Continuing Cracks: Part 12

In case your don't recall, the cracks I refer to are cracks in the structure of the US Dollar, which, I'm sure you know, is backed only by belief.

Recall that on November 3, 2000 Iraq switched from doing oil business in USD to euros (when they cost 83 cents) and that the first thing the US did after invading Iraq was to switch Iraq back to USD. Hmmmm….

And now, what have we here …. (from Al Jazeera by way of GATA)

By Emilie Rutledge 11/3/05

"Iran's decision to set up an oil and associated derivatives market next year has generated a great deal of interest. This is primarily because of Iran's reported intention to invoice energy contracts in euros rather than dollars.

[snip]

It is primarily the United States that stands to lose out from any move away from the petrodollar status quo; it is the world's largest importer of oil, and a move away from invoicing oil in dollars to euros will undoubtedly have a negative effect on its economy. Fewer nations would be willing to hold the dollar in reserve, which would cause a significant devaluation and result in the loss seigniorage revenues. In addition, U.S. energy-related companies stand to lose out as they will be unable to participate in the bourse due to the longstanding American trade embargo on Iran."

The Crushing of Colin

Ann Wright, one of the few to resign before the Bombing of Baghdad, tells her story in an interview at www.tomdispatch.com , well worth reading.

"Tragically, Colin Powell, who was trying to counsel Donald Rumsfeld behind the scenes that there weren't enough troops in Iraq, never stood up to say, "Hold it, guys, I'll resign if we don't get this under control so that logical functions go in logical organizations and you, the Defense Department, don't do post-combat civil reconstruction stuff. That's ours."

He just didn't do it. To me, he was more loyal to the Bush family than he was to the country. His resignation was possibly the one thing that could have deterred the war. Then the people of America would really have looked closely at what was going on.

But tragically he decided loyalty to the administration was more valuable than loyalty to the country. I mean, it breaks my heart to say that, but it's what really happened."

Cascading Evil Can Be So Damn Boring ...

President George and his cronies have suffered a reversal of fortune unlike anything we’ve ever seen. The crush of bad news for the administration seems unending. Even trying to chronicle one debacle proves to be overwhelming.

The “yellow-cake” affair itself leads in a half-dozen directions – an Italian newspaper with its own “Judy”, curiously “obvious” forged documents (and hey, what about Dan Rather and his own "obviously forged documents" – remember the rumor that Rove planted them?), visits to the White House by Italian secret agents, and so on. I can’t keep up, and this is only one of so many. So what’s a blogger to do?

I’ve found an antidote, a writer at SFGate.com – Mark Morford, so jaded and cynical that he can even make me laugh at Tom Delay. I quote …

“I think it was somewhere around my 17th article on "Scooter" Libby's duplicitous vileness or maybe it was the umpteenth piece on Karl Rove's bleak sweatiness or Tom DeLay's toothy mug-shot "I'll be skipping prison" grin, like he'd just swallowed a whole baby seal and two live puppies and was coming for your cat.“

Hook Mr. Morford up to your RSS feed, and enjoy.

silver

Not Financial Advice

As you know, I do not give out financial advice as I am usually too early. So take the following as a starting point in your own research.


FMNN:The Silver User’s Association startled the investment community recently when it came out hard against Barclay’s Bank’s proposal to create a silver-backed Exchange Traded Fund. The Silver Users Association is a lobbyist group for industrial end-users of silver, including Kodak. While the Silver Users’ opposition to any new investment demand for silver was predictable, the reasoning behind that opposition stunned many. Here’s Free-Market News Network commentator Jason Hommel to explain. Jason?

JASON HOMMEL: Yes! Their reason for opposing the Silver ETF was that they said it would cause a shortage of silver, and rising silver prices!

This news is HUGE and EXTREMELY important for people to pay attention to.

The silver shortage has been confirmed, publicly, by people who have a stated goal of keeping silver prices low. They do NOT want investors to buy silver, which is why they oppose the Silver ETF, but here they are, making the case for why investors should buy silver by confirming the silver shortage, and saying that silver prices will rise!

Why would they say that unless they are in a panic?When the silver shortage hits, industrial users will panic, and will buy up silver to crazy high prices, without regard to price--to prevent shutting down their factories!

And given the amounts involved, THAT the Silver ETF needs 130 million ounces that the world may not have… that means it is ALREADY TOO LATE FOR BILLIONAIRES TO JUMP ON BOARD AND BUY SILVER, BECAUSE THERE IS PROBABLY NOT A BILLION DOLLARS OF SILVER AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD TO BUY AT UNDER $10/OZ. SILVER PRICES WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO RISE TO $25/OZ., JUST FOR THERE TO BE A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF SILVER AVAILABLE TO BUY!

Silver is so cheap today, even the silver miners can’t make money mining it at $7.50/oz.

So, if you care at all about the financial security of your loved ones (or readers), you should probably forward this email to them.I have long waited for the tipping point in the silver market, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is it.

For more information on this story, see my article:
Silver Users Fear Silver Shortage
Thursday October 27, 3:49 pm ET

For more information on silver, and especially silver stocks, see my web site, www.silverstockreport.com

or the latest silver stock report #57, from July at http://www.silverstockreport.com/reports/silverstockreport57.html

You can subscribe to this email list by sending a blank email to:subscribe@silverstockreport.com

Bush Snaps; Dragged from West Wing

Sources close to the President report that days after Karl Rove was forced to resign, Bush began drinking heavily, ranting, and throwing furniture around the Oval office. This soon escalated into coke snorting and screaming. Strangely, it was reported, he continually referred to the coke as "yellow-cake".

Despite attempts by aides to calm him, he progressively became more agitated until White House guards had to be called.

"Get me Karl! Get me Karl!" he screamed as he was finally led out to the Rose Garden and hosed down by Big Dick Cheney.

In other related news, the dollar plunged to new lows as the world markets finally gave up and began massive selling. Gold reached a new high at $959/oz.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. And thanks to www.restructures.net for the photo.

Meet Up Tonight

The proposed National Strike has morphed into 1100 demonstrations to protest the illegal war in Iraq and the death of 2000 US soldiers and over 30,000 Iraqis, to be held at a location near you. Click on title above to find one.

Call for National Strike for Peace

Some are calling for a National Strike on the day after the death toll of American Soldiers in Iraq hits 2,000. The current tally is 1,996. We will probably reach 2,000 on Monday or Tuesday of this week. Are you ready?

1. Stay home from work. Call in and tell them you are out on a National Strike for Peace.

2. Stay home from school. Ditto.

3. Take to the streets. Carry a large sign. "National Strike for Peace."

4. Be disruptive - be creative. A stalled car can stop thousands.

5. Talk to your neighbors about stopping American global aggression.

You probably have never seen a National Strike. I was in Peru once when a National Strike was called. All of the workers and students stayed home. They took over the streets. They dragged burning tires into the streets to stop the cars. They threw stones at commercial vehicles trying to drive on the streets.

I am not giving any advice as to what you might do. Use your imagination. Be peaceful - no violence. This war must stop - now.

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,..."

The Day After We Hit 2000

The day after the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq reaches
2000, we take to the streets.

Stay home from work.

Stay home from school.

A day of action.

Keep your ears open.

Your Government at Work

See for yourself - click on title.

Do You Have the Stomach for the TRUTH?

Learn what we have bought with our money.

For your (and your grandchildren's future) hard-earned cash, the US is now the proud owner of 14 semi-permanent army bases (named, appropriately, after oil companies)

Paul Bremer, George Bush, and their supporters have quietly legalized themselves into an estimated 3 trillion in oil revenues, and, with truly Mephistophelean evil ingenuity, managed to engineer the Iraq people into paying for the cluster bombs, napalm and depleted uranium being used to kill them.

The 120 contractors who contributed the most to Republican candidates ($2.5 million) have made a 20,000-fold return on their investment ($53 billion) -- enough money to bury a football field in over 35 feet of cash.

Certifiable

God talks to U.S. President

by Jennifer Monroe
WASHINGTON, D.C. (OfficialWire) -- 10/07/05

Ask anyone. But mental health practitioners will tell you that to speak to God is often-claimed by some of their patients. At most, a cursory note is added to their file and watchful eye thereafter.

Most doctors will agree, however, that when God speaks back...whoa!

These same doctors say that that's when they add notes like 'delusional' and 'schizophrenic'...but now they can jot down 'presidential'

A former Palestinian foreign minister, Nabil Shaath, has told BBC News that George W. Bush told a Palestinian delegation in 2003 that God spoke to him and said: "George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan" and also "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq".

Shaath told BBC film-makers: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan. And I did, and then God would tell me, George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq... And I did."

'And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East. And by God I'm gonna do it,'" Bush is quoted as saying.

It's really creepy to think that Bush thinks God is speaking to him. I wonder—if this happens in the Oval Office, can we get tapes of it? No, seriously, the U.S. president is sick and needs help.

PRINTED FROM OFFICIALWIRE.COM THE INTERNET'S NO. 1 ONLINE NEWSWIRE & PR SERVICE!

Top Cop

Very interesting articles by a Canadian with a reply from an American (from the "Axis of Logic").

"The United States claims to be a nation of peace lovers and officially it has been at peace since the end of the Second World War. Except, that is, for their attacks on:

China (1945-46)
Korea (1950-53)
Guatemala (1954, 1967-69)
Cuba (1959-60)
Belgian Congo (1964)
Vietnam (1961-73)
Cambodia (1969-70)
Grenada (1983)
Libya (1986)
El Salvador (1980-92)
Nicaragua (1981-90)
Panama (1989)
Iraq (1991)
Somalia (1993)
Bosnia (1995)
Sudan (1998)
Yugoslavia (1999)
Afghanistan (2001-02)
plus a grudge match currently underway in Iraq (since 2003)
Plus "police action" in Colombia re: drugs (ongoing), an insurrection in Chile (1973) and numerous other covert bombings conducted by, or under the direction of, the CIA."

Who Owns The Fed?

You know about the Federal Reserve Bank, don’t you? You know, “the Fed” that raises (or lowers) interest rates every once in a while. The Famous Maestro of Money, Alan Greenspan, goes on TV and bores everyone with phrases filled with hidden meaning. You probably thought the Federal Reserve Bank was a Federal agency of some kind, right?

Wrong.

Peter Kershaw provides the answer in Economic Solutions where he lists the ten primary shareholders in the Federal Reserve banking system:

The Rothschild Family – London
The Rothschild Family – Berlin
The Lazard Brothers – Paris
Israel Seiff – Italy
Kuhn-Loeb Company – Germany
The Warburgs – Amsterdam
The Warburgs - Hamburg
Lehman Brothers - New York
Goldman & Sachs - New York
The Rockefeller Family - New York

So these guys are controlling the printing of all of these excess dollars (backed by nothing) thereby causing the devaluation of our currency, and controlling the interest rates?

In fact, it’s even worse than that. These people have been very prolific over the decades and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now all over the place and in particular all over the Board of Directors of many major corporations.

This is a fraud so pervasive it amazes even me, and I’ve grown jaded over the years. Read on if you dare….

And to finish off your descent into despair, from the Mogambo Guru,

“So, what is the bad news? Well, first off, the official government number is that annual inflation has averaged - and I hope you have a safety helmet on when you hear this - 4.71 percent since 1968!

This is, in historical context, so horrifically bad that is ranks as one of the longest and worst episodes of inflationary misery in our history. After the paramedics have restarted your heart, tell them to stand by, because next you are going to learn that the Freebuck.com people show, and quite easily, too, that inflation is really running at 5.96 percent.

That six percent inflation is, coincidentally, less than the real, wallet-busting, prices-you-pay type of inflation that is roaring right freaking now! Actually, true inflation is somewhere between 7 percent and 11 percent, as far as I can tell, and I get that from looking at the checks I have to write every damned month. It is the worst in decades, judging by the number of tears that I shed while paying those bills."

Bush Back on the Bottle?

I know its the National Inquirer, but they often get it first and right. It is also very big in the red states. Who could have guessed?

BUSH'S BOOZE CRISIS
By JENNIFER LUCE and DON GENTILE

Faced with the biggest crisis of his political life, President Bush has hit the bottle again, The National Enquirer can reveal. Bush, who said he quit drinking the morning after his 40th birthday, has started boozing amid the Katrina catastrophe.

Family sources have told how the 59-year-old president was caught by First Lady Laura downing a shot of booze at their family ranch in Crawford, Texas, when he learned of the hurricane disaster. His worried wife yelled at him: "Stop, George."

Following the shocking incident, disclosed here for the first time, Laura privately warned her husband against "falling off the wagon" and vowed to travel with him more often so that she can keep an eye on Dubya, the sources add.

"When the levees broke in New Orleans, it apparently made him reach for a shot," said one insider. "He poured himself a Texas-sized shot of straight whiskey and tossed it back. The First Lady was shocked and shouted: "Stop George!"

"Laura gave him an ultimatum before, 'It's Jim Beam or me.' She doesn't want to replay that nightmare — especially now when it's such tough going for her husband." Bush is under the worst pressure of his two terms in office and his popularity is near an all-time low. The handling of the Katrina crisis and troop losses in Iraq have fueled public discontent and pushed Bush back to drink.

A Washington source said: "The sad fact is that he has been sneaking drinks for weeks now. Laura may have only just caught him — but the word is his drinking has been going on for a while in the capital. He's been in a pressure cooker for months. The war in Iraq, the loss of American lives, has deeply affected him. He takes every soldier's life personally. It has left him emotionally drained. The result is he's taking drinks here and there, likely in private, to cope. "

And now with the worst domestic crisis in his administration over Katrina, you pray his drinking doesn't go out of control." Another source said: "I'm only surprised to hear that he hadn't taken a shot sooner. Before Katrina, he was at his wit's end. I've known him for years. He's been a good ol' Texas boy forever. George had a drinking problem for years that most professionals would say needed therapy. He doesn't believe in it [therapy], he never got it. He drank his way through his youth, through college and well into his thirties. Everyone's drinking around him."

Peak Oil - The Future

If you've been pondering the "Peak Oil" issue you have undoubtedly spent some time thinking about the future. Here (click on title) is a unique document exploring how the United States could be shaken from the current "5% use 25%" piggy position. Its a 48-page fictional projection with a happy ending (for some). Let me know what you think with your comments.

Gold Breaks Out

gold

Golden Opportunity

I am not offering financial advice, but if you've ever thought about buying gold or silver, now might be a good time to do it. Some of technicians believe that now that gold has broken the $450 barrier, it is going up to $505. Time will tell.

Find out how at:

www.goldmoney.com
www.lewrockwell.com
www.gata.org
www.kitco.com

Bush Promises

Last night in his "New Orleans" speech, Mr. Bush promised "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen." We'll put this promise in the same category as the January 2004 promise to send a manned space flight to Mars.

BS

Preparedness - by Howard Paul

I received this in an email and pass it along in the hopes that some will take heed.

The American Red Cross and others have been telling you how to prepare for a disaster, for years. Have you listened? Their advice is commonly ignored because people tell themselves "it will not happen to me."

I'm sending this to my relatives and friends, in the hope that my experiences in search and rescue (whoa -- 20 years now!!) will lend some credence to the absolute necessity to prepare to take care of yourself and your family.

In mountain and wilderness search and rescue we depend very little upon outside assistance. Small teams - two to four of us - carry what we need on our backs, prepared for 12-48 hours without support. But hardly anyone else is so prepared. Because of that when local services are severely delayed - or destroyed - such as in the enormous area of devastation on the Gulf Coast, most folks are desperate for aid, any aid from anywhere. Our societal norms are stretched and frequently break, resulting in chaotic danger.

As you have seen in the news this week, even with the best preplans and best efforts possible to respond to a disaster it will takes days for help to reach you; while the affected people and local officials are pleading for help from their state and federal government (and with my"insider" knowledge of the emergency services community I know that the response is actually working well, better than most folks understand). Because of this I want all of you to understand that you must be ready to take care of yourself.

In search and rescue we actually teach this to the public; with more"gadgets" out there (GPS receivers, cell phones) we work constantly to make folks understand they must learn to NOT depend upon them, as they fail, batteries die and the like. They MUST know how to survive in the backcountry until help arrives.

This happens time and time again because everyone believes "it will never happen to me, it is always someone else." Guess what- it does and YOU are the "someone else" of countless others.
There are now hundreds of thousands of people on the Gulf Coast who are your, and my,"someone else" in an urban wilderness.

I can survive out of my little Subaru for quite some time, on the equipment and supplies I carry for SAR work. Without the car I can carry it in my backpack and can care for a couple of others at the same time.

Here is some basic information about what you MUST do if your Michigan town is destroyed by a tornado; your New Mexico/Colorado border community is evacuated because of a forest fire, or several Ohio counties surrounding you are flooded, your California city is destroyed by an earthquake or your Colorado town is entirely isolated by a 200 year blizzard- or a "non-natural" catastrophe such as a terrorist strike or industrial accident/explosion.

The mountain men of the 1800s carried a "possibles bag." Even today mountain hikers (and SAR team members) carry the "10 Essentials," both are kits to survive. Your modern, civilized "possibles kit" comprises items you will need but without access to a bank or ATM, pharmacy, grocery or hardware store.

You must be ready, both physical and emotionally, to take care of yourself. You and your neighbors can become a remarkably strong unit, accomplishing quite a lot to survive! You should have available (and ready to move) your "possibles kit" (*are essential):

* Water (1 gal/person/day)
* Battery powered radio and batteries
* Easy to use food (breakfast bars, granola bars, etc).
* Pet food!
* GOOD SHOES!
* Flashlight (that uses the same batteries as radio!)
* Essential medications for a week or more (pharmacies may be destroyed)
* First aid kit
* Spare eyeglasses
* Cash (for until you can reach a functioning bank or ATM!)
* List of phone numbers and addresses
* Pocket knife ("Swiss Army" type is great)
Non-perishable food AND manual can opener
Deck of cards (remember "manual" solitaire?)
Small games for the kids
Blankets or sleeping bags
Baby food and supplies
Plastic garbage bags

As an outdoors person I would add my own camping stove and tent, but that may be a "luxury."

Before you ever have to evacuate:

-You should predetermine a local meeting place to await help; also a not-to-distant relative's or friend's home to where you can travel on your own, if it is possible.

-You should predetermine someone to act as a hub to pass messages among family, friends and co-workers (one or two distant persons to call to advise you are OK and where you are).

-If you must evacuate let them know you are leaving and where you plan to go. Remember, everyone else will take the same routes, so unless your local officials order you to use designated routes, you should know the area well enough to travel lesser routes.

-If you must be relocated (such as New Orleans to Houston) remember to take your important papers (insurance, prescriptions or list of medications, identification, etc.) With all these items... well, it won't be pretty but survival will be "possible."

One last thought about preparation: if you or a family member is disabled or dependent upon oxygen, contact your local police department, fire department or EMS service and tell them. Call them today on a NON-EMERGENCY line so they can "flag" your address as one that may require special assistance in case of an evacuation. They will be glad to know this!

What else can you do? Find out if your community has a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT teams are specially trained local volunteers that will fill in until outside help arrives. Why not join yours today? For more information go to these web sites right now - because your area's disaster might occur tomorrow:

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/http://www.ready.gov/

http://www.ready.gov/> http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/CERT/

Howard Paul is a rescue member of the Alpine Rescue Team, the president of the Colorado Search and Rescue Board and the executive director of the Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado.

(c) 2005 Howard M. Paul
Permission granted for non commercial publication and distribution. Please forward to your friends and coworkers.