>A Timeline of the Mortgage Crisis: A field guide to the loan sharks and politicos who got us into the predatory lending mess.by Nomi PrinsMotherJones.com (July 02 2008)1913: Federal Reserve Act creates national banking system.1914: Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices.1933: With memories of 1929 stock crash still fresh, Glass-Steagall Act … Continue reading >Where Credit Is Due →

>by Barry Greywsws.org (January 19 2009)Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)Less than four months after Congress passed the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), authorizing the Treasury Department to spend $700 billion in taxpayer money to bail out the banks, the same banks that received the government handouts are reporting … Continue reading >The case for nationalizing the banks →

>by Christopher WoodFinancial Times FT.com (January 20 2009)As newspaper headlines are full of stories about more forced capital injections by governments into leading American and British banks, it has surely become time to end the present ad hoc approach to the intensifying banking crisis.In the US and Britain most of the big banks have now … Continue reading >The Swedish model is the best hope for western banks →

>by John Michael GreerThe Archdruid Report (January 28 2009)Druid perspectives on nature, culture, and the future of industrial societyLast week's Archdruid Report post was a bit of a departure from this blog's normal fare, but it was a departure with a purpose. By turning a spotlight on the way that so many Americans have projected … Continue reading >The Ecology of Social Change →

>by Richard A Werner The Daily Yomiuri (January 29 2009)US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke gave an interesting speech at the London School of Economics in mid-January. Unusual for speeches by the head of a major central bank, Bernanke was fairly direct in his message and coherent in his analysis. He also gave some … Continue reading >Bernanke’s speech shows where BOJ failed →

>Climate Changeby Bill McKibbenCommon Dreams (January 05 2009)Act now, we're told, if we want to save the planet from a climate catastrophe. Trouble is, it might be too late. The science is settled, and the damage has already begun. The only question now is whether we will stop playing political games and embrace the few … Continue reading >Think Again →

>This is how a government elected to stamp out sleaze became worse than its predecessor.by George MonbiotThe Guardian (January 27 2009)So now the circle is closed. The government which won a landslide victory in 1997 after Tory MPs were revealed to have taken cash for parliamentary questions now faces far graver allegations: cash for laws … Continue reading >Squandered →

>Clusterfuck Nation by Jim KunstlerComment on current events by the author ofThe Long Emergency (2005)www.kunstler.com (January 26 2009)Just as Mr Obama has danced into the oval office, we've arrived at a moment when a lot of people have a hard time imagining the future. This includes especially the mainstream media, which has reached a state … Continue reading >State of Cringe →

>by James PetrasInformation Clearinghouse (December 12 2008)Obama asks Shimon Peres: "What can I do for Israel?"-- Haaretz (November 17 2008)The UN Special Rappateur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories (Richard Falk) has said Israel's policies there amount to a crime against humanity ... He said the UN must act to protect the Palestinian population … Continue reading >Barack Obama: "America’s First Jewish President" →

>An Option for Proactive Change before Collapseby Jan LundbergCulture Change Letter #221 (December 19 2008)Will Obama be a Greater Gorbachev?Housing starts in the US are down 47% as of thirteen months ago. Prices of commodities, not just oil, are falling because of job losses unseen since 1947. Oil is still very costly when subsidies are … Continue reading >Dissolve the US →