This blog displays a variety of views about the world crisis and its origin presented in documentaries, interviews etc. found on the internet. The blog owner claims no ownership to copyright of any of the content. Every post refers directly to its original source and is uploaded for free public information. The blog owner takes no responsibility for the views expressed in this blog. They are solely the views of those who created the material referred to.
Naomi Klein, Author of the Shock Doctrine
... joins thousands In NYC to shift the economic conversation towards the 99% of the Nation in one of the richest zip codes in the country...Via WBAI, Pacifica Radio and Digital Warrior Media.
Historian and bestselling author Niall Ferguson (www.niallferguson.com) puts the recent financial meltdown in perspective in his book "The Ascent of Money, the first large scale global financial history of its kind, which also has been produced as a TV documentary in 6 episodes, which can be seen here. But first...
An interview with Niall Ferguson about the history of money:
The Ascent of Money - Episodes 1-5:
The Ascent of Money - Episode 6:
The ascent of money: A financial history of the world One way to make sense of the present financial chaos is to look back at the past Quote from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/node/12376642 - Oct 9th 2008 | from the print edition:
"THE typical career of a Wall Street banker lasts about a quarter of a century, enough to span just one big financial crisis. As Niall Ferguson explains in his new book, “The Ascent of Money”, which will be published next month, today’s senior financiers would have started out in 1983, fully ten years after oil and gold prices first began the surge that had ruined the previous generation of money men. That, he concludes, is a “powerful justification for the study of financial history.”
Mr Ferguson is right. The world needs a book that puts today’s crisis into context. It is too late now to warn investors about expensive houses and financiers about cheap credit. But perhaps the past can help make sense of the wreckage of banks, brokers and hedge funds that litters the markets. Looking back may help suggest what to do next. And when the crisis is over and it is time for the great reckoning, the lessons of history should inform the arguments about what must change."
The quote above is about the book, but here you can watch the documentary by the same name and by the same author, Niall Ferguson.
The National Inflation Association has released the economic documentary called "Meltup." The documentary is a sequel to NIA's critically acclaimed "Hyperinflation Nation" and the documentary "The Dollar Bubble".
“Meltup" features Gerald Celente, Peter Schiff, Ron Paul, Marc Faber, Jim Rogers, Tom Woods, and others. The documentary proves thorough facts and statistics about how hyperinflation in the U.S. is now inevitable and how Americans could soon see the end of entitlement programs they have become dependent on to live and survive.
NIA believes ‘Meltup’ is the most important economic documentary ever produced in world history and a must-see for you, your friends, and family members.
The U.S. economy is currently experiencing a "Meltup" and NIA believes this "Meltup" is a prelude to a currency collapse and hyperinflation. Our economy needs to experience a "Meltdown" so that the free market can rebalance it, but by trying to prevent a much needed recession, the Federal Reserve has made a massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar inevitable.
U.S. citizens have not yet felt the pain of the government bailouts, which have deceptively transferred the wealth of the middle class to bankers on Wall Street under the ruse of "too big to fail." Institutions on Wall Street needed to fail in order to have a truly healthy economy. By bailing them out and rapidly expanding the size of government, we have sowed the seeds of a U.S. dollar hyperinflationary death spiral and the end of entitlement programs Americans have become dependent on to live and survive.
The National Inflation Association is an organization that is dedicated to preparing Americans for hyperinflation. The NIA offers free membership at http://www.inflation.us and provides its members with articles about the economy and inflation, news stories, important charts not shown by the mainstream media; YouTube videos featuring Jim Rogers, Marc Faber, Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and others; and profiles of gold, silver, and agriculture companies that they believe could prosper in an inflationary environment.
A presentation of how banking affects poverty, dept and inequality, the economy, power and democracy as well as housing.
All about the money - Part 2: Solutions
A presentation about possible solutions.
It's not all doom and gloom. Discover the few simple changes to banking that would reduce debt, poverty and economic instability and that would ensure that the reckless behaviour of banks could never threaten the global economy again.
"When the chief economics editor at the Financial Times writes that the essence of the contemporary monetary system is:
"the creation of money, out of nothing, by private banks..."
then it might be time to pay more attention to where your money comes from.
This talk, delivered by Ben Dyson of Positive Money, explains why almost everyone is in debt, why the financial crisis continues, and how the current banking system (which the Governor of the Bank of England described as the worst possible) is at the root of most of the social and economic problems that we face today.
Discover the few simple changes to banking that would reduce debt, poverty and economic instability and that would ensure that the reckless behaviour of banks could never threaten the global economy again."
Albert Allen Bartlett (born 1923 in Shanghai) is an emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. Professor Bartlett has lectured over 1,600 times since September, 1969 on Arithmetic, Population, and Energy.
Bartlett believes that sustainable growth is a contradiction, since modest annual percentage population increases will inevitably equate to huge exponential growth over sustained periods of time. He therefore regards human overpopulation as "The Greatest Challenge" facing humanity.
See his very thought-provoking lecture here.
From wonderingmind42's channel on YouTube:
"Several million views for an old codger giving a lecture about arithmetic? What's going on? You'll just have to watch to see what's so damn amazing about what he (Prof. Albert Bartlett) has to say. When I saw this lecture at a conference in 1995, I came out blasted, thinking "This needs to be required listening for every person on the planet. Nothing else will matter if we don't understand this."
The presenter is Albert Bartlett, a retired Physics prof. at U of Colorado-Boulder. The presentation is titled "Arithmetic, Population, and Energy," and I introduce it to my students as "The most boring video you'll ever see, and the most important."
But then again, after viewing it, most said that if you followed along with what Bartlett is saying, it's quite easy to pay attention, because the content is so damn compelling."
Robert Reich on the ideas in his new book, "Aftershock". The economic recession we are in is a structural problem rooted in an economy where wealth is as unequal as any time since in the great depression. That inequality leaves us susceptible to political extreme-ism unless we fix it.
Jenny and the great interplay - A portrait of Jenny Endersen's life – English subtitles (3:6)
– from the Norwegian TV series: "Der ingen skulle tru nokon kunne bu" - a very popular television series about people living in remote places in Norway. It features fascinating people and spectacular scenery.
Posh girl left US to live simple on remote farm in Norway
Jenny grew up in wealthy Westport in Connecticut, USA. She’s never owned a computer, a car or a television. But every evening she sits in front of her loom weaving, and she goes out to milk the cow from the lantern-light. Jenny Endresen lives on the remote mountain farm Moslid in Telemark, southern Norway, without any electricity or roads. She lives as farmers did a hundred years ago. The purpose is to be self-sufficient and avoid contributing to the mechanical system destroying the earth.
NOTE! The interviewer speaks Norwegian but Jenny responds in English so people who do not understand Norwegian will be able to enjoy the program too. There is also a lot of beatiful scenery to be seen.
The Secret of Oz
- won Best Documentary of 2010 at the Beloit International Film Festival.
About the documentary (From http://www.secretofoz.com)
It is well known in economics academia that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 is loaded with powerful symbols of monetary reform which were the core of the Populist movement and the 1896 and 1900 president bid of Democrat William Jennings Bryan.
The yellow brick road (gold standard), the emerald city of Oz (greenback money), even Dorothy’s silver slippers (changed to ruby slippers for the movie version) were the symbol of Baum’s and Bryan’s belief that adding silver coinage to gold would provide much needed money to a depression-strapped, 1890s America.
We believe Baum’s symbols represent the only solution to relieve the growing economic hardship here in America – and the rest of the world. Practically speaking, 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of the 1939 MGM release of the The Wizard of Oz movie, so interest will be very high. Even Oz websites put up by kids get millions of hits.
Who's In It?
Joseph Farah, Founder and CEO of WorldNetDaily.
Peter Schiff, President of Euro-Pacific Capital, the leading “bear” on Wall Street, author.
Byron Dale, author and monetary reform expert, author of many books.
Ellen Brown, author Web of Debt, attorney, and monetary reform expert
James Robertson, former official in a variety of slots in the UK government, and head of the Inter-Bank Research Organization, author of many books
Prof. Nick Tideman, VA Tech University School of Economics
Prof. Michael Hudson, President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and author of Super-Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire (1972 and 2003)
John Keyworth, Curator, Bank of England Museum
Prof. Quentin Taylor, professor of political science at Rogers State University
Reed Simpson, banker, asset manager
Intro
“In 1996, in a documentary called “The MoneyMasters”, we asked the question why is America going broke. It wasn’t clear then that we were, but it is today. Now the question is how can we get out of this mess. Foreclosures are everywhere, unemployment is skyrocketing – and this is only the beginning. America’s economy is on a long, slippery slope from here on. The bubble ride of debt has come to an end.
“What can government do? The sad answer is – under the current monetary system – nothing. It’s not going to get better until the root of the problem is understood and addressed. There isn’t enough stimulus money in the entire world to get us out of this hole.
“Why? Debt. The national debt is just like our consumer debt – it’s the interest that’s killing us.
“Though most people don’t realize it the government can’t just issue it’s own money anymore. It used to be that way. The King could just issue stuff called money. Abraham Lincoln did it to win the Civil War.
“No, today, in our crazy money system, the government has to borrow our money into existence and then pay interest on it. That’s why they call it the National Debt. All our money is created out of debt. Politicians who focus on reducing the National Debt as an answer probably don’t know what the National Debt really is. To reduce the National Debt would be to reduce our money – and there’s already too little of that.
“No, you have to go deeper. You have to get at the root of this problem or we’re never going to fix this. The solution isn’t new or radical. America used to do it. Politicians used to fight with big bankers over it. It’s all in our history – now sadly – in the distant past.
“But why can’t we just do it again? Why can’t we just issue our own money, debt free? That, my friends, is the answer. Talk about reform! That’s the only reform that will make a huge difference to everyone’s life – even worldwide.
“The solution is the secret that’s been hidden from us for just over 100 years – ever since the time when author L. Frank Baum wrote “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
The author/filmmaker
Bill Still (billstill3@aol.com) is a former newspaper editor and publisher. He has written for USA Today, The Saturday Evening Post, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, OMNI magazine, and produced the syndicated radio program, Health News. He has written 22 books and two documentary videos, including:
The Hormone Headache - New ways to prevent, manage, treat, migranes and other headaches. , 222 pages, soft-backed, published by Macmillian, 1995. $20. Over 20,000 in print.
The Truth About TMJ - How to Help Yourself, the leading book on the temporomandibular joint problem. 148-pages, 1994, soft-backed. $20
The Money Masters 203 minutes, 1996, a documentary history of the privately-owned central banking scheme and its effects on American history. $20 retail (2 VHS tapes or 1 DVD). Over 50,000 in print.
On the Horns of the Beast: the Federal Reserve and the New World Order - How a group of private bankers have been given a monopoly over our money. 158 page, softback. $20.
Legend of the Holy Lance - A fact-based novel about the lance that pierced the side of Jesus. 240 pages, Hardback, $27.95; softback, $20.
Breathing for Musicians - a 96-page manual for music students showing them common mistakes made in the teaching of wind instruments and voice. $20.
Why America Is Free: A History of the Founding of the American Republic 1750-1800 – A 208-page 7-grade hard-backed text on the American revolutionary period, 1998, published by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association for The Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., $20. Over 60,000 in print.
The Corporation
"The Corporation" is a 2003 Canadian award-winning documentary film written by Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary is critical of the modern-day corporation, considering its legal status as a class of person and evaluating its behaviour towards society and the world at large as a psychiatrist might evaluate an ordinary person. This is explored through specific examples.
"The Corporation" has been shown worldwide, on television, and via DVD, file sharing, and free download. Bakan wrote the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, during the filming of the documentary.
"The Corporation" is WINNER OF 26 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS! 10 Audience Choice Awards including the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.
Provoking, witty, stylish and sweepingly informative, "The Corporation" explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time. Part film and part movement, "The Corporation" is transforming audiences and dazzling critics with its insightful and compelling analysis.
Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?"
"The Corporation" includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore - plus true confessions, case studies and strategies for change.
"A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash explores key historical events, data and predictions regarding the global peak in petroleum production through interviews with petroleum geologists, former OPEC officials, energy analysts, politicians, and political analysts. The film contains contemporary footage interspersed with news and commercial footage from the growth heyday of petroleum production. The documentary focuses on information and testimony that supports the projection of a near-term oil production peak.
The documentary examines our dependence on oil, showing how oil is essential for almost every facet of our modern lifestyle, from driving to work to clothing and clean tap water. A Crude Awakening asks the tough question, “What happens when we run out of cheap oil?” Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenges we would face in dealing with the possibility of a world without cheap oil—a world in which it may ultimately take more energy to drill for oil than we can extract from the oil the wells produce.
Interviews
Interviews include energy investment banking CEO Matthew Simmons, petroleum geologist Dr. Colin Campbell, former OPEC Secretary-General Fadhil Chalabi, among many others.
The interviewees provided the results of their analysis of current levels of proven reserves, the limited opportunities for significant oil discoveries, and the dire economic consequences of a global oil production peak. Their overall conclusions were that a global peak was imminent (if not already occurring), more wars would be fought to control access to oil resources, and economies most dependent on oil (or relying on trade with oil-dependent nations) would suffer dire consequences rivaling the Great Depression, without the benefit of cheap oil to enable a recovery.
The producers of this film are trying to express their opinion that the world is running out of cheap, easily accessible oil, and present some of the possible consequences of this increasing scarcity. It is important to remember that the producers are not suggesting that the world is running out of oil; they are arguing that the world is running out of easy-to-get-at “cheap oil.” This theory presented in the documentary is popularly known as the “peak oil” theory."
"Americans generally like to hear good news. They like to believe that a new president will right old wrongs, that clean energy will replace dirty oil and that fresh thinking will set the economy straight. American pundits tend to restrain their pessimism and hope for the best. But is anyone prepared for the worst?
Meet Michael Ruppert, a different kind of American. A former Lost Angeles police officer turned independent reporter, he predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter. From the Wilderness, at a time when most Wall Street and Washington analysts were still in denial. Director Chris Smith has shown an affinity for outsiders in films like American Movie and The Yes Men. In Collapse, he departs stylistically from his past documentaries by interviewing Ruppert in a format that recalls the work of Errol Morris and Spalding Gray.
Sitting in a room that looks like a bunker, Ruppert recounts his career as a radical thinker and spells out the crises he sees ahead. He draws upon the same news reports and data available to any Internet user, but he applies a unique interpretation. He is especially passionate about the issue of "peak oil," the concern raised by scientists since the seventies that the world will eventually run out of fossil fuel.
While other experts debate this issue in measured tones, Ruppert doesn’t hold back at sounding an alarm, portraying an apocalyptic future. Listening to his rapid flow of opinions, the viewer is likely to question some of the rhetoric as paranoid or deluded, and to sway back and forth on what to make of the extremism. Smith lets viewers form their own judgments."
Watch the Theatrical trailer for director Chris Smith's documentary COLLAPSE. Featuring Michael Ruppert. If you're interested, you can buy the film here: http://www.CollapseMovie.com
Quotes from www.endofamericamovie.com:
From award-winning filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern (The Devil Came on Horseback and The Trials of Darryl Hunt) comes the provocative and expertly crafted film, THE END OF AMERICA, based on The New York Times best seller by the same name. In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years, author Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth) makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat.
Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities—from the use of paramilitary groups and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law. With this galvanizing call to arms based on her recent book, she urges regular citizens to take back our legacy of freedom and justice.
10 STEPS THAT CLOSE AN OPEN SOCIETY 1. Invoke an internal and external threat
People who are afraid are willing to do things that they wouldn’t otherwise do.
2. Establish secret (unaccountable) prisons where torture takes place
In a secret system, the government does not have to provide any proof of wrongdoing by those it holds, so it can incarcerate anyone it wants.
3. Develop a paramilitary force
A private military force — under the exclusive direction of the “commander in chief” with no accountability to Congress, the courts, or the public — blurs the line between a civilian police force and a militarized police state.
4. Surveil ordinary citizens
People who believe they are being watched are less likely to voice opposition. To scare a population into silence, the government need only monitor the activities of a few to make everyone fear that they are being surveilled. Every closed society keeps a “list” of so-called opponents it tracks.
5. Infiltrate citizen’s groups
Spies in activist groups put psychological pressure on genuine activists by undermining their trust in one another. They may also disrupt legal activities, undermining the effectiveness of group efforts.
6. Detain and release ordinary citizens
Detention intimidates or psychologically damages those arrested and also lets everyone know that anyone could be labeled an “enemy combatant” and “disappeared.”
7. Target key individuals
People are less likely to speak out when those who are highly visible, like journalists, scholars, artists, or celebrities, are intimidated or have the livelihoods threatened. Targeting those who are especially visible makes it less likely that people will speak out and robs society of leaders and others who might inspire opposition.
8. Restrict the press
The public is less likely to fi nd out about government wrongdoing if the government can threaten to prosecute anyone who publishes or broadcasts reports that are critical of the government.
9. Recast criticism as espionage and dissent as treason
People who protest can be charged with terrorism or treason when laws criminalize or limit free speech rather than protect it.
10. Subvert the rule of law
The disappearance of checks and balances makes it easier to declare martial law, especially if the judiciary branch continues to exercise authority over individuals but has no authority over the Executive branch.
About Naomi Wolf
Naomi Wolf is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Beauty Myth, The End of America and Give Me Liberty. She has toured the world speaking to audiences of all walks of life about gender equality, social justice, and, most recently, the defense of liberty in America and internationally. She is the cofounder of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, which teaches ethics and empowerment to young women leaders, and is also a cofounder of the American Freedom Campaign, a grass roots democracy movement in the United States whose mission is the defense of the Constitution and the rule of law.
