You Can call me Al
The Al Smith "Outing"
- Annual event honoring Governor Smith with a focus on charity}
- Raising money for needy children in the archdiocese}
- History of Al Smith as the first Catholic to run on a major ticket}
[Verse 2]
A man walks down the street
He says, "Why am I short of attention?
Got a short little span of attention
And, woah, my nights are so long
Where's my wife and family?
What if I die here?
Who'll be my role model
Now that my role model is gone, gone?"
He ducked back down the alley
With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl
All along, along
There were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations
The 71st Annual Al Smith Dinner featured prominent figures from various sectors, including politics and business, who gathered to raise funds for underprivileged children. The event emphasized unity and civility amidst a contentious election season, with keynote appearances by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The evening included speeches, a national anthem performance, and an invocation by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
Detailed Summary for [Al Smith Top Table Announcements](
by [Monica](https://monica.im)
[00:00](
Diverse group of notable individuals present at Al Smith Top Table Announcements
- Introduction of Gary LaBarbera, President of Building and Construction Trades Council}
- Presence of Honorable Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney of New York County}
- Recognition of Katie Couric, Global Anchor of Yahoo News}
- Appearance of Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, former Secretary of State}
- Acknowledgment of John Feerick, Professor at Fordham University School of Law}
[03:20](
Introduction of key attendees at the Al Smith Memorial Foundation event
- Robert C. Wright, Senior Advisor at Lee Equity Partners and Co-Founder of Autism Speaks}
- John Studinski, Vice Chairman of Blackstone and Founder of the Genesis Foundation}
- Nora O'Donnell, Co-Host of CBS This Morning}
- John A. Casavitides, Chairman and CEO of Red Apple Group}
- Brian T. Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America}
[06:28](
Distinguished guests and trustees of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation
- Thomas J. Moran, Chairman of Mutual America Life Insurance}
- Mary Higgins Clark, author}
- The Honorable Bill de Blasio, 109th Mayor of the City of New York}
- Christopher C. Quick, trustee of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation}
- Melania Trump}
[10:00](
Introduction and Welcome to the 71st Annual Al Smith Dinner
- Introducing the host of the evening, Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York}
- Al Smith IV welcoming the guests to the event}
- Humorous mention of Donald Trump's tweeting habits}
- Request for everyone except San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks to stand for National Anthem}
- Performance of the National Anthem}
[12:48](
Al Smith Top Table Announcements
- Introduction to the 71st Annual Al Smith Dinner}
- Reflecting on the recent debate and election season}
- Prayer for unity and a mindful president}
- Respect for life and reaching out to marginalized}
- Embracing diverse opinions during the election season}
[16:05](
Al Smith Top Table Announcements at a Charity Event
- Prayer for grace and blessings before the meal}
- Acknowledgment of candidates' civility at the event}
[Verse 3]
A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the third world
Maybe it's his first time around
Doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound, the sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says, "Amen," and "Hallelujah"
The Al Smith Dinner is a celebration and dubbing by the elite of their selection for President of the USA. When President Trump was giving his speach oiver his right Shoulder , our left as we look at bthe video you see John J. Studzinski.
People Like Mr Studzinski and Philip Hilebrand of Balckrock seem to be part of the Selection Committee that selects our political representatives for us. Anyway as the guest list for the Al Smith Dinner is not published I decided to upload the master of ceromonies introducing the Dias Guests .
For a bit mo0re on Oligarchy My old post on the Iron Law of OIligarchy has the gist of what this post gets at, Anyway meet the Unconditionally Elect
Exegesis Hermeneutics Flux Capacitor of Truthiness
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January 6, 2016
THE IRON LAW OF OLIGARCHY.
I posted a comment at Truth Dig which I decided to write as a Blog post as well just to bring together some of my Reading on Elites and Oligarchy. Chris Hedges article is here.
The Oligarchy is the commissariat of the ruling class, the rash of Billionaires in the past 20 years has been the blossoming of the new face of our political reality as the rest of us or the 99%. The functionaries populate the Organs of the power Elite aptly described by C Wright Mills in the Power Elite also from Wikipedia
The resulting elites, who control the three dominant institutions
(military, economic and political) can be generally grouped into one of
six types, according to Mills:
the “Metropolitan 400” – members of historically notable local
families in the principal American cities, generally represented on the Social Register
“Celebrities” – prominent entertainers and media personalities
the “Chief Executives” – presidents and CEO’s of the most important companies within each industrial sector
the “Corporate Rich” – major landowners and corporate shareholders
the “Warlords” – senior military officers, most importantly the Joint Chiefs of Staff
the “Political Directorate” – “fifty-odd men of the executive
branch” of the U.S. federal government, including the senior leadership
in the Executive Office of the President, sometimes variously drawn from elected officials of the Democratic and Republican parties but usually professional government bureaucrats”
The Analysis from the early 20th Century to the early 21st Century changes in Global Scope and also the America Exceptional slant now reflecting US uni polar phenomenon since the early 1990s and the collapse of the Soviet Union. One can think in terms of democracy among the International Elite based upon National Franchises. Schumpeter’s competing elites model of democracy serves double duty in demonstrating both the Political Theater of FAUX electoral political democracy and also in the behind closed doors machinations of the powerful list found in magazines like Forbes. ´´( quotes from Roy Madron, Super Competent Democracies).
‘Democracy is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political
decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a
competitive struggle for the people’s vote’.” Joseph Schumpeter, Quoted
from Roy Madron, Super Competent Democracies who in turn Cites.
“Participation, and Democratic Theory” by Carole Pateman. Dr Pateman
says that, Schumpeter and his followers: … set the current
Anglo-American political system as our democratic ideal (with) a
‘democratic theory’ that in many respects bears a strange resemblance to
the anti-democratic arguments of the last (i.e. 19th) century. No
longer is democratic theory centred on the participation of ‘the
people’; in the contemporary theory of democracy it is the participation
of the minority elite that is crucial and the non-participation of
the apathetic, ordinary man lacking in the feelings of political efficacy,
that is regarded as the main bulwark against
instability.
´´ http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2015/03/on-may-2015-re-election.
Arrival Announcements at the 2016 Al Smith Dinner: Unfortunately, I couldn't find specific information about arrival announcements for the 2016 Al Smith Dinner. However, based on the search results, here's what I can tell you:
The dinner took place on October 20, 2016, at the Waldorf Astoria New York. [Source 1]
Both major-party presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, attended the event. [Source 2]
The event was hosted by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, which supports children in need. [Source 2]
⚠️ Official Guest List Not Publicly Available The official guest list for the 2016 Al Smith Dinner is not publicly available. However, news reports and social media posts provide some insights into who attended the event. source
🎤 Notable Attendees Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Governor Andrew Cuomo were among the attendees at the 2016 Al Smith Dinner. Other notable guests included Michael Bloomberg, Rudy Giuliani, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan. source
🍽️ Dinner Details The Al Smith Dinner is an annual charity event that raises money for Catholic charities in the New York area. The dinner is traditionally attended by political figures and other prominent individuals. source
John Studzinski, Vice Chairman of Blackstone, discusses the impactful speech by Prime Minister Modi at WEF 2018, contrasts it with President Xi's views on globalization, and analyzes the positive outlook of global business leaders despite geopolitical uncertainties.
Detailed Summary for [WEF 2018: In Conversation With John Studzinski](
by [Monica](https://monica.im)
[00:11](
Discussion on the speeches of Prime Minister Modi and President Xi at WEF 2018
- John Studzinski praises Prime Minister Modi's powerful speech at WEF 2018}
- Importance of India having a major seat at the table in a multipolar world}
- Comparison between speeches of President Xi and Prime Minister Modi}
- President Xi's extensive experience and roles in the Chinese government}
[02:37](
Discussion on global leadership and foreign policy
- Impact of President Obama and President Trump on US foreign policy}
- China's efforts to fill the void in global partnerships}
- Reflection on Mr. Modi's speech and aspirations for India}
- John Studzinski's perspective on the world in 2018}
[05:14](
Discussion on the impact of identity populism and transformational leadership on the business world
- Identity populism versus transformational leadership}
- Positive outlook of business leaders towards transformational leaders}
- Impact of tax legislation on the US economy and small businesses}
- Expected growth in the US economy due to tax reduction benefits for small businesses}
[07:54](
Discussion on the impact of tax reform and Fed's balance sheet on the economy
- Potential movement of money back to America due to tax reform}
- Uncertainty around the Fed shrinking its balance sheet}
- President Trump's confidence in the strategies of previous Fed chiefs}
- Advice to focus on President Trump's actions rather than his rhetoric}
- Importance of investing in multinational companies globally}
[10:32](
Discussion on geopolitical tensions in Asia and potential for peace in 2018
- Comparison of current US-Iran and North Korea situations to previous months}
- Rising military spending and tensions in Asia, particularly involving China, Japan, and Korea}
- Trump's role in bringing the two Koreas together in a constructive manner}
- Complexity and fears of military accidents in Asia}
[13:11](
Discussion on investing in real estate and global economic expansion
- Challenges of investing in unpredictable leaders}
- Mention of innovation cities like Bangalore and Seattle}
- Comparison to economic expansion since 1991}
- Focus on corporate governance and investment behavior}
- Anxiety over the duration of the current economic situation}
Roosevelt called it this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_monopoly_capitalism
123
http://letthemconfectsweeterlies.blogspot.se/2016/11/the-giant-sucking-sound-sharp-intake-of.html
If we fast Forward to the 2016 Presidential Debate and the Al Smith Memorial Dinner. What we see is a GOP candidate who does not represent the GOP Establishment and Democratic Party candidate who does represent both the GOP and Democratic Party Establishment both having become Federalist, in the old sense of the original two party contextualising of what the Republic was to be.
There are two striking factoids about the Al Smith Memorial Dinner and those are that 1948 and 1992 are the only two years in its 67-year history that the respective candidates for president did not address the dinner those years are 1948 and 1992.
In 1948 A Democratic Candidate Truman was on the ticket that had been installed by the establishment against the popular choice Henry A Wallace had lost out to Truman for Vice president in 1944 and in 1948 ran as an independent.
“The passion for freedom dieth not.” “ legend has it that after the bloody battle of Thermopylae, the victor Xerxes prepared to spread a purple cloak over the body of his vanquished enemy Leonidas, out of admiration for his valour. But as he was about to lower the cloak, a strange voice out of nowhere called out: “No. Take that cloak from me. I will accept no favour from the Persians.” And Xerxes knew that it was Leonidas, speaking to him from the other world. And he called out into space: “But thou art dead, Leonidas. Why hate the Persians even in death?” And, according to the legend, back came the stirring reply: “The passion for freedom dieth not.” Al Smith’s passion for freedom did not die with him. It is ours to nurture today. May we all be true to that great legacy.”
Al Smith Dinner, New York City, October 22, 1959 | JFK Library
April 8, 2020
AND THE PEOPLE PLAYED THE TRUMP CARD. @REALDONALDTRUMP
AND THE PEOPLE PLAYED THE TRUMP CARD.
In 2016 the cards were dealt
the odds were stacked
deplorables attacked
Still the people called.
The stakes were raised
and the limits high
Still as fakers sigh
Still the people called
who delivered this plague
which traitorous poison
delivered deaths blow
Still the people Called
The Trump Card turns
Keeper of the hope
bringer of liberty
The people had the Trump Card.
The people went all in
The people Called see you
The fakers hand, a bluff
Trump the peoples winning Call.
For President Trump, who History will Judge with Admiration.
A president for all Seasons and not a fair weather freind.
What is the direction of travel and main narrative embedded in the Narrative of the past 40 years. The Rules Based International Order or ( New World Order ) Narratives.
Globalisation and Urbbanisation.
Petro Dollar Hegenmony . Addiction to Oil.
Man Made Global Warming
Overshoot Over population
Elitism, Starfucking worship of ”The Elites**
They? #Metternich and #DeMaistre v #ThomasJefferson and #JohnStuartMill
AUTHOR:ROGERGLEWIS PUBLISHED DATE:NOVEMBER 15, 2021 6 COMMENTSON THEY? #METTERNICH AND #DEMAISTRE V #THOMASJEFFERSON AND #JOHNSTUARTMILL EDITTHEY? #METTERNICH AND #DEMAISTRE V #THOMASJEFFERSON AND #JOHNSTUARTMILL
Tragedy and Hope.Chapter 3—Europe’s Shift to the Twentieth Century. While Europe’s traits were diffusing outward to the non-European world, Europe was also undergoing profound changes and facing difficult choices at home. These choices were associated with drastic changes, in some cases we might say reversals, of Europe’s point of view. These changes may be examined under eight headings.
The nineteenth century was marked by
(1) belief in the innate goodness of man;
(2) secularism;
(3) belief in progress;
(4) liberalism;
(5) capitalism;
(6) faith in science;
(7) democracy;
(8) nationalism.
In general, these eight factors went along together in the nineteenth century. They were generally regarded as being compatible with one another; the friends of one were generally the friends of the others; the enemies of one were generally the enemies of the rest. Metternich and De Maistre were generally opposed to all eight; Thomas Jefferson and John Stuart Mill were generally in favor of all eight..
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt,
“Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Recommendations Relative to the Strengthening and Enforcement ofAnti-trust Laws”[9][10] What is the direction of travel and main narrative embedded in the Narrative of the past 40 years. The Rules Based International Order or ( New World Order ) Narratives.
Globalisation and Urbbanisation.
2.Petro Dollar Hegenomy .
Addiction to Oil.
Man Made Global Warming
Overshoot Over population
Elitism, Starfucking worship of ”The Elites**
Roger's bookshelf: read
Another very ignored book that I return to regularly. Today I visited the Chapter on Interest and followed a reference to Michel Ende Momo from 1973. All about grey men who steal time. A metaphor for interest, as the Time value of money....
by Michael Ende
And Into The Fire: Fascist Elements in Post War Europe and the Development of the EU
A very Good read features in this blog https://notthegrubstreetjournal.com/2023/06/21/fear-uncertainty-and-doubt-goingdirect-ukinterestrates/ Fear Uncertainty and Doubt #GoingDirect #UKInterestRates #GoingDirect brought to you by #Blackr...
The Essence of Money: Argentarius: Letters from a bank director to his son
Interesting social document .
I have not done a review but I have made a reading which is posted in parts on my blog. The Revolt of Islam, Shelly. https://notthegrubstreetjournal.com/2022/07/01/the-revolt-of-islam-shelly/
A POEM IN TWELVE CANTOS.
Osais de Broton ethnos aglaiais aptomestha
perainei pros eschaton
ploon nausi d oute pezos ion an eurois
es Uperboreon agona thaumatan odon.
Pind. Pyth. x.
[Composed in the neighbourhood of Bisham Wood, near Great Marlow,
Bucks, 1817 (April-September 23); printed, with title (dated 1818),
“Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of
the Nineteenth Century”, October, November, 1817, but suppressed,
pending revision, by the publishers, C & J. Ollier. (A few copies had
got out, but these were recalled, and some recovered.) Published, with
a fresh title-page and twenty-seven cancel-leaves, as “The Revolt of
Islam”, January 10, 1818. Sources of the text are (1) “Laon and
Cythna”, 1818; (2) “The Revolt of Islam”, 1818; (3) “Poetical Works”,
1839, editions 1st and 2nd–both edited by Mrs. Shelley. A copy, with
several pages missing, of the “Preface”, the Dedication”, and “Canto
1” of “Laon and Cythna” is amongst the Shelley manuscripts at the
Bodleian. For a full collation of this manuscript see Mr. C.D.
Locock’s “Examination of the Shelley Manuscripts at the Bodleian
Library”. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903. Two manuscript fragments from
the Hunt papers are also extant: one (twenty-four lines) in the
possession of Mr. W.M. Rossetti, another (9 23 9 to 29 6) in that of
Mr. H. Buxton Forman, C.B. See “The Shelley Library”, pages 83-86, for
an account of the copy of “Laon” upon which Shelley worked in revising
for publication.]
Click to access percy-bysshe-shelley-the-revolt-of-islam.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Studzinski
John Studzinski and Charles III
Born and raised in the U.S., Studzinski moved to the UK in 1984, and holds American and British citizenship. Since 2006, he has divided his time between London and New York.
Early life and education
John Studzinski was born in 1956 in Peabody, Massachusetts, a town 15 miles northeast of Boston. His parents were working-class Polish immigrants, and his father was a financial manager at General Electric's aircraft-engine division. Education and industriousness were emphasized in the family, and music as well. His was a traditional Polish Catholic family and community, and Catholicism and Christianity were a bedrock in his life. He worked in soup kitchens as a teenager, and helped start a toll-free number to inform adolescents about sexually transmitted diseases.
John Studzinski Joins Blackstone
18 May 2006
New York, May 18, 2006: The Blackstone Group today announced that John Studzinski will be joining the firm later this year as a Senior Managing Director and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. His primary role will be to oversee and develop Blackstone’s advisory business in the United States and Europe.
Mr. Studzinski joins Blackstone from HSBC where he was co-head of their investment banking and markets divisions and a member of the Group Management Board. He was instrumental in building HSBC’s investment banking franchise. A resident in London since 1984, Mr. Studzinski had previously been at Morgan Stanley for twenty two years becoming head of investment banking and deputy chairman.
Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of The Blackstone Group said; “We are delighted to have someone of John’s extraordinary reputation and stature join Blackstone. His outstanding track record in transatlantic investment banking will be invaluable in accelerating the growth of our advisory business, the cornerstone on which Blackstone was built over twenty years ago.”
John Studzinski added; “The opportunity to work in the very different environment of a private partnership, helping to develop what is already an outstandingly successful business, was something I found irresistibly attractive.”
About The Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group, a private investment and advisory firm with offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, London, Hamburg, Mumbai, and Paris, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised over $57 billion for alternative asset investing since inception. The Blackstone Group’s core businesses are Private Equity Investing, Private Real Estate Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Distressed Securities Investing, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, Corporate Advisory, and Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory.
http://www.blackstone.com/
BlackRock's Investment in Hillenbrand BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI), with a 17% ownership stake as of December 30, 2022. This makes BlackRock a significant influence on the company's direction and performance. source
📈 Hillenbrand's Shareholder Composition Other major shareholders of Hillenbrand include The Vanguard Group, Inc. (8.14%), State Street Global Advisors, Inc. (7.41%), and Geode Capital Management LLC (6.34%). These institutional investors collectively hold a significant portion of the company's shares. source
👨💼 Philipp Hildebrand's Role at BlackRock Philipp Hildebrand, the former Chairman of the Swiss National Bank, joined BlackRock in 2012. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of BlackRock and is responsible for overseeing the firm's investment activities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. source
German 'bishop of bling' resigns over spending scandal
Published
26 March 2014
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Image caption,
The Vatican did not elaborate further on the bishop's future
Pope Francis has formally accepted the resignation of a senior German Church leader suspended over his alleged lavish spending.
The Vatican made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.
Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst has been accused of spending more than 31m euros (£26m) on renovating his official residence.
The cleric, dubbed the "bishop of bling" by the media, offered to resign when the scandal broke last October.
In response, Pope Francis temporarily suspended Bishop Tebartz-van Elst and instructed a Church commission to investigate the matter.
Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of senior clerics whose lifestyles seem too lavish.
February 25, 2016
USURY HELLS FUEL AND MANS OPPRESSOR.
Premiere Reading
March 28, 2017
GLOBALISATION UN-ENTANGLED. (A FOUND POEM, CIPHER OF GLOBALISM )
In the priests House.
The priest sits at high table with the other clergy of the court.
Deacon, to the priest. ” Holy Father the King seemed distracted today, the General seemed well rewarded from the latest campaign, how though do we reconcile the kings distraction with the claimed success?”
Parish Priest. ”Yes holy father an orphaned child in my parish will be without hopes of starting afresh without usurious debt. How are the people to bear the costs , the bounties of their labours are ever increasing and yet for want of money there is no traffic in the market square. Yet people are cold and hungry in the workhouses.
The Holy Father . ”The King is seduced ! my office is no longer to hear confessions and give guidance. But we are grew rich in the indulgences we must proffer on our monarch and his aide the banker.”
”For usury makes a gain out of money itself.
Not used merely for exchange but increasing at interest.
A price paid for nothing exchanged for something.
The price of the receipt eats the value of the thing exchanged.”
From good men and bad society, to
bad men and good society from optimism
to pessimism and from secularism
to religion. Creative destruction Globalisation?
The Simple see war is simply a football match
conducted with cannons.wise men look
not In Nietzsche's Will to Power,
but In the custom house.Says Bernard Shawshadows cast from secret whispers
taps on streams of digital Imprints
what oppressor does not despise
what oppression will not censor and misdirect
Secretive cabals of liberal political correctness
Self censored fearing the exile of dissent
GCHQ Nsa Kvd , hacking whose democracy
What democracy sings with the voice of explosions?
Tripartite accords of old, a Gold Standard
As Piggs Shit Brics and Lutheran Shards
profer Gaping anuses and Calvinist certainties
Divine providence and eminent domain democracy perverted.
Union now as then in ´38, current quarrels
Mr Streit’s Union and Mr Orwells Niggers
Not counting Niggers, the other´s not like us
six hundred million disenfranchised, is it more today?
Russia is brazenly refusing to learn from the EU’s
mistakes and may walk directly into its trap
How can banking union serve the tributaries of society. Pigs do not fly nor water flow up hill
Real brothers can curse each other, friends.
Someday. Britannia will give Columbia a piece of her mind, Elysium also needs telling and she is
curiously afflicted offering no teet for the eastern bear.
an exasperated Englishman: “I pray to God
they keep out of the end of this war anyhow.
We shall never hear the last of it if they don’t….”
Cabalists, Gnostics, Manichaeans, the Old Man
of the Mountains, Knight Templars, Satanists,
Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Rousseau,
Voltaire, Cagliostro, Madame Blavatsky, Mrs. Besant,
Trade Unions, Anarchists, Socialists, Theosophists,
Communists, Those Bolsheviks, a frightful horde
all plotting and getting hold of power and handing
it on and doing down Christianity and the Christian life
September 29, 2016
BOURGEOIS RESOLUTION. A POEM IN THREE VOICES FOR ADDED 4TH PART HARMONY.
Calliopsis or Magnesia where poets
slave to familiar rhymes and themes
Not golden or silver words but workmanlike
fashion hymns of safe iron and copper.
On The city on the hill,
Songs sung to green and pleasant lands
My Country Right or wrong
Patriotic duty, above the evidence
heroic deeds, laurels earned
Myths of Wagnerian operatic spectacle.
Behind the claimed reality of how things are
lies a deeper truth clothed in the noble lie.
He deceived by the noble lie is excluded as unworthy of an opinion.
NOVEMBER THE 5TH, BONFIRES FLAMES AND EMBERS ( A POEM)
November The 5th.
Bonfires Flames and Embers
Around the bonfires stand communities
Children Burn Sparklers and Adults Candles
Effigies atop the bonfire fear the flames
At the seat of the Fire Embers Accumulate
Dreaming at Home Communities retire
Slumber hangs over the Town
The Bonfire smolders unobserved
Effigies, Sparklers and Candles All Embers Now
Flames lick the skies spectacular
Sparklers delight and perform fleetingly
Candles support but one fragile flame
Embers , wax and Magnesia
Calliopsis or Magnesia fueled from embers
The Health of the embers combustible flames
Who celebrates the embers endeavors
Who sees the symbiosis of the combustion and the fuel
All fate leads into the embers
All Embers fate to blow as dust
All Flames from the embers driven
Do the flames celebrate the embers for their finery?
November 5, 2016
THE GIANT SUCKING SOUND , A SHARP INTAKE OF BREATH, A DUEL TO THE DEATH THE NEW UNITED STATES REPUBLIC 1776-2016.
The Giant Sucking Sound , A Sharp intake of Breath, A duel to the death. The New United States Republic 1776-2016.
In 1729 Benjamin Franklin wrote a pamphlet ´´A modest Enquiry into the nature and the necessity of a paper Currency.”
a modest enquiry,
”There is no Science, the Study of which is more useful and commendable than the Knowledge of the true Interest of one’s Country; and perhaps there is no Kind of Learning more abstruse and intricate, more difficult to acquire in any Degree of Perfection than This, and therefore none more generally neglected. Hence it is, that we every Day find Men in Conversation contending warmly on some Point in Politicks, which, altho’ it may nearly concern them both, neither of them understand any more than they do each other.
Thus much by way of Apology for this present Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency. And if any Thing I shall say, may be a Means of fixing a Subject that is now the chief Concern of my Countrymen, in a clearer Light, I shall have the Satisfaction of thinking my Time and Pains well employed.
To proceed, then,
There is a certain proportionate Quantity of Money requisite to carry on the Trade of a Country freely and currently; More than which would be of no Advantage in Trade, and Less, if much less, exceedingly detrimental to it.
This leads us to the following general Considerations.”
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0041
March 31, 2018
HAS THE HOLOCAUST REPLACED CALVARY AT THE CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL OF EASTER?
Has the Holocaust replaced Calvary at the Christian festival of Easter?
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Bishop Williamson discusses the Catholic religion, critiques the Holocaust narrative as a modern civic religion, and addresses the resistance faced when questioning widely accepted beliefs.
Detailed Summary for [Bishop Williamson Interview by Nick Kollerstrom (Part Five)](
by [Monica](https://monica.im)
[00:00](
Discussion on the religious aspects of different beliefs and the influence of the Holocaust narrative
- William Blake's quote on the religion of God vs. Satan}
- Reference to Catholic martyrs and the consequences of speaking against certain beliefs}
- Critique of the Holocaust as a new Civic religion pushing out old beliefs}
- Association of religious themes with the Holocaust narrative}
[02:28](
Discussion on the historical significance of the Messiah and the impact on religion
- Highlighting the importance of figures like the mother of God and St. Joseph in the Messiah's story}
- The transition from the old to the new religion, emphasizing Catholicism}
- The discussion shifts to the Jews' role in religion and their rejection of the Messiah}
- Introduction of the concept of the 'Holocaust religion' as a false substitute for the True Religion}
- Exploration of the origins of the Holocaust narrative and its impact on modern civilization}
[04:57](
Discussion on the power of lies and Satan in historical events
- Chemical evidence regarding the use of Zyklon B in German labor camps}
- People's minds closing off to alternative viewpoints}
- Reference to the moment of Satan during the crucifixion}
- Comparing current world events to a moment of Satan}
- Discussion on the lack of evidence for mass extermination in the Third Reich}
[07:24](
Discussion on the religious significance of the Holocaust and its impact on society
- Description of the lack of human remains in German labor camps}
- The Holocaust as the only sacred landmark for many people in a godless society}
- The Six Million victims of Nazi horror as the ultimate Evil in society}
- Questioning the sacredness of the Holocaust and the consequences of challenging it}
https://longhairedmusings.wordpress.com/
https://longhairedmusings.wordpress.com/
CONCLUDING PRAYER.
A central lack of fibre. Either moral or physical around which myths of debt are spun. As spiders spin webs and weavers warp clothe. Spartan Ephors of prudence pass judgement on all and stand above and astride the law. Dispensing injustice and taking clothes off the backs of The freezing and food out of the mouths of the hungry. Passing judgement on those who perform real work, asking always for more and demanding to pay less.
So draw the bow of truth with intentness in the eye,
Seek out the irreducible posits, the epistemological gods of homer. If there be one free miracle let the ephors explain the rest. What is this power of usury? Where did this power come from ? Who is it exercised for and to whom do you ephors of usury answer to ? And now let me ask. How do we take this power away? Only then we shall see good faith and brotherhood restored to the commons.
©RogerG Lewis 2016
So who are the Ephors of Debt , is John Studzinski “one of Them”?
To sum up, Schumpeter views the bankers as the ephors (28) of the capitalist economy which control and select what can be financed and what is actually financed only is within the realms of possibility. In Schumpeter’s framework, this strategic function of finance is the prerogative of banking institutions and it is therefore not surprising that Schumpeter put so much emphasis on the role of banks or of the banker in business or economic activity.
Coercive aggregation vs. primitive accumulation
Posted on June 15, 2011 by Jason Windawi
This post has been more challenging to write than I expected. Developing and articulating even a minimal framework – let alone doing it in a public forum – is an interesting process in its own right, but this is not meant to be a meta-blog, so basta.
The objective here is to articulate my idea of coercive aggregation that I introduced here and here more clearly, and then to show how it differs from the Marxian concept of primitive accumulation (PA), using the food crisis as a test case. Since I’m not a Marxian, I may well get the latter wrong, so I hope anyone reading this who knows that theory will correct me if I do. And since this is extremely long, I’m putting the bulk of it after the jump for those who are interested.
Definitions
There are two parts to my idea of coercive aggregation, in keeping with its structural nature as the joining of two kinds of system. The coercive part has to do with the binding decisions made by a state to turn to private sector and/or market-based solutions to public or social issues. Aggregation is then the delivery of the aggregated demand of all of the individuals bound by the state’s decision to the private vendor/market. The key ideas here are:
Coercive aggregation is a political phenomenon that involves a specific decision by a specific government.
There is contingency – it is not a given that this will happen, and it is (at least as I think of it today) not structurally a part of capitalism, nor is it part of some world process.
It generally operates within a country, though not always.
By contrast, primitive accumulation is a much grander concept that knits together all such activity within a single world process. PA was originally framed by Marx as the origin of capital, the source of the beginning capital that set the process of accumulation that drives capitalism in motion. PA required the dispossession of those who held the original factors of production, either in the colonies or through events like the enclosures in England preceding the Industrial Revolution. Marx, in Capital Vol. 1, Ch. 31 described it this way:
The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalised the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings are the chief momenta of primitive accumulation. On their heels treads the commercial war of the European nations, with the globe for a theatre. It begins with the revolt of the Netherlands from Spain, assumes giant dimensions in England’s Anti-Jacobin War, and is still going on in the opium wars against China, &c.
The different momenta of primitive accumulation distribute themselves now, more or less in chronological order, particularly over Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, and England. In England at the end of the 17th century, they arrive at a systematical combination, embracing the colonies, the national debt, the modern mode of taxation, and the protectionist system. These methods depend in part on brute force, e.g., the colonial system. But, they all employ the power of the State, the concentrated and organised force of society, to hasten, hot-house fashion, the process of transformation of the feudal mode of production into the capitalist mode, and to shorten the transition.
Marx’s description of PA implies that it is only relevant at the origin of capitalism, though others have since updated the idea. In particular, David Harvey has reformulated PA as an imperative for capital given its constant need to grow through reinvestment. Harvey terms this accumulation by dispossession, though others (particularly Saskia Sassen, in this interesting paper) use the term PA instead.
A Savage Sorting of Winners and Losers: Contemporary Versions of Primitive Accumulation SASKIA SASSEN Department of Sociology and Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University, New York, USA
From Homes for Heroes to Exponential Zeroes
Footnote.
Analysing Financial, Economic and Capitalist Crisis: Old and New Logics
A Savage Sorting of Winners and Losers: Contemporary Versions of Primitive Accumulation
Pages 23-50 | Published online: 27 Apr 2010
The Repositioning of Territory in the Global Division of Functions
Perhaps less known than the African case is the fact that privatized land in the territories of the former Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Ukraine, is also becoming the object of much foreign acquisition. In 2008 alone, these acquisitions included the following: a Swedish company, Alpcot Agro, bought 128,000 hectares in Russia; South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries paid $6.5 million for a majority stake in Khorol Zerno, a company that owns 10,000 hectares in eastern Siberia; Morgan Stanley bought 40,000 hectares in Ukraine; Gulf investors are planning to acquire Pava, the first Russian grain processor to be floated on the financial markets to sell 40% of its landowning division, giving them access to 500,000 hectares. Also less noticed than the African case is that Pakistan is offering half a million hectares of land to Gulf investors with the promise of a security force of 100,000 to protect the land. These developments are part of a larger combination of trends. First, there is the immediate fact of how the global demand for food, partly fed by the half million strong new middle classes of Asia, has meant that there are profits to be had in food and land.15 We now have a global market for land and food controlled by large firms and some governments, and it has been a growth sector throughout the financial crisis. Under these conditions pricing is a controlled affair. Secondly, there is the ongoing demand for metals and minerals of all sorts and a whole new demand for metals and minerals hitherto not much exploited as their demand comes from the more recent developments in the electronics sector.
Sub-prime Mortgages: A New Global Frontier for Finance
The 1980s opened a new financial phase that became yet another disciplining mechanism.22 Here it was not structural adjustment programs but financial adjustment crises. Since the 1980s there have been several financial crises, some famous, such as the 1987 New York stock market crisis and the 1997 Asian crisis. And some obscure, such as the individual country financial crises that happened in over 70 countries in the 1980s and 1990s as they deregulated their financial systems, mostly under pressure from global regulators aiming at facilitating the globalizing of financial markets.
Conventional data show the post-1997 financial crisis period to be a fairly stable one, until the current crisis. One element in this picture is that after a country goes through an ‘adjustment’ crisis, ‘stability’ (and prosperity!) follow. This then produces a representation of considerable financial stability, except for a few major global crises, such as the dotcom crisis. A much mentioned fact regarding the current 2007 – 2008 crisis intended to show that the system is fine, is that in 2006 and 2007, 124 countries had a GDP growth rate of 4% a year or more, which is much higher than that of previous decades. The suggestion is then that the 2007 – 2008 crisis is precisely that—an acute momentary event, but that the system is fine. But behind this stability lies a savage sorting of winners and losers, and the fact that it is easier to track winners than to track the slow sinking into poverty of households, small firms, and government agencies (such as health and education) that are not part of the new glamour sectors (finance and trade). The miseries these adjustment crises brought to the middle sectors in each country and the destruction of often well-functioning economic sectors is largely an invisible history to the global eye.
What stands out in this phase that begins in the 1980s is that global and adjustment crises had the effect of securing the conditions for globally linked financial markets and the ascendance of a financial logic organizing larger and larger sectors of the economy in the global North. In this process large components of the non-financial economy in these countries were ruined.24 Against this background, the current financial crisis is yet another step in this trajectory. One question is whether it spells the exhaustion of this trajectory, or rather the beginning of its decay. In what follows I argue that the specific way of using the sub-prime mortgage in the 2001 – 2007 period makes it a dangerous instrument that is likely to be used worldwide over the next decade. It is a mistake to see this instrument as having to do with providing modest income households with housing. It has rather to do with a structural condition of high finance marked by the combination of a growing demand for asset-backed securities given extremely high levels of speculative investments. This structural condition is at the heart of the actual event that momentarily brought the system to a (partial) standstill—the credit-default swap crisis of September 2008— which in turn suggests an even keener interest in asset-backed securities, and hence in the speculative use of sub-prime mortgages. I see this as one of the new global frontiers for finance, specifically, the 2 billion modest-income households worldwide. The effect could be yet another brutal sorting, with expulsions from more traditional economies, not unlike the consequences of the structural adjustment crises in the global South discussed in the first half of this paper.
I begin with a quick comparison of the major global crises since the current phase began in the 1980s to underline the extent to which financial leveraging has caused the greater acuteness of the current crisis compared with the other 3 major global crises since the 1980s. Figure 2 shows that financial leveraging added another 20% to the underlying banking crisis, thereby bringing the current financial crisis up to an equivalent of 40% of global GDP, compared to earlier crises, which rarely went beyond 20%.
securities by investors, in a market where the outstanding value of derivatives was $630 trillion, or 14 times the value of global GDP. The total value of financial assets (which is a form of debt) in the US stood at almost five times (450%) the value of its GDP in 2006, before the crisis was evident. The UK, Japan, and the Netherlands, all had a similar ratio (McKinsey & Company, 2008, p. 11).25 From 2005 to 2006 the total value of the world’s financial assets grew by 17% (in nominal terms, 13% at constant exchange rates) reaching $167 trillion. This is not only an all-time high value; it also reflects a higher growth rate in 2006 than the annual average of 9.1% since 1980. This points to growing financial deepening. The total value of financial assets stood at $12 trillion in 1980, $94 trillion in 2000, and $142 trillion in 2005.
There is a profound irony in this crisis of confidence: the brilliance of those who make these financial instruments became the undoing of a large number of investors (besides the undoing of the modest-income families who had been sold these mortgages). The toxic link was that for these mortgages to work as assets for investors, vast numbers of mortgages were sold regardless of whether these home-buyers could pay their monthly fee. The faster these mortgages could be sold, the faster they could be bundled into investment instruments and sold off to investors. Overall, sub-prime mortgages more than tripled from 2000 to 2006, and accounted for 20% of all mortgages in the US in 2006. This premium on speed also secured the fees for the sub-prime mortgage sellers and reduced the effects of mortgage default on the profits of the sub-prime sellers. In fact, those sub-prime sellers that did not sell off these mortgages as part of investment instruments went bankrupt eventually, but not before having secured fees. In brief, the financial sector invented some of its most complicated financial instruments to extract the meager savings of modest households in order to produce an ‘asset’—the mortgage on a house. The complexity of the financial innovation was a series of products that de-linked sub-prime sellers and investors’ profits from the creditworthiness of consumer home mortgage-buyers. Whether the mortgage is paid matters less than securing a certain number of loans that can be bundled up into ‘investment products’. The crisis of home-buyers was not a crisis for financial investors, even though millions of middle and working class families now live in tents in the US. For finance it was a crisis of confidence. But it showed the importance of the systems of trust that make possible the speed and orders of magnitude of this financial system. The crisis of home-owners (valued at a few hundred billion dollars) was the little tail that dented the enormous dog of trust in the financial system. In other words, this type of financial system has more of the social in it than is suggested by the technical complexity of its instruments and electronic platforms (Sassen, 2008a, pp. 355– 365). The critical component that brought the financial system to a momentary standstill was more of an old-fashioned speculation gone wrong: the $62 trillion dollar credit-default swap crisis that exploded on the scene in September 2008, a full year after the sub-prime mortgage of August 2007 (see Figure 4). This was more than the combined domestic product of all countries in the world, $54 trillion. Figure 4 shows the extremely sharp growth over an extremely short period of time, from 2001 to 2007. While much attention has gone to sub-prime mortgages as causes of the financial crisis, the $60 trillion in swaps in mid-2008 is what really got the financial crisis going. Declining house prices, high foreclosure rates, declining global trade, rising unemployment, all alerted investors that something was not right. This, in turn, led those who had bought credit-default swaps as a sort of ‘insurance’ to want to cash in. But the sellers of these swaps had not expected this downturn or the demand to cash in from those whom they had sold these credit-swaps. They were not ready, and this catapulted much of the financial sector into crisis. Not everybody lost. Among the winners are also those who ‘shorted’ sub-prime mortgage securities: once again, Soros is the emblematic actor in this parallel circuit, making well over $3 billion on the sub-prime mortgage crisis, just as he did on the British pound’s fallout from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).
This shadow banking system has thrived on the recoding of instruments, which, at the limit, allowed illegal practices to thrive. For instance, it is now clear that credit-default swaps were sold as a type of insurance. But rather they were actually derivatives. If they would have been sold as insurance the law requires they be backed by capital reserves and be subject to considerable regulation. Making them into derivatives was a de facto deregulation and eliminated the capital reserves requirement. Credit-default swaps could not have grown so fast and reached such extreme values if they had been sold as insurance, which would have been the lawful way. None of the financial firms had the capital reserves they would have needed to back $60 trillion in insurance. Because they were recoded as derivatives, they could have an almost vertical growth curve beginning as recently as 2001.
A comparison of the value of all residential mortgage debt (from high to low-quality mortgages) as a ratio of national GDP across developed countries shows sharp variations.27 To some extent, the variation in this value is a function of timing. In the US, the UK and Australia, the housing market has long been private and, importantly, the financial system is highly developed on a broad range of fronts. Thus the incidence of mortgages is both high and widespread in terms of the variety of financial circuits it encompasses. Central to this story is the difference between the value of housing loans as a ratio to GDP and the growth rate of such loans. Thus, the former is very low in countries with young housing markets, such as India and China, where it stands at 10%.28 In contrast, in more mature markets in Asia, this value can be much higher—standing at 60% in Singapore, and 40% in Hong Kong and Taiwan—but the growth rate is much lower.
The next two tables (Tables 5 and 6) provide comparative data on the incidence of residential loans to total loans in several highly developed and so-called emerging market countries. These two tables also help situate the residential mortgage market in the rapidly growing and diversifying financial world of loans. Developed countries with multiple financial circuits, such as the US and the UK, clearly show that compared to other types of loans, mortgages are a relatively small share of all loans, even if most households have mortgages. It is important to note that the same low level of mortgage loans to total loans in economies marked by a small elite of super rich individuals has a different meaning in the US and UK: hence, Russia’s extremely low
the ratio of finance as a whole to US GDP is 450%, as it is for the UK. The other story, then, is the extent to which finance has found mechanisms for raising its revenue that have little direct connection to the material economy of countries. In this regard, the securitizing of residential mortgages can be seen as a powerful instrument for the further financial deepening of economies. Finally, yet another way of understanding the mortgage capital is its share in total loans. Tables 5 and 6 show this share for developed and emerging market economies. There is considerable variability within each group of countries. But the general fact is that there is much room for residential mortgage debt to grow in both. And some of this growth may well take the shape of sub-prime mortgages, with its attendant risks for modest-income households and the added leveraging it brings to the financial system.
SO thats some of the Handy work sanctioned by the Ephors of Debt as of 2010.
Since matters have accellerated to the present discontents.
March 25, 2020
CARBON CURRENCY AND DEBT BASED SERVITUDE END GAME.#PLANETCOVID “SCOTCH PEOPLE ARE OF HAPPIER CONSTITUTION AND DO NOT FATTEN LIKE THE LARGER BREED OF ANIMALS” #THECOVIDCLEARANCES #COERCIVEAGGREGATION #THEROBBERBARONSRETURN. #REMAININDOORS #STAYINYOURHOMES #THEROADTOSERFDOM NIHIL SUB SOLE NOVUM. @DAVIDGRAEBER @FINANCIALEYES @JOEBLOB20 #DEBTBOMB @DOMINICFRISBY
ELIZABETH SUTHERLAND LEVESON-GOWER, 19TH DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND, 1765–1839; “SCOTCH PEOPLE ARE OF HAPPIER CONSTITUTION…”
Posted on April 30, 2013 by BWA
I was digging around a Scottish root of the family tree and reading about the ill-fated Clan Gunn (great-grandfather Harry Nelson of Stirling, and so a member) when I came across a reference to the Highland Clearances and the evil Countess of Sutherland.
Highland Clearances were one of those suspiciously neutral phrases so disliked by George Orwell. But an “Evil Countess”? Not a lot of wiggle room with that kind of talk. It was irresistible. I had to know more.
The countess in question turns out to be Elizabeth Gordon, only child of the 18th earl of Sutherland and his wife. One of those households so yearned for by young readers of children’s books where the parents exit early and both freedom and responsibilities are put on tiny shoulders. In Ms Gordon’s case, the title came to her just after her first birthday. Already we can see where this story is going.
The Neo-Liberal Looting of the Russian Federation after the Fall of the Wall with a Complicit Yeltsin showed clearly how The Post Free Market Capitalism world would use Weaponised financialisation and liberalisation to bring back feudalism. The Political Class are all in at this stage. By definition the various species of Elitists all have nothing but scorn for the Ordinary Citizenry.
