Robert Reich: 7 lies about the economy!

Rugby,Rena and… World War III?

While our attention was directed to Rugby and the Rena disaster here is what happened in the States:

According to the ministry of Propaganda Justice a plot was unmasked to blow up an entire restaurant to kill the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia by villains from our evil country du jour; Iran!

And since it is custom since the events on 911 to attack entire countries for the alleged acts of an individual or individuals Obama and King whatsamacallit from Saudi Arabia have called for all options on the table (which is empire speak for we’re going to bomb the shit out of you) as a response to this alleged crime.

It seems that Israel which is in control of the US government has now been given the green light for the first strike.
This means: a closed strait of Hormus, retaliations from Iran on Israel and basically the destruction of the entire middle east as we know it since Iran is a nation of about 70 million people prepared to defend their country.

Was the Rena disaster caused on purpose!

Fitch Downgrades UBS, Many Others, Puts Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Goldman, BNP, Deutsche Bank, SocGen And Others On Watch Negative

Not only is John key presiding over two downgrades for NZ on his watch, now the bank that holds most of his wealth is going down the tubes too as Fitch downgrades UBS and puts all the too big too fail banks on negative watch:

Since one can not get a downgrade of a bank during market hours for fears of springing who knows what circuit breakers, Fitch had to wait until just after the market close to release its latest market surprise which consisted of a “watch negative” announcement on the following banks Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman, Morgan Stanley; others it just slashed some by multiple notches, among which: Landesbank Berlin IDR downgraded to A+ from AA-; Lloyds Banking Group IDR downgraded to A from AA-; RBS IDR downgraded to A from AA-; and most importantly UBS IDR downgraded to A from A+. The reason for the action: “the ongoing Eurozone crisis continues to feed intense market speculation regarding the potential or bank recapitalisation schemes. Therefore for the near term the agency is maintaining a ‘single A’ range support rating floors for banks in its highest rated Eurozone countries.” The Euro is not liking this announcement one bit.

The critical UBS downgrade:

LONDON/MILAN, October 13 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has downgraded UBS <MLPI.P> AG’s (UBS) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and revised its Support Rating Floor (SRF) to ‘A’ from ‘A+’. The Outlook on the Long-term IDR is Stable.

 

At the same time, the agency has downgraded UBS’s Short-term IDR to ‘F1′ from ‘F1+’ and affirmed UBS’s Support Rating at ’1′. UBS’s Viability Rating (VR) of ‘a-’ remains on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). This rating action has no impact on the ‘AAA’ rating of the outstanding covered bonds issued by UBS. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this comment. The rating action on UBS and its subsidiaries is part of Fitch’s broader review of changing sovereign support in developed countries announced in separate comments titled ‘Rating Banks in a Changing World’ and ‘Fitch Comments on Support for Euro Banks; Takes Various Support-Driven Rating Actions’ both published on 13 October 2011 and available on www.fitchratings.com.

 

Since the intervention of the Swiss authorities in late 2008, UBS’s IDRs have been based on Fitch’s view of the availability of sovereign support. As a result, the Long-term IDR has been at the SRF. Reflecting the particularly close ties between UBS and the Swiss government following the transfer of a USD38.7bn portfolio of assets to the Swiss National Bank (SNB) StabFund in late 2008 and early 2009, UBS’s SRF has since early 2009 been rated one notch above the SRF for Credit Suisse AG (CS), the other large, systemically important Swiss bank.

 

Fitch’s rating action on UBS’s SRF reflects Fitch’s view that the one notch uplift for close affiliation with the Swiss state is no longer warranted and the agency has therefore lowered UBS’s SRF to ‘A’ in line with its SRF for CS. Consequently, Fitch has downgraded UBS’s Long- and Short-term IDRs to ‘A’ and ‘F1′ respectively. UBS’s Viability Rating (VR), on Rating Watch Negative (RWN) since 16 September 2011 (see “Fitch Places UBS’s Viability Rating on Rating Watch Negative; Affirms IDRs” dated 16 September 2011 at www.fitchratings.com), remains unaffected by today’s rating action. UBS’s SRF and IDRs continue to be based on Fitch’s view that there is an extremely high probability of support for UBS from the Swiss authorities at least until the global financial sector has stabilised and resolution regimes in Switzerland and abroad are in place. In Switzerland, legislation attempting to avoid taxpayers having to bail out one of its systemically important banks again (“too big to fail”, TBTF, legislation) is currently being finalised. The legislation centres around strengthening banks’ capital positions, imposing more stringent liquidity requirements, improving risk diversification and adjusting banks’ organisational set-up to allow for the protection of systemically important utility functions in the event of a bank insolvency or threatened insolvency.

Full release on the downgrade watch:

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Gutted for Tauranga and my new country!

Just to tell you I’m gutted for Tauranga and New Zealand for the oil spill polluting the East coast and in no mood to do a great deal of writing although I can tell you that both the history ship and the FerroSilicon are very interesting. More later.

Simon Power, Westpac and another downright conflict of interest from a National Minister

Today it was announced that Simon Power would become the managing director of Westpac’s very rich peoples department.

As some of you recall Simon Power announced a shock resignation in February this year and left many people wondering why as he was touted as the next PM for National if elected. Many people questioned what had happened behind the scenes and virtually no one believed that he left voluntarily.

It seems today we got our answer. Simon Power in what can only be described as a huge conflict of interest is going through the revolving door: From Minister of Justice, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Minister of Commerce, Minister Responsible for the Law Commission and Associate Minister of Finance to managing and no doubt legally protecting those who are going to gain the most if after the next election those same state owned assets are sold off to the highest bidder.

That is of course if National wins!

John Key: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman!!!”

Update: If this is so important the “person” at that meeting  giving this information to John Key would be happy to stand up to the “liars” of Standard & Poor and stand up for the Boss man!

If you believe this I’ve got a bridge in Manhattan to sell to you:

Just to remind you, this is what Standards and Poor said: ”Standards & Poor said exactly the opposite, that there was a bipartisan tradition of fiscal prudence… and the policies of three years ago (under the former Labour government) were more likely to lead to an upgrading in credit ratings.”

Downgrades so far:

National government: 3

Labour government: 0

In the mean time: Oil in Tauranga harbour and mayday from the Rena

With an inordinately incompetent response to what might arguably be NZ’s worst environmental disaster (one which doesn’t bode well when the oil companies start drilling here) it should be of every bodies concern that a mayday has been received and that personnel has been evacuated from the Rena as three meter high swells are hitting the ship and oil lumps are entering Tauranga harbour.

99% to Bankers: We’ve Got the Guillotine!

Update: Banksters want to print more money justs after they printed £ 75 billion and Occupy the London Stock Exchange is now under way. I hope they bring that Guillotine!

Dancing on the edge of the economic volcano!

I confess I read the Daily mail online everyday. Not necessarily everything but most certainly the frontpage and some of the gossip. I am after all a woman! I thought I’d share three links I found today. This I reckon is how the last days of Rome must have looked:

The plebs are loosing it and while the nights away in a drunken stupor reminiscent of the stories of Dickens and Victorian horrors such as Jack the Ripper killing prostitutes in destitute London and the days before WWI made everybody pay attention once more while restaurants serve puddings costing £ 22.000 and a commemorative tea cup and saucer put on sale today to commemorate the ascension to the throne of the worlds worst dole bludger will only set you back a mere £49.

I look at it and see millions of people whether under or upper class dancing on the edge of the precipice of a giant economic volcano about to explode.

Fox news lies. Duh!

OWS, tells it like it is!

Meet Bill, a Kiwi near you!

I meet a lot of Bills over here in Kiwi land I’m sure you do too. The following post written by one of my Heroes and someone who sometimes graciously  likes my comments on her face book page, Cindy Sheehan, is not for them but for those of you who have to live with them. Enjoy!

On Super Bowl Sunday, the reason that I wrote my new book: Myth America: 20 Greatest Myths of the Robber Class and the Case for Revolution, literally hit home.

Since it was the Holy Day of Obligation for our national religion of Football, I headed for my health club because I have always been a heretic. I arrived there a little before kick off, so the club was still occupied, but after kick-off it was deserted.

After my water workout and swim in the pool that I had all to myself, I headed to the hot tub which was occupied by another spa patron—an older gentleman named Bill whom seems to come to the club just to sit in the hot tub and chat. I get the feeling he is very lonely, and this following exchange may be why:

Bill: I think what you do disgraces your son, his memory and what he died for.

Cindy: Oh really? Since he was killed in an illegal and immoral war, I think this nation disgraced him.

Bill: But they attacked us on 9-11.

Cindy: Who attacked us on 9-11?

Bill: Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

Cindy: Are you serious? If you believe the official story, 16 Saudi Arabians attacked us.

Bill: But Saddam killed his own people.

Cindy: We have killed over one million of Saddam’s “own people,” (at this point Cindy does “air quotes?).

Bill: But we didn’t mean to.

Cindy: (deep sigh), So what team are you rooting for this afternoon?

At which point, Bill scrambled out of the hot tub and headed for the showers.

My “friend” Bill has been thoroughly propagandized from the right—there was no use sitting in the hot tub with the jets blasting and trying to reason with a man who thinks that over one million people can be killed “accidentally.”

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John Key versus S&P: Just another fear mongering bankster!

When a rich Wall street bankster wants his way this is what he does: He calls a meeting of those he wants to bully into submission and says: “If you don’t do what I want the sky will fall down, Our ratings will go down, and there will be blood in the streets and even Martial law.”

And why not it worked before! It worked for example when Hank Paulson who at the time was secretary of Treasury after a long and successful career with Goldman Sachs told this fearmongering titbit to American Congressmen and it netted him a cool $ 850 billion to share with his mates. He even gave himself a waiver so he could stick his snout in the trough for good measure.

I also worked when Greece went under (which incidentally had been advised by Goldman Sachs where to invest their sovereign fund after which GS started to bet against Greece dropping) when the banks started to threaten sovereign countries that if they didn’t bail out Greece they too would go under and it should come as no surprise therefore that John Key tries to use the same tactic. In saying that a S&P downgrade would be more likely if Kiwi’s voted for Labour or other parties and force a change of government he is effectively saying vote for me or else the sky will come down the ratings will come down and there will be blood in the streets.

That’s what bankers do if they want their way!

Bomber banned from RNZ for criticising John Key’s abominable behaviour!

If you want to know how bad the NZMSM really is you only have to know that NZR banned Martin Bradbury not for bad behavior but for criticizing Gollem John Key. Absolutely disgusting and it makes blogs like this and others all the more important

Think An American Economic Resurgence Is Imminent? Don’t Be Stupid, Warns Goldman

The recent brief uptick in economic high frequency indicators got you up? Feeling like suddenly the recession can be avoided because train traffic, whose sole goal is to stock up on even more soon to be liquidated inventory, hasn’t yet collapsed? Happy by the beat in Non-farm payrolls, even though the beat was primarily a function of a one-time Verizon-strike boost, even as tax witholdings have hit an inflection point and are now declining? Amazed by the surge in car purchases, funded entirely by GM-targeted subprime loans issued by Uncle Sam, which have now declined for the first time in a year? Don’t be silly, warns Goldman’s Jan Hatzius, and presents a list why while the C-grade commentators out there may be caught off guard by the brief pick up in economic activity and proclaim the period of inverse economic growth over, it is all, quite, pardon the pun, “transitory.”

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Dexia, one the biggest bank of Belgium and France is dying or dead, we’ll know by Monday

A few days ago we mocked the market’s naive belief that a loose union of 17 different countries and hundreds of separate political organizations, each torn by thousands of unique interests and lobby groups, can all agree unanimously in the pursuit of the common monetary (read: banker) good, over that of their own people. Yet that did not stop stocks from enacting the second weekly massive short covering squeeze, in 3 weeks, purely on hype, rumors, innuendo and lies. And just like the last time the market soared by nearly double digits in a few short days, only to plunge when hopes of a quick resolution were mercilessly dashed, Monday has all the makings of another epic risk off day. Because while all it takes is a rumor (of a plan for a plan) to start a squeeze, we are about to get some very nasty actual events which will demand immediate and forceful intervention by the powers that be, something which Europe (and the US) has proven is virtually impossible. The events in question are, as Reuters reports, that i) “Dexia’s Funeral Will Be Announced On Sunday” and, as Bloomberg reports, that ii) Slovakia’s ruling Freedom and Solidarity party won’t back the overhaul of the European bailout mechanism after Prime Minister Iveta Radicova rejected the party’s conditions for approval, a lawmaker said. Said otherwise, bonds are currently thanking their lucky stars the bond market is closed because not only will Europe have to deal with the headline risk that the weakest link in Europe, the tiny country of Slovakia, can scuttle the entire second Greek rescue operation, and thus, lead to the expulsion of Greece from the eurozone following its bankruptcy, but this will have to take place as Europe fights the stem the contagion resulting from the collapse and nationalization of the first Greek bank, which nobody, nobody, could have foreseen.

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Banks and countries downgraded and Slovakia holds the key to the Euro

Moody went on a rampage this week. Italy and Spain downgraded, 12 UK banks amongst which Lloyd’s downgraded and it turns out that one vote, that of Slovakia, can stopr the bailout of greece which will mean the end of the Euro and of the entire Financial systme which of course has been in a slo mo collapse since 2008.

From Rose. Excellent!

The resemblance is unnerving!

 

Angry American telling it like it is!

Corexit Is Killing The Gulf

Corexit, the stuff they are using to “dissolve” is four times more toxic then the oil coming from the ship and actually prevents the oil from being biologically dissolved and cleaned up.

Here’s what’s happening in the Gulf:

London Falling: Like a man eating his own leg

Two faces of John Key

From Robert Guytons blog

This got me in hysterics this morning, Enjoy!

 A keen-eyed reader sent me these two images and asked me if I thought there was a similarity.

What do you think?

Reginald Perrin, meet John Key – John, Reggie, Reggie, John.

(Hat-tip Decay).

Still no Silver at the NZ Mint and Riots in Greece, getting scared yet?

Now would be a good time to become realistic. Like in run for the hills kind of realistic!

It is Thursday and the mint in NZ still does not have its silver official coinage for sale as it is temporary out of stock.
What does that mean? It means that everybody and their dog is buying silver because they have no more faith in the current fiat money system. Why? Because while its leaders still want to prop up the dying fiat currency scam that is the dollar and the Euro, the people of Greece are over it and want to go back to the Drachme and leave the Euro scam that cost them their economy and independence and they are prepared to fight for it.

And here is Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert on the subject of Greece.

I was wrong: Forex traders are worse than Psychopaths!

For those of you reading this blog and who are aware that I have likened John Key and other Wall street banksters and Forex traders with psychopaths, it seems I was wrong! According to a Swiss study traders are far worse than psychopaths.

Here is their story: They compared 24 known psychopaths with a back up group of  “normal” people and it turns out that the control group which consisted of Stock guys, FX/commodities traders and derivative types was far worse than the group of psychopaths in their penchant for destruction.

What do you reckon the chances of a nice normal giving loving sort of person to rise to the top in an environment like that? Just think about it. John Key was right there at the top with corrupt souls like Robert Rubin, Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers. Still feel she’ll be right with him at the helm over here promising growth?

Just in case you’re wondering here is your Psycho check list:

1. Considerable superficial charm, verbal facility and average or above average intelligence.

2. Unreliability, disregard for obligations, no sense of responsibility.

3. Untruthfulness and insincerity.

4. Inexplicable impulsiveness.

5. Antisocial behavior.

6. Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience.

7. Total self-centeredness.

8. General poverty of deep and lasting emotions.

9. Lack of any true insight, inability to see oneself as others do.

10. Fantastic and objectionable behavior, after drinking and sometimes even when not drinking–vulgarity, rudeness, quick mood shifts, pranks.

11. An impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated sex life.

John Key sneers!

John Key after Phil Goff calls him  out with dignity and leadership after his outrageous behavior yesterday. Is it just me or is he getting creepier?

List of Politicians, Military and Intelligence Experts who Question the “Official” 9/11 Narrative

Summarized from www.patriotsquestion911.com

Global Research Editor’s Note. This list is selective. For a complete list consult www.patriotsquestion911.com

Here are 40 experts, including the Chairman, 9/11 Commission, Thomas H. Kean, Former Governor of New Jersey and Vice Chairman, 9/11 Commission, Lee Hamilton, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Homeland Security Advisory Council ~ sounding off in short quotes about their misgivings with the 9/11 commission and the questions that are still smoldering.

PART I. UNITED STATES

Senator Max Cleland
– Former member of the 9/11 Commission, resigned in December 2003:

“I, as a member of the [9/11] Commission, cannot look any American in the eye… It is a national scandal… this White House wants to cover [9/11] up.”

Senator Mark Dayton
– Member, Senate Committee on Armed Services and Homeland Security

“[NORAD] lied to the American people, they lied to Congress and they lied to your 9/11 Commission…the most gross incompetence and dereliction of responsibility and negligence”

Congressman Ron Paul
- Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee

“the [9/11] investigations that have been done so far as more or less cover-up and no real explanation”

Congressman Curt Weldon

“[9/11 Commission] there’s something very sinister going on here… something desperately wrong… This involved what is right now the covering up of information that led to the deaths of 3,000 people”

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
- Member of the House Armed Services Committee

“the [9/11] Commission ran up against obstruction by the administration and non-cooperation from government agencies… the errors and omissions immediately jumped out at us”

Director of the FBI, Louis Freeh

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What This Country Needs Now Is Hope?

No it doesn’t. it needs to get of its fat lazy ass, kick out the Wall street parasites pull out it’s army bases from around the world stop the crippling wars and start building up their country from the bottom up again!

But it’s a nice post on how bad the US economy really is:

What This Country Needs Now Is Hope

Finch: Why are you doing this?
Evey Hammond: Because he was right.
Finch: About what?
Evey Hammond: That the world needs more than just a building right now. It needs hope.

 

The dialogue above occurred at the end of the dystopian movie V for Vendetta. It is a tale of revenge and restoring hope among citizens who had chosen safety and security over freedom and liberty. Even though this movie was fictional and adapted from a comic strip, its message and warnings should be heeded. Millions of middle class citizens in the U.S. sink deeper into despair every day. Day by day hope is being lost that the future for our children will be better than our past. The political, financial, and corporate leaders of our country are intellectually and morally bankrupt. The major Wall Street banks are bankrupt. Social Security is bankrupt. Medicare is bankrupt. The whole damned world is bankrupt. Anyone with an unbiased view of our planet would conclude that we are in unfathomable danger. The list of impending catastrophic issues that will blow up the world for millions in the U.S. and across the globe is virtually endless:

U.S. Debt

• The national debt is currently $14.6 trillion, up from $5.7 trillion in 2000. It took over 200 years to accumulate the first $5.7 trillion of debt and only 11 years to tack on another $8.9 trillion.
• With the new $450 billion jobs package proposed by President Obama, the deficit in FY12 will likely exceed $1.8 trillion, or 12% of GDP. Greece’s 2010 deficit was 10.5% of GDP.
• Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart in their book This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, using data from 44 countries over 200 years, concluded that once a country’s national debt exceeds 90% of GDP, the economy stagnates and ultimately makes that country vulnerable to a debt crisis. The U.S. national debt as a percentage of GDP is currently 97% and will reach 107% in 2012. This does not count state and local debt, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt, and the unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare. We are at the same place Greece was in 2007. But we’re no Greece, right? This time is different.

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John Key, smiling, lying and making money by Trillion

Big four jittery as S&P does its sums

Coming to a bank near you!

New Zealand’s Australian-owned banks are worried about the prospect of credit rating downgrades as Standard & Poor’s reviews how it rates them, an expert says.

In January Standard & Poor’s, stung by the spectacular failure of a number of highly rated institutions in the 2007 global financial crisis, announced plans to revise its global rating criteria for banks.

Results of the ratings agency’s review are expected in the current quarter and that, combined with a slowing Australian economy, is giving the big four banks – National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and ANZ Bank – cause for concern, according to David Tripe, director of the Centre for Banking Studies at Massey University.

“The reason that there is a bit more concern is the potential weakness of the Australian economy, so that might mean that the Australian banking parents are in fact subjected to a downgrade,” Tripe said.

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Bad Financial News Keeps Pouring In: 14 Facts That Just Might Scare The Living Daylights Out Of You

Rumor has it Goldman Sachs might not pay any bonuses this year, Lloyd’s has with drawn all its money out of European Banks and a corporate bank run on European banks has begun . If you’re not petrified you are not paying attention! John Key’s Bank of America shares are selling for $ 5.53 (that was Monday so it could be even lower now) down from more then $ 50 a couple of years ago. The only reason John Key our intrepid hard nosed businessman is smiling now is because he glues the corners of his mouth up every morning. It’s called the Banksters grin and is compulsory for ever one connected to Wall street!

Get with it OK! Here are 14 facts to keep you focused:

Will the bad financial news ever stop?  A lot of people in the financial world were hoping for a much better fourth quarter after an absolutely disastrous third quarter.  Well, if Monday was any indication, October could end up being a really rough month for global financial markets.  So much bad financial news keeps pouring in that it really is a challenge to try to keep track of it all.  Greece seems to get closer to defaulting on their debts with each passing day, and it appears that Germany is not going to contribute any more bailout money beyond what they have already committed to.  Major banks on both sides of the Atlantic are on the verge of collapse, and investors all over the world are afraid that we may have another “Lehman Brothers moment” soon.  Shares of American Airlines dropped a staggering 33 percent on Monday as rumors that they will soon be entering bankruptcy swirled.  Yes, things certainly are getting interesting.  Back in 2008, the governments of the western world saved the financial system with gigantic bailouts that were absolutely unprecedented.  If the financial system crashes again at some point in the coming weeks or months, will the political will for more bank bailouts be there?  If not, what is going to happen to the banking system?

On both sides of the Atlantic, the big banks are highly leveraged, they have taken on a ton of risk and they are very deeply exposed to derivatives.  It is as if virtually nobody learned any lessons during the financial crisis of 2008.  Once again we are facing a situation where if a couple of financial dominoes fall it could send dozens of others tumbling to the ground.

Some very significant things happened on Monday.  But the media has gotten so used to reporting on tremendous financial instability that Monday’s events mostly got brushed to the side.  Instead, Amanda Knox captured most of the headlines.

But the reality is that some really, really monumental stuff has been going down.

The following are 14 facts that just might scare the living daylights out of you….

#1 On Monday, the Dow was down 258 points.  Lately it seems as though the Dow has been going up or down by several hundred points almost every single day, and that much volatility is not a good sign for the health of the financial system.

#2 Shares of Wall Street banking giant Morgan Stanley fell by another 8 percent on Monday.  Overall, shares of Morgan Stanley have declined by more than 50 percent since February.

#3 Bank of America stock dropped down to $5.53 a share on Monday.  Just a few years ago, it was trading for more than $50 a share.

#4 There are reports that Goldman Sachs may actually show a loss for the third quarter of 2011 and that yearly bonuses for employees may be slashed to next to nothing.  Yes, not too many people are going to have sympathy for Goldman Sachs, but this just shows how bad things are getting out there for the big Wall Street banks.

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