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FRIDAY FREE FOR ALL - June 19th, 2009

By 250 News

Friday, June 19, 2009 04:00 AM

It's the Friday  Free For All, , your opportunity to  speak up  on matters which  concern you.

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The following is from an article titled "Bull Markets Bullsh*t & Bubbles"

"When credit growth is positive, bull markets result. When credit growth is excessive, bubbles result. When credit growth slows, recessions result and when credit growth contracts, all hell breaks loose.

In free markets, supply and demand determine price and profits. Capitalism’s paper-based markets, however, are not free markets. In today’s capitalist markets, price and profits are determined by credit flows emanating from government central banks.

Under capitalism—or more appropriately, under credit-based debtism—the supply and demand for credit is as important as the supply and demand for goods and services. The critical supply and demand dynamic that exists in free markets is distorted under capitalism, a distortion that will destroy capitalism just as communism was destroyed by a similar systemic distortion.

In credit-based capital markets, investors need credit like addicts need heroin; for just as addicts cannot survive without heroin, investors cannot profit without central bank credit. But more credit, like more heroin, becomes increasingly dangerous with continued usage.

It was the increased availability of credit in the 1980s that was responsible for the historic bull market from 1982 to 2007. In truth, the twenty-five year bull market was but a slow-building bubble in disguise, a bubble the Fed is now frantically trying to resuscitate in the hopes of preventing capitalism’s imminent collapse."

"Bubbles and busts have now replaced the expansions and contractions common to early stage capitalism. We are now in late-stage capitalism, where debt instead of credit is the critical factor and the bond markets, not equity markets, determine the economic future."

"In capitalist economies, constant credit fuels constant inflation which, in turn, results in constantly rising prices. This process was erroneously mistaken for wealth creation after the 1980s when inflation was contained to asset classes. But such asset gains are only temporary and become losses when speculative bubbles finally collapse."

"A constant expansion of credit is absolutely necessary for capitalism to function. Capitalism is like a Ponzi-scheme in that expansion is critical to its on-going survival. When capital markets slow, debt markets collapse as any slowdown in economic activity negatively impacts the ability of debtors to pay compounding debts.

The credit collapse in August 2007 is continuing despite the best efforts of governments and central banks to provide more credit to the markets. Such efforts are futile because banks and investors are increasingly reticent to loan when the odds of being repaid decrease as economic activity slows."

The following is the link to this article:

http://www.howestreet.com/articles/index.php?article_id=9876

P.S. Please ignore the last sentence of the article. I am not posting this to give anyone investment advice. (I think the jury is still out whether or not people should have some of their assets in gold and silver at this time.)
Charles, I think the article makes some good points but is a little misguided.

I liked this quote...
----
When credit growth is positive, bull markets result. When credit growth is excessive, bubbles result. When credit growth slows, recessions result and when credit growth contracts, all hell breaks loose.

In free markets, supply and demand determine price and profits. Capitalism’s paper-based markets, however, are not free markets. In today’s capitalist markets, price and profits are determined by credit flows emanating from government central banks.
------
Although the writer is misinformed about who the central banks are as they are not government...

But I disagree with the following quote...
----
A constant expansion of credit is absolutely necessary for capitalism to function.
----

The guy is going off the rails at this point. Capitalism can survive with no credit... it would be small scale capitalism and everyone would be poor, but it would still be capitalism, because unlike communism, when capitalism collapses its collapse is the embryo of its recovery.

Truth be told what the writer is trying to say but doesn't know how to say it... is that 'where is the credit... run for the hills', but the answer is you will not find the credit running for the hills (gold silver)....

The biggest problem with credit today is that 65% of it or more is never coming back no matter how much debt our government passes on to the next generation to give to bankers so they can loan more. The facts are that at least 40% of loans were enabled because packaged loans by the Wall Street criminals were called assets and sold as equity investments and taken off the banks balance sheet as they were slipped off their balance sheet and into equities... a further 25%+ of loans are enabled by the bond markets and the bond market is dead. Banks make up maybe 30% of the loans made to the economy and their financial rip-off-cousins were the ones 'making all the loans' through financial alchemy.

Ironically it might be deflation that saves capitalism (don't tell this to people speculating on gold and silver though), because then people would know that bonds would be the place to be making a guaranteed interest rate in a deflation environment... IMO thats just where the banksters want us, so they can continue to still assets in the bankruptcy courts as the secured lenders of projects funded by the fools that bought unsecured bonds in companies encouraged to over leverage to maintain a competitive growth rate with their other over leveraged competitors (under the erroneous assumption capitalism needs credit to grow).

So the bottom line is unless liquidity is injected from the bottom up we are doomed. The top of capitalism elite has been consumed by the zionist plot to monopolize control over everything (look what they did to GM and our forest industry for one)... they have no care for us at the bottom and they in no way are part of the solution... the few elites are the problem (not workers, and investors, and citizen consumers)... but its too late now the damage is done.

IMO you don't fix the credit problem by printing more money to give to the banks so our children can pay more taxes to make the central bank induced ponzi scheme last a little longer... while the criminals all unwind their holdings.

The government needs to fix the problem by allowing people that work to keep their paychecks, so they have money to invest and recreate our own future industrial corporations under a different model that respects all its stakeholders and thus becomes sustainable.

I propose we eliminate all income taxes (its a small percentage of government revenue anyways)... no more wealth transfers, just people that work get to keep their income and use the extra to invest and monetize this economy through genuine grass roots investment and not the kind of financial alchemy we have become accustom to.

This would give me another $2000 a month to invest where I have little now... multiply this across the country and I think Canadians know best how to save our economy with our dollars and not the paid off prostituted political parties and their latest gimic bailout of the day to favored 'friends of industry'.
On more important matters to me this morning is... where did all the finches go... I had hundreds of them in the mornings for a while there, and now they aren't visiting for a bit to eat in the morning anymore... do they migrate at this time of year, or are they all nesting, did I give them a bad batch of seeds they don't like?

Conspiracy or coincidence... I don't yet know....
Thank you Charles, that was very informative. I also appreciate Eagle's insightful viewpoint.
Good to see the two new PG bridges taking shape, and all of the roadwork going on in various areas, inconveniant, but necessary. Too bad we will still have thousands of potholes next spring though.
My rant today; same as every year, as far back as I can remember, the dolts that apply the sand dare I say gravel, to the crack sealing tar on the highways. First, the damn stuff they are using out west this year has a high percentage of small rocks, second, the dolts putt far too much on, they are just dropping it on the hot tar by the spade full. They are creating ridges, causing a rough ride, the rocks spatter not only your vehicle, but the ones that pass you by, and the ones behind you. All that is in addition to the dust.
Unless I am mistaken, the tar only needs enough SAND to prevent it from sticking to our tires until it cools and sets. Another consideration is the hazard this practice creates for motorcyclists. Twenty five years ago I ranted about the talc they over applied to the crack sealing, it was slippery for a motorcycle! Now I wish they would bring back the talc, but at least the sandy part of the veritable gravel they use now sticks to the tar, so those strips are not as slippery when wet as they used to be.
A good week end to all, and get out and fish! it is not often the guvvies give us a freebie (no fishing license required, this week end only)
metalman.
Morning all! Eagleone, I have noticed the same thing with the chicadees. I had so many at my feeder all winter throughout April and May now they are gone. I thought that wierd as well. I think your idea that they might be nesting is valid but I'm no expert. Have a nice day!
re: CaringSoul & Eagleone

It's the air quality. The little birdies have flown the coop for cleaner pastures.

And I'm doing the same, got my house up for sale to make a move to the Okanagan.

No Hummingbirds for 2 Weeks at the Feeders, now they are back again don't know where they went? RE Hwy, I think the Gravel comes from the Glass Shops.
..living south of Quenel, I have also noticed no birds at the feeders.
There is plenty of feed for the birds in the bush now that spring has sprung into blooming flowers and multitudes of insects. We have not had many humming birds for about two weeks now also.
Yeah, it would be good business for the glass shops to distribute "sand" for the roads. Conspiracy theory.....
metalman.
Has anyone else noticed how stupid and useless the 'Guardian Angels' traffic flagging crews are? Isn't the point of flag persons, to efficiently direct traffic? I think if you were to ask the flag girls, their purpose is (for whatever reason) to shake their fat asses at passing truck drivers, and fulfilling their power tripping fantasies with the passing traffic. Its been proven over and over again, give losers a teeny bit of authority, they go mad!
Ocean I think that you have been driving by different flagging crews than me, as most of the ones I have seen were quite effective.

And as far as fat asses, most of them are so skinny they look like they could share a grain of rice between three of them and wrap the leftovers up for later!
If driving is so intimidating to you that you can't keep up with traffic flow or make a left turn if there's another vehicle in sight then please take the bus or a cab.
I have a question on a different subject.
Regarding the fire fighters that are coming into Alberta from Mexico and whereever else - do these people have some special training??? Just wondering because there are alot of unemployed people here, that may want those jobs.
It's just a thought.
Of course things are getting so specialized now that you probably need a ticket to operate a pick and shovel.

Traffic control is not about efficient traffic flow.
It is to ensure a safe work site for the workers and to ensure that anyone else entering the work site is safe.

If you think it an easy job try this, stand on a paved road for 8 to 12 hour day up to 6 days a week in any weather.

beleive it or not it is a two day course to get your ticket.
winnie, it's probably much more effective to get help from people who are already trained and firefight for a living than to put people through the training in time for a fire. A lot of the time firefighters are called in on short notice, so it'd be pretty difficult to train up some joe blow off the street in time.
And yes, you do need basic fire suppression training just to "operate a pick and shovel". It's called S-100.
And it is a one day course that lets you go into the forest to fight a fire with a bunch of others without some good understanding of micro-weather influence and change, fuel load, fire characteristics, terrain and its influence on fire spread, etc. so that you know when you might be trapped and may succumb to a forest fire so that you can get out before that happens.
"Regarding the fire fighters that are coming into Alberta from Mexico and whereever else - do these people have some special training???"

I know two who are in PG from Alberta that fight forest fires. They have returned for their 3rd year this year. They do have special training. The fly "water" bombers and the bird dog planes.

This is the first season they have not been deployed outside of BC. Last year they went to California to help them fight the urban interface fires.

Well qualified forest fire fighting crews are unique. Each country has their own well trained cres to stand by and there is considerable international sharing of such crews to take advantage of spreading the limited capacity that is there with respect to major fires.
For those who might be interested in learning waht it takes to fight forest fires, here are a few links.

Aerial fire fighting:
http://www.firefightingincanada.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3753&Itemid=210

Description of different types of crews (from Saskatchewan):
http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=7cd4dab0-ad05-43a8-a3f5-80501a48154c

staffing and skill requirements:
[url]http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=835,787,242,94,88,Documents&MediaID=363&Filename=Certification+%26+Standards+Manual.pdf&l=English[/ur]
loki, you didn't mention how much per hour they get.
We need a bit more information about the "firefighters" from Mexico in Alberta.

Read this about an agreement with Alberta and Mexico to train at a high level. This is from 2007 and I would think this agreement is still active.

http://www.ales.ualberta.ca/news.cfm?story=68452

"John Spence, Chair, Department of Renewable Resources, and Alex Drummond, Sessional Lecturer, traveled to Mexico recently to assist Alberta’s Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development in a developing partnership between the Mexican State of Jalisco and the Province of Alberta with respect to fire management and pest management technology. The U of A is playing a support role with respect to the eventual delivery of advanced education in these areas. The main purpose of this trip was to officially open a new Mexican fire-fighter centre at Aqua Brava and to celebrate the kick-off technical education at the school. John and Alex were pleased to support Paul Short, Don Harrison and Rob Thorburn of SRD in establishing this initiative.

Four firefighter instructors and two other Alberta Sustainable Resource Development staff spent two weeks in February at the Agua Brava Environmental Education Center in the Primavera National Forest, near Guadalajara in the southwest state of Jalisco.

While there, they trained 40 firefighters, 20 of whom are English-speaking and will come to Alberta on May 1 for the 2007 wildfire season. The other 20 will remain in Mexico to fight fires there."

This is exactly the type of "value added" service that Canada, BC, and PG have been and can continue to deliver to other places in the world. We need to continue to deliver the expertise we have not only to our own industries but also to those in other countries.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Firefighters+boost/1712391/story.html

"Carlos Martin, a Mexican crew leader, said the fires here are severe, but his firefighters are experienced and confident."

Likely trained by Albertans in Mexico, or directly at the Hinton forestry school.
Coming down Hwy 97 from the south one of those flaggers did have her ass hanging out in the road while yappin to a worker. The lanes are only so wide there the way they have the cones placed. So with the ass out in the line of traffic I was wondering when it would get slapped by a mirror on the way by, I know I just missed it. Run over a cone or slap an ass?
Couldn't help notice that Fred Imadinnerjacket in Iran ain't doing to good in popularity polls. Seems a lot of the populace is upset. Which gave rise to this thought. Do they have gun control in Iran like we here in Canada do? Gee whiz! All them angry young folks and nothing to fight with. Bummer! I can see why governments like gun control. If there is a completion of task for these protesting people, maybe when they overthrow the government maybe they can steal the "Great Satan's" Second Amendment to their Constitution. That oughta put to rest doing all this protesting next time. Might be easier to convince them Ayatollahs over there to kinda watch themselves so they won't be caught in any cross hairs (of a rifle scope that is)in the future.
"A bombshell e-mail that rocked an inquiry into the Taser-related death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport has caused Justice Thomas Braidwood to postpone the proceedings indefinitely."

Read to the inquiry by a federal government lawyer, according to the news.
"Coming down Hwy 97 from the south one of those flaggers did have her ass hanging out in the road while yappin to a worker"

Obviously an important part of the 2 day training.

Or maybe she just got 51% ... a bare (p)ass
In case you have follwed the above link but have not clicked on the e-mail transcript link, here it is:
http://www.theprovince.com/Email+transcript+from+Braidwood+Inquiry/1714257/story.html
from the e-mail:

Second, as we’re going to have someone speak to this, he suggest that it should be someone other than Dale Carr otherwise we may lose the PERCEPTION of independence"

Perception? eh? ...
Does anyone know what "symposis" in the e-mail refers to? Perhaps it is RCMP code for "synopsis"?

Dick Bent ..... imagine having to go around with a name like that.

http://www.polcyb.org/conf_2008/BIO/bentbio.html

Did he finally release the e-mail? Or was it discovered "late in the day" by the lawyers?

Adjourned till September. Will be an interesting 2+ months for a few people. And the media will have a blast.

If you were in charge of the RCMP, what would be your Public Relations plans for the next two months?
The excitment is palpable!
Hope that two months is "with pay" for the officers.
Does anybody know why the time/temperature sign at the Pacific Western Brewery isn't working anymore?
i think they tried to slip the e-mail in as the enquiry was coming to a close.maybe hoping braidwood might say, i'll read that later.
the cops will be really scrambling for the next couple of months trying to squirm
out of it.
by the way, what ever happened to the
vancouver policewoman who shot the poor guy
because he had a black backpack on?
just vanished into thin air.
I think PG and BC is a great place to live. Now let's see everyone say something nice or perhaps why they like it so much. Ok I will start:
I love PG because I have never met kinder, more giving people.

Next....
Can someone explain to me the logic in the School Board policy that leaves an injured child lying waiting for an ambulance that isn't coming because they can't reach a parent to get permission to call an ambulance. And why the first aid attendant for staff doesn't have to attend to the injured child. Do the people that make these policies also shake babies and kick dogs?
Grizzly Mom,

Are you sure that actually is the policy?

Curiously, there doesn't seem to be anything on this topic in the Policy Manual or elsewhere on the SD91 web site.
Oops, I meant SD57 web site.
(Eagleone wrote:-) But I disagree with the following quote...
----
"A constant expansion of credit is absolutely necessary for capitalism to function."
-------------------------------------


But it IS necessary if the economy is to 'expand' and progress,
Eagle. And business firms are to utilize the mechanism of 'profit and loss' in their bookkeeping.

A mechanism which is central to the success of free-market capitalism, since it is through this device
in accounting that CONSUMERS make known their demands to 'producers'.

There are three basic economic systems at operation in our world today.

The first is genuine 'capitalism', (true 'free-enterprise', not the Gordon Campbell 'global capitalist'perversion of it), where CONSUMERS 'give the orders' as to what will be made to suit their needs and
desires, and Producers either satisfy
them or go out of business.

The second is genuine 'socialism', where an all-powerful bureaucracy 'gives the orders' what will be made, and how much each Consumer will be allowed to have of it.

And the third is 'monopoly'. Where the Producers, the ones that are left of them,
serve the policy of a small,
all-powerful elite. Of which our 'elected' politicians seem to feel they have to, or want to, prostrate themselves to serve.

For its power is exercised through its centralized control of
'financial credit'.

All three systems
are in operation in the world today, but for the moment,the third is rapidly eliminating the other two.

Even if the economy were not to 'expand', but remained dynamically stationary, new credit would still have to be introduced at the same rate existing credit (from Bank loans) was being retired, or overall a
falling rate of 'profit' will ensue,(resulting in a "choking off " of production for which there was still REAL Consumer demand, while
the
'physical'plant to satiate it existed, but couldn't be used because there was 'no money' to put it to use.)
Wow! I hope you all have a great weekend and take at least one minute to be happy for one thing in life.
We pick apart everything such as road work, the police, the ambulance, firefighters etc, etc, etc.
They all are trying to get the job done and maybe we should hop into there shoes for the day!
My ass ain't big enough for that job
From Charles' quoted article:- "In capitalist economies, constant credit fuels constant inflation which, in turn, results in constantly rising prices."
-----------------------------------------

That's because the element of TIME is not properly accounted for. In any 'capitalist' economy where overall productive capacity to supply constantly exceeds actual overall demand, constant 'debt-free' credit could also be used to purposefully LOWER prices to Consumers without the slightest problem with 'inflation'.

Or any loss whatsoever to producers, merchants, or banks. Except, in that latter case, of the 'power' they currently wield over us through their present ability to monopolize control of the public's credit ostensibly for the priority of their own self-interest and preservation.

'Inflation' is a rise in the availability of financial credit, or 'money', accompanied by a rise in Prices.

A rise in the availability of 'money' to the general public WITHOUT a rise in Prices is something I believe we'd all call "prosperity".

It's what I believe every government that is sincere in its desire to better the lot of its citizens should be aiming for. It's a target that's been badly missed, so far, here in BC and Canada. Of course, we may have governments that are less than 'sincere', too.

In this instance, instead of new credit being 'costed' into some new production, from which it will have to be recovered in the future in the form of Prices or Taxes ~ something that will, in total, prove impossible to do because its distribution TO the public NOW will be removed FROM that same public NOW through higher prices, while the 'costs' it has created have to be recovered in the FUTURE from that very same public which no longer has the 'money' to pay them, (unless the process repeats, over and over, which it usually does ~ only with a few not so little problems recurring periodically. As we are now witnessing).

Instead of that, new credit could be issued directly to the public without being 'costed' into anything. Through a variably computed 'rebate' credited back to each of us from the Bank of Canada AFTER we have made any retail purchase.

Effectively lowering the price of that purchase to us, while simultaneously stimulating economic demand without raising prices. (If prices DO rise, the 'rebate' simply becomes inoperative.)

Since most merchants find it far easier and more profitable to sell a large volume at a low margin than a small volume at a high one (or supermarkets, Wal-mart, etc. would never have been as successful as they are), there would be no incentive to raise prices UNLESS the supply of some article ACTUALLY was deficient in relation to Consumer demand for it. In which case this would send the signal to the manufacturer to supply more of it.

To initiate such a program simply would involve computing the difference between our overall productive capacity ~ the 'plant' we have built, and continue to improve ~ and how much of that capacity we actually draw upon over any chosen fiscal period.

Since this 'plant' has to be paid for, somehow, when it operates at less than its rated capacity, as most of the time it does, the payment for it has to be taken entirely from the portion of that capacity that actually DOES 'sell'. This results in our having to pay, as consumers, MORE for products we need and desire, when we really should be paying LESS. It also results in an economy which continually 'underperforms'.

Genuine Consumer demand can never be made fully "effective demand" solely from the distribution of Incomes through employment, for with each displacement of the 'man' by the 'machine', overall Incomes are FALLING in ratio to the overall Costs of production constantly coming forward into retail Prices.

If earned Incomes can't fully liquidate these Costs, which they can't, we either have to augment those Incomes directly with new, debt-free credit, or exponential unrepayable debt growth will ruin our entire economy, and progressively rob us of our freedom. The choice is ours, but we've not long to make it, before there'll be no choice at all.

supertech..apparently your mouth is though.

opinionated..I'll play..I love PG because in 1/2 hr,in any direction you can be in the middle of nowhere and enjoy nature,animal sighting s etc.
To Ispy:
Everyone is opinionated. Why don't you read all the posts and and make smart remarks about everyones 'opinion'? That would be the adult thing to do.
By the way; I spoke with a teacher today and she told me that is the policy about phoning a parent for permission. Bizarre!
Yes there is school board policy on these issues. It is buried very deep, i assume so that most won't find it. I also spoke with the policy department in PG and they confirmed it but didn't understand it and someone higher up was to call me back but of course no call has come.
Someone's child is going to end up with permanant damage or possibly die before the school board will even considering revamping these policies. I doesn't give me peace of mind knowing that my child could be hurt and not getting help because i am in a meeting or my cell battery is dead........