Rain, sleet. No, not even snow can stop us from doing our
weekly show, even if it's at 830 in the morning on a Saturday.
Hey, everybody, it's no agenda coming to you from the United
Kingdom. My name is Adam curry.
I'm John C. Dvorak here in Lisbon, Portugal, where? It's
830 in the morning.
Yeah, it's like when I'm really old guide time, John.
It's like Speak for yourself.
John calls me, calls me yesterday says, Hey, let's say
let's do the show tomorrow at eight o'clock. 8am was at none.
So I appreciate the 830 that makes a big difference in my
life.
You can go back to bed afterwards.
I can't I can't get back to sleep after I'm awake. It never
works. Whether you can thank me for getting you up early. Yeah.
All right. Hey, John.
How's Portugal doing?
As about 70 degrees Sunny, it's beautiful. Today we're gonna go
doing some, some photography. So I'm over here at one of the
trade shows the government Import Export agency, trade
agencies.
What is that isn't isn't that arms dealers import export.
And this is all tech in. In fact, yesterday. If I was in the
arms business, I'd probably be better off. But so yesterday,
the I kind of split off from the group and went with the one of
the other Trade Representatives and we went up to the wine
country.
Hold on a second, where you're staying in Lisbon right now?
Yeah. And where's the wine country? According to
you? Well, the wine country is all over the place, when that's
my point. Well, it's not quite as bad as France where you know,
you can't walk down the street without running into a winery.
But it's still the place we went was out was about an hour and a
half out of town.
Everything any place you want to go in Portugal is always an
hour. It's always an hour and a half. It's it's I've been there
many, many times, particularly in in the 80s.
But one of the things I did yesterday, which was I thought
and I kind of wanted to do this for years, I went to a cork
factory
which seems to be no longer a growth market.
So Ha, see, thank you very much for walking into that one. No,
dude,
it's early. Okay. No, I
mean, seriously, the bed the cork people are, are literally
pissed off about the Prop, the anti cork propaganda that's been
going around, including the commentary that, you know,
they're chopping cork trees, and they're quarks are all bad and
blah, blah, blah, because this is all turns out to be done by
the plastics and closures, the public relations.
Of course, that's it. That's how it goes, right? You just spew
some bullshit into the ether and take away someone's market.
out it comes. So the fact of the matter is, in reality, the court
plantations are growing as we speak at 4% a year here in
Portugal. And it's also illegal even if you bought a house with
a cork tree, and they've got all these trees registered. You
can't touch that tree. Even if you're never going to take the
cork bark off.
I never realised that. And this may sound weird, but I've never
realised that cork comes from a tree called the cork tree. In
fact, I don't think I've ever seen a cork tree ever.
Well, that's another thing that I decided to actually do.
slightly embarrassed about not knowing this, but it's if you
can see these things. Actually, in Portugal, from what I can
tell you wherever you go, as all you see, every almost every
other tree is a cork tree. It's an oak. It's a specific kind of
oak. It's an oak cork
oak. But do you have to treat the you have to treat the wood
when you cut it down? Or is it just like a real pain never
cut? Do you never cut the wood down and what is
core core grows on the cork tree.
This it's a special kind of bark that this tree develops, it
takes about 40 years before it gets thick enough that it
becomes you can make corks out of it, which is a long term
investments and most of these trees are quite old and they go
for about 100 years. And I got Believe me I got the lecture and
but anyway but so I'm we're a couple of days ago where we're
taking a trip down south and and I kept looking around and I saw
some of these trees that had because they strip off every
seven years they stay take the bark off during it one part of
the year like like shearing a sheep and it's very careful
process they take the bark off and then regrows it takes
another seven years to get another batch. But I'm looking
around and saying well that's interesting that they're taking
the bark off these oak trees because you know being from the
Bay Area where Oakland is, you know you get used to and I have
an oak tree in my backyard. I know what oak looks like. It has
a distinctive look. As it grows, get. It's just a good looking
tree. And all I'm seeing are these oak trees. And then I see
a bunch of oak trees with the bark stripped off and I'm
thinking I wonder what that's all about. They're bred to
obviously. So then they pointed out that yeah, no, it isn't oak
dummy. And so the whole country is covered with these things and
they showed us a map at the at the workplace and it's Like,
it's unbelievable how many of these trees are here. And in
fact, we were at the cork factory and one of only, you
know, this is only one of hundreds of these places. They
had 14,000 tonnes of bark stacked up in the back in the
back in the end and this bark is light. So you can imagine what
that look like. And anyway I got
so so so it is it is truly a business that is see. See it's
growing by 4% Yeah. But
and the rest of his nonsense too they were talking about here's
what their litany was and I brought this up now when I
was this this part of the Import Export tour that that Were you
forced to go to this because you took this junk at this press
junket where you forced to go to the to the cork farm.
No, I had this is my my decision. Okay, good. We're
forcing you to the cork farm into work.
There's always you got to do you got you got to pay the piper
somewhere. What did they force you to do on this trip? What was
the thing that they
they forced us to go down to their big dock scene down and
look at the pretty ships coming in? Well, it was like their new
project is a deepwater port south of Lisbon an hour and a
half
an hour and a half south of villas and of course in Oh Porto
by any chance?
No, Portugal. Oops, photos north of Lisbon. Actually, it's about
three hours. It's just a long way. But it knows south of
Lisbon and yeah, we had to do that. So that was kind of wasn't
that interesting. I mean, I've seen dogs before. I live in the
Bay Area for Cisco. Yeah, real estate. These dogs were like
kind of Mickey Mouse compared to what we have in the Bay Area.
Where they got the Ohana here me just like ridiculous difference.
So so that was one of the issues that was kind of like boring,
but the cork thing wasn't it was
quite No, that's interesting. That's an did you pick up any
souvenirs? They
have sort of? Oh, yeah, no, I got a really exclusive super
cork. Big piece that guys chopped it off for me right from
the right from the bachelor that they were sorting. And I also
got a piece of extruded cork that's about I totally should be
making these gag corks that are extremely long. I saw this on a
Benny Hill once he pulls out the cork and things about a mile
long, it's like bigger than
it just keeps coming out of the bottle man.
So but anyway, guy, I took a lot of little movies with the small
digital camera so I'm gonna post but I'm also gonna post this
thing with this woman says it's a crock of crap about what
they've been saying about cooking. And here's what the
Litany is, is that the quarks have all gone bad. The quarks
are bad, because they've over harvest and so they can't get
any good cork anymore, which is crazy. And then the They're
loaded with TCA, which is that cork taste which they they're,
they're actually testing to extremes with now, and that
they're chopping the trees down and that which apparently is the
one that really irks the courts because they don't because you
got to take care of your course illegal. Yeah, but it's also
illegal so you can't do that. And that's not the way the whole
thing works illegal in Portugal maybe. Yeah, well, Portugal is
still the big core producer of the world. And I mean the whole
country is just cork trees and so anyway, they're a little
annoyed by the by the propaganda and I was actually kind of taken
aback by the these you know, but once hearing her you know,
lament I realised you know, there we go again here's our
public relations machines you know, spewing whatever it is to
the
public that's why I asked you know, if it was on the tour if
it was on the force the first outing or not okay
because that is that is you know, you can which is part of a
public relations scheme but no it wasn't it was my my decision
and the one who insisted on it and they the court person just
cork person she's went on about you know, we don't we don't we
haven't done much in the way of PSP have not we don't need
come Hey, John. That's perfect. No agenda brought to you by the
Portuguese cork industry proudly bringing you cork. That'd be a
great sponsor for us.
Look, I'm gonna work on it. I know see why they wouldn't
Yeah, I mean, we talked about why and we talked they got they
got tonnes of dough we need some
absolutely. We will push their cork agenda.
That would be cool. That'd be very very cool.
She says the tennis she makes a complaint about these plastic
enclosures besides the plastic corks which generally don't work
by the way, but there's plastic screw tops she says you know you
gotta you metal is just a polluting thing and you got the
plastic which is non renewable inside, on and on.
So that's plastic stuff can make you sterile to here. Seriously,
yeah, if
you put it over you we know what but so anyway, so but anyway,
the countries are quite pretty. What I was kind of surprised by
the of the amount of English literacy that's here. And that's
really only it's only really been the past 20 years. I mean,
add when I was in Portugal in the in the early 80s, dude,
third world country. Yeah.
Yeah, things have changed since he actually was really I think
it was 86. But was told us that once they joined the EU,
that's when it happened. Yeah, that's what that's when they
started to come out of third world ship.
Right. And David just shot right, you know, to the
drive to drive by the football stadium. The beautiful move is
great, because they don't have a team, which is what I think is
the funniest thing. They have a national team. Yeah, they don't
have a team that actually plays anywhere.
That's true. They do on the road. They built that stadium
because
they were hosting I think, either the European of the World
Cup. They don't really have a team that can really compete.
They got some good players, but not not a national team that
does any good.
I think they'll argue with you about that. No, no, no, I
think they won't argue with me about that.
Well, I don't know. I don't follow the game because I'm an
American. And yes, right. Well, it's a girls game in the United
States. And what can I say?
But do you know I think the girls who who play soccer as you
would call it in the States? I don't know. Matt if I think
they're hot looking. Yeah, well, that's fine. Yeah. So that means
that game is is a good a good game. It could be on television
more often. It's like field hockey, women's field hockey.
Ah, oh, we just have naked volleyball.
No, no, no, no. See? See. That's the typical American way. No,
for nationals. It'd be like beach volleyball. You know, here
in Europe is like, yeah, we know. We know what's hot. We got
our women's football. And then we've got the women's field
hockey. I see you can't get into it.
Tennis. Maybe. So you'll like this.
Martina Navratilova is on the current episode of I'm a
celebrity. Get me out of here. And she's great along with you
love this. George Takei. Oh, oh. Oh, Adel.
Ga gay. I'm
hooked on the show. Once again. What a great cast.
You watch too much television?
No, I do not.
I'm watching the television over here. Of course, I get to watch
your own news, which I'm gonna have to get a feed of or
something because I think is quite interesting, even though
they made this little repetitious. So the you know, I
got the biggest kick out of a couple of things. I've been
seeing wish they hadn't really been played much in the States.
But apparently they had you probably saw this and I don't
know if you noticed it or not. But Merkel came into Italy to
visit Berlusconi who was sick, I guess. And, and he was gonna
surprise everybody by standing on the sidelines as they walked
in. Yeah. So they're, so they're showing this film. There's
Merkel, the German
Prime Minister, chancellor, Chancellor Merkel, yes,
Chancellor
comes rolling in and with with a couple of assistants and one of
her aides looks over to the right as they're walking toward
the door. And there's Berlusconi standing by the, in the kind of
the side, like watching them go in. Right. And he's awesome. So
he just oh, you know, when he starts going over to, you know,
to shake his hand or whatever, Merkel sees him and she
literally shoves the guy, her assistant, whoever it is damn
near shoves him to the ground, to get to Berlusconi. First I
have to do was just this guy, and he never gets over, even
come over. He stands at attention, like, you know, oops,
I guess I made a mistake, protocol wise or something like
that. She just looked like such a jerk.
Well, because they're all falling over each other. Now,
you know, they've had that little meeting and they've told
you they gave the US 100 days to comply with whatever Europe is
doing. And they're all going to solve the financial crisis.
Angela, Silvio and, and Nicolaas. What a joke and throw
in Gordon Brown and we know how to do it. We know how to solve
it. We're financial financial experts now.
Well, we'll probably be out of the whole thing two or three
months before they even get into a deep enough to make a
difference. I was so
I was so ready to gloat yesterday, you know, up until
the last hour, the market was so close to my 7286 Mark. It was
only like 300 points away. And then the and then what happened?
Oh, well, and then Barack Obama announces his pick for for
Treasury secretary and nothing
skyrocketed because they
he's picking a reptile. Yeah, I mean, this this guy, what's his
name again?
You don't have to look it up. And I'm gonna share with you one
of their own.
Well, not just one of their own this. This guy is the he's the
full deal, man. He's, he worked for Disney worked for Carter.
He's in the Council of Foreign Relations. He's the president of
the New York Federal Reserve. And they just just goes on and
on and on with this guy. He's connected to everybody. There's
no change.
Well, there was hope for change. Oh,
Oh my goodness i I'm looking it up now because Timothy Geithner
that's his name.
Yeah Geitner. Right. So
he's connected the group of 30. Who easy amazing. Have you ever
heard of the group of 30? These guys is a scary little club.
And this is just drinking clubs.
I don't know, man, this is just this is definitely just more of
the same print and printable and,
well, this is, you know, what, what is Barak gonna do? Well,
essentially has to keep, you know, everybody happy, which is
the group that your viewer you hate.
Tim Geithner also worked for Kissinger associates for three
years. Does that get any worse? It really can't. Well, Barack
Obama, of course will be doing a fantastic speeches because
that's what he does vapid. without, without, without any
content. Rahm Emanuel, I saw one of his rare appearances he was
on C span he appeared before the press. And the question was
asked specifically, you know, well, so how are you guys going
to pay for all this stimulus and everything giving away? And he's
just like, an and he's another one of these guys. Look. That's
how I start whenever someone says look, it's like, alright,
you know, you're being programmed. Look, look, listen
look like Look Listen. I'm gonna tell you how it is. He doesn't
actually answer the question of course.
Of course not. Now, look,
look look we can there are many things that are being spent on
twice so we'll eliminate half of those Look
Look, I know look and I'm
the owner I don't mind the on but the look thing is getting
really irritating and I'm seeing it more you hear it a lot on
CNBC. And it's just an it's another one of the memory you're
talking about. I think I believe I think meetings that go on
forever with people saying that now it's just look look look and
it's so offensive. Look Look you fuck look over here take a look
at me because I know what I'm talking about look at everyone
does it
besides look is also guess what? And you know what? You know
what? Yeah,
I don't know. I don't know what I'm not gonna get what you know
what what it looked like listen. We're a sad sad, sad species.
That's pretty pathetic.
Our language has diminished down to having to get people's
attention with everything that comes out of our face.
So there was a couple other things I wrote down some notes
during the weeks as I was watching this stuff and
you enjoy THE EUROPEAN NEWS. I'm sure you're having fun. Oh yeah.
Real change
it's just all different you know? I mean, we did we don't
get the same news at all. So when I'm over here I'm always
like kind of glued to the news I don't get to watch a lot of the
other stuff on television because I'm always I get the
biggest kick out of these you know their perspective on
everything now and although I did watch a lot of the I was
watching the coverage on Bloomberg when the market turned
around yesterday and shot up like a like a rock which is
there the church bells just chime in the background there
John here no was it wasn't my church bells you sure
ya know what it is? I did something just set up this rig I
brought with me it's got the microphones not grounded right
or something and it's it's picking up a radio station?
Yeah.
Hold on a second. Let me turn let me turn off the the noise
gate let me here yeah listen to the station Hold on. Let me
move the move.
Let's see what we're picking up hang on
Oh, good song. If I hold the mic straight up in the airline and
it looks like the Statue of Liberty. That's what it sounds
like.
It was good. Now's a good station. Could you just go back
and lift your left leg a little bit because I almost had
I can change channels that's the problem. I gotta figure out what
to do. I mean, although I think what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna
what I brought with me was a an M audio adapter and then I got a
Heil PR
two or whatever you use. But you have the Heil is you're not
going through a USB with the Heil. Are you going no, no,
I'm going through the I'm taking the high was a PR 40 am going
through an M audio. Yeah. The Fast Track and then the fast
track looks at the computer.
Yes. M audio is those the one that's the thing that's not
shielded? I've never been happy with M audio interfaces.
Yeah, and there's somebody out there can get me a better idea
for an interface. I mean, I know there's a couple of things that
might work. But this thing has got an Alicia has a few controls
on it. So I can at least, but what I like to do is get rid of
it. I mean, I like the Heil mic a lot because it's a it's a
dynamic mic. So you don't need a preamp. Yep.
And it's I use it myself. It's a beautiful mic.
It's a great mic, but it's a big clunker.
But do you take it in the wooden box? No, I
just wrap it up in some bubble wrap
newspaper. I always put the box in my suitcase.
I'm going to I'm going to get a country man or something like
that. That's just really doesn't you know,
I got a lot of comments about that. That's the that's the Mini
Microphone that we were talking about on last week's show. I
wouldn't mind trying out a couple of those. That new
technology for microphones as well. It sounds very exciting.
Actually.
The country man is astonishing. I mean, it was the first time I
saw when I said what are you kidding me? And you because guy
I think it's a memes. It's not a normal microphone. So when you
hook it up, up, first talk into it. It sounds like this mic.
Can't because there's no diaphragm. So you can't believe
that you're getting this kind of this bass this beautiful bassy
sound from this little bitty minuscule little dot. And it's a
it's an astonishing probably think that costs about 400
bucks. Anyway, yeah, you'd love them. Your voice in the country
man would be like perfect dough. Yeah,
baby. How you doing? No agenda brought to you by the Portuguese
cork industries and country man. I'm just practising.
Yeah, well, we need today when we need to do more. There was a
practice we need to sell these guys. So anyway, so then I went
to one of the big wineries which I'll document in a is not very
nice. And they served us lunch and we go out the outside, you
know, this was a range too. So you go out there and I'm looking
at they have the they have the outside. There's a huge place.
They have a Portuguese flag. EU flag the flag of the state or
the winery and then us a flag. It turned out they put that USA
flag just I was Yeah, because you were there. Sure. I thought
it was just going to be there all the time. I thought it was
baffled.
Do you speak any Portuguese? No, it's
almost impossible. I mean, if you speak speak a little Spanish
now. I mean, this even
even that throws you off. You can't you cannot think you can
speak any Portuguese by speaking some Spanish.
Now it's impossible. And then they they pronounce everything
totally different. It's just the but you can read it rather
easily. Is it like a really easy language to pick up? If you want
to just read stuff?
If you can find someone there? Who's over 40? John, I'm sure
you're hanging out with lots of them. Portuguese who have been
in Portugal all their life ask was doing res at the cheese
whistle. Go on. Ask them if they remember Adam curry. Oh,
seriously. Okay, from from Europa television. Now, okay.
Because in in AD, AD three or so I was on. Like, every day for an
hour in the afternoon all of a sudden on on the terrestrial RTP
two. Oh, yeah, they probably remember you. Well, I don't
know. They've got they gotta be over at least 35 or 40. I don't
know cordial would be my name. either. Oh, cordial. Head. Oh,
call the old cordial Adam curry.
So yeah, you're gonna go out and start soliciting. You want some
dirty words you want some nasty stuff to say unfortunately as to
me leaving tomorrow, so it's not going to be like I'm gonna use
it. And obviously, a lot of Booker's around here anyway.
You know, they're, they're making a new law in the United
Kingdom, which has been all the news for the past couple days,
of course. Although they are not going for a complete outright
ban on prostitution, they are making it a serious offence, and
it could get you jail time will certainly get you, as they say,
as they say named and shamed. Which means though, they'll put
your picture in the newspaper, it's getting crazy. If you if
you
talk to a prostitute now, if you have
sex with a prostitute who was either a sex slave be seriously
if the girl first
please answer this question there. Yeah, it's the it's like,
it's crazy. I don't understand how they're gonna do it. This is
this is the big conversation. Exactly what you just said. So
okay, so we're not allowed to have sex with prostitutes who
are enslaved or have a pimp. But how do we know? And ignorance by
the way will not be accepted as an excuse.
I think you have to make him sign a contract. If this is not
the graph that you get, you run into the prostitute, you're
figuring out what's going on below. You have to have a stock
contract in your pocket. Yeah. out. And you say, Look, lady,
I'm all for this right now read this over, sign it and we'll,
we'll talk
you're gonna get this in the United States as well, I'm sure.
No, actually we didn't certain segment of this already happened
in certain areas. I mean, there's there's various local
laws for example in California if you although this is this
these laws are like, like communist laws you know,
they're, they're enforced on an as needed basis in other words
if they want to screw you they'll enforce they
can use it yeah if they want to nail you like Spitzer then then
also that really important stuff. Yeah, I got you.
So like in California, they have if you if there's a prostitute
on the corner and you drive your car up and you solicit or she
gets in and she's happens to be a cop, then they can impound
your car and keep it they can keep the car course and
why not? Because it was used for an illegal act.
My car, you know what? I always tell people to use renters. You
got some old clunker you gotta get rid of a nobody.
Right? Because it would cost you 500 bucks just to get rid of
it. You have to confiscate it. But you know, I really don't
understand it hasn't. Have they ever done any research on on
prostitution? I mean, yes, of course, there's a tremendous
sex, or there's tremendous slavery issues in general,
certainly in the United Kingdom. And I'm talking about sex slaves
as just slaves over here. These racist British, I just going to
say it. But have you ever looked at a society like the
Netherlands as an example where legal prostitution actually
works? You know, this is here in the United Kingdom, highest
divorce rate, highest teen pregnancy rate.
Now, this has been studied to death. In fact, Nevada, which
word is legal? They you know, they have the lowest sex crime
rate in the country. They have, you know, the divorce rates, not
yet wouldn't have a high divorce rate because people go there for
quick divorces. But besides this, it had nothing to do with
the locals. And no, it's already been studied to death. And it's
a known fact that where you have legal prostitution, you don't
have a lot of other sex crimes, basically, like the rapes are
way down. And Rome was negligible as a matter of fact.
Yeah. And yeah, but that's beside the point, because it's a
sin.
Now, it's a religious thing. Hmm.
That's the thinking. Yeah. I mean, they but what's weird to
me, here's a classic example of the kind of strange skewed
thinking. So this last election in San Francisco, they put it on
the ballot to legalise prostitution within the city
limits. Yeah. And I guess within a year, I think this would have
been overturned by the state anyway, because of state law.
But that's beside the point that they couldn't even pass it would
last 60 to 40. Somebody that so here we have this, probably the
most liberal city in the entire state of California outside of
Berkeley, which was never tried to pass something like this. And
the
funny thing is that vote no. And when you so so prostitution
illegal in California, and then you look at you look at one of
the big industries in Southern California, you know that the
the root word for actress in Latin, is the same as
prostitute.
I think I didn't know that. And that's why I think one of the
reasons that actors and actresses were always considered
love low class.
Yeah, absolutely. Well, actually not low class high, high class
extremely well paid hookers.
Yeah. And so yeah, that's why I think it was a lot of well to do
families yet the they, you know, they didn't like their children.
Move to the left a little bit, John. I'm picking up too much.
Too much of Lisbon. of the Lisbon morning Zoo. Yeah, there
we go. Well, anyway, it just irks me. And the thing that I
that just pisses me off is you know, everyone's pontificating
about oh, it's because there's so many women enslaved in the
sex trade. Oh, ghost, go bust those sex trade rings and then
come back and buy a hooker. Now it's like please this is I'm so
against this this movement. It just It really pisses me off
having grown up with prostitutes.
Yeah, well in the Netherlands is a good example of the you know
how the system can work fine. Nobody cares. But
no, in fact, it's seen as healthy it's seen as a part of
of a healthy lifestyle. It mean to a degree obviously.
Yeah, well, it's better than a bunch of people with pent up
sexual frustration Ruhlman around the day crumpled
up and can killing people and going crazy. Yeah.
Yeah. Well, it's just not going to happen. And I think that San
Francisco votes a good example of how deeply ingrained this
this kind of attitude it is. We have the most liberal city you
can imagine and they can't even muster enough votes to
meanwhile, it's a joke. I mean, it's not like you like there's
no sex trade going on. Right. Thank God for the internet.
Well, Chris now the latest thing is they're cracking down on
Craigslist, which is the was the conduit for for a lot of the
erotic services ads. Yeah, erotic services. Yeah. And you
know, you could go over there and look at these erotic
services and it was just a bunch of hookers.
But it's not just a bunch of hawkers you know, that's like
buncha hookers. Yeah, it's a bunch of hookers and they're
visiting and then you know they don't solicit money John bounce
solicit money they say no. Roses. You're reliably informed.
300 Roses.
Rose. I think it'd be hilarious for some bonehead show up
with 300 Roses
as my roses, so I didn't know.
We know entirely too much about this industry. Well,
surrounds all over the place you can't get around it. So well,
what else is going on?
Well, of course, the although has been kind of beat to death.
I really, particularly after knowing a couple of venture
capitalists who went to China to raise money from the sovereign
wealth funds and flew commercial and not in their in their
private jet. Because they're smart. It was pretty funny to
see the Big Three automakers fly their private jets down to
Washington to beg for money. Oh, that
is funny.
You didn't follow this. He didn't know. I didn't. Oh, man,
this
must have been a story that
oh, this is this is a big story. Absolutely. And it's it's just
funny. It's you know, it's but what's kind of happening? It's
the same thing where we're all angry. Everyone's angry. And
instead of venting our anger at the real evil people ie Hank
Paulson, Neel Kashkari, while I'm at the entire Senate who
passed the stupid bailout bill, everyone's now saying, Oh, this
bailout Bill was, was wrong, it's all going wrong. It's not
working, we should have known better. And so they're looking
for a scapegoat. And as we discussed a couple of weeks ago,
in the United Kingdom, they went for the government employee,
Jonathan Ross, who was a television talk show host and a
making a lot of money and so you know, then they get all pissed
off at him. And so now it's like, oh, let's get some pissed
off at someone else. You know, instead of the actual the
bankers, they're the ones we need to be pissed off at. But
the you know, but no one's angry or we don't know who to yell at,
I guess. I don't know. So we're just grabbing anybody and of
course, you know, can you imagine the jokes that are
floating around you know, your flight it was I think each of
these planes cost at least $8,000 an hour just to operate
now so everyone's Oh, you have to
wonder what kind of boneheads these guys obviously do not
think like people with any with a public relations clue.
Exactly. Can't go flying around in a private jet begging for
money.
And by the way, this is not just this is not and I will give them
this it's not like the US auto industry is the only auto
industry that's in trouble. Opel is about to get a huge bailout
from from the German government. And a very sad note, John, the
very last Hugo rolled off the line earlier this week. Yeah,
Hugo is dead no more Hugo
de last Hugo limped off the line. I owned a Hugo station
actually as it came off, the tires blew out.
It collapsed. The axle broke
they went to tested to pull the door door came out. Last year
ago
I owned a Hugo was one of my first cars it was alright man.
It pretty much did as advertised. Yeah. Yeah, roll
That's exactly it.
It's just no loss there. So anyway, the deal couple things
kind of controversial, because the the Germans are worried
sick, that they're going to give them the billion bucks, but
because they're owned by General Motors, General Motors is gonna
take it, take the money, say fuck you, of course.
Do you have an opinion? And do you have an opinion on this?
Because I mean, I've been pretty clear in, in daily source code
about what I think should happen here. What's your opinion on on
the concept of a bailout for the for the US auto industry, or at
least the unionised auto industry in the US, I should
say, it's not Toyota and, and, and Honda, who were who were in
line for a bailout who aren't that's pretty much American made
cars that made in America.
My thinking is, is that if this is in the form of a loan that is
secured, I don't have a problem with it. And I think most of
this bailout is actually a loan. It's not like a giveaway, like
the bankers are getting. I mean, they're getting, you know,
essentially, Paulson when he did it part of his deal, he took
some stock from the preferred stock from some of the banks
that they give money to, but in fact, no matters. his buddies
that were in the on the investment community, we're
getting the same, doing the same buy in and getting a much better
deal so he essentially screwed the American public. Bye, bye
bye. Give
you a lousy deal. Yeah, get a
lousy deal. And draw obviously for whatever reason. So it was
kind of a giveaway with the auto auto companies, you can't you
can't really give them any money you can just
but your reason for that, and your reason for that would be
the United States Government lender of last resort. This
industry is too big to fail. That's basically your your
position.
Well, yeah, I mean, it's one of these. This is another example
of letting things get too big and fake. They're talking about
this on the Bloomberg and CNBC just recently about Citibank,
which is down at three bucks a share, which is hilarious. Yeah.
And talking about, is it too big to fail? It's too big to fail.
How did you think where is, this is the reason we had antitrust
laws. So you don't have these monstrosities that are too big
to fail. So you end up with like, instead of having a lot of
little companies that do the same work, I mean, there used to
be laws in the United States where you couldn't have a bank
in more than one state. You couldn't have a national bank,
you couldn't have the Bank of America could have its offices
in California, but it couldn't have Bank of America, you know,
ATM machines and offices in, you know, North Carolina, which is
where they're headquartered now, or all over the country. And
we'd like Citibank, does it it had to be it, but Oh, no, let's
change that. And so they want you to do it, you cut the thing
loose and let everybody just join up. If you start to get
these huge monstrosities that get to be too big to fail, and
then they can abuse the situation, because hey, what are
they going to do? We're too big to fail. Right? And this is the
problem with the with the auto industry, why did they let these
guys buy each other out? And form these giant corporations
that are too big to fail at this is the problem, then this is
what antitrust was all about. This is why everyone talks about
why small businesses are better than big monsters. And but yet
this does let us go on because it's like, you know, there's
money in it for somebody, but obviously, it's Congress. I
blame Congress for the whole thing?
Well, well, of course, we have. Obviously, our Congress has been
underperforming for quite some time. But I really got to take
an opposite stance on this. I mean, I presume that you're
saying too big to fail. I mean, in, in the case of the
government sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,
no, there was a there was a guarantee that was implied. And
of course, now it had to become explicit. And that's really just
government banks. And in the in the City Bank, I'm not quite
sure why that's too big to fail. But the audio industry, the only
reason the only reason being given that it's too big to fail
was because it could potentially put millions of people out of
work.
Well, the real fear is that it's going to take all the real
problem is of course, the people in the pensions, and have long,
so explain. So explain this to me for a second. Okay. So is it
then not the case? If because, I mean, I see I see the sob
stories, you know, and I feel horrible obviously. People said
all my pension is going to get ruined. I live on my my General
Motors pension. Well, how does that work? These guys are then
clearly spending people's pension money.
Apparently,
well, so shouldn't that the look that anything else
jail? Do you think of
that? Yes, of course. That's
that I think he's I think a lot of these executives should have
been thrown in the slammer years ago. I think is somebody at some
point, you know, these guys are really pushing their luck. I
mean, I am stunned. I mean, here's the in here. Let's go
back to this. Martha Stewart did time. Yeah, for what? Yeah.
Oh, what Mark Cuban's about to do the same thing.
He'll probably get out of it.
I don't think so. No, I, I've been reading No, she never did
time for it doing anything wrong. She did time for like not
telling the truth to some government, you know,
that's called obstruct obstruction of justice. Right.
And these cops made an example out of her. But I mean, these
guys are like screwing with everybody. And they're not going
to do any time and they should probably all be in jail. Well,
if you
read the Mark Cuban story, which is also about us, it's almost
like a Martha Stewart case also involves phone taps, etc. I'm
from what I'm understanding this could be a vindictive move by
the Justice Department is someone particularly against
Mark Cuban Mark Cuban's involvement in 911 loose change
the movie and that's why they're nailing them to the wall and
something
you really come off the left you like that one a good I get I
would have dealt with the Yeah, I think that's the only reason
people listen to this show.
No, wait a minute. I'm telling you man there's like there's
like something else from the transcripts that someone dug up
I'd have to look for it.
Well if you can find the smoking gun in there that's already
evidence of smoking and or what they you know what you would
perceive as one I'd be interested in blogging that at
least, but yeah, as me Who knows, I mean, Cuban is kind of
an obnoxious character. You know, I liked that guy. I think
he's funny and I think he's done a good he's good for
pisses me off. Is he sold absolute shit to Yahoo every me
the guys all right and I like his HD net and I like his
basketball team. I like your because he got away with one he
got away with a big one. Uh I mean the broadcast.com was
bullshit,
ya know, and he got 3 billion, billion dollars. Nothing.
That's the only thing that really really pisses me off is
like Yeah. Oh, come on.
Yeah, who are we kidding?
And he's got Yeah, he's got big fuck you money as we say.
Yeah, he does and but he's you know, at least he's at least
he's done something with it that's, you know, not
detrimental to the public trust I
think he's on lots of goods and I love reading his stuff. You
know, I like
his blog. He's good blogger and interesting character. But yeah,
there's he may have done something to you know, because
when you have that kind of money, you have to have some
responsibility to the, to the shadow government as you'd put
it. Oh, yeah. And you can't be you know, finances stuff that
they don't want you to deal with.
Here it is. Okay, well, it's from Lew rockwell.com. If that
go there
too. Brandt's has the other one.
He has a New York Times key excerpts of a email
correspondence. And it is it's it's all about the loose change
movie
they use cheat sheets that we talked about that what what is
loose change again? Is that that truce or saying
yeah, that's the one that Charlie Sheen did the the voice
narration for
Yeah, I must have seen it but I can't remember it let's change
this is probably one of the you know the foundations of the of
the truth or video movement if you will. It's one of those that
you know everyone that that woke a lot of people out there and
there's your I just Skyped you the Lew Rockwell link. Although
I don't know about your connection right now. You may
want to be surfing around
Tibet. Sounds better than I thought was gonna sound Yeah,
actually. I met at a hotel. It's chaired connection. Yeah, I'm
gonna do it on it. You know? Me I guess
you don't you don't have to look at it right now.
I just opened up like quick time or something.
You must be on Vista
Well, here's the Lew Rockwell same free Mark Cuban
it's funny man is funny.
Check this out later funny. Self Made billionaire Yeah, yeah, so
a lottery winner.
Just call it what it is. He did good. Bless him. Bless him for
that let's see man. What else we got going on? It's weird that
you're not in the States.
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's nice over here. It's particularly nice I
mean, this weather here is unbelievable. You so you didn't
know Europe was having such fantastic weather right now.
Well, they're not how you're doing here. You're only the
third world portion of Europe is having fantastic weather. We
have real shit here. We got blustery winds snow flurries
we've had
like 73 When I left California.
Yeah, I know. Now it's not it's not been great. I was supposed
to fly to Holland to go see Patricia's one of our live
shows. And she was even she said please don't fly I said like
I'll be really nervous until you land the Viva la
station flying this kind of weather what's why why well that
yes you're right yeah that's exactly why you're right.
You know you get to see your when she comes home to you
noticed
well barely but she's you know she's just like now we got we're
like at work and family
well you know it did only last for a while and then you're back
to normal
I'm I'm afraid John bars I'm more gold bars. Hey baby. Put
this in your suitcase. Now I'm I'm afraid that my wife has
actually embarked on a later in life stage career that is just
at the beginning of its meteoric rise. I mean, she's got like
eight producers a day calling her out we want you to do this
show can you please do what got this weekly show over the head?
This is this is gonna be great. This is no this is written for
you. This is perfect. And it's just one offer after the other
it's unbelievable.
Just take the highest money offer in your the likelihood of
another hit. You know, it's pretty rare and television I am
I am so looking forward to you meeting my wife because she
thinks just like you
take the money and
it's like, I ain't doing shit and listens for a lot of money.
Like that's right, baby. Let me show you the picture of that
jet. I'm looking at. I showed it to you one more time. Man. I got
offered the Fortis bank jet the other day
Oh, really? Yeah, $5
million. It's a $12 million aircraft, they're selling it for
5 million.
You know, the maintenance is a little rough on those things. Ya
know, I mean, if you can't afford the maintenance, then you
shouldn't have the plane at all. But I'm just saying that a $12
million aircraft being offered to the bank's clients. 5 million
that's a bad so even though they're owned by the Dutch
government at this point, or the Dutch and Belgian governments or
whoever owns them,
it's a fire sale. They call that to hell. Yeah. Oh, yeah. What
kind of jet is is what what model,
it's think was a seizure. There was a Cessna, I should look up
the offer again. I know that it's a it's a good jet trust. As
jets go. It's a good jet. It's just funny.
If you had a jet, you'd be Flint. You'd never be home.
No, that's not true. Man. I got my plane here. I haven't flown
the thing in almost two months. I hope it still starts there's
nothing worse for an aircraft than sitting around not flying.
That's actually not really good.
Same thing with a Ferrari by the way.
You know, I've had, I think just about every stupid car known to
man. And I recently discovered that I'm done. I'm done with
automobiles. I'm quite perfectly happy to be driven around by
anyone. I've had them all. My favourite was the Rolls Royce,
which I drove into New York every day for like, seven years.
Yeah, yeah, it's a little flamboyant. Not at all. Yeah, it
is. I've been to New York as much as anyone in dislike, I
don't think I've seen a rolls but two or three times ever.
Well, the cool thing was this is back when we had the squeegee
guys at the tunnel member those those guys and which
was for people to know that the guys who would come up to your
car with an oily rag full of goo and offer to wash your window
not even offer that like throw the the oily goo rag onto your
window. And of course, if you are in the know that you'd
already have your windshield wipers going, which was a
universal signal for don't touch the car, motherfucker. And it
used to be like $1 and Giuliani got rid of rid of all the
squeegee guys, by the way. I think he put them in Oklahoma.
But he got rid of him regardless. And so I drive
through the Lincoln Tunnel with the rolls. And I put my wipers
on and then squeegee guy would go oh man, I wasn't going to
touch the car. Come on, give me $1 For the thought, which I
usually would wind up doing. Thank you. dollar for you not
touching my car.
Dollar you go. It's like the guys who you know. And that was
the era when it was really annoying to go into subway
because there was usually one or two competitive beggars. Like
sometimes with a saxophone or just coming around with a long
story. They'd walk into the car. And then they'd say, ladies and
gentlemen,
oh, yeah, I'm, yeah, I'm a student.
I'm not a beggar. I am an actor. I'm here on a scholarship. And
then they go into their spiel, and everyone would put their
heads down and go, Oh, my God. And
that's why the iPod was such an important invention. They didn't
have to listen to that.
Yeah, well, you don't see it too much anymore, although it has
happened occasionally. But it's pretty rare because they did
crack once they crack down and takes a while for it to
redevelop. I think over time, it will reappear New York is very
cyclical city, and just deteriorates drastically
overnight and has to be straightened out by some tough
guy.
Which Giuliani was.
It was actually the guy, the head chief of police. Who was
responsible for all that stuff. The guy went down to LA and has
been unable to do crap down there. Because it's a total
mess. Oh, who was that? What's his name? Braxton Braxton, Brad
Braddock. Bradford, I wouldn't know I really wouldn't get up.
Well, he's he's the guy who came up with his it's his theory that
the squeegee guys were the you know, he says, he says most of
the crime has a lot to do with perception. And once you lower
the perception, then people change their attitudes and they
don't walk around like like victims, and then the whole and
then the crime rate would actually falls. And so he went
after the what he calls obvious petty crimes that they were
always ignoring, because they didn't think it was that
important to bust the squeegee guys. So he felt just the
opposite. He says those are the guys you want to get rid of
because it makes the place to biggest crime ridden.
I have to say I was there when that took place. And even though
I again, I'm afraid that he took all these people and dumped them
somewhere, put them in a mass grave and killed them all.
But it turned out he had the actual numbers on he says there
weren't that many squeegee guys who said they were out all the
time. And he says once you start resting them and throwing them
in jail making them inconvenient for them to do this. They went
on they went elsewhere. Well, maybe there isn't a shallow
grave somewhere whatever the case was, he cleaned up the
place and he got then he then they went further they clean in
Times Square, yeah, got rid of the prostitution. That's all
that was all around that time square area, posted kind of the
outskirts and got rid of that I think generally speaking is
there's nothing like I mean back in that year. I mean, you could
go anywhere in New York and there was hookers, or there were
hookers everywhere.
Good times. Good times. So let me ask you, John. So let's say
we're living on the we're living like somewhere, let me just say
Africa. And we're sitting around we're saying, Hey, man, you
know, let's let's let's pull off a heist, and let's make some
money. You know, I there's so many rich fuckers in this world.
Let's go. I know, let's hijack an oil tanker. Can you explain
this rationale to me why Somali pirates have hijacked an oil
tanker and what they actually think to get away with.
They've been hijacking these things for about two or three
years now. And that they this wasn't just the one. That was
the big one. That was the monster. I know that
they've they've they've got oil, they've jacked the towers out
there, you know, 100 miles off the coast. I mean, is it? Is it
really such a big trade, I mean, even to go to go hijack this
monstrous thing. They actually think they're gonna get away
with anything.
They've already gotten away with a number of hijacks. But this is
the biggest this has gotten, you know, what have you got carried
away with this one? They took out the
how many? How many millions of barrels, like 2 million barrels
of oil are on this thing.
So this, which one I think is 1/3 of daily Saudi production
rise in their own boat? I don't know. I mean, I think they're
gonna get paid off and they're going to release the boat. And
that's going to be that. But now, of course, the Blackwater
is getting involved.
Yeah, I know that they've got their own ship with an attack
helicopter and right. They're
going to get to the fact Blackboard is going to develop
their own private navy. Yeah. Which, Zeb? I'm thinking to
myself. What is it the Saudis just do the same? I just, you
know, these guys, the Blackwater guys are amazingly
entrepreneurial. I mean, I've never seen, you know, to
commercialise mercenary ism, to this extreme is just, I mean, I
only saw this guy with the guy who runs Blackwater, he would be
testifying for Congress once. And he looks like a Silicon
Valley guy, because that was, for instance, that his name is I
can't remember. But anyway, I was watching him testify because
he rarely shows his face, probably for good reason. And it
just was just, this guy is a genius.
I've seen him on Charlie Rose, I'll look that up for you.
Because it was a really good, it was a really good show are the
guys he is he does look like a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
Yeah, but But it's disgusting to me.
Yeah, well, I mean, it should be you mean, we shouldn't have this
kind of thing. But the fact of the matter is, I've never seen I
would have never imagined in a million years that somebody
could commercialise this kind of business to such an extreme.
That is like, you know, becoming its own government, it could
probably take over a place.
Well, it's called the military industrial complex. John has
been going for a while.
I just what I said, but it's not been this in entrepreneurial
alized in such an extreme where it's like, just out in the open.
And I think that they could be hired to take over a government
and say, let's do a contract deal. You know, you get a bunch
of billionaires together.
Oh, that's interesting. So wait a minute. So what you're saying
is, they of course, will always go for the highest bidder. So in
a very typical American lazy entrepreneurial way, instead of
going to the arms, we have the right to bear to fuck it. We'll
just hire Blackwater for our coup.
They have a navy pretty soon. So you'd figure out you target a
country? Look around. Look at South America, you look at your
island, some island, you targeted?
How about the United States? Let's go to Washington? Well,
they'll hire Blackwater to do it for us,
I think is going to be that'd be a tough one, because I think
they're in cahoots. So that's not gonna happen. But let's just
say there's some country in Africa, or that has a lot of
natural resources or something in South America, we take
Blackwater, and we just take over the place. Yeah, I mean,
they do a treaty with the United States, you know, in some sort
of a quid pro quo. And then and then just take and steal all the
resources, right? How about you should be able to a cost benefit
analysis will pay for the country and Flight BE A
Blackwater will get paid off, they'll make and they get a
piece of it, you have to do it as a stock deal. So they get
stock options on the country's resources. And so Blackwater
becomes a partner. And they also the military and you boom, is
no, it's, you know, it's all done just as you bid like any
other investment,
the only the only thing you have to talk about is the warrants,
it's just the warrants, you know, it's like, that's all that
we care about at the end of the deal. But it's not exactly what
Georgia
killing and murdering is like, like any Silicon Valley deal.
Yeah.
Well, this is Georgia South Oceti. That's exactly what
happened. They got Blackwater guys in to do it.
Yeah, that could be so yeah, well, yeah, they probably do. So
yeah, it's all a scam. So I guess so talking about scams
Putin is going to ride you know, they've changed all their laws
they're going to keep themselves in these guys are never going to
go into now. Now the term is six years in Russia for the
president instead of four buttons is
going to be in forever. Let's Haitian and he's the next thing
to Stalin.
Well, I don't know. Yeah, that's probably, well, Russia had to do
something. Now, because all of their oligarchs are going belly
up to the, I guess the the oil companies that they initially
stoled and now stealing back, is that kind of the way it works?
I don't know. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. No, you mean the
government's take the government's taking them back
and disguise it gives you guys are abusing the privilege and
then they say you guys are making too much money. Let's put
the CEO in jail. By the way, maybe we should be thinking
what I'm saying. They're on to something here. Let's put these
CEOs and Jesse,
stay on take the company.
I do want to promote the end the Fed rally, which takes place
today in 39 different cities in the United States. Ending
red.us. That's the root of all the problems, John? Yeah, by the
way, reminds
me of another thing I noticed here they call it an array be
some truth to that because I was noticing the on the EURO NEWS
here. When they refer to Bernanke. Yeah, Bernanke.
Bernanke. Bernanke. You say Bernanke. Anyway, so they call
him they had become the head of the Central Bank. Well, that's
what he is. Yeah, no, I know, I realised that but it's like we
wouldn't do United State. We don't use that, that
nomenclature. We need to put reserve it's like a committee
and it's got nothing in it. You know, it's
just we have to use the word federal because then it sounds
governmental. And that's part of the scam.
Yeah. Central Bank. Nine, central bank. Yeah. Well, I'll
be amused. Well, I'm not. So I'm getting a sling box and a sling
catcher.
You had to be in Portugal to figure that out.
I'm sure what No, no, I've died was just came after a. We did
this last show because we're talking about setting up sling
boxes. They're in so I could watch your TV. And but you what
you really wants is I haven't hooked these up yet. So I don't
know how difficult this is going to be a probably blog it or it's
relatively easy to setup plumped up at sling catcher. If you
haven't, you're familiar. Yeah,
I don't have the sling catcher. But I only pay you unless you
receive it and put it back on your television. Right.
Right. So I could take your signal and then put it on my TV
as I was watching your set on my TV, not on the computer. Right?
I guess it has other uses. You know, like, I guess like an
Apple TV or something like that. I'm not sure what all the things
you can do are, but it costs as much as the sling box. Probably
does a few
things. Well, I'll go out and buy one this afternoon. I'm
doing a little bit of shopping anyway, I have the slim box, but
I want to get a separate sling box. Well, we already we've
already gone through all of this. But I'm also ordering
multiple lines. I'm getting my cable modem I'm getting a DSL
line because you know you have to be careful these days because
you get penalised as an uploader. But frickin ISPs Oh,
you're uploading too much. So we'll just break your
connection. You're probably doing something illegally.
Yes. Which reminds me of the Tennessee story, which reminds
I'll mention, okay. The Tennessee a state of Tennessee
decided to put $9.8 million plus a recurring $1.5 million into
the university system.
Oh, yeah, to monitor
for file sharing. So in other words, instead of giving the
money to the for education, yeah, to learn something, they
basically at the behest of the Ria, which should if they're
going to monitor that let the RIA put in $10 million as
opposed to the idiots at the state of Tennessee the state
should be ashamed of itself and they should get that governor
who's apparently behind the whole thing out of office. I
mean, what kind of an idiot is going to spend taxpayer money
for something like this to monitor to do and police to do
police work for the benefit of file sharing? Now?
John, hold on one second. You just started to sound like
Robocop for a moment there.
Yeah, I know. You're breaking up to get into the hour here the
bear.
That's not even worth what you're saying. Hold on. I'm
gonna call you back. All right. All right, either. Don't tell me
I lost you know, I'm here now. Okay, great. Yeah, we're back.
We're back. Alright.
Yeah, well, we got to wrap anyway because I gotta take off
any I think the connection is gonna fall apart. But anyway,
just the Tennessee storage bids on the blog. divorce.org/blog
Check it out.
Alright, so Oh, man. You only want to do one out All with me,
it's just because you're gonna go take pictures with some guys
like
Celeste, you know group of photographers. We're gonna go
shoot Lisbon.
That's funny. So you travel around like a bunch of guys with
with like fanny packs and you taking pictures of shit. Like
Japanese tourists.
Exactly. That's expensive cameras, except you.
You'll have your little, your little Cybershot thingy there.
And I brought
the big camera. Really? I didn't know you had a big unit. I
because I have an Olympus 520 Ooh, nice. Very nice. I was
really nice as an 11 to 22 millimetre lens I have which is
astonishing. Product Neff,
or whatever. Not really, in the cameras. I got some good cameras
found. So somebody told me that our outro theme was depressing.
Really? Yes, it all I get so depressed at hearing maybe
they're just depressed,
depressed because the show was over. I think that's a that must
be it. It's not depressing. It has a nice little subtle thing.
And, and I know that people are just sitting there just
listening to it all the way to the very last tone and thinking
Oh, wow. Wow, was a good show. I can't wait until the next one.
Yeah. Okay, well, I think that's about it.
I feel strangely unsatisfied. Well, we
could have got another half far, but we'll hit the whole thing
next year. Next week.
All right. Well, I'll be here. You're gonna be back in San
Francisco. I hope because I need you to have your American news
hat on. Oh, yeah, absolutely. All right. Well, so you're
flying back through Frankfurt again.
I they changed my flight. So I don't know. But if I go through
London, I'll try to stop off.
Yeah, please do when is that tomorrow or Monday? Tomorrow?
Okay, well, let me know because the airport is literally
Heathrow and Gatwick both are like 30 minutes away. So good.
If you have a layover or whatever, you can call me I
won't pick up and enjoy your time at Heathrow Airport. All
right, John, listen, have have a great day Have a safe flight
back. And I look forward to talking longer next time. Okay.
All right. Um, so that wraps it up coming to you from the United
Kingdom, the affluent suburb of Surrey, and Guilford. I'm Adam
curry.
And I'm John C. Dvorak in Lisbon, Portugal.
We'll talk to get next week right here on no agenda. Enjoy
the depressive theme