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Box A Rox
October 20, 2011, 10:57am Report to Moderator

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Quoted from 55tbird

Hey Box, don't tell me what the F*ck I do or don't get.
I understand why they are there. What they don't understand is the only thing that will change the situation is the ballot box. Railing on wall street is like ragging on the oil companies about the price of a barrel when the commodities brokers set the price.

That clip was nothing but a CYA


See?  He still doesn't get it.  


The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral
philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

John Kenneth Galbraith

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55tbird
October 20, 2011, 11:04am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Box A Rox


See?  He still doesn't get it.  


Box, OK enlighten me   from your computer because it seems you are too lazy to be a part of it.


"Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock out the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around like it is victorious." - Author Unknown
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the masses complain to the elected...and in turn, they shut up the plebs by squeezing wallstreet eeeeeking out some feelgood sh!t.....

GREECE WILL HAPPEN

it's the ladder from the bottom up that is missing rungs either because they were removed or never existed or were given to your neighbor....waiting for it to rain down prosperity is another way of saying "I cant do anything for myself.
The government needs to fix it for me."


...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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Quoted Text
Statement of the Political Bureau of the CC of the KKE: To block and overthrow the policies which exterminate the people






Down with the government and the parties of the plutocracy

Radical overturning of the balance of forces in favour of the KKE

Working class-popular organization and alliance everywhere

There is a solution for the people with workers’-people’s power and disengagement from the EU-cancellation of the debt


The war against the rights and life of the people, which the KKE had predicted and warned of in a timely fashion, is fully underway and escalating. There is no time to lose.


The KKE calls the people in a militant and political alliance to block and overthrow the policies which will lead them and their children to live for decades in the most bleak misery with starvation wages, unemployment, insecurity, without basic rights, in order to protect the profits and interests of the business groups from their crisis and the state bankruptcy which is necessary for them.


What is needed now is popular emancipation, awakening and organization against our common implacable enemies, the government of the plutocracy, its other parties and its international allies, the EU and the IMF. People’s organization, the struggle and the forms of struggle must correspond to the ferocity of the all-sided and merciless offensive of capital.


In order for the barbaric measures to be impeded, the moment of the overthrow and the people’s victory to happen sooner, in every workplace, sector and neighbourhood there must now be raised a strong labour-people’s movement and a people’s front must be formed which will pose the following issues here and now:

An end to sacrifices for the crisis and the profitability of the plutocracy.
Down with the government, down with the parties that sacrifice the people to save capital and the European Union.
Modern labour-popular rights. The working class and people must own the wealth they produce, with popular power, withdrawal from the EU and the cancellation of the debt.


No referendum must be accepted now. It will be a trap, with whatever excuse and whatever pretext the government attempts to carry it out. Its goal is to show that the people support or tolerate its policies. No to the referendum, elections must be held.


At this moment, nothing should prevent the people’s awakening, the impetuous development of the labour-people’s movement. This must determine the developments and overthrow the government. At the same time, it must seriously damage ND and other bourgeois parties of Karatzaferis and Bakogianni, which agree with the goals and essence of the memorandum so that the people are impoverished and capital remains untouched. And through the struggles and elections their strength must be drastically reduced, their influence amongst the people.


In the elections-for the people to enjoy any benefits, to gain time and be strengthened-PASOK, ND and the other parties which are eager to contribute to the creation of various forms of coalition government to continue and complete the anti-people crime must receive a big “haircut”. The bourgeois parties must be damaged and weakened, so in whatever way they form a government, it will be ineffectual at passing its policies. A basic pre-condition is that the people’s rage and indignation be transformed into a force of organized activity, a force for overthrow in alliance with the KKE. The people have every reason and duty to trust and strengthen the KKE which told the truth in a timely fashion, is experienced, capable and tested, has no obligations to the monopolies, the system, the EU and has demonstrated that it does not fear them.


The people must draw useful conclusions, to use the experience from Greece and Europe, to understand that it is in its interests for the bourgeois parties to be weakened as well as the political system and for the KKE and the organized popular movement to be strengthened. Thus, the people can head off and foil the reactionary developments. To put a brake on the extermination of its rights, authoritarianism and repression which is always used by the bourgeois political system to block the people’s intervention. To prevent the country’s involvement in imperialist wars.


The popular demand for elections must be combined with the militant people’s action for disobedience, the refusal to pay the murderous taxes which must be generalised and take on a universal character in Education, Health, Welfare, everywhere where the government and state demand that the family from the popular strata pay again and again for its rights.


The people’s alliance to impede the measures and counter-attack can be formed with the participation and activity of the workers and the youth themselves from below, sidelining the hostile and bankrupt political and trade union leaderships, which foster either compromise and fatalism, or illusions that the people can be saved without conflict and confrontation with the business groups, their parties, the EU.


The working class and popular strata must here and now extricate themselves from the bourgeois reactionary ideological constructs, as well as with old and new illusions fostered by the opportunist parties, which originate from the higher intermediate strata, the sold-out labour aristocracy, that is to say all those who can see that the monopolies cannot make the concessions which they made in the past, to safeguard their alliance and their support for the capitalist system. Capitalism is so outdated and reactionary that it cannot tolerate the working class popular gains anymore, which were won in previous decades. In spite of all the bourgeois and opportunist parties the “EU one-way street”, the EU have been proven to be a predatory alliance which serves the interests of the Greek plutocracy, but is disastrous not only for the workers and self-employed, but also for the middle strata, and the productive-development capabilities of the country.


Defensive and partial struggles are not enough today, they cannot make gains as in the past, nor can they ensure a basic defence against the aggressiveness of the monopolies and their power. No sector, no category of workers can be saved on its own.


PASOK did not change now, it sold its soul to capital long before it voted for the Maastricht Treaty. PASOK and ND cannot change, they are rotten and reactionary, as well as the system which they serve. The barbaric measures were in the programme of both PASOK and ND, they voted for then in the EU before the crisis, consequently it is a lie that the foreigners imposed these things on them. The essence of the Troika, the memorandum, which is the general reduction of the income of the working class and popular strata, came about with the agreement of the Greek government and was demanded by the Greek plutocracy. ND and the other parties, which pretend to be in opposition, are seeking their faster and more effective implementation. These measures are not temporary. They will bring even worse measures in the face of the scheduled bankruptcy by the government and the EU.


It is a major trap for the people to believe that a solution can be found in their favour through various governments whatever they are called, be they “ecumenical”, “centre-left”, “patriotic”, or “left-wing”. Such governments which are proposed by various forces, such as SYN/SYRIZA, will give no breathing space to the people, but to the system. Such governments can be supported by sections of the plutocracy, because they are in no danger from them, since they do not aim at overthrow of the power and dominance of the monopolies. On the contrary, they could prove useful to them, because they may prevent positive radical processes in the people’s consciousness and lead to disillusionment. The predictions of all the hues of opportunist forces in Greece and the EU have been proved bankrupt or useful for bourgeois governance. They find impossible to find and even harder to agree on the causes of the crisis and beyond some common demands they cannot form an alternative proposal for a way out and for power, because their political line starts and ends with humanization of capitalism and the transformation of the EU.


If a “common front” is today created between the working class, the people and sections of the Greek plutocracy, which seek other imperialist allies to replace the current ones, it will not have a patriotic character, but will simply constitute a change at the level of imperialist alliances which will be equally hostile to the interests of the people.


Patriotism is what is right for the people. It means popular emancipation and alliance against capital, domestic and foreign, disengagement from all the imperialist organizations. Only the people’s power and economy can safeguard national sovereignty, the protection of the country from the imperialist schemes, in favour of the people’s interests.


The working class and the other poor popular strata have not yet used their great strength. They have not yet spoken their last word. If they raise their heads, trust in their strength, the justness of their cause, they will understand that they are an all-powerful force which produces the wealth and can become a force of power, to create an utterly new organization of society and production, where they will be the masters.


Athens 13 October 2011


PB of the CC of the KKE


...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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Quoted Text
N.D. - New Democracy

New Demokratia was founded two months after Konstantinos Karamanlis was sworn-in as the first prime minister in the post-dictatorship Era in Greece (July 1974) . The vast majority of Greeks trusted New Democrasy for the permanent restoration of democracy and for fulfilling their aspirations for a better future.

In the first free elections of the new era, Nea Demokratia won by a landslide, securing 54.37% of the vote (November 1974).

In 1977, New Democracy won again the national elections and two years later, the first Party Conference took place, in what became the first fully democratic and modern conference of a political party in Greece. The dominant ideology of the party was defined as “radical liberalism”, a term connoting the prevalence of free market rules with the decisive intervention of the state in favor of social justice.

On March 7th, 2004, New Demokracy won the national elections by a percentage of 45.36%, thus securing a parliamentary majority of 164 seats over a total of 300. Three days later, Kostas Karamanlis was sworn-in as Prime Minister and Minister of Culture.

On September 16, 2007, Kostas Karamanlis won re-election with a diminished majority in parliament, and stated: "Thank you for your trust. You have spoken loud and clear and chosen the course the country will take in the next few years." George Papandreou, main opposition socialist party PASOK, accepted defeat (New Democracy party with 41.84%, and opposition party PASOK had 38.1%)

PASOK - Panhellenic Socialist Movement

The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK, is a Greek social democratic political party. In 1981 PASOK formed the first socialist government in Greece's history, and subsequently ruled the country for most of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

Panhellenic Socialist Movement has served as the main opposition party since the general election of 2004. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists and the Socialist International.

Panhellenic Socialist Movement was established on September 3, 1974 following the restitution of Greek democracy after the fall of Greece's military dictatorship of 1967-1974. Its founder was Andreas Papandreou, son of the late Greek centrist leader George Papandreou. Its founding mottos were "National Independence, Popular Sovereignty, Social Emancipation, Democratic Process."

K.K.E. - Communist Party Of Greece


The Communist Party of Greece was founded in November 1918, as working class consciousness grew and the revolutionary theory of Marxism- Leninism spreader in our country, With only short periods of legal operation, Communist Party of Greece was form from that time on until September 1974 banned and forced to work under conditions of clandestinity.

Expressing the historical tasks of working class and other strata of working people, Communist Party of Greece has set the revolutionary transformation of Greek society through the elimination of Greek society through the elimination of capitalism and the building of socialism and communism as its ultimate goal.

After a fascist dictatorship was established under general Metaxas in 1936, Greek Communists were imprisoned or exiled to barren islands, but when Mussolini attacked the country in 1940 they - with the Greek people - voiced a resounding «NO» to the invaders and fought in the front lines to stop them. Greece was then occupied by Hitler’s Nazi troops in the spring of 1941, and the Communist Party of Greeceb became the mainstay of the National Resistance, organizing and leading it with EAM and ELAS, which represented the overwhelming majority of the Greek people, providing a beaconof hope for a better and more just future.

After the restoration of parliamentary democracy in 1974, Constantine Karamanlis legalised the KKE hoping to reclaim "a vital part of national memory".

In 1944, Communist Party of Greece participated in the national unity government of George Papandreou, holding the positions of Minister of Finance, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Labor, Minister of National Economy and Public Works, and Deputy Minister of Finance.

Communist Party of Greece youth organization is the Communist Youth of Greece, KNE, which closely supports KKE's goals and strategic targets.

SYRIZA - Coalition of the Left and Progress

Coalition of the Left and Progress is a new left party, which was founded in June 1992. Its name "Synaspismos" or SYRIZA has been retained from its previous structure, which was a coalition of left and progressive parties and groups that was formed in 1989. The transformation was decided in 1991 after the CP of Greece (KKE) split from the Coalition. The name of the party was amended on 1 June 2003 and since that date Coalition of the Left and Progress is the "Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology".

Coalition of the Left and Progress identifies itself with the ideas and values of democratic socialism, ecology, feminism and anti-militarism. It believes in pluralism and considers the defense of human rights non-negotiable.

The Party's regular Congress is held every three years, electing a Central Political Committee (CPC). The Congress elects the Party President and the CPC elects a Political Secretariat. On major issues the party members decide directly (e.g. the lists for national and European elections are composed through secret ballot among the members).

The Party is closely related with the Youth League of Synaspismos



LA.O.S. - Popular Orthodox Rally

The Popular Orthodox Rally often abbreviated to LA.O.S. as a pun on the Greek word for people, is a Greek nationalist/radical right-wing populist political party, founded and led by controversial journalist Georgios Karatzaferis. Karatzaferis formed LAOS in 2000, after he was expelled from New Democracy.

According to the Popular Orthodox Rally, "the demarcation of the political world in the Right Wing and the Left Wing is not relevant anymore after the end of the Cold War. Nowadays, everyone in every aspect of his or her everyday life is either in favour or against Globalization". The party claims to consist of radically diverse groups that span the entire Left-Right political spectrum.

The party received 3.8% of the vote in the 2007 elections, electing 10 members of parliament. Previously, the party failed to reach the 3% threshold of the popular vote in the 2004 elections, with 2.2%; three months later it gained 4.12% of the vote and one seat in the 2004 European Parliamentary Elections.

The Popular Orthodox Rally claims to defy traditional ideological characterizations. Throughout its existence the party has been characterized by the press and media as "far-right", "populist", "right-wing" and "nationalist".

Karatzaferis has described the party as everything from a "pre-dictatorship Right" to a merger of Left and Right to a "Popular Liberalism" in official party literature. In addition, party leader Karatzaferis has claimed that the Popular Orthodox Rally is "a profoundly democratic party." Karatzaferis has stated that he supports "patriotism and social solidarity, taking from all ideologies and personalities I like. I don't care if it's called communism, liberalism or socialism.


...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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Box A Rox
October 20, 2011, 3:39pm Report to Moderator

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A Druggy Rush Quote:



The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral
philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

John Kenneth Galbraith

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CICERO
October 20, 2011, 3:52pm Report to Moderator

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Quoted from Box A Rox


~Business Dictionary. Com
social justice  
Definition
The fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice.

I hope this helps your understanding of the words.


Help me understand Box,  HOW does occupy wall st. plan to arbitrate social justice?  Is the women wearing the designer glasses going to go to the Bronx and give her Armani sunglasses and jewelry to the welfare mom with 6 kids that never worked a day in her life because she can only afford gas station sunglasses and can't afford designer sunglasses, is that's justice?  Does she believe social justice is her trading in her Armani sunglasses for Versace sunglasses, because she can't afford Versace, but the Wall St. bankers can?  

I'm a little dense, so if you could, I'd appreciate if you could further elaborate on "social justice" and how it is distributed and who decides how it is distributed.


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senders
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a BIG issue is that the court jesters of the young have made them into green envying trolls......

envy is just as bad as greed....

do I think wallstreet is this pure river of cleanliness.....NO WAY!!!

but the equalization that will come down the chute will be a bitter pill.......hence GREECE


...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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Box A Rox
October 20, 2011, 4:27pm Report to Moderator

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Quoted from CICERO


Help me understand Box,  HOW does occupy wall st. plan to arbitrate social justice?  Is the women wearing the designer glasses going to go to the Bronx and give her Armani sunglasses and jewelry to the welfare mom with 6 kids that never worked a day in her life because she can only afford gas station sunglasses and can't afford designer sunglasses, is that's justice?  Does she believe social justice is her trading in her Armani sunglasses for Versace sunglasses, because she can't afford Versace, but the Wall St. bankers can?  

I'm a little dense, so if you could, I'd appreciate if you could further elaborate on "social justice" and how it is distributed and who decides how it is distributed.


I do agree with the part of your post where you admit to being "a little dense"... Your condition is quite apparent.

Back at reply #211 you seemed to have a problem with the definition of a phrase... "social justice".
Remember??? Your post went like this:
Box, help me out, was that video meant to mock the occupiers or romanticize the occupiers?  
Anytime I hear the phrase "social justice" I know it's code for socialism/communism.


I tried to help you out with a definition so you might understand the Occupy Movement a little better.

Now again, you are requesting my help.
I suggest you first deal with you own jealousy... as your repeated references to the "Armani sunglasses", "Jewelry" and "Versace sunglasses", depict a vein of 'wealth envy' on your part.  
Then, you switch to "Welfare Moms with 6 kids who've never worked a day in her life"... very telling.  

Is your world made up of only Rich and Welfare moms???  Obviously, Occupy Wall Street is made up of all walks of life, protesting for various reasons... Some for jobs, some for political change, and some for "social justice".  
I posted a few video's here showing some of those protesting are in the 1%, yet they want change to better all Americans, not
just the Richest Americans.






The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral
philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

John Kenneth Galbraith

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CICERO
October 20, 2011, 4:37pm Report to Moderator

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Box, I'll try again... Who are the arbiters of the "social justice"?  You wrote a bunch of non sense and didn't answer the question.


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Quoted Text
Related
Photos: Protests escalate in Greece
A man shouts while helping an injured demonstrator during clashes between communists and black-clad youths near the Parliament building in Syntagma square

Reuters

7:12 p.m. EDT, October 20, 2011

ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek parliament approved a painful set of austerity measures on Thursday, defying violent protests in central Athens and a general strike which shut down much of the country.

The struggling government of Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou won the parliamentary vote with 154 votes in favor and 144 against, despite the decision by one deputy in the ruling party to oppose one article in the package.

The victory should ensure the European Union and International Monetary Fund release a vital 8 billion euro ($11 billion) loan tranche which the government needs to keep paying its bills past November.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Sample Our Free Breaking News Alert And 3 P.M. News Newsletters]
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The mix of deep pay and pension cuts, tax hikes and changes to collective bargaining agreements has been bitterly opposed and at least 70,000 people joined protests in Athens' Syntagma Square in front of parliament.

Groups of black-clad youths clashed with rivals from PAME, a communist-affiliated labor group, and police later cleared the square.

At least 74 people were taken to hospital with injuries and one man died of a heart attack on the fringes of the protest, but officials said he had not been hurt in the incidents.

Papandreou now flies to Brussels for a meeting of European leaders on Sunday to try to prevent the debt crisis spinning out of control. A second summit is also expected to be held on Wednesday.

"We are at a critical point, not only for us but for European history. I have never, in my memory, heard before from leaders of major European countries that there is danger of Europe coming apart," Papandreou told a cabinet meeting before the vote.

"It is time for all of us now to assume our collective responsibility."

As night fell, streets were strewn with rubbish and debris after hours of sporadic clashes but the square in front of parliament was cleared of demonstrators.

The head of the Greek Communist party, Aleka Papariga condemned the violence which she said had been deliberately provoked by groups of "hood-wearers".

"This was a pre-meditated attack," she told reporters, saying the rioters served the interests of what she termed "specific mechanisms".

"No matter what happens, we're not leaving," she said. "There's no other way out, people have to take the situation into their own hands."

HOSTILITY

With Greece reeling from three years of recession and a mountainous public debt which has shut it out of bond markets, Papandreou's government is trapped between lenders demanding tougher action and public anger at the cuts.

Hostility to the new austerity measures has also imposed a severe strain on the ruling PASOK party and Papandreou expelled Louka Katseli, a close family friend, after she voted against an article in the bill restricting collective wage agreements.

"Today's vote is not a matter of party discipline, it's an issue of national responsibility," Papandreou said in a letter read out by the house speaker.

Two other deputies who had threatened to rebel bowed to pressure from party leaders but deep unease remained at measures many feel punish the weak and will only drive the stricken economy further into the ground.

"I will vote in favor, but this is the last time -- I am struggling with my conscience," said Vasso Papandreou, one of the dissenters who decided to go along with the package.

"Enough is enough, society is despairing, the country is collapsing," she said to applause from other PASOK deputies.

The general strike called by unions representing around half the Greek workforce was one of the largest protests since the start of the crisis two years ago and brought more than 100,000 people to the streets on Wednesday.

"I will be protesting every day, it's a matter of survival. They must go," said 49-year-old Yannis Zahariadis, a civil servant and father of four. "I was forced to borrow money from my mother, a pensioner, to make ends meet."

There has been widespread speculation the government will fall early, forcing a election before the scheduled date in 2013, but Papandreou has repeatedly ruled out stepping down early.

"People sent a message on Wednesday that they have reached their limits and can't take any more austerity," said Theodore Couloumbis of the ELIAMEP think-tank.

Banks, schools and government buildings were closed, transport services were hit and hospitals ran on skeleton staffing on Thursday and unions have vowed to continue their opposition with further stoppages.


...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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GrahamBonnet
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"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
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Quoted Text
The European Central Bank tapped a foreign exchange swap facility with the Federal Reserve earlier this month, borrowing $500 million. In exchange, the ECB puts up collateral of Euros worth around $500 million.

The ECB wants the dollars so it can lend them out to European banks, which have been having trouble borrowing dollars at affordable rates due to fears about their financial health.  

But it’s worth taking a moment to pay attention to what actually happens mechanically. Because the way we talk about these swap facilities can create the illusion that somehow we’re sending boatloads full of dollars overseas and that the ECB is then sending us boatloads full of euros.

Would-be pirates will be disappointed to hear that there are no currency flotillas crossing back and forth on the Atlantic.

What’s really happening takes place, for the most part, down on Maiden Lane in Manhattan’s financial district. That’s where the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is located. (You can read the actual swap agreement right here.)

Like most interbank transfers these days, everything is done electronically.

When the ECB wants dollars, it gives notice to the New York Fed. The notice contains how many dollars the ECB wants, when it wants them, what the exchange rate is at the time, when it will pay back the dollars, and what the interest rate will be.

The interest rate is always one percent plus something called the Overnight USD Indexed Swap Rate. When the ECB last borrowed, it agreed to a 1.09 percent rate. (It’s very telling that only the ECB has to pay interest. There’s no price for the Fed getting to hold euros.)

Next—and this is important—nothing happens. Not really, that is.

Nothing moves anywhere. No currency flotillas leave for the high seas.

All that happens is that an account at the NY Fed that the ECB has designated as its swap account gets credited with the dollars. This account is really just a line on a spreadsheet in a computer in that Fed building on Maiden Lane. Crediting the account just means that someone enters numbers into a spreadsheet.

At the same time, the ECB enters numbers onto a spreadsheet housed in a computer in Frankfurt, Germany, where the ECB is headquartered.

Those numbers represent Euros that are now “in” an account for the NY Fed.

Neither the dollars nor the Euros come from anywhere. They aren’t moved or debited from anywhere. They are invented right on the spot with a few taps on the key pad. And that’s all. There’s no printing press fired up to make new dollars or euros.

This is sometimes called “fiat money.” But that makes it sound as if some command from a sovereign created the money. It’s really closer to “keyboard money,” since it is created by data entry in a computer.

While the swap is outstanding—a period which can last for up to 88 days—the ECB can lend the dollars in its account to European banks. It does this simply by telling the NY Fed that it wants to credit the account of a European bank and debit its account. This all happens, again, by someone typing the data into a computer.

Flash forward to the maturity date—the date when the swap is supposed to be unwound. On that day, the Fed simply zeros out the ECB’s account. This means there are no dollars left in it to be lent out to banks, although that’s really just a metaphor. What it really means is that the Fed will not credit the accounts European banks if asked to do so out of the zero’d out account.

If the ECB’s account on the maturity date has the right amount in it, then the swap is closed off. If there’s a shortfall, then a new swap is created to represent this amount. This means that it’s pretty much impossible for the ECB to default on this loan, since any shortfall is just rolled over into a new loans.

Why might there be a shortfall? Remember, the ECB is borrowing dollars so that it can lend them out to European banks. If those banks haven’t repaid those loans, it must “purchase” the dollars from elsewhere—most likely other banks.

What’s more, the ECB must pay interest on the swap—which means that it must always purchase a few dollars more than it borrowed or collect those dollars in interest from the banks it lent to. If it doesn’t purchase the dollars or get those interest payments, you get a shortfall.

By the way, there’s nothing in the swap agreement about what happens if the Fed doesn’t have the euros to refund the ECB. That’s because it is impossible for the Fed not to “have” those euros. You see, the ECB created the euros “held” as collateral for the loan by entering data on a spreadsheet. As far as I can tell, there is no provision at all for the Fed to “draw” from the “account” in which the euros are held.

They just “sit” there—although, again, since its just numbers on a spreadsheet, nothing is physically sitting anywhere.

To be honest, I don’t think there is an economic point to the existence of the Fed account with the ECB. What do we care if there is a spreadsheet in Frankfurt that represents the conceptual Fed possession of a bunch of euros?

I suspect the reason for this is entirely legal and optical. It’s good for all the central bankers to be able to tell the world that these loans are fully collateralized. Depending on how you read the regulations, the Fed may even be required to be able to claim it has collateral for the loans—even if that collateral is just a line entry on a spreadsheet in a computer housed in the very central bank that is borrowing dollars.

I’m not even 100 percent confident that anyone in Frankfurt does enter the numbers into a spreadsheet. Why would they? There’s no point at all to having them entered and automatically erased at the end of the swap.

And since the Fed doesn’t use those euros during the period of the swap, there’s no need to keep track of how many are in the account. If you’re a Frankfurt central banking clerk, why not just take a smoke break instead of opening the computer file that has this totally made up account in it?


virtual value.....


...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......

The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.


STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS

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Quoted from GrahamBonnet


Typical Fleabagger.


That kid was pissed that tweaker was smelling his girlfriends feet.  

Most of those idiots camping in these parks don't have the slightest idea what they are protesting.  The education level of our society is so low, it isn't possible for the grassroots to coalesce because they cannot think for themselves and identify the problem.  They are easily polarized into the fake right vs. left dichotomy that the two party establishment want the people to believe in.  They want us to believe it's a "this or that" choice between the establishment republican candidate or the establishment democrat candidate. Americans can only understand rhetoric and platitudes, and cannot understand complex solution to problems that Ron Paul offers.  Americans like to hear things like "9-9-9", or "hope" or "change" or "compassionate conservative".  THAT IS ALL THEY ARE CAPABLE OF MENTALLY DIGESTING.  

Most of these occupiers are a bunch of kids screaming and looking for some authority figure to fix a problem that they cannot understand - the same authority that created the problem.  It's pathetic.  Our government educated us in this way, to look for an authority for answers.  Our government created a pubic education system that teaches obedience to authority, and drugs the kids that aren't obedient to authority with Ritalin to limit any opposition and easily submit to the power structure.  After all, you need an obedient society to produce obedient soldiers to fight in our very efficient war machine.  So, is our education system failing?  Or is it producing exactly what it was planned to produce?

People want to continue to believe that the system that has been in place over the past 50 years just needs minor adjustments and it can be fixed.  They want to believe that if they just vote for other candidate selected by the Republicrat/Democan Nomenklatura everything will be alright.  Americans need to question everything they have been taught to believe and turn it on it's head.  

We are going through a deprogramming period in America...I just don't know if it will be in time to save America...The power structure could be so entrenched, the solution might make the 60's civil unrest look like a walk in the park.


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