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"...fascism's principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for. The cliché that people and nations learn from history is not only overused, but also overestimated; often we fail to learn from history, or draw the wrong conclusions. Sadly, historical amnesia is the norm.Recommend this post
...For the purpose of this perspective, I will consider the following regimes: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible.
Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.
Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not.
- Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.
- Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.
- Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people's attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite "spontaneous" acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and "terrorists." Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.
- The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.
- Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.
- A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes' excesses.
- Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting "national security," and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.
- Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite's behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the "godless." A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.
- Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of "have-not" citizens.
- Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.
- Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.
- Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. "Normal" and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or "traitors" was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.
- Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.
- Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.
Britt on Fascism
6 comments:
- AnonymousMay 21, 2012 at 11:39 AM
Ah...history. Those that fail in perceiving the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat them.
Looks like we are once again, finding our collective soceity at the point where, elitism and greed, once again, overshadow common sense, true democracy and human values.
Closer to home though. Will anyone in the BC government, face jail time or financial consequence, over the scandals, of the past 11 years? This is a very serious concern for all taxpayers, as justice must be seen to be done. The average taxpayer is furious, and we all want answers, and consequence for the perceived rape of taxpayer resources.
If there is no consequence to be paid, what is the means to prevent future economic deviance, or kleptcrtic behavior, either through government policy or rogue political manipulation? This is surely the real problem in all of this. Other jurisdictions have far more open FOI legislation, that allows greater scrutiny of political decision making. It would seem that BC, has a system that has been subverted, by those with an agenda to remove from the taxpayer, forms of crown corporations, that do indeed, create revenue.
Using austerity as an excuse, these "subversive elements" are stripping away the very income producing agencies the provincial revenue stream needs, in order
to add additional revenue to an overloaded financial debt. This debt has ballooned incredibly, under the BC Liberals, and leaves the next round of successive governments in the province, with a serious problem. - AnonymousDecember 1, 2013 at 3:19 PM
Good analysis except for Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany was a perfect example of ;leftwing racism- the lumpen-proletariat instead of Fascism. In Fascist societies, the elite (or upper-middle class) tries to co-opt/oppress others and perpetuate its supremacy. Germany in the 30s was its polar opposite- the racist lower-class male became the uberhero whom all others had to obey/follow. Little wonder it was called 'National Socialism'.
Btw, none of this has any relevance in today';s Canada, so your comparisons with the BC provincial liberals is far-fetched. - AnonymousMarch 18, 2014 at 3:01 PM
It is revealing that Britt is silent on the same characteristics being present in the Soviet Union and Maoist China where communism was the religion of the day.


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Attendees at the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores' Canadian Drugstore Conference, held here late last month, were cautioned to expect continued volatile markets for another year or two.
Inside This Issue - News
TORONTO – Attendees at the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores' Canadian Drugstore Conference, held here late last month, were cautioned to expect continued volatile markets for another year or two.
After that, speakers at the event said, the market would likely become more predictable. While no one promised that the high-growth years of the last decade would return, many saw community pharmacy experiencing more stability than other retail sectors.
Such issues as consumers' use of technology, the environment, changes in the value equation and ethnic influences were frequent topics of discussion.
For the year ended in June 2011 Canada was the only one of the world's 10 key markets that posted negative growth in pharmaceutical sales, Mark Maciw, group director of supplier management at IMS Health, told the CACDS audience.
While Maciw did not attribute the downturn in sales to the loss of patent protection of some major drugs and the pressures on drug pricing exerted by provincial governments, the general feeling in the industry is that both developments were major contributors to the result.
Despite a sales decline of 1.8%, Canada maintained its position as the world's eighth-largest market for prescription drugs, Maciw said. Total North American growth, at 3.2%, was tepid on a worldwide scale, compared with the burgeoning markets of Asia, Africa and Australia, which grew at 12%, and Latin America, which expanded by 15.9%.
However, Maciw noted, North America still accounts for 41.3% of world consumption and, going forward, prescription use in Canada is expected to increase. Over the next decade and beyond, he said, usage among Canadians over the age of 55 will grow dramatically.
While this will have positive implications for pharmacy, it is likely to threaten governments' health plans, Maciw noted. As a result, he said, provincial drug reform will continue with some provinces that had already reached an understanding with the pharmacy sector expecting to announce that they need to renegotiate those deals.
Prescription drugs account for 13.6% of the country's total health expenditures, just under the 13.7% share claimed by physicians, Maciw noted.
In 2010 new drugs were positive contributors to growth; price, volume and mix were negative elements. Last year's experience contrasts with that of the previous eight years, when the big contributors to total growth were volume and mix.
However, August 2011 sales showed a pattern that had not appeared for many months, with brand sales being a contributor to overall growth and generics being a detractor. Through July, drugs with annual sales of $1.1 billion had lost their patent protection during the previous 12 months. That total is expected to reach $ 1.5 billion by year-end.
Next year, Maciw noted, an even larger number of key products, including Nexium, Diovan/HCT, Avapro, Atacand, Singulair, Avalide, Nasonex, Avandia, Reminyl ER, Taxatore, Strattera, and Zomig/R will all come off patent, representing some $2.3 billion in sales.
From 2013 to 2015 the value of drugs coming off patent will average $1 billion annually. The health care and drug expenditure budgets of all the provinces for 2011 and 2012 mostly show growth in both these elements, but that growth is occurring at lower levels than in recent years.
During that time drug expenditures in Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are expected to increase by 0.9%, 4.8%, 1.8% and 2.5%, respectively. The highest overall health care expenditures are expected in Newfoundland (8.7%) and British Columbia and Saskatchewan (6.2% apiece).
Nationally, health care is expected to increase 4.5%, and drug expenditures 1.9%, over the two years.
Maciw noted that the percentage of prescriptions being filled with generic drugs has been steadily increasing for the last seven years and is expected to continue to account for more sales going forward. In 2005 generics accounted for 43.9% of the market; by June of this year that share had grown to 58.8%.
Data shows that there are variations in generic drug utilization by province, with Manitoba and British Columbia having the highest usage at 64% and 62%, respectively, and Quebec (57%) and Nova Scotia (59%) showing the lowest generic penetration levels.
IMS data shows that between 2006 and 2010 several suppliers experienced significant sales growth in Canada.
Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. led the way with a 17.3% increase over the four years, while Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s sales moved ahead 10.8%, AstraZeneca PLC's volume increased 8.6%, Abbott Laboratories' sales rose 8.4%, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s sales increased 7.4%.
The 10 fastest-growing brands in August 2011, the data showed, were: Crestor, Remicade, Lucentis, Humira, Januvia, Cipralex, Cymbalta, Lyrca, Pradax and Stelara.
The rate at which new brands have been introduced over the past five years has shown more consistency than the sales these brands deliver. In 2007, 20 new brands realized sales of $52.6 million. Last year 25 new brands resulted in sales of $27.2 million.
For the year through August 10 new brands have yielded sales of only $4.3 million. In addition, the market share of new products has been declining. In the period from 2006 to 2008 their share ranged between 0.21% and 0.28%. Last year the share was 0.12%.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Ohio State suspends RB Hyde three games for club incident
JUL 30, 2013 9:36p ET
That answer came Tuesday night when the university published a statement from Meyer briefly detailing Hyde's punishment.
"Carlos Hyde will be suspended for at least the first three games of the 2013 season for conduct not representative of this football program or this university," Meyer said in a statement. "He will be required to fulfill additional obligations before he is allowed to play in a game."
Ohio State opens the season at home Aug. 31 against Buffalo and then welcomes
San Diego State to the Horseshoe a week later. The Buckeyes' third game is at
California on Sept. 14.
Hyde, a senior from Naples, Fla., was the Buckeyes' No. 1 running back last season, when he ran for 970 yards and 16 touchdowns.


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This morning the Federal Reserve announced it was going to embark on a third round of "quantitative easing," a financial maneuver that already has its own nickname: QE3.
But what exactly is "quantitative easing"? Well, as The Washington Post helpfully explains,
Since the Federal Reserve can just create dollars out of thin air, it can buy up assets like long-term Treasuries or mortgage-backed securities from commercial banks and other institutions. This pumps money into the U.S. economy and reduces long-term interest rates further.
"Create dollars out of thin air" is another way of saying, "Print money." Since the U.S. dollar is no longer backed by gold or any other commodity other than people's faith in the government, the Federal Reserve can just print up billions of dollars and hand them out. ("Print" in this situation is entirely metaphorical, of course: the government isn't actually printing paper bills, but rather just arbitrarily increasing the amount of "money" it has.)
Now, the average person might wonder: If creating money is that easy, then why don't we just print up $16 trillion and get ourselves out of debt? The answer is interesting: Although the government can increase the amount of cash floating around, it can't conjure actual value or worth. All it can do is put more money into circulation in an economic system whose underlying net worth remains the same. The end result is that, although the total amount of dollars in circulation increases, the cumulative value of things to buy remains the same — so the intrinsic worth of each dollar is diminished. Another word for this is inflation.
In fact, artificially creating inflation is one of the goals of quantitative easing, in situations where deflation (as happened during the Great Depression) would otherwise be likely to occur. The first round of QE, back in 2008, was indeed enacted to stave off looming deflation.
The Federal Reserve, we can only assume, announced QE3 as an attempt to help the economy, but many experts disagree, with some thinking it will have no effect whatsoever, while others think it could actually hurt in the long run. Quantitative easing is generally thought of as a "shot of adrenaline," to give the economy an artificial but electrifying quick boost, in the hopes that the boost will be self-sustaining, and optimism will build upon optimism and it will shock us out of the doldrums. But other economists fear that giving adrenaline to an exhausted weak man will not magically make him strong — it will just force him to have a brief period of hyperactivity before it wears off and he collapses, weaker and more worn out than before.
Quantitative Easing in Weimar Republic Germany
I'm not enough of an expert to know if 2012′s QE3 will work as hoped, but I do know about a comparable moment in history when "quantitative easing" went haywire and ended up causing hyperinflation.
Travel back with me to Germany in 1923 and let's look at what can happen when a government starts printing money with no basis behind it.
The root causes of the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany are complicated and still debated: the wikipedia article on the topic is a good starting point if you're interested. Germany at the time (just as the U.S. does now) had a crushing national debt, and many other nations felt that Germany intentionally ignited inflation of the German Mark as a way to "inflate its way out of debt" — a strategy some have suggested for the U.S. now, in fact.
But as the citizens of Germany discovered in 1923, once inflation starts heating up, it can quickly reach a level of explosive combustion that even the government can't control. In the early '20s, the other nations of Europe, distrusting the stability of the German Mark, began demanding payment in either gold or foreign denominations. So the German government frantically began buying up other nations' currencies. But those other nations didn't trust that the Marks they were getting would keep their value, so they demanded a higher and higher exchange rate. So Germany simply starting printing up bills to pay the higher rates, but that only increased the doubts over the Mark's solvency, and exchange rates rose, and more money was printed, and it spiraled out of control. In early 1923 trust in the value of the German Mark completely collapsed, and it quickly descended toward worthlessness. With every passing month, week, day, hour, the Mark became worth less and less, and the government had to print more and more bills of higher and higher denomination. This lasted until late November 1923, when the Mark was discarded as a currency entirely, and a new national currency — the "Rentenmark" — was introduced, with 12 zeros being lopped off the old prices.
By chance I recently came into possession of a fascinating collection of these now worthless "inflation Marks" from the Weimar Republic. (So many are still floating around that you can pick them up fairly easily at flea markets and collectibles stores.) I scanned the bills and present them below for your edification as to what can happen when "quantitative easing" is overused:
This bill, which is dated February 1920, predates the inflation: It was worth 10 marks, a decent amount at the time. This is our starting point.
Fast forward a few years: By November 1922, the inflation has already become serious. This bill from that month has a denomination of 50,000 Marks, which would have been a fortune back in 1920, but by November 1922 was worth about as much as the 10 Mark bill above.
Now we're up to February 1923. 100,000 Marks was by this time the equivalent of pocket change.
A few months later, in August 1923, 200,000 Mark bills were as commonplace. But this was just the beginning. (Starting with this bill, it's not entirely clear on which exact date each note was actually printed; the dates shown on the bills may be the dates that the issuance was authorized. I've done my best to keep them chronological.)
A short time later, denominations in the hundreds of thousands has already become essentially worthless. The government began issuing bills worth millions of Marks, such as this 2 million Mark note.
Also from late August or early September 1923, this 5 million Mark note might have gotten you a small loaf of bread if you were lucky. Note that the German Mint was in full panic mode, and had no time to actually print up new bills anymore: they simply began overprinting old bills. In this case, a 20 mark note was overprinted to become a 5 million Mark note.
By September 2, 1923, 10 million mark notes were essentially the smallest bill of any real value; anything less than 10 million was meaningless.
A week or so later, 50 million Mark notes replaced the 10 million Mark notes at the bottom of the currency scale.
By October, 100 million Mark notes were like pennies are to us today.
And finally, this note likely from November of 1923 (according to the dates in the fine print, its issuance was authorized in September and it was supposed to maintain its value until January 1924) was for the princely sum of 500 million Marks. Just a few years earlier, owning 500 million Marks would have made you the richest person in Germany. By November of 1923, it took a pocketful of bills like these — or, famously, a wheelbarrow of lesser bills — just to get a bite to eat.
The following week, all these bills were officially declared worthless, and Germany started over with a new currency.
Does a similar fate await the United States?
Flashback: All This and Weimar, Too: The Million Reichsmark March
87 Comments, 42 Threads
1. Robin
The part about continuing to inflate until things turn around is problemmatic. If part of the reason things are not turning around is all the easing in the first place we are just compounding the doubt as to what anything is really worth.
Helicopter Ben indeed. I think it must be a Sikorsky.
September 13, 2012 - 3:12 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
I ahven't seen any mention of how Germany got out of hyperinflation…. I think I have wiki to thank for this bit of info so I have a 80% cofidence it in being right, but they basically printed 'backed money' again. Not backed with gold, but land.
And now for a conspiricy moment – so China buys a lot of US treasuries and demands value for them… The Current US gov't inflates the currancy, but has lots of land rights (mineral rights) tied up, and suddenly China aquires the land and rights and proceeds to pump US oil and gas over to Asia (along with reare earths and other minerals)…. continuing this line of thought – now the US is like colonial Africa where all the raw materials leave it. /end conspiricy moment.
Personally I have the greatest hope for American's "doing the right thing after having tried all the wrong ones"
September 14, 2012 - 7:26 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
Mike G
The insidiousness of this inflationary strategy is that it hurts the middle class the most. If you are with government you can keep voting yourself higher pay to keep pace with inflation (happening here now). If you are rich or involved in crony capitalism, you can make the moves to counteract the inflation by owning the right assets (see GE, Soros and many others). But if you have worked hard and have a pile of $20 bills in your mattress or in a savings account, you are about to get whipsawed into poverty.
I have a theory that it is always the private sector middle class who pay the price for the folly of government. We can be our own worse enemy when we help elect people like those now in power. But more frightening is the modern day fact that there are no longer enough of us to stop them since the wealthy and government workers/dependents taken together represent a majority of voters.
September 14, 2012 - 10:32 am Link to this Comment | Reply
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald named as source of leak.
September 14, 2012 - 1:04 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
2. Andrew B
I fully expect that this is the course our economy will follow in the near future. I also predict the following:
*The New York Times will not find hyperinflation newsworthy, and the only place it will be mentioned is in the upper corner, where the newstand price will be $20 billion.
*Natalie Portman will be featured in an Us Weekly spread talking about how she feels patriotic about spending half a trillion dollars on a facial and a small veggie pizza at Spago
*Beyonce will host a quadrillion dollar a plate fundraiser for the Obama Presidential Library
*Starving to death will be considered a racist act
In the meanwhile, I'm off to buy more canned goods.September 13, 2012 - 3:18 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Andrew B,
ALso, another handgun and tactical rifle!
September 13, 2012 - 3:54 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
A bit ironic that the image on the 2,000,000 mark bill, at a glance, looks kind of like a human skull.
- a -
September 13, 2012 - 3:47 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
The caption says it's just the "Technical Fair in Leipzig." The skull illusion was probably just an accident.
September 13, 2012 - 3:54 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
4. Joey
The only accomplishment Bend over Ben achieved today is guaranteeing higher food and gas prices. The definition of stupid is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
September 13, 2012 - 3:52 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
5. weo
Bernacke cast his vote for the little King Sept 13.
Check out the market today. Turmoil in the Middle East and the Dow pops 200. Was there ever any doubt that our Dear Leader would insure that there won't be any negative market gyrations when HE is running for reelection.
Actually, that's the historical pattern. Markets are almost always up in election years for the simple reason that presidents have lots of things they can do to help insure there aren't any market hiccups to disrupt their campaigns.
Which tells you just how serious the fascist/marxists were in 2008 when they drove the market down 53% from peak, bankrupted a genration, and created 40 million senior citizens totally dependent on government. You can be sure it wouldn't have happened if it was a reelection year for Bush. It probably also indicates that Dubya wasn't exactly a fan of McLame. I wouldn't be surprised to discover the Bush's voted for obama.
Next up…a dive in gasoline prices. I thought we might be below $2 by election day, but it's probably too late for Putin and the Goatherders to arrange that. But $3 is probably good enough, and will save the despots several billion in pocket money.
September 13, 2012 - 3:53 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
6. EscapeVelocity
This is also a backdoor tax on everybody, the government transferring the value of everybody's savings and paychecks, to others.
September 13, 2012 - 3:56 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Yes it is a tax. Consider gasoline. They will take more taxes when the price rises, even if the dollar has less value.
September 13, 2012 - 4:34 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
It's even more direct than that. Instead of taking 1 of every 4 dollars you make via traditional tax, they merely decrease the value/purchasing power of your $4 by a $1, and transfer it elsewhere. Except, a bunch of idiots didnt notice, and Obama gets to say he didnt raise taxes on the middle class and poor, in his campaign rhetoric.
September 13, 2012 - 6:55 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
No. With the exception of sales tax, most taxes on gasoline are the cents-per-gallon variety, not cents-per-dollar. This fact is what caused the near-collapse of the heavy highway construction trade, beginning in 2007. The industry, which is largely funded by highway use taxes (cents-per-gallon) never recovered after the first $4/gallon spike in 2008. Most of the tax revenues generally used for highway construction go WAY down when gas prices go up, simply because people buy less gas as a response to high prices. States and counties — who administer and fund most highway projects — are forced to cut back. In turn, I was forced to take early retirement in 2010 (at age 55) as a direct result of high gas and diesel prices.
Inflation is indeed a tax, one that only the federal government can impose, because it controls the money supply. But it's a tax that's even less visible than your (incorrect) example would be. By increasing the money supply (inflation is NOT rising prices, despite popular conception), the Fed confiscates a portion of the value of every dollar you now have. You don't see "tax dollars" flowing to Washington. You see YOUR dollars shrinking, buying less.
September 14, 2012 - 10:49 am Link to this Comment | Reply
7. Cybergeezer
You're good with a camera. Get a photo of Obama's ass. I'm sure it will be bruised from all the kisses from the media.
It's why he's staying out of Washington; Too many there are puckered up and waiting for their chance to embrace his derrière.September 13, 2012 - 3:57 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
8. AD-RtR/OS!
Ammo, and canned-goods, never lose their value.
September 13, 2012 - 4:01 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
9. JimmyD
More current than the Wiemar Republic; check out Wikipedia's entry on Zimbabwean hyperinflation; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_Zimbabwe
September 13, 2012 - 4:08 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Yeah, but I don't own any Zimbabwe dollars to scan.
September 13, 2012 - 4:27 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Mike in Tel Aviv
September 14, 2012 - 9:31 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
More photos here:
And the worst hyperinflation ever:
September 15, 2012 - 9:16 am Link to this Comment | Reply
Let us call it 'stealth-inflation' from the progressive folks who sold shovel ready jobs. The average person may look at the stockmarket and think that these are better off than four years ago times because their 401K went up. Here is where the smoke and mirrors come to play because the dollar is devalued, the company behind the stock is not more productive, but that little piece of paper has more zeros; its says that it is worth more, but again, the purchasing power of the dollar is down.
The grand, not funny joke, is that by printing more money, the economy is stimulated because folks will borrow more money to buy their stuff. Their stuff now costs more, so that sensation of wealth goes away, like smoke. The constant lie is that inflation is steady if one excludes petroleum and food from the index. Stealth inflation brings the rubes to their knees, not laughing.September 13, 2012 - 4:23 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
May I suggest a short book that may help those who don't really get it?
The book is called Alice in Blunderland by John Kendrick Bangs. Since it was written about a century ago it is out of copyright and free on Kindle.
Sad that the book still seems so relevant.
September 13, 2012 - 4:30 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Another good one is "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" Short book, written for middle schoolers (I had my oldest read it in 9th grade) and anyone else who wants to learn the basics of economics and inflation.
September 15, 2012 - 8:31 am Link to this Comment | Reply
12. cfbleachers
Well, Zombie…at least we now know why Obama and the BooGod Party refuses to produce a budget.
What currency should we expect to be printed and can we get them on O-Bay soon?
Barney Francs? Harry Reidmarcs? The Nancy Pesolosi? The Won?
The American WhyMaher is upon us.
Let's party like it's 1929.
September 13, 2012 - 4:33 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
13. Whitehall
Looking at the national debt, it's doubling rate (years to double) has been DECREASING. That's a bad sign. In my business, we're approaching a condition we call "super prompt critical." That's how you make a nuclear bomb go off – make the rate of fissioning increase exponentially.
Without the Fed creating money and pumping it into the economy via government bond purchases and keeping their discount rate essentially zero, interest rates would jump. When that increase happens, Congress either has to cut its spending (HA HA!) or watch it deficit increase as debt service takes up more and more of its budget. Assuming they continue to spend and hence borrow, borrowing levels increase too.
Borrowing then feeds on itself, like a junkie needing progressively higher and higher doses of opiates, levels that would kill a normal person.
We have to jump off that path to ruin and now.
September 13, 2012 - 4:33 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
That is one of the main reasons why the Fed is keeping interest rates very low–as close to zero as possible.
Because if interest rates rise, then the Federal Government won't be able to borrow any more without a massive increase in its debt service–which is likely unsustainable.
The Federal Government has, so to speak, taken out an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) on the country, at a time when the prevailing interest rate is near zero. But you know what happens to the monthly payment when the interest rate on an ARM rises sharply.
September 13, 2012 - 5:19 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Cousin Dave
Federal government spending is *the* reason behind everything that the Fed is doing. Bills are being printed for the sole reason that Washington demands a buyer for Treasuries so it can keep spending like it's 1999. And I have no doubt that all of those T-bills the Fed is buying are, in the back rooms, being treated as "forgivable". So basically it's just the Fed creating money so the government can spend more — which is exactly the sort of thing that the Fed was created to prevent.
September 14, 2012 - 9:09 am Link to this Comment | Reply
The Nazis had their own form of inflation, supported by plunder. A really fascinating account of the role of economics in the Nazi era is Adam Tooze's
"The Wages of Destruction:The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy". Most economics books tend to be on the dry side, this one is an exception, and it's pretty cheap at Amazon too.September 13, 2012 - 4:38 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
15. Washington76
Thomas Jefferson's Warning To America
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."
* Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802) and later published in The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill (1809)
Thomas Jefferson banks, central banks, freedom American founding fathers warning!
September 13, 2012 - 5:07 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Except that Jefferson said no such thing. This supposed quotation is easily disproved by checking it out at Snopes.
However, also according to Snopes, Jefferson did say something along the lines of – "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous that standing armies; and that the principal of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale"
September 13, 2012 - 7:06 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
* Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802) and later published in The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill (1809)
September 13, 2012 - 7:46 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
Here, I hope this helps you since you cannot operate on the web all that well!
TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY (ALBERT GALLATIN.) – Thomas Jefferson, The Works, vol. 11 (Correspondence and Papers 1808-1816) [1905] Edition used: The Works of Thomas Jefferson, Federal Edition (New York and London, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904-5). Vol. 11. Author: Thomas Jefferson Editor: Paul Leicester Ford Part of: The Works of Thomas Jefferson, 12 vols.
September 13, 2012 - 7:50 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Here's the link since you seem unable to be able to check your sources.
September 13, 2012 - 8:04 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
See the post one above this one with references that yours does not!! TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY (ALBERT GALLATIN.) – Thomas Jefferson, The Works, vol. 11 (Correspondence and Papers 1808-1816) [1905] Edition used: The Works of Thomas Jefferson, Federal Edition (New York and London, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904-5). Vol. 11. Author: Thomas Jefferson Editor: Paul Leicester Ford Part of: The Works of Thomas Jefferson, 12 vols.
Snopes? Really?
September 13, 2012 - 8:27 pm Link to this Comment -
W Ermet
Washington76, snopes.com is THE authoritative website for researching potential hoaxes. Don't diss snopes!
September 13, 2012 - 10:23 pm Link to this Comment -
Although Snopes is right most of the time, it is not always correct. I know this from personal experience — I'm mentioned no fewer than four times at Snopes (not as "zombie," but under other names). Two of those references are false debunkings. I have written to them numerous times over the years asking for corrections, but never got a response. The errors remain there, permanently.
This likely has no relevance to this particular Jefferson quote, but I had to mntion that it isn't 100% reliable.
September 13, 2012 - 10:42 pm Link to this Comment
W Ermet
The quote you referred to does not appear anywhere in the URL page that you referenced. In fact the words bank and currency appear nowhere on that page.
September 13, 2012 - 10:19 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
to the secretary of the treasury (albert gallatin.)
j. mss.
October 7, 1802.
The application of the Bank of Baltimore is of great importance. The consideration is very weighty that it is held by citizens, while the stock of the United States Bank is held in so great a proportion by foreigners. Were the Bank of the United States to swallow up the others and monopolize the whole banking business of the United States, which the demands we furnish them with tend shortly to favor, we might, on a misunderstanding with a foreign power, be immensely embarrassed by any disaffection in that bank. It is certainly for the public good to keep all the banks competitors for our favors by a judicious distribution of them, and thus to engage the individuals who belong to them in the support of the reformed order of things, or at least in an acquiescence under it. I suppose that on the condition of participating in the deposits the banks would be willing to make such communications of their operations and the state of their affairs as might satisfy the Secretary of the Treasury of their stability. It is recommended to Mr. Gallatin to leave such an opening in his answer to this letter, as to leave us free to do hereafter what shall be advisable on a broad view of all the banks in the different parts of the Union. * * *
September 14, 2012 - 1:53 am Link to this Comment | Reply
Oh look, the ACTUAL letter the quote comes from.. Oh look, it's not addressed to Albert Gallatin.. I wonder if that's done on purpose.
Monticello, May 28, 1816
In the General Government, the House of Representatives is mainly republican; the Senate scarcely so at all, as not elected by the people directly, and so long secured even against those who do elect them; the Executive more republican than the Senate, from its shorter term, its election by the people, in practice, (for they vote for A only on an assurance that he will vote for B,) and because, in practice also, a principle of rotation seems to be in a course of establishment; the judiciary independent of the nation, their coercion by impeachment being found nugatory.
If, then, the control of the people over the organs of their government be the measure of its republicanism, and I confess I know no other measure, it must be agreed that our governments have much less of republicanism than ought to have been expected; in other words, that the people have less regular control over their agents, than their rights and their interests require. And this I ascribe, not to any want of republican dispositions in those who formed these constitutions, but to a submission of true principle to European authorities, to speculators on government, whose fears of the people have been inspired by the populace of their own great cities, and were unjustly entertained against the independent, the happy, and therefore orderly citizens of the United States. Much I apprehend that the golden moment is past for reforming these heresies. The functionaries of public power rarely strengthen in their dispositions to abridge it, and an unorganized call for timely amendment is not likely to prevail against an organized opposition to it. We are always told that things are going on well; why change them? "Chi sta bene, non si muove," said the Italian, "let him who stands well, stand still." This is true; and I verily believe they would go on well with us under an absolute monarch, while our present character remains, of order, industry and love of peace, and restrained, as he would be, by the proper spirit of the people. But it is while it remains such, we should provide against the consequences of its deterioration. And let us rest in the hope that it will yet be done, and spare ourselves the pain of evils which may never happen.
On this view of the import of the term republic, instead of saying, as has been said, "that it may mean anything or nothing," we may say with truth and meaning, that governments are more or less republican as they have more or less of the element of popular election and control in their composition; and believing, as I do, that the mass of the citizens is the safest depository of their own rights, and especially, that the evils flowing from the duperies of the people, are less injurious than those from the egoism of their agents, I am a friend to that composition of government which has in it the most of this ingredient. And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.
I salute you with constant friendship and respect.
September 14, 2012 - 2:04 am Link to this Comment | Reply
16. Anonymous
Also known as the Cloward-Piven strategy… too bad for left/libtards it'll mean a wholesale Road Warrior-style collapse and violence, not a happy new Amero currency and Socialism where unicorns with rainbows coming out of their butts abound.
September 13, 2012 - 5:07 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Rather than the Road Warrior it will bring fascism. There are too many people and the government is too well armed for anarchy to take hold.
September 13, 2012 - 8:26 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Probably more like Cyberpunk world….where there are regions of "lawlessness" (read freedom)….but most will be corporatist fascist territorial holdings.
September 13, 2012 - 11:21 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
17. aharris
We really have to stop this borrowing thing or we're dead in the water. No one is going to like hearing this, but if we all don't sacrifice and make do with less of what we were promised now, we'll quickly reach a point where no one will have anything and it will stop cold turkey. That alternative is a scary thing if you stop and think about it. Sadly there are too many people who truly believe that we'll never get to that point.
September 13, 2012 - 5:12 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
In fact we wouldn't even need to suffer, if we would just follow our own Constitution. If we did, we'd abolish the EPA, OSHA, and multiple other grossly unConstitutional Fed agencies/regs that throw not sand but boulders into the gears of the economy. If we did, businesses of all size would boom, wealth would spread, the poor would benefit from employment and entrepreneurial opportunities they long have been unjustly denied, tax revenues would skyrocket, the debt would shrink and disappear. If we did, freedom would reign.
But we won't do that. We the People are a willfully ignorant, wicked, and lazy sovereign, who can't be bothered to read and understand our own foundational Law. This does not end well.
September 13, 2012 - 7:23 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
18. Art Chance
Wiemar Germany, even Germany under the Kaiser, had socialism that even today's US lefties would envy. Virtually the entire workforce was unionized and had all sorts of wage adjustment devices including the interest arbitration feature of the card check legislation that US organized labor wants so badly. There was an elaborate network of social services for the unemployed and the lame, blind, and halt. The Wiemar policy of inflating their way out of the war debt actually worked pretty well. The German economy was growing dramatically as it switched to peacetime endeavors and the German people sought to make up for wartime privation. As the economy inflated, wages and conditions could inflate with it. Having been through the hyperinflation of Alaska in the Pipeline Era, I can tell you that you don't care about inflation so long as you can "inflate" with it and afford what you want. But then came the post-WWI worldwide crash in commodity prices and industrial economies worldwide began to stumble and then crash. Germany could not add wealth to keep its citizens happy and massive social unrest followed. It could easily have led to a Soviet aligned communist government, the Wiemar government wasn't that far from one and was HATED by the German business/owner class. The NSDAP following Mussolini's lead and went to business and assured them that they would respect private ownership of business and property so long as the owners "coordinated" their actions with the NSDAP's policies. Business allied with the NSDAP, the NSDAP eliminated the communists, and the rest is history.
September 13, 2012 - 5:18 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
19. Random Blowhard
The extending, pretending, bailouting, printing and the spending WILL continue until total economic collapse forces it to stop and not a second before.
Washington has lost control of it's spending and CANNOT rein it in.
We are at the end of the great American experiment, by the end of the next 4 years the United States WILL be a larger and poorer version of Argentina in 2001.
September 13, 2012 - 5:18 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
20. vettelover99
The PetroDollar is under attack by DESIGN! Currently, the dollar has been debased by 96% since the founding of the Fed in 1913. The dollar will NOT survive another year much less another four years of Obama and his TRILLION dollar deficits.
Folks, we are in deep trouble. If the dollar crashes and the gold is confiscated once again, there will be death and dying in the streets by the millions.
By my economic models, we were fatally wounded back in 08, we just dont know it yet!! The crash of our fiat currency is INEVITABLE!
September 13, 2012 - 5:45 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
21. AzA
I'm a high school economics teacher operating deep in liberal la-la land. I try all the time to point out to liberal colleagues that maybe rampant inflation (which is the eternal outcome of the Keynesian policies they love) is not actually all that compassionate to the poor, or anyone else for that matter who isn't rich enough to invest their assets elsewhere.
They don't get it. They don't want to.
September 13, 2012 - 5:47 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
especially when everyone alive will be a millionaire and billionaire when it takes $250,000k to buy some groceries
then the libs can tax everyone 100%
brilliantSeptember 13, 2012 - 9:53 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
22. Buzzsawmonkey
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."—Rudyard Kipling, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings"
September 13, 2012 - 5:56 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
23. Philip Sells
It's interesting that some of the ascending notes on exhibit apparently stemmed from different nongovernmental issuers. The 2,000,000-Mark note was issued by the organizing body of the Leipzig exhibition and trade fair; the 5,000,000-Mark note shown stood on the authority of the Leipzig city council; the 10,000,000-Mark item was to be cashed with the bursar of the Imperial railway and was seemingly issued over the signature of the Minister of Transport! So were there indeed multiple private issuers for a little while?
September 13, 2012 - 7:02 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Good question! Hope an expert comes along to answer it.
September 13, 2012 - 7:21 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Randy CA
When the currency began to melt down cities and states started issuing their own currency for use in their own districts.
There has been some statements in these comments about the German economy of the time that seem to forget the historic context. The war ended at the end of 1918 (famously on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.) The German and Austrian economies had been wrecked by the war. To make matters worst, they was then blockaded and their empires had been broken up, so they did not have access to the resources like they once did. Austria,for example was unable to get food from the farm lands of Czechoslovakia as it used to depend on. Things were then even worst when the allies forced them to pay war reparations. France did not want the worthless Marks, so they invaded and took over the German coal mines and shipped the coal back to France. The population of Germany and Austria were starving and freezing to death. They had become so pitiful that there were humanitarian drives to collect the old castaway clothes to send to Germany. This gets us to the early 20′s when the printing presses start cranking out the Marks.
September 14, 2012 - 7:10 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
Marie Claude
"France did not want the worthless Marks, so they invaded and took over the German coal mines and shipped the coal back to France. The population of Germany and Austria were starving and freezing to death"
The decision to invade the Ruhr was taken by France and Belgium, because they couldn't get paid, not because of worthless Marks, until the 1923 occupation such Marks weren't edited.
If the population were starving and freezing, it wasn't the fault of the occupying troops, rather because Germany suffered of large communist strikes and disorganisation. Lost Colonies played no role then
Germany agreed to pay the handsome sum of £6.6 billion in reparations over fifty years. The burden was not quite as onerous as it appeared, however, as the Allies were not expecting all the reparations to be paid in cash. Surrendered military equipment … coal, timber (etc) could be used as credit against the reparations debt. … Both Britain and Germany had a national debt of £7.5 billion in 1918. Germany's depreciating internal currency had eliminated three-quarters of its internal debt by 1921. France's slightly smaller £6.4 billion debt been swelled by the unrepaid costs of repairing wartime devastation. So the demand for £6.6 billion from the Germans did not seem so large
The whole of Germany's payments to the Allies so far … have been discharged by the losses of foreign speculators'. (However, he was prejudiced against France)
It seems that Germany cheated on her true economical situation which wasn't so bad (she hadn't been ruined by battle fields like France and Belgium)
September 15, 2012 - 1:16 am Link to this Comment | Reply
24. sb36695
Our government has become the enemy.
September 13, 2012 - 7:19 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
25. jdondet
This is an interesting article. I believe you could make a good argument that the German government intentionally ruined the value of the mark. The question is why? Weimar Germany owed huge amounts of money to Britain, France, and the USA, It did not borrow the money to spend on social programs, it was war reparations. The Treaty of Versailles demanded reparations from Germany greater than the value of the entire country.
Look at the mark; it used foreign currency to back the value of itself. The dollar, the pound, and I believe also the franc, still used gold to back these currencies. Germany could not; the Treaty of Versailles demanded German gold reserves as war reparations. The mark was vulnerable to inflation and with a little help of a government trying not pay it's reparations, you get Weimar Germany and run away inflation.
Weimar used foreign currency to back its mark, a little hiccup and it is off to the races with inflation. The question for the USA, will we follow Weimar Germany, if we do, we will not have their excuse of having lost a war. Wait! We won the war on terror did we not, or was that the war on poverty, war on drugs?
September 13, 2012 - 8:40 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Marie Claude
The war reparations were a excuse, Germany had no intention to pay, because she never acknowledged the responsability of the war
September 14, 2012 - 12:20 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
You are right Germany had no intentions to pay; however, intentions are one thing and what happens is another. France wanted to make sure Germany never rose back to power, so reparations were paid. The full amount was never paid and eventually the U.S. pushed to have the reparations forgiven. The remaining parts of the treaty it self was abrogated with the rise of Hitler.
September 14, 2012 - 6:11 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
I forgot to say Weimar Germany inflated its currency as a response in order not to pay.
September 14, 2012 - 6:15 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
Randy CA
The French knew the mark was worthless, so the invaded, took over the coal mines and shipped the the coal back to France. That resulted in the death of many Germans and Austrians.
September 14, 2012 - 7:14 am Link to this Comment -
To Randy CA,
I think we are getting lost in the weeds here. The view of the article and what I was trying to agree with. Governments can wreck their economies when forced to pay for things they cannot afford. How the USA got here does not matter, like Weimar, we owe a huge amount to foreign sources. How will we pay? This article is a warning about a way the FED seems to be following.
September 14, 2012 - 10:04 am Link to this Comment -
Randy CA
Yes, sure, that is why all of this is so relevant.
When no one wants to lend the Federal government any more money, the drunken sailors in congress will have two choices:
1.Sober up and cut all federal spending in about half (pink slips to half of all federal employees, Social Security checks cut in half, cut the military budget in half, etc.)and suffer the resulting anger of more than half the country
2. Start up the printing presses, and blame the resulting runaway inflation on greedy businessmen.
You don't need to know much about the world to know which is the most likely.
September 14, 2012 - 10:58 am Link to this Comment
Marie Claude
"That resulted in the death of many Germans and Austrians"
no, if Germans died it's because they stroke and attacked the French and Belgian troops
the most outraging for the Germans were the occupation colonial troops, called "black shame", it was felt as the ultime humiliation
Don't see any Austrian around the Ruhr though
September 15, 2012 - 12:36 am Link to this Comment | Reply
26. Menachem Ben Yakov
Fifteen percent of America is currently on food stamps. When those dollars become worthless people will blame Bernanke and the Jews. Riots will ensue. Islam spreads through poverty. As local mosques become the only place children can get a meal Islam in America will expand exponentially. We are two generations at best from Sharia Law in America. The Jews will take the blame and the Obama Plan will have ben fulfilled. Thats all folks.
September 13, 2012 - 9:35 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
myth buster
Then tell your brethren to move to Israel while they still can, because once the persecution starts, travel will be extremely difficult. We Catholics will hold down the fort so long as we are able, but that won't be very long if Obamacare stands.
September 14, 2012 - 5:56 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
27. DaveJ
Same question I asked elsewhere: If the Fed's purchase of new gov't bonds amounts to monetizing our federal debt, does the purchase of MBS's (mortgage backed securities) amount to monetizing private debt? If so, who gains besides banks and Wall Street gamblers, and those who bought homes they couldn't afford?
Note that, as I understand it, the Fed doesn't buy bonds directly from the gov't, but from banks- who I would assume profit from the purchase/resale. Same deal w/ MSB's?
September 13, 2012 - 10:16 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Cousin Dave
I think the answer to your question is "yes", but likely the biggest beneficiary at this point in time is Freddie's Fanny, i.e. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (The crony bankers definitely benefitted from being able to sell their worthless MBS's to Freddie's Fanny, but that's already a sunk cost.) If the federal government foreclosed on the mortgages backing these MBS's, the property values would come nowhere close to covering the face value of the securities — I'm guessing that when you figure in market conditions in the areas where most of these MBS's come from, plus usual government inefficiencies, they'd be lucky to get 20% back. The losses, were they ever to be realized, would probably add $4-5T to the debt instantly.
Having the Fed buy the MBS's and hold them indefinitely makes the whole problem just disppear. It creates an enormous long-term problem since it clouds the titles of all of these properties, but nobody's thinking that far ahead, and it makes Obama look good right now.
September 14, 2012 - 9:22 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
Just one more step along the path ofnslow motion socialism, like everything else this government has been doing – auto industry bailout, student loan takeover, bank bailouts, Obamacare, massive stimulus to prop up government jobs…
September 15, 2012 - 7:43 am Link to this Comment | Reply
28. Myno
The "spectre" of deflation (as hyped by media and most "modern economists") is a myth. For a dose of reality, check out Detlev Schlichter's PaperMoneyCollapse website and book. He's of the Austrian School of Economics (free market… a REALLY free market), and has analyzed how far we're up the proverbial creek without visible means of transport.
September 13, 2012 - 10:17 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Cousin Dave
Yeah, the real irony is that the Fed'a actions may be propping up prices, but they have failed to do anything about wage deflation. Thus, for the last two years, American families have, in effect, been experiencing stagflation.
September 14, 2012 - 9:26 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
"American families have, in effect, been experiencing stagflation." Notice how the "Democrat-Media Complex" is completely silent on this issue. No outrage over gasoline prices; nothing on the increase of food prices; NOTHING.
September 15, 2012 - 5:11 am Link to this Comment | Reply
29. Martin
I have actually seen an old black and white photo of a poor dirty german child sitting in the gutter playing with huge blocks of bills, using them for play as if they were Lego blocks.
Like it was implied in the article – if you wanted to buy a loaf of bread, you needed a wheelbarrow to transport the necessary bills to the baker. When people received their days pay, they didnt wait until next day to use the money – they went straight out and bought something, anything. It didnt matter what they bought for their pay – they just needed to buy something that could be traded for what they actually needed.
September 14, 2012 - 2:18 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
30. Jack Olson
One feature of the Weimar hyperinflation so far unmentioned, as far as I can tell, is that during it a rabble rouser in Munich attempted to take over the city government by force. He was hoping all the disaffected and enraged Germans would rally to him and put him in charge, as Italians had done the previous year at Mussolini's March on Rome. Instead, the police shot down eighteen of his followers and put him on trial. He was convicted, though admirers filled his jail cell with flowers, and served six months of a five years sentence, during which he wrote his political manifesto, "Mein Kampf." Ten years later, he was Chancellor of Germany.
September 14, 2012 - 5:12 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
Paul of Alexandria
Any OWS types in prison writing autobiographies yet?
September 14, 2012 - 7:45 am Link to this Comment | Reply
31. Kevin R. Cross
The major difference here is that German inflationary pressure was ALSO exacerbated by two extreme contributing factors: ridiculous payments they had to make to France and Britain as part of the Treaty of Versailles, and the Great Depression.
Inflationary measures are a big step, and we should be wary of overusing such measures. But with the global economy getting back into pretty good shape, and our reduction in expenses over those two worthless wars, there's no reason something like this should devolve into a crisis of confidence in the dollar – which is always the ultimate cause of hyperinflation.September 14, 2012 - 9:15 am Link to this Comment | Reply-
Marie Claude
Germany could pay, but didn't want to
September 15, 2012 - 1:14 am Link to this Comment | Reply
32. mojo
See also:
Fiat Money Inflation in France
Andrew Dickson White (1832-1918)September 14, 2012 - 9:19 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
33. Washington76
View this video and seek the similarities of today! Hyperinflation 1923
September 14, 2012 - 12:37 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
34. Washington76
Jun 9, 2008 A teaching resource to support an explantion of the economic process of inflation; how the Weimar Government reacted and how it contributed to the Year of Crisis 1923
September 14, 2012 - 12:59 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
35. Brutus
Thanks for the story This is truly disgusting, the Federal Reserve trying to improve the economy during Obama's presidency. They should at least wait until President Romney is in office. We are clearly in an era of hyper-inflation, just like Wiemar Germany and the Fed is doing everything they can to exacerbate the situation. They are trying to bring about a socialist revolution. Clearly.
September 14, 2012 - 12:59 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
36. Matthew W
I'm holding out for the Billion-Zillion-Trillion bill with the Obama/Biden pictures on them
September 14, 2012 - 5:22 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
I disagree with one point in the article. In truth, the money supply GREW during the Great Depression. The myth has become that the money supply did not grow fast enough. That is incorrect. The Federal Reserve did, in fact, inflate the money supply. Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve and the federal government caused the depression; it was not an inherent "flaw" in the capitalist system.
Ben Bernanke is an idiot. This will not end well…
Buy gold, silvers, guns, and ammunition. Stock up on food, candles, and cigarettes (to trade).
September 14, 2012 - 5:23 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
38. Grace
This is an invaluable book dealing with hyper-inflation:
When Money Dies: The nightmare of the Weimar Hyper-Inflation
Adam Fergusson (Author)Highly recommended!
September 15, 2012 - 2:50 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
39. Veritas
We need look at the examples of Hungary following WW2; Zimbabwe recently, and Argentina only yesterday to see the destruction that beaucrats and bankers can wreck. If you do not invest in gold, silver, and lead, you will regret it. These are not investments, they are insurance.
Gold is up 12% soi far this year, how much interest do you get at your bank?
Our lords and masters are going to print 80 billion a month to buy worthless mortgages. This is an indefinite process. When the people realize the US dollar is worth the same as monopoly money where do you wish to be?
September 15, 2012 - 6:41 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
40. astonerii
A similar fate does await the Unite States of America. But it will not be the over printing of money to pay off those we owe debts to, but to pay for the multidecade vacations that perfectly healthy and capable of working elderly demand. Even supposed conservatives believe they are OWED social security and medicare. Romney and Ryan promise to preserve socialism for generations to come.
Republican party, Preservative since 2012.
We are actually in heavy inflation right now. Who believes the stock market is worth what it is selling for today?
September 15, 2012 - 9:52 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
41. Washington76
A recent CNBC article discussed a very interesting report from the Bank of England about the effects of quantitative easing…. It said that the Bank of England's policies of quantitative easing – similar to the Fed's – had benefited mainly the wealthy. Specifically, it said that its QE program had boosted the value of stocks and bonds by 26 percent, or about $970 billion. It said that about 40 percent of those gains went to the richest 5 percent of British households. Many said the BOE's easing added to social anger and unrest. Dhaval Joshi, of BCA Research wrote that "QE cash ends up overwhelmingly in profits, thereby exacerbating already extreme income inequality and the consequent social tensions that arise from it." Wow. Who benefits from quantitative easing? According to the Bank of England, it is "mainly the wealthy" who benefit.
September 16, 2012 - 12:25 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
42. Washington76
Milton Friedman uses a pencil to illustrate how the free market price system promotes cooperation and harmony among those with no common interest.
"The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy." Milton Friedman
September 20, 2012 - 10:42 am Link to this Comment | Reply
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text: What's That Tune? gamesBookmark the permalink. Release date: Oct 15th, 2012 Price: Free Version: 2.5 Seller: Johnny Ixe Buy Now STP SCORE: Not yet reviewed Description Screenshots Related Games MovieCat 2 – The Movie Trivia Game Sequel! Garfield's Trivia Party Dream of Pixels Flea Symphony DEMONS' SCORE Aliens Abducted Bad Hotel Tap Tap Revenge Tour Mad Acorn Beat Hazard Ultra


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"Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me" Genesis 27:3 NASB
This was an interesting trade show season. Normally, there is a great deal of hype about a select number of new products at both the ATA (Archery Trade Association) and SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, & Outdoor Trade) shows. This year, I never hear the big anticipatory chatter about new bows, rifles, etc. There were some new and noteworthy products for sure, just nothing on the excitement level of years past. If I had to describe this year's crop of new products, smaller and lighter are the two words which immediately come to mind. Today I will post highlights from the ATA Show and tomorrow from SHOT.
For all the Rage shooters, the company is slimming down its line of products. They have done away with the traditional three-blade head for a radical new design. Their Hypodermic line of heads is getting a great deal of attention for its effectiveness and will likely gain a large share of the Rage
business. If you didn't know, Rage and Muzzy and merged this last year. The partnerships is great as it brings some of the best in business together for archery product design. The Helios, a new lighted fletching and nock design, under the Nockturnal brand, is pretty slick and should not only provide more stable arrow flight but the arrow's path will remain unmistakable in flight. Muzzy maintains the line with the solid, value priced, and effective broadhead designs which continue to dominate the fixed blade market.
Tenzing revolutionized the pack industry a few years ago and they continue to release new products. This year, a couple of new packs for bowhunters bearing the Archer's Choice name are hitting the market. Small, lightweight, and highly efficient make them perfect for treestand hunters. I am most excited about their new turkey vest and turkey pack. Both are extremely lightweight and very well thought out in terms of function. They turkey pack
includes a set of adjustable, kick-out legs allowing you to sit up anywhere and maintain back support. The turkey pack will be equally at functional with predator hunters and maybe even some deer hunters. A new fanny pack, the 721, may be the best compact fanny pack for hunters ever made; it includes a built in hand-muff for those cold days.
Tribe Archery, founded by industry veteran and traditional bowhunter Heath Painter, is a new line of traditional bows geared toward youth and hunters. With all the attention being places on building faster and more expensive compound bows, Heath has chosen to get back to basics. He is producing quality bows at prices allowing anyone to get into the traditional game. He has recurves and longbows in a variety of lengths and poundage options as well as colors designed to appeal to today's youth. Heath has always been passionate about helping kids and so this venture is really just an extension of who he has always been. The bows are selling FAST and are being sold across the country, even in Hawaii, at variety of retailers and big box stores. I am hoping to hunt with one this fall.
The new Fang 3 and Fang 4 releases (for three finger or four) from TRU Ball are the latest in a long line of innovative release products. The releases feature a Full Containment System (FCS) with a hook-style jaw that allows the archer to push the FCS slide forward to lock the release on the D-loop, for use in a hands free hunting situation or pull the FCS slide back for repetitive shooting. The releases also provide the ability to shoot with no sensitivity spring for the lightest possible setting or a medium and heavy spring, included in the package, for heavier sensitivity settings. As with other TRU Ball releases, the independent trigger travel adjustment screw allows numerous different settings as desired by the archer.
Millennium Treestands have made introduced some new and redesigned products this year. They have taken their already lightweight M100 hang on stand and turned it into the M100U. It has an improved platform design and other new features which make it 20% lighter; it weighs only 11.5 pounds yet retains all the comfort of the original. A new, optional shooting rail, is also available for gun hunters or those wanting to add a camo screen.
Other new products include two 7-pound chairs; one a tripod style chair and the other a swivel chair. Both should be right at home inside a blind and both come drilled for Millennium's new shooting stick mount, perfect for crossbow or gun hunters.
Probably some of the biggest hype of the ATA surrounded the
introduction of a new company and their release of new products designed to hunt from above. Hawk has a number of treestand styles, from climbers, to hang-ons and sticks, to ladders stands, to fit anyone's preferred method of hunting. Their new climbing sticks are innovative and lightweight; the step design provides an extra measure of slip-free safety and security. A great deal of thought went into their many accessories for the treestand hunter. Their accessories really shine in the "that's just what I've needed" or the "why didn't I think of that" categories. Here is a link to the new Hawk catalog.
First Lite, known for their Merino wool base layer products have answered the call to produce more performance based outer garments. I had a chance to try out their new insulated hunting jacket, the Uncompahgre Puffy, at the show and didn't want to take it off. There is no doubt, when used with an appropriate layering system, this jacket will keep you warm and dry anywhere you plan to go. Their Boundary Stormtight jacket is another solid product. It lacks the heavy insulation of the Uncompahgre but will no doubt keep you dry. It is lightweight and cut for shooters. Add an appropriate layering system underneath and you won't likely need anything more than this jacket to keep the weather out except in the harshest cold environments.
Rocky Boots have come out with several new designs. They have a new, very lightweight rubber boot rated to a -40F comfort level with almost zero bulk, The secret is a new heat reflective technology inside the boot eliminating the need for bulky and heavy insulation, Your own body heat is reflected back into the boot and trapped. Look for these ultra comfortable, lightweight boots soon.
Tomorrow I will continue with Part Two and my SHOT Show review.


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Hm. I'm thinking about purchasing EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath from eBay. Before I do, I want to know a few things.
On the box, it says that it's only playable on US or European servers. So, does that means it's only restricted for US/European users? Or are they just servers based there?
Also, do you reckon I'll be able to handle it "normally" on my machine?
Intel Pentium III Processor at 864/866 MHz
384MB RAM (Maybe I'll get more, upto 512 if possible)
Graphics Card? Well.. I don't exactly know what sort I have. Is NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 there Card? If not, I used to run similar MMORPGs that worked alright, if not, would work excellent with a faster system.


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Looking for links to information you use frequently and don't find it here? Contact Academic Affairs and let us know.
Don't know how to access the intranet? Ask your Chair, or call IT for login information and training.
Please log on to the secure intranet to access information such as:


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Nov. 30, 2012
St. Paul, Minn.
The Buena Vista women's basketball team had three players finish in double figures on Friday night, as it closed the game on a 19-6 run, and picked up a 62-50 non-conference road victory at Northwestern College (MN).
BVU led 26-15 at the half and continued to hold a lead throughout the first part of the second period until the Eagles grabbed their first lead of the night (44-43) with seven minutes to play.
Freshman Lexi Fisher (Glenwood, Iowa/Glenwood) then scored five straight points for the Beavers to put them back up by four at 48-44. After the two teams went back-and-forth for the next few minutes, Lacey Vokt (Audubon, Iowa/Audubon) knocked down a three to push the BVU lead back up to seven (55-48) with just over two minutes to play. A pair of free-throws and another bucket from Vokt gave BVU a nice cushion at 59-48 with a minute left before the teams combined for five free-throws for the game's final score.
Junior Susan Kies (Fonda, Iowa/Newell-Fonda) led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. Vokt finished with a career-high 12 points off the bench for the Beavers, including a pair of long-range buckets. Senior Tara Lehner (Le Mars, Iowa/Le Mars) also had a career-night, turning in her first career double-double with a career-high 10 points to go along with a career-high 19 rebounds. She had 10 boards at halftime, and her 19 overall matched a school record set by Dana Janning back in 1990-91.
As a team, the Beavers shot just under 39 percent from the field for the game and connected on only 4-of-19 from downtown. The Eagles (2-4), however, were only 28 percent from the field and 5-of-19 from beyond the arc.
Buena Vista evens its record at 3-3 on the year and will now stay up north and play a non-conference road contest at Crown College on Saturday afternoon at 2:00pm.


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Monday, June 11, 2012
Giveaway Winner Announced!
Our giveaway winner has been chosen!
Thanks to Random.org, Chantelle has won the 25.00 credit to Shoeology!
Hopefully we will have another giveaway soon!
I'll see what I can do.
(Winky Face)
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Are you scared yet?
Nope, me either.
1.2 MILLION: People in killed in road accidents EVERY YEAR.
430,000: Americans killed by cigarettes EVERY YEAR. (The equivalent of 9/11 repeated every two days forever.)
400,000: Americans die each year from obesity (while much greater numbers around the world starve to death).
More people die per year from shark attacks than terrorism.
So when do we start getting naked scanned or groped before we are allowed to drive, eat, or buy cigarettes?
When will Obama acknowledge the real threat and activate the military against Jaws?


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Order Line 0330 123 4123
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Wickes website. However, you can read our cookie policy here .
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:: Kol Ishah :: The Art of Remembrance :: The Other Eye :: Subway Riders
:: Join Our Mailing List
SUBWAY RIDERS Directed by Amos Poe, Director of Photography & Producer Hannah Heer USA 1981 color 120 minutes
Cast: Susan Tyrrell, Robbie Coltrane, John Lurie, Amos Poe, Cookie Mueller, Charlene Kaleina, and Bill Rice.
Exclusive Worldwide Rights & Sales: Hannah Heer
"SUBWAY RIDERS is a chilling melodrama of angst, alienation and obsession. Poe and his Director of Photography (and producer) Hannah Heer use color (lurid reds and neon blues) symbolically and odd camera angles subtly underscore the premise that the characters are not simply bizarros alienated from society, but rather that anomie is the definitive characteristic of the modern world itself. SUBWAY RIDERS' music does not merely accompany the film, but occupies its own aural space and so adds its own distinct perspective to this highly stylized, richly textured portrait of a world of random murders." -Jeff McLaughlin, The Boston Globe
"SUBWAY RIDERS is an atmospheric feature, which in its stylized fashion accurately captures the feeling of big-city anomie today with a nod to the cine-noir approach of the 1940s." -Lor., Variety
"The most direct attempt to switch off mainstream expectations I have seen in U.S. alternative cinema occurs in SUBWAY RIDERS, made by Amos Poe and Johanna Heer in 1981. The opening sequence shows Poe rejecting an offer to sell his script to Hollywood. The story then gets ultra-low-budget in look and sound, but also introduces a color-coded stylization, in which each main character's mood is shown by tinting the image. This stylization is pushed further by double casting the main character, a schizophrenic saxophone player who regularly tries to murder whoever hears him play. Poe and Heer made a film fully within German Expressionist terms and at the same time one that has the feeling of documentary realism. That Poe deliberately disconnected viewer expectations for a normal movie is part of the reason SUBWAY RIDERS became a cult classic, especially in Europe. -- "Technology and film practice: Hollywood and low-budget alternatives" by Charles Eidsvik, from Jump Cut, no. 36, May 1991, pp. 36-42, 73 Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, 1991, 2006
Berlinale (Forum) Rotterdam Los Angeles Edinburgh London Deauville Montreal Dublin Vienna Torino Figuera da Voz a.o.
Kol Ishah | The Art of Remembrance | The Other Eye | Subway Riders


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Ingredients & Description
Optimize your immunity with Colostrum High-IG from Symbiotics. Symbiotics utilizes colostrum from pesticide, hormone, antibiotic, and rBST free bovine. Colostrum high-IG contains 960 mg bovine colostrum from the first two milkings, immediately after the newborn calves' needs are met.Colostrum is a substance produced by mammary glands during the late stages of pregnancy. Thick, sticky, and yellowish in color, colostrum is rich in antibodies, carbohydrates, proteins, and exceptionally low in fat. Specific antibodies called immunoglobulins help to nourish mucous membranes of the intestines, lungs, and throat. Well nourished mucous membranes are an important factor in immune system defense, trapping and stopping viruses and bacteria before they spread.
Supplement Facts Serving Size: 2 Capsules |
Bovine Colostrum | 960 mg | * |
APS = Amount Per Serving *% Daily Value (%DV) not established. |
Other Ingredients: Gelatin Capsules
Suggested Use: 2 capsules twice a day - double in times of environmental and/or physical stress. For children decrease adult dosage by 1/2.
*Not intended to diagnose or treat diseases or ailments, and is not reviewed by the FDA.
Uses & Indications.


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The hummus and eggplant caviar can be made up to 2 days in advance, or for a slacker solution you can substitute a good-quality store-bought hummus. Stephen Gibbs told us, "If you simmer canned chickpeas in water or chicken stock for 5 minutes, they will break down faster for a more creamy, fluffy texture. An Israeli chef taught me to put half of a boiled russet potato in the mix for supercreamy hummus."
Game plan: For the pita crisps, you can substitute lavash crackers.
This recipe was featured as part of our Killer Apps story.
- 1In a food processor, purée the chickpeas, tahini, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice, paprika, and garlic until smooth, adding more olive oil if the mixture seems too thick. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
For the eggplant caviar:
- 1Heat the oven to 375°F. Prick the eggplant with a fork on all sides to allow steam to escape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 35 minutes or until it is soft and collapsed.
- 2Scrape the eggplant flesh out with your fingers or a fork, discarding the skin. Coarsely chop the flesh and place in a mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix until creamy. Add additional vinegar and lemon juice if you prefer more acidity.
- 3To serve, take a toasted pita wedge and top with a teaspoon of hummus and then a teaspoon of eggplant caviar.
Note: The hummus and eggplant caviar can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Toast the pita and assemble just before serving.
Beverage pairing: Falanghina Dei Feudi di San Gregorio, Italy. This wine comes from the dry south of Italy, where the Falanghina grape has evolved to produce rich, medium-bodied wines with a beautiful balance of savory and sweet, accented by some pepper and spice. These flavors should pair well with the hummus, and the creamy textures of both should make a nice match.


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Gestión de ecosistemas
Nairobi Statement on Climate Change Adaptation
Ministers and senior officials from more than 20 countries joined government representatives, intergovernmental organisations and NGOs in Nairobi, to finalise the Nairobi Statement on Land and Water Management for Adaptation to Climate Change. …
21 Apr 2009 | News story
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Troubles in the Coconut Grove
Could rising sea levels undermine the potential for islands to produce biofuels from coconut oil? Tonga's sea level monitoring programme has registered a 10 mm rise in recent years, and the trend is likely to continue. …
21 Apr 2009 | News story
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Pacific Energy Officials and Ministers Meeting, Nukualofa, Tonga : 20th -24th April 2009
"STRENGTHENING THE FRAGILE PACIFIC ISLANDS ENERGY SECTOR – Addressing energy, economy and environment in a period of rapid change" …
14 Apr 2009 | News story
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Aviation industry should target efficiencies not algae
In this World Radio Switzerland interview, IUCN's Nadine McCormick comments on claims from the 4th annual Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva that algae is the future energy source for aviation.
…01 Apr 2009 | News story
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Make sure rescue package is green, G20 told
A new global coalition of environmental, development, business and labour groups calls on the G-20 to make sure the financial stimulus package they are discussing this week is an inclusive and green one. …
30 Mar 2009 | News story
Planning for a sustainable energy future: IUCN reacts to Shell's Strategy Update
Last week Shell repeated its intention to disinvest in wind and solar power and concentrate its efforts and investments on biofuels. IUCN takes note of Shell's decision and hopes that it can be convinced to show more leadership in renewable energy in the future. …
23 Mar 2009 | News story
IUCN President outlines approaches for a more sustainable energy future
Ashok Khosla, IUCN President, presented his vision for how to get to a sustainable energy future at the inaugural Energy Pact Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. …
16 Mar 2009 | News story
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Winrock International India organizes '6th International Biofuels Conference'
Winrock International India (WII), a New Delhi based not-for-profit organization (also a IUCN member), organized the 6th International Biofuels Conference on March 4–5, 2009 in New Delhi. The Conference, 6th in the series, has created a niche for itself and has over the years, become a vibrant and neutral platform for stakeholders from across the world. …
16 Mar 2009 | News story
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World fisheries: in stable but critical condition
The 2009 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report released last week in Rome produced very much the same findings as the previous report released in 2007. The document, published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), reported that global trends in marine fish stocks have continued to deteriorate slightly. …
10 Mar 2009 | News story
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Knowing the wealth of water to the energy industry - lessons from IUCN
In a world where each unit of energy is becoming increasingly water intensive, many countries are already facing severe water scarcity. This short IUCN opinion piece explores the links between energy and water systems from an environmental perspective. …
27 Feb 2009 | News story
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Posted: Nov 28, 2011 8:17 AM by Russell Jones
Updated: Nov 28, 2011 3:38 PM
Source: DOTD
JACKSON - State Police reported no oil spilled and roads are back open after a tanker truck carrying crude overturned this morning in East Feliciana Parish.
The wreck shut down La. 432 for eleven hours while another truck was brought in to off-load the oil.
News 2's Stephanie Ryan will have more on what's believed to have caused the wreck tonight at 5 p.m.


text: I'm thrilled to pieces to hear that Yu Kawakami won best mature actress. I am a big fan of lesbian JAV, and have many actresses who I am a fan of, but I really do think Yu Kawakami is the best actress working today, I adore her. And great to hear Yu Asakura won best actress too, cos I like her as well!