The “Best Quotes of February 2009″…

Doug Casey, Casey Research

America, which is basically an idea, a concept, is dead and gone. The United States is just another of 200 awful little nation-states that have spread across the face of the earth like a skin disease. There’s no longer any difference that I can tell between the U.S. and any other country.

There is no real haven for freedom in the world today. The best you can do is go where the governments are so unorganized that they can’t control you effectively. That’s one reason I like to spend time in Argentina. They have an incredibly stupid government, but they’re also very inefficient and ineffective. So it’s wonderful as a place to live. I also spend time in Uruguay, because it’s a tiny little country with no ambitions to conquer the world. The nice thing about New Zealand, where I am now, is that it’s a small country, only 4 million people, lots of open land. It’s got some severe problems, but it’s pleasant. I think the U.S. is going to be the epicenter of a lot of problems in the years to come.

…Europe is going to be hurt much worse than the U.S. Europeans are much more heavily taxed and much more heavily regulated. The average European is much more reliant upon the state psychologically as well as economically. So it’s all over for Europe and this doesn’t even count the problems that they’re going to have in the continuing war against Islam, which are much more serious for Europe than they are for the U.S. So Europe is fated to be nothing but a source of houseboys and maids for the Chinese in the next generation.

Gary Gibson, Whisky & Gunpowder
For the first time in history, currencies everywhere are merely paper…including the world’s reserve currency. The potential…the inevitability…of a worldwide bonfire of these little paper vanities staggers the imagination. The conflagration will be mesmerizing in its size and intensity. You may even find yourself enjoying the view…if you make it a point to be standing far enough away not to be consumed.

Peter Hambro, Peter Hambro Gold
People can see that the only solution to the credit crisis is to devalue all fiat currencies. The job of central bankers is to allow this to happen in an orderly fashion through inflation. I’m afraid it is the only way to avoid disaster, but naturally investors are turning to gold as a form of wealth insurance.

More here…

“Slavery results from laws, laws are made by governments, and, therefore people can only be freed from slavery by the abolition of governments…. And it is time for people to understand that governments not only are not necessary, but are harmful and most highly immoral institutions, in which a self-respecting, honest man cannot and must not take part.”
– Leo Tolstoy – “The Slavery of Our Times” (1900)

Gold and Silver Spot Prices…

…I have pulled the gold and Silver spot price charts and links due to the continuing and expanding disparity between spot and street prices.  There used to be a 10-15% premium over spot to purchase bullion at local retailers.  Now, the premiums are around 50% and rising.

Two interviews have been cited in recent past articles. They are so important, a repeat must be provided in case readers missed them. In a rare event shedding light on the positive side of the gold market, CNBC interviewed Jurg Kiener, CEO of Swiss Asia Capital. He points out the stark contrast of the two markets, paper gold versus physical gold. Kiener expects soon the US ‘gambling price’ gold market in COMEX and LME to eventually default after a titanic battle that began years ago has reached fever pitch. By that he means a return suddenly to physical price determination will come for gold. He concluded that when such an inevitable event occurs, THE GOLD PRICE WILL DOUBLE VERY QUICKLY, LIKE IN DAYS.

More here…

And from a different article…

Why Are People Using Ebay For Pricing Gold?

The reason that investors are turning to alternate reference sources for pricing physical precious metal is that the COMEX futures derived prices for metal are INCONSISTENT with the empirical robust demand story outlined above. In short, the COMEX pricing model appears to be FRAUDULENT, when despite overwhelming demand for the commodity we routinely and increasingly see “ BUYERS STRIKES ” in the futures markets like the one we experienced just this morning in gold and particularly in silver.

More on that, here…

Oh ye’ suckers…

“What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel.” — Frank Adams

Solar Cyle 24… Where Are You???

From Anthony Watts (Watts Up With That):

Solar Cycle 24 just can’t seem to get rolling. IPS announced today (IPS is the Australian Space Weather Agency) , that it has changed its forecast for Solar Cycle 24, pushing it’s start into the future by six months. They write:

Due to the proximity of the IPS predicted rise of solar cycle 24
to observed solar cycle 23 solar minimum values, and the apparent lack of new Cycle 24 sunspots, IPS has again moved the predicted solar cycle away by 6 months.

The announcement came on the IPS web page, today, on the day that two small cycle 23 sunspots have started to appear near the solar  equator. Many had expected more cycle 24 spots to be visible by now, but the sun remains quiet, and has been producing more cycle 23 spots than cycle 24 spots so far since the first cycle 24 spot was seen on January 4th, 2008

More here…

“Carpe diem, quam minimus credula postero. Seize today, and put as little trust as you can in tomorrow.”– Horace – (35 B.C.)

More on Total Equality…

THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal.  They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.

Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April, for instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s
fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away.

It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.

More here…

There is a film coming out, based on this story…

2081

“I can’t live the button-down life like you. I want it all: the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles. Sure, I might offend a few of the bluenoses with my cocky stride and musky odors — oh, I’ll never be the darling of the so-called ‘City Fathers’ who cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and talk about ‘What’s to be done with this Homer Simpson?’” –Homer Simpson

NASCAR Socialism…

There was a time when stock car racers went out there and went head-to-head, in a run-what-ya-brung, winner-take-all, showdown…

No more.  Not for a loooong time.

Like IRL, Major League Baseball, and the NFL, NASCAR has decided to take the low road, instead of the high road. NASCAR subscribed to the socialist route of competition, which is reduce each team to the lowest common denominator. Instead of steadily increasing car performance, we have races running at slower paces and with poor handling cars and miserable tire performance. Drivers and crew chiefs used to make their own decisions about how a car was put together. All they needed to do was hit a specific weight window and engine displacement. The rest was up to them as far as how to maximize it. Now, details are so specific about how a car is put together and how it sits on the track, in the pits, or at the inspection station, that teams and drivers are regularly penalized for minor infractions.

In addition, the drivers used to be very vocal about the changes and would put NASCAR on the spot when things went from good or bad to worse. Lately (since the end of last year and the beginning of this year), drivers AND race commentators are falling all over themselves to shower NASCAR with praise. It is disgusting.

The latest two fiascos were Indy, where tires were so bad that NASCAR had to implement “competition yellows” every 10-15 laps because of tire wear problems; and Montreal where the forecast was for rain and NASCAR decided to try a FIRST EVER stock car race in the rain. Unfortunately, the teams AND NASCAR were less prepared for running in the rain than they were for the tire debacle at Indy. Teams had trouble putting wipers on cars and making them work. No one knew how to set up a car for rain and had to constantly make adjustments on a track that was unforgiving about pit-stop delays. Goodyear was so unprepared that at the first caution flag after the rain tires went on, they didn’t have enough rain tires mounted up to change the tires on even a majority of the cars. The rain was steady, but not heavy except for few minutes near the end of a shortened race. But drivers couldn’t see. The track had puddling problems that the drivers couldn’t handle. So ultimately, the race had to be called, on account of rain, even thought they were supposed to race in the rain.

What do the drivers, teams and “authorized” sports journalists have to say about all this? “NASCAR is doing a great job!” “NASCAR couldn’t have done anything better!!” NASCAR needs to be congratulated on the way they have handled the problems!!!”

Apparently, the word went out that those criticizing NASCAR would be out on their ass without delay.

Seems to me they are better at handling their propaganda than they are stock car racing. This is going to my last year to devote any major time to NASCAR. Like IRL, Baseball and the NFL, all of which I no longer pay much attention to, NASCAR has lost my respect and will not get anymore of my money.

Tis’ a sad year in sports… Next sport to convert to socialism? Likely as not, Horse Racing. They’re well on their way…

More Money Than You Know What To Do With…

From the Mogambo…

The bartender looks at me and snarls, “You are unhappy when the Federal Reserve creates new money and credit, which increases the money supply, which increases consumer prices and aggregate debt, and that is why you say you drink and come in here to torment the waitresses with your stupid leer and crude innuendo. And now you are unhappy when the Fed DOESN’T increase money and credit, and that is why you are drinking?”

With the little bit of muscle control I had left, I lifted my head up off of the bar and opened one bleary, bloodshot eye to look at him. I decided that he looked stupid, and I was going to tell him so, but I found that my lips  would not move as soon as I tried to say, “Go to hell, you ugly, stupid little troll!”

As my head suddenly collapsed back onto the bar with a thud, my eyes involuntarily opened and I got a good look at the bartender, who was a hell of a lot bigger than I thought! Whew! Even in my semi-conscious and hyper-aggressive alcoholic stupor, I knew that it was a good thing that my lips were paralyzed!

More here…

I try to tell people what is happening. I try to warn my family and friends about the coming collapse. But most are still brainwashed by “publik edukashun” and the puppet show that is network news. I won’t take pride in the inevitable “told you so” that is coming. I only wish I could help more of them understand.

This has been repeated time and again throughout history and it has never ended well.

Who knows,… maybe next time it will be different…. but I doubt it…

“I am one of those who do not believe that a national debt is a national blessing, but rather a curse to a republic; inasmuch as it is calculated to raise around the administration a moneyed aristocracy dangerous to the liberties of the country.”
– President Andrew Jackson – (1824)

“Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to support deficit spending. No private embezzlers or bank robbers in history have ever plundered people’s savings on a scale comparable to the plunder perpetrated by the fiscal policies of statist governments.”
– “Who Will Protect Us From Our Protectors”? The Objectivist Newsletter, May 1952

Oil Pressure…

Congress just had a bunch of oil executives testify before a committee on the high ‘dollar’ price of oil. Amazingly, none of these genius’ could put a finger on the cause.

The Mogambo Guru, on the other hand, would have been able to supply the correct answer in a succinct and to-the-point response…

“…And furthermore, if I had been there at this little inquisition, I could have grabbed the microphone and said, “I’ll gladly answer that question, Senator! The reason that oil costs so much in dollars is that the purchasing power of the dollar has dropped by 40% in 5 lousy years, thanks to you letting the Federal Reserve create so much damned money, you lowlife scumbag! If the dollar still had its buying power, oil would still be $25 a barrel like it was in 2002, but nooOOoooo! You dumb, stupid, ignorant Congressional morons decided to borrow and then spend so insanely much money that the Federal Reserve was required (and only too happy!) to create all the money and credit needed to finance the disgusting orgy of your irresponsible government spending, now totaling $9.4 trillion in national debt, because if the Fed did not create the money, your enormous borrowing needs would have sucked up every freaking dime of savings in the country a dozen times over, driving interest rates through the roof, called the ’squeezing out effect’. That’s why oil costs so much, you ignorant, preening Congressional moron!”

My rude and insulting approach differs from that of Chris Mayer, writing at Agora Financial’s 5-Minute Forecast, who calmly explains, “Since January 2001, you can explain the move in the price of oil largely as a function of increasing money supply. As the amount of money grows, the price of oil rises. In fact, almost 87% of the move in the price of oil can be explained by the increase in money supply.”
More here…

So now the question is, “Are the members of Congress and the oil company executives equally uneducated about the fraud of central banking and fiat currencies….”

“…..Or are they all in on it….”

The problem isn’t oil…

…Oil isn’t the only price that is rapidly rising.

The problem is our money. Monopoly money.

Inflation is the hidden tax you pay when the central bank expands the money supply. Why are they expanding so much right now? Because the people would never be able to pay the taxes necessary to fund the current government operations. It is that simple. They are stealing your wealth and sending it to government contractors. They will pass the Bill onto your children and their children. If you fail to demand a change you are simply selling your children into future slavery to pay for your current government programs.

Make a change.

Do it for your children.

“I sincerely believe… that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” –Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816. ME 15:23

“Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence.” –Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:455, Papers 15:393

“The conclusion then, is, that neither the representatives of a nation, nor the whole nation itself assembled, can validly engage debts beyond what they may pay in their own time.” –Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:457, Papers 15:398n

“[The natural right to be free of the debts of a previous generation is] a salutary curb on the spirit of war and indebtment, which, since the modern theory of the perpetuation of debt, has drenched the earth with blood, and crushed its inhabitants under burdens ever accumulating.” –Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813. ME 13:272

Let Me Get This Straight…

Adrian Burridge reports,

(paraphrased)…The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr. G. Gono, is commending the Central Bankers of the United States and the United Kingdom for following in Zimbabwe’s monetary policy footsteps…

TOO FUNNY!!!

Gono’s first quarter monetary update(PDF), can be found here…

A few quotes:

“1.14 Equally also, our thrust has been founded on our unwavering belief
that extraordinary circumstances must be confronted through extraordinary
interventions and not through half baked or even wholesale 16th century economic
dogmas that have been long discarded in their founding countries.

1.15 As Monetary Authorities, we have been humbled and have taken heart
in the realization that some leading Central Banks, including those in the
USA and the UK, are now not just talking of, but also actually implementing
flexible and pragmatic central bank support programmes where these are deemed
necessary in their National interests.

1.16 That is precisely the path that we began over 4 years ago in pursuit
of our national interest and we have not wavered on that critical path
despite the untold misunderstanding, vilification, and demonization we
have endured from across the political divide.

1.22 Here in Zimbabwe we had our near-bank failures a few years ago and
we responded by providing the affected Banks with the Troubled Bank Fund
(TBF) for which we were heavily criticized even by some multi-lateral institutions
who today are silent when the Central Banks of UK and USA are going the same
way and doing the same thing under very similar circumstances thereby continuing
the unfortunate hypocrisy that what’s good for goose is not good for the
gander.

1.26 As Monetary Authorities, we commend those of our peers, the world over,
who have now seen the light on the need for the adoption of flexible and
practical interventions and support to key sectors of the economy when faced
with unusual circumstances.

1.27 Of course, in the short term such interventions are without doubt inflationary
but in the medium to long-term they trigger and propel economic growth and
development that everyone craves for”.

I’ll remind (or inform) my readers that Zimbabwe is currently experiencing hyper-inflation of more than 100,000%, sustained power outages, food and fuel shortages, and mass terror by the leading governmental faction. According to Adrian, “Later on in the document you learn the unsecured lending rates were raised to 5000% from 4500%. Page 46. Of the 309 registered microfinance/money lending institutions only 184 are still operational. Page 61.”

While I agree with Dr. Gono that the US and the UK have, indeed, embarked down this same path, I cannot agree that “in the medium to long-term they trigger and propel economic growth and development that everyone craves for”. But propaganda is a Reserve Bank Governor’s main tool…

So…

Get ready for similar results here in the “developed world”…

Oh ye’ suckers…

Hehehe….

“Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; …. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” – Frederick Douglass

History Rhymes…

…In this case it rhymes with CNBC of today…

“I see nothing in the present situation that is either menacing or warrants pessimism… I have every confidence that there will be a revival of activity in the spring, and that during this coming year the country will make steady progress.”
- Andrew W. Mellon, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury December 31, 1929

“I am convinced that through these measures we have reestablished confidence.”
- Herbert Hoover, December 1929

“[1930 will be] a splendid employment year.”
- U.S. Dept. of Labor, New Year’s Forecast, December 1929

“For the immediate future, at least, the outlook (stocks) is bright.”
- Irving Fisher, Ph.D. in Economics, in early 1930

“…there are indications that the severest phase of the recession is over…”
- Harvard Economic Society (HES) Jan 18, 1930

“There is nothing in the situation to be disturbed about.”
- Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, Feb 1930

“The spring of 1930 marks the end of a period of grave concern…American business is steadily coming back to a normal level of prosperity.”
- Julius Barnes, head of Hoover’s National Business Survey Conference, Mar 16, 1930

“… the outlook continues favorable…”
- HES Mar 29, 1930

More here…

Oh ye’ suckers…

Chase Bank Doesn’t Honor It’s Own Customers Checks…

…without charging a surcharge.

No lie.

I went to cash a check on a JP Morgan Chase account, at a local JP Morgan Chase Bank, and was told that there was a $5 charge for the privilege of getting the money that is owed me. I am filing a complaint with the owner of the account.

Now the point of checks is so that you can make large purchases (or payments) without carrying around large amounts of cash. The bank makes money off the interest that it acquires by reinvesting your deposits (or so the theory goes). They also make money by charging their own customers various fees. But to subtract from a payment in check form, makes the payment short on fulfillment and thus a broken contract. In this case the broken contract is between the payer and myself but was caused by the payers bank refusing to honor the full amount of the check.

The attitude of the teller was very interesting. When she first informed me that there was a charge, I asked her if I had made a mistake and was the check not drawn on a Chase bank account. She said that she would check (even though it said JP Morgan Chase on the front of the check) and then pulled the account up on the computer. The teller then informed me that it was, in fact, a Chase account but that a $5 charge for payment would still apply. I was short of time to argue with her and let her go ahead and short the check for $5. She told me that I could avoid the charge, IF I would agree to start a “free” account. I told her that, “…No I don’t need another bank account and that the reason that I came here was that this was the bank the check was drawn on.” She had been keeping up a chit-chat conversation with the adjacent teller and didn’t bother to respond to my comment at all.

I urge any people who receive a check drawn on a Chase bank to demand payment in some other form, to avoid being shorted. I also urge those who have Chase accounts (especially commercial customers who could suffer large lawsuits pursuant to failure meet contract obligations) to close them and explain why, so that the bank reconsiders how it should treat it’s own customers, and the customers of it’s customers.

Apparently, I was lucky that I got the majority of MY money at all…

Boycott Chase Bank | A G K Y R A

More Chase horror stories…

Chase Bank HATES Their Customers!

Chase Bank Tries to Pull a Fast One…

Boycott Chase Bank and Learn What Not to Do In Customer Service…

Rip Off Report: JPMorgan Chase Bank ripoff Houston Texas…

Why Chase Bank Sucks…

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” — Thomas Jefferson

“I sincerely believe … that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” — Thomas Jefferson

“You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God, I will rout you out.” — Andrew Jackson: To delegation of bankers discussing the Bank Renewal Bill, 1832