As requested – here is an open thread.
I will be back, God willing, tomorrow.
Cheers,
The Saker
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A belated New Year’s Message by the beautiful Natalia Poklonskaya;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=187PtO46Wsk&app=desktop
Not too many women like her where I live.
A belated New Year’s message by the beautiful Natalia Poklonskaya;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=187PtO46Wsk&app=desktop
Not too many women like her where I live.
Saker, I guess you’re not going to comment, but I’d like to ask a question…what happens if ISIS comes to Lebanon ? Will Hezbollah be able to take it down ?
By the way, I’m really looking forward to the Muslim Saker. I look everyday if its up yet.
About the “isolation of Russia” and Eurasia
Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia to connect national grids
News | 05.01.2015 | 00:04
Iran and Russia will connect their national grids via a transmission line through Azerbaijan in the near future, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Iran and Russia inked an agreement last September to match power systems in Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. Negotiations were held afterward between Iran and Azerbaijan on constructing a 260-km long 400 kV transmission line linking the two neighboring countries within six months.
Construction of the power line is planned to complete by late March, which is the first step to connect power networks of Iran and Russia.
Iran is aiming to become the region’s major energy hub, given its geographic location between the tropical area to its south and its northern neighbors in cold, sometimes polar climates, according to Iranian deputy energy minister.
Xinhua
@http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/01/05/iran-azerbaijan-russia-to-connect-national-grids.html)
In WW II, in the border town of Brest, a group of extraordinarily courageous defenders managed to stop Guderian’s army for a few days, thereby sacrificing their lives. This slow down of the Wehermacht advance into Russia played a crucial role in the reversal and eventual defeat of the Nazi assault, which turned the tide of the war. Has destiny sadly reserved a similar role for the Novorussians today?
A very disturbing development below:
From: “The Death of Lugansk Militia Commander Aleksander Bednov”
http://libya360.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/the-death-of-lugnsk-militia-commander-aleksander-bednov/
“The internal divisions among the various factions is the reason I have withheld publishing extensively about events in Ukraine. The Minsk Protocol remains a divisive influence undermining efforts at liberating the South and Eastern regions from the oppressive rule of fascists in Kiev. Russia, while promoting the Minsk agreement as the certain path to peace, created the very conditions that ensured a prolonged war. (See: Response to Minsk Protocol: The Revolutionary Manifest of Novorossiya)
That Russia ignored the results of the people’s sovereignty referendum and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the elections that followed, was a reprehensible act of treachery, rooted in moral cowardice, driven by greed and economic interests.
Vladimir Suchan has some interesting observations regarding Russia’s convoluted policies that are reaping disastrous consequences on the ground in Ukraine and asks if these secret discussions currently taking place between Russia and the US are in any way behind the recent assassinations.”
Uh oh you’re not supposed to mention Vladimir suchan here …… :-O
If the United States continues to harass/remove President Assad in Syria whether by covert or overt means, do you feel that Russia will “step in” as they did last year when Assad was falsely accused of using chemical weapons. Found you through ZeroHedge and it’s been a blessing and an education reading this site on a daily basis. Thank-you for all that you do. Peace to you and yours.
Greetings from France:
QUOTE
Still, America is never going to control the entire world. And any attempt to achieve that goal will take it further away from it. But a lot of people will be killed in that doomed attempt. And down the line the fighting will go on until there are so few people left, and so little organization, that all that remains is communities of a scale people can actually comprehend. That seems to be the only possible outcome as long as we allow for the psychopaths among us to decide who gets to have their fingers on the nuclear buttons.
But before that, we’ll have other shades of entertainment, we’re not done yet by any means. Angela Merkel just told Der Spiegel that she can live with Greece leaving the eurozone. Though that would blow up the entire edifice. I don’t know that I would call her a psychopath, but I have no confidence in anyone who floats to the top in any of our present political systems. And Europe can’t stomach any one country leaving.
It’s high time for a new model and for new people. But the old ones, and their utterly and dramatically failed economies, hold the power, the media, the money, everything. So what other way out is there but mass fighting, mass casualties, a complete overthrow of everything that exists today, probably nuclear bombs dropping, and in the end a world none of us would recognize, let alone be able to survive in?
It’ll take a while yet to get there, and it won’t be a pretty while by any stretch of the imagination. The powers that be are not done yet pretending to rule the universe and playing God. We should kick ‘em all out today, but we won’t. Because we’re all too much like them.
UNQUOTE
From:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/01/ilargi-oil-power-psychopaths.html
Cheers
Mario Medjeral
@Anon 05 January, 2015 04:11… Libya360? I remember visiting this site months ago, I think it’s one of the Libyan “Green Resistance” sites, right? What ever happened to that movement, anyway? I gather that either they’re being very secretive and hiding behind other names so as to not draw NATO’s attention, or it has gradually withered away and changed over the past few years.
I offer serious people who want to do something and go somewhere meaningful a serious cultural project in russian far east . Took first undergrads from oz last new year, and was later shut down by oz spy agency their informant
From Fort Russ:
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2014/12/russian-peacekeepers-will-officially.html
Will the Russian Peacekeepers Officially Enter Donbass on December 28?
Any truth in this?
@siljan
Natalia Poklonskaya, look much beautiful without all the makeups and hairdos..
Kindest Regards
JC
When the world resets its global currency agreements so that the US Dollar is simply one of several currencies in a basket of currencies – and probably using the SDR (Special Drawing Rights) as the global note of exchange – what will the US Dollar be worth domestically in the US? Will we have modest inflation, high inflation or hyper inflation?
In other words, if it’s a reset – and it will be, with much sovereign debt expunged from the books – what’s the negotiating strength of the US at the point of reset, and what will life be like for the people living here?
It’s a selfish yankee question, but any thoughts on this, you economics buffs?
“Torch-lit marches in Ukraine demonstrate that it is continuing to move along the path of the Nazis!” Konstantin Dolgov, the foreign ministry’s human rights envoy, said last week. “And this is in the center of civilized Europe!”
Konstantin Dolgov is an idiot.
Europe is not civilized and she is just listening to her new colonial master across the Atlantic who wants to wipe Russia off the map.
.
Who here lives in Russia, and who here is prepared to go to a Russian court and get an injunction preventing the return of the Elgin Marble of Ilisos (On the grounds of the possession of stolen goods) to London?
And instead, return the Elgin Marble (of Ilisos) to Greece upon the Election of a new Syriza Government who Russia can prize from the Euro?
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/elgin-marbles-fury-in-greece-as-statue-is-loaned-to-russian-museum-9907212.html
The statue – depicting the river god Ilissos – will be on display in the Hermitage from today until 18 January.
Which Russian who happens by these blogs will be the hero Russia needs (and in turn help speed the collapse of the Fiat Empire represented by the Euro???)
Hello? Who can get this injunction???
Let me guess – Mikhail Piotrovskiy is an avowed Russian Europhile-Atlanticist?
Does anyone know if this legal challenge has yet been made. And if not – why not?
Preventing return of the marbles works on so many levels. It isolates the UK from the rest of Europe and forces the UK to come to the table in some way to plea for their return. What are the UK going to do about it?
And then the whole leverage it provides to improve relations with Greece at the expense of the EU/Merkel et al…..
Has it been done? And if not, why not and who is advising Russian officials???
What on Earth are they afraid of?
Transforming an exchange between museums to an international relations and monetary crisis is not a very advisable thing to do.
Let me guess – Mikhail Piotrovskiy is an avowed Russian Europhile-Atlanticist?
Does anyone know if this legal challenge has yet been made. And if not – why not?
Preventing return of the marbles works on so many levels. It isolates the UK from the rest of Europe and forces the UK to come to the table in some way to plea for their return. What are the UK going to do about it?
And then the whole leverage it provides to improve relations with Greece at the expense of the EU/Merkel et al…..
Has it been done? And if not, why not and who is advising Russian officials???
What on Earth are they afraid of?
EXCLUSIVE: Legal bid ‘could halt Elgin statue’s return’ to Britain
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/544483/UK-Russia-legal-bid-halt-Elgin-statue-Ilisos-return
BRITAIN could face legal action in Russia to halt the return of one of the Elgin Marbles on loan to the Hermitage museum in St Petersburg, it is feared.
Despite a pledge by David Cameron that the statue of Ilisos would be shipped back to the British Museum after the controversial show, at least one Russian political party plans to challenge ownership.
Greece claims Lord Elgin looted the marbles from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 19th century, and has long campaigned for their return.
It is thought the ultranationalist group will seek an injunction preventing the statue’s export back to the British Museum on January 18 as part of a bid to embarrass the West over opposition to the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
If successful, it would embarrass the Kremlin too.
The loan is believed to be part of a bid by the Foreign Office to hand isolated Russian leader Vladimir Putin “an olive branch”.
It follows accusations by Geoffrey Robertson QC, who with Amal Clooney is advising Greece on the marbles, that British Museum trustees were “giving President Putin a propaganda windfall at the very time sanctions are beginning to bite in order to deter him from a war that is causing hundreds of deaths in Ukraine”.
President Putin was expected to make a high-profile visit to the remarkable exhibit before Christmas.
This is a most important artistic and political gesture
Mikhail Piotrovskiy
Last night a senior Moscow legal source confirmed at least one party was considering “mounting a legal challenge to make a political point”.
He refused to name the party.
Despite vocal protests by the Greek government against the loan, it has said it will not demand that Russia returns the statue.
Instead, Athens will continue to push its case against Britain through Unesco.
On Friday, Greek Prime Minster Antonis Samaras branded the decision to loan one of the Elgin Marbles to Russia “an affront” to the Greek people.
He added that the controversial loan to Russia invalidated Britain’s past claim that the precious artefacts were too fragile to be moved.
But last night, Mikhail Piotrovskiy, director of the State Hermitage museum, dismissed Greek outrage.
“This is a most important artistic and political gesture,” he said, at a meeting of the Union of Russian Museums.
“That Russia ignored the results of the people’s sovereignty referendum and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the elections that followed, was a reprehensible act of treachery, rooted in moral cowardice, driven by greed and economic interests.”
If Mr. Suchan disagrees he should be adult enough to say so w/o ascribing unfounded motives.
“Vladimir Suchan has some interesting observations regarding Russia’s convoluted policies that are reaping disastrous consequences on the ground in Ukraine and asks if these secret discussions currently taking place between Russia and the US are in any way behind the recent assassinations.”
It is normal for countries to carry on diplomacy discreetly. Only a person sunk in treachery wd infer that they are plotting murder. I shall know to discount ANYTHING said by Suchan in future.
Happy New Year Saker,
I’ve been waiting to hear your insight into the situation with the killing of “Batman”
What’s going on with this internal war in Novorossia.
http://rt.com/news/219783-nazi-parade-kiev-bandera/
‘Something wrong with Ukraine, EU’: Czech president condemns ‘Nazi torchlight parade’
The key for Russia is to reform its economy, and move beyond the narrow dependence on oil and gas. If the Russian economic policy is just to wait until oil prices rise again, that would be an error. The one good thing to come out of this mess would be if Russia could emerge with a much more diversified economy.
“Diversifying the economy” is no small thing. It is something that takes years, if not decades to fully implement.
The fact of the matter is that Russia’s geographical location is not terribly suited to exporting manufactures. Russia also can’t really hope to compete against China in the production of consumer goods, or against Japan and Germany in the production of capital goods.
Russia can however build a domestic industry in order to serve the domestic market. This already exists, but only to a degree and can be further pursued. One policy that Russia must follow is to restrict credit for investment purposes, something that will seriously enhance growth rates.
But ultimately, Russia’s strongest economic card are her vast energy resources. Basically, with less than 2% of the world population, Russia will be sitting on around a third of the world’s energy reserves.
That will be a colossal economic and strategic advantage.
Saw this last week… Seems there are both extremes in this same org? Usually they put out stuff right over the top.. Although in a generic sense they are correct on the effect, thats like saying I burnt my hand from a microwave radiation leak where it could just have been a hot electric stove.
Syrian Counter–Terrorism Conference Made History in Damascus
Veterans Today had a four man contingent attending this conference, including two of the top five counter terrorism experts in the world, the first time that people of this caliber had attended such an event in a country under attack like Syria. They knew from websites and our articles on NEO that we would bring some surprises, and we did not disappoint them.
Getting there was a chore, with the 20 to 25-hour flight times to Beirut in cramped airline seating and layovers in Spartan airport facilities. As we were being shuttled to Damascus that evening, we did not have a Lebanon address.
That exposed us to extra grilling by Lebanese officials about the reason for our visit. Our letter of invitation from the Syrian Minister of Justice ended up being our passport through customs and on the road to Damascus with our AK-47 packing drivers.
We wanted to build bridges in Damascus, discover where areas of misunderstanding and poor or no communication had built hurdles to finding a solution to the carnage that is engulfing the region, with NATO estimating that ISIL has 80,000 in its ranks now. And that is no ragtag bunch of looters and kidnappers like the Free Syrian Army had. ISIL is all hard-core Jihadis along with their state-sponsored helpers, something which is a crime in all the countries that are helping them.
In Syria, I watched General Stone’s foresight being put into action by the Imams, who understood that moderate Islam had to play a key role in countering Western warmonger propagandists that we were engaged in a war with Islam. These holy men realized that new approaches were needed to attack the negative propaganda, as only a broad and united multi-religious front could be an effective counter.
In that regard, they told us they had already begun a program of praying in Christian churches to show solidarity for their both having suffered under the Western and Gulf State, Israeli, and Turkish backers of ISIL. What a breath of fresh air to see eyes opening up to the age old hurdle of getting over the “divide and conquer tactics” that colonialists, past and present, have used to make serious opposition to their exploitation ineffective.
When the various working groups made their final reports, we had Gordon Duff giving the signature presentation while sitting next to our host, the Minister of Justice, Mike Harris, and Colonel Hanke. Yours truly was shooting the video, which has become one of our archival gems.
Gordon continued on, joined by Colonel Hanke, to describe how Western actors had trained an estimated 3000 Jihadis to a Special Forces operational capability. Our own officers have seen general staff and command school battle tactics being used by ISIL, the fingerprints of ranking US officers, working as contractors. He named two retired US generals involved, General McInerney and Paul Vallely, of the Christian Zionist persuasion, where the end justifies the means.
Agents or a commando team used a standard psyop tactic of placing message transmitters in the vicinity. An Israeli Dolphin sub was caught in shallow waters in the middle of another such operation and sunk by a torpedo dropped from a Syrian helicopter.
Israel’s response was the mini-nuke attack on the big weapons depot outside Damascus a few days later. A frame by frame analysis of the video footage revealed “ball lighting”, which only occurs in a mushroom cloud of a nuclear weapon, a tactical one in this case.
http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/30/syrian-counter-terrorism-conference-made-history-in-damascus/
I highly recommend this piece from National Interest in the US: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/2015-the-year-the-bear-5-ways-russia-can-regroup-11957
It’s on what should be Russia’s foreign policy priorities in 2015. The piece is well written, and I like that it’s objective without hyperbole and pejorative language. I highly recommend it!
Have you more information about the Death of Lugansk Militia Commander Aleksander Bednovyou alias “Batman”? It seems to be an internal affair, this is not good for the future of Novorossia if one of the best militia commanders was kill because of political reasons…
05 January, 2015 04:11
I believe you are thinking short term only. Putin asked NovoRussia to wait if I remember correctly. He knew that taking Crimea was going to be seen as an “invasion” by the US. If he had taken NovoRussia too, the possibility of WWIII would have been very real.
Even now, we cannot be certain that the madmen on the hill will refrain from doing this.
If they can’t have total power, will they settle for less?
Yet Putin, showing wisdom, must do all he can to avert it.
#MH17 Fake BUK-M1 plume shown on Dutch RTL Nieuws. They will retract, eventually they will….
http://7mei.nl/mh17-witness-i-saw-plume/
In regards to the Russian policy of cooling down the situation instead of supporting uconditionally the people of Novorossiya. As was pointed out by Anonymous above. It can understandably be seen as treachery in a regional perspective, but the consequences of this conflict are not merely regional but global and the primary force behind the conflict is the USA.So you see the conflict is not about Novorossiya, it is primarily about the US quest for global supremacy and their need to subdue (unconditionally) Russia and China. this war will escalate, it is merely a matter of time and what Putin is doing is to prolong the timetable of escalation. Because when a major player such as the US want war they will get it one way or another. Somewhat unfortunate for the Novorossiyans yes, but they are not mereley fighting for their own lives but the fate of humanity. Though veg few seem to grasp the scale of what’s at stake.
Here’s my pick on a current issue that needs to be rectified in Russia. The sooner the better as the opportunity has been created by the sanctions.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/01/04/russian-science-amazing-why-hasn-taken-over-world/u61VuLiq3lJiyIMY0OLZ7N/story.html
WOW!!! You want to know.. Read this entdire article entirely.. fully..
In a speech titled “The Tramp” he gave in 1902, Jack London described the police as “the right arm of the corporate power of our great cities…” Their job, he asserted, was to keep despised minorities, including the homeless and jobless, out of sight and out of the way.
The police station was on the main drag in the heart of downtown. My great-uncle Tom (my mother’s father’s brother-in-law) had been a policeman in town during Prohibition and in 1968 was the security guard at the granite bank that sat at one end of the street.
Everybody knew everybody, and my father was right in the middle of everything. His step-father was the chief of the fire department; his DAR mother had been Town Clerk since World War II. As a kid, nothing bored me more than having to visit my father’s parents and listen to their endless stream of gossip: how the mayor was having an affair with the wife of the Lutheran minister; how the math teacher caught his wife with the funeral director and murdered her, and then their kids; how the accident that killed my friend’s mother wasn’t an accident at all. The sordid sort of thing that makes insiders feel powerful.
As the “top climber,” the guy taking down the tree, I was usually 40-feet in the air, telling the village crew what to do. These were adult men, including my father’s step-brother. I had long hair and a sexy girlfriend, and they were aware I was smoking pot and taking LSD, and there was much macho trash talk.
On one occasion, a guy with the village crew was riding me unmercifully. So I called him over to clean up a particular area under the tree, and while he was there, I dropped a sizable branch that missed his fat head by about six inches. Everyone started laughing at him and he looked up with scorn and derision and said, quote: “You’re just like your fuckin’ father.”
for the life of me, I couldn’t see how it applied. My father was a tough guy, a World War II combat veteran who’d seen things and done things, and who never backed down. Everybody respected him. I was an outsider.
while my father, who’d just gotten off the graveyard shift at the Post Office, sat with the local cops and village workers on the other side. It was a high testosterone crowd; everyone was talking sports and placing bets on games, and one guy was writing it all down.
These were the pre-Off Track Betting days of “the generation gap.” My dad, the chef, the village workers and the cops hated Muhammad Ali, the Vietnamese, and Joe Willie Namath. They were racist and sexist and proud of their prejudices. Those things defined them.
My dad and I disagreed about everything, and there hadn’t been a civil word between us since He said: “I want you to meet me tomorrow morning by the bank,” at such and such a time, much earlier than usual.
The next morning we parked and met over at the bank, bleary-eyed and half-awake. We walked down the main drag, past the police station, past the train station, where the first of the station wagons had yet to pull up, wives wearing bathrobes, dropping off manicured men in suits carrying the New York Times. We walked in silence till we got to the candy store, and then turned right and started walking toward the diner. A delivery truck was parked out front beside another car I recognized.
My father stepped into the street and I followed him. He stood behind the delivery truck. Wondering what the hell was going on, I watched while he threw open the doors. The guy who took down names and numbers was sitting in the front passenger seat beside the delivery truck driver; three village cops were sitting on boxes in the back of the truck. Cash and slips of paper were being exchanged.
“Take a good look, “my father said. “This is the true relationship between crime and law enforcement.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/02/the-true-relationship-between-crime-and-law-enforcement/
Here’s my pick on a current issue that needs to be rectified in Russia. The sooner the better as the opportunity has been created by the sanctions.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/01/04/russian-science-amazing-why-hasn-taken-over-world/u61VuLiq3lJiyIMY0OLZ7N/story.html
wel I suppose we are all awaiting;
Mistral-deliver or pay up after 31 Dec as stated by Rus-would Rus lose face if they don’t persue this for the sake of immediate EU meetings, which then admits that a non-substantive (rus military not in ukr) political issue can be allowed to affect contracts?
Minsk-any chance of any progress , any chance of any meetings that do anything, any chance of Poro having the authority/willpower to enforce a ceasefire amongst his military,
ukr going to default,
Greece exit Euro brings down derivatives markets internationally,
more EU ministers politicians etc saying to work constructively with Rus, sanctions are bad, politicians from more countries such as Czech, Serbia, Austria, Hungary, perhaps Estonia, Georgia too, Belarus, Italy , saying Ukr is nuts and so are sanctions-what happens to Moldova/Transdinestria, any other panicky countries?
Rus responding to sanctions as promised ,
Obama saying will carry through penalties as proscribed by Ukraine Defence Bill, delivery of more military equipment which might include arms from USA , Canada,Lithuania etc to Ukr,
some idiot either making a mistake or by deliberation, declaring a false flag, creating a provocation etc, an increase in disturbance in Kharkiv, Mariupol etc,
any photos of rus military in Ukr(note John Kerry none yet)
radioactive release,
the two generals Ukr and Rus working with OSCE to try and strengthen ceasefire, russian peacekeepers may be sent in ,
more humanitarian convoys from Rus, perhaps more delays to convoys from any direction west and east: more widespread civil unrest in Ukr against “what budget” by Yats, people realising Rus previous offer to work with Eu and Rus commercially was not so bad after all,
no national/international authority taking up any issues of war crimes, crimes against humanity, against Geneva articles,discovery of more ear crimes tp prosecution and trial,
awaiting MH17 developments of any kind-presumably release of any findings, further investigations into very recent plausible “passed the polygraph” claims-though I am just a bit surprised that the V name was released by the identity protected claimant,giving an opportunity for Ukr and anyone else denial, fabricating “non” evidence/denial of evidence/false evidence should the claim be true.
IMF meeting due mid January does Ukr qualify for delayed and later optional? staged funding should Minsk fail,
Eu to not find more funding,
more business problems and job losses nationally /internationally,
more news about starving dying injured people in Donbass etc,
awaiting something to happen in Syria? unless Israel and Palestine blow up again, ad Iran something happens……
Rus to declare UN/UNSC/PACE/EU /international courts eg Swedish/ permanent Court Arbitration The Hague etc pointless and useless?
-Ingrid-
Some interesting information about Alexei Navalny.
http://www.sott.net/article/290848-Meet-Alexei-Navalny-The-US-State-Departments-inside-man-for-regime-change-in-Russia
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ff5_1419989632
http://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.ca/2014/12/alexei-navalny-hes-back-was-he-ever.html
SNOWDEN. Yes, Snowden. In the words of former and current directors of the NSA he stole the “crown jewels” of American intelligence and carried them off in 4 laptops first to Hong Kong then to Russia.
Corporate media has exhaustively covered this story breathlessly reporting on every detail esp. on how America’s intelligence agencies have been “crippled” by Snowden’s actions.
The esteemed readers of this blog know that something is fishy with the whole Snowden narrative and I feel this must be examined more thoroughly as it will help make clear whether the profound historical events occurring in the Ukraine are plots of AngloZionists or of international oligarchs reprising their roles as cold war “enemies” in order to dupe us all into eternal bondage.
Only to the brain dead can Snowden’s files be called “revelations”. Nothing he has released through his Zionist/Libertarian proxy and homosexual deviant Greenwald, can be called revealing by any stretch of the imagination.
I leave it to the reader to research on his own the ample criticisms of the leaks, what they contain (zero technical data) and how little has actually been leaked; I will not recount it here.
Greenwald is backed my Omidyar to the tune of some 250 million dollars. Omidyar is an intelligence thrall who financially backed and funded the NGOs responsible for the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine.
So I ask you why has Putin let this worm, Snowden–an admitted former CIA employee–into his house???
In what universe do generals and high level military men give aid and comfort to the enemy? That is exactly what the leaders of the NSA did (NSA is a military org) by publicly declaring that Snowden had indeed stolen the secrets of secrets of America’s intelligence establishment.
Clearly those declarations are DISINFORMATION designed to lead people to believe America is now weak in her ability to spy on the world. So why is Putin going along with this deception?
Why doesn’t he just “boomerang” Snowden and send him back to his handlers? Or is all this just more theater designed by the world oligarchs to sell the idea that Cold War 2.0 has begun and all world oligarchs will actually benefit again with this narrative through runway military expense budgets and a public reduced to a fearful, compliant serf/wage slave population.
Why is Snowden in Russia???
Russia suggests Europe drop US and join Eurasian Union.
“When goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-04/russias-startling-proposal-europe-dump-us-join-eurasian-economic-union
Why there are no information from Donbas? Killing of Batman raises many questions that need some explanation.
So who did it this time?
One can’t help but wonder, if the Saudi/UAE bloc is doing everything in its power to eliminate all competition: from Russia to Venezuela to US shale; why not anyone transacting with a bunch of Libyan terrorists?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-05/did-united-arab-emirates-just-declare-war-greece
siljan, thanks for the link to the Natalia Poklonskaya video.
In the recent thread here about a Person of the Year, I think I was the only one to choose Natalia. I remember she said something like in Ukraine demons were rising from the ashes, or the dead rising from their graves. It sounded like a “gut muncher” zombie horror movie. It turned out she was very accurate.
Saker, you must comment on the latest events in Lugansk, about the assassination of the commander of the “Batman” battalion! Is Plotnisky a traitor that is under the influence of the fifth column?
Anglo-Zionist & Nazi-Nato’s work or ptoject
The reasons for the resounding disappointment surrounding the Eurasian Union’s unveiling are myriad, and have already been covered in stark detail within the Crossroads Asia vertical. The Eurasian Union was largely a non-starter as soon as Ukraine pulled out from the project….
http://thediplomat.com/2015/01/eurasian-economic-union-dead-on-arrival/
Oliver Stone:
A dirty story through and through, but in the tragic aftermath of this coup, the West has maintained the dominant narrative of “Russia in Crimea” whereas the true narrative is “USA in Ukraine.” The truth is not being aired in the West. It’s a surreal perversion of history that’s going on once again, as in Bush pre-Iraq ‘WMD’ campaign. But I believe the truth will finally come out in the West, I hope, in time to stop further insanity.
F* NATO
Most of us here are not financial experts, so would someone here who is kindly answer the following question:
Given that there has been a lot of talk about how the petrodollar-based global financial system is extremely fragile (all those trillions of ‘derivatives’, ‘credit default swaps’, etc., at risk), what would be the effect on your average Joe (in any country, not just the US or the EU) of a Great Financial Crash? Assume that your average Joe does NOT own stocks, bonds, precious metals or real estate, but (like most average Joes) just has money in a bank account, cash under the bed, and depends for his survival on his monthly earnings.
Tibet:
For all those interested in Tibet and China and the truth accessible to judge for yourself. This article carries the truth in words and pictures.
Tibet Culture
I believe this is what is the reality, and why the program to foster immolations by young Buddhists to protest “conditions” is a monstrous political evil by Dalai Lama worshippers who want to reinstall a vicious feudal system again.
As I said before, I think Putin is at the front of throwing Oil at anyone who wants it at ever lower prices. The middle eastern terror networks have a lot of money saved up but the main difference is, their only export is Oil.. And they have a lot of princes with expensive hookers to keep up and a lot of under privileged who are just waiting for a chance to rise up as soon as the foreign mercs serving as their army and police leave when they dont get paid. I expect Oil to reach the low $30’s.. But if I am right, Putin will take it under $20..
Iran oil dependency under 30% in new draft budget. Iran’s annual budget in 2013 also saw a 40-percent decrease in the projected oil incomes, a move described by the administration as making the budget extremely contradictory to respond to Western sanctions.
What happens if Russia shuts off the gas
Unlike the West, Russia has never resorted to economic blackmail and is unlikely to turn off the gas spigot, but then desperate times may require desperate measures. The question is how effective will that weapon be.
A “stress test” conducted by the European Commission in August 2014 to find out the resilience of the EU’s energy system to a potential crisis in winter brings grim news for Europe: if Russia shuts down the pipelines, Europeans will freeze. The EU currently imports 53 per cent of the energy it consumes.
From Russia, the EU imports 39 per cent of its gas and 33 per cent of its oil requirements – that’s no small beer.
And while the move would be self-destructive for Russia, it could lay waste to Germany’s industrial power. Richter says, “It would wreak havoc that would then ricochet around the world as German export orders would remain unfilled, and as imports would grind to a halt. The costs would simply be too large to contemplate.”
Across the Atlantic, the US warmongers are patting themselves on their back for having beaten down the price of oil and having mauled the Russian bear. But here’s the rub. The fall in oil prices will maul the US too.
The shale oil industry is so big that if goes bust, it will take the American economy with it.
http://in.rbth.com/blogs/2015/01/03/bears_revenge_what_happens_if_russia_shuts_off_the_gas_40557.html
Is this old news (Voltaire this am)? Likely veracity?
http://www.voltairenet.org/article186300.html
MEET THE PILOT WHO SHOT DOWN MALAYSIAN BOEING MH-17
Vladislav Voloshin: “The Plane Was In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time”
by Dmitry Steshin, Nicholas Varsegov, Vladimir Sungorkin
The Guardian newspaper carried a story on Boko haram today in which I happened to make a comment that Boko haram is a CIA covert operation whose aim was to destabilise and eventually break up Nigeria and in which I then gave this link below and seriously recommended people to read the article :
http://www.tarnews.co.za/boko-haram-is-a-cia-covert-operation-wikileaks-2/
Guess what ? My post got immediately deleted. Must have touched a nerve in GCHQ.
Since there is a lot to like in Nikolai Starikov, it might be good to spend a few seconds to consider the less-than-positive take of Igor Druz, one of the guys of note in the resistance:
http://z5h64q92x9.net/tr-url/ru-en.en/www.segodnia.ru/content/154590
Druz feels that Starikov was praising the Russian establishment for its handling of Kiev under Yanukovich, up to the very end of his regime, and some other things. He does find Starikov’s books worthwhile.
About the American Economy, the dollar, banking going bust —
You realize that the Fed can rescue whatever it wants and will do so and has done so. Nothing they value or are told to value will go bust. Their main effort was US equities. Stock market up to the stratosphere the result.
The losers are those on the margins (which now includes anyone not paying homage to the Hegemon and 99% of the rest of the world).
They are going to wreck the BRICS as a unit, India if they keep moving toward Russia and China, and will set fire and create chaos wherever any sovereign nation stands up to the US Hegemon.
So, waiting for the US economy to fall like the Twin Towers is silliness.
It has too many significant features that will still be robust. The petro-dollar is dying, but the dollar is in transition for settlement of trade.
The key to continued dominance will be TTP and TTIP which are traps for the vassals. They will be screwed like France is now with the Mistrals and the jet fighter deals with India being held up by order of the Hegemon.
As for cannon fodder for the wars? Japan is ready, South Korea can be coerced. It’s youth are into zombie state, also. Taiwan’s military is itching for some action on the Taiwan Straits, and Australia is always ready to pitch in.
Lots more small wars on the To Do list if terror doesn’t do the job.
China and Russia are not going to have a smooth elevator ride to multi-polar participation. The Hegemon is very strong and will kill and maim men, women and children and tear down its own Twin Towers and own airplanes full of its own citizens to maintain hegemony.
[from Blue]
Inflation — I’m thinking, or rethinking it. everybody says, more or less, that inflation is caused by too much money. I’m thinking that’s not true — that ‘too much money is not a cause, but a symptom, by certain ways of measuring or viewing it, and it’s actually the problem of too few goods for the available money or liquidity.
If I want to buy stuff and it’s cheap, and plentiful, then I won’t pay more than I have to — I’ll use what money I have left to better or different stuff. But if the stuff I want is hard to get then I may pay more for it to be sure I get it. So inflation is caused by short supply, diminished production (which often is coupled with higher unemployment).
Unemployment has two effects: less money spent, and less goods produced (under-utilization — and in the US it’s now only about 80%). These two factors tend to balance out inflation, the prices paid, but with companies and merchants seeking to maximize profit by raising prices as much as possible and maintaining or increasing profits with less production costs, that tends to result in shortage of goods — which is inflationary as demand and prices are driven higher. If people but what they need on credit, then private debt goes higher — for a while, increasing endogenous money, which can’t be sustained forever and also puts more of the economy into the lenders through renting and interest. As people fall off the edge, buying less goods, then the demand for goods decrease, leading to lower production and cooling the economy.
All these factors interact, and talking about ’cause’ is difficult, and likely a source of confusion. To say that if the government simply creates more money will result in inflation makes no sense if that money is used by people to buy more or better things, spurring inflation and higher employment. It’s only when productivity has reached a maximum due to constraints of raw material, inefficiency, or lack of other resources, including skilled workers, that prices rise with inflation.
We can say, then, that an effective remedy to inflation is to increase production, including by increasing employment, skill levels, and infrastructure and machinery — up to the point where environmental and raw material constraints on growth kick in. As long as utilization is not maximized within those constraints, however unemployment (less production) is inflationary, and so is lack of investment by transferring wealth to the rich who sit on it and speculate on nonproductive mechanisms such as derivatives. Get people working and producing, increasing the supply, and inflation drops.
More or less — I’m still working on relating all of this and rethinking it, but it seems that saying increasing money supply is inflationary is as wrong as saying that adding heat makes the fire bigger.
If I can get my new computer up and running maybe I can download Steve Keen’s Minsky program and figure out how to use it to model this.
–Blue
This Eurasian /EU proposal is starting to grow on me.Yes please,first thoughts.The currency has got to be gold backed,and all the northern EU countries scrambling to get their gold home,La Pen even,same,have had the pre-word about this via Merkel I imagine.
Of course more gravitas is needed by the experts,but hey,let’s roll with it.
XbNB
I meant Latvia not Estonia in previous post….
PARIS, January 5. /TASS/. Russia’s economic crisis cannot bring any benefit to the European Union, and so the introduction of sanctions against Moscow should be stopped, French President Francois Hollande said on France Inter radio on Monday. He said the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is the main condition for the sanctions’ lifting.
so H getting very nervous about handover Mistral or the money-but Rus could /should still persue immediately its claims?
Ukrainian neo-Nazi, deputy of the leader of Kiev gang Praviy Sector Marusya Zveroboy called her close associates to beat Russian journalists, including women.
‘Journalists of Russia know that they will be beaten, and because of this their women come here. I have such suggestion to crush them; including women in order they will be afraid to come here. Grass up them, please report to members of the Praviy Sector, we have to exchange them’, calls neo-Nazi on her page in a social network.
Article re Donbass militia units who do not submit to legal authorities
http://fortruss.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/donbass-leads-race-to-control-armed.html
http://syncreticstudies.com/2014/12/30/manuel-ochsenreiter-%D1%82odays-%D1%82hreat-to-europe-is-the-us-occupation/#more-1605
re Germany and Serbia, above av. article
Anyone wishing to comment on Jan article by stratfor that Rus is losing political ground in the Balkans? Apparently an article “soon” on Rus strategic forecasting, strategic intelligence.
KIEV, January 4. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is putting on a wanted list all actors and musicians who come to areas of Donbass (Donetsk and Lugansk regions) not controlled by Kiev, Vasily Vovk, head of the SBU main investigation department, said Sunday on 112 TV channel.
I’ve been trying to follow Colonel Cassad on the murder of Batman, but it’s a little confusing to read this machine-translated stuff. Hoping you can fill in on what is going on.
Hi Average Joe @ 5 Jan 15.56
Those that have little to lose, have little to fear,in a meltdown of financial assets which are merely paper debt obligations.
This is all a gambling operation which,for the most part,has nothing to do with investment or productive capacity,but it will affect the food supply chain,if it occurs.
If you are in North America just use the search engine on your browser and enter..’ Preppers ‘or ‘ Stackers ‘,you will get the info.
Always have a two month supply of food and WATER most important!.
Also MOST important of all is to have no debt!!!.
Cheers.
Jesse answers the MMT assertions that printing money does not cause inflation or dislocation in the economy.
“Anonymous nazcalito said…
Uh oh you’re not supposed to mention Vladimir suchan here …… :-O”
I recall the Saker said he would delete any comment mentioning that person, but he’s not around for this open thread.
Joat said…
Those that have little to lose, have little to fear,in a meltdown of financial assets which are merely paper debt obligations.
… Always have a two month supply of food and WATER most important!. Also MOST important of all is to have no debt!!!
Thanks for the advice. So I take it that cash (banknotes) will still have value for transactions (if there’s anything to buy), more or less as now. But what of money in the bank? Presumably in a Great Financial Crash lots of banks will go belly up. So does that imply (at the first sign of an impending GFC) keeping most of one’s money in the form of cash?
Hi Joe,
“In the event of GFC”.Consider Ukraine, thats in deep trouble,official inflation at 24% so those holding lots of cash are losing purchasing power.
Whereas a gold or silver coin is what I prefer to save in,as they hold value over long periods of time.
People generally are mis-informed by terms such as ‘savings account’ when you put money in the bank you are actually ‘lending’ the bank money & as an unsecured creditor you are at the back of the queue if the bank goes belly up.
Remember what happened in Cyprus? ,small depositors were insured but those holding business accounts? and payroll accounts? no coverage in the MSM about that.
And now every country in the G20 is on board with the ‘Bail-in’ process.
cheers.
Discussion and insights of China:
China does many complicated things in their economy. One big mistake Americans make is applying our economic ideals to what they are doing.
China has four big STATE banks, and they issue their credit and often JUBILEE it. They forgive loans. I cannot over emphasize that this is the secret to the Chinese economy kicking our ass.
Example: China issues loans to attract Solar Industry. Remember that: Americans invented that industry not too long ago, and now it is gone.
China issues loans into Channels that gain strategic advantage and employ labor. Solar cell technologists leave America with their taxpayer funded education, and then they land in China. China gives loans to several of these new companies’ with yuan loans, and they compete with each other. The State Banks then prune the losers, and forgive the loans. Most efficient company is then allowed to enter export markets.
Solar cells are sold for dollars on world market. Said dollars then find their way back to Chinese industry. State Banks swap Yuans for Dollars.
…
Why is china efficient? 1) They are given the knowledge and know how 2) Overall efficiency in the Chinese economy is helped greatly by Forgiving of loans, which effectively makes debt free money. 3) Debt Free money grows in supply at a rate to match economic increase. 4) Coastal Industry has efficient transportation by ship, and now interior is becoming linked by rail and airplane. 5) U.S. taxpayer subsidy in the form of transportation as U.S. Navy protects trans-shipment.
Worth a read at:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-02/chinas-illusion-prosperity-exposed-forget-ghost-cities-meet-ghost-factories#comment-5619723
[from Blue]
gold standard… not good.
see http://ineteconomics.org/new-economic-thinking
http://ineteconomics.org/new-economic-thinking/bill-mitchell-demystifying-modern-monetary-theory
Bill Mitchell: Demystifying Modern Monetary Theory
currently the first one on the list. About 4 minutes in this covered.
To tie currency to any commodity limits the ability to respond to economic conditions — it’s like tying oneself to a tree to participare in a fight with gunslinging speculators and banksters.
Beyond that, there will not be anough gold to reflect economic growth, and it makes nations without a source of gold subservient to those which do — and it turns upside down the concept of what money, as opposed to a commodity, really is.
__Blue
I read this interesting article today:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-04/russias-startling-proposal-europe-dump-us-join-eurasian-economic-union
But even better (very funny and actually pretty close to true) was this comment on the article:
“Ha Ha Ha Ha what is Russia trying to do, get Europe nuked. The Americans will kill her before they let her out of this abusive relationship. I mean Uncle Sam listens to all of Europe’s phone calls, they monitor where ever she goes with their foreign policy, and they fuck her constantly with a dollar penis that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Just look at the pics of Uncle Sam, the guy is a role model for a wife beater hahahah, he looks like one of those trailer trash dudes with his long white hair and beard hahaha.
Hey William B. we need a pic of Uncle Sam in a wife beater T shirt without sleeves pointing at Europa and saying Ill kill you before Ill let you go BIATCH!”
[from Blue]
bob kay said…
Jesse answers the MMT assertions that printing money does not cause inflation or dislocation in the economy.
05 January, 2015 19:33
————-
He says
“To say that assuming that printing money at will by the government without limit can have no effect on value flies in the face of historical experience. MMT seems to be based on this assumption and a few others that do not hold up well to practical examination.”
This NOT what MMT says — he misunderstands this very badly and is tilting against straw men.
Listen to the video from Bill Mitchell I posted the link to, but also understand that inflation does not result from simply creating money but creating more than is supported by the economy and employment figures. If utilization and employment is not near 100% then creating more money to put into the real economy — not in the pockets of the wealthy or for wars — then it’s not inflationary, but simply investing in the tangible economy and providing liquidity so it can keep running.
Understanding this is not ‘rocket science’ but it does require discarding old limiting mindsets and orthodox economic education — which, BTW, is largely ignored by business people who have to deal with reality over unsubstantiated theory. Business like to say things in an orthodix fashoin because the system is to their advantage, but a successful businessman doesn’t believe that stuff or operate by it. It’s like the clergy class who say all kinds of nonsense for their own benefit when people believe them, but know better themselves. Classical and neoclassical, especially, economics is much like a cult or religion — similar to American exceptionalism and the US bringing ‘democracy’ to the world.
–Blue
05 JANUARY, 2015 17:08
Stavros H said…
Transforming an exchange between museums to an international relations and monetary crisis is not a very advisable thing to do.
Maybe – but do you consider shooting down a civilian jetliner and murdering the citizens an advisable thing to do in the interests of geo-political advancement or merely injunctioning stolen goods from being returned to the wrong jurisdiction?
Surely one is far more heinous than another?
Saker, Larchmonter, can you please share your thoughts regarding below?
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-05012015.html
Beijing Chums up to Washington
This seems like a 180-degree turn in China’s rhetoric. First, they are prepared to support Russia and give them “whatever they need.” Now this? Is this the usual Chinese policy of playing US vs Russia for China’s gain? If so, it may not be the best for the long term – Russia may not make it long enough in competition with the US.
Blue –
Inflation is the increase in money and credit, not higher prices. If the monetary grows it has inflated. As you point out, if real productive growth is equal to monetary inflation prices remain stable. Yet real productive growth is a product of efficiency. Meaning if prices do not fall then technology gains are taken from the consumer.
If you have, for example, gold backed money the real growth lowers prices, increasing the value of money saved.
Commodity money is good for savers and consumers, inflationary fiat is only good borrowers…..ie the STATE
James Howard Kunstler has just issued his predictions for 2015. Excerpts regarding Russia follow. Notice he anticipates the US will just discard Ukraine with no major war.
“The tactical blunders of the USA and its Euro-partners drive the so-called emerging markets, led by China’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization, into a skein of work-arounds to undermine and avoid the US dollar trade. They don’t exactly replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency but the workarounds lead to a period of worldwide currency turmoil that can only be resolved by monies being at least partially backed by gold. Both China and Russia will continue to work to convert their dollar reserves into Gold whenever possible. Meanwhile, America and Great Britain’s campaign to discredit and devalue gold will only permit their rivals to acquire more at a cheaper price.
The rest of the world is sick of America’s interventionist shenanigans and its moronic exported culture of burgers, Grand Theft Auto, and twerking Jezebels. They are aided by America’s own obdurate foolishness and poor strategic choices, for instance the blowback from the Ukraine misadventure of 2014. Who in the White House, Pentagon, or State Department thought it was a great idea to undermine the fragile stability of Ukraine? Is there any question that Ukraine was ever not in Russia’s sphere of influence? Or that Russia would allow it to be dragooned into NATO and used as a forward base for American firepower? Dmitry Orlov’s explanation for all this is the most cogent on the web:
“What the Anglo-imperialists were paying for in corrupting Ukraine’s politics was a ring-side seat at a fight between Ukraine and Russia. And what they got instead is a two-legged stool at a bar-room brawl between Eastern and Western Ukraine.”
Read the whole darn thing; it’s not long.
We succeeded in turning a marginally-bankrupt, marginally-independent nation into a complete basketcase that is going Dark Age as I write — no money, no work, no fuel, no heat, no food, no prospects. Having completely botched the operation, and misplayed the game against Russia’s Putin — and Russia’s legitimate interest in a stable next-door neighbor — the US will now abandon Ukraine. It will be forgotten as surely as the US-sponsored Ukrainian air force’s role in the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 — the incriminating details of which were buried by the Dutch investigating officials. Eventually, the Russians will have to care for the dying Ukraine. They will not be enthusiastic about it. They will do little and do it slowly.
Likewise our economic sanctions campaign against Russia (including the attack on the ruble) is now blowing back on the Eurozone’s export economy. Russia has survived much worse than Western sanctions in recent history. Russia will survive by turning east to Asia. This is already happening and is well publicized. What it means for Europe sooner than later is the loss of their access to imported oil and gas from Russia. Meanwhile, the North Sea fields and the Dutch Groningen gas field are dying. Good luck staying warm, Europe.”
More at:
http://kunstler.com/forecast/forecast-2015/
Constantly moving two steps forward and one step back is actually pretty serious forward progress. I personally suspect that a lot of the potential for the next steps forward comes from the apparent retrenching of the backward step. Remember that Russia is advancing without escalating.
And we are all too impatient. Things will reveal themselves in time, and nothing we say here has any influence in the actual field.
On a side note, I was reading somewhere about how China has disbursed portions of her legendary Dollar reserves around the world on various projects, and it occurred to me that China could actually afford to invest a $100 billion into Ukraine to repair it, given the right political climate. China was already deeply intent on large investments there I believe until Maidan. Maybe, many things are still possible for that place.
[from Blue]
Anonymous said…
Blue –
Inflation is the increase in money and credit, not higher prices. …
Commodity money is good for savers and consumers, inflationary fiat is only good borrowers…..ie the STATE
06 January, 2015 01:52
————-
Inflation is defined as an increase in prices over time. Commodities are not money, but commodities – money is a legal entity — ‘legal tender for public and private debts’.
Commodities can be sold for money, but all you get from treasury when you give them money to exchange is money — give them a ten and they will give you 2 fives. Only the government creates money, by law — actual money, not ‘endogenous’ money, or credit. Private banks, brokers, or buyers can create credit, but not money. If the government does not issue money, being in so-called deficit, then no one in the private sector will have any money and the economy stops except for barater, either direct or through a private credit scheme, like ‘merchant dollars’. That’s how it actually works.
I don’t understand you mean by ‘If you have, for example, gold backed money the real growth lowers prices, increasing the value of money saved.’. Growth of what?
More production of goods (by either efficiency or more people working or good weather for crops, etc.) yields more stuff for the same money, but that has nothing to do with if money is backed by gold. Gold is just another commodity and the price can rise or fall in relation to other commodities. If gold supplies are short or abundant the price goes up or down respectively — acting like any other commodity.
MMT is not a proposal or ‘theory’ (hypothesis), but a description of what happens. Endogenous ‘money’, credit created by private banks, is not real money — and you can’t pay taxes with it.
In the EU nations have surrendered their monetary (and largely fiscal) sovereignty to the central bank, which acts as the government for all Europe — like states and the federal government in the US, where states cannot create money.
The austerity policies are killing the economy by reducing liquidity and money supply for investment — it’s a like who rewards kids with gold stars and takes them back for bad behavior refusing to give any out: the kids stop doing things to earn them — even though the teacher can give out as few or as many stars as she wants, and does not need to collect them from a kid to give them to some other kid.
__Blue
Blue – Thanks for the comment
We have a difference of opinion on the definition of inflation. My definition is of the paleo variety as defined by the 1929 Websters English dictionary. As far as I can tell this is the first English definition as it relates to monetary policy. Inflation – the increase in currency and credit. This definition is popular with scholars such as Mises, Hayek and Hazlet.
Legal tender is currency where as gold, sterling, etc.. is money. Money requires a store of value that is intrinsic to the tender, not based on faith.
“I don’t understand you mean by ‘If you have, for example, gold backed money the real growth lowers prices, increasing the value of money saved.’. Growth of what?”
Productivity capacity, efficiency of production – Real productive growth
An example would be 10 widgets per hour of human action becoming 15 widgets per hour of human action. An hour of human action being the truest form of measure over time. In our example an hour has a cost, based in part on the cost to maintain or grow a standard of living. The human hour has grown in productive capacity, thus making the cost of production cheaper. When currency is inflated to “equalize” the gain the “cost” remain the same or in most cases rises by 2%………without the inflation the cost of goods goes down because of the productive gains. The labor who produced the goods has a rise in their standard of living with lower cost.
I absolutely agree that bank created legal tender is not money, but it is legal tender and the government laws require us to use. It is, in fact, a legally created monopoly on legal tender controlled legally by the banks, a private cartel. This system is thousands of years old. I would argue it is the very money changing system that Christ acted in violence against. As far as I can see the only act of violence ever.
From my view this system is immoral and facilitates imperial conquest and theft of posterity. Drenching our unborn in debt.
I will study this MMT you refer to.
I advocate the elimination of currency monopolies and allow real money to free float and act as legal tender. F.A. Hayeks competing currency theory.
Edwin Vierra – Pieces of Eight
http://moslereconomics.com/mandatory-readings/
read The Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds first
cheers.
I have been exposed to Mosler before
Can the MMT allow for competition, allow gold and silver coins to circulate as legal tender ?
Permit barter ?
Or does it require monopoly power ?
Civil debate with Mosler and Murphy
http://www.modernmoneynetwork.org/mmt-vs-austrian-school.html
Anonymous 06 January, 2015 01:34
RE: China and the US
China’s one of four Vice Premier’s words are not policy. They were words Americans wanted to hear. They were spoken in trade meetings in Chicago.
Chinese want to change the power of the US inside all the institutions of trade, finance, commerce, banking. The US hegemony will persist for another decade at least in some ways.
China is heavily invested inside the US, holds 1 Trillion of US debt in Treasuries, and 1 Trillion in dollars. They are huge trading partners and US investors pour money into China.
Taken that China seeks no hegemonic role for itself, and it is about 30 years behind in military, China uses these opportunities to play sweet, soft music for Americans who make deals with them.
China and Russia are together for the next 30-35 years at least. Nothing changes because some soft words were spoken to stroke America’s ego.
China will own the biggest markets and dominate the developing world while the US will still be lighting its foot on fire over and over.
Let me know if Xi or Li ever speak like this.
What Xi says is the US and China should cooperate to end wars, fight terrorism, narco-trafficking and smooth out regional problems around the world like Syria, Iran, and North Korea.
Understand that the Premiership (from whence Wang comes as one of four VP’s) is about economic issues, trade in particular.
He has no portfolio that includes state relations.
If he was from the Foreign Ministry, this would be big news.
The fact it is disseminated as regurgitation from Hong Kong 9Asia Times is not pro-Beijing0, and it is sourced from a foreigner working at Beijing University-NGO style expert from Italy, means, he is writing Western POV, not Chinese.
So, it’s big words to get big contracts and deals for China.
Blowing smoke up someone’s butt.
Chinese are masters of telling you what you want to hear.
Like the environmental deal they gave to Obama. They do nothing for 20 years, then they’ll think about doing something.
Anonymous said…
“In regards to the Russian policy of cooling down the situation instead of supporting unconditionally the people of Novorossiya. As was pointed out by Anonymous above. It can understandably be seen as treachery in a regional perspective, but the consequences of this conflict are not merely regional but global and the primary.”
I am torn over this issue.I see your point.But I am what I guess, could be called a “Rus nationalist”.Every single part of those lands and peoples I consider precious.The Ukraine,Russia,and Belarus,I consider one people.And none are more worthy than the other.The thought of fascist Bandera traitors oppressing those peoples is anathema to me.So whatever it takes or costs to liberate those peoples from those swine is not too high a price.Every time a Novorossian woman,child,elderly person,NAF soldier,or Russian volunteer is killed in this fight.And even every brainwashed Ukrainian conscript killed.I consider that a priceless loss to those people (the fascist Bandera are too far gone to be a loss I’m afraid),and my heart hurts.My years of study and reading about that part of the world has made of them almost a second home and people.So while theoretically agreeing on the worldwide scope of this struggle it’s more personal than that to me.Its about real breathing people,families suffering fear and death on a daily basis.People that I feel close to.So yes,Russia must prevail,and win against the sanctions and threats.But not to me, for the World,that’s a second reason.But for their own peoples,and their family of Rus brother’s very salvation.
Uncle Bob
Anonymous @ 5 Jan 22:03: Russia indicated it couldn’t allow access to EU thru Ukraine, but now it wants the same countries to join the Eurasian Union directly?
Anonymous said, “Inflation is the increase in money and credit, not higher prices. …
Commodity money is good for savers and consumers, inflationary fiat is only good borrowers…..ie the STATE”
Anonymous, this is rationlistic, circular reasoning. You’re simply assuming your slogan that increasing the money supply results in increased prices. MMT maintains that increasing the money supply in tandem with increasing the quantity of goods and services will not cause a price rise. Think about it: I have 3 units of copper for $100 each. If I mine another one and the money supply increases by $100 no price inflation has occurred. Maybe it even satisfies your stipulation of being “commodity-based”. Why shouldn’t a new house or dry-cleaning plant qualify as a commodity backing the value of new currency?
BTW neoliberalism holds that if the govt increases the money supply it’s price-inflationary, but if the banks do it, it’s not.
T1–
Thanks for your input on the Chinese economy. Here’s a MSM article on Chinese overcapacity in steelmills, due to their many mega-projects requiring steel. I don’t understand why the rush to make steel would be over already, considering that so many mega-projects haven’t yet been built.
The article keeps yapping how the iron ore price and steel production are “unsustainable”.
I would like to understand more about Chinese business/construction debt hich seems even a bit chaotic.
STAVROS H said, “One policy that Russia must follow is to restrict credit for investment purposes, something that will seriously enhance growth rates.”
I’m sure you mean the opposite, right? You want to supply credit for investment to grow the economy, no?
I wonder how many years before the value of Russia’s energy resources will begin to be cancelled out by the new-technology engines. Rockefellers, etc have managed to keep the lid on fusion and on water-powered engines, etc. for many years, but those technologies must begin to break out sometime.
[from Blue]
Penelope…
Maybe this will help people to understand.
I’m still delving into Linux.
This money is is like /dev/zero/ http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=/dev/zero. Dev/random is similar. In Linux, devices and all, are treated as streams from a file. If you want zeros or random numbers you get them form a ‘file’, but no file filled with zeros or random numbers really exists — they are little programs to generate the numbers as called for.
With fiat money the government doesn’t ‘have’ or ‘need’ dollars but creates or destroys them as appropriate for economic conditions — same as with the points from a referee, in the common example.
If prices or production becomes problematic government can create more money and buy stuff, even if just to store until a leaner time, hire workers, increase or decrease taxes or tarrifs, influence interest rates, and so on.
Now the US is dumping gold cheaply to prop up the relative value of the dollar, and subsidizing various goods. It may be doing this badly, but governments always do these kinds of things.
It’s just the government doing the same sorts of things a farmer does when storing grain, putting by seeds, investing in plowing and planting a field, breeding chickens instead of eating them, and so on. This is not mysterious, even if money is an abstraction instead of chickens or wheat. Money is like a farmer telling another farmer ‘I’ll give you wheat to feed your chickens when the crop comes in if you’ll give me chickens when they mature’. They make the deal ahead of time.
If the farmers had to have actual chickens and wheat before they traded they couldn’t plan on how much of each to invest in and grow.
If a government had to have a store of gold before issuing money so a farmer could buy seed, when it ran out of gold then farmers couldn’t buy seed, and nothing would grow, and people would starve. Now we have idle farmers and people starving, so to speak. 80% utilization of productive capacity because of bad monetary policy and financiers skimming and scamming — and fighting wars all over.
–Blue
It seems that those who talk about neoclassical economics as being a religion have something to what they say. Those who extoll gold-backed money ignore the facts and history, as well as economic theory both before and since the latest neoclassical cult.
For instance, the post at the old blog by ‘local boy’ (not yet transferred here) says
“Lastly, do we not have imperial wars of aggression and plunder now ? The US controls the fiat world, fights war of plunder at will. This began one year after the Federal reserve was created, coincidence ? ”
Yet US aggression and plunder hardly started after Jekyl Island meeting — it’s been doing that from the start: Native American genocide, Mexican American War, Philippines war, to name a few — and nothing to do with monetary system, which was on gold then.
Further, gold and price has always been manipulated, and other financial games and fraud played by the wealthy elite and the government they too often control.
We have also seen depressions throughout history.
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States
I can’t answer all the objections to MMT here, but if one accesses the texts and videos on the subject on the internet, all of them are more than adequately answered and explained by the experts. The difficult part is not understanding the material, but putting aside old beliefs and assumptions — often the result of years of hearing propaganda.
Do not call gold money — it is not money. You don’t like government using it’s power to control fiat money — as it controls so many other things — contrary to the benefit of the people? Then do something to make government accountable to the will of the people and make it democratic — don’t try to deny that the government would not be involved if gold was bartered as currency, or distort how fiat money works in practice. There is no easy solution to democracy being perverted by the elite, and stepping backwards towards using a single commodity to base money on just makes things worse, not better.
Stop listening to the main stream media and others paid by the elite to spread their lies. Do the searches, beyond even the links that have been given, and listen to those who actually understand economics and tell the truth about it, such as the people at UMKC — and New Economics Perspectives, American Monetary Institute, and http://ineteconomics.org/, Bill Mitchell, Warren Mosler, and Steve Keen (but these ‘new’ economic sites are not actually all that new and much of this goes back many decades, before the neoclassical, neoliberal, and neocons took control of the universities and media (see the Powell Memo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_F._Powell,_Jr.#Powell_Memorandum ).
__Blue
BTW, I’m was just listening to Joseph Huber speaking at the American Monetary Institute, and he does not understand MMT — and you will also find a few other things at American monetary institute which are distorted, and fall under the spell of the confused right wing people.
The problem seems to be that many of people who criticize MMT are stuck in invalid paradigms and assumptions — not that MMT is perfect or not still being developed, but criticism of it should at least be based on what it actually says rather than what one imagines it to say. Similar problem with politics where Putin, who is hardly perfect either, is criticized for what he did not actually say or do, or the US/empire is praised for what is says but does not do.
As Chomsky has said, the first thing to do in responding to some assertion is to question whether it is true. It is not difficult to be misled or confused about any of these things considering how much misinformation is around, and how much deliberate propaganda is generated.
__Blue
Blue –
As you stated, the early land grabs were not in any way related to monetary policy. Yet the wars with France and England in our infancy were related to monetary policy. As Lincoln wrote, we had a two front war in 1864, the confederacy in our front and the English banks on our rear. Of the two the one in the rear is the most formidable.
Blue –
As you correctly state, our early land grabs with our neighbors and the natives were not related to monetary policy. I would argue our wars with France and England in our infancy were. Lincoln claimed he fought a two front war, in his rear the English banks.
The US could not afford to intervene in the first European war without this new debt based money that could monetize war debts. That inflation caused the mal-investment, speculative boom that fostered the correction, our great depression.
I do not advocate a return to paper issued backed by gold, nor fractional reserve banking.
Gold has been manipulated by the English for hundreds of years, in part becuse central banks issue paper against it.
Why should governments have monopoly powers over tender, credit and banking ? Government is force, power. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.
We talk about social freedoms, civil freedoms……I advocate economic freedoms.
I do not discuss these issues on this forum to speak against MMT or any other possible solution. I discuss to share ideas and learn.
Thanks for the time and effort
I have great respect for individual people and their ideas. I will study yours.
Correct me if I am wrong……gold as money is religion, is it not ?
I believe the three major bibles from the major religion religions discuss gold as money.
For the religious among us the government should allow gold to circulate as money, without interfering in religion.
Now if the government wants to require taxes be paid in their own currency then so be it. If a farmer, or in my case a miner wants exchange his human action for some paper and some metal and somethings else, so be it.
This new money and credit created, in our current system it is debt, comes from the top and trickles down…….the thieves and power corrupt get it first. The debt is passed on to the peoples posterity, their unborn. Consider Lincolns problem, when he was stuck with English gold/paper/debt standard. He had the government issue its own paper, not as debt but simply inflated it. Greenbacks he called. Put a time table of 7-10 years to redeem the paper for gold, as was the law. The people came together, reconstructed the south and produced their way out of the inflation, redeeming the paper and destroying the inflated currency. No bank got interest, no debt to posterity. Funded a civil war and paid for it in one generation. Kept the English paper banking scam off our butts for several years. So the fact is there something to be said for alternative thinking, gold and debt free public spending.
super-really appreciate open thread thank you Saker.