CNN iReport

Do you know what derivatives are? The shortest explanation is a con game that has grown to such numbers, it's a joke to even try to make someone believe that big thermo nuclear bomb will simply disappear by some magic trick:

The $531 Trillion Dollar Derivatives Time Bomb.

"What are derivatives? Some investors describe them as dormant economic weapons of mass destruction. They essentially are large leveraged bets on top of stocks, bonds and commodities. Money can be made within months or seconds by betting if a stock will go up, down or even remain the same. With no credit rating you can place a bet worth double your account balance. Big-time investors get greater leverage with these instantaneous loans.

The New York Times, Oct 8th 2008:

The derivatives market is $531 trillion, up from $106 trillion in 2002. This market is set up with odds similar to a racetrack. Trillions are won and lost (transferred) every second. But unlike a racetrack, the big players have ultimate control. The $531 trillion dollars derivatives market contains a mind-boggling amount of high-risk credit in the hands of a small few that could completely finish off the collapse of the current global economy (for a new global replacement).

Remember the unconstitutional $182 BILLION dollar bail out of AIG? How much in stinky derivatives are they holding? Take your pick from institutions, but listen to an expert well known in financial circles for his accuracy:

Mr Markopolos apparently does not appreciate my little joke, and neither laughs nor names names, but  predicted 'major scandals will soon be revealed about the unregulated, $600 trillion, credit-default swap market"....  And when combined with all the other hundreds of trillions of dollars in other derivatives around the world, we are talking about more than a quadrillion dollars in various bets and hedges, a figure that I figure must be more than the total value of everything in the whole world because even $1 quadrillion comes out to be more than the GDP (Gross Domestic Production) of all the nations.

The worst part is that the real, in-your-face nominal total of global derivatives may actually be several quadrillion, or even the hundreds of quadrillions of dollars, as has been previously estimated... The Mogambo Guru, Sept. 3, 2009