I am what is called a child of the 60's. The 60's were a turbulent time. Our President, John F. Kennedy, was killed in Texas. There was controversy over who killed him from the very start of the incident. There was a guy in Texas named Billie Sol Estes who was charged with some kind of fraud involving grain storage, grain that was not there. The Sergeant Major of the army was charged with getting rake-offs from the sale of government surplus. And then there was the war in Vietnam. Crime and corruption was everywhere. Young men were dying daily in Vietnam and the young of the nation were highly disturbed about it. Youth went to the streets and demonstrated and fought with police. The news coverage was huge. "Hey, Hey, LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?" Johnson backed out of the presidency and Richard Milhouse Nixon, a Quaker by rearing, was elected President. The killing in Vietnam went on. Kids were shot on a campus is Ohio. Bobby Kennedy was shot dead in Los Angeles. Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis. Other people died for various sick and demented reasons. It was like a battle of good vs evil. The lines were drawn and both sides got to it. Rebellion among the youth was rampant. The music, the newspapers and the movies were all involved, one way or another. It was a very interesting time in our history.
But the things you did not talk about doing was working for the government and joining the system. You could get a job with the Post Office, as it was called then, but that was it. Anything else was selling out to the enemy. Joining the system was a 9 to 5 job, with a house in the suburbs, a plastic wife and 2 children. Social norms were very rigid back in those days. Anyone who thought much about what was going on in this country rejected the social norms. The government was walking on pins and needles. They did not want to mess with the people. The people were too easily aroused and their children were too prone to street violence.
But things changed. One thing that changed was the availability of credit. You want to go to college? The government would loan you the money. You need money for little nuisance purchases, just mail this filled out form in and you'll get a credit card. You want a car? We'll put you in the drivers seat right now! And then it was the house. The house in the suburbs with the plastic wife and the two kids. And for all of this crap a generation sold out and gladly accepted it's ball and chain. The good life was possible for those who played the game.
New terms were entered into the American lexicon like Globalism, Diversity, Multiculturalism, and others. We had new things to occupy our time and energy exploring. We were on a trip into what we were told was the Promised Land. Our national conversation was what the TV said we should say. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and then years were upon us. And before you knew it, the nation had been sold out. The crooks were totally in control. So today we sit in our little homes and watch the misdeeds of men play out right in front of our eyes. We see very rich and powerful men trying to milk our national money, and our children's and our children's childrens money. And they are doing it with impunity. They have the cooperation of the media, the political parties and the businesses of this country.
But I escaped while the getting was good. I had a God who smiled upon me and led me out of this morass. And I thank him for it, most every day. I live where men worked and sweated and dared to buy their own property as a group and not as individuals. Back in those days there was no chance for a poor guy to have what I have. But the group could do it. But in order to have this you could not sell out. You had to remain true to your cause. You had to remain true to the group. And you had to remain true to God. Most of these principles have been eradicated from society. Buried so deeply that no one ever thinks about them. But the day is coming when men will revert to the old ways to have a decent life on this earth. The new villages and communities will start and they will grow and they will show mankind that all is not lost. If you can get started, you better do it!
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
STARTING THE DAY
It's a chilly morning and the forecast says it is going to stay that way. We should be getting our Pioneer Maid wood cook stove ordered today. It will be coming through Lehman's. That will put a slam dunk on saving money on our electric bill. Free heat and free cooking. Absolutely wonderful. I told my son about it and he said he would be cooking every day on that stove. I kinda think he has the right idea. Now, if I can just get him to get the wood cut and stacked to keep it going I would be in tall cotton, doing you-know-what on the top leaves. I got a comment that really touched me. I'll share it.
*
Good Day to you and yours!
Just love to read your posts; always a good mix of information, humor and food for thought.
Being a very poor couple living on a meager SS check we're sitting here being very thankful. NO debt, two years worth of food stocked; plenty of heirloom, open pollinated seeds; two years of firewood and a stack of cash, etc. to get us through if the SS check stops coming.
I won't matter one bit what the washington crew do or don't do: this house of cards will eventually fall. Still, it provides some entertainment! And, yes, there will be some so called "upswings" or "Bright spots" here and there and some sheep will tread along the path thinking all is right with the world. Sheesh!!!!!!!!!!
*
This comment comes from treesong and the page is at http://www.blogger.com/profile/09364847483878018809, though you won't find much on it. I was impressed with the toughness of these older people. No matter what, they intend to go on with their lives and live it on out. Highly commendable. I wish the young of this nation had the same gumption and backbone that these folks do! And they seem to be happy! They seem to find contentment in being prepared and knowing they have some food to eat and some seeds to plant and a place to live out in the country that is PAID FOR. They live off of a Social Security check and still have some CASH in their stash. We can learn from these people if we can get them to talk to us. Smart, prepared, and happy. I'll take a dozen, please.
I will get off this post and start shelling beans and checking on the market every now and then. I am fascinated by the rip-offs getting their just deserts. They have taken in trillions of dollars in the last decade and they have lived the high life the rest of us have been denied. Now it is time to pay the Piper and I want to watch them dance to his tune. I sure do hope there is no backing down by the congress. I gotta pay for my mistakes and they ought to pay for theirs.
Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
*
Good Day to you and yours!
Just love to read your posts; always a good mix of information, humor and food for thought.
Being a very poor couple living on a meager SS check we're sitting here being very thankful. NO debt, two years worth of food stocked; plenty of heirloom, open pollinated seeds; two years of firewood and a stack of cash, etc. to get us through if the SS check stops coming.
I won't matter one bit what the washington crew do or don't do: this house of cards will eventually fall. Still, it provides some entertainment! And, yes, there will be some so called "upswings" or "Bright spots" here and there and some sheep will tread along the path thinking all is right with the world. Sheesh!!!!!!!!!!
*
This comment comes from treesong and the page is at http://www.blogger.com/profile/09364847483878018809, though you won't find much on it. I was impressed with the toughness of these older people. No matter what, they intend to go on with their lives and live it on out. Highly commendable. I wish the young of this nation had the same gumption and backbone that these folks do! And they seem to be happy! They seem to find contentment in being prepared and knowing they have some food to eat and some seeds to plant and a place to live out in the country that is PAID FOR. They live off of a Social Security check and still have some CASH in their stash. We can learn from these people if we can get them to talk to us. Smart, prepared, and happy. I'll take a dozen, please.
I will get off this post and start shelling beans and checking on the market every now and then. I am fascinated by the rip-offs getting their just deserts. They have taken in trillions of dollars in the last decade and they have lived the high life the rest of us have been denied. Now it is time to pay the Piper and I want to watch them dance to his tune. I sure do hope there is no backing down by the congress. I gotta pay for my mistakes and they ought to pay for theirs.
Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Monday, September 29, 2008
A GOOD MONDAY!
I have been shelling beans all day and have not been on the computer paying attention to a damn thing. The Handmaiden has been to the garden rolling up her plastic mulch. We be busy finishing the food year from the garden. She came home and started stringing wristras with the last of the hot peppers. And then the phone rang and all hell broke loose! THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOTED DOWN THE BAIL-OUT BILL. Who would have ever thought it would happen? I did my part and called my congresscritter and told him to vote no. I can't find any roll call voting record of the measure. Sure would like to know how that scallywag voted.
And don't get your shorts in a bunch and think that this is the end of the matter. You will hear screams from the House tonight and tomorrow as arms are twisted out of their sockets. Deals will be cut. Pork will fly. The question is, "Will they hold or will they crumble?" I can't say and I would not bet any money on it one way or another. But Pelosi is going to be in a rage! I hope they carry her out on a stretcher!
We have a new cook stove coming. A big ol' Amish made stove from Canada. Costs a fortune but it has some very nice features, including hot water and a warming closet. It has the largest firebox of any stove that Lehmans sells. It should more than keep our water pipes from freezing this Winter. And people can cook on it for the price of a few sticks of wood! Glory to God! I won't have to cringe when the Handmaiden turns on the oven any more. Almost free cooking!
Getting back to the bail-out bill for minute I just want to say that the economy is going down the tubes no matter what the fedgov does. These boys with the fiat money machines are taking it down and there is no reason for you to feel any blame. They will talk about the mortgage "crisis" and all of that but it was coming anyhow. Ron Paul tried to tell everyone to run for cover but no one wanted to listen. They were too busy getting mortgage extensions to go charge shit with and just stood there like a bunch of drugged sheep while it went down around their ankles.
People are calling me and I say "Got preps?" They say they have SOME but are wanting to get more. I would say you have about a week to buy food before the price goes through the roof. Prices will fall tomorrow again, as margin calls are made at the market. The last time I looked the market was down 777 points. Guys will be selling everything they can get their hands on to make their margin calls. Cash will be KING.
The European Central Bank is locked up tighter than a well diggers ass in the Klondike. Europe is about to go down. And it's all funny money.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
And don't get your shorts in a bunch and think that this is the end of the matter. You will hear screams from the House tonight and tomorrow as arms are twisted out of their sockets. Deals will be cut. Pork will fly. The question is, "Will they hold or will they crumble?" I can't say and I would not bet any money on it one way or another. But Pelosi is going to be in a rage! I hope they carry her out on a stretcher!
We have a new cook stove coming. A big ol' Amish made stove from Canada. Costs a fortune but it has some very nice features, including hot water and a warming closet. It has the largest firebox of any stove that Lehmans sells. It should more than keep our water pipes from freezing this Winter. And people can cook on it for the price of a few sticks of wood! Glory to God! I won't have to cringe when the Handmaiden turns on the oven any more. Almost free cooking!
Getting back to the bail-out bill for minute I just want to say that the economy is going down the tubes no matter what the fedgov does. These boys with the fiat money machines are taking it down and there is no reason for you to feel any blame. They will talk about the mortgage "crisis" and all of that but it was coming anyhow. Ron Paul tried to tell everyone to run for cover but no one wanted to listen. They were too busy getting mortgage extensions to go charge shit with and just stood there like a bunch of drugged sheep while it went down around their ankles.
People are calling me and I say "Got preps?" They say they have SOME but are wanting to get more. I would say you have about a week to buy food before the price goes through the roof. Prices will fall tomorrow again, as margin calls are made at the market. The last time I looked the market was down 777 points. Guys will be selling everything they can get their hands on to make their margin calls. Cash will be KING.
The European Central Bank is locked up tighter than a well diggers ass in the Klondike. Europe is about to go down. And it's all funny money.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Sunday, September 28, 2008
http://www.dailynewscaster.com/2008/09/28/marcy-kaptur-warns-there-are-domestic-enemies-to-the-republic/
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) warns the American people about Constitutional enemies of the Republic and the fraudulent trillion(s) dollar bailout…
“My message to the American people don’t let Congress seal this deal. High financial crimes have been committed.”
“The normal legislative process has been shelved. Only a few insiders are doing the dealing, sounds like insider trading to me. These criminals have so much political power than can shut down the normal legislative process of the highest law making body of this land.”
“We are Constitutionally sworn to protect and defend this Republic against all enemies foreign and domestic. And my friends there are enemies.”
“The people pushing this deal are the very ones who are responsible for the implosion on Wall Street. They were fraudulent then and they are fraudulent now.”
I stole this off of http://www.whatreallyhappened.com. There is a video of Marcy Kaptur talking about this bail-out and how the congress was hi-jacked. Check it out! Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) warns the American people about Constitutional enemies of the Republic and the fraudulent trillion(s) dollar bailout…
“My message to the American people don’t let Congress seal this deal. High financial crimes have been committed.”
“The normal legislative process has been shelved. Only a few insiders are doing the dealing, sounds like insider trading to me. These criminals have so much political power than can shut down the normal legislative process of the highest law making body of this land.”
“We are Constitutionally sworn to protect and defend this Republic against all enemies foreign and domestic. And my friends there are enemies.”
“The people pushing this deal are the very ones who are responsible for the implosion on Wall Street. They were fraudulent then and they are fraudulent now.”
I stole this off of http://www.whatreallyhappened.com. There is a video of Marcy Kaptur talking about this bail-out and how the congress was hi-jacked. Check it out! Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
SUNDAY BLUES
I said this was the Sunday Blues but really it isn't that for me at all. I am sitting here eating a crab and Tuna salad on a freshly baked scone from the Handmaiden. The Tuna is regular store-bought Tuna and the crabmeat is from Big Lots. The scones are from the Handmaiden's regular baking agenda. It makes a delicious meal. I heartily approve!
What makes the day a Blue Sunday is the news that we are getting close to being told about how we are going to pay for Wall Street. De Silva, the President of Brazil, called it unfair to the poor. No shit De Silva! What gave you your first clue? If I was not helping myself to a second helping of crab and Tuna on scones I would be apoplectic. And these people are doing this right out in the open, sort of. Because they are so diligent they are holding dusk 'til dawn meetings when there isn't anyone around to report the news. I saw a picture of Nancy Pelosi walking with her hands folded in prayer. So tender and devout. AND SO VOID OF ANY GOOD WISHES FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE. Remember, she has to run for re-election every two years and she does not want to lose. Markers are being signed for campaign contributions even as I type. I can't stand her. She makes me gag. Straight out of San Francisco. Queertown USA!
But the deals are getting cut and before you know it we will be in Deep Kimchi and up to our necks in debt. And the fedgov is going to own all those toxic mortgages. I wonder if they will sell the homes to a foreign investor who wishes to move a lot of people into this country? I mean, why invade if you can live here, right? And there will be more foreclosures and more bailouts and pretty soon the fedgov will not have to hunt for slave labor at all. They will be knocking on the door begging to get in! But the fedgov will probably be broke by then also so don't worry too much about being a worker slave. Be more concerned about being a free and starving citizen. The FEMA camps and the detention camps will fill quickly as America goes looking for someone to serve dinner. McDonald's will be out of the question. No one will have a job to make the money to pay for a hamburger anyhow. And paying will be a scarce transaction also. Since the money will be no good, what will you pay with? You will have to deal and barter and THINK for a change.
And I just got a phone call from and old friend here in the valley and we talked about herbs and teas and stuff because he is a very knowledgeable herbalist. I t9old hi some of my plan to create a Bartertown and I told him that his herbs could make him some extra living if necessary. I told him the classic definitions of Legal Tender and Money. Legal Tender is a form of currency that is backed by the fedgov and MUST be accepted in payment of debt. Money is any damn thing you and another person agree to in a deal. Period.
My old friend just called back and said his daughter was in town doing some shopping and the cops pulled her over and gave her a warning ticket for her car being too dirty. COPS! They make money off of other people's misery.
Good day, and stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
What makes the day a Blue Sunday is the news that we are getting close to being told about how we are going to pay for Wall Street. De Silva, the President of Brazil, called it unfair to the poor. No shit De Silva! What gave you your first clue? If I was not helping myself to a second helping of crab and Tuna on scones I would be apoplectic. And these people are doing this right out in the open, sort of. Because they are so diligent they are holding dusk 'til dawn meetings when there isn't anyone around to report the news. I saw a picture of Nancy Pelosi walking with her hands folded in prayer. So tender and devout. AND SO VOID OF ANY GOOD WISHES FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE. Remember, she has to run for re-election every two years and she does not want to lose. Markers are being signed for campaign contributions even as I type. I can't stand her. She makes me gag. Straight out of San Francisco. Queertown USA!
But the deals are getting cut and before you know it we will be in Deep Kimchi and up to our necks in debt. And the fedgov is going to own all those toxic mortgages. I wonder if they will sell the homes to a foreign investor who wishes to move a lot of people into this country? I mean, why invade if you can live here, right? And there will be more foreclosures and more bailouts and pretty soon the fedgov will not have to hunt for slave labor at all. They will be knocking on the door begging to get in! But the fedgov will probably be broke by then also so don't worry too much about being a worker slave. Be more concerned about being a free and starving citizen. The FEMA camps and the detention camps will fill quickly as America goes looking for someone to serve dinner. McDonald's will be out of the question. No one will have a job to make the money to pay for a hamburger anyhow. And paying will be a scarce transaction also. Since the money will be no good, what will you pay with? You will have to deal and barter and THINK for a change.
And I just got a phone call from and old friend here in the valley and we talked about herbs and teas and stuff because he is a very knowledgeable herbalist. I t9old hi some of my plan to create a Bartertown and I told him that his herbs could make him some extra living if necessary. I told him the classic definitions of Legal Tender and Money. Legal Tender is a form of currency that is backed by the fedgov and MUST be accepted in payment of debt. Money is any damn thing you and another person agree to in a deal. Period.
My old friend just called back and said his daughter was in town doing some shopping and the cops pulled her over and gave her a warning ticket for her car being too dirty. COPS! They make money off of other people's misery.
Good day, and stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Saturday, September 27, 2008
SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON
Just got back from planting an old friend. 56 years old and one helluva man. He would do anything to help someone but God help you if you came to harm the valley. He was bad news in that respect. I remember 25 years ago when we were going through a hard time, which was not a rare occurrence, and three of us got to talking and we decided to go kill a deer and the village would have meat. My buddy had a rifle and the other guy had a shotgun and I had a pistol. We got about a half mile down the road and I threw up my hands and prayed aloud to the God of Heaven that he give us a deer to shoot and feed the people. I just felt to do that. We made it two or three more miles and there was a nice sized Buck just over the fence on government property. The driver started braking and brought the truck to a halt and my buddy, the one we buried today, was out of the cab of that truck and had his 30-06 resting on the hood. Boom! One dead deer. We went over the fence through the snow and got the deer and took it home. There were a lot of guys available to clean the deer. God was with us.
I got a call from a friend on the East Coast just as I was coming in the door from the funeral. Naturally I asked him what he was doing and he said he was sitting back eating popcorn and watching AIG fail. Apparently everyone who had money in AIG was coming all week long to get their money out and AIG was being picked clean. Laughing my ass off! The fedgov's big bailout is going back out on the street as fast as they can count out the money. I sure do hope it is the little people who stand to gain. To hell with the fat cats. Why don't they take the 700 billion dollars and pay off about 350,000 mortgages and just give the people their deeds and wish them luck in the future. Then we could at least say that our tax money had done SOME good. And you talk about an economic stimulus! All those people would be back in the market place having a helluva good time, buying and charging and doing all those things that Americans are noted for.
There are now 6 families living around our little pond who are buying and storing food. Incredible! Last week there were two! Holy cow. The word has gotten out! I hope this movement picks up momentum. There are a lot of good people here.I am still looking for non-hybrid seed and I think I have been given a clue as to where to find it. I will check it out and see if it is worth the effort.
I'll got for now and leave you while I go eat a pot luck supper in honor of my departed brother. Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
I got a call from a friend on the East Coast just as I was coming in the door from the funeral. Naturally I asked him what he was doing and he said he was sitting back eating popcorn and watching AIG fail. Apparently everyone who had money in AIG was coming all week long to get their money out and AIG was being picked clean. Laughing my ass off! The fedgov's big bailout is going back out on the street as fast as they can count out the money. I sure do hope it is the little people who stand to gain. To hell with the fat cats. Why don't they take the 700 billion dollars and pay off about 350,000 mortgages and just give the people their deeds and wish them luck in the future. Then we could at least say that our tax money had done SOME good. And you talk about an economic stimulus! All those people would be back in the market place having a helluva good time, buying and charging and doing all those things that Americans are noted for.
There are now 6 families living around our little pond who are buying and storing food. Incredible! Last week there were two! Holy cow. The word has gotten out! I hope this movement picks up momentum. There are a lot of good people here.I am still looking for non-hybrid seed and I think I have been given a clue as to where to find it. I will check it out and see if it is worth the effort.
I'll got for now and leave you while I go eat a pot luck supper in honor of my departed brother. Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Friday, September 26, 2008
PREPPING IT UP!!
I have three families here in the valley that are going to buy some extra food , some food to save up. I am happy about that. Me? I could spend a half million dollars and not do much at all. But I can put my habits down to the life I have lived and the man who taught me.
I need more seed! I need non-hybrid seed to give people food and work in hard times. I am maxed out for beans but man shall not live by beans alone. I need other things. Gotta get busy and dig up some more seed. I might have some corn down at the garden and not know it. I'll check. I have corn for grinding, and thus for eating, but I need SEED for next year. The Fascists don't need to come get you. Your hunger will drag you out. The food you have in your pantry is what will keep you out of the camps. And they may get so damn full up of workers that they start turning them away. Wouldn't that be a drag.
I have a place picked out for a Barterville. Water, building, already owned by us. But not on the road into where we live. It has interesting possibilities. Not a real nice occupation but it could damn sure make a living for a few folks. Takes a special breed of man to handle an operation like that.
I am thinking that as soon as the market collapses Bush will declare Martial Law. I do not know if he will postpone the election but I would suggest that the proclamation of Martial Law is already written and sitting on the shelf waiting to be read to the people. These Bush people are efficient. No mass bug-out will be allowed. Watch your step.
Stay on your own land as much as possible. Don't push any laws around. Be cool and respectful. We will have combat troops patrolling our roads and highways at the end of this month. Don't start anything. Just stay away from the troops. The beast will be unsettled and you must let it go back to sleep. Do not awaken it.
Some people are still having trouble facing this current fiasco. Be prepared to tell them about it but move on quickly if you see resentment in their eyes.
I am having trouble telling people how to cheaply and easily store beans and rice. You buy the stuff and you immediately re-bag it in 1 gallon Zip-Loc bags. Then you freeze these bags for two or three days and kill all the vermin that were in there. And they ARE in there. After their little stay in the freezer the vermin will be dead and you bring the bags out and leave them overnight on your kitchen table. This lets all condensation get off of the beans and rice. Then you put four or five good sized Bay Leaves in the bag and seal the Zip-loc. Then toss them into your galvanized garbage can and put on the lid. You will have a brand new, un-used garbage can for this purpose. No rat or mouse is going to gnaw through your garbage can and no critters will get into your bags because the Bay Leaves are repugnant to them. Open the can and check the bags at least once a week. You should be fine. Beats the hell out of all those gasketed five gallon plastic buckets that a mouse can gnaw through anyhow.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
I need more seed! I need non-hybrid seed to give people food and work in hard times. I am maxed out for beans but man shall not live by beans alone. I need other things. Gotta get busy and dig up some more seed. I might have some corn down at the garden and not know it. I'll check. I have corn for grinding, and thus for eating, but I need SEED for next year. The Fascists don't need to come get you. Your hunger will drag you out. The food you have in your pantry is what will keep you out of the camps. And they may get so damn full up of workers that they start turning them away. Wouldn't that be a drag.
I have a place picked out for a Barterville. Water, building, already owned by us. But not on the road into where we live. It has interesting possibilities. Not a real nice occupation but it could damn sure make a living for a few folks. Takes a special breed of man to handle an operation like that.
I am thinking that as soon as the market collapses Bush will declare Martial Law. I do not know if he will postpone the election but I would suggest that the proclamation of Martial Law is already written and sitting on the shelf waiting to be read to the people. These Bush people are efficient. No mass bug-out will be allowed. Watch your step.
Stay on your own land as much as possible. Don't push any laws around. Be cool and respectful. We will have combat troops patrolling our roads and highways at the end of this month. Don't start anything. Just stay away from the troops. The beast will be unsettled and you must let it go back to sleep. Do not awaken it.
Some people are still having trouble facing this current fiasco. Be prepared to tell them about it but move on quickly if you see resentment in their eyes.
I am having trouble telling people how to cheaply and easily store beans and rice. You buy the stuff and you immediately re-bag it in 1 gallon Zip-Loc bags. Then you freeze these bags for two or three days and kill all the vermin that were in there. And they ARE in there. After their little stay in the freezer the vermin will be dead and you bring the bags out and leave them overnight on your kitchen table. This lets all condensation get off of the beans and rice. Then you put four or five good sized Bay Leaves in the bag and seal the Zip-loc. Then toss them into your galvanized garbage can and put on the lid. You will have a brand new, un-used garbage can for this purpose. No rat or mouse is going to gnaw through your garbage can and no critters will get into your bags because the Bay Leaves are repugnant to them. Open the can and check the bags at least once a week. You should be fine. Beats the hell out of all those gasketed five gallon plastic buckets that a mouse can gnaw through anyhow.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
GETTING READY
It's day one of the next big thing! The bail-out is going to fail and we are embarking on a totally new trip. I feel like Mayberry getting his whiff of salty air yesterday. The prospect of a new era in invigorating! And there will be so many willing helpers in this new day. Slow folks, to be sure, but good strong backs and willing arms and legs. Wanna eat? I have some weeds that need pulled. Wanna eat? I have a need for cut and stacked firewood. Wanna eat? We have a lot of nut trees that need cleared around for easier harvesting. Wanna eat? I have water that needs to be hauled. And so on and so forth. People will get the message and join the ranks of the survivalists, if for no other reason than their bellies need filled.
You now about those survivalists don't you? Those uncouth muthas who show very little regard for anything but good results. Those wild men and women who have stocked up on food and guns and ammo and seed and medical supplies. Those people who refuse to believe the political bullshit that is fed the creatures of habit on this planet. I just went out on the porch and hollered at a neighbor and told him to buy his rice and beans. He waved. I haven't the slightest idea if he will do it. And I can't be worried about it. The warning flags are going up all over the place. Get ready to feed yourself!!! Get ready to defend yourself!!! Get ready to be your own doctor!!! The almighty dollar is dead. Long live the new currency!
The survivalists know what is going on. They have studied and and stored and talked until they are blue in the face. Got preps? Starve if you don't. Is the wife and kids getting attacked and raped? Shoot the rapists or watch it all happen with the knowledge that you could have prevented it. Did you get a wound from an accident or an attack? Be prepared to treat it or suffer the consequences.
I just talked to the guy I hollered at a few minutes ago and he is getting ready to stock up. He will start tomorrow afternoon. God bless him.
I have friends on the East Coast and down South that I am going to invite to come be with me. People who would help me if they had to. So that makes it less of a problem. I have had a blessing of supplies for my medical kit. I am in as good a shape as I could imagine. I am not perfect by any means but I have way more than most people.
I have four bag of beans to shell that the Handmaiden brought in yesterday. No rest for the wicked. I will get to them today as best I can. An old friend has passed way and I am not happy, but I reckon I should be because he is in a better place now where his liver won't take him down.
Getting ready for the party! Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
You now about those survivalists don't you? Those uncouth muthas who show very little regard for anything but good results. Those wild men and women who have stocked up on food and guns and ammo and seed and medical supplies. Those people who refuse to believe the political bullshit that is fed the creatures of habit on this planet. I just went out on the porch and hollered at a neighbor and told him to buy his rice and beans. He waved. I haven't the slightest idea if he will do it. And I can't be worried about it. The warning flags are going up all over the place. Get ready to feed yourself!!! Get ready to defend yourself!!! Get ready to be your own doctor!!! The almighty dollar is dead. Long live the new currency!
The survivalists know what is going on. They have studied and and stored and talked until they are blue in the face. Got preps? Starve if you don't. Is the wife and kids getting attacked and raped? Shoot the rapists or watch it all happen with the knowledge that you could have prevented it. Did you get a wound from an accident or an attack? Be prepared to treat it or suffer the consequences.
I just talked to the guy I hollered at a few minutes ago and he is getting ready to stock up. He will start tomorrow afternoon. God bless him.
I have friends on the East Coast and down South that I am going to invite to come be with me. People who would help me if they had to. So that makes it less of a problem. I have had a blessing of supplies for my medical kit. I am in as good a shape as I could imagine. I am not perfect by any means but I have way more than most people.
I have four bag of beans to shell that the Handmaiden brought in yesterday. No rest for the wicked. I will get to them today as best I can. An old friend has passed way and I am not happy, but I reckon I should be because he is in a better place now where his liver won't take him down.
Getting ready for the party! Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Thursday, September 25, 2008
BAIL-OUT DEAL?
Got this from AP off of MSNBC. Comments embedded.
WASHINGTON - Key Republicans and Democrats reported agreement Thursday on an outline for a historic $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, but there was still resistance from rank-and-file House Republicans despite warnings of an impending panic.
The key word is "Key" Democrat and Republicans. This is the leadership. These are the guys who have sold their souls over and over for campaign cash and paid-for vacations and sexual favors and lots of freebies from the fedgov. But like the article says, the rank and file are not too happy. There will be arm twisting going on like crazy. The rank and file are getting told by their constituents to not give the bankers a fucking penny. And election time is coming up! And the mess will not be over then and folks will remember and check on how their congresscritter voted and that will be the ballgame.
“I now expect we will, indeed, have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate, be signed by the president and bring a sense of certainty to this crisis that is still roiling in the market,” Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, said as members of both parties emerged from a two-hour negotiating session.
Something for everybody. All the favored banks will be sure to get a cut of the government largess. How nice.
Negotiators planned to present the outline at a White House meeting later Thursday with President Bush and the rivals to replace him, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barrack Obama.
They will face the man who can ruin the whole country. Kinda daunting if you ask me.
“We’re very confident that we can act expeditiously,” said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman.
They can act fast, but will they have the votes to get it passed? A lot of pressure on those congressmen. Not enough time for people to forget.
Not everyone in the closed-door talks was as optimistic. Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the only House Republican in the bargaining meeting, stopped short of saying he agreed with the other lawmakers on an imminent deal.
“There was progress today,” said Bachus, the senior Republican on the House Financial Services panel.
There was progress, sure enough. But was there anyway they could get it done and not tip off the whole blogosphere? The blogs rule! And they WILL find out the true story. We WILL get the truth and we will vote the bastards out if they don't toe the line. We still have elections in this country and we can damn sure punish anyone who votes for the bail-out. And we haven't even begun to bail anything out! FDIC needs 250 billion dollars for the banks yet to fail. Ain't anyone even thinking about the federal reserve! They are about out of Treasury Bills. And they will want paid! Bet your ass on that! They will reap billions off of this little fiesta.
Later, he issued a statement saying he was not empowered to strike any deals and there was “no agreement other than to continue discussions.”
Ahh, so the talk of a deal is mostly bullshit at this time. Hard to believe a group of congressmen would lie and mislead. Bastards. Throw them out. Let them do time in Attica and dance with Bubba.
Both houses’ Republican leaders, Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell, also issued statements saying there was no agreement.
Now we get the "more true" story. Boehner and McConnell want control and they have to please the critters if they want to stay in power. Vote NO or voted OUT!
Still, the White House called the announcement “a good sign that progress is being made.”
“We’ll want to hear from (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson and take a look at the details. We look forward to a good discussion at the meeting this afternoon,” said Tony Fratto, the deputy White House press secretary.
This type of comment is made for shit-for-brains who vote and not the intelligent few in this country. No brag. Just facts.
A Treasury spokeswoman said the proposal was being reviewed there.
Man! Is this ever an informative statement. They should have said that water was wet and we could have really been enlightened.
On Wall Street, stock prices were up late in the trading day, but not by as much as earlier in the day.
Sounds like the fools got out early today!
The core of the plan proposed by the administration just a few days ago envisions the government buying up sour assets of shaky financial firms in a bid to keep them from going under and to stave off a potentially severe recession.
You ain't going to convince me that this plan has not been sitting on the shelf for weeks, just waiting for the right time to enslave the populace.
Obama and McCain called for a bipartisan effort to deal with the crisis, little more than five weeks before national elections in which the economy has emerged as the dominant theme.
McCain on Wednesday asked Obama to agree to delay their first debate, scheduled for Friday, to deal with the meltdown. Obama said the debate should go ahead.
Call in the maybe guys! Who gives a shit about them at this point?
Congressional negotiators said Thursday there were few obstacles to a final agreement, although no details of an accord were immediately available.
“There really isn’t much of a deadlock to break,” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
And I am going to believe this queer? Lighten up!
But there were fresh signs of trouble in the House Republican Caucus. A group of GOP lawmakers circulated an alternative designed to attract private money back into the credit markets with less government intrusion.
But you just said there was nothing much in the way of an agreement on the bail-out!
Under that proposal, the government would provide insurance to companies that agree to hold frozen assets, rather than purchase them directly as envisioned under the administration’s plan. The firms would have to pay insurance premiums to the Treasury Department for the coverage.
But, but, that would mean that us dumb peon taxpayers might make a buck off of this mess. After the trillion we have loaned out the window at the Federal Reserve. And that has only been about 50 or 60 billion dollars a week this year. Funny how the criminal element in congress never mentions this huge some of money. But we will hear about it when the Federal Reserve needs bailed out! Bastards!
“The taxpayers haven’t done anything wrong,” said Rep Eric Cantor, R-Va., adding that rather than require them to bear the cost of the bailout, the alternative “pretty much puts the burden on Wall Street over time.”
Well, what the hell. They did the deed! Let 'em pay for it.
Boehner, R-Ohio, the minority leader, was huddling with McCain on the rescue. When asked whether the GOP presidential nominee could corral restive Republicans to support the plan, Boehner said, “Who knows?”
Has anyone told McCain about the phone calls, faxes and emails. Has he grasped the fact that all these bozo's are coming up for re-election? Murky water, McCain. Dangerous water.
Bush told the nation in a televised address Wednesday night that passage of the package his administration has proposed was urgently needed to calm the markets and restore confidence in the reeling financial system.
So who is excited? Not I. Must be the bankers and the politicians. And who gives a shit about them? The media gets so screwed around talking about markets. Who the hell owns any stock? People are trying to get out of paper and get into Silver and Gold. It's called TANGIBLES. This system is screwed and tattooed. Let it fall. We can build something better!
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush’s agreement with Democrats on limiting pay for executives of bailed-out financial institutions and giving taxpayers an equity stake in the companies cleared a significant hurdle.
Someone let Pelsoi get off of her meds. This ain't about executive compensation and it ain't about us peons wanting a stake in the toxic toilet paper. America. the boots on the ground, the people who actually work in this country, want this thing to die a natural death.
It was not immediately clear how lawmakers had resolved differences over how to phase in the unprecedented cost — a step demanded by Democrats and some Republicans who want stronger congressional control over the bailout — without spooking markets. The idea of letting the government take an ownership stake in troubled companies as part of the rescue, rather than just buying bad debt, also has been a topic of intense negotiation.
They got down the road a little bit on this remark. The bail-out ain't passed in Congress as yet. Who gives a shit about the why's and wherefore's?
Frank told The Associated Press Thursday both elements would be included in the legislation.
Frank is a queer and I don't give a shit what he said.
Bush acknowledged Wednesday night that the bailout would be a “tough vote” for lawmakers.
But he said failing to approve it would risk dire consequences for the economy and most Americans.
“Our entire economy is in danger,” he said.
BUSH! You reprobate Bastard! Our economy is in Danger? Where have you been the last year as our food and fuel and utilities have driven us to the financial wall? Where have you been as the words JINGLE MAIL have been coined? Where have you been as decent hardworking people have watched their life savings go down the tube? Where people have to sell their prized possessions to keep the wolf from the door? What planet have you been on, smoking what exotic kind of tobacco? YOU ARE A PLAGUE ON THE HOUSE OF AMERICA. PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO HATE YOU.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
WASHINGTON - Key Republicans and Democrats reported agreement Thursday on an outline for a historic $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, but there was still resistance from rank-and-file House Republicans despite warnings of an impending panic.
The key word is "Key" Democrat and Republicans. This is the leadership. These are the guys who have sold their souls over and over for campaign cash and paid-for vacations and sexual favors and lots of freebies from the fedgov. But like the article says, the rank and file are not too happy. There will be arm twisting going on like crazy. The rank and file are getting told by their constituents to not give the bankers a fucking penny. And election time is coming up! And the mess will not be over then and folks will remember and check on how their congresscritter voted and that will be the ballgame.
“I now expect we will, indeed, have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate, be signed by the president and bring a sense of certainty to this crisis that is still roiling in the market,” Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, said as members of both parties emerged from a two-hour negotiating session.
Something for everybody. All the favored banks will be sure to get a cut of the government largess. How nice.
Negotiators planned to present the outline at a White House meeting later Thursday with President Bush and the rivals to replace him, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barrack Obama.
They will face the man who can ruin the whole country. Kinda daunting if you ask me.
“We’re very confident that we can act expeditiously,” said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman.
They can act fast, but will they have the votes to get it passed? A lot of pressure on those congressmen. Not enough time for people to forget.
Not everyone in the closed-door talks was as optimistic. Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the only House Republican in the bargaining meeting, stopped short of saying he agreed with the other lawmakers on an imminent deal.
“There was progress today,” said Bachus, the senior Republican on the House Financial Services panel.
There was progress, sure enough. But was there anyway they could get it done and not tip off the whole blogosphere? The blogs rule! And they WILL find out the true story. We WILL get the truth and we will vote the bastards out if they don't toe the line. We still have elections in this country and we can damn sure punish anyone who votes for the bail-out. And we haven't even begun to bail anything out! FDIC needs 250 billion dollars for the banks yet to fail. Ain't anyone even thinking about the federal reserve! They are about out of Treasury Bills. And they will want paid! Bet your ass on that! They will reap billions off of this little fiesta.
Later, he issued a statement saying he was not empowered to strike any deals and there was “no agreement other than to continue discussions.”
Ahh, so the talk of a deal is mostly bullshit at this time. Hard to believe a group of congressmen would lie and mislead. Bastards. Throw them out. Let them do time in Attica and dance with Bubba.
Both houses’ Republican leaders, Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell, also issued statements saying there was no agreement.
Now we get the "more true" story. Boehner and McConnell want control and they have to please the critters if they want to stay in power. Vote NO or voted OUT!
Still, the White House called the announcement “a good sign that progress is being made.”
“We’ll want to hear from (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson and take a look at the details. We look forward to a good discussion at the meeting this afternoon,” said Tony Fratto, the deputy White House press secretary.
This type of comment is made for shit-for-brains who vote and not the intelligent few in this country. No brag. Just facts.
A Treasury spokeswoman said the proposal was being reviewed there.
Man! Is this ever an informative statement. They should have said that water was wet and we could have really been enlightened.
On Wall Street, stock prices were up late in the trading day, but not by as much as earlier in the day.
Sounds like the fools got out early today!
The core of the plan proposed by the administration just a few days ago envisions the government buying up sour assets of shaky financial firms in a bid to keep them from going under and to stave off a potentially severe recession.
You ain't going to convince me that this plan has not been sitting on the shelf for weeks, just waiting for the right time to enslave the populace.
Obama and McCain called for a bipartisan effort to deal with the crisis, little more than five weeks before national elections in which the economy has emerged as the dominant theme.
McCain on Wednesday asked Obama to agree to delay their first debate, scheduled for Friday, to deal with the meltdown. Obama said the debate should go ahead.
Call in the maybe guys! Who gives a shit about them at this point?
Congressional negotiators said Thursday there were few obstacles to a final agreement, although no details of an accord were immediately available.
“There really isn’t much of a deadlock to break,” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
And I am going to believe this queer? Lighten up!
But there were fresh signs of trouble in the House Republican Caucus. A group of GOP lawmakers circulated an alternative designed to attract private money back into the credit markets with less government intrusion.
But you just said there was nothing much in the way of an agreement on the bail-out!
Under that proposal, the government would provide insurance to companies that agree to hold frozen assets, rather than purchase them directly as envisioned under the administration’s plan. The firms would have to pay insurance premiums to the Treasury Department for the coverage.
But, but, that would mean that us dumb peon taxpayers might make a buck off of this mess. After the trillion we have loaned out the window at the Federal Reserve. And that has only been about 50 or 60 billion dollars a week this year. Funny how the criminal element in congress never mentions this huge some of money. But we will hear about it when the Federal Reserve needs bailed out! Bastards!
“The taxpayers haven’t done anything wrong,” said Rep Eric Cantor, R-Va., adding that rather than require them to bear the cost of the bailout, the alternative “pretty much puts the burden on Wall Street over time.”
Well, what the hell. They did the deed! Let 'em pay for it.
Boehner, R-Ohio, the minority leader, was huddling with McCain on the rescue. When asked whether the GOP presidential nominee could corral restive Republicans to support the plan, Boehner said, “Who knows?”
Has anyone told McCain about the phone calls, faxes and emails. Has he grasped the fact that all these bozo's are coming up for re-election? Murky water, McCain. Dangerous water.
Bush told the nation in a televised address Wednesday night that passage of the package his administration has proposed was urgently needed to calm the markets and restore confidence in the reeling financial system.
So who is excited? Not I. Must be the bankers and the politicians. And who gives a shit about them? The media gets so screwed around talking about markets. Who the hell owns any stock? People are trying to get out of paper and get into Silver and Gold. It's called TANGIBLES. This system is screwed and tattooed. Let it fall. We can build something better!
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush’s agreement with Democrats on limiting pay for executives of bailed-out financial institutions and giving taxpayers an equity stake in the companies cleared a significant hurdle.
Someone let Pelsoi get off of her meds. This ain't about executive compensation and it ain't about us peons wanting a stake in the toxic toilet paper. America. the boots on the ground, the people who actually work in this country, want this thing to die a natural death.
It was not immediately clear how lawmakers had resolved differences over how to phase in the unprecedented cost — a step demanded by Democrats and some Republicans who want stronger congressional control over the bailout — without spooking markets. The idea of letting the government take an ownership stake in troubled companies as part of the rescue, rather than just buying bad debt, also has been a topic of intense negotiation.
They got down the road a little bit on this remark. The bail-out ain't passed in Congress as yet. Who gives a shit about the why's and wherefore's?
Frank told The Associated Press Thursday both elements would be included in the legislation.
Frank is a queer and I don't give a shit what he said.
Bush acknowledged Wednesday night that the bailout would be a “tough vote” for lawmakers.
But he said failing to approve it would risk dire consequences for the economy and most Americans.
“Our entire economy is in danger,” he said.
BUSH! You reprobate Bastard! Our economy is in Danger? Where have you been the last year as our food and fuel and utilities have driven us to the financial wall? Where have you been as the words JINGLE MAIL have been coined? Where have you been as decent hardworking people have watched their life savings go down the tube? Where people have to sell their prized possessions to keep the wolf from the door? What planet have you been on, smoking what exotic kind of tobacco? YOU ARE A PLAGUE ON THE HOUSE OF AMERICA. PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO HATE YOU.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
POST SCRIPT
I forgot to mention that after the hyper-inflation sets in from the bail-out we will get wage and price controls. That will show us who is boss!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
BULLSHIT AND BRUTALITY
Hey! It's Thursday morning and I am up and going and have read my morning round of survival blogs. It's a nice way to start the day. I have a bad prediction to live with. I thought the price of crude would drop like a stone this week but it has not. I sure hope it does. A lot of people out there depend on the stuff to live.
George Bush wants the Congress to hurry up and pass his emergency bail-out bill so he can reward all of his buddies in the banking and brokerage business before he gets out of office. He wants to have the complete control of the nations housing under his thumb, too. Can you imagine the awful laws that will get passed if we all pay the fedgov for our house? You will have CCTV cameras in every room. The alternate media has reported that 7% of the country is for the bailout and the rest of us are against it. Not that it is doing a damn bit of good but I called my representative and told him to vote NO on the bailout. But it MAY have a decent effect. The bastards in the House are up for re-election come the first Tuesday in November and even the American public can remember something for that long of a time.
The truth of the matter is that people do not want to bail-out the rich at the expense of the poor. I know what happens if "I" make a bad financial decision. I suffer the consequences. Why would Bush think the rich should not suffer for their mistakes? Seems like it is a little crooked to me! Especially with no judicial review over the Secretary of the Treasury regarding his decisions as to who gets what.
What goes around has come around and it is time to pay up or default. I am leaning toward default. I am sick of the whole lot of them.
Big Bear finally got his ass off his fingers and started writing again. And it was worth the wait. You can read him at http://www.bearridgeproject.com/ . His article on three tools for survival was right on! Brutally to the point! My kind of writing.
Stay alive and I'll see you later, God willing.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
George Bush wants the Congress to hurry up and pass his emergency bail-out bill so he can reward all of his buddies in the banking and brokerage business before he gets out of office. He wants to have the complete control of the nations housing under his thumb, too. Can you imagine the awful laws that will get passed if we all pay the fedgov for our house? You will have CCTV cameras in every room. The alternate media has reported that 7% of the country is for the bailout and the rest of us are against it. Not that it is doing a damn bit of good but I called my representative and told him to vote NO on the bailout. But it MAY have a decent effect. The bastards in the House are up for re-election come the first Tuesday in November and even the American public can remember something for that long of a time.
The truth of the matter is that people do not want to bail-out the rich at the expense of the poor. I know what happens if "I" make a bad financial decision. I suffer the consequences. Why would Bush think the rich should not suffer for their mistakes? Seems like it is a little crooked to me! Especially with no judicial review over the Secretary of the Treasury regarding his decisions as to who gets what.
What goes around has come around and it is time to pay up or default. I am leaning toward default. I am sick of the whole lot of them.
Big Bear finally got his ass off his fingers and started writing again. And it was worth the wait. You can read him at http://www.bearridgeproject.com/ . His article on three tools for survival was right on! Brutally to the point! My kind of writing.
Stay alive and I'll see you later, God willing.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
CHINA ELITE EAT ORGANIC EVERYONE ELSE EATS SHIT!
Michael sez: I try and try and try to get people to grow their own food. I try to get them to grow good, clean food. Check this story out! These bastards are like governments everywhere. The people get shit and the elite get the goodies. Get out of town! Grow your own food! Take back some control over your life!
Amid milk scare, China’s elite eat all-organic
Government outlet provides safe, special food for the nation’s leaders
China's top officials are privy to a safe, secure food supply from a special government outfit.
BEIJING - While China grapples with its latest tainted food crisis, the political elite are served the choicest, safest delicacies. They get hormone-free beef from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, organic tea from the foothills of Tibet and rice watered by melted mountain snow.
And it’s all supplied by a special government outfit that provides all-organic goods from farms working under the strictest guidelines.
That secure food supply stands in stark contrast to the frustrations of ordinary citizens who have faced recurring food scandals — vegetables with harmful pesticide residue, fish tainted with a cancer-causing chemical, eggs colored with industrial dye, fake liquor causing blindness or death, holiday pastries with bacteria-laden filling.
Now that the country’s most reputable dairies have been found selling baby formula and other milk products tainted with an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and kidney failure, many Chinese don’t know what to buy. Tens of thousands of children have been sickened and four babies have died.
Citizens' outrageKnowing that their leaders do not face these problems has made some people angry.
“Food safety is a high priority for children and families of government officials, so are normal citizens less entitled to safe food?” asked Zhong Lixun, feeding her 7-month-old grandson baby formula after he got checked for kidney stones at Beijing Children’s Hospital.
The State Council Central Government Offices Special Food Supply Center is specifically designed to avoid the problems troubling the general population.
“We all know that average production facilities use large quantities of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Antibiotics and hormones are commonly used in raising livestock and poultry. Farmed aquatic products are contaminated by various kinds of water pollution,” the center’s director, Zhu Yonglan, said in a speech earlier this year.
“It goes without saying that these are harmful when consumed by humans,” Zhu told executives at supplier Shandong Ke’er Biological Medical Technology Development Co., which posted it on its Web site.
Zhu’s speech has been widely circulated by Chinese Internet users on blogs and forums in recent days, with many expressing outrage that top government officials have a separate — and safer — food supply than the public.
The special food center enforces strict standards on suppliers like Shandong Ke’er, which makes health supplements designed to boost immunity and energy. Foods must be organic, not genetically modified and meet international food standards, said a manager in the center’s product department, who only gave her surname, Zhang.
The reason: its A-list clientele of government officials and retirees of vice minister rank or higher.
It’s not unusual for China’s leadership to have a special food supply; the practice stretches back thousands of years to farms providing ingredients for lavish imperial meals or the greasy, spicy dishes favored by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong.
'Nation A' vs. everyone elseThe former Soviet Union’s ruling classes also ate food that was unavailable to the masses. In North Korea, where withering famines have seen tens of thousands starve over the past 13 years, leader Kim Jong Il is a gourmet known for his love of lobster, shark’s fin soup and sushi. His former private chef has said Kim keeps an extensive collection of vintage French wines.
Set up in 2004, China’s Special Food Supply Center is almost as secretive as its high-end clientele, whose precise number is unclear, but includes hundreds of top political leaders, their families and retired cadres. Much of the information on its Web site was removed after media inquiries and interview requests this week.
Goods deemed to meet the highest standards are stamped with the label “Nation A,” which stands for “top end, irreplaceable, the best,” according to the Web site. Those products are for senior politicians or government offices and not released to the general consumer market, said a customer service agent surnamed Dong.
Rice fed by melted snow from Mt. Changbai, which straddles the China-North Korean border, gets a “Nation A” rating, according to the Web site.
The center scours the country for purveyors in places famous for a particular product, said Zhang, the manager.
These include fish from Hubei province — known traditionally as the “land of fish and rice” — tea from mountainous Yunnan province abutting Tibet, and beef and mutton from the Inner Mongolian steppes, according to Zhu’s speech.
As for rice, some comes from the northeast, grown from seeds specially cultivated by experts from the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said sales manager Wu Honghua of Chifeng Heiyupaozi Organic Agropastoral Development Co.
It “has a very small output. It tastes very good. And it doesn’t involve genetic engineering,” said Wu.
Wu said 90 percent of the rice goes to the Beidaihe Sanitorium — a seaside resort for retired party cadres. The remainder is sold on the market, he said, at $4 a pound — a price five times higher than regular organic rice and 15 times more than the price of ordinary rice.
A brand of organic tea supplied to the center sells for $187 a pound. “It’s fresh and tender, smells good and has a bright color,” said Xia Dan, an employee of the Huiming Tea Co. in eastern Zhejiang province.
The latest food safety scandal began with tainted baby formula from one company, but widened to include products from 22 of China’s dairies. Countries as far away as Kenya and Colombia have banned or recalled Chinese dairy imports, while cakes, candies and other products made with milk products have come under suspicion.
Since the scandal broke earlier this month, sales of Chinese milk have plummeted after top dairies Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co. were found to have sold contaminated milk.
Chinese looking for reassurance have turned to one company not named in any recalls — Sanyuan Foods Ltd.
It proudly advertises that its milk is used for state banquets at the Great Hall of the People and has seen its sales triple in Beijing, while demand has outstripped supply in at least one province. And that’s despite the fact that its price — about $1.60 a quart — is 25 percent higher than other brands.
Amid milk scare, China’s elite eat all-organic
Government outlet provides safe, special food for the nation’s leaders
China's top officials are privy to a safe, secure food supply from a special government outfit.
BEIJING - While China grapples with its latest tainted food crisis, the political elite are served the choicest, safest delicacies. They get hormone-free beef from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, organic tea from the foothills of Tibet and rice watered by melted mountain snow.
And it’s all supplied by a special government outfit that provides all-organic goods from farms working under the strictest guidelines.
That secure food supply stands in stark contrast to the frustrations of ordinary citizens who have faced recurring food scandals — vegetables with harmful pesticide residue, fish tainted with a cancer-causing chemical, eggs colored with industrial dye, fake liquor causing blindness or death, holiday pastries with bacteria-laden filling.
Now that the country’s most reputable dairies have been found selling baby formula and other milk products tainted with an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and kidney failure, many Chinese don’t know what to buy. Tens of thousands of children have been sickened and four babies have died.
Citizens' outrageKnowing that their leaders do not face these problems has made some people angry.
“Food safety is a high priority for children and families of government officials, so are normal citizens less entitled to safe food?” asked Zhong Lixun, feeding her 7-month-old grandson baby formula after he got checked for kidney stones at Beijing Children’s Hospital.
The State Council Central Government Offices Special Food Supply Center is specifically designed to avoid the problems troubling the general population.
“We all know that average production facilities use large quantities of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Antibiotics and hormones are commonly used in raising livestock and poultry. Farmed aquatic products are contaminated by various kinds of water pollution,” the center’s director, Zhu Yonglan, said in a speech earlier this year.
“It goes without saying that these are harmful when consumed by humans,” Zhu told executives at supplier Shandong Ke’er Biological Medical Technology Development Co., which posted it on its Web site.
Zhu’s speech has been widely circulated by Chinese Internet users on blogs and forums in recent days, with many expressing outrage that top government officials have a separate — and safer — food supply than the public.
The special food center enforces strict standards on suppliers like Shandong Ke’er, which makes health supplements designed to boost immunity and energy. Foods must be organic, not genetically modified and meet international food standards, said a manager in the center’s product department, who only gave her surname, Zhang.
The reason: its A-list clientele of government officials and retirees of vice minister rank or higher.
It’s not unusual for China’s leadership to have a special food supply; the practice stretches back thousands of years to farms providing ingredients for lavish imperial meals or the greasy, spicy dishes favored by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong.
'Nation A' vs. everyone elseThe former Soviet Union’s ruling classes also ate food that was unavailable to the masses. In North Korea, where withering famines have seen tens of thousands starve over the past 13 years, leader Kim Jong Il is a gourmet known for his love of lobster, shark’s fin soup and sushi. His former private chef has said Kim keeps an extensive collection of vintage French wines.
Set up in 2004, China’s Special Food Supply Center is almost as secretive as its high-end clientele, whose precise number is unclear, but includes hundreds of top political leaders, their families and retired cadres. Much of the information on its Web site was removed after media inquiries and interview requests this week.
Goods deemed to meet the highest standards are stamped with the label “Nation A,” which stands for “top end, irreplaceable, the best,” according to the Web site. Those products are for senior politicians or government offices and not released to the general consumer market, said a customer service agent surnamed Dong.
Rice fed by melted snow from Mt. Changbai, which straddles the China-North Korean border, gets a “Nation A” rating, according to the Web site.
The center scours the country for purveyors in places famous for a particular product, said Zhang, the manager.
These include fish from Hubei province — known traditionally as the “land of fish and rice” — tea from mountainous Yunnan province abutting Tibet, and beef and mutton from the Inner Mongolian steppes, according to Zhu’s speech.
As for rice, some comes from the northeast, grown from seeds specially cultivated by experts from the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said sales manager Wu Honghua of Chifeng Heiyupaozi Organic Agropastoral Development Co.
It “has a very small output. It tastes very good. And it doesn’t involve genetic engineering,” said Wu.
Wu said 90 percent of the rice goes to the Beidaihe Sanitorium — a seaside resort for retired party cadres. The remainder is sold on the market, he said, at $4 a pound — a price five times higher than regular organic rice and 15 times more than the price of ordinary rice.
A brand of organic tea supplied to the center sells for $187 a pound. “It’s fresh and tender, smells good and has a bright color,” said Xia Dan, an employee of the Huiming Tea Co. in eastern Zhejiang province.
The latest food safety scandal began with tainted baby formula from one company, but widened to include products from 22 of China’s dairies. Countries as far away as Kenya and Colombia have banned or recalled Chinese dairy imports, while cakes, candies and other products made with milk products have come under suspicion.
Since the scandal broke earlier this month, sales of Chinese milk have plummeted after top dairies Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co. were found to have sold contaminated milk.
Chinese looking for reassurance have turned to one company not named in any recalls — Sanyuan Foods Ltd.
It proudly advertises that its milk is used for state banquets at the Great Hall of the People and has seen its sales triple in Beijing, while demand has outstripped supply in at least one province. And that’s despite the fact that its price — about $1.60 a quart — is 25 percent higher than other brands.
A RON PAUL MESSAGE
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Dear Friends,
Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike.
The events of the past week are no exception.
The bailout package that is about to be rammed down Congress' throat is not just economically foolish. It is downright sinister. It makes a mockery of our Constitution, which our leaders should never again bother pretending is still in effect. It promises the American people a never-ending nightmare of ever-greater debt liabilities they will have to shoulder. Two weeks ago, financial analyst Jim Rogers said the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made America more communist than China! "This is welfare for the rich," he said. "This is socialism for the rich. It's bailing out the financiers, the banks, the Wall Streeters."
That describes the current bailout package to a T. And we're being told it's unavoidable.
The claim that the market caused all this is so staggeringly foolish that only politicians and the media could pretend to believe it. But that has become the conventional wisdom, with the desired result that those responsible for the credit bubble and its predictable consequences - predictable, that is, to those who understand sound, Austrian economics - are being let off the hook.. The Federal Reserve System is actually positioning itself as the savior, rather than the culprit, in this mess!
• The Treasury Secretary is authorized to purchase up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets at any one time. That means $700 billion is only the very beginning of what will hit us.
• Financial institutions are "designated as financial agents of the Government." This is the New Deal to end all New Deals.
• Then there's this: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." Translation: the Secretary can buy up whatever junk debt he wants to, burden the American people with it, and be subject to no one in the process.
There goes your country.
Even some so-called free-market economists are calling all this "sadly necessary." Sad, yes. Necessary? Don't make me laugh.
Our one-party system is complicit in yet another crime against the American people. The two major party candidates for president themselves initially indicated their strong support for bailouts of this kind - another example of the big choice we're supposedly presented with this November: yes or yes. Now, with a backlash brewing, they're not quite sure what their views are. A sad display, really.
Although the present bailout package is almost certainly not the end of the political atrocities we'll witness in connection with the crisis, time is short. Congress may vote as soon as tomorrow. With a Rasmussen poll finding support for the bailout at an anemic seven percent, some members of Congress are afraid to vote for it. Call them! Let them hear from you! Tell them you will never vote for anyone who supports this atrocity.
The issue boils down to this: do we care about freedom? Do we care about responsibility and accountability? Do we care that our government and media have been bought and paid for? Do we care that average Americans are about to be looted in order to subsidize the fattest of cats on Wall Street and in government? Do we care?
When the chips are down, will we stand up and fight, even if it means standing up against every stripe of fashionable opinion in politics and the media?
Times like these have a way of telling us what kind of a people we are, and what kind of country we shall be.
In liberty,
Ron Paul
Michael sez: What do you want to bet that this attempt at rationality is trampled underfoot in the streets of Sodom and Egypt? Kiss you country GOOD BYE!
Dear Friends,
Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike.
The events of the past week are no exception.
The bailout package that is about to be rammed down Congress' throat is not just economically foolish. It is downright sinister. It makes a mockery of our Constitution, which our leaders should never again bother pretending is still in effect. It promises the American people a never-ending nightmare of ever-greater debt liabilities they will have to shoulder. Two weeks ago, financial analyst Jim Rogers said the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made America more communist than China! "This is welfare for the rich," he said. "This is socialism for the rich. It's bailing out the financiers, the banks, the Wall Streeters."
That describes the current bailout package to a T. And we're being told it's unavoidable.
The claim that the market caused all this is so staggeringly foolish that only politicians and the media could pretend to believe it. But that has become the conventional wisdom, with the desired result that those responsible for the credit bubble and its predictable consequences - predictable, that is, to those who understand sound, Austrian economics - are being let off the hook.. The Federal Reserve System is actually positioning itself as the savior, rather than the culprit, in this mess!
• The Treasury Secretary is authorized to purchase up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets at any one time. That means $700 billion is only the very beginning of what will hit us.
• Financial institutions are "designated as financial agents of the Government." This is the New Deal to end all New Deals.
• Then there's this: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." Translation: the Secretary can buy up whatever junk debt he wants to, burden the American people with it, and be subject to no one in the process.
There goes your country.
Even some so-called free-market economists are calling all this "sadly necessary." Sad, yes. Necessary? Don't make me laugh.
Our one-party system is complicit in yet another crime against the American people. The two major party candidates for president themselves initially indicated their strong support for bailouts of this kind - another example of the big choice we're supposedly presented with this November: yes or yes. Now, with a backlash brewing, they're not quite sure what their views are. A sad display, really.
Although the present bailout package is almost certainly not the end of the political atrocities we'll witness in connection with the crisis, time is short. Congress may vote as soon as tomorrow. With a Rasmussen poll finding support for the bailout at an anemic seven percent, some members of Congress are afraid to vote for it. Call them! Let them hear from you! Tell them you will never vote for anyone who supports this atrocity.
The issue boils down to this: do we care about freedom? Do we care about responsibility and accountability? Do we care that our government and media have been bought and paid for? Do we care that average Americans are about to be looted in order to subsidize the fattest of cats on Wall Street and in government? Do we care?
When the chips are down, will we stand up and fight, even if it means standing up against every stripe of fashionable opinion in politics and the media?
Times like these have a way of telling us what kind of a people we are, and what kind of country we shall be.
In liberty,
Ron Paul
Michael sez: What do you want to bet that this attempt at rationality is trampled underfoot in the streets of Sodom and Egypt? Kiss you country GOOD BYE!
FRANKLIN SAUNDERS-THE DOOMER
Michael sez: This guy is a doomer without peer. The hard part is thta he might very well be correct!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Financial Industry Bailout Plan - Result Will be a Huge Inflation, if not Hyperinflation and Death of the Dollar
Gold Price Close Today : $885.50 Change: -$18.40 or -2.0%
Silver Price Close Today : $13.120 Change: -28 cents or -2.1%US Dollar Index Today: 76.81 Change: -0.52 or 0.7%
Now the Nuthouse is staging a drama. Senators pretend to resist the plan, while Hank the Honker and Buggsie Ben insist in tears that only the bailout will prevent financial meltdown that will take New York down to the center of the earth. You there! Yes, you alligators! Cry some bigger tears!
Best part of the "Financial Industry Bailout Plan" is that I can't find a copy of it on the web, not even on the Senate's website. Odd, doncherthink? But somebody did send me one little part of it, says that none of it will be subject to judicial review. Yessir, once this fix is in, no judge will be allowed to review or change it.
End of rule of law and other elitist nonsense. Thank you Bush administration, and cooperating politicians.The US DOLLAR INDEX rose 56 basis points today while silver and gold prices fell 28 cents to $13.12 and 18.40 to 885.50. Dollar Index at 76.811. I told y'all to expect from the Nice Government Men a counter-attack on gold and silver to protect their phoney paper dollar, and today might have been it. Don't let it rattle you, it doesn't mean but one thing: a chance for you to buy silver and gold a little a cheaper.
I have to travel the rest of this week, so won't be publishing a commentary Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Keep your eyes on the long-term. The "financial Industry bailout plan" will pass, that's a foregone conclusion. Result will be a HUGE inflation, if not hyperinflation and death of the dollar. Don't think for a minute that the shills and running dogs putting this through don't know what they're doing. They know all right, and they're doing it on purpose.
Occam's Razor demands the simplest answer to any riddle, so we ask, Could they really be that stupid, stupider than any other humans who have ever lived? Or, Are they doing it on purpose? Simplest answer says, On Purpose. Remember it when the time comes.Get out of stocks and dollars, and into silver and gold.Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Financial Industry Bailout Plan - Result Will be a Huge Inflation, if not Hyperinflation and Death of the Dollar
Gold Price Close Today : $885.50 Change: -$18.40 or -2.0%
Silver Price Close Today : $13.120 Change: -28 cents or -2.1%US Dollar Index Today: 76.81 Change: -0.52 or 0.7%
Now the Nuthouse is staging a drama. Senators pretend to resist the plan, while Hank the Honker and Buggsie Ben insist in tears that only the bailout will prevent financial meltdown that will take New York down to the center of the earth. You there! Yes, you alligators! Cry some bigger tears!
Best part of the "Financial Industry Bailout Plan" is that I can't find a copy of it on the web, not even on the Senate's website. Odd, doncherthink? But somebody did send me one little part of it, says that none of it will be subject to judicial review. Yessir, once this fix is in, no judge will be allowed to review or change it.
End of rule of law and other elitist nonsense. Thank you Bush administration, and cooperating politicians.The US DOLLAR INDEX rose 56 basis points today while silver and gold prices fell 28 cents to $13.12 and 18.40 to 885.50. Dollar Index at 76.811. I told y'all to expect from the Nice Government Men a counter-attack on gold and silver to protect their phoney paper dollar, and today might have been it. Don't let it rattle you, it doesn't mean but one thing: a chance for you to buy silver and gold a little a cheaper.
I have to travel the rest of this week, so won't be publishing a commentary Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Keep your eyes on the long-term. The "financial Industry bailout plan" will pass, that's a foregone conclusion. Result will be a HUGE inflation, if not hyperinflation and death of the dollar. Don't think for a minute that the shills and running dogs putting this through don't know what they're doing. They know all right, and they're doing it on purpose.
Occam's Razor demands the simplest answer to any riddle, so we ask, Could they really be that stupid, stupider than any other humans who have ever lived? Or, Are they doing it on purpose? Simplest answer says, On Purpose. Remember it when the time comes.Get out of stocks and dollars, and into silver and gold.Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought.
FIVE TRILLION NEEDED?
Michael sez: I stole this one from Bloomberg. This Ohmae fella is awfully generous with other peoples money! But we gotta save those Elite Bankers!
$5 Trillion Cash Pool Needed to Stop Rout, Ohmae Says
By Bei Hu
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion plan to buy devalued assets from financial companies is ``a joke'' because it doesn't go far enough to calm markets, said Kenichi Ohmae, president of Business Breakthrough Inc.
Ohmae, nicknamed ``Mr. Strategy'' during his 23 years as a McKinsey & Co. partner, called for a $5 trillion ``international facility'' to be made available to financial institutions. The system could be modeled on one used by Sweden during its banking crisis in the early 1990s, he said.
``This is a liquidity crisis,'' Ohmae said at an investor forum hosted by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, the regional broking arm of Credit Agricole SA, in Hong Kong yesterday. ``The liquidity has to be so big that people won't get panicky.''
Paulson's proposal to remove hard-to-sell assets clogging the financial system marks the broadest intervention since at least the Great Depression. Asian stocks fell today, following U.S. shares lower as investors questioned whether the effort is enough to prevent a recession.
The plan came after the collapse of 158-year-old Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the government takeover of insurer American International Group Inc. caused financial markets to seize up last week. The calamity was the culmination of a year during which the U.S. housing market slump left banks and securities firms with more than $520 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses.
Yesterday, Paulson and lawmakers narrowed their differences on the plan and agreed that the U.S. should get equity in participating companies.
Hard to Coordinate
Ohmae, 65, is the author of management books including ``The Mind of The Strategist,'' ``The Borderless World'' and ``The End of the Nation State.'' Business Breakthrough, founded in 1998, provides online management training.
One way of funding the $5 trillion facility would be through contributions from foreign exchange reserves in China, Japan, Taiwan, the Gulf states, the European Union and Russia, Ohmae said.
An international relief effort on that scale might be difficult to coordinate, said Robert Howe, founder of Hong Kong- based hedge fund manager Geomatrix (HK) Ltd., which oversees $32 million. ``I doubt the practicality of getting international cooperation on something like this,'' he said.
Ohmae compared the current financial crisis with Japan's 15- year economic decline that began in 1989. Both started with a property bubble, which wiped out companies' equity when it burst, and like in Japan, the current one could lead to escalating bankruptcies as banks worried about their own survival rein in lending, he said.
`Viagra' Economy
The financial-market upheaval may lead to slower growth in China and the reversal of the commodity boom as ship orders are canceled and steel supply dumped, said Ohmae. What Ohmae called Japan's ``Viagra'' economy and Australia's ``dig and deliver'' boom may also fizzle as China weakens, he said.
Against the backdrop of a potential global market panic, Paulson's plan is insufficient, said Ohmae. Paulson is a former chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world's biggest securities firm.
``He wants to fix problems one by one as if he were still the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs,'' he said. ``He has to take his CEO hat completely off and come up with a systemic solution as opposed to a one-by-one solution.''
$5 Trillion Cash Pool Needed to Stop Rout, Ohmae Says
By Bei Hu
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion plan to buy devalued assets from financial companies is ``a joke'' because it doesn't go far enough to calm markets, said Kenichi Ohmae, president of Business Breakthrough Inc.
Ohmae, nicknamed ``Mr. Strategy'' during his 23 years as a McKinsey & Co. partner, called for a $5 trillion ``international facility'' to be made available to financial institutions. The system could be modeled on one used by Sweden during its banking crisis in the early 1990s, he said.
``This is a liquidity crisis,'' Ohmae said at an investor forum hosted by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, the regional broking arm of Credit Agricole SA, in Hong Kong yesterday. ``The liquidity has to be so big that people won't get panicky.''
Paulson's proposal to remove hard-to-sell assets clogging the financial system marks the broadest intervention since at least the Great Depression. Asian stocks fell today, following U.S. shares lower as investors questioned whether the effort is enough to prevent a recession.
The plan came after the collapse of 158-year-old Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the government takeover of insurer American International Group Inc. caused financial markets to seize up last week. The calamity was the culmination of a year during which the U.S. housing market slump left banks and securities firms with more than $520 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses.
Yesterday, Paulson and lawmakers narrowed their differences on the plan and agreed that the U.S. should get equity in participating companies.
Hard to Coordinate
Ohmae, 65, is the author of management books including ``The Mind of The Strategist,'' ``The Borderless World'' and ``The End of the Nation State.'' Business Breakthrough, founded in 1998, provides online management training.
One way of funding the $5 trillion facility would be through contributions from foreign exchange reserves in China, Japan, Taiwan, the Gulf states, the European Union and Russia, Ohmae said.
An international relief effort on that scale might be difficult to coordinate, said Robert Howe, founder of Hong Kong- based hedge fund manager Geomatrix (HK) Ltd., which oversees $32 million. ``I doubt the practicality of getting international cooperation on something like this,'' he said.
Ohmae compared the current financial crisis with Japan's 15- year economic decline that began in 1989. Both started with a property bubble, which wiped out companies' equity when it burst, and like in Japan, the current one could lead to escalating bankruptcies as banks worried about their own survival rein in lending, he said.
`Viagra' Economy
The financial-market upheaval may lead to slower growth in China and the reversal of the commodity boom as ship orders are canceled and steel supply dumped, said Ohmae. What Ohmae called Japan's ``Viagra'' economy and Australia's ``dig and deliver'' boom may also fizzle as China weakens, he said.
Against the backdrop of a potential global market panic, Paulson's plan is insufficient, said Ohmae. Paulson is a former chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world's biggest securities firm.
``He wants to fix problems one by one as if he were still the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs,'' he said. ``He has to take his CEO hat completely off and come up with a systemic solution as opposed to a one-by-one solution.''
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
AN ANALYSIS OF YESTERDAY
[Got this off of itulip.com]
Stock market falls 372 points, gold back over $900. Another ho-hum day at the government run casino.
Gold and oil investors on the other side of the trade roared back after cowering in the corner for a few weeks after the US Treasury, the Bank of Japan and a few other friends of the Fed ganged up on the short financials/long commodities trade popular among the world's hedge funds, desperate to protect their clients' wealth from the ravages of currency value destruction. That intervention sent oil and gold tumbling, but with the prospect of an exchange of a trillion bonars for a pile of now worthless high-concept securities, the trade is back with a vengeance.
Over the weekend our Finance Minister Hank Paulson poured out promises of a quick fix and return to "normal" – endless asset price inflation and over-consumption funded by it. All it will cost is the next generation’s savings on top of the current generation’s already committed. In for a penny in for a dollar.Yesterday our Congress shocked us not only by showing up for work but showing the audacity to step up to – gasp! – ask questions about the Treasury's power grab.
For the first time since this crisis started in the spring of 2007 Congress pushed back on our Finance Minister’s demands. If not directly confronting or even doubting they at least wondered aloud why we need allow him and his unknown successors and assorted minions to do whatever they deem necessary for a period of two years, at the pleasure of the secretary’s office, to return the US financial system to its rightful place as the world’s most deep and transparent, even as the veneer of trust flakes off to reveal shallowness and opacity.
As Marshall McLuhanisms once said, "Mud sometimes gives the illusion of depth."
One US representative reared up on his hind legs to suggest that perhaps, just maybe, the Minister might recuse himself from these proceedings as his former employer is counted among the now very limited two item menu of investment banks remaining of a 150 year tradition of capitalism in America, Goldman Sacks and JP Morgan, all other competitors now summarily wiped out. Also, and, well, gee (and – gosh) while we're on the subject, they aren't even investment banks anymore.
The Fed on Monday made the two winners of the US Investment Bank Survivor Show – presto! – into bank holding companies so that they may swallow what is left of the assets of 1,000 or so bank failures, as estimated by reliable sources, waiting in the wings. Is that, you know, like, constitutional? Last time this happened, after the Savings & Loan fiasco, the government created the Resolution Trust Corporation so that any value that might possibly be recovered in the assets of those Frankenstein creations of deregulation and corruption stood a chance of recapture by tax payers, to minimize the damage. Fair value for those assets was assured by their sale on the open market. Not this time. We may never know what Goldman and JP Morgan will in the future pay for the assets that they are now politically lined up to receive at a discount.
Of course, the truth is that most of the securitized debt is completely worthless – so should we complain that any value they might have will be snagged by private banks behind closed doors? Too late now. Instead of decision making authority Congress will demand transparency, dutiful reporting of decisions after the fact.Transparency. There’s a word I’d like to see banished from the finance lexicon. Let’s replace it with a venerable yet less popular word: honesty.Enron was transparent. It provided all of the data it was asked for in unfathomable volumes and right on time. US accounting firms with once honored names swore by them.But they were all lying.Can Secretary Paulson be trusted? Maybe so or maybe not. But if Congress passes this measure to give him even a fraction of the power he is asking for, they may as well cancel the upcoming presidential election in the same vote.
It won’t matter anyway.
Stock market falls 372 points, gold back over $900. Another ho-hum day at the government run casino.
Gold and oil investors on the other side of the trade roared back after cowering in the corner for a few weeks after the US Treasury, the Bank of Japan and a few other friends of the Fed ganged up on the short financials/long commodities trade popular among the world's hedge funds, desperate to protect their clients' wealth from the ravages of currency value destruction. That intervention sent oil and gold tumbling, but with the prospect of an exchange of a trillion bonars for a pile of now worthless high-concept securities, the trade is back with a vengeance.
Over the weekend our Finance Minister Hank Paulson poured out promises of a quick fix and return to "normal" – endless asset price inflation and over-consumption funded by it. All it will cost is the next generation’s savings on top of the current generation’s already committed. In for a penny in for a dollar.Yesterday our Congress shocked us not only by showing up for work but showing the audacity to step up to – gasp! – ask questions about the Treasury's power grab.
For the first time since this crisis started in the spring of 2007 Congress pushed back on our Finance Minister’s demands. If not directly confronting or even doubting they at least wondered aloud why we need allow him and his unknown successors and assorted minions to do whatever they deem necessary for a period of two years, at the pleasure of the secretary’s office, to return the US financial system to its rightful place as the world’s most deep and transparent, even as the veneer of trust flakes off to reveal shallowness and opacity.
As Marshall McLuhanisms once said, "Mud sometimes gives the illusion of depth."
One US representative reared up on his hind legs to suggest that perhaps, just maybe, the Minister might recuse himself from these proceedings as his former employer is counted among the now very limited two item menu of investment banks remaining of a 150 year tradition of capitalism in America, Goldman Sacks and JP Morgan, all other competitors now summarily wiped out. Also, and, well, gee (and – gosh) while we're on the subject, they aren't even investment banks anymore.
The Fed on Monday made the two winners of the US Investment Bank Survivor Show – presto! – into bank holding companies so that they may swallow what is left of the assets of 1,000 or so bank failures, as estimated by reliable sources, waiting in the wings. Is that, you know, like, constitutional? Last time this happened, after the Savings & Loan fiasco, the government created the Resolution Trust Corporation so that any value that might possibly be recovered in the assets of those Frankenstein creations of deregulation and corruption stood a chance of recapture by tax payers, to minimize the damage. Fair value for those assets was assured by their sale on the open market. Not this time. We may never know what Goldman and JP Morgan will in the future pay for the assets that they are now politically lined up to receive at a discount.
Of course, the truth is that most of the securitized debt is completely worthless – so should we complain that any value they might have will be snagged by private banks behind closed doors? Too late now. Instead of decision making authority Congress will demand transparency, dutiful reporting of decisions after the fact.Transparency. There’s a word I’d like to see banished from the finance lexicon. Let’s replace it with a venerable yet less popular word: honesty.Enron was transparent. It provided all of the data it was asked for in unfathomable volumes and right on time. US accounting firms with once honored names swore by them.But they were all lying.Can Secretary Paulson be trusted? Maybe so or maybe not. But if Congress passes this measure to give him even a fraction of the power he is asking for, they may as well cancel the upcoming presidential election in the same vote.
It won’t matter anyway.
TUESDAY RAMBLING
Bailout, bailout, bailout. I am so sick of this bailout talk I could puke! It's just a rip-off of the taxpayers and we might as well get ready for it because the crooks in Congress are ready to feast and we are picking up the tab. A trillion dollars to make the big boys dreams all come true. We are so generous!
We would be ahead just paying the mortgages off for the first amount of people who owe a total of a trillion dollars and just handing them the deed. You talk about an economic stimulus. Man! All those 'about to be homeless' people are suddenly free of house payments. They can go spend, spend, spend! Consumerism would go rampant across the nation. Car sales would get a big boost as would electronics and clothing. Vacations would be popular again. All of a sudden credit cards would be a booming business as America scrambled to get back into debt. State governments would find their coffers filling at a rapid rate from all the spending and sales tax money. Extra people would be hired to handle the extra work. More income tax would be going to the fedgov. You talk about "Happy Days Are Here Again"!
But I can leave this fantasy and get back to prepping. I just got 3 boxes of powdered milk. I have never bought powdered milk before, but I have now. I have a method of making it I got from one of the Brothers here in the valley. He figured out how to make it taste like regular milk. You mix it up and let it sit over night in a fridge, stirring when convenient. 24 hours will make it taste like real milk. Just mixing it up and drinking it will not get the job done. The Handmaiden got some Paw Paws the other day and we now have Paw Paw bread. A Paw Paw is called an Indiana Banana and that is exactly what the bread tastes like: Banana Bread. She just finished a loaf of Irish Soda Bread and I have eaten some of it already. We just recently finished a loaf of no-knead bread from a recipe out of Backwoodsman Magazine. Pretty damn good bread.
I am thinking I will not buy extra blades for my bow saw. The extra blades are only a $1 cheaper than buying the whole saw at Chinamart. Why fool with it?
I bought 10 jars of Peanut Butter at Aldi's yesterday. Aldi's has good prices but there is nothing on the label of the merchandise that tells you the country of origin of the product. I don't like that. There are over 50,000 cases of people getting sick in China from bad milk. Got any food on your shelf that has milk from China in it? Don't bother to look cause the info ain't there. It got noised about the halls of Congress to do something about identifying country of origin a couple months ago but nothing ever came of it. But they damn sure do it in other countries. Not America, however. We play food roulette when we shop. Just do your damnedest to eat fresh and eat local and eat clean. If your salad had to travel 1500 miles to get to your table it ain't worth it, believe me. And don't buy Pork from Islamic nations. You ain't gonna catch a break from any of that trade at all.
I'll go for now. Stay alive and well and alert.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
We would be ahead just paying the mortgages off for the first amount of people who owe a total of a trillion dollars and just handing them the deed. You talk about an economic stimulus. Man! All those 'about to be homeless' people are suddenly free of house payments. They can go spend, spend, spend! Consumerism would go rampant across the nation. Car sales would get a big boost as would electronics and clothing. Vacations would be popular again. All of a sudden credit cards would be a booming business as America scrambled to get back into debt. State governments would find their coffers filling at a rapid rate from all the spending and sales tax money. Extra people would be hired to handle the extra work. More income tax would be going to the fedgov. You talk about "Happy Days Are Here Again"!
But I can leave this fantasy and get back to prepping. I just got 3 boxes of powdered milk. I have never bought powdered milk before, but I have now. I have a method of making it I got from one of the Brothers here in the valley. He figured out how to make it taste like regular milk. You mix it up and let it sit over night in a fridge, stirring when convenient. 24 hours will make it taste like real milk. Just mixing it up and drinking it will not get the job done. The Handmaiden got some Paw Paws the other day and we now have Paw Paw bread. A Paw Paw is called an Indiana Banana and that is exactly what the bread tastes like: Banana Bread. She just finished a loaf of Irish Soda Bread and I have eaten some of it already. We just recently finished a loaf of no-knead bread from a recipe out of Backwoodsman Magazine. Pretty damn good bread.
I am thinking I will not buy extra blades for my bow saw. The extra blades are only a $1 cheaper than buying the whole saw at Chinamart. Why fool with it?
I bought 10 jars of Peanut Butter at Aldi's yesterday. Aldi's has good prices but there is nothing on the label of the merchandise that tells you the country of origin of the product. I don't like that. There are over 50,000 cases of people getting sick in China from bad milk. Got any food on your shelf that has milk from China in it? Don't bother to look cause the info ain't there. It got noised about the halls of Congress to do something about identifying country of origin a couple months ago but nothing ever came of it. But they damn sure do it in other countries. Not America, however. We play food roulette when we shop. Just do your damnedest to eat fresh and eat local and eat clean. If your salad had to travel 1500 miles to get to your table it ain't worth it, believe me. And don't buy Pork from Islamic nations. You ain't gonna catch a break from any of that trade at all.
I'll go for now. Stay alive and well and alert.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Monday, September 22, 2008
OBAMA CAMPAIGN FUNDS???
Uncle Vlad strikes again!
The fact that Maureen Dowd and the New York Times are questioning the sources of Obama's funding is surprising in and of itself.
The fact that they are pointing to sources in the Arabic world is frightening.
Is America for sale to the Arabs? To the Taliban supporters?
Maureen Dowd, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, became a columnist on The New York Times Op-Ed page in 1995 after having served as a correspondent in the paper's Washington bureau since 1986. She has covered four presidential campaigns and served as White House correspondent. She also wrote a column, "On Washington," for The New York Times Magazine.
Ms. Dowd joined The New York Times as a metropolitan reporter in 1983. She began her career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for The Washington Star, where she later became a sports columnist, metropolitan reporter and feature writer. When the Star closed in 1981, she went to Time magazine.
Born in Washington D.C., Ms. Dowd received a B.A. degree in English literature from Catholic University (Washington, D.C.) in201973.
WHERE DID OBAMA’S MONEY COME FROM???????
Subject: New York Times Editorial
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: June 29, 2008
Certainly the most interesting and potentially devastating.
OBAMA’S TROUBLING INTERNET FUND RAISING
Certainly the most interesting and potentially devastating phone call I have received during this election cycle came this week from one of the Obama’s campaign internet geeks. These are the staffers who devised Obama’s internet fund raising campaign which raised in the neighborhood of $200 million so far. That is more then twice the total funds raised by any candidate in history and this was all from the internet campaign.
What I learned from this insider was shocking but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that when it comes to fund raising there simply are no rules that can’t be broken and no ethics that prevail.
Obama’s internet campaign started out innocently enough with basic e-mail networking , lists saved from previous party campaigns and from supporters who visited any of the Obama campaign web sites.
Small contributions came in from these sources and the internet campaign staff were more than pleased by the results.
Then, about two months into the campaign the daily contribution intake multiplied. Where was it coming from? One of the web site security monitors began to notice the bulk of the contributions were clearly coming in from overseas internet service providers and at the rate and frequency of transmission it was clear these donations were “programmed” by a very sophisticated user.
While the security people were not able to track most of the sources due to firewalls and other blocking devices put on these contributions they were able to collate the number of contributions that were coming in seemingly from individuals but the funds were from only a few credit card accounts and bank electronic funds transfers. The internet service providers (ISP) they were able to trace were from Saudi Arabia , Iran , and other Middle Eastern countries. One of the banks used for fund transfers was also located in Saudi Arabia .
Another concentrated group of donations was traced to a Chinese ISP with a similar pattern of limited credit card charges.
It became clear that these donations were very likely coming from sources other than American voters. This was discussed at length within the campaign and the decision was made that none of these donations violated campaign financing laws.
It was also decided that it was not the responsibility of the campaign to audit these millions of contributions as to the actual source (specific credit card number or bank transfer account numbers) to insure that none of these internet contributors exceeded the legal maximum donation on a cumulative basis of many small donations. They also found the record keeping was not complete enough to do it anyway.
This is a shocking revelation.
We have been concerned about the legality of “bundling” contributions after the recent exposure of illegal bundlers but now it appears we may have an even greater problem.
I guess we should have been somewhat suspicious when the numbers started to come out. We were told (no proof offered) that the Obama internet contributions were from $10.00 to $25.00 or so.
If the $200,000,000 is right, and the average contribution was $15.00, that would mean over 13 million individuals made contributions? That would also be 13 million contributions would need to be processed. How did all that happen?
I believe the Obama campaign’s internet fund raising needs a serious, in depth investigation and audit. It also appears the whole question of internet fund raising needs investigation by the legislature and perhaps new laws to insure it complies not only with the letter of these laws but the spirit as well.
IS IT RIGHT FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO HAVE AN INVESTMENT IN WHO BECOMES OUR NEXT PRESIDENT??? IF YOU ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THIS, PLEASE PASS IT ON.
The fact that the NY Times allowed this to be printed is amazing in itself.
The fact that Maureen Dowd and the New York Times are questioning the sources of Obama's funding is surprising in and of itself.
The fact that they are pointing to sources in the Arabic world is frightening.
Is America for sale to the Arabs? To the Taliban supporters?
Maureen Dowd, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, became a columnist on The New York Times Op-Ed page in 1995 after having served as a correspondent in the paper's Washington bureau since 1986. She has covered four presidential campaigns and served as White House correspondent. She also wrote a column, "On Washington," for The New York Times Magazine.
Ms. Dowd joined The New York Times as a metropolitan reporter in 1983. She began her career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for The Washington Star, where she later became a sports columnist, metropolitan reporter and feature writer. When the Star closed in 1981, she went to Time magazine.
Born in Washington D.C., Ms. Dowd received a B.A. degree in English literature from Catholic University (Washington, D.C.) in201973.
WHERE DID OBAMA’S MONEY COME FROM???????
Subject: New York Times Editorial
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: June 29, 2008
Certainly the most interesting and potentially devastating.
OBAMA’S TROUBLING INTERNET FUND RAISING
Certainly the most interesting and potentially devastating phone call I have received during this election cycle came this week from one of the Obama’s campaign internet geeks. These are the staffers who devised Obama’s internet fund raising campaign which raised in the neighborhood of $200 million so far. That is more then twice the total funds raised by any candidate in history and this was all from the internet campaign.
What I learned from this insider was shocking but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that when it comes to fund raising there simply are no rules that can’t be broken and no ethics that prevail.
Obama’s internet campaign started out innocently enough with basic e-mail networking , lists saved from previous party campaigns and from supporters who visited any of the Obama campaign web sites.
Small contributions came in from these sources and the internet campaign staff were more than pleased by the results.
Then, about two months into the campaign the daily contribution intake multiplied. Where was it coming from? One of the web site security monitors began to notice the bulk of the contributions were clearly coming in from overseas internet service providers and at the rate and frequency of transmission it was clear these donations were “programmed” by a very sophisticated user.
While the security people were not able to track most of the sources due to firewalls and other blocking devices put on these contributions they were able to collate the number of contributions that were coming in seemingly from individuals but the funds were from only a few credit card accounts and bank electronic funds transfers. The internet service providers (ISP) they were able to trace were from Saudi Arabia , Iran , and other Middle Eastern countries. One of the banks used for fund transfers was also located in Saudi Arabia .
Another concentrated group of donations was traced to a Chinese ISP with a similar pattern of limited credit card charges.
It became clear that these donations were very likely coming from sources other than American voters. This was discussed at length within the campaign and the decision was made that none of these donations violated campaign financing laws.
It was also decided that it was not the responsibility of the campaign to audit these millions of contributions as to the actual source (specific credit card number or bank transfer account numbers) to insure that none of these internet contributors exceeded the legal maximum donation on a cumulative basis of many small donations. They also found the record keeping was not complete enough to do it anyway.
This is a shocking revelation.
We have been concerned about the legality of “bundling” contributions after the recent exposure of illegal bundlers but now it appears we may have an even greater problem.
I guess we should have been somewhat suspicious when the numbers started to come out. We were told (no proof offered) that the Obama internet contributions were from $10.00 to $25.00 or so.
If the $200,000,000 is right, and the average contribution was $15.00, that would mean over 13 million individuals made contributions? That would also be 13 million contributions would need to be processed. How did all that happen?
I believe the Obama campaign’s internet fund raising needs a serious, in depth investigation and audit. It also appears the whole question of internet fund raising needs investigation by the legislature and perhaps new laws to insure it complies not only with the letter of these laws but the spirit as well.
IS IT RIGHT FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO HAVE AN INVESTMENT IN WHO BECOMES OUR NEXT PRESIDENT??? IF YOU ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THIS, PLEASE PASS IT ON.
The fact that the NY Times allowed this to be printed is amazing in itself.
PREPS AND MARKETS AND FRIENDS
It has been a day. I mean a real day. Went to town and bought some preppin's. Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Sliced Carrots and Fruit Cocktail. Loved every minute of it. Also bought some Peanut Butter and 3 boxes of iodized salt. I am really up for this! The Handmaiden put it all up in the stash and it is looking good. The inventory is showing us short of coffee and we will work on that next month. But prepping is a never ending job. You never get there unless you have a gazillion dollars and a nutritionist to buy for you and the room to store it. But it's fun.
I got the word today on the sudden jump in oil prices. Brokers have been selling naked shorts again and this time in the oil market. Today was the day they had to either make up the shorts or go to Attica and dance with Bubba. So you either went into the market and paid what they asked and accept being violated metaphorically or go to Attica and experience the real thing. I would have bought the oil, yessir. So that is what you saw in reality. It had nothing to do with the new program that Bush is trying to institute. It was a move necessitated for avoiding prison time. Simple as that. Don't listen to the crap the media will tell you about this. Tomorrow should show you the price of oil dropping like a stone. Ho hum.
I typed a long post today for someone who wants to learn about gardening. Kind of a private lesson. It is amazing how long a post you can type without getting too deep in your subject. There is just a lot to learn. Maybe I ought to make a book and publish it on the internet. I am sure to get rich at it. Hah!
I have some free goodies coming for my medical kit. Best kind of goodies you can get! That medical kit needs to be fattened up for the days ahead. You never know who is going to get hurt and need attention.
The Handmaiden made some more Elderberry Syrup to day and gave a pint away to my neighbor. Lotta kids over there and they will need the juice. Handmaiden gave the woman the dosage protocols. Everybody is doing better.
I will close for now and relax a little. It has not been unpleasant today but it sure has been interesting! Keep prepping and stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
I got the word today on the sudden jump in oil prices. Brokers have been selling naked shorts again and this time in the oil market. Today was the day they had to either make up the shorts or go to Attica and dance with Bubba. So you either went into the market and paid what they asked and accept being violated metaphorically or go to Attica and experience the real thing. I would have bought the oil, yessir. So that is what you saw in reality. It had nothing to do with the new program that Bush is trying to institute. It was a move necessitated for avoiding prison time. Simple as that. Don't listen to the crap the media will tell you about this. Tomorrow should show you the price of oil dropping like a stone. Ho hum.
I typed a long post today for someone who wants to learn about gardening. Kind of a private lesson. It is amazing how long a post you can type without getting too deep in your subject. There is just a lot to learn. Maybe I ought to make a book and publish it on the internet. I am sure to get rich at it. Hah!
I have some free goodies coming for my medical kit. Best kind of goodies you can get! That medical kit needs to be fattened up for the days ahead. You never know who is going to get hurt and need attention.
The Handmaiden made some more Elderberry Syrup to day and gave a pint away to my neighbor. Lotta kids over there and they will need the juice. Handmaiden gave the woman the dosage protocols. Everybody is doing better.
I will close for now and relax a little. It has not been unpleasant today but it sure has been interesting! Keep prepping and stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Sunday, September 21, 2008
SUNDAY NIGHT RUMINATIONS
Lots of stuff on the net about the coming bail-out of the banks. Most folks act like it is a foregone conclusion that Congress will pass this horrific bill and the rest will be history. Looks like Dubya's legacy is not going to be an attack on Iran but an attack on the economy of this nation.
I have been reading comments on different websites around the country and most people seem to be very skeptical of this move, this rescue of our 'system'. Comments I get in phone calls are very similar. Most people feel it is a rip-off of the poor to pay off the rich. They made a bunch of bad loans, maybe a couple trillion dollars worth, and now we are going to make it all better for them. Poor little lambs. Hmm. I could use some lamb chops right about now. So the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
One of my friends here at home said he emailed our congressman and told him to NOT vote for this bail-out bill. You know, a lot of people buy homes on a personal contract with the seller. It's done all the time. And if you default you give the house back to the seller and get your ass on down the road. But this can't work for the banks, I guess. They can't fix a house up and re-sell it. Probably too demeaning for a banker. They just shuffle papers. But these big buildings in New York City are full of people who run this kind of paper across their desk and finance houses. They never see the house they finance. It's just a number to them. An entry on the corporate books. There is no community, no sharing of the load, no involvement except to make an entry on a piece of paper. Sounds like a perfect way to mess something up entirely. When it gets out of hand they call the fedgov and they come in and bail it all out. And the banks don't lose a cent. But you and I will lose lots of money over it.
And I am so tired of this shit. It is a daily grind on my soul to see the next big move of our governmental masters. And they call it a Republic. My ass! It's a fascist state if I ever saw one and this Bush fella is the prime mover of it. He and his neo-con buddies have really done a number on us. When I as a kid I would never have believed it. It was beyond comprehension to think of America being in the shape she is in. And now they want more money to bail out foreign investment people who own blocks of mortgages. We are bailing out the world!
So be it. I will buy more preps tomorrow. I ain't giving up. My son asked me if I could stand it if things went back to normal and there was no hard times. I said, "Sure." No problem. I can always eat the preps! Nothing else will go bad anyhow. He is not a true believer in the up and coming national disaster like his Father. But he will get it sooner or later. And like I said, this is dress rehearsal. We get an idea of what we can do from this experience. We get a feel of the actions involved in trying to stay alive. And that is good. My close friends around the country are prepped and ready. Some may even be packed and ready to come to Indiana. You just never can tell, can you?
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
I have been reading comments on different websites around the country and most people seem to be very skeptical of this move, this rescue of our 'system'. Comments I get in phone calls are very similar. Most people feel it is a rip-off of the poor to pay off the rich. They made a bunch of bad loans, maybe a couple trillion dollars worth, and now we are going to make it all better for them. Poor little lambs. Hmm. I could use some lamb chops right about now. So the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
One of my friends here at home said he emailed our congressman and told him to NOT vote for this bail-out bill. You know, a lot of people buy homes on a personal contract with the seller. It's done all the time. And if you default you give the house back to the seller and get your ass on down the road. But this can't work for the banks, I guess. They can't fix a house up and re-sell it. Probably too demeaning for a banker. They just shuffle papers. But these big buildings in New York City are full of people who run this kind of paper across their desk and finance houses. They never see the house they finance. It's just a number to them. An entry on the corporate books. There is no community, no sharing of the load, no involvement except to make an entry on a piece of paper. Sounds like a perfect way to mess something up entirely. When it gets out of hand they call the fedgov and they come in and bail it all out. And the banks don't lose a cent. But you and I will lose lots of money over it.
And I am so tired of this shit. It is a daily grind on my soul to see the next big move of our governmental masters. And they call it a Republic. My ass! It's a fascist state if I ever saw one and this Bush fella is the prime mover of it. He and his neo-con buddies have really done a number on us. When I as a kid I would never have believed it. It was beyond comprehension to think of America being in the shape she is in. And now they want more money to bail out foreign investment people who own blocks of mortgages. We are bailing out the world!
So be it. I will buy more preps tomorrow. I ain't giving up. My son asked me if I could stand it if things went back to normal and there was no hard times. I said, "Sure." No problem. I can always eat the preps! Nothing else will go bad anyhow. He is not a true believer in the up and coming national disaster like his Father. But he will get it sooner or later. And like I said, this is dress rehearsal. We get an idea of what we can do from this experience. We get a feel of the actions involved in trying to stay alive. And that is good. My close friends around the country are prepped and ready. Some may even be packed and ready to come to Indiana. You just never can tell, can you?
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
SLEIGHT OF HAND
Go to http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/09/us-taxpayers-are-paying-to-bail-out.html and read this sort little post. It seems we are bailing out foreign speculators. And it seems like this is not the first pile of cash to be given to the foreign investors. But you can get this data from the article just like I did.
I would just like to say the my name and signature is not on ONE FUCKING PIECE OF PAPER THE PURPORTS TO BUY OUT THESE BASTARDS! They play fast and loose with huge amounts of dollars, raking in the billions while the getting is good and then when it falls on it's ass they have us pick up the tab. I DENY ANY SUPPORT OF THIS ACTIVITY.
I would like to tell you that the bail-out of all of this toxic paper bullshit is done with a little slight of hand. Something else you don't get told about. Funny how these little things are somehow overlooked. There is two ways that I know of that are used in pricing anything of asset value. That ain't saying there ain't any more. But assets can be Marked to Model or they can be Marked to Market. Marked to Model is claiming an asset at the price for which it was sold to begin with. Say a house was sold as a million dollar structure in 2004. The mortgage can be continued as Marked to Model and it is listed on the books as a million dollar home. The bank holding that mortgage can continue to declare it to be worth a million bucks. The other method of rating an asset is to Mark to Model or call it's value at the current market price. And that might only be $600,000 in our current distress. But you can see what a vast difference there is in rating the worth of an asset.
OUR GOVERNMENT IS BUYING ALL THESE TOXIC MORTGAGES UP AS MARKED TO MODEL! The banks get away completely clean. Scot free! All profits are made as planned and the people get left holding the bag of toxic toilet paper. What a deal!
Doesn't this just make your morning? Aren't you happy now at the generosity of your fedgov toward the kindly bankers? The same guys who just tried to short the Silver market.
GET OUT OF DEBT. GET INTO TANGIBLES. BULLETS, BEANS, BAND-AIDS AND BUDDIES. This piece of financial shit is going up in flames and it will be your ass that gets burned if you ain't paying attention. I am doing everything I can to accomplish what I say to do. This isn't some Big me-Little you trip. This train is coming down the tracks and we gotta get off the rails or get squished.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
I would just like to say the my name and signature is not on ONE FUCKING PIECE OF PAPER THE PURPORTS TO BUY OUT THESE BASTARDS! They play fast and loose with huge amounts of dollars, raking in the billions while the getting is good and then when it falls on it's ass they have us pick up the tab. I DENY ANY SUPPORT OF THIS ACTIVITY.
I would like to tell you that the bail-out of all of this toxic paper bullshit is done with a little slight of hand. Something else you don't get told about. Funny how these little things are somehow overlooked. There is two ways that I know of that are used in pricing anything of asset value. That ain't saying there ain't any more. But assets can be Marked to Model or they can be Marked to Market. Marked to Model is claiming an asset at the price for which it was sold to begin with. Say a house was sold as a million dollar structure in 2004. The mortgage can be continued as Marked to Model and it is listed on the books as a million dollar home. The bank holding that mortgage can continue to declare it to be worth a million bucks. The other method of rating an asset is to Mark to Model or call it's value at the current market price. And that might only be $600,000 in our current distress. But you can see what a vast difference there is in rating the worth of an asset.
OUR GOVERNMENT IS BUYING ALL THESE TOXIC MORTGAGES UP AS MARKED TO MODEL! The banks get away completely clean. Scot free! All profits are made as planned and the people get left holding the bag of toxic toilet paper. What a deal!
Doesn't this just make your morning? Aren't you happy now at the generosity of your fedgov toward the kindly bankers? The same guys who just tried to short the Silver market.
GET OUT OF DEBT. GET INTO TANGIBLES. BULLETS, BEANS, BAND-AIDS AND BUDDIES. This piece of financial shit is going up in flames and it will be your ass that gets burned if you ain't paying attention. I am doing everything I can to accomplish what I say to do. This isn't some Big me-Little you trip. This train is coming down the tracks and we gotta get off the rails or get squished.
Stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Saturday, September 20, 2008
NOW DO YOU SEE?
I have told you about the conspiracies and I have published a couple items to corroborate my stories. These are the kinds of people running the banks in this country. They are flat out, nothing but a bunch of crooks. And Dubya is going to give them damn near a TRILLION DOLLARS to bail them out! Let them bleed! Let the bastards pay everything they have and ever will have to make good on their evil. We are going to pay whether or not they get bailed out. The international monetary system is going to go berserk with all this inflation.
GET OUT OF MONEY. GET INTO TANGIBLES. BUY GOLD AND SILVER IF YOU WISH, BUT YOU CANNOT EAT GOLD AND SILVER. BULLETS, BEANS, BAND-AIDS, and BUDDIES are the rule of thumb to use as a measuring guide. If you have all of those plus non-hybrid seed then you will stand a chance. And I will be right there with you buying my goodies as fast as I can go.
Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
GET OUT OF MONEY. GET INTO TANGIBLES. BUY GOLD AND SILVER IF YOU WISH, BUT YOU CANNOT EAT GOLD AND SILVER. BULLETS, BEANS, BAND-AIDS, and BUDDIES are the rule of thumb to use as a measuring guide. If you have all of those plus non-hybrid seed then you will stand a chance. And I will be right there with you buying my goodies as fast as I can go.
Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
JAMES PUPLAVA-FINANCIAL SENSE
The US Mint has suspended the production of US Eagles.
I was told by one dealer this morning, checking with him, they’re telling people delivery dates for silver Eagles won’t be till January, February of next year. One dealer I was talking to said that they can’t even get the plates – so what they were doing is they were ordering thousand ounce bars and they were melting the bars down to make one ounce coins because most people are buying either silver rounds – and I was told delivery dates right now are two months out. So this is August, probably late October. That’s how scarce it is.
So, the other thing is get your physical metals because there is a gross discrepancy and divergence between trying to drive down the paper market price of silver. One dealer told me in July his sales were up four fold last year; and this month alone, his sales are up eight fold. One dealer was telling me today that he had never seen anything like this in his lifetime. On this Friday I just bought a ton of silver and I’ve been told it’s going to take two months to take delivery on that ton. And if the price goes lower, I’ll buy another ton. I’ve got a couple of dealers who store my bullion for me until it’s shipped overseas.
Michael sez: These people out here in the fedgov are not your friends! Who in the hell do you think gave the banks the money to fool around with this? But that lawsuit may be a bit iof a bitch.
THE LAWSUIT I TALK ABOUT
Gene Arensberg, Resource Investor
Everyone can look at the data and form their own conclusions. But when silver is in short physical supply, commanding injuriously high premiums and difficult to locate; when investors are piling into the silver ETF in droves, a 40% silver price plunge is not only not warranted, it smells.
It is difficult to imagine a legitimate reason that two U.S. banks could quickly and systematically amass a net short position on the COMEX which amounts to over a quarter of the entire action on that bourse. It will not be surprising at all if we learn that these two U.S. banks are taken to task by regulators for their actions. It will be even less surprising to learn that they have become the target of multi-billion dollar class action lawsuits by hungry lawyers representing silver investors everywhere.
Futures markets are supposed to answer the actual physical markets, not the other way around. In other words, futures markets are supposed to be a place where producers or large holders of a commodity can lay off price risk to speculators and thereby hedge against unforeseen adverse movements in the price of the commodity. Futures markets are definitely not supposed to be a place where a couple of well connected and well funded entities can bully the market with their own heavy handed trading.If silver really was just taken down by a couple of very big U.S. banks to irrationally low levels, it won’t be long before the laws of supply and demand reassert themselves. Got silver?
I was told by one dealer this morning, checking with him, they’re telling people delivery dates for silver Eagles won’t be till January, February of next year. One dealer I was talking to said that they can’t even get the plates – so what they were doing is they were ordering thousand ounce bars and they were melting the bars down to make one ounce coins because most people are buying either silver rounds – and I was told delivery dates right now are two months out. So this is August, probably late October. That’s how scarce it is.
So, the other thing is get your physical metals because there is a gross discrepancy and divergence between trying to drive down the paper market price of silver. One dealer told me in July his sales were up four fold last year; and this month alone, his sales are up eight fold. One dealer was telling me today that he had never seen anything like this in his lifetime. On this Friday I just bought a ton of silver and I’ve been told it’s going to take two months to take delivery on that ton. And if the price goes lower, I’ll buy another ton. I’ve got a couple of dealers who store my bullion for me until it’s shipped overseas.
Michael sez: These people out here in the fedgov are not your friends! Who in the hell do you think gave the banks the money to fool around with this? But that lawsuit may be a bit iof a bitch.
THE LAWSUIT I TALK ABOUT
Gene Arensberg, Resource Investor
Everyone can look at the data and form their own conclusions. But when silver is in short physical supply, commanding injuriously high premiums and difficult to locate; when investors are piling into the silver ETF in droves, a 40% silver price plunge is not only not warranted, it smells.
It is difficult to imagine a legitimate reason that two U.S. banks could quickly and systematically amass a net short position on the COMEX which amounts to over a quarter of the entire action on that bourse. It will not be surprising at all if we learn that these two U.S. banks are taken to task by regulators for their actions. It will be even less surprising to learn that they have become the target of multi-billion dollar class action lawsuits by hungry lawyers representing silver investors everywhere.
Futures markets are supposed to answer the actual physical markets, not the other way around. In other words, futures markets are supposed to be a place where producers or large holders of a commodity can lay off price risk to speculators and thereby hedge against unforeseen adverse movements in the price of the commodity. Futures markets are definitely not supposed to be a place where a couple of well connected and well funded entities can bully the market with their own heavy handed trading.If silver really was just taken down by a couple of very big U.S. banks to irrationally low levels, it won’t be long before the laws of supply and demand reassert themselves. Got silver?
CONSPIRACIES ABOUND
It has been a slow day and I have only contacted my friend on the East Coast and The Hermit down in Tennessee. And I want to tell you that the shit is flying 90 mph. The main thing is the money the fed is printing up to handle all these bail-outs. I mean we were about a TRILLION hooked when Dubya decided to bail-out the bad mortgages and now he is adding SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS to that already prodigious sum. The boy has gone bonkers. Just last week the Chinese said they don't want any more dollars or Treasury Bonds. They want Gold or Euros or British Pounds or ANYTHING BUT DOLLARS. If you haven't got the message as yet, the majority of the world's currencies are fiat currencies and they are created out of thin air at the rate the printing country wishes them produced. And the USA wants them produced quickly and in great volume. And like I said, the Chinese don't want them any more! China, Russia, Japan and the Middle East have kept this country afloat for a few decades now and we are about to shit on them most voluminously. We are rewarding our friends with a stiff uppercut to the chin. All the help they have given to keep the American economy up and running is going to get them taken down the path of poverty. What a friend they have in 'Merica! And is this going to make them angry? You bet your ass it is. And I know you don't know this because the media doesn't want you to know this, but the government of China has survived THREE COUP ATTEMPTS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS! You are fed the word that the Commie government of China is all cowed down and humble and obedient. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those nasty fuckers have may ten out burst a DAY over there. They get mad and they start coming out of the woodwork with rocks and Molotov Cocktails and clubs and maybe even a rifle or two. Like I said, they are nasty fuckers and the Chinese government does not want to go too far pushing them around. Or there will not be a Chinese government. While the Chinese have the financial nuclear option with our money, they also have to face the HUNDRED MILLION or so of their angry citizens if they screw up. And a hundred million ain't even 10%. Think about it. I know "I" don't want to go pissing off a hundred million Chinamen. No sir! But, I don't have any problems with the Chinese. They pretty much stay at home and mind their business. And we should very closely watch their behavior and copy it.
The nuclear option for China, and a few other countries, is if they dump their US currency reserves on the world market for about 10 cents on the dollar. If that happens, you will be paying about $30 dollars a gallon for your gasoline. At least for a while until the fedgov really gets the printing presses cranked up and we get Zimbabwean inflation going good and strong. At that point you can start using it to start your fires in the morning. You might start a fire at your local bank if you're bored. Won't be anything in there worth saving anyhow. Fire it up!
And how about those Middle East oil producers? Let's see here now, the Sauds were installed as the ruling monarchy of Arabia in 1930. The Wahhabi sect had the honor of doing that. It might interest you to know that Osama bin Laden is a strict Wahhabi Muslim. And so far the Sauds have gotten way with a lot of dealing with the western nations. But if the US pisses the Wahhabi's off with a cut throat business deal, you an kiss 30% of your oil good by. There will be Saud blood seeping into the sands of Arabia in large quantities. And the Wahhabi will get the job done. And what if Saudi Arabia decides to give TEN MILLION BARRELS OF OIL TO EGYPT EVERY DAY? For little or no money? All of a sudden the Wahhabi would have the most populous Muslim nation in the entire world in their corner. Lots of guys carrying AK-47's. Israel? Who is Israel? I heard they disappeared.
It is thundering up a storm outside and I am getting off this machine and getting it unplugged. But I think I have mentioned enough to keep your mind active for awhile. Welcome to global politics. And stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
The nuclear option for China, and a few other countries, is if they dump their US currency reserves on the world market for about 10 cents on the dollar. If that happens, you will be paying about $30 dollars a gallon for your gasoline. At least for a while until the fedgov really gets the printing presses cranked up and we get Zimbabwean inflation going good and strong. At that point you can start using it to start your fires in the morning. You might start a fire at your local bank if you're bored. Won't be anything in there worth saving anyhow. Fire it up!
And how about those Middle East oil producers? Let's see here now, the Sauds were installed as the ruling monarchy of Arabia in 1930. The Wahhabi sect had the honor of doing that. It might interest you to know that Osama bin Laden is a strict Wahhabi Muslim. And so far the Sauds have gotten way with a lot of dealing with the western nations. But if the US pisses the Wahhabi's off with a cut throat business deal, you an kiss 30% of your oil good by. There will be Saud blood seeping into the sands of Arabia in large quantities. And the Wahhabi will get the job done. And what if Saudi Arabia decides to give TEN MILLION BARRELS OF OIL TO EGYPT EVERY DAY? For little or no money? All of a sudden the Wahhabi would have the most populous Muslim nation in the entire world in their corner. Lots of guys carrying AK-47's. Israel? Who is Israel? I heard they disappeared.
It is thundering up a storm outside and I am getting off this machine and getting it unplugged. But I think I have mentioned enough to keep your mind active for awhile. Welcome to global politics. And stay alive.
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
Friday, September 19, 2008
I spent most of the my talking with Grumpyunk and his lovely lady and had a very good time. He and his wife are both conversant in the English language and they can keep up a very good conversation about many subjects. We had gone to a pretty nice place for coffee but they had NO SMOKING in all sections and I proposed we adjourn to a more hospitable place and they agreed and so we did. We had originally planned to just have coffee and a bit of prepper talk but we got along so well that we decided to eat lunch about 12:30 and kept right on going. The Handmaiden and Mrs. Grumpyunk are both dedicated cooks and they never lacked for talk. Grumpyunk is an ER Nurse but I think his real talent is in building up soil for growing food. In our talking it became apparent that he knew how to make dirt to grow food. He has a nice little spread out in the countryside and he has some chickens. And that means a chicken coop and that means chicken manure. And while he can tell you all kinds of medical procedures, you can see his eyes get real focused while talking about building up his dirt. I have a soft spot for someone who likes to make good dirt. My practice is to make the dirt good and healthy and let the seed bring on the plants. Your basic agronomist grows good dirt and so does Grumpyunk.
We did not manage to get into economics or politics. But that is another day. We did talk about prayer and healing. He knows people of great faith who have been cured of cancer and things like that. He said he used a formula for God's thinking when it comes to prayer in time of sickness. God either says yes, no, or later. I had to go along with that. It bears a huge resemblance to what really takes place. It is reality. I have invited Grumpyunk and his Lady to come visit us before the weather turns bad. We can sit on the porch and drink a few beers and palaver a bunch more. I don't entertain much but I can make an exception with Grumpyunk. He is a fine man and pretty damn talented. And I like knowing an ER Nurse. Very hard people to rattle as far as I know. He got some medical training in the service while stationed in Texas. When he did some other career work until he was middle age, it did not stop him from deciding to go to Nursing School and getting his degree. He is a good man to know.
I called my East Coast friend today and asked him about the market. He said there were people buying metals and there were fools. Both of these kind of folks were in the market buying. He is like me in that he thinks stocks are doomed and he has gotten completely out of the stock market and into Gold and Silver entirely. The fedgov whacked him pretty good with their little shenanigan of dumping Gold and Silver for a couple weeks, at a cheap price. But the metals are on the rebound and any dumping is going to be greeted with cries of joy by the precious metal guys. Because they want the metal and to hell with the stocks and bonds. The fedgov is now announcing a cure for the market and is going to take over all the debt paper the financial boys are packing around. You and I will stand for their loses and sink or swim on the vagaries of the market, which is manipulated like crazy. THERE AIN'T ANY FREE MARKET LEFT IN AMERICA. BUY TANGIBLES!
Gonna go watch a movie with the Handmaiden. Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
We did not manage to get into economics or politics. But that is another day. We did talk about prayer and healing. He knows people of great faith who have been cured of cancer and things like that. He said he used a formula for God's thinking when it comes to prayer in time of sickness. God either says yes, no, or later. I had to go along with that. It bears a huge resemblance to what really takes place. It is reality. I have invited Grumpyunk and his Lady to come visit us before the weather turns bad. We can sit on the porch and drink a few beers and palaver a bunch more. I don't entertain much but I can make an exception with Grumpyunk. He is a fine man and pretty damn talented. And I like knowing an ER Nurse. Very hard people to rattle as far as I know. He got some medical training in the service while stationed in Texas. When he did some other career work until he was middle age, it did not stop him from deciding to go to Nursing School and getting his degree. He is a good man to know.
I called my East Coast friend today and asked him about the market. He said there were people buying metals and there were fools. Both of these kind of folks were in the market buying. He is like me in that he thinks stocks are doomed and he has gotten completely out of the stock market and into Gold and Silver entirely. The fedgov whacked him pretty good with their little shenanigan of dumping Gold and Silver for a couple weeks, at a cheap price. But the metals are on the rebound and any dumping is going to be greeted with cries of joy by the precious metal guys. Because they want the metal and to hell with the stocks and bonds. The fedgov is now announcing a cure for the market and is going to take over all the debt paper the financial boys are packing around. You and I will stand for their loses and sink or swim on the vagaries of the market, which is manipulated like crazy. THERE AIN'T ANY FREE MARKET LEFT IN AMERICA. BUY TANGIBLES!
Gonna go watch a movie with the Handmaiden. Stay alive!
Michael
mboone@rtccom.net
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