... just one reason why precious metals could turn out to be a very valuable 'insurance policy'

... there are quite a few links that have been added to this page since it was first posted, so be sure and check and see if you have viewed all of them... 
 

The 441 TRILLION Dollar Interest Rate Derivatives Time Bomb (and GROWING!!)

        By Michael Snyder, on June 24th, 2013

       

Do you want to know the primary reason why rapidly rising interest rates could take down the entire global financial system?  Most people might think that it would be because the U.S. government would have to pay much more interest on the national debt.  And yes, if the average rate of interest on U.S. government debt rose to just 6 percent (and it has actually been much higher in the past), the federal government would be paying out about a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt.  But that isn't it.  Nor does the primary reason have to do with the fact that rapidly rising interest rates would impose massive losses on bond investors.  At this point, it is being projected that if U.S. bond yields rise by an average of 3 percentage points, it will cause investors to lose a trillion dollars.   

Yes, that is a 1 with 12 zeroes after it ($1,000,000,000,000).  

But that is not the number one danger posed by rapidly rising interest rates either.  Rather, the number one reason why rapidly rising interest rates could cause the entire global financial system to crash is because there are more than 441 TRILLION dollars worth of interest rate derivatives sitting out there.  This number comes directly from the Bank for International Settlements - the central bank of central banks.  

[In 2012 the total GWP (Gross World Product) was approximately 72 Trillion Dollars

... so more than 6 times GWP of the ENTIRE PLANET is now in derivatives!!]

In other words, more than $441,000,000,000,000 has been bet on the movement of interest rates. Normally these bets do not cause a major problem because rates tend to move very slowly and the system stays balanced.  But now rates are starting to skyrocket, and the sophisticated financial models used by derivatives traders do not account for this kind of movement.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that the global financial system is potentially heading for massive amounts of trouble if interest rates continue to soar.

Today, the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasury bonds rocketed up to 2.66% before settling back to 2.55%.  The chart posted below shows how dramatically the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries has moved in recent days…

Right now, the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries is about 30 percent above its 50 day moving average. That is the most that it has been above its 50 day moving average in 50 years.

Like I mentioned above, we are moving into uncharted territory and this data doesn't really fit into the models used by derivatives traders. 

The yield on 5 year U.S. Treasuries has been moving even more dramatically…

Last week, the yield on 5 year U.S. Treasuries rose by an astounding 37 percent.  That was the largest increase in 50 years.

Once again, this is uncharted territory. If rates continue to shoot up, there are going to be some financial institutions out there that are going to start losing absolutely massive amounts of money on interest rate derivative contracts.

So exactly what is an interest rate derivative?

The following is how Investopedia defines interest rate derivatives...

A financial instrument based on an underlying financial security whose value is affected by changes in interest rates. Interest-rate derivatives are hedges used by institutional investors such as banks to combat the changes in market interest rates. Individual investors are more likely to use interest-rate derivatives as a speculative tool - they hope to profit from their guesses about which direction market interest rates will move.

They can be very complicated, but prefer to think of them in very simple terms.  Just imagine walking into a casino and placing a bet that the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries will hit 2.75% in July.  If it does reach that level, you win.  If it doesn't, you lose.  That is a very simplistic example, but I think that it is a helpful one.   

At the heart of it, the 441 TRILLION dollar derivatives market is just a bunch of people making bets about which way interest rates will go.

And normally the betting stays very balanced and our financial system is not threatened.  The people that run this betting use models that are far more sophisticated than anything that Las Vegas uses. But all models are based on human assumptions, and wild swings in interest rates could break their models and potentially start causing financial losses on a scale that our financial system has never seen before.

We are potentially talking about a financial collapse far worse than anything that we saw back in 2008. Remember, the U.S. national debt is just now approaching 17 trillion dollars.  So when you are talking about 441 trillion dollars you are talking about an amount of money that is almost unimaginable.

Meanwhile, China appears to be on the verge of another financial crisis as well.  The following is from a recent article by Graham Summers...

China is on the verge of a “Lehman” moment as its shadow banking system implodes. China had pumped roughly $1.6 trillion in new credit (that’s 21% of GDP) into its economy in the last two quarters… and China GDP growth is in fact slowing.

This is what a credit bubble bursting looks like: the pumping becomes more and more frantic with less and less returns.

And Chinese stocks just experienced their largest decline since 2009.  The second largest economy on earth is starting to have significant financial problems at the same time that our markets are starting to crumble. Not good.

And don't forget about Europe.  European stocks have had a very, very rough month so far...

The narrow EuroStoxx 50 index is now at its lowest in over seven months (-5.4% year-to-date and -12.5% from its highs in May) and the broader EuroStoxx 600 is also flailing lower. The European bank stocks pushed down to their lowest in almost 10 months and are now in bear market territory - down 22.5% from their highs. Spain and Italy are now testing their lowest level in 9 months.

So are the central banks of the world going to swoop in and rescue the financial markets from the brink of disaster? At this point it does not appear likely.

As I have written previously, the Bank for International Settlements is the central bank for central banks, and it has a tremendous amount of influence over central bank policy all over the planet.

The other day, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, Jaime Caruana, gave a speech entitled "Making the most of borrowed time".  In that speech, he made it clear that the era of extraordinary central bank intervention was coming to an end.  

The following is one short excerpt from that speech...

"Ours is a call for acting responsibly now to strengthen growth and avoid even costlier adjustment down the road. And it is a call for recognizing that returning to stability and prosperity is a shared responsibility. Monetary policy has done its part. Recovery now calls for a different policy mix – with more emphasis on strengthening economic flexibility and dynamism and stabilizing public finances."

Monetary policy has done its part? That sounds pretty firm.

And if you read the entire speech, you will see that Caruana makes it clear that he believes that it is time for the financial markets to stand on their own. But will they be able to?

As I wrote yesterday, the U.S. financial system is a massive Ponzi scheme that is on the verge of imploding.  Unprecedented intervention by the Federal Reserve has helped to prop it up for the last couple of years, and there is a lot of fear in the financial world about what is going to happen once that unprecedented intervention is gone.

So what happens next?

Well, nobody knows for sure, but one thing seems certain.  The last half of 2013 [and 2014] is shaping up to be very, very interesting.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

..only a very small percentage of the general population realizes the size and scope of the derivatives market.. 440 Trillion is more than likely on the very conservative side, as this Time article from March 2013 indicates...

'Why Derivatives May Be the Biggest Risk for the Global Economy'

"... leading bond portfolio managers and derivatives experts believe the market has continued to expand rapidly, without being especially visible. While there’s no way of knowing for sure, estimates of the face value of all derivatives outstanding tops a quadrillion (1,000 trillion) dollars, or more than 14 times the entire world’s annual GWP. By comparison, the total value of all the stocks trading on the New York Stock Exchange is roughly only $15 trillion."

 

And should you really want to get an increased understanding of just what the situation is with the major banks in this country... it has to start with the realization that a majority of derivatives originate from and are held by these gigantic 'to big to fail' MEGA-BANKS.

Systemically Dangerous... Five Years After Lehman Brothers Fall, 
Big Banks Even Larger

"THE WARNING" 

(.. don't not watch it!!)

5.10.2012
The debt crisis exploded in 2008, and its shock waves have lost none of their destructiveness.
It was derivatives schemes that emboldened American banks to offer unsecured mortgages, eventually blowing up the global market.
9.12.2013
Five Years after Market Crash, U.S. Economy Seen as ‘No More Secure’
... a majority of Americans (63%) say the nation’s economic system is no more secure today than it was before the 2008 market crash. Just a third (33%) think the system is more secure...

9.16.2013
A fine of up to $750 million may be levied against the JPMorgan investment bank for the events that led the firm to take outsized bets in complex derivatives trades that resulted in trading losses of more than $6 billion.

9.16.2013

Six Reasons Another Financial Crisis Is Inevitable
Five years after the fall of Lehman Brothers and the worst financial crisis since 1929, one thing seems certain: another meltdown of the financial system seems inevitable. Why? Because we still haven't fixed many of the problems that led to the last crisis. 

9.18.2013
The Looming Mass Destruction From Derivatives
... shadow banks, free of government regulation, are propped up by a hidden government guarantee in the form of safe harbor status under the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act pushed through by Wall Street... result is to create perverse incentives for the financial system to self-destruct.  

9.26.2013
"None of these big banks really want compliance people causing traders and investment bankers to second-guess themselves too much because that gets in the way of making money. No one will say this, but it’s more effective to run the risk of noncompliance and pay a few fines, which is just a cost of doing business.”

10.09.2013

The Public Bank Solution: Transforming Our Broken System
PBI Newsletter, September/October 2013
Capitalism is nothing more than a set of rules, a set of rules that has been heavily lobbied to benefit the richest and most powerful. To purists capitalism is the laissez faire system of supply and demand with no interference from government. Well, when have we had that? Only in some libertarians’ wet dreams.

Who and what these banks are today is discussed at length in the following interviews with Bill Moyers... take the time to watch in their entirety these outstanding interviews... 
  

Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith on the Follies of Big Banks and Government

Sheila Bair on Keeping Banks Honest
 
Sheila Bair Takes on the Banks

Trapped in a Web of Debt and a Derivatives Time-Bomb with Ellen Brown 
(go to 7 & 15 min mark) 

 

Follow Sheila Bair   @SheilaBair2013

Follow Matt Taibbi   @mtaibbi

Follow Yves Smith  @yvessmith

Follow Bill Moyers  @BillMoyersHQ

Follow Bill Black  @WilliamKBlack

Follow Ellen Brown  @ellenhbrown 

 

'The Edge'... there is no honest way to explain it because the only ones who really know where it is...  are the ones who go over. 

 
  

Six Degrees Could Change the World | National Geographic

 ... in the very short time since its release, levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have dramatically risen from 383ppm to 400ppm...  
...and there's increasing debate we have already passed our 'tipping point'... 

... in any event, at the present rate of change it will not be very long before we reach the dangerous 450ppm !!

... a critical topic.. if you have not yet seen this film, don't delay... 

... and this is one instance where 'pass-this-along to everyone you know' should be considered essential...

NatGeo... http://on.natgeo.com/13vNuMA
Netflix...   http://nflx.it/17Qvv25


Film review:
For its importance, it must be five star!! ..  It's critical... be sure and send the link (it also can be viewed on NatGeo) to everyone you know. As for 'fear-mongering' ...we should ALL be, to the max terrified !!  Once you've traveled to most every location cited in this film and viewed first hand, and spoken with the local people severely impacted, you understand the threat is real, and truly deadly serious. We have the distinct possibility of being just a couple of generations removed from beginnings of  a run-away 'sixth mass extinction' ... to include an ever increasing percentage of the human population.

  

Six Degrees Could Change the World | National Geographic Channel

Digital: News Gains Audience but Loses Ground in Chase for Revenue | State of the Media

This is a great article. We're all affected.. you own and use any one or more of these devices. Worked up a lengthy summary with just some of the key points, but it's nowhere near as good as reading the full piece.

Digital: News Gains Audience but Loses Ground in Chase for Revenue | State of the Media

The online news audience is enormous. The top 25 news sites in the U.S. recorded 342 million average unique monthly visitors in 2011 – up 17% over the prior year, according to Nielson Online. Four in ten Americans reported getting “most of their national and international news” from the Internet, according to a December 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Less than two in ten respondents said the same for newspapers. Six in ten Americans reported getting most national and international news from television, but that figure is rapidly changing. Among those 'online' and especially younger adults, web-only sources, such as search engines are growing. Of those online, 80% said the “the internet is the first or second most important source for 15 of the 16 local topics examined.”

All this will only increase with the growth in mobile. Apple alone reported it sold almost 25 million iPads worldwide in 2011. Many news consumers now own multiple devices. More than 75% of U.S. adults own a laptop or desktop computer. On top of that, 45% now own a smartphone, and tablet ownership nearly doubled at the end of the year, to almost 20%.  And 13% own all three. This rapid growth is expected to continue.

A critical issue is how these mobile devices will impact digital news consumption... to what extent are Americans now getting their news on -the-go? News is a substantial part of the mobile experience. Some 50+% of smartphone owners use the device to get news, as do 56% of tablet owners. Those tablet figures are reinforced by other data... some 53% of tablet owners reported getting news daily on their tablets.

Consumers appear to be using different devices for news at different times of the day. During the early morning on weekdays,  data show news sites receive similar spikes in traffic from smartphones, tablets and computers, as consumers turn to all three to check on the headlines. Later in the day, traffic is higher on computers, as people log in from the office. Between 9 p.m. and midnight, tablets see a more significant spike, “which suggests that people probably favor tablet usage as they retire to the couch or bed at the end of the day.”

More important, all data reinforce another idea...  mobile is adding to news consumption. Those getting news on mobile devices also get it in other ways. Now they are just doing more of it. None of this means viewing news through a desktop or laptop is going away. Traditional computing still accounts for 93% of internet traffic.  Instead, there is a potential boon here for news... consumers are turning to their devices to supplement the rest of their digital diet, rather than replace it.

Then add the growth of social media to the mix.

The extent to which news consumers rely on social media is rapidly evolving. Almost 10% of traffic to news sites now comes from Facebook, Twitter and smaller social media sites...  a 57% percent increase since 2009. The percentage coming from search engines, meanwhile, is declining. It now accounts for roughly 21% of news site traffic, a drop of 9% since 2009. Social media, in other words, now bring in almost half as much traffic to news sites as search does.
“No social media connection... no news organization”... 100 major news organizations have named social media editors. In many cases, those jobs are now held by more senior staff than in the past.

Facebook is the 800-pound gorilla. Facebook users spent 423 minutes (or 7 hours) on the site in December, 2011. Of the top 25 news sites, by contrast, CNN had the highest average time per user.. it was just 30 minutes per month.
Facebook has introduced the “subscribe” button. Much like Twitter, it allows users to “subscribe” to a feed of stories from any website or Facebook page. Twitter is also growing rapidly. The company's most recent estimates of U.S. Twitter users has Twitter at 24 million active users, a 32% increase over 2010. Though far smaller than Facebook, the predominance of journalists and news organizations among its adherents has given Twitter outsized influence in the media world. It has also taken on a critical role in disseminating breaking news. “Twitter is the new news-wire.”

Many media companies have become cognizant over the last year of the need to have a comprehensive, newsroom-wide social media strategy. News organizations now find themselves both partnering with and competing against large technology-based organizations far better financed and boast greater engineering knowledge. Facebook and Google, indeed, are driving many of the changes that have caused the advertising market for traditional media players to implode.

Meanwhile, the same pair, along with Apple, Amazon and others, increasingly control the platforms (both hardware and software) news organizations must use to reach their audience. The five large tech companies continue to tighten their hold on the digital market. Together they garnered 68% of online ad revenue in 2011, up from 63% in 2009, with the lion’s share going to Google and Facebook.

Lots of questions. And many more, make the move into mobile news a complicated one. But news organizations that want to survive, never mind thrive, in the rapidly evolving news ecosystem have little choice but to tackle them head-on.

   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama 'Concerned and Disappointed' After Journalist Who Exposed US War Crimes Freed

 ... be sure and watch the entire Jeremy Scahill interview with Democracy Now!... it begins at the 24:50 mark.

..this is journalism we never get a chance to see on mainstream corporate controlled media.. be sure and watch it all the way to the end.

Obama 'Concerned and Disappointed' After Journalist Who Exposed US War Crimes Freed | Common Dreams

"The White House is saying that they are disappointed and concerned that a Yemeni journalist has been released from a Yemeni prison."

"This is a man who was put in prison because he had the audacity to expose a U.S. cruise missile attack that killed three dozen women and children."

Watch the Scahill interview with Democracy Now!

  

< CHEM-TRAILS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First of all... if you haven't already, be sure and watch this film !! ...

WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE THEY SPRAYING?

http://bit.ly/16fzuns

... next do a google search on the term  'Chem-Trails'.. take a good look at all the images... thousands of tons of various materials... laden with three main materials – aluminum oxide, barium, and strontium... being dumped into the atmosphere all over the planet.

.. then finally, start to do your own research.. read every article you can get to online about the subjects...  Chem-Trails  &  Geo-Engineering

.. and next time you're watching a movie and there's a sky-shot.. keep track of just how many times you'll be seeing those same white trails in the picture... you'll be amazed how often it occurs (no matter what country the film comes from)..

...  Chem-Trails and Your Health

... Geo-Engineering  is as scary as hell.. the quicker we all learn about it, and get up to speed, the better off we'll all be...

... and if you might be asking yourself... WHY?   ....  Chem-Trails and Derivatives

... I'll keep adding to this post over time, so check back.. and should you have a link you might want to add, please pass it on...

... and be sure and... KEEP LOOKING UP !!

 

  Note... be sure and pass this information on to others.. the more we ALL know what's going, the sooner we can tackle the enormous issues involved.

 

BABY CRAZY - (William Rivers Pitt, Truthout)

I received an email today from Truthout (text below). It's self-explanatory, except to say, it is the exact reason why I stopped watching mainstream news. Yes, it's asking for financial support.. but with the NYT getting how much a day now?..  'donating' to Independent News Sources is a much more worthwhile idea.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 (email text)
I stopped at the bar for a quick beer Tuesday night after my wife got home from work - my little reward for another Daddy Daycare session successfully completed. The NBC Nightly News was coming on, and the lead story was the recent arrival of the Royal Bundle of Joy. The broadcast ended with another segment on the same topic. By my calculations, coverage of His Infant Majesty amounted to ten minutes of the thirty-minute broadcast, minus commercials, of course.

This was wall-to-wall, as you well know. Don't get me wrong: I love babies. I have a baby. I'm crazy about babies... but seriously? Something like 370,000 babies are born every single day, folks.  
There is nothing else going on in the world worthy of a full third of a national news broadcast?

The Wednesday morning edition of  Truthout  carried stories on the murder of Trayvon Martin, banking industry reform, the dangers of the food industry, taxing the rich, climate change, public schools and unions, and the plight of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. In other words, stuff you really need to know.

If you want to fill your precious time with stories about British royals having kids, then have a blast with the "mainstream" news media that is only too happy to cater to your desires. If real news is what you need, however, then please help support Truthout's work in bringing it to you. Make a tax-deductible donation tonight.

Click here to donate.
(Truthout is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 20-0031641)

You can also donate by check, made payable to:
Truthout, P.O. Box 276414, Sacramento, CA 95827
(Please include your email address on your check.)

Yours,
William Rivers Pitt, Columnist and Editor


 

... 'FOLLOWING' ON TWITTER' ...

... if you're using twitter, here are some folks to take a look at and consider 'following'... they're all over the lot... politicos... researchers... journalists... writers... activists... bloggers... comedians... actors... and more.
... always seeking referrals.. can you recommend someone?

... they're a good starting group, all clearly speak their mind, and from them you can learn quickly and really find out what's going on in the world...
... and when you find someone you really like, check and see who they're following.

... will be adding to the list now and again.. so check back...
... and should you have any questions... would be glad to assist...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(click on)

Naomi Wolf
 

Matt Taibbi  **
 

Erica Payne  

Sarah Beattie  

Naomi Klein  

Chris Hedges 

Sheila Bair 

John Cusack  

Yves Smith

Nomi Prins

Frances Moore Lappe

Mark Ruffalo
 

Christiane Amanpour

Anne Applebaum 

Ellen Brown

Mariana Chilton  

 Demand Progress

Andrea Germanos

Kim McCabe

Laura Flanders

William Rivers Pitt 

Bill Moyers

Larissa Walker 

Dean Baker 

Erin Niemela

Gar Alperovitz

Richard D. Wolff

Jenny Johnson 

Mark Leibovich

**... Matt Taibbi is a favorite source of information.. this Public Banking panel discussion video exemplifies just how good he is, and how important it is individuals such as him be sought out and listened to...  

...(he begins speaking at the 5:00 minute mark)... 

Reclaim Our Economy from Wall Street - Public Banking 2013 

 

France Prohibits Sending Currency, “Coins And Precious Metals” By Mail

France has prohibited the sending of currency, “coins and precious metals” by mail.
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1370606400.php

In new legislation which was enacted May 23rd, the French government decreed that it is forbidden to send all forms of currency - coins and cash and all forms of precious metals – coins, bars and jewellery by mail.

The legislation was published on Legifrance, the French government entity responsible for publishing legal texts online and can be seen here.

It was not announced by the government and not covered in the media. There were no communications and nobody in the government justified or explained this decision.

The legislation says that “the insertion of banknotes, coins and precious metals is prohibited in mailings, including the insured items, registered items and items subject to formalities certifying deposition and distribution. "

Some have suggested that the decree is to limit what is known in France as “the anonymous market”, the market in which no taxes are paid and people are free to trade without the supervision of banks and government.

However, euro coins and notes and gold bullion coins and bars attract no tax in France and therefore this is more likely to be an attempt to discourage the ownership of gold bullion and cash outside of the banking system and is a form of capital control.

It may also be an attempt to restrict the growing private market in France of people buying bullion online through Ebay which is increasingly popular.

The freedom of people to trade amongst themselves is a form of civil liberty as is the right to privacy.

The selling and the buying of precious metals in France are already subject to strict regulations.

Until September 2011, citizens could easily buy and sell gold coins and bars with cash but this was forbidden then when French citizens were forbidden to buy with cash in person and had to buy precious metals by trade mail, crossed cheque and by wire transfer or be “punished by a fine of fifth grade” which is a fine of some €1,500/oz.

The government decree does not specify that other independent companies cannot send gold and or silver coins or bars by mail. Indeed, it is only the French public company or national post company, La Poste that is forbidden in the decree.

However, 3 months ago in March, FedEx began stopping French people from taking delivery of precious metals.

At the start of the year, UPS began stopping French people from taking delivery of precious metals.

Perhaps not coincidentally, in recent days FedEx have stopped allowing companies and individuals to send or receive gold and other precious metal bullion coins and bars by insured mail in Germany and the UK.

This is an important story that bears watching as it appears that governments internationally, from India to France are attempting to control, restrict and make it difficult for their citizens to own bullion.

 

SilentCircle.co.uk

SilentCircle.co.uk

Take a look at some of the formations from 2012... some are absolutely stunning !!

My favorite is still #53...

Cheesefoot Head, Winchester. Hampshire.

(Reported August 9th,  2012 - #53)

Intricate crop circle of Buddhist symbol for infinite time and wisdom
(MailOnline)
 

  

... thoughts on 'social media'... facebook... twitter... & blogging.

Been with Facebook the longest, and even that is not all too long. Since it requires 'friending,' it is limited to who you can interact with directly, but you can comment and post without limitation. By 'liking or subscribing' to others accounts you can follow what they are posting without being a friend. Many more friends and family are on Facebook than Twitter, and even fewer blog.

Twitters biggest limiting factor is allowing postings only up to 140 characters.. so whatever you gotta say, you have to do it succinctly. A challenge at times, but it really does make you think what you want to say. At times it's frustrating, but on the whole, it's a good thing.
But  you can reach LOTS of people directly.. politicians, researchers, activists, comedians, writers, journalists, celebrities, besides anyone you know personally. If they're on twitter and using it themselves, there's a good chance they will see what you post them. Of course, the more 'followers' they have the more posts they're receiving.. and odds are you are NOT going to be receiving any replies back from them.. it is possible yes, but highly unlikely.

The more individuals you 'follow' on twitter, the more daily posts you'll receive. I've found that following more than 100 is pushing it a bit (now at 140... I gotta slim down some). Of course you do not have to read everything, but then it kinda defeats the purpose doesn't it. Not everyone posts on twitter every day, but say if a third do, and each of them posts several tweets... well, you get the picture, limiting the number you follow is a distinct advantage when you're trying to keep up with what everyone is posting.

There are a couple different ways to select individuals to follow. If you read something, or see someone in a video or film that you find interesting,  look up and see if they're on twitter. This is the most often used way I select those I wish to follow. And every once in awhile, I'll check to see who these guys might be following, and I'll read some of their posts. Should I find them exceptionally interesting, I'll add them to my follow list.
Once in awhile you'll come across someone who is very interesting, but they really do over-tweet. Dozens and dozens of posts a day that you'd have to wade through.. so obviously I won't be adding them to the follow group.
What you wind up with are a couple dozen individuals that you'll find you follow regularly. It should be a fluid list.. you will be adding and removing names on a regular basis. And pick the right folks, you  become increasingly well informed, and have a pretty darn good time in the process.

As for blogging.. that's an entirely different animal. When I first started blogging, I was posting lots of stuff.. now I blog-post infrequently, and use it just when I want to put something together about a selective subject I want to get up on the www soapbox concerning.
No limitations.. you can write something book length, with pictures, videos, anything and everything included. Who sees and reads it, well anyone searching on the topic, or all those you provide the direct link to the webpage (like posting it on your Facebook or twitter account).
Blogging is putting more of yourself 'out-there,' guess that's why fewer do it. The first few posts are more difficult, once you get over the self-consciousness of it, you don't think about it anymore.

If you have not been reading much of any of the blogs, try and get into it, it's worth the time and effort. On my blog, I've got a tab at the top labeled 'INS' (Independent News Sources)... most on this list are blogs, take a look when you get a chance. Some of the best and most crucial stuff being reported/ written now comes this way from these folks posting on these sites.
And I've mentioned this before.. should you want to start following just one site.. make it 'Common Dreams'... all those highlighted on the INS listing are ones I follow regularly. Always looking for new sources.. let me know if you want to recommend others.

Hope some of this information helps... seeing as we have to do this 'SAVE CIVILIZATION' thing pretty much on our own, fortunately there's lots of very good and worthwhile individuals out there more than wiling to help.

 ..and anyone's been waiting for the 'cause' to get involved with... 

this is 'THE ONE' ... ugot kids.. NO CHOICE !!

"BE THE CHANGE"

"The world will not be destroyed by those that do evil... 

but by those that watch without doing anything."
Albert Einstein

 

Why Prop 37 Was Defeated in California.

Why Prop 37 Was Defeated in California.

Sixty countries across the world label groceries containing genetically engineered ingredients, so that consumers can know what is in their food and make their own choices about what they eat. For months, it seemed almost certain that California would be the first U.S. state to join them.

Statewide polls showed that Proposition 37, a ballot initiative to label genetically engineered (GMO) foods, enjoyed support from more than 65 percent of Californians. But six weeks before the election, everything changed. With Monsanto leading the way, the world's wealthiest biotech, agrochemical and processed foods companies raised $46,000,000 to defeat Prop 37.

Their misleading ad campaign falsely implied that the World Health Organization had endorsed GMO foods as safe, and that the Food and Drug Administration opposed the ballot initiative. Of course, the mainstream media did not object.

It worked. After weeks of statewide ad runs, the poll numbers flipped, and Prop 37 was defeated.

Big companies like Monsanto spend millions of dollars to skew the truth and keep consumers in the dark.

Crop Circles 2012 ... crop circles news and research

Crop Circles Secrets: 2012 crop circles latest news and research

A couple of friends asked recently for thoughts on this year's formations.
Many of the formations from 2012 were interesting, but only a few from this past August and September are most assuredly spectacular.

Crop Circles 2012

(latest 'best' formations - watch in 'full-screen')

Take a very close look at the last formation in this group.... Cheesefoot Head near Winchester, Hampshire. Reported 9th August.

The mysterious pattern resembles the ancient Tibetan Buddhist symbol of an 'endless knot' - a complex loop of lines and circles used to illustrate the eternal flow of time. The symbol has many meanings but because it has no beginning and no end many people who follow the religion say it represents the wisdom of Buddha.
If you were to begin at one end of the path, you could follow it on 'an unbroken and perfect path' all the way through to the end. Even with all the time in the world, it would be an amazing feat to re-create this phenomena... in a few seconds, or minutes, at night in total darkness... humankind just does not posses these skills at this time.

Crop circles (not all but some) are scientifically proven to be manifestations of 'energy under intelligent guidance.' Over 80 eyewitnesses since 1890 describe them to be made by floating balls or tubes of light, in just what appears to be a few seconds time.

Contrary to popular perception, crop circles are not a modern phenomenon. They were witnessed by policemen and farmers as far back as 1890, they exist in the folklore of South Africa and China, and are mentioned in 17th Century academic texts. Around 1980 they re-appeared as simple circles and rings in southern England, where now up to 75% of modern day designs are reported. By the late 1980s they developed into pictograms, not unlike the petroglyphs found at sacred sites. 
After 1990 the designs developed exponentially in complexity, and today the crop circles display as fractals and elements expressing fourth dimensional processes in quantum physics.

In genuine crop circle formations, the stems are not broken but bent and swirled; they are subjected to a short and intense burst of heat that softens the stems to hover just above the ground, where they re-harden without damage. Research suggests that infrasound is producing such an effect. It has also been scientifically proven that soil samples taken from within crop circles show changes in its crystalline structure and mineral composition. Expert analysis concludes that heat of 1500ºC would create such a change.. hardly the kind of anomalies created by pranksters with planks in total darkness!

Crop circles also show evidence of ultrasound, and such frequencies are known to exist at ancient sacred sites such as stone circles and pyramids. And like all temples, crop circles appear at the intersecting points of the Earth's magnetic pathways of energy. Consequently, it is not unusual for people to experience heightened states of awareness and healings in crop circles – a situation also common to sacred sites and ancient temples. 

Biophysical evidence shows the plants' seed embryos are altered, and the liquid in the stems has been heated from the inside. In genuine crop circles there is also a reorganization of the plant's crystalline structure. Other evidence from crop circles shows how the floors of laid plants are swirled in mathematical proportions relative to the Golden Ratio – the vortex used by nature to create organisms. 

Mathematically, genuine crop circles have yielded five new geometric theorems based on Euclidian geometry. They are also encoded with sacred geometry – those harmonic ratios governing the relationship between the orbits of planets. Crop circles alter the local electromagnetic field; affecting the proper function of compasses, cameras and cellular phones; the frequencies are also known to affect aircraft equipment.

Look at the amazing pictures, study the research... and you'll get the message pretty quickly. And when you do, please link and share this extraordinary phenomenon with your friends. It is indeed the most important event shaping our lives. Which is precisely why it is presently being debunked.

  

BIG RISK: $1.2 Quadrillion Derivatives Market Dwarfs World GDP

Big Risk: $1.2 Quadrillion Derivatives Market Dwarfs World GDP

The GDP of the ENTIRE PLANET is $50-60 Trillion Dollars.

At the time of the mini-crash in 2008, there were approx $140 Trillion Dollars in Derivatives...

Yep... 'TFU'... (totally fuckin unbelievable)...
... today there's now $1.2 QUADRILLION in this fully unregulated,
HIGHLY speculative market !!!   

...that's 1,200 Trillion.... $1,200,000,000,000,000 !!!

Now remember folks, that $1,200,000,000,000,000 is the amount that is being INSURED by the aggregate community of financial institutions that have taken in premiums on the repayment of $1,200,000,000,000,000... (that's 20 times larger than the ENTIRE global economy !!!)
...when (not if) losses do occur to the buyers of these insanely written 'Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction' ... as Warren Buffet likes to refer to them.

George Soros famously said back in 2003: “The more I’ve heard about them, the more I’ve realized they’re truly toxic,” “It’s like buying life insurance on someone else’s life, and owning a license to kill.”
The net affect of the shockingly destructive systemic implosion of this pile of badly written and totally UNFUNDED insurance on the world’s economies is quite simply incalculable ... they are such complex products (by design?)... no one truly knows their actual value !!!

And our major banking sector is outrageously overexposed. All told, the nine banks seen below, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase, own almost 1/4 quadrillion worth of derivatives. That's just a little off from topping the total U.S. debt 15 times over!

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) was the federal legislation that officially ensured the deregulation of financial products known as over-the-counter derivatives. Signed into law on December 21, 2000 by Bill Clinton. It clarified the law so most over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transactions between “sophisticated parties” would not be regulated as “futures” under the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936 (CEA).
These derivatives, especially the credit default swap, would be at the heart of the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent 2008–2012 global recession, and are going to be a HUGE part of the immense financial meltdown that is to come.

Does anyone out there vaguely comprehend why AIG Insurance went under and what it cost this country and the world?
When this monster breaks out of his all too small cage, it will prove to be just one of the contributing factors to the SECOND wave of the Super Tsunami breaking over all the financial markets of the earth... in the very foreseeable future (likely 2013, or at the latest 2014) !!!

Only this time, it is going to be the mother of all economic collapses !!!  ... and it is going to take decades (not years) to recover.. if such a thing would be possible at all..
... remember, in addition, at this same time we'll be dealing with our 'mother earth' resource and climate calamities.

Frederic Bastiat, the famous French political economist, and author of some of the most influential political essays of all time including 'The Law' wrote 150 years ago...
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it, and a moral code that glorifies it."

Should you like to learn more about this huge market... this Paul Jay (The Real News Network)  interview with Marcus Stanley is a good place to start...

Bottom line... could not say it strongly enough... ignore these most dangerous situations at your own peril. Be sure to be EXTREMELY conservative in all your immediate financial plans and dealings. Most all current assets are going to be taking a tremendous hit, and along with that, the overall unemployment rate more than likely will at least double from current figures throwing untold millions more into financial chaos.

As for what governments can do... very little... printing more money can only hold off the inevitable for so long.. and we've just about run out of that option being of any real value.
What are they gonna print... 20-30-40-50 TRILLION... would be just a drop in the derivative bucket !!

It appears our unavoidable time of reckoning is very close at hand... get ready for 'the shift.'

Growth Is the Problem... Prepare for 'The Shift'

Chris Hedges: Growth Is the Problem - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig

'Our solution is our problem... its name is growth.'

"This strange twilight moment, in which our experts and systems managers squander resources in attempting to re-create an expanding economic system that is moribund, will inevitably lead to systems collapse. The steady depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels, along with the accelerated pace of climate change, will combine with crippling levels of personal and national debt to thrust us into a global depression that will dwarf any in the history of capitalism. And very few of us are prepared.

All of history’s major 24 civilizations have collapsed and the patterns are strikingly similar. The difference this time around is that we will unravel as a planet.

The quality of our lives will depend on the quality of our communities. If communal structures are strong we will be able to endure. If they are weak we will succumb to the bleakness. It is important that these structures be set in place before the onset of the crisis.

Learning practical skills, becoming more self-sufficient, forming bonds of trust with our neighbors will determine the quality of our lives and the lives of our children."

  

Why in the World are They Spraying? | Watch Free Documentary Online

Why in the World are They Spraying? | Watch Free Documentary Online

Please watch the entire film... then pass the link along to everyone you know.. it's THAT important !!


Since the release of the groundbreaking documentary What in the World are They Spraying?, people have woken up to the damaging effects from chemtrail/ geoengineering programs.

As a result, movements around the world are being formed to address these crimes. While many who were previously unaware of these programs are now taking action, the question now that is often asked is why is this happening.

Michael J. Murphy, Originator and Co-Producer of What in the World are They Spraying? in association with Barry Kolsky have produced Why in the World are They Spraying? which will answer that question.
This is an investigative documentary into one of the many agendas associated with chemtrail/geoengineering programs, “weather control“.


  

Neighborhood Watch Reporting On Trespassers/ 'Magzine Salesmen'

Certain events starting to happen now reflect what will be commonplace in our future in disturbing ways.
We recently received the email below (from a neighbor in our community out west). It's pretty much self explanatory.. and does not bode well for our path going forward. For as times get much worse, as they surely must, we'll reflect back and be wishing that this was just the worst of it... (no more than a hope or wish).

Don't be overly afraid... but be prepared.



_______________________________________________________________________

BJ Arias <bjarias@gmail.com>

---

FW: Neighborhood Watch reporting on Trespassers/"Magazine Salesmen" 1 message

---

From:	Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 7:55 PM
To: "BJ Arias (gmail)" <bjarias@gmail.com>
pain in the ass stuff Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2012 00:14:45 +0200 Subject: Neighborhood Watch reporting on Trespassers/"Magazine Salesmen" From: To: Dear Neighbors, There are trespassers still entering the neighborhood, claiming they are neighbors and selling magazines. They know their way around the neighborhood, refer to streets within the community, and claim that their parent is a MacDonald Highland's resident who teaches at UNLV, is a local physician, or is someone's brother or son.  These are all false claims.   In February, 2012,  AlertID Advisory reported an incident which the resident more accurately described as Attempted Home Invasion on Liege Drive.  Perpetrators, two male Caucasians, claimed to be selling magazines after banging on windows and yelling obscenities at the residents.  Also, in February, a resident and AlertID Advisory reported a magazine salesman, white male Caucasian, selling books on Foothills Village Drive. The 'salesman' became antagonistic with one resident after being reported to authorities. On September 1, 2012, the sub-headline of the Las Vegas Review Journal, 'Henderson teen snatched at her front door by two men.' There was a ransom demand... (fortunately, in this instance, it ended positively as she was rescued). These are all frightful incidents and we ask our neighbors to be alert and to call the police and gate immediately if they notice any suspicious activity. The following incident occurred last Sunday, August 26, on St. Croix Street, at the residence of (omitted), residents since 2007. Below is the residents' narrative of the incident as submitted to Neighborhood Watch. On Sunday around noon, our front gate intercom was buzzed and a male said "Hi, my name is Mason, my parents live on Foothills Village.  My parents want me to do something with myself this summer so I'm trying to raise money."  While we were speaking to him (over the intercom), we heard our 7 year old daughter open the front door to let him in. We immediately ran downstairs.  When my husband and I got downstairs, she was already speaking to him, so I asked him what I could do for him. He was approximately 20, Caucasian, had a winter [touk], over long hair, a dirty white shirt, and low riding jeans.  He was very polite when he asked if I would purchase any magazines and I said "No, I'm sorry, we can't".  Immediately, he asked for a bottle of water which struck me as feeling rehearsed.  (Later, my husband found another abandoned water bottle on our lawn, probably from another neighbor).  I said "Sure, just wait here".  I closed and locked the front door, got a bottle of water and passed it to my husband to give to him.   I felt like he wanted to gain entrance into the home to inspect for future 'Break and Enter' or worse. Even though he was being polite at the time, I felt threatened and was glad that my husband was at home. Immediately, we called the front gate and asked them to look for this person. Rita [guard on duty]  said she would send the rover [patrol] immediately to look for the man.  She followed up with me 10 minutes later to let me know that they could not find him.  About 20 minutes later, I left the house and saw that the rover had detained the man on the side of the road on MacDonald Ranch.  I inquired at the Stephanie Street gate whether the police were called and Rita confirmed they were but said they usually take a long time to come so I telephoned the Henderson police to follow up. After the police came, Rita called to ask if I wanted to press charges and we did so my husband went to meet the rover and policeman.  He was not charged because he claimed he had entered the community lawfully.   In the State of Nevada, a wall is considered a no trespassing sign so the community has the right to charge him but this young man, who seemed to know the system very well, had the right answers and was let go. As a parent of two young children, you can imagine how upset we were that this happened in our community.  To others, it may seem rather innocent or not a big deal, ie., a couple of kids soliciting people for money.  From our perspective, we live in a Gated Community for the protection and security.  We don't know who that person is, whether they are armed or what their intentions are.   We expect a higher level of security in our community.  It is not acceptable for us to have solicitors ringing our doorbell or lying to us or our children to get money.   We were also very concerned since he asked everyone for a bottle of water that he was scouting the property for future B and E or possibly worse.  As you know, the neighborhood has had its fair share of criminal activity over the last couple of years.  We all need to do whatever is necessary to ensure that this does not happen. We fully expect these types of trespassers who enter the neighborhood unlawfully to be charged to set an example. This is not a community where the residents take safety and security lightly. I'd like to thank and praise Rita for being so responsive and understanding about this issue.  She deserves some kudos for how she handled the situation.  We also thank Paul Bykowski, Tammy Nixon, Guardsmark Manager and Katherine Apell, Community Association Manager for their prompt response to this matter.  As a result of our incident, there will be new, "No Trespassing" signs at the gates of our community. This means that trespassers may be charged if found illegally in our neighborhood. We appreciate your understanding and assistance with this most important matter. (name omitted) Solicitors are not allowed and are illegally entering this community.  They are most likely gaining entry by jumping fences.  With the new posted signs, we should be able to press charges immediately.  Please help Guardsmark, your family and your neighbors by reporting any suspicious persons or activity immediately.  Call the Police and Guardsmark immediately. Let them determine whether the person(s) is in the community legitimately or if they are trespassers who are out for immediate monetary gain/goods OR scouting out the neighborhood for future criminal acts.  Report all suspicious persons and activities to: 1)  Guardsmark, the gate, ask for a Supervisor, demand a report & photo.  2)  HOA Manager, 3)  Manager-in-Charge, Guardsmark, 4)  Call Henderson Police Department immediately if you feel any threat or eminent danger.  9-1-1 Thank you all for keeping our neighborhood safer, Neighborhood Watch Committee

BJ Arias on about.me

BJ Arias on about.me

Recently I received an email from someone that had an 'about.me' url on the bottom of their email signature. Clicking on it, it turned out to be a one page website, with information about that person, in addition to showing all their media sites, and important url links.

These days more and more people have multiple networking accounts, facebook, twitter, instagram, blogger, you name it… and if you just want an easy place, that looks fairly professional, where you can send someone to let them know some selectively chosen details, and will allow them to get to all your media sites... this could be it!

Set up is user friendly, and it has analytics, showing how many people have viewed your profile, and some other stuff. They also have an 'app' available as well. So check it out...  and let me know what you think?

(Here's my splash page: http://about.me/BJArias  ... be sure and check-out some other about.me pages as well.. lots of em are pretty cool!)

 

 

 

Interview With Mike Lofgren, Author of "The Party Is Over"

An Interview With Mike Lofgren, Author of "The Party Is Over"

Great article...  must read stuff... here's a small excerpt...

"We can devise all the clever schemes imaginable to clean up politics and get money out of campaigns, but it won't work until the American people collectively give up on certain fond illusions: the Horatio Alger myth, American Exceptionalism, and the whole mass of magical thinking that boils down to the belief that God loves America because we're so virtuous, handsome, and smart, and that we, too, could win the lottery. Well, we're not necessarily any of those things. The truth is that we lucked into adverse possession of a mostly empty continent in a temperate zone with lots of resources, and straddled east and west by two huge moats. We had firearms and resistance to smallpox, and the original owners didn't. Virtue had very little to do with it."


Wither or not we pay enough attention in time to shorten the length of serious pain that must come is anyone's guess... but it does not look promising that it's going to be coming anytime soon... not until it can't be avoided any longer..
... and that means it's going to be one hell-of-a-mess!!




 

Remembering... Forgetting...

“Life has a way of going in circles. Ideally, it would be a straight path forward, we'd always know where we were going, we'd always be able to move on and leave everything else behind. There would be nothing but the present and the future. Instead, we always find ourselves where we started. When we try to move ahead, we end up taking a step back. We carry everything with us, the weight exhausting us until we want to collapse and give up.

We forget things we try to remember. We remember things we'd rather forget. The most frightening thing about memory is that it leaves no choice. It has mastered an incomprehensible art of forgetting. It erases, it smudges, it fills in blank spaces with details that don't exist.

But however we remember it, or choose to remember it, the past is the foundation that holds our lives in place. Without its support, we'd have nothing for guidance. We spend so much time focused on what lies ahead, when what has fallen behind is just as important. What defines us isn't where we're going, but where we've been. Although there are places and people we will never see again, and although we move on and let them go, they remain a part of who we are.

There are things that will never change, things we will carry along with us always. But as we venture into the murky future, we must find our strength by learning to leave things behind.”

 
― Brigid Gorry-Hines

(...amazing this 19 yo wrote this passage...well beyond her years.)



  

... game over ...

In Canada's Tar Sands, a Dante's Hell Threatens People Nearby and Across the Globe


"Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. 

If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. 
That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. 

Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction.    Civilization would be at risk."


 

What's Going To Happen When The Reality Sets In...

Study predicts imminent irreversible planetary collapse - SFU News - Simon Fraser University

It's been put off for so long because no one saw much of anything happening right around the corner. It was being mentioned about the possibility of it being 100 to 200 years, or more, into the future before telltale signs would begin to be evidenced.

Guess what... now it's more than likely most all living today will be experiencing an ever greater awareness and first-hand knowledge of exactly what's going to be taking place. What was only being talked about will now be happening to all of us.. with increasing and unnerving regularity...
 

... and it's going to be a very difficult, harsh future for all mankind.

... global warming wildfires...

Recently a group of 18 scientists, using scientific theories, toy ecosystem modeling and paleontological evidence as a crystal ball, are now predicting the Earth’s ecosystems are careering towards an imminent, irreversible collapse.

A threshold-induced planetary state-shift is occurring, and it appears more than likely there will be no opportunity for going back. When a system switches to a new state because lots of energy has been added, even if you take out the new energy, it won’t revert back to the old system. The planet doesn’t have any memory of the old state to revert back to.

These projections directly contradict the popularly held belief that the extent to which human-induced pressures, such as climate change, are destroying our planet is still debatable, and any collapse would be both gradual and centuries away. This study concludes that when we have transformed the Earth’s surface by more than 50% we won’t be able to delay, never mind avert, a planetary collapse. We have already reached the 43% mark through converting landscapes into agricultural and urban areas, making Earth increasingly susceptible to an environmental epidemic.

"... gravely underestimating immediacy and danger.. not accurately assessing how rapidly changes are taking place."
 “In a nutshell, humans have not done anything really important to stave off the worst because the social structures for doing something just aren’t there,”
" ... those closely studying climate-induced changes through the earth’s history are more than pretty worried... in fact, some state that they are now absolutely terrified.”

... What's Going To Happen When It Is Absolutely Beyond Doubt And Everyone Completely Understands... And How Much Time Do We Really Have...

 

 

 

- LivelyHoods -

- LivelyHoods.org -

With all of the troubling news coming at us from every direction today, it's not always easy to see there are some real bright spots. Recently while on twitter, I came across a re-tweet that brought to my attention the name of Maria Springer (@MariaSpringer).
Maria is a wonderful young woman doing her utmost in tying to do some good in this world. She is co-founder and Executive Director of an organization called LivelyHoods. Having grown up in a poor and violent Los Angeles neighborhood herself, she has a passion for social justice and international development. Fresh from college, she was going to sign up for the Peace Corps, but her life took an unexpected turn and dreams of working on a local level to change lives collided… and multiplied… eventually giving rise to LivelyHoods.

Jobs for High-Potential Youth in Urban Slums

LivelyHoods creates jobs to enable unemployed and marginalized youth to work their way out of poverty. The innovative idea is to utilize these youth's survival skills, resourcefulness, and connection to their communities and employ them as sales agents. Building a sales force (iSmart) that helps companies get products into the hands of customers in hard-to-reach urban slums - an untapped and emerging market with exciting potential.

It's this kind of dedication and effort by Maria, along with co-founder, Tania Laden that should be universally recognized and applauded. We have such a monumental need for re-direction at this time... this is an exemplary place to begin... working with the hundreds of thousands of street-youth in Kenya, Africa.
There are over 100 million street kids worldwide, and the number is rising. We can and must break the cycle.