home / subscribe / donate / books / archives / search / links / feedback / events / faq
The New Print Edition of CounterPunch, Only for Our Newsletter Subscribers!
The Great Bailout Swindle
The brilliant economist Michael Hudson lays out the stupidity of Paulson’s bailout plan and the lead role in Congress of Democrats in the bankers’ plot. What happened? What should be done? Read Hudson. PLUS the complete text of Alexander Cockburn and Fred Gardner’s probe of the McCain health dossier. Find the answers in CounterPunch newsletter. Get your copy today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! CounterPunch books and gear make great presents.
|
Today's Stories October 10 / 12, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Patrick Cockburn October 9, 2008 Robert Bryce David Vest Winslow T. Wheeler Andy Worthington Anthony DiMaggio Helga Serrano / Dave Lindorff Mats Svensson Rannie Amiri Website of the Day October 8, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Linn Washington, Jr. Mike Whitney Deepak Tripathi George C. Wilson Andy Worthington Charles R. Larson Patrick Irelan Matthew Koehler Stanley Heller Daniel Gross Kimberly Hartke Website of the Day October 7, 2008 Patrick Cockburn Gary Leupp Uri Avnery P. Sainath Peter Morici Conn Hallinan Martha Rosenberg Binoy Kampmark October 6, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Mike Whitney Tariq Ali Emily Horowitz Michael Hudson Ron Jacobs October 3 - 5, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Paul Craig Roberts Saul Landau Jonathan Cook Andy Worthington Dave Marsh Sasan Fayazmanesh John Ross Brian Cloughley Wajahat Ali Robert Schwartz Alan Nasser David Ker Thomson Peter Morici William Blum William S. Lind Michael Donnelly Thom Rutledge Manuel Garcia, Jr. Dave Lindorff Cindy Ellen Hill Paul Krassner Daniel White Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 2, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Joe Bageant Ralph Nader Mike Whitney Madis Senner Winslow T. Wheeler William Blum P. Sainath Website of the Day October 1 , 2008 Glen Ford Steven Conn Alan Maass / Lee Sustar Kenneth Couesbouc Stan Goff Adolfo Gilly Rannie Amiri Ismael Hossein-Zadeh Adam W. Parsons Dave Lindorff Douglas Valentine Adrien Rain Burke Website of the Day
September 30, 2008 Pam Martens Chris Floyd Stephen Martin Deepak Tripathi Mark Engler Jonathan Cook Dave Lindorff Manuel Garcia, Jr. Ahmad Faruqui John Chuckman David Macaray Fatemeh Keshavarz Website of the Day September 29, 2008 Mike Whitney Jeff Gibbs Paul Craig Roberts Peter Morici Tim Wise John Walsh Uri Avnery Alan Farago Andy Worthington David Michael Green Carl Finamore Iris Keltz Bill Hatch Website of the Day September 27 / 28, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Linn Washington, Jr. Christopher Ketcham Mike Whitney Kevin Alexander Gray Race in the Race: Is Obama Shining Us On? Anthony DiMaggio Mary Lynn Cramer Marc Levy / Stan Cox Saul Landau Ali Khan David Rosen Todd Alan Price Matts Svensson Ron Jacobs Robert Fantina Richard Rhames David Krieger Seth Sandronsky Charles R. Larson Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement Website of the Day September 26, 2008 Moshe Adler Bill Quigley Jonathan Cook Manuel Garcia, Jr. Madis Senner Brian Cloughley Niranjan Ramakrishnan Joanne Mariner Dan La Botz David Macaray Website of the Day September 25, 2008 Michael Hudson Sharon Smith Ralph Nader Christopher Ketcham Eric Toussaint Robert Weissman David Estabrook Nikolas Kozloff Steve Early Judith Scherr Laray Polk Website of the Day September 24, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Nikolas Kozloff Robert Weissman Andy Worthington Steve Conn Karyn Strickler Diane Farsetta Dennis Loo John Halle Khalil Nakhleh Website of the Day September 23, 2008 Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Michael Hudson Tariq Ali Patrick Dyer Franklin Lamb Joshua Frank Alan Farago Dave Lindorff Tanya M. Kerssen / Harvey Wasserman Website of the Day September 22, 2008 Michael Hudson Mike Whitney Christopher Ketcham Ron Jacobs Anne-Marie McManus Robert Weitzel Wajahat Ali John Ross Steve Breyman Patrick Bond Uri Avnery Carl J. Mayer Website of the Day September 20 / 21, 2008 Alexander Cockburn Michael Hudson Pam Martens Lila Rajiva Mike Whitney Richard Rhames Bill Moyers / Bill and Kathleen Christison Susan Block Robert Fantina Heidi Walters David Yearsley Raymond J. Lawrence David Rosen David Michael Green Anthony Papa Niranjan Ramakrishnan Howard Lisnoff John Goekler Missy Beattie Dave Zirin Charles R. Larson Tim Matson Susie Day Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend September 19, 2008 Steven T. Banko Mike Whitney Michael Hudson William Kaufman Brenda Norrell Keeanga-Yamatta Taylor Clifton Ross Dave Lindorff Cynthia McKinney Susan Hurlich Michael Donnelly Website of the Day September 18, 2008 Benjamin Dangl Harvey Wasserman Susan Abulhawa Robert Weissman Anne-Marie McManus Corey D. B. Walker William S. Lind Ron Jacobs Dave Lindorff Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day September 17, 2008 Stephen Conn Forrest Hylton Patrick Cockburn Gregory Elich Ralph Nader Franklin Lamb Pam Martens Dave Lindorff Peter Morici Stanley Heller Douglas Valentine Website of the Day September 16, 2008 Paul Craig Roberts Tiphaine Dickson Stan Goff Uri Avnery Michael Winship Jeff Halper Patrick Irelan Oscar Gonzalez Binoy Kampmark Fatemeh Keshavarz Sen. Russ Feingold Website of the Day September 15, 2008 Mike Whitney Peter Morici Patrick Cockburn Charles R. Larson Jonathan Cook Nikolas Kozloff Roger Burbach Helen Redmond David Michael Green David Macaray Ralph Nader Website of the Day
|
Weekend Edition Full-Spectrum Global Financial DominationShock and Awe in Economic WarfareBy STEPHEN MARTIN
In the Economic War currently being waged, the first phase of the telling of such tale of attack, illustrated vividly by image, and with the objective of further building war chest, is over. We have seen the collapse of Lehman Brothers as sacrificial wolf, heard further sabres being rattled in form of AIG, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and bailout, or rescue gone through on the basis of fear and plunging markets. The public coffers have been prised opened further as to plan. Now the second phase of Economic Blitzkrieg is to begin, and the bad news is that as in total war, the citizen is no more than mere fodder to bomb. The firebombing of Dresden still stands as the worst atrocity of such total war. In Economic War, collateral damage; whether through default on mortgage, wipe out of pension or life savings, loss of livelihood, homelessness - all just battlefield casualty. This is one big, bold, beast of a high risk strategy towards full spectrum Global Financial dominance no less, and as must have been years in the planning. Even as strategies of war such as scorched earth and the surprise of Blitzkrieg go, it has callousness almost unimaginable in the misery and sufferance it is willing to inflict, including on it’s own people, given that it’s origins are in America - although it has to be pointed out that the true free marketer as Economic warrior, financial terrorist and beast is without country; loyal only to the maximisation of profit as expression of greed and quench of power lust – and as heartless a whore as can be found in the deepest of tragedy. Economic Warfare Shock and Awe works like this: First of all you create a shocking financial poison. Then you create the environment necessary for that poison to circulate in the enemy economy, ideally in a situation where they do not know they’ve even swallowed it in quantity– until it is too late. Iceland for example. Many other Economies are also on the brink of being such ‘suckers going down’. Iceland just the first - but hey, every little economy helps when the target is Global Financial Domination. Let’s examine the brewing of this financial poison, before we turn attention towards the antidote. Just like watching in horror the Stukas dive bombing to terrifying wailing of siren – before the storm troopers are sent in to establish control as achievement of objective in Blitzkrieg manoeuvre. The strategy: first create and administer the shocking financial poison -and then have antidote conveniently to hand, offered with strings attached. It has to be said that he scale of this particular poisoning makes the Borgias look like little more than mere dilettantes. Trouble with the Borgias was no ambition. The shocking financial poison. Stand back in awe. Known by many names, but let’s stick with the most popular. The collateralised debt obligation, or CDO. In order to produce such poison, you require a pump. A special pump fuelled by greed – commission mainly, but also in form of release of equity - by the greed or need of the dupe – and there are lots of dupes out there, as I can personally testify, alas. So what you do is you use this pump on the market, after priming, and inflate the value of as much Collateral as you can (that’s the Real Estate, or the homes citizens have need to live within) and then stand back and watch as greed leads to the inevitable cycle of events. At each little stage in the cycle, more commission is taken out, more bonuses taken until what you have left, the distillate as it were, is a highly toxic pile of worthless paper on some poor sucker’s balance sheet as a dump, where it masquerades as current ‘asset’, liberating noxious fumes. Has something died in the cellar? Get enough of this toxic crap circulating and dumped, and you can bring down whole economies. There are other financial poisons in the market, including the original ‘fiat currency’, but as these are of lesser toxicity, more gradual in action, also with different antidote, equally shocking in the administration. Not go into detail, other than to mention that the fiat currency, for example, can be useful in the accumulation of tangible assets - but money from the public coffers was still required in this instance. Remember, this is Global in aspiration. Phase 2 of the implementation of Shock and Awe Economic warfare in the Master Plan involves the ‘assisted revival’ of the poisoned economies. The vehicle for delivery of the antidote, not the real villain, mind you, merely the accomplice, is the ‘International Monetary Fund’ stepping forth with bold new initiative. It’s springboard: the Economic War Chest, coffers overflowing. The objective being a controlling piece of the action, effectively control over banking and finance in the ‘assisted’ economies. No such thing as a free lunch, remember., especially when the IMF are involved – just ask any Chilean or indeed, Brazilian. Who needs guns and bullets, when you have these financial storm troopers in the arsenal and such a huge war chest? The term ‘high risk’ was given earlier. In the shakedown stage; Phase 1 and even considerably well into Phase 2, victim economies undoubtedly suffer. Contraction in productivity, mass unemployment, paralysis of financial institutions, a lot of big manufacturing companies may even go down. They can be rebuilt, suitably re- financed. The secret, and indeed the risk, of this Master Plan is the acceptance of the assisting financial package as antidote, by those still in shock and awe. This requires a global channel to prevail, which will have allowed the free flow both of poison and of antidote. Should the channel be shut down, then plan b has to be adopted as back up. This is a regrouping and consolidation in base economy, using economic war chest to further control - in rebuilding the American Economy, taking advantage of shock and awe as undoubtedly present therein. Money can be loosened up again - from that war chest. America can be rebuilt, to slightly different image, and with more singular focus. Back up plan c, in the highly unlikely event that citizens get wise to what is going on, and start bleating about the constitution and Democracy, doesn’t bear thinking about, especially if the global channel is shut down. Suffice it to say, Posse Comitatus as distant a memory as free press. But hey, you’ve got to speculate to accumulate, right? And when it comes to detailed speculation and exacting accumulation on such a scale, who else has the experience - and now the ‘reserves’ necessary? Thus proposed the Master Plan of Shock and Awe in Economic Warfare, as currently in implementation, in progress of moving towards Phase 2. Full Spectrum Global Financial Domination, here we go. Don’t worry all you poisoned economies out there. The antidote is on the way. Maybe the hundreds of Economists not even consulted over the largest bailout in history have an answer. In any event, God help us. Stephen Martin can be reached at: stephenmarti@yahoo.com
|
Now Available from CounterPunch Books! The Inside Story of the Shannon Five's Smashing Victory Over the
RED STATE REBELS: Edited by ![]() Buy End Times Now! CounterPunch Books of the Crossroads: HOW THE IRISH INVENTED SLANG By Daniel Cassidy AMERICAN BOOK AWARD! ![]() Click Here to Buy! Click Here for Dates & Venues Michael Neumann's Devastating Rebuttal of Alan Dershowitz ![]() Click Here to Buy! Saul Landau's Bush and Botox World with a Foreword by Gore Vidal ![]() Click Here to Order! How They Made a Killing on the War on Terrorism ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
![]() Humanitarian Imperialism By Jean Bricmont ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() CITY BEAUTIFUL By Tennessee Reed ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |