First the books are so thoroughly cooked it is quite possible that even internally bankers cannot figure out their own balances. Certainly outsiders in the governments, in the public, and in this case most importantly other bankers cannot do so. The LIBOR rates certainly bear out this analysis.

Second the tax policies of recent decades in all the G-8 plus Russia have been skewed towards soaking the poor and bloating the rich. Demand for goods and services has been crippled by the astounding debt loads carried by ordinary households. The bloated incomes of the international elites, unabsorbed by taxation, has inflated the prices of all capital assets without increase in their actual value.

Third the outsourcing of industrial production to low-wage centers in what is still a neo-mercantilist international system, has exacerbated the fall of household incomes, has created immense balance of payments difficulties and is now leading in all the G-8 to a game of competitive devaluations. All the stuff that occurred before both the world wars.

These were among the causes of the crash of 1929 and they are the causes of the pending crash of 2008. Left unchecked they can be the causes of still worse things to come.

Left with hardly a mention in the thug-media are things such as the revolt of mainstream academic economists who are quite well aware of the lessons of the past. Hundreds of such persons have addressed, along with millions in the general public their congress-critters in opposition to any bailout of the investment banks. We believe that state resources, if needed at all should be applied directly to the needs of productive enterprises.

We understand that the additional public funding when granted (not if granted) -- the bailout is a done deal, I believe.

Much of it already done with no legislative approval at all and is, and will, be used by the investment/commercial banks to further inflate their cooked books by the consolidation of more regional, household banking in even fewer hands. It will be used to purchase hard currencies from abroad, etc. It will be used to further spread the failed neo-liberal corruption abroad. It will not go towards the manufacture of necessary goods and services. For there is among our general population little means left to buy them.

No matter what, we are all in for a hard time.

But the measure of the crookedness and corruption that rules us is that rather than to steady and undergird the public for the difficult struggles ahead, authority seek to once again another stampede: To enable rule by fear and terror.

• The ultimate measure of the kind of government we now have is that regular troops are being withdrawn from Ramadi in Iraq to back up the already numerous and heavily armed police at home.