Don Paul

March 18, 2011

Wether Hillarious has something to do directly or indirectly with the Dinar, the cruxt of the message is that we are toast for at leat 10 days, 'my friend'

March 18, 2011

Maliki went and offered his candidates...Parliament, said we can talk after a 10 day fast for our Bahrainian brothers..( excuse) Obama asked for Budget extension for same amount of time.........Authors of Plan now in Control...so Parliament and Obama went on vacations....O going to South America ...while ignoring 2 other hot spots. Parliament is playing Maliki's favorite strategy...but likely under direction of Authors. Watch Hillarious......every move she makes between now and 27 th.

On Monday 21 rst will be in a private meeting with Iraqi Minister of Finance in NYC and Hillarious?!!! She is not a numbers person...but Geitner is, and he will join Hillarious....they are playing tag team for over 2 months. Ignore GOI and Articles from Iraq. Hillarious will head to ME sometime after Monday. So the person who wrote this article MISSED IT. Next date for UN Operational Rates to change.....April 1? Probably...must make sure.

So sorry for having information contrary to RUMOR MILL...Would LOVE to be wrong, this will all be common knowledge by tomorrow. So watch all the folks not in the know still calling for Sun / Mon....

bash away, but you're only shooting the messenger, not the message

March 17, 2011

Subject: Fukashima Summary

A few days old but pretty good!

This guy seems to have pieced together the probable accident scenario at

Fukashima. Probably better than anything that the media has put out. It's

a good read.

Below is a summary [for the general public] on the Fukushima situation

prepared by Dr Josef Oehmen, a research scientist at MIT, in Boston.

He is a PhD Scientist, whose father has also extensive experience in

Germanys nuclear industry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

What happened at Fukushima

I will try to summarize the main facts. The earthquake that hit Japan was

7 times more powerful than the worst earthquake the nuclear power plant

was built for (the Richter scale works logarithmically; the difference

between the 8.2 that the plants were built for and the 8.9 that happened

is 7 times, not 0.7). So the first hooray for Japanese engineering,

everything held up.

When the earthquake hit with 8.9, the nuclear reactors all went into

automatic shutdown. Within seconds after the earthquake started, the

control rods had been inserted into the core and nuclear chain reaction of

the uranium stopped. Now, the cooling system has to carry away the

residual heat. The residual heat load is about 3% of the heat load under

normal operating conditions.

The earthquake destroyed the external power supply of the nuclear reactor.

That is one of the most serious accidents for a nuclear power plant, and

accordingly, a plant black out receives a lot of attention when

designing backup systems. The power is needed to keep the coolant pumps

working. Since the power plant had been shut down, it cannot produce any

electricity by itself any more.

Things were going well for an hour. One set of multiple sets of emergency

Diesel power generators kicked in and provided the electricity that was

needed. Then the Tsunami came, much bigger than people had expected when

building the power plant (see above, factor 7). The tsunami took out all

multiple sets of backup Diesel generators.

When designing a nuclear power plant, engineers follow a philosophy called

Defense of Depth. That means that you first build everything to

withstand the worst catastrophe you can imagine, and then design the plant

in such a way that it can still handle one system failure (that you

thought could never happen) after the other. A tsunami taking out all

backup power in one swift strike is such a scenario. The last line of

defense is putting everything into the third containment (see above), that

will keep everything, whatever the mess, control rods in our out, core

molten or not, inside the reactor.

When the diesel generators were gone, the reactor operators switched to

emergency battery power. The batteries were designed as one of the backups

to the backups, to provide power for cooling the core for 8 hours. And

they did.

Within the 8 hours, another power source had to be found and connected to

the power plant. The power grid was down due to the earthquake. The diesel

generators were destroyed by the tsunami. So mobile diesel generators were

trucked in.

This is where things started to go seriously wrong. The external power

generators could not be connected to the power plant (the plugs did not

fit). So after the batteries ran out, the residual heat could not be

carried away any more.

At this point the plant operators begin to follow emergency procedures

that are in place for a loss of cooling event. It is again a step along

the Depth of Defense lines. The power to the cooling systems should

never have failed completely, but it did, so they retreat to the next

line of defense. All of this, however shocking it seems to us, is part of

the day-to-day training you go through as an operator, right through to

managing a core meltdown.

It was at this stage that people started to talk about core meltdown.

Because at the end of the day, if cooling cannot be restored, the core

will eventually melt (after hours or days), and the last line of defense,

the core catcher and third containment, would come into play.

But the goal at this stage was to manage the core while it was heating up,

and ensure that the first containment (the Zircaloy tubes that contains

the nuclear fuel), as well as the second containment (our pressure cooker)

remain intact and operational for as long as possible, to give the

engineers time to fix the cooling systems.

Because cooling the core is such a big deal, the reactor has a number of

cooling systems, each in multiple versions (the reactor water cleanup

system, the decay heat removal, the reactor core isolating cooling, the

standby liquid cooling system, and the emergency core cooling system).

Which one failed when or did not fail is not clear at this point in time.

So imagine our pressure cooker on the stove, heat on low, but on. The

operators use whatever cooling system capacity they have to get rid of as

much heat as possible, but the pressure starts building up. The priority

now is to maintain integrity of the first containment (keep temperature of

the fuel rods below 2200°C), as well as the second containment, the

pressure cooker. In order to maintain integrity of the pressure cooker

(the second containment), the pressure has to be released from time to

time. Because the ability to do that in an emergency is so important, the

reactor has 11 pressure release valves. The operators now started venting

steam from time to time to control the pressure. The temperature at this

stage was about 550°C

.

This is when the reports about radiation leakage starting coming in. I

believe I explained above why venting the steam is theoretically the same

as releasing radiation into the environment, but why it was and is not

dangerous. The radioactive nitrogen as well as the noble gases do not pose

a threat to human health.

At some stage during this venting, the explosion occurred. The explosion

took place outside of the third containment (our last line of defense),

and the reactor building. Remember that the reactor building has no

function in keeping the radioactivity contained. It is not entirely clear

yet what has happened, but this is the likely scenario: The operators

decided to vent the steam from the pressure vessel not directly into the

environment, but into the space between the third containment and the

reactor building (to give the radioactivity in the steam more time to

subside). The problem is that at the high temperatures that the core had

reached at this stage, water molecules can disassociate into oxygen and

hydrogen an explosive mixture. And it did explode, outside the third

containment, damaging the reactor building around. It was that sort of

explosion, but inside the pressure vessel (because it was badly designed

and not managed properly by the operators) that lead to the explosion of

Chernobyl. This was never a risk at Fukushima. The problem of

hydrogen-oxygen formation is one of the biggies when you design a power

plant (if you are not Soviet, that is), so the reactor is build and

operated in a way it cannot happen inside the containment. It happened

outside, which was not intended but a possible scenario and OK, because it

did not pose a risk for the containment.

So the pressure was under control, as steam was vented. Now, if you keep

boiling your pot, the problem is that the water level will keep falling

and falling. The core is covered by several meters of water in order to

allow for some time to pass (hours, days) before it gets exposed. Once the

rods start to be exposed at the top, the exposed parts will reach the

critical temperature of 2200 °C after about 45 minutes. This is when the

first containment, the Zircaloy tube, would fail.

And this started to happen. The cooling could not be restored before there

was some (very limited, but still) damage to the casing of some of the

fuel. The nuclear material itself was still intact, but the surrounding

Zircaloy shell had started melting. What happened now is that some of the

byproducts of the uranium decay radioactive Cesium and Iodine started

to mix with the steam. The big problem, uranium, was still under control,

because the uranium oxide rods were good until 3000 °C. It is confirmed

that a very small amount of Cesium and Iodine was measured in the steam

that was released into the atmosphere.

It seems this was the go signal for a major plan B. The small amounts of

Cesium that were measured told the operators that the first containment on

one of the rods somewhere was about to give. The Plan A had been to

restore one of the regular cooling systems to the core. Why that failed is

unclear. One plausible explanation is that the tsunami also took away /

polluted all the clean water needed for the regular cooling systems.

The water used in the cooling system is very clean, demineralized (like

distilled) water. The reason to use pure water is the above mentioned

activation by the neutrons from the Uranium: Pure water does not get

activated much, so stays practically radioactive-free. Dirt or salt in the

water will absorb the neutrons quicker, becoming more radioactive. This

has no effect whatsoever on the core it does not care what it is cooled

by. But it makes life more difficult for the operators and mechanics when

they have to deal with activated (i.e. slightly radioactive) water.

But Plan A had failed cooling systems down or additional clean water

unavailable so Plan B came into effect. This is what it looks like

happened:

In order to prevent a core meltdown, the operators started to use sea

water to cool the core. I am not quite sure if they flooded our pressure

cooker with it (the second containment), or if they flooded the third

containment, immersing the pressure cooker. But that is not relevant for

us.

The point is that the nuclear fuel has now been cooled down. Because the

chain reaction has been stopped a long time ago, there is only very little

residual heat being produced now. The large amount of cooling water that

has been used is sufficient to take up that heat. Because it is a lot of

water, the core does not produce sufficient heat any more to produce any

significant pressure. Also, boric acid has been added to the seawater.

Boric acid is liquid control rod. Whatever decay is still going on, the

Boron will capture the neutrons and further speed up the cooling down of

the core.

The plant came close to a core meltdown. Here is the worst-case scenario

that was avoided: If the seawater could not have been used for treatment,

the operators would have continued to vent the water steam to avoid

pressure buildup. The third containment would then have been completely

sealed to allow the core meltdown to happen without releasing radioactive

material. After the meltdown, there would have been a waiting period for

the intermediate radioactive materials to decay inside the reactor, and

all radioactive particles to settle on a surface inside the containment.

The cooling system would have been restored eventually, and the molten

core cooled to a manageable temperature. The containment would have been

cleaned up on the inside. Then a messy job of removing the molten core

from the containment would have begun, packing the (now solid again) fuel

bit by bit into transportation containers to be shipped to processing

plants. Depending on the damage, the block of the plant would then either

be repaired or dismantled.

Now, where does that leave us?

The plant is safe now and will stay safe.

Japan is looking at an INES Level 4 Accident: Nuclear accident with local

consequences. That is bad for the company that owns the plant, but not for

anyone else.

Some radiation was released when the pressure vessel was vented. All

radioactive isotopes from the activated steam have gone (decayed). A very

small amount of Cesium was released, as well as Iodine. If you were

sitting on top of the plants chimney when they were venting, you should

probably give up smoking to return to your former life expectancy. The

Cesium and Iodine isotopes were carried out to the sea and will never be

seen again.

There was some limited damage to the first containment. That means that

some amounts of radioactive Cesium and Iodine will also be released into

the cooling water, but no Uranium or other nasty stuff (the Uranium oxide

does not dissolve in the water). There are facilities for treating the

cooling water inside the third containment. The radioactive Cesium and

Iodine will be removed there and eventually stored as radioactive waste in

terminal storage.

The seawater used as cooling water will be activated to some degree.

Because the control rods are fully inserted, the Uranium chain reaction is

not happening. That means the main nuclear reaction is not happening,

thus not contributing to the activation. The intermediate radioactive

materials (Cesium and Iodine) are also almost gone at this stage, because

the Uranium decay was stopped a long time ago. This further reduces the

activation. The bottom line is that there will be some low level of

activation of the seawater, which will also be removed by the treatment

facilities.

The seawater will then be replaced over time with the normal cooling water

The reactor core will then be dismantled and transported to a processing

facility, just like during a regular fuel change.

Fuel rods and the entire plant will be checked for potential damage. This

will take about 4-5 years.

The safety systems on all Japanese plants will be upgraded to withstand a

9.0 earthquake and tsunami (or worse)

I believe the most significant problem will be a prolonged power shortage.

About half of Japans nuclear reactors will probably have to be inspected,

reducing the nations power generating capacity by 15%. This will probably

be covered by running gas power plants that are usually only used for peak

loads to cover some of the base load as well. That will increase your

electricity bill, as well as lead to potential power shortages during peak

demand, in Japan.

March 17, 2011

Two of Cadillac's models have over 70% of their parts made overseas. Your point gets mudier by the minute

March 17, 2011

The problem of making such a statement is that you have NO idea what is actually manufactured in the US or not.

Saying dont buy Toyota because YOU think it isnt made in America could be affecting a whole lot of auto workers in Alabama for example.

What do you have against them?

March 16, 2011

(my favorite statement in this posting ..."organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy")

From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression -- and they're about to do it again This article originally appeared in Rolling Stone 1082-1083 from July 9-23, 2009. The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindled dry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates. By now, most of us know the major players. As George Bush's last Treasury secretary, former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson was the architect of the bailout, a suspiciously self-serving plan to funnel trillions of Your Dollars to a handful of his old friends on Wall Street. Robert Rubin, Bill Clinton's former Treasury secretary, spent 26 years at Goldman before becoming chairman of Citigroup — which in turn got a $300 billion taxpayer bailout from Paulson. There's John Thain, the ******* chief of Merrill Lynch who bought an $87,000 area rug for his office as his company was imploding; a former Goldman banker, Thain enjoyed a multi-billion-dollar handout from Paulson, who used billions in taxpayer funds to help Bank of America rescue Thain's sorry company. And Robert Steel, the former Goldmanite head of Wachovia, scored himself and his fellow executives $225 million in golden-parachute payments as his bank was self-destructing. There's Joshua Bolten, Bush's chief of staff during the bailout, and Mark Patterson, the current Treasury chief of staff, who was a Goldman lobbyist just a year ago, and Ed Liddy, the former Goldman director whom Paulson put in charge of bailed-out insurance giant AIG, which forked over $13 billion to Goldman after Liddy came on board. The heads of the Canadian and Italian national banks are Goldman alums, as is the head of the World Bank, the head of the New York Stock Exchange, the last two heads of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — which, incidentally, is now in charge of overseeing Goldman — not to mention … But then, any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. What you need to know is the big picture: If America is circling the drain, Goldman Sachs has found a way to be that drain — an extremely unfortunate loophole in the system of Western democratic capitalism, which never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy. The bank's unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump-and-dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere — high gas prices, rising consumer credit rates, half-eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts. All that money that you're losing, it's going somewhere, and in both a literal and a figurative sense, Goldman Sachs is where it's going: The bank is a huge, highly sophisticated engine for converting the useful, deployed wealth of society into the least useful, most wasteful and insoluble substance on Earth — pure profit for rich individuals. They achieve this using the same playbook over and over again. The formula is relatively simple: Goldman positions itself in the middle of a speculative bubble, selling investments they know are crap. Then they hoover up vast sums from the middle and lower floors of society with the aid of a crippled and corrupt state that allows it to rewrite the rules in exchange for the relative pennies the bank throws at political patronage. Finally, when it all goes bust, leaving millions of ordinary citizens broke and starving, they begin the entire process over again, riding in to rescue us all by lending us back our own money at interest, selling themselves as men above greed, just a bunch of really smart guys keeping the wheels greased. They've been pulling this same stunt over and over since the 1920s — and now they're preparing to do it again, creating what may be the biggest and most audacious bubble yet. If you want to understand how we got into this financial crisis, you have to first understand where all the money went — and in order to understand that, you need to understand what Goldman has already gotten away with. It is a history exactly five bubbles long — including last year's strange and seemingly inexplicable spike in the price of oil. There were a lot of losers in each of those bubbles, and in the bailout that followed. But Goldman wasn't one of them. BUBBLE #1 The Great Depression Goldman wasn't always a too-big-to-fail Wall Street behemoth, the ruthless face of kill-or-be-killed capitalism on steroids —just almost always. The bank was actually founded in 1869 by a German immigrant named Marcus Goldman, who built it up with his son-in-law Samuel Sachs. They were pioneers in the use of commercial paper, which is just a fancy way of saying they made money lending out short-term IOUs to smalltime vendors in downtown Manhattan. You can probably guess the basic plotline of Goldman's first 100 years in business: plucky, immigrant-led investment bank beats the odds, pulls itself up by its bootstraps, makes bucket-loads of money. In that ancient history there's really only one episode that bears scrutiny now, in light of more recent events: Goldman’s disastrous foray into the speculative mania of pre-crash Wall Street in the late 1920s. This great Hindenburg of financial history has a few features that might sound familiar. Back then, the main financial tool used to bilk investors was called an "investment trust." Similar to modern mutual funds, the trusts took the cash of investors large and small and (theoretically, at least) invested it in a smorgasbord of Wall Street securities, though the securities and amounts were often kept hidden from the public. So a regular guy could invest $10 or $100 in a trust and feel like he was a big player. Much as in the 1990s, when new vehicles like day trading and e-trading attracted reams of new suckers from the sticks who wanted to feel like big shots, investment trusts roped a new generation of regular-guy investors into the speculation game. Beginning a pattern that would repeat itself over and over again, Goldman got into the investment trust game late, then jumped in with both feet and went hog-wild. The first effort was the Goldman Sachs Trading Corporation; the bank issued a million shares at $100 apiece, bought all those shares with its own money and then sold 90 percent of them to the hungry public at $104. The trading corporation then relentlessly bought shares in itself, bidding the price up further and further. Eventually it dumped part of its holdings and sponsored a new trust, the Shenandoah Corporation, issuing millions more in shares in that fund — which in turn sponsored yet another trust called the Blue Ridge Corporation. In this way, each investment trust served as a front for an endless investment pyramid: Goldman hiding behind Goldman hiding behind Goldman. Of the 7,250,000 initial shares of Blue Ridge, 6,250,000 were actually owned by Shenandoah — which, of course, was in large part owned by Goldman Trading. The end result (ask yourself if this sounds familiar) was a daisy chain of borrowed money, one exquisitely vulnerable to a decline in performance anywhere along the line. The basic idea isn't hard to follow. You take a dollar and borrow nine against it; then you take that $10 fund and borrow $90; then you take your $100 fund and, so long as the public is still lending, borrow and invest $900. If the last fund in the line starts to lose value, you no longer have the money to pay back your investors, and everyone gets massacred. In a chapter from The Great Crash, 1929 titled "In Goldman Sachs We Trust," the famed economist John Kenneth Galbraith held up the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah trusts as classic examples of the insanity of leverage-based investment. The trusts, he wrote, were a major cause of the market's historic crash; in today's dollars, the losses the bank suffered totalled $475 billion. "It is difficult not to marvel at the imagination which was implicit in this gargantuan insanity," Galbraith observed, sounding like Keith Olbermann in an ascot. "If there must be madness, something may be said for having it on a heroic scale." BUBBLE #2 Tech Stocks Fast-forward about 65 years. Goldman not only survived the crash that wiped out so many of the investors it duped, it went on to become the chief underwriter to the country's wealthiest and most powerful corporations. Thanks to Sidney Weinberg, who rose from the rank of janitor's assistant to head the firm, Goldman became the pioneer of the initial public offering, one of the principal and most lucrative means by which companies raise money. During the 1970s and 1980s, Goldman may not have been the planet-eating Death Star of political influence it is today, but it was a top-drawer firm that had a reputation for attracting the very smartest talent on the Street. It also, oddly enough, had a reputation for relatively solid ethics and a patient approach to investment that shunned the fast buck; its executives were trained to adopt the firm's mantra, "long-term greedy." One former Goldman banker who left the firm in the early Nineties recalls seeing his superiors give up a very profitable deal on the grounds that it was a long-term loser. "We gave back money to 'grown-up' corporate clients who had made bad deals with us," he says. "Everything we did was legal and fair — but 'long-term greedy' said we didn't want to make such a profit at the clients' collective expense that we spoiled the marketplace." But then, something happened. It's hard to say what it was exactly; it might have been the fact that Goldman's co-chairman in the early Nineties, Robert Rubin, followed Bill Clinton to the White House, where he directed the National Economic Council and eventually became Treasury secretary. While the American media fell in love with the story line of a pair of baby-boomer, Sixties-child, Fleetwood Mac yuppies nesting in the White House, it also nursed an undisguised crush on Rubin, who was hyped as without a doubt the smartest person ever to walk the face of the Earth, with Newton, Einstein, Mozart and Kant running far behind. Rubin was the prototypical Goldman banker. He was probably born in a $4,000 suit, he had a face that seemed permanently frozen just short of an apology for being so much smarter than you, and he exuded a Spock-like, emotion-neutral exterior; the only human feeling you could imagine him experiencing was a nightmare about being forced to fly coach. It became almost a national clichè that whatever Rubin thought was best for the economy — a phenomenon that reached its apex in 1999, when Rubin appeared on the cover of Time with his Treasury deputy, Larry Summers, and Fed chief Alan Greenspan under the headline The Committee To Save The World. And "what Rubin thought," mostly, was that the American economy, and in particular the financial markets, were over-regulated and needed to be set free. During his tenure at Treasury, the Clinton White House made a series of moves that would have drastic consequences for the global economy — beginning with Rubin's complete and total failure to regulate his old firm during its first mad dash for obscene short-term profits. The basic scam in the Internet Age is pretty easy even for the financially illiterate to grasp. Companies that weren't much more than potfueled ideas scrawled on napkins by uptoolate bongsmokers were taken public via IPOs, hyped in the media and sold to the public for mega-millions. It was as if banks like Goldman were wrapping ribbons around watermelons, tossing them out 50-story windows and opening the phones for bids. In this game you were a winner only if you took your money out before the melon hit the pavement. It sounds obvious now, but what the average investor didn't know at the time was that the banks had changed the rules of the game, making the deals look better than they actually were. They did this by setting up what was, in reality, a two-tiered investment system — one for the insiders who knew the real numbers, and another for the lay investor who was invited to chase soaring prices the banks themselves knew were irrational. While Goldman's later pattern would be to capitalize on changes in the regulatory environment, its key innovation in the Internet years was to abandon its own industry's standards of quality control. "Since the Depression, there were strict underwriting guidelines that Wall Street adhered to when taking a company public," says one prominent hedge-fund manager. "The company had to be in business for a minimum of five years, and it had to show profitability for three consecutive years. But Wall Street took these guidelines and threw them in the trash." Goldman completed the snow job by pumping up the sham stocks: "Their analysts were out there saying Bullshit.com is worth $100 a share." The problem was, nobody told investors that the rules had changed. "Everyone on the inside knew," the manager says. "Bob Rubin sure as hell knew what the underwriting standards were. They'd been intact since the 1930s." Jay Ritter, a professor of finance at the University of Florida who specializes in IPOs, says banks like Goldman knew full well that many of the public offerings they were touting would never make a dime. "In the early Eighties, the major underwriters insisted on three years of profitability. Then it was one year, then it was a quarter. By the time of the Internet bubble, they were not even requiring profitability in the foreseeable future." Goldman has denied that it changed its underwriting standards during the Internet years, but its own statistics belie the claim. Just as it did with the investment trust in the 1920s, Goldman started slow and finished crazy in the Internet years. After it took a little-known company with weak financials called Yahoo! public in 1996, once the tech boom had already begun, Goldman quickly became the IPO king of the Internet era. Of the 24 companies it took public in 1997, a third were losing money at the time of the IPO. In 1999, at the height of the boom, it took 47 companies public, including stillborns like Webvan and eToys, investment offerings that were in many ways the modern equivalents of Blue Ridge and Shenandoah. The following year, it underwrote 18 companies in the first four months, 14 of which were money losers at the time. As a leading underwriter of Internet stocks during the boom, Goldman provided profits far more volatile than those of its competitors: In 1999, the average Goldman IPO leapt 281 percent above its offering price, compared to the Wall Street average of 181 percent. How did Goldman achieve such extraordinary results? One answer is that they used a practice called "laddering," which is just a fancy way of saying they manipulated the share price of new offerings. Here's how it works: Say you're Goldman Sachs, and Bullshit.com comes to you and asks you to take their company public. You agree on the usual terms: You'll price the stock, determine how many shares should be released and take the Bullshit.com CEO on a "road show" to schmooze investors, all in exchange for a substantial fee (typically six to seven percent of the amount raised). You then promise your best clients the right to buy big chunks of the IPO at the low offering price — let's say Bullshit.com's starting share price is $15 — in exchange for a promise that they will buy more shares later on the open market. That seemingly simple demand gives you inside knowledge of the IPO's future, knowledge that wasn't disclosed to the day trader schmucks who only had the prospectus to go by: You know that certain of your clients who bought X amount of shares at $15 are also going to buy Y more shares at $20 or $25, virtually guaranteeing that the price is going to go to $25 and beyond. In this way, Goldman could artificially jack up the new company's price, which of course was to the bank's benefit — a six percent fee of a $500 million IPO is serious money. Goldman was repeatedly sued by shareholders for engaging in laddering in a variety of Internet IPOs, including Webvan and NetZero. The deceptive practices also caught the attention of Nicholas Maier, the syndicate manager of Cramer & Co., the hedge fund run at the time by the now-famous chattering television idiot Jim Cramer, himself a Goldman alum. Maier told the SEC that while working for Cramer between 1996 and 1998, he was repeatedly forced to engage in laddering practices during IPO deals with Goldman. "Goldman, from what I witnessed, they were the worst perpetrator," Maier said. "They totally fuelled the bubble. And it's specifically that kind of behaviour that has caused the market crash. They built these stocks upon an illegal foundation — manipulated up — and ultimately, it really was the small person who ended up buying in." In 2005, Goldman agreed to pay $40 million for its laddering violations — a puny penalty relative to the enormous profits it made. (Goldman, which has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases it has settled, refused to respond to questions for this story.) Another practice Goldman engaged in during the Internet boom was "spinning," better known as bribery. Here the investment bank would offer the executives of the newly public company shares at extra-low prices, in exchange for future underwriting business. Banks that engaged in spinning would then undervalue the initial offering price — ensuring that those "hot" opening-price shares it had handed out to insiders would be more likely to rise quickly, supplying bigger first-day rewards for the chosen few. So instead of Bullshit.com opening at $20, the bank would approach the Bullshit.com CEO and offer him a million shares of his own company at $18 in exchange for future business — effectively robbing all of Bullshit's new shareholders by diverting cash that should have gone to the company's bottom line into the private bank account of the company's CEO. In one case, Goldman allegedly gave a multimillion-dollar special offering to eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who later joined Goldman's board, in exchange for future i-banking business. According to a report by the House Financial Services Committee in 2002, Goldman gave special stock offerings to executives in 21 companies that it took public, including Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang and two of the great slithering villains of the financial-scandal age — Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski and Enron's Ken Lay. Goldman angrily denounced the report as "an egregious distortion of the facts" — shortly before paying $110 million to settle an investigation into spinning and other manipulations launched by New York state regulators. "The spinning of hot IPO shares was not a harmless corporate perk," then-attorney general Eliot Spitzer said at the time. "Instead, it was an integral part of a fraudulent scheme to win new investment-banking business." Such practices conspired to turn the Internet bubble into one of the greatest financial disasters in world history: Some $5 trillion of wealth was wiped out on the NASDAQ alone. But the real problem wasn't the money that was lost by shareholders, it was the money gained by investment bankers, who received hefty bonuses for tampering with the market. Instead of teaching Wall Street a lesson that bubbles always deflate, the Internet years demonstrated to bankers that in the age of freely flowing capital and publicly owned financial companies, bubbles are incredibly easy to inflate, and individual bonuses are actually bigger when the mania and the irrationality are greater. Nowhere was this truer than at Goldman. Between 1999 and 2002, the firm paid out $28.5 billion in compensation and benefits — an average of roughly $350,000 a year per employee. Those numbers are important because the key legacy of the Internet boom is that the economy is now driven in large part by the pursuit of the enormous salaries and bonuses that such bubbles make possible. Goldman's mantra of "long-term greedy" vanished into thin air as the game became about getting your check before the melon hit the pavement. The market was no longer a rationally managed place to grow real, profitable businesses: It was a huge ocean of Someone Else's Money where bankers hauled in vast sums through whatever means necessary and tried to convert that money into bonuses and payouts as quickly as possible. If you laddered and spun 50 Internet IPOs that went bust within a year, so what? By the time the Securities and Exchange Commission got around to fining your firm $110 million, the yacht you bought with your IPO bonuses was already six years old. Besides, you were probably out of Goldman by then, running the U.S. Treasury or maybe the state of New Jersey. (One of the truly comic moments in the history of America's recent financial collapse came when Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, who ran Goldman from 1994 to 1999 and left with $320 million in IPO-fattened stock, insisted in 2002 that "I've never even heard the term 'laddering' before.") For a bank that paid out $7 billion a year in salaries, $110 million fines issued half a decade late were something far less than a deterrent —they were a joke. Once the Internet bubble burst, Goldman had no incentive to reassess its new, profit-driven strategy; it just searched around for another bubble to inflate. As it turns out, it had one ready, thanks in large part to Rubin. BUBBLE #3 The Housing Craze Goldman's role in the sweeping global disaster that was the housing bubble is not hard to trace. Here again, the basic trick was a decline in underwriting standards, although in this case the standards weren't in IPOs but in mortgages. By now almost everyone knows that for decades mortgage dealers insisted that home buyers be able to produce a down payment of 10 percent or more, show a steady income and good credit rating, and possess a real first and last name. Then, at the dawn of the new millennium, they suddenly threw all that **** out the window and started writing mortgages on the backs of napkins to cocktail waitresses and ex-cons carrying five bucks and a Snickers bar. None of that would have been possible without investment bankers like Goldman, who created vehicles to package those shitty mortgages and sell them en mass to unsuspecting insurance companies and pension funds. This created a mass market for toxic debt that would never have existed before; in the old days, no bank would have wanted to keep some addict ex-con's mortgage on its books, knowing how likely it was to fail. You can't write these mortgages, in other words, unless you can sell them to someone who doesn't know what they are. Goldman used two methods to hide the mess they were selling. First, they bundled hundreds of different mortgages into instruments called Collateralized Debt Obligations. Then they sold investors on the idea that, because a bunch of those mortgages would turn out to be OK, there was no reason to worry so much about the shitty ones: The CDO, as a whole, was sound. Thus, junk-rated mortgages were turned into AAA-rated investments. Second, to hedge its own bets, Goldman got companies like AIG to provide insurance — known as credit default swaps — on the CDOs. The swaps were essentially a racetrack bet between AIG and Goldman: Goldman is betting the ex-cons will default, AIG is betting they won't. There was only one problem with the deals: All of the wheeling and dealing represented exactly the kind of dangerous speculation that federal regulators are supposed to rein in. Derivatives like CDOs and credit swaps had already caused a series of serious financial calamities: Procter & Gamble and Gibson Greetings both lost fortunes, and Orange County, California, was forced to default in 1994. A report that year by the Government Accountability Office recommended that such financial instruments be tightly regulated — and in 1998, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a woman named Brooksley Born, agreed. That May, she circulated a letter to business leaders and the Clinton administration suggesting that banks be required to provide greater disclosure in derivatives trades, and maintain reserves to cushion against losses. More regulation wasn’t exactly what Goldman had in mind. “The banks go crazy — they want it stopped,” says Michael Greenberger, who worked for Born as director of trading and markets at the CFTC and is now a law professor at the University of Maryland. “Greenspan, Summers, Rubin and [sEC chief Arthur] Levitt want it stopped.” Clinton's reigning economic foursome — “especially Rubin,” according to Greenberger — called Born in for a meeting and pleaded their case. She refused to back down, however, and continued to push for more regulation of the derivatives. Then, in June 1998, Rubin went public to denounce her move, eventually recommending that Congress strip the CFTC of its regulatory authority. In 2000, on its last day in session, Congress passed the now-notorious Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which had been inserted into an 11,000-page spending bill at the last minute, with almost no debate on the floor of the Senate. Banks were now free to trade default swaps with impunity. But the story didn't end there. AIG, a major purveyor of default swaps, approached the New York State Insurance Department in 2000 and asked whether default swaps would be regulated as insurance. At the time, the office was run by one Neil Levin, a former Goldman vice president, who decided against regulating the swaps. Now freed to underwrite as many housing-based securities and buy as much credit-default protection as it wanted, Goldman went berserk with lending lust. By the peak of the housing boom in 2006, Goldman was underwriting $76.5 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities — a third of which were sub-prime — much of it to institutional investors like pensions and insurance companies. And in these massive issues of real estate were vast swamps of crap. Take one $494 million issue that year, GSAMP Trust 2006S3. Many of the mortgages belonged to second-mortgage borrowers, and the average equity they had in their homes was 0.71 percent. Moreover, 58 percent of the loans included little or no documentation — no names of the borrowers, no addresses of the homes, just zip codes. Yet both of the major ratings agencies, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, rated 93 percent of the issue as investment grade. Moody's projected that less than 10 percent of the loans would default. In reality, 18 percent of the mortgages were in default within 18 months. Not that Goldman was personally at any risk. The bank might be taking all these hideous, completely irresponsible mortgages from beneath-gangster-status firms like Countrywide and selling them off to municipalities and pensioners — old people, for God's sake — pretending the whole time that it wasn't grade D horseshit. But even as it was doing so, it was taking short positions in the same market, in essence betting against the same crap it was selling. Even worse, Goldman bragged about it in public. "The mortgage sector continues to be challenged," David Viniar, the bank's chief financial officer, boasted in 2007. "As a result, we took significant markdowns on our long inventory positions … However, our risk bias in that market was to be short, and that net short position was profitable." In other words, the mortgages it was selling were for chumps. The real money was in betting against those same mortgages. "That's how audacious these idiots are," says one hedge fund manager. "At least with other banks, you could say that they were just dumb — they believed what they were selling, and it blew them up. Goldman knew what it was doing." I ask the manager how it could be that selling something to customers that you're actually betting against — particularly when you know more about the weaknesses of those products than the customer — doesn't amount to securities fraud. "It's exactly securities fraud," he says. "It's the heart of securities fraud." Eventually, lots of aggrieved investors agreed. In a virtual repeat of the Internet IPO craze, Goldman was hit with a wave of lawsuits after the collapse of the housing bubble, many of which accused the bank of withholding pertinent information about the quality of the mortgages it issued. New York state regulators are suing Goldman and 25 other underwriters for selling bundles of crappy Countrywide mortgages to city and state pension funds, which lost as much as $100 million in the investments. Massachusetts also investigated Goldman for similar misdeeds, acting on behalf of 714 mortgage holders who got stuck holding predatory loans. But once again, Goldman got off virtually scot-free, staving off prosecution by agreeing to pay a paltry $60 million — about what the bank's CDO division made in a day and a half during the real estate boom. The effects of the housing bubble are well known — it led more or less directly to the collapse of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG, whose toxic portfolio of credit swaps was in significant part composed of the insurance that banks like Goldman bought against their own housing portfolios. In fact, at least $13 billion of the taxpayer money given to AIG in the bailout ultimately went to Goldman, meaning that the bank made out on the housing bubble twice: It fucked the investors who bought their horse-dung CDOs by betting against its own crappy product, then it turned around and fucked the taxpayer by making him pay off those same bets. And once again, while the world was crashing down all around the bank, Goldman made sure it was doing just fine in the compensation department. In 2006, the firm's payroll jumped to $16.5 billion — an average of $622,000 per employee. As a Goldman spokesman explained, "We work very hard here." But the best was yet to come. While the collapse of the housing bubble sent most of the financial world fleeing for the exits, or to jail, Goldman boldly doubled down — and almost single-handedly created yet another bubble, one the world still barely knows the firm had anything to do with. BUBBLE #4 $4 a Gallon By the beginning of 2008, the financial world was in turmoil. Wall Street had spent the past two and a half decades producing one scandal after another, which didn't leave much to sell that wasn't tainted. The terms junk bond, IPO, sub-prime mortgage and other once-hot financial fare were now firmly associated in the public's mind with scams; the terms credit swaps and CDOs were about to join them. The credit markets were in crisis, and the mantra that had sustained the fantasy economy throughout the Bush years — the notion that housing prices never go down — was now a fully exploded myth, leaving the Street clamouring for a new bullshit paradigm to sling. Where to go? With the public reluctant to put money in anything that felt like a paper investment, the Street quietly moved the casino to the physical-commodities market — stuff you could touch: corn, coffee, cocoa, wheat and, above all, energy commodities, especially oil. In conjunction with a decline in the dollar, the credit crunch and the housing crash caused a "flight to commodities." Oil futures in particular sky-rocketed, as the price of a single barrel went from around $60 in the middle of 2007 to a high of $147 in the summer of 2008. That summer, as the presidential campaign heated up, the accepted explanation for why gasoline had hit $4.11 a gallon was that there was a problem with the world oil supply. In a classic example of how Republicans and Democrats respond to crises by engaging in fierce exchanges of moronic irrelevancies, John McCain insisted that ending the moratorium on offshore drilling would be "very helpful in the short term," while Barack Obama in typical liberal-arts yuppie style argued that federal investment in hybrid cars was the way out. But it was all a lie. While the global supply of oil will eventually dry up, the short-term flow has actually been increasing. In the six months before prices spiked, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the world oil supply rose from 85.24 million barrels a day to 85.72 million. Over the same period, world oil demand dropped from 86.82 million barrels a day to 86.07 million. Not only was the short-term supply of oil rising, the demand for it was falling — which, in classic economic terms, should have brought prices at the pump down. So what caused the huge spike in oil prices? Take a wild guess. Obviously Goldman had help — there were other players in the physical commodities market — but the root cause had almost everything to do with the behaviour of a few powerful actors determined to turn the once-solid market into a speculative casino. Goldman did it by persuading pension funds and other large institutional investors to invest in oil futures — agreeing to buy oil at a certain price on a fixed date. The push transformed oil from a physical commodity, rigidly subject to supply and demand, into something to bet on, like a stock. Between 2003 and 2008, the amount of speculative money in commodities grew from $13 billion to $317 billion, an increase of 2,300 percent. By 2008, a barrel of oil was traded 27 times, on average, before it was actually delivered and consumed. As is so often the case, there had been a Depression-era law in place designed specifically to prevent this sort of thing. The commodities market was designed in large part to help farmers: A grower concerned about future price drops could enter into a contract to sell his corn at a certain price for delivery later on, which made him worry less about building up stores of his crop. When no one was buying corn, the farmer could sell to a middleman known as a "traditional speculator," who would store the grain and sell it later, when demand returned. That way, someone was always there to buy from the farmer, even when the market temporarily had no need for his crops. In 1936, however, Congress recognized that there should never be more speculators in the market than real producers and consumers. If that happened, prices would be affected by something other than supply and demand, and price manipulations would ensue. A new law empowered the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the very same body that would later try and fail to regulate credit swaps — to place limits on speculative trades in commodities. As a result of the CFTC's oversight, peace and harmony reigned in the commodities markets for more than 50 years. All that changed in 1991 when, unbeknownst to almost everyone in the world, a Goldman-owned commodities-trading subsidiary called J. Aron wrote to the CFTC and made an unusual argument. Farmers with big stores of corn, Goldman argued, weren't the only ones who needed to hedge their risk against future price drops — Wall Street dealers who made big bets on oil prices also needed to hedge their risk, because, well, they stood to lose a lot too. This was complete and utter crap — the 1936 law, remember, was specifically designed to maintain distinctions between people who were buying and selling real tangible stuff and people who were trading in paper alone. But the CFTC, amazingly, bought Goldman's argument. It issued the bank a free pass, called the "Bona Fide Hedging" exemption, allowing Goldman's subsidiary to call itself a physical hedger and escape virtually all limits placed on speculators. In the years that followed, the commission would quietly issue 14 similar exemptions to other companies. Now Goldman and other banks were free to drive more investors into the commodities markets, enabling speculators to place increasingly big bets. That 1991 letter from Goldman more or less directly led to the oil bubble in 2008, when the number of speculators in the market — driven there by fear of the falling dollar and the housing crash — finally overwhelmed the real physical suppliers and consumers. By 2008, at least three quarters of the activity on the commodity exchanges was speculative, according to a congressional staffer who studied the numbers — and that's likely a conservative estimate. By the middle of last summer, despite rising supply and a drop in demand, we were paying $4 a gallon every time we pulled up to the pump. What is even more amazing is that the letter to Goldman, along with most of the other trading exemptions, was handed out more or less in secret. "I was the head of the division of trading and markets, and Brooksley Born was the chair of the CFTC," says Greenberger, "and neither of us knew this letter was out there." In fact, the letters only came to light by accident. Last year, a staffer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee just happened to be at a briefing when officials from the CFTC made an offhand reference to the exemptions. "I had been invited to a briefing the commission was holding on energy," the staffer recounts. "And suddenly in the middle of it, they start saying, 'Yeah, we've been issuing these letters for years now.' I raised my hand and said, 'Really? You issued a letter? Can I see it?' And they were like, 'Duh, duh.' So we went back and forth, and finally they said, 'We have to clear it with Goldman Sachs.' I'm like, 'What do you mean, you have to clear it with Goldman Sachs?'" The CFTC cited a rule that prohibited it from releasing any information about a company's current position in the market. But the staffer's request was about a letter that had been issued 17 years earlier. It no longer had anything to do with Goldman's current position. What's more, Section 7 of the 1936 commodities law gives Congress the right to any information it wants from the commission. Still, in a classic example of how complete Goldman's capture of government is, the CFTC waited until it got clearance from the bank before it turned the letter over. Armed with the semi-secret government exemption, Goldman had become the chief designer of a giant commodities betting parlour. Its Goldman Sachs Commodities Index — which tracks the prices of 24 major commodities but is overwhelmingly weighted toward oil — became the place where pension funds and insurance companies and other institutional investors could make massive long-term bets on commodity prices. Which was all well and good, except for a couple of things. One was that index speculators are mostly "long only" betters, who seldom if ever take short positions — meaning they only bet on prices to rise. While this kind of behaviour is good for a stock market, it's terrible for commodities, because it continually forces prices upward. "If index speculators took short positions as well as long ones, you'd see them pushing prices both up and down," says Michael Masters, a hedge fund manager who has helped expose the role of investment banks in the manipulation of oil prices. "But they only push prices in one direction: up." Complicating matters even further was the fact that Goldman itself was cheer-leading with all its might for an increase in oil prices. In the beginning of 2008, Arjun Murti, a Goldman analyst, hailed as an "oracle of oil" by The New York Times, predicted a "super spike" in oil prices, forecasting a rise to $200 a barrel. At the time Goldman was heavily invested in oil through its commodities trading subsidiary, J. Aron; it also owned a stake in a major oil refinery in Kansas, where it warehoused the crude it bought and sold. Even though the supply of oil was keeping pace with demand, Murti continually warned of disruptions to the world oil supply, going so far as to broadcast the fact that he owned two hybrid cars. High prices, the bank insisted, were somehow the fault of the piggish American consumer; in 2005, Goldman analysts insisted that we wouldn't know when oil prices would fall until we knew "when American consumers will stop buying gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and instead seek fuel-efficient alternatives." But it wasn't the consumption of real oil that was driving up prices — it was the trade in paper oil. By the summer of 2008, in fact, commodities speculators had bought and stockpiled enough oil futures to fill 1.1 billion barrels of crude, which meant that speculators owned more future oil on paper than there was real, physical oil stored in all of the country's commercial storage tanks and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve combined. It was a repeat of both the Internet craze and the housing bubble, when Wall Street jacked up present-day profits by selling suckers shares of a fictional fantasy future of endlessly rising prices. In what was by now a painfully familiar pattern, the oil-commodities melon hit the pavement hard in the summer of 2008, causing a massive loss of wealth; crude prices plunged from $147 to $33. Once again the big losers were ordinary people. The pensioners whose funds invested in this crap got massacred: CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, had $1.1 billion in commodities when the crash came. And the damage didn't just come from oil. Soaring food prices driven by the commodities bubble led to catastrophes across the planet, forcing an estimated 100 million people into hunger and sparking food riots throughout the Third World. Now oil prices are rising again: They shot up 20 percent in the month of May and have nearly doubled so far this year. Once again, the problem is not supply or demand. "The highest supply of oil in the last 20 years is now," says Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan who serves on the House energy committee. "Demand is at a 10-year low. And yet prices are up." Asked why politicians continue to harp on things like drilling or hybrid cars, when supply and demand have nothing to do with the high prices, Stupak shakes his head. "I think they just don't understand the problem very well," he says. "You can't explain it in 30 seconds, so politicians ignore it." BUBBLE #5 Rigging the Bailout After the oil bubble collapsed last fall, there was no new bubble to keep things humming — this time, the money seems to be really gone, like worldwide-depression gone. So the financial safari has moved elsewhere, and the big game in the hunt has become the only remaining pool of dumb, unguarded capital left to feed upon: taxpayer money. Here, in the biggest bailout in history, is where Goldman Sachs really started to flex its muscle. It began in September of last year, when then-Treasury secretary Paulson made a momentous series of decisions. Although he had already engineered a rescue of Bear Stearns a few months before and helped bail out quasi-private lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Paulson elected to let Lehman Brothers — one of Goldman's last real competitors — collapse without intervention. ("Goldman's superhero status was left intact," says market analyst Eric Salzman, "and an investment banking competitor, Lehman, goes away.") The very next day, Paulson green-lighted a massive, $85 billion bailout of AIG, which promptly turned around and repaid $13 billion it owed to Goldman. Thanks to the rescue effort, the bank ended up getting paid in full for its bad bets: By contrast, retired auto workers awaiting the Chrysler bailout will be lucky to receive 50 cents for every dollar they are owed. Immediately after the AIG bailout, Paulson announced his federal bailout for the financial industry, a $700 billion plan called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and put a heretofore unknown 35-year-old Goldman banker named Neel Kashkari in charge of administering the funds. In order to qualify for bailout monies, Goldman announced that it would convert from an investment bank to a bank holding company, a move that allows it access not only to $10 billion in TARP funds, but to a whole galaxy of less conspicuous, publicly backed funding — most notably, lending from the discount window of the Federal Reserve. By the end of March, the Fed will have lent or guaranteed at least $8.7 trillion under a series of new bailout programs — and thanks to an obscure law allowing the Fed to block most congressional audits, both the amounts and the recipients of the monies remain almost entirely secret. Converting to a bank-holding company has other benefits as well: Goldman's primary supervisor is now the New York Fed, whose chairman at the time of its announcement was Stephen Friedman, a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs. Friedman was technically in violation of Federal Reserve policy by remaining on the board of Goldman even as he was supposedly regulating the bank; in order to rectify the problem, he applied for, and got, a conflict of interest waiver from the government. Friedman was also supposed to divest himself of his Goldman stock after Goldman became a bank holding company, but thanks to the waiver, he was allowed to go out and buy 52,000 additional shares in his old bank, leaving him $3 million richer. Friedman stepped down in May, but the man now in charge of supervising Goldman — New York Fed president William Dudley — is yet another former Goldmanite. The collective message of all this — the AIG bailout, the swift approval for its bank holding conversion, the TARP funds — is that when it comes to Goldman Sachs, there isn't a free market at all. The government might let other players on the market die, but it simply will not allow Goldman to fail under any circumstances. Its edge in the market has suddenly become an open declaration of supreme privilege. "In the past it was an implicit advantage," says Simon Johnson, an economics professor at MIT and former official at the International Monetary Fund, who compares the bailout to the crony capitalism he has seen in Third World countries. "Now it's more of an explicit advantage." Once the bailouts were in place, Goldman went right back to business as usual, dreaming up impossibly convoluted schemes to pick the American carcass clean of its loose capital. One of its first moves in the post-bailout era was to quietly push forward the calendar it uses to report its earnings, essentially wiping December 2008 — with its $1.3 billion in pretax losses — off the books. At the same time, the bank announced a highly suspicious $1.8 billion profit for the first quarter of 2009 — which apparently included a large chunk of money funneled to it by taxpayers via the AIG bailout. "They cooked those first quarter results six ways from Sunday," says one hedge fund manager. "They hid the losses in the orphan month and called the bailout money profit." Two more numbers stand out from that stunning first-quarter turnaround. The bank paid out an astonishing $4.7 billion in bonuses and compensation in the first three months of this year, an 18 percent increase over the first quarter of 2008. It also raised $5 billion by issuing new shares almost immediately after releasing its first quarter results. Taken together, the numbers show that Goldman essentially borrowed a $5 billion salary payout for its executives in the middle of the global economic crisis it helped cause, using half-baked accounting to reel in investors, just months after receiving billions in a taxpayer bailout. Even more amazing, Goldman did it all right before the government announced the results of its new "stress test" for banks seeking to repay TARP money — suggesting that Goldman knew exactly what was coming. The government was trying to carefully orchestrate the repayments in an effort to prevent further trouble at banks that couldn't pay back the money right away. But Goldman blew off those concerns, brazenly flaunting its insider status. "They seemed to know everything that they needed to do before the stress test came out, unlike everyone else, who had to wait until after," says Michael Hecht, a managing director of JMP Securities. "The government came out and said, 'To pay back TARP, you have to issue debt of at least five years that is not insured by FDIC — which Goldman Sachs had already done, a week or two before." And here's the real punch line. After playing an intimate role in four historic bubble catastrophes, after helping $5 trillion in wealth disappear from the NASDAQ, after pawning off thousands of toxic mortgages on pensioners and cities, after helping to drive the price of gas up to $4 a gallon and to push 100 million people around the world into hunger, after securing tens of billions of taxpayer dollars through a series of bailouts overseen by its former CEO, what did Goldman Sachs give back to the people of the United States in 2008? Fourteen million dollars. That is what the firm paid in taxes in 2008, an effective tax rate of exactly one, read it, one percent. The bank paid out $10 billion in compensation and benefits that same year and made a profit of more than $2 billion — yet it paid the Treasury less than a third of what it forked over to CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who made $42.9 million last year. How is this possible? According to Goldman's annual report, the low taxes are due in large part to changes in the bank's "geographic earnings mix." In other words, the bank moved its money around so that most of its earnings took place in foreign countries with low tax rates. Thanks to our completely fucked corporate tax system, companies like Goldman can ship their revenues offshore and defer taxes on those revenues indefinitely, even while they claim deductions upfront on that same untaxed income. This is why any corporation with an at least occasionally sober accountant can usually find a way to zero out its taxes. A GAO report, in fact, found that between 1998 and 2005, roughly two-thirds of all corporations operating in the U.S. paid no taxes at all. This should be a pitchfork-level outrage — but somehow, when Goldman released its post-bailout tax profile, hardly anyone said a word. One of the few to remark on the obscenity was Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Texas who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. "With the right hand out begging for bailout money," he said, "the left is hiding it offshore." BUBBLE #6 Global Warming Fast-forward to today. It's early June in Washington, D.C. Barack Obama, a popular young politician whose leading private campaign donor was an investment bank called Goldman Sachs — its employees paid some $981,000 to his campaign — sits in the White House. Having seamlessly navigated the political minefield of the bailout era, Goldman is once again back to its old business, scouting out loopholes in a new government-created market with the aid of a new set of alumni occupying key government jobs. Gone are Hank Paulson and Neel Kashkari; in their place are Treasury chief of staff Mark Patterson and CFTC chief Gary Gensler, both former Goldmanites. (Gensler was the firm's co-head of finance.) And instead of credit derivatives or oil futures or mortgage-backed CDOs, the new game in town, the next bubble, is in carbon credits — a booming trillion dollar market that barely even exists yet, but will if the Democratic Party that it gave $4,452,585 to in the last election manages to push into existence a ground-breaking new commodities bubble, disguised as an "environmental plan," called cap-and-trade. The new carbon credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that's been kind to Goldman, except it has one delicious new wrinkle: If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices will be government-mandated. Goldman won't even have to rig the game. It will be rigged in advance. Here's how it works: If the bill passes, there will be limits for coal plants, utilities, natural-gas distributors and numerous other industries on the amount of carbon emissions (a.k.a. greenhouse gases) they can produce per year. If the companies go over their allotment, they will be able to buy "allocations" or credits from other companies that have managed to produce fewer emissions. President Obama conservatively estimates that about $646 billion worth of carbon credits will be auctioned in the first seven years; one of his top economic aides speculates that the real number might be twice or even three times that amount. The feature of this plan that has special appeal to speculators is that the "cap" on carbon will be continually lowered by the government, which means that carbon credits will become more and more scarce with each passing year. Which means that this is a brand new commodities market where the main commodity to be traded is guaranteed to rise in price over time. The volume of this new market will be upwards of a trillion dollars annually; for comparison's sake, the annual combined revenues of all electricity suppliers in the U.S. total $320 billion. Goldman wants this bill. The plan is (1) to get in on the ground floor of paradigm-shifting legislation, (2) make sure that they're the profit-making slice of that paradigm and (3) make sure the slice is a big slice. Goldman started pushing hard for cap-and-trade long ago, but things really ramped up last year when the firm spent $3.5 million to lobby climate issues. (One of their lobbyists at the time was none other than Patterson, now Treasury chief of staff.) Back in 2005, when Hank Paulson was chief of Goldman, he personally helped author the bank's environmental policy, a document that contains some surprising elements for a firm that in all other areas has been consistently opposed to any sort of government regulation. Paulson's report argued that "voluntary action alone cannot solve the climate change problem." A few years later, the bank's carbon chief, Ken Newcombe, insisted that cap-and-trade alone won't be enough to fix the climate problem and called for further public investments in research and development. Which is convenient, considering that Goldman made early investments in wind power (it bought a subsidiary called Horizon Wind Energy), renewable diesel (it is an investor in a firm called Changing World Technologies) and solar power (it partnered with BP Solar), exactly the kind of deals that will prosper if the government forces energy producers to use cleaner energy. As Paulson said at the time, "We're not making those investments to lose money." The bank owns a 10 percent stake in the Chicago Climate Exchange, where the carbon credits will be traded. Moreover, Goldman owns a minority stake in Blue Source LLC, a Utah-based firm that sells carbon credits of the type that will be in great demand if the bill passes. Nobel Prize winner Al Gore, who is intimately involved with the planning of cap-and-trade, started up a company called Generation Investment Management with three former bigwigs from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, David Blood, Mark Ferguson and Peter Harris. Their business? Investing in carbon offsets. There's also a $500 million Green Growth Fund set up by a Goldmanite to invest in green-tech … the list goes on and on. Goldman is ahead of the headlines again, just waiting for someone to make it rain in the right spot. Will this market be bigger than the energy futures market? "Oh, it'll dwarf it," says a former staffer on the House energy committee. Well, you might say, who cares? If cap-and-trade succeeds, won't we all be saved from the catastrophe of global warming? Maybe — but cap-and-trade, as envisioned by Goldman, is really just a carbon tax structured so that private interests collect the revenues. Instead of simply imposing a fixed government levy on carbon pollution and forcing unclean energy producers to pay for the mess they make, cap-and-trade will allow a small tribe of greedy-as-hell Wall Street swine to turn yet another commodities market into a private tax collection scheme. This is worse than the bailout: It allows the bank to seize taxpayer money before it's even collected. "If it's going to be a tax, I would prefer that Washington set the tax and collect it," says Michael Masters, the hedge fund director who spoke out against oil futures speculation. "But we're saying that Wall Street can set the tax, and Wall Street can collect the tax. That's the last thing in the world I want. It's just asinine." Cap-and-trade is going to happen. Or, if it doesn't, something like it will. The moral is the same as for all the other bubbles that Goldman helped create, from 1929 to 2009. In almost every case, the very same bank that behaved recklessly for years, weighing down the system with toxic loans and predatory debt, and accomplishing nothing but massive bonuses for a few bosses, has been rewarded with mountains of virtually free money and government guarantees — while the actual victims in this mess, ordinary taxpayers, are the ones paying for it. It's not always easy to accept the reality of what we now routinely allow these people to get away with; there's a kind of collective denial that kicks in when a country goes through what America has gone through lately, when a people lose as much prestige and status as we have in the past few years. You can't really register the fact that you're no longer a citizen of a thriving first-world democracy, that you're no longer above getting robbed in broad daylight, because like an amputee, you can still sort of feel things that are no longer there. But this is it. This is the world we live in now. And in this world, some of us have to play by the rules, while others get a note from the principal excusing them from homework till the end of time, plus 10 billion free dollars in a paper bag to buy lunch. It's a gangster state, running on gangster economics, and even prices can't be trusted anymore; there are hidden taxes in every buck you pay. And maybe we can't stop it, but we should at least know where it's all going.

March 14, 2011

though i feel the same fustrations you do, I must admire the older group who has had to bear this emotional roller coaster ride for almost 7 years for some of them.

Its really AMAZING that considering the number of people on this ride, there is 0.00% Intel. Usually just the odds of such high numbers give you at least 2-3 people in the know, but even statistics dont come into play here.

Take away greed (the newbie posters with rumors which area a good possibility that they are PUMPERS), and the fact EBAY sales of Dinar has dropped 90%, and the EGO maniacs such as Okie, and KTM and such, who have developed a pied piper following of daydreamers, who now have to drum up even more incredible rumors almost hourly to retain their MOSES-LIKE following that they have come to enjoy, so that really leaves very few true info 'gurus' if any. I for one tend to listen to some like another site (not sure his name on DV) who is IN Iraq, and I cant imagine someone who is closer to the info than someone working/living IN Iraq at a fairly hi level.

Take the MOTIVE of the posters, and base credibility on that. Otherwise, just best to put Dinar in a box and go back to work.

March 10, 2011

I think this is really just a slow wake up call for all of us.

You really have to stay tuned or educated in forums OUTSIDE the mainstream media, you have to have a 'world' view of things, including options of where there is any liberty left, and you have to make strategic friendships.

March 10, 2011

Now Boarding Flight # FinCEN 105 By Kevin Brekke

It started as a typical travel day.

After a restless night, my mind darting about from one thought to the next, the battery-driven mechanical rooster lets loose with its rhythmic beep-beep-beep, announcing it’s time to stop pretending you are asleep, get out of bed, and get on with things.

The requisite hygienic routine, along with a hot mug of French roast and a glug of half-and-half from the complimentary in-room coffee station, gets the brain and the bones revved up for the long journey ahead.

I dress, pack and scan the room for that forgotten item. Before heading to the lobby to catch the airport shuttle, I let my bag dangle from one arm, like a marlin hanging from a scale on a pier, confident that it will meet the Jenny Craig-inspired airline weight limits on checked luggage. Dirty clothes really do weigh more.

“Far out,” I say half out loud while exiting the elevator as the olfactory nerve sends a Starbucks proximity alert to that area of the brain responsible for addiction. Two cups before 10 o’clock is my morning routine. It’s one of my few vices, and I have no intention of giving it up.

Slipping the to-go cup inside an insulating sleeve, I wheel my marlin out to the van, grab a seat, and we’re off.

Next to the inventions of the ATM and deodorant, the self-service check-in kiosk at most airports is a thing of beauty. Relieved, Jenny gives my 44-pound bag the nod.

The next part of the story – the TSA gauntlet – is all too familiar to even the occasional vacation flyer, and I will fast-forward through the personal grumbling.

Once reunited with my shoes, belt, wallet, coat, watch, MacBook and backpack, I amble down to the departure gate.

Part and parcel of the publishing business is the need to meet deadlines, and, as is my nature, I have arrived plenty early for my flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

I notice that the aircraft is already at the gate, the flight is listed on the monitor behind the check-in counter, and the jet bridge is positioned for the boarding process. A little later the catering trucks arrive. So far, so good.

About 70 minutes prior to departure, the flight crew arrives, and soon after the flight attendants begin to flock in, in pairs and trios.

Then something non-routine occurs.

A group of men arrive at the gate and mingle at the boarding door. Two are wearing street clothes, two are airline representatives, and three are Customs and Immigration officials. They are all sporting official-looking ID cards dangling from a lanyard around their necks. They chat for a few minutes, one of the airline reps opens the boarding door, and they all step inside a small room that adjoins the jet bridge. They remain in this area in full view of anyone that can see the glass boarding door.

An announcement is made by the gate agent, the scripted message dutifully read from a hand-held card, informing passengers traveling to Frankfurt about U.S. federal regulations that restrict the amount of cash or monetary instruments that can be transported outside the country without filing a declaration. The form required if you do possess more than 10 grand is FinCEN Form 105 International Transport of Currency or Monetary Instruments.

The announcement is made three times. You are asked to see one of the Customs and Immigration officials available on the jet bridge if you have any questions or are carrying more than $10,000 in cash or monetary instruments.

Wow, I thought, they’re here. No doubt about it, they’re here. Currency controls. No rumor or hearsay, I am witness to the event.

I was seated in the sharp end of the plane – business class – and boarded with the second group of passengers. Every passenger that boarded before me was asked for their passport and if they were carrying more than $10,000 in cash or its equivalent. After I was questioned, as I walked down the jet bridge, I glanced over my shoulder, and everyone boarding behind me was being asked as well.

The set-up was very controlled and calculated; asking the passenger for his passport allowed the officer time to size you up, and time for anyone not proficient in lying to give themselves away with a nervous tic or tell.

We have warned for years about the inevitable arrival of currency controls. Well, they are definitely here, and bureaucratic inertia will only accelerate and expand this trend in motion.

It is not hard to imagine Customs and Border Protection agents conducting similar routine checks at banks at some future point. And as the program expands, law enforcement could also get involved. Being cited for a driving violation may soon include questioning about your finances.

If you have not sent a large portion of your wealth on an overseas vacation, the time to start the process is now. Today, if you follow the rules (and we are not suggesting that you do anything illegal), it is completely legal to carry, transport or wire money out of the U.S. We do not expect that today’s relative ease with which you can transfer money internationally will last for much longer. And do not expect a change in this policy to be announced months in advance of implementation. When a change is made, in all likelihood it will take effect immediately upon its release.

If diversifying wealth out of the dollar and having it reside in another country is on your to-do list, get started today.

Vedran again. I should add that Doug Casey, too, urges his subscribers to internationalize their assets (and maybe even themselves) before it’s too late. To learn more about the 5 best ways of “going global,” read our free report Does Your Bank Account Speak Spanish?

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and subscribing to Casey’s Daily Dispatch.

March 7, 2011

Didn't you know that Snopes is a front for the NSA???

Snopes here provides different links and authors sources as compared to your information comming from 'end time bible prophecy' site, which even the Homeland security link it refers to ONLY says this about the new state ID requirements, and I quote directly from HSA site:

"

information and security features that must be incorporated into each card;
proof of identity and lawful status of an applicant;
verification of the source documents provided by an applicant; and
security standards for the offices that issue licenses and identification cards.

I dont see the above way out of line. Lawful status of the applicant probably has to do with all the illegal immigrant problem...

March 7, 2011

If that bothers you, this will really bother you.

Not sure if your comment is substantiated. Here is what SNOPES has to say about that:

Chip-enabled National ID Card To Start May 2011

Not sure your information is substatiated. Here is what SNOPES has to say about National ID:

Real ID, False Concerns

Claim: By 2011, drivers will have to submit to formal identification checks and have chips bearing federal ID numbers implanted in their hands

MIXTURE OF TRUE AND FALSE INFORMATION:

TRUE: By 2011, motorists will have to submit to formal identification checks to obtain or renew U.S. drivers licenses.

FALSE: A federal identification number will be issued to each driver's license holder who has passed the identification process.

FALSE: Chips bearing federal identification numbers will be implanted into motorists' hands. FALSE: The Real ID program mandates that U.S. citizens carry on them at all times a "natonal ID card" which will allow them to be tracked via GPS.

Examples:

[Collected via e-mail, February 2011]

In less than 90 days, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW to carry a "National ID" card.

Based on the provisions of The Real ID Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-13, 119 Stat 392), Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security will now require the federalization of State-issued driver's licenses by May 11, 2011.

The new cards, disguised as a uniform drivers' license, will be biometric. Each card will store up to a gigabyte of personal data about the card holder AND will contain a GPS tracking chip.

The government will know where you are at all times.

No one is talking about this ... and certainly, this is something the Obama administration would like to keep quiet.

Barack Obama's America is quickly becoming Nazi Germany. Did you ever think you would experience invasive, Big Brother tactics in which uniformed officers ask: "Let me see your papers?"

George Orwell's "1984" has finally arrived - 27 years late.

According to financial limits established by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4, 2 USC 1501), this law cannot be implemented because the cost exceeds the limits the federal government can impose on the States. But we know Barack Obama doesn't care what the U.S. Constitution says. SO WE HAVE TO CARE, AND WE HAVE TO STOP HIM.

PLEASE SELECT THIS LINK to FAX every Member of the U.S. Congress. Tell them to STOP any form of National I.D. cards or National Drivers' license. Tell Congress that the Real ID Act goes beyond constitutional limits, and that the American people will not be subjected to what amounts to an internal passport. This is an unlawful demand on the States and an invasion of your privacy as a U.S. citizen. WE MUST PRESERVE OUR PERSONAL FREEDOMS in the United States of America.

In 1993 the Clinton administration tried to create a national card — first as a healthcare card, then as a "jobs card" to keep illegal aliens from stealing jobs from U.S. citizens. In 1996, it became a national drivers' license.

If this battle is not waged---and won---by May 11, 2011, "Real ID" will go into effect.

You will have to carry your card to vote.

You will have to carry your card to enter a federal building.

You will have to carry your card to buy a plane ticket.

You will have to keep your "national driver's license" on your person at all times, whether you are driving or not - you will need it whether you are playing tennis, sitting on your front porch, or walking up to the corner to catch a taxi.

THOSE OF US WHO RESPECT OUR CONSTITUTION AND HOLD OUR PRIVACY IN HIGH ESTEEM MUST ACT NOW TO STOP THIS INTRUSION. MAY 11 IS FAST APPROACHING.

PLEASE SELECT THIS LINK to FAX every Member of the U.S. Congress. Tell them to STOP any form of National I.D. cards or National Drivers' license. Tell Congress that the Real ID Act goes beyond constitutional limits, and that the American people will not be subjected to what amounts to an internal passport. This is an unlawful demand on the States and an invasion of your privacy as a U.S. citizen. WE MUST PRESERVE OUR PERSONAL FREEDOMS in the United States of America.

Most states are already compliant well before the deadline. Personal data about you has already been taken and it has been stored in a dossier about you.

The impetus for REAL ID stemmed from recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, although the standards established by the 9/11 Commission have already been repealed. REAL ID requires State driver's license authorities to use more stringent measures to verify Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, proof of citizenship, and immigration status. The Act prescribes 18 SEPARATE SECURITY CONTROLS that States are now required to use when issuing driver's licenses.

And this information will be available to law enforcement officials in all other States. That means the presumptions of "unreasonable search" are void, because if you are stopped in any State for speeding, the police in that State can "read" the database assigned to your card and virtually "share your information" over the Internet with any other government agency in any state.

PLEASE SELECT THIS LINK to FAX every Member of the U.S. Congress. Tell them to REPEAL, RESCIND, or CUT THE FUNDING to implement REAL I.D. This is so important that, if we lose this one, personal liberty in the United States will have been lost, perhaps permanently! The Real ID Act goes beyond constitutional limits. This is an unlawful demand on the States and an invasion of your privacy as a U.S. citizen. WE MUST PRESERVE OUR PERSONAL FREEDOMS in the United States of America.

The Department of Homeland Security insists the new drivers' licenses cannot be construed as a "National ID Card" because the cards are issued by the States and not the federal government. However, the Real ID Act mandates national standards and national formatting which the States must abide by in creating their "State" cards.

In addition to some First Amendment concerns, the REAL ID Act violates the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, because driver's license, as such, should come under State purview, not the laws of the federal government. A federal drivers' license violates the Tenth Amendment with respect to State power, and obliterates the states' dual sovereignty with the federal government, making the State subservient to the federal government.

We must do everything that we can to invalidate this Act by May 11, 2011.

Ultimately, just as Social Security Cards were never supposed to be used for ID purposes, Real ID drivers' license will, very quickly, become de facto national ID cards, which is why people who don't drive will still need to carry one.

REAL ID is REAL intrusive! We must make sure this doesn't happen in America. Please send your faxes now.

[Collected via e-mail, April 2007]

I need to share with you what happened to me last month. As most of you know, I moved down to California from Alaska just over 2 years ago. I didn't want to get a California's drivers license until my Alaska license expired - which it did last month.

This is the experience I had: I went online and downloaded the DMV form an my Alaska Drivers license had my photo on it and thought that maybe that would help her out. She waved my AK DL in front of me and stated "California doesn't recognize this as a Federal ID"!!! I was floored. She told me to return with my birth certificate. I left...angry of course. I went home and ordered my birth certificate from Nevada,. costing me $41.00.

Three days later I went back into the DMV (my AKDL was expired at this point). I took the test, passed and was going through the process of obtaining my California license... the clerk then asked me what last name I would be using on my drivers license!!! Incredulously I asked her what on earth is she talking about. She then informed me that the last name on my birth certificate was different than what was on my Alaska drivers license and she didn't know which name to use! I stared at her with my mouth open in astonishment! I then managed to explain to her that the last name I had been born with was called my "maiden" name, which of course changed when I had married... thus explaining the different last name showing on my Alaska Drivers License. She asked me if I had changed my name back to my maiden name when I divorced and I informed her I hadn't. She then told me that in order to give me the California Drivers License I had to bring in a certified copy of my marriage certificate to prove my name had indeed been changed from my maiden to married last name! We're talking about something that happened over 25 years ago!

NOW I'm being asked to prove my name had changed! At this point I flipped out and in a very threatening voice told the clerk that I'd come into the DMV three freakin times to get a blasted drivers license and I wasn't leaving without one. I informed her that I was divorced and didn't even have a marriage certificate (having gleefully destroyed it along time ago along with my wedding pictures).. I had provided her with more than the required two pieces of identity. I was furious! The clerk's supervisor was sitting next to her and told the clerk to go ahead and give me the drivers license.

At that point they required me to submit my thumbprint to them. I complained about the lack of freedom in this state and asked them why they just didn't tell everyone that in order to get a drivers license in their state we would need to bring in a suitcase full of ID,s as well as blood and urine samples to go with our thumbprints!! The supervisor then informed me that as of May 2008 that won't be necessary as every state will require (as per Federal Law) every driver to go to the DMV and obtain a FEDERAL ID number which will be implanted in the hand of the individual!!!! They ACTUALLY told me this at the DMV! Apparently, several years ago the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT tried to get a law passed requiring everyone to receive a FEDERAL ID NUMBER. It was turned down by the citizens of the United States.

Well, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT being the lying, cheating criminals that they are - quietly inserted that law into a bill giving federal funds to the Katrina victims. When that bill passed... so did the requirement to receive a FEDERAL ID NUMBER! According to that (now) law, as of MAY 2008, every driver will be required to go to their local DMV office to obtain a federal ID number. They must take in certified copies of their birth certificates, marriage & divorce certificates and social security card. They will also submit to being finger and/or thumbprinted. They will then receive their new FEDERAL ID NUMBER to be inserted under the skin of their hand. At that time they will then be licensed to drive! If you choose not to participate in this FEDERAL ID program... you will not be able to: DRIVE, TRAVEL ON COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT, GO INTO FEDERAL BUILDINGS (that means you can't defend yourself in Federal Courts if you don't have a FEDERAL ID number) STEP ONTO FEDERAL LANDS (say goodbye to hiking, camping, rafting, etc....), RECEIVE SOCIAL SECURITY, RECEIVE ANY FEDERAL FUNDS & BENEFITS, RECEIVE TAX REFUNDS, WORK FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, RECEIVE WAGES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SERVE IN ANY OF THE ARMED FORCES, RECEIVE VA BENEFITS etc...etc...etc...

Does this LAW affect YOU??? Do you like it? IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THIS LAW You MUST fight this. You have one year to get your representatives to reverse this law. You MUST write all your Congressmen, Senators and Representatives and DEMAND that this "LAW" be reversed. None of us can afford to sit and ignore this law.

This law effectively takes away our last remaining rights as citizens of this country. When the Federal Government starts to enforce this law... you will NOT have any rights. NONE! You cannot stand on the Constitution as it will be ONLY for those who have received their ID number!!! Don't believe me??? Call your local DMV and ask them!!!!.... PLEASE PROTECT WHAT LITTLE RIGHTS WE STILL HAVE LEFT..... FIGHT THIS LAW! EVIL PROSPERS WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING

If we choose not to fight this law..... we DESERVE the government we get.

As you can imagine, I left the Auburn, California DMV in shock!!

Our government is not for us...it's against us...

PLEASE FIGHT THIS LAW....IT TRAMPLES ON THE FREEDOMS OUR FOREFATHERS DIED FOR...

Origins: In May 2005, the U.S. Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed into law, the "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief Act." Contained within that legislation was the "Real ID Act," provisions requiring every state to issue drivers' licenses that comply with a national

standard.

The "Real ID Act" was a response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., attacks that were facilitated by 18 of the 19 hijackers' having obtained fraudulent identification (including U.S. drivers' licenses) that helped them board the planes they hijacked and flew into the Pentagon and World Trade Center buildings.

The "Real ID Act" mandated that by 11 May 2008, each U.S. state implement systems ensuring that motorists who apply for licenses are who they say they are and do not pose security risks. After that date, persons looking to obtain or renew drivers' licenses issued by any of the 50 states would have to provide documentation of identity (e.g., birth certificate, passport), documentation of residency address (e.g., utility bills), and documentation showing they are in the United States legally (e.g., birth certificate from a U.S. state or territory, U.S. passport, U.S. permanent residency card).

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security extended the 11 May 2008 deadline to 31 December 2009 for states that both asked for a postponement and provided a compliance plan, and as of the original deadline, all fifty states had either applied for or received extensions.

Numerous states were up in arms about the law, primarily because they maintained that having to vet every holder of a driver's license would be a lengthy and expensive process, one that would hopelessly snarl their motor vehicle and public safety departments. State officials also expressed concerns about maintaining individuals' rights to privacy. By the end of 2009, half the states had approved resolutions or legislation proclaiming that they did not want to participate in the program, and bills were introduced into Congress seeking to amend or repeal it.

As of now, 11 May 2011 is the deadline for final program implementation. After that date, persons born later than 1 December 1964 will be required to obtain Real ID-compliant driver's licenses by 1 December 2014 in order for those licenses to be accepted a valid ID for federal purposes. Persons born before 1 December 1964 will be required to have Real ID-compliant licenses by 1 December 2017.

The federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that a Real ID-compliant driver's license will be required in order to

access a federal facility, board federally-regulated commercial aircraft, and enter nuclear power plants.

To many citizens the Real ID Act smacks of a national ID card program, but the DHS maintains that is not so. That agency says that "The proposed regulations establish common standards for States to issue licenses. The Federal Government is not issuing the licenses, is not collecting information about license holders, and is not requiring States to transmit license holder information to the Federal Government that the Government does not already have (such as a Social Security Number)."

As for the Internet-circulated account of an unnamed former resident of Alaska who experienced problems obtaining a California driver's license, while the 2008 implementation of the Real ID Act required such an applicant to provide proof of who she was and where she lived as part of the recredentialing process, we could find no information about the federal government's having enacted a plan to issue complying motorists with "Federal ID Numbers," let alone anything about those numbers being "inserted under the skin of their hand." Those parts of the missive are imagination or misinformation run amok. The insertion of machine-readable devices into the body parts of compliant citizens is a recurring feature in apocalyptic or "evil corporation/government" rumors, such as claims that Mondex is replacing money with biochips inserted into people's hands, or that the government is inserting RFID chips into the homeless to better keep tabs on them. (A related rumor asserts that the security strip embedded in U.S. currency helps the government keep track of how much money any person is carrying.)

As of April 2007, the DHS lists these requirements for a Real ID-compliant driver's license:

A photo ID or other identity document that includes full legal name and date of birth.
A birth certificate or other documentation of date of birth.
Proof of Social Security number (or ineligibility for one).
Documentation of residency address, such as a utility bill.
Proof of lawful entry/residency status in the U.S.

Note that the above list details the minimum standards required under the Real ID Act; individual states may still choose to implement more stringent requirements (and at least some states already do exceed the Real ID standards by thumbprinting motorists and/or requiring proof of name change). However, the Homeland Security requirements themselves contains no mention of requiring proof of marriages and divorces, requiring motorists to submit to being fingerprinted, inserting ID numbers into people, embedding the cards with GPS-trackable chips, or requiring citizens to carry such ID with them at all times.

Barbara "look, Ma, no hands!" Mikkelson

Last updated: 24 February 2011

The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.co...ffic/realid.asp

This material may not be reproduced without permission.

snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.

Sources:

Arnoldy, Ben. "Resistance Rises to US Law That Requires Stricter ID Standards." Christian Science Monitor. 9 February 2007 (p. 1). Gaouette, Nicole. "National ID Requirements Postponed Under Criticism." Los Angeles Times. 2 March 2007 (p. A16). Gledhill, Lynda. "Long Waits Looming for License Renewals." San Francisco Chronicle. 24 July 2006. USA Today. "Time Running Out on Arguments Against Real ID." 6 March 2007 (p. A12).

March 7, 2011

I have to agree that most of the general population hasnt had enough Dinars to hoard. They are paying thousands of Dinars for just beans and rice.

Even if they do become rich, they arent sophisticated enough to avoid taxes, to the extent of our own rich here in the US, which have been paying less % taxes per year since 1995 (legally). The flow of 10x more money in the streets will make the IQ goverment 'geniouses' and people will forget demonstrations.

Remember the two biggest motivating factors in anyones life (baring religious zealots) - greed and the fear of loss

March 7, 2011

Considering hes stated there were dozens of ships waiting to be unloaded with tons of goods in the bay back in November Im sure hes eaten enough crow to give him a lifetime of indigestion. What a dufus

He should go work for Steven Spielberg as a fiction writer

March 7, 2011

My point of this post is to raise the awareness level of how the present powers that be are 'criminalizing' cash. Its like you will be treated like a criminal if you even try to pay for plane tickets using cash. I dont particularly like the idea that WHOMEVER wants, can see what I have in my account or money. Not to mention identity and credit card theft is on the rise.

I also have a beef with these cameras on intersections. Ive already received a ticket for 'running a red light', and I can assure you I am the most careful driver you can imagine, and wonder just how 'sensitive' this camera is to passing a newly turned yellow light? try to prove that in court. they know you wont go thru all the trouble to fight it for $80.

March 7, 2011

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=271737

March 1, 2011

CCall Notes 2/28/11

Part 1

Frank opens with a song and a prayer

We do not give rates or dates – we will not be giving a date tonight nor a rate. WHY? We are not in control of this investment. Iraqi TV is what we watch as it comes from the GOV of Iraq. We remove the articles that are not on the TV as they are recycled to mess up the news.

#1 What happened with the Demonstration – is it good for our investment – Yes says Frank as the citizens voiced themselves and the GOI responded – today from Delta and 2 others Maliki spoke on TV today to the people. Articles are not released yet so we will share tonight.

#2 TV said citizens were well behaved at the demonstrations. Yes says Frank they were.

#3 TV interview Iraqis on street economy and currency to be strong- yes says Frank

#4 Iraqi’s told TV one demonstration per month till demands were met by Maliki = Yes says Frank and Delta will share what M had in his back pocket.

#5 Violence will escalate with each demonstration – yes it will says Frank and Maliki said today what you are going to do this every month? Delta will tell you tonight.

Darline says there is a Curfew in Kirkuk tonight- Frank says yes.

#6 Maliki’s requested for leaders to resigned – related to “sewers to be cleaned” – “Noise” of the weekend was asking many leaders to leave – yes says Frank 4 leaders of cities did resign by M’s request – those that did not leave, well….noise took care of that

#7 Maliki told people on TV that the ration cards would not be ready but he would give them 15,000 IQD’s this Sunday – Delta states Maliki did this on Sunday.

#8 M hints that the GOI spots are still being fought for and he will present this past Sunday – MOI MOD was working on this past demonstration – even tho they were not released

I went to 9.95 as I felt the GOI is complete and now need Maliki to say that – he does not want to say the 3 ministers as the GOI would be official as soon as the GOI is official the RI-RV would happen -so to date not done

#9 Delta says articles are exaggerating right now – Yes says Frank- we keep the TV news articles only and throw the rest away.

# 10 – 2 important questions during the noise – economy and currency be strong again…

#11 Tragic if the budget is left at a rate of 1170

#1 The UN revalues many nations currencies on March 1st

#2 The GOI next budget is now official March 1st 2011.

#3 Arab Summit March 29, 2011 Iraq needs to be a member 1 month prior in order to be a member of the WTO – no says Frank -

#4 Iraq is to host the summit – clear sign to do what it takes to be a member of the WTO? yes or no says Frank – if another country is invited to come to your home that is not related to you – but one related its not so earth shattering if all things are not done – should they have their currency increased to host this – March 29th will present what they have done in those 29 days – and ask for investments in Iraq at that time… lost lots of contracts so they need new ones… If the RV has not taken place by that time they will probably tell them when they will at that time – Olympics comparison but unfortunately they only have one month to get ready – so they don’t have time but will utilize – this month they will do plenty of things to show them they are an established country again’

Iraq must RI or RV to be a member of the WTO special requests on Iraq? Frank says NO to join the WTO you need an international recognized currency – rate doesn’t matter

US banks has extra physical cash on hand to handle RV? Frank says sources have told us this but I say this is a rumor – you have to KNOW for a fact.

The Iraq 2011 budget does not supply the contract necessary without lives for the pre-RV – we told you that contracts were found in London at 3+ British pounds and now they have not been fulfilled – the GOI never accepted them – they were cancelled and some are still in existence – 3500 were signed and approved and now they are doing their job? They are doing the work at $ 3+ so they have to raise their value to complete the contracts

China leaders say everything is ready to go Frank says Not familiar with this – we have 3 trillion dinars in our reserves – Frank says he cannot confirm that as in 2004 we had 1 trillion back then – but I would say its increased

With hyper-inflation rising in Iraq – the large denoms will have to be recirculated again? Frank says inflation went up in Jan – it could have gone up in Feb and now in March-0 lower denoms can’t be introduced till the rate is up – can’t use lower denoms are current 1170 rate… the moment lower denoms come on board then the rate was leased

Planes monitoring the border incoming and outgoing watching dinar. They do not want dinars to leave the country but you can bring dinars into the country

Protesters in Iraq proves beneficial – yes it was a voice it had been silent since 2010… today the voice is succeeding

US treasury and World Bank was in Iraq this week to sign off on the RI-RV – and they are still there – what are they still doing there now? They are strategizing and making plans.

Delay – 3 second delay on all calls so it seems we may be over talking everyone…

Darline says US China and Frank in agreement with Iraq that the gov held IQD’s would be used to purchase oil only for first 5 years at $ 37 per barrel – now its $ 100 or close to it – maybe they wanted more per barrel and the US treasury took 12 over there to settle them down.

GOI positions are all filled? Everything is smoke and mirrors – GOI IS SEATED? – Frank says I strong believe we proved that all the cab members are at work and MOI AND MOD was helping and the Security was helping them too. We have not seen the evidence physical yet – but we see it with our Team – I agree the GOI is complete just need

Iraq dinar dealers are focused on lower denoms -no rate has to be introduced before lower denoms come out. If you have a dinar that has Saddams face on it throw it away… 100,000 notes that are garbage no new lowers are out yet.

More airports exchange booths are being set up – Yes says Frank by dealers- no one dealer is doing that which is a brilliant business move.

People are changing that the Dinar is NOT a scam….Frank says lets not care what the banks say as they have insulted us enough – they are not students of it – get the law dept as we could sue them for selling us dinars formerly and now they say its a scam?

No one knows the rate however understanding oil, gas and agriculture – it would be a huge disadvantage for the world to trade at the current rate – Natural gas and water are important – Water is more important in Iraq.

IMF has pressured for the RI-RV to happen BEFORE March- Frank says March is tomorrow – IMF UN is the same as USA – the authors of the Plan has given Shabibi the rate and Shabibi has NOT given M the rate yet since he stole it from Allawi… He started to but now Dec, Jan, and Feb has gone by and Shabs has NOT given it to Maliki yet. The Authors of the plan will not allow this yet – things had to be cleaned up this pass weekend – they had to pass their budget. The GOI is all we need to be announced official and man enough to face us now and stop hiding….

Darline says that IHO – are you sure they have to announce the GOI – nowhere in writing is there a formal demand to have a formal announcement – a seated GOI is needed before a budget or even an amended budget and that is done – Frank says M keeps delaying and he did the last 3 Sundays exactly what he said he would do – Maliki is hitting everything he says each Sunday but he doesn’t still announce the GOI – WHY? Cause if he does Shabibi will give him what he promised – the Rate – Shabs own internal structure is pressuring him to do this… Shabs says there is still too much “mud” – after they announce the GOI do you think they are ready?

Part 2

With what Delta says tonight you need the infrastructure of Iraq to be established -electricity the streets laid… do you need the 140 Frank says no but the next guy may say we do – do we need the HCL but frank says not its not necessary but M said today what they do need.

There is a good chance that the infrastructure might actually be launched in time to show at the Arab Summit meeting… if they increase the value the countries will come and bust their doors down to invest…

Maliki will not lose his position if he does not RI-RV yet – not to anyone – he will release his authority when he gets ready and he did some this weekend to Allawi

Delta states that Maliki spoke to the people today in a press conference 5-6 pm Iraq time…

Delta states the good news first – we all know the plan came in 2007 from the CBI to redenominate the currency and they are waiting for the GOI to sit – stability to set in with the GOI – now today in Maliki’s speech stated that execute the project of the economic reform is the redenominations and increase the value of the Dinars – Delta has the copy of what he said – Maliki asked the authorities the project from the CBI to execute this plan ASAP – in Sept the project was done and Shabs gave the green light then and the PM and Cabinet was given the project to start the process – Maliki got that in December that the plan is do economic it and install the national currencies… Financial advisor stated everything was done -just waiting on the green light – the demonstrations worked at announcing this -

TODAY: Maliki in his speech said denoms in place and increase the Iraqi Dinars value – not sure if its tonight or noti gave the green light today to start to execute the plan and put the lower and M said he will not approve everything until the whole GOI is sitting… Maliki said next week he will present his three ministers to the parliament for sure. The delay was due to coalition Kurds- Shiites and Christians he had to be fair- that presented a delay problem – He stated the ration card is all finished and the 15,000 dinars to the people was compensation and rations cards – it was not ready – Sunday they came up and next Sunday and today they announced that this week they would do that… but there were not dollar amounts so not sure if its still 15,000 dinars….In December the United Nations sent some kind of benchmark for Maliki to finish the conditions… preserve exchange rate policy, framework needs to be set in place – to preserve the stabilization of the Iraq Dinar. Economy reform is to revalue and remove the 3 zeros and they can’t go international if they don’t do this.. Pressure is on Maliki today…

The citizens may have another demonstration this Friday came out today…

Today the green light was given to the authorities to the CBI to go ahead and execute THE PLAN – no date or rate given but it could be tonight or tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!

The budget will start March 1st = rumors flying around some could be correct based on the speech from M today but Delta says I am sure that this is what Shabibi was waiting for and its Shabs call to do this… we should hear any minute or any day… M ordered this to be executed – the executive plan to repair their currency and revalue the Dinar-

The date can be anytime as he has been ready since Sept – be in ALERT STARTING NOW!!! He also said he would announce the rest of the GOI and cabinet – and he is scared so he has to do this – Shabibi was ready and he is wanting to please the citizens… the demonstrations this lady was holding a 1000 Dinar and asked Maliki what is this worth less than a penny please change this… and today Maliki gave excellent news…Ministries and others were not important till the demonstrations took place…

IT’S READY and today he gave permission for the plan to be activated- Shabibi could pull the trigger tonight or tomorrow… MALIKI said ASAP….

The infrastructure can’t be rebuilt w/o the rate going up. The 1170 can’t be rebuilt at that rate – they need 500 – 600 billion dollars to rebuild Iraq! 80% of employees of the countries working there under contracts have to be paid in Dinar and have to be Iraq citizens. You can’t manipulate and use two currencies – the USD has to be removed and the value of the Dinar has to be raised so they can use the Dinar… They can’t wait too long…

Today Shabs got the order to do this and M said next week he would finish the GOI spots – and now Shabibi in his hands – what would you do? If you got an executive order what would you do? If you got a green light would you do this now? Maliki has to save himself and he will try to accomplish things ASAP

Within a week or two weeks they will try to pass the HCL law and the 140 does not have anything to do with the revalue …

Part 3

The world is starving for oil and China told Libya talk to the hand – and now they want oil from Iraq.

Delta says the SBA – the Stand By Agreement – has nothing to do with the revalue – as they still get assistance from the IMF – they stated that in order for us to help you again you have to pay the 3500 contracts over 2billion dollars and the 2nd request was to increase your dinar for IMF to help them again… so they have to have May 31st this agreement has to be done by then – all to keep getting help from the IMF. CBI has to pay debts and it was done and M gave the green light to move now…

Darline says the contractors are ready to rebuild in their country and be paid in Dinar but will NOT be paid at 1170 or they will go home… IMO

Delta says they have to have a tradeable recognized currency or it will create a huge inflation.

Iraq joining the WTO = World Trade Organization – Vietnam is a member but this is a true value they are not on a program rate- Iraq has NO recognizable currency – they have to raise their dinars rate and remove the 3 zeros and introduce the lower denoms… can’t compare Vietnam’s currency to Iraq’s. Maliki can’t keep insulting his people without a international currency.

Iraq can’t lop – there will be WWIII in Iraq if they do… they have pride of their money long time ago and they know what its going to be worth …

In order for Shabibi to sign off from US, WTO they needed a stable GOV and good security there… if they had revalued 2-3 ago then it would be a horrible thing as they were not ready for The Plan to work right… Shabs new the inflation went up and Jan and Feb and he is extremely concerned as he controlled inflation for over 2.5 years…its very impressive and went up first time in Jan and Feb if that is true -woo Shabs will be greatly upset trying to get this currency to revalue…

Darline says that we are agreed that Shabs is not a fool but would be if he didn’t take the green light and run with it or he would have a mess light…. in 2006 the dinars were close to 2200 dinars to a dollar then they dropped it to 1700 dinars to a dollar – he has to devalue to increase the value to control the inflation – if he does not do this again the value of the dinar has to be adjusted – lots of countries are worried about inflation that want to revalue their currency too…

Pattern: Delta says so many countries do adjust their currencies on March 1st = last year but Iraq was listed on March 1st 2010 and no change to this date – today its still showing march 2010 today- so if they have an intent to adjust a revalue but we should have seen an update by now so they are about to adjust the rate now as its NOT showing on the list of the UN currencies to adjust…its coming!

100 days – Plan for the Economy – DO you think M will use 100 days to accomplish this? Delta says that he means is: The executive order was to all his ministries and his Dept has to work ASAP and finish all the PROJECTS he has there and gave them 100 days to evaluate what they did – NOT WAIT 100 days to work – they have to do what Maliki said to accomplish all he required or that minister will be fired…

THIS MALIKI SPEECH WAS GREAT FOR OUR INVESTMENT.

If the citizens would – tell them to get into the streets to thank Maliki and celebrate his announcement today to keep the momentum going.

Frank says that the US Treasury and IMF and the United Nations Security Council – is the USA and they have Shabs the rate last year – then M stoke from Allawi and delayed this for a year – and the Authors says do not give him that rate till he gives us the GOI for the people…. Shabs promised not too… and then the people were sent from the USA for many works to work this out and Shabs will not hall not ever give M the rate till M says – THIS IS THE OFFICIAL GOI and stand up and take a bow… then Shabs will run across the street and then say here it is M and go ahead and put in the economic and currency reform for our country so we can create the infrastructure to sell our oil to the world then the sky is the limit… Delta said one time Shabs said he does want the approval of the GOI to approve the currency revalue and release the lower denoms. This is the first time in many years to revalue so the GOI has to help. The Plan has now been given the green light to get this done by Maliki TODAY!Today press conference by Maliki proved this. Iraq citizens go to Shabibi go to his building- Maliki is the receiver as Shabibi is the quarterback – if you believe that M needs the 3 ministers – no says Frank its now in Shabibi’s hands – he has to obey the Authors of The Plan… the GOI has not been announced yet – garbage in articles – but not a complete GOI yet…

Delta says the Executive Order was given today by Maliki to Shabibi but if Shabs wants to wait he may choose to do that – or it could happen tonight or tomorrow – just know the green light is given – THE NEXT MOVE IS WITH THE CBI… M said he has the copy of the plan and remember pressure is on him to get this done and finish it and he will be revalued…

Frank says do we need a GOI seated for Shabibi to hand over the rate? Delta says based on info from today – no we don’t need all of them – How could Maliki give that info without a GOI and it must be true that the GOI is established and functioning and structured they are just hiding it from us…

Delta states that Maliki is Brilliant – we should all admire him – Allawi is in London but M is getting all the hits but he is there doing the work in Baghdad – he is a superman and stayed in the middle of everything and Allawi is scared and hiding in London… M is coming up with something everyday – he will be a hero… He will save his country… now maybe M gave the 3 names to Shabibi and the green light to do it – trifecta all at once may have been done…

BING BAM BOOM – Darline and Debbie said it together -

BING BAM BOOM – woo hooo

Good day in Iraq = M gave the green light to Shabibi – go to CBI site and watch for this to happen….it could happen anytime!

Delta confirms watch the CBI – or Warka Bank site.

The GET Team said this is the best Conference call they have ever heard….

Ali spoke with Frank today and he said I will not ask you a date or rate – but just want to make conversation due to the office to be open in Toledo – he will call those that are running the offices FIRST…

Put Ali’s number in your cell number so you can get in and get out as fast as you can – in the still of the night….

If we have 3 trillion or more in the reserve – when it revalues it will only cover 20% or less of the national debt – some has to e taken to fulfill President Bush’s mandate to pay for the war. Don’t be looking for dates or for false hopes and don’t go out tonight and buy more dinars and don’t let it play on your emotions…

Delta says do not twist our conversation tonight that we said it will revalue tonight or tomorrow as we do NOT know the date – Shabibi will pull the trigger when its time… and he hopes this is our last conference call… Darline says if you keep your eyes focused ahead on the green light you will never hit a red light…

Frank ends with appreciation for Je’sus, Delta, Darline and DebTarHeelGirl. Frank says what Maliki did today its very calculated – we can see what he is trying to do in the still of the night – it will happen!

Frank sings In the Still of the Night…

Thank you Angel R for your valued and wonderful assistance to me during this call which we hope that this is our last one….

March 1, 2011

Multi level marketing scams? I should run and tell my aging adoptive parents they have been involved most of their life in a scam called amway and need to return 31 years worth of double diamond checks - because Enorrste said it is a scam.

Listen buddy, today Madoff made the headlines because he says the biggest Ponzi scheme running is his accuser. Takes one to know one.

Lay off the comunal wine and stop throwing stones at OTHER people's glass houses unless you live in a bunker.

March 1, 2011

Mississippi Gal

I know exactly what you are saying. I havent read 3 books in the last 3 years, but I could say I have learned a cart load about ME politics and the world in general from the net.

In fact, when I went back to Dallas to check my mail box, the store owner, who claims to be from 'Persia' I was quick to ask him whe he had left Iran. I guess he feels most bubbas dont know Persia is actually Iran or he prefers not to bear the brunt of Ayatola coments, im not sure, but he's USUALLY been very non-verbose with me in the past (years actually) and I know he owns a fairly substanstial limo fleet at LBJ/Preston area. Well, he opened up when I asked him if he kept up with Iraq, and he explained how me made an insinuation about a probable big kill with the Kuwait RV. Needless to say... we have a lot to talk about when I check my mail every 3 months or so...

February 28, 2011

Ive got to come clean. I have not been totally honest with myself. I have been wanting this Dinar speculation to happen for very selfish, financial reasons, and mostly to quick ‘fix’ the bad decisions which I have made in the past that even put me in the place of making this as important as it shouldn’t be… but… in all honesty, and stepping back, I really am incredibly thankful I came to this place in time because of what I have gotten out of what I figure is a silly, total $500 risk (15% of my investment I figure is what really at risk):

Perhaps some of you will view this the same way but I have learned the following since Ive been involved with the Dinar and Dinar Vets:

1. I learned that the present worldly banking system has been implemented not by governments but by private group eons ago and its fiat system for generations.

2. A few leaders in history like Cesar, Lincoln, Kennedy tried to break their people from this system and probably had something to do with their eventual demise. (something not taught in school)

3. People generally will do/say anything to have their 15 minutes of fame, even making up RV stories.

4. Many of our decisions are/were based on religious and moral ethical standards, many of which were handed down from our families, but which seem non-existent in our present day leaders.

5. Our present day world leader is more succeptible to corruption than anytime in the past. Accounting at mayor publicly traded companies is flawed, and the key seems to not get caught.

6. We’ve become a nation of followers, not leaders, per se.

7. Fractional banking is incredible concept. I had NO idea that is how it worked. My life and finances are based on a ‘nationalistic’ false sense, and based on a house of cards. Like playing in a game where someone else makes the rules as you go along. Good luck winning that one…

8. Printing money at will, as the US is down presently, is the modern way of taking money out of my wallet without touching it. What a thief’s concept.

9. Approximately 530 people in congress have had a huge hand in the loss of our constitutional rights, but the worse part is that they are totally insulated of rules they make for all the others.

10. Our present day news sources are not reliable like I always thought they were. All news sources in the US are led by 6 heads, so you turn to the internet for non-influenced sources, and that is almost based on varying opinions, with no way to have an absolute truth. You are on your own, and will need to trust your instincts more in the future than anytime before. The flood of media has only made our decisions more complicated to research. We are a McDonalds generation, we wanted it ‘fast and now’. “They” gave us just that. Just not the healthy version.

I I have learned more about my own habits of making bad life decisions based on 'gurus', heresay, and emotional, ego driven than in 40 years of life previously in 2 years.

This and much more education for $500 and graduation from Dinar RV 101 (which I haven’t theoretically paid yet?)..

Valueless

Thank you. Thank you. No matter what, I’m already way ahead in life profit.

February 28, 2011

You're trying to pin this down to a black and white simple math answer but there is NO WAY.

Consider these variables:

Fractional Banking. 1 to 8 aprox ratios

Fiat money exchange. Not everyone will be cashing in with CBI directly. Most will due it thru brokers, banks in US, etc. Exchanges in banks in US will put that CURRENCY into the Fed Depository system and probably virtual exchanges will take place, if not credits of oil purchases and such.

Forex itself is a sleeping giant. It really converts fiat moneys into almost limitless virtual currency. Physical currency almost doesnt even make a dent... and yes, this is why we have modern day problems with almost all fiat currencies except maybe Norway (they have no debt as of today, but that can change) but irregardless, its trading paper for virtual and other paper...

Even the US stock exchange has been caught overselling stock at 800% of actual existence. Dont you see, NONE of this can be pinned down. Its just a game of musical chairs, but with money, and when the music stops, you'd better not be holding the wrong one...

My recomendation is to cash in and look for stable options for that. IE: commodities, metals, land, basket of currencies, etc. You'll be having to make the financial decisions of your life, and if I've learned one lesson since this ID investment, is that gurus I always respected in the field are really just hi paid idiots.

There was an article today where Madoff accused the US gov of being a giant ponzi scheme, and has good basis for his defense in that respect. Takes one to know one.

February 18, 2011

Iraqis angered over ration card compensations

Thursday, February 17, 2011 11:47 GMT

The 15 000 Iraqi Dinar compensation for ration cards has spurred the anger of Iraqis who considered this initiative as demeaning.

The reaction of Arbil citizens to the compensation was not eased up as well. People urged the government on the other hand to reconsider the huge income difference between citizens and officials.

Kurdish politicians believe that the government underestimated the situation hoping to substitute money compensations with adequate ration cards. A number of economists said Iraqi government is trying to patch up the situation.

People’s protests in Baghdad and in the different provinces of Iraq led the government to reconsider the ration card system and pay off compensations. People however found these measures insufficient which spurred further anger in the streets.

February 17, 2011

I have heard from 3 credible sources, and also Rudy Conen that for an RV to occur, it requires the approval of IQ parliament.

So if that is correct, neither Maliki or Shabibi can do it independently.

It is now a democratic government, so it stands to reason things as huge as an RV requires a governmental approval.

So IF a complete GOI is needed in place for parliament to make a vote, then there are some logical steps to WATCH for as we get closer... so forget Okie's and other gurus who say it is going to be done by M or any other illogical source

February 16, 2011

Ever wonder where your tax dollars are going? The new Obama budget earmarks $44 billion for the purchase of more naked body scanners by the TSA:

http://www.naturalnews.com/031358_naked_body_scanners_federal_budget.html

(http://www.naturalnews.com/

031358_naked_body_scanners_federal_budget.html )

February 15, 2011

South Carolina lawmaker wants separate currency for state

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/

20110214/us_yblog_thelookout/

south-carolina-lawmaker-wants-separate-currency-for-state

February 15, 2011

GEORGE SOROS AND HIS PROGRESSIVE WAR ON AMERICA

By Dr. Michael S. Coffman Ph. D.

February 15, 2011

NewsWithViews.com

Multi Billionaire George Soros is waging a war on America’s Constitution to transform the freest people in the history of the earth into a hedonistic/socialistic nation ruled by global governance.

Almost unknown until recently, multi-billionaire George Soros has been quietly bringing down governments around the world. He has now turned his attention to the United States and unleashed a firestorm of activity intent on destroying the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. dollar.

David Kupelian, managing editor of WorldNetDaily.com and editor of Whistleblower magazine calls Soros a “God-hating atheist, a self-hating Jew, a capitalism-hating socialist, and an America-hating globalist.”

[1] That is just the start. He supports euthanasia, legalizing drugs, socialism, *** rights and global governance. He opposes free enterprise, Israel (even though he is a Jew) and U.S. sovereignty.[2] He wants to devalue the U.S. dollar, telling the Financial Times in October 2009 that “an orderly decline of the dollar is actually desirable,” even though Americans would suffer if it were to happen.[3]

Soros wants to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency and replace it with “a new currency system.”

[4] If that were to happen it would have a catastrophic effect on the U.S. There is a huge demand for dollars in the world because the dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Every nation must use dollars to buy oil and other commodities in international trade.[5] This keeps the demand for dollars high.

There have been efforts to dump the dollar as the reserve currency in the past. In the most recent effort, Gulf Arab states, along with China, Russia, Japan and France announced plans on October 5, 2009 to do this by 2018.

[6] That effort seems to have been stalled for now. If the dollar ever loses its reserve currency status, there would suddenly be a huge surplus of dollars flooding back to the U.S. causing high inflation, even hyperinflation.[7] Americans would have to carry their money in wheelbarrows as happened in the Weimar Republic after WWI.

Can Soros do this? At a net worth estimated at $11 billion, he is worth more than the Gross Domestic Product of three-quarters of all the nations in the world. He brought down the Russian government in the late 1990s.

[8] He is famously known as “the man who broke the Bank of England” by shorting the British pound on October, 1992.[9] The international banking community now calls it Black Wednesday. Soros brags about making a billion or more dollars by crashing of the Bank of England,[10] and says it is “fun” to bring down entire nations he labels “repressive” based on his Marxist ideology.” The innocent casualties of his subversive activities are “unintended” but a necessary cost of doing good (as he defines it).[11]

Glenn Beck calls Soros “spooky dude” because he actually looks and acts a lot like the evil Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars fame. Soros’s raspy voice even sounds like Palpatine as the Emperor spins his evil throughout his empire. There is some truth in this comparison. Soros was responsible for collapsing the national currency of Malaysia in 1997. True, the leadership of Malaysia was and is very repressive, but it didn’t bother Soros to make the lives of Malasia’s impoverished citizens even more unbearable. When confronted with this evil, Soros casually justifies himself by saying that if he hadn’t speculated with the Malaysian currency, someone else would have.

[12]

Soros’s parents were globalists, promoting the worldwide spread of a single language, Esperanto. Esperanto was a language the elite developed to become the universal language in their socialist paradise to come. Because his father was a leader in this movement, his parents were probably anti-American. His birth name was György Schwarz until age 6 and he grew up speaking Esperanto.

[13] Soros was 13 when his homeland of Hungary was invaded by the Nazis in 1944. His anti-Semitic father saw this inevitability and gave Soros a false Christian identity so he would not be identified as a Jew.[14] A government official responsible for confiscating the property of the Jews and shipping them off to death camps took Soros in as a godson at age 14. Soros accompanied his godfather in this activity and he eventually participated in the grisly process.

In an interview on December 20, 1998 with 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft, Soros boasted, “that’s when my character was made.” Soros admitted to Kroft that he actually participated in the confiscation of the Jew’s property. When Kroft responded that it would cause psychiatric problems for most people, Soros responded, “Not – not at all. Not at all. Maybe as a child you don't – you don't see the connection. But it was – it created no – no problem at all.” Soros went on to say he had no feelings of guilt whatsoever.

[15] He felt no guilt even two years later when the atrocities committed by Hitler in his death camps were exposed to the world.[16]

Soros’ parents were never seen again and were apparently among those shipped off to the death camps. There is no evidence that Soros witnessed this, but he had to have known it. The loss of parents in this way would be a major trauma to any 14 year-old. For Soros to say that it created no emotional problem at all would require that he severed his emotions from his psyche. It allowed him to survive, but at a terrible cost. Perhaps that is why Soros can have “fun” deliberately causing incredible pain for hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people in his twisted logic of helping them. It is just a cost of doing business.

Soros learned how to manipulate people and events early in life. His actions are destructive, yet he admits he feels no remorse. He believes, after all, he is actually helping the people he harms because he is punishing the evil government that created their poverty. Dr. Lyle Rossiter, Jr., a psychiatrist who has studied this pattern of behavior for forty years says it can “only be understood as a product of psychopathology.

[17] Rossiter wasn’t diagnosing Soros, but was defining the general distorted view of reality of radical liberals, who call themselves progressives. Rossiter goes on to state:

So extravagant are the patterns of thinking, emoting, behaving and relating that characterize the liberal (progressive) mind that its relentless protests and demands become understandable as disorders of the psyche. The modern liberal (progressive) mind, its distorted perceptions and its destructive agenda are the product of disturbed personalities.

[18]

This does not mean that Soros fits this description exactly, but from all accounts he personally has given, it seems to fit. He even identifies himself as a progressive and has stated publically he has messianic tendencies.

[19] He is committed to saving the world from itself, no matter what the cost. This is also the goal of most, if not all progressives. The two go hand in glove. Therefore, it is not surprising that Soros provides hundreds of millions of dollars to radical progressive groups, and these progressive groups provide the shock troops needed to destabilize and destroy the United States.

The funding by Soros goes to hundreds, if not thousands of these radical progressive groups. WorldNetDaily’s December, 2010, Whistleblower magazine identifies 150 of these nongovernmental organization (NGO).

[20] They range from his flagship Open Society Institute, to the Tides Foundation, MoveOn.org (which labeled General Petraeus, General Betray Us), to hundreds of smaller groups like ACORN.

Glenn Beck did a series of shows on Soros to expose the almost unbelievable network of anti-American NGOs funded or manipulated by Soros. He even funds media groups like the Huffington Post and National Public Radio, whose programing is considered very liberal.

[21] Soros doesn’t do this entirely by himself. Compatriots like billionaires Herb and Marion Sandler and their Pro Publica organization also contribute to the anti-American effort.[22]

The Open Society Institute (OSI) is the principle organization that Soros uses to distribute $450 million dollars every single year to deserving progressive organizations. Most telling, Soros selected Aryeh Neier to head OSI. Neier is the founder of the violent radical group SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) in the 1960s.

[23] Soros has stated publically that he wants his vast network of organizations to be the “conscious of the world.”[24] In other words, his conscious. What does Soros’s conscious tell him? “The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.”[25]

Soros publically explained that he has historically brought down nations and currencies by destabilizing the nation, currency or both using his vast army of NGOs as a “shadow government” to create what he calls “subversive activities.”

[26] This is the same strategy used by the communists to spread communism since the First World War. More recently, it is the same model advocated by Saul Alinsky in his Rules for Radicals which is dedicated to Satan. Radical socialists Richard Cloward and Frances Piven at Columbia University, went even further by writing a 1966 article in The Nation titled “The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty.”[27]

Now known as the Cloward-Piven Strategy, the strategy took off like wildfire among the progressive liberals. Using Alinsky as their inspiration, the Cloward-Piven strategy “seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.”

[28] The strategy calls for creating a massive movement to force the rest of society to do what they demand. Although this strategy has been used for decades in the United States, it is the exact strategy being used by the myriads of Soros-funded NGOs.

Impossible, you say? Just how do you think the U.S. has accumulated a $14 trillion debt? In their relentless quest to solve the unending evils they see in America, radical NGOs, many funded by Soros, have passed a myriad of expensive social legislation that the United States cannot afford. When there was no longer any tax money to fund the bloated programs, the U.S. began to borrow money to fund them. We now have a $1.5 trillion budget deficit in 2011 to add to our $14 trillion debt. At this rate it will be $19.6 trillion by 2015.

[29] This is not free money. In 2010 the interest payment alone on the debt was $414 billion, second only to Social Security and National Defense.[30]

The National Debt to Gross Domestic Product ration is 94.7 percent. That means the U.S. owes about as much as it produces every year. That is not sustainable, which means the financial condition of the United States is very unstable; exactly what Soros and Cloward and Piven oriented NGOs have been striving to accomplish for decades. Yet, the mainstream media is strangely quiet on this precarious predicament. Two things can happen that could totally collapse the dollar overnight. First, during his U.S. visit the week of January 24, 2011, Chinese President Hu said that the U.S. dollar should no longer be used as the world’s reserve currency. Most people don’t understand the drastic implications of this if it were to happen.

If the world no longer used the dollar as the world reserve currency, the demand for dollars would evaporate and there would be a glut of dollars in the world. The value of the dollar would drop to near zero and hyperinflation could set in. The resulting depression would make the Great Depression look like a cake-walk.

Is this likely to happen? Other nations want the dollar gone, but a sudden collapse would also collapse their economy so they are reluctant to attack the dollar. China, for instance, would lose the $900 billion it has loaned the U.S. Worse; it would lose its biggest market, which would cause massive unemployment in China and almost certain violent riots within its borders.

[31]

It is also unlikely that Soros could collapse the dollar by himself. Nonetheless, he has consistently shown that he can take advantage of economic instability to make billions, while causing the collapse of whatever currency he attacks. While unlikely at the moment, we should be concerned that Soros will find a critical lynchpin that when pulled, could cause a cascade affect that would collapse the dollar, while Soros made billions in gold or another currency.

The second thing that could happen would be far less serious, but far more likely. If we keep piling on debt as we are currently doing, sooner or later China and our other debt holders are going to say ‘no more.’ Standard and Poor’s, as well as Moody’s has already warned the U.S. on January 14, 2011 that it will lose its Aaa credit rating if it doesn’t reign in its debt.

[32] When and if that happens, our interest payments will skyrocket from the $414 billion paid in 2010. While not initially catastrophic, it precipitates a vicious cycle of having to borrow more money to pay the skyrocketing interest on what we already owe, which will cause a further decline in the U.S.’s credit rating, and so on.

The result of either of these possibilities would eventually collapse the dollar, cause pandemonium on the scale of what we have seen in Greece. Worse, it would likely cause the unraveling of our economic and political system, allowing Soros and other globalists to come riding in on their white horses to save the day with global governance and a new global currency—something that the progressive elites have been planning for a hundred years.

The United States is in very serious trouble. We hope that the unthinkable does not happen. But there are many in the world, including Soros and most progressives, who would like to see the dollar collapse and capitalism be abandoned so they can implement their radical progressive agenda. That is the type of “change” progressives really means when they use the code word “change” or “transformation.”

The progressive agenda is diametrically opposite the founding principles within the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, every attempt to destroy the Constitution is being made by unconstitutional laws and decisions rendered by progressive activist judges. The progressive agenda cannot work because it is based on false assumptions rather than on reality.

This radical progressive agenda must be exposed before the 2012 election so most progressives in Congress and our State Legislatures can be voted out of office. In the meantime, we must develop a plan to quickly reduce our national debt—as painful as that may be. The $35 billion spending reduction in 2011 touted by Republicans simply is not enough with a $1.5 trillion deficit.

Footnotes:

1, David Kupelian. The Emperor. Whistleblower, December 2010, p 3

2, Ibid

3, Chrystia Freeland. Transcript: George Soros Interview. Financial Times, October 23, 2009

4, Ibid

5, Ian Welsh. . Ian Welsh, October 7, 2009

6, Robert Fisk. Oil Not Priced In Dollars by 2018? Business Week, October 6, 2009

7, Ian Welsh. What Not Buying Oil With Dollars Means. Ian Welsh, October 7, 2009

8, The Man Who Broke the Bank of England. BBC News, December 6, 1998

9, Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester. George Soros, the Man Who Broke the Bank, Sees a global Meltdown. The Sunday Times, March 28, 2009

10, Glenn Beck.

[/size]11, Arlen Williams. George Soros Video: Having Fun Subverting Nations. RenewAmerica.com, November 12, 2010.

12, James Lewis. Soros the Guiltless. American Thinker, February 2, 2011

13, James Lewis. Soros the Guiltless. American Thinker, February 2, 2011

14. Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester. George Soros, the Man Who Broke the Bank, Sees a global Meltdown. The Sunday Times, March 28, 2009

15. George Soros, Nazi Collaborator. Snopes.com, April 25, 2009. Transcript from 60 Minutes Broadcast, December 20, 1998

16. James Lewis. Soros the Guiltless. American Thinker, February 2, 2011

17. Rossiter, Lyle Jr. M.D. The Liberal Mind; The Psychological Causes of political Madness. Free World Books, LLC. 2006, p 330

18. Ibid

19. Glenn Beck.

[/size]20. Whistleblower, December 2010 (the entire issue)

21. Glenn Beck. Part 1, November 9, 2010. Video.

22. Ed Lasky. All the News that Fits Soros’ Agenda. Whistleblower magazine, December 2010. Pp 34-37

23. Ibid

24. Glenn Beck.

[/size]25, Ibid

26, Ibid

27, Richard Cloward and Frances Piven. The Weight of the Poor, A Strategy to End Poverty. Discover the Networks, May 2, 1966.

28, The Cloward-Piven Strategy. Discover The Networks, no date.

29, U.S. Debt to Rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015. Reuters, June 8, 2010.

30, Interest Expense on the Debt Outstanding. U.S. Treasury Dept.

31, Ian Welsh. What Not Buying Oil With Dollars Means. Ian Welsh, October 7, 2009.

32, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703583404576079311379009904.html" target="_blank">Mark Gongloff, et.al. S&P, Moody’s Warn on U.S. Credit Rating. Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2011.

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