The Internationa Forecaster: Gloom and Doom of Financial Markets - 2008
Bob Chapman
P. O. Box 510518, Punta Gorda, FL 33951-0518
An international financial, economic, political and social commentary.
Published and Edited by: Bob Chapman
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January 30, 2008 - WEDNESDAY #8 issue (013008(8)_IF
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Note that much of Thursday's stock market debacle was not just negative sentiment due to worsening economic scenarios. Thursday was an options expiration day and as usual the cartel tried to "puff the fluff" by creating a short squeeze right off the rip to drain value from expiring protective derivatives held by large specs. A good portion of the pounding was large specs selling off their stocks into the strength provided by the PPT to increase the value of these derivatives just as we have predicted and recommended. They would not need such a large portion of these derivatives if the cartel left the markets alone. The cartel's market-crashing yen-hits on gold have caused these protective derivatives such as yen calls and stock index puts to grow by leaps and bounds out of necessity, and the large specs are now giving the cartel a taste of its own medicine and in the process are increasing the volatility of the markets and are shattering market confidence for the typical trader and especially for the public. The markets now do all sorts of strange things and many traders are getting decimated by trying to follow charts and precedents. They might as well throw their black boxes out the window because the economic territory where we are headed has no rules. We will be making the rules up as we go while we forge into the cartel-created Economic Twilight Zone.
We believe the recent episode between the Iranian speedboats and the US naval ships was a deliberate fabrication by the Pentagon which was then embellished by CNN.
The TIC sees total net flows were $149.9 billion. Net long-term TIC flows were $90.9 billion. Prior total TIC see flows were $92.2 billion.
The risk of SLM Corp. also known as Sallie Mae, defaulting on its debt rose to the highest ever. Credit default swaps rose 20 basis points to 430 basis points showing an erosion of investor confidence. In October it reported its largest quarterly loss in 17 years. It will curtail loan origination and some services. The company is talking with 10 companies about refinancing $30 billion in debt. About $8.4 billion in unsecured debt matures this year. Unless Congress steps in they will probably go under.
Israel held a successful rocket systems test adding to its missile development program. They have been pushing development of their multilevel defense system, including among others the high Iron dome system designed to fight class Qassam rockets. The system also includes the use of Hetz missiles, designed to intercept surface to surface missiles.
Carbone and others involved evolved out of the Project for a New American Century in the early 1990s, home of the neocons. This group moves elitists from one position to another in an out of government, making sure the insiders are making all the big money. People like Carbone and Rumsfeld shaped total policy and now they are collecting on it.
Nearly every one of 225 violent felons authorized for relief during Eliot Spitzer's first 11 months in office had been convicted of murder. This guy has turned into a real beauty.
This scam has been aided and abetted by market manipulation and a lack of regulation by the “Working Group on Financial Markets” and the Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group. There was a time when gold was used to offset risk. That isn't the case today. They talk about US Treasuries that represent a collapsing dollar. This is why the Fed insisted on no regulation of derivatives or of hedge funds. This was to protect Wall Street and the bankers scam. They didn't want any competition. This in part is why smart money is fleeing the markets and is going to gold and silver as hedges. They finally see through the façade.
Total commercial paper rose $35.5 billion and has declined $375 billion over the past 23 weeks. Asset-Backed commercial paper jumped $26.4 billion, a 23 week fall of $390 billion to $805 billion. Year on year total CP fell $147 billion, or 7.4% with ABCP down $265 billion, or more than 24.8%.
Fed foreign holdings of treasury and agency paper jumped $14.4 billion to a record $2.072 trillion. Custody holdings for foreign central banks rose to $299 billion year on the year, or more 16.9%.
As Citigroup and Merrill raised $21.1 billion in fresh capital mainly from foreigners, bondholders In CDOs an SIVs are losing 50 to 80% of their investments thus far. The entire bond market is in serious trouble.
The dollar index rallied one half of 1% this past week to 76.50. Gold declined 12% to $885 and silver fell one half of 1% to $16.28. Copper fell 2.1%, oil fell $2.13 to $90.56, gas fell 0.7% and natural gas fell 3.5%. Wheat rose 5.9%, the CRB fell 1.2% and the GSCA fell 1.4%.
Lehman Brothers has eliminated 1300 jobs in their loan area.
Long Island and Queens home sales fell 25% in the fourth quarter as inventory for sales surged up 41%. The median price fell 32% to $425,000.
California home sales were the lowest in 20 years off 45.3%. That was 23.5% below the last recession's 1990 low. The median price was $425,000 the lowest in three years, off 2.4% from November and 13.3% year on year. They have only 25 to 30% more to drop. Prices were off 15.8% from their peak
Hedge fund assets rose 30% in 2007 up $462 billion to $1.997 trillion. Sailfish capital lost 50% of their assets since July and London-based Elgin has barred redemptions.
The Department of Homeland Security spent $90 million on a network for sharing sensitive anti-terrorism information. A new system will be put in place because the old system is full of holes. Another disaster at DHS.
The Philadelphia Fed's business survey showed twice as many firms reported a decrease in business as reported an increase. Employment was down for the first time in years, and new orders were negative. 49% of firms said prices were up. In August, only 16% said that.
The intensity of the economic slowdown will soon be intensified by workers out of work for at least 27 weeks. In November, nearly 1.4 million people, or 20%, had been out of work that long and these people are not counted in the unemployment statistics. That is why our figures are at 14%, not 5% how convenient, politically convenient of our politicians. Worse yet this is more than twice this is more than twice the level of long-term unemployment before the 2001 recession. Can you see the gravity of the situation? This phenomenon was once centered in manufacturing but now it is concentrated more among white collar and college educated workers with long work experience that is making the problem difficult for the policymakers to address even as it grows more urgent. Again the middle class gets smashed. If they do find jobs, those who have been out of work between 2001 to 2003 took a pay cut of 17%. That figure we believe is at 25% less. Today it's triple the cuts of the early 1990s, just 15 years ago. The sad part is it isn't going to get better it's going to get worse.
Retired Army General Tommy Franks was paid $100,000, out of donations made to wounded veterans, for allowing his name to be used in fundraising appeals by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Foundation, which failed to tell the potential donors that received the mail solicitation that Franks was paid for the endorsement. Franks had been giving his support free in 2004 and 2005, but when he found out the sponsors were taking 15% of all donations he demanded a piece of the action.
A congressional study said a real figure is 26% of the money collected goes to veterans. The director of the charity and his wife received $1.5 million in salary from 2004 to 2006. Director Chapin said his salary was in the lower half of salaries of charity executives, while his performance was in the upper half. They were also reimbursed $340,000 for meals, hotels, entertainment and other costs. The fund also paid for his $17,000 country club membership and the fund bought on a $444,600 condo in North Virginia that is used by the Chapins. The flipside is veterans felt they did a good job. It really should have been done at one third the cost.
The trade Union Congress of the Philippines is calling on overseas Filipino workers and their families to forget about the dollar and consider placing savings in peso accounts. They are convinced the Fed will cut interest rates to 2.5% from 4.25% which will force the dollar lower. The Fed has already lowered rates from 5.25% to 4.25% to 3.50%. Four years ago the peso was 56 to the dollar, now it's 40.74 and the union sees 37 in the future. The peso gained 16% versus the dollar in 2007. What a sad commentary on our government, bankers and Wall Street.
The state of Arizona shouldn't have to do this. It's amazing that they are and our hat is off to the citizens of Arizona.
First the state no longer taxes military pay. That began in 2007 and builds on a tax-free military pay rule that has applied for active duty personnel since 2006.
Better yet, Arizona's interested in providing financial help to military families can get a tax break in the process. It assists families of Arizonans injured or killed in the line of duty. The credit for donations of up to $200 for singles and $400 for married couples filing joint income tax returns. Credits are dollar for dollar reductions in a person's tax bill and thus are more valuable than deductions, which reduce taxable income. The break is for 2008 through 2012. The program will get money to families in emergencies quickly. Donors can give more than $200 and $400 and can receive federal and state credit for excess amounts, under charitable donations with credits capped at $1 million. Why don't you get your state to start a similar program?
ACA Capital Holdings, the bond insurer is being run by regulators. After massive subprime losses, it won a month's grace to unwind $60 billion of credit default swap contracts that it can't pay. They lost $1.04 billion in the third quarter. S&P cut ACA's rating 12 levels to CCC last month. This needless to say is casting doubt on the company's guarantees via lack of collateral. Next AMBAC and MBIA. We could be watching the nationalization of bond insurers.
In late 2007, Carlyle Group the illuminist private equity group, purchased one of the country's largest nursing chains Manor Care, despite the concerns of regulators, lawmakers and workers groups that the acquisition would lead to staffing cuts and cause a decline in the care for residents. The main reason nursing homes want to go private is to avoid filing financial documents with the SEC and state regulatory agencies. They wanted as well to avoid public litigation against them. You can be sure Carlyle will be selling out Granny.
First we received a pep talk from Secretary Paulson from the US Chamber of commerce, that’s the group that wants amnesty for illegal aliens so they can continue to fatten profits by using slave labor. Then came the .75 basis point cut.
AMBAC Financial has gone to AA from AAA. The downgrade throws doubt on the ratings of $556 billion in municipal and structured finance debt guaranteed debt guaranteed by them. In addition they posted a $3.3 billion loss after recording massive credit derivative writedowns they set aside $5.2 billion of credit derivatives, and set aside $208.5 million for loses.
As a result big banks have become even more cautions in regards to commercial real estate, construction loans and they are reducing the maximum amount that some small business owners can borrow on unsecured loans and lines of credit that average less than $20,000.
As this transpires the yield on junk bonds has risen to 10.16% from 7.53% a year ago. Seven percent of small business owners said they were having trouble getting financing in December, up from 4% in November.
It looks like the Bank of China will have to write down 25% of $8 billion in securities backed by subprime mortgages, or $2 billion.
The January Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index reported minus 8 versus minus 4 in December.
Budget deficits that have fallen since 2005 are expected to rise in 2008. It was only 3 months ago the deficit was projected at $155 billion, down from $413 billion short fall in 2004. Revenue will fall and fall hard. We are looking for $500 to $600 billion.
As we said unless the insurance companies are bailed out and nationalized, the economy will collapse. These are the naked derivatives we have warned you about. That in part is why the markets worldwide are collapsing.
In the Option-ARM area we have Downey Financial, which has specialized in making these loans since the late 1980s and keeps them as investments. They make up 75% of their portfolios. Now their ratio of non-performing assets has shot up from 0.55% to 3.65%, up $80 billion in November. That November number was larger than the entire amount of non-performers Downey had a year earlier.
Yahoo is planning to lay off hundreds of workers from their workforce of 14,000.
Wachovia bank reported 4th quarter earnings off 98% yoy as the bank suffered massive credit-related hits. They made $0.03 a share down from $1.20.
We just saw George Soros and Larry Summers with many other Illuminati members at Davos, at the World Economic Forum. George says, “This is the worst financial crisis since World War II and the US is threatened with recession.”
Like us, Ron Paul has blamed the Federal Reserve for the country’s weakening economy. He says as well, to abolish the federal income tax and return to the gold standard. “The Fed has allowed the dollar to weaken, which in turn,” he said, “has hurt the middle class and has led to inflation.” “I would enjoy being the next president to get rid of our central bank.”
As a result of a government run wild the CIA torture tapes are just a step away from another Watergate.
Among the 16 days for which e-mails are missing from VP Cheney’s office is September 30, 2003, the same day the Justice Department and the FBI announced they were investigating who outed former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson. Cheney was ordered by AG Alberto Gonzales to preserve all materials that might be relevant to the probe. 473 days of e-mails are missing. As you can see our fascists do as they please.
Homebuyers are starting to sue their agents for selling them homes they know were overpriced due to comps in the area. The appraiser has already settled with a buyer in one case, which means he misappraised the house. We will see lots of these suits.
On Tuesday, at 9:15 EST, CNBC World described the Plunge Protection Team and it's composition (Fed, Treasury, etc.), saying that it's existence has been a thing of "legend". They stated that "some" believe that actions by the PPT may soon be required.
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This is from an interested listener. We are starting to get a lot of these letters. If you have a horror story send it to me and I’ll print it. We have to protect others from such business practices.
Bob: I’ve been listening to you on the various radio broadcasts for the past couple of years and I want to thank you for the priceless info that you put out there. You are a brave man to say the things that you say. I took your advice a couple of years ago and purchased gold coins to protect my wealth. Unfortunately, I bought them from the wrong place (Blanchard) and was the victim of highway robbery. I paid a little over $18K for 2 sets of 63 Indians ($2.5, $5, $10, $20) 2 years ago when gold was around $660. I just found out that I can only sell them back for $12K at this time when gold is near $900. What bothers me about this more than the monetary loss is the fact that I was totally convinced that I did the right thing for the past 2 years as I saw financial events unfold exactly as you have predicted. Now I fell like the rug has been pulled under me. I’ve been fooling myself for 2 years. Bob, should I hang onto these coins and wait to break even and cash out then? I guess a better question would be, will I ever break even for the amount that I originally invested? I’m not sure what to do. I have no faith in these coins. I feel like dumping them now but am not sure if it is the right thing to do. Your expertise and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for your continuous efforts to inform us.
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From LIst Of Candidates
From Charlotte Iserbyt
dumbdown00@yahoo.com1-23-8http://www.rense.com/general80/dobbs.htm *****Future costs of Medicare, Social Security threaten U.S. debt rating
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59692Posted: January 15, 20081:00 a.m. Eastern
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7-year plan aligns U.S. with Europe's economy
Rules, regs to be integrated without congressional review
Posted: January 16, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Posted: January 18, 2008 1:00 a.m. Eastern
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59713Day of reckoning in the US glasshouse
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sitesearch.do?query=Day+of+reckoning+in+the+US+glasshouse&hitsperpage=10&jumpToPrevious=0&mode=simple&nextOffset=0&offset=0&leftStartIndex=1&leftEndIndex=10&jumpToPrevious=0&mode=SIMPLE&submitStatus=searchFormSubmitted§ionId=792&x=31&y=10Joseph Stiglitz
21 January 2008 The Times
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Last week oil inventories rose 4.3 million barrels, gas rose 2.2 million barrels and distillates rose 1.1 million barrels. Refinery runs fell 42% to 87.1%
Natural gas inventories fell 59 BCF versus 89 B.C.F a year ago.
Tuesday worked out as we predicted Monday in 4 radio shows. Gold ended the day up $7.90 to $889.80 and silver fell $0.07 to $16.02. Both were spectacular recoveries. The Dow fell 128 to 11,971, S&P fell 132 and Nasdaq fell 286 Dow points. We had predicted the Dow would be off 100 to 200 points and that gold would be even to plus $10.00. The Fed lowered interest rates 3/4% to 3.5%. The yen fell .87 to $1.0655, the euro rose 1.72 to $1.4625, the pound rose .20 to $1.9607 and the Canadian dollar rose .61 to .9729. The 2-year Treasury yielded 2.04% and the 10s 3.48%. Oil fell $0.72 to $89.85, gas fell $0.03 to $2.28 and natural gas fell $0.03 to $7.64. February gold was trading $3.30 higher than the Comex close. The cut in interest rates is extremely bullish for gold and it won’t really be helpful for Wall Street. As you can see this is where market manipulation has led us. Gold open interest fell 98 contracts to 561,647 and silver OI rose 1,160 contracts to 182,055. The Tocom big shorts increased their shorts by 697 contracts to 90,316 on Friday and cut net shorts by 2,027 on Monday to 88,289, as Goldman increased shorts 2,419 and 131 to total 13,773. The same group cut silver shorts by 175 and 22 to total 987 contracts. Goldman increased Tocom shorts over the last four sessions by 3,600 contracts, a departure from what they had been doing, which tells you they knew what was coming. Wait until the Shanghai Futures Exchange gets rolling, then the gold suppression cartel will really have a nightmare. Their Chairman said the new gold contract will “improve China’s influence on the global metals market and pave the way for China to set the prices in markets.”
The weekly ECB gold sales report shows central banks sold 41 million euros of gold last week, or 2.24 tons up from 2.19 tons the prior week.
Wednesday early saw another nasty opening. The Dow was minus 70, S&P minus 104, Nasdaq minus 132 and the FTSE minus 66 Dow Points. The CAC was off 63 and the DAX off 126. The 2-year was 1.95% and the 10s were 3.43%. Oil was off $0.89, gas off $0.02 and natural gas up $0.01. Gold was off $1.80, silver off $0.07, copper off $0.05 and the Nikkei Dow up 256 at 12,829.
A huge yen-hit on gold is on its way as the yen makes new highs. In order to save the stock markets from their 464-point Dow-Death-Plunge on Tuesday, the yen was weakened from its lows of about 105.951 yen per dollar and 152.998 yen per euro on Monday at about 12:20 pm EDT to 106.917 and 156.258 as of 1:25 pm EDT on Tuesday. That move, together with brute force PPT action that must have cost a mind-blowing fortune that we will all get to pay for to save the pirates on Wall Street, turned a 464 point crash into a 128 point loss. Because of gold's violent reaction upward to the Fed's cut, markets will be treated to a new yen- hit as the cartel hopes to suppress gold until the February futures are rolled over at the end of January by strengthening the yen to a new high of 105.187 per dollar and a very high 152.967 yen per euro as of 8:45 am EDT today. Now mind you that about a week ago on 1/14/08 the yen was at108.273 and 161.021, so you can see the extent to which the cartel will go to hit gold at the expense of stock markets. Is it any wonder that the Dow has been given an 800 point haircut since the 1/14/08 close? The barbaric relic has become the bane of the stock markets, which will now continue to suffer from "yellow fever." And can you believe that the dollar is rallying today after yesterday's huge rate cut? Its Theatre Bizarre once again as the cartel warps the markets beyond recognition once again. Let's see how gold does in the face of this latest yen-hit. Remember, a demand for physical delivery under gold futures contracts is just what the doctor ordered for this situation. That would send gold past 1000 and on its way to 1500 in very short order. The cartel is out of gold. It is time to call their bluff and put an end to their BS.
Wednesday our government was in the marketplace in force. The news as it has often been lately was terrible. They were able to hold the Dow to a 35-point loss at 12,466 as the Intel news took down NASDAQ 138 Dow points. After having fallen 134 very early on, the Dow went back and forth like a yo-yo as the PPT continually came to the rescue. They were determined to smack gold. It was off $25 and silver fell $0.25 in the wee hours. The gold rallied to -$5 and silver to -$0.10, but the cartel came back and blasted both again. Gold lost $19.70 and silver $00.42. Just to show you how weak the market really was, S&P fell 162 Dow points and it was at that level almost all day. Gold open interest set another record up 1,708 contracts to 593,953, as did Silver OI up 4,121 to 177,500. Oil fell $1.60 to $90.84. The dollar rose .62 to 76.32. The euro fell 1.54 to 1.4648 and the 10-year yield was 3.72%. The major TOCOM gold shorts increased their net gold shorts by 7,080 contracts to total 93,077. They increased net silver shorts by 153 to 779. The XAU lost 9.49 two 181.01 and the HUI fell 20.96 to 441.33.
The silver ETF is a shell game. They hold very little silver. The silver they have can be held anywhere in the world and is subject to only limited audit requirements. The silver can be swapped, pledged, leased and loaned without violating the prospectus. That prospectus clearly points out that the amount of silver held and the price of silver, have no real relevance to each other in this vehicle. A perception enforced the value and if there is a sharp upward run SLV could be in trouble. The CFTC knows this is a scam but it's part of the government's program to suppress silver.
If for no other reason gold was attacked because of the massive commercial shorts and the coming ½% Fed rate cut. The gold will move higher after the news.
This is what Barrick directors and officers think of their company. Director Howard Beck sold 50,000 shares at $47.74 to $48.55 on January 7,2008 bringing holdings to 139,144. Vice President of exploration and corporate development Alexander Davidson exercised 50,000 options at $29.60 on January 8, 2008 and sold all his shares at $50 bringing holdings to zero. General Counsel Patrick Garver exercised 100,000 options at $28.57 on January the 11th 2008. He sold at $52 to $52.21 taking holdings to zero.
On Thursday gold and silver moved back up with gold up five dollars at one point. Then the market started to fall apart and that's when gold and silver again came under attack. We believe that gold and silver have completed their correction and should start to move back up again. Gold closed down one dollar to $879.90 and silver fell $0.12 to $15.90. Remember in the late 1970s silver and soybeans ran up together. It could happen again. Gold open interest fell 4,627 contracts to 589,326, which is very bullish. The euro rose .09 $1.4670 and the US DX fell .07 to 76.17. Oil fell again $0.71 to $90.13 a barrel. The Dow fell 307 points and is headed lower. The big TOCOM shorts reduced net shorts by 5,137 contracts to total 87,940, as Goldman covered 1,020 to net 10,130. The same group increased net shorts in silver 316 to 1,095. It looks like Goldman is using TOCOM to suppress gold prices after the COMEX closes. It only takes 1,000 to 2,000 contracts to manipulate that venue. The XAU and HUI traded slightly lower. AEM fell $1.46 and SSRI $1.55. The Dow fell 307, S&P 333 and NASDAQ 251 Dow points. The 10s fell from 3.68% to 3.62%.
It is very significant that the Hong Kong exchanges and clearing will launch gold futures and gold options this year after halting them 20 years ago. Gold and silver are already trading on the Chinese gold and silver exchange. Gold will be traded by the ounce in units of 50 g called Liang.
Tanaka Kikinzoku, Japan's biggest seller of gold in ingots and bought three times more gold than it sold last year. The Japanese then went short the yen and lost money there as well.
Old subscribers realize because they have done so well that the gold bull market is now seven years old. Gold rose 31% in 2007, yet 99% of Americans, Europeans and Canadians didn't own gold, which is a great untapped source of buying. Chartists called this breakout the fourth step on the greatest bull market of all time. By our methods stage 2 of 3 or four stages has begun with the next stop at $3,000 an ounce.
On Friday gold finished the day up $0.60 at $880.50 and silver rose $0.19 to $16.09. Our Government was active all day in all markets. After yesterday's horrible performance the “Working Group on Financial Markets” propped the market from the opening. Our Treasury Secretary Paulson told us there was an urgent need for a fiscal stimulus program, but the economy was not in danger of stalling. Another stupid statement. If there is no danger of stalling why do you need stimulus? "This is not an emergency. There is an urgent need". He’ll have to draw a line for us. The public and investors know he's lying that's why the Dow fell over 300 points yesterday. Any stimulus whether it's $50 billion or $200 billion is a drop in the bucket compared with the Fed's open market operations, and the creation of money and credit in the $60 billion secret monthly auctions.
This is all smoke and mirrors. They hope the public and investors take the Pavlovian bait. Again the elitists have sacrificed the stock market to stop the relentless move of gold and silver higher. It's always after Gold closes that they move the market higher or lower. Overnight they took Goldman gold down to $870 on light volume. The first London fix was $872.75 and the second was $882, which set the tone for the day. The physical buyers stopped the cartel again. Silver showed great strength during the day rising to $16.30. Over the last couple of days Silver has shown great resilience. As we said that gold commercial shorts will either have to cover on the way up or support prices on the way down as they cover their shorts. Friday was a big short covering day as gold open interest fell 27,581 contracts to 561,745, the steepest fall ever. The commitment of traders report large spec longs increased 6,643. The commercials set lots of longs as gold probed $875 some 19,762 and set more shorts some 24,186 well above $900. Their net short increased 4,424 contracts to set a new short total of 147,000 contracts. They still are in serious trouble and that is why gold could be headed higher again. Silver open interest rose 586 contracts to 179, 095, another high. Oil rose $0.44 to $90.57. The US DX rose .19 to 76.42 as the euro fell .16 to $1.4623. The Dow struggled all day and the PPT just couldn't handle all the selling and the Dow ended off 60 to 12,099. As you notice just above 12,000 as NASDAQ fell 42 Dow points. Incidentally after hitting an all-time high near 855 in October, NASDAQ now stands at 66 a 22% drop. It is certainly intriguing that COMEX open interest refuses to fall substantially. For six months the elitists have attacked gold and have in fact fought a losing battle as more big physical hitters enter the fray. It looks like the cartel has the commercials short and have guaranteed them against losses and it also looks like the pros spooked by credit problems are buying gold as a hedge against credit woes. They are not trading. They have invested long and are staying long just as you are. They are not speculators as they are scared to death of what they see as professionals. This kind of buying cannot be overcome by the cartel. It means the cartel's days are now numbered.
Telcom big shorts increased their net short position by 1,679 to 89,619 contracts as Goldman increased net shorts 1,098 to 11,223. The same group increased net silver shorts by 92 net 1185. We see the end of an era as China now produces more gold than South Africa. At 276 tons for 2007 versus 272 tons for South Africa. The XAU closed up 1.89 at 177.27 and the HUI rose 2.63 to 177.27.
Whether the illuminists know it or not they have failed in their 20-year suppression of the gold price. Gold is still money whether they like it or not. In spite of gold suppression bullion prices set a new high recently. Gold has again become a safe haven. The opportunity on fundamental grounds for higher prices is overwhelming. Now that bond and stock markets are under severe pressure as is real estate we are seeing diversification into gold. It's the only place that's relatively safe and investors can make money buying an under valued asset. Output is stagnant and it won't get better for at least another eight years. Interest rate reductions and massive money and credit and an open window with the Fed has thrown all monetary caution to the four winds. That means growing inflation for at least the next four years-based on what is all ready in the pipeline. That is unless the financial system collapses faster. You have seen the dollar's fall. Unfortunately it will get worse.
Ashanti, Africa's biggest gold producer said for that fourth quarter production has dropped 4.6% or 55,000 ounces. Goldfields output fell about 3 1/2 percent with dollar costs increasing 8%.
We waited to take these early Monday prices at 7 a.m. Eastern standard Time. Because at 3:30 a.m. the markets look to be headed lower. This is some of the worst market carnage we've seen in 49 years. It looks like the working group on financial markets has lost control. It looks to be out of their hands.
The Nikkei Dow fell 525 points to 13,326. The FTSE was off 4.4%, the CAC 6.7% and the DAX off at .3%. The Dow was off 367, S&P 450 and NASDAQ 369 Dow points. The euro was off 1.40, the pound .80 and the Canadian dollar .44. The FTSE was off 181 or 300 Dow points. The CAC fell 232 and the DAX 370. Oil fell $1.69 to $88.89, gas was off $0.03 cents and natural gas was off $0.10. Gold was trading between -$9.70 to -$12.60. Last seen it was off $10.90 to $870.80. Silver was $15.75 off $.41.
After the market closes, without the US market of course, the results were dreadful. The Dow futures closed down 525 points. We expect the Fed and the PPT to enter the market prior to the opening and try to hold the losses to a hundred or 200 points. How successful they will be remains to be seen. They'll try to go along with trying to hold the US DX at 77.01 and to keep gold unchanged from Friday gold which was off $17.10 in the access market which means silver was off $.50. Platinum fell $8.00 and palladium fell $4.00. Oil was off $2.00 to $88.57, gas was off $.05 and natural gas was off $.17. The euro fell 1.75 to $1.4442, the pound was off 1.15 to $1.9430 and the Canadian dollar was off .52 to .9683. It could be the Fed wanted the Dow down to justify in them an emergency one-half percent or three quarter percent cut in the bank rate. All markets had massive losses.
This could be the beginning of the end of world financial system. The point past no return has been passed. The Fed does not react to monetary conditions and markets but to the whims of Wall Street and the neocons. The underlying fundamentals are about to take gold over $1000 and silver to $20-$25. We have a historical day ahead of us
Tuesday early was deadly. The Dow was off 477, S&P 527, NASDAQ 432 and the FTSE 60 Dow points lower. The CAC lost 28 and the DAX 148. The yen was off .27 the euro up .77, the pound up 1.33, the Canadian dollar -1.35 and the US DX was down .27 and 7683. The two-year was 2.09% and the tens 3.53%. Oil was off $2.85, gas off seven cents and natural gas off $.21. Gold was $861.20 off $20.50, Silver was off $.60 at $15.64 and copper was off $.15. The Nikkei Dow fell 752 to 2,573. A regular bloodbath. At one hour and 45 minutes to the opening the “Working Group on Financial Markets” was yet to be seen.
The latest update on Crystallex KRY:
President Chavez completed his Cabinet shuffle on Jan 10th announcing the Ministers for 2008. There's a new Minister of MIBAM (Mines) who spent last Friday at the CVG headquarters meeting with the CVG President discussing their projects and plans. He made a statement following that meeting that he plans on being in Bolivar State every week for the next few months in an effort to work with the CVG on getting the regional projects going. He also said that there was always a place for Private Investment to work in Harmony with the Venezuelans on Projects.
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November's wholesale sales increased 0.3% versus 0.5% in October.
In a moment of conscience Canada has listed of the United States as a country where prisoners are at risk of torture. It also classifies some US interrogation techniques as part torture. The torture awareness training course for diplomats also named Israel, China, Iran and Afghanistan as torturers.
A government spokesman said the manual did not reflect the views of Canada, which is an ally of the US and Israel. That of course is doubletalk. The US and Israel have not responded and won't. They hope no one will notice they are torturers. What a disgrace all these countries are.
The Flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva guided-missile cruiser, has successfully hit designated targets as part of a Navy exercise in the Northern Atlantic on Monday. The missile system has no match in performance terms.
NATO tells us we must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the “imminent” spread of nuclear weapons of mass destruction. That risk is supposedly imminent. NATO leadership has gone insane. There excuse is the same old garbage about terrorism, the dark side of globalization (exploitation), climate change, energy security, etc. These people are out of their minds.
The German economy grew 2.5% in 2007 versus 2.9% in 2006. The government has balanced its budget as well. Exports grew 8.3% and accounted for 50% of GDP growth. Private consumption fell 03%.
The Slovak December jobless rate was 7.99% versus 7.76% in November.
Polish corporate wages rose 72% year on year in December.
Austria's 2007 CPI rose 2.2% versus 1.5% in 2006. December CPI rose 36% year on year versus 3.1% in November.
Eurozone annual inflation remained steady at 3.1%.
Danish third-quarter GDP was revised to 1.6% from 1.3%.
Slovak December HICP rose 25% year on year.
Czech November industrial output rose 67% month on month and 8.4% year-over-year. Czech new construction rose 7% month on month and 3.5% year on year.
Finnish November GDP rose 0.1% month on month and 1.5% year on year. German December final CPI rose 05% from November and rose 28% year on year. Europe's December car registrations rose 12% year on year.
There is continued talking in Europe forecasting the breakup of the European Monetary Union because of problems caused by Spain and Italy. It is probable that the spread between Italian and Spanish and German bonds will reach 60 basis points. This year, that will precipitate a real crisis.
In the first two weeks of February we expect Kosovo to declare unilateral declaration of independence, as soon as they get their orders from London they will move and the City of London will have another contrived war.
There is a call for a review of privatization in Germany. They in many cases have led to vital functions of the German state coming under control of other countries monopolists. Waterway dredging, for example, is now almost entirely under the control of a few Dutch firms. Privatizations have led to a decrease of services and an increase in prices. This has happened in every country where transnational conglomerates have taken over vital state services.
European inflation remained at 3.1% in December the highest since May of 2001. General prices rose 0.4% as energy costs fell 0.3%. Food price inflation rose 4.8% from 4.3% the fastest rate since February of 2002 which was 5.1%
Russia's gold in foreign currency reserves have increased by $11.5 billion to $477.7 billion.
Eurozone inflation is forecast to be 2.5% in 2008 as it suffers stagflation, a term coined by the eminent and venerable Harry Schultz of the Harry Schultz letter.
German inflation in 2007 was 2.3% the highest since records began in 1996.
Scottish equitable says 129,000 small investors in its $4 billion property fund will not be able to access their money for up to a year. It is invested in office blocks and shopping senses across Britain. They are out of cash. Monthly payments to retirements and death claims will not be affected. Commercial property values, especially in the London office market, have died amid fears of a recession brought on by the global credit crisis. It is already worse than the early 1990s. In just six months the market has completely collapsed. Funds and their shares are off 20 to 50%.
President Vladimir Putin, on his last planned foreign trip as Kremlin leader sealed pipeline in nuclear power accords with Bulgaria strengthening Russia's role as an energy supplier to the European Union. Russia will build 2 oil and gas pipelines, and a 2000 Megawatt atomic plant. The route ensures security for deliveries to European customers.
Russia also signed an accord with the Bulgaria and Greece on an oil pipeline that will connect the Black and Mediterranean Seas, allowing Russian oil to bypass the congested ingested Turkish Straits. Construction of the Burgas - Alexander Roupolis link has been repeatedly delayed for years.
Switzerland has suspended an investigation into CIA agents who were involved in the 2003 abduction and rendition kidnapping of Egyptian cleric Hussein Mustafe Osama Nasr. The illuminati does just as it pleases.
The Power to see through walls will soon revolutionize police work and customs searches by allowing officers to seek out contraband, weapons, bombs or hidden people.
The Lexid device sends out low-level x-rays, which are collected in the lens based on the design of a lobsters eyes. It interprets what is returned and the image is produced on the screen. It can also be used in pest control, construction, by airport staff and archaeologists.
The Taliban has seriously rejoined the fight in Afghanistan elevating a new war. The NATO led security assistance force is entering a period of long, broad and deep conflict, the outcome of which is far from certain. It is rumored that there are now 20,000 Taliban in the field, which means thousands more troops will be needed. We will then have a two front war, which is unbelievable.
Finnish December unemployment was 6% versus 6.4% year on year.
Polish December inflation was up at 1.7% year on year.
Low cost airlines took 41.7% of the Spanish market share.
Belgian January consumer confidence was strong.
Estonia's fourth-quarter CPI rose 9% year on year.
Swiss December PPI rose 3% year on year.
German December PPI was -0.1% month on month, and it was up 2.5% year on year.
Dutch 2007 CPI rose 1.6% month on month and 0.5% year on year.
Portugal's December PPI was up 0.1% versus November and remained up 5.4% year on year.
The jobless rate hit a 32 year low of 2.5% in December.
December was the worst month in real estate since Britain's last recession in 1992. Professionals say prices fell 49.1% compared to 40.6% in November. They want interest rate cuts and that will send official inflation over 3% and real inflation over 6%. A measure of expected prices ALID is -62 from -47 in November, both the lowest since the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors started calculating data in October of 1998.
There is a full scale slumped on the way and house prices are falling at the fastest rate in 15 years.
CBI industrial trends business sentiment decreased to -18 in the fourth quarter from -13 in the third quarter.
January manufacturing rose 2% year on year and was unchanged versus December.
M4 money supply rose 15% in December and 12.3% year on year. November's increase was 11.7%.
On Monday shares on the London Stock exchange took their worst hit since 9/11. It looks like the world is catching on to the worlds problems. The FTSE 100 fell 5.5%, or 324 points, or 540 Dow points. The correction was led downward by financials. On 9/11 it dropped 288 points.
December gross mortgage lending fell 25% from November to $45 billion.
A huge gas field has been found a short-distance off Rio de Janeiro’s coastline says Petrobras. The new field is located 23 miles from Tupi, the new oil find, 5,600 yards below the surface, about 180 miles from Rio. This will have major positive results for Brazil in the future.
Brazil's IGP-M index rose 0.93% from December. Panama's consumer prices rose 6.4% in 2007 the fastest pace since 1980.
November core machinery orders fell 28%. The current account surplus rose 2.1% in November December domestic CGPI rose 2.6% year on year versus 2.3% in November. December PPI rose 2.6% with oil and coal prices up 24.4%. The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged at one half of 1%. December machine-tool orders rose 3.7%. November's leading index was revised up to 18.2 from the initial estimate of 10.0. Tokyo condo sales fell 20.2% in December as Osaka fell 9.1%.
Hong Kong December CPI was up 3.8% year on year and 3.4% in November.
South Korea's December jobless fell to 3.1%.
Australian Inflation data remains firm at the top of the RBA band, and the 3.0% yoy result is in line with market expectations. The qoq result at 0.9%, slightly below consensus 1.0%, is perhaps a slight positive, but overall this data confirms a rate hike bias, though given financial market volatility expect no change at this next RBA meeting. With any return to market stability however, the RBA will be hiking by 25 points at the following meeting, at perhaps another 25 points mid-year.
Coal and allied annual production fell 17%. November owner occupied housing finance rose 4%. Australian shares fell for the ninth straight day on Thursday in the longest losing streak in over 12 years. It is now down 15.4% from a high of 6851.5 reached in October.
The Australian share market again fell on the open as the ASX 200 struck a new low of 5600 on Thursday down 17% from its peak of 6800. It's a 10th straight day of declines.
Shares of funds manager MFS limited have fallen more than 50% on Friday morning on concerns about the level of debt it is carrying.
The Melbourne survey found consumer inflation expectations fell to 13.7% in January and 14.2% in December. Inflation is 4.4%.
New Zealand's inflation rate rose to 3.2% in the fourth quarter year or year. New vehicle sales rose 1.1% in December from November. Fourth quarter Australian PPI rose to 0.6% versus the third quarter.
Special operations consulting security management group, a mercenary company has been recruiting in Namibia where Marxist freedom fighters now control a government with 50% unemployment. They would work in Iraq and Afghanistan. American mercenary outfits have been scouring the countryside of Namibia, Uganda, Mozambique and Burundi for 2 years. This of course is a type of human trafficking because the socioeconomic conditions they live in are terrible. Namibian law says mercenary activity is illegal and has thrown out 2 US firms from the country, SOC and SMG.
The Zimbabwe Central Bank will issue a $10 million bank note worth less than $3.90. Can America be far behind?
According to the Oxford Journals, 19% of Americans (38 Million) use herbs and vitamin supplements with one-third not telling their doctor they use them. Why? Why don’t we tell our medical doctors we use green tea, vitamin C, tea tree oil, Echinacea root, colloidal silver etc.? Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) has the medical community concerned. The College of Pharmacy, Department of Health and the Department of Social Sciences wants to know why you don’t tell your doctor all your health business. Aside from patients mixing herbs with prescription drugs, is there another reason patients get the third-degree when it comes to alternative medicine? Well, you’re told that the reason is to improve patient / doctor communications. I believe book knowledge is one thing and practical, tactical knowledge is another. Putting it another way; does pick your brain mean anything to you? Giving your medical doctor a free education in natural health therapy is what you live for – right? To add insult, you pay your doctor to tell him and in most cases you’re pressured to discontinue your supplements. Unless…
Another push behind finding out why you are using more natural therapies is to see what is influencing you to try them. Adopting those aspects to marketing drugs and surgery is the underlying agenda. If the drugs have long-term, dangerous side-effects - well take a supplement designed specifically to be used with the drugs. But is the supplement a supplement or a drug disguised as a supplement?
Take for instance the new line of supplements by Nature Made called Nature Made Rx Essentials®. Is this a real supplement or a want-to-be impostor? Nature Made is owned by Pharmavite LLC and according to Paul Bass and his attorney in Miami Florida, Bass has sued Pharmavite LLC for deceptive marketing and selling a synthetic vitamin E supplement as an organic product. Laboratory derived substances are not from organic sources. However, the average consumer does not normally have a way to determine the molecular structure of the product to confirm it’s organic. FYI, natural vitamin E, (from vegetable oils) is d-alpha-tocopherol and synthetic vitamin E (a commercial chemical) dl-alpha-tocopherol. It is interesting that Nature Made has launched a new line of supplements marketed to patients taking a majority of the drugs sold on the market. If your prescription is a diabetic, heart burn, antidepressant, arthritis or cholesterol drug you can thank Nature Made and Pfizer for using the same marketing consultants. The message is if you take any of these drugs, you need Nature Made supplements to help counter the dangerous side effects.
There is a push to harmonize all aspects to health; health care, supplements, natural therapies, cosmetics, food, water drugs and surgery. Under these conditions there will have to be a central agency to regulate your health (a.k.a. WHO). Some people may think that the new Nature Made drug-supplement products are a good thing – helping patients who suffer from drug induced nutritional depletion. How about we stop taking the drugs, fix the lifestyle, and use organic foods and herbs to get us back on track? Otherwise, you’ll be a dependent drug patient for life. Blurring the lines between foods and drugs is deliberate and will continue to confuse consumers in order to achieve regulation consensus on everything you put in and on your body.
Put organic foods (no processed foods) into your lifestyle and when necessary use the concentrated nutritional support in God’s herbs to super-fortify your system to strengthen, rebuild and regenerate your body. THAT’S what I call a healing – not this disease management therapy, which traps people in a maze of drug dependency. Until you take responsibility for your health and proactively peruse and use the natural sources God gave you, you won’t achieve a real healing. The government is afraid you will use organic foods, herbs and natural therapies which work and cut into the profits of their pharmaceutical friends. Where do you begin? Organ Cleansing Kits and Immune Boosting formulas along with a One-Year Supply of Herbal Medicine is waiting for you at Apothecary Herbs, call for your free product catalog or to order 866-229-3663, International 704-875-8010 or online
http://www.thepowerherbs.com.By popular demand The Power Herbs e-book is available with symptom/herb reference guide, information on organ cleansing and how to make your own herbal tinctures plus a whole lot more. Go to
http://www.thepowerherbs.com and click on The Power Herb book cover on the right side of the home page to order. You must have email to order and receive the e-book download version of The Power Herb book for just $14.99.Order your convenient and compact, dehydrated food in the stand-up pouch for food emergencies or recreational camping. Light weight food pouches have a long shelf life and are easy to store for your rainy day food shortages. We have several meals to choose from in single and double serving sizes to avoid waste. Mix and serve in the stand-up pouch and avoid the need for extra utensils and cleanup. Order a single meal or by the case. The stand-up pouch makes it light weight and saves money on shipping costs. Call Apothecary Herbs 866-229-3663, International 704-875-8010 or order online
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http://www.thepowerherbs.com or call 866-229-3663, 704-875-8010.Apothecary Herbs has the only double strength tincture on the market – Extra Strength Pain Relief. Most companies won’t take the time and expense to make a double tincture, but they enter the system in 60-seconds and work for 12-hours for just $25.95. If you can’t get to an emergency room or medical doctor in time you will want the five powerful
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http://www.thepowerherbs.com.Get prepared and stock up. These ethical businesses are ready to prepare you and your family - call them today!
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www.thepowerherbs.com 866-229-3663 for potent herbal supplements, immune boosting & organ cleansing formulas with a 10-year shelf life every doctor wished you didn’t have.Doctor alleges plans unerway to microchip newborns in US and Europe
http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/agcn/index.phpNEXT JANUARY ISSUES
January 26, 2008 - SATURDAY #7 issue (012308(7)_IF
January 30, 2008 - WEDNESDAY #8 issue (013008(8)_IF
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BY: Pat Buchanan
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/pat_buchanan_chaos_in_the_gop_or_creative_destruction/Huge Diebold Disparities Uncovered In New Hampshire Recount
Memory cards missing as attorney voices concerns about transparency
Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/011808_diebold_disparities.htm*****
http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff200.htm
By Cliff Kincaid
January 20, 2008 NewsWithViews.com
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PART 7
http://www.newswithviews.com/Spingola/deanna83.htmDeanna SpingolaJanuary 20, 2008 NewsWithViews.com
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By Carl Teichrib, Chief Editor
http://www.forcingchange.org/store/1874178/page/1421181 *****The Whole Motley Crew
http://www.texemarrs.com/whole_motley_crew.htm *****By William H. Huff
Flash Forward… It’s January 21, 2009. Your phone rings. Your significant spouse of the opposite sex gets the call and tells you President Ron Paul is on the phone, and he wants to speak with You.
After the pleasant greeting you would expect from the victorious candidate you supported from the moment you knew of his campaign, he drops the bomb: He wants you to perform the duties of X in his new administration. He expects a Major Exodus from Washington and he is looking for qualified people to fill the few positions that will remain; those very few that are authorized by the Constitution.
The transition has begun. Many "non-essential government workers" are already headed for early retirement, rehabilitation, or Club Fed. Illegal aliens are flooding across the border like Lemmings – and in the right direction.
THE PRINCIPLES OF EQUAL JUSTICE GET SUPPORT
By Attorney Michael Shaw
January 21, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
In a case with daunting ramifications, the ninth circuit court of appeals ruled that elected officials, “planning” bureaucracies and their agents no longer enjoy absolute immunity when processing land use applications.
In November the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously applied a 2005 US Supreme Court decision that operates to change how inverse condemnations are evaluated. Inverse condemnations occur when government imposes restrictions or regulations that prohibit the reasonable exercise of private property rights.
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Bush To Abandon Supply-Side Economics?
http://www.vdare.com/roberts/080120_stimulus.htmBy Paul Craig Roberts*****
By F. William Engdahl
www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7813*****1-18-8
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Soldier says military ignores soldiers made gravely ill by tours in Iraq
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/fighting_69th122.htmlBy Mark AndersonSgt. Stanford Mendenhall is a member of the U.S. Army’s famed “Fighting 69th” Battalion who’s marooned at home with a variety of serious illnesses—while struggling to stay alive.
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EXCLUSIVE TO THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER!!!
THE POWER OF YOU is just a click or a phone call away---don’t wait another second! Be the first person you know to own this priceless resource
have An Owner’s Manual For Life!
Personal Responsibility: THE POWER OF YOU!! is the first ever book of its kind and I am proud to present it to you and recommend it without reservation!!
Complied by Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D, famed gold futures trader and market psychiatrist and based on a concept by Pat Gorman, world-reknown monetary specialist and economic spokesperson, this book will change forever the way you think about yourself and everyone around you. Quite simply, this book life-changing!!
This is a unique collection of TRUE real-life stories—wisdom lessons—about the power of personal responsibility to transform your life and everything you believe about yourself. This is a dream come true for every person reading this right now.
accounts by famous people, as well as people who have agreed to step up and share because they want to reach out and touch you with their experience, strength and
hope. Every one of the stories in this book and is about the power of the human spirit to rise up in the face of enormous hardship and into triumphal success.
This life-changing book contains at least one lesson about each of the following topics of personal responsibility:
(2) Health, Wellness and Longevity
(3) Time, Time Traps and Overload
(4) Mission, Life Calling, Destiny
(5) Service and Philanthropy
(6) Relationships and Intimacy
(7) Psychology and Emotions
(8) Spirituality, Religion and Enlightenment
Suffering is optional and happiness is a choice. This stunningly-illustrated and beautifully-written book contains 160 pages of everything you need for a true Owner’s Manual For Your Life!
• Making more money than you ever believed possible
• Living a life of radiant health and freedom from pain and chronic illness
• Extending your life by more than 20 years
• Conquering the crippling emotions of depression, anxiety and fear
• Freeing yourself from time traps, overload and burnout
• Discovering your unique ability that will take you to your destiny & calling in life
• Finding true meaning in life by sharing with others
• Rising above the ocean of mediocrity into true greatness
• Finding true love, intimacy and meaning in relationships
• Learning to turn shame, rejection, abandonment and guilt into true happiness and inner peace
• Being fully alive and present in the moment
• Living a life of true freedom and unconditional self-acceptance
You have within you the power to have everything you ever dreamed of and more! Personal Responsibility: The Power of You will revolutionize your life, your wealth, your body, mind and spirit and take you to levels of greatness that you knew were possible but didn’t know how to achieve them—until NOW!!
The Internet revolution, in its own way as profound a development as was the invention of the printing press during Medieval times, moves our lives faster and faster, offering both benefit and peril, even as most of us feel less able to keep our personal boats upright, let alone on course.
All of this might be more bearable if the average American was financially and physically fit…but no—most of us are up to our necks in debt and carrying around so much body fat—two-thirds of all adults are classified as overweight or obese—that we can hardly reach our wallets, in order to spend more money to impress people we don’t particularly care for, on things we don’t really need and can’t afford, anyway.
Studying all this and talking to our friends, neighbors and the man and woman on the street, we learned that just about everyone feels that someone needs to do something to turn things around.
But when we asked who that person should be, the answer was usually someone (or something) other than the person with whom we were talking. The sorry truth is that all of us, to a greater or lesser extent, have bought into the idea that somebody or something outside ourselves—our congressman, lobbyist, special-interest group, activist judge— collectively known as “The Government,” can and will, somehow, make things right.
As Dr. Seuss said in his children’s books, “Somebody, Somebody, Somebody, Who?”
And what’s just as bad, we often let the culture, our “friends,” and sometimes even family members hold us back, too. Not to mention our own “monkey mind,” which self-talks us into all sorts of dead-end mental boxes. So many boxes, in fact, that the late Harry Browne wrote an entire book about them. (How I Found Freedom in an Un-free World)
Today, the overworked but truthful statement from a well-known cartoon character in Pogo gets it right when he says (bending the English language a bit), “We have met the enemy, and it is us” (ourselves). It’s us, because we have given away to someone else many of the decisions we should be making.
Throughout history, the only way to prosper, grow, have piece of mind, and get a “piece of the action” has been as a participant rather than as an observer. The only real and workable solution is for us to take back these responsibilities—but the tools have not been readily available…until now.
Human nature being what it is, we have a tendency to spend a lot of time carping, moaning and blaming others. But actually, the solution lies within ourselves. If we continue listening to seductive sirens from afar saying, “Trust us. Well take care of you,” we place ourselves on course for the predictable end-result—both literally and figuratively—a collar around our neck and an ID chip under our skin.
In the larger scheme of things, it helps to remember that we’re just here for a short time. If you’ve had enough of following someone else’s agenda, allowing others to limit what you can accomplish, listening to the naysayers, or just being confused by all the conflicting advice out there, then we’d like to invite you aboard. Some of the most successful people are those who have figured out the responsibility piece… The thing is: You, too, can make it happen.
We invite you to join our community as we make the self-improvement journey, developing and weaving together the eight themes encompassed within the theme of personal responsibility.
The plain truth is that we can educate ourselves and work to modify the sources of our discontent—and, as we change our outlook and behavior, fully restore ourselves.
Record-holding Tour de France-winner Lance Armstrong wrote a book titled It’s Not About The Bike. By that he meant that cycling was really just a means to an end, not the end in itself. The training, the money and the fame associated with it, the bike…these were just tools used to fulfill the core needs every individual strives to achieve and hold onto.
It isn’t really about the bike; it’s about our core need —from the day we are born to the day we die—of maintaining our independence, our dignity and our self-respect.
Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old
days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are,
we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
We have put together Personal Responsibility: The Power of You to use as a tool—for both genders, in every age bracket. It can help you, your children, and your other loved ones.
We’ve searched the world for experts who not only teach through sound principles, but who live by them as well. We have written this handbook for all of us…to give back the self-respect and self-reliance that so many of us have allowed to wither away. Start where you are today and get crackin’ so you can surge to the next level…and beyond. Right Here! Right Now!
Grandmother always used to say: “The helping hand is at the end of your own elbow.” Well, she was right. But to really build yourself into the person you’ve always wanted and were meant to be, you need something more.
Regardless of our age, persistent improvement is more likely to happen when we—as fallible human beings —can be “kept in play.” In the quote below, Colin Powell, interviewed by AARP Magazine, speaks about enabling the young to stay on course throughout their stormy passage to adulthood. We like his analogy.
Powell says:
"I was blessed with a family that kept me in play. They wouldn't let me fall by the wayside, even though I would have done so in a heartbeat if I did not have them. I sometimes use the metaphor of the pinball machine.
"You know, you shoot this ball out and out comes this kid, and the kid goes bouncing around the pinball machine, hitting the bumpers and heading into the holes that take you nowhere, and just about the time you're about to slide off into nowhere, the flippers kick you back into play. That's your parents; it's your family, your cousins, your peers, your teachers, your coaches, your ministers, your rabbis. Kids need adults to keep them ‘in play’ while they're figuring out where they want to go."
Personal Responsibility: The Power of You was designed to do just that. Our experts will educate, motivate and guide you along the path as you follow a personal menu formed by and from your own unique perspective. In the process, you will encounter valid principles that have stood the test of time…principles that have worked for others, and that will work for you.
Our core belief is that by accepting personal responsibility, people will exercise self-help to grow and prosper, and in the process, contribute to family, community and nation.
We weave eight themes into a holistic approach to personal growth. They are:
Money and Finances
Health, Wellness and Longevity
Time, Time Traps and Overload
Mission, Life Calling, Destiny
Service and Philanthropy
Relationships and Intimacy
Psychology and Emotions
Spirituality, Religion and Enlightenment
We have an approach that will give you the best chance of success at the very start of your journey. Our approach can be stated several ways, but the idea for it came to us from the 19th century, when an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, noticed that 80% of the nation’s wealth was owned by 20% of the population. He found this to be true in other countries as well. Since then, the concept has been expanded to the point where we find that, in just about any activity, 80% of the benefit is derived from just 20% of the effort.
The critical thing is to identify what that 80% is, and then determine how we can achieve it with a concentrated (20%) effort. The authors of Personal Responsibility: The Power of You are experts at helping you identify the most important facets of a given topic, structure the most efficient response to it and then motivate you to carry it out. We’ll Keep You in Play.
We’ll place things in context for you, explaining the reasons that so much misinformation exists at all levels. We won’t tell you what to do. Rather, the experts who write for us and who’ve experienced success in their own lives, built upon valid principles and behaviors, will offer a “menu” from which you can choose. Take what suits your unique birthright, add them to your bag of tricks, and…get going!
Start by applying that 80/20 rule. Ask yourself, “Which of the eight themes do I need to begin working on now? Which one offers me the potential of moving to the next level in the shortest amount of time?” Turn to that chapter first, and read it through carefully, several times over a few days. Next, ask yourself, “How can I apply what I am learning here in a consistent, focused manner that will enable me to reach my goals?” Develop your plan. Decide you will spend 60 minutes every day to implement your plan. Start where you are now. Then begin moving toward where you want to go.
President Theodore Roosevelt had a simple line that sums up this take-charge behavior: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
We won’t stop. We intend to constantly update this handbook. As we come across more and more information and ways to increase “The Power Of You,” more handbooks will become available. Enjoy the journey—and make sure you share it with others.
Motivational speaker Susan Smith Jones says: “The body reflects the mind, and the mind reflects the spirit.”
A Chinese parable states that the journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.
Shall we begin?
Introduction To Personal Responsibility: The Power Of You!!
Terry was absolutely miserable. Miserable, I tell you!
Day after day, for weeks on end, he complained bitterly to his co-workers that this whole “lunch thing” was just not working.
It seemed like a great idea to have everyone bring a box lunch once a week, then take it outside to the park where they could sit among the trees and flowers. Terry liked being in nature, away from the demands of sitting at his computer screens. He relished the office gossip and small talk, and really just getting outside and feeling free in the middle of a stress-filled day.
Despite all the good aspects of lunch, Terry decided that enough was enough. It was the tuna fish. He just couldn’t deal with the tuna fish sandwich he found in his lunch once a week. The apple and Saltines were great, but they could not overpower the nightmare that was tuna fish.
Terry hated tuna fish in every possible way. He didn’t like how it tasted, looked, smelled or turned his stomach into a raging vat of acid burn for the rest of the afternoon.
After two weeks of listening to “Tuna Fish Terry”— his new office nickname—agonize and complain, his coworkers decided that enough was enough and they had to say something to Terry about it. They mustered their collective courage, and suggested to Terry that he ask his wife to pack some other kind of sandwich for him. It seemed innocent enough, yet they were hesitant about approaching Tuna Fish Terry, since he didn’t talk much about his wife. They wondered if there might be marital problems that Terry was careful not to mention, and they didn’t want to embarrass him.
However, enough was really enough, and his coworkers decided, “What the heck? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. At the very least, we can point out to him that it’s no big deal for him to ask his wife to pack another kind of sandwich. Terry needs relief from this ‘tuna fish turmoil,’ and it seems innocent enough, so why not?”
The next afternoon, as they were all leaving the office to go to the park for lunch, one of the more gentle and tactful coworkers asked quietly, “Terry, if you hate tuna fish so much, why don’t you ask your wife to pack another kind of sandwich for you?”
Terry stopped short in his tracks. He turned to his coworker with a look that can best be described as intense confusion and replied, “What do you mean, ask my wife? I don’t have a wife. I make the tuna fish sandwiches and pack the lunches myself.”
This silly, sad yet true story of Tuna Fish Terry epitomizes, albeit in a somewhat exaggerated fashion, the challenge that each of us faces in the area of taking personal responsibility.
God gave you two ends—one to sit on, and one to think with. Success depends on which one you use. Heads you win. Tails you lose. — Anonymous
Months ago, when Pat Gorman came to me with his idea to compile a book of writings on personal responsibility, I was honored, excited and a little nervous. Despite years of writing, I had never been asked to edit or write a book. The task was both exhilarating and daunting. Little did I know at the outset how many twists and turns would be taken to bring Pat’s brilliant concept to fruition. Little did I know that, in the process of bringing Personal Responsibility: The Power of You to the world, my life and the lives of every person who contributed to the success of this book would be transformed in ways we could never have anticipated. I will explain more about this as we go along.
The concept of personal responsibility is among the most misunderstood and misused in the literature of almost every specialty. Part of the purpose of this book is to bring understanding to this largely unexplored area. It is time to clear the air of the overhang of blame that most people associate with taking personal responsibility. At the slightest hint that a person may have some part in what is happening in his or her life, the immediate response is that they become defensive. “What are you talking about?” they say. “You mean to tell me it’s my fault? Is that what you’re telling me? Well, it’s not my fault. None of this is my fault. He/she/it did this to me. How dare you even suggest that I had any part in this?”
That type of response is the dark side of personal responsibility. It is the side that wants to be punished and hurt, yet will not admit it. It’s like giving someone a knife to cut an apple. Instead of cutting the apple, they cut their finger and then blame it on you (for giving them the knife), the knife (for being in their hand) or the apple, for just being there. This reaction of anger, pride and hubris is what most people resort to when they are faced with looking at their part in any given situation.
You see this everywhere, in all aspects of life. There is no shortage of people, places or things to blame when your life is not working the way you want it to or think it should. It’s always someone else—the media, big pharma, the guy driving the car next to you, your wife, your husband, your children, your luck, the person who gets a raise and you don’t, the guy at the checkout in the grocery store, the stock market, your broker, your pet, some other country, something…anything but you. You have nothing to do with what happens to you (unless it’s really great, in which case you did it all and are sheer genius!).
The idea of taking personal responsibility for everything you think, do, say or experience is just plain frightening. At the same time, it is exhilarating—like hang gliding or parachuting. Integrating the concept of personal responsibility into your life, and making it the driving force of your existence, is the single greatest step you can take to become a truly evolved human being. Taking personal responsibility means putting away the shield of childhood, and growing into an authentic, integrated adult.
When I was a child I spoke as a
child I understood as a child I
thought as a child; but when I
became a man I put away
childish things.
—I Corinthians 13:11
For the first time ever in history, you have in your hands a unique collection of real-life stories—wisdom lessons—about the power of personal responsibility to move and change lives. This is Personal Responsibility: The Power of You. These stories have never, for the most part, been told before. They are inspiring, profound and moving accounts by famous people, as well as people who have agreed to step up and share their story because they want to reach out and touch you with their experience, strength and hope.
This volume contains at least one story about each of the following topics of personal responsibility:
(2) Health, Wellness and Longevity
(3) Time, Time Traps and Overload
(4) Mission, Life Calling, Destiny
(5) Service and Philanthropy
(6) Relationships and Intimacy
(7) Psychology and Emotions
(8) Spirituality, Religion and Enlightenment
In the same way that there is not a one-size-fits-all quick and easy way to get to personal responsibility, there is no one way of writing that fits all. The wisdom pieces in this book are remarkable in their diversity. Some are profoundly intellectual; others are very practical, while others are a bit whimsical and esoteric. My wish is that each of you will find something that resonates with who you are at the core, and stimulates you to ask for more as you progress along your own path to personal responsibility.
Continuing the theme of Mission, Life Calling and Destiny, Roger Koment, Ph.D., describes his amazing journey from the frozen tundra of Midwest academia to a completely transformed life as a global mentor to entrepreneurs.
In the final section, on Religion, Spirituality and Enlightenment, Maria Forleo speaks to the issue of taking total personal responsibility right here and right now. Forleo, who has appeared on national television’s 20/20, The Rachel Ray Show and Martha Stewart Radio, is a Nike-sponsored athlete and Master Trainer. Her insight into the personal power of “This Is It!” reminds us that every moment is the perfect teacher, and we are always in it.
These wisdom writings are a beginning, and it is my wish that you be moved by what you read here to take yourself to the next level of growth and development on the path to taking personal responsibility for every aspect of your life.
Life is a creative process. You are not discovering yourself, but recreating yourself. You create your reality every minute, probably without realizing it. You can have, be, do and manifest whatever you can imagine. How awesome is that? How does it feel to you when you realize how much power you have? Now is the time to stop juggling and start balancing. This is an alchemical transformation of the experience of being human.
Personal responsibility is a mantra, a vibration, a leap of the human spirit and life force into the 21st century and beyond. The essence of personal responsibility is that you are accountable for everything that you believe, think and do. Your life is yours, and your choices are yours. At this very moment, you are putting into action everything that you want and need.
The act of taking personal responsibility for every experience, starting with our unconscious assumptions and unspoken inner dialogue, can return the soul to its seat of power and unhook the ego from its ‘blame frame’ and excuse-making. The act of making oneself accountable for what happens in one’s life is, perhaps, the most critical step in evolving from immature reactivity to mature responsibility. In doing so, one expands beyond the limiting constraints of the ego, into a space of unbounded opportunity and limitless potential.
Right here, right now...it is time to begin. There are 50 trillion single cells in your body. Each day, armed with the magnetic power of personal responsibility, you will be able to renew yourself. You will see and become yourself, living life as a work of art, rather than as a chaotic reaction to external events. Suddenly, you will find that the roadblocks you thought were there have disappeared. You will move forward—eschewing mediocrity and staying “stuck”—into a new freedom and a new happiness. You will be living life in purpose, in wonder of yourself and the world around you. You will never be the same; rather, you will be evolving to higher and higher levels of personal satisfaction, serenity and joy. This is what life is meant to be. Time is all you really have. If not now, then when?
It is not the mountains that we conquer, but ourselves. —Sir Edmund Hillary
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.
Market Psychiatrist
Chief Global Risk Strategist, Ingenieux Wealth Management, Sydney
800-494-4149 or 480-820-5877
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