[steve0]

Thank you for your thoughts. Could you please comment on recent events in Iceland as the value of their currency was halved in less than a couple of weeks. My questions is do you see any parallels between Iceland and the United States? If so, how close are we to going through the same experience as Iceland? Can we use that as a bellwether to know when to get ahead of the negative actions?

[aWolverine]

In the case of America, I would almost invert the order of occurrence.

[gieriscm]

ping

[evets]

Should I gain weight now,
while food is available,
to survive the Great Tribulation?

[joe fonebone]

bump for later

[unkus]

ping

[antceecee]

Hey La Dita... thought I'd invite you over to the chicken little thread...

...watch out for that piece of sky.... whew!!! That was close!

; ~ ) Seems I remember someone once said "nothing to fear but fear itself".

[boxer21]

No one knows what is happening and no one knows what will happen. More than likely, we will muddle through this unless a devastating terrorist attack occurs, a major war or some cataclysm of nature occurs in which case, anything is possible.

[pgkdan]

Americans, more than most other people, need to be defended from each other at all times. I think that I would prefer martial law over complete and utter mayhem and lawlessness, though I admit that both are very poor choices.

That's a load of crap! Especially the first sentence.

[Ancesthntr]

I think that I would prefer martial law over complete and utter mayhem and lawlessness, though I admit that both are very poor choices.

No thank you. Choosing martial law is choosing to trust the very people that caused a lot of our problems to begin with, instead of the people to defend themselves. Unless we're talking about gangs of dozens or hundreds running wild, the average citizen or neighborhood in most parts of the country can take care of themselves. The less law-abiding will get weeded out pretty quickly.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Two eccentricities are the difference between the Soviet Union of 1990 and the US of today. The imports that he asserts drained and drains capital.

In the case of the Soviet Union, by far the biggest commodity they purchased was US wheat. Early on in his administration, Ronald Reagan opened up the floodgates of US wheat for sale to the Soviets, for which Reagan was roundly damned by those who didn’t grasp what he was doing.

But in exchange for US wheat, the Soviets gave us all their oil in return, and all their gold, and all their foreign currency. And yes, it did drain them dry, but without harming the US, which had and still has an overabundance of the renewable resource of wheat.

Now compare that with the current US trade deficit with China.

Amazingly enough, by far the biggest commodity China sells to the US is steel shipping containers. That is, along with whatever is in them, less expensive textiles, toys, etc., the price of the shipping container is included. And that is only because it would be too expensive for the US to send back those empty shipping containers. If we were to return them, we would get our money back.

Thus, the amazing result of just outside the Port of Los Angeles alone, where sits a veritable mountain of empty shipping containers, numbering over 1 1/2 million!

Shipping containers, made in China with Chinese iron ore and Chinese coal. But a mountain of steel that used up a huge amount of Chinese resources. If recycled, enough steel to make millions of automobiles.

If recycled. That is, while the Chinese hold over a trillion dollars of US debt, if it wanted to, the US could renege on that debt, and China would be left holding worthless paper. But the US would still have a huge mountain of steel, worth a huge fortune.

Steel that doesn’t require us to mine iron ore and coal. Steel that with a fraction of the energy can be remade into the industrial products that we need.

So once again, the US got the better part of the deal.

[Paved Paradise]

Thanks for posting. I skimmed this article and it is very interesting. I think the author makes many good points and this is very disturbing.

[GingisK]

Americans, more than most other people, need to be defended from each other at all times.

Here is a jewel for which I've seen no evidence.

[Obadiah]

ping

[tumblindice]

“two failed superpowers” Dmitry Orlov
Russian optimism....

[word_warrior_bob]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32cxf_yuri-bezmenov

[woollyone]

bookmarked for coffee reading tomorrow AM

...along with all the other gloomy stuff.

*not to self*
extra sugar in the coffee please

[nevergore]

Total BS on many levels....

The little russian doesn’t understand americans very well.....

Remember the solidarity after 9/11?

Unlike other nations, we still pull together regardless of our differences.....

Look at the transition to Obama.....very peaceful...yeah we’re complaining on our side but no-one is rioting in the streets......

We had financial colapse in 1929....the country survived....

Back then, I remember when FDR got on the television and addressed the nation.....wait a tick...that’s a Plug’s line....

[chrisser]

self ping

[Eagle50AE]

The Bailout will only prop up GM and Ford for a few weeks.
Europe has already cut the supplier's credit protection for both.

With the G20 hullabaloo this weekend and talk of an alternate currency or devaluation of the USD.. how would that probably be performed..??

turn in your Dollars for new Glottany??

or if the USD is devalued by 50% ,then the price of everything doubles ??

this is some scary s**t