Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Just When You Think It CAN'T Get Uglier Out There...

Before I get started on what I had intended to post, I want to present two items of acute interest.  First, I hope everyone - Democrat or Republican - is aware of just how tight Jon Corine is with President Obama and the Obama White House insiders:  LINK  Not that it will matter for the Presidential race because the leading Republican candidates are thoroughly unelectable, but I sincerely hope that the conservative media makes Obama wear Jon Corzine the way that Republicans made Michael Dukakis wear Willy Horton in the 1988 Presidential race vs. George H. Bush (everyone remember that?).   I am sure that we are not seeing immediat investigative actions being taken on Corzine because of his inside connections to Obama.  He's not even scheduled to appear before Congress until next month. If this were a drug-dealer busted in Harlem, this case would already be before the magistrate and the perp would be waiting for his trial in jail.

Second, many of you have read this by now, but here's a textbook example of the ways in which the insider elite and those connected to the insiders are raping our system wholesale and stealing what they can, while they can: 
"How Paulson Gave Hedge Funds Advance Word"  LINK  The article goes on to describe how Henry Paulson - then Secretary of the Treasury under George W Bush - met with several large hedge fund managers - many of them Henry Paulson cronies from Goldman Sachs - and revealed  the Government plans for bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - several months before the bailout actually occurred. 

Some bird-brain professors are quoted in the article as saying that this is not inside information, but that is total horse shit.  If I had possession of that information when Paulson doled it out to his buddies, I would have gone out bought up every single discounted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bond I could find and I would have leveraged those purchases with as much money as I could borrow.  I'm sure the trading records of those at the Paulson insider trading pow-wow will never be investigated.  What Paulson did was unequivovally illegal and he won't be prosecuted for it.  Hell, Bush signed an executive order that gave all of his cabinet members a perpertual get of jail free card. Obama was supposed to repeal that EO but never did.

This shit just keeps piling higher and higher...quite frankly, I have become unusually doomish and gloomish in my outlook for what is coming our way.  And the outright fraud, corruption, raping and pillaging and theft that is actually being enabled by our Government is an obvious signal to me that very bad things are headed our way...

In fact, I'm so disgusted by the information and implications of the two above articles that I'm going to abbreviate my original post.  In short, the market yesterday was all giddy about the Black Friday sales estimates and the new home sales.  However, everyone should know that when the real numbers are tallied, there will be substantial downward revisions of the Black Friday initial sales estimates.  In fact, one of the widely reported sales reports is based on measured foot traffic at malls not based on anything concrete, like money going into the cash register.  For those of you who didn't see it, here's a fantastic summary why the Black Friday initial sales numbers are nonsense:  LINK  Moreover, it was pointed out today that every year more and more stores participate in Black Friday.  In fact, many of them open up either at midnight or before midnight.  This makes year over year same-store-sales metrics - which are the relevant numbers if you want to see real growth - impossible.  Furthermore, it is highly likely that the pervasiveness of sales deals and give-aways has "pulled" a substantial portion of holiday budget spending into Black Friday and the ensuing weekend, which means that it is likely that overall sales for the entire holiday period will be anemic at best.  After all, we have seen that real monthly income for workers has been declining and consumers are cutting back on credit...who is left to spend?

Regarding my gloomy outlook - look at it this way:  this country is not capable of dealing with the economic and standard of living plunge that would occur IF the Government were to implement the type of policies and spending cuts required to fix the system.  Just think about the implications for joblessness and the massive increase in poverty that would occur if the Government were cut itself down by the at least the 50% required to start balancing real spending.  This country would look like a 3rd world country on steroids.  So that being the case, the people on top and inside know this so they are looting what they can, while they can.  And no one is around to stop this because the people who were voted into office to enforce the laws - of the people, by the people and for the people - are the same ones who are engaged in the mass looting of our system.

Your best shot at seeing what "the other side" of what is coming will look like is to move as much of your wealth as you can into physical gold and silver - NOT GLD, CEF or PHYS (unless you have enough money to take delivery of 400 oz bars and a place to store them safely).  This includes liquidating as many of your retirement fund accounts as you can (obviously if you have a 401k and currently work at your 401k provider, you can't liquidate that).  Beyond that, sailing away from this country on a boat, the way my buddy did who introduced me to the precious metals 10 years ago, is your best option.

29 comments:

  1. Tuesday, November 29, 2011
    Goldman Sachs's Blankfein Confesses!

    http://www.goldmansachs666.com/2011/11/goldman-sachss-blankfein-confesses.html


    ...maybe he will give sworn testimony against Paulson?lol...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes you are right. And it is going to get worse.

    http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2011/11/currency-wars-why-financial-engineers.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. (Dave)

    Thanks for the link. It's brilliant commentary.

    ReplyDelete
  4. They hired Louis Freeh to investigate MF Global.

    Rumor has it that he is one nasty SOB.

    Maybe Corzine will get what's coming to him?

    Naaah, I doubt it. Someone else will take the heat for that cocksucker. Corzine will walk, just like every TBTF CEO cocksucker who has bought off the government regulators.

    Eight hundred bank executives did time for the S&L crisis in the late eighties. This sub-prime shit today is SEVENTY times the size of the S&L crisis, and not a goddamn single bank CEO has done a fucking day in jail. That blows.

    What a crock of shit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "executive order that gave all of his cabinet members a perpertual get of jail free card"
    Have not heard about this, does anyone have a link? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. (Dave)

    I don't have time to dig it up. Use google. It's done. They all have it and Cheney and Paulson were first in line. One of Obama's platform planks was to go after all of the illegalities and the people behind those illegalities in W's administration. About 60 days in, Obama decided not to.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Prob generalizing, but didn't the big banks take down S&L and essentially take it over?? I recall Martin armstrong writing about it...

    ReplyDelete
  8. You mean this one?

    Intelligence Czar Can Waive SEC Rules
    Now, the White House's top spymaster can cite national security to
    exempt businesses from reporting requirements


    President George W. Bush has bestowed on his intelligence czar, John
    Negroponte, broad authority, in the name of national security, to
    excuse publicly traded companies from their usual accounting and
    securities-disclosure obligations. Notice of the development came in a
    brief entry in the Federal Register, dated May 5, 2006, that was
    opaque to the untrained eye.

    http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2006/nf20060523_2210.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

    ReplyDelete
  9. (Dave)

    Drexel junk bonds took down the S&L's, the RTC/Government took it over and auctioned off the assets to the highest bidders. Wasn't per se a big bank takeover, but it had the effect of making the retail banking industry a lot less competitive. Remember, it happened 10 years before Clinton jerked off on Glass-Steagle.

    I was trading junk bonds back then and I moved about $100 million in Pamida junk bonds (a Drexel financed dime store in the midwest that went chapter 7). We bought them from the RTC for about 40 cents on the dollar and moved them into distressed buyers for 60 cents. We had to do the trade over 2 days to avoid the FINRA (then-NASD) mark-up rule, but the trade was nonetheless riskless.

    Multiply that ass-raping by about 10,000 times and that's what you've got going on now.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I didn't know it was in an executive order, I remember that Immunity from prosecution was part of the Paulson 3 page plan...I guess it never made it into the 300+ page legalized pillaging of American Treasure that was enacted as law.

    "Sec. 8. Review.

    Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

    The draft can be found at:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21draftcnd.html

    He knew he was engaging in illegal activities and wanted to clear himself of any of that pesky checks and balances nonsense.

    Un-be-fucking-lievable.

    Long live the Sofa King.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ron Paul on a Return to the Gold Standard (When and How)

    In the following interview video on Fox News, Ron Paul explains his plan for monetary freedom and a return to a gold standard. Paul also addresses a dangerous competing idea for the IMF take over control of setting international monetary standards. Finally, Paul explains how he has been temporarily stymied on his plan for a full and complete Fed audit.


    http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/michael-shedlock/2011/11/29/ron-paul-on-a-return-to-the-gold-standard-when-and-how

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amazingly similar sentitiments as my first post at Letthemfail in over 2 months. And I have opened it back up to public consumption, despite the FED's admitted watchdog status over "Un-Aamerican" blogging activity.

    It is hard to tell what America stands for these days. I really don't care anymore about the .gov IP addresses hammering me every month.

    It is not going to hold through the coming summer, and the reality that has been crafted for the masses by the monied interests will be a thin veneer when it does.

    Dave you're one of the few with the balls to actually speak the truth. I hope you are well provisioned, and well armed.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dave

    Let's say one does sail off into the sunset on a sailboat with savings in PMs. And then what, show up in Puerto Vallarta or Papeete needing some local currency and expecting to march into a bank to exchange gold/silver coins for local cash? Without having to jump thru a zillion hoops and tax fees/duties etc.

    See what I'm getting at. In real life, at the everyday joe level there's a liquidity issue.
    Those PMs might retain wealth, but one could very well starve before everything is over.

    ReplyDelete
  14. FWIW, I made an "in-service" withdrawal from my 401k, enabling me cash out the lion's share of the balance even though I'm still employed there. I didn't know I could do that until I looked into it deeper. Don't know if all plans allow this though.

    ReplyDelete
  15. speaking of Drexel & mfg, came across this today:

    http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/11/who-is-laurie-ruth-ferber-and-what-hell.html

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hank Paulson’s inside jobs

    When we found out about the Moscow meeting, I asked how on earth Paulson thought such behavior was OK. But now I think he was downright pathological in giving inside information to his old Wall Street buddies. And the crazy thing is that we have no idea how many of these meetings there were, or how long they went on for — the only way that we ever find out about them is when reporters like Sorkin or Bloomberg’s Richard Teitelbaum manage to find a source who was in the meeting and is willing to talk about what happened.

    Given that it’s taken two years since the release of Sorkin’s book for the Eton Park meeting to be made public, it’s fair to assume that there were other meetings, too — possibly many others. Paulson was giving inside tips to Wall Street in general, and to Goldman types in particular: exactly the kind of behavior that “Government Sachs” conspiracy theorists have been speculating about for years. Turns out, they were right.

    http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/hank-paulsons-inside-jobs/

    ReplyDelete
  17. (Dave)

    Re exchanging gold/silver for local currency: why would you need to do that? That's why you buy sovereign-minted gold and silver eagles only. They are recognized all over the world and extrememly difficult to counterfeit. I guarantee you that anywhere you go you will be able use them either directly for currency exchange purposes.

    Gold and silver are world's oldest and foremost currencies.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Democrats have their Corzines and the Republicans have their Paulsons. The sooner we see that this is one nation under one political party that resembles Communism more than Capitalism the sooner we can admit we've been fooled, and maybe begin to deal with reality.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I can't remember the word trillion ever being uttered in public, before the turn of the century.

    Scary times on the horizon.

    Thank you Dave

    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  20. More Black Friday Bullshit numbers here:

    http://www.bullionbullscanada.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23044:more-black-friday-bs&catid=47:us-commentary&Itemid=132

    ReplyDelete
  21. "Beyond that, sailing away from this country ... is your best option."

    Sorry you are so demoralized.

    I'm sticking around and registered Republican to go to my caucus to help the other Ron Paul supporters get to the next level. This is how we get delegates and how the nominee is chosen.

    Quick, verify you are registered Republican in Colorado by December 7 so you can go to caucus. It's all free!

    https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/secuRegVoterIntro.do

    If you choose not to participate, get greased up for Mitt Romney's corporatism and statism.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for your blog.

    Silver question.

    Shouldn't Ag be flying gangbusters today with this swap deal and all "positive" by large deviations of PMI, ADP etc etc.

    With what has transpired with this swap and China "easing" why aren't precious metals outperforming.

    Miners are yes

    ReplyDelete
  23. (Dave)

    Dude, silver is up $1.40 from its overnite low. Damn...i'm happy with the response. My gut when they were hitting silver last night was that some big announcement was coming. I actually started accumulating AGQ in our fund a little before yesterday's close. Silver could potentially explode 20-30% here over the next month or two.

    This China/Fed action we're seeing is the intermediate step to a really big QE program.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Interesting...do you think they can sniff order on exchanges with software like this?

    BUSTED! Secret app on millions of phones logs key taps
    Researcher says seeing is believing


    An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users.

    In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Trevor Eckhart showed how software from a Silicon Valley company known as Carrier IQ recorded in real time the keys he pressed into a stock EVO handset, which he had reset to factory settings just prior to the demonstration. Using a packet sniffer while his device was in airplane mode, he demonstrated how each numeric tap and every received text message is logged by the software.

    Ironically, he says, the Carrier IQ software recorded the “hello world” dispatch even before it was displayed on his handset.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/30/smartphone_spying_app/

    ReplyDelete
  25. Will this be used to support democracy?


    Suez Port Employees Reveal 21-Ton US Tear Gas Order for Interior Ministry
    Port workers in Suez refuse to receive initial seven ton shipment as the interior ministry looks to restock after firing tear gas at protesters in Egypt for six days last week
    A group of employees at the Adabiya Seaport in Suez have confirmed, with the documents to prove it, that a three-stage shipment of in total 21 tons of tear gas canisters is on course for the port from the American port of Wilmington.
    https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/11/29-3

    ReplyDelete
  26. The DOW up 400 points today on a fucking farce.

    What a crock of shit.

    ReplyDelete
  27. QE X ?? Looks like it'll be massive globally coordinated qe like we've never seen before...

    ReplyDelete
  28. Lost purchasing power, lost job, lost pension...

    How do you fit current lifestyle into new reality...just the beginning for many...but at least Paulson and friends are flush....notice not one talking head made a big deal about the article....business as usual...swept right under the rug!


    AA retirees face sharp benefit cuts: PBGC

    WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Retirees of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. AMR +49.89% could lose $1 billion in benefits if the bankrupt carrier decides to end its four pension plans, according to a Tuesday statement from the U.S. agency responsible for protecting pension benefits. AMR's pension plans cover almost 130,000 participants, but collectively had just $8.3 billion in assets to cover about $18.5 billion in benefits, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said. Congress limited the size of pensions the PBGC can pay for, so AMR retirees should expect their pensions to be dramatically cut, the agency said.

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aa-retirees-face-sharp-benefit-cuts-pbgc-2011-11-29?link=MW_home_latest_news

    ReplyDelete
  29. Why didn't Hank Paulson have lunch with these people?



    Line Grows Long for Free Meals at U.S. Schools

    The number of students receiving subsidized lunches rose to 21 million last school year from 18 million in 2006-7, a 17 percent increase, according to an analysis by The New York Times of data from the Department of Agriculture, which administers the meals program. Eleven states, including Florida, Nevada, New Jersey and Tennessee, had four-year increases of 25 percent or more, huge shifts in a vast program long characterized by incremental growth.

    The Agriculture Department has not yet released data for September and October.

    “These are very large increases and a direct reflection of the hardships American families are facing,” said Benjamin Senauer, a University of Minnesota economist who studies the meals program, adding that the surge had happened so quickly “that people like myself who do research are struggling to keep up with it.”
    In Rochester, unemployed engineers and technicians have signed up their children after the downsizing of Kodak and other companies forced them from their jobs. Many of these formerly middle-income parents have pleaded with school officials to keep their enrollment a secret.

    Students in families with incomes up to 130 percent of the poverty level — or $29,055 for a family of four — are eligible for free school meals. Children in a four-member household with income up to $41,348 qualify for a subsidized lunch priced at 40 cents.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/education/surge-in-free-school-lunches-reflects-economic-crisis.html

    ReplyDelete