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By Ellen Brown / Original to ScheerPost On Friday, March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed and was taken over by federal regulators. SVB was the 16th largest bank in the country and its bankruptcy was the second largest in U.S. history, following Washington Mutual in 2008. Despite its size, SVB was not a “systemically […]

The post Ellen Brown: The Looming Quadrillion Dollar Derivatives Tsunami  appeared first on scheerpost.com.

Another Message Board Post comments on any topic. Civil discussion and no coarse language please. Side discussions and idees fixes to the sandpits, please. I’ve moved my irregular email news from Mailchimp to Substack. You can read it here. You can also follow me on Mastodon here I’m also trying out Substack as a blogging […]

Watch the parking meters.

Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 12, 2023

by Tony Wikrent

Strategic Political Economy

“Marianne Williamson: ‘Anything Is Possible’” (interview) 

[The Nation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 3-10-2023]

Your background is different from the typical presidential candidate. You’ve run for office before, but you’ve gained notoriety as someone who helps people explore their experiences, often from a spiritual perspective. Do you see that as a challenge or an advantage?

This is so ridiculous I’m reluctant to even comment. But the sad fact is that there really is a convergence of some on the left and right, particularly on the issue of Russia and it’s starting to bleed into other areas. Sigh: When they take the microphones behind a DJ booth at the New York Young Republican Club party, Dasha Nekrasova and Anna Khachiyan have a less-than-captive audience. The event’s headliner, longtime Republican operative Roger Stone, has just finished speaking and is on his way to the bar to make martinis, setting off a small stampede of young conservatives. Nekrasova and Khachiyan, co-hosts of the podcast Red Scare, address the remaining crowd. “Hey, we’re all Republicans here,” Nekrasova says. “I’m a Democrat now,” Khachiyan deadpans. “Yeah, we’re actually Democrats.” “After tonight, I changed my mind. I am registering as a Democrat.

Eleven years ago I gave the speech below. I was then pessimistic about our understanding of Asia. The situation has got markedly worse since then, writ large in the unremitting attacks on China stemming from ignorance and parochialism, particularly in our White Man’s Media. We are so used to being told and doing what Washington Continue reading »

Our prime minister declares firmly that Australian sovereignty will be maintained in the new defence arrangements. He must be asked to state clearly and publicly that should the USA go to war with China Australia will not necessarily follow but could remain neutral. If this is not the case, we do not have sovereignty. So Continue reading »

Details of the proposed AUKUS submarine deal to be announced next week in San Diego are leaking out all around the world. It seems that it will be much more complicated and expensive than intended at the outset of the path to the Holy Grail of an “optimal” solution. Already there are ominous signs that Continue reading »

This is the title of a National Webinar organised by the Australian Anti-AUKUS Coalition in expectation of the release of three reports this month; one on AUKUS and the acquisition of nuclear powered submarines, one on the Inquiry into war powers reform and, although it may now be delayed until April, the Strategic Defence Review. Continue reading »

Three hundred years ago, Britain narrowly escaped a disaster. Trapped inside a bubble, they needed radical changes to escape. There are parallels to our world today, where the logic of failure is woven into the very fabric of civilisation. We too, are trapped inside a bubble, but one is of far greater significance. The question Continue reading »

Rupert Murdoch may be running out of political clout and financial luck. For decades Murdoch has been a pernicious influence on journalism, politics, climate policy, progressive ideas and whether nations go to war or not. Murdoch is now 91. His father died young and his mother lived until 103 mourned by all who knew her Continue reading »

Part I of this review noted that Brendan Nelson met lots of people. In the book, however, he tells us way less than their full stories. He writes about the 2006 Jake Kovco case where, on Nelson’s watch as Minister for Defence, Kovco accidentally killed himself. Kovco’s repatriated body was lost for a time, then found. Continue reading »

Hopefully, behind the scenes, policymakers are well into postwar preparations for Ukraine. The conduct of the fighting naturally absorbs most attention in a war, but conflicts come to an end one way or another and often that’s when the hard issues emerge. Another Afghanistan or Iraq debacle must be avoided. This planning probably is taking Continue reading »

In recent weeks there have been a multitude of news items and reports emanating from various quarters indicting China has passed the United States in science and technology and this is likely an irreversible trend. According to the National Science Foundation China has overtaken the U.S. in scientific patents and published reports. The Australian Strategic Continue reading »

May 24, 2018: President Donald Trump signed the biggest rollback of bank regulations since the global financial crisis into law Thursday. The measure designed to ease rules on all but the largest banks passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support. Backers say the legislation will lift burdens unnecessarily put on small and medium-sized lenders by the Dodd-Frank financial reform act and boost economic growth. Opponents, however, have argued the changes could open taxpayers to more liability if the financial system collapses or increase the chances of discrimination in mortgage lending. “Dodd-Frank was something they said could not be touched. And honestly, a lot of great Democrats knew that it had to be done and they joined us in the effort,” Trump said before he signed the bill, surrounded by lawmakers from both major parties. “And there is something so nice about bipartisan, and we’re going to have to try more of it. Let’s do more of it.” The measure eases restrictions on all but the largest banks.

Doctor Who star David Tennant & Sir Lenny Henry are in the latest Red Nose Day 2023 teaser, but will they be in a 60th anniversary sketch?

Every Sunday, I blog about the geek-friendly radio shows the BBC are putting out in the forthcoming week! All of the following can be either listened to live or downloaded afterwards for free on the BBC Sounds app, no matter where you are in the world. Please note: I don’t include later episodes of most […]

VC billionaires demand bailout … for the little people In the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, the squealing from the venture capitalist community will not stop until they get theirs. Of course, that’s not how they’re selling their demands. But as with the 2008 financial collapse, the Randian elites are covering their own asses first. Axios: Silicon Valley Bank on Friday paid out annual bonuses to eligible U.S. employees, just hours before the bank was seized by the U.S. government, Axios has learned from multiple sources. What to know: The bonuses were for work done during 2022, and were previously scheduled to be disbursed on March 10. That date ultimately coincided with the bank’s takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Anand Giridharadas’ (“Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World“) Twitter feed is filled with the rich advocating for the poor, poor paycheck worker. Giridharadas is still swapping barbs with billionaire Mark Cuban over the SVB bailout demand.

This is a post from Michael Hudson. It will be posted later today on his site https://michael-hudson.com/,  but the site admin is in Australia, and won’t be up for several hours. Since this is a fast moving story, Michael wanted his info up ASAP, hence this cross post. I do recommend that people follow Michael … Continue reading "Why the Banking System is Breaking Up"

Some time ago Dutch academics lost their civil servant status. But in its place the language of ‘tenure-track’ and ‘tenure’ has entered Dutch academic life increasingly with American job titles, although the route to a permanent contract with tenure is quite diverse. ‘Academic freedom’ is officially recognized by  article 1.6 of a regular law “Wet […]

America’s most vulnerable workers are doing hazardous work to help make private equity execs richer.

America’s most vulnerable workers are doing hazardous work to help make private equity execs richer.