Will the Federal Reserve Cause a Civil War?

[Angel of Ioren]

Why would NPR, CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS report on something like this? They all worship Obama.

I was just suggesting news sources that are more in the center, hence why I didn't mention Huff Po, Fox News, or MSNBC. Those sources are pretty biased in my opinion. Media is another area where the United States is quite different from it's norther neighbour.

 

[Martina]

Media is another area where the United States is quite different from it's norther neighbour.

And personally I'm quite pleased with the difference.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

And personally I'm quite pleased with the difference.

American news is MUCH more entertaining that Canadian news, that's for sure.

Which news sources in your opinion have the least amount of bias? For example, MSNBC is really liberal, and Fox is really conservative. Huffington Post is ridiculous in my opinion, although they do have some entertaining blogs.

I've always found that CNN seemed to be the most middle of the major news networks.

 

[tyder001]

As opposed to biased liberal sites? I think it's fair to say there's a good deal of bias on both sides, and by the way, the news organizations you mention are the most leftist biased ones there are. I guess if it doesn't agree with your particular bias it's got to be false.

Matter of fact NPR just struck today. They fired Juan Williams simply for telling the truth. So, the lesson is: Tea Party? OMG! The sky is falling. Hey look they are mostly "white" so lets caracature em!
Black Panther blocking folks right to vote? Oh come on! Don't be so hysterical!
Pitiful part of that is (this was documented on "legitimate" news sites) The Justice Department "blocked" investigation of any wrong doing on "people of color" Think that doesn't cause resentment? Sheesh! Why can't we just be people? Black,White,Hispanic,Asian. Lets just all be accountable for our actions and let the law be applied equally!

---------- Post added at 06:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 PM ----------

Matter of fact NPR just struck today. They fired Juan Williams simply for telling the truth. So, the lesson is: Tea Party? OMG! The sky is falling. Hey look they are mostly "white" so lets caracature em!
Black Panther blocking folks right to vote? Oh come on! Don't be so hysterical!
Pitiful part of that is (this was documented on "legitimate" news sites) The Justice Department "blocked" investigation of any wrong doing on "people of color" Think that doesn't cause resentment? Sheesh! Why can't we just be people? Black,White,Hispanic,Asian. Lets just all be accountable for our actions and let the law be applied equally!

The following are all on my idiot watch list:

Right wing: Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity,Oreilly,Coulter. But ya know what? I'll defend their right to be heard.
Left wing: Olberman, Mahr,Frankin,Goldberg and the view gals...But, again, I'll defend their right to be heard.

People turning over in their graves: Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton,Washington. After all they never intended for royalty (carreer politicians) to rule the country.

 

[Martina]

American news is MUCH more entertaining that Canadian news, that's for sure.

Which news sources in your opinion have the least amount of bias?

Well that sounds like I'm being invited into an argument, a conversation I do not care to have.

 

[Angel of Ioren]

The following are all on my idiot watch list: Right wing: Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity,Oreilly,Coulter. But ya know what? I'll defend their right to be heard. Left wing: Olberman, Mahr,Frankin,Goldberg and the view gals...But, again, I'll defend their right to be heard. People turning over in their graves: Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton,Washington. After all they never intended for royalty (carreer politicians) to rule the country.

I agree with some of those, especially Beck and Limbaugh. Although I must say that it was interesting to see Limbaugh put in a guest appearance on the Family Guy.

Although I RARELY agree with him, O'Reilly seems to have become the voice of reason at Fox. Coulter is a horrible horrible person. Sometimes the stuff she says is so nutty that I think she's faking it.

Olbermann tends to go off really easily, but he's much more in tune with my line of reasoning.

---------- Post added at 02:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:17 PM ----------

Well that sounds like I'm being invited into an argument, a conversation I do not care to have.

No no, please don't misunderstand. I am asking an honest question.

 

[pixelsmith]

...Anyone see a possible revolt?

I hope so. The 2nd Amendment was not written in reference to hunting.

 

[NTS]

I always get a kick out of the "Obama the socialist" thing. He's more conservative than Nixon, and 40 years ago would have been at home in the Republican Party. It's only since right-wingers who back then were thought of as crazy (they still are) have now taken over the Republicans that Obama looks like a leftist. Many old-style Republicans have become Democrats also, but that doesn't mean they're left wing. Truly left-wing ideas including socialism hardly get discussed in the U.S. at all, much less implemented. They should be but they aren't.

The whole 401K thing appears to have gotten started back in 2008 (prior to Obama's election) as yet another right-wing scare tactic. Apparently somebody testified to Congress about ideas that were being tried in other countries, including having government-backed retirement accounts rather than privately-administered stock market ones. Various right-wing outfits grabbed this up as proof that the Democrats were going to confiscate our retirement money.

 

[paraschtick]

With protesters in France entering a seventh day of strikes and demonstrations against draconian austerity measures, many political observers in the U.S. are now wondering how long it will be before similar scenes unfold on American streets, with even Time Magazine now conceding that the prospect of a civil war in the States “doesn’t seem that far fetched”.

Nope. Fearmongering by the sound of it. Most people in the US have no clue who owns the Federal Reserve, and those who do are either unable to change things or don't really care unfortunately. The protests in France may be something utterly different to what we think they are, anyway, and may be down to a bunch of agent provocateur. Or not ... things are not necessarily what they seem.

Anyway, the people in France protest about things in more extreme ways than ... well any other country I can think about really. There were protests in France years ago about British lamb, I think it was, entering the country. Some French guys who were a bit upset by this set alight a truck full of sheep.

In this case we're really comparing chalk and cheese, anyway. And I think that the French protests will die down soon anyway because people will either get tired or bored, or the government will make some sort of concession that will mollify those who are "angry".

Unless the people in the US truly open their eyes to whats going on around them ie Israel and its friends, allies, and blackmailed Senators etc ... milking it for all its worth, and sending the US's young men and women off to die in wars for it ... nothing is going to change unfortunately. I wish there was a revolution or something in the US. But I really can't see it coming unless something really truly shocking happens to the economy. Until then people just won't really give a damn and go back to watching the ball games and drinking beer. Sad state of affairs really ...

 

[ArchieBedford]

No problem. Whoever programmed that site has created it to be misleading since it looks like it's a link to Time. It also isn't really an article, but a commentary. It's like taking something that Glenn Beck says as fact.

Those prisonplanet assholes have been pulling stunts like that for more than 15 years, since the old days of dial-up modems. Don't worry, plenty of people still get fooled and believe the fraudulent crap they manufacture is for real.

BTW the French trade unions and students are protesting about a government bill going through Parliament to raise the normal retirement age to 62, which has to be done as the state pension fund is basically bankrupt. In the UK it's just been announced that the retirement age needs to increase to 66 by 2020. No-one is protesting much, much less bringing the country to a standstill. The political left in France is incomparably more powerful and vocal than in any other European country, and France has been identified with mass strikes and political protest for years over issues most other Europeans don't get excited about.

 

[NTS]

I don't know about most Europeans, but we in the U.S. could use some of that French spirit. Flat wages for the last 30+ years, and now thanks to the Bush Depression unemployment in real terms (the way they measured it in the 1930s) at 22%. No left to speak of at all (no, "Hoover" Obama isn't a socialist, he's a 1970s Republican).

 

[paraschtick]

BTW the French trade unions and students are protesting about a government bill going through Parliament to raise the normal retirement age to 62, which has to be done as the state pension fund is basically bankrupt. In the UK it's just been announced that the retirement age needs to increase to 66 by 2020. No-one is protesting much, much less bringing the country to a standstill. The political left in France is incomparably more powerful and vocal than in any other European country, and France has been identified with mass strikes and political protest for years over issues most other Europeans don't get excited about.

I think the riots are partly down to agent provocateur nonsense ... and basically because the French are a lazy lot . Oh my god the retirement age is going to go up ... slightly. Get over it. Fight real issues. Its just a distraction like illegal immigration is in the US. Someone is using it to stir up trouble. But I think it'll die down soon. People get tired so easily nowadays ...

 

[ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM]

Hm how about in Britain 1970s, 80s they were pretty bad and in Poland, Greece 2010, Spain 2010 etc. Sometimes there is a need for peaceful demonstration (women able to vote , against racism etc) and some times emotional strikes remember they did get millions of people holiday pay, sick leave, health death& disability insurance, leave loading superannuation/pension fund ? That came about by people standing up for principles of equality and democracy in the workplace in 1918s-1970s ! However, if you like to revert back to 17-18th Century industrial revolution? Also remember many academic institutions and its teaching staff (strong unions) are payed those conditions in some nations which are supported by there governments grants, business, income and G.S.T & V.A.T taxes etc. However, changing the retiring age from 62 to 66 means France joins many other nations welcome to the club and some are even thinking around 70. We need to work together in crisis not fight against so class wars and seek out the crooks in the bank vault.

Peaceful living ,
BF

 

[pixelsmith]

If anyone thinks there is a difference between republicans or democrats being in office you are sadly mistaken. They both are controlled by the federal reserve and its global tentacles. End the Fed and all associated global banks and we can solve a lot of worldwide problems.

 

[Martina]

If anyone thinks there is a difference between republicans or democrats being in office you are sadly mistaken. They both are controlled by the federal reserve and its global tentacles. End the Fed and all associated global banks and we can solve a lot of worldwide problems.

To what extent they are controlled by the Fed I cannot say, but I'm quite sure it is to a significant degree, and I fully agree with you that the Fed should be ended. Why on earth should a government empowered by it's Constitution to coin our money and establish it's value borrow money at interest to run on from a private bank, which now has the power to manipulate our economy as it pleases for it's own ends?

 

[ArchieBedford]

I think it's helpful to remember that all the world's economies run on fiat currency, that is, money not backed up by anything at all, save the full faith and credit of the governments, which is increasingly losing credibility worldwide. Historically fiat currency has always been a loser, and subject to nefarious manipulation, particularly where a private central bank is able to get control of the money supply, as it has here in the US.

Martina

Realistically, there is no alternative in the C21 to FIAT currencies. It all comes down to defining what "money" really is. There will be no return to the mediaeval idea of money backed by metal dug out of the ground (i.e. the gold standard or similar). Those days are - mercifully - gone forever.

 

[Martina]

Martina

Realistically, there is no alternative in the C21 to FIAT currencies. It all comes down to defining what "money" really is. There will be no return to the mediaeval idea of money backed by metal dug out of the ground (i.e. the gold standard or similar). Those days are - mercifully - gone forever.

Well you are probably right about metal dug out of the ground, but I think we may be creative with backing up our currency in other ways, perhaps backing it up with the consolidated value of other goods and commodities. I don't know, but there really does seem to be a screaming need for sound currency, and there has to be a way to achieve that, else we will be eternally subject to the kind of global economic upheavals we are currently experiencing.

What would you suggest?

 

[ArchieBedford]

Well you are probably right about metal dug out of the ground, but I think we may be creative with backing up our currency in other ways, perhaps backing it up with the consolidated value of other goods and commodities. I don't know, but there really does seem to be a screaming need for sound currency, and there has to be a way to achieve that, else we will be eternally subject to the kind of global economic upheavals we are currently experiencing. What would you suggest?

I'm not an economist, and don't propose to suggest anything new or radical. Currencies need to be backed by assets, for sure, and in the modern world mostly they are - at least the sound ones are.

My understanding of the crisis of the past couple of years, at source, was that we saw an old-fashioned bubble caused by artificial property-value inflation pushed along by collective human greed, aided and abetted by loose lending practices assuming that in a time of increasing wealth and population growth, the value of property would always rise with virtually no theoretical upper limit. Surprise surprise, it turned out to be not so. This has happened innumerable times throughout history, for centuries. It's always "different this time" - yet in reality, it's always the same.

Blaming the existence of the Federal Reserve as the root of all evil is somewhat naive and simplistic, the stuff of conspiracy theorists, who at core are always naive, ignorant simpletons (this is a general observation only and in no way personal to anyone who might be reading these forums). There are other factors involved.

FIAT money just means the respective government accepts this currency as payment for debts and taxes, so it's as good as any kind of money in practice, and better than most. It's not in any government's interest to devalue the currency in which taxes are owed, for obvious reasons.

 

[Martina]

FIAT money just means the respective government accepts this currency as payment for debts and taxes, so it's as good as any kind of money in practice, and better than most. It's not in any government's interest to devalue the currency in which taxes are owed, for obvious reasons.

I've heard it said that our currency is being devalued so that we can pay off our foreign debt cheaper. You opinion?

 

[Xylo]

This idea of "civil war" is nothing new. Nor is the "you're either with us, or you're against us" idea.

What is a novel idea is critical thinking and democratic debate.

[video]http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/michael_sandel_the_lost_art_of_democratic_debate.h tml[/video]