"This nation is getting remarkably adept at turning its less affluent citizens upside down and shaking them, until literally every single cent falls out of their pockets. And then it induces them to take on debt so they can be shaken down some more."
Malcom McMichael
"There is a certain irony to Europe starting to worry that austerity is hurting Greece's economy. For years, Europe's leaders have insisted Greece cut deficits in exchange for concessions. Greece's economy has already shrunk 25 percent, and it is having trouble honoring its obligations in part because it has had so much austerity."
Matt O'Brien, Europe Is Destroying Greece's Economy For No Reason At All
The amateurs may have gotten carried away by their own theories and predictions but the professionals in the markets and the media certainly knew better.
Greece offered what they labeled 'harsh cuts' for themselves, and crossed some mythical 'red lines.' And I think in sum they put most of the money up. Whether they would have stuck with it is another matter entirely.
But what people forget is that as it is now the EU is no longer about money. It is all about power, and the gathering of more of that power for a central authority, and above all, obedience. If it were about money, and bailing out their Banks which has largely been done, it would be over already.
Greece is being made an example of for the benefit of the others. And the liberal use of propaganda and financial terrorism, the stirring the emotions of the people against the Greeks by portraying them falsely, calls to mind, and may even be the prelude to the same sorts of crimes that haunted the twentieth century.
And I would hope that the non-Europeans will take no comfort in this, because these same sorts of arguments and oppression are being used in our own places every day. We cannot afford to pay these people a living wage. We cannot provide adequate healthcare to everyone. We cannot treat everyone the same in the legal system and afford them equal protection under the law. We cannot afford to treat the mentally ill and the disabled humanely, so let us just throw them on the streets to fend for themselves. It is too complex, too costly. Let the markets sort them out. Our new god will judge.
The Greek debt crisis is about money to the same extent that Germany claiming Czechoslovakia was about protecting native Germans, or the invasion of Iraq was about preventing the use of their weapons of mass destruction. These are blatant acts of will, the will to power.
The manipulation of the gold and silver markets this week is mostly about skinning anyone foolish enough to have purchased option calls on the Comex. Given the balance of calls at about 1180 to 1220 coming into this week at 1200, I would say things went pretty much according to plan.
Who in the heck is still giving The Bucket Shop their money? Because, as the old joke goes, it is the only game in town?
The Pope caused a fuss by saying that Christians who invest in the making and selling of armaments to wage aggressive war are hypocrites. And that financial repression and fraud are the result of setting a love of money over the love of our neighbor.
The corporatists and their enablers do not want to hear about that. The markets are their new gods. It is never really the money, but the power and the willful pride to it.
So too are the hypocrites who make their money by knowingly participating in these control frauds and con games, even if they might say that they are just along for the ride.
They did not mug that innocent traveler or stranger. They just went through his or her pockets after the fact, they just fenced their property. They just made a bet on whether the victim would receive a broken arm or a concussion. All while saying and doing nothing to help. As Czeslaw Milosz said, 'A true opium of the people is the huge solace of thinking that for our betrayals, greed, cowardice, murders we are not going to be judged.'
And this will end badly, for many. And especially for those who believe they are winning, again.
The times they are a changing. But not nearly fast or soon enough. And so history repeats.
Have a pleasant evening.
