WILL IT BE NEO-FEUDAL?

A FUTURIST SCENARIO,
By Fred W. Riggs

first part

Information from Jeffrey Winters about his research into "zonal capitalism" in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries (citation) opened my eyes to a potential future scenario for the world that I had not previously imagined. However, it fits into patterns of change I have been thinking and writing about, putting them into a new focus. This is a first effort to spell out some of these ideas for discussion with colleagues in the hopes that some useful notions may result.

1. Zonal Capitalism. Winters outlines the structure of what he calls a "second generation zone" in the design of industrial parks or estates -- these are enclaves in a third world country like Indonesia which maximize opportunities for investors to accumulate profits in the production of manufactures (from shoes, fabrics and garments to cars, furniture and electronics) for which demand on a global level is escalating while costs can be reduced maximally by minimizing social and environmental accountability. During the period from 1989 to 1994, the number of these estates in Indonesia has escalated from about a half-dozen to almost 100, while at the same time their capital costs have shifted almost completely from the state to private capital. The trends apparent during this 5-year period seem destined to continue in Indonesia, and parallels in neighboring countries, as well in widely scattered parts of the third world, appear likely to mushroom, with implications that stagger the imagination.

These industrial estates are self-contained zones, surrounded by formidable walls, that can be entered only through a single controlled gateway that insulates them from their surroundings and heighten the possibility for owner/managers to provide optimal facilities for investors to establish productive facilities that maximize their profits. What I find most disturbing about this development is the implication that, instead of industrialization flowing from the development of democratic national states and reinforcing their vigor, it can also occur in a perverse way that undermines political and administrative development and reduces the viability of states as organized communities. This reverses the trends of modernity as they have evolved during the last two or three centuries and as we had hoped they would develop in the new states formed out of the collapsed possessions of the great industrial empires of the Western world. If my fears are well founded and a mushrooming of industrial estates throughout the world really occurs, a highly negative global trend may well undermine many of the proudest achievements of modernity. ( learn more at )

Close to 60 banks close in the first half

of 2009 WOW

FACTBOX-U.S. bank failures in 2009
Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:52pm EDT
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) -

Following is a list of U.S. bank failures so far this year, according to the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp:
(Details about each bank closure are posted here)
U.S. BANK FAILURES IN 2009**
(assets, deposits, FDIC cost in million dollars) BANK
STATE ASSETS DEPOSITS FDIC CLOSING
COST DATE
Nat'l Bank of Comm. Ill. 430.9 402.1 97.1 Jan 16
Bank of Clark County Wash. 446.5 366.5 145.0* Jan 16
1st Centennial Bank Cal. 803.3 676.9 227.0 Jan 23
MagnetBank Utah 292.9 282.8 119.4 Jan 30
Suburban Federal Md. 360.0 302.0 126.0 Jan 30
Ocala Nat'l Bank Fla 223.5 205.2 99.6 Jan 30
FirstBank Financial Ga. 337.0 279.0 111.0 Feb 6
Alliance Bank Cal. 1,140.0 951.0 206.0 Feb 6
County Bank Cal. 1,700.0 1,300.0 135.0 Feb 6
Sherman County Bank Neb. 129.8 85.1 28.0 Feb 13
Riverside Bank Fla. 539.0 424.0 201.5 Feb 13
Corn Belt Bank Ill. 271.8 234.4 100.0 Feb 13
Pinnacle Bank Ore. 73.0 64.0 12.1 Feb 13
Silver Falls Bank Ore. 131.4 116.3 50.0 Feb 20
Security Savings Bank Nev. 238.3 175.2 59.1 Feb 27
Heritage Community Bnk Ill. 232.9 218.6 41.6 Feb 27
Freedom Bank Ga. 173.0 161.0 36.2 Mar 6
FirstCity Bank Ga. 297.0 278.0 100.0 Mar 20
TeamBank N.A. Kan. 669.8 492.8 98.0 Mar 20
Colorado Natl Bank Colo. 123.5 82.7 9.0 Mar 20
Omni National Bank Ga. 956.0 796.8 290.0 Mar 27
Cape Fear Bank N.C. 492.0 403.0 131.0 Apr 10
New Frontier Bank Col. 2,000.0 1,500.0 670.0 Apr 10
Great Basin Bank Nev. 270.9 221.4 42.0 Apr 17
American Sterling Mo. 181.0 171.9 42.0 Apr 17
American Southern Bank Ga. 112.3 104.3 41.9 Apr 24
Michigan Heritage Bank Mich. 184.6 151.7 71.3 Apr 24
1st Bank Beverly Hills Cal. 1,500.0 1,000.0 394.0 Apr 24
First Bank of Idaho Idaho 488.9 374.0 191.2 Apr 24
Silverton Bank Ga. 4,100.0 3,300.0 1,300.0 May 1
Citizens Comm'ty Bank N.J. 45.1 43.7 11.5 May 1
America West Bank Utah 299.4 284.1 119.4 May 1
Westsound Bank Wash. 334.6 304.5 108.0 May 8
BankUnited Fla. 12,800.0 8,600.0 4,900.0 May 21
Strategic Capital Bank Ill. 573.0 471.0 173.0 May 22
Citizens National Bank Ill. 437.0 400.0 106.0 May 22
Bank of Lincolnwood Ill. 214.0 202.0 83.0 Jun 5
Southern Community Ga. 377.0 307.0 114.0 Jun 19
Cooperative Bank N.C. 970.0 774.0 217.0 Jun 19
First Nat'l of Anthony Kan. 156.9 142.5 32.3 Jun 19
Community Bank W. Ga. Ga. 199.4 182.5 85.0 Jun 26
Neighborhood Bank Ga. 221.6 191.3 66.7 Jun 26
Horizon Bank Minn. 87.6 69.4 33.5 Jun 26
MetroPacific Bank Calif. 80.0 73.0 29.0 Jun 26
Mirae Bank Calif 456.0 362.0 50.0 Jun 26
John Warner Bank Ill. 70.0 64.0 10.0 Jul 2
FirstState Winchester Ill. 36.0 34.0 6.0 Jul 2
Founders Bank Ill. 962.5 848.9 188.5 Jul 2
Millennium State Bank Tex. 118.0 115.0 47.0 Jul 2
First Nat'l Danville Ill. 166.0 147.0 24.0 Jul 2
Elizabeth State Bank Ill. 55.5 50.4 11.2 Jul 2
Rock River Bank Ill. 77.0 75.8 27.6 Jul 2
Bank of Wyoming Wyo. 70.0 67.0 27.0 Jul 10
First Piedmont Bank Ga. 115.0 109.0 29.0 Jul 17
BankFirst S.D. 275.0 254.0 91.0 Jul 17
Vineyard Bank Calif.1,900.0 1,600.0 579.0 Jul 17
Temecula Valley Bank Calif.1,500.0 1,300.0 391.0 Jul 17

* FDIC estimated the cost to its insurance fund at between$120 million and $145 million ** Table does not include two corporate credit unions thatwere placed into conservatorship on March 20. The U.S. CentralFederal Credit Union in Kansas and the Western CorporateFederal Credit Union in California, which provide products tothe overall credit union system, are insured by the NationalCredit Union Administration. Nor does the table include theEastern Financial Florida Credit Union, also insured by NCUAand placed into conservatorship on April 24.

Japan's Weapons Industry
The potential consequences of Japan’s resumption of arms exports.

by Gavan Gray

Reforms being backed by the Japanese government are likely to see further easing of, if not an outright end to, Japan’s stringent restrictions on military arms exports. That this may well be a necessity due to current trends toward joint development of weapons systems between nations and corporations, should in no way be taken to mean it will not have major consequences for Japan. The Japanese arms industry currently exists to serve the Self Defense Forces but should its raison d’être change from national security to profit-making, Japan is likely to see a major increase in both governmental corruption and the ‘revolving door’ system of conflicts of interest, which have compromised the security of nations such as the UK and USA.



Since the end of WWII the Japanese people have seen their country portrayed, by virtue of its constitution’s renunciation of war, as a uniquely peaceful and nonviolent nation. Yet, in the past decade the push to ‘normalize’ the country, and return to it the full variety of foreign policy options available to other major powers, has seen significant changes occur. Recently, the government has begun to relax a longstanding injunction against the export of weapons, something that will unleash some of the world’s leading industrial manufacturers on the international weapons market. In doing so, Japan greatly increases the influence the arms industry will have upon its national politics. This industry now exists solely as a provider for the Self Defense Forces but, should profitability take over from national security as its raison d’être, the state will, based upon the examples of the US and the UK, have to contend with increased levels of corruption and the promotion of an aggressively militaristic foreign policy. ( learn more at )

Neofeudalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neofeudalism literally means "new feudalism" and implies a contemporary rebirth of policies of governance and economy reminiscent of those present in many pre-industrial feudal societies. The concept is one in which government policies are instituted with the effect (deliberate or otherwise) of systematically increasing the wealth gap between the rich and the poor while increasing the power of the rich and decreasing the power of the poor (also see wealth condensation). This effect is considered to be similar to the effects of traditional feudalism. The definition of the term is disputed and can be loosely employed as a pejorative term to attack political opponents.Contents [hide]1 General2 Use and Etymology3 Neofeudalism in popular culture4 References
[edit]General
Feudalism is a political system of power dispersed and balanced between king and nobles. This system refers to a general set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility of Europe during the Middle Ages, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs.
Among the issues claimed to be associated with the idea of neofeudalism in contemporary society are class stratification, globalization, mass immigration/illegal immigration, open borders policies, multinational corporations, and "neo-corporatism."[1]
Neofeudalism is part of the controversy over income redistribution born out of massive societal shifts during the industrial revolution. At the time the issue was wealth disparity between classes, landholders, entrepreneurs, peasants, workers, and other economic and social groups. Neofeudalism encompasses the current debate over globalization to include entire societies, countries, regions ("North" versus "South," "Western" versus "non-Western"), and supra-national non-state actors. Unlike other geopolitical issues such as environmentalism and security, the concept of "neofeudalism" largely focuses on economics.

Relative deprivation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Relative deprivation is the experience of being deprived of something to which one believes oneself to be entitled to have.[1]
Schaefer defines it as "the conscious experience of a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities."[2] It is a term used in social sciences to describe feelings or measures of economic, political, or social deprivation that are relative rather than absolute.[3]
The concept of relative deprivation has important consequences for both behavior and attitudes, including feelings of stress, political attitudes, and participation in collective action. It is relevant to researchers and students in social psychology, sociology, economics, politics, animal ethics, and other social sciences, especially those interested in prejudice, social identity, group processes, social justice, and social movements.[1] Its origins are from the biological concept of relative fitness, where an organism that successfully outproduces its competitors leaves more copies in the gene pool.

Citibank's earning can't be all that great
Could the failure of CITI cause the 3rd wave?


Citibank Japan to suspend
retail sales after FSA order
Jul 14 05:01 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, July 14 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Citibank Japan Ltd. will suspend sales activities at its retail banking division for one month from Wednesday in line with an order from the Financial Services Agency over its slack . . .

money laundering

controls that allowed the. . .


opening of several hundred accounts for crime syndicates and other "antisocial" bodies.

The FSA ordered Citibank Japan on June 26 to suspend all sales operations at the division, including advertising, sales campaigns and solicitation, for the month through Aug. 14.

The financial industry watchdog also required the bank to submit a management improvement plan by the end of July and follow-up reports every three months.

In 2004, the U.S. bank was ordered by the FSA to upgrade its anti- money laundering controls. The FAS issued the second order last month as it concluded that the bank had failed to take sufficient steps.

More bad Citibank news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In leaving CIT Group Inc to sink or swim on its own, U.S. officials are gambling that financial markets and the economy are now strong enough to withstand the possibility a big lender collapses.
On Wednesday, ten months to the day after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers exacerbated the global credit crisis, CIT said bailout talks with the government had ended, a development which may push the 101 year old company closer to failure.
Judging from the calm reaction in credit and stock markets on Thursday, it appears investors think leaving CIT to fend for itself is a safe bet. ( learn more at )

Orwellian Comments - Vice President Biden:

‘We Have to Go Spend Money
to Keep From Going Bankrupt’

Inquiring minds are flabbergasted over the latest comments from Vice President Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’
Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money.

“And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. “It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially.”

“We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said.

“Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”
This is reminiscent of the My Lai massacre and the destruction of various Vietnamese villages in the Vietnam War.
An American major after the destruction of the Vietnamese Village Ben Tre: "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."

On March 16, 1968, a company of U.S. soldiers went into the village of My Lai 4, in Vietnam. A soldier later testified, "The order we were given was to kill and destroy everything that was in the village. It was clearly explained that there were to be no prisoners."

"We met no resistance and I only saw three captured weapons. We had no casualties. It was just like any other Vietnamese village-old papa-sans, women and kids," a soldier said describing what they found on entering My Lai. "As a matter of fact, I don't remember seeing one military-age male in the entire place, dead or alive."

The U.S. soldiers started killing everyone in sight. A U.S. soldier later testified:

"There was an old lady in a bed and I believe there was a priest in white praying over her... [U.S. Lt.] Calley pulled the old man outside. He said a few more words to the monk. It looked like the monk was pleading for his life. Lt. Calley then took his rifle and pushed the monk into a rice paddy and shot him point-blank."

Lt. Calley was the only soldier convicted of any of the atrocities that took place at My Lai. Despite being convicted of killing over 100 unarmed Vietnamese, Calley served only two days in jail! Nixon then ordered him put under house arrest at Fort Benning, where he could live in a nice apartment, cook his own food, receive guests, watch TV and go to town for supplies (accompanied by MPs). Calley was released from house arrest in just over three years and was able to make large amounts of money speaking to right-wing groups.
Biden's comments are also right up there with President Bush who abandoned free-market principles to save the economy. Please consider Bush says sacrificed free-market principles to save economy.
US President George W. Bush said in an interview Tuesday he was forced to sacrifice free market principles to save the economy from "collapse."

"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system," Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse."

"I am sorry we're having to do it," Bush said.

Bank of Japan extends emergency steps

by Hiroshi Hiyama Wed Jul 15, 7:43 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) –

Japan's central bank said Wednesday it was extending its emergency measures to tackle the worst recession in decades, as it downgraded its outlook for the world's number two economy.
But the Bank of Japan said the slump was easing and economic conditions "have stopped worsening.""The current financial and economic situation is still severe, but we've seen clear signs of an improvement," central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa told a press conference.
At the same time, however, "domestic demand remains weak," he added. The Bank held its key interest rate steady at 0.1 percent, as expected, and said it would continue its policy of buying up corporate debt to keep credit flowing to cash-strapped firms during the recession. The programmes, which were due to expire at the end of September, were extended for the rest of 2009. The BoJ also extended a currency swap agreement with the US Federal Reserve until February 1.
While there are hopes the recession is easing, gross domestic product is expected to shrink 3.4 percent in the financial year to March 2010, worse than a previous forecast for a contraction of 3.1 percent, it said.
The Bank also revised its outlook for the next financial year, predicting positive growth of 1.0 percent, against a previous projection of 1.2 percent.
It said the economy should start recovering from the second half of this financial year, supported by policymakers' efforts to tackle the economic downturn and a credit crunch. However, Shirakawa cautioned that uncertainty lingered, declining to outline a possible "exit strategy" from its emergency pump-priming measures. Japan entered recession in the second quarter of 2008 as its heavy dependence on overseas demand to drive growth left it highly exposed to the global downturn.

The privately owned Federal Reserve

runs our Country

Unemployment on the rise
by Bob Chapman

Last week the Dow fell 1.6%; S&P fell 1.9%; the Russell 2000 fell 3.3% and the Nasdaq slipped 1.8%; cyclicals fell 3.6%; transports 1.5%; consumers 1.6%; utilities 1.4%; banks 2.3% and broker/dealers 2.8%. High tech fell 1.8%; semis 1.8%; Internets 2.1% and biotechs 2.7%. Gold bullion fell $19.50 and the HUI gold index fell 8.4%.
Two-year T-bill rates fell 10 bps to 0.82% and the 10’s fell 21 bps to 3.30%. Ten-year German bunds fell 8 bps to 3.26%.
Freddie Mac pegged the 30-year fixed rate mortgage off 12 bps at 5.20%. The 15’s fell 8 bps to 4.6% and the 1-year ARMs fell 12 bps to 4.82%.
Fed credit declined $9.5 billion to $1.977 trillion, off $269 billion ytd and up 123% yoy. Fed foreign holdings of Treasury and Agency debt jumped $20.5 billion to a record $2.787 trillion. Custody holdings for foreign central banks rose 20.7% ytd, and were up 18.6% yoy.
M2 narrow money supply fell $36 billion having expanded 9.1% yoy. Total money market fund assets rose $4.4 billion to $3.668 trillion.
This past week the dollar index, the USDX, was unchanged at 80.26.
During the week of the G-8 meeting the US pushed the dollar up. They attempted the same with the stock market unsuccessfully and successfully drove bond yields down and bond values up. They also smashed commodities, especially oil and pressured gold and silver lower. The problem is they cannot continue. They do not have the power to do so. Those suppressed markets will reverse and rise.
The dollar was on the verge of breaking below 79 on the USDX, so the ECB announced they would pour $613 billion into 1-year deposits. This was to encourage bank lending in the eurozone, which gained by only 1.8% in the first half of the year. The US banks had a similar experience.
One thing is for certain and that is that low interest rates encourage carrying long gold and silver positions. That is true for commodities as well, which in the second quarter rose. Oil gained 45%; copper 28% and wheat 20%. Gold and silver were not allowed those gains by our government. While holding interest rates at 1% the ECB now has M3 increasing at a paltry 3.7%. In our mind there is no question that the eurozone is about to slip into severe depression. The 16 economies are being strangled to death. ( Learn more at )

Goldman Gains on Rivals' Pain

By SUSANNE CRAIG and AARON LUCCHETTI

Wall Street's meltdown fueled the most profitable quarter ever at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which snatched business away from weakened rivals and churned out huge trading gains by revving up risk taking.
With competitors such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. gone, and others like Citigroup Inc. flailing, Goldman appears to be pulling off one of the biggest market-share grabs in Wall Street history. ( learn more at )

A sign of the times

fraud skyrockets in

Japan

'It's me!' fraud rears head again / July seeing 60% rise in bank transfer scams including resurgent fake calls

The Yomiuri Shimbun
The first 13 days of July saw a surge in the number of bank transfer scams in Tokyo, bucking the major downward trend of recent months, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report.
The MPD reported 65 cases between July 1 and Monday.
The monthly average of all remittance-related fraud this year has been 92 cases. Should such frauds continue at the same rate this month, July's figure would be about 150--about 60 percent higher than the monthly average so far this year.
Notable is the increase in the number of "It's me calling" scams, in which criminals deceive elderly people by pretending to be a relative and asking them to remit money, with explanations such as "I've lost money on the stock exchange."
Such methods are believed to be similar to those mainly used around 2003, techniques that criminals have used less frequently in recent years.
Members of criminal groups who were arrested around that time and had been serving prison terms have now been released. The MPD is strengthening its measures to tackle this kind of crime as it believes the same groups could be back in operation. ( learn more at )

Foreclosure Filings Hit Record 1.5 Million;

One in Eight Americans Delinquent;

Obama's Mortgage Rescues Create ‘Confusion’

The grim but not unexpected housing data shows U.S. Foreclosure Filings Hit Record 1.5 Million in First Half.U.S. foreclosure filings hit a record in the first half, a sign that job losses and falling property prices deepened the housing recession, according to RealtyTrac Inc.
More than 1.5 million properties received a default or auction notice or were seized by banks in the six months through June, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said today in a statement. That’s a 15 percent increase from the year earlier. One in 84 U.S. households received a filing. ( learn more at )

Eager to Tap Iraq's Vast Oil Reserves,

Industry Execs Suggested Invasion
by Jason Leopold

Two years before the invasion of Iraq, oil executives and foreign policy advisers told the Bush administration that the United States would remain "a prisoner of its energy dilemma" as long as Saddam Hussein was in power.
That April 2001 report, "Strategic Policy Challenges for the 21st Century," was prepared by the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy and the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations at the request of then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
In retrospect, it appears that the report helped focus administration thinking on why it made geopolitical sense to oust Hussein, whose country sat on the world's second largest oil reserves.
"Iraq remains a de-stabilizing influence to the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East," the report said.
"Saddam Hussein has also demonstrated a willingness to threaten to use the oil weapon and to use his own export program to manipulate oil markets. Therefore the U.S. should conduct an immediate policy review toward Iraq including military, energy, economic and political/diplomatic assessments. ( learn more at )

“War Socialism”?

Filed under: Peak Oil, resource fascism

— Russ @ 5:54 am

In an earlier post I laid out the basics of “resource fascism”, the blueprint according to which the power elites of the First World will attempt to maintain their privilege and high-consumption lifestyles under conditions of increasing resource scarcity. I’m not the only one thinking along these lines. In this post I want to discuss two similar visions/nightmares. Alexis Zeigler describes the same prospect, with the same foreboding, with what he calls nationalistic environmentalism. Environmentalism here means not real solicitude for ecosystems, but the forced compliance with resource limits, which will then be dressed up as “green”. Zeigler rightly sees biofuels as “emblematic of the dark side of green capitalism”. Few things are so intrinsically or symbolically evil as taking food from the mouths of the global hungry so a fat Westerner can fill his gas tank to continue his frivolous enslavement to the car (a luxury by any real-world measure). This predatory global stance will necessitate a “very aggressive foreign policy on the part of the industrial powers”. Everyone from hard-right neocons (who want to seize the oil) to mainstream environmental organizations (who want “greener” high-consumption, powered by aggrofuels and “clean coal”, but high-consumption nonetheless) will get on board. “We will see the rise of a passionate, chest-thumping environmentalism, built on the foundation of green capitalism, that dwarfs the current movement”. There are historical analogues for this, in Russia in the 1990s and in Britain right now with the BNP. So far we have more and more of the policies in place – biofuels, importing tar sands bitumen and syncrude, the SPP. We don’t quite have the “chest-thumping” yet, primarily because the Republicans have made environmentalism into a culture war issue, and it’ll take some time to reshape that political template. “There is no way the US and the global consumer class can maintain its dominion without powerful military pressure, and that martial stance will favor authoritarian political development”. We are all too familiar with a political space defined by the Global War on Terror and the Patriot Act. But this will be and can be only for the benefit of the power elite. “The global elite have more in common with each other than with their fellow national citizens. Civil liberty has always been largely defined by class”. This class elite will try to establish a permanent two-tiered world, elite consumers riding the backs of a mass of slaves. “It is possible for a limited number of people to transition to a highly efficient consumer society, but only if a couple billion of our fellow humans suffer deprivation, or perhaps even outright destruction, along the way”. ( learn more at )

Resource Fascism

Filed under: Peak Oil, biofuels, corporatism,

geopolitics, neo-feudalism, resource fascism

As the reality of resource limitations becomes apparent, our societies seem determined to dig in to “defend” our god-given birthright to a high-impact, high-consumption lifestyle. This remains the measure of the standard of living, and it remains the ideological premise from which growth and debt spring as the basic strategy. But in a world with a shrinking resource base, productive output and even ficticious paper wealth must diminish. The pie must shrink, and at that point, no matter what the economics textbooks say, high-consumption becomes a zero sum game. “The economy” becomes war by other means. It’s no longer a matter of defending an idol, but of aggressively propping it up. We no longer worship at a stone altar which anchors life and organizes the chaos around it into a harmonious order. Now it’s an altar of straw which permanently burns, and only ever more extreme, more destructive, more violent measures can contain the flames. The smoke obscures the rest of our sight, and our lives are diminished to tunnelling back and forth through the darkness and soot, carrying poisoned water which may run out at any time. So it goes with fossil fuel civilization, with “growth”. Peak Oil is upon us, the great crisis, the great unfolding disaster. It’s clear that the First World will attempt to meet it with a corresponding social and political disaster. Activists call for relocalization, deconcentration of wealth and land, the dismantling of big banks and big agriculture, the descent of power. All these will come eventually. But for the present days, everything is violently propelled in the opposite direction. Big government and big corporations, now in full disaster capitalist mode, are further increasing and concentrating wealth and power. The people have displayed their basic self-enslavement by accepting this looting regime. This is because in spite of their rapidly deteriorating material position they still cling to the consumerist delusion. It’s this concurrence of master and slave which will dictate the politics of the next two decades. ( learn more at)

Blitz of “Cyber Attacks” as Rockefeller Bill

Approaches
by Kurt Nimmo
. Global Research, July 11, 2009Infowars.com - 2009-07-08

A determined propaganda blitz is well underway as the government sets the stage for the passage of Cybersecurity Act of 2009, introduced in the Senate earlier this year. If passed, it will allow Obama to shut down the internet and private networks. The legislation also calls for the government to have the authority to demand security data from private networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access. In other words, the bill allows the government to impose authoritarian control over electronic communications.
Earlier today, the corporate media reported on a “powerful attack that overwhelmed computers at U.S. and South Korean government agencies,” allegedly launched by North Korea. “South Korean intelligence officials believe the attacks were carried out by North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces,” the Associated Press reported.
It should be noted that South Korea’s intelligence apparatus — known as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency — was formed under the auspices of the U.S. Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps during the Korean War and is notorious for intervening in that country’s politics and kidnapping Koreans living abroad and torturing them. In other words, anything South Korean intelligence tells the corporate media should be taken with a large grain of salt. ( learn more at )

Wake up to the real world

you're living in

I have been collecting and commenting on stories, news and documents to show you, the real world of propaganda, lies and power manipulation in which you are immersed. Like a small bird you are surrounded by, breathing in and being pushed about by power. Your governments are trying to get you to believe that they are doing everything in your best interest. COMPLETE RUBBISH

Remember that:

Power is a fluid state of ability or the potential use of that ability which exists between two or more parties or groups. Much like air or water, power exist in constant state of imbalance moving about from person to person and place to place on its continues journey towards equilibrium or imbalance. We become aware of power at the moments when there is a movement or motion from equilibrium to imbalance or vice versa.This blog will look at articles, stories, reports and political documents to see and to make note which people or groups are looking to create greater equilibrium or looking to increase the imbalance in power

TSA, now everyone must
be stripped and search

TSA Responds to Whole Body Imaging Objections: The Transportation Security Administration has replied to the Privacy Coalition statement on whole body imaging systems. The agency claims that the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) provides adequate protection. The Privacy Coalition letter pointed out that "the devices are designed to capture, record, and store detailed images of individuals undressed" and said that "If the public understood this, they would be outraged by the use of these devices by the US government on US citizens." The Privacy Coalition said that the use of the devices should be suspended pending an investigation. The letter was prompted by the TSA's announcement that Whole Body Imaging would replace metal detectors as the primary screening technique at US airports. The House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would establish clear privacy safeguards for the devices. See also EPIC's page on Whole Body Imaging. (Jun. 23, 2009)

Congress Approves Bill Limiting TSA's Use of Whole-Body Imaging: Today, the House approved a bill that will limit the use of Whole-Body Imaging machines, installed by the Transportation Security Administration, in US airports. The devices photograph American air travelers stripped naked and could easily be programmed to record images. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) sponsored the bill that will prohibit the use of the devices as the sole or primary method of screening aircraft passengers; require that passengers be provided information on the operation of such technology and offered a pat-down search in lieu of such screening; and prohibit the storage of an image of a passenger after a boarding determination is made. EPIC launched a campaign and a Facebook Group seeking to raise public awareness about Whole Body Imaging. See EPIC's Backscatter X-ray, Whole Body Imaging, and Air Travel Privacy pages. (Jun. 4, 2009)

EPIC Urges Homeland Security to Stop Digital Strip-Searches: EPIC sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, urging the suspension of the Whole Body Imaging program. The devices would capture detailed naked images of all passengers at US airports. EPIC and thirty organizations asked Napolitano to begin a formal rulemaking and investigate less invasive means of screening. EPIC has also launched a campaign and established a Facebook Group to stop the program. See EPIC's Backscatter X-ray, Whole Body Imaging, and Air Travel Privacy pages. (Jun. 2, 2009)

EPIC Launches Campaign to Suspend 'Whole Body Imaging' at Nation's Airports: EPIC announced a national campaign today to suspend the use of "Whole Body Imaging" -- devices that photograph American air travellers stripped naked in US airports. The campaign responds to a policy reversal by the TSA which would now make the the "virtual strip search" mandatory, instead of voluntary as originally announced. EPIC and others say that there are inadequate safeguards to prevent the misuse of the images. They are asking Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to suspend the program and to allow for public comment. For more information, see EPIC's Backscatter X-ray, Whole Body Imaging page. (May. 18, 2009)

"Our government says one thing and does

another. They want to maintain

confidence and trust,but at

the same time proceed with

the destruction of the monetary

and financial system."

Bob Chapman

California exports in May drop

for seventh month in row
The Associated Press
10:25 a.m. July 10, 2009

SACRAMENTO — California exports fell 25.2 percent in May, the seventh straight month of decline compared to the same period a year earlier. The University of California Center Sacramento says the state sent $9.5 billion worth of products abroad in May. That's down from $12.7 billion a year ago and is the lowest for May since 2004. Exports of manufactured goods dropped 28 percent. Agricultural and other non-manufactured goods dropped 23.3 percent. Jock O'Connell, the UC Center's adviser on international trade and economics, said the figures "offer no encouragement that economic recovery will be a near-term thing." The figures were based on data released Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The Tower of Basel:
Secretive Plans for the Issuing of a Global Currency
Do we really want the Bank for International Settlements
(BIS) issuing our global currency

by Ellen Brown



In an April 7 article in The London Telegraph titled “The G20 Moves the World a Step Closer to

a Global Currency,” Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote:
“A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order.

“‘We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity,’ it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the International Monetary Fund that has lain dormant for half a century.

“In effect, the G20 leaders have activated the IMF’s power to create money and begin global ‘quantitative easing’. In doing so, they are putting a de facto world currency into play. It is outside the control of any sovereign body. Conspiracy theorists will love it.”

Indeed they will. The article is subtitled, “The world is a step closer to a global currency, backed by a global central bank, running monetary policy for all humanity.” Which naturally raises the question, who or what will serve as this global central bank, cloaked with the power to issue the global currency and police monetary policy for all humanity? When the world’s central bankers met in Washington last September, they discussed what body might be in a position to serve in that awesome and fearful role. A former governor of the Bank of England stated:

“[T]he answer might already be staring us in the face, in the form of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). . . . The IMF tends to couch its warnings about economic problems in very diplomatic language, but the BIS is more independent and much better placed to deal with this if it is given the power to do so.”1

And if the vision of a global currency outside government control does not set off conspiracy theorists, putting the BIS in charge of it surely will. The BIS has been scandal-ridden ever since it was branded with pro-Nazi leanings in the 1930s. Founded in Basel, Switzerland, in 1930, the BIS has been called “the most exclusive, secretive, and powerful supranational club in the world.” Charles Higham wrote in his book Trading with the Enemy that by the late 1930s, the BIS had assumed an openly pro-Nazi bias, a theme that was expanded on in a BBC Timewatch film titled “Banking with Hitler” broadcast in 1998.2 In 1944, the American government backed a resolution at the Bretton-Woods Conference calling for the liquidation of the BIS, following Czech accusations that it was laundering gold stolen by the Nazis from occupied Europe; but the central bankers succeeded in quietly snuffing out the American resolution.3 ( learn more at )

American Banks

Citigroup Told to Stop Ads in Japan

By CHRIS NICHOLSON

Japanese regulators ordered Citigroup on Friday to suspend advertising and other promotional activities in its retail banking division in Japan for a month for compliance violations and for failing to monitor suspicious transactions.
The regulator, the Financial Services Authority, said Citigroup’s Japanese unit, Citibank Japan Ltd., had failed “to make notification of suspicious transactions, including money laundering.”
It cited fundamental problems with the bank’s compliance and governance system.
“C.J.L. has not accurately identified a series of problems that were recently found,” the agency added, “and the effectiveness of the internal audit has not been ensured.”
The suspension, which is to begin July 15, means that the bank will be prohibited from advertising, soliciting customers or using publicity in relation to its retail banking products.
Citigroup issued an apology and said that “this suspension does not restrict any activities with customers who wish to enter into a transaction with Citibank Japan. Nor does it affect in any way Citibank Japan’s ability to serve its corporate banking division clients.”
The financial regulator had issued a warning to Citibank Japan in 2004, suspending certain operations for a year. The business improvement plan that followed has not been adopted in a satisfactory manner, the agency concluded.
Citibank Japan has not updated a database used to screen suspicious transactions in five years, the regulators said, and managers “lack an understanding of the rules applied in Japan, such as laws and regulations, and an awareness of improvement.” (learn more at )

These are very dangerous times

The fed is buying US gov. debt

(A negative -$9,500,000,000.00 in one week

and you have to pay for it!)

7/9/2009

Reserve Bank credit Weekly Change Prior $-9.6 B Actual $-9.5 B (This mean the the fed made 9.5 billion of debt last week from thin air , and in the near future the gov. will force the American people to pay back through higher taxes)

The Fed continues to expand its purchases of Treasuries but this was more than off set by declines in balance sheet components elsewhere-including for some of the emergency facilities. Reserve Bank credit for the week ended July 8 fell $9.5 billion after decreasing $9.6 billion the previous week. The latest decline was led by a $9.1 billion in term auction credit. Basically, banks are finding cheaper sources of funds-there apparently is plenty of supply outside of the term auction facility. Also showing sharp declines were central bank liquidity swaps, down $5.9 billion; net portfolio holdings of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, down $5.5 billion; and holdings of Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility, down $2.3 billion.

While demand for funds at a number of emergency facilities is down, the Fed has been steadily expanding its holdings of securities held outright, which increased $12.4 billion in the latest week after rising $9.2 billion the week before. In the week ended July 8, this included $11.5 billion in Treasury notes and bonds and $1.0 billion in federal agency debt securities. Mortgage-backed securities edged down marginally.

The Fed's balance sheet story seems to be a repeat of recent weeks. Emergency lending is down-which indicates some improvement in credit markets. But the Fed is continuing to add to liquidity through securities held outright-especially Treasuries.

Cheney 'ordered CIA to hide plan' Dick Cheney

played a key role

in US anti-terror policy after 9/11

The head of the CIA has accused former US Vice-President Dick Cheney of concealing an intelligence programme from Congress, a top US senator says.
The existence of the programme, set up after 9/11, was hidden for eight years and even now its nature is not known.
Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein confirmed CIA chief Leon Panetta told Congressional committees he had abandoned the project on hearing of it.
He said that Mr Cheney was behind the secrecy, Sen Feinstein said.
There has been no comment from Mr Cheney. ( learn more at )

The first shots fired
in the coming
battle for freedom
The Empire Strikes Back - Kohn
Warns Congress on Meddling in Fed's Affairs
(Warning cogress is warning you the American people)

Our hero, Ron "Skywalker" Paul, has managed to gather sufficient support to overthrow the Evil Empire widely known as the Fed.In a brazen attempt to beat back our hero, the Empire has taken its case directly to Congress, seeking more power to rape and pillage the populace under cloak of secrecy.The Washington Post picks up the story in Sith Lord Kohn warns Congress on meddling in the Empire's affairs.The Federal Reserve Evil Empire on Thursday launched a robust defense of its independence and warned that efforts in Congress to put monetary policy under political sway would hurt the economy Empire.Fed Vice Chairman Sith Master Donald Kohn said opening up some of the U.S. central bank's most sensitive decisions to political scrutiny could result in higher long-term interest rates and hurt the United States' credit rating discrimination against the Sith Lords. (learn more at )

( this can only been seen as the fed is hidding something very big and world economy crashing )

Wage slavery

Wage slavery refers to a situation where a person is dependent for a livelihood on the wages earned, especially if the dependency is total and immediate.[1][2] The term is used to draw an analogy between slavery and wage labor. Some uses of the term may refer only to an "[un]equal bargaining situation between labor and capital,"[3] particularly where workers are paid unreasonably low wages (e.g. sweatshops). More controversially, others equate it with a lack of workers' self-management[4][5][6] or point to similarities between owning and employing a person, and extend the term to cover a wide range of employment relationships in a hierarchical social environment with limited job-related choices (e.g. working for a wage under threat of starvation, poverty or social stigma).[7][8][9]
Similarities between wage labor and slavery were noted at least as early as Cicero.[10] These comparisons were elaborated by subsequent thinkers, such as Proudhon and Marx, particularly with the advent of the industrial revolution.[11][12] The introduction of wage labor in 18th century Britain was also met with resistance--giving rise to the principles of syndicalism[13][14][15][16] The use of the term wage slave by labor organizations may originate from the labor protests of the Lowell Mill Girls in 1836.[17] Before the American Civil War, Southern defenders of African American slavery also invoked the concept of wage slavery to favorably compare the condition of their slaves to workers in the North.[18][19]The imagery of wage slavery was widely used by labor organizations during the mid-19th century to object to the lack of workers' self-management. However, it was gradually replaced by the more pragmatic term "wage work" towards the end of the 19th century, as labor organizations shifted their focus to raising wages.[20][21]

Headlines for the masses.

Masses give up everything,

while wealthy just don’t give a sh*t

Write your own in the post

Newly thrifty Americans get creative
A growing number of Americans are looking outside the traditional economy to confront the recession, turning to bartering, foraging and even trash "salvaging."

( should read “ Newly destitute Americans must dig in trash, farm or starve and trading TV for food.” Or “ Farming, digging through trash and selling your family heirlooms will help stave off starvation.”)

Recession, health get Americans gardening
Americans have started backyard fruit and vegetable gardening in a desire to cut costs during tough economic times and amid fears about food safety. Sowing seeds to save money
( I love this one, it should read “Depression, broke & soon starving American forced to farm for survival)

Dump your mortgage, transform yourself
Iris Martin is not a banker, real estate lawyer or mortgage broker. She is a former psychotherapist who saw in the housing crisis an opportunity for people to take charge of a bad situation and, by doing so, transform themselves.
( should read “ Americans run away and start over with nothing” Or “ Dump the government & the federal reserve and transform the jackasses on wall street into honest people”)

Jobless Japanese autoworkers turn to elder care
The nursing care sector in the world's most rapidly graying country is starved for employees, yet teaching unemployed autoworkers geriatric care is easier said than done. (Should read “ Jobless Japanese autoworkers take huge pay cut and turn to the only jobs left.” Or Would you want a disgruntled ex-auto worker taking care of your mother?”)

Laid off U.S. workers seek future in college
Realtor and mortgage broker Jullisa Kalish thrived in the property boom. Now that it has turned to bust, she is back in college working toward what she hopes will be a more robust career -- as a bookkeeper. ( Should read “ Going back to school because there is nothing else” or “ LAID OFF WORKERS, have no options except going back to college”)

Recession deepens, Americans go fishing
As Americans forgo expensive vacations, costly dinners and shopping mall splurges, many are opting instead for the quiet simplicity of fishing.

Top 10 vacations for the newly unemployed
Lost your job? Travel could be just the opportunity needed to expand horizons and build some new skills.

What I am trying to do.

Wake up to the real world you live in

I have been collecting and commenting on stories, news and documents to show you, the real world of propaganda, lies and power manipulation in which you are immersed. Like a small bird you are surrounded by, breathing in and being pushed about by power. Your governments are trying to get you to believe that they are doing everything in your best interest. COMPLETE RUBBISH

Remember that:

Power is a fluid state of ability or the potential use of that ability which exists between two or more parties or groups. Much like air or water, power exist in constant state of imbalance moving about from person to person and place to place on its continues journey towards equilibrium or imbalance. We become aware of power at the moments when there is a movement or motion from equilibrium to imbalance or vice versa.This blog will look at articles, stories, reports and political documents to see and to make note which people or groups are looking to create greater equilibrium or looking to increase the imbalance in power.