Go Home

Open Thread

About Nicole Belle
Nicole Belle's picture
Mom, Wife, Media Critic/Political Analyst, Blogger, Austen Fanatic, Unapologetic Liberal NicoleBelle@crooksandliars.com
Share This Post

Link To This Post


40 Comments
odanny's picture

Radix Omnium Malorum Avaritia

gogetem's picture

bang on the money, wasn't he?


If a drone kills a child in Kandahar, do the crying parents make a sound?

calgarylady's picture

in so many ways. Spooky.

ron's picture

now that Bush is gone and he's glad to be out of a job.

gogetem's picture

Chris Martenson's "Crash Course" is a real eye opener to what we have to look forward to (or not look forward to) in the next coming years. I believe that the oligarch's of the US are stealing the last remaining wealth of the country before the whole economic system collapses. They know its coming (or its already here) and they're loading up while they can. Meanwhile, the MSM looks away for the most part and the Treasury is printing (or borrowing) money similar to a banana republic thinking that printing more money will solve a bad case of inflation. George Carlin was right when he said "This country is finished".


If a drone kills a child in Kandahar, do the crying parents make a sound?

VegasRage's picture

it's a comprehensive 3 hour presentation that will leave you spellbound covering the most important issues we face over the next 20 years the 3 E's Economy, Energy, Environment. All of which will affect the Obama presidency. I can’t urge C&L posters strong enough to watch this in its entirety.

Great addition gogetem


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

all hail the hypno toad's picture

Very good for the most part. So far his prediction for the polis to want to preserve the status quo are right on.

The other thing of note, is that if the worst comes to happen, the damn fundies have a tendency to gain power over the masses particularly when the masses are not as well educated, see Iran as an example. And looking at how many polis are idiot religious fuckwits (see the previous video of the repub having a hissy fit over evolution and Religulous where a dem admits he's a fundy as well), I think is a good indicator of how bad we've gotten. Then of course there's the polls for how many idiots want creationism taught in schools, percentage of young earthers, etc.

So how to prevent these idiots from gaining power during the coming tough times? Something to think about any way.

Simon Bar Sinister's picture

You're spot on, gogetem, spot on.

VegasRage's picture

Well some of us warned

$100 Bills As Toilet Tissue?
Efforts to avoid a deflationary depression will probably produce the opposite — a nasty bout of inflation, says John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/02/100-bill...

Jim Sinclair of the Hat Trick Letter, is concerned enough to put this out.

Officially “Out Of Control”
http://jsmineset.com/index.php/2009/02/14/off...

Jim's latest Hat Trick Letter
Diluted to Oblivion, Dead Banks
A hard time came when deciding upon a title today. "Dead Banks Walking" or "Insolvent & Motionless Yet Standing" or "Much Ado About No Credit" or "The Bank Vampires" or "The Primary Dark Syndicates" made sense. But what came to mind when a comment made by the Jackass in June 2008 on the Vancouver stage at a Cambridge House Metals & Mining Conference. My words to close a panel discussion on the banks were "Just wait, in several months you will see the entire US banking system go insolvent, its stock prices dwindle to nothing, as it will be diluted into oblivion!" It happened...
http://www.321gold.com/editorials/willie/will...


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

Truth_Critic's picture

By Matthew Richardson and Nouriel Roubini
Sunday, February 15, 2009; Page B03

Snip - "The U.S. banking system is close to being insolvent, and unless we want to become like Japan in the 1990s -- or the United States in the 1930s -- the only way to save it is to nationalize it."
[ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/... ]


Study the symptoms not the virus...

VegasRage's picture

Jim Sinclair writes the Hat Trick Letter and is the son of Bertram J. Seligman, who was one of the most successful traders to hit Wall Street. He is a bit more radical in his predictions than many and so I take what he says in stride but he has made great points in the past that have turned out to be dead correct when others called him a nut. He has also been wrong about events as well, his timing has not always been right.

I don’t know if things will go to the extremes he has presented but he again was right about the banks going insolvent and so I have posted above his latest writing. I say read what he says and consider it in the broader context, don’t let emotion get the better of you in his writings, easy to do when you read his stuff, you half expect agent Mulder and Scully to make a cameo in some of his stuff.

He is not the only one though who has said the banks would become insolvent. Jim Roger’s has been saying it every time he gets in front of camera warning of us the zombie banks of Japan and the lost generation, and so have all the other names I mentioned in my posts.

The hardest part about posting economic related topics here on C&L is getting people to drop their emotions and have the patience to read my entire posts. I voted for Obama but not because of his economic policies, both parties were hell bent on doing a stimulus. The foundation of the Democrats and Republicans debate on is seriously flawed as they are pissing and moaning over a scant $30 billion out of near $800 billion monstrosity. So I try to present information that will get people to understand the scope of the issue.

Unfortunately most people just don’t know enough about economics or investing to understand both parties embracement of using stimulus packages is wrong. They don’t understand that correction, the crash, itself is the medicine to years of inflated prices and trade imbalances that created the bubbles which burst. The imbalances, bubbles, the banking system, and national debt are the problem and that no amount of money thrown at it will fix it especially when we are borrowing it again, basically we are making the problem worse.

This crash over time will become worse than the great depression; we have snapped the rubber band back farther than ever before. I was explaining that earlier today on Boehner’s little rant.

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/john-b...

The main stream media is so clueless on this topic and often invite agenda driven tools on to answer their Children’s questions. When they get an answer they don’t know enough to question the answer or even question the position. For example one of the big hammers the agenda driven tools use to downplay this situation again and again is to compare WWII’s deficit percentage to the GDP. They love to point out it was much higher during WWII and no one in the media knows enough to challenge them. I had one poster LazyCosmos today ask me about that, my explanation shows why people are being fooled by all the misinformation being put out.

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/john-b...


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

Keeping it going enough to not allow a total meltdown of everything.

Bailing out the banks and financial companies and giving the banksters taxpayers monies to keep them in the lifestyle they have become accustomed to is not legal or moral under the American system.

If they are needed, then the taxpayer/citizen through the gov, buys the banks at firesale prices not a penny more.

If they are surplus to requirement, they go to the wall.

VegasRage's picture

Obama has just bought time, and added fuel to the fire. In his defense the Republican's were going to do the same thing, they would have thrown money at it too but just differently but the result would still be the same. To understand why I say that youtube these names and hear what they are saying.

* Jim Rogers
* Marc Faber
* Max Keiser
* Michael Maloney
* Nouriel Roubini
* Peter Schiff
* Robert Kiyosaki
* Richard Duncan

Peter Schiff's predictions for 2009 through 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiIYkFXUhHs&fe...

The Prediction comes True by Robert Kiyosaki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OtwmKPYyBg

Jim Rogers 2009 predictions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGvd4t3MaY


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

Tequila's picture

Executive pay caps survived
the stimulus purge:

The Obama administration's proposed restrictions applied only to banks that receive "exceptional assistance" from the government. It set a $500,000 cap on pay for top executives and limited bonuses or additional compensation to restricted stock that could only be claimed after the firm had paid the government back.

One old woman's junk...Powder found in a TX mail room was intended for Romney. Palin's favorite store is a fan of copyright infringement.

Truth_Critic's picture

Congress Sets New Limits On Wall Street Bonuses
Stimulus Plan Places New Limits on Wall St. Bonuses

Snip - "WASHINGTON — A provision buried deep inside the $787 billion economic stimulus bill would impose restrictions on executive bonuses at financial institutions that are much tougher than those proposed 10 days ago by the Treasury Department."
[ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/business/ec... ]


Study the symptoms not the virus...

Tequila's picture

Top economic advisers to President Obama adamantly opposed the pay restrictions, according to Congressional officials, warning lawmakers behind closed doors that they went too far and would cause a brain drain in the financial industry during an acute crisis.

I thought there was already a brain drain when they started hiring people according to conservative principles and connections.

ron's picture

How do we get the message out. It seems like we have had a brain drain on everything else. The poor dumbed down Americans and it's because the MSM has had a brain drain.

Truth_Critic's picture

Let's see if they'll "Cut Off Their Nose to Spite" ...

It's an idle threat or a job opening! :-)


Study the symptoms not the virus...

Excelsior's picture

The "chain" of thrift stores is about four stores in Los Angeles, so it's not at all likely that the woman running the little consignment shop in Alaska had ever even heard of them. The LIKELIEST scenario is that she came up with the name herself, independently of the L.A. stores. After all, it's not like "out of the closet" is an unknown phrase.

Next time, try harder.


There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits

Ferrofluid's picture

"Governor's offices in more than 40 states, including Texas, had received mail in December with an unknown white powder that authorities later deemed harmless."

Who has the resources to pull off a nationwide hoax or terror scheme like this.

Even hoaxing something like this is worthy of ten years in these paranoid days, so anybody doing this on a large scale either is secure in the knowledge they wont be caught, or rather dedicated and potentially very dangerous in the future.

As the title says Muslims preserve the langauage of Jesus better than Christians.

Heres the link: http://tinyurl.com/d8mjgu

bullfrog's picture

... we need everything on the table...

gospel of thomas, judas, magdalene, you name it. anything anyone's got...

Tequila's picture

SC has a guns for roses exchange program.

Ferrofluid's picture

Its guaranteed that anybody surrendering an old gun is going to end up on some list that will never go away.

They will be prime targets for raids in the future, quite likely to be suspected of holding other useful guns.

And when you see pics of the polices 'haul' its generally toy BB guns, worthless rusty junk, and some valuable antiques people have surrendered for a fraction of what they are worth (to a gun dealer).

And whats the odds that the police 'seed' the table with some MAC 10s and other confiscated nastys (from their evidence room) to titillate the local media.

stevie's picture

The Dems better get off gun control and give it back to the Repugs where it belongs, especially with HR45 (a fucking horrible bill) sitting in the House. People are already pissed off about it, I don't like it either.
Make that part of the Dem playbook and look forward to losing the House and the Senate in 2010, guaranteed. There's too many gun laws on the books as it is and we don't need any more, it's only causing us to lose elections.
If the Dems dropped gun control the Repugs would make it their own in 3 or 4 years, I'll put money on it. Do what Clinton did to lower the crime rate and hire more cops (by giving more money to the states, what the Pugs cut in half in the stimulus).

Besides, gun control is obviously totalitarian/right-wing, i.e.:

"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future." --Adolf Hitler, 1935

"Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext, with the view of confiscating them and leaving the population defenseless." --Vladimir Ilich Lenin

Screwtape-the-Epistemologist's picture

The Iraqis kicked our asses, for the most part, without firearms. If you believe in original intent, give everyone a musket. make your own shot. I've lived 61 years without a gun. Only frightened people need them. And I live in a major city with lots of crime. Break into my house and I'll bash you in the head with a Telecaster.


"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative.”
- John Stuart Mill

stevie's picture

"...The Iraqis kicked our asses, for the most part, without firearms."

Get real, the Iraqis had plenty of guns and plenty of explosive ordinance laying around. And only frightened people are afraid of guns. I used to hunt with my father and uncles so I grew up around guns, which means plenty of gun safety education went with it, so I'm not afraid. They weren't 'gun nuts' and they were all Dems.

I've also tried to be a pacifist for over 30 years so I don't advocate shooting anybody, but I believe in protecting oneself and innocent people. If you're so brave come live in my neighborhood in Cleveland and put one of those signs on your front door that says "no guns allowed in this house", then see how long it takes before you have a home invasion incident to test out your Telecaster theory. (They'll wait until they see you pull your car in the driveway at night, and their guns won't be registered). Or look forward to the next electric power grid blackout and hope it only lasts for a day or two.

I'm not 'pro-gun', and I don't think you have to be in order to be against excessive gun laws. I wouldn't want to be spread-eagled on the hood of my car for a minor traffic violation, simply because the cops saw I had one registered. I don't think registering guns 'saves one child'.

Eat a joint, old man, you're only a coupla years older than me.
Break into my house with a Telecaster and I'll hit you over the head with my Gibson.

P.S. I'll say it again, the Dems need to drop HR45 or the Pugs will take the House and Senate in 2010. I'm taking bets.

bullfrog's picture

... of daniel plainview, from "there will be blood"...

I WAS NOTHING BUT A BASTARD IN A BASKET.

like bill clinton, like karl rove... a high society knock off.

Oguillory's picture

The Burning Bush

Blistered souls float scattered about,
adrift on a sea of pain.
Crimson waves of death crest near,
as The Decider lies in vain.

Fear the horde, no, the other horde,
he plies throughout the land.
As our children’s children disintegrate,
perhaps an eye, or yet a hand.

He says he guards our very lives,
the existence of civilized man.
But in the alleys of ancient Baghdad,
America’s Best wish he’d share his plan.

Vacant cries of “who could have known?”,
amidst the pyres of World Trade.
Lay bare the myth of his compassion,
“My Pet Goat”, his cowardly shade.

Proxy war and proxy dead,
to The Shrub it matters not.
Provided Dick can exercise Options,
as long as Haliburton stays red-hot.

Treasure bled in flesh and gold,
across dunes of soulless oil.
Simmering cauldrons of historic hate,
churned to a gently rolling boil.

The Burning Bush admits no errors,
nor the ditch into which we’ve steered.
Back into the breach he madly proclaims,
after all, “you volunteered”

RJO

Regards,
O'Guillory

Tequila's picture

It might give 'em asthma.

xoites defends Constitution's picture

And i thought it was already the end.

Scientists: Pace of Climate Change Exceeds Estimates

Seems global warming is feeding on itself and accelerating and feeding on the acceleration which is accelerating global warming which in turn feeds...

Batocchio's picture

I hope they release a DVD of the full show later on.

Tequila's picture

We don't experience deja vu w/ Afghanistan.

xoites defends Constitution's picture

Then stop waging war.

Screwtape-the-Epistemologist's picture

Are there any mac users who are experiencing problems with the cspan videos? Ever since they changed formats, I've been unable to view them. Emails to their tech result in responses that they're working on it. It's been months now. Theirs is the only site on the web from which I can't view vids. Most frustrating for a cspan junkie.


"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative.”
- John Stuart Mill

tyree's picture

for all the good things FDR did for poor americans he has to be praised , but the truth is had we not became involved in ww2 we may have went under anyway as the money finally ran out, as in any war the corporations control what we become , if they dont rake in the bulk of cash they arent interested in helping americans , with this wpa bill the corporations still own your butts, that were still spending billions on the bush wars in iraq and afganistan shows obama is supporting the bush cheny wars of choice, billions still being pissed away and the corporations are the only winners in these two fiascos, and where are the jobs that are make work jobs going to leed to real jobs ? you remember real jobs dont you? like the textile mills , clothing industry , shoe manufactureing , steel works, auto manufactureing, micro chip manufactureing, tv produceing factorys , computer manufactureing, ect ect, for the most part the things you used to spend your money on arent made here anymore, and jobs made up by building bridges with unskilled labor arent going to bring them back, as for green energy produceing even if it comes about the oil companys will own the patents and control the factorys , just before they sell thoes patents to china, and they are allready lineing up to get your money , now the food stuffs the new way thier going to cheat you, allready the contents in packages at the food stores are being reduced many by half and your still paying the same price as before they short sheeted you, as they drop the price of gasoline they raise the price of a loaf of bread and cut the amout of slices by five less , a package of cookies by half , untill we can return to a real manufactureing base were only putting off the revolution thats comeing when the wpa moneys all gone!

lilith's picture

Great comment.

tyree's picture

thnx lilith wasnt sure any one was listening !

tyree's picture

sorry i didnt mean to scare you! move along nothing to see here!

jimbo92107's picture

Doing Obama will be harder. Good luck, Will.

Comments are closed on this entry