Tag Archives: economy

International, U.S.

Occupy America! Some facts about Revolutions the leaderless Wall Street occupiers, and Tea Partiers, need to know

The following is a brief on research I did on how Revolutions actually work, because they don’t follow the predictions of Karl Marx; that revolutions are led by the lower classes.  Three authors were read: Crane Brinton, James C. Davies and Ted Gurr.

James C. Davies (creator of the J-curve theory of revolutions) compared the theories of Karl Marx and A. de Tocqueville, with the Dorr Rebellion,  1917 Russian Revolution and 1952 Egyptian Revolution.

Davies found that economically motivated revolutions come after a relatively long time of decline for the middle and upper classes (the poor are too destitute to do anything about their situation).  In other words, it’s like a frog in a boiling pot of water; it takes awhile before the middle and upper classes realize they’re being screwed over.

Davies also discovered that if economic times are bad enough no revolution will take place, because everyone is too busy fending for themselves.  In other words if the middle and upper classes wait too long, they won’t have the strength to fight the elites.

Ted Gurr (Why Men Rebel) found that civil strife is affected by many factors, including economic deprivation and how the society views its leaders/government.

Gurr found that societies with a history of recurring civil strife are most likely to continue with such problems in the future.  Here in the United States the main problem is that too many citizens put too much faith in their ‘authorities’; from organized religion, to Corporate America and their government (at all levels/local/state/federal).  The irony is that the United States was founded on rebellion against authority (something that has been forgotten by many U.S. citizens).

Gurr also found that the success, or failure, of a revolution depends on how much support (from the general population and from outside the country) it gets.

One way the government/Corporate America can snuff out domestic support is to control the media coverage of such revolutions.  In fact our government (along with the British) has also used the media to create false revolutions (false flag ops) in other countries: The 1953 coup in Iran is a prime example.

Another proof of support for revolutions comes from the 1776 U.S. Revolution. If it wasn’t for the occasional raids into the southern Colonies by the Spanish, and the blockade of the British navy by the French navy, there would be no United States.

Crane Brinton (The Anatomy of Revolution) applied the scientific method in studying the 1641 English Revolution, 1776 U.S. Revolution (American War of Independence), the 1789 French Revolution and the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Brinton found that those revolutions were actually started by middle and upper class leaders.  The poor had little to do with it. The motivation of the middle and upper classes were economic: They were living in circumstances that were threatening to take away the economic gains they, and their predecessors had made, for the benefit of the elites.

Some beginning signs of Revolution: Austerity acts; tax increases/cuts to social programs.  Tax revolts.  Mobilization of Revolutionaries.  Ineffectual government reforms/accommodations.  Government repression.

Revolutionaries tend to be better leaders, organizers and motivators, than the establishment, but Brinton has warnings for Revolutionaries: Usually what happens is moderates take control of government but end up running things the same as before.  Then extremists take over, and things can get nasty, like a “reign of terror”.  Extremists can take advantage of “mob mentality” resulting in social terror that is presented as being democratic. Eventually extremists turn on each other, leading to dictatorships.  (Also, read Orwell’s Animal Farm. There’s also a cartoon version, but it’s not really for the kids ’cause it follows the book closely.)

So, these three researchers discovered that it’s not the poor who lead revolutions, it is the middle and upper classes.  The middle and upper classes revolt because their economically unstable governments (and now unstable Corporate America as well) put pressure on the more stable public, which causes the public to feel threatened and creates, at the very least, the perception that their economic prosperity (or even the chance of ever achieving prosperity) is finished.

Occupy America: Steve Jobs’ secret to success; Live Life your way

Occupy America: Federal Reserve boss blames Wall Street

Business/Economics, International

Global Economic War: Iran to increase sales of oil based on barter, not cash

Iran intends to boost the volume of its oil swaps to 200,000 barrels per day by March 20, 2012.

Iranian officials say that by using newly devised mechanisms, the demand for trading oil through barter deals, rather than using cash, is climbing.

The barters involve swapping oil related products, such as crude oil for refined fuel.

Iran is the second largest oil exporter within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy America! Federal Reserve Boss agrees with protestors. Wall Street is to blame!

“Well, I would say very generally I think people are quite unhappy with the state of the economy and what’s happening.  They blame, with some justification, the problems in the financial sector for getting us into this mess, and they’re dissatisfied with the policy response here in Washington.  And at some level, I can’t blame them.”–Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman

October 5, Ben Bernanke was answering questions from a U.S. Senate panel (yet again), when he was asked about the growing, and spreading, “Occupy” demonstrations.  Senators wanted to know if the protestors were justified in blaming Corporate America for the economic fall of the United States.

“Did Wall Street’s greed and recklessness cause this recession, that lead to so many people losing their jobs?” asked Senator Bernie Sanders.  Bernanke replied that excessive risk taking on Wall Street and the failure of financial regulators “had a lot to do” with the recession.


Business/Economics, U.S.

What Job Stimulus? Nearly half a million more people will lose their jobs! Just the beginning, more to come

Any job stimulus bill that gets passed by U.S. Congress will be much too little much too late.  That’s because the upcoming, publicly announced, layoffs will shut down nearly half a million jobs!

Chicago based Gray & Christmas Incorporated added up all the publicly announced future job layoffs, and it came to 480,000 jobs.  70% of those job cuts involve Bank of America and the U.S. Army.

Analysts say we ain’t seen nothin’ yet, not all layoffs are publicly announced in advance: “Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing collapse, and the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to federal spending cuts.”-John A. Challenger, CEO of Gray & Christmas

According to the Bloomberg article, it’s the biggest cuts in jobs in the past two years. A 212% increase from September 2010!

And don’t forget the intentional destruction of the U.S. Postal Service, by the U.S. Congress.  Happy upcoming Holidays!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

United Police States of America: New York Police force New York Bus Drivers to take Occupy Wall Street demonstrators to jail

“The government may only compel a citizen to assist in law enforcement when there is imminent danger. There was no imminent danger here, and therefore the Operator’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated.”-John Samuelsen, Transport Workers Union Local 100

On the day that thousands of protestors took the Brooklyn Bridge, the NYPD forced New York city bus drivers to off load their passengers, just so the buses could be used as Paddy Wagons.  Police said they needed the buses to haul away the 700+ people they had arrested.

Now the New York city bus drivers are taking the cops to court!  The bus drivers’ union says police can only take over vehicles in an emergency, and peaceful protesting is not an emergency: “…this was not such an emergency, and our members’ rights were violated. They are there to transport passengers, not be an arm of City Hall to squelch free speech!”-John Samuelsen

The union is asking the New York State Supreme Court for an injunction to keep the NYPD from forcing city buses to be used as Paddy Wagons.

Union members say they are now joining the Occupy movement: “They’ve really thrown a spotlight on issues that are bothering people, especially bothering workers like our members. Right now, we’re discussing how we’re going to give them material support, what we should do for them.”-Jim Gannon, Transport Workers Union

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Global Class War: Denmark taxes Fat, yet majority of Danes are Skinny, Jack Sprat’s wife the victim of elite nutritionists

Yet more proof that the Danish government’s tax on fat is about making money, not being healthy.  According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 10% of Danes are obese!

On a recent BBC World Have Your Say program, a Danish politician said that the purpose of a democratic representative government is to “find balance” in imposing social policies on the general public. Say what? I always thought a democratic representative government was supposed to do what the majority of the voting public wants!  Oh well, I’m still waiting for it to happen here in the United States.

Basically the Danish politician was admitting that Denmark is being run by a minority of do gooders that’re pushing their own agenda upon the majority of Danes.

Consider this: There is scientific evidence that it’s a high carbohydrate/sugar diet that actually makes you fat.  Now realize that the majority of Danes eat a high fat diet and only 10% are obese!!!  That’s 5% below the average for all of Europe.

There’s also plenty of evidence that shows skinny people are just as prone to conditions (like diabetes) as fat people.  In fact there’s growing evidence that most poor health conditions, in adults, are more influenced by genetics than what you eat.  Remember the old nursery rhyme about Jack Sprat?  There’s truth in it.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Class War: Occupy Los Angeles occupies City Hall, indefinitely. Protestors are leaderless, collectivley organized and highly educated

“I spent seven years at the University of Michigan getting a PHD in Medieval European History, and I realized that I wasn’t making a difference there, and I thought I can make more of a difference on the street organizing people, getting the 99% out to have a voice.”-Occupy LA protestor

October 3, protestors in Los Angeles, California, have occupied city hall and say they will stay there for as long as possible.

Volunteers from the National Lawyers Guild are educating protesters about their legal rights in case they are confronted by police.  But some protestors believe that eventually the police will join the protests: “…their pensions are under attack, their overtime is under attack, their benefits are under attack. So once they realize they’re actually part of this movement, I foresee no problems.”-Occupy LA protestor

The continued expansion of the “occupy” movement across the United States has even protestors amazed: “The leadershiplessness of this movement is incredible! The number of the people, the commitment of the people, the collective education of the people.  The moment is ripe!”-Occupy LA protestor

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Unemployed young men in Idaho more than national average

According to Federal numbers, the percentage of unemployed young men in Idaho is more than the national average.

In 2009 the national average was 17%, in Idaho it hit 20%!  Idaho’s 2010 rate was around 18%.

Unemployment claims are down, but according to Idaho Labor Department officials that’s because people just don’t qualify for unemployment assistance anymore.  One official said about 100 people per week are falling off the state unemployment assistance simply because they’ve exceeded the time limit.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho dental insurer to cut payments

Delta Dental of Idaho is going to cut insurance payments to dentists by as much as 13%.

Delta officials say they have to do it to keep costs down to employers who offer their employees the Delta Dental plan.

Idaho dentists say they will have to jack up prices to make up the difference.  One dentist says the cuts took him by surprise: “In the past, Delta Dental has been a great partner with dentists. This is a little out of the blue. I’ve never seen this before.”-Don Wyatt

Delta Dental of Washington state cut payments back in April, by as much as 15%!

International, Opinion, Technology

North Pole Ozone Hole bigger than ever, proof Earth’s magnetic field is flipping out, is someone out there?

Video

Researchers from eight countries are reporting that the hole in the ozone layer above the North Pole is now as big as the hole over the South Pole.

The North Pole hole now covers an area about 3,000 kilometers (1864.113 miles) long and 1,000 km (621.371 miles) wide.

Of course environmentalists are blaming it on man made pollution.  Never mind all the volcanic activity, and record number of forest fires, in the past decade.  Also, never mind the fact that the Earth’s magnetic field has being weakening, seemingly at the same time that the holes in the ozone layers have been forming.

It is a fact that the North and South Poles of the magnetic field have gotten much weaker.  In fact, in 2003, PBS NOVA produced a newer program on the fact that the poles of our magnetic field are about to flip.  You can go to the a PBS NOVA web site to use their interactive programs to see how they think our magnetic field works.

In 2009, famed physics professor Michio Kaku, warned that the solar flares, from the Sun’s expected 2012 pole flip, are going to be much worse than first thought, by a “factor of 20”.  He called it a “tsunami of radiation”, which is not good when you realize our atmosphere and magnetic field has weakened.

I believe the real reason for the holes in the ozone layer is because of the weakening of Earth’s magnetic field.  The magnetic field weakening and the intensity of the Sun’s solar flares, could be caused by extrasolar planetary encounters.   There is an ancient story of another plant that experienced a similar “breaching” of their atmosphere.  The story is thousands of years older than any other written stories found so far.

In the ancient story the founders of Earth’s human civilization notice changes to their planet, changes that we currently call “climate change”: “…the fields diminished their yields, fruits and grains lost abundance. From circuit to circuit [orbits], nearing the Sun heat grew stronger; in the faraway abode, coolness was more biting.”

Earth’s magnetic field is directly caused by the spinning molten core.  The people of this ancient story noticed their atmosphere was thinning, and their volcanoes were growing dormant: “In the atmosphere a breaching [ozone hole] has occurred; that was their finding. Volcanoes, the atmosphere, forebear, less belching were spitting up! Nibiru’s air has thinner been made, the protective shield has been diminished!”

While most of these ancient alien people thought their volcanoes were the cause of the strength of their atmosphere, others pointed out a more astronomical cause: “It has happened before, some gave an answer: Nibiru in the past colder or warmer has grown. A destiny it is, in the Circuit [orbit] of Nibiru embedded!”

Eventually the ancients realized that their planet’s atmospheric depletion was the result of millennia of near impacts, and actual impacts, with the planets in a more stable orbit around the Sun.  The most devastating impact created the Earth, and stopped the Moon’s progress to becoming a full blown planet itself.  Later, a near impact slowed the spinning molten core of Mars, and stripped off the atmosphere.

This ancient planet, according to the translations done in the 1960s and 1970s, orbits against the grain of Earth and the other Solar bodies, and takes several hundreds of thousands of years to make one orbit (which is about the time line for major catastrophic events that take place on Earth).

The ancient planet (and its “companions”) approaches from our South Pole.  In the past few decades, dozens of astronomical observatories have been established on Antarctica.  Recently Japanese astronomers discovered at least ten large dense (with very strong magnetic fields) planets approaching from the south.  They stated that the planets ‘lived’ independent of the Sun.  They called them “floating planets”, I call them Ronin Planets.

Here’s a link to an OK (some grammatical & spelling errors) pdf posting of The Lost Book of Enki.