While Piers Morgan’s interview with Jesse Ventura brought the most visitors to my site for any single post, the most read post I did all year from all sources was You Know You Are a Conspiracy Theorist If…
The post was read 71,382 times on Zerohedge alone and just missed the site’s Top 25 Posts for 2012 List.
So…in case you missed it the first time, here it is!
You Know You Are a Conspiracy Theorist If…
You are capable of critical thinking.
You distrust mainstream media.
You like nature.
You think it’s a good idea to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving with your family rather than camping outside Best Buy to get a cheap plasma television made in China.
You think that drones in America might not be for Al Qaeda.
You would like to be able to get on a plane without having to engage in a mandatory radiation bath and digital strip search.
You have read a book in the past year.
You think you have the right to protest.
You think the War on Terror is a scam.
You think the War on Drugs is a scam.
You think the anger directed at America from the Middle East could possibly be related to our foreign policy rather than hating how amazingly free we are.
You think the Republicans and Democrats are exactly the same on the important issues affecting our country.
You think believing in The Constitution does not constitute a terrorist act.
You have heard of the Bill of Rights and can even name what some of them are.
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.
– Justice Louis D. Brandeis
How to Spot a Hypocrite in the Gun Debate and Other Reflections on Newtown For those of you that follow me on twitter, some of the statements and themes you will read in this article will sound familiar. What happened on December 14, 2012 was obviously a horrific tragedy that my simple mind can’t possibly wrap itself around, but what I can do is send my deepest thoughts, prayers and sympathies to all of those affected. I can’t imagine the level of pain and suffering you are all experiencing. This article; however, isn’t directed at you. There is nothing I can do to ease your pain. This article is for the rest of us who weren’t directly affected by the incident, but may be indirectly affected by certain parties’ emotional response to it and by those that will exploit it to justify agendas.
One of the key lessons from all of human history is that the easy way to deal with any tragedy is to scapegoat. In some cases, like in Nazi Germany, the scapegoat proved to be unpopular minorities, especially Jews. These days, many Americans have fallen into the trap of scapegoasting Muslims and the Islamic religion for all the bad things that happen on the planet. The key similarity I see in these sorts of situations is that the population affected by some trauma (hyperinflation and economic collapse in Germany and 9/11 in the United States) tends to resort to the knee-jerk reaction of scapegoating an easy target rather than diving into the complexities of the issue and engaging in societal self-reflection. This is extraordinarily dangerous.
From what I can tell, some of the most ridiculous polices are the direct result of a trauma, people getting emotional, and then begging for a response. In my own lifetime, 9/11 is the perfect example. Our national response to a gruesome attack that killed thousands of innocent civilians was to tear up the Constitution, specifically the cherished Bill of Rights, with insane Big Brother type legislation like the “Patriot” Act. We basically launched the war on terror by waving a white flag. Truly defeating terrorists wouldn’t have consisted of running to the mall and shopping, as George W. Bush insisted, or giving up the freedoms that made America the most attractive country to move to for the last two hundred years. The way to judge victory or defeat in the “war on terror” eleven years later is not to check the statistics on terrorist attacks. They way to judge victory or defeat is to look at the nation economically, socially and politically and ask yourself are we better off or worse off? I think the verdict is clear on that front, and I do in large part blame our childish and emotionally reaction to the national tragedy of 9/11.
Well here we stand in mid-December 2012, just days from the Mayan end of the world and another national tragedy has been unleashed on the land. Most of the victims were innocent, helpless six and seven year old children that never even had the chance to fulfill their potential on this planet. Unfortunately, just as Ron Paul told us, key parts of the Patriot Act were written and desired by certain factions well before 9/11, there is a powerful faction in the highest echelons of the elite that have wanted and continue to want to remove guns from the hands of innocent American citizens. These people are not interested in easing violence; these folks want to disarm the public before the mathematically inevitable economic collapse occurs (see my article “Slaves are Always Disarmed”). While many of these folks claims publicly that there is an “economic recovery” and happy days are just over the horizon, they know better and privately want to get all their ducks in a row before the final and horrific collapse occurs. This is why the surveillance state is making such aggressive strides at the moment. It is also why there is a panic to remove firearms from the public.
The person who bothers me the most on this entire topic is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of my hometown NYC. You can tell when someone is disingenuous if they freak out over gun violence like it is the biggest issue in America today and at the same time protect the banksters and their “too big to fail” culture, which has and continues to systemically steal trillions of dollars from the poor. This is Michael Bloomberg to a tee, so this man should have no credibility on any moral subject when he protects and coddles the most dangerous criminal organizations on this planet. I guess there is something “liberal” about white collar crime.
I haven’t written anything about the markets in a very long time due to the experience in extreme boredom that they have become as of late. The election came and went and now that we are just ahead of the Holiday Season the apathy has hit monumental proportions. More significantly, what was the point of doing anything ahead of today’s Fed meeting? There wasn’t any and so nobody did.
Now that the announcement is out, I think in retrospect today will turn out to be a meaningful turning point. Not so much because of what they said, but because of where certain markets are and because of what they didn’t say. Let’s start with the latter point.
From the statement, we found out that the Fed is set to launch an unsterilized buying program of $85 billion per month ($40 billion in mortgage backed securities and $45 billion in treasuries). This part was widely flagged already. The more interesting part is the language in the text discussing how the Fed will essentially link their low rates to unemployment, with 6.5% being the threshold.
This is all within a text that attempts to portray a very benign and healthy economy, one described as having an improving labor market, a housing recovery and anchored inflation expectations. Sounds pretty good to me; so then why accelerate the aggressiveness of their radical money printing policy?
The answer is that the Fed realizes its policies haven’t worked and are convinced they need to do more and more to prove an academic point that man is indeed more powerful than nature. At first, they said a stock market rally would set a fire under the economy. That hasn’t worked. Then they said a new housing recovery would do it. Once again, nein. So now their answer is just print money like crazy and eventually it will work. Yes, they are insane, but we already knew that didn’t we.
Actions always speak louder than words and their actions demonstrate a deep concern for the real economy and an unspoken understanding that things are not going well underneath the layers of propaganda.
Now onto the second point. I think today will mark an important turning point in the markets not just because of what I wrote above, but because of where things stand.
The older I get, the more thankful I am on each and every Thanksgiving. On this day, I am thankful for all the wonderful things in my life and the blessings I have been provided with, but there is something else I am thankful for. Something that everyone should be thankful for since it presents … Read more
Politics is the entertainment branch of the Military-Industrial Complex. – Frank Zappa Democracies die behind closed doors. – Judge Damon J. Keith Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction. -Picasso. My Thoughts on the Election: The Devil You Know Regular readers know that I voted for the Libertarian candidate for … Read more
Whoever expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization expects what never was and never will be. -Thomas Jefferson Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out. -George Carlin The Seventy Percent People are going to be pissed off no matter who wins this election and that is a … Read more
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. – Mark Twain I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. – John Lennon (watch the video of Lennon actually saying it … Read more
My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of god and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can’t deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars
D’you wear a black armband When they shot the man Who said “peace could last forever” And in my first memories They shot Kennedy I went numb when I learned to see So I never fell for Vietnam We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all That you can’t trust freedom When it’s not in your hands When everybody’s fightin’ For their promised land And
I don’t need your civil war It feeds the rich while it buries the poor Your power hungry sellin’ soldiers In a human grocery store Ain’t that fresh I don’t need your civil war
The Tipping Point
Serfdom has simply been pushed too far. Globally. What we are about to witness, incredibly, is not just a change in the way that one or two countries or even a specific region of the world operates. No, what we are about to witness is a complete transformation globally, a change that I believe will be incredibly positive and will ultimately free us from the shackles upon the minds of humanity as a species. The internet has allowed us to connect with one another in a manner never before possible, and this tool has permitted us to blast through the lies of the global elite that is desperately trying to hang on to control. Whether it was the intention from the outset or not, what globalization has created is a very small class of incredibly wealthy people that are extraordinarily corrupt as a group and also above the law. They are able to hide enormous amounts of money. They are able to insider trade. They are able to deal drugs. They can do whatever they want, yet if anyone below them does the same they are prosecuted in a manner that resembles Medieval torture.
Many people say to me, “but Mike, aren’t things always corrupt, hasn’t it always been this way?” To this I answer yes and no. Of course within any complex societal and political structure there will be elements of corruption. This is obvious. However, there are cycles of corruption and degrees. At some point, particularly toward the end of a cycle where globalization creates this “super corrupt class” of individuals roaming the planet doing as they please with us pawns, you reach a tipping point. That tipping point has already been reached. What we are witnessing now all over the world are merely the effects of that tipping point clashing with the corrupt global elite that refuses to budge an inch and reform even though it is in their best interest to do so. No, they are so arrogant and criminal after decades of doing what they please with zero consequences they would rather attempt to implement a global police state rather than deal with the nightmare of their actions and make the world a better place. Therefore, it is up to us, as a species, to reclaim what is our birthright. Freedom.
As I wrote the other day on twitter, what we have today is not Socialism or Capitalism, it is Ponzism. I am talking on a global level. Basically every country and every region. The biggest pitfall we must avoid as a species is allowing the global power structure to pit us against one another. These guys don’t fight wars, they send you to fight them. Don’t fall for it. Their number one trick once things get bad within their own nations is to attempt to create a war. This checks two very important boxes for them. First, it creates a distraction for the general public and even makes them think that they are part of a team that needs to be cheered. It’s like a big football game but with thousands or millions dying on the field. Second, it allows the government to do pretty much anything they want in the name of “winning the war” or “national security.” This is exactly why the “war on terror” was the perfect war for a kleptocratic elite. It is a war with no end, so theoretically they can constantly claim war as an excuse for taking away civil liberties. The problem for them at the moment though is that the American people are waking up to this scam. Therefore, a larger and much deadlier war is in their best interests. If it is in their best interest you can be sure it is in our worse interests. Therefore, we must do everything we can to prevent it.
The Global Spring
When the “Arab Spring” broke out early last year, many simply took it to be an outburst of rage and frustration from a region that has been shackled by autocratic regimes, lack of economic opportunity and cultural stagnation. While it was the surge in global food prices that catalyzed the event that we now refer to as the Arab Spring, what I think was under appreciated and continues to be, is that fact that this was merely the first major outburst in what is certain to be a Global Spring. The world’s population centers in general are increasingly able to identify with the frustration of those in the Middle East, so far removed from our psyches just a decade or so ago. The most important thing for us all to realize is that there is another way. We have infinite potential as a species to create, innovate and evolve. We just need to collectively remove the gigantic jackboot from our face.
The number of events happening at the moment that provide evidence of the emerging Global Spring are almost too many to keep track of, but in the following paragraphs I will try. I assume that most everyone reading this piece is aware of these events, but what I am trying to do is explain my thesis that all of them are essentially related to the same theme. A massive global uprising against the current status quo and the economic and political systems that it has put in place. People are becoming increasingly aware that these systems are run by the few and for the few, and the boiling point is being reached. Community by community and nation by nation. Let’s start with China.
China
Unless you have been living under an economic rock for the past six months, you are aware that China is in the midst of a serious economic slowdown. As I have said for years and continue to say, this is not a small bump in the road. This is a major contraction. Similar to the U.S., China had a choice in the 2008 slowdown. They could have taken the hit and moved toward measures to rebalance the economy away from an over emphasis on investment and construction spend and toward consumption, but they did nothing of the sort. Rather, they doubled down on their prior mistakes and mal-investments in an epic bet on the ponzi economy. After a brief sugar high, this has now failed.
So with the economy back in steep decline, the authorities fear pumping massive stimulus in as they did four years prior due to their justifiable fears of sparking rampant inflation. Meanwhile, thanks to social networking, citizens have become more aware of the incredible corruption and theft of their leadership, whether in the political or business world. They are increasingly acting out about it and it is becoming so blatant that even China’s legendary control of media is unable to direct the plot. The most recent outburst came from the Foxconn (a major supplier to Apple) factory in Taiyuan, China which employs 79,000 people. While details are sketchy, most accounts point to the riot, which reportedly involved 2,000 people, being sparked by a fight between security guards and workers. From the Washington Post:
When guards beat up workers from Shandong province, others from the same region fought back, igniting a full-fledged riot, according to the news agency’s (China News Service) account.
The young migrant workers whose labor has fueled much of the growth of China’s economy and the global manufacturing sector have begun to change in demographics and desires. That labor pool is shrinking, according to experts, as workers from China’s provinces have become better educated and hold higher expectations for their lives.
Foxconn, in particular, has drawn attention in recent years because of its connection to Apple and the increasingly visible signs of unhappiness among its workers. A string of employee suicides in 2010 pushed the company to install netting to catch jumpers and take other steps.
Anyone think this is an isolated event? Didn’t think so. While this is the most high profile riot as of late, the New York Times in its coverage of the incident wrote:
Many of the protests this year appear to be related to the country’s economic slowdown, as employees demand the payment of overdue wages from financially struggling companies, or insist on compensation when money-losing factories in coastal provinces are closed and moved to lower-cost cities in the interior.
Of course, China’s leadership was well aware of all of this before the Foxconn incident came onto the scene, so what is a good authoritarian regime to do? Well, you attempt to direct the rage and angst to an outside enemy. In this case Japan. Zerohedge has a great report on the anti-Japanese violence and hatred that burst onto the scene recently. The link to their piece Postcards from a Furious China really says it all.
Europe Like the Middle East, the Southern countries of Europe have been in and out of rage now for almost two years. The most recent explosions onto the streets of Greece and Spain are particularly disturbing since the inept clownish leadership on the Continent had supposedly “solved” the crisis for the third time just a few weeks ago. Or was it the fourth time? Really, who’s counting anymore…
Let’s start with Spain. While Greece is still on fire, Spain is where the real action is due to the size of its economy and the importance it has to the political EU hacks. Not only were there enormous protests this week in the capital Madrid in reaction to austerity measures, but there is also a very significant secession movement picking up steam in Catalonia. This isn’t about leaving the euro, this is about leaving Spain! For those that aren’t aware of Spanish geography, Catalonia is the wealthiest region in Spain and it is where Barcelona is located. First, we saw enormous protests in Catalonia about a month ago, which I covered here. Now we see that last night the regional parliament approved a referendum on independence that will apparently be voted on during regional elections on November 25. Reuters covers the story here.
While this is hugely important, let’s not overlook the massive demonstrations in Madrid this past week. I will let this powerful video below do the talking. Draghi says “the euro is irreversible.” Don’t make me laugh.
Now let’s talk Greece. I think a lot of people brushed off this week’s protests as “oh it’s just the Greeks in the streets again.” This is a mistake. These demonstrations were different and here is why. From the UK’s Guardian:
Historically, the most terrible things – war, genocide, and slavery – have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience. – Howard Zinn We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. – Edward R. Murrow Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. – … Read more
I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men. – Isaac Newton A brave man dies once, a coward a thousand times. -African Proverb The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. -Albert Camus … Read more
