Leonard Cohen on truth in the Land of Plenty

The spare, ambiguous lyrics of Canadian poet and composer, Leonard Cohen, who spent five years in retreat at a Zen monastery, sometimes contain an element of prophecy about this country:

 

“Don’t really know who sent me
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in the Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.

I don’t know why I come here,
Knowing as I do,
What you really think of me,
What I really think of you.

For the millions in a prison,
That wealth has set apart,

For the Christ who has not risen,
From the caverns of the heart.

For the innermost decision,
That we cannot but obey –
For what’s left of our religion,
I lift my voice and pray:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.

I know I said I’d meet you,
I’d meet you at the store,
But I can’t buy it, baby.
I can’t buy it anymore.

And I don’t really know who sent me,
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.”

 

Ron Paul Revolution: Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?

“Mark your calendar! 11/07/07 – Today is D-Day, the date the history books will record the start-date of the new Depression. Ironic – those “lucky numbers”. It’s not hyperbole, and here’s why (never mind the 400 point Dow drop, that’s happened before):

The Chinese had begun a sell-off of their US securities. They have dollars held by their government and, separately by their treasury (like the Fed).

Today, that entity has made clear that they will be unloading some $400 billion, which they already began in August (according to the China Daily, they sold off $9 billion – without buying any new debt in that month alone) in an attempt to divest of American Government securities. (They still hold over a trillion dollars of, well, other dollars – stock, corporate paper, etc)

The Japanese, not to be outdone, sold off some $24 billion in US treasuries in August.

Today, GM posted a loss of $40 billion in the 3rd quarter, because they had so much anticipated income from anticipated tax credits that they had opted to show as possible income FOR THREE YEARS in order to minimize the appearances of real losses – that they now had to suck it up and stick it all on the balance sheet for this one quarter, even though – at selling cars, they made a profit in that quarter! Can you wrap your mind around LOSING 40 BILLION DOLLARS IN 3 MONTHS? There are many nations that don’t have that number for a GDP, annually. This is America’s great manufacturing giant. And, as they used to say, what’s good for GM is Good for America……

Today, like when banks began to fail in 1932, we know who’s in charge, and how his policies got us here. We’ll survive until we have a new president, and we will begin again. And the good news is that from here out, we will be in a rebuilding phase. The dinosaurs have failed themselves and us, but we will build a new and better economy. I’ll tell you all about it…”
Read the whole piece by Michael Fox at Smirking Chimp.

Uh, Fox….or Chimp…..I’m certain you both know all about political primates but you surely don’t think our George is actually canny enough to pull off financial monkey business on his own?

Hmmmm.

Let’s peek beneath that left-right divide and venture a wee guess: NO.

Banking scams are pulled off by…wild guess here…..bankers!

And who is the one candidate taking on the banking system?

Ron Paul.

Ron Paul Revolution: the Return of Robert Rubin

Filed under Bobby, we hardly knew you…

this:

“The new CEO of Citigroup, America’s largest bank, is a former Goldman Sachs co-chairman and a former Secretary of the Treasury, Robert Rubin. Goldman Sachs has made record profits in recent months. How? By selling short the subprime mortgage bond market.

Prince (the departing chief of Citi) left his office under a cloud – financial, of course. Nobody gets fired on Wall Street for moral cloud problems. Unlike dark clouds with silver linings, Wall Street clouds are composed entirely of red ink. A Reuters story summarizes the carnage at Citi.

Charles Prince resigned on Sunday as chairman and chief executive of Citigroup Inc, as the bank said it may write off $11 billion of subprime mortgage losses, on top of a $6.5 billion write-down last quarter. . . . Citigroup said it expects to write down $5 billion to $7 billion after taxes – roughly three or four months of profit – for its $55 billion of exposure to U.S. subprime mortgages.

The write-down equals $8 billion to $11 billion before taxes, and may rise if markets worsen, the largest U.S. bank said. Citigroup’s previous $6.5 billion write-down related to subprime mortgages, loan losses and other debt.”

More here

Comment

Aha. So Robert Rubin, Clinton’s Treasury Secretary (and before that, heavily involved with his campaign and head of his economic policy council), former Goldman head, then Citigroup honcho, part of the trio that.. er... sached (that’s Jeffrey Sached…)… Russia in the 1990s (Jeffrey Sachs, Larry Summers, and Rubin), second musketeer of the three who allegedly saved the world (the other two being Greenspan and Summers)…….. yes, that R obert Rubin is back at Citigroup, with another ex- Sachs CEO (Paulson) at Treasury. Now, we only need a Clinton in office to finish the pretty picture.

And who among the candidates has had the chutzpah to take on this wrecking crew of bankers?

Guiliani? Clinton? Thompson? McCain?

Only Ron Paul….

And from research for my upcoming book, here is a glimpse into the inbred family that is US Govt. Inc.:

Goldman Sachs Alumni in Public Office:

Bradley Abelow, Treasurer, New Jersey State Government
Joshua Bolten, current White House Chief
Kenneth D. Brody, former President and Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States
E. Gerald Corrigan, former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey.
Paul Deighton, CEO of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games
Mario Draghi, Governor of the Bank of Italy.
Gary Gensler, Undersecretary of the Treasury (1999-2001), Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (1997-1999)
Henry Fowler, United States Secretary of the Treasury (1965-1969)
Stephen Friedman, Chairman of the National Economic Council (2002-2005), Chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2005 -)

Robert D. Hormats, Assistant Secretary of State (1981-1982), Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (1979-1981)
Reuben Jeffrey III, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Philip D. Murphy, National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Henry M. Paulson, current United States Secretary of the Treasury
Robert Rubin, Chairman of the National Economic Council (1993-1995), United States Secretary of the Treasury (1995-1999)
Sidney J. Weinberg, Assistant to the Chairman (1942-1943) and vice-chairman of the War Production Board (1944-1945)
John Whitehead, Deputy Secretary of State (1985-1989), Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (1996-1999), Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (2001-2006)
Robert Zoellick, United States Trade Representative (2001-20015), Deputy Secretary of State (2005-2006)

Goldman Sachs Alumni in Senior Executive/Investor Positions:

Pete Briger, Co-head of Fortress Investment Group (bought $260 million in loans belonging to Michael Jackson, the entertainer, from Bank of America in late 2005
Leon Cooperman, Founder and CEO of Omega Advisors
Jim Cramer, Founder of the TheStreet.com and SmartMoney.com, and host of CNBC’s Mad Money.
Gavyn Davies, (London based Senior Partner) Chairman Emeritus of the BBC and with close ties to Tony Blair. His wife, Susan Nye is office manager for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.

Dr. Sushil Wadhwani (former director of Equity Strategy at Goldman sachs International from 1991-1995) is on the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee.
J. Christopher Flowers, Founder of J.C. Flowers & Company, member of the Forbes 400 list.
Richard M. Hayden, Vice Chairman of GSC Partners, an $11 billion asset management firm.
Edward Lampert, Founder of ESL Investments and member of the Forbes 400 list.
Eric Mindich, Founder of Eton Park, leading hedge firm
Ed Mule, Founder of Silverpoint, multibillion dollar hedge fund.
Dinakar Singh, CEO of TPG-Axon Capital, global hedge fund.
Stuart L. Sternberg, Owner of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Major League Baseball team)
John Thain, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange

Dollar Disaster: Buck hits lowest since dollar index created

The chickens of too many rate cuts came home to roost as the dollar index fell to its lowest possible on news that China was going to diversify out of its dollar assets.

Gold shot even higher, nearing the $850 mark and 10% (in $ terms) off its all time high.
The euro is now seriously overbought, and will probably correct in 2008, but don’t look for anything like that any time soon.

Technically, too, the dollar looks ripe for a correction at this point, but technicals don’t always come into play when the market is simply panicking out of the buck, fearing ever more rate cuts from the moronic, thieving Fed.

When Jim Rogers advises moving out of all dollar denominated assets and even supermodels and actresses insist on getting paid in euros (or in Kruger rands), party time in the US for all you tax-and-kill enthusiasts is over. The bill is coming due now. Who’s going to pay? The creditors, of course!

Writes the Independent:

“The banks remain unwilling to lend to each other, preferring to rebuild their balance sheets and “hoard liquidity” to buttress themselves against any shocks from repatriating off-balance-sheet losses from their special investment vehicles (SIVs). However, this tightening up has led to a vicious circle. Making credit tougher has exacerbated the problems of struggling mortgage holders in America; default rates then rise and make the banks even more exposed to losses as credit agencies downgrade their assets. This seems to be what happened at Citigroup. The admission that it was unable to assure investors that a potential $11bn write-down for sub-prime mortgages would not grow has led to this fresh fit of extreme nervousness. Huge write-downs by Merrill Lynch ($7.9bn) and UBS ($3.4bn) have not helped.”
Let’s cheat them by turning the buck into a piece of trash…

Ron Paul Revolution: Dr. Paul and Dr. Dobson

On Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough just said a mouthful: whoever gets the Republican ticket may need to get Dr. James Dobson on his side.

Even without him, Guiliani is pulling the southern evangelical vote, against all appearances. But really, it’s not a surprise. Since many evangelicals seem to be leaving behind all conservative or Christian principles in favor of the security issue.

Could that be a strategy for the Paul campaign?

Get James Dobson on board?

Ron Paul Revolution: Ron is for Real..

The Ron Paul phenomenon

(Updated belowUpdate IIUpdate IIIUpdate IVUpdate VUpdate VIUpdate VII)

By far the most significant and interesting political story of the past 24 hours is the extraordinary, record-breaking outpouring of support for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. Therefore, it is being ignored by much of our establishment press — not a single article about it in The New York Times or The Washington Post (though it is discussed on a couple of their blogs), nor even a mention of it on the websites of CNN or CBS News (which found space to report on Stephen Colbert’s non-candidacy). But MSNBC and Fox News did at least both post the AP article on the Paul story.

Regardless of how much attention the media pays, the explosion of support for the Paul campaign yesterday is much more than a one-time event. The Paul campaign is now a bona fide phenomenon of real significance, and it is difficult to see this as anything other than a very positive development.”

More by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.

All this is only because of the mainstream recognition being accorded to him.

But here’s my thought. Why not recognize smart, consistent views for their own sake? Why not support Paul, even if the mainstream won’t touch him, even if he hasn’t enough money, even if he walks and talks differently from a beltway insider? Why not support him because you like his ideas and think they might work? Why not follow what you think rather than wait, cautiously for the wind to shift, for the water to warm up, for the hour to be right, for your neighbor to agree….

Isn’t that exactly the problem?

That no one will simply trust their own judgment and good sense? If we can’t think for ourselves, then why should we blame the New York Times or the liberal establishment for telling us how to?

Ron Paul Revolution: Ron’s War Chest – SOS America!

Tucker Carlson talked to Ron Paul on MSNBC this evening — about how his campaign is sweeping along in an appropriately laissez-faire fashion, without top-down orchestration. It’s what we’ve all known, a truly grass-roots campaign.

He’s not using the Internet, he says; it’s using him. And his followers are young people who know they’ve been left to hold the bag on the debt and disaster sowed by their parents.

“Paul raised just over $5 million in the most recent fundraising quarter, which ended September 30. The campaign has set an official goal of raising $12 million between Oct.1 and the end of 2007.

As of midnight Sunday, Nov. 4, the Paul campaign claimed to have raised $2.77 million.”

More at ABC.

Ron Paul is now 4th among the Republican contenders in cash on hand to play, just behind Fred Thompson, and ahead of McCain, Huckabee, Tancredo, and Hunter.

And here from brilliant financial analyst and best-selling author of “Crash-Proof, Peter Schiff, President of Euro-Pacific Capital, a call to arms for the business community.

Call to Action

Congressman Ron Paul, America’s best hope for the future.

I recently had the pleasure of personally handing the Honorable Ron Paul (the only member of Congress truly worthy of that title) a $2,300 check (the legal maximum) as my contribution toward his presidential campaign. I have never given one dime to a politician (though Congressman Paul is more of a statesman then politician) in my life, and you know what; it felt great. It was the best $2,300 I ever spent. The purpose of this email is to urge every single one of my clients, every subscriber to my newsletter, and every one in my database, to make a similar contribution.

There are over 60,000 names in my database. If a significant percentage of us donate $2,300 to Ron Paul, he will have a decent shot at being the Republican nominee, and he is probably the only Republican candidate capable of wining the Presidency in 2008. Come election time, this country will likely be in a severe recession, and Ron Paul is the only Republican able to distance himself from President Bush, who will clearly be blamed for the mess our economy will be in.

Like me, Ron Paul was against America’s decision to invade Iraq. Unfortunately, our predictions regarding what would happen if we did have all been proven correct. However, the one good thing that could potentially come of this whole fiasco is that it may be the single biggest factor making Ron Paul so electable. If that is the price of putting the only principled man in Congress into the Oval Office then perhaps it was worth it.

Unfortunately, most of the criticism of our phony economic expansion has come from the left. The mindless cheerleading of the right will leave them devoid of any credibility on economic issues. Ron Paul is the only Republican who can say “I told you so.” If, as a result of right wing rhetoric, voters blame capitalism for our problems, this nation will take a giant turn to the left. While many on the left have criticized the economy, they have mainly done so for the wrong reasons and their “solutions” will only make the situation worse.

Fortunately we have the power to stop them and we cannot let the opportunity to do so pass us by. This is a unique moment in history, a fork in the road to serfdom. We may actually be able to prove our founding fathers wrong in their belief that democracy does not work (For those of you who do not know our nation was founded as a Republic not a Democracy. For more on the difference between the two forms of government read my new book Crash Proof. Click here to order your copy.) Perhaps with your help we can prove that the special interests of political factions can actually be overcome by an inspired electorate motivated solely by the love of freedom and a respect for the constitution.

If you are fortunate enough to be one of my clients, writing a $2,300 check should not be a problem. As I have likely made you tons of money over the years, here is an opportunity to donate some of it to a worthy cause. We have made our money by betting against the U.S and betting against the dollar. Giving $2,300 of our winnings to Ron Paul gives us the opportunity to bet ON America for a change. And it’s a bet none of us can afford to lose, and the best part about it is that if we all make this bet together we can’t lose.

My penchant for foreign investments has from time to time caused some of my critics to label me unpatriotic. While such attacks are clearly out of line, using some of our foreign profits to secure the election of Ron Paul goes a long way toward defusing such allegations.

If you are not a client and you think $2,300 is a lot of money, it’s not. In fact, if Ron Paul is not our next President, such a sum will be practically worthless by the end of the term of whoever is. So what do you have to lose? Just write the check and hope for the best.

Do not just send in $50 or $100, dig down deep and pony up. If you are married send him $4,600. Think of what is at stake. Let’s not let Ron Paul lose this election for lack of money. Think about the sacrifices others have made for this country. Think of those who have given their lives to secure the liberties we are now losing to a tyrannical Federal Government. The signers of the Declaration of Independence not only risked their sacred honor but their very lives. You have a chance to do something to reclaim the principles embedded in that document yet risk nothing but a lousy 2,300 bucks, the cost of a single plasma TV. If we all make that one small sacrifice, maybe, just maybe, those who have died defending our freedoms may finally rest in peace.

Giving money or voting for any other political candidate, Democrat or Republican, is a complete waste of time, effort and money. The only person in the race whose victory will make any difference what-so-ever is Ron Paul. Even if he does not win, just having his positions heard by a wider audience will make a bigger difference to the country than the outcome of the election itself.

Do not get me wrong; electing Ron Paul will not stop America’s day of reckoning from coming. The piper will have to be paid no matter who is in the White House. However, President Ron Paul will be extremely important if we are going to dig our way out of this giant hole. Any other declared presidential candidate will make the job far more difficult if not completely impossible.

Rebuilding a viable industrial economy will require a return to our constitutional roots of limited government, low taxes, minimal regulation, and sound money. Ron Paul is the only candidate capable of bring those reforms about. He has already proven that his principles are more important then his own reelection. He is the only man in Congress I know that power did not corrupt. In fact, with Ron Paul as President, many others in Congress might actually find the courage to vote their conscience as well.

If you do not know who Ron Paul is, visit his web site at www.RonPaul2008.com and see for yourself. He is the real deal, a true statesmen and citizen politician in the traditions envisioned by the framers of our Republic. From time to time I get emails from people suggesting that I run for President. While such suggestions are indeed flattering, I realize that they are offered purely in jest. However, for those who agree with my take on things, a vote for Ron Paul is the closet thing to a vote for me that you will ever have an opportunity to cast. He understands the real problems facing our nation and knows what must be done to enable “we the people” to solve them for ourselves.

Here is the link to make your contribution. https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate?c=SCHIFF

If you donate by telephone or use the general donation web page, make sure to reference the project code “Schiff” when you do. That way I can better judge the effectiveness of this email.

Once you have done so forward this email to every contact in your address book. Let’s give Ron Paul the greatest political war chest in history. In modern American politics money talks. With your help, Ron Paul’s voice can be the loudest one of all.

Sincerely,

Peter Schiff
President and Chief Global Strategist
Euro Pacific Capital

Unsubscribe or change subscriber options
https://m233.infusionsoft.com/rem/x186a0/lrajiva!hotmail.com/b20b8760/

Police State Pakistan: Fighting terrorists or civil society?

“Launched after the Sept. 11 attacks on America, the campaign against militancy has suffered growing setbacks, including the recent disastrous attempt by thousands of security forces to win back Swat district in northwestern Pakistan. They have only lost more control.

On Tuesday the situation got worse, as hundreds of militants consolidated their grip on the Matta region of Swat. Dozens of troops and police manning four security posts gave up without a fight.

“The campaign against religious extremism has been a dismal failure, and that has nothing to do with civil society and the media. It is because the Pakistan military has not been able to cleanse itself of militant sympathizers,” Hasan said, referring to the historic involvement of Pakistan in supporting Islamists in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

In fact, many observers see Musharraf’s emergency declaration and swift move to replace its independent-minded judges not as a strategy to combat terrorism but a blatant tactic to prevent the Supreme Court ruling against his recent election victory. Critics say the vote was unconstitutional, as he contested while still army chief.”

More at the International Herald Tribune.

Comment:

I suppose in response to this, gold soared to $820 and the dollar plummeted to depths not seen since the 1970s. The only good news, besides Kucinich’s characteristically conscientious bid to impeach Cheney, which has now inched its way to the Judiciary Committee,

is Ron Paul’s surging campaign contributions – $4 million in a 24 hour period.

Rosicrucianism on the mind and the heart

  • In our civilization the chasm that stretches between mind and heart yawns deep and wide and, as the mind flies on from discovery to discovery in the realms of science, the gulf becomes ever deeper and wider and the heart is left further and further behind.

Only when that co-operation is attained and perfected will man attain the higher, truer understanding of himself and of the world of which he is a part; only that can give him a broad mind and a great heart.

Comment:

I began my first studies in the symbolism of astrology from the works of Dr. Max Heindel, a Rosicrucian physician, who was also inspired by Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy. I still consider his books some of the most useful writing on the western ‘wisdom’ tradition.