Year: 2015

Varoufakis to Eurozone: Everyone Should Help Pay Greek Debt Through Eurobonds!

rafifarber Eurozone Crisis, The Jewish Libertarian Blog , ,

Here’s another edition of “How to Explain Politics/Economics to a 4 Year Old”. I haven’t done this, but I may as well now. Economics really is the most important secular subject for people to understand because when some big politico gets up in front of a crowd and starts spouting finance terms, 999,999 times out of a million he’s trying to confuse you while he steals your money and you sit there and nod saying to yourself that it’s OK you don’t understand what he’s talking about because you don’t have a degree in this stuff.

But first, these little snippets are going well, so here’s another one. Varoufakis claimed 2 days ago that “He never gave the finger to anyone. Ever.” After being caught giving Germany the finger. Well, then he must not have hands.

In any case, Bob Wenzel at EPJ is picking up once again with what I figured out back in 2012. Varoufakis’s grand insane scheme for a United States of Europe. He’s couching it in a bunch of technical language about bonds and yields and coupons and agreements and treaties and trying to baffle everyone with his bullshit. Here’s what he wants, why he’s insane, and why this diarrhea of the mouth will certainly get Greece kicked out of the Euro for good. Now I’m sure of it.

How to explain this to a 4 year old (more or less): Let’s say I’m a central bank in my household because I’m the dictator and I have a monopoly over the money supply in my house. I decide what allowance my kids get. Now, one of them spends too much money and he has a bunch of debt he can’t pay. The other one stays in budget. Now, Varoufakis is saying the solution to this is to equalize the debt so both of my kids are now carrying the same debt burden so both of them can have an equal shot at paying it back. How PISSED is the other kid going to be?

That’s what he’s saying.  Instead of Greek bonds he wants Eurobonds. The Eurobonds will be issued by Eurozone governments, so all of them will have the same yield no matter who sells them. So if one country goes crazy into debt, everyone in the Eurozone has to pay that country’s debt. Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go over great with the frugal states. They’ll love it. It’s bond communism on a continental scale. Gross scary evil stuff.

Wow, talk about tragedy of the commons. That means Germany has to pick up all of Greece’s debt and spread pain throughout the rest of the Eurozone just because Greece decided to spend too much on welfare.

No sovereign European government is going to stand for this crap. Varoufakis is a crazy red Leninist nutcase. In a matter of days, Greece is out. Certainly the Germans see right though this Bolshevik insanity.

The contradictions of these people, it just blows my mind. Now someone on a video at The Guardian is defending him using this gem language:

“His point was related to events in 2010 when he was in favor of a Greek default within the Eurozone, but this was taken out of context in order to make it seem as if he was in favor of not paying the debt owed to Germany and giving Germany the finger.”

Do you see how these sophists use one technical term (default) to hoodwink you? A default means that you do not pay your debt. That’s the definition of the word. So how can he be in favor of a default but still be in favor of paying debt?

Let’s take the technical term out and rephrase this iron defense of Varoufakis:

His point was related to events in 2010 when he was in favor of a Greece not paying the debt within the Eurozone, but this was taken out of context in order to make it seem as if he was in favor of not paying the debt owed to Germany and giving Germany the finger.”

Contradiction. Is anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?

I’m on fire with movie quotes these days.

Grexit and the Supermoon Solar Eclipse – Any Meaning Here?

rafifarber Eurozone Crisis, The Jewish Libertarian Blog , ,

I don’t know. But it certainly is interesting. One of the posts on TheJewishLibertarian that keeps getting traffic week after week is that one I wrote about the four blood moons. In the middle of the those blood moons is the solar eclipse, happening on Friday night, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, 5775.

בניסן נגאלו ובניסן עתידין להיגאל.

I theorized that if we are to assume this means anything, which I never conceded and am not conceding now, then it could mean that Israeli reliance on the West, or the US, will end on that day. It could also mean that the beginning of the domino effect will begin on Friday, during the solar eclipse, that is actually a “supermoon” eclipse (I can’t believe I’m linking to Inforwars, I promise I don’t read or watch Alex Jones, he just showed up on the first page of “supermoon”) because the moon is so close to the Earth during this eclipse that it totally blocks out the sun, which is even rarer than a regular full solar eclipse. And it happening in the middle of 4 total lunar eclipses, I don’t know if that has ever happened before.

Anyway, a lot of headlines have been flying around in the last two days that are very indicative of a Grexit in the next few days. Today there was something about the IMF bitching about how “uncooperative” Greece is, and that the saints at the IMF have never had a more recalcitrant bailout client ever in their 70 year history.

Or actually, “the most unhelpful client ever“. There’s something especially twisted when the world’s largest ball of loot specifically dedicated to bailing out thieves who overspend their tax hordes calls their “clients” “unhelpful”. Be that as it may, it seems everyone’s really pissed off at Greece and they can’t take it anymore.

So just now Zerohedge comes out with this leak, that the ECB is busy calculating how to absorb a 95% loss on Greek bonds over the next few days.

I had an article over at CalvinAyre I wrote yesterday about this Swedish gambling company called Net Ent. It’s a good company, but has (or could have) its bank accounts in an island called Malta off the coast of Italy somewhere. Malta’s banking sector is 800% of its GDP, and the country is 5% exposed to Greek bonds in terms of its GDP. So to give an example of where this domino can spread, if Greek bonds lose 95% face value, that will trigger a bail in of Malta because doubtless its enormous banking sector holds those bonds. Companies like Net Ent, if they hold their accounts in Malta, will be fleeced.

That’s just one minor example.

It would be very fitting, very fitting indeed, and very satisfying personally, if it starts davka now. Let’s see what happens by Friday. Here’s another piece on it I wrote on SeekingAlpha.

While Bibi is building his coalition of jerks, the spark may indeed already be lit.

You may be right. I may be crazy. But it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for.

Or four of them and a superlunatic eclipse. Or maybe not.

 

Quick Thoughts on Election Results

rafifarber Israeli Politics, The Jewish Libertarian Blog , ,

I ended up not voting for anyone. Someone pledged money and then backed out, and I couldn’t bring myself to vote for Arabs. If something bad happened I didn’t want it on my conscience that I voted. There was an article, I think on Zerohedge, a few days ago about common statist arguments. One of them was “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.” The truth is exactly the opposite.

Ah, I found it. Here it is, originally on Liberty.me. Google really is an awesome search engine.

“If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain”

This is exactly wrong. People who do not vote are the only people who have a right to complain. Those who vote for people who win elections are endorsing politicians and their minions who will engage in activities under color of law that would be punished as crimes if you or I did them. Those who vote for people who lose elections may not be vicariously responsible for the crimes of state agents in the same degree, but participating in the system helps to create the appearance of legitimacy for that which is inherently illegitimate.

I did not vote, therefore I have a right to complain. If you voted, you have no right to complain.

So anyway, God has his own plans, I don’t know what they are, so whatever I think is good and bad about these results is irrelevant. But for what it’s worth, here’s what makes me happy (relatively) and what makes me less happy, in my own superficial emotional responses to larger pictures that are not presented to my eye directly by the Creator of the Universe.

First, Bennett can go blank my blank. He’s dead, his party is dead, it’s back to Mafdal sectoral nonsense, he has no future, he’s gone, goodbye. (Wry smile by me.)

Second, Eli Yishai is out, he can also go blank my blank. He’s never coming back, he will disintegrate into obscurity, good bye, good riddance, now go do your speaking rounds because there’s nothing else anyone will hire you for. The biggest Hillul Hashem in the Knesset, in my opinion, for specifically religious Jews (Netanyahu is the biggest for Jews in general) is out. No more hearing about how the gay people caused massive fires in the Carmel and other lovely gems.

Third, Baruch Marzel, who would have been the magnet for the “all nationalist Jews are crazy” mantra, is also out. That will save many a Hillul Hashem for nationalist Jews down the line.

Fourth, Tzipi Livni is again relegated to a loss. She’s the new Shimon Peres and I hope she looks for yet another stupid party to crash after Likud, Kadima, Tnua, now Labor. Or Zionists, or whatever they want to call themselves.

Fifth, Lieberman is dead. He’ll be absorbed by something, and Yisrael Beiteinu is dead. That’s good.

As for what makes me relatively sadder for today at least, Netanyahu’s, I admit it, pretty impressive victory, my two conclusions are, really, there is nobody else who fits the bill of Prime Minister except Feiglin of course, but he’s on hiatus right now. Anyone else filling that seat is, admittedly, laughable.

Second, the only way he will ever stop leading the Israelis government is in the event of a global economic catastrophe that everybody blames him for. Otherwise, he’s going to be Prime Minister until he dies (not calling for any violence here), and he’s got really top notch longevity genes in his family. His father died at what, 102 or something like that?

Yup, 102. Google gets it again. So it’s either economic catastrophe, or King Bibi for another 36 years give or take.

Feiglin to Netanyahu: Please Let Me Go to Temple Mount On Day of My Son’s Wedding

rafifarber Temple Mount, The Jewish Libertarian Blog

This really seems like Bibi’s last chance to do Teshuva. It’s elections tomorrow. It’s also David Feiglin’s wedding tomorrow. Moshe wants to go up to Har Habayit with his son before he gets married. I dare say that if Netanyahu allows Moshe to go up, he will win the elections. If he refuses, he will lose badly. This is his very last chance to do something good. There won’t be another. I have a feeling that God will not allow another.

To: Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel

With the grace of God, my son will be married tomorrow. That is, my son David who as you know was involved in a terrible car accident.

I have no words to describe how full my heart is with excitement and gratitude for this miracle we have been privileged to see, my son David going from the very brink of death to building a Jewish family.

Our disagreement regarding your policies surrounding the Temple Mount and its consequences for Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem is well known. The executive decree you declared forbidding entrance specifically to all Knesset Members – the representatives of Jewish sovereignty – is outrageous and unacceptable to me. Nevertheless, I believed my discreet request to the police in this matter would be granted.

From the answer I received and the little time that remains, I came to the conclusion that I have no choice and therefore I am turning to you directly and publicly as a simple citizen to his Prime Minister.

I request and demand that you allow me to exercise my right to go up to the Temple Mount with my son on his wedding day, just as every other Israeli citizen has the right to do.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that I will not be able to make up for at some other time.

With most respect,

Moshe Feiglin

This is an epic watershed moment among the many that are happening right now in the world. We’re about to turn a corner, one way or the other.

Feiglin Letter

How I explain Israeli elections to my 4 and 3 year old

rafifarber Israeli Politics, The Jewish Libertarian Blog

Walking my 4-year old to Gan this morning. She sees a picture of Lieberman on the fence. She asks who it is. I say “That’s a very bad man.”

“Why is he bad?”

“Because he wants to take our freckles away (freckles is our word for shekels) and if we don’t give him our freckles, he wants to put us in jail.”

Then we get to the Gan and there’s a picture of Bibi looking my child in the face with that sneer. And I tell her he’s really bad, too. So she asks why he’s on the wall. I tell her that he’s the one who tells everyone which Gan to go to and if anyone tries to go to a different Gan without him saying yes, he will put them in jail.

He’s also the biggest one taking away all your freckles. And under him is Yigal Freaking Lahav the Retroactive Tax Douche. (I didn’t use those words.) I told her that he was SO bad that not only did he take our freckles away, but he told us he was only going to take 100 away, and then he took away 200!

Elections, I explain, is when all the bad people who take your shekels away come together and make you pick which one of them is going to be the biggest one. Then they all come together in one group anyway and take even more stuff away from you. But since they want us to pick one of them to be the biggest one, some people think that the one they pick will take more freckles away from somebody else to give it to them.

“That sounds bad,” says my 4 year old.

“Yes. It’s very bad.” (1:17)

 

Varoufakis Goes Full Retard

rafifarber Eurozone Crisis, The Jewish Libertarian Blog , ,

Never go full retard.

(I realize that this joke is insensitive, but I couldn’t resist. Forgive me.)

When you go politician, you go a little bit in, dabble your foot, play with words, deflect a question or two. But you never go full politician. ESPECIALLY when you state publicly that you will resign the minute you sense that you are turning into a politician.

Yanis Varoufakis has gone full politician, full retard, no holds barred (I don’t know what that means) all-in, I call your “Definition of Is” and raise you a “My twitter account was hacked and that’s not my penis!” and add another quadrillion.

Caught in a 2013 video giving the finger to Germany, Varoufakis replied:

“That video was doctored. I’ve never given the finger, I’ve never given the middle finger ever.”

Are you #$%^ing kidding me Yanis? Doctored? That’s what you’ve been reduced to? Taking Hedonism-Bot pictures of yourself living a life of luxury off of BAILOUT money?

Varoufakis Goes Full Retard
Varoufakis and his Trophy Wife, Living it Up on Bailout Money While Greece Burns
Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis’s Cartoon Doppleganger

And then THIS? Denying you gave the finger when you CLEARLY did, and even if it were, by some crazy conspiracy, actually doctored, you were CLEARLY TALKING ABOUT IT YOU IDIOT! (Finger at 1:50 mark)

What a disgrace you have become. NOT because you gave the middle finger to Germany. If you want to give the finger to Germany, give the finger to Germany! Just default and leave them holding the bag, see what happens! Just like you said!

But you know why he’s going full politician and has to calm the waters now by pathetic lying? Because if he really gives them the finger now, he’s kicked out of the Euro. Varoufakis never wanted to leave the Euro immediately. Why? Because his problem is that Greece has no Drachma to stuff its banks with and he thinks that the economy would have no money and revert to BARTER (such stupidity) for 8 months while they were busy printing them. He doesn’t understand that money would revert to gold and silver and copper and prices would adjust accordingly automatically. But that’s because he’s a Marxist idiot.

He also doesn’t want the Greeks to know he’s printing Drachma because then Euros would flee the country so as not to be converted to Drachma. So what he wants to do is SECRETLY print drachma, THEN default, THEN watch the value of the Euro tank to nothing, THEN tell the Greeks he has Drachma, THEN leave the Euro. He makes that sick evil scheme VERY CLEAR at the end of the video.

Result being that Greeks do not have the opportunity to ship whatever money they have left out of the country, everyone loses his savings while the government gets to start fresh, spending money, zero debt. That’s why he’s going full retard. Because he’s busy stealth printing Drachma, and when he defaults, he wants to convert Euros overnight to Drachma without warning his people. Screw him.

Greeks, get your money OUT of the country NOW and out of the Euro as well or you will all lose everything because of full retards like this clown. Varoufakis is going to sink the ship without warning you first. I’m warning you now.

Afra Lepumei, Yanis Varoufakis. What a joke. I’m ashamed I ever thought anything positive of you.

Why Bennett is so bad and Bayit Yehudi Is the worst, most dangerous party

rafifarber Israeli Politics, The Jewish Libertarian Blog , ,

Vote Zehut!

Why is Bennett so bad? Just in terms of the number of people he is responsible for killing indirectly, and those who have yet to die because of him. Yes, die, because of him. Early on in the last coalition, Netanyahu wanted to do a prisoner release as a good will gesture to Abbas. The budget had not yet passed. Moshe Feiglin was going around to the the most right wing of right wingers in the coalition, telling them that the only way to stop this release of murderers was to vote against the budget, thereby bringing down the government. Bibi would have to recant, and the deal wouldn’t go through.

Moshe needed 3 more people to vote against the budget. That’s it. Bennett had 12. But not even Orit Struck, the most right wing of right wing of right wingers, mehadrin min hamehadrin, would vote against the budget to stop the terrorist release. I don’t like the word terrorist but I’m using it here so people who do like that word understand.

Orit Struck, who was kicked out of Sinai back in 1982, not even she would threaten to bring down the government. Only Moshe. Certainly not Bennett. But if Bennett had instructed his sheep to do so, they would have done it, and murderers would not be on the streets now. And Jews will die, and have died, because of it. Because to Bennett, what matters more than Jewish lives is his seat in the government.

Don’t sugarcoat it. In the end he had to make a decision. Seat in government, or block terrorist release. He chose the former. So did Struck.

The other stuff has to do with medical marijuana – anyone against that, that has the power to make it available to the sick but chooses not to, has no heart or pity and may deserve (I’m not God so I only say “may”) to die in pain for the pain he causes the sick and dying. I hate him for that and though I don’t wish pain on anybody – not even Bennett – if he suffers terrible pain from a disease (which I am not wishing upon him, to be clear) it would be midah keneged midah, theoretically.

Medical cannabis is a joke issue to those who don’t know what it’s like to have a relative sick and dying of cancer who can’t get a joint because some bureaucrat says he doesn’t need it. The chemo patients vomiting blood and unable to eat for weeks and have to be fed intravenously because the Medical Cannabis Regulation Office doesn’t want to give out too many government prescriptions. His fault. HIS FAULT HIS FAULT HIS FAULT. I look at and hear about people in pain and I think Bennett, and German, and other loathsome jerks walking around healthy and it drives me crazy.

Let alone if you are among the crowd that truly believes hash oil is a cancer cure. I’m not in that camp, but those who are should be able to test it and try it and smoke it and eat it and anything they damn will please with no restrictions period. Every time a dying cancer patient screams in pain it’s because of him – others too, but he’s included.

Then there’s the issue of the Jerusalem law to require 80 MK’s to give away the city, which he voted against to keep his stupid job as “minister of the economy” whatever the hell that means.

And there’s the Yisrael Hayom Law which forbids passing around free newspapers for God’s sake, which he came out “against” but did not, conveniently, tell his mindless wacko lackey Ayelet Shaked to shut up about. And that’s the thing with this guy. He takes the positive press for being “against” it when he knows it will pass anyway, but does not instruct his party to vote against it when it could actually threaten its passage.

There’s more, but I focus a lot on him because he talks the talk, but never stands up for what he says he believes in. And people just don’t get it. He vacuums in positive energy of people who think something good will come of him and he flushes all that energy into a bottomless stinking latrine. Nothing good will come out of this fake. Nothing.

All the people under his leadership would be good people if led by an actual person, like Feiglin. But he takes the positive energy in people like Struck and he channels it into the garbage. He’s like a lightning rod for goodness, channeling it through him and dumping it into nowhere so it doesn’t do anything and he keeps his stupid job.

If you vote for him and understand that, then fine. If you vote for him thinking that he’s a good guy, then you’re part of the problem.

I’m voting Arabs unless someone pays me not to

rafifarber Israeli Politics, The Jewish Libertarian Blog

My recent Facebook post.

Alright Facebook feed. I’m now going to blackmail you, and I’m serious. The Satmars have offered me $100 not to vote. But since I’m not 100% sure they’ll pay up as I don’t dress Satmar, I’m going to do something else.

I’m going to vote for the Arab Party because I don’t think it makes a difference and the only thing I really want to see is no possible coalition, and I think that the larger the Arab party, the less likely a government is to form at all. The government, the whole thing, is my enemy, and I want it as weak as possible.

The only way I will not vote for the Arabs is if someone convinces me not to, and the only way you can convince me not to is by paying me money. Words will not convince me of anything.

So if you think it’s really important that I not vote for the Arab party, put up your pledge. If we reach $100, I won’t vote at all. If you want me to vote for a specific party, say which one and pledge your amount. The party with the most pledges above $100 gets my vote. You can also PM me if you want, but any name calling will be promptly deleted from the thread.

100% of all proceeds will be donated to the Tzedaka of your choice in the amount of your pledge, but no government-run tzedaka and no political parties. All proceeds must be collected before Tuesday or I’m voting Tibi.

Iran’s “Evil” and the Fear-Based Incessant Warmongering of Right Wing Jews

rafifarber Foreign Policy, The Jewish Libertarian Blog , , ,

The backing to this post is the video below. The point of the video, in a single sentence, is that Iran is now fighting ISIS, which is a good thing. They are fighting ISIS because Iran is Shiite and ISIS is Sunni. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Who cares. I certainly don’t.

Ron Paul asks the question, very basic. If Iran is fighting ISIS, shouldn’t Israel send her a thank you note?

Well, yes, they should. It should be hand written by Netanyahu with profuse apologies for badmouthing the Iranians. No, not because the Iranians are good amazing great liberty-focused people. But because it would be good for peacemaking and dialing back the possibility of bombs flying and people here and in Iran getting killed who have nothing to do with a spat between loudmouthed warmongering schmucks like Netanyahu and Khamenei.

Why is it that when I or someone like me even suggests that Netanyahu, instead of drumming up war fever on Capitol Hill, write a nice letter to Zarif or Khamenei, just thanking them for fighting ISIS, or for saying that Iran doesn’t want to nuke Israel? It would be nice. A nice thing. Maybe it would calm things down. Maybe it would decrease the chances of war by 1%.

Are there security concerns against sending a letter, for God’s sake? What is wrong with talking? Why do Jews, especially, under Netanyahu’s or AIPAC’s spell insist that peaceful overtures to Iran are the worst possible thing that anybody can do, and anyone who even suggests saying nice things instead of war language is a sympathizer with terrorists?

Here’s what I want, from the Israeli government, to the Iranian government:

Dear Persian People,

Hello, Benjamin Netanyahu here. I realize I’ve been such a dick lately, but it’s because I’m really worried about your nuclear program and the words of your past president Ahmadinajad. I believe he said something about wiping Israel off the map, which made me nervous and upset. Could you explain that please? Maybe I misheard, or misread. But I recently read that your Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif said he does not want to nuke us. That was very nice, and I appreciate it. I also read that you are now fighting ISIS on your borders. I thank you for that. I offer Israel’s financial assistance and intelligence cooperation if you wish. It could be discreet, you wouldn’t have to tell anyone.

I would like to invite you to chat on the phone about this any time, and perhaps we could have a meeting on Skype about how to mutually tone down the rhetoric, and perhaps we could save our countries a war or two. Let me know!

Sincerely Yours,

Bibi

Does this mean Israel has to ignore the nuclear program? No. It simply means Israel should make peaceful overtures, because it’s a nice thing to do. That’s it. Can we do that?

No, because someone will accuse me of sympathizing with ISIS now. Even though IRAN IS THE ONE FIGHTING ISIS RIGHT NOW.