Published: July 10th, 2012 at 7:57 pm ET
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Interview with Matt Taibbi
Viewpoint with Elliot Spitzer
July 4, 2012
Intro
Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi: … Libor [London Interbank Offered Rate] is like the sun at the center of the financial universe… I talked to one friend who works on Wall Street who said this is like finding out the whole world is built on quicksand… This goes far beyond any corruption scandal we’ve had…
At 7:30 in
Its tough for people to wrap their heads around the scale of this. This is way bigger than any corruption scandal that’s come out since 2008… The implications are so awesome, I think people are reluctant to take it in yet.
July 9 Update: New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson Applaud British, Issue Challenge To American Regulators Over LIBOR Scandal
Published: July 10th, 2012 at 7:57 pm ET
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sending...
Not so OT, really. There is a connection.
For those of you that don't follow the financial news, this is the greatest financial scandal in the history of finance. While the details may be difficult to understand, let me be very clear on one thing – Trust. The entire global financial economy depends on trust. Trust that your money will buy something. Trust that your bank won't steal your money. Trust that your government will protect you from banks and investment people stealing your money. Trust that the law will protect you, or get your money back from anyone that steals it. Trust that judges will rule against law breakers. EVERYTHING in the economy depends on trust.
That TRUST is gone. Wealthy people don't trust the banks, don't trust the government, don't trust the law, don't trust each other. The 99.99% might be pissed, but now the rich are eating the rich, the law means nothing, and everything economically is grinding to a complete stop.
We don't trust our governments to tell us the truth about the radiation. We don't trust them to fix the criminality – worse than any Mafia could ever accomplish – that runs rampant in our financial institutions, law enforcement or government. The criminality of letting our country's populations get radiation sickness and deny there is any problem.
Why is there no trust? Because the worst we can think, is all true. The radiation is true, the Wall Street crime is true, the lack of responsible governance – it's all…
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Time I posted your comment at HP. It says it all.
This is huge. The implications are immense. The whole bottom is going to fall out, with no lifelines left at all real soon. Prepare for chaos. The rich are eating the rich and everything around us will FALL real soon. Hugs.
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It showed. It's only me there these days so no one will see it BUT I think it is Spot On. ty http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/japan-nuclear-disaster_n_1650264.html?1341493871
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We Must Do Better 09, you are not alone and I am very proud of the postings on HP. I am on as "annarkey" and have posted too. Sometimes it is difficult to find anything about the nuclear crisis or the suffering of the Japanese people as they watch the further degradation of their nation. To tell the truth, it is a surprise when something is published, and to have response in comments is rare. Then is something published on Green, Business, World; it is hide and seek to find it. This time WMDB09, there were @2,000 comments.
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People like you, Time Is Short and Whoopie, lead the road to the future. Thank you.
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Oh Whoopie…Nothing new! I've thought this for so long it makes me sick. Glad you realize it though. I wrote, gave speeches so long ago/ People just accused me of being negative and told me to sit down and shut up. Sadly, what I foresaw has come about. And BTW, labor was a great force which accomplished most of the good the working person has realized.
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true. Our leaders are doing everything in their power to protect themselves and their campaign contributors and leave us and our children to die.
This site will not become a financial site. That solemn duty is left to http://www.zerohedge.com, where the fraud is reported clearly, daily. But do not think for a minute that this doesn't affect you. It affects every human on this planet, just like the radiation, from unaffordable food, to destroyed retirement funds, to stolen bank accounts, to massive global unemployment.
The cause of this, and the specific people behind it, can be found in 'The Creature From Jekyll Island'. If this ship can't be turned around, the effect will be 'The Road'. And that's a big if.
Do what you can. Our children depend on it.
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incredible post TIS. You've managed to distill a century of ongoing corruption to a handful of paragraphs. You should be given an award for your incisive genius. Much appreciated…
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Hi Time Is Short
Sadly, I agree with you.
Good to see you Whoopie
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I do not think it is OT. When the markets collapse, who takes care of Fukushima? Who takes care of radiation monitoring all over the world? Who takes care of the infrastructure? Will we be left with a world of servitude to TEPCO, GE, and the financiers?
And #4 hasn't collapsed…yet.
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Another outstanding post Kelly. I think you hit the nail on the head.
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Who takes care of the hundreds of reactors around the world?
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Right? #4,#4,#4, don't loose the big picture. Keep your head on a swivel.
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When almost everyone can no longer afford to pay a power bill, what becomes of the reactors and nuclear plants? The storage pools?
Surely it means nuclear will be obsolete, but how will those plants be decommissioned? What will become of the waste?
If the power grid is shut down, how can the plants be maintained and cooled?
Oy, vey, my head hurts sometimes.
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Excuse me, the spent fuel pools ….
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also OT
@10.45 talks about true energy costs and goes o to say all research is manipulated by this corporate cabal..
in this edition of the show Max interviews Dr. Paul Craig Roberts from paulcraigroberts.org. Dr. Paul C. Roberts is an economist, author and now a blogger at paulcraigroberts.com. He was an Assistant Treasury Secretary in Reagan Administration. The US economy, TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) secret trade deal, American and foreign powerful corporations, Dr. Robert's book entitled 'Silent Spring for US' and much issues are all discussed in this episode of On the Edge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sTQMk5uOZFE
libor is mentioned.. dr roberts laughs..
and a fine does not mean any change whatsoever… maybe a couple of sacrificial lambs for PR sake.. like the "libor scandal" is being "smoothed" by big PR.. soon, everything will be back to "normal" lol!
"…challenging American regulators to take this mess as seriously as the British appear to be…." HaHaHa! that line made me laugh! the usa being smoothed for the big smoothover!
chuckle!
let max kaiser at em!! grrrr! cameroon is a bufoon!
that should get me 4 years in cameroons NEW BRITAIN.. hand hes turned london into a bloody military base! they can stick the olympics where it dont shine (classy version) imho…/rant
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arclight…Yes indeed.
Everyone should read Paul Craig Roberts. He is one of a growing number of what I used to call "Recovering Republicans," a group which includes John Dean, Chalmers Johnson, Kevin Philips, Paul Craig Roberts and more. The list grows, almost exponentially, as more and more of the highly educated and supremely moral realize the utter corruption and futility of the current system.
Actually though, they are not recovering republicans at all; their disillusionment and realization is much greater than that. They are beyond party denomination.
This entire system must be changed!
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John Dean: "He was referred to as "master manipulator of the cover up" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[1] He pleaded guilty to a single felony count in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution. This ultimately resulted in a reduced prison sentence, which was served at Fort Holabird outside Baltimore, Maryland….”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dean
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And then there is Howard Dean from a family of the banksters. He got Republicans to run as Democrats (including Obama) and the Republicans have taken over the Democratic Party. Obama Care is really just the Republican Health Plan run by the pharmaceuticals and the the insurance companies. We will never have affordable health care for all until there is single payer health insurance which can curb the excessive charges for unnecessary and expensive testing, duplicate expensive equipment at all hospitals which are heavily invested into by physicians, and excessive charges by physicians. The public health option would have been a start and Democrats supposedly controlled both houses and the White House. But that was all propaganda from the Shadow Government which controls both parties and all the opposition parties.
Mitt Romney, the "great patriot" has billions of his money in off shore accounts so he doesn't have to pay income taxes. If all that money is off shore he should either be in jail for tax evasion or considered a foreigner and ineligible for the presidency. He also sent many jobs overseas. And he needs to follow those jobs and make his permanent home in Asia.
The Bush's also have huge propeties overseas and in Latin America and Jeb Bush should also be considered at the least a traitorous foreigner and ineligible for the presidency.
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“Paul Craig Roberts is a former editor and columnist for both the Wall Street Journal and Business Week. He worked as the Assistant Secretary to the Treasury under the Reagan administration, but has since disavowed both the Republicans and Democrats.”
http://www.amazon.com/How-Economy-Was-Lost-Worlds/dp/1849350078/ref=la_B001ITWVPE_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341991631&sr=1-2
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Arc, didn't Dr. Roberts just pass away? Smart man.
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i hope not hotaters
hes just done a recent max kaiser.. unless max is using clairvoyance
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Couldn't find any information that he just died. Still alive as far as I can see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Craig_Roberts
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/
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this is interesting
The Trans Pacific Partnership – A Corporate Fascist Coup
look out for lori wallach.. great sleuthing there! imo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U56ZP3YrTM4&feature=player_embedded#!
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whenever i have been writing the mob.media.corp.guv i have been referring to the ingrained corruption of the worlds political landscape. The mafie, yakuza, whatever, they realised if you can't beat them, join them, then overrun them from within. They have 'legitimate' faces everywhere. They lobby and party and handout ridiculous amounts of money (bribes).
The system is corrupt from within. There will be no change for the better of the people until the corrupt are seen and extricated. And they are thoroughly entrenched, so it wont be easy. There is a tough road ahead if you really want to solve what's wrong in the world.
(hint, make sure you are working out and exercising at least an hour a day).
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++ & yes the hint needs repeating Thank you. BE PREPARED…
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"Imagine finding out the Dow is rigged or the S&P 500 doesn't really measure the stocks of the 500 largest U.S. firms and you have a hint at how big a deal this really is."
That was the LIBOR headline that caught my eye early today:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31806.htm
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Infuckingcredible aigeezer. I heard a blip a couple of days ago but didn't dive into it. NOW I see how big it is and how bad it's going to be. HUGE.
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One needed only to follow the ebbs, the flows of the stock market to recognize its artificiality; a beast designed primarily to fleece the masses of their savings, their pensions, their investments. If the subject is slight, the treatise, likewise is short. Who was it said: mankind is ever the same, and nothing lost out of nature, tho everything is alter'd?
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Civilizations will come and go, knowledge will be lost , that's history, apparently the collapse is coming, let's hope we can survive this one.
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Anyone who has attempted to warn the rest of us has been labeled a "conspiracy theorist", or worse and marginalized. The plan has been orchestrated by the wealthy elites and trust fund babies; followers of "disaster capitalism" and Ayn Rand, the global economy, the dependence on credit, the continuance of slave labor in poor nations and now austerity. The purpose of our governments is too support the multi-national companies, and the people have become viewed as "home grown terrorists", "human debris". The world is captive of Fascism. This is what Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Fascism is not defined by the numbers of its victims, but by the way it kills them."
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Don't condemn everyone in a category. Be careful of too broad a brush. I had a very good friend who was born into the realms of the elite, who was a trust fund baby. But she saw through it and regected it. For her, Uncle John was John Rockefeller. Yet she campaigned for Dick Gregory for President.
See people as individuals, not as categories.
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Nothing wrong with catagories, ds, as long as we recognize who's in them.
Many rich people will eat their own families if there's profit to be made.
We cannot comprehend the evil in the ruling class. If we're going to survive at all, we need to understand it quick.
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See, now then, I always thought that the Rockyfellers were from the Flintstones. one of my most favorite tellyvision shows..*sigh* no. actually my favorite because my parents wouldn't allow us children to watch anything else. Anyhow, became a "big" human rights lawyer, met Rockyfellers lawyer(albeit Nelson, not John?) and while doing the candle party thing, we orchestrated the goings-on of the USA senate hearings for the day. heheheheheh. Jolly good, I say, I say..Jolly good, I say. Who knew the Flintstones could be so much fun?
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1:21 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc1TBBp4dC8
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This book is an excellent history of the economic policies that have brought the world to this financial end. Well documented.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by Naomi Klein Henry Holt & Co., 2007
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Long summary and reviews at:
http://www.amazon.com/Shock-Doctrine-Rise-Disaster-Capitalism/dp/0141024534
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I encourage everyone to read this.
It is underway with this Fuku-mess we're faced with.
U.S., French firms vie for N-cleanup work
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120704003865.htm
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Last line reads:
"It is not only a big business opportunity for them but also they think they can acquire experience only available in Fukushima in preparation for a possible nuclear accident that might occur somewhere in the future," said a senior official of the Environment Ministry.
(Jul. 5, 2012)
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What they should already know is that there is no way to really control nuclear accidents, especially when they are so close to the ocean on porous sedimentary rock. They haven't yet figured out how to handle the nuclear waste when it isn't close to the ocean.
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Oh Anne,
Don'tcha know? It's called job creators…
/snark.
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In order for NATO countries to continue affording expensive,high tech military products, our finance and c
In order for NATO countries to continue affording expensive high tech military items, finance and corporate institutions cannot be exposed to the whim of our free markets.
Our banks can gamble and cheat all they want, as long as at the end of the day corporations are left in a reasonably comfortable to continue to afford spears and boomarangs used to protect there interests.
Take a run at our (nuclear) corporations or our 'investment' banks and one becomes a liability of the military. Perhaps this hypothesis explains corporate media and their news blackout of Japan's biggest industrial accident in the world.
Why is it, since 2008, NATO big money is on tap to bail out gambling bankers but none of them ever have to darken the door of a courthouse? Barclay's Diamond gets all his bonuses due. We seem to be in bloodless warfare with trading guiles used as a defence tactic, to maintain our place. Do our politicians see bankers and corporate board rooms as our white collar knights in electronic chain mail?
Hmmmm. Recently JP Morgan CEO Jimmy Dimon appeared in front of democratically elected officials on Capital Hill wearing cufflinks bearing 'The Seal of the President of the United States of America'. Perhaps a message to those 'government chumps' to keep their feet on the ground and remember who they're talking to.
Talk truth to power and look…
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The cufflinks:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/15/jamie-dimon-cufflinks-presidential-seal-senate-hearing_n_1600335.html
Two ways to look at this – either the President has Dimon's back, or Dimon is the real power behind the throne. If you believe the President is nothing more than a puppet, now we know who the puppetmaster is.
And Dimon wasn't required to be sworn in, either. His testimony was not under oath, as is usually the case.
And the testimony was requested regarding JPM's $2 billion dollar CIO loss. It's now $5 billion and counting:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/jpmorgan-clawback-bonuses-will-announce-cio-loss-just-over-5-billion
Guess who's going to pay those losses back? YOU ARE.
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Sorry, screwed up the last post try again?
In order for NATO countries to continue affording expensive high tech military items, finance and corporate institutions cannot be exposed to the whim of our free markets.
Our banks can gamble and cheat all they want, as long as at the end of the day corporations are left in reasonably comfort to continue to afford spears and boomerangs used to protect their interests.
Take a run at our (nuclear) corporations or our 'investment' banks and one becomes a liability of the military. Perhaps this hypothesis explains corporate media and their news blackout of Japan's biggest industrial accident in the world.
Why is it, since 2008, NATO big money is on tap to bail out gambling bankers but no losers ever darken the door of a courthouse? In fact Barclay's Diamond gets all his bonuses due. We seem to be in bloodless warfare with trading guiles used as a defence tactic, to maintain our place. Do our politicians see bankers and corporate board rooms as our white collar knights in electronic chain mail?
Hmmmm. Recently JP Morgan CEO Jimmy Dimon appeared in front of democratically elected officials on Capital Hill wearing cufflinks bearing 'The Seal of the President of the United States of America'. Perhaps a message to those 'government chumps' to keep their feet on the ground and remember who they're talking to.
Talk truth to power and look out scout.
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patman,
"Why is it, since 2008, NATO big money is on tap to bail out gambling bankers but no losers ever darken the door of a courthouse?"
Because if they did darken those steps, our political leaders would be in handcuffs next to them…
… And as anyone who's been paying attention this last 30 years, the motto of the ruling elite goes: "It's NOT illegal when they do…"
Equal Justice under the Law… MY ASS!
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I'll see your ass and raise you a titty.
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What ever it takes…
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Raised titties?
As the Jethro Bodine character on the 'Beverly Hillbillies' would say, "Hot diggity dog!"
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Good interview and good speech Matt gives. The levels of corruption are systemic and show their ugly face in financial AND energy policies.
AGAIN, leaders are telling citizens, "Too bad, so sad. You're life on the line for our stock prices and incomes."
Utter bullshit…
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Ahhh…
… And so explains the rise in debtors prisons in America.
p.s.
Most are privately owned… MORE SHARE HOLDERS TO PAY, you know.
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He has found two part-time jobs with low pay and half of the money goes to court. Josh is in such a deep hole, that he will never climb out. He takes responsibility for his actions, but like a snowball the problems only roll downhill and are becoming larger. I have helped him as much as possible, but I am retired with a permanently disabled husband and it is time for Josh to move on this September. This is one of the people in our nation who has become entrapped in a legal system that has become an industry. It is, also, a means of genecide and keeping the employment of minorities down. Meanwhile, corrupt men in three piece suits who run financial institutions, the government and are concerned about "national interests" for multi-national industries get away with murder every day.
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For the past six months, a thirty-seven year old man has joined my household, I have known him since birth and his mother was my best friend for fifty years until her death in 2007. When Reagan began his "War on Crime" and the failed "War on Drugs"; Josh was 18, black, and stupid and was sent to jail for having stolen property. He has made other mistakes; and has two children, now teenagers themselves, for whom he owes child care payments, court fees, penalties in the amount of $60k. He has been jailed for non-payment, his driver's license suspended, his vehicle will be taken if and when it is registered.
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Hi Max,
I meant to reply to your comment about the return of the "Poor House" or "Debtor's Prison". Unfortunately, I reversed my comment A@@backwards. Hope everyone understands my deficiencies.
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Great… they take his drivers license so he has a more difficult time with employment. Circular logic.
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Max1:
Agreed.
But is there more going on now, and/or more obvious now than a dozen years ago? Did we slip into some type of fascism in 2006-2008?
Finance and economic battle with B.R.I.C.; on their side they are developing barter and trying to avoid using the world's 'reserve currency' (USD) in portions of their trade.
Is this a beginning NATO bankers being openly confronted for their corrosive shenanigans?
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It began on 9/11
and 7/7
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Actually, December 23, 1913:
http://thecounterpunch.hubpages.com/hub/Federal_Reserve_Act
http://www.realityzone.com/creature.html
And it's been corruption on a massive scale ever since. Not only was the Federal Reserve Act – which created the 'privately-owned' Federal Reserve, the US version of a Central Bank – forced down the throats of US citizens in a criminal manner, the same criminal organization behind it has been forced down the throats of citizens in almost every country in the world. And if a country doesn't want these criminals to run their banking systems, there is a habit of the US invading and changing governments, which ALWAYS results in the implementation of a Western-controlled Central Bank structure.
What we are seeing now is the inability of the US to impose Western-run Central Banks on foreign governments, as more and more of these foreign governments are running in the opposite direction, as fast as they can. Iran and Syria are the final battleground for the implementation of Western-run privately-owned Central Bank systems.
Libya was the last one to fall, if the Russians and Chinese have anything to say about it.
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20+ years ago the academics were discussing using Libor or some other "basket of currencies" to replace the dollar as the base currency to which other currencies are pegged.
And now the bottom is falling out. Those were the same people who could hardly wait for North and South America to unite in a new trade block, modeled after the European Union.
At that time, the European Union didn't exist — there was only the European trade agreement which preceded it.
Maybe we should give thanks the bankers and powers that be did't get their way in everything ….
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celandic Anger Brings Debt Forgiveness In Best Recovery Story
By Omar R. Valdimarsson – Feb 20, 2012 12:01 AM GMT
Icelanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger.
Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population, according to a report published this month by the Icelandic Financial Services Association.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-20/icelandic-anger-brings-record-debt-relief-in-best-crisis-recovery-story.html
just saying!!
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Get rocks?
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They are using geothermal for energy and thus can be independent of the world wide energy mafia.
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Taibbi (or someone from Rolling Stone) need to turn their attention to TEPCO/JapGov corruption (and the result…Fukushima) for a story of big corruption and global consequences that will last thousands of years.
Wasserman did this when he was with Rolling Stone and became one of the first people outside the MSM to chronicle the aftermath of TMI and tell the "truth."
Where is Rolling Stone now???
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“The Truth Will Come To Light" – The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare
And a great portion of the truth of Fukushima started here. Many, many thanks to all.
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Every soul deserves education, transportation, healthcare, food, shelter, energy, and clothing.
Mr. Jacque Fresco has it about right http://www.thevenusproject.com. With fully automated manufacturing (mass customization), automated agriculture, and automated construction, the human race can turn its attention to the arts, exploration of the universe, and enjoyment of a peaceful world free of crime and want. We humans make up the rules that organize our culture. They are not written in stone. The Organizational Metaphor of the Age of The Corporation is now disintegrating before our eyes. It is time to look forward and begin to lay out the new Organizational Metaphor that will take its place. It can be anything we want. Humanity is the creator of the systems that organize our culture. Circular City or Nuclear Powered Police State, the choice is ours. Planet Earth has the resources to provide for the needs of all. All we seem to lack at present is the will to do so. Things can be any way we want them to be. I call for the refinement and implementation of Jacque Fresco's vision for the world. No poor, no 1%, no haves and have nots. You can do whatever you want, so long as you do not harm anyone else. This is true liberty, this is true freedom.
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There is a connection between Fuku and Libor….rampant greed and corruption, unchecked, even when challenged, not prosecuted.
And then they act like some jerkoff losing his CEO job and slinking off with $300M bucks is "punishment"
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The power elite want Obama because he is so controllable, and Mitt Romney because he is one of them. They have already planned out how to win the election in the US in 2012 as they have in the past. We ruled by those who have already sold their souls.
No surprise. Ron Paul has already turned over all his campaign money to Mitt Romney. All our opposition leaders have already sold out and the opposition is controlled through propaganda.
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It is quite true as Time is Short posted above corruption increased exponentially in 1913.
Wit the rigging of the stock markets & for the often False reports of shortages in wheat etc. to artificially increase the price of our most basic foods. Which as a result force up all other foods that require those foods as ingredients. But for example you see an increase in the use of wheat flour..(the beneficial wheat is removed then added back) & corn in some form included in All food items. There is NO need for this but to increase the price & to add sugars that get you addicted.
I have been informing people in my area & now many are paying attention. about 5 yrs ago we had say 6 brands of peanut butter to choose from with a range of prices. With an increase in the cost of what a company pays to display their product on a store shelf many small companies can not afford it. So now we are down to maybe 4 of the highest priced items &a store brand. Of course with smaller sizes, monopolies buying up brands…(take Nestle for one) & increased prices the *price of food has increased multiplies of times above its true value.
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With the propaganda & constant MSM articles on robots is another way greed is infiltrating society. MSM & those behind it are trying to get humans to Love robots. This makes them easier to implement them into more parts of our lives.
Here's the catch, do you think those building & using these robots will be willing to pay us to sit home while our jobs are eliminated? OF course not. At the same time it helps prepare for the reduction of population by an aging population worldwide & all the illness we will die off from.
Another example of greed. Pick say an American company that took its manufacturing divisions to China, where all costs are lower to create a product. Well they are Now selling those Cheap products around the world, but with the made in China label on them. You are paying cheap prices becasue the costs are decreased becasue of the move to China. But by flooding the market with cheap products other companies must sell their quality items cheaper or close their companies. Then be bought up by a conglomerate that is waiting.
The same process forces down the cost of labor in the US & around the world. It is also the driving force behind a global economy. Now companies must compete directly against the cost of labor in India or China.
I can not possibly list all the ways these prices are manipulated. It is so insidious that I believe the entire system must crash first. Then when picking up the pieces. WE choose how to put them back together. …if we…
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Cont. Pick up the pieces if we could. Well the Trans Pacific Partnership has accounted for that. If BP happens after the TPP is finalized. The government (taxpayers) will be sued if we tighten regulations or add laws & regulations to protect against it happening again. BP would sue us with a claim that they will now lose money as a result of our actions.
So companies are in essence implying that they have made a contract with the government & taxpayers so that we can not alter any laws or regulations after they start business in our country.
That is why so many regulations have been eliminated or reduced to the point of having no power. That is why Bill C-38 is gutting the Fisheries & Environmental agencies & regulations in Canada. As well as Scientific research so that we will not be informed of the increased damages that these companies can now get away with.
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ACTA rejected by committee in crucial blow before final EU Parliament vote
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Published: 21 June, 2012
“The way is now paved for a quick and total rejection of ACTA by the European Parliament! With a political symbol of such a global scale, the way will be open for copyright to be reformed in a positive way, in order to encourage our cultural practices instead of blindly repressing them,” concludes Jeremie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson of the citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net told RT.
http://www.rt.com/news/acta-committee-final-vote-365/
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I wish it was a true Victory archlight. I have petitioned agaisnt this along with otehr drancoian attempts at
ACTA Lives: How the EU & Canada Are Using CETA as Backdoor Mechanism To Revive ACTA
there is an alternate secret strategy in which Canada plays a key role. According to recently leaked documents, the EU plans to use the Canada – EU Trade Agreement (CETA), which is nearing its final stages of negotiation, as a backdoor mechanism to implement the ACTA provisions. [UPDATE 7/10: new post on why the concern over ACTA in CETA is warranted] [UPDATE 7/11: EC responds by saying ACTA ISP provisions removed from CETA. Appears likely most of remaining provisions remain]
The Inclusion of ACTA Within CETA: Why The Concern Is Warranted http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6583/125/
EC Says ACTA ISP Provisions Dropped from CETA, Yet Most of ACTA Likely Remains Intact
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6584/125/
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CETA is a massive trade agreement of which intellectual property is only one chapter and the ACTA provisions are only one part of that chapter (there are also enormously problematic patent provisions that would drive up pharmaceutical costs). The agreement touches on virtually all aspects of the economy meaning the pressure on the European Parliament to approve the deal (if it is concluded) will be far stronger than was the case with ACTA.
CETA is more than a trade deal. In fact it has very little to do with trade as most of us would understand the word.
Prohibit municipalities from putting buy local or buy Canadian preferences on contracts, or requiring that bidders use some portion of local or Canadian goods, services or labour. This would end the ability of municipalities to use procurement as a local economic or social development tool.
Prohibit municipalities from using public spending to create or support a market for innovative goods and services, including green technologies, if the effect would favour Canadian producers or attract investment to Canada.
Prohibit municipalities from spending public money in ways that support sustainability, for example through buy local food policies like the one Toronto passed to reduce emissions from food miles.
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the inclusion of ACTA provisions within another trade agreement is emerging as a preferred model for some countries. As part of the Trans Pacific Partnership talks, there have been reports that Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore (all ACTA signatories) are pushing to include ACTA language within the TPP. Canada and Mexico may well adopt the same approach once they enter the negotiations.
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I have argued in my research that we have entered into a epoch characterized by the devaluation of human labor.
The majority are regarded as expendable because their labor is no longer needed for the extraction of capital.
Prior to and after the industrial revolution, human labor was valued for its capacities to generate wealth for minority interests (for nobilities under feudalism and capitalists under the industrial age).
We are entering a time when labor is not needed for capital accumulation. High frequency trading, for instance, obviates the need for labor. The era of rentier financial capitalism dispenses with production, at least in the industrialized nations.
Furthermore, the looming resource scarcities (oil,fresh water, fertile soil) have the effect of transforming populations into threats or risks to elite survival.
Monopoly capitalism is name of the game. During the height of the great financial crisis, secret Federal Reserve loans to the biggest banks totaling $7.7 trillion enabled them to reap $13 billion in profits[ii]. As of 2010, six U.S. banks, held assets in excess of 63 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic.[iii] Monopolies are not restricted to finance: energy and food industries are also consolidated.
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For instance, three companies control ninety percent of the global grain trade (Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, and Cargill) and Monsanto monopolizes seventy percent of the transgenic corn market and more than eighty percent of the transgenic soybean market.[iv]
The consolidation of wealth and power in relatively few corporations is mirrored by the consolidation of wealth among the wealthiest U.S. citizens.
For example, the top .1% of the U.S. population, about 315,000 individuals, receives half of all capital gains on the sale of shares or property and these gains constitute sixty percent of the total income made by the Forbes 400.[v]
sources here http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/neofeudalism-book-prospectus.html
example of academic research making this argument http://www.mediatropes.com/index.php/Mediatropes/article/view/15747
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Research found that 147 companies formed a 'super entity' within group, controlling 40 per cent of its wealth
University of Zurich study 'proves' that a small group of companies – mainly banks – wields huge power over the global economy.
The study found that 147 companies formed a 'super entity' within this, controlling 40 per cent of its wealth. All own part or all of one another. Most are banks – the top 20 includes Barclays and Goldman Sachs. But the close connections mean that the network could be vulnerable to collapse.
~Where has all the money in the world gone? All actual "money" is debt. All of it, including monetary gold, etc.
This explains it in simple terms
http://www.reddit.com/r/finance/comments/utf5u/where_has_all_the_money_in_the_world_gone/
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Great link
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Thanks, your are very informative. Thanks. I forgot the link to this
When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a "super-entity" of 147 even more tightly knit companies – all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity – that controlled 40 per cent of the total wealth in the network. "In effect, less than 1 per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network," says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed–the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html
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A Question answer gives more insight into the how they control so many things.
The following article shows the true control these few companies have.
Financial institutions account for three-quarters of the 147 most powerful transnational corporations.
“A large multinational could have more power than the president of a small or medium-sized state,” says Baranzini, former deacon of the economic faculty of the Swiss-Italian University.
First of all, we are at the mercy of a few individuals. If we take into account their lobby in parliaments and direct influence on rulers, these people can exercise power on the political world and therefore on democratic processes.
The fact that power is concentrated is in contradiction to the concept of free markets, which presupposes the existence of a large number of producers, suppliers and purchasers. This hinders the search for new and innovative products.
The phenomenon is also found in culture and education. Take, for example, the Nobel Prize for Economics: it’s always awarded to people who belong to large universities or a handful of nations. There’s little room for minority schools of thought. The greatest consequence is that those who have truly original and revolutionary ideas have little chance. The result is a slowing of the evolution of human knowledge.
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cont.
The same can be said for textbooks. In European, American and Japanese universities, there are more or less two or three books on economics that are imposed on all students.
It’s impossible to limit them since they operate on a supranational level and there is no institution which can restrict their great powers. There needs to be ways to control them.
There should be more regulations to include things like a so-called “Tobin tax” – suggested by American Nobel laureate James Tobin – to tax speculative transactions. It’s necessary to have greater controls on speculative transactions, for example, involving raw materials, energy and food.
To counter the monopolistic and restrictive practices it would make sense to create a kind of super court, like the international criminal court. Each of the existing anti-trust boards operates at the national level and and therefore cannot counteract the increasing concentration [of power] globally.
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Keep forgetting the links. To above article.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/Multinationals_power_must_be_kept_in_check.html?cid=31486960
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Brief cartoon ..well done
How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78a84qbT5-w
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corruption in iran!! err not really!
Ahmadinejad, Leader of Iran – The man they're gonna tell you to hate!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wPmtxht09o&feature=player_embedded#!
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always wondered why he has such naff suits!
wish all our politicians were as frugal.. then they might keep the banks in order…
"..In the absence of regularly published information on basic economic indicators, a near consensus exists among domestic and foreign analysts that Iran’s average annual growth rate is less than 3 percent, its unemployment rate is about 15 percent, and its inflation rate is near 20 percent (with food price inflation exceeding 50 percent). On the brighter side, Iran has an ample balance of payments surplus, an external debt of about 6 percent of GDP, and a record $90 billion in foreign exchange reserves—equivalent to a year and a half’s worth of imports.
But this cushion will likely wear thin as Iran faces its most formidable challenge: a crush of sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and countries aligned with the West. Limited in the early 1990s to trade restrictions on weapons, nuclear technology, and dual-use items, sanctions have grown increasingly comprehensive, targeting basic and vital economic activities including Iran’s oil trade, financial transactions, and foreign investment…"
http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/05/03/economic-crisis-in-iran/aofa
The Lengthening List of Iran Sanctions
Authors: Greg Bruno, and Toni Johnson, Senior Editor/Senior Staff Writer
Updated: April 30, 2012
GAG!
http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/05/03/economic-crisis-in-iran/aofa
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obviously iranian banks are to honest because….
15 March 2012 Last updated at 17:55 Share this pageEmailPrint
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Iran's banks to be blocked from global banking system
Iran has the world's third-largest oil reserves
Iran 'to accept gold for its oil'
Iran halts UK and French oil
Swift, the body that handles global banking transactions, says it will cut Iran's banks out of the system on Saturday to enforce sanctions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17390456
Benefits of Islamic banking
By K.H.Azam Ahamed
Sunday January 20, 2008
"..The underlying principle of Islamic banks is the principle of justice which is an essential requirement for all kinds of Islamic financing. In profit sharing of a financed project, the financier and the beneficiary share the actual or net profit/loss rather than throwing the risk burden only to the entrepreneur. The principle of fairness and justice requires that the actual output of such a project should be fairly distributed among the two parties. If a financier is expecting a claim on profits of a project, he should also carry a proportional share of the loss of that project…"
http://sundaytimes.lk/080120/FinancialTimes/ft337.html
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"We have learned that the Fed has been aware of Libor manipulation (and thus apparently supportive of it) since 2008. Thus, the circle of complicity is closed."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31866.htm
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