Equity futures are higher overnight with the dollar falling out of bed, the Yen also lower (intervention with hot money here is translating into higher prices for everything), bonds are lower, oil is higher, gold set a new all-time high now $1,463 an ounce, silver just a sliver under $40, and most food commodities continue their rocket ride to the moon and beyond.
Just think about those commodity prices. WTI crude is now $109, Brent Crude is above $122, and gold is nearing $1,500 – it was just a few short years ago that people thought it was nuts that gold was at $500 and most refused to believe it would ever get to these levels, much less even higher which is where this is eventually leading. Look for counter waves, however, as economies are now under severe pressure from these higher prices. The European region is talking about interest rate hikes and our “Fed” is looking somewhat divided in their spew of disinformation and insider manipulations.
Regardless of the foul stench of the “Fed’s” spew, the REAL economy is under tremendous pressure from commodity prices. Raise interest rates and the debt saturated economy will be under even more pressure as you add interest expense to everything and everyone. Its coffin corner in aircraft terms, you can’t safely go any higher, you can’t safely go any faster, and thus you must sacrifice altitude or die.
I want to note the complete disconnect between the phony and manipulated money indices and commodities… while the dollar is sick, it is not nearly as sick on the chart as it is in reality. This is because it is compared against a basket of other sick and manipulated currencies which have nothing to do with reality. If you want reality, you must look at the price of things… like gold which has risen 300% since 2006 – that’s 300% in five years which equals 60% loss of value per year. Is that hyperinflation, or just high inflation? If the dollar index were truly reflecting its value, it would be at roughly 30 already – but it’s not because all those comparable currencies in the basket are also racing us to the bottom.
Most economic data, despite the destruction of the value of our money, is beginning to turn sour. Yesterday’s Service ISM is a case in point, and yet another data point were rising commodity prices is pressuring our economy. Today’s only data comes from the worthless Mortgage Banker’s Association where the claim is that weekly Purchase Applications rose by 6.7%, but Refinancing Activity fell by 6.2%, pushing their overall index down by 2.0%. Nothing but a distraction, I hate to even waste our time discussing it further so I won’t – we have far more important things to consider…
…Like what is going on in Japan. Looking at the headlines on CNN I would think that everything is A-Okay: “Radioactive Water Leaked Stopped,” and “No Radiation Risk for U.S. – CDC Says.”
That’s it!!! Both of those headlines are completely inaccurate and intentionally misleading.
In reality that entire complex is still spewing massive amounts of radiation into the environment. It is so hot that personal dosimeters go off-scale high almost immediately. It’s obvious that the scope of this disaster is far worse than Chernobyl, and it is still ongoing with no meaningful attempt to keep the radiation on site where it belongs – talk of cracks and water leaks is a complete distraction – that place is a total wreck and a sieve which they are making worse by pouring water on.
Yesterday, India banned food imports from Japan but our own country does NOTHING.
Here’s the disinformation given by U.S. officials:
CDC chief: Americans not at risk from radiationThey then go on to distract you with talk about potassium iodide tablets, which are completely worthless because your government will never inform you when there is a danger in a timely manner and those must be taken within two hours of exposure or it’s too late. Not that they protect against the heavier elements anyway – and thus it is a complete distraction. But to claim that it’s not present in the environment and that they are on top of testing for it is an outright LIE.
Minuscule amounts of radiation detected in the United States do not pose any risk to Americans' health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden reiterated Tuesday.
"We do not expect radiation to reach problematic levels," he said on a conference call with reporters.
Despite a low-level of concern, Frieden said, agencies such as the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were all actively monitoring the air, the food and the water supplies in the U.S. for any evidence of contamination.
Dr. William Jones, acting director for the FDA's division of food safety, echoed Frieden's sentiments.
"There is a great deal of monitoring going on for any product that comes into this country," said Jones. "Anything contaminated to level where it could pose a concern would be detected."
We already know that significant amounts of both radioactive iodine and cesium have been found in the water and in milk, and grass in many regions of the country. These amounts have been measured to be many times established safe limits in the water in Berkeley, California, and in Boise, Idaho. Radioactive clouds are wafting across the country dropping contaminants that collect, compile, and then concentrate on up the food chain. Below is today’s forecast for radioactive contamination from Japan as it passes over the United States:
That’s just today. And those accumulations over the West Coast states are the same intensity as those forecast to fall on Japan today (Latest forecast has all of California under radiation threat April 6, 7 — Shows levels as high as in Japan (VIDEO)). And it’s been nearly a month now… how many months of contamination and accumulation before we begin to take appropriate action?
As our water and food supply grow increasingly contaminated, many are taking action already, and oh, oh, shortages are now turning up in freeze dried food, how long before the majority of people catch on to reality and begin hoarding?
Freeze Dried Food Distributor: Six Month Wait Time Amid Extreme Shortages
If there was ever a sentiment indicator for economic uncertainty and fear, this would be it.
As of April 2011, major distributors of freeze dried food, namely the Mountain House brand, are indicating that shoppers should expect delays of nearly six months on any orders placed today:
I’d scream if my thyroid wasn’t so swollen!***CURRENT INVENTORY UPDATE AS OF 04/05/11***Other large distributors we contacted indicated similar shipping delays, with many simply marking their freeze dried food inventory as completely “out of stock.”
All Mountain House & Nitro-Pak food storage #10 cans are in EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND due to national & world current economic uncertainty and inflation fears. With this increase in demand, our food order processing times have greatly increased also. As Mountain House’s leading distributor, we are receiving HUGE shipments WEEKLY to fill our customer orders, but demand exceeds the available supply. Most Mountain House dealers have been been cut off & receive no food, period. Supplies are VERY SCARCE. Like Disneyland, the line is long but still slowly moving. Please be patient. This is a line you do not want to get out of!
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All canned food orders and units may take up to 160 days to ship. Thank you for your business!
Source: Nitro-Pak
Some reality is beginning to make it into the mainstream, below are some points brought up in this N.Y. Times article:
U.S. Sees Array of New Threats at Japan’s Nuclear PlantYeah, it’s serious and it’s being underplayed, big time. Don’t let the special interests lull you into a false sense of security, just like they do with what’s left of the markets. Pay attention and take the appropriate action.
- “Semimolten” fuel rods and salt are “impeding the flow of fresh water meant to cool the nuclear cores” in ALL THREE REACTORS
- The water flow in reactor No. 1 “is severely restricted and likely blocked“
- Similar problems exist in No. 2 and No. 3, although the blockage is probably less severe
- “There is likely no water level” inside the core of reactor No. 1
- There is a possibility of “explosions inside the containment structures”
- Highly radioactive pieces from the spent fuel pools were blown up to a mile away
- Nuclear Engineer: Confidential US report “paints a very different picture, and suggests that things are a lot worse” — Risk of more damage “in a big way”
- Japan concerned about more explosions — “Considering injecting nitrogen into containment vessels” -Kyodo
- Nuclear consultant doubts official temperature estimates — Reactor No. 3 probably much nearer to THOUSANDS of degrees
- Unexpected pressure buildup in No. 3 reactor — “We are not so optimistic” says Japan official