Stress Tests - Words

Stress Tests? How stupid do I look? I thought we were talking about cardiologist stuff. No Virginia, we are stress testing the largest banks on the planet. Got that?

Now, let me tell you that you should no longer expect to see any remote reference to the word “audit”. That old protest-ant word is now redundant. You cannot audit a fantasy. You “stress test” earnings that explode out of “off balance” sheet illusions. Bank earnings no longer come from banking. They come directly from the circus that prevails behind closed boardroom doors.

There are lots of words that have fallen by the wayside. The word “investment” has become a joke. You cannot invest in what you cannot analyse. The word “analyst” is laughable as it relates to the investment community. Where were the analysts when sub-prime crime overwhelmed Wall Street and the rest of the world? How about the word “fiduciary”? Don’t get me started.

Today there is no relationship between bank earnings and what we old fashioned protest-ants knew of as “banking”. “Casinoing”, or “gambling” might be a better description of what banks do with your savings today. But I like to hit the nail on the head, so I simply call it fantasy. Reported bank earnings are solely dependant upon quarterly boardroom decisions regarding how much of the “off balance” sheet rape (loss) will be allowed to come to light in any given quarter.

Personally, I think the new term “stress test” is appropriate for the age we live in. Muscle has replaced brains, and “stress tests” deal with muscle. That’s the good news. The bad news ? We are in an unstoppable vortex of lies, and eventually freedom will pay the price.

Depression or Depression? Take Your Choice

U.S. Democrats tell us to spend more money. Their initiative? When Americans needed jobs, they bailed out their favorite Wall Street banks. The Democrats were wrong. Republicans say that we should live within our means. They would have been wrong too if anybody had listened. Spend more? – wrong. Spend less? – wrong.

What is the answer? The truth is that the U.S. and the world cannot recover from the rape of public, corporate and personal finances that continues unabated. We have entered what I call the age of “African Economics” and there is no turning back. What does African Economics mean? A mature example? – look to Uganda. Fifty percent of the way along the road back to chaos? That’s Zimbabwe. Twenty years ahead of the U.S. on the path to African Economic ruin? That would be South Africa.

The evidence in the U.S.? Wall Street ravaged by Clintonomics. State governments insolvent. Municipalities firing employees en masse. Hundreds of thousands of teachers terminated. Entire school districts shut down. Auto production mega-operations bankrupt. Steel industry destroyed. Primary metal production wiped out.

Borders violated and no longer secure. Law enforcement threatened and run ragged. Spin doctors instead of medical doctors. Political and military leadership - a vacuum of words.

Wall Street wasn’t just trampled. It was demolished, and the thieves have moved on to bigger targets. Are you watching a hopeless string of U.S. mega-disasters with NO credible response? Get used to it. We’re on our way to Zimbabwe – “African Economics”.

Alex Spins: A Slippery Story

On April 20th a huge BP oil rig exploded off New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then it has been spewing oil without mercy. How much oil? Which lie do you prefer? BP first said 1000 bbls per day. The latest lie is 50,000 bbls/day.

But not to worry. Yesterday we were told that oil has been seeping on its own into the Gulf for years, and nature’s bacteria takes care of it. So relax.

You like this story? I have a better one. This morning we are told that some “sea creatures” are already adapting to the slimy mess. Video shows a struggling goo-covered pelican, but if you listen carefully you learn that the new-found oil-loving creatures are “microscopic”. The doomed pelican video is only coincidental. It assumes that you are an idiot.

Want more good news? Hurricane Alex has been tracking north-north-east from the Yucatan heading for New Orleans. Here’s the good news....Yesterday it was to take a SHARP left turn and head due west toward Mexico City. Well, not yesterday - but today it did apparently graze Texas.

Sorry folks, but I didn’t believe it anyway. I’ve never seen a Gulf hurricane abruptly head for Mexico City, and the deadly north-east quadrant of this storm is already over the oil spill, pushing it further into Louisiana.

My take? Here is how I would correct all this spin:

100,000 bbls (not 50,000 bbls) of oil per day have been gushing into the Gulf for 73 days and ongoing.

Bugs and bacteria will not miraculously do away with the mess

Creatures adapting to the oil? Sorry. Hundreds of thousands of birds, fish and bugs of all kinds are already rotting, and humans will soon be unable to sustain life in the southern U.S., eastern Mexico, or on any of the Gulf Islands.

My guess: The hurricane (now downgraded to a tropical storm) is still heading for New Orleans.

Americans voted for “Spin”, and the bigger the mess the more creative the spin. I’m predicting more oil and more “spin”. More “words”. More and more and more....