___________

Stagflation is Here, and It is a Weapon of Mass Destruction

By Richard C. Cook

Global Research, August 20, 2008

U.S. wholesale prices in July 2008 grew at the fastest rate since 1981. The cost of materials has risen 9.8 percent in the last twelve months, according to government data. While gasoline prices fell the week of August 18 to $3.74 a gallon, they remain far higher than the $2.40 a gallon of mid-2005. Meanwhile, the price of food at the grocery store continues to climb, while consumer purchasing power remains stagnant.

According to analyst Michael Hodges, average family income adjusted for inflation declined six percent from 1999 to 2005, and the drop has continued since then. With families no longer able to borrow on their shrinking home equity for purchasing power due to the collapse of the housing bubble, they have had to tap into their savings. According to Hodges, “As of summer 2007, savings were a negative 1.3 percent, an all-time low.” (Grandfather Economic Report, August 2008)

The government claimed that GDP grew during the 2nd quarter of 2008—hence no recession—admitting at the same time that the chief driver of growth was the economic stimulus rebates sent by the IRS to taxpayers. The rebates, however, were paid for by more government debt, with a $490 billion federal budget deficit projected for fiscal year 2009 that begins next month.

Whether even the paltry 2nd quarter growth at an annual rate of 1.9 percent was “real” is subject to debate. Since the U.S. began to lose its manufacturing economy, a long-term slide that began after the Vietnam War, all economic growth has been in the services and financial sectors.

The government counts any financial transaction that can be taxed as part of the GDP whether or not it results in the creation of goods and services of tangible value. Bizarrely, a transaction can add to GDP even if it is based on money that has been borrowed and must be repaid with interest in the future.

So this type of debt-based GDP growth can actually be destructive in the long-run. This has happened in the U.S. , where total household, student, business, and government debt will soon be pushing $70 trillion against an annual GDP in 2007 of $13.8 trillion.

The best measure of economic health for working men and women in the producing economy is not GDP but rather M1. This is money available as immediate purchasing power from cash-on-hand, checking accounts, and NOW accounts.

M1 measures what can be bought today without a consumer being required to incur new debt. The amount of money available as M1 has fluctuated in the $1.3-$1.4 trillion range since December 2003. Growth in M1 has essentially been flat.

This means that even moderate inflation can result in erosion of consumer purchasing power. By this measure, the producing economy has been in a mild recession for four-and-a-half years. But according to the M1 Money Stock Forecast of the independent Financial Forecast Center , M1 was projected to fall from June to August of 2008 from 1.3883 trillion to 1.386 trillion.

Thus with inflation now running at close to ten percent, we have entered a period of stagflation potentially worse than the 1970s. And stagflation is nothing less than a weapon of mass destruction aimed at the livelihoods not only of the elderly and those on fixed incomes, but also on students, the unemployed, families, and almost everyone who has a job in the producing economy.

Richard C. Cook is a former U.S. federal government analyst, whose career included service with the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Carter White House, NASA, and the U.S. Treasury Department. His articles on economics, politics, and space policy have appeared in numerous websites and print magazines. His book on monetary reform, entitled We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform, will soon be published by Tendril Press. He is the author of Challenger Revealed: An Insider’s Account of How the Reagan Administration Caused the Greatest Tragedy of the Space Age, called by one reviewer, “the most important spaceflight book of the last twenty years.” His website is www.richardccook.com. Comments or requests to be added to his mailing list may be sent to EconomicSanity@gmail.com.

Source: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9888

--> Web site of the day
--> have you ever read one?
--> once only for the wealthy
--> the end of aviation as we know it?
--> boston market wakes up
--> it seems size does matter

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Here are today's Quick Pickz!

Unlike Lotto and Powerball where you usually end up with ZIPPO...with these Quick Pickz you always get interesting, goofy, weird, valuable, far out, right on, totally off base, make you roll your eyes, scratch your head and shake your fist little snacks to tickle your basal ganglia.

Don't be timid. Dive in, swim around a bit and give us your $0.03. (Yep, on today's economic roller coaster - even your infamous and time honored 2 cents is worth more!)

"Information is shock resistance - arm yourself"
- Naomi Klein

***********************************************************************************

Web Site of the Day: FactCheck.org
Good site to keep handy for the next few months!

Time to fess up: Have you ever read one?
Nearly two-thirds of investors surveyed said they rarely or never read them. BIG SURPRISE! I think they're written that way on purpose...

Once only for the wealthy and sophisticated collectors
Wine investing is slowly emerging as an alternative asset class

The end of aviation?
Twenty five airlines have gone out of business this year. We all know it's bad but did you know that many airlines called it quits? How would your world change if airlines travel goes away?

Boston Market launches $5 menu
Wonder what took these guys so long? (zzzzz)

It seems that size does matter

Word of the Day:
gravitas

Today's BONUS:
What's in the gas you're you using?

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Scientists in the UK and the USA have found that cultivation of biofuels may increase the output of CO2 and other gases (NO) blamed for global warming because of changes in land use. When the full cycle
of biofuels is considered it can be argued that the moderate tailpipe emissions savings are outweighed by far greater emissions from deforestation, burning, drainage, cultivation and soil carbon losses.

Greenpeace and Oxfam call the current EU policies reckless because fuel providers are not yet obliged to source biofuels from sustainable sources. Greenpeace states that rainforests are being destroyed to
make way for biofuel crops and that this destruction leads to massive greenhouse emissions. Greenpeace attributes 1/5 of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions to the destruction of peatland forests in
Indonesia to make way for palm oil biofuel production"...

Source - cleanstart.org

“Troop 757” is an Ebay seller with an interesting sense of humor. He probably figured, if people bid on cheese sandwiches that look like Elvis, the sky’s the limit, right? Wrong. His listing of a Pringles’ can, with a genuine fart sealed inside, received no bids. I wonder why. Here’s his pitch:

“Pringles Can with Natural Human Odor! Egg and Tuna Scented. Yes, someone has passed gas in the Pringles Can! With the tight sealing lid that smell will last until someone opens it. Leave it at your work break room for that mooch who doesn't bring lunch. Send it to your Friends!! That will fix them! Send it to your boss!!”

Meantime, “A54Rallye” from Iowa tried to sell a roll of toilet paper. No, it wasn’t anything special, it was just that: toilet paper. I guess the reason it didn’t work is because, well, it’s not really all that weird. At least the Pringles can was somewhat original.

Then there’s this week’s real success story: “Annastella007” from Queensland, Australia, caught her dirtbag of a husband cheating, and put the other woman’s panties, accompanied by a used condom packet (size small, ha!), up for sale. Ebay rules forbid the offering of used underwear, so now she relisted with the promise of a picture of the panties. When I last checked, bidding had reached over $300, which –even though I have no clue who this woman is- makes me a little happy. Seems like she deserves it.

Check out her story; her list number is 250280309940 or click:  http://bestof.ebay.com/

Estou naqueles dias
de terra amaldiçoada
que não fecundou
nenhuma semente
dentre as milhares
que foram plantadas.

Estou naqueles dias em que choro...
Como quando Ele se arrependeu
de nos ter dado ventres férteis
e inconseqüentes
e chorou,
chorou tanto que seu pranto
afogou todas as pragas que nasceram
nos dias que antecederam
aqueles dias de dilúvio

Hoje estou naqueles dias
em que Deus me usa
para abortar a humanidade.
Me deixe chorar, sofrer e sangrar só.

8. The Reason the Saudis are so Rich

Extracting oil from the ground is complicated - but it's also a well established science. Have you asked yourself how much exactly does it costs Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the world's largest oil producer, to produce a barrel of crude oil?

Forbes magazine has the answer:

Aramco can quench its gargantuan thirst for development: It's easily the most profitable company on the planet. While results are closely held, Aramco stands to net, after amortization of capital costs, roughly $200 billion a year on revenue in excess of $350 billion. Last year oil minister Ali Al-Naimi told reporters that the average barrel of Saudi oil costs just $2 to produce. It sells for $130. (Source)

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/08/06/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-oil/#/

Tetapi sayang sekali banyak diantara kita yang telah melupakan jasa dan visi kemerdekan dari para pahlawan tersebut. Kemerdekaan telah di kotori oleh tangan-tangan yang melakukan korupsi, penggundulan hutan secara liar, penyimpangan-penyimpangan di bidang hukum, dan masih banyak lagi dosa-dosa yang telah kita perbuat.

Kita telah terlepas dari belenggu penjajahan Belanda dan Jepang tetapi kita telah masuk ke dalam belenggu penjajahan yang baru, yaitu penjajahan ekonomi, dan moral.

Di negara yang katanya telah merdeka ini, masih banyak kita saksikan masyarakat mengantri sembako, minyak tanah dan gas. Kemiskinan dan kelaparan merajalela hampir disetiap penjuru negeri ini.

Nah, bagaimana sih arti kemerdekaan menurut anda

This is a loyalty card - not a credit card. Each time you use it you'll have points added to your account. Then you can redeem those points for gasoline or merchandise. Sign up here!

Right now Speedway is running a promotion with their Speedy Rewards Program which is a loyalty program. Just for signing up for a new card they load it with 8,500 points. With their program 8,500 points can be redeemed for a $10 Speedway gift card among other things. The loyalty card earns points every time you use it when you purchase items in the store at a rate of 20pts per $1, with special promotional items all the time, and 10 pts for every gallon of fuel you purchase.

My husband has been using one of these cards for awhile and we are about ready to redeem his for a card as well. I went ahead and signed up for a new one for myself because they only come with one per number that you can use for pay-at-the-pump and with at little one I really need one that I can scan without going inside every time.

You almost always get a savings on gas with every purchase as well when you scan your card. One of our stations locally takes $.05 off per gallon when you scan your card, another in town does $.03 a gallon savings... doesn't sound like much, but I'll take it for the little to no effort it takes when we buy our gas there anyway.

Vidal, fiel palavreiro,

caudilho das letras,

gaúcho matreiro,

do blog leal paladino.

O outro Batista,

lacustre do agreste,

em tudo versado,

vate ilustre e analista.

Maneco poeta,

guardião da poesia

de nervos e sangue,

coração que palpita.

Juca barbudão rumoreja,

glosador incansável,

comentarista marcante,

neo-Salomão tão sapiente.

Marcelino valente,

militância sem jaça,

de verbo agressivo

que não há quem desfaça.

Padrela, versátil talento,

até o Marumbi escalou,

acrescenta a tão grande lista

atributos de palavreiro.

Egresso das receitas federais,

Saraiva exercita outras receitas,

sem cifras, só letras,

e vai bem o rapaz.

E Jairo Pereira,

de outro planeta,

revolução e vanguarda,

abdução de caneta.

Marilda e a Bárbara,

lirismo e vigor,

com muito valor,

cada qual com sua cor.

Tadeu bigodudo,

da Curitiba polaca

bardo raçudo,

sem texto que empaca.

Cleto, Filó,

rol de outros tantos

palavreiros da hora,

com brio e talento.

A todos vocês

o abraço fraterno,

o aplauso sincero

e muitas mercês.

Unfazed at my interruption, he said, "That's great! Do you know what it spells?"

I did not, but I tried to guess.

He said, "G.A.S. That spells gas."

The irony of that moment did not occur to me until just now. (Anyone who read my post, Canning the Muse, can now make a quirky historical connection.) That aside, GAS was the first word I recognized, and I got a lot of mileage out of it. I remembered the letter's names and the sounds they made from that one encounter, and from that point came up with many more words.

By the time I entered first grade, I was ahead of most other kids; and within a year, I was writing stories. My first one, scrawled neatly on a yellow-lined tablet while sitting at my grandfather's desk, was about boy and girl pigs that could fly. I dare say that this story probably spawned the saying, "when pigs fly." (My mother still has the original, so I can, er, prove my claim for good money -- like, really good money.)

So early on, I was a self-taught writer. All through school, I excelled at whatever writing project they gave me. But it wasn't until after I was out of school and in the throes of building a family that I dabbled in serious fiction, and probably another ten years before I decided that writing was my true calling. Short stories weren't really what I was after either. I wanted to pen novels. I've penned three total.

The first novel sleeps in a thick, black, three-ring binder, the original hand-typed paper (Elite type Roman Gothic, on a circa 1980-ish IBM Selectric typewriter) long since browned and dusty with age. Oh, you should have seen it in its prime -- five hundred pages of lovingly crafted crap. But I cherished my characters and their story -- all four complicated, convoluted, clichéd plots. During those five years of having babies and holding a full-time job, I stole an hour here and there and indulged my muse. This massive undertaking was more like a cultural immersion, and I learned much more than characterization, plot, story arc, dialogue, tension, and narrative. I learned that I could actually write an entire novel, start to finish. No matter how I looked at it, I was a writer. Published or not, magical prose or dull drivel, I was on a journey that would last a lifetime.

What the hell was I thinking?

©2008 K. Jayne Cockrill

Cabeça, nem tanto

Me entrego à filosofia das entrelinhas

Sem muito gosto pelo óbvio

Comunicação para mim vai muito mais além da mera dicção,

Por isso escolhi me comunicar pela paixão.

Daí, a compreensão daqueles que julgamos irracionais.

Meu objetivo de vida é a curto prazo

Pecadora

Sou guiada pelos prazeres imediatos

Escrevo

Canto e disseco

Isso é pura Carolina

Hoje.

Amanhã...

Já disse q meu objetivo de vida é a curto prazo?

These people generally think of a person driving an SUV as a person that has a lot of money. Why is this assumption made? First off, SUV’s are not the most fuel efficient vehicles out there, so one assumes that if a person is driving an SUV they can afford to pay the price at the pump. Second, some people mod their SUV’s with lifts and such that make them stand out more than the usual vehicle. This too, often takes a toll on fuel. Thus, in the eyes of some, the SUV becomes a status symbol. Yet, I ponder if that is not the case on both sides, both the hybrid driver and the regular fuel driver.

Please allow me explain my premise a little better. Generally speaking, within society there are different types of people. Different types of people have different objectives in life. A good way to examine a generality is to compare two extremes. In this case, the two extremes would be, people that seek the appearance of having money and those that do not, they actually seek the appearance of having very little money.

But why would anyone want to appear poor? Good question. First we have to remember that the given examples are “extremes” and are not to be taken too seriously. But I would suggest that there are people that do not mind appearing poor. That might spur from a humble attitude or an attitude that seeks to fight “commercialism”. I’m somewhere in the middle and just want to appear normal and I would not be keen on siding with any of the two extreme examples I provided. But I am not here to defend or decry commercialism or its antithesis.

For those that desire to appear wealthy, the car they drive, the clothes they wear, and their personal hygiene are all factors. All of those things could be used to make ones own self into a status symbol, because after all, when we use things in that way we’re not trying to give the car a pride boost, we are trying to give it to ourselves. On the opposite end if the spectrum, a person that does not love the “money look” might use the same factors as a status symbol within his or her own societal circle or clique. But in this case, ones status is not determined by how good ones car, clothes and hygiene are, but rather the complete opposite. In order to understand how this works we have to look at the priorities of the individual and what is really of worth to that person and that persons societal clique.

While I do not believe in class warfare or anything of the like, I cannot deny that people belong to chosen societal cliques. The thing that separates me from my communist counterparts is the fact that I believe that people have the ability to choose where they want to be in life, both monetarily and socially. They, on the other hand, believe that people are born into a certain class and will never escape that class, therefore government has to coddle or appease those that are not part of the upper class in society. The desired result of that would be taking out the upper class and having an equal society with no class. I, however, will not deny reality and I’ll say that people are born into poor and rich families, I just cannot believe that those people, especially in America, don’t have a choice as to who or what they want to be in society.

So, if we examine an individuals priorities in life we can see what exactly is of worth to them. In the money appearance vs. the poor appearance example above we can see that it is not so much the factors that are in play but how those factors are used. So for the person that likes the appearance money, having a nice new car matters to them because it makes them look wealthier, therefore giving them a higher status within the wealthy parts of society. The desire of the one who seeks a poor appearance is exactly the opposite of the person trying to look wealthy, possibly even as an attempt to counter that person or that societal clique. For example, its possible that if they drove a new SUV they could be castigated and shunned from the environmental clique that they chose to be a part of, because they went to the more commercial and less "green" friendly side. So in contrast a wealthy appearance, its not how much money it appears they have, but rather how much money it appears they don’t have. So in all actuality everything that I am explaining has nothing to do with what really exists monetarily, but rather what appears to exist.

So if we take the same formula and apply it to the case of the hybrid driver and the SUV driver both vehicles can be used as status symbols. Because the hybrid driver is of higher stature and has a better status within the environmental community than the regular gas driver. And it works out the same way within the regular vehicle world, except they answer to a different clique. A good example of this would be a scene in The Day After Tomorrow when the main character is driving down the highway in his bright green hybrid surrounded by cars that look different than his. Do you honestly think that hybrid manufacturers are not selling that difference? I guarantee you that in the early day’s of hybrid cars, which might be wearing off now with the entrance of hybrid SUV’s and large trucks, the shape, color, and overall style of the hybrid was different, mostly to appease the environmentally sound individuals’ desire to stand out from crowd. Another example would be the Smart Fortwo vehicle, which looks and probably drives different than any car on the road, but within the “green” clique it is probably a hit and a sign of the drivers care for the environment.

Where have you been getting your news? Lately I've gotten mine off of the flippin internet. Not the best source since you can't really look into the persons eyes who is telling the story, which is what most of it is- stories.

Obama recently has decided to open that yap again, saying that it was good for the country to lose an allie. Obama which country? Ours? Nope, not ours at all, but a fanatic ran wanna be terrorist country called Pakistan. Hey Obama you suck man. Of course you would want the US weaker in a region that you love more than your own home. What a tool bag. Any one planning on voting for this idiot is doing the same thing- weakening a country. Period.

George you're not getting off easy either man. I mean what person would say that the Russians are bullying another country when we ourselves have soldiers fighting in two major conflicts of our own? We are implanting our will, albeit for what we perceive to be a righteous endevour, but it is our belief-not theirs. Yeah I know they are just to backwoods and ignorant to see that we are actually trying to help, I get that.

So I read this poll at a crazy news site, it said that 45% of the likely polled voters would vote for Obama and that 41.5% would vote for McCain- the plus or minus was 3.5%. Basically the poll said it was a dead heat. To their credit they did say that out of the people polled 72% said they were Dems, so go figure even the Dems are confused on what they want to do. But still the media, and this particular site, was trying to promote the fact that likely voters wanted the change that Obama has been emptily spouting. When will they learn that we decide and not them? We built this Mother, we'll burn this Mother down.

What a year in the olympics huh? Great judging it seems is a thing of the past. But, still a record has fallen, and it doesn't look like Spitz appreciated it very much. Grow up knuckle head and tell the young lad congrats.

You might have heard recently about Afghanistan again. What a shame you only get to hear about it when someone dies. Or in the case of recent events lots of people die. My boys(and girls) are doing it everyday. The good, the bad, the ugly that no one else would want to do. And for their troubles what do they get? They get to get used as poltical footballs, kicked around for the bump in the polls. Obama came to Afghanistan not to long ago- it was a great photo op. There were some lines to meet the sap. 75% of the people in the lines were of ethnic descent and really just wanted bragging rights about meeting someone famous. The military votes too Obama-granted it is only a million votes scattered about the US on absentee ballots but hopefully it makes the difference in keeping you ass out of office.

Gas prices still doing the crazy little up down dance, and guess what now Pelosi and her cronies start saying they are willing to discuss off shore drilling? Hey Nancy how about we drill where the Chinese are drilling right off the Florida coast. You Dems have no idea how to run a country, let alone do anything worthwhile in the realm of civilized society. Keep America weak seems to be the battle cry in actions more than words.

As rants go this is really all over the place but let me surmise.

Obama- bad for America.

Dems- bad for America.

Poor sportsmanship- bad for America.

Telling another country that they are bullies when you have almost 200,000 troops on the ground in two other countries- priceless.

Peru has declared a state of emergency in jungle areas where indigenous groups are blocking oil and gas installations in protest at a new land sale law. The measure allows the authorities to send in troops and bans public gatherings for 30 days. Some 65 Amazon tribes say the law will make it easier for big energy companies to buy up their land, parts of which are known to be rich in oil and gas. The indigenous people have been demonstrating for more than a week at hydro-electric dams and oil and gas installations in three different parts of Peru's Amazon basin.They are angry at a law which they say makes it easier for investors to buy their land because it lowers the bar for consent from two-thirds of a community assembly to a simple majority.

The legislation is one of a number of laws being passed as part of Peru's free trade agreement with the US. More

It's water vapor. *

It seems that one of our efforts to beat global warming is to have vehicles that emit water vapor.  It sounds like a great idea... but does anyone see the irony.  We are fixing one problem with something that could in turn be a far greater problem.

I have found no research showing what 6 billion vehicles emitting water vapor out there tailpipes would do to the environment.  I have found no research addressing the issue as I see it.  Does it bother anyone else?  Do you have reason for me not to worry, some research that could set my mind at ease?

* http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/gases.html

surja o que se torna conceito

daí pra frente, é mesmo

da natureza ser vítima e algoz de nossos membros

é o ímã ao qual não se foge, ou se foge

numa fria manhã, num quarto

de hora

qualquer, sim, vê:

se a gente grande soubesse refletir no mesmo

tom e noutros

mais apurados a matéria

dos sonhos

que nos fazem inventar e subir nos degraus

da Grande Escada, saberias tu, por

exemplo, onde o trapézio nos jogaria

um nos laços ou rodízios do outro ?

Pende a palavra
uma espada
com fio de vidro.
Nasce tímida a palavra
sob a espada
e queima a boca a palavra
em amargo sal.

Flora de perdido hilo
em sereno vidro
vai amanhecer depois.
Agora a espada e seu fio
de anúncio e olvido.

Ela tenta seu vôo
expande a palavra
seu ar de gorjeio.
A palavra ameaça
Eu digo
Ameaça
mas seu pássaro perigo
já não voa.
Boca a boca ela resiste.
A palavra e sua flora
no espaço de suas ervas
seu som puro e liberdade.

This is a one color yellow on black label we made for a customer to protect against the radioactive gas radon. According to the EPA, "Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste. Its presence in your home can pose a danger to your family's health.  Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually." You can see why this label and others for dangerous gases and chemical is important to the safety of many people.

This brings me to...the scooter.

Now I may be biased here, I do own own myself and use it to get around. But even if I didn't own one, you can't argue with facts, so I present to you:

Requiem For The Scooter

• First off, these things look great, their sleek and small allowing you to weave through traffic and catch peoples eye
• Easy. Can you drive a car? That's great, you need even less skill to drive a scooter; throttle to go forward, break to stop. No clutch or gears at all
• Speed. A 125cc scooter can top out at around 90 km/h depending on your weight. I'm 6'4, 215 pounds and this thing lets me go 80 km/h.
• How much gas? Well depending on the scooter it can vary, the one pictured above take $5 to fill up. Seriously. It gets around 100 km to the tank which means that you can drive around campus for around 3 weeks without having to fill 'er up
• Parking is a joke. Imagine this, you're late for class, you drive up in your sedan and scan the lot for a spot, but the only one you find is halfway across the campus. You get out and run to class, only to make it in just in time to hear the professor tell you the last hint for your exam. Bummer. Or you pull up in the scooter, park on the sidewalk or in between 2 cars, mosey into class, take a seat, set up and hear some useful tidbits from the prof.
• Variety. Don't like the one pictured above? That's fine, you can find hundreds of other ones online, a sportier one, a more unique one, or even an electric version.
• Pick Up Chicks. If you drive one of these bad-boys your more than likely to get a few questions, and if you play your cards right you can score some numbers using the following explanation. "I'm trying to go green, you know we really have to reduce our carbon footprint because this is the only earth we have" After that, regurgitate whatever you remember from Al Gore's movie and you're set.
  

until next time, keep it spazztic ;)