"In the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Thereafter, any attack, even on the least of men, is an attack on Christ, who took on the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all. Through our relationship with the Incarnation, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our solidarity with all mankind."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A Simple Economic Solution to Hunger, Poverty, and the Problem of the Poor
An old woman came down this way,
She had no bread left to eat they say,
The bread was gobbled by the corporate men,
And she fell in the gutter in the cold and rain,
And was never hungry again.
At that the birds in the forest fell silent,
On every treetop is rest,
In every hilltop can be heard
Barely a breath.
The medical examiners came down this way,
'She is not just putting on,' they say,
The starved old woman was buried six feet deep,
And was never heard from again.
And the examiners smiled for the corporate men.
And the birds in the forest fell silent too,
On every treetop is rest
In every hilltop can be heard
Barely a breath...
Bertolt Brecht, Liturgie vom Hauch, 1927
The CFTC is accepting comments on the silver positions and market structure at the Comex. You may read about it and perhaps comment to the CFTC here.
From the quick bounce back it does appear that the big flash crash in silver in late day thin trading was a bear raid after all. We will know more when the Comex releases final numbers.
I had taken the opportunity on Thursday to buy the dip in silver at its gut wrenching bottom rather heavily, and with positions of leveraged instruments a little less ordinary. Most of those were sold today for a profit, and one must look forward to next week to see which way the markets wish to go. Monday is 'first delivery day' for the current contract and the ugly negotiation for cash settlements will begin in earnest.
The raid yesterday may have been a negotiation tactic. It certainly was a cheap and tawdry affair, obvious to all but the most willfully blind, and those in silent complicity. With the volume drying up in the markets making one's quota on the trade desks must be getting increasingly difficult.
It reminded me of playing a game with the little girl, who cheats in the most clumsy and obvious ways, thinking herself very clever. And if she loses, she complains and pouts incessantly until you cover her losses. Rather like the American crony capitalists, I think.
This goes out to the Boys on the Prop Trading Desks. Nice try this week, but kind of pitchy. And you definitely got no soul.
And as always, for Blythe. Thanks for breakfast, sugar bun.
A Special Request, Going Out To Max Keiser's Silver Liberation Army (SLA).
Stand and Deliver Next Week, Comex Bitchez...
John Williams of Shadowstats provides some interesting insight on the Dollar even as the US equity markets continue their levitation.
U.S. Dollar Losing Its Safe-Haven Status? With political upheaval surfacing in the Mid-East and North Africa, global capital increasingly has been moving into traditional safe-haven investments such as precious metals, or into safe-haven currencies such as the Swiss franc. What is of particular significance here is that flight capital has been seeking shelter outside of the U.S. dollar, which for decades had been the favored safe-haven currency. Against the U.S. dollar, the Swiss franc – another traditional safe-haven currency – hit a record high in the last day or so. Other than for the British pound, the U.S. currency has been losing exchange-rate value against the other major currencies (Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Japanese yen and even the euro) during this period of mounting political instabilities. Gold has neared its all-time high, while silver recently has set a multi-decade high.
Oil prices have spiked in response to the various crises, adding further upside pressure to U.S. consumer inflation from oil supply fears and ongoing dollar weakness. As with the dollar-debasement efforts of the Fed, these inflation pressures reflect factors other than strong economic demand.
At the same time, the fragility of the faux U.S. economic recovery is becoming more obvious to the markets, with economic data increasingly surprising consensus forecasts on the downside, as seen in this week’s home sales and GDP revision reporting. In the months ahead, an intensifying “renewed” decline in broad economic activity should gain increasing market recognition.
Irrespective of whether the political turmoil spreads or dies down, irrespective of Saudi efforts to help contain panicked oil price rises, irrespective of short-lived fluctuations in exchange rates and precious metals prices, the U.S. now stands at a point where it is particularly vulnerable to an evolving global loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar. Heavy selling of the U.S. currency and panicked dumping of dollar-denominated paper assets, which could trigger U.S. financial market upheaval and the early stages of a hyperinflation, is possible at any time with little or no warning. It could be triggered by an unhappy economic or political surprise, or otherwise. Where risks remain high of U.S. financial turmoil unfolding in the months ahead, the onset of a hyperinflation still has an outside timing estimate of 2014.
Do You Need To Buy a Vowel? M_NETIZATION
Global Economic Recovery Plan 'B' - Seek Safe Havens For the Elites, Ignite the Derivatives, and Then Wait a Couple of Decades...
The reason for the bailouts and the debasement of the currency is not to promote an economic recovery in the US. Far from it.
The objective is the same as it is in other countries around the world dominated by monied interests, such as Ireland.
The purpose is to save the banks and their bondholders, and the financial status quo. To this end the peoples' interests will be sacrificed if they allow it.
The US government is caught in a credibility trap. They cannot inspire confidence and re-establish the soundness of their economy, because they are not able to make the necessary reforms that would actually justify such a renewed confidence, to make it credible and real.
They cannot make these reforms because to do so would shatter the facade of the status quo which is corrupted and complicit, and includes far too many of them both directly and indirectly. This they fear more than anything else.
So they try to bluff their way out of it, hoping for a break, engaging in even more fraud and deception and debasement. And the financial looting continues while the real economy declines and the ordinary person suffers.
And it is working, because some vocal portion of the public shows itself to be easily led by slogans, faux news, financial carnies, and the manipulation of their lowest emotions, even to their own destruction. And the rest seem too often dulled by apathy and diversion.
Let us pray for those whose hearts are hardened against His grace and loving kindness by greed, fear, and pride, and the seductive illusion and crushing isolation of evil.
We pray that we all may experience the three great gifts of our Lord's suffering and triumph: repentance, forgiveness, and thankfulness. And in so doing, may we obtain abundant life, and with it the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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