[AndrewC]

In June, there was also an article in the Russian Newspaper Pravda predicting the collapse of the US Dollar by the end of the summer.

Strained eyeballs, no sign of collapse

Source of data

Trade-Weighted Exchange Value of U.S. Dollar vs a subset of the broad index currencies that circulate widely outside the country of issue For more information, see: Federal Reserve Bulletin, October 1998, pp811-18.

Source: G.5 Release -- Federal Reserve Board of Governors

DATE TWEXMMTH

1973.01 108.354

1973.02 103.812

1973.03 100.000

1973.04 100.820

1973.05 100.086

1973.06 98.309

1973.07 96.335

1973.08 97.763

1973.09 97.956

1973.10 97.561

…

…

2000.03 95.610

2000.04 96.234

2000.05 99.213

2000.06 96.662

2000.07 97.589

2000.08 99.066

2000.09 100.647

2000.10 102.239

2000.11 103.081

2000.12 101.263

2001.01 100.237

2001.02 101.436

2001.03 103.976

2001.04 105.089

2001.05 105.028

2001.06 105.914

2001.07 106.071

2001.08 103.767

2001.09 103.324

2001.10 104.275

[razorbak]

I was just in Belarus 10 days ago for two weeks. U.S. dollars are the most coveted currency by far for most former USSR citizens. The Swiss Franc may be more stable, but U.S. dollars can be used in far more places. Compared to most currencies, U.S. dollars are gold. Imagine what it used to be like, when they were actually backed in full and redeemable with gold.

[Poohbah]

Just heard Jim Marrs telling that in the latest (in late 90s) release of German Nazi Gestappo War documents, they show a transcript of the Gestappo intercepting a communications between Winston Churchill and President Roosvelt where Churchill warns FDR of the upcoming attack of the Japanese against Pearl Harbor.

The only evidence to support this is a book of completely unverifiable provenance; it is alleged to be a CIA debriefing of a Nazi war criminal who disappeared at the end of World War II. Supposedly, the CIA was using this guy to run agents in the USSR.

There are some problems. First off, the Gestapo guy was NEVER seen after World War II by any civilians--so there is no independent verification that this guy survived after 1945. Second, there are some basic errors of fact in this book that cast doubt on its authenticity--particularly in the account of the hunt for the "Red Orchestra" spy ring. That calls into question the factuality of the entire book. Third, FDR and Churchill were both EXTREMELY cagey individuals, who would NOT give each other blackmail material in a phone conversation--and this stuff would be political dyanamite.

[Tribune7]

Wasn't Getappo the old guy in Pinocchio?

[Pilsner]

The tin foil hats folks have never been able explain one thing: Why would FDR, even assuming he wanted a clear cut casus belli committed by the Japanese so that he could get the US into the war (which I do), allow such an attack to succeed? Discovering the Japanese fleet a day or two out of Pearl Harbor and drawing them into am exchange of gun fire would have been plenty.

The idea that FDR was prepared to sacrifice the Pacific fleet's battleships, carriers (which escaped destruction by happenstance because they were out to sea) and oil reserves (which escaped only by inexcusable oversight on the part of the Japanese, and whose destruction would have set the war effort back by six months to a year) and the Army Air Corps units in Hawaii, and the naval units and Army units and Army Air Corp units in the Philippines and the Philippines too, just to make sure he had a casus belli is indeed tin foil hat stuff.

Sure there signs of the attack ahead of time. There were signs of lots of stuff. In hindsight one can pick out all of the signs of an impending attack on Pear Harbor, discard everything else, and make it look obvious. That doesn't mean it was obvious looking ahead at the time.