Reaping What Bretton Woods Has Sown

The International Forecaster
April 2, 2011

The seeds of today’s monetary problems were laid at Bretton Woods, NH in 1944, as a combination of socialists, communists and fascists laid the groundwork for the IMF, the World Bank and the eventual elimination of gold from the monetary world. The Federal Reserve’s role was to bring that about from behind the scenes.

In the intervening years in order to move toward those goals the banking system run by the privately run Federal Reserve, allowed banks, some of which were run by the owners of the Fed, such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, were allowed to run rough shod over the system, always knowing they would be bailed out by the public. These banks have had and continue to have a license to steal under the illegal Federal Reserve Act. Over and over again these banks, Wall Street, insurance companies and transnational corporations have been bailed out of their speculations under the aegis of too big to fail. The excuse has always been that it must be done to protect the public. These entities got to keep the gains and the public got to share in the losses. The public and 95% of those working on Wall Street and banking didn’t have a clue to what was really going on. The Fed and other major central banks were not only playing this Fed game domestically, but internationally as well. Over those years the Fed had been designated the lender of last resort. We saw them in action over the last 3-1/2 years during what was termed the credit crisis. The Fed’s job was to bail out not only the US banking system rent asunder by bank speculation in the mortgage market, but to also bail out the buyers of such mortgages, known as MBS and CDOs, sold to British and European banks and other financial entities, which had purchased 60% of the toxic waste. If you notice not one of these lenders or buyers ever filed a civil or criminal suit against these purveyors of what has become to be known as toxic waste. We can only speculate, but we believe the dumping ground for this mortgage garbage was preset and that some of the buyers if not all were guaranteed by the Fed that if problems arose they would be bailed out and one way or another made whole. The Fed attempted to hide what they were doing and a lawsuit has finally forced them to divulge, who received funds created by the Fed, some $13.8 trillion, why and what collateral was accepted for such loans and have such loans been repaid. Another program called TARP was set up by the Treasury to bail out Wall Street, banking and transnational conglomerates all involved in this tight little circle of anointed corporations. This bailout program was accomplished by Treasury Secretary Paulson. He told Congress if the funds were not forthcoming for the insiders to bail themselves out via speculation based on inside information, then he would see to it that the financial system was brought down and destroyed. The high-handed ruse or extortion worked and these miscreants received their funds from the public Treasury, as well as from the Fed.

Gold backing for the US dollar was part of the result of the conference at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods in that July of 1944. We have to interject here that in 1946 or 1947 I climbed Mt. Washington and once I reached the hotel it started snowing. Yes, snowing in August. The group of us from the camp quickly raced back down through the forest to better climes, which the snow failed to reach. Thus, 2 or 3 years after that historic meeting, I briefly visited that hotel, of course, not knowing what had taken place there.

 

George Soros, one of the world's strongest pushers for Global Financial and Economic consolidation.

This UN Monetary and Financial Conference, which included the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development, which became the World Bank, which was to make loans to the rubble that was to be Europe in 1945, and to which those economies, promote monetary cooperation and fix exchange rates, and eventually to eliminate the use of gold, as the backing and basis for international currency exchange, replacing gold with a fiat paper standard controlled by the Federal Reserve. The discipline of gold was to eventually be phased out of the system, so that the fed could create money out of thin air. This would be a perpetual tax on Americans as their currency dropped in value versus gold over the years. Currencies would no longer be exchanged in terms of their gold value. This was called a gold exchange standard. The public could not exchange US notes or Federal Reserve notes for gold, but nations could. The value of currencies versus one another, all of which were backed by gold was set by supply and demand. If a nation created too much currency the value of their currency would fall versus gold and other currencies. This method of monetary policy had previously been set into law by the passage of the Federal Reserve Act. The concept was to eventually have a world bank that would create a fiat currency for all nations that would supersede all other currencies. That, of course, is still underway today as elitists strive for a one-world currency and a new-world order. These concepts were promulgated and put in place by well-known Fabian socialist John Maynard Keynes, who as we reflect back was the author of an economic system that was corporatists fascist and the then Treasury Secretary, Harry Dexter White, who was a communist. It took 27 years, and on August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon removed the US dollar from the gold exchange standard. That is how the fiat dollar was generally planned and that is why we have non-gold Federal Reserve notes today, instead of a gold backed currency.

 

The elitists’ corporatist fascist model is not working very well. The Fed, the Bank of England and Western banks have serious problems and throwing money at the problems is not working. Of course, do they want the solution to work? This depression they have deliberately created is not working the way they envisioned it would. In fact they are having trouble keeping it under control. We have just seen what is called a “black Swan” event. An earthquake, an untoward event, which ostensibly came from out of the blue. We’ll surmise that until we have empirical evidence that man did not create it. These are the kind of unplanned events that throw the elitist plans off kilter. It throws the direction of neo-liberal capitalism in several different directions. This is the system so prevalent in Europe, where profits are privatized and losses are socialized and become a debt that has to be paid by the people. This system, which we now have in America, keeps Wall Street and banking in power. This is accomplished by bailouts when the anointed corporations get themselves in trouble as we see in America today and in Europe as well. The state in our case by the privately owned Federal Reserve losses are monetized and appear in part in the form of higher inflation. It also comes in the form of public debt that has to be repaid by the taxpayer. Eventually the debt consumes the host.

As a result it is only a matter of time before the system unravels. The fractional banking system does not work and never has worked. The players who run the system know that. History is replete with instances of failure, which are well known to elitists. The collapse of the Lombard System in 1348, the year of the plague, and the collapse of the Hanseatic League in the early 1600s, are but two of scores of failures, most of which were deliberately planned. Fractional banking for those of you who do not know what it is, takes place when a lender lends more money than he can collateralize. The rule of thumb over the centuries has been to lend no more than eight times assets. Today that number is 40 times as assets. That is why most major western banks are broke. Any major untoward event could presently collapse the current system. In addition, some 10% of the basic assets of these banks are worthless. These banks are still in serious trouble in spite of receiving trillions of dollars in bailout funds of one kind or another. What happens when interest rates rise, which they must? The banks will be in trouble, as inflation rages. If that wasn’t bad enough contagion could also affect the banking system. That is when one bank borrows from another and then cannot get their funds back. That happened 3-1/2 years ago and the Fed stepped in and secretly guaranteed deposits. In this process of saving Wall Street and banking the public is put at enormous risk, which is a pattern used over and over again over the centuries.

These events naturally lead us to the dollar, which for months has had little sustainable strength either fundamental or technical. The run to 89 on the USDX ended in failure, and the recent strength at and near 75 was tepid at best. The recent intervention by the G-7 to weaken the yen, which has moved from 76 to 83, was really a backhanded attempt to stage a dollar rally, especially when you consider the absorption of Japanese Treasury sales, which is really what the exercise was all about. Needless to say, the NYC elitists needed the Japanese problem like they needed a hole in the head. The baggage the US dollar has is overwhelming. The government is being 70% to 80% financed by the Fed, which creates money and credit out of thin air. The federal deficit for the fiscal year will be $1.7 trillion. The US has two occupations and two ongoing wars costing billions of dollars a month. Municipalities and states are in dire financial straights and the economy would collapse without quantitative easing and stimulus. A rather sad state of affairs. Incidentally, we called the recent bottom on the dollar, but more importantly, we called the top at 89. Dollar and Treasury bond weakness will be exacerbated by the Middle East and North African revolutions and the ultimate result will be the demise of the petro dollar, which has always been the underlying strength to the dollar. The US, UK and France guaranteed safety for the oil producers, they denominated oil in US dollars, and they deposited their profits in NYC, London and Paris for management. The policy may well be at an end. If so that will be the end of regional purchases of US T-bonds. Thus, the loss of Chinese, Japanese and Gulf purchases will cancel out 70% of US Treasury purchases. These events could very well lead to the collapse of the Treasury bond market essentially leaving only the Fed as a buyer. As we predicted months ago the second half of 2011 will bring an implosion of US Federal debt, municipal and state debt, British debt and a collapse in EU debt and the beginning of the end for the euro. Along with 14% inflation gold and silver will rocket upwards.

The latest insult to American consciousness is a proposed cut in the budget deficit of $33 billion. That isn’t even cosmetic. In a budget with a $1.7 trillion deficit that isn’t even chump change. Can you imagine what the rest of the world is thinking? Try to sell treasuries under those conditions? The House is totally out of touch with reality. It takes its orders from Wall Street and banking. That has never been more obvious.

Hundreds of municipalities will fail in 2011 as well as some states. Austerity will continue for the average American citizen. That means GDP will fall from 70% by consumers to 68.5% with more bad news to come next year. All of these events have already, as displayed recently, begun to end the safe-haven status of the US dollar. Not only will the dollar be under pressure, but also so will the sale of Treasuries. It is possible the dollar could go to 65 on the USDX and the Treasury market could collapse. The plight of the dollar has not gone unnoticed. In 2001, the dollar’s share of official global foreign-reserves was 71.5%. At the end of 2010 it was 61.3%. Those moves do not instill confidence in the dollar.

We have contended for a year that a major meeting will be held with all countries attending to revalue and devalue currencies each against one another, there would be a multilateral default of some kind and a new devalued international world reserve currency backed by gold. That new currency could be the dollar. The status of old debt would be clear. How domestic debt would be handled remains to be seen. The collateralized gold backing would be today $6,000 and silver perhaps $300. The problem is that is now. The figures a year or two from now could be $8,000 and $400, who knows? All we know is the trend is clear.

El Derrame de Petróleo de BP: La Conspiración que Usted no Conoce

Por Luis R. Miranda
The Real Agenda
Diciembre 16, 2010

Las grandes corporaciones son responsables de la destrucción del medio ambiente, eso es simplemente un hecho. Si no lo creen y no creen en teorías de la conspiración, sujetense los pantalones y el sombrero, porque este artículo se los va a volar lejos, muy lejos. Todo el mundo todavía recuerda el derrame de petróleo en el Golfo de México. Aún está fresco en mi cabeza y en la cabeza de mucha gente que lo vio de primera mano, que fueron desplazados por este, o que están enfermos hoy a causa del mismo. Al igual que el desastre causado por el huracán Katrina y los ataques que Estados Unidos sufrió el 11 de septiembre de 2001. Todo el mundo los recuerda …

Los rumores iban y venían sobre los motivos o causas del derrame de petróleo, el mayor desastre ambiental en la historia, sin duda. Pero el tiempo, sólo el tiempo puede proporcionar las respuestas que todo el mundo parece estar buscando después de la tragedia. Sólo el tiempo e investigación muy profunda revelan lo que estaba y sigue estando detrás de un derrame de petróleo que se llamó un “desastre”, pero que es mucho más que eso. Esta vez, las respuestas y la realidad que se presentan parecen ir más allá de lo que cualquier ser humano decente se pueda imaginar. Sólo una mente maligna podría entenderlo. La realidad es más extraña que la ficción, se dice. Con el derrame de petróleo, no es la excepción. Y no es extraño, sino también más diabólico de lo que cualquier productor o director de ficción podría imaginar, porque tiene que ver con la existencia humana.

Desplazados después de Katrina. Los diques no detuvieron las aguas.

En un documental investigativo de 43 minutos, con el apoyo de documentos, testimonios, pruebas visuales y mentiras de primera mano por parte de BP, el programa Conspiracy Theory presentado por el ex gobernador de Minnesota Jesse Ventura tiró la tapa y reveló que el derrame de petróleo no fue sólo un accidente, un desastre, una tragedia, pero fue en realidad un evento cuidadosamente elaborado para facilitar la despoblación de la costa, causar enfermedad, muerte, y el control de los recursos, todo en nombre de las corporaciones. El documental no sólo revela una de las mayores conspiraciones de las que me he enterado, pero también señala cómo el derrame de petróleo es parte de una serie de eventos de prueba para causar la destrucción de la zona del Golfo de México con el fin de provocar la migración obligatoria de por lo menos 17.000 familias, muchas de las cuales han vivido allí por más de 100 años. Los planes de despoblación no se limitan a las zonas costeras o el Golfo de México. Se extiende hasta tierra adentro, hasta Luisiana.

Pero los problemas son más graves que una simple migración masiva. ¿Cómo estaría el derrame de petróleo relacionado con el enfriamiento global o una edad de hielo que afectaría la mayor parte del hemisferio norte, causaría escasez de alimentos y potencialmente la muerte de millones, estimularía la mayor demanda de petróleo en la historia de la humanidad, mientras que este está en las manos de las corporaciones? Por favor permanezca sentado. Si no puede esperar a leer el artículo completo para saber de que se trata la conspiración, déjeme darle una idea directa. El gobierno de los Estados Unidos tiene un programa para despoblar la región de la costa del Golfo de México respaldado por 40 mil millones de dólares para convertir la costa en una zona desierta a fin de entregársela a las grandes corporaciones petroleras. Si usted no puede creerlo, siga leyendo.

Antes de entrar en detalles, sin embargo, vamos a poner algunos elementos de hecho que cualquiera puede confirmar. BP fue fundada en 1909 como la Compañía Anglo-Persa. Esta corporación participó en la destrucción de Irán mientras el país estaba en camino de convertirse en una nación del Primer Mundo. Los iraníes simplemente no querían renunciar a sus recursos naturales y dárselos a BP, por lo que la compañía utilizó sus conexiones para convertir a Irán en lo que es hoy. Como se sabe, BP es propiedad en parte de JP Morgan Chase Bank que tiene casi el 29% de sus acciones. Tanto Halliburton y Transocean operaban en la plataforma petrolera que explotó y causó el desastre. BP sabía, muy por delante de tiempo que la plataforma petrolera estaba en peligro y podría explotar como lo hizo. Esa es la conclusión alcanzada por la periodista investigativa Sherri Kane, quien ha escrito varios artículos sobre el derrame de petróleo, pero ninguno ha llegado a los medios de comunicación corporativos. Su investigación ofrece explicaciones sobre lo que ocurrió meses antes de la explosión. Para empezar, millones de dólares fueron obtenidos de la venta de acciones de BP, semanas antes del desastre. Entre los que la vendieron sus acciones se encontraba el CEO de BP, Tony Hayward, que vendió un tercio de sus acciones el 17 de marzo, y con esto ganó millones de dólares. Ese es sólo su soborno por permitir que el desastre sucediera.

Empresas involucradas en el derrame de petróleo.

La investigación se inició en la zona cero, para usar un término familiar. Como se señala en el documental, BP no podría haberlo hecho solo. Tuvieron la ayuda de Transocean, la mayor contratista de off-shore en el mundo. Aunque BP era el dueño de los 194 millones de galones derramados en las aguas del Golfo de México, Transocean era el propietario de la plataforma. Poco antes de la explosión, las acciones de Transocean fueron puestas en el mercado con una “opción de venta” especial para quienes fueron informados de antemano que el desastre sucedería. Una “opción de venta” es algo así como comprar un seguro de “algo” en caso que lo peor suceda. Eso permitió que cualquier persona con conocimientos previo de la explosión se asegurara antes de que ocurriera. Digamos por ejemplo, los propietarios de Transocean que ganaron miles de millones después de la catástrofe en dinero de seguros. Pero espere, más ayuda estaba en camino, de Halliburton. Esta empresa fue contratada para reforzar los pozos de petróleo de Transocean e indirectamente para BP antes de que estallara la plataforma. Además, Halliburton decidió comprar Boots & Coots, sólo 11 días de que ocurriera el derrame de petróleo. Boots & Coots era un subcontratista anterior de Halliburton y su especialidad es, como habrá adivinado, la limpieza de derrames de petróleo.

De acuerdo con Sherri Kane, la catástrofe del Golfo es un ejemplo de algo que ella llama el capitalismo de crisis, pero que me gustaría llamar problema, reacción, solución, porque no tiene nada que ver con el capitalismo real, aunque tiene mucho que ver con la forma en la que las corporaciones actúan; con codicia Bajo esta circunstancia, la Sra. Kane aseguró al gobernador Ventura que BP había planeado en realidad todo el asunto porque hay más dinero para hacer de la limpieza que hay en la extracción del petróleo. Prueba de ello es que las ganancias de Halliburton aumentaron en un 83 por ciento durante el desastre del derrame de petróleo. “Su dios es el dinero y el poder”, concluyó Kane. Es importante recordar que Halliburton trasladó su sede de Houston, Texas a Dubai, lejos de cualquier posible investigación penal, extradición o la supervisión del gobierno. En otras palabras, han cometido asesinato, literalmente, y se han salido con la suya.

El abogado y activista ambiental, Mike Papantonio, un residente de Pensacola, Florida, confirmó lo dicho por Sherri Kane; que BP sabía que el desastre iba a suceder. “Ellos sabían semanas antes del derrame de petróleo que el mecanismo de prevención de escape no estaba funcionando correctamente”, dice Papantonio. El desastre, dijo, podría haber sido evitado si la empresa hubiese tenido un interruptor acústico, que es un dispositivo que enciende el mecanismo de prevención antes de que una explosión suceda. “Si todo va mal en una plataforma petrolera, cualquier persona desde una distancia segura puede pulsar un botón para impedir la explosión.” De acuerdo con Papantonio, se trata de un equipo básico que todas las corporaciones deberían tener, pero no es así en los Estados Unidos . El ex ejecutivo de Halliburton y vice presidente de EE.UU., Dick Cheney, facilitó mucho la vida de las grandes petroleras pues redujo el número de reglas y leyes que estas debían seguir con el fin de extraer petróleo del fondo del océano. Una de las cosas que Cheney evitó fue la instalación de un interruptor acústico. “Desafortunadamente, en los Estados Unidos tratamos a los criminales de manera diferente. Si visten un traje entero, ellos pueden matar gente y salirse con la suya “, agregó Papantonio.

En Houma, Luisiana, el gobernador Ventura se reunió con Adam Dillon, un ex oficial de policía contratado por BP para mantener un ojo en todas partes, mientras que el derrame de petróleo sucedía. Dillon supervisó cada detalle relacionado con el derrame del Golfo de México. Mientras trabajó para BP, se enteró de los detalles que BP no quería que nadie supiera. “No me di cuenta de la magnitud del derrame hasta que llegué ahí”, dijo Dillon. “Por cada gota de petróleo en la superficie del Golfo, habían miles más bajo la superficie.” Dillon se dio cuenta que los números dados por parte de BP y el gobierno simplemente no cuadraban. Después de que él tomó fotografías de un avión que mostraban la verdadera magnitud del desastre, fue intimidado y despedido. La limpieza era todo una mentira. “Como ex soldado en Iraq y ex agente de policía sé lo que es un interrogatorio, y eso es lo que fue lo que pasé”, dice Dillon.

Después de estacionar sus vehículos frente a la sede de BP en Houma, Luisiana, el gobernador Ventura y Adam Dillon confirmaron que la policía local estaba allí para proteger a BP, no a la gente de la región. “He estado en instalaciones militares que no tienen tanta seguridad como este lugar”, agregó Dillon. El ex residente de Houma, George Harrison, se mudó de la zona cuando BP se instaló allí, pero antes de eso, tomó fotos y videos de la operación. En su video, aparecen policías locales y militares de EE.UU. no trabajando con BP, sino para BP. Su tarea principal era proporcionar seguridad a la zona de control establecida por BP.

Después de ser levemente intimidados por la policía local, que una vez más estaban trabajando para BP, el gobernador Ventura fue invitado por un trabajador de BP para hacer un viaje a lo largo del Golfo, para que pudiera ver por sí mismo el gran trabajo que la empresa estaba haciendo. Fue precisamente esa entrevista lo que dio a Jesse Ventura la oportunidad de enfrentarse al equipo de relaciones públicas de BP y exponer sus mentiras. El principal atractivo de este viaje era mostrar como Corexit, un producto químico tóxico prohibido en casi todo el mundo estaba ayudando a BP en el esfuerzo de limpieza. El único problema es que Corexit no limpia el petróleo, sino que separa el petróleo en partes más pequeñas que caen al fondo del océano. El petróleo sigue ahí, pero ahora es invisible para el ojo humano. Gene Dominique, un portavoz de BP, se apresuró a señalar que el personal de limpieza había estado trabajando en la eliminación de las partículas más pequeñas de petróleo, después de aplicar el Corexit al agua del Golfo de México. Negó que la limpieza llevaría años y agregó que la madre naturaleza, con el tiempo, haría su parte para devolver el Golfo a la normalidad.

Cuando se le preguntó acerca de la naturaleza tóxica de Corexit, Dominique dijo que no podía decir si era tan malo

Corexit fue pulverizado sobre el Golfo de México a pesar de su toxicidad.

como todos sabemos que es. Por lo tanto, para aquellos de ustedes que no saben lo que es Corexit, vamos a revisarlo. Corexit es una mezcla de arsénico, cadmio, cromo, cobre, plomo, mercurio, níquel, zinc y cianuro. Cuando se le preguntó acerca de la toxicidad de los ingredientes, un portavoz de BP se limitó a decir: “Ellos son aprobados por la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA)”. Cuando el gobernador Ventura le preguntó si BP continuaba usando Corexit, después que la misma EPA solicitó a la compañía detener el uso, él respondió: “Hasta donde yo sé, no”. Por supuesto, todos sabemos lo que eso significa. Esto significa negación plausible. De hecho, BP ha seguido usando Corexit aerosol sobre el Golfo, pero ahora lo hacen con la ayuda de la oscuridad. Sus aviones despegan por la noche y rocían la sustancia química, mientras que los pobladores están dormidos.

David Arnesen, un pescador quien trabajó en la limpieza, fue testigo de primera mano sobre lo que Corexit puede hacer. “He estado por aquí desde que comenzó y he estado enfermo todo el tiempo”, dice Arnesen. “He tenido problemas de sinusitis y dolores de oído sin parar. Durante la mayor parte de los últimos tres meses, he tenido cosas de color marrón que sale de mis oídos. ” En lo que respecta a las personas enfermas a causa de Corexit, Gene Dominique dijo que BP no había tenido ningún informe sobre los trabajadores enfermos. “Si nuestra industria no regresa pronto, vamos a tener que trasladarnos a otro lugar para encontrar trabajo”, concluyó Arnesen.

Aunque se le pidió a BP que dejara de usar Corexit debido a su alta toxicidad, la empresa decidió continuar rociando el producto sobre las aguas del Golfo de México, con la consecuencia adicional de que Corexit es llevado por el viento a las zonas costeras y más allá. Pero ¿por qué BP decidió seguir utilizando el producto tóxico, a pesar de que el gobierno le solicitó parar? Bueno, porque BP tiene una conexión muy fuerte con Corexit y la compañía que lo produce. BP tiene fuertes lazos con NALCO, el productor de Corexit, mediante el intercambio de ejecutivos entre las dos compañías. Miembros de la Junta de NALCO ocupan altos cargos en BP, es por eso que la empresa petrolera insiste en el uso de la sustancia química en lugar de otros productos aprobados por la EPA que son menos dañinos.

Pero volvamos a los efectos sobre la salud de Corexit. Mientras los aviones de BP sigan pulverizando Corexit, este continuará propagandose por el aire sobre los residentes de Louisiana. “Es como si estamos siendo atacados por terroristas”, dice Kindra Arnesen. Están ahí afuera atacándolos … Ellos están ahí para proteger a las corporaciones.” Los vecinos tienen razón en estar preocupados. Casi todos los que participaron en la limpieza de la catástrofe de petrolero de Exxon Valdez en 1989, han muerto o sufren de enfermedades terribles en la actualidad. Su esperanza de vida, después de ser evaluados se estableció a cerca de 51 años de edad.

Pero ¿por qué un gobierno haría lo que las empresas quieren, y no lo que es mejor para el pueblo por el cual fue elegido? Creo que es fácil saber la respuesta a eso. El dinero, la avaricia, y un insaciable deseo de deshacerse de las personas que se atraviesen en el camino. Lo que hay detrás del derrame de petróleo de BP es un intento de despoblar la región del Golfo con el fin de convertirla en la mayor refinería de petróleo en América del Norte. Para eso, es necesario que sacar a todos los residentes de allí, voluntariamente o en ataúdes de plástico, si es necesario. Esta zona de refinería de petróleo daría todo el petróleo a las grandes corporaciones sin que estas tengan que preocuparse con regulaciones para explorar y extraer cada gota de petróleo en el Golfo de México. Este escenario fue confirmado por el abogado y ambientalista Alfred Webre en Nueva Orleans. El desastre del Katrina, el derrame de petróleo en el Golfo y todo lo que conlleva son sólo piezas de un gigantesco plan maestro.

George W. Bush y Dick Cheney son dos de principales peones de la Elite.

“Katrina fue una prueba o un entrenamiento… El objetivo final es convertir esta zona en un área de servicio de petróleo”. Luego agregó: “La gente como Dick Cheney y George W. Bush sirven una mafia internacional que está a favor de tener una población totalmente sometida a sus deseos.”Cuando el gobernador Ventura le preguntó si el actual presidente, Barack Obama era parte de eso también, él respondió: “Desde el 1980 Barack Obama ha trabajado para la Agencia Central de Inteligencia. “Pero era un agente? “Era lo que llaman un agente de la CIA. Fue inscrito por Zbiniew Brzesinski, el jefe de la Comisión Trilateral “.  (Ver nuestro artículo titulado: Fuertes vínculos de Obama a la CIA revelados).  Él continuó diciendo que tanto Barack Obama como George W. Bush seguían las mismas políticas y que su única diferencia es que a uno se le enseñó a gobernar desde la Izquierda mientras que al otro se le enseño cómo hacerlo desde la Derecha. Pero si esto es cierto, ¿dónde está la prueba que BP tiene el gobierno en su bolsillo? Webre fue aún más a fondo. “BP dio una donación de 500 millones de dólares al doctor Steven Chu, mientras trabajaba en el Laboratorio Nacional. Luego, Chu fue nombrado Secretario de Energía de Obama y con él vino Steve Koonin, un alto ejecutivo de BP, quien se conviertió en le subsecretario de energía. “BP está en completo control del Departamento de Energía de los Estados Unidos “, dijo Webre.

Cómo es que la llegada de una Edad de Hielo está relacionada con el derrame de petróleo de BP? Resulta que el derrame de crudo ha casi paralizado la corriente oceánica conocida como The North Atlantic Current. Si esta corriente se detiene, el resultado sería una mini Edad de Hielo. De acuerdo al documental, los datos de satélite muestran que el derrame de petróleo ha detenido la corriente conocida como el Motor de la Corriente del Golfo, la corriente oceánica cálida que fluye hacia el norte a través del Atlántico. La Corriente del Golfo ayuda a calentar el clima del norte de Europa. “Si el derrame de BP tiene éxito en frenar la circulación normal de la corriente del golfo y con esto la Corriente del Atlántico Norte, puede provocar una mini Edad de Hielo como la que teníamos en los años de 1700″, informa Alfred Webre. Una mini Edad de Hielo, como el documental explica, sería enormemente favorable para las grandes petroleras, ya que estas tendrían más crudo en sus manos cuando la mini Edad de Hielo se produzca. “Están jugando con el clima, nuestro suministro de alimentos y su intención es matarnos de hambre.”

¿Dónde está la prueba de todo esto, usted puede estar pensando. Aquí viene el papel que habla. Un documento oficial

La desaparición de la Corriente del Atlántico Norte, puede traer una nueva Edad de Hielo.

del Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Estados Unidos revela un plan respaldado por 1,200 millones de dólares para despoblar efectivamente la región del Golfo. Este plan forma parte de un plan más amplio de 40 mil millones de dólares para ampliar la despoblación hasta el estado de Luisiana. Para confirmar los detalles de este plan, el gobernador Ventura se reunió con la Dra. Susan. I. Rees, una miembro del Cuerpo de Ingenieros, quien está a cargo de ejecutar el plan de despoblación. Rees fue directa y ni siquiera escondió los detalles del plan. “Tenemos un programa integral donde vamos a reubicar a las personas.” Cuando se le preguntó acerca de si las compañías petroleras saldrían de la zona, la Dra. Rees dijo que los planes eran estrictamente para la gente, no las empresas. Patrick Robbins, otro miembro del Cuerpo de Ingenieros trató de lavarse las manos diciendo que junto con la despoblación había una gran cantidad de proyectos ambientales para mejorar la región. Sin embargo, recordemos que este es el mismo Cuerpo de Ingenieros culpado por el mal manejo de la catástrofe causada por el huracán Katrina. Es la misma organización que construyó los diques que se derrumbaron cuando se suponía que debían proteger a las ciudades de las aguas entrantes.

El Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Estados Unidos primero negó que existían planes para despoblar la región del Golfo, pero poco después lo admitió. Alegaron que el financiamiento del plan ascendía a sólo 1,200 millones dólares y no 40 mil millones, pero más tarde admitieron que el número verdadero era de 40 mil millones de dólares. Así que ahí lo tienen. Los planes existen para despoblar la región del Golfo de México, el financiamiento para su ejecución también existen y las consecuencias del derrame de petróleo ya se manifiestan. El hambre, la muerte, la despoblación, la corrupción y SI tal vez una nueva Edad de Hielo. Así que si usted no cree en conspiraciones del gobierno espero que este artículo le ayude a cambiar de opinión. En realidad no importa si usted las cree o no, porque igual estas existen.

The BP Oil Spill Conspiracy You Didn’t Hear About

POR LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | DECEMBER 16, 2010

Big corporations are responsible for the destruction of the environment, that is just a fact. If you don’t believe it and don’t believe in conspiracy theories, hold on to your pants and hat because this article is going to blow them far, far away. Everyone still remembers the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is still fresh in my head and in the heads of many people who saw it first hand, who were displaced by it, or who are sick today because of it. Just like the disaster caused by hurricane Katrina and the attacks the United States suffered on september 11th, 2001. Everyone remembers…

Rumors went and came about the motives or causes behind the oil spill, the largest disaster in environmental history, no doubt. But time, only time can provide the answers that everyone seems to be looking for after tragedy strikes. Only time and very deep researching reveal what was and is still behind an oil spill that was called a “disaster”, but that is much more than that. This time, the answers and the reality they present seem to go beyond what any decent human being can think of. Only an evil mind could figure it out. Reality is stranger than fiction, people say. With the oil spill, it is not the exception. And it is not only stranger, but also more diabolical than what any fiction producer or director could imagine, because it has to do with human existence.

Displaced after Hurricane Katrina. The levees did not stop the water.

In a 43 minute television documentary investigation supported by documents, testimonies, visual proof and first hand straight forward lies from BP, the program Conspiracy Theory hosted by former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura pulled the curtain off the cover up and revealed that the oil spill was not only an accident, a disaster, a tragedy, but it was in fact a carefully crafted event to bring about coastal mass depopulation, death, sickness and control of resources; all on behalf of corporations. The documentary not only reveals one of the largest conspiracies I have ever learned about, but also points out how the oil spill is part of a series of test events to cause the depletion of the gulf area in order to cause the mandated migration of at least 17000 families, many of which have lived there for over 100 years. The depopulation plans are not limited to the coastal areas or the Gulf of Mexico. It extends to as far inland as Louisiana.

But the issues are more serious than mass migration. How would the oil disaster be related to global cooling or an ice age that impaired most of the northern hemisphere, cause food shortages, potentially the death of millions, spurring the highest demand of oil in the history of humankind while it is all in the hands of corporations? Please remain seated. If you can’t wait to read the whole article to know what the conspiracy is all about, let me give it to you straightforward. The government of the United States has a program to depopulate the Gulf coast region backed up with US40 billion to turn the coast into a deserted area so that they can simply handed it to big oil. If you cannot believe that, keep on reading.

Before entering into details, though, let’s put out some factual information that anyone can confirm. BP was founded in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Company. It was involved in the destruction of Iran as the country was on its way to becoming a First World Nation. The Iranians simply did not want to surrender their natural resources to BP, so the company used its connections to turn Iran into what it is today. As it is known today, BP is owned in part by JP Morgan Chase Bank that holds almost 29% of its shares. Both Halliburton and Transocean operated on the oil rig that exploded and caused the disaster. BP knew, way ahead of time that the oil rig was in danger and could explode as it did. That is the conclusion reached by investigative journalist Sherri Kane who has written multiple articles about the oil spill, but none has reached the main stream media. Her investigation provides explanations as to what happened months before the conspiracy took place. For starters, millions of dollars in BP stock were dumped by their holders, weeks before the oil spill. Among those who dumped the stock was BP CEO Tony Hayward, who sold a third of his shares on March 17, and made millions in the process. It is just his tip, for standing by and letting it happen.

The investigation began right on ground zero, to use a familiar term. As it is pointed out on the documentary, BP could not have done it alone. They had help from Transocean, the largest off-shore contractor in the world. Although BP was the owner of the 194 million gallons spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Transocean was the owner of the rig. Transocean’s stocks opened with a special “put option” for insiders to basically bet against the company. A “put option” is something like buying insurance in case ‘something’ happens. That would allow anyone with foretold knowledge about the explosion to buy insurance before it happened. Say for example, the owners of Transocean who made billions after the disaster took place. But wait, more help was on the way; from Halliburton. This company was contracted to reinforce the oil well for Transocean and indirectly for BP before it blew up. Additionally, Halliburton decided to buy Boots & Coots, just 11 days before the oil spill happened. Boots & Coots was a former subcontractor for Halliburton and it’s specialty is, you guessed it, oil disaster clean-ups.

According to Sherri Kane, the Gulf’s oil disaster is an example of something she called Crisis Capitalism, but that I would like to call Problem, Reaction Solution, because it has nothing to do with real Capitalism, although it has a lot to do with corporate greed and mass depopulation. Under this circumstance, Ms. Kane assured governor Ventura that BP had indeed planned the whole thing because there is more money to make on the clean-up that there is in the extraction of oil. Proof of this is that Halliburton’s profits exploded to 83 percent during the oil spill disaster. “Their god is money and power,” concluded Kane. It is important to remember that Halliburton moved his headquarters from Houston Texas to Dubai, away from any possible criminal investigation, extradition or government oversight. In other words, they committed murder; literally, and got away with it.

Environmental Attorney Mike Papantonio, a resident of Pensacola, Florida concurs with Sherri Kane’s investigation that BP knew the disaster would happen. “They knew weeks before the oil spill that the blow-up preventer was malfunctioning,” says Papantonio. The disaster, says the environmental attorney, could have prevented by having an acoustic switch, which is a device that ignites the blow-up preventer from a distance. “If everything goes wrong on an oil rig, anyone from a distance can hit a button to cause the blow-up preventer to engage.” According to Papantonio, this is a standard device that all rigs must have, but not in the United States. Former Halliburton executive and U.S. vice president, Dick Cheney, made sure big oil was given many passes on what they had to comply with in order to extract oil from the ocean floor. One of those things they avoided doing was to install an acoustic switch. “Unfortunately, in America we treat criminals differently. If they are in a three-piece suit, they kill people and get away with it,” added Papantonio.

In Houma, Louisiana, governor Ventura met with Adam Dillon, a former police officer hired by BP to keep an eye everywhere, while the oil disaster unfolded. Mr. Dillon oversaw every single detail that related to the Gulf’s spill. While on the job, he learned details BP did not want him to tell. “I didn’t realize the magnitude of the spill until I got out there,” said Dillon. “For every drop of oil on the surface of the Gulf, there were thousands more under the surface.” Mr. Dillon learned that the numbers being put out by BP and the government simply did not add up. After he took pictures from a plane that showed the real magnitude of the disaster, he was intimidated and then fired. The clean-up was all a lie. “As a former soldier in Iraq and former police officer I know what an interrogation looks like, and that is what I was put through”, says Dillon. After stationing their vehicles in front of BP’s headquarters in Houma, Louisiana, governor Ventura and Adam Dillon confirmed that local law enforcement was there to protect BP, not the people of the region. “I have been in military installations that do not have as much security as this place has,” added Dillon. Former Houma resident, George Harrison, moved out of the area as BP moved in. But before that, he took photos and videos of the operation. In his video, there appears to be local police and U.S. military working not with BP, but for BP. Their main task was to provide security to the complete BP staging area.

After being sort of confronted by local law enforcement who once again were working for BP, governor Ventura was invited by a BP worker to take a trip along the Gulf, so he could see for himself what a great job the company was doing. It was precisely that interview what gave Jesse Ventura the opportunity to face BP’s public relations team and to expose them and their lies. The main attraction of this trip was to show Ventura how Corexit, a toxic chemical banned almost everywhere in the world was aiding BP in the clean-up effort. The only problem is that Corexit does not clean the oil, it only breaks it apart in smaller parts which then fall to the ocean floor. The oil is still there, but it is now invisible to the human eye. Gene Dominique, a BP spokesman, was quick to point out the cleaning crews had been working on removing those smaller particles of oil, left behind after applying the toxic Corexit to the Gulf’s water. He denied the clean-up would take years and added that mother nature would eventually do its part to return the Gulf back to normal.

Corexit was sprayed over the Gulf regardless of its high toxicity.

When questioned about the toxic nature of Corexit, Dominique said he could not tell whether it was as bad as we all know it is. So, for those of you who don’t know what Corexit is, let’s review. Corexit is a mixture of Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, Zinc and Cyanide. When questioned about the toxicity of the ingredients, a BP spokesman simply said: “They are approved by the EPA”. When governor Ventura asked the spokesman if BP had continued to use Corexit, after the very same EPA asked the company to stop, he responded: “To be best of my knowledge, no.” Of course, we all know what that means. It means plausible deniability. In fact, BP has continued to spray Corexit over the Gulf, but now they do it with the aid of darkness. Their planes take off at night and spray the toxic chemical while most in the area are asleep.

David Arnesen, a fisherman and clean-up worker was a first hand witness to what Corexit can do. “I’ve been out there since the efforts began and I’ve been sick the whole time,” says Arnesen. “I’ve had sinus problems and just non-stop earaches. For the best part of the last three months, I’ve had brown stuff coming out of my ears.” In regards to people getting sick because of Corexit, Gene Dominique said BP had not had any reports on ill workers. “If our industry does not come back soon enough, we’ll have to move elsewhere to find work,” concluded Arnesen.

Although BP was asked to stop using Corexit due to its high toxicity, the company decided to continue spraying the product over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, with the added consequence that Corexit was carried by the wind into the coastal areas and beyond. But why did BP decided to continue using the toxic product, even though the government requested to stop? Well, because BP has a very strong connection to Corexit and the company that produces it. BP has strong ties to NALCO, the producer of Corexit through the exchange of top executives between the two companies. Board members of NALCO occupied high positions in BP, that is why the oil company insists on using the toxic chemical instead of other EPA approved products that are less harmful.

But let’s get back to the health effects of Corexit. For as long as BP airplanes continue spraying Corexit, it will continue spread through the air over the residents of Louisiana. “It is like we’re being attacked by terrorists,” says Kindra Arnesen. I think they are out there to destroy us… They are set to protect the corporations.” The neighbors are right to be concerned. Almost everyone who participated in the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil disaster in 1989 has either died or suffers from horrible diseases today. Their life expectancy, after evaluated was set to about 51 years of age.

But why would a government do what the corporations want, and not what is best for the people it was elected by? I think by now it is easy to figure the answer to that. Money, Greed, and an insatiable desire to get rid off the average individual who gets on the way of their plans. What is behind the BP oil spill is an attempt to depopulate the Gulf region in order to turn it into the largest oil refinery in North America. And for that, they need to get everyone out of there; voluntarily or otherwise in plastic coffins. This oil refinery area would give big oil plenty of freedom, and zero regulation to explore and extract any and every drop of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. This scenario was confirmed by lawyer and environmentalist Alfred Webre down in New Orleans. The Katrina disaster, the oil spill in the Gulf and everything it entailed are just pieces of a gigantic master plan.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were two of the main pawns of the Elite.

Katrina was a test or a run through… The ultimate goal is to turn this area into a petroleum servicing area”. He then added: “People like Dick Cheney and George W. Bush serve an international racketeering organization that are in favor of subservient people.” When governor Ventura asked him if current president Barack Obama was part of that too, he responded: “Since the 1980′s Barack Obama has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.” But was he an agent? “He was what they call a CIA asset. He was enrolled by Zbiniew Brzesinski, the head of the Trilateral Comission.” (See our article titled: Obama’s Deep Connections to the CIA Revealed). He went on to say that both Barack Obama and George W. Bush had the same policies in mind and that their only difference is that one was taught to govern from the Left while the other was shown how to do it from the Right. But if this is true, where is the proof BP has the government in its pocket? Webre was even more thorough this time. “BP gave a US$500 million grant to doctor Steven Chu, while he worked at the National Laboratory. He then was named Obama’s Secretary of Energy and with him came a BP insider as his undersecretary; a guy known as Steve Koonin. BP is running the Department of Energy of the United States,” Webre said.

Where would an ice age come from in anything related to the BP oil spill disaster? It turns out that the leakage of crude has slowed down the north atlantic current. If this current stops, the result would be a mini Ice Age. According to governor Ventura’s documentary, satellite data shows that the oil spill has halted the current known as the engine of the Gulf Stream, the warm ocean current that flows north through the atlantic. The Gulf Stream helps warm up the climate of Northern Europe. “If the BP dump is successful in braking the normal circulation of the gulf stream to the North Atlantic current, that may cause a mini Ice Age as we had it in the 1700′s,” reports Alfred Webre. A mini Ice Age as the documentary explains would play enormously well for big oil, as more of the crude will be in their oily hands when it occurs. “They are messing with out climate, our food supply and their intent is to starve us to death.”

Where is the proof for all this, you may be thinking. Here comes the paper that talks. An official document from the United States Corps of Engineers reveals a US$1.2 billion plan to effectively depopulate the Gulf region. This plan is part of a larger US$40 billion plan to extend the work into Louisiana. For this, governor Ventura met with Dr. Susan. I. Rees, a member of the Corps, who the investigation labels as the architect of the depopulation plans. She was straightforward and did not even lie about the existence of the plan. “We have a comprehensive program where we will relocate people.” When questioned about whether the oil companies would leave the area as well, Dr. Rees said the plans were strictly for the people, not the companies. Patrick Robbins, another member of the Corps of Engineers tried to wash his hands by saying that along with the depopulation there were a lot of environmental projects to improve the region. However, let’s remember that this is the same Corps of Engineers blamed for the poor management of the Katrina disaster. It is the same organization that built the levees that collapsed when they were supposed to protect the cities from the incoming waters.

The United States Corps of Engineers first denied that plans existed to depopulate the Gulf region, then admitted it. They claimed the plan amounted to only US$1.2 billion and not US$40 billion, but later admitted to the second number. So there you have it. The plans exist to depopulate the Gulf of Mexico region, the financing for it exists and the consequences of the oil spill are already manifesting themselves. Starvation, death, depopulation, corruption and YES maybe a new Ice Age. So if you did not believe in government conspiracies I hope this article helped change your mind. Because it does not matter whether you believe them or not; they do exist.

Wall Street’s Big Six Preying on Homeowners

So millions of American families, including many that have completely paid off their homes, now find themselves in danger of being thrown out on to the street over an unpaid property tax bill.

The Economic Collapse

It turns out that the big Wall Street banks have found a dirty new way to make loads of cash from U.S. homeowners, and they really, really don’t want to talk about it.  So what is this dirty new business?  America’s biggest financial institutions have become property tax collectors, and it is extremely lucrative.  From coast to coast, the big Wall Street banks are buying up thousands upon thousands of tax liens and are making a killing by socking distressed homeowners with predatory interest, outrageous penalties and almost unbelievable legal fees.  In some areas, the big banks are able to foreclose on these homes in as little as six months.  The elderly and the poor are the most common targets of these practices.  An absolutely brilliant expose in the Huffington Post has brought these issues to light, and it is creating quite a controversy in the financial world.  The big banks are doing nothing illegal here.  Local governments are offering to sell thousands of tax liens and somebody is going to end up buying them.  But something seems extremely unsavory about the big Wall Street banks capitalizing on the economic downturn that they were so instrumental in causing in such a predatory manner.

Today, millions of American families are barely hanging on to their homes by their fingernails.  Millions are out of work and millions of others are barely making enough to put food on the table.  Meanwhile, property taxes have absolutely soared in most areas of the nation over the past decade.  Many Americans are finding that when that time rolls around they simply do not have a big chunk of extra money to pay a property tax bill.

So millions of American families, including many that have completely paid off their homes, now find themselves in danger of being thrown out on to the street over an unpaid property tax bill.

For many local governments, the headache of trying to collect on thousands of property tax liens is just too much, so they are glad to “outsource” the work of collection.

So how do the big Wall Street banks get involved?  Well, it goes something like this….

1) The big Wall Street banks set up or invest in shell companies that will disguise who they really are.

2) These shell companies run around and buy up all of the tax liens that they can get their hands on.

3) Predatory levels of interest (in some states as high as 18 percent), fees and penalties rapidly pile up on these unpaid tax liens.  The affected homeowners quickly end up owing much, much more than what the original tax bills were for.

4) If the collecting firm has to hire a lawyer, then that gets charged to the homeowner as well.  The bloated legal fees for some of these lawyers can end up being the biggest expense of all.

5) If the tax liens do not get paid, the collecting firms move in to foreclose as quickly as legally possible.

According to the Huffington Post, Wall Street banks such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have been gobbling up several hundred thousand tax liens from local governments.  It appears that “distressed housing markets” are being particularly targeted.

Many of these tax liens are sold in online auctions, so it is unclear if many local government officials even realize who the big money behind many of these shell companies is.

Once again, this is all perfectly legal, but it is more than a little distasteful.

The following video by the Huffington Post does a good job of summarizing what they found….

The truth is that there is a huge difference between the letter of the law and true justice.

Just consider the following tragic story from the Huffington Post article….

Barbara Carpenter, a 58-year-old disabled Ohio retiree, found herself in such a situation. The former worker for the American Red Cross struggled to save her Toledo home from a JPMorgan entity called Plymouth Park Tax Services, which in recent years has been among the nation’s top buyers of tax liens.

“It’s a great neighborhood and the house is in good condition,”said Carpenter, who paid $67,000 for the one-story home in 2004. But she fell behind in paying her taxes and a certificate for $1,500 in unpaid taxes was sold off to Plymouth Park, which is based in New Jersey.

Carpenter’s lawyer, Joseph Westmeyer, said Plymouth Park routinely charges an upfront fee of around $1,500 as soon as it buys the lien and 18 percent interest on the debt. If they don’t get paid, they foreclose.

“It’s not a good deal for poor customers,” said Westmeyer. Carpenter wound up selling the house in August for less than half what she had paid. Plymouth Park received about $12,000 in legal fees and other charges, including some additional taxes, Westmeyer said, quoting from court records.

Does that sound like an honorable way of making money to you?

Would you like to make your living by throwing elderly women out of their homes and into the street over unpaid tax bills?

Unfortunately, this problem is not going to go away any time soon.  One out of every six Americans is enrolled in a government anti-poverty program.  Tens of millions of Americans are barely hanging in there.  In addition, tens of millions of elderly Americans live on fixed incomes.  Meanwhile, property taxes just continue to go up in many areas of the United States.

Unless the U.S. economy experiences a dramatic turnaround, we are going to continue to see large numbers of Americans get behind on their property taxes, and the big banks will continue to be there to scoop up the tax liens.

Large numbers of poor and elderly Americans that don’t even have a mortgage will lose their homes and it will all be perfectly legal.  Executives at the big banks will be having a good laugh about their huge bonus checks as thousands upon thousands of our most vulnerable citizens are dumped out into the street.

But weren’t the big banks largely responsible for causing the housing crash and the economic meltdown that followed?

Yes.

But so far none of them is really paying any kind of a price.  The big banks got bailed out by the U.S. government, and now it looks like the Federal Reserve is preparing another round of “backdoor bailouts” to help them out again.

But do the big banks show any mercy on the poor and the elderly who have gotten behind on their property taxes?

Not at all.

This is 2010 – a time when greed dominates the financial world and when most banks don’t seem to know a thing about kindness or mercy.

US media demands Greek-style austerity for American workers

WSNM

In recent days, the US media—led by the standard bearer of American liberalism, the New York Times—has insisted that workers inseek truth the US, like their brethren in Greece, have been living the good life for far too long and must accept a drastic and permanent reduction in their living standards.

In a May 9 piece, Times columnist Thomas Friedman denounces workers in the US and Western Europe for believing in the “tooth fairy” and expecting government services without paying for them. In America, Friedman says, the baby-boom generation, which supposedly had inherited the prosperity of the post-war years, had “eaten through all that abundance like hungry locusts.”

“After 65 years in which politics in the West was, mostly, about giving things away to voters, it’s now going to be, mostly, about taking things away. Goodbye Tooth Fairy politics, hello Root Canal politics.”

Describing what he has in mind, two days later Friedman wrote about his meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in a rooftop restaurant in Athens. Praising Papandreou for defying mass protests, theTimes columnist hails the government for carrying out a “revolution,” including raising the retirement age and slashing wages and pensions for public sector workers, imposing regressive consumption taxes and wiping out two-thirds of the country’s publicly owned companies.

Another May 11 article, appearing on the front page of the Times, is entitled, “In Greek Debt Crisis, Some See Parallels to U.S.” Its author, David Leonhardt, led the newspaper’s campaign to promote Obama’s health care overhaul, explicitly supporting limits on medical treatments ordinary people could receive. (“In truth, rationing is an inescapable part of economic life”).

“It’s easy to look at the protesters and the politicians in Greece—and at the other European countries with huge debts—and wonder why they don’t get it,” Leonhardt writes. “They have been enjoying more generous government benefits than they can afford…

“Yet in the back of your mind comes a nagging question: how different, really, is the United States?… Both countries have a bigger government than they’re paying for. And politicians, spendthrift as some may be, are not the main source of the problem.

We, the people, are.”

It is rich to hear demands for sacrifices and lectures about “the people” living beyond their means, particularly from the likes of Leonhardt and Friedman. The latter, who is paid $50,000 per speaking engagement, is married to the heir of a multi-billion dollar real estate fortune. According to theWashingtonian magazine, the couple owns “a palatial 11,400-square-foot house” in suburban Washington, DC, valued in 2006 at $9.3 million.

In these circles it is taken for granted that massive cuts must be imposed on the living standards of the working class, but not a word is said about the hundreds of billions that are funneled into the personal fortunes of the financial aristocracy and the subordination of the entire economy to increasing their piles of wealth.

The events of the last several years have revealed to the world that the greatest burden on society is not ordinary working people but the anti-social activities of an unproductive and parasitic financial elite. The grotesque consumption and appropriation of social wealth by this oligarchy is not a minor factor in the crisis of the global capitalist system itself.

The bankrupting of whole countries—chiefly through the transferring of the bad debts of the financial speculators onto the books of various governments—is being used to demand austerity from workers and ever-greater riches for the elite.

The four biggest US financial firms—Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase—made money from trading every single day during the first quarter of the year, according to their financial filings. The banks, which all benefited from the Wall Street bailout, reaped hundreds of millions in profits from betting on the movement of currency, commodity and sovereign debt markets, including in relation to Greece.

At the same time, the value of corporate shares has risen, chiefly through a campaign of job cutting, wage and benefit concessions and a staggering 3.8 percent increase in worker productivity in 2009. As a result, corporate CEOs, who took stock options in lieu of pay increases when profits were down, are now cashing in, according to an Associated Press report, entitled, “America’s top CEOs are set for a once-in-a-lifetime pay bonanza.” Yahoo’s Carol Bartz, for example, received a $47.2 million package during her first year on the job, 90 percent of which came from stock awards and options.

While these vast personal fortunes have been made, there has been no recovery in the wages and benefits workers have lost during the recession. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that real wages fell last year by 2.7 percent in Japan and Ireland, 1.1 per cent in Germany and 0.8 percent in the US.

The unbridled greed of America’s ruling elite—and the complete subservience of the political establishment, from Obama on down, to its needs—can only be compared to the ancien régime in France. The parasitism and extravagance of the aristocracy became a major factor in the country’s breakdown, and ultimately the eruption of the French Revolution in 1789.

Workers must reject the demand for austerity. The working class did not create this crisis and must not pay for it. Instead, the ill-gotten gains of the ruling elite must be confiscated and used to meet the interests of society as a whole, instead of gutting social programs and destroying jobs.

This must include a multi-trillion dollar program of public works to put the unemployed to work—at decent wages and full medical care—to rebuild the cities and suburbs, repair the nation’s infrastructure and provide high quality housing, medical care and education for all.

In the midst of the Great Depression, the founder of the Fourth International, Leon Trotsky, argued in the Transitional Program that it is “impossible to take a single serious step in the struggle against monopolistic despotism and capitalistic anarchy—which supplement one another in their work of destruction—if the commanding posts of the banks are left in the hands of predatory capitalists. In order to create a unified system of investment and credits, along a rational plan corresponding to the interests of the entire people, it is necessary to merge all the banks into a single national institution. Only the expropriation of the private banks and the concentration of the entire credit system in the hands of the state will provide the latter with the necessary actual, i.e., material, resources—and not merely paper and bureaucratic resources—for economic planning.”

The nationalization of the banks, however, will produce positive results, Trotsky explained, “only if the state power itself passes completely from the hands of the exploiters into the hands of the toilers.”

For this to be realized the working class must build its own mass political party, independent of and irreconcilably opposed to the two parties of big business, and dedicated to the fight for a workers’ government to replace capitalism with socialism.

Related Links:

Togel178

Pedetogel

Sabatoto

Togel279

Togel158

Colok178

Novaslot88

Lain-Lain

Partner Links