Money is at the root of our current social and economic crisis.

Published on 30 Apr 2012 | 97% Owned by private bankers - Positive Money Cut

To join the campaign to democratise money.
see http://www.positivemoney.org.uk/97per...

When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it's essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked - questions like: where does money come from? Who creates it? Who decides how it gets used? And what does that mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when money and finance breaks down?

97% Owned is a new documentary that reveals how money is at the root of our current social and economic crisis. Featuring frank interviews and commentary from economists, campaigners and former bankers, it exposes the privatised, debt-based monetary system that gives banks the power to create money, shape the economy, cause crises and push house prices out of reach. Fact-based and clearly explained, in just 60 minutes it shows how the power to create money is the piece of the puzzle that economists were missing when they failed to predict the crisis.

Produced by Queuepolitely and featuring Ben Dyson of Positive Money, Josh Ryan-Collins of The New Economics Foundation, Ann Pettifor, the "HBOS Whistleblower" Paul Moore, Simon Dixon of Bank to the Future and Nick Dearden from the Jubliee Debt Campaign, this is the first documentary to tackle this issue from a UK-perspective, and can be watched online now.

Fascism - where Banksters make better money!

The JP Morgan vision for Europe

In May 2013 the US financial giant JP Morgan released a progress report outlining their take on what they call the "Eurozone Adjustment".

The standout passage of this document can be found on page 12, where they explain what they think is wrong with Europe (quoted below). Note there is absolutely no mention of financial instability caused by countless recklessly over-leveraged financial institutions gambling on crap like Spanish property, Irish bank bonds and Greek sovereign debt, and absolutely no talk of financial sector reform either. The JP Morgan narrative adheres very closely to the Great Neoliberal Lie technique, where the real causes of the financial crisis are played down or ignored completely in favour of the misleading narrative that social welfare spending caused the crisis. Here's the section in question:

"The political systems in the periphery [of the Eurozone] were established in the aftermath of dictatorship, and were defined by that experience. Constitutions tend to show a strong socialist influence, reflecting the political strength that left wing parties gained after the defeat of fascism. Political systems around the periphery typically display several of the following features: weak executives; weak central states relative to regions; constitutional protection of labor rights; consensus building systems which foster political clientalism; and the right to protest if unwelcome changes are made to the political status quo. The shortcomings of this political legacy have been revealed by the crisis. Countries around the periphery have only been partially successful in producing fiscal and economic reform agendas, with governments constrained by constitutions (Portugal), powerful regions (Spain), and the rise of populist parties (Italy and Greece)."

So, the problems that JP Morgan have identified in Europe are strong legislatures (or "weak executives" as they put it) strong regional representation, protected labour rights, strong constitutions and political systems that rely in part upon consensus building instead of dictatorship. They also identify the rise of democratic populist parties and the public right to political protest as major impediments to their "Eurozone Adjustment" objectives.

JP Morgan make it absolutely clear that they would like to see European states remodeled with much more powerful, dictatorial and centralised executives, they want to see the destruction of labour rights and they are certainly not keen to allow populist anti-austerity parties or public protest to get in the way of this agenda. 

Essentially what this document demonstrates is that JP Morgan see the decline of European fascism since the 1940s and its replacement with mixed-economy social democracies as a great disappointment, that they are determined to steer Europe back towards fascism and that they are intent on using the financial sector meltdown as an excuse to use the utterly false Great Neoliberal Lie narrative to justify this pro-fascist agenda.

The motivation for a major financial organisation like JP Morgan to promote the fascistic remodeling of Europe should be absolutely obvious. States administered by powerful centralised and dictatorial executives are far more easily influenced by corporate interests than governments constrained by strong legislatures, fair judicial systems, strong regional representation, robust organised labour and popular freedom of protest, all enshrined by a durable constitution.

To put it more simply, a state with a centralised and dictatorial government is far more malleable than a state in which the government must balance the interests of corporate interests with those of organised labour, regional interests and the public at large. If labour rights are eroded, local government weakened and the right to popular protest is curtailed, the enforcement of corporate interests becomes much easier. All the corporations need do is financially coerce (or economically straitjacket) the cetralised executive branch of government in order to gain almost complete power over whole national economies.

Returning to the quoted section of the JP Morgan report, we can clearly see that they do not like consensus building governments that abide by their constitutions and protect civil liberties, in fact they disparage this kind of co-operative approach as "clientalism" [sic] (err I believe they meant clientelism). 

In reality, the general concept of clientelism isn't the problem to JP Morgan at all. The problem is that under the social democratic model, government "clientelism" towards corporate interests is curtailed. The corporate lobby don't want the states of Europe to function as the clients of the general public through strong local democratic government (and the checks and balances offered by a robust legislature), through strong labour organisation, or through the liberty to protest. JP Morgan seem to want the states of Europe to act as exclusive clients of the corporatist agenda. 

Perhaps Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebells
would be proud to know that his big lie technique
is still being used to defend fascism to this day.

In effect, the JP Morgan complaint isn't about clientelism at all, it is a complaint of "wrong-clientelism". It is a complaint that in their view, the states of Europe must not be allowed to act as the client of the public by allowing citizens involvement in economic policy making (through democratic processes, strong labour representation or liberty to protest) because this kind of public interference acts as an impediment to their beloved corporate agenda. JP Morgan would prefer to see the states of Europe act exclusively in the interests of the corporate lobby, and imposing illiberal, anti-democratic or even fascistic socio-economic reforms is an agenda they seem to fully endorse.

It is absolutely obvious why corporate interests like JP Morgan would dearly love to see the rights to to protest and organise labour severely curtailed. By pushing for the the dismantlement of the means of resistance, they can minimalise and marginalise social opposition to the corporatist agenda they wish to see enforced by these corporate client states, no matter how socially or economically harmful or unpopular the corporatist agenda may be to the state in question.

Just in case you think it sounds utterly far fetched that an American financial institution may be attempting to undermine democracy and liberty in Europe in order to impose fascistic regimes more favourable to their commercial interests, just consider the history of JP Morgan themselves. Not only did JP Morgan actively invest in Nazi industry (through the automotive company Opel and other subsidiaries) well into the Second World War, they were also compensated for their losses by the American taxpayer when they were forced to divest (several other American corporations such as Standard Oil maintained their investments in Nazi Germany for several years after the US joined the war against Germany!). Chase Bank (which merged with JP Morgan in 2000) were one of Wall Street's most enthusiastic investors in the Nazi economy, even providing direct assistance to Hitler's Nazi regime in the late 1930s. Chase and JP Morgan were the only two American banks which stayed open in France during the Nazi occupation there. 

JP Morgan has a proven history of collaboration with fascist regimes in Europe. If JP Morgan supported and profited from the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, and suffered no adverse financial consequences for it (even getting a US taxpayer funded tax rebate to cover their losses when they were forced to divest their Nazi assets and first dibs to reacquire their Nazi assets after the war was over), is it any surprise that they favour the imposition of an illiberal and fascistic political agenda on the states of Europe once again?

Since I've strayed onto the topic of the Second World War, I'll finish with a quote often attributed to one of the fascist dictators that JP Morgan seem to be getting nostalgic about; Benito Mussolini.

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."

 source  here>>

MIT's prophesy : Next Great Depression?

MIT study predicting ‘global economic collapse’ by 2030 still on track.

A renowned Australian research scientist says a study from researchers at MIT claiming the world could suffer from a "global economic collapse" and "precipitous population decline" if people continue to consume the world's resources at the current pace is still on track, nearly 40 years after it was first produced.

The Smithsonian Magazine writes that Australian physicist Graham Turner says "the world is on track for disaster" and that current research from Turner coincides with a famous, and in some quarters, infamous, academic report from 1972 entitled, "The Limits to Growth." Turner's research is not affiliated with MIT or The Club for Rome.

Produced for a group called The Club of Rome, the study's researchers created a computing model to forecast different scenarios based on the current models of population growth and global resource consumption. The study also took into account different levels of agricultural productivity, birth control and environmental protection efforts. Twelve million copies of the report were produced and distributed in 37 different languages.

Most of the computer scenarios found population and economic growth continuing at a steady rate until about 2030. But without "drastic measures for environmental protection," the scenarios predict the likelihood of a population and economic crash.

However, the study said "unlimited economic growth" is still possible if world governments enact policies and invest in green technologies that help limit the expansion of our ecological footprint.

The Smithsonian notes that several experts strongly objected to "The Limit of Growth's" findings, including the late Yale economist Henry Wallich, who for 12 years served as a governor of the Federal Research Board and was its chief international economics expert. At the time, Wallich said attempting to regulate economic growth would be equal to "consigning billions to permanent poverty."

Turner says that perhaps the most startling find from the study is that the results of the computer scenarios were nearly identical to those predicted in similar computer scenarios used as the basis for "The Limits to Growth."

"There is a very clear warning bell being rung here," Turner said. "We are not on a sustainable trajectory."

Correction: This post has been edited to reflect that MIT has not updated its research from the original 1972 study.

original here >>

What Needs To Be Done To Fix The Global Economy

Published on 22 Sep 2013 | Patrick Bond: For a recovery to occur, national governments must assert economy sovereignty.

US Inequality, Gap between Rich and Poor

Uploaded by SIMAY2K on Feb 17, 2012 : Jeffrey Sachs spoke
REFERENCE: http://youtu.be/SyAQaQKA6jg He spoke in the Malaysian Parliament today.

Financialization and the World Economy.

Published on Sep 30, 2012 by TheRealNews : Jerry Epstein - Financialization of the economy has been developing since the late 19th century and is now at historic Levels.

Quadrillion Dollar Derivatives Market 20 Times Global GDP.

Published on Sep 25, 2012 by TheRealNews : Markus Stanley - Derivative bets not a zero sum game, have far reaching real world consequences.

Thailand's rice Cartel initiative?

Rice Payment Scheme Threatens Thailand's Status as World's Top Exporter

Published on Sep 3, 2012 by VOAvideo : Thailand is risking its status as the world's biggest rice exporter because of a controversial government-purchasing policy to boost farmers' incomes. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports that rice industry insiders say the costly program is inefficient and money would be better spent on long-term investment.

Thailand rice prices stir up debate

Published on Aug 24, 2012 by EnglishNewsToday : Thailand's governing Pheu Thai party won last year's election partly based on a promise to improve the income of rice farmers. The government introduced a scheme which currently pays them around 50 to 60 per cent more than market prices. The International Monetary Fund estimates that this could amount to $3.8bn, excluding the cost of storage. Despite the cost, the government says it will continue with the programme, because it has a duty to look after farmers. But not everyone agrees that the benefits are worth it.

Spain bans short-selling of market shares.

Temporary measure by stock market watchdog CNMV is prompted by volatility in country's and European markets.

Spain's stock market regulator has temporarily banned short-selling of shares owing to volatility in Spanish and European markets.

CNMV said on Monday that the ban would remain in place for three months, adding that Italy had taken similar steps.

In a short sale, investors sell stock that they do not own, betting that they can buy it back at a lower price. The investor seeks a profit by betting that the price of certain shares will fall.

Short-selling of shares has been blamed for driving down markets during the financial crisis.

The move came as the financial pressure on the recession-hit country reached a level that saw other European countries need a financial bailout.

The yield on Spain's benchmark 10-year bond spiked 0.23 percentage points to 7.46 per cent, well above the 7.0 per cent danger level for long-term funding.

Any yield over 6.0 per cent is widely seen as unsustainable for long-term funds, with 7.0 per cent the level at which Greece, Ireland and Portugal had to ask for outside help from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

Don't Look Now -- Banks Are Still Ruining America: 6 Harsh Lessons from the JP Morgan Fiasco

JP Morgan Chase is part of an entwined system of too-big-to-fail institutions that are ripping us off.

May 15, 2012  |  

Photo Credit: ShutterStock.com

Now, we know this was all a sham.JP Morgan, the white knight of banking, supposedly weathered the 2008 crisis with little difficulty. It was not in danger of collapsing like Lehman Brothers and it did not really need bailouts in order to survive, or so it proudly proclaims. Furthermore, its CEO, Jamie Dimon, was known as “Obama’s banker,” a relatively liberal financier who cared both about his bank and his country.

The truth is that there are no good banks and bad banks among the giants of finance.That’s just a feel-good story that gives us false hope that individuals and individual institutions can fix a system that is rotten to the core.

JP Morgan Chase is no different than other big banks, except that it is the biggest. It is part of an entwined system of too-big-to-fail institutions that are ripping us off. Leading up to the 2008 crash, it was up to its eyeballs packaging and selling mortgage-backed securities that were designed to fail. It helped pump up the housing bubble, profited while it was inflating and profited again while it burst. It was forced to pay a $153 million fine last year for “misleading big investors about the riskiness of mortgage-related securities it was selling just as the home-loan market was melting down.”

JP Morgan helped to crash our system in 2008 and profited handsomely from the bailouts it claimed it really didn’t need (but thank you very much, we’ll take them anyway). And now it's back in the gambling business just like all the other big banks and hedge funds. And should another crash come, we’ll again be asked to pick up the tab -- it's still “too big to fail” according to the conventional wisdom.

Full report :

Obama's weird deal: settlement before a full investigation into the fraud?

Will Government Bank Mortgage Deal Help or Hinder Prosecutions?

Uploaded by TheRealNews on Feb 9, 2012 - Yves Smith: How can Obama Admin. settle before they have fully investigated the fraud.

The Dinar & Dirham Revolution.

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Position limits on Futures!

A discussion on the maximum amount of Futures one trader can own.

"Occupy Movement" Could Focus on Speculation and Food Prices
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US banks blamed for EU debt crisis.

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 But there is evidence that the Greek debt crisis began on Wall Street, at the hands of one controversial US bank. According to former financial regulators, Goldman Sachs made a dozen derivative deals with the Greeks a decade ago, writing its debt off its balance sheet for a number of years. They also say that Goldman and Greece were not the only ones working such transactions. 

 Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane investigates the morality versus legality of who is to blame for the financial crisis that is scaring the world.

America ways going into Eurozone.

Sep 22, 2011 - Excerpt From Keiser Report : Europe's Neo Feudalism (E162). Max talks to economist Michael Hudson on EuroZone.

Tarpley: 'US tries to destroy Euro'.

Uploaded by RTAmerica on Aug 24, 2010 - China's ownership of the United States government debt has dropped to the lowest level in at least a year, Treasury data showed, in a sign Beijing is increasingly keen to diversify out of US bonds. Webster Tarpley says that China is diversifying and has moved onto the Euro and Yen. He adds that the US was trying to shift the depression onto Europe, trying to destroy the Euro with a speculative attack on Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc.

The America's Big Con Game : Reaching our Shores?

Apr 22, 2011 - Ha-Joon Chong : Prof of Economics : University of Cambridge

Stocks Shopping : Advice

Apr 19, 2011 - A vicious circle in the making, a self fulfilling prophesy, all big time military industrial capitalists & small investors would want the war against terrorism to go on! A shortened video.

Why the price hike for Gas (Petrol)?

 The Price You're Paying For Gas Isn't The Real Price It's The Price Wall St Believes Oil Will Reach.

Reaganomics Sucked Wealth Up, Did Not Trickle It Down

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