Debt Ceiling Drama Is Back: Two Days Until US Borrowing Capacity Is Exhausted

“Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren,” Obama said in a 2006 floor speech that preceded a Senate vote to extend the debt limit. “America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.”
– Barack Obama

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Debt Ceiling Drama Is Back: Two Days Until US Borrowing Capacity Is Exhausted (ZeroHedge, March 13, 2015):

And so, a little over a year after the last debt ceiling melodrama, in which the US kicked the can on its maximum borrowing capacity to this Sunday, March 15, in the meantime raking up total US public debt to $18.149 trillion the soap opera with the self-imposed borrowing ceiling on America’s “credit card” is back, and the US is once again faced with sad reality of its debt ceiling (now at well over 100% of America’s upward revised GDP of $17.7 trillion). The reason: two days from today Congress’s temporary suspension of the debt ceiling, which was approved in February 2014, ends.

Read moreDebt Ceiling Drama Is Back: Two Days Until US Borrowing Capacity Is Exhausted

What A Mess … SecDef’s Office: F-35 Progress Worse Than Feared

H/t reader squodgy:

“What a mess…
If the American middle class could see the billions of their taxes being poured into this bottomless pit of incompetence & corruption which results in no more than a 72% overall success target achievement they would surely cry.”


f-35s

SecDef’s Office: F-35 Progress Worse than Feared (Defense Industry Daily, March 13, 2015):

Those expecting the F-35 to meet its operational capabilities in the near-term will not be breathing much easier now that Office of the Secretary of Defense has published its progress report for the F-35 external link. It’s a hot mess. The glass-half-empty analysts over at POGO have their own analysis external link of the report here, which essentially parrots the OSD report, but uses more adjectives and an indignant tone.

Read moreWhat A Mess … SecDef’s Office: F-35 Progress Worse Than Feared

Kremlin Rejects Rumor Of Putin Illness, Shows Footage Of Today’s Meeting

Hmmh. So far I have never wasted a single thought on Putin not being well.

But to me he doesn’t look good at all in these pictures.

His handshake doesn’t look like it could ‘break hands’ …

‘His handshakes break hands’: Press secretary dismisses Putin illness rumors

… and looking at his posture, … hmmh … , this looks so unlike the martial arts trained Putin I know.

When I once saw a photo where you could take a closer look at his Iris, I saw that his left Iris indicates a problem with the kidney.


Kremlin Rejects Rumor Of Putin Illness, Shows Footage Of Today’s Meeting (ZeroHedge, March 13, 2015):

Following reports that after unexpectedly rescheduling two preannounced high level meetings, the social networks erupted with a cornucopia of theories and “confirmed” reports that the Russian president is sick, had a stroke, or has outright died. To be sure this is not the first time the 62-year-old’s health has been put into question, the last time being 2012 when rumors swirled again. However this time it got so bad even Bloomberg felt it was relevant to ask “Where is Vladimir Putin.” This morning the Kremlin answered.

Read moreKremlin Rejects Rumor Of Putin Illness, Shows Footage Of Today’s Meeting

Meet the “Dirty Brigades” – The U.S. Trained and Funded Iraqi Soldiers Accused of War Crimes

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Meet the “Dirty Brigades” – The U.S. Trained and Funded Iraqi Soldiers Accused of War Crimes (Liberty Blitzkrieg, March 12, 2015):

U.S.-trained and armed Iraqi military units, the key to the American strategy against ISIS, are under investigation for committing some of the same atrocities as the terror group, American and Iraqi officials told ABC News. Some Iraqi units have already been cut off from U.S. assistance over “credible” human rights violations, according to a senior military official on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

The U.S. is shipping almost $1 billion in weapons, as well as providing U.S. military trainers to instruct new Iraqi recruits. A special operations official in Baghdad, however, said it’s the government of Iraq that decides — not the Pentagon — which Iraqi units get U.S.-donated weapons, such as 43,000 M4 rifles and thousands of other light infantry weapons Congress approved for shipment in December.

“Ministry of Interior officials tortured detainees to death, according to reports from multiple government officials and human rights organizations,” read the annual report. The Bureau explicitly fingered the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces and Interior Ministry’s special police units — which the U.S. established, trained and armed from 2003-2011, and whose troops are seen in many of the atrocities images.

From the ABC News article: ‘Dirty Brigades’: US-Trained Iraqi Forces Investigated for War Crimes

This is another one of those “you can’t make this stuff up” articles, which perfectly highlights the complete idiocy and incompetence of American foreign policy. It’s no wonder nothing gets better, considering the corrupt status quo continues to merely rotate the same empty suits between various positions of power (see:Jeb Bush Exposed Part 1 – His Top Advisors Will Be the Architects of His Brother’s Iraq War). It’s literally like giving people with the mental capacity and wisdom of an infant, nuclear weapons and telling them to go crazy.

Read moreMeet the “Dirty Brigades” – The U.S. Trained and Funded Iraqi Soldiers Accused of War Crimes

Bodies Of US Soldiers Killed In Ukraine Float Ashore In Florida – Pensacola Black Hawk Down Crash is an Arch-Zionist Hoax

H/t reader squodgy:

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore Toto…..

This is a beautiful coincidence, a mock helicopter accident used to cover up US casualties of the Ukraine conflict.”


Pensacola Black Hawk Down Crash is an Arch-Zionist Hoax

Pensacola Black Hawk Down Crash is an Arch-Zionist Hoax (NODISINFO, March 12, 2015):

Revelation thanks to one of our posters

Make no mistake about it the purported crash of a Black Hawk helicopter in the Florida seas is an arch-Zionist fake, where no one died, and no one was injured. Sure it was. Some 11 (not four, five, six, eight, or 12, but “11”) of the nation’s finest died doing their duty. Sure, it was. In fact, it is nothing other than a terminally wretched PR stunt. Yet, it is said:

Bodies Of US Soldiers Killed In Ukraine Float Ashore In Florida (The Total Collapse, March 12, 2015):

A curious insert placed into today’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) report for President Putin states that the bodies of a number of US Marines killed during last months Battle of Debaltseve have begun “mysteriously” appearing upon a Gulf of Mexico beach in Florida.

According to this report, the MoD reported last month that the Obama regime had “effectively abandoned” at least 150 US troops embedded with over 5,000 Ukrainian forces in the rebel surrounded town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine from which thousands of shell-shocked Ukrainian soldiers managed to escape, and who later described their terrifying retreat from that apocalyptic rail town while being shot at point blank range.

Read moreBodies Of US Soldiers Killed In Ukraine Float Ashore In Florida – Pensacola Black Hawk Down Crash is an Arch-Zionist Hoax

Is It Time To Prepare For War?

We are definitely living in times where it is necessary to be prepared for … ‘anything’ … mentally, spiritually and physically.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
– Benjamin Franklin


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Special Report: Is It Time To Prepare For War? (Peak Prosperity, March 12, 2015):

This report was initially released to PeakProsperity.com’s paid subscribers earlier this week. Given the significance of the subject matter and the number of request from our enrolled members to share it more widely, we’re making it available to all readers here.

For our paying subscribers, who have already read this, please see the new Part 2 companion to this report: How To Prepare For War.

From my perspective, the made-for-public Western news copy regarding Ukraine and Russia is childishly slanted and one-sided. The level of so-called aggression by Russia cannot even remotely be compared to the United States’ naked aggression against Iraq – a country that had not attacked the US, threatened the US, or had any WMD program (which even if it did, would still have not constituted a legitimate reason for invasion by another nation under existing international law.)

Read moreIs It Time To Prepare For War?

U.S. Government Admits It Can’t Fully Guarantee 51% Of Insolvent Pension Plans

Government Admits It Can’t Fully Guarantee 51% Of Insolvent Pension Plans (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

A new report suggests that the government agency in charge of backstopping private-sector pension plans (the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) isn’t entirely optimistic about its own ability to provide an effective safety net for multiemployer plans. In fact, more than half of participants will see their benefits cut if their plans become insolvent and are forced to turn to government guarantees.

 …

The Destabilization Doctrine: ISIS, Proxies and Patsies

H/t reader squodgy:

“A plan for de-stabilisation of all mid-eastern and African nations is now becoming obvious.
Common denominators are oil and drugs.

It’s not classic Orwell, but getting there.

Once the markets collapse and Martial Law is introduced ‘for Our Safety’, it will all fit in snugly.”


Syria-Zionism

Full article here:

The Destabilization Doctrine: ISIS, Proxies and Patsies (Non-Aligned Media, Feb 22, 2015):

By Brandon Martinez

“Islam and the West at War,” reads a recent New York Times headline.

It would certainly seem that way if one were to take at face value the putrid assertions of Western governments that are not particularly known for their honesty or integrity. But astute observers of history and geopolitics can spot a deception when they see one, and the latest theatrical performances being marketed to the masses as real, organic occurrences remind one of a Monty Python sketch.

In the past week we have witnessed a number of expedient events that were designed to legitimize the West’s imperialist foreign policies in the minds of the masses. On Feb. 15 the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) released another highly choreographed and visually striking video depicting the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians. Shortly following the video’s release, the Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sissi launched air strikes against ISIS targets in Libya where the execution video was allegedly filmed, although experts are now saying that the production was faked.

Read moreThe Destabilization Doctrine: ISIS, Proxies and Patsies

One American’s Rage Spills Over: Shut Your Mouth & Start Fighting These Political Parasites

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One American’s Rage Spills Over: Shut Your Mouth & Start Fighting These Political Parasites (ZeroHedge, March 13, 2015):

Warning: NSFW, for the weak of heart, look away…

Submitted by Thad Beversdorf via First Rebuttal blog,

I was shocked today by the absolute gaul of the Fed releasing a statement about Net Worth in America reaching record levels.  Now I get that they are under extreme pressure to sell the story that everything is rainbows and butterflies.  But surely they understand that working class Americans are going along with the story because they really don’t have any say in our nation’s policies anymore.  That doesn’t mean they want it thrown in their faces that the Fed has spent 6 years now inflating the wealth of the top 10% so much that it actually lifts the total wealth of the nation’s citizens to record highs.

The ugly reality is that the bottom 80% of Americans experienced none of that gain.  That’s right a big ole goose egg.  And so when the Fed via its ass pamper boy, Steve Liesman, start banging on about the fact that some sliver of society is being handed extraordinary wealth while the working class has lost 40% of their net worth since 2007, well a big fuck you right back at ya bub!  The Fed is very aware that the bottom 80% of Americans own less than 5% of US equity markets.  And so the Fed is very aware that its manipulation of stock prices such that it creates immense unearned wealth to those in the markets doesn’t reach the bottom 80%.  So why celebrate the results of the stock market price manipulation??

Read moreOne American’s Rage Spills Over: Shut Your Mouth & Start Fighting These Political Parasites

Greece Passes Law To Plunder Pension Funds

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Lagarde-Varoufakisyanis schauble shaking handsscrewed

From the article:

“We wonder how the increasingly disenfranchised Greeks will react when they find their savings (whatever there is left) are now being directly plundered to fund the nation’s transfer payments (via The IMF) to Ukraine.”


Greece Passes Law To Plunder Pension Funds (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

Having previously hinted that they might ‘dip’ into public pensions funds for some short-term cash to payback The IMF, and then confirming that the plan is to repo that cash from pension cash reserves (raising concerns about how they will unwind the repo – i.e. pay it back); the Greek government finally signed the bill today that enables them to plunder the Greek people’s pension funds (for their own good).The massive irony of this bill is the bill enables greek deposits to be fully invested in Greek sovereign bonds… which Tsipras and Varoufakis both admitted today is “unsustainable” and “will never be repaid.”

  • *GREEK GOVT SUBMITS BILL, ALLOWING USE OF PENSION FUND RESERVES

As Bloomberg reports,

Cash reserves of pension funds and other public entities kept in Bank of Greece deposit accounts can be fully invested in Greek sovereign notes, according to amendment to be submitted in parliament, country’s finance ministry says in e-mailed statement.

Read moreGreece Passes Law To Plunder Pension Funds

Iceland Drops Bid To Join The European Union

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Iceland announces dropping bid to join EU (RT, March 12, 2015):

Iceland has dropped its bid to join the European Union, the Foreign Ministry in Reykjavik says. The announcement follows pledges made by the country’s euro-skeptic government since winning the 2013 election.

Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, the Icelandic foreign minister, said in a statement that he had informed Latvia, the current EU president, and the European Commission that his center-right government had decided to withdraw its application, which was submitted six years ago.

The EU and Iceland have discussed the country’s position on the status of its bid to join the European Union,” the statement reads. “The government does not intend to resume preparing for EU membership.”

Read moreIceland Drops Bid To Join The European Union

Germans Furious After Varoufakis/Tsipras Admit “Greece Will Never Repay Its Debts”

Related info:

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Greece Passes Law To Plunder Pension Funds


Germans Furious After Varoufakis/Tsipras Admit “Greece Will Never Repay Its Debts” (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

The Greco-Germanic war of words continues… Having pissed off The Greeks with his “Troika” remarks, Germany’s Schaeuble went on today to more ad hominum attacks by reportedly calling the Greek FinMin “foolishly naive.” The Greek ambassador has ‘officially’ complained to “friend and ally” Germany about the personal insult. But The Greeks had the last laugh, as first Varoufakis and then Tsipras explained respectively that “Greece would never pay back its debts,” and “Greece cannot pretend its debt burden is sustainable.” The German response, via tabloid Bild, “there must be an end to this madness. Europe must not be made to look stupid.”

Read moreGermans Furious After Varoufakis/Tsipras Admit “Greece Will Never Repay Its Debts”

The Final Nail In China’s Deflationary Coffin: Wages In The 4 Largest Cities Are Now Dropping

The Final Nail In China’s Deflationary Coffin: Wages In The 4 Largest Cities Are Now Dropping (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

Remember when during the inflation panic of 2011 we reportted that “Wage Inflation is Rampant In China As More Provinces Plan Minimum Salary Hikes.” and wrote:

By the end of 2010, 30 provincial-level regions had raised the standard for the minimum wage, with an average increase of 22.8 percent year-on-year., Yin Chengji, spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS), said Tuesday. According to him, 29 provinces have issued the guideline for the minimum wages, and the benchmark line grew about 2 percent. In Shanghai, the local minimum wage was the highest nationwide, totaling 1,120 yuan ($170.2) per month.”

And 2011 will be even worse: “Also, according to a China Business News (CBN) report Tuesday, in 2011, many areas would continue to raise the standard. A Xinhua News Agency report Wednesday revealed that northern Chinese city of Tianjin is considering raising the minimum working wage by 16 percent this year amid rising inflationary pressure and labor shortages.”

Well, kiss all that goodbye. From Shanghai Daily:

Read moreThe Final Nail In China’s Deflationary Coffin: Wages In The 4 Largest Cities Are Now Dropping

The New London Gold Fix And China’s Gold Strategy

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The New London Gold Fix And China’s Gold Strategy (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

China now has the opportunity to take a dominant role in London, without having to direct its order flows through the fixing banks. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that from 20th March, China will be able to control the global physical gold market, which will permit her to manage the price. She has the deepest pockets, backed by the largest single stockpile.

US ‘Urges’ Vietnam To Stop Helping Russian Bombers Re-Fuel

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US “Urges” Vietnam To Stop Helping Russian Bombers Re-Fuel (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

It appears Washington is losing some control among its allies. Amid a flurry of high-level visits to Vietnam last year, the US has been pouring in aid and assistance in health, education, landmines clearance, scholarships and nuclear energy. The reason is now becoming clear. As Reuters reports,Vietnam has been allowing Russia to use a former US military base to refuel nuclear-capable bombers as it rattles its sabre over the Asia-Pac region.. and America would like that to stop: “we have urged Vietnamese officials to ensure that Russia is not able to use its access to Cam Ranh Bay to conduct activities that could raise tensions in the region.” All that was missing was the “or else.”

 …

 

TV: Officials lying, many more kids getting cancer after Fukushima — Report: 1,200+ deaths from “illness caused by prolonged exposure” — Mom: “I’m really worried… children not the same… sick… nosebleeds, rashes.. white blood cells decreased” — Radiation by school 100 times normal

TV: Officials lying, many more kids getting cancer after Fukushima — Report: 1,200+ deaths from “illness caused by prolonged exposure” — Mom: “I’m really worried… children not the same… sick… nosebleeds, rashes.. white blood cells decreased” — Radiation by school 100 times normal (VIDEO) (ENENews, March 11, 2015):

ABC (Australia), Mar 11, 2014 (emphasis added): Radiation levels posing cancer risks… Before the disaster, there was just one to two cases of thyroid cancers in a million Japanese children but now Fukushima has more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases, having tested about 300,000 children… It is expected that thyroid cancers could turn up about four to five years after a nuclear disaster… [Megumi] Muto said her daughter and son, like many other children, had not been the same since experiencing the Fukushima fallout. “They had rashes on their bodies then nose bleeds. My son’s white cells have decreased and they both have incredible fatigue… both have multiple nodules around their thyroids. I’m really worried.”… Muto wanted to move her family out of Fukushima city but she said she could not afford to.

Read moreTV: Officials lying, many more kids getting cancer after Fukushima — Report: 1,200+ deaths from “illness caused by prolonged exposure” — Mom: “I’m really worried… children not the same… sick… nosebleeds, rashes.. white blood cells decreased” — Radiation by school 100 times normal

Daniel Hannan Explains How Democracy Died In Europe (Video)

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Daniel Hannan Explains How Democracy Died In Europe (ZeroHedge, March 12, 2015):

With Greece on the edge of being kicked out of the Eurozone , either voluntarily or otherwise, with an anti-austerity party on the verge of taking over the reins of power in Spain, with Beppe Grillo waiting in the corridors for his chance to pounce in Italy and with Marine le Pen and her nationalist party on the verge of becoming the biggest shocker of Europe over the coming years, here, according to Daniel Hannan, is what killed democracy in Europe. Europe itself.

Here are the punchlines, which are all based documented fact:

Read moreDaniel Hannan Explains How Democracy Died In Europe (Video)

U.S. Plan To Drop Russia From SWIFT Hilariously Backfires

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US plan to drop Russia from global banking system hilariously backfires (Sovereign Man, March 12, 2015):

If Vladimir Putin is remotely capable of laughter (the jury is out on that one…) then he’s probably doing so right now.

Russia is once again Arch-Enemy of the United States. It’s like living through a really bad James Bond movie, complete with cartoonish villains.

And for the last several months, the US government has been doing everything it can to torpedo the Russian economy, as well as Vladimir Putin’s standing within his own country.

The economic nuclear option is to kick Russia out of the international banking system. And the US government has been vociferously pushing for this.

Specifically, the US government wants to kick Russia out of SWIFT, short for the Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.

Read moreU.S. Plan To Drop Russia From SWIFT Hilariously Backfires

Israel Destroys EU-Funded West Bank Shelter For Palestinians While Expanding Settlements

Israel destroys EU-funded West Bank shelter for Palestinians while expanding settlements

Israel destroys EU-funded West Bank shelter for Palestinians while expanding settlements (RT, March 12, 2015):

With politicians around the globe calling on Israel to take action against illegal settlements in the West Bank, the Jewish state has finally taken action. Not against its own communities, but against an EU-funded building for Palestinians.

On Tuesday, the Israeli government demolished an EU settlement on Mount Scopus in northeast Jerusalem. The city’s municipality said it undertook the measures because the structure was constructed on land, which had been designated for a national park.

According to the EU it was not even a building, but a temporary shelter, which the pan-European organization has continued to fund to help displaced people.

Read moreIsrael Destroys EU-Funded West Bank Shelter For Palestinians While Expanding Settlements

Russian S-300 Missile Systems Designed To Hit Near Space Targets Such As Nuclear Warheads ‘Enter Service’

Russian S-300 Missile Systems Designed To Hit Near Space Targets Such As Nuclear Warheads
A soldier during a military exercise involving S-300/SA 10 surface-to-air missile systems

Russian S-300 missile systems capable of targeting near space ‘enter service’ (RT, March 12, 2015):

Near space targets can now be hit by Russian army’s mobile tactical air defense S-300 and S-400 systems as a much anticipated long-range missile enters service. It is designed to engage hard targets such as nuclear warheads, rather than satellites.

The news about a mobile version of an exo-atmospheric missile system has been around since the 1990s, and throughout the 2000s it was expected “in a little while.” But the result obtained is worth the years of hard effort.

The new 40N6 missile guarantees a direct hit on a target at a range of 400 kilometers and at heights of up to 185 kilometers – effectively near space.

Read moreRussian S-300 Missile Systems Designed To Hit Near Space Targets Such As Nuclear Warheads ‘Enter Service’

The Militarization Of France Is Not Temporary: ‘10,000 Troops To Remain On The Streets’

The Militarization Of France Is Not Temporary: “10,000 Troops To Remain On The Streets” (ZeroHedge, March 11, 2015):

Who could have seen this coming? The French government, having deployed military to its streets during the attacks by Islamic extremists last month, has  – just as every other government in the world in the new normal – decided that this temporary militarization of French streets is now permanent. As RT reports, President Hollande has decided to “maintain the level of the army on the national territory at 10,000 troops,” with a total of 7,000 troops monitoring (and protecting) religious buildings.

militarization of French streets is now permanent

As RT reports,

As the threat of attacks by Islamist extremists remains high in France, President Francois Hollande has decided to continue the deployment of 10,000 troops on the streets across the country.

“The threat of terrorist attack against our country remains high. The head of state has decided to maintain the level of the army on the national territory at 10,000 troops in support of security forces from the Interior Ministry,” Hollande’s office said in a statement after a meeting of senior ministers, AFP reported.

Read moreThe Militarization Of France Is Not Temporary: ‘10,000 Troops To Remain On The Streets’

Video emerges of Ferguson cops shooting (Warning: Strong language)

Police stand guard moments after gun shots were fired outside the City of Ferguson Police Department and Municipal Court in Ferguson, Missouri, early March 12, 2015

Video emerges of Ferguson cops shooting (Warning: Strong language) (RT, March 12, 2015):

An amateur video has emerged online showing exactly the moment two policemen were shot during a rally near Ferguson police department.

The video is a low-resolution one and is more about what one can hear than what one can see.

Sounds of gunfire are distinctly heard, followed by loud screams as well as the groaning of a man who was hit.

Ferguson police station is seen and people running away in panic.

Read moreVideo emerges of Ferguson cops shooting (Warning: Strong language)