tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26969214720124133202024-03-08T03:34:52.362-08:00NewAmericaNowThe Libertarian PerspectiveNewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.comBlogger616125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-22585469850817594962015-03-02T12:14:00.001-08:002015-03-02T12:14:12.315-08:00Lessons Of Collective Insanity<br />
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<br />
They Thought They Were Free....<br />
<h5>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">But Then It Was Too Late</span></b></span></h5>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Excerpt from pages 166-73 of <i>They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45</i>
by Milton Mayer</span></h3>
"What no one seemed to notice," said a colleague of mine, a
philologist, "was the ever widening gap, after 1933, between the
government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to
begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know, it
doesn’t make people close to their government to be told that this is a
people’s government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian
defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing, to do
with <i>knowing</i> one is governing.<br />
<br />
"What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little
by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions
deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so
complicated that the government had to act on information which the
people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people
could not understand it, it could not be released because of national
security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in
him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would
otherwise have worried about it.<br />
<br />
"This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap,
took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps
not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated
with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the
crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they
did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of
government growing remoter and remoter.<br />
<br />
"You will understand me when I say that my Middle High German was my
life. It was all I cared about. I was a scholar, a specialist. Then,
suddenly, I was plunged into all the new activity, as the university was
drawn into the new situation; meetings, conferences, interviews,
ceremonies, and, above all, papers to be filled out, reports,
bibliographies, lists, questionnaires. And on top of that were the
demands in the community, the things in which one had to, was ‘expected
to’ participate that had not been there or had not been important
before. It was all rigmarole, of course, but it consumed all one’s
energies, coming on top of the work one really wanted to do. You can see
how easy it was, then, not to think about fundamental things. One had
no time."<br />
<br />
"Those," I said, "are the words of my friend the baker. ‘One had no time to think. There was so much going on.’"<br />
<br />
"Your friend the baker was right," said my colleague. "The
dictatorship, and the whole process of its coming into being, was above
all <i>diverting</i>. It provided an excuse not to think for people who
did not want to think anyway. I do not speak of your ‘little men,’ your
baker and so on; I speak of my colleagues and myself, learned men, mind
you. Most of us did not want to think about fundamental things and never
had. There was no need to. Nazism gave us some dreadful, fundamental
things to think about—we were decent people—and kept us so busy with
continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by
the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we
had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing,
little by little, all around us. Unconsciously, I suppose, we were
grateful. Who wants to think?<br />
<br />
"To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice
it—please try to believe me—unless one has a much greater degree of
political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to
develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained
or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that, unless one were detached from the
whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole
thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ that no
‘patriotic German’ could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw
it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn
growing. One day it is over his head.<br />
<br />
"How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated
ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know. I do not see, even now. Many, many
times since it all happened I have pondered that pair of great maxims, <i>Principiis obsta</i> and <i>Finem respice</i>—‘Resist
the beginnings’ and ‘Consider the end.’ But one must foresee the end in
order to resist, or even see, the beginnings. One must foresee the end
clearly and certainly and how is this to be done, by ordinary men or
even by extraordinary men? Things <i>might</i> have. And everyone counts on that <i>might</i>.<br />
<br />
"Your ‘little men,’ your Nazi friends, were not against National
Socialism in principle. Men like me, who were, are the greater
offenders, not because we <i>knew</i> better (that would be too much to say) but because we <i>sensed</i>
better. Pastor Niemöller spoke for the thousands and thousands of men
like me when he spoke (too modestly of himself) and said that, when the
Nazis attacked the Communists, he was a little uneasy, but, after all,
he was not a Communist, and so he did nothing; and then they attacked
the Socialists, and he was a little uneasier, but, still, he was not a
Socialist, and he did nothing; and then the schools, the press, the
Jews, and so on, and he was always uneasier, but still he did nothing.
And then they attacked the Church, and he was a Churchman, and he did
something—but then it was too late."<br />
<br />
"Yes," I said.<br />
<br />
"You see," my colleague went on, "one doesn’t see exactly where or
how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse
than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the
next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others,
when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You
don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of
your way to make trouble.’ Why not?—Well, you are not in the habit of
doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that
restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty.<br />
<br />
"Uncertainty is a very important factor, and, instead of decreasing
as time goes on, it grows. Outside, in the streets, in the general
community, ‘everyone’ is happy. One hears no protest, and certainly sees
none. You know, in France or Italy there would be slogans against the
government painted on walls and fences; in Germany, outside the great
cities, perhaps, there is not even this. In the university community, in
your own community, you speak privately to your colleagues, some of
whom certainly feel as you do; but what do they say? They say, ‘It’s not
so bad’ or ‘You’re seeing things’ or ‘You’re an alarmist.’<br />
<br />
"And you <i>are</i> an alarmist. You are saying that <i>this</i> must lead to <i>this</i>,
and you can’t prove it. These are the beginnings, yes; but how do you
know for sure when you don’t know the end, and how do you know, or even
surmise, the end? On the one hand, your enemies, the law, the regime,
the Party, intimidate you. On the other, your colleagues pooh-pooh you
as pessimistic or even neurotic. You are left with your close friends,
who are, naturally, people who have always thought as you have.<br />
<br />
"But your friends are fewer now. Some have drifted off somewhere or
submerged themselves in their work. You no longer see as many as you did
at meetings or gatherings. Informal groups become smaller; attendance
drops off in little organizations, and the organizations themselves
wither. Now, in small gatherings of your oldest friends, you feel that
you are talking to yourselves, that you are isolated from the reality of
things. This weakens your confidence still further and serves as a
further deterrent to—to what? It is clearer all the time that, if you
are going to do anything, you must <i>make</i> an occasion to do it, and then you are obviously a troublemaker. So you wait, and you wait.<br />
<br />
"But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. <i>That’s</i>
the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come
immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would
have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews
in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the
windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it
happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them
imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next.
Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a
stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D.<br />
"And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of
them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too
heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more
than a baby, saying ‘Jewish swine,’ collapses it all at once, and you
see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely
under your nose. The world you live in—your nation, your people—is not
the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all
untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the
mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the
spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of
identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of
hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it
themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you
live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The
system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in
order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.<br />
<br />
"You have gone almost all the way yourself. Life is a continuing
process, a flow, not a succession of acts and events at all. It has
flowed to a new level, carrying you with it, without any effort on your
part. On this new level you live, you have been living more comfortably
every day, with new morals, new principles. You have accepted things you
would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things that your
father, even in Germany, could not have imagined.<br />
<br />
"Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what
you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done (for that was
all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing). You remember
those early meetings of your department in the university when, if one
had stood, others would have stood, perhaps, but no one stood. A small
matter, a matter of hiring this man or that, and you hired this one
rather than that. You remember everything now, and your heart breaks.
Too late. You are compromised beyond repair.<br />
<br />
"What then? You must then shoot yourself. A few did. Or ‘adjust’ your
principles. Many tried, and some, I suppose, succeeded; not I, however.
Or learn to live the rest of your life with your shame. This last is
the nearest there is, under the circumstances, to heroism: shame. Many
Germans became this poor kind of hero, many more, I think, than the
world knows or cares to know."<br />
<br />
I said nothing. I thought of nothing to say.<br />
<br />
"I can tell you," my colleague went on, "of a man in Leipzig, a
judge. He was not a Nazi, except nominally, but he certainly wasn’t an
anti-Nazi. He was just—a judge. In ’42 or ’43, early ’43, I think it
was, a Jew was tried before him in a case involving, but only
incidentally, relations with an ‘Aryan’ woman. This was ‘race injury,’
something the Party was especially anxious to punish. In the case at
bar, however, the judge had the power to convict the man of a
‘nonracial’ offense and send him to an ordinary prison for a very long
term, thus saving him from Party ‘processing’ which would have meant
concentration camp or, more probably, deportation and death. But the man
was innocent of the ‘nonracial’ charge, in the judge’s opinion, and so,
as an honorable judge, he acquitted him. Of course, the Party seized
the Jew as soon as he left the courtroom."<br />
<br />
"And the judge?"<br />
<br />
"Yes, the judge. He could not get the case off his conscience—a case,
mind you, in which he had acquitted an innocent man. He thought that he
should have convicted him and saved him from the Party, but how could
he have convicted an innocent man? The thing preyed on him more and
more, and he had to talk about it, first to his family, then to his
friends, and then to acquaintances. (That’s how I heard about it.) After
the ’44 <i>Putsch</i> they arrested him. After that, I don’t know."<br />
<br />
I said nothing.<br />
<br />
"Once the war began," my colleague continued, "resistance, protest,
criticism, complaint, all carried with them a multiplied likelihood of
the greatest punishment. Mere lack of enthusiasm, or failure to show it
in public, was ‘defeatism.’ You assumed that there were lists of those
who would be ‘dealt with’ later, after the victory. Goebbels was very
clever here, too. He continually promised a ‘victory orgy’ to ‘take care
of’ those who thought that their ‘treasonable attitude’ had escaped
notice. And he meant it; <i>that</i> was not just propaganda. And that was enough to put an end to all uncertainty.<br />
<br />
"Once the war began, the government could do anything ‘necessary’ to
win it; so it was with the ‘final solution of the Jewish problem,’ which
the Nazis always talked about but never dared undertake, not even the
Nazis, until war and its ‘necessities’ gave them the knowledge that they
could get away with it. The people abroad who thought that war against
Hitler would help the Jews were wrong. And the people in Germany who,
once the war had begun, still thought of complaining, protesting,
resisting, were betting on Germany’s losing the war. It was a long bet.
Not many made it."<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Copyright notice:</b> Excerpt from pages 166-73 of <i>They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45</i>
by Milton Mayer, published by the University of Chicago Press. ©1955,
1966 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved. This text may be
used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of U.S.
copyright law, and it may be archived and redistributed in electronic
form, provided that this entire notice, including copyright information,
is carried and provided that the University of Chicago Press is
notified and no fee is charged for access. Archiving, redistribution, or
republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the
consent of the University of Chicago Press. (Footnotes and other
references included in the book may have been removed from this online
version of the text.)</span><br />
<br />
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-65626671633034528772015-02-19T08:06:00.000-08:002015-02-19T08:06:02.687-08:00A Moral Code For The Post-Collapse World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<a href="http://alt-market.com/articles/2513-a-moral-code-for-the-post-collapse-world"><em>Guest Post by Brandon Smith</em></a><br />
<br />
Popular media today, including television and cinema, are rife with
examples of what is often referred to as moral relativism — the use of
false and fictional moral dilemmas designed to promote the
rationalization of an “ends justify the means” narrative. We are also
bombarded lately with entertainment depicting an endless array of
“anti-heroes,” protagonists who have little to no moral code fighting
antagonists who are even more evil, thus vindicating the otherwise
disgusting actions of the heroes. From “24” to “Breaking Bad” to “The
Walking Dead,” American minds are being saturated with propaganda
selling the idea that crisis situations require a survivor to abandon
conscience. In other words, in order to defeat monsters, you must become
a monster.<br />
<br />
This theme is not only unavoidable in film and TV, but also in
military journals, politics, and even within liberty movement
discussion.<br />
<br />
What I see developing is an extremely dangerous philosophy that rests
on the foundation that victory (or survival) is the paramount virtue
and that it should be attained at any cost. Moral compass becomes a
“luxury” that “true” apex survivors cannot afford, an obstacle that
could eventually get one killed. I have heard some survivalists and
liberty proponents in anger over the trespasses of the corrupt
establishment suggest a strict adherence to the eye-for-an-eye ideology,
up to and including torture, harming of the enemy’s families, and even
harming the children of those who would harm us.<br />
<br />
There is also a small but ingrained subculture within spheres of
survivalism that embraces the strategy of the “prepper pirate,”
essentially planning their subsistence around the idea of taking what
they need from others as a form of evolutionary realism. They believe
that the “survival of the fittest” is more important than the survival
of the principled.<br />
<br />
In mainstream yuppie culture, this attitude would be labeled insane.
Yet urban and suburban television addicts often cheer the concept of the
ends justifying the means in their favorite prime time shows and
consistently argue for morality stretching policies within government
(as long as their “team” is in control of the football in Washington,
D.C.). I have little doubt they would adopt such thinking in the event
that disaster does strike and they find themselves unprepared amid
desperate conditions.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://personalliberty.com/understanding-fear-self-defense-revolution/" target="_blank">“Understanding The Fear Of Self-Defense And Revolution,”</a>
I discussed the inevitability of self-defense against criminal
oligarchy and why common methods of pacifist activism are dangerously
inadequate in the face of psychopathic tyranny. When self-defense or
revolution is initiated, though, the movement does not necessarily fight
only for its own benefit; nor does it fight simply to eliminate the
threat. Our survival as individuals is <em>not</em> the primary concern;
the survival of the principles and truths that drive us to fight is the
ultimate goal. If there is such a thing as the “greater good,” truth
and honor must be the apex of that vision.<br />
If we cast aside our principles in the name of victory, then,
ironically, we have still lost everything. Our war is fought on multiple
levels, from the physical to the spiritual. Lose the spiritual war,
lose sight of one’s conscience, and the physical war becomes
meaningless.<br />
<br />
I believe the formation of a liberty movement code, a kind of
warrior’s code, is absolutely vital to our future. Without a new kind of
oath, an oath not only to the Constitution but to our own internal
values, the temptation to use our darker natures against the enemy
during greater trials of the soul may be too much to bear. While
conscience is an inborn gift, it sometimes requires a more outward
affirmation in order to remain strong. Here are some elements I believe
should make up the foundation of our code.<br />
<br />
<strong>Defense Of The Innocent</strong><br />
<br />
We will do everything within our power whenever possible to ensure
the safety and liberty of those people around us caught in the currents
of collapse. Some might claim that the unprepared are not “innocent”
because their lack of vigilance contributes to the decay of our society.
I would say that while the ignorant are a danger to us and themselves,
we would also be contributing to the decay of our society by refusing to
help others when we have the ability to do so. Someone somewhere has to
end the cycle. And if that requires us to sacrifice some of our energy
and the satisfaction of saying “we told you so,” then this is what we
must do.<br />
I would also point out that the defense of the innocent does not
begin when our economic and social structures end. We help them <em>now</em>,
by offering them the knowledge to prepare and organize for mutual aid.
We go to our town centers, to local churches, to our lecture halls; and
we openly educate those who are willing to listen — not to preach
politics or to indoctrinate, but to offer practical knowledge. We give
them useful tools through neighborhood watch programs and Community
Preparedness Teams. We teach them today how to defend themselves, their
families and their property and how to invest in survival, so that
tomorrow they will not feel compelled to become part of the problem, but
part of the solution.<br />
If we let our distaste for the unaware lead us into an attitude of
“us versus them” against our own neighbors, then we will miss every
chance to strengthen our communities. Our purpose is to bring others up,
not to stand in pious judgment as they fall down.<br />
<br />
<strong>We Prepare To Offer Aid, Even To Those We Think Might Not Deserve It</strong><br />
<br />
Many survivalists and preppers may scoff at this idea, but they would
not be looking at the bigger picture. Offering aid to your community
serves not only to help them, but to help you in the long run. Look at
it this way; when FEMA arrives in a disaster-struck city or county, its
“authority” means little to the shell-shocked citizenry. What does
matter to them is that FEMA brings food, water and sometimes shelter.
FEMA does this in its own sweet time and often allows numerous people to
die before the aid is given, but it still maintains its authority over a
region simply because there is no other alternative. <br />
You must offer that alternative.<br />
<br />
Imagine what would have happened if during the nightmare of Hurricane
Katrina, while FEMA was lounging around watching the carnage and even
denying access to private institutions offering supplies, New Orleans
residents were greeted with liberty movement teams defying government
mandate? What if liberty advocates from across Louisiana and the nation
had marched right over the top of FEMA, escorted those trapped in the
Superdome to a safe place, and gave them food and water? The movement
raised millions of dollars for Ron Paul’s campaign (twice!), why
couldn’t we do the same to save lives?<br />
<br />
Imagine if we were to prove that FEMA is an unnecessary and frivolous
organization ready for the dustbin? Imagine if we were to prove that
communities can provide their own security and aid without the state, as
Oath Keepers did in Ferguson, Missouri?<br />
<br />
Even at a local level, this methodology could mean the difference
between freedom and tyranny. Stockpiles of grain bought directly from
independent farms can be had for very little money and strategically
placed for use in future calamities. Affordable water filtration could
prevent disease and dehydration for thousands. A team of engineers could
solve waste and grid-down dilemmas. A team of well-trained security
personnel could prevent looting, rape and murder. Imagine if the
catastrophe the elites wish to engineer was mitigated or thwarted by the
very people the disaster was meant to target? Imagine how much
satisfaction that would give you.<br />
<br />
<strong>Our Actions Are Inspired By Conscience, Not Rage</strong><br />
<br />
To fight in self-defense is entirely moral, but there are lines that,
if crossed, destroy our moral high ground. Without the moral high
ground, we become no better than the elites we seek to remove from our
lives. This means that we do <em>not</em> harm people unless they are
attempting to harm us. We punish criminals, not their families and not
their children. We do not torture, not only because it is a useless
tactic with little concrete proof of effectiveness, but because it is a
morally reprehensible psychopathic act designed to fulfill a sick desire
for sadistic power. It is not who we are.<br />
<br />
When we fight, we fight in the knowledge that we have first and
foremost protected our moral foundation. We see those who promote moral
ambiguity and moral relativism as an element destructive to the purpose
of liberty. Winning means nothing and survival means nothing, unless we
endeavor to deserve life.<br />
<br />
<strong>We Do Not Run Unless We Plan To Return</strong><br />
<br />
In an asymmetric revolution, there is rarely such a thing as a “front
line” or a piece of ground that must be defended at all costs. That
said, successful asymmetric warfare requires that the enemy pay an
overwhelming price for every attack he initiates. This means that said
revolt must always be aggressive, never relenting, always striking, and
resting or retreating only to stage a more effective counter. Every time
a totalitarian system advances without consequence, it generates
political, social, psychological and tactical momentum. Without the
courage to engage such advances, revolt is impossible. Fear leads to
moral rationalizations. The fearful cannot adequately defend themselves,
let alone defend others; and, once again, the moral high ground is
lost.<br />
<br />
<strong>Zero Tolerance For Piracy And Criminality Within</strong><br />
<br />
Prepper pirates and others on the very fringes of the survival
movement who seek to thrive at the expense of others are not only
criminal according to natural law, but they are also a blight on the
reputation of the liberty movement itself. Our principles will require
us to stamp out such people as a priority. Those who would viciously
impose upon the innocent as a preplanned strategy are not redeemable.
Even if they claim to hate the same elites we fight against, the enemy
of our enemy is not necessarily our friend. Prepper pirates are rabid
dogs who should be put down.<br />
<br />
<strong>We Are Professionals, And Guardians Never Satisfied With Half Measures</strong><br />
<br />
We carry ourselves as quiet professionals. We strive to represent the
best potential of what the liberty movement has to offer. There is no
problem we cannot solve and no opponent too large. We do not know the
meaning of the word “impossible.” We operate best under pressure and
during disaster. We move to disrupt crisis before it begins when
possible, and we refuse to stand back as spectators when crisis does
develop. We work diligently to master all knowledge and training that
could be used to achieve our goal, which is a free, prosperous and
independent citizenry. We do not seek leadership over others; we only
wish to teach others how to lead themselves. We will not stop until this
goal is accomplished or until we are no longer breathing. We are not
mutable or flexible where tyranny is concerned. We are entirely
uncompromising. We are stubborn bastards, here to drive oligarchs even
crazier than they already are. We are here to undo them and their
treacherous world. And in this mission, we find ultimate comfort and
peace.<br />
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-9675926096465983522015-01-06T12:49:00.000-08:002015-01-06T12:59:47.276-08:00Geronimo’s Rage - How America Always Made it's Enemies<div class="clearfix post-info">
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<br />
Guest Post By <a href="http://www.lewrockwell.com/author/david-hathaway/?ptype=article" rel="author" title="Posts by David Hathaway">David Hathaway</a><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="a2a_kit addtoany_list a2a_target" id="wpa2a_1">
His life was changed in a day.
</div>
He grew up working and playing with his family in the mountains and
valleys of what is now Arizona. His mother Juana placed him in a swing
that rocked gently in the breeze as she worked.<br />
<br />
He played games of
hide-and-seek with the other children. He worked cultivating and
planting corn, beans, melons, and pumpkins with his family. He enjoyed
hunting and evening get-togethers when the tribe played a campfire game
where competing teams would take turns hiding a bone in a moccasin. He
married his beloved delicate childhood sweetheart Alope and had three
children.<br />
<br />
He built a tepee for his dear family next to his widowed mother’s
tepee so that he could care for her as well. His wife Alope drew
beautiful pictures on the walls of their home. The tepee was made of
buffalo hides and was very comfortable with many bear robes and lion
hides. Alope drew pictures on buckskin which decorated the interior of
the tepee. She made decorations of beads for the home as well.<br />
<br />
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<br />
In the summer of 1858, being at peace with the towns in Mexico and
with all the neighboring Indian tribes, Geronimo’s entire tribe went
from Arizona to Mexico to trade. They traveled into Sonora. They made
camp for a few days in a rural area near a Mexican town. The men went
to town to trade during the day and the women and children were left at
the campsite with a small number of Indian guards. The tribe’s arms,
supplies, food, and horses were left at the campsite as well. One day,
when the men returned from their trading session with the people in
town, they were met by a few women and children who told them that
soldiers had killed the Indian guards, stolen all the tribe’s horses,
taken all the arms, destroyed all the supplies, and killed many of the
women and children.<br />
<br />
The tribe quickly dispersed and went into hiding in the surrounding
countryside to guard against additional slaughter. Before splitting up,
they agreed to meet later at a thicket by the river under cover of
darkness to assess the situation and to verify who had been killed.<br />
<br />
After dark, the tribe stole into the rendezvous point, appearing one
by one, moving silently to avoid detection by the plundering slayers.
No fire was lit. At this eerie late night meeting occurring under the
bushes at the river’s edge, Geronimo learned that his aged mother, his
young wife, and his three children had all been killed by the soldiers.
Geronimo wandered away from the whispers of the group meeting occurring
in the concealing blackness of the brush and stood staring at the river. He remained there silent for a long time.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
Later that night, a council was convened to decide on a course of
action. Geronimo returned to the group and sat through the council
meeting in silence. He did not vote for or against any of the options
discussed. It was decided that the tribe would be unable to fight or
survive in its present condition without food, arms, or horses and that
attempts to retrieve the dead would expose the unarmed tribe to more
danger. At the end of the council meeting, tribal chief Mangus Colorado
announced the decisions to the tribe. He gave the order for all to
walk silently and continually night and day for however many days it
took to make it home. The long trek to their mountain home in Arizona
would be difficult without horses or food. They were instructed to
leave the dead where they were. Geronimo felt that he had no purpose
left. He did not have a desire to do anything.<br />
<br />
As the members of the tribe walked off into the night to begin their
arduous march back home, he did not know what he would do. He stood
there for a while and then eventually began to follow the soft sounds of
the footsteps in the darkness ahead of him leaving the bodies of his entire family behind.<br />
<br />
He didn’t speak at all during those days of marching. Not even at
the brief stops to cook the game that was captured by others. He didn’t
participate in the hunting of game during the first two days and three
nights of marching and he chose to not eat the game killed by others
during that time. For days, he didn’t feel like talking, eating, or
fighting.<br />
<br />
After
several days of continual marching and after he decided to begin eating
again, the tribe arrived at their home in Arizona. He went into his
tepee and saw his children’s playthings and the art made by his wife.
He couldn’t stand to look at them. He could find no pleasure in his
quiet home. He burned his tepee and all his family’s possessions. He
then burned his mother’s tepee and all of her possessions. At this
point, he didn’t care if he lived or died.<br />
<br />
He began to think only about the soldiers that had slaughtered his
family. He did not even have family graves to visit or mourn over other
than that of his father. He found an amount of solace and fortitude
visiting his father’s grave hidden in a cave in the mountains where he
swore an oath of vengeance on the soldiers that killed his entire dear
family during that peaceful trading excursion. That grave was the only
tangible remnant of family he had left.<br />
<br />
Later as an old man and a prisoner of war he said, “In all the battle
I thought of my murdered mother, wife, and babies – of my father’s
grave and my vow of vengeance, and I fought with fury. Many fell by my
hand…”<br />
<br />
Although he tried to escape in his advanced years so that he could
return to his Arizona tribal homeland and be buried near his father, he
died a prisoner and is buried at the Apache P.O.W. cemetery in Fort
Sill, Oklahoma.<br />
<br />
I wonder how many Geronimos are being created around the world today?<br />
<br />
RIP Geronimo<br />
<br />
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-46393132655767110032015-01-02T11:40:00.001-08:002015-01-02T11:42:12.670-08:00The Four Things You Can Count On Following the Collapse of the Dollar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2015/01/01/four-things-can-count-following-collapse-dollar/" target="_blank">Dave Hodges </a><br />
<br />
It is easy to misinterpret the signals of our economy from afar when
we see people driving cars everywhere and we tend to think that our
economy as not being that bad. However, the fact remains that 40 years
ago Americans owned those cars that we see them driving. Today, we are
renting them as 40% of us are leasing our vehicles. As we drive up and
down our neighborhoods, we see people living in houses and we lie to
ourselves and use this as a false barometer to convince ourselves that
everything is OK. However, many of these homes we see people living in,
have lost all of their equity. The logical answer to the question “When
will we have a depression”, should be answered by stating “We have an
$18 trillion dollar annual deficit and that is the good news. We have
$240 trillion dollars of debt from unfunded liabilities and we have a
stunning $1.5 quadrillion dollar debt. So, you better grab all the food,
water, guns and ammunition that you can and run for the hills”! But as
long we see people driving in cars and living in houses, most Americans
are going to deny the truth. And the last thing that I wanted to do on
the first day of a new year, was to be the harbinger of doom and gloom.
Yet, I feel compelled to speak the truth, on this New Year’s Day,
because I might be able to get one more person to take the steps
necessary to help increase the odds of their survival in response to
what is coming. History shows that one can count on four things
occurring following the collapse of the dollar.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
The Last Great American Garage Sale</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
On multiple occasions in this column, I
have thoroughly documented the following facts which demonstrate that
the banksters are stealing our assets in preparation for them to
economically survive what is coming:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
1. The <b><a href="http://www.occupycorporatism.com/customer-deposits-are-property-of-the-bank-close-your-account-now/"><span style="color: blue;">Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals</span></a></b>
ruled that when you put money into the bank, you have transferred
ownership of that money to the bank. This ruling represents government
sponsored theft in the highest order, yet most of us are unaware that
this happened.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2. The<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/11/16/the-money-in-your-bank-account-was-stolen-this-morning/"><b><span style="color: blue;"> G20 nations</span></b></a> declared the money in your bank account to not be money. Therefore, the FDIC insurance for your savings.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
3. The MERS mortgage fraud is ongoing and homeowners are still having their homes stolen without legal justification.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4. The Federal Reserve, in 2012, began to
print money to the tune of $40 billion dollars a month in order to
purchase mortgage backed securities.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
5. The banksters have practiced stealing the secured accounts of American in the <b><a href="http://occupycorporatism.com/memo-proves-corzine-ordered-2m-mf-customer-funds-moved-to-jpm/">MF Global (MFG) scandal</a>, resulting in the loss of $6.3 billion dollars of secured investment funds.</b> Nobody went to jail.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
6. In April of 2013, the banksters are manipulating the price of gold as evidenced by the actions of “<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-14/gold-bulls-endure-bear-market-as-goldman-says-sell-commodities.html" target="_blank" title="Goldman Sachs"><b>Goldman Sachs</b></a> who told their clients earlier that they <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/04/congressman-grayson-asks-for-an-investigation-into-federal-reserves-fomc-leak.html" target="_blank" title="recommend initiating a short COMEX gold position"><b>recommend initiating a short COMEX gold position</b></a>.”
After investors were duped into panic selling, the banksters bought up
massive sums of gold. The banksters were buying gold while getting out
the American Stock Market and the megabanks. Why? Because the dollar is
on the verge of collapse.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
7. This past week, the banksters signaled that they were no longer attempting to gain control of any more gold as they began to <span style="color: blue;">repatriate gold</span> with their rightful owners in Europe. This means that the crash could happen at any time.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The only thing left to do is for the
banksters to steal your bank accounts. The correct “crisis” will bring
about the collapse of the dollar now that the wealth transfer has
largely been accomplished.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
What America Will Look Like Following the Collapse of the Dollar</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The aftermath of an economic collapse can
take different forms, however, history demonstrates that there are some
universal things you can count on:</div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">1. Obamavilles</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/hooverville-2.jpg"><img alt="hooverville 2" class="alignright wp-image-12839" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/hooverville-2.jpg" height="239" width="299" /></a><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/hooverville-11.jpg"><img alt="hooverville 1" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-12840" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/hooverville-11.jpg" height="189" width="266" /></a>People
will lose their jobs and ultimately will be evicted from their homes
and America will see a dramatic spike in the rate of homelessness.
During the Great Depression (1929-1941),the growing number of homeless
people in America began to live in communities with cardboard boxes as
their only shelter. The communities took on the name “Hooverilles” in
reference to the President that most Americans blamed for the Great
Depression.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Today, as the economy collapses, a new
homeless class will be created and they will come from the former middle
class. A large number of Americans own property. This will shift to a
large amount of properties that will subsequently be owned by the few
and America will witness the introduction of feudalism to our country.
This is why the Federal reserve has been buying $40 billion dollars of
mortgage backed securities every month.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">2. Dramatic Food Shortages</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/breadlines.jpg"><img alt="breadlines" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-12841" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/breadlines.jpg" height="187" width="270" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Because of “Just In Time” deliveries, the
American food industry operates on quick and multiple deliveries and
survives only as the result of the rapid payment of invoices. As the
failing economy reaches the service industry, most of these
business will fail in very large numbers. Who then, will be delivering
the food?</div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
3. Food Riots</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/food-riots-1.jpg"><img alt="food riots 1" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-12842" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/food-riots-1.jpg" height="175" width="287" /></a><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/food-riots-2.jpg"><img alt="food riots 2" class="alignright size-full wp-image-12843" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/food-riots-2.jpg" height="165" width="256" /></a>Because
of the food shortages, riots and organized gang violence will occur.
The military is trained to isolate these areas, but will not intervene.
If you call 911, nobody will be answering. This will be the time that
you wished you had listened to many in the alternative media because
this is the time that America will begin to see a large loss of life.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">4. Martial Law Will Be Declared</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
DHS and the military have already practiced
for this development. Travel will be limited and it will stopped all
together in areas where the civil unrest is at its worst.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The 2012 and 2014 <a href="http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/ndaa-home?p=ndaa"><b><span style="color: blue;">National Defense Authorization Act</span></b></a>
(NDAA), will allow government officials to “disappear” anyone they want
to and for any reason, or no reason at all. The NDAA suspends habeas
corpus, provides for indefinite detention and this is done on the
premise that certain kinds of Americans are threats (e.g. Second
Amendment supporters, Bible-believing Christians). This is where the
present harassment of Christians will turn into the outright persecution
of Christians.</div>
I think the public has a right to know how its government plans to
handle future protests. Is America the new Venezuela, Egypt, or Ukraine?
A previously secret document which was leaked online; entitled <b><a href="http://info.publicintelligence.net/USArmy-InternmentResettlement.pdf"><i>FM 3-39.40 Internment and Resettlement Operations</i></a> </b>(<b><a href="http://info.publicintelligence.net/USArmy-InternmentResettlement.pdf">PDF</a></b>).<br />
<blockquote>
<b>RIOT FORMATIONS</b><br />
<b>H-42. Quick-reaction force teams should be established with a
minimum response time. Because of the physical nature of riot control,
individuals in riot control formations should not carry rifles.
Nonlethal attachments should follow closely behind the riot control
formation. Lethal coverage must be provided for this entire formation.
(See FM 3-22.40.)</b><br />
<b>DESIGNATED MARKSMEN</b><br />
<b>H-43. During a nonlethal engagement, the use of designated
marksmen provides confidence and safety to those facing a riot. If a
lethal threat is presented, the designated marksmen in overwatch
positions (armed with appropriate sniper weapons mounted with
high-powered scopes) can scan a crowd and identify agitators and riot
leaders for apprehension and fire lethal rounds if warranted.
Additionally, they are ideally suited for flank security and
countersniper operations. (See FM 3-22.40.).</b><br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_12844" style="width: 258px;">
<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/dhs-tsa-roadside-checks.jpg"><img alt="Travel restrictions will be a part of this process. " class="size-full wp-image-12844" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/01/dhs-tsa-roadside-checks.jpg" height="203" width="248" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text">
Travel restrictions will be a part of this process.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
</blockquote>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Government Control Over All Fuel and Transportation</h2>
These are some of the things that government can do to you courtesy of several executive orders.<br />
<b>Executive Order 10990</b><br />
Allows the government to take control over all modes of transportation, highways, and seaports.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11003</b><br />
Allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11005</b><br />
Allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways, and public <a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/01/28/the-last-american-president/">storage facilities</a>.<br />
<b>Executive Order 10997</b><br />
Allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels, and minerals.<br />
<h2>
Government Control Over All Food and Water</h2>
<b>Executive Order 10998</b><br />
Allows the government to take over all food resources and farms<br />
<br />
<h2>
The Ability to Enslave the American People</h2>
<b>Executive Order 11000</b><br />
Allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11001</b><br />
Allows the government to take over all health, education, and welfare functions.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11002</b><br />
Designates the Postmaster General to operate national registration of all persons.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11004</b><br />
Allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities,
build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned,
and establish new locations for populations.<br />
<h2>
Ability to Grant the President Total Dictatorial Control</h2>
<b>Executive Order 11051 </b><br />
Specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and
gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of
increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11310</b><br />
Grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans
set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to
establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to
operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist
the President.<br />
<b>Executive Order 11049</b><br />
Assigns <a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/01/28/the-last-american-president/">emergency preparedness</a> function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year period.<br />
There are more examples, but I think you get the idea. Your
government has practiced to subjugate and even murder you in times such
as these.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Conclusion</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Is there anything that can be done to stop
the egregious violations of our civil liberties? The short answer is no!
However, there are some things that can be done to mitigate the threat
and to soften the landing following an economic collapse and this will
be the subject of my next article in this series.<br />
<br />
</div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-60853090895509477332014-12-18T12:27:00.000-08:002014-12-18T12:27:22.093-08:00There Is Hope In Understanding That A Great Economic Collapse Is Coming<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54eMX8U653IQgBI-mYDVjHBNK1bqGb1pKJ6mbQktNvrDvA99oMOunsSG4DB6_nffr5vBzn8SZxZAGtqenu5e_fOHX9Usbb8sRcO-X0l4HAwgsLMW8OnPDNYC9G7nr2SrgpBVsqHYvhDv7/s1600/Hope-Despair-Public-Domain-300x199.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54eMX8U653IQgBI-mYDVjHBNK1bqGb1pKJ6mbQktNvrDvA99oMOunsSG4DB6_nffr5vBzn8SZxZAGtqenu5e_fOHX9Usbb8sRcO-X0l4HAwgsLMW8OnPDNYC9G7nr2SrgpBVsqHYvhDv7/s400/Hope-Despair-Public-Domain-300x199.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
Guest Post by Michael Snyder<br />
<br />
<br />
If you were about to take a final exam, would you have more hope or more
fear if you didn’t understand any of the questions and you had not
prepared for the test at all? I think that virtually all of us have had
dreams where we show up for an exam that we have not studied for.
Those dreams can be pretty terrifying. And of course if you were ever
in such a situation in real life, you probably did very, very poorly on
that test.<br />
<br />
The reason I have brought up this hypothetical is to make a point. My
point is that there is hope in understanding what is ahead of us, and
there is hope in getting prepared. Since I started <i><a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/" target="_blank">The Economic Collapse Blog</a></i>
back in 2009, there have always been a few people that have accused me
of spreading fear. That frustrates me, because what I am actually doing
is the exact opposite of that. When a hurricane is approaching, is it
“spreading fear” to tell people to board up their windows? Of course
not. In fact, you just might save someone’s life. Or if you were
walking down the street one day and you saw someone that wasn’t looking
and was about to step out into the road in front of a bus, what would
the rational thing to do be? Anyone that has any sense of compassion
would yell out and warn that other person to stay back. Yes, that other
individual may be startled for a moment, but in the end you will be
thanked warmly for saving that person from major injury or worse. Well,
as a nation we are about to be slammed by the hardest times that any of
us have ever experienced. If we care about those around us, we should
be sounding the alarm. <br />
<br />
Since 2009, I have published 1,211 articles on the coming economic
collapse on my website. Some people assume that I must be filled with
worry, bitterness and fear because I am constantly dealing with such
deeply disturbing issues. <br />
<br />
But that is not the case at all. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>There is nothing that I lose sleep over, and I don’t
spend my time worrying about anything. Yes, my analysis of the global
financial system has completely convinced me that an absolutely horrific
economic collapse is in our future. But understanding what is
happening helps me to calmly make plans for the years ahead, and working
hard to prepare for what is coming gives me hope that my family and I
will be able to weather the storm. <br />
<div align="left">
<br />
<br />
</div>
I do not believe in living my life in a state of fear, and I do
not want anything that I write to ever cause fear in my readers. The
ancient Hebrew greeting “Shalom” is roughly translated as “peace” or
“completeness”, and that is what we are constantly pursuing in my
household. My wife and I know that incredibly challenging times are
coming, but we also know who we are, what our purpose is, and where we
are headed. We also believe that the greatest chapters of our lives are
ahead even in the midst of all the chaos that is coming. <br />
<br />
When times are the darkest, that is when light is needed the most. Just
think about it. When you look back over history, what heroes do you
admire the most? If you truly think about it, almost all of those
heroes arose during times of great adversity and conflict. <br />
<br />
The years ahead can be a time of great adventure for you, or they can
seem like hell on Earth. It all depends on how you respond to your
circumstances. <br />
<br />
Do you want to know who is going to respond to the years ahead with fear, panic and depression? <br />
<br />
The millions of people that have absolutely no idea what is coming and
have made absolutely no preparations are going to be absolutely
blindsided by the coming economic collapse. Just like the 1930s, we are
going to see people jumping out of windows and jumping in front of
trains. Others will sink into a state of despair so deep that nobody
will ever be able to shake them out of it. <br />
<br />
It doesn’t have to be that way. <br />
<br />
Over the past five years I have spent thousands of hours studying the
coming economic collapse. In my articles you can find tens of thousands
of facts and statistics that prove that the U.S. economy is hurtling
toward oblivion. <br />
<br />
It is not always the most pleasant thing to write about, but it is the
truth. And that is what matters. If you believe that I am wrong, prove
it to me. I work very hard to put out the most accurate information
that I possibly can. So if you can prove that I am wrong, I will change
my mind. <br />
<br />
But of course that is not going to happen. As I have stated previously,
anyone with half a brain should be able to see that we are living in
the greatest debt bubble in human history. Anyone with half a brain
should be able to see that the “too big to fail” banks are being
extraordinarily reckless (<a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/tag/derivatives" target="_blank">derivatives</a>,
etc.). Anyone with half a brain should be able to see that our
formerly great manufacturing cities are being transformed into
crime-infested hellholes. Anyone with half a brain should be able to
see that the middle class <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/30-stats-to-show-to-anyone-that-does-not-believe-the-middle-class-is-being-destroyed" target="_blank">is dying</a>.
Anyone with half a brain should be able to see that the exact same
patterns that led up to the great financial crisis of 2008 are happening
again. Anyone with half a brain should be able to see that we simply
cannot consume far more wealth than we produce as a nation indefinitely.
Anyone with half a brain should be able to see that the incredibly
foolish decisions that our politicians have been making for decades have
placed us on a road to utter disaster. <br />
<br />
So it doesn’t take anyone special to do what I am doing. I am just a
“watchman on the wall” sounding the alarm the best that I can. And
there are lots of others that are doing the same thing. We are deeply
concerned about where this nation is heading, and we have been pleading
with our leaders to do something about it for a long time but they have
not listened to us. <br />
<br />
Since our leaders just continue doing “business as usual”, there is not
going to be a solution to our problems on the national level. <br />
<br />
So that is why I am encouraging people to get prepared for the hard
times that are coming on a family level and a community level. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, it seems like some people always have an excuse for not
getting prepared. In fact, a few have even gone so far as to accuse me
of being “anti-faith” for suggesting that people actually get off their
couches and do something to help their families deal with the nightmare
on the horizon. They seem to have the attitude that we should all just
sit back and wait for God to do everything for us. <br />
<br />
So I am not quite sure why those people get up in the morning and go to
work, since they should just “trust God” to deposit paychecks into their
banks. And I am not quite sure why they ever fill up the tanks of
their vehicles with gasoline, because they should be able to “trust God”
to put more gas there when they need it. <br />
<br />
I covered all of this in much more detail in my previous article entitled “<a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/is-it-really-anti-faith-to-prepare-for-the-coming-economic-collapse" target="_blank">Is It ‘Anti-Faith’ To Prepare For The Coming Economic Collapse?</a>” <br />
<br />
For now, let me just state that what those people are suggesting is the
exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. Trusting God is not about
sitting back and doing nothing. In the Scriptures, we are told that
faith is about stepping out and taking action on what God has revealed
to us. That includes working hard, being wise and providing for our
families. For example, just check out Proverbs 6:6-11…<br />
<blockquote>
Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise.
Which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her bread in the
summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
How
long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your
sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the
hands to sleep— so will your poverty come upon you like a stalker, and
your need as an armed man.</blockquote>
In the end, each one of us needs to make the decisions that we feel are best for our own families. <br />
<br />
So that is why it is so incredibly important not to let someone else do your thinking for you. <br />
<br />
In America today, the average person watches 153 hours of television a
month. In addition to that, we also spend countless hours watching
movies, playing video games, listening to music, reading books and
surfing the Internet. <br />
<br />
What most Americans don’t realize is that there are just <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/who-owns-the-media-the-6-monolithic-corporations-that-control-almost-everything-we-watch-hear-and-read" target="_blank">six giant corporations</a> that control almost all of that content, and that makes them immensely powerful. <br />
<br />
These giant media corporations are constantly manipulating our
attitudes, opinions and beliefs. And at this point most Americans seem
quite content to remain “plugged into the matrix” and to allow corrupt
corporate executives somewhere to do their thinking for them. <br />
<br />
I urge you to break free from that system. <br />
<br />
Do your own research and do your own thinking. <br />
<br />
Don’t take what I say or what anyone else says as truth without
critically examining it yourself. This can be difficult at first,
because in this nation our young people are no longer trained to think
critically. Instead, we are trained to just blindly accept whatever
information the system feeds us. <br />
<br />
George Orwell once said that “<a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:George_Orwell" target="_blank">during times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act</a>“. <br />
<br />
That perfectly describes the era that we are currently living in. <br />
<br />
The truth does not bring fear and despair. <br />
<br />
Rather, the truth brings hope and it sets people free. <br />
<br />
Share the truth with as many people as you can, because we live in a world that desperately needs it.<br />
<br />
<i>This article first appeared <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/hope-understanding-great-economic-collapse-coming" target="_blank">here at the Economic Collapse Blog</a>. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs <a href="http://endoftheamericandream.com/" target="_blank">The American Dream</a> and <a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/" target="_blank">Economic Collapse Blog</a>. Follow him on <a href="http://twitter.com/Revelation1217" target="_blank">Twitter here</a>.</i><br />
</div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-45442521682808092632014-12-17T11:48:00.000-08:002014-12-17T11:48:21.186-08:00Economic Collapse – This is What It Looks Like<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/247/a/2/world_on_fire__improved_wallpaper__by_hardii-d5djhq2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/247/a/2/world_on_fire__improved_wallpaper__by_hardii-d5djhq2.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://www.omegashock.com/author/admin/" rel="me" title="John Little - OmegaShock.com">John Little - OmegaShock.com</a><br />
<br />
People always want to talk about a conspiracy, whenever things go
bad. That is completely understandable, and there is some truth to it.<br />
<br />
However, not everything is a conspiracy. Some events occur naturally,
and you will find the most conspiracy amongst those who are trying to
avoid that which is natural.<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>I like to think of it as jockying for the best position in the lifeboat.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Yes, there IS a conspiracy, and the conspirators are a foul, evil
bunch that God is going to knock down, but that is a discussion for
another day.<br />
<br />
Now, where was I… <em>oh yes</em> …economic collapse.<br />
<h4>
Economic Collapse</h4>
An economic collapse comes from you and me. We <a href="http://www.clanlittlesna.com/" target="_blank" title="Clan Little Society North America"><strong>Little people</strong></a> are the cause. (<em>And yes, my last name really is Little.</em>) And, we cause this economic collapse by the choices that we make.<br />
When you don’t have very much money…<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>…you buy less.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
When your neighbor loses his job, you get scared about your own job, and start saving money. Of course, saving money means…<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>…you buy less.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
When you retire from your job…<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>…you buy less.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
When healthcare costs go up…<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>…you buy less.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
And, when you buy less… those who produce the stuff you buy… <em>well</em> …THEY also are forced to buy less.<br />
<h4>
China</h4>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>Who do Americans buy from?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>China</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
And, America is China’s biggest trading partner. So, when America buys less stuff from China… <em>well</em> …the Chinese buy less stuff from everyone else.<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>What do the Chinese normally buy?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>Oil.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
From Saudi Arabia.<br />
<h4>
Saudi Arabia</h4>
China buys other stuff, but oil is a big one. And when Chinese
companies have fewer orders, they consume less oil. Those companies also
lay off their workers, which means that those workers ALSO consume less
oil.<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>…and so on… </em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 60px;">
<strong><em>…and so forth.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 60px;">
<br /></div>
The next question is…<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>What does Saudi Arabia do about this?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Well, they ultimately find themselves with lots of extra oil, because
China isn’t buying it. This means that they need to offer that extra
oil to others. However, those ‘others’ won’t buy it for the same price
that China is buying it for.<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>So, what does Saudi Arabia do?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
They lower the price until people start buying.<br />
They could lower production, and Saudi Arabia has done that in the
past. But, the results of lowering production was a loss of market
share, and they don’t want to do that this time. Also, the king of Saudi
Arabia is on his last legs, and his vile little kingdom is in trouble.<br />
So, to keep the masses happy and unwilling to revolt, the Saudis want to keep pumping their oil.<br />
As Shakespeare said:<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.</em> – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV,_Part_2" target="_blank" title="Henry IV - Wikipedia"><strong>Henry IV</strong></a></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Please remember also that the Saudis have not increased production.
All that they have done is maintain their production at previous levels.
To put it another way, the only thing that the Saudis have done is…
nothing.<br />
Those of you who think that the Saudis have lowered their prices for
any number of conspiratorial reasons are missing the point. The Saudis
haven’t lowered their prices. <br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>You have.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
YOU are buying less oil, so they have no choice.<br />
<br />
Remember this quote from the <a href="http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/all_politics_is_local/" target="_blank" title="“All politics is local”"><strong>Washington AP bureau chief</strong></a>, in 1932:<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>All politics is local</em> – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Price" target="_blank" title="Byron Price"><strong>Byron Price </strong></a></div>
<div style="padding-left: 60px;">
(<em>NOT Tip O’Neill</em>)</div>
<div style="padding-left: 60px;">
<br /></div>
The Saudi king is far more interested in his own ability to survive
for the next few years than in destroying US shale oil production,
hurting Russian hegemony or taking a whack at Iran. Yes, all of those
oil producers are going to hurt, but the main focus of the Saudis is
keeping their people from rising up and throwing them out of power.<br />
Really. They hate that.<br />
<h4>
Russia</h4>
Unfortunately, this puts Russia in something of a bind, since half of
all their income comes from petroleum and natural gas production. This
means that Russia will not be able to fulfill all the promises that they
have made. Lots of those promises were made to people outside of
Russia, and lot of those promises were made to people inside Russia.<br />
Remember:<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>All politics is local</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
So, you can guess which promises that Russia is going to break:<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>The ones made to non-Russians.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Now, Russia is going to work hard to keep from breaking those promises, but she will ultimately be forced to.<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>What are those promises that Russia is going to break?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Bonds sold to foreigners.<br />
<br />
Ouch.<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>Why ouch?</em></div>
<h4>
Financial Organizations</h4>
Because banks and institutional investors hold those bonds. And
worse, there are lots of derivatives swimming around, ready to bite
somebody. If enough banks and institutional investors get hurt by all
this…<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>Well, do you know what happens when banks and investors get hurt?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
They sell stuff. Lots of stuff.<br />
<br />
This causes the price for ‘stuff’ to fall. Those investors who own
the same ‘stuff’ lose money, and THEY are also forced to sell –
especially those who bought investments using debt, also known as
‘margin’.<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>Have you ever heard of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margin_%28finance%29#Margin_call" target="_blank" title="margin call - Wikipedia"><strong>margin call</strong></a>?</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Yup. We’re going to get lots of those. And THAT means a collapse of the US stock market, bond market and… <em>well</em> …a LOT of other stuff.<br />
<br />
It will be a ‘domino effect’ and it will sweep away a huge number of
people that still have their money in financial institutions of ANY
kind.<br />
That means YOU.<br />
<h4>
GET OUT</h4>
If you have ANY money in an insurance policy, 401K, IRA, bank or any
other company or organization… you will lose ALL of it over the coming
months, if you do not get it out.<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>And, you will get NO warning.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Well, actually, that’s not true. What I’m telling you now is a
warning. And, I’ve given you lots and lots of warnings in the past. And,
you might have a couple more warnings before we’re done. But, it’s hard
to say what your LAST warning will be.<br />
<br />
Please. Do NOT try to figure out what or when your last warning will
be. It will hit you when you least expect it, which is what the US
government wants. They do NOT want you forewarned.<br />
<br />
Please take your money out now, and buy something of tangible value.
My preference is silver, followed by gold. But, you might think that
something else will hold its value in the coming collapse. Food, water,
ammunition and Bibles come to mind.<br />
But, whatever you buy, it must be something that will hold its value
in a collapse situation – which means that someone will want to buy it
from you for at least a high fraction of the price you paid for it.<br />
<br />
I really wish that this was some half-baked conspiracy theory that we could all wave away, but it isn’t. This is life and death.<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong><em>And you are NOT ready for this.</em></strong></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.omegashock.com/2013/12/13/the-shock-plan-for-getting-ready-putting-it-all-together/" target="_blank" title="The Shock Plan for Getting Ready – Putting It All Together"><strong>I truly hope that you’ll be ready for this</strong></a><br />
(That’s a link. There’s not much time left.)<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em><span class="text Prov-22-3" id="en-KJV-17019">A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.</span></em> – <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+22%3A3&version=KJV" target="_blank" title="Proverbs 22:3 - Wikipedia"><strong>Proverbs 22:3</strong></a></div>
——————-<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<strong>note</strong> – I am not offering
financial or disaster preparation advice in a professional capacity.
These are merely my own thoughts on what I would do in these situations.</div>
——————-<br />
<em>If you find a flaw in my reasoning, have a question, or wish to add your own viewpoint, leave a comment <a href="http://www.omegashock.com/" target="_blank" title="OmegaShock.com"><strong>on the website</strong></a>. Your input is truly welcome.</em>NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-50634956513510347412014-12-17T08:50:00.000-08:002014-12-17T08:50:08.172-08:00ISIS’ Bloody Footprints Lead From NATO Territory<br /><a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/17/isis-bloody-footprints-lead-from-nato-territory/"></a>
<br />
<div class="div_clear">
</div>
<a href="http://journal-neo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/87654422.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="87654422" height="266" src="http://journal-neo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/87654422-300x200.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 3px;" width="400" /></a><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189817"></span><span> </span><br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/17/isis-bloody-footprints-lead-from-nato-territory/">Tony Cartalucci</a><br />
<br />
<span><a href="http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2014/11/breaking-germanys-dw-reports-isis.html" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189873" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">It was reported recently</a> that Germany’s broadcaster <a href="http://www.dw.de/is-supply-channels-through-turkey/av-18091048" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle (DW) investigated</a> what
turned out to be hundreds of trucks a day carrying billions of dollars
in supplies, flowing into Syria and directly into the hands of the
so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS). </span>
<br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189895" style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189894">
Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, has played a pivotal role in the
destabilization and destruction of neighboring Syria. Since 2011, Turkey
has allowed its territory to be used as a transit and staging point for
sectarian terrorists flowing from around the world and into Syria in
what could be described as a defacto NATO invasion by proxy. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189897" style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189896">In
2011, after the Libyan conflict drew to an end in favor of NATO,
terrorists it had armed and provided air cover for in North Africa were
promptly shipped to Turkey where they then slipped into Syria to engage
the Syrian government and its military. Since then, an untold number of
terrorists have used not only Turkey as a staging ground, but also
Lebanon and Jordan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In addition to literal terrorists being
harbored in NATO territory, security agencies of NATO members including
the US and UK, have been active along the Turkish-Syrian border arming,
funding. and equipping what they call “moderate rebels.” These moderate
rebels have recently been revealed as affiliates of or organized
directly organized beneath both Al Qaeda and ISIS.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
DW’s report does not implicate merely
Turkey in aiding and abetting ISIS, but exposes the fact that ISIS’
supply lines lead from within NATO itself – in other words, ISIS is a
creation, perpetuation, and agent of NATO.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Contrary to Western propaganda, Al Qaeda
was intentionally organized and directed by the US, Saudi Arabia, and
Israel to engage in a regional confrontation aimed at Iran and its
powerful arc of influence. Exposed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Seymour Hersh in his 2007 article, “<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/05/070305fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism?</a>” it was stated explicitly that (emphasis added):</div>
<blockquote class="yiv4786952497">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>To undermine Iran, which is
predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to
reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the
Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is
Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah,
the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. <strong>The U.S. has
also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally
Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni
extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are
hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda</strong>. </em></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Clearly, ISIS is the verbatim fulfillment of Hersh’s 2007 warning.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And while some may question what took
place between 2007 and the current disposition of ISIS today, those
documenting the ongoing conflict in Syria starting in 2011 have
noted substantial and continued state sponsorship of militants fighting
in the Syrian conflict, many of which <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/11/17/us-armed-syrian-opposition-surrenders-to-al-qaeda/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">are now confirmed to be operating under the banner of ISIS</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Headlines over the past 3-4 years including, “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/world/middleeast/cia-said-to-aid-in-steering-arms-to-syrian-rebels.html?pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition</a>,” “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10283758/First-Syria-rebels-armed-and-trained-by-CIA-on-way-to-battlefield.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA ‘on way to battlefield’</a>,” “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/world/middleeast/arms-airlift-to-syrian-rebels-expands-with-cia-aid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With Aid From C.I.A.</a>,” and “<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/12/politics/syria-arming-rebels/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Official says CIA-funded weapons have begun to reach Syrian rebels; rebels deny receipt</a>,”
reveal ongoing Western support, bridging the gap between the conspiracy
exposed by Hersh in 2007 and the current torrent of supplies flowing to
ISIS via NATO territory.</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418017534639_189900" style="text-align: justify;">
It
is clear that the ISIS threat was NATO all along, the culmination of a
conspiracy spanning at least two US Presidential administrations, and
resulting in a regional conflict marked by some of the most horrific
barbarism documented in modern history.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With NATO feeding the ISIS threat
directly, no serious attempt to destroy ISIS in either Syria or Iraq can
be attempted without first cutting its supply lines leading from NATO
territory. Clearly the United States, NATO, or regional partners like
Israel, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia have any intention of doing so. As
indicated by DW’s report, Kurds operating on both sides of the
Turkish-Syrian border are attempting to seal off the flow of supplies
leading from NATO territory.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Syrian Arab Army, the Iranian forces
supporting anti-ISIS fighters in Syrian territory, and the allies of
both countries must insist that strict resolutions are passed to secure
the border and stem the flow of ISIS’ lifeline. A clearly worded
resolution, if voted down by the likes of the US and its NATO
accomplices, will expose further the true nature ISIS and the
misanthropic agenda of the West it is a manifestation of.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If the West capitulates and the
resolution is passed, further steps toward arming and aiding the Syrian
and Iranian governments and their various allies in the securing of the
Turkish-Syrian border can be made. From there, the proxy war engineered
and executed by the West which has engulfed the region for years, may
finally be brought to an end.</div>
<em><strong>Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine <a href="http://journal-neo.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“</a><a href="http://journal-neo.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Eastern Outlook”</a>.<span id="ctrlcopy"><br /></span></strong></em>NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-29484732955999096942014-12-16T08:13:00.000-08:002014-12-16T08:14:40.393-08:00America Is In the Early Days of An Economic Collapse<br /><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/12/16/americas-second-911-is-upon-us/"></a>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.secretsofthefed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/dees-economic-collapse11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.secretsofthefed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/dees-economic-collapse11.jpg" height="355" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/12/16/americas-second-911-is-upon-us/">Dave Hodges</a><br />
<br />
America’s first 9/11 served to turn American into a police state
under dictatorial control. In the name of protecting the people from
experiencing a another 9/11, it became “necessary” to protect Americans
from their Constitutional liberties in the name of fighting the “evil
doers”. After 9/11 we saw the creation of the American Stasi and SS
organizations in the name of the creation of the Fusion centers, the
inception of the Department of Homeland Security, the growing menace of
the sexual assault artists from the TSA, the creation of
unconstitutional no fly lists, the creation of a government enemies list
(i.e. MIAC Report), the implementation of permanent detention under
the NDAA, the implementation of an embedded police state surveillance
grid under the NSA where no secret is safe and even our pastors became
agents of the rogue government under the creation of the Clergy Response
Teams.<br />
<br />
When X-Files characters of Mulder and Scully used to say “trust
nobody”, they must have been talking about the time we are living in.<br />
<br />
<b>AMERICA’S SECOND 9/11 IS ALMOST UPON US!</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">America Is In the Early Days of An Economic Collapse</span></span></i></b></div>
<br />
The absolute and complete destruction of the financial collapse
headed our way, is going to manifest in three areas: (1) the theft of
retirement accounts, (2) the theft of bank accounts, and (3) false
flag(s) distractions to cover the theft of bank accounts and retirement
accounts.<br />
<br />
The events listed above will arrive simultaneously and will be
visited upon the American people like a thief in the night. There will
no real warning, only a declared bank holiday that will be declared on a
Friday late in the afternoon in order to minimize the publics
volatility by planning the roll out of the event going into a weekend.
There will be no announcement that your retirement accounts have been
looted by the bankers, retirees will simply not receive their retirement
checks. Your ATM cards will not work and grocery stores will begin to
feel the strain through the weekend as some people will begin to see
these events for what they are and begin panic buying and shortages will
appear almost overnight. This is why America embarked on the 1033 plan
to militarize the police because the military and the foreign troops
training on our soil cannot be everywhere. This is also why we are
seeing such an increased rate of police brutality across the country,
because the police are being trained that the American people are the
enemy and in this scenario, they are correct.<br />
Military assets will have been positioned weeks prior to the collapse
to contain the rioting that will ensue inside of cities experiencing
the most civil unrest. There will be no 9/11 to call, you will be on
your own. The rioting will begin in earnest by Tuesday or Wednesday
following the closure of the banks. Why? Because most Americans have not
prepared for what is coming and they are only nine meals away from
life-threatening starvation. Within 72 hours of the commencement of
civil unrest, many personnel connected to essential services will walk
off the job in order to protect their families on a 24/7 basis. How do
we know this is true, just look at what happened in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.<br />
<br />
When the banks initially close, cyber-terrorism will be the excuse.
This will provide the excuse to deploy DHS, military and foreign
military assets to the streets of America. Terrorist event will
transpire within the same time frame. The majority of Americans, who
are asleep, will be propagandized that Al-qaeda and ISIS will be blamed.<br />
<br />
This is all part of a the Continuity of Government drills that have
been carried out in this country. This is why DHS purchased 2700 armored
personnel carriers in the past two years as they are going to be
deployed to protect the assets of organizations such as the Federal
Reserve branches and corporate entities such as Goldman Sachs.<br />
<br />
There are three significant moves which have led to the realization
that economic collapse is imminent and the above scenario will be acted
upon and these include the fact that the banksters have moved to protect
their first level minions with survival gear, perceived “uncooperative”
banksters have been murdered to keep them quiet which helps to explain
the 36 mysterious banksters deaths and the G20 nations have announced
they are preparing to steal all privately held bank accounts.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Moving to Protect the Banksters</h2>
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Survival kits are to be deliver to <b><a href="https://www.fbo.gov/utils/view?id=c34cbefaa900e8596a825faf94147b5c">every major bank</a> in
the United States including Bank of America, American Express Bank, BMO
Financial Corp., Capitol One Financial Corporation, Citigroup, Inc., JP
Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.</b></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #3e3d3d; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/09/bank-collapse.jpg"><img alt="bank collapse" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4901" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/09/bank-collapse.jpg" height="154" width="172" /></a><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/10/BANKSTERS-A.jpg"><img alt="BANKSTERS A" class="alignright size-full wp-image-5617" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/10/BANKSTERS-A.jpg" height="153" width="329" /></a> </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #3e3d3d; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.0pt;">Survival supplies will also be delivered to OCC offices<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.fbo.gov/utils/view?id=a1c7f3c753c48e92adfac06c12195fc4" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; line-height: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">across the country</span></a></span> to its 3800 employees. The primary mission of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.occ.gov/about/what-we-do/mission/index-about.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; line-height: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">the OCC</span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>is
to “ensure that national banks and federal savings associations operate
in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services,
treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and
regulations.” The OCC employees include bank examiners whose job it is
to “Analyze loan and investment portfolios, funds management, capital,
earnings, liquidity, sensitivity to market risk for all national banks
and federal thrifts, and compliance with consumer banking laws for
national banks and thrifts with less than $10 billion in assets.” </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #3e3d3d; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/10/banksters-5.jpg"><img alt="banksters 5" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-5681" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/10/banksters-5.jpg" height="418" width="576" /></a> </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #3e3d3d; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.0pt;">Why
is it necessary to provide bank examiners with this level of
protection? Simple, bank examiners are not stupid. They know what is
coming. When they are out in the field performing their job and a sudden
bank holiday is declared they could be far away from home and have
nothing but their car for protection. This is clearly a move to placate
these critical pieces of the banking establishment. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #3e3d3d; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.0pt;">The federal government is spending $200,000 on the kits, according to the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Survival_Kits_RFP.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; line-height: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">solicitation</span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>released on Dec. 4. 2014. </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
THIS IS THE CHEST PAIN BEFORE THE HEART ATTACK THAT WILL KNOWN AS AMERICA’S SECOND 9/11</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<b>The Rehearsal of the Theft of Your Bank Account</b><br />
<br />
All nations belonging to the G20 will immediately submit and pass legislation that will fulfill <b><span style="color: blue;">a</span></b><a href="http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/11/warning-bank-deposits-will-soon-no.html"><b><span style="color: blue;"> new investment program</span></b>.</a> This new program creates a whole new paradigm and set of rules whereby banks will no longer recognize your deposits as money.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2014/11/bank-holiday2.jpg"><img alt="bank-holiday2" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-11810" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2014/11/bank-holiday2.jpg" height="160" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
The theft of the people’s money has already been rehearsed by the powers that be in the banking industry. Regulators from the <span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/10/11/u-s-and-uk-to-test-big-bank-collapse-in-joint-model-run/" style="color: blue;">United States and the United Kingdom</a> </b></span>got together in a war room to see how they will cope when the next big bank fails.<br />
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer,
George Osborne, on November 10, 2014, ran a joint exercise simulating
how they would prop up a large bank (e.g. Bank of America) with
operations in both countries that has landed itself in trouble. Also
taking part in the “bank failure drill” was <b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/10/11/u-s-and-uk-to-test-big-bank-collapse-in-joint-model-run/" style="color: blue;">Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney</a>, and the heads of a large number of other regulators,</span></b> <a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/10/11/u-s-and-uk-to-test-big-bank-collapse-in-joint-model-run/"><span style="color: blue;">i</span><b><span style="color: blue;">n a meeting hosted by the <span style="color: red;">U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation</span></span>. </b></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Bank Accounts Have No Protection</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/10/22/expatriate-or-revolution/fdic-protection/" rel="attachment wp-att-5678"><img alt="fdic protection" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-5678" src="http://thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/10/fdic-protection.jpg" height="145" width="348" /></a><br />
<br />
The globalists have been moving their fiat currency holdings to gold
since the Spring of 2013. The price of gold was artificially manipulated
by Goldman Sachs to drive down the price of gold in order to make it
cheaper for the powers-that-be to purchase gold cheaply. You see, they
know that very soon, there will no money left in the banks. You want
proof? The best proof that the globalists are manipulating the price of
gold comes from “<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-14/gold-bulls-endure-bear-market-as-goldman-says-sell-commodities.html"><b>Goldman Sachs</b></a> (who), in the Spring of 2013, told their that they <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/04/congressman-grayson-asks-for-an-investigation-into-federal-reserves-fomc-leak.html"><b>recommend initiating a short COMEX gold position</b></a>.”<br />
<br />
<i><b>The FDIC has only about $25 billion in its deposit
insurance fund, which is mandated by law to keep a balance equivalent to
only 1.15% of insured deposits.</b></i><br />
<br />
If a banking collapse were to be on the near horizon, the banksters
are not going to notify you because they would not want to incite a bank
run. With only 1.15% of all deposits being insured by the FDIC, your
money would be left vulnerable and only the elite would be warned as
they quietly transfer their money to a safer haven, such as gold.<br />
<blockquote>
<b>THE FDIC CANNOT PROTECT ACCOUNT HOLDERS. FOR THE
1% INTEREST YOU ARE RECEIVING ON YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IT IS SITTING IN THE
BANK WITH NO PROTECTION! AN ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IS HERE AND THIS IS WHY
THE FDIC HELPED TO SPONSOR THE NOVEMBER 10, 2014 BANK COLLAPSE DRILL IN
LONDON!</b></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_3444" style="width: 390px;">
<a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/05/paulson.jpg"><img alt="Hank Paulson, the architect of the Bailouts, said "there will be tanks in the streets. In 2008, this pathological liar was correct on this point" class=" wp-image-3444" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2013/05/paulson.jpg" height="290" width="380" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text">
Hank
Paulson, the architect of the Bailouts, said “there will be tanks in
the streets. In 2008, this pathological liar was correct on this point</div>
</div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2014/12/tanks-1.jpg"><img alt="tanks 1" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-12466" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2014/12/tanks-1.jpg" height="185" width="273" /></a><a href="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2014/12/tanks-2.jpg"><img alt="tanks 2" class="alignright size-full wp-image-12467" src="http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2014/12/tanks-2.jpg" height="184" width="274" /></a></b></h2>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Your bank account has been collateralized against the derivatives debt.</b> Hence,
you had, in 2008, former CEO of Goldman Sachs and the Secretary of
Treasury, Hank Paulson, telling a closed session of Congress that if
they did not authorize the bailouts, there would be tanks in the street
an ultimately, REVOLUTION! This was necessitated by the credit swap
derivatives Ponzi scheme and the debacle that followed.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
Further, the bankruptcy reform laws stemming from the Bankruptcy
Reform Act of 2005, the credit swap derivatives counter-parties are
given preference over all other creditors and customers of the bankrupt
financial institution, including FDIC insured depositors. This is why
the G20 effectively stole your money last month by declaring your bank
account to NOT be money!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>When Will America’s Second 9/11 Occur?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It is a fool’s errand to predict dates
because the banksters plan by objective. However, it is safe to say that
it could happen at any time. It could happen this week or in a year.
The only sure thing we can say is that the critical elements are being
put into place and this will be the topic of a future article.<b> IN THE MEANTIME, GET YOUR MONEY OUT OF THE BANK!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-32961824155714405092014-12-15T13:53:00.000-08:002014-12-15T13:53:40.456-08:005 Reasons to Question the Official Story of the 'Sydney Siege'<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tY8PG5kgrhSUiXhIDml_5XqN-arZkK_mPlXPuwv1zGeWfMA4bHkYEXHGMkRMrim9h5yIVb8KY8daYrx4aR9OdiJCx1AzJppHVivmid2pWlWgems2vFDDg5pcEJ-HB3E0I1PgyYgGM2M/s1600/6280575987_2a3baae60d.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tY8PG5kgrhSUiXhIDml_5XqN-arZkK_mPlXPuwv1zGeWfMA4bHkYEXHGMkRMrim9h5yIVb8KY8daYrx4aR9OdiJCx1AzJppHVivmid2pWlWgems2vFDDg5pcEJ-HB3E0I1PgyYgGM2M/s400/6280575987_2a3baae60d.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Guest Post by Brandon Turbeville<br />
<br />
<br />
In the aftermath of yet another highly publicized terror attack (or at
least the potential for a high profile attack) in Australia by
foreign-born jihadists, the Western public is once again experiencing a
variety of emotional reactions that they have carefully been trained to
experience whenever such events take place at home or abroad. <br />
<br />
The xenophobic pro-war right is predictably using the attack as an
example of how all Muslims are terrorists and how their total
annihilation and implementation of police state tactics are the only
solution. The pathetic left-wing is attempting to portray the gunman as a
“lone nut” with no political motives as a justification for more
“anti-terror” laws. The vast majority in the middle, however, believe
the official mainstream version of events, quake in their boots, and
move on to the next form of entertainment provided to them by the
culture creators without a second thought.<br />
<br />
Yet, as is almost always the case, there is much more to the story than
is being reported by mainstream outlets. There exists a number of
unanswered questions and unexplained inconsistencies with the story of
“Man Haron Monis” and his hostage taking escapade in Sydney.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><b>1.) Man Haron Monis (aka Manteghi Boroujerdi) is Shiia, not Sunni. </b><br />
<br />
While the mainstream reports may suggest that Monis is yet another
ISIS-style terrorist that finally attempted to rise and meet his destiny
by engaging in terrorist attacks in the West, there are a number of
problems with the presentation in terms of details. <br />
<br />
Western media reports that, among other ludicrous demands, Monis
requested to be provided with an ISIS flag while holding up the café in
the Sydney business district. The problem, however, is that Monis is
Shiia, not Sunni. Sunni, of course, is the brand of Islam that ISIS
espouses. While both sects see their share of fundamentalism, the twain
do not mix. <br />
<br />
Why then, would a Shiia cleric (fundamentalist or otherwise) request an
IS flag at the scene of his crime for all the world to see?<br />
<div align="left">
<br />
<br />
</div>
<b>2.) Is Monis A “Liberal Muslim” Or A “Fundamentalist Muslim?”</b><br />
<br />
While the absurd request for an IS flag during the course of an act of
violence being committed by a Shitte Muslim is enough to convince the
average spectator that Monis was a member of ISIS, there is a distinct
lack of consistency in the way in which Monis has been portrayed in the
Western media. Nearly ten years ago, Monis was presented as a “liberal
Muslim” preaching a brand of tolerant and mainstream Islam. Since 2013,
however, Monis has been presented as both a murderer and now a
terrorist. While the latter may certainly be true, the presentations are
nonetheless contradictory.<br />
<br />
Indeed, as Tony Cartalucci of Land Destroyer reports in his article “<a href="http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2014/12/who-created-cartoon-character-man-haron.html" target="_blank">Who Created Cartoon Character’Man Haron Monis’ Behind ‘Sydney Siege’ Crisis</a>,” Monis has spoken glowingly of the West in the past; Canada, the United States, and Australia in particular. In an <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionreport/new-cardinals-for-rome-george-bush-muslims-in/3478556" target="_blank">interview with The Religion Report</a> of the Australian ABC, he stated, <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...we can say Australia, Canada, England, USA, so many western
countries, they are religious societies. They don't say 'We are
religious', but in fact the spirit of religion, we can see the spirit of
religion in these societies. And some other countries in the Middle
East, in Asia, they say 'We are Islamic' they have a name of Islamic,
but in fact they are not religious societies and religious governments.
Whenever I walk in the street, whenever I go out in Australia, I feel I
am in a real religious society. I don't want to say it is perfect, we
don't have a perfect society on the earth, but when we compare, if we
compare Australia with Iran and other countries in the Middle East, we
can say it is heaven.</blockquote>
These are hardly the words of an Islamic terrorist filled with hatred
for the West. Yet that is exactly what Monis is portrayed as being in
later years. Indeed, there is little evidence to the contrary that the
assailant was, in fact, Monis. The question then, is why the
contradictory behavior and media portrayal of Monis. <br />
<br />
<b>3.) Monis Served US/NATO/West’s Interests As Propaganda Tool Against Iran</b><br />
<br />
Before
Monis became the star of Sunday evening/Monday morning news, he served
as a convenient agent of propaganda against the government of Iran,
itself a major target of NATO and the West. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2014/12/who-created-cartoon-character-man-haron.html" target="_blank">As Tony Cartalucci writes</a>,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But before Monis/Boroujerdi's recent run-ins with the law and his role
as chief "Muslim boogeyman" in Australia, he was "Manteghi Boroujerdi," a
"victim" of the "Iranian regime" who was in love with Western society.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Australia's ABC in its "<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionreport/new-cardinals-for-rome-george-bush-muslims-in/3478556" target="_blank">Religion Report" dated January 31, 2001</a>, introduced Monis/Boroujerdi as follows:<br />
<blockquote>
...while in Sydney we talk to Ayatollah Manteghi Boroujerdi, an Iranian
cleric espousing a liberal brand of Islam - dangerously liberal, as his
views have led to his wife and two daughters being held hostage in Iran.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The interview itself is used as yet another vehicle to carry along
Western propaganda long-aimed at Iran. It claims Monis/Boroujerdi's
family is in grave danger and that Monis/Boroujerdi himself would be
executed should he ever return to Iran. It quotes Monis/Boroujerdi
several times including claims he was formally associated with Iranian
intelligence:<br />
<blockquote>
In Iran, mostly I have been involved with the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And was in contact with the UN regarding security issues in Iran:<br />
<blockquote>
...more than four years I have not seen my family, and the Iranian
regime doesn't let them come out. In fact I can say they are hostage; as
a hostage the Iranian regime wants to make me silent, because I have
some secret information about government, and about their terrorist
operations in the war. I sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations and somebody on behalf of Mr Kofi Anan sent the answer,
and they want to do something. I have hope and always I pray and ask God
to solve my problem.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<b>4.) Did Monis Love His Wife And Fear For Her Safety Or Did He Kill Her?</b><br />
<br />
Notice in the statement above that one of Monis’ gripes with the Iranian
government was that not only was he in personal danger as a result of
his “liberal” teachings, but his family was in danger as well.
Ironically, he stated that his family was being held hostage by the
Iranian regime. However, fast forward to 2013, and Monis <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/hate-sheik-man-horan-monis-and-girlfriend-amirzh-droudis-granted-bail-on-murder-charges/story-fni0cx12-1226781623998?nk=ba7ac9da6cbeb8c6571a27a4febc5c61" target="_blank">is facing charges</a>
on “accessory before and after the fact to the murder of [his ex-wife]
Noleen Hayson Pal, 30, who was stabbed 18 times and set alight outside a
western Sydney unit in April.”<br />
<br />
While Monis would certainly not be the first man to kill his ex-wife,
his concern for her safety at the hands of the Iranian government does
not match up with the concern he allegedly showed her in Australia. If
Monis was truly the “Hate Sheik” as he was presented in the articles
regarding his ex-wife’s murder, then why was he first portrayed as such a
loving liberal by the very same media?<br />
<br />
It should also be noted that Monis recently made<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/cleric-man-haron-monis-punished-for-offensive-letters-written-to-families-of-dead-diggers/story-e6frg6nf-1226713441205" target="_blank"> a reputation for himself</a>
by sending hate mail to the families of dead Australian soldiers who
fought in Afghanistan. Monis’ letter writing campaign was used to stir
up tension between the pro and anti-war factions in Australian society
and cause quite the controversy publicly. <br />
<br />
<b>5.) Shiite Clerics In Australia Did Not Trust Monis</b><br />
<br />
By 2008, Shiite religious leaders in Australia had asked Australian
Federal security agents to investigate Monis and his activities. As an
article in the Australian reported,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
FEDERAL agents have been urged by the nation's senior Shia leader, Kamal
Mousselmani, to investigate an Iranian man purporting to be a prominent
Islamic cleric.<br />
<br />
Sheik Mousselmani told The Australian yesterday the mystery cleric - who
has been identified as Ayatollah Manteghi Boroujerdi on his website
after appearing under the name Sheik Haron - was not a genuine Shia
spiritual leader.<br />
<br />
He said there were no ayatollahs - supreme Shia scholars - in Australia
and none of his fellow spiritual leaders knew who Ayatollah Boroujerdi
or Sheik Haron was.<br />
<br />
"We don't know him and we have got nothing to do with him," Sheik
Mousselmani said. "The federal police should investigate who he is. It
should be their responsibility."</blockquote>
Yet, <a href="http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2014/12/who-created-cartoon-character-man-haron.html" target="_blank">as Cartalucci adds in his own article</a>,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But it was the Australian media itself who introduced him publicly as an
"Ayatollah" and the Australian government that vetted him and allegedly
granted him political asylum. He was allegedly in contact with the UN
and was used to stir up anti-Iranian sentiment in Australia. It is then
highly suspicious that now both the Australian media and the Australian
government appear to have no knowledge of who he is or where he came
from.</blockquote>
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
Whatever the true nature of Monis may be – legitimate mental patient,
patsy, or tool of Western intelligence agencies – there is clearly much
more to the story than what the mainstream press is printing and
promoting. <br />
<br />
Regardless, the only thing that we can know with absolute certainty is
that the Sydney Siege will be used as propaganda to the utmost effect by
all Western and NATO governments in the push for further war abroad and
an even greater police state at home.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><b>Recently from Brandon Turbeville:</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2014/12/protests-across-america-will-obama-step.html" target="_blank">Protests Across America: Will Obama Step Down?</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2014/12/wi-police-chief-thinks-guns-as.html" target="_blank">WI Police Chief Thinks Guns as Dangerous as Ebola, Wants Voluntary Home Searches as a Vaccine</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2014/12/israel-bombs-syria-again-hits-ag.html" target="_blank">Israel Bombs Syria ... Again: Hits Ag Centers, Warehouses</a> </li>
</ul>
<i>Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He
has a Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author
of six books, <a href="http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=829&ID=e78aa577-49b0-493b-aa44-c84db9d0c8cf" target="_blank">Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom</a>, <a href="http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=2235&ID=c3a655cd-5dc7-421a-8a8b-cf74c194ffc5" target="_blank">7 Real Conspiracies</a>, <a href="http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=2800&ID=155692ca-65ff-418c-b267-5ea8549d93a7" target="_blank">Five Sense Solutions</a> and <a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2012/05/dispatches-from-dissident-articles-from.html">Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1</a> and <a href="http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=19038&ID=6318fa2d-7ac3-42c0-b510-b6aeadfa93db" target="_blank">volume 2</a>, and <a href="http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=23813&ID=e489793f-d003-471a-9a4c-02f7e3df4d77" target="_blank">The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria</a>. Turbeville
has published over 300 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects
including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties.
Brandon Turbeville's podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every
Monday night 9 pm EST at <b><a href="http://ucy.tv/TT" target="_blank">UCYTV</a></b>. He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com. </i></div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-14400202536864425202014-12-15T11:04:00.002-08:002014-12-15T11:04:43.111-08:00The Hundreds: Thomas Jefferson's Forgotten Plan for Restoring a Failed Republic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Thomas_Jefferson_by_Rembrandt_Peale_1805_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Thomas_Jefferson_by_Rembrandt_Peale_1805_cropped.jpg" height="400" width="348" /></a></div>
<br />
Dear Reader,<br />
<br />
I wrote a few weeks ago on history being edited by people in power.
This week’s article illustrates another case where inconvenient facts
don’t survive in our history textbooks. You might think that the most
passionately held political thoughts of Thomas Jefferson—the author of
the US Declaration of Independence, no less—would be a noteworthy part
of American history.<br />
<br />
But no, those have been left out of the books. I discovered them while writing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979987733/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0979987733&linkCode=as2&tag=caserese-20&linkId=OKEXZNIK4JT3MPN4" target="_blank">a history book of my own</a>,
some years ago. And if I—a freelance author working on my own
nickel—could find these passages, you can be sure that salaried academic
historians have seen them many times.<br />
When I’m done, Doug French looks into the killing of Eric Garner—a
criminal act of hubristic enforcers employed (and protected) by the City
of New York. But Doug doesn’t stop there. Don’t miss this one.<br />
Let’s get to it.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thomas Jefferson became one of my heroes when I was 13 years old. So
you’d think I’d enjoy hearing people say good things about him, but very
often, I don’t. My reason is simple: the people who praise Jefferson
seldom really understand him, and if they did, it’s questionable that
they’d like him. (Others try to get rid of him by trashing his
reputation.)<br />
<h3>
<b>What People Don’t Know</b></h3>
A crucial thing people don’t know about Jefferson is this: he was fully
convinced that freedom in America was fatally wounded—in fact on its
deathbed—by 1810 or so. He maintained that he and his fellow founders
had blown their opportunity and that American freedom had already
slipped away.<br />
Now, since what I’ve written above will seem almost inconceivable to
many Americans, let me back it up by quoting a few of Jefferson’s
letters:<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to John Holmes, April 22, 1820:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
I regret that I am now to die in the belief that the useless sacrifice
of themselves by the generation of 1776, to acquire self-government and
happiness to their country, is to be thrown away by the unwise and
unworthy passions of their sons, and that my only consolation is to be,
that I live not to weep over it.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to Nathaniel Macon, 1821:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
Our government is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road
it will pass to destruction. That is: by consolidation first, and then
corruption, its necessary consequence.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to John Cartwright, June 5, 1824:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
Our Revolution presented us an album on which we were free to write
what we pleased. Yet we did not avail ourselves of all the advantages of
our position… [What we really needed was] to break up all cabals.</div>
“Cabals,” FYI, equates to “political parties.” (George Washington and John Adams also bewailed them.)<br />
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to Samuel Johnson, 1823:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
I have been criticized for saying that a prevalence of the doctrines of
consolidation would one day call for reformation or revolution.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to William B. Giles, 1825:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
I see with the deepest affliction, the rapid strides with which the
federal branch of our government is advancing towards the usurpation of
all the rights reserved to the States, and the consolidation in itself
of all powers, foreign and domestic; and that too, by constructions
which, if legitimate, leave no limits to their power.</div>
I don’t think any honest reader can see Jefferson’s actual words and
still conclude that he’d have any respect at all for the modern US
government. And please believe me that there are more passages like
these.<br />
<h3>
<b>Jefferson’s Hundreds</b></h3>
While Jefferson was fully convinced that he and his friends had blown
their opportunity, he wasn’t one to simply give up. So, in typical
fashion, he put together a plan to recreate the republic. And you can
find this plan in letters to his friends. (As best I can tell, no one in
Washington ever gave them the time of day.)<br />
I’m editing these passages for clarity. You should be able to find the originals online.<br />
This is from a letter to John Tyler, dated May 26, 1810:<br />
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
I have indeed two great measures at heart, without which no republic can maintain itself in strength.</div>
<ol>
<li>
That of general education to enable every man to judge for himself what will secure or endanger his freedom.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li value="2">
To divide every county into hundreds, of such size that all the
children of each will be within reach of a central school in it. …</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
Every hundred, besides a school, should have a justice of the peace, a
constable, and a captain of its militia. These officers, or some others
within the hundred, should be a corporation to manage all its concerns,
to take care of its roads, its poor, and its police by patrols, etc.…</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
Every hundred should elect one or two jurors to serve where requisite,
and all other elections should be made in the hundreds separately, and
the votes of all the hundreds be brought together. …</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
These little republics would be the main strength of the great one. We
owe to them the vigor given to our revolution in its commencement …</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
General orders are given out from a center to the Foreman of every hundred …</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
Could I once see this I should consider it as the dawn of the salvation of the republic. …</div>
Jefferson repeats essentially the same plan to Samuel Kercheval in 1816:<br />
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
The article, nearest my heart, is the division of counties into wards.
These will be pure and elementary republics, the sum of all which, taken
together, composes the State, and will make a true democracy as to the
business of the wards, which is that of nearest and daily concern.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
The division into wards … enables them by that organization to crush,
regularly and peaceably, the usurpations of their unfaithful agents, and
rescues them from the dreadful necessity of doing it insurrectionally.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
In this way we shall be as republican as a large society can be, and
secure the continuance of purity in our government, through salutary,
peaceable, and regular control by the people.</div>
Jefferson’s plan, in simple terms, is this:<br />
<ol>
<li>
Divide the entire country into 100-person units with <i>full</i> self-governing powers.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li value="2">
These units can then delegate some of their powers to larger governmental bodies, <i>or not</i>.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li value="3">
The tiny size of these units would ensure that every person in the
country knew his or her local representative… as in, “can knock on their
door and complain to their face.”</li>
</ol>
This plan, which I like to call <i>Jefferson’s Hundreds</i>, would be
simple to implement. These groups could be formed in any number of
ways, in locations urban or rural. After all, counting to one hundred is
hardly difficult.<br />
<h3>
<b>Would It Work?</b></h3>
Whether governance in America is too far gone for reform is an
important and legitimate question, but for the sake of today’s
discourse, let’s assume that it remains a possibility.<br />
So, if reform was still possible, Jefferson’s Hundreds would be a
reasonable and effective way to return to America’s first freedoms. And
there is absolutely no reason why it wouldn’t work.<br />
Sure, the televised suits and uniforms would scream intimidating things
about the Articles of Confederation being too weak, but that old
argument can be solidly refuted. (I hope to devote <a href="http://www.freemansperspective.com/about_freemans_perspective/" target="_blank">an issue or two of my newsletter</a>
to the subject soon.) Then, of course, we’d hear, “What about the
highways!?”… another emotional but paper-thin objection. And so on… all
answerable, if people are actually permitted to try.<br />
Might some people act like pigs under “the hundreds”? Certainly some
would—but under this arrangement, their piggishness would be open to
view and response, rather than being protected behind the cloak of
authority.<br />
<br />
So if we were really serious about reforming America, this would be the
plan to pursue. It’s clear, of immense effect, and has the best of
pedigrees. Furthermore, it is fully in harmony with the founding ideals
of this country, in particular with the Lockean concept of man’s natural
freedom.<br />
So, to close, here are a few quotes from other American founders.
Please imagine how they’d apply in a country built upon Jefferson’s
Hundreds, and then reflect on their scope under the current
arrangements.<br />
I think the exercise will be worth your time.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<b>Samuel Adams</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>The Rights of Colonists</i>,<i> November 20, I772</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on
earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man; but
only to have the law of nature for his rule.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<b>Patrick Henry</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Speech to the Second Virginia Convention</i>,<i> March 23, 1775</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<b>Samuel Adams</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to his wife</i>,<i> November 7, 1775</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
We must be content to suffer the loss of all things in this life, rather than tamely surrender the public liberty.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<b>John Adams</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to Thomas Jefferson, November 13, 1815</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
The fundamental article of my political creed is that despotism, or
unlimited sovereignty, or absolute power, is the same in a majority of a
popular assembly, an aristocratical council, an oligarchical junta, and
a single emperor. Equally arbitrary, cruel, bloody, and in every
respect diabolical.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<b>John Adams</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
<i>Letter to Jonathan Jackson</i>,<i> October 2, 1789</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 10.5pt;">
There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic
into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting
measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension,
is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil...</div>
<div style="margin-left: 48.55pt;">
<i>A Free-Man’s Take</i> is written by adventure capitalist, author,
and freedom advocate Paul Rosenberg. You can get much more from Paul in
his unique monthly newsletter, <i><a href="http://www.freemansperspective.com/" target="_blank">Free-Man’s Perspective</a></i>.<br />
</div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-40298785069042967182014-12-15T11:02:00.001-08:002014-12-15T11:02:24.606-08:00Evolution of Guerilla Warfare in the Digital Age and The Fall of the Empire<span class="comments-link"></span>
<br />
<div class="entry-content">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://westernrifleshooters.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/cw2-cube.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-14978" height="300" src="http://westernrifleshooters.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/cw2-cube.jpg?w=500&h=375" title="CW2 cube" width="400" /></a><em> </em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Illustration:</em> <em><a href="http://westernrifleshooters.blogspot.com/2010/07/bracken-cw2-cube-mapping-meta-terrain.html">Bracken’s CW2 Cube</a>; click to enlarge</em></div>
<br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/">Matt Bracken</a><br />
<br />
In response to recent articles in mainstream military journals discussing <a href="http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/full-spectrum-operations-in-the-homeland-a-%E2%80%9Cvision%E2%80%9D-of-the-future">the use of the U.S. Army to quell insurrections on American soil</a>,
I offer an alternate vision of the future. Instead of a small town in
the South as the flash point, picture instead a score of U.S. cities in
the thrall of riots greater than those experienced in Los Angeles in
1965 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Riots">Watts</a>), multiple cities in 1968 (<a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/king-riots.htm">MLK assassination</a>), and Los Angeles again in 1992 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots">Rodney King</a>). New Yorkers can imagine the <a href="http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/07/dayintech_0713">1977 blackout looting</a> or the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Heights_riot">1991 Crown Heights disturbance</a>.
In fact, the proximate spark of the next round of major riots in
America could be any from a long list cribbed from our history.<br />
<br />
We have seen them all before, and we shall see them all again
as history rhymes along regardless of the century or the generation of
humankind nominally in control of events. But the next time we are
visited by widespread, large-scale urban riots, a dangerous new
escalation may be triggered by a fresh vulnerability: It’s estimated
that the average American home has less than two weeks of food on hand.
In poor minority areas, <a href="http://www.marigallagher.com/site_media/dynamic/project_files/Chicago_Food_Desert_Report.pdf">it may be much less</a>. What if a cascading economic crisis, even a temporary one, leads to millions of EBT (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Benefit_Transfer">electronic benefit transfer</a>)
cards flashing nothing but ERROR? This could also be the result of
deliberate sabotage by hackers, or other technical system failures.
Alternatively, the government might pump endless digits into the cards
in a hopeless attempt to outpace future hyperinflation. The government
can order the supermarkets to honor the cards, and it can even set price
controls, but history’s verdict is clear: If suppliers are paid only
with worthless scrip or blinking digits, the food will stop.<br />
<br />
<b><em>STEP ONE: FLASH MOB LOOTING</em></b><br />
<br />
In my scenario, the initial riots begin spontaneously across affected urban areas, as SNAP (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program">supplemental nutrition assistance program</a>)
and other government welfare recipients learn that their EBT cards no
longer function. This sudden revelation will cause widespread anger,
which will quickly lead to the flash-mob looting of local supermarkets
and other businesses. The media will initially portray these “food
riots” as at least partly justifiable. Sadly, millions of Americans have
been made largely, or even entirely, dependent on government wealth
transfer payments to put food on their tables.<br />
<br />
A new social contract has been created, where bread and
circuses buy a measure of peace in our minority-populated urban zones.
In the era of ubiquitous big-screen cable television, the internet and
smart phones, the circus part of the equation is never in doubt as long
as the electricity flows. But the bread is highly problematic. Food must
be delivered the old-fashioned way: physically. Any disruption in the
normal functioning of the EBT system will lead to food riots with a
speed that is astonishing. This will inevitably happen when our
unsustainable, debt-fueled binge party finally stops, and the music is
over. Now that the delivery of free or heavily subsidized food is
perceived by tens of millions of Americans to be a basic human right,
the cutoff of “their” food money will cause an immediate explosion of
rage. When the hunger begins to bite, supermarkets, shops and
restaurants will be looted, and initially the media will not condemn the
looting. Unfortunately, this initial violence will only be the start of
a dangerous escalation.<br />
<br />
The ransacked supermarkets, convenience stores, ATMs and gas
stations will not be restocked during this period due to the precarious
security situation. A single truck loaded with food or gasoline would be
perceived to be a Fort Knox on wheels and subject to immediate attack
unless heavily protected by powerfully armed security forces, but such
forces will not be available during this chaotic period. Under those
conditions, resupply to the urban areas cannot and will not take place.
The downward spiral of social and economic dysfunction will therefore
both accelerate and spread from city to city. These delays, in turn,
will lead to more riots with the constant underlying demand that hungry
people be fed, one way or another.<br />
<br />
Catch-22, anyone? When these demands do not bring the desired
outcome, the participants will ratchet up the violence, hoping to force
action by the feckless state and national governments.<br />
The “food riots” will be a grass-roots movement of the moment
born out of hunger and desperation. It will not be dependent upon
leaders or an underlying organization, although they could certainly add
to the sauce. Existing cell phone technology provides all the
organization a flash mob needs. Most of the mobs will consist of
minority urban youths, termed MUYs in the rest of this essay. Which
minority doesn’t matter; each urban locale will come with its own unique
multi-ethnic dynamic.<br />
<br />
Some locales will divide upon religious or political lines,
but they will not be the dominant factors contributing to conflict. In
the American context, the divisions will primarily have an ethnic or
racial context, largely because that makes it easy to sort out the sides
at a safe distance. No need to check religious or political affiliation
at a hundred yards when The Other is of a different color.<br />
We Americans are all about doing things the easy way, so,
sadly, visible racial and ethnic features will form the predominant
lines of division.<br />
<br />
Would that it were not so, but reality is reality, even when it’s is a bitch.<br />
Especially then.<br />
<br />
<b><em>NEXT STEP: FLASH MOB RIOTS</em></b><br />
<br />
In order to highlight their grievances and escalate their
demands for an immediate resumption of government benefits, the MUY
flash mobs will next move their activities to the borders of their
ethnic enclaves. They will concentrate on major intersections and
highway interchanges where non-MUY suburban commuters must make daily
passage to and from what forms of employment still exist. People making a
living will still be using those roads to get to where they earn their
daily bread.<br />
<br />
The results of these clashes will frequently resemble the
intersection of Florence and Normandie during the Rodney King riots in
1992, where Reginald Denny was pulled out of his truck’s cab and beaten
nearly to death with a cinder block. If you don’t remember it, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRgaRtTURdY&feature=youtu.be">watch it on Youtube</a>.
Then imagine that scene with the mob-making accelerant of texting and
other social media technology added to stoke the fires. Instead of a few
dozen thugs terrorizing the ambushed intersections, in minutes there
will be hundreds.<br />
<br />
Rioters will throw debris such as shopping carts and trash
cans into the intersection, causing the more timid drivers to pause. The
mobs will swarm the lines of trapped cars once they have stopped.
Traffic will be forced into gridlock for blocks in all directions.
Drivers and passengers of the wrong ethnic persuasions will be pulled
from their vehicles to be beaten, robbed, and in some cases raped and/or
killed. It will be hyper-violent and overtly racial mob behavior, on a
massive and undeniable basis.<br />
<br />
Some of those trapped in their cars will try to drive out of
the area, inevitably knocking down MUY pedestrians and being trapped by
even more outraged MUYs. The commuters will be dragged out of their cars
and kicked or beaten to death. Other suburban commuters will try to
shoot their way out of the lines of stopped cars, and they will meet the
same grim fate once they run out of bullets and room to escape.<br />
<br />
The mob will be armed with everything from knives, clubs and
pistols to AK-47s. A bloodbath will result. These unlucky drivers and
their passengers will suffer horribly, and some of their deaths will be
captured on traffic web cameras. Later, these terrible scenes will be
released or leaked by sympathetic government insiders and shown by the
alternative media, which continue to expand as the traditional media
become increasingly irrelevant.<br />
<br />
Implausible, you insist?<br />
<br />
This grim tableau is my analysis of age-old human behavior
patterns, adding flash mobs and 2012 levels of racial anger to the old
recipe. Early-teenage MUYs today are frequently playing “<a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/the_knockout_game_racial_violence_and_the_conspicuous_silence_of_the_media.html">The Knockout Game</a>”
on full bellies, just for kicks, and proudly uploading the videos. They
and their older peers can be expected to do far worse when hunger and
the fear of starvation enter their physical, mental, and emotional
equations. The blame for their hunger will be turned outward against the
greater society, and will be vented at first hand against any non-MUY
who falls into their grasp while they are in the thrall of mob hysteria.
These episodes of mass psychology we will refer to as “flash mob
riots”, “<a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/man_admits_shooting_in_times_square_EtV2UkFBDVuDwNaOa35g7N">wilding</a>”, or some other new name.<br />
<br />
<b><em>THE OFFICIAL POLICE RESPONSE TO FLASH MOB RIOTS</em></b><br />
<br />
To gear up for even a single “Florence and Normandie on
steroids” flash mob street riot, city police departments will require an
hour or longer to stage their SWAT teams and riot squads in position to
react. Ordinary patrol cars in small numbers will not venture anywhere
near such roiling masses of hysterical rioters, not even to perform
rescues. Those citizens trapped in their cars cannot expect timely
assistance from local or state authorities.<br />
<br />
Even in the first days of widespread riots, when the police
forces are well rested, it might take several hours to mount a response
sufficient to quell the disturbance and restore order to even one major
street intersection riot. In the meantime, scores of innocent commuters
will have been attacked, with many of them injured or killed and left at
the scene. It will be a law enforcement nightmare to quell the
disturbance, mop up lingering rioters, restore security, and bring
medical attention to the living and get medical examiners to the dead.
And each jurisdiction will face potentially dozens of such scenes,
thanks to the ability for MUYs to cross-communicate at will using their
wireless devices.<br />
<br />
The far more difficult challenge for the police is that by
the time they are suited in riot gear, armed and geared up to sweep the
intersection, it will probably be empty of rioters. The police, with
their major riot squad reaction times measured in hours, will be
fighting flash mobs that materialize, cause mayhem, and evaporate in
only fractions of hours. This rapid cycle time is a clear lesson taken
from massive riots by <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/308duchp.asp">immigrant French Muslim MUYs in their own religious enclaves and bordering areas</a>.<br />
<br />
The American flash mob riot will exist almost entirely inside the law enforcement OODA (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop">observe, orient, decide, act</a>)
loop. In other words, the rioters will have a much quicker reaction
time than the police. Until fairly recently, superior police
communications meant that they could use their radio networks as a <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/force+multiplier">force multiplier</a>.
With their networking advantage and cohesive reactions both within a
department and among cooperating local agencies, police could act as
shepherds guiding or dispersing a wayward stampeding flock.<br />
<br />
Today, the mob has the greater advantage, immediately
spreading word of every police preparation by text and Tweet, even in
advance of the police movement. Attempts by the authorities to stop the
flash mobs by blocking and jamming wireless transmissions will have
limited success.<br />
<br />
It is at this point that the situation spirals out of control.<br />
<br />
The enraged mobs in urban America will soon recognize that
their spontaneous street riots cannot be stopped by the police, and then
they will grow truly fearsome. For the police, it will be a losing game
of Whack-a-Mole, with riots breaking out and dispersing at a speed they
cannot hope to match. The violence will spread to previously unaffected
cities as an awareness of law enforcement impotence is spread by
television and social media. After a few days, the police forces will be
exhausted and demoralized. As the violence intensifies and spreads, and
in the absence of any viable security arrangements, supermarkets and
other stores will not be restocked, leaving the MUYs even more desperate
and angry than before. The increasing desperation born of worsening
hunger will refuel the escalating spiral of violence.<br />
<br />
Nor will violent conflict be only between the inhabitants of
the urban areas and the suburbs. The international record of conflict in
tri-ethnic cities is grim, making the old bi-racial dichotomy formerly
seen in America seem stable by comparison. In tri-ethnic cities the
perceived balance of power is constantly shifting, with each side in
turn feeling outnumbered and outmuscled. Temporary truces, betrayals and
new alliances follow in rapid succession, removing any lingering sense
of social cohesion.<br />
<br />
The former Yugoslavia, with its Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim divisions, <a href="http://www.icty.org/sid/322">comes starkly to mind</a>.
The Lebanese Civil War between the Christians, Sunnis, Shiites and
Druze raged across Beirut (at one time known as “The Paris of the Middle
East”) for <a href="http://www.ghazi.de/civwar.html">fifteen brutal year</a>s.
Once a city turns on itself and becomes a runaway engine of
self-destruction, it can be difficult to impossible to switch off the
process and return to normal pre-conflict life. It’s not inconceivable
that the United States could produce a dozen Sarajevos or Beiruts,
primarily across racial instead of religious divides.<br />
Vehicle traffic by non-minority suburban commuters through
adjoining minority areas will virtually halt, wrecking what is left of
the local economy. Businesses will not open because employees will not
be able to travel to work safely. Businesses in minority areas, needless
to say, will be looted. “Gentrified” enclaves of affluent suburbanites
within or near the urban zones will suffer repeated attacks, until their
inhabitants flee.<br />
<br />
Radically disaffected minorities will hold critical
infrastructure corridors through their areas hostage against the greater
society. Highways, railroad tracks, pipe and power lines will all be
under constant threat, or may be cut in planned or unplanned acts of
raging against “the system.” As long as security in the urban areas
cannot be restored, these corridors will be under threat. Even airports
will not be immune. Many of them have been absorbed into urban areas,
and aircraft will come under sporadic fire while taking off and landing.<br />
<br />
In the absence of fresh targets of value blundering into
their areas, and still out of food, MUYs will begin to forage beyond
their desolated home neighborhoods and into suburban borderlands. “Safe”
supermarkets and other stores will be robbed in brazen commando-like
gang attacks. Carjackings and home invasions will proliferate madly. As I
have discussed in my essay “<a href="http://westernrifleshooters.blogspot.com/2010/07/bracken-cw2-cube-mapping-meta-terrain.htm">The Civil War Two Cube</a>,”
so-called “transitional” and mixed-ethnic areas will suffer the worst
violence. These neighborhoods will become utterly chaotic killing zones,
with little or no help coming from the overstretched police, who will
be trying to rest up for their next shift on riot squad duty, if they
have not already deserted their posts to take care of their own
families.<br />
<br />
<b><em>THE SUBURBAN ARMED VIGILANTE RESPONSE </em></b><br />
<br />
In the absence of an effective official police response to
the exploding levels of violence, suburbanites will first hastily form
self-defense forces to guard their neighborhoods—especially ones located
near ethnic borders. These ubiquitous neighborhood armed defense teams
will often have a deep and talented bench from which to select members,
and they will not lack for volunteers.<br />
<br />
Since 9-11, hundreds of thousands of young men (and more than
a few women) have acquired graduate-level educations in various aspects
of urban warfare. In the Middle East these troops were frequently
tasked with restoring order to urban areas exploding in internecine
strife. Today these former military men and women understand better than
anyone the life-or-death difference between being armed and organized
versus unarmed and disorganized.<br />
<br />
Hundreds of thousands if not millions of veterans currently
own rifles strikingly similar to those they carried in the armed forces,
lacking only the full-automatic selector switch. Their brothers,
sisters, parents, friends, and neighbors who did not serve in the
military are often just as familiar with the weapons, if not the
tactics. Today the AR-pattern rifle (the semi-automatic civilian version
of the familiar full-auto-capable M-16 or M-4) is the most popular
model of rifle in America, with millions sold in the past decade.
Virtually all of them produced in the past decade have abandoned the old
M-16’s signature “carrying handle” rear iron sight for a standardized
sight mounting rail, meaning that virtually every AR sold today can be
easily equipped with an efficient optical sight. Firing the
high-velocity 5.56×45 mm cartridge and mounted with a four-power
tactical sight, a typical AR rifle can shoot two-inch groups at one
hundred yards when fired from a steady bench rest. That translates to
shooting eight- to ten-inch groups at four hundred yards.<br />
<br />
Four hundred yards is a long walk. Pace it off on a straight
road, and observe how tiny somebody appears at that distance. Yet a
typical AR rifle, like those currently owned by millions of American
citizens, can hit a man-sized target at that range very easily, given a
stable firing platform and a moderate level of shooting ability.<br />
<br />
And there are a far greater number of scoped bolt-action
hunting rifles in private hands in the United States. Keep this number
in mind: based on deer stamps sold, approximately twenty million
Americans venture into the woods every fall armed with such rifles,
fully intending to shoot and kill a two-hundred-pound mammal. Millions
of these scoped bolt-action deer rifles are quite capable of hitting a
man-sized target at ranges out to and even beyond a thousand yards, or
nearly three-fifths of a mile. In that context, the 500-yard effective
range of the average semi-auto AR-pattern rifle is not at all
remarkable.<br />
<br />
So, we have millions of men and women with military training,
owning rifles similar to the ones they used in combat operations
overseas from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Many of these Soldiers and Marines
have special operations training. They are former warriors with
experience at conducting irregular warfare and counter-terrorism
operations in dangerous urban environments. They are the opposite of
unthinking robots: their greatest military talent is looking outside the
box for new solutions. They always seek to “over-match” their enemies,
using their own advantages as force multipliers while diminishing or
concealing their weaknesses. These military veterans are also ready,
willing and able to pass on their experience and training to interested
students in their civilian circles.<br />
<br />
Let’s return to our hypothetical Florence and Normandie
intersection, but this time with hundreds of rioters per city block,
instead of mere dozens. Among the mobs are thugs armed with pistols and
perhaps even AK-47s equipped with standard iron sights, and except in
rare cases, these rifles have never been “zeroed in” on a target range.
In other words, past a medium distance of fifty to a hundred yards,
these MUY shooters will have little idea where their fired bullets will
strike—nor will they care. Typically, most of the rioters armed with a
pistol, shotgun or an iron-sighted rifle could not hit a mailbox at a
hundred yards unless by luck. Inside that distance, any non-MUY could be
at immediate risk of brutal death at the hands of an enraged mob, but
beyond that range, the mob will pose much less danger.<br />
<br />
Taking this imbalance in effective ranges of the firearms
most likely to be available to both sides, certain tactical responses
are sure to arise, and ranking near the top will be the one described
next.<br />
<br />
<b><em>THE SNIPER AMBUSH: THE NEW TACTIC OF CHOICE</em></b><br />
<br />
The sniper ambush will predictably be used as a counter to
rampaging mobs armed only with short- to medium-range weapons. This
extremely deadly trick was developed by our war fighters in Iraq and
Afghanistan, taking advantage of the significant effective range and
firepower of our scoped 5.56mm rifles. Tactics such as the sniper ambush
may not be seen early in the civil disorder, but they will surely arise
after a steady progression of atrocities attributed to rampaging MUYs.<br />
Street intersection flash mob riots will not be the only type
of violence exploding during periods of civil disorder. As mentioned
earlier, the number and ferocity of home invasions will skyrocket, and
they will be very hard to defend against. Neighborhood self-defense
forces will be able to protect a group of homes if they are located on
cul-de-sacs or in defensible subdivisions with limited entrances,
turning them overnight into fortified gated communities. Individual
homes and apartment buildings located in open grid-pattern neighborhoods
with outside access from many directions will be much more difficult to
defend, and the home invasions will continue.<br />
<br />
Carjacking and other forms of armed robbery will proliferate
to previously unimagined levels, leading to a total loss of confidence
in the government’s ability to provide security across all social lines.
Stray bullets striking pedestrians or penetrating houses will take a
frightening toll, even in areas previously considered to be safe. The
police will be exhausted by constant riot-squad duty, and will not even
respond to reports of mere individual acts of violent criminality. They
will simply be overwhelmed, and will be forced to triage their
responses. The wealthy, powerful and politically well-connected will
demand the lion’s share of remaining police resources, further
diminishing the safety of average Americans.<br />
<br />
In that context, neighborhood self-defense forces will form
the nucleus of the armed vigilante direct action groups which will
spring up next in the progression. Suburban anger will continue to build
against the MUYs, who are perceived to be the originators of the home
invasions and gang-level armed looting raids. Survivors of street
ambushes, carjackings and home invasions will tell blood-curdling tales
and show horrific scars.<br />
<br />
The neighborhood defense teams will evolve into proactive
suburban armed vigilante groups (SAVs) out of a desire to preemptively
take the violence to their perceived enemies, instead of passively
waiting for the next home invasion or carjacking. The SAV teams will
consist of the more aggressive and gung-ho members of the self-defense
forces, who met and compared notes. Often they will be young men with
recent combat experience in the armed forces, who will apply their
military training to the new situation. Major intersections and highway
interchanges where ambush riots have previously occurred will be among
the SAV targets. The SAV reaction times will be measured in minutes,
compared to the hours required by major police department SWAT teams and
riot squads.<br />
<br />
<b><em>A SAMPLE SNIPER AMBUSH SCENARIO</em></b><br />
<br />
When word is received that a flash mob is forming at one of
their pre-reconnoitered intersections or highway interchanges, the SAV
team will assemble. Sometimes cooperating police will pass tactical
intel to their civilian friends on the outside. Some clever individuals
will have exploited their technical know-how and military experience to
build real-time intel collection tools, such as <a href="http://diydrones.com/">private UAVs</a>.
Police will have access to urban security camera footage showing MUYs
moving barricade materials into position—a normal prerequisite to a
flash mob riot intended to stop traffic. Tip-offs to the vigilantes will
be common, and where the networks are still functioning, citizens may
still be able to access some video feeds. Sometimes, police will even
join the SAV teams, incognito and off-duty, blurring the teams into
so-called “death squads.”<br />
<br />
The operation I will describe (and it’s only one of dozens
that will be tried) uses two ordinary pickup trucks and eight fighters.
Two riflemen are lying prone in the back of each truck, facing rearward,
with removable canvas covers concealing their presence. Their
semi-automatic, scoped rifles are supported at their front ends on
bipods for very accurate shooting. A row of protective sandbags a foot
high is between them and the raised tailgate.<br />
<br />
In the cab are a driver and a spotter in the passenger seat
who also serves as the vehicle’s 360-degree security. The two trucks
don’t ever appear on the same stretch of road, but coordinate their
movements using one-word brevity codes over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service">small FRS walkie-talkie radios</a>.
Each truck has a series of predetermined elevated locations where the
intersection in question will lie between 200 and 500 yards away. Each
truck is totally nondescript and forgettable, the only detail perhaps
being the non-MUY ethnicity of the suburbanite driver and spotter
driving relatively near to a riot in progress.<br />
<br />
By the time the two SAV pickup trucks arrive at their firing
positions on different streets and oriented ninety degrees to one
another, the flash mob riot is in full swing. A hundred or more of the
rampaging youths are posturing and throwing debris into traffic in order
to intimidate some cars into stopping. The riflemen in the backs of the
pickups are waiting for this moment and know what to expect, trusting
their spotters and drivers to give them a good firing lane. The spotters
in each truck issue a code word on their radios when they are in final
position. The tailgates are swung down, and the leader among the
riflemen initiates the firing. All-around security is provided by the
driver and spotter.<br />
<br />
Lying prone and using their bipods for support, the shooters
have five to ten degrees of pan or traverse across the entire
intersection. Individual rioters are clearly visible in the shooters’
magnified optical scopes. Each of the four snipers has a plan to shoot
from the outside of the mob toward the middle, driving participants into
a panicked mass. The left-side shooters start on the left side and work
to the middle, engaging targets with rapid fire, about one aimed shot
per two seconds. Since the two trucks are set at ninety degrees to one
another, very complete coverage will be obtained, even among and between
the stopped vehicles.<br />
<br />
The result is a turkey shoot. One magazine of thirty aimed
shots per rifle is expended in under a minute, a coded cease-fire is
called on the walkie-talkies, and the trucks drive away at the speed
limit. The canvas covering the truck beds contains the shooters’ spent
brass. If the trucks are attacked from medium or close range, the canvas
can be thrown back and the two snipers with their semi-automatic rifles
or carbines will add their firepower to that of the driver and spotter.<br />
Back at the intersection, complete panic breaks out among the
rioters as a great number of bullets have landed in human flesh. Over a
score have been killed outright, and many more scream in pain for
medical attention they will not receive in time. The sniper ambush stops
the flash mob cold in its tracks as the uninjured flee in terror,
leaving their erstwhile comrades back on the ground bleeding. The
commuters trapped in their vehicles may have an opportunity to escape.<br />
<br />
This type of sniper ambush and a hundred variations on the
theme will finally accomplish what the police could not: put an end to
mobs of violent rioters making the cities through-streets and highways
impassible killing zones. Would-be rioters will soon understand it to be
suicidal to cluster in easily visible groups and engage in mob
violence, as the immediate response could come at any time in the form
of aimed fire from hundreds of yards away. Even one rifleman with a
scoped semi-auto can break up a medium-sized riot.<br />
<br />
Many citizens will take to carrying rifles and carbines in
their vehicles, along with their pistols, so that if their cars are
trapped in an ambush they will have a chance to fight their way out. If
their vehicle is stopped outside the immediate area of the flash mob,
they will be able to direct accurate fire at the rioters from a few
hundred yards away. Inside the fatal hundred-yard radius, unlucky
suburbanite drivers and passengers pulled from their cars will still be
brutally violated, but the occurrences of large mob-driven street
ambushes will be much less frequent once long-range retaliation becomes a
frequent expectation.<br />
<br />
<b><em>THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO VIGILANTISM</em></b><br />
<br />
Where they will be unable to respond swiftly or effectively
to the outbreaks of street riots by MUY flash mobs, the police and
federal agents will respond vigorously to the deadly but smaller
vigilante attacks. These sniper ambushes and other SAV attacks will be
called acts of domestic terrorism and mass murder by government
officials and the mainstream media. A nearly seamless web of urban and
suburban street cameras will reveal some of the SAV teams by their
vehicles, facial recognition programs, and other technical means. Some
early arrests will be made, but the vigilantes will adapt to increasing
law enforcement pressure against them by becoming cleverer about their
camouflage, most often using stolen cars and false uniforms and masks
during their direct-action missions. Observe Mexico today for ideas on
how this type of dirty war is fought.<br />
<br />
Eventually, the U.S. Army itself might be called upon to put
out all the social firestorms in our cities, restore order and security,
pacify the angry masses, feed the starving millions, get vital
infrastructure operating again, and do it all at once in a dozen
American Beiruts, Sarajevos and Mogadishus.<br />
<br />
Good luck to them, I say.<br />
<br />
A few hundred “Active IRA” tied down thousands of British
troops in one corner of a small island for decades. The same ratios have
served the Taliban well over the past decade while fighting against the
combined might of NATO. Set aside for a moment the angry starving
millions trapped in the urban areas, and the dire security issues
arising thereof. Just to consider the official reaction to vigilantism
separately, it’s unlikely that any conceivable combinations of local and
state police, federal law enforcement, National Guard or active-duty
Army actions could neutralize or eliminate tens of thousands of former
special operations troops intent on providing their own form of
security. Millions of Americans are already far better armed and trained
than a few hundred IRA or Taliban ever were. And the police and Army
would not be operating from secure fire bases, their families living in
total safety thousands of miles away in a secure rear area. In this
scenario, there is no rear area, and every family member, anywhere,
would be at perpetual risk of reprisal actions by any of the warring
sides.<br />
<br />
In this hyper-dangerous environment, new laws forbidding the
carrying of firearms in vehicles would be ignored as the illegitimate
diktat of dictatorship, just when the Second Amendment is needed more
than ever. Police or military conducting searches for firearms at
checkpoints would themselves become targets of vigilante snipers.
Serving on anti-firearms duty would be seen as nothing but pure treason
by millions of Americans who took the oath to defend the Constitution,
including the Bill of Rights. Politicians who did not act in the
security interest of their local constituents as a result of political
correctness or other reasons would also be targeted.<br />
<br />
A festering race war with police and the military in the
middle taking fire from both sides could last for many years, turning
many American cities into a living hell. Remember history: when the
British Army landed in Northern Ireland in 1969, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/14/newsid_4075000/4075437.stm">they were greeted with flowers and applause from the Catholics</a>.
The Tommys were welcomed as peacekeepers who would protect them from
Protestant violence. That soon changed. Likewise with our <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/usmnf.htm">tragic misadventure in Lebanon back in 1982 and 1983</a>.
Well-intended referees often find themselves taking fire from all
sides. It’s as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. Why would it be any
different when the U.S. Army is sent to Los Angeles, Chicago or
Philadelphia to break apart warring ethnic factions?<br />
<br />
For a long time after these events, it will be impossible for
the warring ethnic groups to live together or even to mingle
peacefully. Too much rage and hatred will have been built up on all
sides of our many American multi-ethnic fault lines. The new wounds will
be raw and painful for many years to come, as they were in the South
for long after the Civil War. The fracturing of the urban areas, divided
by no-man’s-lands, will also hinder economic redevelopment for many
years because the critical infrastructure corridors will remain
insecure.<br />
<br />
Eventually, high concrete “Peace Walls” like those in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, will be installed where the different ethnic
groups live in close proximity. That is, if recovery to sane and
civilized norms of behavior are ever regained in our lifetimes and we
don’t slide into a new Dark Age, a stern and permanent tyranny,
warlordism, anarchy, or any other dire outcome.<br />
Dark Ages can last for centuries, after sinking civilizations
in a vicious, downward vortex. “When the music’s over, turn out the
lights,” to quote Jim Morrison of The Doors. Sometimes the lights stay
out for a long time. Sometimes civilization itself is lost. Millions of
EBT cards flashing zeroes might be the signal event of a terrible
transformation.<br />
<br />
It is a frightening thing to crystallize the possible
outbreak of mass starvation and racial warfare into words, so that the
mind is forced to confront agonizingly painful scenarios. It is much
easier to avert one’s eyes and mind from the ugliness with politically
correct Kumbaya bromides. In this grim essay, I am describing a brutal
situation of ethnic civil war not differing much from the worst scenes
from recent history in Rwanda, South Africa, Mexico, Bosnia, Iraq, and
many other places that have experienced varying types and degrees of
societal collapse. We all deplore the conditions that might drive us
toward such a hellish outcome, and we should work unceasingly to return
America to the path of true brotherhood, peace and prosperity. Race
hustlers of every stripe should be condemned.<br />
<br />
Most of us wish we could turn back the calendar to Norman
Rockwell’s America. But we cannot, for that America is water long over
the dam and gone from our sight, if not from our memories. John Adams
said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” If that is
true, judging by current and even accelerating cultural shifts, we might
already have passed the point of no return.<br />
The prudent American will trim his sails accordingly.<br />
<br />
<em>Matt Bracken is the author of “<a href="http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/bracken-when-the-music-stops-how-americas-cities-may-explode-in-violence/">When The Music Stops</a>” and other essays in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Bracken-Anthology-Matthew-ebook/dp/B00A4SCLKK">The Bracken Anthology</a>, the <a href="http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/"><em>Enemies Foreign And Domestic</em> trilogy</a>, and his latest novel, <em><a href="http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/index.php?page=cce">Castigo Cay</a></em>.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Editor’s Note – 0900 EDT 14 SEPT 2012: Per Matt’s request, the
second paragraph has been edited slightly to reflect the more probable
government actions regarding EBT cards.</em><br />
<em>Editor’s Note – 0210 EDT 16 SEPT 2012: I have taken the liberty
of taking Matt’s note below, originally posted at the end of “Coup”, and
placing it here so that new readers would learn of that related essay.</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em>Author’s Note: This essay and last week’s “<a href="http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/what-i-saw-at-the-coup/">What I Saw At The Coup</a>” were both written in response to the article published on July 25, 2012 in the semi-official </em>Small Wars Journal<em> titled “<a href="http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/full-spectrum-operations-in-the-homeland-a-%E2%80%9Cvision%E2%80%9D-of-the-future">Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A Vision of the Future</a>.”</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><em>My twin essays represent starkly different “visions of
the future” that would-be tyrants, their hopeful henchmen and other
self-deluded nimrods may want to consider, before ordering the U.S.
military or federal agencies to suppress Americans.</em></strong><br />
</div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-25192263801144324342014-12-12T12:54:00.000-08:002014-12-12T12:54:17.693-08:00Why Rockefellers Aim at Destroying Farmers Worldwide?
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<a href="http://journal-neo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/garden-tilling-4-22.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="24234777" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-17922" height="252" src="http://journal-neo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/garden-tilling-4-22-300x189.jpg" width="400" /></a> Guest Post by <span class="author"><a href="http://journal-neo.org/author/william-engdahl/">William Engdahl</a></span></div>
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<span class="author"></span></div>
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For
the better part of the past century Western pop culture has
systematically denigrated and devalued what should be the most honored
profession of all. Those who labor with the land, day-in and day-out, to
deliver the food that we eat have assumed a social status too often
similar to the dirt of the soil they till. No one stops to ask a simple
question: What do we do when we have killed off all our farmers?</div>
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Some of the more naïve city-dwellers
would retort with little reflection, “But we have industrialized food
production; we don’t need manual farm labor today.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Indeed, the numbers are impressive.</div>
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Let’s take my homeland, the United
States of America. In 1950, a time of general prosperity and strong
economic growth, the total US population was 151,132,000 and the farm
population was 25,058,000 making farmers just over 12% of the total
labor force. There were 5,388,000 farms with an average size of about 87
hectares. Forty years later, in 1990, the year the Soviet Union
collapsed and the Cold War ended, the USA had a total population of
261,423,000 of which the farm population numbered just under three
million, 2,987,552, making farmers a mere 2.6% of the total labor force.
The number of farms had shrunk to only 2,143,150, a loss of 60%, but
because of industrial concentration, average size was 187 <a href="https://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/1990_2000.htm" target="_blank">hectares.</a></div>
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<strong>Rockefeller’s Agribusiness Revolution</strong></div>
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What we are told, those of us whose
relation to meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables ends at the supermarket,
is that this is a great progress, the liberation of almost 23 million
farm workers to get city jobs and live a better life.</div>
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It isn’t that simple.</div>
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We are not told the true effects on food
quality that has been created by the mechanization and
industrialization of food production in America since the Harvard
Business School, on a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, began what
they termed “agribusiness,” the conversion of our food supply into a
pure for-profit vertically integrated business modelled on the
Rockefeller oil cartel.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The raising of hogs, dairy cows, beef
cattle, chicken all became industrialized gradually after the 1950’s in
the USA. The baby chicks were confined to spaces so tiny they could
barely stand. To make them get fat faster, the owners would pump them
full of antibiotics and feed them a diet of GMO corn and soya meal.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 80 percent of all
antibiotics sold in the United States are for use on livestock and
poultry, not humans. The majority are given to animals mixed in their
food or water to speed growth. After all, time is money.</div>
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The traditional family farmer, of the
sort my late grandfather was in North Dakota prior to the First World
War, was driven largely from the land by USDA Government policy, policy
that favored industrialization regardless of the quality of food
nutrient that resulted. Tractors became computerized, mammoth machines
driven by GPS. One such tractor could work remotely and do the work of
many farmers of old.</div>
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The result was financially fabulous….for
the industry owners—ADM, Cargill, Monsanto, for the packagers like
Kraft Foods, Kelloggs, Nestle, Unilever, Toepfer, Maggi. The American
Rockefeller-Harvard “agribusiness” business model was globalized,
beginning with the GATT negotiations of the Uruguay Round of trade
liberalization in the late 1980s where the EU dropped much of its
traditional protection of domestic farmers in favor of free trade in
agriculture products.</div>
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During the late 1980’s as the Uruguay
Round of GATT trade negotiations was about to give US agribusiness
giants what they wanted—freedom to rape the EU and other protected
agriculture markets with their highly efficient products, to destroy
millions of EU farmers who had farmed with a passion for generations, I
went to Brussels to make a background interview as a journalist with a
high-level EU Commission bureaucrat responsible for agriculture. He was
an apparently well-educated, multi-lingual bureaucrat, Danish-born as he
noted. He argued in defense of free trade by declaring, “Why should I
pay taxes from Denmark so that Bavarian farmers on their tiny plots of
land can remain in business?”</div>
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The answer, which I kept to myself then,
was simply because the traditional family farmer is uniquely suited to
mediate with nature and us to produce food that is healthy for humans
and animals to eat. No machine can replace the personal dedication or
passion that I have seen again and again in every farmer I have met who
truly cares about his livestock or crops.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now the very same very rich and very
loveless people, I call them the American Oligarchs, are systematically
doing everything to destroy the human food quality. Clearly in my view,
they are doing so with a goal of mass population reduction. There is no
other reason the Rockefeller Foundation would spend hundreds of millions
of (tax exempt) dollars to create GMO techniques, to support Monsanto
and other chemical giants like DuPont, clearly knowing they are slowly
poisoning the population to an early death.</div>
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<strong>Depressing pesticides</strong></div>
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This has been demonstrated in
independent tests regarding the toxic effects on animals and even human
cells in an embryo. Now, independent even of GMO crops, new tests show
that ordinary pesticide chemicals sprayed by farm workers or farmers on
crops cause neurological damage—depression, Parkinsons’ and even
suicide—to the farmers or farm workers using the deadly chemicals.</div>
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The US National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences in their landmark Agricultural Health
Study studied a group of 89,000 farmers and other pesticide applicators
in Iowa and North Carolina. The mammoth study concluded that, “use of
two pesticide classes, fumigants and organochlorine insecticides, and
seven individual pesticides—the fumigants aluminum phosphide and
ethylene dibromide; the phenoxy herbicide (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic
acid (2,4,5-T); the organochlorine insecticide dieldrin; and the
organophosphate insecticides diazinon, malathion, and parathion—were all
positively associated with depression in <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/why-rockefellers-aim-at-destroying-farmers-worldwide/%20http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307450" target="_blank">each case group.”</a></div>
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The study showed that farmers with the
highest number of lifetime exposure days to pesticides were 50 percent
more likely to later have a depression <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-rates-of-suicide-depression-linked-to-farmers-use-of-pesticides/" target="_blank">diagnosis</a>.</div>
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The research linked long-term use of
pesticides to higher rates of depression and suicide. Evidence also
suggests that pesticide poisoning – a heavy dose in a short amount of
time – doubles the risk of depression.</div>
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After suppressing the effects among farm
families for years about the resulting depression and related
neurological symptoms, farmers and their families have begun speaking
out. Lorann Stallones, an epidemiologist and psychology professor at
Colorado State University says, “There’s been a shift – partly because
there’s more people talking about being mentally <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-rates-of-suicide-depression-linked-to-farmers-use-of-pesticides/" target="_blank">incapacitated</a>.”</div>
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Epidemiologist Freya Kamel and her
colleagues reported that among 19,000 studied, “those who used two
classes of pesticides and seven individual pesticides were more likely
to have been diagnosed with depression. Those who used organochlorine
insecticides were up to 90 percent more likely to have been diagnosed
with depression than those who hadn’t used them. For fumigants, the
increased risk was <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-rates-of-suicide-depression-linked-to-farmers-use-of-pesticides/" target="_blank">up to 80 percent.</a>”</div>
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In France, farmers who used herbicides
were nearly twice as likely to have been treated for depression as those
who didn’t use herbicides, according to a study published in 2013. The
study of 567 French farmers found that the risk was even greater when
the <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-rates-of-suicide-depression-linked-to-farmers-use-of-pesticides/" target="_blank">herbicide applicators</a> had been doing it for more than 19 years.</div>
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In short, we are destroying the
nutritional value of the food we eat and slowly destroying the remaining
farmers responsible for cultivating that. It is a recipe for the
ultimate extinction of life on the planet as we know it. No, that is not
an exaggeration.</div>
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I firmly believe that honest,
nature-conscious organic farmers ought to receive significant tax breaks
to encourage other farmers to leave the grotesque agribusiness model
behind and return to growing or raising honest food again as they did
only a few short decades ago. And severely high taxation ought to be
imposed on farmers who use proven toxic chemicals like Roundup by
Monsanto or the neonicotinoids like Bayer AG’s Confidor, Gaucho or
Advocate, or Poncho, or Syngenta’s Actara, Platinum or Cruiser to name
just the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonicotinoid" target="_blank">most sold</a>.</div>
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Right now our regulators in the EU and
USA do everything to discourage that, something actually quite stupid,
unless, of course, some loveless, power-addicted oligarchs sitting atop
their mountain, looking contemptuously down on us normal folk, have
decided that’s just what they desire. If so, it’s up to us to stop
looking up to those on the mountain and look at what we ourselves have
accepted as normal, that is slowly killing us and the farmers who feed
us. Maybe the time has come to change that unhealthy situation.</div>
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<em><strong>F. William Engdahl is
strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics
from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and
geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine <a href="http://journal-neo.org/" target="_blank">“New Eastern Outlook”</a></strong></em></div>
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<em><strong><span id="ctrlcopy"><br /></span><a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/why-rockefellers-aim-at-destroying-farmers-worldwide/"></a></strong></em></div>
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NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-18791734140052770092014-12-12T12:49:00.000-08:002014-12-12T12:49:10.345-08:00Project Coast: Who’s Behind the Recent Ebola Outbreak?
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<a href="http://journal-neo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/43242388.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="43242388" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-17937" height="266" src="http://journal-neo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/43242388-300x200.jpg" width="400" /></a><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1935" lang="en-US"> </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1936" style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1935" lang="en-US">Guest Post by </span><span class="author"><a href="http://journal-neo.org/author/vladimir-platov/">Vladimir Platov<span id="ctrlcopy"><br /></span></a><a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/rus-e-bola-kto-vinovat-v-ee-vspy-shke/"><br /></a></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1936" style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1935" lang="en-US">The
report issued by the World Health Organization states that the current
Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most complex since the
detection of the virus in 1976. This outbreak has reached an all time
high in both the number infected with the virus and those deceased from
it than in all the previous outbreaks combined. The outbreak started in
March 2014 in Guinea and it soon jumped across the border to Sierra
Leone and Liberia, and then the infected brought the virus via air and
land transport to Nigeria and Senegal. But this time around, the virus
was not simply spreading across Africa, but it had managed to reach
other continents.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1936" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="en-US">However, if one is to
study the facts carefully, then a question arises: how is it that a
virus that was first identified in 1976 “suddenly” became so active and
able to spread across the African continent and beyond?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">To get an answer one
must study the history of US secret experiments in this area, although
Washington strives to hide it from public attention.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="en-US">As follows from leaked files and a number of media publications, the Ebola virus had been extensively<a href="http://le-blog-sam-la-touch.over-blog.com/2014/08/project-coast-et-bioterrorisme-lorsque-les-usa-fournissaient-virus-ebola-et-marburg-a-l-afrique-du-sud.html" target="_blank"> studied back in 1980</a> in South Africa as a potential biological weapon. This project that goes under the codename <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projet_Coast" target="_blank">Project Coast </a>was launched by </span><span lang="en-US">Dr. Wouter Basson, also known as <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/06/03/doctor-who-ran-biowarfare-unit-faces-sentencing/" target="_blank">“Dr. Death”</a></span><span lang="en-US">,
who practiced medicine in South Africa during apartheid times and was a
personal physician to Pieter Willem Botha, who was the sitting prime
minister of South Africa at that time. The project aimed at creating
biological and chemical weapons, which were to destroy or sterilize the
black population, bringing death to all the political <a href="http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/south_africa/index.html" target="_blank">opponents of apartheid</a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">In principle, the
idea behind Project Coast, is not new. As reported in a recent
publication of The Age magazine, an Australian microbiologist and Nobel
laureate Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet urged the Australian government to
develop biological weapons against “over-populated countries of
Southeast Asia” in 1947. During a secret meeting in 1947 with The New
Weapons and Equipment Development Committee microbiologists recommended
“to form a research group tasked to create biological weapons that could
be unleashed by contaminating foods supplies in order to control the
population of Indonesia and other Asian countries.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1932" style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1931" lang="en-US">Among
the components for the new biological weapons developed under Project
Coast, the United States picked Marburg and Ebola fever viruses whose
strains were shipped to a secret laboratory in South Africa. A report
titled “The Rollback of South Africa’s Chemical and Biological Warfare
Program,” that was published in 2001 by Dr. Stephen F. Burgess, a
professor of the Department of International Security Studies, US Air
War College, and Helen E. Purkitt, a professor of international
relations at the U.S. Naval Academy, states that back in 1984, the US
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shipped eight tubes with Ebola and
Marburg strains to South Africa. These authors behind the report claim
that not only were the CIA and MI6 informed about Project Coast, but the
Bush administration and Margaret Thatcher were as well.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418281891410_1932" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bioweapons expert Jeanne Guillemin wrote
in her book “Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored
Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism,” that “the project‘s growth years
were from 1982 to 1987, when it developed a range of biological agents
(such as those for anthrax, cholera, and the Marburg and Ebola viruses
and for botulism toxin)…“</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">The history of
Basson’s project is surrounded by profound mystery. As he himself stated
in front of the Supreme Court of Appeal: “CIA agents in Pretoria
threatened me with death in two steps from the US embassy entrance on
Schoeman Street, they demanded me to keep the details of our studies a
secret.” According to an article published in 2001 in New Yorker, the US
Embassy in Pretoria was fairly terrified by the prospect that Basson
could reveal the role Washington played in Project Coast.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">In 2013, Basson, dubbed “Doctor Death” by the South African media, was <a href="http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/south_africa/index.html" target="_blank">found guilty</a> of unprofessional conduct by the Health Professions Council of South Africa.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">As for the actual
prosecution of “Doctor Death”, in 2002, after thirty months of trial,
when a total of 150 witnesses were heard and 40,000 documents were
presented to the court that proved Wouter Basson was involved in
numerous cases of poisoning and flat-out slaughter during the apartheid
era, as while being connected to the deaths of more than 2,000 South
Africans, the the Supreme Court of Appeal failed to find any offense in
his actions.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">Biological weapons
program led by Doctor Basson saw its end in 1994, but no independent
verification of the actual destruction of pathogenic strains has ever
been provided. A direct order to destroy all strains was issued directly
to Dr. Basson, but according to the Wall Street Journal, the actual
destruction of virus strains depended solely on his honesty.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">Basson pointed out
that he had contacts with a number of Western agencies that were
providing “moral and other forms of support” to Project Coast. In
particular, in an interview for the documentary “Anthrax War,” Basson
repeatedly claimed that he met Dr. David Kelly, the prominent UN weapons
inspector that visited Iraq (Kelly was a high level UK expert on
biological weapons).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">Some may find it suspicious</span> <span lang="en-US">that
once the investigation of the Project Coast began Dr. David Kelly was
found dead near his house in Oxfordshire in 2003. As for the causes of
death, the official version put forward by the British authorities
states that Kelly committed suicide. However, medical experts had
serious doubts about this fact. In addition, a Mail Online article
published in 2007 specified that a week before his death Dr. Kelly was
to be questioned by MI5 concerning his ties with Dr. Basson due to the
rise of public discontent of the criminal nature of Project Coast and
the degree of British involvement in it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">The suspicions about
the connection of the latest Ebola outbreak in Africa and the “research
work” that “Doctor Death” carried out in South Africa were expressed by
the Ghana Times newspaper in September. Earlier, a similar statement was
made by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health Dr. Timothy Stamps, when he
underlined that Zimbabwe became the target of biological weapons tests
that had been developed by </span><span lang="en-US">Wouter</span><span lang="en-US"> Basson.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">The Commission that
was studying the crimes committed in South Africa in the 1970s and
1980s, led by Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, confirmed that more than a
thousand people were killed during the apartheid era in South Africa,
not only as a result of arrests, torture and assassinations but also by
biological weapons tests.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">It should be noted
that the leakage of harmful strains studied in secret laboratories that
operated under the direct control of Washington in different countries
has already become a pattern. In June more than 80 scientists and
regular employees were exposed to anthrax in a secret biological
laboratory in <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/06/03/doctor-who-ran-biowarfare-unit-faces-sentencing/" target="_blank">Atlanta US</a>,
due to carelessness. This accident has not simply presented a threat to
their health and lives, but could potentially trigger an epidemic of
this extremely dangerous disease. Similar incidents are occurring in
other countries where secret Pentagon and US intelligence laboratories
are trying to develop new types of biological weapons in violation of
the “Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and
Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on
their Destruction” that was signed back in 1972 only to enable
Washington to establish its own “control” over microbiological studies .</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">The troubling fact is
that the number of such biological laboratories has been increasing for
years. Back in 2006 their number reached 400 laboratories which were
designed to facilitate the “war on terror”, Washington is actively
redeploying such research laboratories to third-world countries where
there’s a possibility to study the effectiveness of viruses aimed at
different animals and local populations. In case of a possible military
confrontation in a region, the effect of such viruses can be devastating
for the region. Thus, in Ukraine alone, where the risks of regional
contamination with lethal viruses is extremely high due to ongoing
political instability one can find 11 such laboratories, some of them
are deployed in contested areas. For this reason, one shouldn’t be
surprised by the recent outbreak of anthrax in the Odessa region in the
spring and summer of this year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">Hundreds of such
laboratories exist in other countries, particularly in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, India, Iraq, Tanzania, South Africa,
Central and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="en-US">In this regard, the increasing amount of reports on Pentagon’s involvement in the <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/06/03/doctor-who-ran-biowarfare-unit-faces-sentencing/" target="_blank">Ebola outbreak</a> is not surprising, neither are the claims that Pentagon experts have already found “the effective cure” for this <a href="http://covvha.net/monsanto-invests-in-ebola-virus-with-d-o-d/" target="_blank">disease</a></span><span lang="ru-RU">.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="ru-RU"><span id="ctrlcopy"><br />First appeared: <a href="http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/rus-e-bola-kto-vinovat-v-ee-vspy-shke/">http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/11/rus-e-bola-kto-vinovat-v-ee-vspy-shke/</a></span></span></div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-22435702151028515842014-12-12T12:43:00.000-08:002014-12-12T12:43:49.750-08:00America’s Illusion of Free Will <br />
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<br />
The mainstream U.S. news media’s narrow parameters, especially on
foreign policy issues, give the American people little opportunity to
engage in meaningful debate or to influence outcomes. Typically, public
perceptions are managed and consensus is manufactured, as Lawrence
Davidson writes.<br />
<br />
<span id="more-13397"></span>By <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2014/12/11/americas-illusion-of-free-will/">Lawrence Davidson</a><br />
<br />
Most Americans believe they have a range of choices in their daily
lives and that they may choose among them freely. That is, they
intuitively believe that their choices are made autonomously and without
outside interference.<br />
<br />
They would probably be surprised to learn that what they take for
granted in this regard, the exercise of what is called free will, is a
hotly debated topic among learned men and women in fields of study as
widely separated as physics, philosophy and theology.<br />
<br />
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_7910" style="width: 246px;">
<a class="image-anchor" href="https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/bush-flightsuit.jpg"><img alt="President George W. Bush in a flight suit after landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln to give his "Mission Accomplished" speech about the Iraq War. " class="size-medium wp-image-7910" height="300" src="https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/bush-flightsuit-236x300.jpg" width="236" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">President
George W. Bush in a flight suit after landing on the USS Abraham
Lincoln on May 1, 2003, to give his “Mission Accomplished” speech about
the Iraq War.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
For instance, many physicists are convinced that if one could know
the position and momentum of all the atoms in the universe, one could
accurately predict the future behavior of those atoms (including the
ones that make up you and me). Of course, one cannot acquire that sort
of total knowledge, but the proposition does call into question free
will in principle.<br />
<br />
Philosophers, in their turn, have debated whether free will is
compatible with a natural world where cause and effect is the prevailing
physical mechanism. And theologians have spent an equal amount of time
trying to figure out how free will can coexist with their assumed
omniscient and omnipotent God.<br />
<br />
One doesn’t have to have a graduate degree in physics, philosophy or
theology to question the notions that people have a wide range of
choices and the unfettered will to choose among them. A close
consideration of our social and cultural milieu reveals strong
deterministic influences – particularly the mass media and its engines
of advertising and selective news dissemination.<br />
<br />
How many individual daily decisions are determined by some degree of
media manipulation? Well, for many they can include what we eat, what we
wear, how we entertain ourselves, how we groom ourselves, even whether
we feel safe or unsafe (and buy or don’t buy that burglar alarm).<br />
<br />
Those who use the media to try to sway our behavior declare that they
are simply providing information that allows informed choices or, as
one pro-advertising web site says, “<a href="http://www.valueofadvertising.org/benefits-consumers-choice.php">advertising ensures </a>that we don’t have to settle for second best. It helps us exercise our right to choose.”<br />
<br />
However, this is problematic. Advertisers seek to restrict choice,
not broaden it and ultimately they want to determine the choice for you.
So, generally, what you see as a range of choices is really limited
options within a predetermined context – the context of the marketplace.
And your freedom of choice? Your choice may well be made on the basis
of which product sponsor is most effective in manipulating your
perceptions.<br />
This is media determinism in action and it has proven very successful. U.S. <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-good-advertising-works-even-when-you-think-it-doesnt/244252/">businesses spend</a>
some $70 billion a year on TV advertising alone. And, as one ad
executive comments, “companies would not invest [that much money] in
something they thought didn’t work.”<br />
<br />
This is discouraging news for those who believe in the everyday
consumer’s freedom of choice, though indeed this sort of media
persuasion leads to death and destruction only occasionally (think
anorexia). There are, however, other categories of our lives where media
determinism is much more likely to lead us right off the proverbial
cliff, i.e., in politics and issues of war or peace.<br />
<br />
<b>Media Determinism: Political</b><br />
<br />
Given the ubiquitous presence of the media and its influence, the use
of persuasive advertising has long since found its way into the realms
of politics and policy promotion. Once again, the object is to limit
choices, in this case by shutting down debate that is outside an
acceptable frame, and thereby sweep you along with enthusiasm or
resignation to adopt one of the allowed choices.<br />
<br />
You would think that when it comes to choosing political leaders and
deciding between war or peace, the public would deserve information
approaching objectivity. This is exactly what they never get.<br />
For instance, political campaign promises and party platforms are
almost never scrutinized by the media, nor does the media point out that
they are only rarely translated into post-election blueprints for
action. Instead the media present manipulated information, mostly in the
form of expensive campaign ads, as data upon which to base voter
choices.<br />
<br />
Millions are swayed by these ads and millions more, recognizing the
vacuous quality of the undertaking, opt out of the political process
altogether. The former play inside a manipulated game with severely
limited choices; often the latter unhappily acquiesce to the prevailing
system because challenging it seems pointless. Yet such is the power of
the myth of democracy that the process rolls on while the charade is
glorified in the media and no one seems able to change it.<br />
<br />
In times of emergency the practice of media determinism gets worse.
What little critical inclination might exist among journalists is
suppressed in the name of national unity. The press rallies around a
government position or storyline. This can be seen in the follow-up to
the 9/11 attacks in 2001. An investigation as to why these attacks were
carried out was suppressed, i.e., what U.S. policies in the Middle East
prompted al-Qaeda’s suicide hijackers to fly planes into buildings.<br />
<br />
Thus, any possibility for the public to examine the ongoing U.S.
foreign policy in the Middle East was also shut down. The official line
was that such critiques were attempts to blame the victim. In the same
way, any option for the prevention of future attacks was limited to a
military one rather than seriously considering diplomatic or policy
change alternatives. <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/presidential-approval-ratings-george-bush.aspx">President George W. Bush’s approval rating</a> at this time had reached 90 percent.<br />
<br />
The alliance between government and media can be seen in what soon
followed. President Bush’s determination to attack Iraq, a country that
had nothing to do with 9/11, led to an orchestrated campaign of
misinformation. In March 2003, as the invasion took place, polls showed
that between 72 percent and 76 percent of Americans supported the
President’s war.<br />
<br />
In doing so, did they exercise free choice? Most of them would
probably have told you that they did. Yet a strong argument can be made
that because of the misinformation given them in the run-up to the war –
for instance, misinformation about the Iraqi people’s desire to be
rescued from Saddam Hussein and the notorious issue of weapons of mass
destruction – they were in fact victims of media determinism.<br />
It turns out, however, that it is difficult for the media to sustain a
campaign of misinformation in the face of gross contradiction. Thus,
when U.S. troops were not welcomed with flowers as they invaded Iraq,
and the weapons of mass destruction were nowhere to be found, the
administration’s approval ratings took a dive. But by the time the
events revealed the misleading nature of government-media information,
the damage had been done.<br />
<br />
Despite having been shown to be misleading, the role and style of
media news presentation has not changed much. Today, external issues
vital to the nation’s future — such as the dangerous alliance with
Israel, deadly drone campaigns, the catastrophic potential of global
warming and the deteriorating relations with Russia, as well as internal
ones, such as the need for more aggressive economic regulatory
enforcement, the expansion of health care reform and increased taxation
of the wealthy — are little discussed in the media or, when mentioned,
come to us in suspiciously biased form.<br />
<br />
Truly, objective information and fair-minded analysis are hard to
come by – and the encouragement of meaningful debate about substantive
topics is absent from the major media.<br />
So what is real, free choice and what is media determinism? The
picture sketched above suggests that the former is significantly limited
by the latter. This appears to be the case when it comes to mundane
things as well as matters of life or death.<br />
<br />
How many of us understand this to be the case? It has to be very few,
for if very many realized the situation, they would surely demand that
the media break its alliance with the powerful. Without honest
information, there can be no meaningful pathway to free choices.<br />
<br />
<b>Lawrence Davidson is a history professor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. He is the author of</b> <a href="http://www.kentuckypress.com/viewbook.cfm?Category_ID=I&Group=55&ID=1490"><b><i>Foreign Policy Inc.: Privatizing America’s National Interest</i></b></a><b>;</b><b> </b><b><a href="http://www.upf.com/authorbooks.asp?lname=Davidson&fname=Lawrence"><i>America’s Palestine: Popular and Official Perceptions from Balfour to Israeli Statehood</i></a>; and <a href="http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/GR2429.aspx"><i>Islamic Fundamentalism</i></a>.</b>NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-18044521798613644662014-12-12T08:39:00.000-08:002014-12-12T08:39:06.852-08:00On The Doorstep of The Worst Financial Panic In History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Guest Post By <a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40443.htm">Bill Holter </a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Many who will read this work have been sitting
patiently waiting for the house of cards to
collapse. For me personally, I confess the
current maniacal financial bubble has gone on
much longer than I ever imagined. What did we
miss? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Are we wrong or just early? In my
opinion, we were early, mathematically correct
yet the “rules” changed. For my part, I can say
that I missed just how much “leverage” could be
used to extend the game. In the current
instance, we are not even talking about garden
variety leverage. We live in a world where
leverage is leveraged, leveraged again and again
and again. We have personal, public and
“private” (OTC) leverage. The garden variety
leverage is bad enough as is sovereign leverage,
but the real problem are derivatives piled on
top of derivatives with collateral which in many
cases no longer even exists. Too much leverage
in the past has always led to burst bubbles.
All bubbles eventually burst …and it looks like
this one is bursting now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">While I
originally thought about talking of Venezuela
and Ukraine today, and making a comparison and
wondering which one will bankrupt first, it
dawned on me …the current bubble is busting
right now! From a big picture standpoint, the
Fed was forced to stop QE because they were
taking too much collateral from the system. The
baton was then passed to Japan because the
Germans said “nien” to the ECB. QE3 started in
Sept. 2012 …which is exactly the point in time
where the world of asset valuations was turned
further upside down. Call these last two years
the “last gasp” or whatever you’d like, the
world does not have the ability to reflate any
further and in fact, the “bubble of all bubbles”
looks to be deflating piece by piece, let me
explain this.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Oil is
arguably the most important commodity on the
planet from a financial standpoint. Oil has
collapsed in price by over 40% in less than 3
months. There are many repercussions from this,
oil exporting nations are watching as their
coffers run dry and the economic activity from
lower prices means lower individual
employment. From a financial standpoint the oil
derivatives outstanding have already killed
someone (we just don’t know who yet) and the
“underpinning” of the dollar has been weakened.
My last point needs an explanation. The dollar
is otherwise known as the “petrodollar” because
petro revenues have been for years recycled back
into dollar assets, lower oil revenues means
lower recycling. This action had already begun
while oil was still over $100 per barrel as less
demand for dollar assets was evident. Now, on
top of less “willingness” on the part of
petroleum exporters to recycle, they have less
(or none) to recycle. No problem because the
Fed will just monetize you say? Think again!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Look
what is currently happening. The reflation of
the reflation of U.S. real estate is failing.
Oil has deflated 40%+++. High yield credit is
in an outright crash and already at record
“wides” to Treasuries. The euro and yen have
deflated drastically …even against gold. The
Chinese stock market dropped over 5% last night,
this is like a 900 point drop in the Dow. They
changed their “collateral rules” and now only
AAA and AA credits can be used as
collateral. While speaking of China, let’s not
forget their shadow banking system which has
basically now been frozen solid. Commodities
across the board have been hammered lower while
growth rates across the globe (except of course
the U.S. as we lie about every economic report)
have either slowed drastically or turned
negative. The “reflation” is clearly failing!
There is no way around it, we are watching a
credit contraction unfold.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Yet,
gold has bottomed? How could this be? Gold
surely should be close to or even under $1,000
if you listen to the Dent’s and Armstrong’s of
the world? Let me put this together for you.
Everything is “controlled”. By “controlled” I
mean “price.” The price of everything is
controlled. I could have said “hidden.” The
“hiding” process began in 2008-09 when the Fed
took all sorts of toxic (insolvent) paper on to
their balance sheet. They did this to hide
their values. Yes, they did this to get
liquidity into the banks but in my mind their
primary reason was to get these assets off the
market so they could not be used as “comps” are
in real estate. They carry these on their books
at par when they could not even get .18 cents on
the dollar when they tried to sell them. Do you
see? This is where the scheme kicked into high
gear.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Back to
gold, how could it possibly be going higher if
all of a sudden asset values are declining or
deflating? First, gold has also been “priced”.
Gold, more than any other asset (except silver)
HAD to be “priced.” It had to be suppressed
because the numbers on the thermometer had to be
altered to foster confidence. As you know, I
absolutely believe gold’s price has been “made”
on the paper markets. Nothing else could
explain a falling price with increasing and
greater demand than supply. If other markets
are being lost control of, then so are gold and
silver, they are only moving away from being
controlled and towards a natural price.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">It
looks like to me that “confidence” if it is not
broken yet, will very soon because control is
being lost in too many of these markets. Was
the price drop in oil a “control” measure by the
U.S. to punish Russia? I believe yes, this was
“our” plan but not “THE” plan. As I wrote a
week ago, we may have thought it was our bright
idea but I am sure the new Chinese/Saudi
relations are as big of a factor, if not
greater. Because so many different markets now
begin to tell a story opposite of the “official”
story, it tells me that “control” is now
beginning to slip. If you doubt this, think to
yourself ”why have we had extraordinary
measures” for six years? Why are we still six
years later talking about recovery? What
happened to the “expansion” phase? It’s like
the Dutch boy with all of his fingers and toes
in the dike, leaks are springing up everywhere
and with each one more control is lost! If I am
correct and this is true then we will either see
massively convulsive markets or an outright
closure and re set of prices.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Please
remember this, volatility will create more
volatility just as a small fire or fires in a
dry forest will spread and create more fire.
Volatility will create losses and losses will
create bankruptcies. It is these bankruptcies
which will turn winners on the other sides of
trades …also into losers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Quite
simply, we have lived through the greatest Ponzi
scheme of all time where leverage of over 100 to
(probably 1,000 to one when all is said and
done) has been employed for control. The recent
volatility suggests that control is finally
being lost. If this is true and I firmly
believe it is, we are on the doorstep of the
worst financial panic event in all of human
history. The sad part is the humanity. Only a
small percentage of the global population ever
even played in this game but everyone and I mean everyone will be
affected by it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Be prepared. </span><br />
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-45906802325635889752014-12-12T08:22:00.002-08:002014-12-12T08:22:27.524-08:00US Sanctions on Russia Show Our Blatant Disregard for Human Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://www.alternet.org/world/these-are-lies-new-york-times-wants-you-believe-about-russia?paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark">Patrick Smith</a><br />
<br />
You can look at the Russian economy two ways now and you should. So
let’s: It is an important moment in the destruction of something and the
construction of something else, and we had better be clear just what in
both cases. The world we live in changes shape as we speak.<br />
<br />
<strong>Truth No. 1:</strong>
Russians are besieged. Sanctions the West has insisted on prosecuting
in response to the Ukraine crisis — Washington in the lead, the
Europeans reluctant followers — are hitting hard, let there be no
question. Oil prices are at astonishing lows, probably if not yet
provably manipulated by top operatives in the diplomatic and political
spheres.<br />
<br />
<strong>Truth No. 2:</strong> Russians are hot. With an
energetic activism just as astonishing as the oil prices, Russian
officials, President Putin in the very visible lead but with platoons of
technocrats behind him, are forging an extensive network of South-South
relationships — East-East, if you prefer — that are something very new
under the sun. Some of us were banging on about South-South trade and
diplomatic unity as far back as the 1970s; I have anticipated the
arriving reality since the early years of this century. But I would
never have predicted the pace of events as we have them before us.
Stunning.<br />
<br />
Holiday surprise: There is a Truth No. 3 and it is this:
Truth No. 1, the siege of the Russian economy, is proving a significant
catalyst in the advance of Truth No. 2, the creative response of a
nation under ever-mounting pressure.<br />
<br />
Timothy Snyder, the Yale
professor whose nitwittery on the Ukraine crisis is simply nonpareil
(and praise heaven he has gone quiet), exclaimed some months ago that
Putin is threatening to undermine the entire postwar order. I replied in
this space the following week, Gee, if only it were so.<br />
<br />
Already
it seems to be. But miss this not: Russia is advancing this
world-historical turn with a considerable assist from its adversaries in
the West, not alone. For all the pseuds who pretend to know Schumpeter
but know only one thing, the creative destruction bit, how is this as a
prime example of the phenom?<br />
Details in a sec, but this thought
first: We are all bound to pay close attention to these events because
they matter to everyone, whether this is yet obvious or not. Probably in
our lifetimes — and I had it further out until recently — we will begin
to inhabit a different planet.<br />
<br />
And it stands to be a better one,
if you accept that equilibrium, interdependence, cooperation and all
those other notions Washington is frightened to death of will make for a
more secure world than our lopsided primacy, incessant confrontations,
drone murders, waterboarding, nuclear arsenals and the National
Endowment for Democracy’s subversions will ever deliver for us.<br />
<br />
How
much more capable, equally, will be a human community that addresses
its problems with the wisdom not of one civilization, which happened by
historical circumstance to modernize in the material sphere before
others, but with the smarts and imaginations and perspectives of many?<br />
<br />
Those details come in flurries now and fall into two files, destruction and construction. To the former first.<br />
The economics ministry in Moscow has just <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9d03a164-7a3f-11e4-a8e1-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=uk#axzz3LQCKm0i3">forecast a swoon in its outlook for 2015</a>.
On a dime, it shifts from a prediction of 1.2 percent growth to 0.8
percent contraction. The math is easy: This is a rip of 2 percentage
points right out of Russia’s middle. No sentient American should have
any difficulty understanding what these numbers will mean to many
millions of ordinary Russians.<br />
<br />
<div id="bookmark">
The ministry’s report
is the first to anticipate the consequences of the several rounds of
sanctions imposed this year, the 34 percent drop in the ruble’s value
this year and the collapse in oil prices. The last are now far below
what Russia needs — about $105 a barrel — if the petroleum sector is to
contribute to national revenues. As detailed in this space a few weeks
ago, there are ample grounds to question whether price patterns in
global oil markets are the consequence of American manipulations.</div>
<div id="bookmark">
<br /></div>
As
to the ruble, we saw this coming months ago as reports of “silent
sanctions,” as financial services people call them, began to come
through. Off-the-books sanctions is the better term. A few at a time —
HSBC, Lloyd’s — banks began denying credit to Russian enterprises; as
documented, these decisions were at the Treasury Department’s informal
urging.<br />
<br />
Reflecting the creep of interdependence in the global
economy, financing from Western banks is vital to Russian corporations
of all sizes. At this point, my sources in the markets tell me, the
spigot is off: Credit and all customary loan rollovers are virtually
unavailable across the board.<br />
<br />
This is the anatomy of much
suffering that is about to get done. Is the course wise? Is there a
point? Is it other than ridiculous to posit some “net-positive”
justification for this?<br />
I see nothing good in this whatsoever. I see recklessness.<br />
<br />
Think
of it this way, as an old friend from Asia days suggests. Currency
speculators abandoned the Thai baht en masse in 1997 and before we knew
it Thailand had dragged all of East Asia into prolonged crisis.
Remember? Now consider the size of the Thai economy — tiny in the scheme
of things, and heavily agricultural still.<br />
<br />
Now consider the size
of the Russian economy. It is the world’s No. 2 producer of natural gas
and No. 3 producer of oil. In terms of nominal gross domestic product —
standard measure — Russia’s economy, at $2.1 trillion, is slightly
larger than Italy’s. Another measure, purchasing power parity, values
Russia’s economy at $3.5 trillion, but never mind: Even by nominal GDP,
Russia is the world’s No. 8 economic power.<br />
Comfortable now with the sanctions regime, are we?<br />
The
cliques in Washington are because the U.S. trades very little with
Russia and they have no grasp of limits of any kind. This is cynicism
made flesh when you consider Europe’s vulnerabilities. The <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-05/russian-contagion-jeopardizing-growth-in-former-soviet-countries.html">contagious economic and social crisis is already spreading</a> to nations near Russia’s borders.<br />
<br />
As
Germans and other Europeans understand, take down this beast and the
blood will spatter everywhere. Now you can see, maybe, why one
consequence of the Ukraine crisis is a serious deterioration of
relations between America and those known as “the allies,” a term that
has masked many complications since the Cold War’s onset.<br />
<br />
As to the point of it all, it gets bitterer the more we learn of Ukraine and its arriving future.<br />
Long
ago, an English diplomat in Tokyo wrote to his Foreign Office in
London, “The Japanese can neither love the Americans nor endure being
loved by them.” It is dead on the fate of Ukrainians so far as one can
make out. All signs are they are in for the suffocating embrace. Here
comes the neoliberal order. It will be very weird to watch.<br />
<br />
My jaw
hit the corner of my desk when I read last week that Ukraine’s new
finance minister, one Natalie Jaresko, is 1) an American citizen,
granted a Ukraine passport simultaneously with her cabinet appointment,
2) a former State Department officer, 3) recipient of hundreds of
millions of dollars in that $5 billion Victoria Nuland famously bragged
of spending in State’s effort to yank Ukraine westward and 4) a
participant in apparently extensive insider dealing via the investment
management company she co-founded after leaving State.<br />
<br />
Get this:<br />
Jaresko
served as president and chief executive officer of Western NIS
Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), which was created by the U.S. Agency for
International Development with $150 million to spur business activity in
Ukraine. She also was co-founder and managing partner of Horizon
Capital, which managed WNISEF’s investments at a rate of 2 percent to
2.5 percent of committed capital, fees exceeding $1 million in recent
years, according to WNISEF’s 2012 annual report.<br />
<br />
Her title at Horizon Capital must be CCIO, chief conflict of interest officer.<br />
Full
credit, given with gusto: The above passage is from the long exposé of
this sordid business by Robert Parry, whose work on Ukraine is
invaluable. <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/ukraines-made-in-usa-finance-minister/5418617">Read this piece here</a>:
a riveting read covering a tangled web. Parry, in turn, cites John
Hellmer, a former Moscow correspondent who recently explored Jaresko’s
story as State Department official (and diplomat in post-Soviet Kiev)
turned recipient of USAID funds.<br />
Surely this is the right person
to regulate Ukraine’s financial markets, counter corruption with
archangelic purpose and negotiate with Washington, the Europeans and the
IMF in behalf of Ukrainians’ interests. No wonder the parliament in
Kiev erupted when Jaresko’s appointment was announced.<br />
Footnote
here: That $150 million fund State handed Jaresko has lost more than a
third of its value since the Ukrainian economy tanked. As she steps into
office, Kiev’s foreign reserves are down to $10 billion and shrinking,
while inflation roars at 22 percent.<br />
<br />
My jaw has been bruised, to
be honest, since, as the Ukraine crisis got hot, Vice President Biden’s
son, R. Hunter, was named to the board of Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s
No. 1 producer of natural gas. I cannot make out who is the chief
conflict of interest officer here, Joe or the boy.<br />
<br />
News comes of
our Hunter, it turns out. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that
he was bounced from the U.S. Navy Reserve earlier this year after a
positive drug test. If the 44-year-old were Ukrainian (or any other
nationality) and had been so charged, he would not be allowed into this
country. This is the kind of person America is now happy to send abroad.<br />
<br />
More
substantively, Burisma announced last month that it will now commence
drilling near Slavyansk, where Ukrainian troops have been dodging
bullets while installing the company’s hydraulic fracturing equipment.
Slavyansk, alert readers will recall, was the object of three months’
sustained bombing and artillery shelling prior to this announcement.<br />
<br />
Overseeing
all this is Jaresko and — second of three foreigners named to a new
cabinet — Aivaras Abromavicius, a Lithuanian and a partner in an
asset-management firm called East Capital. He will be the incoming
economy minister, such as there is an economy.<br />
<br />
Why these
foreigners? In my read, Biden is a straight-out emissary sent to
shepherd American corporations into the resource game via joint ventures
or what have you, we will have to see, and the others are roughly the
equivalent of compradors — in effect, bought-off locals.<br />
<br />
Here is a tableau worth a moment’s consideration: Over here, Vicky Nuland <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dexrP27MMdU">stands before a Chevron plaque</a> as
she explains to business executives how well the $5 billion was spent.
Here we have Hunter Biden doing Burisma’s legal work. Over here we have a
small-town mayor in Romania who is run out of town for selling Chevron a
fracking lease. (This <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/world/russian-money-suspected-behind-fracking-protests.html?_r=0">you can read of in the Times</a>.)
And over there, also in the Times report, we have the Lithuanians
forcing Chevron to abandon a shale-drilling project after widespread
demonstrations opposing it.<br />
<br />
You want to know why I hold the
neoliberal agenda and those who advance it in contempt? This is why. We
watch a corporate shark-feed. It has nothing to do with democracy. There
is nothing in this for Ukrainians. They are about to hear their first
lectures on the virtues of “austerity.”<br />
I have three remarks.<br />
<br />
One,
the greed at the cost of human life and society is so brazen here it
causes me to stop typing to reread the sentences. Can
market-consciousness have brought us this low?<br />
Two, please count
the number of times you have read the words “Chevron,” “Burisma” or
“shale-gas interests” in any account of Ukraine by correspondents
covering it. I can find no mention of any from those in the field. This
is “the power of leaving out,” as I often put it, in spades. I rest the
case (for now).<br />
Three, there is a deeper tragedy. Ukrainians live
between East and West. This is not only a matter of geography: There is
among them a mix of Eastern consciousness and Western consciousness.
Accordingly, they had a chance to stand as the very best the new century
offers us, a planet whose old divisions could be erased in favor of a
more fulsome idea of the successful society and its potential.<br />
This chance is now all but lost — destroyed by those who resisted it.<br />
<br />
What
I find remarkable now is that Moscow does not seem to be taking
Ukraine’s misfortune and the West’s aggressions against Russia itself
passively — or even negatively, for that matter. So we pass from the
destructive file to the constructive.<br />
<br />
Neil MacFarquhar, a standout in the New York Times’ Moscow bureau for his full-frontal prejudices, gave <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/world/europe/putin-russia-state-of-nation-speech.html">as negative an account as he could</a>
when he covered Putin’s year-end address. I had another read. This guy
is bloodied, O.K., but he is not bowed, and I would advise against
waiting for it.<br />
I did like the Times’ head, parenthetically:
“Putin, Amid Stark Challenges, Says Russia’s Destiny Is at Hand.”
Without going histrionic, that is likely to prove precisely what is at
hand. My favorite MacFarquhar sentence: “Mr. Putin enjoyed ever-greater
support from March to August, but in the months since, as sanctions
began to bite with inflation, support began to erode — though his
approval ratings remain in the 80s.”<br />
You have to love a paper that will publish this. Somehow.<br />
<br />
Look
at Putin’s foreign agenda this past year: Latin America just as the
sanctions came in — an intentional finger in Washington’s eye, as I read
it — then China, China again recently, Turkey more recently, India just
now. He has not been to Iran, but there, as in all these other places,
he has forged or reiterated promising relations. The deals cut are too
numerous to list.<br />
<br />
A couple are worth mentioning. The twin gas
deals with China, worth nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars, are
historic all by themselves. In six years’ time China will be buying
more gas from Russia than the latter now sells to Europe. And do not
miss this: My sources tell me that this gas can be priced such as to
crowd the U.S. at least partially out of the Asian market.<br />
<br />
Other
side of the world: Putin has just canceled a planned pipeline to
southeastern Europe, the South Stream. This is the defeat Western media
put it over as, surely: Russia loses some customers. But two points:
One, it was soon enough clear that the Europeans, having used South
Stream as leverage in the sanctions game, probably overplayed their
hand. The day following the announcement they were struggling for
composure so far as I can make out.<br />
<br />
Two, Putin stunned everyone
with his decision from Ankara, where he stood with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
to announce that South Stream would be rerouted to serve the Turkish
market. Think about this: It is more than a new deal; there are
significant political and diplomatic implications in this, given
Turkey’s traditional alliances, its EU aspirations and so on.<br />
<br />
This
is the way the world changes shape, the way new worlds get built. Think
of these new ties in terms of the old trade routes. Many things other
than goods traveled along them. As then, the traffic will run in both
directions, making our latest globalization the two-way street it should
have been from the first.<br />
One could say it is not the West’s
world any longer, and I called it “post-Western” in a book several years
ago. This is not quite so. It is ours, but only to the extent that it
is destined to be everybody’s, if I read history rightly. As an
American, my biggest regret on this score — apart from all the suffering
caused in our names — is that my country seems bent on doing almost
everything it can to lose out on a great deal of what would be its share
in the arriving era; this in the name of prolonging a time that is no
longer.<br />
<div class="bio-new body_world">
<div class="author-bio">
<br />
<em>Patrick Smith is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0300176562//?tag=saloncom08-20">“Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century”</a> was
the International Herald Tribune’s bureau chief in Hong Kong and then
Tokyo from 1985 to 1992. During this time he also wrote “Letter from
Tokyo” for the New Yorker. He is the author of four previous books and
has contributed frequently to the New York Times, the Nation, the
Washington Quarterly, and other publications.</em><br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-23982230621994615282014-12-12T07:35:00.000-08:002014-12-12T07:35:01.108-08:00The ''Thin Blue Line'' Serves No Purpose <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2i4UGjR8EvwGQ_O_w7L5B6Bd5P7U5kftvzfSojR3Gl0x6uQRjg4RTI2U5DCoubBJ0_jmyH28P68GltD0slRkmpcy5nsyoSje_ZvZe1JxBTnob9vUagKWhKZidBKOKtIlZcQhk5l6wXx-U/s1600/missouri+protests.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2i4UGjR8EvwGQ_O_w7L5B6Bd5P7U5kftvzfSojR3Gl0x6uQRjg4RTI2U5DCoubBJ0_jmyH28P68GltD0slRkmpcy5nsyoSje_ZvZe1JxBTnob9vUagKWhKZidBKOKtIlZcQhk5l6wXx-U/s1600/missouri+protests.jpg" height="248" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Guest Post by Brandon Smith<br />
<br />
<br />
Like many people, I grew up watching numerous television shows and
mainstream movies depicting a world in which the common police officer
stood as a sentinel of civilized society against a seething underbelly
of violence and chaos just beneath the surface of the world around us.
Through public schooling, we were indoctrinated to fear the drug culture
as a breeding ground of gangland destruction and to worship law
enforcement officials as the only barrier between us and a
cocaine-frosted wasteland. We were led to believe that every day police
were holding back a tide of crime and terrorism. The so-called “thin
blue line” was an indispensable part of a safe and prosperous nation. <br />
<br />
To criticize or present opposition to the institution of state and
federally funded law enforcement is often considered tantamount to
treason – or, at the very least, it is considered unpatriotic. After
all, we have all been told every moment of our lives that a world
without police would immediately turn into a frothing, frenzied orgy of
mass insanity and that average human beings cannot be trusted to take
responsibility for the day-to-day security of their neighborhoods and
towns. Official doctrine today demands a designated warrior class,
separate from the rest of us, to handle the protection and care of
weakling citizens. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>Now, it is important to note that there are in fact
many good people working in the field of law enforcement. This is not
under debate and not relevant to the point I am about to make. The
problem is not necessarily with all the individuals who make up law
enforcement; the problem is with the existence and mandate of the
institution itself. I personally do not “hate” cops per se (though some
of them deserve to be hated). But I do hate corrupt government
structures, and law enforcement has become the grasping arm of the
elitist machine. <br />
<br />
The downfall of any policing system arises when individuals are
separated from the responsibility for their own security and society is
delegated into classes of protectors, or sheepdogs, and sheep. As I
have outlined in many articles, government itself has become an entity
foreign to the interests of the American people. Through the false
left/right paradigm, elitists have taken away the ability of the public
to participate in civic duties and to preserve our principles rather
than sacrifice them in the name of the “greater good.” City and state
police are not subject to the tides of political elections, even if
elections actually mattered. They are part of an unaccountable
bureaucratic monstrosity that shifts only according to the whims of the
establishment. <br />
<br />
<div align="left">
<br />
<br /></div>
The existence of a separate government-controlled warrior class
has caused crisis and catastrophe all throughout human history.
Invariably, this warrior class ends up exalting itself as superior to
the functions and values of the citizenry, rather than maintaining a
sense of duty to the citizenry. The claim that the average American is
not capable of proper self-security or community security is perhaps the
most successful lie of the past century. This is not to say that
warriors do not exist. Some people develop the proper mindset, while
others do not. However, becoming a warrior is a personal psychological
and spiritual pursuit meant to overcome the detriments of fear and has
nothing whatsoever to do with government recognition. The fact that many
law enforcement officials often refer to non-LEOs as “civilians” is a
rather laughable example of the delusions of the government-paid
bureaucratic warrior class in action, fantasizing as if they have been
deployed to Afghanistan while writing speeding tickets in suburbia. <br />
<br />
In the early days of America, the common citizenry through the formation
of the militia WAS the warrior class. Every last able-bodied person was
a sentinel and defender of the peace. The sheriff, the only elected and
constitutional form of law enforcement, often had a posse, which was,
again, made up of regular citizens. There was no exalted Praetorian
Guard — only friends, family and neighbors. There was no need for a
government dominated law enforcement structure back then, nor is there a
need for one now. <br />
<br />
The militia system was slowly eroded over decades and replaced with
centralized law enforcement under the direct influence of the political
elite. Currently, using the Department of Homeland Security and the
integration of “fusion centers,” the police are now an army under direct
federal control, equipped with military-grade technology through the
1033 program. When Barack Obama called for the creation of a “civilian
national security force” just as powerful and well-funded as the
military back in 2008, this is clearly what he was referring to. The
results of police militarization are thoroughly negative. <br />
<br />
In my recent article <a href="http://www.alt-market.com/articles/2430-the-ferguson-conundrum-solved-by-community-security" target="_blank">'The Ferguson conundrum solved by community security,'</a>
I discussed the complete lack of LEO protection against looting and
arson during the Ferguson, Missouri, riots, which led the Oath Keepers
to provide security for innocent business owners, filling the void left
behind. Law enforcement officials were apparently too busy harassing
peaceful protesters and journalists to deal with the threat of a burning
city, or too busy guarding government building and revealing where
their true loyalties rest. I have heard arguments that the Ferguson
police were not to blame for the failure because they were under orders
from their superiors and under pressure from the federal government.
While I would note that each individual officer has the right and the
duty to refuse immoral orders, regardless of whether or not LEOs refused
to protect businesses out of personal choice, or out of fear of losing
their jobs, the fact remains that the public is often left to face
criminality without the aid of police. And, because this is an
undeniable reality, the public must take back responsibility for its
security. <br />
<br />
Whether one believes that the shooting of Michael Brown was justified or
not, the police response after the fact only reinforced public
expectations of corruption. Ferguson is only one example in a multitude
of police abuses, and these abuses are not relegated to any one
ethnicity. Leftists are not wrong when they point out the dangerous
evolution of law enforcement into a government goon squad (the liberty
movement was warning the world about it long before the left ever
figured out what was going on). But in their half-sighted examinations,
they make the mistake of believing police abuse is purely race-related.
In reality, police abuse is universal — from Tamir Rice, the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/cleveland-cops-recklessly-shot-boy-12-toy-gun/story?id=27402837" target="_blank">black 12-year-old in Cleveland</a> shot dead by police less than two seconds after their arrival for having a toy gun in his pants, to the murder of <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2014/0114/Kelly-Thomas-case-why-police-were-acquitted-in-killing-of-homeless-man-video" target="_blank">Kelly Thomas</a>,
a white homeless man shot with a stun gun in the face and beaten in the
street for 10 minutes straight until dead by California police for the
crime of “not sitting still as ordered.” <br />
<br />
In nearly all of these cases of overt police force, even when video
evidence clearly indicates wrongdoing, LEOs are acquitted by the system.
The reason for this should be obvious: The establishment must keep the
warrior class happy, content, and untouchable; otherwise, the they loses
power. No corrupt system is going to punish its own unless utterly
necessary to its survival, because if it did, it would then have to
admit that it is not entirely trustworthy, causing the people to
question whether its existence is more dangerous than the villains it is
supposed to protect us from. Government generally only cares about
perpetuating its own existence; it does not care about the safety of the
populace. In this way, police become a kind of Mafia or cult with
their own set of rules outside of the purview of the rest of society and
immune to any form of justice. <br />
<br />
What is truly disturbing are the lengths to which some Americans (and
other law enforcement) will go to rationalize any and all actions taken
by police, even if they result in the death of an innocent. The
Stockholm Syndrome certainly seems to be at work as portions of the
public continue to worship LEOs as saviors who can do no wrong. Mention
the idea of getting rid of state police, and the LEO fan club cries out
in terror like children separated from their parents at a crowded
shopping mall. In the end, though, all children must eventually grow up
and start taking care of themselves. <br />
<br />
At bottom, police are not protectors of the public good, not even in a
technical or legal sense. Law enforcement organizations have even <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html?_r=0" target="_blank">argued in the Supreme Court</a>
that their job is NOT to prevent crime but to enforce the law after the
fact, and they have won using this assertion. That is to say, a police
officer is NOT legally required to protect a person from harm, only to
institute state policy once a crime is committed. <br />
<br />
What government law enforcement is admitting to in its argument is that
it does not provide security, which is what we in the liberty movement
have known all along. The only service police provide is to clean up the
mess left over when the carnage of a crime has subsided. If law
enforcement has any purpose at all, it is to keep the public in check
and in line - to promote the farce that without government protection,
chaos will rule. <br />
<br />
The communist Cheka, a security organization founded by Vladimir Lenin
at the beginning of the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, was notorious for
random arrests and killings of civilians in the name of peace and
security. Many communist Russians, true believers in the Bolshevist
cause, refused to accept that the Cheka were capable of criminal abuse.
They assumed that those killed must have been enemies of the state, just
as the government proclaimed. And when they themselves were arrested
for no apparent reason, they wrote letters from the gulags to Stalin,
naively believing that he would save them from what must have been a
bureaucratic error. <br />
<br />
In fact, the Cheka had been given orders directly from the state to fill
a quota of arrests in order to justify the constant propaganda the
state produced warning of agents of “capitalist evil” around every
corner. The Cheka, the secret police, were given warrior-class status
and free reign to assert their authority over anyone, at any time, for
any reason. America is only a short step away from a similar nightmare,
and many in our nation suffer from the same naive faith in statism as
the Russians did years ago. <br />
<br />
The only way to avoid such a horror is to remove state-sanctioned law
enforcement from the picture entirely. Is this "throwing the baby out
with the bathwater"? No. Rather, it is saving the baby from a swirling
virulent cesspool. <br />
<br />
As we saw in grand scale in Ferguson, LEOs are essentially useless to
the public. In response, members of the Ferguson community welcomed the
Oath Keepers and their Community Preparedness Team strategy. In time,
Oath Keepers CPT will train locals to provide their own protection
without need for any outside aid. When locals provide their own
security, when every citizen is a member of the warrior class, abuse is
far less likely because the watchmen have no motivation to abuse
themselves. <br />
<br />
Arguments that this will lead to a culture of "warlords" invariably pop
up when discussing the concept of community based security. Of course,
when every member of a community is trained to defend themselves,
abusive warlord do not last long, but then again, neither do abusive
governments, which I suppose is the true reason why decentralized
community security is treated with such disdain. This is yet another
contrived attempt to insinuate that the American people cannot be
trusted with their own defense, but the government can. It is built
around the illusion that state police are somehow "impartial observers"
and actors. This has simply never been so. State-controlled police
have every motivation to protect state interests, and as long as they
are given free license to do whatever they please without consequence,
most of them will continue to do so. Impartiality is non-existent in
the world of law enforcement. <br />
<br />
Police misconduct has a cumulative effect on a culture. We do not forget
all of the oversteps of the past; we merely file them away until we
finally reach a breaking point. It is important for LEOs to understand
that while they may have a relative immunity to legal reparations, they
are not immune to the rage of the populace and will likely find their
fragile warrior personas rather inadequate when that day arrives. For
the true constitutional police out there, it is time to take sides,
either with good American people or with the corrupt establishment. It
is impossible to serve both. The illusion of the “thin blue line” is
quickly fading. The only question now is: What is going to replace it?
The establishment would have you believe there are only two options:
total chaos or martial law. But there has always been a third
alternative they seek to suppress: the return of community defense, the
resurgence of localized responsibility and the victory of personal
liberty over false security. <br />
<br />
<i>You can read more from Brandon Smith at <a href="http://www.alt-market.com/" target="_blank">Alt-Market</a>, where this article <a href="http://www.alt-market.com/articles/2437-the-thin-blue-line-serves-no-purpose" target="_blank">first appeared</a>. </i><br />
<br />
<i>REMINDER: Alt-Market's winter donation drive is now underway! If
you would like to support the publishing of articles like the one you
have just read, visit our donations page <a href="http://www.alt-market.com/donate" target="_blank">here</a>. We greatly appreciate your patronage. You can contact Brandon Smith at: <a href="mailto:brandon@alt-market.com">brandon@alt-market.com</a></i>NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-34691500197324244182014-12-12T07:28:00.001-08:002014-12-12T11:33:44.586-08:00#TortureReport:The Goal of the Torture Was to Produce False Information to Justify War - Armed Services Committee<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/12/doesnt-mainstream-media-discuss-torture-issue.html"></a>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://solidaritycourier.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/condiricetorturecrime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://solidaritycourier.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/condiricetorturecrime.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
Source - <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/12/doesnt-mainstream-media-discuss-torture-issue.html">Washingtons Blog</a><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Big Story Torture Everyone Is Missing.</span></span></h3>
While the torture report released by the Senate <b><i>Intelligence</i></b> Committee is very important, it doesn’t address the <i>big</i> scoop regarding torture.<br />
<br />
Instead, it is the Senate <b><i>Armed Services</i> </b>Committee’s report that dropped the big bombshell regarding the U.S. torture program.<br />
Senator Levin, commenting on a Armed Services Committee’s report on torture in 2009, <a href="http://www.levin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=ba6f0d71-052a-4fb0-a11d-ab12ef6a6820" target="_blank" title="commenting">explained</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
<b>The techniques are based on tactics used by
Chinese Communists against American soldiers during the Korean War for
the purpose of eliciting <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FALSE</span> confessions for propaganda purposes</b>.
Techniques used in SERE training include stripping trainees of their
clothing, placing them in stress positions, putting hoods over their
heads, subjecting them to face and body slaps, depriving them of sleep,
throwing them up against a wall, confining them in a small box, treating
them like animals, subjecting them to loud music and flashing lights,
and exposing them to extreme temperatures [and] waterboarding.</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> WHY WOULD THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WANT TO PRODUCE <u>FALSE INFORMATION</u> THROUGH CONFESSIONS OBTAINED BY TORTURE???</b></span><br />
<br />
McClatchy <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/66622.html?ref=fp1" target="_blank" title="fills in">filled in</a> important details:<br />
<blockquote>
Former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the interrogation issue said that <b>Cheney
and former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld demanded that the
interrogators find evidence of al Qaida-Iraq collaboration</b>…<br />
For most of 2002 and into 2003, Cheney and Rumsfeld, especially, were
also demanding proof of the links between al Qaida and Iraq that
(former Iraqi exile leader Ahmed) Chalabi and others had told them were
there.”<br />
It was during this period that CIA interrogators waterboarded two
alleged top al Qaida detainees repeatedly — Abu Zubaydah at least 83
times in August 2002 and Khalid Sheik Muhammed 183 times in March 2003 —
according to a newly released Justice Department document…<br />
<b>When people kept coming up empty, they were told by Cheney’s
and Rumsfeld’s people to push harder,” he continued.” Cheney’s and
Rumsfeld’s people were told repeatedly, by CIA . . . and by others, that
there wasn’t any reliable intelligence that pointed to operational ties
between bin Laden and Saddam . . .</b><br />
A former U.S. Army psychiatrist, Maj. Charles Burney, told Army investigators in 2006 that <b>interrogators
at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility were under “pressure”
to produce evidence of ties between al Qaida and Iraq</b>.<br />
“While we were there a large part of the time we were focused on
trying to establish a link between al Qaida and Iraq and we were not
successful in establishing a link between al Qaida and Iraq,” Burney
told staff of the Army Inspector General. “<b>The more frustrated
people got in not being able to establish that link . . . there was more
and more pressure to resort to measures that might produce more
immediate results</b>.”<br />
“I think it’s obvious that the administration was scrambling then to
try to find a connection, a link (between al Qaida and Iraq),” [Senator]
Levin said in a conference call with reporters. “They made out links
where they didn’t exist.”<br />
Levin recalled Cheney’s assertions that a senior Iraqi intelligence
officer had met Mohammad Atta, the leader of the 9/11 hijackers, in the
Czech Republic capital of Prague just months before the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon.<br />
The FBI and CIA found that no such meeting occurred.</blockquote>
The Washington Post <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/torture/torturing-for-propaganda-purpo.html" target="_blank" title="reported">reported</a> the same year:<br />
<blockquote>
Despite what you’ve seen on TV, torture is really only good at one thing: eliciting <b>false confessions</b>. Indeed, Bush-era torture techniques, we now know, were cold-bloodedly modeled after methods used by <b>Chinese Communists</b> to extract confessions from captured U.S. servicemen that they could then use for propaganda during the Korean War.<br />
So as shocking as the latest revelation in a new Senate Armed
Services Committee report may be, it actually makes sense — in a
nauseating way. <b>The White House started pushing the use of torture not when faced with a “ticking time bomb” scenario from terrorists, but when</b> <b>officials in 2002 were desperately casting about for ways to tie Iraq to the 9/11 attacks</b> — in order to strengthen their public case for invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 at all.<br />
***<br />
Gordon Trowbridge writes for the Detroit News: “Senior Bush
administration officials pushed for the use of abusive interrogations of
terrorism detainees in part to seek evidence to justify the invasion of
Iraq, according to newly declassified information discovered in a
congressional probe.</blockquote>
Indeed, one of the two senior instructors from the Air Force team
which taught U.S. servicemen how to resist torture by foreign
governments when used to extract false confessions has blown the whistle
on the true purpose behind the U.S. torture program.<br />
As Truthout <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/cia-psychologists-notes-reveal-bushs-torture-program68542" target="_blank" title="reported">reported</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Jessen’s notes were provided to Truthout by retired Air Force Capt. Michael Kearns, a “master” SERE instructor and <a href="http://truthout.org/files/Kearns-letter-SERE.pdf" target="_blank" title="decorated">decorated</a> veteran who has previously held high-ranking positions within the Air Force Headquarters Staff and Department of Defense (DoD).<br />
***<br />
The Jessen notes clearly state the totality of what was being
reverse-engineered – not just ‘enhanced interrogation techniques,’ but
an entire program of exploitation of prisoners using torture as a
central pillar,” he said. “What I think is important to note, as an
ex-SERE Resistance to Interrogation instructor, is the focus of Jessen’s
instruction. It is <b>EXPLOITATION, not specifically
interrogation. And this is not a picayune issue, because if one were to
‘reverse-engineer’ a course on resistance to exploitation then what one
would get is a plan to exploit prisoners, <i>not </i>interrogate them.</b>
The CIA/DoD torture program appears to have the same goals as the
terrorist organizations or enemy governments for which SV-91 and other
SERE courses were created to defend against: the full exploitation of
the prisoner in his intelligence, <b>propaganda</b>, or other needs held by the detaining power, such as the recruitment of informers and double agents. <b>Those aspects of the US detainee program have not generally been discussed as part of the torture story in the American press</b>.”</blockquote>
In a subsequent report, Truthout <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/8278-exclusive-guidebook-to-false-confessions-key-document-john-yoo-used-to-draft-torture-memo-released" target="_blank" title="notes">notes</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/torturingdemocracy/interviews/steven_kleinman.html" target="_blank" title="Air Force Col. Steven Kleinman">Air Force Col. Steven Kleinman</a>,
a career military intelligence officer recognized as one of the DOD’s
most effective interrogators as well a former SERE instructor and
director of intelligence for JPRA’s teaching academy, said …. “This is
the <b>guidebook to getting false confessions, a system drawn
specifically from the communist interrogation model that was used to
generate propaganda rather than intelligence</b>” …. “If your goal is to obtain useful and reliable information this is not the source book you should be using.”</blockquote>
Interrogators also forced detainees to take drugs … which <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/07/u-s-drugged-detainees-to-obtain-false-confessions.html" title="further impaired their ability">further impaired their ability</a> to tell the truth.<br />
And one of the two main architects of the torture program <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/12/architect-torture-program-can-get-people-say-whatever-want.html" title="admitted this week on camera">admitted this week on camera</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
You can get people to say <b>anything</b> to stop harsh interrogations if you apply them in a way that does that.</blockquote>
And false confessions <b><i>were</i></b>, in fact, extracted.<br />
For example:<br />
<ul>
<li>A humanitarian aid worker said: <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/humanitarian-aid-worker-torture-only.html" title="Humanitarian Aid Worker: Torture Only Stopped When I Pretended I Was In Al Qaeda">torture only stopped when I <i>pretended</i> I was in Al Qaeda</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Under torture, Libyan Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/nov/09/george-bush-waterboarding-torture" target="_blank" title="Under torture, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi claimed there was a link between Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida and WMD ">falsely claimed there was a link between Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida and WMD </a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li title="Guardian: Abu Zubaydah">President Bush mentioned Abu Zubaydah
as a success story, where torture saved lives. Zubaydah was suspected
of being a high-ranking al-Qaida leader. Bush administration officials
claimed Zubaydah told them that al-Qaida had links with Saddam Hussein.
He also claimed there was a plot to attack Washington with a “dirty
bomb”. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/nov/09/george-bush-waterboarding-torture" target="_blank" title="Both claims are now recognized to be false, even by the CIA, which also admits he was never a member of al-Qaida">Both claims are now recognized to be false, even by the CIA, which also admits he was never a member of al-Qaida</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>One of the Main Sources for the 9/11 Commission Report <i>was <a href="http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/05/one-of-main-sources-for-911-commission.html" target="_blank" title="One of the Main Sources for the 9/11 Commission Report was Tortured Until He Agreed to Sign a Confession that He Was NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO READ">Tortured Until He Agreed to Sign a Confession that He Was <b>NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO READ</b></a></i></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The so-called 9/11 mastermind said: <a href="http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/05/during-my-interrogation-i-gave-lot-of.html" target="_blank" title="9/11 Mastermind: “During … My Interrogation I Gave A Lot Of False Information In Order To Satisfy What I Believed The Interrogators Wished To Hear”">“During
… my interrogation I gave a lot of false information in order to
satisfy what I believed the interrogators wished to hear”</a> (the self-confessed 9/11 “mastermind” <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/self-confessed-911-mastermind-also.html" title="Self-Confessed 9/11 “Mastermind” Also Falsely Confessed to Crimes He Didn’t Commit">falsely confessed to crimes he didn’t commit</a>)</li>
</ul>
And the 9/11 Commission Report was largely based on a <i>third-hand</i> account of what tortured detainees said, with<a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/03/the-reason-for-this-cover-up-goes-right-to-the-white-house.html" title=" two of the three parties in the communication being government employees"> two of the three parties in the communication being government employees</a>. And the government went to great lengths to <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/08/911-criminal-incompetence-and-ass-covering-by-the-bush-administration.html" title="obstruct justice and hide unflattering facts">obstruct justice and hide unflattering facts</a> from the Commission.<br />
According to <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20090212035205/http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/30/624314.aspx" target="_blank" title="NBC News">NBC News</a>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Much of the 9/11 Commission Report was based upon the testimony of people who were tortured</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>At least four of the people whose interrogation figured in the 9/11
Commission Report have claimed that they told interrogators information
as a way to stop being “tortured.”</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 9/11 Commission itself <i>doubted the accuracy of the torture confessions</i>, and yet kept their doubts to themselves</li>
</ul>
Details <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/03/911-commission-deceived-an-unintentional-work-of-fiction-based-on-cheneys-communist-torture-program.html" title="here">here</a>.<br />
Today,<br />
Today, Raymond McGovern – a 27-year CIA veteran, who chaired National
Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings
to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents,
Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior
government officials – <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2014/12/11/whats-the-next-step-to-stop-torture/" target="_blank" title="writes">writes</a> at former Newsweek and AP reporter Robert Parry’s website:<br />
<blockquote>
But if it’s bad intelligence you’re after, torture works
like a charm. If, for example, you wish to “prove,” post 9/11, that
“evil dictator” Saddam Hussein was in league with al-Qaeda and might arm
the terrorists with WMD, bring on the torturers.<br />
It is a highly cynical and extremely sad story, but <b>many Bush
administration policymakers wanted to invade Iraq before 9/11 and thus
were determined to connect Saddam Hussein to those attacks</b>. The
PR push began in September 2002 – or as Bush’s chief of staff Andrew
Card put it, “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new
products in August.”<br />
By March 2003 – after months of relentless “marketing” – almost 70
percent of Americans had been persuaded that Saddam Hussein was involved
in some way with the attacks of 9/11.<br />
The case of Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, a low-level al-Qaeda operative, is
illustrative of how this process worked. Born in Libya in 1963, al-Libi
ran an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan from 1995 to 2000. He was
detained in Pakistan on Nov. 11, 2001, and then sent to a U.S. detention
facility in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was deemed a prize catch, since
it was thought he would know of any Iraqi training of al-Qaeda.<br />
The CIA successfully fought off the FBI for first rights to
interrogate al-Libi. FBI’s Dan Coleman, who “lost” al-Libi to the CIA
(at whose orders, I wonder?), said, <b>“Administration officials were always pushing us to come up with links” between Iraq and al-Qaeda.</b><br />
CIA interrogators elicited some “cooperation” from al-Libi through a
combination of rough treatment and threats that he would be turned over
to Egyptian intelligence with even greater experience in the torture
business.<br />
By June 2002, al-Libi had told the CIA that Iraq had “provided”
unspecified chemical and biological weapons training for two al-Qaeda
operatives, an allegation that soon found its way into other U.S.
intelligence reports. Al-Libi’s treatment improved as he expanded on his
tales about collaboration between al-Qaeda and Iraq, adding that three
al-Qaeda operatives had gone to Iraq “to learn about nuclear weapons.”<br />
Al-Libi’s claim was well received at the White House even though the Defense Intelligence Agency was suspicious.<br />
“He lacks specific details” about the supposed training, the DIA
observed. “It is possible he does not know any further details; it is
more likely this individual is intentionally misleading the debriefers.
Ibn al-Shaykh has been undergoing debriefs for several weeks and may be
describing scenarios to the debriefers that he knows will retain their
interest.”<br />
Meanwhile, at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, Maj. Paul Burney, a
psychiatrist sent there in summer 2002, told the Senate, “A large part
of the time we were focused on trying to establish a link between
al-Qaeda and Iraq and we were not successful. The more frustrated people
got in not being able to establish that link … there was more and more
pressure to resort to measures that might produce more immediate
results.”<br />
<b>Just What the Doctor Ordered</b><br />
President Bush relied on al-Libi’s false Iraq allegation for a major
speech in Cincinnati on Oct. 7, 2002, just a few days before Congress
voted on the Iraq War resolution. Bush declared, “We’ve learned that
Iraq has trained al-Qaeda members in bomb making and poisons and deadly
gases.”<br />
And Colin Powell relied on it for his famous speech to the United
Nations on Feb. 5, 2003, declaring: “I can trace the story of a senior
terrorist operative telling how Iraq provided training in these
[chemical and biological] weapons to al-Qaeda. Fortunately, this
operative is now detained, and he has told his story.”<br />
<b>Al-Libi’s “evidence” helped Powell as he sought support for
what he ended up calling a “sinister nexus” between Iraq and al-Qaeda,
in the general effort to justify invading Iraq</b>.<br />
For a while, al-Libi was practically the poster boy for the success of the Cheney/Bush torture regime; that is, until <b>he publicly recanted and explained that he only told his interrogators what he thought would stop the torture</b>.<br />
You see, despite his cooperation, al-Libi was still shipped to Egypt
where he underwent more abuse, according to a declassified CIA cable
from early 2004 when al-Libi recanted his earlier statements. The cable
reported that al-Libi said Egyptian interrogators wanted information
about al-Qaeda’s connections with Iraq, a subject “about which [al-Libi]
said he knew nothing and had difficulty even coming up with a story.”<br />
According to the CIA cable, al-Libi said his interrogators did not
like his responses and “placed him in a small box” for about 17 hours.
After he was let out of the box, al-Libi was given a last chance to
“tell the truth.” When his answers still did not satisfy, al-Libi says
he “was knocked over with an arm thrust across his chest and fell on his
back” and then was “punched for 15 minutes.”<br />
After Al-Libi recanted, the CIA recalled all intelligence reports
based on his statements, a fact recorded in a footnote to the report
issued by the 9/11 Commission. By then, however, the Bush administration
had gotten its way regarding the invasion of Iraq and the disastrous
U.S. occupation was well underway.<br />
***<br />
Intensive investigations into these allegations – after the U.S.
military had conquered Iraq – failed to turn up any credible evidence to
corroborate these allegations. What we do know is that Saddam Hussein
and Osama bin Laden were bitter enemies, with al-Qaeda considering the
secular Hussein an apostate to Islam.<br />
Al-Libi, who ended up in prison in Libya, reportedly committed
suicide shortly after he was discovered there by a human rights
organization. Thus, the world never got to hear his own account of the
torture that he experienced and the story that he presented and then
recanted.<br />
Hafed al-Ghwell, a Libyan-American and a prominent critic of Muammar
Gaddafi’s regime at the time of al-Libi’s death, explained to Newsweek,
“This idea of committing suicide in your prison cell is an old story in
Libya.”</blockquote>
Paul Krugman eloquently <a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/grand-unified-scandal/#comment-171725" target="_blank" title="summarized">summarized</a> the truth about the torture used:<br />
<blockquote>
Let’s say this slowly: the Bush administration wanted to
use 9/11 as a pretext to invade Iraq, even though Iraq had nothing to do
with 9/11. So it tortured people to make them confess to the
nonexistent link.<br />
There’s a word for this: it’s evil.</blockquote>
<h3 style="color: #000099;">
Torture Program Was Part of a Con Job</h3>
As discussed above, in order to “justify” the Iraq war, top Bush
administration officials pushed and insisted that interrogators use
special torture methods aimed at extracting false confessions to attempt
to create a false linkage between between Al Qaida and Iraq. And see <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/14/iraq.torture/index.html" target="_blank" title="this">this</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/15/ksm-was-questioned-about_n_203898.html" target="_blank" title="this">this</a>.<br />
But this effort started earlier …<br />
<h3>
5 hours after the 9/11 attacks, Donald Rumsfeld said <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Hours_after_911_attacks_Rumsfeld_allegedly_0502.html" target="_blank" title="“my interest is to hit Saddam”.">“my interest is to hit Saddam”.</a></h3>
He also said <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/04/september11/main520830.shtml" target="_blank" title="“Go massive . . . Sweep it all up. Things related and not.”">“Go massive . . . Sweep it all up. Things related and not.”</a><br />
And at 2:40 p.m. on September 11th, in a memorandum of discussions
between top administration officials, several lines below the statement
“judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H. [that is, Saddam Hussein] at
same time”, is the statement <a href="http://www.yourbbsucks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8397" target="_blank" title="“Hard to get a good case.”">“Hard to get a good case.”</a>
In other words, top officials knew that there wasn’t a good case that
Hussein was behind 9/11, but they wanted to use the 9/11 attacks as an
excuse to justify war with Iraq anyway.<br />
Moreover, “Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, <a href="http://nationaljournal.com/about/njweekly/stories/2005/1122nj1.htm" target="_blank" title="President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the [9/11] attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda”">President
Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S.
intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of
Saddam Hussein to the [9/11] attacks and that there was scant credible
evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda”</a>.<br />
And a Defense Intelligence Terrorism Summary issued in February 2002 by the United States Defense Intelligence Agency <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/politics/06intel.ready.html?ei=5090&en=a943ec3b39b0a896&ex=1288933200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print" target="_blank" title="cast significant doubt on the possibility of a Saddam Hussein-al-Qaeda conspiracy">cast significant doubt on the possibility of a Saddam Hussein-al-Qaeda conspiracy</a>.<br />
And yet Bush, Cheney and other top administration officials claimed repeatedly for years that Saddam was behind 9/11. See <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007005.php" target="_blank" title="this analysis">this analysis</a>. Indeed, <a href="http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/print_friendly.php?p=opedne_evelyn_p_051115_bush_gang_swore_sadd.htm" target="_blank" title="Bush administration officials apparently swore in a lawsuit that Saddam was behind 9/11">Bush administration officials apparently swore in a <b>lawsuit</b> that Saddam was behind 9/11</a>.<br />
Moreover, President Bush’s <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030319-1.html" target="_blank" title="March 18, 2003 letter to Congress authorizing the use of force against Iraq">March 18, 2003 letter to Congress authorizing the use of force against Iraq</a>, includes the following paragraph:<br />
<blockquote>
(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law
107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries
continuing to take the necessary actions against international
terrorists and terrorist organizations, <b>including those nations,
organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided
the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001</b>.</blockquote>
Therefore, the Bush administration expressly justified the Iraq war
to Congress by representing that Iraq planned, authorized, committed, or
aided the 9/11 attacks.<br />
Indeed, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12308.html" target="_blank" title="reports">reports</a> that the White House ordered the CIA to forge and <b>backdate a document falsely linking</b> Iraq with Muslim terrorists and 9/11 … and that the <b>CIA complied with those instructions and in fact created the forgery</b>, which was then used to justify war against Iraq. And see <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Suskind_Bush_ordered_fake_letter_linking_0805.html" target="_blank" title="this">this</a>.<br />
Suskind also revealed that “Bush administration had information from a
top Iraqi intelligence official ‘that there were no weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq – intelligence they received in plenty of time to
stop an invasion.’ ”<br />
Cheney made the false linkage between Iraq and 9/11 <a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Cheney-Accidentally-Admits-by-Steven-Leser-090603-753.html" target="_blank" title="on many occasions">on many occasions</a>.<br />
For example, according to Raw Story, Cheney was still alleging a
connection between Iraq and the alleged lead 9/11 hijacker in September
2003 – a year after it had been widely debunked. When NBC’s Tim Russert <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3080244/" target="_blank" title="asked">asked</a> him about a poll showing that 69% of Americans believed Saddam Hussein had been involved in 9/11, Cheney replied:<br />
<blockquote>
It’s not surprising that people make that connection.</blockquote>
And even after <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5223932/ns/us_news-security/t/panel-sees-no-link-between-iraq-al-qaida/#.UIde6fWUxqI" target="_blank" title="the 9/11 Commission debunked">the 9/11 Commission debunked</a> any connection, Cheney <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/18/cheney.iraq.al.qaeda/" target="_blank" title="said">said</a>
that the evidence is “overwhelming” that al Qaeda had a relationship
with Saddam Hussein’s regime , that Cheney “probably” had information
unavailable to the Commission, and that the media was not ‘doing their
homework’ in reporting such ties.<br />
Again, the Bush administration expressly justified the Iraq war by
representing that Iraq planned, authorized, committed, or aided the 9/11
attacks. See <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/18/cheney.iraq.al.qaeda/" target="_blank" title="this">this</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock040303.asp" target="_blank" title="this">this</a>, <a href="http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=complete_timeline_of_the_2003_invasion_of_iraq_986#complete_timeline_of_the_2003_invasion_of_iraq_986" target="_blank" title="this">this</a>.<br />
Even then-CIA director George Tenet said that the White House <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042700550.html?nav=most_emailed" target="_blank" title="wanted to invade Iraq long before 9/11, and inserted “crap” in its justifications for invading Iraq.">wanted to invade Iraq long before 9/11, and inserted “crap” in its justifications for invading Iraq.</a><br />
Former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill – who sat on the National Security Council – also <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/10/oneill.bush/" target="_blank" title="says">says</a> that Bush planned the Iraq war before 9/11.<br />
Top British officials <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/nov/24/iraq-war-chilcot-inquiry" target="_blank" title="say">say</a> that the U.S. discussed Iraq regime change even before Bush took office.<br />
And in 2000, Cheney <a href="http://www.cato.org/dispatch/10-06-00d.html" target="_blank" title="said">said</a> a Bush administration might “have to take military action to forcibly remove Saddam from power.” And <a href="http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/08/donald-rumsfeld-files-reveal-pre-9-11-focus-on-iraq/" target="_blank" title="see this">see this</a>.<br />
The administration’s false claims about Saddam and 9/11 helped
convince a large portion of the American public to support the invasion
of Iraq. While the focus now may be on false WMD claims, it is important
to remember that, at the time, the alleged link between Iraq and 9/11
was <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0314/p02s01-woiq.html" target="_blank" title="at least as important in many people’s mind as a reason to invade Iraq">at least as important in many people’s mind as a reason to invade Iraq</a>.<br />
So the torture program was really all about “justifying” the ultimate
war crime: launching an unnecessary war of aggression based upon false
pretenses.<br />
Postscript: It is beyond any real dispute that <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/12/whos-right-torture-defenders-critics.html" title="torture does not work">torture does <i>not</i> work</a> to produce any useful, <i>truthful</i> intelligence. Today, the following question made it to the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ovh5c/eli5_why_would_the_cia_torture_if_torture_doesnt/" target="_blank" title="front page of Reddit">front page of Reddit</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Why would the CIA torture if torture “doesn’t work”? Wouldn’t they want the most effective tool to gather intelligence?</blockquote>
The Senate Armed Services Committee report gave the answer.NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-15216919765651310192014-12-10T12:15:00.000-08:002014-12-10T12:15:55.955-08:00In America Defeat Is Victory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/514x/k4/k4ynl48pvo1dcolk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/514x/k4/k4ynl48pvo1dcolk.jpg" height="237" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Guest Post by <a href="http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2014/12/defeat-is-victory.html">Dmitry Orlov</a> via Club Orlov blog,<br />
<br />
On the wall of George Orwell's Ministry of Truth from his novel <i>1984</i> there were three slogans:<br />
<blockquote>
WAR IS PEACE<br />
<br />
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY<br />
<br />
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH<br />
</blockquote>
It occurred to me that these apply just a little bit too well to the way the Washington, DC establishment operates.<br />
<br />
<strong>War certainly is peace</strong>: just look at how peaceful
Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Syria and the Ukraine have become
thanks to their peacemaking efforts. The only departures from absolute
peacefulness which might be taking place there have to do with the fact
that there are some people still alive there. This should resolve itself
on its own, especially in the Ukraine, where the people now face the
prospect of surviving a cold winter without heat or electricity.<br />
<br />
<strong>Freedom is indeed slavery</strong>: to enjoy their “freedom,”
Americans spend most of their lives working off debt, be it a mortgage,
medical debt incurred due to an illness, or student loans.
Alternatively, they can also enjoy it by rotting in jail. They also work
longer hours with less time off and worse benefits than in any other
developed country, and their wages haven't increased in two generations.<br />
<br />
<strong>And what keeps it all happening is the fact that ignorance is indeed strength</strong>;
if it wasn't for the Americans' overwhelming, willful ignorance of both
their own affairs and the world at large, they would have rebelled by
now, and the whole house of cards would have come tumbling down.<br />
<br />
<u><strong>But there is a fourth slogan they need to add to the wall of Washington's Ministry of Truth.</strong></u> It is this:<br />
<strong><u>DEFEAT IS VICTORY</u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>The preposterous nature of the first three slogans can be finessed away in various ways.</strong>
It's awkward to claim that American involvements in Iraq, Afghanistan,
Yemen, Libya, Syria or the Ukraine have produced “peace,” exactly, but
various lying officials and assorted national teletubbies still find it
possible to claim that they somehow averted worse (totally made-up)
dangers like Iraqi/Syrian “weapons of mass destruction.” What they have
produced is endless war financed by runaway debt which is leading to
economic ruin. But ignorance helps a lot here.<br />
<br />
<strong>Likewise, it is possible, though a bit awkward, to claim that slavery is freedom</strong>—because,
you see, once you have discharged your duties as a slave, can go home
and read whatever crazy nonsense you want on some blog or other. This is
of course silly; you can stuff your head with whatever “knowledge” you
like, but if you try acting on it you will quickly discover that you
aren't allowed to. “Back in line, slave!” You can also take the opposite
tack and claim that freedom is for layabouts while we the productive
people have to rush from one scheduled activity to another, and herd our
children around in the same manner, avoiding “unstructured time” like a
plague, and that this is not at all like slavery. Not at all. Not even
close. Nobody tells me what to do! (Looks down at smartphone to see
what's next on today's to-do list). <br />
<br />
With ignorance, you don't even have to make the case: <strong>ignorant people are some of the most knowledgeable people on earth—according to them.</strong>
I see that all the time in the hundreds of blog comments I delete; ones
that start with “Surely you must know that [something I don't know]” or
“By now it should be clear to everyone that [something unclear]” are
particularly amusing. On some days I find such ignorance almost
overpowering, and so ignorance is indeed strength.<br />
<br />
<strong>But it is very hard to claim that defeat is victory, and
herein lies a great challenge for the Washington, DC establishment. When
they are victorious, your leaders get to have their way with the world;
when they are defeated, the world has its way with them.</strong> This
is something that is hard to hide: your leaders say what it is they want
to do; and then they either succeed at it or fail. When they fail, they
still try to call it a success, but if you look at their original
statements of purpose, and then the results, and the two don't match at
all, then it looks just a bit like a defeat-ish sort of thingy no matter
how they writhe and squirm and twist. This is a good thing, because
with all the propaganda the Ministry of Truth puts out, it is hard for
the average person to ascertain the nature of the “facts on the ground.”
But when it comes to victory vs. defeat, you can usually take it
straight from the horse's rectum. Yes, the Ministry's public relations
consultants can still claim that “we forced the enemy to give us a free
deep-tissue massage of our glutei maximi,” but a precocious 8th-grader
can still decode that to “We got our asses kicked.”<br />
<strong>So, allow me to enumerate some American victories. Or should I say defeats? Your choice; the two are the same.</strong><br />
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Thanks to the trillion or so spent on the war effort, the 1.5
million Iraqi casualties, and the 5,000 dead US soldiers, there is no
longer any al Qaeda in Iraq now (just like there was under Saddam
Hussein) and the country is free and democratic.</li>
<li>Thanks to many years of continuous effort which cost well over half a
trillion dollars and the lives of 3500 or so coalition soldiers, the
Taleban in Afghanistan have been vanquished and the country is now at
peace.</li>
<li>The Syrian regime has been overthrown and Syria is now peaceful and
democratic, and not at all a war-torn basket case that has produced over
a million refugees, a large part of it ruled by Islamic militants that
are too radical even for al Qaeda.</li>
<li>Overall, the problem of Islamic extremism has been dealt with once
for all, and George W. Bush's “Islamofascists” (remember that term?) are
but a vague memory. ISIS or ISIL or the Islamic State are something
else entirely, plus us bombing them sporadically at great expense has
“degraded” them a tiny bit... maybe.</li>
<li>Thanks to a perfectly legal and very necessary US-managed coup,
Ukraine is on its way to being a stable and prosperous member of the EU
and NATO, and the freedom-loving Ukrainians are no longer at all
dependent on Russian gas, coal and nuclear fuel for being able to merely
survive the winter of 2014-15, or on Russian good will to send in
humanitarian relief convoys, house and feed the refugees from their
civil war, or broker their peace agreements with each other.</li>
<li>In accordance with our grand geopolitical strategy for eternal world
domination, we successfully kicked Russia out of Crimea and are busy
building a huge NATO military base there to make sure that Russia never
becomes a great world power again but is forced to comply with our every
whim.</li>
<li>Thanks to our relentless diplomatic efforts, Russia is now
completely isolated, which is why it can't be constantly signing
gigantic trade agreements with countries around the world or championing
the cause of non-western nations who don't like being pushed around by
the west and have no desire to westernize.</li>
<li>Our sanctions have really hurt Russia, and not at all the EU which
didn't lose a huge export market and is not at all at risk of losing
access to Russia's natural gas which it doesn't need anyway. Nor did
they provide any sort of a huge protectionist benefit to Russia's
domestic producers, or a big new export market to our economic rivals.</li>
<li>Regime change in Moscow is a white ribbon's throw away, and our
expensively nurtured political pets inside Russia are more popular than
ever and are feeling all sorts of love from the Russian people. After
all, fewer than 90% of Russians respect and support Putin for the great
things he has achieved for them, so our stooges like Khodorkovsky or
Kasparov should have no problem getting at least 1% in the next
presidential elections, sending them straight into the Kremlin.</li>
<li>Thanks to our relentless political pressure, Putin is now a
chastised man, ready to be reasonable and bend to our will, and not at
all saying things like “This will never happen!” in an internationally
televised annual address to his nation's elected leaders. In any case,
nobody listens to his speeches because our national media doesn't need
cover them because they are so long and boring.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
...and, last but not least...<br />
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>America is the world's indispensable nation, world's (second)
greatest economic power (but rising fast), and American leadership is
respected throughout the world. When President Obama said so in a recent
speech he gave in China, the audience did not at all laugh out loud
right in his face, roll their eyes, make faces or move their heads side
to side slowly while frowning.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<strong>How can you avoid recognizing the importance of such things,
and the fact that they spell DEFEAT? Easy! Ignorance to the rescue!
Ignorance is not just strength—it is the most awesome force in the
universe.</strong> Consider this: knowledge is always limited and
specific, but ignorance is infinite and completely general; knowledge is
hard to convey, and travels no faster than the speed of light, but
ignorance is instantaneous at all points in the known and unknown
universe, including alternate universes and dimensions of whose
existence we are entirely ignorant. In short, there is a limit to how
much you can know, but there is no limit at all to how much you don't
know but think you do!<br />
<br />
Here is something that you probably think you know. <strong>The
American empire is an “empire of chaos.” Yes, it sort of fails somehow
to achieve peace, prosperity, democracy, stability, avert humanitarian
crises, or stop lots of horrible crimes. But it does achieve chaos. </strong>What's
more, it achieves a wunnerful new type of chaos just invented, called
“controlled chaos.” It's much better than the old kind; sort of like
“clean coal”—which you can rub all over yourself, go ahead, try it! Yes,
there are naysayers out there that say things like “You reap what you
sow, and if you sow chaos, you shall reap chaos.” I guess they just
don't like chaos. To each his own. Whatever.<br />
<br />
Want more? Consider this. If you live in the US, you probably
celebrated Thanksgiving a little while ago, by gorging yourself on
turkey and stuffing with cranberry sauce, and maybe some pumpkin pie. <strong>You
think you know that this holiday is related to the Pilgrims, who first
celebrated Thanksgiving at Plymouth, Massachusetts, but I am sure you
don't remember the exact year. </strong>But I am sure you think that
these Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving by feasting with the natives. You
might even tell your children this story, and think that you are
teaching them a bit of history rather than expanding their field of
ignorance.<br />
<br />
<strong>Now, here are some points of fact</strong>. The Pilgrims
weren't Pilgrims at all, but colonists. They were re-branded as
“Pilgrims” in the 19th century. Believe me, nobody ever went on a
pilgrimage to Plymouth, Massachusetts! These colonists ended up there
because, being incompetent sailors, they missed Boston Harbor by half a
day's sail, and ended up in Plymouth Harbor, which is as exposed, shoal
and as useless today as it was then. They did not celebrate
Thanksgiving; being weird religious zealots, they didn't even celebrate
Christmas. Despite fake “evidence” from “social media” of the period,
they certainly didn't feast with the locals, who by that time spoke
pretty good English and traded with the world. The locals thought these
colonists were a bizarre religious cult (which indeed they were), that
they were lousy and smelly (they never washed and had no idea about
saunas or sweat lodges) and had repulsive personal habits (such as
carrying their snot around with them wrapped in a rag). They were also
quite hopeless at hunting or fishing, and survived by plundering the
locals' kitchen gardens, then starved. To top it off, the “national”
holiday was first created by Abraham Lincoln during the height of the
Civil War, which (this you must surely know!) was much, much later. And
he didn't call it “Thanksgiving”; he called it “Day of Atonement” for
the horrible crimes Americans were committing against each other at the
time.<br />
<br />
<strong>But that's before the Frozen Turkey Marketing Association had a go at adjusting that story.</strong>
It was a plan as simple as it is brilliant: they overdose you on
Tryptophan, then, next day, while you are still groggy, they send you
out into an over-hyped shopping frenzy and, sure enough, you will be
rack up some high-interest debt, which it will take you well into the
next year to pay off. Plow some of that interest back into turkeys and
holiday hype, and you have a national industry—one that drives people
into debt buying imported products they don't need (remember, if doesn't
say “Made in China” then it's probably fake) until everybody is broke.<br />
<br />
<strong><u>With a history <i>that</i> fake, the American Ministry of Truth may yet manage to project it into the future as well.</u></strong>
They may produce a level of ignorance so astonishingly high that
Americans at large won't know that they have been defeated, thinking
that the torrential downpour of the world's rancid slops raining down on
their heads is God's rain, and being thankful for it. Unless, that is,
enough Americans wake up and start making the word DEFEAT part of the
national vocabulary. This is not a exceptional nation, not an
indispensable nation, but a defeated one. Defeated by their own hands,
mind you, because nobody particularly went out of their way to defeat
them. <strong>They showed up to get beaten, over and over again, until they got what they came for.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Now, defeat has proven to be a great learning experience to many countries that then went on to be quite successful</strong>: Germany (on second try), Japan, Russia after the Cold War... <em><u>Of
course, the first step in that learning process is to admit defeat. But
if you don't want to do that, that's OK, because there is always
ignorance to give you all the strength you need.</u></em><br />
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-18687905342434500232014-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:002014-12-08T13:26:29.577-08:00The Biggest Scandal in America Is Its Corporate Controlled Media<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlaqla2r8La-1M3tKqGdVDxHtQ6VnCn8ejX3F_xMGS2AzPMRNe8nWJuYz8JqeQT8YasbWY_MCCFYeh6F6w15s1mtQW_oriu5fL4kzIJyl-ZJcwN0c6rkKKBWAKm_xYnK9arrPbwjbhZKB/s1600/Mainstream-media.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlaqla2r8La-1M3tKqGdVDxHtQ6VnCn8ejX3F_xMGS2AzPMRNe8nWJuYz8JqeQT8YasbWY_MCCFYeh6F6w15s1mtQW_oriu5fL4kzIJyl-ZJcwN0c6rkKKBWAKm_xYnK9arrPbwjbhZKB/s400/Mainstream-media.jpg" width="284" /></a>Guest Post by Eric Zuesse<br />
<br />
<br />
How many Americans know that the current regime in Ukraine was installed in a <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/meet-ukraines-master-mass-murderer-dmitriy-yarosh/" target="_blank">very bloody February 2014 coup d’etat</a>, that was <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/meet-ukraines-master-mass-murderer-dmitriy-yarosh/" target="_blank">planned</a> in the U.S. White House, and <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/meet-ukraines-master-mass-murderer-dmitriy-yarosh/" target="_blank">overseen by</a> an Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, and <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/meet-ukraines-master-mass-murderer-dmitriy-yarosh/" target="_blank">run by</a> the CIA.<br />
<br />
This coup was carried out for the White House by one of Ukraine’s two racist-fascist, or <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/meet-ukraines-master-mass-murderer-dmitriy-yarosh/" target="_blank">nazi</a>,
political parties, whose founder and leader still controls Ukraine
though not officially, even these many months after his coup, and which
nazi party has been up to their elbows since then in a <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/meet-ukraines-master-mass-murderer-dmitriy-yarosh/" target="_blank">genocidal policy</a>
to exterminate the people in the region of Ukraine that had voted
approximately 90% for the man whom Obama and those nazis overthrew in
February. (Click onto that link, and to the more-detailed evidence
that’s linked to there, in order to see the ultimate documentations of
this entire horrific history, because it is history now, even though the
American public were never informed about it while it was news — while
and when it was happening, which it still is.)<br />
<br />
And how many Americans know that one of the two main suspects in the
bringing-down of the Malaysian MH17 airliner over Ukraine on July 17th
has been <a href="http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/11/allow-ukraines-government-write-official-report-shoot-mh17.html" target="_blank">given veto-power over the report</a> that is to be issued from the official ‘investigation’ of the black boxes and other evidence in the case?<br />
<br />
The ongoing hiding of all of this from the American public is perhaps
even more stunning to the present writer than is the bloody American
policy (including <a href="http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/obama-definitely-caused-malaysian-airliner-downed/" target="_blank"> in it) itself.</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>Virtually all of the ‘news’ editors and producers —
the ‘news’ executives, in America’s press — know, and have known all
along, that these things are the case, because they’ve been receiving
many news-submissions on them, with full and entirely credible
documentation each time, ever since February, and have not made any of
these facts public; they’ve not published this reality, when it <i>was</i> news, though they are supposed to be <i>news</i>-organizations.<br />
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I know this because I am one of the many independent investigative
journalists who has been reporting in detail on these matters,
throughout this time-period, and whose reports have been submitted to
virtually all U.S. ‘news’ media — mainstream and alternative news,
liberal and conservative news, Republican and Democratic news. And, with
the exception of only about a half-dozen obscure but admirably <i>authentic </i>news-sites
on the Internet (which is just a small fraction of the “alternative
news” sites), all of this solidly documented information (just click on
the links and you’ll see it documented there) has been intentionally
withheld, from the American public, by virtually the entirety of the
U.S. ‘news’ media.<br />
<br />
Was the rigid control over a nation’s press more rigid and more
universal in the Soviet Union, or in Nazi Germany, than is the case in
today’s United States? One should not simply <i>assume</i> that it was,
or that it wasn’t, but instead recognize how extremely far from being a
democracy today’s United States has, in fact, <i>become</i>. This is
the most shocking realization of all, because it’s the most suppressed
news of all — news about the news-suppression by the ‘news’-media.<br />
<br />
Regarding that charge of news-suppression in America: among the ‘news’
media to which these news-reports have been regularly submitted and yet
never published, have also been specialized ones, such as <a href="http://fair.org/" target="_blank">fair.org</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/" target="_blank">mediamatters.org</a>, and <i>Foreign Policy</i> magazine;
and yet even they refuse to report these realities about U.S. foreign
policy and its cover-ups, and about the controlled U.S. ‘news’ media —
in <i>neither</i> specialized field (neither press-reviews, nor
international policy) is it being reported. And, of course, it’s not
broadcast in any U.S. national media. That’s how dire the condition of
what used to be American democracy has now become.<br />
<br />
The biggest news-story of all is thus the one that is, and that will
inevitably be, the most suppressed news-story of all: the
news-suppression <i>itself</i>. It extends from the major ‘news’-media to the alternative and even to the specialized ‘news’-media.<br />
<br />
Edward Snowden, the former CIA and NSA employee and then contractor who
went public about the U.S. Government’s violating the 4th Amendment
and other U.S. Constitutional provisions regarding Americans’ right to
privacy and so forth, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Sr96TFQQE" target="_blank">addressed on October 20th, a class at Harvard Law School</a>,
and he spoke about the impossibility of democracy to exist if there is
not informed consent from the public of what the Government is doing,
and of what the authentic aims of the Government are in what it is
doing and intends to do. He necessarily had to speak from an
undisclosed location, because the U.S. Government wants to imprison him
(if not worse). He raised the extremely serious question as to
whether, and the extent to which, a government can lie to its public
and still be a democracy.<br />
<br />
That’s the question. How can the public have a government representing
informed consent, if the ‘news’ media are constantly, and
systematically, lying about the most important things, and covering up
that government’s worst, most heinous, crimes? Yet, this is what
Americans have today.<br />
<br />
The United States is thus no longer a model for any country except for a
dictatorship. How likely is it that America’s press will let the
American public know this now-established fact?<br />
<br />
Something’s wrong — and it’s not people such as Edward Snowden.<br />
<br />
For yet another of the many examples of U.S. news-suppression, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1biKeaOH3qc" target="_blank">here</a>.
This interview, 13 years after the news-event, was relegated to
C-Span, not aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, or cable-news channels. <br />
<br />
<i>This article <a href="http://theantimedia.org/corporate-controlled-media/" target="_blank">first appeared</a> at <a href="http://theantimedia.org/" target="_blank">TheAntiMedia.org.</a> </i><br />
<br />
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Theyre-Not-Even-Close-Democratic/dp/1880026090/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1339027537&sr=8-9" target="_blank"><i>They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010</i></a><i>,</i> and of <i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Q1H4EG" target="_blank">CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity</a>.</i></div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-26156186279962401262014-12-08T13:19:00.000-08:002014-12-08T13:19:46.581-08:00Coming To Grips With Conspiracies And Maintaining Mental Health<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
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Guest Post by Bernie Suarez<br />
<br />
Since the beginning of time, humanity has always been in search of
answers and solutions to live by. Humanity has always strived to become
better, smarter and achieve more. One basic thing humanity has also
strived for which we can all likely relate to in some way is the search
for a sense of fulfillment. We want to live in a way that feels
complete. That is, in whatever endeavors we pursue we seek a sense of
accomplishment, fulfillment, and overall satisfaction. Satisfying this
basic sense of fulfillment will then contribute greatly to mental
health and a sense of well being which is itself necessary to survive.<br />
<br />
In psychology some scholars have proposed and agreed upon a list of so called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_human_needs" target="_blank">classification of needs</a>
of humans. That is, the most fundamental needs of humanity in order
to survive on earth. At the top of that list of needs is mental health
(along with physical). It's right up there with food and shelter. I
say this just to give you an idea how important mental health is to
the human species as a whole.<br />
<br />
With this understanding of the supreme need for humans to feel
mentally sane at all times, let us consider the threat that government
corruption and conspiratorial behavior is to that same quest for mental
sanity.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>Face it, the threat is real. The thought of your own
government harming you or wishing you harm is scary, who can disagree?
The fearful proposition of a rogue untrustworthy government has the
ability to interfere with your sense of mental sanity, thus the brain
often looks for the easiest way to defend itself from this threat. It
(the brain - the inner sense of self and conscious existence) seeks to
protect its own sanity, thus for some of us that means sticking to the
truth regardless of what happens. For a few of us, truth is the very
thing that makes us feel secure and mentally oriented. This (truth
seeking) group I speak of is still (seemingly) the minority. For
everyone else, the far greater majority, this tough decision of mental
sanity is being decided subconsciously and influenced by the world
around us. That's right, there is a force acting subconsciously in all
of us to protect your own sense of well being. These are so called <a href="http://psychcentral.com/lib/15-common-defense-mechanisms/0001251" target="_blank">'defense mechanisms'</a> that, as author researcher and mental health expert Dr John Grohol puts it (regarding human basic defense mechanisms):<br />
<blockquote>
In some areas of psychology (especially in psychodynamic
theory), psychologists talk about “defense mechanisms,” or manners in
which we behave or think in certain ways to better protect or “defend”
ourselves. <b>Defense mechanisms are one way of looking at how people
distance themselves from a full awareness of unpleasant thoughts,
feelings and behaviors</b>.<br />
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So, as you can see, these mechanisms have a lot to do
with pushing away an awareness of something that is perceived as a
threat. This pushing away of awareness is thus seen by the majority as
the central driving force behind our basic (mental) survival as a
species.<br />
<br />
Given that this 'awareness avoidance' is so central to maintaining
(strictly perceived) mental health, we can see why and how denial and
resistance to truth about the new world order and the globalist plans
for global enslavement of humanity is necessary to survival for many
people. Let's keep in mind, however, that all of this is <i>perceived </i>survival and <i> perceived </i>mental
health. Anyone who has fully awakened to the globalist plans, and who
is mentally free from government propaganda, TV, and mainstream media
news knows, nothing could be further from the truth.<br />
<br />
The dream state and hypnosis that many of the masses are in currently,
is itself a prison; not so much a haven of pleasure, sense of
completeness and fulfillment. Those living in reinforced states of
denial are all (whether they realize it or not) in a mental prison. On
the other hand, waking up from the daily lies that we are told is
(eventually) a mentally liberating experience. It's the point past the
initial awakening when all the fear and energy culminates and reaches
its peak before things begin to even out again. In medicine they call
it returning to homeostasis. It's that moment when things calm down,
the reaction stops and everything is moving back towards normal. This
is similar to the mental calming, tranquility and peace you will feel
when you finally come to grips with the reality around you. I mean
really come to grips with it. You see, the fear of what might happen if
you woke up (or fear of being labeled a conspiracy theorist) is all
engineered and is all perceived.<br />
<br />
When
you are finally fully awakened to the globalist plans and the full
meaning of all of the global events we are seeing, most if not all
your fears will go away and will be replaced with awe, understanding,
excitement, and energy. Sounds crazy? Not so, consider that even those
who are awakened and who still experience anxiety, anger or stress
about this attempted takeover of humanity (a perfectly natural thing)
feel this way only because they don't quite see the grand picture yet.
Yes, waking up to the truth all around us comes in stages. Kind of
like the 'stages' of grief acceptance famously outlined by <a href="http://www.businessballs.com/elisabeth_kubler_ross_five_stages_of_grief.htm" target="_blank">Elizabeth Kubler Ross</a>. Even in Ross' stages of acceptance of grief, the stages end with acceptance.<br />
<br />
This stage of 'acceptance' (to borrow Ross' model) is where truth
seekers need to arrive at in terms of coming to grips with the truth. As
for those who are still asleep, those that still believe mainstream
media news and have not reconciled the truth about the new world order
or come to grips with the reality and ramifications of it, these
individuals must finally come to the point where they simply accept the
reality that governments DO in fact have histories of false flags,
authoritarianism, dictatorship and crimes against humanity. As a whole,
the State has a long history of violence and murder against the
people. This is not conspiracy, it's history and reality. Likewise the
State has a long history of corruption; and to get to that point of
mental freedom and stability we must all reconcile the truth at some
point and come to grips with the reality of all that is happening.<br />
<br />
This deep reconciling of truth to achieve mental stability proves once
again that truth really does set you free. Truth, in this case, will
restore your mind and your sense of purpose. Imagine not having to
worry about whether ISIS is real or not? Whether the next mass shooting
is staged or not. Imagine diagnosing government repeat false flags in
real-time and not missing a beat within your own private life as you
begin to realize that government and mainstream media lies have no
effect on you. In this scenario, truth will drive you during the day
and inspire you at night. It will make your sleep and dreams a lot
more meaningful and it will breathe new life into your personality,
sense of belonging, sense of reason, and sanity. Pursuing truth and
being completely free of government-mainstream media lies will make
everything seem new again and allow you to look back on your own life
and answer questions you never understood before. It will allow you to
fast-forward many problems in life and go straight to the solution.
Once you see the pattern of life and you realize that governments, and
government behaviors (like anything else) are all part of the pattern
of life, you will only then begin to see and feel the freedom you've
been looking for.<br />
<br />
When you arrive at this point you will be truly mentally healthy. This
simple coming-to-grips with the greater picture and then slowly
learning the power of being free within this new reality is the proper
way to go about being mentally healthy and free.<br />
<br />
The control system would suggest to you that mental health and freedom
comes from you changing who you are, shutting down your free will,
then force-fitting yourself into this (already created for you) world
of slavery, consumerism, group thinking, and mental pacification with
entertainment. This is the exact opposite of what it takes to be
mentally free and enlightened.<br />
<br />
To be mentally free and enlightened one must first cut ties from the
slave master that has you in their mental prison. If this were an actual
prison scenario you wouldn't have trouble understanding why in order
to be totally free its so important to first be released from prison.
Likewise, to be mentally free one must tune out all external thought
control systems. One must remove oneself from the influence of
mainstream media news. Only then can you move forward with a purpose and
a sense of true fulfillment. How?<br />
<br />
Once
you are fully awakened you will soon recognize government staged
false flags in real-time. At this point you will know that the game has
just begun. You will begin to understand how much work there is to be
done. You will also realize how much we've accomplished and why we
are slowly winning. You will realize that no one knows how this will
end and you haven't ever seen a movie this good. You will then look at
others who rely on entertainment and mainstream media news for their
sense of fulfillment and mental health and feel sorry for them. You
will realize that as long as the masses don't wake up they will never
know the rush of seeing a staged false flag news coverage in real-time.<br />
<br />
Like being privileged to a movie screening that no one has seen yet,
you will watch as the globalists/cultists show you in plain sight what
they are going to do, and yet most won't see the message for what it is
as your free mind does. This frustration of seeing people easily
fooled will eventually turn into an awe of the process. That's right,
instead of being angry and frustrated that people won't wake up, you
will instead begin to be amazed by the phenomenon (of mass hypnosis)
itself. This is the level of true mental freedom I speak of. This
level of mental freedom will allow you to speak to hypnotized zombies
with authority, indignation, confidence, assurance, conviction, and
wisdom. This true freedom and mental health will then be seen in you
by others. This is the light and the hope that many are searching for.
Let your light shine.<br />
<br />
What a rush it is to see what others can't, isn't it? These
circumstances that modern-day truth seekers find themselves in are
historic moments in the making. Harness the energy, the moment, the
opportunity and the unique circumstances. Somehow I get the feeling
that humanity has played out this script many times. Let us be mindful
and skillful in the game of life so that we play all the right cards
when it counts. Let us know when to be courageous and when to fight
back and let this amazing journey play itself out in a way that we can
be proud of. Now moving forward you can experience true mental health
and, above all, you can truly live coming to grips with reality and
letting nature take over from there. <br />
<br />
<i> Bernie Suarez is an activist, critical thinker, radio host,
musician, M.D, Veteran, lover of freedom and the Constitution, and
creator of the <a href="http://truthandarttv.com/" target="_blank"><b>Truth and Art TV</b></a> project. He also has a background in psychology and highly recommends that everyone watch a documentary titled </i><i>The
Century of the Self. Bernie has concluded that the way to defeat the
New World Order is to truly be the change that you want to see.
Manifesting the solution and putting truth into action is the very thing
that will defeat the globalists. </i><br />
</div>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-15581352704866313432014-12-08T11:39:00.000-08:002014-12-08T11:39:48.797-08:00Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion<br />
By <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeObBiIluUVhI3-22TGnHoQ" target="_blank">Liberty or Death Media</a><br />
<br />
A great compilation of Larken Rose audio clips taken from various radio
interviews put together in a compelling video. Larken explains how blind
faith in government leads to excusing evil. Watch the video and see, is
Statism the most dangerous religion?<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/N6uVV2Dcqt0" width="560"></iframe>NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-70844095729295728092014-12-08T10:37:00.000-08:002014-12-08T10:37:34.451-08:00How To Reduce Police Violence - Don't Support Laws Your Not Willing to Kill to Enforce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.gotraffic.net/images/i_y.Q20RgRhc/v46/620x349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.gotraffic.net/images/i_y.Q20RgRhc/v46/620x349.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<em><strong>By <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-12-04/law-puts-us-all-in-same-danger-as-eric-garner">Stephen L. Carter</a></strong></em><br />
<br />
On the opening day of law school, I always counsel my first-year
students <u><b>never to support a law they are not willing to kill to enforce.</b></u>
Usually they greet this advice with something between skepticism and
puzzlement, until I remind them that the police go armed to enforce the
will of the state, and if you resist, they might kill you.<br />
<br />
I wish this caution were only theoretical. It isn’t. Whatever your
view on the refusal of a New York City grand jury to indict the police
officer whose chokehold apparently led to the <a data-web-url="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-04/sharpton-leads-civil-rights-meeting-on-chokehold-decision.html" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-04/sharpton-leads-civil-rights-meeting-on-chokehold-decision.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">death of Eric Garner</span></span></a>,
it’s useful to remember the crime that Garner is alleged to have
committed: He was selling individual cigarettes, or loosies, in
violation of New York law.<br />
<br />
The obvious racial dynamics of the case — the police officer, Daniel
Pantaleo, is white; Garner was black — have sparked understandable
outrage. But, at least among libertarians, so has the law that was being
enforced. <a data-web-url="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/03/the-policies-behind-eric-garner-s-death.html" href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/03/the-policies-behind-eric-garner-s-death.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Wrote</span></span></a>
Nick Gillespie in the Daily Beast, “Clearly something has gone horribly
wrong when a man lies dead after being confronted for selling
cigarettes to willing buyers.” Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky,
appearing on MSNBC, also <a data-web-url="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/03/rand-paul-eric-garner_n_6265960.html" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/03/rand-paul-eric-garner_n_6265960.html" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">blamed</span></span></a>
the statute: “Some politician put a tax of $5.85 on a pack of
cigarettes, so they’ve driven cigarettes underground by making them so
expensive.”<br />
<br />
The problem is actually broader. It’s not just cigarette tax laws
that can lead to the death of those the police seek to arrest. It’s
every law. Libertarians argue that we have far too many laws, and the
Garner case offers evidence that they’re right. I often tell my students
that there will never be a perfect technology of law enforcement, and
therefore it is unavoidable that there will be situations where police
err on the side of too much violence rather than too little. Better
training won’t lead to perfection. But fewer laws would mean fewer
opportunities for official violence to get out of hand.<br />
<br />
The legal scholar Douglas Husak, in his excellent 2009 book “<a data-web-url="http://www.amazon.com/Overcriminalization-The-Limits-Criminal-Law/dp/0195399013" href="http://www.amazon.com/Overcriminalization-The-Limits-Criminal-Law/dp/0195399013" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0066cc;">Overcriminalization: The Limits of the Criminal Law</span></span></a>,”
points out that federal law alone includes more than 3,000 crimes,
fewer than half of which found in the Federal Criminal Code. The rest
are scattered through other statutes. A citizen who wants to abide by
the law has no quick and easy way to find out what the law actually is —
a violation of the traditional principle that the state cannot punish
without fair notice.<br />
<br />
In addition to these statutes, he writes, an astonishing 300,000 or
more federal regulations may be enforceable through criminal punishment
in the discretion of an administrative agency. Nobody knows the number
for sure.<br />
<br />
Husak cites estimates that more than 70 percent of American adults
have committed a crime that could lead to imprisonment. He quotes the
legal scholar William Stuntz to the effect that we are moving toward “a
world in which the law on the books makes everyone a felon.” Does this
seem too dramatic? Husak points to studies suggesting that more than
half of young people download music illegally from the Internet. That’s
been a federal crime for almost 20 years. These kids, in theory, could
all go to prison.<br />
<br />
Many criminal laws hardly pass the giggle test. Husak takes us on a
tour through bizarre statutes, including the Alabama law making it a
crime to maim oneself for the purpose of gaining sympathy, the Florida
law prohibiting displays of deformed animals, the Illinois law against
“damaging anhydrous ammonia equipment.” And then there’s the wondrous
federal crime of disturbing mud in a cave on federal land. (Be careful
where you run to get out of the rain.) Whether or not these laws are
frequently enforced, Husak’s concern is that they exist — and
potentially make felons of us all.<br />
<br />
Part of the problem, Husak suggests, is the growing tendency of
legislatures — including Congress — to toss in a criminal sanction at
the end of countless bills on countless subjects. It’s as though making
an offense criminal shows how much we care about it.<br />
<br />
Well, maybe so. But making an offense criminal also means that the
police will go armed to enforce it. Overcriminalization matters, Husak
says, because the costs of facing criminal sanction are so high and
because the criminal law can no longer sort out the law-abiding from the
non-law-abiding. True enough. But it also matters because — as the
Garner case reminds us — the police might kill you.<br />
<br />
I don’t mean this as a criticism of cops, whose job after all is to
carry out the legislative will. The criticism is of a political system
that takes such bizarre delight in creating new crimes for the cops to
enforce. It’s unlikely that the New York legislature, in creating the
crime of selling untaxed cigarettes, imagined that anyone would die for
violating it. But a wise legislator would give the matter some thought
before creating a crime. Officials who fail to take into account the
obvious fact that the laws they’re so eager to pass will be enforced at
the point of a gun cannot fairly be described as public servants.<br />
<br />
Husak suggests as one solution interpreting the Constitution to
include a right not to be punished. This in turn would mean that before a
legislature could criminalize a particular behavior, it would have to
show a public interest significantly higher than for most forms of
legislation.<br />
<br />
He offers the example of a legislature that decides “to prohibit — on
pain of criminal liability — the consumption of designated unhealthy
foods such as doughnuts.”<sup id="footnote-1417706222485-ref"> </sup> The
“rational basis test” usually applied by courts when statutes face
constitutional challenge would be easily met. In short, under existing
doctrine, the statute would be a permissible exercise of the police
power. But if there existed a constitutional right not to be punished,
the statute would have to face a higher level of judicial scrutiny, and
might well be struck down — not because of a right to eat unhealthy
foods, but because of a right not to be criminally punished by the state
except in matters of great importance.<br />
<br />
Of course, activists on the right and the left tend to believe that
all of their causes are of great importance. Whatever they want to ban
or require, they seem unalterably persuaded that the use of state power
is appropriate.<br />
<br />
That’s too bad. Every new law requires enforcement; every act of
enforcement includes the possibility of violence. There are many painful
lessons to be drawn from the Garner tragedy, but one of them, sadly, is
the same as the advice I give my students on the first day of classes:
Don’t ever fight to make something illegal unless you’re willing to risk
the lives of your fellow citizens to get your way.<br />
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-73795906103341459082014-12-08T08:47:00.000-08:002014-12-08T08:47:26.057-08:00Unrestrained Brute Force: America Can't Breathe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media3.mic.com/OTEzNGZjMTQ1ZCMvV1A2c3hYTmRNWlNCa01ub0Y1NzZWaEt6SEhNPS80eDA6MTYwOXg3NzcvMTI4MHg2MjAvczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9wb2xpY3ltaWMtaW1hZ2VzLzdiY3ZrMGppNGZ0cnMydmR1aXVpb3pkc3U3dnpncjdudXd5MG9uNHh4MHMzOGMwemNiZmxwcmNlNnhrenJmNXQuanBn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media3.mic.com/OTEzNGZjMTQ1ZCMvV1A2c3hYTmRNWlNCa01ub0Y1NzZWaEt6SEhNPS80eDA6MTYwOXg3NzcvMTI4MHg2MjAvczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9wb2xpY3ltaWMtaW1hZ2VzLzdiY3ZrMGppNGZ0cnMydmR1aXVpb3pkc3U3dnpncjdudXd5MG9uNHh4MHMzOGMwemNiZmxwcmNlNnhrenJmNXQuanBn.jpg" height="192" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;">Guest Post by <a href="http://www.blacklistednews.com/Unrestrained_Brute_Force_Meets_Righteous_Resistance/39735/0/38/38/Y/M.html">Mike Vail</a></span></h2>
<div class="div_clear">
</div>
First of all, what sort of hellish transformation is taking place
in this country. Today we have been divided, conquered and classified
so much so that we can't recognize ourselves as human beings. How can we
be so fragmented as representing ourselves as Democrats, Republicans,
Libertarians, and Progressives before anything else? How can we see
injustice on a mass scale and ignore it while repeating some
talking-point that we heard on television? Oh, that guy he was resisting
arrest, well he deserved what he got. It's easy to say when it is
someone else but when your day comes the television networks will show
your beating/murder/etc with some imaginative editing and angles and
make you look like Charles Manson. Your jury will not be of your peers
and the jury fears police reprisals and so police get off scot free.
<br />
<blockquote>
<h3>
The Wall Street Journal makes an <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/hundreds-of-police-killings-are-uncounted-in-federal-statistics-1417577504">excellent point</a> that not even the Feds are aware of the true number of people who are killed by police:</h3>
An analysis from The Wall Street Journal found that more than 550
police killings between 2007 and 2012 weren't included in the FBI's
national tally. The report looked at data from 105 of America's largest
police agencies and found that it is "nearly impossible to determine how
many people are killed by the police each year." FBI numbers about
police killings vary greatly from those provided by the Centers for
Disease Control and by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.<br />
</blockquote>
Americans have become desensitized to the violence via televisions
networks which makes is very easy for them to step over people who lay
dying on the street. Having empathy for your fellow man and woman has
reached an all new low. I don't care about your excuses or your Twitter
'activism'. This must change right now! Justice is blind and she hasn't
noticed that the scales have been tipped. The authorities are deathly
afraid of the people and that is why the national guard was deployed so
quickly in Ferguson. That is why police shoot to kill instead of using
pepper spray, tasers or a baton. When a police officer fires their gun
12 times they aren't trying to stop someone, they are trying to murder
them.<br />
<blockquote>
<h3>
The Atlantic has an <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/how-police-unions-keep-abusive-cops-on-the-street/383258/?single_page=true">expose</a> on “How Police Unions and Arbitrators Keep Abusive Cops on the Street”:</h3>
There are, of course, police officers who are fired for egregious
misbehavior by commanding officers who decide that a given abuse makes
them unfit for a badge and gun. Yet all over the U.S., police unions
help many of those cops to get their jobs back, often via secretive
appeals geared to protect labor rights rather than public safety. Cops
deemed unqualified by their own bosses are put back on the streets.
Their colleagues get the message that police all but impervious to
termination.<br />
Let's begin in Oakland, California, where the San Jose Mercury News
reports that "of the last 15 arbitration cases in which officers have
appealed punishments, those punishments have been revoked in seven cases
and reduced in five others."<br />
Hector Jimenez is one Oakland policeman who was fired and reinstated.
In 2007, he shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old man. Just seven
months later, he killed another unarmed man, shooting him three times in
the back as he ran away. Oakland paid a $650,000 settlement to the dead
man's family in a lawsuit and fired Jimenez, who appealed through his
police union. Despite killing two unarmed men and costing taxpayers all
that money, he was reinstated and given back pay.<br />
</blockquote>
Media celebrities and paid tragedy pimps turned the Ferguson story
into one that was foremost about race when it is really about class and
the mentality of a militarized police. Police obviously won't give a
second thought about killing people in poor neighborhoods because they
don't have elite lawyers on retainer. The real story is about the
militarization of Mayberry. Homeland Security and the Pentagon have
started to give away and sell military surplus to police at cost. Does
the psyche of a police force change when they have what looks like tanks
and other military weaponry at their disposal? The citizens become
insurgents and the police behave more like an occupying force.<br />
<blockquote>
<h3>
Salon examines the <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/08/14/one_nation_under_swat_how_americas_police_became_an_occupying_force_partner/">recent history of arming police</a> with military surplus:</h3>
As Karl Bickel, a senior policy analyst with the Justice Department’s
Community Policing Services office, observes, police across America are
being trained in a way that emphasizes force and aggression. He notes
that recruit training favors a stress-based regimen that’s modeled on
military boot camp rather than on the more relaxed academic setting a
minority of police departments still employ. The result, he suggests, is
young officers who believe policing is about kicking ass rather than
working with the community to make neighborhoods safer.<br />
This authoritarian streak runs counter to the core philosophy that
supposedly dominates twenty-first-century American thinking:community
policing.<br />
Take the 1033 program. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) may be an
obscure agency within the Department of Defense, but through the 1033
program, which it oversees, it’s one of the core enablers of American
policing’s excessive militarization. Beginning in 1990, Congress
authorized the Pentagon to transfer its surplus property free of charge
to federal, state, and local police departments to wage the war on
drugs. In 1997, Congress expanded the purpose of the program to include
counterterrorism in section 1033 of the defense authorization bill. In
one single page of a 450-page law, Congress helped sow the seeds of
today’s warrior cops.<br />
The amount of military hardware transferred through the program has
grown astronomically over the years. In 1990, the Pentagon gave $1
million worth of equipment to U.S. law enforcement. That number had
jumped to nearly $450 million in 2013. Overall, the program has shipped
off more than $4.3 billion worth of materiel to state and local cops,
according to the DLA.<br />
</blockquote>
Today in Smallville, USA your friendly neighborhood police officer is no more. There is a push in police departments to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836">hire the ignorant </a>aggressive
mouth-breathing variety. They are Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans
suffering from PTSD injected into your home town to protect newly
gentrified properties being turned into gated communities. In their eyes
you are just taking up valuable real estate. If you want this madness
to come to an end you must first stand up for your fellow citizens, next
you must be willing to bring commerce in your town to a halt and lastly
refuse to give your state and property taxes. Hit them in their fat
budgets, that is the only way to get anything done. Empty rhetoric and
Twitter rage is a waste of time especially when lives are at risk.<br />
<h3 align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://t.co/YQr3tCY6PI">Mike Vail</a> is a US based investigative journalist, geopolitical analyst, and publisher of <a href="http://t.co/YQr3tCY6PI">StratRisks.com</a>. You can read Michael's articles on <a href="http://www.blacklistednews.com/Unrestrained_Brute_Force_Meets_Righteous_Resistance/39735/0/38/38/">BlacklistedNews.com</a>, and follow him on Twitter <a data-send-impression-cookie="true" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVail">@MichaelVail</a></span></span></h3>
NewAmericaNowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324689136919317607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696921472012413320.post-89554025030844457872014-12-05T13:47:00.001-08:002014-12-05T13:47:57.425-08:00Common Core Education Programming 101: Destroy Logic<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju50d2FcLy91j2Kifs9WI_6065R4hkyhifHkxVsVdyKI3skiVipJGHebULRPc5xRyAy7xGumN6AqC3FKwllHnoA0fqjfilVAchtL8xSNtZLQEbJN9SRmthBiCY3k6wjKgAFJIKfqqtwxmF/s1600/Mind-Control.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju50d2FcLy91j2Kifs9WI_6065R4hkyhifHkxVsVdyKI3skiVipJGHebULRPc5xRyAy7xGumN6AqC3FKwllHnoA0fqjfilVAchtL8xSNtZLQEbJN9SRmthBiCY3k6wjKgAFJIKfqqtwxmF/s400/Mind-Control.jpg" width="400" /></a>Guest Post by Jon Rappoport<br />
<br />
<br />
Once upon a time, in medieval universities, new students enrolled in the
Trivium. It was the foundation curriculum. It was required. Its parts
were: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. <br />
<br />
Grammar: the interior construction of language. <br />
<br />
Logic: the valid and invalid connections in the course of a formal
argument; the method of proper reasoning; the deductive links in a
chain, at the end of which appears a conclusion. <br />
<br />
Rhetoric: oral and written presentation; the use of language to make a
case; the capacity to persuade, even in the face of counter-argument. <br />
<br />
Today, the subject matter of the Trivium is not only downplayed. It has been shattered. <br />
<br />
This article focuses on the death of logic in schools. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>When the intensive handling of ideas is seen as a
laughable goal for education, indoctrination is plugged in as the only
alternative. <br />
<br />
The mind of the student shifts from being an active force to being a container. <br />
<br />
The destruction of logic perverts rational thought at its core and inserts ideology masked as insight. <br />
<br />
The actual meaning of an idea is firmly placed on the back burner. Instead? Praise or attack the people who forward ideas. <br />
<br />
This strategy has gained great prominence. <br />
<br />
“The revered Founders of the Republic? Shysters, con men, slaveholders,
monopolists who saw rebellion from England as the way to win greater
power for themselves, at the expense of everyone else living on American
soil.” <br />
<div align="left">
<br />
<br />
</div>
Therefore, the argument continues, and this is crucial, the
Founders’ IDEAS, as expressed in the Declaration and the Constitution,
were rotten to the core. The ideas can be dismissed out of hand as
coming from “a bad source.” <br />
<br />
Ideas no longer need to be judged on their sense, merit, and alignment
with basic principles. Nor are they judged by their position in a
well-formed argument. All that is out. Now, you only have to “look to
the source” and make ALL your decisions based on “who these people
really were who expressed the ideas.” <br />
<br />
And since that’s the case, learning to think or reason is unnecessary. <br />
<br />
In logic, this used to be called the fallacious ad hominem argument. Now
it’s not called anything. It’s praised as the insightful way to do
intellectual business. <br />
<br />
One by one, core ideas fall to the ax, and finally they cease to exist at all. <br />
<br />
(To argue that very bad people have taken over an idea, and therefore
the idea itself was never good, is like arguing that, since hijackers
took over a plane, the plane was a despicable object altogether and
probably deserved to be stolen or blown up.) <br />
<br />
You
might be surprised by the number of people who believe that the value
of an idea depends entirely on who expressed the idea. If the wrong
person first expressed it, it was never worthy. <br />
<br />
Students with a vast sense of self-entitlement and meaningless
self-esteem love this strategy. It allows them to parade around and call
the shots and decide which ideas are important and which aren’t,
without reflection. They have a scorecard of good guys and bad guys and
that’s all they need. <br />
<br />
In our teaching institutions, you could look in vain to find courses on
the individual, his freedom, his power. That’s gone. It’s no accident
that serious training in logic is also gone. And by serious, I mean the
application of logic to formal arguments on issues that determine our
future. <br />
<br />
In many cases, instead, education is about: what group do you belong to?
What are the needs of that group? Who is oppressing your group? How can
you get government to solve the problem? <br />
<br />
If you can educate the young to make snap judgments about core ideas, you eliminate their capacity to reason. You own them. <br />
<br />
From that point on, they hold a hostile attitude toward anyone who can
discuss and analyze ideas. They look at such people as an entitled and
privileged class who is speaking a foreign language. <br />
<br />
In order to engage in meaningful debate, people have to be able to
recognize a train of thought and follow it. If they can’t, because they
were educated not to, where are we? We’re in the dark. We’re living by
slogans. <br />
<br />
Freedom? Liberty? Collective need? Responsibility? It doesn’t matter
what ideas are on the table, because the overwhelming number of people
don’t know what an idea is. They don’t know how to walk up to one and
look at it from several sides. They don’t know how to trace its
implications. They don’t know how to fit that idea alongside its
cousins. They don’t see a Whole. They see the ceaseless spinning
machinery of an alien process, from which they’ve been excluded. <br />
<br />
Then, no matter what shape society takes, it’s a dumb-show, as far the majority of its citizens are concerned. <br />
<br />
Who solves that? <br />
<br />
The invasive State takes charge. It picks up the pieces of the wreckage it was a key actor in delivering. <br />
<br />
The goal of educating citizens about what it means to take part in a
Republic has been blunted. This was done, a step at a time, through
education. <br />
<br />
Dismantling the ability to reason, employ logic, and handle ideas was the prow of that destructive campaign. <br />
<br />
Therefore, the people who still know what logic is <a href="http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/independent-education-the-crisis-and-the-crossroad/" target="_blank">need to teach it in any way they can</a>. <br />
<br />
The first steps are the hardest. But when a student suddenly sees that
world open up to him, when the lights go on, when information that was
formerly a blur and a blob snaps into place as a recognizably logical
(or illogical) sequence, when the student’s aimless wandering mind
suddenly focuses with power…when he knows that he knows…the rewards are
self-evident. <br />
<br />
A dullness becomes bright.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.reallibertymedia.com/2013/10/brainwashing-in-our-schools/" target="_blank"><i>Image source</i></a><br />
<br />
<i>The author of three explosive collections, <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/the-matrix-revealed-vol-1-cd-by-jon-rappoport-mega-info/" target="_blank">THE MATRIX REVEALED</a>, <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/exit-from-the-matrix/" target="_blank">EXIT FROM THE MATRIX</a>, and <a href="http://marketplace.mybigcommerce.com/power-outside-the-matrix/" target="_blank">POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX</a>,
Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of
California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the
purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated
for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30
years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS
Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and
magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars
on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences
around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at <a href="http://nomorefakenews.com/" target="_blank">NoMoreFakeNews.com</a>.</i><br />
</div>
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