Economic Warfare

**Ken White** · 10-10-2008

all true. The terribly sad thing is that there's been enough greed and stupidity exhibited by all involved -- including some, not all, of the borrowers -- and laziness by many of us who didn't participate but saw it coming and did little but rail about it from the sidelines that we have truly put ourselves in this position...

**slapout9** · 10-10-2008

Interview of James K. Galbraith son of Economist John Kennth Galbraith about the Predator state

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com...redator_state/

and this one on how to fix things.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092403033.html

So as not to disappoint anyone.....for your listening pleasure and cultural enhancement. Financial crisis set to music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiacSBvWPYI

PS jm99 this is from some type of legal organization ever heard of it??

October 8,08 interview of James Galbraith and his latest recommendations. Put money directly in to the hands of the American people so they can pay their bills until a long term solution is found in the next administration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG0MlQRf-Pg&feature=user

**jmm99** · 10-11-2008

YouTube - which is what I got on this box (cheap) - and too lazy to run down to the office for broadband. So.

PS jm99 this is from some type of legal organization ever heard of it??

can't help you right now. What's the name ? Lots of legal orgs out there (in the sense of dealing with laws). Some are illegal (in the sense that you and I would use it) - especially on the political fringes.

Galbraith presents some interesting points. They are an interesting family.

... they had four sons: J. Alan Galbraith is a partner in the prominent Washington D.C. law firm Williams & Connolly; Douglas Galbraith died in childhood of leukemia; Peter W. Galbraith has been a US diplomat who served as Ambassador to Croatia and is a widely published commentator on American foreign policy - particularly in the Balkans and the Middle East; James K. Galbraith is a prominent progressive economist at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ke...lbraith#Family

Went to law school at the same time as the eldest brother Alan (I confess my only recollection is him walking down the steps with Sally Katzen - a dinner date or some such); and have read a number of articles by brother Peter. James seems not to have fallen far from the tree.

PS: If we are going to have socialism here, we might as well involve everyone in the process. So, "from each according to his ability; to each according to his need". As lawyers go, I am not in the upper classes - so, that Marxist result to me would probably be relatively "revenue-neutral".

**Thanos** · 10-11-2008

... in light of China holding a lot of our paper?

**Bill Moore** · 10-12-2008

Thanks for the links to the videos, they were entertaining. Unfortuantely, I far from smart enough to know if the criticisms directed against our financial system is accurate or conspiracy theory (which you Southern boys are well known for).

**slapout9** · 10-12-2008

Watch this one and then check the facts yourself!!! then read the daily newspapers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnwLg...eature=related

Early Christmas message from President Kennedy to President Bush. "Mankind Is Your Business"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr5ydIa_yyY

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

Thanks for the links to the videos, they were entertaining. Unfortuantely, I far from smart enough to know if the criticisms directed against our financial system is accurate or conspiracy theory (which you Southern boys are well known for).

Hi Bill, actually I got from here(see link) and I think he was a Yankee but he thought like a true Southern Democrat

Also Bill doing the job that you do makes you more than qulified to figure out the accuracy of the statements in the video and interviews...just basic slapout economics/police work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhZk8ronces

For your Sunday night Listening pleasure from the Soul of the South.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07evJobAelE

**Bill Moore** · 10-13-2008

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/jfkeo/eo/11110.htm

It wasn't the military industrial complex that plotted JFK's assassination, it was the Federal Reserve.

I don't understand our ability to print dollars endlessly without a basis for its worth, which may be why it worth less day by day. I thought it was Nixon who separated the value of the dollar from our nation's stores of gold? I need to brush up on my economic history.

Slapout, who was that Taliban looking guy singing and clapping his hands in that Utube video you posted?

**Shek** · 10-13-2008

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/jfkeo/eo/11110.htm

It wasn't the military industrial complex that plotted JFK's assassination, it was the Federal Reserve.

I don't understand our ability to print dollars endlessly without a basis for its worth, which may be why it worth less day by day. I thought it was Nixon who separated the value of the dollar from our nation's stores of gold? I need to brush up on my economic history.

Slapout, who was that Taliban looking guy singing and clapping his hands in that Utube video you posted?

Bill,

Here's an article that will provide some insight into your question - "The Economic Organization of a POW Camp." An updated occurance of this can be found at this link (notice that they can't use any form of paper currency).

Here's a short case study based on Hugh Rockoff's "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory" - the paper itself is gated by JSTOR. While many economists now doubt that the Wizard of Oz was written specifically as a monetary allegory, the economic interpretation is still sound.

Both of these should provide the insights you're looking for - i.e., the instability that can follow a strict backing of paper currency by a metal.

**slapout9** · 10-13-2008

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/jfkeo/eo/11110.htm

It wasn't the military industrial complex that plotted JFK's assassination, it was the Federal Reserve.

I don't understand our ability to print dollars endlessly without a basis for its worth, which may be why it worth less day by day. I thought it was Nixon who separated the value of the dollar from our nation's stores of gold? I need to brush up on my economic history.

Slapout, who was that Taliban looking guy singing and clapping his hands in that Utube video you posted?

Hi Bill, Stone is usually wrong on everything, Lee Harvey did it and nobody else.

The memo you posted was sent to the Treasury a legal Government agency. The Federal reserve is not and that is the whole problem. If you dig a round you will find FDR did something similar to this during the War when pennies were made from steel to save copper for bullets.

In the videos I posted you will find a return to the gold stanard would be a disaster, we had depressions with gold just like paper money. The problem is interest!! and how it is handled.

I will explain further tonight busy now.

The bearded guy is Randy Owen lead singer of Alabama. The Taliban???are they like the Beatles or something?!&*

**jmm99** · 10-13-2008

Here's the story in the guy's own words:

http://thelawparty.org/

and

http://thelawparty.org/WhoAreWe.htm

I could not even begin to comment.

I have two questions:

1. When will we see "theslapparty.org" with a neat webpage; and

2. Will we meet in the phone booth across from my office or the one across from yours near the new Piggly-Wiggly ?

**slapout9** · 10-13-2008

Hi jm99, yeah I found his web page last night, he is a flake, but the video series he posted was done by another guy and it is generally correct in what he states. I do believe that sound Law is the basis of a sound currency, hence my interest in the lawparty.

I actually have started a blog, but nothing on it yet...all those darn buttons.

Oh, Piggly-Wiggly is best in case we get hungry or thirsty. gotta go more details later.

**slapout9** · 10-14-2008

Here it is folks (SBE) in about 8 and a half minutes. Pay special attention between a federal reserve note a debt!!!!insturment vs. a United States Note which is a currency insturment. This is what President Kennedy wanted to do along with some other past Presidents. The quality of the video is not that great but the information is correct.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tr5B...eature=related

The quality of this video is a lot better. Has a solution to our problem to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNumEm2NzQA

**Watcher In The Middle** · 10-17-2008

Oil's Drop Squeezes Producers - Economies of Iran, Venezuela Vulnerable as Crude Price Falls but Demand Stays Low
By NEIL KING JR. and SPENCER SWARTZ
Dated: 10.09.2008

Big oil-producing countries are showing signs of distress as the global credit crunch and falling crude prices begin to squeeze government budgets and delay projects.

Fears that the boom days are fading appear strongest in Iran and Venezuela, whose governments have come to rely on oil prices to prop up otherwise shaky economies. Both countries this week led a chorus within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries calling for an emergency meeting of the cartel, now set for Nov. 18, to weigh a production cut.

The global economic crisis is eating into oil demand, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, and helping drive down crude prices. Some forecasters said that despite a strong thirst for oil in Asia and the Middle East, global oil consumption could flatten out next year, potentially ending nearly a decade of steady demand growth.

In early afternoon trading, benchmark crude for November delivery fell $1.59, or 1.8%, to $87.36, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude has plunged around $60 a barrel from its July high, and analysts said signs of a deep recession among industrialized countries could move prices down further.

Oil exporters have racked up cash surpluses as prices soared to historic highs. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter, is expected to record $138 billion this year, up from $95 billion last year.

But government spending also has soared within OPEC and among other big producers such as Russia, based in part on the expectation that oil prices would remain high.

Standard & Poor's said last week that Venezuela's budget balance "could deteriorate quickly" if crude prices fall sharply. The nationalization of a number of industrial companies is expected to cost the government around $6 billion, or about 2% of gross domestic product, in 2008, according to Standard & Poor's.

PFC Energy, a Washington consultancy, estimates that Venezuela needs an oil price of nearly $95 a barrel to assure macroeconomic stability, three times what they needed in 2000. By contrast, Saudi Arabia requires an oil price of $55 a barrel, more than double from eight years ago, according to PFC estimates.

Link to Article

That was one week ago. Here's today's [10.16.2008] news on oil prices:

Opec brings forward crunch meeting
By Javier Blas and Carola Hoyos in London
Published: October 16 2008

Opec on Thursday brought forward to next week an emergency meeting to consider a cut in production after oil prices dropped to less than $70 a barrel for the first time in more than a year on worries about a global recession.

The move coincided with fresh calls from those countries within the oil producing cartel that are heavily dependent on oil revenues for their budgets – most notably Iran, the organisation’s perennial hawk – to cut output. Ecuador and Qatar also supported slashing production.

Even Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s most powerful member, which initially opposed the 500,000 barrel a day cut announced last month and is close to the US, appears to be in agreement that the group needs to reduce its production.

Link to Article

The question really is if Opec can cut production fast and deep enough to take into account dropping demand. Everything I'm seeing is projecting China to experience a large continuing increase in oil demand (on the order of 500k+ Bbl. per day), but if US demand for imported Chinese goods keeps dropping, the much anticipated increased oil demand from China just isn't going to materialize.

An interesting concept being talked about currently is that now would be the perfect point for the US to really impact both the oil markets and Opec (and Russia) by announcing a major expansion in favor of increased offshore drilling as part of an overall energy increase plan here in the US. Even though such a plan would take 4 to 5 years to even start to have an actual effect, now's the time to hit Opec in the marketplace.

**bourbon** · 10-17-2008

Toxic Information: U.S. intelligence officials are worried that financial institutions are vulnerable to hackers, by Shane Harris. National Journal, Oct. 18, 2008.

Not that we need it, but here's yet another reason to worry about havoc in financial markets: U.S. intelligence officials increasingly fear that computer hackers could wreck banks and large financial institutions, or send stock markets into one more panicked frenzy, by covertly manipulating data and spreading false information.

In interviews and speeches over the past few months, senior counterintelligence and security officials laid out some dire scenarios. They're all predicated on a determined individual or small group fabricating information in such a way that the public sees a different picture of financial health than exists, either at a particular company or in broad markets.

Originally Posted by Watcher In The Middle

An interesting concept being talked about currently is that now would be the perfect point for the US to really impact both the oil markets and Opec (and Russia) by announcing a major expansion in favor of increased offshore drilling as part of an overall energy increase plan here in the US. Even though such a plan would take 4 to 5 years to even start to have an actual effect, now's the time to hit Opec in the marketplace.

I doubt increased U.S. production will be able to rival OPEC market share. What a favorable congressional posture to on and offshore drilling would do is scare futures traders and drive the short term speculators out of the market. That's what was driving this these huge prices.

**bourbon** · 01-12-2009

60 Minutes had an excellent piece on oil prices last night, crediting excessive financial speculation for last years surge in prices. Nothing new if you have been following this thread, they should have made this six months ago.

The Price Of Oil: The historic swings in oil prices last year were the result of financial speculation from Wall Street and not supply and demand. Steve Kroft investigates. CBS News: 60 Minutes, January 11, 2009.

**Bullmoose Bailey** · 01-21-2009

Originally Posted by Shek

Bill,

Here's an article that will provide some insight into your question - "The Economic Organization of a POW Camp." An updated occurance of this can be found at this link (notice that they can't use any form of paper currency).

Here's a short case study based on Hugh Rockoff's "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory" - the paper itself is gated by JSTOR. While many economists now doubt that the Wizard of Oz was written specifically as a monetary allegory, the economic interpretation is still sound.

Both of these should provide the insights you're looking for - i.e., the instability that can follow a strict backing of paper currency by a metal.

Thanks for the Oz Metaphor portion. Have heard a lot about that but found your link enlightening as to what it's really about.

If the US Dollar is entirely independent of Gold then I guess we wouldn't be in danger from Opn Grandslam any longer

Perhaps UK still having troublous monetarism proves your point; " i.e., the instability that can follow a strict backing of paper currency by a metal."

**Ski** · 01-21-2009

How can any of this be considered economic warfare in retrospect?

Seems like economic suicide.

**bourbon** · 03-24-2009

China calls for new reserve currency, by Jamil Anderlini. Financial Times, March 23 2009.

China’s central bank on Monday proposed replacing the US dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the International Monetary Fund.

In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies”.

**slapout9** · 03-25-2009

I think this is twice in the past week China has warned us that they will soon find other options to the US Dollar.

**Surferbeetle** · 03-25-2009

Poor taste, not for everybody, but funny: leveraged sellout...living the dream

Several times a year, I receive a forward in which some young analyst at an Investment Bank has flipped out, decided to quit, and written an embittered email manifesto to his group detailing his thought process. These emails ring of both anger and haste, and, without fail, they carry the tone of “I’m meant to be doing something better than this.”

Anyway, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate hubris; I applaud it. But when someone is so deluded to think that he is better than Banking, he is advertising his stupidity. These kinds of people don’t understand the solid fundamentals that come with getting one’s hands dirty, and it’s obvious that these quitters are just scared of a little hard work and the occasional all-nighter.