Wednesday 31 October 2012
priveledged status is as CLEAR as the NOSE on their INCORPORATED PERSONHOOD
And what a nose. Sticking it into every politician's
orifice. This way, they get to pay no tax.
They're often not even "really here" for tax
purposes. See how their priviledge makes
them like superheroes. Here today, no tax
tomorrow.
Read 'em and weap: Citizens for tax justice
Starbucks chief executive defends UK tax payments
Howard Schultz says Starbucks is not making money in Britain and that he would be happy to co-operate with any tax inquiry
Starbucks and tax: it's time for MPs to wake up and smell the coffee
Don't blame Starbucks' UK division: this is a problem brewed in Seattle
How much tax do Starbucks, Facebook and the biggest US companies pay in the UK
Citizens for tax justice
Nike, Microsoft and Apple Admit to Offshore Tax Shenanigans; Other Companies Plead the Fifth
October 18, 2012 03:48 PM
Permalink
While the presidential candidates debate whether the tax code rewards companies that move operations overseas, a new CTJ report shows that ten companies, including Apple and Microsoft, indicate in their own financial statements that most of their foreign earnings have never been taxed – anywhere. The statements the companies file with the SEC reveal that if they brought their foreign profits back to the U.S., they would pay the full 35 percent U.S. tax rate, which is how we can surmise that no foreign taxes were paid that would offset any of the 35 percent U.S. tax rate.
The most likely explanation of this is that these profits, instead of being earned by real, economically productive operations in developed countries, are actually U.S. profits that have been shifted overseas to offshore tax havens such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. This same type of offshore profit shifting was the focus of a recent Senate hearing where Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard found themselves in the hot seat.
In the tax footnote to their financial statements, companies disclose the amount of their foreign subsidiaries’ earnings which are “indefinitely reinvested,” that is, parked offshore. Calling it "indefinitely reinvested" allows them to embellish their bottom lines, on paper anyway, because they don't have to account for the cost of U.S. taxes they'd pay on that offshore income. But, they must disclose the total amount of their unrepatriated profits, and also estimate the U.S. tax that would be due if those earnings were repatriated.
A new CTJ analysis of the Fortune 500 found that, although 285 companies reported unrepatriated foreign earnings, only 47 companies disclosed in their financial statements an estimate of the U.S. income tax liability they would face upon repatriation, although that disclosure is required by accounting standards. The remaining companies hid behind a common dodge that estimating the U.S. tax would be “not practicable.” Legions of lawyers and accountants help these companies avoid taxes but can’t calculate the costs to the U.S. treasury?
Which Fortune 500 Companies are Shifting Profits to Offshore Tax Havens? ranks the 47 companies that do disclose this figure by the tax rate they’d pay if they repatriated their foreign earnings. Seven of the top ten are members, either directly or through a trade association, of the WIN America campaign that is lobbying for a repatriation tax holiday (aka corporate tax amnesty) that would let them bring the foreign earnings home at a super-low rate.
It’s not as though the rest of the Fortune 500 is innocent.
Booo. did I scare you into more austerity?
So sorry.
Just in time for David Cameron's big speech at
the Conservatory yearly back-patting fest,
the IMF comes in like a ghost at a seance
and says that the UK will be in deep
trouble if it does not listen to Mr.
David R.H.R. Cameron, Esquire.
Read 'em: Reuters
..Cameron won't ease austerity after IMF downgrade
By Matt Falloon
– 35 minutes ago..
..BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he would not soften his austerity programme with a "Plan B" of slower spending cuts after the International Monetary Fund downgraded its growth forecasts for Britain.
The Conservative-led government, steadfast in its ambition to cut a record budget deficit but under pressure to fix a recession-hit economy, abandoned its original deficit reduction targets last year and could be forced to extend them again.
"What we need in Britain is not 'Plan B', which is more borrowing. How can you borrow your way out of a debt crisis?" Cameron told Sky News, speaking from the Conservative Party's annual conference in the central English city of Birmingham.
"What we need is what I call 'Plan A+', we need to keep our plans, difficult though they are to cut public spending and deal with the deficit, but we need to add to that every measure that business has been asking for. And that's what we're doing."
The IMF cut its UK economic growth estimates on Monday, predicting the economy would shrink 0.4 percent this year before growing by 1.1 percent in 2013. The IMF forecast in July that Britain's economy would grow 0.2 percent this year and 1.4 percent in 2013.
The IMF also said Britain should delay some spending cuts pencilled in for next year if growth turned out to be weaker than forecast, but Cameron said that did not mean there was any logic in ripping up his plans yet.
Just in time for David Cameron's big speech at
the Conservatory yearly back-patting fest,
the IMF comes in like a ghost at a seance
and says that the UK will be in deep
trouble if it does not listen to Mr.
David R.H.R. Cameron, Esquire.
Read 'em: Reuters
..Cameron won't ease austerity after IMF downgrade
By Matt Falloon
– 35 minutes ago..
..BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he would not soften his austerity programme with a "Plan B" of slower spending cuts after the International Monetary Fund downgraded its growth forecasts for Britain.
The Conservative-led government, steadfast in its ambition to cut a record budget deficit but under pressure to fix a recession-hit economy, abandoned its original deficit reduction targets last year and could be forced to extend them again.
"What we need in Britain is not 'Plan B', which is more borrowing. How can you borrow your way out of a debt crisis?" Cameron told Sky News, speaking from the Conservative Party's annual conference in the central English city of Birmingham.
"What we need is what I call 'Plan A+', we need to keep our plans, difficult though they are to cut public spending and deal with the deficit, but we need to add to that every measure that business has been asking for. And that's what we're doing."
The IMF cut its UK economic growth estimates on Monday, predicting the economy would shrink 0.4 percent this year before growing by 1.1 percent in 2013. The IMF forecast in July that Britain's economy would grow 0.2 percent this year and 1.4 percent in 2013.
The IMF also said Britain should delay some spending cuts pencilled in for next year if growth turned out to be weaker than forecast, but Cameron said that did not mean there was any logic in ripping up his plans yet.
Police is broke. good. vertical integration
The police will be so far away that everybody
will need to own a gun. That will be good
for the economy.
checkitout: zerohedge
America's Deadliest And Poorest City Set To Disband Its Entire Police Force Over Budget Crisis
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/24/2012 10:51 -0400
While the stock market in the US continues to surge (if not so much in China where the composite is back to 2009 lows) as the relentless liquidity tsunami makes its way into stocks, and other Fed frontrunning instruments, and only there, reality for everyone else refuses to wait. Last week we saw reality striking in Greece, where a section of Athens literally shut down after it ran out of all cash. Today, reality comes to the US, and specifically its poorest city, Camden, which is a twofer, doubling down also as America's deadliest city. It turns out Camden is about to become even deadliest-er, as its police force is set to be disbanded following a budget crisis in this effectively insolvent city.
AP reports:
This city, long among the nation's poorest and most crime-ridden, is on the verge of dismantling its police department and starting anew with a force run by the county government.
... The plan will not work. Good luck Camden: you will need it in your transformation to the first circle of US hell, soon to be joined by many more.
And here are some pictures of just what Dante would see in his modern descent into America.
will need to own a gun. That will be good
for the economy.
checkitout: zerohedge
America's Deadliest And Poorest City Set To Disband Its Entire Police Force Over Budget Crisis
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/24/2012 10:51 -0400
While the stock market in the US continues to surge (if not so much in China where the composite is back to 2009 lows) as the relentless liquidity tsunami makes its way into stocks, and other Fed frontrunning instruments, and only there, reality for everyone else refuses to wait. Last week we saw reality striking in Greece, where a section of Athens literally shut down after it ran out of all cash. Today, reality comes to the US, and specifically its poorest city, Camden, which is a twofer, doubling down also as America's deadliest city. It turns out Camden is about to become even deadliest-er, as its police force is set to be disbanded following a budget crisis in this effectively insolvent city.
AP reports:
This city, long among the nation's poorest and most crime-ridden, is on the verge of dismantling its police department and starting anew with a force run by the county government.
... The plan will not work. Good luck Camden: you will need it in your transformation to the first circle of US hell, soon to be joined by many more.
And here are some pictures of just what Dante would see in his modern descent into America.
City is broke. Good. Lay off some politicians
In the rush to centralise the fascist economies
of the world, local governments will run
out of money, and thus a reason for being.
It's just cheaper that way. Vertical political
integration, until we're all ruled directly
by Barroso in Brussels.
checkitout: zerohedge
Athens Municipality Runs Out Of Cash; Suspends All Operations
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/21/2012 09:29 -0400
Remember when we said cash flow is always more important than diluting the M2 (the Fed is great at the latter, powerless at the former)? Here's why: The municipality of Acharnes in northern Athens has decided to suspend all of its operations after running out of money. The municipal council met on Thursday night and voted to stop providing anything other than basic services because of its inability to pay employees’ wages and regular expenses. In Nintendo Donkey Kong Game and Watch parlance: Game over.
“Acharnes Municipality will remain closed indefinitely, until the financial problem can be resolved,” the local authority said in a statement.
The municipality will operate with just skeleton staff, which trash will only be collected from outside schools.
Mayor Sotiris Douros is due to meet Interior Ministry officials on Friday to discuss the municipality's problems.
He wants the government to reduce from 11.5 percent to 5.5 percent the interest rate on a loan to the municipality. Douros argues that the monthly loan repayments of 500,000 euro is to high.
Coming to an insolvent, cash free, Keynesian experimental abortion near you.
of the world, local governments will run
out of money, and thus a reason for being.
It's just cheaper that way. Vertical political
integration, until we're all ruled directly
by Barroso in Brussels.
checkitout: zerohedge
Athens Municipality Runs Out Of Cash; Suspends All Operations
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/21/2012 09:29 -0400
Remember when we said cash flow is always more important than diluting the M2 (the Fed is great at the latter, powerless at the former)? Here's why: The municipality of Acharnes in northern Athens has decided to suspend all of its operations after running out of money. The municipal council met on Thursday night and voted to stop providing anything other than basic services because of its inability to pay employees’ wages and regular expenses. In Nintendo Donkey Kong Game and Watch parlance: Game over.
“Acharnes Municipality will remain closed indefinitely, until the financial problem can be resolved,” the local authority said in a statement.
The municipality will operate with just skeleton staff, which trash will only be collected from outside schools.
Mayor Sotiris Douros is due to meet Interior Ministry officials on Friday to discuss the municipality's problems.
He wants the government to reduce from 11.5 percent to 5.5 percent the interest rate on a loan to the municipality. Douros argues that the monthly loan repayments of 500,000 euro is to high.
Coming to an insolvent, cash free, Keynesian experimental abortion near you.
but decentralisation goes against dogma
You know that we're either
-politicians and bankers , thus living well
-bankrupted people and companies, being supported
by the government
That's because the West has succumbed to Chinese
capitalism with its politburo and 5-year plans.
As is said, a fish starts to stink from the head first.
This system doesn't work and here's the
physical analogy for why.
I remain a decentraliser, including for democracy.
Start locally and F%&*k the centralists.
Read 'em: azizonomics
The Next Industrial Revolution
September 23, 2012
Large, centrally-directed systems are inherently fragile. Think of the human body; a spontaneous, unexpected blow to the head can kill an otherwise healthy creature; all the healthy cells and tissue in the legs, arms, torso and so forth killed through dependency on the brain’s functionality. Interdependent systems are only ever as strong as their weakest critical link, and very often a critical link can fail through nothing more than bad luck.
Yet the human body does not exist in isolation. Humans as a species are a decentralised network. Each individual may be in himself or herself a fragile, interdependent system, but the wider network of humanity is a robust independent system. One group of humans may die in an avalanche or drown at sea, but their death does not affect the survival of the wider population. The human genome has survived plagues, volcanoes, hurricanes, asteroid impacts and so on through its decentralisation.
... Decentralised manufacturing goes hand-in-hand with decentralised energy generation, because manufacturing requires energy input. Microgrids are localised groupings of energy generation that can vary from city-size to individual-size. The latter is gradually becoming more and more economically viable as the costs of solar panels, wind turbines (etc) for energy generation, and lithium and graphene batteries (etc) for home energy storage fall, and efficiencies rise. Although generally connected to a larger national electricity grid, the connection can be disconnected, and a microgrid can function autonomously if the national grid were to fail (for example) as a result of natural disaster or war.
-politicians and bankers , thus living well
-bankrupted people and companies, being supported
by the government
That's because the West has succumbed to Chinese
capitalism with its politburo and 5-year plans.
As is said, a fish starts to stink from the head first.
This system doesn't work and here's the
physical analogy for why.
I remain a decentraliser, including for democracy.
Start locally and F%&*k the centralists.
Read 'em: azizonomics
The Next Industrial Revolution
September 23, 2012
Large, centrally-directed systems are inherently fragile. Think of the human body; a spontaneous, unexpected blow to the head can kill an otherwise healthy creature; all the healthy cells and tissue in the legs, arms, torso and so forth killed through dependency on the brain’s functionality. Interdependent systems are only ever as strong as their weakest critical link, and very often a critical link can fail through nothing more than bad luck.
Yet the human body does not exist in isolation. Humans as a species are a decentralised network. Each individual may be in himself or herself a fragile, interdependent system, but the wider network of humanity is a robust independent system. One group of humans may die in an avalanche or drown at sea, but their death does not affect the survival of the wider population. The human genome has survived plagues, volcanoes, hurricanes, asteroid impacts and so on through its decentralisation.
... Decentralised manufacturing goes hand-in-hand with decentralised energy generation, because manufacturing requires energy input. Microgrids are localised groupings of energy generation that can vary from city-size to individual-size. The latter is gradually becoming more and more economically viable as the costs of solar panels, wind turbines (etc) for energy generation, and lithium and graphene batteries (etc) for home energy storage fall, and efficiencies rise. Although generally connected to a larger national electricity grid, the connection can be disconnected, and a microgrid can function autonomously if the national grid were to fail (for example) as a result of natural disaster or war.
Encouraging capitalism by handing out public money
I know that money is being given to banks to prop
them up. Well, it has become necessary to give
money to non-FIRE companies because banks
won't lend to them, even with their free
government welfare cheque.
So, the government has to show growth, by
giving out more fake fiat money to companies.
But don't call it capitalism or competition.
capiche?
checkit: Zerohedge
Guest Post: Competing For State Contracts Is Not Competition
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/04/2012 09:48 -0400
Submitted by John Aziz of Azizonomics
Competing For State Contracts Is Not Competition
Here in Britain, we hear the word competition a lot. Since Margaret Thatcher, there has been a general trend — in the name of competition — toward the selling-off of utilities such as water, railway, electricity and telecoms providers. More recently, there has been a trend toward government services being provided by private companies, such as the bungled Olympic security arrangements contracted out to multinational security giant G4S, as well as work capability assessments contracted out to French IT consultancy ATOS, and the contracting-out of some medical services.
... This has also been the reality of privatisation. Although I am no fan of government-controlled industry, the reality of privatisation in the UK has been the transfer of state monopolies into private hands.
One very clear example of this is telecoms infrastructure. BT Openreach, an arm of the privatised BT, has a complete state-enforced monopoly on telephone exchanges. Other telecoms providers have to lease their infrastructure in order to operate.
And the same for railways; rail lines are sold off as monopolies for ten-year periods. For travellers who want to travel by rail from one destination to another, there is no competition; there is only a state-backed monopoly operating for private profit. No competition, only endless fare hikes, delays and a complete lack of market accountability as contractors take the government cash and do whatever they want.
Ultimately, the state-backed-monopoly model seems to manifest the worst of all worlds. Costs for taxpayers remain high, budget deficits continue to grow, and utilities remain inefficient and messy. The only difference appears to be that taxpayers’ money is now being funnelled off into corporate pockets.
A free society cannot be based on economic planners allocating resources based on a bidding process. A free society is based on the state letting society allocate resources based on the market for goods and services that people want and need. [LOTS OF WASTE IN THAT- Costick67]
them up. Well, it has become necessary to give
money to non-FIRE companies because banks
won't lend to them, even with their free
government welfare cheque.
So, the government has to show growth, by
giving out more fake fiat money to companies.
But don't call it capitalism or competition.
capiche?
checkit: Zerohedge
Guest Post: Competing For State Contracts Is Not Competition
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/04/2012 09:48 -0400
Submitted by John Aziz of Azizonomics
Competing For State Contracts Is Not Competition
Here in Britain, we hear the word competition a lot. Since Margaret Thatcher, there has been a general trend — in the name of competition — toward the selling-off of utilities such as water, railway, electricity and telecoms providers. More recently, there has been a trend toward government services being provided by private companies, such as the bungled Olympic security arrangements contracted out to multinational security giant G4S, as well as work capability assessments contracted out to French IT consultancy ATOS, and the contracting-out of some medical services.
... This has also been the reality of privatisation. Although I am no fan of government-controlled industry, the reality of privatisation in the UK has been the transfer of state monopolies into private hands.
One very clear example of this is telecoms infrastructure. BT Openreach, an arm of the privatised BT, has a complete state-enforced monopoly on telephone exchanges. Other telecoms providers have to lease their infrastructure in order to operate.
And the same for railways; rail lines are sold off as monopolies for ten-year periods. For travellers who want to travel by rail from one destination to another, there is no competition; there is only a state-backed monopoly operating for private profit. No competition, only endless fare hikes, delays and a complete lack of market accountability as contractors take the government cash and do whatever they want.
Ultimately, the state-backed-monopoly model seems to manifest the worst of all worlds. Costs for taxpayers remain high, budget deficits continue to grow, and utilities remain inefficient and messy. The only difference appears to be that taxpayers’ money is now being funnelled off into corporate pockets.
A free society cannot be based on economic planners allocating resources based on a bidding process. A free society is based on the state letting society allocate resources based on the market for goods and services that people want and need. [LOTS OF WASTE IN THAT- Costick67]
Sunday 28 October 2012
Making bad, breaking the oligarchy
Now, I never recommend breaking the law. However,
I could be encouraged to make my money work
for me by avoiding the cash economy altogether
by bartering.
Some folks though, feel the need for a bit more ,
shall we say, speed, in their quest for riches.
They see that the oligarchs in the US and EU
are keeping all the fake fiat money for themselves,
and since it's the main legal tender,
"you gotta have the cash in this land of milk and honey"
"don't push me, cuz I'm close to the edge"
checkit: Zerohedge
Guest Post: The Economics Of Breaking Bad
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/04/2012 11:37 -0400
Submitted by John Aziz of Azizonomics
Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White, a cash-strapped, suburban 50-year old high school chemistry teacher, who following a life-changing cancer diagnosis hooks up with his drug-dealing former student, Jesse Pinkman, to cook and sell crystal methamphetamine. Immediately thrown in at the deep end, White undergoes a vast personality change; from mild-mannered Father into the lying, murderous gangland drug lord Heisenberg; first cooking methamphetamine wearing an apron in a winnebago, then working in a high-tech underground laboratory for the Chilean gangland kingpin Gustavo Fring — who White eventually kills — and finally amassing a multi-hundred-million-dollar pile of cash.
A key dynamic in the show is White’s relationship with his brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank Schrader. It is Schrader who first introduces White to the idea that selling methamphetamine can pay — boasting of multi-hundred-thousand-dollar drug hauls, and even taking White out on a DEA raid of meth lab, where White first encounters his former student Pinkman. As White’s famously pure blue methamphetamine grows in popularity, Schrader becomes increasingly obsessed with its influx, yet spends the course of almost the entire series unaware that its source is his own brother-in-law.
There is another layer of irony, though. For it is not just that Schrader drew White into the drug trade through informing him of its lucrativeness, and then taking him out on a drug raid. In economic terms, Walter White’s illicit drug empire — and all the killing and carnage that spews from it — is utterly dependent upon the protection of Federal agents like Schrader. Breaking Bad is very much a parable of the failed drug war.
As Milton Friedman famously noted:
If you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That’s literally true.
[I thought Miltie was a mafia guy at heart.]
There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana. Our failure to successfully enforce these laws is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Colombia. I haven’t even included the harm to young people. It’s absolutely disgraceful to think of picking up a 22-year-old for smoking pot. More disgraceful is the denial of marijuana for medical purposes.
Why are drugs so lucrative? Why are users forced to pay such a premium over the cost of production? Because of drug prohibition. The more Federal money spent on drug prohibition, the more drugs seized, the higher the markup. Could criminal elements charging a one-thousand percent markup compete with a legal and free market? Of course not; nobody would buy drugs from a wild-eyed gun-wielding dealer when a pure product is available openly for a fraction of the cost.
So it is the Federal drug prohibitionists enforcing drug prohibition — both in the universe of Breaking Bad, as well as the real world — who are empowering the drug cartels, and criminal elements like Walter White who simply get around the law. Supply and demand rule this world. If society demands narcotics, they will be supplied; the only question is how.
As Abraham Lincoln noted:
Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and make crime out of things that are not crimes.
I could be encouraged to make my money work
for me by avoiding the cash economy altogether
by bartering.
Some folks though, feel the need for a bit more ,
shall we say, speed, in their quest for riches.
They see that the oligarchs in the US and EU
are keeping all the fake fiat money for themselves,
and since it's the main legal tender,
"you gotta have the cash in this land of milk and honey"
"don't push me, cuz I'm close to the edge"
checkit: Zerohedge
Guest Post: The Economics Of Breaking Bad
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/04/2012 11:37 -0400
Submitted by John Aziz of Azizonomics
Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White, a cash-strapped, suburban 50-year old high school chemistry teacher, who following a life-changing cancer diagnosis hooks up with his drug-dealing former student, Jesse Pinkman, to cook and sell crystal methamphetamine. Immediately thrown in at the deep end, White undergoes a vast personality change; from mild-mannered Father into the lying, murderous gangland drug lord Heisenberg; first cooking methamphetamine wearing an apron in a winnebago, then working in a high-tech underground laboratory for the Chilean gangland kingpin Gustavo Fring — who White eventually kills — and finally amassing a multi-hundred-million-dollar pile of cash.
A key dynamic in the show is White’s relationship with his brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank Schrader. It is Schrader who first introduces White to the idea that selling methamphetamine can pay — boasting of multi-hundred-thousand-dollar drug hauls, and even taking White out on a DEA raid of meth lab, where White first encounters his former student Pinkman. As White’s famously pure blue methamphetamine grows in popularity, Schrader becomes increasingly obsessed with its influx, yet spends the course of almost the entire series unaware that its source is his own brother-in-law.
There is another layer of irony, though. For it is not just that Schrader drew White into the drug trade through informing him of its lucrativeness, and then taking him out on a drug raid. In economic terms, Walter White’s illicit drug empire — and all the killing and carnage that spews from it — is utterly dependent upon the protection of Federal agents like Schrader. Breaking Bad is very much a parable of the failed drug war.
As Milton Friedman famously noted:
If you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. That’s literally true.
[I thought Miltie was a mafia guy at heart.]
There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana. Our failure to successfully enforce these laws is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Colombia. I haven’t even included the harm to young people. It’s absolutely disgraceful to think of picking up a 22-year-old for smoking pot. More disgraceful is the denial of marijuana for medical purposes.
Why are drugs so lucrative? Why are users forced to pay such a premium over the cost of production? Because of drug prohibition. The more Federal money spent on drug prohibition, the more drugs seized, the higher the markup. Could criminal elements charging a one-thousand percent markup compete with a legal and free market? Of course not; nobody would buy drugs from a wild-eyed gun-wielding dealer when a pure product is available openly for a fraction of the cost.
So it is the Federal drug prohibitionists enforcing drug prohibition — both in the universe of Breaking Bad, as well as the real world — who are empowering the drug cartels, and criminal elements like Walter White who simply get around the law. Supply and demand rule this world. If society demands narcotics, they will be supplied; the only question is how.
As Abraham Lincoln noted:
Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and make crime out of things that are not crimes.
HFTs vs HFBs The Bribes have it
Don't tell the bribe!
Why is it that it's hard to control HFT computers which are
ruining what's left of price discovery, retirement investment
and anything positive for savers?
High frequency bribes.
Checkit: Azizanomics
The High Frequency Trading Debate
September 21, 2012
A Senate panel is looking into the phenomenon of High Frequency Trading.
Here’s the infamous and hypnotic graphic from Nanex showing just how the practice has grown, showing quote volume by the hour every day since 2007 on various exchanges:
It is a relief that the issue is finally being discussed in wider venues, because we are witnessing a stunning exodus from markets as markets mutate into what we see above, a rampaging tempestuous casino of robotic arbitrageurs operating in millisecond timescales.
The conundrum is simple: how can any retail investor trust markets where billions of dollars of securities are bought and sold faster than they can click my mouse and open my browser, or pick up the phone to call their broker?
And the first day of hearings brought some thoughtful testimony.
The Washington Post notes:
David Lauer, who left his job at a high-frequency trading firm in Chicago last year, told a Senate panel that the ultra-fast trades that now dominate the stock market have contributed to frequent market disruptions and alienated retail investors.
“U.S. equity markets are in dire straits,” Lauer said in his written testimony.
One man who I think should be testifying in front of Congress is Charles Hugh Smith, who has made some very interesting recommendations on this topic:
Here are some common-sense rules for such a “new market”:
1. Every offer and bid will be left up for 15 minutes and cannot be withdrawn until 15 minutes has passed.
2. Every security–stock or option–must be held for a minimum of one hour.
3. Every trade must be placed by a human being.
4. No equivalent of the ES/E-Mini contract–the futures contract for the S&P 500 — will be allowed. The E-Mini contract is the favorite tool of the Federal Reserve’s proxies, the Plunge Protection Team and other offically sanctioned manipulators, as a relatively modest sum of money can buy a boatload of contracts that ramp up the market.
5. All bids, offers and trades will be transparently displayed in a form and media freely available to all traders with a standard PC and Internet connection.
6. Any violation of #3 will cause the trader and the firm he/she works for to be banned from trading on the exchange for life–one strike, you’re out.
However, I doubt that any of Smith’s suggestions will even be considered by Congress (let alone by the marketplace which seems likely to continue to gamble rampantly so long as they have a bailout line). Why? Money. Jack Reed, the Democratic Senator chairing the hearings, is funded almost solely by big banks and investment firms:
Why is it that it's hard to control HFT computers which are
ruining what's left of price discovery, retirement investment
and anything positive for savers?
High frequency bribes.
Checkit: Azizanomics
The High Frequency Trading Debate
September 21, 2012
A Senate panel is looking into the phenomenon of High Frequency Trading.
Here’s the infamous and hypnotic graphic from Nanex showing just how the practice has grown, showing quote volume by the hour every day since 2007 on various exchanges:
It is a relief that the issue is finally being discussed in wider venues, because we are witnessing a stunning exodus from markets as markets mutate into what we see above, a rampaging tempestuous casino of robotic arbitrageurs operating in millisecond timescales.
The conundrum is simple: how can any retail investor trust markets where billions of dollars of securities are bought and sold faster than they can click my mouse and open my browser, or pick up the phone to call their broker?
And the first day of hearings brought some thoughtful testimony.
The Washington Post notes:
David Lauer, who left his job at a high-frequency trading firm in Chicago last year, told a Senate panel that the ultra-fast trades that now dominate the stock market have contributed to frequent market disruptions and alienated retail investors.
“U.S. equity markets are in dire straits,” Lauer said in his written testimony.
One man who I think should be testifying in front of Congress is Charles Hugh Smith, who has made some very interesting recommendations on this topic:
Here are some common-sense rules for such a “new market”:
1. Every offer and bid will be left up for 15 minutes and cannot be withdrawn until 15 minutes has passed.
2. Every security–stock or option–must be held for a minimum of one hour.
3. Every trade must be placed by a human being.
4. No equivalent of the ES/E-Mini contract–the futures contract for the S&P 500 — will be allowed. The E-Mini contract is the favorite tool of the Federal Reserve’s proxies, the Plunge Protection Team and other offically sanctioned manipulators, as a relatively modest sum of money can buy a boatload of contracts that ramp up the market.
5. All bids, offers and trades will be transparently displayed in a form and media freely available to all traders with a standard PC and Internet connection.
6. Any violation of #3 will cause the trader and the firm he/she works for to be banned from trading on the exchange for life–one strike, you’re out.
However, I doubt that any of Smith’s suggestions will even be considered by Congress (let alone by the marketplace which seems likely to continue to gamble rampantly so long as they have a bailout line). Why? Money. Jack Reed, the Democratic Senator chairing the hearings, is funded almost solely by big banks and investment firms:
UK government builds Vodafone Bypass with tax money
The government is building a new piece of road for the super rich
in London, so that they don't have to set foot on democratic
soil as they travel from Knightsbridge (the Royal borough) to
their offices in the City of London (owned by the Corporation).
Unfortunately, the UK government is using our money to do so
because the Vodafone Bypass is also the unwritten rule
whereby Vodafone and other grandees get to offshore their
money before paying any tax.
checkit:
VODAFONE BYPASS
Lib dems
Why is the UK government encouraging companies to use tax havens?
By Adrian Sanders MP
31st August 2012 - 2:46 pm
Plans by the government to change Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) rules are threatening to deny the developing world billions of pounds in tax revenues. The current CFC rules discourage UK companies from using tax havens, by requiring them to pay UK levels of corporation tax whether they are based in the UK or abroad. This system discourages the practice of profit shifting and protects the tax incomes of both the UK and developing countries.
The changes were proposed in the Budget earlier this year and will mean that companies will only be charged full corporation tax when using tax havens if UK tax revenues are threatened. In spite of calls by the IMF, UN and World Bank for the government to look into how this will affect countries in the developing world, the government have refused. The Treasury argue that
“It is not sustainable for developing countries to protect their revenue using our tax rules, a much better way is to build their capacity and capability to collect the tax that they are due.”
To an extent this statement is true, building up the ability of developing countries to collect their own tax is the way forward. But the government’s new CFC rules will reduce the income of many countries. Considering the fact that tax revenues are a much more sustainable income for countries than aid it would be sensible to build up the capacity of these countries to collect their own tax revenues before thinking about changing the CFC rules. According to ActionAid, African governments receive more than ten times more income from tax revenues than from aid. However, this will inevitably fall once the new rules come into force, with the developing world losing out on up to £4billion.
in London, so that they don't have to set foot on democratic
soil as they travel from Knightsbridge (the Royal borough) to
their offices in the City of London (owned by the Corporation).
Unfortunately, the UK government is using our money to do so
because the Vodafone Bypass is also the unwritten rule
whereby Vodafone and other grandees get to offshore their
money before paying any tax.
checkit:
VODAFONE BYPASS
Lib dems
Why is the UK government encouraging companies to use tax havens?
By Adrian Sanders MP
31st August 2012 - 2:46 pm
Plans by the government to change Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) rules are threatening to deny the developing world billions of pounds in tax revenues. The current CFC rules discourage UK companies from using tax havens, by requiring them to pay UK levels of corporation tax whether they are based in the UK or abroad. This system discourages the practice of profit shifting and protects the tax incomes of both the UK and developing countries.
The changes were proposed in the Budget earlier this year and will mean that companies will only be charged full corporation tax when using tax havens if UK tax revenues are threatened. In spite of calls by the IMF, UN and World Bank for the government to look into how this will affect countries in the developing world, the government have refused. The Treasury argue that
“It is not sustainable for developing countries to protect their revenue using our tax rules, a much better way is to build their capacity and capability to collect the tax that they are due.”
To an extent this statement is true, building up the ability of developing countries to collect their own tax is the way forward. But the government’s new CFC rules will reduce the income of many countries. Considering the fact that tax revenues are a much more sustainable income for countries than aid it would be sensible to build up the capacity of these countries to collect their own tax revenues before thinking about changing the CFC rules. According to ActionAid, African governments receive more than ten times more income from tax revenues than from aid. However, this will inevitably fall once the new rules come into force, with the developing world losing out on up to £4billion.
after Arab Spring, the Bloomsbury Spring
Actually, I don't see any springing going on in London,
the tax haven of choice, any time soon. It has a
deeply entrenched mafia, it's own City Corporation,
in lieu of democracy, so I wish the tax researchers
all the luck.
Checkit: from Tax research
Tax haven UK is alive – and prospering on the back of corruption
Sep 03,2012
The FT reports this morning:
A £38bn development boom in London’s most expensive neighbourhoods has been spurred by rampant demand from European and Asian buyers seeking safe investments away from turbulent Eurozone economies.
The pipeline of upmarket housing projects in planning or already under construction in the UK capital has increased more than two-thirds during the past year, with 15,500 units slated for delivery by 2021, even as building work in other parts of the country remains stagnant.
That’s one version of the story. The Guardian offers another (in a compelling story that deserves to be read in full). They report:
Britain has allowed key members of Egypt’s toppled dictatorship to retain millions of pounds of suspected property and business assets in the UK, potentially violating a globally-agreed set of sanctions.
The situation has led to accusations that ministers are more interested in preserving the City of London’s cosy relationship with the Arab financial sector than in securing justice.
the tax haven of choice, any time soon. It has a
deeply entrenched mafia, it's own City Corporation,
in lieu of democracy, so I wish the tax researchers
all the luck.
Checkit: from Tax research
Tax haven UK is alive – and prospering on the back of corruption
Sep 03,2012
The FT reports this morning:
A £38bn development boom in London’s most expensive neighbourhoods has been spurred by rampant demand from European and Asian buyers seeking safe investments away from turbulent Eurozone economies.
The pipeline of upmarket housing projects in planning or already under construction in the UK capital has increased more than two-thirds during the past year, with 15,500 units slated for delivery by 2021, even as building work in other parts of the country remains stagnant.
That’s one version of the story. The Guardian offers another (in a compelling story that deserves to be read in full). They report:
Britain has allowed key members of Egypt’s toppled dictatorship to retain millions of pounds of suspected property and business assets in the UK, potentially violating a globally-agreed set of sanctions.
The situation has led to accusations that ministers are more interested in preserving the City of London’s cosy relationship with the Arab financial sector than in securing justice.
more proof that PPP leads to offshoring of profits
It's really great to see that the British government is helping
companies to whom they give NHS work, offshore their
profits, thus paying less in tax than a normal company would.
That leaves more money for wine and cheese and for
buying politicians.
Checkit: The bureau investigates
NHS PFI firms avoid millions in tax
September 4th, 2012
by Tom Costello
Published in Bureau Recommends
Please support our work - share this article
Fees from NHS projects are filtered into off-shore companies.
As crippling repayments on private finance initiative (PFI) contracts force NHS hospitals to make cuts, a new report reveals that the firms profiting from the deals are using tax havens to avoid paying millions of pounds in tax.
A report by the European Services Strategy Unit, and covered in the Sunday Times, reveals that as many as 70 NHS PFI projects are based off-shore.
Expensive PFI contracts have become a huge burden on dozens of NHS trusts. Last week the government announced that ‘hit squads’ of senior government auditors are to be dispatched to seven NHS trusts who are struggling to pay PFI bills. Earlier this year, South London Healthcare Trust, which manages three South London hospitals, was the first trust forced into administration after its £61m annual PFI bills saw the trust’s budget deficit spiral unsustainably.
These budgetry black holes are having a real impact on patient care. In a paper for the British Medical Journal, academic Alyson Pollack claims that hospitals blighted by expensive PFI contracts are compromising on care, reducing staff numbers and cutting frontline services.
The findings of the European Services Strategy Unit report make particularly unsavoury reading given this backdrop of threatened patient care.
companies to whom they give NHS work, offshore their
profits, thus paying less in tax than a normal company would.
That leaves more money for wine and cheese and for
buying politicians.
Checkit: The bureau investigates
NHS PFI firms avoid millions in tax
September 4th, 2012
by Tom Costello
Published in Bureau Recommends
Please support our work - share this article
Fees from NHS projects are filtered into off-shore companies.
As crippling repayments on private finance initiative (PFI) contracts force NHS hospitals to make cuts, a new report reveals that the firms profiting from the deals are using tax havens to avoid paying millions of pounds in tax.
A report by the European Services Strategy Unit, and covered in the Sunday Times, reveals that as many as 70 NHS PFI projects are based off-shore.
Expensive PFI contracts have become a huge burden on dozens of NHS trusts. Last week the government announced that ‘hit squads’ of senior government auditors are to be dispatched to seven NHS trusts who are struggling to pay PFI bills. Earlier this year, South London Healthcare Trust, which manages three South London hospitals, was the first trust forced into administration after its £61m annual PFI bills saw the trust’s budget deficit spiral unsustainably.
These budgetry black holes are having a real impact on patient care. In a paper for the British Medical Journal, academic Alyson Pollack claims that hospitals blighted by expensive PFI contracts are compromising on care, reducing staff numbers and cutting frontline services.
The findings of the European Services Strategy Unit report make particularly unsavoury reading given this backdrop of threatened patient care.
Saturday 27 October 2012
GLD & ETF snake oil allow unlimited rehypothecation in London
The alt media economics stars are still shocked
at their all-knowing buddies who don't have
an ounce of gold or silver to their names.
Many still have ETFs like the ones that
MF Glowball ate up. GLDs and ETFs are
just snake oil. Paper which refers to
some thousandly-rehypothecated gold
that probably doesn't even exist.
Now that Holland, Germany and
Romania and others are starting to ask
questions, these paper tigers will be
shown to be cat nip.
more later
checkit: EconomicPolicyJournal
GLD & TLT: Exploring the Dark Side of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) With Lauren Lyster at Capital Account
Submitted by EB on 09/20/2012 12:14 -0400
Submitted by Bob English (EB) of EconomicPolicyJournal.com
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have become as ubiquitous to investor portfolios, including retirement accounts, as their cousins in the mainstay mutual fund universe. Yet, few are apprised of the differences between these two asset classes. ETFs often have lower costs, are more tax efficient, and can be shorted (much to the delight of Mr. Chanos), while mutual funds may offer greater investor protections under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The latter is a subtle point worth exploring because, as the the half life for the next Fed-induced bubble happily converges with the six month mark on Mr. Bernanke's QE3, these things never matter...until they do (which is when the inevitable Fed brakes foment a crisis).
With the help of the host and producers at RT Network's Capital Account, we will explore just what can (and if one believes in such platitudes as Murphy's Law, will) go wrong when the next BearStearnsLehman cluster occurs, with particular attention to the world's largest gold ETF, GLD (thanks to Ms. Lyster) and the world's "safest" U.S. long bond ETF, TLT.
From Capital Account:
The partial transcript:
Time now for Word of the Day where we break down a financial term for our smart viewer but maybe not the financial expert. Today it's ETF or Exchange-Traded Fund. By attracting those looking to invest in nontraditional assets and sectors, the global ETF market has inflated to more than a trillion dollars in assets over the past few years...some put that number now at about 2 trillion dollars. David Kotok wrote a book on ETFs and spoke about them on our show recently. However, Kotok warns that investors should conduct serious research before purchasing shares in an ETF. We'll explain why shortly, but first, what exactly is an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)? Here's our definition:
ETFs are a portfolio or basket of securities, which provide diversification like mutual funds, yet are unique in that they trade on an exchange just like a common company stock. They usually track an index, either holding the underlying stocks of the index or using derivatives to achieve the same returns as the index. And since an ETF is designed to track a specific market index, one can play an entire sector without being forced to stomach the volatility inherent in any one stock.
For instance, investors can gain exposure to precious metals using ETFs. Specifically, Gold and gold miner ETFs have become increasingly popular. But if you buy shares in a gold ETF like the GLD for example, the largest gold ETF in the world, do you actually own gold? The answer is NO. You are effectively buying shares in a fund indexed to the gold market. This is not the same thing as buying physical gold bullion and storing it in allocated vaults, a key distinction.
Here (at the 2:30 mark), it's worth viewing "internationally acclaimed financial expert," Suze Orman play down (if not completely misrepresent) the virtues of owning physical gold. Contrary to the guru's advice, no: not all physical gold must be re-assayed prior to sale (if one sticks to smaller, well known coins and is not buying from this guy).
In fact, according to the ETF's own prospectus, the average investor can only redeem his or her gold shares for cash. Only those who have large holdings in a fund like GLD have the option to redeem their shares for physical gold, requiring somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 shares, which translates into millions of dollars. And even then it's a complicated process.
at their all-knowing buddies who don't have
an ounce of gold or silver to their names.
Many still have ETFs like the ones that
MF Glowball ate up. GLDs and ETFs are
just snake oil. Paper which refers to
some thousandly-rehypothecated gold
that probably doesn't even exist.
Now that Holland, Germany and
Romania and others are starting to ask
questions, these paper tigers will be
shown to be cat nip.
more later
checkit: EconomicPolicyJournal
GLD & TLT: Exploring the Dark Side of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) With Lauren Lyster at Capital Account
Submitted by EB on 09/20/2012 12:14 -0400
Submitted by Bob English (EB) of EconomicPolicyJournal.com
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have become as ubiquitous to investor portfolios, including retirement accounts, as their cousins in the mainstay mutual fund universe. Yet, few are apprised of the differences between these two asset classes. ETFs often have lower costs, are more tax efficient, and can be shorted (much to the delight of Mr. Chanos), while mutual funds may offer greater investor protections under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The latter is a subtle point worth exploring because, as the the half life for the next Fed-induced bubble happily converges with the six month mark on Mr. Bernanke's QE3, these things never matter...until they do (which is when the inevitable Fed brakes foment a crisis).
With the help of the host and producers at RT Network's Capital Account, we will explore just what can (and if one believes in such platitudes as Murphy's Law, will) go wrong when the next BearStearnsLehman cluster occurs, with particular attention to the world's largest gold ETF, GLD (thanks to Ms. Lyster) and the world's "safest" U.S. long bond ETF, TLT.
From Capital Account:
The partial transcript:
Time now for Word of the Day where we break down a financial term for our smart viewer but maybe not the financial expert. Today it's ETF or Exchange-Traded Fund. By attracting those looking to invest in nontraditional assets and sectors, the global ETF market has inflated to more than a trillion dollars in assets over the past few years...some put that number now at about 2 trillion dollars. David Kotok wrote a book on ETFs and spoke about them on our show recently. However, Kotok warns that investors should conduct serious research before purchasing shares in an ETF. We'll explain why shortly, but first, what exactly is an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)? Here's our definition:
ETFs are a portfolio or basket of securities, which provide diversification like mutual funds, yet are unique in that they trade on an exchange just like a common company stock. They usually track an index, either holding the underlying stocks of the index or using derivatives to achieve the same returns as the index. And since an ETF is designed to track a specific market index, one can play an entire sector without being forced to stomach the volatility inherent in any one stock.
For instance, investors can gain exposure to precious metals using ETFs. Specifically, Gold and gold miner ETFs have become increasingly popular. But if you buy shares in a gold ETF like the GLD for example, the largest gold ETF in the world, do you actually own gold? The answer is NO. You are effectively buying shares in a fund indexed to the gold market. This is not the same thing as buying physical gold bullion and storing it in allocated vaults, a key distinction.
Here (at the 2:30 mark), it's worth viewing "internationally acclaimed financial expert," Suze Orman play down (if not completely misrepresent) the virtues of owning physical gold. Contrary to the guru's advice, no: not all physical gold must be re-assayed prior to sale (if one sticks to smaller, well known coins and is not buying from this guy).
In fact, according to the ETF's own prospectus, the average investor can only redeem his or her gold shares for cash. Only those who have large holdings in a fund like GLD have the option to redeem their shares for physical gold, requiring somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 shares, which translates into millions of dollars. And even then it's a complicated process.
Friday 26 October 2012
Stream of oligarch consciousness
There's a show which I assume is new, on Aljazeera.
BTW Aljazeera presents an Arab/Muslim view of
the world, but largely an Uncle-Tom version.
In other words, the US is usually very happy with
this view of the world. And so it goes with the
the blood of the Capital Account show (on another
much better network) by having an intelligent, appealing,
talkative lady handling the show.
Well, a few days ago, they decided to discuss
the "third party" thing in the US, and in true
AJ style, things were stacked in favour of
Obama/Romney Republicrat politics.
They were very persuasive too. They had me
thinking that Americans had to "vote for their
country, not themselves."
What a load of bullsh*t.
Firstly, the Presidency, though important, is only
one branch of the government. They had people
believing that if the Green leader got the nod
that the Russkies would be marching down
to the Capitol in Washington.
What about Congress, those 600 mostly
crooked politicians in the capitol? Don't they
have a say?
Secondly, that's the same kind of con job
that they use in Britain.
If you don't like what Labour is offering, do you
want to vote for the Conservatives?
That allows Labour to be Conservative lite.
The same with the US Duopoly. Either
you choose one of them, or the country is dead.
Is Romney really all that different from Obama?
Ask yourself that. Aren't they both going to war
with Iran in the next four years? Aren't both gonna
invade other countries and steal their money
and resources?
Does either party care that the Republicans have
cleansed voter rolls throughout the country? Are
they really democrats? Didn't Gore win and then
hand it to Bush?
The business of America is "business", and a crooked
business it is.
This has to end.
If 5% of the US voters go 3rd, you'll see the big
parties crap themselves.
Orban unfriends the IMF
and clicks "kiss my ass"
It's incredible what a second life Facebook
is. Orban is faced with the enslavement of his
country, and he's fighting it, but he has time
to unfriend the IMF. It's a move designed
to get the younger generation to understand
just how serious these IMF & Monsanto
sons of bitches are. They know, if you've been
unfriended, you're a bad person. It's that simple.
They couldn't be more right about the IMF.
checkit: Automatic earth
Hungary Throws Out Monsanto AND The IMF
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 4:31 PM
I don't know about you, but I would label my personal knowledge of Hungary as wanting, if not painfully incomplete. It's not an easy country to come to grips with, not least of all of course because Hungarian doesn't look like any western language we know with the possible exception of Finnish. I did visit just after the Wall came down, and remember huge contrasts, almost paradoxes, between rural poverty and a capital, Budapest, that was much richer than other capitals such as Prague, a leftover of Budapest's status as meeting place between western and eastern diplomats and businessmen.
The riches were not for all, though, the city center was full of beggars and panhandlers, mostly Roma. To keep up the paradox, Mercedes sold more luxury models in Hungary than just about anywhere else back then, reportedly mostly also to Roma; just not the same.
In the years since, precious little attention has been and is being devoted to the former eastern bloc countries in the Anglo press. We know most of the countries are now members of the European Union, but only a few have been allowed to enter the hallowed grounds of the eurozone.
One thing I did pick up on last year was the news that Hungary's PM Victor Orbán had thrown chemical, food and seed giant Monsanto out of the country, going as far as to plow under 1000 acres of land. Now, I have little patience for Monsanto, infamous for many products ranging from Agent Orange to Round-Up, nor for its ilk, from DuPont to Sygenta, all former chemical companies that have at some point decided they could sell more chemicals than ever before by applying them on and inside everyone's daily food. Patenting nature itself seems either unworthy of mankind or its grandest achievement. I don't care much for either one. So Orbán (who has a two-thirds majority in parliament, by the way) has my tentative support on this one.
This is from July 22, 2011, International Business Times:
Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields
In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto's GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace. This looks like it’s going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto. A new regulation was introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately, some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it.
Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.
Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seed traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said. During their investigation, controllers have found Pioneer and Monsanto products among the seeds planted.
It's remarkably hard to find sources on this, ironically. It’s even harder, even more ironically, to find anything that mentions the Wikileaks report on the connections between the US government and the chemical/seed industry. Which is curious, in my opinion; it's not as if there's nothing newsworthy in the topic. Just about the only thing I could find was this from Anthony Gucciardi at NaturalSociety.com.
US to Start ‘Trade Wars’ with Nations Opposed to Monsanto, GMO Crops
The United States is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) crops with military-style trade wars, according to information obtained and released by the organization WikiLeaks. Nations like France, which have moved to ban one of Monsanto’s GM corn varieties, were requested to be ‘penalized’ by the United States for opposing Monsanto and genetically modified foods. The information reveals just how deep Monsanto’s roots have penetrated key positions within the United States government, with the cables reporting that many U.S. diplomats work directly for Monsanto. [..]
Perhaps the most shocking piece of information exposed by the cables is the fact that these U.S. diplomats are actually working directly for biotech corporations like Monsanto. The cables also highlight the relationship between the U.S. and Spain in their conquest to persuade other nations to allow for the expansion of GMO crops. Not only did the Spanish government secretly correspond with the U.S. government on the subject, but the U.S. government actually knew beforehand how Spain would vote before the Spanish biotech commission reported their decision regarding GMO crops.
It doesn't look like Orbán and Hungary have a lot of support in their fight against Monsanto and GMO in general on the political front. But that still does little to explain the radio silence.
There was more international reporting earlier this year, when Orbán again faced up to two other major forces, in this instance the IMF and the EU. On January 1, the Hungarian parliament and president signed a new constitution into law. And it contains a number of things that the Troika members don't like. In particular, they are probably at odds with taxes levied on bank transactions, and especially central bank transactions. Not the kind of thing the IMF is likely to ever agree with. It all gets clad in protesting (the EU even threatens with courts) the independence under fire of the central bank, the media and other parts of Hungarian society.
The IMF and EU, like the tandem team of Monsanto and Washington before them, act like schoolyard bullies. It's become their standard MO, and it usually works. Portraits of Orbán as a fool, a reckless idiot and a dangerous populist, on par with that of Hugo Chavez or newly found international enemy Rafael Correa, are much easier to find than those links to Wikileaks Monsanto cables. It would be good to see Orbán continue to stand up to the IMF bullies, but he may not have that choice. They can simply financially bleed him dry, like they have so many other countries and their leaders. It's a time tested model.
So maybe we’ll have to do with a good and hearty chuckle, and enjoy his announcement yesterday:
Hungarian prime minister unfriends IMF on Facebook
Hungary's prime minister has long had a testy relationship with the International Monetary Fund — and on Thursday he used Facebook to unfriend the agency and reject its allegedly tough loan conditions.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video message on his official Facebook page that Hungary could not accept pension cuts, the elimination of a bank tax, fewer public employees and other conditions in exchange for an IMF loan that other officials have said could be about €15 billion ($18.9 billion). The IMF's list of conditions, Orban said, " contains everything that is not in Hungary's interests."
Orban's announcement took the markets by surprise, in part because just a day earlier he had said loan negotiations with the IMF and the European Union were going according to schedule and both sides were willing to reach an agreement. [..]
In late 2008, under a Socialist government, Hungary became the first EU country to receive an IMF-led bailout. The Orban government, however, decided not to renew the loan agreement in 2010 so it could implement its economic policies without IMF control. But the increasing weakness of the forint, the Hungarian currency, and investors' growing loss of trust in the country's economy made the government abruptly change its mind late last year, when it again sought IMF help.
Basically, what the IMF demands is what it has always demanded through the years from countries it lends money to: cut pensions, cut the public sector, cut benefits yada yada, and then privatize, open markets, and open financial systems, so international operating conglomerates can move in and divvy up the spoils - "create a more 'business friendly' environment to boost growth" -. The IMF is the poster child for disaster capitalism, no matter how you twist and turn it. And Orbán can see clearly what is being done to Greece, which is just around the corner from Hungary.
Hungary: Orban’s horror show
A “list of horrors”. That’s how Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán described on Thursday the conditions given by the IMF / EU for a deal, via a video on his Facebook page. [..]
Orban blamed the “long list” of onerous conditions that had, supposedly, been leaked to Magyar Nemzet, a slavishly pro-government daily, on Wednesday. The list contains a number of Orbán’s most sacred political themes, including cuts in pensions, family allowances and transport perks, an increase in the age of retirement, the introduction of a property tax, the abolition of the bank and financial transaction taxes, and modifications to the flat-rate, personal income tax regime.
And here's a bit more:
Hungary PM rejects IMF/EU terms, hopes fade for deal
Hungary threw hopes for a new loan to prop up its sagging economy into disarray on Thursday as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected what he called unacceptable IMF conditions, crushing prospects for a fast agreement. Orban, in a video posted on his Facebook page, cited demands from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a raft of changes that he said were too high a price for Hungary to pay.
"From cutting pensions to reducing bureaucracy to scrapping the bank tax and the funds to be made available to banks, everything is in there that's not in Hungary's interest," Orban said. "The parliamentary group meeting (of the ruling Fidesz party) took the view, and I personally agree with it, that at this price, this will not work," he added. [..]
To reverse that momentum, Orban is pushing a 300 billion forint ($1.33 billion) job saving plan, partly funded by a new tax on central bank operations, a key sticking point in the IMF talks, which the European Central Bank has also criticised. [..]
"Junk"-rated Hungary faces a repayment hump in the next five quarters, with the equivalent of €4.6 billion euros falling due from its previous IMF/EU bailout alone.
It's enough of a David vs Goliath fight, or a Little Red Riding Hood vs the Wolf, to make one question the bullies. Now, I don't really know Victor Orbán, all I know is western media descriptions of him, not a very reliable source, and he could well be a bully himself. But I still like the Little Red Riding Hood story (and dislike Monsanto and the IMF) enough to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
And besides, it's as refreshing as it is high time to talk about something else than Greece or Spain. We'll have to get back to them soon enough, after Draghi's unlimited buying bailout boondoggle yesterday
It's incredible what a second life Facebook
is. Orban is faced with the enslavement of his
country, and he's fighting it, but he has time
to unfriend the IMF. It's a move designed
to get the younger generation to understand
just how serious these IMF & Monsanto
sons of bitches are. They know, if you've been
unfriended, you're a bad person. It's that simple.
They couldn't be more right about the IMF.
checkit: Automatic earth
Hungary Throws Out Monsanto AND The IMF
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 4:31 PM
I don't know about you, but I would label my personal knowledge of Hungary as wanting, if not painfully incomplete. It's not an easy country to come to grips with, not least of all of course because Hungarian doesn't look like any western language we know with the possible exception of Finnish. I did visit just after the Wall came down, and remember huge contrasts, almost paradoxes, between rural poverty and a capital, Budapest, that was much richer than other capitals such as Prague, a leftover of Budapest's status as meeting place between western and eastern diplomats and businessmen.
The riches were not for all, though, the city center was full of beggars and panhandlers, mostly Roma. To keep up the paradox, Mercedes sold more luxury models in Hungary than just about anywhere else back then, reportedly mostly also to Roma; just not the same.
In the years since, precious little attention has been and is being devoted to the former eastern bloc countries in the Anglo press. We know most of the countries are now members of the European Union, but only a few have been allowed to enter the hallowed grounds of the eurozone.
One thing I did pick up on last year was the news that Hungary's PM Victor Orbán had thrown chemical, food and seed giant Monsanto out of the country, going as far as to plow under 1000 acres of land. Now, I have little patience for Monsanto, infamous for many products ranging from Agent Orange to Round-Up, nor for its ilk, from DuPont to Sygenta, all former chemical companies that have at some point decided they could sell more chemicals than ever before by applying them on and inside everyone's daily food. Patenting nature itself seems either unworthy of mankind or its grandest achievement. I don't care much for either one. So Orbán (who has a two-thirds majority in parliament, by the way) has my tentative support on this one.
This is from July 22, 2011, International Business Times:
Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Maize Fields
In an effort to rid the country of Monsanto's GMO products, Hungary has stepped up the pace. This looks like it’s going to be another slap in the face for Monsanto. A new regulation was introduced this March which stipulates that seeds are supposed to be checked for GMO before they are introduced to the market. Unfortunately, some GMO seeds made it to the farmers without them knowing it.
Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.
Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seed traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said. During their investigation, controllers have found Pioneer and Monsanto products among the seeds planted.
It's remarkably hard to find sources on this, ironically. It’s even harder, even more ironically, to find anything that mentions the Wikileaks report on the connections between the US government and the chemical/seed industry. Which is curious, in my opinion; it's not as if there's nothing newsworthy in the topic. Just about the only thing I could find was this from Anthony Gucciardi at NaturalSociety.com.
US to Start ‘Trade Wars’ with Nations Opposed to Monsanto, GMO Crops
The United States is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) crops with military-style trade wars, according to information obtained and released by the organization WikiLeaks. Nations like France, which have moved to ban one of Monsanto’s GM corn varieties, were requested to be ‘penalized’ by the United States for opposing Monsanto and genetically modified foods. The information reveals just how deep Monsanto’s roots have penetrated key positions within the United States government, with the cables reporting that many U.S. diplomats work directly for Monsanto. [..]
Perhaps the most shocking piece of information exposed by the cables is the fact that these U.S. diplomats are actually working directly for biotech corporations like Monsanto. The cables also highlight the relationship between the U.S. and Spain in their conquest to persuade other nations to allow for the expansion of GMO crops. Not only did the Spanish government secretly correspond with the U.S. government on the subject, but the U.S. government actually knew beforehand how Spain would vote before the Spanish biotech commission reported their decision regarding GMO crops.
It doesn't look like Orbán and Hungary have a lot of support in their fight against Monsanto and GMO in general on the political front. But that still does little to explain the radio silence.
There was more international reporting earlier this year, when Orbán again faced up to two other major forces, in this instance the IMF and the EU. On January 1, the Hungarian parliament and president signed a new constitution into law. And it contains a number of things that the Troika members don't like. In particular, they are probably at odds with taxes levied on bank transactions, and especially central bank transactions. Not the kind of thing the IMF is likely to ever agree with. It all gets clad in protesting (the EU even threatens with courts) the independence under fire of the central bank, the media and other parts of Hungarian society.
The IMF and EU, like the tandem team of Monsanto and Washington before them, act like schoolyard bullies. It's become their standard MO, and it usually works. Portraits of Orbán as a fool, a reckless idiot and a dangerous populist, on par with that of Hugo Chavez or newly found international enemy Rafael Correa, are much easier to find than those links to Wikileaks Monsanto cables. It would be good to see Orbán continue to stand up to the IMF bullies, but he may not have that choice. They can simply financially bleed him dry, like they have so many other countries and their leaders. It's a time tested model.
So maybe we’ll have to do with a good and hearty chuckle, and enjoy his announcement yesterday:
Hungarian prime minister unfriends IMF on Facebook
Hungary's prime minister has long had a testy relationship with the International Monetary Fund — and on Thursday he used Facebook to unfriend the agency and reject its allegedly tough loan conditions.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video message on his official Facebook page that Hungary could not accept pension cuts, the elimination of a bank tax, fewer public employees and other conditions in exchange for an IMF loan that other officials have said could be about €15 billion ($18.9 billion). The IMF's list of conditions, Orban said, " contains everything that is not in Hungary's interests."
Orban's announcement took the markets by surprise, in part because just a day earlier he had said loan negotiations with the IMF and the European Union were going according to schedule and both sides were willing to reach an agreement. [..]
In late 2008, under a Socialist government, Hungary became the first EU country to receive an IMF-led bailout. The Orban government, however, decided not to renew the loan agreement in 2010 so it could implement its economic policies without IMF control. But the increasing weakness of the forint, the Hungarian currency, and investors' growing loss of trust in the country's economy made the government abruptly change its mind late last year, when it again sought IMF help.
Basically, what the IMF demands is what it has always demanded through the years from countries it lends money to: cut pensions, cut the public sector, cut benefits yada yada, and then privatize, open markets, and open financial systems, so international operating conglomerates can move in and divvy up the spoils - "create a more 'business friendly' environment to boost growth" -. The IMF is the poster child for disaster capitalism, no matter how you twist and turn it. And Orbán can see clearly what is being done to Greece, which is just around the corner from Hungary.
Hungary: Orban’s horror show
A “list of horrors”. That’s how Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán described on Thursday the conditions given by the IMF / EU for a deal, via a video on his Facebook page. [..]
Orban blamed the “long list” of onerous conditions that had, supposedly, been leaked to Magyar Nemzet, a slavishly pro-government daily, on Wednesday. The list contains a number of Orbán’s most sacred political themes, including cuts in pensions, family allowances and transport perks, an increase in the age of retirement, the introduction of a property tax, the abolition of the bank and financial transaction taxes, and modifications to the flat-rate, personal income tax regime.
And here's a bit more:
Hungary PM rejects IMF/EU terms, hopes fade for deal
Hungary threw hopes for a new loan to prop up its sagging economy into disarray on Thursday as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected what he called unacceptable IMF conditions, crushing prospects for a fast agreement. Orban, in a video posted on his Facebook page, cited demands from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a raft of changes that he said were too high a price for Hungary to pay.
"From cutting pensions to reducing bureaucracy to scrapping the bank tax and the funds to be made available to banks, everything is in there that's not in Hungary's interest," Orban said. "The parliamentary group meeting (of the ruling Fidesz party) took the view, and I personally agree with it, that at this price, this will not work," he added. [..]
To reverse that momentum, Orban is pushing a 300 billion forint ($1.33 billion) job saving plan, partly funded by a new tax on central bank operations, a key sticking point in the IMF talks, which the European Central Bank has also criticised. [..]
"Junk"-rated Hungary faces a repayment hump in the next five quarters, with the equivalent of €4.6 billion euros falling due from its previous IMF/EU bailout alone.
It's enough of a David vs Goliath fight, or a Little Red Riding Hood vs the Wolf, to make one question the bullies. Now, I don't really know Victor Orbán, all I know is western media descriptions of him, not a very reliable source, and he could well be a bully himself. But I still like the Little Red Riding Hood story (and dislike Monsanto and the IMF) enough to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
And besides, it's as refreshing as it is high time to talk about something else than Greece or Spain. We'll have to get back to them soon enough, after Draghi's unlimited buying bailout boondoggle yesterday
Russia subverts the Troika enslavement ring
Leave it to the Cypriots to use Russia to subvert the EU, at
just the moment that they've declared bankruptcy
and taken over the presidency of the EU.
Only they are cunning enough to show Europe just
how sh*tty Brussels really is.
Checkit: Testosterone pit
The Incredibly Ballooning Bailout Of Cyprus
Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 8:05PM
Cypriot President Christofias dug in his heels. On Greek TV. Not behind closed doors with the Troika, the austerity gang from the European Commission, the IMF, and the ECB that have performed such miracles in Greece. But as Cyprus veers toward bankruptcy, his game of playing the Russians against the Troika has fallen apart, banks are in worse condition than imagined, and the bailout amounts jumped again. How can a tiny country get in so much trouble in such a short time?
The real-estate and construction bubble, fed by corruption and abetted by banks, burst two years ago. Home sales and prices have collapsed. Some 130,000 homeowners (in a country of 840,000 souls) are tangled up in a nationwide title-deed scandal [Another Eurozone Country Bites the Dust]. The Troika estimated that 50,000 homes would be dumped on the market—though only 4,876 homes were sold during the first nine months of the year! Losses have gutted banks. Unemployment has reached record levels. And the construction industry, once a major employer, is being annihilated.
The index of building contracts, after a two-year downhill slide, has reached the lowest point in its history, and “activity is expected to continue dropping,” lamented the Federation of Associations of Building Contractors (OSEOK). Contractors are going out of business. Over the last four months, the morass has deepened. And now there are only enough pending construction projects for seven months, and after that, there are no projects.
Locked out from the financial markets since early summer 2011, Cyprus was bailed out by Russia last November with a €2.5 billion loan. In June, as the banks began to topple under a mountain of Greek debt and rotting mortgages, Cyprus asked for a bailout. The Troika took a look and figured €6 billion for the banks and €4 billion for the government. €10 billion in total. Alas, in August, Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades told parliament that the banks alone would need €12 billion! And the rumor consensus has settled on €15 billion for both the banks and the government.
Then Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov spilled the beans last week: Cyprus would indeed seek a €15 billion bailout from the Troika, and an additional €5 billion from Russia, for a total of €20 billion. A vertigo-inducing 107% of GDP.
But he cautioned that Russia and the Troika would need to coordinate the loans—thus throwing a monkey wrench into Christofias’ efforts to use the negotiations with Russia as a lever against the Troika to get a better deal and more lenient conditions.
Pieces of hate
Local folks in Bristol have discovered that democracy
and economy start locally. So, they've devised a currency
[Bristol Pound]
which will only be valid in Bristol and will keep money
circulating in Bristol , rather than going to Sainsbury's
or Tesco's head office.
[banksy of bristol]
Checkitout: Telegraph
Bristol is launching its own currency, the Bristol Pound, with hundreds of businesses already signed up to use the currency designed to keep local wealth in local pockets.
Evoking a long history of dissent, one side of the £5 note shows a tiger writing on a wall in graffiti: "O Liberty!"
By Rachel Cooper
11:43AM BST 19 Sep 2012
The Bristol Pound, which can be used by exchanging sterling for the local currency, goes live at noon on Wednesday and can be spent with participating businesses in the region.
British Pounds are spent just like sterling, with £B1 equal in value to £1 sterling and businesses can accept paper Bristol Pounds in payment as they would for sterling. As well as using paper money, the Bristol Pound can also be used online, or via mobile phone.
Creators of the Bristol Pound claim that a local currency has the potential to significantly increase the amount of spending power in the region and ensure that it is channelled into local, independent businesses.
Ciaran Mundy, co-founder of the Bristol Pound, told AFP last month: "Eighty percent of the money leaves the area if it is spent with a multinational - but 80pc stays if it is spent at a local trader."
"The perception of banking and money is that it's a very ruthless system: people are out for what they can get," he added. "This is about saying yes to something new. It's tapping into a different set of values about money."
Bristol businesses queuing up to join local currency scheme
16 Aug 2012
Ahead of the launch on Wednesday, he said: “As more and more shoppers and businesses spend the Bristol Pound, it will keep more of people's hard earned wages in our communities to be spent again."
To encourage people to join the scheme, organisers are offering a 5pc Bristol Pound bonus on all sterling amounts despoited into electronic Bristol Pound accounts, up to the first £B100,000 deposited in the scheme. That means they will receive £B105 for every £100 of sterling exchanged.
If your town launched its own currency, would you use it? (Poll Closed)
Yes 54.2% (303 votes)
No 45.8% (256 votes)
Total Votes: 559
More than 300 local shops and other businesses, including butchers, bakers and plumbers, have joined the currency. Interest in the scheme proved so strong that the launch had to be postponed from May to September.
Bristol Pound notes feature symbols of local pride, from 19th century religious writer Hannah More to the Concorde aircraft, partly developed in Bristol, and images of the St Paul's Carnival Caribbean street festival.
Evoking a long history of dissent, one side of the £5 note shows a tiger writing on a wall in graffiti: "O Liberty!"
Bristol is not the first region to have launched its own currency. The Bristol pound is modelled on the Chiemgauer, a German complementary currency of which millions of euros' worth is traded yearly.
The Cotswold town of Stroud also launched its own currency, and the London borough of Lambeth launched the Brixton Pound.
ANTI- EU GOULASH
As a second part of the Central European
brave stand against Brussels and the banks,
here's a story on Victor Orban and the Hungarian
government.
Read 'em: from Automatic earth
Hungary Says The IMF And EU Want To Make It A Colony Of Slaves
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 9:42 PM
Banner demonstration Budapest, September 4, 1012
After publishing Hungary Throws Out Monsanto AND The IMF 10 days ago, I've been keeping an eye on what goes down along the twin Buda and Pest shores of the Danube river.
That's how I came upon a video from Johnny Miller for PressTV, which is sort of Iran's version of Russia Today and Al Jazeera, news channels that find their niche and viability "behind the biases" of western media, in much the same way that the Automatic Earth and numerous other websites do. Of course, there is no lack of people who declare exactly those alternative voices to be biased, but wherever the truth may lie, fact is that many readers and viewers in the west are fed up with, and no longer trust, their traditional media, let alone their political systems. Hungary may prove to be an excellent example of why that is and how it all plays out.
Now, first, let me state once again that I don't know much about Hungary, and I happenstance upon the things I view and read about it with the eyes of an innocent child. I do have a long history, however, of not believing a word I read at first glance - or The Automatic Earth would not exist. Which is why, when I picked up on the ideas US and European media hold up as undeniable truths about Hungarian PM Victor Orbán and his Fidesz party, what a vile and crazy man he basically is, I questioned them off the bat. It's obvious he's made enemies of Monsanto and the entire GMO industry, as well as the IMF/EU/ECB troika, and therefore western media have plenty incentives to paint him off as a lunatic.
And also, let me repeat that he may well be a bully himself, like he is being bullied by the troika, the seed industry and the media they control. All I said was, certainly in light of the fact that I know little about him, I did - and do - tend to give him the benefit of the doubt, for the moment, because of his refusal to kowtow before those who act as if they rule the entire planet.
I urge you to please watch the video, 20 minutes or so, but I'll write down some key points below.
Since the fall of Communism, Hungary has been doing everything the Western institutions have asked, privatizing and selling off state assets, which resulted in heavy debts and low living standards. Now, the new government is hitting back by raising taxes on foreign companies and trying to protect its domestic market. However, it has been criticized by the EU, IMF and the Western media. Hungarians have also taken to the streets of Budapest and the Western media is championing the views of the protesters and damning the government. On this week's INFocus we will tell the real story of why the new Hungarian government is becoming a new bogeyman of the West and how fake protests can be started under foreign influence.
The opening quote is poignant: A destitute Hungarian mother of a young boy says this about the IMF and EU involvement in Hungary:
The problem of the poor can be solved by killing them but it is not allowed. This is a holocaust without a gas chamber. There is no future here.
• In January 2012, there were protests in the streets of Budapest against government policies with regards to press freedom. The organizers called themselves "One Million For Press Freedom". But only 40.000 show up. Still, the protests got extensive coverage in the west. One of the organizers now admits that maybe they were used for western propaganda, which aimed at depicting the government as a dictatorship. He is interviewed without any semblance of fear of government retaliation, which leaves one wondering what exactly he was protesting, especially since later he says he was protesting higher education laws.
• According to Hungarian economist Imre Boros, the Orbán government declared that foreign banks and corporations, who hardly paid any taxes at all before, would have to pay more. 13 foreign multinationals and 5 major global banks then went to the to EU to complain about the new taxes, and the financial markets attacked the Hungarian economy. Plus, rumors are being spread about anti-semitism and lack of freedom for the press, rumors which Boros says are simply not true ("Everybody writes here whatever they wish").
• At the same time of the anti-government protests, there was another rally in support of the government, and against the EU and IMF policies. This protest, rather than 40.000, numbered in the hundreds of thousands (500.000), and was mainly ignored by the west.
• TV host and Fidesz founder Zsolt Bayer: What is a dictatorship? Is that when a country doesn't serve the interests of the EU and IMF? Is that a dictatorship? He says the pro-government demonstration saved the Orbán government, because nobody dares resist a half a million people in the streets.
• The socialist government that preceded Orbán was praised by the likes of visiting Tony Blair in 2006, executed EU/IMF policies and had the police beat up on demonstrators, one of whom was Attila Lavai, who we first see beaten up in 2006 and then interviewed by PressTV in 2012.
By the way, in a lovely side story, and don't even try to tell me you could have made this up yourself, if you allow me to veer off track for a moment, the PM at the time, Ferenc Gyurcsány, was in the news last week:
[Former] Hungarian Prime Minister Ends Hunger Strike For Voters Rights
The former prime minister of Hungary, Ferenc Gyurcsány, has ended a week-long hunger strike that he said was aimed at ensuring free and fair elections. Gyurscany has expressed concerns over plans by the government to overhaul the election system in the young democracy of this European Union nation.
In front of the neo-gothic parliament building of Budapest, several tents emerged this week. Some carried slogans referring to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government as a "regime". Former Prime Minister Gyurcsány and three fellow politicians were camping in two small green-colored army tents, without food.
Gyurcsány, who leads the leftist Democratic Coalition, told BosNewsLife that he was on a week-long hunger strike to protest against government plans to introduce voter registration ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections. He views that as another attempt by the center-right government to intimidate voters.
Yet, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party has denied wrongdoing. It says registration is needed in part to keep track of the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring countries, who have obtained citizenship. Under a recent law they also have the right to vote, a move the opposition claims is aimed at boosting support for the ruling Fidesz party.
However, opposition leader Gyurcsány, himself is not without controversy. He was forced to resign as prime minister in 2009 after a recording emerged in which he admitted to have lied "night and day" about the status of the economy to win reelection.
The former Communist youth leader-turned politician acknowledged to BosNewsLife that this speech will "probably follow" him the rest of his life. He has also said he is not seeking to become prime minister again.
It is stories like that which make life worth living. I'm sure you can all just imagine George W. Bush or Gordon Brown in a tent without food for a week in front of their parliament buildings. About the issue itself: As far as I know, it is quite common in democracies to have voters register. Since Hungary looks to add voting rights for 1 million Hungarians who live abroad, and apparently until now had no such rights, it all doesn't look that crazy or bad or anything, not from where I'm sitting. Back to the video:
• TV host Bayer: "When are we going to be good guys? If we sell them the remaining energy sector and privatize everything? That's the conditions of the loan. Let's sell the energy sector, let's sell public transport. So if we are willing to behave like a colony, we get a loan, that we will never be able to pay back. Thanks, but I don't want this"
• Economist Boros then says that after the "Russian Consensus", what the IMF has attempted to do - often successfully - in the former Eastern Bloc is what Naomi Klein describes in The Shock Doctrine. It's called "Reform", and it means privatization, which in turn means selling key assets to global big players (it also means cutting jobs, salaries, pensions, benefits, health care and so forth). Hungary MP Márton Gyöngyösi says privatization has been disastrous for Hungary.
• Mihály Varga, the minister in charge of the talks with the IMF, when asked: "Are you going to stand up to the IMF?", responds: "Absolutely".
But, as PressTV notes, the same government threw out the IMF last year, "and now, they're back".
• "Out in the countryside, it's easy to see the changes in Hungary since signing up to IMF and EU enforced policies. Hungarians used to be intensely proud of their agriculture; the soil here is very fertile, and great for growing fruit and vegetables. SInce 2004, when Hungary joined the EU, the EU forced Hungary to stop subsidies to agriculture, therefore devastating the industries. Now Hungary imports a lot of fruits and veg, rather than growing it themselves. Obviously, a lot of jobs lost as well. A lot of Hungarians simply cannot believe how that policy could possibly have been good for the country."
• Zsolt Bayer again: "In the past twenty years, all our industry has disappeared. We got our world class agriculture impoverished by the West. We are a small country, these 10 million people are only a market for the West. We are not needed for anything else. The EU has no future because the EU has no ethos. It is all about money. Nothing else".
• "My most important message for the East, for Africa and South America, all nations, is that you are obliged to save yourselves. Those who give up their customs, their culture, if they give up everything they won't be a nation anymore."
• The mother of a young boy: "I think we will be a pothole of the EU, a transit country. We will be a colony, slaves again.
The IMF and EU are no less vampire squids than Goldman Sachs is. If anything they're more dangerous, since they can make people believe that they are somehow democratic institutions, and have their best interests in mind. People may have reservations about what is happening in Budapest, but I have to say that the more I read about Victor Orbán and his government, the more I tend to sympathize with what they are trying to accomplish, and the more I understand what they are up against.
I get the feeling that if we in the West treat him with suspicion, and believe the stories our media feed us about him as a monster, the more we leave the only country I know with the courage to stand up for itself in the face of the most brutal of bullies, alone in its quest. Which happens to be a quest many of us feel a strong connection with. The stories aim to confuse us about that, and they largely seem to accomplish what they're aimed at so far. And that is a shame.
Hungary and Orbán, partly because of the wide coverage of the small demonstrations against him, and, though for totally different reasons, partly because of the mass demonstrations in his support, which received no coverage, is now back at the table with the EU and IMF. Whose intention it is to make him an offer he can't refuse. If he doesn't accept, they'll declare financial war against him. And his people. Until they all give in. This happens in our name. While many of us would want to have our name, our beliefs and convictions, to be with the other side, his side. As long as we don't make that choice, and do it openly and loudly, we will remain the de facto schoolyard bullies. And we don't get a free pass from that just because we don't do or say anything.
Reuters ran a large piece yesterday on the Hungarian situation, in which Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs appear to be on an uncomfortably wobbly trail between the default western picture of their country and the search for a sort of balance in reporting. As for how successful they are, you be the judge.
Hungarians impatiently await promised "fairy tale"
For Hungarians queuing up to work abroad, the government's promise to achieve a "fairy tale" of national prosperity soon is precisely that - more a fantasy than a realistic possibility. At least 300,000 Hungarians work in western Europe, according to government estimates, apparently unpersuaded that conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban's go-it-alone and often unpredictable policies can solve the nation's problems.
Sunday 21 October 2012
Mush: sell up everything and become a gypsy, in order to survive
I've been hammering away at Mish Shedlock lately.
Nothing personal. But I can only interpret the
story below as a message to all workers.
Sell up everything and go on the road,
looking for jobs. On the Road, for him,
would be a much different movie than
Jack Kerouac's.
Not to be confused with living in your car.
chuckle away: (it's your future) from Mish Shedlock
Plenty of Jobs if You are "King of the Road"
This post is about "Bobo". I wrote about Bobo before. He is in his early 50s, highly skilled, and willing to travel. In his latest email, he says "I'm down to one bag, one laptop, and one phone."
When he loses his job, he gets another within a few days.
King of the Road
My previous post was Bobo’s Travels - Plenty of Job Offers for Skilled Engineers IF You Can be Like Bobo, written on December 2, 2011.
Here is an update from "Bobo" on what the last year was like.
Hello Mish
The US mining job I was at just ended. They gave me one hour to clean out my desk. That was nice. A power plant where I once worked only gave me 5 minutes.
Hire. Fire. Boom. Bust. Construction is a fast world.
Lucky for me I can get another job in a few days or so. This is the third consecutive time I've overlapped the next job with the severance package from the one before. Call it sweet revenge.
Last year I worked for 3 companies, in 2 countries, and 5 states. This year, so far, I worked in 2 countries and 3 states.
Nothing personal. But I can only interpret the
story below as a message to all workers.
Sell up everything and go on the road,
looking for jobs. On the Road, for him,
would be a much different movie than
Jack Kerouac's.
Not to be confused with living in your car.
chuckle away: (it's your future) from Mish Shedlock
Plenty of Jobs if You are "King of the Road"
This post is about "Bobo". I wrote about Bobo before. He is in his early 50s, highly skilled, and willing to travel. In his latest email, he says "I'm down to one bag, one laptop, and one phone."
When he loses his job, he gets another within a few days.
King of the Road
My previous post was Bobo’s Travels - Plenty of Job Offers for Skilled Engineers IF You Can be Like Bobo, written on December 2, 2011.
Here is an update from "Bobo" on what the last year was like.
Hello Mish
The US mining job I was at just ended. They gave me one hour to clean out my desk. That was nice. A power plant where I once worked only gave me 5 minutes.
Hire. Fire. Boom. Bust. Construction is a fast world.
Lucky for me I can get another job in a few days or so. This is the third consecutive time I've overlapped the next job with the severance package from the one before. Call it sweet revenge.
Last year I worked for 3 companies, in 2 countries, and 5 states. This year, so far, I worked in 2 countries and 3 states.
BRUSSELS (anti-democracy) SPROUTS. let's make a pate' out of it
If the French public wants the Eurocrats dead, then
there's some hope. The French march, and get what
they want. I'm just glad they've left the cafe' for
a while.
I have recent entries about King Barroso and the EU's
branches using this crisis as a chance for direct rule
from Brussels, in that soon-to-be-divided country,
Belgium. That's what the Troika is , partially, apart from
a bankster scout troop.
Read em: testosterone pit
A French Rebellion Against Unelected Bureaucrats:
“European Coup D’Etat And Rape Of Democracy”
Friday, September 14, 2012 at 9:03PM
When the German Constitutional Court nodded with a stern smile on the ESM bailout fund and the Fiscal Union treaty, the world, or at least the politicians at the top, breathed a sigh of relief. Those two treaties, designed to keep the Eurozone duct-taped together, transfer budgetary sovereignty from elected national parliaments to unelected bureaucrats in the bowels of the European government. The Court attached a laundry list of limits and conditions—not that limits and conditions have ever stopped anything in the Eurozone—and after months of verbal warfare, the revolt of the Germans was over.
But suddenly, steam is billowing once again from the rusty pipes of the Eurozone. This time in France, where the Fiscal Union treaty has been silenced to death—and it could blow apart the whole construct.
The only time the Fiscal Union treaty bubbled up was during the presidential campaign when François Hollande vowed to “renegotiate” the text that President Nicolas Sarkozy had already signed. He won the election. The dust settled. And then, not a word. He hasn’t explained the treaty to his compatriots, hasn’t outlined the sovereignty transfer to unelected bureaucrats, hasn’t indicated which parts he’d renegotiate. Nothing. Nor has he renegotiated one iota. Even during his speech last Sunday, he didn’t mention it. It no longer existed. Yet, on October 2, parliament is scheduled to ratify the exact treaty that Sarkozy had signed.
“European coup d’état and rape of democracy,” howled Marine Le Pen, president of the rightwing National Front, and third in the presidential election, at a press conference on Friday. She’d be “the tip of the spear” against the treaty, she said and called for a referendum. A dreadful word in the French political lexicon. No politician would ever forget the debacle of 2005. In parliament, the European Constitution passed with 93% of the votes. But in the subsequent referendum, the people, who loved their sovereignty, killed it by a margin of 55% to 45%.
She accused the two big parties—Hollande’s Socialists and Sarkozy’s UMP—of “perfect collusion” on topics that determine France’s “destiny as free nation.” With this treaty, the EU would become “the worst enemy of France and of all nations that aspire to prosperity and liberty.”
there's some hope. The French march, and get what
they want. I'm just glad they've left the cafe' for
a while.
I have recent entries about King Barroso and the EU's
branches using this crisis as a chance for direct rule
from Brussels, in that soon-to-be-divided country,
Belgium. That's what the Troika is , partially, apart from
a bankster scout troop.
Read em: testosterone pit
A French Rebellion Against Unelected Bureaucrats:
“European Coup D’Etat And Rape Of Democracy”
Friday, September 14, 2012 at 9:03PM
When the German Constitutional Court nodded with a stern smile on the ESM bailout fund and the Fiscal Union treaty, the world, or at least the politicians at the top, breathed a sigh of relief. Those two treaties, designed to keep the Eurozone duct-taped together, transfer budgetary sovereignty from elected national parliaments to unelected bureaucrats in the bowels of the European government. The Court attached a laundry list of limits and conditions—not that limits and conditions have ever stopped anything in the Eurozone—and after months of verbal warfare, the revolt of the Germans was over.
But suddenly, steam is billowing once again from the rusty pipes of the Eurozone. This time in France, where the Fiscal Union treaty has been silenced to death—and it could blow apart the whole construct.
The only time the Fiscal Union treaty bubbled up was during the presidential campaign when François Hollande vowed to “renegotiate” the text that President Nicolas Sarkozy had already signed. He won the election. The dust settled. And then, not a word. He hasn’t explained the treaty to his compatriots, hasn’t outlined the sovereignty transfer to unelected bureaucrats, hasn’t indicated which parts he’d renegotiate. Nothing. Nor has he renegotiated one iota. Even during his speech last Sunday, he didn’t mention it. It no longer existed. Yet, on October 2, parliament is scheduled to ratify the exact treaty that Sarkozy had signed.
“European coup d’état and rape of democracy,” howled Marine Le Pen, president of the rightwing National Front, and third in the presidential election, at a press conference on Friday. She’d be “the tip of the spear” against the treaty, she said and called for a referendum. A dreadful word in the French political lexicon. No politician would ever forget the debacle of 2005. In parliament, the European Constitution passed with 93% of the votes. But in the subsequent referendum, the people, who loved their sovereignty, killed it by a margin of 55% to 45%.
She accused the two big parties—Hollande’s Socialists and Sarkozy’s UMP—of “perfect collusion” on topics that determine France’s “destiny as free nation.” With this treaty, the EU would become “the worst enemy of France and of all nations that aspire to prosperity and liberty.”
Saturday 20 October 2012
The Debate Crasher: Green party still can't get media coverage
The Prez and VP candidates for the Green Party,
in the US, crashed the last debate, and expected
to get in. Where does she think she finds
herself? In a democracy? WRONG
It's the US of A.
I keep track of many the contrary voices in the US
on Twitter and not many seemed to care. That's
a malaise. If there are so many Occupiers and
Dissidents and yet they cannot bring themselves
to look at other candidates, or become candidates
themselves, then they're stuck in a rut.
Only on :
Russia Today, the best American news
Let's cut to the video:
More later
in the US, crashed the last debate, and expected
to get in. Where does she think she finds
herself? In a democracy? WRONG
It's the US of A.
I keep track of many the contrary voices in the US
on Twitter and not many seemed to care. That's
a malaise. If there are so many Occupiers and
Dissidents and yet they cannot bring themselves
to look at other candidates, or become candidates
themselves, then they're stuck in a rut.
Only on :
Russia Today, the best American news
Let's cut to the video:
More later
Friday 19 October 2012
the future of Britain is bright
with guys like Joshua Mellors hanging around
Here he is on Max Keiser’s show
let's cut to the video:
Highlights:
14:00 suicide watch
1439 suicides baked into their [bankers’] equations
1550 double hit. QE to banks. Austerity for the people depressing the economy
More control of economy for banks, which is the opposite of what should happen.
It’s an intentional policy.
1705 scapegoating. Globalization of rich guys’ savings. Takes pressure off the real killers
1735 100 million affected.
1757 “misselling” of stuff to Milan that has destroyed Italian cities and their banks.
BBC “straight up lying” about this
1900 thanks to bank tricks, all surplus goes to the banks. Destroys the economy.
1925 this will destroy Germany, UK, US and all its banks. [actually, when that becomes the only option, that is when countries get out their armies and annihilate each other, or their own people]
1955 political sanction for the banks to screw people
2040 fraud per GDP. How can debt be growth, fraudulent debt is even worse. “it looks like there’s a claim on something, but ther isn’t”
2125 30% of GDP is fraud. Therefore , no regulation
2150 end game for Germany. 1 suicide bankers 2 get colonies (rent seeking) in the periphery and then take the new world forward. [3 they destroy the economy, fiat money, and rebellion starts, and that’s when the SDR, one world government, drones and constant surveillance culling all problematic people]
Annexed territories of the centre, or no way out
22 German has suppressed its wages below productivity, other countries can’t compete [thank you very much]. Export unemployment.
Reinvest German surplus in the periphery, but Germans will only agree if the PIIGS are colonies
2320 German fourth Reich. Joshua says people don’t see that [interesting how Germans as well as Brussels are taking advantage of the banking pressure from UK US to pay back, and turning it into direct rule and the fourth reich. I think it will end up with one world government because the Germans and their banks are not the bosses. Their bosses will take over at the appropriate time.]
2350 HFT trading and control of media means you don’t see the colonizing war coming and then its upon you.
2420 osbourne. Not a fool. He knows what he’s doing when he robs the cripples.
“political capture” “he’s doing what he’s told””that the rich are richer since 2008 is a coincidence” cue laughter
Here he is on Max Keiser’s show
let's cut to the video:
Highlights:
14:00 suicide watch
1439 suicides baked into their [bankers’] equations
1550 double hit. QE to banks. Austerity for the people depressing the economy
More control of economy for banks, which is the opposite of what should happen.
It’s an intentional policy.
1705 scapegoating. Globalization of rich guys’ savings. Takes pressure off the real killers
1735 100 million affected.
1757 “misselling” of stuff to Milan that has destroyed Italian cities and their banks.
BBC “straight up lying” about this
1900 thanks to bank tricks, all surplus goes to the banks. Destroys the economy.
1925 this will destroy Germany, UK, US and all its banks. [actually, when that becomes the only option, that is when countries get out their armies and annihilate each other, or their own people]
1955 political sanction for the banks to screw people
2040 fraud per GDP. How can debt be growth, fraudulent debt is even worse. “it looks like there’s a claim on something, but ther isn’t”
2125 30% of GDP is fraud. Therefore , no regulation
2150 end game for Germany. 1 suicide bankers 2 get colonies (rent seeking) in the periphery and then take the new world forward. [3 they destroy the economy, fiat money, and rebellion starts, and that’s when the SDR, one world government, drones and constant surveillance culling all problematic people]
Annexed territories of the centre, or no way out
22 German has suppressed its wages below productivity, other countries can’t compete [thank you very much]. Export unemployment.
Reinvest German surplus in the periphery, but Germans will only agree if the PIIGS are colonies
2320 German fourth Reich. Joshua says people don’t see that [interesting how Germans as well as Brussels are taking advantage of the banking pressure from UK US to pay back, and turning it into direct rule and the fourth reich. I think it will end up with one world government because the Germans and their banks are not the bosses. Their bosses will take over at the appropriate time.]
2350 HFT trading and control of media means you don’t see the colonizing war coming and then its upon you.
2420 osbourne. Not a fool. He knows what he’s doing when he robs the cripples.
“political capture” “he’s doing what he’s told””that the rich are richer since 2008 is a coincidence” cue laughter
Sunday 14 October 2012
Gangnam style kick in the head for globalisation
Mish Shedlock seems to believe that globalisation is good,
generally, because someone managed to massage the
statistics to convince this particular quant man.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. If we start with the
necessity to open up cash flows, Mish has already lost
the battle.
Read your Ha Joon Chang - 23 things they don't tell you about capitalism
and others of his books. They're all good, but he's not a quant. He is
another fine Korean export.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-They-About-Capitalism-ebook/dp/B0040QDMBE?oo=312
Fair Trade is Unfair; In Praise of Cheap Labor; Are Bad Jobs at Bad Wages are Better than No Jobs at All? Are Paul Krugman and Mitt Romney On the Same Page?
Are bad jobs at bad wages better than no jobs at all? Should the US demand third world economies pay "living wages"? If so, and if countries don't oblige, should the US impose tariffs so the US does not lose jobs to such countries.
Moral Outrage Over Free Trade
This is what I think....
Moral outrage is common among the opponents of globalization--of the transfer of technology and capital from high-wage to low-wage countries and the resulting growth of labor-intensive Third World exports. These critics take it as a given that anyone with a good word for this process is naive or corrupt and, in either case, a de facto agent of global capital in its oppression of workers here and abroad.
But matters are not that simple, and the moral lines are not that clear. In fact, let me make a counter-accusation: The lofty moral tone of the opponents of globalization is possible only because they have chosen not to think their position through. While fat-cat capitalists might benefit from globalization, the biggest beneficiaries are, yes, Third World workers.
Workers in those shirt and sneaker factories are, inevitably, paid very little and expected to endure terrible working conditions. I say "inevitably" because their employers are not in business for their (or their workers') health; they pay as little as possible, and that minimum is determined by the other opportunities available to workers. And these are still extremely poor countries, where living on a garbage heap is attractive compared with the alternatives.
And yet, wherever the new export industries have grown, there has been measurable improvement in the lives of ordinary people. Partly this is because a growing industry must offer a somewhat higher wage than workers could get elsewhere in order to get them to move. More importantly, however, the growth of manufacturing--and of the penumbra of other jobs that the new export sector creates--has a ripple effect throughout the economy. The pressure on the land becomes less intense, so rural wages rise; the pool of unemployed urban dwellers always anxious for work shrinks, so factories start to compete with each other for workers, and urban wages also begin to rise. Where the process has gone on long enough--say, in South Korea or Taiwan--average wages start to approach what an American teen-ager can earn at McDonald's. And eventually people are no longer eager to live on garbage dumps.
generally, because someone managed to massage the
statistics to convince this particular quant man.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. If we start with the
necessity to open up cash flows, Mish has already lost
the battle.
Why, you ask?
Well, because it's like closing the gate
after the horse has bolted.
25 trillion dollars is the last
count for how much money is
being hidden in tax havens.
Governments like the UK
are speeding up the process
whereby British companies can register overseas
(in a tax haven)
and thus stop paying Corporation Tax
in the UK, even on their sales in the UK.
Boots (the pharmacy chain) is the latest.
Nick Shaxson showed how Boots just
took the boots to Osborne's bottom line
by being run from a post box in Switzerland.
Miniaturisation, anyone?
But, I always knew globalisation was a con job, when it was
introduced in Canada.I was only a kid. not even in high school.
introduced in Canada.I was only a kid. not even in high school.
They said we'd get better quality jobs. Now Canada is
as hollowed out as theempty factories dominating every major city.
Deal with that if you're a politician. The chickens have come home to roost.
All the politicians can answer with is lies.
as hollowed out as theempty factories dominating every major city.
Deal with that if you're a politician. The chickens have come home to roost.
All the politicians can answer with is lies.
and then they tell us "austerity" when they
know that banks robbed us
banks do not fund manufacturing as easily
jobs are gone to China
businesses that are making money can hide their profits
and IT'S ALL OUR FAULT.
why else would we get the bill, if it wasn't our fault.
It is actually our fault. We don't demand anything better
from democracy.
Mish shoots himself in the foot by mentioning Korea as a country which
has benefitted.
has benefitted.
Samsung is indeed ready to topple Apple, despite short-term losses.
HOWEVER, my friend, Koreans are ethnically very determined to
support their own companies, and so is the Korean government.
The Korean government protected all the now massive Korean
companies, to protect them from ....what? globalisation.
Koreans buy their products first, no matter what's in their best interest.
So, if you live in a nationalistic, ethnically "pure" country with good
home-boy politicians, then go for globalisation. Otherwise,
blow that sh*t up before it destroys your country and you have to
go back to pre-industrial financial models.
Read your Ha Joon Chang - 23 things they don't tell you about capitalism
and others of his books. They're all good, but he's not a quant. He is
another fine Korean export.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-They-About-Capitalism-ebook/dp/B0040QDMBE?oo=312
check it:
Mish's MushFair Trade is Unfair; In Praise of Cheap Labor; Are Bad Jobs at Bad Wages are Better than No Jobs at All? Are Paul Krugman and Mitt Romney On the Same Page?
Are bad jobs at bad wages better than no jobs at all? Should the US demand third world economies pay "living wages"? If so, and if countries don't oblige, should the US impose tariffs so the US does not lose jobs to such countries.
Moral Outrage Over Free Trade
This is what I think....
Moral outrage is common among the opponents of globalization--of the transfer of technology and capital from high-wage to low-wage countries and the resulting growth of labor-intensive Third World exports. These critics take it as a given that anyone with a good word for this process is naive or corrupt and, in either case, a de facto agent of global capital in its oppression of workers here and abroad.
But matters are not that simple, and the moral lines are not that clear. In fact, let me make a counter-accusation: The lofty moral tone of the opponents of globalization is possible only because they have chosen not to think their position through. While fat-cat capitalists might benefit from globalization, the biggest beneficiaries are, yes, Third World workers.
Workers in those shirt and sneaker factories are, inevitably, paid very little and expected to endure terrible working conditions. I say "inevitably" because their employers are not in business for their (or their workers') health; they pay as little as possible, and that minimum is determined by the other opportunities available to workers. And these are still extremely poor countries, where living on a garbage heap is attractive compared with the alternatives.
And yet, wherever the new export industries have grown, there has been measurable improvement in the lives of ordinary people. Partly this is because a growing industry must offer a somewhat higher wage than workers could get elsewhere in order to get them to move. More importantly, however, the growth of manufacturing--and of the penumbra of other jobs that the new export sector creates--has a ripple effect throughout the economy. The pressure on the land becomes less intense, so rural wages rise; the pool of unemployed urban dwellers always anxious for work shrinks, so factories start to compete with each other for workers, and urban wages also begin to rise. Where the process has gone on long enough--say, in South Korea or Taiwan--average wages start to approach what an American teen-ager can earn at McDonald's. And eventually people are no longer eager to live on garbage dumps.
The SOLUTION to KING BARROSO
Now that we're sure that Brussels is riding on the coat-tails of
the IMF, and using this opportunity to push for full EU control
of "democracy" and the military, the only solution is cutting
yourself out the country that you nominally belong to,
especially if that country is colluding with Barosso, the
would-be king of Europe. I mean Spain. The Catalans
may just succeed where nothing else democratic has yet done
in giving the power brokers something to mull over,
and to stick up their butts.
Venice is also looking at going solo.
Scotland had just started its freedom process
UPDATE: Belgium soon to consider splitting up,
Checkitout: Zerohedge
Spanish Military Threatens Treason As Catalonia Seeks Secession Referendum
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/24/2012 13:51 -0400
"Do not play with the feelings of the Catalans" is the totally unveiled threat after Catalonia's beggars-can-be-choosers demand for an unconditional bailout fell on deaf ears. The traditionally separatist-minded province has decided, according to ANSAmed, has decided to pull a Greece - and escalate with a move to secession. A resolution, on the right of the Catalan people to cut off ties with the Spanish state, will be voted on Thursday by the regional parliament.
This statement of "the will of Catalan people to vote on the bond with the State of Spain" opens the way for forthcoming elections on November 25 to become a referendum on the sovereignty of Catalonia.
The Spanish military are not taking this lying down with the counter-threat that these 'separatists' and their 'inappropriate and unacceptable' threat to break-up Spain shall be, according to El Economista, charged with high treason. We are sure Draghi has a 'grand plan' for this.
Via ANSAmed: Spain: Catalan Parliament will vote on right of independence
(ANSAmed) - Madrid, September 24 - The parties which played a central role in the National Day of Catalonia on September 11, 2012 are now working on a statement on the right of the Catalan people to cut off the tie with the Spanish state.
The resolution will be voted on Thursday by the regional parliament, at the end of the general debate due to start tomorrow. To the writing of the resolution on sovereignty, which is not binding, are participating the following parties: Convergencia i Union (CiU), the ruling party in the Generalitat, with 62 deputies; Iniciativa (ICV-Euia), with 10 deputies; Esquerra Republicana (ERC), 10 deputies, the independents of Solidaritat, 3 deputies, and Joan Laporta.
The Popular Party (PP) (18 deputies) and Ciutadans (3) are against the initiative, while the Socialist Party (PSC, 28) proposes to move towards the construction of a federal state.
the IMF, and using this opportunity to push for full EU control
of "democracy" and the military, the only solution is cutting
yourself out the country that you nominally belong to,
especially if that country is colluding with Barosso, the
would-be king of Europe. I mean Spain. The Catalans
may just succeed where nothing else democratic has yet done
in giving the power brokers something to mull over,
and to stick up their butts.
Venice is also looking at going solo.
Scotland had just started its freedom process
UPDATE: Belgium soon to consider splitting up,
setting Brussels free to enslave the other 26.5 countries
Peacefully
Checkitout: Zerohedge
Spanish Military Threatens Treason As Catalonia Seeks Secession Referendum
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/24/2012 13:51 -0400
"Do not play with the feelings of the Catalans" is the totally unveiled threat after Catalonia's beggars-can-be-choosers demand for an unconditional bailout fell on deaf ears. The traditionally separatist-minded province has decided, according to ANSAmed, has decided to pull a Greece - and escalate with a move to secession. A resolution, on the right of the Catalan people to cut off ties with the Spanish state, will be voted on Thursday by the regional parliament.
This statement of "the will of Catalan people to vote on the bond with the State of Spain" opens the way for forthcoming elections on November 25 to become a referendum on the sovereignty of Catalonia.
The Spanish military are not taking this lying down with the counter-threat that these 'separatists' and their 'inappropriate and unacceptable' threat to break-up Spain shall be, according to El Economista, charged with high treason. We are sure Draghi has a 'grand plan' for this.
Via ANSAmed: Spain: Catalan Parliament will vote on right of independence
(ANSAmed) - Madrid, September 24 - The parties which played a central role in the National Day of Catalonia on September 11, 2012 are now working on a statement on the right of the Catalan people to cut off the tie with the Spanish state.
The resolution will be voted on Thursday by the regional parliament, at the end of the general debate due to start tomorrow. To the writing of the resolution on sovereignty, which is not binding, are participating the following parties: Convergencia i Union (CiU), the ruling party in the Generalitat, with 62 deputies; Iniciativa (ICV-Euia), with 10 deputies; Esquerra Republicana (ERC), 10 deputies, the independents of Solidaritat, 3 deputies, and Joan Laporta.
The Popular Party (PP) (18 deputies) and Ciutadans (3) are against the initiative, while the Socialist Party (PSC, 28) proposes to move towards the construction of a federal state.
send in the Klaus. Vaclav Klaus
It's really demoralising that all of the democratic symbols
of the EU aresinging the same enslavement song. I just
saw the EU parliament, or some such sh*t, listening to
Mario Draghi lie through his teeth, and hardly anybody
could raise even a fart-sized stink about the
continuation of "Let's Save a Bank".
One lady did say something about the fact that Draghi's unit,
let's cut to another chunk of the show:
So, when there are national leaders anywhere, esp. in the EU,
who are giving this system a swift kick in the arse, I'm
immediately interested.
Vaclav Klaus is the Prez of the Czechs. I thought he was a
curmudgeon, but that was before the crisis . Now, he's
about the wisest guy around. Check his pontifications
below and also Viktor Orban, the PM of Hungary.
But first, I need to give a slap to Mush/Mish Shedlock.
He is pissed off about the Far Right in Greece, Golden
Dawn, and what they are doing. However, this is what
happens, Mish, when none of the elected politicians
have the guts to stand up to the Banker Putsch, which
Mish hasn't been loud enough in his criticism of. Take
for e.g. taxing rich people and banks. Mish is against
that. Well, bring on the fasicsts, Mish. They'll fix things .
checkit:
“There is no such person as a legal immigrant,” says Mr Kassidiaris, a former Greek army commando whose approval rating soared after he slapped a female Communist parliamentary candidate on a breakfast television talk-show.
Yet Golden Dawn has also tried to build an image of social responsibility, through regular food distributions to needy Greeks registered with the party and by providing a service to accompany pensioners to the bank in neighbourhoods where muggings – which they blame on immigrants – are frequent. [FT newspaper]
Maria Tsalpatura, a 75-year-old retired schoolteacher, says she calls Golden Dawn every month before she goes to collect her pension. “They come on time and they’re very polite, I think they offer a real service,” she says.
This cannot possibly end well, whether or not Greece gets a time extension.
Policies have driven Greece straight into the hands of extreme radicals on the right and left, both of which have had enough of the Troika and Germany.
.....
Automatic Earth on Vaclav Klaus:
Czech President Václav Klaus gives his view in the Telegraph this weekend. Klaus is not my favorite person, he's certainly no Václav Havel, but he provides a few good insights here.
Václav Klaus warns that the destruction of Europe's democracy may be in its final phase
The new push for a European Union federation, complete with its own head of state and army, is the "final phase" of the destruction of democracy and the nation state, the president of the Czech Republic has warned.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Václav Klaus warns that "two-faced" politicians, including the Conservatives, have opened the door to an EU superstate by giving up on democracy, in a flight from accountability and responsibility to their voters. "We need to think about how to restore our statehood and our sovereignty. That is impossible in a federation. The EU should move in an opposite direction," he said.
Last week, Germany, France and nine other of Europe's largest countries called for an end to national vetoes over defence policy as Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, urged the creation of a directly elected EU president "who personally appoints the members of his European government".
Mr Westerwelle, in a reference to British opposition, called for nation states to be stripped of vetoes on defence to "prevent one single member state from being able to obstruct initiatives" which "could eventually involve a European army".
The new offensive followed the unprecedented declaration by the Commission's president, José Manuel Barroso[MAOIST-Costick67], during his "state of union" address to the European Parliament on 12 September, that he would make proposals for a fully-fledged EU "federation" in 2014. "Let's not be afraid of the word," he said.[CULTURAL PURGES COMING SOON-Costick67]
[..] Mr Klaus described Mr Barroso's call for a federation, quickly followed by the German-led intervention, as an important turning point.
"This is the first time he has acknowledged the real ambitions of today's protagonists of a further deepening of European integration. Until today, people, like Mr Barroso, held these ambitions in secret from the European public," he said. "I'm afraid that Barroso has the feeling that the time is right to announce such an absolutely wrong development. "They think they are finalising the concept of Europe, but in my understanding they are destroying it." [..]
"When it comes to the political elites at the top of the countries, it is true, I am isolated," he said. "Especially after our Communist experience, we know, very strongly and possibly more than people in Western Europe, that the process of democracy is more important than the outcome". [..]
In his book, Europe: The Shattering of Illusions, to be published by Bloomsbury on Thursday, Mr Klaus makes the case that the EU has evolved into its current form because political leaders have found it convenient to turn away from their nation states, where voters have historically been able to hold them to account.
"Political elites have always known that the shift in decision-making from the national to the supranational level weakens the traditional democratic mechanisms (that are inseparable from the existence of the nation state), and this increases their power in a radical way. That is why they wanted this shift so badly in the past, and that is why they want it today," he writes.
"The authors of the concept of European integration managed to short circuit the minds of the people, making a link between Hitler's aggressive nationalism (nationalism of a totally negative type) and the traditional nation state, calling into question the existence of nation states in general. Of the many fatal mistakes and lies that have always underpinned the evolution of the EU, this is one of the worst."
of the EU aresinging the same enslavement song. I just
saw the EU parliament, or some such sh*t, listening to
Mario Draghi lie through his teeth, and hardly anybody
could raise even a fart-sized stink about the
continuation of "Let's Save a Bank".
One lady did say something about the fact that Draghi's unit,
the Draghi-net
doesn't have any women on it.
Feminists on the front lines!
One French MEP,Coullard said
"while you're at it,
"while you're at it,
they don't have to be from Goldman Sachs, either"
Nice zinger, chicky. But there's more at play here than
zinging the petty potentate of the Bankocracy.
Draghi looked at her, with his crooked smile
(a sign of mental illness) and said nothing.
let's cut to another chunk of the show:
So, when there are national leaders anywhere, esp. in the EU,
who are giving this system a swift kick in the arse, I'm
immediately interested.
Vaclav Klaus is the Prez of the Czechs. I thought he was a
curmudgeon, but that was before the crisis . Now, he's
about the wisest guy around. Check his pontifications
below and also Viktor Orban, the PM of Hungary.
But first, I need to give a slap to Mush/Mish Shedlock.
He is pissed off about the Far Right in Greece, Golden
Dawn, and what they are doing. However, this is what
happens, Mish, when none of the elected politicians
have the guts to stand up to the Banker Putsch, which
Mish hasn't been loud enough in his criticism of. Take
for e.g. taxing rich people and banks. Mish is against
that. Well, bring on the fasicsts, Mish. They'll fix things .
checkit:
First Mish, then Vaclav. You decide
Mish [3rd paragraph kinda makes GD look good. Troika ever fed anyone?]:
“They went round the villages saying that if they got into parliament they’d call for every immigrant to be deported,” says Panos Damalos, an activist with Anti-Racist Initiative, an immigrant support group.“There is no such person as a legal immigrant,” says Mr Kassidiaris, a former Greek army commando whose approval rating soared after he slapped a female Communist parliamentary candidate on a breakfast television talk-show.
Yet Golden Dawn has also tried to build an image of social responsibility, through regular food distributions to needy Greeks registered with the party and by providing a service to accompany pensioners to the bank in neighbourhoods where muggings – which they blame on immigrants – are frequent. [FT newspaper]
Maria Tsalpatura, a 75-year-old retired schoolteacher, says she calls Golden Dawn every month before she goes to collect her pension. “They come on time and they’re very polite, I think they offer a real service,” she says.
This cannot possibly end well, whether or not Greece gets a time extension.
Policies have driven Greece straight into the hands of extreme radicals on the right and left, both of which have had enough of the Troika and Germany.
.....
Automatic Earth on Vaclav Klaus:
Czech President Václav Klaus gives his view in the Telegraph this weekend. Klaus is not my favorite person, he's certainly no Václav Havel, but he provides a few good insights here.
Václav Klaus warns that the destruction of Europe's democracy may be in its final phase
The new push for a European Union federation, complete with its own head of state and army, is the "final phase" of the destruction of democracy and the nation state, the president of the Czech Republic has warned.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Václav Klaus warns that "two-faced" politicians, including the Conservatives, have opened the door to an EU superstate by giving up on democracy, in a flight from accountability and responsibility to their voters. "We need to think about how to restore our statehood and our sovereignty. That is impossible in a federation. The EU should move in an opposite direction," he said.
Last week, Germany, France and nine other of Europe's largest countries called for an end to national vetoes over defence policy as Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, urged the creation of a directly elected EU president "who personally appoints the members of his European government".
Mr Westerwelle, in a reference to British opposition, called for nation states to be stripped of vetoes on defence to "prevent one single member state from being able to obstruct initiatives" which "could eventually involve a European army".
The new offensive followed the unprecedented declaration by the Commission's president, José Manuel Barroso[MAOIST-Costick67], during his "state of union" address to the European Parliament on 12 September, that he would make proposals for a fully-fledged EU "federation" in 2014. "Let's not be afraid of the word," he said.[CULTURAL PURGES COMING SOON-Costick67]
[..] Mr Klaus described Mr Barroso's call for a federation, quickly followed by the German-led intervention, as an important turning point.
"This is the first time he has acknowledged the real ambitions of today's protagonists of a further deepening of European integration. Until today, people, like Mr Barroso, held these ambitions in secret from the European public," he said. "I'm afraid that Barroso has the feeling that the time is right to announce such an absolutely wrong development. "They think they are finalising the concept of Europe, but in my understanding they are destroying it." [..]
"When it comes to the political elites at the top of the countries, it is true, I am isolated," he said. "Especially after our Communist experience, we know, very strongly and possibly more than people in Western Europe, that the process of democracy is more important than the outcome". [..]
In his book, Europe: The Shattering of Illusions, to be published by Bloomsbury on Thursday, Mr Klaus makes the case that the EU has evolved into its current form because political leaders have found it convenient to turn away from their nation states, where voters have historically been able to hold them to account.
"Political elites have always known that the shift in decision-making from the national to the supranational level weakens the traditional democratic mechanisms (that are inseparable from the existence of the nation state), and this increases their power in a radical way. That is why they wanted this shift so badly in the past, and that is why they want it today," he writes.
"The authors of the concept of European integration managed to short circuit the minds of the people, making a link between Hitler's aggressive nationalism (nationalism of a totally negative type) and the traditional nation state, calling into question the existence of nation states in general. Of the many fatal mistakes and lies that have always underpinned the evolution of the EU, this is one of the worst."
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