amidst the financial crisis, akin to a financial 911, it is
time once again for the programme that comes to you from
both ends of the spectrum of Gitmo nation coming to you from
Gitmo nation east. I'm Adam curry.
And I'm John C. Dvorak up here and get mo nation northwest
Pacific Northwest to be specific. Washington State
Studio B today. Studio be a sound okay, this is just on the
headset, right?
Yeah, I know. I don't have any gear here.
Well, John, let me ask you a question. Do you feel the bottom
yet? At the bottom, please? Oh, please. That was not the bottom?
Well,
no, it's just the bottom was 10,000. I'd said that a million
times. And I actually expected it to pass through to, you know,
nine, D eight or something like that, but didn't. And it just,
you know, was just about to smack it. And then it just said,
Well, I think this is close enough. And now we're on a
upswing.
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your, what do you call a random
podcast with Andrew? Andrew Horowitz? Hello. And Andrew
Horowitz Yeah, that was good. That was you guys really got
done with some good stuff. And that about the financial
markets?
Hey, cynical. I mean, he's like you are about the bottom, you
know,
yeah, I could tell us why I liked it.
Most of the brokers that I know who are in the business, they're
all they're all singing the blues. And then, and then when
the bottom is like saved, you know, bumbum, you bounce off of
it. They and the government, you know, turns us into a socialist
country, then they complain, I said this baffling to me,
I'd actually take it one step further. And I know we're just
kind of jumping in the middle here. But I looked up the
definition of a fascist state, and I think we're pretty close
to it. Isn't this one. corporatism? Yeah, it's when
when the corporations and the government basically collude.
And this game, but in this case, is not the government taking
over the corporations, it's the corporations taking over the
government. But I think the result is the same thing. It's,
it's, it's been baffling to me. How we can let go of it. Yeah.
But, you know, there's so besides the stock market, which
I agree, you know, sure. It's, it's gonna go up, you know,
mainly because you can't bet against it going down
effectively with the the ban on short selling, or at least the
ban on short selling and financials. But that ends
October second, I think. Yeah. Right. That's when you're gonna
start to see the bottom. That's when they'll come rushing up at
us?
I don't think so. Really,
I mean, you don't think that this is a been a complete
beginning of the destruction of the of everything that makes
America's economy work
to base a base for the future?
Really? And you're really that optimistic about it?
For the next year? Yeah. Oh,
man, I see this in such a different way, John? I really
do.
And now actually, to be honest about it, even though I don't
want to sound like a communist. We've had to do something with
our, with our financial structure to deal with the, with
the Chinese.
Because they own so much of us. Is that what you mean?
Well, that but no, they have they run a kind of a corporate.
Although this is done, it's in reverse. They have their
government, you know, telling corporations what to do more
than we do. We have our corporations telling the
government what to do, but it's the same there's there's this
the collusion between the government and these companies
that we don't we, you know, that makes it hard to compete with
them because they they'll have the government bail out. There's
companies that are screwed up. And we've never done that
before. Because if we believe that, technically, if a company
you know, because we're we talk a big game about free enterprise
and capitalism, we believe that the companies have been run by a
bunch of boneheads who are raping the shareholders and
stealing the money and pocketing and buying houses and the stock.
We believe that if the company fails that these people should
be run out of town or run out of business or should go broke
themselves. But but a more corrupt system, which doesn't
allow for that seems to be what the Chinese have. And so I think
we're mimicking it.
But all but you know, I'm really struggling with this mainly
because I've been talking about something like this happening
and it actually taking place and I'm trying to understand I'm
what it all means but these these all these measures and
these bailouts that's, that's but that's not to save anything
in the real economy. I mean, yes, maybe saving the auto
industry is one thing, but this is just saving. Guys. We're
pushing paper around.
Yeah, I know it's hilarious. But
you don't hear me laughing I don't know I'm, I'm I'm almost
shell shocked. I am on Friday I went to I went to Amsterdam for
a number of reasons. And I'll tell you exactly what they were
and honestly, one to go get some physical gold gold. I told you.
I was going to do that. And by the way, you know what a bar of
gold weighs? A lot. 12 kilos.
Yeah, how much? How many bars? One? plane take off.
We barely barely made it off the ground. But this 12 kilos.
That's huge. I thought it I thought it was a little more. I
don't know. I mean, it's, it's Well, anyway,
so let me get this straight. You went to to Holland. And made
this pod show delayed the pod show a day? Am I dead? Yeah, of
course, to pick up a 25 pound bar of gold.
Yeah, amongst other things. I also, I was invited to a party
which had been planned well in advance but turned out to be a
very the timing turned out to be really interesting. of the
private banking division of mais Pearson which have been I've
been a client with them for 10 years. And they were bought up
by Fortis a couple of years ago. Yeah. Oops, exactly. And so but
the party still went on and and I was the only client I might
add that showed up to the party, the only one. And it was I mean,
people were just do they were like, shell shocked. And the
stories that the stories they were telling me it was m&a was
they the past two weeks had been so horrible, just for them
business wise and they I don't think they even believe that
that they're gonna that they have any type of future everyone
was pretty much like Well, that's it, you know, it's over
done with forget about it.
And felt this way, because they thought that the government now
will be running the finances and they ran a business
now they felt this way because of the enormous outflows of
cash. So you know, there. Yeah. So, you know, they they manage
private individuals and also like nonprofits and you know,
they,
Oh, I see that some people are pulling this like, for example,
clients might be buying bars of gold.
That would be one example if like, why don't you can buy the
gold? You can, it'll just be on paper. Like, no, no, that's not
the point. We can do that too. But I actually want to have the
physical gold. That was not easy to arrange. I'll tell you.
That's because they don't want anybody having the gold. No, of
course not. But it's also not easy to obtain is what I found
out. And they were like, You should go buy diamonds and like
I don't know shit about diamonds. And that's a that's
not a very easy market. That's a that's a cartel. You know,
that's the beer. Yeah, that's exactly,
yeah, you can go into any, you know, kind of Old West Honky
Tonk bar and you got the gold, you know, you get a drink. So
what I did with that,
so what that also did is I spent some time because the, the
actual the equivalent of the FDIC guarantees in in Europe are
a little different. They're significantly lower, I might
add. So I think per account, it's they insured 20,000 euros,
but they ensure 100% of the first 20,000 euros on deposit
and then 90% of the second 20,000 So was that 30 38,000
combined but you know this like Where you gonna go you've got
Fortis you've got ABN AMRO, which oh, by the way, part of
that bought by Fortis part of that bought bought by Royal Bank
of Scotland. They only have one other one, which I really like
is the Rabo Bank, which is it's not publicly listed, and it's a
cooperative. So they you know, they have hundreds of small
banks all across the country, and they're open on Saturdays.
So,
almost I don't think there's a bank in the United States. It's
not open on Saturday. Oh, it's very
atypical for for the Netherlands to have a bank open on Saturdays
very atypical. Yeah, but I was just you know, I'm just amazed
at what's going on. It's a people are you know, the money
markets are now also you know, returning negative negative
equity. Money market funds.
Yeah, let's because yeah, that was the one I think we talked to
if you if you listen to the first Before I correlates, no, I
didn't lose mark for a discussion.
I didn't I didn't even talk about that.
No backup or the first one.
But anyway, so I mean, forget about,
by the way, anyone who wants to listen to that stuff that's on
divorce iq.org/blog
He had, do you have an RSS feed for that you can do more? What's
the deal with it? I think it's an outstanding conversation. I
really like well, the
RSS feed exists. Yeah, it's all a prelude to this book that I
have to finish. So you know, I'm, I'm laying the marketing
groundwork. Yeah. Okay. And Horowitz and I are actually
going to do a little thing together, which is going to be
to dissect Yahoo Finance. Oh, wow. Because he can answer the
questions I had that I have that I've been asking around. Like,
for example, if you take if you have a book value of $3 billion,
and an enterprise value of $2 billion for one company, and you
have a book value of $3 billion, and an enterprise value of $3.5
billion for another company, which is the better investment.
Okay, my head hurts. Yeah, no, I know. It's just like, you know,
that's, that's it that goes, you know, that I know, because I've
always asked that question, when I look at these numbers, and I
said, does that mean this is better than this? Or that and
he's gonna explain it. The guy's amazing. Anyway, so we'll
probably do one or two more of those before the I shut it down
before the for the big crash. Exactly. No, the big crashes?
You know, that's, we got a year to go on that.
You know, I don't think so. John, well, okay. Maybe it is a
year. But can I just play out my scenario? Well, first of all,
what has been done here with this? And I guess they announced
it tomorrow, the what do they call it the resolution, airy
Trust Corporation? The revolutionary Trust Corporation?
Resolution, the Resolution Trust Corporation. Yeah. So basically,
everyone gets to put all their bullshit in there. And, and, and
the only the only ways to actually pay for that, or to be
able to afford it is by either Well, I guess, one of three
scenarios, maybe for collecting higher taxes, printing up more
money, borrowing more from China, which I think is pretty
much out of the question or complete collapse.
Right. I think the last alternative is, is to be
avoided.
Right, but how can you avoid that? I just don't see how it
can. You know, it's like a deflationary crash, which we
tried to avoid with a buyout that I know, you've been talking
about this for a long time, which will be hyperinflationary.
Yeah. And it just buys us a little bit of time.
Yeah. If and that's bad. If you're in a sinking ship, you
want some more time? To go to the bottom and to sec, no, I
understand that. But no one else understands that the Joe Public
doesn't get it. And
no, they do it. There's one other element here that
everybody seems to overlook. Okay. And I've had a
conversation on the plane coming up here. Virgin America, by the
way, they should be sponsoring the show. And
I sure we sure as hell seem to be sponsoring virgin.
Well, you in particular, yeah, exactly. Yeah, really, they
she's caught some of that money back up. We keep mentioning them
fondly. Richard Branson, slamming and maybe
that'll work well. Branson's not gonna buy Gatwick airport so
he's he's busy. You're kidding me? Yeah, it's up. Well, it was
it's up for sale because ba which is run by the Spaniards I
might add. All in your yes and your ba get on the plane. Felice
per ticket and passport. So they own Stansted Heathrow and
Gatwick and then all three airports are shit. I haven't
actually tried terminal five yet, but we know they had plenty
of problems, which was attributed to be a British
Airways. So they had to they've been broken up essentially. And
it's for sale for $2 billion or 2 billion pounds $4 billion
dollars or actually a little less now. Ba no no not be a
Gatwick is for sale, just that one piece they have to have to
spin off and so immediately Well, you know, Richard Branson
is just the brand and he has these huge hedge funds that
that's, you know, that's behind him. Right? Or he stands in
front of them, I should say. So that'll be interesting. But I
don't know if anyone would put up 2 billion. I don't think we
even get that type of financing in today's situation.
So he's working on some sort of a deal. Yeah.
Well, that's what the Financial Times said Financial Times. By
the way. I went out and got the Saturday Sunday edition. There
is not one yeah, there's like two or articles about sports and
one of them was about the owner of Newcastle United who just
lost 300 million backing HBO s the bank which was just taken
over by Lloyds TSB to avoid the financial meltdown in the United
Kingdom. But everything else is all about this financial crisis,
nothing else in the paper, but anything. Anything.
So what did you learn?
What I learned is that this is just the collapse of of like a
multilevel marketing Ponzi scheme. And I have seriously and
I think it's, it's gonna take everything down, I think it's
gonna be really, really serious, you know?
Because you don't think it's serious already?
Yeah, no, but I don't think it's hitting people yet. I don't
think they understand what it means mean, when, when you're
when when markets collapse. I mean, we need markets, even just
to, you know, for our food to get transported, you need all
kinds of financial markets to make shit run. And then all
comes down. And you know, they're probably going to close
markets and, you know, try and make up new regulation to how
was shake? How was business Gonna, gonna be done? That's
what I don't see. Well, I have a real there's a real risk in that
there really is.
I think the whole basis for this is to get the housing market.
jumpstarted
Oh, you see, now this. That's interesting. You say that,
because there's a couple things that that I'm picking up on. And
so here's the general, here's what the public is being taught.
And I learned this from Sarah Palin who and I'd want to talk
about her specifically because I've been paying attention to
her as well. So the message going out to the average
American, which I would say is 99%. When it comes to, you know,
understanding this type of stuff, and what it really means
and what they're fed through corporate news media is this
problem was created by short sellers, bad guys bad bad gonna
stop them. Which is the I read a great, great quote about this,
the analogy of banning short selling is the fire department
fire investigators investigating a number of arsons by you know,
and then saying, Okay, we're going to stop this we're going
to ban the sale of matches. And so that's the the main message
is that this was done by rogue traders, bad bankers short
selling, shouldn't have it shouldn't be done. And of
course, the real blame is being put on homeowners, you bad
homeowners, you lied on your application, it's all your
fault. And this man, no one better than Sarah Palin, because
I've been studying her man that wow, did the Republican Party do
a great job by getting her in? You know, now I know why she
didn't do an interview for about two weeks after the after the
convention is because she went to the George Bush Training
School of repeating the talking points. And she's and if you
listen to her, she sounds just like George Bush, not not in the
voice or anything like that. But she's she's spitting out the
talking points in the simplest way by saying that she talks
really fast. Well, of course, we've got the financial crisis.
We had bad traders, bad bad practices gotta regulate that.
And she's just like George Bush, only faster and prettier. Have
you ever listened to her she's and then it's like, Well, did
you see the Saturday Night Live skit about you? And and she's
already been trained to say to what they told her to say was
yes, telling you saw you loved it, but you didn't actually hear
it because of course, she can't respond to any any of the what
was discussed in that skit. And in the end, if she's asked about
policy, then all she has to say is of course John McCain has the
right policy for that. John McCain is gonna is has has all
the policies on the table. And she says, Oh, Willie, I saw it.
It was fantastic. I love the skit. I laughed. I couldn't
actually hear what was being said, because I had the sound
turned way down. But boy, I really loved it. Miss Palin,
could you play Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live? Absolutely.
I could you better believe I could.
And she'll be on tour. You can count on us. Absolutely. And
she's and she is an actress and a really good one.
Well, here's the thing that got me about that. Now you're her.
And you know, you're just in out of Alaska. And you sound like
you're from Minnesota. Yeah. And you You're, you're somehow
sitting around or you've heard about Tina Fey on a national
television show is going to imitate you and your dad and
you're going to just found out
I mean, how about what else?
What if that's an out and out lie? Yeah, of course. It's a
lie. But but that's because I don't care who you are. Even
though you know, they're gonna slam you. You're gonna if it's
going to be Tina Fey doing a comedy act, you have to see what
she's saying. So you can at least be upset about it.
So you Gee, that's a revelation. A liars. Wow, that's a big one.
It happened now but anyway, so that was that was pretty lame,
but pay attention, John pay attention and she's passing on
the talking point the talking points just beautifully in very
short, understandable Joe Blow bursts of sound bites it's
awesome with it. It's awesome.
Yeah, well that's what you're supposed to do. Now the problem
with Obama is that he doesn't keep track of the talking
points. So he is he's always going. He's thinking and making
Berkeley like sound I'm going through the list. Yeah.
Of which one that which one to pull up? Yeah. Well, you can see
when John McCain, when he said the he alluded that the
fundamentals of the economy were strong. And then, you know, the
the press jumped on that, I guess the press being maybe CNN
jumped on it. And, and then they gave him new talking points. And
you know, that for him to explain what he exactly exactly
meant. And you can see him looking down on his cue cards
the whole time bumbling around trying to read the lines to look
kind of comfortable because there's no teleprompter. And one
of these kind of like stump stump speech scenarios. It's
just this they're actors, and they're not writing any of that.
They don't know what the hell to say done in touch with anything.
Get in touch with what's going on. Then you don't have time to
read a newspaper to for the headline, let alone listen to
the sound of the skit.
Right? Look, I'm on television. I
haven't got tired. I don't want to hear it. I sure who cares.
But she looks like me. Man, actually, that was a pretty
funny bit. It was great. And it wasn't. It wasn't particularly
insulting by any means. It was actually quite funny. Yeah, they
work. Yeah, I thought it worked. So it actually did that thing.
The thing that she did the most, which I because I was annoyed by
this. Apparently Tina Fey was a fairly good mimic. She does a
Donner Condoleezza Rice that is absolutely hilarious. Yeah. But
she did that thing with her mouth that Palin kept doing
which was either it's like, it's like a mature lip up. Yeah, you
lower lip up above the upper lip. And then I guess wiping
your teeth with your tongue. While your mouth is closed. It's
kind
of like like a MySpace picture pose.
Yeah, so to take effect was just constantly doing that just
constantly. This this funny looking thing that she does now
was very good. She's not attractive. By the way, it's
Palin, somebody in payments camp should tell her to stop it. Or
wear better lipstick because the only reason you know a lot of
women get into the habit of cleaning their teeth with their
tongue is because because they get to go over the teeth.
And she's wearing her hair down now, which I like. I was waiting
for that. We didn't actually see the transition. But yeah, I like
that. But a circus man what a circus anyway, so here's what I
predict will happen. John, if you don't mind me just going out
on a limb because you're much more positive than I am. I
think. But I see the market moving along. I see this RTC
getting put in place and I see October 2, they take off the
short selling restrictions. takes about a month for shit to
start barreling down we go into full blown crisis and the
elections are postponed brother that's I think that's a very
feasible scenario. And it won't be it won't be because the
financials are dead it will be because foods not rolling
lections postponed. All right. Well, that's a good theory. Keep
people as listening Do you think that's crazy? People out there
listening taking note, please because I can't I've you know,
we've said stupid things on the show before. He's again nobody
documents it. Well, and the two of us, it's all a matter of
history. Let me finish the two of us are too lazy to ever go
back and or even take notes while we're doing the show. So
out so it'd be some vague reference six months from now.
Yeah, didn't you say when everybody's gonna be like two
old men. So I want the public out there that listens to the
show to do it. You know, to somebody out there's got to be
some gadget that just likes to document everything besides
Baba, who does a good job with the notes but he's not going to
go back and give us
but none of the people are documenting this because they've
all called me on my $200 a barrel oil which of course is
because you keep calling me on it, which
you bought into that bullshit.
Like we got pretty close. We got to almost 150 Bill service.
Yeah, come on. Oh, but anyway, so you know, I said all right.
I'm wrong, but now you know, I'm pretty sure we're gonna write it
down to 60. And I'm wrong. That's all right.
Okay, here's what I think's going to happen, then, if you're
gonna make the prediction that the the key element of your
prediction is that the elections are going to be postponed, Yes,
correct. Yeah, that will, that's not going to happen. What's
gonna happen is kind of what you're seeing, you're gonna,
there's gonna be a hesitation around the day that the short
selling is instituted, but it's probably going to just be a
blip. And then people are gonna know there's an election coming
and things are going to change because of the administration is
going to be swapped out. The election is going to take place,
and everyone knows what I think is going to happen. But it
doesn't make any difference. Either guy can win. And
whichever guy wins, the stock market starts to starts to take
off. And it'll be on that within a week. People reevaluate
everything and they're gonna, you know, save as Obama Oh, he's
got all these experts. He's got the economic experts, he's got a
new way of doing things. The Democrats have had a lot of
prosperity, wonder Clinton, even though he's more of a Republican
in my way of thinking, and then this thing's gonna skyrocket.
Same thing with McCain. Oh, good. The Republicans, at least
we don't have to worry about the Democrats screwing things up. So
things are going to skyrocket. So the market is going to rock
it. And here's the basic premise that I always have.
But you're talking about the market chon the market is one
thing. I mean, the market can do whatever the fuck it wants to
do. But what's actually going on is what's happening to the
economy, the real economy and the wealth of people and the
value of their money. That I mean, yeah, the market? Yeah,
yeah, no, I'm just saying, but I'm when I say the market, I
mean, the stock market, but
it's taken me 48 shows to understand that when you talk
about the stock market that way, that doesn't actually have
anything to do with what the actual economy will be doing.
Yeah, no, it will still be in the toilet. But people, there'll
be more jobs. And if the housing market will recover, the value
of things will go up and the value of the dollar will
probably improve and everything's going to be rosy.
The reason for that is because and this is what I was trying to
say earlier, which is that you can't really have an economic
collapse, the way you're describing it. Because the
public's not involved enough. The only time you have an
economic collapse is when the entire system, and I below
cynical about this, and people think well, you're just kidding,
as usual. But I think that if you look at the way these things
work, it's never the guys at the top and we see some evidence of
it with these, these creepies executives who, you know, took
$200 million a year out of their companies while they were losing
money until the public at large is invested into the market
where it's their money where they know that and the end
result that the suckers at the very end that are suddenly back
in the market. And we haven't seen that for a while. I mean,
they were in the market in the late 90s When it tanked you
know, they were heavily in the market in the, in the, in the
1920s. When a tank there were in the market in the late 60s, I
remember my parents bought some stock for some dipshit company
in the middle of nowhere out of the blue and like in 1968 or
9667. You know, I'm a little kid, but there's, they're going
to always have oh, yeah, we had to buy the stock because my
sister in law is working for this company. And it's gonna do
this and that and, you know, it's like, they never own stock
ever. But now they're buying stock. So until that, so you
have to have to set up the the game has to be set up in such a
way that the public at large jumps into the market pushes
this thing to some ridiculous highs. I'm thinking Dow Jones
30,000, by the way, and then you pull the rug out from under and
everybody's out except the public. They're the ones who
take it in the shorts. You know, this is like the, you know,
everything else that the public is screwed over with, like the
lotteries, for example, where you get where they only return
50% of the money, but who buys those stupid lottery tickets.
It's the public, you know, so every state now has some
lottery. So every dummy in the world can like give their money
to the government freely, you know, they like it, you know,
they like to gamble, you know, maybe they can win $10 billion.
It's ridiculous as a joke. It's It's hilarious. Okay, but So
following on, so that hasn't happened. So there's not going
to be any collapse.
Okay, well, I just see it differently. I mean, I think, I
think the collapse of these. Look, every, every company,
every publicly listed company has all kinds of debt. And, you
know, it's just I don't know, I just don't I don't I see it more
as a as a direct hit to, well, a to the value of the dollar,
which they can only keep, you know, propped up so long. It's
going up. And, you know, the I think the pension funds, you
know, those are pretty much wiped out.
But yeah, that's the public that they don't you know, they won't
get their pensions
but What I miss is the outrage if We can spend, I guess it's
going to be at least a trillion dollars, maybe much, much more
than that. How can we couldn't fix healthcare with that kind
of.
That's what that's what kills me about. We can throw a trillion
dollars at these crooks. And we can spend a couple of billion on
healthcare. It's hilarious,
unbelievable. I mean, even the 180 billion for what I've lost
track now was 85 billion for AIG. Right? I mean, that could
that could have fixed health care for a long time.
I know we could have had we could have had colonies on Mars
for this kind of money.
But so how come no one's I have Am I the only person that's
like, pissed off?
No, there's a lot of guys that are pissed off, but they're all
like you. They read the Financial Times. You know, it's
just a minority of people. It's turns out to be inconsequential.
Unless there's riots in the street,
well, just continuously a white Why wouldn't that happen? You
know that, you know, that they're now their tent cities
being built in every single major metropolis around the
United States. And when you don't think about like green you
know, like the green army tents, I mean, these are like
commercial tents. Now, then this people just have no, they have
no home anymore, and they're just gonna go live in a tent.
I don't know of any 10 cities around the San Francisco Bay
area.
There's one I know there's one in San Diego. I read. I was
reading that
was probably for the illegal aliens that came over they need
some place to stay. No, no, these
are people like you and me who happen to have a tent in their
garage. People living to have a garage with a stand that sorry,
because they get kicked out of their houses. on hard times.
tent cities rise across the country. And then they show a
map and this is ever this is a AP story from two days ago, a
few tents cropped up hard by the railroad tracks pitched by men
left with nowhere to go once the emergency winter shelter closed
for the summer. Then others appeared people who had lost
their jobs to the ailing economy, or newcomers who had
moved to Reno for work. This is a reno story and discovered no
one was hiring. Within weeks, more than 150 people were living
in tents, big and small, barely a foot apart and a patch of
dirt. slated to be a parking lot for a campus. This is written by
some novelist wannabe. Where they put apart I mean, how much
is it? There's just building tents in the middle of nowhere
in the Nevada desert, they can give themselves a little space.
I mean, this doesn't spring right when I'm reading it.
It is kind of a nice piece of prose there.
It's a little corny.
And that's only in Reno and that doesn't have any other place
that goes on and I'll continue let me read another couple of
couple more paragraphs or another paragraph was in waste,
blah, blah blah, was building his homeless pockets his patch
of dirt slated to be a parking lot for a campus of shelters.
Reno is building for its homeless population. Like many
other cities, Reno has found itself with a tent city, an
encampment of people who had nowhere else to go from Seattle
to Athens, Georgia, Homeless Advocacy groups and city
agencies are reporting the more visible rise in homeless
encampments in a generation. nearly 61% of local and state
homeless coalition's have said they've experienced a rise in
homelessness as the foreclosure crisis began. Oh, that's, that's
the reason. You know that? Does anybody remember hands across
America? Yeah, remember that? Sure. That was supposed to end
homelessness was a huge jump. It was just a big scam and work
crap.
Well, it's not like, like, we don't have homelessness in San
Francisco. John, I mean, you can't walk down the street
without what's true.
I mean, there's someone this has been going on this has been the,
the earmark of the of the entire Aeon beginning in 1980. actually
be in probably in the 70s during the economic crisis of that era.
But it's pretty much established itself as a as a just it's going
to be here. You know, basically, it's, it's kind of mediaeval in
San Francisco, there's so many homeless people that you have to
pay toll literally, like you would have to end up in the
Middle Ages and when you're crossing some part and walking
down a certain block Yeah, you got to give this guy some money
and that guy somebody they get through to the end. I mean, it's
not a lot of money but you know, it's a basically redistribution
of wealth. You know, buck here in a buck there, you you're the
big spender, you give them five.
It was funny. So I was outside this party in Amsterdam was
going for smoke. So I'm standing there, I'm looking at my mail
and stuff, and a guy walks By and homeless, and he says mumble
something whatever you think he spoke German. I'll give you some
money. So I've reached my pocket. And I gave him a coin
which I wasn't quite sure I thought it gave him a a two euro
coin. And I got comes back. He said, This is not real money. It
was a two pound coin as well. It's two pounds. It's real
money. Yeah, but I can't spend that so we'll keep it for good
luck.
Go away, she give you the finger and walk away.
Came back. God dammit. Came back a bad game. This
isn't real money. At one time I was in. I was I think it was
London floating around and some really guy with a sad story
some, you know, homeless, whatever, whatever you want to
call him. Beggar comes up to me and switches someone I saw I
gave him like a pound or something like that. And I swear
to God, this truck was driving by with a bunch of guys in it.
And they stopped and started screaming at me. Yeah, because
yeah, don't don't don't give them any time.
Yeah, I mean, they were really mad. And I said, Wow, British,
these guys are harsh over here. You know?
Has there been an instance in US history where the elections were
postponed?
Nope. Well, maybe in the 1700s or the early 1800s? It's
possible. I mean, I don't know if there was even a firm date.
That's a good question. As a matter of fact, I should know
that. But I don't. But no, I don't not in in modern history.
Because there is all kinds of scenes. There's all kinds of
stuff on the internet about, I guess, some policy or something
that the Bush administration has done to be able to cancel the
elections. Here now the Bush administration has let it known
to laying the foundations for the postponement and
cancellation of the elections
Yeah, this is this is a this is a big right I'm sure this is
running some crock of crap is what it is is a meme Bull. I
mean what they want to get out of there you think of course
they're going to be the drum you know they have to get out of
there they they're scrambling to get out I don't think they I
don't think they even care who wins. I mean the logic would
ended by the way if they postponed this thing for one day
they must have just give the country to the Democrats when
they can't do that
well, all I know is I think our founding fathers were very very
very very smart when they introduced the Second Amendment
seriously so it was armed to the teeth
well it says it says right there to protect the country from
enemies from what does it the outside and from within
the safe within?
I think it does I think it literally says within well
that's that's why I like it so much that I'm talking we're
talking we're referring to the Second Amendment the right to
bear arms because of course if you only had 1% of the guns in
America take to the streets that would be millions and millions
of guns millions and we could actually take back what's
rightfully ours
the well regulated militia being necessary to security of the
Free State the right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed and that's it but enemies within Are
you sure
read though I'm looking at it it's gotta be some fine print
there it doesn't I thought it said I've always understood it
said enemies from outside or where they would protect it from
evil from our sounds like I mean that's well are you reading it
or what are you I'm looking at it but I'm gonna have to get the
whole I'm trying to find that you're looking at the two
versions they point out what two versions of the Constitution
there was a notice to disability rights a Bill of Rights I'm
sorry yeah. Yeah, there was a version that went out that was
passed by the House and Senate and there was another copy of
slightly worded slightly differently that was sent out to
the states
really I didn't know that that's interesting. So which one is
valid?
Is it the difference is like the one or two words is not doesn't
mean anything but there's no I don't see any enemies. I'm
trying to find a to text a simple straightforward the well
regulated militia being necessary the security of the
Free State the right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed. That's it doesn't say anything about
enemies from within and without. Okay, I am wrong.
Then I stand corrected.
No, it's everything's pretty succinct. You know, they don't
go into a lot of things. theoretical reasons okay. Within
an in case anyone named Bush's President
Well, anyway,
I can still hear you calling Ron Paul a kook.
Can you make like Ron Paul?
Yeah well he's he's definitely been predicting a lot of this
shit happening. He's he was mister get rid of the Fed
investigate the Fed. This is all messed up. They've created a
bubble. Well, I think he totally nailed it. We should have him on
this show. He should he should be the guy calling the shots
here. He actually he's actually predicting stuff that's
happening.
We don't need him here with you on the show.
You know, here's something really cool or cool or
interesting. A popped up on on some of the aviation forums.
Yeah. You know what a no, Tam is, it's a notice to Airmen. And
they're issued, a couple of people can issue them. The FAA
in America, of course, can always issue one. But certain
air sectors, so a JFK could issue every airfield has no
tabs, it just tells you different stuff to look out for.
And you can also call a temporary restricted area tra or
trs, which would be for space where you can where you're not
allowed to fly. And what's interesting about this, there's
no time a no fly zone that was set up all along the coast of
Texas, where we're Ike went through as a no fly zone there.
And no one knows who put it up. Which, which means it was
probably FEMA at the end of the day. And so none of the news
helicopters can get any footage. It's a really thin strip of
land. Right? It is, you know how if you look at the, what's it
called once that area called. If you look at the south coast of
Texas, there's this kind of like Long Island strip yacht, I'm
talking about getting near Galveston get Galveston's on it.
So that entire island is now a no fly zone. So new helicopters
are not allowed to shoot any footage.
Have you seen that picture showed that were shot? Yeah,
it's
nothing. There's nothing left. It's flat. It's unbelievable.
They literally flattened the place.
But did I do that?
Yeah, I think so. What else would have done it?
Well, I mean, that's pretty devastating. Yeah, it's
a mess.
But then, but why? Why aren't news helicopters allowed to fly
over in? And take footage?
That's as far as I know. I think it's probably just some, you
know, some bureaucrat for some reason or other, you know, who
knows? I mean, it did promise these things get into the system
then. And they nobody can reverse it. Because nobody knows
who did it. Yeah. Well, you still there.
Yeah. No, I'm looking at the what does it say? It says,
reason for no attempt to provide a safe environment for disaster
response and relief operations. They didn't do that with
Katrina.
So they got I don't know why they wouldn't need I mean, it
doesn't make any difference. They got plenty of pictures. It
looks like crap. It's suspicion that places just obliterated.
And I'll tell you what else amazing.
highly suspicious, John. We've had since Friday, the most
absolutely stunning weather. It has been beautiful. I mean that
you know, almost no clouds in the sky. Blue skies. Nice and
warm. It's the 21st of September. Right. And this
weather is all of a sudden as beautiful all across Western
Europe. And of course, I completely attribute that to the
switch off of the Large Hadron Collider.
I don't think it was ever switched on. Yeah, of
course it was they switched it on on September 10. And that's
when the other one didn't work. No, no, but that's my
understanding
is we blogged it there was a thing came as turned out that
they never got to do the experiment.
No, they haven't done the experiment but they had they
were spinning it up. They were they were spinning in one
direction than the other direction. And they didn't get
to the actual collision part. But the spinning it up and when
there's stuff going on with that as well.
You have a lot of magnets around the house. Just you know that.
Magnets are magical things, man. I'm telling you. There's magic
in there. Magnets. Here is you laugh at me. You laughing
I don't know where you get this stuff
from YouTube.
So the
you should look at someone that shouldn't this
weather. I like the way you just make the leap of faith. It's not
only the strange strange occurrence of actually nice
weather in the British Isles which is like what rare in
itself. Something worth noting well in that but not just in the
British It can't be just the coincidence that the weather
happens to be nice for whatever reason it has to because of some
man made you know, hadron collider spinning. You know,
some magic
someone sent me a scan of the New York Times I don't know that
you need to blog this if you haven't seen this already. The
New York Times misspelt Large Hadron Collider and made it late
in the large heart article lighter.
That's funny because they accidentally typed it in a post
when I was talking about the Hadron Collider I, I typed in
hard on which is easy enough to do. And the spell checker had
the little squiggly I said what? Oh, geez, that's hilarious.
So the New York Times did it but the
New York Times apparently doesn't use a spellcheck. Or
hard on is in their dictionary,
particularly a large one. Large or large hard on I'll make that
the album art. That was too funny. Way too funny. We have
Skype is weird today. How you just have the headphone that you
have nothing else, no mixing board? Because I hate to hear
myself going back from time to time. Oh, that makes no sense.
Sure. All right, what else you got there, John, you've been
thinking about something besides how to make a button. Like when
Margaret was out of control?
I was looking at the Bill of Rights. No, everything is very
succinct in here.
Yeah, what does it say about who's in control of the frickin
money? Hmm. What does it say about that?
He doesn't really care.
But isn't it? Yeah, it does. Isn't that there's something
about the currency can only be controlled by the government.
Please tell me this intuition. Okay. Oh, okay. That doesn't
really matter. I guess. No, apparently not. Little little
booklet called the Constitution. Well, anyway,
there's not that many guy. I mean, yeah, well, depends on the
you know, the there's two schools of thoughts about the
Constitution. I mean, once the Scalia thing, which is that it's
a fixed diet is not fixed. But it's a document that has made
for interpretation over time. It's not meant for wild. It's
not thought of as a living document that's changing, you
know, when with the time so, you know, suddenly it's, you can
have gay rights or gay marriage when the constant like Scalia
will say that gay marriage isn't covered in the Constitution one
way or the other, it doesn't care. And other people would
say, No, the Constitution guarantees it, but it doesn't. I
mean, it's there's this, the reason that people have to be,
you know, the, whoever wins the presidential election is one
thing, but there's a big concern that is about to, you know,
there's always, especially to somebody stays in for eight
years, which won't happen this time, but it can happen that
they appoint, you know, these various judges like that, that
one woman whose nickname is actually Kiki. A Supreme Court
judge? Yeah. What's her name? Ruth Ginsburg? Yeah. She's like
a, like a communist. I mean, for all practical purposes.
Like a communist, dude. Well, America is a socialist communist
state. Now it's the end of it.
Yeah. Well, that's the irony, I suppose. A little somebody
should maybe sue them and then she didn't get to the Supreme
Court. I mean, yeah, it's just
listen to you. You're an old school American. I mean, they
don't come much more American than you. Now you'd like your
cars, you'd like your guns, you'd like your money doesn't
just piss you off.
Or it's guns and money. Yeah, that's and women and babes. But
that doesn't this piss
you off?
No, doesn't actually why I mean, you don't videos me off of these
guys who walk away from these companies. And this has been
going on for years as very annoying guys who run companies
into the ground they don't care about the community whatsoever.
They run the company in the ground they rape it they take
the money as much as they can give themselves bonuses for
doing a lousy job and then moving to Switzerland and not
even paying their fair share of taxes on all his ill gotten good
gain. See, that's what pisses me off and that's going on
constantly. That has to be you know, I mean, you're you're the
you're the big defender of this some months ago. Oh, the CEOs
you know, people who bitch about their pay but they do so much
hard work.
I'm not talking about CEOs of financial companies who and by
the way, I think a lot of these guys you know, hedge funds, it's
all in fees and then set up a little bit differently but yeah,
look, that's a game that doesn't concern me. It I don't give a
shit. What they're doing that's, that's no, that's not a company
that makes actual stuff or provides anything of any real
value is just so they provide
financing for people who do make real stuff. Ah,
thank you. That's what I was waiting to hear. So this is why
I feel bad if not, I don't know. So okay, so they stole money
they took a whole bunch of I don't really don't care. What's
happening is all the real companies that make real stuff
that employ real people speaking as an employer here, by the way,
they get hurt. You know, people get really, really hurt by this
shit. But maybe I'm more of a socialist than you are.
You might be
I mean that that's what really pisses me off. I'm really, I'd
said earlier, I really feel shell shocked by this. I just
can't believe it. And the billions or the trillions and it
all starts to run together at the end of the day, and you kind
of forget right and then oh, this was so fantastic. Remember,
Nick Leeson? Does that name ring a bell?
No one does. But I don't
Nick Leeson was the derivatives trader, I think who brought down
bearings?
Oh, yeah, that's a famous guy.
Right? Well, he's he was famous back in the day. So he wrote an
excellent article in I think it's a it was the maybe it was
the Guardian all find it for you. And he said, You know, it's
pretty amazing. I went to jail for six years. Because I
basically stole 600 million. You know, I've been in all kinds of
programmes. Now. My, my reputation has been, you know,
ripped to shreds. And now we've got these guys who are
responsible for a huge multiple of what I did, and they're just
walking away with the hundreds of millions of dollars.
It didn't go all the way. Worse, he's probably resentful. What am
I doing in jail? Well, look, I'm Michael Milken. What do you
know, this poor guy can't even trade stocks anymore. And he was
like a financial genius. And he really didn't do much more than
invent junk junk bonds and get involved with some little bit of
shady trading that the whole company was doing and he took
the fall for and he must be irked. Alright, so let me get
his take on this. By the way, we need to find somebody out there
that needs to find Michael milkins You know, press
secretary and let me get a hold of him.
It's the same press secretary as Michael Jackson's I think what
they buddies weren't milking and Jackson buddies for a while
I know but it's possible
they might I think there might have been
and I don't I don't see how that could even happen. Okay,
so I just I just really like to just pick your brain and just
you know when you when you look at all of this debt which the
congressional What is it oversight committee or whatever,
you know, feels should be on the books the United States and we
look I mean, isn't isn't something going to happen? Are
we just out of financing John who's going to pay for forget
the stock market? That's not important right now? We'll just
put the money that America owes the rest of the world. How does
that work? Does it just keep on going?
Well, it seems as though we're doing our best to keep it going
forever. I mean, it's essentially you know, it's like
you keep borrowing money to stay it eventually you have to pay
somebody it's a problem. I gotta find trying to find this this
list of getting countries its own one the CIA Factbooks yeah.
Can they have the worldwide list of all the countries in debt and
how much debt they owe? We're like so high. It's like it's app
FM find it senator, you're gonna go yeah, it's just
go holy crap. 9 trillion.
Now, I don't need to there's actually something we haven't
had. I just created this is 10. But there is there's another
thing that's even more frightening list. While you're
looking at supposedly this word 10 trillion in debt, the this on
some, I don't even know what this website is.
Now, while you're looking at that, march 27 1993. Michael are
Milken one of the world's most infamous finance shears, claims
to have the backing of Michael Jackson, one of the world's most
famous entertainers to form an interactive educational
television network. A spokeswoman for Mr. Milken said
today.
Take totally got me on that one that
told you Yeah, I remember standing together remember these
things? Yeah. Well, you know, that's important stuff.
In a 10 trillion, I've got this weird side that she was always
getting.
I was listening to the BBC today on radio four, and I heard them
talking about for the first time I heard someone use the word
quadrillion, which I guess is 1000 trillion. Is that a
quadrillion?
Probably, I don't know. I would think of a pet a trillion or
something. Anyway, so This is interesting if we're 10 trillion
in debt What do you think the UK which has only a portion of our
population is in debt?
I'll bet you they're pretty high man. They've got to be so we're
10 trillion a bit to their 3,000,000,000,008.3
Wow, really? And I wonder you guys are in the tank. Shit.
Germany's 3.9 France is 3.5 Italy's to Netherlands 1.9 which
is high for that little country. Spain is 1.6 which is probably
low for them. Japan 1.5 Ireland 1.4 and Switzerland. Why are
they in debt 1.1 Well, the
trillion they had their own financial crisis years back then
they they must have gotten out of it. I don't know how
to find the fight with the Swiss finances
Wow, 8 trillion.
Yeah, so you know, now United Kingdom you That sounds worse
than our 10.
That's pretty outrageous. And that's from like the CIA
Factbook.
This is actually comes from a thing called swivel, which I
think is derived from the CIA Factbook. But now me well, now
those for example, now, if you look at the countries that
aren't in debt, and you compare the lifestyles and let me just
name a few Samoa, Solomon Islands, Bermuda, Eritrea,
Namibia is not in debt. Belize does not debt Guam. to Haiti,
Haiti is in good shape. Uganda, there you go. You want to go
there.
You know, only been there done that got the t shirt. Have the
Lau had the whole
ISIS done that which is a nice place. Hardly, you know, a
jumping clip place but well, cube Cuba, Morocco, you know,
Vietnam, all these places. Now Vietnam is doing great. He
actually Vietnam I think is going to be especially if McCain
wins because he's supposedly gonna
gonna go hook him up. Hey, thanks.
hook them up. So they can punish the guy that was beaten him I
guess. Sweden is in debt to 600 million is that much. That's
pretty amazing. That's pretty good. Mark. Point for
well, over here. Gordon Brown is in under severe, severe
pressure. And here's the I mean, he's a real dummy. I don't I
don't know if someone set him up for this or not. But one of his
one of his big campaigning slogans, or slogan, it's not
even the right word. But he promised the British public
there will be no more boom and bust cycles in the economy.
Like, hmm, yeah. And now of course, he's being called on it.
But you know, isn't that how the economy always works? It's like
the always, you always have a boom and bust. I mean, it's just
the way it goes. And now and that is a cycle. You can't do
anything about it. Yeah. And now he's sitting here and they just
had their big, big party, poo, how powwow, whatever. And he
said to them, what will I do to fix the British economy?
Whatever, no, three words, whatever it takes. So I think
the British populace is about to get raped or more.
Whatever it takes
scheme, believe that you just believe the bullshit coming out
of these guys faces.
I think one of our guys had some stupid like that. One of our
guys eliminate the business cycle.
One of our guys. Oh, you mean said something like that? Like
what Gordon Brown said?
Yeah, I think it was almost identical. It was like the same
thing. You know, somehow you're going to magically eliminate the
business cycle, and I can let that happen anymore. Like, how
does that How do you do that without having a communist
central controlled economy wished you could call all the
shots from some government office and that we already know
how that works. Yeah, you never have a boom and bust again. It's
just all bust.
Well, anyway, I mean, I don't like it because I've got an 18
year old daughter who was about to enter the workforce, you
know, is about to what are you going to enter? You know, what
kind of economy we're kind of what kind of non prosperous
times are going to be it just bugs me, John. I know maybe
doesn't bother you. But it bothers me give it to her has
nothing to do with that. Come on. Why don't
you have her work for you? Why Why are you so seeing that way?
In the olden days, people had family businesses and they
weren't. You didn't raise their kids say, Well, I hope they get
a job. They say no, you're gonna be a blacksmith just like Yo,
man,
William. Okay. Right? Yeah. You're gonna be an excellent I
have
a daughter who's just like the daughter of a of a tooth.
relatively famous celebrities, depending in niche depending on
the country you're in because I'm sure that you're not as well
known in Hong Kong, but fame celebrities that toe
Joe Tokyo Joe would would have to argue against that, John, but
Okay,
okay, well, it's fine. It's good that you're actually There's big
money there. So you have this situation. So it's essentially a
family business, a showbiz family. And now you're worried
about your daughter getting a job as a secretary? Oh, you're
kidding. Okay, well,
I understand your point. But what you're saying is, we are
going to have to radically adjust the way we whatever we
do. I mean, just suddenly, radically, because of whatever
circumstances have been created, which were beyond our control.
That's the end because
I'm just thinking you're disingenuous with this concern
of yours.
Okay, well, so I'm not just talking about her. I'm talking
about all 18 year old, I'm talking about your kids. It's
the same thing. But yeah, so great. Dad, can I can I join the
family business of being grumpy and cynical? As a profession?
Chief, please. Help.
Please teach me how to be job. I mean, come on. That's not fair.
I'm just saying there's adjustments need to be made?
Well,
yes. Okay. All right. You're not gonna get into it with me Aria.
Now with that, I think it's not a it's not a legitimate
argument, especially when I'm doing predicting the gloom and
doom when it really boils down because I'm talking about a
longer cycle, a more impactful collapse. I'm not seeing what's
happening now. Is that meaningful? Okay,
then, would you please explain, explain how long is this
collapse going to take? And what will be the end result? And when
does life get back to something fun? Again, I'm not saying
normal, but something a little more positive?
Well, it's not a pleasant story. That's
okay. But I'm interested in you might as well, please.
The way if it if the cycle is what it appears to be, which I
pretty much I got
to interject from time to time and personal you're calling it a
cycle. So you're not you're saying this is, this is a cycle
of how things go. And it's not because of a bunch of Jack offs,
who want to ruin the economy and kill everybody. Exactly. Okay.
So it's just a cycle
around it was still happened. That's the the truth, nobody, or
the the ugly truth that nobody wants to nobody likes the idea
of cycles, your economic or otherwise, even though they
exist, seems to me the sun comes up at a certain time, you know,
and it's not exactly the same. And maybe there may come up and
it was down in your
conversation with Andrew Horowitz May I point out that
you got awfully close awfully close to actually agreeing with
multiple theories about dates, and taught you even at one point
said, the cycles, it's almost like the Earth is standing
still. And then everything changes? You know, that, by the
way, is the 2012 conspiracy theory right there.
Yeah, whatever. So the 2012 thing is interesting, because it
would be right at the bottom of an economic collapse, or close
to it might be or would be 2013. But essentially, what we're
seeing now is just nothing. It's just the kind of that's why I
don't take it too seriously. In fact, I think is a good time to
invest. And that's what I keep saying to people, you know, if
you can get some mortgage money, buy a house now, you know,
although,
I would wait a little bit longer. Now. You don't want
to wait forever. So anyway, no, it'd be a 10 year down site.
It'd be just like the Great Depression, if you know, it's
just a mess. And then you have one more
million people starved in America in the Great Depression.
Yeah, they'll
probably be more this time. Yeah.
I mean, like actual starvation. Okay, so yeah. All right. All
right. Okay. You're pretty light about that.
Well, I'm gonna do I supposed to do about it. It's a cycle, a
cycle, it's a cycle, you get stuck with a view in the wrong
side of that. You get in a situation you can't get out of
and you can't get food because we'll be food riots. And you're
living in a city,
you're predicting this. And in the 10 year, certainly in the 10
year cycle, this downturn word that's coming up, you're
predicting food riots. Yeah. Well, this is the kind of stuff
I want to get to John and doesn't matter how it's
happening. The fact that it's happening that's happening now,
in the next 10 years. That's, that's, that's here. It's so
people can prepare they can do something.
The way you think that gold bars gonna get your food. No, but I'm
also planting it somebody over the head with it and eat them.
I'm also I'm also planting vegetables. I'm doing all kinds
of stuff. I'm getting a diesel generator, and I think power
could easily in 10 years time. Yeah, I think power could go
off.
God. You know, these things always look worse. I mean, yeah,
there'll be food riots but they're not going to be like,
gonna be like a barroom fight scene in a sheet in a sleazy B
movie where we're just punching each other and going crazy. I
mean, these things are isolated. Okay, let me cite the riots that
took place in the late 60s, we had all the Detroit caught on
they threw burn Detroit down. And there's a bunch of
protesters that were burning down certain cities, they were
burning down the ghettos. It wasn't happening in like, you
know, Fremont, California, you know, wasn't happening
necessarily. And you know, Bellevue, Washington, it was
happening here and there. And that's what deal downturns doing
is yes, 7 million people, over a 10 year period starve to death.
I'm assuming that's true. I don't know that any facts are at
all I
don't have abs. This is just what I've heard.
I'm just assuming let's just take it as a possibility. That's
what 700,000 A year in a population that back then was
what 120 million? You know, it's not even one out of 100 people.
Unemployment was a little high, probably. One.
So that means about 30 30 million people could starve to
death during this next the 10 year cycle. Could be okay.
I mean, let's face it, we're not to kind of we're not equipped. I
mean, the farming business has become this big. You know, it's
been became a manufacturing business. We don't have that
many self sustaining communities that have small farms where you
can buy local year round and actually do it. I mean, it's
like we can appear in Washington because we're in a rural area
where we have a lot of farmers, we get raw milk here, and we get
dairy products if we just got a pig. So what would we get in the
freezer? It's like a 200 pounds of pork meat.
So let's just say that this depression comes money's tight.
There is no money where the money that you have
is could be a hyperinflation. Don't forget that. It could be
either way. Absolutely. What's too much?
What skill are you going to use? What trade are you going to have
to get your fresh milk and and your chickens and, and your
other food supplies? What is John C Dvorak going to use?
Well, there's a couple of things you should note about. If you
look into economic downturns. There's a there's a number of
businesses that always flourish. The restaurant businesses do
well. In fact, in 1933, I think more restaurants are opened the
United States that year than than any time previous in any
one single year, right. In fact, some of those places have stayed
in business until deep into the 70s and 80s.
Because you're providing food and whenever someone has, you
know, some some coin, they know it's probably easier to go buy
some food that's prepared.
So being in the food service business is a good one. But
curiously, one profession that usually does quite well during a
downturn is writers.
Yeah. How about entertainment in general? Isn't isn't
entertainment general does very
well. That's what I thought. So you got writing you think about
it. These are things that get people to think about something
else, food you have to have. So foods always a big deal. So
being a farmer is a winner. running a restaurant, having a
deli is a good thing. To have access to the to the
infrastructure of food distribution itself.
You're already set up man, you are a true survivalist. I hadn't
even thought about it. Anyway, you've got your ducks in a row
Dvorak, like and,
and so so you have that that's always important. And then you
have and then there's other elements like being an
entertainment, you know, as usually does very well. You
don't make as much money as you did in this other eras. But you
survive very easily and you do well. And then of being a writer
for some reason, because I think people need to read and write
and they need to mostly read about trying to understand
what's going on around them and there's no shortage of punditry.
Once you've established yourself, people will see what
you have. What do you have to think about? Why do you exist?
idiots think, and they read it. Oh, that's good. That's
interesting that you read what this guy said. Yeah, read it, it
goes on asshole. I mean, that's basically the response, I get
everything. But they still still reading it. So I mean, that's
the main thing, and no matter what they think. And then
there's probably some other ancillary things that are safe
and doesn't help you with manufacturing who is on who you
know who would like them being on the assembly line by thing
handmade products and, and things like that.
My aeroplane and pilot skills will be of any use
maybe to you okay, you're an entertainer. I mean, it's not
gonna you're not you know, you're, you keep up with
technology. So whatever is happening, the technology scene
is not going to go backwards. Just you have the internet Now
so there's new opportunities that people can make money by,
you know, exploiting it in some way shape or form. There's a lot
of new businesses that start by damaged I mean it's not I mean
because world war three bombs Yeah, that would be different
now but remember I don't think that's gonna have I don't I do
not believe in a Global Thermonuclear War I don't see
that happening. But where I grew up the images that I grew up
with of the of the Great Depression is Little House on
the Prairie. I mean, so that that's basically my image of it.
And I think a whole generation of me like that. Now, that's
kind of what we envision.
Yeah, well, if you were on the prairie, I suppose that's the
way it would have been. I know, I'm just saying I find that
mistaken. You're in a small mansion in Guilford.
Remember British Isles? Yeah. Then there's the other side,
which is like Escape from New York. Yeah. And this is this is
what we've grown. My generation has grown up with these images.
Oh, man, they had it. Was that a Mad Max? Don't lay that out.
That was on divorce. act.org/blog. I think the new
radar imaging. Oh, I'm sorry, radar. X ray, the the X the the
new it was in connection with the TSA headquarters now being
called the Freedom centre.
Oh, yeah. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. And freedom centre. Yeah.
My caller who's our who's our seems to be our most left wing
ish of the group went nuts and posted a whole bunch of stuff.
But that one,
I mean, that was great. Because you for the first time I'm
seeing these full body scans of this new X ray that they've
installed in that's, I guess, a couple airports. I don't know if
it's rolled out wide yet. And, you know, it's like you're
standing in your underwear, basically. Yeah. But it reminds
me of exactly like, one of the Terminator movies. When you walk
past security. And you see like the skeleton, right, and you see
anything else that's trapped, and we're there. We're living in
fucking Terminator.
Now that technology has been around for a while.
And did you see I think I sent it to you the YouTube video
about the TSA with their new badges. I get oh, I guess I
didn't get the TSA. Well, normally, the TSA has a patch,
which says, you know, if they're TSA Oh, transportation security
officer, now they've been given badges and actual like a police
badge.
Oh, please.
I'm telling you. And there were people and they gave them out
like in an award said this is what the video is of they gave
them out like an award ceremony. They called up each officer of
these. So they're screening officers, right? They sit there
and they yell at you to take your laptop out of your bag, the
calling the cops that get exactly the fucking cops Now
they call them up one by one. You know, Team Leader bull
trends Visionary Officer Jones come on up. And then and then
the guy ceremoniously pins, the badge on them. And then they
interviewed people a couple of these to you know, these
screening officers later. And they were like, so proud that
they had this badge. And finally they felt like they really meant
something in the in Homeland Security. And they were crying,
John, they were crying with how happy they were that they have
this badge in the new uniform, and they looked like cops.
So here's the deal. tasers, almost most people who carry
badges around or have them, they like to flash them. When they
get pulled over by real police. Yeah, for speeding. Now I know
there's gotta be a couple of cops out there who listen to the
show. And and if we ever but a lot of people out there no
policeman, if anybody ever pulls over one of these jokers. And
they flashed their TSA badge, hoping to get out of the ticket.
You should just arrest them, arrest them, arrest them on the
spot and beat them. Ah, yeah, that is true, though. And
actually, the TSA people themselves should should have
said is this. Uh, you know what it was it was in lieu of a
raise. Now, that's, that's a good point. It's like, oh, now
here's a badge, you get a badge because you're so stupid that
will give you a badge instead of more money.
I think they already are pretty good about it. I think they
already messed up. I
mean, it's fine. I mean, but I mean, I don't like seeing badges
on every jerk off that works for the government. Why don't we
just have everybody get a badge. And it should just marginalise
the whole concept of a badge? Well, let's have some badges at
bvo I think you know, just have a medial badge give you and Ryan
can have a big gold one and give him a real silver badge star
Sheriff star is what I want to share
with them to me vo boss. You know,
when, when we lived in New Jersey, I had been pulled over
like three or four times by the same cop for speeding in this
one particular spot where it's I think it was like 20 instead of
30 or whatever and I won't say his name. And then you know, but
I got friendly with because he let me off every single time. He
said, Hey, man, you should come work out with us. Okay, and he
was, you know, maybe 5053 or something like that, and said,
Yeah, and you can hang out with the other guys that are from the
fire department. And all right. So it happened, like, I got
stopped too many times for me to, like, no longer actually go
and workout with them. And you know, I don't exactly have the
physique of a guy who works out. So I started working out with
him. And actually, I just chose him pictures, it actually kind
of worked on me. And I should do that again, one day as you get
back into it, but you got really was friendly with these guys
particular this one cop, and we had a babysitter for when we
either be on trip or whatever. And see we had, she would often
be there, he really wouldn't more like a house sitter. But
then this guy also knew her because you know, just of the
association. And when we were gone, we're out of the country,
he would park in front of the house and call her up and say,
and she was heavy, big bone, shall we say? And he would say,
Hey, baby, you know, I take care of a lot of the big women in
this town. Why don't you let me in? And that really changed my
perception of the author. I mean, of course, not all cops
are like this, but that that was scary.
Yeah, well, you know, welcome to the world of some cops. Yeah.
But that badge thing, it has a lot to do with it, man. I think,
you know,
ya know, these guys will be flashing that badge left and
right. But I don't think that he walked around town with the
badge. You know? I mean, I think the real police have to be very
annoyed by
No, I would absolutely but but I have a feeling John that I think
we're gonna see actual behaviour change in the in the TSA staff.
If you watch, they're gonna start being a little bit more
militaristic.
But you know, at some of the airports is the weird thing is
in the in the smaller Podunk airports is where the guys are
the worst. You know, there's like nobody, there's no chance
of any terrorists even passing through some of these little
towns is zero. And these guys are all they're all stuffy about
everything. And they're in these formulas. And they're all you
know, big shots and they're making people do this and take
their shoes off. And then the worst part about it, which
really bothers me to no one because I do flat a small
airports every so often, is the passive docility of the locals
who just think it's so cool to get this kind of attention
because they're flying from you know, Wichita to, you know,
bumfuck North Dakota, and they just think it's cool that they
have to take off their shoes, you know, then they will Jim you
know, in his wheelchair has to take his shoes off and they have
to carry him drag him through the metal detector and he just
thinks this is fine.
It's not fine. It's so wrong in so many ways.
But anyway, so that's yeah, you run into it's actually annoying
to say the least. But I've actually had to haven't had any
real bad experiences recently because I'm flying on. Like,
when you fly Virgin America, they since they were a new
carrier, they're always in some scrubs. Like in San Francisco,
they're in the in the international terminal where
they don't belong. And they're at the far end of this just got
to be one of the worst terminals in the world by the way, they
just built this thing new you can't find anything in there.
You don't know where which you know, it's just horrible. Which
terminal was the International Terminal at SFO? Yeah, was built
recently they closed the original one which was fine and
dandy the original and work just graded it didn't
do that all the time. There's nothing wrong with that
terminals fence fantastic.
No, it's a piece of crap. And I'll tell you why. If you're
walking down toward the end where you get to the A gates
which you're talking about for the Virgin American stuff, yeah,
look on those into those areas where all the ticketing is and
tell me if you can even guess where your Air China flight is
checking in. There's no signage, there's no indication anyplace
when you're checking you have to literally wander around like
you're in Vietnam by the way this is the last airport I ran
into the had to do this and in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, you
had to literally go from counter to counter looking up at the
little monitors up there to see what airline was checking in
where because there was no signage anywhere and that's
where this crappy terminal is. Yeah, if you're flying in and
out on you know, you know where your thing is, is fine but if
you just go in there casually and see where find out where the
Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt is checking in just by wandering
around you had you can't find it. Hmm
Okay, I don't have that problem. I mean, there's there's
taking a variety of flights There are a number sign
on the outside of the terminal where you where you're dropped
off says you know this is where the the check in is for these
airlines and that's it.
Yeah but when you get there it's not the case. It's not like it's
not like the ticket the ticketing at the International
Airport or the International Terminal terminal whatever the
hell it is has your you get out of the car and you go right to
the ticketing that's not what it isn't that that part of the
airport you have to go through you have to go around and
through through up to the escalators and over to a spot
where there's you know, use just a random thing. It's
unbelievable. The thing is I got to take it I have to post some
movies it's the worst place I've ever been.
Well I have a very different experience and it's huge God
walk
you through it it's I walk with me through the debt terminal
next time you're in town.
I also invite you to come and enjoy Gatwick Airport okay.
We'll see what you think is really bad meant the Gatwick
gets worse than Gatwick. Gatwick does hand its ugly to
Gatwick does have the new Dyson hand dryers. Have you have you?
Have you come across these yet? Dyson, the guy who remade the
vacuum cleaner. Yeah, and he has these to you know the
traditional blow dryer where you you hit the button and you rub
your you lightly rapidly rubbed your hands underneath the
scalding hot air until hands are dry. So he's got this thing you
stick both your hands into this like slot it's it's like a kind
of a wide but it's like a male slot. And within three seconds
your hands are dry. It's an amazing it's like a suction
blowing experience and and your hands are dry three seconds. is
the kind of thing you want at home.
Do you stick your head you have to push a button you can't you
can't shoot your Hanson
No, it has a photoelectric sensor, whatever. Yeah, yeah,
cuz
those other things are unsanitary and they're nasty.
You know, you got to
press the button that everyone's hands been on the button. Right,
their
hands have been you know, whatever covered with the your
faeces and urine. Because they're, you know, they're just
so they bang the thing and
I gotta tell you, I am not a fan of men's bathrooms at airports,
dude. That's pretty nasty.
Well, it's not apparently nothing like that way. I'd never
been into these bathrooms because I was warned years ago.
Don't go into the bathroom. Set it at a European train station.
Oh, no.
Horrible.
It's like no, no, don't go into those bathrooms ever. Yeah.
I mean, the best thing that can happen to you as you've seen you
find George Michael there but
well, poor guy, you
hear about that, that he got busted again in a bathroom.
This guy's got a problem. Well, Patricia
and I were talking about that. And well, unfortunately, it's
not just marijuana. They say that he also had crack, which is
that's that's a pretty bad sign.
So he was smoking crack in a bag for some night
and no, I don't know if he was smoking anything, or at least
any drugs in the bathroom. But you know, this is a part a big
part of a particular form of gay lifestyle. Is this bathroom
cruising? It's it's pretty big. assumed to be an Olympic sport,
I'm told.
So he got caught again. It's a cheese.
I wonder, you know, he was one of the people forget this. But
remember that I don't remember the name of the song. He did the
song with that had a video of Tony Blair being George Bush's
lap dog. You remember that video, that music video? It was?
No I don't. It was in I think it was right after the news. 2003.
Right, right after we invaded Iraq. And he made this, this
real big political statement. And everybody slammed me. I
don't think his career actually. I mean, he's done his tours and
everything. But he's been pretty much persona non grata in a lot
of mainstream because of that. And of course, everyone was
laughing at him at the time. And he turns out to be absolutely
right. And I think that pushed him over the edge or what some
something that happened from that moment on,
but people forget that that he was getting busted left and
right. And bathrooms way before that.
Now that happened, and it happened before that. I mean,
that happened, I think in 99, maybe. But that was that might
have been a setup. I don't know. Look, I don't know. I'm sorry. I
stopped following George Michaels career a long time ago.
Yeah, well. I didn't even though he was gay until he's busted
that first time.
You're kidding me? No,
I was not I wasn't a fan of the band. I mentioned I had a band
which was
not a band. This is nobody was
your queen for a long time.
This is probably what I sound like to you when I'm talking
about, about people. The economy collapsing and people dying is
when you you say wasn't George Michael in Queen? Yeah. Okay.
But like you said, I don't know. I mean, I don't follow the guy's
career. It's not. It's not that style of music is nothing
like wham. Wham was
the name of the band. Oh, it was wham. Wham.
Yeah. Freddie Mercury. Mercury was Queen and he's dead. He's
gay. Yes. And he's dead.
Oh, right. I knew that. I think I knew all this. I just don't
really care.
Well, useless. 80s and 90s trivia is what I'm all about
John, because that's me.
Yeah, well, you were in that kind of
Yeah, can no more than kind of. That's funny, though. I gotta
remember that. I never liked that band. George. Michael. What
didn't he wasn't he? Wasn't he the lead singer of Queen? Oh.
Well, yeah, you got to have your get your shot in once in a
while. In between the flying saucers.
I haven't said anything about the flying saucers. I'm just
waiting quietly for the 14th of October.
Yeah, yeah, you'll be waiting on the 15th and on the 16th
Maybe, maybe not.
I don't know, you know, I looked at you know, we did mention
this, I think but I looked up that that whole thing which is
was commonly mentioned here and there, but everything that comes
out by all these crackpots is and others is the fact that this
sighting there's just saucer whatever is supposed to arrive
is going to be in the southern hemisphere.
Well, there's the name Alabama, the state Alabama, the southern
Ohio. I mean, there's a whole bunch of different variations to
this. I don't I don't know what that means. I would presume that
if this is going to mean anything, it's got to show up
and it's got to be clearly visible. And it's gonna be it's
gonna mean something no matter where it pops up.
I would think but of course, if
it pops up in like China, it's going to be no good. That won't
be enough proof. That'll be no good.
Well, or that or Siberia? That wouldn't work out the pop up in
America. Otherwise, it just won't. It just won't suffice.
Well, you know, the why would the aliens want to prefer
America when they've had a warm welcome into Russia? Apparently.
Yeah, well, you can read Russian newspapers and there'll be
mentions of, you know, especially the greys casually
walking around town.
Yeah. But the greys aren't the good guys. The greys are not me.
They're kind of opportunistic aliens.
But that makes sense than the Russians and all.
Now, these are the Pleiadians
Okay, so what else is going on?
That's it, man. I don't hang. Yeah, we've been through just
about everything. That's all that that's all that I'm really
interested in. At the moment.
You just preoccupied with these with this with the bottom here?
Well,
with the bottom I'm just this I just don't take it for granted.
This is historic stuff. And I want to make sure that you know,
Grandpa Adam can say well, I remember. I remember when it all
came down. You know, and, and maybe we should watch this stuff
so that we learn from it. So we got to learn something from it.
But I'm, I'm what's the what am I? What am I looking to say
here? I'm sorry to hear that you actually predict such a bad
economic downturn?
Yeah, but that's not tomorrow.
I know it's not tomorrow, but you know what's, uh, what are we
going to do? sit around and wait until it happens or just let it
happen slowly. I mean, I I'd like to get ready for it and do
something.
But you already are getting ready for it. You've got your
your hold your hold up. Yeah, but I get your stuff. You gotta
borrow gold.
I need a deli.
You're like the only guy I know. That actually now has a whole
bar of gold.
Dude, you'd be amazed. I am not the only guy who has that. I am
not the only guy who has that. You know?
So what is the bar gold sell four times you get it? Well, I
mean, I could do the calculation. I did the ring the
calculator up.
Yeah, go ahead. I'd like would you mind and then we'll that'll
be the last thing we do on the show. Well, let's
see how many ounces in a pound or how many ounces in a kilo.
Here. Hold on. Let me go to the I gotta see.
Because you have American pounds in the British pounds and then
you have European when are they gonna
do it by kilos? Yeah. So we're gonna take we're gonna go to
dvorak.org/home.htm and go to the converter, which Oh,
Every tool Oh, this is a secret little site we have here hold on
converting tool and we're talking about this is what he
said two kilos went home dot htm or html home dot htm to
varric.org/home.htm Are
you running on a Windows Server?
And you go down to four references, special sites and
click on advertisers.
Wow, this is a great site John. With the
converters,
no, just your your divorce.
Oh, the whole bloody good links and stuff, but they're all
great. Okay, so you go to mass and weight conversion, and then
you click on you find kilogrammes, and you have two
kilos. Then you hit the Tab key and it converts it to all kinds
of stuff. So we're looking for 12 kilos, per ounce. How many
kilos? 12 to 12. You bought 12 kilos. It's,
that's what the bar weighs.
Oh, the bar weighs 12 kilos. Okay. All right, good. All
right. 12 kilos. And so that should be enough data for you to
figure it out. Right? Well, yeah. Because now just go to
ounces, which is 423.3 ounces. I bring up the calculator and take
the 423.3 multiply it by what was the going What's the latest
price? Say that's to say 900 bucks. Okay, fair enough. So
that baby cost $380,000.
That's around that region. Yeah.
That's a nice piece of piece of gold.
It's not at home. Do not come to my home. It is not here.
Oh, wouldn't think it is now let's hear now because we're at
the bottom you paid probably. Roger will say something like
this. And it's actually probably only worth
but you're there. You're already
$400
No, it's actually
$1,000 on that bar gold. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But you'll have the
gold and it will be worth again. 900. Someday.
Yeah. As cool as
well, it's not that cool. If you can't if you don't have it in
the house so people can lift it up.
Well, only certain friends get to hold my goal.
I think it'd be cool. Just Whoa.
I was surprised I'd never I'd never held a bar of gold. And I
like wow. And this is like, heavier and bigger than I
thought it would be.
Oh, is it bigger than you thought? Yeah.
Yeah. Well, you know, again, what have I been watching?
Ocean's 1112 and 13? I mean, that's my reference for the
world.
Right? People are tossing bars of gold around like
Brad Pitt Catch this? Well, okay, call me crazy, if you will
call me cookie.
Well, your cookie had something to do crazy like a fox
something to do? Are you gonna do another Andrew Horowitz call?
Well, not we don't have anything planned. How would you say
horror was will call me once in a while ranting about some crazy
thing. And I say, well, let's get this down on tape. And we
record it and then just post it.
All right. Now it was good produced, not produced. But it
was cool. I liked it.
I think it's going to you know, the what's happening, you know,
is I think is going to blow over in a week or so. So we'll
probably do two more of those. And that'll be the end of that.
And then we'll we'll do what we're supposed to do. Okay, help
people invest.
Anyway, I'm glad Leo didn't invite me to be on Twitter again
this week, because I just can't concentrate on technology right
now.
Yeah, why? Yeah. Well, I'm not going to be working into it.
I never get invited anymore.
I don't know why I bitch about it. But they don't pay
attention.
Maybe you actually speak up on my behalf. That's nice. All the
time. Really. I appreciate that. Anyway, I don't know. Maybe I'm
maybe I'm too wacky.
Well, you know, you come into cranky geeks once in a while it
would be make up for it.
Good point. Okay. Well, I'm coming out again soon. So we'll
set it up. All right. Okay, John, you're talking to you.
You're supposed to say yeah, it was fun.
Nice talking to you. It was it was a ball.
Coming to you from getting home nation east in Guilford. I'm
Adam curry.
And I'm up in Washington state get to get mow nation Pacific
Northwest. I'm John C. Dvorak. We'll
talk again next week right here on our agenda.