[Majorityrights News] Trump will ‘arm Ukraine to the teeth’ if Putin won’t negotiate ceasefire Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 12 November 2024 16:20.
[Majorityrights News] Alex Navalny, born 4th June, 1976; died at Yamalo-Nenets penitentiary 16th February, 2024 Posted by Guessedworker on Friday, 16 February 2024 23:43.
[Majorityrights Central] A couple of exchanges on the nature and meaning of Christianity’s origin Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 22:19.
[Majorityrights News] Is the Ukrainian counter-offensive for Bakhmut the counter-offensive for Ukraine? Posted by Guessedworker on Thursday, 18 May 2023 18:55.
“If you invest your tuppence wisely in the bank, safe and sound,
Soon that tuppence safely invested in the bank will compound,
And you’ll achieve that sense of conquest as your affluence expands
In the hands of the directors who invest as propriety demands.”
— “Mary Poppins,” 1964
When “Mary Poppins” was made into a movie in 1964, Mr. Banks’ advice to his son was sound. The banks were then paying more than 5% interest on deposits, enough to double young Michael’s investment every 14 years.
Now, however, the average savings account pays only 0.10% annually—that’s one-tenth of 1%—and many of the country’s biggest banks pay less than that. If you were to put $5,000 in a regular Bank of America savings account (paying 0.01%) today, in a year you would have collected only 50 cents in interest.
That’s true for most of us, but banks themselves are earning 2.4% on their deposits at the Federal Reserve. These deposits, called “excess reserves,” include the reserves the banks got from our deposits, and on which they are paying almost nothing; and unlike with our deposits, there is no $250,000 cap on the sums banks can stash at the Fed amassing interest. A whopping $1.5 trillion in reserves are now sitting in Fed reserve accounts. The Fed rebates its profits to the government after deducting its costs, and interest paid to banks is one of those costs. That means we, the taxpayers, are paying $36 billion annually to private banks for the privilege of parking their excess reserves at one of the most secure banks in the world—parking them, rather than lending them out.
The banks are getting these outsize returns while taking absolutely no risk, because the Fed, as “lender of last resort,” cannot go bankrupt. This is not true for other depositors, including large institutions such as the pension funds that hold our retirement money.
The business world has undergone considerable change in the last two decades.
While some fortunes are always reliably passed on to their respective heirs and heiresses, Visual Capitalist’s Jeff Desjardinsnotes that there are also entirely new industries that rise out of nowhere to shape the landscape of global wealth.
As the wealth landscape shifts, so does its geographical distribution.
We’ll start here by looking at the most recent data from 2019:
The most recent billionaires list features Jeff Bezos at the top with $131 billion, although it’s likely his recent divorce announcement will provide an upcoming shakeup to the Bezos Empire.
Bezos is just one of 21 Americans that find themselves in the top 50 list, which means that 42% of the world’s top billionaires hail from the United States.
Billionaire Geography Over Time
If we compare the top 50 list to that from 1999, it’s interesting to see what has changed over time in terms of geographical distribution. Here’s the distribution of top countries on both lists, compared:
In the last 20 years, Russia and China have stockpiled the most top billionaires, adding five and four to the top 50 list respectively. The United States added three, going from 18 to 21 billionaires over the timeframe. On the other end of the spectrum, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland have lost the most billionaires from the top 50 ranking.
Posted by DanielS on Tuesday, 26 March 2019 18:43.
Cynthia McKinney, former Georgia Rep., says D.C. is (((occupied))).
E.M. Jones, elites used blacks as proxy warriors to break up White ethnic solidarity.
Blackened School Bus, where 51 European children were bound-up in an attempt to burn them to death.
Jared Taylor and Paul Kersey have called attention to this story again, which has been under-emphasized, even by The Drudge Report:
An African immigrant to Italy, referred to as an “Italian” by mainstream media, apparently didn’t identify as “Italian” in his most radical concern. Actually, he was about to kill 51 indigenous Italian children in “protest” over Africans being turned away at sea rather than their being allowed to disembark into Europe. In a liberal world where people are supposed to be colorblind and value all lives the same, apparently this man was more concerned with fellow African lives, particularly those who died in the Mediterranean hazarding the voyage - and was quite willing to sacrifice European/Italian lives in priority of concern.
This story was one that could have been a disaster of biblical proportions. ...in Italy where at first, it didn’t seem real.
On the heels of what had just happened in New Zealand that something like this would happen…what nearly happened in Italy, is a reminder of the true evil of open borders.
What happened was a Senegalese - an African - bus driver, he abducted 51 Italian children and their chaperones, threatening them over a forty minute ordeal before setting the vehicle on fire. Now officers were able to break the glass windows into the bus…and were luckily, as the fire is beginning to rage, they were able to get all the passengers to safety.
This African did this because he was upset, he was protesting the migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.
And, Mr. Taylor, one of the most important aspects of this story, is that this whole story has kind of gone away. It was in the news for a cup of coffee. Matt Drudge, to his discredit, did not highlight this story, but here’s one of the major reasons why this took place, and if I may read from a Washington Times story, the black African:
sent a video to friends in Italy and Senegal indicating plans for a bold action, with the message, “Africa Rise Up!”
Jared Taylor: Well yes, his bold action was going to be to burn to death 51 children if he could. That’s pretty bold, and here’s a guy who’s protesting the fact that these people from Africa and North Africa are trying to come across the Mediterranean to live in Europe and they’re not making it across. Well, now this will encourage people to let them across, won’t it? We want more of these guys!
Paul Kersey: This is one of the reasons why we talked about last week, Salvini’s (statement that) the Italian Navy is no longer going to be a taxi service. They basically shut down Mediterranean there’s no more illegal migrants coming from Africa. And yet this guy was ready to curate a terror attack to ensure that pipe-line stay open so that…we already know, we’ve seen that most important graphic from Steve Sailer that shows the projected growth rate for the African population:
It’s catastrophic.
He wants them to be able to come over, unmolested to this land of milk and honey that is Italy. This is a guy, again, this black gentleman from Senegal….
Jared Taylor: “Gentleman”..now, you…. Kersey: I do use that word, you said it was a fun week? Jared Taylor: No. Not a fun week Paul Kersey: No, you’re right, you’re right.
Paul Kersey: This was not a gentleman, this was an African terrorist ready to kill White Italians, let’s put it that way.
Jared Taylor: Yes. That’s better.
Paul Kersey: He took all their phones and he ordered the chaperones to bind the students hands with cable ties!
Jared Taylor: He had apparently a little supply of cable-ties, yes.
Paul Kersey: Threatening to spill gas and set the bus ablaze. Now luckily, it was reported, one of the chaperones was only loosely bound, he only loosely bound, he only loosely bound several students hands, so that enabled one of the students to escape…the bus was intercepted on the outskirts of the lawn.
Jared Taylor: No, what happened was that they managed to call the police.
Paul Kersey: Yes.
Jared Taylor: And the Police intercepted the bus.
Paul Kersey: The crisis that nearly happened on Monday, March 20th, is the reason why we are seeing [ethnonationalism win election after election, in places where we’d never seen ethnonationalism win elections before].
Jared Taylor: Well, exactly. This guy became an Italian citizen in 2004. Now, he hasn’t exactly been a model citizen. He’s been convicted in 2007 and 2011 of drunken driving. And, sexual molestation of a minor! What’s this guy doing driving a bus!
Paul Kersey: Yet, he’s been a bus driver for the company of fifteen years. So that means that he had both of those convictions for drunken driving while he was employed as a bus driver!
Jared Taylor: That’s right, that’s right, it makes no sense, does it.
I think more and more Italians are saying, “we don’t need guys like Ousseynou Sy” ...you know, these things don’t get talked about very much in The United States, and they are probably somewhat downplayed in Italy, but this will remain in people’s minds:
Somebody who tried to burn children to death. He told them - “no one will survive today!”
That was his warning, that was his intention.
“Africa Rise-Up!”
Boy oh, boy, if that’s the way Africa rises up, no thanks!
Russia’s Connection To Brexit Is ‘Opaque And Complicated,’ Journalist Says, NPR, 21 Mar 2019:
Katya Banks
While there are entirely legitimate interests for Britain to leave the E.U., The Russian Federation has had an interest and potential significant influence on the leave campaign as well.
The hotel in Copenhagen where Alternative for Sweden would hold its electoral rally has now canceled the event after threats of violence from liberal extremists.
Alternative for Sweden tried to book hotels for their kickoff before the EU election but they were met by a cold hand in Sweden and had no opportunity to book a room and conference facility.
The party did not see any other choice but to book their meeting at hotels in Denmark. It turned out to be easy for the party to book hotels in Copenhagen, at the Comwell Conference Center.
The hotel is aware of Alternatives for Sweden’s policy and said it has no problem with renting out to the party. The hotel press officer Karen Österbye also went to Danish media as recently as March 13 and explained that they did not discriminate against any party on the basis of political conviction and that “cancellation would be double-standard and probably illegal”.
After it became known that Alternative for Sweden would hold its meeting at the Comwell Conference Center, the political terrorist group AFA, Antifascist action, known for its violence and attacks against political opponents, initiated measures of intimidation towards the hotel. They threatened the hotel with acts of violence if they did not cancel Alternative for Sweden’s meeting. One of theirs also conducted a political campaign via the Internet which consisted in getting people who have not stayed at the hotel to write reviews and give the hotel the worst rating because they “allow Nazis to book rooms”, which resulted in low total grades.
Although the hotel said it did not discriminate for political conviction, it acquiesced to the liberal extremists’ threats and broke its agreement, cancelling Alternative for Sweden.
Alternative for Sweden’s party leader Gustav Kasselstrand. Photo: Nya Dagbladet
Per Nordin
It is sad that the extreme liberal methods of intimidation also occur in Denmark, which otherwise has a long tradition of freedom of expression and, in general, has an incredibly much better debate climate than Sweden. It is about a small click of liberal extremists without any popular support for their criminal methods, but which are nevertheless allowed to restrict the freedom of assembly. Fortunately, we could easily find a new place to be at, writes the party leader Gustav Kasselstrand on Alternatives for Sweden’s website.
Per Nordin .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Posted by DanielS on Thursday, 07 March 2019 12:28.
Visigrad Post, “The Hungarian Government’s Offensive Campaign for the European Elections”, 4 Mar 2019:
By the editors of the Visegrád Post
Hungary – A new campaign by the government against Soros and Juncker; rising criticism in the EPP against Fidesz; and looking ahead to the local Hungarian elections
By undertaking a new billboard campaign against well-known financier George Soros, but also the current President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker (of the European People’s Party [EPP], Christian Democrat), Viktor Orbán’s administration was not afraid to anger either Brussels or Fidesz’s own partners in the EPP – of which they are still a member – three months before the European elections, despite growing criticism.
“Soros – Juncker – You also have the right to know what Brussels is preparing! They want to impose mandatory migrant quotas. They want to weaken border protection in the Member States. They want to make immigration easier by issuing visas to migrants.” Budapest, February 2019. Picture: Visegrád Post
A break between Fidesz and the EPP?
The poor relations between Orbán and Juncker are nothing new. We can remember the “friendly” slap Juncker gave Orbán during a European summit in 2015, at the height of the migration crisis. This gesture was a rare inelegance – even if occurring after an enjoyable champagne lunch – on such a high political level.
Orbán, always a wise strategist, is aware of his strengths and weaknesses. He’s used to calmly facing unpleasant situations, waiting for the right moment to counterattack later. This is how he operates on both the national and international levels.
Already in July 2018, the Hungarian Prime Minister made no secret of the fact that he is glad that the European Commission’s current term, under Mr. Juncker’s leadership, is ending: “The European elite has failed, and the European Commission is the symbol of that failure. This is the bad news. The good news is that the European Commission’s days are numbered. And I have counted them: it has some three hundred days left before its mandate expires.”
During the vote on the Sargentini report in September 2018, when the European Parliament voted to sanction Hungary for its supposed violation of the “rule of law,” the break between a large number of the EPP’s representatives and those of Fidesz was readily apparent. Among the EP’s representatives, the vote went as follows:
114 in favor
57 against (including the 12 Fidesz MEPs)
28 abstentions
20 absentees
Among the 114 MEPs who voted in favor of the Sargentini report, one can find Manfred Weber of Germany, who was chosen – with Fidesz’s support – in November 2018 to be the EPP’s candidate to succeed Juncker as President of the European Commission. After the vote, Mr. Juncker declared that he regarded Fidesz’s membership in the EPP as a problem.
Other leading figures of the EPP, who were previously favorable towards Fidesz, might now turn against it. For example, Joseph Daul, the EPP’s President, was once a defender of Orbán’s; but recently, for the first time, Daul publicly criticized him and the anti-Juncker billboard campaign in a tweet:
Other EPP representatives likewise distanced themselves from the new Hungarian campaign. Unsurprisingly, Austria’s Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, is among them. The MEPs of his party, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), voted in favor of the Sargentini report. Despite the populist rhetoric which brought him to power, the young Austrian Chancellor remains strongly linked to the Soros networks. He recently welcomed Mr. Soros to Vienna to discuss the move of Soros’ university, Central European University, from Budapest to Vienna following pressure from Fidesz. Kurz also didn’t hesitate to distance himself from Johann Gudenus, the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) parliamentary bloc, when he criticized Soros, despite the fact that the FPÖ is currently Kurz’s coalition partner.
Another criticism came from Juncker’s possible successor, Manfred Weber. Weber declared that with only 13 MEPs out of 751, Fidesz won’t be able to decide Europe’s future. If this merciless call back to reality seems very true, let’s mention that Fidesz doesn’t have 13 MEPS, but only 12; and also the fact that the next European Parliament will have only 705 MEPs instead of 750, due to Brexit.
Moreover, the likely weakening of the majority groups in the European Parliament (the EPP and the Socialists) in the May 2019 elections will strengthen Fidesz within the EPP. According to the polls, Fidesz might win more MEPs in the EPP (if they in fact remain in the EPP) than the French Republicans. Given the comparative demographic weight of France and Hungary (the number of MEPs each country has depends on the size of its population), this says a great deal about Fidesz’s political strength in a Europe where a lot of the Member States are facing political instability.
With its likely weakening, can the EPP get rid of Fidesz and its partners? The Visegrád Post already raised this question in a study about the possible new combinations of European parliamentary blocs following this year’s elections. At the same time, seeing the anger of a growing number of EPP members over Fidesz’s membership in their group, can this situation continue?
One thing seems clear: Fidesz won’t leave the EPP, which would only become a martyr if the bloc decided to exclude them. Thus, the coming weeks will be rife with tension within the EPP.
The other target of Fidesz’s billboard campaign: Péter Márki-Zay, as a prelude to the upcoming local elections
On the left is a quote from Péter Márki-Zay: “Brussels should have followed Soros’ propositions.” On the right is a quote from George Soros: “I see myself as a kind of God.”
Soros and Juncker are not the only targets of this billboard campaign. Other Fidesz billboards appeared simultaneously, targeting the Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely, a town of 45,000 citizens in southern Hungary.
Why is this? There is no question that Fidesz will lead in the European elections in Hungary. But the issue at stake is not only for Fidesz to gain as many MEPs as possible in order to influence European politics, but also to influence the balance of power domestically prior to Hungary’s local elections in October 2019. In order to retain its rule over the majority of Hungary’s cities, towns, and counties, Fidesz has a vested interest in striking a blow in the European elections as well.
The turnout in the European elections is usually low, so the primary task of the political parties is to mobilize their core voters better than the other parties can do. This might allow Fidesz to obtain an even better result than it did during the Hungarian national election in April 2018, when they received 49% of the votes.
The local elections will also be a fresh opportunity for the opposition parties to achieve what they were unable to accomplish during last year’s national election: coordinating all the Left-liberal parties (the MSZP, DK, and Párbeszéd) with Jobbik (formerly of the radical-Right but nowadays a pro-EU and center-Right party, which is still the primary opposition). This strategy was launched in February 2018 during a local mayoral by-election in Hódmezővásárhely, which led to the victory of Péter Márki-Zay – an independent candidate who was supported by all the opposition parties – against the Fidesz candidate.
Blackened School Bus, where 51 European children were bound-up in an attempt to burn them to death.
Comwell Conference Center in Copenhagen
Per Nordin
