02/20/09 Tampa Bay, Florida An article by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Telegraph had the headline, “If Eastern Europe falls, world is next”, which I take to be a new domino theory, as the domino theories I am used to, run along the lines of, “If anything happens to America, everybody else is freaking toast!” and the more personal, “If anything happens to the cookies in my lunchbox, Mogambo, you are a dead man!”
Well, Mr. Evans-Pritchard does not mention any of that in this new theory, and instead starts off with the attention-grabbing sentence, “The unfolding debt drama in Russia, Ukraine, and the EU states of Eastern Europe has reached an acute danger point” – by which he means things like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) saying that “bad debts will top 10 percent and may reach 20 percent” which is very bad news indeed for a bunch of crooked speculator trash who leveraged everything to the hilt and now their entire capital base, which was probably less than 10% of the amount invested, has been wiped out by the 10% losses, and now all the money is gone! Bankrupt! Hahaha!
An unfamiliar metaphor arises when we read, “The Vienna press said Bank Austria and its Italian owner Unicredit face a ‘monetary Stalingrad’ in the East” which obviously means more to Europeans and Russians than it means to us Americans, as all I seem to remember about Stalingrad was writing on a history midterm exam one time in high school that “Stalingrad is a Russian city named after a man named Stalin. It has many people in it today, although a lot of them got killed fighting the Nazis, and I forget what happened or who won, but there were lots of dead guys all over the place.”
I also remember that I realized it was a weak answer, and then I took a real gamble and wrote, praying for a miracle, “The chief exports of Stalingrad are copper and maize, which native people call corn, or maybe the other way around, I forget because it’s kind of confusing who calls what what.” I also forget whether I got that part right or not, but I must have eventually graduated, because here I am, and all’s well that ends well!
Anyway, Stalingrad and my high school days are a long way from Austria’s finance minister Josef Proll, who “made frantic efforts last week” to arrange something to save his butt, as, “His banks have lent E230 billion to the region, equal to 70 percent of Austria’s GDP.” Wow! Hahaha!
The amount of leverage must be off the charts, as Mr. Evans-Pritchard reports that Der Standard in Vienna announced that “A failure rate of 10 percent would lead to the collapse of the Austrian financial sector” which, Mr. Evans-Pritchard figures, “Unfortunately, that is about to happen.”
He goes on, “If mishandled by the world policy establishment, this debacle is big enough to shatter the fragile banking systems of Western Europe and set off Round 2 of our financial Gotterdammerung” which is a word that I had to look up, and although I know what Gotterdammerung LOOKS like it means, it really means some mythical end-time when the gods fight with evil and everything is destroyed.
Well, all that fightin’ and feudin’ makes for a good story to tell the kids when the power has gone out because you can’t afford to pay the electric bill and the damned kids refuse to patrol the perimeter, which is (you pointedly explain to them) how evil gets in and causes Gotterdammerung in the first place, which is a Bad, Bad Time (BBT) when everything is destroyed, “including video games and hanging out with your weird, hoodlum friends” which seems to get their attention.
But everyone’s problems were actually caused by the satanic Alan Greenspan during his chairmanship of the Federal Reserve, by Congress for being so childishly stupid, self-centered and deliberately ignorant, and by the loathsome Supreme Court for ruling that the Constitution allows it all!
I bring this up because I have learned, to my pleasant surprise, that not everyone at the Fed is a low-IQ halfwit lowlife pile of pigeon squirt, mindlessly turning out one piece of loathsome Fed-approved econometric crap after another with which to further destroy the economy.
Two of these brave-and-unusual Fed economists are Arthur Rolnick and Warren Weber at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, who, as Judy Shelton reports in her piece in the Wall Street Journal, “concluded that gold and silver standards consistently outperform fiat standards. Analyzing data over many decades for a large sample of countries, they found that ‘every country in our sample experienced a higher rate of inflation in the period during which it was operating under a fiat standard than in the period during which it was operating under a commodity standard.”
Eureka! She concludes, “economists who promote the government-knows-best approach of Keynesian economics fail to comprehend the damaging consequences of spurring economic activity through a money illusion.”
The best news is towards the end, where she reports that “any move toward a new international monetary system based on gold will more likely take place through the grass-roots efforts of Americans” like, for instance, “The Indiana Honest Money Act” which would “allow citizens the option of paying in or receiving back gold, silver or the equivalent electronic receipt as an alternative to Federal Reserve notes for all transactions conducted with the state of Indiana.”
This is wonderful! I can hardly wait! If this wonderful bill is enacted as state law, I suggest moving there and finding ways of paying Indiana too much money!
For example, say I am speeding along in my snazzy red Jag convertible with the top down, cute Hollywood starlets at my side, radio blaring, honking at pretty young ladies and generally making a dangerous, motor-roaring, wheel-spinning, speed-demon nuisance of myself. Further, suppose I keep this up until some cop pulls me over and gives me a speeding ticket for, say, $220, which is the fine for “going in excess of 30 miles an hour over the speed limit in a posted zone.”
Now, we spring our financial trap, and immediately pay the fine, but cleverly send them a check for $22,000.00, which they cash, whereupon I say, “Hey! I accidentally paid too much! Give me my money back! And by the way, I want the whole $21,780 returned to me in gold! Hahahaha!”
Whee! This investing stuff is easy!
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Mogambo Guru: Very interesting:
I bring this up because I have learned, to my pleasant surprise, that not everyone at the Fed is a low-IQ halfwit lowlife pile of pigeon squirt, mindlessly turning out one piece of loathsome Fed-approved econometric crap after another with which to further destroy the economy.
Two of these brave-and-unusual Fed economists are Arthur Rolnick and Warren Weber at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, who, as Judy Shelton reports in her piece in the Wall Street Journal, “concluded that gold and silver standards consistently outperform fiat standards.
The best news is towards the end, where she reports that “any move toward a new international monetary system based on gold will more likely take place through the grass-roots efforts of Americans” like, for instance, “The Indiana Honest Money Act” which would “allow citizens the option of paying in or receiving back gold, silver or the equivalent electronic receipt as an alternative to Federal Reserve notes for all transactions conducted with the state of Indiana.”
As far as I recall both Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party) and Ron Paul (Republican) Presidential Platforms included a version of Honesty Money, the Gold Standard…
Unfortunately the Fortune 500, and Wall St. Mainstream Media ‘Big Brother Party’ preferred to arrange for the election of thier Obama Puppet, whom could provide their corporations with billions and billions of corporate welfare bailouts; and keep the masses in debt enslaved slavery; with their endless welfare ponzi scheme promises, from medicare to social security, etc.
So, from observing this Big Brotehr Party Pied Piper scheme, leading the ignorant ‘citizen rats’ down to the River; it is my opinion, as I stated a while ago in a letter to the Board of Directors of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange: Is an Ethical, Emotional, Political and Financial Reputation based on Honour?
Interesting the term ‘bailouts’. As a sailor, a ‘bailout’ is what sailors do with buckets, or similar, to attempt to rescue a ship in danger of sinking, due to taking on water. As such a ‘bailout’ can be successful, if the excess water is due to severe stormy seas – i.e. is doing a kangaroo number into the boat – however, if the excess water is due to a hole in the hull (for whatever reasons, of which there can be plenty), if the hole in the hull is letting in more water, than can be bailed, and the hole in the hull cannot be fixed, then the ship is SINKING.
All those with prior waterboarding experience, shall plausibly be better capable of treading water, and not being too terrified from dying by drowning; I guess.
If the economic theory engineers who design these economic ships, with holes like swiss cheese, driven by Captains blind to icebergs, were held as accountable as Captain Bligh’s crew, an economic system may be capable of being devised with the same commitment to accountability, as the engineers responsible for the dykes of the Netherlands.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears that the financial engineers responsible for the world’s swiss cheese financial system — from it’s Central Banks fractional banking and fiat currencies, to Enron and Worldcomm like fictional helium based accounting systems, on various stock exchanges; — do not appear, to live below the sea-level of their financial systems.
Neither the JSE Brd. of Directors, nor N. Mandela, Archibishop D. Tutu, or Chief Justice Pius Langa, have even bothered to demonstrate their commitment to honour, by acknowledging receipt; let alone a response.
I guess we can conclude their types of reputations are based on the fiat currency hypocrisy kind, not the gold standard honour kind: their word is not their word; they don’t keep their agreements; and they definitely don’t consider honesty as the foundation of their character or reputations.
So, I conclude that things shall get allot, lot worse; before those who are addicted to political correctness and ‘change’ la la land; as opposed to brutal honesty and reality; wake up to how they have been buttf**ked, by their PC and ‘change’ la la land Pied Pipers.
Lara
I really dont think the government would allow a gold standard back in. As you know printing money is a sweet deal which effectively allows you to steal the savings and assets of the taxpayers. There has never been a criminal organisation in the world that has given up its money maker without a fight.
February 22, 2009
Junior Mogambo ranger reporting to chief:
Dear Mogambo,
Last week on 2/20/2009 “Gold: Finding Honest Money in the Midwest” you were the first to give me a missing piece of information that , in my opinion, may become very, very significant. For those in your audience that may be Bible- believing Christians of which I am one, who go so far as to also accept the possibility of a modern day prophecy, I want to sound a special warning.
The source of the warning originally comes from Rev. David Wilkerson who was first called to help drug addicts in New York City and later formed a huge ministry called Teen Challenge. From his work a best selling book “The Cross and the Switchblade” was written and later another book called “Run Baby Run”, the story of Nicky Cruz’s life who was converted under Wilkerson’s work and who went on to become an evangelist himself. In April of 1973, Rev. Wilkerson (this tried and true minister of the Lord) claims to have received a vision from the Lord about future events and wrote about what he foresaw in a book he called “The Vision”.
Of five key items he claims are coming “Economic Confusion” is Chapter 1! In fact the first two sentences of his entire book read: “There is worldwide economic confusion just ahead. In my vision, this is the clearest thing I have seen.”
I also heard his tape years ago and have never doubted his message, however, timing has always been the issue.
Wilkerson stated, “the next few years (from 1973) will be among the most prosperous in the history of mankind,” and he also quoted Habakkuk 2:2,3 on a cover page which says “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come”
What is the missing piece you supplied? Wilkerson says, “And even though the dollar will appear to be gaining strength just before the coming major recession, a new crisis will develop that will shake the entire financial world.”
Now, we ‘thought’ we were already in the recession and we also now see the dollar gaining strength because of a scramble to cover dollar denominated bets that went sour – but the “flash point” is the missing piece. I’ve been watching Europe for a long time and noted the recent failed Bund auctions in Germany, since he says, “I see total economic confusion striking Europe first and then affecting Japan, the United States, Canada, and all other nations shortly thereafter.” In his audio tape I believe he cited “Germany”.
Yet you reported, Austrians have lent E230 billion, equal to 70% of Austria’s GDP, to Eastern European nations. Their own leaders state that if 10% of the loans fail it would bring the collapse of the Austrian financial sector and that it now appears bad loans will top 10% and may reach 20%. Part of your report also cites the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in which I am sure Germany also has deep involvement.
This looks like the flash point – and it has arrived!
This also means we may now be very near (perhaps months, weeks or even days) in front of a total collapse of the world’s economies.
This also means we may only have a short time to do whatever it is we should do before we will be prohibited from doing it later.
Three other significant points of this chapter:
First, “It is not really a depression I see coming – but a recession of such magnitude that it will affect the lifestyle of nearly every wage earner in America and around the world. Countries that now control huge amounts of Western currency are going to be in very deep trouble also. Arab countries will especially be hurt.” That seems very clear to many contrarians now.
Second, “The price of gold is going to rise astronomically… Silver will also become a very precious metal, and its price will go wild.” That sounds really good! And, that is why I first became interested in gold and silver years ago before the bull market in precious metals began. However, he also says, “But neither silver nor gold will offer real security. The fluctuating and uncertain value of gold and silver will be a part of the total picture of economic confusion that grips the world. Believe it or not – even gold will not hold its value. Gold hoarders are going to get hurt – badly. This is one of the most significant predictions in this book.” Wow!
Third, Wilkerson, while concluding chapter 1 says, “It is still possible that we can face the time when even government-insured savings will not be paid. The only real security is in land.” [emphasis mine]
Therefore, my plan is to ride the gold and silver bull on up and then transfer to land hopefully at the right time.
(“The Vision”, Spire Books, Fleming H. Revell Company, Wilkerson, David, Old Tappan, New Jersey 07675, USA, 1974) all references from chapter 1.
Kenneth Click
Mogambo Guru Junior Ranger
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress in October he was “shocked” America’s banking system had “broken down” and confessed, “I still do not understand why it happened.” He still professes to be mystified today –see here — and the Stock Research Portal Blog accuses him of disingenuousness, because he “must have known his policies had put the U.S. on a “road to economic disaster” long before August 2007.”And if he didn”t? “He ought not to have occupied the position he did.”Via Stock Research Portal Blog