winners and losers in globalism -- qwerty, 17:37:55 10/22/03 Wed
interview was in 1994 ... some excerpts
pretty much on the mark nearly 10 years later
===
Sir James GoldsmithÆs claim to fame in the 1980s was as a corporate raider; he cemented his reputation as an extraordinarily shrewd businessperson when he sold his stocks in the days before the 1987 stock market crash. He is now a Member of the European Parliament, President of the Parliamentary group LÆEurope des Nations and a member of the Parliamentary Committee concerned with global trade, the Committee on External Economic Relations. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Goldsmith Foundation, EuropeÆs largest privately-funded charity specializing in supporting environmental causes
MM: WonÆt high tech jobs replace those that move offshore?
Goldsmith: High tech industries can, indeed, survive and prosper under these circumstances. That is because they are highly automated and therefore employ only a few people. So labor is a minor item in the overall cost of the products that they make. But obviously the fact that they employ very few people means that they are incapable of employing very many. As soon as they need to employ many, they will be forced to move offshore. For example, IBM is moving its disk drive business from America and Western Europe to low labor cost countries. Boeing has also announced that it will transfer to China production of parts of certain of its planes to China.
In France, proponents of global free trade constantly say that the exporting of such high tech products as very fast trains, airplanes and satellites will create jobs on a large scale. Alas, this is not true. The recent $2.1 billion contract selling very fast French trains to South Korea has resulted in the maintenance for four years of only 800 jobs in France : 535 for the main supplier and 265 for the subcontractors. Much of the work is carried out in Korea by Asian companies using Asian labor. What is more, following the transfer of technology to South Korea, in a few years time Asia will be able to buy very fast trains directly from South Korea and bypass France. As for planes and satellites, the numbers employed in this industry in France have fallen consistently. Over the 5 years from 1987 to 1992, they have fallen from 123,000 employees to 111,000 and are forecast to fall to 102,000 in the short term.
MM: WonÆt the growth of the service sector compensate for the jobs lost in manufacturing?
Goldsmith: I am afraid that even service industries will be subjected to substantial transfers of employment to low-cost areas. Today through satellites you can remain in constant contact with offices in distant lands. That means that companies employing large back offices can close them and shift employment to low-cost areas. SWISSAIR has recently transferred a significant part of its accounts department to India, for example.
MM: But certain services such as health and education, cannot be transferred overseas, can they?
Goldsmith: A nationÆs economy is split into two broad segments, one which produces wealth and the other which dispenses it. That in no way means that the latter is inferior. It includes such vital activities as health and education. But one cannot reduce that part of our economy which produces wealth and expect to be able to maintain the other part which dispenses it. You must earn what you spend.
MM: Proponents of GATT claim it will spur growth, citing, for example, the joint study published by the OECD and the World Bank which states that the application of the GATT proposals would increase world income by $213 billion a year. How can we turn down such growth?
Goldsmith: If you study the facts, you will find that the increase is forecast to come about in 10 years time. Two hundred and thirteen billion dollars is a large sum of money, but to assess its significance you must compare it to the worldÆs GNP as it is forecast to be in 10 years time. Two hundred and thirteen billion dollars is no more than 0.7 percent of the worldÆs anticipated GNP. What is more, the General Secretary of the OECD described the report as being "highly theoretical."
MM: How do you respond to GATT proponentsÆ claims that free trade will enable consumers to benefit from being able to buy cheaper imported products manufactured with low-cost labor?
Goldsmith: Consumers are not just people who buy products, they are also the same people who earn a living by working, and who pay taxes. As consumers they may be able to buy certain products cheaper, although when Nike moved its manufacturing from the United States to Asia, shoe prices did not drop. Profit margins rose. But the real cost of apparently cheaper goods will be that people will lose their jobs, get paid less for their work and have to face higher taxes to cover the social cost of increased unemployment. Consumers are also citizens, many of whom live in towns. As unemployment rises and poverty increases, the towns will grow even more unstable. So the benefits of cheap imported products will be heavily outweighed by the consequent social and economic costs.
MM: Why will GATT reduce earnings?
Goldsmith: According to figures published by the U.S. Department of Labor, since 1973, in inflation-adjusted dollars, real hourly and weekly earnings in the United States have already dropped by an average of 16.4 percent, and that was before the most recent GATT negotiations known as the Uruguay Round. If populations of 4 billion people enter the workforce and are willing to offer their labor at a fraction of the price paid to workers in the developed world, it is obvious that such a massive increase in supply will reduce the value of labor. Also, it will take away practically all negotiating power from organized labor. When trade unions ask for concessions, the answer will be: "If you put too much pressure on us, we will move offshore where we can get much cheaper labor, which does not seek protection, long holidays, and all the other items that you want to negotiate."
You must understand that global free trade will brutally shatter the way in which value-added is shared between capital and labor. Value-added is the increase of value obtained when you convert raw materials into a manufactured product. In a mature society such as our own, we have been able to develop a general agreement as to how it should be shared between labor and capital. That agreement has been reached through generations of political debate, elections, strikes, lockouts and other conflicts. Overnight that agreement will be destroyed by the arrival of huge populations willing to deeply undercut the salaries earned by our workforces. The social division that this will engender will be deeper than anything envisaged by Marx in the nineteenth century.
MM: Who will be the winners and losers under a system of global free trade?
Goldsmith: The losers will, of course, be those who become unemployed as a result of production being moved offshore. They would also be those who lose their jobs because their companies do not move offshore and are not able to compete with cheap imported products. Finally, they will be all those affected by the reduction in their earning capacity following the shift in the sharing of value- added.
The winners will be those who can benefit from an almost inexhaustible supply of very cheap labor. They will be the companies who move their production offshore to low-cost areas; the companies who will benefit from paying lower salaries at home; and those who have capital to invest offshore, and who will receive larger dividends as a result of the very low-cost labor. But they would be like the winners of a poker game on the Titanic. The wounds inflicted on their societies would be too deep to be acceptable without brutal consequences.
It should also be remembered that one of the characteristics of developing countries is that a small handful of people control the overwhelming majority of their nationÆs resources. It is these people who own the major part of their nationÆs industrial, commercial and financial enterprises and who assemble the cheap labor which is used to manufacture products for the developed world. Thus, it is the poor in the rich countries who will subsidize the rich in the poor countries. This will have a deep impact on the social cohesion of nations.
MM: But why do Third World nations themselves support global free trade?
Goldsmith: You must distinguish between the populations on the one hand and their ruling elites on the other. As I explained earlier, it is these elites which are in favor of global free trade. It is they who will be enriched. Visit India and you will find that there have been demonstrations of up to one million people opposing the destruction of their rural communities, their culture and their traditions. In the Philippines , several hundred thousand farmers protested against GATT because it would destroy their agriculture.
{Fair use copyright........purely educational...not for medicinal use}
Do you think that the white metal has greater potential than gold in the precious metals market?
A great deal of the information about silver can be classified under two broad headings. One, how is silver LIKE gold? Two, how is silver DIFFERENT than gold? When it comes to a discussion of which metal can be expected to have the greatest percentage increase, it is within this second category where the answer will be found.
There are a great many ways that silver is different from gold and it would behoove the potential silver investor to investigate all of the differences. However, for purposes of this discussion, I will only list some of the most meaningful.
Gold is mined and accumulated. Silver is mined, consumed in micro amounts and then lost. Thus, the above ground stockpile of gold is GROWING, while the above ground stockpile of silver is SHRINKING. Presently there may be ten times more gold than silver in above ground stocks — a ratio that is widening by the day.
Gold has few meaningful industrial uses. Silver is perhaps the most versatile metal on the planet and it usually has no substitutes. As such, it is indispensable to modern civilizations.
Because gold's price has been NEAR or ABOVE its production cost for so long, there are HUNDREDS of gold projects on the books. But, there are only TENS of silver projects due to the lengthy period of prices BELOW production costs.
Gold comes from gold mines, but 70 to 80% of our silver comes from by-product production: copper, lead, zinc and gold mines. Therefore, higher silver prices will not result in a proportional increase in production.
In general geologic terms, the deeper you go in a gold mine, the richer the grade. The deeper you go in a silver mine, the weaker the grade. Therefore, most of the world's silver deposits that are found near surface have already been discovered and have been mined out.
Unlike gold, there are no known large inventories that can be dumped in the event of a run-away silver market.
What does this body of facts imply? That in some respects, silver is very different from gold — almost the opposite. And, silver will VASTLY outperform gold on a percentage basis over the next several years.
END
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Comment: More confirmation that silver is richer at surface than at depth. If "70 to 80%" of silver is secondarily produced that means that 20 to 30% is primarily produced so it is not like there is NO primary mined silver. Please remember, also, that all these variables will change as the POS increases. Meaning that projects will be viable for primary silver mining at higher silver prices. Primary silver will increase but for the most part secondary silver mining will remain mostly the same because the silver component won't change the overall profitability that much.
Has the "easy" silver been picked over? Yes, of course it has. The majority of the earth's land surfaces have had some degree of geological analysis. New primary silver mines are much more likely to come as a result of POS increasing and affecting the economics of a previously explored property than as a result of brand new discoveries.
Nuggets? They certainly exist according to Murray's links, they're simply MUCH rarer than gold nuggets, right?
Gold is approaching the point that the Cubbies and Sox approached last week..........a mere scant outs {dollars} from the promised land. I so much look forward to EW capitulation that I can taste it. At some point some projections for POS or POG are pure and simple nonsense. 50c silver for prime example. Unfortunately it can take decades to discredit some of these EW predictions.
[Edit] The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- RossL, 14:39:33 10/22/03 Wed
[Edit] Some Good Advice On P.M. Investing From Dr. Richard Appel. -- beesting, 12:37:13 10/22/03 Wed
URL to full article a recommened read: http://www.kitco.com/ind/Appel/oct222003.html
In the case of futures contracts the person is not only liable for
his committed margin, but also for all losses that may occur while
he holds the contract. In early 1980, the rules regarding silver
were changed on the Comex. Silver had run from about $15 to
over $50 in the space of only several months. When silver
passed $50 the Comex officials mandated that the exchange
would only accept orders for liquidation. This forced the longs to
sell as no new buy orders could be entered. The result of this
rule change was that silver plummeted! It went limit down for a
number of days until it again resumed trading in the mid-$30
range. The longs, who earlier had amassed substantial profits,
were then faced with staggering losses as they could not exit
their trades. They were locked in! Each contract consisted of
5,000 ounces of silver. Thus, when silver fell from over $50 to
below $40, the longs lost over $50,000 per contract. Numerous
individuals went bankrupt overnight. This is not to say that such
an event will be repeated. However, when trading futures,
recognize that one’s losses are not limited to their margin
requirements.
FINANCIAL INSIGHTS is written and published by Dr.
Richard Appel and is made available for informational purposes
only.
Specifically, we intend to put the court in the position where it knows that if it dismisses our claims it will be broadcasting, not only to the American People, but to the entire world, that government based upon the consent of the People is a quaint anachronism in America, that the American People have no way remaining to peacefully enforce their Rights, that the People of America are no longer free, that the government of the United States has seized the ultimate power from the People, that after 225 years the government of the United States of America has decided to downgrade the Republic, that it will no longer accept being limited by a written Constitution and that the government intends to devalue the United States of America by dropping it down into the ranks of the world’s socialist democracies.
By great intent and design, we have insured that only a single question declaring the sovereignty of the People through the Right of Petition is before the court. There are no questions about “Section 861”. There are no questions about tax liability. There are no questions about the definition of “income.”
There is only a single question – and in the answer to that question there can be NO middle ground. The people either enjoy sovereignty over servant government or they do not. Our servant government must answer the People’s Petitions or we will have been reduced to rely on the ballot for the protection of our Rights, as is the case in socialist democracies. Either we have the ability to peaceably enforce our Rights through Petition or we do not.
Should the courts dismiss our claim, the US Government will, by definition, be inviting Americans to resort to extraordinary means in defense of their Rights and Freedom. Is this moment in history distinguishable from the events leading up to our Founding Fathers’ frustrated encounters with King George?
[Edit] There exists a way to sell silver for over $100 an ounce. -- Cor Tauri, 04:23:30 10/22/03 Wed
I saw so many posts about silver, and I was thinking about silver so much just now, that I thought I would post about it.
I noticed the price of silver and gold has gone up overnight. I view that as very unfortunate. I have changed sides on the silver issue. In the past I was purchasing silver as a safe-haven, investment sort of thing. I ended up with so much silver that at some point I decided to make things out of it. I am learning to make jewelry. I have made several pieces already, and they are pretty good considering how new to it I am.
Before they went to bed, my wife and sons helped me draw wire. I have an inexpensive rolling mill and drawplate. We have need of fine silver wire for making jump rings to make whats called a loop in loop chain. I also alloy my silver to make sterling sometimes. Someone mentioned Tulving and thats funny, because the silver I am melting and pouring into my little ingot mold comes from the last batch of silver I purchased from Tulving. I think I paid around $4.60 or so for the rounds, I don't remember. Another silver project that is on my mind is the creation of a pendant for my Mother in Law. A package of garnets and some other stones will arrive soon. I fear that if and when exchange controls and or terrible import duties are put in place, I will be unable to get gemstones from Sri Lanka and Thailand. I worry that silver will go up so much in price that I will be unable to get more at a reasonable price. I am concerned that the price of gold is rising just as I always hoped it would. But I have yet to work in gold and I wanted to do that too.
As I said, I have changed sides. I am now a silver user, a very small silver user, but silver is no longer an investment to me, it is the raw material from which I work my art. I never thought I would be an artist, but really at this late hour of our Republic what else is there to do?
I have worked in service industries all my working life. I still do. I never really produced anything. Over the past six months or so, I have learned to forge, braze, fuse and patinate silver. I have learned to make bezels and set gemstones. Soon I will learn to set very small gemstones, and perhaps do claw mountings and flush setting. This past evening, however, I made wire. My son held the drawplate, and I pulled. It's good wire, it will be good to make more.
I am starting to understand things. The silver wire for instance. It exists, but it wouldn't exist if it wasn't for me, my son, someone who made the cheap drawplate, Hans Tulving who provided the silver, someone who mined the silver, and made the equipment I use, the people who told me how to do it, and the people who gave me the confidence to begin learning all these things, several of which are posters here at ER, though I doubt they realize it.
I hope I havn't rambled on too much. There seem to be so few posts these days. I enjoy reading what everyone here writes. If anyone is interested in learning how jewelry is made there is a very good website at http://www.ganoksin.com/
"...the five most frightening words on Wall Street are "Eliot Spitzer on line one." If the silver market has been manipulated, as I allege, Mr. Spitzer's presence could change that...."
"....I think timing is tantamount to luck, but I think price is everything. At $5, silver can't lose 98% of its value. At this point, I have trouble visualizing how it can lose more than 10% of its value. This is the most important thing I can say about real silver. It can't hurt you financially. It can reward you spectacularly. I'll be honest, it would ruin my life, or at least ruin my own impression of myself forever, if I ever caused anyone to lose 98% of their capital on what I represented was a good, solid investment. That's not going to happen with paid-for, real silver. Maybe if you buy it at $200 per ounce, but not at $5.
When silver launches from five dollars, it will become a hold, not a buy, until it becomes a sale. As a fundamental, value-oriented analyst, I will not be urging you to buy it all the way up. I will be urging you (most likely) to hold that which you were fortunate enough to buy when price and risk were low. And agonizing over when to sell. But first things, first. You can't hold, for what may be a very long time, and agonize over not selling too soon, unless you have first bought wisely. The time for buying wisely is now...."
[Edit] Current POG, POS, POP & U$D Live Price -- CHARTs, 01:51:03 10/22/03 Wed
[Edit] Sentimental About Silver.. -- Rex, 01:03:31 10/22/03 Wed
@ Netking, SLATT, Galearis, beesting, auspec, and others who might post further info
later regarding my "question" about silver. Thanks for your interesting posts.
It's almost an enigmatic paradox, silver. While in the early eras, it was apparently
near-surface abundant; relatively easily refined into useable metal; was indeed rare
to find in nugget or dust formats as was common with gold. Much was produced.
And, apparently, in these later times, less abundant; needing more complex refining;
digging deeper; and comensurate energy requirements to achieve useful metal and purity.
And many say, nowadays underproduced, or overconsumed by a wide margin.
With the only economical way to produce it is as a byproduct of other metals mining.
Yet we've seen in that often-posted (even linked at ER's CHARTs Page) 600-year silver
price chart, it has steadily declined in value to what's essentially ludicrous today.
Laughable, I mean, in that it cannot be right, or even partly reflect silver's true
worth. When one considers the costs involved in producing it. Just the energy cost
alone would seem to justify far higher prices for .999 refined silver.
Too, I guess that could be said of ALL precious metals, especially platinum group,
that they all would eventually rise by a factor more reflective of their energy costs.
Platinum, probably being the only one that has achieved recently near all-time highs,
whether because of scarcity; demand; refining costs; or maybe just excessive speculation
in the paper commodity markets. Who can ever know? It may be the best investment of all.
It's odd, too, how little is ever said or posted about platinum in all these PM forums.
Here, we daily, hourly, track gold and silver prices and yet nobody says anything about
those that trade at more honest pricings. Are we missing something?
So to me, silver is a mysterious, puzzling anomoly in valuation. Is there a shortage,
or not? Any day of the week, Tulving can supply all we'd ever need at historic low prices.
How can that be?
I suppose we'll never know, and there are as many points of view and opinions to "explain"
the unexplainable as the number of real silver coins in a dirt-cheap 40 or 90 percent bag.
The thought crossed my mind, as I read and digested most of the links etc posted, that
silver should still have great value. I mean, in 1880 a silver dollar coin was exactly
that. A dollar of real money. And so, today, if we had or used those same coins as money,
they should..SHOULD..have the same purchasing power. Adjusted for inflation, that's $17.
Maybe that's why I tend to favor the old percent-silver bags. To me, they reflect the old
days, when money was money, honest money, and there was a certin beauty in that. I guess
I'm just sentimental.
stratfor keeps people dumb down about the big picture of foreign policy through distractions and omission
when the nwo senses people looking for news outside the system, they will create or put forth a media vehicle to deliver what people want although it will be delivered with taint ... they seem to do general political & psychological profiles of their target audience ...
stratfor like other info sources can be useful but one needs to know their real agenda
"JUST IN 4:00 CDT – my source tells me THE STALKER was a big buyer today in the physical market, embarking on his second tranche. You might recall we reported THE STALKER bought $4.6 billion worth of gold a ways back and was going to buy $1.6 billion more. This second tranche of buying is underway and was a major reason gold was so strong. It is anticipated it will take days to fill the order."
END
Comment: Nice to have friends in high places even if their identity is not fully known. Dr H or whoever.........thanks! Time for gold bugs to shift out of depressive gear back into manic gear. Overdrive works for me. Sinclair believes gold will fly through $400 if the gold advisors don't pull the plug. I wonder if he believes EVERY gold "advisor" is beyond the reach of those who suppress gold as a way of life........??
Good info being dug out here @ ER re surface silver..THANKS!
Hi Galearis.....Good informative post on "Native" Silver.
This part of your post really caught my attention because it rekindled an old memory:
(Snip)
Native silver just dissolves away in the streams and rivers due to dissolved gases in the
water in addition to the abrasive environment found there.
(Unsnip)
..........And I might add is eventually washed/drained into the oceans of the world.
Long ago I worked with a former mineral assayer who was responsible for getting me interested in Gold/Silver/precious metals.
It was from him that I first heard the words," There is more Gold in a cubic mile of ocean water than all the Gold in Fort Knox."
Being young and naive I asked how that could be possible since Gold is much heavier than water and would sink to the lowest point.
He very patiently explained the Gold is in a state of emulsion or suspension(dissolved) since it has been obsorbed over eons of time with a certain type of gas which is found in the earths crust and very readily mixes with water. I think the gas was called "Fluorine"(not 100% sure) which is an element.
Dictionary definition FLUORINE: a nonmetallic univalent halogen element that is normally a pale yellowish flamible irritating toxic gas.
So naturally the problems encountered when trying to precipitate the Gold or Silver from concentrated ocean water would probably require first isolating the "Flourine/Gold/Silver" solution and then separating the flourine from the Gold/Silver and whatever else might also be in a dissolved state.
Apparently it has been done but on a large scale the cost would far exceed the value of the Gold/Silver recovered.
Now if Gold goes to $3,500.00 per ounce and Silver to
$100.00 or more, and fiat paper is still used as money.......And could be printed by the truckload....maybe some entrepreneurs will proceed with the process on a commercial scale???
...........beesting.
[Edit] More crybabies -- volavka, 12:49:52 10/21/03 Tue
You all knew the stoppers where set @ 10.00 levels and you just don't have the guts to run'um.
Okay gap it up thru 385 will blow thru 388 and off to 425.
I can wait. I've got nothing but time and nothing on margin.
Raise the margin to 20,000 a contract, I'm ready...
[Edit] Home sweet Home -- volavka, 11:45:14 10/21/03 Tue
[Edit] Dr Hwang say: -- volavka, 11:03:27 10/21/03 Tue
Western world in deep shit now.
China will join force with India...
Now dig deep for those deep reserves...
[Edit] china auto market -- qwerty, 10:22:54 10/21/03 Tue
===
IN FIVE YEARS China will become Asia’s largest automotive market, pushing ahead of Japan, predicted “Frederick Henderson, Asia-Pacific president for the U.S. auto giant. Henderson was speaking at a meeting of international executives on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, being held in the Thai capital.
“Looking at the next 10 years, we see China being an engine of growth across the world,” Henderson said
===
it's truly amazing seeing the US middle class continue to mindlessly vote democrat and republican ...
voting in arnold to bless the 50 billion dollar energy theft from californians and then seeing him put the same crooks who pulled of the last one is utterly amazing
the middle class continues to pound nails into their own coffins
[Edit] @ Rex and Net king re: "native" silver -- Galearis, 10:12:46 10/21/03 Tue
The question:
"Someone please correct me, but I was of the impression that
silver does not occur in a natural "refined" state.
ie: as gold does, in the form of nuggets or solid veins.."
I haven't followed the links posted by Murray but in hope that I can add to the knowledge base here: silver does occur in the "native" or elemental form - but not in "naturally refined" form (smile). It is mined in high-grade veins mixed with often an interesting assemblage of secondary silver minerals, and (often) cobalt and or nickel sulphide and arsenide gangue minerals. It sometimes found with native copper (Michigan) called "half breeds" as metal fillings of vesicles and veins in lavas. It is also found in high-grade native gold as a natural alloy called electrum - usually 10 to 15% of the substance of this free gold metal form is silver and a little platinum and (sometimes) tellurium.... The primary silver deposits, however, are the product of hydrothermal/epithermal events and are referred to as "surface mines" in comparison to emplacement or replacement ore bodies of base metal mines that also produce silver. The primary ore bodies are supposedly the ones that are becoming rare these days......
Virtually all the early silver and gold mines involved the elemental forms of the metal. Low tech cultures had little recourse.
The interesting thing about silver, the mineral, is its rarity. It is, as you know highly reactive (that tarnish you see on the family silver is silver sulphide) and that one finds native (elemental) silver at all in mineable quantities is delicious mineralogically speaking. Most of the time these primary mines (Mexican mines are common examples) are rich, but in secondary minerals, argentite being the most "common", with about 65% silver composition.
Native silver, when present, is there but in much smaller percentages.
The highly reactive properties of silver also precludes it being found, like gold, in nugget form in old and new placer deposits. Silver nuggets are all but unknown in nature; I can think of only one instance... Native silver just dissolves away in the streams and rivers due to dissolved gases in the water in addition to the abrasive environment found there.
Hope this is helpful....
Best regards,
G.
[Edit] What next? -- Frisco Fred, 10:01:16 10/21/03 Tue
Omar's post reminded me of an unusual experience I had in a department store yesterday. Walking toward me was a gentleman, not finely dressed, but not shabbily dressed either. As I neared him I saw a yellow object attached to his blue shirt on his left chest. As we walked closer, I could easily see what the yellow object was. It was a yellow Star of David with "JUDE" written across it. I stopped (not very polite, I suppose) and said, "Excuse me, sir, but I was interested in your Star of David." He replied, "I wear it so they will always know who and where I am and not have to come looking for me." Then he walked away. Maybe he knows what we only think.
It's an ill wind,
FF
[Edit] just another dull day for gold -- qwerty, 09:53:26 10/21/03 Tue
This may surprise most educated people. One of the more common government strategies today, especially in developing regions is fascism. Fascism is commonly confused with Nazism. Nazism is a political party platform that embraces a combination of a military dictatorship, socialism and fascism. It is not a government structure. Fascism is a government structure. The most notable characteristic of a fascist country is the separation and persecution or denial of equality to a specific segment of the population based upon superficial qualities or belief systems.
[snip]
The 14 Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. TOP
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. TOP
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. [environmentalists?]
4. Supremacy of the Military -
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. TOP
5. Rampant Sexism -
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homo-sexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. TOP
6. Controlled Mass Media -
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. TOP
7. Obsession with National Security -
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. TOP
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. TOP
9. Corporate Power is Protected -
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. TOP
10. Labor Power is Suppressed -
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. TOP
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. TOP
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. TOP
14. Fraudulent Elections -
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. TOP
-----------
Rgds,
OmarD
[Edit] Silver - Financial Sense -- Netking, 04:04:03 10/21/03 Tue
"...Gold is mined and accumulated. Silver is mined, consumed in micro amounts and then lost. Thus, the above ground stockpile of gold is GROWING, while the above ground stockpile of silver is SHRINKING. Presently there may be ten times more gold than silver in above ground stocks — a ratio that is widening by the day.
Gold has few meaningful industrial uses. Silver is perhaps the most versatile metal on the planet and it usually has no substitutes. As such, it is indispensable to modern civilizations.
Because gold's price has been NEAR or ABOVE its production cost for so long, there are HUNDREDS of gold projects on the books. But, there are only TENS of silver projects due to the lengthy period of prices BELOW production costs.
Gold comes from gold mines, but 70 to 80% of our silver comes from by-product production: copper, lead, zinc and gold mines. Therefore, higher silver prices will not result in a proportional increase in production.
In general geologic terms, the deeper you go in a gold mine, the richer the grade. The deeper you go in a silver mine, the weaker the grade. Therefore, most of the world's silver deposits that are found near surface have already been discovered and have been mined out.
Unlike gold, there are no known large inventories that can be dumped in the event of a run-away silver market.
What does this body of facts imply? That in some respects, silver is very different from gold — almost the opposite. And, silver will VASTLY outperform gold on a percentage basis over the next several years...."
It has been suggested that seawater contains 10 trillion dollars(US) worth, though in somewhat dilute concentrations. Certain bacteria are believed to have been involved in the precipitation of gold out of dilute hydrothermal solutions. A possible avenue for commercially viable gold recovery from seawater might involve such a bacterium, or a specifically engineered microbe.
Reported values for the concentration of gold in seawater have ranged from 5 to 50 ppt, with the average concentration at about 13 ppt. Some of the highest concentrations recently reported have come from seawater samples taken from the Bering Sea at 50 ppt.
The sea water of the Earth's oceans contain about 25 billion ounces of gold (Burk 1989*). If the ability of some of these bacteria to concentrate gold around their cell membranes to the degree that they form massively dense agglomerations of hollow gold microtubuals, as the evidence suggests, then perhaps a similar bacterium may find a practical application in sea water.
http://www.goldfever.com/gold_sea.htm#Burk
Written by Timothy McNulty - Copyright 1994 - Fair use snip's copied.
* [Burk, Maksymilian (1989) Gold, Silver and Uranium from Seas and Oceans, ARDOR Publishing, Los Angeles, CA.]
For sure there are lots of pm deposits under the sea, and there they will remain for the foreseeable future. The amazing Howard Hughes once set about to do seafloor mining, but he was really mining for a sunken Russian sub. The price per ounce would have to be pretty magnificent before seafloor mining becomes a substantial market force. Unless free energy of some sort is harnessed, which should make gold cheap as dirt anyhow due to seawater mining. It would change everything. So, free energy -...now is there any kooky idea I haven't brought into this topic yet?
As for the cheap & easy pm's being mined allready... well of course they have. As our tech advances it gets "easier" to mine miles underground or to profit from sub-1g/ton au open pits, but the amounts of effort and energy involved in these processes... they're the polar opposite of easy.
Were these early easy surface finds SOOO rich that they could account for Guyatt's numbers? I wouldn't think so. They must be somewhat analogous to the occasional great surface finds today in remote unexplored places, and none of these are particularly earth shattering. (Although get back to me in a month about that one.)
[Edit] bulldustorm -- number six, 02:38:57 10/21/03 Tue
I mean goldustorm, ;) I don't want you to think I'm very heavily invested in this theory about antidiluvian pm miners and their possible prodigious finds. I was just pointing out that our ideas about historical production MIGHT be out of whack if our ideas about history are also wrong. Maybe there were civilised people back then when there was 10-20% more land to explore, so maybe those lands which are now ocean hide SOME of the mine workings needed to account for Guyatt's crazy numbers. But like Endgame says, this is pyramiding one far-out theory upon another. At a stretch, it might actually mean historical production was ~10% higher than we'd thought, which is probably within our wiggle-range anyhow.
As for the gold sinking, I was assuming it would be the first thing anyone took with them when escaping to higher lands. The end of the ice age was a 5-10,000 year process, so usually there was time to escape. Although in some cases it was a very dramatic process - huge freshwater lakes formed as the miles-deep ice packs melted. These would eventually break through to the oceans in a most cataclysmic manner, sending 1000ft waves bursting along and gouging their way over everything.
But whether pm mining began at a respectable ~3000 bc or at the radical >10,000 bc, there was still the same amount waiting for us initially. Just how much, I'm not sure.
If you want to use the ancient world to explain a spare 40 bil ounces, then you still have to postulate an extremely long-running & elaborate scheme to support the price - DeBeers style,- by deluding everyone about stockpiles and by limiting supply to the market. Even the Oppenheimers realised that's too much hard work and it's easier to diversify into easier scams like banking, (Oppy's own HSBC, right? And Anglogold come to think of it.)
Anyhow, when my number one holding imxpf.ob comes through with amazing results in a month or so, (thereby finding 1 or 2 billion "hidden" ounces of ag, ;) ) I'll then be able to afford to scuba at some of these lost places, and I'll report back to you on any headframes or semi-autogenous mills that I might spot.
[Edit] Rex etc - Ag Nuggets -- Netking, 00:46:13 10/21/03 Tue
Good evening, good question/s but it would seem the answer is "yes", maybe Galearis our friend from the north would be more qualified to speak on this than me, or Au_Nuggets. Anyway the info in the short link below may be of some use :-)
[Edit] Silver Nuggets? Never Heard of Them.. -- Rex, 23:44:59 10/20/03 Mon
Someone please correct me, but I was of the impression that
silver does not occur in a natural "refined" state.
ie: as gold does, in the form of nuggets or solid veins..
Silver is always found/mined in a condition that needs further complex refining?
[Edit] Current POG & POS & U$D Live Price -- CHARTs, 23:34:57 10/20/03 Mon
[Edit] DC Electricity Directly from Flowing Water.. -- Rex, 23:32:39 10/20/03 Mon
"All this means is that the easiest stuff and likely the most abundant was long ago pocketed. Rich stuff way beyond what is commonly found now and lots of it. Why not?"
This quote represents a myopia all too common in the PM investment community.
"easiest stuff"- that assumes much. Usually said in the context of some boob bending down to throw their back out trying to heft a large "nugget". The easiest stuff has yet to be mined. It is dependent upon the price of the metal vs. the cost of mining.
"most abundant"- this is simply wrong. Roughly 25% of the earth's surface is terra firma. Writing off 75% of the surface of the earth is foolhardy considering large areas of terra firma have not been investigated, particularly at depth.
"rich stuff"- in what context? More metal per ton than today? More total production? I submit that greater amounts of precious metals are being produced today than at any time in the known history of man.
The major impediment to flooding the world with precious metals is the cost of energy. Solve it and civilization will change, power will shift, and much of the mundane will become extremely valuable. We already know where the easiest and most abundant source of PMs exist, i.e. under the sea and in sea water.
There has never been a lack of PMs on or in the earth. Mankind has always found what was needed.
[Edit] Endgame & Chinese Silver Production -- auspec, 18:41:14 10/20/03 Mon
"I can find no credible explanation as to why for most of the twentieth century China reported virtually no silver production yet was near the top in copper, lead and zinc mining"
I have been advised by officials of Canadian mining companies currently exploring China for gold and other minerals that China presents a distinct LACK of silver. When in Germany lots of VW's are seen, Mercedes in Germany, etc. Silver in Mexico, South America, Australia, but not so in China. At least not to date. Secondary silver to some degree but primary silver mines almost nonexistent. They had no axe to grind, volunteered the info.........& I take them at their word.
Looking back over historic production of silver. For the most part the greatest quantities of silver have been found relatively close to surface. How was the initial amounts of silver "mined".......? Sheesh, a lot of it was simply picked up off the ground from where it was patiently waiting. Next came abundant primary silver near-surface mines, and finally much deeper mines.
All this means is that the easiest stuff and likely the most abundant was long ago pocketed. Rich stuff way beyond what is commonly found now and lots of it. Why not?
Anyone who is searching China for historic open pit mines is in posession of insufficiently tightened screws. China has no modern mining methods..........they are just now being introduced to modern mining by Canadian companies for the most part. They simply used raw man power for metal extraction..........not exactly going to show up via satellite.
Chinese mining records are dismal at best.......a great unknown.
Buying silver well below the cost of produvtion is, sooner or later, a big winner. Anyone who sells silver well below the cost of production is either stupid or manipulative. I'll wait em out, thank you.
I don’t think that you have to believe in Atlanteans or aliens to come up with the missing silver. I can find no credible explanation as to where all of the silver used for coinage that went to China during the seventeenth and eighteenth century disappeared to. I can find no credible explanation as to why for most of the twentieth century China reported virtually no silver production yet was near the top in copper, lead and zinc mining. I can find no credible explanation as to where all of the silver coins from around the world have gone except that China does get a lot of silver nitrate to do the final refining on.
And then other thing that escapes me is why China has not gone the way of Atlantis given the weight of all of that silver hoarded within its borders.
Regards,
Endgame
[Edit] @number six – golden black bull -- Endgame, 17:49:33 10/20/03 Mon
Come now. You can’t pyramid the current black gold nonsense on top of another fantasy. Even if some ancient societies were swallowed up by the waters, these still would have been some very primitive peoples. And they did not burrow miles below the surface of the earth and use massive pumps and compressors to keep their gold mining operations going.
And even if by some fluke that they had managed to dig up some gold, one would think that that gold would have sank with them. Unless gold floated in those days.
And even if gold did not float but they somehow managed to get it to shore, where has it been hiding for all of these centuries. Certainly the Pharaohs did not find it. Certainly the knights of old did not eat off of golden tables. But I would not put it past the Vatican.
No, the world is not awash in zillions of ounces of black gold. But Guyatt has books to sell. And this story is very important for the endgame. That time that is yet to come, when all must believe that there is no end to the gold coming to market.
Regards,
Endgame
[Edit] What's a "Patriot" to do? -- auspec, 17:33:44 10/20/03 Mon
Jim Willie has it just about right in this G-E essay:
Nice to see brave and educated men shouting about the "Creature". Willie has gone from high tech bust to pro gold in a hurry........a scant few years.
[Edit] @number six -- Goldustorm, 16:45:49 10/20/03 Mon
Thanks for that piece of the puzzle! The missing piece, because I believe 1) there are large quantities of black gold and 2) This is the tip of iceburg on ancient civilizations, which in years past I have heard much about but failed to make the metals connection up to now. And your information regarding mine tailings and workings was presented convincingly enough to pose an enigma you have solved today, IMO.
Also, your mention of Au AND Ag mining being possible in these civilizations lends credence to Endgame's assertion that large quantities of silver exist beyond official numbers. This IS very important news, because to me it makes perfect sense that silver extraction would be easy for them. And it just so happens that gold appears to be more in favor with the establishment PTB, Asians and Arabs right now, and I don't need to continue taking losses on silver. Thanks again, with apologies to the silverbugs, though I will still keep a significant core of physical Ag after trading yet some more away, unless someone like Ski, the encyclopedic silverbug, rescues me from the clutches of silvertigo disorientation.
as she approaches 1.00, adds alot to some metal mines balance sheet.
[Edit] Great Recovery -- Messenger, 10:00:10 10/20/03 Mon
Sony cutting 20,000 jobs.
Next go-around, interest rate to rise.
[Edit] Short squeeze material -- volavka, 09:36:33 10/20/03 Mon
say your prayers:
20, 2003 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) --
(FinancialWire) In a surprise announcement that has
shot through the U.S. microcap securities community
like a lightening bolt, the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission said late last week it will
consider a new Regulation SHO Wednesday, October 22,
at its 10 a.m. meeting. The regulation would require
short sellers in all equity securities to locate
securities to borrow before selling short, and add
further requirements to address "naked" short selling.
The practice of selling stocks without securing
certificates has pitted at least 13 market makers,
including Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), Goldman, Sachs
& Co. (NYSE: GS), Knight Securities, LP (NASDAQ:
NITE), and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc. (AMEX: LHS),
against some 106 public companies claiming "foul" for
over a year now, and has also called into question the
electronic settlement system run by the Depository
Trust and Clearing Corp. more commonly referred to as
the "DTC."
Despite its immense power in the securities industry,
and its "old boy" network of directors, the Depository
Trust has so far largely escaped the governance crises
that have struck, first the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission itself under Harvey L. Pitt, and
then the New York Stock Exchange and the American
Stock Exchange, currently owned by NASDAQ (OTCBB:
NDAQ).
Among other things, Regulation SHO would institute a
new uniform bid test, applicable to exchange-listed
and NASDAQ National Market System securities, that
would allow short sales to be effected at a price
above the consolidated best bid. Regulation SHO would
also suspend the operation of the proposed bid test
for specified highly liquid securities on a two-year
pilot basis.
The hearing, and assuming the SEC approves the staff's
proposal, the subsequent public comment period, is
expected to attract immense interest, as shareholders
and company executives vent their frustrations. SEC
spokesperson John Heine told FinancialWire that the
Wednesday hearings will be webcast directly from the
SEC at www.sec.gov.
[Edit] What's the color of my wind. -- volavka, 08:56:38 10/20/03 Mon
[Edit] re black gold -- number six, 00:04:01 10/20/03 Mon
The other day when I was writing about Guyatt and his alleged 40 bil oz of gold, I thought the whole thing was silly, (well, the numbers mentioned anyhow,) so I said "Where did they mine these ounces, Atlantis??" Obviously, I was poking fun at it all. But as chance would have it, I listened today to an interview with Graham Hancock, who is quite an expert on ancient civilisations gone to the sea. He's got a very good case! Obviously "Atlantis" isn't an actual continent what sunk one day. But what it might well be is antidiluvian/pre-ice age civilisations that were swallowed up by the "great flood." The coastal land masses which disappeared over this time were as large as South America plus USA combined. And slowly, they are revealing their secrets. The best finds being the underwater pyramid/thing of the coast of Okinawa, and the new finds of huge structures off India's south-east coast, and the big underwater cities found off India's north east coast. The Cuban discoveries also sound pretty awesome. The evidence is looking pretty watertight, even if the civilisations behind them proved not to be. This obviously hasn't made it into the mainstream official "truth" yet; and it would be considered impossible because civilisation wasn't meant to be around back then - but that is exactly what these evidences are now establishing.
So maybe lots of au & ag was mined from these regions which are now submerged, so it's not as completely fanciful as I had first thought.
[Edit] Periodic Ponzi Update PPU -- $hifty, 23:27:53 10/19/03 Sun
[Edit] "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" -- Goldustorm, 22:13:40 10/19/03 Sun
Let us not worry that when gold stands before a mirror of itself, it doesn't see itself as the currency alone among peers.
Ancient kings do not sweat the small antics and mischief of urchin "money". Nor a Bin Laden scare tape, real or fanciful, once in a while that can cause sporadic flight into currencies like the buck and bonds. They help feed the global gold calves too these days, as nearly any economic news acts like a double-edged sword.
Even if some pesky terrorist hackers "get it right" just once and trigger a FAT headline someday- lamenting the consequences of a glitch or an "unavoidable modern technological vulnerability"- notice how it directs more investment into gold and commodities and safe havens and cheap entertainment.
And notice how the world managers "fix" resembles their reactions to 9-11 and other crises where long-standing rules were changed overnight and new bureaucracy arose like knights in shining armor from their subterranean birthplace.
And then you may see that gold's greatest qualities and storied, illustrious but sometimes notorious and nefarious patronage and history will be off most everyone's radar, television, and PC screens even in the later years of the generational gold bull.
[Edit] Current POG & POS & U$D Live Price -- CHARTs, 19:45:39 10/19/03 Sun
[Edit] I'm ready -- volavka, 18:14:53 10/19/03 Sun
to go, good, bad and ugly...classic
Gold knows...it is time...
[Edit] Apec Family -- Netking, 10:39:52 10/19/03 Sun
Yep, aside from the previous post . . . the US attempts to convert the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum into a "good ol' security forum" . . . hot resistance is met from some, including China and esp from host Thai Foreign Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai . . . meanwhile Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad set the scene last week for a tense start accusing Jews of ruling the world by "proxy" [oops] and accusing Australia of being a puppet of the United States [oops] after George referred to Australia as a "sheriff". . . NZ continues to whinge for a free-trade agreement with the US, but no advance is expected on the "not right now" sentiment expressed by the President last week [Helen, what's in it for me stupid!]. . . . and so it goes on, ah yes the Apec family, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
[Edit] China's CB Governor -- Netking, 09:45:10 10/19/03 Sun
Zhou Xiaochuan [China's central bank governor] on the exchange rate of the Chinese Renminbi etc:
...the battle is not over yet with Apec members being squeezed for US allignment on this issue prior to the meet. Thus far though, the US has not attracted the necessary support to bring any substantial pressure upon the PRC.
[Edit] U S Eh? -- Goldustorm, 09:41:00 10/19/03 Sun
http://www.etherzone.com/2003/devl101703.shtml
THE FISH STINKETH FROM THE HEAD
MY FAIR LADY GOES TO WASHINGTON
By: Paula Devlin
Remember that great play, "My Fair Lady"? Its main point was that you could take a member of the lower classes, teach her how to speak and behave as a member of the upper classes and fool everyone.
Washington has been doing the political equivalent of that for years, taking sow's ears and passing them off as silk purses. While a certain amount of chicanery and filching from the till are part and parcel of the political genre, wholesale treason is not. Thugs and whores from the ideological gutter have been made over into media icons and spoon-fed to the gullible, the naïve and the lazy who refuse to call them what they are.
The goyem have been being herded into vast holding pens for the murky and nefarious purposes of the New World Order. The herding techniques have been so well refined that the goyem don't stampede, but go gently into that dark night.
Treason is a grave national problem but nobody seems to mind. During the previous administration, there was clear collusion between our government and China. Some pretty hefty campaign contributions by the Chinese minions and American corporations resulted in that White House allowing extremely important military equipment and information to be exported to the Chinese.
In the meantime, over the past 15 years other captains of industry have been exporting our manufacturing base to China so they can sell us things we used to make for ourselves and keep our money. Our money is subsidizing their war machine. For those who argue China is becoming capitalist, that's the Hollywood version: it is a state-controlled oligarchy of slaves and slave owners. Their workers make between thirteen and twenty seven cents a day and work 16/7. Granting China "most favored nation" trade status, under the circumstances, is treason. Exporting our industries, as it undermines our economic independence, is treason.
Letting Chinese fronts buy Magnaquench and helping them establish basic industries (steel mills, tool & die making) is treason. Magnaquench was an American company that used rare earth metals in the production of missile guidance systems. First the "earth-worshippers" shut down the rare earth mines in California. Then the Feds allowed the company be sold to China, which is the only other country with the same needed rare earth metals. It has markedly advanced their space program as well as their development of warheads capable of reaching multiple U.S. cities.
Global Crossing, a Bermuda corporation, went belly-up but was kept on life support because it provided communications infrastructure for the U.S. military, FBI, CIA and the U.K. military. Li Ka-Shing, Triad-connected darling of the PLA, has been trying to buy Global Crossing. Currently a Singapore corporation has it in its sights, waiting for Fed approval.
One can only speculate that Gary Winnick made Global Crossing go belly up to facilitate the sale of this extremely critical communications infrastructure. Now he is some kind of Wall Street hero for screwing so many people out of so much money and walking away rich. DOJ doesn't seem to have noticed. It's too busy covering boobs and pretending The Patriot Act will be effective against treason.
Is the flood of illegals designed to corrupt our formerly identifiable American culture? If this flood were not part of some (horrors!) conspiracy, why was not the southern border included in the Patriot Act? (Title IV Subtitle A – Protecting the Northern Border. No similar specific provisions were made for protecting the more porous border, the Mexican border.)
Our current building boom has been fueled by the 10 million plus illegals who prefer a solid roof over their heads as soon as they get jobs. Shutting off the flow of illegals will precipitate an economic crash in the housing industry.
Housing prices have been driven up and up to the point where one who has been in their house for 5 years could not afford to buy it again. To keep the myth alive that we are still a booming economy, folks are encouraged to refinance with low interest rates and spend that money on goods made in China. Why else would Consumer Confidence be so important? What about the kind of ability people have to pay down their debts with their present and anticipated income? Consumer Confidence? Give me a break. That is about feelings, not economic reality. The ordinary American worker is worse off now than thirty years ago in terms of spending power.
When will these chickens come home to roost?
Does anyone believe for a nanosecond that those inside the Beltway do not know what is in the pipeline and where they will be when it hits?
Mr. Shaw wrote a very charming play. A dark spirit translated its theme to politics, is playing the leading role and the masses can't get enough. Mr. Shaw wrote a comedy. The Washington version has all the earmarks of a tragedy.
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
Paula Devlin is a former New Englander who bolted to the Rocky Mountain West, where the air is clean, the stars are brilliant and men still put their pants on one leg at a time. Paula is a regular columnist for Ether Zone.
Paula Devlin can be reached at: pdevlin@bacavalley.com
[Edit] SHRUB MAKES A CHOICE -- OmarD, 16:11:52 10/18/03 Sat
"A entertaining story to get to a sobering punch line..."
(From Br. Ted) 10/17/03
-----------
George Dubya Bush was shot with 50 rounds from a legal assault rifle by a disgruntled NRA member who was ticked off because Bush failed to get Congress to legalize bigger assault weapons. St. Peter met the prez at the Pearly Gates.
"Welcome to Heaven," St. Peter said. "We seldom see a Republican big-wig around these parts, so we're not sure what to do with you. The Man says you're to spend one day in Hell and one day in Heaven, then choose where you'll go for eternity."
"But, I'm the President, and I've already made up my mind," Dubya said. "I wanna be in Heaven."
"Sorry, but we have our rules," said the saint, and escorted him to an elevator going down, down, down, all the way to Hell.
The doors opened and he found himself in the middle of a lush golf course, sun shining in a cloudless sky, temperature a perfect 72 degrees. In the distance, a beautiful clubhouse, and standing in front of it were his dad and dozens of others who'd helped him out along the way ó Kenny Lay, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, all happy, all laughing, all casually but expensively dressed.
They greeted him, hugged him, and reminisced about the good times they had getting rich at expense of the "suckers." They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster and caviar.
The Devil himself served the president a frosty drink. "Have a Margarita and relax, Dubya!"
"Uh, I can't drink no more, I took a pledge," said Junior, dejectedly.
"This is Hell, son," Lucifer chuckled. "You can drink and eat all you want and never worry, and it just gets better from there! Nobody's left behind."
So Dubya took the drink and found himself liking the Devil ó he seemed like a really great guy who could tell funny jokes and pull all sorts of hilarious nasty pranks, kind of like a Skull and Bones brother with real horns.
Before he realized it, it was time to go. Everyone gave him a big hug and waved as he got on the elevator and headed upward.
St. Peter was waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit Heaven," he said, and opened the gate.
For 24 hours, Bush had to hang out with a bunch of honest, good-natured, boring people who talked about things other than money, and some of them were even poor. No pranks or frat boy jokes, no swell country clubs and, while the food tasted pretty good, it sure wasn't caviar or lobster. He didn't see a soul he knew, and nobody treated him like he was special.
Worst of all, Jesus turned out to be some kind of Jewish do-gooder forever talking about ''peace'' and ''do unto others.''
"Whoa," Dubya said to himself, "Pat Robertson never prepared me for this."
At day's end, St. Peter came back. "Well, you've spent a day in Hell and a day in Heaven. Now choose where you want to live for eternity."
With the 'Jeopardy' theme playing softly in the background, Dubya squinched up his face with the effort of thinking, and then said: "Well, I never thought I'd say this -- I mean, Heaven has been just fine and all -- but I really think I belong in Hell with my friends."
So Saint Peter escorted him to the elevator again, and down, down, down he went, all the way to Hell.
The doors opened on a landscape of barren scorched earth covered with garbage and toxic industrial waste ó a little like Houston. Horrified, he saw all his friends, dressed in rags and chained together, endlessly picking up trash and putting it in bags, groaning and moaning piteously, faces and hands black with grime.
"I-I don't understand," Dubya stammered in shock. "Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course and a clubhouse and we ate lobster and caviar and drank booze. We screwed around and had a great time. Now it just looks like we're back on earth, and it's just a wasteland full of garbage and everybody looks miserable!"
The Devil smiled slyly, put an arm around him and purred, "Yesterday, we were campaigning. Today, you voted for us."
----------
So true...........
OmarD
[Edit] Correct Link -- Vote No War, 11:09:43 10/18/03 Sat
http://www.votenowar.org/
It's all happening October 25, wonder if George will be there?
[Edit] "Fraud culture" reception interferes with radio, rationality -- Goldustorm, 07:35:10 10/18/03 Sat
http://www.etherzone.com/2003/sart101603.shtml
WHEN OLD TIME RADIO REIGNED
HOW MUCH IT IS MISSED
By: SARTRE
The 40's and 50's seem like a time from another life. Most audiences remember that era only as part of a history lesson. The "Golden Age of Radio" is long gone, but for anyone who has the chance to listen to the programs that entertained an entire nation, the lessons of that time are self revealing. Jack Benny's life was as assessable as a close member of your own family. Fibber McGee was always living the Life of Riley, as Our Miss Brooks readied herself for another Burns and Allen visit. The Inner Sanctum was an inviting place for the likes of Boston Blackie, Johnny Dollar and Sam Spade. The Shadow was always lurking for Superman or the Green Hornet as the Whistler tune is heard in the background.
[Edit] "Get out of U.S. stocks, the U.S. dollar" - John Templeton -- Netking, 03:01:53 10/18/03 Sat
Snip from 'Daily Reckoning' free e mail service:
Templeton believes the dollar will fall 40% against other major currencies... and that this will lead the nation's major creditors - notably Japan and China - to dump their U.S. bonds, which will cause interest rates to run up, thus beginning a long period of stagflation.
The Florida reporter felt he should get a second opinion from the local brokers and fund managers. None wanted to contradict the great man directly, but neither did they want their customers to think he might be right. "It
probably won't be that bad," was the gist of their remarks.
"Bush wouldn't let the dollar fall too much," said one.
Another thought she saw a way to undermine Templeton's
authority. His age, she noted, "could count against him."
Templeton was still sharp in 1999. While the financial
industry hacks in Florida were urging their customers to
buy more tech stocks, Templeton warned that the bubble
would soon burst. He was right; they were wrong. Of course,
he was only 88 back then.
For more:
http://www.dailyreckoning.com
[Edit] PRC - Growth -- Netking, 01:40:44 10/18/03 Sat
China's economy grew by 8.5 percent in the first three quarters this year, with an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared with the same period of last year, according to a government report issued Friday. The report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the gross domestic product (GDP) of the first three quarters totaled more than 7.9 trillion yuan (about 956.6 billion US dollars).
Forget the sleeping giant bit.
[Edit] When the eagle flies with the dove -- goldus, 21:54:19 10/17/03 Fri
http://www.etherzone.com/2003/henr101703.shtml
Ramapaging possessed madmen continue to prey on the earth and her inhabitants, enlisting unwary followers to lives of slavery and prostitution. When the earth spits her fury upon the gleaming brash skylines of man and shakes today's garish houses of ill repute down into sterile dust and organic magmas and vapors, the caressing wind will again blow upon the land of my people. So be it. Om Nama Shivaya. Aom Hum
Amen Shanthi Peace Om Shalom Aum...
SILLY SEASON
NO LONGER FUNNY
By: Ed Henry
George W. Bush has himself trashed the whole idea that the FBI, CIA, or any intelligence agency gave him bad information about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. There is no longer the slightest doubt that the President of the United States, his Secretary of State, his Secretary of Defense, the Vice President and other unelected bureaucrats deliberately put forth erroneous information they knew to be false and did it to excite and frighten the American people into condoning an illegal invasion.
How do we know this? We know it because Bush continues to say the same things he told us daily for six months before the invasion, and he blatantly does it in the face of evidence that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and probably haven't been since before the UN inspectors left in 1998.
"The most obvious proof that Bush officials hyped and distorted evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in the past is that they continue to hype and distort that evidence today, with a shamelessness that is stunning." From the editorial page of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Saturday, October 11, 2003.
____
Anyone who believes there "is no plan" for what to do after we invade Middle Eastern nations one by one hasn't read the Manifesto of the New World Order. Did the pirates of yesteryear rescue survivors of the ships they plundered? Did Hitler have a plan to rebuild France or Poland?
____
President Bush has put Condoleezza Rice in charge of rebuilding Iraq, but all that seems to mean is that she will tour the United States with public relations speeches trying to convince the American people that the invasion was justified. Why is Rumsfeld upset? He's not nearly as pretty as Condoleezza or as convincing.
____
On Sunday, October 12, 2003, both the Washington Post and the Denver Post published a story titled: "New Plan: Kill endangered species to save them." The logic behind this plan is that third world nations that cannot afford to police poachers will, if the U.S. allows wealthy trophy hunters, zoos, circuses, and the pet industry to pay a healthy fee to take some of these endangered creatures, be able to afford protection for the remainder. The end justifies the means. Other endangered species, such as American workers, should take heed.
____
The Giant Sucking Sound has been re-titled "outsourcing" and continues unabated. The Bush administration proposes giving these companies a $400 billion tax break in hopes they will return home and hire Americans.
____
Meanwhile, American workers still employed continue to pay an overcharge on their payroll taxes. In fiscal 2000, this overcharge amounted to $94.5 billion for the government to enjoy. In fiscal 2001, it was $98.7 billion. And in fiscal 2002, it amounted to $89 billion. This year, fiscal 2003, it will be close to $76 billion, but we don't have the exact figure yet. To the chagrin of the pirates, unemployment keeps dragging down the booty. Watch for an increase in payroll taxes or another cut in Social Security benefits.
____
With individual Americans, States, and local governments buying prescription drugs in Canada because they are up to 50 percent cheaper, Congress is debating the legality of these purchases and considering restrictions. The spin that it is "dangerous" to buy American made drugs from other countries is not working. The pharmaceutical industry employs more than 550 lobbyists in Washington, more than one for every member of Congress.
____
States and local governments are having difficulties meeting their promised pension obligations and many are considering bond issues to make up the difference. It's about time citizens started questioning some of the perks paid with taxpayer money. For instance, police and fire often receive as much as 8-to-1 in matching pension funds while, although their occupations are dangerous, both rank far below truck drivers and farmers who do not get such perks, rank number one and two in on-the-job fatalities, and pay through the nose for things like insurance and health care. You might also notice that the Department of Labor says more lawyers die on-the-job than do policemen.
____
The best thing Bush has done since taking office is to reduce the income tax overcharge. In fiscal 2000, the year of the government's greatest surplus of $237 billion, $87 billion came from income tax overcharges. No democrat would have given this money back to taxpayers. And isn't it interesting that this is the exact amount Bush now wants to carry on the war against terrorism and build his empire? Do you believe things like this happen by coincidence?
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
[Edit] An outstanding piece from Gary North on capitalism -- ET, 21:11:00 10/17/03 Fri
Capitalism isn't dead despite what you've heard. It may have shifted to a different part of the world, however.
Quoted material follows:
Gary North's REALITY CHECK
Issue 284 October 17, 2003
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE: A MODERN REVISION
First, I am going to make a statement that seems outlandish. Second, I am going to ask you to prove me wrong. Third, I am going to offer some explanations.
Here is my statement:
"You are not significantly better off
economically than your parents were in
1973, and you are significantly worse
off culturally."
This may not seem conceivable. After all, we live in America, and this is a land of ever-greater opportunities.
We are always improving. Retrogression is impossible here,
but if it were possible, it would be anti-American.
There was a time when the previous paragraph was true.
I think those days are gone. I think, sometime late in
1973, Americans went into preservation mode. We became defensive. In doing so, we abandoned a characteristic feature of America that was foundational. This happened without fanfare or even widespread awareness that anything major had changed. But it had.
Americans are better off in the area of computer
power. As an editor and a publisher, I am much better off.
I was in a position to take advantage of the one clear-cut economic advance since 1973: the price of computer technology. But this development has not changed the lives of most Americans to the extent that it has changed mine.
How much has it changed yours?
Here is my challenge. Get a piece of paper and a
pencil. Draw a paper-filling T. Above the left-hand side
of the T, write 1973. Above the right-hand side, write
2003.
We are going to go from October to October. Why is October so important? On October 17, 1973, OPEC announced its first oil embargo and price hike. (I am not so good an historian that I remembered this date, and scheduled this report to commemorate that event. I got this fact off the Web after I began to write this report. I had known the OPEC embargo began in the second half of 1973. I had not known it was exactly 30 years ago to the day.) OPEC did this in response to the Israel-Egypt war, which had begun with an invasion of Israel by Egypt on October 6. The West backed Israel. OPEC backed Egypt. The price of oil quadrupled over the next six months.
The second reason I chose 1973 was the official devaluation of the dollar. This took place in February.
Nixon had unilaterally announced on August 15, 1971 that
the United States Treasury would no longer sell gold to
foreign central banks or governments at $35/oz, thereby
ending the last remaining traces of the gold standard. He floated the dollar, ending fixed exchange rates (price
controls) over the dollar. The following December, central banks re-imposed fixed exchange rates. This did not work.
The banks could not afford to redeem each others'
currencies at the fixed rates. Britain devalued in 1972.
The Swiss revalued (upward move) in early 1973. The U.S. devalued in February 1973. This introduced a system of floating exchange rates -- free pricing -- or at least managed rates. This system was officially recognized in 1976.
We now live in a world in which a currency speculator, such as George Soros, can short a currency and make a short-term profit of a billion dollars or more at the expense of a central bank, whether Malaysia's or England's.
Currency rate management has shifted to private individuals rather than central bankers. This is where it belongs.
Price controls don't work. They never have. It is only because of men's near-worship of the wisdom of central banking (a government-created cartel of bankers) that the idea of fixed exchange rates still has supporters among some economists and policy-makers, who reject the whole idea of price controls in every other area of the market.
From 1973 until now, the word "devalue" has had no
meaning in most currency markets. To devalue or revalue a currency is to move from a government-imposed price control at one rate of exchange to a new price control at another rate of exchange. But when governments and their central banks ceased attempting to establish price controls on their currencies in 1973, the old terminology ceased to have any meaning. Currencies depreciate or appreciate according to supply and demand, but they are no longer devalued or revalued by governments.
Today, there is only one major fixed exchange rate:
the dollar-yuan rate. This rate is fixed by the Chinese government through its central bank. The central bank supplies yuan to product-buying Westerners who present dollars in order to buy goods with yuan. It does this by expanding the supply of yuan. Chinese officials still cling to the illusion that government price controls can make an economy more successful. The Chinese will eventually learn, in a depression, that expanding the money supply produces a misallocation of capital. They are new at this. They still play the mercantilist's game: expanding exports through currency expansion, which holds down import prices in foreign nations. They will learn, painfully, that such a policy has costs attached to it.
From 1973 until today, the partners in the twentieth- century alliance between banking and oil have been in a race, with the politicians who run the oil-exporting nations pressing up the price of oil in response to Western central bankers, who keep cranking out more fiat money to keep the boom alive. In inflation-adjusted terms (dollars in 2000), the price of oil has been in the range of $20 a barrel since 1945.
http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm
Today's higher rate is an anomaly. There are analysts
who think oil will return to $20. Others think we have
entered a new era of oil shortages based on physical limits
of oil production and rising demand from Asia. What is not disputed is that the price of oil has kept up with the decline in purchasing power of Western currencies, which has been steady since 1973.
HOW ARE YOU DOING?
Start filling in your T-page. Where are you
significantly better off than your parents were three
decades ago?
I know you are better off economically. Three decades ago, you were younger. You were not equally productive.
You were just starting out.
In 1973, I was earning $1,000 a month, worth about
$4,200 today. Of course, I was in a lower income tax
bracket. Social Security taxation was less. But I had no insurance or retirement savings. I had not started publishing REMNANT REVIEW. I was working for my father-in-law. Am I better off now? Not biologically, surely. In most other ways, yes. But this is because I'm older. Also, I was one of the few who was in the top 5% in terms of income generation. We won the race after 1973.
For the average Joe, there has been very little
progress. While the following Web page has extracted
material from authors with a bias against capitalism, the figures are generally accurate. The page's creator sees economic stagnation pretty much the way I do: a product of anti-gold, pro-fiat money ideology. I suggest that you click through and spend five minutes surveying the evidence. The first entry is worth considering.
The average weekly earnings of the 80% of
rank-and-file working Americans, adjusted for
inflation, fell by 18% between 1973 and 1995,
from $315 a week to $258 per week.
http://ebean390.tripod.com/walt1971.html
This has been confirmed by all of the surveys I have
seen. This is not just one economist's opinion. Between
1973 and 1995, inflation-adjusted wage rates fell. Family income stayed stable only because wives entered the work force.
There is no agreed-upon explanation among economists.
(Surprise!) There is not even a majority opinion.
Somehow, economists tell us, everything changed. Prior to 1973, there had been labor productivity increases with wage increases to match since 1945. These increases were in the
2+% per year range -- a rate that had been sustained for
two centuries, excepting mainly the 1930's. Then, without warning, everything changed. Productivity hit a brick wall.
This reversed after 1995, but then hit another brick
wall in March, 2001, exactly one year after the stock
market peaked. Worker productivity is rising today because about three million jobs have disappeared since 2001.
Those who are still in the work force are facing tremendous competitive pressure from unemployed Americans, who can get back into the labor pool if wages rise, and also from highly employed Asians. Real wages do not seem to be rising. The trade deficit is. So is the U.S. government's deficit.
In this T-exercise, consider one day in your parents' lives. They got ready for work. They fed you a bowl of Cheerios, just as they had been fed as children, when it was called Cheeri-oats. They put you on the yellow school bus, which looks just the same, and smells just the same, to today's kids.
They drove to work in a larger car. Today's cars are better in many ways, but if you had to drive one just like they did, you would find it roomier. It would have air conditioning. It probably had an AM-only radio. Well, most people still listen to AM radio in prime drive-time.
They listen to talk shows, not music. What hurt them in
that car was the gasoline prices, which began to rise as a result of OPEC.
How about television? It was color. The set had the
same clarity as today's sets. Americans watched just as much of it. They watched Mary Tyler Moore. The average Joe today watches "Friends" and "Will and Grace." Who is better off? Do you want to make a case for 2003 on the right-hand side of the T based on "Will and Grace" vs. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"?
The movies had the same technology. They were shown
in a shopping mall. You only saw one feature.
They listened to vinyl records that went click & pop.
You listen to CD's. OK, that's one for 2003. But the CD
is not significantly better technologically than in 1987.
What happened since then?
You have a VCR. Your parents didn't. Score one for
2003. Hooray for Sony and Sanyo. The Asians have made us richer. You get to record "Will and Grace." You will even have tape left over for "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
Aren't things grand today?
In medical care, it's positive for people with certain rare diseases and conditions requiring surgery. As for heart attacks, stroke, and most cancers -- the afflictions that kill most people -- it's no better. Whatever is better is due to changes in people's lifestyle, plus the discovery that aspirin can reduce heart attacks. This works for the masses because aspirin was on the market before the Food and Drug Administration came into existence, and so it got "grandfathered" by the regulators.
If aspirin had been invented in 1973, it would probably
still be a prescription-only drug.
If you're talking life extension, the big improvements were these: wire mesh screens that kept out insects, separating water supplies from latrine areas, and the replacement of horse-drawn trolleys by automobiles -- fewer flies. Those were developments of the 1860's through the pre-World War I era. Penicillin and the sulfa wonder drugs were innovations of the pre-World War II era. The great pandemics were gone by 1960, including polio.
I still wear a suit I had made in Hong Kong in 1973.
It still looks better on me than any of the off-the-rack, garment-district suits I wear, which are 1980-era.
Start writing down the clear-cut improvements in your lifestyle vs. your parents' lifestyle 1973 -- improvements that you can tie to economic growth.
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