Friday, 4 November 2011


The theatre of the absurd - by Richard... Friday, November 04, 2011


It is worrisome that so many people continue to profess a hard-bitten cynicism about the MSM, declaring that they are immune to its charms and believe nothing that are told. Yet, the moment they are fed tosh of which they approve, their reserves melt like a spoon of ice-cream on a Greek beach in the height of summer.

Such was the experience yesterday, with the "plucky Greece" meme continuing to grow even today, while the MSM revels in the "drama" of the G20 summit meeting.

But anyone who wants to believe that what comes out of these summits, and especially their communiqués, needs perhaps to read the account of the great summit between Heath and Pompidou in May 1971. Reconstructing the events from official documents, memoirs, and other sources, and then comparing them with the hugely different accounts in the press at the time, is quite an education.

In fact, throughout history, we see stark differences between the accounts of events – and the perceptions we take from them – and the actual events.

Even in 1940 at the height of the September Blitz on London, when Churchill was touring the streets, offering encouragement and sympathy, in secret session in Cabinet calling for "strong action" to be taken against people demonstrating for improvements in the pitifully poor air raid shelter provision.

What one must accept, therefore, is that much of the overt conduct of our masters – what they say and do – is done mainly for effect. A grotesque theatre of the absurd which bears little relation to reality.

Here, the media are very much part of the game. Theirs is the role of court jester, retailing the performances to the wider audience, conferring a veneer of credibility to what is invariably pure showmanship, as the current G20 communiqué illustrates.

In that light does one read about the "Action plan for Growth and Jobs", learning that "Advanced economies commit to adopt policies to build confidence and support growth and implement clear, credible and specific measures to achieve fiscal consolidation".

Anyone who can read that without either scratching their heads, or sniggering with derision, needs to renew their own personal nursery subscription.

Likewise should we treat the assertion that, "We are determined to strengthen the social dimension of globalization". And then there is: "We have made progress in reforming the international monetary system to make it more representative, stable and resilient".

Press releases and conferences are no better, but then the same applies to all such political events. It you shake hands with any of them, count your fingers afterwards. And, as you listen to their pronouncements, the only mystery is about the precise nature of their lies, not whether they are lying.

Not until 10pm tonight (or later) will we learn the outcome of the Greek parliament vote of confidence. How much of that will be theatre, we will probably never know, but it would be entirely safe to assume that the effect was pre-ordained and calculated.

How it is that people can still believe anything that they are told is then the real mystery. It is almost as puzzling as the idea that anyone can believe Papandreou is a democrat.

The EU and our Renegade Leaders (Fabio-Marxist Followers)!!

After your recent postings on euro realist & comments by Richard North, I think we see the same picture emerging as the one portrayed on P3 of the Brick-Bat.


If so we face an army of subversive ‘home-grown-terrorists’ that are on the public purse and as we can see, very able and willing to bring the country to its knees!

A difficult problem to tackle as the enemy has ‘the drop’ on all of us!!


xxxxxxxx JS



Grrrr – eeeeek - by Richard... Tuesday, November 01, 2011

UPDATE: In a surprise move, the defence minister has proposed the complete replacement of the country's military chiefs of staff - the chief of the Greek National Defence General Staff and all the service chiefs (pictured below). It is understood that the personnel changes took many members of the government and of the armed forces by surprise. What did we say at the end of this piece? Was this to pre-empt a military coup?


UPDATE: "This was completely unanticipated ... It is not needed and it is just sort of an internal political thing," said John Canally investment strategist and economist for LPL Financial in Boston. "This vote in Greece is going to hang over the market for next week or so, unfortunately".

UPDATE: Stocks are falling even harder now on talk that the Greek government may be on the verge of collapse, says the WSJ Clog.

All 10 groups in the S&P 500 fell as financial and commodity shares had the biggest declines, saysBloomberg Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. retreated more than 7.2 percent as a gauge of European lenders tumbled 6.7 percent. Alcoa Inc., Boeing Co. and Cisco Systems Inc. decreased at least 3.4 percent, pacing losses among companies most-dependent on economic growth. Baker Hughes Inc. sank 8.6 percent as earnings missed analysts’ estimates.

The S&P 500 fell 2.6 percent to 1,221.35 as of 12:15 p.m. New York time. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities slumped 2.5 percent yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 277.68 points, or 2.3 percent, to 11,677.33 today.

"I just don’t get it", says Michael Mullaney, who helps manage $9.5 billion at Fiduciary Trust in Boston. "A Greek referendum is a very risky proposition. Everybody thought last week that this crisis was behind us on a near-term basis, but Europe is going to be front and center".

UPDATE: Caught unawares by his high-risk gamble, says The Irish Times, Merkel and Sarkozy have summoned Papandreou to crisis talks in Cannes tomorrow. They will push for a quick implementation of the bailout deal ahead of the G20 summit. And the Athens Stock Exchange has suffered its biggest daily drop since October 2008, with the general index shedding 7.7 percent.


The lines are 'umming, the Progressive Contrarian is being, er … contrarian, Helen warns that you should never play poker with Greeks, Ambrose is being Armageddon-ish and Bruno is saying that there has to be a three-fifths majority for a referendum, so it ain't going to happen. Mary Ellen Synon ruminates about Greece being chucked out of the euro, and says that can't happen either.

The Daily Wail has taken tits and bums off its lead long enough to tell us that the markets are in freefall, and that MF Global has gone bankrupt. Merkel is said to be stunned and Sarkozy "dismayed". From over the Atlantic, the New York Times is talking of the Greek government being plunged into chaos, with the prospect of a collapse that would not only render the referendum plan moot but likely scuttle — or at least delay — the bailout.

Everything is on hold now, waiting for the great Merkel to speak. But I've already written her speech. It's the title of this piece.


European Union Directives,Regulations and Laws.
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A European Commission proposal for a directive (MiFID2) will change this market: in future banks are to inform consumers whether the advice they offer is independent or restricted. If the advice is independent, charging commission is to be banned. ...
The Dodd-Frank Act, a sweeping financial reform and consumer protection law enacted in 2010, seeks in part to limit risky derivatives trading and lending practices in the United States. The new EUapproach will be done via amendments to two directives ...
However, Russia ignored the energy directive since it is not subject to EU law per se, striking deals in Germany to increase its control over power plants. Now, in light of the crisis, Russia wants to purchase a slew of energy assets across Europe ...
The official line on Cross-Border Healthcare legislation is that all countries are on track with their plans. But back in the real world, the chances of certain EU countries implementing the newDirective by the due date look increasingly remote. ...
MAJOR parts of the government's flagship bank and regulatory reform policy would be illegal under current drafts of EU law, Bank of England governor Mervyn King admitted yesterday. Confirming City AM's revelation on Monday that the government believes ...
The report includes 20 recommendations, stating that the European Union agency workersdirective should not have been signed by the UK as it gave part-time workers better employmentlaw protection. Among a number of “exemptions for small businesses”, ...

Posted by Britannia Radio at 15:34