Viking Warfare and Tactical Raids of Yester-Century Seen in New Light, Now Indicates it Wasn't Just About the Booty

The lure of the [Viking] raid was… more than booty; it was about winning and preserving power through the enchantment of travel and the doing of deeds.

Thus states a new paper by an archaeologists from the University of York, England, who has been trying to figure out just why, besides riches, the Vikings carried out the raids and conquests that they did.

“This provides an important correction to models that focus on the need for portable wealth; the act of acquiring silver was as important as the silver itself,” writes Professor Steven Ashby in the journalArchaeological Dialogues (the abstract is here).

The Vikings went on raids and set up colonies in England, mainland Europe and as far east as Russia. They went on voyages of thousands of kilometers to Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. The Viking Age lasted from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD.

“The cause of the Viking Age is one of our longest-lived debates,” Ashby writes. “A combination of push and pull factors and a catalysing environment instigated the late 8th-century escalation in maritime activity that ultimately led to social, political and religious transformation. Recent discussions have focused on the macro level, with little consideration of the individual gains to be made by raiding. This paper argues that rewards consisted in more than portable wealth. In the flexible hierarchies of the Viking Age, those who took advantage of opportunities to enhance their social capital stood to gain significantly.”

Ashby wanted to research the social reasons for the raids. The riches Vikings gained were an obvious lure, but what else would cause a man to leave his family and home sometimes for months at a time and put himself in grave danger of being lost at sea or wounded or even killed in battle? Previous research looked at political, demographic, technological and environmental reasons for Viking raids, in addition to the real wealth of silver and slaves, says a synopsis of Ashby's articlein Past Horizons. Also, why did silver and other riches and slaves become important in Scandinavian society from the end of the 8th century AD onwards?

“I wanted to try to discover what would make a young chieftain invest in the time and resources for such a risky venture. And what were the motives of his crew?” Ashby told Past Horizons. “The lure of the exotic, of the world beyond the horizon, was an important factor. Classic anthropology has shown that the mystique of the exotic is a powerful force, and something that leaders and people of influence often use to prop up their power base. It is not difficult to see how this would have worked in the Viking Age.”

 

Acquisition of precious metals, especially silver and Anglo:

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/not-just-about-booty-new-study-sheds-light-reasons-viking-raids-003511

A Case for Civil War: Sides Are Being Drawn and a State of Insurgency Develops Against the Corrupt Empire Regime

How many of you believe that a planned currency collapse coupled with the implementation of a brutal martial law and gun confiscation will be the trigger events which will incite the coming revolution? This remains the leading candidate for the unfolding of a civil war. On May 24th, I interviewed Stewart Rhodes of Oathkeepers, and he believes that an economic collapse will set off the conflict and he also believes, as I do, that ISIS will wreak havoc in this country the midst of the chaos caused by the failure of the dollar. We both believe that under the cover of this chaos, we will see political dissidents extracted as per the intent of the Jade Helm exercise. It will be at this point, that the sides will be definitively drawn in the upcoming conflict.

Many of us in the Independent Media believe that this is the likely scenario that will very soon turn this country into the most dangerous country on the face of the earth. It might behoove us to look a little closer at the nature of revolution in order to predict where all of this is likely headed. Although I personally oppose the use of violence as a political tool, in the present political climate, I see no way to stem the tide of unthinkable brutality and violence which seems imminent. It is in this mindset that I set about to research the topic of revolution and this series of articles reflects the results of the research. And as a result of past and common patterns of revolution, it appears as if a clear picture is beginning to emerge and whether, or not, we choose to admit where Jade Helm will take us, the government is already practicing for what appears to be likely.

In an email from a forced Lt. General retiree, courtesy of President Obama, he provided some clues on where he believes the coming conflict is headed.

“…With modern antiaircraft systems (mobile and man portable) air power will be all but useless. What we will see is a ground war, city by city, street by street. Additionally what is coming will be unlike any civil war in history, it will be very personal, the government will call the Patriots forces terrorists and traitors, they will arrest, intern, torture and murder suspected terrorists families, this will result in bloody reprisals which will start a vicious cycle lasting for years”.

What kind of conflict is being described here? In order to answer that question, we must first examine the “Four levels of warfare”.

Four Levels of Warfare

Most military strategists identify four levels of conflict; (1) nuclear war is the trump card of all conflict; (2) conventional warfare; (3) guerrilla warfare; and, (4) terrorism.

It is safe to say that if our country does indeed descend into revolution, nuclear war will not come into play, for if it did, there would be nothing to rule over in the aftermath.

The United States has already witnessed civil war of a conventional nature. In the 1860’s as two mighty armies of that era locked horns in what proved to be the conflict in which America suffered her greatest loss of life. In the Civil War, both sides had equivalent weaponry and as a result, employed conventional tactics.

Initially, the coming civil war could very well consist of one American unit facing off against another as we saw in the civil war. However, the losing side would quickly resort to the use of guerrilla warfare tactics.

At the present time and given the disparity of technology and resources between the people the globalist controlled forces of the government, a conventional war would prove to be a disaster for the rebel forces. The likely mode of the revolutionary war conflict facing the people of the United States is that it will consist of either guerrilla warfare or terrorism.

Guerrilla Warfare Or Terrorism?

Terrorism is the least preferred option by any insurgent group. With terrorism, there is absolutely no hope of final victory because territory is never occupied. For that reason, nobody aspires to engage in terrorism if they have a viable alternative and the American people do have a choice given how well armed we are. However, terrorism arising out of a defeated guerrilla force is a distinct possibility as it would represent American guerrilla’s fallback position should they be defeated. Subsequently, does the MIAC Report which labeled Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Second Amendment Supporters, Ron Paul Supporters, Veterans and now Christians as domestic terrorists, make a little more sense as to why DHS made these bold proclamations? DHS understands and has demonstrated their understanding of these facts and has also prepared for what I just wrote about in the previous paragraph.

The Veterans Administration estimates that there are approximately 21.5 million veterans living in the United States. We also live in a country with over 300 million privately owned guns. These combined factors point clearly to a guerrilla war being the preferred and necessary mode of combat which will likely be visited upon this country.

What Is Guerrilla Warfare?

Guerrilla warfare, for most of human history, is not new. Tribal war, which traditionally pits one guerrilla force against another, is the oldest form of warfare. The new “conventional” form of warfare, which pits guerrillas against “conventional” forces, is more recent as it arose in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago.

The good news for future American freedom fighters is that guerrilla war has been getting more successful since 1945, but unfortunately guerrilla fighters still lose most of the time. An analysis of past conflicts featuring guerrilla war, reveals that only 25% of guerrilla forces, out of 443 such conflicts since 1775, were successful. The government prevailed almost 64% of the time with the remainder of the conflicts ended in a stalemate. Conversely, since the end of WWII, the percentage of success for guerrilla forces has indeed gone up to 39.6%. Yet that still means that government forces have continued to prevail 51% of the time. When the American people engage in a guerrilla war in the upcoming years, the people have less than a 40% chance of success. However, if some retired military leadership estimates are correct, a sizeable number of U.S. troops will join the American people, this will greatly enhance the chances of success.

Length of Guerrilla Wars

Guerrilla wars are rarely short and as a result do not favor the American culture and our collective psyche of instant gratification. When Americans flip the switch on the wall, we expect the light to come on. Will Americans set aside their entitlements as well as their entrenched soft lifestyle and rise to the occasion? Only time will tell.

The Vietnamese culture with an external locus of control predominating the people where the group is more important than the individual is the perfect mindset for guerrilla fighters. This could prove to be the American rebels biggest challenge because guerrilla warfare is not something that one does like driving over a speed bump. It is a way of life, a very hard way of life filled with misery, extreme sacrifice and unspeakable losses.

For my money, the best guerrilla fighters in the modern era were the Viet Cong in which Vietnamese people were involved in some form of guerrilla war from 1942-1975. After the Americans invaded Vietnam, the forces in the north had a saying, “born in the north, to die in the south.” There were nearly two generations of Vietnamese people in which war was an unavoidable part of life. What General Westmoreland and LBJ failed to recognize was that in order to defeat and totally subdue the Vietnamese people, the Americans would have had to have engaged in unspeakable genocide. Despite the fact that the US won every single battle of the war, the Vietnamese rebels were never going to give up. Do we Americans have that same tenacity to persevere like the Vietnamese?

Prior to WWII, guerrilla wars lasted an average of seven years. Following WWII, guerrilla conflicts lasted an average of 10 years. Will Americans embrace the tenets and sacrifices of guerrilla war and can it ever become a way of life? For this to happen, I believe that conditions would have to be unspeakably horrendous for America to embrace a conflict under these conditions. I think that things would have to be so bad, so completely genocidal, that fighting and dying would be the only viable alternative for America in order to embrace guerrilla warfare as a way of life. What I am saying here is that we are a very soft people. However, Jade Helm with the use of Special Operations Forces designed to extract “Red Listed” political dissidents, could push many Americans over the top.

How Close Is the Inevitable Conflict?

Successful guerrilla leaders such as Lawrence of Arabia, Mao, Castro and Giap all concur that there are three phases of any guerrilla war. However, before the phases can unfold there are two preconditions which must be met.

Read On For Continuation of Article:

http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2015/05/25/history-in-the-making-the-sides-are-being-drawn-for-the-coming-civil-war/

US Warfare State Regime Only Means Keeping Nation from Total Collapse

""The US has always been a warfare state. However, the character of US imperialist warfare has changed dramatically. For over two centuries, the US regime’s purpose for war, whether on indigenous peoples, Black people, or nations all over the world, was to expand the productive forces of capitalist exploitation. War preceded the vast profits accumulated from chattel slavery, land grab, and resource extraction in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The foundation of white supremacy and capitalism allowed the US regime to consolidate its expansion despite episodes of periodic crisis. Recent events, alongside a steady fall in the rate of capitalist profit, indicate that US imperialist warfare no longer produces the dominance the system seeks. Now more than ever, US imperialism wages war to prevent its inevitable collapse.

US imperialism is in a state of retraction all over the globe. Cuba’s recent victory in negotiating itself off the so-called “terrorist” list is case and point. For almost six decades, Cuba’s revolution has been a beacon of hope in the midst of the misery imposed by US imperialism in Latin America. Cuba’s continued refusal to give up Assata Shakur and its socialist system, complete with free healthcare, education, and housing, has kept the island nation an enemy of the US state. Yet, beginning in December 2014, Cuba has negotiated the freedom of the Cuban 5 and struck a deal for more fraternal relations with Washington. These major victories for the Cuban revolution have setback US imperialism’s age old plan to institute a neo-colonial government. Although Cuba will always face attacks from US imperialism as long as it exists, such diplomatic victories bring much needed security in a period of hostility.

Cuba’s major gains in the diplomatic arena are emblematic of US imperialism’s decline in Latin America generally. Cuba and Venezuela’s leadership have spearheaded a movement to build an independent and integrated Latin America, especially through the institutions of UNASUR and ALBA. What once was US imperialism’s primary sphere of influence is no longer. To counter the revolt against neo-liberalism in Latin America, US imperialism has continued to pursue the overthrow of Venezuela, Ecuador, and other non-aligned nations, while expanding its military reach in Africa and Asia.  In 2014, the US conducted 674 military operations throughout Africa and helped coordinate the destruction of socialist Libya in 2011. Furthermore, Washington has pursued a policy of destabilization alongside its Israeli and GCC allies,sponsoring terrorists in Syria while conducting a fraudulent war against ISIS in Iraq.

These developments are indicative of a geopolitical shift away from US hegemony. Even as US multinationals and financial banks flood the world with parasitic “markets that suck workers and nations dry, the crisis of imperialism has spurred the development of a multi-polar order. China and Russia’s increased relations along with the formation of the Asia Infrastructure Bank and BRICS have struck fear in the eyes of the shrinking US imperial economy. The War on Terror gave a facelift to US imperialism’s war of containment and plunder under these conditions. In the process, US imperialism has murdered millions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and has militarized the borders of Russia and China borders in an effort to forestall the emergence of a global consensus on independent development.

Iran is seen by US imperialism as a major player in the development of a multi-polar world. US imperialism’s murderous military ventures seek to isolate and eventually overthrow Iran. In fact, NATO general Wesley Clark made this explicitly clear to Democracy Now’s audience in 2007 when he stated that Washington’s imperial design for the Middle East had Iran as its target. But Iran walked away from negotiations with the US and its allies with its sovereignty intact and S-300 missile systems from Russia as added defense. It appears that US led sanctions on the Islamic Republic and its proxy war in Syria and the region has, for the time being, failed to grant imperialism its ultimate wish of Iran’s demise. And with Russia’s agreement to distribute S-300′s to the Islamic Republic, the potential military intervention to achieve said wish is significantly reduced.

Just as Ed Snowden’s revelations didn’t stop the FBI from continuing to create the so-called terrorist attacks in the US as justification for a massive surveillance state, so too does US imperialism continue its worldwide march to war despite the geopolitical shift against it. Not long after Iran agreed to the nuclear deal put forth by imperialism, Washington sent two warships to Yemen to supposedly intercept ”Iranian weapons shipments.” This is hardly representative of a move to ease relations.""

http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-imperialism-wages-permanent-warfare-to-prevent-its-inevitable-collapse/5446533

Chinese-Russian-Iranian Coalition Heads Assemble in Moscow Opposing NATO Debut

""Talk about joint efforts between China, India, Russia and Iran against NATO expansion was augmented with plans for tripartite military talks between Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran.

Defense ministers and military officials from all over the world gathered on April 16 at the landmark Radisson Royal or Hotel Ukraina, one of the best pieces of Soviet architecture in Moscow, which is known as one of the “Seven Sisters” that were constructed during Joseph Stalin’s time. The two-day event hosted by the Russian Defense Ministry was the fourth annual Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS).

Civilian and military officials from over seventy countries, including NATO members, attended. Fifteen defense ministers took part in the event. However, aside from Greece, defense ministers of NATO countries did not participate in the conference.

Unlike previous years, the MCIS organizers did not send Ukraine an invitation for 2015’s confab. According to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, “At this stage of the brutal information antagonism in regard to the crisis in southeastern Ukraine, we decided not to inflame the situation at the conference and at this stage made the decision not to invite our Ukrainian colleagues to the event.”

On a personal note, as a matter of interest I have followed these types of conferences for years, because important statements about foreign and security policies tend to come out of them. This year I was keen for the inauguration of this particular security conference. Aside from it taking place at a time where the geopolitical landscape of the globe is rapidly shifting, I was interested to see what the conference would produce since I was asked in 2014 through the Russian Embassy in Canada if I was interested in attending the IV MCIS.

The rest of the world speaks: Hearing non-Euro-Atlantic security concerns

The Moscow conference is the Russian equivalent to the Munich Security Conference held at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Germany. There, however, are critical differences between the two events.

While the Munich Security Conference is established around Euro-Atlantic security and views global security from the ‘Atlanticist’ standpoint of NATO, the MCIS represents a much broader and diverse global perspective. It represents the rest of the non-Euro-Atlantic world’s security concerns, particularly the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Ranging from Argentina, India, and Vietnam to Egypt and South Africa, the conference at the Hotel Ukraina brought a variety of big and small players to the table whose voices and security interests, in one way or another, are otherwise undermined and ignored in Munich by US and NATO leaders.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who holds the rank of a flag officer that is equal to that of a four-star general in most NATO countries, opened the conference. Also speaking and seated next to Shoigu were Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other high-ranking officials. All of them addressed Washington’s multispectral warfare that has utilized color revolutions, like EuroMaidan in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia, for regime change. Shoigu cited Venezuela and China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as failed color revolutions.

Foreign Minister Lavrov reminded the attendees that the possibilities of a dangerous world conflict were increasing due to the lack of concern by the US and NATO for the security of others and a lack of constructive dialogue. When making his argument, Lavrov cited US President Franklin Roosevelt by saying, “There can be no middle ground here. We shall have to take the responsibility for world collaboration, or we shall have to bear the responsibility for another world conflict.” “I believe that they formulated one of the main lessons of the most devastating global conflict in history: it is only possible to meet common challenges and preserve the peace through collective, joint efforts based on respect for the legitimate interests of all partners,” he explained about what world leaders learned from the Second World War.

Shoigu had over ten bilateral meetings with the different defense ministers and chiefs who arrived in Moscow for the MCIS. During a meeting with the Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Shoigu said that Moscow considers Belgrade a reliable partner in military cooperation.

Chinese-Russian-Iranian coalition: Washington’s nightmare

The myth that Russia is internationally isolated was shot down again during the conference, which has also resulted in some important announcements.

Kazakhstani Defense Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov and Shoigu announced that the implementation for a joint Kazakhstani-Russian air defense system had begun. This is not only indicative of the integration of the air space of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, but part of a trend. It heralded other announcements against NATO’s missile defense shield.

The most vigorous statement though was that of Iranian Defense Minister Hussein Dehghan. Brigadier-General Deghan said that Iran wanted China, India, and Russia to stand together in jointly opposing the eastward expansion of NATO and the threat posed by the alliance’s missile shield project to their collective security.

During a meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, Shoigu emphasized that Moscow’s military ties with Beijing are its “overriding priority.” In another bilateral meeting the defense honchos of Iran and Russia confirmed that their cooperation will be part of the cornerstones of a new multipolar order and that Moscow and Tehran were in harmony in their strategic approach to the US.

After Dehghan and the Iranian delegation met with Shoigu and their Russian counterparts, it was announced that a tripartite summit may take place between Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran. The idea was later endorsed by the Chinese delegation.

The geopolitical environment is changing and it is not sympathetic to US interests. Not only has a Eurasian Economic Union been formed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia in the post-Soviet heart of Eurasia, but Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran — the Eurasian Triple Entente — have been in a long process of coming together politically, strategically, economically, diplomatically, and militarily.

Eurasian harmony and integration challenges the US position in its “Western perch” and bridgehead in Europe and even orients US allies to act more independently. This is one of the central themes explored by my book The Globalization of NATO.

Former US security bigwig Zbigniew Brzezinski warned US elites against the formation of a Eurasian “coalition that could eventually seek to challenge America’s primacy.” According to Brzezinski such a Eurasian alliance would arise as a “Chinese-Russian-Iranian coalition” with Beijing as its focal point.

“For Chinese strategists, confronting the trilateral coalition of America and Europe and Japan, the most effective geopolitical counter might well be to try and fashion a triple alliance of its own, linking China with Iran in the Persian Gulf/Middle East region and with Russia in the area of the former Soviet Union,” Brzezinski warns.

“In assessing China’s future options, one has to consider also the possibility that an economically successful and politically self-confident China — but one which feels excluded from the global system and which decides to become both the advocate and the leader of the deprived states of the world — may decide to pose not only an articulate doctrinal but also a powerful geopolitical challenge to the dominant trilateral world,” he explains.

More or less, this is the track that the Chinese are following. Minister Wanquan flatly told the MCIS that a fair world order was needed.

The threat for the US is that a Chinese-Russian-Iranian coalition could, in Brzezinski’s own words, “be a potent magnet for other states dissatisfied with the status quo.""

http://www.globalresearch.ca/did-a-chinese-russian-iranian-coalition-opposing-nato-debut-in-moscow/5445273

New Military Complex: JADE HELM ROADS LEAD TO MIDLAND, TEXAS

""The absurdity of the Midland Walmart story in which the store had to be closed because of plumbing issues is amazing. In Midland, the Walmart is closed and we see a plethora of military activity at the store. Since when did the military service Walmart plumbing? Yet, there are some Americans who still believe this cover story.

All roads related to Jade Helm lead to Midland, Texas. Midland is at the heart of Jade Helm. If Jade Helm could be turned back in Midland, the globalists would have to find another means to subjugate the American people.

“I Don’t Know Nuthin”

In the past several days, I have talked to six people from both Midland and Odessa, Texas. Some of these people who form the economic backbone of the area, and they have figured out what is coming. I know there have been multiple private conversations about what to do about the growing Obama administration cancer growing right in their backyard among local business leaders.

In Midland, the number one Walmart, with regard to per capita spending in America, is suddenly closed, without warning, fires its employees and the former store is now a hotbed of reconstruction and military activity at the site and is crawling with military and the DHS personnel and vehicles. Where is the outrage?

From local business leaders, I have been able to ascertain that the cover story regarding Walmart’s faulty plumbing being the reason for the closure is a complete fabrication. The Midland, TX. Walmart had its plumbing updated six months prior to the closure of the store and no new plumbing permits have been obtained.

Unfortunately, every person I have spoken to is afraid to put their name on what they know to be true. They want to tell their story, but they are afraid of any consequences associated with standing up, exposing tyranny and doing the right thing. In this time of extreme crisis, we do not have the time to play games. If one is not willing to speak out ad be accountable for their statements, then do not masquerade as a freedom fighter. Since Saturday morning, I have spoken with five men and one woman and each one expressed fear and concern that they and their family would be victimized if they spoke out and they told what they knew. I am looking for people with courage in Midland who are outraged by this takeover and are willing to investigate and go on the record.

To the people of Midland, Texas, your city has been taken over by the Obama administration. Some of you are feeling the consequences of the takeover, the rest of you will soon feel the consequences of the takeover. Despite the fact that you will soon live in modern day Auschwitz, you remain relatively silent. Many of your people are being used to retrofit this Walmart, the economy has negatively been impacted by the closure of the Walmart, the military vehicles are at the closed Walmart for all to see and yet, the business and political leaders of your community “don’t know nuthin”.

Right now, today, there should be people in the streets protesting the military takeover of Walmart in Midland. Instead, we have a couple of people with video cameras attempting to covertly get the word out of the military invasion that has come to their town.

What We Know

Look at the following video it is shaky and unprofessionally produced, however, it shows the world what is going on in Midland where evil is triumphant because good men and women are saying nothing.

In the following video, please fast forward to the 22 minute mark, which is a must watch. At the 22 minute mark, Pete Santilli reports on his talk show how he has inside information that Walmart, Facebook and the DHS, (Editor’s Note: Pete has the documentation to support his position), have partnered to install facial recognition software in every Walmart because at some point in time, 85% of all Americans go into a Walmart.  (Pete’s report can be accessed at the 22 minute mark on the tape). In the same Santilli presentation, he played an ABC report which stated that plumbing permits for the closed Walmarts were not acquired and that includes the Walmart in Midland, TX.  

Coincidentally, the following video also references the great work done by Deborah Tavares on Future Strategic Issues/Future Warfare (Circa 2025). I say coincidentally, because Deborah was a guest on my show last night and she spoke of these revelations. On page 101 of the report, available at Deborah’s site, there is a reference to the fact when we take vaccinations, we automatically have a bio-identifier implanted in our system that can be scanned to identify where we are at any given time. I have learned from my sources, that these markers are not totally reliable because they can biodegrade over time. Yet, the intention is clear, DHS is attempting to tag us before they bag us. 

Walmart Is Part of the Purple Command Structure 

My sources tell me that the Walmart Supercenters are going to be used as a multi-purpose facility. The Walmarts that are open will indeed be used to identify everyone who enters their store and the information will be instantly relayed to DHS. Therefore, if you are a person on the Red List, you better stay out of Walmart. In fact, all Americans should be encouraged to stay out of all Walmarts.

It is not just Walmart that Red Listed people must worry about. The problem for any people who have been “Red Listed” is that they do not know how many other public venues will have the same capacity for facial recognition. Four years ago, when I was investigating Intellistreets technology which included plans for DHS to install facial recognition software in every traffic camera and light pole, I learned that most traffic cameras are already tied into the NSA and DHS database with facial recognition. There can only be one reason to possess this technology and that is to identify and to eliminate political enemies of the state.

The military term “Purple Command” means that a facility has a joint use function. For example a military base may play home to the Marines and the Air Force. This is looked at as a cost-savings measure. However, it is also a means to unify the military under one strategic command in a Gestapo type of approach that will be needed to control the military and its personnel in the coming purge.""

http://www.patriotnetdaily.com/all-jade-helm-roads-lead-to-midland-texas/

Mega Rich are Preping for Bank, Finance, Biological, and Political Warfare on Souls of the World

""Candidly, I don’t have the time right now to be writing an article that most in the West would ignore or repudiate. I wrote this piece, however, for the staff of WND with whom I have consulted over the years. WND is one of the few news organizations in America that is interested in truth, and unconcerned with the consequences of reporting it. I admire that, and so should you. Few news organizations remain that are not just inundating us with misinformation and propaganda. But I digress.

We are at the precipice of war, and this is a call to action. While it might not come tomorrow, the threat does grow by the day as conflict between the largest and most powerful nation states becomes inevitable, driven by the impending implosion of the empire of debt accumulated by Western democracies, and by the yearning of Russia and China (and their surrogates) to escape the constraints of almost 70 years of American hegemony.

I am not talking about another one-sided skirmish in the desert, but rather a real war, where satellites fall from the sky, ships sink, supply chains are disrupted and there is a loss of life not seen since the last century; a war of such a magnitude that few Westerners alive today can comprehend it. Such a war will alter the world as we know it. And, reading the tea leaves, it seems there is little we could do now to stop it. At this stage, all that is missing is the spark that ignites the inferno. It might come tomorrow, it might delay a while longer. We can prepare, but preparation takes years and years, and requires a threshold level of certainty that the threat exists, that it merits attention, that it demands action.

Why do our kids’ novels and movies (“Hunger Games,” “Divergent”) assume a game-changing war, but writers and talking heads on our mainstream news sites and channels serve up mindless banter about the Kardashians, the climate, Twitter trends and gender engineering? Even thinking Americans have traded serious conversation about geopolitics for Facebook page updates, thereby providing every intelligence organization on the planet the opportunity to further profile them. We are sinking further and further into blind ignorance about how the world really works, even as we strengthen the powers threatening us.

Are you still with me? Then read on. You need to reprioritize your life today and start fulfilling the most important obligation you have to your family aside from serving God. It’s not your next vacation, a new car, or a club membership that I am talking about. No. It is the need to protect and provide for your family in a conflict situation where the supply chain no longer works. Do you think your wealth will protect you? Or that ready access to modern aircraft will make a difference? Or maybe you are fortunate enough to own a second home, or even a boat? I am sorry to say that these luxuries will prove all but useless when the coming storm arrives.

If you question my advice, then tell me, why did Mr. Jamie Dimon buy an island? Or why does Hank Paulson actually live on one? Or what about James Cameron, who up and moved to New Zealand? Or the thousands of bankers and hedge fund managers that have sought safety in havens throughout the Caribbean, and in Central and South America? Oh, you didn’t know about that? Or maybe you are having trouble placing those names? Well, Mr. Dimon is the current chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan/Chase Bank. Mr. Paulson was the chairman of Goldman Sachs, before becoming the U.S. secretary of the Treasury. And Mr. Cameron is the director and creative genius behind the movie “Avatar,” among others – which made him a billion dollars or so. But don’t be envious. Based on my experience building havens, Mr. Dimon and Mr. Cameron overlooked some serious geopolitical threats during their haven selection process, and this is despite their huge resources, connections and intuition about where the world is going. In my opinion, Mr. Paulson made a wiser choice to stay in North America, and so have hundreds of others.

Let me explain further. You see, each of these very smart and successful people understands that the political leadership of our nation, irrespective of party affiliation, are as much in denial regarding the threats we face as they are wholly unprepared and ill-equipped to make the hard financial decisions that are essential to preserving our way of life. They recognize that we are steaming right along, business as usual, such that virtually every governmental action is partisan and is made without restraint or consequence, and that the population remains blissfully ignorant as to how this inability to change direction tightens the proverbial financial noose around our necks. Think about it – how many times have you heard a politician or member of the media comment about the size of our national debt and how our path is unsustainable? Yet nothing changes.

While it sounds like a joke, ask yourself, what is the difference financially between Greece and the United States? In many ways, very little. Both nations are broke, both are living well beyond their means, and both are hobbled by politicians incapable of making the hard (i.e., right) decision for their citizens. Think about the news lately. If it were not for the Federal Reserve and the ability of the U.S. Treasury to borrow with impunity, our leadership would be begging for loans from creditors, much like Greece is begging its EU creditors (read: Germany), for additional financial help.

In short, our leadership won’t change the trajectory we are on until they are forced to do so. Don’t listen to what they say, but observe what they do. For example, the Reagan, Bush (41), Clinton, Bush (43) and Obama administrations have each saddled the nation with successively larger and now record amounts of debt (and please, don’t give me any nonsense about Clinton not adding to the debt; he was just a little more clever about trying to market the narrative). We have all seen these numbers before, but, to refresh your memory, they are as follows (approximately):

• $18 trillion is the current cumulative budget deficit of the United States;
• $2 trillion is the approximate current annual increase in the U.S. budget deficit, if one looks beyond the published numbers and accounts for all federal expenditures;
• $200 trillion is a reasonable estimate of the U.S.’ additional unfunded liabilities for existing social programs;
• $16.8 trillion is the United States’ current GDP;
• $3.1 trillion is the total tax revenue the federal government derived in 2014.

Think about the implications. The federal government is spending $5-$5.5 trillion annually (using GAAP-adjusted accounting) yet taking in approximately $3.1 trillion in annual revenues. We are thus only paying for, roughly, 60 percent of expenditures; the rest is being borrowed. How would that go over in your household?

Yawn, you say, I have heard all this before and we are still here – what makes it different this time? Answer: The Federal Reserve has, in the last year, begun to monetize our national debt, which means we are buying our own debt back with borrowed (or newly created) dollars. So what? Well, this is the sign that sophisticated financial insiders have looked for as the beginning-of-the-end, and this is why they are preparing to flee their metropolitan bases of operation.

Bear with me while I explain: The insiders understand that the monetization of our debt will eventually drive an increase in interest rates, which will in turn increase the cost of the nation’s borrowing (think of it as an increase in the rate on your credit card), thus creating the need to spend more money to pay the increased interest cost to service the national debt, which increases the budget deficit, that in turn increases the need to borrow more money and monetize even more debt, eventually creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of increasing interest rates to attract more and more capital, which in turn increases the cost of servicing the underlying debt etc. etc.; eventually hastening the coming financial collapse insiders fear. Furthermore, they know the Federal Reserve’s current and careful balancing act is susceptible to an upset due to some black swan event that triggers a global financial panic, thereby ripping the legs out from under the debt-supported Western democracies with the United States at the hub of that collapsing wheel. What does this mean? No one is quite sure, but analysts predict a forced bank holiday, (i.e., the banks, including ATMS, close for some indefinite period of time), massive employment layoffs, disruptions of the usual supply chain (i.e., of truck and rail transportation of food, medicine and other staples), non-payment of pensions and social assistance programs (welfare) and the destruction of much of the nation’s paper-based wealth (i.e., your stock portfolio, among other assets), along with the emergence of broad social upheaval to include gangs, mobs, riots and other social disruptions. Remember that following the financial crisis in 2008, Mr. Paulson, as U.S. Treasury secretary, stated that at the time of the $700 billion bailout from the Federal Reserve, we were within 24 hours of the collapse of the global economy. If this information does not create a pit in your stomach, then perhaps this story will.

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While you were preparing to celebrate this past Christmas with your family, in mid-December 2014, hidden away on page 615 of a 1,603-page Continuing Resolution that was passed by Congress and signed by the president, there was a little-known provision that put the American taxpayer on the hook for derivative trading losses by major trading banks. What? Really? What does that mean? Well, our illustrious leaders thought it appropriate for the American taxpayer to guarantee any derivative trading losses the banks suffer, through subsidiaries that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In other words, the banks can continue to write, sell, and trade these sophisticated financial instruments, and profit from them, and, if they become financially untenable (read: BAD), walk away from them and let the American taxpayer wear the liability. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you the best part: These same banks currently have over $303 trillion of these financial instruments (derivatives) on their books.

Going just a bit deeper, remember (what my fourth-grader knows) that a trillion dollars is a thousand-billion dollars. Further, in 2014, the value of ALL the economic activity in the world, commonly referred to as the global domestic product, or GDP, was $72.6 trillion. So, yes, the guys on Wall Street figured out how to stick the federal government (read: you, the American taxpayer) with a potential further liability of $303 trillion, representing over four times the world’s entire GDP. And you wonder why Jamie Dimon bought an island?

I remind you of the adage of MI-5, the British Internal Security service: Western civilization is only four meals away from anarchy.

People like Dimon, Paulson and thousands of other members of the banking and financial communities recognize that during the financial crisis of 2008, our leadership did not make the hard decisions necessary to fix the system, but merely applied a $700 billion Band-Aid. By kicking the proverbial can down the path, they simply delayed and laid the groundwork for an even larger and broader crisis in the future. Hence the reason that so many have established havens where they can ride out the coming financial tsunami that will envelop the world; while others have killed themselves, with some 60 odd bankers/financiers dying either by their own hand or under mysterious circumstances in the last couple years.

So this is the lens through which many in the financial and banking industry look. They know the system is untenable, yet they know they have been provided a once-in-a-generation opportunity to legally make obscene sums of money. (Note: Many won’t admit this fact; they just think they are (were) much smarter than everyone else.) Yet they know that it is mathematically and financially impossible for the United States, much less all the other Western democracies, to repay the mountains and mountains of debt they have borrowed to finance our lifestyles. They have resigned themselves that a collapse is inevitable. They don’t yet know the date, the time, or the ferocity of that collapse, but they intend to use their wealth to insulate themselves as best they can, e.g., by buying an island in the South Pacific, stocking it well and hiring a bunch of Navy SEALs for protection.

What I believe most people overlook is that politicians will always be politicians, and there is no way they will ever allow themselves to be blamed for the excesses of the last 30-odd years. Think about it. If a collapse were to take place, the politicians would need to hide from the citizens who lose everything. Literally. What would you do if, in a matter of days, you lost almost everything you had worked for during your entire life, including your pension, IRA, Social Security benefits, insurance benefits, etc.?""

On the Brink of Humanity Chaos:

http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/war-and-chaos-are-coming-how-mega-rich-are-preparing/