Dave Emory’s entire lifetime of work is available on a flash drive that can be obtained here. (The flash drive includes the anti-fascist books available on this site.)
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda chief, once said: ‘In 50 years’ time nobody will think of nation states.’
COMMENT: Viewing events in Europe brings to mind the closing words of James Stewart Martin’s All Honorable Men. Quietly, the Eurozone debt crisis has brought about an orderly transition to the “calm judgement of business necessity” with which Martin closed his book.
As Greece and Italy have seen governments appointed by the German dominated “technocracy” with no democratic input whatsoever from the population of those countries, we can begin to see the outlines of the gambit of “fascism instead of financial collapse.”
The alternative to a global financial meltdown–we are told–is to hand over the controls to “technocrats” to implement the “business necessity” brought about by the deliberately irresponsible, destructive policies of the large financial institutions whose profit-making has engendered the crisis.
In this regard, it is useful to underscore a couple of articles researched by R. Wilson from the Daily Telegraph [UK].
EXCERPT: The six-page memo, by the German foreign office, argues that Europe’s economic powerhouses should be able to intervene in how beleaguered eurozone countries are run.
The confidential blueprint sets out Germany’s plan to tackle the eurozone debt crisis by creating a “stability union” that will be “immediately followed by moves “on the way towards a political union”.
It will prompt fears that Germany’s euro crisis plans could result in a European super-state with spending and tax plans set in Brussels.
The proposals urge that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a eurozone bailout fund that will be established by the end of next year, should be transformed into a version of the International Monetary Fund for the EU.
The European Monetary Fund (EMF) would be able to take full fiscal control of a failing country, including taking countries into receivership.
The leaked document, The Future of the EU: Required Integration Policy Improvements for the Creation of a Stability Union, comes as David Cameron meets Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, in Berlin today to talk about treaty changes and the eurozone crisis.
The German plan begins with a proposal to create “automatic sanctions” that could be imposed on euro members spending beyond targets set by the European Commission. Germany is demanding that if euro rules are “consistently violated”, it should be able to demand action from the European Court of Justice.
The six-page memo, by the German foreign office, argues that Europe’s economic powerhouses should be able to intervene in how beleaguered eurozone countries are run.
The confidential blueprint sets out Germany’s plan to tackle the eurozone debt crisis by creating a “stability union” that will be “immediately followed by moves “on the way towards a political union”.
It will prompt fears that Germany’s euro crisis plans could result in a European super-state with spending and tax plans set in Brussels. . . .
COMMENT: Chancellor has turned her thumb down on a proposed British referendum on the EU.
It was a proposed Greek referendum that led to the installation–without any democratic input from the Greek people–of a provisional government including doctrinaire fascists in prominent positions.
EXCERPT: Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is today expected to tell David Cameron that Britain does not need a referendum on EU treaty changes, despite demands from senior Conservatives for more powers to be repatriated to Britain.
The leaked memo, written by the German foreign office, discloses radical plans for an intrusive new European body that will be able to take over the economies of beleaguered eurozone countries.
It discloses that the EU’s largest economy is also preparing for other European countries, which are too large to be bailed out, to default on their debts — effectively going bankrupt. It will prompt fears that German plans to deal with the eurozone crisis involve an erosion of national sovereignty that could pave the way for a European “super state” with its own tax and spending plans set in Brussels.
Britain would be relegated to a new outer group of EU members who are not in the single currency. Mr Cameron will today travel to Brussels and Berlin for tense negotiations with Mrs Merkel amid growing disagreement between the leaders over how to deal with the eurozone.
The Prime Minister is increasingly exasperated that Germany refuses to provide more financial help for Italy and other struggling countries amid concerns that the crisis is having a “chilling effect” on the British economy. Mrs Merkel yesterday said she expected Mr Cameron to “examine a stronger involvement with other countries” once the eurozone crisis had been resolved. . . .
COMMENT: “Terrafractyl” provided us with another article indicating that the transformation of the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain) into German vassal states is accelerating.
EXCERPT: Fears that Germany’s grip on the eurozone is tightening increased last night after it emerged that details of Ireland’s budget plans were leaked to German politicians.
A document circulated in the German Bundestag revealed Dublin’s proposals to save the debt-ridden country £3.25billion.
The details were for next year’s budget, which have not yet been approved by the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
He was forced into an embarrassing denial that his plans were being inspected in Berlin.
Any suggestion that Ireland is running its austerity cuts past Europe’s economic powerhouse for approval will fuel concern that Germany is using its wealth as a lever to amass power over the 17-nation single currency bloc.
Martin Borman, Nazi in Exile
That’s a nice country you got there. It would be a shame if anything happened to it:
I’m actually kind of a surprised that the Cameron government isn’t more gung ho about joining the eurozone. I mean, at this point Berlin is basically offering to play Dr. Austerity for the whole EU. Just imagine: Governments around the continent get to grind to their social spending down to the bone, but it’s totally not their fault. Germany made them do it. And the best part is that this awesome service is totally free.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/18/uk-ireland-germany-concern-idUKTRE7AH1B920111118
“The media and opposition reacted furiously at the fact that the details of the December budget were presented to German lawmakers before their Irish counterparts, heightening fears that its EU-IMF bailout has undermined Irish sovereignty.
“Germany is our new master,” ran a banner front-page headline in the Irish Daily Mirror. Opposition leaders in parliament described the leaks as “incredible” and “unprecedented” and demanded the government explain.
New German laws give its parliament the right to be fully informed about bailout countries’ progress before new trenches of funds are paid out and Ireland’s main opposition party led cries Germany was now calling the shots in Europe.”
Heh, now I see why our oligarchs hate unions so much: they hate the competition. That’s one thing about oligarchies...you only get one and it probably hates you:
Yeah, why play “give and take” when “take and take” works to well. It’s interesting how that strategy never seems like an option for non-super-elites:
Aha, here’s why global health won’t get a bailout. Out of the $2.8 billion in this years expenditures, only $73 million was mismanaged. You got to think BIG if want to get bailed out these days.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/24/dexia-liquidity-facilities_n_1111764.html
Dexia, Franco-Belgian Bank, Using Emergency Liquidity Facilities To Tackle ‘Very Dramatic’ Problem
First Posted: 11/24/11 08:07 AM ET
BRUSSELS (Ben Deighton) — Franco-Belgian bank Dexia (DEXI.BR) is accessing emergency liquidity facilities in Belgium, France, Spain and Italy, a banking source said on Thursday, as analysts described its liquidity situation as “very dramatic.”
The source said the bank was making use of the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) facility of the Belgian central bank as well as “national central banks in France, in Spain, in Italy,” where Dexia has units.
One analyst said the fact Dexia was tapping national central banks’ liquidity via the European Central Bank network showed how bad the situation had become for the lender.
“The emergency window of the ECB ... is very expensive, so it shows that the liquidity situation is very dramatic,” the analyst said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“At some point you run out of unencumbered assets to post at the ECB, and then the only way to fund yourself is via the ELA, which is clearly not a good sign,” the analyst said.
Dexia and the central banks of France and Belgium both declined to comment.
The source added that Dexia would try to raise money on markets again after the finalization of a 90 billion euro ($120 billion) guarantee scheme agreed in October by France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said Wednesday that he hoped to reach an agreement with the European Commission about the restructuring plan for Dexia (DEXI.BR) in the coming days.
Wow, it looks like they really are going to push the whole “the bond vigilantes made us do it” approach. What a grand new social contract upon which to base your new order: “Do not anger the market gods”. I’m starting to think the Seasteading project is obsolete.
“We are in an economic war with a number of powerful speculators who have decided that the end of the euro is in their interest”
The official position on eurozone “reform” appears to now be “Normally these kinds of treaty changes take years to work out, but the markets demand a clear signal right now. Given this reality, the only solution now is to hastily push through EU treaty changes with profound implications that no one has time to discuss. Keep in mind that they will have have to please the market’s desires at that moment. Also keep in mind that the market has been recently enamored with the writings of Johnathan Swift so its desires may seem austere. We appreciate your continued acquiescence.”
That’s pretty much it:
I’m not exactly sure why the markets would be enthusiastic about treaty changes that mandate tax hikes when budget deficits exceed limits since that will almost always happen during recessions. Unless, of course, the markets desire to see a eurozone that is rooted not in internal trade amongst member nations, but instead upon driving the weaker members into permanent austerity in order to drag down the value of the euro low enough so that Germany’s exports can compete with China globally (not forever, mind you, that would be cruel. Just a lost generation or two). That seems possible. Or maybe the markets are just planning on a different type of export policy. So many options
Since Merkozy is already hard at work overhauling the eurozone treaty and formally turning it into a constitutionally enchrined debtor’s prison, it’s a great time to update the name “eurozone”. “Eurozone” sounds too cold and technocratic. That won’t do as a distraction from the cold technocracy its about to fall into. How about “The zone of eternal forgiveness”:
So will they do the “single worst thing they can do”? Of course! The “market” will won’t give them a choice (which is rather unforgiving, all things considered).
One of the more relevant aspects of the “Shining Low-Debt City on a Hill” vision that appears to be the plan for the eurozone is that hilltops tend to have limited space. We can’t all live up there at the same time. That sort of limits the value of the shining low-debt city on the hill as a shared vision for a continental union. Oh well.
There’s a new, emerging bonus to the eurozone crisis and the proposal to channel the bailout funds through the IMF. It turns the eurozone crisis into a potential political cudgel for nationalist politics across the world. Case in point:
Social welfare spending AND defense? This is going to be interesting:
I wonder if that was journalistic artistic license at work or if social welfare and defense spending really are the target areas being talked about for the new “adult supervised” eurozone? This will be fascinating because powerful forces in every eurozone country would LOVE to be able to slash social spending and blame it on the big bad Germans. We might be looking at the world’s first outsourcing of the role of the “bad cop” in domestic politics. But part of the incentive will involve the domestic politicians demonizing Berlin for imposing the cuts. So they’re going to have to demonize Berlin while simultaneously making the case for staying in the eurozone. Have fun with that.
I also wonder how Turkey’s generals feel about joining the EU after hearing about that defense spending oversight.
This explains a lot:
Wow, so it’s now openly discussed in the press how it seems that the Berlin was fanning the flames of crisis in order to brow beat its neighbors into submission. And yet everyone acts like these elites are acting in good faith. Is conniving economic colonialism seriously the foundation for the new union? That may not help with social cohesion in the long run.
Also, don’t be too surprised if we see the “bond vigilante”/austerity political theatrics show come to the US if the eurozone ever gets the short term bond issues with the P.I.I.G.S. under control. Note that the Jacob Funk Kirkegaard fellow that made the above insights works for the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics. I can’t imagine that they aren’t overwhelmed with joy to see the new permanent poverty engine coming to the EU, and all due to an international sovereign lending crisis fanned on by the EU’s economic heavyweights playing chicken with the eurozone public’s lives. Not only are they probably pleased but they’re probably taking notes:
You have to give credit where credit is due: Spending a billion dollars of your own ill-gotten gains to threaten the US public that if they don’t gut their investments in their human capital and the institutions that educate and prepare future generations, they’ll be selling their children and grandchildren into debt-slavery. And the only solution is to throw the country into a deep depression while we eviscerate the safety-net and “get disciplined”.
I guess we should all stop whining and just accept avoidable mass impoverishment. It’s only one or two lost decades. Hopefully.
Mission Accomplished!
Uh oh Belgium, it looks like y’all got weaker then expected growth coming up. And that means the eurozone Powers That Be get to take their new powers out for a spin. It’s the new normal:
Expansionary austerity: It’s the new “trickle down economics”:
Incredibly damaging economic policies that somehow enrich the ultra-rich: nothing new here!
Jamie Dimon just discussed his vision for how to fix the housing market. It seems to involve putting someone “in charge” of the “housing market”, locking mortgage lenders and regulators in a room until something was worked out, getting rid of pesky new underwriting regulations, and kick starting the still-dead mortgage-backed securities market.
There isn’t anything particularly surprising about Jamie Dimon wishing for some sort of banker czar to swoop in an return things to the good ol’ days of 2007. It’s just always a little unsettling when these guys talk in a “if I where in charge” manner. Because 1. They ARE in charge, just not quite so directly. and 2. They seem to want to be more directly in charge. You have to wonder how long it’ll be before we have a nice new “bank czar” set up to cut through all the regulatory “red tape” that’s hindering “innovation”. The installation of a single person or panel that gets extra-“take charge” powers seems to be one type of solution to endless “grid-lock” that can garner bipartisan support these days (e.g. the Simplson-Blowles Debt Panel that wanted to throw momma from a train). With Detroit already on the chopping block in Michigan’s emergency financial management social experiment and the eurozone’s grand adventure in some sort of currency-union fascist financial death trap, the czar/emergency manager/appointed technocrat form of soft-fascism is poised to get showcased in quite a few democratic countries in 2012.
@Pterrafractyl: There does appear to be some hope in Greece, though.
A Greek member of a ‘alternate history’ forum I frequent often, posted a very interesting poll on Sat. morning:
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=227818
If the left truly has made that many gains, then that is great news. Let us hope the conservative ND will suffer humilation as well. =)
The Dutch PM just called for a “permanent troika” in Athens so, yeah, I’d have to agree that Greece must default if it wants democracy.
More on the “permanent troika”:
Winning!
Here’s an article filled with reminders of the volatile nature of Greece’s neighborhood:
You have to wonder if the gold seizure clause is going to apply to other eurozone nations...could be a lot of yellow metal sitting in those vaults:
Ok, so it looks like the 2nd bailout of Greece will literally involve Greece making a constitutional change so that it can directly bail out the banksters. That’s right, Greece, itself, will be the entity that actually funds the new bailout “escrow” account using “internally generated funds”, and the banksters get first dibs on it all. Wow.
Since the new Greek bailout terms include raiding Greece’s gold reserves, Italy really needs to get some clarification on whether or not this rule is going to apply to them because, they got A LOT of gold and Berlin is already salivating:
Europe’s oligarchs just wanted to remind you all that the eurozone’s unions and labor protections are doomed, troika or not.
In case you were interested in just how much total gold might get looted from the PIIGS coffers if the new gold-seizure provision gets applied throughout the eurozone, Zerohedge has an estimate: 3233.5 tons:
There’s a nice chart of global gold holdings at the link.
@Pterrafractyl–
Reading the Seagraves’ “Gold Warriors” will give the listeners an idea of just how deeply corrupt the world’s gold market really is.
The book is heavily accessed in For The Record broadcasts.