Open (Not Ukraine) Thread 2023-62
News & views (not related to the war in Ukraine) ...
Posted by b on March 16, 2023 at 19:10 UTC | Permalink
next page »Some music for the Jukebox ...
@ RSH
Enjoy the references & trivia re the imagery & film ... otherwise entirely optional. ;)
Night Ride Across the Caucasus - Loreena McKennitt - HD 1080p - Youtube. 8m36s.
Video footage, Kurt Russell, Soldier (1998):
A side sequel to the original Blade Runner. Hence the references to the 'Battle of Tannhauser Gate' and 'Shoulder of Orion'. Not to mention if you look closely in one of the scenes you catch a glimpse of a wrecked spinner which were used in Blade Runner.Blade Runner - Final scene, "Tears in the Rain" Monologue (HD) - Youtube. 3m54s.Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan references: Antares maelstrom, Nibian Moons, and Perditions Flame.
He was a soldier model(Replicant), literally born to kill. He had learned that each life is unique, precious, and that even memories have a life, and a death. In his final act, he defied his creator, and chose not to take life, but spare it. He was wise far beyond his brief years, and perhaps more human than most.
GDP growth in India weakened to 4.4% in Oct-December 2022 quarter. It looks like India is beginning to stangate. I have noticed the Western media is very positive about the Indian economy but it's starting to look unjustified.
Posted by: safeharbor | Mar 16 2023 19:31 utc | 2
Scott Ritter interview posted ~ 30 minutes ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K6zKkxzioU
Posted by: suzan | Mar 16 2023 19:40 utc | 3
What the hells going on in Pakistan with regards to ex-leader Imran Khan as the government try to storm his residence and capture him, there's been running battles between his supporter and government forces. To me it looks like the CIA wants to make sure Khan can never return to government, I think Khan wanted to kick out US forces from the country, the US uses Pakistan as a staging post to attack other nations in and around the region. The official story in the country is that Khan was corrupt when he was in office.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:14 utc | 5
Meanwhile as Putin met with Syrian leader Assad, Assad has said.
"Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says US occupation forces have turned their military base in the Arab country’s strategic al-Tanf region near the borders with Iraq and Jordan into a bastion for Takfiri terrorists.
“We are in a state of direct confrontation with terrorist groups near al-Tanf region. Al-Tanf serves entirely as a base for training terrorists, and has no purpose other than that. "
The US has no right whatsoever being in the sovereign country of Syria they weren't invited in, apparently the terrorists feel so at home in the base that they've even brought along their families
One wonders if Assad mentioned this to Putin, and whether or not Putin's fighter jets will destroy the illegal terrorist base.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:20 utc | 6
Twenty-years, is that long already, I'm afraid this poor girls parents haven't go a snowballs chance of hell of getting justice. The IDF ran over the girl with a 60 ton bulldozer.
"Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Israeli regime’s murder of Rachel Corrie, an American pro-Palestine activist, in the Gaza Strip, but her parents are still battling for accountability and justice."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:25 utc | 7
Powerful words from the South African parliament. South Africa's parliament votes in favor of downgrading the country's relations with the Israeli regime in solidarity with Palestinians
"The Israeli regime "was built through the displacement, murder, and maiming of Palestinians. And to maintain their grip on power, they have instituted apartheid to control and manage Palestinians," the statement noted.
"As South Africans, we refuse to stand by while apartheid is being perpetrated again.""
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:29 utc | 8
Yes Russia should take Tanf and the other illegal Reich bases off the map in Syria.
Posted by: Englishman | Mar 16 2023 20:30 utc | 9
Two days ago First Republic Bank was rated junk.
Today the bank was rescued by pledges from 11 fellow banksters; likely coerced by Ms. Yellen and Mr. Powell.
Biggest banks to infuse First Republic with $30 billion to stabilize troubled lender
Eleven lending giants led by JPMorgan and Bank of America agree to provide deposits to the beleaguered San Francisco bank
The biggest U.S. banks are banding together to rescue beleaguered San Francisco lender First Republic (FRC) with $30 billion of uninsured deposits, an unusual joint effort to stabilize a rival and restore calm following a volatile week.The infusion from 11 of the nation's biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC), follows a steep drop in the shares of First Republic, which was the nation's 14th-largest bank as of Dec. 31 with $212 billion in assets.
JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC)—the four largest lenders in the U.S. by assets—deposited $5 billion apiece. Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) each deposited $2.5 billion while U.S. Bancorp (USB), Truist (TFC), PNC (PNC), State Street (STT) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) each deposited $1 billion. The deposits have to stay at First Republic for 120 days and earn interest at the same rate of current depositors, according to a person familiar with the pact.
"The actions of America’s largest banks reflect their confidence in the country’s banking system," the banks said in a joint release. "Together, we are deploying our financial strength and liquidity into the larger system, where it is needed the most." Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and two other regulators said in a joint statement that "this show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system."
The extraordinary infusion from First Republic's competitors is an attempt to stop a slide for the California lender that began during last week's failure of another lender in the same state: Santa Clara-based Silicon Valley Bank. An initial infusion of $70 billion in financing from JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve announced Sunday failed to alleviate the pressure.[.]
Keyword: "Uninsured deposits"
Do. not. be. fooled. This is a fig leaf. Someone else ponied up the mouse-clicks.
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 16 2023 20:31 utc | 10
This will surely upset the maniacs in the Pentagon and the Whitehouse, they'll want a change of government.
Honduras' President Xiomara Castro has announced Tegucigalpa's decision to establish diplomatic ties with China, in a move that would end its official relationship with Taipei.
"I instructed Foreign Minister Eduardo Reinato to begin the process of recognizing the People's Republic of China," Castro tweeted on Tuesday.
During her presidential campaign in 2021, Castro had said in a foreign policy manifesto that she was aiming to establish diplomatic ties with China.
Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina later told a local television channel that Tegucigalpa aimed to pursue what was best for the Honduran people."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:33 utc | 11
Republicofscotland no. 8
Good for them. S.A. knows all there is to know about apartheid.
No. 11
Good for them too. Things are backfiring on the hubris of the west.
Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Mar 16 2023 20:44 utc | 12
Likklemore @ 10
Biggest banks to infuse First Republic with $30 billion to stabilize troubled lender
$30 billion is like couch cushion money these days, same with $58 billion for Credite Suisse. Unsecured liabilities and derivative exposure is likely 10 times that. Consider it the first installment with the payment schedule based on the public's memory hole. I remember MPS in Italy, every 3 months there'd be an article with the loss doubling, went on for like several years when they bailed out a shit pile 15 times what was first claimed, and by that point on back pages of the newspapers.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 16 2023 20:54 utc | 13
Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:29 utc | 8
There is continuity in RSA's view of Israel. This article is already 6 years old: South Africa tells UN: Israel is only apartheid state in the world today. A reference to it earned me a ban on Reddit. Since that time, I do what must be done with Zionists and their enablers: Boycot.
Posted by: OttoE | Mar 16 2023 20:57 utc | 14
Fellow barflies, I've found a website that archives Xi Jinping's speeches in English, usually in a very timely manner, Qiushi Journal, which is "an official publication of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It serves as an important ideological and theoretical medium for guiding the work of the entire Party and the country as a whole." And thus contains much more than Xi's speeches.
Yellen called out to appoint independent investigation.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-founder, President and CEO, issued the following statement in connection with the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) announcement of investigating itself for its failures in connection with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).“Federal Reserve supervision utterly failed in connection with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), as detailed here, and likely at other banks. The consequences of those many failures continue to inflict damage across the country and that requires a thorough and independent investigation of the Fed to determine how that could have happened and to make sure it never happens again.
“To avoid such an investigation and evade accountability, Fed Chair Powell announced that the Fed was going to investigate itself. Of course, it can’t credibly do that. Moreover, Chair Powell’s imposition of an artificial and quick deadline of just six weeks for the completion and release of the self-investigation’s public report on May 1st raises very troubling questions as to the genuine commitment to a thorough investigation. Additionally, there is no one at the Fed who is sufficiently independent to do this much-needed investigation, including the Fed’s Inspector General (IG), who is a Fed employee who serves at the pleasure of Chair Powell. That was proved recently by the Fed IG’s very narrow, incomplete and misleading so-called investigation predictably exonerating Chair Powell and former Vice Chair Clarida for their personal stock sales in 2020 while the Fed was undertaking extraordinary measures during the pandemic.
“The Fed must cease its self-investigation and immediately ask the Chair of the Council of the IGs on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), the Honorable Mark Lee Greenblatt, to appoint an IG independent of the Fed like the widely respected, nonpartisan DOJ IG Michael Horowitz to conduct a thorough investigation of the failures of Federal Reserve supervision. If for any reason this is not an option, President Biden should appoint a respected, nonpartisan expert without any affiliation with the Fed or the financial industry to conduct the investigation and release a report to the American people, who are suffering the consequences of the Fed’s failures.”
System Pigs might fly!
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 16 2023 21:33 utc | 17
Keyword: "Uninsured deposits"
Do. not. be. fooled. This is a fig leaf. Someone else ponied up the mouse-clicks.
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 16 2023 20:31 utc | 10
They robbed the poor, again.
The poor pays for Vulture Capital's savings and get nothing but unreasonable "it is for the greater good!!1!1" rage.
"The problem is that we all to often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor. That's the problem." - MLK
Posted by: Colin | Mar 16 2023 21:45 utc | 18
Kazakh authorities impounded the cosmodrome in Baikonur.
https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-impounds-russian-baikonur-cosmodrom-operator/32317248.html
Posted by: Mirch | Mar 16 2023 21:49 utc | 19
There is continuity in RSA's view of Israel. This article is already 6 years old: South Africa tells UN: Israel is only apartheid state in the world today. A reference to it earned me a ban on Reddit. Since that time, I do what must be done with Zionists and their enablers: Boycot.
Posted by: OttoE | Mar 16 2023 20:57 utc | 14
Reddit is sponsored by Zionist/neolibreal capital and the natsec gangs.
Posted by: Colin | Mar 16 2023 21:50 utc | 20
Russia's economy is showing modest growth because when the government ordered a new tank, that's growth - Then, that tank got wrecked and the government ordered a replacement tank, that's counted as additional growth. So, tank factories are gonna great.
Meanwhile, Russia had already reached its projected total budget deficit for 2023 by the end of February.
Some important, specific info :
Russia's budget is mostly funded by oil industry tax revenues. Its budget is based around oil at $70 per barrel. The oil cap set by Europe for oil is $60 per barrel. Meanwhile, India and China are buying Russian oil at $35 or less per barrel. For Russia's oil industry to simply break even, those would need to sell at $60 per barrel. On top of that, shutting down and starting up is extremely expensive - Those are forced to keep running at a loss.
In parallel, Russia is no longer exporting petroleum products because that's no longer competitive to do so. Meanwhile, India got to take its super discount oil and subsidize its own refining industry with and in direct competition with Russian counterparts.
Posted by: Zorc | Mar 16 2023 21:52 utc | 21
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:14 utc | 5
Not meaning to doubt this (I’ve been a little bit off the radar today), but could you post a link to your source please?
I’ve always understood Imran Khan to be an icon in Pakistan (for his undoubted sporting achievements), so attacking him would seem to be highly inflammatory, so what is the Hegemon trying to achieve here?
Posted by: West of England Andy | Mar 16 2023 21:54 utc | 22
Posted by: Mirch | Mar 16 2023 21:49 utc | 19
Intriguing news, even disturbing; until I click on your link and find it is sourced from the Moscow Times...
Oh dear, how sad, never mind...
Posted by: West of England Andy | Mar 16 2023 21:59 utc | 23
A very good talk about the recent banking crisis: https://michael-hudson.com/2023/03/bond-market-play-reveals-systemic-crisis/
Posted by: Colin | Mar 16 2023 22:05 utc | 24
short side update from france:
Today in the afternoon, Macron, disavowing his own promise, had to use again the "49.3" article of the french constitution, to bypass parliament's vote in order to enforce his (ultraliberal) pension reform. he couldn't get a majority and used force. Second time in history. The matter is boiling in france since 2 month and erupted this evening when spontaneous demonstrations were held in almost every town in the country.
In Paris, seats and districts of power are the target, but it is still fair by now.
But moreover, in the countryside people speaks about the roundabouts again. Remember that in 2018 that the never seen before blockade of the whole road network of the country was the real thing that stunned and scared the governement. The movement died once he left the roundabout.
Pension reform is of course the tip of the iceberg here, french are angry across the whole political spectrum. Smell a bit like a yellow vest 2.0 to me.
Posted by: malamatias | Mar 16 2023 22:11 utc | 25
Vladimir Putin might've 'saved' his country and its people from the hells that were the nineties but Russia's economy stagnated since his third term. Russian population is one of the world's most educated one - Russia not being as developed as Kazakhstan with a poorer population than Malaysia's is a failure.
Posted by: La Flamme | Mar 16 2023 22:11 utc | 26
Posted by: Morene's Heart | Mar 16 2023 21:57 utc | 23
LOL... from CEPA’s website:
Contact1275 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20004
Why am I not surprised...?
Posted by: West of England Andy | Mar 16 2023 22:15 utc | 27
Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss de-dollarization, focusing on:
Was there really a Bretton Woods II really after 1971?
What is the crisis today — what are its main
dimensions?
https://michael-hudson.com/2023/03/dollar-diplomacy-down/
Transcript available
Recorded ~ 5 days ago ?
Posted by: suzan | Mar 16 2023 22:27 utc | 28
Oh, it’s Troll time again… West of England Andy, just ignore them.
In other news, there’s another important sitrep by Simplicius:
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-31623-reaper-developments
Posted by: Zet | Mar 16 2023 22:30 utc | 29
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 16 2023 20:31 utc | 10
The biggest U.S. banks are banding together to rescue beleaguered San Francisco lender First Republic (FRC) with $30 billion of uninsured deposits
One can only guess what the average American reading that sentence think it means.
I can see a TV interviewer stopping people on the street and asking them what that statement means and getting various hilarious answers in response.
I imagine some thoughtful people might reply the big banks are unloading their uninsured deposits on this poor little bank.
Other people would just scratch their heads.
Well the correct answer would be that before last weekend putting $30 billion dollars into one deposit account in any bank would means 99.99999999% of that deposit is not insured.
But after last weekend what it means (contrary to what Yahoo News implies it means ) is every dime of it is in fact insured insured but insurance fees are being charged on only 99.99999999% of it.
The fact that that the wealthy get away with not paying their fair share in taxes is the ripoff that nobody is telling you about.
And the managers of the big banks are just laughing at the people because they are too stupid to understand what is happening.
Posted by: jinn | Mar 16 2023 22:46 utc | 30
malamatias @ 26
short side update from france
This seems to be a site that webcasts the protests live, several hours at a time, not live now but worth checking throughout the days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYnDr7DhPio&t=7241s
Seems there are more cops in France than citizens, maybe Macron solved the rebellion problem by hiring half the population as cops.
"Jay Gould bragged in 1886, that he could hire “one-half of the working class to kill the other half."
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 16 2023 22:54 utc | 31
Sigh....
Outraged @16--
Thanks for your applause!!
First, on Russia's economy to shootdown the lying trolls. Today Putin was at the Plenary Session of the annual Congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs where a 2+ hourlong discussion was held that was preceded by other presentations. IMO, the most interesting story was told by KamAZ CEO Sergei Kogogin who related how his company was able to overcome the destruction of existing supply chains and to reconstruct them in a way that allowed KamAZ to become a vertically oriented conglomerate having almost all of its supply chains now internalized and done in a very short period of time. His is but one example of many that the sanctions spurred innovation, opportunities and internal growth. And that's the same song (Putin called it music today) I've read for months and are reflected by the financial numbers. What I wrote at Martyanov's on this topic I've alluded to here before:
"Yes, lots to be learned from this event as Russia's political-economy becomes more aligned with Industrial Capitalism with many Socialist facets quite similar to those existing in USSR ... IMO, if Russia had the workforce, it could grow as fast or faster than China, but even with millions of guest workers it still lacks workers, which is a point Putin mentions. Another critical point Kogogin mentions is KamAz's involvement in education. The model for industrial contributions to society seems to be Gazprom as described in its 30th anniversary celebration, another important event I urge people to read about and discover the sort of nation Russia's becoming."
Putin's 100% correct to say that Russia's Booming and the time to make hay is now. The troll pukes are in hysterical desperation mode as Eurasia's on the march while the Outlaw US Empire throws every wrench it has remaining to try and slow it down.
Posted by: Zet | Mar 16 2023 22:30 utc | 30
Simplicus' blog is simply invaluable. Dare to say one of the if not most insightful one I've seen.
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 16 2023 23:00 utc | 33
Second, Sputnik has interviewed Assad, and a video is also available.
West of England Andy, just ignore them.
Posted by: Zet | Mar 16 2023 22:30 utc | 30
Apologies, sometimes I just can’t resist such low-grade efforts from the Ist Chairborne Troll Brigade (Trainees).
Thanks for the new Simplicius76 link, I lurk there, but haven’t yet clocked in, so thanks for the heads up.
Posted by: West of England Andy | Mar 16 2023 23:04 utc | 35
jinn @ 31
And the managers of the big banks are just laughing at the people because they are too stupid to understand what is happening.
Many days we stand in the rain and sun,
waiting for the bus that never comes.
You pass by in your fancy car,
wearing a plastic smile and smoking a big cigar.
Dennis Brown Concrete Castle King
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 16 2023 23:04 utc | 36
Below is a quote from the Dollar Diplomacy Down talk linked to above by suzan #29
Because remember, our argument has been — my argument in Geopolitical Economy, Michael’s argument in various writings, and also our argument in “Beyond the Dollar Creditocracy” — is that, since 1971, essentially the United States has sought to make the dollar system function by counteracting the “Triffin dilemma” effect.By expanding purely financial demand for the dollar. Not economic demand, not investment demand, not trade demand, but purely financial speculative demand for the dollar.
And this system essentially is now unraveling. And just to remind everybody, the Triffin dilemma is simply the assertion of Robert Triffin going back to the late 1950s when he pointed out that the United States’s effort to try to provide the world with liquidity by running deficits was essentially deeply contradictory, because the more liquidity it provided — therefor the greater the deficits — the greater would be the downward pressure on the dollar.
Read the quote again and again until the facts of it are memorized.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 16 2023 23:09 utc | 37
I've been following this USA bank situation since Friday. I don't really understand the international financial system but, what I think I see from it is that, in effect, this is the beginning of the end of the collective West, the EU, the Dollar as the reserve currency and the bankruptcy of the USA. I am of the view, that I am willing to admit is possibly not correct, that much of this disintegration is due firstly, to the Sanctions the collective West placed on Russia without given the blowback any consideration at all and and the $31trillion dollar sovereign debt that the USA is unlikely to be able to service. I am not sure whether increasing de-dollarisation has an impact but I am thinking it may well have.
It is interesting that, Vovus and Lexus strike again! This time the nabbed Christine Lagarde on record. She made it very clear to them that the EU is setting the scene for the Digital Euro and freely admitted that it was a control mechanism over EU citizens. This is pure WEF NWO agenda. I also note from Mark Milley's speech following the downing of the Drone that he refers to it as "Rules Based International Order". I am not aware we are in a 'Rules based' order but he speaks about it as though it is fact. Fact: United Nations is still the underpinning force of international law.
These Western Leaders are only interested in their pursuit of Global power to feed their pathetic egos. The citizens of their country do not matter an iota to them. However, I can see the Banking collapse, however much they shore it up, is still going to catastrophically collapse triggering the demise of the Dollar, the USA and the collective West. I think that will be sooner rather than later.
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Mar 16 2023 23:13 utc | 38
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Mar 16 2023 23:13 utc | 40
The de-dollarization is a very important aspect of blowing up the west, its banking systems and US economy. Simply due to the fact that as dollar demand decreases, however small increments in global circulation, the US economy has since early 1970s "adapted" to the massive demand, and the deficits have been adapted to the ability to circulated dollars outside the country without inflation and hence fund trade balance and budget deficits.
Even a tiny decrease from circulation will result large negative effects for inflation, coming through decreased imports or decreased budgets. That is one of the primary reasons for the "digital currency" a.k.a total government control of society to force-reduce spending and quality of life and imports. In essence, it is front-running to reduce the shock effect from decreased dollar circulation.
Either way, the effect will be the same and the decline is going to go faster. Also one of the primary reason why they won't back out but only double down on Ukraine, Taiwan etc.
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 16 2023 23:25 utc | 39
@unimperator | Mar 16 2023 23:25 utc | 41
The digital currencies are being brought to us by the same folks that did such a wonderful job on the Russian sanctions. Let them try and control the economy, I say. Nothing could better hasten their own demise.
Posted by: Intelligent Dasein | Mar 16 2023 23:44 utc | 40
@ karlof1 | Mar 16 2023 22:58 utc | 33
Sigh ?
Unsurprised frankly, almost inevitable. Russia is no mere gas station. Look at the example of Iran since '79, relentless smothering crushing sanctions, embargoes & coercively imposed political & economic isolation. Look at where they are now. STEM, industry, technology, trade, defense self sufficiency, etc. What's that old saw ?
That which does not destroy you, only makes you stronger ? Ha! Empire has poured accelerant on the bonfire of it's own demise. Marvelous, simply marvelous.
Yes, the trolls seem to be without direction or talking points the last week or so, merely abuse & relentless spam. Trouble at Mill ?
Unimperator@41. Thank you for the information it is really helpful. I don't really have a head for international financial matters as it seems to me to be very complicated. Posts like yours at least, set the scene in good old fashioned plain language which I can understand.
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Mar 16 2023 23:48 utc | 42
In other news the USSA just sold the Oz military 220 obsolete slow sub Mach based flying target practice Tomahawk(1983) cruise missiles. For a mere 1.3 billion worthless USSA air dollars.
Sadly, the Tomahawk cruise missile has a very long list of built in inherent design flaws. As the Yankees well know! :) From the 50% that literally fell into sea. From the last failed military swarm use against Syria. Many that did reach the intended target were destroyed in mid air. By the old 1978 soviet designed SA10A(Grumble)(NAZO designated) S300 missile. On a one for one basis.
Since the the mobile Radar(9S32 flip lid all versions) attached has zero trouble in tracking and locking on. Or tracking these free flying target practice turkeys at maximum range.
As usual the the Yankees continue to sell the obsolete dregs last century designed war toys to the foolish polywankers in Oz. Since 1941.
Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Mar 16 2023 23:48 utc | 43
Jo Dominich @ 40
They never wrote down the debt from 2008, just readjusted balance sheets sweeping it all under the rug. The catastrophically toxic stuff was bought up by the Fed by the truckload, beats me, guess they still hold it or just put it on a garbage barge and sailed it off the the Marianas Trench.
I get that the government can just pull money out of it ass all it wants but at some point you have to reach up so high your hand comes out your nose. I just don't see how they can repeat 2008, then covid, unhinged war spending, and now this. We will soon all find out just how full of shit money creation and taxation really is.
Other thing I'll note is that in past financial crises capital seeking safety always flowed towards dollars, IOWs towards the center of the crisis! Nice trick right? The privilege of being The Hegemon, can't lose no matter how big you fuck it up and no wonder they'll fight so hard to maintain hegemony.
I'm not so sure that will happen this time after the looting of Russian private and state moneys. A lot of the world's capital holders might reevaluate and decide that at this point their money is actually safer or at least as safe in their home nation's banks than in USA and EU banks. Without that money flowing into USA bonds you have a very new crisis situation.
In the end the problem isn't the wealthy circle jerk, they can fellate each other forever, it's that each round of scamming forces the 99% percent into ever more unsustainable debt. Which is great for the 1% as the other side of every debt is an asset, and in financialized capitalism the bigger the debt pile the bigger the lucre pile. The incentive is to keep feeding the beast. Until the 99% can no longer feed their kids, then the shit stirs, then they start catching on and get very angry.
Re: SVA, this is worth watching, as always kudos to Dore. Barflies will have make up their own minds on the value of David Sacks (PayPal founder):
Here’s Who’s Responsible For Silicon Valley’s Bank Collapse
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 16 2023 23:58 utc | 44
Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Mar 16 2023 23:48 utc | 45
The USA sold Australia 220 cruise missiles for 1.5 billion dollar.
Makes you wonder. Why does the USA sell something for dollars, when the USA is able to create dollars out of thin air?
Posted by: Passerby | Mar 16 2023 23:58 utc | 45
In response to
"
Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss de-dollarization, focusing on:
Was there really a Bretton Woods II really after 1971?
What is the crisis today — what are its main
dimensions?
https://michael-hudson.com/2023/03/dollar-diplomacy-down/
Transcript available
Recorded ~ 5 days ago ?
Posted by: suzan | Mar 16 2023 22:27 utc | 29
"
Thanks for the link and I am repeating it because all need to go learn as I did what has happened behind the financial curtain since 1971. Lots of historical financial meat to chew on.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 16 2023 23:59 utc | 46
Outraged @43--
Yes, it's such a waste and godawful immorality to the nth degree. Humanity must bury it for all time.
I've posted the translation of Putin's meeting today at my VK in two parts thanks to VK's space limitations. Here's Part One and Here's Part Two. Now to digest the third part of Dollar Hegemony that was finally posted to Hudson's website that's now being discussed. I feel the need for several Spanish Coffees. All this reading is keeping me from writing. And I'm sitting too much--growl/sigh!
Zet, Unimperator,
Agree, this simplicious's blog popped up few time ago but is of great value. Let's share it's late sitrep again: https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-31623-reaper-developments
I didn't know what to think about that claim from that shady site inteldrop, and didn't see it crooschecked anywhere (https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/03/09/2nd-kinzhal-attack-hits-natos-western-command-center-400-feet-underground-40-killed/)
but i now tend to consider thet something bad did really happen to NATO staff somewhere around Lvov on March the 10th.
by the way... it reminds me somethin':https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-mossad-other-foreign-agents-killed-in-aleppo-strike/
Posted by: malamatias | Mar 17 2023 0:01 utc | 48
Posted by: malamatias | Mar 16 2023 22:11 utc | 26
Regarding the demonstrations in France :
You know what they're saying :
"... You can see what they've done to the English - - - Make sure that you don't let it happen to us"
Bonne Chance mes amis francais !
Posted by: Engineer-John | Mar 17 2023 0:02 utc | 49
GERMANY - and China and Times they are a changing ...
Wolfgang Streeck is an outstanding scholar and I've read him for many years ... and an acknowledge expert on 'real economy - especially manufacturing' ... this goes beyond recent Ukraine and took place before US blew up NS pipeline ... [6 months ago - 45 mins]
Wolfgang Streeck: The end of the German empire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUYrsA4sJeE
Posted by: Don Firineach | Mar 17 2023 0:11 utc | 50
@ Colin 18
And
@
$30 billion is like couch cushion money these days, same with $58 billion for Credite Suisse. Unsecured liabilities and derivative exposure is likely 10 times that.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 16 2023 20:54 utc | 13
Thanks Colin and LYFH,
That’s why I cautioned “Do not be fooled. Just a fig leaf. Moody’s placed a negative on US banks.
Two helpful articles at UNZ
Banking Crisis is not over by Prof. Michael Hudson
LINK
Five (5) US Banks hold $188 trillion of derivatives. Actually if you tally up, BIS has the figure at one quadrillion, $600 trillions are interest rate sensitive.
and
“The looming Derivatives Tsunami“ by Ellen Brown
LINK
[.]
”Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction”
[.] In 2002, mega-investor Warren Buffett wrote that derivatives were “financial weapons of mass destruction.” At that time, their total “notional” value (the value of the underlying assets from which the “derivatives” were “derived”) was estimated at $56 trillion.Investopedia reported in May 2022 that the derivatives bubble had reached an estimated $600 trillion according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and that the total is often estimated at over $1 quadrillion. No one knows for sure, because most of the trades are done privately. [.]
Dangerous: "derivatives trades done privately" ...... and off the books and monkey no see nuting.
= = = = = =
But after last weekend what it means (contrary to what Yahoo News implies it means ) is every dime of it is in fact insured insured but insurance fees are being charged on only 99.99999999% of it.
The fact that that the wealthy get away with not paying their fair share in taxes is the ripoff that nobody is telling you about.
And the managers of the big banks are just laughing at the people because they are too stupid to understand what is happening.
Posted by: jinn | Mar 16 2023 22:46 utc | 31
the big banks are laughing at the people?
Exactly, after March 12, 2023, All deposits are now insured without limits.
do you ever wonder when you walk in to make a deposit at your friendly bank, every one greets you with a happy smile? Borrowing your money at 0.02% and lending it at north of 10%.
Oh, did I mention the credit card rates? Do you not see the street guys are fuming?
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 17 2023 0:14 utc | 51
unimperator @ 41
Good stuff.
Also one of the primary reason why they won't back out but only double down on Ukraine, Taiwan etc.
If correct, and it all ties together, covid, Ukraine, China tensions, financial crisis as part of a great reset plan instead of just a huge end stage neoliberal capitalism runaway failure, then we are seriously fucked.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 17 2023 0:20 utc | 52
Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 17 2023 0:00 utc | 49
Don't forget to come up for fresh air! Thanks for posting the speech translations. I know it was today but you might want to include the speech datetime in the title or first paragraph. Thanks again!
Posted by: nathan in WA US | Mar 17 2023 0:29 utc | 53
Passerby @ 47
Makes you wonder. Why does the USA sell something for dollars, when the USA is able to create dollars out of thin air?
Say, what? LOL. Above my pay grade, you'll have to run that by Michael Hudson. I'll hazard this, Tom Sawyer whitewashing the picket fence:
Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain...
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/mark-twain/tom-sawyer
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 17 2023 0:34 utc | 54
Re: The US banking crisis...
The very fact that the meltdown is making headlines is pretty solid evidence that the 'Regulators' have lost control of the de-regulated US banking system.
In a regulated system there would be a rigid set of rules, on procedures and periodic reporting, which every bank would be obliged to observe. A bank which collided with some bad luck would be required to report the glitch, and the bank's proposed solution, to the 'Regulator'. Then a practical solution could be agrèed upon - from temporary relief to closure - and it would be done quietly, to maintain public confidence in the banking system.
So my guess is that these "petty rules" have been ignored for so long that the entire banking system is now beyond salvaion ... which is why we're hearing about it now. Now that it's too late to save it.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 17 2023 1:11 utc | 55
Passerby @47--
The reason is the massive negative balance of trade. Weapons sales are one of the few exports that help offset that balance. As Hudson explained in Super Imperialism, such sales also help pay for overseas military deployments.
On the future of Europe and Streeck's [#52 above] frightening sense of despair
The New Normal
by Marge Piercy
We have been a nation of consumers.
Stores beckoned in every mall, stuffed
high with clothes produced by barely
paid labor in distant countries;
stuffed with gadgets that lost value
the minute you left the store; house
hold items purported to be gorgeous
or trendy or labor saving, necessary
apparently for all. Supermarket
shelves had 40 kinds of everything
edible, drinkable. Now in our post
Covid [although Covid is not nearly
gone] they say the supply chain
is broken perhaps beyond repair.
I was a child during WWII when
scarcity was our daily lot. No
sugar, butter, meat, gas. The return
of “Yes, we have no bananas.” Now
we figure out what we truly need.
It’s less than we might have imagined.
https://monthlyreview.org/2023/03/01/the-new-normal/
Posted by: Don Firineach | Mar 17 2023 1:29 utc | 57
@ Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2023 20:14 utc | 5
I think Khan wanted to kick out US forces from the country, the US uses Pakistan as a staging post to attack other nations in and around the region.
Yes, and the US has given Pakistan tens of billions of dollars over the years in part to support the Taliban against whom the US was "fighting" in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 17 2023 1:30 utc | 58
@ Outraged | Mar 16 2023 23:45 utc | 43
Look at the example of Iran since '79, relentless smothering crushing sanctions, embargoes & coercively imposed political & economic isolation. Look at where they are now. STEM, industry, technology, trade, defense self sufficiency, etc.
Absolutely -- Iran has been Queeny the lead dog in showing other countries how to get stronger as the US tries to weaken them. You go Persians!
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 17 2023 1:31 utc | 59
@ Outraged | Mar 16 2023 23:45 utc | 43
Look at the example of Iran since '79, relentless smothering crushing sanctions, embargoes & coercively imposed political & economic isolation. Look at where they are now. STEM, industry, technology, trade, defense self sufficiency, etc.
Absolutely -- Iran has been Queeny the lead dog in showing other countries how to get stronger as the US tries to weaken them. You go Persians!
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 17 2023 1:31 utc | 60
@ jinn | Mar 16 2023 22:46 utc | 31
The meaning is understood and agreed upon despite the inversion.
“...insurance fees are being charged on only99.99999999%00.00000001% of it.The fact that the wealthy get away with not paying their fair share in taxes is the ripoff that nobody is telling you about.”
Health insurance in this rentierized privatized economy sure doesn’t work that way. Understatement. If one of your ovaries acts up, it is put on probation despite ovarian cysts being quite common and usually temporary. No coverage for that body part for the next five years, a sort of medical probation. But they’ll cover the other ovary. So generous. Insurance for peasants vs insurance for the big guys.
Posted by: suzan | Mar 17 2023 1:36 utc | 61
Troll @19 re Baikonur Cosmodrome
Unsurprisingly the Yankee Chickenhawks at the space sites I frequent are crowing about this without troubling themselves with details and context. This is simply how negotiations are conducted over operations at Baikonur. Russia operates on the principle of 'possession is 9/10th of the law' while Kazakhstan pushes back on the remaining 1/10 with its legal system. These periodic disputes are unlikely to affect the course of Russian-Kazhak space cooperation, especially as President Tokayev remembers who saved Kazakhstan from a Western colour revolution!
The Russian/Kazakh 'Baiterek' project is finally coming to fruition, phasing out the Proton rocket with its toxic propellants (a longstanding demand of the Kazakhs) and replacing it with a new kerosene/oxygen rocket based on the Soviet Zenit, whose manufacturer ended up marooned in Ukraine who unsurprisingly ran it into the ground. The new rocket will use refurbished Zenit pads at Baikonur (Kazakhstan's contribution) and be built using the tooling left over from Proton, allowing an increase in diameter from 3.9 to 4.1m and a greater fuel load.
The 1st stage will use a new version of Zenit's RD-171 engine, at 800 tons the most powerful liquid rocket engine ever flown. The RD-180 that still launches most of the US' most valuable space assets is simply a RD-170 cut in half to deliver ~400 tons thrust. The 2nd stage uses 2 RD-0124 engines from the latest Soyuz 2-1b, while the 3rd stage is the newest derivative of the venerable 'Block D' stage developed for the Soviet lunar program. The new rocket, alternately known as Soyuz 5, Sunkar and Irtysh during its development should be ready for its first launch by the end of 2023. From Baikonur it can lift a 5 ton satellite to geostationary transfer orbit, or 16 tons to low earth orbit (perfect for Russia's new 'Federation' crewed spacecraft). Kazakhstan is unlikely to let the opportunity to participate go to waste over some minor contract dispute,
In other space news, China has given us a sneak peak at their new moon lander (scroll down to the comments for photos and a whole lot of American snark). Like the Soviet lander it uses a 'lunar crasher' stage like the Blok D to brake the lander into lunar orbit that then fires again to bring the lander to just above the surface, where the stage is cast off to crash into the moon while the lander's own engines lower it to a soft landing. If a few liters of jet fuel can make a mess of a US drone, imagine what one of these could do to a US moonbase! Heads!
Posted by: S.P. Korolev | Mar 17 2023 1:58 utc | 62
Makes you wonder. Why does the USA sell something for dollars, when the USA is able to create dollars out of thin air?Posted by: Passerby | Mar 16 2023 23:58 utc | 47
Now Russia does not want dollars for its oil; therefore equivalent (to its annual exports of oil and gas / money velocity) amount of dollars are now not needed for world trade; China is de-dollarising; same here too.
All these unwanted dollars are now flowing back into the US of A, and cause a fall in the value of dollars.
Therefore the US Government will try to remove them out of circulation, to prevent the fall in the value of dollars (popularly called inflation).
And therefore it will sell goods and services in dollars, and in steep prices, to soak up as much dollars out of circulation with as little goods as possible leaving America.
Hence the military sale, but the reverse of a yard sale - junk will be sold at exorbitantly high prices. Since the whole ruling gangs of the West keep their loot in dollars, they also have an interest in keeping the value of dollars high - at least for as long as possible, till they all reach NZ safely.
Posted by: Old Brown Fool | Mar 17 2023 2:09 utc | 63
Re: the drone saga: just heard on Fox news (radio), that the US Navy is on site, except they don't have any ships in the area. WTF? Did they canoe there or maybe the Ukrainians loan them a yacht? I also heard about the skirmishes in Pakistan over Kahn. The Empire never sleeps. Probably all the meth. I'm afraid to ask, what's next? Maybe someone else here can decipher this nonsense.
Posted by: Immaculate deception | Mar 17 2023 2:24 utc | 64
Addendum to mine @ 53.
Captured regulators, for years.
Fasten seat belts this just posted at a fav site, it's a beauty:
the fuse is CS.
The Next Bomb to Go Off in the Banking Crisis Will Be Derivatives
March 16,2023
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen finds herself in a very dubious position. Under the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation of 2010, the U.S. Treasury Secretary was given increased powers to oversee financial stability in the U.S. banking system. This increase in power came in response to the 2008 financial crisis – the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression.The legislation made the Treasury Secretary the Chair of the newly created Financial Stability Oversight Council (F-SOC), whose meetings include the heads of all of the federal agencies that supervise banks and trading on Wall Street. The legislation also required the Treasury Secretary’s authorization before the Federal Reserve could create any more of those $29 trillion emergency bailout programs for the mega banks – which had tethered themselves to casino trading on Wall Street since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999.
Yesterday, after the Swiss banking behemoth Credit Suisse had traded at an all-time low of less than two bucks; blown out its credit default swaps to unprecedented levels; and tanked the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 700 points intraday, Bloomberg News ran this headline at 12:54 p.m. – “US Treasury Reviewing US Banks’ Exposure to Credit Suisse.”By “exposure,” the Treasury really means how many billions of dollars of underwater derivatives are U.S. banks on the hook for as a counterparty to Credit Suisse. The Treasury also has to worry about U.S. banks’ exposure to Credit Suisse’s other major counterparties that U.S. banks do business with, even if the banks are not direct counterparties to Credit Suisse itself.
If the U.S. Treasury Secretary and her staff at F-SOC were just yesterday getting around to finding out which U.S. banks had counterparty exposure to Credit Suisse’s derivatives, we are all in very big trouble. The serious problems at Credit Suisse have been making headlines for two years, including here at Wall Street On Parade.[.]
a Multiple Trillion dollar global banking crisis ---
In the midst of a war in which the U.S.A is the lead participant.
UKR is now on the back burner. UKies have been told make the best of what you will get.
West warns Ukraine not to blow ‘last ditch effort’ – NYT
The US and UK are trying to scrounge up ammunition for a “spring offensive,” officials say
= = = = = =
scrounge up!!!???
You mean to say mighty US went to war on empty?
Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 17 2023 2:27 utc | 65
Republicofscotland no. 8
Good for them. S.A. knows all there is to know about apartheid.
No. 11
Good for them too. Things are backfiring on the hubris of the west.
Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Mar 16 2023 20:44 utc | 12
wooo hooooo! hope color revolutions stay away. also very cool that Georgians came out to protest FOR their govt and someone in the party in power told the nazis to go home. something like we hope you return safely, but we don't want you here. this is what it's going to take. too many countries know, at this point--the chance of a false flag gets smaller. i pray. :0)
Posted by: polarbear4 | Mar 17 2023 2:41 utc | 66
If correct, and it all ties together, covid, Ukraine, China tensions, financial crisis as part of a great reset plan instead of just a huge end stage neoliberal capitalism runaway failure, then we are seriously fucked.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Mar 17 2023 0:20 utc | 54
truth.
Posted by: polarbear4 | Mar 17 2023 2:54 utc | 67
Re: the drone saga: just heard on Fox news (radio), that the US Navy is on site, except they don't have any ships in the area. WTF? Did they canoe there or maybe the Ukrainians loan them a yacht? I also heard about the skirmishes in Pakistan over Kahn. The Empire never sleeps. Probably all the meth. I'm afraid to ask, what's next? Maybe someone else here can decipher this nonsense.
Do you have a link? I'm not seeing it anywhere. I would be surprised if they are using a Ukie ship (do they have any left? lol), since Russia would just send it to the bottom. Maybe a Romanian, Bulgarian, or Turkish ship gave them a ride?
Posted by: LGB! | Mar 17 2023 3:08 utc | 68
“SARS-CoV-2 infection induces DNA damage, through CHK1 degradation and impaired 53BP1 recruitment, and cellular senescence”
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the RNA virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although SARS-CoV-2 was reported to alter several cellular pathways, its impact on DNA integrity and the mechanisms involved remain unknown. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 causes DNA damage and elicits an altered DNA damage response. Mechanistically, SARS-CoV-2 proteins ORF6 and NSP13 cause degradation of the DNA damage response kinase CHK1 through proteasome and autophagy, respectively. CHK1 loss leads to deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) shortage, causing impaired S-phase progression, DNA damage, pro-inflammatory pathways activation and cellular senescence. Supplementation of deoxynucleosides reduces that. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 N-protein impairs 53BP1 focal recruitment by interfering with damage-induced long non-coding RNAs, thus reducing DNA repair. Key observations are recapitulated in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice and patients with COVID-19. We propose that SARS-CoV-2, by boosting ribonucleoside triphosphate levels to promote its replication at the expense of dNTPs and by hijacking damage-induced long non-coding RNAs’ biology, threatens genome integrity and causes altered DNA damage response activation, induction of inflammation and cellular senescence.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41556-023-01096-x
Posted by: suzan | Mar 17 2023 3:12 utc | 69
from USNI
U.S. MQ-9 Drone Crashes in Black Sea After Collision with Russian Fighter; Recovery Options Unclear
The Pentagon is not yet saying whether the U.S. will try to recover an unmanned MQ-9 Reaper aircraft that ditched into international waters Tuesday after a Russian Su-27 aircraft collided with it midair over the Black Sea.
The Russian Su-27 was one of two Russian fighters that intercepted the MQ-9 in what U.S. European Command is calling an “unsafe and unprofessional” fashion, according to a Tuesday release.
At 7:30 a.m. CET, one of the Russian planes hit the MQ-9’s propeller, according to EUCOM. U.S. forces then opted to bring the unmanned aerial vehicle down in international waters, although the release does not specify if those waters were the Black Sea.
The release does not say if the U.S. will try to recover the MQ-9. The U.S. is not allowed to send warships into the Black Sea, as Turkey closed the Bosphorus Strait as a result of the current Russo-Ukrainian War.
A Navy spokesman did not have any additional information if there were plans to recover the downed Reaper when contacted by USNI News on Tuesday. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 17 2023 3:34 utc | 70
Anyone here know whether there's a way of discovering the title or at least the channel of a youtube video, when you come back to the tab to watch it later, only to find it has been made "unavailable" (assuming that you have saved the 11-char watch code from the url)?
Posted by: petra | Mar 17 2023 3:43 utc | 71
Posted by: Outraged | Mar 16 2023 19:20 utc | 1
Tears in the Rain!
Good to see you are a fan, do you have the whole film? I have the Blade Runner final cut, MP4, 1.91 gigs. Would you like a copy, somehow? Love the sound track, I have used the music illegally on several videos I have made!
Posted by: Walt | Mar 17 2023 4:03 utc | 72
psychohistorian @48--
The great irony as Hudson and Desai explain is Dollar Hegemony is also detrimental to the US economy in that it's helped promote deindustrialization and financialization. And since that fact's been made known, it's very easy to score politicians--if they truly want MAGA they will decry Dollar Hegemony and Financialization for MAGA cannot happen otherwise.
Karlof1 and psychohistorian - I do hope you guys will help to MAGA Again in 2024! We can't survive another 4 years of Woke Joke and Da Ho.
Posted by: LGB! | Mar 17 2023 4:30 utc | 74
Posted by: petra | Mar 17 2023 3:43 utc | 75 re YouTube unavailability
If you are using a VPN, this happened to me a couple of times lately and it turned out it was the country hosting the VPN I was using, and switching to another source was a fix. Also there are a number of free YouTube downloaders on the web but the one I was using has been stamped on so have no recommendation.
@Karlof1 thanks also from me for qiushi - to seek the truth !
Posted by: Walt | Mar 17 2023 4:33 utc | 75
Dennis Kucinich and Michael Hudson on the Anatomy of Bank Failures
March 16, 2023
42 minutes. No transcript..
Posted by: suzan | Mar 17 2023 4:50 utc | 76
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Mar 16 2023 23:13 utc | 40
Here is the video of Christine Lagarde talking to Zelensky (Vovan & Lexus) - 20 minutes
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=CtrNk2jHyVM
https://youtu.be/watch?v=CtrNk2jHyVM
Posted by: Browser | Mar 17 2023 4:58 utc | 77
@ Walt | Mar 17 2023 4:03 utc | 76
Yes indeed. Thank you kindly for your generous offer. Indeed, a fan, including Philip K Dick's written works. Periodically revisit such classic masterpieces from time to time. Doin' fine, have a significant digital collection going back decades & the means to acquire most digital product at ease. Can usually source most anything digitized publicly available or released, should you be after a link.
Did you know Rutger Hauer improvised & then rewrote most of the scene dialogue contrary to the approved script & proposed it to the Director, who approved & when the scene finished filming, the entire production crew was in hushed silence, before they broke out in applause and tears, immediately realizing it would become a classic piece of cinema history ?
Peace
@ petra | Mar 17 2023 3:43 utc | 75
@ Walt | Mar 17 2023 4:33 utc | 79
Github, 'youtube-dl dlp fork' for example. Cheers.
@ suzan | Mar 17 2023 4:50 utc | 80 with the Michale Hudson/Dennis Kucinich interview with David Kelley....thanks
A very nationalistic focus and necessary, I think, to understand the monopoly control of price increases that folks are seeing now.
I like the focus on describing "The socialism of risk". which Dennis Kucinich said as well as the private monopolization of finance which both talked to.
Capital standards
Liquidity standards
Better braking systems in banking.....
The fox regulating the hen house....bank examiners like the FHLB type are corrupt
Breakdown in trust......govt is not performing as a protector of public interest (DK)
and debt overload is putting country at risk.
Banks are responsible for de-industrializing America that is pricing American products out of world markets (MH) and public can't afford price increases
Need to re-industrialize (DK)
They end with international focus and say they will come back again
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 17 2023 5:37 utc | 80
Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-founder, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank should be calling for an investigation of the SVB management and board of directors. People had been anticipating the FED raising rates and talking about inflation rising and SVB decide to buy a load of 10+ year bonds and not hedge them for interest rates. This was such bad mismanagement that all involved should be banned from ever holding a management position in the financial industry.
Posted by: Simon | Mar 17 2023 6:06 utc | 81
Posted by: Outraged | Mar 17 2023 5:24 utc | 82
Yes, the tears in the rain bit. I read that somewhere. The Tears in the Rain music track is the best part of the accompaniment too.
I am a bit of a nutcase about that film. The final cut above all others. On every overnight trip I used to make from Heathrow to Hong Kong I would order dinner and a bottle of red and put it on. Most nights I would remain conscious until the end.
As for Philip K Dick, there are a couple of short stories that I hadn't seen in collections on the Gutenberg site, you can search here:
But been a bit sentimental lately with a wedding coming up, wading through the Brontes, Austen and Hardy. Read Far From the Madding Crowd and followed up last night with this great adaptation from 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3556B9odLBE
Needs almost three hours!
Posted by: Walt | Mar 17 2023 8:23 utc | 82
"China does not threaten the US. Nobody can threaten the US", - Paul Keating
https://twitter.com/NoColdWar/status/1636452311978344448
Posted by: Menz | Mar 17 2023 8:26 utc | 83
@ Simon | Mar 17 2023 6:06 utc | 85
Maybe it was a "poison-pill"/"red line" against inflation and interest-hikes inserted squarely into the heart of one of the Democratic Party's major donor-sources.
Posted by: John Kennard | Mar 17 2023 8:28 utc | 84
@ unimperator | Mar 16 2023 23:25 utc | 41
You might get surprised to find out that digital currency is a tool (a weapon) to combat inflation, that caused by excessive money hoarding (excessive money saving) by population and corporations. Throughout thousands of years humanity failed to control and combat inflation due to peoples extreme desire to save money for "rainy day". In many cases saving money means taking physical cash even gold out of circulation and bury in the garden, or at least hide it in a freezer or under mattress. You have no idea how many elderly people pass away hourly around the world with piles of cash left behind for nobody to spend, yet took years to accumulate. Removing money from circulation is causing stagnation in liquidity and forcing governments around the world to print more money, hence expiration date on digital currency. By the way inflation is the reason for today's banking crisis around the world. Covid lockdowns were forcing governments to print money into oblivion and hand them over to populations without exchanging for goods and services, yet simply free. Collecting excessive money back out of circulation is much much harder task than to give away - increasing interest rates helps to reverse the money flow, yet takes years to accomplish... With digital currency the control of money is much easier and simpler. I am not trying to say I is a great idea to introduce D.C.
Posted by: Alex Vadim | Mar 17 2023 8:36 utc | 85
@ petra | Mar 17 2023 3:43 utc | 75
An ordinary Internet search and maybe some appropriate forum-searches might catch someone else's reference and link.
Posted by: John Kennard | Mar 17 2023 8:37 utc | 86
Posted by: Alex Vadim | Mar 17 2023 8:36 utc | 89
However I might [NOT] get surprised to find out that YOU are in error.
You make the fundamental error of thinking coins and notes in circulation are somehow "money" or "currency" when they are in fact "promissory notes"........in UK they even have the decency to print on them "I Promise To Pay The Bearer On Demand......"
They are "stubs", "chits" and tokens from the gold merchant to say you have "money" on deposit for safekeeping.
MOST "MONEY" is Bank Money - high-powered money - already "digital"
What CBDC does is to ERADICATE Clearing Banks and Retail Banking - it centralises everything in The STATE BANK.
There are billions in D-Marks across Central Europe - now worthless. Sterling is regularly updated and re-issued to defeat counterfeiters and the old notes cancelled........."currency reform" was common in Italy or France or Germany.
Your argument is totally false and shows a complete misunderstanding of money as a means of exchange or store of value. What is the difference between a $100 bill and a T-Bill ? One bears interest the other is a zero-coupon loan to the Government
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Mar 17 2023 8:53 utc | 87
This isn't war. This is the US Army's going-away party. And when an occupying army withdraws, one sees clearly which politicians, organisations and ideologies only exist because of support by the occupier.
Posted by: Passerby | Mar 17 2023 9:02 utc | 88
Did you know Rutger Hauer improvised & then rewrote most of the scene dialogue contrary to the approved script & proposed it to the Director, who approved & when the scene finished filming, the entire production crew was in hushed silence, before they broke out in applause and tears, immediately realizing it would become a classic piece of cinema history ?
Peace
Posted by: Outraged | Mar 17 2023 5:24 utc | 82
Amazing and somehow not surprising to hear that. Yes, that is the best scene in Blade Runner (and that's a tough competition) and of almost any movie. Rutger Hauer raising acting to a high art.
Posted by: K | Mar 17 2023 9:05 utc | 89
Oh a Subcontinental theme - how spiffing, I’ll add my tuppence for what it’s worth. I won’t stay long as am on my hi-ho way to do a bit of plunder from the meltdown. First up is the deluded comment :
“India got to take its super discount oil and subsidize its own refining industry with and in direct competition with Russian counterparts.
Posted by: Zorc | Mar 16 2023 21:52 utc | 21 “
Are you a dork zorc? Or a disguised orc with a refugee Z from the clowns land? 🙂Sorry , just word playing, no offence intended.
Just look at where Europe is getting their energy from now that they have supposedly disengaged from plentiful ,cheap, piped stuff from Russia.
Er… yes it’s still Russian, because we are still importing the OIL directly and now indirectly through the conjuring act of greek magnate oil tankers that somehow leave empty and return full of the magic oil by some strange alchemy of sailing around.
As for Indians making hay while the sun shines , listen to the Lavrovian equivalent of that rising industrial power , Jaishankar.
And if you think Russians are losing out, you don’t have a clue of the greater game and ultimate prize. Just follow my further comment to the end and maybe reconsider your opinion?
———————————-
Republicofscotland & West of England Andy | Mar 16 2023 21:54 utc | 22
Re the confusion about the great Pashtun Khan - it was revealed a long time ago, I believe by ex wife or some such, that he was entrapped by a lusty princess of the blood raised in London and Europe, bred for just such a purpose according to ancient custom, to give him children of the blood, that would guarantee his fealty when he was promoted to the leadership of the blighted regions that make up Pakistan. I believe it was Kissinger who referred to Imran as ‘our boy’.
Well it may just be that the fierce, independent, Pashtun spirit won through against the poisoned future interests of his own children, or maybe he plays a longer game, I can’t quite figure. It appears though that currently he is no longer favoured as ‘our boy’. He is a man , and one of the greatest cricketers and certainly captains, ever. I am sure that he has sacrificed much for the benefit of the long dominated poor Pakistani peoples against the elites, who as I understand it treat the Pashtuns as some mountain barbarians.
If he wins the civil war that is planned there to stop the Chinese BRI and the SCO membership - that would raise the Pakistanis above their feudal, poor existence and make them actually join the ranks of advancing human civilisation instead of the perpetual indentured labourers that even in the west they remain in ghettoes for generations tied to their village elders ‘back home’ arranging marriages for their barely teenager daughters to some wealthy old gangsters sons…..
As I have said previously the subcontinent is the last major piece that is holding our Collective Wastes centuries old Imperial dream together. Hence the promotion of all the ‘Asian’ politicians in the US and U.K. Supposedly to impress these at ‘home’ to take our side. They are fraudsters and bankers molls. Look at the bum-chummery of Macaroon and Sunak recently, GS and DB. They are part of the global elites that have nothing in common with all the rest of their peoples and communities. Just as Obama had nothing in common with AfroAmericans but was just another ‘our boy’ of the Chicago mafiosi of the blood - from whence the Democrat hawks rule the planet.
—————-
Which ties in with the South Africans aligning away from their long time partners in crime and nuclear weapons, Israel. Apartheid was always a long term MO of these imperialists who still dominate much of the gold , diamond and other precious resources of Southern Africa, as much as it was when Rhodes led the way as a psychotic CEO’s post, that currently is currently occupied by Fink of Blackrock.
One need not wonder too much about how Oz is such a shmuck of a nation, happily self castrating to please some far away interests…
Anyway enough history for now - time to watch some of their banks burn over the weekend and make some easy bets that will pay off on Monday morning! Too big too fail!
For these still wholly invested and not in cash - you are brave! Strap in for the big ride.
Posted by: DunGroanin | Mar 17 2023 9:16 utc | 90
Talking about train de-railments, recently yet another 2 trains derailed in Arizona and Washington.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZb9JwR70eg
Posted by: unimperator | Mar 17 2023 9:16 utc | 91
Ps - as a fellow Philip K Dick fan - ‘Ubiq’ is one of his greatest , and probably un-filmable stories. Totally mindbending.
Now that the Man in the High Castle has been probably mangled - not seen it as have boycotted film and tv for several years to cleanse the psyche of propaganda.
Posted by: DunGroanin | Mar 17 2023 9:33 utc | 92
Interesting two part series on the financial war between the US and Europe
https://tomluongo.me/2023/03/05/war-for-dollar-already-over-no-eurodollar/
https://tomluongo.me/2023/03/09/the-war-for-the-dollar-is-over-part-ii-the-fly-or-the-windshield/
Posted by: Down South | Mar 17 2023 10:26 utc | 93
"Let's recall a famous American writer who once said that rumors about his death are greatly exaggerated. That's how it is with regard to our economy"
While Russian culture is mercilessly cancelled in the west Putin relishes quoting Mark Twain, hey US, apple pie, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, the list could be long, not everything is lost.
Posted by: Paco | Mar 17 2023 10:30 utc | 94
@ K | Mar 17 2023 9:05 utc | 93
I call best finding the origami unicorn in the elevator, signaling the final of only two moments of mercy in the whole film (Batty sparing Deckard, Gaff sparing Rachael).
All PKD novels are Ubik, with the exception of Clans of the Alphane Moon.
Posted by: John Kennard | Mar 17 2023 10:41 utc | 95
DunGroanin | Mar 17 2023 9:16 utc | 94
-time to watch some of their banks burn over the weekend and make some easy bets that will pay off on Monday morning
Yeah, remember Alex?
They just love the imagery of banks exploding
Posted by: john | Mar 17 2023 10:44 utc | 96
Re. Post by: S.P. Korolev on Mar 17 2023 @ 1:58 #65
Thank you S. P. for this information. Contributions like this are much better than the predictions, opinions, self-promotion, and ad hominem attacks that are so common here.
Posted by: Quid Me Vexare | Mar 17 2023 10:47 utc | 97
@petra | Mar 17 2023 3:43 utc | 75
Anyone here know whether there's a way of discovering the title or at least the channel of a youtube video, when you come back to the tab to watch it later, only to find it has been made "unavailable" (assuming that you have saved the 11-char watch code from the url)?
I have had to deal with this issue multiple times. Videos from my playlists keep disappearing.
The first thing to do is search Google for the 11-char code. Often the video has been shared on Twitter. In the tweet you will find the title of the video and a preview.
Another trick is to try to share the YouTube link on Facebook. Facebook maintains a cache of previews. If someone has shared the video before, Facebook shows a preview without trying to access the YouTube server again.
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Mar 17 2023 10:48 utc | 98
Browser @81. Thanks for posting those videos. respect to the 2 very talented pranksters!!
Posted by: Jo Dominich | Mar 17 2023 11:29 utc | 99
Though in general I have every respect for the apostate (perhaps bravery has been called upon? perhaps iron will? repudiation of comrades? ) and I do recognise that the insight and perspective he may bring into one's camp is to be welcomed, not to mention any psychological advantage, I would never exalt the apostate above the staunch and constant.
Suddenly Jeffery Sachs is popping up all over the place like an irrepressible jack-in-the-box. I hold Sachs in low esteem. Abyssally low. Some observers might call it loathing.
This low regard pre-dates by some while his despicable role in bringing down the SU, his, along with a band of arrogant and heartless American fellow-shock-therapists'. It has its origins in that period of the great green-washing, the corruption and bringing into the fold of thitherto dissident environmental movements, the spawning of resource bookkeeping and "environmental economics", the era of the likes of Brundlandt and her like, when the seeding of the current bunches of rogues called Greens was taking place.
Sachs is talking a great deal of sense these days on some topics, the pharmaceuticals' stranglehold over national and transnational organs, for instance, insight into the inner corridors of the WHO (double-yoo-aitch-oh, if you please). And he is voicing much necessary truth about the Ukraine in slightly edgier fashion than some more mainstream (but more constant) American academics. (But notice how obsessively anti-Europe he is? Never misses an opportunity to bash the old countries and when none opens to him, he gratuitously wields his obsessive cudgel in any case.)
While he cannot avoid the topic of the felling of the SU, he cursorily skirts it, diminishing his government's role and his own ("a mere bit-player") in the planning and execution (from the mid-eighties) of that programme of devastation and triumphalism, and overplays the parts taken up by domestic agents. I hear nothing about his earlier "environmental" work. Perhaps pushed into a recess in his mind labelled `shameful' but, more likely, oblivious now to his youthful misdeeds.
Posted by: petra | Mar 17 2023 11:42 utc | 100
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