I got a couple of emails today from Matt Stoller, letting me know of the unprecedented Press Conference that Ben Bernanke will be giving on Wednesday, the 27th of April.
Now this should be very interesting, as Mr. Bernanke will be taking questions from reporters.
I'm just wondering if this isn't going to be yet another kabuki tango farce to allow the corporate owned media to 'keep the shakedown,' going regardless of the extend and pretend recovery our country is experiencing.
What questions would you have for the great Oz, The man behind the curtain, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke?
Mother Jones has a good article up:
Tue Apr. 26, 2011 12:01 AM PDT
On Wednesday, Ben Bernanke will do what no other Fed chairman before him has ever done: Hold a press conference.
That's big news for the quasi-governmental body known as the "Temple of Secrets," which controls the flow of money in the economy and often acts as a lender of last resort for crumbling banks. On Wednesday afternoon, the Fed will host reporters after a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Markets Committee, the Fed's main body shaping monetary policy in the US. With public distrust of the Fed soaring, the much-anticipated event gives Bernanke a chance to openly discuss the Fed's deliberations and try to build trust in the 98-year-old institution. Bernanke will speak directly to the media at the Fed's headquarters in Washington, DC, then take 45 minutes of questions. The interrogation will undoubtedly range from the Fed's monetary policy, to its role in spurring the US economic recovery, to the country's long-term fiscal health.
Here are six questions we'd like to see Bernanke answer. (Any questions you'd like see posed to the Fed chief? Share them in the comments section. Or tweet them @motherjones using the hashtag #FedSpeaks.)
http://motherjones.com/...
Another great article is this one:
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will give his first in a series of regular press conferences tomorrow. Journalists will be allowed to ask questions.
As Robert D. Auerbach - an economist with the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee for eleven years, assisting with oversight of the Federal Reserve, and subsequently Professor of Public Affairs at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin - notes, the press conferences are simply a p.r. ploy, and "will not remedy the fed's corrupt and deceptive public records policies."
But some people have suggested some questions for Mr. Bernanke. For example, Senator Sanders asks: Why Did the Fed Bail Out the Bank of Libya?
http://www.zerohedge.com/...
As a matter of fact, Senator Bernie Sanders has a shit load of questions for Chairmen Bernanke. But of course Senator Sanders will not be one of 'duly invited guests,' of the Corporate Media to provide some decent questions, and the kind of valued transparency that is so sorely needed in our nation.
Another article from the WSJ:
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to talk and answer questions for about 45 minutes Wednesday. The Federal Reserve is doing some careful stage planning for its first-ever public news conference Wednesday afternoon following a two-day policy meeting.
Details that would be extremely mundane for most other institutions—such as who gets in, how Chairman Ben Bernanke should kick things off, and how questions will be asked—have potentially market-moving importance in this instance. Analysts and traders on Wall Street have been scrambling to find out what to expect.
"People are trying to get their arms around the whole thing," said David Greenlaw, chief U.S. economist with Morgan Stanley. He has quizzed colleagues who follow the European Central Bank, which, like other central banks, has held news conferences for years, to understand how it might unfold.
http://online.wsj.com/...
I just love that sentence: 'such as who gets in, and.....how questions will be asked.'
Jeeze, it almost sounds scripted, doesn't it?
Thank god for the truth tellers (otherwise I would have committed myself into a padded cell by now).
Get the picture? What the Fed is doing has a long pedigree; it's called cornhole the taxpayer, and no one does it with such virtuosity and deftness as Ben Bernanke. He's a real pro. And, one last thing: Bernanke and Co. know the real condition of the economy. They're not fools. They know that each business cycle is weaker than the last, providing fewer jobs, more slack in the economy, and more anemic growth. They know it, just as they know that mature capitalist economies drift inexorably towards stagnation, which is why the capital accumulation process must be endlessly tweaked to maintain profitability for the "lucky few". So, while at one time, the US produced precision widgets and eye-popping techno-gadgetry; the focus has since shifted to ever-wackier debt-instruments and computerized high-speed trading to fatten the bottom line. Because that's where the real gravy is.
QE2 fits perfectly in this new paradigm of profit-extraction via maximizing debt and goosing the markets. It's a sign that the folks at the Central Bank have completely abandoned the traditional ways of boosting earnings and moved on to Plan B, which involves cannibalizing the system and devouring the society to further enrich the illustrious 1 percent.
So, forget about the "self sustaining recovery". Fed policy has nothing to do with rebuilding the economy and putting people back to work. It's just one big shakedown. They grab you by the ankles, turn you upside-down, and shake. And, when the last copper penny hits the pavement, "PLING" they'll move on to China.
http://www.counterpunch.org/...
Another excellent truth teller:
Since I’ve identified four major rationales for our impending doom, I’ve decided to write a four part series that can be read in small doses, rather than one enormous article. I don’t want anyone to miss tonight’s episode of Dancing With the Stars, get distracted from the Royal Wedding preparations, or skip the best reality TV show ever – Ben Bernanke’s press conference, while reading an 8,000 word article about the end of America. The four part series will have a Clint Eastwood theme. For a Few Dollars More will address the Baby Boomer impact on America’s decline. A Fistful of Dollars will examine how the creation of the Federal Reserve and the income tax in 1913 set us on a path to ruin. Outlaw Josey Wales will scrutinize the looting of America by a small group of powerful, connected, super rich men lurking in the shadows, but pulling the strings on our puppet politicians. Lastly, Unforgiven will detail the impending collapse of our economic system and the retribution that will be handed out to the guilty.
Over the last few weeks there seems to be consensus among many financial bloggers, whose credibility is far more trustworthy than the corporate mainstream media, that the country is teetering on the verge of economic collapse due to the complete capture of the government, financial, regulatory, and media by a small group of oligarchs. They have also been described as the super rich, plutarchs, ruling elite, and scum sucking leeches. The bloggers that I have the utmost respect for, including Jesse, Charles Hugh Smith, Mike Shedlock, Yves Smith and Gonzalo Lira have all come to the logical conclusion the horrific economic situation of the country is a direct result of the greed, corruption, fraud, and plundering by a powerful connected group of rich financiers operating without fear of being brought to justice by the authorities.
While pondering the ruminations of these dedicated truth tellers, I was reminded of the Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western For a Few Dollars More. The quotes above are representative of living in the USA today. There are supposed to be courageous, loyal and honest sheriffs that protect the citizens from crime, corruption and evil doers. But, just as we saw in the Old West of Clint Eastwood movies, the sheriffs are always corrupt and bought off by the evil cattle barons. In a world where life has no value and you can’t rely on law enforcement to protect your interests, the citizens eventually will need to turn to bounty hunters to take care of the bad guys. The bounty hunters of truth reside on the internet. They reside at Zero Hedge, Jesse’s Café Americain, Of Two Minds, Mish, Chris Martenson, and dozens of other anarchist websites. When you can’t trust your government, your bankers, your church, your media, or mega-corporate CEOs, you need to seek the truth where it can be found. The insightful bloggers who courageously print the truth on a daily basis have unanimously concluded that a small band of powerful elite have accumulated undue influence and control over this country, having brought it to the verge of economic collapse. How did this happen? Who is responsible? Why were they permitted to gain this power?
http://www.theburningplatform.com/...
And lastly, one of the best video's I've watched in a long time, that discusses the simple premise, that over 70 percent of the American people want the rich to be taxed again, and guess what? No one in Washington DC even gives a shit. Instead we are getting the now bullshit Gang of 6, who keep doubling down on cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
I find it stunning to know that do date, that I have not heard one word on the MSM that is announcing this upcoming unprecedented Press Conference by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Hat tip to Matt Stoller for sending me several great articles.
Now, what questions would you want to ask the great Oz, Ben Bernanke, if you were the 'chosen few,' to sit in the audience, and had the opportunity to ask him questions?
Thanks for you attention to this matter, and thanks to all the 'truth tellers' that day in and day out keep me sane. A poem for all of you, in these dark days of our nation:
beannacht - by john o'donohue
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
Ms. B.