The One-Hour Meltdown...credit to FLARPH for the article

The One-Hour Meltdown Copyright © July 22, 2009 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E. Introduction The following is just my opinion. It is nothing more than my opinion. I have nothing to substantiate or prove any aspect of my opinion. My opinion is simply the logical conclusion of a law-abiding sixty-year old Christian grandfather who has both an engineering degree and an M.B.A. degree and who has seen both good times and hard times during his life. The Current Situation: At the present time every nation in the entire world is facing serious financial and social stress. If only a few nations were involved then it might be possible to contain the upcoming meltdown to a few specific geographical areas. This has been successfully done in the past. However, since the entire world is currently on the edge of the cliff, when the meltdown begins it will impact almost everyone on the face of the earth. Unless God chooses to intervene, the meltdown is no longer avoidable. Our governments and our financial institutions are no longer in control. However, to keep the system working just a little longer they must maintain the illusion that they have the system under control. But the system is broken and it can't be fixed. There are two reasons why the system can't be fixed: 1. It has grown beyond its own capacity to support itself. 2. It has become so complex that no one can do anything significant to fix it because it is hemorrhaging in too many different places. The average person in every nation on the face of the earth knows the meltdown is coming. The wealthy people know it. The poor people know it. Nobody wants it to happen. But almost everyone is just patiently waiting for it to begin and at the same time hoping that it doesn't begin too soon. Nobody knows when the meltdown will actually start. It may begin one-month from now. Or a year from now. Or three-years from now. But almost everyone knows that at some future date the meltdown will occur. This widespread knowledge of the impending disaster is the reason that when the disaster begins it will quickly and completely spiral out-of-control in one-hour or less. In my opinion, most people do not seriously believe it could happen this quickly. Most people expect a more gradual meltdown. They may be right because nobody can predict the future, and that includes myself. The One-Hour Meltdown However, my personal opinion is that once the meltdown begins then in less than one-hour it will quickly escalate far beyond anyone's ability to control or manage it on a worldwide basis. The five basic assumptions that cause me to believe in my "one-hour meltdown theory" are as follows: 1. Banks: The financial institutions around the world cannot withstand a full-scale worldwide bank run. Therefore, they have already made plans to immediately shut down the instant they are told to do so. Within minutes, all across the globe, all the ATM machines will be offline, all credit card and debit card verification transactions will be halted, and all banks will have their vaults locked and their doors locked and their building emptied of all personnel, except perhaps for some special security guards. All high-level bank executives will immediately disappear to a wide variety of remote safe unknown locations. All telephone call inquiries to any of the financial institutions will be automatically answered by a computer with a pre-recorded message similar to the following: "Our system is currently experiencing an extremely high call volume and therefore we are unable to answer your call at this time. Please try again later when our call volume returns to normal." 2. Governments: The vast majority of our government leaders all over the world are relatively intelligent individuals. They completely understand the ramifications of a "bank holiday" in our computer controlled financial economy. Therefore, all government offices will also be immediately shut down, and they will empty their buildings and lock their doors. Any transaction in progress, including any trials in progress, will be immediately halted and postponed until some future date. All high-level government officials, including all judges and tax officials, will immediately disappear to a wide variety of remote safe unknown locations. 3. Retail Businesses: Since they will be unable to process even simple transactions, all retail establishments, both large and small, will immediately lock their doors to prevent anyone else from entering. If possible, they will complete any transactions for customers already inside their building if those customers have enough cash to pay for their purchases. Any customers wishing to pay by check or credit card or debit card will be told that the verification system is down and their transaction can't be completed. All customers will then be immediately escorted to the doors and the doors will be briefly opened and then immediately locked after they exit. In addition, in a manner similar to what happened during the World Trade Center meltdown, each store's management may demand that their employees remain at their stations until further notice or they will lose their jobs for leaving without management's permission. But most of the more intelligent employees will leave at the same time as the store's last few remaining customers. The store's special security guards may or may not remain behind in order to protect the store with their lives. Since most of these special security guards are not paid exceptionally well, a large number of them may decide that they should return home and protect their own families instead. 4. Criminals: Anyone and everyone who has any criminal tendencies and who has been patiently waiting for this to happen will immediately see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve their financial situation. More than likely the vast majority of these criminals have already made very detailed plans that includes exactly which businesses they are going to rob first, second, third, and so on. Any business with a reasonable level of cash-on-hand will be very high on every criminal's list. Every jewelry store and pawn shop that has any type of silver or gold jewelry, or precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc.), will be very high on everyone's list. The warfare that breaks out at these establishments between competing criminals will not be pleasant. 5. Normal People: Normal average people will begin looting. Grocery stores will be broken into and they will be completely emptied from wall-to-wall, including the rear storage area, in less than one-hour. Stores that have firearms, ammunition, appliances, clothing, shoes, or anything else needed by the average citizen will be emptied in less than one-hour. In skirmishes over the few remaining resources, normal average people will begin killing one another inside the stores, and in the parking lots outside the stores, and on the streets as these fully loaded vehicles try to escape with their loot. The above events will all happen simultaneously during the first one-hour of the meltdown. After that first hour has passed, things will really begin to get nasty. Everyone will quickly realize there are not are not enough law enforcement personnel to protect everyone and everything. Although the military will probably be ordered to protect specific high priority establishments and resources, there will simply not be enough military personnel to protect individual civilians or businesses. Events After the One-Hour Meltdown Almost everyone who has lost their jobs, their vehicles, their homes, and their life savings will now have nothing more to lose by seeking some form of retribution against the society that took everything away from them that they once "partially" owned. Anyone who has received a minor speeding ticket in the recent past and who honestly could not afford the fine will be in a very unpleasant mood. Everyone who has had their property taxes increased at the same time their income decreased will not be in a good mood. Everyone who has had their credit card interest rate increased at the same time their employer was reducing the number of hours they worked each week will not be in a good mood. Everyone who has been reduced from a two-family income down to a one-family income will not be in a good mood. Everyone who lost their job because their employer went bankrupt will not be in a good mood. The vast majority of these individuals will have been just barely surviving in a situation where they were living hand-to-mouth on government welfare or the charity of the local community (unemployment checks, welfare checks, food stamps, food pantries, etc.). The instant they realize there will be no more government welfare or charity, then these individuals will have no hope for survival unless they are able to immediately acquire the food and other resources they need before it is all gone. Anyone who tries to stand in their way, or who tries to reason with them, will have a life expectancy of less than three-seconds. After the stores are all emptied, and there is nothing ...

CASH FOR CODGERS

Legislators, realizing the success of the President’s "Cash For Clunkers" rebate program, have revamped a major portion of their National Health Care Plan. President Obama, speaker Pelosi, and Sen. Reed are expected to make this major announcement at a joint news conference later this week. I have obtained an advanced copy of the proposal which is named… "CASH FOR CODGERS" and it works like this… Couples wishing to access health care funds in order to pay for the delivery of a child will be required to turn in one old person. The amount the government grants them will be fixed according to a sliding scale. Older and more prescription dependent codgers will garner the highest amounts. Special "Bonuses" will be paid for those submitting codgers in targeted groups, such as smokers, alcohol drinkers, gold bugs, dollar shorts, persons 10 pounds over their government prescribed weight, and any member of the Republican Party. Smaller bonuses will be given for codgers who consume beef, soda, fried foods, potato chips, lattes, whole milk, dairy products, bacon, Brussel sprouts, or Girl Scout Cookies. All codgers will be rendered totally useless via toxic injection. This will insure that they are not secretly resold or their body parts harvested to keep other codgers in repair.

RON PAUL ON HEALTHCARE DEBATE

LewRockwell.com Healthcare Plan Based on Economic Fantasy by Ron Paul As the healthcare debate rages on, there is one reality that even the proponents of this hostile takeover of healthcare by government cannot ignore – and that is money. The government simply does not have the money for a new, expansive, public healthcare plan. The country is in a deep recession that will deepen even further with the coming collapse of the commercial real estate market. The last thing we need is for government to increase and expand taxes to pay for another damaging, wasteful program. Foreigners are becoming less enthusiastic about buying our debt, and creating another open-ended welfare program when we cannot pay for what is already in place, will not help. Champions of socialized medicine want to tax the rich, tax businesses that already cannot afford to provide health plans to employees, and tax people who don’t want to participate in the government’s scheme by buying an approved healthcare plan. Presumably, all these taxes are to induce compliance. This is not freedom, nor will it improve healthcare. There are limits to how much government can tax before it kills the host. Even worse, when government attempts to subsidize prices, it has the net effect of inflating them instead. The economic reality is that you cannot distort natural market pressures without unintended consequences. Market forces would drive prices down. Government meddling negates these pressures, adds regulatory compliance costs and layers of bureaucracy, and in the end, drives prices up. The non-partisan CBO estimates that the healthcare plan will cost almost a trillion dollars over the next ten years. But government crystal balls always massively underestimate costs. It is not hard to imagine the final cost being two or three times the estimates, even though the estimates are bad enough. It is still surreal that in a free country we are talking only about HOW government should fix healthcare, rather than WHY government should fix healthcare. This should be between doctors and patients. But this has been the discussion since the 60’s and the inception of Medicare and Medicaid, when government first began intervening to keep costs down and make sure everyone had access. The result of Medicaid/Medicare price controls and regulatory burden has been to drive more doctors out of the system – making it more difficult for the poor and the elderly to receive quality care! Seemingly, there are no failed government programs, only underfunded ones. If we refuse to acknowledge common sense economics, the prescription will always be the same: more government. Make no mistake, government control and micromanagement of healthcare will hurt, not help healthcare in this country. However, if for a moment, we allowed the assumption that it really would accomplish all they claim, paying for it would still plunge the country into poverty. This solves nothing. The government, like any household struggling with bills to pay, should prioritize its budget. If the administration is serious about supporting healthcare without contributing to our skyrocketing deficits, they should fulfill promises to reduce our overseas commitments and use some of those savings to take care of Americans at home instead of killing foreigners abroad. The leadership in Washington persists in a fantasy world of unlimited money to spend on unlimited programs and wars to garner unlimited control. But there is a fast-approaching limit to our ability to borrow, steal, and print. Acknowledging this reality is not mean-spirited or cruel. On the contrary, it could be the only thing that saves us from complete and total economic meltdown. Find this article at: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/riggenbach3-1.html Copyright 2009 LewRockwell.com

Mike Whitney

Bulletins From Clunkerville By Mike Whitney Toxic assets, falling home prices, widespread malaise in the credit markets are just part of the problem. The deeper issue is the dismal condition of the US consumer who has seen his home equity dissipate, his retirement funds sawed in half,his access to credit curtailed, and his job put at risk. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article23272.htm

THINK IT'S NOT A POLICE STATE?

http://www.azfamily.com/video/index.html?nvid=388316 And they charged him with 'disorderly conduct'. Who's conduct was the most disorderly?

PROSECUTE THEM ALL

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Eric Holder’s Cover-Up by Jacob G. Hornberger http://www.fff.org/blog/index.asp Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a special prosecutor to investigate whether crimes relating to torture were committed by federal personnel during the Bush administration. There’s one big problem, however, with what Holder is proposing: His mandate to the special prosecutor would limit the investigation to underlings who committed acts outside the parameters set forth in the so-called torture memos and prohibit any investigation and prosecution of the higher-ups who designed the overall scheme or participated in its implementation. It also would prohibit prosecution of people who broke the law by committing acts that fell within the authorized parameters. In principle, Holder’s plan would be no different from the many investigations into the torture at Abu Ghraib conducted by the Army, in that it would have the effect of making it look like the U.S. government stands against torture by going after underlings while, at the same time, protecting the higher-ups who are ultimately responsible for what their underlings have done. What if conduct within the authorized parameters violated the law? Under Holder’s plan, that will not be investigated and will just have to be excused. The notion is that the underlings who committed those acts were just following orders. What about the president, vice president, and other higher ups who designed and implemented the interrogation program? Undoubtedly, Holder would say that they should be immune from investigation and prosecution because they were just complying with the legal opinions of the lawyers in the Justice Department. What about the attorneys themselves who issued the torture memos? Are they subject to criminal prosecution? Holder would say no, under the assumption they were just innocently issuing good-faith legal opinions in response to a request from the president. How can we prosecute lawyers for doing nothing more than issuing flawed legal opinions? What a crock, and Holder knows it, because there is another distinct possibility that deserves investigation and, if confirmed, criminal prosecution: a conspiracy to violate laws on torture, one in which the torture-memo attorneys were actively involved by conspiring to issue bogus legal opinions to provide cover for the president and the vice president and other higher-ups who were designing and implementing the torture program. For those who think that lawyers would never conspire to violate the law, don’t forget the occupation of the main co-conspirators in the Watergate conspiracy: lawyers. Richard Nixon, John Mitchell, John Dean, and John Erlichman. Did such a conspiracy exist? Were the torture memo attorneys truly issuing good-faith legal opinions or were they knowingly issuing false legal opinions for the purpose of providing requested cover for the White House? We don’t know the answers to those questions. That’s what a special prosecutor should be free to ferret out in a full investigation. By limiting the scope of the inquiry to underlings who went outside the authorized parameters, Eric Holder is ensuring that the American people never find out. Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. FFF.ORG

GT COMMENTS

In recent days the economic situation has finally triggered the populace to voice its anger, at one of the few venues (townhall meetings) afforded to them for such purpose, over what our 'leaders' have done to us all. The sad part is that those who are blessed to have access to our TV media don't have a clue why the people are mad and becoming violent. Chris Matthews, yesterday, interviewed the fellow who carried a legally licensed, loaded side arm (legal in his state) outside O'bomba's town meeting. He grilled the man in such a rude and authoritarian manner, with the implication that the man was a nut, that I would have thought Chris was our 'National Prosecutor' of all things unAmerican. The man held his ground, despite the unfamiliar territory before the lights and cameras, and was informed enough to counter all Matthew's prosecutorial thrusts, with his limp sword of indignation, at a citizen who dared to own his Constitutional, legal right to have, carry, and use a weapon as well as voice his complaint of how our country is being pushed into the ditch by people who have the real weapons that they use to keep the population in line, seat belted up, driving the correct speed and eating the right foods and disciplining their children properly. None of our TV commentators realizes that the problem is that the MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE is being destroyed, which destroys the populace's ability to conduct TRANSACTIONS among themselves, which is what our commerce really is, the accumulation of all our transactions. When you destroy the medium of exchange (the blood system of an economy) you kill the economy (patient) and drive the system into anarchy. Those in power only care about retaining that power and the benefits that come with it. They will use the weapons they have accumulated with the money they have stolen from the populace through taxation, fines, and inflation to keep that very population under control, or they will eliminate those who they can't control, and that DOESN'T mean locking them up in prison cells, as California has recently found out they can't afford to do. IT MEANS KILLING THEM! They will eventually use the youngsters in the military that they have trained to be killers and who they have mentally crippled in our phony wars and brought back home to go nuts on us. These kids could care less about shooting a stranger...they've already done it many times. The change of clothing won't matter to them. They just like seeing bodies explode. Be very aware that you are now walking in Human Country (like the warning signs that warn you when you're in Bear Country) and you won't know which ones are on their last nerve and could explode on you in a fit of insanity brought about by desperation and their inability to do anything about it while those who 'should' be able to help try ineffectually to calm them with soothing words that 'everything will be okay'. Yeah? Bullshit! Stay on your toes and keep your eyes doing a 360 degree swivel at all times and when you think you are safe, be doubly on guard, because that's when you are the most vulnerable.

This is No Recession It's a Planned Demolition

This is No Recession It's a Planned Demolition By Mike Whitney Those days are over. The world is changing and the US role is getting smaller. As US markets become less attractive to foreign exporters, the dollar will lose its position as the world's reserve currency. As goes the dollar, so goes the empire. Want some advice: Learn Mandarin. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article23231.htm

EXCELLENT ARTICLE AND CHARTS ON GOLD...A MUST TO READ AND STUDY CAREFULLY

CREDIT TO FASTGT FOR THE LINK: http://news.goldseek.com/CliveMaund/1249844182.php Every year for the past five years I have been ABSOLUTELY convinced that gold was going much higher about this time of year, only to get hammered badly hanging on to my long positions thinking I had enough in my trading account to weather any dip in price. I was wrong EVERY TIME! Don't let this happen to you! I was greatly influenced by Jim Sinclair's commitment to gold. But remember ALWAYS... Sinclair is a proponent of CASH GOLD, not trading gold. He adamantly has ALWAYS chastised gold traders warning them that the commodity markets are a ZERO SUM GAME, in which one side wins and the other loses. And almost always it's the little guy that loses. You can't get hurt holding CASH GOLD! You only lose opportunities to buy it at lower prices, but in the long run you will at least have the gold. By far, most people don't have a clue how to trade anything, but think they're smarter than those around them after learning the basics...Those people almost always lose everything, but usually blame it on everything but themselves. Don't be one of them. Practice good money management and AVOID GREED! I think there will be a FINAL planned wipeout of the gold market so the BIG BOYS can scoop up all the gold they can accumulate before THE END occurs. Take your profits quickly from your long positions while you have them as you trade. A small profit is far better than having to wait out a losing trade, or worse yet, taking the loss. BUILD UP YOUR TRADING ACCOUNT so you can position yourself to buy in at the bottom of the wipeout. It will be deeper than you think it could ever go...if it happens. Look at annual charts of the past five years to see the pattern and how deep the sell offs were. Then notice that the turn arounds went to the moon clear into Feb/March of the following year in some cases. This next big rally after the wipeout will be the start of the bigget rally in gold in history...BE ON IT! or be decimated by the economic collapse that goes with it. And whatever you do...DON'T EVER CHASE THE GOLD MARKET HIGHER! There will always be a pull back as it ascends higher to enter the market. The swings in the gold price on a tick by tick basis are going to blow your minds when they start moving $50-$100 per tick in the not so far off future. The exchanges will be raising margin requirements to ridiculous levels to squeeze out the little traders too, so be prepared for that.

THE 'REAL ID' IS BACK...FROM RON PAUL

August 10, 2009 Dear Friend of Liberty, Unbelievably, Congress and the Obama administration are currently trying to resurrect the failed REAL ID Act, more accurately named “Dangerous ID.” Dangerous ID, which passed in 2005, establishes a de facto National Identification System, and opens the doors for Federal biometric tracking of every American citizen. Fortunately, no state currently complies with the burdensome mandates of the 2005 bill, and twenty-three have passed legislation refusing compliance. So what does the Obama Administration want to do? You guessed it: “Fix it,” and ram it down states’ throats. Well, I say “Repeal it.” What do you say? You see, as Obama Administration Surveillance Czar Janet Napolitano pushes for a revamp of the system to get the invasive federal program up and running, there has never been a better time to for us to push back, and fight for an outright repeal of the original legislation. And although Dangerous ID is a clear attempt to establish a National ID System, the reality might be much worse -- an INTERNATIONAL Identification System. That’s why it is so critical we get that law off the books. You see, Dangerous ID actually requires that driver’s license photographs meet United Nation’s biometric format standards. At this level of sophistication, government software can analyze facial characteristics and generate a unique identification number. Think about that for a moment -- your identity will be reduced to a single number in an international database that can be tracked globally by one-world government surveillance cameras and facial recognition software. Last month, Senator Daniel Akaka introduced The PASS ID Act to tweak the 2005 Dangerous ID legislation and ram this program into action over state opposition. Supporters claim this REAL ID Redux bill softens requirements on states, supposedly making the breach of federalism a little more palatable. But it is merely a transparent attempt to get the Dangerous ID system implemented in any form, only to be augmented later to meet government’s needs. In fact, there is evidence that this reincarnated Dangerous ID bill could wind up being worse than the original. Chief among the bill’s supporters is Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who stands to wield expansive and virtually unchecked power to set standards. Under Dangerous ID, Napolitano can unilaterally expand required information on driver's licenses, potentially to include biometric information such as retinal scans, fingerprints, DNA information, and even Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) radio tracking technology. If international databases, RFID and biometric identification cards, and constant government surveillance are as alarming to you as they are to me, I hope you’ll (GO TO http://www.campaignforliberty.com/campaigns/stop-real-id-lite.php TO SIGN) Campaign for Liberty’s petition to stop REAL ID Redux and repeal Dangerous ID. This is an important battle, and one we CAN win. Just look at all the success stories in states that opted out of the Dangerous ID system. In many cases, local C4L groups were instrumental in passing that legislation. If REAL ID Redux passes, the new federal “concessions” may sucker many states into compliance. That’s why it is so important that we defeat this reincarnation of Dangerous ID at the federal level, and take advantage of this national conversation to repeal the original bill. So please, click here to sign the petition urging your Senators and Representative to stop this so-called “PASS ID” and finally repeal the original Dangerous ID legislation. And please, make a generous contribution to help Campaign for Liberty spread the word about this important fight. In Liberty, John F. Tate President P.S. REAL ID (a.k.a. “Dangerous ID”) is back on the move with a revamped version called PASS ID.

NOT WORRIED ENOUGH YET? THEN READ THIS ONE ALL THE WAY THROUGH

http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1261.htm

THIS ARTICLE OUGHT TO WAKE A FEW OF YOU UP TO THE 'VAST CONSPIRACY' GOING ON IN OUR WORLD

http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1263.htm Pittsburg Health Club “Massacre Plot” Cover-up... I can believe all of this is possible and true. When you finally discover just how fucking crazy these megalomaniacs truly are, you will no longer be shocked at their evilness.

War Hero Tackles US Over Degrading Prison Conditions

War "Hero" Tackles US Over Degrading Prison Conditions By Rupert Cornwell When it comes to sending people to jail, America is the undisputed world champion. In 1970, a mere 200,000 people were behind bars. Last year, 2.3 million were held in federal, state and county prisons, more than 1 per cent of all adults in the US and five times the international average. Blacks, predictably, bear the brunt of this compulsion to incarcerate, accounting for 40 per cent of the prison population. This punishment industry gives work to more than two million, more even than the 1.7 million employed in higher education. http://informationclearinghouse.info/article23229.htm

Entering the Greatest Depression in History

Entering the Greatest Depression in History More Bubbles Waiting to Burst by Andrew Gavin Marshall http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MAR20090807&articleId=14680

What If History Happened To Someone Else

http://wheh.newsvine.com/_news/2009/08/07/3096717-what-if-history-happened-to-someone-else

ALERT! BANK HOLIDAY COMING!!!

From today's JSMINETSET.COM Jim Sinclair’s Commentary I have the deepest respect for Dean Harry, but would normally not believe the potential for what dear Harry proposes. However, with the present war between politically directed monetary policy and FOMC directed monetary policy I have to suggest serious consideration of the following. There certainly is no harm to be done by doing what Dean Harry suggests. Harry Schultz newsletter Conclusion: Stand by for a possible bank run & bank holiday on Aug 26th, after the news breaks on the 25th. (FDIC 2nd Qtr. Report) This is in line with the HSL prediction of a US bank holiday in Aug/Sept. If you live in the US, get 3 to 6 months household expense money out of banks now.

HAHAHA

The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person. ~ P. J. O'Rourke

MARKET TICKER ARTICLE BY KARL DENNINGER

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1294-For-Want-Of-An-Or-Else.html Wednesday, August 5. 2009 Posted by Karl Denninger in Musings at 08:22 For Want Of An "Or Else" Have you ever wondered why The Federal Reserve feels perfectly free to break the law as set forth in Sections 13 and 14, buying assets such as CDOs from Lehman and Bear Stearns, or not-really-full-faith-and-credit MBS from Fannie and Freddie, even though doing so is in fact prohibited by The Federal Reserve Act? THERE'S LOTS MORE...

What A Waste (Cash For Clunkers) by Karl Denninger

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1285-What-A-Waste-Cash-For-Clunkers.html

THE MARKET TICKER BY KARL DENNINGER

ROFL! FDIC "Tells Banks" To Quit Cooking The Books! http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1287-ROFL!-FDIC-Tells-Banks-To-Quit-Cooking-The-Books!.html