(ActivistPost) – Debtors’ prisons have a sordid history that was thought to be best left behind in Medieval Europe and in Charles Dickens’ fictionalized accounts of the 19th-century hellholes of Victorian England.  America was not to be outdone, debtors’ prisons were widespread in the United States as well, and stories of the conditions in New York’s debtors’ prisons could make one question if repayment of debts was really the purpose; violent criminals were much better clothed and fed.  In fact, history shows that terror and slavery have always had a close relationship with debt, and it follows a path from the Romans right through to 17th century England, and into America from English common law.  However, America chose to abolish her debtors’ prisons a full 36 years before England; first in New York in 1831, and by 1833 the rest of the America had followed. Read the rest of this entry »

(CNNMoney) – Hello Chinese exports, good-bye U.S. jobs – Read More Here

(BusinessWeek) – Banks With State Debt Ignore Not-If-But-When Default (Update1)

European banking shares indicate a Greek debt default may be just a matter of time. Read More Here

(AP) – Japan PM warns of Greece-like debt crisis

Japan could face a financial mess like the one that has crippled Greece if it does not deal urgently with its swelling national debt, the new prime minister warned Friday. Read More Here

(SeekingAlpha) – Soros: Financial Crisis, ‘Act II’

Love or hate his politics, there is no doubt George Soros is one of the brightest investment minds of the past few generations.

Hence, when you have Soros on one side saying we have only begun the second stage of the financial crisis, and on the other hand you have “Unicorns and Butterflies” Bernanke telling us all is well (kumbaya!) [coming off one of the worst economic forecasting records the past half decade], you can guess which side one might be better off listening to.

“The collapse of the financial system as we know it is real, and the crisis is far from over,” Mr. Soros said at a conference in Vienna. “Indeed, we have just entered Act II of the drama.” Read More Here

(BullionMark) – Weimar Gold & Silver Prices 1919-1923

Weimar Germany hyperinflation prices of gold and silver in Marks from 1919 – 1923 by month. Charts are also presented to visually depict the speed and magnitude of the change. Remember these are months not years. Consider the human story behind the numbers. How did people survive? Read More Here

(MarketOracle) – PONZI Finance Recipe for Economic Catastrophe, Gold Not a Bubble

The “When hope turns to Fear” moment (See 2010 Outlook “When hope turns to Fear” in Tedbits archives) is unfolding as we speak, as the tides of insolvency sweep over the social welfare states and financial systems of the developed world. It is the next leg down in the global financial crisis and what will come to be known as the greatest depression ever is commencing — we are fascinated and astonished at what the main stream media is reporting and failing to report. Read More Here

(NakedCapitalism) – PR Push Against Strategic Defaulters Underway (Is There a Debtors Prison in Your Future?) Read More Here

(DailyMail) – Child benefit to be cut off at 13 as Government’s ‘poverty tsar’ plans to wean parents off handouts

Families could see their child benefit taxed or cut off once a youngster hits 13 under radical plans proposed by Frank Field, the government appointed ‘poverty tsar’. Read More Here

(KurtNimmo) – Wither Government. Chaos! Anarchy! Lost Revenue!

New York Gov. David Paterson is warning that if he is forced to shut down government next week chaos and anarchy will rule in the state.

“No one knows the full ramifications of a government shutdown,” said Paterson. “It would create unimaginable chaos around the state and the greater metropolitan areas,” reports WCBS TV.

The legislature in the Empire State has failed to pass a budget and this will result in doomsday, according to Paterson. Read the rest of this entry »

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This is the fourth in a series of articles on Ellen Brown’s superb 2007 book titled “Web of Debt,” now updated in a December 2008 third edition. It tells “the shocking truth about our money system, (how it) trapped us in debt, and how we can break free.” This article focuses on America’s “web of debt” entrapment. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the fourth in a series of articles on Ellen Brown’s superb 2007 book titled “Web of Debt,” now updated in a December 2008 third edition. It tells “the shocking truth about our money system, (how it) trapped us in debt, and how we can break free.” This article focuses on America’s “web of debt” entrapment. Read the rest of this entry »

In America’s earliest days, there were barn-raising parties in which neighbors helped each other build up their farms. Today, in some churches, there are debt liquidation revivals in which parishioners chip in to free each other from growing credit card debts that are driving American families to bankruptcy and desperation. IN DEBT WE TRUST is the latest film from Danny Schechter, “The News Dissector,” director of the internationally distributed and award-winning WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception), an expose of the media’s role in the Iraq War. The Emmy-winning former ABC News and CNN producer’s new hard-hitting documentary investigates why so many Americans are being strangled by debt.

Read the rest of this entry »