LIGHT MOMENTS OF HISTORY: Bye Bye, "People Power"

In a way, it is lamentable because it is now really over the hill. Still, it was conceived in the Philippines after all. "People Power", I mean. Only it didn't leave the scene with fireworks but with resounding laughter.

The past few weeks have been a comedy of errors on the part of the EU in Ukraine after it was made clear once & fall by the Ukrainian President that gone were the days of its appeal and leverage so he rejected an Association Agreement with them. The "people power" hauled in from Western Ukraine (the poorest part of the country while the Russophone East, The Ukrainian President's bailiwick, is where the real wealth is) was the expected Western  "not-so-secret weapon", just like when they pressured Marcos to give 63,000 metric tons to the CIA during the first "People Power" test-run in Manila. Well, only the usual Western mainstream presstitute media & the NGO-mercenaries in Ukraine themselves were left interested in the topic this time around. The hapless Western Europeans, already saddled by prolonged economic depression and high unemployment rates with poor prospects of ever regaining their previous standard of living, were actually thankful of the prospects that  no Ukrainian can again steal their meager job options. However, the desperation wrought by a very public humiliation threw away decency from Western officials, both Western European and American, as they openly intervened in favor of their mercenaries. But can bullying arrest their dwindling influence? After all, the Ukraine episode has become the final confirmation of two game-changing facts: the loss of their financial muscle, and the consequent loss in their political power.

Well, the EU has its own "mysterious" mission order and it just played its last card after the ridiculous meddling of American Senator Eugene McCain in Kiev itself: the EU suspended the talks, apparently a move to "enrage" the "people power" more, but it's obvious, that would never resuscitate a dead elephant. The usual talk of sanctions and other "leverage" maneuvers were ominous in the past, but just add to the hilarity of the moment now. The EU, realizing its position just turned ridiculous with the presence of McCain, had no choice but to execute a last-ditch effort to save face: I imagine a ditched suitor saying: "No, it was not her who broke up with me, I broke up with her first!'

The Ukrainian President  has proved himself to be a worthy Poker player. However, at this point, he can discard the poker face and react freely instead to the punchline: time to laugh, baby!

Let them play. Nice comedy routine, EU (with special headstand tricks by McCain!).

People Power had its heyday, but people now are familiar with its tricks. It is now officially outdated.

COUNTDOWN TO THE ASIAN CENTURY: The New VIP's and Some Scheming "Dalahiras"

It turned out that the fatal flaw of Western-style democracy is that the most  logical choice for the good of a  country can easily be hijacked by a few simpleton section of its society, the latter being handily whipped up by domestic and foreign villains who are not necessarily mindful of their interests. Unfortunately, when brains were distributed, most didn't receive a sharp one (brains are more exclusive commodities than beauty, especially in Ukraine, the sexual playground of Europe). The case of the current Ukraine mass action is a very timely example. Their current contrived people power doesn't invite sympathy, much less solidarity, because it's obviously a mass of ignorant people who probably thought the world was like what some foreign-funded NGO's have hoodwinked them to imagine it to be (Which reminds me of the Philippine People Power which didn't really change the life of the Filipino except for more frequent recitation of the mantra "Democracy"- most Filipinos thought that meant a better life, but it really was only about 64,000 metric tons of gold being "extorted" from them). At its current state, the EU is swaying precariously beside a cliff, and not a few experts are predicting there are no guarantees it won't break up. It's obvious the major countries, highly indebted and gasping for air economically, are not exactly welcoming them wholeheartedly because of the unwanted  Eastern European migrants who flooded their labor markets earlier. The enthusiasm is obviously artificial: the EU authorities just recently warned they immediately needed nearly $3 trillion injection because of shortfalls from hard-up member countries so its obvious they're toying with the ignorant section of the Ukrainian populace who most probably didn't understand  the implications of their country's current flirting with bankruptcy.

But the real story isn't about the EU  because people power as a political destabilization weapon isn't their specialty. That there were sudden petitions for American help right in the White House website were the proof that foreign destabilization is at work here. The dark intention was not hidden, that's part of the given in this kind of political weapon- telegraph the intent for psy-war effects. Unfortunately, the world has changed recently without the usual fanfare: the effect now is actually comedic. The main problem of Ukraine is economic, it needed money but the IMF couldn't force its usual extortionist tricks. The Ukrainian President didn't only reject the IMF offer, and since the Western Europeans are just as hard up (and highly-indebted America neither had the money), he also rejected the EU itself for a better deal with the cash-flushed Russia. The Western media disinformation tried to make this appear as a fight for the West and their alleged values, but the drama is actually just a proof of the changing dynamics in the world.

If you're hard up and can't fight frontally with cash, the cheapest option is just to destabilize. In a neighborhood, one-upmanship is almost a given. The eclipsed lady in the corner, unable to come up with the money to shore up her pretensions, will try to spread gossip and intrigue instead to destroy the reputation of her newly-rich nemesis. The battle tactics of a broke "dalahira" or "intrigera". That's what the EU (and America) has been reduced to now. While before, when they clearly lorded economically over, these kinds of destabilization spread fear. But now, they have become hackneyed  and, viewed from the prism of a dawning Asian Century, strangely amusing.

Here's the joke: the other side thought they could dictate the terms as usual, but ironically, it strengthened the hand of Yanukovich instead. It will still be hard for the EU next time because it will still have no money and Ukraine will still be near bankruptcy. In the end, just as America's pivot to Asia will eventually realize-  power means actual, tangible money. Especially in Asia.

Welcome to the club of the New VIP's- only CASH admission here, please. Definitely no credit, especially to highly-indebted nations.


NB: (DEc 4, 2013)
It gets more amusing. His country is still on the brink of bankruptcy,  so, while some of his more ignorant countrymen were still  being conned to do a  "People Power" because they wanted to be associated with the supposed "rich" West (which they haven't fully appreciated has no money to help them & was precisely conning them to "revolt", paving the sneaking of the IMF magicians through the backdoor), President Yanukovich just embarked on a trip to seek help from where the real money is- China & Russia. If the real state of things is not still obvious to the most stupid sucker, I don't know what is. I didn't expect, the countdown towards the Asian Century would be hilarious...

LESSONS FOR THE ASIAN CENTURY: Presstitute 101

The biggest con game of the present Powers-that-be is the so-called free Western mainstream press. Well, as recent events steadily revealed the underlying putrefaction even of Western democracy itself, the credibility of the Western mainstream media is fast disintegrating into tatters. The coming Asian Century should strive to forge a less hypocritical media: this fading one leaves a disgusting taste to the mouth- it had the gall to present itself as authoritative and credible but it was just another racket from a gangster's bag of tricks after all. There are not really many Filipinos watching CNN or other foreign networks, and the few who do are educated enough to be suckered to swallow everything, but it's still tasteless to realize this racket continuing. I just hope Asians will have more self-respect to avoid it in the Asian Century.

That the Western mainstream press is an important part of the hegemonic structure over the world is just too evident with this piece. Below is a nice lesson on the anatomy of "presstitutes" from RT.

Ukraine & EU: Why some protestors are more equal than others

 Neil Clark 

One thing’s for sure: if you live in the US or Western Europe, and haven’t spent the last three days locked in a wardrobe, you’re probably well aware that protests against the Ukrainian government have been taking place in Kiev.
That’s because western news networks and media outlets are making sure that you know about them. ‘Tens of thousands rally in Kiev for closer EU ties’ the Washington Post posts this AP article . ‘Thousands protest Ukraine’s rejection of trade ties’ says the New York Times.
Leading western media outlets have not only have deemed the protests to be a major story, but their reporting makes it quite clear whose side they are on. Here‘s the New York Times talking about two of the protestors.
“For young people, the future is brighter with Europe,” said Maria Lyskenko, 20, a student, who stood with her friend, Alyona Zorina, also 20, holding a sign that said, “Europe = Future Ukraine. Ms. Zorina said that President Viktor F. Yanukovich was acting out of selfishness and self-interest in deciding not to sign an agreement with the European Union.
 In its report on the protests, CNN quotes a Mr David Kramer of ‘Freedom House’, described as ‘a US-based nongovernmental organization‘. "He (Yanukovych) has left his country vulnerable to Vladimir Putin's threats and pressure‘, Kramer told CNN. That will be Yanukovych's legacy if he doesn't reverse course."
It’s revealing to compare the highly sympathetic, high profile western coverage of the Ukrainian protests with the way other protests have been covered in recent years.

COUNTDOWN TO THE ASIAN CENTURY: Future of Western Europe and Ukraine lies in Eurasia

It was really the wisest decision- Ukraine rejected joining the EU after all. Who, in his right mind, would want to join  a group which is so highly-indebted it is imploding in the first place? Ukraine immediately set its sights on restrengthening its relationship with Russia. Russia, after only 20 years of capitalism and without massive printing of money like what the Central Banks of the  floundering "developed" Western countries are busily doing, is already the richest country in Europe by GDP-PPP: $3.4 trillion vs. Germany's $3.3 trillion, and it will form the locus of the big landmass (Russia-China-Central Asia) which is the future economic center of the world (adjacent countries in East Asia really has no alternative but to recognize the generator of the greatest wealth- is the Philippines even aware of this geopolitical play?). I find the whole episode actually funny- after the debacle in Hungary, Romania, and some others who didn't exactly progress despite their high expectations on their  membership, some still had the stupidity to be hoodwinked by delusion artists. Well, this is just confirming the obvious course of events... the steady dawning of the Asian Century.

 NB (November 23, 2013)
For the record: Prime Minister Mykola Azarov of Ukraine said requirements of the International Monetary Fund were "the last straw" that pushed the Ukrainian government to reviving negotiations with Russia instead of the EU, writes Ukrainska Pravda. According to Azarov, the IMF demanded that Ukraine, a country in near debt default, increase utility prices and stop increasing social help payments to pay its debts. (The article is in Cyrillic, just use a Translator). The Western Europeans were under the impression the supposedly lesser ones will only be"too excited"  that they will gladly forget reason, conscience and self-respect just to belong to their "exalted" group. But how can one with tattered clothes be "exalted" enough to sweet talk even the most stupid sucker if it's obvious he himself doesn't have the money to buy a new dress? It really gets comical here. It just becomes obvious... the lessening leverage of the hackneyed tactics of a fading era.

As expected, the Western mainstream press was again used to spread the disinformation that it was Russia which pressured Ukraine. Typical role of Western mainstream press: shield the bankers and let everybody talk of anything else EXCEPT the REAL reason. If you are quick, you can also see here who the Western mainstream press is really working for.

 The article was from RT.

‘Future of Western Europe and Ukraine lies in Eurasia’

William Engdahl  

 

The EU ‘horror show’ would not have offered Ukraine any financial benefits, geopolitical analyst William Engdahl told RT. He argues that multinational corporations just want to use Kiev to extract the resources of yet another European country.
RT: Ukraine's decision came as a surprise for many. What triggered it?  

William Engdahl: I think it’s a combination of things but ultimately it was economic pressure from Moscow. I think that had a lot to do with their decision where Ukrainian economic interests truly lie. And perhaps some of the Ukrainian business elites looked more closely at what the EU trade agreements would require of them to sacrifice and realized that it wasn’t the dream boat that they perhaps hoped for.

RT: Will they be able to strike a balance between Moscow and Brussels?

WE: I think if they are clever, I suspect that the Ukrainian political leadership has a delusional view of what the EU would bring for the Ukrainian economy. Of course they long to be accepted as a Western European nation, and so forth, since the breakup of the Soviet Union but right now the EU is in a kind of a death spiral with the false construct of the Eurozone. And the austerity package that the IMF is bringing to the periphery – Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and so forth – that is a horrendous thing.

The EU has little now to offer Ukraine and if Ukrainian business, political leaders were looking at the thing more realistically, they would concentrate on building stronger bridges to the East. Because the future of Europe, of Western Europe, not simply Ukraine, the future of Western Europe in my view lies in Eurasia in a sense of Russia, China, the Middle Eastern countries, especially Iran.

RT: But nonetheless a lot of Ukrainians have the aspirations to be part of the EU?

WE: Well delusions are in every society. What can I say? You have a delusion that life would be better in the EU. Talk to Polish people, talk to Hungarians, talk to many of the countries who joined the EU, maybe even joined the Euro and realized it was a horror show. It destroyed their domestic industry. The EU is a construct of global multinationals and those global multinationals want to cherry-pick what is useful out of the Ukranian economy which has precious resources.

RT: Let’s talk about the main political tension at the moment and Yuliya Tymoshenko. Some members of the parliament say she could be freed to get medical treatment. What is her future then?

WE: She is a very complex case, but I think she has been made into a symbol, into a straw woman for Western and especially the US State Department pressure on Ukraine to make concessions towards the West and towards NATO. And at this point Ukraine has rethought the entire NATO option the previous presidency was so keen on and realized that it would not be the most sensible thing for Ukraine and I agree with that.

But I think Yulia Tymoshenko became a symbol and it had little to do with her actual activities. Her corruption with the gas deal she made when she was in office is well documented. She was tied in with mafia elements that made billions at the expense of Ukrainians and also the Russians. I think she was made a symbol for another agenda and that is to put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions towards the West.


 William Engdahl is an award-winning geopolitical analyst and strategic risk consultant whose internationally best-selling books have been translated into thirteen foreign languages. 

COUNTDOWN TO THE ASIAN CENTURY: Beyond The "Bubbles"

As the world turns headlong towards the Asian Century, a very credible analysis of the state of world finances from Strategic-culture.org.

 

"Bubbles" Starting to Form in the Financial Markets

Valentin KATASONOV

A recently published study from the bank JPMorgan gives an overview of changes in the world money supply in recent years. In just the first three quarters of this year the world money supply, as measured by the M2 aggregate, grew from 63 to 66 trillion dollars. The M2 monetary aggregate includes cash, non-cash money in current accounts, fixed-term and savings deposits, and short-term government securities. This means that in less than a year the world money supply grew by 3 trillion dollars, or 4.6%. It has reached almost 100 percent of the annual world GDP. According to the estimates of specialists at JPMorgan, approximately 1 trillion out of these 3 trillion dollars came from the group called the G4: the U.S., Great Britain, the Eurozone (17 European countries) and Japan The other 2 trillion dollars came from the other countries of the "golden billion" (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and 10 countries of the European Union) and countries on the periphery of world capitalism. These giant infusions into the world economy create the illusion of, if not economic growth, then at least some kind of economic stability. However, it is nothing but an illusion, since the official GDP figures published by national statistics services embellish the real state of affairs. Adjusted for inflationary price increases, the real world GDP is either not increasing, or is gradually decreasing. The other side of this process is the imperceptible but consistent decrease in the purchasing power of the currencies of various countries. Simply put, money is depreciating. It is not difficult to figure out, based on the JPMorgan assessments, that for all of 2013 the growth of the world money supply could reach at least 6 percent. Several months ago the international auditing company Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) presented a forecast of the development of the world economy in 2013 (Global Economy Watch 2013). According to the company's estimates, the growth of GDP in the world will be 3.3% (2.0% in the U.S.). If one compares the estimates in the JPMorganstudy and the data in the Global Economy Watch 2013forecast, it is not difficult to understand that the rapid growth of the world money supply in recent years is creating the illusion of economic development. Amid rampant monetarism, statistics services do not measure changes in the production and consumption of goods and services, but simply record the growth of the money supply. *** The world money supply is growing mostly thanks to the U.S. Federal Reserve System, which after the financial crisis took up a policy of so-called "quantitative easing" (QE) in the economy, stating that the American economy needs to be revived, and thus it needs a boost in the form of cheap money. And money becomes cheap when there's a lot of it.

When Calamtity Hits The "Uto-uto"

It would be too easy to be caught up being melodramatic after a devastating typhoon, and Filipinos, with their penchant for "palabas" (show), may have just found a perfect stage to emote, revealing for the umpteenth time the chronic misfortune of the eternal sucker. Climate change has become big business all the while suckers saw it as a mere environmental problem. Now that it turned out to be just another financial derivative bubble waiting to burst, it suddenly has become urgent to be alert not to be reduced once again as the eternal uto-uto (sucker). But wait, the story gets more interesting- the calamity occurred at a time when the country was all abuzz with austerity while big military defense outlays are planned allegedly as defense against China, which is estimated to be twice as rich as America in twenty years time anyway, so you wonder, would tightening belt for that particular wacky goal be even worth it, or were we tricked again to shed money for the American military-industrial complex for no clear advantage except being the perennial "uto-uto" (Why not just go the reliable Oriental "saving face" and be done with it? Our corner will be the economic center of the world soon and we are acting as if we are forever blessed being part of a declining, washed-up era). Common Pinoys are practical, the moment they realize a new neighbor is richer than the old one in the corner, the balance of "great respect" automatically shifts without "ni ha-ni ho" from anyone.

 There's a nice piece on the interplay of curious forces among suckers and bullies amidst environmental devastation by the old reliable Globalresearch.ca.


 Global warming, Typhoon Haiyan and the Philippines
Michel Chossudovsky

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the strongest tropical typhoon ever recorded, has resulted in devastating consequences for the Philippines. The natural disaster took the lives of more than 10,000 people.
An estimated 615,000 residents have been displaced. Up to 4.3 million people have been affected, according to government sources.
The tragedy has become a talking point at Warsaw Climate Change Conference under UN auspices. The plight of Typhoon Haiyan has casually been assigned without evidence to the impacts of global warming.

Reconstructing Tacloban: It's All About GOLD

A major disaster, and the do-gooding season is on. The usual pledges from the supposedly rich, but now actually cash-strapped countries, will cover the immediate emergency needs. The actual funds for the reconstruction of a city will not come through compassion though. The Philippines will shoulder it all, as always. Surprisingly, if it finally uses its brains for once, it can do it easily. And it can regain its dignity besides. More importantly, its freedom.

Tacloban City, Central Philippines: After Supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda
regional capital: Region 8 
provincial capital:  Leyte Province
population 220,000
(video courtesy of Sun-Star.ph) 

Tacloban is not a simple victim of a natural calamity. If given the chance, it could even be a catalyst to the country's renaissance. In many ways. First, it's the hometown of former First Lady Imelda Marcos. The time for her full vindication and resurrection has arrived- she has the cards if she does decide to shuffle them. A big part of the comedy that is the Philippines is that its poverty is supporting the scam that has installed financial fascism throughout the world. Around the world in hundreds of banks are more than a million metric tons of re-minted gold  that were retrieved from the Philippines but they remain not part of the "official" gold reserves of the world (stated as only 171,000 tons). Acknowledgement of their presence will simply collapse once and for all the already-collapsing financial integrity of the Western countries who are now busy signing checks for a few million dollars as "humanitarian aid to a poor country".  The Philippine gold alone that was extorted from Marcos when he was overthrown came to 63,000 metric tons and that can build a new Tacloban far modern than New York City. But enough is at hand to bring Tacloban alive again. Though it's accepted Imelda doesn't have access to all the Marcos gold, she has enough access to hundreds of billion dollars worth. A trickle is only needed to turn Tacloban into the monument of her dreams. Pressure will understandably be thrown her way, but the world spotlight and the disaster compassion dividend can give her a wider struggle room. In the Philippines, where the mouth is mostly the meat of the discussion, a new, modern Tacloban will be the propaganda king.

NB.
A friend has a "maldito" idea.The favorite trick of the manipulators to control the world finances is "shorting"- actually, the Philippine gold is enough to short the current financial fascism, so it may not only bring about a new Tacloban, but a new financial paradigm if you would allow the more "mischievous" to tinker with it a bit more aggressively. So you see, the Philippines is not a minor entity in the scheme of things when you really come right down to it.


Read more about the Marcos gold here, here and here.

COUNTDOWN TO THE ASIAN CENTURY: Solving the Mystery of WTC 7'

Watching the video below reminds one the good, old real Americans are still there, that they have only been submerged by the hackneyed hype of the Lady Gaga's of a phony world and drowned by the hypocritical babbling of a mainstream "presstitute" media bent on inundating the world with its now-too-obvious propaganda. Then suddenly, one realizes, the hubbub was more likely just a blatant effort to hide something- the showy (but increasingly seen as hypocritical) pretension of freedom and rights actually just masking a steady dose of official lies, constricting freedom and abused rights among its citizens. As more and more big ticket events of recent history are exposed as "false flags" (engineered by secret operatives of the American government itself), it's heartening to see the good old Americans stand up and fight back. It may come as a shock to Asians but the 9/11 bombing might turn out to be a false flag after all. The mainstream presstitute media was used to denigrate anybody who would doubt the official version but finally, the real Americans have stood their ground and found their voice.(The main lesson here is Asians should avoid developing  in the Asian Century  a mainstream "presstitute" media that loves to pose with all the moral ascendancy it could stomach to pretend but doesn't in fact deserve. That really is disgusting. ).

The following video was backed up by American architects and engineers who have more PHD's in their names than the prostitutes of American mainstream journalism.





The 9/11 Hoax was described in the following books:
1.Solving 9/11: The Deception That Changed The World, Christopher Bollyn
2. The Transparent Cabal, Stephan Sniegorski
3. Another Nineteen: Investigating Legitimate 9/11 Suspects, Kevin Roberts Ryan

The Perps

Perps- American police slang for "perpetrators"
American Truth movement- Americans who believe a banking/business cartel have taken over the constitution & government of their country

 Politics is usually a brain-intensive spectator sport, and you know things have turned the corner when events don't make you think anymore but leave you chuckling with amusement instead.

Some may say the 2009 depression was not only due to errors in neo-liberal economic decisions. It was mostly caused by bumbling, true, but it was also an incidental opportunity to tinker with the original script to dominate the world (definitely as a last resort, may I add). It turned into a high stakes gamble to stem the advance of the emerging countries: the QE trap, the unstoppable money printing of the US Fed, might be corroding the American economy, but the perps (what the American Truth movement  accused as having done a coup on the American constitution) were calculating (finger-crossed) that China, et al will crumble before they do. If not stopped now, the numbers game which are stacked in favor of the latter will change the psychological threshold and the perps fear their empire will very likely lose control of the narrative.

It's increasingly evident they are in for more surprises. There was an attempt to do a Gorbachev in China but the candidate, Bo Xilai, cultivated by the recently deceased Canadian billionaire Paul Desmarais and his London connection, was stopped in his tracts. Not that it would have changed much, the Confucianist oversight role of the more Senior members of the Chinese politburo guarantee a usurper can't dominate the Chinese government anyway. That leaves the perps one option: the now discredited People Power. People power in recent years have been ineffective in actual implementation with much of the dislodged governments proving more effective than the replacements. Ultimately, armed intervention was needed for the final push but even that was increasingly not enough. It's only effect then is as a Sword of Damocles- intimidate. If you still can.

Unfortunately, I doubt that is still effective either.  Amazingly, the script has already turned into a comedy.

 Especially now that its propaganda press is not as taken seriously anymore. The intentions of the Empire are actually telegraphed through what they still imagine as respected press (New York Times and Guardian). You don't have to be very bright not to see the true colors of these two, though in the case of the Guardian, you judge it by its choice of issues (it omits the really critical but potentially damaging to its handler, like the Bahrain Shiite Spring suppression, while it gives mileage to the petty fuss about the Jewish father of the Labor head just because he was criticized by another paper but written by another Jewish writer so it was more likely a planted controversy in the first place- are the British public even interested with the topic?). The other paper is more blatant in its propaganda, it uses spin every which way. (Interestingly, when they tried to put the "squeeze" (the "all-important" warning) on the Philippine President Benigno Aquino, they used Huffington Post (Is that a demotion?) But as we have seen, people have become jaded with People Power, somebody must have tried to ride it from behind but the Pork Barrel movement must have felt the unwanted weight and it didn't take off.

In a recent editorial, the Guardian at least refrained from the usual hypocritical line of extolling Democracy. After the recent Syria WMD comedy skit, the readers may laugh so loud the air would be filled with flying false teeth. So when it advises "broader access to, and fairer allocation of, capital" and "the people... are not as ready as they were to keep their heads down",  you find the world getting surreal. Where did it find the wherewithal to advise about broader access to capital when capital in the West is collapsing everywhere? Certainly it was not being used for that. Ah, probably it was to convey the old reliable again- the threat of People Power. But if Bahrain can repulse more than half its population, can't China handle its mercenary worms?  Hmm. Suddenly, you become aware of a new reality- you bet the Sword of Damocles is farthest from China's mind.  Neither are the manufactured riots in Brazil, nor the NATO exercises by the small former Soviet Union states. There's a new air.

Imperceptibly it seems but the world has already turned a page.

I just hope Americans will finally find again their country as the land of the free. So will the rest of the world.

UNDERSTANDING THE MARCOS GOLD: 1,330,000 Metric Tons of Innocence

Filipinos are mostly clueless on the political details of the Marcos Gold saga but it's long been an accepted fact among common Filipinos that the Yamashita gold, the major basis of the Marcos gold, was true. There has been resistance from the intellectual classes in the big urban areas though, the political mantras of "Ill-gotten Wealth!" were just too "ego-fulfilling" to be readily discarded . However, the presence of many Japanese and other prospectors at some very unlikely places were just too obvious. The luck of some Filipinos, most of them local politicians, are local legends (again, the target of blanket accusations of "ill-gotten wealth", part of the perpetual refrain of "Corruption" to defeat the Filipino's self-confidence and to justify persistent poverty when there are far more sinister reasons besides the hackneyed "ill-gotten wealth" spin). But generally, most Filipinos are unaware of the bigger stories behind those gold, that they played a major part in some of the biggest events of contemporary world history. Still, everyone felt their insidious effects which poisoned national political discourse for the last 3 decades. With the release of so many books shedding light on the subject, we'll try to highlight some specific milestones to better understand where we are now so we can, as a country, finally engage in an intelligent conversation and plot our country's future trajectory more sensibly.

The Marcos gold has played a big part in the world's financial history while the Philippines remained poor and innocent in its corner of the Pacific Ocean. Below was an extract from the Appendix of David Guyatt's book "Secret Gold TReaty" (extracted from Eric A. San Juan's book "Marcos Legacy Revisited"). The link to the whole book is provided down below). In 1989, the then President Cory Aquino already knew that Marcos probably "had 1.33 million metric tons of gold".

People, Don't Forget Fukushima is Near: 28 Signs That The North American West Coast Is Being Absolutely Fried With Nuclear Radiation From Fukushima

I am a fan of Japan, I speak Japanese, but some news emanating from there are giving me disquiet. Their government just passed a law prohibiting reporters from reporting dire developments in the quake-damaged Fukushima reactor which is reported to be leaking radioactive wastes into the Pacific Ocean. Every single day, 300 tons of radioactive water from Fukushima enters the Pacific Ocean. I don't want to think we might be fried yet even before the official start of the Asian Century, but it's making me somewhat uneasy, especially when you read news like this from Globalresearch.ca.

If signs below are detected in the North American West Coast, are our scientists even detecting anything?

If Germany can't recover promptly half its tons of gold, how can the Philippines ever recover its 200,000 metric tons?

There are supposed to be only 171,000 tons of gold in circulation in the world and Germany, with  3,395 tons, is supposed to have the second largest. 1/2 of that was hidden in Fort Knox in the US and Germany now wants it back. It's been 7 years since it asked and it hasn't gotten any yet. When it asked for verification, a Bundesbank representative was just shown a few bars for inspection. When it insisted, the representative was taken in only one of 9 rooms but "no touching" (not even to check if they were not gold-plated?). German Bundesbank officials are still polite though everybody in Germany is understandably agitated. A German court finally asked the Bundesbank toaudit its gold.

The Philippines has about 200,000 METRIC TONS (note, not TONS) in the US if you include the 63,000 metric tons of Gold extorted during Edsa 1 revolution (READ here and the letter itself here). If 60 TONS of Germany's gold can't be returned promptly when asked, does the Philippines even have a chance?

The world's financial system is built on trust, and trust is suddenly becoming scarce as a consequence of America's financial woes. The dollar fiat economy is on death throes and most experts believe in the  introduction of a gold-backed new currency soon. Philippine gold will certainly play a big part.

 Meanwhile, Filipinos are mostly clueless (its leaders are very silent). Most of the great events in the world in the 20th & 21st centuries were actually influenced by Philippine gold. Project Hammer, which America used to bankrupt the Soviet Union, was financed by Black Eagle Fund, which was allegedly funded by the gold billions extorted from the Marcoses in EDSA 1. Most believed the artificial lowered world price of gold were certainly a product of  regular shorting of the market by the dumping of sequestered gold by the cartel. German, Philippine, etc. gold? One wonders, if the miniscule German gold was touched, how could the Philippine gold ever have been missed when they practically filled the vaults?

The sobering question: With its gold, how could the Philippines even be poor... and indebted? When its gold is, no doubt, leveraging frenetic money growth around the world, how could it even have had debts? Ginigisa sa sariling mantika, anyone?

Frankly, Filipinos should just forget the divisions of Edsa & just use their head for once. Their divisions keep them from following the gold. Pursuing one's interests doesn't necessarily mean you take sides with any of the powers that be who are vying for upmanship in the world. Simply, fair is just being fair. About time.

The Richest Country In The World?

We can call it vindication. The Yamashita treasure turned out to be true and former President Ferdinand Marcos seemed to have cornered one of the biggest portions of the "loot". Nobody really knows the exact amount but judging from the unbelievable figures bandied about (hundreds of billion dollars per Treasury certificate, for instance and a plane which crashed in Mindanao was full of them), Marcos' share must have worth trillions of dollars many times over. Several books which came out recently revealed his deposits were farmed out in hundreds of banks around the world. If nearly a trillion dollars (allegedly now worth $10 trillion in today's gold price) were found in Brussels which is not exactly a major financial center, how much more in the gigantic havens of Switzerland, London, etc.?.

 
This video is consistent with the Western script to mock Imelda to paint incredulity (part of the ill-gotten wealth drama to bolster what appears now as People Power fiction), but now that claimants were winning their share  from the Marcos "loot" in the courts (like Rogelio Roxas of the Golden Buddha fame who was awarded billions by a US court, confirming the existence of the Marcos Gold), Imelda is finally vindicated & having the last laugh.

What makes one giddy is that 1/3 is still waiting to be mined in the Philippines.

So, what was the PCGG's hunt for "ill-gotten" wealth all about then? After 30 years, it allegedly recovered half a billion dollars. Recovery or confiscation?

Even now, the Philippines only has a $200 billion GDP,  too peanuts for somebody who allegedly already had trillions in the 1950's (that amount was only his initial share from the immediate post-war $50 trillion-worth of Yamashita digging  which included the so-calledVatican Gold brought for safekeeping into the Philippines by Fr. Antonio Diaz during WWII, it doesn't include the proceeds from the digging of the rest of the Yamashita loot when he was already President of the Philippines). With 950,000 metric tons of Vatican Gold (trusts from aristrocratic European families) missing, most allegedly found their way  into the Philippines to escape the war. Alas, WWII courtesy of Japan caught up with them. With the European gold and the Asian gold allegedly amounting to 250,000 metric tons (this should be very conservative considering the Philippines presently has the biggest unmined gold reserve, and the rest of Southeast Asia is as blessed with natural resources) buried in the Philippines by the retreating Japanese, the lucky ones got really lucky. A young lawyer named Ferdinand Marcos, contracted by Fr. Diaz to administer the loot, got really lucky, more so when he became President of the Republic itself. The vultures immediately closed in. 132,000 metric tons of Philippine gold were deposited in Fort Knox & 63,000 metric tons were extorted by American globalists so he won't be dislodged during the Edsa People Power "revolution" (READ here and the letter itself here). When the World Trade Center towers were bombed, some of the alleged Marcos gold were at the basement. Conservatively, there are 200,000 metric tons of Philippine gold in the US alone.

 To think,  you read in Western economic publications there are only 171,000 tons of gold in the world. It's obvious the world gold cartel doesn't want the world to know the abundance of gold to control the value of their reserve currency. It is believed 2/3 of the world's gold are Philippine gold, making some of the more giddy ones claim the Philippines is actually the richest in the world (I think they have a point).

Not The America We Used To Know

This video just about sums up why the US doesn't feel like the same America which always enthralled you before. The common people are still wonderful but you know "something" has gripped it that you don't recognize the America you used to know anymore.

 Not the same America anymore...

LOL..

Talking about the loss of credibility of the mainstream press, here's why it has lost much respect... very funny...

BUT SAD...

Countdown to the Asian Century: A Gold Story

Very interesting times, the run up to the Asian Century, I mean. I found here a nice article from the web.

The London - China Gold Conduit — A Major Financial Coup D’etat

By: Michael_J_Kosares

The United Kingdom’s gold exports to Switzerland jumped from 85 tonnes to 1,016 tonnes in the first eight months of 2013 — a twelve times increase. Some bullion market watchers attribute the huge increase to withdrawals or sales from ETFs — an explanation that covers only half the story…….if that.

Switzerland, according to the Koos Jansen website, has exported nearly 500 tonnes of gold to Hong Kong through July, 2013. Hong Kong, in turn, has exported over 1200 tonnes of gold to the Chinese mainland over the same period. Now, with this report of ramped-up exports from the United Kingdom, another piece of the puzzle falls into place and we begin to get a fairly clear picture what these gold mobilizations entail. Switzerland and Hong Kong are acting as a conduit of western gold on its way to China — and probably Chinese central bank reserves. To what extent this gold mobilization is the result of some yet-to-be-identified external pressure on London’s bullion banks, or simply business as usual, remains to be determined, but gold movements of this size usually do not occur in a vacuum. Hedge funds have been in the gold ETF liquidation mode since April, at the behest, it seems, of certain bullion banks that have issued generalized ETF sell recommendations to their clientele (which includes the funds). The ETF selling has been blamed repeatedly for the rapid drop in the price. If all of this has been a ploy to drive down the price on paper and channel substantial amounts of physical gold to China, who is the winner in this game and who is the loser? And why is it being done?
The gold market is incurably opaque (no matter how diligent or persistent the arguments to the contrary that it isn’t or that it should not be), and that is probably why so many are intrigued by it. Yet, at the same time, those who innocently own gold for asset preservation purposes can rest assured that they will never become collateral damage in these affairs as long as they do not allow themselves to lose patience or forget the reasons why they purchased gold in the first place.
Gold is never sought by those who think all is well with the world. It is sought by those who believe that things could go wrong, or indeed, that things have already gone very badly. That true believer might be someone of incredible private wealth, as was the case with Bernard Baruch in the 1930s, or it might be a great nation-state like Germany or China today. When the sitting Secretary of the Treasury asked Bernard Baruch why he was buying so much gold, the reply came quickly that he “was commencing to have doubts about the currency.” China and Germany, no doubt, are acting on doubts of their own. Up until today, we were unaware of the degree to which those doubts had manifested themselves in the hidden corridors of the world gold market. . . .Now we know. In the first eight months of 2013 China produced 270 tonnes of gold from its mines, and theoretically almost four times that amount through its London – Zurich – Hong Kong gold conduit. In future years, this will likely be considered a major financial coup d’etat.
By Michael J. Kosares
Michael J. Kosares , founder and president
USAGOLD - Centennial Precious Metals, Denver 


Michael J. Kosares is the founder of USAGOLD and the author of "The ABCs of Gold Investing - How To Protect and Build Your Wealth With Gold." He has over forty years experience in the physical gold business.  He is also the editor of Review & Outlook, the firm's newsletter which is offered free of charge and specializes in issues and opinion of importance to owners of gold coins and bullion.

FAKE ACTIVISM : Greenpeace on spotlight

In a fast-changing world, the configuration of which relentlessly going eastward, there are signs that the Philippines may still be clueless and may yet prove to be left behind again shortly because of perpetual cluelessness (mapag-iiwanan gaya ng dati). When Russia prosecuted Greenpeace activists who tried to climb up one of its platforms in the Arctic Sea, there was the usual publicity by the usual suspects in the Western media and puny rallies in some Western cities- but the effect was very clear this time around: the protests were ignored, nobody really bothered with them (expected because of the loss of credibility of the Western press as discussed in the preceding article) and comments were actually overwhelmingly in favor of the Russian action. This news barely reached the Philippine papers, as if they were living in a forgotten age all on their own. Of course, the Philippines are familiar with the "works" of so-called NGO's or civil society- this country was the laboratory for the People Power tactics which were duplicated all over the world by American shadow players. But despite the many people power revolutions here, no big change came about so the tactic has become hackneyed. Just like in other places of the world who saw no major changes in their lives despite their Color or Spring revolutions: ultimately, one needed armed intervention as shown in Egypt and Libya to finish the job because people power destabilization tends to fizzle out midstream as the initial suckers regain their common sense midway. That doesn't mean the tactic doesn't have any use anymore. As a Mafia harassment tactic to extort or intimidate, it is still used as a destabilization fallback (though in actuality, its dependability has degenerated mostly as propaganda from a mercenary media is taken less & less seriously anyway especially among the decimated middle-class of America and Europe). Some believed the Arctic action of Greenpeace, acting on the behest of its secret operators, was to harass the Russian development of the vast oil & mineral potential of the Arctic Ocean, clearly a big threat to the forces that have gotten used to controlling the resources of the world (Netherlands elevated the case to an international court, and the Netherlands is home to Royal Dutch Shell, one of the oil giants of the world & one of the three big conglomerates which support the Dutch economy, so you immediately see motives here. Hilariously, these international courts themselves are denounced by African leaders as just part of the Western charade because the main one hits their supposed abuses but stays clear of Israel which was charged to have violated so many UN resolutions already). That the activists were even prosecuted in Russia proved the world has changed: the use of NGO's as foot-soldiers are finally over, they've been found out, & Western opinion & propaganda which supported them in the past have become irrelevant in the new world dynamics.

Lately, Greenpeace has been active in the Philippines because of the development of an insecticide-resistant eggplant, the Bt Talong. The local suckers who let themselves be used should have been wise enough to realize that that is a big leap to Philippine technology & that is precisely why Greenpeace is so active in opposing it: there will be no need for pesticides anymore & that is a clear threat to the dark forces behind Greenpeace.

MInistry of Propaganda American-style?

One of the greatest casualties of the Syria Chemical Weapon drama is the American press. It just became too apparent that nobody really believed them anymore. While Manila has nearly ten newspapers, their sales didn't suffer despite wide Internet usage among Filipinos. In the US, most American cities have one, or two major papers, but they are mostly tottering into bankruptcy, and the Internet is conveniently being blamed.I don't think Internet is the main reason, the thriving Manila newspapers are proof. The American press is just not as respected anymore. In fact, a whole alternative media has emerged, & I found it is more credible (It is being infiltrated every now & then, as expected, but it's easy to spot the fakes). Clearly, the villains here are the mainstream press and the gang they were working for. Former American economic czar Paul Craig Roberts wrote that the major American media groups have become the "Ministry of Propaganda" after they have been allowed to be bought by 5 conglomerates by then President Bill Clinton. They became the propaganda machine which facilitated what Americans would call "False Flag operations"- invented events to justify America's wars, like the Saddam Hussein's WMD (non-existent), Abbas' WMD (again, unproved, making the American leaders blatant liars just weeks ago), and many more. The most blatant was the alleged 9/11 Hoax which was exposed by mainstream American journalists like Seymour Hersch and economist Paul Craig Roberts. Both promptly lost their access to the mainstream media. If it was not true, you would have expected the responsible media to encourage them to unearth the truth, or better, that the American government itself, if it was not guilty, would conduct the investigation itself. Nothing of the sort. There is only one conclusion, don't you think?

 I was scanning Youtube when I saw this video. Tell me if free and fair press is at work at this cable network- the hosts are not covering blatantly for anybody, etc.-, or appearances is just given to maintain the charade? Note the skewed mouth of the one in yellow at some point :"Uh-uh...". These are no better than whores.

It's very propitious that we see these changes in the once revered American mainstream press now that we are near the Asian Century. I've listed some links to the Alternative press in the sidebar, see it for yourselves the hidden world being exposed everyday.

Latin Beats of Wong Kar-wai

Hongkong's Wong Kar-wai is one of my favorite directors. I recently discovered one of his old masterpieces from 1991 yet, Days of Being Wild. The story is about a self-destructive Hong Kong playboy (named Yuddy, played by Leslie Cheung) who discarded his women seemingly at whim. The curious thing was the women he discarded were readily caught on the rebound by other men who crossed paths with him in the film: his best friend & another man who curiously appeared later in his travels as he drifted further into his destructive trajectory. Both, like Yuddy, however, had no qualms in releasing what they caught. Yuddy had an adoptive mother, a former prostitute, who didn't want to reveal the identity of his real mother. We might surmise here that the psychodynamics driving his callous treatment of women is due to his internalized rejection by his real mother.

Is this all about rejection? But what about the peremptory musical chairs of the men among the women? Is this a play on alienated identities, that one can substitute another as a matter of course in a place of transit & transients like Hong Kong? How to ease the pain, search for new identities to redeem one's self from rejection & the ensuing alienation & depression?

The music became Latin as Yuddy went to look for his real mother in the Philippines. I read some reviews of the film & the Western critics just marveled at the novelty of a Latin music in a Wong Kar-wai movie but they failed to get the connection. The real meat of the plot lay in those Latin beats. The Philippines is the Latin part of Asia, & Yuddy's mother is a Filipino mestiza aristocrat (played by Tita Munoz). Those beats were the missing rhytmn of Yuddy's life. Yuddy actually was born Filipino, but his adoptive prostitute mother took him to Hongkong where he grew up as a Chinese. Realizing this, the theme of identity, alienation & rejection hit you with a full force. Yuddy was a Matrioshka doll of assumed identities & affections throughout his life, he was on a desperate sprint to reconnect with his true self- but once again, he was rejected when he visited the mansion of his mother-  no mother's lullaby , no identity, no Latin beats.

Manila CBD's: ERMITA-MALATE (Manila Bay area)

Ermita & Malate lie along Manila Bay, the most scenic among Manila's CBD's. The two districts were originally the government center-cum-elitist residential zone of American Manila, but when their well-healed residents transferred to the more "elitist" Makati area, they degenerated into the erstwhile "red-light' district of the city. The notorious clubs were eventually dispersed but the area still function as the "tourist belt"  zone catering to visitors who search for relatively more modest accommodation. Their evolution is looking up again, though: they may not have the hyped pedigree of newer CBD's like Makati and Fort Bonifacio but more and more people are realizing they really trump other districts by the scenery alone. With the development of the nearby billion-dollar casinos and really gigantic malls, they may just recover lost glories.

Seaside Roxas Boulevard

The old Spanish fort of Intramuros & the central Luneta (or Rizal Park) separate Malate-Ermita from the older parts of the city across the river

CHANGSHA's SKY CITY: Future tallest building?

 

The future tallest building will still be in Asia but it will be on the eastern side this time. Sky City in Changsha is 838 meters tall, taller by 20 meters than Dubai's Burj Khalifa. It's construction was reportedly stopped on July 25, 2013 because it didn't receive the necessary permits, but with China now having half of the world's world's 10 tallest buildings, it's a matter of time that it will be reclaiming the top prize.

RE: Asian Eyes

A friend had a Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) to add a second lid, but apparently, when he took a vacation to the province, his grandmother couldn't recognize him anymore. The old woman was confused: "Iho, kaninong anak ka ba, wala yatang ganyang mata sa dugo natin?" ("My Child, whose son are you, I think our bloodline doesn't have those kind of eyes?")

LESSON: Don't make it permanent. We can take lessons from our Asian neighbors. Use a removeable eyelid glue perhaps for the parties in the city... then your good, old eyes when visiting the grandma.

COOL SEOUL: You can study, but please don't forget to order!

Nice library, isn't it?

You can study but it's actually a cafe so you should order too. They call it a study cafe.

From: May Island



 

WORLD'S BIGGEST COMPANIES, as of April, 2013

Rank Company Country Sales Profits Assets Market Value 1 ICBC China $134,8 B $37,8 B $2.813,5 B $237,3 B 2 China Construction Bank China $113,1 B $30,6 B $2.241 B $202 B 3 JPMorgan Chase United States $108,2 B $21,3 B $2.359,1 B $191,4 B 4 General Electric United States $147,4 B $13,6 B $685,3 B $243,7 B 5 Exxon Mobil United States $420,7 B $44,9 B $333,8 B $400,4 B 6 HSBC Holdings United Kingdom $104,9 B $14,3 B $2.684,1 B $201,3 B 7 Royal Dutch Shell Netherlands $467,2 B $26,6 B $360,3 B $213,1 B 8 Agricultural Bank of China China $103 B $23 B $2.124,2 B $150,8 B 9 Berkshire Hathaway United States $162,5 B $14,8 B $427,5 B $252,8 B 9 PetroChina China $308,9 B $18,3 B $347,8 B $261,2 B
From: FortuneMagazine

COOL DESIGN: Siglap Road, Singapore

From: Aamer Architects

COOL JAPAN: Zen

Expect the Japanese, forever obsessed of being cool,  to gather inspiration from its monks. This fashion curiosity- very cool indeed!- emerged from Hiroshima.

From: Bon

ASIAN BEACHTOWN: Nha Trang

Surprisingly, Vietnam has been very effective in developing its provincial cities. Danang has an iconic bridge while Nha Trang has developed a beach skyline that's turning out to be a classier alternative to Pattaya in Thailand. The Philippines, despite its many coastal cities, hasn't developed its own beachside wonder. There are many possibilities just waiting for a developer of a local Copacabana or Ipanema- Subic Bay is lined with white sand beach waiting for condominiums to line it; Times Beach in Davao City is right inside the city proper but access and view are degraded by ramshackle structures; San Fernando, La Union is lined with white sand beach all the way down to Agoo, etc. Yup, we have many beaches right smack inside highly urbanized cities but surprisingly, despite the unstoppable sprouting of condominiums all around, nobody seems to be aware that beachfront is a very nice location (try scouring Brazilian beachside and you'll see an array along the Atlantic from Florianopolis, Balneario Camboriu,  the famous Rio beaches of Copacabana & Ipanema, etc.). Well, at least, they are now starting to develop a section in Mactan...

Remember, Nha Trang was flat just a few years ago... Look at it now...

DOTC: Skybridge to the Clouds

Disturbing is the accusation by the Czech ambassador Josef Rychlar that certain DOTC (Philippine Department of Transportation and Communication) officials under then Secretary Mar Roxas sought a commission of $30 million from the Czech firm Inekon for it to be eligible as a supplier of trains to Manila's metro. Rychtar allegedly reported the incident upon the assumption of present Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya but Rychtar is claiming now Abaya didn't even conduct an immediate investigation.

The story is still unfolding, the same officials directly involved were all appointees of Roxas but apparently are still with the DOTC under Abaya. I welcome that this thing was finally brought into light so it could be properly investigated once and for all.

I've been puzzled by the actuations of DOTC for a long time. A big part of China's rise was the massive infrastructure investments, but three years after the start of the Aquino administration, most (or is it all?) of the vaunted PPP infras within Metro Manila have yet to break ground.

Does the rot behind the Inekon mess also behind the following "mysteries"?

1. Any private initiative is welcome and two skyways (one from Manuel Pangilinan's Metro Pacific, and the other from Citra-San Miguel) are very much welcome indeed considering that both will pass through two congested parts- Pangilinan's across España, and Citra's across Araneta near Sto. Domingo, a considerable distance between them which could take hours in rush hour (the metropolitan skyways of Tokyo sometimes have only one intersection between them, and we are as congested as Tokyo). But why was Abaya so concerned that he was quoted as saying publicly that " the two skyways will compete with each other" and that they were an unwise investment? The two proposals were forwarded by time-tested entrepreneurs, but why was a government functionary so concerned about their viability when apparently they were not or they would not have bothered to submit proposals in the first place? He knows more about business than Pangilinan or San Miguel's Ramon Ang?

 2. Why were the PPP programs delayed one after the other? Three years after the start of the present administration, we still have to see signs that work is actually starting on the much-publicized (and as a consequence, eagerly awaited) Metro Manila Skyway 3, the NLEX-SLEX connector limk, the LRT 1 extension to Cavite, etc. Not to mention the lack of noise on other previously approved projects like the Grand LRT Station at North EDSA, the much-delayed MRT 7, etc.

If those big ticket projects which were previously bandied about were not even started, does that mean we should not waste time anymore dreaming of other deserving proposals like that of Pangilinan's offer to build a high speed train route from Clark to Makati over the PNR lines?

I very much like MMDA Director Francis Tolentino's proposal to build a Skybridge from Quezon City to Makati as alternate to EDSA because that is actually the most critical considering that it will connect the financial district to the congested inner core of the metropolis, complementing the above-mentioned skyways so the northern parts will have elevated connections to Makati from three congested points- Pangilinan's with old Manila and lower Camanava, Citra's with lower QC and upper Camanava, and the Skybridge with Quezon City proper and San Juan.

Even if funds are available, Filipinos just have to be content dreaming? As usual?