About the only thing which Canada's Conservative Party has ever shown itself to be good at (other than serving the U.S.) is wallowing in the public trough. So it was only a matter of time until these parasites got caught either defrauding taxpayers or influence-peddling.

At the moment; it's the former kind of wallowing which is getting them into trouble. Several Conservative Senators are under investigation for "questionable" expense claims. One of them in particular (Mike Duffy) had apparently cheated the public Treasury out of a particularly large amount.

So Stephen Harper had his Chief of Staff WRITE A CHEQUE to reimburse the Treasury for what Duffy had ripped-off. Meanwhile PUBLICLY Harper lied about how Duffy had made "an innocent mistake, and then reimbursed taxpayers" for what he had taken.

When it was discovered that it was Harper's office -- not Duffy -- which had paid-back what Duffy had taken; Harper immediately turned on Duffy (lol), ejected him from the Conservative caucus...and now gets his Chief of Staff to 'fall on his sword' for Harper.

a) steal
b) get caught stealing
c) lie about the stealing after getting caught
d) get caught lying
e) sacrifice scapegoats


...it's all in the "Conservative Handbook for Good Government".





Harper Said to Name Novak Top Aide After Wright Resigns

www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-20/harper...-wright-resigns.html

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, seeking to limit damage from the first scandal to touch his inner circle, named his longest-serving aide to replace former chief of staff Nigel Wright.

Wright resigned yesterday amid an ethics probe into a C$90,000 ($87,500) payment he made to Conservative Senator Mike Duffy to cover the repayment of expenses that Duffy improperly claimed. Ray Novak, Harper’s principal secretary, will take over from Wright, a person familiar with the decision said on condition they not be identified because the appointment hasn’t been made public.

An expenses controversy has dogged Harper’s ruling Conservative Party in recent months by implicating his lawmakers in the Senate, an unelected body whose members are appointed by the prime minister. By claiming Wright, the scandal has moved closer to Harper than any since he took power in 2006, said Nik Nanos, an Ottawa-based pollster.

“One of the reasons Harper has been politically successful is that he has been untouched by controversy,” Nanos, president of Nanos Research, said by e-mail. “I believe this is the first time something controversial has been linked inside the prime minister’s office.”

Harper’s office acknowledged last week thatWright wrote Duffy a personal check to help him reimburse the Senate for disputed housing claims.
‘Public Interest’

Wright “was acting in the public interest,” Harper said in a statement yesterday. The prime minister’s office said May 15 that Wright helped Duffy because the lawmaker was unable to pay back the funds immediately and the chief of staff didn’t want taxpayers to foot the bill.

“In light of the controversy surrounding my handling of matters involving Senator Duffy, the prime minister has accepted my resignation,” Wright, 50, wrote in a separate statement. “I accept sole responsibility. I did not advise the Prime Minister of the means by which Senator Duffy’s expenses were repaid.”

The controversy coincides with Harper’s Conservatives trailing in public opinion polls for the first time since the 2009 recession. A Nanos Research poll released April 12 found the Liberal Party with the support of 35.4 percent of voters, compared with 31.3 percent for the Conservatives. That’s a reversal from January, when the Conservatives had 34.3 percent support, compared with 27.6 percent for the Liberals. Elections aren’t scheduled until 2015.
‘Get Legs’

“There’s enough time to put this behind him but they can’t let it get legs,” Nanos said.

The spokesman for ethics issues for the main opposition New Democratic Party, Charlie Angus, told reporters today he’s written to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Bob Paulson asking him to investigate the matter.

“A secret cash payment to a public figure is a very, very serious allegation,” Angus said in the televised conference in Ottawa. “The fact that this payment was made out of the prime minister’s office demands accountability.

‘‘These actions are not only troubling, but they may violate the very laws that the RCMP is charged with upholding and enforcing,’’ Angus said.

Novak has worked as a political aide to Harper since his return to federal politics in 2002. He served as Harper’s executive assistant before his promotion to principal secretary in 2008.
‘Good Faith’

Duffy, 66, has said Senate rules allowing for reimbursement of housing and travel expenses to lawmakers whose primary residence is more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Ottawa were unclear, a statement corroborated in a Deloitte LLP audit commissioned by the chamber and released May 9. In a statement the same day, Duffy said he claimed the expenses in ‘‘good faith’’ and won’t seek to have any part of his repayment returned to him.

Duffy, a former reporter and broadcaster appointed to the Senate by Harper in 2009, quit the Conservative caucus May 16, saying in a statement he will sit as an independent senator ‘‘pending resolution of these issues.’’ Senator Pamela Wallin, another former broadcaster appointed to the Senate by Harper, announced a day later that she also left the Conservative caucus until an audit of her travel expenses is complete.
Private Equity

Wright, a one-time adviser and speech writer to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, was a managing director at Toronto-based Onex Corp. (OCX), Canada’s largest private-equity firm, before becoming Harper’s third chief of staff more than two years ago. At the time, he said he was taking temporary leave from Onex until January 2013.

Wright, who has been an organizer with the Conservatives since at least 1983, also resigned from the boards of Hawker Beechcraft and Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, two Onex units, to join the prime minister’s office.

Before joining Onex, he worked as a lawyer at the commercial firm Davies, Ward, and Beck.

Wright told lawmakers at a hearing before taking the job that his values ‘‘align” with the prime minister’s “in every single way.”

Wright was chief of staff during a period where Harper headed a majority government, a luxury previous chiefs of staff didn’t have. During this time, Harper has shifted policy toward global competitiveness issues and pressed ahead with efforts to bolster business investment, as the country’s economy struggles to build steam amid tepid demand for exports and slowing consumer spending.

That policy agenda has included legislation to expedite the environmental review of Enbridge Inc. (ENB)’s Northern Gateway pipeline and other resource infrastructure projects.

It's Monday May 20th, and a very interesting day in precious metals markets. It starts and ends with the price-action in the gold market:



What have I pointed out with respect to the price-action in recent weeks? ANY time we see a vertical move (in either direction) this is obviously heavy-handed manipulation. And as I've also pointed out, at any moment there are TWO groups of actors in these markets with the capacity to cause massive, instantaneous, vertical moves in these markets -- as we see again today -- the Banksters and the Big Buyers.

Our presumption (in the past) has been that the Banksters are responsible for the vertical moves DOWN, and the Big Buyers are responsible for the (near) vertical moves higher.

However, we have two persuasive reasons for suspecting it's the BANKSTERS themselves who are responsible for today's INSTANTANEOUS $30-move higher. What was I pointing out last week?

The Banksters have only a limited tolerance for lower prices -- as they can't handle the massive, physical demand being caused by these lower prices. So after seeing the market SAGGING again (now mostly due to paper-liquidation in ASIA), we see the Banksters engineer one of the largest vertical moves EVER today.

The other reason to suspect the Banksters of engineering this move higher in bullion prices is because the move is ABSOLUTELY vertical. When we see the Big Buyers push the market higher (generally in response to a Bankster ambush) we only see near-vertical.

The difference is that while the Big Buyers have overwhelming financial clout; THEY are not the direct Operators of these markets. For such an incredibly violent, absolutely vertical manipulation of this manner; only the actual OPERATORS of these markets (the Banksters and their servant-regulators) could/cam cause moves of this nature.

I said to readers not to be surprised to see a "No Mas" moment from the Banksters. We saw our first one today.



Note that this will not change the propaganda in any way. The propaganda is aimed at doing two things:

1) Lying about what is actually occurring in these markets
2) Destroying sentiment

What this means is that (as long as the Great Paper Liquidation continues) we may see more of these extraordinary days where we have the propaganda machine BASHING the market lower -- while the Banksters manipulate bullion prices higher...



Note that the Liars at Kitco have absolutely no explanation for the TOTALLY vertical move. They call it "bargain hunting" and "short covering". LOL!!! Yes, ALL the Bargain Hunters and ALL the Short-Coverers had a conference call this morning -- and arranged to ALL place their "buy" orders" at precisely the same second.

Makes sense to me...




Gold, Silver Post Dramatic Late-Day Price Rebounds To End Higher

www.kitco.com/reports/KitcoNews20130520JW_pm.html

Comex gold and silver futures prices suddenly surged higher near midday Monday, to reverse early, substantial losses and then ended the U.S. day session higher and near their daily highs. Heavy short covering and bargain hunting were featured during the precious metals’ turnarounds...

samix wrote:
I think I have been completly misunderstood in my post, the gist of the snippet that debyl posted is that Christ will carry the sins of the people who believe him to be the son of God and will achieve salvation, I do not agree with this and posted a verse of the Quran that rejects the idea that one can carry the sins of another, rather everyone has to individually answer for their own acts, as the Quran says:

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


Debsyl, I have to say that I'm also extremely uncomfortable with the concept that we can foist our "sins" onto someone else's shoulder -- and thus avoid (genuine) accountability.

Indeed, being Protestant I would have thought you would be very resistant to this "Catholic" way of thinking: simply "confess your sins" and the slate is wiped clean. There are two major problems here.

In the purely religious context; we have the concept that one can engage in acts of Evil with impunity, "repent", and then commit more Evil...with both one's conscience and (supposedly) soul still remaining pure. It would be impossible to list all of the acts of evil committed SERIALLY by the foot-soldiers of Catholicism -- enabled by the fact that those foot-soldiers could simply pull out a "Spiritual Eraser" and pretend those sins had never been committed.

But look where this thinking has gotten us?

ALL of the Politicians of the West are now "Catholics". What happens any/every time one of them is CAUGHT doing something?

They say "I'm taking responsibility" for their crime...but DO NOTHING. Literally their only act of contrition is the confession of their sin -- at which point they then ACT like they are now pure-as-the-driven snow.



It's bad enough for ordinary people to believe they can wipe away their sins with mere "confession." However to create SOCIETIES where the Psychopaths who rule us can be absolved of sin simply by "confessing" (always after they are caught) is INTOLERABLE.

What you are preaching is the antithesis of personal responsibility. In an era when our societies have never needed GENUINE ACCOUNTABILITY more than we do now; I would suggest that we must purge such religious dogma from our thinking.

Let me also add that for those with an appetite for this material; Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" is a superb compliment to this material.

Perkins' book describes the Evil Empire at the tactical level: individual operations and specific missions/plans to achieve those tactical goals. Conversely, Shock Doctrine is a strategic view of the same paradigm.

In Perkins' world, The Game is still (primarily) simply about "increasing wealth" (i.e. stealing from other nations) and "controlling resources" -- using the resource-wealth of other nations to FINANCE the Evil Empire. In Perkins' world this is still a sustainable program; excepting the resource-depletion and environmental rape.

But in Shock Doctrine we see the (full) strategic level of thinking here. Yes, rape-and-pillage is an important element of the overall Game; but (as we all now know too well) much of what is being done is simply spreading DESTRUCTION and ANARCHY for the sole purpose of creating chaos.

Above the tactical level at which Perkins operated; we have Berserkers whose only "mission" is to DESTROY. Destroy our educational system (and turn them into Drone Factories). DESTROY all of our (supposed) "safety net" and all social/public institutions -- so those resources can be cannibalized in more stealing.

It sounds incongruous to describe someone as "plugged in" as Perkins as being "detached from reality"; but he detached himself. He's clearly someone with both the intellect, background, and communication skills to have produced "Shock Doctrine" himself.

However, Perkins refuses to allow himself to view the U.S. not merely as a greedy empire but (rightfully) as the most-evil Empire in all of history.

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."

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.

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]