Brother, Can You Spare a Trillion?

Brother, Can You Spare a Trillion?

The full page ad in Ruppert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal for its “Future of Finance Initiative” starts off by saying that the financial system has

Proposed U.S. Budget

Proposed U.S. Budget

The new budget tells the story. The U.S. government collects taxes from Americans and debt tithes globally and then gives the money to the banks

Sam Smith Moves To Maine

Sam Smith Moves To Maine

The Progressive Review is one of the finest news sources around. It’s esteemed publisher is proof positive that not everyone who graduates from Harvard goes

Help Keep GATA Going

Help Keep GATA Going

A Challenge From a Tennessee Hillbilly to Help GATA By Chris Powell – GATA (3 Mar 09) “Thanks to some of you, GATA has met

Numbers in the News

Numbers in the News

Mathematicians Discover the Largest Number Consent of the Governed Blog (11 Feb 2009) PALO ALTO, CA – An international mathematics research team announced today that

Charles Walters: 1926 ~ 2009

Charles Walters: 1926 ~ 2009

“It’s with great sadness that we pass along the news that Acres U.S.A. founder/executive editor Charles Walters passed away on January 14, 2009…” . .

Paul Harvey: 1918 ~ 2009

Paul Harvey: 1918 ~ 2009

Paul Harvey at Wikipedia Paul Harvey Tribute – ABC Broadcasting Pioneer Paul Harvey Dies at Age 90 – Yahoo.com

The China Question

The China Question

There is a Internet rumor that the U.S. has granted the Chinese the power of eminent domain if the U.S. defaults on its debt. This

Water Wonders

Water Wonders

Simple elixir called a ‘miracle liquid’ Los Angeles Times – By Marla Dickerson (23 Feb 2009)

Sales of "Atlas Shrugged" Soar

Sales of "Atlas Shrugged" Soar

Sales of “Atlas Shrugged” Soar in the Face of Economic Crisis Washington, D.C., February 23, 2009—Sales of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” have almost tripled over

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Editor, The Nation Ladies and Gentlemen: On February 13th, you published “The Peterson Foundation Responds” by David Walker, CEO of The Peterson Foundation (See Peterson

Financial Coup d'Etat & Your 401k: Uh-oh

Financial Coup d'Etat & Your 401k: Uh-oh

Now that social security is being looted, the time has come to replenish it with the remaining balances in our 401k’s. The George Orwell award

Bubba Goes Green; Fox is Miffed

Bubba Goes Green; Fox is Miffed

This first video is a documentary which describes a Southern Christian community exploring the creation of an ethanol business for energy independence and other businesses

The Data Beast – Part VI

The Data Beast – Part VI

In Stanley Kubrick’s thriller, Eyes Wide Shut, we watch as Dr. Bill Harford (played by Tom Cruise) attends a private party given by a secret

Understanding Financial Terminology

Understanding Financial Terminology

Step one to understanding the economy and finance is simply understanding the accounting and financial terms that are new to you or which you do

Looting Social Security

Looting Social Security

William Greider of The Nation has written a excellent description of the coming assault on the social safety net. Trillions have been stolen, yet rather

Bank Nationalization

Bank Nationalization

A question in from a network member: So I would like your take on the situation: Is the movement to nationalize banks: a way to

Rigorous Intuition

Rigorous Intuition

In 1997, a strategic planning group at the CIA made a visit to my company in Washington. They brought with them a woman whose job

John Taylor Gatto

John Taylor Gatto

I just heard a recording of an outstanding speech by John Taylor Gatto called “A Short, Angry History of Modern Schooling.” Check out his website.

Seed Monopolists

Seed Monopolists

From “Planting Seeds” in The Guardian in January: “Bill and Melinda Gates hate controversy, but the world’s top philanthropists do seem to be moving ever

Kiss an Entreprenuer Today!

Kiss an Entreprenuer Today!

Did you know that from 1980-2005, firms less than five years old accounted for all net job growth in the United States? This statistic is

States vs. Feds

States vs. Feds

There is a war going on but it is not one we are reading about in the news. As tax revenues decline, the federal government

Nassim Taleb & the Black Swan

Nassim Taleb & the Black Swan

Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, talks straight about bailouts and makes sound suggestions about solutions. For example, how can you fix anything if

The Stimulus Wiki

The Stimulus Wiki

Here is a great idea – using wiki technology to bring transparency to government spending, starting with the stimulus package. The Stimulus Wiki OK, anyone

From the Netherlands

From the Netherlands

View this slide show from a network member: Understanding and Navigating the Economic Crisis update Lots of suggestions to help you take action.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My favorite man came over this afternoon with a pink rose and a card. The cover read: ” Please, please, please, please be my Valentine!”

Highlights of The Stimulus Bill

Highlights of The Stimulus Bill

The Associated Press breakdown of approximately $700 billion of the $789 billion economic stimulus bill agreed to by the Senate and House: Aid To Poor

The Data Beast – Part V

The Data Beast – Part V

Aaron Russo was a fearless, talented, capable man. He loved life and people. He could not fathom why millions of Americans were adapting to fascism.

The Data Beast – Part IV

The Data Beast – Part IV

From Sam Smith The Progressive Review – 11 Feb 2009 Washington Monthly – The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology isn’t “new”; it was created

The Data Beast – Part III

The Data Beast – Part III

I grew up next to a University campus. My parents loved to learn. Our home was filled with books and people from diverse backgrounds. One

Credit Freeze

Credit Freeze

I froze my credit recently. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws requiring the credit bureaus to enable consumers to protect their

The Data Beast – Part II

The Data Beast – Part II

In assessing the advisability of a national health database, it is valuable to understand that a national health database will be: one of many databases

The Financial Stability Plan

The Financial Stability Plan

Here is the fact sheet and the new website for the Administration’s Financial Stability Plan. Lord Acton once said, “The issue which has swept down the

US Government Debt Grows

US Government Debt Grows

“The net supply of Treasurys in 2009 and 2010 combined seems likely to total more than $3 trillion and could climb as high as $4

The Data Beast – Part I

The Data Beast – Part I

When I served as Assistant Secretary of Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the first Bush Administration, I discovered that

Financial Permaculture: What Is It?

Financial Permaculture: What Is It?

Financial Permaculture on Vimeo. Watch the video from the first-ever Financial Permaculture Summit in Hohenwald, Tennessee.

Executive Order on Health Information Technology

Executive Order on Health Information Technology

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (popularly referred to as the President’s economic stimulus plan) as engrossed in the House of Representatives (as

Produce the Note

Produce the Note

Here is an excellent idea from one of our finest Congressional Representatives: Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. View the Mortgage Squatting video on YouTube

Derivatives R' Us

Derivatives R' Us

Rob Kirby of Kirby Analytics is the Sherlock Holmes on the tail of the derivatives cabal. Here is the product of his latest sleuthing.

Rethinking Diversification

Rethinking Diversification

[Originally Posted on Feb 2, 2009] For our entire lives, most of us have depended on highly centralized systems. Our food comes from a thousand

Look at the Time

Look at the Time

Occasionally I have someone tell me that they have to subscribe to corporate media because they need to know what “they” are saying. I understand

The Dow: 2009 vs. 1929

The Dow: 2009 vs. 1929

Mark Lundeen each week sends me his comparison of the Dow Jones Industrial Average decline since October 2007 relative to declines after September 1929. Given

US State & Local Government Pension Funds

US State & Local Government Pension Funds

According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, in The Funding Status of Locally Administered Pension Plans by Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry,

More on NAIS

More on NAIS

The Department of Agriculture continues its efforts to implement the National Animal Identification System. Here are proposed new rules published on January 13, 2009.

What Companies Are Actually Doing Well?

What Companies Are Actually Doing Well?

According to a NY Times article, the following industries have experienced significant sales growth in the last 12 months (privately owned companies only): View a

IRA Rollovers:Tax Laws Affecting Investors

IRA Rollovers:Tax Laws Affecting Investors

Leaving your current place of employment? Here are frequently asked questions about IRA rollovers from employee sponsored plans. Read the complete article …

The Fed's Blueprint for Market Intervention

The Fed's Blueprint for Market Intervention

by James Turk Read the full article on gata.org An important document buried in the Federal Reserve’s archives has been discovered by writer and researcher

Money R' Us: We Break It, We Fix It

Money R' Us: We Break It, We Fix It

Larry Summers, engineer of the housing bubble and gold price suppression, is returning to power on Monday. Ditto, the folks who lost $3.3 trillion at

The Pump and Dump

The Pump and Dump

The financial fraud known as “pump and dump” involves artificially inflating the price of a stock or other security through promotion, in order to sell

Biggest Full Moon of the Year

Biggest Full Moon of the Year

Biggest Full Moon of the Year: Take 2 NASA (08 Jan 2009) This Saturday night, Jan. 10th, a perigee Moon is coming — the biggest

I.O.U.S.A. Documentary

I.O.U.S.A. Documentary

CNN is running the documentary ‘I.O.U.S.A.’ this weekend. We thought you might find our commentary from this summer regarding ‘I.O.U.S.A.’ of interest.

Citigroup says Rubin Has Retired from Bank

Citigroup says Rubin Has Retired from Bank

Citigroup Inc. said Robert Rubin has retired from the bank. According to a spokesman, “Rubin did not anticipate the ‘extreme circumstances’ that the financial system

Will Defense Run the "Real" Stimulus Package?

Will Defense Run the "Real" Stimulus Package?

In fiscal 1999, the Department of Defense was “missing” $2.3 trillion dollars. To put that amount of money in perspective, it is approximately 3X what

Red Brocade

Red Brocade

The Arabs used to say, When a stranger appears at your door, feed him for three days before asking who he is, where he’s from,

The Fix Is In

The Fix Is In

There appears to be a chorus of people with very good resumes predicting that the dollar is about to fall. While the economic fundamentals for

Panetta Picked to Head CIA

Panetta Picked to Head CIA

Obama Picks Leon Panetta to Head CIA Yahoo News (05 Jan 2009) Leon Panetta on Wikipedia wikipedia.org Central Intelligence Agency on Wikipedia wikipedia.org

2008: The Year in Markets

2008: The Year in Markets

The following snapshot from MarketWatch reveals that 2008 was, indeed, a difficult year for many investors.

Putting Madoff in Perspective

Putting Madoff in Perspective

These days I am wondering if Madoff’s biggest problem is that he stole from the rich. Feels to me like when you steal from ordinary

The Lewis County Herald

The Lewis County Herald

One of the things that makes a town wonderful is a great local newspaper. Hohenwald, Tennessee (of financial permaculture fame) has the Lewis County Herald,

Ivy League Endowments

Ivy League Endowments

The housing and derivatives bubble sure was good for retired Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and wife NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell. They

A Boycott by Any Other Name …

A Boycott by Any Other Name …

by James Bowen, National Chairperson of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/848045.html In the late 19th century, changes in Ottoman law created a new class of

Eartha Kitt: An Anti-War Patriot

Eartha Kitt: An Anti-War Patriot

Forty years ago, America’s cultural icons expressed the frustratation of the American people with the failure of then-President Lyndon Johnson to end this country’s undeclared

The Red Button Problem

The Red Button Problem

By Catherine Austin Fitts In the summer of 2000, I asked a group of 100 people at a conference of spiritually committed people who would

In Hoc Anno Domini

In Hoc Anno Domini

Vermont Royster’s Christmas message of 1949 has been republished by the Wall Street Journal every Christmas since. As I can not think of a more

Look Out Below?

Look Out Below?

The U.S. Dollar just took a nose dive….

Bloomberg v. The Fed

Bloomberg v. The Fed

I have been searching for updates on Bloomberg’s lawsuit seeking disclosure of collateral held by the Fed in exchange for a trillion plus in loans.

Firefighters and Sheriffs v. Bob Rubin et. al.

Firefighters and Sheriffs v. Bob Rubin et. al.

The Minneapolis Firefighters and the Southern Louisiana Sheriffs have taken on CitiGroup and the Citi board and underwriters. It’s one thing to put up with

Critical Issues Not Addressed in the Bailout

Critical Issues Not Addressed in the Bailout

On December 2, the US Congress’ investigative arm — the GAO — criticized the Treasury Department’s handling of the $700 billion bailout program: Read the

We Ask Your Prayers

We Ask Your Prayers

This photograph shows me being sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Housing by Jack Kemp in 1989. My dear friend, Georgie LaRue, is holding the

Give Mint Oil for Xmas

Give Mint Oil for Xmas

I just got my box of mint oil drams from Crosby Mint Farm. It is excellent. In fact, I sent the planned presents out to

Spectacular Conjunction

Spectacular Conjunction

At the end of the day, when the horizon is turning red and the zenith is cobalt-blue, step outside and look southwest. You’ll see Venus

Cheney Indicted for Prison Profiteering

Cheney Indicted for Prison Profiteering

I decided to search out the reported indictment of Vice President Richard Cheney… Texas DA Reveals Evidence Against Cheney The Raw Story (27 November 2008)

The Big Lie

The Big Lie

Here is a must-see video: 137 pages of foreclosure notices in the Detroit Free Press BEFORE the bailout and resulting layoffs from the big three

Follow-Up to My G20 "Translation"

Follow-Up to My G20 "Translation"

Following my recent interpretation of the G20 communique, the editor of Expresso wrote back: “Catherine, can you elaborate a little more about this printing euphoria?”

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

A young man named John received a parrot as an early Christmas gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every

Coast to Coast "Curriculum"

Coast to Coast "Curriculum"

I was interviewed on Coast to Coast Am Radio last night. As is sometimes the case, we were unable to publicize this interview — I

A GATA Gathering in Estonia

A GATA Gathering in Estonia

Before I left for Estonia, GATA Treasurer Chris Powell sent a message out on the GATA wire, Meet GATA Board Member Austin Fitts in Estonia,

Christmas is Coming in Estonia

Christmas is Coming in Estonia

After watching a fantastic movement performance by a troupe of Von Krahl students, giving my speech on the global financial system and listening to Paul

Is There Life After Capitalism?

Is There Life After Capitalism?

This is a question that the producers and artists of the Von Krahl Theatre in Estonia have asked. They lived through the meltdown of the

Tallinn Old Town

Tallinn Old Town

After flying through Amsterdam, I arrived in Tallinn this evening. The temperature is -7 and the air is dry, crisp and clear.  I am staying

Farm Hands Web Site

Farm Hands Web Site

The wonderful Farm Hands in Flathead Valley, Montana have just launched a web site so that on-line folks can access the amazing maps they have

Statement From G-20 Summit: In English

Statement From G-20 Summit: In English

The Editor of Expresso in Portugal wanted my take on the recent G-20 communique. Here is my “translation” of the official statement: 1. Now that

"Free and Inspired Life Workshop"   Assessment

"Free and Inspired Life Workshop" Assessment

Dear Solari workshop participants, I wanted to express my thanks to all of you for attending the Solari workshop last weekend. Even though I didn’t

The Barter Opportunity

The Barter Opportunity

Catherine’s speech on local bartering at the IRTA conference is now available on Google Video: You have heard me say or write before “in the