Under-reported stories that will change your Life

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a story that will change Taiwan and the world: a report by the United States Navy announcing that it soon will be unable to protect its interests along Asia’s Pacific coastline. This means that Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines are no longer under U.S. protection. Below is the link to the Bloomberg story. Bloomberg is one of America’s most respected financial news sources, and its main owner is the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. He is also called the 8th richest American by Forbes, which claims he has a personal fortune of $16 billion. The world is like that.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=annrZr9ybk7A
China’s New Missile May Create a ‘No-Go Zone’ for U.S. Fleet

That story was not followed up in the New York Times or other mainstream news sources. As far as I know, it has not been reported in Taiwan. Why? Because it would cause panic and a lack of confidence in the economy. This news will change the world, but the corporations who control the news dare not stress the implications. Only those who are really trying to get the real news will get it.

Here’s another story, reported in the Guardian, but ignored by the American and Taiwanese media. Again, the implications of the story are huge. And that’s why the story has been buried.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/09/peak-oil-international-energy-agency
Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower
Watchdog's estimates of reserves inflated says top official

"Many inside the organisation believe that maintaining oil supplies at even 90m to 95m barrels a day would be impossible but there are fears that panic could spread on the financial markets if the figures were brought down further. And the Americans fear the end of oil supremacy because it would threaten their power over access to oil resources," he added.

This story – which has not appeared in the mainstream US or Taiwan news (!) – implies that the financial markets (Wall Street, London, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai) are being manipulated to believe that continuous growth is possible when it is not. The world economy needs energy to produce wealth, and it needs more and more energy if it is going to grow. If the economy does not grow, it collapses. Non-growth is called "Recession". If the economy shrinks enough, it’s called a "Depression". (Think: 1930s.)

That’s because economic growth is based on debt with interest payments. If you borrow 100 dollars at 4% interest, you must repay the 100 dollars PLUS the interest. If everyone is trying to do this at the same time, the total economy must grow by 4% or many will fail to pay their debts. The total exposure of the financial system to risky debts (derivatives) is now over $1 quadrillion. That’s A MILLION BILLIONS.

The BBC reports:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2008/10/a_global_solution_needed.html The derivatives market represents a debt of 1.2 QUADRILLION dollars globally. There is not 1.2 Quadrillion dollars in existence in all the currency on earth. Much of that derivatives are loans for gambles made at 10% and then passed on at another % and so on and so on. The institutions left holding the debt have on their books (in writing) assets worth trillions, BUT are in reality debts that could never possibly be be repaid as the money does not, and has never existed.

This is why, although the mainstream media continue to comment on Obama's "green shoots", there is a much larger economic collapse in store for the world.

Dr. Colin Campbell, one of the world’s foremost oil geologists, replied to the Guardian story about phony oil statistics with (among many other comments) these words:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5970
“In fact, today 28 billion barrels a year support a world population on 6.7 billion people, but by 2050 the supply will have fallen to a level able to support less than half that number in their present way of life.”

The meaning of Campbell’s statement is obvious: either there will be less than 3.4 billion people in 2050, or they will, on the average, be living a lifestyle only half as wonderful and convenient. (Or something between the two.) For us, in the first world, living with only half of the resources we now enjoy would be very frustrating, but it would be endurable. For the “bottom billion” it certainly means starvation.

That's why distorted statistics form the basis of the news you read, such as Obama’s famous “green shoots”. If the general public knew that our economy will not grow, but shrink over the next generation, it would be very upset – and in no mood to buy more stuff from the global corporations who are responsible for the mainstream news. Much of the real news is not comfortable, so it’s seldom mentioned.

You, as intelligent world citizens, want to know what’s really going on – not just accept what the mainstream media are telling you. That way, you can plan your own lives in a way that maximizes your chances for survival and happiness. And to get the real information, you have to really try. It’s hard work, especially for ESL students. I am trying to help you.