Friday, June 10, 2011

Bilderberg 2011 Attendence List

Keep in mind that some individuals sneak in without their names being on the list -


Thanks to the fantastic work of Bilderberg activists, journalists and the Swiss media, we have now been able to obtain the full official list of 2011 Bilderberg attendees. Routinely, some members request that their names be kept off the roster so there will be additional Bilderbergers in attendance.
Infowars will be on the scene identifying other attendees not on the list.

Belgium

  • Coene, Luc, Governor, National Bank of Belgium

  • Davignon, Etienne, Minister of State

  • Leysen, Thomas, Chairman, Umicore China

  • Fu, Ying, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • Huang, Yiping, Professor of Economics, China Center for Economic Research, Peking University Denmark

  • Eldrup, Anders, CEO, DONG Energy

  • Federspiel, Ulrik, Vice President, Global Affairs, Haldor Topsøe A/S

  • Schütze, Peter, Member of the Executive Management, Nordea Bank AB Germany

  • Ackermann, Josef, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank

  • Enders, Thomas, CEO, Airbus SAS

  • Löscher, Peter, President and CEO, Siemens AG

  • Nass, Matthias, Chief International Correspondent, Die Zeit

  • Steinbrück, Peer, Member of the Bundestag; Former Minister of Finance Finland

  • Apunen, Matti, Director, Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA

  • Johansson, Ole, Chairman, Confederation of the Finnish Industries EK

  • Ollila, Jorma, Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell

  • Pentikäinen, Mikael, Publisher and Senior Editor-in-Chief, Helsingin Sanomat France

  • Baverez, Nicolas, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

  • Bazire, Nicolas, Managing Director, Groupe Arnault /LVMH

  • Castries, Henri de, Chairman and CEO, AXA

  • Lévy, Maurice, Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe S.A.

  • Montbrial, Thierry de, President, French Institute for International Relations

  • Roy, Olivier, Professor of Social and Political Theory, European University Institute Great Britain

  • Agius, Marcus, Chairman, Barclays PLC

  • Flint, Douglas J., Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings

  • Kerr, John, Member, House of Lords; Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell

  • Lambert, Richard, Independent Non-Executive Director, Ernst & Young

  • Mandelson, Peter, Member, House of Lords; Chairman, Global Counsel

  • Micklethwait, John, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist

  • Osborne, George, Chancellor of the Exchequer

  • Stewart, Rory, Member of Parliament

  • Taylor, J. Martin, Chairman, Syngenta International AG Greece

  • David, George A., Chairman, Coca-Cola H.B.C. S.A.

  • Hardouvelis, Gikas A., Chief Economist and Head of Research, Eurobank EFG

  • Papaconstantinou, George, Minister of Finance

  • Tsoukalis, Loukas, President, ELIAMEP Grisons International Organizations

  • Almunia, Joaquín, Vice President, European Commission

  • Daele, Frans van, Chief of Staff to the President of the European Council

  • Kroes, Neelie, Vice President, European Commission; Commissioner for Digital Agenda

  • Lamy, Pascal, Director General, World Trade Organization

  • Rompuy, Herman van, President, European Council

  • Sheeran, Josette, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme

  • Solana Madariaga, Javier, President, ESADEgeo Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics

  • Trichet, Jean-Claude, President, European Central Bank

  • Zoellick, Robert B., President, The World Bank Group Ireland

  • Gallagher, Paul, Senior Counsel; Former Attorney General

  • McDowell, Michael, Senior Counsel, Law Library; Former Deputy Prime Minister

  • Sutherland, Peter D., Chairman, Goldman Sachs International Italy

  • Bernabè, Franco, CEO, Telecom Italia SpA

  • Elkann, John, Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.

  • Monti, Mario, President, Univers Commerciale Luigi Bocconi

  • Scaroni, Paolo, CEO, Eni S.p.A.

  • Tremonti, Giulio, Minister of Economy and Finance Canada

  • Carney, Mark J., Governor, Bank of Canada

  • Clark, Edmund, President and CEO, TD Bank Financial Group

  • McKenna, Frank, Deputy Chair, TD Bank Financial Group

  • Orbinksi, James, Professor of Medicine and Political Science, University of Toronto

  • Prichard, J. Robert S., Chair, Torys LLP

  • Reisman, Heather, Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc. Center, Brookings Institution Netherlands

  • Bolland, Marc J., Chief Executive, Marks and Spencer Group plc

  • Chavannes, Marc E., Political Columnist, NRC Handelsblad; Professor of Journalism

  • Halberstadt, Victor, Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings

  • H.M. the Queen of the Netherlands

  • Rosenthal, Uri, Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • Winter, Jaap W., Partner, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Norway

  • Myklebust, Egil, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors SAS, sk Hydro ASA

  • H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway

  • Ottersen, Ole Petter, Rector, University of Oslo

  • Solberg, Erna, Leader of the Conservative Party Austria

  • Bronner, Oscar, CEO and Publisher, Standard Medien AG

  • Faymann, Werner, Federal Chancellor

  • Rothensteiner, Walter, Chairman of the Board, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG

  • Scholten, Rudolf, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG Portugal

  • Balsemão, Francisco Pinto, Chairman and CEO, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; Former Prime Minister

  • Ferreira Alves, Clara, CEO, Claref LDA; writer

  • Nogueira Leite, António, Member of the Board, José de Mello Investimentos, SGPS, SA Sweden

  • Mordashov, Alexey A., CEO, Severstal
    Schweden

  • Bildt, Carl, Minister of Foreign Affairs

  • Björling, Ewa, Minister for Trade

  • Wallenberg, Jacob, Chairman, Investor AB Switzerland

  • Brabeck-Letmathe, Peter, Chairman, Nestlé S.A.

  • Groth, Hans, Senior Director, Healthcare Policy & Market Access, Oncology Business Unit, Pfizer Europe

  • Janom Steiner, Barbara, Head of the Department of Justice, Security and Health, Canton

  • Kudelski, André, Chairman and CEO, Kudelski Group SA

  • Leuthard, Doris, Federal Councillor

  • Schmid, Martin, President, Government of the Canton Grisons

  • Schweiger, Rolf, Ständerat

  • Soiron, Rolf, Chairman of the Board, Holcim Ltd., Lonza Ltd.

  • Vasella, Daniel L., Chairman, Novartis AG

  • Witmer, Jürg, Chairman, Givaudan SA and Clariant AG Spain

  • Cebrián, Juan Luis, CEO, PRISA

  • Cospedal, María Dolores de, Secretary General, Partido Popular

  • León Gross, Bernardino, Secretary General of the Spanish Presidency

  • Nin Génova, Juan María, President and CEO, La Caixa

  • H.M. Queen Sofia of Spain Turkey

  • Ciliv, Süreyya, CEO, Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.

  • Gülek Domac, Tayyibe, Former Minister of State

  • Koç, Mustafa V., Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.

  • Pekin, Sefika, Founding Partner, Pekin & Bayar Law Firm USA

  • Alexander, Keith B., Commander, USCYBERCOM; Director, National Security Agency

  • Altman, Roger C., Chairman, Evercore Partners Inc.

  • Bezos, Jeff, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com

  • Collins, Timothy C., CEO, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC

  • Feldstein, Martin S., George F. Baker Professor of Economics, Harvard University

  • Hoffman, Reid, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn

  • Hughes, Chris R., Co-founder, Facebook

  • Jacobs, Kenneth M., Chairman & CEO, Lazard

  • Johnson, James A., Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC

  • Jordan, Jr., Vernon E., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC

  • Keane, John M., Senior Partner, SCP Partners; General, US Army, Retired

  • Kissinger, Henry A., Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.

  • Kleinfeld, Klaus, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa

  • Kravis, Henry R., Co-Chairman and co-CEO, Kohlberg Kravis, Roberts & Co.

  • Kravis, Marie-Josée, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Inc.

  • Li, Cheng, Senior Fellow and Director of Research, John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution

  • Mundie, Craig J., Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation

  • Orszag, Peter R., Vice Chairman, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

  • Perle, Richard N., Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

  • Rockefeller, David, Former Chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank

  • Rose, Charlie, Executive Editor and Anchor, Charlie Rose

  • Rubin, Robert E., Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury

  • Schmidt, Eric, Executive Chairman, Google Inc.

  • Steinberg, James B., Deputy Secretary of State

  • Thiel, Peter A., President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC

  • Varney, Christine A., Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust

  • Vaupel, James W., Founding Director, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

  • Warsh, Kevin, Former Governor, Federal Reserve Board

  • Wolfensohn, James D., Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company, LLC

  • Thursday, June 09, 2011

    Sanders' Top 10 Worst Corporate Income Tax Avoiders

    War, War and More War!

    What, another one? Democrats are the non-war oriented sensitive types dontcha know -
    The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.

    The acceleration of the American campaign in recent weeks comes amid a violent conflict in Yemen that has left the government in Sana, a United States ally, struggling to cling to power. Yemeni troops that had been battling militants linked to Al Qaeda in the south have been pulled back to the capital, and American officials see the strikes as one of the few options to keep the militants from consolidating power.
    Of course this is in addition to the other war -
    US military operations in Libya are on course to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the Pentagon estimated, according to figures obtained by the Financial Times.

    Robert Gates, the outgoing secretary of defence, said last month that the Pentagon expected to spend “somewhere in the ball park of $750m” in the 2011 fiscal year as part of efforts to protect the Libyan people.

    But according to a Pentagon memo which includes a detailed update on the progress and pace of operations, by mid-May US operations in Libya had cost $664m, a figure confirmed by the Department of Defence.
    The Real Effect
    ...of course there's the other wars too. What, at least 5 now? Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya and Yemen. What was it that was said? Oh yeah -
     Look for continued unrest with some governments getting overthrown. But as I indicated earlier, the globalists are literally banking on this to occur. We are still not there yet though. More riots need to take place, some shots, some new faces and then, we go to war.

    Wednesday, June 08, 2011

    Ted Gunderson Former FBI Chief - Most Terror Attacks Are Committed By Our CIA And FBI

    SWAT Team Enforces DoE Raid On Wrong Person

    The state knows no limits -

    A father was dragged from his home and handcuffed in front of his children by a SWAT team looking for his estranged wife - to collect her unpaid student loans.

    A stunned Kenneth Wright had his front door kicked in by the raiding party at 6 am yesterday before being dragged onto his front porch, handcuffed and led to a police car with his three children.

    He says he was then detained for six hours while officers looked for his wife - who no longer lives at the house.

    Mr Wright was later told by Stockton police that the order to send in the SWAT team came from The U.S. Department of Education who were looking for his estranged wife to collect defaulted loan payments.
    The Real Effect

    America has become infatuated with power and authority and subsequently fails to define and restrain it properly. I like to use the analogy of a librarian usurping authority because most individuals are familiar with what a librarian does and the extent of her limited authority.

    Let's assume that the librarian is hired by the town board to have control over the local branch of the town library. She is empowered, by the town board to oversee that particular library and assess fines to patrons of the library that use the services they provide.

    At this point, we should note the extent and limitations of her powers/authority:
    • She has the power to levy fines, but not to forcibly collect them.(She cannot raid your bank account)
    • She has control over her branch, but if another branch opens, she cannot control the branch unless authorized to. 
    • Despite the overwhelming evil of a local corporation stealing from its clients, she has no authority to raid the facility and "set things right" no matter how much it drives her batty.
    In today's age, Americans view authority as being all-encompassing and pervasive. For instance, the Executive branch of the U.S. government has long run amuck via shoddily defined Departments of which the Department of Education is one. (The U.S government should have just about as much authority to have an educational department as one on the proper branding of shoes.) Yet America refuses to recognize any limits on authority because somewhere once there was an official decree. What is infinitely less important to people is whether or not said law was actually legal.

    For instance, in our above example of the librarian, she could argue that with the opening of a new local branch, that under her sworn duty as a protector of the people's books, that not only does she think she should be in charge of said branch, but that she is compelled to take up such a role by virtue of her previous duty. What most people miss in this is that her authority was given to her by another and is not unlimited, else what is to prohibit her from setting up local checkpoints with her shiny new GTOs acquired by the Department of Book Enforcement and Revenue Generation. (Of course such things are necessary, why if such a Department didn't exist we would have Tanks In the Streets what with people trying to figure out just how to return their books and all that.)

    Such is the nature of authority. It tends to continue until challenged, most times forcefully. Back to the raid.

    As Vox points out in his column today -
    1. Why is the U.S. Department of Education permitted to issue warrants or call SWAT teams?
    2. Why would the SWAT team assault an individual who is not responsible for the debts?
    3. Upon which specific date was America pronounced dead?
    This leads us to our logical conclusions. Unchecked authority will continue to run wild until it runs smack dab into the jurisdiction of another tyrant. It is usually at this point that cordial diplomacy gives way to war. (Funny how these petty thugs always tend to end up fighting.) It is doubtless that countless hours and swaths of rain forest will be dedicated to convincing the people that not only is such a war is just, what with historical precedent and all that, but that rest assured the god of the Departments is On Their Side.

    Tuesday, June 07, 2011

    Unfunded Mandates Or How a Government Can Legally Lie to You

    This is along the lines of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports that institutions dupe you with regularly -
    The federal government's financial condition deteriorated rapidly last year, far beyond the $1.5 trillion in new debt taken on to finance the budget deficit, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

    The government added $5.3 trillion in new financial obligations in 2010, largely for retirement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. That brings to a record $61.6 trillion the total of financial promises not paid for.
    The Real Effect
    Ok, let's examine this for a moment. Total US debt (excluding unfunded liabilities) is at about $15 trillion dollars. Let us assume for a moment that this is the equivalent of Joe Citizen taking out a $250,000 mortgage on a new house. True, he has a budget and that includes paying for that mortgage, groceries and other things. But Joe is 60 and in five years, he retires and his health care is going up drastically.

    Unfortunately his wife Jane, has NO IDEA that Joe has not included health care in their budget. When confronted about it, Joe waxes and wanes about Jane's $20 a week trip to the store and fiscal responsibility. In short, he consoles Jane that everything is in fact alright. However, he repeatedly neglects to mention the little matter of over $1 million dollars in projected health care costs.

    This assures Joe several things -
    1. Joe will not be strung up by Jane until the bills hit. Which, by then he reckons he should be making double his current salary in a Depression.
    2. Jane will continue to support Joe as being a "good steward" of their collective resources.
    3. That in 2016, Joe better have a plane ticket to Bermuda, without Jane. 
    This is similar to the situation we find ourselves today, if our government continues to lie, they will attempt to blame the subsequent default not on themselves, but on our supposed mismanagement. Of course the fix will be to continue the spending and drain whatever capital that we have left.

    Wednesday, June 01, 2011

    Fox News hacked?

    A Depression? It's Nice That Someone Finally Noticed

    Micro-fractures in the economy give way to larger, harder to repair ones -
    "Interest rates are amazingly low and that, thanks to Ben Bernanke, is driving everything," Yastrow said. "We’re on the verge of a great, great depression. The [Federal Reserve] knows it.
    The Real Effect
     Almost two years ago, I made the following predictions - 
     So what happens next?

    • The US dollar is going to tank (think Iceland)
    It has to. There is massive unemployment already and while the rate is slowing slightly that is hardly comforting. The U.S. bond market is going to implode resulting in the US’s first defaults.
    Let's review - Note the red arrow. That was June of 2009 when that prediction was made. The red circle on the right is the recent all time low that was recently achieved.




    • Banks claim ownership of 401ks and the government moves to “protect” them by seizing them.
    I would assume they would be placed in a new 'secure conservatorship’.

    We see evidence of that here.

    • Obama loosens the unemployment restrictions so more can draw from the government and then moves the unemployed to the government ranks. At the same time, States cut off the most poor creating a "humanitarian crisis". (Think California) 
    What was it, 99 weeks of unemployment? Further, Congress is eying up SNAP.
    • Commercial Market collapse continues
    • The second wave of the housing market collapse hits (The less risky loans start to default)
    SFGate states -
    “On the supply side, an assortment of factors seems poised to trigger new waves of foreclosures that will continue to bloat inventory. They include the expiration of foreclosure moratoriums, more underwater "walk-away" homeowners, pending recasts of option ARM loans, rising delinquencies in prime and Alt-A loans, and soft sales of high-end homes.”
    Another chart for you, note the black arrow. (Everyone at the time was calling for an upswing in prices)
     
    • Commodities surge (Massive inflation)
    Gold, silver, food are surging – big banks, investment houses are purchasing now. We are now in the Inflation/Deflation death spiral.
    • Unemployment highs
    After the next 'wave' hits, employers will cut even deeper in an attempt to staunch the flow of red ink that will inundate most companies.

    Now, I will concede that my thinking at the time was anticipating a 9 month - 1 year "upturn" and that has clocked in at about double that length.  Of course, we all know the Fed is papering over everything they can to make things appear better. What is occurring at this moment is the thin veil of scams is tearing away and people are getting wise. Once again, the question becomes exactly what is the government going to do this time? Are they going to print more or invade those to whom we owe money?

    Tuesday, May 31, 2011

    Austerity = More Money for Bankers, Less for You

    Just who's paying into this system anyway -
    The House Appropriations Committee today will review the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture that includes $71 billion for the agency’s “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” That’s $2 billion less than what President Obama requested but a 9 percent increase from 2011, which, critics say, is too large given the sizeable budget deficit.

    A record number of Americans -- about 14 percent -- now rely on the federal government’s food stamps program and its rapid expansion in recent years has become a politically explosive topic.

    More than 44.5 million Americans received SNAP benefits in March, an 11 percent increase from one year ago and nearly 61 percent higher than the same time four years ago.

    Nearly 21 million households are reliant on food stamps.
    The Real Effect
    Consider this -
    It cost taxpayers more than $68 billion last year, double the amount in 2007.
     Now compare that cost to just a few of the Federal Governments programs such as ZIRP, QE1 and 2, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and other such programs and you begin to see that "cutting food stamps" is not a particularly bright idea in this day and age. Further, how can we morally square paying bankers so they can afford their high class prostitutes, but we can't afford to subsidize the most basic necessity of life, food?

    No, the truth becomes we can not afford either -
    Even “at a time of prosperity, we have increased the amount of money we are spending for people to buy food,” said Harold Brown, an agriculture scientist and adjunct scholar at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. “The appropriation of money by Congress has never solved poverty or the resulting problems of poverty. When President Johnson declared war on poverty a half century ago nearly, we thought we saw the end of it as far as food and nutrition goes. For the Department of Agriculture, we only saw the beginning.”
    However if forced to cancel one, the US would do far better to examine and slash corporate money troughs such as the Department of Education, the Dept. of Homeland Security and the Czars rather then cut pennies in food assistance. But that would just be asking the ruling class to give up too much cake. We wouldn't want the parasites to starve now would we?

    Thursday, May 26, 2011

    Indiana Citizens Take Back 4th Amendment


    This is exactly what we need to be doing.

    Texas Republicans, Playing Inside Baseball With the TSA

    The establishment spikes the anti-grope bill, despite overwhelming public support -
    The man who was instrumental in working with the federal government to sabotage a bill that would have made TSA grope downs a felony in the state of Texas was Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a former CIA agent and establishment insider considered to be the wealthiest man in Texas politics.

    As we have documented, the anti-pat down bill was derailed in the Texas Senate having unanimously passed the House by 138-0 votes after the Department of Justice sent a letter threatening to impose a no fly zone over Texas and shut down Texas airports. The warning was nothing short of a federal blockade and an act of financial terrorism.

    But the federal assault was aided by a traitor from within the state, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who only served to amplify the threats made by the DOJ in communicating them to members of the Senate, convincing them them to cave in and forcing the hand of Senator Dan Patrick to withdraw the bill before it could be shot down permanently.
    The Real Effect
    This is precisely why we must deal with individuals and not parties. Yes, a party will give you more power, but we are not looking for a raw exercise in power but a restoration of liberty. Incumbents become addicted to the perks that such a position offers and become interested in few things:
    1. Reelection (Continuing power)
    2. Expansion (Expanding their power)
    These things are sold to us in a variety of disguises - namely safety,  security, prosperity, choice, hope, change, responsibility, etc, but they all hide behind the facade of propriety and in actuality deliver tyranny. It is because of that reason that the founders attempted to restrain not the people, but the government itself from becoming a bloated tick gorging itself on the lifeblood of the people.

    And yet, despite the electorates many good and noble intentions, their results remain the same. Destruction.

    Wednesday, May 25, 2011

    Belarus Falls - Currency Devalued, Shelves Empty

    Watch the banksters destroy the lower class (Pictures)-
    A sharp devaluation of the Belarusian ruble has spread panic across the country, with people rushing on Wednesday to buy dollars, euros, toasters and canned goods — anything that will not lose its value as quickly as the national currency.

    Belarusians swept store shelves and queued for entire days at currency exchange offices in a desperate attempt to protect their savings from the country's sinking fortunes.

    President Alexander Lukashenko promised that the national currency will remain stable following the devaluation ordered a day earlier, but experts warned it will continue its nosedive if Russia doesn't provide a quick bailout.
    The Real Effect
    From the 2011 predictions made back in January -
    • Europe detonates, especially in the east -
      • Eastern Europe sinks to crisis level with reports of food shortages, rioting and widespread Depression.
    and further -
    Western Europe contracts massively, putting extraordinary pressure on the Euro. But the call out of Belgium isn't about revoking the Euro, rather about the preservation of the European Union and the need to 'pull together'. I would expect that we could begin to see propaganda calling for a United Europe in the face of "x" (economic crisis, terror, war). Ultimately in the endgame, foreign creditors feel the massive pinch as they try to protect their investments, but the lack of a favorable response by the people will lead to war with the far east, but not yet.
    Think Greece. On a larger scale.

    What we are witnessing here is the global version of the 2008 blowout where "bad paper" eats away at the real wealth of the middle and especially lower class. Here's a question for you though - What has materially changed in the last three years? Anything? We have basically blown the bubble EVEN LARGER in an attempt to stop it. 

    I love how I heard the problem explained on one forum. To paraphrase - Let's see, there's a confidence issue, caused mostly in part by excess spending due to misplaced confidence and the solution to the problem is more spending due to misplaced confidence?

    Abso-lute-ly BRILLIANT. Only bureaucrats could come to that conclusion. Like I stated in my 2011 predictions, this is NOT the end of the road. When a criminal is backed against a wall like this, they tend to pull out their guns.
     

    Tuesday, May 24, 2011

    Iraq, the Real Cost of War

    For all of the supporters of unmitigated war out there -
    According to The Department of Veterans Affairs, as of May 2007, reports in the Gulf War Veterans Information System reveal these startling numbers:

    Total U.S. Military Gulf War Deaths: 73,846
    * Deaths amongst Deployed: 17,847
    * Deaths amongst Non-Deployed: 55,999

    The stastics for non-lethal injuries are likewise staggering:

    Total “Undiagnosed Illness” (UDX) claims: 14,874
    Total number of disability claims filed: 1,620,906
    * Disability Claims amongst Deployed: 407,911
    * Disability Claims amongst Non-Deployed: 1,212,995

    Percentage of combat troops that filed Disability Claims 36%
    The Real Effect
    This is the persistent, lasting effect of trying to carry out our foreign policy in a foreign land. Trillions of dollars spent, hundreds of thousands of our men and women either hurt or killed, diminished international respect and a depletion of any sort of moral authority we may have had.

    And yet, here we are in 2011 illegally fighting in Libya -
     Britain is poised to deploy Apache helicopters against Colonel Gaddafi's forces, as Nato warplanes battered Tripoli this morning with some of the heaviest air strikes yet.

    Apaches stationed onboard HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean will be sent in alongside French Tiger helicopter gunships, in a sharp escalation of the conflict that could soon see Nato troops on the ground.

    The announcement follows months of heavy bombing by RAF Tornado jets, which has crippled Libya's air defences. Now the Apache helicopters will be used for pinpoint strikes in an attempt to break the stalemate in the ground war.
    Not to mention Iran.

    Monday, May 23, 2011

    Robert Fisk Doubts Syrian Sanctions Will Work

    TSA Expands Into Schools

    And we wonder why homeschooling is exploding around the country -

    Last week it was announced that TSA goons would conduct a grope-down of students during prom night at a Santa Fe high school. The TSA promised to move from airports into the New Mexico high school after two girls said security personnel groped them and a federal judge ruled the TSA should conduct pat-downs at dances or graduations.

    See the KOAT video here.

    The judge’s ruling indicates the federal government and the TSA believe they should be conducting searches. The TSA has moved from airports to train and bus stations. TSA boss Napolitano has said she envisions the agency ultimately groping citizens at malls and hotels.
    The Real Effect
    What's funny is not a lot of people argue with me much anymore when I state that the US is becoming a police state. The argument ends up focusing on whether or not such a move is necessary. Needless to say, the cattle car tracks don't stop here folks, rather they end much further down the line in a location quite similar to Germany circa 1943.

    Obama weighs in on Israel/Palestine. Netanyahu says 'no thanks'

    Friday, May 20, 2011

    VIPR Teams to Take Over the Roads

    It's just a matter of time before they integrate with the Sheriff's departments and begin inspecting private vehicles -
    Inspectors from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are like to be more involved in roadside inspections of commercial vehicles, according to TSA officials.

    Involvement in roadside inspections is part of the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program that was developed several years ago by TSA, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). VIPR started in the aviation sector and has now been expanded into surface transportation.

    ”VIPR teams can be extremely effective, serving as a visible presence that is random and unpredictable,” says William Arrington with TSA. “VIPR teams are an essential part of protecting highway transportation vehicles and other critical infrastructures.” 
    Arrington adds that VIPR teams normally will be accompanied by a uniformed highway enforcement officer. VIPR team members may or may not be in uniform, but they will carry DHS credentials. 
    At this time, VIPR operations are only conducted at weigh stations and rest areas, according to Arrington. However, truck stop operations are being considered. He says VIPR teams are not conducting inspections at loading locations, delivery sites, and terminals. Carriers will receive no followup or confirmation following a VIPR-involved inspection.

    The Real Effect
    You can always count on bureaucrat to pimp their own corner fiefdom as essential to whatever it is that they do. Question for the bureaucratically inclined - Why didn't the market set this sort of thing up ahead of time if it was so vital?

    Further US Pension Raiding as the Congress Tries to Prop Up Insolvent Banks

    Just who "owns" this money? Obviously not you -

    Workers will be limited in tapping their 401(k) retirement plans for loans under legislation two senators introduced today that’s designed to counter the erosion of retirement assets.

    “Because of the difficult economic times, more and more Americans are treating their retirement accounts as rainy day funds,” Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, said in a statement today. “A 401(k) savings account should not be used as a piggy bank.”

    Kohl, 76, who’s chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the “SEAL 401(k) Savings Act” with Senator Mike Enzi, 67, a Wyoming Republican. The bill would reduce the number of loans workers may take from a 401(k) and give participants more time to repay after losing a job. It will allow savers to contribute to their plan after taking a hardship withdrawal and ban debit cards linked to the accounts, according to the legislation.

    Thursday, May 19, 2011

    Japanese Economy Collapses - Blowout to be Felt Around the World

    The tsunami caused quite a bit of economic damage -
    the Japanese economy would literally fall off a cliff in Q1, plunging at a 3.7% rate (down from -3% previously), which is double the consensus print of -1.9%. DOUBLE. And in nominal terms the collapse was simply epic: -5.2%!
    The Real Effect
    The implications for this are absolutely monstrous. With the Wall Street Journal more or less admitting an inherit depression (Predicted here in 2005 and the Fed's response in 2009), the Federal Reserve out of non-nuclear options, the clarion call for war comes more and more fiercely as Persia becomes a bigger and bigger target.

    Medicare to Get the Pruning Axe?

    Well, well, well. Looky here, the compassionate ones, the Democrats, want to talk about cutting entitlements? 
    House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told CNBC this morning that Medicare was on the table to be cut to tackle the federal deficit.

    Pelosi (D-CA), House Minority Leader at 11:30AM ET on CNBC: "Yes. I think Medicare is on the table. I think Social Security is probably on its own table."

    Pelosi at 2:30PM ET on Bloomberg: "We are listening to every suggestion. But onne suggestion we are not open to is the abolishment of Medicare and that's what the Republicans have put forth in their budget. We do not support that. Every initiative that we have where federal dollars are spent must be subjected to scrutiny -- make sure we are getting our money's worth and the public well served. But, abolishing Medicare, that is not on the table."
    The Real Effect
    I thought these things were RIGHTS!?!You know, the kind that couldn't be taken away by the man.

    So it turns out all the evil bastards that wanted granny to eat cat food were right after all. We need not only a balanced budget, but a discussion on property rights as well! The only issue with having that discussion with the banksters now, is it's akin to "recognizing rights" after the bandit has made off with the bank vault.
    See, the way I reckon it, since the cash is in our hands, the loot done belong to us.
    Of course the thieves want to discuss "rights" now. They want police protection from the mobs with the pitchforks who would seek to "rob" these beneficial "capitalists" with their hard looted earned money. And to further rub your nose in it, they want to stick you with the enforcement bill.

    Let's go over some priorities:
    1. The biggest thief is the central bank, the Federal Reserve.
      1. When they create "money" for trade, they "loan" it to us, for a nice profit of course.
      2. This turns the right to trade using a medium of exchange into a burden to the population.
      3. This debt MUST BE repudiated. 
    2. The next layer of thieves is the large banks that created the CDS, CDO, etc. frauds.
      1. These include the "Too big to fail" institutions. Yes, they must fail.
      2. They must mark down their inflated assets using 'Mark to Market'
    3. Next we must jail bankers who committed further fraud in the housing crisis.
    4. Next we crack open all of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports and use government assets to balance the budgets.
    5. We end silly, wasteful and outright criminal government poaching off the citizenry. Including:
      1. Property taxes
      2. Asset forfeiture seizure
    6. Stop the molestation in any form of non-commercial travel including:
      1. Shut down the TSA
      2. End driver's licensing
      3. Stop ALL "checkpoints"
    ANYONE that refuses to do these simple steps must be driven out of office, immediately!

    Wednesday, May 18, 2011

    Crossing the Moat and Storming the Castle at the JP Morgan Chase Shareholder Meeting

    Fraud Gets You Put In Jail, as Long as You're Not a Bankster

    This is the definition of hypocrisy -
    A Connecticut man who tricked hundreds of investors into giving him more than $100 million on a promise of fat profits on diamonds and distressed properties has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

    Michael Goldberg was also ordered to undergo substance abuse and mental health evaluations. He must report to prison by July 18th.

    The 40-year-old Goldberg pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud charges. Authorities recommended a 12- to 15-year sentence as well as restitution.

    Goldberg's lawyers sought a lighter sentence, saying he turned himself in before authorities started investigating him and cooperated with investigators.

    His victims lost $30 million in the scheme. Some said at a sentencing hearing earlier Monday that they lost homes, retirement savings and their children's college funds.
    The Real Effect
    So what is the material difference between this individual who is promising large returns on an "investment" and the originators of many of the Credit Default Swaps, CDOs and other such bogus financial instruments which are predicated upon fraudulent housing loans?

    What is the difference between this man's plan and some of the "insurance" plans which are hammered into place under penalty of imprisonment if you do not purchase them?

    Or how about the TARP program in which the government purported that they didn't need the funds for "toxic assets" the day after the "tanks in the streets" talk died down?

    Finally, what is the difference between this individual and the current central banking system called the Federal Reserve?

    What many in this country are coming to belatedly realize here is that there are several issues they have failed to anticipate:
    1. Some people like being criminal.
    2. These people gravitate towards the money.
    3. It is far easier to do things "legally" and build your fortune, then to do them illegally. 
    4. Therefore, the criminals gravitate towards the mechanisms of control (government) in order to build their fortunes.
    This is nothing new, and was common wisdom at the founding of the country. In order to protect the people from the criminals, the founders put massive constraints on the government to stop the criminals from "legally" robbing you.

    Now, stop and think - Who would have wanted to remove these safeguards? Criminals or non-criminals?

    Further, do you think the criminals are going to admit they're robbing you?

    Tuesday, May 17, 2011

    Gerald Celente: Raping - Part of IMF Business

    Border Issues? Look Out In the South

    What is already happening in practice becomes codified -
    Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met his Mexican counterpart Guillermo Galvan Galvan here Wednesday to promote bilateral military cooperation.

    Liang, also China's state councilor, said that Mexico is China's good friend and partner in the Latin American region, adding China attaches great importance to developing ties with Mexico.

    China is willing to boost its military ties with Mexico and deepen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation in various fields, he said.
    The Real Effect
    Now, what possible business could China have in Mexico? Lemme think... Does Mexico border any other geo-strategic countries? What could it be...


    Speaking Mandarin yet?

    Monday, May 16, 2011

    College Conspiracy

    Ireland to Steal Pensions?

    Ireland considers the inevitable theft of the rest of the money -
    The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today.

    Without the ability sell debt due to soaring interest rates, and with severe spending rules in place due to its EU-IMF bailout, Ireland has few ways of spending to stimulate the economy. Today's jobs program includes specific tax increases, including the tax on pensions, aimed at keeping government jobs spending from adding to the national debt.

    The tax on private pensions will be 0.6%, and last for four years, according to the report.
    The Real Effect
    Let's examine the insanity on display here:
    1. This position assumes there is no such thing as private property rights. This is the most egregious of all the issues here.
    2. It also assumes that the government/economy merely needs to be "juiced" to get things rolling again. Like a addict 'on a roll' in Vegas, they just need some more caaaash before they hit it big.
    3. This will not end after four years and as Denninger was quick to point out, after 40 years being taxed at a mere 0.6%, 27% of your nest egg will be gone.
    4. There is an implied moral hazard here. If the government has the right to tax (read take) part of your retirement, what is to stop them from taking most to all of it?
    5. Other countries WILL emulate this behavior. Argentina has done so already.
    6. This will most significantly hit two groups, the elderly first and the inheritance generation second.
    7. and the most important of issues - Seizing private capital to kickstart the economy will generate the exact opposite effect as individuals will not invest in order to hide what little capital they have left.

    Debt Ceiling Breached - Result? Seize Pension Funds

    We stated all the way back  in our 2010 predictions -
    Banks will start to claim ownership of 401k and pension funds (private and public) and begin "looting" them. (Read as taking your cash and continue to "invest" as they double-double down) and the government moves to “protect” them by seizing them. I would assume they would be placed in a new 'secure conservatorship'.
    The news has come out that the United States has breached its debt ceiling -
    The U.S. government is expected to hit the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling Monday, setting in motion an uncertain, 11-week political scramble to avoid a default.
    Of course, what is the natural response? -
    The Treasury Department plans to announce Monday it will stop issuing and reinvesting government securities in certain government pension plans, part of a series of steps designed to delay a default until Aug. 2.
    The Real Effect
    What do I think will happen? Simple. I believe this is a test run designed to frighten people. They will seize "limited" funds claiming they have the legal right to do so. (Whether they do or do not.) They will drag out the 11 week Congressional process to "avoid default" all the while pretending that we are in trouble that we are not actually in. (If we do not pay our bills, then we will default. However, we could balance the budget now and not default. Borrowing more money from a Chinese populace that isn't willing to lend more just exacerbates the situation and kicks the can down the road. Throwing more logs on the fire will succeed, in burning more logs.)

    Next, they will institute temporary measures and will scream of a "Crisis being averted!" and all will hail the leaders as being courageous and great political statesmen. This will avoid further issues for another time period (6 months?), but once again will only kick the can down the road. Meanwhile, this will create the public perception that if the government is allowed to seize private property, they can Fix the problem! (This technique will then be seized upon and copied ad infinitum around the country on lower levels.)

    But, quietly in the background, investment firms will begin to downgrade the US debt, resulting in a climbing interest rate and depreciating dollar. That will be where the real pain lies. The result will be a panic flight out of the dollar and into other asset classes.

    When austerity reality comes blaring through sometime in late 2011 to mid-2012, the perception of the public will continue to be that the government just needs more tools to fix the problem, if only those blasted patriots would give them to them. This will cause resentment to build on the part of some sheep orientated public towards some of those that perceive the correct problem. This resentment will be seized upon and used to conduct personal attacks on those who wish to actually solve the problem resulting in a despotic slide into semi-overt tyranny in the name of liberty and prosperity.

    But wait! What was that, Rahm is the mayor of Chicago now???


    Update: Just to rub salt in that wound -
    In 2008 we hit a big brick wall where the inflation naturally gave was to deflation to unwind extreme debt positions held by institutions. (The 2008 crisis) The government's response to this wall, was to substitute a larger and larger can with a boulder. (Increased government debt)

    To explain further, the government is going to have to service this new debt (boulder) with new debt at either a higher amount of debt borrowed or higher rate . Yet, the market is saturated with debt both private and public viciously competing for whatever available liquidity is left. (The wall) In order to succeed in averting further crisis, the boulder needs to be kicked through the wall.

    Is this possible? As long as there are gullible willing senior citizens clients to buy ever more debt, the boulder can be exchanged for a bigger one and successfully kicked through the wall.

    At some point though, demand for U.S. debt will cease to an extent (2011?) and the bills will come due. At this point the government is going to have to figure out a new trick to take care of the debt fiasco. If that trick is money printing, (hyper-inflation) lookout as everything you think you own will suddenly belong to some man down the road named Chen.

    Tuesday, May 10, 2011

    Did Pakistan Just Grow a Backbone?

    It would seem so. But I would imagine that Obama won't waste much time testing the new ultimatum -

    Pakistan’s prime minister warned the United States Monday that his country could respond to any future U.S. raids on its soil with “full force,” in the latest escalation of rhetoric in the wake of Usama bin Laden’s death.

    Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, like other officials in Islamabad, said the killing of bin Laden in northern Pakistan was a positive step. But, reflecting concerns that the unilateral strike violated his country’s sovereignty, Gilani sent a clear message to the United States. He warned any “overt or covert” attack would be met with a “matching response” in the future.

    “Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate with full force. No one should underestimate the resolve and capability of our nation and armed forces to defend our sacred homeland,” Gilani said.

    Monday, May 09, 2011

    Iran Must Love the Crosshairs

    The empire formerly known as Persia throws an egg sandwich in Obama's perma-red face -
    From RIA: "Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi said Tehran has evidence that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died of disease long before the United States' alleged raid on the terrorist, FARS Iranian news agency said. "We have accurate information that bin Laden died of illness some time ago," Moslehi said." And since Osama's body was promptly dumped at sea, and Obama decided to not release any pictures of the corpse, the conspiracy brigade will surely have a field day with this one. We can only hope Iran's evidence takes a shorter time to produce than WikiLeaks' Bank of America "killer" expose.
    The Real Effect
    Doubtless, the sold-out right will chime in and back Obama with  - Well, they're Iran, come on what did you expect? After all, our evidence is better then their evidence. Also rumored is that the Ayatollah has fashioned himself a tinfoil hat and now ferries around in black helicopters. After all, when government says something happened, you can hang your hat on the fact that it happened exactly the way they said it did, for now.

    In all seriousness, it would seem that we are getting close to the revealing phase in which the globalists, in a abject surreal moment, completely turn on their puppets in Washington. Out will come evidence that 9/11 was staged, evidence that the Wall St. banksters are fleecing the public and that some some absolute psychos (read - Patriots) are conspiring to take over the country. Yes, it will be revealed that these religious zealots are absolutely power mad and 'must be stopped at all costs!' thereby justifying the previously unthinkable, full scale takeover of the united States. The only question becomes, just how do they turn us over to the banksters?

    Thursday, May 05, 2011

    Bin Laden's Death - The Ever Evolving Story

    First, consider the following -
    The Muckraker Report spoke with Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI. When asked why there is no mention of 9/11 on Bin Laden’s Most Wanted web page, Tomb said, “The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Usama Bin Laden’s Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11.”

    Pre-Raid
    The ISI's official line has been that bin Laden's compound had "slipped off our radar" after it raided the building in 2003 while hunting for another senior al-Qaeda operative.The agency claims it was unaware that bin Laden was hiding there. Additionally, Pakistan claimed it had identified the potential hideout in 2009.

    There was a lack of military chatter leading up to the raid. (Wayne Madsen)

    4/29/2011
    Barack Obama kept military commanders hanging by declaring he would 'sleep on it' before taking 16 hours to give the go-ahead to raid Bin Laden's compound.

    4/30/2011
    Had it not been for heavy cloud cover on Saturday, troops would have been deployed then, but they waited another day, and reached Pakistan just before midnight on Sunday evening. Obama refused to tell Pakistan about the mission in case it was leaked by jihadist sympathisers within the administration and Bin Laden took flight.

    5/1/2011
    A 40-minute raid on a million-dollar compound compound is conducted in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital Islamabad. Time of attack - Day.

    The operation - code named 'Geronimo' - was watched by the President in real time from the helmet mounted camera of an elite Navy SEAL commando blacked out for 20 - 25 minutes.

    The SEAL team was flown in by an elite Army Special Operations unit, known as Team 6 the Knight Stalkers based out of Fort Campbell, Ky. in a stealthier, top secret and never-before-seen version of a routinely used special ops helicopter. 'During the raid, we lost one helicopter due to mechanical failure'  The helicopter made a hard landing and was destroyed by the military team at the site, leaving behind wreckage for experts to analyze. It was destroyed with explosives before the SEALs left. 

    17 or 18 people were inside the compound at the time of the attack.

    As the SEALs moved into bin Laden's compound, It was a firefight going up that compound. "There were many other people who were armed ... in the compound," (5/3) only one of the five people killed in the raid that got Osama bin Laden was armed and fired any shots.(5/5) they were fired on by bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, who was in the guesthouse. The SEALs returned fire, and the courier was killed, along with a woman with him. Mr Brennan said on Monday that it was Bin Laden's son Khalid who was killed in the attack. (5/2) One of his adult sons - possibly 19-year-old Hamza bin Laden - the courier who led the CIA to Bin Laden and the courier's brother were also killed. She was hit in the crossfire.27-year-old Amal Al-Sadah, who was shot in the thigh as she rushed towards the SEALs when they entered his room.

    The Americans were never fired on again as they encountered and killed a man on the first floor and then bin Laden's son on a staircase, before arriving at bin Laden's room.

    John Brennan: 'He [Bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area' a Pentagon official said that when SEALs stormed the room he was in, he was armed with an AK47 rifle and used a woman as a human shield so he could fire shots. 'He was firing behind her,' the official said.(5/2/2011, retracted)

    It is understood Bin Laden, code named 'Jackpot', who had £450 worth of cash hidden on his person wasn't armed but that there were guns in the room. was unarmed but did 'resist'. And by the time they got to the third floor and found bin Laden who appeared to be lunging for a weapon,  The Al Qaeda leader had begged for his life and said 'it's not me' when he was confronted by the hit team . I think it - this was all split-second action on the part of the Seals."

    The US Navy Seals made the final decision to kill bin Laden rather than the president.

    Although President Obama saw the terror chief killed by a single bullet to the head, heard about Bin Laden being shot in the head and in the chest it was only when he received the signal 'Geronino E-KIA' - which stands for 'Enemy Killed In Action'- that he knew Bin Laden was dead.

    At this point the SEAL team used a facial recognition system to positively identify the body of Bin Laden and Amal Al-Sadah, also helped to identify the body. Officials produced a quick DNA match from his remains that they said established Bin Laden's identity, even discounting the other techniques, with 99.9 per cent certainty.

    Security officials said they did not recover any arms and explosives (5/2) During their detailed search of the compound and the 13-roomed house, during which they removed a squirt gun, two buffalos, a cow and around 150 chickens. A senior U.S. official said Navy SEALs had recovered 10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices from the compound - including discs, DVDs and thumb drives. Those materials have been taken to the FBI lab at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va.

    Pakistani Version
    (Pakistani) Night
    A Pakistani official rejected U.S. accounts of a bloody firefight, saying: ‘Not a single bullet was fired from the compound at the U.S. forces and their choppers. Their chopper developed some technical fault and crashed and the wreckage was left on the spot.’ They might not have even gotten bin Laden at all. (5/16)

    Osama bin Laden and his comrades offered no resistance when killed by U.S. special forces in a Pakistani town. (5/5)

    Surviving Bin Laden relatives, including six children and one of his wives, had been taken to hospital in Rawalpindi.

    Senior Pakistani security officials said Osama bin Laden’s daughter had confirmed her father was captured alive and shot dead by the US Special Forces during the first few minutes of the operation carried out at the huge compound in Bilal Town, Abbottabad. 
 


    The huge mansion has now been taken over by Pakistan’s security forces and the media is not allowed to go inside.


    A neighbor, Tsur Shezaf,  claims Osama did not live there.

    Burial

    A U.S. government spokesman said it had been decided it would be difficult to find a country prepared to accept the body and then bury it within 24 hours of death as dictated by Islamic custom.

    Preparations for burial began at 1:10 am EST (0510 GMT) on Monday and were completed at 2am EST.

    The body was take to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and was washed before being covered in a white sheet and placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker,' the U.S. official said over the corpse. 'The burial of Bin Laden's remains was done in strict conformance with Islamist precepts and practices,' said the White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan.

    His corpse was lowered toward the sea on one of the aircraft carrier's elevators. 'After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased's body eased into the sea.' (North Arabian Sea)

    5/2/2011
    Mainstream media starts circulating known bogus death photos.

    5/4/2011
    Obama gets a 9 point jump in popularity polls.

    Republican leadership doesn't want evidence - House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says he has no opinion on whether the White House should release photos of bin Laden to establish that his body was in U.S. custody and he died as a result of gunshot wounds inflicted by the Special Operations unit that invaded his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

    Senator Scott Brown said - "I have seen the pictures. I've received the briefings. I've spoken to the operational leaders and I can tell you for a fact that he is dead,"(5/4) "the photo that I saw and that a lot of other people saw is not authentic."(5/5)

    5/5/2011
    Obama visits ground zero.


    Finally, please consider other government farces such as - Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman.

    Note: This article is a resource and subject to as much revision as the government puts forth.

    Boehner Jumps off a Trillion Story Cliff

    Boehner takes a cue from the Obama playbook and writes a check that he can't cash -
    House Speaker John Boehner voiced optimism on Thursday about new deficit-reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden, but said Republicans will not vote to raise the debt limit without trillions of dollars in spending cuts.

    "I'm always optimistic that these conversations will lead somewhere," Boehner said shortly after Biden opened the first meeting of a seven-member, bipartisan congressional group.

    "I wish them well. I hope we that we can come to some agreement and as soon as possible," said Boehner.

    The speaker reaffirmed his position that he and his fellow Republicans would not agree to an increase in the U.S. debt limit with budget reforms and "real spending cuts."

    Asked to define "real spending cuts," Boehner said, "It is time to start talking about trillions" of dollars, instead of the billions and tens of billions debated in earlier budget battles this year.
    The Real Effect
    Wow, such tough talk coming from the Republicans. They're showing that they're serious about thinking on voting a resolution to consider bi-partisan action on spending and stuff. And they mean it mister!  You put that checkbook down pronto! Else they might campaign some more about possibly cutting a few dollars.

    In all actuality this is nothing more then pre-election peackocking. Both sides of the aisle sense a growing anger at the political class and they smell the absolute evisceration coming in future elections. So it naturally follows that they are positioning themselves to look  at least as authentic as White House photo-op. Lest anyone doubt this conclusion, let us consider the last great Republican hope, Scott Brown.

    Earth to Boehner, we're in a car 20 feet from a cliff at 80mph. You need to get this car stopped NOW! Not a few MPH every few minutes and certainly not "trillions of (Federal Reserve) dollars" over the course of 20 years. Close the Dept of Education, close the TSA, close the BAFTA, end the War on Drugs We Don't Make Here, end property taxes, end the Income Tax and above all CLOSE THE FEDERAL RESERVE!!!

    Wednesday, May 04, 2011

    Evidence, What Evidence?

    The Obama administration continues to weaken the case for evidence by refusing to release proof -

    "The risks of release outweigh the benefits," he said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."

    "Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaida killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated."
    The Real Effect
    Let's see, buildings are hit by planes and then collapse. After this national tragedy, the crime scene is whisked away to be melted down by the Chinese and one Osama bin Laden is blamed almost immediately.  OBL immediately denies being involved in the attack, yet a short time later, admits to it. Or at least so it seems. Shortly thereafter, several countries are bombed and trillions of dollars are spent killing millions of innocent lives.

    Fast forward to 2008, during the Presidential elections, where a long form birth certificate is requested to substantiate claims that the candidate is eligible. A short form certificate of birth is presented. We are told this is the long form and that there is no such thing as another long form. Fast forward to 2011 and miracle upon miracles a shoddy photoshopped long form is released.

    Fast forward again a few weeks and poof, OBL is dead, burried in the sea and we are told once again that we DO NOT need evidence. Just trust us.

    Why should we?

    Ron Paul: Audit the Fed!

    Tuesday, May 03, 2011

    Pew Study Finds That Grandma Will Be Eating Catfood

    Checked on your retirement fund lately? You know the one that's disappearing -
    "the gap between the promises states made for employees’ retirement benefits and the money they set aside to pay for them grew to at least $1.26 trillion in fiscal year 2009, resulting in a 26 percent increase in one year." The difference is broken down as follows: "State pension plans represented slightly more than half of this shortfall, with $2.28 trillion stowed away to cover $2.94 trillion in long-term liabilities—leaving about a $660 billion gap, according to an analysis by the Pew Center on the States. Retiree health care and other benefits accounted for the remaining $604 billion, with assets totaling $31 billion to pay for $635 billion in liabilities." In other words, states have roughly 5 cents for every dollars in health benefits obligations.  
    The Real Effect
    What is wildly entertaining and depressing at the same time is the sheer number of people that just...don't...get it. Try talking to one of the individuals once. This is not all the complicated. I would imagine it would go something like this.

    You - Do you know the states and banks are stealing your retirement?
    Them - That's just silly talk. What are you, a kook?
    You - No, seriously the Pew Center is reporting that the funds are only 5% funded.
    Them - So? I saw my statement, it said $350,000. It's still there.
    You - That is just a piece of paper. Try getting that money once.
    Them - Why should I? It's there.
    You - Because it's a lie, there's no actual money there. They say you have money, but it's a lie.
    Them - There are laws against that sort of thing, they would go to jail.
    You - Individuals have admitted, under oath to these sorts of crimes recently and no one has brought charges so far.
    Them - SO?
    You - Ok, fine. Your hide. I guess we'll see you in the soup line in a few years?

    Part of the economic downturn starting in 2008 was based on fraudulent reporting. The banks and agencies were claiming things that didn't exist. When some of them went belly up, the Congress did what? Did they make you, the person that lost your shirt whole? No, they took your other shirt, sold it and gave the proceeds to the guy that stole your first shirt.

    So let me ask you now - WHY do you think we will recover when we are rewarding the thief?

    'Osama death huge boost for Obama, timing strategic'

    Monday, May 02, 2011

    The End of an Age

    With this news, the reign of Osama the Terrible comes to a screeching halt -
    The Obama administration has photographs of Osama bin Laden’s dead body and officials are debating what to do with them and whether they should be released to the public, officials tell ABC News.

    “There’s no doubt it’s him,” says a US official who has seen the pictures and also reminds us that OBL was 6’4”.

    The argument for releasing them: to ensure that the public knows and can appreciate that he's dead. There is of course skepticism throughout the world that the US government claim that it killed bin Laden is true.

    The argument against releasing the pictures: they’re gruesome. He has a massive head wound above his left eye where he took bullet, with brains and blood visible.
    Of course, the administration is very concerned with credibility so it is going to great lengths to ensure that Osama is seen by all, the fish -
    A U.S. official says Osama bin Laden has been buried at sea.

    After bin Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan, senior administration officials said the body would be handled according to Islamic practice and tradition. That practice calls for the body to be buried within 24 hours, the official said. Finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, the official said. So the U.S. decided to bury him at sea.
    The Real Effect
    True to form, Obama is making doubly sure that the veracity of all events reported by his administration is seen as nothing more then a giant joke. Muslim practice and tradition! Please. If the Executive branch believed that the Muslim formerly known as Waldo had actually carried out this act, we would have paraded his body down Wall Street on a giant Coca-Cola float complete with Noid balloons to join his buddy dining at the Pentagon . Instead, we are to believe that the administration is more worried about pissing off the local Arab population that we've been dropping "gifts" on these last 10 years.

    This entire situation is a giant psy-op. Not that there cannot be elements of truth in such an operation, quite the contrary, there will be real people getting killed and real events happening. They just won't go down the way you think they will. Think Jessica Lynch.

    Let's be less sarcastic for a moment. This death changes little overall. The right is not satiated and will not be until the entire Mideast, sans Israel of course, resembles the transparent side of a high rise. The left has yet to find a group they dislike except the right. The debt is still there, people are still unemployed and the hum of war with Iran still rises far above the din of peace.

    The script appears to be moving forward. A chapter has been closed and a new one appears to be beginning. Let us pray that it is not like a Friday the 13th movie with the evil being resurrected in a new form, twice as powerful as before.

    Specifically, I am more concerned then ever about false flag attacks, of the nuclear variety on Chicago that will serve as the pretext to burn the world. I covered this in March 2011, May 2006, in more detail April 2006 and first in August 2005. Such a move would polarize the religious groups both here and abroad into outright blood lust. At that point, we would await the phoenix event that will transform the world.

    Update: I almost forgot to mention, that it seems at least somewhat odd that OBL would get killed on May 1st, the home of Beltane, the beatification of the last pope and the anniversaries of the death of Hitler and founding of the Illuminati (235 years). Quite a day.