Don’t waste a weekend
I don't know about you, but I don't plan to spend the weekend glued to the computer or TV waiting to see what the world's finance mavens do at the "G20" summit.
Yes, the British prime minister and the French president are eager for some sort of "new Bretton Woods" to come out of this process. Yes, George Soros has remarked on a number of occasions, always with the same careful choice of words, that there is "no suitable alternative" to the dollar. But does that mean we're going to wake up Monday morning with a new international currency regime backed by gold? That gold will be revalued to $10,600 an ounce, or even $53,000?
Maybe. But not now, I'm guessing.
The most compelling argument against bold, dramatic action this weekend is the interregnum between the current U.S. presidency and the next one. A lot of news stories speak of the summit coming at an "awkward" time. This is hokum, of course. The really big policies don't change much from one president to another. But as Carroll Quiqley wrote in Tragedy and Hope, the pretense of divisions between the major U.S. parties must be maintained for the sake of the power elite staying in control.
So expect pretense in abundance. The new president is sending a couple of steady establishment types as his representatives — Madeleine Albright and former Iowa GOP Congressmember Jim Leach (a reliable stooge of the banking industry) — to meet "on the sidelines" with the assorted luminaries.
Dramatic action might be discussed. But it likely won't be decided on, and certainly not announced. Expect a formal statement at the conclusion that will be larded with platitudes, and no hint about future direction.
"Of course," as Bugs Bunny said, "I could be wrong." So if you wake up Monday morning and find the gold ETFs have all been seized and your holdings in those funds will be compensated in cash at 20 cents on the dollar, don't blame me.
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Isn’t it pretty obvious at this point that The Powers That Be are going to use this financial crisis - which they engineered - as a pretext to try to ram a one-world central bank/ currency down our throats?
And why is someone like me still labeled “batsh*t crazy” for suggesting this?
Comment on November 14, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
what gets me is the capitalist? investor? spectator? rich? well off? believe our democracy in the US is a sham (as I do) but believe in the market. The market is just the cumulative expression of everybody participating in it. This belief is not much different than ‘power to the people’ which is the belief in the wisdom of cumulative expression of everybody, the belief in the wisdom of the market is the belief in the cumulative wisdom of those well off enough to participate in it.
. “When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I’m beginning to believe it.”– Clarence Darrow
After the last 8 years I certainly believe it.
To not believe that much of where we end up in life or how much money we have has a lot to do with who were our parents is pretty silly.
My conclusion is we should all work a little harder to make democracy less of a sham.
Comment on November 14, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
Buying gold EFTs is stupid and negates the whole reasoning behind owning gold in the first place, which is to have private, in hand wealth of one’s own. Owning a piece of paper that says you own gold ! How many times does Charley Brown have to fall on his back before he gets it ?!
Comment on November 14, 2008 @ 8:47 pm
Before there is a major new currency the U.S.is going to (must) inflate away it’s debt. In the meantime, what is to stop us from bartering with gold and silver coins? I would accept gold or silver as payment, especially in light of the fact that bullion coins cannot be purchased anywhere in the U.S. right now. I tried to make a purchase from the Royal Canadian Mint but they told me according to U.S. law they can’t sell to American Citizens. This law may apply to other nations as well, sure surprised me!
Comment on November 15, 2008 @ 9:42 am
1 wrld gov., currency?
One time zone?
One subsidized labour contract (as in France)?
One DOLE?
Comment on November 15, 2008 @ 4:53 pm
It’s a waste of time. We are all doomed. By the way the new world currency? Special drawing rights. Courtesy of the IMF. The irony is the IMF is the most hated organization in the third world, and now they are looking at it to save them from dollar hegemony. HA HA HA hA hahahahaha. The rest of the world is fucked if they make the IMF the world central bank, and they are fucked if they leave the dollar as the world reserve currency. Fucked either way. The euro won’t survive the recession according to Paul Volcker. The chinese have no interest in being the world currency reserve, you have to run current account deficits and you can’t have a mercantilist policy if you are the reserve currency. That leaves us or the IMF. HA HA hahahahaha. Screw you third world. YOu will still be sending us stuff for pieces of green paper thaT we will never pay off. We may get hurt, but you will get hurt worse. Hahahahahahahahah
Comment on November 16, 2008 @ 8:04 pm
[...] now, anyone who took my advice on Friday should have had a pleasant weekend, unconcerned about what the G20 leaders would do, [...]
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