July 30, 2015

Ultimate Goal of the New World Order: "A Supranational Sovereignty of an Intellectual Elite and World Bankers"

Many of the people on earth today, especially those in charge of society, are materialists and atheists, consumed by fear, selfishness, violence, egotism, militarism, and greed, spiritually either deeply asleep or dead, destroying through negligence whole nations and even perhaps the planet we live on. A world where war is viewed as normal, where human beings knowingly and willingly torture other human beings to death then lie about it, where governments terrorize their own populations, where millions are deliberately subjected to addictive legal and illegal drugs, where the food supply is degraded for profit, where radiation is purposely introduced into the environment through devices like depleted uranium, where space is viewed as the ultimate high ground for weapons deployment, where assassination is official policy, where pandemics are declared to market dangerous vaccines, where trillions are lavished on financial institutions while families are denied adequate income, where initiative is smothered by taxes and regulations, where justice is bought and sold, where the laws favor mainly the rich, where the media put people to sleep with pablum and nonsense, and where the intellectuals justify the status quo is a world whose time is up. - Richard C. Cook, July 17, 2009

Is an International Financial Conspiracy Driving World Events?

By Richard C. Cook, Global Research
Originally Published on March 27, 2008

"They make a desolation and call it peace." -Tacitus

Was Alan Greenspan really as dumb as he looks in creating the late housing bubble that threatens to bring the entire Western debt-based economy crashing down?

Was something as easy to foresee as this really the trigger for a meltdown that could destroy the world’s financial system? Or was it done, perhaps, "accidentally on purpose"?

And if so, why?

Let’s turn to the U.S. personage that conspiracy theorists most often mention as being at the epicenter of whatever elite plan is reputed to exist. This would be David Rockefeller, the 92-year-old multibillionaire godfather of the world’s financial elite.


David Rockefeller at Harvard in 2006

The lengthy Wikipedia article on Rockefeller provides the following version of a celebrated statement he allegedly made in an opening speech at the Bilderberg conference in Baden-Baden, Germany, in June 1991:
"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time magazine, and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during these years. But the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government which will never again know war, but only peace and prosperity for the whole of humanity. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in the past centuries."
This speech was made 17 years ago. It came at the beginning in the U.S. of the Bill Clinton administration. Rockefeller speaks of an "us." This "us," he says, has been having meetings for almost 40 years; if you add the 17 years since he gave the speech, it was 57 years ago—two full generations.

Not only has "us" developed a "plan for the world," but the attempt to "develop" the plan has evidently been successful, at least in Rockefeller’s mind. The ultimate goal of "us" is to create "the supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers." This will lead, he says, toward a "world government which will never again know war."

Just as an intellectual exercise, let’s assume that David Rockefeller is as important and powerful a person as he seems to think he is. Let’s give the man some credit and assume that he and "us" have in fact succeeded to a degree. This would mean that the major decisions and events since Rockefeller gave the speech in 1991 have probably also been part of the plan or that they have at least represented its features and intent.

Therefore by examining these decisions and events we can determine whether in fact Rockefeller is being truthful in his assessment that the Utopia he has in mind is on its way or has at least come closer to being realized.

In no particular order, some of these decisions and events are as follows:

Multinational Corporations Run by the Ruling Elite Avoid U.S. Taxes on $2.3 Trillion in Profits by Stashing It Overseas

Enticed by highway money, U.S. Congress revisits corporate tax break

July 29, 2015

Reuters - The U.S. Congress is setting the stage for months of debate on a tax break for overseas corporate profits, a perennial proposal made over by being linked to another issue, funding for highway construction.

The tax-break-for-road-funding package has backers but also many critics in Washington. By the end of 2015, it could provide a short-term highway funding solution and have a long-lasting impact on corporate tax policy.

Or it could founder on the rocks of fiscal stalemate that for years have wrecked other proposals for overhauling the loophole-riddled U.S. tax code. Either way, the debate will underscore the power of combining two politically appealing ideas, even when they have little in common.

In legislation introduced in 2013, Democratic Representative John Delaney created a combination that he called good policy and "good politics," offering something to both political parties.
"In the case of the Democrats, it's infrastructure. In the case of the Republicans, it's figuring out a way to get that money back from overseas," he said, referring to the estimated $2.3 trillion in profits stashed overseas by multinationals.
Criticized as "Delaney's Delusion" by a tax watchdog group when he unveiled it, the idea of giving overseas profits a tax cut to help fund U.S. highways is opposed by many, including influential business interests.

But differing versions of it have won support from the likes of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Representative Paul Ryan. Congressional minds have now been concentrated by the financial state of the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for half of U.S. highway and transit projects and is projected to go broke on Friday.

FUNDING HIGHWAYS

Republican leaders on Tuesday were prepared to pass a three-month highway funding extension to temporarily fund road and transit construction, while seeking a longer-term solution.

Lawmakers do not want to raise the gasoline tax, which has not gone up since 1993, so they are looking for other revenues.

Like some others, Delaney foresaw this problem when he first ran for a seat in Congress in 2012.
"It was pretty clear to me that infrastructure should be our top domestic economic priority. But trying to find a way to pay for it was the challenge," Delaney said in an interview.
As a businessman, he said, he was also aware of a tax code loophole, known as the deferral rule, that lets companies avoid the 35-percent income tax on active profits generated abroad as long as they are not brought into the country, or repatriated.

Many companies would like to bring those profits home. In 2004, promising a boost to the economy, multinationals won a tax break on repatriated profits. More than 800 firms repatriated $362 billion at just 5.25 percent in tax.

But studies showed the repatriated profits went largely for dividends and stock buybacks. This soured Congress on future tax holidays, while multinationals began stashing away more profits overseas, hoping another would follow.

July 25, 2015

Iranian Supreme Leader: "We Welcome No War, Nor Do We Initiate Any War, But If Any War Happens, the One Who Will Emerge Loser Will Be the Aggressive and Criminal U.S."

Iranian leader tweets graphic of Obama with gun to head

July 25, 2015

USA TODAY - Iran's supreme leader tweeted a graphic Saturday that appears to depict President Obama holding a gun to his head as Britain relaxed its travel advice to the nation, citing decreased hostility under the Iranian government.

"US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but.." reads the caption above the tweet sent by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on @khamenei_ir, his English language account.

July 24, 2015

Hummingbird-sized 'Pocket Drone,' Self-guided Bullets, and Reality Combat Goggles Among New Tools of the War Industry

Here's what the soldier of the future may look like

Popular Science
July 24, 2015

Intelligence

Augmented reality combat goggles—such as those being developed by Israeli Defense Forces and for the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS)—will record everything a soldier sees. They will also provide an information overlay: The projected data could include navigation instructions, intelligence on enemy sites, and real-time translations of local languages.

Protection

Next-generation body armor will use layered scales, like those on a fish, for light, flexible protection. Scientists from MIT and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology are designing a material that would fuse hard plates to a soft, pliable substance, just as actual fish scales anchor to tissue. The eventual armor could be fine-tuned to specific roles, with more scales on the chest and back, and fewer at the joints.

Performance

Exoskeletons will not resemble Iron Man’s, at least not in the near term. Instead, DARPA’s Warrior Web program is developing an exo light and agile enough to fit underneath a soldier’s clothing. Using springs and actuators at joints, the suit, which is now in tests, could help soldiers carry extra weight and boost their endurance. The goal? “A four-minute mile,” says Lt. Col. Joe Hitt, the former program manager.

Surveillance

The PD-100 Black Hornet is an 18-gram “pocket drone” recently tested by the U.S. Army. Made by Prox Dynamics, the hummingbird- size craft can be carried in a pocket for fast deployment and fly about a mile, beaming back full-motion video and snapshots as it goes.

black hornetRichard Watt/MODThe Black Hornet 

July 21, 2015

Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department Operate Like a Vast Crime Syndicate

Guaranteed US Dollar Death Dynamics

July 2, 2015 

Jim_Willie_CB - The USDollar is on a collision course with imminent death.

It is utterly amazing that so many supposedly smart analysts and highly paid wealth managers cannot see the obvious path on which the USDollar treads, limps, and struts — proudly, dangerously, and abusively — suspended by numerous false cables and tethers.

The USDollar cannot be sustained in its current form or on its present course. The abuse of its management and stewardship will be told in history books (possibly with certain chapters scribed by the Jackass).

The aggressive defense of the USDollar includes criminal activity on a widespread scale never witnessed before. It is a veritable global money war, not so much a global financial crisis.

The system, centered upon the USDollar, is collapsing under its own insolvency and corrupt underpinnings amidst the din of war. The truth is almost nowhere to be seen.

The USGovt is demanding that allies support the global currency reserve, even though doing so guarantees a financial structure collapse and an economic breakdown. The safe haven is Gold & Silver, in the form of bars & coins, kept secure outside all nations that speak English, and outside nations that are closely allied with the USFed and USDept Treasury, which operate like a vast crime syndicate.

The current system is destined to failure. Time is running out.

The only assets to thrive in the coming climax will be precious metals, property containing commodity resources, and certain commercial property, surely farmlands, maybe some collectibles.

The year 2015 will not end with any basic resemblance to the beginning of 2015. The interior structures are fracturing, seizing, cracking, rupturing, and convulsing. The banking masters are having an increasingly difficult time to conceal the damage, corrosion, ruin, and breakdown.

Meanwhile the Chinese are wresting control of the Gold market. They will liberate when they feel like it and not a moment before.

2011 Flashback: Greece, a Dress Rehearsal for the Rest of the World

Greek lawmakers voted to speed the enactment of the country’s new austerity measures, clearing the way for foreign lenders to make available the next installment of aid needed to meet the government’s expenses through the summer. Among the new measures are cuts in spending on health and defense, tax increases on heating oil and the self-employed, and reductions in the number of public employees. They also call for the privatization of about $70 billion in state assets. At the last minute, the bill was altered to freeze the salaries of civil servants and to lower the ceiling below which income for individuals is not taxed; the minimum was reduced to $11,600 annually from $17,400, with more lenient treatment for people with children. - Greek Parliament Approves Implementation of Austerity Plan, New York Times, June 30, 2011

How the Greeks are Handling the Burden of Austerity Measures

July 17, 2011

Epoch Times - In a visit to the Grecian capital Sunday, U.S. secretary of State Hillary Clinton lauded the government for its tough austerity measures enacted to pay off a mountainous debt that pushed the nation to the brink of economic collapse.

Clinton said that the austerity measures, which are highly controversial among the Greek populace and some officials, are the “bitter medicine” necessary to help Greece regain economic stability.

Greece has implemented the austerity measures to meet the demands of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which jointly loaned the country 110 billion euros (US$155 billion). The measures, which include increased taxes, a 20 percent decrease in the minimum wage, large cuts to the social services, the selling of large pieces of land, and a privatization program to sell off large state-owned companies and ports, have left many earning less money and at risk of losing their jobs.

Over the past few months, Greeks have made their discontent over the measures known, staging near-daily protests in Athens that have frequently resulted in demonstrator clashes with police.

Several private and public sector employees recently shared with The Epoch Times how the budget cuts are affecting them and their families, and how they think the country should proceed to stabilize itself.

Special forces police officer, 24

[Under the austerity measures] I started getting 150 euro (US$212) less in salary [a month] plus other benefits I had from my work were reduced. Now with the new austerity measures and the rise of taxes, I will have less income.

Everyone [is to blame for this crisis]. Everyone who tries to evade taxes; everyone who tries to avoid the immigrant situation; immigrants don't help the country to earn an income, instead they cost the state more money. Everyone who gets a job in the public sector without passing exams, and those people who use their connections to get the job without being qualified.

July 19, 2015

Feds are Nationalizing and Militarizing Local Police Forces in the U.S.

The true, nationalized police force is the 2nd amendment! You should fear a government that fears its citizens being armed. Only tyrants fear an armed citizenry. Albert Einstein said: “The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.”

Obama’s Unconstitutional Schemes to Nationalize Police

June 30, 2015

Alex Newman - Efforts to nationalize state and local police forces across America go back decades, but the Obama administration has accelerated that push and is now openly working to turn your local cops into extensions of federal power. In addition to being unconstitutional, this is an absolutely terrible idea for a number of reasons.

First, let’s talk about Obama’s scheming on this front. Before openly complaining about the militarization of police, Obama was militarizing American police departments at an unprecedented rate. At the same time he was attacking the rights of Americans with slogans like “weapons of war don’t belong on our streets,” he was flooding our streets with actual weapons of war — tanks, armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers, and more to local police.

After the unrest in Ferguson, much of which was fueled by Obama ally and financier George Soros and his billions according to an in-depth investigation by the Washington Times, Obama started complaining about the very militarization his administration was engaged in. Using an executive order, Obama then created what he called the “Task Force on 21st Century Policing” to “study” the issue. What do you think his task force said? Surprise! We need to nationalize the police.

Read the full article at New American.

Flashback to a 2011 Report on Greece, the Central Banking System, the Euro, and Big Government Debt

Americans can also learn from Europe. Borrowing and printing money to finance big government  policies makes the problems worse. And bailing out banks with tax money after the system fails isn’t just wrong, it’s self-destructive. Yet even as these facts are being acknowledged in Europe, the U.S. government is growing faster than ever before in history — financed by massive debt and out-of-control currency creation. While it’s almost unthinkable that America would end up like Greece or Portugal, on our current path, there are few long-term alternatives. Of course, there is one difference: When nobody will lend the United States any more money, and when running the printing presses leads to an inevitable currency crisis, a bailout for our own federal government will be impossible to find.

Lessons in Statism from the European Crisis




June 30, 2011

Europe is a mess. 

The ongoing economic crisis has sparked violent riots and growing turmoil, particularly in harder-hit nations like Greece, where demonstrators have taken to throwing home-made bombs at police. And the worst may be yet to come.

Analysts now say there is a real chance that the Greek government will default on its obligations. Former U.S. Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan recently said it looks like there’s no other way out for the beleaguered regime in Athens. Ratings agencies have already downgraded Greek bonds to “junk” status and are warning that they could go down even more.

A default, or whatever the government might try to call it, would make the bad situation worse. First, Greek banks — having been essentially coerced into buying loads of government debt — would all be wiped out and become insolvent. Analysts predict that the regime would have no alternative but to nationalize the entire banking sector and declare a “bank holiday.” Such a scenario would make the current clashes in the streets look moderate by comparison as furious depositors demanded their money.

The implications for world markets, and especially for the Euro, could be catastrophic. French and German banks are said to be among those heavily invested in Greek bonds.

Experts have been warning for more than a year that if Greece goes down, a domino effect might topple the whole region. The single currency could even collapse, and the economy of the European Union (EU) may go down with it, as banks and governments exposed to Greece’s government debt began to tumble.

Other indebted European governments — Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Italy, among others — might start defaulting on their own obligations. Even without the problems in Greece, more than a few governments in the region are precipitously close to the edge. A Greek default could be the push.

To avoid that scenario, the EU establishment has been working to paper over the problem by throwing taxpayer money at it. Thus far, it doesn’t seem to be working. The socialist regime in Greece is still devouring money like a black hole and effectively holding the region hostage.

The first Greek bailout last year, orchestrated by Euro-zone governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), totaled almost $150 billion. It was supposed to last for three years, but it wasn’t even close to enough. Greece is now begging for another handout, and it appears virtually certain that a second rescue package — estimated as high as $170 billion — will soon be on the way.

Even with the next round of bailouts, however, analysts say it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable default arrives and bond holders are forced to take a big cut. Indeed, the Greek government’s debts are growing faster than the economy is. If something doesn’t change, it will be impossible for Greek taxpayers to end the cycle without a default.

Greece, of course, is just one of many European countries grappling with staggering amounts of debt. And while the Greek tragedy may be dominating the financial headlines, the situation in several larger economies is equally grim.

Greece Forced to Sell Government Assets to Foreign Investors and Allow for Private Development of State-owned Property to Generate Cash to Pay Down Debt

Greece does about-face, pledges big privatization push

July 18, 2015

AP - Work was supposed to begin next year on a 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) waterfront urban renewal project almost twice the size of New York's Central Park that could have poured nearly a billion euros into Greece's depleted coffers. The plans stalled late last year after the far-left Syriza party took power and promised to halt attempts at putting the private sector in control of state assets, both on ideological grounds and because leaders believe rampant corruption must be addressed before any sell-off.

Now, in an attempt to get a third European bailout and prevent the Greek economy from collapsing, the ruling party has done an about-face. It has pledged to fast-track the waterfront project, plus sell government assets and allow for private development of state-owned property, all to generate cash that will help reduce Greece's 320-billion-euro national debt and pay back money lent by European nations to prop up ailing banks.

Experts say the goal set by Greece's European counterparts for the country to raise 50 billion euros in privatizations and private use of state property is probably impossible — but that Greece must make a better effort than it has in the past.
"There can be absolutely no backpedaling or unwinding with the privatization effort," said Mujtaba Rahman, European director for the Eurasia Group political and business risk consulting firm. "This is about testing the government's appetite to liberalize the economy and move forward with pro-market reforms."
Big money assets that Greece could sell include state-owned stakes in Athens' new airport, energy company Hellenic Petroleum and electrical utility Public Power Corp., plus offshore oil or natural gas drilling parcels. Greece also has stock in banks valued at 7.5 billion euros, but the true value of the stake is unknown because the Athens stock market stopped trading at the end of June as the country descended into financial chaos.

The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, charged with matching state assets in deals with the private sector, also has parcels of land on beautiful islands available for long-term leases and a castle on the island of Corfu, plus buildings throughout Athens and across the country.
It was formed in 2011 following demands by Greece's creditors to embark on a privatization wave, but has collected only 3.5 billion euros so far. Efforts have been complicated by constantly changing laws for asset sales, court challenges, local opposition, financial upheaval that makes it difficult to value assets, and criticism that prices have dropped so much that assets aren't worth selling.

Proponents of privatization say it can help boost investment and the economy flourish by unleashing market forces. It was particularly popular in countries like the United Kingdom in the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher sold state-owned assets including water and gas. Though privatizations have taken place elsewhere in Europe, they've been far less prevalent.

But over the past few years during Europe's debt crises, privatizing assets has been a key demand placed on countries being bailed out. Greece notably failed to meet initial targets.

The privatizations have met with varying degrees of resistance, with some arguing that stressed governments such as Greece's are selling assets at below-market prices. Opponents also say privatization reduces job security and transfers wealth to a rich elite.

Greece's development fund doesn't publicly disclose the estimated value of assets it has to offer, but the deal it negotiated for the waterfront renewal project would give Greece 950 million euros in return for a 99-year lease on the property. 

A Greek company with backing from Chinese and Arab investors would then build a huge park, a shopping center, a marina, 1,000 hotel rooms and a skyscraper apartment building on what's billed as Europe's largest undeveloped waterfront tract. Multimillion-euro yachts dock at a marina within the parcel that was built for the 2004 Olympics, but a crumbling, two-block-long building with a leaky roof bakes in the sun. It was built for athletes but never used after the games.

Iran's Khamenei: Nuclear Weapons are Religiously Forbidden Under Islamic Law; Stopping Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons Had Nothing to Do with Nuclear Talks; He Says U.S. Created ISIS

Iran's Khamenei Signals Approval Of Nuclear Deal With 'Arrogant' U.S.

July 18, 2015

NPR - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signaled his all-important approval of a historic nuclear deal forged with the West, but he portrayed the agreement as having been on Tehran's terms.
"Our policy toward the arrogant U.S. government won't change at all," Khamenei said in televised a speech in Tehran marking Eid, the end of Ramadan.

"After 12 years of struggling with the Islamic republic, the result is that they have to bear the turning of thousands of centrifuges in the country," Khamenei said, referring to the United States and its five other powers that reached the agreement in Vienna on Tuesday.
"The Americans say they stopped Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," Khamenei said. "They know it's not true. We had a fatwa, declaring nuclear weapons to be religiously forbidden under Islamic law. It had nothing to do with the nuclear talks," he said.
Gulf News reports:
"Khamenei also said Tuesday's nuclear agreement would not alter Iran's support for the governments of Syria and Iraq nor its backing of "oppressed people" in Yemen and Bahrain, and the Palestinians.
"The comments reflected the supreme leader's longstanding position that Iran's engagement with the six powers was solely to reach a nuclear deal that was in its national interest."

New Federal Database Will Hold Individual Credit Scores, Employment Records, Healthcare, Education of Americans

Report: Obama Setting Up Secret 'Racial Database'

July 18, 2015

Newsmax - The Obama administration is collecting vast amounts of personal data on Americans by race to create a huge database for the goal of "racial and economic justice," according to a report by a fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

The data includes information that would document disparities between minorities and whites in such areas as healthcare, education, financial lending, and neighborhood quality, said Paul Sperry in a report for The New York Post.
 
Calling it "an Orwellian-style stockpile of statistics," Sperry said the data would fuel a "permanent network of discrimination databases" that could be used by civil-rights lawyers and other advocates "to make 'disparate-impact' cases" against school systems, banks, and employers.

President Barack Obama's goal is to have the database ready before he leaves office in early 2017 — and all the information would be posted online.

July 18, 2015

A Muslim Marine's Testimony: The True Khalifa of Islam Leaves No Room for Terrorism and Only Permits Fighting in Self-defense to Protect Freedom of Religion for All People

A Muslim Marine's testimony to his fallen Chattanooga brothers: Column

A proud Marine and faithful Muslim speaks out in the name of integrity.

July 17, 2015

Tayyib M. Rashid, USA TODAY - I still remember why I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. I wanted to be part of a brotherhood of men dedicated to the service of our country. I was young, 19, and in college. I was a good student — but I knew this wasn't going to cut it.

At the time many told me it was a foolish decision, but in January 1997 I enlisted anyhow. My father, who is a Muslim missionary and theologian, fully supported and approved of my decision. For as an Islamic scholar, he well knew Prophet Muhammad's commandment to all Muslims, "Loyalty to your country of residence is part of your faith." Thus, in enlisting in the Marines, I was fulfilling my obligations as a United States Citizen, and as a Muslim. I felt empowered knowing that no contradiction existed between the two.

Today I am an honorably discharged Marine who proudly served five years active duty in the United States Marine Corps. Serving my country remains among the highest honors I've been blessed with. Thus, I was that much more horrified, angered, and saddened at the loss of life of my four brothers-in-arms in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

This senseless loss of life became even more incomprehensible when I learned that the alleged shooter appears to have been a Muslim. But I see nothing Islamic in this act of terrorism. I see only the actions of a sick and twisted individual. No difference exists between the Chattanooga terrorist, the terrorist Dylann Roof who allegedly killed nine innocent black Americans in Charleston last month, or James Holmes, the terrorist convicted of killing 12 innocent people in a Colorado theater several years ago.

And as I reflect on the Chattanooga attack, I can only wonder how anyone who is Muslim, especially one living in the United States, can even think about such despicable acts? Islam leaves no room for terrorism, and only permits fighting in self-defense to protect freedom of religion for all people. What this terrorist committed represents his own personal barbarity — nothing else.

In fact, individuals like the shooter have no religion. Islam holds human life sacred at the highest level. The Holy Quran has likened the killing of an innocent life to killing of all of mankind. Rather than holding loyalty to country as part of his faith, this terrorist engaged in violence against the very people sworn to protect him from harm. He attacked my fellow human beings, my fellow Americans, my fellow Marine brothers. While this terrorist might have been inspired by ISIS, I follow the true Khalifa of Islam, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who loudly declares:
"From cover to cover, the Holy Qur'an teaches love, affection, peace, reconciliation and the spirit of sacrifice. Hence, if anybody portrays Islam as an extreme and violent religion filled with teachings of bloodshed, then such a portrayal has no link with the real Islam."

About 4.2 Million Adults Receiving Social Security Disability Payments Could Lose Gun Rights

Obama pushes to extend gun background checks to Social Security

July 18, 2015

Chicago Tribune - Seeking tighter controls over firearm purchases, the Obama administration is pushing to ban Social Security beneficiaries from owning guns if they lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, a move that could affect millions whose monthly disability payments are handled by others.

The push is intended to bring the Social Security Administration in line with laws regulating who gets reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is used to prevent gun sales to felons, drug addicts, immigrants in the country illegally and others.

A potentially large group within Social Security are people who, in the language of federal gun laws, are unable to manage their own affairs due to "marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease."

There is no simple way to identify that group, but a strategy used by the Department of Veterans Affairs since the creation of the background check system is reporting anyone who has been declared incompetent to manage pension or disability payments and assigned a fiduciary.

If Social Security, which has never participated in the background check system, uses the same standard as the VA, millions of its beneficiaries would be affected. About 4.2 million adults receive monthly benefits that are managed by "representative payees."

The move is part of a concerted effort by the Obama administration after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., to strengthen gun control, including by plugging holes in the background check system.

But critics — including gun rights activists, mental health experts and advocates for the disabled — say that expanding the list of prohibited gun owners based on financial competence is wrongheaded.

Though such a ban would keep at least some people who pose a danger to themselves or others from owning guns, the strategy undoubtedly would also include numerous people who may just have a bad memory or difficulty balancing a checkbook, the critics argue.
"Someone can be incapable of managing their funds but not be dangerous, violent or unsafe," said Dr. Marc Rosen, a Yale psychiatrist who has studied how veterans with mental health problems manage their money. "They are very different determinations."
Steven Overman, a 30-year-old former Marine who lives in Virginia, said his case demonstrates the flaws of judging gun safety through financial competence. After his Humvee hit a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury that weakened his memory and cognitive ability.

July 15, 2015

Jade Helm Officially Begins on July 15, 2015

Jade Helm 15, as the exercise is called, will run through September 15 and will involve unconventional warfare using Army special operators. USASOC will supply the vast majority of the roughly 1,200 personnel in the joint exercise. Limited special operations forces units from the Navy, Marines and Air Force will also participate. Journalists are not permitted to embed in the operation. The training will occur in six other states: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi:

• Arizona: National Guard Training Centers and at an Army Reserve Center
• Florida: Eglin Air Force Base
• Louisiana: Camp Beauregard
• Mississippi: Camp Shelby, Naval Research Laboratory – Stennis Space Center, and U.S. Navy Seabee Base at Gulfport/Biloxi
• New Mexico: Cannon Air Force Base, and tentatively in Otero County
• Texas: Camps Bullis and Swift, and in Bastrop, Burleson, Brazos, Edwards, Howard, Hudspeth, Kimble, Martin, Marion, Real, Schleicher and Tom Green Counties
• Utah: Carbon and Emery Counties

Jade Helm Is Imminent and Everyone in Texas Is Prepared for the Fed’s Invasion

. . . which is probably not happening.

July 14, 2015

Vanity Fair - On Wednesday, the United States military will officially begin Operation Jade Helm 15, a super-secret military exercise involving a vast number of U.S. armed forces—the largest number of forces participating in such an exercise—rolling around the Southwest for some reason. Really. No one knows exactly why they’re doing it. But the combination of secret military exercises, a healthy dose of anti-federalist sentiment that’s long existed in the Southwest, and a dash of Obama suspicion has led to the creation of what might be, if necessary, the largest anti-military exercise led by the paranoid citizens of Texas.

The general sentiment among conspiracy theorists is that Jade Helm is the military’s attempt to impose martial law on Texas, Utah, and the other territories deemed “hostile” according to a unclassified map of the exercise. Some have gone a step further, claiming that the government is either going to establish processing centers in Wal-Marts, or that it’s an exercise to prepare them for the breakdown of society in the aftermath of a giant asteroid. Others are convinced that it’s less nefarious: Walker, Texas Ranger star and surprising voice of reason Chuck Norris is pretty sure that it’s a show of force against ISIS, which announced that it wanted to smuggle a nuclear weapon across the U.S.-Mexico border, which is not the most implausible theory.

Nevertheless, calling Texas a "hostile" territory is never a good idea, given its long history. The secretive nature of the exercise has caused people—even people who aren’t wingnuts but hold a deep suspicion about a lot of military personnel suddenly showing up out of nowhere—to put together a group called Counter Jade Helm, a surprisingly well-organized bunch ready to become an insta-militia.


July 14, 2015

Nestlé is Taking Water From the Great Lakes and is Looking to Purchase Hoover Dam to Privatize the Water

Nestlé has made criminal deals with the government to take water from the Great Lakes at very little cost. This water is then used for bottled water or to be shipped to China. The U.S. Government is not morally fit to deal with this situation.



May 7, 2013 - Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck has stated that water is not a right, but an exploitable resource and commodity that should be leveraged for money. Nestlé's unabashed greed in regards to witholding water from people is well documented, and Tyrel Ventura and Tabetha Wallace discuss it in the video clip above from Buzzsaw.

We need to stop the exportation of water from the Great Lakes to China

December 19, 2010

Ann Arbor News Letter to the Editor - This letter is in regards to NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement). The president is now pushing for free trade with South Korea, which I am totally against.

Take a look at how things are working out with China. They export numerous cheap items to our country tainted with toxic and cancer causing substances. It seems almost every month the FDA is recalling this junk including many items made for children.

One of the most toxic was drywall which contained sulfuric acid. Wy would you put sulfuric acid in drywall? Many people were sickened from it. Every day our ports are filled with imports from China. How many of these items make it to the consumer without being tested for toxic substances? How many boats are loaded with exports to China from the United States? I dare say, very few. Many jobs have been lost due to this one-sided trading.

The only thing they do import from us, which needs to be stopped, is water. China is the biggest consumer of Nestlé, which sells several brands of bottled water from a plant based in northern Michigan. When John Engler was governor of Michigan in 2001, he made an agreement with bottle water giant Nestlé, allowing them to open a plant in Mecosta County. They have pumped more than a 1/2 million gallons of water a day, drying up streams and ponds that feed the Great Lakes.

I had no idea this was going on and always thought the Great Lakes were sacred. We need to get this stopped now by writing our governor, Congressmen and senators. I have had it up to here with NAFTA, and China. There is NOTHING free trade about this agreement.

Coca-Cola and Nestlé Are Sucking Us Dry Without Our Even Knowing


Fool.com - The droughts currently ravaging California, which will likely send food prices soaring down the road, have highlighted the importance of available freshwater supplies. As 17 communities in California are within 60 days of running out of drinking water, the ability of companies like Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) NestlĂ© (NASDAQOTH: NSRGY  ) to effectively privatize water supplies feels awfully disconcerting. While the rains that just began to fall out West may bring some measure of relief, the fact remains that the world is coming up hard against a water crisis.

In thirsty regions of the world, Coca-Cola and Nestlé have repeatedly clashed with communities over the perception that the companies were commandeering scarce water supplies at the expense of small farmers and poor villages. While both companies have deployed aggressive water conservation campaigns, with an understanding that water is an essential input to their businesses, Nestlé and Coca-Cola have long faced accusations that they suck vulnerable communities dry in pursuit of their profit motives.

Netanyahu Accuses Iran of Wanting to Take Over the World But It is the Tiny Elite Who Have That As Their End Goal

"We will reserve our right to defend ourselves against all of our enemies. We have strength, and it is great and mighty." — Benjamin Netanyahu, PM of Israel, July 15, 2015

"He even mentioned to me once that they were having a real problem trying to solve the Israel-Palestinian problem. And he talked to me once about [that] they were playing with the idea of bringing Israel to Arizona, and taking all the people from Israel and giving everybody a million dollars and setting up Israel in the State of Arizona to end that problem. That's a problem that they're not in charge of, in a sense. They're not controlling that problem." - Aaron Russo on His Conversations with Nick Rockefeller About the the Council on Foreign Relations and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (first 41 seconds of the video above)
Iranian officials sometimes respond to accusations that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability by replying that, not only do they not want a bomb, they'd actually like to see a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East. Yes, this is surely in part a deflection, meant to shift attention away from concerns about Iran's nuclear activities by not-so-subtly nodding to the one country in the region that does have nuclear weapons: Israel. But could Iran have a point? Is there something hypocritical about the world tolerating Israel's nuclear arsenal, which the country does not officially acknowledge but has been publicly known for decades, and yet punishing Iran with severe economic sanctions just for its suspected steps toward a weapons program? Even Saudi Arabia, which sees Iran as its implacable enemy and made its accommodations with Israel long ago, often joins Tehran's calls for a "nuclear-free region." And anyone not closely versed in Middle East issues might naturally wonder why the United States would accept Israeli warheads but not an Iranian program. [Source]


In April 2007 (video above), speaking at Murrells Inlet VFW Hall in South Carolina, then presidential candidate John McCain was asked when he thought the US Military might "send an air mail message to Tehran." McCain began his answer by changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song. "'Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,' he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann." McCain then added: "Iran is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. That alone should concern us but now they are trying for nuclear capabilities. I totally support the President when he says we will not allow Iran to destroy Israel."

Netanyahu isn’t doing his argument any favors


MSNBC - All of the chatter out of Vienna suggests the Iranian nuclear talks are making substantial progress, and the prospects for a P5+1 agreement are improving. Of course, we’ve seen encouraging signs before, only to have setbacks follow soon after, so everyone will have to continue to wait as developments continue to unfold.

But while we wait, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a fierce opponent of the international diplomacy – is ratcheting up his criticisms. This was an actual tweet published from Netanyahu’s official/verified Twitter account yesterday:
“Iran’s increasing aggression is more dangerous than that of ISIS, and the true goal of this aggression in the end is to take over the world.”
Well, no, actually that’s impossible to take seriously. Vox’s Zack Beauchamp explained that Iran is clearly a destabilizing force in the Middle East, threatening Israel and bolstering Bashar al-Assad in Syria, but “the notion that Iran could ‘take over the world’ or even wants to is so ridiculous that it would make Pinky and the Brain blush.”
Iran is a second-rate military power opposed by substantially more powerful Israel and a hostile Sunni Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia; it can’t even take over the Middle East, let alone the world. Its current objective is to secure itself and to expand its political and military influence in the region. The latter goal is dangerous, for sure, since Iran’s strategy centers on the use of violent proxy groups like Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia militias who destabilize the countries they operate in. But a plot to take over the world this is not.

July 13, 2015

Greek Bailout Requires Dramatic Pension Cuts and Tax Increases and a Plan to Sell Off Virtually All of Its Assets With No Debt Relief

Greece gets its debt bailout — but at a stiff price

July 12, 2015

USA TODAY - European creditors agreed to rescue Greece from the brink of financial ruin early Monday, after the Greek government capitulated to the most onerous terms yet as the steep price for remaining in the 19-nation eurozone.

The complex agreement, reached after 17 hours of negotiations, requires Greece to quickly adopt dramatic pension cuts and tax increases, and plan to sell off virtually all of its assets to help reduce its enormous debts. It also offers no debt relief that Greece had hoped to receive.

The new loans would total up to $95 billion over three years and come on top of a record $240 billion the country already has received since 2010. Many details of the pact still must be ironed out and ratified by political leaders in Greece and European lender nations, such as Germany.

European Council President Donald Tusk said the deal was "unanimously reached" by all 19 countries that use the euro currency. Yet that unanimous vote masked bitter divisions during the marathon talks.

Hard-line nations, such as Germany and Finland, were prepared to oust Greece from the eurozone until it got its economic house in order, while more sympathetic nations, such as France and Italy, argued that another bailout was needed to preserve European unity.

In the end, a weary Tusk announced at an early morning news conference that Greece would now be able to "get back on track." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said "the agreement was laborious." He added: "There is no Grexit" — a Greek exit from the eurozone.

Federal Agency Overseeing Water and Power is Procuring Ammunition for Nonmilitary Purposes

Hoover Dam, Lake Mead officers getting 52,000 rounds of ammo

Bureau of Reclamation to buy 52,000 rounds of ammo for Hoover Dam, Lake Mead officers

July 13, 2015

AP - The federal agency overseeing water and power is in the market for 52,000 rounds of ammunition for its officers at Hoover Dam and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, raising questions about weapons for nonmilitary purposes.

The Bureau of Reclamation put out a bid in June for 41,600 rounds of hollow-point ammunition and 10,400 rounds of shotgun ammunition.

The ammo is paid for by revenue from utility companies that buy electricity from Hoover Dam, but the bureau won't say how it will be used or offer details on its law enforcement plan at the popular tourist destinations.

A 2008 review of federal law enforcement indicated 21 officers patrolled Hoover Dam, the Las Vegas Sun reported (http://bit.ly/1HiEhZp ).
"We want to limit the amount of information any bad guys might have about our protection capabilities," Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman Rose Davis told the newspaper.
In addition to the bureau, which operates in Nevada out of its Boulder City office, the Department of Homeland Security and the Las Vegas police department are also called upon to handle Hoover Dam security.

The Bureau of Reclamation most recently purchased a large stock of ammo in 2013 and since 2008 has requested ammunition 19 times for use nationwide.

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., has said he will seek answers from the bureau including how many officers are using firearms and how they are using them.

The lawmaker was among a group of GOP congressmen who tried, unsuccessfully, to prohibit some federal authorities from using or buying weapons after a high-profile standoff in Nevada turned tense. In April 2014, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his supporters faced off with the Bureau of Land Management after a federal judge authorized that agency to remove his cattle from public land. No shots fired although both sides were armed.

Related:

July 12, 2015

In Every Corner of Athens, Police Are on Patrol for Potential Unrest; After Two Weeks, 'There’s Something Weirdly Normal About This'

With fear of Grexit, Greeks give up meat, hide money around the house, and pray for a miracle

July 12, 2015

Mashable - In the middle of July, one of the busiest time of the year for Greek tourism, Ioanna, 34, was told by her company to take a vacation. Ioanna — not her real name — has been working in the Greek tourism industry for 15 years but because of the capital control measures imposed by the Government last week, many clients changed destinations or postponed their vacations. She doesn’t know when she will have work again and right now, she says, laughing, it’s “time for swimming”. Ioanna says this has happened to a lot of her friends and colleagues working in hotels or as tourist guides.

Aleksandros Vassilikous, head of the Union of Hotel Owners in Athens, tells Mashable that there has been a slowing down of reservations for August and September, but not many cancellations. Because of this, he’s hopeful that the situation will be fixed if there’s an agreement between the Greek Government and the EU.
When she had to take forced vacations, Ioanna says she “collapsed a little bit”. But now she says she too is feeling hopeful. “I think it will change. Let’s wait for Monday”.

It's been a tense week as Greece is waiting for a new agreement between its Government and the EU. Last Sunday, more than 61% of Greeks voted against new austerity measures proposed by the “troika” of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the European Central Bank.

The vote was moot, however, because Greece's previous bailout had already lapsed, and with it, the offer from the EU for more spending cuts. As a result, Greece had to submit a new bailout request.

On Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented a plan for a third bailout deal of over 75 billion euros over several years. This plan will be evaluated by the eurozone finance ministers next Saturday.
If they don’t agree with the Greek proposals, the scenario of Greece leaving the eurozone will be discussed on Sunday in a EU summit.

Until then, just like Ioanna, everyone in Greece is wrestling with exhausting uncertainty. The banks will remain closed until at least Monday. In the streets of Athens, public transportation is still free of charge and people are getting used to stand in queues to use ATM machines, which are lower than ever on cash; even tourists, who do not have to follow daily withdrawal limits, are finding money difficult to get.

In every corner of the city center, there’s a police patrol, on alert for potential protests or unrest.

After two weeks, there’s something weirdly normal about this. But beneath the surface of this apparent normality, uncertainty and anxiety looms as business people and employees are struggling to get money.

Public workers, for instance, are still not sure if they’ll get paid this month. Most people paid by the government in Greece are currently working "for free" to allow the economy to keep moving. 

Before the referendum, there was some fear that supermarkets in Greece would run out of food.
That doesn’t seem to be happening this week. Stefano Balaskas, owner of the Greek supermarket chain Balaskas, tells Mashable that in the first day of Capital Control Measures, demand at his supermarkets were up by 25 or 30%. Last week, there was some shortage in the supplies of sugar, flour, beans or lentils.
Right now, he says the situation has stabilized as Greece waits for an agreement. Still, for a little while, he stopped buying products from outside the country.

Things are looking gloomier for meat sellers in Athens, though. Ailanthus Tsironis, the president of Central Meat Market in Athens, says people are not buying meat because it’s too expensive, going after pasta or rice instead. Because of this, he says, the meat business is down by 80%.

If you walk around the streets of Athens, you might be surprised to find that the cafes and terraces are full of Greeks and tourists, drinking cappuccino freddos and enjoying the sun.

But if you go inside a store, the situation looks different.

July 11, 2015

Illinois Governor's Proposed Changes to Public Workers' Pensions and Benefits Would Bring Them Closer Inline with Private Sector Workers, Whose Wages are Taxed to Compensate the Public Sector with a Standard of Living Greatly Exceeding Their Own

10 Things You Should Know About Gov. Rauner's Pension Reform Proposal

July

Reboot Illinois - The pension reform plan proposed by Governor Rauner could impact more than just public pensions. State and local public workers in Illinois would lose collective bargaining rights for pensions, wages, work hours and tenure through this single reform.

The plan, which Rauner announced Wednesday, contains significant pension reforms, but also contains other measures that Rauner has tried unsuccessfully to get through the legislature. A higher standard of proof for employee injury claims and bankruptcy eligibility for Illinois municipalities are among them. It also allocates funds from a Chicago casino for Chicago police and firefighter pensions even though legislation for a city casino has not been debated during Rauner's time in office.

While Rauner said his bill includes suggestions from Senate President John Cullerton and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, it quickly became clear that it was not a collaborative effort.

From Natasha Korecki of the Chicago Sun-Times, who quotes Cullerton's spokeswoman, Rikeesha Phelon:
President Cullerton recognizes that the governor is accepting of many of the principles he's outlined but the specifics that the governor is advancing is far away from policies that Cullerton could support.

To simply co-opt language that the Senate President has used and call that negotiation, really does change the definition of negotiation and compromise. You can't simply co-opt language and pay lip service to someone's leadership and call that a negotiation.
Here are the main points of Rauner's proposal:

1. Removes pensions, wages, hours of work and employee tenure from the collective bargaining process.

2. Applies changes to items removed from collective bargaining:
Wages would not decline for five years.

Vacation resets to two weeks for members with less than 15 years of service, and three weeks for those who have more than 15 years of service.

Adjusts vacancy and overtime rights.

Overtime pay would kick in at 40 hours instead of 37.5 hours, matching federal law.
3. Offers incentives for employees to move to the lower benefit plan:

July 9, 2015

Jade Helm: Final Phase of Multi-Decade Plan to Round Up Dissidents

Lieutenant Colonel Potter: JADE HELM Final Phase Of Multi-Decade Plan To Round Up Dissidents


FBI’s Cold War plans included martial law, rounding up American people

RT.com - Documents show the FBI created a “Plan C” during the Cold War, which could have been triggered in the event the US underwent a nuclear attack. It included putting the nation under martial law, rounding up “subversives,” and interning enemy diplomats.

The documents, acquired by transparency journalism organization MuckRock, detail the FBI plan created in 1956, which was shared with several top officials from every governmental department. The FBI also distributed papers regarding the plan to its field offices. The plan would have gone into effect “after a war has begun in which the US is involved or may become involved and prior to an actual attack on the US itself,” according to the documents.

Jade Helm, Agenda 21 (Agenda for the 21st Century), Earth Charter and 'The Ark of Hope'

Maurice Strong, a former MI6 British Intelligence officer, is a member of the secret global ruling elite. Strong is just one of many, many players and organizations that have been working over many years to implement the "Plan," which British General Cornwallis says had been formulated prior to the conclusion of the American Revolution. Ex-British intelligence officer, Dr. John Coleman, asserts that the Aspen Institute of Colorado is the “American home of the Socialist-One-World-Government Committee of 300,” of which Maurice Strong is a member. He summarizes the character and goals of the Conspiracy as follows:
The motivating force, the reason for the One World Conspiracy such as we see in its visible elements, the Club of Rome, the Mont Pelerin Society, the Cini Foundation, the Bilderbergers, and the Trilateral Commission, the Royal Society for International Affairs, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aquarians, is the destruction of the Christian religion first, followed by other religions (particularly the Muslim religion) and an end to industrial growth, destruction of technology and a return to feudalism and the New Dark Ages, coupled with a huge reduction in population that their plans require, because the millions of “useless eaters” will no longer be needed in a post-industrial society. 
Implementation of the “Plan” would result in the engineered depopulation of over half of the human community and forced imposition of a feudalistic world governed by an “occult theocracy,” the only form of government that is more despotic than fascism or communism.

Retired General on Jade Helm and the Coming Chaos


Is Crestone/Baca, Colorado “the Vatican City of the New World Order?” [Excerpt]

The entire environmental movement had been co-opted by our power elite as an excuse to impose progressively greater socialist/communist restrictions on our citizenry.

By Dr. Eric Karlstrom
January 2012

Maurice Strong, world savior, author of Agenda 21 (Agenda for the 21st Century) and Earth Charter, and “The Ark of Hope”

1. Agenda 21. (Information here is taken from my article: “Green Global Dictatorship: Regional Governance, UN Agenda 21, Sustainable Development, and the Wildlands Project” (http://waterwatchalliance.us/ch11.html):

As its policies have been put into place, it has become clear that U.N. Agenda 21 is antithesis to the U.S. Constitution. U.N. Agenda 21 is worldwide collectivist government under the penumbra of the United Nations.

Freedom 21, Santa Cruz

Maurice Strong was both Secretary General of the 1992 UNCED Rio Earth Summit and principle author of the United Nations’ Agenda 21 (Agenda for the 21st century) that was unveiled at the 1992 Earth Summit.

Agenda 21 is a 3000-page, 40-chapter, “soft-law” policy adopted by 179 nations, including the United States, as a work plan to implement ‘Sustainable Development.’ Maurice Strong set the tone for the 1992 UNCED conference and the future when he stated:
Current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class-- involving high meat consumption and large amounts of frozen and convenience foods, use of fossil fuels, appliances, home and workplace air-conditioning, and suburban housing are not sustainable. A shift is necessary which will require a vast strengthening of the multilateral system, including the United Nations.
In other words, the globalists’ plan is to reduce the U.S. and other first world nations to the level of Third World nations.

Pentagon Report Predicted That the U.S.’s Support for Islamist Rebels Would Create ISIS

A declassified secret U.S. government document obtained by the public interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments knowingly sponsored al-Qaeda and ISIS to topple Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad and rollback ‘Shia expansion.’

Secret Pentagon Report Reveals US "Created" ISIS As A "Tool" To Overthrow Syria's President Assad



From the first sudden and quite dramatic appearance of the fanatical Islamic group known as ISIS — which on the world's stage was largely unheard of until a year ago and which promptly replaced the worn out and tired al Qaeda as the world's terrorist bogeyman — we suggested that the purpose behind the Saudi Arabia-funded Islamic State "straight to beheading YouTube clip" was a simple one: use the Jihadists as the vehicle of choice to achieve the political goal of deposing Syria's president Assad.

For years Assad has stood in the way of a critical Qatari natural gas pipeline, one which could dethrone Russia as Europe's dominant, and belligerent, source of energy, reaching an interim climax with the unsuccessful Mediterranean Sea military build up of 2013, which nearly resulted in quasi-world war.

The narrative and the plotline were so transparent, even Russia saw right through them. Recall from September of last year:
If the West bombs Islamic State militants in Syria without consulting Damascus, LiveLeak reports that the anti-ISIS alliance may use the occasion to launch airstrikes against President Bashar Assad’s forces, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Clearly comprehending that Obama's new strategy against ISIS in Syria is all about pushing the Qatar pipeline through (as was the impetus behind the 2013 intervention push), Russia is pushing back, noting that the West is using ISIS as a pretext for bombing Syrian government forces and warning that "such a development would lead to a huge escalation of conflict in the Middle East and North Africa."
But it's one thing to speculate; it's something entirely different to have hard proof.

And while speculation was rife that — just like the CIA-funded al Qaeda had been used as a facade by the US to achieve its own geopolitical and national interests over the past two decades — ISIS was nothing more than al Qaeda 2.0, there was no actual evidence of just this.

That may all have changed now. A declassified secret US government document obtained by the public-interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments deliberately allied with al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups to topple Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad.

According to investigative reporter Nafeez Ahmed in Medium, the leaked document reveals that in coordination with the Gulf states and Turkey, the West intentionally sponsored violent Islamist groups to destabilize Assad, despite anticipating that doing so could lead to the emergence of an ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
According to the newly declassified US document, the Pentagon foresaw the likely rise of the ‘Islamic State’ as a direct consequence of the strategy, but described this outcome as a strategic opportunity to “isolate the Syrian regime.” 
And not just that: as we reported last week, now that ISIS is running around the Middle East, cutting people's heads of in 1080p quality and Hollywood-quality (perhaps literally) video, the US has a credible justification to sell billions worth of modern, sophisticated weapons in the region in order to "modernize" and "replenish" the weapons of such US allies as Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iraq.

It is clear to everyone by now that the US military-industrial complex is a winner every time war breaks out anywhere in the world (usually with the assistance of the CIA). What wasn't clear is just how the US predetermined the current course of events in the Middle East.

Now, thanks to the following declassified report, we have a far better understanding of not only how current events in the Middle East came to be, but what was America's puppet-master role leading up to it all. 

From Nafeez Ahmed: Secret Pentagon report reveals West saw ISIS as strategic asset Anti-ISIS coalition knowingly sponsored violent extremists to ‘isolate’ Assad, rollback ‘Shia expansion', originally posted in Medium.

Read the full article: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-23/secret-pentagon-report-reveals-us-created-isis-tool-overthrow-syrias-president-assad

July 8, 2015

IMF Wants Greece to Privatize State Assets by Selling Them to Foreign Interests

Don’t forget that the IMF report lambasts Greece for not selling off all of its state assets to private (foreign) interests in order to pay the Troika. This may constitute an attempt to force mass privatisation on the Syriza government, meaning that Greek people for the future will have very high costs of all utilities, travel, everything. I do not think that there will be an agreement after the referendum. This fight will go on and on until Syriza is forced out of government. Then the Troika will put Samaras in power with the sell-off of everything in Greece.  [Source]

Having lived through the experience of Ireland, where the government didn’t even bother to ask the people, they just said “Yes”, I can tell you that a “yes” vote is absolutely no guarantee for “a better future”, on the contrary. It is a guarantee for ever escalating debt, for a society without a future of its own, for young people without a chance of a future, a society where social justice is non-existent and written out of society by law. A “yes” vote guarantees one thing, and one thing only, permanent serfdom to the elite. Despite Ireland being portrayed as the poster boy of austerity, reality on the ground is one of increasing poverty, increasing division between “have’s” and “have nots”, legally facilitated corruption and tax evasion, and a government being “managed” by the powers that be. Greeks would do well to look at that reality and draw the only conclusion possible. Greeks would also do well to realise that modern fascism doesn’t wear a military uniform any longer, it has an anonymous face and wears a 3 piece suit, it symbol is €,$ or anything else representing finance and it is far more dangerous than anything we ever experienced before. [Source]



In the video above, on the island of Lesvos, refugees tried to raid a food truck. The incident took place when nearly 2,500 migrants hosted in the camp of Lesvos (Mytilene) municipality in Kara Tepe saw the catering truck approaching. They started to run for a plate with food. The reason for the panic is they feared they would go hungry without food since a rumor claiming that catering service for refugees had stopped on the island of Samos due to debts. Hundreds of refugees and undocumented migrants arrive daily to Greece from Turkey and the situation has gotten out of control. [Source]

Risk of Greece 'chaos' if no deal soon: French central bank head

July 8, 2015

AFP - Greece could descend into "chaos" unless a deal is found soon, the head of the French central bank, Christian Noyer, said on Wednesday.
"The Greek economy is on the edge of catastrophe. A deal absolutely must be found on Sunday because it will be too late after that and the consequences will be serious," he told French radio, adding that "there could be riots... and chaos in the country".
The EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said an agreement with Greece was possible but it was up to its government to make credible proposals to its fellow eurozone members.
"I think a solution must be found by Sunday and I believe it can be," he told France 2 TV, adding: "The ball is clearly in the Greek authorities' court."
European leaders have given Greece until Thursday to submit detailed reform plans and set a deadline of Sunday to reach a new bailout deal.

Judge Rules No Full Pay for Illinois Workers Without State Budget

Judge rules no full pay for Illinois workers without state budget [Video]

July 8, 2015

ABC 7 Chicago - A Cook County Judge ruled Tuesday that Illinois cannot keep paying state workers their full paychecks during the budget stalemate between Governor Bruce Rauner and state lawmakers.

The Governor has said he wants state workers paid in full, even without an approved budget. Lawyers for the Attorney General's office say that while they're sympathetic to that idea, the constitution won't allow it.

Tuesday's court decision means that state workers, while they are expected to keep coming to work, will not be getting their full pay as long as the budget battle continues. Many will be paid a federally required minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.

That's not good news for Ebony Murray who has a daughter in college.

"She's about to go back to school in another month," Murray says. "I have to pay for books and fees and things like that and I really don't know how I'm gonna do that."

State Comptroller Leslie Munger had argued that Illinois' accounting systems are so antiquated, it's impossible to figure out who should be paid the federal minimum, so the state should pay everyone full freight until there's a new budget. The judge essentially said the constitution shouldn't suffer just because the state hasn't taken time to update is payroll practices.

The Tiny Elite That Runs the World is Using Bruce Jenner to Push an Agenda

The Agenda Behind Bruce Jenner’s Transformation

 

Vigilant Citizen - ...This article is not against transgender people who decide to make a change because it makes them happy. It is against the exploitation of transgender people to push an Agenda.

Jenner’s transformation was not intimate nor personal. It was a grand, ceremonial, ritualistic event that symbolizes a change in society as a whole.

An important part of the elite’s agenda is to debase, confuse and mix up the natural, harmonious order of things. It is about steering away from what is real, pure and authentic to move towards to the fake, artificial and the constructed.

For this reason, there is one aspect of the Agenda that is becoming increasingly apparent: the feminization of the male and the masculinization of the female. Under the guise of “empowerment,” men who act like females and females who act like men are not only accepted, but celebrated. I personally do not have a problem with that. I DO have a problem with the other side of this agenda: men who act like traditional men (and do not feel the need to apologize for it) are now portrayed as evil and wrong. And, all of a sudden, portraying a stay-at-home mom who takes pride in cooking for her family is considered “sexist.”

In other words, it is about a complete reversal of gender roles.