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The Solari Report – 22 Jan 2009
Michael Corleone: “My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.”
Kay Adams: “Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don’t have men killed.”
Michael Corleone: “Oh. Who’s being naive, Kay?”
— The Godfather, Part I
A true family is a group of people who invest in each other’s skills and future. Within such a family, no person is expendable.
Throughout history, financial wealth has been organized around families. Many of the powerful institutions in our society, in fact, represent intergenerational pools of capital -– for example, the Bechtel Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Glenmede Trust Company
If we are to build a strong economy, it will be made up of strong families. Either families in the traditional sense, or families that we create. Many of us are members of families that, like the Corleone family in The Godfather series, have been torn apart by the manipulation of our ambition, greed, and naivete by powerful financial and business interests. Husbands and wives are turned against one another. Children and parents disappoint each other and grow apart. Sibling rivalry threatens family interests.
Most of us assume that The Godfather films — Part I, Part II, Part III — are movies about an organized crime family. The reality is that we all live inside The Godfather’s world. The Godfather series has much to teach us about navigating in our current environment:
- The double-binds that families and businesses face in the real economy
- The stresses that this places on marriages and children
- How we can reduce the risk of being manipulated and turned against one another
- The important role played by churches, foundations and tax-exempt organizations in controlling and managing intergenerational wealth
- The interconnectedness of street crime to the board rooms of global corporations to the financial markets that trade their securities
In this week’s Solari Report our focus is on “Let’s Go to the Movies.” I have prepared a special report on how The Godfather series can help you understand the risks you and your family manage today and what this means to building real wealth in your household and business.
Note: Solari Report subscribers can now listen to Catherine’s discussion of this topic via MP3 recording. You can subscribe monthly or annually here.
Resources:
Catherine,
I am new to this forum, but I have read many of your articles on scoop.nz including all of the Dillon Read web book and the mysteries of the missing Pentagon trillions. I understand that Calpers pension funds also invested trillions into Asia in the late 1990s and am assuming some of this money has floated back to support the US dollar (where else could it go?) after the Asian economies began collapsing in 2008. Otherwise, the dollar’s value would have gone down since 4th Quarter 2008.
MY QUESTION IS: Do you think that the Global Financial Crisis is a gigantic game of “chicken” being played by the global bankers instead of a liquidity crisis or even bank solvency crisis? This is the opinion of Matthias Chang (former member of the Malaysian cabinet)who tends to be outspoken, occasionally in poor taste, and uses profanity in his articles… but his opinions are worth reading at least once. In my opinion, the “trillions missing” may explain the extra edge so-called US interests have right now in this game of chicken though it could collapse at anytime if desired by powerful interests. Just like Nixon wanting to end gold convertability of the US dollar in 1973, not even having to pay interest on T-bills now would give the US a quasi-infinite budget from now on that nobody else could control.
[One theoretically positive aspect of this New Financial Order COULD be that the world economy would no longer have to depend on drug money and money laundering. We could go from a partial Ponzi scheme world economy into a FULL-BLOWN PONZI SCHEME at the behest of the masters of the universe]
Matthias Chang made me view the whole “quantitative easing” in a whole new light. He is saying the USA has been involved in the greatest financial confidence game of all time, and while before the US would at least pay the interest on the national debt to foreigners who own US T-bills, the US is now saying that WE WON’T EVEN PAY THE INTEREST anymore. If the exporting Asian countries don’t like it, their exporting economies will go into recession/depression along with a huge instability and unemployment problems in the near future, which explains why global trade has come to a standstill right now.
…………………….
Excerpts from: http://futurefastforward.com/component/content/article/777 (link broken)
(warning, some of his website has Not Safe For Work language)
” We are the biggest buyers in town. If you don’t want toilet papers from us, that is fine by us. You can get tissue papers from the Europeans, bamboo papers from the Japanese and whatever that is on offer. Who is going to argue whether tissue paper would do a better job than plain toilet paper? Hey, this is a free market. Pick your choice!”
“This is the ultimate poker game. Bush, Bernanke and Paulson is betting that no one will call their bluff, turn away and stop selling anymore goods to the US of A. Bush is counting that the fear of recession and or social unrest in the creditors’ countries will force the creditors to capitulate.”
…………………………….
Chang sounds pretty extreme with some of his other opinions (civil war in the US, global war), but the global game of chicken sounds plausible.
I read Mario Puzo’s GODFATHER novel about 15 years ago and again about a month ago. I tryed watching the first movie soon afterwards and found that the novel gives a much clearer picture of the political world. I tend to view the characters (Don Corleone,Tessio, Clemenza, Michael, Kate, Tom Hagen, Sonny, Fredo, Tattaglias, Barzini,the Turk,Johnny Fontane (“Sinatra”), Luca Brasi ) as representative of nations, national leaders, or religious leaders confronting the problems of business and power on a grand scale.
The central theme of the novel is that Godfather Corleone does not have a successor to the “family business.” Godfather does not want to go into drugs (or prostitution) and almost gets outmuscled and killed by people who need his politcal protection from prosecution since convicted drug dealers might get 10 to 15 years in prison which would prevent mass expansion of narcotics growth. Corleone makes a deal with the drug lords to buy a few years to eventually train Michael as his successor before he hits the drug lords back. Meanwhile, the Corleone Family sell off all their New York assets (at a profit) before making a permanent move into Las Vegas and Hollywood movies. Even after Don Corleone dies, the Family under Don Michael is stronger than they have ever been.
Keep in mind the novel takes place during 1945-1955, with references to a mob war about 10 years before to “clear out the bad blood.” By the way, the leading gangsters of the Five Families consider their rule – even their mob wars – far superior to that of the leadership of the legitimate world considering that their wars left hundred or thousands dead, not tens of millions like World War I & II. The outside world to them was full of savages.
Edward:
James Chapter 5 was the scripture this morning and I was just reading this in church an hour ago. Our sermon was on the power of prayer. Check out James 5:20 on.
Catherine
I also posted a second comment related to the other fella’s arguments before I hit the sack last night thinking that you had quit for the night before me and not seen the heavy duty one nor my question about it. Now it appears that it was blocked by someone other than you. In my humble opinion I did think “The Powers That Be” like the fact that we crossed paths in an open forum.
I am posting this as a test fire so to speak. Perhaps we should talk ASAP; failing that send me an email and I will send pdf files etc to support what I say is true.
Best Regards
Dave
P.S. I never heard of you until last night and I am listening to your talk at IRTA convention right now. Rest assured I agree and admire your Integrity
This seems to fit somehow in these modern times..in some ways.
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
James 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
James 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
James 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
James 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
James 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
David:
I have posted every comment. Can you repost? Thanks.
Michael:
Yes, indeed. Boats sailing together is how it works. So may organizations have the organization and then the various money and investment syndicates aligned and affiliated.
I sometimes think that they greatest mistake in the history of the US was for our courts to affirm the charters after the Revolutionary War. So we negated much that the war accomplished and we ended up with the University endowments have the same investment syndicates around them.
I will watch Hoffa again and check out short sea.
Dear Bman,
I agree with you. Knew I was raising eyebrows with my Ghandi comparison. It was a specific angle for effect.
My favorite Ghandi quote is: “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.”
Catherine,
1- courses:
Will try to get exact names of courses. Just, ( errrrr), what used to be wiper is now over $60,000 dollars a year entry level with four months off. Courses start with entry engine room and entry to Able Bodied deck. But ALL these are now international. But short-sea is going to alter economy. Teamsters will get a kick in the gut. All the academic institutions in Maine were upset but not a damned thing they could do but go along. Zero requirements except for passing the courses. Yes your grandkids will be singing “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad” to a rap beat.
2- Aiming you to Godfather III-
The karmic aspect is heavy in that film. Don’t think that was reason for pointing. You seem to know that genetically anyway. I think it more seeing the “…fishes swimming together…” in the Vatican. Fishes were the giant Catholic trusts. These trusts are not Church money but church aligned money. ‘Swimming together’ it is a giant force in the world very under the radar. This is why China will allow Catholicism as long as it does not connect to Vatican.
Breaking away from this is giant risky but can be major fruitful if it works. This is why I think mathematician John Dee one of the world’s most influential, (as in history changing), spies. Gathered forces around Elizabeth and had her separate England from the Vatican by forming own church. Dee was in Mary Queen of Scot’s camp for a period also!!!! He was the GIANT ‘swing vote’.
In that regard good films mimic life. These Catholic under-radar trusts clubs very influential. In general prior to our War Between The States England was very much for the South in upper classes, for the North in lower classes. The Irish aspect of the ‘fishes who swim together’ was the swing vote. In the fiction book and movie Gone With The Wind when Scarlett told, ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn’, perhaps more than a marriage partner was swinging away. Also most likely why at that time most of US navy spread all over the world. They were waiting to see which way world turning before risking the vessels. Just practical sense.
Norwegian Lady might be world’s biggest secret trust. Know that lists of world’s richest men leads away from real picture. It is the trustees of these secret trusts that are most quietly influential. Park of Norwegian Lady statue facing sea in middle of Virginia Beach highest real estate shore is owned by Norway. Same statue in Moss, Norway owned by Virginia corp where Lady faces this way. Real estate to keep trust honest. Wood in Age of Sail like an Intel on the Inside today. Everyone needed best water barrels. Basis of connector trust. Isn’t she good, Norwegian wood. With just some minor trust problem in 1980s King and Queen of Norway flew right over to NOB, Norfolk.
Communism super collected trusts. Mao example. He was ‘odd man out’ re: Truman & Stalin. When things coming together again was clued in by Anthony Eden. “What about the money?” Eden kept asking. “We’ll obey international business rules,” answered Mao not getting it. (How commie can you get?) Eden eventually broke through referencing how much China owned of Wall Street etc. Oh….., that money. Areas near Chung King have been off limits for a long time. Do not know about now. NYTimes got into real trouble on late 80s for just having a reporter near. China trust hippies live there very low key, like rich peasants. Another school of swim-togethers.
Both book and movie Falcon And The Snowman show much, just how much, they work together at the top. Never think you can play one side against another. As Soviet Life made an oblique reference to some of my writing I made an appointment. 1987. Office was technically on embassy grounds in Georgetown. When went to appointment it was put off to the next day but I was put through a ‘test’. Next day same thing happened, another test, this time more current events. Both times I could see that I was watched. Third time when appointment happened with Mr. Shipko those watching me were gone but instead a stationwagon outside with Foggy Bottom types. But never even thought of defecting. I did know enough to say right away ‘nothing confidential, you can share any of this.’. So many insiders say that movie reveals much.
Hoffa is Jack Nickolson’s best role. Great movie.
Great thread.
Michael
http://www.midcoast.com/~michael1/aspyintime.htm (link broken)