I'm confused, what 'fiscal austerity madness' is this guy talking about? Last time I checked, the Fed had done several rounds of stimulus, was keeping interest rates at practically zero, had taken the monetary base from about $900B in 2009 to $2800B. They have fought off all attempts to liquidate debt. And Congress just agreed to a pittance in 'cuts' which are actually a huge increase in spending ($7T or so) over the next decade.
It may not be working, but don't call it austerity!
@svenp Exactly correct. We have not taken any real measures yet. We have just kicked the can down the road - yet again. We had our chance to CRUSH Wall St. and the banksters back in 2008. We could have arrested them all and driven them all into bankruptcy. Imagine how much better off we would be now with all of those obligations written off? But Goldman Sach IS the government now, and they would have none of that.
Heres the title of the Obama birth certificate case (in court now) video footage of the court hearing the case. this is for the fat shill ZAKDAYAK. he wont watch it though, because he thinks that reality doesnt acknowledge it.
OBAMA Case in 9th Circuit District Court of appeals,# 1
He thinks its not the truth, and that its a conspiracy theory. I guess its a figment of those in the know's imagination. Hes a shill troll.
@2skullscrushing Are you like 12 yrs old? Do you think that trying to bully or insult me is going to make you look smart? LOL, you must be desperate. Because I nailed it when I compared you to a Truther, thats why you're getting worse. I can't wait for more evidence of my righteousness when you shower me with insults and ALL CAPITALS. What a gimp you are...
@ytgv3fc7 I look like a liar? You can't even get your bullshit straight. One sentence its I'm "fooled" the next I'm an agent for whoever is secret messages over the microwaves. What a nutcase!! LOL...But sure, CNN/MSNBC/CBS/CIA/March of Dimes/Salvation Army/Hawaii/ the Kenyan Government/the Hospital Staff/whatever Jackal Obama was supposed to be born of/all the judges in the taitz' cases...are ALL IN ON IT! LOL. Alex Jones sitcom is taped before a live studio audience...LULZ.
@ytgv3fc7 You really don't want to challenge your own beliefs do you? I've seen the pictures and read the facts and your kind of nonsense distracts from the real issues. Every time there is a real discussion about ways to tackle(from adults in the room) the ruling class, we've have to tolerate these distractions from the conspiracy crowd. Its not the Patriot Act, its Thermite in the Towers. Its not Obama's corporatism, its his "faked" birth certificate, not finance it's the gold standard, etc
@Zakdayak I have no beliefs to challenge. I act on fact, I need nothing else. The facts absolutely are the Patriot Act, Thermite seen live at the WTC towers and found in the debris and a fake Obama birth certificate. Carved in stone proven forensic facts. Gold as a standard is simply common sense. The USA is one of the few nations on Earth filled with brainwashed idiots who don't get it but the rest of the planet gets it. You're a moron, basically.
@ytgv3fc7 This last comment of yours is an excellent example of how you don't know what you're talking about. The "debate" consists of whether usage of thermite (or some other technique as thermite has never been used in demolition) is CONSISTENT with what we know happened to the towers. No one has been able to demonstrate that it has been used as a matter of fact. Also, we do not know the composition of the "molten metal" (also a subject for debate) - whether its aluminum or steel.
@Zakdayak You sure are dense. Thermite has been used in demolition because special pods are designed for that purpose: they attach to each other horizontally, have angled slits to release the burning thermite & hold the rest inside a container feeding it to the slot. The thermite didn't get there by itself: it has been conclusively proven to be on-site for the WTC towers & I've actually seen the sparkings from the windows FROM VIDEO before the towers came down.
@ytgv3fc7 "Thermite has been used" Its a pyrotechnic, used primarily in metallurgy or train tracks. It sometimes is used to destroy materials like paperwork or artillery (by melting the chambers) . There are no documented uses in demolitions nor is it used by professionals for that purpose. You seem to have trouble distinguishing between speculation and fact. Fact: You saw sparks. Speculation: The sparks look like Thermite to you, therefore it is thermite.
@Zakdayak It's heavily documented for beam-cutting during demolitions. You're just pretending in your anti-reality there's no such invention. Each such pod is about 1/4 the size of a car and they attach to beams to be cut. Fact: thermite was chemically identified in the rubble of the world trade center towers. Fact: there were no welders working on cutting down the beams. Fact: those sparks can only come from welding by hand or by thermite. All proven facts.
@ytgv3fc7 You don't beam cut during demolitions, which use explosions. the beams that are usually melted are beams like Train tracks. Thermite may melt steel, but it does not explode, making it unsuitable for controlled demolition. What documentation? Which company uses Thermite or pods when they demolish buildings? Traces of aluminum were found, from this Truthers concluded that the trace amounts of aluminum were consistent with thermite being used...get it? Thermite itself was not found.
@ytgv3fc7 Cont...heat, what looks like sparks (sparks is a loaded word, I don't even think thermite would create sparks but rather tongues of direct flames) , explosions, all of these things are consistent with fires in a building. And fires in a building are consistent with a FUCKING PLANE CRASHING INTO IT. You have a pyschological need to explain things with conspiracies that are not there. GROW UP.
@Zakdayak gigantic clearly visible sparks shooting out the windows. If it's not thermite it's people standing there with welding torches. One of the two MUST be happening, it can't be an option 3.
@ytgv3fc7 Neither one of these vids has sparks. They're not even relevant to your specific point. Th first video is a woman talking - editorial, I can get that anywhere. I took a long look at the second video, and all I can say is...poofs of smoke and debris from the corner = explosions? OH WOW.
@ytgv3fc7 Now I have to watch more videos? LOL. The two videos you gave me (the first ones) don't contain pictures of sparks. I'm not going to look at shit until you address whats being discussed. For example, is there a video of any kind of thermite slicing through steel bars, melting them into molten steel? Does it make sparks? That would be addressing the specifics. The first vid was a woman talking. Do you really think that's persuasive?
@Zakdayak Cont....This is because the material was not tested. So, the arguments presented are based on speculations, which Truthers argue are viable explanations for what occurred. But NOBODY can say that these are facts, such as "Thermite seen live in the WTC towers and found in the debris" the latter would have negated the need to test air debris for trace amounts "nanothermite" as some Truthers tried to do. What you cite as facts are not.
nano-thermite absolutely 100% confirmed by thousands of engineers without question. The evidence & the science is 100% beyond doubt. It is a fraud to say there was no nanothermite at the world trade center.
This may sound conspiratorial. The U.S. government which scares 3rd and even 2nd world nations to prop up its debt, somehow lets one of its own 'tenants' depreciate the building's mortgage sounds completely non-nonsensical. I sincerely think this is deliberate and preparation for a U.S.-European currency. If the S&P truly acted independently, don't you think the CIA would have murdered and replaced every single person who made that decision? You don't think the very next day it would be AAA+?
It's fascinating. Never have there been done bigger bailouts and on such a broad. Bernanke initiated the stimulus extremely quickly based on his study of the 1930'ies. Japan did the same thing, but reacted more slowly. How can anyone with a straight face say that everything would be so much better if only the stimulus had been bigger? Especially with the US having such a weak fiscal starting point...bankrupt.
@blaavass "bigger" alone wouldn't have worked ether, its how it was spent, trickle down doesn't work, and giving it without any rule on how to change the way they did business was idiotic.
@407buddy close... that is the stem of all evil. The use of money is the root. If people learned how to share and create abundance just for the hell of making life better for everyone... then money will be obsolete and with it debt and usury. If you abolish debt and usury and money remains... a few generations from now... it will crop up again. No money, no usury... no usury, no debt. The question is, how do we do this? The answer, as always, is with technology. Capitalism is dead.
We don't need fixining anything in the current monetary system. What we need to do is to abandon it totally because it's unrepairable. We need a fundamentaly new system, a resource based economy.
This guy is a Keynesian economist -- talks about going into massive debt wisely. That is the problem with his beliefs --- centralized planning much like the soviet system. Government can never do real things because all decisions are based on politics and corruption. Putting our trust in government got us into this situation and continuing to will destroy us. His answer to our problems is to go deeper into debt and for a benevolent and wise state to spend/invest a way out of this problem.
@49Falcon Blaming government is resonable and very american but still let the real crocks of the hook. The ones controling government=private concentrations of capital and power. The ones pushing for these budget cuts and taxbreaks...that directly harm the world economy as seen now.
The answer must be to mobilize and pressure government..not letting the ones at the top calling shots.
@daveruda It is to late for niceties of making a distinction between government and the corruptive financial powers. They are so tightly linked that they are one and the same. It is a self-feeding mechanism that stimulates and flourishes the growth of Government. This is the way it has always been and this is why our founders wanted a weak central government with very limited powers. The corruption of the system is far easier under a strong central government. To late voting will not fix it
@49Falcon But the distinction is very important. Because the american tradition is always to blame government but not the ones controlling it. Making it impossible to do anyting about the corrupting capitalist classes.
@TheLoyalOfficer Yep. Read about the Great Depression (specifically 1937) to understand why. The Chapter in Howard Zinn's a People's History of the United States is a useful primer. Ha-Joon Chang's books such as Bad Samaritans and Kicking Away the Ladder also provide some explanation on why such a policy may be useful especially in periods of economic recession/depression.
@747Cone Austerity was due for this country sooner or later. During the 1930's we had far less debt (both nominal and as a % of GDP) and far fewer people in the entitlement programs. Now we have millions of boomers on the brink of SS/Medicare, the programs are just about bankrupt (as opposed to 1937 when they were totally juiced.) The historical comparison is absolutely invalid.
We tried it, it failed, it's not 1937 or even 1987. We are not spending our way out of this. This guy is a clown.
@TheLoyalOfficer Why was austerity an inevitability? Yes, the US did have a lower debt to GDP ratio during the Great Depression in the1930s and it had a much higher debt to GDP ratio during the war and postwar years of the 1940s and 50s. Looking back farther we may note that the period of the United Kingdom's greatest economic and colonial domination during the 19th century was also marked by its debt to GDP ratio being well over 100%.
@TheLoyalOfficer We can also note the Japanese debt to GDP ratio currently which sits at well over 200% and interest rates still being relatively low despite that fact. You're correct that we had far fewer people on social welfare programs in the 1930s as well as you correctly point out but that was also a period marked by extreme poverty especially among seniors who did not have a program such as social security to fall back on after they exited the job market.
@TheLoyalOfficer As for social security being bankrupt, thats not true. In its present state without modifications Social Security is completely self sufficient and will be for the next 30 odd years and in fact SS has produced large surpluses. With very slight modifications Social Security can be made solvent indefinitely.
@TheLoyalOfficer You are correct in pointing out health care as the largest long term contributer to the debt problem in the US and it will continue to be as long as the US spends about 16% of GDP on health care compared to an average of 8% compared to most industrialized nations whose health systems are by and large characterized by single payer universal coverage systems.Hopefully we do try to prime the pump, private demand is simply absent at this time.
@TheLoyalOfficer Also, with respect to austerity and its results we can examine the recent experience of the Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania where the European Central Bank has enforced austerity which has led to a severe contraction of their respective economies and corresponding mass exoduses of unemployed workers to neighboring states.
@TheLoyalOfficer FYI the Debt to GDP ratio of Uzbekistan is 10%. Not saying its good to have a high debt to GDP ratio, just suggesting that the success of an economy is affected by many factors beyond a simplistic look at the debt to GDP ratio.
@TheLoyalOfficer I did read your post very carefully and addressed each of the points you made. Did you read my posts? Just because you heard it from the ridiculous talking heads on the MSM and now repeat that the "entitlement programs" (read programs you are entitled to since you paid into them your whole life) are "underfunded" and capitalize it doesn't make it so. Social Security is not underfunded, it solvent for the next 3 or so decades.
@747Cone Social Security is NOT solvent for the next 3 or so decades. More like the next 3 or so years!
That is because the government has blown the surplus year after year starting around the late 1970s. So here we are, facing a entitlement tsunami. Not to mention Medicare, Medicaid, and the Medicare prescription drug benefit - all of which are in even worse shape than Social Security.
@TheLoyalOfficer Ok so there are a lot of misunderstandings in your comments so I'll focus on one. I disagree with the Congressional Budget Office methodology in some ways but even they admit that Social Security is solvent and able to pay out 100% of benefits until the year 2038. After that point they can continue to pay out 80% of benefits after 2038. This 2038 figure is from their most recent August 2011 report which accounts for very slow economic growth.
@747Cone I would also add that it assumes that SS would be augmenting its annual shortfall in receipts with its trust fund. The problem is that the trust fund is made up of IOUs from Congress -- who spent the money. To put it simply --it is debt that needs to be paid out of current and future tax receipts because the trust fund represents nothing but debt. Essentially, they stole the money and spent it as general revenue to make their books look better than they are. Doomed to fail.
@TheLoyalOfficer As a reminder, SS benefits are entirely self-financing, paid for with payroll taxes which are collected from workers and employers throughout their working lives.
So there is my source. I look forward to reading where you go that figure of "more like 3 or so years" that you stated as the projection about when SS will become insolvent.
@Cone Yes, and are the workers payments adequate to cover the benefits of the current retirees, let alone the huge wave of baby boomers coming? No. Their health costs (Medicare/pres. drugs as well) will further drive the system into bankruptcy.
We are borrowing massively to cover the difference. So yes, there is a "trust fund." But it is not in cash - it's in debt instruments, and we are paying interest on top of the payments to the retirees!
@TheLoyalOfficer Oh well, I guess your argument changed. In a previous comment you claimed that SS would be insolvent in 3 years but now you say it already is insolvent. The document from the Congressional Budget Office I linked above suggests that SS is actually entirely self financing since it is funded by the payroll taxes paid by workers and employers.
@747 De-imperialization will reduce the taxpayer funded hatred of America around the world. Why we are defending Germany, S. Korea, Japan and Columbia is a total mystery to me. They do not deserve our money and they hate us being there. That's billions just there. Plus what about Bosnia? Kosovo? Can you believe we are still in those ratholes, spending billions while the euros sit have 2 million troops and socialism?
It's a disgrace. We need to pull up and go home - at least from these areas.
@TheLoyalOfficer So you're mistaken in suggesting that borrowed money keeps that specific program solvent. I suspect you may not like the fact that payroll taxes are collected at all but the fact is, that they are. Those payroll taxes are the funds used to pay out SS benefits. Perhaps you can link to some document from a credible source to illustrate your claim that SS is insolvent now.
@747 Austerity will help: 1) Instill fiscal discipline. We must get out from under this $4+ billion dollar per day debt trap. It is foolish and unsustainable. 2) Increase unemployment. This will push DC to take the shackles off business and truly reform our regulatory structure. The states will follow suit. We need to attract foreign investment and jobs. Only a fiscal house-in-order will achieve that. 3) Change the culture to one of individual achievement from one of govt. dependence.
@TheLoyalOfficer I would say read Dean Baker for details about SS solvency but I doubt that would encourage you to do so. I'm all in favor of throwing "banskers" in jail but your assertion that austerity is needed is unfounded.
@TheLoyalOfficer I've given you recent examples of Estonia and Lithuania to illustrate the devastating effects such austerity can have on a society. I would ask you to provide me with some examples of countries and instances in which a recession has been reversed successfully using such austerity measure.
@Cone I would ask you to provide me with some examples of countries/instances in which a recession has been thwarted by all-out printing of fiat money combined with unprecedented debt combined with the demographic earthquake that American entitlement programs are facing.
Stumped? Yeah, because this situation has never existed before.
We are not Lithuania or Estonia. This is not 1937 nor 1987. We NEED "devastating effects." Only by crawling through that tunnel can we heal.
@TheLoyalOfficer I concede that no nation has been in this situation due to the scale of the crisis. However, there have been similar recessions/ depressions. So maybe you could suggest even a smaller scale recession that has occurred somewhere in recent history in the world where austerity seemed to remedy the situation and pulled the economy back out of recession?
@747 Well I guess I need to concede the SocSec point to you, although I need to look at it deeper. I actually hope you are right, and that we are "all set" with the program until 2038 or so - although that seems wildly optimistic to me.
Now, to the question of "what now?" The issue is not so much getting out, as it is getting our own house in order. We have expended the options of borrow and spend and tax and spend already. What we need now is de-imperialization and austerity.
@747 It's not about being pulled out of recession. It's about getting our fiscal house in order. Under your spend-spend-spend plan, just when does it stop? We are at 14 trillion in debt already. 18 trillion? 20 trillion? 25 trillion?
I think you understand that all of that rope has been played out. My solution is to turn back the clock to 1998 - higher taxes, Glass-Stegal, and a stronger dollar. Over a few years, we can import our way out of this.
I think you two are delusional about Sotoro, I mean Obama. No one is talking about the Orly Taitz case. any day now the hawaii health department has to produce Obamas birth certificate. this rapid last bill, & super congress is no doubt a tool they will need to keep those results & that case quiet. People seem to forget about the vaguely worded directive 51. Ordo Ab Chao anyone?
@2skullscrushing "Sotoro...Orly Taitz...keep that case quiet...directive 51" Stop talking talking like that. You're an annoying asshole. Why are like 50% of Ron Paul conspiracy freaks?
@Zakdayak Why are you an uninformed twat? its an ongoing case for one, in which the judge of the case ALREADY deemed both birth certificates frauds. Look something up you stupid mother fucker. Secondly, directive 51 is an executive order. Its people like you that dont know dick, because you dismiss everything. I suppose you think this puppet show is the best a bunch of harvards could do? Go back to sleep pussy mother fucker. You probably cant answer why Barry Sotoro would change his name?
@2skullscrushing I rest my case. RIGHT, man, there's a conspiracy to fake a birth certificate and they managed to get the State of Hawaii and the press, and all those other judges that dismissed Taitz's cases and they even managed to go back in time and convince Obama's Grandma to plant an announcement in the paper. And there's NO birth certificate for him anywhere else...do I have that right? LOL.
@Zakdayak Hey, its a case, if you have a problem with it, you have to go listen to it unfold, dont try to make up angles that may or may not contribute. Fact is there is a written letter by the vetting committee that states that they did NOT check sotoros credibility. there are bill collectors that show his social, isnt even his.There was a military tribunal that handled a military case that entered in the record that sotoro, if investigated, would show great embarrassment. those are facts.
@2skullscrushing "A" Military Tribunal? Rumour is not fact, man. And the conspiracy makes no sense. They could just have had the kid since they lived there. Makes no sense to go to (name your fav theory here as to where Obama was born - but I love how you changed the name as if Sotoro is somehow less American sounding than Obama) ...when they lived in Hawaii for months as Obama's mother was already pregnant when she got married and lived in Hawaii. Its not an angle, dunderhead, its called LOGIC
@Zakdayak The case I mention that was military was all over the news. I was a general that refused to take orders from sotoro. Its documented, sorry your fat fingers only know how to play with yourself. & as I said before, if it were only logic, & there was nothing to it, it wouldnt be in the courts, again look it up you fat ass.And anyone that understands logic, and has photoshop was able to prove sotoro's birth certificates were forged. Why didnt he just bring the long form first? your a tard
@2skullscrushing Who the fuck is Sotoro? And why the fuck would the State of Hawaii forge a birth cettificate when Obama's parents lived in Hawaii, and why (if there are ongoing cases) has Taitz cases been all thrown out? Why is there a military tribunal? Are you talking about your trial? LOL. Tell me something, were all those judges in on it (like the State of Hawaii)? Were they?
@Zakdayak it was forged BECAUSE there was no other one. The PDF contained layers. OCR scanning was not used and even if it was used it can not produce layers. PDF layers can only be placed manually.
@ytgv3fc7 WTF are you talking about?? And HOW did Obama's Mom get The Sate of Hawaii and all those judges that threw out the case "in on it?" Huh???????
@Zakdayak dude, the birth certificate is saved in a PDF file and put online by Obama. The PDF file has layers inside it. Layers come from manually putting a graphic over another one.
When you're done photoshopping you collapse all the layers. They forgot to do that. It's clear forgery.
Nothing about "Obama's mom" matters. The thing is a forgery. All the fonts are mixed too & kerneled from a computer, not a typewriter.
@ytgv3fc7 I understand you perfectly. They're able to convince Hawaii to play along, and the judges in the Taitz' cases, too - but they're not able to collapse shit on a PDF file. Right. Thermite in the Towers...right. Oh yes, only what you say Matters, not what I say at all, thats why you don't have to respond to my questions. Got it. Thanks, BRO!!! Lulz.
@ytgv3fc7 I think this dude is a shill. I've noticed they have better pages now a days. if you look at his vids, they contradict what hes saying. hes a fake in my opinion, or the dumbest SOB on he.
@2skullscrushing And finally I'm not defending Obama, I'm defending reality. I HATE Georgie but I don't believe he could or did plant bombs in the Twin Towers. Come on, get real.
@Zakdayak you have to know reality to defend it, and you also have to be for what is right no matter who the person, party,relation etc. Dont start a 9/11 thing, because I'm not here to educate you. You need to realize left & right is ancient. its a division tool. ALL POLITICIANS are criminals. I would not defend any of them. And as for 9/11 it needs a new investigation. I trust the building engineers,structural consultants & physics, before a group of criminals. nuff said.
@2skullscrushing Its not defending Obama to point out you have no real evidence. You could accuse Hitler of being a Black Magician, and if I said you have no evidence you'd probably call me a Nazi. But that has nothing to do with the logic or veracity of your outrageous claims. Which is why you remind me of a Truther, right down to the absurdity of being accused of defending a politician : Apparently politicians are so hated that whatever you say about them is true no matter how crazy...
@Zakdayak boy, your good at distortion.When did I say "I" have evidence? I said their is a case in court which there is. I also mention col Terry Lakins case, & that a statement was entered into record concerning Obama, which the case wasn't about him, & these are both realities. So stop being an ignorant clown, playing games.Everyone knows that the highest form of ignorance is condemnation without investigation.Which you CLEARLY havent checked ANY of these facts.So why argue? Truth=wrong? SHILL
@2skullscrushing You tried to say you were a general. You left the Lakin name out of it to confuse me. He was punished and court martialed. I guess the judge in that case was also bought off, huh? The case also happens to be irrelevant. So a Military officer is a Birther? So fucking What? They're officers who are Muslims, should we use them to demonstrate the correctness of the Koran? You see, you're a dufus who wouldn't know logic if it raped you at night next to your Momma where you sleep.
@ytgv3fc7 I didn't mention building 7, which went down due to a fire. I suppose you're logic here is that since the first two went down after getting hit by planes, only a plane crash in 7 could have caused it to collapse. Of course, if the conspirators in "guvment" wanted it done, maybe they should have arranged for third plane, N'Cest Pas? LOL.
@Zakdayak most of building 7 was not on fire and yet all parts of it collapsed at free-fall speeds as any other demolition. the building was demolished. It did not burn down. That's why people like Joe Lieberman flat out say there was no building 7, "it didn't happen" is what he says.
@ytgv3fc7 "most of building 7 was not on fire" What does that mean? I've seen the pictures of the correct side (the side not shown in Loose Change) - multiple floors were on fire! Also, it collapsed backward, again, seen the footage. Its only because at a certain angle, and because the building had the same kind of structural support - that it collapsed quickly. I could refer you to the Purdue University computer simulation: But would it do any good?? LOL.
@Zakdayak also it did not collapse backward: barely 1 corner was on fire, I did see it the very WEEK it happened, and it collapsed DOWN. not backward. Straight down. You best refer to all PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, not simulations, to prove your case. I refer only to the RAW PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
@ytgv3fc7 I saw the footprint and the images of the fire on multiple floors. The simulation was only mentioned to address the point about the buildings structure. The evidence is that the diesel caught on fire and burned down 7. As usual, you don't know what you're talking about. BACKWARDS...HELLO...it fell backwards. And just why would the gov't want the Buildings to go down anyway?? Think about it. They only need one plane crash, not 3 separate buildings collapsing, COME THE FUCK ON!
@ytgv3fc7 "not making sense" Yes, I suppose it doesn't make sense to ask whether its easier to run a conspiracy or actually have the kid in the U.S. which for an American woman in the sixties, was easy. Instead, its bribe multiple judges, the military tribunals, the State of Hawaii, the Media, etc...Oh yeah, that question makes no sense.
@Zakdayak It is much easier to run a conspiracy for real. The US government is built on actual conspiracies to actually kill people and they actually get away with it, all around the world. You're a fool to think magically inside the USA border it doesn't work when outside the USA border for decades the CIA did it. Cuba? Iraq? Iran, installing the SHAH? On and on and on it worked before, so why do you believe "now" is special?
@Zakdayak If you know so much about this obvious series of forgeries, and set ups, tell me what hospital he was born in? Tell me of one legal document Obama acted as lawyer on. tell me why he and his wife are both disbarred? Tell me why there isnt one teacher, student, that ever remember him at columbia? if he has nothing to hide, again, why the big stahl on producing documents, & the closing of all records that could easily disprove the supposed conspiracy theory? Why would you defend him ?
@2skullscrushing I didn't say I was an expert in forgeries. The burden of proof is on those with extraordinary claims. HELLO. Your claims are extraordinary, LOL. Michelle Obama requested a court order (as is the custom in Illinois in order to enter VOLUNTARY INACTIVE status) to be inactive. She is not disbarred and neither is Obama. A better question is why Hillary's people wouldn't mention that, crack whores, forged birth certificates, etc..COME THE FUCK ON MAN!
@Zakdayak Again, I'm not making any claims. This is a matter of a case in court. The court ruled them both forgeries. get that through your fat head. Why do you continue to think one left criminal is any different than a right criminal? your very dense, and clearly arguing a point which you dont go look at what was stated in the beginning, you just keep skipping over it. And your words, truther, conspiracy theorist. those have no weight unless your a tard & think a word can change truth & fact.
@ytgv3fc7 I mentioned the burden of proof in response to 2skullscrushing queries of where Obama was born , etc.You haven't met the burden of proof. Its an extraordinary claim because you're asking me to believe that the State of Hawaii is in on a conspiracy that has fooled the press (In on it too?) and Hillary/McCain, etc..I saw the short form, and that's good enough. Don't see any reason why not. Its also good enough for the US gov't. A Poorly made fabrication couldn't accomplish these things
@Zakdayak I have indeed met the burden of proof. RT was not fooled, I am not fooled, only you are fooled. Do you believe all the BP oil spill is cleaned up too? It isn't. the evidence, the facts, are clear: BP oil is still there and the so-called Birth Certificate handed to the press is a fraud. Poorly made fabrications are the stock & trade of today's news on CNN, Fox & CNBC. Entire states absolutely DO lie and go corrupt. Hawaii? YES WITHOUT DOUBT. Florida? Same. New Jersey? Without question.
@Zakdayak No dueschbag, this is a case launched by alan Keyes, BEFORE sotoro became potus. I guess in your opinion, its all conspiracy theory that has the court system venturing down this road? Just go back to sleep, your just a cool aid drinking idiot that really doesnt know shit about the mass corruption in this world.Too dumb to realize every great detective solves every crime by first having a conspiracy theory, then following the money or benefiting party.Too complex for a tard. troll on.
@2skullscrushing OH right. ALAN KEYES. SAY NO FUCKING MORE. .....lulz. Thats right. First conspiracy theory, then make up shit, or find discrepancies and interpret everything to suit your paranoid fantasies rather than facing real problems like a tax structure that rewards the wealthy for investing in China and Brazil. Thanks Dude!!!
@Zakdayak Your just a fat troll, stuck in mainstream media reality which is far from it.A troll most proper, because you use propaganda on every turn. There IS a case being heard in the courts as I said, its not a conspiracy. Lt.Col.Terry Lakin had a military tribunal, in which the judge stated into record at the end,that Obama's record would be embarrassing to him, & the congress needed to look into it.These people are professionals. what are you? a fat troll, that cant seem to use a search.
@Zakdayak if you knew anything about tax and trade issues, you'd know that it was Clintons NAFTA, that set that up. Its not illegal, if the tax code writers & enforcers are criminals, that lobby, control and create policy. I'm not going to listen to your dumb uninformed opinion any more, so go buy a bra or something, because you should be more concerned about your fat ass than anything here, because you dont know dick about anything your saying. Your a dumb person, obviously stuck on stupid.
@2skullscrushing Yes, the Clintons were really Reaganites: Called for deregulation and "free trade" polcies like Nafta. Also, Obama is equally a Corporatist (and probably more so). But these are legitimate concerns based on facts, as opposed to what you usually talk about.
@Zakdayak First off, you dont even know what I "USUALLY" talk about. & if it happens to be based in fact, I only know it, because I've done the research. If you spent less time eating, and more time asking why every scandal that comes up is labeled a conspiracy theory, by mainstream, which is a foolish dismissal of actually investigating all claims, by all peoples and subject matter, you might understand and grasp what logic is.But since you dont, it only makes you a spoon fed idiot. now go eat.
@2skullscrushing "less time eating" Wow, personal attacks from a guy with all the facts. What happened? LOL.
Logic is what I've been applying. It doesn't make sense to think that its costs less effort to fool/control the court system and the State of Hawaii as opposed to having the kid in Hawaii, when they lived there.
"Far Troll" Because I think you're a hater who dislikes Obama for personal reasons rather than policy issues, which is why you've applied a crazy theory..Come on man!! LOL
@Zakdayak what theory did I apply? you put words in my mouth. And as I will say again, i'm not stuck in your left/right agenda, its ancient roman tactic, and there hasn't been one president that speaks for any american since kennedy as far as i'm concerned. I could give a shit about Obama, hes a terrible excuse for a so called constitutional lawyer, friends of bill ayers terrorist, and you must love him. He's a criminal. I'm not engaging in your retard debate anymore, because your stupid.go eat.
@2skullscrushing The theory you apply is crazy conspiracy. Since you asked...and I AM addressing what you are saying. But what you're saying makes no sense. It simply doesn't make sense to have a child voluntarily in Kenya or Indonesia (name you theory) when you live in the U.S..
@Zakdayak Answer the questions dough boy, what hospital was Obama born in? What doctor signed his birth certificate? EASY questions any american can answer on their own certificates, so answer the FUCKING questions and stop using propaganda diversion tactics, or else your not debating facts, justs avoiding key questions, JUST LIKE A SHILL!!!!!
@2skullscrushing YELLING CUZ YOU'RE RIGHT? Lol. Because the louder and more insulting you are the better you feel apparently. I don't recall you answering my questions about how those judges threw out all those cases or how the State of Hawaii is in on the conspiracy. The Hospital was the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, called then Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital. But somehow I think you're going to find a way to tell me that they got the Hospital name wrong, LOL.
@Zakdayak "The State of Hawaii and all those OTHER judges are IN ON IT. Right man?"
Every other state has judges in on dealing with hookers, coke and sending kids to jail for money. Are you seriously acting as if this is an unlikely event? It's more than likely.
@Zakdayak "Don't forget to repeat yourself : The State of Hawaii and all those OTHER judges are IN ON IT. Right man?"
Your premise is wrong that this is incredible or impossible. Government corruption has been well documented backing this up. 10% of all police are not corrupt, 5% of all judges are not corrupt. The rest are all taking bribes.
They need to reform monetary policy. The Federal Reserve sets interest rates and allows the banks to practice fractional reserve banking. This creates the boom and bust cycle; not the free market
This gentleman needs to wake up to the fact the Obama is no different then Bush. In some respects even worst. The only change he brought to the government is color one. I suspect all that is happening in the politics and economy is to manipulate people like the guest on this video to call for stronger action. Then we will have dictatorship, which I suspect we have been set up to.
@OurFadedGarden Make up for it, by not only voting for Ron Paul, but helping spread the word about him. he is who you should of voted for last time. :)
Very enjoyable, shockingly unvarnished reportage from TRNN, a rare media-outlet where sugar-coating is regularly skipped and the viewers are regarded as intelligent Human beings capable of reasoning. Mr. Johnson has a wonderful brain with awesome synthesizing power, but he needed to be warmed up a 'bit for a good start. Mr. Jay's well informed questioning provided that impetus. Thumbs up guys for a work well done.
The Real News is one of the really outstanding alternative news sites, I also like the Young Turks, RT, and Democracy Now- Yesterday I watched a round table discussion on ABCs This Week - 5 members, a tea party Ayn Rand fan, a establishment Right-winger, two big money corportists, and a barely left of center old women- that is what is portrayed as the spectrum of thought on main stream media.
It is unfortunate the rating agencies did not specify to either preform austerity measures or to focus on the recovery. It is true there is waste that needs to be trimmed off, but at the same time things require reinvestment, and money needs to be drawn from the whole economy.
I'm confused, what 'fiscal austerity madness' is this guy talking about? Last time I checked, the Fed had done several rounds of stimulus, was keeping interest rates at practically zero, had taken the monetary base from about $900B in 2009 to $2800B. They have fought off all attempts to liquidate debt. And Congress just agreed to a pittance in 'cuts' which are actually a huge increase in spending ($7T or so) over the next decade.
It may not be working, but don't call it austerity!
svenp 6 months ago
@svenp Austerity for the people, not for the banks and well-connected.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@svenp Exactly correct. We have not taken any real measures yet. We have just kicked the can down the road - yet again. We had our chance to CRUSH Wall St. and the banksters back in 2008. We could have arrested them all and driven them all into bankruptcy. Imagine how much better off we would be now with all of those obligations written off? But Goldman Sach IS the government now, and they would have none of that.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
red monday
2ndSTARMAN 6 months ago
Heres the title of the Obama birth certificate case (in court now) video footage of the court hearing the case. this is for the fat shill ZAKDAYAK. he wont watch it though, because he thinks that reality doesnt acknowledge it.
OBAMA Case in 9th Circuit District Court of appeals,# 1
He thinks its not the truth, and that its a conspiracy theory. I guess its a figment of those in the know's imagination. Hes a shill troll.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing Are you like 12 yrs old? Do you think that trying to bully or insult me is going to make you look smart? LOL, you must be desperate. Because I nailed it when I compared you to a Truther, thats why you're getting worse. I can't wait for more evidence of my righteousness when you shower me with insults and ALL CAPITALS. What a gimp you are...
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak 2skullscrushing looks smart to me. You look like a liar.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 I look like a liar? You can't even get your bullshit straight. One sentence its I'm "fooled" the next I'm an agent for whoever is secret messages over the microwaves. What a nutcase!! LOL...But sure, CNN/MSNBC/CBS/CIA/March of Dimes/Salvation Army/Hawaii/ the Kenyan Government/the Hospital Staff/whatever Jackal Obama was supposed to be born of/all the judges in the taitz' cases...are ALL IN ON IT! LOL. Alex Jones sitcom is taped before a live studio audience...LULZ.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak I never called you an agent. I just called you out for being a liar, which you are.
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago 2
@ytgv3fc7 You really don't want to challenge your own beliefs do you? I've seen the pictures and read the facts and your kind of nonsense distracts from the real issues. Every time there is a real discussion about ways to tackle(from adults in the room) the ruling class, we've have to tolerate these distractions from the conspiracy crowd. Its not the Patriot Act, its Thermite in the Towers. Its not Obama's corporatism, its his "faked" birth certificate, not finance it's the gold standard, etc
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak I have no beliefs to challenge. I act on fact, I need nothing else. The facts absolutely are the Patriot Act, Thermite seen live at the WTC towers and found in the debris and a fake Obama birth certificate. Carved in stone proven forensic facts. Gold as a standard is simply common sense. The USA is one of the few nations on Earth filled with brainwashed idiots who don't get it but the rest of the planet gets it. You're a moron, basically.
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 This last comment of yours is an excellent example of how you don't know what you're talking about. The "debate" consists of whether usage of thermite (or some other technique as thermite has never been used in demolition) is CONSISTENT with what we know happened to the towers. No one has been able to demonstrate that it has been used as a matter of fact. Also, we do not know the composition of the "molten metal" (also a subject for debate) - whether its aluminum or steel.
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak You sure are dense. Thermite has been used in demolition because special pods are designed for that purpose: they attach to each other horizontally, have angled slits to release the burning thermite & hold the rest inside a container feeding it to the slot. The thermite didn't get there by itself: it has been conclusively proven to be on-site for the WTC towers & I've actually seen the sparkings from the windows FROM VIDEO before the towers came down.
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 "Thermite has been used" Its a pyrotechnic, used primarily in metallurgy or train tracks. It sometimes is used to destroy materials like paperwork or artillery (by melting the chambers) . There are no documented uses in demolitions nor is it used by professionals for that purpose. You seem to have trouble distinguishing between speculation and fact. Fact: You saw sparks. Speculation: The sparks look like Thermite to you, therefore it is thermite.
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak It's heavily documented for beam-cutting during demolitions. You're just pretending in your anti-reality there's no such invention. Each such pod is about 1/4 the size of a car and they attach to beams to be cut. Fact: thermite was chemically identified in the rubble of the world trade center towers. Fact: there were no welders working on cutting down the beams. Fact: those sparks can only come from welding by hand or by thermite. All proven facts.
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 You don't beam cut during demolitions, which use explosions. the beams that are usually melted are beams like Train tracks. Thermite may melt steel, but it does not explode, making it unsuitable for controlled demolition. What documentation? Which company uses Thermite or pods when they demolish buildings? Traces of aluminum were found, from this Truthers concluded that the trace amounts of aluminum were consistent with thermite being used...get it? Thermite itself was not found.
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 Cont...heat, what looks like sparks (sparks is a loaded word, I don't even think thermite would create sparks but rather tongues of direct flames) , explosions, all of these things are consistent with fires in a building. And fires in a building are consistent with a FUCKING PLANE CRASHING INTO IT. You have a pyschological need to explain things with conspiracies that are not there. GROW UP.
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak gigantic clearly visible sparks shooting out the windows. If it's not thermite it's people standing there with welding torches. One of the two MUST be happening, it can't be an option 3.
get educated for a change:
/watch?v=8CvB31cHx9E
/watch?v=zoAD8HlrLZg
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 Neither one of these vids has sparks. They're not even relevant to your specific point. Th first video is a woman talking - editorial, I can get that anywhere. I took a long look at the second video, and all I can say is...poofs of smoke and debris from the corner = explosions? OH WOW.
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak The videos are completely relevant.
So is this one:
/watch?v=wgqd--ecXgc
deniers beware, the facts have a way of catching up with you.
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 Now I have to watch more videos? LOL. The two videos you gave me (the first ones) don't contain pictures of sparks. I'm not going to look at shit until you address whats being discussed. For example, is there a video of any kind of thermite slicing through steel bars, melting them into molten steel? Does it make sparks? That would be addressing the specifics. The first vid was a woman talking. Do you really think that's persuasive?
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak Cont....This is because the material was not tested. So, the arguments presented are based on speculations, which Truthers argue are viable explanations for what occurred. But NOBODY can say that these are facts, such as "Thermite seen live in the WTC towers and found in the debris" the latter would have negated the need to test air debris for trace amounts "nanothermite" as some Truthers tried to do. What you cite as facts are not.
Zakdayak 5 months ago
@Zakdayak /watch?v=u00MaDO22gM
nano-thermite absolutely 100% confirmed by thousands of engineers without question. The evidence & the science is 100% beyond doubt. It is a fraud to say there was no nanothermite at the world trade center.
ytgv3fc7 5 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 GROW UP
Zakdayak 5 months ago
7:05 can someone give me the jist of the last 6 mins? I just woke up.
2528997 6 months ago
This may sound conspiratorial. The U.S. government which scares 3rd and even 2nd world nations to prop up its debt, somehow lets one of its own 'tenants' depreciate the building's mortgage sounds completely non-nonsensical. I sincerely think this is deliberate and preparation for a U.S.-European currency. If the S&P truly acted independently, don't you think the CIA would have murdered and replaced every single person who made that decision? You don't think the very next day it would be AAA+?
theone1087 6 months ago
"This evening, after I came home from this interview"?!
tangent272 6 months ago
@tangent272 FOR this interview... dude... ;P
notthere83 6 months ago
@notthere83 Dude! He was there at the interview, it just took him a while to get home. ;)
mduke2k 6 months ago
@mduke2k mhm... and dick laurant is dead... ;P (i'm sure SOMEBODY will appreciate that reference...)
notthere83 6 months ago
Jobs are not an option. There simply aren't any. How about a universal and global basic income?
KhanneaSuntzu 6 months ago
It's fascinating. Never have there been done bigger bailouts and on such a broad. Bernanke initiated the stimulus extremely quickly based on his study of the 1930'ies. Japan did the same thing, but reacted more slowly. How can anyone with a straight face say that everything would be so much better if only the stimulus had been bigger? Especially with the US having such a weak fiscal starting point...bankrupt.
blaavass 6 months ago
@blaavass "bigger" alone wouldn't have worked ether, its how it was spent, trickle down doesn't work, and giving it without any rule on how to change the way they did business was idiotic.
SilvoKnight 6 months ago
@407buddy close... that is the stem of all evil. The use of money is the root. If people learned how to share and create abundance just for the hell of making life better for everyone... then money will be obsolete and with it debt and usury. If you abolish debt and usury and money remains... a few generations from now... it will crop up again. No money, no usury... no usury, no debt. The question is, how do we do this? The answer, as always, is with technology. Capitalism is dead.
elbowbiter1 6 months ago
xD puppet show, puppet show, come watch the puppet show
Swansen03 6 months ago
We don't need fixining anything in the current monetary system. What we need to do is to abandon it totally because it's unrepairable. We need a fundamentaly new system, a resource based economy.
kaxitaksi 6 months ago
Just another manufactured market crash so the banks and Wall St. can fleece the peasants.
Devilock79 6 months ago
Outstanding interview. This guy is by far my favorite guest ever featured on this channel.
duezeri1968 6 months ago 2
This guy is a Keynesian economist -- talks about going into massive debt wisely. That is the problem with his beliefs --- centralized planning much like the soviet system. Government can never do real things because all decisions are based on politics and corruption. Putting our trust in government got us into this situation and continuing to will destroy us. His answer to our problems is to go deeper into debt and for a benevolent and wise state to spend/invest a way out of this problem.
49Falcon 6 months ago
@49Falcon Blaming government is resonable and very american but still let the real crocks of the hook. The ones controling government=private concentrations of capital and power. The ones pushing for these budget cuts and taxbreaks...that directly harm the world economy as seen now.
The answer must be to mobilize and pressure government..not letting the ones at the top calling shots.
daveruda 6 months ago
@daveruda It is to late for niceties of making a distinction between government and the corruptive financial powers. They are so tightly linked that they are one and the same. It is a self-feeding mechanism that stimulates and flourishes the growth of Government. This is the way it has always been and this is why our founders wanted a weak central government with very limited powers. The corruption of the system is far easier under a strong central government. To late voting will not fix it
49Falcon 6 months ago
@49Falcon But the distinction is very important. Because the american tradition is always to blame government but not the ones controlling it. Making it impossible to do anyting about the corrupting capitalist classes.
daveruda 6 months ago
r u serious ?
lllraverslll 6 months ago
i'am melllltting i tell you i melt watch me melt..ahh shit the entire world is melting.
lllraverslll 6 months ago
MORE SPENDING???
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer Yep. Read about the Great Depression (specifically 1937) to understand why. The Chapter in Howard Zinn's a People's History of the United States is a useful primer. Ha-Joon Chang's books such as Bad Samaritans and Kicking Away the Ladder also provide some explanation on why such a policy may be useful especially in periods of economic recession/depression.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747Cone Austerity was due for this country sooner or later. During the 1930's we had far less debt (both nominal and as a % of GDP) and far fewer people in the entitlement programs. Now we have millions of boomers on the brink of SS/Medicare, the programs are just about bankrupt (as opposed to 1937 when they were totally juiced.) The historical comparison is absolutely invalid.
We tried it, it failed, it's not 1937 or even 1987. We are not spending our way out of this. This guy is a clown.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer Why was austerity an inevitability? Yes, the US did have a lower debt to GDP ratio during the Great Depression in the1930s and it had a much higher debt to GDP ratio during the war and postwar years of the 1940s and 50s. Looking back farther we may note that the period of the United Kingdom's greatest economic and colonial domination during the 19th century was also marked by its debt to GDP ratio being well over 100%.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer We can also note the Japanese debt to GDP ratio currently which sits at well over 200% and interest rates still being relatively low despite that fact. You're correct that we had far fewer people on social welfare programs in the 1930s as well as you correctly point out but that was also a period marked by extreme poverty especially among seniors who did not have a program such as social security to fall back on after they exited the job market.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer As for social security being bankrupt, thats not true. In its present state without modifications Social Security is completely self sufficient and will be for the next 30 odd years and in fact SS has produced large surpluses. With very slight modifications Social Security can be made solvent indefinitely.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer You are correct in pointing out health care as the largest long term contributer to the debt problem in the US and it will continue to be as long as the US spends about 16% of GDP on health care compared to an average of 8% compared to most industrialized nations whose health systems are by and large characterized by single payer universal coverage systems.Hopefully we do try to prime the pump, private demand is simply absent at this time.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer I disagree, he's not a clown, he's just happens to be right.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer Also, with respect to austerity and its results we can examine the recent experience of the Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania where the European Central Bank has enforced austerity which has led to a severe contraction of their respective economies and corresponding mass exoduses of unemployed workers to neighboring states.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer FYI the Debt to GDP ratio of Uzbekistan is 10%. Not saying its good to have a high debt to GDP ratio, just suggesting that the success of an economy is affected by many factors beyond a simplistic look at the debt to GDP ratio.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747Cone Did you read the rest of my post?
The three main entitlement programs are UNDERFUNDED... AND now a huge number of people (baby boom generation) are going to be shuffling into them.
This is not 1937. Not even close. It is far worse.
Only austerity can save us. We have to cleanse the books. We need to throw banksters in jail to send a message to Wall St.
Our path can only be pain.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer I did read your post very carefully and addressed each of the points you made. Did you read my posts? Just because you heard it from the ridiculous talking heads on the MSM and now repeat that the "entitlement programs" (read programs you are entitled to since you paid into them your whole life) are "underfunded" and capitalize it doesn't make it so. Social Security is not underfunded, it solvent for the next 3 or so decades.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747Cone Social Security is NOT solvent for the next 3 or so decades. More like the next 3 or so years!
That is because the government has blown the surplus year after year starting around the late 1970s. So here we are, facing a entitlement tsunami. Not to mention Medicare, Medicaid, and the Medicare prescription drug benefit - all of which are in even worse shape than Social Security.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer Ok so there are a lot of misunderstandings in your comments so I'll focus on one. I disagree with the Congressional Budget Office methodology in some ways but even they admit that Social Security is solvent and able to pay out 100% of benefits until the year 2038. After that point they can continue to pay out 80% of benefits after 2038. This 2038 figure is from their most recent August 2011 report which accounts for very slow economic growth.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747Cone I would also add that it assumes that SS would be augmenting its annual shortfall in receipts with its trust fund. The problem is that the trust fund is made up of IOUs from Congress -- who spent the money. To put it simply --it is debt that needs to be paid out of current and future tax receipts because the trust fund represents nothing but debt. Essentially, they stole the money and spent it as general revenue to make their books look better than they are. Doomed to fail.
49Falcon 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer cbo (dot) gov (slash) ftpdocs (slash) 123xx( slash) doc12375 (slash) 08-05-Long-TermSocialSecurityProjections (dot) pdf
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer As a reminder, SS benefits are entirely self-financing, paid for with payroll taxes which are collected from workers and employers throughout their working lives.
So there is my source. I look forward to reading where you go that figure of "more like 3 or so years" that you stated as the projection about when SS will become insolvent.
747Cone 6 months ago
@Cone Yes, and are the workers payments adequate to cover the benefits of the current retirees, let alone the huge wave of baby boomers coming? No. Their health costs (Medicare/pres. drugs as well) will further drive the system into bankruptcy.
We are borrowing massively to cover the difference. So yes, there is a "trust fund." But it is not in cash - it's in debt instruments, and we are paying interest on top of the payments to the retirees!
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@747 Bottom line, we need more private sector, Free Market job creation, not more spending and socialism.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer So where did you get that figure of 3 years or so before SS is insolvent again?
747Cone 6 months ago
@747Cone It's insolvent now. It's not paying for itself. We are borrowing to keep it alive.
This government is borrowing more than $4 billion dollars PER DAY. It has to stop. We've had this insanity for far too long. We have to correct.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer Oh well, I guess your argument changed. In a previous comment you claimed that SS would be insolvent in 3 years but now you say it already is insolvent. The document from the Congressional Budget Office I linked above suggests that SS is actually entirely self financing since it is funded by the payroll taxes paid by workers and employers.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747 De-imperialization will reduce the taxpayer funded hatred of America around the world. Why we are defending Germany, S. Korea, Japan and Columbia is a total mystery to me. They do not deserve our money and they hate us being there. That's billions just there. Plus what about Bosnia? Kosovo? Can you believe we are still in those ratholes, spending billions while the euros sit have 2 million troops and socialism?
It's a disgrace. We need to pull up and go home - at least from these areas.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer So you're mistaken in suggesting that borrowed money keeps that specific program solvent. I suspect you may not like the fact that payroll taxes are collected at all but the fact is, that they are. Those payroll taxes are the funds used to pay out SS benefits. Perhaps you can link to some document from a credible source to illustrate your claim that SS is insolvent now.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747 Austerity will help: 1) Instill fiscal discipline. We must get out from under this $4+ billion dollar per day debt trap. It is foolish and unsustainable. 2) Increase unemployment. This will push DC to take the shackles off business and truly reform our regulatory structure. The states will follow suit. We need to attract foreign investment and jobs. Only a fiscal house-in-order will achieve that. 3) Change the culture to one of individual achievement from one of govt. dependence.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer I would say read Dean Baker for details about SS solvency but I doubt that would encourage you to do so. I'm all in favor of throwing "banskers" in jail but your assertion that austerity is needed is unfounded.
747Cone 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer I've given you recent examples of Estonia and Lithuania to illustrate the devastating effects such austerity can have on a society. I would ask you to provide me with some examples of countries and instances in which a recession has been reversed successfully using such austerity measure.
747Cone 6 months ago
@Cone I would ask you to provide me with some examples of countries/instances in which a recession has been thwarted by all-out printing of fiat money combined with unprecedented debt combined with the demographic earthquake that American entitlement programs are facing.
Stumped? Yeah, because this situation has never existed before.
We are not Lithuania or Estonia. This is not 1937 nor 1987. We NEED "devastating effects." Only by crawling through that tunnel can we heal.
My prediction? PAIN
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer So no examples? Ok.
747Cone 6 months ago
@747Cone None indeed. This is brand new territory historically. No nation has ever been in our situation before, not even closely.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@TheLoyalOfficer I concede that no nation has been in this situation due to the scale of the crisis. However, there have been similar recessions/ depressions. So maybe you could suggest even a smaller scale recession that has occurred somewhere in recent history in the world where austerity seemed to remedy the situation and pulled the economy back out of recession?
747Cone 6 months ago
@747 Well I guess I need to concede the SocSec point to you, although I need to look at it deeper. I actually hope you are right, and that we are "all set" with the program until 2038 or so - although that seems wildly optimistic to me.
Now, to the question of "what now?" The issue is not so much getting out, as it is getting our own house in order. We have expended the options of borrow and spend and tax and spend already. What we need now is de-imperialization and austerity.
(cont)
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
@747 It's not about being pulled out of recession. It's about getting our fiscal house in order. Under your spend-spend-spend plan, just when does it stop? We are at 14 trillion in debt already. 18 trillion? 20 trillion? 25 trillion?
I think you understand that all of that rope has been played out. My solution is to turn back the clock to 1998 - higher taxes, Glass-Stegal, and a stronger dollar. Over a few years, we can import our way out of this.
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
This dillhole is calling for MORE SPENDING?
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
This dillhole is calling for MORE SPENDING???
TheLoyalOfficer 6 months ago
If you want to see all of this in print read the Financial Times. This dude is on point.
bsimpson505 6 months ago
I think you two are delusional about Sotoro, I mean Obama. No one is talking about the Orly Taitz case. any day now the hawaii health department has to produce Obamas birth certificate. this rapid last bill, & super congress is no doubt a tool they will need to keep those results & that case quiet. People seem to forget about the vaguely worded directive 51. Ordo Ab Chao anyone?
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing "Sotoro...Orly Taitz...keep that case quiet...directive 51" Stop talking talking like that. You're an annoying asshole. Why are like 50% of Ron Paul conspiracy freaks?
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak Why are you an uninformed twat? its an ongoing case for one, in which the judge of the case ALREADY deemed both birth certificates frauds. Look something up you stupid mother fucker. Secondly, directive 51 is an executive order. Its people like you that dont know dick, because you dismiss everything. I suppose you think this puppet show is the best a bunch of harvards could do? Go back to sleep pussy mother fucker. You probably cant answer why Barry Sotoro would change his name?
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing I rest my case. RIGHT, man, there's a conspiracy to fake a birth certificate and they managed to get the State of Hawaii and the press, and all those other judges that dismissed Taitz's cases and they even managed to go back in time and convince Obama's Grandma to plant an announcement in the paper. And there's NO birth certificate for him anywhere else...do I have that right? LOL.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak Hey, its a case, if you have a problem with it, you have to go listen to it unfold, dont try to make up angles that may or may not contribute. Fact is there is a written letter by the vetting committee that states that they did NOT check sotoros credibility. there are bill collectors that show his social, isnt even his.There was a military tribunal that handled a military case that entered in the record that sotoro, if investigated, would show great embarrassment. those are facts.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing "A" Military Tribunal? Rumour is not fact, man. And the conspiracy makes no sense. They could just have had the kid since they lived there. Makes no sense to go to (name your fav theory here as to where Obama was born - but I love how you changed the name as if Sotoro is somehow less American sounding than Obama) ...when they lived in Hawaii for months as Obama's mother was already pregnant when she got married and lived in Hawaii. Its not an angle, dunderhead, its called LOGIC
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak The case I mention that was military was all over the news. I was a general that refused to take orders from sotoro. Its documented, sorry your fat fingers only know how to play with yourself. & as I said before, if it were only logic, & there was nothing to it, it wouldnt be in the courts, again look it up you fat ass.And anyone that understands logic, and has photoshop was able to prove sotoro's birth certificates were forged. Why didnt he just bring the long form first? your a tard
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing Who the fuck is Sotoro? And why the fuck would the State of Hawaii forge a birth cettificate when Obama's parents lived in Hawaii, and why (if there are ongoing cases) has Taitz cases been all thrown out? Why is there a military tribunal? Are you talking about your trial? LOL. Tell me something, were all those judges in on it (like the State of Hawaii)? Were they?
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak it was forged BECAUSE there was no other one. The PDF contained layers. OCR scanning was not used and even if it was used it can not produce layers. PDF layers can only be placed manually.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 WTF are you talking about?? And HOW did Obama's Mom get The Sate of Hawaii and all those judges that threw out the case "in on it?" Huh???????
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak dude, the birth certificate is saved in a PDF file and put online by Obama. The PDF file has layers inside it. Layers come from manually putting a graphic over another one.
When you're done photoshopping you collapse all the layers. They forgot to do that. It's clear forgery.
Nothing about "Obama's mom" matters. The thing is a forgery. All the fonts are mixed too & kerneled from a computer, not a typewriter.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 I understand you perfectly. They're able to convince Hawaii to play along, and the judges in the Taitz' cases, too - but they're not able to collapse shit on a PDF file. Right. Thermite in the Towers...right. Oh yes, only what you say Matters, not what I say at all, thats why you don't have to respond to my questions. Got it. Thanks, BRO!!! Lulz.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 I think this dude is a shill. I've noticed they have better pages now a days. if you look at his vids, they contradict what hes saying. hes a fake in my opinion, or the dumbest SOB on he.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing And finally I'm not defending Obama, I'm defending reality. I HATE Georgie but I don't believe he could or did plant bombs in the Twin Towers. Come on, get real.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak you have to know reality to defend it, and you also have to be for what is right no matter who the person, party,relation etc. Dont start a 9/11 thing, because I'm not here to educate you. You need to realize left & right is ancient. its a division tool. ALL POLITICIANS are criminals. I would not defend any of them. And as for 9/11 it needs a new investigation. I trust the building engineers,structural consultants & physics, before a group of criminals. nuff said.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing Its not defending Obama to point out you have no real evidence. You could accuse Hitler of being a Black Magician, and if I said you have no evidence you'd probably call me a Nazi. But that has nothing to do with the logic or veracity of your outrageous claims. Which is why you remind me of a Truther, right down to the absurdity of being accused of defending a politician : Apparently politicians are so hated that whatever you say about them is true no matter how crazy...
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak boy, your good at distortion.When did I say "I" have evidence? I said their is a case in court which there is. I also mention col Terry Lakins case, & that a statement was entered into record concerning Obama, which the case wasn't about him, & these are both realities. So stop being an ignorant clown, playing games.Everyone knows that the highest form of ignorance is condemnation without investigation.Which you CLEARLY havent checked ANY of these facts.So why argue? Truth=wrong? SHILL
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing You tried to say you were a general. You left the Lakin name out of it to confuse me. He was punished and court martialed. I guess the judge in that case was also bought off, huh? The case also happens to be irrelevant. So a Military officer is a Birther? So fucking What? They're officers who are Muslims, should we use them to demonstrate the correctness of the Koran? You see, you're a dufus who wouldn't know logic if it raped you at night next to your Momma where you sleep.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak twin towers? You know 3 buildings, #1 #2 #7 all went down, right? come on, you know there wasn't a 3rd plane.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 I didn't mention building 7, which went down due to a fire. I suppose you're logic here is that since the first two went down after getting hit by planes, only a plane crash in 7 could have caused it to collapse. Of course, if the conspirators in "guvment" wanted it done, maybe they should have arranged for third plane, N'Cest Pas? LOL.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak most of building 7 was not on fire and yet all parts of it collapsed at free-fall speeds as any other demolition. the building was demolished. It did not burn down. That's why people like Joe Lieberman flat out say there was no building 7, "it didn't happen" is what he says.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 "most of building 7 was not on fire" What does that mean? I've seen the pictures of the correct side (the side not shown in Loose Change) - multiple floors were on fire! Also, it collapsed backward, again, seen the footage. Its only because at a certain angle, and because the building had the same kind of structural support - that it collapsed quickly. I could refer you to the Purdue University computer simulation: But would it do any good?? LOL.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak also it did not collapse backward: barely 1 corner was on fire, I did see it the very WEEK it happened, and it collapsed DOWN. not backward. Straight down. You best refer to all PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, not simulations, to prove your case. I refer only to the RAW PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 I saw the footprint and the images of the fire on multiple floors. The simulation was only mentioned to address the point about the buildings structure. The evidence is that the diesel caught on fire and burned down 7. As usual, you don't know what you're talking about. BACKWARDS...HELLO...it fell backwards. And just why would the gov't want the Buildings to go down anyway?? Think about it. They only need one plane crash, not 3 separate buildings collapsing, COME THE FUCK ON!
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing Ya, no kidding. zakdayak is not making any sense.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 "not making sense" Yes, I suppose it doesn't make sense to ask whether its easier to run a conspiracy or actually have the kid in the U.S. which for an American woman in the sixties, was easy. Instead, its bribe multiple judges, the military tribunals, the State of Hawaii, the Media, etc...Oh yeah, that question makes no sense.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak It is much easier to run a conspiracy for real. The US government is built on actual conspiracies to actually kill people and they actually get away with it, all around the world. You're a fool to think magically inside the USA border it doesn't work when outside the USA border for decades the CIA did it. Cuba? Iraq? Iran, installing the SHAH? On and on and on it worked before, so why do you believe "now" is special?
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@Zakdayak If you know so much about this obvious series of forgeries, and set ups, tell me what hospital he was born in? Tell me of one legal document Obama acted as lawyer on. tell me why he and his wife are both disbarred? Tell me why there isnt one teacher, student, that ever remember him at columbia? if he has nothing to hide, again, why the big stahl on producing documents, & the closing of all records that could easily disprove the supposed conspiracy theory? Why would you defend him ?
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing I didn't say I was an expert in forgeries. The burden of proof is on those with extraordinary claims. HELLO. Your claims are extraordinary, LOL. Michelle Obama requested a court order (as is the custom in Illinois in order to enter VOLUNTARY INACTIVE status) to be inactive. She is not disbarred and neither is Obama. A better question is why Hillary's people wouldn't mention that, crack whores, forged birth certificates, etc..COME THE FUCK ON MAN!
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak Again, I'm not making any claims. This is a matter of a case in court. The court ruled them both forgeries. get that through your fat head. Why do you continue to think one left criminal is any different than a right criminal? your very dense, and clearly arguing a point which you dont go look at what was stated in the beginning, you just keep skipping over it. And your words, truther, conspiracy theorist. those have no weight unless your a tard & think a word can change truth & fact.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@Zakdayak "I didn't say I was an expert in forgeries. The burden of proof is on those with extraordinary claims."
And this burden has been 100% satisfied.
The extraordinary claim is that there IS a birth certificate.
The proof is that there is none provided.
A forgery in its place, poorly made, was provided.
This satisfies the burden of proof we need: there is proof no birth certificate can be produced as only a forgery is given in its place.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@ytgv3fc7 I mentioned the burden of proof in response to 2skullscrushing queries of where Obama was born , etc.You haven't met the burden of proof. Its an extraordinary claim because you're asking me to believe that the State of Hawaii is in on a conspiracy that has fooled the press (In on it too?) and Hillary/McCain, etc..I saw the short form, and that's good enough. Don't see any reason why not. Its also good enough for the US gov't. A Poorly made fabrication couldn't accomplish these things
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak I have indeed met the burden of proof. RT was not fooled, I am not fooled, only you are fooled. Do you believe all the BP oil spill is cleaned up too? It isn't. the evidence, the facts, are clear: BP oil is still there and the so-called Birth Certificate handed to the press is a fraud. Poorly made fabrications are the stock & trade of today's news on CNN, Fox & CNBC. Entire states absolutely DO lie and go corrupt. Hawaii? YES WITHOUT DOUBT. Florida? Same. New Jersey? Without question.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing Don't forget to repeat yourself : The State of Hawaii and all those OTHER judges are IN ON IT. Right man?
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak No dueschbag, this is a case launched by alan Keyes, BEFORE sotoro became potus. I guess in your opinion, its all conspiracy theory that has the court system venturing down this road? Just go back to sleep, your just a cool aid drinking idiot that really doesnt know shit about the mass corruption in this world.Too dumb to realize every great detective solves every crime by first having a conspiracy theory, then following the money or benefiting party.Too complex for a tard. troll on.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago 2
@2skullscrushing OH right. ALAN KEYES. SAY NO FUCKING MORE. .....lulz. Thats right. First conspiracy theory, then make up shit, or find discrepancies and interpret everything to suit your paranoid fantasies rather than facing real problems like a tax structure that rewards the wealthy for investing in China and Brazil. Thanks Dude!!!
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak Your just a fat troll, stuck in mainstream media reality which is far from it.A troll most proper, because you use propaganda on every turn. There IS a case being heard in the courts as I said, its not a conspiracy. Lt.Col.Terry Lakin had a military tribunal, in which the judge stated into record at the end,that Obama's record would be embarrassing to him, & the congress needed to look into it.These people are professionals. what are you? a fat troll, that cant seem to use a search.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@Zakdayak if you knew anything about tax and trade issues, you'd know that it was Clintons NAFTA, that set that up. Its not illegal, if the tax code writers & enforcers are criminals, that lobby, control and create policy. I'm not going to listen to your dumb uninformed opinion any more, so go buy a bra or something, because you should be more concerned about your fat ass than anything here, because you dont know dick about anything your saying. Your a dumb person, obviously stuck on stupid.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing Yes, the Clintons were really Reaganites: Called for deregulation and "free trade" polcies like Nafta. Also, Obama is equally a Corporatist (and probably more so). But these are legitimate concerns based on facts, as opposed to what you usually talk about.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak First off, you dont even know what I "USUALLY" talk about. & if it happens to be based in fact, I only know it, because I've done the research. If you spent less time eating, and more time asking why every scandal that comes up is labeled a conspiracy theory, by mainstream, which is a foolish dismissal of actually investigating all claims, by all peoples and subject matter, you might understand and grasp what logic is.But since you dont, it only makes you a spoon fed idiot. now go eat.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing "less time eating" Wow, personal attacks from a guy with all the facts. What happened? LOL.
Logic is what I've been applying. It doesn't make sense to think that its costs less effort to fool/control the court system and the State of Hawaii as opposed to having the kid in Hawaii, when they lived there.
"Far Troll" Because I think you're a hater who dislikes Obama for personal reasons rather than policy issues, which is why you've applied a crazy theory..Come on man!! LOL
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak what theory did I apply? you put words in my mouth. And as I will say again, i'm not stuck in your left/right agenda, its ancient roman tactic, and there hasn't been one president that speaks for any american since kennedy as far as i'm concerned. I could give a shit about Obama, hes a terrible excuse for a so called constitutional lawyer, friends of bill ayers terrorist, and you must love him. He's a criminal. I'm not engaging in your retard debate anymore, because your stupid.go eat.
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing The theory you apply is crazy conspiracy. Since you asked...and I AM addressing what you are saying. But what you're saying makes no sense. It simply doesn't make sense to have a child voluntarily in Kenya or Indonesia (name you theory) when you live in the U.S..
Zakdayak 6 months ago
@Zakdayak Answer the questions dough boy, what hospital was Obama born in? What doctor signed his birth certificate? EASY questions any american can answer on their own certificates, so answer the FUCKING questions and stop using propaganda diversion tactics, or else your not debating facts, justs avoiding key questions, JUST LIKE A SHILL!!!!!
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing YELLING CUZ YOU'RE RIGHT? Lol. Because the louder and more insulting you are the better you feel apparently. I don't recall you answering my questions about how those judges threw out all those cases or how the State of Hawaii is in on the conspiracy. The Hospital was the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, called then Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital. But somehow I think you're going to find a way to tell me that they got the Hospital name wrong, LOL.
Zakdayak 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Zakdayak "The State of Hawaii and all those OTHER judges are IN ON IT. Right man?"
Every other state has judges in on dealing with hookers, coke and sending kids to jail for money. Are you seriously acting as if this is an unlikely event? It's more than likely.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Zakdayak "Don't forget to repeat yourself : The State of Hawaii and all those OTHER judges are IN ON IT. Right man?"
Your premise is wrong that this is incredible or impossible. Government corruption has been well documented backing this up. 10% of all police are not corrupt, 5% of all judges are not corrupt. The rest are all taking bribes.
ytgv3fc7 6 months ago
They need to reform monetary policy. The Federal Reserve sets interest rates and allows the banks to practice fractional reserve banking. This creates the boom and bust cycle; not the free market
mjbarrowful 6 months ago
This gentleman needs to wake up to the fact the Obama is no different then Bush. In some respects even worst. The only change he brought to the government is color one. I suspect all that is happening in the politics and economy is to manipulate people like the guest on this video to call for stronger action. Then we will have dictatorship, which I suspect we have been set up to.
slonamu 6 months ago 2
I'd cut my hand off before I'd vote for Obama again.
OurFadedGarden 6 months ago 2
@OurFadedGarden Make up for it, by not only voting for Ron Paul, but helping spread the word about him. he is who you should of voted for last time. :)
2skullscrushing 6 months ago
@2skullscrushing I do spread the word about him. He's a proponent of social Darwinism, and I tell all the old and sick people I know.
OurFadedGarden 6 months ago
Very enjoyable, shockingly unvarnished reportage from TRNN, a rare media-outlet where sugar-coating is regularly skipped and the viewers are regarded as intelligent Human beings capable of reasoning. Mr. Johnson has a wonderful brain with awesome synthesizing power, but he needed to be warmed up a 'bit for a good start. Mr. Jay's well informed questioning provided that impetus. Thumbs up guys for a work well done.
wotan20 6 months ago 5
Primary!
Primary!
mrx0066600 6 months ago
@ 8:40, “He’s got to act like he represents people.” Well he does. He represents the banksters. But then again, maybe they aren’t people.
We all saw what happened. He gave criminals money & no one – no one is thrown in jail.
Obama continued the policies of Bush: war, Gitmo, torture, patriot act, bush tax cuts. Why are we in Libya for example!
He wanted to give away Medicaid so long as the next ceiling vote was after the election. We understand his priority is jobs – his own.
iknownothingnow 6 months ago
The Real News is one of the really outstanding alternative news sites, I also like the Young Turks, RT, and Democracy Now- Yesterday I watched a round table discussion on ABCs This Week - 5 members, a tea party Ayn Rand fan, a establishment Right-winger, two big money corportists, and a barely left of center old women- that is what is portrayed as the spectrum of thought on main stream media.
billybobhobnob101 6 months ago 53
@billybobhobnob101 I'm not a fan of the Young Turks. They talk about a lot of stupid shit.
sk8tafrnk 6 months ago
@billybobhobnob101 Hear hear
thesparitan 6 months ago
It is unfortunate the rating agencies did not specify to either preform austerity measures or to focus on the recovery. It is true there is waste that needs to be trimmed off, but at the same time things require reinvestment, and money needs to be drawn from the whole economy.
choobie12 6 months ago
how is this QE 3 different than any other. nothing will ever change as long as the bankers choose to make the USA their home base.
choctawindian7473 6 months ago
I like this guest's honest answers.
Kooshkff 6 months ago 2
how are you able to get these kind of high profile people?
just curious. I love you channel!
miretchin 6 months ago
NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
purpurpledog8 6 months ago
real news fans watch before the video even has a title
FrankieJames7 6 months ago 16
@FrankieJames7 best journalism ever.
charbroiledmonk1033 6 months ago
teach us how to tack back the control over our security (birth certificate) and we can and will make them behave like a civilized world !!
demented669 6 months ago