The dark side of meditation and mindfulness: Treatment can trigger mania, depression and psychosis, new book claims

Theory is that techniques help relieve stress and live for the moment
But 60% of us have apparently suffered at least one negative side effect
Experts: Shortage of rigorous statistical studies into the negative effects of meditation is a 'scandal'

By HARRIET CRAWFORD FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 05:56 EST, 22 May 2015 | UPDATED: 11:20 EST, 22 May 2015



Meditation and mindfulness is promoted by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Russell Brand, who boast of its power to help people put stress out of their minds and live for the moment.

But the treatment can itself trigger mania, depression, hallucinations and psychosis, psychological studies in the UK and US have found.

The practice is part of a growing movement based on ancient Eastern traditions of meditation.

However, 60 per cent of people who had been on a meditation retreat had suffered at least one negative side effect, including panic, depression and confusion, a study in the US found.

Scroll down for video 

Meditation can trigger depression, hallucinations and psychosis, controversial research has claimed

And one in 14 of them suffered ‘profoundly adverse effects’, according to Miguel Farias, head of the brain, belief and behaviour research group at Coventry University and Catherine Wikholm, a researcher in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey.

The shortage of rigorous statistical studies into the negative effects of meditation was a ‘scandal’, Dr Farias told The Times.

He said: ‘The assumption of the majority of both TM [transcendental meditation] and mindfulness researchers is that meditation can only do one good.

‘This shows a rather narrow-minded view. How can a technique that allows you to look within and change your perception or reality of yourself be without potential adverse effects?

‘The answer is that it can’t, and all meditation studies should assess not only positive but negative effects.’

The British study involved measuring effect of yoga and meditation on prisoners, and its findings were published yesterday in the psychologists’ book, The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?.

Inmates at seven prisons in the Midlands took 90-minute classes once a week and completed tests to measure their higher cognitive functions in a ten week randomised control trial.

The prisoners’ moods improved, and their stress and psychological distress reduced - but they were found to be just as aggressive before the mindfulness techniques.

Meditation and mindfulness is promoted by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Russell Brand, who boast of its power to help people put stress out of their minds and live for the moment






Ms Wikholm told The Times: ‘It is hard to have a balanced view when the media is full of articles attesting to the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.

‘We need to be aware that reports of benefits are often inflated ... whereas studies that do not discover significant benefits rarely pick up media interest, and negative effects are seldom talked about.’

But a study published last month in The Lancet claimed that mindfulness meditation practice could be as effective as modern drugs at beating depression.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) led to similar outcomes as antidepressants when treating the mental disorder.

The guiding principle of mindfulness is to live more ‘in the moment’, spending less time going over past stresses and worrying about future problems.

It is a secular practice that is said to help people recognise and overcome negative thoughts while noticing small pleasures.


Source
.

He is eternal truth

For the disheartened there is a sure remedy--faith, prayer, work. Faith and activity will impart assurance and satisfaction that will increase day by day. Are you tempted to give way to feelings of anxious foreboding or utter despondency? In the darkest days, when appearances seem most forbidding, fear not. Have faith in God. He knows your need. He has all power. His infinite love and compassion never weary. Fear not that He will fail of fulfilling His promise. He is eternal truth. Never will He change the covenant He has made with those who love Him. And He will bestow upon His faithful servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands. The apostle Paul has testified: "He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. . . . Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10.

Prophets and Kings, p.165.

.

.

Gerald Celente: Brace for Economic 9/11

Posted by Dominique de Kevelioc de Bailleul on Dec 09, 2011

Founder of Trends Research Institute Gerald Celente predicts an economic 9/11 for the United States is just around the corner.

Though last Friday’s U.S. Labor Department employment report showed a remarkable drop in the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent for November, down from 9 percent in October, Celente’s said nothing has changed in the employment picture. In fact, he said, the economy will get worse.

Moreover, because of the Celente’s deteriorating jobs outlook, continued inflation and a deepening recession slated for the first quarter of 2012, American will explode into “economic martial law,” according to him.

America is being fed the hope of a recovery; it’s all a “lie,” Celente said, and will blindside many Americans who still believe Washington’s propaganda and numbers fudging.

“It’s food stamp employees. Oh, there were jobs created in retail,” Celente told Russia Today. “You know, those wonderful jobs where you take people’s money and say, ‘Have a nice day’. And there were jobs in hospitality. That’s another word for cleaning up somebody’s room. Oh, and there were jobs in healthcare. You know, working in nursing homes, making $62.50 a week by the time after taxes. You know, so these aren’t real jobs. This is a plantation economy.”

Not only are poor quality jobs created, but buried in the November labor data reveals 315,000 unemployed workers haven’t found jobs in the last 12 months. These long-term jobless Americans fall off the radar, no longer counted by the Labor Department, thereby artificially lowering the unemployment rate. (For more on government manipulation regarding employment statistics, see Shadowstats.com)

The number of Americans who want to work but still cannot find work stands at 13.3 million. And the jobs picture gets worse after taking into account a naturally growing U.S. labor pool.

“And the big lie, that no one’s talking about as they pump up this weak number, is that, you need a 125,000 jobs a month to account for the new people moving into the economy and population growth,” Celente explained. “So that leaves all the people that have lost all these jobs since the Great Recession hit still out of work.

“It’s going to get worse,” he added. “As a matter of fact, we’re coming out with our top trends for 2012, and one of them is going to be economic martial law. We’re going to go into an economic 9/11.”

Celente notes a disconnect between the reality of an impending economic collapse and Americans taken in by hype surrounding the day after the Thanksgiving Day holiday, or ‘Black Friday’. While the U.S. economic ship sinks, the passengers seem not to notice, according to Celente.

“What they’re [the Fed] doing is that, they’re pumping this up to get the people to spend their last pennies that they don’t have on Christmas junk,” he said. “And you saw with all the hype with this Black Friday. They’re not solving the problems over in Europe.

“The European Union is collapsing, the European monetary union. What did they do? They just came out with credit ratings, showing 15 of the banks have lost their credit ratings because they’ve been degrading. The same day they come out, central banks around the world are pumping trillions of dollars into them to keep it afloat.”

The so-called smart money, however, isn’t fooled. Stock prices, which are regarded as a reliable leading economic indicator of future economic growth, have stalled from the bear market rally of March 2009.

And the Fed appears to be confirming the fear on Wall Street. On Dec. 8, the U.S. central bank released a report showing a $2.4 trillion drop in U.S. household net worth for the quarter ending Sept. 30.

“Americans’ wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pension funds and home values lost value,” according to Reuters. “It was the sharpest drop since the tumultuous period after the September 2008 bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers.”

Adding to the worries of a renewed downturn in the U.S. economy include Europe’s and Japan’s financial problems as well as a China slowdown, which, taken together, have never conspired simultaneously since the Great Depression.

If the U.S., Europe, Japan and China, together representing more than half of global GDP, how will America, Europe and Japan pay on its sovereign debt?

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, governments backstopped the financial system to prevent financial Armageddon. Today, it’s the governments that need backstopping. Who will backstop them?

“When the New Year comes, the Winter of Discontent is going to set in, reality is going to bite,” Celente concluded. Brace for an economic 9/11.

Source

BIS Calls for Hyperinflationary Depression?

Monday, December 12, 2011 – by Staff Report

The Bank for International Settlements Sunday issued an oblique endorsement of coordinated action by the world's largest central banks to ease funding conditions for banks. "A freezing of interbank markets in major funding currencies, as during the recent crisis, may require the ability to supply official liquidity in major currencies in an elastic manner," the BIS wrote in its regular quarterly report." – MarketWatch

Dominant Social Theme: Inflate! And everything will work out.

Free-Market Analysis: We've already indicated that we believe the Anglosphere power elite is attempting to create a kind of Great Depression in order to ease the path of world government. This squib of an article in MarketWatch (excerpted above) – unnoticed by most of the mainstream press – only reconfirms our impression.

It endorses recent "coordinated" central banking loosening. But it does more: "A freezing of interbank markets in major funding currencies, as during the recent crisis, may require the ability to supply official liquidity in major currencies in an elastic manner."

Think about that. The BIS, whatever it is, is all for printing lots of money. And the BIS is no small-time trade group. It is perhaps the most powerful (and least known) global business body in the world. Its mysteries are manifold. its workings are well-hidden.

Of course, somebody actually set up the Bank for International Settlements in the late 1930s. And since then someone has set up or helped set up about 200 central banks around the world, many of them reporting directly to the BIS.

But who? And how did it happen? Dunno.

Who speaks to the head of a state, asking him or her to set up a central bank? Dunno. Do you?

Why is that Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq have central banks when they didn't before, or not the kind they do now? Did you read about it?

Meh ... this ruinous financial system is not a plant or a tree. It did not grow spontaneously. It did not grow naturally. And we would submit to you that those who created it know what they're doing.

The key as always is to pretend that one does NOT know. The key is to create cognitive dissonance. Even today, if you asked the average person-on-the-street if the powers-that-be are trying to create a Depression (let alone a hyperinflationary one), you would get the ol' crazy look, as in ... "What is this fellow ... nuts?"

But, no, nothing nutty about it. The European Union and the euro are grinding a whole European generation into dust. China's burgeoning middle class is about to get walloped if China ends up in a proverbial hard landing, as well it might. The US has NEVER recovered from the disaster of the mid-2000s (first decade) nor shall it for the foreseeable future.

Into this morass steps the BIS, with its suggestion (above) that further monetary inflation is the only viable solution to the problem that central banking itself has created.

Smile ... and nod! Don't acknowledge the reality that the ruin is a central banking ruin. The monetary decay is the result of a monopoly fiat. The great dollar expansion yet to come is also a direct outcome of the current system that was put in place after World War II.

No, it's not hard to discern what's going on if one simply disassociates oneself from the endless nattering of the mainstream media. Analyze what IS instead of what is SUGGESTED and the reality shall gradually become clear.

DB's manifestly accurate High Alert (published some four years ago now) was written because we were tracking what was actually happening to the world's economy instead of what was being reported ....

A financial hurricane is washing over America and, to a lesser extent, the entire West. To label it the "downstroke" of a super business cycle does not do it justice. These events occur in cycles, with the last one taking place in the 1970s — a mild storm compared to what is occurring today. ...

A strong inflation, even a soft hyperinflation, already has a grip on Western currencies, most notably in the United States — as anyone who buys groceries is aware. The dollar's plunge may be delayed by a kind of "race to the bottom" as other central banks adjust their currencies to reflect the weakness of the dollar. ...

In his "Great American Depression," free-market economist Murray Rothbard explains the ramifications of hyperinflation as follows: "Hyperinflation, on any count, is far worse than any depression: It destroys the currency — the lifeblood of the economy; it ruins and shatters the middle class and all fixed income groups; it wreaks havoc unbounded. And furthermore it leads finally to unemployment and lower living standards since there is little point in working when earned income depreciates by the hour."

(You can read the full book online here.)

THIS is what the BIS seems to have in mind. This is the fate that has been decreed, apparently, by those who want to crush middle classes around the world in order to create a "new world order." Out of chaos ... order. It is quite clear. Follow what IS rather than what you are being TOLD.

The BIS wants to inflate. it ENDORSES inflation. The proximate cause is the unraveling of the current financial system. But it is "their" system. They made it. They watched it rise and fall. It was obvious that it could not end in anything other than a massive contraction and perhaps hyperinflation.

The contraction – incipient Depression – has already taken place. Best case, the powers-that-be would stop trying to prop up failing markets and let the downturn have its way as quickly as possible. This they will not do. Instead, the next phase of an increasingly horrific scenario is about to unfold.

Rather than let the market alone, the elites are apparently readying massive central bank monetary inflation around the world. That's the real message of this innocent little squib of an article, so far as we can tell.

The BIS, in its inoffensive way, is signaling that the current level of disaster and despair is not good enough. The agony is not sufficient. The new world order is to be birthed on the graves of millions, and nothing but hyperinflation (and/or war) will produce the sufficient level of chaos. Here's some more from the article:

The U.S. Federal Reserve 10 days ago agreed to expand, and reduce the cost of, multilateral swap lines with five other large central banks, notably the European Central Bank, in an effort to restore access to dollar funding for European banks. Euro-zone banks used the new facility to borrow $50.7 billion at a rate of 0.59% at the first operation after the announcement.

The BIS's essay was its latest in a series analyzing the concept of global liquidity, and focused again on the interplay between official liquidity, that is, created by central banks, and the far greater liquidity created by the private sector on the basis of central bank money--the so-called money multiplier.

The essay observed that much is still unknown on this topic, particularly on the degree to which the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves by central banks, and their subsequent reinvestment, can affect the creation of private liquidity.

The BIS noted that the priority of policymakers should be to mitigate surges in the overall level of global liquidity. It said the new "Basel III" rules on capital and liquidity should help this trend of "counter-cyclical" policymaking.

Do you appreciate what you have just read, dear reader? Do you understand the black maw of the vicious, velvet trap that is now being readied? Unlimited money printing is to be aimed at a grievously wounded world – and the antidote is to be MORE GLOBAL REGULATION.

Over and over we see this sort of generic dominant social theme in action. Having unleashed a fear-based promotion (a new Great Depression), the elite now suggests that only their international agencies can rectify it.

So let the central banks print away! The regulators have figured it out. They've put into place something called Basel III. This "solution" has been initiated by the same banking community that has hollowed out the life savings of hundreds of millions; it is supposed to ensure that hyperinflation is damped and the velocity of money is damped.

Here at the Daily Bell we quantify the fear-based memes of the elite and their efficacy. We've kept track not only of the successes but of the failures as well. And in our view, the failures are mounting up.

Most recently we suggested that the current chaos in the Eurozone was yet another elite failure – that ideally, Britain wouldn't have had to pull away from the euro but would have drawn closer to the EU.

In fact, Britain's pullback itself may be not only an acknowledgement of the troubles the elites are having in creating their one-world order, it may also be a STRATEGY – one creating a favorite tool, the Hegelian Dialectic.

That's how you move the socio-political discussion in the "right" direction. You need opposing sides to create first a thesis and an antithesis and then, finally ... a synthesis. In this case, the current economic chaos is the thesis, and the BIS's idea of money printing is to be the anti-thesis.

What is to be the synthesis? Well ... perhaps one prints (relatively) slowly, at least at first. Of course, speed is relative. What is "slow" can soon become "faster." The Hegelian Dialectic, in fact, is likely merely a trick designed to create a false sense of satisfaction in those who participate or follow but do not have an understanding of the grand design. No, from our point of view, the "controllers" are making it clear what is to be the next step of the "great game."

Conclusion: Can you hear the noise? It is not a train headed down the track. It is not Superman flying through the air faster than the speed of sound. It is a printing press, running hard toward ruin.

Source

Global Economic Crisis Deepening

Global Economic Crisis Deepening - by Stephen Lendman

In the 1960s, economist Arthur Okum began calculated America's Misery Index by adding the unemployment and inflation rates for a sense of public pain or lack of it in good times.

In May, it hit a record high exceeding 25, surpassing the earlier June 1980 21.98 top, based on how both measures were then calculated, not today's methodology, manipulated to hide painful truths.

At issue is:

-- over 22% unemployment, including discouraged workers and the so-called "birth-death model" estimate of net non-reported jobs from new businesses minus losses from ones no longer operating; during hard times, painful truths are hidden by creating non-existent jobs out of whole cloth instead of subtracting them to reflect fewer, not additional new businesses;

-- double digit inflation, including soaring food, energy, healthcare, college tuition, and other costs omitted or understated in core figures;

-- rising poverty, more than one in seven affected according to way understated Census Bureau figures, using threshold measures developed 40 years earlier;

-- record numbers on food stamps;

-- record measures of food insecurity - Feeding America.org reporting one in six American facing hunger;

-- predicted record 2011 numbers of home foreclosures, estimated at 1.2 million after one million lost last year;

-- record homelessness numbers up to 3.5 million on any given night, needing refuge wherever they can find it or face life on city streets; and

-- other measures of worsening conditions during a Main Street depression, affecting Europe, Japan and elsewhere like America.

Economic recovery? Explain how to millions unemployed or underemployed, foreclosed homeowners, bankrupt business owners, impoverished legions, and many others food insecure at a time US and European leaders enforce austerity when massive social stimulus is needed.

Across Europe, large deficits and public debt crises are spreading, an Economist April 29 article highlighting "a moment....when events spiral out of control. As panic sets in, bond yields lurch sickeningly upwards and fear spreads to shares and currencies."

It happened in September 2008, a decade earlier when Russia defaulted, and similar past events. "When the unthinkable becomes the inevitable," contagion and panic follow like a tsunami sweeping away everything in its path.

Numerous European countries are deeply troubled, notably Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, entrapped in debt, locked in a Eurozone straightjacket. Perhaps heading for default, they've inflicted painful austerity on working households, rallying them en masse in protest.

On May 30, financial expert and investor safety advocate Martin Weiss said:

"Never before have I seen so many threats to your safety and wealth converging in one time and place," citing:

-- deteriorating bank safety, evident from increasing failures and other systemic risk measures;

-- a deepening housing market depression with no end in sight;

-- a worsening European sovereign debt crisis; and

-- most worrisome, the contagion spreading to America.

According to Weiss:

"If you thought the debt crisis of 2008-2009 was a harrowing experience, wait till you see what's coming next." Last time, corporations were affected. Sovereign states are getting hammered now, including America.

On May 16, the Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin (GEAB) headlined, "Global systemic crisis: Confirmation of a Major Alert for the second half of 2011 - Explosive fusion of world geopolitical dislocation and the global economic financial crisis," saying:

As it predicted in February 2008, GEAB again believes conditions now suggest a later in the year "explosive fusion....(a worldwide) geopolitical dislocation on the one hand and (a) global economic and financial crisis on the other."

Combined they show major economic trauma coming, extinguishing economic recovery hopes, notably in debt entrapped America, "represent(ing) the end of an era (in which the) dollar was the currency of the United States and the rest of the world's problem."

Ahead, it's becoming "the main threat weighing on the rest of the world" and America. Summer 2011 "will confirm that the Federal Reserve has lost its bet: the US economy has, in fact, never left the 'Very Great Depression which it entered in 2008 despite" massive money creation.

As a result, interest rates will rise. Government deficits will explode. Economic decline will intensify. Equity valuations will decline. The dollar will behave erratically "before suddenly losing 30% of its value" as earlier predicted.

At the same time, "Euroland," BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and "commodity producers will rapidly strengthen their cooperation while launching a final attempt to salvage" the remnants of Bretton Woods and a US/UK dominated world.

"(I)t's unrealistic to imagine (Obama) who has shown no major international stature so far, proving himself" statesmanlike enough to take risks ahead of the 2012 election cycle.

Under his leadership, America "is completely in dreamland. Whilst the country has reached unsustainable levels of debt, (its leaders) have made this topic an election issue."

Moreover, America today is seen as the "sick man of the world in which any sign of weakness or serious inconsistency can trigger uncontrolled panic."

In addition, the combination of "(c)razy central bankers, world leaders without a roadmap, economies at risk, inflation rising, currencies in trouble, frenzied commodities, uncontrolled Western debt, (high unemployment), (and) stressed societies" leaves little doubt about looming trouble ahead as early as second half 2011.

A Final Comment

In late May, Gerald Celente highlighted "the most trend-significant story" getting little or no coverage in Western media reports. The combination of weather, economic, and geopolitical events portend "far-reaching and disastrous" socioeconomic consequences.

"Farming, shipping, seafood, food supplies and petroleum refining will be among the foreseeable casualties, accompanied by massive population displacement. But the ensuing chain reaction (inflation, shortages, unemployment, etc.) will claim many other victims," so far unquantifiable.

Middle East and European protests "signaled a major turning point, (an unstoppable) "Off With Their Heads" mega-trend, America's media don't notice or explain.

Celente calls the European bailouts failures, creating higher unemployment, more debt, draconian austerity, and "a wholesale sell-off of valuable public resources," asset-stripping national wealth to enrich bankers, producing painful consequences.

As a result, "(e)conomic conditions will continue to deteriorate for most European nations. The worse they get, the louder and more heated the protests...." Repressive crackdowns will follow, producing greater protests this summer into 2012 and beyond as conditions worsen.

However, a potential wild card deserves watching - one or more terror strikes likely derailing angry protesters temporarily, uniting them behind national security issues, the way 9/11 worked.

More worrisome is a possible major false flag, even a nuclear one targeting a US and/or Western European city. If so, all bets are off short term, but sooner or later unmet needs will take precedence, perhaps when hungry people blame Washington for their misery and react angrily for help. It bears watching and may happen sooner than expected.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:43 AM


Source
.

Nearly 20% of Florida homes are vacant

Les Christie, staff writer, On Friday March 18, 2011, 4:14 pm EDT

It's not always easy to feel sorry for sunny Florida. But it just got hit with another blow.

On Thursday, the Census Bureau revealed that 18% -- or 1.6 million -- of the Sunshine State's homes are sitting vacant. That's a rise of more than 63% over the past 10 years.

Having this amount of oversupply on the market will keep home prices depressed and slow any recovery.

During the housing boom, Florida was among the hottest real estate markets in the nation. Homes were snapped up by the state's growing population as well as hordes of investors confident that prices would continue to soar.

"You'd drive through downtown Miami and see 30 or 40 cranes sticking up in the air," said Michael Larson, a housing market analyst for Weiss Research.

The bust brought an end to that. Development ground to a halt. Retirees stopped relocating. And prices started falling and vacancies rising.

"Housing went from being the preeminent investment of choice to toxic waste," added Richard DeKaser, an economist with the Parthenon Group.

The vacancy problem is more dire in Florida than in any other bubble market: In California, only 8% of units were vacant, while Nevada, the state with the nation's highest foreclosure rate, had about 14% sitting empty. Arizona had a vacancy rate of about 16%.

In Florida, the worst-hit county is Collier -- home of Naples -- with a whopping 32% of homes empty. In Sarasota County, 23% of the housing stock sits vacant, while Lee County (Cape Coral) has a 30% vacancy rate. And Miami-Dade County has a vacancy rate of about 12%.

The housing recovery will take years, perhaps many years, to complete, according to Ingo Winzer, a housing market analyst and founder of Local Market Monitor.

Not helping is the the fact that the state's rate of population growth slowed in the second half of the last decade to just 5.7%. Still, the 2000s saw the state population grow overall by nearly 18%, the Census Bureau reported. I

"It will take about eight years just to put the vacancy numbers back into the single digits," said DeKaser.

The inventory overhang has sent home prices plunging. The median price for homes sold in January was just $122,000, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. That was down 7% from 12 months earlier and less than half the price at the peak of the market.

Winzer thinks prices in Florida will drop even more, another 5% in 2011 and 3% in 2012. "Even after that, they're not going to rebound, they'll just sit on the bottom," he said.

Celia Chen, a housing market analyst for Moody's Analytics, is also downbeat in her forecasts for Florida. Not only will prices fall another 11%, she said, but the bottom won't hit until mid-2012, about a year later than the nation as a whole. Some metro areas won't get back to their pre-recession peaks until long after the present owners are old and gray.

She doesn't expect Naples, for example, to come all the way back until the late 2030s. Other Florida metro areas with a 20-year wait or longer include Punta Gorda, Palm Bay and North Port.

"If you're buying in Florida for retirement," said Winzer, "maybe you buy next year when prices will be near the bottom. If you're buying for investment -- don't."

.

Source

.

Be Prepared For The Worst: Breaking Point 2010 – Top Trends

By Gerald Celente
12-16-9

KINGSTON, NY – The first decade of the 21st century is going out the way it came in with a bust and a bang.

The Great Recession is not over. There is no recovery. It’s a cover up. Expect another wave of terrorism. Possibly of 9/11 magnitude.

As well as challenges, also expect profitable and transformational social, health, environmental, entertainment, cultural, business and consumer trends to emerge in 2010.

· The Crash of 2010: The Bailout Bubble is about to burst. Be prepared for the onset of the Greatest Depression.

· Depression Uplift: The pursuit of elegance and affordable sophistication will raise spirits and profits.

· Terrorism 2010: Years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq ­ and now Pakistan ­ have intensified anti-American sentiment. 2010 will be the year of the lone-wolf, self-radicalized gunman.

· Neo-Survivalism: A new breed of survivalist is devising ingenious stratagems to beat the crumbling system. And, they’re not all heading for the hills with AK-47’s and pork & beans.

· Not Welcome Here: Fueled by fear and resentment, a global anti-immigration trend will gather force and serve as a major plank in building a new political party in the US.

· TB or Not TB: With two-thirds of Americans Too Big (TB) for their own good (and everyone else’s), 2010 will mark the outbreak of a “War on Fat,” providing a ton of business opportunities.

· Mothers of Invention: Taking off with the speed of the Internet revolution, “Technology for the Poor” will be a major trend in 2010, providing products and services for newly downscaled Western consumers and impoverished consumers everywhere.

· Not Made In China: A “Buy Local,” “My Country First” protectionist backlash will deliver a big “No” to unrestrained globalism and open solid niches for local and domestic manufacturers.

· The Next Big Thing: Just as the traditional print media (newspapers/magazines) were scooped by Internet competition, so too will new communication technologies herald the end of the TV networks as we know them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR-z1i2ihechttp://


The Trends Research Institute has a 30-year unparalleled track record of accurate forecasts. (http://enews.trendsresearch.com/m/4d9GdxbPVe9zlYQN8uhpKDnqQmwnYit8Q2mtbrvjVIUx_BMKrg) Does your audience really want to listen to “experts” who tell them what they hope to hear, or listen to Gerald Celente who tells it straight and provides practical strategies?

To schedule an interview with Trends Research Institute Director, Gerald Celente, please contact: Bibi Farber, Media Relations at 845.331.3500 Ext. 1 (Bibifarber@trendsresearch.com)

© Trends Research Institute MMIX

The Trends Research Institute P.O. Box 3476 Kingston, NY 12402

Source: http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/be-prepared-for-the-worst-breaking-point-2010-top-trends/

..

Video: Thomas Sowell explains the Great Depression

by Infidelesto on November 23, 2009

Just watch it and think about the similarities to today’s economy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQQon4tjlSA&feature=player_embeddedhttp://


Thomas Sowell is one of the greatest thinkers of our time.

Big Government liberals try and swoop in during a recession and try and fix things with more big government spending, only to compound the problem ten fold. Granted, Hoover the Republican made the same mistake as any liberal minded republican would thinking that only the government can save the people and nothing else when it comes to a time of crisis. If only they would have had the patience to see through the ups and downs of a normal capitalistic society, they would understand that as soon as they thought it was going to get bad, recovery is right around the corner, but instead, they drive us into a deep depression because of the over-expansion of federal programs which sapped the life out of the taxpayer.

The same exact thing is happening today. Everything’s a “crisis” and only the federal government can save you.

hattip: ZIP

Related Posts
Thomas Sowell: Dismantling America
CAIR whining about Cal Thomas exposing Islam on the air *update* Thomas responds
Video report: Will Britain survive Multiculturalism?
Video: John Bolton explains why the world can’t live with a nuclear Iran
Video: Joe Biden explains the “moderate” Taliban
.
.
Source: http://infidelsarecool.com/2009/11/23/video-thomas-sowell-explains-the-great-depression/

.

Black Males Hit Extra Hard By Unemployment

by Cheryl Corley

African-American Male Unemployment
The unemployment rate for all African-Americans is about 50 percent higher than the nation as a whole — and even higher for African-American males.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Credit: Nelson Hsu/NPR

November 19, 2009

The country's spiraling unemployment rate is taking a particular toll on men as the recession continues to roil male-dominated industries, such as manufacturing and construction.

This "he-cession," as it's sometimes called, has hit African-American men especially hard, increasing their unemployment rate to more than 17 percent last month.

One of those unemployed black men searching for work is Randolph Smith. When Smith, 53, is working, he manages logistics, inventory and supplies for large companies. He's been trying to find that type of work since he was laid off a year ago — but so far, he's had no success.

Playing racquetball has been a lifesaver for Smith. He meets friends at a local health club about three or four times a week.

"Just to be able to come somewhere that's affordable for me, not far from home, to be around some good friends where there's camaraderie. To exercise and get the stress off my life."

Life Without Work

It's a stress that hundreds of thousands of black men face. The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that African-American men over the age of 20 lead the country's jobless surge with an unemployment rate of 17.1 percent. These days, Smith's job is to look for work.

Smith lives in Richton Park, Ill. — a solidly middle class suburb about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. He and his wife, Sabrina, raised their now-adult son here. They've converted a bedroom into a home office with two desks, two computers and a file cabinet with plenty of Post-it notes attached. Sabrina is an administrative assistant at a local hospital, and is studying to be a nurse. This office is where Randolph conducts his job search.

"[I spend time] going through a lot of the search agents that have brought information or leads to me," he says. "Following with phone calls, just following up with any new connections that I can."

The Smiths cut back on vacations and don't go out much. And like any good inventory manager, Smith says he uses a spreadsheet for their grocery shopping.

"We know how to stretch a meal out, and we know how to eat rice and beans and make that last for a couple of days," he says. "So we're doing all the right things I think we need to do to keep things going and keep our costs down."

When Caterpillar Tractor Company started shedding jobs last year, Smith, a contract employee, was let go. It was not an unfamiliar situation. Throughout his career, just about every business Smith has worked for has closed, relocated or downsized. Typically, he's found another job quickly. Not so this time.

Economy
Portraits Of The Unemployed
Meet some of the faces behind America's unemployment numbers.

"I think I'm marketable, and it would usually be no problem finding some work with a temp agency — enough that would suffice," he says. "Since the beginning of the year, it's been dry."

Smith says they get by on his unemployment and his wife's salary.

Several Factors At Play

Smith used to attend workshop readiness classes run by the Chicago Urban League. Even though he's highly skilled and a college graduate, he started to worry after coming up short on several job interviews.

"I wanted to make sure I was as polished as possible, and I just really had to get real with myself and say that I need some help here," he says.

Herman Brewer, the acting CEO of Chicago's Urban League, says plenty of men, regardless of race, have lost jobs during this recession. But he says black men continue to face many challenges that have traditionally led to their disproportionately high rates of unemployment. They include the decline of high-paying manufacturing jobs, high rates of incarceration, limited schooling and discrimination. So, Brewer says, the rise in unemployment is particularly tough on black men, "because many have had to overcome so much just to get where they were in a particular job."

And Brewer says many African-American men will personalize their job loss and withdraw socially. Smith admits some of his relationships have changed.

"I've had friends that have reached out and said, 'Hey, man, come on. I'll pay for a round of golf for you,' " says Smith. "Not that it's pride, but I just want to get through this myself."

Smith says his faith sustains him. He goes to church regularly. Once a week, he tutors children — and then there's the racquetball. Smith says that despite dismal job prospects, he knows he does have advantages. And he's hopeful he'll soon leave the ever-increasing ranks of African-American males who are unemployed.

.

Related NPR Stories
Jobless Rate Highest Since 1983 Nov. 6, 2009
Wary Employers Keep Jobless Numbers High Nov. 7, 2009
The Future Of Unemployment Nov. 11, 2009

.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120351534&ft=1&f=1001

.

Puerto Rico’s National Strike: “Peaceful Insurrection” Against the Wall Street Bankers

by Ivan Gutierrez del Arroyo

Global Research, November 11, 2009
- 2009-11-08

San Juan, Puerto Rico – The aftermath of Puerto Rico’s 200,000 persons National Strike is the transformation of a civic struggle into a “Peoples Peaceful Insurrection” against the real power behind Republican Governor Luis Fortuno: the Wall Street’s Bankers, who control the Island $47 Billions public debt. The Oct. 15’s one-day strike was led by a broad Coalition for Puerto Rico (CPR) spearheaded by the Methodist Bishop Juan Vera Mendez (JVM), including all key sectors of Puerto Rico’s Civic Society and all the labor unions. The big losers were the corrupt two-party system and the US repressive agencies operating in the Island, such as the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI), the Federal Prosecutor and the FBI-controlled National Police Superintendent and his anti-riot elite units.

Bishop Vera: War Against US “Brutal Capitalism”

Bishop Vera Mendez concluded the all-day National Strike with a very energetic and emotional address, which reminded many of the participants of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech in 1963 in Washington, D.C. “Today our People’s dignity and solidarity have defeated the God of fear” of Gov. Fortuno and his bankers, stated the spokesman for the CPR. “At this democratic assembly the Puerto Rican Nation demanded the repeal of Law #7…which blamed the state workers for the alleged financial crisis, the same brutal capitalist model which push the world’s economy into a deep recession,” stated the Methodist Bishop. Up to now close to 25,000 unionized state employees have been fired because of Law #7, and about 100,000 workers have been lay-offs in the private sectors during the recent fiscal years. Although the official unemployment rate is 18%, the real unemployment is between 25-30%, if you include permanent unemployed workers who gave up and are not looking for jobs anymore.

In spite of the FBI and Police’s anti-riot brutal repression, stressed Vera, “our response is the non-violence’s moral force. Guided by Jesus’ words we affirmed that those who work for peace are fortunate. .. Today we go from simple protest to resistance and civil disobedience, as we did between 1999-2003 to rescue the Island of Vieques (from the US Navy).” Like Rev. King, Bishop Vera Mendez combined his social struggle analysis with a Christian hope for social justice and freedom. This was Gandhi’s moral and spiritual strength, which he used to liberate more than a billion persons in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The End of the Corrupt Two-Party’s System

The pro-Statehood New Progressive Party (NPP) is an state of denial of the Island’s new social and political reality, which is breaking apart the typical behavior of the ruling colonial elite. The only exception is radio commentator Ignacio Rivera. In his daily two-hour radio program, the former CIA agent, urged GOP Gov. Fortuno to face reality and start negotiations with Bishop Vera Mendez and the leading Puerto Rican trade unions leaders. I am not questioning the Governor’s harsh austerity measures, which are modeled in Reagan’s neoliberal policies, but his refusal to even consider negotiations with his labor and civic opponents, stressed Rivera in his radio show.

The situation in the Opposition Popular Democratic Party (PDP) is even worse because it is being run by a pro-Statehood clique led by former Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon, who is a 100% behind Fortuno’s brutal assault against the 4 millions-island population. The former Governor is trying to force out a growing youth faction, which wants to forge a liberal-leftist coalition with Labor unions, pro-Independence and Women groups, organized poor communities and civic groups, such as the lawyers and social workers associations. Although this youth faction forced the PDP to join the National Strike, is still perceived by the population as a corrupt and traditional political party.

In spite of the fact that the pro-Independence forces represent today only about 10-15% of the total population in the Island, they embodied the moral and intellectual strength of the Puerto Rican Nation. After more than 500 years of Spanish and American military occupation, our culture and nationality is alive and still resemble more the traditions found all over Latin America. Many of the 4 millions Puerto Ricans, who lived in the US mainland, still considered themselves part of our nation and our mix afro-hispanic-indian culture, including US Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Because of all the above reasons pro-Independence leaders, such as radio commentator Wilda Rodriguez and Juan Mari Bras, the former head of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP), are the best qualify to understand the present economic Depression hitting the Island. In addition, they are the most capable to propose short and long-term solutions to the ongoing political and economic crisis.

The Coalition Transformation Into a National Reconstruction Alliance(NRA) & the Formation of a Pro Independence Congress

In a recent newspaper analysis, Ms. Rodriguez put forward a futurist scenario, where Bishop Vera’s Coalition become a NRA Party to be able to participate in the 2012 election against the corrupt NPP-PDP’s two party system. This new liberal-leftist alliance has a 10-point program, which is based in the Island struggle to regain its own sovereignty, which was taken away by the US Congress through the military occupation of Puerto Rico in 1898. Among the key point of the NRA program is the power to make our own trade accord with other foreign nations, including the US, Europe, Africa and Asia. We could also join the South American Common Market Union (UNASUR) and America’s Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA). The UNASUR and ALBA are two trade and economic alternatives to the US-led North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), its affiliates in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

During the last year, Mari Bras has spearheaded a nation-wide campaign to forge an alliance among all the pro Independence groups through the creation of the Third Pro Independence Congress. Although this organizing drive is being torpedoed by the odd alliance between the conservative Puerto Rican Independence Party and the ultra-leftist Socialist Workers Movement, Mari Bras and his allies are still very optimist because the economic Depression will force a new realignment of all the political forces in the Island.

According to the former head of the PSP and founder of the 50 years-old weekly pro-Independence newspaper Claridad, the present task of a revolutionary living in the Island is to propose short-term and practical solutions to the people’s daily struggle, and in that way, “we get closer to our strategic goals.” This means supporting the proposal put forward by leaders of different political ideologies, which urged Gov. Fortuno to tax by 10% all US corporations doing business in the Island. This would solve our immediate financial crisis, and put back to work the 25,000 state workers, which have been lay-off during the last two month. This represents a creative way “to find real solutions in order to go through turbid times, like the present one, and thus, at last enter the XXI Century,” concluded Mari Bras in a recent analysis for Claridad.

Ivan Gutierrez del Arroyo can be reached at gutierrezdelarroyoivan@yahoo.com


Global Research Articles by Ivan Gutierrez del Arroyo

Source: http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16028

.

Government Bailouts and the Stock Market - The Seen and the Unseen

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


Government Bailouts and the Stock Market - The Seen and the Unseen


Inquiring minds are reading Cash for Clunkers Is Just a Broken Windshield by Caroline Baum. It's the best trashing to date of the "cash for clunkers" program.

Transferring money from taxpayers to car buyers is a transfer. The money taken from taxpayers can’t be used for something else.

This is the lesson of Frederic Bastiat’s essay, “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Unseen.” Bastiat, a 19th century French political economist, tells the story of a shopkeeper who has to hire a glazier to repair a broken window, providing work and income for him in the process. That’s what is seen.

What is unseen is what the shopkeeper would have done if he didn’t have to pay the glazier. He might have bought shoes for his children, providing income for the shoemaker, who in turn could buy leather to produce more shoes. The glazier’s gain is the shoemaker’s loss. There is no net gain, no job or income creation, from this transaction.

Broken Window Fallacy

The “broken window fallacy,” as it is known, can be applied to all government spending. The $787 billion fiscal stimulus enacted in February transfers money from taxpayers to the government to allocate as it sees fit. The effect of the government’s expenditures shows up as growth in gross domestic product. Auto manufacturers produce more cars to meet the juiced demand, adding to GDP. This is what’s seen.

What is unseen is what would have been produced by the private sector had the government not confiscated future revenue via taxation.

Cash for clunkers requires that trade-ins be scrapped, whether they are fully depreciated or not. How is destroying something good for the nation?

James Hamilton, professor of economics at University of California, San Diego, says cash for clunkers adopts the worst of the New Deal policies and adapts it to today’s circumstances.

The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 “paid farmers to slaughter livestock and plow up good crops, as if destroying useful goods could somehow make the nation wealthier,” Hamilton writes on his blog. “And yet, here we are again, with the cash for clunkers program insisting that working vehicles must be junked to qualify for the subsidy.”

Caroline touched on several key issues. The first is is money taken from taxpayers can’t be used for something else. The second regards the destruction of productive assets. I will add a a couple more.

Government seldom if ever allocates resources efficiently. That is another problem with all these stimulus efforts. Without market feedback, it is difficult if not impossible to spend money wisely. At best, government pushes demand forward. At worst, government pays money to destroy productive assets while going deeper in debt to do so.

Moreover, interest on debt from all these stimulus program is adding up. Eventually taxes have to rise to cover those interest payments. Rising taxes will reduce both future demand and future business hiring.

For more on the Seen and Unseen, including an analysis of misguided Keynesian stimulus efforts, please consider On the Brink of Recovery.

Government Spending Crowds Out Private SectorHere is a chart from a recent issue of Contrary Investor that touched on the above issues.

Commercial Bank Lending vs. Federal Debt 1970 - Present


Contrary Investor Writes:

Historically the year over year rate of change in bank lending and Federal
borrowing has been negatively correlated. It has been an inverse relationship.
Not too hard to understand as the government has stepped up stimulus efforts
(borrowed stimulus efforts) when the private sector pulls back during economic
periods of slowing.

The top clip of the chart above is clear in that bank lending
(private sector borrowing) has slowed on a rate of change basis during or very
near all US recessions of the last four decades at least. Simultaneously, as the
bottom clip of the chart reveals, the annual rate of change in government
spending (federal Government borrowing) has expanded during recessions.

The period we’ve colored in red coincides almost perfectly with what was one of the
greatest and most long lived equity bull markets and economic expansions in US
history. What did that decline in Federal borrowing really represent and why did
it coincide with the equity bull?

It represented a period where the Government stopped “crowding out” the private sector in the US. The less the government competed for funds with the private sector (on a rate of change basis), the better the macro US economic outcomes that were achieved and the better the stock market reward for an increasingly private sector centric economy.

S&P 500 1970 - Present


click on chart for sharper image


Note that the biggest bull market in history came during the steepest drop in history in the year over year rate of change of federal debt.

Coincidence or Something More?

For a look at what might be coming, take another look at the Japanese stock market as presented in Effect of Household Deleveraging on Housing, Consumption and the Stock Market.


Nikkei Stock Index 1980-Present



click on chart for sharper image

A look at the Nikkei shows that Japan has already lost two decades since the peak in 1990. It is likely the US follows the same general pattern.

Keynesian clowns think the economy can be jump started by government spending. Japan tried that for a decade. Did it work? It has never worked once in history yet fools never stop trying.

All Japan has to show for its efforts is a massive increase in government debt.

Bailout Seen and the Unseen

Nearly everyone is cheering "cash for clunkers" and all the other stimulus programs. Bernanke even claims to have prevented another great depression.

Yes, the global equity markets stages a big rally. However, was that rally because of what Congress and the Fed did, or in spite of it? I think the latter. Either assertion cannot be proven.

One thing we do know for certain is there is an "unseen" price to be paid for the bailouts, and the Fed sponsored housing boom that preceded it.

The worst recession since the 1930's is the payback for the credit boom, while the payback for the bailouts is coming down the line. The likely payback for all these bailouts is structurally high unemployment and a stock market that goes nowhere for years to come.



Mike "Mish" Shedlockhttp://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.comClick Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List


Government Bailouts and the Stock Market - The Seen and the UnseenPosted by Michael Shedlock at 11:15 AM ....


Source: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/08/government-bailouts-and-stock-market.html


.

A Great Economic Depression is Coming!

Are you ready?

This may lead into the Mark of the Beast showdown



Tim Walsh (SDA) says a Great Depression is coming soon

(Below are notes taken from a presentation he gave recently)

I attended the presentation today, Nov. 8, 2008, at the _____________ SDA church by Tim Walsh, CEO of epipeline. He reportedly has many years of managing tech companies, and does a lot of work for the US government, and has had numerous security clearances and insider contacts with Washington DC officials, thus he does not widely talk about what is coming to America. In fact, he told us he was called into the pentagon recently during the Georgia crisis when Russia invaded. Tim is the husband of Brenda Walsh, who hosts "Kidstime" on 3 ABN.

His talk today was entitled, "The Financial Crisis...Is the World trapped?" These are my notes from his talk--it is very sobering.

This is what is expected to occur in the next few weeks and months--a great depression. The world-wide markets almost collapsed 6 times in the past few months--almost totally evaporated!

All the world's debt far exceeds all the assets in the world. There is 1400 trillion dollars of world debt, but only 53 trillion dollars of world GNP (Gross National Product). The stock market has lost 8.3 trillion in past year. The true amount wiped out of 401K's this year is 5 trillion dollars.

Alan Greenspan said to lenders to give a lot of credit no matter what. In 2004 they started running out of buyers, so they increased the subprime lending & hedge funds to keep the economy going. Many bought into this--401K's, pensions, foreign governments. The leverage was 100:1 ($100 debt to $1 asset). In late 2005? things started collapsing, huge losses, $700 trillion dollars. In 2006 governments realized this huge problem and hired experts to try to find a solution, but haven't been able to. Then in 2007 the credit crunch hit--institutions didn't trust each other, were afraid the other institution would go bankrupt & so wouldn't lend to each other. In Aug. 2007 "Northern Rock" ? bank in England went bankrupt. In Feb. 2008 England nationalized banks.

This became the biggest crisis for the National Security Council here & abroad. The G-7 countries (The 7 largest economic nations) met. They said we have a crisis. Behr Sterns went bankrupt. Mar. 13, 100's of trillions of leverage w/ Behr Sterns & ----? In Aug. Donald Trump said the banks have no money! Housing & commercial projects are frozen--no money. The Velocity of money (money changing hands) in Nov. 07 was the slowest in history. Congress passed the stimulus check legislation to try to get our economy going.

We are now in the world's largest deflationary period in history. Huge decline in values. All leaders in the world of cities, states, countries are all worried whether they will even be around in 6 months. All governors have now been told not to have any press conferences telling of their dire circumstances. The government has now given 950 billion dollars to cities & states to try to keep them afloat. This is money that was not voted on/approved by us. They have also given billions to General Motors and Goodyear. There are 2000 companies asking for financial help, and saying that they are faced with laying off 40% of their employees. Large commercial companies told by Paulson to come directly to him for help. 250 billion. China called for a new world currency in Aug. 08 when our legislatures delayed on the 750 billion bail-out package, devaluing the dollar. Our economy is still melting down. From 8/08 to 9/22/08 trillions of $ have evaporated. There is virtually no money in the banks. Read 9th volume of the Testimonies, p. 11: "We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand....Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones."

Many countries' markets are open only 50% of the time to try to keep the markets from falling so low--Russia is one of them. The Russian Mob is going broke. The destruction of demand for products is the largest in the world. World-wide shipping is down 47 1/2 %--almost half of the ships are sitting idle. (And railroads) Tens of thousands of factories in China have been shut down this year. The economists and governments don't see any turn-around. Rev. 18:11 "And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore." The G-7 & the G-20 consulted 2 weeks ago, and plan to meet again for a world-wide meeting in November in the U.S. Every leader in the world is frightened to death. This meeting is all about how to do stimulus packages world-wide to stimulate the economy.

OUR LIFE AS WE NOW KNOW IT IS OVER. We will have to learn that we can get by on just 4 things--shelter, food, clothing, and a bath. There will be virtually no credit available. The party is over. We have used credit and have been spoiled. We must now live simply. Many will lose their homes.

Production by General Motors is down 45%, Volvo trucks down 96%. (25% is beyond depression levels.) The # of people looking for work is 11.8%, this will double. There will be 1930's unemployment levels. Business for restaurants is down 50%, dry cleaners 45%. There were 106,000 people & businesses filing for bankruptcies last month--the highest in history. Paulson said last week that we are now in a deep recession. Mr. Walsh said we are going into a depression, and estimates the stock market will drop 4000 points. There will be a lot of collective anger in our country and in the world. 9Testimonies p. 13: "Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime. THEY ARE STRUGGLING IN VAIN TO PLACE BUSINESS OPERATIONS ON A MORE SECURE BASIS." This depression is expected to last 10-15 years. He suggests you put your 401K's into safe treasury bills, money market accounts, CD's. He suggests to read the book by Jim Rogers, who on 10/10/08 said we are headed for a "massive inflation holocaust". There has been a big decline in the value of the dollar, and the government is now printing lots of dollars.

There will be a scarcity of agricultural commodities--FOOD! There will be a scarcity of many things--if you need a replacement for the engine of your snow blower, you might not get it, etc.

Read Rev. 10:8-10 and study the 2520 year prophecy which our pioneers taught. (He showed a copy of their early 1844 poster).

There will be a major shortage of food. There will be martial law. If this happens in the city where you are, stay safe where you are. Don't try to get home to your family for 2-3 days when things are calmer. You may be killed if you get near a mob. Have each family member prepared to stay safe where they are for 2-3 days. He believes there will be rationing and then they will dictate where you can spend your money.

Be calm, study the prophecies with others, and when unbelievers see your calmness (because you know how this ends) they will come to you for guidance. Matthew 24: 12, 13, 14

A 10,000 foot financial tidal wave is coming. Read Daniel 11:40, 41, 43; and Rev. 13:17, 18. This is where we are. Another 7-9 million people are expected to lose their homes. 30 million homes are now worth less than what the owners owe.
You need to be thinking as a family of a plan as to how you will survive.
Sept 9, 2008 the Pope issued a statement calling for Sunday worship.

Read CW 41 p.1. We are to be students of prophecy. He believes we are near the 4th angel of Revelation. Read Prov. 28:19 and Prov. 3:9,10. Matthew 24.

end of notes

( Mr. Walsh’s presentation has only been offered at two previous venues. )


=====================================================

Should we make preparations for lack of food during the Sunday laws?

Satan is quoted here . . .

"Through my vicegerent, I will exalt myself. The first day will be extolled, and the Protestant world will receive this spurious sabbath as genuine. Through the nonobservance of the Sabbath that God instituted, I will bring His law into contempt. The words, 'A sign between Me and you throughout your generations,' I will make to serve on the side of my sabbath.
"Thus the world will become mine. I will be the ruler of the earth, the prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God's Sabbath shall be a special object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws will be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God's law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion." {Prophets and Kings 184.1,2}

This is clearly telling us that some Sabbath keepers will be lacking food during the Sunday laws. If we make preparations now, by storing food and having a garden, we will not suffer as much physical strain during the Little Time of Trouble.

"When power is allied with wickedness, it is allied to Satanic agencies, and it will work to destroy those who are the Lord's property. The Protestant world have set up an idol sabbath in the place where God's Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country [places,] where they may cultivate the land and raise their own produce. Thus they may bring their children up with simple, healthful habits. I see the necessity of making haste to get all things ready for the crisis." --Letter 90, 1897. {Country Living 21.1}

There is a crisis coming and we need to get ready for the Satanic attacks, both spiritually and bodily. Lacking food and housing will be a great problem during that time. If we have a mortgage, we may lose our home after a short while since we cannot spend money at that time. Some of us will have to join others in their homes that are free and clear from mortgages.
Now, we are told that we do not need to worry about our food during the Great Time of Trouble, as we will be fed by God through his agents, angels or ravens. At this time the plagues will be falling and everyone’s destiny will have been decided.

Here are some resources you may wish to use in your search for info on food and housing:

http://www.mountainmediaministries.org/ Independent SDA group with DVD’s and CD updates

http://www.backwoodshome.com/ Primitive living ideas

http://www.lehmans.com/ Tools and supplies. Amish

http://www.beprepared.com/ Food in #10 size cans for 7-10 year storage of freeze dried or dehydrated

http://www.survivalacres.com/ Food in #10 size cans for 7-10 year storage


Some foods can last a long time right off the grocery store shelves, such as pasta and canned sauce, 20 lb bags of rice, white flour, sugar, beans and lintels, peanut butter, shortening for greasing pans. Wheat berry can be purchased in large bags and will last for years, and can be found at your county coop, and when needed, it can be ground into flour using a mill, like that at beprepared.com. For making bread, one can purchase freeze dried yeast in bulk for later usage. Freeze dried food is tastier than dehydrated. When storing up seeds to use in later years, only open pollinated seeds or heirloom seeds should be purchased. See http://www.seedsavers.org/ http://www.rhshumway.com/ Most seeds available are only good for one growing season.
Water is another necessity. If you have a well, spring or creek nearby this will be helpful. Otherwise, one may have to store up drinking water. A good water purifier is the Big Berkey, found on-line at beprepared.com.
.

(Excerpt)

.
Source: http://www.seventh-day.org/depression.htm

.

A Great Economic Depression is Coming!

Are you ready?
This may lead into the Mark of the Beast showdown

Tim Walsh (SDA) says a Great Depression is coming soon
(Below are notes taken from a presentation he gave recently)

I attended the presentation today, Nov. 8, 2008, at the _____________ SDA church by Tim Walsh, CEO of epipeline. He reportedly has many years of managing tech companies, and does a lot of work for the US government, and has had numerous security clearances and insider contacts with Washington DC officials, thus he does not widely talk about what is coming to America. In fact, he told us he was called into the pentagon recently during the Georgia crisis when Russia invaded. Tim is the husband of Brenda Walsh, who hosts "Kidstime" on 3 ABN.

His talk today was entitled, "The Financial Crisis...Is the World trapped?" These are my notes from his talk--it is very sobering. This is what is expected to occur in the next few weeks and months--a great depression. The world-wide markets almost collapsed 6 times in the past few months--almost totally evaporated! All the world's debt far exceeds all the assets in the world. There is 1400 trillion dollars of world debt, but only 53 trillion dollars of world GNP (Gross National Product). The stock market has lost 8.3 trillion in past year. The true amount wiped out of 401K's this year is 5 trillion dollars. Alan Greenspan said to lenders to give a lot of credit no matter what. In 2004 they started running out of buyers, so they increased the subprime lending & hedge funds to keep the economy going. Many bought into this--401K's, pensions, foreign governments. The leverage was 100:1 ($100 debt to $1 asset). In late 2005? things started collapsing, huge losses, $700 trillion dollars. In 2006 governments realized this huge problem and hired experts to try to find a solution, but haven't been able to. Then in 2007 the credit crunch hit--institutions didn't trust each other, were afraid the other institution would go bankrupt & so wouldn't lend to each other. In Aug. 2007 "Northern Rock" ? bank in England went bankrupt. In Feb. 2008 England nationalized banks. This became the biggest crisis for the National Security Council here & abroad. The G-7 countries (The 7 largest economic nations) met. They said we have a crisis. Behr Sterns went bankrupt. Mar. 13, 100's of trillions of leverage w/ Behr Sterns & ----? In Aug. Donald Trump said the banks have no money! Housing & commercial projects are frozen--no money. The Velocity of money (money changing hands) in Nov. 07 was the slowest in history. Congress passed the stimulus check legislation to try to get our economy going. We are now in the world's largest deflationary period in history. Huge decline in values. All leaders in the world of cities, states, countries are all worried whether they will even be around in 6 months. All governors have now been told not to have any press conferences telling of their dire circumstances. The government has now given 950 billion dollars to cities & states to try to keep them afloat. This is money that was not voted on/approved by us. They have also given billions to General Motors and Goodyear. There are 2000 companies asking for financial help, and saying that they are faced with laying off 40% of their employees. Large commercial companies told by Paulson to come directly to him for help. 250 billion. China called for a new world currency in Aug. 08 when our legislatures delayed on the 750 billion bail-out package, devaluing the dollar. Our economy is still melting down. From 8/08 to 9/22/08 trillions of $ have evaporated. There is virtually no money in the banks. Read 9th volume of the Testimonies, p. 11: "We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand....Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones." Many countries' markets are open only 50% of the time to try to keep the markets from falling so low--Russia is one of them. The Russian Mob is going broke. The destruction of demand for products is the largest in the world. World-wide shipping is down 47 1/2 %--almost half of the ships are sitting idle. (And railroads) Tens of thousands of factories in China have been shut down this year. The economists and governments don't see any turn-around. Rev. 18:11 "And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore." The G-7 & the G-20 consulted 2 weeks ago, and plan to meet again for a world-wide meeting in November in the U.S. Every leader in the world is frightened to death. This meeting is all about how to do stimulus packages world-wide to stimulate the economy. OUR LIFE AS WE NOW KNOW IT IS OVER. We will have to learn that we can get by on just 4 things--shelter, food, clothing, and a bath. There will be virtually no credit available. The party is over. We have used credit and have been spoiled. We must now live simply. Many will lose their homes. Production by General Motors is down 45%, Volvo trucks down 96%. (25% is beyond depression levels.) The # of people looking for work is 11.8%, this will double. There will be 1930's unemployment levels. Business for restaurants is down 50%, dry cleaners 45%. There were 106,000 people & businesses filing for bankruptcies last month--the highest in history. Paulson said last week that we are now in a deep recession. Mr. Walsh said we are going into a depression, and estimates the stock market will drop 4000 points. There will be a lot of collective anger in our country and in the world. 9Testimonies p. 13: "Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime. THEY ARE STRUGGLING IN VAIN TO PLACE BUSINESS OPERATIONS ON A MORE SECURE BASIS." This depression is expected to last 10-15 years. He suggests you put your 401K's into safe treasury bills, money market accounts, CD's. He suggests to read the book by Jim Rogers, who on 10/10/08 said we are headed for a "massive inflation holocaust". There has been a big decline in the value of the dollar, and the government is now printing lots of dollars. There will be a scarcity of agricultural commodities--FOOD! There will be a scarcity of many things--if you need a replacement for the engine of your snow blower, you might not get it, etc. Read Rev. 10:8-10 and study the 2520 year prophecy which our pioneers taught. (He showed a copy of their early 1844 poster). There will be a major shortage of food. There will be martial law. If this happens in the city where you are, stay safe where you are. Don't try to get home to your family for 2-3 days when things are calmer. You may be killed if you get near a mob. Have each family member prepared to stay safe where they are for 2-3 days. He believes there will be rationing and then they will dictate where you can spend your money. Be calm, study the prophecies with others, and when unbelievers see your calmness (because you know how this ends) they will come to you for guidance. Matthew 24: 12, 13, 14 A 10,000 foot financial tidal wave is coming. Read Daniel 11:40, 41, 43; and Rev. 13:17, 18. This is where we are. Another 7-9 million people are expected to lose their homes. 30 million homes are now worth less than what the owners owe. You need to be thinking as a family of a plan as to how you will survive. Sept 9, 2008 the Pope issued a statement calling for Sunday worship. Read CW 41 p.1. We are to be students of prophecy. He believes we are near the 4th angel of Revelation. Read Prov. 28:19 and Prov. 3:9,10. Matthew 24.

end of notes ( Mr. Walsh’s presentation has only been offered at two previous venues. )
=====================================================

Should we make preparations for lack of foodduring the Sunday laws?
Satan is quoted here . . . "Through my vicegerent, I will exalt myself. The first day will be extolled, and the Protestant world will receive this spurious sabbath as genuine. Through the nonobservance of the Sabbath that God instituted, I will bring His law into contempt. The words, 'A sign between Me and you throughout your generations,' I will make to serve on the side of my sabbath. "Thus the world will become mine. I will be the ruler of the earth, the prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God's Sabbath shall be a special object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws will be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God's law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion." {Prophets and Kings 184.1,2}

This is clearly telling us that some Sabbath keepers will be lacking food during the Sunday laws. If we make preparations now, by storing food and having a garden, we will not suffer as much physical strain during the Little Time of Trouble.

"When power is allied with wickedness, it is allied to Satanic agencies, and it will work to destroy those who are the Lord's property. The Protestant world have set up an idol sabbath in the place where God's Sabbath should be, and they are treading in the footsteps of the Papacy. For this reason I see the necessity of the people of God moving out of the cities into retired country [places,] where they may cultivate the land and raise their own produce. Thus they may bring their children up with simple, healthful habits. I see the necessity of making haste to get all things ready for the crisis." --Letter 90, 1897. {Country Living 21.1}

There is a crisis coming and we need to get ready for the Satanic attacks, both spiritually and bodily. Lacking food and housing will be a great problem during that time. If we have a mortgage, we may lose our home after a short while since we cannot spend money at that time. Some of us will have to join others in their homes that are free and clear from mortgages.
Now, we are told that we do not need to worry about our food during the Great Time of Trouble, as we will be fed by God through his agents, angels or ravens. At this time the plagues will be falling and everyone’s destiny will have been decided.

Here are some resources you may wish to use in your search for info on food and housing:
http://www.mountainmediaministries.org/ Independent SDA group with DVD’s and CD updates
http://www.backwoodshome.com/ Primitive living ideas
http://www.lehmans.com/ Tools and supplies. Amish
http://www.beprepared.com/ Food in #10 size cans for 7-10 year storage of freeze dried or dehydrated
http://www.survivalacres.com/ Food in #10 size cans for 7-10 year storage

Some foods can last a long time right off the grocery store shelves, such as pasta and canned sauce, 20 lb bags of rice, white flour, sugar, beans and lintels, peanut butter, shortening for greasing pans. Wheat berry can be purchased in large bags and will last for years, and can be found at your county coop, and when needed, it can be ground into flour using a mill, like that at beprepared.com. For making bread, one can purchase freeze dried yeast in bulk for later usage. Freeze dried food is tastier than dehydrated. When storing up seeds to use in later years, only open pollinated seeds or heirloom seeds should be purchased. See http://www.seedsavers.org/ http://www.rhshumway.com/ Most seeds available are only good for one growing season.
Water is another necessity. If you have a well, spring or creek nearby this will be helpful. Otherwise, one may have to store up drinking water. A good water purifier is the Big Berkey, found on-line at http://www.beprepared.com/.

.

.

Source: http://www.seventh-day.org/depression.htm

,

,