Hands down, the Good Wife is the best television drama I have ever seen. In fact, outside the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, it is the only scripted show I watch. However, I took umbrage to a line written for one of its main characters recently – Chris Noth, best known as “Mr. Big” in Sex in the City; that Ernest Hemmingway was a superior novelist to Dan Brown. I have nothing against Hemmingway – and in fact, have read no less than a half dozen of his books. However, when it comes to marrying writing with science, I’d put Brown in league with history’s best. In fact, I’d rank him as the second most brilliant author I have come across; just ahead of James Michener, but “leagues” behind Jules Verne.
In his most recent masterpiece – Inferno – Brown demonstrates his knowledge of how the world really works. I could go a lot further with the detail he provides; but so as not to be a spoiler, I’ll simply show you the gist of his views. That is, that propaganda is one of history’s most tried-and-true government weapons; be it for social, political, or economic gain…
Whether trying to prop a stock market, justify a war, win an election, or lure a terrorist out of hiding, the world’s power brokers relied on massive disinformation schemes to help shape public perception. It had always been this way.
–Dan Brown, May 22, 2013
Obviously, I’m most focused on the part about market manipulation. However, all three concepts are interwoven – as after all, it’s “zeitgeist building” TPTB are ultimately attempting. And let’s face it; pushing equity valuations to historic highs amidst weak economic conditions is part of a grand misinformation game; as is convincing the masses that ever increasing debt is sustainable. Heck, if you only watched CNBC – you know the propaganda network whose ratings have fallen to a 20-year low – you’d think most companies are “beating” earnings estimates this quarter. Unfortunately, CNBC hasn’t told you that most such “beats” are due to a record amount of negative “pre-announcements” – in which managements warned several weeks back that initial expectations would not be met.
Fortunately, even history’s greatest charades have succumbed to reality; and in this case, it’s not too difficult to connect the dots between surging global debt, inflation, and unemployment; much less, the obvious fear behind proposed regulation changes allowing derivative contracts to be suspended in the event of a bank “resolution.”
In fact, in yesterday’s article, I wrote of how even the MSM is starting to get it. Lo and behold, today we have the Wall Street Journal writing of both the widening U.S. “job gap” and Spanish accounting shenanigans; Associated Press claiming the world has been sustained by “extraordinary aid”; a “TBTF” bank claiming the ECB will shortly announce overt QE; and even a former Fed official admitting QE is a failure – amidst a backdrop of plunging global currencies – yep, led by the Rupee; and what do you know, a dramatically weaker small business sentiment survey.
However, in the spirit of last week’s focus on infamous financial headlines like the “Death of Equities” (Business Week – 1979), the world “Drowning in Oil” (Economist – 1999), and “Gold fading from the Investment Picture” (Wall Street Journal – 2013), I’d like to focus on a second Economist doozy, published yesterday…
In perhaps the most incredible statement ever from a magazine that claims to understand economics, the author claims “in both American and Europe, central bankers should be pushing prices upwards.” Of course, in doing so, he is ignoring the top story at the rival UK Telegraph, titled “Millions struggle with unaffordable mortgages and rent” – with an even more damning subtitle, that “housing charities warn many families are struggling to buy food and meet other costs due to rising property prices and rents.”
Sadly, its artists like Dan Brown that see the world for what it is; while the so-called “experts” have it dead wrong – often purposefully, but usually due to ignorance. Fortunately, the world is rapidly awakening to the lies enslaving it; none more so than the surreptitious, destructive scheme to suppress the value of real money, at the altar of false, worthless scrip. Remember, when it comes to finance, the world moves in herds; and when the cumulative “light bulb” turns on to this matter, you’ll either have your gold and silver, or you won’t.