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Politics : Welcome to Slider's Dugout -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (15828)	2/25/2009 3:30:58 PM
From: TH	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50730

SOTB, Thanks Slider. I've done my part and purchased physical. We see POG selling off more than 50 in a couple of days, and yet we know that physical is difficult to obtain in most markets and the premium is steep. Very interesting information on Russia and Chinese oil arrangement. I look forward to the end of the dollar hegemony. It is one of the deep roots of all the current problems. Good riddance. GT TH

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (15828)	2/25/2009 4:07:38 PM
From: Slife	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50730

Jim Willie's last editorial discussed that the Chinese and Russians were going to use a currency backed by commodities. Oil and gas would play a big part. Sorry don't have the link.

To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (15828)	2/25/2009 4:13:13 PM
From: NOW	6 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50730

1. IDEOLOGY: This disaster, and our response to it, transcends ideology. Having spent some time recently in the public sphere, I have noticed that folks vacantly continue to identify themselves, and their views on the economic crisis, almost solely along ideological lines. In Montpelier, VT, at the State House, I have found that the Democrats favor, almost to a man/woman, the Obama stimulus plan, and ALL of the Republicans oppose it. Now, I'm a Lefty and I voted Democrat and I oppose the current handling of the financial crisis. I don't oppose it because I hate liberals like Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank and Bernie Sanders. I oppose it because it is criminal and it is insane. I think that the Obama-Geithner-Summers triad should be tried for grand larceny---along of course with Bush and Cheney and Paulson---and the lot of them should be thrown in prison. I say this: People who play the "my party right or wrong" card in this debate lack any acuity whatsoever. THIS IS NOT ABOUT POLITICAL IDEOLOGY! The pro-stimulus Gliberals are going to wake up in the exact same failed Republic as are the anti-stimulus Conservacrats. Same bread lines, same war in Pakistan, same Obamavilles. 2. DERIVATIVES: The ongoing debate about "nationalization"---which in fact has become more of a semantic debate than one of substance---leaves out the most critical of ALL issues: WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH "TOXICITY" EACH INSTITUTION HOLDS. Lurking in the vaults and on the hard drives of these financial institutions are trillions in poisonous Derivatives: Credit Default Swaps, CDOs, MBSs, etc., and no one knows just how many trillions we're talking about. And once the train leaves the station, and the "bad bank" plan is off and running, and the government is purchasing toxic assets at an ever-increasing rate in an effort to save the banks---then and only then will these very institutions open their vaults and say, "Well, here's the rest of it Timmy!" And what do Timmy and Barack and Bobby and Ben do when "the rest of it" will cost many, MANY trillions of dollars more than originally touted? 3. TRUTH: Don't ever EVER underestimate the destructive power of LIES. If someone lies to you, do you trust them not to lie again? If someone borrows your favorite album and doesn't return it to you, will you lend them another??? Pretty basic stuff. I know I harp a lot on our leaders for being liars, and some of you may think it's just sour grapes. It's not. When you lie to me, my trust for you is gone. When you tell me we're winning the war against "the North" and then I watch the TET events on T.V., I will never believe another thing you say. Ever. AND, my actions will emanate from that distrust. I will vote, spend, think, preach against you because you lied to me. And as the market continues to tank, and as unemployment numbers explode, and as housing prices tumble, and as I read about Hank Paulson's lies viz the TARP and Bush's lies viz WMD and Obama's lies viz bank solvency and the safety of my money, I check right out. AND, I take my money with me. And so it is in our economy. Any capital that MAY exist will never EVER be used to buy anything from banks and hedge funds and other financials again, because fraudulent valuation and congressional duplicity and LIES at every level have completely destroyed trust in the system. It's really so simple. And yet somehow our leaders still seem to think that they can artificially manufacture trust: that confidence comes from passionate speeches and feigned optimism and fist-pumping enthusiasm. But confidence is actually far more intelligent than our leaders give it credit for being. Confidence comes from truth. When I coached high school soccer, I learned pretty early on that false confidence and/or attempts to "rally the troops" based upon unreasonable expectations totally destroyed team morale---often for the entire season. If, on the other hand, I was honest with the players and frankly assessed our liabilities and strengths, morale was ALWAYS high, regardless of wins and losses!! Confidence will be restored when the liars go away, plain and simple. " ashizashiz.blogspot.com