"Today, in view of the common good, there is urgent need for politics and economics to enter into a frank dialogue in the service of life, especially human life. Saving banks at any cost, making the public pay the price, forgoing a firm commitment to reviewing and reforming the entire system, only reaffirms the absolute power of a financial system, a power which has no future and will only give rise to new crises after a slow, costly and only apparent recovery."
Francis I
As a cultural note, 'swag' in this case is the older definition of the ill-gotten gains of criminals as in 'loot.'
It is not the modern usage of the term 'swag,' derived I think from 'swagger,' which means to dress up in ridiculous fashion accessories and outfits, and prance around like a nincompoop.
Could there have been any doubt how the markets would end up today?
On the overwhelming 'no' vote from Greece, gold and silver popped and the stock futures opened down around thirty points.
This was legitimate I think simply because the 'establishment' had mismeasured the Greek spirit so badly. They must have thought they were the Americans or the English who have a patience for oppression from 'their betters' that is truly impressive. I would say a solid twenty percent seem to be serial masochists for the most transparent and grotesque demagogues imaginable. I wish they could all come to some sort of private arrangement and keep the rest of us out of it.
But soon enough it was clear that the financial engineers would be spreading the calming effects of easy money and highly leveraged derivatives around to cap gold and silver, and provide reassurances that those awkwardly positioned in the financial assets bubble need suffer no harm; their job is to inflict distress on the innocent and outsiders and not on their powerful 'friends'.
And of course this gave the pundits who have had this wrong all along a chance to redeem themselves with new sets of predictions, the most dubious of which are posed as 'questions.' If you pose it as a question, you can claim it as a win if it is right, but you get a 'mulligan' if you are wrong because you are only asking a question, after all.
The Varoufakis resignation was pre-planned, and anyone who says he was 'sacked' by Tsipras is most probably deluded. It was a very smart play, and entirely consistent with everything they have been doing in the conduct of their negotiations right along.
Gold and silver are obviously being manipulated. Gold is being done so because it now considered a 'currency cross' and is being shoved around by both official and speculative interests like any other currency, and with the same rationale of managing the economy while skinning the 'little people.' I mean at this point can anyone doubt the markets are rigged? Which ones aren't is a better question.
The stock market is being banged like an ATM by the one percent who are using a fairly impressive array of financial scams and loopholes to continue to loot the real economy, and with a surprising amount of cooperation from 'the establishment' to use an phrase from a previous generation.
History suggests that these sorts of schemes will end badly. Exactly when is not possible to predict until it is on top of you. Although you can pay quite a few people to obtain their latest guesses. And if those don't work, they have more.
A number of innocents will be harmed, because the people have allowed themselves to be manipulated by their darker emotions of hatred and fear. And many of the perpetrators will continue to pile up great fortunes and political power and influence, relying on the people's credulity in the face of the big lie. I think the wages they will be collecting in the longer term, however, are death.
A number of innocents will be harmed, because the people have allowed themselves to be manipulated by their darker emotions of hatred and fear. And many of the perpetrators will continue to pile up great fortunes and political power and influence, relying on the people's credulity in the face of the big lie. I think the wages they will be collecting in the longer term, however, are death.
The only certainty is change.
