Archives for April 2016

Did #GoldmanSachs’ Latest Move Into Main Street #Banking Just Give Us A Warning About The Coming Financial Crisis?

April 26, 2016 by mac slavo

(Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has claimed his company is “Doing God’s Work.”)

If there were ever a signal that large investment banks may be preparing for financial crisis and that they’ll be using your money to bail themselves out when it hits, this could be it.

According to a new report from the Financial Times via The Daily Star, mega-banking giant Goldman Sachs is now getting into the retail banking business and looking for more depositors to help fund their operations. The bank has reportedly “been under pressure to develop new streams of funding” after posting lower than usual equity returns in the first quarter of 2016. In response, Goldman recently acquired a portfolio of 145,000 retail depositors from GE Capital totaling some $16 billion in deposits.

Goldman now intends to aggressively pursue retail depositors whose accounts they will then tap to help fund their investing and trading operations:

The bank last week launched GSBank.com, a platform it inherited via the acquisition of a $16bn book of deposits from GE Capital.

Through that deal it gained about 145,000 retail depositors and is now seeking more, offering annual interest rates of 1.05 per cent on a savings account – many times better than the rates of the biggest US brick-and-mortar lenders such as Citibank, JPMorgan Chase or Bank of America. Stephen Scherr, Goldman’s chief strategy officer, said the aim was to broaden sources of funding for GS Bank, its New York State-chartered lender. Until now, the unit has focused on wholesale funding sources and so-called “brokered deposits”, which are bulk sums that banks acquire from brokers in exchange for high interest rates.

By tapping regular retail depositors, Mr Scherr said, the bank can open up “a different avenue to use, with a different orientation and a different tenor”.

For as little as $1 you can now start your own savings account with Goldman at a whopping annual interest rate of 1.05%.

What could possibly go wrong when you deposit your money with one of the firms directly responsible for the fraud that led to Crash of 2008? They are, after all, doing God’s work according to Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

While depositing your money at Goldman’s new bank could well be a spiritual experience, we highlight for our readers the fact that Goldman is doing this for one specific reason: to fund their trading operations with new deposits from retail customers. And if they’re doing business anything like they did ahead of the 2008 crash, we can assume that when the whole thing blows up again Goldman is going to be in serious trouble, and that means depositors will be in serious trouble. Back in 2008 Goldman Sachs was “forced” to take a $10 billion TARP bailout from the Federal government.

According to Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, the next time such a crisis strikes, there will be bailouts, but not like before. This time, those bailouts, dubbed “bail-ins” will not come from the government, but rather, from you, the bank account holder.

Recent comments delivered by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer suggest that not only are global and domestic economies still struggling, but the U.S. government itself is preparing financial contingency plans in anticipation of another widespread economic event.

However, this time around, according to Fischer, the government won’t be bailing out financial institutions in need of cash. Instead, failing banks will turn directly to their unsecured creditors when they need money. And within this context, that means you:

As part of this approach, the United States is preparing a proposal to require systemically important banks to issue bail-inable long-term debt that will enable insolvent banks to recapitalize themselves in resolution without calling on government funding–this cushion is known as a “gone concern” buffer.

Though Fischer doesn’t detail exactly what “bail-inable long term debt” actually is, one only needs to look to Europe, namely Cyprus, to understand what he means.

When the Cypriot banking system collapsed because of an inability to service its debt in 2013, the government forced bank depositors to cover the debts. This led to banks forcibly seizing funds from depositor accounts in order to pay their debts.

Goldman Sachs needs more money for their Wall Street gambling houses.

They’re coming to you to get it.

And when the whole thing detonates, they’ll simply seize your funds to compensate for their losses… and every other retail bank in America will do the same.

Just so we’re clear, we are all bank creditors by these definitions, thus the regulations being created apply not to just large bond holders, but every individual depositor.

Notice how they didn’t say “in case future bank rescues are necessary.” That’s because they know what’s coming.

…When the next banking crisis hits the United States you can be assured that creditors (i.e. individual depositors) will be forced to ‘bail them in.’

…So, if you’ve got any significant amount of money at financial institutions, you’d better think twice about how safe it is.

You’ve been warned.

Hattip Durango Kid

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Everything You Need to Know About Raising Baby #Chicks on a #Budget

April 25, 2016 by daisy luther

April 25, 2016

Baby chicks…they’re adorable, fluffy, and incredibly delicate! Despite their fragility, they’re actually pretty simple to raise. If you have some outdoor space and live in an area where it’s allowed, fresh eggs and meat (if you’re interested in that) can easily be yours!

This week’s self-reliance strategies are all about getting started with baby chicks.

I don’t have 20 years of experience with baby chickens, but I’m now on my 4th batch of them. Each new batch has been more successful than the one before. Just like any other new skill, it works best if you simply find a reliable guide, plunge in, and learn “on the job.” Below, we’ll talk about how to get started on the most adorable hobby around. Trust me – anyone can do this! This article is long, but it contains basically everything you need to know to get started raising baby chicks.

Before you start

We’ve all read about the war on self-reliance. It seems like feeding yourself is becoming increasingly illegal. People are forced to rip out thriving front-yard vegetable gardens, raw milk is illegal in many states, and some states require an “egg handler’s license” before you can sell, give away, or otherwise distribute fresh eggs. We’ve come a long way from the days when being self-reliant was seen as your patriotic duty.

Because of this, if you live in an urban or suburban area, be sure to check the bylaws before bringing your birds home. Often, you can find information on this forum about your town’s specific chicken bylaws.

It would be irresponsible to recommend breaking the law, of course. *coughs* I’ve heard that although chickens aren’t exactly stealth animals, sometimes if you pay protection in eggs, neighbors will look the other way as long as there are no roosters crowing at 4 am or hens enjoying their rosebushes as an afternoon snack. Discretion is the better part of valor, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare.

I really love having a source of organic meat and eggs in my own backyard. Don’t be intimidated! I started as a total newbie just about a year ago, and thanks to the internet, my personal library, some knowledgeable friends, and the motivation to try out a new skill, we’re now successfully producing protein for ourselves. If I can do this, you can do this. Don’t wait until after a disaster to get started. It took the better part of a year before I had a reliable source of food from my chickens.

Where to get your baby chicks

Baby chicks are everywhere at this time of year. You can get yours mailed to you from a reputable hatchery (that’s where my current flock of 25 Freedom Ranger babies came from) or you can pick yours out at your local feed store. (That’s where I got most of last year’s babies.) Sometimes you can even buy older chicks which are closer to laying age and out of the fragile stage. (I got 3 Barred Rock girls that way last year, too.)

Here are some articles that go into more detail about acquiring your fluffy new babies.

How to Order Hatchery Chicks

Where to Buy Baby Chicks

Mail Order Chicks and Delivery Options

However you get them, it’s very likely that the baby chicks are only going to be a couple of days old when you get them home. Like any newborn, they’re exceptionally fragile. You may lose a few. It’s very sad when this happens, but most of the time, it isn’t your fault. Sometimes there is a physical issue with the chick that doesn’t allow it to survive, sometimes they get sick, and sometimes an accident occurs. (They’re prone to drowning in their water, for example, but we’ll talk about precautions.)

What supplies do you need before bringing them home?

Before you bring your babies home, you need to have a few things on hand. Here is my own list of must-haves.

A Brooder

Mine is very similar to this one, but I had someone local build it for me. We keep it in the laundry room for the first week if it’s cold outside, then on the porch, then we move it out to the coop. The good thing about using something like this as a brooder is that it can pull double duty as your infirmary if you ever need to separate a sick or injured chicken from the flock.

I plan to raise chickens for meat a couple of times per year, which makes a permanent brooder a good investment for me. Here’s my brooder out on our back deck.

However, if you are just raising a few backyard laying hens and not planning to raise new chickens every year, you don’t have to go crazy expensive. Below, you can find some really awesome DIYs.

Here’s one you can make for less than $12!

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Before I got my big brooder, I made one similar to this, except I didn’t fasten the hardware cloth to the top. I cut the hardware cloth bigger than the opening of the Rubbermaid container where it would hang down over the edges, and simply snapped the lid with the hole cut out on top of it. I’m all about the shortcuts and not always the handiest soul around.

Here are more articles about a brooder set-up.

Build a DIY Brooder Box

This link has some videos about incubating eggs and brooding the chicks once they hatch.

How We Brood Chicks (there’s another really cool DIY brooder in this article.)

A heat source

Baby chicks must stay warm, or they’ll die. If they were being raised by their mama, they would huddle underneath her to stay cozy. Since you are the mama, and if you sat on them it wouldn’t end well for anybody involved, you have to go with other methods. The least expensive way to keep them warm is by using a standard heat lamp and a red bulb. A red bulb is recommended instead of a white one so that the chicks sleep better. This is the method that I have used for all my chicks.

But please use extreme caution when heating this way. Many a tragedy has started with a heat lamp. I had a near fire from one out in a wooden chicken coop my first year raising chicks. Luckily, I caught it just as it began smoking, but it could have been a disaster. It can’t be touching anything flammable or meltable, nor can it be too close to the babies. Be sure to hang it in a way that the chicks can get away from the heat if they get too warm.

Another excellent heat source is the EcoGlow. This piece of awesomeness has far less risk of fire or harm to the chicks but it costs a lot more than the standard heat lamp. A friend of mine owns one and it’s a really great method of brooding chicks. You can raise it up as they grow, allowing more room underneath.

Invest in a cheap digital thermometer so you don’t have to guess about the temperature in the brooder. Here’s the rundown on the minimum temps the babies need:

Week 1: 95-100 degrees

Week 2: 90-95 degrees

Week 3: 85-90

Week 4: 80-85

Once they’re fully fledged (that means they have all their feathers instead of just fluff) they can handle lower temperatures.

Aside from a thermometer, here’s how you can tell if the temperature is right in the brooder.

If they’re all huddled together and making a lot of noise it means they’re cold and distressed.

If they’re spread far apart, lethargic, and panting, they’re too hot.

If they’re active, randomly spread out, and making happy little peeping noises, they’re just right.

My dog paid an unnerving amount of attention to the baby chicks in their brooder under the heat lamp.

Bedding

I use wood shavings for bedding, but you can also use straw. Be sure not to get something artificially scented, as this can cause respiratory problems for the delicate babies.

For the first couple of days, I put paper towels on top of the bedding so I can see their poop. See the section on health issues for the reason why.

Feeders and waterers

You’ll need some containers for feeding and watering your babies.

First, a note. Baby chicks are adorable, but they’re messy and they poop everywhere. That includes in their food and water containers. Initially I don’t like to use an open bowl for feeding for this very reason. It doesn’t seem to bother them much, but ew.

I have a couple of different feeders for the littles.

These are awesome because they are inexpensive and they simply screw on the bottom of a regular mouth quart jar. The jars can easily be sanitized in the dishwasher afterward. (They’re less than $5 at the time of publication.)

I also have one of these. I had so many chicks in my last batch that I had to set out 3 feeders for them to be certain everyone got something to eat.

For water, it’s really important to note that a lot of baby chicks die from drowning. It’s heartbreaking to see (thankfully it hasn’t happened to us!) There are two ways to avoid this.

#1. First, you can get a water container that doesn’t have enough room for them to fall in and die. I like the kind that you screw on to the bottom of a mason jar. You can also get them in plastic but it’s only a few cents less. You’ll have to fill these several times throughout the day, depending on how many chicks you have.

#2. You can use a bigger one-gallon water dispenser, but line the trough area with pebbles. this way, they can still get a drink but there isn’t room for them to fall in and be unable to get out. You will only have to do this for a week or so before they’re too big to fall in.

I like to raise the water dispenser up just a little bit to keep it from getting filled with bedding. The bedding can soak up the water like a sponge, leaving you with thirsty babies. You can use just about anything to raise it up. I have a couple of pieces of scrap wood beneath my waterers.

What to feed baby chicks

There are several different types of food on the market for baby chicks. You can get some inexpensive starter, but you probably aren’t giving your chicks the best beginning with it. It’s like feeding them fortified cereal. Instead of food with actual nutrients, the nutrients are artificially added to a stripped product. They’ll probably survive, but they won’t be as healthy as chicks fed a better quality of food.

The next debate is whether or not to give them medicated feed. Some people swear by giving them medicated feed for the first few weeks of their lives, claiming that all of the medication will be out of their systems by the time you consume the eggs (or the chickens if you’re raising them for meat.) It provides them with an immunity to coccidiosis.

Many people are raising chickens to provide them with organic eggs or meat at a better price. If that is your goal, you’ll want to go with an organic food. This starter is a high quality organic product at a reasonable price.

Another option is GMO-free feed if you aren’t worried about strictly organic. It’s a good happy medium between the low-quality “Doritoes” chicken feed and the expensive organic feed. You can usually find a good quality GMO-free crumble at your local feed store.

I always start out with crumble, which is coarsely ground, and as they get bigger, I mix the crumble with the pellets. I like pellets because there is far less waste. I also like to supplement them with fresh fruits and vegetables. However, if you are supplementing them, be sure to provide a little dish of grit to help with their digestion.

Baby chick health issues

Obviously, prevention is key. One great way to prevent illness in your chicks is to add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of water. (Get the good kind with the mother – the cheap stuff does absolutely nothing.) You can also get those little packets of probiotics to add to their water, but mine have been just fine with the ACV.

Coccidiosis: Remember how I said I put paper towels over the bedding for the first few days? That’s so I can check their poop. It’s important to check that on a daily basis. You’re looking for anything bloody. ( Turn off the red heat light if you’re using one because you can’t see bloody stool under a red light.) If you see anything with even a tinge of blood, you need to act immediately. This is a symptom of coccidiosis.

It’s not difficult to treat. Although this medication is labeled for use with calves, it can be used for baby chicks if you water it down sufficiently, as per my local feed store. Add 2 teaspoons of Corid to a gallon of water. They’ll generally consume enough if they aren’t too sick to drink.

Here’s an article with more information about coccidiosis in poultry.

Pasty butt: I lost several chicks in my first flock to pasty butt and it absolutely broke my heart. This is evident when their vent gets sealed shut with poop. If it becomes clogged, the waste backs up in the chick’s system and they can’t pass their waste. It’s essential during the first week or two after bringing them home to check everyone’s bottom on a twice daily basis. If there is a little clump of poo on the bottom, you have to act.

You will have to very gently remove the clump on their bottoms. BE CAREFUL. Just pulling on it can actually disembowel the poor baby. Also, you need to be certain it’s the vent and not the umbilical stump.

This video shows you how to clean the chick’s bottom.

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This article gives you more information about pasty butt.

This article discusses a variety of chicken illnesses and symptoms.

How to raise your new babies.

So…you’ve got your babies home. They’re safely ensconced in the brooder. What now?

You need to keep them fed, watered, and warm. That’s about it!

I free feed my chicks and try to make sure there is always food available for the first month or two.
There should always be fresh water in the coop or brooder.
Keep the temperature at the right range for their ages.
Handle them briefly and gently a couple of times per day so they get used to you. It’s much easier to raise them if they aren’t terrified of the giant human.
Check their bottoms 2x a day for signs of pasty butt. (You can do this while you handle them.)

These excellent resources can help you learn more about raising your baby chicks.

My absolute favorite resource is this course which teaches you how to raise them naturally even if you’re on a budget. It’s fantastic!

Here are some articles and books:

Chickens from Scratch

How to raise baby chicks naturally

Chickens: Naturally Raising a Sustainable Flock

Raising Day Old Chicks

How to Get Ready for New Baby Chicks

9 Things You Need for Starting Baby Chickens

Introducing the Chickens

Raising Baby Chicks

Raising chicks for meat? There are a few differences

This time around, I’m raising chickens for meat instead of for eggs. Since this is a first for me, I did a bit of research. While the basics are the same, there are some breed differences of which you should be aware. These articles can help you.

Getting Started with Meat Chickens

8 Pounds in 8 Weeks: Raising Day Old Chicks for the Dinner Table

When they’re big kids…

Once they graduate from the brooder, it is time to introduce them to the rest of the flock. This can entail some bloodshet, so you need to be careful and supervise them well.

My most recent batch of chicks was housed in a dog kennel inside the coop with the Bigs. We had an awful storm the other night and the kennel began to flood. I had no option but to mix the flocks immediately, and fortunately it went well. That was, in part, because they were already accustomed to one another through the safe barrier of the kennel.

Here is an article about introducing baby chicks to your flock

Why should you raise your own chickens?

First, let me get on my animal-lover soapbox for a minute. The poultry and egg industries are enough to make you sick – both physically and emotionally.

More and more information is coming to light about the horrible mistreatment of the birds that provide us with meat and eggs. It’s enough to make a carnivore turn vegan. Even if you don’t care about the well-being of the animals, don’t even get me started on the food safety risks or raising animals the way that they do. If the creatures you consume for sustenance are ill then how can you expect to be healthy when you eat them? If they must be on antibiotics their entire tortured lives to survive, then is this really something you want to feed your family?

If you want more details, here is a horrifying, graphic article about the chicken industry. (No, it’s not by PETA – it’s by a friend who eats meat.) If you aren’t choosy about the chicken and eggs you purchase, you are, by default, endorsing this horrific abuse. *climbs off soap box*

If you can’t or won’t raise your own chickens, please, please consider finding a local farmer who raises his or her animals the traditional way and buy from them. Your business means a lot to them, and voting with your dollars is the only way to make Big Agri change their horrific practices.

On to more positive reasons.

When you raise your own chickens, you learn first-hand where your food comes from. You know what your birds ate, that they are healthy, that they haven’t been given risky supplements or medications, and that they were treated humanely. Unfortunately, the labels at the grocery store are basically meaningless, with the exception of “pasture-raised.” That’s a lot closer to what folks envision when they think about ethically raised poultry.

It’s also very economical to raise your own chickens. Have you checked out the price for organic, pasture-farmed eggs recently? Ouch! My hens eat about $20 worth of food per month and spend their days controlling the bugs and weeds for me. In return, I end up with 3-4 dozen eggs per week. Now, we can’t eat all of those eggs, but they are lovely gifts for friends without farms, and our Great Pyrenees loves them as a delightful addition to his dinner.

I get a lot of joy seeing my goofy hens frolic around the backyard. Each one has a distinct personality, and because they were hand raised, they’re all pretty friendly. If I walk out into the yard, I’m instantly surrounded by happy, feathered friends. My laying hens are like pets that provide us with eggs.

Questions or comments?

If you are a veteran chick raiser, please provide your best tips below! If you are new to chickens, let me know what’s holding you back from starting your own flock! Do you have any questions that I might be able to help with? I hope this article encourages you to take the plunge!

Here’s A Rundown of #Election #Fraud in the 2016 Presidential Race So Far #feelthebern

April 25, 2016 by claire bernish

Op-ed by Claire Bernish
April 25, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Supporting an anti-establishment candidate, as the 2016 election cycle has thus proven, at best amounts to little more than a maddening exercise in futility. Yet, droves continue flocking to the polls, ignoring that fixing a corrupt, authoritarian system by validating it through participating in its carrot-on-a-string illusion will somehow — this time — all work out for the greater good.

Though participation through voting might offer the feeling of power and control — as well as comfort in the illusion — the establishment maintains a thorough stranglehold on the current system, by design. If you’re still unconvinced, consider the evidence thus far — some blatant, some subtle — found in virtually every primary and caucus this year.

Iowa

To grasp how arbitrarily the popular vote can be manipulated to fit the establishment’s intended outcome, the Iowa caucus would be a good place to start. As if insufficiently trained volunteer staff, voter confusion, inadequate voter registration forms, and general disorganization weren’t telling in themselves, in multiple locations the awarding of delegates came down to coin tosses — literally.

While described as “the closest Democratic caucus in Iowa history” by the state’s Democratic Party, according to Salon, apparently the same Party felt the need to give Hillary Clinton an advantageous edge. One of Bernie Sanders’ delegates was sneakily awarded to Clinton amidst the confusion, but the Iowa Democratic Party didn’t bother to inform the precinct secretary it had done so. It then refused, despite the somewhat suspect happenings, to perform an audit.

“What happened Monday night at the caucuses was a debacle, period,” The Des Moines Register penned in an editorial afterward. “Democracy, particularly at the local party level, can be slow, messy, and obscure. But the refusal to undergo scrutiny or allow for an appeal reeks of autocracy.”

Nevada

Though Nevada didn’t have to resort to its deck-of-cards method to figure the awarding of delegates — as Iowa had done with its coin tosses — that didn’t stop anecdotal picture and video evidence from proving rampant issues and possible fraud.

Inexcusably hours-long lines, a lack of paper ballots, and poorly trained elections workers meant general disenfranchisement pervaded caucus locations. The situation so outraged voters, it was characterized a “fiasco.” Those who did manage to procure a ballot discovered Clinton propaganda in plain sight; though electioneering is prohibited at polling locations, one Reddit user posted a photo of a sign-in sheet emblazoned with the Hillary for Nevada logo at the top. Asked for an explanation, the poll worker handing out the not-at-all neutral sign-in claimed it was “for the democratic party,” US Uncut reported.

Worse, a Twitter user discovered Hillary supporters allowed to caucus without registering, to which a precinct volunteer offered the rather effrontery explanation that they’d be permitted to register after casting a ballot — and it was all captured on video.

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Worse still, another Reddit user claimed a poll volunteer registering new Democratic voters automatically marked them as favoring Clinton — and not only seemed stubbornly hesitant to correct the error, but later appeared working for the “Hillary group’s tables.”

Chaos in the Republican caucus mirrored that in the Democratic event, including reports of ballot mismanagement; one was allowed to fall to the floor and was ripped up by a volunteer unsure of its validity. Another witness tweeted “some guy voted for trump twice.” Caucus volunteers, who are required to forego campaign gear, sported Trump paraphernalia and, as another Twitter user claimed, were “Actively bullying folks. Not checking IDs.”

Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses offered no relief to the election madness, as Colorado and Massachusetts, in particular, similarly devolved into messy embarrassments.

Polling sites for the Democratic caucus in Colorado seemed to arbitrarily switch locations, voters were turned away upon arrival, volunteers were unprepared, and, in one case, a private residence intended to be a caucus location met voters with a locked door.

So marred by troubles was the situation in Colorado, one Twitter user asserted, “I honestly cannot say enough negative things about the caucus system. Disorganized, undemocratic, just generally bad. Primary please!” Another voter summarily tweeted, “The caucus process in Colorado is bullshit!” Indeed, after the debacle, swaths of voters called for a return to the primary system, which had been in place until 2002.

Massachusetts saw an appearance by Bill Clinton, who took advantage of the opportunity to electioneer for Hillary, both inside and outside polling locations in a likely illegal violation of state law. So egregious and unusual was the situation, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin told the New York Times his office “had to remind some of our poll workers that even a president can’t go inside and work a polling place. He can go in, but he can’t approach voters.”

A petition created afterward calling for Bill Clinton’s arrest and prosecution has since garnered over 127,000 signatures.

While not fraudulent, the Republican Party garnered its own firestorm of criticism by eliminating the popular vote from the nominating process — much to the ire of Trump supporters. As the Denver Post explained:

“Colorado GOP leaders canceled the party’s presidential straw poll in August to avoid binding its delegates to a candidate who may not survive until the Republican National Convention in July.

“Instead, Republicans selected national delegates through the caucus process, a move that put the election of national delegates in the hands of party insiders and activists — leaving roughly 90 percent of the more than 1 million Republican voters on the sidelines.”

“The people of Colorado,” Trump, in part, proclaimed afterward on Twitter, “had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians.” Later, Trump expounded further, declaring in an interview, “The system is rigged. It’s crooked.”

To wit, the Colorado GOP hubristically boasted on Twitter, “We did it. #NeverTrump” — but likely realized the potentially damning repercussions of its candor and swiftly deleted the tweet.

Arizona

“We’ve received complaints throughout the whole day of lifelong Democrats showing up to the polls and being told they are either independent or have no party affiliations,” stated Arizona Democratic Party spokesman Enrique Gutierrez, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Though locations across Arizona experienced massive voter turnout — which, as in many states before, overwhelmed grievously unprepared volunteers — Maricopa County, home of Phoenix, reported average wait times of up to 90 minutes. Long waits had been anticipated, to an extent, as Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell had drastically cut the total number of polling places from 200 four years ago to just 60 — questionably citing expected low voter turnout for the reduction.

To grasp the magnitude of difficulty this presented, one person tweeted, “Most counties I surveyed had enough polls for 2.5K or fewer voters per site. Maricopa County? 20,833 voters per polling site.” A local NBC affiliate reporter also noted on Twitter:

“Consider: 2012 primary had 300,000 voters and 200 polling places. 2016 primary has estimated 800,000 voters at 60 polling places.”

In predominantly Latino neighborhoods, that consolidation of polling sites was exponentially magnified — so few polling sites were available to Phoenix’ nearly 41 percent Latino population, even politicians publicly rebuked Purcell’s cuts.

“In my district, there is only one polling place,” Democratic State Senator Martin Quezada noted in a written statement, cited by AZCentral.com. “In my neighboring district, LD 30, there are no polling places.”

New York

In what could only be dubbed a farce, so copious were the complaints lodged about the New York City primary, city Comptroller Scott Stringer announced the Board of Elections would be the subject of an audit — hours before the close of polling. In fact, before voting even commenced, over 126,000 voters had been wholly purged from the records.

Diplomatically describing “widespread reports of poll site problems and irregularities,” Stringer wrote in a letter to New York City Board of Elections (BOE) Director Michael J. Ryan:

“Voters across the city have complained about poll workers erroneously redirecting them to different poll sites, poll workers unable to operate voting machines, poll workers unable to produce the correct party ballot for an individual voter, and poll workers giving conflicting information.

“Of particular concern are numerous allegations of widespread removal of eligible voters from voter-registration rolls, as well as instances of incorrect party affiliations on individual registration records. These errors have conspired to bar first time and longtime voters from exercising their fundamental democratic right.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio swiftly backed the call for an audit, and despite repeated denials from Ryan any major issues had tarnished the day, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claimed his office had received “by far the largest volume of complaints” from any election since 2011, according to Politico. Both the comptroller’s and attorney general’s offices began investigations following the debacle.

A top official for the NYC BOE has since been suspended without pay and an internal investigation has been launched over discrepancies in voter records and purging of voter rolls in Brooklyn.

✱✱✱

This list is woefully incomplete — Ohio is now investigating its primary, and Sanders managed to lose Wyoming, despite winning by a margin of 12 percent; this article didn’t even delve into superdelegates. Even so, the pattern of suspicious activity before, during, and after elections presents clear evidence many have not been willing to admit.

Your vote — if you’re able to jump enough hurdles to cast it — doesn’t matter. But worst of all, this farce of an election simply amounts to a theater of illusion, designed to distract people who might otherwise realize the change they seek through politicians could best be implemented by all of us, now, without needing to validate the very system of our modern-day enslavement.

This article (Here’s A Rundown of Election Fraud in the 2016 Presidential Race So Far) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

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Doug #Casey Warns: “It’s The Next Stage Of The Greater #Depression… The Economy Is Going To Be Very, Very Bad”

April 25, 2016 by mac slavo

While President Obama took credit this weekend for saving the world economy from a global depression and stock markets are hovering around all-time highs, not everyone is convinced that central bank policy and government involvement in financial markets has stabilized the system. Doug Casey, one of the most well respected institutional investors in the world and someone who thrives in environments plagued with volatility and risk, joins Future Money Trends to explain exactly why the world has not avoided a Greater Depression and how things are about to get “very, very bad.”

And by very bad he means that centrally manufactured super-bubbles and bubbles are set to wipe out trillions.

You’ve got to remember that all of these governments and central banks all around the world have driven interest rates not just to zero, but to negative levels in some cases… and they are simultaneously printing up trillions of currency units. And even while they are desperately doing that the economy is falling apart in lots of different ways.

…They’ve created a super-bubble in bonds, a bubble in stocks, and meanwhile commodities have collapsed and are below production costs in many cases.

…The economy is going to be very, very bad… It’s the next stage of what I call the Greater Depression.

Full interview via Future Money Trends:

(Watch At Youtube)

But as centrally manufactured bubbles burst in one sector of the economy, says Casey, capital will flow en masse to other sectors as investors panic. First to safe haven assets like gold, and then to to broader commodities which have been left for dead since the start of the decade:

Commodities, despite the fact that the economy is going to be bad, I think are headed up at this point because they’re the only cheap thing in the world and that’s where a lot of this excess money is going to flow.

And the excess money is going to flow rapidly. As Casey notes, while there may be panic selling in some parts of the economy, there will be panic buying elsewhere:

I’m extremely bullish on gold because it bears emphasis… gold is the only financial asset that is not simultaneously somebody else’s liability and all of these paper currencies all over the world are going to go to their intrinsic value, which is essentially zero.

What these central banks and governments are doing is incredibly irresponsible and stupid, printing these currency units up by the trillions… so there’s going to be a panic into gold.

As part of that you’re going to find China, maybe Russia, are going to go to a gold-backed Yuan and gold backed Ruble because they want to dethrone the U.S. dollar as the world’s premier currency… Well, the U.S. government is going to do it because of its incredibly foolish policies.

As you might expect, Casey’s focus is on the assets no one else has been interested in during the run up in broader stock markets. And like the Chinese government he’s been acquiring major stakes in commodity producers, including one particular gold mining company:

Yes, it is possible at this point [to invest in companies that will rise 20 to 30 times their current prices]. Because there’s going to be a panic into gold and it’s going to take gold much, much higher. The next commodity bull market is going to be led by gold and it’s going to take these stocks with them.

…I think this is the best part of the market to be in.

On America’s political future, Casey, a self avowed anarchist and anti-establishment proponent, says he supports Trump because he’s the only one in the field who is not a professional politician and perhaps the only one who can change the system as it exists today for the better:

Yes, he says a lot of stupid things… but all of these people say incredibly stupid things… Regardless of the persona he’s projecting at the moment to get attention, I think he’s much more intelligent and much more responsible than any of the people running. I think he’s definitely going to be the Republican candidate unless he’s actively defrauded… and I think he’s going to win regardless of whether Hillary is the democratic candidate or not… Hopefully she’ll be indicted for one or more of her numerous crimes before that happens.

I’m putting my money on Trump for winning the election. Not my ideal choice, but by far the best choice that we have.

… he actually has an understanding of business… and he has common sense… and he’s not part of the political machine… pray that Trump makes it because he’s also the least war-like of all these people… he’s the person that’s least likely to involve us in World War III or something that resembles it…

I believe politics is the problem and not the solution… I support Trump and hope he wins… Remember, we’re going into the Greater Depression… he’s certainly better than anybody else that’s out there at the moment.

But the legendary International Man isn’t just putting all his eggs in one basket in the hopes of a Trump victory or some sort of magical solution to the problems the United States faces. Casey says you need to diversify in these times of uncertainty, and not just with your financial portfolio:

It’s not just important to diversify investment-wise and heavily into gold at this point… It’s even more important to diversify internationally and politically and geographically… you don’t want all your eggs in North America. It’s a big world out there and most of the world is doing better than we are.

For more interviews, breaking documentaries and financial news visit Future Money Trends. To learn what investors like Doug Casey are doing to diversify their portfolios as we enter the next stage of the Greater Depression click here.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Possible End Game: The United States Has Created a Climate That Could Easily Be Transformed Into a #War

April 25, 2016 by contributing author

Most readers have been watching, as the U.S. and Russia seem to be positioning themselves along Cold War lines. The posturing is not confined to maneuvering military assets; it also runs along economic lines, in which most warfare is at least based if not a major or the sole impetus. Each power has sought to cement its claims/presence in areas bordering the sphere of influence of, or the actual territory of the other power. Such posturing can be dangerous and lead to an incident that escalates into the uncontrollable.

Recently the news media has been abuzz with the Russian fighter aircraft buzzing the U.S. in the face: first the incident with the two fighters coming within 30 feet of an American naval vessel, and another separate incident involving aerial theatrics around a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft (a Boeing RC-135 intelligence-gathering spy plane). The U.S. responded in kind on April 20 by allowing a guided missile destroyer, the U.S.S. Cook to encroach upon Russian borders while conducting maneuvers near Poland. The U.S. claimed that Russian aircraft were doing fly-by’s to intimidate the destroyer.

Unlike the puissant response by John Kerry, feigning anger and doing nothing with the Russian aircraft incidences of the past two weeks, Russia is not playing with the destroyer incident. The Russian ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko is reported by Reuters to have made the following statement:

“This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia. We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force.”

This statement by Grushko was not limited to the incident with the Cook. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has affirmed in the past week the intention of NATO to deploy command and control centers in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. Exercises are currently being planned and prepared in Estonia by NATO air assets, to include participation by Sweden and Finland, both non-NATO members. The exercises are scheduled to commence on April 28.

Although the exercises are superficially being dubbed maneuvers to help with control of civilian airports and coordination with them during “an emergency situation,” in reality they are both posturing and stationing aircraft on Russia’s western flank. Also, the mainstream media barely mentioned the fact that last month, NATO fighter aircraft approached a Russian aircraft carrying Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister who was en route to inspect military facilities and readiness in Kalingrad, toward Russia’s western border.

Much has also been mentioned by NATO of Russian “aggression and encroachment” regarding Ukraine, still beset by more than a year of fighting in its eastern region between Ukrainian forces and ethnic Russian separatists. NATO has condemned Russia for supplying these separatists with equipment, materials, and personnel. Russia has responded to this accusation by declaring eastern Ukraine to be mired in a civil war.

There are also underlying economic issues to all of this. As mentioned in previous articles, the entire involvement of NATO wanting to “assist” Russia in her support of Syria was nothing more than an attempt to oust Assad. This, in turn took a back seat to the desires of NATO and the U.S. to annex a portion of Syria in order to enable a natural gas pipeline from Qatar into Western Europe for the purpose of negating Russia’s Gazprom from supplying Western Europe with natural gas. Basically, the Russians solidified Assad’s position, bombed the insurgents into submission, left supplies and advisers with Assad, and withdrew from the board. The U.S. was left stultified with egg on its face.

Now the BRIC nations are starting their markets up in earnest, backing their currencies with gold and trading in Shanghai, China, and Moscow in Russia. These two nations, incidentally are #1 and #3 respectively regarding gold production. The former produced 490 tons in 2015, and the latter put out 295 tons that year. The two nations account for 25% of the gold production for the world. Those are staggering numbers. In addition to production, China and Russia have been building up their reserves of gold astronomically.

They are ranked 5^th and 6^th respective to gold reserves. The U.S. is listed as “#1” but this is another faux pearl attached to others on a string, such as phony employment numbers and the inflated GDP as reported by parrots of the media and business insider networks who are, in reality inside of the pockets of the administration and the Federal Reserve.

Another point of interest that may have a great effect is that Congress is in the midst of passing legislation to hold Saudi Arabia partially accountable for the 9-11 attacks.

The Saudis responded with informing the state department that they will call in assets and all accounts payable if that is the case. This could really domino and also spell an immediate end to the Petrodollar. Wouldn’t that be interesting? Congress would hit the Saudis up with a bill, and the Saudis would pay us in “fiat” Federal Reserve notes, maybe cutting off the oil supply as well. Payment of the bill then may as well be in toilet paper.

To summarize, akin to ancient Rome, the United States has over-extended herself. She has created a climate that could easily be transformed into a war on a slight pretext. Wars, as it is well known are also a means a nation can extricate itself from debt and financial responsibility. The dying Petrodollar system has been on life support for some time, and it appears other nations such as the BRIC’s are taking the initiative to return to a true monetary standard. This is the same gold and silver standard that the U.S. should never have left in the first place.

Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson is also a Gunsmith, a Certified Master Herbalist, a Montana Master Food Preserver, and a graduate of the U.S. Army’s SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape). He lives in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with his wife and three cats. You can follow Jeremiah’s regular writings at SHTFplan.com or contact him here.

This article may be republished or excerpted with proper attribution to the author and a link to www.SHTFplan.com.

Also Read:

The Flashpoint Continues to Build: Intelligence Sources Indicate Russia May Be Planning A Spring Offensive

How an Attack on America Would Probably Begin: Possible Courses Of Action By Foreign Military Powers

How To Survive Occupied America: “Red Dawn Just Started… And You’re In It”

Collision Course: As Obama Weakens America, The Russians And Chinese Prepare

Report: Is China Preparing For a Land Of Invasion Of the West Coast Of the United States?

Russia’s Attack Posture: “The Enemy Must Be Destroyed Or Conquered; The Ultimate Soviet Objective Is Total Victory”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

#Hillary #Clinton’s Million Dollar Professional Internet Troll Army

April 24, 2016 by nick bernabe

Nick Bernabe
April 24, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Hillary Clinton-aligned Super PAC, Correct the Record, is taking a page out of Vladimir Putin’s playbook by employing a $1 million dollar professional internet troll army to build a paid, positive consensus about the Clinton campaign. The effort, called “Breaking Barriers 2016,” claims:

“While Hillary Clinton fights to break down barriers and bring America together, the Barrier Breakers 2016 digital task force will serve as a resource for supporters looking for positive content and push-back to share with their online progressive communities, as well as thanking prominent supporters and committed superdelegates on social media.

“Correct The Record will invest more than $1 million into Barrier Breakers 2016 activities, including the more than tripling of its digital operation to engage in online messaging both for Secretary Clinton and to push back against attackers on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram.”

The campaign will essentially be employing an unknown number of paid, pro-Hillary trolls to spread positive news about the candidate and counter anyone posting negative information about her. And these aren’t just ragtag trolls living in their mothers’ basements — they are industry and campaign professionals. As Correct the Record acknowledges:

“The task force staff’s backgrounds are as diverse as the community they will be engaging with and include former reporters, bloggers, public affairs specialists, designers, Ready for Hillary alumni, and Hillary super fans who have led groups similar to those with which the task force will organize.”

In response to this news, Bernie Sanders campaign staffer Mike Casca told The Daily Beast, “Our campaign and our vendors are not paying people to reply to anti-Bernie comments on social media.” He added, “Come on man, really?”

The Hillary campaign was also recently called out by The Intercept for deploying “astroturfers” into the media — people with ties to Clinton who act as experts and political commentators to promote her campaign without disclosing their ties to the candidate.

With Hillary’s highly effective media strategies employing media surrogates — and now internet trolls — it’s becoming increasingly hard to decipher a distinction between actual Clinton supporters, unbiased political commentators, and paid campaign shills.

This article (Hillary Clinton’s Million Dollar Professional Internet Troll Army) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Nick Bernabe and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: Gage Skidmore. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team

#Commodities: “The Men Behind The Curtain Are Being Revealed” – CEO Says Real-World Pricing Will Return To Gold, Silver And Commodity Markets

April 24, 2016 by mac slavo

Astute observers of financial markets, especially in the precious metals sector, have long argued that small concentrations of major market players have been manipulating asset prices. Last week those suspicions were confirmed when Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s leading financial institutions, not only admitted to regulators that they have been involved in the racket, but that they were prepared to turn over records implicating many of their cohorts in a global scheme to suppress prices.

In his latest interview with SGT Report, straight-shooting Callinex Mines CEO Max Porterfield explains that now that the men behind the curtain are being revealed, asset prices in precious metals, base metals and other commodities will return to more natural pricing mechanisms based on core supply and demand fundamentals.

They are being revealed, most certainly… whether anybody actually takes a fall for it is a whole ‘nother discussion in its own right.. It’s good someone is being held accountable in some form or fashion and at least we understand what we’re dealing with.

… The real world pricing is being seen not only in the precious metals space, but it’s being played out in other base metals as well… Underlying all this manipulation is really the supply demand fundamentals for all these commodities…

Full Interview Via SGT Report:

(Watch at Youtube)

With the genie now out of the bottle, many of the institutions involved in price manipulation and suppression appear to have backed off for fear of multi-billion dollar class action lawsuits from investors. The direct result, as we have seen just in the last couple of weeks, has been upward price movement in gold and silver.

If you start getting some of the manipulation to come out of the market for fear that people are going to get called out on it, then you can allow the fundamentals to play out.

And according to Porterfield, those fundamentals bode very well for gold, silver and base metals investors who have thus far been pillaged by paper market conspirators:

I think this has signified the start of a new bull market… what we’ve been through, these nice gains… I can tell you right now… I travel frequently to investor hubs in North America and Europe as well… the sentiment is improving quite significantly compared to where it was last November when I was in Zurich where people were very, very negative.

There’s more optimism in the space, particularly in the precious metals space… and in the not-too-distant future in the overall base metals space as well.

I think investors should be aware and be prepare for pullbacks in any bull market and I think that’s healthy for any kind of bull market you’re in… it is a bumpy road no matter what… but there’s definitely a lot more upside ahead of us.

We know that during the bear market in gold, silver and other commodities many companies either slowed their operations or completely shut their doors. This reduction in supply, a growing demand for precious metals amid global economic chaos and the official acknowledgment of paper price suppression by at least one major financial institution (and likely many more) suggests that gold and silver prices could rise significantly over coming months and years.

Learn more about CEO Max Porterfield and his company at the Callinex Mines web site.

For more interviews, breaking news, and commentary visit the corporate propaganda antidote at SGTreport.com

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

#NorthKorea launches #missile from #sub increasing the risks of #EMP attack

April 23, 2016 by admin

North Korea today launched a missile from submarine South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The missile flew for about 19 miles (30km) and a typical submarine-launched ballistic missile has a range of nearly 200 miles.

This significantly increases the risk to the United States and other countries around the world of a sneak EMP attack.

Residents and Experts Baffled After Mysterious #Foam Blankets City After #Earthquakes

April 23, 2016 by admintam

Vandita
April 22, 2015

(ANONHQ) After disastrous tremors from a 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook the city of Fukuoka on April 15 – just a day after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled the same area – the streets of downtown Tenjin and Imaizumi were covered with a thick layer of mysterious foam, sending shivers down the spines of its residents.

While people posted photos and a video of the unexplained froth on Twitter, which led many to wonder what may be behind the snow-like layer engulfing Fukuoka, there are speculations that one of the many tremors may have caused an underground water pipe to burst. Others have suggested that the foam was caused by a spillage of fire-fighting foam; however, no fire trucks were spotted in the area, and no one has come up with an official confirmation as of yet.

The two powerful earthquakes killed 48, injured over 1,100, left 410,000 homes without water and 200,000 with no power, and destroyed as many as 9,900 homes, leaving more than 100,000 residents in shelters. 765 aftershocks have hit the Kyushu Island since the 6.5-magnitude earthquake on April 14. The tremors also triggered an eruption in Mount Aso, Japan’s largest active volcano.

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This Article (Residents and Experts Baffled After Mysterious Foam Blankets City After Earthquakes) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Vandita and AnonHQ.com. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: TAKAFUMI/Twitter. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team

#Survival Saturday: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? #GMO, #Scalia, #2A

April 23, 2016 by daisy luther

April 23, 2016

Today on Survival Saturday, we have a series of stories that could all be headlined, “What could possibly go wrong?” Do you remember the reality show by that name, where a couple of guys apply science and logic to ill-conceived ideas and explain exactly what could go wrong when you power a skateboard with homemade rockets? Perhaps our future doom won’t be caused by some kind of epic disaster, but by the unwillingness of the people to actually accept reality and apply logic to it.

Survival Saturday is a round-up of the week’s news and resources for folks who are interested in being prepared.

This Week in the News…

Coming to a City Near You: Aerial Spraying of GMO Bacteria over Residential Neighborhoods

Since regular pesticide isn’t bad enough, the officials of Seattle, Washington have taken things one step further: they’re going to douse the city in a genetically modified bacteria in an experimental attempt to eradicate gypsy moths. What could possibly go wrong with that one? (Well, for one thing, the story about the Zika virus originating in the area of South America where GMO mosquitos were released comes to mind.)

If you ever wondered whether you might possibly be an unwilling participant in a science experiment, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that you are.

The Washington Department of Health has recommended that people stay indoors for half an hour after the spray. (They don’t mention anything about sealing doors and windows with duct tape or closing vents to the outside, but hey, maybe that’s just me.) Of course, the USDA, always a proponent of things GMO and unnatural, says everything will be just fine, claiming that “the acidic diet of most Americans renders the bacteria harmless, though it is persistent in produce and food products.” Apparently, this GMO bacteria pesticide has been sprayed on our food for a while now, although I must have missed the announcement of that practice.

Speaking of pesticides, if you’re trying to avoid them check out this newly-released list of the fruits and vegetable with the highest pesticide residue this year. Grab a kleenex, because the things that must now be purchased organically will make you weep.

Reality Is Mean

Let me preface by saying that this little rant does not reflect my opinions on who can use which bathroom. Honestly, I don’t care. There are stall doors. Don’t even get me started on pondering how bathroom laws would be enforced or how it isn’t the government’s place to be potty monitors. We have bigger problems in this country than who pees where and you’d be wise not to get sidetracked by that ridiculous debate.

Okay – back to the story.

I’ll never forget when my kiddo was in 4th grade. She was telling me about an event that happened in school and being very vague in her description of the girl involved. Finally, it dawned on me. I asked her, “Are you talking about the girl in your class who is black?” Since there was only one child in the class of African American descent, that did indeed narrow it down. But my daughter was horrified because the kids had been taught never to refer to a person’s race, even when it was the most accurate descriptor. If I thought that was absolutely ridiculous, I had no idea at the time what was coming down the pipe of political correctness.

Well, here it is. And what has come out of the pipe is the pure sewage of cognitive dissonance.

What could possibly go wrong in a society that politely accepts fantasy as fact? It seems pretty obvious to me that college students are being prepped for the world Orwell had imagined.

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Economic Disaster in 3…2…1…

I sent out an extra email last week because I stumbled upon a series of events that made me wonder if the economic collapse is truly upon us. The Fed (which isn’t at all federal, but that’s another story – and one you really should read) has issued warnings to 3 major banks that their contingency plans simply won’t cut it. Chillingly, the Fed wrote to JPMorgan Chase that their plan was “not sufficiently actionable” and that it contained a “deficiency” so great that it could “pose serious adverse effects to the financial stability of the United States.” Gulp.

Meanwhile, secret meetings between those in the economic know abounded last week and Saudi Arabia threatened the US with massive economic reprisals – and by massive, I mean billions and billions of dollars – if their part in 9/11 came to light in a bipartisan bill on the table in Congress that would allow victims of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks to sue foreign governments.

A commodity trader has come forward (sort of…anonymously) and said that the current plan in the economic world is even worse. In his own words:

Here comes my Very-REAL Conspiracy Theory: the stupid FED and other Central Bankers around the world acting in unison to artificially raise inflation so that they can hopefully get out of the F’ing mess they got themselves into with this low/negative rate BS. Call me crazy, and I am not a “conspiracy theorist” – but what is happening has absolutely no “reasonable” explanation. So I have to think outside the box…

The FED and other Central Banks have already destroyed the equity and other macro-financial markets… it is now turn for the commodities markets…

Gee…what could possibly go wrong if/when that plan was enacted? Read the rest of his theory here.

Oh – and on a related note, if you ever wondered why no bankers have gone to jail for their parts in the economic cluster pulling the rest of the country under – an insider explains exactly why in this article. What could possibly go wrong with ignoring that?

Remember How I Said Justice Scalia’s Death Would Have Serious Repercussions?

I’m not one to say “I told you so!” – wait – who am I kidding? I totally am.

So, here it is.

Remember how I said Scalia’s sudden death, whether it came from natural causes or he was murdered, could change everything? At immediate risk, it seems, will be our right to bear arms.

If you’re wondering what could possibly go wrong if we get someone left-leaning in office, consider that Scalia’s replacement could very likely be the deciding factor in whether or not the Second Amendment remains strong. And now, Chelsea Clinton has ~~danced on his freshly turned grave~~ affirmed the plan to poke even more holes in our right to protect ourselves and our families, and even points out how much easier it will be now that Scalia is no longer on the bench. As reported by SHTFplan:

“It matters to me that my mom also recognizes the role the Supreme Court has when it comes to gun control. With Justice Scalia on the bench, one of the few areas where the court actually had an inconsistent record relates to gun control.”

“Sometimes the court upheld local and state gun control measures as being compliant with the Second Amendment and sometimes the court struck them down.”

“So if you listen to Moms Demand Action and the Brady Campaign and the major efforts pushing for smart, sensible, and enforceable gun control across our country — disclosure [they] have endorsed my mom, they say they believe the next time the court rules on gun control, it will make a definitive ruling.”

Stock up, folks. Food, ammo, and firearms.

Oh – and on a related note, did anybody else notice that Prince was immediately autopsied and a Supreme Court Justice was pronounced dead over the phone and instantly embalmed, thus precluding the possibility of an investigation into his death? Just sayin’.

Do you have the supplies you need to survive an interruption in the supply chain? Regardless of what type of disaster you are preparing for, it pays to have nutritious, long-term supplies that you can rely on. Preppers Market features the products I use to ensure my own family’s health and well-being. You won’t find any GMOs, any soy, or chemical preservatives in our foods. Gluten-free products are also available for those who do not tolerate wheat products.Go here to check out the

Go here to check out the high-quality offerings, or try a sample pack first. You won’t be disappointed in the delicious taste!

Anything to add to Survival Saturday?

Oh – I do! Here’s one last link. Remember how our cat disappeared on moving day? Well, our pampered housecat managed to survive almost 5 weeks in the forest, and now he’s back. Of course, it got me thinking about how we could all learn some survival lessons from a lost kitty – you can check out the story here, assuming you don’t hate cats or happy endings.

Do you have any news links you want to share? Now’s the time! I’m especially interested in learning about the things going on locally to you – the stuff we can’t find on the mainstream news. Please post your links in the comments below!

Chelsea #Clinton Hints: With #Scalia Dead, Supreme Court Will Make “Definitive Ruling” On #Gun Control #2A

April 22, 2016 by mac slavo

Ready for Hillary?

If her daughter Chelsea is any indication, a Hillary Clinton president quickly become an even better gun salesman than Obama is now.

The wife of the president who enacted the assault weapons ban in the 90s may well become the next commander in chief, and a Supreme Court without Justice Scalia is more likely than ever to uphold gun control – only this time in a way that sticks.

Chelsea Clinton just said what everybody has been thinking – that the Second Amendment may not survive the next president or the next Supreme Court justice.

Chelsea was on the stump when she shared some wisdom imparted to her by her mom — actually stating openly the advantage for gun control made possible by Justice Antonin Scalia’s sudden death:

“It matters to me that my mom also recognizes the role the Supreme Court has when it comes to gun control. With Justice Scalia on the bench, one of the few areas where the court actually had an inconsistent record relates to gun control.”

“Sometimes the court upheld local and state gun control measures as being compliant with the Second Amendment and sometimes the court struck them down.”

“So if you listen to Moms Demand Action and the Brady Campaign and the major efforts pushing for smart, sensible, and enforceable gun control across our country — disclosure [they] have endorsed my mom, they say they believe the next time the court rules on gun control, it will make a definitive ruling.” (via The Daily Caller)

Watch the Video:

Normally this falls under the category of things that are quietly done once the election is over; but to say it during the campaign is quite unnerving.

There are many reasons to believe that the country may be too far gone already, but it may be unrecognizable in just a a few more years.

Do you think the Second Amendment will survive the next wave of judicial activism, or a Hillary presidency (which is becoming increasingly likely as November approaches)?

Hillary Wants to Sue Gun Industry Into Oblivion, But Give Vaccine Manufactures “Absolute Immunity”

Texas Police Chief Warns Obama That Gun Control Will “Cause A Revolution… You’re Not Our Potentate, Sir”

Now Among Largest Firearms Investors, Soros in Gun Control Scheme to Dump Stocks: “I’m Very Much Against Guns”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

#Seattle to Be Sprayed With #GMO #Bacteria, Agency Warns “Stay Inside After the Spray”

April 22, 2016 by mac slavo

U.S. Army photo.

What’s that being sprayed in the skies?

Residents living in Western Washington are about to be doused with a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), as a government agency attempts to control gypsy moths who plague agriculture in the area.

It has many people alarmed at the use of the genetically modified pesticide in the area where they live and breathe.

KOMO News in Seattle reports:

A controversial pesticide program will be underway Saturday in Pierce County.

“Once [the troubling gypsy moth] become established it becomes very difficult to do anything that slows it down,” said Hector Castro, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Agriculture. “We don’t want it to become established at all in Washington State.”

[…] Saturday the state will start spraying seven areas in Western Washington with a pesticide called Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki or Btk.

As Your News Wire points out, this insecticide has been genetically engineered by leading biotech firms specifically for use on GMO crops:

The program, opposed by many residents, will spray a bacteria with pesticide properties called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), the same bacteria gene commonly used in GM crops to kill insects.

Now, residents across Washington state are part of an unannounced experiment where they are being sprayed with a pesticide that can admittedly accumulate in the body, and has been found in tissue samples of people throughout North America. Though the exposure level is said to be low, it doesn’t mean that there is no effect.

The state authorities claim that the pesticide is safe for the general population, yet conversely admit that it could affect people with health problems:

Lauren Jenks with the Washington State Department of Health… says people who could be impacted by the spraying are those with repertory issues.

“We recommend they try to minimize their exposure to the Btk by staying inside for up to a half hour after the spray,” said Jenks.

However, the USDA and other organizations claim that the acidic diet of most Americans renders the bacteria harmless, though it is persistent in produce and food products. It is widely used on crops, and is even used on organic crops.

Nevertheless, in countless cases, agencies throughout the government have proven far too willing to accept ‘minimal risk’ in favor of policies for the great good, even if it means a negative health impact on the community.

In the past, the government has tested bacteriological agents over American and British cities, including San Francisco.

The tests, conducted in secret, have now been declassified, but their negative impact has been minimized.

What happens when they decide to treat us all like bugs?

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

New Report Proves US #Law Enforcement Preparing for #Rioting on a National Scale

April 22, 2016 by claire bernish

Claire Bernish
April 22, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Fascism doesn’t often sweep in overnight and take over some hapless nation’s government; rather, it gradually seeps into the cultural fabric — as is quietly taking place all around the globe, evidenced by an upsurge in sales of riot equipment that has gone largely unnoticed.

A new report from analysts with industry research group, Sandler Research, forecasts the Global Riot Control System Market for the next four years — but beyond a burgeoning market to parallel the expanding global police state, it appears world governments are also keenly aware of civilian discontent. Sandler predicts the market will have an annual growth of 3.5 percent, and makes a telling juxtaposition, emphases added, involving the United States:

“Law enforcement agencies around the world are the biggest market for riot control systems. This market is expected to generate revenues of over USD 3.5 billion by the end of 2020. Countries such as the U.S., Iran, Egypt, Russia, China, and Thailand have started procuring riot control equipment and are investing heavily in [non-lethal weapons]. Moreover, special vehicles that are equipped with water cannon and reservoirs have been designed for security personnel, for use in areas of conflict to handle large crowds and demonstration. Demand for such equipment is expected to rise during the next few years.”

Note the last sentence in its truncated time frame.

Specifically, the analysts continue:

“In North America, the prominent markets are Canada and the U.S. and law enforcement agencies in these nations are best equipped with the upgraded weapons. The militarization of the police department and other law enforcement agencies in the Americas has encouraged the use of advanced riot control equipment.”

While swaths of the country debate the finer points of which lesser evil should take the helm of the corporate plutocracy, various U.S. law enforcement agencies have been gearing up for the virtually inevitable unrest both during and following those elections.

Militarized police forces have become de rigueur, even in the nation’s smallest towns — but arming law enforcement with the weapons of war, rather than protecting civilians, has birthed a chasm of distrust and animosity on both sides. It isn’t as if this equipment is being produced by a marketplace intent on keeping civilians safe from an ostensible outside threat.

As the report, which does not offer a breakdown of specific agencies it might be referring to (though may in its body which can be purchased for $2,500 here), definitively states:

“Law enforcement agencies use riot control systems to maintain the public order and safety and to enforce laws. They are used to disperse, control, and arrest people involved in riots and protests. Riot control systems include lethal and non-lethal weapons (NWLs), body-worn cameras, armored vehicles, and communications systems.”

As if released in conjunction with one another, a report by Lloyd’s intones the necessity of preparedness as mass civil unrest can not only spark without prior warning, but flare outward, unpredictably — what the insurer calls “Political Violence Contagion.” According to the report, instances of political violence “contagion (pandemics) have become more frequent, and the contagion effect ever more rapid and impactful.”

Considering massive worldwide demonstrations in the U.S. and elsewhere — as people finally grasp how corrupt governments actually are — it becomes apparent in these reports the politicians and their enforcement agencies comprehend the greatest threat to their power. As caucuses and primaries fall into chaos — and the City of Cleveland gears up for the Republican National Convention — voters and nonvoters alike harbor greater disillusionment than ever before.

Cleveland, whose police are currently under federal oversight following a Department of Justice probe that found a general pattern of brutality, plans to spend around $20 million to beef up security measures for the RNC. While part of the sum will focus on training, personnel expenditures, and the like, Vox reported 40 percent will be earmarked for “equipment and supplies” — including, in part, 2,000 sets of full-body riot gear. Additionally, if not ominously, the city “has put out bids for, among other things, 24 sets of ballistic body armor, 300 patrol bikes, and more than 3.7 miles of interlocking steel barriers, all of which can be used to curtail protestors,” according to Vox.

Together, the reports paint a dire prediction — not as much for its illustration of a world in chaos, but for its intimation authoritarian actors may act aggressively to quash even positive and peaceful change by the rest of us.

This article (New Report Proves US Law Enforcement Preparing for Rioting on a National Scale) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team

Teen Charged With #Felony After Filling Water Cup With #Soda at #McDonald’s

April 22, 2016 by s.m. gibson

SM Gibson
April 21, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Springdale, AK – On Monday, an 18-year-old man was arrested after filling a water cup with soda at an Arkansas McDonald’s.

The incident began when Cody Morris, who is now facing felony robbery charges, drove through his local McDonald’s drive-thru accompanied by two friends. He placed an order for three large waters. After receiving their complimentary drinks at the window, the trio parked the vehicle and went inside the establishment to fill the freshly emptied cups with soda.

A manager noticed the renegade group of thirst-queching teens and did not hesitate to confront the mischievous rabblerousers. Upon approach, two of the three handed over their McBooty to the employee without incident. Cody would not give back his free cup of liquid diabetes so easily.

The band of soda-guzzling pirates walked out of the establishment and got into the car to leave – but they couldn’t, because the manager decided to stand directly behind the path of the running vehicle to prevent the lads from driving away. According to police, Cody, who was driving, hit the fast food supervisor with the car. As the manager then reached into the vehicle to grab the keys, which were still in the ignition, the driver hit the manager with the car again. All of this over $1.49 cup of fizzy sugar.

According to USA Today:

“The car drove off, and the manager called police. Officers found the car and Morris at a bowling alley, and he was arrested on suspicion of felony robbery. (Allegedly hitting the manager with the car is what presumably elevated the charges.”

As reported by KHBS in Arkansas, despite allegedly hitting the manager with his car, “The police report lists one charge against Morris – that of felony robbery. The Washington County Detention Center website shows Morris was booked into jail Tuesday, and had a Rule 8.1 hearing scheduled for Friday morning.”

This article (Teen Charged With Felony After Filling Water Cup With Soda at McDonald’s) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to SM Gibson and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

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Why #US Govt. And #SaudiArabia Don’t Want Americans Knowing the Truth About 9/11

April 22, 2016 by antimedia

Anti-Media Staff
April 21, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) In a rare show of bipartisanship, President Obama and top Republicans in Congress have come together to shield Americans from knowing the truth about who was behind the 9/11 terror attacks, which took the lives of 2996 people in 2001. However strange it is for neoconservative members of Congress to agree with Obama on anything, there is no doubt the issue must be serious if it warrants this level of partnership.

The issue at hand is the classified, 28-page section of the 9/11 commission report, which many experts and politicians with knowledge of the documents have said point to Saudi Arabian government officials’ direct role in the terror attacks. This is why the Saudis put out a stern warning several days ago threatening to dump up to $750 billion in U.S. assets if Senate Bill 2040 becomes law; S.B. 2040 would make public the 28 pages and also allow for victims of 9/11 to sue foreign governments found responsible.

The Saudis’ warning seems to have worked, with Obama now in the nation to “mend ties” with the monarchy and top Republicans sounding the alarm about the 9/11 bill. In an interview with Charlie Rose, President Obama claimed:

“If we open up the possibility that individuals in the United States can routinely start suing other governments, then we are also opening up the United States to being continually sued by individuals in other countries,” apparently referencing the U.S.’ own attacks overseas that have taken the lives of countless civilians.

Currently, Saudi Arabia enjoys “sovereign immunity” with the U.S., meaning even if the 28 pages proved Saudi officials were indeed behind the 9/11 attacks, Americans would not be able to seek justice for their losses. The new 9/11 bill would change that, and the Saudi response to the legislation moving through Congress reinforces suspicions the kingdom is somehow behind the 9/11 attacks.

The video below further explains why both Saudi Arabia and members of the U.S. government don’t want the 9/11 bill to pass:

This article (Why US Govt. And Saudi Arabia Don’t Want Americans Knowing the Truth About 9/11) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: Robert J. Fisch. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

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The Flashpoint Continues to Build: Intelligence Sources Indicate #Russia May Be Planning A Spring #Offensive

April 21, 2016 by contributing author

The news network reports have been combined with leaks within the intelligence communities of Europe and the United States to paint a picture of a possible spring offensive in Eastern Ukraine by Russia. Now that Ukraine’s “bid” to enter the EU seems to be coming apart at the seams, the United States and the Western IMF hegemony seem to be in an indecisive state about what option to pursue next.

Arseny Yatsenuk, the puppet of the United States installed by Victoria Nuland, John McCain, and Lindsay Graham has resigned, so no more words of ventriloquism will be emanating from his lips. Petro Poroshenko the chocolate magnate will now hold the reins in his hands while the IMF/NATO cartel figures out what is next in store. The plan to “take” Ukraine into NATO and the EU was nothing more than a thinly disguised design to encroach upon Russia’s back door and invade her sphere of influence.

The Daily Mail’s Allan Hall reported that Vladimir Putin has been building a secret army of trained battle groups for close combat operations in Western Europe, specifically in Germany. These battle groups are reported as being ready to go into operation “at a moment’s notice.”

Actually this is nothing new. Vladimir B. Rezun, writing under the pen name Viktor Suvorov has written such revelatory pieces such as “Inside the Soviet Army,” and “Inside the Aquarium,” the latter work chronicling the GRU and Spetsnaz operations throughout the world on behalf of the Soviet Union. The techniques (as corroborated by Stanislev Lunev, a defecting Colonel and author of several works on the subject) have carried over into Russia today.

Russia has always been adept at inserting agents and clandestine operatives in other countries in the event of hostilities. Of course, these agents are also performing intelligence-gathering functions, but they are in a “hold” pattern for the most part. The agents Hall refers to in his report have a wealth of experience drawn from more than a decade of brush and ghost wars (such as Chechnya I and II, Georgia, Ukraine, and recently Syria). The Russian military policy is to expose their special units in these brush wars to “get their feet wet” and give them a taste of combat operations. Subsequently they are inserted into their target countries, and the ones who have experienced combat are pegged for leadership positions in an operational capacity.

The Russian response in Eastern Ukraine is justified and, under the circumstances, completely understandable. Ukraine is very important for the transmission of natural gas resources through Gazprom Russian pipelines: Ukraine is the “bridge” linking those gas supplies to Western Europe. The United States and NATO have failed miserably in their attempt to undercut Russia by securing part of Syria for a planned competing gas line running from Qatar. So much for the IMF’s bid to deprive Russia of natural gas income from Western Europe.

In Eastern Ukraine, the fighting against the Ukrainian military is always reported by the mainstream media as being “initiated by pro-Russian separatist rebels.” In all actuality, the fighting was initiated by the Ukrainian army against Ukrainian citizens who are ethnically, culturally, and linguistically Russian. The United States and NATO overthrew Viktor Yanukovich because he was pro-Russia. The Ukrainian Constitution and the duly elected leader of the Ukraine were trampled upon, as Nuland played the role of Geppetto, and Yatsenuk the part of Pinocchio.

Insert into all of this Soros and his Open Society Initiative foundations, and you find that he was responsible for the rise of Maidan and the ultra-nationalist faction that staged the protests and enabled the confusion for the coup to come to its fruition.

The Russians, on the other hand, neither mince words nor fool around. As soon as Sevastopol and their naval base on the Black Sea was threatened, they acted. With the current Russian military-supported actions by the separatists, what is not being reported upon is the high level of atrocities that almost amount to ethnic cleansing carried out by the Ukrainian military.

Soros and the other Oligarchs are bent and determined to have Russia capitulate and allow Ukraine to join the rest of their European hegemony. They’re not going to succeed. We will probably find out this spring or summer if indeed Russia feels it must secure more territory in Ukraine in order to more firmly establish a buffer against the West and its allies. Ukraine is a hotspot to watch, and surely the U.S. will try to insert another yes-man of the ilk of Yatsenuk, probably one with a little more ability this time.

This article may be republished or excerpted with proper attribution to the author and a link to www.SHTFplan.com.

Also Read:

How an Attack on America Would Probably Begin: Possible Courses Of Action By Foreign Military Powers

How To Survive Occupied America: “Red Dawn Just Started… And You’re In It”

Collision Course: As Obama Weakens America, The Russians And Chinese Prepare

Report: Is China Preparing For a Land Of Invasion Of the West Coast Of the United States?

Russia’s Attack Posture: “The Enemy Must Be Destroyed Or Conquered; The Ultimate Soviet Objective Is Total Victory”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Cop Loses It After Couple Refuses #Search: “You Got A #Warrant?… Bye.”

April 21, 2016 by contributing author

This article was written by Piper McGowan and originally published at The Daily Sheeple.

Editor’s Comment: The system has been giving its all to wear-down the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But despite it all, we are still individuals with God-given rights, and people everywhere are refusing to give them up. If that ever changes, the last bulwark between total control will break down.

Police generally are trying to do their job, but those who attempt to trample on the 4th Amendment, or spite the 1st are helping to destroy the country whether they realize it or not, and whether or not they have good intentions. The people in this video should be commended for asserting their rights, and refusing to be intimidated and aid the police in their own enslavement by giving into a “nothing to hide, so why not” warrantless search.

Dept Won’t Identify Cop Who Showed up at Couple’s Home Without a Warrant and Lost it When They Refused a Search

by Piper McGowan

Police protecting or serving, or a gestapo goon squad? You decide.

Welcome to America, where you never know when the gestapo is going to knock on your door and attempt to search you for “crimes” that you didn’t commit, especially if you answer the door armed with a gun you legally own. In fact, it’s a lot like that old saying about if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Well, is living in America a crime until a cop shows up?

Looks like someone forgot what the 4th Amendment is. And the 2nd Amendment. Aw heck, let’s just say the whole Bill of Rights.

The video below shows an unidentified Valdosta Police Officer completely lose it in the doorway of Earl Cannady after the officer tries to imply they might be doing drugs because they are “investigating” and his wife’s brother has a history of drug use.

It goes a little something like this:

“You’re at my house. I don’t even know why you’re here. You’re at my house asking why I have a gun?” Mr. Cannady said to the police.

Cannady shuts the door and gets his phone to record the nice little visit.

The officer insists the couple might be involved in drugs because the cop knows the wife’s maiden name and links it to her brother (because every person is immediately guilty for the crimes of their family members, okay check).

The officer then asks “Do you mind if we search your house?” — proof they have no proof because if they did, they would have probably initiated one of those lovely no-knock raids that always get innocent civilians killed.

Cannady responds, “You ain’t searching sh*t, you got a warrant?”

The cop obviously doesn’t, so he goes, “Bet I can go get one.” Gee, really? Then why didn’t you?

Cannady simply goes, “Bye” as in “bye bye tyrannical officer showing up at my door and trying to strip me of my 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures without legitimate probable cause.”

Then it goes from bad to worse:

“Now if you got a problem with those kids, you take it up with those kids, but I’m going to tell you something right now, you don’t got a f*cking investigation on me,” Cannady says.

“Number one, you’re going to quit f*cking cussing at me,” the detective shouts.

“You’re at my house,” Cannady responds.

“I don’t give a f*ck if I’m at your house or not, you ain’t going to talk to me like that, you understand me?”

“I think you’re getting too close,” Cannady warns.

“I don’t give a fuck what you think,” the detective yells, flipping out, to which Cannady says, “I need you to calm down.”

When I demand people stop cussing at me, I always cuss at them even more while I do it, leaving them wondering why it matters if anyone cusses.

The police still claim illegal drug use was happening in the house or a nearby house or… somewhere… but no warrant has been served and no one has been arrested, so again, if a tree falls in the forest…

The Valadosta Police also claim this cop was disciplined for his unprofessional, ridiculous behavior but they didn’t clarify exactly how so, again, if a police department says it disciplined a cop but the department refuses to even release the guy’s name, let alone what type if any discipline happened, did it really happen?

And the winner for best comment goes to:

Yep, that’s what being a hero is all about. Make sure and share that with all those first graders who say they want to be “American heroes” when they grow up…

Call It What It Is: America Is a Police State

Disturbing Video Shows What Public School Looks Like in a Police State as a Cop Beats a Student

Politician Warns Parliament of the 10 Ways Australia Has Become a Police State (Sound Familiar, America?)

This article was written by Piper McGowan and originally published at The Daily Sheeple.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Is #Silver Really “Poised to Catch Up To #Gold” As Economic #Crisis Looms?

April 21, 2016 by contributing author

This article was written by Joshua Krause and originally published at The Daily Sheeple.

Editor’s Comment: As the economy tilts towards outright instability, silver and gold (among other precious metals) are worthwhile items to have. So it is no wonder that the price of silver is at a highpoint right now.

Anyone paying attention has to be wondering how much long the paper dollars in hand – or worse, inside a bank and beyond the reach of the ATM – will be worth much of anything at all. Is a tipping point coming?

Silver Explodes: Precious Metal Price Reaches 11 Month High

by Joshua Krause

In recent months a lot of attention has been given to gold. After a decade long rally that saw its price rise above $1,800 per ounce, gold has disappointing investors after floundering for the past 3 years. But now the precious metal is rallying again. The price of gold has increased by 17% this year, making the 1st quarter of 2016 the most impressive in 30 years.

Silver however has been lagging behind. Despite normally keeping pace with gold, silver has only increased 8% this year, but that may be about to change. Silver was up by more than 4% on Tuesday and briefly reached over $17 an ounce; the highest it’s been in 11 months. It’s believed that the gold-silver ratio is what’s driving the price. The two metals typically rise and fall together, and investors believe that silver is poised to catch up to gold.

But more than that, the price of both metals has grown in light of a weakening dollar, volatile markets, and concerns that a major recession is on its way. Most hedge funds are currently betting that the gold rally isn’t over yet, and the number of contracts on gold futures hasn’t been this high since 2012.

What do you think? Is gold and silver finally ready to break out and recover from the losses of the past few years?

—

This article was written by Joshua Krause and originally published at The Daily Sheeple.

Joshua Krause is a reporter, writer and researcher at The Daily Sheeple. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a freelance writer and author. You can follow Joshua’s reports at Facebook or on his personal Twitter. Joshua’s website is Strange Danger .

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

How to Start #Prepping Without Breaking the #Bank: “All About Self-Reliance”

April 21, 2016 by mac slavo

You don’t necessarily have to pull out your wallet, and pay big bucks for storable food, emergency camping equipment, ammo and fatigues… though you can if you want.

Instead, if you are just starting to prep, check out these essential items and focus most of all on the mindset of being ready for anything.

This video by the Dynamic Prepper gives some good insight into doing what counts – instead of what costs.

The Dynamic Prepper writes:

Top Ten things to get to start your prepping. Have you wanted to prep but don’t know where to start because of too much info and too many big prepping companies telling you to buy expensive “starting packages”. Tell those prepping corps. to take a hike!!! Start this list today. With a little money and weekends worth of shopping you will be well on your way to keeping yourself and your family fed and safe in extreme times.

In many cases you can make your own kits – for first aid, bug out bags and more – and perhaps you should.

Not only could it save money, but it will ensure that you are thinking about the use and purpose of every item you intend to carry or use.

5 Mistakes Every New Prepper Makes

How Horrific Will It Be For The Non-Prepper?

29 Essential Tips for the New Prepper: “Start Small. Develop Your Skills. Create a Plan”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Is This The End Of The U.S #Dollar? Geopolitical Moves “Obliterate U.S Petrodollar Hegemony “

April 21, 2016 by mac slavo

It seems the end really is nigh for the U.S. dollar.

And the mudfight for global dominance and currency war couldn’t be more ugly or dramatic.

The Saudis are now openly threatening to take down the U.S. economy in the ongoing fallout over collapsing oil prices and tense geopolitical events involving the 9/11 cover-up. The New York Times reports:

Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

China has been working for years to establish global currency status, and will strengthen the yuan by backing it with gold in moves clearly designed to cripple the role of the dollar. Zero Hedge reports:

China’s shift to an official local-currency-based gold fixing is “the culmination of a two-year plan to move away from a US-centric monetary system,” according to Bocom strategist Hao Hong. In an insightfully honest Bloomberg TV interview, Hong admits that “by trading physical gold in renminbi, China is slowly chipping away at the dominance of US dollars.”

Putin also waits in the shadows, making similar moves and creating alliances to out-balance the United States with a growing Asian economy on the global stage.

Luke Rudkowski of WeAreChange asks “Is This The End of the U.S. Dollar?” in the video below.

He writes:

In this video Luke Rudkowski reports on the breaking news of both China and Saudi Arabia making geopolitical moves that could cause a U.S economic collapse and obliteration of the U.S hegemony petrodollar. We go over China’s new gold backed yuan that cannot be traded in U.S dollars and rising tension with Saudi Arabia threatening economic blackmail if their role in 911 is exposed.

Visit WeAreChange.org where this video report was first published.

The Federal Reserve, Henry Kissinger, the Rockefellers and their allies created the petrodollar and insisted upon the world using the U.S. dollar to buy oil, placing debt in American currency and entire countries under the yoke of the West.

But that paradigm has been crumbling as world order shifts away from U.S. hegemony.

It is a matter of when – not if – these events will change the U.S. financial landscape forever.

As SHTF has warned, major events are taking place, and no one can say if stability will be here tomorrow.

Stay vigilant, and prepare yourself and your family as best as you can.

Here’s How We Got Here: A Short Primer On The History Of The Petrodollar

Shock Report: China Dumps Half a Trillion Dollars: “Something Is Very, Very Wrong”

Dollar Moves Shake the World: “Federal Reserve Could Start a Currency War”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Which Produce Has the Most #Pesticides? Here are the 14 Foods You MUST Buy Organic

April 21, 2016 by daisy luther

April 21, 2016

Having a nutrient rich dinner tonight? Want a salad? Choosing healthful ingredients like kale, spinach, tomatoes, and cucumbers?

Here’s the sad truth: unless that salad is organic, those healthful-sounding ingredients could contain more pesticide residue than nearly anything else on the produce aisle. Sure, Big Agri will tell you that the pesticides they use are different and that they won’t harm you, but scientific evidence does not back up their claims.

The good news is, you can avoid all that and you can also speak out by voting with your wallet. The Environmental Working Group has announced their annual Dirty Dozen list for 2016, featuring the foods with the most pesticides. This year, there are two “bonus” foods to avoid when conventionally grown.

Here’s why you need to avoid food raised with the use of pesticides.

I looked at the sentence I just typed and thought, wow, it should be evident why we should avoid those foods. Why would we want to eat something that has been doused in a chemical that kills another organism? In what world does that possibly make sense?

But the thing is, it has become normalized. Everyone knows the plants are sprayed. Big Agri has made it seem like food simply cannot go from seed to table without a heavy, frequent dousing. Anyone who has ever raised even a tomato plant in a pot on the patio knows that is not the case, though.

Pesticides are a big deal. Huge. The ingestion of pesticides can cause health problems such as “birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.” Especially at risk of harm from pesticides are children. The EPA, you know, the same group that approves pesticides for use, ironically warns:

Infants and children may be especially sensitive to health risks posed by pesticides for several reasons:

their internal organs are still developing and maturing,

in relation to their body weight, infants and children eat and drink more than adults, possibly increasing their exposure to pesticides in food and water.

certain behaviors–such as playing on floors or lawns or putting objects in their mouths–increase a child’s exposure to pesticides used in homes and yards.

Pesticides may harm a developing child by blocking the absorption of important food nutrients necessary for normal healthy growth. Another way pesticides may cause harm is if a child’s excretory system is not fully developed, the body may not fully remove pesticides. Also, there are “critical periods” in human development when exposure to a toxin can permanently alter the way an individual’s biological system operates. (source)

The website What’s On My Food takes a stronger stance than the EPA regarding the risks of pesticides.

The human health impacts linked to pesticide exposure range from birth defects and childhood brain cancer in the very young, to Parkinsons’ Disease in the elderly. In between are a variety of other cancers, developmental and neurological disorders, reproductive and hormonal system disruptions, and more.

Autism

Breast Cancer

Children’s diseases

Endosulfan

Gestational diabetes

Parkinson’s Disease

I know organic food is expensive. I know your Grandma and your Great Uncle Henry never bought fancy organic produce at Whole Foods and both lived to be 110 and that you, personally, are most likely the picture of health. But things have changed since Grandma and Great Uncle Henry were kids.

Every day, folks who are trying to make good choices end up ingesting a daily dose of poison. Why would you willingly ingest poison if you know it’s there? That’s what this list is all about: knowing the poison is there.

These are the 14 worst fruits and veggies on the market when conventionally raised.

There are a few new entries on the EWG’s naughty list this year. If you can’t afford to eat strictly organic (and who can these days?), be sure that these are the foods you splurge on.

Strawberries
Apples
Nectarines
Peaches
Celery
Grapes
Cherries
Spinach
Tomatoes
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumbers

Bonus Badness:

Hot Peppers
Kale/Collard Greens

These foods are grown with fewer pesticides.

To help budget your trip to the organic aisle, these are foods that the EWG says can be purchased with less risk. Farmers use fewer chemicals when raising the following fruits and vegetables. You may notice that two of the items on the list are marked with an asterisk. That’s because these foods are frequently genetically modified. So, you might be avoiding pesticides, but if you’re also trying to avoid GMOs, go for the organic versions of these, also.

Avocados
Corn*
Pineapples
Cabbage
Green Peas
Onions
Asparagus
Mangoes
Papayas*
Kiwi
Eggplant
Honeydew Melon
Grapefruit
Canteloup
Cauliflower

Avoid the food with the most pesticides without breaking the bank

Do you have some local farmers near you that sell vegetables all summer? Get to know them and ask how they raise their food! Even without the organic designation, many small farms do not use pesticides like commercial farms do. You can find a local farm or market HERE.

Better yet – you can easily grow quite of few of these yourself! This link will help you learn how to start a garden on a strict budget and at this link you can find more than 300 resources to help you free yourself from the food system.

Take control of your health by making informed choices about what you put into your body. There are many ways to skip the side of poison with dinner. How do you avoid the side of poison in your kitchen? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

U.S. Ranks Dismally in #Press #Freedom As #Obama Wages “War on Whistleblowers Who Leak Info”

April 21, 2016 by mac slavo

America’s proud moniker of ‘Leader of the Free World’ is slipping fast into the recesses of increasingly authoritarian and secretive government.

The World Press Freedom Index, issued by the Watchdog group Reporters Without Borders, ranked the United States at a dismal No. 41 out of 180 countries – putting it just barely in the top quarter of nations, which itself was actually an ‘improvement’ over the past year.

That is a far cry from the perceptions that most Americans have cherished, and politicians have so frequently touted in televised speeches.

The U.S. has lost a lot of ground in such rankings over the course of the past several years of repression in the post-9/11 world and in particular with the clamp down and persecution of whistleblowers, and the journalists who enable them.

According to NPR:

The U.S. is ranked 41 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, which measures the “level of freedom of information in 180 countries.”

Citing the U.S. government’s “war on whistleblowers who leak information about its surveillance activities, spying and foreign operations, especially those linked to counter-terrorism,” and the country’s lack of a “shield law” that would allow journalists to protect confidential sources, the report takes a decidedly negative view of U.S. press freedom.

[…] as NPR’s Sam Sanders has reported:

“[Obama’s] Justice Department has cracked down on reporters in an effort to prevent leaks; it also set a new record for withholding access to government files under the Freedom of Information Act (despite calling for a “new era of openness” on his first day in office);

Basically, every major Western democracy ranked ahead of the U.S. in freedoms, and the overall trend is in decline, and a lack of respect for the rights of photographers, citizen journalists and even credentialed press – particularly when asking inconvenient questions with real substance.

[…] The group’s U.S. Director Delphine Halgand says in the report that there is still “room for improvement in the country of the First Amendment.”

The reaction to leaks by Edward Snowden, Chelsea (Bradley) Manning and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have epitomized this, but there have been many other whistleblowers who were ignored and mistreated.

Former CBS investigative reporter Sheryl Attkisson was harassed by a host of alphabet agencies who hacked her computer and let it be known that her reports on the scandals of the Obama Administration would not be welcomed. Michael Snyder wrote:

Let’s review what has happened to former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson. She was an award-winning journalist for more than thirty years, but that didn’t stop the Obama administration from systematically harassing her. In her new book entitled Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington, she makes some extremely startling claims. She believes that the harassment and intimidation that she experienced were the direct result of her determination to get to the truth about Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the green energy scandals and Obamacare. The following are some of the main points that she has been sharing with the media in recent weeks…

-While she was working at CBS News her computers were hacked by the government, her keystrokes were monitored and potentially incriminating classified material was planted on her hard drive.

There are many more cases, but most of them never make the news, and some are difficult to confirm or report on.

The point is that our rights are slipping away, and the system itself is becoming more entrenched with corruption, and more secretive by the day.

Moreover, it has become sophisticated about its branding and image – Obama appears jovial and friendly towards the ideas of democracy, but in substance his administration has not respected the First Amendment, and obviously not the Second, nor the Fourth Amendment, or due process.

Of course, the most dangerous agencies, like the NSA and CIA, stand above any president, and carry on actions that undermine the rights of Americans as a matter of course, and readily use national security as a pretext to steamroll over the Bill of Rights whenever they get the chance.

Things will only get worse from here unless the core issues are dealt with.

New Study Confirms: “The United States Is No Democracy… But Actually An Oligarchy” Dominated By The Economic Elite

National Guard Whistleblower: “Doomsday Preppers Will Be Treated As Terrorists”

Former Breitbart Reporter Receiving Death Threats Over Revealing Obama’s ‘Fake’ Past: “Ever seen a photo of a pregnant Michelle Obama?”

When Is It OK To Tell The Truth In America?

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

The Video That Could Bring Down #Hillary #Clinton’s Campaign

April 20, 2016 by claire bernish

Claire Bernish
April 20, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) After New York’s stunningly disorganized and questionable primary results proved, yet again, our elections are rigged to ensure establishment darling Hillary Clinton garners the Democratic nomination, a new video from Abby Martin’s Empire Files could topple Clinton’s entire campaign.

Evidence of said rigging isn’t difficult to find — it’s written directly into the electoral process in superdelegates, whose 700 “unpledged” votes remain uncommitted to a candidate until the nomination. This is “to ensure nominees are hand-picked party insiders,” as Martin explains in the video.

“The single vote of a superdelegate is worth thousands of ours,” Martin notes. “Many of these people are current and former members of Congress, and dozens more are literally corporate lobbyists working on behalf of every industry from healthcare to private prisons.”

In fact, the employment of superdelegates was initiated precisely for situations when the people’s choice doesn’t align with the establishment’s — such as the current overwhelming popularity of Bernie Sanders.

But the web of corporate media executives and insiders contributing directly to Hillary Clinton’s campaign couldn’t possibly explain the extreme bias, lack of criticism, and virtual media blackout on Sanders’ success, right? And her campaign, dripping with corporate lobbying cash, wouldn’t concern the American voting public, even though lobbyists literally act as superdelegates — would it?

Watch Empire Files: Abby Martin Exposes What Hillary Clinton Really Represents to see the proof the establishment doesn’t want you to discover.

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This article (The Video That Could Bring Down Hillary Clinton’s Campaign) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: Gage Skidmore. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team

Shock: #Denver Schools To Patrol Students With Military-Style #Rifles: “Certainly Ratchets Up A Notch”

April 20, 2016 by mac slavo

Are children safe in public schools?

If the answer seems pretty obvious, it is confirmation that society has definitely gone to extremes that would not have been recognizable in past decades of American history.

Now Denver-area schools are becoming the first to guard their student populations with military-style semiautomatic rifles, and things certainly appear to be escalating.

via NBC News/AP:

A suburban Denver school district is arming its security staff with military-style semiautomatic rifles in case of a school shooting or other violent attack, a move that appears unprecedented even as more schools arm employees in response to mass violence elsewhere.

The guards, who are not law enforcement officers, already carry handguns.

[…]

The move raised new questions about how far school officials should go in arming employees, a practice that has become standard in the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

One can only hope that these weapons would stop a shooter before they could hurt anyone, but there isn’t any guarantee.

Active shooters, mass killings and militarized police and security now haunt the halls where education and learning is supposed to be taking place. More children than ever before are on pharmaceutical medications, despite the known links to suicide and homicide. Between Common Core and politically-correct policies, these institutions are teaching that up-is-down, and down-is-up like never before.

One school in Florida even punished a 16-year old student for wrestling a gunman threatening other students to the ground and preventing a shooting. Active shooter and martial law drills have become commonplace, and many of them have been unannounced, causing terror and panic in students and teachers.

While most schools remain “gun-free zones” and have been reluctant to allow teachers to be armed in the case of the worst incidents, many have readily invested in armed security, surveillance technology and counter-terrorism approaches to “safety” in schools.

The result has been a heightened atmosphere that is increasingly paranoid, and ready to treat anyone and everyone as potential suspects – including children:

Ken Trump, a school safety consultant in Cleveland, said the Douglas County case may mark the first time a district has equipped its in-house security officers with semiautomatic rifles.

“Taking this step certainly ratchets up a notch the whole idea, the question of what’s reasonable, what’s necessary in terms of arming officers,” Trump said.

But are they being protected from potential violence, or indoctrinated in a police state society where even children are under sharp suspicion, and misbehavior is criminalized? Can we see down the road as to whether this is likely to tend towards more freedom, or less? More armed citizens is positive, but more guns only in the hands of police, but private and public, may prove not be.

Regardless, it is a precedent for the growing police state society that expects individuals to conform to the masses, and obey authorities at all costs. Michael Snyder argued that public schools are purposely preparing students to live in such a society:

Our children are the future of America, and our public schools are systematically training them to become accustomed to living in a “Big Brother” police state. All across the United States today, public schools have essentially become “prison grids” that are run by control freaks that are absolutely obsessed with micromanaging the lives of their students down to the smallest detail. As you will read about below, students all over the country are now being monitored by RFID microchips, their lunches are being inspected on a daily basis by school administrators, and the social media accounts of students are being constantly monitored even when they are at home.

[…] One thing that was unheard of back when I was in high school was “active shooter drills”. They are being held in school districts all over the nation today, and they often involve the firing of blanks and the use of fake blood.

In typical fashion, Snyder goes on to make a long list of bizarre school practices that will make your head spin, and are, frankly, teaching the future members of society how to become helpless slaves.

Everyone can see that there is a problem, but nobody seems to know the way to fix it.

There is a fine line somewhere in there…

Zero Tolerance: High School Student Suspended For Disarming School Bus Gunman

Unannounced Shooter Drill Terrifies Students: “I Thought He Was Going to Shoot Me”

First School Installs $100K Shooting Detection System: “Alerts of Gunfire Within 1 Second, Near Zero False Alerts”

Should Your Kids Know How to Bug Out…from School?

1956: “America Peaked Back Then and We’ve Been In Decline Ever Since”

School Threatens to Take Kids If Parents Are Late for Pickup

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

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