obama

#Preppers Warn #Obama Dividing the Country: Prepare to “Live Through a Civil War”

May 19, 2016 by mac slavo

Is civil war coming to America?

Those of us watching see the signs, and have witnessed our rights being trampled upon. That’s why so many have been prepping for what is coming.

Now a prominent prepper author is warning that Americans must also be prepared to stave off a complete divide in this country as Obama’s term is coming to an end.

According to the Washington Examiner:

President Obama has pushed the “prepper movement” into high gear, sending millions to buy guns, survival gear and food to live through a “civil war,” according to a nationally known survivalist who calls on Americans to prepare in a new book.

Bryce M. Towsley, whose “Prepper Guns” details the best weapons and ammo to survive a political or natural disaster …

[…]

“Americans are pitted against Americans as Obama has divided us on a course for civil war,” he wrote in the 270/-page hardback that echoes many of the complaints heard by supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

No one knows what the flashpoint would be, but there is good reason to think that a big, disruptive event or period is coming.

There has already been violence and rioting at Trump rallies, and between the Bernie Sanders and Hillary factions… and things could easily get much crazier when the RNC and DNC conventions arrive.

But the politics are just surface indicators for the huge issues that are destroying the fabric of the nation.

Economic issues are sharpening, and good jobs are just not available for many people. The squeeze between rising living expenses and stagnate wages is making more and more families downright desperate. Automation is replacing low end jobs, and the future is going to be tough, especially for those entering into the workforce for the first time.

Riot-ready factions and political groups are forcing these issues and more into the streets, and police have become a target for protests and even direct attack.

“Police are now the enemy and, in many places, can’t or won’t continue to do their jobs. The military has been decimated and he has fired most of the top military leadership. The Supreme Court has been bought and paid for and many of its recent rulings are bizarre, to say the least.

[…]

Preppers aren’t standing by… “The time is now to prepare for what’s coming,” he wrote.

All of this spells potential disaster and unrest for the cities of America.

The federal authorities have been preparing with riot gear and weapons of war; FEMA and Homeland Security regularly exercise for martial law and plans to clamp down on potential unrest.

But preppers and constitutional militias will also be ready to defend the rule of law, prevent destruction and provide for their communities when they need it most. And most of all, to survive and avoid the worst, no matter what.

Homeland Trains Police for Riots, Civil Unrest: “This Training Has Never Been in Texas Before”

Authorities Fear Civil Unrest, Buy Up Gear To “Arrest, Disperse, Control Riots”

The Poor Man’s Guide To Survival Gear

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

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

“#Unconstitutional”: Federal Judge Rules #Obamacare Illegally Funded Without Congress Authorization

May 13, 2016 by mac slavo

The above image is a generic one from the type of SWAT raids the police state has become known for. Though President Obama pretends that he is against these kinds of ‘military vehicles on the streets of America’ is represents exactly how the federal government intends to enforce its Obamacare mandate (it’s already happening with student loans).

Make no mistake, the IRS is armed and the age of debtor’s prison is back in vogue, along with everything else ungodly and unconstitutional. “Tax cheats” and Tea Party-like political targets – now monitored and penalized in fines and audits – will no doubt cross paths with a SWAT team before long.

No one knows the hour, but everyone knows the routine. It is coming, and the witnesses are line up and down the aisle. The proverbial writing is on the wall.

This is a tyranny. It is dressed up in political theater and subtle rationales for the scofflaws and dissidents it targets.

It is the people in mainstream society who must bear the outrageous costs of health care – driven up by self-interested pharmaceuticals, drug listeria, etc. – by being forced at gunpoint to pay for insurance that is unaffordable and so inept and slow as to detriment the health of the people who must rely upon it.

This system encourages sick people, and creates loopholes for crony financiers to reap the profits. It is the people who must pay for it… say what you will, but there is little promise that it will be overturned.

Nevertheless, it is “historic” that a federal judge has ruled that at least one aspect of Obamacare is certainly “unconstitutional” – based on a lawsuit by House Republicans over part of the language of the Obamacare law (in which a vague promise of Federal subsidies for health insurers that cover low income people is made but does not include proper funding or authorization from Congress).

It is significant, but hardly the whole enchilada.

The L.A. Times reports:

House Republicans won Round 2 in a potentially historic lawsuit Thursday when a federal judge declared the Obama administration was unconstitutionally spending money to subsidize health insurers without obtaining an appropriation from Congress.

Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer broke new ground by ruling the GOP-controlled House of Representatives had legal standing to sue the president over how he was enforcing his signature healthcare law.

On Thursday, she ruled the administration is violating a provision of the law by paying promised reimbursements to health insurers who provide coverage at reduced costs to low-income Americans.

[…]

The Constitution says “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law,” Collyer noted, but the administration has continued to pay billions to insurers for their extra cost of providing health coverage.

“Paying [those] reimbursements without an appropriation thus violates the Constitution,” she wrote. “Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one.”

[…]

“This suit represents the first time in our nation’s history that Congress has been permitted to sue the executive branch over a disagreement about how to interpret a statute,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters.

It is certainly true, and should be respected, that Congress alone among the three branches holds the public purse.

It will likely be turned over on appeal, and the whole process may head again to the Supreme Court… but that audience is cold to such arguments. Scalia is now quite dead, and what’s left is a travesty for the Constitution.

Much of the damage has already been done; other destruction is coming.

THE UNFOLDING ERA OF TYRANNY

Though the soft phase of the ‘velvet glove’ is still operating on the surface, the worm has already turned. Debt and decline have set into this once great nation; the barbarians have long ago been let in the gate. Useful hordes of low wage immigrants and forced-cultural clashes keep the focus off the titans who pull the strings and force ordinary Americans into a no-win situation, and mocking choices of opposing-collaborators in its leadership “choices.”

The debt can never be repaid, and won’t be anyway through the policy avenues that now exist. The bankers have successfully looted the Treasury, and set up the Federal Reserve as an all-you-can-eat bankers buffet.

The system is collapsing, and these have always been dark days for patriots; the pattern has repeated many times over just in the 20th Century alone.

Today, Venezuela is in obvious collapse, and the people are being brutally starved and repressed. Meanwhile, the same is happening in slow motion in America, though the appearance may be different.

The oligarchs bankrolling Obama’s presidency have inflated the vehicles of socialism, socialized medicine and welfare benefits, only to profit off no-bid contracts and carefully channeled returns through fees, charges and guaranteed business shares. The pensions have been handily disappeared into the derivatives blackhole-market, as equity pirates loot the community chests and leave retirees hanging with a bad haircut.

Ideologues have refused to see why being forced to buy into a socialized system is so wrong and detrimental on every level.

Freedom is being extinguished, and the day is coming when many will meet face to face with SWAT teams and warrant sweeps for unpaid debts to the State.

Be very cautious about what is approaching…

Here are some other snapshots in this unfolding tyranny (It runs the course of years, not hours):

Your “Children Will Be Fined” If You Fail To Sign Up For Obamacare: People Are Going To Be In for A Shock

Short on Cash, “Poor Americans Ending Up in Modern-Day Debtors’ Prison” Over Traffic Fines

“Income Tax Is Government Theft” and IRS Is a Lawless Thief

The Most Important Supreme Court Cases “Derailed” By Scalia’s Death: Amnesty, Obamacare & Guns

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

#Obama Jokes About the “End of the #Republic,” Giving Speeches to #GoldmanSachs

May 3, 2016 by antimedia

Elizabeth Montag
May 2, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) If the corporate media wasn’t gushing over Justin Bieber’s new haircut or the nation’s lingering transphobia bathroom drama this weekend, it was lauding President Obama for his speech at the final White House Correspondents’ dinner of his presidency.

The black-tie dinner draws the nation’s top celebrities, journalists, and politicians and includes a stand-up comedy routine from the president. The assemblage of attendees often resembles the elite crowd that populates the lavish capital in the Hunger Games — and the president’s statements this weekend detail an oligarchical American society similar to that depicted in the dystopic novels.

This year, the president seemed unusually candid about the country’s state of affairs — even if he articulated them in a comedic, albeit smug, way.

“It is an honor to be here at my last — and perhaps the last White House Correspondents’ dinner,” he said as he opened his set, obviously referencing the increasingly doomed presidential race.

“You all look great. The end of the republic has never looked better,” he said to laughs and applause.

“If this material works well, I’m gonna use it at Goldman Sachs next year,” he said.

[embedded content]

The joke could have been referencing his former Attorney General, Eric Holder’s new job at a law firm that lobbies for corporate banks — or, more likely, Hillary Clinton’s exorbitant fees for giving speeches to the loathed company. His comments are particularly jarring considering he accepted massive donations from Goldman Sachs and its employees during both of his presidential campaigns, and upon taking office, invited former Goldman Sachs employees to join his cabinet. He has famously failed to take any meaningful action against big banks.

In spite of his acknowledgment of Goldman Sachs as an influential player in American politics, he appeared to indirectly endorse Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, which has been marred by the influence of special interests, including Goldman Sachs.

“Next year someone else will be standing here in this very spot, and it’s anyone’s guess who she will be,” he said. The president dished out tame insults to all of the presidential candidates, ultimately turning his attention to the chairman of the Republican Party, whom Donald Trump has said “should be ashamed of himself” for the Republicans’ attempts to thwart his nomination.

“GOP chairman Reince Priebus is here as well. Glad to see you feel you earned the night off. Congratulations on all your success. The Republican Party, the nomination process … it’s all going great,” Obama sarcastically quipped.

The president also focused his attention on journalism and freedom of the press in the United States. Whether or not he intended to highlight the revolving door between government and corporate news, he did exactly that.

“Key staff are now starting to leave the White House. Even reporters have left me. Savannah Guthrie, she’s left the White House Press Corps to host the Today show. Norah O’Donnell left the briefing room to host CBS This Morning. Jake Tapper left journalism to join CNN,” he said.

He also joked about the power of journalists to hold politicians and government accountable, referencing a recent award-winning film about reporters:

“As you know, Spotlight is a film, a movie about investigative journalists with the resources and the autonomy to chase down the truth and hold the powerful accountable. Best fantasy film since Star Wars. Look — that was maybe a cheap shot.”

Adding insult to injury, the president, who has worked tirelessly to silence journalists, told reporters in attendance that though they have not always seen eye to eye with him, he still appreciates their work:

“But we’ve always shared the same goal — to root our public discourse in the truth; to open the doors of this democracy; to do whatever we can to make our country and our world more free and more just. And I’ve always appreciated the role that you have all played as equal partners in reaching these goals.”

Obama has presided over the country’s slip in press freedom rankings, the prosecution of whistleblowers, and the intimidation of journalists. The corporate media he addressed in his speech has, in that same time, shown its corruption and lack of concern for the truth. Amid the current election cycle, establishment news outlets have shown their role is not to educate, but to manipulate, yet Obama maintained “[their] power and [their] responsibility to dig and to question and to counter distortions and untruths is more important than ever.”

As the media celebrated his epic “mic drop” at the end of his stand-up routine, those reading between the lines of his performance witnessed the not-so-secretive mechanisms of chaos, power, and corruption in Washington — as joked about by a president who maintained them.

This article (Obama Jokes About the “End of the Republic,” Giving Speeches to Goldman Sachs) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Elizabeth Montag and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. Image credit: Edalisse Hirst. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article at edits@theantimedia.org.

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#Sheriffs Call for Defying Unconstitutional #GunControl: Feds “The Greatest Threat We Face” #2A

April 29, 2016 by mac slavo

As the federal government continues in its quest to restrict the rights of gun owners across the country, local law enforcement is stepping up their response.

For many, it is one of a line in the sand against a bevy of agencies based in Washington, and partnering state agencies, who have violated the constitution.

The still-growing Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), headed by former Sheriff Richard Mack, is standing up to these infringements, and saying no.

Of course, it has the attention of the indoctrinated Big Government folks, who are apt to see a group of law enforcement officials standing up for the rule of law as – what else, a potential threat.

via the Washington Post:

[A] group called the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is intent on strictly enforcing their view of the U.S. Constitution … “its ambition is to encourage law enforcement officers to defy laws they decide themselves are illegal.” In essence, they are troubled by the overreach of the federal government in matters concerning guns, taxes and land management, and founder Richard Mack has described the federals as “the greatest threat we face today,” and his association as “the army to set our nation free.”

[…] At the association’s 2014 convention, dozens of sheriffs signed a declaration that they would not tolerate any federal agent who attempted to register firearms, arrest someone or seize property in their counties without their consent.

At a recent training for local police, the CPI reported, Mack declared that “gun control is against the law” and that his goal was to sign up about one-fourth of the nation’s sheriffs to join the association… find a true constitutional sheriff who’ll tell the federal government, ‘You’re not going to abuse citizens anymore.’”

Of course, it is his backbone and conviction that has the system worried – along with his ability to activate what is arguably the most powerful group in the nation at the ground level – the nation’s 3,000 or so sheriffs, who are elected and serve as the highest law enforcement official within the county unit.

Richard Mack, who successfully staved off federal encroachment at the Supreme Court level back in the 90s, described his CSPOA association as “the army to set our nation free.”

The media has been quick to demonize the fiery rhetoric for these constitutional-minded members of law enforcement. But the battle is grounded in sound ideology, and a principle that literally millions of Americans are prepared to fight for.

Last year, a police chief from a tiny East Texas town went on a rant warning President Obama that further attempts to impose gun control would “cause a revolution in this country.” It is entirely possible that this is no exaggeration or bravado:

“Now Mr. Obama, you need to understand what the 2nd Amendment is for. It is not for hunting. It is there for the American people to protect themselves against the criminal element, to protect themselves against terrorists and radical ideology, and it’s also there to protect us against a government that has overreached its power.”

“You are not our potentate, sir. You are our servant. And you were elected to serve and protect us first. And I suggest, sir, since you’re a constitutional expert, that you better review your history on the Constitution and understand that we are a free people. And we are subject to no one other than the almighty God and Jesus Christ the King. And as such, sir, I strongly encourage you to trust the law-abiding American citizen, because we won’t fail you and we won’t let you down. But if you try to disarm us, sir, then you will cause a revolution in this country to occur. So please revise your thinking, because we are not your enemy, the law-abiding gun owner in this country.”

Richard Mack’s case originated from his defiant stand when he was sheriff of Graham County in Arizona and an attempt was made to get local LEOs to perform background checks for the federal government under the Brady Bill. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia led the decision upholding the stand for the 2nd Amendment under the 10th Amendment – marking one of the most constitutionally-sound decisions in recent history.

Mack struck a blow for states’ rights in the 1990s as a sheriff from Graham County, Arizona, when he and a sheriff from Montana challenged the Brady Bill’s interim requirement that local law enforcement agencies perform background checks on gun buyers. The Supreme Court ruled in Mack’s favor, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion affirming the states’ sovereignty under the 10th Amendment …

[…]Mack said “the government was forcing me to participate in a gun control scheme that I knew was unconstitutional. When all law enforcement is forced into that position by state or federal legislators, which one do we side with? And I believe there is a proper way to conduct oneself in knowing the difference between enforcing stupid laws and enforcing the principles of the Constitution.”

“[W]hen all the courts are against you, all the legislators are against you, where else do you go? I believe to the local county sheriff…and if that means standing against the federal government, then so damn be it.”

Sheriff Blocks Feds From Harassing Raw Milk Farmer: “Stem the Tide of Federal Overreach”

The Most Important Supreme Court Cases “Derailed” By Scalia’s Death: Amnesty, Obamacare & Guns

“The 2nd Amendment Will Be Under Siege Before The Election” – New Supreme Court Nominee Supports Whatever Big Government Wants

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Did #Bernie #Sanders Just Go Full Establishment? #feelthebern

April 27, 2016 by michaela whitton

Michaela Whitton
April 27th, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Comments made by Bernie Sanders this week may just have blindsided and disillusioned swathes of his support base. Some of those with higher expectations of the ‘peacenik’ candidate breathed a collective sigh of disappointment after he endorsed Obama’s extrajudicial drone assassination program.

At the same time, the Democratic candidate backed the recent deployment of 250 U.S. troops to further death and destruction in Syria. During the town hall meeting at Philadelphia’s National Constitution centre, he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that the people of the United States have a right to defend themselves. The warmongering endorsement, which could have easily slid under the radar, was slotted into a much wider discussion that included vote-winners like Planned Parenthood, violence against women, marijuana, and gun control.

Despite acknowledging he would do everything to avoid perpetual war in the Middle East, when asked if he would he keep the government’s secret “kill list” if he were to become President, the “progressive” candidate was unhesitant: “Look. Terrorism is a very serious issue. There are people out there who want to kill Americans, who want to attack this country, and I think we have a lot of right to defend ourselves,” he said.

Asked if he thinks the current method in which the White House decides which suspected terrorists are added to the ‘kill list’ is constitutional and legal, he added:

“In general I do, yes.”

While some Bernie supporters came to the slow and painful realisation that there are no saviours, others took to Twitter and accused him of being a quasi-socialist warmonger and brutal imperialist. It appears that soon, the only ones ‘feeling the Bern’ will be the families killed by the drone programme that he fully supports.

This article (Did Bernie Sanders Just Go Full Establishment?) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton 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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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

Rich Flee #Chicago Amid Racial Strife, Civil #Unrest: “Turning Into A Crime Infested Hell Hole”

April 11, 2016 by mac slavo

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

Editor’s Comment: Those who pull the strings are apt to push racial division and general chaos, as the economic avalanche falls in on the population at large. Uncertain about why finances and money become so difficult, most will fall into the trap of faction-vs-faction on the streets, as the elite helicopter away on profits derived from our general demise.

Taxpayer bailouts, harsher regulations, and more and more policing of every aspect of life would soon follow. If Chicago goes the way of Detroit, it will be not only because of crime and racial tension, but because the jobs, the opportunity and the future have all been shipped overseas and sold off to the highest bidder.

Millionaires Fearing Civil Unrest Are Fleeing Chicago By The Thousands

by Joshua Krause

As time goes on the city of Chicago is rapidly turning into a crime infested hell hole, rife with poverty, debt, and racial tension. The city is well on its way to joining the likes of Detroit, and there may be no escaping that eventuality. That’s why many of the city’s wealthy elites are getting the hell out of there.

The Chicago Tribune reports that roughly 3,000 millionaires have left the city over the past year alone, which amounts to about 2 percent of their wealthy population. This is the largest exodus of wealthy people in the United States, and one of the largest in the world. Paris and Rome are the only cities that lost more millionaires than Chicago in the same time period.

According to research, many of these elites are relocating to other cities in the United States such as Seattle and San Francisco, which saw a net inflow of millionaires over the past year. When asked about why they were leaving Chicago, most of these millionaires cited racial tension and rising crime rates.

If you happen to live in Chicago, take a hint from the people with insider knowledge and connections, and get out while you still can.

—–

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 .

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

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Surprised? #Belgium Knew Terror Attack Was Coming: “Advance and Precise Intelligence Warnings”

March 24, 2016 by contributing author

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

Editor’s Comment: If the true facts were to come out, they would so totally contradict the official narrative that the entire paradigm of NATO and the whole of the conflicts in the Middle East would look completely different. If people only understood how manufactured and targeted the terrorism was – in serving as a cattle prod to action – the population would revolt over night.

Instead, the weight of tragedy, of tears and loss and the psychological impact of fear and shock take over logical thinking and, of course, all the world’s headlines. Instead, the reality of these attacks are deceptively spun as an enemy instead of as a deliberate catalyst. Then again, no one is buying the red pill, and they just can’t seem to keep enough blue in stock to keep everybody going. The will of the people seems to be to keep riding along with their abusers and captors, even when escape is possible and even likely. The people have learned helplessness, and become conditioned to action only through fear…

Surprised? Belgian Government Knew Terror Attack Was Coming

by Joshua Krause

On the surface, there really isn’t anything mysterious about Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Brussels. Belgium carried out a small bombing campaign against ISIS last year, and roughly 100 of their military personnel remain in the Middle East in advisory roles. Couple that with the fact that Belgium has a sizeable migrant population from the Middle East, and many of their urban neighborhoods have become no go zones for the authorities, and it becomes shocking that an attack like this didn’t happen sooner.

The country is so out of control, that it has become a breeding ground for Islamic terror groups who use the country as a staging area for future attacks against Europe. In fact, the assailants who committed the brutal terrorist attack in Paris last November were originally based in Belgium.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a terrorist attack was attempted in this country, and it isn’t first time this has happened. The only thing that’s unique about it this time around, is the scale of the devastation. What is surprising however, is the fact that the Belgian government couldn’t prevent this attack. According to some sources like Haaretz, Belgian authorities should have known this was coming.

The Belgian security services, as well as other Western intelligence agencies, had advance and precise intelligence warnings regarding the terrorist attacks in Belgium on Tuesday, Haaretz has learned.

The security services knew, with a high degree of certainty, that attacks were planned in the very near future for the airport and, apparently, for the subway as well.

Despite the advance warning, the intelligence and security preparedness in Brussels, where most of the European Union agencies are located, was limited in its scope and insufficient for the severity and immediacy of the alert.

And that’s not all. Turkey’s President recently said something along similar lines.

Belgium had been notified of the terrorist links of one of the suicide bombers involved in the deadly Brussels attacks when he was deported from Turkey last year, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Belgian citizen was detained in Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep province, which borders Syria, in July of 2015, and was subsequently deported, Erdogan said.

“One of the attackers in Brussels is an individual we detained in Gaziantep in June 2015 and deported. We reported the deportation to the Belgian Embassy in Ankara on July 14, 2015, but he was later set free,” Erdogan said, as cited by Reuters.

“Belgium ignored our warning that this person is a foreign fighter,” he added.

Similar accusations were hurled at the Belgian government following the Paris terror attack. They had all the intel they needed to foil the terrorists, but completely bungled their counter-terror efforts. For many of you reading this, I’m sure alarm bells are ringing in your head. You may be wondering if a conspiracy of some kind is afoot. It almost seems too convenient for Belgium to repeatedly drop the ball on these attacks.

However, it’s just as likely that Belgian authorities are simply incompetent. That’s certainly what many U.S. intelligence officials believe.

News of Tuesday’s attack was met in some parts of Washington with resigned frustration.

“There was only so much we could do to help,” one official explained to The Daily Beast.

“Belgium has been stepping up the amount of people they’re devoting to intelligence and law enforcement but they’re playing catch-up and we’re seeing the terrible results of that today,” Rep. Adam Schiff, the senior Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said on MSNBC.

Indeed, an official said there were warnings as recent as this weekend.

A frustrated U.S. intelligence official bemoaned the state of the counterterrorism apparatus in Belgium and across Europe.

“Even with the EU in general, there’s an infiltration of jihadists that’s been happening for two decades. And now they’re just starting to work on this. When we have to contact these people or send our guys over to talk to them, we’re essentially talking with people who are—I’m just going to put it bluntly—children. They are not pro-active, they don’t know what’s going on. They’re in such denial. It’s such a frightening thing to admit their country is being taken over.”

So what do you think is going on? Is the Belgian government completely incompetent, or are they letting these attacks happen? Honestly, neither would surprise me at this point.

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

The Bubble Will Burst, But #Fed Is Waiting For Politics “With #Trump Lurking Around”

March 24, 2016 by mac slavo

It’s no conspiracy. The music will soon stop and the economy will take a big hit when the bubble bursts – even the timing has been chosen.

The Fed has been pumping easy money and buying time with future pain for years now, but the worm is turning. Only, the turn is taking a pause so as to avoid helping – yes – Donald Trump and his bid for the presidency.

SHTF just reported on the startling revelation that not only has quantative easing changed the financial landscape in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but it has been directly responsible for a full 93% of market action since that time.

The Federal Reserve is a leviathan if there ever was one. Even its whispers float boats and sink ships. Easy credit has gone so far beyond the logical extremes, and the proverbial roadrunner has pointed out that we are all hanging out over a cliff.

Contracting the money supply (by raising interest rates) is the snap reaction, but it will hurt. So they are prolonging the pain in order to shift the blame and distract everyone from the real problem as much as possible.

Like everything else, it is now somehow Donald Trump’s fault. This time, because the Fed is a in a position where it supposedly “can’t” raise markets and stabilize the economy.

Via the New York Post:

Like it or not, the Federal Reserve will play a big role in this year’s presidential election.

The Fed last week pulled back on its economic outlook for 2016 and beyond. […]

The upcoming election and, especially, the surprising strength of Donald Trump also make it almost impossible for the Fed to boost rates. If Trump gets elected, the Fed will almost immediately be hit by audits that will reveal lots of secret, sinister things.

So Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her fellow central bankers can’t do anything — like raise the cost of money — that might slow the economy down and give Trump a better shot at winning the presidency.

[…]

But then the Fed gets boxed in by politics, especially because of Trump. Even though it eased policy in a controversial move right before the re-election of President Obama, the Fed will probably use the November election as an excuse to freeze policy until after the vote. It doesn’t want the economy to weaken or, worse, the stock market to tank.

Wow.

Sounds like the Fed, which so often claims not to be political, is admitting to the political weight of its station – which is, incidentally, private and quite powerful indeed over American life. The “politics” are over calls to make it accountable, a task which is apparently insurmountable and somehow detrimental to economic stability, itself a fragile ghost.

The Federal Reserve’s power over monetary policy and the power it derives from issuing currency to the nation at interest are at the heart of why former Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul has called for auditing and ultimately ending the Fed:

Allowing a secretive central bank to control monetary policy has resulting in an ever-expanding government, growing income inequality, a series of ever-worsening economic crises, and a steady erosion of the dollar’s purchasing power. Unless this system is changed, America, and the world, will soon experience a major economic crisis. It is time to finally audit, then end, the Fed.

Donald Trump, who has proven to be a lightning rod on all issues, has pointed out that Janet Yellen is likely holding off on raising rate because it is clear from basic policy dynamics that the massive recession that has built up like a puss-filled sore would burst, and in turn, Obama’s Administration would appear culpable for the decline.

Instead, Trump has charged, the Fed is putting that off in order to avoid giving his candidacy a boost – nevertheless, the recession is probably inevitable, and a clear result of Federal Reserve monetary policy.

Yellen is “keeping the economy going, barely,” Trump told The Hill. “The reason they’re keeping the interest rate down is Obama doesn’t want to have a recession-slash-depression during his administration.”

He added: “Janet Yellen is highly political and she’s not raising rates for a very specific reason: because Obama told her not to because he wants to be out playing golf in a year from now and he wants to be doing other things and he doesn’t want to see a big bubble burst during his administration.”

They’ve got everyone at gun point, but the gun is concealed, and they won’t let anyone looking in their pockets or question their moves.

‘Don’t anybody get political around here, or the economy gets it…’

The problem with gun control is that criminals don’t follow the laws, and the rest of the economy is totally disarmed and unable to do anything about the hostile actions of the nation’s central bank, save the few who have a bit of gold or silver to turn to. This is economic autocracy in action.

Ron Paul: Unless the Fed is Stopped, America Will “Soon Experience Major Economic Crisis”

“Fed Risks Triggering Panic and Turmoil”: World Bank Warns Against Raising Rates

Federal Reserve Insider Alan Greenspan Warns: There Will Be a “Significant Market Event… Something Big Is Going To Happen”

Proof It Is Rigged: “Fed Moved 93% of Entire Stock Market Since 2008″

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Proof It Is Rigged: “Fed Moved 93% of Entire Stock Market Since 2008″

March 18, 2016 by mac slavo

Fact: The Federal Reserve has screwed over the country.

Monetary policy has been the single most important factor in the economy for some time.

A new analysis from economist Brian Barnier shows that while future GDP, household debt from credit cards and tech accounted for past bubbles in American history, the bubble that has risen since Obama became president is due to one – and only one – factor: the Federal Reserve.

And the private banking cartel – which masquerades as a public government institution – has become plenty controversial for its ties to elite hidden agendas and its debasement of the economy.

However, few Americans realize just how huge – and detrimental – this institution has become.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed, then chaired by Ben Bernanke, began an unprecedented quantitative easing (QE) program that literally changed everything.

During the last eight years, monetary policy has completely upended the economy, and concentrated wealth into fewer and fewer hands, while making it more and more difficult for ordinary people to stay afloat. This intervention has gone way, way too far and has driven up a particularly unstable bubble that is ready to burst.

Through QE and bond purchases, the Fed managed to double the S&P 500 value, while more than doubling its own balance sheet in the process.

Yahoo! Finance reported:

The factors behind that and previous bubbles can be illuminated using simple visual analysis of a chart.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) doubled in value from November 2008 to October 2014, coinciding with the Federal Reserve Bank’s “quantitative easing” asset purchasing program. After three rounds of “QE,” where the Fed poured billions of dollars into the bond market monthly, the Fed’s balance sheet went from $2.1 trillion to $4.5 trillion.

This isn’t just a spurious correlation, according to economist Brian Barnier, principal at ValueBridge Advisors and founder of FedDashboard.com. What’s more, he says previous bull runs in the market lasting several years can also be explained by single factors each time.

[…]
As the financial crisis reached a fevered pitch in 2008, the Federal Reserve took to flooding the financial market with dollars by buying up bonds. Simultaneously, interest rates fell dramatically, as bond yields move in the opposite direction of bond prices. Barnier sees the Fed as responsible for over 93% of the market from the start of QE until today. During the first half of 2013, the Fed caused the entire market’s growth, he said.

Barnier, who compiled this data analysis, dubbed this the “Era of the Fed” – as this ill-reputed institution has been more responsible than any other factor (including the 2008 financial crisis) for how bad the economy has gotten for average Americans, college-graduates seeking careers and small businesses.

The above chart is simplified from others before it to show that the Fed was the single most important factor during the last era – overlapping Obama’s presidency – and that a staggering 93% of the economy has been dictated by the Federal Reserve. See the Yahoo! article for more data and charts.

As many analysts have discussed before, this unprecedented intervention has distorted and warped the American experience. Savers, pensioners and investors have all take harsh blows as the interest rate held at zero and even dipped into negative – forcing some customers to pay for deposits and others to take a haircut on their life savings and retirement packages!

Federal Reserve About To Do “Tremendous Amount of Damage” To U.S. Dollar

Trump Accuses Fed of Not Raising Rates Because Obama “Doesn’t Want a Bubble Burst” Until He Leaves

Ron Paul: Unless the Fed is Stopped, America Will “Soon Experience Major Economic Crisis”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

Ex-CIA Official Says Obama Doesn’t Follow Through on Promises Out of Fear of CIA

March 14, 2016 by claire bernish

Claire Bernish
March 14, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) AcTVism Munich recently interviewed former CIA analyst-turned-activist, Ray McGovern, whose steadfast anti-torture stance led him to return his Intelligence Commendation Medal in 2006 — when the CIA sought official inclusion of torture in its methodology.

AcTVism’s Zain Raza asked McGovern to describe what led to his decision to return the medal.

“It was a time when the director of the CIA was openly pleading for an exception to legislation being drafted by Senator John McCain, prohibiting U.S. government officials from torturing people,” McGovern explained, noting he was aware torture had been practiced during CIA operations in Latin America. “But this was the first time the CIA was openly advocating for permission to be able to torture … and that seemed to me so abhorrent that I wanted to disassociate myself from the CIA for the first time since 1963 — because I didn’t want to be associated in any way, however remotely, with an agency engaged in torture.”

McGovern also described Europe’s role in the torture campaign and his opinion on whether President Obama had followed through on campaign promises to hold officials accountable for their actions.

“The role of our ‘allies,’ in my view, is a scandal. Fifty-three other countries cooperated in the kidnapping — extraordinary rendition — of suspected terrorists to black sites, where they were administered ‘enhanced interrogation techniques … which, by the way, is a direct, literal translation of verschärfte Vernehmung, right out of the Gestapo manual. I have the manual, and the sad thing is that many of the techniques are exactly the same — with a few ‘enhancements’ by the U.S. since World War II. So the role of our European allies and others has just, really, disappointed me greatly.

“Now, why President Obama … decided not to hold the torturers accountable is another very sad story,” McGovern continued, saying the president “is afraid” of the CIA. “I never thought I would hear myself saying that the President of the United States is afraid of the CIA, but he is. He’s afraid of the NSA, as well.”

McGovern says this is evident because National Intelligence Director James Clapper, who lied under oath in a Senate hearing, and Director of the CIA John Brennan, who hacked computers involved in the Senate committee overseeing him, both remain on the job to this day.

“You know, it’s hard to say this,” he continued, “but I suspect that Obama is afraid either of blackmail potential or even worse; and he has referred to the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. … saying, ‘Don’t you remember what happened to Dr. King?’”

Discussing the NSA’s overreach and domestic spying, as well as general tacit acceptance of surveillance by people in both the U.S. and Germany, McGovern warned against passivity. He strongly emphasized the need to protect against the gradual ebbing of liberties and human rights, comparing such programs to those of the Gestapo.

“This is terribly, terribly dangerous territory,” McGovern said. “And the passiveness, you know, the apathy, that’s not responsible citizenship. When I’m asked why am I an activist, I say, ‘well, that’s the rent that I pay for living on this planet,’ okay? … To the degree we pretend to be a democracy, we have a corresponding duty to be activists enough to prevent our human rights from being infringed upon.”

McGovern also discussed Edward Snowden, whom he met in Russia, and dispelled some myths and rumors surrounding the whistleblower many call a hero.

AcTVism Munich’s interview can be seen in full below, or at the link here. The independent media site has previously conducted interviews with Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, and many others, which are available in multiple languages. AcTVism Much relies heavily on crowdsourcing to fund such endeavors, which you can help by donating here.

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This article (Ex-CIA Official Says Obama Doesn’t Follow Through on Promises Out of Fear of CIA) 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

Schiff: Obama Caught “Peddling Fiction” to Hide Pre-Election Recession

March 10, 2016 by mac slavo

Despite the extent to which the officials in the White House, and the talking heads in the media and on Wall Street deny that the economy is faltering, it is this very issue that is driving voter outrage in the direction of Trump and Bernie.

It’s the jobs, stupid!

And since Obama can’t fix it, he’s lying about it to maintain appearances.

Because so many have become so ill-adjusted to the unforgiving job market, there is great talk about why our national policy is directed towards destroying employment, income, savings and the American dream in general.

After 8 years, it is a problem that Obama may have inherited, but will now have to own.

Peter Schiff claims that:

In his seventh, and final, State of the Union address this January, President Obama, clearly looking to bolster his legacy as the president who vanquished the Great Recession, boldly asserted that “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.” Unfortunately for the President, more and more Americans seem to believe (with an adequate basis for proof) that the fiction is emanating from the White House.

It’s hard to imagine how anyone can really assert with a straight face that the economy is currently “strong.”

[…]

Companies have been incentivized to cut their full-time work force… The view from the street looks quite different, as workers prefer one good job to several bad ones. This is why rallies for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are so well-attended. The underemployed are fed up with platitudes from the elites and they flock to these outsider candidates, who seem to understand their pain.

Never mind these two as individuals, but what they represent as symbols. Americans are completely fed up with establishment – and they aren’t ready to accept being pushed back in for another round.

I don’t expect that the President will ever officially acknowledge that the economy has weakened, let alone relapsed into recession. He has walked out too far on his rhetorical branch to walk it back. As a lame duck, he really has no incentive to do so.

The Obama White House has been hiding an economic holocaust during his two terms. Symbolically elected to dispose of the mess created by George W. Bush’s administration and the economic collapse that was engulfing people already drowning in debt.

Instead, he has cheered on the illusion that “recovery” is near, while the bankers have accumulated more wealth than ever, and are waiting for the next wave of the crash to come down on the population.

Meanwhile, critics have accused Yellen – publicly very silent about policy decisions – of timing the blow of the recession.

The recession itself is presumably inevitable, but the announcement and reaction to it could change the major issues of the election cycle, and potentially swing even more votes into those camps who are running as anti-establishment. Trump has previously accused the Fed of waiting to raise rates in order to avoid embarrassing Obama:

But Janet Yellen is in a very difficult spot. If she continues to ignore the growing signs of recession, she runs the risk of letting one develop prior to the election. This would favor the Republican challenger, whether that is Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, neither of whom would be inclined to reappoint her as Fed Chairwoman if elected. Allowing the Greenspan bubble to bust on Bush’s watch sealed John McCain’s fate, allowing Obama to ride a wave of voter outrage into the White House in 2008. Yellen does not want Trump to catch a similar wave in 2016.

As a result, I expect the Fed to soften its rhetoric in the very near future.

As Schiff himself has pointed out many times before, the entire situation is made worse by the prolonged and belabored attempt at cushioning the impact. For better times to be had by all, the Fed out to stop propping up a market of speculators driving a bubble in real estate and other over-priced assets.

Since that isn’t going to happen, pay attention to the handling of the “political football” as Obama & co. try to pretend that job growth is happening and stability is here to stay.

Ron Paul: Unless the Fed is Stopped, America Will “Soon Experience Major Economic Crisis”

NYT Jokes About Trump Assassination: “Good News I’ve Figured Out How Trump Campaign Ends”

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com

The “Dead List”: Who The Secret Government Plans to Target Next

March 1, 2016 by mac slavo

Justice Scalia is just the latest of targeted and politically motivated deaths that have taken place during the Obama Administration, and virtually everyone is raising questions about the suspicious details surrounding his death, including the lack of autopsy or official investigation into the possible causes of death.

The motive is simple: subversion of the laws and rights of this country. Obama is likely enough to get a third Supreme Court appointment, in spite of the opposition. If he doesn’t, Hillary might.

Regardless, an effort that has already been well underway is coming to a head. And there is no reasonable doubt that a larger-than-Nixon enemies list exists, and is being executed.

The United States has been taken over – and the last vestiges of freedom are being destroyed and undone. If they succeed, future generations won’t even remember this time, or the liberties and recognized rights that were once enjoyed, and fought for in blood.

With Antonin Scalia fresh in everyone’s mind and still a topic of controversy, Lisa Haven discusses the list of other such suspicious deaths during recent years – including journalists like Andrew Breitbart and Michael Hastings
– as well is who is next.

The “Dead List” Who’s On It and Who They Plan On Targeting Next

There is every reason to think that the death of LaVoy Finicum and the standoff in Oregon with the feds could be used to spark further revolt and would could become a very bloody “patriot civil war” against the system – and they may be targeting, arresting and purging fellow patriots and activists on trumped up charges in order to take out those they most concerned about.

Brandon Smith warns that such a false and provocated effort to suppress the liberty movement and target uproarious individuals may really be underway:

In my recent article “Liberty Activists And ISIS Will Soon Be Treated As Identical Threats,” I examined statements made by the Justice Department’s chief of national security, John Carlin, in an article published by Reuters. Carlin and the Justice Department have made it clear that they intend to apply rules of prosecution used for foreign terrorist organizations to “domestic extremists.” The Oregon standoff was specifically mentioned as an example of such extremism.

Meaning, Carlin is testing the waters of material support laws and such tests may target liberty movement speakers and journalists along with anyone involved in physical opposition.

[…]

Cliven Bundy was arrested after arriving by plane in Portland, Oregon, not on any charges relating to the refuge and his son Ammon, but on charges stemming from the Bundy Ranch standoff of 2014.

[…]

It has come to my attention from personal sources that there may be a lot of truth to the rumors of pending or retroactive indictments, and that the FBI in particular may be biding its time and waiting to bring charges when particular people are at their most vulnerable and when the movement is less likely to react.

Such a round-up also serves a critical dual purpose of chilling free speech and creating fear of arrest the larger population. As dissent becomes criminalized – against all the protections intended in the Bill of Rights and Constitution – many others will lose their rights or face incarceration over issues related to mental health, outstanding warrants, terrorism/extremism watch lists, and refusal to vaccinate their children.

The pages of history are filled with such phases of genocide and tyranny, and unfortunately, there are many reasons to think that America is on the path to hell via government overreach. As Brandon Smith noted:

At the very onset of what would become the Soviet Empire, Vladimir Lenin decreed the creation of a national internal army called the “Cheka.” The Cheka were handed very broad police powers and tasked with the disruption and elimination of any form of dissent within the communist system. Lenin launched what would later be known as the “Red Terror”, in which nearly every Russian population center had an established Cheka office of operations using surveillance, infiltration, nighttime raids, imprisonment, torture and execution to silence opposition to the authority of the state.

Some of these people were active rebels, some were outspoken political opponents and journalists, others were merely average citizens wrongly accused by neighbors or personal enemies. The Cheka created a society of fear and suspicion in which no one could be trusted and little criticism was spoken above a whisper anywhere, even in one’s own home.

It is important to note, however, that the dominance of the Cheka was established incrementally, not all at once.

History repeats, and we are again at the precipice.

After all, the government is well aware that many millions of Americans aren’t going to go willingly into the FEMA camps. They intend to take out key individuals well in advance, in hopes of quelling dissent and encouraging compliance.

This is a very dark time. Free speech is under threat, and the prospect of a Hillary presidency means even greater abuses may be coming.

Stay vigilant, because our lives depend upon it.

Red, Blue, Black List: How They Will Handle “People They Deem To Be Dissidents”

Obama’s No-Fly, No-Buy Violates 2nd AND 5th Amendments: List Uses “Secret Criteria” To Bar Guns

SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com