TiLTNews Network: Earth Watch -
Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference,
not by safety. It is easy to clamor for government security when terrible things happen; but liberty is given true meaning when we support it without exception, and we will be safer for it ~ Dr. Ron Paul
Do YOU agree that Obama, in his last year of presidency, should be given the authority to declare war anytime, anywhere (worldwide, including America) and without consent of Congress or Americans, Because right now Congress is failing the American people with this extremely dangerous implementation. If we can envision a world without war we can envision an America who follows its own rule of law. War does not equal peace but invests in hate. #Unacceptable Only YOU and fellow Americans can protect America!
While the Washington snowstorm dominated news coverage this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was operating behind the scenes to rush through the Senate what may be the most massive transfer of power from the Legislative to the Executive branch in our history. The senior Senator from Kentucky is scheming, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, to bypass normal Senate procedure to fast-track legislation to grant the president the authority to wage unlimited war for as long as he or his successors may wish. The legislation makes the unconstitutional Iraq War authorization of 2002 look like a walk in the park. It will allow this president and future presidents to wage war against ISIS without restrictions on time, geographic scope, or the use of ground troops. It is a completely open-ended authorization for the president to use the military as he wishes for as long as he (or she) wishes. Even President Obama has expressed concern over how willing Congress is to hand him unlimited power to wage war. President Obama has already far surpassed even his predecessor, George W. Bush, in taking the country to war without even the fig leaf of an authorization. In 2011 the president invaded Libya, overthrew its government, and oversaw the assassination of its leader, without even bothering to ask for Congressional approval. Instead of impeachment, which he deserved for the disastrous Libya invasion, Congress said nothing. House Republicans only managed to bring the subject up when they thought they might gain political points exploiting the killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi. It is becoming more clear that Washington plans to expand its war in the Middle East. Last week the media reported that the US military had taken over an air base in eastern Syria, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that the US would send in the 101st Airborne Division to retake Mosul in Iraq and to attack ISIS headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. Then on Saturday, Vice President Joe Biden said that if the upcoming peace talks in Geneva are not successful, the US is prepared for a massive military intervention in Syria. Such an action would likely place the US military face to face with the Russian military, whose assistance was requested by the Syrian government. In contrast, we must remember that the US military is operating in Syria in violation of international law. The prospects of such an escalation are not all that far-fetched. At the insistence of Saudi Arabia and with US backing, the representatives of the Syrian opposition at the Geneva peace talks will include members of the Army of Islam, which has fought with al-Qaeda in Syria. Does anyone expect these kinds of people to compromise? Isn’t al-Qaeda supposed to be our enemy? The purpose of the Legislative branch of our government is to restrict the Executive branch’s power. The Founders understood that an all-powerful king who could wage war at will was the greatest threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is why they created a people’s branch, the Congress, to prevent the emergence of an all-powerful autocrat to drag the country to endless war. Sadly, Congress is surrendering its power to declare war. Let’s be clear: If Senate Majority Leader McConnell succeeds in passing this open-ended war authorization, the US Constitution will be all but a dead letter.
Imagine the mainstream news being shamed into becoming REAL journalists because this campaign just keeps getting better! The establishment is in an all out front to set up and silence Trump. Whether you like him or not, his decision to skip the #FauxFoxDebate is brilliant! He is a movement to be reckoned with and shaking his fist in the face of the elites and mainstream media! What do YOU think?
I believe you know me by now and realize that I like cracking jokes, despite the pressure. And to be frank, if I have a choice on how to handle things I would rather joke about the entire mess and deal with it without your having to face it, or even know it is being dealt with – and then finally reappear making light of the entire issue.
There is no need for everyone to feel the pressure if a few can make it go away. I would rather be the one that faces that music. It is apparent that the music playing today is a familiar song to me and understand this game we have been playing for years now always would determine the outcome of our civilization.
“Take Me Out To The Ball Game”
First of all our opposition has had their side picked for a long time, while we are near formation of ours and about ready to let things fly, so the best I can think of saying is “give me that damn bat we are not losing today or any day”… I just have to be ready for the spitter, you see, they do not play fair…
Raymond Reddington is taking out the cabal in his world (in the television series “The Blacklist”) and now it is time for us to do the same in our world, the “real” world.
I have said for many years that Indonesia is at the epicenter of everything that needs to transpire. It had to be. It has been at the center since the 1950’s when the Western Alliance and Japan moved their stolen assets (mostly from China) throughout Asia to be used by them at a later date.
With the stolen assets being the real prize of the war which coincidentally was planned no later than 1921 by Emperor Hirohito and the Western Powers in London. No sooner had the First World War ended and we had conspiracies beginning for a Second World War.
Soon after the Second World War and the theft and rape of many nations we had the Bretton Woods agreement which only gave the West, who created their own financial system, the opportunity to steal whatever it is and was they tucked away.
And they did tuck it away for a rainy day and that day is now, and the place is Indonesia.
Without the stolen assets placed in locations such as Indonesia the West is going to suffer a horrible defeat. China is up on its heels, along with Russia, India and others including usual friends England and Germany and to be frank “they are not going to put up with Western bullshit any longer”.
They have been stripping them down without firing a shot and magnificently so at that. Then again the United States voted in a layman as President and he will be the one in the history books to take the blame for all that has happened and although unjust it is rightful seeing the mouthpiece of the West has no idea what he is doing (or does he?).
In the following preface you will see not only do the dots connect with what is happening now in Indonesia but how it all coincides with the Presidential election of Donald Trump; the only man that can and will be able to help us.
We no longer need Democrats or Republicans, both are of the same smelly ilk anyway (Soros/Rothschild) and although Mr. Trump is running as a Republican you can quickly reflect back a couple of months when he was ready to leave the party if it continued playing games.
He is not one of their boys simply because he is his own man paying his own way. And on this worldwide stage and with the entire game at stake and Indonesia at bat you can clearly see a repetition of the Sukarno/Kennedy alliance emanating in the very near future between Trump and Widodo (the current President of Indonesia).
I have spent a lot of time in Indonesia and I see how they can be (not just they but all) joined at the hips, thereby making this world a better place as it was meant to be.
There are necessary steps that have to be taken and things that have to be done by the Indonesian people in order to bring about certain specific outcomes; but when this is all over with not only Indonesia and the East win this ballgame, but we all win.
Yet the Key to winning is the same as in any game and that is the Trump card and be sure the United States holds the one and only unique Trump card in the world.
The Preface
In his typical lighthearted fashion, on this occasion Neil begins by introducing us to his Snow Woman, Thasja; who is blessed with M&M’s for eyes and shells from Bali as buttons.
Neil notes that this post has been, unfortunately, a bit of a rushed job but there are a few serious matters that need to be tabled.
The mall attack in Jakarta had nothing to do with foreigners. This attack was another attempt to spread the cabal-engineered brand of the “Islamic State” and Islamic extremism further around the world. It was also a message from the cabal that they do not want the Global Collateral Accounts’ assets released.
But they have no choice in the matter. The truth is that this latest false flag event was carried out by an Indonesian national – who used to work for the “Islamic State” in Syria. This man had previously spent over two years in jail in Indonesia on terrorism charges.
Neil also reminds us about the insurrection in Indonesia that was financed by Rothschild bagman George Soros - that the Indonesian military had to put an end to.
He recalls Bill Clinton’s Arkansas Foundation funneling drug money into the country so that they could try to assassinate the Vice President of Indonesia – with a plan to plant a western cabal-run Vice President in his place there.
Neil reminds us that the Japanese military mobilized for the first time since WW2, in an attempt to invade and steal the Indonesian Gold; only to be derailed by Keenan who publicly exposed the planned attack.
Neil further exposes the plot regarding Colombian drug money being sent by the Clinton Arkansas Foundation directly to Indonesian globalists and politicians, in their attempt to create panic and chaos in Indonesia and to manufacture a cabal-controlled government.
Remember, the plan was to assassinate the Indonesian Vice President.
The Clinton Gang had flown in on their private jets, the Japanese Emperor’s sister had also flown in on her jet with her Indonesian husband, and money transfers had taken place through Bill Clinton’s Arkansas Foundation – directly to a political party.
Said funds were illegal, confiscated Colombian drug funds which somehow found their way from the US Drug Enforcement Agency coffers through the Arkansas Foundation into Indonesia with the main objective being to steal what does not belong to either the Clintons nor the Japanese Emperor’s sister. The assets belong to the depositors.
We advised long ago that this was the plan, and of course that the Japanese Military is on standby. Should they not be able to purchase the gold, the West and their allies will attempt to take the assets one way or another.
Neil recalls the World Economic Forum meeting in Jakarta and their efforts to get their sticky mitts further into Indonesia. It is important to acknowledge that the World Economic Forum is another name for the Bilderberg network. These organizations are the same but different, in some respects.
In any event, we know for sure that the way that these thugs infiltrate countries is by way of heavy investment – investment with certain devious terms. And then soon enough, when a nation cannot repay the debt owed to said WEF, demand for payment will be made in terms of resources and assets, including political placements.
Neil reiterates that China and other countries have made it very clear that they no longer want any of these US dollar “Federal Reserve Notes”. They are dumping them and they are working towards taking down the US dollar as the global reserve currency, by requiring that payments for goods and services rendered be made in their own national currencies.
This further serves to weaken the grip of the cabal with regards to their already-sinking ship. The US corporation dollar could have been saved once upon a time but now it has to go; as it is too far gone.
Everybody is fed up with the puppet Obama and the machinations of his handlers.
These “people”; the likes of Barack Obama in the US, David Cameron in the UK, John Key in New Zealand, and whomever the current Prime Minister of the day happens to be in Australia – do only what their handlers instruct them to do.
Neil reflects upon the current Presidential race in the US and asserts his belief only one of the candidates that is going to be of any assistance to the people of America and the world that being Donald Trump.
While there are many people still trying to get their heads around the concept of a ‘President Trump’; he is the only candidate that refuses to deal with moneyed lobbyists and corporate funding. He is fully self-funded and will not let anybody attach strings to him, such that they would like to pull.
The rest of the candidates are hopeless “bipartisan system” cut-out phonies – and Hillary is going to wind up in jail.
Neil states that without a President Trump, it would be extremely difficult to get assets from the Global Collateral Accounts into the United States without said resources being swiped by the cabal.
Therefore; Donald Trump should not only be the officially elected President of the United States of America; but as for “We The People” of America, and “We The People” of the World – he should become known as the Trump card.
And as we understand the Trump card supersedes all others.
He will rid us of the vermin that reside within, and who occupy and control the system. And in essence, we talk about the Pied Piper often, but this is one individual who will clean up the mess that others created. He is a winner, but most of all he is Donald Trump, and that is what makes him unique.
Neil notes again the increasing number of properties being purchased in New Zealand, because the cabal now realize that the strongholds they had established in places such as Costa Rica are now not far away enough for them; from the mess that they intentionally created. And the cabal are keenly aware that this mess is soon to catch up with them.
It has emerged that many members of the cabal have planned to relocate to remote New Zealand locations and to exterminate the Maori population – they intend to take control of their remote tribal landholdings in order to establish strongholds there.
But the Maori are a warrior race; and there are many in NZ who are all too well aware of the game that is afoot.
Neil notes that the funding and projects that will come to New Zealand from the Global Collateral Accounts will come only by way of Richard, who is a member of Group K, and who was born in, and who lives in New Zealand.
In New Zealand, as in all places, the Global Collateral Account assets will be distributed by way of foundations that will be especially established in order that the cabal and their minions cannot gain access to any GCA assets.
Neil reflects upon the point that we could have had this whole thing done earlier, and that in the early days resources were not perhaps always used in the best possible ways – but this is to be expected when one is gaining an assessment of the lay of the land – and who’s who in the zoo, so to speak.
Additionally, contributing to the fact that we are not out of this bind yet are the actions of the numerous shills such as the Italian Daniel dal Bosco, who got in the way and created trouble on the behalf of the P2 Lodge / Vatican.
This is all covered in the recently published ‘History and Events Timeline’section of our website. (There are now PDF download versions of this material available, and at the time of writing these are available in English and Russian. We also have further translations in the works for other recent posts).
Neil reminds us of the threat made by John Kerry when he visited Indonesia; that he wanted the gold – and when he was told that he could not have any gold - he remarked about the weather and earthquake technologies that the West (the Zionist Nazi faction of the Cabal) have access to.
Kerry indirectly threatened to ‘sink’ Indonesia (and any other country that attempts to stand in their way) and this threat is on the record… just so you know. One further note; Indonesia has already felt the wrath of the HAARP machines, as have Turkey and a number of South American nations.
The cabal will not be taking over Indonesia.
Neil notes that he is very clear on the steps that need to be taken from here. We are just about there, and we will win. There are no second thoughts, we will win.
Neil recalls that when John F. Kennedy returned home from his last meeting with President Sukarno in Indonesia relating to efforts to establish a new US financial system – that at that time, JFK already had two strikes against him.
The first being Kennedy’s return of West Papua from the Dutch, to the Indonesians; thereby alienating the oil and corporate magnates that had significant control over strategic locations, also noted for gold deposits.
Secondly, Kennedy overlooked the deception with regards to his very own Vice President Lyndon Johnson who was receiving all information pertaining to the proceedings in Indonesia and who was forwarding this information to his handlers; information relating to the dissolution of both the CIA and the Federal Reserve Banks.
This directly led to to John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
Both Presidents Kennedy and Sukarno were working on numerous projects to make their nations stronger and greater; but one such project in particular was the new American financial system; eliminating all privately owned Federal Reserve FIAT currency printing – and returning the power of issuance of the nation’s currency to the American government itself.
“On June 4, 1963, a virtually unknown Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110, was signed with the authority to basically strip the Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Federal Government at interest.
With the stroke of a pen, President Kennedy declared that the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business.
The text of Executive Order President Kennedy’s Executive Order (E.O.) 11110 modified the pre-existing Executive Order 10289 issued by U.S. President Harry S. Truman on September 17, 1951, and stated the following:
The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby designated and empowered to perform the following-described functions of the President without the approval, ratification, or other action of the President…
The order then lists tasks (a) through (h) which the Secretary may now do without instruction from the President. None of the powers assigned to the Treasury in E.O. 10289 relate to money or to monetary policy. Kennedy’s E.O. 11110 then instructs that: SECTION 1. Executive Order No. 10289 of September 9, 1951, as amended, is hereby further amended (a) By adding at the end of paragraph 1 thereof the following subparagraph:
The authority vested in the President by paragraph (b) of section 43 of the Act of May 12, 1933, as amended (31 U.S.C. 821(b)), to issue silver certificates against any silver bullion, silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury not then held for redemption of an outstanding silver certificates, to prescribe the denominations of such silver certificates, and to coin standard silver dollars and subsidiary silver currency for their redemption,’ and (b) By revoking subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 thereof. SECTION 2.
The amendments made by this Order shall not affect any act done, or any right accruing or accrued or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil or criminal cause prior to the date of this Order but all such liabilities shall continue and may be enforced as if said amendments had not been made.
John F. Kennedy,
THE WHITE HOUSE, June 4, 1963.”
And in concluding this update, Neil touches on the point that he has a number of “Irons in the fire” and it is simply a matter of time until he gets things moving either now and / or once he is back in Indonesia. We are very close to our goal now and so Neil is choosing his words with great consideration.
Bernie Sanders is a Traitor to the Republic! Don't get #BurnedByBernie He is a socialist and no matter how hard you try to hide the past, Socialism has failed over and over and over again. The only level playing field is through Capitalism, where EVERYONE has a chance to prosper by hard work and perseverance. We do not want a nation of citizens expecting the government to take care of them by stealing the wealth of those who worked hard to earn it. #WakeUpAmerica #StopRaisingLazyAmericans #BuildPride #PutYourHandsToWork #IdleHandsAreTheWorkOfTheDevil
Bernie Sanders Calls For Totalitarian Gun Confiscation
Sanders will ban guns that are "primarily designed to kill people."
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (a pro-gun state, for the record) said on an episode of NBC’s “Meet The Press” that “we need to make sure that certain types of guns used to kill people, exclusively, not for hunting, they should not be sold in the United States of America.”
“Coming from a rural state, I think I can communicate with folks coming from urban states where guns mean different things than they do in Vermont where it’s used for hunting,” he said.
Calling for a ban on all firearms “used to kill people” and “not for hunting” implies a ban on all guns, period.
More recently, Sanders appeared on the same show on 1/17 and touted his vote to “ban assault weapons” in 1988. He claimed to have rethought certain aspects of that legislation but never rescinded his viewpoint on banning firearms.
Liberals haven’t been happy with Sanders’ pro-gun voting record, the Democratic presidential candidate’s shift to the far-left on this issue is likely an attempt to placate to anti-gunners as the 2016 election quickly approaches.
UPDATE 1/24 – The quotes in this article have been correctly attributed.
“Putin Did It” Concludes Secret Evidence in UK Inquiry
On the basis of secret evidence, a UK inquiry under orders from Washington decided that the death ten years ago of a low level spy was “probably” ordered by President Putin of Russia. There is no motive whatsoever for Putin to have been concerned with the dead spy, Litvinenko. He was of no consequence or threat to Russia.
Probably, Litvinenko’s death was due to the fact that he was engaged in the smuggling of nuclear materials and accidently poisoned himself.
What these unsubstantiated attacks on the President of Russia are doing is elevating Russia. The non Anglo-Zionist world, which is the largest part of humanity, has lost confidence in the veracity of the West. The Western media, a collection of prostitutes, is in such lock-step mindless compliance with the anti-Russian agenda that the most implausible accusations against President Putin are reported as if they were proven fact.
Western news organizations, such as the BBC and the New York Times, once respected news organizations, are now widely regarded as government propaganda organizations that lie for their living.
Here is the report of a person who used to believe the lie until he looked into the case.
As I wrote recently, all they do is to lie to us. Lies are the West’s principle weapon. As the lies wear out, the West is exposed as a liar that never can be believed about anything.
The National Review rounded up a couple dozen “conservatives” to denounce Donald Trump and tell the world what it already knows – Trump is not a “movement conservative.”
I would like to point out that the “movement conservatives” have had little or no effect in presidential contests since 1984 – and that election, in which Ronald Reagan won a landslide, was an inevitability because of the force of nature he represented as a great candidate and a great incumbent for four years.
I won’t deny that some of the Trump denouncers were there for Reagan. But most were not. Many or most of them, however, were there for the losers the Republicans put up in the last two election cycles.
And let me quickly point out that neither John McCain nor Mitt Romney were conservatives at all – “movement conservatives” or otherwise. They were both hostile to conservatives. They hated them. So where were the denunciations of McCain and Romney in the 2008 and 2012 primaries from the National Review crowd and their Trump-hating friends?
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the National Review has been something of an irrelevancy since the earthly departures of William F. Buckley and Bill Rusher – the brains of the operation.
Back then, even I was honored to be an occasional contributor – as I was to Human Events and other favorite periodicals of Ronald Reagan, who dragged me kicking and screaming from a leftist, radical extremist into the fold of the Second Thoughts crowd.
But it’s pointless to trash the National Review. Its circulation and readership tell the story there.
Let’s talk instead about why the periodical and its contributors miss the point about Trump.
Yes, it’s true that Trump has been all over the map politically throughout his non-political career.
Yes, it’s true that some of his positions are not well-grounded and based in conservative ideology and principals.
Yes, it’s true that we don’t know what he’s actually going to do if he’s elected president, and he may be a huge disappointment to his supporters.
Now, let’s look at the positive side.
Trump has brought an electrical excitement to the 2016 presidential race.
Trump, with some strong help from Ted Cruz and Dr. Ben Carson, has finally – and perhaps forever – exposed the fraud of political correctness, even making it popular to trash for the common man.
Trump threatens to destroy, once and for all, the Republican establishment, which even some of the contributors to the National Review assault on him would agree represents as much a danger to the republic as the Democrat establishment.
Trump, should he be the nominee, and I am not endorsing him, is the only Republican candidate who could potentially realign the national political landscape and win a Reaganesque-style landslide – even winning states thought, for the last 28 years, to be impossible for Republican candidates to win.
Let’s not forget that a big part of America’s political problem is the Republican Congress. For the last seven years, ever since Republicans won the House in 2010, and even more so when they won the Senate in 2012, the Congress has been in total appeasement mode – giving Barack Obama everything he needed to “fundamentally transform America” in his own image.
Like him or hate him, Trump is where he is as a frontrunner right now because of that – the total capitulation of the Republican Congress and leadership – as much as he’s there because of Obama’s failed policies.
Is Trump the great hope for the country?
I don’t know. I haven’t decided. I like several Republican candidates, but I certainly don’t agree with the war on Trump. And I know the National Review team has no answers – zero. The National Review elitists are part of the problem, not the solution.
Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact media@wnd.com.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/trump-and-the-national-review-irrelevants/#twOPGKCOGmeyS1dg.99
Charlton Heston as Moses prepares to smash the first set of God’s law in 1956’s “The Ten Commandments.”
In its Supreme Court battle over Obamacare’s abortion-pill mandate, the government wants to “determine what is in fact a sin,” contends a religious-rights legal group.
The high court has agreed to hear the case of the Denver-based Little Sisters of the Poor nuns, who refused to comply with the requirement that the insurance policies for their employees cover abortion pills.
The nuns have refused to sign over the responsibility to their insurance company, arguing it also would be a violation of their faith to facilitate someone else committing a sin.
The group’s chief counsel, Richard Thompson, called the mandate “a monumental attack on religious liberty.”
“If this appeal is lost, the government becomes the head of every religious denomination in the country by its assumed authority to determine what is in fact a sin,” he said.
The brief argues that the neither the government nor the lawyers on the Supreme Court bench “can determine whether an act does or does not violate a person’s religious beliefs.”
“Rather, the Supreme Court must accept the non-profits’ assertions that the notification requirement is indeed against their religion.”
To accept otherwise, the brief says, “is to supplant the church and the Bible with the government, allowing the Supreme Court and the government to interpret [tenets] of faith.
“This slippery slope would subject all religious exercise to the whim of the government’s approval.”
The brief points out that it’s already been decided that the fines for noncompliance are a substantial burden, leaving essentially the question of “whether compliance is actually against the petitioners’ religion.”
“This is something that is for petitioners to determine, not the court,” the Thomas More Law Center says.
“The court is not the arbiter of sacred Scripture and cannot determine whether the notification form and letter are attenuated enough from the provision of contraceptives that they do not substantially burden petitioners’ religion,” the brief says. “Delving into this inquiry requires the court to interpret petitioners’ religious beliefs on the morality of the different levels of complicity with sin.
“Therefore, the court can only determine whether petitioners are being compelled to do something that violates their faith – here, filling out the notification form or writing a notification letter to HHS, both of which trigger the dissemination of contraceptives and abortifacients to their employees in connection with their employee health plans.”
The brief point out that a woman’s right to get contraceptives is not unlimited.
“This does not mean they have a right to free contraceptives and abortifacients. Moreover, this right certainly does not mean that a person has the right to obtain contraceptives and abortifacients – either directly or indirectly – from their employer at the expense of pillaging the employer’s religious liberty,” the brief states.
The Little Sisters charge the government is forcing them to violate their faith by giving them a choice between providing contraceptives and abortion pills directly or ordering them to sign over their responsibility to someone else.
“These notification requirements trigger the non-profits’ insurers to provide free contraceptives and abortifacients to the women in the non-profits’ health plans. This notification requirement makes the non profits complicit in the provision of a service that they find sinful, thereby causing them to sin themselves,” the brief explains.
The law center argues there should not even be a case.
“The government already subsidizes contraceptives and abortifacients through its programs and could find ways to expand or increase the efficacy of those existing programs,” the brief says.
“The government could offer grants, go directly to insurers, or engage in countless other options that do not involve the cooperation of petitioners.”
Further, providing “free contraceptives and abortifacients” is not a compelling government interest, the law center argues, quoting the Supreme Court itself.
“The many exemptions already provided for under the regulations necessarily destroy any argument that the HHS mandate serves a compelling interest.”
It was the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that took on the authority of determining what is sin.
Another recent brief challenged: “Perhaps the apex among a host of acts of governmental arrogance in this case was displayed not by HHS, but when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit acted as if it had ecclesiastical powers of absolution, having decreed that by just signing a paper, Little Sisters would not be ‘morally complicit in providing contraceptive coverage.'”
The brief said one would expect that “on the issue of who the God of Heaven and Earth will hold ‘morally complicit,’ it would be the Little Sisters which would have the greater expertise than a federal judge.”
By way of background, as we explained previously, What exactly does a “war on cash” mean?
It means governments are limiting the use of cash and a variety of official-mouthpiece economists are calling for the outright abolition of cash. Authorities are both restricting the amount of cash that can be withdrawn from banks, and limiting what can be purchased with cash.
These limits are broadly called “capital controls.”
Why Now? Why are governments suddenly so keen to ban physical cash?
The answer appears to be that the banks and government authorities are anticipating bail-ins, steeply negative interest rates and hefty fees on cash, and they want to close any opening regular depositors might have to escape these forms of officially sanctioned theft. The escape mechanism from bail-ins and fees on cash deposits is physical cash, and hence the sudden flurry of calls to eliminate cash as a relic of a bygone age — that is, an age when commoners had some way to safeguard their money from bail-ins and bankers’ control.
Forcing Those With Cash To Spend or Gamble Their Cash
The conventional answer voiced by Mr. Buiter is that recession and credit contraction result from households and enterprises hoarding cash instead of spending it. The solution to recession is thus to force all those stingy cash hoarders to spend their money.
And the benefits of a cashless society to banks and governments are self-evident:
1. Every financial transaction can be taxed.
2. Every financial transaction can be charged a fee.
3. Bank runs are eliminated.
In fractional reserve systems such as ours, banks are only required to hold a fraction of their assets in cash. Thus a bank might only have 1 percent of its assets in cash. If customers fear the bank might be insolvent, they crowd the bank and demand their deposits in physical cash. The bank quickly runs out of physical cash and closes its doors, further fueling a panic.
The federal government began insuring deposits after the Great Depression triggered the collapse of hundreds of banks, and that guarantee limited bank runs, as depositors no longer needed to fear a bank closing would mean their money on deposit was lost.
But since people could conceivably sense a disturbance in the Financial Force and decide to turn digital cash into physical cash as a precaution, eliminating physical cash also eliminates the possibility of bank runs, as there will be no form of cash that isn’t controlled by banks.
So, when the dust has settled who ultimately benefits by this war on cash - government and the central banks, pure and simple.
Which explains why Norway's biggest bank, DNB, has called for the country to stop using cash which is just the latest move in a country that has been leading the global charge toward electronic money in recent years, with several banks already not offering cash in their branch offices and some industries seeking to cut back on paper currency.
DNB's proposal suggests eliminating the use of cash would cut down on black market sales and crimes such as money laundering.
“Today, there is approximately 50 billion kroner in circulation and [the country’s central bank] Norges Bank can only account for 40 percent of its use. That means that 60 percent of money usage is outside of any control. We believe that is due to under-the-table money and laundering,” Trond Bentestuen, a DNB executive, told Norwegian website VG, the Local reported.
“There are so many dangers and disadvantages associated with cash, we have concluded that it should be phased out,” he added.
The country has already moved in this direction. Bentestuen estimated that only about 6 percent of Norwegians use cash on a daily basis, with the numbers higher among elderly people.
Norway’s Ministry of Finance is opposed to the proposal, however, and other critics have raised concerns about privacy issues as well as how the change would affect tourists. Privacy advocates in Norway have expressed worries for years that, without cash, there would be no way for an individual to purchase something without being tracked.
In 2014, Finans Norge, a financial industry organization in Norway, said the country was on pace to be a cashless society by 2020, Ice News reported. While DNB said its proposal will take time to complete, executives suggested the country start phasing out cash by discontinuing the 1,000 kroner note so it could focus on updating its banking system.
“Eighty-five percent of our customers say that they never or only very rarely go to the bank. Therefore we think it is a mistake to maintain a very old structure with local branch offices. It is better to follow the customers and improve the offers where the customers are: digital,” Bentestuen said.
In the meantime, DNB and Norway’s second largest bank, Nordea, have already stopped using cash in their branch offices. And the movement toward a goal of no cash has been going on for a while. The Norwegian Hospitality Association pushed to eliminate consumers’ right to pay cash at all stores and restaurants in 2013, The Local reported.
Other countries including Denmark and Sweden have made similar pushes as their populations also rely largely on electronic money.
If allowed to continue, state wealth control will exist.
And thus, as we concluded previously, if you can’t withdraw your money as cash, you have two choices: You can deal with negative interest rates...or you can spend your money. Ultimately, that’s what our Keynesian central planners want. They are using negative interest rates and the War on Cash to force you to spend and “stimulate” the economy.
If you ask us, these radical and insane measures are a sign of desperation.
The War on Cash and negative interest rates are huge threats to your financial security. Central planners are playing with fire and inviting a currency catastrophe.
By Anthony DeChristopher, originally posted on The Hill
The smoking gun?
Special Access Programs (SAP) is a game changer. It is now undeniably clear that the results of the FBI investigation will be the end of one of two things: Hillary’s bid for the White House or the legitimacy of the FBI—at least when it comes to prosecuting cases on the mishandling of classified material.
In 2006, a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) from my company was deployed to Afghanistan. Theirs was a particular mission that differed from the combat missions the typical ODAs were conducting at that time. Everyone on that team maintained a Top Secret Sensitive and Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance and was “read-on” to their special program. A few months into their deployment, their Intelligence Sergeant lost a thumb-drive that possessed classified information. A week later the thumb drive was found for sale at a local bazaar.
In response to the events, Col. Ken Allard (ret.) stated, “You've got a situation in which the U.S. is going to be forced to change an awful lot of its operational techniques."
Beyond the compromise of classified information, a lot did change. New protocols for the handling of classified material were established, and the transportation of classified material on thumb drives was strictly forbidden. The knee jerk reaction even went as far as to disable USB ports on our work computers—in case we forgot.
Since then I’ve deployed to several locations where, at times, we operated in small teams with only non-secure cellphones with which to communicate. We often found ourselves with a lot of information that needed to be sent up in reports, but due to the nature of our mission we were forced to sit on it for a few days until we were able to type it up and send it through a secure medium. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t concoct elaborate plans with “foolproof” ways to communicate the information over non-secure channels, but in the end, no one was willing to take the risk of our “fail-safes” failing.
As more information from Hillary Clinton’s server has been made available, it is clear that the contents of the server contained Imagery Intelligence (IMINT), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT). Understanding that much of the information has been retroactively classified, there are a few facts that are tough to grasp—at least from the perspective of an intelligence practitioner.
First, when imagery that is classified SECRET//NOFORN (no foreign national) is viewed, regardless of the absence of classification markings, it is distinctly evident. Second, any documents that contain or reference HUMINT is always classified SECRET, and if specific names of sources or handlers are mentioned, they are at a minimum SECRET//NOFORN. Third, SIGINT is always classified at the TS level. It’s not uncommon for some SI to be downgraded and shared over SECRET mediums, however, it is highly unlikely that a Secretary of State would receive downgraded intelligence. Finally, SAP intelligence has been discovered on Clinton’s private server, and many are now calling this the smoking gun. SAP is a specialized management system of additional security controls designed to protect SAR or Special Access Required. SAR has to do with extremely perishable operational methods and capabilities, and only selected individuals who are “read on” or “indoctrinated” are permitted access to these programs. The mishandling of SAP can cause catastrophic damage to current collection methods, techniques and personnel.
In other words, if you have worked with classified material for more than a day, it seems highly implausible that someone could receive any of the aforementioned over an un-secure medium without alarm bells sounding. However, reading about a Special Access Program on an unclassified device would make anyone even remotely familiar with intelligence mess their pantsuit.
With more damming information being released almost weekly now, it’s interesting that during last Sunday’s Democratic debate, Clinton resoundingly stated: “No one is too big for jail.” Although the context was referencing bank CEOs and Hedge fund managers, the obvious correlation left many scratching their heads and wondering—did Hillary Clinton just say, “I dare you” to the FBI?”
The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.
This morning, I came across an extremely important story with tremendous long-term negative implications for freedom in these United States. It relates to the fact that the always shady Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving to fast track an Authorization of Military Force (AUMF) for the President that would allow for unrestricted warfare against ISIS. There would be no time or geographic restrictions on this authorization. Rather than being a favor to President Obama, this is primarily a means to ensure that whoever takes control in 2017 receives a blank check for unrestrained militarism with no expiration date. This is terrifying.
Before I get into the issue at hand, some background is necessary. Many legal scholars, and indeed, even many members of Congress have admitted that Obama’s war against ISIS is illegal and unconstitutional. One of the best articles I’ve read on why this is the case, was published in the New York Times in 2014, which I covered in the post, Obama’s ISIS War is Not Only Illegal, it Makes George W. Bush Look Like a Constitutional Scholar. Here are a few excerpts:
President Obama’s declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition. Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.
Mr. Bush gained explicit congressional consent for his invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. In contrast, the Obama administration has not even published a legal opinion attempting to justify the president’s assertion of unilateral war-making authority. This is because no serious opinion can be written.
This became clear when White House officials briefed reporters before Mr. Obama’s speech to the nation on Wednesday evening. They said a war against ISIS was justified by Congress’s authorization of force against Al Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that no new approval was needed.
But the 2001 authorization for the use of military force does not apply here. That resolution — scaled back from what Mr. Bush initially wanted — extended only to nations and organizations that “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the 9/11 attacks.
Not only was ISIS created long after 2001, but Al Qaeda publicly disavowed it earlier this year. It is Al Qaeda’s competitor, not its affiliate.
Mr. Obama may rightly be frustrated by gridlock in Washington, but his assault on the rule of law is a devastating setback for our constitutional order. His refusal even to ask the Justice Department to provide a formal legal pretext for the war on ISIS is astonishing.
It’s been almost two years since that Op-ed was written, and Obama is still carrying out his illegal war on ISIS with barely a peep from our incredibly corrupt and useless Congress. Indeed, the only thing Congress is scheming to do is to ensure the next President receives a blank check for perpetual war.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered members a snow-weekend surprise late Wednesday night: Quietly teeing up a potential debate on the legal underpinning for the fight against ISIS.
After months of worrying that such a resolution—known as an authorization for the use of military force—would tie the next president’s hands, McConnell’s move to fast-track the measure surprised even his top deputy, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, who was unaware that McConnell had set up the authorization.
The AUMF put forward by McConnell would not restrict the president’s use of ground troops, nor have any limits related to time or geography.Nor would it touch on the issue of what to do with the 2001 AUMF, which the Obama administration has used to attack ISIS despite that authorization’s instructions to use force against those who planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks. By contrast, the legal authority put forward by the administration last February wouldn’t authorize “enduring offensive ground combat operations” and would have ended three years after enactment, unless reauthorized.
Read that over and over and over until you get how incredibly dangerous it is.
Don Stewart, McConnell’s spokesman, said Thursday in an email that the new AUMF “is not the one the [p]resident asked for” and “not one that would tie the [p]resident’s hands.”
Exactly. It’s not the one the President asked for, it’s far more aggressive and dangerous.
Stewart added that the process McConnell used to set up the AUMF, known as “Rule XIV,” merely sets up the authorization for a future vote, but does not put it on the calendar—meaning a vote could come at any time, or not at all. The resolution already has four Republican cosponsors: Sens. Lindsey Graham, Daniel Coats, Joni Ernst, and Orrin Hatch.
If war monger Lindsey Graham is a co-sponsor you know for sure it’s an unmitigated disaster for liberty.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker said that there is still a “wide diversity” of opinions on the issue. Some Democrats were critical of even the president’s own draft AUMF, warning that they’d need additional restrictions from the administration on troop levels and geographic boundaries before they could support any authorization. Republicans, meanwhile, worried deeply about restricting the president as this administration, and the next one, work to combat ISIS.
“This is the right thing,” said Graham, a cosponsor on the new AUMF resolution. “This is the right infrastructure to have.”
“If our Democratic friends don’t want to give this president and other presidents the ability to go after ISIS without limitation to geography, time and means—be on the record,” he added.
Indeed, I’d like to see every member of Congress go on the record as to the issue of perpetual war to fight an enemy created by our government’s own foreign policy andour “allies'” funding and armaments.
Kaine said that although he and the vast majority of Congress support combatting ISIS, he disagrees with the administration that the president is within his authority to do so. “I believe the war is illegal,” Kaine said Thursday. “I don’t think there’s a legal justification for it. And I think the greatest danger we end up doing is allowing the president to wage a war without Congress weighing in.”
Cornyn, who in December said that Republicans would not present an AUMF of their own until the president outlined a strategy, said that he nonetheless welcomed debate on the issue.
“I don’t think we should be afraid of that debate, but we need a coherent strategy from the president which we still don’t have and we also don’t need to tie the hands of the next president by restricting what the president can do,” Cornyn said.
Sorry, but wasn’t the entire idea of a legislative branch to precisely restrict what the President can do. Congress is purely ceremonial at this point. What an utter embarrassment.
