David Folkerts-Landau, Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank, who has claimed that Scotland would have a “Great Depression” if independent, has a second home he bought for US $11.6 million dollars. His first home is in London – where he would have been well-placed to notice that Deutsche Bank was at the very heart of the LIBOR interest rate fixing scandal. Naturally neither Folkerts-Landau (he and his wife are friends of the Camerons) nor any other senior banker was jailed for that long term criminal illegality.
Folkerts-Landau must, you might assume, have great powers of economic prediction to have accumulated a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars from banking salary and bonuses. Yet he failed to notice that Deutsche Bank was running up 92 billion dollars of US sub-prime mortgage junk that would be written off in the actual great crash, in which Deutsche Bank was again in the centre. Why a man who failed to notice that his own work was contributing to an actual great depression, should be taken seriously in ridiculous prognostications of a new one, is rather beyond me.
It is interesting that Folkerts-Landau states that Winston Churchill’s return to the gold standard was a major cause of the great depression. From the German Deutsche bank, that dismissed its Jewish directors in 1933 and denounced Jewish employees, and received expropriated Jewish assets through direct cooperation with Hitler, this criticism of Winston Churchill might be thought culturally insensitive.
Folkerts-Landau is just another example of the super-rich who realise that the people-based movement for Scottish independence is currently the most potent threat to the neo-con hegemony that has resulted in the destruction of social-democratic society and the massive gap between the super-rich and real people. If you look at the other boards on which sit members of the board of Deutsche Bank, it reads like a catalogue of corporate dominance:
Coca Cola
Pepsi Cola
Microsoft
Accenture
IBM
Bayer
Daimler
EON Energy
Thyssen
XL Group
Alliance Trust
Bilfinger
BMW
That is an illustration of the fact that mega corporations are not really competitive, but part of an interlinked web of capital interests all sharing directors. Those interests have bombarded Scotland with apocalyptic threats the last few days. There will be a great depression, major businesses will leave, energy bills will go up, interest rates will go up, oil will run out, shopping bills will go up, call charges will go up, terrorists will run round unimpeded, Russia will invade. These nonsensical claims have been hammered home relentlessly in perhaps the most concentrated stream of mainstream media propaganda in history.
The extraordinary resilience of the Scottish people, in face of these ludicrous levels of threat and intimidation from “authority figures” like Folkerts-Landau, is something of which I am very, very proud.
Deutsche Bank’s chief economist David Folkerts-Landau has form for serving up porkies to the Bundestag – why should anyone believe a word he says?
Lying to a parliamentary committee is a pretty serious offence.
In 2012 he told a Bundestag committee that speculation in agricultural commodities was not putting up prices and therefore not contributing to the spread of hunger and malnutrition.
But a confidential internal document produced by Deutsche Bank Research – the department of which he was in charge – stated:
“Speculation has also contributed to price increases.”
DB Research gave an express and unmistakeable warning of the consequences, “Such speculation can have grave consequences for farmers and consumers and is, in principle, unacceptable.”
Let’s be clear about what he was up to: he was using dishonest arguments to justify the use of financial products which bet on the prices of agricultural commodities – food in other words. In the developing world, people die of malnutrition because of this sort of thing.
And Cameron and his cronies have the nerve to frighten people with scare stories about food prices increasing in the event of independence?
http://www.foodwatch.org/en/what-we-do/topics/speculation-with-foodstuffs/news/deutsche-bank-and-allianz-warned-by-own-research-departments-of-grave-consequences/?sword_list%5B0%5D=folkertslandau
In German there is a saying “Viel Feind,viel Ehr” which translates into “many enemies , alot of honour”. It would seem the Independent Movement in Scotland is attracting many enemies.
Very informative post – much appreciated. In the short term, I think that the economic arguments for independence are ‘incomprehensible’. Equally, talk of independence as somehow a ‘people based’ movement is a joke. Independence movements are the outgrowth of much wider factors. Both Scotland and the rUK will take a hit from independence. But so what? It’s all survivable. The question is what’s the gain? For Scotland – for some, it will be the power aspect of it all. For England, a problem removed. But it isn’t going to happen. The Scots won’t leave the money. The money will stay with England.
Just seen in the pallid flesh, a forlorn looking, recently sacked by the Tories (an honour generally) Michael ‘Gissajob’ Moore, former Secretary of State for Scotland gladhanding the shoppers, who’re doing their honest best to bodyswerve past him. The large crowd at the Yes stall next to him, young and old, raining good-natured ridicule on his tawdry parade.
No coverage of the Orange Orders parade through Edinburgh today by the Better Together BBC, of course the unionist parties, publicly shun Henry Dunbar’s violent foot soldiers,but secretly they need their votes.
Of course the BBC haven’t been shy in causing panic as they constantly return to their Deutsche Bank, spokesman who, mentions Scotland and the Weimar collapse in the same sentence. I’m half expecting the BBC to compare an independent Scotland with, the Zimbabwe hyper-inflation,and that Alex Salmond will have to print, million currency notes just to buy a loaves of bread, in an independent Scotland.
‘The money’, the only money as you say has come for the last 30 years from Scotland’s abundant natural resources and resilient surviving industries and has been spirited away by coke-head casino bankers to back a succession of lame horses, our oil was dumped on the market in order to crash prices to all-time lows, all the through eighties to bankrupt the USSR, on US instructions, some more was frittered away on tarting up the inadequate infrastructure of over-populated south-east England and in blowing property bubbles there, then there is that simply pocketed by an elite few and still more invested abroad, catastrophic losses having no economic or social gain for any of the UK. Scotland isn’t leaving the money, the money is leaving Westminster’s crooked control. Nothing incomprehensible there, just rampant criminality and corruption, coming to an abrupt and long overdue end.
There are banks and banks.
While most of them are unpopular at the moment, there should be a special category that includes Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Bank Of America, Goldman Sachs etc. who were the main drivers of sub-prime and who have been fined multiple times for illegal behavior.
“While most of them are unpopular at the moment, there should be a special category that includes Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Bank Of America, Goldman Sachs etc. who were the main drivers of sub-prime and who have been fined multiple times for illegal behavior.”
Any reason why you left one well-known bank of your list, Willy?
An excellent article from today’s Herald, that’s right you heard correctly the Herald, I know,I can’t believe it either.
http://wingsoverscotland.com/unicorns-over-cowcaddens/#more-61686
Serfs and indentured servants unite ! But putting lipstick on the same old pig won’t do it.
Habbabkuk and Anon1
Scottish Zionists in Better Together camp
(12 Sep, 2014 – 2:35 pm)
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/09/standard-life-far-right-board/comment-page-2/#comments
Any comments boys?
54% NO
46% YES
————-
This is the result of the latest Survation poll carried for the Better Together camp, do I believe it? NO WAY!
“Any comments children?” Here Doug,,,,http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/09/standard-life-far-right-board/comment-page-2/#comment-478781
‘I have always worried that Germany’s absolute uncaring attitude to human rights in Central Asia…represented an inherent German failure to feel distaste for dictatorship or gross human rights abuse.’
Did you write that or did you farm it out to Basil Fawlty? You really think the Germans like dictators and don’t feel distaste for gross human rights abuses? Have you met many Germans? I have and they are as appalled by human rights abuses as anybody else. What their political elites get up to aboard is largely beyond their control and in no way reflects their character. Just like us.
Mr Scorgie
“Habbabkuk and Anon1
Scottish Zionists in Better Together camp
(12 Sep, 2014 – 2:35 pm)
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/09/standard-life-far-right-board/comment-page-2/#comments
Any comments boys?”
________________________
Sure, Doug!
Please present a convincing case as to why Zionists – or, for that matter, Freemason, Theosophists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Flat Earthers…and so on – should not be allowed to have and express an opinion on independence for Scotland.
(or – if it’s easier for you – why Yessers should not be allowed to have or express an opinion on Zionism).
Thanks in advance, Doug.
KingofWelshNoir
Glad to see that you (15h04) and I (13h35) have the same opinion of that egregious statement by Craig.
Nice helicopter view from across the pond.
“Just as the Irish experience set a precedent for Scotland, so too will Scotland’s decision set a precedent for the world. A week remains before the vote, but already the rumbling elsewhere in the U.K. and Europe has begun: Will Wales be next? What about Northern Ireland? Perhaps Cornwall will be the next Celtic region to seek more autonomy. Leaders of Scotland’s outer islands, who feel as isolated from Edinburgh as from London, even raised the possibility last year of separating from both territories. Large and small separatist movements—in Flanders, Quebec, Corsica, Brittany, South Tyrol, Kurdistan, Veneto, Bavaria, Taiwan, Texas, and the Basque Country, to name just a few—are eagerly watching the Scottish debate and taking notes. Catalonia’s government already plans to hold a similar referendum on independence from Spain on November 9, albeit without Madrid’s blessing.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/scotland-independence-referendum-constitution/373611/?single_page=true
Would an indy Scotland allow Orwell back in-country after returning form Catalonia even if he converted to Islam?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homage_to_Catalonia
I think the Constitution says YES.
It is perfectly reasonable for Deutsche Bank to hope that everyone forgets their enthusiastic Nazi past. But if they try to subvert democracy in small countries and to denigrate Winston Churchill in public, they really cannot pretend to be surprised or hurt when people mention it.
‘No coverage of the Orange Orders parade through Edinburgh today by the Better Together BBC, of course the unionist parties, publicly shun Henry Dunbar’s violent foot soldiers,but secretly they need their votes.’
More tripe from RoS, see this link-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29189287
The march has also featured in BBC radio news bulletins today, with some of the marchers being interviewed.
The net effect of the Orange march will be to lose votes for the Noes- which may be why, it would appear, for in the first time in the campaign, Lord Reid (Chairman of Celtic) has been megaphoning on the airways today in support of the scaremongering from the likes of Deutsche Bank. He’s clearly intervening now as a counterweight, to stop Catholic voters from moving over to the ‘yes’ camp in response to the Orange march.
Should read ‘former Chairman’ of Celtic
As capitalists, Deutsche Bank doesn’t have a dog in this fight. They can make money Yes or No, and you can be sure they’ll flock to an independent Scotland to hawk financial instruments incorporating perilous derivatives.
DB are speaking for NATO. The real threat is that an independent Scotland will expose the stauchest NATO ally as the servile pipsqueak satellite it is. Since Gates’ early days as an analyst, CIA used ethnic nationalism as a wedge to attack the Warsaw Pact. They still have nationalism on the brain – look at all the arguments here based solely on dim-witted perseveration of the word, when independence is obviously a response to the failures and corruption of the British state. Imagine the CIA’s panic now that they see their dreaded bugaboo ‘nationalism’ fraying not the evil Soviet empire, but NATO. Catalunia and Euskal Herria are out there too, no less disgusted. They might be heartened and do the same to Spain, Lombardy to Italy.
This was how the Warsaw Pact led the Soviet Union to collapse. The division was always over domestic repression. It caused conflict between hard-line states and soft-touch states. The former feared the latter would weaken their hold. Britain takes the hardest line in NATO in terms of domestic repression, and now it’s cracking first. Soft-line states will have minimal incentive to stampede their populace to war under US orders.
If this keeps up, now are we going to fight a six-front thermonuclear world war?
More tripe from RoS, see this link-
—————–
OLDFART
The BBC news channel showed no coverage of the O/O march, that I could see, from 10.30 am onwards until their first footage clip not picture as your link shows was around mid-day SKY news showed the O/O march, in various stages.
“I am afraid to say that my generation will have to die off before residual feelings of distrust die away completely.”
You speak for your self mate. Many, including myself, have long concluded that atrocities committed by the a state in no way indicates anything exceptional, good or bad, about a population. In the smae way that the Queen or Blair say nothing about the character of us. The mechanisms by which the nazi state manipulated the German people (propaganda, fear, bureaucracy etc) are essentially the same that manipulate people the world over today.
I would have thought you might have noticed these manipulations in the Scottish struggle for independence.
The net effect of the Orange march will be to lose votes for the Noes- which may be why, it would appear, for in the first time in the campaign, Lord Reid (Chairman of Celtic) has been megaphoning on the airways today in support of the scaremongering from the likes of Deutsche Bank. He’s clearly intervening now as a counterweight, to stop Catholic voters from moving over to the ‘yes’ camp in response to the Orange march.
———————-
OLDFART
——–
Wrong again oldfart, Lord Reid and Jim murphy are in Glasgow today, not on any airwaves.
“This was how the Warsaw Pact led the Soviet Union to collapse. The division was always over domestic repression. It caused conflict between hard-line states and soft-touch states. The former feared the latter would weaken their hold. Britain takes the hardest line in NATO in terms of domestic repression, and now it’s cracking first. Soft-line states will have minimal incentive to stampede their populace to war under US orders.”
They can read those tea leaves because they recognize the blend. But all this talk of the revenge of the nerds should YES prevail, is imo, a bluff extraordinaire. They will compromise and get what they can. It’s what they do. My concern has more to do with any centralized government power without a well-informed and participating electorate, and the shenanigans behind the paywall that can be spun when folks aren’t looking.
Lord Reid-like Lord Robertson former head of NATO-are deeply confused individuals who sold out whatever principles they may have once held to the filthy NeoCon lucre years ago.
Ignore them.
I noticed that Public interest is profound based upon the numbers intending to vote. This is good. Can they maintain that interest on lesser issues on a ballot?
In the US, what we call mid-terms have about 1/3 the voter turnout as National elections. But the real business takes place on local issues, bonds, measures and the like. They are not sexy enough for massive interest.
Churchill was an imperialist warmonger. He didn’t wage war to save the gays, gypsies, jews, reds nor slavs. As KOWN says you sound like Basil Fawlty.
Lord Reid-like Lord Robertson former head of NATO-are deeply confused individuals who sold out whatever principles they may have once held to the filthy NeoCon lucre years ago.
Ignore them.
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I’m pretty sure Lord George Robertson acted as a referee for Thomas Hamilton, in order for Hamilton, to obtain his gun licence, Hamilton went on to commit the Dunblane School Massacre.
You can read more about George Robertson here.
http://www.tpuc.org/blair-covering-up-paedophile-scandal/