‘NATO Go Home!’

For two decades , US troops have been imposing their law on the broader Middle East .
Entire countries are now without a state to defend them .
Populations have been subjected to the dictatorship of the Islamists .
Mass murders have been committed .
There have been famines as well .
President Donald Trump has forced his generals to repatriate their soldiers , but the Pentagon intends to continue its work with NATO soldiers .
President Trump will spend the last year of his first term in office bringing the Boys home .
All U.S. troops stationed in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to withdraw .
However , this withdrawal of troops will in no way mean the end of US governance in these regions of the world .
Quite the contrary .
Since 2001 – and this is one of the main reasons for the 9/11 attacks – the United States has secretly adopted the strategy outlined by Donald Rumsfeld and Admiral Arthur Cebrowski .
This strategy was mentioned in the Army Review by Colonel Ralf Peters two days after the attacks [ 1 ] and confirmed five years later by the publication of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ 2 ] .
It was detailed by Admiral Cebrowski ’ s assistant , Thomas Barnett , in a popular book The Pentagon ’ s New Map [ 3 ] .
It is about adapting the missions of the US armies to a new form of capitalism giving primacy to Finance over Economics .
The world must be divided in two .
On the one hand , stable states integrated into globalization ( which includes Russia and China ) ; on the other , a vast area of exploitation of raw materials .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the countries in this zone must be considerably weakened , ideally by destroying them and preventing their resurgence by all means .
This “ constructive chaos ” , as Condoleeza Rice put it , should not be confused with the homonymous rabbinic concept , even though the supporters of the theopolitics have done everything in their power to do so .
It is not a question of destroying a bad order in order to rebuild a better one , but of destroying all forms of human organization in order to prevent any form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exploit this area without political constraints .
It is therefore a colonial project in the Anglo-Saxon sense of the term ( not to be confused with a colonization of settlement ) .
According to this map , taken from a Powerpoint by Thomas P. M. Barnett at a conference at the Pentagon in 2003 , all state structures in the dewy zone must be destroyed .
War Is A Racket : Origi ... Smedley D. Butler Best Price : $ 3.13 Buy New $ 3.75 In beginning to implement this strategy , President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war without end .
Indeed , it is no longer a question of winning wars and defeating opponents , but of making them last as long as possible , “ a century ” he said .
In fact , this strategy has been applied in the “ Broader Middle East ” – an area stretching from Pakistan to Morocco and covering the entire CentCom theatre of operations and the northern part of the AfriCom theatre of operations .
In the past , the IMs guaranteed US access to oil from the Persian Gulf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are present in an area four times larger and aim to overturn any form of order .
The state structures of Afghanistan since 2001 , Iraq since 2003 , Libya since 2011 , Syria since 2012 and Yemen since 2015 are no longer capable of defending their citizens .
Contrary to official discourse , there has never been any question of overthrowing governments , but rather of destroying states and preventing their reconstitution .
For example , the situation of the people of Afghanistan did not improve with the fall of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting worse and worse by the day .
The only counter-example could be that of Syria , which , in accordance with its historical tradition , has kept its state despite the war , absorbed the blows , and although ruined today , has weathered the storm .
It should be noted in passing that the Pentagon has always considered Israel as a European state and not as a Middle Eastern state .
It is therefore not affected by this vast upheaval .
In 2001 , the enthusiastic Colonel Ralf Peters assured that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( sic ) , but that the laws of war forbade the USA to carry it out itself .
Hence the transformation of Al-Qaeda and the creation of Daesh , which did for the Pentagon what it wanted but could not undertake publicly .
To understand the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy , it should be distinguished from the “ Arab Spring ” operation , imagined by the British on the model of the “ Great Arab Revolt ” .
The idea was to put the Muslim Brotherhood in power , just as Lawrence of Arabia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in power in 1915 .
The official , albeit not publicly assumed , objective of the U.S. General Staff : to blow up the borders of the Middle East , to destroy both enemy and friendly states , to practice ethnic cleansing .
Westerners in general have no vision of the broader Middle East as a geographical region .
They know only certain countries and perceive them as isolated from each other .
In this way , they convince themselves that the tragic events that these peoples are enduring are all due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war , in others the overthrow of a bloodthirsty dictator .
For each country , they have a well-written history of the reason for the tragedy , but they never have one to explain that the war lasts beyond that , and they certainly do not want to be asked about it .
Each time , they denounce the “ carelessness of the Americans ” who could not end the war , forgetting that they rebuilt Germany and Japan after the Second World War .
They refuse to acknowledge that for two decades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pre-stated plan at the cost of millions of lives .
They therefore never see themselves as responsible for these massacres .
The United States itself denies that it is pursuing this strategy with regard to its citizens .
For example , the inspector general investigating the situation in Afghanistan wrote a report lamenting the countless missed opportunities for the Pentagon to bring peace when precisely the Pentagon did not want peace .
In order to pulverize all the states of the broader Middle East , the Pentagon organized an absurd regional civil war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointless war between Iraq and Iran ( 1980-88 ) .
Eventually President Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini realized that they were killing each other for nothing and made peace against the West .
This time it was the opposition between Sunnis and Shiites .
On one side , Saudi Arabia and its allies , and on the other , Iran and its allies .
It does not matter whether Wahhabi Saudi Arabia and Khomeini Iran fought together under NATO command during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina ( 1992-95 ) , or whether many troops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not Shiite ( 100 % of the Palestinians of Islamic Jihad , 70 % of the Lebanese , 90 % of the Syrians , 35 % of the Iraqis and 5 % of the Iranians ) .
No one knows why these two camps are fighting each other , but they are asked to bleed each other .
One third of the populations of the Shia Axis of Resistance are not Shia .
In any case , in 2014 , the Pentagon was preparing to recognise two new states in accordance with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kurdistan ” ( fusion of the Syrian Rojava and the Kurdish Governorate of Iraq to which part of Iran and all of eastern Turkey were to be added at a later date ) and “ Sunnistan ” ( composed of the Sunni part of Iraq and eastern Syria ) .
By destroying four states , the Pentagon paved the way for a chain reaction that would in turn destroy the entire region .
Russia then intervened militarily and enforced the borders of the Second World War .
It goes without saying that these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreements of 1915 , and sometimes difficult to bear , but changing them by blood is even less acceptable .
The Pentagon ’ s communication has always pretended to ignore what was at stake .
Both because it does not publicly assume the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy and because it equates the Crimea ’ s accession to the Russian Federation with a coup de force .
The moult of supporters of the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy After two years of fierce fighting against President Trump , the general officers of the Pentagon , almost all of whom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ submitted to him under conditions .
They agreed not to create a terrorist state ( Sunnistan or Caliphate ) ; change borders by force ; maintaining US troops on the battlefields of the Broader Middle East and Africa .
In exchange , they ordered their loyal prosecutor Robert Mueller , whom they had already used against Panama ( 1987-89 ) , Libya ( 1988-92 ) and in the 9/11 attacks ( 2001 ) , to bury his investigation into Russiagate .
Then everything unfurled as smoothly as a player piano roll .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the execution of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi , the main military figure in the Sunni camp .
Two months later , on January 3 , 2020 , he ordered the execution of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani , the main military figure of the Axis of Resistance .
Having thus shown that he remained the master of the game by eliminating the most symbolic personalities of both sides , claiming it , and without incurring any significant retaliation , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed the final scheme on January 19 in Cairo .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ no longer with the US armies , but with those of NATO , including Israel and the Arab countries .
On the 1st of February , Turkey made its break with Russia official by assassinating four FSB officers in Idleb .
Then President Erdogan went to Ukraine to chant the motto of the Banderists ( the Ukrainian legionnaires of the Third Reich against the Soviets ) with the Ukrainian National Guard and receive the head of the International Islamist Brigade ( the anti-Russian Tatars ) , Mustafa Djemilev ( known as “ Mustafa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 13 , the Defence Ministers of the Atlantic Alliance noted the inevitable withdrawal of US forces and the forthcoming dissolution of the International Coalition Against Daesh .
While stressing that they were not deploying fighting troops , they agreed to send their soldiers to train those of the Arab armies , i.e .
to supervise the fighting on the ground .
NATO trainers will be deployed primarily to Tunisia , Egypt , Jordan and Iraq .
For example : Libya will be encircled in the west and east .
The two rival @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Qatar and already 5,000 jihadists from Syria via Tunisia- and Marshal Khalifa -supported by Egypt and the Emirates- will be able to kill each other forever .
Germany , happy to regain the international role it has been deprived of since the Second World War , will play the gadfly by talking about peace to cover the moans of the dying .
Syria will be surrounded on all sides .
Israel is already a de facto member of the Atlantic Alliance and bombs whoever it wants whenever it wants .
Jordan is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partner ” .
King Abdullah II came to Brussels on January 14th for lengthy talks with the Secretary General of the Alliance , Jens Stoltenberg , and attended a meeting of the Atlantic Council .
Israel and Jordan already have permanent offices at Alliance Headquarters .
Iraq will also receive NATO trainers , although its parliament has just voted to withdraw foreign troops .
Turkey is already a member of the Alliance and controls northern Lebanon through the Jamaa Islamiya .
Together , they will be able to enforce the US ’ Caesar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help in the reconstruction of this country .
Thus , the pillaging of the wider Middle East , which began in 2001 , will continue .
The martyred populations of this region , whose only fault is to have been divided , will continue to suffer and die en masse .
The United States will keep its soldiers at home , warm and innocent , while the Europeans will have to take responsibility for the crimes of the US generals .
According to President Trump , the Alliance could change its name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Its anti-Russian function would take a back seat to its strategy of destroying the non-globalized zone .
The question arises as to how Russia and China will react to this redistribution of the cards .
China needs access to raw materials from the Middle East in order to develop .
It should therefore oppose this Western takeover even though its military preparation is still incomplete .
On the contrary , Russia and its huge territory are self-sufficient .
Moscow has no material reason to fight .
The Russians may even be relieved by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is likely , however , that , for spiritual reasons , they will not let Syria down and may support other peoples in the wider Middle East .
[ 1 ] “ Stability , America ’ s Ennemy ” , Ralph Peters , Parameters , Winter 2001-02 , pp .
5-20 .
Reproduit in Beyond Terror : Strategy in a Changing World , Stackpole Books .
[ 2 ] “ Blood borders – How a better Middle East would look ” , Colonel Ralph Peters , Armed Forces Journal , June 2006 .
@ @ @ @ @

For two decades, US troops have been imposing their law on the broader Middle East. Entire countries are now without a state to defend them. Populations have been subjected to the dictatorship of the Islamists. Mass murders have been committed. There have been famines as well. President Donald Trump has forced his generals to repatriate their soldiers, but the Pentagon intends to continue its work with NATO soldiers.
President Trump will spend the last year of his first term in office bringing the Boys home. All U.S. troops stationed in the broader Middle East and Africa are expected to withdraw. However, this withdrawal of troops will in no way mean the end of US governance in these regions of the world. Quite the contrary.
The Pentagon’s strategy
Since 2001 – and this is one of the main reasons for the 9/11 attacks – the United States has secretly adopted the strategy outlined by Donald Rumsfeld and Admiral Arthur Cebrowski. This strategy was mentioned in the Army Review by Colonel Ralf Peters two days after the attacks [1] and confirmed five years later by the publication of the staff map of the new Middle East [2]. It was detailed by Admiral Cebrowski’s assistant, Thomas Barnett, in a popular book The Pentagon’s New Map [3].
It is about adapting the missions of the US armies to a new form of capitalism giving primacy to Finance over Economics. The world must be divided in two. On the one hand, stable states integrated into globalization (which includes Russia and China); on the other, a vast area of exploitation of raw materials. This is why the state structures of the countries in this zone must be considerably weakened, ideally by destroying them and preventing their resurgence by all means. This “constructive chaos”, as Condoleeza Rice put it, should not be confused with the homonymous rabbinic concept, even though the supporters of the theopolitics have done everything in their power to do so. It is not a question of destroying a bad order in order to rebuild a better one, but of destroying all forms of human organization in order to prevent any form of resistance and to allow transnationals to exploit this area without political constraints. It is therefore a colonial project in the Anglo-Saxon sense of the term (not to be confused with a colonization of settlement).
According to this map, taken from a Powerpoint by Thomas P. M. Barnett at a conference at the Pentagon in 2003, all state structures in the dewy zone must be destroyed.
War Is A Racket: Origi... Butler, Smedley D. Best Price: $4.72 Buy New $3.75 (as of 08:05 UTC - Details) In beginning to implement this strategy, President George Bush Jr. spoke of a “war without end. Indeed, it is no longer a question of winning wars and defeating opponents, but of making them last as long as possible, “a century” he said. In fact, this strategy has been applied in the “Broader Middle East” – an area stretching from Pakistan to Morocco and covering the entire CentCom theatre of operations and the northern part of the AfriCom theatre of operations. In the past, the IMs guaranteed US access to oil from the Persian Gulf (Carter doctrine). Today, they are present in an area four times larger and aim to overturn any form of order. The state structures of Afghanistan since 2001, Iraq since 2003, Libya since 2011, Syria since 2012 and Yemen since 2015 are no longer capable of defending their citizens. Contrary to official discourse, there has never been any question of overthrowing governments, but rather of destroying states and preventing their reconstitution. For example, the situation of the people of Afghanistan did not improve with the fall of the Taliban 19 years ago, but is getting worse and worse by the day. The only counter-example could be that of Syria, which, in accordance with its historical tradition, has kept its state despite the war, absorbed the blows, and although ruined today, has weathered the storm.
It should be noted in passing that the Pentagon has always considered Israel as a European state and not as a Middle Eastern state. It is therefore not affected by this vast upheaval.
In 2001, the enthusiastic Colonel Ralf Peters assured that ethnic cleansing “it works! “(sic), but that the laws of war forbade the USA to carry it out itself. Hence the transformation of Al-Qaeda and the creation of Daesh, which did for the Pentagon what it wanted but could not undertake publicly.
To understand the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy, it should be distinguished from the “Arab Spring” operation, imagined by the British on the model of the “Great Arab Revolt”. The idea was to put the Muslim Brotherhood in power, just as Lawrence of Arabia had put the Brotherhood of the Wahhabites in power in 1915.
The official, albeit not publicly assumed, objective of the U.S. General Staff: to blow up the borders of the Middle East, to destroy both enemy and friendly states, to practice ethnic cleansing.
Westerners in general have no vision of the broader Middle East as a geographical region. They know only certain countries and perceive them as isolated from each other. In this way, they convince themselves that the tragic events that these peoples are enduring are all due to special reasons, in some cases civil war, in others the overthrow of a bloodthirsty dictator. For each country, they have a well-written history of the reason for the tragedy, but they never have one to explain that the war lasts beyond that, and they certainly do not want to be asked about it. Each time, they denounce the “carelessness of the Americans” who could not end the war, forgetting that they rebuilt Germany and Japan after the Second World War. They refuse to acknowledge that for two decades the United States has been implementing a pre-stated plan at the cost of millions of lives. They therefore never see themselves as responsible for these massacres.
The United States itself denies that it is pursuing this strategy with regard to its citizens. For example, the inspector general investigating the situation in Afghanistan wrote a report lamenting the countless missed opportunities for the Pentagon to bring peace when precisely the Pentagon did not want peace.
The Russian intervention
In order to pulverize all the states of the broader Middle East, the Pentagon organized an absurd regional civil war in the manner it had invented the pointless war between Iraq and Iran (1980-88). Eventually President Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini realized that they were killing each other for nothing and made peace against the West.
This time it was the opposition between Sunnis and Shiites. On one side, Saudi Arabia and its allies, and on the other, Iran and its allies. It does not matter whether Wahhabi Saudi Arabia and Khomeini Iran fought together under NATO command during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-95), or whether many troops of the “Axis of Resistance” are not Shiite (100% of the Palestinians of Islamic Jihad, 70% of the Lebanese, 90% of the Syrians, 35% of the Iraqis and 5% of the Iranians).
No one knows why these two camps are fighting each other, but they are asked to bleed each other.
One third of the populations of the Shia Axis of Resistance are not Shia.
In any case, in 2014, the Pentagon was preparing to recognise two new states in accordance with its map of objectives: “Free Kurdistan” (fusion of the Syrian Rojava and the Kurdish Governorate of Iraq to which part of Iran and all of eastern Turkey were to be added at a later date) and “Sunnistan” (composed of the Sunni part of Iraq and eastern Syria). By destroying four states, the Pentagon paved the way for a chain reaction that would in turn destroy the entire region.
Russia then intervened militarily and enforced the borders of the Second World War. It goes without saying that these are arbitrary, stemming from the Sykes-Picot-Sazonov agreements of 1915, and sometimes difficult to bear, but changing them by blood is even less acceptable.
The Pentagon’s communication has always pretended to ignore what was at stake. Both because it does not publicly assume the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy and because it equates the Crimea’s accession to the Russian Federation with a coup de force.
The moult of supporters of the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy
After two years of fierce fighting against President Trump, the general officers of the Pentagon, almost all of whom were personally trained by Admiral Cebrowski, submitted to him under conditions. They agreed not to
create a terrorist state (Sunnistan or Caliphate);
change borders by force;
maintaining US troops on the battlefields of the Broader Middle East and Africa.
In exchange, they ordered their loyal prosecutor Robert Mueller, whom they had already used against Panama (1987-89), Libya (1988-92) and in the 9/11 attacks (2001), to bury his investigation into Russiagate.
Then everything unfurled as smoothly as a player piano roll.
On 27 October 2019, President Trump ordered the execution of Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the main military figure in the Sunni camp. Two months later, on January 3, 2020, he ordered the execution of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the main military figure of the Axis of Resistance.
Having thus shown that he remained the master of the game by eliminating the most symbolic personalities of both sides, claiming it, and without incurring any significant retaliation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed the final scheme on January 19 in Cairo. He plans to pursue the Rumsfeld/Cebrowski strategy no longer with the US armies, but with those of NATO, including Israel and the Arab countries.
On the 1st of February, Turkey made its break with Russia official by assassinating four FSB officers in Idleb. Then President Erdogan went to Ukraine to chant the motto of the Banderists (the Ukrainian legionnaires of the Third Reich against the Soviets) with the Ukrainian National Guard and receive the head of the International Islamist Brigade (the anti-Russian Tatars), Mustafa Djemilev (known as “Mustafa Kırımoğlu”).
On February 12 and 13, the Defence Ministers of the Atlantic Alliance noted the inevitable withdrawal of US forces and the forthcoming dissolution of the International Coalition Against Daesh. While stressing that they were not deploying fighting troops, they agreed to send their soldiers to train those of the Arab armies, i.e. to supervise the fighting on the ground.
NATO trainers will be deployed primarily to Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. For example:
Libya will be encircled in the west and east. The two rival governments of Fayez el-Sarraj -supported by Turkey, Qatar and already 5,000 jihadists from Syria via Tunisia- and Marshal Khalifa -supported by Egypt and the Emirates- will be able to kill each other forever. Germany, happy to regain the international role it has been deprived of since the Second World War, will play the gadfly by talking about peace to cover the moans of the dying.
Syria will be surrounded on all sides. Israel is already a de facto member of the Atlantic Alliance and bombs whoever it wants whenever it wants. Jordan is already NATO’s “best global partner”. King Abdullah II came to Brussels on January 14th for lengthy talks with the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, and attended a meeting of the Atlantic Council. Israel and Jordan already have permanent offices at Alliance Headquarters. Iraq will also receive NATO trainers, although its parliament has just voted to withdraw foreign troops. Turkey is already a member of the Alliance and controls northern Lebanon through the Jamaa Islamiya . Together, they will be able to enforce the US ’Caesar’ law forbidding any company from anywhere to help in the reconstruction of this country.
Thus, the pillaging of the wider Middle East, which began in 2001, will continue. The martyred populations of this region, whose only fault is to have been divided, will continue to suffer and die en masse. The United States will keep its soldiers at home, warm and innocent, while the Europeans will have to take responsibility for the crimes of the US generals.
According to President Trump, the Alliance could change its name to NATO-Middle East (NATO-MO/NATO-ME). Its anti-Russian function would take a back seat to its strategy of destroying the non-globalized zone.
The question arises as to how Russia and China will react to this redistribution of the cards. China needs access to raw materials from the Middle East in order to develop. It should therefore oppose this Western takeover even though its military preparation is still incomplete. On the contrary, Russia and its huge territory are self-sufficient. Moscow has no material reason to fight. The Russians may even be relieved by NATO’s new orientation. It is likely, however, that, for spiritual reasons, they will not let Syria down and may support other peoples in the wider Middle East.
—
[1] “Stability, America’s Ennemy”, Ralph Peters, Parameters, Winter 2001-02, pp. 5-20. Reproduit in Beyond Terror : Strategy in a Changing World, Stackpole Books.
[2] “Blood borders – How a better Middle East would look”, Colonel Ralph Peters, Armed Forces Journal, June 2006.
[3] The Pentagon’s New Map, Thomas P.M. Barnett, Putnam Publishing Group, 2004.
The Best of Thierry Meyssan


lewrockwell--2020-02-19--Mike Bloomberg: Trojan Horse for a Clintonista Revival

It ’ s been obvious to me since he declared that Mike Bloomberg is not a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination .
He is everything the Democratic base doesn ’ t want — white , billionaire , oligarch , Wall St. 0.000001 % ’ er .
Oh , and until just a couple of years ago , he was a Republican .
Billionaires like Bloomberg change parties to where ever they see their money will go the farthest .
Right now , that is the quickly fracturing Democrats , who are staring at a revolt to Bernie Sanders that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at all .
It ’ s also obvious that Bloomberg is animated by personal animus towards Donald Trump that I suspect is as much about Mike ’ s ego as it is his desire to protect Wall St. from having any of its dirty laundry aired during a Trump 2nd term .
Because with the failure to convict Trump in the Senate those that were behind that coup attempt are now uniquely exposed to his retribution .
And that trail of tears for all involved leads right back up to Hillary Clinton ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bid .
Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ 8.00 With the Democratic presidential field a uniquely inept mix of the hopeless and insane Bloomberg using saturation advertising to buy himself wins in delegate-rich red states with weak Democratic parties like North Carolina , Florida and Texas is a good strategy , if he was interested in winning .
But he ’ s not .
He ’ s running to clear the field for Hillary .
Because the fight over these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the delegate count as possible , to strip Bernie Sanders of his chance at the nomination .
Hillary is still angry at Bernie for challenging her in 2016 .
She still wants another chance to fulfill her life ’ s ambition and if she can screw over all the men that she feels denied her that then it will be all the sweeter when it happens .
Because , honestly , Bloomberg isn ’ t interested in being president anymore than I am .
He ’ s 78 .
He ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a pantomime of a campaign covering for a very sophisticated form of campaign finance evasion .
And he ’ s doing it to figure out what is necessary for a ‘ centrist ’ Democratic candidate to say ( and where ) to steal electoral college votes from Donald Trump in November .
Bloomberg is spending this money today knowing that a targeted campaign which can figure out how to undermine Trump where he is strong can shift the map enough to sneak out a victory .
So Mike will spend more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the DNC in the form of campaign advertising to get this done .
Because , let ’ s get serious here for a second .
None of the candidates , including Bernie Sanders , has a hope in hell of beating Trump this fall .
Any mistakes Trump ’ s made dwarf the basic message that he believes in the U.S. in a way that is genuine , even that vision of America is flawed .
The wizards at the DNC know this .
Impeachment was their last real hope .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and so shoddily done , they didn ’ t have anything substantive .
And all it did was cement Trump ’ s base to him more thoroughly than it was before .
Their best shot is running a moderate who can out-Trump Trump on the issues and raise a ton of money along the way for 2024 while retaining some control over the party proper .
The intention is to hoover up delegates , confound the map and throw up roadblocks to Bernie .
This paves the way for Hillary ’ s emergence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rematch she , Wall St. and the DNC want .
The messaging has already begun .
Drudge ‘ broke ’ the story the other day about Bloomberg being open to Hillary as his running mate .
Oh please !
It ’ s the other way around .
And I ’ ve been running that story since October .
Tulsi Gabbard unmasked Hillary ’ s manipulating events no-to-subtlety .
It ’ s clear the DNC want Hillary and another beta-male , Pete Buttigieg , as her running mate .
So , less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this story , video of Bloomberg just happens to show up and go viral showing him saying disparaging things about farmers and metalworkers .
To top it off , he wants to save healthcare by letting old people die .
We all know Mike hates poor people .
He ’ s a geezer auditioning for the top job in the U.S. who hates old people .
He ’ s a thorough authoritarian and corporatist whose disdain for the plebiscite is palpable .
Nothing says U.S. Presidential material like the blatant disregard for human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mike is the perfect candidate ?
All of this was known before , so why these things now ?
These videos and quotes are out there to undermine him , casting him in the role of the out-of-touch oligarch .
This is designed to outrage the Deplorables .
It ’ s designed to put a cap on Mike ’ s likability .
It gives Hillary a wedge to drive in and say , “ No , Mike you can be MY running mate !
” This way , he can have his turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his money to earn some delegates and ensure a brokered convention .
Then hand them to Hillary as a gracious peace offering .
This is about manufacturing Hillary as the unity candidate of a failing Democratic Party while sidelining Bernie in the process .
That ’ s the game plan folks .
If it wasn ’ t all so painfully obvious it would almost be clever .
But it ’ s not because these people simply don ’ t understand why no one likes them .
Bloomberg , Hillary , Biden , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the rest of the crazies , including Bernie , they all suck .
Bernie may be honest that he ’ s a Commie , but that ’ s what makes him un-electable , if a little more likable .
And for 2020 , the DNC would rather roll the dice with two-time loser Hillary , ensuring a candidate acceptable to Wall St. wins , than put Bernie up as the nominee .
Left of Bang : How the ... Patrick Van Horne , Jas ... Best Price : $ 12.13 Buy New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Democrats become the Commie and Crazy-Cat Lady party with Bernie as the nominee .
And that creates a clear delineation between them and the Republicans .
But , that ’ s the worst possible result .
Because , the most important thing to Bloomberg , Hillary and those they represent is that the illusion of choice between globalist dirtbags remains in place .
This is the true face of Democracy in the U.S. That ’ s the key to understanding the game he and Hillary are playing .
And once you see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s no unseeing it .
If Bernie sees it clearly , then he will take his Bros , extend his hand to Gabbard and run an independent campaign to split the Blue Wall and destroy these people for real .
If he doesn ’ t then he ’ s the same feckless schmuck I pegged him to be in 2016 .
Either way , this is now Hillary ’ s nomination and Bloomberg is the latest goat on its way to her altar .
The Best of Thomas Luongo

It’s been obvious to me since he declared that Mike Bloomberg is not a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination. He is everything the Democratic base doesn’t want — white, billionaire, oligarch, Wall St. 0.000001%’er.
Oh, and until just a couple of years ago, he was a Republican. Billionaires like Bloomberg change parties to where ever they see their money will go the farthest.
Right now, that is the quickly fracturing Democrats, who are staring at a revolt to Bernie Sanders that doesn’t sit with Wall St. at all.
It’s also obvious that Bloomberg is animated by personal animus towards Donald Trump that I suspect is as much about Mike’s ego as it is his desire to protect Wall St. from having any of its dirty laundry aired during a Trump 2nd term.
Because with the failure to convict Trump in the Senate those that were behind that coup attempt are now uniquely exposed to his retribution. And that trail of tears for all involved leads right back up to Hillary Clinton’s poisoned garden of a 2016 presidential bid. Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details)
With the Democratic presidential field a uniquely inept mix of the hopeless and insane Bloomberg using saturation advertising to buy himself wins in delegate-rich red states with weak Democratic parties like North Carolina, Florida and Texas is a good strategy, if he was interested in winning.
But he’s not. He’s running to clear the field for Hillary.
Because the fight over these early states are as much about splitting the delegate count as possible, to strip Bernie Sanders of his chance at the nomination. Hillary is still angry at Bernie for challenging her in 2016.
She still wants another chance to fulfill her life’s ambition and if she can screw over all the men that she feels denied her that then it will be all the sweeter when it happens.
Because, honestly, Bloomberg isn’t interested in being president anymore than I am. He’s 78. He’s not campaigning. What he’s doing is a pantomime of a campaign covering for a very sophisticated form of campaign finance evasion.
And he’s doing it to figure out what is necessary for a ‘centrist’ Democratic candidate to say (and where) to steal electoral college votes from Donald Trump in November.
Bloomberg is spending this money today knowing that a targeted campaign which can figure out how to undermine Trump where he is strong can shift the map enough to sneak out a victory.
So Mike will spend more than $1 billion as an in-kind contribution to the DNC in the form of campaign advertising to get this done.
Because, let’s get serious here for a second. None of the candidates, including Bernie Sanders, has a hope in hell of beating Trump this fall. Any mistakes Trump’s made dwarf the basic message that he believes in the U.S. in a way that is genuine, even that vision of America is flawed.
The wizards at the DNC know this. Impeachment was their last real hope. That’s why it was rushed through and so shoddily done, they didn’t have anything substantive. And all it did was cement Trump’s base to him more thoroughly than it was before.
Their best shot is running a moderate who can out-Trump Trump on the issues and raise a ton of money along the way for 2024 while retaining some control over the party proper.
The intention is to hoover up delegates, confound the map and throw up roadblocks to Bernie. This paves the way for Hillary’s emergence at a brokered convention to hand her the rematch she, Wall St. and the DNC want.
The messaging has already begun. Drudge ‘broke’ the story the other day about Bloomberg being open to Hillary as his running mate. Oh please! It’s the other way around.
And I’ve been running that story since October. Tulsi Gabbard unmasked Hillary’s manipulating events no-to-subtlety.
It’s clear the DNC want Hillary and another beta-male, Pete Buttigieg, as her running mate.
So, less than 48 hours after Drudge ‘breaks’ this story, video of Bloomberg just happens to show up and go viral showing him saying disparaging things about farmers and metalworkers.
To top it off, he wants to save healthcare by letting old people die.
We all know Mike hates poor people. He’s a geezer auditioning for the top job in the U.S. who hates old people. He’s a thorough authoritarian and corporatist whose disdain for the plebiscite is palpable.
Nothing says U.S. Presidential material like the blatant disregard for human suffering. On second thought, maybe Mike is the perfect candidate?
All of this was known before, so why these things now?
These videos and quotes are out there to undermine him, casting him in the role of the out-of-touch oligarch.
This is designed to outrage the Deplorables. It’s designed to put a cap on Mike’s likability. It gives Hillary a wedge to drive in and say, “No, Mike you can be MY running mate!”
Mike Bloomberg: billionaire, entrepreneur, media mogul, three-time Mayor of New York, bond vigilante… beta-cuck.
So thoroughly Hillary.
This way, he can have his turn as the front-runner, rising far enough on his money to earn some delegates and ensure a brokered convention. Then hand them to Hillary as a gracious peace offering.
This is about manufacturing Hillary as the unity candidate of a failing Democratic Party while sidelining Bernie in the process. That’s the game plan folks.
It’s not tough, honestly.
If it wasn’t all so painfully obvious it would almost be clever. But it’s not because these people simply don’t understand why no one likes them.
Because they suck.
Bloomberg, Hillary, Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Booker, Harris and the rest of the crazies, including Bernie, they all suck. Bernie may be honest that he’s a Commie, but that’s what makes him un-electable, if a little more likable.
And for 2020, the DNC would rather roll the dice with two-time loser Hillary, ensuring a candidate acceptable to Wall St. wins, than put Bernie up as the nominee. Left of Bang: How the ... Patrick Van Horne, Jas... Best Price: $12.13 Buy New $14.63 (as of 08:15 UTC - Details)
Because no matter what happens the Democrats become the Commie and Crazy-Cat Lady party with Bernie as the nominee. And that creates a clear delineation between them and the Republicans.
But, that’s the worst possible result. Because, the most important thing to Bloomberg, Hillary and those they represent is that the illusion of choice between globalist dirtbags remains in place. This is the true face of Democracy in the U.S.
That’s the key to understanding the game he and Hillary are playing.
And once you see that for what it is there’s no unseeing it.
If Bernie sees it clearly, then he will take his Bros, extend his hand to Gabbard and run an independent campaign to split the Blue Wall and destroy these people for real.
If he doesn’t then he’s the same feckless schmuck I pegged him to be in 2016.
Either way, this is now Hillary’s nomination and Bloomberg is the latest goat on its way to her altar.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
The Best of Tom Luongo


lewrockwell--2020-02-19--Compliance 101: Gun-Toting Cops Endanger Students and Turn the Schools into Prisons.

Just when you thought the government couldn ’ t get any more tone-deaf about civil liberties and the growing need to protect “ we the people ” against an overreaching , overbearing police state , the Trump Administration ushers in even more strident zero tolerance policies that treat children like suspects and criminals , greater numbers of school cops , and all the trappings of a prison complex ( unsurmountable fences , entrapment areas , no windows or trees , etc. )
.
The fallout has been what you ’ d expect , with the nation ’ s young people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrested , tasered , tackled and taught the painful lesson that the Constitution ( especially the Fourth Amendment ) doesn ’ t mean much in the American police state .
For example , in Florida , a cop assigned to River Ridge High School as a school resource officer , threatened to shoot a student attempting to leave school for a morning orthodontist appointment .
In Pennsylvania , school officials called in the cops after a 6-year-old with Down syndrome pointed a finger gun at her teacher .
Battlefield America : T ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10.95 Buy New $ 18.80 In Kentucky , a school resource officer with the sheriff ’ s office handcuffed two elementary school children with disabilities , ages 8 and 9 .
A federal judge made the sheriff ’ s office pay more than $ 300,000 ( of taxpayer money ) to the families , ruling that the handcuffing of the students “ was an unconstitutional seizure and excessive force.
” Welcome to Compliance 101 : the police state ’ s primer in how to churn out compliant citizens and transform the nation ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of surveillance cameras , metal detectors , police patrols , zero tolerance policies , lock downs , drug sniffing dogs , strip searches and active shooter drills .
If you were wondering , these police state tactics have not made the schools any safer .
Rather , they ’ ve turned the schools into authoritarian microcosms of the police state , containing almost every aspect of the militarized , intolerant , senseless , overcriminalized , legalistic , surveillance-riddled , totalitarian landscape that plagues those of us on the “ outside.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intention to “ harden ” the schools , our nation ’ s children are reaping the ill effects of gun-toting , taser-wielding cops in government-run schools that bear an uncomfortable resemblance to prisons .
America ’ s schools are about as authoritarian as they come .
From the moment a child enters one of the nation ’ s 98,000 public schools to the moment he or she graduates , they will be exposed to a steady diet of : • politically correct mindsets that teach young people to censor themselves and those around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surveillance systems that , coupled with the rest , acclimate young people to a world in which they have no freedom of thought , speech or movement .
Young people in America are now first in line to be searched , surveilled , spied on , threatened , tied up , locked down , treated like criminals for non-criminal behavior , tasered and in some cases shot .
In my day , if you talked back to a teacher , or played a prank on a classmate , or just failed to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in detention or doing an extra writing assignment after school .
That is no longer the case .
Nowadays , students are not only punished for minor transgressions such as playing cops and robbers on the playground , bringing LEGOs to school , or having a food fight , but the punishments have become far more severe , shifting from detention and visits to the principal ’ s office into misdemeanor tickets , juvenile court , handcuffs , tasers and even prison terms .
Students have been suspended under school zero tolerance policies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substances ” such as oregano , breath mints , birth control pills and powdered sugar .
Look-alike weapons ( toy guns—even Lego-sized ones , hand-drawn pictures of guns , pencils twirled in a “ threatening ” manner , imaginary bows and arrows , even fingers positioned like guns ) can also land a student in hot water .
Even good deeds do not go unpunished .
One 13-year-old was given detention for exposing the school to “ liability ” by sharing his lunch with a hungry friend .
A third grader was suspended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a friend who had lost her hair to chemotherapy .
And then there was the high school senior who was suspended for saying “ bless you ” after a fellow classmate sneezed .
In South Carolina , where it ’ s against the law to disturb a school , more than a thousand students a year—some as young as 7 years old— “ face criminal charges for not following directions , loitering , cursing , or the vague allegation of acting ‘ obnoxiously.
’ If charged as adults , they can be held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” These outrageous incidents are exactly what you ’ ll see more of if the Trump Administration gets its way .
Increasing the number of cops in the schools only adds to the problem .
Thanks to a combination of media hype , political pandering and financial incentives , the use of armed police officers ( a.k.a .
school resource officers ) to patrol school hallways has risen dramatically in the years since the Columbine school shooting .
Indeed , the growing presence of police in the nation ’ s schools is resulting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discipline matters that principals and parents used to address without involvement from law enforcement officers.
” Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice , these school resource officers ( SRO ) have become de facto wardens in elementary , middle and high schools , doling out their own brand of justice to the so-called “ criminals ” in their midst with the help of tasers , pepper spray , batons and brute force .
In the absence of school-appropriate guidelines , police are more and more “ stepping in to deal with minor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , brief physical skirmishes .
What previously might have resulted in a detention or a visit to the principal ’ s office was replaced with excruciating pain and temporary blindness , often followed by a trip to the courthouse.
” One SRO was accused of punching a 13-year-old student in the face for cutting the cafeteria line .
That same cop put another student in a chokehold a week later , allegedly knocking the student unconscious and causing a brain injury .
In Pennsylvania , a student was tasered after ignoring an order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When 13-year-old Kevens Jean Baptiste failed to follow a school bus driver ’ s direction to keep the bus windows closed ( Kevens , who suffers from asthma , opened the window after a fellow student sprayed perfume , causing him to cough and wheeze ) , he was handcuffed by police , removed from the bus , and while still handcuffed , had his legs swept out from under him by an officer , causing him to crash to the ground .
Young Alex Stone didn ’ t even make it past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became a victim of the police state .
Directed by his teacher to do a creative writing assignment involving a series of fictional Facebook statuses , Stone wrote , “ I killed my neighbor ’ s pet dinosaur .
I bought the gun to take care of the business.
” Despite the fact that dinosaurs are extinct , the status fabricated , and the South Carolina student was merely following orders , his teacher reported him to school administrators , who in turn called the police .
What followed is par for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ locked down in their classrooms while armed police searched the 16-year-old ’ s locker and bookbag , handcuffed him , charged him with disorderly conduct disturbing the school , arrested him , detained him , and then he was suspended from school .
Not even the younger , elementary school-aged kids are being spared these “ hardening ” tactics .
On any given day when school is in session , kids who “ act up ” in class are pinned facedown on the floor , locked in dark closets , tied up with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , handcuffed , leg shackled , tasered or otherwise restrained , immobilized or placed in solitary confinement in order to bring them under “ control.
” In almost every case , these undeniably harsh methods are used to punish kids—some as young as 4 and 5 years old—for simply failing to follow directions or throwing tantrums .
Very rarely do the kids pose any credible danger to themselves or others .
Unbelievably , these tactics are all legal , at least when employed by school officials or school resource officers in the nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what happens when you introduce police and police tactics into the schools .
Paradoxically , by the time you add in the lockdowns and active shooter drills , instead of making the schools safer , school officials have succeeded in creating an environment in which children are so traumatized that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder , nightmares , anxiety , mistrust of adults in authority , as well as feelings of anger , depression , humiliation , despair and delusion .
For example , a middle school in Washington State went on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gun to class .
A Boston high school went into lockdown for four hours after a bullet was discovered in a classroom .
A North Carolina elementary school locked down and called in police after a fifth grader reported seeing an unfamiliar man in the school ( it turned out to be a parent ) .
Police officers at a Florida middle school carried out an active shooter drill in an effort to educate students about how to respond in the event of an actual shooting crisis .
Two armed officers , guns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , terrorizing the students and placing the school into lockdown mode .
If these exercises are intended to instill fear and compliance into young people , they ’ re working .
As journalist Dahlia Lithwick points out : “ I don ’ t recall any serious national public dialogue about lockdown protocols or how they became the norm .
It seems simply to have begun , modeling itself on the lockdowns that occur during prison riots , and then spread until school lockdowns and lockdown drills are as common for our children as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ duck-and-cover drills were in the 1950s.
” The toll such incidents take on adults can be life-altering , but when such police brutality is perpetrated on young people , the end result is nothing less than complete indoctrination into becoming compliant citizens of a totalitarian state .
Students treated like inmates and punished like hardened criminals .
This is the end product of all those so-called school “ safety ” policies , which run the gamut from zero tolerance policies that punish all infractions harshly to surveillance cameras , metal detectors , random @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , active-shooter drills and militarized police officers .
Unfortunately , advocates for such harsh police tactics and weaponry like to trot out the line that school safety should be our first priority lest we find ourselves with another Sandy Hook .
What they will not tell you is that such shootings are rare .
As one congressional report found , the schools are , generally speaking , safe places for children .
In their zeal to crack down on guns and lock down the schools , these cheerleaders for police state tactics in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lucrative , multi-million dollar deals being cut with military contractors such as Taser International to equip these school cops with tasers , tanks , rifles and $ 100,000 shooting detection systems .
Indeed , the transformation of hometown police departments into extensions of the military has been mirrored in the public schools , where school police have been gifted with high-powered M16 rifles , MRAP armored vehicles , grenade launchers , and other military gear .
One Texas school district even boasts its own 12-member SWAT team .
According to one law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Many school districts have formed their own police departments , some so large they rival the forces of major United States cities in size .
For example , the safety division in New York City ’ s public schools is so large that if it were a local police department , it would be the fifth-largest police force in the country.
” There can be no avoiding the hands-on lessons being taught in the schools about the role of police in our lives , ranging from active shooter drills and school-wide lockdowns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typically childlike behavior are suspended ( for shooting an imaginary “ arrow ” at a fellow classmate ) , handcuffed ( for being disruptive at school ) , arrested ( for throwing water balloons as part of a school prank ) , and even tasered ( for not obeying instructions ) .
Instead of raising up a generation of freedom fighters—which one would hope would be the objective of the schools—government officials seem determined to churn out newly minted citizens of the American police state who are being taught the hard way what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ march in lockstep with the government ’ s dictates .
So what ’ s the answer , not only for the here-and-now—the children growing up in these quasi-prisons—but for the future of this country ?
How do you convince a child who has been routinely handcuffed , shackled , tied down , locked up , and immobilized by government officials—all before he reaches the age of adulthood—that he has any rights at all , let alone the right to challenge wrongdoing , resist oppression and defend himself against injustice ?
Most of all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American that the government works for him when , for most of his young life , he has been incarcerated in an institution that teaches young people to be obedient and compliant citizens who don ’ t talk back , don ’ t question and don ’ t challenge authority ?
Peter Gray , a professor of psychology at Boston College , believes that school is a prison that is damaging our kids , and it ’ s hard to disagree , especially with the numbers of police officers being assigned to schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn , are not only finding themselves subjected to police tactics such as handcuffs , leg shackles , tasers and excessive force for “ acting up ” but are also being ticketed , fined and sent to court for behavior perceived as defiant , disruptive or disorderly such as spraying perfume and writing on a desk .
Clearly , the pathology that characterizes the American police state has passed down to the schools .
Now in addition to the government and its agents viewing the citizenry as suspects to be probed , poked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seized , stripped and generally manhandled , all with the general blessing of the courts , our children in the public schools are also fair game for school resource officers who taser teenagers and handcuff kindergartners , school officials who have criminalized childhood behavior , school lockdowns and terror drills that teach your children to fear and comply , and a police state mindset that has transformed the schools into quasi-prisons .
A Government of Wolves ... John W. Whitehead Best Price : $ 1.16 Buy New $ 2.99 Don ’ t even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pipeline , ” the phenomenon in which children who are suspended or expelled from school have a greater likelihood of ending up in jail .
One study found that “ being suspended or expelled made a student nearly three times more likely to come into contact with the juvenile justice system within the next year.
” By the time the average young person in America finishes their public school education , nearly one out of every three of them will have been arrested .
Nearly 40 percent of those young people who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison , where the emphasis is on making profits for large megacorporations above all else .
Indeed , this profit-driven system of incarceration has also given rise to a growth in juvenile prisons and financial incentives for jailing young people .
In this way , young people have become easy targets for the private prison industry , which profits from criminalizing childish behavior and jailing young people .
None of these tactics are making our communities or schools any safer , and they ’ re certainly not contributing to environments in which learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the U.S. invests more money in public education ( roughly $ 13,000 per child per year ) than many other developed countries , we rank around the middle of the pack in science , math and reading , and behind many other advanced industrial nations .
Without a doubt , change is needed , but that will mean taking on the teachers ’ unions , the school unions , the educators ’ associations , and the police unions , not to mention the politicians dependent on their votes and all of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school complex .
As we ’ ve seen with other issues , any significant reforms will have to start locally and trickle upwards .
For starters , parents need to be vocal , visible and organized and demand that school officials 1 ) adopt a policy of positive reinforcement in dealing with behavior issues ; 2 ) minimize the presence in the schools of police officers and cease involving them in student discipline ; and 3 ) insist that all behavioral issues be addressed first and foremost with a child ’ s parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempted .
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America : The War on the American People , if you want a nation of criminals , treat the citizenry like criminals .
If you want young people who grow up seeing themselves as prisoners , run the schools like prisons .
If , on the other hand , you want to raise up a generation of freedom fighters , who will actually operate with justice , fairness , accountability and equality towards each other and their government , then run the schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detectors and surveillance cameras , re-assign the cops elsewhere , and start treating our nation ’ s young people like citizens of a republic and not inmates in a police state penitentiary .
The Best of John W. Whitehead

“Every day in communities across the United States, children and adolescents spend the majority of their waking hours in schools that have increasingly come to resemble places of detention more than places of learning.”—Investigative journalist Annette Fuentes
Just when you thought the government couldn’t get any more tone-deaf about civil liberties and the growing need to protect “we the people” against an overreaching, overbearing police state, the Trump Administration ushers in even more strident zero tolerance policies that treat children like suspects and criminals, greater numbers of school cops, and all the trappings of a prison complex (unsurmountable fences, entrapment areas, no windows or trees, etc.).
The fallout has been what you’d expect, with the nation’s young people treated like hardened criminals: handcuffed, arrested, tasered, tackled and taught the painful lesson that the Constitution (especially the Fourth Amendment) doesn’t mean much in the American police state.
For example, in Florida, a cop assigned to River Ridge High School as a school resource officer, threatened to shoot a student attempting to leave school for a morning orthodontist appointment.
In Pennsylvania, school officials called in the cops after a 6-year-old with Down syndrome pointed a finger gun at her teacher. Battlefield America: T... John W. Whitehead Best Price: $10.95 Buy New $18.80 (as of 10:15 UTC - Details)
In Kentucky, a school resource officer with the sheriff’s office handcuffed two elementary school children with disabilities, ages 8 and 9. A federal judge made the sheriff’s office pay more than $300,000 (of taxpayer money) to the families, ruling that the handcuffing of the students “was an unconstitutional seizure and excessive force.”
Welcome to Compliance 101: the police state’s primer in how to churn out compliant citizens and transform the nation’s school’s into quasi-prisons through the use of surveillance cameras, metal detectors, police patrols, zero tolerance policies, lock downs, drug sniffing dogs, strip searches and active shooter drills.
If you were wondering, these police state tactics have not made the schools any safer.
Rather, they’ve turned the schools into authoritarian microcosms of the police state, containing almost every aspect of the militarized, intolerant, senseless, overcriminalized, legalistic, surveillance-riddled, totalitarian landscape that plagues those of us on the “outside.”
Two years after President Trump announced his intention to “harden” the schools, our nation’s children are reaping the ill effects of gun-toting, taser-wielding cops in government-run schools that bear an uncomfortable resemblance to prisons.
America’s schools are about as authoritarian as they come.
From the moment a child enters one of the nation’s 98,000 public schools to the moment he or she graduates, they will be exposed to a steady diet of:
draconian zero tolerance policies that criminalize childish behavior,
overreaching anti-bullying statutes that criminalize speech,
school resource officers (police) tasked with disciplining and/or arresting so-called “disorderly” students,
standardized testing that emphasizes rote answers over critical thinking,
politically correct mindsets that teach young people to censor themselves and those around them,
and extensive biometric and surveillance systems that, coupled with the rest, acclimate young people to a world in which they have no freedom of thought, speech or movement.
Young people in America are now first in line to be searched, surveilled, spied on, threatened, tied up, locked down, treated like criminals for non-criminal behavior, tasered and in some cases shot.
In my day, if you talked back to a teacher, or played a prank on a classmate, or just failed to do your homework, you might find yourself in detention or doing an extra writing assignment after school.
That is no longer the case.
Nowadays, students are not only punished for minor transgressions such as playing cops and robbers on the playground, bringing LEGOs to school, or having a food fight, but the punishments have become far more severe, shifting from detention and visits to the principal’s office into misdemeanor tickets, juvenile court, handcuffs, tasers and even prison terms.
Students have been suspended under school zero tolerance policies for bringing to school “look alike substances” such as oregano, breath mints, birth control pills and powdered sugar.
Look-alike weapons (toy guns—even Lego-sized ones, hand-drawn pictures of guns, pencils twirled in a “threatening” manner, imaginary bows and arrows, even fingers positioned like guns) can also land a student in hot water.
Even good deeds do not go unpunished.
One 13-year-old was given detention for exposing the school to “liability” by sharing his lunch with a hungry friend. A third grader was suspended for shaving her head in sympathy for a friend who had lost her hair to chemotherapy. And then there was the high school senior who was suspended for saying “bless you” after a fellow classmate sneezed.
In South Carolina, where it’s against the law to disturb a school, more than a thousand students a year—some as young as 7 years old—“face criminal charges for not following directions, loitering, cursing, or the vague allegation of acting ‘obnoxiously.’ If charged as adults, they can be held in jail for up to 90 days.”
These outrageous incidents are exactly what you’ll see more of if the Trump Administration gets its way.
Increasing the number of cops in the schools only adds to the problem.
Thanks to a combination of media hype, political pandering and financial incentives, the use of armed police officers (a.k.a. school resource officers) to patrol school hallways has risen dramatically in the years since the Columbine school shooting.
Indeed, the growing presence of police in the nation’s schools is resulting in greater police “involvement in routine discipline matters that principals and parents used to address without involvement from law enforcement officers.”
Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, these school resource officers (SRO) have become de facto wardens in elementary, middle and high schools, doling out their own brand of justice to the so-called “criminals” in their midst with the help of tasers, pepper spray, batons and brute force.
In the absence of school-appropriate guidelines, police are more and more “stepping in to deal with minor rulebreaking: sagging pants, disrespectful comments, brief physical skirmishes. What previously might have resulted in a detention or a visit to the principal’s office was replaced with excruciating pain and temporary blindness, often followed by a trip to the courthouse.”
The horror stories are legion.
One SRO was accused of punching a 13-year-old student in the face for cutting the cafeteria line.
That same cop put another student in a chokehold a week later, allegedly knocking the student unconscious and causing a brain injury.
In Pennsylvania, a student was tasered after ignoring an order to put his cell phone away.
When 13-year-old Kevens Jean Baptiste failed to follow a school bus driver’s direction to keep the bus windows closed (Kevens, who suffers from asthma, opened the window after a fellow student sprayed perfume, causing him to cough and wheeze), he was handcuffed by police, removed from the bus, and while still handcuffed, had his legs swept out from under him by an officer, causing him to crash to the ground.
Young Alex Stone didn’t even make it past the first week of school before he became a victim of the police state. Directed by his teacher to do a creative writing assignment involving a series of fictional Facebook statuses, Stone wrote, “I killed my neighbor’s pet dinosaur. I bought the gun to take care of the business.” Despite the fact that dinosaurs are extinct, the status fabricated, and the South Carolina student was merely following orders, his teacher reported him to school administrators, who in turn called the police.
What followed is par for the course in schools today: students were locked down in their classrooms while armed police searched the 16-year-old’s locker and bookbag, handcuffed him, charged him with disorderly conduct disturbing the school, arrested him, detained him, and then he was suspended from school.
Not even the younger, elementary school-aged kids are being spared these “hardening” tactics.
On any given day when school is in session, kids who “act up” in class are pinned facedown on the floor, locked in dark closets, tied up with straps, bungee cords and duct tape, handcuffed, leg shackled, tasered or otherwise restrained, immobilized or placed in solitary confinement in order to bring them under “control.”
In almost every case, these undeniably harsh methods are used to punish kids—some as young as 4 and 5 years old—for simply failing to follow directions or throwing tantrums.
Very rarely do the kids pose any credible danger to themselves or others.
Unbelievably, these tactics are all legal, at least when employed by school officials or school resource officers in the nation’s public schools.
This is what happens when you introduce police and police tactics into the schools.
Paradoxically, by the time you add in the lockdowns and active shooter drills, instead of making the schools safer, school officials have succeeded in creating an environment in which children are so traumatized that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, anxiety, mistrust of adults in authority, as well as feelings of anger, depression, humiliation, despair and delusion.
For example, a middle school in Washington State went on lockdown after a student brought a toy gun to class. A Boston high school went into lockdown for four hours after a bullet was discovered in a classroom. A North Carolina elementary school locked down and called in police after a fifth grader reported seeing an unfamiliar man in the school (it turned out to be a parent).
Police officers at a Florida middle school carried out an active shooter drill in an effort to educate students about how to respond in the event of an actual shooting crisis. Two armed officers, guns loaded and drawn, burst into classrooms, terrorizing the students and placing the school into lockdown mode.
If these exercises are intended to instill fear and compliance into young people, they’re working.
As journalist Dahlia Lithwick points out: “I don’t recall any serious national public dialogue about lockdown protocols or how they became the norm. It seems simply to have begun, modeling itself on the lockdowns that occur during prison riots, and then spread until school lockdowns and lockdown drills are as common for our children as fire drills, and as routine as duck-and-cover drills were in the 1950s.”
The toll such incidents take on adults can be life-altering, but when such police brutality is perpetrated on young people, the end result is nothing less than complete indoctrination into becoming compliant citizens of a totalitarian state.
Schools acting like prisons.
School officials acting like wardens.
Students treated like inmates and punished like hardened criminals.
This is the end product of all those so-called school “safety” policies, which run the gamut from zero tolerance policies that punish all infractions harshly to surveillance cameras, metal detectors, random searches, drug-sniffing dogs, school-wide lockdowns, active-shooter drills and militarized police officers.
Unfortunately, advocates for such harsh police tactics and weaponry like to trot out the line that school safety should be our first priority lest we find ourselves with another Sandy Hook.
What they will not tell you is that such shootings are rare.
As one congressional report found, the schools are, generally speaking, safe places for children.
In their zeal to crack down on guns and lock down the schools, these cheerleaders for police state tactics in the schools might also fail to mention the lucrative, multi-million dollar deals being cut with military contractors such as Taser International to equip these school cops with tasers, tanks, rifles and $100,000 shooting detection systems.
Indeed, the transformation of hometown police departments into extensions of the military has been mirrored in the public schools, where school police have been gifted with high-powered M16 rifles, MRAP armored vehicles, grenade launchers, and other military gear. One Texas school district even boasts its own 12-member SWAT team.
According to one law review article on the school-to-prison pipeline, “Many school districts have formed their own police departments, some so large they rival the forces of major United States cities in size. For example, the safety division in New York City’s public schools is so large that if it were a local police department, it would be the fifth-largest police force in the country.”
The ramifications are far-reaching.
There can be no avoiding the hands-on lessons being taught in the schools about the role of police in our lives, ranging from active shooter drills and school-wide lockdowns to incidents in which children engaging in typically childlike behavior are suspended (for shooting an imaginary “arrow” at a fellow classmate), handcuffed (for being disruptive at school), arrested (for throwing water balloons as part of a school prank), and even tasered (for not obeying instructions).
Instead of raising up a generation of freedom fighters—which one would hope would be the objective of the schools—government officials seem determined to churn out newly minted citizens of the American police state who are being taught the hard way what it means to comply, fear and march in lockstep with the government’s dictates.
So what’s the answer, not only for the here-and-now—the children growing up in these quasi-prisons—but for the future of this country?
How do you convince a child who has been routinely handcuffed, shackled, tied down, locked up, and immobilized by government officials—all before he reaches the age of adulthood—that he has any rights at all, let alone the right to challenge wrongdoing, resist oppression and defend himself against injustice?
Most of all, how do you persuade a fellow American that the government works for him when, for most of his young life, he has been incarcerated in an institution that teaches young people to be obedient and compliant citizens who don’t talk back, don’t question and don’t challenge authority?
Peter Gray, a professor of psychology at Boston College, believes that school is a prison that is damaging our kids, and it’s hard to disagree, especially with the numbers of police officers being assigned to schools on the rise.
Students, in turn, are not only finding themselves subjected to police tactics such as handcuffs, leg shackles, tasers and excessive force for “acting up” but are also being ticketed, fined and sent to court for behavior perceived as defiant, disruptive or disorderly such as spraying perfume and writing on a desk.
Clearly, the pathology that characterizes the American police state has passed down to the schools.
Now in addition to the government and its agents viewing the citizenry as suspects to be probed, poked, pinched, tasered, searched, seized, stripped and generally manhandled, all with the general blessing of the courts, our children in the public schools are also fair game for school resource officers who taser teenagers and handcuff kindergartners, school officials who have criminalized childhood behavior, school lockdowns and terror drills that teach your children to fear and comply, and a police state mindset that has transformed the schools into quasi-prisons. A Government of Wolves... John W. Whitehead Best Price: $1.16 Buy New $2.99 (as of 10:15 UTC - Details)
Don’t even get me started on the “school-to-prison pipeline,” the phenomenon in which children who are suspended or expelled from school have a greater likelihood of ending up in jail. One study found that “being suspended or expelled made a student nearly three times more likely to come into contact with the juvenile justice system within the next year.”
By the time the average young person in America finishes their public school education, nearly one out of every three of them will have been arrested. Nearly 40 percent of those young people who are arrested will serve time in a private prison, where the emphasis is on making profits for large megacorporations above all else.
Indeed, this profit-driven system of incarceration has also given rise to a growth in juvenile prisons and financial incentives for jailing young people. In this way, young people have become easy targets for the private prison industry, which profits from criminalizing childish behavior and jailing young people.
None of these tactics are making our communities or schools any safer, and they’re certainly not contributing to environments in which learning flourishes. Incredibly, despite the fact that the U.S. invests more money in public education (roughly $13,000 per child per year) than many other developed countries, we rank around the middle of the pack in science, math and reading, and behind many other advanced industrial nations.
Without a doubt, change is needed, but that will mean taking on the teachers’ unions, the school unions, the educators’ associations, and the police unions, not to mention the politicians dependent on their votes and all of the corporations that profit mightily from an industrial school complex.
As we’ve seen with other issues, any significant reforms will have to start locally and trickle upwards.
For starters, parents need to be vocal, visible and organized and demand that school officials 1) adopt a policy of positive reinforcement in dealing with behavior issues; 2) minimize the presence in the schools of police officers and cease involving them in student discipline; and 3) insist that all behavioral issues be addressed first and foremost with a child’s parents, before any other disciplinary tactics are attempted.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, if you want a nation of criminals, treat the citizenry like criminals.
If you want young people who grow up seeing themselves as prisoners, run the schools like prisons.
If, on the other hand, you want to raise up a generation of freedom fighters, who will actually operate with justice, fairness, accountability and equality towards each other and their government, then run the schools like freedom forums.
Remove the metal detectors and surveillance cameras, re-assign the cops elsewhere, and start treating our nation’s young people like citizens of a republic and not inmates in a police state penitentiary.
The Best of John W. Whitehead


lewrockwell--2020-02-19--Will Censorship Prevail Over the First Amendment?

I remember when censorship in America was a limited phemonenon .
It applied during war time— “ loose lips sink ships.
” It applied to pornography .
It applied to curse words on the public airwaves and in movies .
It applied to violence in movies .
There could be violence , but not the level that has become common .
Today censorship is ubiquitous .
It is everywhere .
In the United States censorship is both imposed from above and flows from the bottom up .
Censorship is imposed from above by , for example , TV and print @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and by laws in 28 states prohibiting criticism and participation in boycotts of Israel and by President Trump ’ s executive order preventing federal funding of educational institutions that permit criticisms of Israel .
Censorship flows from the bottom up by , for example , people of protected races , genders , and sexual preference claiming to be offended .
The ubiquitous censorship that today is characteristic of the United States has shut down comedians .
It has shut down criticism of non-whites , homosexuals , transgendered , feminists , and Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skeptics “ conspiracy theorists.
” The ubiquitous censorship in the United States is an extraordinary development as the US Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and a free press .
Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ 8.00 We owe journalist Abby Martin appreciation for reminding us of our right to free speech .
Aby is suing the state of Georgia , one of 28 states that have violated the Constitutional protection of free speech .
Abby was scheduleded to give the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Southern Univeristy .
She discovered that in order to speak publicly at a Georgia college she had to sign a pledge of allegience not to criticize Israel .
Her refusal to sign resulted in the conference being cancelled .
Here we have the state of Georgia blocking free speech because it will not support the Israeli position on Palestine .
See here and here .
Think about this for a moment .
More than half of the 50 states that comprise the United States have passed laws that are clear violations of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states have imposed censorship in behalf of a foreign country .
Americans have gags stuck in their mouths because 28 state governments put the interest of Israel higher than the First Amendment of the US Constitution .
When government itself is opposed to free speech , what becomes of democracy and accountable government ?
Why would 28 states legislate against the US Constitution ?
One explanation is that the state governments were bought by the Israel Lobby with money under the table , by promises of political campaign donations , or by threats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do we explain 28 state governments imposing censorship in behalf of a foreign country ?
Abby Martin is one person who will not stand for it .
She has brought a lawsuit that—if the US Supreme Court is still a protector of the First Amendment—will result in the 28 state laws and Trump ’ s executive order being overturned .
The protection of Israel against boycotts parallels state laws passed in the 1950s that prevented Martin Luther King ’ s movement from boycotting businesses that practiced racial segregation .
These laws were overturned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Abby Martin ’ s suit will tell us whether the US Constitution is still a living document .
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts

I remember when censorship in America was a limited phemonenon. It applied during war time—“loose lips sink ships.” It applied to pornography. It applied to curse words on the public airwaves and in movies. It applied to violence in movies. There could be violence, but not the level that has become common.
Today censorship is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. In the United States censorship is both imposed from above and flows from the bottom up. Censorship is imposed from above by, for example, TV and print media, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and by laws in 28 states prohibiting criticism and participation in boycotts of Israel and by President Trump’s executive order preventing federal funding of educational institutions that permit criticisms of Israel. Censorship flows from the bottom up by, for example, people of protected races, genders, and sexual preference claiming to be offended.
The ubiquitous censorship that today is characteristic of the United States has shut down comedians. It has shut down criticism of non-whites, homosexuals, transgendered, feminists, and Israel. Official explanations are shielded by labeling skeptics “conspiracy theorists.” The ubiquitous censorship in the United States is an extraordinary development as the US Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and a free press. Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details)
We owe journalist Abby Martin appreciation for reminding us of our right to free speech. Aby is suing the state of Georgia, one of 28 states that have violated the Constitutional protection of free speech.
Abby was scheduleded to give the keynote speech at a conference at Georgia Southern Univeristy. She discovered that in order to speak publicly at a Georgia college she had to sign a pledge of allegience not to criticize Israel. Her refusal to sign resulted in the conference being cancelled.
Here we have the state of Georgia blocking free speech because it will not support the Israeli position on Palestine. See here and here.
Think about this for a moment. More than half of the 50 states that comprise the United States have passed laws that are clear violations of the US Constitution. Moreover, these 28 states have imposed censorship in behalf of a foreign country. Americans have gags stuck in their mouths because 28 state governments put the interest of Israel higher than the First Amendment of the US Constitution. When government itself is opposed to free speech, what becomes of democracy and accountable government?
Why would 28 states legislate against the US Constitution? One explanation is that the state governments were bought by the Israel Lobby with money under the table, by promises of political campaign donations, or by threats of financing rival candidates. How else do we explain 28 state governments imposing censorship in behalf of a foreign country?
Abby Martin is one person who will not stand for it. She has brought a lawsuit that—if the US Supreme Court is still a protector of the First Amendment—will result in the 28 state laws and Trump’s executive order being overturned. The protection of Israel against boycotts parallels state laws passed in the 1950s that prevented Martin Luther King’s movement from boycotting businesses that practiced racial segregation. These laws were overturned by the Supreme Court.
The outcome of Abby Martin’s suit will tell us whether the US Constitution is still a living document.
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts


lewrockwell--2020-02-19--The Risk-Free Used Car

The Risk-Free Used Car

Should you even consider buying a used car that ’ s not “ warranted ” or “ certified/pre-owned ” ( CPO ) ?
Many people won ’ t – because we live at a time when people have been conditioned to dread risk , however remote – and it ’ s not an accident .
Because it ’ s very profitable to sell “ warranted ” and “ certified pre-owned ” ( CPO ) cars .
There is no free lunch .
People who buy “ warranted ” and “ CPO ” cars are paying for the warranty and CPO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the risk of paying for repairs , either .
These warranties and certifications will cover some things – for some time .
But not all things – and not forever .
The actuaries behind the warranties and certifications aren ’ t innumerate .
They run the numbers .
The warranties and certifications – and the price of the warranted and certified cars – is based in part on the likelihood of having to pay out for a “ covered ” repair .
It is not a high likelihood .
The odds always favor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... Buy New $ 10.00 Of course , a compounding problem is that cars have become so forbiddingly complex that most people are out of their depth dealing with anything beyond basic fluid and filter changes .
And repairs can be expensive , especially if they involve major items like the transmission or HVAC system or anything electronic .
That said , a little due diligence goes a long way .
You do not need to be a mechanical engineer or even a professional mechanic to get a good intuitive sense of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same rules of evaluation apply today that applied 30 or even 50 years ago : Does it start easily and run/drive smoothly ?
The engine should not make “ funny ” noises .
No clicking , clattering or knocking sounds .
No visible smoke at start-up and especially during off-throttle deceleration .
Have a friend in another car drive behind you to check for this .
Find a downhill stretch and abruptly let off the gas ; if your friend behind you sees blue smoke coming out of the exhaust , the car @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all gauges and lights at start-up .
Note any light – especially the “ check engine ” light – that doesn ’ t come on or doesn ’ t go off .
It comes on and stays on , there is a trouble code stored in the computer and you need to find out what it is – and what it cost to deal with it – before money changes hands .
If the “ check engine ” light doesn ’ t come on at start-up , it may have been disabled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reach normal operating temperature within a few minutes of start-up .
Engine temperature and oil pressure should stabilize in the middle area of the gauges .
Be wary of any gauge reading that is high or low or fluctuating .
It might be a bad sending unit or the gauge itself .
It might be something worse .
The transmission should engage quietly and shift smoothly through all gears ( don ’ t forget reverse ) .
Any sensation of “ slipping ” is a bad sensation .
The Best of Eric Peters

Should you even consider buying a used car that’s not “warranted” or “certified/pre-owned” (CPO)?
Many people won’t – because we live at a time when people have been conditioned to dread risk, however remote – and it’s not an accident. Because it’s very profitable to sell “warranted” and “certified pre-owned” (CPO) cars.
There is no free lunch.
People who buy “warranted” and “CPO” cars are paying for the warranty and CPO certification – which doesn’t eliminate the risk of paying for repairs, either. These warranties and certifications will cover some things – for some time. But not all things – and not forever.
The actuaries behind the warranties and certifications aren’t innumerate. They run the numbers. The warranties and certifications – and the price of the warranted and certified cars – is based in part on the likelihood of having to pay out for a “covered” repair.
It is not a high likelihood. The odds always favor the house. Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $10.00 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details)
Of course, a compounding problem is that cars have become so forbiddingly complex that most people are out of their depth dealing with anything beyond basic fluid and filter changes. And repairs can be expensive, especially if they involve major items like the transmission or HVAC system or anything electronic.
That said, a little due diligence goes a long way. You do not need to be a mechanical engineer or even a professional mechanic to get a good intuitive sense of a vehicle’s general condition. The same rules of evaluation apply today that applied 30 or even 50 years ago:
Does it start easily and run/drive smoothly?
The engine should not make “funny” noises. No clicking, clattering or knocking sounds. No visible smoke at start-up and especially during off-throttle deceleration. Have a friend in another car drive behind you to check for this. Find a downhill stretch and abruptly let off the gas; if your friend behind you sees blue smoke coming out of the exhaust, the car has problems.
Check the operation of all gauges and lights at start-up. Note any light – especially the “check engine” light – that doesn’t come on or doesn’t go off. It comes on and stays on, there is a trouble code stored in the computer and you need to find out what it is – and what it cost to deal with it – before money changes hands. If the “check engine” light doesn’t come on at start-up, it may have been disabled to hide a problem.
The engine should reach normal operating temperature within a few minutes of start-up. Engine temperature and oil pressure should stabilize in the middle area of the gauges. Be wary of any gauge reading that is high or low or fluctuating. It might be a bad sending unit or the gauge itself.
It might be something worse.
The transmission should engage quietly and shift smoothly through all gears (don’t forget reverse). Any sensation of “slipping” is a bad sensation.

Read the Whole Article
The Best of Eric Peters


lewrockwell--2020-02-19--The Benefits of Economic Collapse

The Benefits of Economic Collapse

I first began to predict a major economic collapse back in 1999 .
Although I understood that it was at least fifteen years off and possibly more , I believed that it would be wise to begin to prepare for it then , as the actual date of collapse could not be predicted .
( Better to be a few years early than even one day too late . )
Not surprisingly , back then , this prediction appeared to most people to not only be unlikely , but laughable .
Today , we ’ re a good bit closer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it now not only seems possible , but quite likely to an increasing number of those people who are paying attention .
And not surprisingly , as so many people are now realising the inevitability of such a crisis , they ’ re also realising that they should have been preparing for it .
Preparation for a major event such as this requires a fair bit of time and many people are belatedly coming to realise that they may be caught with their pants down when the initial crashes begin .
Whenever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first recognized , the first reaction for most people is to dive into denial , saying , “ It simply can ’ t happen .
Nobody would let it happen , because nobody benefits.
” Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ 8.00 But that ’ s just it .
Not only does someone benefit , they ’ ll benefit on a grand scale .
The controllers of an economy always benefit from a collapse In 1814 , Napoleon ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belgium .
The investment moguls at Capel Court in the City of London were biting their nails with worry , as the outcome of the battle would determine stock prices .
If the French won , stock prices would drop dramatically .
If Britain won , prices would rise dramatically .
In those days , communication was slow .
it would take considerable time for the official envoy to travel from the battlefield in Belgium to London with the news of the outcome of the battle .
England ’ s foremost banker , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ messenger to Waterloo with instructions to return by the fastest possible means with the news .
Consequently , Mister Rothschild received the news many hours ahead of the return by official messenger .
He then was seen at the stock exchange selling as much as he could as quickly as he could .
The word went out : “ Rothschild knows.
” This elicited a panic and others sold as quickly as they could .
Prices plummeted quickly ; then , as the official envoy from Waterloo came up the Thames , Rothschild @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Within the hour , the envoy provided the news that Britain had won the battle and prices shot through the roof , making enormous profits for Rothschild , all within one trading day .
He later called it , “ The best business I ever did.
” The above tale is one that should be committed to memory , as it informs us that those who know of an economic event will most certainly capitalise on it .
Those who pull the strings make tremendous profits by manipulating an economy over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make just as much in crisis periods .
They simply wait until an economic collapse has been completed and the dust has settled , then they buy up the remaining companies at rock-bottom prices at a time when the average investor has been wiped out .
Then , when the economy begins its recovery , they ride the next wave of prosperity .
For this reason , anyone who ’ s in the economic driver ’ s seat understands that he ’ s best-served by creating false prosperity , then triggering its collapse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When this realisation occurs to the average investor , he more often than not declares , “ Well , if that ’ s true , I ’ m toast either way.
” But this is only true if he takes a passive role in his economic future .
You can benefit from a collapse The Mandarin word for “ crisis ” also means “ opportunity.
” Amazon.com Gift Card i ... Buy New $ 10.00 Those who are able to understand this Chinese concept have a tremendous opportunity in terms of investment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis is also an opportunity .
Yes , there will be a collapse in the stock and bond markets .
These will unquestionably be deflationary events , causing asset prices to crater .
But this need not spell disaster .
The game is not over , but the crisis is unquestionably a game-changer .
It ’ s important to bear in mind that real wealth never disappears ; it merely changes hands .
To prepare for the new game , the objective would be to liquidate all or most stocks , bonds and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in advance of a crash .
Next you would wish to expatriate the proceeds to a jurisdiction that ’ s less likely to be a casualty of the crisis and , hopefully , would be a net-gainer at such a time .
Like those who actually pull the strings , you ’ d not only avoid becoming a casualty of the economic collapse , you ’ d stand to gain from it .

I first began to predict a major economic collapse back in 1999. Although I understood that it was at least fifteen years off and possibly more, I believed that it would be wise to begin to prepare for it then, as the actual date of collapse could not be predicted. (Better to be a few years early than even one day too late.)
Not surprisingly, back then, this prediction appeared to most people to not only be unlikely, but laughable.
Today, we’re a good bit closer to the onset of an economic crisis and it now not only seems possible, but quite likely to an increasing number of those people who are paying attention.
And not surprisingly, as so many people are now realising the inevitability of such a crisis, they’re also realising that they should have been preparing for it. Preparation for a major event such as this requires a fair bit of time and many people are belatedly coming to realise that they may be caught with their pants down when the initial crashes begin.
Whenever the inevitability of such a debacle is first recognized, the first reaction for most people is to dive into denial, saying, “It simply can’t happen. Nobody would let it happen, because nobody benefits.” Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details)
But that’s just it. Not only does someone benefit, they’ll benefit on a grand scale.
The controllers of an economy always benefit from a collapse
In 1814, Napoleon’s army went into battle at Waterloo, Belgium. The investment moguls at Capel Court in the City of London were biting their nails with worry, as the outcome of the battle would determine stock prices. If the French won, stock prices would drop dramatically. If Britain won, prices would rise dramatically.
In those days, communication was slow. it would take considerable time for the official envoy to travel from the battlefield in Belgium to London with the news of the outcome of the battle.
England’s foremost banker, Nathan Rothschild, had sent his own messenger to Waterloo with instructions to return by the fastest possible means with the news. Consequently, Mister Rothschild received the news many hours ahead of the return by official messenger.
He then was seen at the stock exchange selling as much as he could as quickly as he could. The word went out: “Rothschild knows.” This elicited a panic and others sold as quickly as they could.
Prices plummeted quickly; then, as the official envoy from Waterloo came up the Thames, Rothschild suddenly bought heavily at a rock-bottom price. Within the hour, the envoy provided the news that Britain had won the battle and prices shot through the roof, making enormous profits for Rothschild, all within one trading day.
He later called it, “The best business I ever did.”
The above tale is one that should be committed to memory, as it informs us that those who know of an economic event will most certainly capitalise on it.
Those who pull the strings make tremendous profits by manipulating an economy over the length of prosperous times, but they make just as much in crisis periods. They simply wait until an economic collapse has been completed and the dust has settled, then they buy up the remaining companies at rock-bottom prices at a time when the average investor has been wiped out. Then, when the economy begins its recovery, they ride the next wave of prosperity.
For this reason, anyone who’s in the economic driver’s seat understands that he’s best-served by creating false prosperity, then triggering its collapse, then cashing in on the collapse.
When this realisation occurs to the average investor, he more often than not declares, “Well, if that’s true, I’m toast either way.”
But this is only true if he takes a passive role in his economic future.
You can benefit from a collapse
The Mandarin word for “crisis” also means “opportunity.” Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $10.00 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details)
Those who are able to understand this Chinese concept have a tremendous opportunity in terms of investment. They can recognise that the coming crisis is also an opportunity.
Yes, there will be a collapse in the stock and bond markets. These will unquestionably be deflationary events, causing asset prices to crater.
But this need not spell disaster. The game is not over, but the crisis is unquestionably a game-changer.
It’s important to bear in mind that real wealth never disappears; it merely changes hands.
To prepare for the new game, the objective would be to liquidate all or most stocks, bonds and hard assets such as real estate, in advance of a crash.
Next you would wish to expatriate the proceeds to a jurisdiction that’s less likely to be a casualty of the crisis and, hopefully, would be a net-gainer at such a time.
Like those who actually pull the strings, you’d not only avoid becoming a casualty of the economic collapse, you’d stand to gain from it.
Reprinted with permission from International Man.