Liberation's Ruins
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The Dark Wraith joins the world in celebrating the new American century.
Published 2/04/2007 08:31:00 PM
Sunday, February 04, 2007
This graphic may be reposted with attribute.
The Dark Wraith joins the world in celebrating the new American century.
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DW,
I think the flowers that Rummy thought would be showered on our troops are lilies! How appropriate they would be!
How sad!
Very nice, as usual, DW.
Hey Wild Clover. Please send me an e-mail message with your address. I have a math camp T-shirt for you-know-who.
The Dark Wraith keeps getting his e-mail messages rejected by the better servers in the neighborhood.
Good evening, Father Tyme.
The one that annoys me the most is Paul Wolfowitz, one of the most important (if not the most important) theoretical architects of this whole disaster. Now that he's the president of the World Bank, the sniveling weasel refuses to give any interview in which he'll be asked about his culpability in this fiasco.
Geez, and here all along I thought that, if I screwed up, I'd never make it to the pinnacle of power.
If you ask me, there's something pretty weird about a world where, if you screw up so royally that Skid Row won't have you, you end up being rich and powerful and famous beyond your wildest dreams.
The Dark Wraith should write a book about the implications of that.
I rather like the moniker 'Wolfman' Wolfowitz. It seems to suit the bastard. Between him and 'William the Bloody' Kristol - at least a city full of dead men, women and children lie stacked like so much wood. I would so much like to plonk each of them down in the center of Bagdad – as far away from their precious green zone as possible. I won’t speculate on their possible fate – but I would be sorely disappointed if what was left fit into a mayonnaise jar.
FLS,
I'm shocked I tell you! What have you got against mayonnaise?
Besides, I don't think they'd take what's left for recycle and if the jar broke, the leftovers might GROW!!!
FT: eeeeuuuwwwwww! Growth like that could ruin us all over again!
Hit that growth with a powerful oxidizer, that should take care of it. Go get some "shock treatment" hypochlorite from anywhere but Wally World, it will most definitely do the trick, but be careful, keep it away from strong combustibles.
It should have the same warnings as firecrackers have had for years, lite fuse, get away quick, only use under adult supervision. Well, that does depend on the adult.
I'll shut up before the FBI gets interested.
This properly belongs in the comments of your "Index Portfolio Performance during the Bush Administration's First Six Years" post of January 21, 2007, but I believe it to be of such vital interest to your readers that I'm posting it here at the top of the blog. There's an essay entitled, "The Plunge Protection Team Risk Indicator - A Rally Finder by Robert McHugh, Ph.D. which goes into some interesting detail about how the stock markets in America are being manipulated by the PTB.
Here's one quote: "Unfortunately, we must now deal with the metamorphosing of capitalism into corporatist fascism -- which simply means, what is good for corporations is right, at the expense of our nation's founding principles and individual rights."
I wonder if the Plunge Protection Team has any advice on when to short airline stocks.
I am now at the point of trying to decide if the attack on Iran will itself cause the economic explosion that will wreak the world economy,or if the chinese will simpley pull the fiancial plug on us and destroy the dollar as a way to clip the shitbirds wings.With the Reagun carrrier task force headed out"to the pacific",if they sail just a bit farther,and they will join with the other 2 flattops...a total of 4 of our nations most deadly weapons platform.What faces them is god knows how many exocet,and sunburn anti-ship missle batteries,as well as a whole slew of very bad surprises from top-of-the-line russian antiaircraft[tor-1]and maybe some surprise nukes with a made-in-pakistan lable.What we face here is a economic shock-wave,ballistic fuel gas prices,as well as a unknown assemetrical[sp?]warfare from anyone who want to take america down a few notches..."the Postman" appears to be our future
Tell me I am too pessimistic.Please.
Snuffy,
Can you say "Gulf of Tonkin?" What better way to get the Stupid American Public (Saps) on your side than to have a carrier or two sunk with 10,000 lost? That he sent them there won't be reported; just that they were attacked and they weren't doing a thing!
The time for pessimism is over. This Democratic Congress has shown him that he can still do what he wants.
If we're still here in '08 and if there's no Marshall Law and if we elect someone on the Democratic side who actually has balls, your pessimism may just balance out then.
The cold war in America has just begun.
This Democratic Congress has shown him that he can still do what he wants.
And quite clearly at that. Bunch of spineless hacks take the easy route of a non-binding resolution, and can't even get that passed. So much for the second 100 Hours of draining the swamp. Fucking A.
The Dark Wraith senses rebellion in the galley.
Fucking A.
Why, That's EXACTLY what I said when I heard about it!!
Wolfowitz, what a disgusting most likely stinking bastard. Remember him licking his comb to apply to what might be the hair on his head? Does the bastard even bathe? Why?
Good gawd, could you imagine running your fingers through his hair?? I can understand a kid trying to slick down a cowlick, but a grown man, especially one with the illusion of position... well shit, I'd just shoot him and be done with it.
A service to the entire world.
Just thinking about these evil mother-fuckers now has put me in a very crappy mood. But by my free will I chose that mood. It wasn't so long ago that progress and improvement were the order of the day, but as usual, stinking repug bastards screamed and yelled continuously until that was squelched.
I've worked in some excellent operations and some poor ones, any dumbshit can screw up a good operation, but not many can make a poor one better. It takes a talent becoming rare, you have to give a shit and take some chances.
I'm coming to the point where I don't care either. It all seems so damned pointless.
Going out to sit with the Woof and deny reality for a few.
The potentials and possibilities that we have simply thrown out the window, if there is a spirit in this cosmos, it doesn't give a shit about us. The asteroid is way overdue.
It seems I should be more careful when visiting a site and then moving straight to my martial arts site. In this case, I suspect it drew a friendly Dark Wraith, but in the future it may bring an unfriendly entity. So, DW, if indeed this was your apparition, I have to ask, well...how do I look? LOL...
....Add another touching graphic to the long and growing list of bushco inspired art.
...I had a dream last night. A dream of the future; and in this dream a sweet child appeared in a beautiful, clean, safe, kind, and peaceful world. This child was being taught by a dark long haired professor. A venerated relic of the dark days and the blackdog rebellion that arose to crush the evil ones--bringing about untold millenia of health, peace, and prosperity.
Good gawd, could you imagine running your fingers through his hair??
Blackdog, that is just down right fucking gross.
Can you imagine what his shoes must smell like?
rcg,
Man, you gotta stop eatin' that pizza with anchovies and drinkin' beer before sack time.
Next you'll be dreamin' the Democrats took control of Congress!
lol@father tyme - indeed, that is probably what happened. :-) now I'm hungry and I want a beer...
Now then goat, how are his toe jammed feet any less disgusting than his hair? And are you a buck or a doe? I've had dairy goats and I can tell you that the bucks are awful damned proud of the scent they apply to their beards. Takes some getting used to, but after awhile, it smells like home.
My real question is what the hell are the qualifications for this asswipe to be head of the world bank?
Oh! I forgot, his qualifications are that he is a pandering, stinking bag of feces that enjoys raping others who can't defend themselves to his advantage. The true badge of a neo-con.
Goat, to sooth your sensibilities, here's some alfalfa and sweetfeed. Then I'll let you into the honeysuckle and poison ivy, a real treat for a goat!
Now then goat, how are his toe jammed feet any less disgusting than his hair? And are you a buck or a doe? I've had dairy goats and I can tell you that the bucks are awful damned proud of the scent they apply to their beards. Takes some getting used to, but after awhile, it smells like home.
My real question is what the hell are the qualifications for this asswipe to be head of the world bank?
Oh! I forgot, his qualifications are that he is a pandering, stinking bag of feces that enjoys raping others who can't defend themselves to his advantage. The true badge of a neo-con.
Goat, to sooth your sensibilities, here's some alfalfa and sweetfeed. Then I'll let you into the honeysuckle and poison ivy, a real treat for a goat!
Damn! Father Tyme, it did it to me too!
I swear I didn't twich!
Here's a link to a Raw Story article that should have all decent critters retching since it involves so many neo-con freaks that are slowly but surely being convicted in court for their excesses.
I can only hope that the shit is really about to hit the fan, but in a manner that I approve of.
Now then goat, how are his toe jammed feet any less disgusting than his hair?
No less/no more, just thought you might enjoy the mental image in support of your disgust for the douche bag. heh heh
It's pretty bad anyway you look at it, Goat. By the way, I could tell my goats apart by their voices, they all had a unique call. I used to get home about 4:00 and would go to the lakebank where they were and lay down in the grass. You know goats like and know you when they all drop and pee as you approach, if they don't know you they won't do this.
Anyway, after a few minutes all of my goats would snuggle up against me in the grass and start chewing their cud. It was always interesting to see the ball of cud travel up their esophagus and into their mouth. Then they would just chew, secure with me. I was proud. Those goats were very intelligent, they most likely knew a lot more than I, I could tell many stories.
Good Morning Dark Wraith,
It's sad we have to anticipate this central planning intervention into what used to be free markets, but if we can be prepared, then we can still trade both the ups and the downs profitably. Unfortunately, we must now deal with the metamorphosing of capitalism into corporatist fascism -- which simply means, what is good for corporations is right, at the expense of our nation's founding principles and individual rights. It means markets can never be allowed to drop for fear Wall Street firms' profits will shrink. It isn't about investment portfolio valuations, for it is proven that dips aid the safest known investment strategy individuals can use, long-term Dollar Cost Averaging. Dips can be good. They provide investments "on sale." It seems it's about political ratings, and television ratings, and Wall Street commissions. Rising, overvalued markets, breed corporate takeovers and public stock offerings, with resultant huge investment banking fees to Wall Street Banking houses. This is the game that is going on in today's world of Artificial Economics, where hyper-liquidity is king.
My question becomes:
Can Bernanke prop up the rich man's investments indefinately(prolly not), and what will that do to the rest of us???
Is this just another way to steal money from the less well off, or are they being insestuous and stealing it from each other?
The simple answer is that continued flooding of the markets with liquidity cannot survive and energy downturn.
The short answer is that all human endeavors are bound by thermodynamics / available energy. I'll try to make a brief argument.
So what we do is bound by the quantity of energy we take out of the earth. We can't do something, without the power / energy to do it.
Gwahar is thought to be in decline now. We may have seen the peak of world energy production come and go. Production of energy is flat and will decline. So the sum of our industry must remain stagnant and decline.
A market of fixed or declining quantiies of goods, coupled with increases in liquidity will inflate. Money will lose value.
We're seeing such inflation now, though the Fed Gov is careful to choose baskets of goods to measure, that don't reflect this. Corn is doubling in price this year. Food is going up, mortgages are going up. We'll see gasoline rise and settle a bit higher again, etc...
Over the long term, the value of money can be estimated thusly...
V = E / M
Where:
V = Value of Money
E = Quantity of Available Energy (BTUs for work)
M = Quantity of money.
As a side note, the per capita availability of energy in the world has been in decline since 1987.
Good afternoon, Weaseldog.
You might find Part 1 and Part 2 of my series, "A Brief Story of Money," worth reading. Essentially, Part 2 covers the equation of exchange.
I should probably proceed with a third installment pretty soon, just to keep that series from sort of vanishing into Blog Oblivion.
The Dark Wraith should probably worry about his own consciousness doing the same thing.
Good articles there.
We're discussing economics though from different perspectives.
The view from within the island or the discussions of the various 'M' types are self referential. They work, are mostly rational and function because they work within a limited consistent framework.
One of the problems I had in understanding economics many years ago is that many of the equations and theories were 'unbounded'. That is you could take them easily to to a point where you were dealing with infinities or dividing by zero.
To counter this, Nobel prize winning economists invent dizzying arrays of formulas, add new words to the economics language, and all in order to sell lectures, curry political favor and gain exhorborant speaking fees.
And that is what you get in purely self refernatial systems. Clearly there are boundaries, but in economics, the boundaries are like being inside of a fish tank. A new fish bounces off the glass a few times before learning the boundaries and learning to stay within them. The fish doesn't understand the boundaries and doesn't know why it can't see them. But the fish learns where they are.
For economics this invisible boundary is the physical world. The physical world is horribly notorious for creating events and situations that mess with the compex and elegant formulations of economists. Many notable economists spend countless hours pontificating on how economics drives the physical world, only to have their prognostications dashed by the sudden scarcity of some resource or the vagarities of politics, weather or religion.
But ultimately, these things are simply the tools of chaos, kicking in when the equations near a divide by zero error.
Everything in the universe comes from energy, is driven by energy and constrained by energy. There absolutely no exceptions. Economics being a construct of an animal bound by the laws that govern the universe, is ultimately bound by the same limitiations.
In your story, you talk about Liz not getting the protien she needs to harvest Pinapples. Essentially, available energy is constraining the island economy. Liz is a sequel might spend a little energy making a machete, and see efficiency gains that will net her three pinapples a day. Then she might be bound by the number of pinapple plants, so she plants more. Eventually, the limit will become the size of the island and its ability to capture energy to make food for trade.
For the rest of us, the final limits are determined by the size of the planet, and the quantity of fossilized energy. At one time, all of our energy needs were met with solar power. The planet's energy bounds, limited our population to about a billion people or so. Our economy was bound by the energy we could put to use. For hundreds of years, economies couldn't grow. Without growth, attempts to create Fiat money were doomed as only conquest could provide the growth necessary to pay ever expanding debts. Eventually conquests must end, or be reversed and debts go unpaid.
Now we have enough dollars to buy eight planet earths. Much of those dollars exist as debt that is repackaged in recursive self referential and incestous for of economics that is growing by cannibalizing itself. In ten years, there might be enough Fiat money in various forms to buy twenty planet Earths.
This debt can never be repaid. A dollar in aggregate then, is not worth what we think it is. Its worth less than an eight of its perceived value, because all of the dollars we have can't actually be used to buy planets with.
Most of the money created can't buy anything but debt. There is no physical entity that exists for it to buy. Yet the number of dollars keeps increasing as debts are used as leverage to create debt by purchasing debt.
If there is no breaking point and financial instutions in theory could have enough imaginary funds to buy hundreds of universes or dozens of Gods. We as mortals might find that our debts are equivilant to woing the bank an entire solar system to rpay a loan on a house.
Clearly, there's a point where the numbers get so big that they seem really silly. But where do we draw the line and say, on this side the money supply is reasonable, on the other side its silly.
There are enough dollars to buy eight planet Earths. Is that silly, or does it become silly when there is enough to buy ten planet earths?
In this long comment, I'm going to wrap it up, talking about criticalities.
A criticality is a point where a system makes a sudden change in state. Nature provides some dramtic examples. For instance with care, pure water can lowered in temperature far below its freezing point and remain liquid. If you drop in one single salt crystal, the entire volume of water will dramatically flash freeze.
In another example, you can take a 10lb bag and fill it with 30 lbs of horse puckey. Everything is fine until you pick it up, then you experience a criticality. The bag and the whole system, changes form.
This is what we are doing with finance. We're ballooning the system and working harder and harder to keep it from changing state. At some point, something will happen, and everything will change. Our global financial system is 80lbs of horse puckey in a 10lb bag. We can probably add some more horse puckey, but you won't be carrying it anywhere. And you can't use it where it sits.