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Post by Entendance on Mar 22, 2016 17:11:25 GMT -5
Italiani: ormai la salvezza è solo individuale ***La sòla ***Capitulation to irrelevance: Italia *** Down she goes. Italia ***2021: Italia Down
“If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.” -Sydney J. Harris
Paul Craig Roberts: "What became of the left? Today I answer my question.
The answer is that the European and American left, which traditionally stood for the working class and peace (bread and peace) no longer exists. The cause championed by those who pretend to be the “left” of today is identity politics. The “left” no longer champions the working class, which the “left” dismisses as Trump deplorables, consisting of racist, misogynist, homophobic, gun nuts..."
This is what we're up against: a status quo that has institutionalized soaring inequality and rising poverty as the only possible output of defending the privileged few at the expense of the many.
The EU project is dead. (you might read ***Cognitive Dissonance, Confirmation Bias Economics & Politics) Here Fred & EntendanceInvestors Beach show why. The question is how long it will take for the whole thing to break up.
"...It’s a big CLUB. And YOU AIN’T IN IT. You and I are NOT IN the big club..."
***How The German Government Gained 100bn From The Greek Crisis
The eurozone is not broken — it is structured to produce the results we are seeing. Any macroeconomic imbalance under EMU institutional arrangements leads to adjustment at the expense of labor income, employment protection, and social services, by means of labor market reform and deconstruction of the welfare state.
The eurozone is not just a currency area, it is a capital accumulation regime in which certain tendencies prevail — including the tendencies to remove social protections, to decrease wages, and to abolish the social and political rights that are the core of citizenship. These effects are embedded in the architecture and the operation mode of the eurozone. It was built that way. So you can’t fix it. More ***here
Brussels' faceless bureaucrats REVEALED... and here are their endless perks YOU pay for
Warning: Europe is not the same as the European Union. The European Union is only an episode in Europe’s history and is doomed to failure. EU is a failing political project with a currency that has caused economic misery and whose migrant policy has brought great division. The EU is done for. The sooner it’s replaced with a different kind of Europe of trade and co-operation, the better.
"In the E.U. version of Neocolonialism, the forces of financialization are used to indenture the peripheral Elites and populaces to the financial core: the peripheral "colonials" borrow money to buy the finished goods manufactured in the core economies, enriching the ruling Elites with A) the profits made selling goods to the debtors B) interest on credit extended to the peripheral colonies to buy the core economies' goods and "live large", and C) the transactional skim of financializing peripheral assets such as real estate and State debt.
In essence, the core banks of the EU colonized the peripheral nations via the financializing euro, which enabled a massive expansion of debt and consumption in the periphery. The banks and exporters of the core extracted enormous profits from this expansion of debt and consumption.
Now that the financialization scheme of the € has run its course, the periphery's neocolonial standing is starkly revealed: the assets and income of the periphery are flowing to the core as interest on the private and sovereign debts that are owed to the core's central bank and its money-center private banks..."
2011 'When it becomes serious, you have to lie' - Jean-Claude Juncker, now President of the EU Commission June 16, 2016 Political missteps, personal health issues, doubts about effectiveness and rising Euroskepticism impair Commission chief’s self-declared mission to save the EU. ***The time of Juncker’s troubles
<Apparently they don't lie all the time. After all, only "When it becomes serious, you have to lie". Up to you to guess how often they feel any given situation is serious, or not serious.
I labeled these untruths Trojan Lies because once they become established and accepted in an -alleged- democratic society, that society is lost and bound to die.>
European Union and the € bound disparate economies together with a common currency under the conditions that they gave up fiscal and monetary sovereignty. In its creation, Germany, recalling the vivid history of Post-Wiemar Hyperinflation, made sure that the new European Currency would be a “hard” currency designed after the pre-WWII Gold Standard, a common currency that spread the Great Depression in the United States to the rest of the developed world after 1929.
So when the 2008 financial crisis raced across the Atlantic like a tsunami and crushed Europe’s banking system under the banner of “Sound fiscal policies” deficits and national debts were restricted to 3% and 60% of GDP respectively and the European Central Bank was restricted from purchasing national debts, which is the reason why central banks were invented in the first place.
Now individual countries can’t generate the deficits necessary to pull the European economy out of recession without entering a debt crisis. -David L. Glotzer
 
...lessico teologico: Austerità è un dio, Europa una fede, la carne dei cittadini un sacrificio. Imagine – the European Union were to collapse tomorrow – or any day soon for that matter. Europeans would dance in the streets. The EU has become a sheer pothole of fear and terror: Economic sanctions – punishment, mounting militarization, the abolition of civil rights for most Europeans. A group of unelected technocrats, representing 28 countries, many of them unfit to serve in their own countries’ political system, but connected well enough to get a plum job in Brussels – are deciding the future of Europe. In small groups and often in secret chambers they decide the future of Europe. Take the TTIP – under pressure from their masters in Washington, behind closed doors under utmost secrecy – and most likely against their own personal good – a small group of European Commission (EC) delegates without scruples, without any respect for their co-citizens, without consideration for their children, grand-children and their children, only interested in the instant laurels and pay-back – to be sure – from the colonialist, usurper and warrior number One, the United States of Chaos and Killing, they are ready to put 500 million Europeans and their descendants at peril.
It cannot be said enough what horrors the TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) would do to the people of Europe; and that is based on the little we know from the 248 pages ‘leaked’ by Greenpeace Netherlands of the ultra-clandestine negotiations taking place. ‘Negotiations’ is the most unfair term imaginable, since all the rules are imposed by Washington, the same as with the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership, involving 11 Pacific countries and the US – but not China and Russia).
Though TPP negotiations are finished, none of the 11 Pacific partners, nor the US Congress have approved the treaty. There is hope that even if ‘negotiations’ by the secret EC traitors and Washington should come to conclusion, at least some of the 28 EU countries may not approve. To be valid, the treaty needs to be approved in unanimity. The new rightwing Austrian frontrunner for Austrian’s Presidency, Norbert Hofer, has already said he would not sign the TTIP agreement. Similar remarks have been made by the French Minister for Foreign Trade, Matthias Fekl, who said, “There cannot be an agreement without France and much less against France.”
Under the TTIP, the citizens of Europe would lose out on all fronts. Europeans would become literally subjects of a corporate empire, led by the United States of America. EU countries would stop being sovereign nations, even more so than is already the case under the current Brussels dictate. As the secret TTIP documents reveal, the agreement would be the death knell for Europe. Here is what Susan George, philosopher and political analyst and President of the Planning Committee of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam has to say:
◾The food we import would be chemically treated, would be genetically modified, would have no labels. You wouldn’t know exactly what is in your food. You could buy chicken that has been rinsed in chlorine, you could have beef that was raised with hormones, you could have biosynthetic food made out of one gene of a plant another of an animal, and this would not be labeled.
◾In the area of agriculture again, it is very likely that we would lose a great many farmers, because if we lower the tariffs of agriculture we will have a flood of American [highly subsidized, GMO]-corn and basic grains flooding into Spain and that will ruin a lot of farmers, exactly the way the ”campesinos” in Mexico were ruined by the North American Free Trade Agreement, the NAFTA.
◾ln the area of health, the pharmaceutical companies [want] to get rid of generic drugs. They have already succeeded in forcing the generic drug companies to repeat all of the clinical trials that they have already had to do with the same identical medicine but which has a brand name. To make it a generic drug you have to start all over again: clinical trials, blind tests, and so forth. So medicine would become much more expensive.
But most important:
◾[The TTIP] is about giving corporations the freedom to sue governments if they don’t like a law that the government has passed.
We have a lot of examples now, because in hundreds of bilateral treaties this private judiciary system exists, and for example, the government of Egypt raised the minimum wage and a company, an important company, Veolia, from France, sued them because they would have to pay their workers more. This case has not been decided yet, but one case that has been decided is for example, Ecuador, which refused that an American petroleum company could drill in a particular region. Well, they said this is a protected area and you cannot drill here. And the company said, ah, we will sue you; and they won. And they have a fine on Ecuador of 1.8 billion dollars which is a lot of money for a small and fairly weak country.
This simply means that private corporate courts would be above the laws and courts of sovereign nations. There would be no sovereignty left; not even the little idependence Brussels has not yet destroyed. EU nations would all be under the rules of an Anglo-American led corporate empire.
You may read Susan George’s full article here , as well as my recently re-published one here.
And then there is TiSA, the ‘Trade in Services Agreement’, of which even fewer people are aware. It is also being ‘negotiated’ in secrecy, involving 23 WTO members (Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Costa Rica, the EU (28 countries), Hong Kong China, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States). Altogether, we are talking about 50 countries; 49 of them bent to submit to one, the Unites States of Wars, Crimes and Domination. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to realize that, again, Washington is calling the shots. Actually, the TiSA talks, similar to those of the TTIP, are infiltrated by US corporate trolls and lobbyists, making Washington the representative for the US corporate empire and, of course, for Wall Street.
According to WTO, TiSA would be opening up the market for ‘trade in services’, meaning – expect privatization of all public and social services, like health care, education, social security systems, pensions, transportation, postal services, telecommunication, water supply and sanitation, solid waste disposal – and more would all be subject to buy-outs by transnational corporations. Just look at Greece, trying hard to pay back their ill-begotten debt, selling off her national social capital, or life capital, to the detriment of the poor – by now the majority of Greek – who depend on it. Once a country has signed the trade agreements, there is no way back. It has opened its social and public sectors to rent seeking private corporations.
Like with the TTIP, should a government at a later stage realize that privatization of, say water services, did not bring the promised benefits for the people, it cannot go back and re-nationalize, or municipalize this service. Remunicipalization of water services is currently happening in France, of all places, the country with the most privatized public water supply systems. In 2012 the government and municipalities of large cities decided to re-take these vital public services. This is currently ongoing. Under TiSA rules it would not be possible. Worse – once TiSA is signed, a country cannot decide to exempt a particular sector included in the list for potential ‘liberalization’, for example, health, education and other vital social services. Corporate arbitration courts, similar to those of the TTIP, would be set up for TiSA. – These ‘negotiations’ are taking place in Geneva, under the auspices of WTO – in secret – and driven by rules, sticks and carrots, imposed by – you guessed it – Washington.
If the EU were to collapse today, both the TTIP and the TiSA talks would come to a standstill. Anyone of the 28 EU countries, or better even of the 19 Eurozone countries, could bring the EU down. A Grexit, a Brexit, a fiasco emerging from the forthcoming rehash of the Spanish elections – or a firm decision by a government to default on its (mostly) troika imposed debt, could bring the house of cards of the dollar pyramid scheme to fall – and erase once and for all the enslaving dollar-euro hegemony. Debt could be renegotiated in newly restored national currencies. Remember, the euro is barely 15 years old. So – returning to national currencies should not be dramatic, but rather a sigh of relief – relief from a debt trap, and relief from Washington’s and Brussels’ boots of oppression.
Imagine what a collapse of the EU and the euro-zone would mean for the Greek people. Though, rumors have it that more than half the Greek are still adamant in hanging on to the destructive euro, I bet, its collapse would have hundreds of thousands dancing in the streets. Syriza could forget the currently negotiated additional €3 billion austerity budget cuts – even less pension and higher taxes for the poor.
To be sure, Greek debt relief will not come from the current EU/EC-troika constellation. To the contrary, the German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has ever harsher words for Greece, as if he was threatening pushing Greece out of the EU. An empty threat, as everybody should know by now. Washington, also the masters of Germany, will not allow a Grexit, or a Brexit or an exit by any EU member. Washington needs the EU ‘intact’ to eventually serve as a slave partner in TTIP and TiSA.
What happened and continues to happen to Greece may serve as a (learning) example for other ‘weak’ southern EU countries to follow – unless, yes, unless, Greece or another country under EC-troika imposed economic and financial stress and strangulation takes the bull by the horns – taking a drastic decision: Exit the EU and the euro-zone, jump-start the local economy with a local currency, and negotiate the illegal and fraudulently imposed debt at their terms. That may bring about the end of the nefarious euro-zone – and the US-created European Union.
Be aware, the EU as it exists today, is not the invention of Europeans; it is a construct thought out immediately after WWII by the US, so as to keep Europe under her control – and to create a buffer zone vis-à-vis communism, the Soviet Union. It worked so far. This idea still prevails, as we see every day how Russia and her leader is being demonized and slandered by the western media. Let us be frank, if it weren’t for the strategic clear-headedness and foresight of President Putin, we – Europe – would be for the third time in 100 years enmeshed in a world war. And if we let this Washington imposed trend continue, Europe will become an Anglo-American slaveland. Just look at TTIP and TiSA.
A true federation of sovereign European countries down the road, perhaps even with a common currency and a real central bank, may be a viable long-term solution for Europe. But – and this is the most important BUT, such a Europe will have to be designed by true and honest Europeans – am I dreaming? – and absolutely without any influence of the United States of America. None.
Anyone of the 28 EU countries could return happiness to the people of Europe; could take the pain, frustration, fear and anxiety away; could reinstate national sovereignty, could bring national pride and local – instead of global – economy to the fore – by exiting the EU, by forfeiting the euro, by taking the reign of their people into the hands of a sovereign, democratic government.
A simple exit by one country – Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, the UK, France… you name it, could bring the ferocious debt machine to a grinding halt, opening the opportunity of joining a new, more just and more equal monetary scheme – the nascent combined eastern economic space of China, Russia, BRICS, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union).
To be sure, time is important. Not for nothing Obama is pushing for speedy conclusions and signing of the disgraceful TTIP. The signing of these predatory agreements, TTIP, TiSA, TPP, is a key agenda item of Obama’s Presidency; his corporate and military legacy – NATO expansion is part of it – may depend on it. Once these treaties are signed, there is no way back. If the TTIP is ratified despite all logic, and if subsequently the EU fell apart – each country would still be held accountable to the terms of the agreement. Hence, time for an EU collapse before signing of the TTIP and TiSA is of the essence.
This radical solution may be too much even for staunch EU / Euro opponents. Many of them still seek, hope and dream of a reformed EU. They still live under the illusion that ‘things’ could be worked out. Believe me – they cannot. The Machiavellian US-invented venture, called European Union with the equally US-invented common currency – the Eurozone – has run its course. It is about to ram the proverbial iceberg. The EU-Euro vessel is too heavy to veer away from disaster. Europe is better off taking time to regroup; each nation with the objective of regaining political and economic sovereignty – and perhaps with an eye a couple of generations down the road envisaging a new United Europe of sovereign federal states, independent, totally delinked from the diabolical games of the western Anglo-American empire. -Peter Koenig
European Disunion: EU Was Bound to Fail and This is How It Will Unravel
Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts 1. Which countries are migrants from? 
(<Notice the top four nations where the refugees come from:
1. Syria
2. Afghanistan
3. Iraq
4. Kosovo
And what do all four have in common? Could it be . . . .
they are all nations invaded by the US/NATO forces,
whose infrastructure and societies were subsequently destroyed.> -Sat, 04/23/2016 Perimetr) 
Switzerland Readies Military In Preparation For A New Wave Of Migrants Berna, 20.04.2016 Pianificazione d’emergenza Asilo: affidati incarichi precauzionali al DDPS
***Europe Without the Union
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Post by Entendance on Mar 24, 2016 6:02:41 GMT -5
Lesbos refugees say they will jump in sea if deported VIDEO Exclusive Documentary Reveals Financial Tracks of Turkey-Daesh Oil Trade  here
New: Brussels Mastermind Captured by Syrian Kurds, Implicates Erdogan
It's gonna get worse before it gets worse.
Anonymous
Bryan MacDonald: Words matter. The Western media response to two airport bombings, five years apart, offers an insight into how atrocities in Russia and the West are treated very differently... Blow up Brussels; you are a terrorist. Blow up Moscow; you are an insurgent.
Frank Barat:...1 A massive amount of soldiers on the streets does not make you safe 2 They do not hate us for our freedoms 3 Prison does not cure people — quite the opposite 4 To stop terrorism, you have to stop participating in it 5 Governments know how to defeat ISIS, but prefer not to do anything about it “We are going to go after them,” Obama said a couple of hours after the terrorist attacks. Really? When?
We know, for example, that the real people fighting ISIS at the moment are the Kurds in Kobane and other cities. We know that helping and supporting them, while cutting the route of ISIS’s oil to Turkey, would deal a huge blow to the so-called Islamic State. Are we doing it? Not at all.
Supporting Turkey, a crucial actor in this whole story with Machiavellian policies on the ground, is a major factor in the ongoing violence. We also know the role that Saudi Arabia, the most repressive state in the world, plays in the region, through its funding of Wahhabism — the most radical and dangerous interpretation of Islam possible. Rather than doing something against the spread of Wahhabism, the West is enabling it. France, for example, just gave Mohammed Ben Nayef — the future king of Saudi Arabia — its highest honor, the “legion d’honneur,” a few days ago.
These constant double standards and the lies of our governments need to be challenged. They create rancour and hate.
Refugee Crisis Has Europe on the Brink Refugee Crisis: Using Chaos to Build Power
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Post by Entendance on Mar 25, 2016 9:04:47 GMT -5
In the UN safe area of Srebrenica, 6-8,000 Bosnian Moslems were murdered in July 1995 by the Bosnian Serbs, making it the largest civilian massacre in Europe since the Holocaust. The United Nations leaders, those of their peace-keeping forces, and the Dutch government had known for some time that the enclave was not defensible and had not taken adequate protective measures. Although aware that Serbs were executing Bosnian Moslems, the Dutch UN forces fled the area. Before that, Dutch soldiers helped separate the Bosnian men from the women.
Kangaroo court convicts Karadzic
***16 July 2014 Dutch peacekeepers were responsible for death of 300 Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica who sought refuge at UN base in 1995, Dutch court rules
Dutch peacekeepers turned victims away from their compound
The refugees were later killed by Bosnian Serb army
District court at The Hague rules Dutch soldiers could have known refugees would be massacred if they did not help them
The Netherlands ordered to pay compensation to the 300 victims' families
Total of 8,000 people were killed by Serbian army in Bosnian war
Court cleared Dutch of responsibility for other 7,700 deaths
***15 July 2001 SREBRENICA: THE DUTCH SABRA AND SHATILLA
***********
 " ... l’altra faccia del Belgio è splendida come l’oro … infatti è anche un “paradiso fiscale”, il paese in cui le multinazionali pagano meno tasse delle calorie di una Coca Cola Light. Benessere economico per le oligarchie finanziarie e stragi di stato per i comuni mortali. Il Belgio è da anni il paradiso delle grandi corporation internazionali, i governi di Bruxelles hanno spinto l'acceleratore su una politica aggressiva di attrazione dei grossi capitali, attraverso il meccanismo degli “utili eccedentari”, un principio che consente alle grandi corporation di erodere fino al 90% della base imponibile. Una pratica «illegale», secondo l'esecutivo della Ue, adottata in Belgio dal 2004 e che in modo un po’ surreale consente alle società di non pagare tasse.
Nel paese le imprese possono anche dedurre l'80% degli utili netti derivanti da brevetti, con un tasso effettivo d'imposta del 6,8%. Gli investimenti in ricerca e sviluppo possono invece essere dedotti al 13,5%. Ma non basta. La ritenuta d'acconto sugli stipendi dei ricercatori viene dedotta all'80% mentre le holding possono dedurre il 95% dei dividendi ricevuti dalle società controllate. Una misura, questa, che continua ad attrarre grandi società per i risparmi che può generare. Ce n'è abbastanza per far dire all'ufficio fiscale di Bruxelles che il Belgio è il cancello d'ingresso in Europa delle corporation internazionali, un vero e proprio gatekeeper del sistema … il cuore del finanzcapitalismo imperiale."
************* 
"...L’allevamento di cretini ogm che è stato favorito negli ultimi decenni mostra oggi tutta la sua utilità."
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Post by Entendance on Apr 1, 2016 18:10:02 GMT -5
***Cognitive dissonance is a powerful drug...
Mr. Bean-draghi & the jesuits: ***Wed, 10. Oct 2012 We are all Jesuits
Would we start World War III in defense of the oligarchs of Kiev? ***NATO: Worse Than Obsolete Czech veteran moons US convoy in anti-Nato protest VIDEO
***Ukraine-EU Association: From Self-Determination to Foreign Domination
“It is so hypocritical that a man who heads a multibillion-dollar corporation like the Vatican is unlikely to take any action that will contribute financially. That is the pity of it. ”
Must read! €$£ Concordats — human rights — separation of church and state:*** Concordat Watch
Il Vaticano vuole un'autorità globale per vigilare i mercati
***Gesuiti veri padroni del mondo
Can God Forgive Jorge Mario Bergoglio? Bergoglio and the Junta The Silences of Pope Francis The Myth of Pope Francis <...un papato il cui equivoco ha forse raggiunto l’apice, mostrandosi come moderno, ecologico, progressista, votato alla carità, all’accoglienza e alla civilizzazione, persino anticapitalista come una sorta di succedaneo della sinistra in coma profondo, ma che in realtà non fa che sfruttare i canoni della mediaticità (anche rivolgendosi alle grandi società specializzate del settore) per vendere il proprio medioevo, il proprio essere anti liberale a tutto campo, come progresso e come contraltare piscologico a una crisi endemica alla quale peraltro offre buone parole ma fatti zero... papa Francesco utilizza con dovizia il vocabolario della teologia della liberazione sudamericana, per parere che più popolare di così si muore, ma in realtà è stato uno dei suoi nemici più implacabili, cosa che certo non stupirebbe se si sapesse che Bergoglio è stato membro ai suoi tempi della Guardia di ferro, formazione di estremissima destra anche se in qualche modo affiliata al peronismo e che in seguito, agli inizi degli Settanta, si è legato alla Organizacion Unica del Trasvasamiento Generacional , altra formazione di destra peronista, nata dalle ceneri della prima i cui membri eccellenti sono stati protetti da Bergoglio durante la dittatura militare facendoli assumere dalla Università del Salvador (inteso come Cristo salvatore, non come l’ omonimo Paese centro americano). Una specie di presidio che per sopravvivere si legò strettamente all’ammiraglio Massena, testa pensante della dittatura e che fu utilizzato nel tentativo di distruggere i movimenti della sinistra attraverso un populismo di destra e il trasbordo del peronismo verso il comunitarismo cattolico...Adesso forse il film di Bergoglio comincia ad essere più a fuoco: niente cambia rispetto alla cosiddetta “dottrina sociale della Chiesa” che tra vaghezze di ogni tipo è ancorata all’idea di proprietà, senza distinzione tra beni e mezzi di produzione, come una prescrizione dell’ordine divino. 
New: Bota na conta do Papa
Ma come i francescani di settecento anni fa ritiene che essa debba fornire un surplus, un profitto adeguato al rango, solo senza dimenticare completamente i poveri. Tutto qui, scandalosamente tutto qui perché questa dottrina così arcaica comprende i beni comuni e i servizi pubblici che debbono e possono utilizzati in quanto proprietà benedetta da Dio per ottenere il surplus di denaro che spetta e sono comuni solo in quanto utilizzati dal popolo e in qualche caso necessari agli stessi ricchi. Su questo alla fine si fonda il principio di sussidiarietà e in ultima analisi anche quella specie di indefinito rifiuto del mondo moderno nel quale le oligarchie per sopire le inquietudini sociali che vibrano sottopelle, premono l’acceleratore sulle libertà individuali, andando così a confliggere contro il medioevo Vaticano...> Una chiesa carrozzata Bertone
Meanwhile, in Chicago..."As the leader of one of the premier Jesuit, Catholic institutions in this country—and Loyola's first lay president—Dr. Rooney has the full support of the Society of Jesus in this important mission," said Very Rev. Brian G. Paulson, S.J., provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus. "Dr. Rooney is an accomplished leader and administrator with a passion for educational excellence and access. She is a woman of deep faith and strong character, and she has demonstrated her service to the Catholic Church."   More on American jesuits and the Vatican
This time it’s Portugal. Worse than Greece. Political distortions engendered by former jesuit pupil mr. Bean-draghi. Rescuing Europe's Worst Government Bonds May Take More Than ECB
***Famous people who attended Jesuit schools
Who asked New Zealand? Brexit scaremongering continues apace
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Post by Entendance on Apr 7, 2016 4:09:31 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Apr 12, 2016 7:29:19 GMT -5
Italians do it better! Analysts Mock Italy's Tiny Atlas Bailout Fund Meant To Support €360BN In Bad Debt Update: May 5, 2016 Atlas Crumbles Under Weight of Italian Banks
Fred & EntendanceInvestors Beach on Greece here Now confirmed by another study: ***Bailouts Went To Banks, Only 5% To Greeks Più del 95% dei “salvataggi “ della Grecia sono finiti in tasca alle banche
New: ***Refugee crisis has exposed the hypocrisies at the heart of the EU
...“The Greek people have been living through hell during the last six years, and unfortunately they trusted that Tsipras would put an end to the extreme austerity measures, which are combined with a total undemocratic regime. Unfortunately, instead of putting an end, he put his signature to a third memorandum, which is even worse than the previous two… People are back on the streets protesting for their rights and dignity because right now they’re being asked to pay taxes which amount to almost the totality of their revenue. They’re asked to give up their homes… They’re asked to surrender public property, which is privatized at very, very low prices. And, they’re also asked to give up democracy” (Zoe K).
Economic totalitarianism hits Greece with a thud.
“Back in the summer we had what equals an act of war, a direct threat to the survival of the population. The banks were closed and the people were threatened with a humanitarian disaster if they rejected the measures, which were put on the table by the Creditors with a 48-hour ultimatum. Humanitarian disaster means the people would not be able to have food or medicine. This is an unacceptable situation for Europe… the direct result of decisions by representatives of European institutions. My approach is that this is complete illegal criminal behavior….” (Zoe K).
Henceforward, the Greek parliament is a rubber stamp for the European Troika, voting on hundreds of pages of legislation in less than a day, forced to pass whatever creditors submit or be forced into bankruptcy, horrible choices alongside chewing nails.
In the summer of 2015 the Greek parliament was instructed to abolish all laws that were passed without prior approval of creditors. Thereafter, parliament did approve laws once again, but only as “drafted by creditors.” Fascinatingly, these same laws were rejected by the citizens of Greece some months previously by a 62% No vote. 
Ergo, Greece should trash, throw out, annihilate voting machines and/or voting booths. They don’t count anymore!
European institutions from afar, i.e., the European Commission in Brussels, without legitimate authority over the country are “asking governments to sacrifice the people, in order to save the markets, and save the banks” (Zoe K). Americans have direct first-hand experience with these gimmicks, e.g., the years 2008-09. It’s called “bend over and spread’em,” you’re about to join jolly derriere fraternity. Over time, you’ll (have to) learn to like it!
Dreadfully, the struggle is not isolated to Greece alone, maybe all Europe is losing its soul: “There is a clear rise of Nazi parties, fascists parties all around Europe, and there is a clear rise of racism all around Europe. And, this is a direct result of the policies chosen, of the policies followed by the European governments. These are policies of xenophobia. These are policies of alienation from the principles that humanity has built through the years” (Zoe K)...
April 12, 2016 Greece Loses its Soul
German AfD Party May Join Alliance With French National Front
We've become afraid of superpowers so we created a superpower. And guess what? EU develops the same characteristics!
German hypocrisy: Not long ago, Angela Merkel said multiculturalism had failed
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Post by Entendance on Apr 20, 2016 5:24:00 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Apr 22, 2016 4:08:48 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Apr 23, 2016 5:17:22 GMT -5
"...Si capisce, no, a cosa servono l'€ e Schengen? A trasformare l'intero continente europeo in una tonnara la cui camera della morte è la Germania. È lì, e solo lì, che i lavoratori devono andare a finire quando uno shock colpisce il sistema, a casa della potenza egemone, perché la potenza (localmente) egemone ne ha bisogno. La gestione della crisi da parte del tandem Draghi/Merkel (ora litigano, ma per tanto tempo sono andati d'accordo) ha avuto due esiti evidenti: permettere al governo tedesco di finanziarsi a tassi negativi, e al sistema industriale tedesco di approvvigionarsi di mano d'opera istruita nei paesi periferici, i quali vengono ora penalizzati per aver sostenuto il costo dell'istruzione proprio di quella mano d'opera della quale l'egemone beneficia." La questione tedesca: alcuni fatti stilizzati
Italian banks have  €360 Billion in non-performing loans. They have another €180 Billion or so in troubled loans that are late just some of the time. To address the problem, the Italian banks came up with “whopping” €5 Billion recuse fund dubbed “Atlas”...*** here
IMF and TROIKA Contra Greece—Again!
Pirate Party’s leader detained in Germany for citing poem about Erdogan
Germany and the ECB Face Off. Better than any WWF fight. Who Benefits?
Back of free trade queue’: Brits slam Obama for ‘threats’ over Brexit
Fred & EntendanceInvestors Private Beach. Members Only Area.  Open Borders? EU Commission May Pave Path to Millions of Ukrainian Migrants
EU farmers are paying the price for international politics
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Post by Entendance on Apr 26, 2016 2:08:55 GMT -5
Few people outside European parliamentary circles are aware that there is an EU "traveling circus." Once a month, the European Parliament moves from Brussels in Belgium to Strasbourg in France. Even though Members of European Parliament (MEPs) voted to scrap this move, the French government, which initiated this madness in the first place, has the power to block any such decision and is apparently determined to do so. That is another fact which goes unmentioned by those determined to keep the UK in the EU. When this author challenged an MEP, Mary Honeyball, on the subject, she claimed that it was "being dealt with," but the French government is fiercely opposed to keeping the parliament exclusively in Brussels and it has the power to block any such reform. The cost of the "travelling circus" alone is conservatively estimated at £130 million ($187 million) a year... "Brexit" - What Else Is Wrong with the European Union?
Mass media in Europe is an Imperial Orthodoxy of an Orwellian informational terrorism in one absolute monotone monologue of one schizophrenic world. Letter from Europe
‘Why not ask Danes to decide?’: Far-right party wants Danish EU referendum like UK
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Post by Entendance on Apr 27, 2016 2:26:48 GMT -5
British taxpayers face £1.8BILLION bill to help Turkey join the EU
Former Economic Hitman John Perkins: "U.S. Is Desperate To Keep Britain In The EU, To Bring In TTIP!" In a situation like this, you have to put people first, not politics, or you will create mayhem. This is a certainty. It’s too late already for Europe. The goodwill and moral high ground wasted over the past 18 months will take 100 years to regain, if ever.
Europe’s failure on refugees echoes the moral collapse of the 1930s
 Dopo i diritti rubano anche la vita
Does SYRIZA have any fight left? If not, Europe is going to walk all over it. Eurogroup Meeting Cancelled, Tsipras To Ask For Special EU Summit
Janet Daley: I shall be voting for Leave. Why should we take advice from a president who has surrendered the world to chaos?
Time for US-German leadership? Obama, Merkel pushing EU into unpopular TTIP free trade deal Update:
“Threatening people insults their intelligence.
Don’t threaten people repeatedly because if you do in the end they think you’re crying wolf and they won’t believe you. It’s Project Fear, or in the end when Obama came it was Project Threat.
Citing Mr. Obama’s visit to the UK at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron:
The lessons learnt from the Obama visit are fascinating. Here is the most powerful man in the world coming from a country that we have always had huge regard for. And people in Britain listening to Obama said: ‘how dare the American president come here and tell us what to do’ and it backfired.
And I think we got an Obama Brexit Bounce, because people do not want to be told how to think and how to vote." -Nigel Farage on momentous EU referendum win
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Post by Entendance on Apr 30, 2016 10:09:41 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on May 4, 2016 10:46:12 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on May 9, 2016 4:55:24 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on May 11, 2016 16:20:12 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on May 17, 2016 17:02:32 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on May 19, 2016 5:19:47 GMT -5
New: The Case For Germany Leaving The Euro #Gexit
Brussels think tank 100% funded by taxpayer produces slick pro-Remain video and pays for 100,000 YouTube views This slick pro-Remain video offers “10 good reasons” to stay in the EU, featuring actors with English accents, some pricey graphics and a hefty dose of spin on top. It has had a massive 100,000 views on YouTube since it was published on May 3… So who made the video? Was it the BSE campaign? Perhaps Downing Street? Nope, it was actually made in Brussels, by the Wilfred Martens Centre for European Studies. They are a think tank for the European People’s Party, both organisations have no UK representatives. And here’s the kicker: the Centre receives 100% of its funding from the European Parliament, some €4.2 million in 2014 alone. How much taxpayer cash did they spend on this high production value video? And how much did they spend on promotion for it to achieve 100,000 views in just ten days? This is the EU directly interfering in a British referendum using British voters’ money…UKIP’s Gerard Batten comments:“This is a group of taxpayer politicians – with no links to the UK, using our cash to tell us how to vote in the Referendum. Its a disgrace but will be counter productive, British people don’t like to be told what to do by collections of foreign technocrats.” EU paid €160M to pro-remain goups
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Post by Entendance on May 21, 2016 8:35:29 GMT -5
Central Banking is the only profession where you get to spend trillions of dollars & face no personal consequences for lack of results.
ECB (Eurosystem) securities held for monetary policy purposes (QE) exceeded €1.1trillion
As I say to my American friends who don’t really get what the EU is: ‘All you need to know is that it has three presidents, none of whom is elected.’ Greece? ‘It’s raining taxes’  ***Dec 20, 2015 at 6:49am This is a coup Germany Calls IMF’s Bluff and Wins: Greece Screwed Again
New: Leave EU and we’ll make your lives a misery: Juncker’s warning to Britain
A wise man, faced with the unknown, believes nothing, expects the worst, and takes precautions. ***The Eurozone is the greatest danger
 The construct of the common European currency is no longer sustainable.
The Death of the €
"The Pope Has Betrayed Christianity. Crisis in the Catholic Church"
***Ju Bi Lee
“The two pillars on which it’s founded – Schengen and the euro – are in the process of crumbling,” Le Pen told Marie De Douhet of RT France in an exclusive interview. “So they’re in a sort of mad downward spiral in which they’re capable of anything today to try and keep this building standing.” |
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Post by Entendance on May 23, 2016 16:24:38 GMT -5
:origin()/pre14/d646/th/pre/f/2012/067/f/5/angela_merkel_vampire_by_paristechno-d4s4fhj.jpg)
Deutsche Bank Credit Rating Cut by Moody’s on Overhaul Struggle "...I believe that Deutsche Bank will ultimately implode, but it won’t be the only one." ***Will Deutsche Bank Survive This Wave Of Trouble ??
Germany fears Brexit because they would lose £35BILLION
Meanwhile, in Austria... "...We were continually assured by the left-liberal media how awful it would be if the (supposed) “far-right” candidate Norbert Hofer won.
But actually the victory of Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen – on, likely, a rigged ballot – is far, far worse.
It’s bad for democracy: Hofer lost by just 31,000 of the 4.64 million votes cast. Suspicions are bound to fall on the 700,000 votes cast in the postal ballot, which appears to be what swung it for Van der Bellen. But postal votes as we know – especially from the experience of Muslim-dominated constituencies in the UK – are prone to rampant fraud. Austrians who voted for Hofer are talking about “betrug” – fraud – and this may well be more than sour grapes. In some areas there was a remarkable 146.9 percent voter turnout. This stinks of a stitch up by the bien-pensant elite in unholy alliance with the immigrant bloc vote. As with the EU, so it is increasingly in national elections: the social democratic ruling class refuses to listen to the people..."Austria Gets The Extremist President It Didn’t Deserve
 ‘Whoever Loves Austria Is Sh*t’ – Austria’s New President Hates His Own Country
 Speaking at a meeting in London this week, political activists from Greece, Catalonia and Ireland spoke of a growing movement from the left within many member states, hoping the EU will break up altogether.
The reasons included interference in law making, the treatment of the people of Greece and constant cuts and austerity measures.
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Post by Entendance on May 25, 2016 5:12:39 GMT -5
Is the Derivatives Market About to Implode the System Again?
The 2008 Crash was caused by the unregulated derivatives markets. And if you think that problem has been fixed, you’re mistaken.
Consider Deutsche Bank (DB).
DB sits atop the largest derivatives book in the world.
This one bank has over $75 trillion in derivatives on its balance sheet. This is over 20 times German GDP and roughly the same size as global GDP.
At this size, if even 0.01% of these derivatives are “at risk,” you’ve wiped ALL of the banks’ capital.
The bank’s CEO was “very disappointed” when Moody’s recently downgraded its credit rating. Personally, we’d be a lot more disappointed by the share price. DB shares have gone effectively NOWHERE for nearly 20 years. Moreover, this might be the single largest Head and Shoulders topping pattern ever. As we write this, we’re right on the neckline. DB is perhaps the best example of the derivatives problem, but it is by no means the only one. US banks alone have over $200 trillion in derivatives sitting on their balance sheets. 
And over 77% of these derivatives are based on interest rates.
This comes to roughly $156 trillion in interest rate-based derivatives… sitting on the TBTF balance sheets.
If even 0.1% of this money is “at risk” it would wipe out 10% of the big banks equity. If 1% were “at risk” it would wipe out ALL of the big banks’ equity.
Suffice to say, the Fed cannot afford a spike in interest rates without imploding the big banks: the very banks it has funneled TRILLIONS of dollars to in an effort to prop up.
At some point this whole mess will come crashing down just as it did in 2008. The derivatives market remains a $600 TRILLION Ticking Time Bomb.
The time to prepare for this bubble to burst is now. -Graham Summers Chief Market Strategist Phoenix Capital Research
UPDATE: Questions Raised Over Voting Discrepancies In Photo-Finish Austrian Election
So far this year it was estimated 31,000 migrants left the coast of Africa bound for Italy, slightly down on last year's arrival figures.
Meanwhile...NATO Struggles to Recover after Years of Budget Cuts
 
There is nothing more dangerous to us than NATO. It has to make up narratives or it will cease to exist.
NATO's 'Tank Schengen': Baltic States Call for Free Movement… of Troops
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Post by Entendance on Jun 2, 2016 4:26:35 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Jun 8, 2016 9:54:41 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Jun 14, 2016 12:21:25 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Jun 23, 2016 11:02:34 GMT -5
January 2016: Euro migrant crisis an 'inside job' planned to bring about EU super state, says David Icke. MIGRANTS have been allowed to come into Europe as part of a plan to gain support for the creation of an EU superstate.
<I have repeatedly talked about how the very structure of the EU self-selects for sociopaths and/or worse, but perhaps not enough about how that was deliberately built into the design. A feature not a flaw. For me, as I’ve written before, being here in Athens these days is plenty testimony to what the EU truly represents. Not only do we need to help feed many tens of thousands on a daily basis, depression levels are up 80% or so and life expectancy is plunging because proper health care is ever further away for ever more people in a country that not long ago had a health care system anyone would have been proud of. It is frankly beyond me to see why anyone would want to be part of that. It’s not about Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage or George Osborne, that is just more deception. It’s about being ruled by midgets, as Forsyth puts it.> -Raúl Ilargi Meijer
Birth of superstate: Frederick Forsyth on how UNELECTED Brussels bureaucrats SEIZED power
"...globalism was never liberalism, nor was it intended to be by its architects. As its core, globalism has always meant rule by illiberal elites under the guise of mass democracy. It has always been distinctly anti-democratic and anti-freedom, even as it purported to represent liberation from repressive governments and poverty.
Globalism is not, as its supporters claim, simply the inevitable outcome of modern technology applied to communication, trade,and travel. It is not “the world getting smaller.” It is, in fact, an ideology and worldview that must be imposed by statist and cronyist means. It is the civic religion of people named Clinton, Bush, Blair, Cameron, and Lagarde.
Yes, libertarians advocate unfettered global trade. Even marginally free trade has unquestionably created enormous wealth and prosperity for millions around the world. Trade, specialization, and an understanding of comparative advantage have done more to relieve poverty than a million United Nations or International Monetary Funds.
But the EU, GATT, WTO, NAFTA, TPP, and the whole alphabet soup of trade schemes are wholly illiberal impediments masquerading as real commercial freedom. In fact, true free trade occurs only in the absence of government agreements. The only legislation required is a unilateral one-sentence bill: Country X hereby eliminates all import duties, taxes, and tariffs on all Y goods imported from country Z.
Ultimately, Brexit is not a referendum on trade, immigration, or the technical rules promulgated by the (awful) European Parliament. It is a referendum on national sovereignty, which is a step away from globalism and closer to individual self-determination. Libertarians should view the decentralization and devolution of state power as ever and always a good thing, regardless of the motivations behind such movements. Reducing the size and scope of any single (or multinational) state’s dominion is decidedly healthy for liberty." ***Brexit, Decentralization and Backroom Globalism H/T Tom from Florida |
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Post by messier94 on Jun 23, 2016 11:18:16 GMT -5
Great post. It's all about controlling us, all of us.
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Post by Entendance on Jun 24, 2016 2:58:31 GMT -5
The British are showing the rest of Europe a new way, they no longer have to comply with Corporate EU control.
UNLEASH HELL NOW!
Let's take our countries back and unite for a new Europe and a new future!
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Post by Entendance on Jun 26, 2016 14:19:05 GMT -5
Großbritannien verlässt die EU, weil eine Mehrheit das Versagen der Gemeinschaft nicht mehr hinnehmen will. Dazu hat die Kanzlerin mit ihren Alleingängen bei den Flüchtlingen maßgeblich beigetragen...Die Briten haben auch Merkels Alleingänge abgewählt 
The European disaster in Britain, which - notwithstanding its bitter aftertaste - is a feast day of popular sovereignty, also puts a woman at the centre that has been highly praised by the media and the elites and that many already regarded as Europe's unofficial chancellor. Angela Merkel, together with her finance minister, made the euro crisis in Greece a matter for Berlin to settle. By making the breach of the rules -- the financing of governments -- a permanent state of affairs, she bought time and damaged the sensitive European currency project for good without structurally resolving the malaise in the Mediterranean countries. And when Angela Merkel opened the borders in the migration crisis entirely on her own only to negotiate a dubious deal with Turkish ruler Erdogan also on her own, she demonstrated to citizens what she thinks of the EU and its institutions: very, very little. For the head of a party in charge of the European legacy of Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl, this is a confession of political bankruptcy. On Thursday [23 June], voters in Britain basically also voted Angela Merkel out of office. Before she becomes the EU's gravedigger for good, she should follow David Cameron's example...Die Welt Calls For Merkel's Resignation
It will be a hot hot summer in Europe...it just started on Sunday here (Austria officially became the first European country to use a new law under the framework imposed by Bank the European Recovery and Resolution Directive to share losses of a failed bank with senior creditors as it slashed the value of debt owed by Heta Asset Resolution AG) Meanwhile...
Monte Paschi is already trading at zero compared with its tangible equity value if its bad debt disposal is taken into account at current prices, says Johan De Mulder of Bernstein Research. By comparison, when Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 it was trading at about 20 per cent of its tangible equity.
Berenberg analyst Eion Mullany argued that the “Italian banking sector is at a pivotal moment in its history”.
“We worry that a bail-in of an Italian bank may cause a chain reaction with ripple effects felt across the European banking system,” Mr Mullany added, referring to the possibility of bondholders and depositors in Italian banks being forced to participate in a rescue.” Italy Seeks “Last Resort” Bailout Fund to “Ringfence” Troubled Banks
...and don't forget the 23th of June 2016: 
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Post by Entendance on Jun 28, 2016 4:53:26 GMT -5
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Post by Entendance on Jun 29, 2016 4:14:16 GMT -5
Warning: Europe is not the same as the European Union. The European Union is only an episode in Europe’s history and is doomed to failure.
EU is a failing political project with a currency that has caused economic misery and whose migrant policy has brought great division.
The EU is done for. The sooner it’s replaced with a different kind of Europe of trade and co-operation, the better.
June 30. 2016 S&P Downgrades European Union From AA+ To AA
Indeed, the EU is a Tyranny where the Banksters' Apparatchiks dictate to the sheeples. End this Crime against Humanity!
• Patriotism is one’s love of one’s native land and people. It is a natural, organic result of growing up in a certain place among a certain people, who have also grown up there, and who pass along a cultural and linguistic legacy that they all love and cherish. This does not imply that those not of one’s family, neighborhood or region are in any way inferior, but they are not one’s own, and one loves them less.
• Nationalism is a synthetic product generated using public education and is centered around certain hollow symbols: a flag, an anthem, some yellowed pieces of paper, a few creation myths and so on. It is supported by certain rituals (parades, speeches, handing out of medals) that comprise a civic cult. The purpose of nationalism is to support the nation-state. Where nationalism serves the needs of one’s native land and people, nationalism and patriotism become aligned; when it destroys them, nationalism becomes the enemy and patriots form partisan movements, rise up and destroy the nation-state.
• Fascism is the perfect melding of the nation-state and corporations, in the course of which the distinction between public and private interests becomes erased and corporations come to dictate public policy. An almost perfect expression of fascism is the recent transatlantic and transpacific trade agreements negotiated in secret by the Obama administration, which at the moment, to everyone’s great relief, seem to be dead in the water.
It should be obvious that fascism has to be defeated, and if we were to pick just one perfectly good reason to fire the transatlantic elites then it is to thwart this corporate power grab. But it does not stop there, because nationalism and patriotism are also in play. Patriotism is a natural, core human value without which all you have is a rootless population shifting about opportunistically. Nationalism is a relatively recent innovation (nation-states are a 17th century invention) and as such a dangerous one, but in the case of some of the older and more successful nation-states it does provide significant benefits: a cherished cultural tradition anchored to a national language and literature, the ability to keep the peace and to repel outside aggression. And then there is the EU, with its flag depicting a constellation of stars that are obviously orbiting something—something that could only be a black hole, since it is invisible... 
***Firing the Elites
The In Gold We Trust Updated Report June 28, 2016
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Post by Entendance on Jun 30, 2016 17:26:36 GMT -5
“If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.” -Sydney J. Harris
Paul Craig Roberts: "What became of the left? Today I answer my question.
The answer is that the European and American left, which traditionally stood for the working class and peace (bread and peace) no longer exists. The cause championed by those who pretend to be the “left” of today is identity politics. The “left” no longer champions the working class, which the “left” dismisses as Trump deplorables, consisting of “racist, misogynist, homophobic, gun nuts...”
This is what we're up against: a status quo that has institutionalized soaring inequality and rising poverty as the only possible output of defending the privileged few at the expense of the many. The EU project is dead. ( you might read ***Cognitive Dissonance, Confirmation Bias Economics & Politics)
Here Fred & EntendanceInvestors Beach show why.
The question is how long it will take for the whole thing to break up.
"...In the E.U. version of Neocolonialism, the forces of financialization are used to indenture the peripheral Elites and populaces to the financial core: the peripheral "colonials" borrow money to buy the finished goods manufactured in the core economies, enriching the ruling Elites with A) the profits made selling goods to the debtors B) interest on credit extended to the peripheral colonies to buy the core economies' goods and "live large", and C) the transactional skim of financializing peripheral assets such as real estate and State debt.
In essence, the core banks of the EU colonized the peripheral nations via the financializing euro, which enabled a massive expansion of debt and consumption in the periphery. The banks and exporters of the core extracted enormous profits from this expansion of debt and consumption.
Now that the financialization scheme of the € has run its course, the periphery's neocolonial standing is starkly revealed: the assets and income of the periphery are flowing to the core as interest on the private and sovereign debts that are owed to the core's central bank and its money-center private banks..."
The eurozone is not broken — it is structured to produce the results we are seeing. Any macroeconomic imbalance under EMU institutional arrangements leads to adjustment at the expense of labor income, employment protection, and social services, by means of labor market reform and deconstruction of the welfare state.
The eurozone is not just a currency area, it is a capital accumulation regime in which certain tendencies prevail — including the tendencies to remove social protections, to decrease wages, and to abolish the social and political rights that are the core of citizenship. These effects are embedded in the architecture and the operation mode of the eurozone. It was built that way. So you can’t fix it. More here
<The reason Greece is clocking a 51% youth unemployment and Spain a 45% youth unemployment rate is directly tied to the fact that the currency as a shock absorber has been taken away. Instead, these countries are forced into a straight jacket where rather than a weak currency they get a persistent weak economy.> by Chris
Off Target by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk on June 30, 2016
Money, generally accepted medium of exchange, acts as a veil that confuse and blurs economic relations. This is especially true when it comes to intertemporal considerations. Whilst probably the most important institution in a free market, money can be highly destructive when politicized. Why? Because politics is about power and distribution of real wealth. And since money affect almost every single transaction, politics can span throughout society with ease when in control of money. Amchel Rothschild was spot on when he allegedly said “[g]ive me control of a nation’s money supply, and I care not who makes its laws.” Power over money is power over people and power over people is, well, pure power. Money is thus the most sacred tool in a statist’s toolbox and has become instrumental in their quest to control society and allocate resources as they see fit.
It is within this context the monstrosity called the euro need to be analyzed. By pooling Western European countries within the realm of one central bank, power over people increases immensely. There is a catch though; as power increases, greed and corruption increases with it and the temptation to go too far is obvious for all to see. Money coordinates production with consumption, saving with investment and properly done, money will create the means for a smooth flow of resources among the millions or even billions of people transacting with each other. Politicize money and economic imbalances, between economic agents and even over time, will grow and destabilize the system. It is no exaggeration to say that the welfare and prosperity of the populace depends on a well-functioning monetary system.
The most important function money has, in our view, is its ability to create recessions, or as we like to call it, disruptions of unsustainable resource flows. In a sound system, money will make sure recession occur before the imbalance will even be felt by the broader public. Sound money will remove tensions in fault lines before they turn into a massive earthquake with devastating consequences. However, it is true that economic imbalances can be fed for years if sound money is replaced with a politicized fiduciary medium. And herein lies the crux of the problem, no power hungry politician will voluntarily end the economic prosperity a boom apparently foster. Therefore, they feed it with money created ex nihilo instead; chipping away trust and letting the bubble grow larger and larger. As imbalances becomes ever more entrenched in the economic system, the mere thought of terminating it becomes terrifying. Abruptly ending today’s imbalances will be a truly cataclysmic event, so the once greedy money masters feel they have no choice but to keep the boom going; petrified of the pitchforks that may come their way if they do not. This is where we are today. Central bankers are painting themselves further and further into the proverbial corner with no chance of getting out unscathed. 
When the euro was first created it looked like a boon to all members. In the chart below we depict Irish and Greek contribution to euro area M3. Prior to the crisis these metrics grew at an astounding pace; between 2006 and mid-2007 the Irish M3 grew by an average of 30 per cent annual rate, and by 20 per cent in the two years prior. How was this even possible? In the pre-euro era the Irish punt would surely depreciate dramatically in value if they created new currency units at what would have then been considered a reckless rate. In a sound commodity based monetary regime recipients of new money would before soon exchange them for gold and the monetary inflation would come to a screeching halt before it could do too much damage.
Not within the euro system though. Irish banks created new loans so its customers could buy houses, which helped bring the price of real estate to new highs and naturally so did the value of the collateral posted to banks for new credit. Higher collateral valuations were obviously used to back even more loans ad infinitum. Inevitably, large sums leaked out of Ireland as every European, or even global citizen, would accept the Irish euros as a safe payment – whether the euro was manufactured in Ireland or Germany did not matter as they were both an equal claim on euro area production and assets.
Unsurprisingly, the current account deficit quickly got out of control. Other peripheral countries fared even worse. There were absolutely no correcting mechanisms to halt these grossly unsustainable capital flows. As long as banks kept within easily manipulated capital standards, and they did because collateral values rose alongside the monetary inflation, they could produce euros as there were no tomorrow. The whole edifice actually turned into a tragic of the commons where the manufacturing base in Europe should be exploited to the fullest through money printing, before someone else did the same thing. Also note that the European Central Bank (ECB) was, as every central bank is, fixing the price of its money. Increased demand for monetary reserves would normally put pressure on its price, but with zero cost supply, the ECB met increased demand by creating more money. It is the only “market” that actually works according to Keynesian principles where demand creates its own supply. There were essentially no checks on the amount of euros that could be created.
Naturally there is a limit to this madness; when Germans finally started to question the prudence of sending all the euros they received from peripheral countries back to the same countries to fund their current account deficits the vendor funded flow stopped and the boom came to an abrupt end. In enter the ECB with all sorts of backstops and promises to do “whatever it takes” to maintain the imbalances.
Somehow, the periphery still manages to fund current account deficits for years, even in the midst of crisis. Who on earth would be willing to fund this perversion?
 TARGET2 – or Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system – facilitates payments between euro area countries and quickly became an unintended, but highly convenient, way to continue funding deficits by forcibly allocate German surpluses to the task. Where the Germans once said enough is enough, the euro system of central banks kept going.
TARGET2 creates a liability for, say, the Bank of Spain, when a Spaniard sends money to a German bank through the Bundesbank, which in turn receives an asset on their balance sheet. These balance sheet items are cancelled when the final German recipient deposits his money at the bank if the bank then uses the proceeds to “invest” in Spanish banks, bonds, stocks or whatever it might be. However, if there are no reverse capital flows, if say the German bank or depositors are not willing to fund Spanish deficits anymore, balance sheet items at the national central banks accumulate. Instead of a much-needed restructuring of unsustainable resource flows, the TARGET2 allows the old ways to continue. In other words, even after taking away the correcting mechanism a sound commodity based money would have or the effect from a deprecating fiat money, the euro system allow trade to continue when people refuse to fund these imbalances.
We have followed TARGET2 for a long time as it essentially morphed into one of the largest bail-out facilities in Europe and give us a good indication on the stresses building in Europe. TARGET2 assets and liabilities peaked in August 2012, incidentally at the time Draghi gave his infamous speech. Since Draghi promised to bail-out everyone in need, Germans, half-heartedly believed him and started to send euros back to the periphery. TARGET2 imbalances shrank until the end of 2014, but then started to climb again and are now close to record levels. 
What the TARGET2 chart shows us is a breakdown of the central bank narrative. Despite the alphabet soup of bail-out facilities provided by the ECB, people still do not trust the system. In our view, the TARGET2 chart is the best way to assess trust in central banks and as it clearly shows, the narrative is failing.
Linking this back to our introduction the TARGET2 chart actually confirms and substantiates what we see in politics. The recent Brexit vote, with all its subsequent noise about following the Brits out of the EU witnessed in continental Europe and the general Pasokification of the political center is clear testimony off waning power by the elite. People are gradually rebelling against the failed status quo.
It seems impossible for Draghi to reestablish monetary confidence. While it looked promising back in 2012, the crisis of confidence keeps lingering on and the big reset seems to come closer by the day. Expect even more destructive creativity, from all central banks around the world, in the coming months. You know the global central bank narrative have failed completely when the Fed cut rates and the dollar rallies. Then it is too late to buy your gold coins.
Austria, cose non Bellen AUSTRIA - Calls for Christian-Only Asylum Homes After Muslim Violence
While Eurasia Group sees Austria and the Netherlands as the frontrunners for the next referendum vote, there are many other dominoes that could fall. France, Italy, and Sweden are among the key countries that have strong Eurosceptic movements.
If a Brexit result was a tinderbox that got the fire going, then any major developments in these countries could be the gasoline. Another “exit” event would make clear to everyone that there is an inevitability of failure around the Union.
Brexit negotiations and populist dissent will be in the news for some time, and markets will be volatile, extremely sensitive, and over-reactive as a result.
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