Education — All Bubble and No Champagne « The Burning Platform

Education — All Bubble and No Champagne « The Burning Platform

 Guest Post by Monty Pelerin

Education in the United States is a disgrace. Education is all bubble and no champagne. It should be viewed as one of the biggest tragedies ever imposed by government, perhaps even including the violence of war.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, there is an opportunity in this post. Make yourself a lot of money while making most of the country very happy.

Government runs education like it runs everything else — terribly. Whatever government “fixes” it makes worse!  It mucks things up at all levels. Education is an easily demonstrated government example of ineptness that need not be.

The tragedy of the education system is that it destroys lives. Generations of poor are condemned to stay poor without proper education. Schools in poor neighborhoods are sub-standard, guaranteeing no escape. This outcome is considered political collateral damage. Politicians, especially Democrats, find it politically expedient to write off lives to placate constituents. Some say creating more ignorant people is good for the political class.

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Jesse's Café Américain: President Carter: US Is Now 'Just an Oligarchy Wi...

Jesse's Café Américain: President Carter: US Is Now 'Just an Oligarchy Wi...:

You might not have heard about this interview on the mainstream media.  It occurred several days ago.  Apparently Jimmy is not gleefully participating in the triumphant Clinton-Bush winners road tour and congenial yukfest. 

Some, nearing the latter part of their days, tend to feel the weight of their conscience.  But certainly not all, especially not those who believe in nothing greater than themselves.

Carter's startling admission is at the root, the very heart of the lack of reform and recovery. 

But the pundits, even the so-called liberal media and the disgruntled conservative media, will not discuss it frankly and openly.   They traffic in shallow anger and distraction, and faithfully serve the special interests.

And there is as little serious discussion in the pampered corporatist media, whose mission is to obfuscate and distract the public from the key issues with 'bread, circuses, and sensationalism.'

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Is Turkey On The Path To Restoring The Ottoman Empire? | Zero Hedge

Is Turkey On The Path To Restoring The Ottoman Empire? | Zero Hedge

Over the past two days, we’ve documented the escalating violence in Turkey, tracing the roots of Ankara’s newfound zeal for combating Islamic State to a long-running conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party and, more specifically, to an electoral setback for AKP.

In short, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s push to consolidate his power by transforming the country into a presidential republic was derailed last month when, for the first time in more than a decade, AKP lost its absolute majority in parliament thanks to the pro-Kurdish HDP which won 13% of the vote.  

The coalition building process has been predictably rocky, prompting Erdogan to threaten new elections in the event politicians can't "sort it out." Needing just two percentage points to regain its majority and clear the way for Erdogan’s power grab, Ankara has moved to stoke a nationalistic fervor by reigniting the conflict with PKK and drawing explicit links between the "terrorist" group and HDP politicians. Case in point (from AFP): 

Turkish prosecutors on Thursday opened a probe against the leader of Turkey's main Kurdish party over bloody October 2014 protests, the official Anatolia news agency reported.

Prosecutors in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir have started an investigation against Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas for inciting people to take up arms during the protests that left dozens dead, the agency said.

If the case comes to court, he could face up to 24 years in jail, it added.

The investigation comes as Turkey presses on with a military campaign against the Kurdish militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

Should the investigation conclude that Demirtas should be charged, prosecutors will ask that his parliamentary immunity be removed, the report said.

Of course it helps to have a cover for a brutal crackdown on one’s political foes, especially when the result will likely amount to the nullification of a democratic election outcome, which is why the ISIS-inspired suicide bombing in Suruc on July 20 looks rather convenient, as it prompted an angry and, more importantly, a predictable response from the PKK which allowed Erdogan to go straight to the US and then to NATO with a claim that in addition to launching airstrikes against ISIS, Turkey would need to hit the PKK as well. After all, they’re both officially labeled as "terrorist" organizations. 

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Now the Turks Are All In — Patrick J. Buchanan - Official Website

Now the Turks Are All In — Patrick J. Buchanan - Official Website

By Patrick J. Buchanan

All through the Cold War, the Turks were among America’s most reliable allies.

After World War II, when Stalin encroached upon Turkey and Greece, Harry Truman came to the rescue. Turkey reciprocated by sending thousands of troops to fight alongside our GIs in Korea.

Turkey joined NATO and let the U.S. station Jupiter missiles in their country. When JFK secretly traded away the Jupiters for removal of the Soviet missiles in Cuba, the Turks went along.

Early this century, under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey seemed to be emerging as a major power, a land bridge between Europe and the Islamic world, a friend to its neighbors, and future member of the EU.

But, recently, a U.S. diplomat blurted, “The Turks are out of their lane!”

And that describes the situation succinctly and well.

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Debt Slaves: 7 Out Of 10 Americans Believe That Debt "Is A Necessity In Their Lives" | Zero Hedge

Debt Slaves: 7 Out Of 10 Americans Believe That Debt "Is A Necessity In Their Lives" | Zero Hedge

Submitted by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

Could you live without debt?  Most Americans say that they cannot.  According to a brand new Pew survey, approximately 7 out of every 10 Americans believe that “debt is a necessity in their lives”, and approximately 8 out of every 10 Americans actually have debt right now.  Most of us like to think that “someday” we will get out of the hole and quit being debt slaves, but very few of us ever actually accomplish this.  That is because the entire system is designed to trap us in debt before we even get out into the “real world” and keep us in debt until we die.  Sadly, most Americans don’t even realize what is being done to them.

In America today, debt is considered to be just part of normal life.  We go into debt to go to college, we go into debt to buy a vehicle, we go into debt to buy a home, and we are constantly using our credit cards to buy the things that we think we need.

As a result, this generation of Americans is absolutely swimming in debt.  The following are some of the findings of the Pew survey that I mentioned above…

*”8 in 10 Americans have debt, with mortgages the most common liability.”

*”Although younger generations of Americans are the most likely to have debt (89 percent of Gen Xers and 86 percent of millennials do), older generations are increasingly carrying debt into retirement.”

*”7 in 10 Americans said debt is a necessity in their lives, even though they prefer not to have it.”

Most of us wish that we didn’t have any debt, but we have bought into the lie that it is a necessary part of life in America in the 21st century.

It has been estimated that 43 percent of all American households spend more money than they make each month, and U.S. households aremore than 11 trillion dollars in debt at this point.

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Incongruities in the News -- Paul Craig Roberts - PaulCraigRoberts.org

Incongruities in the News -- Paul Craig Roberts - PaulCraigRoberts.org

Paul Craig Roberts

Jonathan Pollard, a paid spy for Israel described by Michael D. Shear as “one of the country’s most notorious spies,” has been pardoned from his life sentence. It strikes me as hypocritical for the US government to sentence anyone to prison for spying when the government itself spies on everyone everywhere. All Americans including members of the House and Senate, congressional staff, military officers, foreign governments including the leaders of Washington’s closest allies, and foreign businesses are spied upon. No one is exempt from Washington’s spying.

Washington claims that its worldwide spying does no harm. So how did the very limited spying of one person—Pollard—a civilian employee of Naval intelligence do so much harm as to warrant a life sentence? What some of us would like to see is a life sentence for NSA.

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California Drought May Wipe Whole Towns off the Map | The Daily Sheeple

California Drought May Wipe Whole Towns off the Map | The Daily Sheeple

Joshua Krause
The Daily Sheeple
July 29th, 2015

People build cities and towns in many different regions on Earth, and for many different reasons. We seek out places that are easy to build our homes on, provide security, have an abundance of resources, or have easy access to neighboring communities. In the modern world however, many of our basic necessities are available no matter where we live, and it’s easy for us to take for granted the one resource that really matters. That resource is water of course, and if you don’t have it where you live, then all of the other advantages that might be found in your community’s location, are completely negated.

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Mises Daily | Mises Institute

Mises Daily | Mises Institute

If Spending Is Our Military Strategy, Our Strategy Is Bankrupt

• 

JULY 28, 2015Mark Mateski

TAGS Taxes and SpendingU.S. EconomyWar and Foreign Policy

Even today, few deny the long arm of US military might. After all, the US military exhausted the Soviet Union, crushed Saddam Hussein, and drove Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda into hiding.

To what should we attribute these triumphs? Some would say US planning and foresight. Others would mention the hard work and dedication of US soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Still others would point to the application of superior technology. All would be correct to some degree, but each of these explanations disregards the fact that for more than a lifetime, the United States has wildly outspent its military competitors.

For many years, the United States spent more on defense than the next ten big spenders combined. It turns out that’s no longer true, according to Jane’s and PPGF. But whether the current count is seven or nine, we must acknowledge that US dominance was purchased at a high cost.

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Affirmatively Destroying America's Neighborhoods In The War On Suburbia | Zero Hedge

Affirmatively Destroying America's Neighborhoods In The War On Suburbia | Zero Hedge

Submitted by Bob Livingston via PersonalLiberty.com,

Few of us understand patient gradualism. We live and have our being within a few years and mostly in an unconscious automated state of mind.

But people in power are long-term planners. They absolutely understand human nature and how to channel it to the evolution and refinement of the authoritarian state.

Authoritarianism is based on long-term planning. Authoritarianism is a philosophy of collectivism. Some call it democracy. Some call it communism. Some call it fascism. Some call it National Socialism. But whatever you call it, it is all collectivism or authoritarianism; and in its ultimate form it is globalism.

The goal is perfect docility and perfect harmony with authoritarianism (economic, social and spiritual). Until the people accept collectivism under some pretext, they are not docile and completely subdued. Once they do, rebellion and confrontation are impossible. This is the ultimate goal of the globalists, and the American system is nearing this state.

As I told you last week in “Why is the war on the Confederacy still going on today?,” the dismantling of the middle class has become the appointed, full-time task of the largest government alphabet soup agencies and Wall Street on behalf of globalism. The purpose behind this is that if those big middle-class producers and consumers can be decimated once and for all, then they can join the ranks of low-wage workers and more readily accept government largess and, thereby, become “hooked” on collectivism.

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The Archdruid Report: The Cimmerian Hypothesis, Part Three: The End of t...

The Archdruid Report: The Cimmerian Hypothesis, Part Three: The End of t...: Let's take a moment to recap the argument of the last two posts here on The Archdruid Report before we follow it through to its concl...

Going Back to School: The 1970s vs Today - Scary Mommy

Going Back to School: The 1970s vs Today - Scary Mommy

livermoreclasspics.org Back to School, 1970s:

1. Take the kids downtown to go shopping at Sears for back to school clothes the last week of August. Get everyone a new pair of corduroys and a striped tee shirt. Buy the boys a pair of dungarees and the girls a pair of culottes. No, Jennifer, you can't have that orange and red poncho. Promise you will crochet her a better one with much more fringe. Get the girls a package of that rainbow, fuzzy yarn they like in their hair. You are done. You have spent a total of $43.00. Now take everyone to the Woolworth's lunch counter for grilled cheeses and chocolate milk.

2. On the night before the first day of school (that would be the Sunday night after Labor Day, of course, you know, mid-September) throw the kids in the way back of the station wagon and drag them downtown to Eckerds, K-Mart, Ames, Dollar General, Drug Fair or the like and hurry them over to the back-to-school area to pick out a lunchbox. Make sure to tell them get a move on because you don't have all night for them to make a damn decision. They need to get in bed by eight and yes, they're going to miss the Wonderful World of Disney if they can't decide between The Fonz and Dukes of Hazzard. Good Lord, why is it so hard for them to pick? Tell Kimberly if she can't make up her mind between Holly Hobbie and The Bionic Woman then you're going to pick Pigs in Space and you don't want to hear another word about it until June. Grab a composition book for each of them and a pack of pencils too. That's all they need. Remember to save some grocery bags so they can cover their textbooks with them after the first day of school.

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Award-winning Serbian Director: World War III Will Start with the Pentagon Bombing of RT | The Daily Sheeple

Award-winning Serbian Director: World War III Will Start with the Pentagon Bombing of RT | The Daily Sheeple

July 28th, 2015

Award-winning Serbian director and musician Emir Kusturica believes that when Washington eventually starts World War III, RT will become one of its first and primary targets, being an extremely powerful weapon challenging US state propaganda.

In an article published by the Serbian daily Politika, Kusturica has aligned RT with Russia’s most powerful weapons, specifically the SS-18, an intercontinental ballistic missile which NATO is calling “Satan”:“The devil never comes alone! At the same time with this rocket and numerous other innovations, the TV Channel RT has also appeared among the Russian arsenal.”

The RT network, Kusturica says, is destroying the “Hollywood-CNN stereotype of the good and bad guys, where blacks, Hispanics, Russians, Serbs are the villains, and white Americans, wherever you look, are OK!”

READ MORE: US introduces $30 mn bill to target ‘Russian propaganda’, ISIS threat

“[US Secretary of State] Kerry and the congressmen are bothered by the fact that RT sends signals that the world is not determined by the inevitability of liberal capitalism, that the US is leading the world into chaos, that Monsanto is not producing healthy food, that Coca-Cola is ideal for cleaning automobile alloys and [is] not for the human stomach, that in Serbia the percentage of people who die from cancer has risen sharply due to the 1999 NATO bombings … that the fingerprints of the CIA are on the Ukrainian crisis, and that Blackwater fired at the Ukrainian police, and not Maidan activists,” the filmmaker wrote.

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Decarbonizing UK Electricity Generation – Five Options That Will Work | Energy Matters

Decarbonizing UK Electricity Generation – Five Options That Will Work | Energy Matters

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Roger Andrews

At the end of my recent post on the National Grid’s energy future scenarios I mentioned that I was working on a plan for decarbonizing the UK electricity sector that works in practice and which gets the UK least some way down the road towards an increasingly elusive green energy future. The work is now complete, and here I present five future energy options that employ nuclear, gas and variable amounts of wind to achieve large reductions in CO2 emissions while at the same time meeting UK demand in a typical winter month.

Assumptions:

The options are designed to meet hourly electricity demand in February 20XX, where XX is an unspecified year in the future. Basic assumptions are:

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Today's Anti-Capitalists Ignore The Fundamental Problems Of Socialism | Zero Hedge

Today's Anti-Capitalists Ignore The Fundamental Problems Of Socialism | Zero Hedge

Submitted by Jonathan Newman via The Mises Institute,

Anti-market and pro-socialist rhetoric is surging in headlines (see also here, here, and here) and popping up more and more on social media feeds. Much of the time, these opponents of markets can’t tell the difference between state-sponsored organizations like the International Monetary Fund and actual markets. But, that doesn’t matter because the articles and memes are often populist and vaguely worded — intentionally framed in such a way to easily deflect uninformed attacks and honest descriptions of what they are actually saying. In the end, they can all be boiled down to one message: socialism works and is better than capitalism.

While most of it comes from the Left, the Right is not innocent, since the Right appears to be primarily concerned with promoting its own version of populism, which apparently does not involve a defense of markets. “Build bigger walls at the border,” for example, is not a sufficient response to “All profits are evil!”

Instead of stooping to this level or simply resorting to “Read Mises!” (a more fitting response), we must show, yet again, that socialism — even under well-meaning political leaders — is impossible and leads to disastrous consequences.

The Necessity of Profits, Prices, and Entrepreneurs

Socialism is the collective ownership (i.e., a state monopoly) of the means of production. It calls for the abolition of private ownership of factors of production. Wages and profits are two parts of the same pie, and socialism says the profit slice should be zero.

The inherent theoretical problems of socialism all emanate from its definition, and not the particulars of its application. However, the supporters of socialism define “collective,” as no exchange of the factors of production. And without exchange, there can be no prices, and without prices there is no way to measure the costs of production.

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Everything Wrong With the F-35 — War Is Boring — Medium

Everything Wrong With the F-35 — War Is Boring 

by MANDY SMITHBERGER & DAN GRAZIER

A new leaked test, which was first exposed by War Is Boring, provides more evidence that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s demonstrated performance is inferior to the current fighters it is designed to replace. Specifically, the report finds that, in a series of 17 dogfights, the F-35 was consistently outmatched by an aging F-16.

An F-35A test pilot with extensive dogfighting experience in F-16s and F-15s wrote the report, detailing his cockpit observations during the January 2015 maneuvering combat tests of the F-35 against a 30-year-old F-16 at Edwards Flight Test Center in California. The report, marked for official use only (FOUO), highlighted serious concerns about the plane’s performance in this key mission.

One of the significant new issues raised by the report was the F-35’s difficulty in sustaining energy in close-in maneuvering combat — that is, the energy needed to turn and accelerate. The test pilot found this to be “substantially inferior” to older planes like F-15s, F-16s, and F-18s.

In the tests, the F-35’s maneuverability against the F-16 was so limited that it could only point quickly enough to achieve a missile shot by executing one specific maneuver. But this move consumed so much energy that if the shot failed the F-35 would “ultimately end up defensive again” — which is to say, at the mercy of any opponent.

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Tomgram: Peter Van Buren, Washington and Tehran Come in From the Cold | TomDispatch

Tomgram: Peter Van Buren, Washington and Tehran Come in From the Cold | TomDispatch

The Balance of Power in the Middle East Just Changed
U.S.-Iranian Relations Emerge from a 30-Year Cold War
By Peter Van Buren

Don't sweat the details of the July nuclear accord between the United States and Iran. What matters is that the calculus of power in the Middle East just changed in significant ways.

Washington and Tehran announced their nuclear agreement on July 14th and yes, some of the details are still classified. Of course the Obama administration negotiated alongside China, Russia, Great Britain, France, and Germany, which means Iran and five other governments must approve the detailed 159-page “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.” The U.N., which also had to sign off on the deal, has already agreed to measures to end its sanctions against Iran.

If we’re not all yet insta-experts on centrifuges and enrichment ratios, the media will ensure that in the next two months -- during which Congress will debate and weigh approving the agreement -- we’ll become so. Verification strategies will be debated. The Israelis will claim that the apocalypse is nigh. And everyone who is anyone will swear to the skies that the devil is in the details. On Sunday talk shows, war hawks will fuss endlessly about the nightmare to come, as well as the weak-kneedness of the president and his “delusional” secretary of state, John Kerry. (No one of note, however, will ask why the president’s past decisions to launch or continue wars in the Middle East were not greeted with at least the same sort of skepticism as his present efforts to forestall one.)

There are two crucial points to take away from all the angry chatter to come: first, none of this matters and second, the devil is not in the details, though he may indeed appear on those Sunday talk shows.

Here’s what actually matters most: at a crucial moment and without a shot being fired, the United States and Iran have come to a turning point away from an era of outright hostility. The nuclear accord binds the two nations to years of engagement and leaves the door open to a far fuller relationship. Understanding how significant that is requires a look backward.

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Could Trump Win? — Patrick J. Buchanan - Official Website

Could Trump Win? — Patrick J. Buchanan - Official Website

By Patrick J. Buchanan

The American political class has failed the country, and should be fired. That is the clearest message from the summer surge of Bernie Sanders and the remarkable rise of Donald Trump.

Sanders’ candidacy can trace it roots back to the 19th-century populist party of Mary Elizabeth Lease who declaimed:

“Wall Street owns the country. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street. The great common people of this country are slaves, and monopoly is the master.”

“Raise less corn and more hell!” Mary admonished the farmers of Kansas.

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The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity : Do We Need to Bring Back Internment Camps?

The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity : Do We Need to Bring Back Internment Camps?

written by ron paul

monday july 27, 2015

Last week, Retired General Wesley Clark, who was NATO commander during the US bombing of Serbia, proposed that “disloyal Americans” be sent to internment camps for the “duration of the conflict.” Discussing the recent military base shootings in Chattanooga, TN, in which five US service members were killed, Clark recalled the internment of American citizens during World War II who were merely suspected of having Nazi sympathies. He said: “back then we didn’t say ‘that was freedom of speech,’ we put him in a camp.”
 
He called for the government to identify people most likely to be radicalized so we can “cut this off at the beginning.” That sounds like “pre-crime”!
 
Gen. Clark ran for president in 2004 and it’s probably a good thing he didn’t win considering what seems to be his disregard for the Constitution. Unfortunately in the current presidential race Donald Trump even one-upped Clark, stating recently that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is a traitor and should be treated like one, implying that the government should kill him.
 
These statements and others like them most likely reflect the frustration felt in Washington over a 15 year war on terror where there has been no victory and where we actually seem worse off than when we started. The real problem is they will argue and bicker over changing tactics but their interventionist strategy remains the same. 
 

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SANCTUARY « The Burning Platform

SANCTUARY « The Burning Platform

The Disappearing Retirement Fund | International Man

The Disappearing Retirement Fund | International Man

As a general principle, I’ve always tended to avoid entrusting others with my money. I’ve avoided funds, as they are often based upon investments that are peaking or close to peaking. I’ve avoided pension funds, as they’re often structured in a similar manner.

And whenever by law I’ve been required to be invested in such funds, they’ve rarely been successful over the long term. In the end, I would invariably have made more money by pursuing those investments that had great promise but at the time were unpopular (and therefore underpriced).

As dubious as I tend to be of conventional investment schemes (and those who broker them), I am doubly dubious of any government-run scheme. Governments, historically, have proved to be poor money managers, and politicians tend to place more value on big promises that garner votes than on delivering on those promises.

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"The Bucks Stop Here": Why Keynesian Economics Will Get Blamed For The Crash | Zero Hedge

"The Bucks Stop Here": Why Keynesian Economics Will Get Blamed For The Crash | Zero Hedge

Submitted by Gary North via GaryNorth.com,

For as long as the present economic system lumbers along, Keynesians will control the levers of power and influence. But when at last the system goes down in a heap, and central banks cannot restore the system, there will be a quest for answers.

Keynesians have the long-run disadvantage of being in control of the tax-funded educational system. They are in charge of the major economic institution of our day, the Federal Reserve System. They will get blamed. When people's retirement plans are smashed, they are going to look for somebody to blame. That means Keynesians. The Keynesians will not be able to transfer this responsibility to somebody else. When you are in charge, the buck stops on your desk. In the case of Federal Reserve policy, it's not just the buck that stops on your desk. It's trillions of bucks.

Academic economists never want to take responsibility for the outcome of their recommended policies. They always try to blame somebody else for not having implemented what the recommended. But when you come to the 14 people who are on the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets policy for the Federal Reserve, there is no place to hide. The FOMC almost always is unanimous in its policy recommendations. There may be one dissenter, but that's about it. So, there really is no place to hide. When the Federal Reserve finally is not in a position to restore economic growth by means of inflating the currency, Keynesians are going to get blamed.

When you live by the Federal Reserve, you die by the Federal Reserve.

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When Will We Ever Learn? | Zero Hedge

When Will We Ever Learn? | Zero Hedge

Submitted by Lance Roberts via STA Wealth Management,

Life is full of irony. When I was in school, I hated history. It was boring. It was pointless. How was reading about a bunch of dead people ever going to be useful in life? Today, I consume everything I can find on history. Particularly, financial history. Ironic.

Of course, it only took me 25 years in the investment world to realize that human behavior is quite fascinating. The capacity for optimism is seemingly limitless, but the "sting" of failure is quite transient.

While it is in those failures that valuable lessons are taught, studies have shown that humans tend to suppress or substitute new memories over time.

George Santayana once said:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

The phrasing itself certainly is catchy, and is often used in the financial media due to its underlying truth. If history is a guide to the results of previous actions, and those results were painful, then history should guide not only policy making (public and private) but our own behaviors as well.

It's hard to disagree with. Over the history of the financial markets (all the way back to the 1600's) speculative investing has repeatedly led to booms and busts. In 2007, as the markets were enraptured with the speculative sub-prime lending and real estate boom, I gave a presentation containing the following two slides on past history.

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