Congress Spares Pentagon Budget Cuts Against Americans’ Wishes?
- General Smedley Butler:
WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. – A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.
-
In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.
-
How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?
-
Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few — the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill. And what is this bill? This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations. – For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.
-
…. to continue reading click here!
end
Greg Hunter: JP Morgan’s Derivatives Systemic Risk To The Banking System!
Derivatives Crisis To Sink World Economy!
- Systemic Risk Is Everywhere!
by Greg Hunter, http://usawatchdog.com/
The $2 billion loss of JP Morgan in derivatives trading is signaling, once again, the enormous risks big banks take with taxpayer backing. All U.S. banks are covered by the FDIC, and if a loss is big enough, it could threaten the financial system just as it did in 2008. JP Morgan has $70 trillion in total derivative exposure. The entire world has a little more than $700 trillion in derivative exposure, and one bank has 10% of all the derivative exposure on the planet! If JP Morgan gets into trouble, it alone could cause systemic failure. Today, the FBI announced an investigation into the surprise $2 billion (or more) trading loss that happened last week at the bank.
-
Reuters reported, “The probe was seen in some quarters as necessary, given the ongoing debate in Washington about bank regulation and reform, and one expert said it raised the level of concern around what happened. ‘The FBI looks for evidence of crimes and goes after people who it alleges are criminals. They want to send people to jail. The SEC pursues all sorts of wrongdoing, imposes fines and is half as scary as the FBI,’ said Erik Gordon, a professor in the law and business schools at the University of Michigan.” (Click here for the complete Reuters story.)
-
The Obama Administration has to be very worried about JP Morgan which has the biggest derivative exposure ($70.1 trillion) of American banks. The next 4 big U.S. banks after JP Morgan, also, have huge derivative exposure. Citibank has $52.1 trillion in total derivatives, Bank of America has $50.1 trillion, Goldman Sachs has 44.2 trillion and HSBC USA has $4.3 trillion in total derivatives. Combined, the five biggest commercial banks have $220.9 trillion in total derivative contracts. Weigh that against the combined assets of those same top five banks of just $4.8 trillion, and you get an eye popping 46 to 1 leverage! What could go wrong? (Click here for the OCC 4th quarter report.) Please remember, in 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) changed how banks value assets such as real estate and mortgage-backed securities to whatever the institution thinks they’ll fetch in the future. These “assets” are not valued at what they would sell for today. I call this “government sanctioned accounting fraud.”
-
read more!
end
Dr. Martin Weiss: 8 Shocking New Forecasts for 2012 And Beyond !
- Dr. Weiss’ forecast is spot on except that he did not cover the financial derivatives crisis which is coming. It is an even bigger bomb than the sovereign debt crisis.
-
8 Shocking New Forecasts for 2012 and Beyond !
by Martin D. Weiss Ph.D., http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/
Nearly two years ago, we downgraded JPMorgan Chase to a Weiss Ratings of D, implying grossly excessive risk taking by the bank. And virtually every chance since, we repeatedly published this warning about JPMorgan in Money and Markets, Safe Money Report, and multiple press releases.
-
Then, last week, we jumped online with a video that took our warnings to the next level — with this forecast:
-
“Some of the world’s largest banks will suffer massive losses and huge new bailouts will be needed.”
-
Sure enough, just 48 hours later, JPMorgan Chase shocked the investment world with the announcement of massive losses. But it’s only the first of many — from JPMorgan and other banks around the world, raising urgent questions for investors.
-
What are the consequences? Will the world’s most powerful central banks crank up the printing presses? How much? And when? For the answers, simply read the transcript of our recent online briefing below — the focus of today’s issue.
-
8 Shocking New Forecasts for 2012 and Beyond
With Martin D. Weiss, Larry Edelson and Mike Larson
…
Summary:
Forecast #1
Country after country will abandon their so-called “austerity” programs.
Forecast #2
If governments cut spending, the debts will pile up even faster!
Forecast #3
Some of the world’s largest banks will suffer massive losses and huge new bailouts will be needed.
Forecast #4
The European Central Bank (ECB) will kick its money printing presses into overdrive and very, very soon.
Forecast #5
The U.K. and the U.S. will also join the money printing rampage.
Forecast #6
Before this great financial crisis comes to its final tipping point a few years from now, you’ll probably see up to $20 TRILLION in global money printing.
Forecast #7
This unprecedented global orgy of money printing is about to light the fuse on an unprecedented period of global hyperinflation.
Forecast #8
The gold correction I’ve been forecasting will soon end, and gold will ultimately soar to at least $5,000 per ounce!
-
… for the full article click here!
end
Central Banks Aggressively Buying Gold !
Central banks are obviously dumping dollars for gold !
- Do not be taken in by the latest smash down in the prices of gold/silver. The bullion banksters are making a last gasp effort to get out of all their short positions as they know what is coming. Gold and silver will rocket much higher when the global currency crisis starts. The world is returning to gold. It is rapidly replacing the USD in international trade settlement. Central banks are dumping their USD for physical gold.
-
Central Banks Aggressively Buying Gold, Commodity Report by Top Financial Newsletter Profit Confidential !
by http://www.prweb.com/
In March 2012 alone, 57.9 tons of gold bullion were purchased by world central banks, according to a report by Michael Lombardi, lead contributor to Profit Confidential, and he believes more buying should be expected on any pullbacks.
-
“To give some perspective on this number, in 2011, central banks bought just under 440 tons of gold bullion, a rate of 37 tons a month,” says Lombardi. In the recent Profit Confidential article, Half of World Gold Production Being Bought by Central Banks, Lombardi believes the central banks took advantage of the lower prices in gold bullion to buy significant amounts of the metal.
-
“Should the current rate of buying by central banks continue at this pace, central banks will purchase a staggering 700 tons of gold bullion in 2012,” says Lombardi.
-
According to Lombardi, the gold demand from central banks does not include the largest central bank buyer: the People’s Bank of China. He believes that the Chinese are not reporting their gold-buying numbers to the International Monetary Fund. “But we know the Chinese government is accumulating a staggering amount of gold bullion to back their currency, the yuan,” says Lombardi.
-
Lombardi believes that, if the People’s Bank of China continues to accumulate gold bullion at the rate he estimates, roughly half of the gold bullion supply will be picked up by central banks in 2012.
-
“With supply steady and central bank buying increasing at a fast rate, gold bullion prices will have to move higher to satisfy other investor demand around the world,” says Lombardi.
end
The Bank Runs In Greece Will Soon Be Followed By Bank Runs In Other European Nations!
- Conditions are deteriorating rapidly in the Eurozone. Although my guestimate is that the Illuminists will pull the plug some time Aug-Oct 2012, keep in mind these people are not gods. Although, they like to think of themselves as the children of the gods (ie. fallen angels). Things can get rapidly out of hand and beyond control. Make sure you are in hard assets (like physical gold/silver) and out of paper assets immediately.
-
The Bank Runs In Greece Will Soon Be Followed By Bank Runs In Other European Nations!
by http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/
The bank runs that we are watching right now in Greece are shocking, but they are only just the beginning. Since May 6th, nearly one billion dollars has been withdrawn from Greek banks. For a small nation like Greece, that is an absolutely catastrophic number. At this point, the entire Greek banking system is in danger of collapsing. If you had money in a Greek bank, why wouldn’t you pull it out? If Greece leaves the euro, all euros in Greek banks will likely be converted to drachmas, and the value of those drachmas will almost certainly decline dramatically.
-
In fact, it has been estimated that Greek citizens could see the value of their bank accounts decline by up to 50 percent if Greece leaves the euro. So if you had money in a Greek bank, it would only make sense to withdraw it and move it to another country as quickly as possible. And as the eurozone begins to unravel, this is a scenario that we are going to see play out in country after country. As member nations leave the eurozone, you would be a fool to have your euros in Italian banks or Spanish banks when you could have them in German banks instead. So the bank runs that are happening in Greece right now are only a preview of things to come. Before this crisis is over we are going to see bank runs happening all over Europe.
-
If Greece leaves the euro, the consequences are likely to be quite messy. Those that are promoting the idea that a “Grexit” can be done in an orderly fashion are not being particularly honest. The following is from a recent article in the Independent….
-
“Whoever tells you a Greek exit would be no big deal is an idiot, lying or disingenuous,” said Sony Kapoor of the European think-tank Re-Define. Economists fear that a disorderly exit would prompt a huge run by investors on Spanish and Italian debt, forcing those countries to seek support from an EU bailout fund, which, with a capacity of just €500bn, is widely regarded as too small to cope with those pressures.
-
A Greek exit from the euro would not only result in a run on Spanish and Italian bonds, but it would also likely result in a run on Spanish and Italian banks.
-
If Greece is allowed to leave the euro, that will be a signal that other countries will eventually be allowed to leave as well. Nobody in their right mind would want their euros stuck in Spanish or Italian banks if those countries end up converting back to national currencies.
-
Fear is a powerful motivator. If Greece converts their euros back to drachmas, that will be a clear signal that all euros are not created equally. The race to move money into German banks will accelerate dramatically.
-
read more!
end
Greece on Brink of Collapse!
- Greece on brink of collapse!
By Bruno Waterfield, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Europe’s financial crisis lurched into a perilous new phase as dire predictions emerged of a collapse in Greece’s economy, with a run on its banks bringing an inevitable end to its membership of the euro.
-
As leaders in Athens accepted the need for a new general election to end a national stalemate, the International Monetary Fund said Europe’s leaders should prepare for the possibility of a Greek departure from the single currency.
-
Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warned she was “technically prepared for anything” and said the utmost effort must be made to ensure any Greek exit was orderly. The effect was likely to be “quite messy” with risks to growth, trade and financial markets. “It is something that would be extremely expensive and would pose great risks but it is part of options that we must technically consider,” she said.
-
Raising tensions still further, Germany warned Greek voters that the wrong result in next month’s election will force their country out of the single currency. Greece’s president warned, perhaps most alarmingly, that its banks risk running out of money, posing a “threat to our national existence”.
-
read more!
end
About
Societal and economics observer and commentator with an endtimes, future history perspective. Follow me at Twitter: socioecohistory
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
