tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55445640563541999212024-03-12T17:55:28.703-07:00The Federal ReverseAnalytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-40587062134109971672014-01-25T06:10:00.001-08:002014-01-25T11:47:35.214-08:00Beware Chinese phones!I recently bought a "Quad core 1 GB" "Huawei" "Mate Mini" phone from Ali Express. I use quotes because none of that is actually true. I have to say that it was extremely cheap so in the end I have paid for what I got, but still I was scammed. I have to say that this goes for fake chinese phones (even faking their own brands now), not for well-established manufacturers such as Meizu, Xiaomi, Jiayu, TCL, THL, ZTE, Zopo.......<br />
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First of all, the phone looks good in the seller's pictures (just as in real life)<br />
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(Notice that there is no logo on the front. This is a pattern that I have observed in fake chinese phones, and leads me to believe there is some kind of law in China regarding front labeling and falsifications, so that fake phone manufacturers can use any logo as long as it is on the back).<br />
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While waiting, I noticed that Huawei didn't even have that model... that is OK as long as I get 1 GB RAM and 4 cores for the price I paid.<br />
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First thing I do, as a man and as a technical person, is to download Antutu and check my phone. Everything seems to check, graphics run smoothly, and I get a superb score. Almost Nexus 4 for a quarter of the price.<br />
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So I sleep well for somedays, until I require the phone to work as promised, and it does not deliver. So I get uneasy, and download a pretty toy called Android Terminal (yes a Linux terminal for android, never forget there is a Linux underneath). The is what I get:<br />
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Two cores, and 512 MB RAM. The processor is not even an MTK as the seller promised, but a Spreadtrum sc8825, which checks with my previous efforts trying to install MTK drivers to read the phone from my laptop, not being able, looking at what the device manager was showing me and then installing Spreadtrum drivers to solve the issue. What we have here is a completely tuned Android that lies to programs such as Antutu when they use an API call, retrieving false memory. The operating system, on the contrary, knows what the real deal is, so it is wise querying it.<br />
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I did not pay much for this phone (and I have to say that it fell from a considerable high and did not get a scratch), but some are selling it for much more, which is a robbery. Nobody notices the scam, just that it is a fake Huawei, but everybody is happy with their "1GB 4 core", so the reviews are always 5 star.<br />
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When buying a Chinese phone, check the logo on the front. If it is too good to be true, simply get away. There are a lot of reliable manufacturers such as those I mentioned that give the best quality for an already low price, and you will not get scammed in any way.Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-52243863467028451492013-12-23T05:13:00.000-08:002013-12-23T05:13:00.171-08:00Bitcoin, altcoins and the virtual economyI've been closely following the Bitcoin phenomenon for some months, loosely for some years now. Disclaimer: I am no fan of Bitcoin, for one reason only, that I will disclose at the end of the post.<br />
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First of all, despite the previous disclaimer, let me clarify that Bitcoin is a hughe phenomenon, a true technical breaktrhough that could have only been invented by a true mastermind. One only needs to read Satoshi Nakamoto's paper to see that (and I am not going to deal with the origin or what the intentions of this Bourbaki of the cryptoeconomy might be).<br />
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Having said that, I see important flaws in using Bitcoin as a means of online payment (this does not apply to hand-to-hand business): It's reversability. Bitcoin is non-reversible by design, so that if you receive goods that are broken, are not as described, or any other usual (really, really common) problems that you may encounter when buying goods online, you are left all alone. Granted we would have the opposite problem if it was freely reversible: rogue buyers would reverse payments once goods left sellers' facilities. This leaves nothing but the classical third party arbitrage, some kind of escrow system. In case of the current Bitcoin system, imagine that you buy something on AliExpress. People who have will know what I mean. AliExpress is kind of a Chinese ebay, but only direct selling, no auctions. Chinese vendors sell their product, the same (crappy or not) that you can find in your large retailer chain, but for much less. Buy something cheap, receive it at home within 15-60 days. This sounds great, but you need to account for a lot of problems inherent to that scheme: Firstly, you need to know that AliExpress escrow system is worried only about products reaching their destination. Once you get your item, AliExpress urges you to verify that you received it. If you get something broken, they do not automatically honor their returns policy, but involve you in an extenuating, long, and in most cases, infructiferous process of getting your money back. In that case, you totally depend on the seller. Even if the seller has a good reputation, you need to deal with China post (or your local post office for that matter):<br />
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Imagine, for a moment, that you buy a nice Xiaomi Red Rice, customized, banded Android, quad core cell phone from a Chinese seller for about USD 200 in Bitcoin. It was maybe the seller, or maybe China Post, but the cellphone is broken. You depend on the seller's good will more than buying in AliExpress (and that is a lot to say) since he has to send you the funds willingly. You cannot revert the transaction. If you do this operation with a VISA credit card, it takes a call to your bank or to VISA to have it cancelled. And when you get your package from the mailman with all the illustion only to find out that you got a brick, having the possibility of reverting the transaction is, as Mastercard says, priceless.<br />
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This is a major problem for transactions in Bitcoin. But it is not the main problem to become a de facto payment system (de iure, governments could outright forbid its use). The main problem is its duplicability. In fact, Litecoin is already an accepted system, as much as Bitcoin is. There is a large number of so-called altcoins (even scam-coins). They are all (except some details such as encryption used) equivalent. So we have a problem of unicity. In case of gold, it is only the 79-th element in the periodic table, it is the only element that provides desirable properties of money. None other is gold. Bitcoin can be duplicated to give the exact service or better. The fact that it was the first coin with this system does not give it more desirable monetary properties. They can be collectionism properties, or something else, and it has certainly value, but they are not monetary at all.<br />
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If I have made such an attack on Bitcoin (and altcoin), then why do I say that it is a revolutionary idea? Because this can be the money of the future provided: an escrow system (banks that might charge for that, it is a service after all) and laws designating any of the altcoins as the one to use, grating one system unicity and yielding all properties of money. Absent that, Bitcoin, or any other alt-coin, is a tulip, with only the people's desire to have this or that coin as the only driver of value (or is it prive in USD?).Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-76549885292573317852013-12-19T04:49:00.000-08:002014-01-25T11:42:29.009-08:00The truth about Jack AndrakaThe truth about Jack Andraka is... that I don't know it, obviously, I am a normal citizent with my mundane whereabouts and I am geographically far away from that character.<br />
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But what I can do is using my analytical-logical mind to check his story. In my analysis I will use some insights from <a href="http://imreallynotokay.deviantart.com/journal/The-truth-about-Jack-Andraka-405652197">this interesting blog entry</a> where some good points are made.<br />
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The first thing that catched my eye was his sotry. He is able to outthink the pharmaceutical industry with Wikipedia and some books. He is able to produce a device that is super cheap and is much more accurate than the industry's standard, single-handed. Yet he didn't knew [sic] that we had a pancreas before his uncle died.<br />
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This in itself is very fishy. Before delving into the story, let me say something: I know brilliant guys, like 150-160 IC (Intellectual Coefficient) or much more, I don't know exactly, but I know a guy who belongs to the 0.01% of most intelligent people on Earth (he holds several full professorships). This guy, being a genious, got several PhDs and several international recognized awards, and he truly speaks about what he does (dealing with quantum mechanics, Banach spaces, number theory...), his conversations are high standard, and he is respected by equally-brilliant people. This does not happen with Andraka, nobody in medical biochemistry/medicine is seen chatting with him, nor are companies that could potentially produce his gadget.<br />
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Let's research a little more about this character. There is a ton of videos, newstories, TED talks, and other material such as an official page and a Wikipedia page.<br />
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Let's see his wikipedia page: It looks really professional, with references put where they belong. Yet, if one is so careful about checking them, they turn out to be inconclusive about what they are takin about. There is one that speaks about a patent supposedly filed by Intel (who allegedly was backing him) and the reference is a piece of news by the BBC (the people who live ahead in time and were able to report on bulding 7 collapse before it happened) with no mention of the patent whatsoever.<br />
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Now, let's analyze the invention itself: It claims to do a much better job costing about three dollars. Now, first logical problem: if it is so cheap and effective, how come that it is not being used already in all hospitals in the world? Either you are a very bad person for not sharing right away (people could be saved if tested TODAY, after all) or the invention just does not exist. Assuming it exists (and therefore he is evil for not sharing), how did this character build it from his garage? I don't see any "Carbon nanotube integrator" on Ebay, nor I see "Pancreatic cancer pacient blood - 100 milliliters".<br />
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There is no research paper. So much for being in the Johns Hopkins working surrounded by researchers. When something is revolutionary it spreads like wind, and this alleged invention has not been replicated up to today. He was awarded a prize for this, yet this invention is kept private. A prize that offers no public access to the product if was awarded is no prize (ohh, let's remember that he is preaching open access now). Some sources claim the guy has ALREADY invented the thing (yet it is not available and almost a couple of years have passed) and they justify the prizes with it, while others say that it is not available and still in development (in which case the prizes are non-sense because it is a promise instead of a product).<br />
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TED Talks: A ton of them. He never discloses any technical details, he never speaks about science. Somebody who has invented something cannot stop talking about the inners of his creation. He just does not do that. He rants about how modern medicine is wrong (even though our life expectation as steadily increased in part thanks to it), and how adults are just obtuse (yeah wonderboy). The rant is complemented with shots of people nodding and smiling, as if they were part of something bigger, a happy community, a religious event. They are not offered a technical explanation, not even scientific proof, and they smile. Like sheep to the slaughterhouse.<br />
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Johns Hopkins: He was allegedgly turned down from 199 universities and at the round number 200 he was granted... I don't know, being there. It looks like even the Johns Hopkins university does not know what he does in the <a href="http://www.google.es/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org%2F&ei=F-SyUresLO-w7Aay8oCwCg&usg=AFQjCNF_PtbO3pJ49B4gcsh3FqjfpU9YyQ&sig2=79QlNqcRLTIwFH9_Jo0rug&bvm=bv.58187178,d.d2k">The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center</a>, where there is no evidence of his presence, apart from the same press releases you can find in Google. Were and when institutions are proud of having a genious, they would grant him an offical place, within an official group. This are done that way, look for Terence Tao in UCLA, a true genious. <br />
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Let's see his Facebook page. It is a Zen-temple where all the incautious pancreating cancer patients or relatives crawl around (and I say this with no disrespect for them), along with his I-dunno-understand-nothing fanboys. He is blogging everyday, posting stuff like a community manager, avoiding science questions. He posts pictures of him traveling around the world, meeting dignataries, visiting places... Ohh my God, Jack, you are so popular, when do you have time to get your research done? <br />
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Lastly, upon closing this post, I sumbled upon this <a href="http://peopleofdistinction.org/unsung-heroes/jack-andraka/">shit page</a>, where everything goes crazy and they evey say he conducted the research at the Johns Hopkins. They even say the kid won a math pize????? Everything goes now.<br />
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I'll finish off by quoting the blog I mentioned:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But the strongest evidence of my suspicions came from when I actually
got to talk to him over Facebook. I tried to discuss science with him,
but all he would do was redirect me to some science news website and
conveniently avoid discussing anything original. All he did was mention
his friends' ideas. Also, he got into an argument about global warming
with me and a couple of other people, and it showed how narrow minded
he was, that he would insist that "global warming is scientifically
proven"</blockquote>
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If you laugh at people who believe in this <br />
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...in this...</div>
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... or this ...</div>
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Why do you believe in everything on the Internet without a logic check before?</div>
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Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-43470563283744274882013-03-13T03:00:00.000-07:002013-03-13T03:00:01.940-07:00Let him be judged by his actions, not by his words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/Chavez_obama_handshake(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/Chavez_obama_handshake(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Everybody knows his words<br />
His actions:<br />
60% of Venezuelan oil securely delivered to the US<br />
Rewriting the history by removing each town's coat of arms historical Spanish details<br />
Making Venezuelan people claim their independent indigenous roots while opening the country to every US company (and expelling Spanish businesses)Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-6415900313544036932013-03-12T18:11:00.000-07:002013-03-12T18:11:46.561-07:00Oyster card potential arbitrage opportunity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.londonandpartners.com/assets/travel/oyster/10703-640x360-oyster12ns.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://cdn.londonandpartners.com/assets/travel/oyster/10703-640x360-oyster12ns.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
I got an Oyster card last October and I noticed there was a deposit for the card. Mine was 5 pounds. My sister had got a card the previous year or even in 2010, and her deposit was 3 pounds. <br />
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Imagine this arbitrage opportunity:<br />
Get 100 Oyster before year end/February/whenever they rise the deposit. Assume they raise it by one pound. Return the Oysters and get the new deposit for a gain of 100 pounds.<br />
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XDAnalytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-61223339390847890752013-02-20T04:30:00.001-08:002013-02-22T18:15:36.676-08:00British go home... XDThis was at Barajas airport<br />
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Contextual update later today...<br />
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Update: Last year Iberia was merged/sold to British Airways. Workers were promised no harm will come to them. Today they are facing the fire of 3000 employeesAnalytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-22016472615255146532013-02-04T15:50:00.001-08:002013-02-04T15:50:46.230-08:00Message from the Spanish people to the German peopleJoin us against politicians and bankers or die with them<br />
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<br />Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-39066068115833739372013-02-03T06:33:00.000-08:002013-02-03T06:54:34.125-08:00Brace for impact! Technocrat coming to Spain!Something's moving in Spain.<br />
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The party in power has been accused of illegal financing, with all kind of documents, bills and balance settlements. Important politicians in the PP (Partido Popular) have been reported to have received "envelopes full of cash" during almost 2 decades.<br />
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The head of the operation is Luis Bárcenas-Gutiérrez, former accountant within the PP<br />
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<a href="http://www.abc.es/Media/201301/31/barcenas-documentos2--644x362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://www.abc.es/Media/201301/31/barcenas-documentos2--644x362.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The fact that he controlled an account in Switzerland with €22 million EUR (<a href="http://www.elplural.com/2013/01/22/barcenas-celebro-sus-tres-imputaciones-por-corrupcion-con-un-exclusivo-viaje-a-armenia-para-esquiar/">something he celebrated with Champagne</a>) was uncovered by the Spanish mainstream media, and then a regular stream of document images, allegations and even admissions to have received cash from the infamous accountant flowed into the media. Even traditional press allies of the PP published these documents.<br />
<br />
Now, the question of why this information is being uncovered now remains most suspicious. In a country in which local barons make what they wish, including but not limiting to<br />
<ul>
<li>building airports with no flights (such as Castellon and Ciudad Real). Speaking of Castellon airport, <a href="http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/01/21/valencia/1358789873.html">the local government opened the unused airport for somebody to test his brand-new racing car</a> on the ways that were built for airplanes. Someone had a cool day indeed.</li>
<li>giving contracts and public jobs to friends and family and publicly <a href="http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2013/01/21/espana/1358758696.html">saying that it is not only legal but moral</a></li>
<li>dismissing accusations saying that news refer to something from long ago (OK now I'm gonna kill somebody, hide for a day and then say that it's yesterday news and that everything should be forgotten)</li>
<li><a href="http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/01/17/madrid/1358428806_970091.html">accusing citizens (and voters!!!!!) to be corrupt and immoral</a> and thus inducing the political class they deserve</li>
</ul>
No wonder that the Prime Minister is frightened to death<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7448/ba10516f2a6fa3e621359b7.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7448/ba10516f2a6fa3e621359b7.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
and he decided to calm down everybody and explain himself to remove any shadow of doubt in the most Orwellian visualization<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.cincodias.com/recorte.php/20130202cdscdseco_4/XLCOD664/Ies/Numerosos-periodistas-esperan-entrada-sede-Partido-Popular-madrilena-calle-Genova-febrero-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://www.cincodias.com/recorte.php/20130202cdscdseco_4/XLCOD664/Ies/Numerosos-periodistas-esperan-entrada-sede-Partido-Popular-madrilena-calle-Genova-febrero-2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
No wonder that many are losing their faith in this "democratic system"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/QllF0mwJe_I/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QllF0mwJe_I&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QllF0mwJe_I&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<br />
Now, who is behind all this? There is only room for speculation, but most likely it is the Euro-American powers who are dissatisfied with Rajoy's evolution and lack of a plan to ask for a European bank bailout.<br />
<br />
Who will be the technocrat? Well, he/she has to be trusted by TPTB, and my take is that it will be either Joaquin Almunia (an economist who lost to Jose M Aznar and has been in Brussels for 13 years) or Esperanza Aguirre (an aristocrat with supreme international connections).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.hispanidad.com/imagenes/almunia-26jun12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://www.hispanidad.com/imagenes/almunia-26jun12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.heraldo.es/uploads/imagenes/bajacalidad/_aguirre_e6108088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://www.heraldo.es/uploads/imagenes/bajacalidad/_aguirre_e6108088.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
By the way, she is the only one of the leaders within the PP that has not been accused in the scandal.Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-79598684270605225692013-02-01T16:19:00.000-08:002013-02-01T18:39:49.165-08:00Gold follow upIf any of you is holding EUR, dump them and buy gold. Gold is at 1 year lows, this year France will fall, we can easily retest 1.20 in EURUSD and probably 1.10, remember that the Fed to ECB balance sheet ratio fell since Dec '11 because of Draghi's infamous LTROs.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static.alsosprachanalyst.com/2012/09/image91.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://static.alsosprachanalyst.com/2012/09/image91.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Spain is zombified like Greece. La France will feel the bait of ferocious hedge funds for the first time. You don't want to be caught in the middle.<br />
<br />
There are some good deals. Check German shops such as <a href="http://anlagegold24.de/">Anlage Gold</a> and <a href="http://coininvestdirect.com/">Coin Invest Direct</a>, they have very competitive prices. Silver is a buy too, Anlage Gold has the most competitive prices in this case. Check whether your country has exceeded the VAT allowance with Germany for the year (it depletes soon into the year for countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, a trend that started two years ago).Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-45117724918496278992013-01-30T15:30:00.000-08:002013-01-30T15:30:00.994-08:00Agriculture blogLast summer I found out about an agriculture<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com/">http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
In that blog, you can see the reasons why <a href="http://www.bigpictureagriculture.com/2012/08/global-wheat-stocks-and-price-why-has-the-wheat-price-skyrocketed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BigPictureAgriculture+%28big++picture++agriculture%29">the prices of both basic agricultural commodities were skyrocketing</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>[...] the price of wheat rose more than 50 percent from mid-June until its
peak in mid-July. By now everyone knows that the global corn and soybean
market was greatly affected by our Midwestern drought. The spring wheat
crop was good, however, and even though the U.S. produces only 10
percent of the world’s wheat, it is the largest wheat exporter. It was
reassuring that throughout this drought season, we knew that global
wheat and rice stocks were very ample and much above the levels of the
food crisis year 2007/08. So, why did the price of wheat go up so much
even though global wheat stocks were 42 percent higher than in 2007/08?
In part, it looks like it over-reacted.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>One reason was poor weather in some of the other wheat exporting
nations. There was too much rain in some of Europe and a lack of rain in
Russia, the Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Russia is the world’s third
largest wheat exporter and its yields fell 31 percent from last year,
according to CME group. (Why hasn’t <a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/soaring-food-prices/">Paul Krugman chimed in</a>
this time, or has he noticed? Fact is, there are frequent droughts in
this region.) Some expect Russia’s available wheat for export will be
gone by the end of the year, as producers there have been exporting
rapidly in case export restrictions are instated. Spain’s production was
down 30 percent due to drought. There is some worry about the next
growing season, too. There are dry conditions in Western Australia, the
world’s second largest wheat exporter after North America. There are
also dry soil conditions in the hard red winter wheat growing region in
the U.S., lessened, however, by very recent rains.</i></blockquote>
Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-81171637223420847422013-01-29T15:14:00.000-08:002013-01-29T15:14:07.640-08:00Gold: healthy correction, huge opportunity for EUR buyersRecalling the EUR/Gold divergences that <a href="http://federalreverse.blogspot.com/2012/04/that-raid-of-mine-proved-to-be-wise.html">we spoke about some months ago</a>, we had a nice one on Friday. It has kept the ratio over the first two days of this week so my take is that it might diverge a little bit more, but it would be wise to start a spread long Gold and short EUR. For those with spare EUR to buy gold or any precious metal (which includes a potentially better buy such as silver), this is a nice entry point.<br />
<br />
We are in a correction that has lasted more than a year now. Given the deflationary period we are in, markets might get really funny, but it would be good for inflation to raise over 3-5 percent this year. Otherwise we might enter a hard deflation, where cash is kept within financial institutions, and forced out all at once by central bank printing. That is the case where we get hyperinflation. I don't believe it's coming within the next two years. My take is that in 2013 we will see high inflation, in 2014 will be a turning point in which there will be a deflation and, depending on how hard it is, there will either be another cycle of the same (high inflation for 2015 after central bank printing) or we will enter the final hyperinflationary stage.<br />
<br />
Well, there are some people that still rely on their governments. After all, they will always be able to resort to their (tungsten) reserves or, in this case, to something you can really eat<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii545/marchas1/20121225_105303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii545/marchas1/20121225_105303.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-68156467855638003122013-01-22T12:46:00.002-08:002013-01-22T12:46:24.518-08:00The Middle East: Somebody still thinks it is incidental?Everybody knows that selling oil in any currency other than the USD is very dangerous, let it be EUR (Saddam Hussein) or gold (Muhammar Al-Gadhafi).<br />
<br />
Let's look at this Middle East map:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/middleeast/graphics/memap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/middleeast/graphics/memap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
From Zerohedge, the Iranian currency, <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-03/guest-post-hyperinflation-has-arrived-iran">the rial, has crumbled a 70%</a> since the EU and the USA imposed sanctions on the country.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When President Obama signed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act, in July 2010, the official Iranian
rial-U.S. dollar exchange rate was very close to the black-market rate. <b>But, as the accompanying chart shows, the official and black-market rates have increasingly diverged since July 2010</b>.
This decline began to accelerate last month, when Iranians witnessed a
dramatic 9.65% drop in the value of the rial, over the course of a
single weekend (8-10 September 2012). The free-fall has continued since
then. On 2 October 2012, the black-market exchange rate reached 35,000
IRR/USD – a rate which reflects a 65% decline in the rial, relative to
the U.S. dollar.</blockquote>
In my opinion, the end game is in sight. Energy resources will be controlled by a small elite, and most of us will perish or will be become defacto slaves. A very nasty future lies ahead.Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-20898660087778829182013-01-21T15:15:00.000-08:002013-01-21T15:41:05.816-08:00OrwellAnarcho-Capitalism is something unknown and very contradicting to the ears of an European.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, here's something interesting that I came across <a href="http://dailyanarchist.com/forum/index.php/topic,2050.0.html">at their forums</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.egodialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/huxley-orwell.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.egodialogues.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/huxley-orwell.gif" /></a></div>
<br />Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-21188625177472911982013-01-20T12:21:00.002-08:002013-01-20T14:26:09.726-08:00Spanish government pardons a man conviced of running over a 23 years-old maleThe Spanish government, who by a God-granted law has the right to pardon convicted felons, has commanded that <a href="http://www.publico.es/448900/el-gobierno-indulta-a-un-conductor-kamikaze-condenado-a-13-anos-de-carcel">a man who killed another</a><a href="http://www.publico.es/448900/el-gobierno-indulta-a-un-conductor-kamikaze-condenado-a-13-anos-de-carcel"> while he was driving in opposite direction</a>. <i>It is known that the son of the Justice Minister works at the law firm that represents the felon</i>. Here is the complete "royal" law<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Real Decreto 1668/2012, de 7 de diciembre, por el que se indulta a don </i><br />
<i>RAMÓN JORGE RÍOS <b>SALGADO</b></i> <br />
<i>Visto el expediente de indulto de don Ramón Jorge Ríos Salgado, condenado por la </i><br />
<i>Audiencia Provincial de Valencia, sección cuarta, en sentencia de 17 de enero de 2011, </i><br />
<i>como autor de un delito de conducción con grave desprecio para la vida de los demás en </i><br />
<i>concurso ideal con un delito de homicidio, un delito de lesiones, una falta de lesiones y </i><br />
<i>una falta de daños, a la pena de trece años de prisión e inhabilitación especial para el </i><br />
<i>derecho de sufragio pasivo durante el tiempo de la condena, por hechos cometidos en el </i><br />
<i>año 2003, en el que se han considerado los informes del Tribunal sentenciador y del </i><br />
<i>Ministerio Fiscal, a propuesta del Ministro de Justicia y previa deliberación del Consejo de </i><br />
<i>Ministros en su reunión del día 7 de diciembre de 2012,</i><br />
<i>Vengo en conmutar a don Ramón Jorge Ríos Salgado la pena privativa de libertad </i><br />
<i>pendiente de cumplimiento por otra de dos años de multa, que se satisfará en cuotas </i><br />
<i>diarias de seis euros cuyo inicio y forma de cumplimiento serán determinados por el </i><br />
<i>Tribunal sentenciador, a condición de que abone las responsabilidades civiles fijadas en </i><br />
<i>la sentencia en el plazo que determine el Tribunal sentenciador y no vuelva a cometer </i><br />
<i>delito doloso en el plazo de cinco años desde la publicación del real decreto.</i><br />
<i>Dado en Madrid, el 7 de diciembre de 2012.</i><br />
<i>JUAN CARLOS R.</i><br />
<i>El Ministro de Justicia,</i><br />
<i>ALBERTO RUIZ-GALLARDÓN JIMÉNEZ</i></blockquote>
It is rumored that the killer, whose surname is <b>Salgado</b>,<i> is a relative of the former socialist Finance Minister</i>.<br />
<br />
This case, along with the final "royal" decree signed by <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Feconomia.elpais.com%2Feconomia%2F2011%2F11%2F25%2Factualidad%2F1322209980_850215.html&ei=BE_8UILiELHL0AWN4IDwDA&usg=AFQjCNHit9NLUTKSPfVMlDZZmqrhxAiOaw&bvm=bv.41248874,d.d2k">former socialist government, pardoning the banker Alfredo Saez</a>, <i>Botín's deputy director at Santander Bank</i>, offers a rather crappy view of the state of things in Spain.<br />
<br />
If you have an account in Santander UK (former Abbey), or Santander anywhere else, or hold Spanish debt (doubtful), you better close it up or sell into the market now that the market offers you a chance by <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/17/uk-spain-debt-idUKBRE90G0EA20130117">relaxing the pressure over Spanish sovereign debt</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-48472867988460978912012-12-21T10:34:00.001-08:002013-01-29T15:48:48.130-08:00In this orwelian world, democracies are dictatorshipsI think we are well past over the Huxley world we lived up until 11-Sep-2001, and we are deep into the Orwelian world of today.<br />
<br />
I recently saw much evidence of this in the latest Spanish demonstrations asking to surround the Parliament. There is a law in Spain that makes it mandatory for police officers to clearly display their ID when they are working. Well, the Government issued a order for them to hide it in these demonstrations. There are two orwelian laws that they are about to pass:<br />
<ul>
<li>It will be banned to film police officers in the course of their work, which includes demonstrations.</li>
<li>Publicly insulting or harming a government official will be punishable by jail and by the State taking over private assets.</li>
</ul>
Another example of no-law in Spain is the following: 4 years later, the Spanish government decides to create a bad bank, taking bad Spanish brick (it would still be good if German credit still flowed into it to turn the lives of mortgage takers and their children into collateral). The name of the new bank is Sareb, God know what that means. The point is, a savvy speculator notes down the name of the bank as soon as he knows it, and registers the Internet domains sareb.com and sareb.es to force the authorities to negotiate. It turns out that they are free and legal ownership is granted. A few weeks ago, the people in charge realize they need a domain, and that sareb is taken. What do they do? They forcibly take ownership with no compensation, in the name of the common good!<br />
<br />
So there you have it, we have mindless people who can't make the simplest plan and they have to circumvent law, or evoke "the common good" to steal from somebody, instead of registering the domain before releasing the name to the public.<br />
<br />
This attacks on the law are not free. They constitute a toll to high to bear for a civilized country. This state of lawless, or alegality, of legal insecurity, harms businesses and trade, and brings poverty.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Spanish people are still distracted, they still buy the congenial optimism their politicians sell them, the little drop of subjective hope that their brains need to go on and prevents them from picking up a shovel and hit some politician on the head, which is what they a really need. The ad, depicting the usual suspects of the poorly artistic TV soaps, realities and the rest of wave-populating garbage, have them recite some puny facts which are supposed to be a basis of pride for a Spaniard, such as 7 Nobel laureates (!!), 1st place in organ donation (!!) and a lot of airports (like Ciudad Real and Castellon, which host no flights and had to be closed, not even Ryanair wanted to leave their passengers in the middle of nothing, just for the glory of the politicians and constructors, who took public money to build something nobody needed and nobody wanted). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/D_omZ5bo8lk/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_omZ5bo8lk&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_omZ5bo8lk&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
<br />
The internet boards are full of supporters of this ad. They claim they need fresh air in the middle of all this negativity. This class of optimism doesn't help. This promotes inmovilism, invokes national pride on a bunch of facts that either have nothing to do with the situation or are a direct cause of it, like the construction of useless airports with the money of everybody. But if you tell them this ad is following a dictatorial guideline to prevent the masses from acting, you will be confronted. The human brain is like that, and mass sentiment scales it. You cannot have a negative mass sentiment, people would suicide, you can only have positive mass sentiments, such as what this evokes, or Hitler filling Nurenberg. This is a direct consequence of societal evolution. Society has evolved a lot in 5000 years, but the human brain is essentially the same. They react to somebody shooting, but they can't react the same way to somebody stealing billions, even though the consequences are far more reaching.Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-52054570808369717442012-12-18T18:16:00.002-08:002012-12-18T18:16:27.574-08:00Crisis TriviaI am back, sorry for the long delay, I have been really busy.<br />
<br />
One
of the things that I have been up to is a trivia game engine, which as a
first example features a financial, economic and political trivia game
called Crisis Trivia, featuring questions that all of us would love, such as types of gold coins, the hunt brothers, our beloved Ben Bernanke, the Rothschilds, and many more!<br />
<br />
I have set up a separate blog to talk about it and the follow-up games I may come up with.<br />
<br />
Please check out<br />
<a href="http://androidtrivia.blogspot.com/">androidtrivia.blogspot.com</a><br />
<br />
PD: I will be commenting on the recent events with normality, I hope Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-14926529822435886352012-10-04T15:49:00.000-07:002012-10-04T15:49:00.649-07:00The exit out of the crisis is hyper-inflationary and (possibly) a full-scale war<div class="tr_bq">
Following the BCE's decision to purchase eurozone bonds in the open market, Zerohedge posted the <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-how-draghi-opened-door-hyperinflation-and-denied-fed-exit-strategy">following thougts</a> some days ago:</div>
<blockquote>
<i>We will mince no words: Mr. Draghi has opened the door to hyperinflation. There will probably not be hyperinflation because Germany would leave the Euro zone first, but the door is open and we will explain why. To avoid this outcome, assuming that in this context the Eurozone will continue to show fiscal deficits, we will also show that it is critical that the Fed does not raise interest rates. This can only be extremely bullish of precious metals and commodities in the long run. In the short-run, we will have to face the usual manipulations in the precious metals markets and everyone will seek to front run the European Central Bank, playing the sovereign yield curve and being long banks’ stocks. If in the short-run, the ECB is the lender of last resort, in the long run, it may become the borrower of first resort!</i></blockquote>
Argentina prohibited the hoarding of foreign currencies, are trading is done under heavily government surveillance and even Paypal has canceled operations with Argentinian customers. Their currency is in free fall and the government's stance is to preserve the status quo of the elite in the country by stealing wealth from their citizens via a constant monetization of their corruption. Now the Iranian rial is failing too.<br />
<br />
Here's what you need to do to avoid the trap that some very intelligent guys who feed on well-passed history (by Charles Hugh Smith from <a href="http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept12/hedging-capital-controls9-12.html">Of Two Minds</a>) <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>Hedging Against Capital Controls: Opening an Account Overseas </b></i><br />
<i>As financial insecurity and instability rise, hedging becomes
increasingly important as a means of capital preservation. One potential
hedge is diversifying one's liquid capital by holding some cash in a
"safe haven" foreign bank account.</i><br />
<i><b>Two signs that fear and instability have reached critical mass are capital flight and capital controls</b>.
Capital flight is people and enterprises moving their capital (cash and
liquid assets) to an overseas "safe haven" to avoid devaluation of the
currency or confiscation of their capital/assets. (Devaluation can be
seen as one method of confiscation; high taxes are another.)</i><br />
<i>Capital controls are the Central State's way of stemming the flood of
cash leaving the country. Why do they want to stop money leaving? If we
think of each Central State as a neofeudal fiefdom, we understand the
motivation: citizens are in effect serfs who serve the State and its
financial nobility. If the serfs move their capital out of the fiefdom,
it is no longer available as collateral for the banks and a source of
revenue for the State.</i><br />
<i>Once capital has drained away, borrowing and lending shrink, cutting
off the revenue source of the banks (financial nobility). Since
financial activity also declines as cash is withdrawn from the system,
the State's "skim"--transaction fees, sales taxes, VAT taxes, income
taxes, wealth taxes, etc.--also declines. Both the State and its
financial nobility are at increasing risk of decline and eventual
implosion as capital flees the fiefdom.</i><br />
<i><b>The Central State imposes capital controls as a means of Elite self-preservation</b>.
Sudden devaluations are a way of impoverishing the citizens that also
happen to enrich those who transferred their wealth into another
currency, a mechanism described here three years ago in <a href="http://www.oftwominds.com/blogaug09/KaPoom2CHS.htm">The Royal Scam </a>(August 3, 2009).</i><br />
<i>Those in the know transfer their wealth into another currency before
it's illegal, and once the devaluation makes everything in the country
much cheaper, they transfer their wealth back into the new currency and
buy up all the assets on the cheap.</i><br />
<i><b>History shows that the State will "change the rules" overnight to protect itself and its Elites</b>.
Capital controls include such measures as limiting the amount of funds
that can be transferred out of the country; limiting the amount of gold
that can be taken out of the country; barring all transfers of funds
overseas; limiting all IRA, 401K and retirement funds to owning
government Treasury bonds, and so on.</i><br />
<i>The U.S. banned private ownership of gold above a few ounces in 1933
as a form of capital control, forcing citizens to keep their capital in
cash that could circulate and (supposedly) boost economic activity. (Did
it work? Obviously not.)</i><br />
<i>Central State bureaucracies and Elites can become very creative at
expropriating citizens' cash and assets once they feel threatened by a
loss of faith in their legitimacy and competence, i.e. capital flight.</i><br />
<i>For many decades, a Swiss bank account was the standard way that the
wealthy hedged the risks of capital controls. As a result of the Federal
government's efforts to catch tax cheaters and money laundering, Swiss
bank accounts are no longer easily available to Americans.</i><br />
<i><b>The most basic hedges against capital controls and
devaluation are owning physical gold/silver and diversified holdings of
other currencies held in overseas "safe havens." </b>We can see
these hedges against instability and insecurity in action around the
globe: wealthy Chinese are transferring capital overseas at a furious
pace and buying gold, and Spanish citizens have been flying to London to
open bank accounts so they can transfer their money out of Spain and
Spanish banks. Should Spain leave the euro, the transfer into their
traditional currency would amount to a forced devaluation of their cash.</i><br />
<i>The massive flight of capital out of Spain has been widely reported
in the financial media, and it raises an important question for anyone
with cash to safeguard: what happens if capital controls become
possibilities in the U.S. or Canada?</i><br />
<i>The idea that the amount of money that could be withdrawn or
transferred from your private accounts might be strictly limited may
seem farfetched at the moment, but if history teaches us anything about
financial crises, it is that the rules are changed overnight to protect
the Central State and vested interests.</i><br />
<i>We cannot control economic, financial and political instability; all
we can do is hedge the risks by diversifying our assets and taking
control of what we can control.</i><br />
<i>Readers of my book An Unconventional Guide to Investing in Troubled
Times(print edition) (Kindle version) know that I consider hedging and
local control to be essential strategies going forward, and I invite you
to check out the book if you want to read more about hedging
strategies.</i><br />
<i>I have explained why I think that What Will Be Scarce: Liquidity and
Reliable Income Streams (August 30, 2012). Having capital that is liquid
(easily converted into legal tender or moved to safety) and income
streams that are reliable, i.e. that are not speculative or dependent on
the Central State and are under your own control, are key assets that
cannot be replaced.</i><br />
<i>Over the course of the past few months, New Zealand correspondent
Michael Reps and I have been discussing the issue of foreign bank
accounts providing a hedge against capital controls, and he has
established a way for Americans to open an account in New Zealand with
Westpac, a bank with a verifiable history and reputation. (The service
is not free to set up, but very little of financial value is free.)</i><br />
<i>In the spirit of discussing possible hedges that are available to
“the rest of us,” i.e. the bottom 99.5%, I have asked Michael to explain
the service in a Q&A format. As is my policy, I receive no
commission from Michael’s service or any other service mentioned on the
site except a no-cost-to-you commission on Amazon purchases and
BullionVault investments made via links in the sidebar.</i><br />
<i>I present this discussion not as a recommendation to take any
particular action, but as an invitation to pursue your own research into
overseas accounts and hedging in general.</i><br />
<i><b>As with any financial decision or transaction, do your own due diligence. </b>This
means understanding all the risks and all the potential benefits. Read
financial statements, obtain regulatory filings, ask questions, verify
what you are told, and so on. Each nation's banking laws and legal
system are different. Assume nothing.</i><br />
<i><b>There is no perfect hedge. Every hedge has risks</b>.
Physical gold can be stolen, expropriated at the border, etc. Any
currency can be devalued. Property held overseas can be expropriated by a
"new" government. The list is endless.</i><br />
<i>A hedge is not the same as a speculation, though each has risk. All
hedges are imperfect, and so diversification is a key strategy in
hedging. The purpose of a hedge is to preserve capital, not score gains
as in speculation. An overseas account is a utility, not a means of
wealth creation.</i><br />
<i>I am not an expert in international banking or tax laws, but it is
common knowledge that U.S. citizens are required to disclose foreign
accounts and report all income regardless of its origin, i.e. all income
earned anywhere on the planet must be reported to the IRS. The purpose
of an overseas account is not tax evasion, it is capital
preservation/hedging, and so having accounts in nations that have tax
treaties with the U.S., transparent reporting and rule of law is a
definite plus in terms of compliance.</i><br />
<i>Holding cash in an overseas account in another currency exposes you
to the risks of foreign exchange (FX) fluctuations. It is possible to
hold other currencies in the U.S., and U.S. dollars in a foreign
account. (I use "overseas" and "foreign" interchangably, but obviously
an account opened in North America may be foreign but not overseas.) The
point is that having a foreign account offers a different sort of hedge
than owning a foreign currency.</i></blockquote>
Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-61119720385132136402012-10-03T13:24:00.000-07:002012-10-04T13:24:25.420-07:00Impressions from a Spaniard in GreeceThe following is a first person account from a Spanish citizen who was in Greece and that I found on an Internet board (here it is Google-translated):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="Paredes llenas de pintadas y pósters políticos, baldosas y mármoles reventados por los disturbios, policías en todas las esquinas de la ciudad, ringleras de gente durmiendo en las calles, gente en Syntagma pidiendo dinero para pagarse tratamientos médicos, calles vacías ya oscuras a las nueve">Walls
full of graffiti and political posters, tiles and marbles busted by the
unrest, police in every corner of the city, swaths of people sleeping
on the streets, people in Syntagma asking for money to pay for medical
treatment, dark and empty streets at nine </span><span class="" title="de la noche, pues no queda ningún local abierto.">of the night, as there is no open local. </span><span class="" title="Todos han tenido que cerrar.">All have closed. </span><span class="" title="Grupos de 30 personas drogándose junto a la Universidad, familias enteras buscando en los contenedores, bancos protegidos con persianas metalicas, edificios totalmente quemados, barricadas de fuego en Eksarheia, inmigrantes escapando de la policía...">Groups
of 30 people near the University drugging entire families searching
containers, roller shutters banks protected, fully burnt buildings, fire
barricades Eksarheia, immigrants escaping from the police ...</span><span class="" title="Estas son tan algunas de las cosas que he podido ver en solo 11 dias por Atenas.">These are just some of the things I have seen in just 11 days by Athens. </span><span class="" title="No me voy a enrrollar porque la literatura no es mi punto fuerte, pero llevo viajando al país constantemente desde hace anño y medio, y aunque para entonces Grecia ya estaba dentro de la crisis y siempre habia sido un pais con problemas, la transformación que está">I
will not roll up because literature is not my strong point, but I've
been traveling the country steadily for Anno and a half, and although by
then Greece was already in crisis and had always been a troubled
country, the transformation that is </span><span class="" title="partiendo el país es algo brutal.">leaving the country is something brutal.</span><span class="" title="Ciudadana recoge paquetes de comida de la ONG Médicos del Mundo">Citizen picks up food parcels from the NGO Doctors of the World</span><span class="" title="Fuente"><br /></span><span class="" title="La sensación que tengo es como si esto fuera un Estado fallido, un proyecto que ha fracasado, se me vienen a la mente vídeos propagandistas de los años 60, en que mostraban el ideal de familia dentro del sistema capitalista, felices, yendo a trabajar,">The
feeling I have is like this is a failed state, a project that has
failed, I come to mind videos of the 60's propagandists, showed that the
ideal of family within the capitalist system, happy, going to work, </span><span class="" title="sometidos a la esclavitud...">enslaved ... </span><span class="" title="Te das un paseo por Atenas y aunque sigue siendo una ciudad occidental con sus luces de colores, sus McDonalds...">We take a walk through Athens and although still a western town with its colorful lights, their McDonalds ... </span><span class="" title="la sensación que tienes es la de estar viviendo en una realidad totalmente diferente, se pueden ver los estragos de la crisis y cómo esta ha dejado pobreza y miseria en cada una de las esquinas.">the
feeling you get is to be living in a different reality, one can see the
ravages of the crisis and how poverty and misery left in each of the
corners.</span><span class="" title="Por suerte, la imagen que tengo es que los griegos en todo momento se están resitiendo a bajar la cabeza y siempre intentan seguir adelante, pero la situación es dificilísma, y en cualquier momento algo podría estallar espontáneamente.">Luckily,
the image I have is that the Greeks are at all times resisting to have their head
down and always try to keep going, but the situation is very hard, and
any time something could explode spontaneously. </span><span class="" title="Respecto a revoluciones y huelgas indefinidas, nadie de las personas con las que he podido hablar estos días lo ve ocurriendo en un futuro cercano, pues aún falta trabajo, implicación de más sectores de la sociedad, etc.">Regarding
speed and indefinite strikes, one of the people with whom I could talk
these days I see happening in the near future, because there is still
work, involving more sectors of society, etc.. </span><span class="" title="pero se está trabajando en ello y todos están convencidos que van a ganar.">but is working on it and everyone is convinced that they will win.</span><span class="" title="Eso sí, dicen que no lo podrán hacer solos y van a necesitar nuestra ayuda porque todos ven la crisis como algo internacional, tan sólo se ha cebado con ellos primero y de manera más brutal.">Just
do not say you can do it alone and will need our help because everyone
sees the crisis as an international thing, only has primed them first
and more brutal.</span></span></i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i>En général, l’art du gouvernement consiste à prendre le plus d’argent
qu’on peut à une grande partie des citoyens, pour le donner à une autre
partie.</i> </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money
as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Voltaire</div>
Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-35909104291341268412012-10-01T03:24:00.000-07:002013-01-29T15:49:39.840-08:00Remember, remember the 25th of September…Mehr als ein ganzes Jahr seit den ersten griechischen Demonstrationen musste aber vergehen, damit die spanische Bevölkerung nicht nur ein flüchtiges Mitgefühl für sie entwickeln, sondern auch etwas Ähnliches dessen, was sie duldeten, erleben konnte, d.h. Angst, Gefahr... Seit geraumer Zeit war es ja vorauszusehen, dass diese Situation vor den Türen der Spanier bevorstehen würde (genauso wie vor anderen), da sie sich aus schon mal hier besprochenen ökonomischen Gründen nicht mehr behalten kann. <br />
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Spanien ist gröβer als Italien bzw. Griechenland und ihre Banken und Politiker hatten seit der Regierung, auf deren Spitze José María Aznar stand, und ihrer Nachfolger das rechtliche Zugeständnis des Volks daran, das Bauwesen unabzählbar unendlich zu viel mittels vom fraktionalen Reservesystem unterstützter Hypothekendarlehen und billiger illegaler Arbeitskräfte, deren Zuschüsse sich eben von der verzinslichen Staat- bzw. Spanienverschuldung in Abhängigkeit befanden, Ansporn zu geben. Deswegen ergab es bereits seit Jahren eine Überlastung der gesetzlichen spanischen Krankenversicherung (heutzutage steht sie aus dem Aus und verweigert die Betreuung den spanischen Staatsbürgern ab 26 Jahre alt, die früher nicht in der Lage waren, die Sozialversicherungsbeiträge zu entrichten) und 2009 natürlich unangemessen teuere auf der Spitze Wohnungspreise, und zwar eine Blase, deren Bezahlung die Spanier ab jetzt durch das von bloβ Politiker abgesprochene Rettungspaket in Kauf genommen haben, um den Banken statt den Staatsbürgern Hilfe zu leisten. Sie hätten vielleicht die Isländer imitieren können, aber nein. Einige sind bereit, diese Kosten und diejenigen, mit denen die Staatsausgaben und die Politiker bzw. die königliche Familie zu ihrem Wohlstand das spanische Konto absichtlich belastet haben, zu übernehmen.<br />
<br />
Angesichts dieser genannten Tatsachen wird es allerdings schwierig, sich die Sonderrechten der Oberschicht der Politiker und gespenstiger Bankenführer anzueignen, was ihr leider unglücklicherweise am 25. Oktober versuchtet, auszuführen. Infolgedessen sollte man bei der sehr gewalttätigen Polizeiprügelei nicht schockiert werden, mit der die Fortdauer solcher Sonderrechten eindeutig gewährleistet ist. Kein Wunder, dass es so passiert ist! Darüber hinaus wurden mit Schiβpulver geladene Luftgewehre schon seit der 15M-Demonstration am Mai eingesetzt. <br />
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Daraus könnte man folgern, dass ein Kampf ohne Schutzschild zu keinem Gewinn gehört, denn man wird zuerst der Polizei unterliegen. Aber das Wichtigste ist es, zur Kenntnis zu nehmen, dass unsere versprochenen Rechte so schnell aufgelöst werden können, indem sie auf die Oberschicht übergehen.<br />
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Du kommst aufgrund der Existenz 7.000 Millionen Menschen auf der Erde nicht in Betracht.Evey Hammondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741641366229834718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-7973403160479030692012-09-29T18:40:00.001-07:002012-09-29T18:41:29.433-07:00A warm welcome to Evey HammondI would like to extend the warmest welcome to Evey Hammond, a very special person to me.<br />
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She kindly agreed to co-author the blog, so she will be reporting sentiment and opinions from Germany, primarily in the German language.Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-36117657612304391042012-09-26T09:48:00.002-07:002012-09-26T17:12:32.504-07:00Let the Spanish 10Y go to shitThis is a story for any bond manager that still holds Spanish 3Y or 10Y... <br />
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As you know, I am living in the piggest of the PIGS. There was an illegal (and you can differentiate illegal from immoral, right?) demonstration scheduled for yesterday. People were called to surround the parliament in Madrid, to let politicians know that people is onto them, that bipartidism is a scam and so is this representative democracy.<br />
<br />
Demonstrating anywhere near the parliament is illegal (of course...).
Prior to Sept. 25th, government spokespersons compared the citizens call to
surround the parliament to the military putsch in '81. Also, I believe the
Catalonian independence movement is orchestrated as a smoke courtain to
prevent public attention to focus on this occupy movement. I say that
because people have been <a href="http://iniciativadebate.org/2012/09/25/nuestro-companero-paco-bello-imputado/">charged with rebellion against public institutions</a>
(see the video of police identifying suspects of "talking to more than
20 people in a public park" some days ago and the charge notification
below), but none of the Catalonian politicians behind the presumed
Catalonian independence have (and what is the most rebellious act than
declaring the independence). None of the mainstream Spanish media spent
more than 5 minutes talking about the demonstration, but there were a
lot of news shows and pseudo-intellectual political debates about the
independence.<br />
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Earlier that day, different police departments were ordered to stop
buses going to Madrid as long as they could. They even got dogs in the
buses so as to detect drugs, and treated citizens as if they were
criminals.<br />
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The demonstration, however, was such a success that the Spanish authorities had to legalize it in order not to fill up Spanish prisons. This was not a demonstration of the tipical dog-flute guy with long and unclean hair: many senior citizens were participating.<br />
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First, some rioters (I don't know whether they are police insiders or not) broke the fence that acted as security perimeter.<br />
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However, the rest of the evening was pacific, until it was time for the pigs of the parliament to go to their publicly-funded, luxurious rat holes, so that everything was set up to dissolve the demonstrators. As you can see in the following video, a lot of masked guys (infiltrated police, as you will see later) with red flags approach the riot police in an attacking attitude. They were even scolded by a legitimate female demonstrator. The police then charges against them and then indiscriminately against any demonstrator.<br />
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The next video is a compilation video. You can see that the police take a guy. They later bate him up, with some of the riot police putting their shields so as to prevent outside viewers from seeing the torture, and <a href="http://www.burbuja.info/inmobiliaria/movilizaciones-sociales/347710-samur-confirma-que-joven-lesion-medular-quedado-paraplejico-2.html">left him paraplegic for the rest of his life</a>. <br />
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There is proof that the riot police was involved in the riot attacks that shed blood on an otherwise pacific demonstration. In the next video you can hear "comrade! comrade! I am a comrade! ... Yes, this is a comrade, take it easy!".<br />
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After the demonstration, the riot police even got into Madrid's main train station, and indiscriminately charged against both demonstrator and commuter. The best part: you can see thse guys in yellow, they are not police, they are just the station security! This country is sick!<br />
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You can even see here threating members of the press (yes, official press!). At the end of the video, when the journalist ask the police officer to identify himself, by giving his police number, he refuses telling him "I'm gonna give you something else".<br />
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People took refuge anywhere they could. In a restaurant, "Cafeteria Prado" on Paseo del Prado 16, the owner prevented the police from entering his premises, thus protecting demonstrators. These two pictures are Pulitzer-worthy:<br />
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I am going today with some friends to pay my respects to this guy in his restaurant. I hope I find it open, since there is also a follow-up demonstration (illegally) scheduled for today, in protest for yesterday's repression.<br />
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What I want you to see, Spanish 10Y bond holder, is that this situation is no longer sustainable. Spanish people were co-responsible of the housing bubble and didn't give a fuck about industrial loss to China, as long as the State funded their services with public debt, and banks gave them mortgages with no guarantees. Spanish people must learn, suffer, and then build something real with sweat and blood. Get your money out of there, protect the people, protect your money.<br />
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<br />Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-84923245113431305522012-09-20T11:27:00.000-07:002012-09-20T11:27:00.325-07:00Watch this!Youtube user <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CGPGrey">GGPGrey</a> produces a high quality entertaining videos that might teach you something that you don't know. He has a unique style that will make you love it. You can recognize some elements from the Monty Python, Star Wars, Futurama...<br />
<br />
The City of London:<br />
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Death to pennies:<br />
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5 Historical Misconceptions Rundown:<br />
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EnjoyAnalytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-51184977542731621182012-09-15T11:24:00.002-07:002012-09-15T11:24:51.512-07:00A concerned citizen's manifestoI am strongly opposed to welfare lounge socialism which promotes free rights to everybody as if natural resources had nothing to do with how much seven billion people can consume. Rights are meant to be conquered, as our grandparents did. We are not more intelligent than them, nor are we more pretty or unique.<br />
<br />
I am witnessing a constant wealth transfer, a decimation of the middle class and the techofeudalism it leads to. As a consequence, as a citizen of the troubled country of Spain, I proclaim the following manifesto:<br />
<ol>
<li>I shall break every law that is written by any politician. I am not bound to them.</li>
<li>I shall evade taxes as much as I can. I have the intrinsic right to defend myself against burglary.</li>
<li>I shall convince anybody that it is a patriotic duty to harm any politician if they can.</li>
<li>I shall support a civilian government. I want to live in a society of pair, pursuing knowledge and sharing the best of each other.</li>
<li>I shall agree on confiscating all their properties and use them to offer the German citizens free vacationing resorts as the only means of paying current public and private debts. It is only the taxpayer the one that has suffered the course laid out by irresponsible politicians whose properties are to be confiscated.</li>
<li>I shall not share my talent with the current society until people wake up and rise against this tyranny. I owe ignorant people nothing.</li>
</ol>
In PIGS land #4, signed, the Analytic Bastard. Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-13283103365263759802012-09-12T02:00:00.000-07:002012-09-12T03:36:59.604-07:00Cristiano Ronaldo's butt could belong to the ECBDespite the fact that I don't like soccer, it was brought to my attention something very funny:<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="El Banco Central Europeo (BCE) podría convertirse en el nuevo propietario de Cristiano Ronaldo y Kaká."> <a href="http://www.mundodeportivo.com/20120511/real-madrid/el-bce-amenaza-a-cristiano-ronaldo-y-kaka_54291690446.html#ixzz26AWYolxZ">the European Central Bank (ECB) could become the new owner of soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka</a>. </span><span class="" title="El Real Madrid concretó en 2009 un crédito de 76'5 millones de euros con Caja Madrid, posteriormente integrada en Bankia, para el fichaje de ambos cracks.">In 2009, the Spanish soccer club </span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="El Real Madrid concretó en 2009 un crédito de 76'5 millones de euros con Caja Madrid, posteriormente integrada en Bankia, para el fichaje de ambos cracks."><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="El Real Madrid concretó en 2009 un crédito de 76'5 millones de euros con Caja Madrid, posteriormente integrada en Bankia, para el fichaje de ambos cracks.">Real Madrid was granted</span></span> a credit of EUR 76.5 million with Caja
Madrid, later integrated in Bankia, to recruit both superstars. </span><span class="" title="Ahora, la intervención estatal de Bankia puede provocar un terremoto que finalice con la propiedad de ambos jugadores en manos del Banco Central Europeo.">With
Bankia's bailout, the
ownership of both players could end up in the hands of the ECB.</span><span class="" title="Fruto de esta intervención, las entidades que forman Bankia, entre ellas Caja Madrid, han perdido todos sus activos financieros."> The result of this bailout, the entities within Bankia, including Caja Madrid, have lost all their financial assets. </span><span class="" title="Entre estos activos, Bankia tenía el llamado 'Madrid Activos Corporativos V, FTA', un Fondo de Titulización de Activos que incluía, según explica el portal sintetia.com, el préstamo de Caja Madrid a la entidad que preside Florentino Pérez para el fichaje de">Among
these assets, Bankia owned an asset securitization fund called "Corporate Assets Madrid V, FTA", which included the credit lent by Caja Madrid to Florentino Perez's club for the
transfer of </span><span class="" title="Kaká y CR7.">Kaka and CR7.</span><span class="" title="El fondo, aval ante el BCE"> </span><span class="" title="En su día, Bankia aportó el citado fondo como aval para que el BCE le aportara la liquidez necesaria para operar, dentro de las subastas semanales de dicho organismo.">This fund was given by Bankia as collateral so that it could be eligible to participate in the ECB's weekly liquidity auctions that have bought Bankia the much needed liquidity to be able to continue operating. </span><span class="" title="En estos momentos, dicho fondo no pertenece ya a Caja Madrid.">At the present time, the fund no longer belongs to Caja Madrid.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="En estos momentos, dicho fondo no pertenece ya a Caja Madrid."><br /></span><span class="" title="Según el acuerdo firmado entre el Real Madrid y Caja Madrid para la firma del crédito, con fecha 23 de junio de 2009 y vencimiento el 3 de julio de 2014 tras el pago de tres plazos de 25'5 millones el 3 de julio de 2012,">The agreement signed between Real Madrid and Caja Madrid for the reception of the loan, was dated June 23, 2009 and maturing on July 3, 2014, after
payment of three installments of 25.5 million on July 3, 2012, </span><span class="" title="2013 y 2014, el aval presentado por el cuadro blanco fueron los derechos publicitarios y de imagen de los jugadores, la base sobre la cual Florentino Pérez ha justificado siempre la rentabilidad de sus grandes inversiones.">2013
and 2014, and is payable by </span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="2013 y 2014, el aval presentado por el cuadro blanco fueron los derechos publicitarios y de imagen de los jugadores, la base sobre la cual Florentino Pérez ha justificado siempre la rentabilidad de sus grandes inversiones."><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="2013 y 2014, el aval presentado por el cuadro blanco fueron los derechos publicitarios y de imagen de los jugadores, la base sobre la cual Florentino Pérez ha justificado siempre la rentabilidad de sus grandes inversiones.">image </span></span>rights of both players, which always </span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="2013 y 2014, el aval presentado por el cuadro blanco fueron los derechos publicitarios y de imagen de los jugadores, la base sobre la cual Florentino Pérez ha justificado siempre la rentabilidad de sus grandes inversiones."><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="2013 y 2014, el aval presentado por el cuadro blanco fueron los derechos publicitarios y de imagen de los jugadores, la base sobre la cual Florentino Pérez ha justificado siempre la rentabilidad de sus grandes inversiones.">was </span></span>the basis on which Florentino Perez justified the return on their huge investment.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="2013 y 2014, el aval presentado por el cuadro blanco fueron los derechos publicitarios y de imagen de los jugadores, la base sobre la cual Florentino Pérez ha justificado siempre la rentabilidad de sus grandes inversiones."><br /></span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="Dos factores deberían darse, según los expertos, para que el BCE, en las circunstancias actuales, se hiciera con los derechos de Cristiano Ronaldo y Kaká: una, que el Real Madrid cometiera un impago de las cantidades pactadas; y dos, que Bankia se"><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="Dos factores deberían darse, según los expertos, para que el BCE, en las circunstancias actuales, se hiciera con los derechos de Cristiano Ronaldo y Kaká: una, que el Real Madrid cometiera un impago de las cantidades pactadas; y dos, que Bankia se">Under the present
circumstances there are two </span></span>reasons why the ECB could take over the rights of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka: one is that Real Madrid soccer club committed a non-payment of amounts agreed, and
two, that Bankia turns </span><span class="" title="declarase insolvente.">insolvent. </span><span class="" title="La primera, por la cuenta que le trae, la evitará el Real Madrid a toda costa.">The club will try to avoid the first one at all cost in spite of the spectacular revenue fall this season. The second one is more than likely should the outflow of Spanish bank depositors.</span><span class="" title="La segunda, visto lo visto, puede convertirse en una realidad."></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="La segunda, visto lo visto, puede convertirse en una realidad."><br /></span><span class="" title="En su momento, la firma del crédito concedido por Caja Madrid a favor del Real Madrid levantó gran indignación al coincidir en el tiempo con el cierre del grifo de los créditos a particulares, en plena crisis económica.">Back when the deal was closed, the (educated) public opinion was outraged by the favorable conditions of
the loan since it coincided with the closing
of the credit tap to individuals and small businesses. </span><span class="" title="Hoy, aquel acuerdo puede volverse en contra de Florentino Pérez si la situación entra en una espiral que, en estos momentos, no puede descartarse.">Today, this agreement may turn against Florentino Perez if the situation spirals into chaos, which right now can not be excluded. </span><span class="" title="Y si esto sucediese, habría que ver qué pasa con un Cristiano Ronaldo y un Kaká que podrían acabar cambiando de 'equipo' y fichar por el Banco Central Europeo.">And
if it does, would have to see what happens with both players, which could ultimately end up changing team and joining the European
Central Bank, or more accurately, they could appear as an asset on the central bank's balance sheet.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="El diario estadounidense 'The New York Times' pone a la empresa ACS, la constructora que preside Florentino Pérez, como ejemplo del problema de la deuda privada en España; que es más grave que el de la deuda pública y que amenaza con sumir al país"> </span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="El diario estadounidense 'The New York Times' pone a la empresa ACS, la constructora que preside Florentino Pérez, como ejemplo del problema de la deuda privada en España; que es más grave que el de la deuda pública y que amenaza con sumir al país"> </span></span><br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="" title="El diario estadounidense 'The New York Times' pone a la empresa ACS, la constructora que preside Florentino Pérez, como ejemplo del problema de la deuda privada en España; que es más grave que el de la deuda pública y que amenaza con sumir al país"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/business/global/in-spain-grupo-acss-high-debt-reflects-countrys-finances.html?pagewanted=all">The New York Times puts ACS</a>, the construction company whose president is also Florentino Perez, as an example of the problem of private
debt in Spain, which is even worse than the government debt (sovereign) that threatens to place the country </span><span class="" title="en una década de estancamiento.">in a decade of stagnation. </span><span class="" title="Así, cita el caso de ACS, "empresa con una deuda de 9.000 millones, el doble de su valor en bolsa, y metida en una campaña frenética para vender activos y desmarcarse de la situación que afecta a la economía española".">The newspaper
cites the case of ACS, "a company with a debt of 9,000 million, double
its current market value, and tucked into a frenzied campaign to sell assets and
to distance himself from the situation affecting the Spanish economy." </span>"Just as he has used debt to accelerate his company’s remarkable growth,
he has borrowed heavily to sign prominent Real Madrid players — from the
British star David Beckham to the current Portuguese sensation,
Cristiano Ronaldo."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en">So there you go guys. Some central banks used to back their currency with gold, some others back it with soccer players that make covers on teen magazines. </span></div>
Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544564056354199921.post-41845018514865802202012-09-11T05:03:00.000-07:002012-09-11T05:54:49.262-07:00Alpha, omega, oilSomething is moving in the East. It is something that they don't show on mainstream TV news. It is related, of course, to oil.<br />
<br />
Like the prominent magician David Copperfield, your politicians want you focused on the Syrian script even by having <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17170775">Hilary Clinton say that it is natural that Al-Qaeda and the US share similar interest</a> (!!!). What is happening offstage can only be seen as a direct preparation for WWIII. The increasing US interest in the Caucasus region reflecting in <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/threatening-russia-nato-fighter-jets-can-patrol-anything-they-want/">meddling in conflicts there</a>, specifically in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.<br />
<br />
Some report that <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/encircling-russia-threatening-iran-azerbaijan-to-be-admitted-to-nato/">US will back Azerbaijan with the intention of having the join the country join the NATO</a> and provide access to its oil fields, therefore encircling Russia and having a Northern access to Iran when the time comes (this renders any theory of imminent Israeli attack on Iran useless).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>-[T]he United States and their allies in NATO are facing the fast
of the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad’s regime in Syria after which they
will set about Iran and then the CIS countries including Russia. For
this reason. the strengthening of ties with countries neighboring Iran
and Russia meets the US interests.<br /><br />News.Az interviews political scientist Vafa Guluzade<b><br /></b><br />What
can you say about reports that the <b>Pentagon-assigned package of
military aid to Azerbaijan will be some $10M</b> to go for improvement of
the opportunities of marine forces on war on terror?</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It is yet another proof that the United States views Azerbaijan as a
very important state with which it is developing a geostrategic
partnership in the region. Development of US-Azerbaijani relations meets
the interest of both states. And the assignment of $10m to Azerbaijan
by the Pentagon testifies to the US interest in deepening military
cooperation with our country. The logical outcome of this cooperation
will be Azerbaijan’s admission to NATO.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Could you specify terms of the announced admission of Azerbaijan to NATO?</i><br />
<i>I don’t want to specify terms but I would say that it is about a
middle term perspective. The matter is that at the current stage the
United States and their allies in NATO are facing the fast of the
overthrow of Bashad Assad’s regime in Syria after which they will set
about Iran and then the CIS countries including Russia. For this reason.
the strengthening of ties with countries neighboring Iran and Russia
meets the US interests.</i><br />
<i>In this case, can the military aid to Azerbaijan by the United States raise concerns in Iran?</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Undoubtedly, it can. But it will not affect the US plans, based on
their own interests, rather than the interests of Iran or any other
country. Openly speaking, <b>Iran is well aware of the US plans to conduct a
military operation against it</b> and it is preparing to resist this
military operation. As for Azerbaijan, we merely cannot stay aside from
US plans related to Iran.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Do the US plans envisage shift of powers in Armenia? There are no doubts that they do. The United States is planning to
reduce Armenia’s dependence on Russia and Iran for which they seek to
<b>bring their protégé to power in Armenia</b>. The issue is about who it will
be and which events will promote implementation of the US plans. Russia
is unable to resist these US plans regarding Armenia, since it has no
serious resources in terms of army or economics. Additionally, Russia
will face the issue of resisting the plans of the United States and
their allies in NATO, while in these conditions, Russia will have no
time for Armenia.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>How would that scenario, you are speaking of, influence the
resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh? The impact will be a most positive one. The Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagorno Karabakh will be settled in case the indicated US
plans come true. The main obstacle on the way to its settlement is
Russia…</i></blockquote>
Tension is on the air. History is never how the victor tells it, nor how you study it on the books or how you see it on TV. What happens behind the scenes is an inherently inverse problem, much like Plato's cave.<br />
<br />
Primary actors are <a href="http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64852">preparing for the next large war in the region</a>, which will be a prelude to WWIII. It would be wise to pile up gasoline containers.Analytic Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03572035174204305296noreply@blogger.com0