How a nation prostitutes itself...

~ A Brothel in Ancient Greece

What is the worst thing a person can sell for money?

Usually one's body is the worst, just slightly above one's soul.

And the worst thing a nation can sell short of their soul i.e. autonomy?

Greece's ancient sites to play starring role in recovery  (GuardianUK.co) --  "Archaeological treasures including the Acropolis and the temple of Delphi will be available as backdrops for filming and photographic shoots for as little as €1,600 (£1,339) a day... The debt-choked nation has taken the dramatic step of deciding to exploit some of its past majesty by utilising the Acropolis and other antiquities – cultural gems until now considered too sacred to besmirch with commerce...

"The move follows intense pressure from the European Union and IMF, the foreign lenders keeping the nation afloat. With fears of Greece defaulting on its debt mounting by the day, EU officials stepped in saying the time had come for its cultural treasures to be put to work"

Did you get that folks?  Its not that Greece wishes to do this... its the Worthless EU and by extension, the money-hungry US led IMF loan sharks pressuring the nation's government's historical antiquities "to be put to work".

Maybe its just me but reading that, I had this visual in my mind of a Bastard piece of shit 'pimp' stepfather forcing his wife to put her young daughter on the street to whore to contribute to the family income.

Can't hide it folks- that's what I think of the EU and IMF... You should too..

Greece.. Grecian people..  How much are you going to take?

Keep some pride and national autonomy... Default already!!

Another IMF disgrace

~ "De women find de pipe intoxicating, no?" - Dominique Strauss-Kahn

The big news of the weekend which every major media source has reported is that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been arrested on charges he allegedly forced a hotel cleaning woman onto his bed and sexually assaulted her early afternoon Saturday, then was taken into custody that evening before his plane departed for Paris.

According to Reuters, "She told detectives he came out of the bathroom naked, ran down a hallway to the foyer where she was, pulled her into a bedroom and began to sexually assault her... She pulled away from him and he dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act... He (then) tried to lock her into the hotel room,"

Its a juicy story with salacious details obviously but what makes the story important isn't in the sexual aspects but in the fact that Strauss-Kahn held ambitions to run for France's presidency and was a leading contender of the French Socialist Party.  This political aspiration seems to be now derailed.

Most importantly as far as 'A&G' is concerned is the fact this vile man (In October 2008, he apologized for "an error of judgment" for an affair with a female IMF economist who was his subordinate) is head of the IMF, in itself a Most despicable organization that destroys whole nations by acting as the worst kind of loan shark or Mafioso, lending money when a nation has no where to turn.

Once the money is lent, the IMF then immerses itself in the governance and economic decision making policies of such nations, and forces through harsh austerity which cause endless economic pain and suffering upon the populaces for generations. In the process, the IMF collects its pounds of economic "flesh" from these fiscally struggling nations and all the Investors who get paid 100 cents on the dollar on their investments on national debts instead of taking 'haircuts', are happy cockroaches.

Ask the people Greece, Ireland & Portugal how they are liking the IMF...

There is an irony of sorts that the head of the IMF was arrested and may face imprisonment for raping a hotel cleaning woman, yet the IMF itself pretty much rapes the nations they lend to and yet there's no entity powerful enough to stop them.

Here are some facts about the IMF you may not know...

--  It came into existence in December 1945 when 29 countries came together and signed an agreement with a goal to stabilize exchange rates and assist the reconstruction of the world's international payment system.  Today 187 countries are members and headquarters are located in Washington, D.C.

--  The US has by far the largest share of votes (approx. 17%) amongst IMF members. Japan is second largest with 6.01% share of votes.  The seven largest industrialized countries (G-7) hold a total of 45% share of votes.  

-- Major decisions require an 85% supermajority. The US has always been the only country able to block a supermajority on its own due to the 17% share in voting.

--  The US contributes about 20% of the total annual IMF budget.  So for instance, when Greece received a $40 billion bailout from the IMF in May, 2010, approximately $8 billion came from US taxpayers.  Yet when any of the loan gets repaid back to IMF, the taxpayers don't receive a penny.

~ So, in essence while the US does not "run" the IMF directly, it makes sure the financial body never goes against US economic or political interests, and has the final say on all important decisions due to its 17% supermajority vote.

The most unfortunate aspect of this incident isn't so much what happens to Dominique Strauss-Kahn.  Its that no matter what, IMF will be insulated and continue running 'business as usual', as it rapes nations of their wealth and sovereignty.

Video: Ireland & Austerity

There are many financial problems plaguing the European continent and most if not all those maladies are caused by European and International banks who overreached up until 2008, took massive economic hits when the global economy crashed, then held various nations hostage until their governments agreed to surrender national economic autonomy and allow those financial institutions to pretty much rape and pillage the European populaces through austerity.  

While one could study Greece to get a taste of what happens when banks devastate a nation, I feel a more comprehensive understanding of this Investor-driven plague can be found by studying Ireland, a nation that is similar to Greece in that both nations' economies are Heavily dependent on imports and both have taken IMF loans within the last year.  But whereas Greece holds strikes and protests almost daily, the Irish people are still in a form of shell-shock as to what's hit the nation. 

Below is a very informative video in 2 parts from Max Keiser who when it comes to finance, markets and understanding the global ponzi scheme currently going on, is someone whose opinions I respect. He explains how Ireland's economy was decimated back in 2008, the 'deal with the devil' their government agreed to with the IMF by accepting their loans, and what's ahead for Ireland and her people.

Please watch & understand this is not isolated to the Emerald Isle..  Enjoy~

Ireland- part 1 (10min approx)

Ireland part 2 (10min approx.)

IMF: Age of America Nears End

~ "Four F**k-Ups and a Good, Decent man"

I'm reposting a news article from MarketWatch.com because of its importance in understand America's place in the global economy, and what has happened not simply since the start of the recession, but really over a 30 year period beginning with the original "F**k Up", Ronald Reagan's "Trickle Down" economic policies...

(MarketWatch article in blue font)

"International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.


For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the “Age of America” will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China. 


And it’s a lot closer than you may think.


According to the latest IMF official forecasts, China’s economy will surpass that of America in real terms in 2016 — just five years from now... It provides a painful context for the budget wrangling taking place in Washington, D.C., right now. 


It raises enormous questions about what the international security system is going to look like in just a handful of years. And it casts a deepening cloud over both the U.S. dollar and the giant Treasury market, which have been propped up for decades by their privileged status as the liabilities of the world’s hegemonic power.


According to the IMF forecast, whomever is elected U.S. president next year — Obama? Mitt Romney? Donald Trump? — will be the last to preside over the world’s largest economy.


Most people aren’t prepared for this. They aren’t even aware it’s that close. Listen to experts of various stripes, and they will tell you this moment is decades away. The most bearish will put the figure in the mid-2020s. 


But they’re miscounting. They’re only comparing the gross domestic products of the two countries using current exchange rates.


That’s a largely meaningless comparison in real terms. Exchange rates change quickly. And China’s exchange rates are phony. China artificially undervalues its currency, the renminbi, through massive intervention in the markets.


The comparison that really matters:  The IMF in its analysis looks beyond exchange rates to the true, real terms picture of the economies using “purchasing power parities.” (PPP) That compares what people earn and spend in real terms in their domestic economies.


Under PPP, the Chinese economy will expand from $11.2 trillion this year to $19 trillion in 2016. Meanwhile the size of the U.S. economy will rise from $15.2 trillion to $18.8 trillion. That would take America’s share of the world output down to 17.7%, the lowest in modern times. China’s would reach 18%, and rising.


Just 10 years ago, the U.S. economy was three times the size of China’s. "

Ineptitude of both political parties over 30 years, as well as selfish greed which is as natural to businesses and corporations as breathing, have caused this to happen.  More specifically, the only real differences between Republican and Democrat in political circles has been on social and hot-button issues like abortion, gay-rights, 2nd Amendment rights, etc..

Economically, there are little to no difference.

Sure the Republicans talk of balancing budgets now but their goal really is to completely gut social services and roll back the entitlements of the last 75 years.  They had no problems freely spending money when in control of Congress during the early-mid 2000's.  And Democrats claim they're for the working people and poor, yet abandon them at every turn so not to upset the markets, corporations and power brokers that own both parties.

And meanwhile, while every President from Reagan to Clinton to Obama was/is at heart, a pro-Wall Street, pro-corporation "Trickle down"-ite, deeply greedy US businesses decided it was far better for them to close whole factories and distribution centers and ship them to the ends of the globe to save $$ in wages, benefits and Federal taxes.

The American only had value as a 'consumer' with endless credit cards to tap out which was used by most people to make up the difference in loss of standard of living, based on increased prices and stagnant wages.

The American people have not had a leader who has genuinely fought for them in over 30 years; someone who looked at corporations and banks with healthy hatred and took them on directly, grabbing the proverbial 'bull' by the horns.  Someone who fought hard for fair trade policies that help make the nation stronger rather than speed up its decline.

Instead, for 30 years our Presidents have made us feel good about ourselves with "Morning in America", sold us on a 'New World Order', 'felt our pain' while increasing it via NAFTA & WTO, sold a bill of lies to get us into a 8years + counting war in Iraq, and promised us 'Hope' & 'Change' while delivering neither.

Five presidents worked collectively to appease the ultra-rich,  destroy the economic foundations, expand our National Debt to uncontrollable proportions and make us heavy indebtors to China, who will now eventually surpass the US in five years.

I end with this sobering statistic-- in 1980, the National Debt of the US was under $1 Trillion.  In 31 years and five really awful presidents of both parties, it is at $14.3 Trillion and rising by $133 million A DAY.