West Bradford By-election

The second by-election of the current government has come and gone and the results are fascinating:

• George Galloway (Respect) 18,341 (55.89%, +52.83%)
• Imran Hussain (Labour) 8,201 (24.99%, -20.36%)
• Jackie Whiteley (Conservative) 2,746 (8.37%, -22.78%)
• Jeanette Sunderland (Liberal Democrat) 1,505 (4.59%, -7.08%)
• Sonja McNally (UKIP) 1,085 (3.31%, +1.31%)
• Dawud Islam (Green) 481 (1.47%, -0.85%)
• Neil Craig (Democratic Nationalists) 344 (1.05%)
• Howling Laud Hope (Monster Raving Loony Party) 111 (0.34%)

Of George Galloway I know only that he was expelled from the Labour Party for being outspoken against the invasion of Iraq and has frequently spoken out against the Zionist occupation of Palestinian lands. He has the (Left-)Libertarian tendency undoubtedly and supports the freedom of religion which is a point of contention in Bradford. Mutual respect is a fundamental tenet of Libertarianism. It is comforting to note that the other Libertarian party UKIP also increased its vote.

The BBC, whom he criticised on numerous occasions throughout the campaign for biased reporting, has been proclaiming that this is a race based vote and that he has been elected by the Muslims, but I am afraid that the results tell a different tale. He has taken away from all three of the 'major' political parties and truly does represent a majority choice, his vote exceeding the combined vote all of the other candidates.

Is this the first signs that the UK is like the US turning away from the major parties - eleven years of unrivaled economic success wasted by the Labour party and the Conservatives and Lib Dems have suffered because they have been left to clear up the mess.

Is this a sign that in the UK like in the US we are no longer looking for media friendly 'perfect politicians' to lead us, but real people of talent, who are not afraid to tell us what they really think, to represent us.

Maybe Jersey will catch on over the course of the next decade?

Telling the rest of the truth - Russia Today and Jersey Bloggers

I have started following the news not as reported by the British Media but by Russia Today. Just imagine how we see the news coverage of nations overseas, particularly of 'oppressive regimes'. How the poor downtrodden citizens of this country or that are brutalised by tyranny masquerading as the rule of law and then watch the following clips both dealing with UK police.

Now clearly the staff of Russia Today will have their very own bias and will be looking to cover issues which are not covered by the Western Media, but I doubt that makes their reporting any less true.

For us in Jersey it is left to those few dedicated bloggers to tell that part of the truth which the 'accredited media' deem to be inappropriate for publication, or rather anything that might reveal that the government of Jersey is actually clueless and spends most of its time desperately trying to cover up its mistakes.

So we have beaten student protesters prosecuted whilst police thugs allowed off scott free, police providing information to blacklist Union activists who have raised safety issues on building sties and a published paper dealing with the ethics of the 'after-birth' abortion (which I guess would make it murder) of disabled babies.

Iran, Oil, Gold & the US dollar - UPDATED

World leaders meet next week to discuss
 the future of the US as the world's reserve currency

One of the facts of life over the last 40 years has been that the U.S. dollar is the world’s sole global reserve currency. This is despite the fundamental factors underlying the U.S. balance of payments, which has been awful over that entire time. Nevertheless, the dollar ruled the global monetary system through these four decades and appears to be doing so still. But is that coming to an end? Next week there is a meeting of the BRICS nation over the use by the U.S. of the SWIFT system to block Iran from selling its oil. The BRICS nations are buyers of that oil. Their views on Iran’s nuclear policies do not go as far as refusing to buy their oil. The SWIFT system is the system used to make international payments and covers most acceptable currencies.

This use of the international monetary system as a war machine has surprised and angered these nations who are meeting next week to discuss this and, no doubt, to work out ways to prevent the U.S. from exercising such power. If they succeed, they will have formulated a way to bypass the U.S. dollar as the dominant currency with which to pay for oil. Once this hold has been broken, we may see a steady move away from the U.S. dollar as the sole global reserve currency.

It is critical for investors to understand the importance of this and how the situation came about in the first place to understand the full ramifications to the gold and silver price. These will be dramatic!

How the U.S. Dollar became Optimus Prime

Most investors were not around when the ailing dollar moved from a suspect currency to number 1. When the Gold Window was closed by President Nixon, the dollar weakened and the gold price took off to heights never been seen before. The author had just moved up to the main desks of the Stockbroking firm he was with as Exchange Controls were implemented in the U.K., and a huge flight of capital was exiting the U.K. as its role as the center of the British Empire disappeared.

At the time it seems insane to cut the link of the dollar to gold. From 1968 to 1971 Europe had been receiving dollars from the U.S. forces stationed in Europe and called them Eurodollars. European nation were not happy to receive this currency and were busy converting as much as they could to gold. Led by the cantankerous and difficult President de Gaulle Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France were the main sellers of dollars for gold. After the war the U.S. had around 26,000 tonnes of gold. Steadily, the Europeans and others bought gold. Over time, France ended up with more than 3,000 tonnes; Germany over 3,000 tonnes; Italy more than 3,000 tonnes and Switzerland more than 3,000 tonnes U.S. gold holding dropped to over 8,000 tonnes and felt they had to halt the gold hemorrhaging because they knew full well that gold was money when push came to shove. Even the U.S. had to guard against ‘shove’.

So when Europe was faced with receiving more dollars, you would have thought that there would have been outrage, but Europeans quietly accepted the fait accompli.

Why? Yes, it was the globe’s leading power and driver of the world economy, but its currency was deeply flawed. After all, the U.S. Trade Balance was in a permanent deficit, with little likelihood of a change.

The Oil Price

Prior to the closing of the gold window by President Nixon, the oil price stood at $8 a barrel. Afterwards it moved steadily up to $35 a barrel and the gold price rose eventually to $850 an ounce from $42 an ounce. But the dollar won out and had to be accepted by everyone!

By then the shortfall in total global oil supplies came from the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf. Each of them had a fragile basis and needed to rely on a greater power to guarantee the existence of the ruling party or family. The U.S. provided this on condition that oil suppliers priced their oil in the U.S. dollar. This was a sine qua non (without which, no!). So oil suppliers outside of the U.S. (except for Russia, who could not oppose alone) depended for their security on the U.S. as they do today (except for Iran). The U.S. made it clear to Russia, et al that this area and their oil comprised a U.S. vital interest over which, if they felt the need to, meant they were prepared to go to a nuclear war.

The world was vulnerable to this situation, extremely vulnerable. All nations bar the oil producers capable of supplying their own needs, needed to import oil. Most nations’ oil imports comprise 25% or more of their imports. Without it, the world’s economies just would not function. Hence the U.S. held the key to world dominance, oil. You can imagine the U.S. government facing President de Gaulle and telling them calmly that they had better accept the U.S. dollar in payment for all things imported and must purchase the U.S. dollar to pay for all things American, as well as oil. It was checkmate! Failure to obey would have led to a major oil crisis for the disobedient nation.

It was also clear to the Persian Gulf nations –if they changed from the U.S. dollar to any other currency in payment of their oil—would then lose power. That was Saddam Hussein’s main mistake and where is he now. Kuwait in turn, received the support of the U.S. as they were toeing the dollar line. Today, Iran is not toeing that line and is being closed down by the U.S.

It was a small step for the dollar to become the sole global reserve currency where it stands at the moment. At the time Europe bowed their heads and accepted the dollar while Persian Gulf nations received great wealth and power over their people. The rest is history.

Gold, the Remaining Enemy

The entire process undermined the value of the dollar in terms of value, while its role as a means of exchange extended throughout the world. Gold, on the contrary, reflected that loss of value and rose 20 times, its pre-1971 price. To reinforce dependency and to build trust in the dollar, the gold sales of the seventies and eighties through 1999 were aimed at destroying trust in gold as money. It was written out of the system, gold production was accelerated so that the gold price tumbled from $850 to $300. It was described as a barbarous relic and relegated to the sidelines of the metals market as a commodity. But a rose by any other name, smells as sweet. Likewise gold may have been discredited but it remained the money of last resort, evidenced mainly by the retention of gold in the reserves of the developed world until today.

However, the history of money shows that when a government or even many governments institute a paper currency system, dependent on government and banking systems for its value and reputation, it is only a matter of time before it loses its name and value. The more powerful the government controlling the currency, the longer the system lasts. It is now just over 40 years since the dollar cut its link to gold. Let’s see where we are in the currency experiment.

Coverage of the summit from Russia Today:

Obama "After my election I have more flexibility"

The Latest from the Land of the Free

This year millions of Americans will be heading to the polls to cast their vote for the next US president, but many are concerned that millions of votes could be thrown away come election night skewing the results. According to reports, 2.2 million votes were lost due to voter registration problems in 2008.

Back in 2011 Hilary Clinton criticised the Russians over their lack of democratic transparency which led to Vladimir Putin installing live streaming webcams on every ballot box during his recent re-election, well the Russians have now thrown down the challenge to the United States to do the same.

But does it matter anyway, what will the winner do, will he keep his promises? Do we know who the winner will be? Well Obama has answered both those questions for us in the following clip courtesy of Russia Today.

Obama tells the Russians 'After my election, I have more flexibility'

I do not know why this has become such big news, we all know politicians lie, cheat and steal to get elected and never deliver on what they stand for, but also from the US the Ron Paul campaign continues to gain ground as the Caucus process continues...

The allegations of vote rigging have now coalesced and are widespread following a call from Ron Paul for people to publish any evidence they may have online and there is a an awful lot such as the following where a GOP representative explains to a group of people why he and the Committee decided to break the rules... this is the Caucus where one of the nominated Chairmen ended up being arrested for trespassing but was released without charge, the meeting has been re-scheduled

Further a statistical analysis of the voter tallies in Primaries where electronic voting machines were used has now revealed the likelihood that the machines were tampered with and that some degree of 'vote-flipping' has been going on. This is a process where the machine is re-programmed to set one candidates total to a negative number to begin with and a compensating positive adjustment is made to ensure that the total votes tallies.

Below is testimony under oath given by a computer programmer where he states that he was requested to program just such a procedure into the election machine.

Justice seen to be done

The Certificate of Birth ('Short Form')
belongs to the Man 

Well the trial is over and I remain Not Guilty of course the question of my guilt or innocence has now been answered in open court.

I was distressed to see a number of people pay up rather than take a day in custody... I am not entirely sure what a day in custody entails, but it would seem to me that it means that you walk straight out of Court.

They count the day of your conviction as a full day and you cannot be held any longer than your sentence, they also only release at 9am on the morning of your release date. This of course means that if you have a two day sentence then you are released at 9am the next morning with £3 to get the bus back to town. Why anyone pays parking fines is beyond me.

I refined my strategy, I really am not good in chaotic situations and I still don't see the benefit of stating the obvious (i.e. that I am a man not a person etc., etc.), nor do I enjoy making a scene or playing a part in a pantomime. I am afraid that in these situations adrenaline gets the better of me. I am much more comfortable being obsequious but firm.

Particularly of note, when asked whom I was, I simply stated that I was appearing in the person of MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE and ensured that the Magistrate was aware that I considered that this person was a distinct entity from me, this was accepted and not questioned. I was not required to submit my affidavit. My plea was notated as being entered by DJP representing MR. PEARCE.

As a side observation I do wonder why they ask you how you wish to plead, the default must surely be, not guilty, as we are all not guilty till proven guilty (despite what the JEP would have you believe), and usually the person charged enters a guilty plea rather than any Court reaching a conclusion. Surely the question should be; do you wish to plead guilty?

Had I not agreed to represent MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE in person I would not have been able to speak at the hearing, which would have harmed myself, as it transpired.

The important thing you see is not to question whether MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE was present in Court or not, that is something of an irrelevance. It is not to question whether statutes apply to MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE, they do. But to question whether MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE was the driver of the vehicle who parked in such a manner as to breach statute. Free Man common mistake #1 - If you are not appearing in the proper (summoned) person during the hearing then you cannot be heard, you are not a party to the proceedings, it is as simple as that.

The Certified Copy ('Long Form')
 is for the Legal Fiction and is the only form
accepted for passports, for example 

The Crown advocate did make reference to the distinct identities MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE and Darius*Pearce on several occasions and made a final statement to say that he did not wish to see any further long e-mails of nonsense which wasted his time... you can tell he was lying, lawyers like nothing more than to have long e-mails of nonsense which can justify hours of their time at £500 per hour.

Of course I can prove that they are distinct entities - and I have two different sorts of birth certificate to that effect, as per the images embedded in this post. Although being born in the actual City of London, I have the distinct privilege of having an A4 sized long form birth certificate.

The Magistrate made no comment in support of or against the Crown Advocate's assertions.

The US the sick man of the globe

The Chinese Yuan Standard

According to the International Monetary Fund by 2016 the economy of China will be larger than that of the United States, but recent research from the University of Pennsylvania now indicates that this has already happened.

The proof that was presented is irrefutable that in real terms the US economy produced goods and services worth US$14.6 trillion in 2010 but China's GDP (gross domestic product) was US$14.8 trillion.

The situation is set to worsen as the US is falling further behind, every day. US growth was 1.7% and China's is 9.2% in 2011.

Beijing has become so powerful that it can now dictate economic policy to the US. China has approximately US$1.9 trillion of debt whilst the US has US$145 trillion. China's reserves are US$3.2 trillion, the US has nothing and borrows nearly 50% of all the money it spends from China. China's tax revenues grew 30% last year whilst the US revenues fell. China has 810 million workers, the US 145 million workers, unemployment in China is 3%, unemployment in the US is 8.5% In China urban wages rose 7.6% and rural wages rose over 15% whilst US wages fell in real terms by 2%. China is also the world's favourite place to invest.

Obama bows to China

For decades now the US dollar has been the world's currency of choice. There has always been a high demand for dollars.As a result the value of the US dollar has fared better than other currencies. But since 2009 Geithner has borrowed US$4 trillion and Bernanke has printed a further US$8 trillion. This has inevitably led to rampant inflation - petrol up 25%, heating oil up 28%, cheese up 15%, milk up 18%, meat up 17%, coffee has risen over 20% and eggs are up 30%.

As a result nations and internation bodies are calling for the end of the US dollar as the world's trade and reserve currency. Even McDonald's has recently issued bonds denominated in Yuan, Apple Computers are accepting payments in Yuan.

This is an election year and a weaker dollar gave huge rallies to stocks in 2009, and we are already seeing those huge rallies this year, based not on any fundamental change in the health of the economy but on the decline of the US dollar.

America is spinning that the Yuan is undervalued and should be increased, but as you should be able to see from the above this is absolute rubbish, it is the US which is driving down the value of the dollar into the gutter.

Every US worker gets paid 6.5 times as much as an equivalent Chinese worker, it is this difference which means that the price of US goods is inevitably higher than those produced in China.

So why does the US want China to raise the value of the Yuan? Because it will crush the value of the US dollar and allow the US to repay its otherwise unrepayable debts. Who has the majority of those debts... well China. A rising Yuan will also address China's number one problem, rising domestic inflation.

Of course they are not just going to tell you that... it's an election year after all. There plans will bankrupt nearly every US citizen who does not take steps to avoid the upcoming plunge in the value of savings, pensions and incomes.

True beneficial ownership

I was reading the blog of the Tax Justice Network the other day, whilst it remains my belief that fundamentally they are wrong in supporting bureaucracy, one cannot dispute that Richard Murphy and John Christensen are aware of issues which affect us normal people in our every day lives.

The roof of your house caves in. It’s a huge job to fix it – and you get some builders in. They charge a fortune – but, well, what price a roof over your head?

Then six months later, your roof caves in again! Time to sue the builder. Only there’s a problem. The building company has gone bankrupt. So you chase down the company owners – but find that the company’s registered in a tax haven. You go through the courts, and you’re delighted that your country has an agreement to share information with the tax haven! After a lot of work, you find out the names of the company’s directors, along with photocopies of their passports and even their shoe sizes. 

Only now there’s another problem. And it’s a biggy.

The company ‘directors’ are in fact ‘nominees’: directors who have merely rented their name to the company. Each of them, it turns out, are directors of thousands of companies. They are straw men hiding the real builders – those people who extracted those tens of thousands from you for ‘fixing’ your roof, and who doubtless extracted millions from many other unsuspecting punters – and who remain a mystery. The tax haven has ‘shared’ all the information it has with your country and the courts – but still you are no closer to tracking down the real, warm-blooded humans who set up the building company – humans who are quite likely to be swilling champagne now, driving their Ferraris through the streets of Monaco, and laughing heartily.

While you, in your dilapidated home, wonder how to pay for a new roof.

Countries have signed lots of agreements to share information with each other. Tax havens enthusiastically sign up to these agreements. “We will give you all the information we have, whenever you ask for it,” they say. And they mean it – only it’s a trick. They simply make sure they don’t have the information in the first place. They will tell you all about the nominee directors, the trustees, and the other sham officials who make the secrecy world function – knowing that you are no closer to finding the real warm-blooded humans behind the mischief.

Enter Disclosure of true beneficial ownership of companies.

We can stop this. We can make sure that every human who has a stake in a corporate structure like this has their identify available on a searchable, low-cost public register. And we should slap severe sanctions on those havens that don’t shape up.

Richard Murphy has quite clearly identified a valid problem, but his suggested solution does not address the real issue. The only solution is to ensure that there can be no form of limited liability organisation whatsoever. Any form of legal fiction is a straw man, even the company itself. Is Richard Murphy becoming a Libertarian?

Is there Food Security in Jersey?

The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”.

Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. In many countries, health problems related to dietary excess are an ever increasing threat, In fact, malnutrion and foodborne diarrhea are becoming a double burden.

Food security is built on three pillars:

• Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis.
• Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
• Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

Food security is a complex sustainable development issue, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment, and trade. There is a great deal of debate around food security with some arguing that:

• There is enough food in the world to feed everyone adequately; the problem is distribution.
• Future food needs can - or cannot - be met by current levels of production.
• National food security is paramount - or no longer necessary because of global trade.
• Globalization may - or may not - lead to the persistence of food insecurity and poverty in rural communities.

Issues such as whether households get enough food, how it is distributed within the household and whether that food fulfils the nutrition needs of all members of the household show that food security is clearly linked to health.

It may surprise you to know that Jersey has only three days food supply in reserve at any one time, we are entirely dependent on our shipping links and the government has made no provision for emergency supplies.

Refused permission to file papers with the Court

With my trial closing in I tried today to submit papers to the Court file regarding the case. I was refused permission to do so. I therefore publish it here.

This is a matter of Public Record

H.M. ATTORNEY GENERAL

v.

THE LEGAL FICTION, MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE

I, a Trustee of unlienable rights given to me by my creator, and sole authorised representative of the legal fiction DARIUS JAMES PEARCE, with God as my witness, make OATH and SAY,

1)      That on the 27^th February 2012 I attended at the Magistrate’s Court in order to represent the Legal Fiction, MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE, but that I was unlawfully denied the opportunity to represent the aforementioned Legal Fiction, a legal fiction of which I am the sole authorised representative.

2)      That I existed before the aforementioned legal fiction MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE and that as a result the two entities are clearly distinct and separate. We have distinct records in the form of a ‘short form birth certificate’ and a ‘long form extract from the register of births and deaths’ issued at separate times from separate locations.

3)      Whilst I can state with absolute certainty that I am not the entity referred to as MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE I cannot adequately describe myself, as God alone knows me.

4)      I am a creation of God, (the Father).  He entrusted me with certain unlienable rights, amongst which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That as my creator, He is the sole Beneficiary of the trust. I act solely as Trustee of those rights.

5)      He as Administrator (the Son) established two rules to govern my trusteeship; that I should love my God above all things and that I should love my fellow man as I love myself.

6)      That all men are created equal in the eyes of God and invested with trusteeship of the same unalienable rights. That God alone can judge the performance of His trustees and that such judgement shall be made at the final reckoning. That to guide our daily actions he imbued each of us with His Spirit.

7)      Each man as Trustee has their own INHERENT JURISDICTION, and within this unlimited jurisdiction it is our highest duty to ensure that the sacred trust between God and ourselves is protected. Such jurisdiction takes precedent over any jurisdiction of man whatsoever.

8)      That in order to defend their mutual unlienable rights, man has caused governments to be formed with a duty to defend each man from those that would transgress God’s law and cause harm to another. It is the exclusive responsibility of God to punish any failure on the part of His trustees.

9)      That to hear pleas of restitution for harm suffered, Courts have been formed operating with the Authority of God to recompense those that have suffered harm at the hands of a man who had transgressed God’s laws. Such Courts make orders only as to restitution for the harm suffered. Such Courts operate exclusively under common or customary law. It is the duty of each of God’s trustees to submit to the jurisdiction of these Courts.

10)    That government may not seek to limit or place a lien upon the rights that God has given freely through the statutes of man. Statutes cannot automatically apply to God’s trustees as God alone may determine the rules concerning their conduct to do otherwise would be to seek to deny the exclusive rights of God as Administrator.

11)   Any man may, knowingly and willingly, enter into contract with the government to be subject to statute, such agreement is shown when any of God’s Trustees acts under the title of a legal fiction.

12)   One form of legal ficton is the trust which is created for each man shortly after birth, with the name established in the document commonly referred to as a birth certificate. This legal fiction is created by government and as such the government is the beneficiary and administrator of this trust.

13)   That in acting in the name of the legal fiction, the trustee is accepting the contract offered by the government and is subject to all rules and regulations of the government as TRUSTEE, such rules and regulations being more commonly referred to as statutory law.

14)   That the operation of statutory law is overseen by statutory courts.

15)   That as a result any proceeding in a Court of Customary Law against the Private Person must demonstrate that a harm has been caused.

16)   That despite repeated requests, the Parish of St Helier has failed to show the proofs necessary.

17)   I am unable to respond to the charge laid before the Court as there has been no disclosure as to what exactly the charge is.

18)   I believe that it is contrary to the demands of Natural Justice for a plea to be entered on my behalf prior to full disclosure. I further believe that the demands of Natural Justice have not been met in that there has been no directions hearing which would allow any witnesses required to be summoned and no hearing to jurisdiction and thus there can be no certainty that the proceedings will be conducted in a lawful manner.

19)   Finally in disallowing the sole authorised representative from representing the Legal Fiction, MR DARIUS JAMES PEARCE, there is no one who can represent that person. It seems to me that in disallowing anyone to speak for the legal fiction the demands of Natural Justice have not been met.

WHEREFORE I humbly beseech you to summarily dismiss the claims made against the Legal Fiction, Mr DARIUS JAMES PEARCE. Failing which, to order that the legal fiction the Parish of St Helier make provision of a detailed exegesis, with the requisite proofs, of the claims made within this affidavit, to which I may choose to respond further, and show that I am subject to a jurisdiction which will require me to respond to your plea, charge or whatever you wish to call it.

Darius-James*Pearce

With God as my witness

IN PROPRIA PERSONA

UK 2012 Budget highlights

Now you may wonder why everyone in Jersey is so interested in the goings on in Westminster when it comes to budget time, and the answer is simply because all our laws come from the UK, there has not been an original thought arising from the States of Jersey within my lifetime and for probably a century previous.

I was listening for any further detail on the implementation of the changes to Low Value Consignment Relief but the Chancellor George Osborne did not even mention it in his speech.

The details of the change can be found here. Nota Bene: "Businesses without a UK establishment who make taxable supplies of goods or services in the UK will be affected by the removal of the VAT registration threshold."

The supply of goods is only taxable by those companies who make a VAT return, otherwise the VAT is payable by the purchaser on import.

The first thing I notice is that there is no actual plans to cut spending... there is a plan to cut spending as a percentage of GDP, but this relies on GDP growth to cause the reduction rather than any actual cut in the level of expenditure.

Still it is fiscally responsible as one would expect from the Conservatives.

Big hits for Jersey -

• Closing Stamp Duty Avoidance loophole on properties owned by overseas Companies.
• Tax gamblers where they live, not where gambling company is
• Closing LVCR loophole

So these are the points which were of most interest to me:

Plan to give taxpayers statements showing where their tax goes, such as on healthcare and on interest payments on the national debt

I will want to see the fine detail on this, it is all very well saying that for example 50p of every pound goes on healthcare, but what percentage of that 50p goes to for example management costs, drugs companies. Any number of sins can be hidden within the descriptor 'healthcare' including a £150,000 golden handshake to the senior civil servant.

Personal tax allowance - threshold at which workers start paying income tax - will rise to £9,205 in April 2013, up £1,100 from the £8,105 level this April,  "My goal is a tax system where the lowest paid are brought out of tax altogether"

Finally some sense, income tax thresholds should be increased as benefits and entitlements are decreased, it makes little sense to process 10,000 tax forms which will only net a minimal amount of taxation, the cost of operating our own treasury department and the costs to business of operating ITIS to deduct amounts less tha£50 simply do not make good business sense. There are cost savings to be made by taxing fewer people which would render unnecessary a lot of treasury department roles.

Corporation tax being cut to 24% in April, having already cut to 26% from 28%. Corporation tax will be 22% by 2014.

A first class move which will pressure other nations to end their over taxing, over spending ways.

Debt management office consulting on issuing longer dated gilts beyond 50 years and case for perpetual gilts

Lend us money that we never have to pay back?

Plan to tax online gambling based on location of gambler not company

So not such a good thing for the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.

Government spending in Afghanistan will be £2.4bn lower than planned over remainder of parliament

There is no benefit to the UK economy to spend money outside the UK, money spent inside the UK will at least be re-spent (the multiplier effect) and why have we invaded Afghanistan anyway? I would have thought we would have learnt our lesson in the nineteenth century or from the fall of the Soviet Union.

Has Philip Ozouf been nominated to fall?

The trouble with Jersey is that many people have never left the island, they are long term inmates and they have become institutionalised to the 'Jersey way'.

Philip Ozouf with
Terry Le Sueur

We must remember that nothing that happens in Jersey, happens by accident, the 'powers that be' carefully co-ordinate the media; they announce far in advance their plans and the sheeple take their instructions, which is dripped out like Chinese water torture, over a significant period of time.

We of course can learn the truth by reading between the lines...

So Has Philip Ozouf been nominated to fall? That is the question that I am asking after tonight's JEP coverage.

We know that there will be some jostling at the next election, we have 10 senators vying for 8 seats and history has shown that at least one 'establishment' politician is unseated at every election - Guy de Faye, Freddie Cohen, so who is next?

You may prefer to believe that Freddie Cohen was just blaming the JEP to excuse his loss, but I don't believe this is the case, I believe that Freddie is entirely correct, as was Guy before him who leveled the exact same accusations at the exact same source.

Now this is not a defence of Philip Ozouf, it is simply asking the question as to whether the dissatisfaction of the people of Jersey is going to be directed against Philip Ozouf, rather than more correctly against the entire government. Such is the strength of not having political parties, that the party may continue albeit with notable casualties to provide the illusion of change, but such a sacrifice is not going to be made lightly.

This leads to speculation as to what the real story is around the whole Ogley saga and his £500 thousand pound pay-off. It can only be that his silence is being bought.

He served under Jersey's first (and worst) Chief Minister and there must be something that is worth paying him £500 thousand pounds not to talk about. Something that is worth sacrificing the loyal servant Philip Ozouf for only an event of greater interest to the people of Jersey, will allow the electorate to accept the deal and move on.

What secret about Frank Walker is Bill Ogley safeguarding?

Missouri the latest State accused of Vote Fraud

Well the shenanigans in the US electoral system continue to mount up as Minnesota becomes the latest state to show signs of unfair procedures. Ron Paul has now gone as far as to describe recent events as 'shenanigans' but has not as yet made any complaint of unlawful behaviour.

Establishment GOP leaders in St. Charles County, Missouri, shut down a caucus and had Ron Paul supporters arrested in order to avoid enthusiastic Ron Paul supporters from taking over the caucus March 17.

Ron Paul on 'Shenanigans'

"It definitely got wild," Eugene Dokes, the county Republican chairman, told the Associated Press after the aborted caucus, claiming that: "I had to tell a number of people not to approach me, not to come from behind me and not to scream at me. I think there was the possibility of someone trying to inflict personal injury or harm to me." There's no evidence Dokes was threatened in the more than dozen videos of the caucus that appeared on YouTube after the caucus.

The posted video recordings were banned at the caucus and provided the nominal reason for one arrest and the loud protests. The videos showed the crowd remaining in their seats and orderly while shouting extremely loudly at perceived rule violations by Dokes through Matt Ehlen, whom Dokes had elected caucus chairman after a controversial vote where Ehlen was the only candidate. Local television stations reported that Paul supporters had become “verbally aggressive,” a characterization imperceptibly different from a crowd enthusiastically supporting their candidates.

GOP officials nominally shut down Missouri's ongoing presidential caucuses in St. Charles County after Ron Paul and Mitt Romney supporters protested enforcement of an outdated caucus rule that bans videotaping of caucus proceedings. The futility of enforcing such an antiquated rule in the 21st century became apparent within hours of the close of the convention, as dozens of surreptitious mobile phone recordings of the caucus proceedings appeared on YouTube.com. In an era when virtually all mobile phones also double as high definition video recorders, such a rule has become impossible to enforce.

Missouri Republican Party Chairman David Cole issued a statement calling for transparency in the caucus process, a statement that seemed to imply the video-recording rule should be eased: “We understand that emotions run high, but it is important that these caucuses are conducted in a fair, open, and honest manner. Today’s events in St. Charles were unfortunate — and the meeting was adjourned to protect the safety of all participants. Moving forward, the State Party plans to reach out to all parties involved. We will come to an agreement to ensure that St Charles County is fully represented throughout the nominating process.”

The Associated Press reported that Doakes and Ehlen called police when Paul and Romney supporters loudly booed after the putative caucus chairman declared several resolutions passed by voice votes that did not appear to win by a majority of the 2,500 caucus attendees: “Two off-duty St. Peters police officers, who had been hired for the event by Republicans, called in for support from five law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A police helicopter arrived at the scene.”

Two Ron Paul supporters were arrested by municipal police on “trespassing” charges, one during the caucus for openly refusing to stop video-recording. After the caucus was shut down, Paul campaign coordinator Brent Safford was also arrested for "trespassing," when he tried to reconvene the caucus outside the high school where the abortive caucus had taken place. Romney and Paul supporters in attendance charged that county GOP leadership was in the pocket of the Santorum campaign in posts on local media and various social media, alongside the more than a dozen YouTube videos posted overnight.

Brent Safford had been backed by both the Paul and Romney campaigns to become caucus chairman, but Stafford claimed in a post on DailyPaul.com that Dokes refused to recognize any nominations for caucus chairman other than Ehler. The crowd angrily chanted “Brent Safford, Brent Safford” when Dokes and Ehlen refused to recognize Safford. Dokes and Ehler resolved to adjourn the caucus after Paul and Romney supporters continued an unbroken series of crowd booing, but Safford pointed out that the rules of the convention required a two-thirds vote to adjourn and tried to continue the caucus in the front lawn outside of the high school where it had first convened. Police arrested Safford on the front lawn of the high school, but left unmolested 300-400 other caucus-goers who were listening to Safford — unmolested. Safford wrote on the DailyPaul.com “When I asked what I was being arrested for, or if I was being arrested, I was told they would tell me later. Eventually I was booked for trespassing and released.”

Ehlen insisted during the caucus that Paul supporters vigorously follow state rules on video recordings, but Ehlen himself ignored several rules that were also on the state caucus rulebook, such as followingRobert's Rules of Order, ignoring points of order, and adjourning without a two-thirds vote.

Romney and Paul's Preferred Chair is arrested

The economic future for 'Jersey'

Whatever the Government Says, times are getting tougher
and it is the Government's fault

The JEP has covered a story relating to the attempts of Alan MacLean to limit the population. Although the paranoid streak in me read the headline 'the population can be controlled' in a slightly different way.

With the end of the 'fulfillment industry' the economic future for 'Jersey' is going to need some rethinking, or maybe they will continue along their plough ahead regardless path as they usually do.

You see to the government, 'Jersey' does not mean the people of Jersey, nor the island of Jersey, it means simply the government of Jersey.

It is simply not important to me whether the plans for continued government expansion continue apace or not, in fact if I had my way the government would be shrinking and fast.

The principle of subsidiarity would hold that the smallest administrative unit possible should make the decisions. Now the smallest unit possible is the individual, then the family and so on and so forth up to the mega corrupt super bureaucracies of the EU, Federal Government in the US or the Soviet Government in the USSR (as was). The reason for this is simple; if the individual is making decisions for themselves then they are likely to make wise decisions, enlightened self-interest if you will. But the further up the chain you go the more distant the person who makes the decision is from the consequences of that decision and so corruption inevitably arises as the decision makers make those choices which benefit themselves personally, although this may be to a lesser or a greater extent.

There is no reason that certain decisions could not rest with the Parishes in Jersey, this would include Road Maintenance, Street Cleaning, Planning, Primary Education, Welfare. Indeed it would be preferable to have these things controlled by private individuals and the parish assembly (which is constituted of all residents and ratepayers) rather than some nameless, faceless Civil Servant who has no personal stake in the decisions made.

There is a big argument for keeping the Constables in the States, but I would prefer to see more of the States work returned to the Parishes and therefore giving the Constables no spare time to do States work

I quite like most of the Constables personally, they are affable and approachable, that is because they are directly held to account by the people they represent.

That is the solution for Jersey's economic future, kill the high spending, corrupt bureaucracies and return the power whereever possible to the Parishes.

Government is not the solution, government is the problem. They will likely now react by raising taxes, selling off assets and borrowing money, to ensure that the Government continues to operate and flourish. Debt is the currency of slaves.

The problem is that the Government do want to keep the population controlled and they are not talking about the number of people living here, they are talking about making the island a prison.

The Police do not protect YOU

The idea that the police are here to protect us is a lie. The police are here to enforce the tyranny of the State.

The Police protecting a Citizen 

Because “citizens” can start to revolt if things like murder and rape and arson aren’t dealt with, the police will make a token effort to deal with these things when they occur. Although they often complete these investigations poorly, often making no arrest, arresting the wrong person or simply mis-allocating man power depending on how politically connected the victim was.

• The vast, vast majority of the time the police uses is spent harassing and oppressing people.
• They break down people’s homes looking for “drugs”
• They pull people over and harass motorists for innocuous things; fining them, despite those very motorists paying their wages
• They spend time breaking up house parties
• They enforce the 1000s of ludicrous regulations that local and national governments impose on people’s property
• They confiscate your guns with the threat of imprisonment so you are powerless to defend yourself against criminals.

Gun control does not prevent crime, but rather other factors do, simply comparing gun crime between the USA and the UK won’t prove too much nut there are other factors. Firstly, gun crime in the UK has got worse since the regulation after the Dunblane massacre.

In Switzerland practically everybody owns a firearm. Yet their homicide rate from firearms is 6 times smaller than it is in the USA. And their overall homicide rate from all causes is almost identical to that of the United Kingdom. This tells us that the high homicide rate in the US is probably caused by something other than the ownership of guns.

In the USA they have a variety of different restrictions on gun ownership. Washington DC, for example, has probably the strictest gun control anywhere in the country, and yet it also has the highest homicide rates. Baltimore, Maryland, like many inner cities, has one of the highest murder rates from guns in America, it also has strict gun control laws.

The lesson is that other factors cause the crime.Police will sometimes claim they are just doing their job, that they don’t write the laws. Well this argument call is puerile.

If you accept that nobody is responsible for their actions if they are following orders, then the Nazi soldiers who gassed the Jews during WWII should not have been punished or held morally accountable. Intutively we know that the Nuremberg Defence is nonsense, don’t let the police or bureaucrats get away with it.

The police will not protect you. Think about your own life. Is there anything you do that you would feel afraid to do if it wasn’t for the police? 

If you are a girl do you walk freely around at night on your own because you know the police will protect you? Or do you take your own precautions, making sure to be with a friend, walk near street lights, or simply not go out after a certain time alone?

Do you leave your home unlocked because you know the police will make sure nobody burgles your house? Or do you make sure your home is locked? Perhaps installing your own alarm systems and private security if you live in a bad neighbourhood?

People naturally cooperate and use their common sense to stay away from dangerous situations. The police do not protect us from these dangers, but rather they actually enforce tyrannical laws, threaten and harass peaceful people and are completely unaccountable to anybody.

Many people see so many problems in the system, without understanding where the problems come from. It’s all to easy to think some new reform, or new leader, can fix the problems. They can’t. The problem is the fact people are forced to pay. 

Unlike every company in the free market who has to provide a product or service you want in order to get your money, the government just takes it. Because of this they do not have the correct incentives to provide a good quality service, free of corruption and violence. 

Government will often claim to make the police accountable by creating some new “governing body”. The problem is that this governing body is run by the same organisation (the state) as the organisation (the poilce) it claims to hold accountable. And this governing body won’t regulate fairly because its resources are also stolen through taxation.

It can sometimes seem like a trivial point but it is this crucial difference between voluntary transactions and coercion that causes all these problems in our society. Markets, and humans, naturally self-regulate. We’ve evolved over millions of years to be social animals. 

Far from Anarchy being chaos, it is actually the State that is chaos. With its monopoly on violence it continually forces itself between free people trying to trade and cooperate. It claims it will wield its dangerous monopoly on the initiation of force in a just and fair manner as a servant of the people. The tragedy is that it never does, and never can.

Private Security firms you might think offer the possibilty of oppressive dictatorship. But in a stateless system, it is infinitely harder for anybody to get into a position where they can start oppressing people, compared to our current system.

The government already has a complete monopoly on the use of force including the police, army and intelligence services. Not to mention the penal system, health, education, surveillence and law & order. The government can (and does) regularly trample on peoples rights and impose ever tighter laws and restrictions on peoples rights with relative impunity – using their irregular mandate from the electorate as their only real source of legitimacy.

In a stateless system, power and jurisdiction is spread amongst a multiude of different actors. If a private security firm became too powerful and started to use their power arbitrarily to threaten life and property, they would come into direct conflict with a multiude of other private security firms who are obligated to defend their own clients. As a private company, they can only sustain and finance their activities by the voluntary action of private individuals who employ their services. Not to mention the fact that very few people are going to want to employ the services of any firm that is going to oppress or coerce them.

Good riddance to the fulfillment industry

Well the cockerels are crowing loudly about the end of LVCR, Richard Murphy has publicly stated that it is the end of VAT avoidance. He is absolutely wrong, but it is the end of 1000's of jobs in the Channel Islands. The companies themselves will survive and prosper of course.

Richard Murphy 

I have had some delightful talks with the Welsh Development Agency and Amazon both of whom have offered me viable and more profitable alternatives to what is on offer in Jersey, but I think that I, as a small Jersey business, will not be affected in any case from what I read of the intended implementation of this change. I am happy just to make ends meet, I don't want to earn enough to have to pay tax or social security, thank you very much.

I was more interested to see that Richard has banned from his blog -

"Persistent comments from those promoting libertarian ideals"

Richard and the Tax Justice Network refused to debate with the Centre for Economic Freedom and Prosperity, a libertarian think tank, on numerous occasions. He is a highly intelligent and capable man but he recognises that to support the Tax Justice Network one must agree with the fundamental tenet that Government is the Solution and we are incapable of looking after ourselves, whilst for those of us of the Libertarian persuasion Government is the Problem and it is for individuals to find their own solutions to their own problems. I find Richard's view incredibly arrogant and condescending but I am sure that he equally feels that Libertarians have it completely wrong.

There can be only one reason to avoid a debate and that is to avoid an inevitable defeat.

The UK would not have a problem if it operated at a reasonable level of VAT, it is solely because it is 20% that there is any problem. The Tax Justice Network simply works to protect over-spending irresponsible bureaucracies from competition from leaner and meaner jurisdictions. It is anti-free market. It supports higher levels of taxation by removing the checks and balances against such government extortion.

Still it is refreshing to see a man of Richard's stature accept that the major intellectual, sociological and political cleavage is formed across that divide. Ultimately the Tax Justice Network is a vocal supporter of bureaucracy and high taxation, as one would expect from an organisation which is entirely funded by those very bureaucracies. You don't get rich by biting the hand that feeds you and as Richard himself says, he is a very successful businessman.

But back to LVCR loss, personally I don't think it is that bad. There are too many people here anyway and I believe that we will inevitably see a decline in the population and therefore the market forces which have been at play to over-inflate property and rental prices will be removed and we can expect to see DEFLATION.

It sharply brings in to focus the culture of excess which has permeated our Civil Service, this just adds even more pressure to bring down the operating costs of the Government in Jersey. But what is the loss to Jersey of this industry of all those low paid workers anyway?

For businesses such as mine, which rely on international sales as a result of the woeful policies of the States of Jersey, the opportunity for greater profit not only exists but is now being forced upon us by the UK government. Profit which of course will be taxed at 0%, in Jersey.

Why did the Jersey government bother wasting our money on a court case it could never win and which even if they had won would have been of no ultimate benefit to Jersey to win anyway.

Becoming a Free Man in practice

Kill Me and I Die a Free Man 

Having decided to embrace the Free Man philosophy and reclaim my rights under Magna Carta and the Common Law I have taken steps necessary to make a reality of what was previously an interesting area of study.

So now in response to each letter I have received from a Government department I have simply replied stating that I will be delighted to respond to them or fill in their form for my standard fee of £250. I have been good enough to waive my fee in respect of the first response to each department. The response from departments has been different - Social Security replied to me once, Economic Development have left me alone, Treasury have left me alone. Social Security indicated that I had an obligation to comply, my reply was simply that if I do, I do not have an obligation to work for nothing.

You may recall I decided that I was no longer going to be an employer or slave-master. This has now progressed to the stage where I have informed Social Security that I have no employees, I chose not to relay the exact nature of the relationship that I have with the people with whom I share my responsibilities (note share rather than delegate) and simply indicated that such relationships did not fall within the scope of the Social Security (Jersey) Law or the Employment (Jersey) Law. I further provided the definition of a contract of employment from the Solicitor General of the United Kingdom for the purposes of defining which types of contract they may oversee.

To assist the Government I have
removed the J Plate from my vehicle 

I chose not to attend the invitation of the Constable of St Helier to attend a meeting at the Magistrate's Court on the 12th March 2012 and duly informed him that as the Assistant Magistrate had ruled that I was unable to represent Mr Darius James Pearce there seemed little point in the meeting proceeding as no one else was authorised to represent that Legal Fiction. My arrest has been duly ordered and I was very politely invited to attend in person (yes this was emboldened in the letter) at the Viscount's Department to pay £60 bail and arrange a suitable date for a hearing. I politely declined their offer, by letter, and revoked their implied right of access to my property, freehold or leasehold.

I have notified the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Transport and Technical Services that I am going to use a number plate on my car which is not a J number. I have ordered the plates down and will change them on my vehicle. I felt it necessary to advise them in case anyone should wish to make a claim against me.

I have changed the name of my business to a name which is unregistered.

I am now of the opinion that it is just a matter of living and let live. I do not bother them, I do not make grand performances in their Courts or offices, I simply ignore them. I hope that they will similarly respect my rights, amongst which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That just leaves one thorny issue... I cannot be divorced as, after all, what God has joined let no man put assunder. But I guess I'll just have to answer to God on that one.

What is behind the media assault on Goldman Sachs?

Have Goldman Sachs ripped off the wrong people? 

Goldman Sachs hit the mainstream news today following the publication of a resignation latter in the New York Times which amongst other things indicated that the executives of the company had referred to their customers as 'muppets'.

Goldman Sachs though has been mentioned on numerous occasions on this blog. It is worth noting that when Lehmann Brothers collapsed in 2008 the second weakest bank at the time was none other than Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs famously donated to Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, CNN reports the total at $994,795 in 2007 and 2008. Perhaps that is why Goldman Sachs and not Lehmann Brothers got the bailout package from the Bank of America.

CEO in 2007 John Corzine later became head of MF Global which filed for bankruptcy in Oct 2011. Under administration it seems that $1.6 billion is missing from clients funds. Today a lawsuit has been lodged against the executive for this impropriety and Goldman Sachs have been fined $7 million for mishandling clients money.

The suspicion is that something untoward has happened with Corzine at the heart of the matter. Goldman Sachs is now feeding off the carcass of a company that its former CEO moved over to head.

Reuters report

"MF Global unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of securities to Goldman Sachs in the days leading up to its collapse, according to two former MF Global employees with direct knowledge of the transactions. But it did not immediately receive payment from its clearing firm and lender, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), one of the sources said.

The sale of securities to Goldman occurred on October 27, just days before MF Global Holdings Ltd (MFGLQ.PK) filed for bankruptcy on October 31, the ex-employees said. One of the employees said the transaction was cleared with JPMorgan Chase.

At the same time MF Global, which was run by former Goldman Sachs head Jon Corzine, was selling securities to Goldman to raise badly needed cash, the futures firm was also drawing down a $1.2 billion revolving line of credit it had with JPMorgan, according to one of the former MF Global employees.

JPMorgan spokeswoman Mary Sedarat said the bank did not withold money because of the line of credit. She declined further comment on details of the transactions."

Perhaps some of the securities transferred are what makes up the $1.6 billion in missing client funds.

As it stands now the price to earnings ratio of Goldman Sachs is an incredible 27.28 and the dividend yield is over 1% but investment money is flowing OUT of Goldman Sachs and the shares in the company are oversold (i.e. more have been sold than there actually are to sell) indicating that there may be rocky times for this company ahead.

The sudden breaking of silence by Goldman Sachs employees cannot be co-incidental, are the two giants of US investment banking falling out over this?

New Record Highs... that usually means trouble

Pride Comes Before A Fall

Well the Dow Jones has re-established itself at its pre-2008 level based it seems on an increase in dividend from JP Morgan Chase. For me this has set alarm bells ringing.

As we know (or hopefully you have been following the economics posts) the banks are all bankrupt and being kept afloat solely by the relentless printing of worthless money.

The Central Banks have printed various amounts - in the US it is at least $3trillion, in the UK it is £1 trillion, even the Swiss central bank has been forced to print more money to prevent the damaging rise in the value of the Swiss Franc which was destroying exports.

Just to go back over the basics... if the value of the UK was (say) £10 trillion and they then printed another £1 trillion pounds then the value of the UK becomes £11 trillion. The UK does not actually include anything different, there are still the same amount of assets, but the value of the assets is now split between that £11 trillion effectively causing the value of everything when expressed in £s to increase by 10%.

In a global economy with every Central Bank printing money as fast as the US to ensure that their currency does not appreciate and ruin their exports there is a lot more money in circulation than there was even last year.

This is the true inflationary effect which is a result, solely, of printing currency. Such inflationary effects are not possible where gold, silver and copper are used as currency as it is not possible to simply print gold, silver or copper. This is what occurred at various points in history from Ancient Rome to Weimar Germany to Zimbabwe.

That is not such a problem if you actually own assets (gold, land, oil) but if you hold cash (savings, pensions, wages) then you have lost. There is a middle ground here that of housing which is an asset, but it is usually a mortgaged asset. In the 1970's a lot of people made a lot of money because the value of their houses went up whilst the value of their mortgage (compared to earnings) went down.

Basically cash is owned by the poorer members of Western societies (I say poorer because even the poorest is in the top 20% of the world's rich) whilst the assets are owned by the richer members of Western Society.

What is different this time is that houses are significantly over-valued. In Jersey for example an 'average family house' is far beyond the means of an 'average wage' to purchase. Estimates suggest that houses are 25% over-valued.

So the outlook is pretty bleak for the average joe. Any savings, pension entitlement or residue of value in their property is all going to be severely de-valued. This will not affect the poorest as they are unlikely to have any savings anyway and of course it will not affect the richest, noticeably. It is the middle classes that will once again face the burden. These are the same middle classes that are also being hammered by government through tax increases.

We have seen an assault on the Gold futures market with the naked shorting (i.e. selling of items that you do not actually own) forcing down the price from near $2,000 to around the $1,700 level and at the same time money has been moved back into the stock market.

So what is the price to earning (p/e) ratio of JP Morgan Chase now it has increased its dividend? Well it is 9.638%, that is a phenomenal return given that 'safe' US treasury bonds will gain you 0.5% and money in the bank will gain you 0%. You can get a better return Portuguese treasury bonds currently gain you 13% but as you know Portugal is no different to Greece and will soon be facing its own crisis.

You have to wonder why the price of the stock has not risen further still, surely even at a p/e ratio of 5% it would still be an attractive investment and there is so much more money floating around.

So why is the p/e ration so high? Well two things, firstly JP Morgan owes an awful lot of Gold to an awful lot  of people and secondly it owns an awful lot of repossessed homes that it cannot recover its loan value on. The financial reports do not adequately disclose this, but the knowledgeable trader is aware of this and factors this into his decision. They will only buy at a rate of return of 10%. Because a lower return is simply not worth the risk.

Just do a search on the subject of this post and see how loudly JP Morgan is trumpeted around the globe as the latest sign of economic recovery... maybe it is just me but I get the feeling that we are being set up.

Interestingly enough for those astrologically minded, Uranus progresses to 4 degrees Aries this weekend, last time that happened? The great stock market crash of the 1920's.

US bans Free Speech

When Ghandhi composed the rules for Satyagraha (literally "insistence on truth") or civil disobedience they included assertions of individual responsibility including: "do not make your participation conditional on your comrades taking care of your dependants while you are engaging in the campaign or are in prison; do not expect them to provide such support".

It is the techniques developed by Ghandhi and his fellow Satyagrahi which have driven all protest in the hundred years since he began his campaign for racial equality in South Africa before returning to India to protest British rule.

It was his techniques that were employed throughout North Africa in 2011 and in Syria now.
By contrast back in the land of the free and the home of the brave it is now illegal to exercise one's right to free speech in the USA, if the event you are protesting against is 'nationally significant'.

People have been arrested and charged with felonies (serious crimes) simply for posting up advertisements for legal, non-violent protests.

Compare this with the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989 where a single man held up a line of tanks and you may recall that this was a ruthless suppression of protestors.

Of course we should never forget just how far a Western Nation is willing to go to suppress dissent in its own populations.