The Arsenal of Hypocrisy

"The enormous gap between what US leaders do in the world and what Americans think their leaders are doing is one of the great propaganda accomplishments of the dominant political mythology."

Michael Parenti

America and Her Allies in the News by C. K. Michaelson of Some Assembly Required

On the world stage full of purported leaders who are dangerous fools, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has a special place. He charged the EU several billion dollars to let the EU force hundreds of thousands of terrified refugees into concentration camps in Anatolia, then upped the ante and said there would be no deal unless Turks were allowed visa-free travel throughout the EU. He also wants journalists who “disrespect him” jailed, and comedians who make fun of him extradited to Ankara for appropriate punishment - a condition that Angela Merkel found reasonable. Meanwhile his troops are gunning down women and children (suspected of being Kurds) fleeing Syria as Erdoğan pursues his genocidal war against the Kurds while trying to pretend that the slaughter of half a million or more Armenians a hundred years ago never happened. All with US President Obama – who has committed a few war crimes himself – pretends that the Armenians committed suicide...

Amusingly, the US now claims that it had understated the number of collaterally damaged dead civilians in US air strikes in Iraq and Syria, and that there had actually been 42. This does not, obviously, include the hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded civilians previously collaterally inflicted on Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya...

The circus over the – gasp! - Saudi involvement in, planning of and financing of both Ossma Ben Laden and the 9/11 attackers is hard to understand. (That some of the 9/11 hijackers lived with an FBI informant prior to the attack is not being much mentioned.) It has been obvious to all since the day of the attacks the the Saudis were deeply involved. That's what is in the 28 pages totally removed from the 9/11 report. Ask any of the members of the commission who produced it. On top of that there is not the “Document 17” which includes documentary evidence of the direct invoolvement of the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC in the tragedy. And Seymour Hersh's report that the Saudi government paid Pakistan hundreds of millions of dollars to hide Ben Laden seems to be another solid piece of reporting that will be ignored.

Why does the US continue to submit meekly to the Saudis? It is not the oil – we seem to have plenty. It is not their usefulness as an ally, they are scorpions in the bed. What to the Saudis have? Money. And a lot of blackmail material in the form of past dirty deeds and in the form of $800 billion in treasury notes that they use to threaten Obama.

Weekend Reading: Pride, Rationalization, and 'Cheap Grace'

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession....

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Yet such in one shape or other is the way with the multitude of men everywhere and at all times; they do not see the image of Almighty God before them, and ask themselves what He wishes: if once they did this they would begin to see how much He requires, and they would earnestly come to Him, both to be pardoned for what they do wrong, and for the power to do better.

And, for the same reason that they do not please Him, they succeed in pleasing themselves. For that contracted, defective range of duties, which falls so short of God’s law, is just what they can fulfill; or rather they choose it, and keep to it, because they can fulfill it.

Hence, they become both self-satisfied and self-sufficient; – they think they know just what they ought to do, and that they do it all; and in consequence they are very well content with themselves, and rate their merit very high, and have no fear at all of any future scrutiny into their conduct, which may befall them...

And such, I say, is the religion of the natural man in every age and place; – often very beautiful on the surface, but worthless in God’s sight; good, as far as it goes, but worthless and hopeless, because it does not go further, because it is based on self-sufficiency, and results in self-satisfaction.

I grant, it may be beautiful to look at, as in the instance of the young ruler whom our Lord looked at and loved, yet sent away sad; it may have all the delicacy, the amiableness, the tenderness, the religious sentiment, the kindness, which is actually seen in many a father of a family, many a mother, many a daughter, in the length and breadth of these kingdoms, in a refined and polished age like this; but still it is rejected by the heart-searching God, because all such persons walk by their own light, not by he True Light of men, because self is their supreme teacher, and because they pace round and round in the small circle of their own thoughts and of their own judgments, careless to know what God says to them, and fearless of being condemned by Him, if only they stand approved in their own sight...

Yes, it is the ignorance of our understanding, it is our spiritual blindness, it is our banishment from the presence of Him, who is the source and the standard of all Truth, which is the cause of this meagre, heartless religion of which men are commonly so proud..."

John Henry Newman

The prayers of children, both in age and in the spirit, are full of needs, and sometimes ostentatious thanks and requests aloud to impress others. As we grow older, our needs are supplemented by requests for strength, and for the knowledge of God's portion for us, His will.

If we wish to grow, we pray that God will show us our shortcomings, the ways in which we have neglected to do His will, in bending our understanding of His commands to please ourselves instead. The times and places in which we turned aside from His call, not because we were defiant, but because we were blinded with distractions, and negligent in our own self-satisfaction and illusions of self-sufficiency.

If done well, we can find this examination to be an experience in growth, bearing in mind that growth is almost always a long process that is, at times, uncomfortable, and rarely cheap. But to take up that burden with His support is the path to life.

Gold Deliveries on the Comex For Friday, April 22

HSBC delivered 94,500 ounces of gold bullion at 1228.70 from their house account to the market on Friday.   I wonder if their house account includes their custodial activities.

In this case the biggest takers were the house accounts at Nova and JPM, and that big 'customer' at JPM who keeps standing for gold this month.

I just like to take the occasional note of these things.

Let's see if gold bottoms here for the short term and goes back up next week.

Silver 'Owners Per Ounce'

Silver 'owners per ounce,' which is the registered (deliverable) supply on the Comex compared to the total contracts for that silver that are open is elevated.   And this is in a relatively inactive, quiet month for silver on that exchange.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Management of Perceptions

Gold took a $20 hit after the European close today, moving down from 1250 to 1230.

And the theme of the day seemed to be 'buy paper, don't worry' with the pushing of the SP 500 futures, even though techs kept threatening to roll over here on weak to bad earnings reports.

Silver managed to hang on to the $17 handle which was very good news.   I am watching the NDX for stocks and silver for the precious metals to get a better idea of where these asset prices might be moving in the short term.

The charts are fairly obvious if you look at them.  Nothing new has really developed.  Silver seems to have activated its cup and handle with the breaking out above the rim, and so far so good there.

Mary moved her fingers and toes on her right side this morning, her fingers while we were there last night for the first time.  It was the prettiest thing I have ever seen.  Next week we have a minor surgery to provide a permanent drain for her cerebral fluid called a 'shunt' and then hopefully she will be released to an inpatient rehab facility.

Have a pleasant weekend.

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - On the Edge

With the lack of fresh macroeconomic news today, it was the earnings that was driving equities, even though volumes remain somewhat low.

The tech sector in particular is not reporting the types of results that would reflect a growing economy.   Instead the numbers show that the consumers are still struggling, both at home and abroad.

The financial sector heavy SP 500 seems to be hanging on a bit better, but the NDX with its tech weightings is starting to roll over.  Indeed it was buying in the SP 500 futures that seemed to sustain the equities during the worst of today's declines, but again on low volumes.

There will be more earnings reports and macroeconomic news next week.

Volatility is rather low as measured by the VIX.  But with these light volumes that could change in a Manhattan minute.

Have a pleasant weekend.