New Asian Union Means The Fall Of The Dollar

December 30, 2011
By Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com

One of the most frustrating issues to haunt the halls of alternative economic analysis is the threat of misrepresentative terminology. For instance, when the U.S. government decided to back the private Federal Reserve in lowering the interest rates on lending windows to European banks last month, they did not call this a bailout, even though that’s exactly what it was. They did not call it quantitative easing, or fiat printing, or a hyperinflationary landmine; rarely does bureaucracy ever apply honest terminology to their subversive activities. False terminology is the bane of every honest analyst, because in order for them to educate and awaken those who are unaware of the truth, they must first battle through the daunting muck of the general public’s horrifically improper perceptions and vocabulary.

The chain of financial events taking place over the past decade in Asia have been correspondingly mislabeled and misunderstood. What some economists see as total collapse is actually a new and decidedly prophetic (or engineered) transition. What some naively see as the “natural” progression of globalism, is actually a distinctly deliberate program of centralization meant to further the goals of world economic and political totalitarianism. Asia, and most especially China, is a Petri dish for elitist psychopaths. What we see as suffocating collectivism in this region of the world today is the exact social schematic intended for the West tomorrow. Call it whatever you will, but on the other side of the Pacific, like the eerie smile of a sinister clown, sits fabricated fate.
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The Economic Solutions Of Vampires

"We become an addict nation, riding the chemical wave of a pharmaceutical roller coaster fed by the opiates of fiat and fantasy."

December 23, 2011
By Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com

The vampire bat is a horrifying pig-nosed wart of a creature which feasts in a manner that, believe it or not, is a rather familiar scene to those of us who closely study alternative economics. After erratically flittering about in the sinking evening sky, it targets the warmth of a sleeping farm animal and latches onto it with its claws. Carefully, it inserts a fang into a vein dense region of the creature’s body, and laps away at the blood. Normally, the oblivious livestock are completely unaware and helpless to the attack. The tiny parasite does not inflict an immediately mortal blow to its host, but over time, disease and physical debilitation result. The vampire has destroyed the animal, and, pathetically, the animal has no idea.

Just as in nature, the economic world has its own bloodsucking vermin in the form of banking elites which are a wretched drain on the whole of the human race. Without their vicious and predatory presence, I envision a world so rapturously above and beyond what we wallow in today that it is impossible to describe. The disgust many feel when considering the virulent feeding habits of the common mosquito or the slithering leech does nothing to compare to the utter gut churning revulsion I feel when studying the financial habits of banks like the Federal Reserve and the “too big to fails”. They are without a doubt the most malignant form of social cancer imaginable.

And yet, after nearly four years of ongoing fiscal exsanguination, a sizable portion of the American populace is still looking to these pests for economic comfort and reassurance, just like farm animals consistently grazing near the entrance of a vampire bat cave, as if it is a shelter from harm. Worst of all is the willingness by which investors still, to this day, commit their savings and their livelihoods to the stock market meat grinder. Let’s be honest; the typical American daytrading investor is a complete moron. They have absolutely no sense of the fundamentals of our financial structure nor the eccentric rules by which it operates. They only have the faintest inkling of the functions of the highly manipulated stock market. They foolishly believe that what little money they make today riding the wave of an illegitimate liquidity driven rally they will actually get to keep. For them, stock investment is no different from buying a scratch-off lotto ticket at a hillbilly gas station; it is a cheap and tawdry game rife with failure but exciting to play, if only for a fleeting guilt addled thrill. Read More

The Military Co-Option Of Media And Entertainment: Video

December 19, 2011
By Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com

The collusion between Hollywood, the MSM, and the military industrial complex, has been ongoing since the days of William Randolph Hearst, but in the past decade it has taken on an Orwellian tone that is at once startling and absurd. Many people trust TV, mainly because most people feel that "seeing is believing". The problem is that with television, even news media, what you see is NOT reality. It is a fantasy world built upon selective editing and pre-scripted responses and events. The militarization of entertainment and journalism in the U.S. is no accident. The Pentagon makes it their business to ensure that the public is philosophically and politically conditioned to support DOD initiatives. They want us to cheer them as heroes, even if their actions are far from heroic. The militarization of any nation leads ultimately to disaster. Death can never be adopted as the theme of a society, or it too will also die.    Read More

Freedom alert: "Occupy" protests may turn violent, followed by reactionary decline into martial law

November 14, 2011

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
11-14-11

The signs of escalation are unmistakable. In Oakland, Portland, St. Louis, New York, Denver and other cities, local authorities have begun a "crackdown" on Occupy protesters. A woman was raped at Occupy Philadelphia (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...), and BayCitizen.org is now reporting:

"Labor organizers and community activists -- including the husband of Mayor Jean Quan -- are engaged in a desperate behind-the-scenes effort to prevent a violent showdown between police and protesters at the Occupy Oakland encampment." (http://www.baycitizen.org/occupy-mo...)

In Oakland, the city issued a cease and desist order for protesters to clear out, and similar declarations are being heard at other cities such as New York. But it's obvious from the talk and demeanor of the protesters that many aren't going to leave, no matter what!

While this alone might already be a recipe for violence, there's the far more concerning reality of undercover agent provocateurs who work for the government and who are hired to stir up violence! We've seen this over and over again, where government agents use persuasion engineering tactics to try to convince innocent protesters to throw pipe bombs, for example, or hurl rocks at windows and unleash a wave a violence.

Slouching towards Martial Law...Read More

Geoengineering: Our Environment Under Attack

The greatest public health threat can no longer be denied

November 14, 2011

By Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones
Prison Planet.com
11-14-11

The fact that the planet is being bombarded with chemicals from high-altitude spraying as part of numerous geoengineering programs being conducted by U.S. government agencies and universities that have been approved with no oversight whatsoever can no longer be denied.



The re-classification of global warming, a highly contentious and often scientifically fraudulent pseudo-science, as a “national security threat” has been exploited by governments as an excuse to play God, green lighting secret experiments on a massive scale that carry innumerable dangers to humans and their environment.

However, now that increasing awareness of geoengineering as a result of the chemtrails phenomenon has propagated widely, authorities are slowly being forced to disclose certain aspects of the program. We are now not far away from full disclosure of the true extent of geoengineering experimentation.

Scientists now admit that vapor trails from aeroplanes are creating “artificial clouds” that block out the sun. This is no longer a matter of debate. The chemtrail “conspiracy theorists” were proven correct.
Read More

Washington is DISGUSTING!

November 13, 2011

How The U.S. Will Become A Third World Country-Part 1

November 13, 2011
By Brandon Smith

Alt-Market.com
11-12-11

This article was written by Ron Hera and published at Goldseek.com

The United States is increasingly similar to a 3rd world county in several ways and is accelerating towards 3rd world status. Economic data indicate a harsh reality that obviates mainstream political debate. The evidence suggests that, without fundamental reforms, the U.S. will become a post industrial neo-3rd-world country by 2032.

Fundamental characteristics that define a 3rd world country include high unemployment, lack of economic opportunity, low wages, widespread poverty, extreme concentration of wealth, unsustainable government debt, control of the government by international banks and multinational corporations, weak rule of law and counterproductive government policies. All of these characteristics are evident in the U.S. today.

Other factors include poor public health, nutrition and education, as well as lack of infrastructure. Public health and nutrition in the U.S., while below European standards, stand well above those of 3rd world countries. American public education now ranks behind poorer countries, like Estonia, but remains superior to that of 3rd world countries. While crumbling infrastructure can be seen in cities across America, the vast infrastructure of the United States cannot be compared to a 3rd world country. However, all of these factors will rapidly deteriorate in a declining economy. Read More

Poor Man's Guide To Survival Solar Power: Video

November 13, 2011
By Brandon Smith

Alt-Market.com
11-12-11

For some reason, it is very difficult to find instructional videos on solar power that are straightforward, concise, and easy to understand. Too many solar enthusiasts attempt to leap into the technical aspects of the science itself, and then, they lose half their audience. This is unnecessary. When teaching anything, START WITH THE BASICS. What parts do you need? How do they fit together? How much are they going to cost? Where can you get them? Simple.

The creator of the video below does a fantastic job of outlining the first steps in affordable survival solar. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for a prepper to not have at least some form of solar capacity. Anyone, no matter how broke, or how mechanically hopeless, can afford to purchase these items and can understand how to use them. The ability to generate electricity off grid could be a lifesaver. It would be foolish to put off this very important preparation.

How To Build Your Own Hydroponic Growing System

November 13, 2011
By Brandon Smith

Alt-Market.com
11-9-11

Great straightforward video on how to build a growing system which could provide you and your family fresh veggies and greens year around!

Americans: Awash In Spin

October 29, 2011
By Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

I have come to the conclusion that Big Brother’s subjects in George Orwell’s 1984 are better informed than Americans.

Americans have no idea why they have been at war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa for a decade. They don’t realize that their liberties have been supplanted by a Gestapo Police State. Few understand that hard economic times are here to stay.

On October 27, 2011, the US government announced some routine economic statistics, and the president of the European Council announced a new approach to the Greek sovereign debt crisis. The result of these funny numbers and mere words sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its largest monthly rally since 1974, erasing its 2011 yearly loss. The euro rose, putting the European currency again 40% above its initial parity with the US dollar when the euro was introduced.

On National Public Radio a half-wit analyst declared, emphatically, that the latest US government statistics proved that the recovery was in place and that there was no danger whatsoever of a double-dip recession. And half-brain economists predicted a better tomorrow. Read More

The Collapse Of The American Dream

October 27, 2011

Alt-Market.com
10-23-11

"Here is a great animated synopsis of the crisis the U.S. currently faces, presented in an easy to understand cartoon."

The Revolutionaries' Revenge

We better stop and ask "hey, what's that sound, everybody look what's going down."

October 17, 2011
American Thinker
By Sally Zelikovsky

The media are mistakenly characterizing the Occupy Wall Street movement as unemployed Millennials with a legitimate gripe against Wall Street consistent with the Tea Party, or as a rag-tag group of unemployed stoners with no coherent message, not to be taken too seriously. After spending hours interviewing protesters in Oakland, California, both characterizations are way off base. If either scenario were apt, these folks would be marching on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and storming Congress. Instead, they're taking on Wall Street and storming the homes of the wealthy and the buildings of large corporations.

It's Mourning in America, friends. Wake up to the fetid smell of Marxism taking over Main Street, intent on crushing Wall Street.

Each person interviewed in Oakland had the same story to tell, and if you listen carefully to the video from the main stream press, it's this: capitalism is the root of all evil.

According to the Occupiers, Big Business has corrupted our government, corporations exploit workers, the rich control everything, the top 1% own somewhere between 30% and 60% of all wealth, the disparity between the rich and the remaining 99% is growing and the property-owning bourgeoisie is responsible for that. The workers need to take control of the means of production and mount a revolution to overthrow capitalism by expropriating property from the bourgeoisie. The workers need to rise up (fist pump), redistribute capital more equitably and establish a Marxist paradise -- slaying the neo-liberalism dragon and enthroning the worker, all in the name of "economic justice."

We can pretend this isn't the case by sticking our heads in the sand, but facts are facts. When thousands say they want to overthrow capitalism and redistribute property, take them at their word, especially when their chants, signs, words, actions, websites and blogs all support that. And when they are as highly-organized, highly-funded, highly-networked, highly-mobilized and highly-motivated as the Wall Street Occupiers are, then we need to be afraid, be very afraid.
Read More

Why U.S. military in Uganda? Soros fingerprints all over it

Obama’s billionaire friend has interests in African country’s oil



October 16, 2011
Aaron Klein, WND
10/15/2011

After President Barack Obama announced earlier this week that he would be sending American troops into Uganda, WND uncovered billionaire activist George Soros’ ties both to the political pressure behind the decision and to the African nation’s fledgling oil industry.

Soros sits on the executive board of an influential “crisis management organization” that recently recommended the U.S. deploy a special advisory military team to Uganda to help with operations and run an intelligence platform, a recommendation Obama’s action seems to fulfill.

The president emeritus of that organization, the International Crisis Group, is also the principal author of “Responsibility to Protect,” the military doctrine used by Obama to justify the U.S.-led NATO campaign in Libya.

Soros’ own Open Society Institute is one of only three nongovernmental funders of the Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect, a doctrine that has been cited many times by activists urging intervention in Uganda.

Authors and advisers of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, including a center founded and led by Samantha Power, the National Security Council special adviser to Obama on human rights, also helped to found the International Criminal Court.

Several of the doctrine’s main founders also sit on boards with Soros, who is a major proponent of the doctrine. Read More

The last conservative, Pat Buchanan

October 15, 2011

Jeffrey T. Kuhner, The Washington Times
10/13/2011

Is America in its twilight years? Patrick J. Buchanan argues it is. Americans, especially conservatives, should heed his warnings. The very future of our republic is at stake. Mr. Buchanan has written the political book of the year – and maybe of our time.

In “Suicide of a Superpower” (Thomas Dunne Books, 2011), the nationally syndicated columnist and TV commentator delivers a damning indictment of the past two decades. His thesis: America is in decline. Unless it is reversed, the United States – like great republics before it – will be swept into the dustbin of history.

Mr. Buchanan argues that our leaders have embraced the “New World Order.” Unlimited immigration, free trade, open borders, strident multiculturalism, globalism, a cradle-to-grave welfare state, neo-pagan morality, massive deficit spending and democratic imperialism – together they have triggered the moral, economic and spiritual disintegration of America.

Mr. Buchanan was one of the few conservatives to directly challenge the Great Society Republicanism prevalent throughout the George W. Bush administration. He opposed No Child Left Behind, the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, runaway spending, amnesty for illegal aliens, economic globalization and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). He argues that the GOP establishment had lost its ideological way, abandoning principle in favor of power. Niccolo Machiavelli trumped Ronald Reagan. Read More

Breaking Points: Recognizing The Signs Of Painful Cultural Shift

October 15, 2011
By Brandon Smith

Through the ages, nations and cultures of spectacular proportion and prominence have risen to prosperity, and fallen to chaos, on very particular and fundamental principles. In some cases, these great and terrible declines have taken centuries to culminate (as was the story of the Roman Empire), and only a few years in others (the Soviet Union comes to mind). In every example of societal destabilization, however, there were many signs of danger long before the final plunge; some unique to each particular culture, and some common to all. One of the most enduring and frightening similarities between crumbling nations is an overwhelming belief amongst the people that they have somehow “advanced” beyond the need for concern. Each self-destructing society presumed itself invincible. Each country thought itself the pinnacle of human potential, only to discover yet again that in abandoning or subverting the principles of freedom, and the bedrock pillars of conscience, reason, and wisdom, they had become merely another footnote in a long marathon of footnotes.

Ultimately, the vast and sordid history of collapse could be summarized simply as a series of breaking points; moments at which opposing ideals and forces hyperextend the prevailing mechanics of a system, changing it entirely.

Some of these events have produced surprising strides of understanding and political progress, as prevailed after the American Revolution. Others led to dark and mindless collectivist nightmares that fog men’s eyes and hearts, as that which occurred after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The difference is one of focus. Imperialist (elitist) ideologies were deemed unacceptable in both revolutions, but the tides of each conflict leaned towards entirely separate values. Individual liberty in the West, and collective safety and sacrifice in the East. In America, the uprising was led by common men and the target was clear. In Russia, the uprising was led by elitists posing as common men, and the target was obscured. In America, much of the public assumed roles as arbiters and political engineers. In communist Russia, much of the public was oblivious to such responsibility, and only subject to engineering. Two revolutions in the name of ending tyranny with two entirely different initial outcomes…
Read More

Which Republican Can Beat Obama?

October 14, 2011
American Thinker
By Robin of Berkeley

I love Michele Bachmann. I'd vote for Sarah Palin in a heartbeat. In fact, I'd pull the lever for any Republican candidate for President, though I'd have to hold my nose for the more moderate ones.

But who do I think could actually win against the Obama machine? A strong black man. . as in the brainy, charismatic Herman Cain.

One of the things I've been doing since I woke up from my leftist coma three or so years ago is closely observing Obama. I've been trying to figure out what makes the man tick.

My guess is that Obama had a terrible childhood, worse than we know. I wouldn't be surprised if there was quite a bit of abuse, as well as neglect. We all know about the continual abandonments.

Without much nurturance, but given the illusion of greatness by others, Obama has developed a Messiah Complex. He thinks he walks on water. There are not too many mere mortals who could intimidate him.

Obama made mincemeat of Hillary. While I am a huge Sarah fan, I think he'd do the same to her. The genial and gracious Michele -- he'd descend on her like a vulture. A white male, a Native American man. . . all the same. He and his handlers would chew them up and spit them out. But it would be different with an African American alpha male.

I think that someone like Cain could and would put Obama in his place. And though Obama would pounce on Cain, Obama's bark would be worse than his bite.

My guess is that Obama would feel weak around him; Obama would become the beta male he truly is deep inside, though he hides it. It's not a coincidence that Obama chose dominant black men as father figures such as Frank Marshall Davis and Rev. Wright. Read More

Hank Williams Jr. Keep the Change

Sausage The Riot Dog Coming To America?

October 11, 2011
Zero Hedge.com
By Brandon Smith

Who would have thought it possible? Greece, a tiny country on the Mediterranean which is, in the grand scheme of things, economically insignificant, has become the centerpiece of the global financial media and the “make or break” sovereign debt battle for the entire European Union. Let’s face it; Greece dominates the psychology of the markets. Even after a “partial” default this year, equities still hang upon every new EU meeting, every new IMF press release, every meaningless conference between Merkel and Sarkozy, causes violent swings in the Dow, not to mention every other stock index across the world. Greece collapsed months ago. The discussion is over. Yet, global investors still wait anxiously for a sign that all is well in the land of the Parthenon and the Gyro.

The reality of the situation in Greece is clear for anyone who is willing to look at the facts as they stand. Greek debt is a dead end investment. The percentage lost on bond payouts grows by the quarter due to partial bankruptcy. Unemployment hovers around 16% (officially). Despite trends which are often associated with a deflationary collapse, the Greek cost of living remains quite high, meaning prices are not falling comparatively with wages and employment as they should. Austerity is in full force, pensions are being cut or confiscated outright, and riots are a monthly if not weekly occurrence. Corruption in the Greek government and influence by international banks such as Goldman Sachs led to extreme exposure of the country’s assets to the derivatives crisis as well as a massively expanded debt to GDP ratio, yet, Papoulias and many other Greek officials have decided to place full responsibility for the crisis directly in the laps of the Greek people, claiming that it is they who must sacrifice, and they who are to blame if the system crumbles beneath their feet. Violence, even beyond the furious protests prevalent today, is inevitable in the face of such hypocrisy. Read More

Levin: Occupy Wall Street is a rash on our inner thigh

October 10, 2011

Levin weighed in tonight on the protests currently ‘occupying’ many cities around America:

This movement that’s growing – have you ever seen anything like it? – it’s like a rash. It keeps growing and you can’t fully explain it. …This is a rash on our inner thigh – that’s what these people are. They bring nothing to the table. Zero!

Ladies and gentlemen, what you are witnessing in front of you is the unraveling of the civil society. What you are witnessing in front of you is the inevitable consequences of big government and liberalism run amuck. What you are witnessing in front of you is an attack, not on corporations, but an attack on you. And the President of the United States has been stoking this for two and a half years and he’s still stoking it. Because folks, this reminds him of the good old days with Ayers and Dorn, and all the other losers.

To Listen

The Database: Why Criminal Governments Spy On Citizens

Under tyranny, privacy is usually the first right to be trampled in the name of public safety



October 7, 2011
Alt-Market.com

At the very foundation of perhaps every modern day conflict between the expansive powers of unchecked bureaucracy and the dwindling freedoms of the ordinary citizen dwells the vital issue of privacy. Privacy and the right to hold personal and political views without being singled out and scrutinized by government is absolutely essential to any society which dares to deem itself “fair and just”. Ultimately, without the presence of these two liberties, and without people to defend them, a nation is ill equipped to circumvent the growth of tyranny, and anyone claiming to be “free” in the midst of such a culture is living a delusion of the highest order.

Often, social engineers attempt to direct debate over the issue of privacy towards rationalizations of relative morality, or artificially delineated priorities. We quibble over the level of government intrusion that should be tolerated for the sake of the “greater good”. We struggle with questions of bureaucratic reach, wondering at which point we should consider government a threat to the safety and liberty of the people, rather than a servant and protector. The dialogue always turns towards “how much” room government should be given to lumber about our personal lives. Rarely do we actually confront the idea that, perhaps, government should not be welcomed at all into such places.

Really, what makes a governmental entity so special that it should be allowed free access to the activities of the average citizen? Why should ANY intrusion of privacy be tolerated, let alone the kind that goes on today? Our most important concern is not how much leeway our government should be given to snoop into our pocket books, our medical records, our education, our political leanings, or our child rearing philosophies, but rather, whether or not they fulfill any purpose whatsoever through these actions. Is the government, as it exists now, even necessary, or does it cause only harm?

Under tyranny, privacy is usually the first right to be trampled in the name of public safety. Its destruction is incremental and its loss a victim of attrition in the wake of more immediate crisis. Disturbingly, many people become so fixated upon the threats of the moment that they lose complete track of the long term derailment of their own free will in progress. Government, no matter how corrupt, is seen as an inevitability. Conditioned by fear, desperation, insecurity, and sometimes greed, we begin to forget what it was like to live without prying eyes constantly over our shoulders. In the past decade alone, Americans have witnessed a substantial invasion of our individual privacy as well as a destabilization of the legal protections once designed to maintain it. Not just America, but most of the modern world has undergone a quiet program of surveillance and citizen cataloging that goes far beyond any sincere desire for “safety” and into the realm of technocratic domination. Read More

GMOs and the outrageous criminality of the biotech industry.

Five short videos from Jeffrey Smith provide sharable introduction to GMOs

October 7, 2011
Natural News
By Mike Ranger

NaturalNews) Jeffrey Smith from the Institute for Responsible Technology has released five short videos that are perfect for sharing with friends who might be new to GMOs. These short videos tell powerful, hard-hitting stories about GMOs in just two or three minutes, and they're easy to forward to others who need to know the truth about what's happening to our food supply.

Here are the five videos, posted on NaturalNews.TV. You can also share the URL of this article if you'd like to introduce your friends to all five of these videos: Read More

Signs That America Is Rotting From The Inside Out

October 7, 2011
End Of The American Dream

It would be easy to know how to defend America if enemy forces were invading our shores. But how do you defend a nation that is rotting from the inside out? How do you eradicate the internal decay that is eating away at the heart and soul of this nation a little bit more every single day? Just like we saw happen with the Roman Empire, the internal rot that is eating its way to the surface threatens to bring us down as a nation. Greed, corruption, gluttony, lust and pride have become national pastimes. We are addicted to debt, food, entertainment and pleasure. We have been taught to hate those that look different from us or that believe different things than we do. Society is literally coming apart at the seams and the federal government is increasingly implementing "Big Brother" security measures in an attempt to maintain control and keep us "safe". We have far more people in prison than any other nation on the planet and yet things just keep getting worse and worse. So how can we fix America? How do we rescue a nation that is rotting from the inside?
Read More

Video: Frances Fox Piven And Fellow Professors Indoctrinating Students To Engage In Violent Street Battles, Break Capitalism Down…

Cesspool academia at its finest.

October 7, 2011
Weasel Zippers

"Occupy Wall Street" Multi Group Orchestration

October 7, 2011
The Blaze

Video Exposing How ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Was Organized From Day One by SEIU/ACORN Front – The Working Family Party, and How They All Tie to the Obama Administration, DNC, Democratic Socialists of America, Tides and George Soros



Breakdown of the Connections Between The Working Family Party, SEIU, ACORN, The New Party, The DNC, Democratic Socialists of America, Tides, George Soros and The Obama Administration: Read More

Neal Boortz: “Obama Is a Bigger Disaster to This Country Than 9-11″ (Video)

OBAMA IS KILLING THE AMERICAN SPIRIT
October 6, 2011

KUHNER: Obama’s October revolution

October 6, 2011
The Washington Times

President Obama’s shock troops are marching in the streets. Occupy Wall Street - a movement composed of communists, anarchists, socialists and anti-globalization student radicals - is spreading. Protests have swelled in cities including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia. The protesters are gaining influence and numbers. A ragtag group of hippie students has turned into a potent political force.

Occupy Wall Street seeks to demonize big banks, large corporations and capitalism. Its goal is to overturn America’s economic structure. The protesters are calling for wealth redistribution, fees on bank profits and massive tax increases on the rich. Many are demanding a socialist revolution - the confiscation of private property and nationalization of the economy. They are the heirs of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin. Their aim is to impose the hammer and sickle upon America.

Leftist radicals, such as Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky, have endorsed the anti-capitalist movement. Both men have glorified authoritarian communist regimes - Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela and the old Soviet Union. Their hatred for America has found expression in the rabble on the streets of New York and Washington. Actress Roseanne Barr even has called for the return of the “guillotine.” She wants bankers to be sent to “re-education camps,” and if they still refuse to hand over their profits, they should be beheaded, she says. This is the language of revolutionary terror and Marxist violence.

Mr. Obama has said he “sympathizes” with the protesters - especially their anger at Wall Street and “fat-cat” bankers. For years, he has demonized billionaires and millionaires, jet owners and corporate America. His divisive, irresponsible rhetoric has laid the groundwork for Occupy Wall Street.

The White House connection is even deeper. The protest’s main players all have ties to the Obama administration. Its primary organizer is former Obama “green-jobs czar” Van Jones. Mr. Jones is a self-avowed communist and follower of Saul Alinsky, the radical community organizer who also was Mr. Obama’s intellectual mentor. Mr. Jones said October is the month of the long-awaited “progressive offensive” - the watershed moment when students, labor unions, socialists and civil rights activists coalesce into an anti-Tea Party to blunt Middle America’s growing opposition to Mr. Obama.

Occupy Wall Street also is being supported by MoveOn.org. The group was one of the first to back Mr. Obama’s presidential candidacy when he was still an obscure senator from Illinois. The protests are being funded by socialist billionaire George Soros - a key Obama ally. And the protesters are being joined by big labor, the administration’s most powerful constituency. Read More

The Fed Wants You To Beg For QE3

September 27, 2011
By Brandon Smith

The psychological effects of the Dow are undeniable. When the average investor or even consumer sees green, life is good, even if every other indicator in the economy clearly says otherwise. For the common Dow lemming, “green” supplants reason, mathematics, instinct, and blatant logic. If mushroom clouds came in that particular shade of bull market green, nuclear holocaust would be welcomed with beers, barbeque, and jubilee. Green in the Dollar Index is no different. Many market joyriders and MSM parrots decree victory for Team Dollar without even a remedial understanding of the implications of dollar strength being measured against multiple faltering currencies across the globe. Just because the Euro, for instance, is nearly as superfluous as the greenback, this does not mean the dollar is a stable or healthy currency by default. They are BOTH screwed. But hey, as long as that little ticker points up, all is right with the world……right?

Red is the ultimate party stopper. Red makes Americans pause and reflect. It makes them question their economic sensibilities, their political loyalties, their futures, perhaps even their choice of marriage partners or favorite football team. The sight of red in the Dow brings to mind thoughts of recession, depression, collapse. At bottom, red makes our government and the people charged with safeguarding U.S. financial good-time-tootie-fruitiness look bad. Red?!Red?! Vote the bums out!

Given this American predisposition to ignore all other indicators except the Dow and sometimes the DXY, you can imagine why the private Federal Reserve in tandem with the U.S. Treasury has focused so much of their attention on stimulus measures designed to keep these two indexes predominantly in the green since the derivatives crash of 2008. They have done this through direct and indirect injections of fiat into market systems which have acted as a buffer; multiple yet temporary patches in the hull of a scattershot ship on the verge of being swallowed by the voracious waters of the briny deep. The problem is, after over three years of this activity, the opiate of fiat is starting to lose its euphoric aftertaste. Like some dirty track-marked heroin fiend, the U.S. economy is now nervously scratching its rancid fiscal sores and screaming for more of that sweet sweet fiat juice. The more we get, the more we need later down the road to satisfy our dependency.

Obviously, QE1 and QE2 accomplished nothing. The bailouts and TARP accomplished nothing.The ongoing U.S. bailouts of the EU at the American people’s expense continue to accomplish nothing. All we have received for trillions upon trillions of inflationary dollars created has been a few years of static 20% real unemployment, higher food and energy prices, an endlessly imploding housing market, virtually bankrupt states and municipalities, and the first ever downgrade of the U.S. credit rating in history. Oh….and a wonderfully fake bull run in the Dow, which I suppose, makes up for all the previously listed annoyances, at least, until recently…

In past articles, I have often pointed out that if the investment community EVER caught even the slightest inkling that the Fed might end stimulus measures and let the markets stand on their own, they would jump ship and the Dow would collapse back to levels seen in 2008 or worse.Well, with the highly inconclusive and vaporous announcement of “Operation Twist”, a program designed to sell short term treasuries in exchange for long term treasuries (???), the Fed sent just such a message. One might wonder, especially after the U.S. lost its AAA credit rating, why the Fed would bother to hesitate to announce QE3 and keep the markets plugging away?They’ve never had any qualms about revving up the printing presses before, so why change posture now?

Answer: Sometimes there is advantage in allowing the markets to bleed red too. Here are some reasons why…

Stimulus Ignoramus: Though most Americans now understand the basics of bailouts and quantitative easing, including many of the risks, most still think that these programs are somehow limited, or exclusive. In reality, there is no QE1, QE2, TARP, etc. These are not separate stimulus efforts that actually started and concluded independent of one another. They are all a part of one long fiat injection into our economy that never ended. The insanity is that a large percentage of investors actually believe that because Bernanke did not yet announce QE3, there is no stimulus going on today! The Fed is ALWAYS creating fiat. Some of it is reported, most of it is not. Ask yourself this: Are interest rates still at near zero? If the answer is yes, then the fiat still flows. The Fed has allowed the public to assume that injections have ceased even though they most certainly have not.

Stimulus Impotent: Even before the S&P downgrade, the markets had begun to strain and tremble. In any Keynesian inflationary effort on the part of government, there comes a point at which the force of debt and the force of fiat reach a climactic peak. From then on, even the illusion of stability becomes impossible, and both centers of gravity tear upon one another and spiral out of control. The Fed knew full well this point had been reached, and so, reversed its rhetoric to give the impression that it was stepping back. Actually, the markets will deteriorate despite any Fed intervention from now on. Stimulus at this juncture will only serve to keep the government functional through treasury purchases while the rest of the system collapses. This is what happened in Weimar, Argentina, and to some extent Russia after the Soviet breakdown.Cleverly, the Federal Reserve covered its own tracks by making it appear that the inevitable Dow disintegration was somehow caused by the lack of QE.

Deflation Cheerleaders Return: Like mythical mucous addled hobgoblins drawn to the cries of helpless newborns, rabid deflationists have oozed back out of the muck after a long hibernation in response to the current Dow descent to proclaim yet again that the dollar is “too strong”, and that even more printing is called for. As stated, they fail to understand the nature of the Fed, and the fact that stimulus is always ongoing. Simultaneously, they actually serve Fed interests, whether they know it or not, by promoting even more dollar devaluation as “practical”. For some reason, many deflationists have adopted the strange and unsupported assumption that debt somehow “cancels out” overt currency creation. This is simply not so. Yes, fiat dollars can be used to pay off a debt, but those dollars do not suddenly disappear after they have entered the system. They stay, and circulate, and collect, like mold, or a beard of bees. Neither is pleasant to clean up. Hyperinflation of the money supply is not only possible during unregulated stimulus of a highly indebted system, it is a sin qua non. In America’s immediate circumstance, the likelihood of stagflation is high. This process combines the worst elements of deflation and hyperinflation into a single, enormous, and incredibly painful boot in the ass. Deflationary purists will feel the sting soon enough…

Dollar Primacy Nostalgia: While much of the rest of the world is slowly but surely walking away from the dollar and dollar denominated assets, many American investors still cling to the old days, when sour markets meant a dash for the greenback safe haven. Could the dollar index reach as high as 77 or 78 in the course of the next four weeks? Absolutely. Does this make the dollar a legitimate safe haven? No. The secret of the dollar index magic trick is rooted in how it is calculated; using comparisons to world currencies that are also in dire straights. As multiple currencies fall WITH the dollar, they make the dollar index appear as if it remains stable, or even superior. On top of this, we still have a very active Fed printing to prop up treasuries, which also artificially strengthens dollar sentiment, at least until other countries which own our debt begin to dump it completely.

Trade War Blitzkrieg: Last Tuesday, U.S. representatives sought trade restrictions against China in poultry markets, which might not seem like much, but the move, in my view, was to test the waters for even further confrontation with China. A crumbling Dow has the advantage of adding pressure to the renewed issue of economic warfare. A trade war is the perfect trigger for a treasury and dollar dump by China, which is on the cusp of taking such action anyway because of the violent nature of inflation within its own borders. After several failed attempts to soften inflation by raising bank reserve requirements, the only option left to the Chinese now is a sharp valuation of the Yuan to increase the buying power of the citizenry. This kind of valuation is most easily achieved by a dumping of their vast dollar holdings, a steep devaluation in the dollar, leading to rapid foreign capital redirection into the Yuan. China denies they would take such action, though they have openly admitted the possibility. Don’t buy it. If price inflation continues at similar levels, the Chinese will have no other choice but to take extreme action.

Thinning The Commodities Herd: Its funny, but every time there is a pullback in commodities like gold and silver, the same people come out of the woodwork to announce the death of precious metals. Metals then, of course, make an astonishing comeback despite all odds, and these men disappear again into their respective hovels. The reason they always get it wrong is simple; they are incapable of looking at the big picture, and few, if any, have memories that go past last week. Firstly, in an economy at the edge of utter disaster, commodities are invariably erratic. Expect to see 10% swings in gold and silver up or down CONSTANTLY from here on out. This is not unusual. It is normal considering the circumstances. Another element that is unfortunately deeply ingrained is the ETF markets, which are entirely fraudulent, and not representative of true physical metals values. However, lets get some perspective here; during the 2008 Dow drop, silver hit lows between $11 and $13. Today, even after a severe drop, it hovers near $30. There is a big difference, and that difference is due to dollar devaluation. Weak hands will buckle. The cheap silver and gold will be snapped up by smarter buyers (Asian investors and central banks, most likely), metals will climb back to the mid thirties, QE3 will be announced (eventually), and from there, the sky is literally the limit. In the meantime, the Fed has just deprived a few more people of their sound money. Silver at $30? Gold at $1600? That’s called a buying opportunity, folks, not a last chance to sell.

Fear Makes The Heart Grow Fonder?

Resistance to Fed liquidity measures has been substantial. Three years ago, no one knew what the Federal Reserve was, or even cared. Today, most of America is at least aware of its existence and not enamored of its purpose. The latest downturn in markets, as well as seeming Fed indecision, I believe, not only signals the next aggressive leg down in the ongoing collapse of the U.S. economy, but also a very deliberate strategy on the part of our central banking elite to drive the public towards a consensus desire for further intervention. That is to say, the Fed wants us to beg for more QE, instead of fighting against it.

There is quite a bit of practicality to this tactic. If we demand stimulus measures out of fear just to slow the Dow hemorrhaging, then the Fed is able to deflect most of the blame when such measures eventually go awry. The American people become the cause of dollar destruction, instead of the Fed, and this blame will permeate into international opinions and world views.Make no mistake, QE3 is the end of the line, and it will be announced, or at least quietly enacted. At this time, our government is operating upon the fumes of Fed fiat, and nothing more.Without it, the lights go out. The only tool that exists, or ever existed for the government to influence the appearance of the economy is fiat creation through the Fed. Whether we ask for it or not, this tool will be utilized. They would just prefer that we went along with the program willingly…

We cannot forget that the Fed is a haven for open proponents of globalism. The eventual goal of central banks has always revolved around a weakening of the U.S. system for the sake of “harmonization”. This project ends with the debasement of the dollar and the loss of its world reserve status to a basket of currencies represented by the IMF’s SDR. For this end to be reached, the Fed MUST continue liquidity measures like QE. We don’t need to ask for it, nor should we ask for it. They will certainly pursue QE3 regardless. The trick to winning this game is in refusing to participate, or at least, refusing to play by their rules.

Ron Paul could be second place, Republicans enter the Wild West"

September 26, 2011
The Hill
By Brent Budowsky


"When Rick Perry drops out:
I wrote in August that Rick Perry will self- destruct within 30 days. His prospects for the presidency were as phony as the fantasy of a two-person race was false. Perry is a phony conservative who is not conservative. He is a pay-for-play politician who gobbled up Obama stimulus like a hound dog eating a bone, and created oceans of new government jobs in Texas while his big donors mysteriously received big government contracts. The Texas deficit ballooned and the Texas jobless rate doubled on Rick Perry's watch.

I will not speculate about the reasons for Rick Perry' s strange, weird and incoherent debate performance. Major new negative stories about Perry will soon emerge in the media. Trust me. Perry will drop out long before the year ends. If he dropped out today Ron Paul could well be in second place. Will pundits say it is a two-man race between Romney and Paul?

This is the most unpredicable campaign in many years. One insider recently asserted that if the election were held today Obama would certainly lose. Nonsense. Obama would cream Perry. I laughed when media pundits lauded the buffoon Donald Trump for a month as the great Republican hope.

This notion that the GOP contest was a two-man race was a mirage and pure pundit malpractice from the beginning.

Another mirage is Chris Christie, a not-very- popular freshman governor with zero national experience who could easily be defeated for reelection by dynamic Democratic Mayor Cory Booker.

Sarah Palin could jump in, but if she did, her motive would be to prevent any other Republican from winning. Obama would clean Palin's clock. So what next?

Mitt Romney is the Tom Dewey of 2012. He is qualified, presidential — and distrusted by virtually everyone. Like Dewey he looks like the plastic man on the wedding cake. He could be elected. Remember, Dewey almost won in 1948, but if Obama plays Truman I suspect he beats Mitt, but I could be wrong.

When Perry drops out, Ron Paul could be in second place. It could be a magical moment for Ron Paul, and perhaps Herman Cain, for a clean shot at second place. Let’s see what they do with it. Both Paul and Cain deserve far more respect from the major media. This is not a Soviet campaign where Pravda-like pundits treat certain candidates as though they do not exist.

If Jon Huntsman moves above the 10 percent he recently polled in New Hampshire, he becomes very serious. If not, he drops out by December and endorses Mitt.

The Republican battle is the exact opposite of a two-person race and always has been. It is wide open like the Wild West. The big question is who emerges as the leading conservative opponent to Romney, and whether Romney can make the leap to be trusted as a credible president.

Forget Chris Christie. The man to watch is Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana. Daniels is trusted by all factions of the party, is highly qualified, and in my view has the best chance of defeating Obama. I have said it before. Remember where you heard it.

Rick Perry is toast. The two-man race is dead. The Republicans have entered the Wild West without Perry as a big-time player.

THE TIME FOR THAT CHANGE IS NOW!!

[NWV Alerts] New Articles

September 24, 2011

Michael Bruning, via email …..

9/23/2011

My Dear Friends in Freedom and in the Defense of Liberty:

I am sending you today’s emailing of News With Views, not because it is any better or more informative than other blogs such as News With Attitude or Conservative Byte, etc., but because today’s NWV publication is carrying two articles that speak directly to the issue of Obama’s ineligibility re the Office of the President and one article re the adverse impact on this nation directly related to unfettered legal immigration and illegal immigration. All three articles, in the wake of this administrations “official” actions and the reckless indifference of the Congress and the Courts in response to them, clearly demonstrate that WE THE PEOPLE are being delivered up to the ideological representations of elected and appointed individuals who have been and continue to lead us in a direction that will destroy our culture, our traditions, our values, our laws and finally our nation.

As we watch Obama in action, many of us are appalled by what he is doing, but more so by what he is being allowed to get away with. The downward spiral of this nation and its people is evident, or should be to us, on a daily basis. 25 million plus citizens are out of work….jobless, while millions more struggle to make ends meet (survive) by working one, two or more part-time jobs. Nearly 50 million people are on food stamps while some 43 million are considered to be under the poverty level. Every day, thousands of homeowners receive foreclosure notices from the very banks and mortgage lenders that were BAILED OUT BY THE TAX PAYERS. And, while we hemorrhage the life blood of our nation to the progressive-liberal, marxist-socialist cause, those who lead this cancerous crusade against our Republic propose and pass laws and policies that promote rights and privileges for ILLEGAL ALIENS, while undermining the rights of the States to pass bills that would require employer’s to verify the legal status of its employee’s. Representatives like Lamar Smith of Texas and Gov. Rick Perry and Jeff Flake and Luis Gutierrez and Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin and the “girlfriend” dinocrat and RINO Senators from Washington State, California and Maine, and a whole lot more….are directly responsible for complex, confusing and chaotic mess that we find ourselves in today. Rather than stand upright in defense of their SWORN OATH, these belly crawlers wind their way through every crevice to ensure that the america we know becomes the american they envision. Do you like THE HOPE AND THE CHANGE now?

To say that our nation is in dire peril is an understatement. In fact, what is in dire peril and going down by the bow is our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our Rule of Law and very soon….OUR REPUBLIC. We cannot afford to stand idly by while the fabric of our nation is being destroyed by the constant assaults of foreign influence and domestic political indifference. Our survival as a nation requires us to stop making “limp wristed” requests to those we elected and to begin making militant demands which send a clear message of frustration, discontent, anger and contempt for what they are doing and for what they are failing to do to PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND this Republic….the United States of America.

One only need watch the GOP debates and the ongoing actions of this administration, Congress and the Courts to understand MISDIRECTION and DECEPTION have become the political process, rather than integrity, truth and representative government. It is not one Party or one branch of government that is to blame for the past decades of corruption, but rather, it is the People of the USA, our selfish material greed and our apathetic participation in our government. THIS WE MUST CHANGE AND THE TIME FOR THAT CHANGE IS NOW!!

Today’s NWV publication gives you the opportunity and the reasons sufficient to drive you to become actively involved in the new American Revolution. They give you the kind of information that should bring you back to the reality of what has happened and what is happening to this nation, via the actions and inactions of men and women who swore up and down, that they would adhere to their Oath of Office and meet the demands and the expectations of our Constitution. the very fact that they have proven their words to be nothing more than “lip service”, should encourage us further to make the kind of changes in 2012 that will restore this nation and its people to the kind of representative government and Republic that was promised by and given to us by our Founders.

We should work for and strive for nothing less.

SEMPER FI….,

PAUL REVERE IN ARIZONA –

No Joke: Obama/Soros Promote “Open Government”

Republicans complicit in violation of U.S. Constitution

Obama is a Usurper, Birth Certificate or Not

Immigration’s Onslaught: Fracturing America

Herman Cain walks away with victory in Florida ...

SHOCK: CAIN WINS FLA STRAW POLL

September 24, 2011

Neithercorp Flashback: Sons Of Darkness, Sons Of Light

September 19, 2011
By Brandon Smith



"For those of you who have been following my work since 2007, the name Neithercorp is easily recognizable, and brings back (at least for me) very fond memories. Neithercorp.us is where Josh Ogden and I began our fight against mainstream disinfo on the web. It is where we learned the intricacies of information excavation and dissemination. It is where the roots of the Alternative Market Project began. So that we do not forget our foundations, and so that newer readers can view some of our older work, I will occasionally post articles and videos from the Neithercorp archives. The first, of course, has to be Sons Of Darkness, Sons Of Light, a short film meant to be a part of a longer series (which I hope we will one day be able to finish). The first episode delves into the psychological and philosophical world of Collectivists. Collectivism as an institution and its manipulation by elitists is the source of nearly every political and social ill in history, and hopefully, this film explains clearly why. It features the incredible video design of Josh Ogden, and the voice of yours truly. Enjoy..."

Is China Ready To Pull The Plug?

U.S. versus EU: A Game Of Hot Potato…To The Death?

September 19, 2011

By Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com
9/16/11

There are two mainstream market assumptions that, in my mind, prevail over all others. The continuing function of the Dow, the sustained flow of capital into and out of the banking sector, and the full force spending of the federal government are ALL entirely dependent on the lifespan of these dual illusions; one, that the U.S. Dollar is a legitimate safe haven investment and will remain so indefinitely, and two, that China, like many other developing nations, will continue to prop up the strength of the dollar indefinitely because it is “in their best interest”. In the dimly lit bowels of Wall Street such ideas are so entrenched and pervasive, to question their validity is almost sacrilegious. Only after the recent S&P downgrade of America’s AAA credit rating did the impossible become thinkable to some MSM analysts, though a considerable portion of the day-trading herd continue to roll onward, while the time bomb strapped to the ass end of their financial house is ticking away.

The debate over the health and longevity of the dollar comes down to one very simple and undeniable root pillar of economics; supply and demand. The supply of dollars throughout the financial systems of numerous countries is undoubtedly overwhelming. In fact, the private Federal Reserve has been quite careful in maintaining a veil of secrecy over the full extent of dollar saturation in foreign markets in order to hide the sheer volume of greenback devaluation and inflation they have created. If for some reason the reserves of dollars held overseas by investors and creditors were to come flooding back into the U.S., we would see a hyperinflationary spiral more destructive than any in recorded history. As the supply of dollars around the globe increases exponentially, so too must foreign demand, otherwise, the debt machine short-circuits, and newly impoverished Americans will be using Ben Franklins for sod in their adobe huts. As I will show, demand for dollars is not increasing to match supply, but is indeed stalled, ready to crumble. Read More

Why Obama should withdraw

Why Obama should withdraw

September 9, 2011
By Steve Chapman
Chicago Tribune


When Ronald Reagan ran for re-election in 1984, his slogan was "Morning in America." For Barack Obama, it's more like midnight in a coal mine.

The sputtering economy is about to stall out, unemployment is high, his jobs program may not pass, foreclosures are rampant and the poor guy can't even sneak a cigarette.

His approval rating is at its lowest level ever. His party just lost two House elections — one in a district it had held for 88 consecutive years. He's staked his future on the jobs bill, which most Americans don't think would work.

The vultures are starting to circle. Former White House spokesman Bill Burton said that unless Obama can rally the Democratic base, which is disillusioned with him, "it's going to be impossible for the president to win." Democratic consultant James Carville had one word of advice for Obama: "Panic." Read More

George W. Bush Flight 93 Memorial Speech, September 10, 2011

Others comment and I feel the same!

"I am grateful that we had President Bush and his administration in charge on 9/11/2001."

"In view of who replaced him, this man is greatly missed. His sincerity is genuine and his patriotism is real. I would take this man over our current president anytime."

Beauty in every grain: For the first time remarkable photographs reveal hidden charms of ordinary SAND

GOD'S CREATION

September 3, 2011
By Daily Mail Reporter

Viewed at a magnification of over 250 times real life, tiny grains of sand are shown to be delicate, colourful structures as unique as snowflakes.

When seen well beyond the limits of human eyesight, the miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock.

Professor Gary Greenberg who has a PhD in biomedical research from University College London said: 'It is incredible to think when you are walking on the beach you are standing on these tiny treasures.


Magnified:The grains are shown to be delicate, colourful structures each as unique as a snowflake.


Colourful: The miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock.

'Every time I look through my microscope I am fascinated by the complexity and individuality created by a combination of nature and the repeated tumbling of the surf on a beach.'
Prof Greenberg, who searches through thousands of tiny rocks with acupuncture needles to find and arrange the most perfect specimens, then uses a painstaking technique to create his images.
He has spent five years searching the globe for remarkable sand grains like these to photograph.

He said: 'Extreme close up photography normally gives a very shallow depth of field so I had to develop a new process to make the pictures that I wanted.
'I take dozens of pictures at different points of focus then combine them using software to produce my images.

'Although the pictures look simple each grain of sand can take hours to photograph in a way that I am happy with.

'The beach nearest my lab is Haiku, Hawaii but my pictures show sand from all round the world from Japan to Ireland.'

Gary's pictures are available from his website sandgrains.com and his book 'a grain of sand' which is available on Amazon.


Incredible: We are walking on 'these tiny treasures'

HOW SAND IS MADE

Sand is tiny fragments of rock that have been worn away over thousands of years.
Contrary to popular belief, sand is made as rocks crash and break in rivers and streams on their way to the sea, rather than the ebb and flow of the tides.
Deposits left by breaking rocks in the sea turns to silt and is much lighter so is dispersed over a much wider area out to sea, rather than on the shore line.
Some of the rock is soluble, but other bits remain and as they are slowly rubbed down over time they get smaller and smaller until they become what we know as sand.

Inner Freedom Comes First

September 3, 2011
By Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com

Is freedom a place, or an idea? A state of society, or a state of mind? Does it begin around us, or within us? In today’s world of the all-you-can-eat sensory buffet, where every facet of life is a bit and a byte and a radio wave and a laser beam, most of humanity looks for all of its answers to such questions in the grand ether of the tumbling data stream. We see changes in the tapestry of cultural interaction as the final measure of national progression, or regression. We confuse forward sounding language with forward moving political transformation. We are mesmerized by the illusion of environmental appearance, and forget that the indelible root of all things outward is nurtured by that which lay within.

In America, in the midst of economic crisis and government driven moral hazard, millions of people are scrambling for “solutions”. The term is used rather haphazardly and often without proper context. There are, indeed, very evil men out there in the dark precipices of global infrastructure, and, these men often instigate very bad events. However, “doing away with them” is NOT a solution. It is NOT a plan. It is merely a goal. A solution requires more than an end result; it also involves the steps necessary to achieve said result. The Liberty Movement, as it is commonly called, tends to run into so much frustration and angst, I believe, because it consistently attempts to skip to the end of the story without traveling the rest of the very necessary journey.

End the Fed! Sue the Fed! March on Washington! Vote the bums out! Take up arms! These are not actions, but reactions triggered by the confusion of the moment. Not only are they single minded responses that lack the strategy and logistics inherent in a successful counter-offensive, but such cries ignore the other devious culprit responsible for our national heartache; ourselves.

Yes, the world must change, and soon, if our principles are to survive. But, for this to happen, we must change first. Instead of looking up, down, and all around us for some magical all encompassing answer, we have to question our very assumptions and world views. No weapon of steel or of law will ever undo the tragedy we live in day to day while we lack the conviction to confront our own biases and failings. We have always been the greatest obstacle to a truly freedom based society, not the elites, who are nothing but parasites feeding off our willfully perpetuated inadequacies.

Working methodologies for combating globalization and centralization do exist. State nullification, for instance, is a significant tool for defusing obtrusive federal authority, but without the organizational willpower and perseverance to take back the now thoroughly corrupt election process county by county, state by state, while producing viable liberty minded candidates and grassroots activist groups, nullification is impossible. Survival preparation is essential for anyone who wishes to decouple from the collapsing mainstream system, but without the determination to make prepping a reality, we are left with nothing but a bunch of hungry, desperate nobodies huddled on the sidelines of the war for truth. Barter networking and alternative markets require extensive patience and unerring dedication, along with constant self education on the processes of sound money and private trade. Safe Haven and Free State Projects push us even harder, requiring us to uproot from everything we have been conditioned to accept as normal and comfortable, and travel, perhaps long distances, to begin anew in a place likely unfamiliar. All of these things involve an internal finality of purpose, a clear and unwavering path unhindered by regret. Those who undertake the above initiatives do so not because they were “told to”, but because they know, above all else, that what they are doing is right. They no longer stand in their own way, and thus, the possibilities become infinite.

For others, the endless circular battle between action and apathy continues. Below, are some of the most frequent excuses uttered by those aware of the burgeoning dangers of a disintegrating culture but who are incapable of taking the first steps of inward freedom needed to do anything about their predicament…

1) I know things are getting bad in this country, but I only have time to focus on my own problems right now…

Your immediate problems are certainly yours to solve, but they are also very likely an aftereffect of the wider problems of the world around you. Ironically, only by taking personal responsibility for the problems of the world can we alleviate the incredible pressures of our microcosmic existence. That is to say, by taking action against the trespasses of global economic and socio-political despotism, you are doing yourself and your private life a big favor.

2) I believe that a collapse (social and economic) is possible, but just can’t imagine things ever going that far…

What you can’t “imagine” is generally pretty irrelevant when considering the FACTS of any given situation. Educating one’s self on the history of modern economic and political instability is a step that many seem to overlook before drawing conclusions on the state of America today. Without a point of reference to refer to, these people are left completely in the mire as to the very real threats that lay ahead. Many of them actually avoid learning the background details of similar crises like those in Weimar Germany, Soviet Russia, Argentina, Zimbabwe, etc., because doing so would mean room for denial would disappear. Yes, our country will see darker days ahead, perhaps pitch black. Refusing to prepare for the worst will not stop the worst from happening. Never, ever, assume a disaster will “blow over”.

3) I just don’t have the money to get into survival prepping right now. Maybe I will start when I get some savings in order…

In some cases (very few) this excuse is acceptable. But, in many others it is complete nonsense. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into that make this claim while continuing to spend money on non-essential luxuries. Do you still have cable T.V.? Get rid of it! It stinks anyway. Do you buy a new computer every six months? Well stop! The gigs and ram you have now are probably more than adequate. Do you pour money into personal vices like drugs, cigarettes, or beer? Quit! There will be no room for them post collapse anyway. There is always money for prepping, even if it’s a little every month. The obstacle is not funding. The obstacle is your unwillingness to sacrifice certain comforts for more important investments.

4) I would delve into sound money, but it all seems too complicated…

I’ll make this simple; buying gold and silver is NOT complicated. In fact, it is very easy. If something feels “complicated”, then simply uncomplicated it by educating yourself using the numerous resources still available on the internet or your local library. Knowledge is (at this time) everyone’s prerogative. Liberty starts not with the words in an article or a book, but the decision to actually sit down and read that article or book with an open mind. Make that decision now!

5) I feel isolated, and would like to move to a safe haven with more like-minded people, but am afraid of not finding work, or leaving behind that which is familiar…

Safe Haven relocation is not for everyone, but many can at least admit that they probably live in an unstable and violence prone environment sensitive to economic unrest. Many can also admit that they do not have the support network required to survive such an event. This choice ultimately comes down to priorities. When the survival of yourself and your family is on the line, does it really matter if you are “familiar” (i.e. comfortable) with your current location? In a crumbling marketplace, is it better to take your chances with a job that you know will soon no longer exist, or to take your chances in an alternative market with increasing growth? Is it better to wait until doom is ringing the doorbell? Or, is it more practical to take measures now to insulate yourself from the storm? Learning to prioritize means learning to set aside what we want in the face of what we need.

6) I would like to become more of an activist, but isn’t it better to “keep a low profile”, and avoid retribution from the power elite…?

Fear is the most repressive internal obstacle of all. Tyrants do not conquer countries; fear conquers countries. As I have said before, when the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, they did not sign it “Anonymous”. It is every free man’s duty to stand behind his own convictions. Holding them quietly in the corner of the room gets us nowhere. This is not to say that all our thoughts and activities should be made public, but if you can’t build up the gumption to speak the truth in the wake of a lie then you aren’t of much use to anyone, especially yourself. There is nothing illegal about organizing against corruption, and even if there was, it wouldn’t matter. Fighting for freedom means being audacious, and sometimes unconcerned about the supposed “consequences”. While we speak often of safety and preparedness, these things at bottom are also only important so far as they support our ability to put ourselves on the line for the future of our ideals. There is no room for apprehension here…

The purpose of the above is not to “shame” those in the movement who remain inactive, but to clear the fog that tends to surround any new and powerful movement against the rush of the totalitarian wildfire. We continue to look for white-knight leaders, short cut slapdash solutions, and even miracles to somehow save us from doing what we dread most; facing the fact that we are the greatest prognosticators of our own fates. We are the ones who choose freedom, or slavery. In the soft light of fading glory, only those who blaze their own trails will see the road ahead. To each man awaits a multitude of perils and rewards, all of which depend upon his inner resolve; a quality which stands upon the summit of the soul, against the wind, and the unrelenting cold.