Middle East Aflame – Palestinians Pushing Israel Into Another War

Western Journalism
December 27, 2014

A Palestinian Hamas terrorist shot an Israeli soldier on Wednesday while he was repairing a border fence near the Gaza Strip. The IDF member was seriously injured and was evacuated to a hospital and his family notified.

Earlier last week, a rocket was fired from Gaza by a global jihadist and landed in an agricultural field. The rocket incident, as well as yesterday’s shooting, sparked air strikes and tank fire from Israeli armed forces. It seems global jihadists in Gaza, as well as Hamas proper, are intent on starting another conflict with Israel. The Palestinians have always wanted to keep the conflict going instead of finding a way to make peace.

The Jerusalem Post reported today, “Hamas media reported that a Hamas field commander, Tayseer Asmairi, was killed by the IDF fire and several people were injured. Hamas warned Israel that it was ‘playing with fire,’ calling the incident ‘a grave escalation.’ The Hamas statement added that ‘The occupation is fully responsible for all of the consequences of the escalation. The resistance has a right to defend itself and its people.'”

The Israeli Defense Minister, speaking at an event said, “’Hamas is responsible, and we demand that it ensures that not even a single rocket is fired from the Gaza Strip. If a rocket is fired, we will respond accordingly….I hope that Hamas is interested in quiet and not escalation. The fact is that Hamas is deterred. This comes up clearly, since this time, too, Hamas arrested those who fired the rocket… the question is how long will this last, and I hope for as long a period as possible.’”

Hamas is currently using the cease fire to no doubt rebuild tunnels and other offensive capabilities that were destroyed by Israeli Defense Forces in the last overt shooting conflict, ending several months ago. Israel has to be cognizant daily for murder raids into Israel through these tunnels as well as rocket attacks and lone wolf terrorism in its cities.

During all of this Middle Eastern turmoil, the Obama administration considers sanctioning our strongest and most loyal ally in the region. This defies all logic and comprehension, unless you are a Hamas supporter. America should be ashamed of our leadership for this position. Have we forgotten what it is like to fight for our freedom and safety? I fear we may soon have to relearn these lessons.

THE ECONOMY ISN’T GOING TO RECOVER, U.S. GOVERNMENT PREPARING FOR COLLAPSE (AND NOT IN A NICE WAY)

Investment Watch
December 27, 2014




The Economy isn't going to recover. The government knows this and is getting ready, but in ways that are very disturbing.
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New Russian military doctrine says NATO top threat

My Way News
December 27, 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has signed a new military doctrine that describes NATO's military buildup near the Russian borders as the top military threat amid Russia-West tensions over Ukraine.

The document released by the Kremlin on Friday maintains the provisions of the previous, 2010 edition of the military doctrine regarding the use of nuclear weapons. It says Russia could use nuclear weapons in retaliation to the use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, and also in case of aggression involving conventional weapons that "threatens the very existence" of the Russian state.

For the first time, the new doctrine says that Russia could use precision weapons "as part of strategic deterrent measures." The document doesn't spell out conditions for their use.

Climate Fanatics Force Poor to “Choose Between Heating or Eating”

The New American
December 27, 2014

The European Commission, under the leadership of its new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, is continuing the suicidal “climate change” policies of his predecessor, José Manuel Barroso, that have driven energy costs in the European Union sky high, devastated its industry and agriculture, destroyed jobs, and put the entire EU economy on the skids.

Even the Washington Post, ordinarily a boisterous cheerleader for every policy proposal that claims to be combatting the non-existent threat of anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming, or AGW, editorially acknowledged last year that the EU “has become a green-energy basket case. Instead of a model for the world to emulate, Europe has become a model of what not to do.”

Dr. Benny Peiser, director of the London-based Global Warming Policy Foundation warns that the EU’s climate policies are especially harming Europe’s poor. “As wealthy homeowners and business owners install wind turbines on their land and solar panels on their homes and commercial buildings, low-income families all over Europe have had to foot the skyrocketing electric bills,” Dr. Peiser told the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on December 2. “This winter millions of families will have to choose between heating and eating. Many can no longer afford to pay, so the utilities are cutting off their power.”

Nevertheless, the EU Commission is piling on still more regulations, pressing for even more unsustainable “green energy,” and pushing for adoption of a more stringent global treaty at the UN’s climate conference in Paris in 2015.

At a meeting on December 17 in Brussels, EU environment ministers reached an agreement on new EU-wide rules for CO2emissions from ships. They also agreed on new rules to limit the use of lightweight plastic bags across the EU and new rules restricting emissions from medium-size combustion plants.

Pressure From Above and Below
In a blog post the following day, December 18, entitled “Fighting for a Happy Ending to Global Climate Talks,” Miguel Arias Canete, President Juncker’s European commissioner for energy and climate action, called upon “the world's citizens to put sustained pressure on their leaders over the next twelve months.”

Referring to the upcoming UN Paris confab, Canete wrote: “What is clear is that there will be an even greater need for the world's citizens to put sustained pressure on their leaders over the next twelve months to get them to face up to their responsibilities. Public pressure helped push EU leaders to set our own climate targets in October this year.” (What Canete doesn’t mention, of course, is that — as in the United States — the “public pressure” he credits with winning the support of EU leaders for the destructive climate policies, has been provided by phony “grassroots” NGOs lavishly funded by governments, Wall Street billionaires, and the huge tax-exempt foundations).

“So my priority over the next few months will be making sure that other countries match our level of ambition in their own pledges, and they show how they will actually meet those pledges,” Canete continued. “Ultimately though, peer pressure can only achieve so much. It needs be accompanied by pressure from below. World leaders will only act, be ambitious, and sign a deal if they are held to account by their citizens, not just their fellow leaders.”

“That is why,” says Canete, “we must all do what we can to speak out, keep the pressure on all countries to be as ambitious and transparent and possible, and make sure climate change has a top billing for the next year.”

In his Senate testimony, Dr. Benny Peiser provided a compelling, detailed explanation of why the EU should not follow Commissioner Canete’s destructive recommendations, and why the United States should reject the path already taken by Europe. “For the last 20 years, Europe has felt a duty to set an example through radical climate policy-making at home,” said Dr. Peiser. “European leaders were convinced that the development of a low-carbon economy based on renewables would give Europe a competitive advantage. It was in this political climate that the EU heads of state and government launched the so-called Lisbon Strategy in March 2000, with the goal of making Europe ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.’”

This was followed by the European Commission’s European Climate Change Programme (EECP) and the EU’s approval of the UN Kyoto Protocol.

“Today, 14 years after the EU adopted these key policies,” noted Peiser, “the economies of most EU member states are stagnating or in decline. Last week the OECD warned that the crisis-ridden EU poses a major threat to the world economy.”

In terms of impact on global climate, the EU’s climate program has been all pain (for taxpayers and consumers) and no gain — except for the corporations that have cashed in on the “green” programs and/or shifted their production to less regulated developing countries. “Even though EU policy has managed to reduce CO2 emissions domestically,” Peiser notes, “this was only achieved by shifting energy-intensive and heavy industries overseas: to locations where there are no stringent emission limits, where energy and labour is cheap and which are now growing much faster than the EU.” Most products consumed in the EU today, he points out, are imported from countries without any binding CO2 targets. “It is no surprise that while the EU’s domestic CO2 emissions have fallen, if you factor in CO2 emissions embedded in goods imported into EU, the figure remains substantially higher,” says Peiser.

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Homeland Security Using GPS Ankle bracelets

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!! News

Mark Matheny
December 25, 2014

Under the guise of tracking illegals coming into the U.S. from Mexico, The Department of Homeland Security is now using GPS ankle bracelets in their arsenal.

According to AP news:

ICE said this week that the pilot program, known as "RGV 250," started Dec. 1 and will eventually track 250 "heads of household" caught traveling with their families in the Rio Grande Valley and released into the interior of the U.S. Once those immigrants arrive and report as ordered, ICE may remove the tracking device.The document says the GPS devices will allow ICE to track the rate of immigrants reporting back to the agency as ordered and the average length of time it takes those people to report. If the program proves successful in getting immigrants to report back to ICE, it may be expanded.

Of course this all sounds good, especially since there are so many Americans who are opposed to the open border and the influx of illegals pouring through it. The problem here is that the Elites are once again taking advantage of a crisis, and introducing more potential tyranny with this introduction of GPS technology to track humans.

I'm sure that as the success of this program ensues, there will then be an expansion of the program to American prisoners being released from prison, and probation depts. using the technology as well.

Slowly we will be desensitized to this form of tracking, just as we have come to accept video surveillance on our streets and drone surveillance in our skies.

The "Big Brother" Technocratic Dictatorship is on the rise, and most Americans are oblivious to it.

By Mark Matheny

Sliding oil prices leave socialist Venezuela on brink of financial collapse

Washington Times

December 25, 2014

President Nicolas Maduro — the hand-picked successor to the late socialist Hugo Chavez — faces mounting international criticism for jailing opposition figures after months of street protests. (Associated Press) more >

The ongoing plunge in global oil prices is pushing Venezuela toward economic collapse just as President Nicolas Maduro — the hand-picked successor to the late socialist Hugo Chavez — faces mounting international criticism for jailing opposition figures after months of street protests.

Where Chavez once drew praise from the world’s leftist elite for using the high price of crude oil during the 2000s to underwrite a socialist revolution, a growing number of analysts in Washington say Mr. Maduro is clinging to power in a country on the edge of becoming a failed state.

Venezuela still boasts some of the world’s largest known crude reserves, but it has continued for too long spending more on government programs than it has collected in oil revenue, analysts say. The average price of oil has dropped from more than $100 a barrel to less than $60 during recent weeks, only adding to Venezuela’s woes.

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American troops battle ISIS for first time as they see off attempted attack by militants on Iraqi base

Daily Mail
December 18, 2014

A number of militants have been killed in Islamic State's very first battle with U.S. ground troops after the extremists attempted to overrun an Iraqi military base.

The militants attacked Ein al-Asad military base on Sunday where more than 100 U.S. military support troops are based.

Despite launching the surprise attack just after midnight, ISIS's offensive was swiftly repelled when U.S. troops and F18 jets joined in the skirmish in support of the Iraqi Army.

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A US Navy Seal team secures the airfield at Ein al-Asad base during a visit by former president George W Bush

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US military experts arrived at Ein al-Asad airbase (pictured) last month to help train and support Iraqi forces

Facing both Iraqi and US troops supported by F18 jets, an unknown number of ISIS attackers were killed during the two hour firefight before being forced to retreat.

Ein al-Asad came under repeated attack by ISIS troops in October, however, now bolstered by the U.S. assistance, it poses a much more formidable target.

ISRAEL SLAMS EU OVER PLAN TO TAKE HAMAS OFF TERROR LIST

The Independent
December 18, 2014

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the foreign media during a toast in Jerusalem ahead of the new year. Netanyahu called on the European Union on Wednesday to keep Islamist militant group Hamas on its list of terrorist organisations, after an EU court ruled it should be removed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the European Union yesterday for removing Hamas from its terrorist list, calling it a staggering example of European hypocrisy and an indication that many on the continent have learned nothing from the Holocaust.

The EU court order to remove Hamas from the EU terrorist list came the same day as a United Nations body in Europe delivered a stinging rebuke to Israel's settlement construction in the West Bank and called for Israel to be investigated for war crimes.

"Today we witnessed a series of examples of European naivete and, may I add, hypocrisy," Netanyahu said before an audience of international journalists in Jerusalem. "They point to the spirit of appeasement in Europe of the very forces that threaten Europe itself. Too many in Europe are calling on Israel to make concessions that would endanger not only the security of Israel but also paradoxically the security of Europe itself, because Israel is the forward position of European civilization. Israel is the bulwark of European values."

Hamas has carried out dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israeli civilians. The EU court in Luxembourg said it ordered Hamas removed from the list for procedural reasons, while in Geneva, Israel was called out for potential war crimes. The developments follows a recent surge in European parliaments making moves to unilaterally recognize a state of Palestine.

"What hypocrisy, what a travesty. I ask: where is elementary European integrity?" Netanyahu said in his annual address to the foreign media.

Russia is buying weapons - a lot of them

CNN Money
December 15, 2014

Moscow is going on a huge shopping spree for weapons and military equipment.

Russian defense companies boosted sales by more than 20% last year, driven by demand from the country's military, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

That compares with a 2% decline in sales globally, largely due to a weaker performance by American companies, which account for more than half of the world's arms trade.

Russia has begun investing heavily in upgrades to its military capabilities. President Vladimir Putin plans to spend more than 20 trillion rubles ($700 billion) bringing equipment up to date by 2025.

The modernization program is continuing despite an economic crisis that has already forced Russia to adopt an austerity budget for next year.

Defense and national security were the only departments to escape cuts of at least 5%. Spending on the military is set to rise by 85% between 2012 and 2017.

Russia's defense budget is now the third largest in the world, behind the U.S. and China.

Airfields, hundreds of fighter jets and a new fleet of battle tanks are in the works. Russia is also developing new long-range missiles, has acquired an advanced nuclear submarine and is working on eight new vessels for the navy, due for delivery by 2020.

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Washington undecided on U.N. resolution for Palestinian state

Yahoo News
December 15, 2014

John Kerry

JERUSALEM/ROME (Reuters) - Israel said it hoped the United States would veto any moves at the United Nations to set a time frame for its withdrawal from territory Palestinians seek for a state, but a senior U.S. official said it was too early to say.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome on Monday to discuss various proposals for a Palestinian state that are circulating at the United Nations.

Later on Monday, Kerry will travel to Paris for talks with European counterparts and then on to London to meet Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat and a delegation from the Arab League, who will urge the United States not to use its U.N. Security Council veto to block the proposals.

The hastily-arranged meetings suggested urgency in America's drive to manage efforts among Security Council members to draft a new proposal before Israeli elections in March. Kerry said on Friday he wanted to defuse tensions during the talks.

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Obama Quotes Nonexistent Bible Verse During Speech

Washington Times
December 11, 2014

President Obama referred to the Bible on Tuesday as he was speaking about immigration reform in Nashville, but he confused some of the lines and even threw in a proverb that appears nowhere in the religious text.

“The good book says, don’t throw stones in glass houses,” he said. “Or … make sure we’re looking at the log in our eye before we are pointing out the mote in other folks’ eyes.”

The expression “they that live in glass houses should not throw stones" is a proverb of unknown origin that has been used in various form for centuries, The Washington Post reported. It does not appear in the Bible.

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The American Dream deferred for young Americans: Living in rentals, inflated college tuition, and low wages await millions of young Americans.

MyBudget360
December 11, 2014

The Americans Dream was largely built on a few simple ideals. One was the ability to purchase your own home without needing artificially low rates and dangerously low down payments. Another key aspect of the dream was allowing young Americans to receive acollege education to pursue their future. While more Americans are going to college, many are taking on dangerously high levels of debt to embark on this journey. Another key component of the American Dream was having the ability to have a job that paid well enough to have a good standard of living. That standard of living is eroding as inflation is eating away purchasing power. It is hard to come to terms but the upcoming generation may not have it as good as that of the baby boomers. There is no fast and hard rule saying that each generation should be better. That is why the middle class rising in the US was a historical anomaly. Something worth aspiring and investing in. Yet if we look at history, you largely have one of a small wealthy elite and the rest. The fact that we are looking more like the Gilded Age is not a positive sign. For many, dreams are being deferred.

Building for cash strapped young

Since the Great Recession hit, many builders are realizing that the future for many Americans will be of renters. The flood of money and bailouts allowed big banks to shift properties from regular homeowners that over leveraged into the hands of investors and hedge funds. This has been going on for well over half a decade. At this point, the growth in rental demand is zooming up.

Builders are well aware of this and are focusing their energies on building multi-unit housing:

Rentals and condos. And condos can be easily converted back to rentals should the economy slow down. But this speaks to the fact that many young Americans are having a tougher time pursuing the big box home dream of the suburbs. Why? It is too expensive relative to their wages.

The education dilemma

There is mega inflation going on in college tuition. Since 1985 college tuition costs have soared 538 percent. This rate has far surpassed all other large buy areas:

And for middle class jobs like those in engineering, computer science, accounting, and healthcare there is no choice but to go to college. Blue collar work doesn’t pay as well and there are fewer jobs here as well. The bulk of jobs added since the Great Recession have come in the form of lower paying jobs. Yet college tuition continues to go up. The market is still demanding technical skills but many for-profits target lower income households with paper mill like degrees and actually cause more harm than good. Many of these students would be better off pursuing a technical degree or certification at a low cost community college. Yet local community colleges are cash strapped and have pathetic marketing budgets while for-profits spend upwards of one-third of their revenue on aggressive marketing.

But even those going to reputable schools, there is no assurance of a good career or a good paying job once they graduate. The latest jobs report shows a mismatch between jobs being offered and skills in the market. Yet we continue to pump out expensive college graduates and debt continues to pile on.

Low wages

Low wage jobs continue to dominate the open job market. Benefits are being slashed and more of the burden on side benefits like healthcare or retirement planning are being pushed onto workers. For example, we are likely to have more waiters and bartenders than actual manufacturing workers in a short timeframe:

“This is not a good trend for most Americans given how many people occupy each of these fields. Back in 1990 which wasn’t exactly a booming time, we had 3 manufacturing workers for each 1 waiter or bartender. Today, we now have nearly a 1-to-1 ratio.”

And this also highlights why so many Americans are basically winging it for retirement. Many young Americans are actually in a negative net worth column given big college debt.

The future of course is never completely bleak. There is a need for highly skilled workers. If you plan accordingly, you can leverage this to your advantage but it does appear that the massive labor intensive jobs are simply not there. The labor intensive jobs in the service industry pay very little to pursue the American Dream as we once knew it. Renting or living at home is the only option for millions. College will be a very expensive proposition. In the end, this is the new dream.

Sheriffs: Obama Amnesty Is ‘Destruction of Our Democracy,’ ‘Gaping Hole’ for Terrorists

MRC TV
November 20, 2014

Matheny's note: the only thing I would like to correct is the portion of the Title which says'Destruction of our Democracy' to say 'Destruction of our REPUBLIC'.... we are a REPUBLIC... not a democracy... "I pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS..."!!!!

"Criminals are becoming more emboldened" by Obama's amnesty plan.

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Sheriffs from Maryland to Massachusetts warned of the extreme danger of Pres. Obama’s plan to grant executive amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in the U.S.

Speaking out on Monday, they said amnesty would spell the beginning of the end of democracy in America and would embolden both terrorists and violent criminals.

Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, Frederick County, Maryland:

“In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, every county in America will become a border county. This is absolutely going to worsen the crisis.

What we’re going to see is not only the cost to healthcare, social programs, and education, but the increase in criminals coming into our country, you’re going to see increases in crime, infiltration from transnational gangs, the drug trade and human tracking.”

Sheriff Paul Babeu, Pinal County, Arizona:

“The law applies to you and I as citizens, and yet it appears there is no law when it comes to illegals. The message the President’s action will send is this: if you can get to the border, you’re home free. It completely undermines the rule of law and makes the job of every law enforcement officer – which is already difficult – impossible.

We already have our hands full because the border is not secure: imagine what the situation will look like when the President gives executive amnesty to those already here. It would unleash a tidal wave of illegal border crossings, overwhelming law enforcement. It will be open season for the cartels. Again: the border is not secure now – to give a presidential amnesty would be to make matters dramatically worse for our officers who are trying to do the job the President won’t.”

Sheriff Tom Hodgson, Bristol County, Massachusetts:

“It will dramatically increase the draw for illegal immigrants to come into our country, because you have the President of the United States sending out a message that we have no problem with people ignoring our immigration laws. They’re looking for a wink and nod that says ‘yeah, come on in’ – we’ve seen it with the DACA. It is the worst message you can possibly send. Come in, don’t worry about the laws, don’t wait your turn. You invite people to ignore our laws. We have no knowledge of these individuals’ background or criminal histories. We [have] minors coming in right now who have confessed to murder. We in these communities are left trying to find out: who are these people? If didn’t learn anything else post-9/11, it’s that we need to know who is in our communities and what they’re purpose is. The President’s planned order is a formula for national disaster and public safety.

Every predator who is out to commit crimes is looking for the weakest link in our system. Having large illegal immigrant populations creates a safe haven for criminal activity. Criminals are becoming more emboldened.

I run the homeland security task force in Bristol County. When you start diverting resources with in ICE – this administration has been watering down investigative resources, failing to deport people who need to be deported – you create a very dangerous situation. When the President issues this executive amnesty, you’re going to see people being diverted away from investigating terror threats and towards issuing this amnesty. It’s going to put our communities at much greater risk. The scary part about all of this is that we know that terrorists have been trying to infiltrate the US. It’s opening a gaping hole for terrorists to walk right into the country and strike at innocent people.

When the President of the United States is sending a message that he’s not concerned with lawbreaking, those words are the beginning of the destruction of our Democracy. When you have the President saying you can come in unlawfully without consequence, basically the President is saying to do the world: don’t respect our laws. That’s I worry about: if you don’t protect the framework of Democracy, then you risk losing Democracy itself.”

Sheriff Eddie Guerra, Hidalgo County, Texas:

“We are going to see what I’m seeing here on the border in larger and large numbers, which is a huge increase in illegal immigration coming across our border. An amnesty order is going to create more people an incentive to come into the US. The drug cartel will exploit any opportunity to come into the United States, and this will create the cover for them to continue exploiting our porous border. This will create the opportunity for kidnapping, trafficking, sexual abuse, prostitution, and smuggling. These smugglers have no regard for human life. They destroy private property. They have no respect for law enforcement. They circumvent US checkpoints. It’s a terrible situation.”

Sheriff Sam Page, Rockingham County, North Carolina:

“Human trafficking, drug trafficking and criminal activity are coming through our borders, but not staying near our borders – it’s getting into every part of the United States. This is a public safety issue – a terrorist or any other kind of criminal may cross our borders. We just don’t know who is coming across.

“If the President issue his executive amnesty, you’ll see a dramatic surge of people coming in from all countries, including Central America– and again we won’t know who’s coming in: gangs, drugs, cartels, public health threats, human trafficking. We’re not catching but a small percentage of those coming across. This will place public safety in our communities in danger, and taxpaying citizens will be left picking up the tab.”

Another Widening Gap: The Haves vs. the Have-Mores

The New York Times
November 16, 2014

Other forms of luxury transportation also abounded at the annual event — whether a Bentley or a helicopter perched atop one boat.CreditAndrew Innerarity for The New York Times

Philip Rushton has been selling private jets to the global rich for more than three decades. In just about every economic cycle, sales of small jets and big jets tended to move together — rising and falling with financial markets and fortunes of the wealthy.

Now, however, the jet market is splitting in two. Sales of the largest, most expensive private jets — including private jumbo jets — are soaring, with higher prices and long waiting lists. Smaller, cheaper jets, however, are piling up on the nation’s private-jet tarmacs with big discounts and few buyers.

“The real demand is at the very top,” said Mr. Rushton, the president ofAviatrade, a private-jet brokerage and advisory company. “The big guys, the billionaires, have plenty of money, and they’re buying. But the middle and lower end has been much slower to recover from the crisis.”

Read the entire article

Obama Prepares Avalanche of Executive Orders on “Climate”

The New American
November 14, 2014

Faced with his party’s loss of the Senate and growing public skepticism surrounding man-made “global warming” theories, Obama is plotting to unleash an avalanche of unconstitutional “executive orders” to impose his “climate” agenda on the American people by decree. From signing radical “climate” deals with communist dictators and lawlessly pledging billions of taxpayer dollars for unsavory regimes, to forcing Americans to pay drastically more for electricity by ordering power plants to reduce emissions of the “gas of life” carbon dioxide, the president shows no intention of stopping — or even slowing down. Politico described the anticipated surge of executive orders as the “coming climate onslaught.” Ironically, perhaps, much of the nation is currently experiencing an onslaught of record cold. 

Of course, the GOP and its leaders in Congress have been lashing out at Obama’s “pen and phone” scheming in public — andpolls show a majority of Americans reject discredited global-warming theories advanced by the United Nations and Obama. It remains to be seen, though, whether Republican lawmakers will appropriate funds for Obama to implement his executive decrees. GOP leadership in the House and the Senate have both lambasted the administration’s “climate” plans, and alarmist Democrats were crushed in the mid-term elections despite heavy establishment backing. Still, no concrete plans to refuse funding for Obama’s schemes have been announced.

The White House, meanwhile, falsely claims the American people’s elected representatives can do nothing to stop Obama. “There are too many Republicans in Congress who even deny the basic scientific fact that climate change is occurring and something that policymakers should be concerned about [sic],” claimed White House spokesman Josh Earnest, though it was not clear whether there was actually a single lawmaker who denies that the climate changes naturally and probably always will. “So the president will use his executive action to take some additional steps.” The Constitution Obama swore to uphold, of course, grants all legislative powers to Congress and none to the executive branch.     

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The Reason Small Businesses Are Disappearing, As Explained By A Small Business Owner

Zero Hedge
November 14, 2014

Confused why despite endless daily propaganda that the US economy is getting better - after all "just look at the record high S&P 500" - fewer and fewer Americans believe the narrative, as the Democrats and Obama found out the very hard way in last week's midterm elections? Then the following explanation written by the owner of a small business - the segment of the US economy that has historically led every single recovery but this time was left behind - should help answer some questions.

The reason small businesses are disappearing written by a small business owner.

I want to start out by saying that i am a 27 year old male with a small business in Sacramento CA. I started this business a few years ago with savings of 15k. With a lot of hard work and determination i have succeeded, but it sure as hell was not easy. I am a long time lurker and have never seen anyone go in depth about what its like to own a small business and the reason why they are disappearing. Without going into to much detail, i own a furniture store so obviously things are different then other businesses but a lot of the things are the same. I wanted to begin with the things that are killing small businesses. Also only my opinion.

1. Small Business Loans - Although they are not killing small business they sure as hell don't help anyone. Unless you are opening a unique small business you are not going to get any funding. By unique i mean something along the lines of creating solar panels. According to a recent investigation by the SBA Inspector General (ill post the article if you would like), over 75% of SBA loans went to large businesses. So basically if you want to open a normal business you need a ton of collateral and a miracle to get a loan.
2. Permits and Licensing - In opening my specific business the first year totaled about $2000.00.
3. Advertising - Many small business's cant afford to take out pages or flyers in the news paper or TV ads so they only have a few choices such as Yelp or the Penny-saver. (Don't get me started in Yelp).
4. Street Advertising - While this used to be a good portion of how you get business it is now off limits. Code enforcement will not allow you to put anything outside. No balloons, signs, anything with your store name, window paint more than 50%, or any mattresses. Also delivery vehicles can not be closer than 50 feet from the curb. In my case that means behind the building.
5. Board of Equalization - Cant go into to much detail here but they sure as hell aren't here to help.
6. Health Insurance - Now obviously with the people that have a large work force working full time they will be hit hard by obamacare, but i wanted to give you a perspective on a single person. The cheapest rate for myself and me only, and believe me i have looked around, is $250.00/month. Some might say oh that's not bad, but let me explain what that covers, NOTHING lol. Basically if something happens to me i have to shell out 6K before insurance gets involved. Also 100 dollar co pay every time i go.
7. The economy - While many know that when the President comes on TV and says the economy is doing great, we all know it is not, some people don't. Every month more people drop out of the Labor Force and the number of families on food stamps is sky rocketing. So for those of you who don't know the economy is terrible because of all the top stories of Kim Kardashian and whoever else, lots of people in america are struggling.
8. Merchant Fees - This is for credit card processing machines. The machine itself costs 600.00 plus the percentages on sales and cards. Companies such as BofA charge once a year on top of the regular fees $150.00 to protect you from fraud (which they can't even stop) and yes its mandatory. Paypal or Square seem to be the best options these days.
9. Fire Department - Yes even the Fire Department wants a piece. Starting last year you must do your own visual inspection and send them a check for 150! Basically if you don't they will come to your store and give you a million violations for wasting there time.

Something to watch out for is people who check fire extinguishers in business's. This is a huge scam where they come in without permission to inspect your extinguisher, get you a new one and bill you like 200 the following month. They have no right or permission to enter your business and jump all over you. You can simply tell them politely to get out. They dress like they are fire fighters but they are not.

More Federal Agencies Are Using Undercover Operations

The New York Times
November 15, 2014

WASHINGTON — The federal government has significantly expanded undercover operations in recent years, with officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business people, welfare recipients, political protesters and even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show.

At the Supreme Court, small teams of undercover officers dress as students at large demonstrations outside the courthouse and join the protests to look for suspicious activity, according to officials familiar with the practice.

At the Internal Revenue Service, dozens of undercover agents chase suspected tax evaders worldwide, by posing as tax preparers, accountants drug dealers or yacht buyers and more, court records show.

At the Agriculture Department, more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud, officials said.

Undercover work, inherently invasive and sometimes dangerous, was once largely the domain of the F.B.I. and a few other law enforcement agencies at the federal level. But outside public view, changes in policies and tactics over the last decade have resulted in undercover teams run by agencies in virtually every corner of the federal government, according to officials, former agents and documents.

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UN Women Pushes Global Abortion for “Sustainable Population”

The New American
November 2, 2014

Under the guise of advancing what the United Nations calls “gender equality” and “sustainable development,” anew report by the UN Women agency is again pushing global abortion on demand, more sterilization programs and population-control schemes, massive government interference in family life, and much more. Much of the document, published this month, is written in opaque and deceptive language designed to at least partially conceal the extremism and outright barbarism being proposed. Still, critics of the UN machinations were able to see right through the deception, lambasting the UN for pushing totalitarian and horrific policies while trying to dupe the public.

The report, published by the UN “Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women,” claims to be a “survey” of the supposedly “important links” between “gender equality” and “sustainable development.” As regular readers of this magazine know well, both of those relatively innocent-sounding terms are employed by the UN and many of its member regimes to conceal a deeply sinister agenda — plots so outlandish that they would almost certainly spark a global revolt if the true nature of the schemes were more widely understood by the public.

The notion of human “sustainability,” for instance, purports to deal with making sure that “Mother Earth” can continue to sustain humanity into the future. The idea is underpinned largely by imagined problems justified by refuted “science,” such as theories on“man-made global warming” (previously global cooling), “overpopulation,” and “overconsumption.” In reality, though, the term ismostly used as cover to advance everything from depopulation and abortion to centralized global government and planetary socialism. Similarly, the term “gender equality” is used by UN types to conceal a radical agenda involving the gradual destruction of the nuclear family, population control, abortion, and more.

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