I can sense it, can’t you?
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are living from paycheck to paycheck and now face missing a mortgage payment or car payment…
A man set himself ablaze on the grass Mall in front of the government decision makers’ offices, and later died.
Truckers are implementing a 3 day general strike and boycott October 11 – 13, 2013.
People of Earth are watching the global economy:
The shutdown of the government, America’s largest employer, isn’t happening all at once.
Federal employees who are considered essential will continue working. Those deemed non-essential, up to 800,000, could be furloughed, unsure when they’ll be able to work or get paid again.
The shutdown could cost the still-in-2008-crisis-management and struggling U.S. economy about $1 billion a week in pay lost by furloughed federal workers; and that is only the tip of the iceberg.
Whoa! But Congress still gets paid!
While many agencies have reserve funds and contingency plans that would give them some short-term leeway, the economic effect would snowball as the shutdown continues.
Political ramifications extending beyond the United States is already apparent. On Wednesday, Oct-2-2013, Obama canceled planned visits next week to Malaysia and the Philippines as part of an Asian swing that will include a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Bali. Obama will still attend the ASEAN summit, his office said.
In all regions institutions and individuals are concerned that drastic change is needed, is coming, and what to do about it…
Below I share some indications of this global collective and individual concern; please visit the links for their full report rather than merely relying on the excerpts.
My perception is CHANGE is occurring, some fear it, some embrace it, and others are confused… ~Ron
* IMF Chief Christine Lagarde Says Raising USA Debt Ceiling ‘Mission-Critical’
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, warned on Thursday that the global economy could face serious damage if the United States failed to act swiftly to resolve the political deadlock in Washington, and to launch measures to raise the government’s borrowing limit to avoid defaulting on its debt.
[…]
“The government shutdown is bad enough, but failure to raise the debt ceiling would be far worse, and could very seriously damage not only the U.S. economy, but the entire global economy,” Lagarde said, according to a transcript of her speech at George Washington University. “So it is mission-critical that this be resolved as soon as possible.” –ibtimes.com
* China tells USA to avoid debt crisis for sake of global economy
A senior Chinese official has warned that the “clock is ticking” to avoid a US default that could hurt China’s interests and the global economy.
Source: BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24426881
*Minnesota federal workers protest shutdown
“Many of the workers holding signs on the 34th Avenue Bridge over Crosstown Highway 62 [MINNEAPOLIS] were employed at the nearby U.S. Air Force Reserve station. They were a handful of the estimated 19,000 Minnesota federal employees affected by the indefinite job furloughs.”
…
“I showed up for work at 6 o’clock and was given notification that we were done until further notice,” said Dusty Hawkins, electrician from Chanhassan. “They said they would pay us for the four hours we did today sometime in the future, but we have already been furloughed six days (this year), had our pay frozen for three years and now this indefinite furlough. It has taken a real toll on the families. People do not know how they are going to pay their bills.”
*General Strike(s)
“I am no revolutionary theorist, but I feel as though the time has come for a serious discussion about how citizens in the United States (and Canada too) might go about replacing their governments with more representative, less corporate-driven interests. I think the time has come to ask the question: does the United States need a new constitution and a new federal legislature far different from the one it currently possesses? Is it not time for a new constitutional convention which would convene in every state and require the participation of citizens from all walks of life and all social classes? If so, is it not then time to show the current Congress that it is no longer necessary, that we can in fact govern ourselves thank you very much?” –The Sand County Blog
*International news:
Tsochatzopoulos found guilty of money laundering
Former Pasok defence minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos found guilty in case that centred on kickbacks that he received in order to approve the purchase of Russian TOR-M1 short-range missiles and German submarines for the navy – enetenglish.gr
Argentina: CFK’s health woes rock political landscape
“President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was resting at the Olivos presidential residence last night as key issues regarding the country’s leadership remained unanswered following news late Saturday that doctors had ordered her to take a month’s rest because they found blood on her brain from a previous head injury.”
After heading several scheduled official activities today, Vice-President Amado Boudou took over the presidential duties, government sources. – buenosairesherald.com
Suspected militants killed six Egyptian soldiers near the Suez Canal and fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a state satellite station in Cairo today, suggesting an Islamist insurgency was picking up pace three months after an army takeover.
• At least 44 killed in protests across Egypt
*Reports About Worker Strikes:
- Stagehands strike over at NY’s Carnegie Hall
Updated: Oct-04-13 2:10 pm
NEW YORK – A stagehands strike that briefly delayed the start of Carnegie Hall’s season has ended.
- Slight progress made in long BART labor dispute
Updated: Oct-03-13 9:28 pm
OAKLAND, California – With about a week to go before a possible second strike, Bay Area Rapid Transit officials and labor leaders say they made slight progress in negotiations but remain far apart on wages.
- Furloughed fed workers protest outside Luke AFB
Updated: Oct-03-13 4:40 pm
PHOENIX – Furloughed federal workers are marching in a picket line outside Luke Air Force Base in Glendale.
- Striking teachers, police clash in Rio de Janeiro
Updated: Oct-01-13 7:15 pm
RIO DE JANEIRO – Clashes broke out in Rio de Janeiro’s busy downtown business district Tuesday as police skirmished with striking schoolteachers.
Strikes Threaten EU Air Travel
Air-Traffic Control Unions Plan Strikes to Protest Possible Job Losses
FRANKFURT—Labor unions representing air-traffic controllers across Europe Tuesday said they plan to go on strike next month in protest against European Union plans to overhaul the region’s fragmented air-traffic-control system. The strike, due Oct. 10., would disrupt air travel within Europe as well as flights to and from the region. It follows a French-led two-day strike by controllers in several countries last June. – WSJ
Officials continue to report RECOVERY for Greece’s economy, while the people experience recessionary pains that has lasted for 5 years…
“I can testify from personal experience that investors would flock to Greece once the debt overhang was removed. But the official sector cannot write down its debt, because that would violate a number of taboos, particularly for the ECB.” – George Soros
Greek Worker Strikes Continue
The trolley buses in Athens: they won’t be running from noon until 4pm on Tuesday due to a general assembly of the workforce. Note that as it takes up to an hour to return to depot before the meeting and an hour to resume full service after it, don’t count on catching a trolley from 11am to 5pm.
Near-destitute woman unable to buy €1.20 bus ticket now told to pay €720 penalty
Woman and her disabled mother have no income or insurance…
The OSY letter saying the €72 fine will be increased ten-fold if not paid within 20 days A woman who was caught earlier this year travelling on an Athens bus without the required €1.20 ticket and who was unable to pay the €72 fine has been told she is now liable for a €720 penalty at her local tax office, in a move that has been described as a “gratuitous blow” by the country’s most prominent voluntary health clinic.
The 31-year-old woman, who is long-term unemployed and, as a result, has no income or social insurance, shares a home with her 53-year-old mother, who lives with a severe disability. The two women still have a roof over their head thanks to the understanding of their landlord – they owe rent since April – and from the meagre help they receive from relatives.
The pair receive their medical care from the Metropolitan Community Clinic in Elliniko, a voluntary health intiative that provides free treatment to thousands of people like the women shut out from free state healthcare.
In April, the daughter boarded a bus without the required €1.20 ticket and was controlled by a ticket inspector, who issued her with a €72 fine, even though she pleaded with him that she was unable to pay due to her many years of unemployment.
The woman then wrote to road transport operator OSY, providing documentation proving her status and describing her dire economic situation. – Greek Independent Press
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Published on Oct 6, 2013
We are on our own, Stackers. It is very clear now that regulators have absolutely no intent on ever enforcing free and open markets. No natural price discovery, no punishments for manipulation, no even playing field for day traders & hardly any lip service to satisfy gold & silver bugs who have been getting screwed on the “spot” market for years. Nobody said it would be easy. But there is hope in the form of community underground markets. Local trade economies have a great chance of succeeding if we do a better job of communicating. -by Expat in Asia broadcasting personal finance, economic and socio-cultural views.
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Keiser on shutdown: America one giant hedge fund & world’s greatest soap opera
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Loyal Subjects To Wall Street Banks
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Want Worldwide PEACE and Prosperity. We are the solution we have been searching for... Free People on Earth will solve our crisis and create an era of Creativity. Be Aware; Be Creative; Be Active; Be Free; and then Share it. LOVE & Wholeness AMOR y Paz
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