Weekend Economists Study Art,War, Art of War October15-16, 2011

[Demeter]

Last night was Euchre night, and I was so tired from the week that I had to be driven home...so forgive me, all. I have to say, getting out of the condo and its quagmire was a refreshing change. The Euchre bunch is tolerant, witty, of good character and good-spirited, and work together so that all have a good time....as compared to...

So, how can the Art of War help out in this situation?

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu (also referred to as "Sunzi" and "Sun Wu"), a high ranking military general and strategist during the late Spring and Autumn period (some scholars believe that the Art of War was not completed until the subsequent Warring States period). Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it is said to be the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and is still read for its military insights.

The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has been the most famous and influential of China's Seven Military Classics: "for the last two thousand years it remained the most important military treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name." It has had an influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond.

Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy, and that the decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive actors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.

The book was first translated into the French language in 1772 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, and into English by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini, General Douglas MacArthur, Napoleon, and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work. The Art of War has also been applied to business and managerial strategies...

Inscribed bamboo-slips of The Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong in 1972, dated back to 2nd century BC.

The beginning of The Art of War, in a classical bamboo book from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War

Personally, I'm a child of the 60's. But I can learn.

'Ain't Gonna Study War No More' LEADBELLY, Blues Guitar Legend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EIzKAGwJ-0

THIS WEEKEND'S CULTURAL FOCUS SUGGESTED BY GHOST DOG--YOU TOO CAN SUGGEST TOPICS! JUST SPEAK UP!

[Demeter]

1. Chapter 1: Laying Plans/The Calculations

"Laying Plans/The Calculations explores the five fundamental factors (the Way, seasons, terrain, leadership, and management) and seven elements that determine the outcomes of military engagements. By thinking, assessing and comparing these points, a commander can calculate his chances of victory. Habitual deviation from these calculations will ensure failure via improper action. The text stresses that war is a very grave matter for the state, and must not be commenced without due consideration."


Hmmm...somehow, I don't think the Art of War is appropriate for co-operative ventures...but since the condo association is only rarely considered as a co-operative venture by enough of people in it to make a difference...still, it can't be good for a community to be in a constant state of warfare, declared or not, open or invisible.


The same can be said of an economy. Whether local, national, or global, some of us are playing war, while others are playing house, and the weakest are getting pounded.

Why couldn't the human race take after...coral reef communities, or something like that?

[Demeter]

2. Chapter 2: Waging War/The Challenge

"Waging War/The Challenge explains how to understand the economy of warfare, and how success requires winning decisive engagements quickly. This section advises that successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict."

Ah, yes, it all comes down to two things...the pissing contest, and its economic costs. All to reorganize the power structure for the peace that may follow...

Win quickly, and you win...now, about Afghanistan, Iraq, etc....

[hamerfan]

3. Musical Interlude

JJ Cale & Eric Clapton. When This War Is Over:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44McD1xtXpM

[Demeter]

5. More, Please!

If you can do the music, I'm going to post the chapters, and try to sort the news into the categories...

[Demeter]

4. Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem/The Plan of Attack

"Attack by Stratagem/The Plan of Attack defines the source of strength as unity, not size, and discusses the five factors that are needed to succeed in any war. In order of importance, these critical factors are: Attack, Strategy, Alliances, Army, and Cities."

or in the words of bluestateguy, on a thread on bullying:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=632259&mesg_id=632259

"This reminded me of something I saw in high school. This pretty and popular blond cheerleader was being picked on and bullied by this loser kid. I remember thinking how stupid this fool was. Well all she had to do was tell her football player friends (all of whom wanted to get into her pants), and they were practically competing with one another over who would get to kick the bully's ass first.

Needless to say, this bully never bothered this girl again. I remember he came to school all bruised up one day. After that he kept his mouth shut for the rest of the year."

First, you get your football team together...

[Tansy_Gold]

19. So let's see how we can carry this analogy further

The pretty blonde cheerleader = a 2-billion-barrel oil reserve

The loser kid = poor nation of brown people sitting on top the 2-billion-barrel oil reserve

The football team = Military (and mercenary) might of weealthy and gluttonous and greedy first world nation


Now, who's the bully?





TG

[Demeter]

23. Morning, Tansy

That depends on whether one is a Capitalist or a Socialist. Capitalism doesn't have a definition for "bullying". As currently practiced, it's Organized Bullying.

[Tansy_Gold]

25. Morning, Demeter!

Well, you know which one I am! ;-)

[Demeter]

31. One problem with your analogy

Oil reserves don't have free choice, like blondes.

[Tansy_Gold]

35. This is true.

However, cute little blondes have become, in the hands of advertisers, as much a commodity as oil. And the pukes are well on their way to denying women any choice in anything.

[Demeter]

40. Also true

but in 500 BC, I doubt Chinese women were any different than today's bimbos/slaves.

It's not even Madonna/whore any more. The positive images of Woman have been eradicated entirely from public discourse. We admire Elizabeth Warren because she can beat the boys at their own game, and in a uniquely female voice.

[Demeter]

32. My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters Hit bankers where it hurts

THE INCOMPARABLE MATT TAIBBI

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/my-advice-to-the-occupy-wall-street-protesters-20111012

...this issue of how to combat Wall Street corruption has consumed my life for years now, and it's hard for me not to see where Occupy Wall Street could be better and more dangerous. I'm guessing, for instance, that the banks were secretly thrilled in the early going of the protests, sure they'd won round one of the messaging war. Why? Because after a decade of unparalleled thievery and corruption, with tens of millions entering the ranks of the hungry thanks to artificially inflated commodity prices, and millions more displaced from their homes by corruption in the mortgage markets, the headline from the first week of protests against the financial-services sector was an old cop macing a quartet of college girls.

That, to me, speaks volumes about the primary challenge of opposing the 50-headed hydra of Wall Street corruption, which is that it's extremely difficult to explain the crimes of the modern financial elite in a simple visual. The essence of this particular sort of oligarchic power is its complexity and day-to-day invisibility: Its worst crimes, from bribery and insider trading and market manipulation, to backroom dominance of government and the usurping of the regulatory structure from within, simply can't be seen by the public or put on TV. There just isn't going to be an iconic "Running Girl" photo with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup or Bank of America – just 62 million Americans with zero or negative net worth, scratching their heads and wondering where the hell all their money went and why their votes seem to count less and less each and every year.

No matter what, I'll be supporting Occupy Wall Street. And I think the movement's basic strategy – to build numbers and stay in the fight, rather than tying itself to any particular set of principles – makes a lot of sense early on. But the time is rapidly approaching when the movement is going to have to offer concrete solutions to the problems posed by Wall Street. To do that, it will need a short but powerful list of demands. There are thousands one could make, but I'd suggest focusing on five:

1. Break up the monopolies. The so-called "Too Big to Fail" financial companies – now sometimes called by the more accurate term "Systemically Dangerous Institutions" – are a direct threat to national security. They are above the law and above market consequence, making them more dangerous and unaccountable than a thousand mafias combined. There are about 20 such firms in America, and they need to be dismantled; a good start would be to repeal the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and mandate the separation of insurance companies, investment banks and commercial banks.

2. Pay for your own bailouts. A tax of 0.1 percent on all trades of stocks and bonds and a 0.01 percent tax on all trades of derivatives would generate enough revenue to pay us back for the bailouts, and still have plenty left over to fight the deficits the banks claim to be so worried about. It would also deter the endless chase for instant profits through computerized insider-trading schemes like High Frequency Trading, and force Wall Street to go back to the job it's supposed to be doing, i.e., making sober investments in job-creating businesses and watching them grow.

3. No public money for private lobbying. A company that receives a public bailout should not be allowed to use the taxpayer's own money to lobby against him. You can either suck on the public teat or influence the next presidential race, but you can't do both. Butt out for once and let the people choose the next president and Congress.

4. Tax hedge-fund gamblers. For starters, we need an immediate repeal of the preposterous and indefensible carried-interest tax break, which allows hedge-fund titans like Stevie Cohen and John Paulson to pay taxes of only 15 percent on their billions in gambling income, while ordinary Americans pay twice that for teaching kids and putting out fires. I defy any politician to stand up and defend that loophole during an election year.

5. Change the way bankers get paid. We need new laws preventing Wall Street executives from getting bonuses upfront for deals that might blow up in all of our faces later. It should be: You make a deal today, you get company stock you can redeem two or three years from now. That forces everyone to be invested in his own company's long-term health – no more Joe Cassanos pocketing multimillion-dollar bonuses for destroying the AIGs of the world.

MORE AT LINK

This story is from the October 27, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone.

[Tansy_Gold]

37. And see, that's the point I've been making

The OWS "movement" has made demands, sort of, but offered neither the means to satisfy those demands or anything remotely resembling an ultimatum -- "Or else!" -- if the demands aren't met.

All the solutions Taibbi offers require government intervention. It's to laugh.

And the reports that the banksters have dismissed the OWS movement make perfect sense. Without some kind of threat -- even if it's a threat to remove money from banks -- there's no reason for the banksters to do anything at all.

[Demeter]

41. In a country that professes that the People ARE the Government

OWS is working to make that literally true. For the first time. It is the third phase of the Revolution, the ultimate outcome of that economic experiment begun in 18th century.

[Tansy_Gold]

44. I'd like to believe that about OWS

But I don't think it's true. . . yet. Maybe it will become true, but it isn't at the moment.

[Demeter]

45. First you lay the egg...

Patience, Grasshopper!

The Egg - 1776 (Restored Director's Cut - 1972)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1213z9KHNs

[Tansy_Gold]

52. They had an ". . . .or else."

OWS doesn't. . . . yet.

It's not that I'm impatient. I'm simply pointing out a fact. OWS knows what it wants, but it has no strategy for achieving that. It hasn't even said "Give me what I want or I'll hold my breath until I turn blue." Gathering in the streets and parks is not an ". . . .or else." That's why there's been no change. the banks are still hiking fees, the DJIA is still rising, and there are no jobs. The banksters don't give a fuck, and no one's making them give one.



TG

[DemReadingDU]

56. Cops Lock #Occupy Protesters Inside Citibank, Arrest 23

Looks like 23 people wanted to close their Citibank accounts, and were arrested.
Maybe more people need to go en-masse to close their accounts so the banksters get the message.


10/15/11 Security locked Citibank customers inside as they arrested 23 #OccupyWallStreet protesters for attempting to close their bank accounts during a mass public action this afternoon.
click for a couple pictures
http://front.moveon.org/breaking-cops-lock-occupy-protesters-inside-citibank-arrest-23/?rc=tw.folMoveOn


edit to add this thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2123546

be sure to watch this video of a women in a suit -- who may or may not have been there to protest.
very dramatic, at appx 1:25 into the 2:33 minute video
http://www.businessinsider.com/17-arrested-inside-this-citibank-during-occupy-wall-street-march-2011-10

[Tansy_Gold]

58. so here's the question --

Did they go into the bank to close their accounts, or to get arrested?

If you want to take your money out of the bank, just do it. There's no need to make a big deal about it until after it's a done deal (pun intended). By making a production out of it, especially if they were disorderly -- I couldn't really tell from the video -- they draw attention to themselves rather than their objective.

Plus, they've alerted all the banks that this might happen again.

For various reasons, none of them of my choosing, I have my main banking account with one of the major asshole banks. I would like eventually to close that account and move to a credit union, but at the present time I am not able to do so.

However, if I went into the branch of my bank and told them I wanted to close my account, would I now be subject to search and arrest because of what happened? I certainly hope not.

One of the reasons the right wing has been so successful with their take-over of the government, the schools, the courts, the media, is that they have done it without drawing attention to themselves. They have been focused on the goal and not on publicity.

Just do it. Just get the job done, forgo the theatrics.

If your social security number ends in 0, close your bank accounts on a day that ends in 0. October 20th or November 10th. Or just do it on Monday.

What's the objective? To get publicity, or to shut down the banks?



TG

[Demeter]

6. Chapter 4. Tactical Dispositions/Positioning

"Tactical Dispositions/Positioning explains the importance of defending existing positions until a commander is capable of advancing from those positions in safety. It teaches commanders the importance of recognizing strategic opportunities, and teaches not to create opportunities for the enemy."

DEFENSE, DFENSE, DEFENSE!

[Demeter]

7. Chapter 5: Energy/Directing

Energy/Directing explains the use of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum.

[Demeter]

42. U.S. deaths in drone strike due to miscommunication, report says

OR HOW TO DESTROY YOUR ARMY'S MOMENTUM IN THREE EASY STEPS AND ONE MISCALCULATION....

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-pentagon-drone-20111014,0,5622159.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews+%28L.A.+Times+-+Top+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

The Pentagon says Marines in Afghanistan and the crew controlling the drone in Nevada were unaware analysts watching the firefight via live video in Indiana had doubts about the targets' identity...A Marine and a Navy medic killed by a U.S. drone airstrike were targeted when Marine commanders in Afghanistan mistook them for Taliban fighters, even though analysts watching the Predator's video feed were uncertain whether the men were part of an enemy force...Those are the findings of a Pentagon investigation of the first known case of friendly fire deaths involving an unmanned aircraft, the April 6 attack that killed Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, 26, and Navy Hospitalman Benjamin D. Rast, 23.

The 381-page report, which has not been released, concludes that the Marine officers on the scene and the Air Force crew controlling the drone from half a world away were unaware that analysts watching the firefight unfold via live video at a third location had doubts about the targets' identity...Because names are redacted in the Pentagon report, it is unclear which Marine officer made the final decision to order the airstrike that killed Smith and Rast. But a senior Marine officer familiar with the investigation said commanders at the battalion or regimental level would have the ultimate authority, not the lieutenant who led the platoon during the battle....

The incident closely resembles another deadly mistake involving a Predator in early 2009. In that attack, at least 15 Afghan civilians were killed after a Predator crew mistook them for a group of Taliban preparing to attack a U.S. special forces unit. In that case, analysts located at Air Force Special Operations Command in Florida who were watching live battlefield video from the aircraft's high-altitude cameras also had doubts about the target. Their warnings that children were present were disregarded by the drone operator and by an Army captain, who authorized the airstrike.

[Demeter]

8. Chapter 6: Weak Points & Strong/Illusion and Realit

"Weak Points & Strong/Illusion and Reality explains how an army's opportunities come from the openings in the environment caused by the relative weakness of the enemy in a given area."

[Demeter]

34. Follow the Money: Behind Europe’s Debt Crisis Lurks Another Giant Bailout of Wall St: Robert Reich

http://www.truth-out.org/follow-money-behind-europes-debt-crisis-lurks-another-giant-bailout-wall-street/1317916625



...A Greek (or Irish or Spanish or Italian or Portugese) default would have roughly the same effect on our financial system as the implosion of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Financial chaos...The Street has lent only about $7 billion to Greece, as of the end of last year, according to the Bank for International Settlements. That’s no big deal. But a default by Greece or any other of Europe’s debt-burdened nations could easily pummel German and French banks, which have lent Greece (and the other wobbly European countries) far more. That’s where Wall Street comes in. Big Wall Street banks have lent German and French banks a bundle.

The Street’s total exposure to the euro zone totals about $2.7 trillion. Its exposure to to France and Germany accounts for nearly half the total. And it’s not just Wall Street’s loans to German and French banks that are worrisome. Wall Street has also insured or bet on all sorts of derivatives emanating from Europe – on energy, currency, interest rates, and foreign exchange swaps. If a German or French bank goes down, the ripple effects are incalculable... If Greece goes down, investors start fleeing Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Portugal as well. All of this sends big French and German banks reeling. If one of these banks collapses, or show signs of major strain, Wall Street is in big trouble. Possibly even bigger trouble than it was in after Lehman Brothers went down. That’s why shares of the biggest U.S. banks have been falling for the past month... Morgan Stanley closed Monday at its lowest since December 2008 – and the cost of insuring Morgan’s debt has jumped to levels not seen since November 2008. It’s rumored that Morgan could lose as much as $30 billion if some French and German banks fail. (That’s from Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, which tracks all cross-border exposure of major banks.) $30 billion is roughly $2 billion more than the assets Morgan owns (in terms of current market capitalization.)

But Morgan says its exposure to French banks is zero. Why the discrepancy? Morgan has probably taken out insurance against its loans to European banks, as well as collateral from them. So Morgan feels as if it’s not exposed. But does anyone remember something spelled AIG? That was the giant insurance firm that went bust when Wall Street began going under. Wall Street thought it had insured its bets with AIG. Turned out, AIG couldn’t pay up.

Haven’t we been here before?

Republicans and Wall Street executives who continue to yell about Dodd-Frank overkill are dead wrong. The fact no one seems to know Morgan’s exposure to European banks or derivatives – or that of most other giant Wall Street banks – shows Dodd-Frank didn’t go nearly far enough. Regulators still don’t know what’s happening on the Street. They have no clear picture of the derivatives exposure of giant U.S. financial institutions. Which is why Washington officials are terrified – and why Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner keeps begging European officials to bail out Greece and the other deeply-indebted European nations...Make no mistake. The United States wants Europe to bail out its deeply indebted nations so they can repay what they owe big European banks. Otherwise, those banks could implode — taking Wall Street with them. One of the many ironies here is some badly-indebted European nations (Ireland is the best example) went deeply into debt in the first place bailing out their banks from the crisis that began on Wall Street.

...In other words, Greece isn’t the real problem. Nor is Ireland, Italy, Portugal, or Spain. The real problem is the financial system — centered on Wall Street. And we still haven’t solved it.

[Demeter]

36. The Banks Falter NYT Editorial

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/opinion/the-big-banks-falter.html

As the first of the major banks to report its earnings each quarter, JPMorgan Chase is a barometer of conditions in the financial industry. The mercury is falling. JPMorgan reported on Thursday that its third-quarter revenue had dropped by 11 percent from the second quarter; its profit fell by 4 percent from a year earlier. And since JPMorgan is arguably one of the nation’s healthier banks, results for firms like Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are likely to be considerably worse.

These declines are worrisome in the sense that they reflect the weakness of the broader economy. Joblessness, damaged credit and falling home values have left people unable to borrow or to repay debt and businesses reluctant to hire and invest. But the results also reflect how the banks built profits abusing their customers. Long overdue federal restrictions on hidden overdraft charges and excessive debit card fees have begun to take a bite out of bank profits, and that should be happening. But the banks and their investors tend to see any rules and regulations that slow revenue growth as undue and overly burdensome, and they are pushing back. The question is whether lawmakers and regulators will stand up for the new fee restrictions and other rules as banks resist.

Banks, habituated to gouging their customers, are already trying to recoup lost revenue with dubious new charges, like Bank of America’s $5 monthly fee for using a debit card. The move has infuriated customers and led President Obama to rightly warn against mistreatment of customers in the pursuit of profit. But Bank of America has yet to relent — a stubbornness that may be from of a belief that aggrieved customers won’t do better elsewhere. On Thursday, five Democratic congressmen led by Peter Welch of Vermont asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the big banks were engaging in “price signaling,” a form of collusion in the setting of prices. The big banks are also resisting proposed regulations on capital levels, derivatives and investing practices. If successfully implemented, the new rules will help to curb the kind of reckless trading and irresponsible lending that caused the crash and recession. That will slow revenue growth, but it is the price of a more stable system.

The banks also have gotten themselves into a legal mess for which they have no one to blame but themselves. JPMorgan had to set aside another $1 billion last quarter to prepare for legal claims from investors who want to recoup their loss from mortgage bonds backed by bad loans. The banks face legal challenges from federal and state governments over foreclosure abuses and other mortgage-related issues. In all, analysts say mortgage problems could cost JPMorgan up to $9 billion. Bank of America, the most exposed of the big banks to mortgage-related litigation, is potentially on the hook for far more...Investors, meanwhile, are pricing banks’ stocks below the banks’ book value — a sign that they don’t believe the banks are worth what the banks say they are. The questions generally involve whether banks are properly valuing their loans and investments and the extent of their exposure to shaky European debt. Banks could fix this with increased and detailed disclosure. Government officials and regulators could compel that disclosure. The general failure on this front feeds the air of skepticism.

One of the lessons from the financial crash is that there is no substitute for transparency. In the new earnings season, investors are still in the dark.

[Demeter]

9. Chapter 7: Maneuvering/Engaging The Force

"Maneuvering/Engaging The Force explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander."

[Demeter]

53. Violence on Wall Street By Joel Bowman FROM ARGENTINA

http://dailyreckoning.com/violence-on-wall-street/

...The Wall Street protests turned “predictably violent” this week, according The New York Post. One video we saw depicted protesters clashing with police in the city’s downtown financial district. Armed police on scooters were seen dragging people to the ground and cuffing them. One scooter-top cop appeared to ride right into a young protester. Then he dismounted his ride to tackle the offender for having gone to the trouble of being run over. More clashes, violence and arrests ensued.

What did the crowds do when the state’s goons began picking them off, taking them to the ground one by one? Why they whipped out their iPhones, recorded it, and posted it on the web for all to see of course. (Yes, apparently big business haters have iPhones too.)

“The world is watching!” They chanted, evoking feelings not dissimilar to those of the Arab Spring movement. “Shame on you!”

There was plenty more going on in the background we couldn’t make out. But the big picture is clear enough. Both sides are looking for trouble. Our guess is that both sides will get it. Their goals — as far as we can gather — appear to be mutually exclusive. Irreconcilable. One side stands to protect an old, crumbling façade of a broken system...the other wants to erect a new one. The protesters are not agreed on which new system they want, exactly...they just know they don’t want what they’ve got now. And why would they? What they’ve got now is stagnant or falling wages, grim and worsening prospects in the job market, piles of student loans stinking up their parents’ basements, home prices still falling and a state bank that is Hell bent on destroying their currency. What they’ve got, to employ some schoolyard vernacular, “sucks.”

These kiddies were promised the world. Instead, they got a world of hurt. Understandably, therefore, they agitate for change. They ought to be careful what they wish for. Change leads you in a different direction...but not necessarily in the direction you want to go. An Obama can look great when you’ve got a Bush in the White House. Then you get an Obama and you really begin to wonder...

BOWMAN DRAWS SOME NEGATIVE CONCLUSIONS...BUT WE KNOW IT AIN'T OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS...

AND BILL BONNER HIMSELF ENGAGES IN "BLAME THE VICTIM"--AFTER ALL, WHY DIDN'T THOSE LOSERS MARRY WELL, LIKE HE DID?

[Demeter]

10. Chapter 8: Variation in Tactics/The Nine Variations

"Variation in Tactics/The Nine Variations focuses on the need for flexibility in an army's responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully."

[Demeter]

11. Chapter 9: The Army on the March/Moving The Force

The Army on the March/Moving The Force describes the different situations in which an army finds itself as it moves through new enemy territories, and how to respond to these situations. Much of this section focuses on evaluating the intentions of others.

[Tansy_Gold]

54. Musical Interlude --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27x25sdW9wQ


Buffy.

[Demeter]

12. Chapter 10: Terrain/Situational Positioning

"Terrain/Situational Positioning looks at the three general areas of resistance (distance, dangers, and barriers) and the six types of ground positions that arise from them. Each of these six field positions offer certain advantages and disadvantages."

[Demeter]

13. Chaper 11: The Nine Situations/Nine Terrains

"The Nine Situations/Nine Terrains describes the nine common situations (or stages) in a campaign, from scattering to deadly, and the specific focus that a commander will need in order to successfully navigate them."

[DemReadingDU]

14. Interesting topic as U.S. is sending troops to Africa

10/15/11 White House: US advisers to aid fight against infamous Lord’s Resistance Army

The United States is venturing into one of Africa’s bloodiest conflicts, sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to support a years-long fight against a guerrilla group accused of horrific atrocities. The Obama administration said the troops will advise, not engage in combat, unless forced to defend themselves.

In a letter to Congress, President Barack Obama said Friday that the troops will assist local forces in a long-running battle against the Lord’s Resistance Army, considered one of Africa’s most ruthless rebel groups, and help to hunt down its notorious leader, Joseph Kony.

The first of the troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, the White House said, and others will be sent to South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

While the size of the U.S. footprint is small, Obama’s announcement represents a highly unusual intervention for the United States. Although some American troops are based in Djibouti and small groups of soldiers have been deployed to Somalia, the U.S. traditionally has been reluctant to commit forces to help African nations put down insurgencies.

more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-says-us-advisers-to-aid-fight-against-infamous-lords-resistance-army/2011/10/15/gIQA9WAelL_story.html

[xchrom]

20. Analysis: Why set US troops on Africa militants?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_AFRICA_US_TROOPS_ANALYSIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-15-05-46-03

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Why is the U.S. sending its troops to finish off a fractured band of bush fighters in the middle of Africa? Political payback for the quiet sacrifices of Uganda's troops in Somalia could be one reason.

President Barack Obama announced Friday he is dispatching about 100 U.S. troops - mostly special operations forces - to central Africa to advise in the fight against the Lord's Resistance Army - a guerrilla group accused of widespread atrocities across several countries. The first U.S. troops arrived Wednesday.

Long considered one of Africa's most brutal rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army began its attacks in Uganda more than 20 years ago. But the rebels are at their weakest point in 15 years. Their forces are fractured and scattered, and the Ugandan military estimated earlier this year that only 200 to 400 fighters remain. In 2003 the LRA had 3,000 armed troops and 2,000 people in support roles.

But capturing LRA leader Joseph Kony - a ruthless and brutal thug - remains the highest priority for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a 25-year-leader who has committed thousands of troops to the African Union force in Somalia to fight militants from al-Shabab, a group with ties from al-Qaida.



***we pay for uganda's troops in the somalia?

[DemReadingDU]

24. There must be an ulterior motive.

What does Africa have that the U.S. wants?

[Demeter]

27. New oil found in Uganda

[xchrom]

30. oil? minerals? stuff like that? nt

[Tansy_Gold]

39. Especially with China beginning to restrict export of

critical minerals.

[Tansy_Gold]

22. Advisors, advisors

Where have I heard that term before?

[Demeter]

26. It does ring a distant bell

Peter, Paul & Mary - If I Had A Hammer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKB3PxG-0E

[bread_and_roses]

15. K & R! Wondered where WE was ...

... glad you had a good night after a hard week.

More later, I am getting ready for a support "Occupy" rally in my town! It will be small and insignificant, but hey, SOLIDARITY!

[Demeter]

17. I envy you

You are making history. Hope the Art of War helps.

[DemReadingDU]

21. I envy you playing Euchre

I love that game! It's fast and fun, and always a good time with friends! Glad you were able to enjoy a fun evening!

[Demeter]

16. Chapter 12: The Attack by Fire/Fiery Attack

The Attack by Fire/Fiery Attack explains the general use of weapons and the specific use of the environment as a weapon. This section examines the five targets for attack, the five types of environmental attack, and the appropriate responses to such attacks.

[Demeter]

18. Chapter 13: The Use of Spies/The Use of Intelligence

"The Use of Spies/The Use of Intelligence focuses on the importance of developing good information sources, and specifies the five types of intelligence sources and how to best manage each of them."

[Demeter]

29. The Seven Biggest Economic Lies by Robert Reich

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/12-2

The President’s Jobs Bill doesn’t have a chance in Congress — and the Occupiers on Wall Street and elsewhere can’t become a national movement for a more equitable society – unless more Americans know the truth about the economy. Here’s a short (2 minute 30 second) effort to rebut the seven biggest whoppers now being told by those who want to take America backwards. The major points:

1. Tax cuts for the rich trickle down to everyone else. Baloney. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both sliced taxes on the rich and what happened? Most Americans’ wages (measured by the real median wage) began flattening under Reagan and have dropped since George W. Bush. Trickle-down economics is a cruel joke.
   
   
2. Higher taxes on the rich would hurt the economy and slow job growth. False. From the end of World War II until 1981, the richest Americans faced a top marginal tax rate of 70 percent or above. Under Dwight Eisenhower it was 91 percent. Even after all deductions and credits, the top taxes on the very rich were far higher than they’ve been since. Yet the economy grew faster during those years than it has since. (Don’t believe small businesses would be hurt by a higher marginal tax; fewer than 2 percent of small business owners are in the highest tax bracket.)
   
   
3. Shrinking government generates more jobs. Wrong again. It means fewer government workers – everyone from teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and social workers at the state and local levels to safety inspectors and military personnel at the federal. And fewer government contractors, who would employ fewer private-sector workers. According to Moody’s economist Mark Zandi (a campaign advisor to John McCain), the $61 billion in spending cuts proposed by the House GOP will cost the economy 700,000 jobs this year and next.
   
   
4. Cutting the budget deficit now is more important than boosting the economy. Untrue. With so many Americans out of work, budget cuts now will shrink the economy. They’ll increase unemployment and reduce tax revenues. That will worsen the ratio of the debt to the total economy. The first priority must be getting jobs and growth back by boosting the economy. Only then, when jobs and growth are returning vigorously, should we turn to cutting the deficit.
   
   
5. Medicare and Medicaid are the major drivers of budget deficits. Wrong. Medicare and Medicaid spending is rising quickly, to be sure. But that’s because the nation’s health-care costs are rising so fast. One of the best ways of slowing these costs is to use Medicare and Medicaid’s bargaining power over drug companies and hospitals to reduce costs, and to move from a fee-for-service system to a fee-for-healthy outcomes system. And since Medicare has far lower administrative costs than private health insurers, we should make Medicare available to everyone.
   
   
6. Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Don’t believe it. Social Security is solvent for the next 26 years. It could be solvent for the next century if we raised the ceiling on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax. That ceiling is now $106,800.
   
   
7. It’s unfair that lower-income Americans don’t pay income tax. Wrong. There’s nothing unfair about it. Lower-income Americans pay out a larger share of their paychecks in payroll taxes, sales taxes, user fees, and tolls than everyone else.

Demagogues through history have known that big lies, repeated often enough, start being believed — unless they’re rebutted. These seven economic whoppers are just plain wrong. Make sure you know the truth – and spread it on.

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

Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He has written twelve books, including The Work of Nations, Locked in the Cabinet, and his most recent book, Supercapitalism. His "Marketplace" commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes.

[DemReadingDU]

28. Chris Matthews talks with Michael Lewis about global financial crisis

10/14/11 Chris Matthews talks with Michael Lewis about global financial crisis
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#44909178

appx 6 minutes

[DemReadingDU]

33. BBC - Margaret Sanger

On 16 October 1916, the first birth control clinic in the USA was opened.

The woman behind it, Margaret Sanger, was arrested for breaking obscenity laws.

Photo: Margaret Sanger (left) outside court, awaiting trial.

listen to audio, appx 10 minutes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kmdg9

Margaret Sanger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger



Many people today have no idea what women had to go thru to get birth control information 100 years ago, or even women obtaining the right to vote, or labor unions fighting for worker rights. Sad. And yet, some people think those issues have been won, when in reality, we are still fighting to keep our most basic of rights.

[Demeter]

38. Berlusconi Barely Survives Confidence Vote

BET IT COST HIM A PRETTY PENNY, TOO. GOOD THING HE'S OBSCENELY WEALTHY...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/europe/berlusconi-holds-onto-power-in-italy-but-barely.html

In his narrowest escape yet, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi barely survived a confidence vote on Friday, saving his government from collapse but leaving it all but incapable of legislating effectively.

With 316 votes for and 301 votes against, Mr. Berlusconi’s center-right coalition won the vote. But it failed to secure a solid majority, making it increasingly difficult for him to pass legislation aimed at protecting Italy from Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. Had he lost, Mr. Berlusconi would have had to resign, marking the end of an 18-year political era in which the billionaire businessman shaped Italian politics in his own image, entwining the country’s fate with his own.

In what the daily Corriere della Sera called “an atmosphere of interminable agony,” analysts said the Berlusconi government was now hanging by a thread and could fall at the next bump in the road — when enough disgruntled lawmakers from within Mr. Berlusconi’s coalition calculate that they would be safer jumping off a sinking ship rather than staying aboard and risking drowning.

Mr. Berlusconi called the confidence vote after failing to pass a routine measure this week. Addressing lawmakers on Thursday, the prime minister said he was the only “credible alternative” able to govern Italy through the economic crisis, and refused to step down...This week, opposition leaders — and the president of Italy, in an unusually strong statement — told Mr. Berlusconi that surviving a confidence vote was not the same as governing. In the statement, President Giorgio Napolitano said the prime minister had to show the “necessary cohesion” to tackle Italy’s budget deficits and to propose “adequate solutions to the urgent problems of the country, including in meeting its European obligations.” ...On Friday, Mr. Berlusconi was saved by loyalists who prefer to have the government limp along rather than fall and potentially be replaced by a group of nonpolitical technocrats with a mandate to carry out the structural changes including tax increases, changes to the pension system and a growth stimulus bill now deadlocked in Parliament....Foreign investors and many of Italy’s business leaders hope for such a technical government, but lawmakers have resisted out of fears of losing power...

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS ARE AT THE LINK...I COULDN'T POST ALL OF IT...SO I STUCK TO THE THEME

[Demeter]

43. ARIES FOR TODAY

Time is on your side today -- finally! After a long period of feeling as though you had no control over your own calendar, you're back in charge. And now that you are, the first thing you should schedule for yourself is some alone time. You need to check out, recharge your batteries and refocus on keeping a healthy state of mind. There are a few open dates coming up -- why not fill them with a brief vacation, a spa day or a day spent cuddled up with a great book?

LET'S SEE, LET ME COUNT THE REASONS WHY NOT...$,$,$,$...

AND THE FACT THAT I'VE GOT A GOOD 6 HOURS OF WORK FOR PAY TODAY...

WHICH ARE CALLING ME AWAY.

SEE YOU ALL LATER ON TODAY. FIGHT ON!

[hamerfan]

46. Musical Interlude

Bob Dylan. With God On Our Side:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w0e6sFLPyI&feature=related

[xchrom]

47. G20 ministers to back big bank capital surcharge

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/15/uk-g20-regulation-idUKTRE79E14H20111015

(Reuters) - Finance ministers and central bankers from the world's top economies are set to back a mandatory capital surcharge on big lenders of up to 2.5 percent to be phased in from 2016.

A draft communique from a meeting of G20 finance chiefs endorses a 1-2.5 percent capital surcharge on top banks like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase.

The aim is to make sure they have enough capital to withstand market turbulence so that taxpayers won't have to rescue banks again in the next crisis.

A summit of the G20 leaders in Cannes, France in early November is set to give final approval to the surcharge plan and name the banks affected, known as global systemically important financial institution or G-SIFIs, G20 sources said.

[xchrom]

48. China and Vietnam to strengthen military ties - Xinhua

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/15/uk-china-vietnam-idUKTRE79E0J120111015

(Reuters) - China and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen military cooperation, increase contacts between high-ranking officers and establish a hotline for the two defence ministries, in a bid to cool tensions between the Communist-ruled neighbours.

The two countries, which have a history of distrust, also agreed to launch a pilot project of joint patrols along their land border, continue joint naval patrols in the Beibu Gulf and increase mutual visits of naval warships, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, China and Vietnam signed an agreement seeking to contain a dispute over the South China Sea, a potentially oil and gas rich body of water spanned by key shipping lanes that sees the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan -- also stake conflicting claims of sovereignty over parts of the waters.

A joint statement by China and Vietnam was issued at the end of Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong's first visit to China this week where he held conciliatory talks with Hu Jintao, who is China's Communist Party chief and president.

[hamerfan]

49. Musical Interlude

Black Sabbath. War Pigs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul4W9o8y-7I&feature=related

[InkAddict]

50. Hi peoples - Looks informative today, and I'll be catching up

after I go do phone-bank battle for a few hours.

[Hotler]

51. k&r Thanks Demeter eom.

[AnneD]

55. What????

No war on Art? Have you forgotten all the censorship cases that made it up to the SCOTUS. I remember when the catch phrase banned in Boston use to mean at least 100K more sales for a book. So here's to you Mrs. Robinson, Lady Chatterly and all the other dolls in the valley. And let's not forget Lenny Bruce and the much beloved George Carlin and his list of Seven. I can't remember off the top of my head, but some works of art were on the list too.

We have a war on drugs, war on terrorism, even a war on Christmas. pfft!!!

The world is full of unimaginative people, at least in the arena of politicians.

[Demeter]

59. Well, I Guess You Just Declared It

Thanks, AnneD.

Anything that makes a difference, they're against it. Anything that rips somebody off, they're for it.

Think of Soviet Realism out of Stalinist era. Or Hitler, the would-be Grand Master, dictating art to the land of so many real artists....

[hamerfan]

57. Musical Interlude

John Lennon. Give Peace A Chance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGfMfy1WAWo

[Tansy_Gold]

60. Musical interlude

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUJ7s59aLSo

[Demeter]

61. Dilbert's Leadership Advice to Generals and Such

I'll return after a little post-paper route nap....

[xchrom]

62. Beware of bank earnings

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/beware-of-bank-earnings-2011-10-14

With important bank earnings coming next week, everyone should be prepared.

Before I offer my opinions, additional disclosure is necessary. I was an advocate of a left-side push to prevent banks from changing the order of transactions in client accounts from chronological to something designed to earn them more money at the expense of low-balance and usually lower income accounts. This push was specifically designed to prevent banks from charging multiple overdraft fees for just one actual overdraft, something they were doing for years by changing the order of transactions. I petitioned Barney Frank, my clients were advocates of the same, and we feel as if we helped to stop the banks, many of whom were the causes of the 2008 collapse, from preying on those who they had harmed, which eventually increased the foreclosure rates and had a domino effect on home prices.

Lengthy explanation is difficult in this short column, but my estimations in 2006 suggested that almost all of the net income from Wells Fargo /quotes/zigman/239557/quotes/nls/wfc WFC +0.19% had come from excessive overdraft fees (~ $6 Billion). As of just recently, the banks are not only forced to receive consent to overdraft, but they also are incurring other fees imposed by Dodd-Frank. Bank of America /quotes/zigman/190927/quotes/nls/bac BAC -0.16% and Citigroup /quotes/zigman/5065548/quotes/nls/c C +0.70% each have suggested imposing new fees to cover those fees that they can no longer legally charge, but this presents material concerns to the ongoing business of all these banks.

Without much argument, intelligent men can see that the government is taking aim at the big institutions. Jamie Dimon /quotes/zigman/272085/quotes/nls/jpm JPM -0.13% has complained outright, but they are not hearing his words, or better said, choosing not to listen. The big banks, too big to fail, played a key role in the collapse of the financial system a few years ago, and the government does not want to risk letting that happen again.




***we will see if big banks are being incentivized to become smaller.
i'm not seeing it.

[Demeter]

63. A debit of gratitude to Bank of America

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-hiltzik-20111016,0,5235675.column?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews+%28L.A.+Times+-+Top+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Its planned $5 fee for using a debit card has driven out into the open other fees that were long hidden to consumers...The big bank's move created a consumer furor, with consumer activists proposing boycotts by or mass defections of BofA customers to smaller banks without fees, and the bank itself becoming a popular symbol of the financial industry's supposed disregard for the average customer...First and foremost, it has driven out into the open the real cost of what long has been pitched as a great consumer convenience. That's a testament to the wisdom of the so-called Durbin amendment, named after Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who got it inserted into the Dodd-Frank bank regulation bill last year. The Durbin measure required the Federal Reserve to impose limits on "interchange fees," the hidden charges that merchants are stuck with by banks and Visa and MasterCard whenever their customers swipe a debit card to pay for merchandise.

As Fed Gov. Sarah Bloom Raskin observed earlier this year in congressional testimony on the measure, most consumers have been unaware of interchange fees and some critics have questioned the need for "their very existence." In part that's because debit cards, which directly access the money in a consumer's bank account, are functionally equivalent to paper checks, which customarily don't generate such fees. What consumers may not realize is that these fees are invariably passed on to them in the form of higher prices at the register. Consumer advocates had pointed to the swipe fees as the sort of expense that fell disproportionately on the neediest consumers, who have had few ways of avoiding them. Because they were charged, so to speak, under the table, no one really knew how high the fees were or what relationship they bore to the true cost of the transaction. No one, consequently, felt any incentive to fight them.

The Durbin rule has changed all that. Instead of the hidden swipe fee, Bank of America and its industry cousins are forced to be upfront about the bounty they extract for use of a debit card. It's always best for consumers to know what they're paying for and how much, because customers can then shop around for cheaper services. The Durbin rule also outlaws some of the exclusive arrangements by which Visa and MasterCard, which markets debit cards under their brands, bound merchants to using their arguably overpriced networks.

Guess what? In just the last few days, Los Angeles-based City National Bank and Chula Vista-based PacTrust Bank have announced they'll forgo debit card fees for their customers, at least for the moment...

[Demeter]

64. Kinder Morgan to buy El Paso for around $21 billion (BIGGEST GAS PIPELINE CO IN US)

http://news.yahoo.com/kinder-morgan-buy-el-paso-38-billion-191253310.html

Kinder Morgan Inc said on Sunday it will pay around $21 billion to buy El Paso Corp, creating the largest pipeline company in North America...The offer of $26.87 a share, represents a 37 percent premium to the closing price of El Paso shares, based on its Friday, October 14 closing price of $19.59.

When including El Paso's debt, the deal tops $38 billion...The offer per share comprises $14.65 in cash, 0.4187 KMI shares -- valued at $11.26 per EP share -- and 0.640 KMI warrants -- valued at $0.96 per EP share -- based on KMI's closing price on Friday. The warrants will have an exercise price of $40 and a five-year term.

The transaction has been approved by each company's board of directors the companies said. Pipeline transportation and energy storage company KMI said it has a commitment letter from Barclays Capital underwriting the full amount of cash required for the transaction.

El Paso Corp owns North America's largest natural gas pipeline system. The new company hopes to generate $350 million a year in cost savings, or about 5 percent of the combined companies' earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization. It is expected to be immediately accretive to dividend yield for KMI holders through these savings. The new combined company will be 68 percent owned by KMI shareholders with EP holders owning the remaining 32 percent....The companies also said the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012 subject to regulatory approvals.

[Demeter]

65. Occupy Wall Street’s ‘Political Disobedience’ TODAY'S MUST READ

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/occupy-wall-streets-political-disobedience/

Our language has not yet caught up with the political phenomenon that is emerging in Zuccotti Park and spreading across the nation, though it is clear that a political paradigm shift is taking place before our very eyes. It’s time to begin to name and in naming, to better understand this moment. So let me propose some words: “political disobedience.”

Occupy Wall Street is best understood, I would suggest, as a new form of what could be called “political disobedience,” as opposed to civil disobedience, that fundamentally rejects the political and ideological landscape that we inherited from the Cold War.

Civil disobedience accepted the legitimacy of political institutions, but resisted the moral authority of resulting laws. Political disobedience, by contrast, resists the very way in which we are governed: it resists the structure of partisan politics, the demand for policy reforms, the call for party identification, and the very ideologies that dominated the post-War period.

Occupy Wall Street, which identifies itself as a “leaderless resistance movement with people of many … political persuasions,” is politically disobedient precisely in refusing to articulate policy demands or to embrace old ideologies. Those who incessantly want to impose demands on the movement may show good will and generosity, but fail to understand that the resistance movement is precisely about disobeying that kind of political maneuver. Similarly, those who want to push an ideology onto these new forms of political disobedience, like Slavoj Zizek or Raymond Lotta, are missing the point of the resistance...

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

Bernard E. Harcourt is chair of the political science department and professor of law at The University of Chicago. He is the author of several books, most recently “The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order.”

[Demeter]

66. G20 tells eurozone to put its house in order

Finance ministers of the world’s leading economies are set to tell the eurozone to take decisive action to recapitalise its banks, resolve the Greek debt crisis and add firepower to its funds to minimise contagion, G20 officials said on Saturday after an all night meeting to agree a communiqué.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/XH0PN5/HI3M9/622J1R/7A4GPO/FW/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=15

THIS WOULD BE FUNNY---IF IT WEREN'T SO FUNNY.

[Demeter]

67. Bakries in refinancing talks with Glencore

Two of the world’s largest commodities trading houses are in negotiations to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to Indonesia’s influential Bakrie family to help refinance a $1.35bn loan to Credit Suisse and several hedge funds.

Glencore, the world’s top commodities trader, and Vitol, the top oil house, are discussing a possible deal, although people familiar with the discussions, which are ongoing, cautioned that an agreement was by no means certain.

Industry executives said that Glencore was likely to provide the bulk of any refinancing package. “It looks as if Glencore is
in the driving seat on this one,” said one personal familiar with the talks between the trading houses and the Bakries.

Glencore and Vitol, as well as the Bakries and Credit Suisse, declined to comment.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/C4I00O/MJTKN/5VV7ZX/SPHKM5/FW/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=13

[Demeter]

68. Emerging countries in talks on IMF boost

Talks over extra funds to increase the IMF’s firepower aim to produce a confidence-boosting announcement by November’s G20 summit

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/7AW8CM/NRHD3/VLLM1K/162FOW/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=14

YEAH! LET'S BOOST THAT CONFIDENCE---IT'S ONLY MONEY, AFTER ALL.

[Demeter]

69. Policymakers say Greek deal must avoid default

Officials in Paris, at the European Central Bank and European Commission want to avoid a ‘credit event’ under any deal to cut Greek debt

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/7AW8CM/NRHD3/VLLM1K/AMKB5J/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=14

[Demeter]

70. German banks attack recapitalisation plan

Germany’s five banking associations demand that any risk assessment of European banks should be based on current capital requirements

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/7AW8CM/NRHD3/VLLM1K/SPHDUG/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=14

[Demeter]

71. Spain set to miss deficit reduction target

Spain will find it almost impossible to meet its target for cutting the budget deficit this year, according to analysts and officials

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/7AW8CM/NRHD3/VLLM1K/4C7PV0/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=14

[Demeter]

72. Chinese trade growth slows significantly

Growth in Chinese trade slowed last month as exports to Europe fell significantly amid economic uncertainty.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/9ULF66/624TU8/LSLXF/2OOMG7/HYS8UZ/N9/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=13

[Demeter]

73. Pennsylvania capital files for bankruptcy

Harrisburg has filed for bankruptcy in an unexpected move that came as state lawmakers were preparing to take over control of the city

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/9ULF66/624TU8/LSLXF/2OOMG7/QNL7OD/N9/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=13

[Demeter]

74. US starts to tackle hacking curse HERE WE GO!

Internet service providers may be encouraged to warn their subscribers if they appear to have been compromised with botnet programs

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/9ULF66/624TU8/LSLXF/2OOMG7/YB0YM3/N9/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=13

[Demeter]

75. Libyan bourse catches the eye of investors

Analysts are excited by the growth potential of the stock exchange when it finally reopens after the rebellion against the Gaddafi regime

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/9ULF66/624TU8/LSLXF/2OOMG7/30ZSK3/N9/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=13

I'M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES....

[Demeter]

76. Walmart has first US sales rise in two years

Efforts to deepen discounts and improve the selection of products finally succeeding at luring back disillusioned customers

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/FK9VU4/Z87P0/WTT8GB/WT6K7L/28/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=13

[Demeter]

77. A WORD FROM THE 1% VIA OLIPHANT

http://cdn.svcs.c2.uclick.com/c2/8179db20d6dc012e2f9c00163e41dd5b?width=750.0

[Demeter]

78. Giving Up on Gold/When the Logic of the Bull Market Suddenly Seems Illogical By Bill Bonner

http://dailyreckoning.com/when-the-logic-of-the-bull-market-suddenly-seems-illogical/

...We had been expecting a bigger sell-off in the price of gold. The metal went down, about $300 if we recall correctly, but not as much as we expected... In the last major bull market in gold, in the ’70s, the price declined by about 50% before going on to set a new record. The pullback in 1974 caused investors to question the premise of the whole bull market. Many dropped out and missed the big payoff.

Markets always test their admirers. The old-timers — such as Richard Russell — refer to the “50% principle.” A bull market can be expected to retrace as much as 50% of its gains…before going on to fulfill its destiny. If it goes down more than 50%, however, the bull market may be over. Unfortunately, these are not hard and fast rules. Just old timers’ tales. Still, they are useful for understanding how markets work…and for keeping you from making a big mistake. This gold market barely corrected 20% of its gains. Is that all there is? We don’t know. Doesn’t seem like enough. We didn’t feel tested at all; did you? That was part of the reason we thought the economy was sliding into a Rip Van Winkle slumber. It would be a real test.

Imagine that China slows down. Imagine that Europe lurches from one crisis to another. Imagine that the US economy follows Japan down that long, slow, slumpy road. What do you have? Falling prices for almost everything — including gold. And with falling prices for other assets, investors, savers, insurance companies, pension funds all put their money into US Treasury debt. This keeps rates low and it allows the US to fund its deficits almost indefinitely. The economy never recovers, but it doesn’t die either...Bernanke and crew may want to do something dramatic and foolhardy. But they wouldn’t have to. As in Japan, they could just bide their time…Pretty soon, people would come to think that the world economy had entered a more or less permanent phase of low growth and low inflation. And then, what would happen to the price of gold? It would fall. People buy the inert metal to protect themselves from very ert humans. But if the humans who run central banks and Treasury departments sit still, why hold gold?

The logic of the gold bull market is that the feds have done, and will do, stupid and disastrous things to the monetary system. Perhaps they will. But as long as they are able to finance large deficits painlessly, they have no reason to do so. Instead, they will take economist Richard Koo’s advice and use deficit financing to pay for fiscal stimulus projects. Infrastructure projects…transfer programs…tax the rich…bread and circuses for the poor — this could go on for a long time...When speculators and savers realize that they need not hold gold to protect themselves from the feds, they will sell it. The price will fall — perhaps below $1,000. Then, we will have a real test.

If the economy is stuck in a low-inflation phase, why own gold?
If the feds do not have to print money, why would they?
If prices — in dollar terms — are stable or going down, why not just stick with dollars?

We can see the headlines now:

“Investors give up on gold.”
“Even gold-bugs are disappointed by the yellow metal.”
“No need for gold as world economy enters 7th year of stable prices.”

MORE SPECULATION (OF ALL KINDS) AT LINK

[Demeter]

79. Twisted: The Curious Shape into which the Financial World has Gotten Itself

http://dailyreckoning.com/twisted-the-curious-shape-into-which-the-financial-world-has-gotten-itself/

In both Europe and America the financial sector has been on the edge of disaster for the last three years. Each time a crisis flares up, the fixers rush in with a remedy. Bailouts, TARPs, TALFs, ZIRPs, QEI, QEII and now the ‘twist’. In its latest effort, the Fed announced: “The Committee intends to purchase, by the end of June 2012, $400 billion of Treasury securities with remaining maturities of 6 years to 30 years and to sell an equal amount of Treasury securities with remaining maturities of 3 years or less. This program should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help make broader financial conditions more accommodative.”

Already, short-term lending rates are so low it is as if money-in-hand had less than zero value. Adjusted for inflation, you pay the US government to store it for you. Even with interest, you get back less than you lent. And now, the Fed aims to perform the same dark magic on long-term funds, artificially lowering the cost of money so that people will borrow more of it.

All the fixes have the same effect. They add to the world’s debt and subtract from its ability to pay it. The first proposition is self-evident. The second requires some explanation. Prices — set by willing sellers and able buyers — are information. They tell us where to focus our resources. They tell us when we have too much of one thing and too little of another. When prices are low, generally, we redirect investment to where they are high. This brings forth more supply of the thing that was wanted and less of the thing that was not. Result: real growth. No price is more important than the price of money. It tells us when and in what it pays to put our money. But bring in the fixers to suborn prices; they make them lie. That, of course, is the demented idea behind the twist program, to mislead investors as to the real price of long term credit. They’re supposed to believe that the world is so awash with money they’d be fools not to take it.

In America, households and businesses generally ignore the signal. Household debt is doing down, despite the fed’s blandishments. Families know the rates are fraudulent. But the least productive sectors — finance and the government itself — thrive on mendacity. They borrow with insouciance and spend with impunity. Resources, which might have been used to add wealth, are tricked away from the real economy. Value is not added to resources; it is subtracted. Wealth is not produced; it is consumed....In other words, the problem gets bigger. The solution — real, private sector prosperity — gets smaller.