Gold World News Flash |
- Paul Craig Roberts Warns "A CIA-led Coup Against American Democracy Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes"
- BREAKING: US Congress Finds Evidence that Obama Armed ISIS! Watch What They Did Next!
- Russia is a 3rd World Country - 13 SECRET FACTS EXPOSED
- BREAKING: Donald Trump Just Launched Attack on China that Has them FREAKING OUT!!
- Toward A New World Order, Part III
- Anonymous - URGENT Message to the Citizens of the World 2017
- Guest Post - Americans Play Their Trump Card (And Why the System Always Deals Us a Bad Hand)
- Howard Kurtz closes case on Electoral College Coup
- Gregory Mannarino-They Can't Have Real Money Competing with Fake Money
- Upcoming Stock Market Crash Imminent Economic Collapse 2016 - 2017
- Secrets and hacks: Reporting Russia's role in the US Election
- Trump : I will Tax The Hell Out Of China
- LIVE Stream: President-Elect Donald Trump Rally in Mobile, AL 12/17/16
- Could Donald Trump be impeached?
- Anonymous #FakeNews
- A Christmas present from Hugo Salinas Price
- Turks seek gold more than liras in response to Erdogan's call
- Breaking News And Best Of The Web
| Paul Craig Roberts Warns "A CIA-led Coup Against American Democracy Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes" Posted: 17 Dec 2016 07:15 PM PST Authored by Paul Craig Roberts, This article by Moon of Alabama is not conspiracy theory: Read it carefully. Check out the links.
The article is a documented and accurate description of a coup that is underway. The extraordinary lies that are being perpetrated by the media and by members of the US government have as their obvious purpose the prevention of a Donald Trump presidency. There is no other reason for the extraordinary blatant lies for which there is not a shred of evidence. Indeed, there is massive real evidence to the contrary. Yet the coup proceeds and gathers steam. President Eisenhower warned us more than a half century ago of the danger that the military/security complex presents to US democracy. In the decades since Eisenhower’s warning, the military/security complex has become more powerful than the American people and is demonstrating its power by overturning a presidential election. Will the coup succeed? In my opinion, former and present members of the US government and the media would not dare to so obviously and openly participate in a coup against democracy and an elected president unless they expect the coup to succeed. It is an easy matter for the ruling interests to bribe electors to vote differently than their states. The cost of the bribes is miniscule compared to the wealth and income streams that a trillion dollar annual budget provides to the military/security complex. The fake news of a Putin/Trump election-stealing plot generated by unsupported allegations of present and former members of US intelligence, the lame-duck President Obama, and the presstitute media provide the cover for electors to break with precedent “in order to save America from a Russian stooge.” The CIA-controlled European media, the politicians in Washington’s European vassal states, NATO officials, and the brainwashed European peoples will support the coup against Trump. The only ones speaking against the coup are the voters who elected Trump—all of whom are alleged to have been deceived by Russian fake news— the Russian government, and the 200 websites falsely described by the Washington Post and the secret organization PropOrNot as Russian agents. In other words, those objecting to the coup are the ones described by the coup leaders as those who made the coup necessary. I do not know that the coup will succeed, but looking at the commitment so many high level people have made to the coup, I conclude that those bringing the coup expect it to succeed. Therefore, we should take very seriously the expectation of success that those who control levers of power are demonstrating.? |
| BREAKING: US Congress Finds Evidence that Obama Armed ISIS! Watch What They Did Next! Posted: 17 Dec 2016 06:00 PM PST BREAKING: US Congress Finds Evidence that President Barack Obama Armed ISIS! Watch What They Did Next! The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Russia is a 3rd World Country - 13 SECRET FACTS EXPOSED Posted: 17 Dec 2016 05:58 PM PST Since publishing exclusively on Zero Hedge our expose on Russia in order to 'counterbalance' the propaganda out there from the deep state, we've learned that there is a deep FACT VOID about this mysterious culture and place called RUSSIA and requires a series of articles. This is a topic not being covered elsewhere! And as we explain in our best-selling FX book - the world isn't Anyone who has ever been to Russia, that is - outside of a 5 star hotel in Moscow which isn't any different than a 5 star hotel anywhere else - you don't need to read an article like this to agree, that Russia is a 3rd world country, or debate about how big their missiles are. Being a 3rd world country isn't a bad thing. And of all the third world, Russia is the fastest growing. Remember, Russia was born in 1990, and is a capitalist market economy. Russia has grown by huge leaps and bounds in the past 25 years. But they lack the cultural background to make the switch to a fully market economy. What does that mean - in other words? There is a mentality that was programmed into their brains, during the Soviet Union, that still lives in Russia and with that mentality, having anything but the Soviet system is difficult or impossible. The new generation of iphones and consumerism, albeit vulgar, will have better chances at adapting to a global market economy which is what Russia hopes to be. The communist hardliners are dead and dying, and not being replaced. In a system where everyone saved and money sometimes didn't exist (such as during Perestroika, where workers were paid with tickets, not money - which could be bartered with neighbors for example if one family didn't drink alcohol, vodka tickets could be traded for more meat, making Russians develop a natural talent for trading in dark pools).
Before claiming yourself a self-professed "Russian Expert" you should either be 1) from Russia or 2) speak Russian language fluently, and have lived there for a number of years or 3) have extensively studied all things Russian. If you are none of these, and want to have a quick education on the subject, here's a few places to start: A History of Russia: New, Revised Edition - This is a MUST READ for any Russophile, student of Russia, or someone who wants to do business in Russia. Probably, the reason this is one book written objectively that offers fresh perspectives is for the simple reason that it was written by a Russian intelligentsia in the United States, while at Yale University:
Unnatural Deaths in the U.S.S.R.: 1928-1954 - This is a historical chronicle about the 'real' deaths during this time period:
This is just a good start. If you really want to know any culture - the only way is to go there, live there, do business there. But for those with a short attention span, that enjoy throwing objects at their TV when the reporters tell them something they don't like, here we go: SECRET FACTS - RUSSIA IS A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY 1. 80% or more of the Russian economy is unknown. This is because it all happens 'under the table' to avoid taxes. This will change probably, but as of now, workers are paid 'white' and 'black' salaries. You can read about this here. Auditors and government workers are bribed, wined and dined, when they inspect the books. It's a system everyone likes, that just 'works' - but it is impractical to make economic forecasts for such a system. This system is also on the highest levels, as oligarchs wealth is often owned by dead people. Of course, this practice isn't heavily documented, because the whole idea of this under the table system is to not leave any paper trail! Businesses even keep a full set of 'white books' and 'real books' like the mob used to do. Yes - this is business in Russia! 2. Bankruptcy doesn't exist. There is no concept of bankruptcy. There are even banks that offer really high interest loans (there are no usury laws) that will hire strong men to 'scare' you into paying, which might include breaking a leg, burning down your shed or in extreme cases, maybe holding a relative in their 'office' - yes this goes on and it's not done by the MAFIA it's done by the BANKS! 3. Russian healthcare system is 'not to Western standards' although it is 'developing.' 25% of males die before they are 55 years old, mostly due to alcohol.
4. The primary currency used is physical rubles, that means PAPER. When local people believe the Ruble will depreciate in value, they will exchange their paper Rubles for physical US Dollars or Euros and literally - keep them under the mattress. 5. You have never seen roads in such poor conditions. Around the Kremlin, and in rich areas of Moscow, roads are OK. Outside of this area, harsh Russian winter wreacks havoc on roads that were never built to European or US standards, as they would be in Chicago or Boston. See this road in Volgograd:
This is why invading Russia has historically been impossible. Of course, not all roads are like this - but many are. 6. Only in Russia meme - Just google "Only in Russia" or checkout this article.
(Letters say "We watch you! - You must be 18+ to use this game)
7. Russia is not a pleasant country to live in. The weather in winter is worse than in Canada, Wisconsin, Maine, or your average US northern city. Only Alaska is comparable to Russian climate. 8. Putin is not a dictator - he is just VERY popular. But anyway, 3rd world countries usually have a "Putin" or "Castro" which is almost more than a President - a cultural leader. Putin meets this criteria. People keep photos of Putin on their walls. They sell them, along with small busts of his head at every Metro station. Russian people are simply crazy for Putin. To understand this better here's a WAPO article on the topic. 9. In Russia there is not such a thing as 'consumer rights'. Grocery stores sell spoiled food. There's no 'return policy.' 10. Corruption is just considered part of government life (see example here). Finding a government official that was not corrupt, would be unusual. For example, in a small town the government decides to 'renovate' streets and parks, so they assess a special tax to residents (normally, there is no real estate tax in Russia). But 90% of the collected money goes into the pocket of the officials, and little is left to clean up the streets. 11. The average pension in Russia is $148 USD. The average Russian pension is paid IN CASH by Government official on a monthly basis, at the property of the pensioner. 12. 24% of the entire population HAS A BANK ACCOUNT. In the USA about 95% of eligible persons (excluding children, illegal immigrants) have bank accounts. 13. If using the income disparity guage of what is third world, experts say in this report from CNBC that RUSSIA IS THE MOST UNEQUAL country in the WORLD - even MORE than the Arabs. What happened after the collapse of USSR, the Russian Elite allowed the seizure or 'privatization' of state assets by individuals who became 'Oligarchs' which are the US equivalent of "Robber Barons" that literally inherited state owned assets because they were really, really, really, really, really, really lucky. But the practical fact is that an Oligarch class is needed for any Capitalist society to flourish. Russia has grown by huge amounts. They have produced some of the world's leading thinkers, scientists, artists, writers, composers, and other talent. Now, the global Russian oligarch class challenges mainstream Western business. But keep it all in perspective, Russia has a long way to go. In the meantime, don't worry about Russian hackers breaking into your home office. They have problems of their own to solve. Don't believe us – read some of these books and articles: Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution. Armand Hammer: The Untold Story A People's History of the United States To learn how the global financial system works, checkout Fortress Capital Trading Academy - or checkout SPLITTING PENNIES FOR ONLY $6.11  |
| BREAKING: Donald Trump Just Launched Attack on China that Has them FREAKING OUT!! Posted: 17 Dec 2016 05:30 PM PST BREAKING: Donald Trump Just Launched Attack on China that Has them FREAKING OUT!! The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Toward A New World Order, Part III Posted: 17 Dec 2016 04:45 PM PST Submitted by Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk via Bawerk.net, A new world order is coming of age and the transition is painful to accept for a Western middle class with a deep-seated sense of entitlement. We showed how the West feels threatened globally in Toward a New World Order and followed up explaining how this translate into domestic politics in Toward a New World Order Part II. We will now continue this series by showing how gross economic mismanagement have created the new political class that we described in part two. As we stated back then, a large and increasing part of the electorate, swayed by neither the political correct socialist/feminist/cultural relativist dogma presented by the left, nor the lip service paid to free markets by a corrupted right, have taken hold in western democracies. They form a directionless blob of potential voters which until recently have drifted aimlessly along the political spectrum. Now they have made up their mind and it is proving pundits clueless as to what is going on. The “worker” making millions on Wall Street or by helping Google refine their search engine is not the same “worker” we find in flyover America. The young billionaire making apps to entertain confused millennials and snowflakes is not the same capitalist as the shale oil investor we might encounter in North Dakota. Political classes traditionally defined are useless as a tool to understand the world today. What is important to note though is that a growing minority of people with little to lose from the status quo is about to, or in many places have already become a small majority. When people have nothing to lose and foresee a future of continued hardship they become desperate and are willing to change for the sake of change itself. When the current leadership provide nothing but more of the same hopelessness, they will move politically toward to candidates with views counter to that held by the establishment. Before we move on, let us examine the upcoming election in France to show what we mean. In the traditional way of viewing national politics in France, it will be impossible for Le Pen and her Front National to win. Why? Because the left will hold their nose and vote for right-wing Republican Fillon in the second round to strategically avoid Le Pen. While some undoubtedly will follow the traditional recipe of left-right politics, it is far from certain that enough will do so to avoid a Le Pen victory. On the contrary, as we showed in part II, this line of thinking is outdated and a better representation is shown in the chart below.
Using our methodology, we come up with a far more likely scenario on how the French voters will vote come May. With the center right representing everything the middle class loath, they will not migrate from the center-left to help Fillon to victory. Le Pen’s vote base is not disillusioned UMP voters, but blue-collar workers that used to support the socialists and militant French unions. We do not draw this conclusion from some unique insight into French politics, but from observing a tendency across the whole of western society as a larger and larger share of the population have lost hope for the future. One of the most primal driving forces in humans is the belief in a brighter future. Dirt poor in Africa or pampered by the European welfare state, it does not matter. What matters for the positive development of the human spirit is an expectation that next year will be better than the current one. If that belief is taken from them, they will most certainly force real change on the system as they feel there is little to lose.
So what went wrong? There are many answers to this question and we have tried to address several on them on these pages earlier, such as excessive debt levels, monetary policy gone awry and demographics. We would also add to the list that we have seen a general tendency toward destructive policies as a result from people losing purpose in life; in this regard, it is no coincidence that environmentalism appeared as a new form of religion on the “godless” continent. In That 70s Show (part I, II, III and IV) we spelled out how things changed after Nixon took the US dollar off gold and gave the Americans the ability to exchange nothing for something. Obviously, this created an irresistible incentive to consume more than the Americans could produce, which in turn artificially changed relative prices. A new productive structure emerged because of the new set of prices, but unless the dollar issuance continued, and even accelerateed, it would not be possible to sustain the ensuing capital allocation. In other words, this road have taken us all down a very unpleasant path as every time the central bank, and/or the commercial banking system (including global dollar claims dubbed Eurodollars) is forced to retrench a recession must necessarily set in as the nothing-for-something-transaction have to be undone. However, as long as the global community accept dollar claims as money good the banking system can always gear up in time of crisis to avert the worst of inbuilt consequences stemming from past folly. What made 2008/09 so special is the fact that the global dollar community had in fact reached peak debt. In other words, further dollar claims were no longer considered money good and the global banking system could no longer reflate the balance sheet, as this would have been unacceptable to their counterparties. A different way of looking at this is through the capital structure. At peak debt the current structure can no longer be funded as the pool of real savings is gradually depleted by the incessant something-for-nothing-transactions. We, as participants in a global economy, have essentially been consuming our seed corn. In the 1970s the US economy employed about 50 per cent of its workforce in private sector service occupations. However, as the nothing-for-something system got under way the share of service sector employment rose almost constantly to reach more than 70 per cent today. This transformation can be characterized as a move away from tradable sector toward non-tradable, and was inevitable since the US manufacturing sector essentially had to compete against foreign products that cost the American system nothing to procure. Service sector jobs have, or at least used to have, less scope for productivity improvements and hence real wage increases. Furthermore, goods producing sectors were clearly affected as they could no longer compete successfully against foreign producers. As a consequence, investments fell, thus dragging down productivity even more. Wages in tradable sectors naturally stagnated as a result. Amazingly, the real wage level in the 1970s for middle class workers is the same as today (using the BLS headline CPI index as deflator). Service sector wages must follow that of the goods producing sector and stagnated too.
Why did this not create a political movement toward National Socialism decades ago? Simply because artificial dollar claims were still considered money good worldwide. An increasingly creative financial system, in no doubt cheered on by corrupt politicians, thus took the best and brightest and told them to create ever more dollar liabilities to satisfy world demand. The masses could thus leverage their balance sheet with ease as banks needed collateral to sell abroad. Until 2008 that is. From that point on it all came crashing down as dollar claims were suddenly deemed unsafe. Banks could no longer expand their balance sheet at will and therefore the households and business couldn’t either. The real pain from a four-decade long boom was suddenly felt as the system moved away from its exponentially rising growth trend toward one allowed by a broken Eurodollar system. (Some of the charts below came to be with great inspiration by the excellent work of Alhambra Investment Partner economists Jeffery Snider).
We could go on, but you get the picture. The recession of 2008 triggered a structural change in the global economy, and we are confident that the mechanism behind it is the breakdown of the Eurodollar system that came about at peak debt. Before we end, we would like to highlight one more thing. As the American worker had to compete with zero cost foreign competitors, manufacturing businesses in the US were forced to either move abroad, shut down or invest in automation. This pressured workers even more and help explain why industrial output continued to rise even though the number of employees in the sector fell in successive waves. It is also noteworthy that this positive trend ended with the collapse of the Eurodollar.
Bottom line, the new world order that made itself felt in 2016 will be even more pronounced in 2017 with elections in the Netherlands (Geert Wilders could end up kingmaker or even prime minister), France (we predict a Le Pen victory) and Germany (where AfD will surprise everyone). Next time we will look at the investment implications from all this. |
| Anonymous - URGENT Message to the Citizens of the World 2017 Posted: 17 Dec 2016 04:30 PM PST Anonymous Message to the Citizens of the World Donald TrumpWe are Anonymous.We are Legion.We do not Forgive.We do not Forget.Expect us. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers ,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Guest Post - Americans Play Their Trump Card (And Why the System Always Deals Us a Bad Hand) Posted: 17 Dec 2016 03:58 PM PST Guest Post - Americans Play Their Trump Card (And Why the System Always Deals Us a Bad Hand) By
(We are so inured to the present day socioeconomic system of exploitation and control that it has become seamless and mostly invisible to 'We the Walking Wounded'. Passed off as just the way things work, nothing to see here so move on, we sooth our crushed soul with the ego saving lament you just can't fight city hall. It rarely occurs to us there is no need to actually fight at all, that what we dimly perceive as the enemy, the thorn in our paw, is doomed by its own dominance of an industrial age soon to be left behind. Please welcome back Joe Withrow (aka joegalt here on ZH) a long time Two Ice Floes guest author, with another insightful and timely article outlining what is happening and how to navigate the fall of the industrial age and the Rise of the Individual.) Cognitive Dissonance
We wait anxiously in our seats as the orchestra finishes tuning, the lights dim and the curtain draws signaling the commencement of Act Two - The Trump Triumphant. Act One - The Campaign offered an amazing display of political strategy and showmanship! The tried and true hero vs. villain narrative was perfectly established and relentlessly repeated, drawing all of us in. Evidence of Hillary's dirty dealings were constantly paraded for all to see - the Podesta emails, the Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, the paid speeches to Goldman Sachs – much of it delivered directly to the people via Twitter leaving us all to wonder: will a Hillary indictment come? Our hero stood tall and fearless on television, staring corruption directly in the face. "Remember, the election is rigged...” he warned us, implying the villain would do anything, including cheating, to win. America was listening. Middle class citizens all over the country had their pitch forks and torches arrayed and at the ready; enough was enough! Even a portion of working class people on the "left", most of whom enthusiastically supported Obama in the previous two elections, threw their support over to the Trump camp. The mainstream media made it clear a Trump victory was nigh impossible. But that only succeeded in invigorating supporters and enlisting new recruits. After all, the narrative of America is the ultimate underdog story. If George Washington and the colonists could do it, so can Team Trump! Yet poll after poll came back with the villain comfortably in the lead. Enthusiasm remained, but hope began to ebb and teeter...then BOOM! The crescendo was queued and Trump stood victorious against all apparent odds on election night. Initially stocks sold off and gold skyrocketed on uncertainty as the vote tally came in, but then something very curious happened. As if a testament to the sheer power of our hero's will, the markets completely reversed course in after-hours trading. By the time the financial markets geared up in the U.S. the next day, stocks were in the green and gold was in the red. It was morning in America. The opposition paid rabble-rousers to foment unrest in a handful of cities on the coasts, as well as on many college campuses. But by and large Middle America rejoiced. Away went the pitchforks. Away went the torches. Out came the baseball caps - a true symbol of American greatness. Their hero would be the next president of the United States; they had won and all was right in the world! The swamp would be drained, jobs would be returned, and prosperity would be restored. America would be great once again! Just a masterful display! We watch enthusiastically as the curtain draws to reveal our hero as he addresses supporters and the nation. First he speaks of the villain: "We owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.” he informs us. A few timid voices can be heard from the back of the auditorium: Wait a minute... didn't you just say she should be in jail? Those voices are immediately hushed. Quiet down! It's just political talk, don't you know anything? Next our hero expresses his gratitude to a number of his high profile advisors: Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions, Mike Huckabee, Gen. Mike Flynn, Gen. Kellogg, Reince Priebus, the RNC... To the ire of many, several apprehensive voices can be heard from the back of the room once again. Hold on now. Those are the same old political hacks who have been living high on the hog from the status-quo for decades! I thought you were supposed to drain the swamp... not embrace it! Once again their voices are immediately hushed. Can it! It's just political maneuvering. He has to play nice to get anything done. Next our hero proclaims his vision: "We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal..." This project, we learn, is to be a $1 trillion spending plan for infrastructure. The crowd cheers: It's about time we take care of our country! And think of the jobs! Those tentative voices just can't help themselves: Wait a minute... that sounds an awful lot like FDR's New Deal. I thought we opposed the New Deal. Not to mention, that's a lot of government spending...which is how the swamp got to be so darn big in the first place. I thought we opposed government spending? I thought we opposed deficits and public debt? The crowd is getting pretty fed up at this point. Stop being a sissy... just wait until you see how he is going to pay for it! You don't know anything about economics or geo-politics! As Act Two plays out, our hero continues to announce the people who will serve on his cabinet and staff... more Beltway insiders... more Wall Street insiders... more swamp creatures. The crowd doesn't care very much... the only thing that really matters is they got "their guy" elected. They can finally "get their licks in" at the annual Christmas party for the first time in eight years. The crowd claims to want the swamp drained, but observation suggests they simply want to be part of the winning team. Such is the nature of politics; it is a zero-sum game. The crowd understands this perfectly well, but they think the game is "our side" vs. "their side". Left vs. Right... Liberal vs. Conservative... Working Class vs. the Rich... Main Street vs. Wall Street... Our Nation vs. Their Nation. Those are all false paradigms. The zero-sum game is always Politics vs. Humanity.
It's always Politics vs. Humanity. Always!
Politics proclaims hope and change, yet foments anger and hatred. Politics poisons the mind and pits otherwise good people against one another. Politics is the venom that encourages neighbors to actively hate one another, despite the fact they mostly share the same values, culture, and interests. Politics is the greatest engine of theft, coercion, violence, misinformation, lies, death, and destruction the world has ever seen. Yet the crowd remains glued to political news programming and faithfully shows up at the ballot box every four years ready to enact political change. They are always trying to get the "right" people into office. They never seem to understand the things they wish to change have very little to do with the people in office, and everything to do with the structure of coercive government. Without the structure of institutionalized force, coercion, theft, and violence, it would not matter much who claimed to be the ruler. This has been going on for hundreds of years now, ever since "representative democracy" convinced people they themselves own their government and that politics is all about civil service. Prior to this, people understood that they were "subjects" to their government, not "citizens", and they did their very best to avoid it whenever possible. That's why the tax collector was once the most reviled of professions. Here's the thing: even if the crowd understood they were "subjects" to the structure claiming dominion over them, there is very little they could do to change it. You don't get to vote for the structure or even for the fundamental components comprising the structure; you only get to vote for a public overseer. That is the great democratic deceit - the illusion of governmental ownership and control by “We the People”. The crowd will continue to be preyed upon for as long as they fail to recognize this. But that doesn't mean you have to be a victim. The world has undergone a massive change over the past several decades – the type of change from which there is no return. This change has been the transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age; a transition still in its infancy. The Industrial Revolution, which began in the mid-to-late 18th century, has lifted more than a billion people from the shackles of poverty, raised standards of living exponentially and created the world in which we live today. In the developed world, even people of the most modest means enjoy far more comforts and luxuries than the wealthiest kings and nobles of the pre-industrial era. Commerce was the driving force behind industrialism and the market system was spawned from enterprise and trade. But for all of its revolutionary and wealth-creating qualities, the Industrial Age carried one major limitation; it required highly rigid centralization. Centralized institutions require a certain degree of administrative bureaucracy in order to function. This applies to corporations just as it applies to governments, and it is why corporate organizational structures fundamentally resemble government hierarchies. All of these institutions employ pyramidal hierarchical structures: there are a few people at the top who send orders down to the people comprising the chain below them who pass those orders on down the hierarchy. Each successive chain is progressively larger as you work your way down the organizational chart.
Old or new, all legacy institutions employ failing pyramidal hierarchical structures.
The problem with bureaucracies is that they are slow, inefficient, and carry conflicting incentives and disincentives across the various chains of authority. These problems become magnified as the bureaucracy grows, and the one consistent incentive present in all bureaucracies is the desire to expand. As an institution grows, its focus becomes less on innovation or wealth-creation, and more on suppressing competition. This is why the very institutions responsible for empowering individuals and enriching civilization on a mass scale always seem to stagnate and become parasitic over time. So many institutional systems of the Industrial Age began (and I paint with a broad brush here) as liberators and innovators. These systems grew to encompass most of the globe, and they came to be thought of as permanent. For many, perhaps they still are. Francis Fukuyama penned an essay back in 1989 titled The End of History? which suggested that humanity may have reached the end of its socio-cultural evolution with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Francis made a number of good points in his essay, and overall it made perfect sense at the height of the Industrial Age. But God has a sense of humor and the Universe is unequivocally characterized by change and paradox. The Information Age was beginning its ascent precisely as Mr. Fukuyama was proclaiming the supreme permanency of western regulatory democracy and its established institutional systems. Little did the Establishment know that a new disrupting force was rising from the ether. In fact, Timothy C. May had already penned and presented his powerful manifesto a year earlier at the Crypto 88 conference. History may very well point to Mr. May’s manifesto as the definitive beginning to the Information Age. Here’s May:
A specter is haunting the modern world… Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to communicate and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner. Two persons may exchange messages, conduct business, and negotiate electronic contracts without ever knowing the True Name, or legal identity, of the other… Reputations will be of central importance, far more important in dealings than even the credit ratings of today. These developments will alter completely the nature of government regulation, the ability to tax and control economic interactions, the ability to keep information secret, and will even alter the nature of trust and reputation… Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions…
That day has arrived; we are living in the early stages of the Information Age. Most people may not know this yet, but they can feel it. The institutional foundation of the industrial world is crumbling around us. Governments are bankrupt. Social welfare program costs are growing exponentially. Unions are broke. Pension plans are severely underfunded. National currencies have been trashed. Blue-collar jobs in the developed world have been lost to low-wage countries. Low-wage jobs have been lost to robotics and automation. Many of the jobs just disappeared entirely. Everyone's retirement account is propped up by the constant creation of money out of thin air required to keep the financial markets afloat. Welcome to the Information Age!
The Information Age is still in its infancy.
In truth, these are all great things. The seeds of a second Renaissance for human civilization have already been sown. These seeds will blossom as civilization continues to move away from the Industrial Age model and its centralized dominant/submissive paradigm. Think about it this way: technology is conquering scarcity and reducing the need for centralization. It required 40% of the U.S. population to work in agriculture in order to produce enough food to meet demand in the year 1900. Today that number is around 2%, and food is more available than ever before. You can find milk, eggs, meat, fresh fruits, vegetables, and all kinds of other items at your local grocery store year-round. This has enabled people to focus their time, energy, and labor on more advanced endeavors which in turn has led to an explosion of technological innovation. As a result of this drastic reduction in scarcity, the average person today is far wealthier in standard of living terms than the wealthiest people alive one hundred years ago. Take a few minutes to walk around your house and catalogue your furniture, appliances, electronics, gadgets, widgets, and stuff. Most of what you take for granted every single day was not available to your forefathers a mere one hundred years ago. Here's the point: the world is not going to hell in a hand basket; the institutionalized industrial model is. I don't know whether or not the centralized structure of coercive government was a necessary evil on the way to building an advanced civilization, but I do know this: politics is 100% obsolete in this digital age we now find ourselves in. We are living with space-age technology, yet we still employ the structure of bronze-age rulership by means of force, coercion, theft, misinformation, and violence on a mass scale. We have been conditioned by this model to view ourselves as a victim always in need of a savior. Yet we humans are engines of creation. We can imagine and envision, then turn our imaginations and visions into reality. I mean that quite literally. It is just a choice. We are astonishingly capable beings, but we have been conditioned to focus on manifesting conflict and negativity. This is why I am so saddened when I see politics, and the dark forces behind it, trick wonderful people into spending all of their time, energy, and thoughts on political abstractions. I see this every day in my own life. I see people whom I love and respect get sucked into the political game; I see them elevate politics to religious levels and willfully ignore those things that are most important in their own life. I watch as the twinkle vanishes from their eye, the pep disappears from their step, and the anger slowly poisons their psyche. And I understand. I was there myself not too long ago. As best I can tell, western civilization is a tale of two cities at the current point in time. The people in one city are confused and angry because they do not understand why their industrial institutions are failing them. The 2016 U.S. election cycle made it obvious the people living in this city reside on both the "left" and the "right" side of the modern political spectrum. They know it’s broke and they want it fixed no matter what it takes, and no matter whose rights are trampled to do so. They are looking for a hero, and they see politics as the solution. The people in the other city are much less concerned about the devolving industrial model because they are leveraging the budding trends of the Information Age in their favor. These are the people learning how to operate in the digital economy that bypasses industrial borders. They are learning there's a whole lot more to the money story than what they were led to believe. They are learning how to build collaborative networks utilizing digital technology and secure communications. They are actively creating superior alternatives to literally every civil service function currently provided by industrial institutions. They see politics as the problem, and they see decentralized networks as the solution. I lived in that first city several years ago. I was angry and depressed all the time. I thought the answer was to fight the trends; fight the world. I was stressed to the max, and terribly unpleasant to be around...just ask my wife. When I eventually got tired of being angry and depressed my mind switched gears, and I moved to the second city. It's much more pleasant here, and the people are friendlier. The people in this city aren't trying to change the world - that's a win-lose proposition. Instead, they are building an alternative world based upon participatory networks and voluntary association utilizing modern technology. Never before has this been possible in recorded human history. While the crowd is focused on fighting the existing status-quo on the macro scale, a growing number of individuals are focused on building a better model on the micro scale. The new model is not fixated upon enacting "social change", it is geared towards empowering individuals. In fact, it's not much of a model at all i |
| Howard Kurtz closes case on Electoral College Coup Posted: 17 Dec 2016 03:30 PM PST According to Howard Kurtz, the Electoral College coup is possible, but not very probable. There is no need to worry. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers ,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Gregory Mannarino-They Can't Have Real Money Competing with Fake Money Posted: 17 Dec 2016 12:00 PM PST On the continued price crush and manipulation of gold and silver prices, Analyst Gregory Mannarino says, "For the longest time, we know the price is not real. It's been faked. It's been manipulated. Why? . . . They can't have real money, which is gold and silver competing with fake money,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Upcoming Stock Market Crash Imminent Economic Collapse 2016 - 2017 Posted: 17 Dec 2016 11:30 AM PST It's all a PSYOP....The Elite is pushing MARTIAL-LAW & NWO...!! Oh and take your money out the bank quick before it's disappear....!! Pay down your debt "if" you can. Consolidate now. Don't take on any new debt. Prepare for total economic collapse. Pensions, 401k's and personal ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Secrets and hacks: Reporting Russia's role in the US Election Posted: 17 Dec 2016 11:00 AM PST A look at how reporting Russia's role in the US election has turned political; plus, the Indian PM's monthly radio show. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers ,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Trump : I will Tax The Hell Out Of China Posted: 17 Dec 2016 10:00 AM PST Trump To Neil: China Is Taking Advantage Of Our Country; I Would Tax The Hell Out Of Them - Cavuto The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| LIVE Stream: President-Elect Donald Trump Rally in Mobile, AL 12/17/16 Posted: 17 Dec 2016 09:17 AM PST Join President-Elect Donald J. Trump and team for the USA Thank You Tour 2016 at the Ladd–Peebles Stadium at 3:00 PM CT.LIVE Stream: President-Elect Donald Trump Rally in Mobile, AL 12/17/16 The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists ,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Could Donald Trump be impeached? Posted: 17 Dec 2016 09:00 AM PST Washington Examiner's Byron York breaks down the liberals attampts on trying to void the election The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2016 08:30 AM PST We are AnonymousWe are legionWe do not forgiveWe do not forgetExpect us The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more [[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://financearmageddon.blogspot.com http://bobchapman.blogspot.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]  |
| A Christmas present from Hugo Salinas Price Posted: 17 Dec 2016 08:29 AM PST 11:29a ET Saturday, December 17, 2016 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Hugo Salinas Price, president of the Mexican Civic Association for Silver, entrepreneur, economist, and philosopher, has collected his essays from 1997 through this year in a book titled "Essays on This and That" and is offering a small number of them as a gift to his readers, along with a small number of copies of his autobiography, "My Years with Elektra," the great company he founded and ran in Mexico before his retirement in 1988. To obtain your copies, please visit the association's internet site, Plata.com, here: http://plata.com.mx/mplata/articulos/articlesFilt.asp?offset=140&fiidart... Your secretary/treasurer confesses to having front-run this offer. CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer ADVERTISEMENT We Are Amid the Biggest Financial Bubble in History; With GoldCore you can own allocated -- and most importantly -- segregated coins and bars in Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong remain extremely safe jurisdictions for storing bullion. Avoid exchange-traded funds and digital gold providers where you are a price taker. Ensure that you are outright legal owner of your bullion. If you do not own segregated bullion that you can visit, inspect, and take delivery of, you are exposed. Crucial guides to storage in Singapore and Switzerland can be read here: http://info.goldcore.com/essential-guide-to-storing-gold-in-singapore http://info.goldcore.com/essential-guide-to-storing-gold-in-switzerland GoldCore does not report transactions to any authority. Safety, privacy, and confidentiality are paramount when we are entrusted with storage of our clients' precious metals. Email the GoldCore team at info@goldcore.com or call our trading desk: UK: +44(0)203-086-9200. U.S.: +1-302-635-1160. International: +353(0)1-632-5010. Visit us at: http://www.goldcore.com Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: |
| Turks seek gold more than liras in response to Erdogan's call Posted: 17 Dec 2016 08:17 AM PST By Constantine Courcoulas Asked by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to shun the dollar, Turks are favoring gold over liras. On the face of it, the appeal to defend the Turkish currency worked. It arrested the biggest three-week surge in foreign-currency deposits since August as Turks drew down a net $450 million from these accounts in the week ended Dec. 9. But residents also boosted their precious metal holdings, traditionally denominated in dollars, by $700 million, a hint that confidence in their currency remains tenuous, according to Nomura Inc. ... ... For the remainder of the report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-16/turks-seek-gold-more-... ADVERTISEMENT Market Analyst Fabrice Taylor Expects K92 Shares to Rise Interviewed on Business News Network in Canada, market analyst and financial letter writer Fabrice Taylor said shares of K92 Mining (TSXV:KNT) are likely to rise, even amid declining gold prices, because the company has begun producing gold at its mine in Papua New Guinea: http://www.bnn.ca/video/fabrice-taylor-discusses-k92-mining~1008356 Taylor cited the company's announcement here: http://www.k92mining.com/2016/11/6114/ Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: |
| Breaking News And Best Of The Web Posted: 17 Dec 2016 01:37 AM PST US stocks, interest rates, dollar end the week at recent and/or record highs. Worries about valuation are spreading. US housing starts plunge as higher mortgage rates begin to bite. Italian banks restructuring and raising capital as government begins bail-out. Gold and silver recover slightly from post-Fed decline. The “fake news”/Russian hacking debate intensifies. Best […] The post Breaking News And Best Of The Web appeared first on DollarCollapse.com. |
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