Financial Crisis

[LaoPo]

I don't see the present unrest spread onto Europe and the US as Mr. Armstrong painted.

If it would, it would be the most horrible scenario we all have faced, apart from wars. Total economies would collapse and the entire world, not just EU and US would suffer on such a scale that we can't even comprehend how bad it will become.

LaoPo

Whether or not it can happen in USA - who knows- but if you read a few passages

from a new book just released called " The Grand Jihad " it seems pretty evident there are enough

individuals in US who want it to happen.

" The real threat to the United States is not terrorism. The real threat is Islamism, whose sophisticated forces have collaborated with the American Left not only to undermine U.S. national security but also to shred the fabric of American constitutional democracy—freedom and individual liberty. In The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America, bestselling author Andrew C. McCarthy offers a harrowing account of how the global Islamist movement’s jihad involves far more than terrorist attacks, and how it has found the ideal partner in President Barack Obama, whose Islamist sympathies run deep "

Just flick through a few pages of " The Grand Jihad " on the Amazon website to see what i mean and read the comments in Editorial Reviews

http://www.amazon.co...ader_1594033773

I don't want to read a few pages since I live in a country where that discussion - about extremistic Islamists- is held on a daily basis. The world should indeed beware for more fanatic Islamic states like Iran.

The point is that I don't want to end up in a religious debate since that leads nowhere and before we know it this topic is closed since it is moving sidewards, away from the debate about finances and Financial Crisis.

LaoPo

[midas]

I don't want to read a few pages since I live in a country where that discussion - about extremistic Islamists- is held on a daily basis. The world should indeed beware for more fanatic Islamic states like Iran.

The point is that I don't want to end up in a religious debate since that leads nowhere and before we know it this topic is closed since it is moving sidewards, away from the debate about finances and Financial Crisis.

LaoPo

I am merely trying to join dots and see what the “ shape “ of this “ thing “ could be and no one can say for sure its not a reaction to the criminal activities of the banksters who caused this mess and even continue to do so. We also know now that more than a fair proportion of these crooks ( including the Fed Chairman himself and the chairman of investment bank that funded Obamas election campaign ) are connected to a small country which is the subject of so much rage by these protestors .

Anyway lets see what happens…….. but by now it is pretty clear something significant is going on and Tunisia and Egypt are not one off events.

This is the timetable for more protests :-

Demonstrations are being planned in Bahrain for February 14

Day of Rage in Libya and by Libyans in exile is planned for 17 February.

Day of Rage Planned for Syria; Protests scheduled for Feb 24

A day of rage is being planned in Yemen for February 23

Edited February 12, 2011 by midas

[Naam]

This is the timetable for more protests :-

Demonstrations are being planned in Bahrain for February 14

Day of Rage in Libya and by Libyans in exile is planned for 17 February.

Day of Rage Planned for Syria; Protests scheduled for Feb 24

A day of rage is being planned in Yemen for February 23

Day of Protest in Walking Street, Pattaya. virgin bar girls will demand higher bar fines, scheduled for 31 february.

[AlexLah]

Crooks, haaaaa haaaaa haaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

Crooooooooooooooooooooooooooooks???????????????????/

:lol:

[BlackJack]

China is buying staggering amounts of gold and silver.

is that the reason why gold and silver are "staggering" around the same prices for the last few months? will gold and silver prices rise again when China stops buying staggering amounts?

wait till CHinese NY finishes

a few good headlines from the recent Egypt events could start the gold machine again

[12DrinkMore]

Crooks, haaaaa haaaaa haaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

Crooooooooooooooooooooooooooooks???????????????????/

:lol:

Yeah, those fuc_kers can laugh.

[midas]

Crooks, haaaaa haaaaa haaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

Crooooooooooooooooooooooooooooks???????????????????/

:lol:

Yeah, those fuc_kers can laugh.

yes well.......while some may fear and despise Islamists...........I think Mammonists are the problem

Edited February 13, 2011 by midas

[ronz28]

Schwab's current optimistic view on the U.S. economy

http://event.on24.com/view/presentation/flash/EventConsole.html?titlecolor=000000&popsurvey1=true&&eventid=282477&sessionid=1&username=&partnerref=&format=fhmulti&key=97D25DBB72C97AD2FF9E19BF72667BC7&text_language_id=en&playerwidth=1000&playerheight=663&eventuserid=45793294&contenttype=A&mediametricsessionid=39393215&mediametricid=675301&usercd=45793294&mode=launch#

....but we could have a pullback anytime. They also believe in continued inflation in commodities.

[midas]

Schwab's current optimistic view on the U.S. economy

http://event.on24.com/view/presentation/flash/EventConsole.html?titlecolor=000000&popsurvey1=true&&eventid=282477&sessionid=1&username=&partnerref=&format=fhmulti&key=97D25DBB72C97AD2FF9E19BF72667BC7&text_language_id=en&playerwidth=1000&playerheight=663&eventuserid=45793294&contenttype=A&mediametricsessionid=39393215&mediametricid=675301&usercd=45793294&mode=launch#

....but we could have a pullback anytime. They also believe in continued inflation in commodities.

And yet Bualuang Securities here in LOS are telling their client this today :-

" The SET has corrected 10% from its December peak on rising inflation fears. The volatility index for the market remains far above its long-term average, which suggests that downside risk persists. Migration of funds to the US and Europe from Asia is likely to continue, given improving North American and European economic data and no concerns about inflation or rising interest rates in those two areas of the world "

[12DrinkMore]

http://www.telegraph...ould-we-be.html

The Governor and his cohorts have a formula for dealing with overshoots now. The Bank needs to "look through" inflation, King says. Shear off the one-off events, oil price spikes, poor harvests that lead to food price rises, the inflationary effect of the pound's devaluation and the VAT rise. Strip all that out and domestically generated inflation in the past four years has been "close to zero and obviously well below the target", King said in Newcastle last month.

There we have it, just "look through" the rampant inflation!

But

"I think there is a credibility problem," she said. "We could well see that our high inflation gets embedded into parts of the wage-bargaining system. The difficulty is that wage bargainers and others will look at the actual inflation rate as they're beginning to try to increase wages."

A credibility problem????

Unbelievable!!!

Noooo, this is EXACTLY the medicine King is trying to dispense. He cannot "inflate away the debts" without wage inflation. That is the only way to do it.

The plan is

1. Keep the interest rates low to keep the debt payments low

2. Get wages rising to let the debtors off the hook

Savers and pensioners have, are and will be sacrificed on this Great Altar.

[AlexLah]

Just back from the Tescooo Lotut.

The ham I put on my toast every morning has been priced up..................35%

If that is due to the shortage of pigs, then I know where to find a few.....

(See pictures in my previous post).

[LaoPo]

Just back from the Tescooo Lotut.

The ham I put on my toast every morning has been priced up..................35%

If that is due to the shortage of pigs, then I know where to find a few.....

(See pictures in my previous post).

NO, due to Somali Pirates

LaoPo

[midas]

Just back from the Tescooo Lotut.

The ham I put on my toast every morning has been priced up..................35%

If that is due to the shortage of pigs, then I know where to find a few.....

(See pictures in my previous post).

" If you want to see how extreme the effects of surging food prices are becoming, look to wealthy Japan.

So big are the increases that economists are buzzing about them pushing deflationary Japan toward inflation. Yes, rising costs for commodities such as wheat, corn and coffee might do what trillions of dollars of central-bank liquidity couldn’t."

BUT

" Yet the economic consequences of food prices pale in comparison with the social ones. Nowhere could the fallout be greater than Asia, where a critical mass of those living on less than $2 a day reside. It might have major implications for Asia’s debt outlook. It may have even bigger ones for leaders hoping to keep the peace and avoid mass protests.

It’s not hyperbole when Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the U.S. financial crisis, says surging food and energy costs are stoking emerging-market inflation that’s serious enough to topple governments"

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-13/roubini-s-next-crisis-makes-food-for-thought-commentary-by-william-pesek.html

Edited February 14, 2011 by midas

[LaoPo]

BUT

" Yet the economic consequences of food prices pale in comparison with the social ones. Nowhere could the fallout be greater than Asia, where a critical mass of those living on less than $2 a day reside. It might have major implications for Asia's debt outlook. It may have even bigger ones for leaders hoping to keep the peace and avoid mass protests.

It's not hyperbole when Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the U.S. financial crisis, says surging food and energy costs are stoking emerging-market inflation that's serious enough to topple governments"

http://www.bloomberg...liam-pesek.html

We don't need Roubini to conclude that the world population can't continue to grow anymore (food and energy wise) like it did in the past 100 years, from 1900 to 2000....realising that the population grew from 1,6 Billion in 1900 to 6 Billion in 2000.............. just 100 years. A growth of 4,412.Billion in 100 years

If one realises that the world popualtion only grew with some 700 million people in the previous 100 years, from a mere 900 million in 1800 to 1,6 Billion in 1900 even a child could figure "we" are insane, letting this go on.

Maybe it helps a little bit that many countries have a greying and declining population, percentage wise, although Islamic countries have a growing population versus western and other asian societies.

http://www.vaughns-1...tion-growth.htm

What a world

LaoPo

Edited February 14, 2011 by LaoPo

[flying]

Cheery stuff on Zero Hedge today.............

1. ES Volume: 40% Below Abysmal

2. At $1.3 Billion, Insider Sales Surge To Highest Of 2011, Double Last Week's Total

3. The Fed Is Now Boxed In - Dislocations Ahead: The Ratchet Effect, Stick-Slip And QE3

[craigt3365]

BUT

" Yet the economic consequences of food prices pale in comparison with the social ones. Nowhere could the fallout be greater than Asia, where a critical mass of those living on less than $2 a day reside. It might have major implications for Asia's debt outlook. It may have even bigger ones for leaders hoping to keep the peace and avoid mass protests.

It's not hyperbole when Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who predicted the U.S. financial crisis, says surging food and energy costs are stoking emerging-market inflation that's serious enough to topple governments"

http://www.bloomberg...liam-pesek.html

We don't need Roubini to conclude that the world population can't continue to grow anymore (food and energy wise) like it did in the past 100 years, from 1900 to 2000....realising that the population grew from 1,6 Billion in 1900 to 6 Billion in 2000.............. just 100 years. A growth of 4,412.Billion in 100 years

If one realises that the world popualtion only grew with some 700 million people in the previous 100 years, from a mere 900 million in 1800 to 1,6 Billion in 1900 even a child could figure "we" are insane, letting this go on.

Maybe it helps a little bit that many countries have a greying and declining population, percentage wise, although Islamic countries have a growing population versus western and other asian societies.

http://www.vaughns-1...tion-growth.htm

What a world

LaoPo

I just saw this new series on CNN called "The Price We Pay". It will be going all year, covering the increases in food prices and their effect on the world. Really interesting...and really disturbing. Here's the intro video with Richard Quest.

http://www.videonewslive.com/view/534824/richard_quest_explains_the_price_we_pay

[flying]

I just saw this new series on CNN called "The Price We Pay". It will be going all year, covering the increases in food prices and their effect on the world. Really interesting...and really disturbing.

Yes I saw that too......Agree that it is not pretty & it is not looking like it is getting better anytime soon.

Not the picture of green shoots is it?

For those in the markets...Food-AG/Commodities/Energy/metals may be a good thing to speculate on/look into

On another note............

Edited February 15, 2011 by flying

[Naam]

We don't need Roubini to conclude that the world population can't continue to grow anymore (food and energy wise) like it did in the past 100 years, from 1900 to 2000....realising that the population grew from 1,6 Billion in 1900 to 6 Billion in 2000.............. just 100 years. A growth of 4,412.Billion in 100 years

on top of that one has to take into consideration that this increase was and is progressive, not linear. 600 million growth during the first half of the century 2.2 billion in the second half and a tad more than 1 billion in the first 11 years of this century!

[fletchsmile]

But an increasing number of people in the media have been making comments that the Islamists have joined forces with the trade unions and communists and that certainly is a toxic mix.

surely a lot of local sexpats wouldn't like if the Pattaya Working Girl Union joins forces with the Islamists. coitus interruptus because of prayer times?

How do you know about this - you are NOT ALLOWED to go near

these establishments are you ?

Pardon me for skipping the first 350 pages of what were probably insults anyway, and posting on this thread for the first time, but what's all this about a Financial crisis? Did I miss something?

Is it true that we're in a mess due to Dr.Naam's abstinence from such establishments and not spreading around his vast wealth via "quantitative easing" in Pattaya?

Edited February 15, 2011 by fletchsmile

[Naam]

Is it true that it was due to Dr.Naam's abstinence from such establishments...

it's not my fault! i swear all holy oaths that i'd do my best to fight the financial crisis. but Mrs Naam is extremely unreasonable. she admits that her views are a wee bit conservative. but i claim her views are disgusting!

[Naam]

Pardon me for skipping the first 350 pages... what's all this about a Financial crisis?

no need to read all pages. here's the gist from which you can take your pick:

the financial crisis was caused

-by the Bilderbergs

-by the Illuminati

-by Goldman and his cousins the Lehman Brothers

-by Barack O'Bama

-by chicken/duck/swine/kangaroo flu

-by al-Qaeda

-by the FED

-by the yellow shirts

-by the red shirts

-by the blue shirts

-by aliens from the delta quadrant

-by Angela Merkel

-by Greek Gods

-by Irish leprechauns

-by homeowners in Boise, Idaho and Duluth, Minnesota not paying their mortgages

-by apocalyptic nomadic riders in Mongolia

-by the CIA

-by the KGB

-by the Mossad

-by Achmadinejad

-by visa runs

-by the price increase of Beer Chang

-by the strong Thai Baht

-by the weak <insert currency of choice>

later after my coffee break i will inform you about the possible and terrible implications. please be patient Fletch!

[clinique]

Crooks, haaaaa haaaaa haaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

Crooooooooooooooooooooooooooooks???????????????????/

:lol:

Yeah, those fuc_kers can laugh.

Yeh they are laughing at how much (private) money they made out of switching from subprime mortgages to gold before the 'crisis' they engineered!!!!!!!!!!!1

[12DrinkMore]

We don't need Roubini to conclude that the world population can't continue to grow anymore (food and energy wise) like it did in the past 100 years, from 1900 to 2000....realising that the population grew from 1,6 Billion in 1900 to 6 Billion in 2000.............. just 100 years. A growth of 4,412.Billion in 100 years

on top of that one has to take into consideration that this increase was and is progressive, not linear. 600 million growth during the first half of the century 2.2 billion in the second half and a tad more than 1 billion in the first 11 years of this century!

Exponential.....

Not that I want to take issue with Herr Naam over this..., but he does generally insist on preciseness.

[AlexLah]

Pardon me for skipping the first 350 pages... what's all this about a Financial crisis?

no need to read all pages. here's the gist from which you can take your pick:

the financial crisis was caused

-by the Bilderbergs

-by the Illuminati

-by Goldman and his cousins the Lehman Brothers

-by Barack O'Bama

-by chicken/duck/swine/kangaroo flu

-by al-Qaeda

-by the FED

-by the yellow shirts

-by the red shirts

-by the blue shirts

-by aliens from the delta quadrant

-by Angela Merkel

-by Greek Gods

-by Irish leprechauns

-by homeowners in Boise, Idaho and Duluth, Minnesota not paying their mortgages

-by apocalyptic nomadic riders in Mongolia

-by the CIA

-by the KGB

-by the Mossad

-by Achmadinejad

-by visa runs

-by the price increase of Beer Chang

-by the strong Thai Baht

-by the weak <insert currency of choice>

later after my coffee break i will inform you about the possible and terrible implications. please be patient Fletch!

You can joke about it Naam but by now we sort of know what happened.

Bank loans money to people they know that cannot afford to pay back

Banks bundle up these loans and sells these as investment vehicles to investors telling it is all triple A grade with the help of these rating agencies.

Bank buys insurance against those loans they knew would default, some investors do the same.

Government decides to help these poor banks, insurance companies and investors to cover their losses

by using future tax money to cover it all.

And a bunch of other BS.

I am hoping you will do better next time compared to your last attempt to explain this.

[12DrinkMore]

I am hoping you will do better next time compared to your last attempt to explain this.

I doubt it, Naam likes us to stumble around trying to do our own explaining, so he can then come and post something flippant like the above, thereby exhibiting his Ueber-Wisdom of economics and, indeed, life in general.

Edited February 15, 2011 by 12DrinkMore

[LaoPo]

Pardon me for skipping the first 350 pages... what's all this about a Financial crisis?

no need to read all pages. here's the gist from which you can take your pick:

the financial crisis was caused

-by the Bilderbergs

-by the Illuminati

-by Goldman and his cousins the Lehman Brothers

-by Barack O'Bama

-by chicken/duck/swine/kangaroo flu

-by al-Qaeda

-by the FED

-by the yellow shirts

-by the red shirts

-by the blue shirts

-by aliens from the delta quadrant

-by Angela Merkel

-by Greek Gods

-by Irish leprechauns

-by homeowners in Boise, Idaho and Duluth, Minnesota not paying their mortgages

-by apocalyptic nomadic riders in Mongolia

-by the CIA

-by the KGB

-by the Mossad

-by Achmadinejad

-by visa runs

-by the price increase of Beer Chang

-by the strong Thai Baht

-by the weak <insert currency of choice>

later after my coffee break i will inform you about the possible and terrible implications. please be patient Fletch!

You can joke about it Naam but by now we sort of know what happened.

Bank loans money to people they know that cannot afford to pay back

Banks bundle up these loans and sells these as investment vehicles to investors telling it is all triple A grade with the help of these rating agencies.

Bank buys insurance against those loans they knew would default, some investors do the same.

Government decides to help these poor banks, insurance companies and investors to cover their losses

by using future tax money to cover it all.

And a bunch of other BS.

I am hoping you will do better next time compared to your last attempt to explain this.

You lost your humor when you found out that ham increased by 35% ??

LaoPo

[MJP]

From ZeroHedge . . .

A Disillusioned 99'er Shares His Disappointment With The American Dream, Welcomes Death

"Mark", a member of the ever growing cadre of disillusioned, disenchanted and disgruntled millions of American unemployed, has written a letter shared by A Company of One, in which he explains the plight of 99'ers (those whose extended unemployment benefits are set to expire) in which he chronicles his plight and his terminal disappointment with the American system. One can only imagine how all the "99'ers" would feel if they did not have the benefit of living at least partially subsidized for 2 years in the socialist state of America. If Bahrain is any indication, where the government's attempt to purchase the love of its people just failed today, pretty soon not even the 99 weeks of EUCs will do much to suppress what is an unmistakably rising anger among the broad US population.

From Mark's letter:

To the unemployed, sick, disabled and poor:

Hello,

I'm unemployed over two years now, a 99er without any benefits for three months. I followed Unemployed Friends almost from its start, never posted until now, but am grateful for my time with you all. I did as asked with calls and e-mails, etc. I've a confession to make to you all. I'm a criminal.

I've obeyed the 10 commandments and all laws except: I'm unemployed and that's now a crime, I'm poor and that's a crime, I'm worthless surplus population and that's a crime, I'm a main street American Citizen born and raised in the USA and that's now a crime, and I'm euthanizing myself as I write this note -- so arrest my corpse. This isn't a call for help, the deed is done, it's not what I wanted. Death is my best available option. It's not just that my bank account is $4, that I've not eaten in a week, not because hunger pangs are agonizing (I'm a wimp), not because I live in physical and mental anguish, not because the landlady is banging on the door non-stop and I face eviction, not that Congress and President have sent a strong message they no longer help the unemployed. It's because I'm a law abiding though worthless, long-term unemployed older man who is surplus population. Had I used my college education to rip people off and steal from the elderly, poor, disabled and main street Americans I would be wearing different shoes now -- a petty king. Hard work, honesty, loving kindness, charity and mercy, and becoming unemployed and destitute unable to pay your bills are all considered foolishness and high crimes in America now. Whereas stealing and lying and cheating and being greedy to excess and destroying the fabric of America is rewarded and protected -- even making such people petty king and petty queens among us.

Since the end of 2008, when corporate America began enjoying the resumption of growth, profits have swelled from an annualized pace of $995 billion to the current $1.66 trillion as of the end of September 2010. Over the same period, the number of non-farm jobs counted by the Labor Department has slipped from 13.4 million to 13 million -- there is no recovery for the unemployed and main street. We taxpayers have handed trillions of dollars to the same bank and insurance industry that started our economic disaster with its reckless gambling. We bailed out General Motors. We distributed tax cuts to businesses that were supposed to use this lubrication to expand and hire. For our dollars, we have been rewarded with starvation, homelessness and a plague of fear -- a testament to post-national capitalism.

Twelve years ago, I lost the last of my family. Ten years ago, I lost the love of my life, couldn't even visit him in the hospital because gays have no rights. I fought through and grieved and went on as best I could. Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with Diabetes and Stage 2 high blood pressure with various complications including kidney problems, mild heart failure, Diabetic Retinopathy. These conditions are debilitating and painful. I am on over eight prescribed medications, which is very difficult without insurance and income. But I struggled on and my primary caregiver was very pleased with my effort overtime with my A1C at seven. Still these physical disabilities have progressively worsened, and I have had a harder and harder time functioning in basic ways. All the while, I give thanks to God because I know there are many more worse off than me -- and I tried to help by giving money to charities and smiling at people who looked down and sharing what little I had.

I am college educated and worked 35 years in management, receiving written references and praise from every boss for whom I worked. Yet, after thousands of resumes, applications, e-mails, phone calls, and drop ins, I've failed to get a job even at McDonalds. I've discovered there are three strikes against me -- most 99ers will understand. Strike one -- businesses are not hiring long-term unemployed -- in fact many job ads now underline "the unemployed need not apply." Strike two -- I am almost 60 years old. Employers prefer hiring younger workers who demand less and are better pack mules. Strike three -- for every job opening I've applied, there are over 300 applicants according to each business who allow a follow up call. With the U3 unemployment holding steady at 9.6percent and U6 at 17 percent for the past 18 months, the chances of me or any 99er landing a job is less than winning the Mega Million Jackpot. On top of that, even the most conservative economists admit unemployment will not start to fall before 2012 and most predict up to seven years of this crap.

I believe the Congress and President have no intention of really aiding the unemployed -- due to various political reasons and their total removal from the suffering of most Americans, their cold-hearted, self-serving natures. Had they really wanted to help us, they could have used unspent stimulus monies or cut foolish costs like the failed wars or foreign aid, and farm subsidies. The unspent stimulus money alone cold have taken care of ALL unemployed persons for five years or until the unemployment rate reached 7 percent if Congress and the President really wanted to help us -- and not string us all along with a meager safety net that fails every few months. In any case, if I were to survive homelessness (would be like winning the mega-millions) and with those three strikes against me, in seven more years, I'll be near 70 with the new retirement age at 70 -- now who will hire an old homeless guy out of work for nine years with just a few years until retirement?

So, here I am. Long term unemployed, older man, with chronic health problems, now totally broke, hungry, facing eviction. My landlady should really be an advocate for the unemployed -- she bangs on my door demanding I take action. A phone call and a "please" are not enough for her -- she is angry. She is right to be angry with me, I am unemployed -- as apparently everyone is now angry with us unemployed.

Two hundred and eleven and social services cannot help single men. Food banks and other charities are unable to help any more folks -- they are overwhelmed with the poor in this nation. So I have the "freedom" to be homeless and destitute and "pursue happiness" in garbage cans and then die -- yay for America huh? It's the end of November and cold. A diabetic homeless older person will experience amputations in the winter months. So I will be raiding garbage cans for food, as my body literally falls apart, a foot here, a finger there. I have experienced and even worked with pain from my diseases -- hardship I can face. I just cannot muster the courage to slowly die in agony and humiliation in the gutter.

I have no family, I have no friends. For the past two years, I've had nobody to talk with as people who knew me react to the "unemployed" label as if it were leprosy and contagious. I am not a bad person, in fact people really like me. But everyone seems to be on a tight budget these days and living in incredible fear. It is hopeless since we all are hearing more and more that we unemployed are to blame for unemployment, that we are just lazy, that we are no good, that we are sinners, that we are druggies, yet we are the victims who suffer and are punished while the robber baron banksters and tycoons become senators, congress, presidents and petty kings. So the only option left for me is merciful self euthanasia.

It is with a heavy heart that I have set my death in motion, but what I am facing is not living. So off I go, I have made peace with God and placed my burden on Jesus and He forgives me. This nation has become evil to the core, with cold-hearted politicians and tycoons squeezing what little Main Street Americans have left. It is not the America into which I was born -- the land of the free and the home of the brave with kind folks who help neighbors -- it is now land of the Tycoon-haves and the rest of us have-nots who march into hopelessness and despair.

Every unemployed person I have met over these past two years have been saintly. Sharing what little they have, and being charitable -- being kind and patient and supportive. Isn't it amazing that we Americans who suffer so much, have not taken to the streets in violence, riots or gotten out the guillotines and marched on tycoons and Washington in revolt as would happen in most other nations? But rather we plead with deaf politicians to please help us. We don't demand huge sums -- just 300 bucks a week, barely enough to cover housing for most. Most of all we say, please help us get a job, please allow us dignity.

I can't help but juxtapose our plight to the tycoons and politicians. They are never satisfied with their enormous wealth, and always want more millions no matter whom it hurts. They STEAL from pension funds, banks, the people and government, and little Wall Street investors. Then rather than face punishment, they become petty kings in this world. They are disloyal to America, unpatriotic, and serve their own foreign UN-American greedy causes and demand more and more and more. I feel that this is not the nation into which I was born. I was born in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. America, where people give as much as they receive. America, where all people work for the common good, and try to leave a better and more prosperous nation for the next generation. America, where people help their neighbors and show charity and mercy. This new America is alien to me -- it is an America of greed and corruption and avarice and mean spirited selfishness and hatred of the common good -- it is an America of savage beasts roaring and tearing at the weak, and bullying the humble and peacemakers and poor and those without means to defend themselves. I am not welcome here anymore. I don't belong here anymore. It's as if some evil beast controls government, the economy, and our lives now.

I must go now, my home is someplace else. Goodbye and God bless you all. God bless the unemployed and poor and elderly and disabled. God bless America and the American people except the tycoons and politicians -- may God retain the sins of tycoons and politicians and phony preachers and send them to the Devil.

Mark

Edited February 15, 2011 by MJP

[Naam]

We don't need Roubini to conclude that the world population can't continue to grow anymore (food and energy wise) like it did in the past 100 years, from 1900 to 2000....realising that the population grew from 1,6 Billion in 1900 to 6 Billion in 2000.............. just 100 years. A growth of 4,412.Billion in 100 years

on top of that one has to take into consideration that this increase was and is progressive, not linear. 600 million growth during the first half of the century 2.2 billion in the second half and a tad more than 1 billion in the first 11 years of this century!

Exponential.....

Not that I want to take issue with Herr Naam over this..., but he does generally insist on preciseness.

the expression "progressive" is sufficient to depict the development. those who do not understand "progressive" will definitely not understand "exponential".

[ronz28]

Financial crisis has just begun. Next phase is to monopolize the custody of financial instruments and determination of prices on all derivatives, etc. in one European country with custodial function in another, etc. all under direction of the NYSE Euronext-Borse mafia. No country will be able to control it. No one CPA/CFA firm will audit it. No competition means the monopoly holder can attack any country, state, company, individual, etc. financially one by one or ten by ten until they steal every penny. Dissent and one can be easily destroyed. That's just a (WAG) wild a__ guess based on skepticism but see:

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2011-02-15/deutsche-borse-and-nyse-euronext-agree-to-historic-merger?mod=sectionheadlines-AM-TT

[flying]

From ZeroHedge . . .

A Disillusioned 99'er Shares His Disappointment With The American Dream, Welcomes Death

That is a sad letter.....Sad because it is true & I see it here in the Us where I am too.

I know folks who have exhausted their long term UEI & I see they are getting no more help.

Yes they can get Food via the food stamp card...But they cannot get cash unless they have a child under 5 years old.

The folks I know are not lazy...They have worked hard their whole life but, like the letter writer they are not young.

Yes they have skills....mad skills some of them but, They are being passed over for the many younger folks now available too.

This will not end well I am sorry to say. I would love to see a way out for them but do not....Not any time soon anyway.

Yet as he said in his letter.....

they could have used unspent stimulus monies or cut foolish costs like the failed wars or foreign aid, and farm subsidies.

It is TRUE they could have & the money would have been better spent as it would truly have been recycled into the economy. Instead it is in fact given to those who caused most of the problem & they give it to the casino stock markets to suck in the last of the $$$ still floating out there in private hands.

This guy should not have died alone he should have taken a few bastards with him.