Interesting stuff
Quite satisfying to see some of the former heads of central banking in Europe get up and publish a letter slamming ECB monetary policy (read: printing out of thin air and buying up stuff), as mentioned a few pages back by yours truly:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ecb-whistleblowers-emerge-former-centr...
From their letter:
"Extensive loans at extremely low interest rates keep weak banks, and – indirectly through their lending – weak companies, afloat. This is accomplished in particular via Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs), which rose considerably in 2018. The significant negative effects of very low or negative interest rates also include a “zombification” of the economy, which, according to OECD and BIS studies, has already reached a considerable level in some countries and is contributing to weaker productivity growth."
It's all moving so fast now I can barely keep up with the news flow.
Anyway, back to work
"...Extensive loans at extremely low interest rates keep weak banks, and – indirectly through their lending – weak companies, afloat. This is accomplished in particular via Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs), which rose considerably in 2018."
The adjustments to that don't sound plearect
'zombificarion' sounds particularly pervasive and expensive to rectify...
Are we too deep into the internet wormhole for the greta good?
https://www.anonews.co/anonymous-message-to-greta-thunberg/?fbclid=IwAR1...
Yeah, like Corey Worthington, I think Anonymous' moment has passed.
QE4:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fed-announces-qe4-one-day-after-bis-wa...
A good article written by someone who knows the subject (and completely disagrees with the course of action since the GFC). Comments section reminds me of a lamentation! Even the BIS is raising eyebrows at the results of QE... Also in there is a link to a professional Repo trader explaining what happened recently (I mentioned up thread). Haven't had a chance to read his take yet.
Anyway, I find this kind of thing interesting. We are in uncharted waters (unless you count john Laws and the Mississippi bubble, or Danish tulips, etc etc).
Ok, the curiosity has got to me.
Does anyone else have this ad come up on this site?
Is it just me that's getting it (for whatever reason), or have the "empowered girls" found themselves on the wrong website, or can Ben and/or Stu sell snow to eskimos, or maybe a combo of the above?
Surely a bunch of salty, sweaty blokes, some of whom may smell quite strongly of gutted fish, are not their target demographic?
P.S. I like how they've ticked every box (no pun intended) in the united colours department.
Just the CIA using a trojan to keep an eye on you Andy, dont worry about it try not too get paranoid.
Well, I do feel curiously woke...
Haha....I just cannot get used to the word "woke"
I'm with you on that one. Whether it be complimentary, or a pejorative, or just a vanilla descriptor, it sums up a sad state of affairs.
What's the sad state of affairs Stu?
Overuse of buzzwords until they're meaningless?
The sanctimonious pissing contest that's turbo charged by social media?
The apparent fact that these campaigns with their cheap terminology can devalue important issues?
Well, mainly that it infers some new insight not available in the past, when I tend to think that general thought, the national discourse, whatever you want to call it, is becoming less expansive. People aren't testing their opinions, pushing them up against various ideologies, maybe placing them within said idelogies and thinking through the outcomes, or just simply ruminating on their ideas in silence.
It may be due to the slow death of literature, which encourages an inner world, or perhaps the sudden rise of social media, which encourages impulsive, ill-considered, external reactions, but I look around, read the various publications, and see much less "wokeness" then ever before. The people supposedly considered "woke" are just as dogmatic as the enemies they battle.
You woke me with that little discourse!
You're describing the regressive left.
At the same time, a sclerotic national discourse is different to a change in thinking of the average person, but it's easy to see how they're related.
Yeah it does my head in, after thousands of years of trying to move away from fantastical belief systems and then finally reaching an age of some sort of rational thinking, we're going backwards!
It seems like the modern world is all too much for a lot of people and they retreat into what appears to be inalienable human behaviour.
Throw in technology, fashion, peer group pressure and extreme individual liberalism/libertarianism and this is what you get.
"...It seems like the modern world is all too much for a lot of people and they retreat into what appears to be inalienable human behaviour."
Yep, pretty much sums stuff up.
I remember even before the internet, sociologists argued technology was developing quicker than people can evolve. Now with the internet, that little phenomenom has been sterioded up big time.
"...Throw in technology, fashion, peer group pressure and extreme individual liberalism/libertarianism and this is what you get."
I read somewhere that current trending brand of libertarianism was always going to be the inevitable outcome of decades of liberalism. kind of makes sense really, having no code beyond... 'as long as you're hurting anybody' ...opens up for some pretty wide interpretation...
... and now we have internet savvy wacky god squad patriot libertarians as a fairly prominent voice
interesring times
Is this a consequence of the modern human brain getting smaller?
Yeah the old "I can do/say/believe what I want, it's not hurting anybody" is a common one for people to trot out.
In the case of something like anti-vaxing, the flaw in this argument is obvious, same with believing that the sun doesn't cause cancer, sunscreen causes cancer, especially if you've got young kids.
Beyond examples like those, I would still say that beliefs are very important and are not harmless.
Beliefs shape attitudes and motives, guide choices and actions,
You could go so far as to say that it's immoral to be wilfully ignorant and that being carelessly uncritical about what you believe sets you up for every bullshit artist around, including politicians, with profound effects on individuals, communities and nations.
Do we have "the moral responsibility not to pollute the well of collective knowledge"?
Is critical thinking a moral imperative?
Jeez, maybe I should go for another surf.
pretty fun today Andy, you get out there?
Had a fun surf today, though at a B grade spot.
How was the crowd factor where you were?
probably about the same as yesterday
Opening the Ranch to the public...
https://m.sfgate.com/local/article/hollister-ranch-beach-access-public-p...
Great video
'Great' is a relative term and a matter of perspective.
Just another right wing climate change outrager head banging from his cave.
The bottom line is people will go to any lengths to act upon their beliefs. The ER is just another incarnation of what has been happening for a long time. The right to protest.
Isn't Paul Joseph Watson the biatch of Alex Jones?
So what about the stated aims of the extinction rebellion according to its founders , Westof ?
You all good with the rejection of European civilisation, the downfall of the patriarchy and the replacement of white people in positions of power ?
And it’s all good if people die to achieve these goals ?
They sound like prize fuckwits to me.
"You all good with the rejection of European civilisation, the downfall of the patriarchy and the replacement of white people in positions of power ?
And it’s all good if people die to achieve these goals ?"
Geez you love making it personal don't ya blowin.
If you have any links or anything to support your above claims then by all means share them.
Otherwise they are no more 'fuckwits'than the tosser right wingers who are criticizing them.
My take is it creates work for the majority of performing arts graduates.
Indo, I watched the first couple of minutes of that, I see you and I raise you:
Yeah it's a great video if you don't mind not addressing the issue, and want to go after some low hanging fruit instead.
And in doing so, the fella makes himself out to be as juvenile as the very small percentage of Extinction Rebellion protestors.
Blowin, I had a quick look at the ER website and a few other articles and saw no "stated aims" such as the ones you mentioned.
Mind you, I have heard people in general conversation say things like that - they were poseurs and probably not very bright. When you call them on it their argument folds pretty quick.
Was that Alex Honnold VJ :)
Must be moonlighting from his rock climbing gig.
That was top shelf stuff Andy, I only share that level of quality internet on rare occasions.
I had to dig pretty hard to find this, for the vid author in Indo's link is correct in that markets for it will form and be quite massive. Early days yet:
https://sandbag.org.uk/carbon-price-viewer/
Also this, have no idea on how legit the firm is:
Top shelf stuff indeed, and by golly I appreciate that you shared it!
I have no idea about the future of emissions trading but I wanted to go back (and off on a slight tangent of course) to Westie's statement about "the right to protest", and throw something out there.
With a suite of anti-protest legislation being wheeled out by various State governments, we should be extremely concerned about a continuation towards what Andrew Wilke calls a "pre-police state".
Unsurprisingly, Labor State governments are as far to the right as any Lib government with regards to these laws.
Depending on how the Courts view things (and Bob Brown's High Court challenge to Tasmanian anti-protest laws a few years ago seems to have been won only on a technicality), the so-called "right to protest" looks like it could be a thing of the past.
West of....try watching the video. Starts at the 8 minute mark.
They’re direct quotes. Your disbelief speaks volumes about the type of people they are.
Let's go ahead and assume that those direct quotes are for real and not taken out of context.
What then?
Do we disavow all of ER's goals as stated on their website?
For example, do we reject "acting now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025"?
For me, they're agitators and protestors, I have zero concerns about ER gaining any sort of political power and overthrowing the heteronormative patriarchy who oppress cetaceans and other sentient beings.
No, we can just recognise that they’re utter fuckwits .
The positive segment of their message is mainstream. It’s the rest which seperates them from the humans.
It’s official.....now everyone gets taxed directly to subsidise the huge flood of immigrants that aren’t invited in the first place.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/that-time-is-now-report-calls-for-sy...
And the fun doesn’t stop there. Now we are going to start scrapping environmental regulations and start flooding valleys to shore up the dwindling water resources in order to try and cope with the uninvited immigrants.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/ministers-split-on-drought-busting-p...
You’d think the sanctimonious Eco- warriors would be up in arms about this wouldn’t you ? I guess if it’s a choice between attempting to preserve the last vestiges of viability of our fragile island home or resolutely parroting the false narrative of “ reducing population growth = racism “ , then Australia can go curl up and die.
Cue the equally false narrative that we have a responsibility to ensure that Australia is ruined by overpopulation because that’s what has happened elsewhere , that the Earth should be fucked completely and the destruction should be leveled across the planet evenly. That we owe it to the nations who have overseen ridiculous population growth to absorb their burden .
Coincidentally, the same argument used by rapacious commercial fishermen to argue against the imposition of no-take marine parks and sanctuary zones .
I love the Extinction Rebellion movement.
Firstly, I accept the science and therefore accept we do indeed have an emergency, so good on them for highlighting the malaise that is public debate and government policy.
Secondly, I love the fact that the ER movement is attracting more venom on talk back radio and in the comments sections of the daily papers from the usual suspects than any article on any issue around the rights of cyclists.
Get the fuck off my roads you whale loving greenies or bike riders and let me drive my 4WD twin cab ute in peace ...
Guy, I could guarantee there'd be a shitload of ER protesters driving off in their twin cab utes too, probably many returning to their suburban McMansions. Peter Dutton got it spot-on (again) - 'they are anti-establishment, nothing more'. End of story.
No , the ER muppets achieve nothing more than advertising their rank hypocrisy.
What is their aim with the disruption of people’s lives ? To RAISE AWARENESS !!??? FFS. Could there be a more widely recognised issue on the entire planet ?
They are not achieving anything. If they are so desperate to make a positive contribution they should focus their efforts on something which will produce more than just a divisive gulf between the sanctimonious and the rest of the country who have the same feelings towards protecting the planet , only without the urge to inflict their whims on every one else.
I wonder how the ER crew would feel if I chose to blockade them in their own homes in order to bring the “ Climate Emergency “ to a head ? I get the feeling that inflicting inconvenience is all good as long as it’s them deciding who, how and when the inconvenienced is distributed.
They don’t love the planet anymore than I do , yet their actions actively turn me against their cause . How is that helping their cause in any way , shape or form ?
A group of people driving into the city centre unobstructed, forcing other people to sit in traffic for hours as they stage their pointless blockade , then getting back in their own cars and casually tootling home with a smug grin on their faces. Achieved nothing but disruption, disharmony and the possible rejection of the cause by those who may have been ambivalent on the issue.
It’s moral authority being used as a cover for an exercise in self satisfaction. Nothing more.
GS has identified the real threat of the age: dual cab utes.
Trays too small for the lengths you find in a full quiver of surfboards, can't stash boards through the length of the car even with a canopy. You can if you spread them all over the passengers I guess, maybe up to 7ft. People have to hang them out the back, or better still, do the "tombstone" getting to the surf. Diesel emissions blow little holes in our lungs, tax breaks to sell more of the things that everyone rorts, every purchase detracts from the balance of trade, Hilux DPF smokescreens. There's even a racing series based on them (ladder frame chassis)?! ATO can't shut these things down soon enough! Hybrid/petrol wagons ftw. If you must have a ute, an F-150 or Ram has better tray size, more comfort, better seating, then you won't need to also tow a trailer behind you with the rest of your tools in it.
disclosure: author was scarred after Tassie offroad trip on back seat of Triton, which was also less manoeuverable on tracks than 60 series Cruiser!
D-Rex, if Dutton and crew are the establishment then go the ER team!
Hey Blowin remember they have a democratic right to protest, which our current government is trying to make illegal. They might not preach your message but the government reaction could hobble all of us.
No , that’s the thing , the ER muppets are using everyone’s message to create unnecessary disruption. They’re inconveniencing everyone- including the vast majority of people who support the need to reduce our detrimental impact on the planet - in order to virtue signal.
It’s not THEIR message. They are exploiting the community’s concern for the welfare of the planet to draw attention to themselves and their virtue. They are not doing a single positive thing
for the planet .
The right to protest is sancrosanct , but pointless blockades amongst the city centre only legitimises and reinforces the government line that protests need to be curtailed due to their impact on society.
The ER blockades do way more harm than good. If they do any good at all.
Seriously you have to laugh at the reaction a few protesters can elicit in some.
Who would have thought that the eternally angry black and white argument mob would get so upset at a week of harmless theatrics on the streets protesting the lack of action on climate. Strike down with a feather and whistle dixie.
In the end it's pretty simple, either you accept the science or you don't. ER and the student climate strikes are what you get when governments corruptly refuse to act. Our government. Hey I marched in the last student climate strike and I'm excited, this is a growing movement and these kids will most certainly force change. Change for the better.
I agree gs. Muppets, yes maybe. But a required counter balance to what’s happening on the world stage? Absolutely. The change is generational. You can’t vote for coal / money in your pocket and say you love the planet as much as the person who pushes for the planet (and future generations) before themselves. It is what it is. Your priorities and morals are what make you the person you are
Fuck the establishment. Thats the origin of Australian surfing.
As far as marching in civil disobedience and causing a disruption, I think a lot of the other avenues to raise the conversation beyond “is it real?” Have been exhausted. When the mining lobbyists have finally infiltrated the prime ministers office ( this is a fact) and much of the Australian media acts as a propaganda arm for them, what do they, extinction rebellion, have left?
I haven’t read thier manifesto or really looked into policies but at least people are starting to notice. The students though gotta support them.
Exactly how are the ER crew pushing the planet before themselves?
This is exactly my point. They’re all sizzle and no steak.
As for the kids.....FFS . The most pampered , entitled and coddled generation in human history.....and that is a literal description. What single thing are they proposing to foresake apart from a few hours school time ?
The ER crew want to get busy ? Tell them to start picketing the offices of the politicians flooding the country with more people without a seconds thought for the environment.
Concrete used in the construction of infrastructure is amongst the highest generators of naughty emissions.
On that subject.....I think we might have hit peak retard. You honestly couldn’t make this shit up.....Tamworth hasn’t got enough water for its current population , so the mayor is chasing an extra 40,000 immigrants so that they’ve got the demand to justify building another dam to satisfy the new people.
But they’ve already got a dam. It’s less than 20 percent full . Exactly how is another empty dam going to improve the situation?
And won’t the construction of a huge dam and the necessary destruction of vegetation further contribute to climate change and further extend droughts ?
Who cares ....the answer to any question is always more people !
Any other answer is racist.
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2019/10/drought-stricken-tamworth-to-ge...
ER are achieving zero all they are doing is pissing people off and wasting police resources etc
The hardcore ones are basically just feral's that just jump at any chance to do these kinds of stunts, yeah an excuse for civil disobedience is pretty much it.
To me these protestors are very different to the kids protesting, because of the disruptive nature and the illegal acts like blocking streets and gluing themselves to things.
It also doesn't help when they demand unrealistic things like zero emissions by 2025 its just makes people not take them seriously and write them off.
The staggering irony of referencing Dutton's comments on ER as above!
Dutton of the far right of what was once a liberal party.
Dutton of the party that are the staunchest defenders of free speech right up to the second it doesn't suit them or their ideology.
Dutton and the government genuinely have so much to fear from the climate strikers and the ER movement. This could all go to custard for them before the next election.
Has anyone dug to find who the NGOs are that are backing the ER crew? Find the backers, see the money trail, see cui bono.
again,
http://www.theartofannihilation.com/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-...
Writer is very very left wing, but also excellent researcher. Superb reading that will really open your eyes. She follows the money paths of influence, names names.
Have it cunts