2nd Korean War? South Admits Firing First Shells in Row With North Korea

TSA. Homeland Security & Tampa Police Set Up Nazi Checkpoints At Bus Stations

For all of you who think this will stop with any single mode of transportation, or that this makes you safer.



Think this is new? A response to terrorism? Nah, The Real Effect covered this back in 2005.

Wikileaks Dump Destroys What Shred of Credibility the Government Had Left

Vox praises the move -

If WikiLeaks meets the legal criteria of a "U.S.-designated terrorist organization" then so does Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica. Governments always want to operate in the dark and keep their subjects in ignorance, which is why Julian Assange should not be assailed by the American people, he should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, regardless of whatever his motivations in making all of this information available to the public might be.

WikiLeaks is nothing more or less than a technological blow for American freedom. Assange is no traitor; the accusation doesn't even make sense considering that he has absolutely no connection with the United States. But it should come as no surprise to the readers of this blog that the verbal attack against the organization is being led by one of those freedom-loving Republicans.

Moreover, the crocodile tears of those in the media who fear that the release of information to the public will "get people killed" is absolutely ludicrous given their support for the ongoing military occupations that have killed hundreds of thousands more people than any number of leaks possibly could. In fact, to the extent that WikiLeaks permits Americans to force an end to their leaders' pointless and unpopular wars, it will almost certainly save lives. After all, when one considers that numerous American leaders have waxed bellicose about the need to go to war to prevent Iran getting nukes, wouldn't it be pertinent for them to know that China is actively helping Iran obtain them?

"More than 250,000 classified State Department reports made public on Sunday reveal that China was urged to stop shipments through Beijing of missiles from North Korea to Iran, and that Saudi Arabia's monarch urged the United States to attack Iran's nuclear facilities."

The Real Effect
Just last night, I got to watch a local public official carry on about educational spending in the state and how 'Now is not the time to cut spending but to increase it...' and that 'further transparency was needed in this environment'. I find this relevant and incredibly humorous. Why?

1. The statists/globalists are losing public support. This makes them -
1. Liars. As they lose ground, they start making facts up. Especially economically.
2. More dangerous then ever. When you start losing power, you get desperate.
3. More likely to try dangerous gambits like false flags and last ditch efforts.
2. Non-statists are starting to win political offices.
1. Rand Paul, Ron Paul (Fed Reserve apt)
3. The mainstream media is having to parrot the Patriot movement to a degree.
1. Glenn Beck, Fox, etc...

I see Wikileaks as doing massive damage on two fronts - The actual government respect and the perceived government facade. Glenn Beck would have you believe that the buck stops with George Soros and he's getting closer, but hes not quite there yet. We need to peel back more of the curtain, further back in the chamber we find the real Wizard of Oz pulling the levers.

There is a concerted and planned effort to have riots and general protests at a level higher than the Federal Government. They have destroyed countless nations, savaged economies and slaughtered millions. For this, we need to look to the Bilderbergs, the Council on Foreign Relations, and beyond. These are the real puppet masters and it is in our interests to verify that they don't burn our Federalist leaders to empower themselves. Futher, we need to remain vigilant as the last time there was this degree of blowback on the government with the Republican landslide of '94, we got Oklahoma City just a few months later.

'The Euro Game Is Up! Just who the hell do you think you are?' - Nigel Farage MEP

An absolutely mind-blowing piece of truth disseminated at a critical time.

Portugal Goes Pop? 'Euro burning, people pay, bankers get away'

The Giants Make a Move - China, Russia Stop Using the Dollar

Certainly this has been on the table for some time, but it is quite interesting that it is being announced on the heels of the conflict in Korea -http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-11/24/content_11599087.htm

St. Petersburg, Russia - China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.

Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies.

"About trade settlement, we have decided to use our own currencies," Putin said at a joint news conference with Wen in St. Petersburg.

Putin made his remarks after a meeting with Wen. They also officiated at a signing ceremony for 12 documents, including energy cooperation.

The documents covered cooperation on aviation, railroad construction, customs, protecting intellectual property, culture and a joint communiqu. Details of the documents have yet to be released.

Putin said one of the pacts between the two countries is about the purchase of two nuclear reactors from Russia by China's Tianwan nuclear power plant, the most advanced nuclear power complex in China.

The Real Effect
This is what happens when you act like an imperialist nation. Your partners decide to "opt out" of dealing with your nonsense and take matters into their own hands. Of course, this is a perfectly legitimate move, it's just going to anger Washington who views itself as the hub of the world.

I would expect protests from the west in the vein of "unfair trade practices" or even accusation of currency destruction being practiced by these two. Such are the delusions you develop when you idolize your own idiocy. It's likely, if not probable that Washington will see the need to "adjust" their attitude in some fashion, but the girl beater rarely thinks ahead when his woman gets herself a better, stronger man.

Korean War Analysis

The entire situation reminds me of the 888 war (Aug. 8, 2008) in which Georgia, with the backing of US Special Forces launched an attack on Russian forces in South Ossetia. At the time, the news agencies decided to start reporting slightly after the start and claim that it was Russia that was attacking Georgia while ignoring the earlier attacks.

In that particular war, if one ignored certain facts or was naively unaware of them, a certain narrative started to emerge that fingered the Russians as aggressive expansionists persecuting the poor Georgians. This scenario was later rebuffed as nonfactual as it came out that Georgia was in fact the aggressor in that conflict.

In this particular situation, several questions/observations immediately come to mind.

1. Who fired first?
1. According to South Korea, they fired by North Korea first, but not at them.
2. If we assume North Korea fired first and was launching a new war, why target civilians?
1. Let's just assume that the North Koreans are eeevil commie scum for a second - Why waste time, munitions and most importantly public relations blowing up strategic non-starters? Why not target military targets?
2. Is it possible that the South staged part of this incident to justify a response?
3. Why would the North announce they are continuing their "nuclear program" and then attack the next day? (A program they got from the US.)
4. The fact that South Korea just so happened to be running drills on invading the North in the area (close to the N.Korean border) at question at that time. Something that was well within their rights but within suspicion.
1. They started Monday and were scheduled to last until Nov 30th.

South Korea holds military exercises like Tuesday's off the west coast about every three months, and they typically provoke an angry response from North Korea, but Tuesday's confrontation was far from typical.

The Real Effect
Given all of this, how do I anticipate this will play out? Let's look at each player in the conflict.

South Korea
The ball is in their court now and the world awaits their next move. I'm unsure of how the Korean people will perceive this issue as it all depends on how many facts they can get their hands on.
I'm pretty certain that they will want blood. In addition, it seems that they are tired of being perceived as being "weak" on the security threat that is North Korea.

Add in the Cheonan sinking (Which is a short distance away and incredibly suspicious) and you have a very volatile mix. I believe the pressure from the people will be to retaliate in some sort of limited fashion. Perhaps on their "offensive" assets, like their missile bases. Yet that risks all out conflict with the North. This is not wise.

North Korea
With Kim Jung-Il is handing controls over to Kim Jung-Un, this could be concluded by enemies to be an act by him to solidify military control of this country. (Looks like someone got to that point already.) If this is true, Un risks losing control if he backs down which makes the North particularly dangerous.

After being rebuffed continually in attempts to form an alliance with the south, they just might see the writing on the wall and are moving into a total war footing. Further, with recent US/South Korean exercises in the area including the USS George Washington specifically the yellow sea and possible reports of US tactical nuclear weapons are moving into the theater, they may see things as becoming desperate. But they are tied at the hip with China.

China
I'm pretty certain that the reported Chinese missile that was fired from a Jin class submarine off the West coast recently is loosely related to this situation.They seem fairly reserved at this point and perhaps the most level headed - "The situation needs to be verified,", but they are playing the sides of this war and it is not in their interest to get involved, yet.

US
Needing a war to divert attention, this provides a much needed diversion from foreclosure gate and the ailing economy. In addition, with the TSA situation threatening the Federal power grab, something needs to happen to push things back into their control. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Americans preoccupied with preparation and 28,000 troops stationed there, this might be a nice situation to bail out the Empire. Plus, wasn't Obama just there?

Europe
Ireland is bankrupt, Portugal is right behind them, Spain, and the UK. A war would be a nice diversion.


Russia
This is geographically close to them, I highly doubt they are pleased about having this sort of conflict in their back yard and want to see the situation diffused.

Israel
Reports of the North Koreans supplying the Iranians with nukes could spur the Israeli to push for the US to deal decisively with this situation.


Predictions

• The dollar will rise further. Perhaps this is the overall plan?
• Oil prices will increase. Not tremendously at first, but if this escalates $3 gas will be cheap in comparison.
• Domestic terrorism. If the US gets involved with the situation, I expect some sort of terror attack to target transportation methods that will allow the TSA to reassert itself, aggressively.

Overall, I don't see this as being "THE" event, rather one of the important stage setting events that pushes the players onto the stage in order to guarantee that they act their part. This is not normal, this is "security theater" on a grand scale.

North Korea and South Korea Resume the War

The war that never ended continues -

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto a South Korean island on Tuesday, killing one person, setting homes ablaze and triggering an exchange of fire as the South's military went on top alert.

In what appeared to be one of the most serious border incidents since the 1950-53 war, South Korean troops fired back with cannon, the government convened in an underground war room and "multiple" air force jets scrambled.

The firing came after North Korea's disclosure of an apparently operational uranium enrichment programme -- a second potential way of building a nuclear bomb -- which is causing serious alarm for the United States and its allies.

Some 50 shells landed on the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong near the tense Yellow Sea border, damaging dozens of houses and sending plumes of thick smoke into the air, YTN television reported.

One South Korean marine -- part of a contingent based permanently on the frontline island -- was killed and 13 other marines were wounded, the military said. YTN said two civilians were also hurt.

"A Class-A military alert issued for battle situations was imposed immediately after shelling began," a military spokesman said.

The Real Effect
I know very little about the current escalation at the moment. As it develops I will post relevant details, but for now you should review this from 2006 -

Yet on the horizon still looms North Korea and most likely China. Perhaps 2009?

and 2007 -

I have said and will say again that this is escalation warfare designed to destroy the American will and ultimately the United States itself. With the logical progression being: Afghanistan -> Iraq -> Iran/Syria -> North Korea -> China/Russia(Japan?)

and June -

Look for increasing conditions of hostility moving towards war with either Iran, North Korea or China outright. In order for this to work, they need to hook in Russia and China for revenge at a later date. (Say 3 and 10-ish years from now respectively.)

...last week and more comprehensively here.

Ireland - I.M.F. PROTEST LIVE ON AIR

Bush Talks About EXPLOSIVES In Building (on 9/11?)

Fires WTC7, CBS-Net Dub7 14.avi

We're the TSA and You Can Count on Us! (to overreact to tiny threats and ignore big ones)

Housing Falls Further

Just to drive home the point that the last bubble will not lead you out of the pop -

Construction of new U.S. homes sank 11.7% to an annualized rate of 519,000 in October, the lowest level in 18 months, but permits rose slightly, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The last time starts were that low was in April 2009. In addition, housing starts in September were revised down to 588,000 from an original reading of 600,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected housing starts in October to drop to an annual rate of 600,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Permits for new construction, viewed as a more accurate gauge of home building, rose 0.5% in October to an annualized rate of 547,000. Permits were also revised slightly higher in the prior month.

The Real Effect
This isn't over, the real fun hasn't even started yet.

South Park - ...and it's gone.

Banks Going Under, Again

No, the Republicans are probably right. This has noooothing to do with fraud on the banks part whatsoever -

The disarray stemming from flawed foreclosure documents could threaten major banks with billions of dollars in losses, deepen the disruption in the housing market and hurt the government's effort to keep people in their homes, according to a new report from a congressional watchdog.

Revelations that several big mortgage issuers sped through thousands of home foreclosures without properly checking paperwork already has raised alarm in Washington. If the irregularities are widespread, the consequences could be severe, the Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report issued Tuesday. The full impact is still is unclear, the report cautions.

Employees or contractors of several major banks have testified in court cases that they signed, and in some cases backdated, thousands of certifying documents for home seizures. Financial firms that service a total $6.4 trillion in mortgages are involved, according to the new report. Big banks including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc.'s GMAC Mortgage have suspended foreclosures at some point because of flawed documents. (Emphasis mine)

The Real Effect
The banks would have you believe that this has nothing to do with fraudulent activity on their part, that they're just the poor victims of the unscrupulous housing owners that are taking advantage of them. Let's review shall we?

• Issue #1 - The banks fraudulently loaned money to parties they knew could not repay. (Subprime crisis)
• Issue #2 - They committed fraud against the deed recording agencies by knowingly transferring deeds against many state law in a complex shell game called MERS. This was to avoid paying taxes on these transfers which would have sucked out the profits on the transactions.(These are the supposed "clerical errors")
• The institutions committed loan title fraud to hide this fact by shredding documents to keep things easy and clear.
• Issue #3 - They then split the mortgages into tranches and then fraudulently sold these investment instruments to individuals and companies that used these in part for leverage to the tune of quadrillions of dollars.
• Mutual and pension funds invested in these assets believing they were solvent.
• The sellers of the securities lied repeatedly.

"It appears as though many loans and other mortgage-related assets have been double and even triple-pledged to various constituencies."
- Bank of America, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Jacksonville, CASE NO. 3:09-bk-07047-JAF

• Issue #4 - The banks went before the Congress screaming that "The sky is falling!" and demanded the taxpayers "bail them out" via TARP. These institutions would not exist otherwise. 
• These jerks even threatened that tanks would roll down the streets if they are not rescued from their own myopic stupidity.
• The very next day, Treasury Secretary Paulson stated that he would not use these funds for that purpose. In short, he lied.
• These people are refusing to tell us where the money we are spending is going. 
• Issue #5 - The Government (FBI) knew about these abuses years ahead of time.
• Issue #6 - Individuals did not pay their mortgages in a housing price inflated environment driven in part by the fraud and further bankrupted by a Depression created by the banks?

We all know what comes next, these poor bankers (that got nice fat bonuses, again) come to us hat in hand claiming that if we don't bail them out, we're ALL GONNA DIEEEE!!! Don't buy it this time. Please.

Canada Customs-Royal Canadian Air Farce

China Is Suddenly the Enemy?

It becomes very curious how the tide of "official" opinion turns with the times -

Pentagon planners were wary of China’s double-digit military-budget growth rates even before the global economic crisis put the squeeze on America’s own defense investment. Now the Chinese army’s growth continues while America’s flat-lines. That’s got the U.S. military, especially the Navy, scrambling for new ideas.

The most hopeful is an emerging concept for mixing U.S. Navy ships and subs with Air Force planes to form a tightly-knit, super-lethal, ship-killing force meant to counter an increasingly powerful Chinese fleet. The Pentagon calls it “AirSea Battle,” an homage to NATO’s Cold War “AirLand Battle” concept that pioneered tactics for taking out thousands of Soviet tanks with smart weapons. U.S. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates called the classified AirSea Battle concept “encouraging.”

And missiles (Wait, didn't we think we saw one of those recently?)

The Chinese military’s non-nuclear missiles have “the capability to attack” and close down five of six major U.S. Air Force bases in South Korea and Japan, an unpublished government report says.

China’s improved inventory of short- and medium-range missiles provides a “dramatic increase” in its ability to “inhibit” U.S. military operations in the western Pacific, according to excerpts from the draft of the 2010 annual report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission scheduled for release on Nov. 17.

China’s current force “may be sufficient” to destroy runways, parked aircraft, fuel and maintenance facilities at Osan and Kunsan air bases in South Korea, and Kadena, Misawa and Yokota bases in Japan, the report says. The facilities are within 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) of China.

And aircraft carriers -

The United States has reiterated its pledge to send a super carrier to the Yellow Sea for joint naval drills with South Korea without specifying the timing, despite China's objections.

"The only thing I'd answer is those are international waters and they aren't owned by China," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a media roundtable in Melbourn, Australia, Monday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon, Tuesday. "They aren't owned by Korea. They're international waters in which we have and many other countries have sailed forever. My expectation is we'll continue to do that."

The Real Effect
An awful lot of the tail wagging the dog going on.

The Real Effect is no stranger to China as the it was discussed first in June 2005, Dec. 2005, April, 2006 (2)

For the record, I do believe that Russia and China are very real and deadly military threats and that the last 17 years of diplomacy are nothing more than an attempt to lure the American people an military into a compromised position in order that they may easily secure dominance.

Look for Russia and China to block the U.S. led Iran sanctions leading the U.S. to impose it's own economic sanctions. Yet, Iran is not in any mood or position to be pressured by anyone, let alone the Great Satan. After this will follow some type of provocation that is tied to or directly the result of Iran's actions. This in turn enrages the "International Community" which sees no other option but to 'deal with Iran'.

The problem then becomes that Russia and China, two enormous militaries, are tied at the hip to Iran. They will perceive this as a direct threat and will most likely launch an invasion against the United States and Israel.

July 2006,  Sept 2007,

 I have said and will say again that this is escalation warfare designed to destroy the American will and ultimately the United States itself. With the logical progression being: Afghanistan -> Iraq -> Iran/Syria -> North Korea -> China/Russia(Japan?)

and most recently in June -

Time is running short and the group is wasting no time in implementing their agenda as the Iranian war moves to the front burner, again. (They were denied their war in 2006.) Look for increasing conditions of hostility moving towards war with either Iran, North Korea or China outright. In order for this to work, they need to hook in Russia and China for revenge at a later date. (Say 3 and 10-ish years from now respectively.)

In addition, there is no room for a U.S. in the New Global Order, so look for our power to either be redistributed or decimated. This will be part of the new religious war that I have discussed, but the payoff is not quite here, yet.

The easiest explanation of this is that the U.S. is miffed that China is stuffing their monetary plans and is trying to paint China as the bad guy. (And just who gave them their money, corporations, and technology?) Here's a clue, it certainly wasn't the Iranians.

Cloudy G20: Smog of US-China Currency War Blurs Perspective

Kill JP Morgan With A Silver Bullet - Crash JP Morgan - Max Keiser

Germany Near Civil War

This is the way you get it done -

Like the Roman legions vanquished in the Teutoburger Wald in Lower Saxony in 9 AD, the 17,000 police officers that marched into the woods around the nuclear storage facility in Gorleben in northern Germany on Sunday morning looked invincible. Police personnel from France, Croatia and Poland had joined in the biggest security operation ever mounted against protestors against the a train carrying nuclear waste to an depot in an isolated part of Lower Saxony’s countryside. Helicopters, water canons and police vehicles, including an armoured surveillance truck, accompanied an endless column of anti-riot police mounted on horses and also marching down the railway tracks into the dense woods. Tens of thousands of anti riot police clattered along the tracks, their helmets and visors gleaming in the morning sun, and wearing body armour, leg guards and carrying batons.

But by Sunday night, those same police officers were begging the protestors for a respite.

Trapped in black, icy woods without supplies or reinforcements able to reach them because of blockades by a mobile fleet of farmer’s tractors, the exhausted and hungry police officers requested negotiations with the protestors. A water cannon truck was blocked by tractors, and yet the police still had to clear 5000 people lying on the railway track at Harlingen in pitch darkness. The largest ever police operation had descended into chaos and confusion in the autumn woods of Lower Saxony, defeated by the courage and determination of peaceful protestors who marched for miles through woods to find places to lie down on the tracks and to scoop out gravel to delay the progress of the “the train from hell.”

Over what you might ask?

As in the Stuttgart 21 railway protests, it was people from all walks of life, a genuine grass roots movement, that arrived in Wendland to protest the decision by the CDU/CSU/FDP government to ignore a legally binding deadline to phase out nuclear power. Against the wishes of the majority, Bilderberg Chancellor Angela Merkel announced this autumn that 17 reactors would continzue for another 12 years at gigantic cost to the tax payer in subsisides.

The tax payers of Lower Saxony even have to foot the bill of 50 million euro for the police operation to protect the nuclear waste – and not the electricity companies making a fortune from the extravagant energy source while the government keeps investments in ground-breaking new renewable energy technologies such as the third generation solar cells at a neglible amount.

As in Stutggart, the police used savage force against peaceful demonstrators reinforcing the impression of a government out of control and refusing to respect the basic demoractic right of people to hold protests without being beaten to a pulp. Videos of the Castor transport on Sunday show police beating people with their trudgeons, punching them and throwing them to the ground. Police also used tear gas, pepper spray and water canon.

One clip shows a police officer using his fist to punch a man lying on the railway track in the head.

About a 1000 people were injured, it is reported. 950 people are reported to have suffered eye injuries due to pepper spray and tear gas, according to a spokesperson of “Castor schottern”. Another sixtreen protestors suffered broken bones. There were 29 severe head wounds. Two people had to be taken to hospital.

One person had to be taken by helicopter after suffering multiple bone fractures after being trampled by a police horse.

But as in Stuttgart, the people did not give up in spite of the risk of savage beatings at the hands of the police. They insisted on their civic right enshrined in the constitution to hold peaceful political protests.

More than 50,000 people from all parts of the country and all walks of life attended a rally on a field close to Dannenberg. Thousands then marched through the autumn woods, splitting into small groups to descend into the valley, break through police lines to chain themselves to the rails or remove gravel from the tracks to delay the train.

Serious Disturbances in Munincipal Debt Funds

Denninger notices some major issues -

I'd pay attention to these.....

That's IQI, a levered municipal bond fund. It yields 6.5% at present - totally unsustainable in today's ZIRP environment. At that discount (from recent price destruction) you're either getting the buy of the century or the portfolio is about to detonate in your face. Pick one.

This would be California municipal debt run by PIMCO. Yielding 7.8% (!!!) Again, you're either getting the buy of the century here, or you're about to get utterly destroyed.

Then there's New York. At today's price, this yields 5.8%. Again, either you're getting the buy of the century on this fund or you're fixing to get utterly trashed in the coming months.

Note that the last time we saw this sort of distortion the fund price declines were correct, and they presaged a detonation in the stock market. Yes, they were early - substantially so in the case of some of these. But they were correct - the credit market usually is in leading the stock market.

The Real Effect
I learned a fairly important lesson this year, namely, never underestimate a criminal's ability to lie, hide and obfuscate. In addition, this ability becomes compounded as the group gets larger and larger.

For instance, back in August I ran a stunningly accurate piece on the Dow's behavior for the next several months. I further followed up, enumerating almost exactly how the market's would behave -

Watch for the Dow to crash through support levels at 10,636 then 10,366 before it meets some resistance at 10,098 with a slight bounce around mid-September. Then all hell breaks loose as it violently crashes through any support that is offered realizing 300-1000 point drops as it rejoins the downward trend in October before finally meeting firm resistance at 9686. When that resistance finally gives way, say around November, look for increased panic as assets are sold off left and right to meet the dread margin calls as foolish investors get scalped.

At least it was accurate until very last prediction which exploded in my face, violently. If I had been banking on the breakthrough in October, I would have been financially destroyed as the exact opposite happened. Oh sure, all the stops along the way were realized, but what I critically failed to anticipate was the show that the Fed wanted to put on for the election. After the stops, the Fed dumped cash into the markets, propping it up and just about destroying the dollar in the process. If one views the Dow in inflation adjusted terms, there was a correction that month, not a gain.

All of that being said, it appears that the piper still needs to be paid and the back half of my prediction is still intact. Things are already shaking, question is, will it fall apart?

Ireland Is Getting Pummeled, Again

The Irish are in desperate need of a bailout...

The endgame for Ireland is at most a week away: outcome is simple - bailout or failure. One wonders which the central bankers will pick...

• Honohan: IMF Package Would Look Same As Current Policies
• Honohan: Irish Bank Borrowing From ECB Exceptionally Large
• Honohan: ECB Would Like Irish Banks To Get Back To Self Reliance.
• Honohan: ECB Won't Curtail Irish Banks' Access To Financing.

The Irish Bunds spread has now surged to 631, +64 bps on the day!

Seems like the Irish aren't the only ones with issues either -

A group of demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Britain's governing Conservative Party in London Wednesday, spray-painting anarchy symbols and setting off flares before being forced out of the building.

They went on to set fires outside the building.

The old black bloc anarchist trick again? That is definitely getting old.

The Real Effect
This will mean that the dollar will rally for a time, like it did back in May during the initial European crisis as investors take flight to safety. (Relative) However, this is somewhat meaningless as the overall general trend for the dollar is down, not up and the price of commodities are going up not down.

Greenspan Admission

The Tea Party Is Being Betrayed Already

Not that this wasn't going to be incredibly obvious from day 1 -

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is maneuvering behind the scenes to defeat a conservative plan aimed at restricting earmarks, setting up a high-stakes showdown that pits the GOP leader and his “Old Bull” allies against Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and a new breed of conservative senators.

In a series of one-on-one conversations with incoming and sitting senators, McConnell is encouraging his colleagues to keep an open mind and not to automatically side with DeMint, whose plan calls on Senate Republicans to unilaterally give up earmarks in the 112th Congress, according to several people familiar with the talks.

While McConnell is not demanding that rank-and-file Republican senators vote against the earmark ban, he’s laying out his concerns that eliminating earmarks would effectively cede Congress’ spending authority to the White House while not making a real dent in the $1 trillion-plus budget deficit. And McConnell is signaling his concern about the awkward politics of the situation: even if the DeMint moratorium passes, Republican senators could push for earmarks, given that the plan is nonbinding and non-enforceable.

The Real Effect
I forgot, as long as there is an R next to your name, you too may participate in the idiocy of "Tax and Spend". And I am certain that there is "a good reason" to support such a plan as there always is such as - getting Republicans re-elected in the most important election evah, not governing too far to the right, consensus building, saving ducks in Madagascar and the like...

Republicans, let me repeat -

Despite all of this, the cure is not to be found in the immediate past. Rather we must capture a page from the obstinate among us. Those of us that refuse to "do something" about these problems and emphatically allow the free market to work.

1. Cut taxes - Across the board
1. No VAT or Fair taxes, you have enough money.
2. End the property, income and various taxes which eat away at our prosperity
2. Prosecute the fraud in the banking system
1. Simply put, jail the corrupt bankers.
3. Cut the size of government by 1/3 at least.
1. Start with your checks. We've already given you ours. 
4. No new wars.

If you refuse to do this, you will be removed in the next election until We the People, find a Representative who will represent us, not the other way around. Hmmm...imagine that.

Currency Wars: US to Send Tsunami of Printed Money

Ireland Is In Serious Trouble

Of course the solution will be to kick the can down the road -

In a front page story on Monday "The New York Times" is reporting that Ireland’s debt woes have “stoked fear that it might even need to follow Greece and request a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.”

Such a move could "do lasting damage to Ireland’s credit standing.” The Times says.

In a story entitled “Irish debt woes revive concern about Europe” the newspaper reports that the Irish bond market already in free fall plunged further after the government announced massive new spending cuts.

The Times stated that “Investors took it not as a sign of resolve but rather of Ireland’s desperation and uncertainty about the true extent of its problems.”

They noted that the yield on Ireland’s 10-year bond climbed to 7.6 percent on Friday, opening a huge gap on the 2.5 percent interest rate on comparable bonds issued by Germany.

“The scale of the deficits are just so big,” said Philip R. Lane, a professor of international economics at Trinity College in Dublin., The Times notes that Ireland has “enough cash on hand to allow it to finance government operations through June 2011.”

The Real Effect
You mean borrowing more money didn't work? NO WAY!?! Well perhaps if we try it again it will this time!

Of course, we examined this back in February before the issues with Greece were prominent.

I do know that Greece's woes are going to blow out into the eurozone specifically Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland as they are all big holders of Greek bonds. This in turn will cause their economies to suffer as the fallout becomes contagious. Yet America plugs along, content to repeat these mistakes as we "integrate" and "harmonize" our way into oblivion.

Peter Schiff on CNBC 11/05/10

Insanity Becomes Normal - A Missile Launch Off the Coast of CA, China Downgrades US

Denninger deals with the possible actors -

What if this wasn't one of ours?
Who else has this capability? China? Russia? Is this some sort of warning to Obama and/or Bernanke?

Where was it launched from?
Sea-launched, as near as we can tell - but surface or submarine? Given the commercial and recreational vessel traffic in that area, if this was ship-launched someone should have seen the launching vessel. Now, more than 12 hours later, there are no reports of anyone having it on radar. Note that private vessel radars are quite-capable of resolving a ship large enough to launch something like this from the distance to the horizon. My ship's radar was quite-capable of resolving a vessel of this size if low to the water in the 10-12 mile range (curvature of the earth) and if the vessel had significant superstructure above the water, even further. If this thing was submarine launched then it gets even more interesting.

Why the silence?
I find it very unlikely this was one of ours - unless it was a mistake. An intentional launch - even of a missile with a dummy "warhead" - this close to LA? No way. A malfunction could have sent that thing right into downtown before it could be destroyed, and even unarmed it would do a hell of a lot of damage. For this reason I do not believe this was an intentional US test.

Where were the NOTAMs if this was ours?
Missing, that's where. Multiple reports now that there were NO notices posted for aviators. No way in hell our military intentionally launches a missile without posting NOTAMs for the civilian air system before it happens. This means it either wasn't ours, or wasn't intentionally launched.

The Real Effect
It's possible that this has something to do with this -

Dagong has downgraded the local and foreign currency long term sovereign credit rating of the United States of America (hereinafter referred to as “United States” ) from “AA” to “A+“, which reflects its deteriorating debt repayment capability and drastic decline of the government’s intention of debt repayment.

The serious defects in the United States economic development and management model will lead to the long-term recession of its national economy, fundamentally lowering the national solvency. The new round of quantitative easing monetary policy adopted by the Federal Reserve has brought about an obvious trend of depreciation of the U.S. dollar, and the continuation and deepening of credit crisis in the U.S. Such a move entirely encroaches on the interests of the creditors, indicating the decline of the U.S. government’s intention of debt repayment.

Folks, these sort of things are real serious as this is how wars get started. Back in May we posted the following -

Keep your eyes open folks and get to the bottom of every story. These are the times in which the world's "rules" are rewritten by the victors of the upcoming war.

States Going Belly Up Part 14 - The Fed Adopts a State

California hits up the Federal Pump -

Fitting in perfectly with the previous article by Ron Paul suggesting the dissolution of the US welfare state, we now read that insolvent California is borrowing $40 million each day from the Federal government to pay for unemployment insurance. And while we won't comment on the ethics of all of America paying for one insolvent state's unemployment problems, what does need to be highlighted is that California, which already owes $8.6 billion to the government will have to cut a check for $362-million to Washington by the end of next September. As California, as pointed out earlier, is insolvent, it will never make this payment. Which means that we now have a timeline of when the Fed will start bailing out bankrupt states, and that QE3 will next focus monetizing on municipal debt.

The Real Effect
Long time readers of the blog would remember when this was predicted -

In April -

In June, California has bonds due and they're in the same boat. There's a world of hurt coming fast. I think they can prop it up a bit longer perhaps 3-6 months? But every time they do, they make the end result that much more devastating, EXPONENTIALLY.

and...

Knowing their back is up against a wall, look for States to start to moan to the Feds about a State emergency fund similar to Europe's. Except, this ploy won't work either. After all someone has to pay the piper and the globalists seem to feel it's you.

But this is exactly what the IMF and globalists want to stoke the riotous fires at home.

Now, it should be obvious that California is done if they are borrowing that much money from the Fed already. I would assume that the next step would be for good 'ole Jerry Brown to start laying off the unions somehow. This leads to the aforementioned riots.

'US media-numbed, bankers pocket $144 billion bonus'

ATM's Crash, National Bank Holiday Coming?

Things are getting intense out there -

Following rumors of a “bank holiday” that could limit or prevent altogether cash withdrawals later this week, Twitter and other Internet forums were raging yesterday about numerous ATMs across the country that crashed in the early hours of Sunday morning, preventing customers from performing basic transactions.

It’s unknown whether the crashes were partly a result of a surge of people trying to withdraw their money in preparation for any feared bank shutdown, or if mere technical glitches were to blame. The fact that the problem affected numerous different banks in different parts of the U.S. would seem to indicate the former.

The Orange County Register reported that the problems were “part of a national outage” which prevented people from performing simple transactions such as cashing checks and withdrawing money.

“Computer issues” were blamed for similar issues in Phoenix Arizona, while in Birmingham Alabama, Wells Fargo customers’ online banking accounts and ATMs displayed incorrect balances.

The banks primarily affected were Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America, but according to blogger Phil Brennan, who studied Twitter feeds and other Internet message boards that were alight with the story, numerous other financial institutions were also affected, including US Bank, Compass, USAA, Suntrust, Fairwinds Credit Union, American Express, BB&T on the East Coast and PNC.

The Real Effect
The fact that the Twitters are being spread so rampantly leads me to think that the average person is genuinely shocked that they don't have control over their own money. I am also inclined to think that the banks will blame the crashes not on their own policy issues, but the rumors.

For those of you tempted to agree with the banks, ask yourselves just who owns the money if you can make deposits, but not withdrawals?

Look for continued stress tests on the systems as everyone in the know prepares for The Collapse. Up next after the collapse, the Phoenix event.

Digital Papers Please

The U.K. proves that they love the police state gizmos-

Even the most law-abiding driver might feel a shiver down the spine when spotting this speed camera at the roadside.

For as well as detecting speeding, it is packed with gizmos that check number plates to make sure insurance and tax are up to date.

It also measures the distance between vehicles to spot tailgating and takes pictures of the inside of the car – to make sure you are wearing a seat belt.

It is the first to detect multiple offences at the same time and is connected to police computers via satellite, so that prosecutions can be started within seconds of any offence.

The Real Effect
What can a person say other than wow?

Banks Sucking People Dry

The Vampire Squid's cousin -

Miss Hannibal, from Colchester, Essex, opened a basic current account with the bank when she was 15 but in 2008 it was upgraded to a 'silver' account.

For an £8 monthly payment, the new account offered a range of benefits to the customer, such as travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and breakdown cover.

But Miss Hannibal said that after the monthly charge for the service was taken out, she was left with an unauthorised overdraft of 8p and ordered to pay a penalty of £170.

Struggling to pay her bills and the rent, Miss Hannibal offered to pay the bank charge at a rate of £30 a month.

However, she said that before the debt was paid, even more charges were added and she and her partner have now shelled out £1000 in instalments and lump sums since 2008.

The couple, who had a baby daughter Ashlyn two weeks ago, still owe £700 and the young mum said she is still being charged £10 a day for the overdrawn account, which she has not used since 2008. (Emphasis mine)

The Real Effect
Let's recap shall we, Miss Hannibal opens an account with the bank, the bank "upgrades" her account without her permission, then seizes her hard earned money causing her to overdraw 8p ($.13). Then, as part of the banks service to her, they "fine" her £170 ($270).

She offers to settle with them by paying £30 a month until the alleged "debt" is paid off and in fact, starts paying. After paying the bank £1000, she still "owes" the institution £700. Why? Because the bank says so, that's why.

Having been the recipient of these types of charges before, I can completely relate. Once you are under the "fee" regime, it is an unending slew of charges, interest fees and insane payment schedules which never relent. After all, according to the bank, you "owe" them for their "service" to you. Never mind the fact that you didn't agree to it. Their "records" demonstrate that you owe it and to many judges, that's more than enough to convict you and destroy your "credit rating".

Is Obama A Keynesian? Rally For Sanity, 10/30/10

That By Which the Red Fire Burns

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9

While initially encouraging from its appearance, Tuesday nights elections had a very familiar tone to it, as if we had all been down this path before. Could it be the destruction of the Republican party in 2008 on the back of "Hope and Change"? No. Perhaps it was the "Red State Mandate" of 2004? No, that's not it either. Surely it must have been the "Contract With America" of 1994?

Whatever your take, America has once again voted for Liberty and politicians and once again they shall be disappointed when they receive more of the latter and less of the former. Such is the way with men, tempted by so much power. If only... becomes the vehicle by which the child slaves are offered up to the insatiable fires of Moloch.

For on the horizon, the enemy comes into view. Countless times he has deceived the good people into thinking that he is their friend and Liberty is the mortal enemy of safety. Even now, the song beckons the new class, lulling them into a compromise which they should not accept and we cannot afford.

For as I write this, the death of the dollar rolls into view -

The Federal Reserve will probably introduce an unprecedented second round of unconventional monetary easing tomorrow by announcing a plan to buy at least $500 billion of long-term securities, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

This will become the largest issue facing the country in the year to come. With a plunging dollar, capital wealth will follow, housing prices will crash, unemployment will soar and the people will become desperate. If only...echoes as a log is placed on the fire to keep the embers alive for one day more. Surely if we give them our children, then the hunger will be satisfied.

This is not a problem that started in 2008 and certainly not one that will be fixed in 2011. It is an endemic issue that has infected our entire way of thinking be it of the Red, Blue or Purple persuasion. The rampant fraud plaguing the housing sector will surface as a cancer that will destroy the residual value left in this once great nation. If only...we spend our way into prosperity, then we shall see an end to this calamity and the country will place it's final foot into the graveyard of history.

Despite all of this, the cure is not to be found in the immediate past. Rather we must capture a page from the obstinate among us. Those of us that refuse to "do something" about these problems and emphatically allow the free market to work.

1. Cut taxes - Across the board
1. No VAT or Fair taxes, you have enough money.
2. End the property, income and various taxes which eat away at our prosperity
2. Prosecute the fraud in the banking system
1. Simply put, jail the corrupt bankers.
3. Cut the size of government by 1/3 at least.
1. Start with your checks. We've already given you ours. 
4. No new wars.

History is a harsh master and if it is to be believed, most, if not all will fall by the wayside of Liberty to heed the call of political expediency. Yet, all is not lost, for out of this fire and calamity that surrounds us will forge the constitutions of the next great generation to govern this country.

There once a madman, a criminal rejected by this world who said the following -

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Chinese Professor

Backstabbing Republicans Sweeping Into Power, The Tea Party Gets a Wake Up Call

Vox sheds some much needed light on the upcoming rebranding of the U.S. Congress and the Republican joke "Pledge to America" -

Very well. Smaller government sounds good. Saving $100 billion in the first year alone sounds like a lot. Now, what was the federal budget in 2010? According to "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise" which is the Orwellian title for The United States Federal Budget for Fiscal Year 2010, the 2010 budget is $3.552 trillion. And according to the most recent estimate in July, the deficit alone is going to be $1.47 trillion instead of the $1.171 trillion originally forecast.

So, Republicans are going to cut 2.8% of the federal budget, or if you prefer, 6.8% of the federal budget deficit. In other words, if the nation were a car speeding towards a canyon at 70 miles per hour, the Republicans master plan for saving the passengers would be to slow the car down to 65.2 MPH!

The Real Effect
Back in 2008 it was an absolute joy to watch all the idiotic nonsense surrounding "Hope and Change". At the time, one would have thought that Jesus himself had returned and parted the Re(d)publican Sea and led the Democrats into the promised land. By golly this country had seen the light and was going to move forward, for whatever that's worth. Just, two short years later and the Dems are turning on Obama by the legions and joining in the new wave of Republican righteousness.

To this end, the new Tea Party, copying the success of the original Tea Party founded in the aftermath of the amazing End the Fed/Ron Paul/Campaign for Liberty rallies of 2007, has left it's roots searching for a new pimp to hook it up with THE POWER.

Yet, despite all of their insistence to the contrary, the new Tea Party has bought the red version of the same pill handed to the Democrats in 2008. Sure, all the rhetoric sounds good (as it did in 1980, 1994, 2000), but we all know that once she's in the car, the Tea Party will be relegated to the back seat with the children while the adults govern the country just as they have in the past. Poorly.

The Real Effect covered this in July, Sept 28, and the Religious War series, in which the case was laid out for a major betrayal of the Tea Party once the right rides their coat-tails into Washington, robs them, and leaves them on the side of the road. This leads us to the present election.

So prediction time: I believe it's going to be an absolute blowout tomorrow with the Republicans regaining the House for sure and probably going to slight lead in the Senate. (1 seat advantage?). This will set the stage for the next 2 years as the talk becomes less about big government, rights and liberty and more about retaining the power so that the next most important election everrrrrr can be morphed into supporting the Republican right.

In addition, this will lead to calls from the religious right about supporting our "authorities" in their time of need to turn back the tide of evil. In other words, the election will become a stepping grounds towards rempowering the neocons over the neolibs in the 2012 election and I believe that morality will become a very important election issue at that point.

The original Tea Party however, becomes marginalized as the economic situation plays out with the right siding with the Fraudulent Banksters, big government and globalists because the problems were just too much, the banks were too big to fail and no one could have seen the crash coming.