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7 September 2008: Peak Credit -- It's All About the Money Now.
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Well, I could write a small novel about what has transpired over the past two months concerning current events that are relevant to the collapse of the American Empire. Too busy to do any such thing, plus the subject matter is so pathetic! It's too bad that all of this is going to affect all of our lives so dramatically. Otherwise it would be best be to ignore all of this and go bird watching instead.
The reason that I am writing to you tonight is to provide you a link to one of the best blog sites that I have come across recently. It's called the Automatic Earth.
It is run by two peak oilers who broke away from the Canadian chapter of the Oil Drum blog. They focus on the financial aspect of this unfolding global calamity. And for good reason too. They believe that the world will run out of money long before it runs out of oil. They are also hard core deflationists and believe that over time housing values will fall by 80% when this is all said and done. If they are right, then this really would mean the end of the world as we have known it.
I have always believed that the most devastating and immediate affect of peak oil would be on the financial system. The whole system is based on exponential growth. Because of the function of compound interest and the fractional reserve banking system, if growth stops then the whole system implodes because it can't function any longer. As Matthew Simmons said, once you peak and you have an economy based on growth then essentially you are out of gas!
Month after month, many of us have been waiting for the financial gas tank to go empty. In that regard, things are progressing quite rapidly. Last fall I learned that the major investment and commercial banks in the U.S. were insolvent. The Federal Reserve has been lending them 30 to 50 billion dollars a week just to keep them afloat. The smaller regional banks are now imploding. Another one bit the dust yesterday in Nevada. That brings the bank failures now to eleven. It's become such a regular occurrence now, that we call Friday bank closure day. There will be many, many more.
On Monday you will all be treated to the news of the failure of two of the most important and largest financial institutions in the world, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Those two entities represent one half of the 12 trillion dollar mortgage market.
I can't tell you exactly the consequence of this because it could go a lot of different ways from here. But this is big. Really big.
If you choose to follow this under the radar then the Automatic Earth will help you to discern a larger pattern of truth than what you will pick up in the Matrix.
The American economy hit the wall at 4 dollars a gallon. Crude oil is plummeting now week after week because the financial news around the world is so ugly. The oil traders in the pit are betting that the demand for the black gold won't be there as the global economy skids off the tracks. I believe the price of gasoline will come down quite a bit now. It will be more affordable, but you will have a lot of people out of work who won't be able to buy much of it at any price. Now that is conservation. Maybe we will even meet our Kyoto emissions agreement in the years ahead. It's called demand destruction. Wait till you witness this holiday shopping scene. I was hoping that 2007 was going to be America's last obscene Christmas. This December will be the first real blow to the head for our retailers in the nonsense economy. And in December of 2009 we will be knitting mittens for each other for Christmas and getting excited over some sweets.
As one of my great inspirations, Cactus Ed, once said, "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." This cancerous economy has been on life support for nearly a year now and is deeply, terminally ill. A few of us are just walking around in the sunshine waiting for this dark tumor to flat line.
Now take off that crash helmet and feel the wind in your hair!
Rudolf the Red
6 August 2008: NY State Officially Begins the Long Emergency on August 19th, 2008
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Had to come out of the garlic patch for this one. Even though I should be going to bed right now, I must post two developments that have some pretty profound implications for many of you New Yorkers that I send these emails to. A week ago the Governor of New York, David Paterson, basically blew the whistle on the great oil party that has been raging in New York State for the past 90 years or so. In a remarkable speech the Governor outlined the impending financial and home heating disaster that is facing the state of New York this winter and next year. The situation is so grim that he couldn't pretend to perpetuate this lie of normalcy any longer. On the 19th of August he will be convening an emergency legislative session to begin to deal with the crisis. Here is the New York Times article outlining the governor's speech.
I have been waiting for the consequence of the financial fallout of Wallstreet to roll this state over for some time. I mean it's just common sense. Fact # 1: The major banks on Wallstreet are insolvent, losing billions of dollars by the quarter, and are shedding tens of thousands of jobs. Fact # 2: New York State and New York City receive 1/5 of all their tax revenue from Wallstreet. Hummmmm??? Sounds like a impending crisis to me. We are now at a cross road of consequences here in the Empire State. I will let the New York Times article clarify the ugly details.
"In a rare, brief televised address, Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Tuesday afternoon that he would call the Legislature into an emergency session on Aug. 19 to address what he called an economic and budget crisis confronting New York State as a result of plummeting revenues and rising costs.""The new governor avoided any mention of new taxes, instead arguing forcefully for austerity. He said he was calling on the Legislature to reduce the size of the state workforce; cut agency spending; reduce property taxes for homeowners; aid New Yorkers with the soaring costs of home energy; and even consider public-private partnerships that would take over state assets."
Wow, that sounds pretty drastic, what's up with that Gov.?
"Mr. Paterson predicted that the budget shortfall for the next fiscal year, starting April 1, would be $6.4 billion - much higher than the $5 billion projected when he took office unexpectedly in March, replacing Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned."
Oh, 6.4 billion in the hole. That sounds like a lot.
Why so bad?
"Revenues are dropping dramatically," the governor added. At the start of May, the state budget office projected a cumulative deficit of $21.5 billion over the next three years. Now, just two months later, that estimate has risen to $26.2 billion - "a staggering 22 percent increase in less than 90 days."
Mr. Paterson offered another example of the rapid deterioration in the state's finances. In June 2007, he said, the 16 banks that pay the most on their business profits remitted $173 million to the state treasury. "This June, just a month ago, they sent us $5 million - a 97 percent decrease," he said.
That's right New Yorkers. Read those numbers again to yourselves very slowly and think about them. Don't just think about the quantity but more importantly the rate of degeneration. They are staggering. This mess on Wallstreet is big. Very Big. For us in New York, life is about to change. And the process will begin on August 19th, 2008.
This is what the governor is seeing when he travels around the state.
"When I travel across the state, I see communities suffering," Mr. Paterson said in his address, from the Red Room of the State Capitol in Albany. "Everywhere I go, I meet people who are losing their jobs and their homes. I meet families who are forced to pay more for gasoline and for food while their paychecks stay the same. Next winter, some of these families will have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their children. The rising cost of health care means that they cannot afford to get sick."
We are now living in a peak oil documentary. Things are getting interesting here in Delaware County, NY. With fuel oil now costing $4.70 per gallon people are beginning to make significant lifestyle changes. A co-worker of mine told me about a few interesting stories happening in our community. She knows of three families that are shutting down their elderly parents' homes for the winter and are moving them in to other family members for the winter. She also knows of another elderly women who won't be able to afford to pay the heating bills and stay alive this winter so a fellow church member took her in for the winter for a reasonable rent to use some unoccupied rooms in their house. We also have a church in Delhi which just got an outdoor woodstove to deal with this years heating crisis and is now accepting firewood for Sunday donations instead of cash. I'm sure there are stories like these all over NY and New England. For all of the tragedies that are coming to the Northeast this winter there will also be many wonderful stories of cooperation and neighborliness that we haven't seen since the Great Depression.
Back to the financial mess for New York, here is the situation in New York City.
We are looking at a 2.3 billion dollar shortfall. These developments over time will have a significant impact on many of you ultimately on the NY government payrolls. I don't know when the cuts will finally come to our door step, but they will come. It's just a matter of time. Unfortunately much of the waste of government is nothing more than an abuse of energy. Energy that we are now running out of. Cheap energy. Government as it is now currently structured and how it operates will soon become extinct. It's out of fuel. The model can't exist in the second half of the oil age. It is a distinct product of the first half of the oil age that is now facing twilight. So for you bureaucrats that have been run ragged in your nonsensical hamster cages, maybe its time to start thinking about a career in firewood. What the local heating industry lacks in security and benefits it will surely make up for in satisfaction and sanity. Find wood, cut wood, split wood, deliver wood, burn wood. Very simple direct chain of meaningful outcomes. God knows that we could use much of the meditative benefits of manual labor to help heal much of the institutional brain damage that many of us have suffered over the years. "What can't go on forever, won't go on forever." It's that simple. What's good to know, that with much of the tribulations that are coming our way are also many blessings. I would really like to believe that "People are at their best, when times are at their worst." Soon I will find out if this is even remotely true. Here in Delaware County, NY I'll confess that I'm optimistic. That's why I moved here to settle.
As far as the future of the government, I will let Mr. Paterson have the last word.
He added, "It is time for New York and other governments to cut up our credit cards. The era of 'buy now and pay later, and later' is over".
The party is over folks. It's time to get real.
Brandon
24 June 2008: Governor of Maine has his Peak Oil Moment
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
The former governor of Maine, Angus King, has had his peak oil moment, and has laid his cards down for the world to see. Unusual for a politician, he is speaking the blunt unpopular honest truth. Read every word of this article, I think you will find it amazing considering the source.
What is a peak oil moment? It's when you finally psychologically internalize the true implications of the significance of this incredible event. It's when you have drifted into the inevitable realities of the second half of the oil age and you culturally disembark from the first half of the oil age. It is a very disturbing experience and I feel for the guy. He is talking about his homeland, a place most likely of deep affection, that he is describing as being laid to waste as an uninhabitable catastrophe. He gets it. And politically there is no going back for Angus. It just doesn't matter anymore. He states clearly that on our present course, their probably won't be a governor of Maine in 2020. And now he has to join the few of us stranded in this mad world trying somehow to fake it through this mass delusion of a culture that knows no limits. He is on the tracks now, watching this runaway train of depletion coming at him and his state as he also has to bear witness to this surreal Disney land of endless consumption that is now terminally ill. How strange for Angus that he can witness this unfolding spectacle of disaster as thousands of motorists descend upon his state to chomp on some lobsters and needlessly waste fuel that may inevitably result in his citizens freezing to death. I feel for you Angus. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
More from Vermont to back up Angus's concerns.
The northeast is facing a heating emergency this winter. Folks, you have three months left to get out of home heating oil.
More from Tom Whipple on the matter.
While I'm at it I'll dump this on you all. What the hell has this world come to when some of the world's largest financial institutions now sound like financial doom bloggers? Three prominent banks have now issued crash alerts for the stock markets and credit markets likely to detonate within the next three months.
Royal Bank of Scotland:
International Bank of Settlements:
Morgan Stanley:
We probably have three months before total impact. We are talking about the intersection of a banking crisis, food crisis, and home heating crisis. There is much, much more going on but I have no time to cover even a fraction of it. Back to the garden.
Best of luck to you all. Cut wood, cut wood, and cut more wood!
Brandon
18 June 2008: Coming to a theatre near you!
The Network,
This is what the dark side of the post-peak world looks like. Live from Europe:
The bright side is that we are now beginning our journey to becoming a nation of gardeners again.
Let us hope that there is more light than dark that comes out of this unfolding convulsion of human history. Now back to the garden, back to the meadow, back to the woodlot.
Tally ho,
Brandon
25 April 2008: Global Food Crisis
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
As usual, the Peak Oilers are ahead of the mainstream media, but not by much this time. The stories of food shortages in North America were in many mainstream outlets today. Here is a cocktail platter of them:
With the exception of NYC the rest of the shortages just involve rice. I think that a combination of factors have brought us to this point. First, the survivalists are in high gear right now and are making their last-ditch efforts to shore up the fox holes so to speak, as all the global warning lights are flashing a brilliant red. Second, the imploding economy is laying to waste the middle class in America, and the prudent ones are buying much more in the way of bulk foods for more affordability in eating. Thirdly, the food prices are now rising as fast as gasoline prices and it makes sense to buy more now at a cheaper price rather than to wait until later to get killed with another price hike. Finally, there is our crashing currency.
The reason that I am writing to you all is to make a brief case for some specific advice that I feel pretty strongly about. This is the year that you need to kick ass in your gardens and if you don't have one, you need to dig one. We have now crossed an important threshold and even the wealthy nations' food security may be at stake. This is our global situation.
If this continues for much longer, the current world order is going to be ripped apart.
I'm happy to say that we are now on our way to become a nation of gardeners again whether we like it or not. Unfortunately our current seed industry is not geared up for potentially such an incredible demand for seeds. Many of the seed companies this year were strained or sold out due to the demands of the survivalists and people returning to gardening.
As these global trends continue to unfold over the coming year I can't imagine what the demand on seeds may be for next year. It is very possible that you may have a hard time securing an adequate supply. Kind of like our rice situation today.
I couldn't think of a more prudent thing to do this year than to grow a garden. But this year you need to do more. You need to try to save as much seed as possible from the heirloom plants and other non-hybrids. Not only may you need them for yourself but you may need them for your neighbors who don't realize the potential magnitude of this unfolding situation. I have played around with seed saving in the past but not like I should have. This year has to be different. Even if it means walking around hand pollinating squash flowers and then taping them shut.
Hopefully, nobody wants to be faced with the situation of walking around next spring handing out seeds to your neighbors, but we are now residents of the second half of the oil age and all the rules have changed. It's going to take us awhile to transition to an agrarian culture again, and in the mean time some of us are going to have to cover bases while the rest of the world wakes up to the practical tasks that await us.
I will leave you with an article from a famous Peak Oil blogger about the fast crash that is accelerating all around us.
Here is another excellent piece from John Michael Greer.
Good luck in those gardens this summer. May the weather gods have mercy on us.
Brandon
23 April 2008: Global Famine Has Begun
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
I am actually coming out of the wood shed today to deliver a warning to all of you out there. It looks like our global food shortage issue may be affecting us sooner rather than later. Here is an excellent article summing up the global situation from the Economist.
Believe it or not, but an article in the Wall Street Journal has now made a case for its subscribers to go out and start stockpiling food.
Food rationing has begun in NYC.
Serious food shortages are developing in Western Canada.
More shortages on the West Coast and New England.
So it now looks like the food situation is going to tear the system apart. Don't be surprised if you begin to some bare spots in the supermarket shelves in the months ahead. Just thought that you should be aware of this developing situation.
Brandon
21 Jan. 2008: Dominos dropping around the world!
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Financial panic seems to be spreading around the world. Today was the worst drop on global stock markets since our twin towers were dropped on the 11th of September 2001.
Apparently our global investors didn't like George Bush's plan to much for dropping some piles of cash into our hands for one last spending binge.
I wasn't the only one who sent out a distress letter on the 17th of January. A well respected Market Bear named Jim Sinclair sent out a final warning to all his investor group on what was potentially in the pipeline if the President's Working Group on the Financial Markets, aka Plunge Protection Team, don't get control of the situation rapidly. Here is what his stark warning was:
Posted On: Thursday, January 17, 2008, 5:45:00 PM EST
The Panic Starts
Author: Jim SinclairDear CIGAs,
There is no doubt the Fed and the PPT are meeting right now. A drop of over 300 points on the Dow after the Chairman of the Federal Reserve speaks publicly presages a 1000 point break in the Dow Jones Industrial Average coming quite quickly, if not tomorrow. Unless the equity markets can be calmed, a panic is about to happen, making the statement "This is it" a horrible reality.If the equity markets cannot be calmed, then:
- Recognize this is the Formula happening like everything else much sooner and much bigger in its implications than anticipated.
- Gold will rise to $1650 as an almost immediate effect of what will be done to attempt to fend off a total panic starting to take place in general equities, therein threatening to be followed by all credit markets of all kinds.
- The funds and hotshot short term traders in gold shares will be killed by the upward explosion of the gold price about to occur.
- The PPT and the Fed will step out of gold's way because gold is one of the tools used in 1930 by Roosevelt and in 2000 by Bush. It will be used again now on the upside.
- Gold is the only insurance there is against what all this means because a panic in equities will blow the financial system, already coming apart, to smithereens.
- All country funds would shut down on any further investments in "at the wall" financial institutions.
- The rollover in credit and default derivatives would exceed the entire foreign debt of the USA.
- The rest of the $450 trillion dollar mountain of derivatives would start a disintegration like nothing you have every seen in your lifetime.
- Consumer demand would slam shut.
- The auto industry might as well go into liquidation this coming Monday, avoiding the June 2008 rush.
- The US dollar would burn a hole in the floor going directly to .5200 or lower.
- As the dollar disintegrates gold would rocket to and through $1650 in days.
- The markets for general equities would all have to institute total trading halts every 100 points on the downside for 30 minutes each.
- All commercial call loans would be called.
- All debtors one day late on any payment, lacking grace period, would be liquidated. All debtors over one day of the grace period would be liquidated.
- It is clearly visible to anyone with eyes or a mind to think that the PPT has lost all semblance of control in the equity markets and will soon in all remaining markets.
- The commercial paper credit market which is almost dead will die totally.
- Should no emergency action take place soon, you will see an old fashioned panic of the 1929 variety.
- Just as emotional fools sell gold and gold shares, be assured that more emotional general equity fools will unload and bring the averages down more than ever in history in one day.
- Recognize this is the Formula happening like everything else much sooner and much bigger in its implications than anticipated.
- Emergency action will be all splash and theatrics but truthfully the cat is out of the bag. It buys some time but corrects nothing. It makes the Formula 100% correct.
- There now must be EMERGENCY ACTION because the Chairman of the Fed has BOMBED OUT PUBLICLY and a PANIC is about to occur. Expect EMERGENCY ACTION in days, not weeks.
OK, back to the punk in Treadwell. I will give you a couple of leads on the next major source of the unfolding blowout. Our ratings companies are in the process of downgrading the world's most prominent bond insurers. This has the potential send off a wave of collapsing hedge funds in the derivatives game which is valued in the trillions. This is the big one so to speak and will make the subprime mess look like a tea party. This is why so many financial bears are shitting their pants right now.
In essence the whole global financial system could unravel any day now. It's possible that it could be dramatic like the 1929 stock crash. Nobody can predict that this will happen but it is now possible. On a practical note I will tell you that the FDIC does not have the money to insure bank deposits if a widespread banking crisis happens. They only work for isolated bank failures. I will also tell you that if your bank does go belly up that you may have to wait for a year or two before your deposits are returned to you under good economic conditions. So if you have money in the bank and it isn't tied up in CD restrictions then keep your eye on the ball and be prepared to act if the major banks begin to shut their doors in insolvency. Just something to keep in mind as the meltdown unfolds.
Let me round out our news hour with other developing financial disasters associated with this mess. Panic selling shuts down 2 billion dollar fund in England.
State governments are just beginning to get hammered.
The United States is bankrupt:
I'm only scratching the surface of everything that is happening now. Gotta go, because I have a few last loose ends that I have to tie up on this potential fateful week. Good luck to everyone out there. Stay awake and don't forget to duck.
Brandon
17 Jan. 2008: Pop! The great blowout of 2008 has begun.
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Although I have given up my role as a frequent commentator of the collapse of the American Empire, I feel I must come forward tonight and pay tribute to this moment in history. The great economic unraveling has begun in earnest now. The central bankers were able to keep the great shiny silver 747 exponential growth economy airborne all the way through the holiday season of 2007. Problem was that many of the rivets popped off during all the turbulence of the last half of 2007. Now we are witnessing whole pieces of the fuselage being torn off the mighty 747. By the end of 2008 the passenger compartment should begin to decompressurize and these poor unsuspecting joy riders are going to have their hair sprayed doos and makeup jobs all rustled up. By the end of 2010 the bodies will be sucked out of the cabin as the plane descends fully to earth.
This was the front page article of the USA today. The equity markets are in complete free fall now. The major U.S. financial institutions have come to the confessional this week reporting massive multi-billion dollar write downs on our hallucinated mortgage wealth. The big R word for Recession is being thrown out now all over the press even though we have been in recession for months. It has to be bad for the main stream media to admit to the truth. The New York Stock exchange has dropped more than 1000 points in 2008. Pretty impressive since 2008 is only 17 days old. Today's 300 point dive combined with Tuesdays 280 point freefall have got a lot of people's attention. The economic death spiral has now officially begun. I'll give the floor to Kunstler:
Turns out that Mike Whitney has come out of his fox hole and is back with a vengeance. Here is his thoughts on Bush's plan to load cash on pallets and drop them from B-52s all across America to our Wal-Mart shoppers.
Another one from Mike:
The news events that started the avalanche:
Impacts on our cities. The mayors are now scrambling:
Bleak opinion from the Financial Times:
Excellent broad summary of were we stand in this course of events on a multi-year basis.
But beyond all of this immediate financial carnage I am writing tonight because of what this all means on the larger picture of human history. This week will represent a moment of time which may be considered the beginning of the Long Emergency from the standpoint of when everyone begins to recognize that there is something seriously wrong going on in the world. The recession is now upon all of us visibly. But this will be no ordinary recession as we are post Peak now. I will bet anyone a
1/4 ounce British Sovereign that the world will never produce more crude oil than the record set in May of 2005. It's over now, curtains! I will let Matt Simmons testify to the "Nail in the Coffin":
(You have to scroll to the bottom to click on this PDF file to access it. It is a very important article that sums up our oil predicament as it stands today.)
We will now begin to enter an era of severe economic demand destruction that may take oil demand back down below the earth's and humankind's capacity to produce oil. So we could have affordable oil prices with millions of people out of work and homeless who can't afford oil and gasoline at any price. Of course our moderns will work hard to rectify the situation over the years to come to get the economy back on track. But once they try to restore the economy to its previous levels of consumption they will never make it because the ceiling of oil production will have dropped all that more from its global peak output in May 2005. Although our oil consumption may be all that much lower in the years to come it will still significantly cut into the worlds remaining reserves, diminishing our ability to raise production as time goes on. And what a miserable environment we will be in to raise capital to rebuild our entire infrastructure to a less energy intensive one.
Although the Super Bowl is just around the corner and the arm chairs will be stuffed with sedated consumers stuffing their faces with potato chips soaked in rancid fats, we all may very well have passed a major inflection point in the course of human history in this week of January 14th to the 18th of 2008. And if you feel any type of despair at the thought of this news you certainly have the wrong attitude going into the second half of the oil age. This is the beginning of an era of cleansing of our sick and diseased culture. We will replace our cultural mandates of greed, gluttony, unbridled consumption, and waste with true camaraderie, community, stronger families, and a more thrifty and genuine economy that will create greater health and well being for those who are worthy of these gifts and the world that we live in. And although I may be totally naive in this wish and hope for the future, I have stomached all that I can stomach of this vile and deranged culture of layer upon layer of lies. I have waited for this moment for 20 years now and I look forward to the day when I will throw a cinder block through the shuttered doors of our local Wal-Mart. I will let Russell Means a Lakota Patriot have the last word on the matter:
It is now time to celebrate!
Rudolf the Red
7 Jan. 2008: Vultures of Doom are Descending Upon 2008!
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Just decided to come out of hibernation for a bit to give the floor to our doom mongers who are just drooling over the prospects for 2008. What a way to start the year with 100 dollar oil and the stock market dropping by hundreds of points a day.
Here is Kunstler's prediction for 2008.
The year's prospects from Doug Noland.
Man this guy is just dripping venom.
I haven't heard from Mike Whitney lately. He must be digging a fox hole and filling it with precious metals.
Here is Mish on our latest unemployment figures.
President Bush has officially called upon the Plunge Protection Team to save the day.
Bankruptcies are up 40% for 2007.
The tent cities are already being erected in our Sunshine State.
I really have to hand it to the powers that be. They kept the wheels on the track though the holidays until year end, so that they could collect their year end bonuses and head to the Cayman Islands for the great blowout of 2008. How messy this will all be in the middle of an election year too.
I'm with Kunstler, 2008 will be a year of reckoning for our institutional "blowbags".
Excellent 2007 year in review by Tom Whipple.
Tally Ho! My best wishes to you all in 2008, this great inflection point for industrialism. Long live the snail darter!
14 Dec. 2007:
The Network,
The central bankers of the world are now in the hull of the Global Financial Titanic with their buckets bailing as rapidly as they can. What is unprecedented is that they have formed a bailing team and are all trying to bail together to try to keep the ship from sinking. Should the world be surprised? No. These are unprecedented times.
John Greer sounds the call for the lifeboats!
26 Nov. 2007
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
On my last post I announced that it was now time to find the crash helmets and place them upon your heads. With that declaration, I did not imply that the whole system was going to implode within the next 48 hours. What I was trying to express is that the whole industrial system has reached a point in which it has reached a very precarious state and its foundational support has eroded badly. The system is in such a state of jeopardy that it could fail at any point now. Whether that will be a dramatic 1929 stock crash or a staircase of descending setbacks remains to be seen. If you are inclined to live at all by the precautionary principle then now is the time to exercise the utmost caution.
It did not take long for my favorite commentators to gather the general trends that I compiled for you last post and voice them also as warnings to their collection of readers. Let's start with James Howard Kunstler:
He, like myself, is not sure the system will even hold together long enough to make it to Christmas without some eye opening firework show for our sedated consumers. He even hung his ass out on a possible 1000 point stock market correction by the end of the week. Kunstler has this bad habit of making specific market predictions which usually make him look bad. He should stick to the general trends which he has been excellent on calling. But I will say that he is off to a good start considering the market tanked 237 points on opening day. Jim you are 25% to your prophecy.
Now let's move on to Mike Whitney's most recent article, "A Generalized Meltdown of Financial Institutions":
He opened his piece with an excerpt from that article that I flagged for you all on the credit crisis spreading across Asia. That was ultimately the reason why I called for the crash helmets.
Mike writes,
"Reality has finally caught up to the stock market. The American consumer is underwater, the banks are buried in dept, and the housing market is in terminal distress. The Dow is now below its 200-Day Moving Average -- the first big "sell" signal. Anything below 12,500 could trigger program-trading and crash the market. The increased volatility suggests that we are watching a "real time" meltdown. The credit storm that began in the United States with subprime mortgages has spread to markets across the globe. In fact, the train has already crashed. What we're seeing now is the boxcars piling up on top of each other."
You know the situation is bad when USA Today runs a front page story like this.
By the way, the reason I focus so much on the financial situation is because that is how imperial collapse will manifest itself to us. Believe me, I don't think you will find people running into the streets screaming, "Oh my God, we peaked! We have exceeded our geological capacity to increase global oil production and we are F*cked." These greater forces of energy depletion and imperial collapse will buckle the economy and the consumers will throw a tantrum pounding their fists demanding their exponential growth economy back. For the best money that marketing can buy, these folks really are Shop Till you Drop. This 2007 holiday season will be a case in point.
Here is a little cartoon animation for you, summing up the situation:
Essentially my job is now done. The whole purpose of the Imperial Meltdown News Network was to provide my friends and family non conventional information so that you could us this foreknowledge to take precautionary measures to protect yourself the best that you could from this unfolding industrial train wreck. We are now about to embark upon a new era of industrial decline and disintegration which I have tried to make my case with supporting evidence and logic over the past months. Whether that happens three days from now or three months doesn't really matter, the process is well under way. And so the purpose of compiling all of this information has now come to an end. This shall be my final warning. Soon we will move from thinking about something to experiencing that something. To be honest with you, I have no desire to continue to spend time on my ass chronicling the carnage on this computer. That type of activity would be of know real value to me and would be extremely counter productive for my future considering our current circumstances.
Of course I will be watching the situation when I can but won't invest the time in documenting it to the extent that I am capable of. I'm sure that when Rome was falling to the Vandals that none of the Imperial Romans where hanging around writing a novel about the experience. That's were I am at now. It's time to get ready to leave the city in the cover of darkness after the sun sets.
Do I have any final advice for you at this time? Specifically, not much. I think that I will recount some of the possible hostile projectiles coming your way. If you have invested heavily into the stock market you can expect heavy losses at any time now. You could lose your job if your kind of employment is not resilient enough to withstand another Great Depression. The value of your dollar holdings could vaporize as the U.S. dollar collapses as the reserve currency of the world. Your savings in your bank may vaporize as bank failures spread around the country with possible bank runs like we recently saw at Northern Rock in Britain. These events that are coming at us, are unprecedented in our lifetimes and thus seem unimaginable.
So what to do? What are your options? Well, I will share with you a general consensus of strategies that folks are pursuing that I have read on the internet who are actively preparing for the great blow out. The savvy investor types are piling into hard commodities and fleeing the U.S. dollar hoping to make a killing on this financial mess. Some people are leaving fiat currencies all together and run to gold and silver to conserve the value of their falling assets. Some people are pulling their cash out of the banks and stuffing it under their pillows. Others are stocking up on useful barter items like soap, ammunition, garden tools and seeds, and bulk foods. Some people are fleeing the cities for the country, and others are leaving their nation altogether. Many are honing their skills to prepare for a much more labor intense future.
I have no specific advice for you. Each one of your situations is unique and thus requires a different strategy that takes your current situation into account. Are you likely to loose your job soon? Does a bank hold a mortgage on your house or land? Do you have any savings, or do you live from paycheck to paycheck? Are you a townie or live in the country? Are you and optimist or a pessimist? Since we have never experienced anything like this it is impossible to predict the timing and extent of how this will go down. The temporal aspect of this is very difficult to discern and makes planning very problematic.
Most of us have been raised as spoiled brats in the greatest party in the history of the world, the Great Oil Party. We have a lot to learn and I'm sure it won't come easy. Most of our cultural legacy to cope with this situation has been lost. We are on our own. Not a good place to be. Your greatest asset of preparation may be your state of mind. Your ability to recognize what is coming at you, accept it, and move on quickly. Your greatest characteristic in facing this will be adaptability. It will probably require that you let go of your deepest assumptions about the "reality" you currently function in. "The Fantasy" is about to be shredded before the world's eyes. And that fantasy is a culture and economy rooted in the activity of expanding exponentially in a finite world. That cancer is about to spread rapidly through the industrial body and prove itself fatal.
I hope that the Network has been useful to you in some way in inspiring you to take some measures to protect yourself from the coming storm. Many of us have had a lot of conversations around the campfires about this moment of truth. This is the Big One! We have arrived. It's time for me now to begin to walk the bridge and begin my greatest adventure to see if I can carry my kids to the other side. It's why I'm here, it's what I am supposed to do. And if I make it to the other side, I will be glad to be free of the influence of these machines. Like Edward Abbey said, "My computer tells me that in 20 years, there won't be any computers."
I will still bother you from time to time, to comment on a few things if I feel the need. Soon I will send you a collection of essays from one of my favorite post industrial philosophers, John Michael Greer. The need for the type of analysis that I have provided is now over. I have made my case and now the clock has run out. Current events will speak for themselves.
Construction of the Death Star by Homo Industrialus is now coming to an end. Take a deep breath of relief for all of the other magnificent life forms of this beautiful Earth as humans must learn to ascend to their proper place on this spectacular Water Planet.
My best to all of you in this incredible journey.
Down with Empire! Up with Spring!
21 Nov. 2007
Folks, it is now time to put on the crash helmets. Things are deteriorating so rapidly that our high velocity event could come any day now. Not sure we will even make it to Christmas. What unfortunate timing for our retailers. Stock markets around the world took a beating today. The New York Stock Exchange is now almost at its record low that it set in August. Oil almost broke the 100 dollar mark.
The dollar hit a new low against the Euro. The reason I told you to put on the crash helmets is because of this article.
The credit crisis is now sweeping over Asia. This is a very big deal because the Japanese Yen Carry Trade is now unwinding. I don't have the time or ability to explain the implication of the carry trade but I know that my favorite commentators will be all over this event soon and I will be sure to post it. In the past I have tipped you off to the Yen Carry Trade threat and now it seems to have arrived on the doorstep. A global collapse of equity markets now may not be far off. We will see what final tricks that they have up their sleeves. Here are some recent economic highlights:
Here is some excellent analysis from Tom Whipple on the significance of the front page story from the Wall Street Journal on Peak Oil.
Within 24 hours his predictions seem to be coming true.
I have a special request of you all on this Thanksgiving Eve. Tomorrow you need to personally give thanks to a very fleeting circumstance of you current existence: stability and security. This will be the very last Thanksgiving of its kind that you may ever experience in your life. I am fairly certain that you won't recognize your country come next year when it is time to carve the turkey. Your family and friends that you will share a robust meal with tomorrow I'm sure have no clue as to the magnitude of the shit storm which is headed our way. Enjoy this moment while it lasts.
On Black Friday, one of the most wretched days of the year for me, I hope that you do go shopping. Shopping for some important necessities which may no longer be affordable to you or on the market in the coming months or years. On this holiday weekend, I will be shopping on-line for fencing material for home delivery for next year's grazing system. The summer vacationing and picnics will be over. It's time to get serious. Time is running out. The world is not going to function much longer in the mannerr in which you are accustomed to. I will leave you with a very sobering essay from Carolyn Baker reflecting upon this unique moment in history when Homo Industrialus enacts out its last Black Friday:
Happy Thanksgiving,
Brandon
19 Nov. 2007
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
It is apparent that the markets are a neurotic mess these days. One day Wal-Mart posts a quarterly profit above expectations and the stock market soars 350 points in a day. The following day the market thinks the economy is headed for bad times and drops 150 points. One day the International Energy Agency states that they are lowering their projected growth for the global economy and the oil traders drop the crude price by 3 dollars per barrel. Two days later they figure that everyone is going to drive a lot for Thanksgiving and the price goes up 3 dollars a barrel. It is obvious now that nobody can put their finger on what is going on. The markets are now in a state of confusion on a daily basis. They have lost their marbles. Volatility is a characteristic that has been predicted for the post peak era and it certainly looks like it has arrived.
I just wanted to follow up on the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Rule 157 that went into effect last Thursday. It appears that the banks will have a few more months to report by these new standards according to additional articles that I have found on the matter. Just in case you were wondering why the ceiling tiles haven't fallen on your head yet:
FAS 157 has now entered the mainstream media stream. Consider it a future nail in the coffin of the global economy.
The mood from the standpoint of the mainstream financial commentators is now swinging from "if we are going into a recession" to "how bad the recession will be". Now the debate ranges from loose estimates from 100 Billion, 500 Billion, or 2 Trillion. I have no opinion on the exact number, I know that it is going to be very bad, worse than most of you have ever seen in your lifetime.
Here is another bomb shell from the Governor of the Bank of England.
He just released a warning that the stocks are poised for a major fall. I can just feel the predicament that these big boys are in. They are presiding over the insider knowledge that we are about witness one of the biggest economic crashes of industrial history. Their official job is that of cheerleader for growth and consumption. They are not supposed to say bad things about the economy. It affects the most sacred of foundations for the great delusion: Consumer Confidence. But when the house of cards falls and the dust clears they know that they will be asked how on earth did you not see this 8.2 scale financial earthquake coming and warn us. I guess the Bank of England Governor didn't want to go down in the history books with his head completely up his ass.
Here is an excellent current assessment of the economic situation from our professor of economics from New York University.
Another excellent piece from Doug Noland: "It's Crunch Time"
Doug sums it up nicely:
"The bottom line is that we have now entered a financial environment prone to serious accidents. The financial sector generally is under heightened strain, and I expect this predicament to increasingly feed into the rest of the (finance-driven) real economy. For one, expect huge finance-related job cuts over the coming weeks and months. Second, expect more broad-based tightening of Credit and Financial Conditions. Third, expect the severity of the unfolding housing bust to negatively impact holiday spending and consumer confidence more generally. In short, expect intensifying recessionary forces. And, importantly, expect all of the above to worsen markedly when the stock market Bubble succumbs."Here are a series of other economic news items you may want to browse.
Another piece from Mike Whitney:
Stocks took an over 200-point hit today and now are under 13,000 points:More trouble for the dollar.
This was a major mistake on the part of the Matrix.
Some good ones one our oil predicament:
New York Times says we are in a new energy crisis:
Peak Oil now makes the front page of the Wall Street Journal. It's about time, folks. Just when the mallet is about to strike the head.
That should keep you all busy for a while.
Brandon
9 Nov. 2007
I have come across a potentially important piece of information. I have seen this three times, so now I will pass it your way and draw a little attention to it. Now I have seen this declared in the Wall Street Journal I will present to you Financial Accounting Standards Board's rule 157. Supposedly this rule would require the banks to place a value on their offsheet assets. The implications of this rule would be catastrophic because the cat would then be out of the bag on our bankrupt banks. That's why at first I didn't pass it on because I figured that the powers that be wouldn't possibly let this happen at this time. One of the sources in this article believes that the banks will have to write off between 250 to 500 billion dollars in losses. This is one of those things that catches my attention and then I just keep an eye on it to test the reliability of the source.
Mike Whitney fires off another one:
This next article I consider a very bad omen. Not because of what it says but who is saying it. This one comes from John Michael Greer the Arch Druid of North America. He is one of the most important thinkers and writers that I have crossed paths with on this exploration on the internet. He is an impressive philosopher who mostly deals with the long view of the deindustrialization of society hundreds of years down the road. A few days ago he weighed in on current events to calmly suggest that the time is probably very near for a dramatic and painful convulsion of society. It also served as a warning to his readers that now is the time to take cover. It seems that many are now throwing in the towel on homo industrialous giganticous.
John Michael Greer:
Here is his theory of the Catabolic Collapse of Civilizations for some light reading.
More confessions from the big banks:
The stock market is now in another death spiral like it was back in August. Lost over another 200 points today. The Fed seems to have an empty chamber so I'm not sure what can stop this stampede this time.
It's time to locate the crash helmets, folks.
5 Nov. 2007
It's been a few weeks since I posted, and in regards to the demise of imperial industrial systems there seems to be no shortage of remarkable news these days. We seem to be in a moment of record setting. Record crude oil prices, record gold prices, record lows of the dollar index, record bank losses, record wheat prices, etc. The Earth's gravitational forces seem to be overtaking the system now that the fuel gauge is a hair past half empty. These are our new realities as we exceed the planet's limits to growth. For over a century, we have defied gravity by exploiting the Earth's treasure chest of ancient sunlight. It now seems apparent that the gig is up.
Let's start with petroleum depletion in the news. As many of you have probably read in the headlines, crude oil has transcended to new highs. Last week crude oil topped over 96 dollars a barrel twice. This new dollar high is significant because these prices now have crossed a historic threshold. For inflation adjusted dollars this price has now topped the all time record of 38 dollars a barrel in 1980 dollars. We are now in uncharted territory. I must admit that I am surprised that it went up so high so quickly. From a fundamental stand point the demand has significantly overtaken the supply in a substantial way. The fourth quarter has always been the highest demand time of year because of the up and coming winter fuel season. Here are some articles on the situation:
Very significant report from the German Energy Watch Group that declared the global oil production peak in 2006 and predicting a 7% depletion rate from here on out. Ouch! I would hate to be an enthusiastic modern shopper during these times. They may get one last chance to max out the credit cards this holiday season.
Tom Whipple:
Matt Simmons makes mainstream video coverage of "Peak Oil Theory"
I love it when these idiots describe Peak Oil as some kind of a "theory". Like we can just dream our way out of this geologically observable fact. Nice spin on words from the TV god.
Get a load of this, the U.S. Department of Energy makes an informational poster called "Peak Oil: The Turning Point". That's an understatement. Well, I guess we will take any crumbs that we can get from the U.S. energy watch dog. May be they are showing signs that they are beginning to wake up from that long 27 year nap that they have been on.
Now let's turn to the unfolding economic blow out. The post peak unwinding if you would. Sucks to be in the exponential growth business these days. A few updates from Mike Whitney:
I certainly cannot in words describe the current situation adequately. The world of finance is not my cup of tea. Here is my pathetic stab at it. At the end of October Ben Bernanke lowered the U.S. interest rate another quarter point. He effectively devalued the dollar some more, lifted gold to new heights, and made it more expensive for Americans to buy petroleum products on the world market. The stock market was lifted over 100 points for a day, and then crashed 365 points three days later. It seems that the subprime lending disaster keeps spoiling the party. Here are some general articles on the financial situation:
Apparently Helicopter Ben just injected another 41 billion dollars into the system trying to keep it from sinking.
Here is a critical article describing the Level 3 assets that the banks are sitting on. Seems like they have to disclose their dirty laundry on the 15th of November.
And the latest financial earthquake to rumble was launched this Sunday by Citibank the largest bank in the world. The CEO got fired and they admitted to the world that there will be another 10 billion dollar write down in profits in the 4th quarter.
This news sent world markets plunging. And this will be how it goes month after month as the confessions slowly come out. How long the wheels can stay on the wagon is anybody's guess. Will the retailers make it to Jesus' birthday? Maybe not.
Who is this crazy Charles Merrill guy:
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Fearing a stock market crash worse than 1929, Charles Merrill (http://www.merrillcharles.com) of Palm Springs, cousin to the founder of the Merrill/Lynch dynasty, is quickly converting to gold coins.
"Merrill Lynch is crashing, due to the ineptness of the CEO. No matter who is running Merrill Lynch & Co., it's going to need a regimen of restraint and recuperation after getting badly bruised by the global credit market shakeout. I predict a house of dominos, and the whole stock market is going to crash," stated Merrill.
The world's largest brokerage took a $7.9 billion writedown for subprime mortgages and asset-backed bonds whose values went sour. Many on Wall Street believe there's more where that came from - maybe another $4 billion - and Merrill Lynch's leadership will need to reduce risk and rebuild morale among its ranks.
Merrill stated in a Palm Springs interview with Michael L. Grace (http://www.michaellgrace.com), "There is going to be a major stock market crash, so protect your assets. Buy physical gold and hide it."
And now let's give the floor to Mr. Kunstler as he so eloquently weaves his web of commentary about the financial and peak oil situation.
What about the military front? You mean that George Bush guy from Crawford Texas threatening World War III if the Iranians get the bomb? I guess it almost doesn't get any worse than when the U.S. has now labeled the Iranian Republican Guard as a terrorist organization. Boy, they are working hard for a fight. Times are desperate. This is the end of Empire. They know it, your know it, but our average TV audience is out to lunch.
I have found that recently I must block out the possibility of war with Iran out of my consciousness. If I take the possibility of it seriously I can't even muster up the energy to report to my job as really there would be no point to it. If I really entertained the notion that the U.S. was going to attack Iran I would just stay home, live off of my savings and learn how to start a fire with sticks. I'm now pretending that this can't possibly happen, even though the likelihood of it seems to be growing by the day, so that I can pull myself out of bed in the morning after my alarm clock tells me it's time to eject myself into the system like a pop tart. I'm finding denial very effective in this regard. I could give you piles of links about the U.S.'s imminent attack on Iran but I won't. Believe me, you will have enough to worry about on our best case scenario. Here is a link to a website that will scare the pants off of you if you are brave enough to look more deeply into the geopolitics of all this.
I will honestly tell you that I have merely scratched the surface of all the information that is floating around out there on the current events of imperial collapse. It's mind boggling and accelerating. I'm wondering when the day will arrive when my post just states the obvious: "The wheels have now come off the wagon". It may not be that far off, and when it comes the world we live in (the narrow human centered one) will be changed for ever. Best wishes to all during these turbulent times.
5 Nov. 2007
I'm going to sideline a little here into the realm of politics. Although the purpose of the Imperial Meltdown News Network is certainly not a forum to endorse a presidential candidate for the 2008 election I feel that I need to draw a little attention to this remarkable individual who has an aversion to the American Empire and actually wants to restore an American Republic by way of constitutional government. Ron Paul's presidential run for the white house is amazing because one of his major platforms of his candidacy is to dismantle the American Empire. Never have I seen anything like this in mainstream American politics. I will give you links to videos of Ron Paul in action taking on the Empire.
The first is footage of Ron Paul at the Republican Presidential debates in South Carolina. During this debate is an amazing exchange between Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani about 9/11 and U.S. foreign policy. It was an unusual moment in American politics. The exchange at the end of the video with the FOX news networks was also very interesting. Here's the clip, enjoy.
To follow up on this incredible exchange which ultimately put Ron Paul on the political map for the 2008 election is a press release that Ron Paul made shortly after this exchange. The press release was to give Guiliani a reading list to educate himself about the significant consequences of what the CIA calls "Blow Back". We can't possibly have enough patriots like Ron Paul getting the truth out about these issues.
"All good patriots must be prepared to defend their country against their government".
-- Edward Abbey6 Nov. 2007
I came across some remarkable articles that I had to share with you all. They all focus on the financial meltdown and are excellent for comprehending how this whole debacle is unfolding. If you really want to understand this clearly you must read the following article:
Noureil Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University, shares with us what he knows about the situation as it currently stands. The big banks are hiding their losses as Level Three Assets from public view. He has the numbers crunched on what these Level 3 assets are relative to their equity capital. Remember that Level 3 assets are securities that nobody wants to buy. Check out his numbers posted at the bottom of the article.
The major U.S. banks and brokerage firms are currently INSOLVENT!!! Bankrupt if you would. The world at large does not know this at this time. You are now in a unique minority that are aware of some incredible insider information. The big banks are underwater and hiding it. It's just a matter of time before the truth comes out.
Here is an excellent simple explanation of the whole situation by Charles Smith. Another must read to grasp these financial concepts in more simple terms.
He sincerely believes that the whole deck of cards is going to unravel in a matter of days or weeks. He sticks his neck out with specific predictions at the end.
Here is the latest hot off the presses from Mike Whitney:
Another excellent commentary from Doug Noland: He believes that they just might be able to hold it together for the next eight weeks to close out the books for their annual bonuses before it all implodes.
I have said before that I only post up a fraction of the material that I scan. I will tell you the mood is very tense and their are insiders who are sh*tting their pants right now. Orders are being giving to head to the exits now at a run. It looks like things are set to blow. If you personally operate off of the precautionary principle then now is the time to make your big moves to protect yourself if you have any assets that are exposed.
These harsh realities are now leaking to the general public by way of the main stream media:
Gold, Silver, and Oil hit new record highs and the dollar a new record low. These records are being set daily. We are financially sliding into the Abyss now. The global financial system is in for a disorderly structural failure. The time for action is now.
17 Oct. 2007
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
I knew that the big move that was announced on Sunday by the banks would d a huge response because of its implications. Today there was literally an avalanche of articles on the subject. If you are keeping your eye on the ball on this one, all this material will give you something to chew on.
I will allow Mike Whitney to go first. The theme of the article is total disgust with these banks and the U.S. Treasury Dept.
Even the NY Times doesn't seem to like it much:
More scathing criticism of what is going on:
After reading much of this, my financial simpleton mind has a fuzzy sketch of all of this. The banks can't get anyone to buy these worthless mortgage backed securities or collateral debt obligations. Instead of writing them off and taking the full loss on this bad paper, they are going to set up a fund and buy it off of themselves at a decent price. Then they are going to repackage this unsellable garbage and at a later date try to find some sucker to unload it on. Nice.
Folks, I'm not sure I will be able to keep up with all of this. There is so much happening and so quickly. Too much information. If you want to independently keep your pulse on this I would recommend one site.
That would be Life After the Oil Crash under Breaking News.
The only reason I was able to post so much lately is because the family has been out of town.
Brandon
The Network,
Every day lately in the oil market has been an exciting one. Each day brings a new increase of a dollar or two. We are now at nearly 87 dollars a barrel and rising. What's behind the price rise? As perceived by the traders: 1) there does not seem to be enough stocks and supply to meet fourth quarter demand. 2) Turkey is poised to invade Northern Iraq.
Tom Whipple has more:
Even the oil industry is putting the problem into print:
I thought this article was interesting, speculation that the USA ASPO conference could cause oil prices to go up even further. Seems as if the media are finally going to show up to this conference and see what speeches our famous peak oilers are going to make on our shrinking petroleum story.
And let's move on to the third aspect of focus of Imperial Meltdown: Military Overreach.
I have really ignored this subject lately because our energy and financial situation have been grabbing all of our attention. Here is an insightful article that implies that a turning point is being reached in Iraq:
Indications are that the Shiites and Sunnis are beginning to unite in order to throw our asses out of their county. It seems as if the Blackwater murders and the permanent U.S. military bases and the Iraq Oil Law is really starting to get under their skin.God bless them. George Washington and his colonial rebels would be proud. Time to stop killing each other and face their true Imperial enemy once and for all.
Here is an interesting testimonial from a group of U.S. captains on the Iraq debacle:
God bless our troops. Let's get them the f*ck home finally and get them out of harms way. With what's coming at us, we are going to need more farmers not soldiers.
Good night everybody.
16 Oct. 2007
Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Well this is the beginning of the week in which our major banks are to reveal their 3rd quarter earnings. And speak of the devil, guess what they announced on Sunday before our week of revelation. A number of large banks headed by Citibank are planning on assembling a pool of money in value of up to 100 billion dollars. The plan is to use this fund to buy up all of that subprime toxic waste that nobody wants to buy.
Here is the announcement:
You may have to wait for a few seconds for the advertisement to clear.
Here is a more in-depth article from The Independent on the implications of this from a mainstream media standpoint:
Will this work? I have no idea. Sounds like an Enron accounting shell game. Good luck boys with that one.
Our official cheerleaders for the U.S. economy have officially stopped cheering:
Ben Bernanke:
Henry Paulson:
Bad news from the banks:
More bad news for housing. But we knew this was coming:
Even the shipyards are getting a little sparse because of the junk coming into this country is starting to slow down. One quote I have always loved is, "America is China's landfill." Time to start capping the landfill.
More bad news for the dollar:
There you have it, folks. It has been a very eventful week as promised and it's not even half over yet.
Brandon
5 Oct. 2007
Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Another U.S. Bank goes bust! This time in Ohio. This article claims that it is the third bank in the U.S. to meet its demise. Besides NETBANK I'm not sure what the second bank was.
Let's focus on the big picture banking situation. It was probably three weeks ago that Mike Whitney warned us of a banking crisis when the third quarter ended and the banks were going to report tremendous losses. The third quarter rolled on by with a number of financial institutions reporting 3rd quarter losses but the equity markets actually reacted positively to this. The mainstream spin on this was that the cat is out of the bag now. We know what the losses are and we can all get back to business as usual in the 4th quarter. Just in time for the holiday shopping season.
In a few articles I read, I discovered that many of the major banking institutions have not fully reported their 3rd quarter numbers yet. Once October 1st rolls in they don't instantly report their numbers. The following article is a must read if you want to understand this unfolding banking situation.
The author Jim Jubak clearly states the reporting time line issue. The days between October 15th - 19th are going to be reporting days for the major bank players. There is something very critical that I learned in the article above. These financial institutions and banks have the ability to report only a portion of the total amount of worthless IOUs that they have on their ledger books. Remember, in the business it's known as toxic waste. These are the loans that the banks made to the hedge funds and others that used the worthless bundles of subprime loans (mortgage backed securities) as collateral for investment funds. These collateralized debt obligations are the foundation of this great Ponzi scheme. Jim uses the example of the financial firm Lehman Bros. This company wrote off 700 million dollars as losses in the third quarter. Guess what? This company has 22 billion dollars worth of assets on its books that nobody wanted to buy in the 2nd quarter. These untradable assets are known in the business as Level 3 assets. And because we know exactly where the value of those mortgages are going in the next 12 months, we can be fairly certain that Lehman Bros. will never be able to unload those 22 billion dollars worth of worthless IOUs on some other poor ignorant sap. It looks like many of these banks have been caught holding the bag on this toxic waste.
So on Mike Whitney's behalf, we will wait at least until the middle of October for these 3rd quarter reports to come in. And remember, whatever bad news that these banks reveal is only a small fraction of what is still lurking on those books' that someday will have to rise to the surface like dead carp. For now they can hope for a miracle that the housing market will turn around and those assets they have can be resurrected with CPR.
Here is a big story in the Economist on the current housing crash:
Here are some current financial carnage stories:
The latest from James Kunstler:
And From Richard Heinberg: "It's getting pretty damn obvious that the world is sliding head-first into the abyss at an accelerating rate, with most Americans as oblivious as ever."
And Let's go to the other big story of our century, the U.S. dollar crash.
As the U.K. Telegraph puts it: "We are witnessing a run on the world's paramount reserve currency, an event that occurs twice a century or so, and never with a benign outcome."
More news on the dollar drop:
Another look at the dollar index:
More bad news from the oil patch:
The latest from Tom Whipple:
Sorry to hit you all with so much like this. I have been really busy lately and can't post nearly as much as I would like to considering the magnitude and extent of our current events these days. Every thing I have given you is a good sampling of the most critical trends of the past two weeks.
As we coast along in October 2007 on the momentum of the first half of the oil age, take a deep breath and enjoy your Halloween, drink apple cider and start throwing the wood in the stove.
Brandon
1 Oct. 2007
Imperial Meltdown News Network,
Well, on the first day of the 3rd quarter we have the announcement of our first fatality: NETBANK.
Here is an article about a business who is wondering how they will continue to function now that 900,000 of their dollars have seized up.
More Banking News now that our deadline has been met:Ironically, the stock market is soaring above 14,000 points. They are all anticipating another interest rate drop by Ben Bernanke at the end of October. They are also under the assumption that all of these 3rd Quarter financial losses are now over with and the forth quarter will be back to business as normal. Normal means exponential growth in a finite world. So far, Mike Whitney's predications seem to be coming true with the impacts on financial companies and banks. I will give him another 30 days to see if all of this finally hits the stock market. On the opening day of the forth quarter, the stocks are sailing to new heights. I'm just a student here. Time to watch and learn.
29 Sep. 2007:
Oil is still bouncing around in record territory, above 80 dollars a barrel going into the fourth quarter, which is our highest-demand time of year.
Jeffery Brown and Sam Foucher are getting ready to present their Land Export Model to the USA ASPO Conference coming up in Houston. The implications of this very simple and basic concept are just astounding for the oil importing nations. Here is a link to their paper.
Here is an interesting account from Jeffery Brown that he posted on the oil drum about the reaction of a government official to the presentation of the Land Export Model.
I have made some oblique references to some conversations I have had with some "concerned government scientists." One of them told me that you could have heard a pin drop when a group of them thought through the implications of the ELM. In any case, I thought that a couple of recent e-mails were particularly well written, and with his permission, I am posting them below:
Jeffrey,
Last night I read your paper (done jointly with Khebab) on the ASPO Houston Conference site. Excellent! I really think you two are on to what may be the biggest near term effect of peak oil. Of course, you will get lots of opposition, because the results are so astonishing. It looks like this is blindsiding almost everyone. This could have a massive effect, and we all need to be thinking about it. So, keep up the good work! We all need to hear it, whether or not some of us want to. If it turns out that your model is wrong (which it doesn't look like), then we will all be better off for having considering your perspective.My e-mail:_Could I post your note on The Oil Drum with all identifying information deleted? I would describe you as a "concerned government scientist."
Jeff,
Certainly, go ahead. I have avoided posting any comments myself or even registering on the site, and I would guess there are others at EIA or USGS who probably read the posts and comments but never post any comments. Believe me, we're concerned, but believe it is important to maintain anonymity for professional reasons.On another note, I have noticed that you have received some opposition to the Export Land Model concept. I think that is a good sign. Opposition signals that you are onto something, and clearly the case histories that you present grant you the upper ground scientifically. If the recent case histories of the UK and Indonesia so clearly support the model, then the burden of proof is on the naysayers to demonstrate why these trends will not persist. If they are honest in their discussions, then perhaps they can shed light on mitigating factors that would improve the model. Then everyone wins.
The Export Land Model is Peak Oil on steroids. Now that we seem to be 2 1/2 years past the peak in crude oil production the implications of this should become apparent within the next one to two years. We will keep you posted.
20 Sep. 2007:
Down with the Dollar!
Imperial Meltdown News Network,
The consequences of Bernanke's 1/2 point interest rate cut are now bearing down on the world. Today something substantial happened in this unfolding financial drama. The dollar index fell below the landmark 80 value. Pay attention to the yen carry trade concept. It's very important and we will certainly be hearing more about that later.
What the hell is the dollar index?
I have heard so much from these financial analysts about the dollar index. The general consensus was that when the dollar index fell below 80 then we would have financial Armageddon. They treat it as if the dollar goes below this 80 value then it loses its support and is likely to go into free fall. It is a general concept that certainly has caught my attention. Now that we are past that mark it is time to observe the results and see if these people actually know what they are talking about.
Here is and article about how the Saudi central bank has just unpegged their currency to the dollar in response to Bernanke's move and the falling dollar.
The dollar hits an all-time low against the euro.
Another good article about the coming financial storm brewing.
Let me just end with a statement about tracking all of this stuff. Despite how distasteful I find understanding all of this money stuff, it is critical for understanding the important trends that are coming at us and will affect most of us significantly. Peak Oil and Global Warming will primarily affect us first as a financial calamity. These events will ultimately buckle the industrial economies that have been built on an ever expanding energy reality during a fairly stable climatic period. If you want to understand how these daunting circumstance are going to impact us, you have to understand the money and the financial system that we are imbedded in. These impacts will ultimately manifest themselves in an economic way first. The first chapter of The Long Emergency is an economic one. There will be many other chapters to follow. Believe me I would rather be bird watching if I lived in a one room cabin, growing all of my own food, riding a bicycle, and being debt free. Since I am still embedded in the system, I better pay attention so I know when to duck. Most of us are going to take a hit but with foreknowledge of what is coming at us, hopefully we can soften the blow.
I am dreaming of the day when bird watching will be much more important to me then all of this.
Brandon
19 Sep. 2007:
Video Footage of Northern Rock Bank Run
You won't see footage like this voluntarily coffed up in the US of A:
Bernanke feeds the credit crack addicts!
It was a big day in the money world. All eyes were on Ben Bernanke the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve to see what he would do with interest rates. The stock market had been drooling all last week into positive territory just anticipating a rate decrease. Ben gave them what they wanted. He fed the wolves a real big bone of .5 % interest rate cut. It was a big move for our inflation fighter Bernanke. The cheap credit crack addicts went wild and sent the market up 335 points. Now the federal reserve made it even easier for this undisciplined world of financial hucksters to go even deeper into debt. Wow, I guess we are going to go out in style.
Here is the latest from Mike Whitney which outlines the consequences of today's decision. He wrote this before the Bernanke announcement.
In the short term he has bought the equity markets a little more time to tread water and has pushed the US dollar as the worlds reserve currency to the brink of collapse.
Ironically it sent crude oil to a new high of over 81 dollars a barrel.
We are truly boxed in now with no were to go but down. The titanic has entered the dangerous ice fields. Now the world feels like it can go on another wild credit card binge thanks to today's Fed decision and the oil traders are now betting on higher demand. Problem is that production is dropping so the price must go up. It's that simple. We are two years past the global crude oil production peak and most likely one year past the total liquids production peak. Here are the latest numbers from the oil drum. Nothing like shopping until you drop in a Post Peak World.
Now let me leave you with our disturbing developments from across the Atlantic. Our bank run on the British Bank has turned into a full scale panic. The depositors must of been correct in their fears because the Bank of England had to come to their rescue yesterday.
Here is the best story on the matter:
Here is a link to a slide show to visually impart what a bank run in the 21st Century looks like.
Here are some more good photos in this article.
And if that wasn't enough to satisfy your appetite for economic meltdown then get a load of these from England:
The depositors are even threatening the bank managers for their money:
This is the real deal, folks. Get ready for a bank run in a city near you. The conditions in which set this off in England are not some type of isolated anomaly.
I will leave you with a telling sign of Mike Whitney's forecasting ability.
Bank of America begins to hint at its coming confession.
Good luck to everybody out there. We all have some tough decisions to make as the global financial panic unfolds around the world.
16 Sep. 2007:
Second Major Bank Run of the 21st Century
The second major bank run occurred last week in England. The first one occurred in California with Countrywide bank which happened late this summer. The second one is with the eighth largest bank in England called Northern Rock.
Two down, how many more to go?
New Record High for Crude Oil: $80/barrel
Because of the economic front coming on so strong, I have neglected the oil depletion situation. It's just as captivating in its own way.
Here's some more analysis of the big picture going into the 4th quarter of 2007 from our retired CIA analyst Tom Whipple.
We are one well-placed hurricane away from a real show stopper!
Looming Middle East Fire Storm
The greatest fear that I have in this whole disturbing moment in history is the possibility of Bush/Cheney trying to bomb Iran back into the stone age. It would be the worst possible outcome of all of our potential results. It makes gas shortages and the second Great Depression look like a picnic. Its outcome could easily be catastrophic for industrial civilization. To have 2/3 of the remaining hydrocarbons on the planet become the stage for a military fireworks show. Just think of 17 million barrels a day coming off line out of the Persian gulf. That's nearly 1/4 of all the worlds daily oil consumption. The argument for this not happening is the rationale that the outcome could possibly be so catastrophic for the world that they wouldn't dare try to do it.
The stakes couldn't be any higher. We are in the final chapter of the American Empire as it teeters on the brink of collapse. I just don't think that George and Dick are going to quietly leave the white house in 2009 with the U.S. in economic shambles. Declared as the Herbert Hoovers of the twenty first century. If they know it's all coming down, like I know that they do, I would imagine that they might choose to bring it down on their terms by way of the scorched earth policy. If they can't suck the last drop of black blood from the earth then nobody else will either if they can prevent it. Their constant war mongering toward Iran makes me loose sleep at night. All of us would not be lucky to descend gradually down a 2 % depletion curve but would rather stumble down a staircase of massive production losses depending on which missile hit which oil facility. It would truly be horrific and once the strategic petroleum reserves around the globe were depleted, you would no longer recognize the world in which you grew up in.
Here is the latest in this dire round of escalation:
Let's pray that these mad men are bluffing. I fear that they're not.
The latest from Mike Whitney:
11 Sep. 2007:
It's been a while since I tried to tip you all off to a major downturn in our global financial architecture. The information that I sent you served as a warning for you all to take precautions if necessary. Tonight I feel as I have to post again to warn you of the next stage of this process which may be coming at us in a matter of a few weeks.
Since I last posted I could have sent you reams of bad financial news and analysis of the unfolding situation but did not because of time constraints. Let me just briefly summarize what has happened since I sent out that original warning. In the middle of August the stock market went into free fall for about two weeks. It was dropping almost 100 to 200 points a day. The market dropped from an all time high of over 14,000 to the upper 12,000 range. This was a big deal for all of those greedy investors working the system for their personal gain. While the stocks were dropping, some sources claimed that the European Banking System almost collapsed when the largest bank of France announced that it could no longer rate the worth of some large investor funds because they held "toxic waste" from the US subprime mortgage debacle. Central Banks from all over the world were pouring billions of dollars into the system to try to keep it from crashing. Eventually the US Federal Reserve stopped the free fall by dropping the lending rate to banks known as the discount window by a half of a percentage point. The panic temporarily abated in anticipation that the Federal Reserve was going to come to the rescue. Since that episode the investing community has been treading water in some very choppy seas indeed. The stock market since then has been bouncing up and down almost daily sometimes by up to 200 points waiting for direction. Every time the economic wizards try to spin some good news in a pep rally, their progress in restoring confidence in the markets is dashed by another bad news release on the crumbling US housing situation. And up and down the investor bounce up and down in the icy waters of these days of financial uncertainty. Even Georgy Bush had to take his gaze off of his foreign occupation and get up in front of the press corps and promise a bailout for the faltering mortgage holders.
In monitoring and scanning the landscape of this imperial destruction my attention was caught by a red flag waving from Mike Whitney. That truth teller was yelling from his obscure pulpit again with a specific warning and a deadline. . I did a double take when I read the deadline part. Mike has been so right about so many things that I always take what he says seriously. In essence his warning is why I am writing to all of you tonight. Here are his specific words of timing:
"The downside of this is that once that banks write off these toxic MBSs and CDOs; the hedge funds, insurance companies and pension funds will be forced to do the same----dumping boatloads of this bond-sludge on the market driving down prices and triggering a panic-sell-off. This is what the Fed is trying to prevent through its $60 billion repo-bailout. Regrettably, the Fed cannot hope to remove half-trillion of bad debt from the balance sheets of the banks or forestall the collapse of related financial institutions and funds which are loaded with these "unmarketable" time-bombs. Besides, most of the mortgage derivatives (CDOs) have been massively enhanced with low interest leverage from the "carry trade". When the value of these CDOs is finally determined---which we expect will happen sometime before the end of the 3rd Quarter-we can expect the stock market to fall sharply and the housing recession to turn into a full-blown economic crisis."
The key term here is 3rd Quarter. 3rd Quarter? Hell, that's 20 days from now! Boy Mike, you are really putting your reputation on the line with that one. Don't you want to be a little more vague just in case you're wrong? When I read pronouncements like these I just tuck them in the back of my mind and see what the results are later. In this case I won't have to wait to long. If the shit hits the fan on this one by the end of October I will be impressed.
Let me just summarize all of this from my pea brain perspective. All of this material I find extremely hard to digest and understand so bear with me. My simpleton version of it all goes like this. Many financial institutions bought up loads of mortgages from banks and sold them off to investing groups that are associated with the hedge funds. These hedge funds used the value of these purchased loans known as Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) to take out even bigger loans from banks called leveraging. A term associated with this game is called Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs). Sometimes these hedge funds leveraged up to a 100 times the original "value" of the original mortgages to borrow money from banks to invest in other profit making rackets. Hence the great modern Ponzi scheme of our era. This all worked fine as long as the mortgages that all of this is based on were perceived to have value. Now that the housing bubble has burst we all know that their value is questionable at best. Massive bank loans were taken out by these Hedge Fund hucksters based on the value of a pile of shit. And now the subprime shit pile smells really bad and the stinky cat is out of the bag. And now these major banks around the world are holding loans to Hucksters which are potentially worthless. And at this point nobody knows which loans are good and which ones are bad. It's a matter of finding out were the toxic waste is.
And this is where this reporting in the 3rd quarter comes in when Mike believes that many of these banks are going to have to write off these loans and incur huge losses that will rock the whole financial system. Hence ROUND TWO!
And if that wasn't enough to give me the creeps, today a few days after Mike's proclamation I turn up these articles from some main stream sources in England.
Great, the 10 day Banking Time Bomb! How the hell am I supposed to brace myself for the second great depression when I have vegetables to bring in for winter storage? Those doomer bastards! Here are some other very important articles about the whole state of affairs from some other truth tellers from outside of the Matrix.
Problem too big to be bailed out: A broad philosophical reflection of the end of this epoch in which we have spent our entire lives: I found the quotes at the end of this article truly amazing.
Here is a sampler:
St. Louis Reserve Bank 2006:
The gap between future US receipts and future US government obligations now totals $65.9 trillion, a sum that is impossible for the US to reconcile, which means the US is now technically bankrupt.
President Woodrow Wilson:
Private bankers had convinced President Woodrow Wilson the Federal Reserve Act would benefit all Americans, not just the bankers. Too late, President Wilson realized his horrific mistake:
I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world, no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.
With the creation of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Thomas Jefferson's fears had been realized. Private bankers now controlled the issuance of money in America and debt replaced savings as America's method of commerce; a method that would increase America's indebtedness in direct proportion to the profits of bankers; and today in 2007, Jefferson's fears are coming true:
If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, (i.e., the "business cycle") the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
The coming collapse may be triggered by a run on the US dollar, once backed by gold but now an irredeemable piece of paper whose only value is determined by speculators, or it may be triggered by the failure of an over-leveraged hedge fund or the inability of a large money-center bank suddenly unable to meet its obligations.
But regardless of what triggers the coming collapse -- the collapse will result from our worldwide modern banking system, a system whereby governments allow private bankers to issue debt as money in order to further the insatiable ambitions of those who govern.
...deep down in our hearts, we have been accomplices in doing something terrible and unforgivable to our wonderful country. Deep down in our heart, we know that we have given our children a legacy of bankruptcy. We have defrauded our country to get ourselves elected. US Senator John Danforth 1992
That's all for now folks! It looks to be an interesting Autumn to say the least. For better or for worse I will be looking for more than the crimson foliage to fall back to earth in this coming month.
Yours truly, Brandon
P.S. Don't forget to duck.
9 Sep. 2007:
I am going to do something unusual here and introduce you all to one of the most unusual presidential candidates I have ever seen. The candidate is Ron Paul who is a Republican Congressman from Texas who is running for President in 2008. He resembles no other politician that I have ever seen before. Below is an hour long interview with Ron Paul on Google which will give you a good flavor for where he is coming from. He actually speaks the truth about the ugly realities of our current events as opposed to other corporate candidates who always speak with shit in their mouth.
Ron Paul is a true constitutionalist who understands the peril of our American Empire. It was a real pleasure to hear him speak and I think you will find his ideas very interesting.
Here is a clip of Bill Maher's show on Ron Paul when he actually outlines what Blow Back is. Actually tells the American people straight out. Amazing.
Here is Ron Paul's presidential web site if you want to follow the progression of this remarkable political campaign:
Enjoy this curve ball in the last days of Empire.
14 Aug. 2007:
The Imperial Meltdown News Network,
As you all know, it has been a long time since I have posted. Back in early June I was warning about gasoline shortages which to Matt Simmons' credit actually occurred in Colorado and Iowa in the spring and North Dakota and Nebraska in the early summer. In early June the days got to long and the projects and road trips became extensive. I didn't have time to fool around with this internet stuff anymore. Although I stopped posting about the dangerous trends unfolding in the world, they did not abate or diminish due to my absence. In fact I have come out of temporary doomer retirement to issue you all a special warning. This is going to be a one time warning as I do not have the time to continue this posting activity at this time of year as well as considering the demands of the times that are approaching us.
As you know, I have called this posting service the Imperial Meltdown News Network. The ultimate purpose of this news network was not to provide me a podium to prophesize doom and gloom. The purpose was first to encourage you all to recognize that you are the beneficiaries of the largest Empire the world has ever known. And once you recognize that America is nothing but a massive imperial system, to begin to look critically at what the futures of empires result in. I have contended that the end of the American Empire would be the result of three simultaneously descending factors. Those factors would be the global oil production peak, military over-reach, and financial breakdown. These are now all well underway at the same time.
The point of all this is not to dwell on it to create a great cyclone of negative psychic energy, but to use this information in a premeditated way to take actions or precautions to remove oneself from harm the best as one can. It's to tip you off to larger trends and events before they actually happen. And to encourage you to exercise the precautionary principle to avoid the fall out from all of this best that you can considering your individual circumstances.
The third element of the collapse of the American Empire is now in full swing. The Global Financial Meltdown has begun. It is chiefly the global financial system which directs the flows of 25% of the worlds resources to a nation that only comprises less than 5% of the worlds population. That financial empire was established after World War II at the Bretton Woods Agreement when the U.S. dollar became the reserve currency of the world. It was the beginning of our global empire.
That financial empire that sucks the worlds resources like a giant vacuum cleaner to our big box stores and gas pumps is now on life support. One by one since the housing bubble burst last summer the dominoes have been falling. It has been a slow train wreck. I do not have the time or the expertise to explain it all so I will let others more qualified than I to do it for me.
The following link is an excellent bare bones technical explanation of the financial predicament that the world now finds itself in.
. Make sure you scroll back to the top of this article entitled: "The Resurgence of Risk: A Primer on the Developing Credit Crunch". This is one of the best articles to explain this very difficult topic.
I am going to also send you off a number of separate emails with additional material on this. It's a lot to digest and I didn't want to throw it all at you in one email. If you so choose to face this developing tsunami then you will want to do it in pieces.
I really won't be posting much more on this until months later and by then we will probably be well into another era.
The result of this could be a catastrophic financial crash that could occur within weeks or a prolonged slow burn which will last between 3 to 9 months. The ultimate trigger will be pulled this October when 50 billion dollars of Adjustable Rate Mortgages trip. Then the world's financial system will be smashed as 30 billion dollars of Adjustable Rate Mortgages trip each month for a year after 10/07. What's going on now is just a fire drill. The tip of the iceberg if you would.
Here are the web sites that will provide all of the underground information your heart desires beyond the matrix of the corporate machine.
Click on Breaking News
Click on Daily Links Archive
If you want to track this under the radar, this is all you need.
Consider yourself warned. The best of luck to all of you. Gotta go, much to do.
Brandon
Here is a video segment of a financial analyst named Jim Cramer who lost his marbles on a television show about the unfolding financial calamity a few weeks ago. The first time I watched this I was absolutely shocked at the implications of what was happening to this guy unplugged on national television. The second time I watched it, I could not stop laughing at this rich bastard throwing a temper tantrum in front of the whole world.
Excellent article by economist Ronald Cooke discribing the whole global financial mess.
I really give Jim Kunstler and Mike Whitney a lot of credit for predicting this financial debacle well over a year in advance.
I will let Kunstler have the floor:
Read Kunstler's entries over the past three weeks called Margin Call, An Open Ocean, and Vanishing Point
And now Mr. Whitney:
Thank you Jim and Mike for telling it how it is! Congratulations on your truth telling. All the lies are bubbling to the surface now.
Here is an excellent article to explain the whole Hedge Fund Business. Understanding these derivatives is the key to realizing the magnitude of this coming calamity.
Now even the main stream media is reporting on the coming trigger.
Here is how desperate the Fed is now.
And here is a prelude to my worst fears. Runs on the banks.
The rumors are that Countrywide Mortgage company is filling for bankruptcy. They also have a bank and now the depositors are panicking. I don't blame them. In fact I am slowly withdrawing my savings from my bank. You just don't know what kind of shit is on these banks books. By the way, it can take months or years to get your money back from FDIC if the bank fails.
More interesting news on Countrywide. I guess this is another Big Deal!
If all of this wasn't bad enough, it could get much worse. It seems as if the mad men in the white house are upping the ante with Iran. Just think how desperate these thugs must be right now. The financial means of the American Empire to control the world's resources is now imploding. George W. Bush is now set to become the next Herbert Hoover of the United States. When the whole country goes in the economic crapper, there are going to be a lot of angry voters. Sounds like it's time for a terrorist or military crisis to me. The clock is running out and the situation is becoming desperate. I don't expect these boys just to lay down and be marched out of the white house as the most hated leaders of the modern era. Read the article below. Not a good sign, but of course completely predictable.
Stay tuned folks, this is going to get wild.
Here is a good article explaining what derivatives are. These hedge fund derivatives are the "financial weapons of mass destruction" as Warren Buffet calls them.
And this is the final trigger that will ultimately blow the system in October of 2007. It may take a few months to half of a year for these numerical idiots to fall from the windows of their overvalued McMansions. Once the Adjustable Rate Mortgages trip their will be millions hanging by their finger nails. Too bad these people weren't bright enough to reject these loans in the first place.
50 Billion ARM's to trip in October. BANG!!!! And then 30 billion each month after that for another year. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
My prediction is that by July of 2008 you probably won't recognize your own country anymore and I likely won't have a job either. Edward Abbey: "Beware of your dreams, they may come true."
Hope you got the vision. Good luck on ducking this one.
If any of you have any bright ideas on what to do please reply back to the group. I'm personally not qualified to give any recommendations on this one. I hate money.
That's all, folks. Enjoy your last summer in Rome. I have done my duty. Now back to my garden and my wild playful pixies.
Brandon
12 Sep. 2007
Modified 6 Aug. 2008