Last evening (January 12, 2014) I sat down to create a compilation of beliefs I hold about the world complex. The first twenty that popped into my head were pretty easy with the last few (I only went as far as once through the alphabet) requiring a little thinking. In no particular order I offer this quickly composed list with some links to articles/websites to support them:
ECONOMY/FINANCES
a) Economic markets are rigged.
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-11/are-markets-rigged
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-12/summarizing-known-rigged-markets
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-11/wmreuters-busted-latest-market-rigging-and-collusion-scandal-foreign-exchange
b) Gold has been moving from the West to the East.
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-world’s-gold-moving-west-east
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-19/chinese-dont-want-dollars-anymore-they-want-gold-londons-gold-vaults-are-empty-why
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-08/chinese-gold-imports-soar-monthly-record-insatiable-demand
c) The world’s primary reserve currency never lasts forever.
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-10/todays-reserve-currency-tomorrows-wallpaper
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-06/bundesbank-warns-chinas-currency-its-way-becoming-global-reserve-currency
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-13/guest-post-how-much-longer-will-dollar-be-reserve-currency
d) Central banks have been coordinating their monetary policies from interest rates to ‘money printing’ to ‘forward guidance’ that is resulting in currency devaluations
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/here-comes-mother-all-rumors-g-20-sources-say-central-banks-preparing-coordinated-action
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/goldman-todays-coordinated-central-bank-bailout-it-isn’t-enough-save-anyone-or-solve-averything
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-03/guest-post-rise-and-fall-monetary-policy-coordination
e) Central banks have been monetizing sovereign debt through increased holdings of government bonds.
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-07/japan-may-or-may-not-mint-quadrillion-yen-coins-it-will-monetize-european-debt
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/ecb-monetizes-another-€10-billion-piigs-debt-trichet-says-prudent-ecb-not-fed
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-20/presenting-all-us-debt-thats-fit-monetize
f) Sovereign nations are in extreme debt.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_debt
- http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock
- http://www.tradingeconomics.com/country-list/government-debt-to-gdp
g) Private households are in extreme debt.
- http://www.oecd.org/std/fin-stats/
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-04/debt-nations
- http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/06/focus-1
h) All fiat currency experiments eventually end.
- http://dailyreckoning.com/fiat-currency/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oql8CTy6AcA
- http://georgewashington2.blogspot.ca/2011/08/average-life-expectancy-for-fiat.html
i) Robotic technology is replacing increasing number of jobs.
- http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/robots-to-replace-almost-50-per-cent-of-the-work-force/story-fn5fsgyc-1226729696075
- http://robotswillstealyourjob.tumblr.com/post/48210312400/robots-are-taking-our-jobs-and-we-will-take-their
- http://www.amazon.com/Jobocalypse-Human-Jobs-Robots-Replace/dp/1482701960
j) There exist trillions of dollars of IOUs supporting the financial system.
- http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/derivatives/bank_exposure.html
- http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-coming-derivatives-panic-that-will-destroy-global-financial-markets
- http://moneymorning.com/2011/10/12/derivatives-the-600-trillion-time-bomb-thats-set-to-explode/
k) Unemployment has skyrocketed across western nations, especially for the young (under 25).
- http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/14/youth-unemployment-wreck-europe-economic-recovery
- http://business.time.com/2012/11/05/why-the-u-s-has-a-worse-youth-employment-problem-than-europe/
- http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/study-why-youth-unemployment-in-canada-is-here-to-stay/
ENERGY
l) Production of conventional oil has begun to decline.
- http://www.oildecline.com/
- http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/dec/23/british-petroleum-geologist-peak-oil-break-economy-recession
- http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/0412/The-decline-of-the-world-s-major-oil-fields
m) New technologies and dirtier sources are being increasingly required to sustain fuel production.
- http://www.peakoil.net/future-oil-production-in-canada
- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d005f176-4ad8-11e3-8c4c-00144feabdc0.html
- http://www.theoildrum.com/node/10017
n) Fuel production barely sustains demand.
- http://omrpublic.iea.org/balances.asp
- http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/06/oil-production-and-consumption
- http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=12891
o) The Shale Oil Revolution is not.
- http://shalebubble.org/drill-baby-drill/
- http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-10-21/major-study-projects-no-long-term-climate-benefit-from-shale-gas-revolution
- http://mondediplo.com/2013/03/09gaz
p) Models of future fuel production rely on significant ‘yet-to-be-discovered’ sources.
- http://www.abo.net/en_IT/publications/reportage/togo/togo_1.shtml
- http://seekingalpha.com/article/236162-iea-forecast-economy-depends-on-yet-to-be-found-oil
- http://www.jeffrubinssmallerworld.com/2010/11/24/even-the-international-energy-agency-forecasts-peak-oil/
q) Fossil fuel extraction, transportation, and use have polluted the planet with numerous toxins.
- http://www.ec.gc.ca/energie-energy/default.asp?lang=En&n=1F4E5D8A-1
- http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-fossil-fuels
- http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/the-hidden-cost-of-fossil.html
ENVIRONMENT
r) Climate extremes are increasing in frequency, duration, and magnitude.
- http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/18/2013-extreme-weather-events
- http://www.climatecommunication.org/new/articles/extreme-weather/overview/
- https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/special-reports/srex/SREX_FD_SPM_final.pdf
s) Polar ice caps are melting.
- http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/qthinice.asp
- http://www.dw.de/polar-ice-sheets-melting-faster-than-ever/a-16432199
- http://uk.news.yahoo.com/what-if-the-world-s-icecaps-melted-overnight–120351663.html#PK3eE9D
t) We are experiencing peak water.
- http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/16-05/ff_peakwater?currentPage=all
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-06/peak-water-the-rise-and-fall-of-cheap-clean-h2o.html
- http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/20130606/PRINCEGEORGE0304/306069987/-1/princegeorge/peak-water-limiting-energy-production
u) Deserts are expanding.
- http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0909/full/climate.2009.84.html
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/desertification-expansion-of-the-sahara-desert/1498.html
- http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/science/131211/waterless-world-inner-mongolia-desert-wasteland
v) Sea levels are rising.
- http://pri.org/stories/2014-01-10/sea-levels-rising-uk-starting-let-go-some-its-coastline
- http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/
- http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/adaptation/sea_level.html
w) Honeybees have been decimated by human chemical use.
- https://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/24/9177
- http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-without-honeybees-2013-6
- http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honeybee-population-decline-and-its-devastating-effects-are-topic-of-vanishing-of-the-bees-82364717.html
LIBERTY
x) Governments are spying on their citizens.
- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/02/revealed-australian-spy-agency-offered-to-share-data-about-ordinary-citizens
- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/02/revealed-australian-spy-agency-offered-to-share-data-about-ordinary-citizens
- http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=dae581de-2490-45f8-90c7-919d01fbd4f4
y) Governments are spying on each other and themselves.
- http://www.globalresearch.ca/nsa-spying-on-congress-to-manipulate-intimidate-blackmail-top-government-and-military-officials/5364273
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-snowden-docs-show-u-s-spied-during-g20-in-toronto-1.2442448
- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/world/nsa-dragnet-included-allies-aid-groups-and-business-elite.html?_r=0
z) Governments are manipulating the data they provide to the public.
- http://www.businessinsider.com/government-data-manipulation-pricestats-argentina-inflation-2012-10
- http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/unemployment-data-manipulation/4767
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-19/government-investigate-government-over-jobs-manipulation-report
I know many people would prefer to hear a message of hope but when these ‘realities’ exist I can’t help but be fairly pessimistic about our chances of a ‘sustainable’ future or a ‘soft landing’ for our economic woes. Unless some unforeseen miracle can save us from ourselves, I can only conclude that the day of reckoning is quickly approaching; it’s a matter of when, not if. Some event, minor or major, will be that snowflake that begins a cascading collapse of our interrelated, complex world. And by collapse, I mean a sudden, devastating drop in the standard of living (similar to Dimitry Orlov’s Five Stages of Collapse) OR an elongated, slow contraction (similar to James Howard Kunstler’s The Long Emergency or John Michael Greer’s The Long Descent); to me, these are not too dissimilar and require simply a change in time perspective to interpret the change as either ‘sudden’ or ‘lengthy’.
To quote William Catton Jr., from his book Overshoot: “…the pressure of our numbers and technology upon manifestly limited resources has already put out of reach the previously acceptable solutions to many of our problems. There remains steadfast resistance to admitting this, but facts are not repealed by refusal to face them. On the other hand, even the ‘alarmists’ who have been warning of grave perils besetting mankind have not fathomed our present predicament…” (p. 5).
Update 1. January 17, 2014
1. Far more ‘paper’ precious metals exists than actual ‘physical’ metal in existence (a type of ‘fractional reserve’ banking):
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-18/physical-gold-shortage-goes-mainstream
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/gold-rehypotecation-unwind-begins-hsbc-sues-mf-global-over-disputed-ownership-physical-gold
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/kyle-bass-rehypothecation-and-other-keynesian-endgame-scenarios
2. Large Western financial institutions (i.e. U.S. Federal Reserve; Bank of England) have sold/leased their gold holdings and misled their clients about this:
- https://www.internationalman.com/78-global-perspectives/865-the-disappearing-gold
- http://www.goldmoney.com/research/research-archive/finlands-gold
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-19/germany-has-recovered-paltry-5-tons-gold-ny-fed-after-one-year
3. The United States government and/or people within it have carried out domestic assassinations of numerous leaders:
- http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/01/mlk-assassinated-us-govt-king-family-civil-trial-verdict.html
- http://www.wanttoknow.info/assassinations/kennedy/john-kennedy-assassination-facts-theories
- http://www.globalresearch.ca/50-years-of-suppressed-history-new-evidence-on-the-assassination-of-john-f-kennedy-martin-luther-king-and-robert-f-kennedy/5329847
4. The Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Plant disaster is far worse than the corporate media is letting on:
- http://www.globalresearch.ca/scientists-warn-of-extreme-risk-greatest-short-term-threat-to-humanity-is-from-fukushima-fuel-pools/5357344
- http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/08/west-coast-of-north-america-to-be-hit-hard-by-fukushima-radiation.html
- http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/12/fukushima-radiation-hits-west-coast.html
5. ‘Democratic’ countries are becoming more secretive and totalitarian through ‘legislation’:
- http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-06/japan-secures-final-passage-secrecy-bill-designed-kafka-inspired-hitler
- http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/01/turkey-passes-controversial-medical-aid-bill-2014118135840694702.html
- http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/01/ukraine-adopts-tough-anti-protest-laws-2014116171328466370.html
Interesting thoughts: Murray Rothbard, Anatomy of the State (ISBN 978-80-87888-43-8):
“…the government is not ‘us.’ The government does not in any accurate sense ‘represent’ the majority of the people…Briefly, the State is the only organization in society which attempts to maintain a monopoly of use of force and violence in a given territorial area; in particular, it is the only organization in society that obtains its revenue …by use of complusion; that is, by the use and the threat of the jailhouse and the bayonnet. Having used force and violence to obtain its revenue, the State generally goes on to regulate and dictate the other actions of its individual subjects…The State provides a legal, orderly, systematic channel for the predation of private property; it renders certain, secure, and relatively ‘peaceful’ the lifeline of the parasitic caste in society….The State has never been created by a ‘Social Contract’; it has always been born of conquest and exploitation…”
Feel free to offer some further ‘beliefs’, and three ‘credible’ links, in the comments. I will update the list periodically.
Cheers,
Steve
Olduvaiblog: Musings on the coming collapse 
I fear that the long stagnant outdated systems of government have emulated the Rome of ancient days.
Some think Christianity, decadence, monetary troubles, bureaucracy, and military occupation of foreign lands caused the Fall of Rome. Others think that the rise of Islam caused its demise. Flash news, all the above are currently in play.
One thing is certain though, soon enough we will hear the sounds of fiddles playing as the whole damn lot burns down.
Then, when the ashes have cooled, I’m thinking Chinese will be the new world language of industry, commerce, government, and MONEY.