to rapidly process sensory input from (at least) five "senses" is no small feat! But virtually all of our skill/expertise (in all mental or physical activities) is possessed by our sub-conscious mind -- the real "mental muscle".

How do you train the subconsious? Lots and lots of REPETITION. How do we train our bodies physically? Lots and lots of repetition. Irrespective of whether you want to get stronger or physically better in performing an activity; it's all about repetition.

Once that parallel was firmly established; in my mind any debate ended. Our minds are muscles.

samix wrote:
Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary of Defense in charge of special operations, said America's battle with terrorist groups spanned the globe "from Boston to the FATA," meaning Pakistan's tribal areas.

...

Sheehan and the Pentagon's top lawyers told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military was authorized to target Al Qaeda operatives in countries where drone strikes don't now occur, including Mali, Syria and anywhere a host government is "unwilling or unable" to prevent Al Qaeda-linked terrorists from operating on its territory.

Which means that the US has effectively declared war against any country that is "unwilling or unable" to prevent Al Qaeda-linked terrorists from operating on its territory., which means that the rebels fighting and trying to topple Bashar Al Assad are going to be targeted sooner or later.

www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/l...0517,0,1474090.story


Obviously U.S. Neo-cons are eager for the U.S. to displace Israel as the world's most murderous regime. Israel's assassins only operate regionally. With most of those U.S. Neo-cons of Jewish descent; clearly Israel has DELEGATED the rest of its "hit list"...

Earl wrote:
Funny, how certain things hit you when your reading something.
Thank You
Earl

Jeff stated,

And someone else also noted that Syria is the only Russi-friendly nation giving it port access in the Mediterranean. I'm not enough of a military specialist to know whether this is really seen as having much significance.

Russian Pacific Fleet Warships Enter Mediterranean

en.rian.ru/military_news/20130516/181177...r-Mediterranean.html

VLADIVOSTOK, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - A group of warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet entered the Mediterranean waters for the first time in decades, a fleet spokesman said on Thursday

“The task force has successfully passed through the Suez Channel and entered the Mediterranean. It is the first time in decades that Pacific Fleet warships enter this region,” Capt. First Rank Roman Martov said.

The vessels are now en route to Cyprus and are scheduled to make a port call in Limassol...




Indeed Earl, we very clearly have a "clue" as to how geopolitically important the Russians view their presence/access in Syria.

...the task force has successfully passed through the [Western-controlled] Suez Canal...

Would that Russian fleet have even attempted to pass through the Suez Canal "for the first time in DECADES" if they didn't have a friendly port nearby? If they had made such an attempt, would it have been "successful"?

Certainly reading this piece it would have been very easy to either believe that the Cold War never ended...or that we had stumbled upon an old article from a generation ago. This does not sound like a Russian government eager to simply HAND (what's left of) Syria to the West.

samix wrote:
debsyl wrote:
Your and my sin is a great injustice against God. He has the right to demand perfection from us, and none of us have lived perfectly. Everyone of us have sinned against God and our neighbors. And so, this leaves us in a position far more like the murderers than we would naturally like to admit. Like them, we need God to have mercy on us because He has punished Jesus for our sins. The offer of the gospel is the only way of escape from the wrath of God. If you will not have Jesus Christ's payment for your sins, you will pay everlastingly.

And those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Follow our way, and we will carry your sins." But they will not carry anything of their sins. Indeed, they are liars.
- Quran 29:12


Yes Samix, at the risk of provoking a Religious War myself (lol); I would suggest that the world's religions have much, much more in common than they have differences. It seems to be only (some of) the LEADERS of these religions who are permanently obsessed with highlighting only the differences.

Even as a generally agnostic individual; I would hazard the opinion that the world would be a much better place if we had a lot more RELIGION...but far fewer PRIESTS.

It's Friday May 17th, and an early edition of The Grind today. The price-action is very choppy today, so with the price of gold currently around $1360/oz and the price of silver around $22.25; those numbers could still change by a percent or two between now and the close of markets.

As with what we saw yesterday, there is more-or-less open trading taking place at the moment: paper-holders dumping their worthless paper-gold as fast as they can, while longs step-up to clean-out Comex inventories.

However, with the paper-liquidation exceeding that long-buying by roughly a 5:1 margin; obviously the trend in prices will remain steadily lower as long as this pattern remains. Indeed, with no sign at all of this (paper) selling-pressure easing; there is a distinct possibility that any/all "rallies" we have seen in the prices since the Gold Smash took place were the Banksters themselves propping-up prices.

At the same time, the propaganda has now become so tortuous as to be literally schizophrenic. Observe the mind-numbing insanity contained in this single paragraph from Bloomberg:

...Demand in India and China, the two biggest gold consumers, surged after prices slumped. The U.S. Mint, which said April 23 it ran out of its smallest gold coins, sold 42,000 ounces of American Eagle bullion coins so far in May, compared with 209,500 ounces in April, its website shows. Prices may fall to $1,100 in a year as the metal “is going to get crushed,” Ric Deverell, head of commodities research at Credit Suisse Group AG, told reporters in London yesterday.

Gold-demand is surging all over the world...and so "the metal is going to get crushed." There was not even the slightest attempt made to disguise this oxymoron: rabid demand is going to "cause" prices to plummet. This is like claiming that turning on the heat in summer will "cause" one's house to cool.



But note what the real issue is here. If Bloomberg (and the rest of the propaganda machine) can't even be bothered to try to make their propaganda sound like it makes sense; what does that tell us about how BRAIN-DEAD the Sheep are right now...?

When a propaganda machine simply starts telling people that "black is white", "up is down", and "hot is cold" without any effort to actually conceal the propaganda; this indicates a population with ZERO brain-wave activity: totally passive Drones who accept whatever they are told.

For those who think I'm over-dramatizing here; observe this post from earlier this morning:

U.S. economy: Bloomberg in Wonderland

After several consecutive days of reporting TERRIBLE economic data; what do we get today from Bloomberg today? A "prediction" of two years of "even better growth". This like a parody of "1984".



People wonder how the German people could have been led (by a few) to do such horrible things, in such large numbers. After all, there is nothing "inherently evil" about the German people.

We no longer have to wonder how that occurred. We can see it for ourselves: Drones believe whatever they are told to believe, do whatever they are told to do...and never, ever think.

Understand that mass, cultural insanity can occur even without some malevolent force directing it via propaganda. Five hundred years ago we had "Tulipmania" in Holland; where (at the peak of insanity) one could literally buy a home with a single, prized tulip-bulb.

The flowers themselves no longer traded -- because flowers wilt and the tulips had become too valuable (LOL). So the same culture which elevated tulips to "money" because they loved the flowers so much, stopped using the flowers as money -- and exclusively traded the ugly BULBS.

Today, we have our own "Tulipmania":

U.S. Dollar is the new 'Tulip'

With the U.S. obviously/hopelessly bankrupt, we have buyers (supposedly) paying the highest prices in history for the "privilege" of loaning to a bankrupt debtor.

With the U.S. printing money at the most-radical rate in history, and with that money-printing continuing to increase exponentially; we continue to see oxymoron headlines like this:

Gold Prices Fall as Dollar Climbs

Gold prices were dropping for a seventh-consecutive session as strength in the U.S. dollar added downward pressure on the yellow metal...

"Strength" in the U.S. dollar...from massive dilution. Yes, and I can make my Kool-aid "stronger" by adding more water.



Black is white. Up is down. Cultural insanity. One more very good reason why we want to protect ourselves individually by holding the world's oldest/surest "safe haven" as our principal financial asset.




Gold Bears Revived as Rout Resumes After Coin Rush: Commodities

www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/gold-b...ush-commodities.html

Gold bears are dominant again after prices resumed their slump and billionaire George Soros joined investors selling holdings in exchange-traded products that have retreated to a two-year low.

Seventeen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to fall next week, with eight bullish and three neutral, the highest proportion of bears in two weeks. The analysts were divided a week ago after gold rebounded as much as 13 percent from the two-year low of $1,321.95 an ounce on April 16. ETP holdings slid 16 percent to 2,207.1 metric tons this year, the lowest since July 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Prices that rallied as much as sevenfold in the past 12 years entered a bear market last month after some investors lost faith in gold as a store of value and equities rallied on mounting confidence the U.S. economy is improving. The slump spurred a surge in demand around the world, with coin purchases from the U.S. Mint rising to a three-year high in April. This month’s sales are on course to be 65 percent lower and global ETP holdings increased on just one day in the past six weeks.

“The momentum has slowed significantly,” said Jeremy Baker, a senior commodities strategist who oversees about $800 million of assets at Harcourt Investment Consulting AG in Zurich and who forecasts prices may drop as low as $1,200 in six months. “The safe haven has definitely lost its gleam. We are in a declining phase here.”...

I no longer ask myself "what are they smoking?" over at Bloomberg. Now the question becomes: what are they snorting/dropping/shooting???



They've gone from being merely "delusional" to wild hallucinations. Let me point this out by first showing what Bloomberg itself has reported in recent days:

Jobless Claims in U.S. Jump to Highest Level in Six Weeks
www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/jobles...el-in-six-weeks.html (yesterday)

Production Falls as U.S. Feels Global Weakness: Economy
www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-15/indust...in-eight-months.html (two days ago)

Industrial production declined in April by the most in eight months...

...and then I already reported on(in a recent commentary) the terrible number for April retail sales, which followed a DISASTROUS number the month before.

Now see what the "trippers" at Bloomberg are writing today:

Velocity Achieved in U.S. as Growth for Two Years Seen in Poll



So, with almost all economic indicators currently pointing STRAIGHT DOWN, we have Bloomberg promising two years of pie-in-the-sky "growth" ahead. How is this possible? Bloomberg's (clinically blind) "experts" voted for two years of growth.

The U.S. government couldn't create an actual recovery. It couldn't lie one into existence. So now it's going to vote a recovery into existence.



Who cares if you've lost your job, lost your home, and are about to be cut-off of unemployment insurance and food stamps? If the Experts all vote for a Recovery; then you should just stop your whining and enjoy all of this "prosperity"...




Velocity Achieved in U.S. as Growth for Two Years Seen in Poll

www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-17/veloci...rs-seen-in-poll.html

The U.S. economy will continue to recover until at least 2015 without tumbling into a recession, achieving the sustained growth that has eluded it since the last slump ended four years ago, according to a Bloomberg poll...

[and my nominee for 2013 Idiot of the Year]

...“Anyone who isn’t long real estate housing is a moron,” says Stan Jonas, 64, managing partner of Axiom Management Partners in New York, speaking before the April figures were released.

robinsld wrote:


...So, Jeff, if you believe it's highly unlikely or almost impossible for Western politicians and financiers to ever go back to a PM based monetary system, what do you say to those who propose owning gold and silver just for that eventuality (and being able to then sell it to the Government when the time comes...)?


Here is the problem when it comes to "fixing" or "reforming" anything in our governments/societies/economies. All change originates in government, but all of our governments are ABSOLUTELY (and likely permanently) corrupt. Why?

Because they are bought-and-paid for by the Oligarchs. Exxon has a market-cap in excess of $400 BILLION ($400,000,000,000). How many governments could Exxon buy-off (by itself) with that kind of capital? All of them?

There are MANY reasons why oligopolies/monopolies should never be allowed to exist, but at the top of the list is CORRUPTION. We have (for the first time in history) a global economy totally saturated with monopolies/oligopolies.

And (surprise! surprise!) we coincidentally have Fascist plutocracies in nearly every Western nation.

Understand that even on the rare occasions when the people manage to elect an Honest Government in spite of the money/corruption of the Oligarchs that "Plan B" immediately goes into action: all-out sabotage of that government.

This was demonstrated (BRUTALLY) in Europe. Not all of the regimes recently elected in Europe were always Traitor Governments. They RESISTED the suicidal Austerity (i.e. Friedman Fascism). What happened?

First the Banksters destroyed Greece: to create an "example". Then any time any other European government showed any annoying tendency to serve their people instead of the Banksters, they were given a "taste of Greece."

They got the message.

...and so I've said it before and I'll say it again, NOTHING positive can happen in our societies until the monopolies and oligopolies are smashed into little pieces. Almost certainly the first political leader who tries to do this will be "JFK'd".

We will never be allowed to have an honest/legitimate monetary system until we're allowed to have honest/legitimate governments. This is why (sadly) such eras in History almost always result in Revolution, not (mere) "reform."



While I can't speak for other bullion-holders; I hold my bullion to protect myself from my own government, not with the idea of surrendering it/selling it back to them.

Arguably ALL of this traces back to Nixon assassinating the gold standard (shortly after Kennedy was assassinated). That made the creation of infinite "money" possible, and the Oligarchs then used that paper to BUY all of our governments (not to mention stealing half of our individual wealth, and bankrupting all public Treasuries).

Think the Oligarchs will ever willingly allow a gold standard again? Here's another "prediction": several (prominent) Oligarchs would have to be shortened by about a foot before we would see that day.

Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary of Defense in charge of special operations, said America's battle with terrorist groups spanned the globe "from Boston to the FATA," meaning Pakistan's tribal areas.

...

Sheehan and the Pentagon's top lawyers told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military was authorized to target Al Qaeda operatives in countries where drone strikes don't now occur, including Mali, Syria and anywhere a host government is "unwilling or unable" to prevent Al Qaeda-linked terrorists from operating on its territory.

Which means that the US has effectively declared war against any country that is "unwilling or unable" to prevent Al Qaeda-linked terrorists from operating on its territory., which means that the rebels fighting and trying to topple Bashar Al Assad are going to be targeted sooner or later.

www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/l...0517,0,1474090.story

Earl wrote:
DayOwl and Jeff,

Thank You, for your info and thoughts.

I'd like to watch how this bill goes. I feel it's a "building block" of what is to come. The numbers are staggering.


Grandstanding diversion tactics. They won't be cut. Big Ag and Big Food need those billions to stay afloat. Not to mention how JP Morgan makes millions every year off SNAP cards. They're not about to put up with any curtailment.


www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-flori...2ff305f35_print.html

www.communityfoodadvocates.org/blog/food-stamp-programs/


Think of this as the agricultural equivalent of "bail-ins". The public Treasuries are empty, the money-printing is already cranked-up to the max. If the Oligarchs want to do even more stealing (before the System collapses completely), then they must now TAKE that wealth directly from individual Victims -- one way or the other.

All very good input, again "Thank You",
Earl



Another way of putting it Earl is to say that articles like these represent "barometer" subjects. Seeing which way this particular debate goes will reveal a great deal about how far the U.S. has gone down its Path.

Meanwhile, we Canadians know that Stephen "Mussolini" Harper is busily "taking notes" so he can COPY all of this in a few years, himself.

DayOwl wrote:
Grandstanding diversion tactics. They won't be cut. Big Ag and Big Food need those billions to stay afloat. Not to mention how JP Morgan makes millions every year off SNAP cards. They're not about to put up with any curtailment.

Cuts to SNAP are in direct opposition to the current regime's agenda:

www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-flori...2ff305f35_print.html
Excerpt:

In Florida, a food-stamp recruiter deals with wrenching choices
By Eli Saslow, Published: April 23

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A good recruiter needs to be liked, so Dillie Nerios filled gift bags with dog toys for the dog people and cat food for the cat people. She packed crates of cookies, croissants, vegetables and fresh fruit. She curled her hair and painted her nails fluorescent pink. “A happy, it’s-all-good look,” she said, checking her reflection in the rearview mirror. Then she drove along the Florida coast to sign people up for food stamps.

Her destination on a recent morning was a 55-and-over community in central Florida, where single-wide trailers surround a parched golf course. On the drive, Nerios, 56, reviewed techniques she had learned for connecting with some of Florida’s most desperate senior citizens during two years on the job. Touch a shoulder. Hold eye contact. Listen for as long as it takes. “Some seniors haven’t had anyone to talk to in some time,” one of the state-issued training manuals reads. “Make each person feel like the only one who matters.”

In fact, it is Nerios’s job to enroll at least 150 seniors for food stamps each month, a quota she usually exceeds. Alleviate hunger, lessen poverty: These are the primary goals of her work. But the job also has a second and more controversial purpose for cash-strapped Florida, where increasing food-stamp enrollment has become a means of economic growth, bringing almost $6 billion each year into the state. The money helps to sustain communities, grocery stores and food producers. It also adds to rising federal entitlement spending and the U.S. debt.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
They really, really want people on food stamps:

www.communityfoodadvocates.org/blog/food-stamp-programs/


DayOwl, your observations precisely describe one of my two trains of thought when it comes to such "news."

Indeed, since the U.S. government simply INSTITUTIONALIZED supposed "unemployment insurance" for a large number of permanently unemployed workers; I've often suggested myself that they simply "wouldn't dare" to cut off such assistance in any significant way.

The same argument/logic applies at least as much to food stamps; since as DayOwl points out, the (insanely subsidized) Agriculture Oligarchs (like Monsanto) require a large herd of grazing cattle (i.e. us) in order to keep their coffers full.

But note what we are seeing with this proposed Farm Bill. Taking money (and food) directly out of the mouths of the poor, and handing it DIRECTLY to Monsanto (et al) in the form of larger subsidies. "Cut out the Middlemen" (i.e. the cattle) and simply STEAL DIRECTLY.

Think of this as the agricultural equivalent of "bail-ins". The public Treasuries are empty, the money-printing is already cranked-up to the max. If the Oligarchs want to do even more stealing (before the System collapses completely), then they must now TAKE that wealth directly from individual Victims -- one way or the other.

I've said all along that our regimes are in no way "nanny governments" (as has been regularly portrayed by the right-wing ideologues). Rather, these are brutal, Fascist regimes -- which (as we see) make less and less effort each day to conceal the Iron Fist inside the Velvet Glove.

At some point; the Glove will come off and we will get nothing but FIST. This is inevitable with all Fascist systems. Once they have plundered and hollowed-out an economy to the point of collapse; all they can "afford" to allow them to maintain POWER (but not "order") are their Nazi thugs.

It's clear there is now a sizable majority within the Republican Party proposing a Fist-only agenda from now on. As the U.S. Fascist Dictatorship continues regressing; I would suggest it's now unwise to automatically assume that these people "wouldn't dare" to use the Fist.

The U.S. has been building their "detention centers" for a decade, and who knows how many MILLIONS can now be warehoused? At some point, those detention centers will be used. The path is pretty simple:

1) Cut off food for the poor.

2) At the same time that you make protesting a crime (and protesters are now "terrorists"). You do that by staging false-flag attacks; and blaming/framing the "protesters" for those crimes. OR you start staging false-flag "terrorist attacks" against protesters -- to make people afraid to assemble.

3) Both/either way; you suddenly have the pretext to go around "rounding up terrorists"; and undoubtedly most of those rounded-up will be non-white.

4) Once POVERTY becomes a crime; you now have a full slave-population to run your Prison Economy at full power.

robinsld wrote:


...I have also myself thought that this statute would be very useful for the Australian Government if they came to realise what a stupid thing it was to sell a large portion of their gold at ridiculously low prices, and that they want that gold back. They might just try to get it back at that same ridiculously low price they sold it for... I don't know what sort of uproar that might bring, or how well it would work. Not very is my guess.


Robinsld, I would have to qualify such thoughts as "wishful thinking."



I find myself occasionally dabbling in such naivety too -- and when I do catch myself, it results in an immediate (metaphorical) slap in the face, to bring me back to reality (lol). Living in Canada, which has no gold at all (lol!!); we Canadians are arguably the "experts" when it comes to understanding how thoroughly the Traitor Politicians have blinded themselves to the realities of monetary systems in general -- and the value/necessity of gold, in particular.

I "predict" that our (Western) politicians will embrace gold as the premier financial asset for our monetary system on the same day they collectively adopt the mantra that "honesty is the best policy."

[Caution: readers are [b]STRONGLY[/b] advised not to hold their breath]

It's Thursday May 16th, and we have some more "atypical" price-action in the phony, futures market for gold -- but which is starting to become a little more common:



What we see is the price of gold falling rather than exhibiting the usual, absolutely vertical moves which prove manipulation. What this price action looks like are Asian and European paper-gold holders continuing the massive liquidation of paper gold; BUT (at the moment at least) by the time trading crosses the Pond, net-buying (of physical bullion) is overwhelming the paper-liquidation.

Note that we very easily could have seen one or more vertical drops in price. As I continue to point out; as long as this paper liquidation continues, driving down the (paper) price is somewhat easier than shooting fish in a barrel.

So the Banksters have chosen not to grease-the-skids on all of this paper-selling. This clearly reinforces what I've suggested recently that the Banksters are simply AFRAID to drive-down prices too far, too fast.

They are trying not to duplicate the Great Rally from 2009 through early 2011; which was a direct result of their 2008 Market Smash. They will fail.

Data released today by the World Gold Council (and included in today's commentary) proves this:

The World Paper Council

Even before the Gold Smash officially began (but the paper-liquidation had already started); we already see a massive surge in physical buying. Indeed, we now see the likely reason for DELAYING the Gold Smash until the beginning of April (when the paper-liquidation began at the end of January).

The Banksters wanted to DELAY the release of data showing (likely) the greatest spike in physical gold-buying during this entire bull market. They did not want such data coming out when there was already rabid gold-buying in India -- for its spring Festival. And so we won't see the REAL explosion in physical demand until July -- which makes some of the massive demand-increases reported in today's commentary all the more impressive.

Day after day, we see exactly the same trends:

- more and more paper-liquidation
- more and more physical buying

...and in response to that:

- ever larger and more-obvious lies
- radically increased signals of open "desperation" on the part of the banksters - such as the recent effort to try to curtail Indian gold imports

Such signals are precisely the sort of indicators which should be stimulating buying by this Community. We are investors, meaning we "buy low and sell high."

Currently, we have been presented with massive quantities of unequivocal evidence that gold is drastically undervalued (and we already knew "the story" with the silver market). At the same time; we are presented with equally unequivocal evidence that we are somewhere close to the next Great Rally.

"Investors" don't try to "time" absolute bottoms in any market. They don't try to time their buying to the day before they expect that Rally to start. Investors position themselves in markets well in advance of such rallies -- based on the sound thinking that it's always best to be too early to a Party than too late.

Live "long", and prosper.

House farm bill moves ahead with big cut in food stamps

www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/us-us...0130516?feedType=RSS

By Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON | Thu May 16, 2013 1:23am EDT

(Reuters) - A Republican-controlled panel in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the biggest cuts in food stamps for the poor in a generation and a potentially expensive expansion of federally subsidized crop insurance.

The House Agriculture Committee approved a five-year, $500 billion farm bill on a 36-10 vote. The next step will be debate by the full House, which is likely to start in June.

Congress is months late in writing a new farm law. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its version on Tuesday and the full Senate is set to begin debate on Thursday.

The House and Senate bills each end the $5 billion-a-year direct-payment subsidy, long a target of reformers, and spin off at least three new types of crop insurance.

Almost half the savings in the House bill would come from a $20.5 billion cut over 10 years in spending on food stamps for low-income Americans.

The House plan would restrict eligibility and require closer accounting of certain costs. It would be the largest cut in food stamps since the 1996 welfare reform law, experts say.

Food stamps are seen as the make-or-break issue for the latest farm bill, rather than crop subsidies, which have traditionally been the focus of debate.

An urban-rural partnership traditionally carries farm bills to passage - city lawmakers back generous farm subsidies in exchange for well-funded nutrition programs - but threatens to shatter this time around.

The farm bill died last year amid Democratic opposition to Republican demands for $16 billion in food stamp cuts. The bill was never debated by the full House.

A STEP TOO FAR?

"This goes too far," Democrat Jim McGovern said of the latest bill. The Massachusetts lawmaker lost 27-17 on a mostly party-line vote when he tried to eliminate the food stamp cuts in the new bill.

Iowa Republican Steve King said high food stamp enrollment would "expand the dependency class" and Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, suggested it was unfair that "nutrition is getting five times as much as production agriculture" in the bill.

About 2 million people, or 4 percent of participants, would lose food stamps under language in the new House bill to eliminate so-called categorical eligibility, created by welfare reform, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a non-partisan think tank.

Some 45.6 million people, many of them impoverished elderly or working-poor families with children, received food stamps at latest count.

While the bill expands crop insurance spending by $9 billion over a decade, it would cut traditional subsidies by $22 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Aides to Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas said the farm safety net would shrink overall.

Federal payments could surge above current levels if commodity prices fall sharply, said agricultural economist Vince Smith of Montana State University. When crop insurance and crop supports are considered together, "the government is responsible for a much larger share of any farm income shortfall," Smith said.

Cotton growers would get a special revenue insurance program to replace subsidies that the World Trade Organization says violated trade rules. The government would pay 80 percent of the premium. Peanuts would get a separate revenue insurance program.

"Companies underwriting federal crop insurance are likely to be among the major beneficiaries of the new farm bill when it becomes law," said analyst Mark McMinimy of Guggenheim Washington Research Group.

U.S. commodity prices are at historically high levels so farm program changes may not be felt immediately for most crops. However, the Senate and House farm bills set peanut supports slightly above the projected market price and raise the "target" price for rice by 27 percent to 33 percent.

Both versions of the bill would make slightly more land available for growing crops by shrinking the Conservation Reserve, a program that pays farmers to idle fragile land for 10 years or more. The House would cap the reserve at 24 million acres and the Senate at 25 million acres, down from the 27 million acres now idled.

(This story corrects the attribution to Smith from Lucas in the 15th paragraph)

(Reporting By Charles Abbott; Editing by Ros Krasny and Jim Loney)