Art and Anarchism

A Global Currency Coming Faster Than You Think!

2009-12-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

The tuth 73 trillion...

2009-12-14T05:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a while.... Look the truth!

The end to what we know...

2009-08-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Cycles&PatternProjections809

Joker

2009-08-17T20:27:00.001-07:00

We are FUCKED.... sorry blame the banksters

2009-08-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

NH Senator Refuses to Meet with Constituents

2009-08-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

Town Hall discussions around the country have not been going very well for politicians. New Hampshire is no exception. See what happened when OTN went to ask a few tough questions to US Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

FACE OFF!

2009-08-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Fed + Bank = :( taxpayers

2009-07-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Thar crazy FED!

2009-07-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Oh boy! Ben does it again... where does he come up with it!

Look what the army has... big dog

2009-07-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Murray N. Rothbard on the Federal Reserve

2009-07-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

I hate goldman sachs...

2009-07-16T15:33:00.001-07:00

End the FED!

2009-07-15T00:58:00.000-07:00

Anti-internet SCUM

2009-07-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Rockefellers bills introduced in the Senate — known as the of 2009 (Senate bills No. 773 and 778) — would create yet another government bureaucracy, the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor. It would report directly to Obama. Rockefellers legislation would grant the Secretary of Commerce access to all privately owned information networks deemed to be critical to the nations infrastructure without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access
Oh yes it seem some people do not like the free flow of ideas on the internet. Get ready to fight for your internet rights!!!

Swine Flu and you!

2009-07-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Obama-Aid

2009-07-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

Don't drink his Kool-Aid!!!

Unprecedented surveillance over Internet...

2009-07-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

We live in a strange world when US citizens have to go to Russia to get good news!!!

Inflation & the dollar....

2009-07-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

Obama and eugenics....

2009-06-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Bond manipulation......

2009-06-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Obama the disappointment...

2009-06-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

Economist Paul Craig Roberts speaks the truth...

Inflation Is A Sinister Beast

2009-06-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Jim Rogers & hyper inflation.

2009-06-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

Theodore Kaczynski what a guy....

2009-06-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

Wake up and smell the inflation!!!!!!

2009-06-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

We are in for a bumpy ride folks get your guns and gold!

Gerald Celente on Wall Street...

2009-06-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

CRAZY ECONOMICS NUMBERS

2009-05-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Alex Jones & company...

2009-05-27T23:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a drawing I did of Mr. Jones doing what he does best! I also did a drawing of Mr. Bernanke doing what he does best...

Are you a terrorist???

2009-05-26T11:37:00.001-07:00

Ron Paul says it like it is....

2009-05-21T11:31:00.001-07:00

WTF!?!? Has the FED lost its shit...

2009-05-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Robot Wars - The future of automated warfare

2009-05-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Maps of Meaning: part 1

2009-05-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

Argentina's Economic Collapse

2009-04-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Documentary on the events that led to the economic collapse of Argentina in 2001 which wiped out the middle class and raised the level of poverty to 57.5%. Central to the collapse was the implementation of neo-liberal policies which enabled the swindle of billions of dollars by foreign banks and corporations. Many of Argentina's assets and resources were shamefully plundered. Its financial system was even used for money laundering by Citibank, Credit Suisse, and JP Morgan. The net result was massive wealth transfers and the impoverishment of society which culminated in many deaths due to oppression and malnutrition.

Z-Movement ???

2009-04-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

New French rEVOLution

2009-04-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

WALL Street: JUMP!

2009-04-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

You can't stop the pirates!

2009-04-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

HR 1207

2009-04-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Detroit:: Ground Zero for Economic Collapse

2009-04-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Copy wrong.....

2009-04-15T21:21:00.001-07:00

Banking on the world bank....

2009-04-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Detroit- can you survive?

2009-04-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Obama = Bush (Wake UP!)

2009-04-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

The banksters....

2009-04-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

LaRouche Report

2009-04-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Pensions gone bust

2009-04-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Federal Reserve Bank History-IN ONLY 10 MIN

2009-03-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

Life Without TV

2009-03-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

He sure said it.... kill your TV!

Max Keiser on bankers’ bonuses and gold standards

2009-03-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Making Sense of the Geithner Plan

2009-03-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/03/geithnerconomy_redux.html

Making Sense of the Geithner Plan
Umair Haque

Thought my Geithnerconomy post was over the top? Let's do a reality check. Here's the score, just three days in: the Geithner plan is morally bankrupt, economically toxic, and ethically questionable.

1) Banks are already gaming the plan.

2) Why? Because Geithner has just written a put option.

3) Using your money.

4) Will the government sell you a put option? Nope, you're not rich enough. Only hedge funds are eligible. It is a transfer of wealth from you...to the guys that need it least.

5) That's not economic democracy. It's economic feudalism: the heart of a new cold war.

Sound harsh? Joe Stiglitz, one of my idols, is even more direct: he calls it robbery.

6) How did the robbery go down? Wasn't the plan cooked up by Nobel-prize winning economists, IMF dudes, civil servants, Tim Geithner, Barack Obama, and other relatively impartial folks?

Lulz. Not a chance: The Geithner plan was designed by the world's most important banker, the world's most powerful equity investor, and the world's biggest bond investor.

If you think what I'm writing sounds like sci-fi, try that on for size. Whose idea was the "government" bailout plan? Why, it was the idea of the three most significant players in the financial markets.

Robbery, indeed. If you're under the age of 30, your future just got mortgaged.

Like I said before, it is a weapon of economic, political, and social mass destruction. The outlines of that should be much clearer now — just three days in, the cure is already promising to be worse than the disease.

It is economics 1.0: two step backward, instead of one step forward.

7) Barack Obama let this go down, and his political capital will be sapped by it. Rightly so, because it's poor management, and terrible leadership.

NB — Yes, the assumptions in the quant analysis linked to are questionable. But the basic logic still holds. And read TPM, because it's awesome.

Brown gets it...

2009-03-26T20:57:00.001-07:00

Big Brother and copyright laws...

2009-03-26T13:44:00.001-07:00

Ron Paul and Marijuana...

2009-03-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

Go Max Go!!!!!

2009-03-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Obama???

2009-03-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era

2009-03-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Once the embodiment of prosperity, the United States now finds itself in a precarious position. With its financial system in shambles and global standing on the wane, many believe we are witnessing the end of the American era. In When Giants Fall, author Michael Panzner puts the coming age of post-American dominance in perspective, and addresses the far-reaching effects it will have on our lives, as well as the economic opportunities that will arise from it.

eastern europe is in chaos...

2009-03-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

Don't get mad get even with these central bankers...

debt debt and more debt

2009-01-30T00:28:00.000-08:00

I hate Glenn Beck but he is right about this one....

Max Keiser.... the shit is fucked

2009-01-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Student loan debt.... sigh

2009-01-21T22:59:00.000-08:00

self portrait it speaks the truth...

Max Keiser....

2009-01-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

I O U S A

2009-01-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

Click To Play

The Oracle with Max Keiser...

2009-01-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

hmmmmmm.....

2009-01-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

I am not one for UFO phenomenon, I usually take in info that can be verifiable to some degree. This documentary is very interesting though.....

website....

2008-12-25T05:34:00.000-08:00

I just put up my website.....
www.misterbeaudry.com

Central planning in a Free$Market...

2008-12-14T02:35:00.000-08:00

Red Alert: Gold Backwardation!!!

2008-12-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

Red Alert: Gold Backwardation!!!
by Antal E. Fekete

December 2, 2008, was a landmark in the saga of the collapsing international monetary system, yet it did not deserve to be reported in the press: gold went to backwardation for the first time ever in history. The facts are as follows: on December 2nd, at the Comex in New York, December gold futures (last delivery: December 31) were quoted at 1.98% discount to spot, while February gold futures (last delivery: February 27, 2009) were quoted at 0.14% discount to spot. (All percentages annualized.) The condition got worse on December 3rd, when the corresponding figures were 2% and 0.29%. This means that the gold basis has turned negative, and the condition of backwardation persisted for at least 48 hours. I am writing this in the wee hours of December 4th, when trading of gold futures has not yet started in New York.

According to the December 3rd Comex delivery report, there are 11,759 notices to take delivery. This represents 1.1759 million ounces of gold, while the Comex-approved warehouses hold 2.9 million ounces. Thus 40% of the total amount will have to be delivered by December 31st. Since not all the gold in the warehouses is available for delivery, Comex supply of gold falls far short of the demand at present rates. Futures markets in gold are breaking down. Paper gold is progressively being discredited.

Already there was a slight backwardation in gold at the expiry of a previous active contract month, but it never spilled over to the next active contract month, as it does now: backwardation in the December contract is spilling over to the February contract which at last reading was 0.36%. Silver is also in backwardation, with the discount on silver futures being about twice that on gold futures.

As those who attended my seminar on the gold basis in Canberra last month know, the gold basis is a pristine, incorruptible measure of trust, or the lack of it in case it turns negative, in paper money. Of course, it is too early to say whether gold has gone to permanent backwardation, or whether the condition will rectify itself (it probably will). Be that as it may, it does not matter. The fact that it has happened is the coup de grâce for the regime of irredeemable currency. It will bleed to death, maybe rather slowly, even if no other hits, blows, or shocks are dealt to the system. Very few people realize what is going on and, of course, official sources and the news media won't be helpful to them to explain the significance of all this. I am trying to be helpful to the discriminating reader.

Gold going to permanent backwardation means that gold is no longer for sale at any price, whether it is quoted in dollars, yens, euros, or Swiss francs. The situation is exactly the same as it has been for years: gold is not for sale at any price quoted in Zimbabwe currency, however high the quote is. To put it differently, all offers to sell gold are being withdrawn, whether it concerns newly mined gold, scrap gold, bullion gold or coined gold. I dubbed this event that has cast its long shadow forward for many a year, the last contango in Washington -- contango being the name for the condition opposite to backwardation (namely, that of a positive basis), and Washington being the city where the Paper-mill of the Potomac, the Federal Reserve Board, is located. This is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that the jig in Washington is up. The music has stopped on the players of 'musical chairs'. Those who have no gold in hand are out of luck. They won't get it now through the regular channels. If they want it, they will have to go to the black market.

I founded Gold Standard University Live (GSUL) two years ago and dedicated it to research of monetary issues that are pointedly ignored by universities, government think-tanks, and the financial press, centered around the question of long-term viability of the regime of irredeemable currency. Historical experiments with that type of currency were many but all of them, without exception, have ended in ignominious failure accompanied with great economic pain, unless the experiment was called off in good time and the authorities returned to monetary rectitude, that is, to a metallic monetary standard. It is also worth pointing out that the present experiment is unique in that all countries of the world indulge in it. Not one country is on a metallic monetary standard, under which the Treasury and the Central Bank are subject to the same contract law as ordinary citizens. They cannot issue irredeemable promises to pay and keep them in monetary circulation through a conspiracy known as check-kiting. Not one country will be spared from the fire and brimstone that once rained on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a punishment of God for immoral behavior.

In all previous episodes there were some countries around that did not listen to the siren song and stayed on the gold standard. They could give a helping hand to the deviant ones, thus limiting economic pain. Today there are no such countries. If you want to be saved, you must be prepared to save yourself.

You cannot understand the process whereby a fiat money system self-destructs without understanding the gold and silver basis. The Quantity Theory of Money does not provide an explanation, because deflation may well precede hyperinflation, as it appears to be the case right now.

For these reasons I placed the study of the gold and silver basis on the top of the list of research topics for GSUL. These can serve as an early warning system that will signal the beginning of the end. The end is approaching with the inevitability of the climax in a Greek tragedy, as the heroes and heroines are drawn to their own destruction. The present reactionary experiment with paper money is entering its death-throes. GSUL has had five sessions and could have established itself as an important, and even the only, source of information about this cataclysmic event: the confrontation of the Titanic (representing the international monetary system) with the iceberg (representing gold and its vanishing basis) as the latter is emerging from the fog too late to avoid collision.

Unfortunately, this was not meant to be: GSUL has to terminate its operations due to a decision made by Mr. Eric Sprott, of Sprott Asset Management, to terminate sponsoring GSUL, saying that "results do not justify the expense."

I sincerely regret that our activities did not live up to the expectations of Mr. Sprott, but I am very proud of the fact that our research is still the only source of information on the vanishing gold basis and its corollary, the seizing up of the paper money system that threatens the world, as it does, with a Great Depression eclipsing that of the 1930's.

Let me summarize the salient points of discussion during the last two sessions of GSUL for the benefit of those who wanted to attend but couldn't. The gold basis is the difference between the futures and the cash price of gold. More precisely it is the price of the nearby active futures contract in the gold futures market minus the cash price of physical gold in the spot market. Historically it has been positive ever since gold futures trading started at the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange in 1972 (except for some rare hiccups at the triple-witching hour. Such deviations have been called 'logistical' in nature, having to do with the simultaneous expiry of gold futures and the put and call option contracts on them. In all these instances the anomaly of a negative basis resolved itself in a matter of a few hours.)

In the commodity futures markets the terminus technicus for a positive basis is contango; that for a negative one, backwardation. Contango implies the existence of a healthy supply of the commodity in the warehouses available for immediate delivery, while backwardation implies shortages and conjures up the scraping of the bottom of the barrel. The basis is limited on the upside by the carrying charges; but there is no limit on the downside as it can fall to any negative value (meaning that the cash price may exceed the futures price by any amount, however large).

Contango whereby the futures price of gold is quoted at a premium to the spot price is the normal condition for the gold market, and for a very good reason, too. The supply of monetary gold in the world is very large relatively speaking. Babbling about the 'scarcity of gold' reflects the opinion of uninformed or badly informed people. In terms of the ratio of stocks to flows the supply of gold is far and away greater than that of any commodity. Silver is second only to gold. It is this fact that makes the two of them the only monetary metals. The impact on the gold price of a discovery of an extremely rich gold field, or the coming on stream of an extremely rich gold mine, is minimal -- in view of the large existing stocks. Paradoxically, what makes gold valuable is not its scarcity but its relative abundance, which evokes that superb confidence in the steadiness of the value of gold that will not be decreased by a banner production year, nor can it be increased by withdrawing gold coins from circulation. For this reason there is no better fly-wheel regulator for the value of currency than gold. The same goes, albeit to a lesser degree, for silver.

Here is the fundamental difference between the monetary metal, gold, and other commodities. Backwardation will pull in stocks from the moon as it were, if need be. The cure for the backwardation of any commodity is more backwardation. For gold, there is no cure. Backwardation in gold is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon: it is a reminder of the incurable pathology of paper money. It dramatizes the decay of the regime of irredeemable currency. It can only get worse. As confidence in the value of fiat money is a fragile thing, it will not get better. It depicts the paper dollar as Humpty Dumpty who sat on a wall and had a great fall and, now, "all the king's horses and all the king's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again." To paraphrase a proverb, give paper currency a bad name, you might as well scrap it.

Once entrenched, backwardation in gold means that the cancer of the dollar has reached its terminal stages. The progressively evaporating trust in the value of the irredeemable dollar can no longer be stopped.

Negative basis (backwardation) means that people controlling the supply of monetary gold cannot be persuaded to part with it, regardless of the bait. These people are no speculators. They are neither Scrooges nor Shylocks. They are highly capable businessmen with a conservative frame of mind. They are determined to preserve their capital come hell or high water, for saner times, so they can re-deploy it under a saner government and a saner monetary system. Their instrument is the ownership of monetary gold. They blithely ignore the siren song promising risk-free profits. Indeed, they could sell their physical gold in the spot market and buy it back at a discount in the futures market for delivery in 30 days. In any other commodity, traders controlling supply would jump at the opportunity. The lure of risk-free profits would be irresistible. Not so in the case of gold. Owners refuse to be coaxed out of their gold holdings, however large the bait may be. Why?

Well, they don't believe that the physical gold will be there and available for delivery in 30 days' time. They don't want to be stuck with paper gold, which is useless for their purposes of capital preservation.

December 2 is a landmark, because before that date the monetary system could have been saved by opening the U.S. Mint to gold. Now, given the fact of gold backwardation, it is too late. The last chance to avoid disaster has been missed. The proverbial last straw has broken the back of the camel.

I have often been told that the U.S. Mint is already open to gold, witness the Eagle and Buffalo gold coins. But these issues were neither unlimited, nor were they coined free of seigniorage. They were sold at a premium over bullion content. They were a red herring, dropped to make people believe that gold coins can always be obtained from the U.S. Mint, and from other government mints of the world. However, as the experience of the past two or three months shows, one mint after another stopped taking orders for gold coins and suspended their gold operations. The reason is that the flow of gold to the mints has become erratic. It may dry up altogether. This shows that the foreboding has been evoked by the looming gold backwardation, way ahead of the event. Now the truth is out: you can no longer coax gold out of hiding with paper profits.

If the governments of the great trading nations had really wanted to save the world from a catastrophic collapse of world trade, then they should have opened their mints to gold. Now gold backwardation has caught up with us and shut down the free flow of gold in the system. This will have catastrophic consequences. Few people realize that the shutting down of the gold trade, which is what is happening, means the shutting down of world trade. This is a financial earthquake measuring ten on the Greenspan scale, with epicenter at the Comex in New York, where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood. It is no exaggeration to say that this event will trigger a tsunami wiping out the prosperity of the world.

References:
By the same author:

The Rise and Fall of the Gold Basis, June 23, 2006
Monetary and Non-Monetary Commodities, June 25, 2006
The Last Contango in Washington, June 30, 2006
Gold, Interest, Basis, March,7, 2007
Gold Vanishing into private Hoards, May 31, 2007
Opening the Mint to Gold and Silver, February 5, 2008

These and other articles of the author can be accessed at the website
www.professorfekete.com

Note: the author is coming out with a follow-up piece:
Has the Curtain Fallen on the Last Contango in Washington?
Stay tuned.

Detroit Home sweet home!

2008-11-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

Vaccine Nation

2008-10-30T02:49:00.000-07:00

60 Minutes: Credit derivatives!

2008-10-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

Finally a mainstream media outlet has told the truth about the real problem of the economy.... DERIVATIVES!!!!!!! But of course, they have really white washed the problem. There is over 1,000,000,000,000,000$ in derivatives thats right over 1,000 trillion dollars!!!! The GDP of the world is around 45-65 trillion a year.... does anyone see a problem!
Oh but poor Alan Greenspan and Wall Street could not see the dangers of this... Even though history has shown clearly what it leads too...
Guess what.. the whole finical system has now built its foundation on these bad "bets" it can not pay off!!!!! Thats why the bail out will not solve anything.It is literally equal to PENNIES against a THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!
WAKE UP... please

Alan Moore! (video)

2008-10-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

hedge fund manager goodbye and f... you

2008-10-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

This is a great letter by Andrew Lahde!

Hedge Fund Manager: Goodbye and F---- You

From the Scorched Earth Files:

Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.

Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy.

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/10/17/hedge-fund-manager-goodbye-and-f-you

The bubbly bail out...

2008-10-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

Cathrine Austin Fitts is the former head of HUD and a leading investor. She breaks down the housing bubble, the bail out, and investment fraud. Put your seat belts on kids!

Adam Curtis- The Living Dead 2/3

2008-10-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

The second part of Adam Curtis's documentary "Living Dead"

Nazi's & Halloween parties!

2008-10-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

Here you guys go a great documentary from Adam Curtis... Great stuff!
I also finished up a poster for Tantra's Halloween BASH!

BBC Newsnight - The Theft of 2008

2008-10-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Mr. Palast does it again!

U.S. Army prepares to invade U.S.

2008-10-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.

Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.

Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.

It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help at home. In August 2005, for example, when Hurricane Katrina unleashed hell in Mississippi and Louisiana, several active-duty units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas.

But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.

After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one.

“Right now, the response force requirement will be an enduring mission. How the [Defense Department] chooses to source that and whether or not they continue to assign them to NorthCom, that could change in the future,” said Army Col. Louis Vogler, chief of NorthCom future operations. “Now, the plan is to assign a force every year.”

The command is at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., but the soldiers with 1st BCT, who returned in April after 15 months in Iraq, will operate out of their home post at Fort Stewart, Ga., where they’ll be able to go to school, spend time with their families and train for their new homeland mission as well as the counterinsurgency mission in the war zones.

Stop-loss will not be in effect, so soldiers will be able to leave the Army or move to new assignments during the mission, and the operational tempo will be variable.

Don’t look for any extra time off, though. The at-home mission does not take the place of scheduled combat-zone deployments and will take place during the so-called dwell time a unit gets to reset and regenerate after a deployment.

The 1st of the 3rd is still scheduled to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan in early 2010, which means the soldiers will have been home a minimum of 20 months by the time they ship out.

In the meantime, they’ll learn new skills, use some of the ones they acquired in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing any of it.

They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.

Training for homeland scenarios has already begun at Fort Stewart and includes specialty tasks such as knowing how to use the “jaws of life” to extract a person from a mangled vehicle; extra medical training for a CBRNE incident; and working with U.S. Forestry Service experts on how to go in with chainsaws and cut and clear trees to clear a road or area.

The 1st BCT’s soldiers also will learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.

The package is for use only in war-zone operations, not for any domestic purpose.

“It’s a new modular package of nonlethal capabilities that they’re fielding. They’ve been using pieces of it in Iraq, but this is the first time that these modules were consolidated and this package fielded, and because of this mission we’re undertaking we were the first to get it.”

The package includes equipment to stand up a hasty road block; spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and, beanbag bullets.

“I was the first guy in the brigade to get Tasered,” said Cloutier, describing the experience as “your worst muscle cramp ever — times 10 throughout your whole body.

“I’m not a small guy, I weigh 230 pounds ... it put me on my knees in seconds.”

The brigade will not change its name, but the force will be known for the next year as a CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced “sea-smurf”).

“I can’t think of a more noble mission than this,” said Cloutier, who took command in July. “We’ve been all over the world during this time of conflict, but now our mission is to take care of citizens at home ... and depending on where an event occurred, you’re going home to take care of your home town, your loved ones.”

While soldiers’ combat training is applicable, he said, some nuances don’t apply.

“If we go in, we’re going in to help American citizens on American soil, to save lives, provide critical life support, help clear debris, restore normalcy and support whatever local agencies need us to do, so it’s kind of a different role,” said Cloutier, who, as the division operations officer on the last rotation, learned of the homeland mission a few months ago while they were still in Iraq.

Some brigade elements will be on call around the clock, during which time they’ll do their regular marksmanship, gunnery and other deployment training. That’s because the unit will continue to train and reset for the next deployment, even as it serves in its CCMRF mission.

Should personnel be needed at an earthquake in California, for example, all or part of the brigade could be scrambled there, depending on the extent of the need and the specialties involved.
Other branches included

The active Army’s new dwell-time mission is part of a NorthCom and DOD response package.

Active-duty soldiers will be part of a force that includes elements from other military branches and dedicated National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Teams.

A final mission rehearsal exercise is scheduled for mid-September at Fort Stewart and will be run by Joint Task Force Civil Support, a unit based out of Fort Monroe, Va., that will coordinate and evaluate the interservice event.

In addition to 1st BCT, other Army units will take part in the two-week training exercise, including elements of the 1st Medical Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas, and the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Bragg, N.C.

There also will be Air Force engineer and medical units, the Marine Corps Chemical, Biological Initial Reaction Force, a Navy weather team and members of the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

One of the things Vogler said they’ll be looking at is communications capabilities between the services.

“It is a concern, and we’re trying to check that and one of the ways we do that is by having these sorts of exercises. Leading up to this, we are going to rehearse and set up some of the communications systems to make sure we have interoperability,” he said.

“I don’t know what America’s overall plan is — I just know that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that are standing by to come and help if they’re called,” Cloutier said. “It makes me feel good as an American to know that my country has dedicated a force to come in and help the people at home.”

———

Zeitgeist:: Addendum (New Movie)

2008-10-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

This film is more important then the first Zeitgeist, especially with the "Bail-Out".

More artsy crap....

2008-09-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

Another drawing its small about 9 by 5 1/2 inches...

Bill Cooper

2008-09-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

Be skeptical but his story is very interesting....
William (Bill) Cooper was a former naval officer, decorated veteran, short wave radio broadcaster and world renound lecturer and author, he was shot and killed November 5th 2001 under suspicious circumstances. This is his story.

Steven Pinker: The Language Instinct

2008-09-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

The linguist S.I. Hiyakawa observed that the last thing fish would think to study would be water; as we increasingly live in a world where words impinge on our every moment of consciousness, unpacking language helps us all understand the way it reveals and shapes our mental worlds. It also helps us understand what is not up for debate, and one of Pinker's most compelling themes is the universal community of human minds revealed by language commonalities. Pinker's philosophy of language somehow makes me feel both that language reveals individual creative genius (often in unexpected speakers) and a central set of commonalities among all human minds.

Kevin Phillips: The Crisis Of American Capitalism

2008-09-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Its Crazy out there!

Joseph Campbell

2008-09-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

Fucking amazing....
Joseph Campbell is my hero!!!

A Mythic Journey with Joseph Campbell, Joseph Campbell travels the world to track the mythological symbols lefts to us by the ancients. Primal mythological signs and images evoke strong emotions and serve as a sort of public dream, according to Campbell. Campbell reasons that dreams are private myths. In the program, he suggests that each person must find a dream and follow it through -- he goes on to explain that each dream will lead the dreamer to the myth world in which they spiritually dwell. In an attempt to show people that the human soul has always walked the same path in search of true bliss, Campbell gazes through the mist of the Bronze age, explores Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity, and investigates the mysteries of the ruins of Ajanta in India, Delphi in Greece, and Stonehenge in England

New ART!

2008-09-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

Part of a series I am working on
Pen, ink, and gold paint on bristol.
The quarter is for scale, these pieces are really tiny!

Magical Egypt ... The Temple in Man

2008-09-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

What the BLEEP! ....more Quantum Mechanics

2008-09-14T01:18:00.000-07:00

The Scientists, Mystics and Scholars Interviews herein were chosen based on the expertise in the subjects which they discussed. They do not necessarily agree with all viewpoints put forth in the film. Likewise the filmmakers may not agree with all the viewpoints put forth by the interviewees. Agreement is not necessary - thinking for one's self is.

Inflatable Vaginas and Quantum Mechanics...

2008-09-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

I think the title says it all.....

Let's party like its 1984!

2008-09-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

Black Swan

2008-09-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

I just got my internet hooked up to my new place!
More to come!!!

Free the West Memphis Three!

2008-08-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley - also known as the West Memphis Three -- were teenagers when they were wrongfully convicted in 1994 of the murders of three children in West Memphis Arkansas. As highlighted in the landmark HBO Documentary "Paradise Lost," the investigation of these murders and subsequent arrests and trials were tragically mishandled, and amounted to little more than a witch hunt. To date, not one piece of substantial evidence, physical or otherwise, has connected the three men to the crime.

Now, after spending 15 years in prison, new DNA and forensic evidence has proven the innocence of the West Memphis Three.

This 20-minute video explores the new evidence in the case and gives Damien Echols a chance to speak in his own defense. Compiled from new defense and expert testimony, an interview with Echols on Larry King Live, and footage from '"Paradise Lost," 'West Memphis Three: Time For Truth" explores the latest chapter in this harrowing miscarriage of American justice, and leaves you aching to get involved.

"This is the most powerful and comprehensive visual representation of this very complicated story that we have seen to date. We only wish we could condense the facts so effectively." - Dennis Riordan and Don Horgan, Lead Counsels for Damien Echols

Please go to there website below and get involved!

http://www.wm3.org/live/newsevents/index.php

Marshall McLuhan and Media

2008-08-23T09:05:00.001-07:00

Marshall McLuhan is more relevant now then ever!

We all get fucked!

2008-08-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Its the truth!

The internet!!!!!

2008-08-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

I must say this video is amazing!

Brothers Quay: Street of Crocodiles

2008-08-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Codex Alimentarius

2008-08-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Codex Alimentarius is an attempt to overturn existing US laws in favor of pharma-friendly international trade rules. Codex is a threat to human health, human rights, democracy and national sovereignty.

Magical Egypt - The Invisible Science

2008-08-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

The Magical Egypt series is the bearer of a new (actually old) interpretation of the mysteries of Ancient Egypt - a symbolist interpretation that finds rich, substantive meaning in the very architecture and surviving works of art of the ancient Egyptian culture. The series is the brainchild of John Anthony West.

NAFTA on Crack!

2008-08-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Wake up we are being gutted by the foreign interests!!!!
We must educate our selfs and then others.... its now or never people.

Super Amazing....

2008-08-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

The new short film by Blu: an ambiguous animation painted on public walls.
Made in Buenos Aires and in Baden

A post of horror.....

2008-08-05T22:31:00.000-07:00