Flash Editorials April 28, 2012

By Russell D. Longcore

Let’s get this puppy started! Oops, gotta be careful. If Obama sees this, he might the idea to get some dogburgers delivered from some oriental restaurant in DC.

The Nation I: Mittens Romney won all four primaries last Tuesday. Big F***ing deal. Remember that you are going to vote for the lesser of two evils in November. And shame on you if you vote at all. If your vote, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

The Nation II: In our “Delusional Sociopath” Department, we gladly announce that Newt Gingrich has pulled out of the race. He probably will expect a Cabinet appointment or ambassadorship. I hope Romney makes Newt the Ambassador to BumfuckEgyptistan; or South Sudan, which is in a civil war.

The Nation III: Because the only thing that matters in the Mainstream Media is the Presidential race, let’s talk about who will be Mittens’ VP choice. There is lots of talk about Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Small problem. Both of Rubio’s parents were born in Cuba. According to the oft-ignored old Constitution, “Natural Born Citizen does not mean just born on American soil. One must also be born of parents who were born on American soil. But why should that stop the Republicans? Sure as hell didn’t stop Barry Soetoro aka Barack Obama.

International I: Spain has made a move toward totalitarianism, and I promise you that the eyes of other nations are on this move. This week, the Madrid government banned cash transactions over $2,500 Euros between anybody, individuals or businesses. This is a blatant destruction of individual rights. They SAY that the move is aimed to combat black market activities. But I’m throwing the bullshit flag on Spain. This is about one thing…making sure that the Spanish government gets all the tax revenue it can collect. But in a wider sense, the order sets the stage for the cashless world system that all the governments would like to see…complete control of every individual. The funniest thing is that in my opinion, this will make the black market more vibrant, not less. The Black Market always figures out a way to avoid and evade the taxman.

International II: In the French primary election, President Nicolas Sarkozy came in second to socialist Francois Hollande. The French people don’t seem to want a national government that only spends what it takes in. They don’t want the austerity measures that are required for the French government to continue. France wants bread and circuses. Soon they will have neither.

International III: In March, Russia and Mexico each bought nearly $1 Billion in gold bullion. Mexico bought 16.8 TONS of gold, valued at $906.4 Million, and Russia bought 16.5 tons. The governments of Russia and Mexico understand very clearly, what is about to happen to the US Dollar. And don’t forget that China is likely the largest gold producer in the world, since they don’t release their mining figures. Speak Mandarin yet?

Business: Mad Cow Disease has been discovered in a cow in California. One dairy cow was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy, (BSE), otherwise known as Mad Cow disease. Seem a company was picking up dead cows for rendering, which means they cut up animals, boil the meat off the bones and use nearly every part of the animal for something, including cow feed. Yes friends, cows are fed cow by-products. As a matter of course, this company randomly tests for BSE. And the first test came back negative. Why they tested a second time, I don’t know. But they found the disease in this one cow. If you ever want to know what happens to cattle in the American beef industry just Google the words “cattle cruelty” and watch some of the videos there. You’ll think twice about your next Whopper. In today’s America, only grass-fed, free-range, drug-free organic beef is safe to eat. Remember, the USDA regulates the food industry, and they lie all the time, just like the rest of the Federal Government. If only random testing occurs, you know that other diseased cows are getting through without being discovered. And what doctor or hospital would want to reveal that Mad Cow disease killed someone? The political pressure to hide it to protect the Beef Industry would be enormous.

But here’s tonight’s commercial message. Here are the most important questions I could ask you: Are you living the dream? Do you spend as much time with the people you love as you want to? Are you living in the home of your dreams? Are you living in the spot in the world that you dream of? Do you drive the car of your dreams? Do you have a dream of helping others in some charity that remains unfulfilled? And let’s talk about where we spend a huge chunk of our time…at work. Are you working at the job of your dreams? Are you making the kind of money you always dreamed of earning? Were you able to answer “YES” to any of those questions? Most people I know are not living the dream…whatever that phrase means to THEM. I can’t tell you what YOUR dream is. But if you could not answer “YES”, how are you planning to make your dreams come true? There is a racing analogy that works well here: You must have the right vehicle but you must be the right driver. Think about it. If you have a NASCAR or Formula One car, and you’re the driver, you’ll probably get yourself killed in a race. And if you take the best NASCAR or Formula One driver and put him in a Volkswagen Beetle, he has no chance of winning. To win and make your dreams come true, you must be the right driver in the right vehicle. Here is another important question: How important ARE your dreams to you? Do you have a burning desire to make them come true…or do you just enjoy fantasizing about what it would be like to live the dream? Most of the people I spend time with are in the first category. They are working hard to make their dreams come true. Even if you have the right vehicle and you don’t think you’re the right driver, cheer up!! You can Learn to be a great driver…the driver of your dreams! If you’d like to learn more about making your dreams come true, and whether or not my energy business could be the right vehicle for you, send me an email at russlongcore@gmail.com. We can talk about it possibly design a plan to make your dreams come true!

Economy I: The number of actual new unemployment claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 366,743 in the week ending April 21, a decrease of 3,484 from the previous week. Yet, the Labor Department reported 388,000 new jobless claims last week. Folks, think about this. Every week for almost two years, a group of people the size of Oakland, California or Omaha, Nebraska get laid off. For TWO YEARS. That is 100 weeks of Omaha-sized layoffs. Recovery, my ass. Every time you see a news story that even hints at recovery, you should throw the bullshit flag at your TV.

Sports: NBA Player Ron Artest, who changed his name to Metta World Peace, had a bad case of stupid while his Lakers were playing the OKC Thunder last Sunday. Mr. Peace threw an elbow that hit Thunder player James Harden right behind his left ear, sending him to the floor with a concussion. Candyass NBA Commissioner David Stern only suspended Metta for seven games. What a disgrace Stern is. The Peaceman should be fined a month’s salary and suspended for the remainder of the season. That would send a message. But the fans like NBA Thugball, just like they like NHL Hockey. So the thuggery will continue.

Entertainment: Donald Trump’s Miss Universe Pageant has a dude competing this year with all the girls. Canada’s contestant (Canada??) is 23-year-old Jenna Talackova, who may look like a girl, but still has the XY chromosomes the rest of us guys have. It was only four years ago that he had a dick-ectomy. Have you seen this guy? He’s totally hot…no Adam’s apple issues, no five o’clock shadow, no deep voice, great set of hooters. No RuPaul action here. Actually looks a lot like Lisa Kudrow of the old Friends sitcom. Wait a minute! I hear some of you clucking your tongues because I think he’s real pretty. But my wife says that I’m just a lesbian trapped in a man’s body. After all, I like to do the same stuff lesbians do, except I do not need a strap-on. Makes sense to me…

Dump DC: Six Letters That Can Change History.

Copyright 2012: Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

The Shot Heard Round The World

By Chuck Baldwin

(Editor’s Note: This is a great article about the role of religion in the early days of the colonies. A good companion article is Who Should Be The State’s Mortal Enemy?)

April 19, 1775, should be regarded as important a date to Americans
as July 4, 1776. It’s a shame that we don’t celebrate it as
enthusiastically as we do Independence Day. It’s even more shameful
that many Americans don’t even remember what happened on this day
back in 1775. For the record, historians call this day, “Patriot’s
Day.” More specifically, it was the day that the shot was fired that
was heard ’round the world. It was the day America’s War for
Independence began.

Being warned of approaching British troops by Dr. Joseph Warren,
Pastor Jonas Clark and his male congregants of the Church of Lexington (numbering 60-70) were the ones that stood with their muskets in front of the Crown’s troops (numbering over 800), who were on orders to seize a cache of arms which were stored at Concord and to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock (who were known to be in the area, and who had actually taken refuge in Pastor Clark’s home).

According to eyewitnesses, the king’s troops opened fire on the
militiamen almost without warning, immediately killing eight of Pastor Clark’s parishioners. In self defense, the Minutemen returned fire.

These were the first shots of the Revolutionary War. This took place
on Lexington Green, which was located directly beside the church-house where those men worshipped each Sunday. Adams and Hancock were not taken. They owed their lives to Pastor Clark and his brave Minutemen–albeit eight of those men gave their lives protecting Adams and Hancock.

According to Pastor Clark, these are the names of the eight men who
died on Lexington Green: Robert Munroe, Jonas Parker, Samuel Hadley,
Jonathan Harrington, Jr., Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Harrington, and John
Brown, all of Lexington, and one Mr. Porter of Woburn.

By the time the British troops arrived at the Concord Bridge,
hundreds of colonists had amassed a defense of the bridge. A horrific
battle took place, and the British troops were routed and soon
retreated back to Boston. America’s War for Independence had begun!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these two elements of American history are
lost to the vast majority of historians today: 1) it was attempted gun confiscation by the British troops that ignited America’s War for
Independence, and 2) it was a pastor and his flock that mostly
comprised the “Minutemen” who fired the shots that started our
great Revolution.

With that thought in mind, I want to devote today’s column to
honoring the brave preachers of Colonial America–these “children of
the Pilgrims,” as one Colonial pastor’s descendent put it.

It really wasn’t that long ago. However, with the way America’s
clergymen act today, one would think that preachers such as James
Caldwell, John Peter Muhlenberg, Joab Houghton, and Jonas Clark never existed. But they did exist; and without them, this country we call the United States of America that would not exist.

Caldwell was a Presbyterian; Muhlenberg was a Lutheran; Houghton was a Baptist; and no one really seems to know what denomination (if any) Jonas Clark claimed, although one historian referred to Clark as a Trinitarian and a Calvinist. But these men had one thing in common (besides their faith in Jesus Christ): they were all ardent patriots who participated in America’s War for Independence, and in the case of Jonas Clark, actually ignited it.

James Caldwell

James Caldwell was called “The Rebel High Priest” or “The
Fighting Chaplain.” Caldwell is most famous for the “Give ’em
Watts!” story.

During the Springfield (New Jersey) engagement, the colonial militia
ran out of wadding for their muskets. Quickly, Caldwell galloped to
the Presbyterian church, and returning with an armload of hymnals,
threw them to the ground, and hollered, “Now, boys, give ’em
Watts!” He was referring to the famous hymn writer, Isaac Watts, of
course.

The British hated Caldwell so much, they murdered his wife, Hannah,
in her own home, as she sat with her children on her bed. Later, a
fellow American was bribed by the British to assassinate Pastor
Caldwell–which is exactly what he did. Americans loyal to the Crown
burned both his house and church. No less than three cities and two
public schools in the State of New Jersey bear his name.

John Peter Muhlenberg

John Peter Muhlenberg was pastor of a Lutheran church in Woodstock,
Virginia, when hostilities erupted between Great Britain and the
American colonies. When news of Bunker Hill reached Virginia,
Muhlenberg preached a sermon from Ecclesiastes 3 to his congregation
He reminded his parishioners that there was a time to preach and a
time to fight. He said that, for him, the time to preach was past and
it was time to fight. He then threw off his vestments and stood before his congregants in the uniform of a Virginia colonel.

Muhlenberg later was promoted to brigadier-general in the Continental
Army, and later, major general. He participated in the battles of
Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He went on to serve in both the US House of Representatives and US Senate.

Joab Houghton

Joab Houghton was in the Hopewell (New Jersey) Baptist Meeting House
at worship when he received the first information regarding the
battles at Lexington and Concord. His great-grandson gives the
following eloquent description of the way he treated the tidings:

“Mounting the great stone block in front of the meeting-house, he
beckoned the people to stop. Men and women paused to hear, curious to
know what so unusual a sequel to the service of the day could mean. At the first, words a silence, stern as death, fell over all. The Sabbath quiet of the hour and of the place was deepened into a terrible solemnity. He told them all the story of the cowardly murder at Lexington by the royal troops; the heroic vengeance following hard upon it; the retreat of Percy; the gathering of the children of the Pilgrims round the beleaguered hills of Boston; then pausing, and looking over the silent throng, he said slowly, ‘Men of New Jersey, the red coats are murdering our brethren of New England! Who follows me to Boston?’ And every man in that audience stepped out of line, and answered, ‘I!’ There was not a coward or a traitor in old Hopewell Baptist Meeting-House that day.” (Cathcart, William.
Baptists and the American Revolution. Philadelphia: S.A. George, 1876,
rev. 1976)

Jonas Clark

As I said at the beginning of this column, Jonas Clark was pastor of
the Church of Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, the day
that British troops marched on Concord with orders to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock, and to seize a cache of firearms. It was Pastor Clark’s male congregants who were the first ones to face-off against the British troops as they marched through Lexington. When you hear the story of the Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington, remember those Minutemen were Pastor Jonas Clark and the men of his congregation.

On the One Year Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, Clark
preached a sermon based upon his eyewitness testimony of the event. He called his sermon, “The Fate of Blood-Thirsty Oppressors and God’s
Tender Care of His Distressed People.” His sermon has been
republished by Nordskog Publishing under the title, “The Battle of
Lexington, A Sermon and Eyewitness Narrative, Jonas Clark, Pastor,
Church of Lexington.”

Order the book containing Clark’s sermon at:

http://www.NordskogPublishing.com

Of course, these four brave preachers were not the only ones to
participate in America’s fight for independence. There were
Episcopalian ministers such as Dr. Samuel Provost of New York, Dr.
John Croes of New Jersey, and Robert Smith of South Carolina.
Presbyterian ministers such as Adam Boyd of North Carolina and James
Armstrong of Maryland, along with many others, also took part.

So many Baptist preachers participated in America’s War for
Independence that, at the conclusion of the war, President George
Washington wrote a personal letter to the Baptist people saying, “I
recollect with satisfaction that the religious societies of which you
are a member have been, throughout America, uniformly and almost
unanimously, the firm friends to civil liberty, and the preserving
promoters of our glorious Revolution.” It also explains how Thomas
Jefferson could write to a Baptist congregation and say, “We have
acted together from the origin to the end of a memorable
Revolution.” (McDaniel, George White. The People Called Baptists.
The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1918)

And although not every pastor was able to actively participate in our
fight for independence, so many pastors throughout colonial America
preached the principles of liberty and independence from their pulpits that the Crown created a moniker for them: The Black Regiment
(referring to the long, black robes that so many colonial clergymen
wore in the pulpit). Without question, the courageous preaching and
example of colonial America’s patriot-pastors provided the colonists
with the inspiration and resolve to resist the tyranny of the Crown
and win America’s freedom and independence.

I invite readers to visit my Black Regiment web page to learn more
about my attempt to resurrect America’s Black-Robed Regiment. Go to:

Black Regiment

This is the fighting heritage of America’s pastors and preachers.
So, what has happened? What has happened to that fighting spirit that
once existed, almost universally, throughout America’s Christian
denominations? How have preachers become so timid, so shy, and so
cowardly that they will stand apathetic and mute as America faces the
destruction of its liberties? Where are the preachers to explain,
expound, and extrapolate the principles of liberty from Holy Writ?
Where are the pastors to preach the truth about Romans chapter 13?

I am absolutely convinced that one of the biggest reasons America is
in the sad condition that it is in today is because the sermons
Americans frequently hear from modern pulpits deal mostly with
prosperity theology, entertainment evangelism, feelgoodism,
emotionalism, and Aren’t-I-Wonderful ear tickling! This milquetoast
preaching, along with a totally false “obey-the-government-no-matter-what” interpretation of Romans 13, have made it next to impossible to find Christian men with the courage and resolve to stand against the onslaught of socialism, corporatism, and, yes, fascism that is swallowing America whole.

America cut its spiritual teeth on the powerful preaching and
exemplary examples of men such as James Caldwell, John Peter
Muhlenberg, Joab Houghton, and, yes, Jonas Clark. We need them as much today as we did then–maybe more!

>i>Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author, and pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. He and his wife, Connie, have 3 children and 8 grandchildren.

Please visit Chuck’s web site at http://chuckbaldwinlive.com

US-Israel War on Iran : The Myth of Limited Warfare

by Prof. James Petras
www.GlobalResearch.ca

(Editor’s note: Read this and spread it widely. Before you begin reading, you may not realize how desperately bad this potential war will be. We have talked about how the Dollar will collapse from either (1) China’s efforts to dethrone the Dollar as world reserve currency, or (2) the Euro’s collapse which will take the Dollar with it. But I have not factored in war in the Middle East. I will now. The first wave of war that Professor Petras speaks of may collapse the world economy, but China and Russia will remain on the sidelines during initial hostilities. If it goes badly for Iran, expect them both to jump in. Perhaps the Biblical prediction of the Battle of Armageddon will come true.)

Introduction

The mounting threat of a US-Israeli military attack against Iran is based on several factors including: (1) the recent military history of both countries in the region, (2) public pronouncements by US and Israeli political leaders, (3) recent and on-going attacks on Lebanon and Syria, prominent allies of Iran, (4) armed attacks and assassinations of Iranian scientists and security officials by proxy and/or terrorist groups under US or Mossad control, (5) the failure of economic sanctions and diplomatic coercion, (6) escalating hysteria and extreme demands for Iran to end legal, civilian use-related uranium enrichment, (7) provocative military ‘exercises’ on Iran’s borders and war games designed for intimidation and a dress rehearsal for a preemptive attack, (8) powerful pro-war pressure groups in both Washington and Tel Aviv including the major Israeli political parties and the powerful AIPAC in the US, (9) and lastly the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (Obama’s Orwellian Emergency Decree, March 16, 2012).

The US propaganda war operates along two tracks: (1) the dominant message emphasizes the proximity of war and the willingness of the US to use force and violence. This message is directed at Iran and coincides with Israeli announcements of war preparations. (2) The second track targets the ‘liberal public’ with a handful of marginal ‘knowledgeable academics’ (or State Department progressives) playing down the war threat and arguing that reasonable policy makers in Tel Aviv and Washington are aware that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons or any capacity to produce them now or in the near future. The purpose of this liberal backpedaling is to confuse and undermine the majority public opinion, which is clearly opposed to more war preparations, and to derail the burgeoning anti-war movement.

Needless to say the pronouncements of the ‘rational’ warmongers use a ‘double discourse’ based on the facile dismissal of all the historical and empirical evidence to the contrary. When the US and Israel talk of war, prepare for war and engage in pre-war provocations – they intend to go to war – just as they did against Iraq in 2003. Under present international political and military conditions an attack on Iran , initially by Israel with US support, is extremely likely, even as world economic conditions should dictate otherwise and even as the negative strategic consequences will most likely reverberate throughout the world for decades to come.

US and Israeli Military Calculations on Iran’s Capability

American and Israeli strategic policy makers do not agree on the consequences of Iran ’s retaliation against an attack. For their part, the Israeli leaders minimize Iran ’s military capacity to attack and damage the Jewish state, which is their only consideration. They count on their distance, their anti-missile shield and protection from US air and naval forces in the Gulf to cover their sneak attack. On the other hand, US military strategists know the Iranians are capable of inflicting substantial casualties on US warships, which would have to attack Iranian coastal installations in order to support or protect the Israelis.

Israel intelligence is best known for its capacity to organize the assassination of individuals around the world: Mossad has organized successful overseas terrorists acts against Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese leaders. On the other hand Israeli intelligence has a very poor track record with regard to its estimates of major military and political undertakings. They seriously underestimated the popular support, military strength and organizational capacity of Hezbollah during the 2006 war in Lebanon . Likewise, Israel intelligence misunderstood the strength and capacity of the Egyptian popular democratic movement as it rose up and overthrew Tel Aviv’s strategic regional ally, the Mubarak dictatorship. While Israeli leaders ‘feign paranoia’ – tossing clichés about ‘existential threats’– they are blinded by their narcissistic arrogance and racism, repeatedly underestimating the technical expertise and political sophistication of their Arab and regional Islamic foes. This is undoubtedly true in their facile dismissal of Iran ’s capacity to retaliate against a planned Israeli air assault.

The US government has now overtly committed itself to supporting an Israeli assault on Iran when it is launched. More specifically, Washington claims it will come to Israel ’s defense ‘unconditionally’ if it is “attacked”. How can Israel avoid being ‘attacked’ when its planes are raining bombs and missiles on Iranian installations, military defenses and support systems, not to mention Iranian cities, ports and strategic infrastructure? Moreover, given the Pentagon’s collaboration and coordinated intelligence systems with the Israel Defense Forces, its role in identifying targets, routes and incoming missiles, as well as integrated weapons and ordinance supply chains will be critical to an IDF attack. There is no way that the US can dissociate itself from the Jewish State’s war on Iran , once the attack has begun.

The Myths of ‘Limited War’: Geography

Washington and Tel Aviv claim and appear to believe that their planned assault on Iran will be a “limited war”, targeting limited objectives and lasting a few days or weeks – with no serious consequences.

We are told Israel ’s brilliant generals have identified all the critical nuclear research facilities, which their surgical air strikes will eliminate without horrific collateral damage to the surrounding population. Once the alleged ‘nuclear weapons’ program is destroyed, all Israelis can resume their lives in full security knowing that another ‘existential’ threat has been eliminated. The Israeli notion of a war, limited in ‘time and space’, is absurd and dangerous – and underlines the arrogance, stupidity and racism of its authors.

To approach Iran ’s nuclear facilities Israeli and US forces will confront well-equipped and defended bases, missile installations, maritime defenses and large-scale fortifications directed by the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Armed Forces. Moreover, the defense systems protecting the nuclear facilities are linked by civilian highways, airfields, ports, and backed by a dual purpose (civilian-military) infrastructure, which includes oil refineries and a huge network of administrative offices. To ‘knock out’ the alleged nuclear sites will require expanding the geographic scope of the war. The scientific-technological capacity of the Iranian civilian nuclear program involves a wide swath of its research facilities, including universities, laboratories, manufacturing sites, and design centers. To destroy Iran ’s civilian nuclear program would require Israel (and thus the US ) to attack much more than research facilities or laboratories hidden under a remote mountain. It would require multiple, widespread assaults on targets throughout the country, in other words, a generalized war.

Iran ’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has stated that Iran will retaliate with a war of equivalence. Iran will match the breadth and scope of any attack with a corresponding counter-attack: ‘We will attack them at the same level as they attack us’. That means Iran will not confine its retaliation to merely trying to shoot down US and Israeli bombers in its airspace or launch missiles at offshore US warships in its waters but will take the war to equivalent targets in Israel and in US-occupied countries in and around the Gulf. Israel ’s ‘limited war’ will become a generalized war extending throughout the Middle East and beyond.

Israel ’s current delusional fetish about its elaborate missile defense system will be exposed as hundreds of high-powered missiles are launched from Teheran, Southern Lebanon and just beyond the Golan Heights .

The Myth of Limited War: Time Frame

Israeli military experts confidently expect to polish off their Iranian targets in a few days – some might think a mere weekend – and perhaps without the loss of even a single pilot. They expect the Jewish state will celebrate its brilliant victory in the streets of Tel Aviv and Washington. They are deluded by their own sense of superiority. Iran did not fight a brutal, decade-long war against the US-supplied Iraqi invaders and its western/Israeli military advisers, to just turn over and passively submit to a limited number of air and missile attacks by Israel . Iran is a young, educated mobilized society, which can draw on millions of reservists from across the political, ethnic, gender, religious spectrum, galvanized in support of their nation under attack. In a war to defend the homeland all internal differences disappear to confront the unprovoked Israeli-US attack threatening their entire civilization – its 5000-year culture and traditions, as well as its modern scientific advances and institutions. The first wave of US-Israeli attacks will lead to ferocious retaliation, which will not be confined to the original areas of conflict, nor will any such act of Israeli aggression end when and if Iran ’s nuclear research facilities are destroyed and some of its scientists, technicians and skilled workers are killed. The war will continue in time and extend geographically.

Multiple Points of Conflict

Just as any US-Israeli attack on Iran will involve multiple targets, the Iranian military will also have a plethora of easily accessible strategic targets. Though it is difficult to predict exactly where and how Iran will retaliate, one thing is clear: The initial US-Israeli strike will not go unanswered.

Given Israeli-US supremacy in long and medium range sea and air power, Iran will probably rely on short-range objectives. These would include the highly valued US military facilities and supply routes in adjoining terrain (Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan) and Israeli targets with missiles launched from Southern Lebanon and possibly Syria. If a few Iranian long-range missiles escape the Jewish State’s much vaunted ‘anti-missile dome’, Israeli population centers may pay a heavy price for their leaders’ recklessness and arrogance.

The Iranian counter-strike will lead to an escalation by US-Israeli forces, extending and deepening their air and sea war to the entire Iranian national security system – military bases, ports, communication systems, command posts and government administrative centers – many in densely populated cities. Iran will counter by launching its greatest strategic asset: a coordinated ground attack involving the Revolutionary Guards together with their allies among the Iraqi Shia troops, against US forces in Iraq . It will coordinate attacks against US facilities in Afghanistan and Pakistan with the growing nationalist-Islamic armed resistance.

The initial conflict, centered on so-called military objectives (scientific research facilities), will spread rapidly to economic targets, or what US and Israeli military strategists refer to as “dual civilian-military” targets. This would include oil fields, highways, factories, communications networks, television stations, water treatment facilities, reservoirs, power stations and administrative offices, such as the Defense Ministry and headquarters of the Republican Guard. Iran, faced with imminent destruction of its entire economy and infrastructure (which occurred in neighboring Iraq with the unprovoked US invasion of 2003), would retaliate by blocking the Straits of Hormuz and sending short range missiles in the direction of the principle oil fields and refineries of the Gulf States including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, a mere 10 minute distance, crippling the flow of oil to Europe, Asia and the United States and plunging the world economy into deep depression.

It should not be forgotten that the Iranians are probably more aware than anyone in the region of the total devastation suffered by Iraqis after the US invasion, which plunged that nation into total chaos and devastated its advanced infrastructure and civilian administrative apparatus, not to mention the systematic obliteration of its highly educated scientific and technical elite. The waves of Mossad-sponsored assassinations of Iranian scientists, academics and engineers are just a foretaste of what the Israelis have in mind for Iran ’s outstanding scientists, intellectuals and highly skilled technical workers. Iranians should have no illusions about the Americans and Israelis who seek to thrust Iran into the brutal dark ages of Afghanistan and Iraq . They will have no more role in a devastated Iran than their counterparts had in post-Saddam Iraq .

According to US General Mathis, who commands all US forces in the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia, ‘an Israeli first strike would be likely to have dire consequences across the region and for the United States there’ (NY Times, 3/19/12). General Mathis “dire cost” estimate only takes account of the US military losses, likely several hundred sailors on warships within missile distance of Iranian gunners.

However the most delusional and self-serving assessment of the outcome and consequences of an Israeli air attack on Iran, emanates from top Israeli leaders, academics and intelligence experts, who claim superior intelligence, superior defenses and supreme (if also racist) insight into the ‘Iranian mind’. Typical is Israeli Defense Minister Barak who boasts that any Iranian retaliation will at worst inflict minimal casualties on the Israeli population.

The ‘Judeo-centric’ view of re-ordering the balance of power in the region, which is prevalent in leading Israeli war circles, overlooks the likelihood that war will not be decided by Israeli air strikes and anti-missile defenses. Iran ’s missiles cannot be easily contained, especially if they arrive several hundred a minute from three directions, Iran , Lebanon , Syria and possibly from Iranian submarines. Secondly, the collapse of its oil imports will devastate Israel ’s highly energy dependent economy. Thirdly, Israel ’s principle allies, especially the US and the EU, will be severely strained as they are dragged into Israel ’s war and find themselves defending the straits of Hormuz, their army garrisons in Iraq and Afghanistan , and their oil fields and military bases in the Gulf. Such a conflict could ignite the Shia majorities in Bahrain and in the strategic oil-rich provinces of Saudi Arabia . The generalized war will have a devastating effect on the price of oil and the world economy. It will provoke the fury of consumers and workers rage everywhere as factories close and powerful shocks throughout the fragile financial system result in a world depression.

Israel ’s pathological ‘superiority complex’ results in its racist leaders consistently overestimating their own intellectual, technical and military capabilities, while underestimating the knowledge, capacity and courage of their regional, Islamic (in this case Iranian) adversaries. They ignore Iran ’s proven capacity to sustain a prolonged, complex multi-front defensive war and to recover from an initial assault and develop appropriate modern weaponry to inflict severe damage on its attackers. And Iran will have the unconditional and active support of the world’s Muslim population, and perhaps the diplomatic backing of Russia and China , who will obviously view an attack on Iran as another dress rehearsal to contain their growing power.

Conclusion

War, especially an Israeli-US war against Iran is indissolubly linked to the asymmetrical US-Israeli relationship, which sidelines and censors any critical US military and political analysis. Because Israel’s Zionist power configuration in the US can now harness US military power in support of Israel’s drive for regional dominance, Israeli leaders and most of their military feel free to engage in the most outrageous military and destructive adventures, knowing full well that in the first and last instance they can rely on the US to support them with American blood and treasure. But after all of this grotesque servitude to a racist ,isolated country, who will rescue the United States ? Who will prevent the sinking of its ships in the Gulf and the death and maiming of hundreds of its sailors and thousands of its soldiers? And where will the Israelis and US Zionists be when Iraq is overrun by elite Iranian troops and their Iraqi Shia allies and a generalized uprising occurs in Afghanistan ?

The self-centered Israeli policy-makers overlook the likely collapse of the world oil supply as a result of their planned war against Iran . Do their Zionist agents in the US realize that as a result of dragging the US into Israel ’s war, that the Iranian nation will be forced to set the Persian Gulf oilfields ablaze?

How cheap has it become to ‘buy a war’ in the US ? For a mere few million dollars in campaign contributions to corrupt politicians, and through the deliberate penetration of Israel-First agents, academics and politicians into the war-making machinery of the US government, and through the moral cowardice and self-censorship of leading critics, writers and journalists who refuse to name Israel and its agents as the key decision makers in our country’s Mid East policy, we head directly toward a war far beyond any regional military conflagration and toward the collapse of the world economy and the brutal impoverishment of hundreds of millions of people North and South, East and West.

James Petras is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Flash Editorials March 17, 2012

By Russell D. Longcore

To view this article as an animated video featuring your Editor, click below.

This has been a news-filled week!

The Nation I: Rick Santorum won beauty contests in Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi this week, and Mitt Romney came in third behind Tweedledum Gingrich in the South. And poor ol’ Ron Paul…came in dead last. Curious thing about Ron Paul. He draws enormous crowds to venues when he speaks. He has been brilliant in getting campaign contributions for eight years, holding “Ron Paul Money Bombs” that generate millions each time. Ron Paul has won the hearts and minds of the young and those who are tired of being robbed and lied to. But what will the good doctor do with all these followers at the convention and beyond? There is no possibility that he will swing his support to any of the other three candidates when he stands against everything they support. I have heard many suggest he become a Third Party candidate, but that would be a one-way ticket to Ross Perot-ville. But I have a suggestion for Mister Paul. How about taking the next logical step in protecting personal liberty and property rights and become a secessionist? Forsake the Grand Old Party, Doctor Paul. Tell your willing, excited followers that secession is the only solution to return liberty to the North American continent. Encourage your supporters to spread the good news about forming new nations from old states. And finally, because you are from Texas, nominate yourself as the first President of a New Texas nation. Texas needs a lightning rod for nationhood, and with your notoriety and principled stand against DC tyranny, you are the perfect man to be the next Sam Houston.

The Nation II: Washington is in full spin cycle about Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who has been identified as the “lone gunman” who murdered 16 civilians in Afghanistan this week. Afghanis say there were more than one soldier committing the murders, and that they were all drunk. Remembering the Patrick Tillman story, and how the Army lied their asses off, I’m kind of inclined to believe the indigenous reports. Bales has now been emergency evacuated from Afghanistan by aircraft and is heading for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. For days after the incident, I heard Obama and Defense Secretary Panetta stating that this would not deter America from its mission in Afghanistan. Really? Our soldiers commit a mass murder of mostly women and children and DC thinks it’s just business as usual? War is defined by atrocity, but also by hubris. And hubris is usually followed by nemesis.

The Nation III: Our Moron-in-Chief, Barack Obama, announced this week that he would release some of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) into the market with the goal of easing American gas and diesel prices. The SPR is supposed to be America’s defensive measure against a temporary supply disruption. The SPR is an emergency trust fund of about 750 million barrels of oil. The US imports about 12 million barrels of crude daily, so if we used the entire SPR, it would only last us two months. So once again, the Wanker-in-Chief plays politics with national security in an attempt to lower gas prices at the pump. But the last time he dipped into the SPR was in 2011 during the Arab Spring, and the 30 million barrels released dropped the pump price by 3 cents. Three. Cents. The world is awash with crude oil. Obama simply wants to get re-elected. This ain’t about US…this move is ALL about HIM.

International I: This week, the SWIFT banking clearing house, the company that manages nearly all international transactions, cut off Iran from doing business through them. This is only the latest in a long line of sanctions that stretch back into the 1980s. Make no mistake, dear readers. The USA is already at war with Iran. Economic sanctions are an act of war. There is just nobody shooting guns yet. Notice I said “yet.” Which brings be to…

International II: The US Navy’s first nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise has sailed from Norfolk, Virginia on its final voyage and deployment. It is headed for the Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea area. When it arrives, it will be one of three carrier task forces in the area at once. Is the Obama Administration trying to bluff Iran? Or is the US going to strike Iran at the demand of Israel? Just keep one word in mind…”Sunburn.” Google the term “Sunburn Missile” and see what awaits the carrier task forces. Perhaps the Pentagon decided to have the USS Enterprise sunk at sea instead of being cut up for scrap at the Navy Yard.

International III: Israel knows that Obama is not their friend. But they know that the Republican top three are competing with each other to see who will go to war for Israel against Iran first. So what might Israel do to change the November election? They might keep up the pressure to attack Iran. That will keep the Middle East unstable. An unstable Middle East will keep crude oil prices climbing. And if gasoline prices hit $5.00 per gallon before November, Obama is a goner.

Shameless Plug: Have you ever dreamed of owning a home-based business? It’s a dream shared by millions of people who crave freedom from bosses. But it’s much, much more…and today I want you to concentrate on TIME FREEDOM. You can always earn more money somehow, but you cannot earn more time. Spend it foolishly and it is forever gone. Long hours on the job steal time from you and your family. Did you get married and have kids just so you could bring home a paycheck but not spend time in their lives? Do you feel guilty when you miss important events because you have to work? You can take control of your life with the RIGHT kind of home business. To learn more about my Energy business, go to: MasterpieceEnergy.com. Watch the opening video about “Lifestyle.” Then look to the left and click on “Defining Moments” to learn about a truly recession-proof business.

Business: The Apple Computer Company has been enjoying a remarkable runup of its stock (AAPL) price. Friday’s close was $585.87 per share. Per. Share. I’m not saying it’s not deserved, but I have been watching scores of hedge funds jumping on this stock, which drives up the price. I wonder how much Apple stock is really worth. I love their stuff and use it every day. But hype is hype, and stock is paper. We’ll see what happens by the end of 2012.

Economy I: The number of actual new unemployment claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 337,713 in the week ending March 10th, down 30,719 from the week previous. Yet once again, the Labor Department reported 351,000 new jobless claims…a number higher than the real number by 14,000. Apparently, the Labor Department has an affirmative action hiring program for the retarded.

Sports: The NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing, and two of the top four seeds have already been eliminated. The “Big Dance” is always a delight to watch, and a great teacher of the “never quit” values we all need to hear on occasion. And this year, CBS has partnered with other cable channels to show every game in its entirety. Hoop junkies must be in heaven.

Entertainment: Last week, Tel-evangelist Pat Robertson announced that the so-called War on Drugs has failed and that there are too many people clogging up the legal and penal systems because of drug use and drug dealing. Ol’ Pat now believes that drugs should be legalized, regulated and taxed like alcohol. I wish to point out to you that Robertson’s epiphany is not moral or based in an understanding of personal liberty, but political and cultural. He must also be figuring that he’s done enough good stuff through The 700 Club to get into heaven, so why not flip the bird to the rest of the evangelicals? Now THAT’S entertainment!!

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2012, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Spinning Business as Usual

What, me lie?

by Fred Reed

(Editor’s note: Perhaps Fred meant “Mi Lai” as in the 1968 Mi Lai massacre…another shining moment in American military history, where soldiers murdered about 350 Vietnamese civilians, most women and children. In any event, don’t believe the Pentagon when they say “lone gunman.”)

I remember being a young Marine recruit at Parris Island, August of 1966, running, running, boots thumping on the grinder, exulting in the sense of power and communion that comes of men acting in unison, shouting, “Luke the Gook comes marching by, stick your bayonet in his eye, lef rye lef rye lef….” Only an idiot goes to PI—Third Batallion, Disneyland, in my case—in August. I was one. It goes with being nineteen.

Under a leaden sun that beat down like a soft rubber truncheon, we unlearned civilization. How to clap a hand over a sentry’s mouth while inserting your Kbar in his kidney; agony, shock and instant blood loss prevent a struggle. We ran in formation shouting Kill! Kill! Kill! We learned that it is better to shoot an enemy in the bowels than the head because trying to keep him alive would strain the enemy’s medical resources, and the man would probably die anyway. Peritonitis is your friend, we learned. The other guy’s peritonitis.

Months later at Lejeune we slogged day after day, on three and a half hours sleep, through the greasy clay mud of a North Carolina autumn, from range to range. We learned flame throwers, which if you haven’t you don’t know what hell is, and how to burn the enemy alive. Again, that sense of power. We learned to use white phosphorus, WP, Willy Peter or other names less printable, to cover enemies in burning goop that you can’t put out. We learned to be what human beings shouldn’t be. We felt an exhilarating freedom, of not being subject to moral constraints. We learned to suppress conscience, morality, and empathy. This, more than the use of weapons, is the goal of military training.

It works. Generations of study of psychological conditioning have gone into making it work. It plays to all the animal instincts of the young male, the desire to belong, for adventure, to prove himself, to win.

The love of combat, or the love of a highly romanticized idea of combat, runs deep in the race. Go to a movie in the style of Star Wars and watch the audience as the hero’s starfighter twists, dodges, fires, closes in on the villain. They will be on the edge of their seats, almost orgasmic. What proportion of movies, of video games, turn on war, gunfights, and the like?

It is not hard to direct the instinctual combativeness into hatred of any desired foe. Tribalism is innate in humanity. But the hostility cannot be precisely focused. Typically the soldier is young, not too bright, poorly educated, and not real sure what the war is about. You cannot train him to hate the enemy according to fine distinctions. They are all gooks, dinks, slopes, zipperheads, sand niggers, towel heads. That much used slogan of the Albigensian wars, “Kill them all, God will know his own,” becomes emotional bedrock to soldiers.

And so he comes to hate them all. Viets, Afghans, Iraqis, or Cambodians, Laos, whatever, are weird, alien, dirty, can’t talk English, sneaky, and you can just tell they don’t like Americans. Watch their eyes. They’re hiding something, aiding the enemy. They are animals, don’t deserve to live. And so in every war you hear the plea, “Screw the rules of engagement. Turn us loose. We’ll end this fast.”

And so the atrocities come. Always. Inevitably. In every war. In ancient times they were not called atrocities, but just “war.” Conquering commanders would perhaps put the whole city to the sword, or at least allow the soldiers a few days of raping and looting. Today we are more squeamish, and avert our eyes. Read carefully the history of any country’s wars, certainly including America’s. Ghastly examples abound.

The military’s response to a discovered atrocity is to lie about it if possible. This is not from shame. In Afghanistan, the Pentagon knows that the Taliban cannot defeat American forces, but public opinion in the US can. If lying doesn’t work, spin, spin, spin. In the latest atrocity by US forces, in which a GI killed sixteen Afghan civilians for fun, or maybe from boredom, the Pentagon is saying that he had suffered a head injury. Oh. (The magazine The Nation quotes Afghans as saying that there were several Gis, drunk and laughing. I guess they all had head injuries.)

The atrocities will continue. They always do. They are part of war, especially of wars against populations. Most go unreported. A few years back I was in China and met a young Puerto Rican vet from New York. His mother had taken him on tour to celebrate his live return from Afghanistan. He told me of being on patrol in some town when a woman had accidentally blocked the path of the sergeant in charge of the patrol. He rifle-butted her. A small thing, not up there with splashy atrocities like killing a bunch of children. The kid said he knew it was wrong, but in a firefight you have to depend on the other guys and you can’t risk having the sergeant down on you. He didn’t say anything.

If you suggest that such behavior isn’t a real good idea, the hardnosed will say, what the hell, tell them to get over it, we’ve got a war to fight. Thing is, Afghan men are as hard as any who ever lived, and they take mistreatment of their women seriously. They take the murder of their children for fun seriously. A horizontal butt-stroke to the face of someone’s wife means that you aren’t going to win your war. Pissing on Afghan dead, kicking their doors in at three in the morning, kill teams sportively murdering civilians, all the things that boot camp makes inevitable—they all mean you are not going to win your war.

Even Republicans can tire of killing, or conceivably can. But it is not just the weariness of Americans with endless war that threatens the Pentagon. The Afghans hate the United States, and their soldiers have begun killing US troops. The Pakis, furious at American intervention and random killing with those fun new drones, are at the point of revolt. The atrocities will continue because, after all the medals and stories of heroism at the O-club, the high-fives and the teary-eyed tributes to the fallen, atrocities are what armies do.

When you have trained men to behave in a certain way, don’t be surprised when they do.

All original material © Violeta de Jesus Gonzalez Munguia
http://www.FredOnEverything.net

A Tale of Two Tales

What Real World?

by Fred Reed

As I listen to American fury against uncooperative Afghans, to Congress furiously denouncing Pakistan for anemic aid in conducting the current wars, I sometimes wonder whether the US is playing with a full deck. The anger arises I suspect because the US and the rest of the world work from very different premises. They believe in, as we say, distinct narratives.

The American narrative holds that the United States is a light to the world, the freest, richest, most productive country the world has ever seen, the greatest military power, the most prolific producer of technlogy and of Nobel laureates. America is a force for freedom and democracy, a champion of human rights, a land of universal opportunity with liberty and justice for all. The Unites States is what all countries could be if they accepted our values. History supports this view. In a raw continent, American energy and free enterprise carved a paradise from a wilderness.

This narrative, the belief that America is special among nations, favored by God, pervades the culture. Those old enough will remember that Superman fought for “truth, justice, and the American way.”

Underlying all of this is a profoundly moral view of America’s place in the world. The United States does not fight, like the French, for glory; or like the English, for empire; or like the Russians, to steal watches from the wounded. America fights against Evil, whether in the form of communism, terror, Islam, socialism, or the growing threat of enslavement by Chinese communism. These evils are real, Americans believe, immediate, and threaten us with tyranny.

The narrative of the US military springs from the national narrative. American soldiers are brave, wholesome young men selflessly sacrificing to overthrow brutal dictators, to defeat terror, and to give the oppressed peoples the benefits of democracy. This actually happened in Japan, Germany, and Iraq, asserts the narrative. Sure, a bad apple among GIs may occasionally commit an atrocity, but these are isolated incidents and blown out of proportion by a leftist press.

Quite different is what might be called the World Narrative, held around the globe with differing intensities and emphases. It holds the US to be an endlessly aggressive military power that is out of control, hypocritically speaking of democracy and freedom while supporting dictators and overthrowing elected governments. America is arrogant, crassly materialistic, crime-ridden, vulgar, racially unjust, the world’s only avowed practicioner of torture, economically exploitative, imperialistic and intolerant of other cultures.

The military form of the World Narrative holds that America savagely attacks weaker nations in pursuit of oil and empire, that it uses overwhelming technological superiority to butcher peasants armed with rifles, that atrocities are routine, that it employs Stalinist nocturnal raids to terrorize populations, that killing of children is common.

The World Narrative is closer to the truth. It is easy to compile a long list of dictatorships supported by the US, and anyone who has covered wars knows that atrocities are what militaries do. America supports Saudi Arabia and Israel, both with horrible records on human rights. It would also be easy to show that many countries that accuse the US of misbehavior commit or have committed similar crimes. This doesn’t occur to these countries. Peoples see everybody’s warts but their own.

The peculiar isolation in which Americans typically live shelters the national narrative. Americans are geographically isolated in that they can go nowhere without passports, which few have; linguistically isolated in that almost none speak a second language; and temporally isolated since few have even a rudimentary grasp of history. Add an odd lack of curiosity, apparently based on a belief that the superiority of America is such that other places are not worthy of study. The result is a closed system.

This might be of minor interest if it did not affect American policy. But it does. The US operates in a world that doesn’t quite exist. Think of a blind man who by error enters the wrong house. He bumps into furniture and can’t find the bathroom because things are not where he thinks they are.

Consider the war to take over Afghanistan—which is what it is. The American Narrative, relentlessly moral, says that the US is there to fight Terror, to defeat Al Qaida, to save the Afghan people from repressive domination by the Taliban. The government in Kabul represents the Afghan people and is allied with the US in ridding the country of extremists. The Caspian hydrocarbons have nothing to do with it. The GIs fight to give Afghans a stable democracy, law and order, and equal rights for women.

This is the sort of moral mission that the Narrative demands. In the real world, one might as well give art lessons to a boar hog.

By contrast, the Afghans predictably see the US as an invading army of brutal infidels—a word we see as faintly amusing but they don’t—who bomb and kill, kick in their doors at three a.m, humiliate the men in front of their families and insult their women. A very little of this, a very few dead children, can arouse a whole lot of hatred, but the American Narrative doesn’t allow of this truth.

Consequences ensue. Note that in Afghanistan, as in Iraq, as in Pakistan, as in Viet Nam, the national armies supposedly on America’s side are never ready. Despite billions of dollars spent in training them, somehow they are always years away from being able to take over. They desert, cooperate with the enemy, sometimes murder GIs. By contrast, the enemy fights tenaciously.

The Americans are baffled and outraged. “We are here to help these people, to protect them against the evil (communists, Al Qaida, Iranians, or whatever). Where is their gratitude? Why don’t they do their share?”

When you recruit citizens of a country to kill their own people in the name of a widely hated puppet government, their enthusiasm is likely to be exiguous. But since the American Narrative insists that the US seeks only to end the dominion of Evil, opposition to America becomes inexplicable.

In war after war, those attacked fail to act as the US expects. The Iraqis should have welcomed the American soldiers who were bringing them democracy and defeating an evil dictator. This fits the Narrative. That people don’t like being invaded, having their cities devastated, their fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers in the army killed—this does not fit the Narrative of unalloyed American virtue. It merely determines events.

All original material © Violeta de Jesus Gonzalez Munguia
http://www.FredOnEverything.net

Flash Editorials February 27, 2012

By Russell D. Longcore

To see this article performed as an entertaining animated video, click below.

The Nation: I’m leading off tonight with a very unusual offer. Matthew Bracken has written a trilogy of fiction novels in the Tom Clancy- Jason Bourne genre. His first book is entitled “Enemies, Foreign and Domestic.” I read it and could not put the book down. They are set in today’s America after the DC crowd has completed the takeover of America, just a few years forward. The two other novels continue the story of the first book and are page-turners, just like the first. If you want to learn about these books, go to Amazon and look them up. But Matthew wants to create a “Psyop”(psychological operation) in the USA with his first book. He’s calling it “Operation EFAD.” His plan is to give the book away FOR FREE as a Kindle download for FIVE DAYS ONLY beginning March 1, 2012. He will give this book to anyone who has a Kindle or a Kindle app on their PC or smart phone. Matthew is planning to make a hyper-viral event to draw attention to the way Washington is aggressively moving on Constitution-loving, gun-toting Liberty-minded Patriots. I strongly urge you to get involved. Get your downloaded copy of the book at Amazon.com. But more importantly, call, write or email everybody you know that believes the way we do and tell them about this FREE book. Be a part of this stunning spike in Kindle downloads and help fight tyranny.

The Nation II: The US Postal Service has announced that they will slash over 35,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs and balance their budgets. The also plan to close 223 of 461 mail-processing facilities across the nation. But even if the Postal Service shrunk back to Monday-Wednesday-Friday service, it won’t save enough money to fund their pension obligations. Just this year, they have a $5 Billion obligation they can’t pay. This is a sunset industry that is getting hammered by the Internet. DC should sell off mail service and allow the “free market” to determine how mail gets from one place to another. And of course they won’t.

International I: One of the terms of the European Union deal to bail out Greece is a clause that allows the lenders to confiscate Greece’s gold bullion holdings of 111.6 tons of gold. This completes the rape of Greece. Even if Greece wanted to leave the Euro and return to the drachma as their money, without gold it’s impossible. Unless they just want to roll out some paper money of their own with nothing behind it. Oh, wait…that’s the Euro.

International II: Why doesn’t Iran just buy a nuclear weapon? They are catching all kinds of shyt from the West about engineering a nuke even though there is no evidence whatsoever that Iran is developing 90% enriched uranium. But there are thousands of nuclear weapons floating around the world, most from the old inventory of the USSR. I cannot believe that a few million in gold could not bring a few missiles to Persia. Russia could put a few missiles and mobile launchers on barges and float them down the Caspian Sea to an Iranian port. Once Iran actually had the nukes, the crap from Washington and Tel Aviv would end. Bullies don’t pick fights with those who can kick their ass. But this ain’t about nukes. This is about stopping or slowing down the disconnection of the dollar as the world reserve currency.

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Business: This week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 13,000 on Thursday, closing that day at 12,984.69. All the news shows and cable TV business networks are singing “Happy Days Are Here Again.” The TRUTH is that the central banks have flooded the world with trillions of dollars of counterfeit currency. And when supply goes up, value goes down. This is called “inflation,” my friends. The metrics of profit and loss are not changing. This is the worldwide economic bubble that is going to burst soon.

Economy: The number of actual new unemployment claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 345,216 in the week ending February 18th. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending February 4 was 7,502,791. It is not possible to calculate all of the people who have maxed out their benefits and dropped out of the system. They aren’t counted anymore but the are still just as unemployed.

Sports: Jeremy Lin’s story continues, although not as shiny as last week. Anthony Federico, a writer at ESPN, wrote a script that was read on air by Max Bretos. In the text, Federico used the old, very well-used and well-known phrase “a chink in the armor.” He was trying to describe the process of finding Lin’s weaknesses if any. In case some of you don’t know, the word “chink” is a derisive name for a person of Chinese descent. Anyway, the brass as ESPN went f-ing crazy about the word, fired the writer and suspended the anchor for 30 days. This features yet again how political correctness in America is practiced. A guy makes a legitimate mistake and it costs him his job. Federico made a sober apology. When Lin was told about this travesty of justice, he did nothing to protest Federico’s firing over an honest mistake. In Thursday night’s Knicks game, Lin turned over the ball 9 times and cost the team the game. But nobody fired his ass. So much for Lin’s Christianity being lived out daily.

Entertainment: Someone who attended Whitney Houston’s funeral or wake snapped photos of the late pop music icon as she lay in her shiny casket. One of the photos made the cover of the National Enquirer. The entertainment shows’ hosts are all horrified, and estimate that the person who took the photo got paid mid-six-figures for the shot. All I can say is…that’s free enterprise!!

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2012, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

How Will The American Economy Die?

by Russell D. Longcore

I have been writing about secession now since May of 2009. One of the constant themes of my writings is that secession is not going to happen in America until and unless the economy collapses. AFTER it collapses. A lot of what I’ve written has been perception, conjecture and prediction based in reason. But much of that conjecture and many of those predictions are now coming true. Tick. Tock. It’s not a case of “If,” like there was a possibility that America could avoid collapse. Now, it’s simply a countdown to inevitability.

The following is a plausible and likely scenario of the death of the American economy.

First, the money goes.

The world economic system is built upon two things: (1) fractional reserve banking and (2) fiat money. There is not one nation on earth that has a commodity-based money and currency. Keynesian economics, taught in nearly every college Econ curriculum, is so ubiquitous…so ingrained…that it is like the dye colors in your shirt. No amount of washing gets the dye out.

Is there a banker on earth that does not use fractional reserve banking? Money is created out of thin air and pumped into the world economy. It would be impossible without fiat currency…the currency considered to be money because some government says that it is. When your currency is backed by “the full faith and credit of” your government, and nothing else, and your government goes broke…your currency is not far behind. In the regular world, issuing paper money with nothing behind it is called “Counterfeiting.”

The power in Washington is built on those two things above and add a third: the US Dollar is the world reserve currency. Being the world reserve currency was brought about back in the early 1970s when Nixon negotiated a deal with the House of Saud, in which Nixon guaranteed the Saudis that he would protect their kingdom from their neighbors if they agreed to (a) use only the US Dollar to settle oil payments, and (b) use their surpluses to buy US Treasury debt instruments. Over time, the Dollar became the currency all nations used to settle all kinds of commercial transactions. This reserve status gave the USA a tremendous advantage over all other nations. The blowback of unintended consequences is that many foreign nations own trillions of US Debt, and that gives those nations leverage over Washington. For a good look at who owns US Debt, CLICK HERE.

Right now, in real time, Washington is making plans to make war upon the nation of Iran. They are using the excuse that they must keep Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. The reality behind the scenes is that Iran started an oil bourse (a commodity exchange) on Kish Island in 2008, specifically to begin trading their own oil in currencies other than the US Dollar. That is a grave threat to the reserve currency status of the Dollar. Previously, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced that Iraq was going to begin accepting payments for oil in Euros, not Dollars. What happened to him? Muamar Gaddafi of Libya was buying enormous quantities of gold bullion with the intention of creating an African dinar, a gold-backed money for all of the African nations to use. Where is Gaddafi now?

“But so what?” you may ask.

The only thing that maintains the purchasing power of the Dollar is its world reserve status. You already know that the Dollar has no precious metals backing it. The Dollar only has the “full faith and credit of the United States” behind it. But Washington is many dozens of trillion dollars in debt. Some estimate that the US has over $100 Trillion of debt. Just a week ago, the United States current Federal budget debt limit reached $15 Trillion, and that is equal to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the entire nation. So we owe more now than we take in annually.

Any action by any other nation that threatens the world reserve currency status of the US Dollar panics Washington. They must snuff it out by whatever means necessary. Even war.

But they cannot.

Iran has powerful friends around the globe. Just last week, Iran inked a deal with India to sell them oil for gold. Iran will do the same with China. Russia will pay with gold and rubles. And, because Iran sits on an ocean of oil, and many nations rely upon its oil for survival, Iran will defeat Washington and its allies who have set up embargoes against Iran.

The whole world does not have to forsake the Dollar all at once to send shock waves through Washington. But more and more nations are rejecting the terms of the DC/European embargo against Iran. On Thursday, Turkey announced that they would not participate in the embargo. Turkey is a very crucial ally to DC. One at a time, nations will find that they can do business around the world in their own currencies or in gold.

But here’s another unintended consequence, and a potential trigger for the collapse of the Dollar. As nation after nation decide they do not need the Dollar, they will do what they can to rid themselves of American currency and American debt. Nations around the globe have purchased US Treasuries. Now they will have no need for the bonds, and will want to sell them. Questions come up: Who will buy them? And what are they worth?

What happens when you offer bonds for sale and no one buys them? You have very expensive wallpaper or toilet paper. What happens when you CAN sell them, but at pennies on the Dollar? You take staggering losses.

One other problem is timing. In order to reclaim some value for US Treasuries, your nation’s bond traders must have perfect timing to offer enough bonds for sale but not so many that it triggers a bond market collapse. Then to find buyers at acceptable prices? It is not reasonable to believe that every nation will find buyers at all, at good prices and not create a bond market crash.

So, built into the global process of forsaking the US Dollar as the world reserve currency are the seeds of the Dollar’s collapse. Either the bond market collapses as nations get out of the Dollar, or getting out of the Dollar causes the value of the Dollar to collapse. Keep in mind that if the Dollar were as “good as gold,” no nation would want to jettison the Dollar.

Dear Readers, there is no third choice that prevents the collapse of the Dollar.

What Does Collapse Mean?

There can only be one meaning for the word “collapse.” Hyperinflation is that collapse. Think about it. Inflation is the loss of purchasing power. Inflation that occurs over decades is like death by a thousand cuts. Americans for the last 80-plus years are used to inflation and the loss of their purchasing power. In hyperinflation, what took perhaps 40 years to lose a certain amount of purchasing power can easily happen in 40 days…or even 40 hours. There will come a day soon here in America when the Dollar will not be accepted between buyers and sellers for even the simplest transactions. It happened in Zimbabwe. I presently own 160 Trillion in Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe currency, and I paid six dollars for it.

The American Dollar has purchasing power…value…now because the world uses it. And the nation with world reserve currency status that is inflating its money will continue to pay its debts with fiat currency, which is losing more and more value. Once an unknown number of nations stop…or even just slow down…using the Dollar for international trade, the value of the Dollar will evaporate. I say “unknown” because it’s not just the number of nations that is important. It is the economic might of the nations that stop using the Dollar. If the BRIC nations…Brazil, Russia, India and China…arguably the four strongest non-USA world economies…continue the process of weaning themselves off the Dollar, it will have drastic and sudden repercussions for the Dollar.

Also remember how this world turns. The business day in Berlin, Rome or Athens is six hours ahead of the American East Coast. A bond market collapse could start in a European bond market at 9:00 am in Berlin while it’s 3:00 am in New York. The Dollar could get hammered on foreign markets for six hours before the banks open in New York, or the New York Stock Exchange opens for business at 9:30 am. Americans will be completely defenseless against the collapse.

Washington’s Response

The politicians in DC will be powerless to stop the financial carnage because they cannot control the value of a currency that others refuse to use. The Federal Reserve may pump additional trillions of greenbacks into the American economy, but at some point, wheelbarrow loads of paper money won’t buy you a loaf of bread. This will cause the Federal bureaucracy to grind to a halt as Federal union employees refuse to work for worthless money. And how will Washington pay its military personnel? How will state governments pay their law enforcement officers and prison guards? Society will collapse at that time. It will be The End Of The World As We Know It.

You see, when the VALUE of the American Dollar ceases to exist, our bubble society will also cease to exist. This is why I hold the position that once the economic system in America fails, Washington will be entirely unable to stop secession. And that only the collapse of the Dollar will trigger the desire for secession.

Here is the mental picture I want you to form when thinking about the world economic system. Blowing soap bubbles. You dip a drinking straw into the bubble liquid and begin blowing on the dry end of the straw. Hundreds of bubbles of many sizes will form, expand and then pop. For a hundred years the world has experienced economic bubble after bubble…boom, bust, recession, depression, real estate, housing, tech stocks, mortgages but to name a few. But don’t miss this! When fractional reserve banking and fiat money run the world, ALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS A BUBBLE that must eventually burst.

This has been a hard article to write. The subject is one of life or death for billions around the world, and millions on our own continent. I take no joy or satisfaction in this article, save the satisfaction of knowing that some of you will read this and act to save yourself and your family.

Think. Use your brain. Do not let anyone tell you how to think or do your thinking for you. Question ALL authority. Free Your Mind.

Secession is the only hope for humanity. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2011, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

The Persian Gulf Is Boiling

By Russell D. Longcore

Here are the facts as I see them:

• Iran has had a nuclear energy program for nearly 40 years. They use nuclear reactors to produce electricity.
• Iran is being accused by Western nations of enriching radioactive materials with the intent of producing nuclear weapons.
• The International Atomic Energy Commission has not been able to produce any evidence that Iran is enriching uranium for weapons.
• 20% of the world’s oil production is shipped down the Persian Gulf and through the narrows of the Straits of Hormuz.
• The West, led by Washington, who is being led by a nose ring by Israel, are escalating economic sanctions against Iran.
• Recently, the US and Israel performed war games just outside the Persian Gulf as a threat to Iran.
• Iran has done its own war games in the Persian Gulf and recommended that American carrier task forces not return to the Gulf.
• Washington is threatening to destroy the Iranian Central Bank.
• Washington pulled this same shyt in Iraq. Remember?
• Things are fixin’ to get real ugly in the Persian Gulf.

Think about Iran’s situation some more. Iran is one of the major oil producers of the Middle East. Dozens of nations buy their oil from Iran. Iran would be punishing themselves if they blocked the Strait of Hormuz. But the West has shown themselves willing to commit a false-flag operation and hang it around an enemy’s neck. Saddam Hussein’s name might come to mind. The nation of Afghanistan might come to mind. Yet, Washington is moving steadily toward war against Iran. The false-flag operation would give Washington and Israel the cover they need to start a shooting war. More on that below.

The reality of the situation is that Iran has a commodity that the world cannot live without. So, which should be in control here…the buyer or the seller? Should the Central Bank of Iran be held hostage by the banks of other nations, or the banking families that control most of the world banking system? I submit to you that the seller…Iran…should exert its sovereignty and its ultimate control.

What should the Iranian response be?

Iran should announce that beginning immediately, all payment for crude oil will be made in gold: no currency, no credit. No gold, no oil.

That single act will solve most of Iran’s problems. Requiring payment in gold would begin to strengthen the Iranian rial (their currency), thereby setting the world’s bankers back on their heels. If you are not using the banker’s credit, you are not subject to their rules or control. In recent months, the rial has lost almost 50% of its value against the US Dollar. Selling oil for gold would quickly make inflation in Iran disappear. The economy would rebound for everybody living in Iran. Another benefit would be a spike in world gold prices as companies and nations make massive purchases of gold so they can buy oil.

Now, what about a shooting war? Look at a map of the Persian Gulf. The entire eastern shore of the Gulf is Iran. The Persian Gulf is not a big body of water and has a choke point at the southeastern end. The incredible hubris of the American Navy, commanded by whichever President is in office (save Ron Paul), would place one or two carrier task forces in the Gulf. Iran possesses the Russian-built Sunburn anti-ship missile. The American navy has no defense for the Sunburn. The missile travels at nearly 1,600 miles per hour (Mach 2.1) at an altitude of about 50 feet above the waves. Iran has mobile launchers all along the mountainous shoreline of the Gulf. In a retaliatory strike, Sunburn missiles launched from the shore would reach the ships of the carrier task forces in a matter of seconds. The ship-board weapons systems like Phalanx will not have enough time to calculate a firing solution. And the Phalanx system has never been tested against the Sunburn. Multiple Sunburn missiles will send the task forces to the bottom of the Gulf, with massive loss of American sailors and airmen. Yet another defeat for the American military.

In my opinion, Iran could take control of their crisis situation and avoid a war simply by going with gold.

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2012, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Gadhafi’s Gold-money Plan Would Have Devastated Dollar

by Alex Newman

courtesy The New American

(Editor’s note: Ever wonder why, all of a sudden, Gadhafi became a pariah who needed killing? Here’s the answer. And if Libya had 150 tons of gold, where is it now? If you think that the present banking system will voluntarily re-adopt the gold standard, you’re nuts. This is yet another reason why secession is the ONLY solution for liberty.)

It remains unclear exactly why or how the Gadhafi regime went from “a model” and an “important ally” to the next target for regime change in a period of just a few years. But after claims of “genocide” as the justification for NATO intervention were disputed by experts, several other theories have been floated.

Oil, of course, has been mentioned frequently — Libya is Africa‘s largest oil producer. But one possible reason in particular for Gadhafi’s fall from grace has gained significant traction among analysts and segments of the non-Western media: central banking and the global monetary system.

According to more than a few observers, Gadhafi’s plan to quit selling Libyan oil in U.S. dollars — demanding payment instead in gold-backed “dinars” (a single African currency made from gold) — was the real cause. The regime, sitting on massive amounts of gold, estimated at close to 150 tons, was also pushing other African and Middle Eastern governments to follow suit.

Got Gold?

And it literally had the potential to bring down the dollar and the world monetary system by extension, according to analysts. French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly went so far as to call Libya a “threat” to the financial security of the world. The “Insiders” were apparently panicking over Gadhafi’s plan.

“Any move such as that would certainly not be welcomed by the power elite today, who are responsible for controlling the world’s central banks,” noted financial analyst Anthony Wile, editor of the free market-oriented Daily Bell, in an interview with RT. “So yes, that would certainly be something that would cause his immediate dismissal and the need for other reasons to be brought forward [for] removing him from power.”

According to Wile, Gadhafi’s plan would have strengthened the whole continent of Africa in the eyes of economists backing sound money — not to mention investors. But it would have been especially devastating for the U.S. economy, the American dollar, and particularly the elite in charge of the system.

“The central banking Ponzi scheme requires an ever-increasing base of demand and the immediate silencing of those who would threaten its existence,” Wile noted in a piece entitled “Gaddafi Planned Gold Dinar, Now Under Attack” earlier this year. “Perhaps that is what the hurry [was] in removing Gaddafi in particular and those who might have been sympathetic to his monetary idea.”

Investor newsletters and commentaries have been buzzing for months with speculation about the link between Gadhafi’s gold dinar and the NATO-backed overthrow of the Libyan regime. Conservative analysts pounced on the potential relationship, too.

“In 2009 — in his capacity as head of the African Union — Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi had proposed that the economically crippled continent adopt the ‘Gold Dinar,’” noted Ilana Mercer in an August opinion piece for WorldNetDaily. “I do not know if Col. Gadhafi continued to agitate for ditching the dollar and adopting the Gold Dinar — or if the Agitator from Chicago got wind of Gadhafi’s (uncharacteristic) sanity about things monetary.”

But if Arab and African nations had begun adopting a gold-backed currency, it would have had major repercussions for debt-laden Western governments that would be far more significant than the purported “democratic” uprisings sweeping the region this year. And it would have spelled big trouble for the elite who benefit from “freshly counterfeited funny-money,” Mercer pointed out.

“Had Gadhafi sparked a gold-driven monetary revolution, he would have done well for his own people, and for the world at large,” she concluded. “A Gadhafi-driven gold revolution would have, however, imperiled the positions of central bankers and their political and media power-brokers.”

Adding credence to the theory about why Gadhafi had to be overthrown, as The New American reported in March, was the rebels’ odd decision to create a central bank to replace Gadhafi’s state-owned monetary authority. The decision was broadcast to the world in the early weeks of the conflict.

In a statement describing a March 19 meeting, the rebel council announced, among other things, the creation of a new oil company. And more importantly: “Designation of the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and appointment of a Governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi.”

The creation of a new central bank, even more so than the new national oil regime, left analysts scratching their heads. “I have never before heard of a central bank being created in just a matter of weeks out of a popular uprising,” noted Robert Wenzel in an analysis for the Economic Policy Journal. “This suggests we have a bit more than a rag tag bunch of rebels running around and that there are some pretty sophisticated influences,” he added. Wenzel also noted that the uprising looked like a “major oil and money play, with the true disaffected rebels being used as puppets and cover” while the transfer of control over money and oil supplies takes place.

Other analysts, even in the mainstream press, were equally shocked. “Is this the first time a revolutionary group has created a central bank while it is still in the midst of fighting the entrenched political power?” wondered CNBC senior editor John Carney. “It certainly seems to indicate how extraordinarily powerful central bankers have become in our era.”

Similar scenarios involving the global monetary system — based on the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency, backed by the fact that oil is traded in American money — have also been associated with other targets of the U.S. government. Some analysts even say a pattern is developing.

Iran, for example, is one of the few nations left in the world with a state-owned central bank. And Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein, once armed by the U.S. government to make war on Iran, was threatening to start selling oil in currencies other than the dollar just prior to the Bush administration’s “regime change” mission.

While most of the establishment press in America has been silent on the issue of Gadhafi’s gold dinar scheme, in Russia, China, and the global alternative media, the theory has exploded in popularity. Whether salvaging central banking and the corrupt global monetary system were truly among the reasons for Gadhafi’s overthrow, however, may never be known for certain — at least not publicly.

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