Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

We are Headed to a Historic Collapse of the Financial System
Dec 17th, 2012
Daily NewsKWN
Categories: Commentary;Warning

“Nobody who has ever watched the Navy’s Blue Angels acrobatic team perform ever walked away with anything but admiration and amazement. The performance showcases generations of technology, courage and skills of the pilots as well as the practiced teamwork and coordination that allow them to fly such tight patterns.

The separation of the planes during the formations and acrobatics can be as little as 18 inches. Pilots are trained to focus on the planes next to them to maintain the separation. It involves complete trust in the lead plane and it’s pilot....

“The monetary Blue Angels of our day have closed their formation. With our Federal Reserve in the lead plane, the major central banks have pulled into a tight formation with the Fed. We see such feats of daring do as interest rates being driven to zero.

We see currencies, countries and institutions that should have failed by now being supported by the unlimited printing of money. Budgets and debt ceilings are passé. Crises come and go. Fiscal cliffs, debt ceilings and the like come to the fore. Nothing is ever resolved, but deadlines are moved and new plans for resolution are just around the corner.

While the central bankers might see themselves as Blue Angel equivalents, the reality is that they are engaged in precision balloon acrobatics. That image might trigger a smile, and even thought we know that balloons cannot be flown with any precision, it still represents an appropriate analogy. The balloons do rise, but chaotically. The hot air that fills the balloons is the electronic printing press.

The precision monetary team is floating countries, companies and markets. There are a few balloons such as the gold, silver and oil markets that tag along, much to their dismay. Releasing hot air from those balloons is considered a necessity to keep all eyes focused on the “right” balloons. Gold and silver balloons tend to rise at a much faster rate under these circumstances throughout history, so great effort must be made to tether them as best is possible..

Nobody knows how high the central bank driven balloons can go. The supply of hot air once appeared to be limitless. Perhaps it is. At some altitude, however, a vessel under pressure will pop in the absence of the counter force of atmospheric pressure. To the central bankers, they are floating us skyward to a new reality. It is more likely that our fate will be the black emptiness of outer space or a quick return to earth as the balloons pop. Only time will tell.

In 1982, the Air Force’s Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team was at an air base in Nevada, preparing for one of their shows in Arizona. They were practicing what is called a four-plane line abreast loop. The loop begins with the planes climbing together to a high altitude. They would next roll over backwards and then descend straight down toward to surface at a very high speed. The last phase of the stunt was to pull out of the dive and level off at 100 feet.

Tragically, that never happened. It was initially believed to be pilot error, but a subsequent investigation showed that it was a mechanical failure involving the lead plane. True to their training, the other pilots followed the lead plane into the ground. All of the brave and accomplished pilots involved died that day. All were justified in their belief that their technology and their skills would not fail them. In the end, it was a component failure in a very complex piece of machinery that triggered the accident, not lack of competence or design.

Our central bankers have similar convictions and beliefs that the monetary system is known and can be effectively guided by pulling various levers. Using these beliefs and tools, central bankers are maintaining a tight grip on markets. The continuation of the savage attacks on the gold and silver markets, the “successful” sovereign debt auctions, interest rates maintaining low to negative levels, as well as an elevated S&P 500 are all signs that they are firmly in control.

There are two likely resolutions to this death-defying monetary show. The first is that we experience an historic, catastrophic, global, monetary collapse caused by an unpredictable failure in the system. In that case, the central bank acrobatic team flies the global economy into the ground while never doubting the wisdom of their ways. Our monetary pilots, focused on maintaining formation with the Fed, plow us all into the economic terra firma.

The second is that the academics and bureaucrats take us into a post-sovereign, post-money world. In so doing, they show us that central planning was the correct way all along. Past attempts were just bungled. Control is maintained, and a new world financial order emerges. The accrued obligations on the books vanish. The distribution of resources and wealth are controlled and allocated by a central power, not markets.

There is no successful version in history of the second outcome. The first outcome is always the way. What people have done throughout history to protect their wealth is to own tangible assets. As central banks continue to inflate away the value of their currencies and assets tied to those currencies, they are simultaneously gobbling up tangible assets such as agricultural land, oil, gold and silver.

A growing population will maintain the long-term value of scarce resources even if there are declines following a monetary collapse. Gold and silver will return to the historic role of sound money. Holders of those metals will see a dramatic revaluation to the upside. If history is our guide, the new wealthy will be those who had the wisdom to get out of paper money before the end of the current system.

There is an historic race going on for access to and control of oil and precious metals. You need oil to have a functioning economy, and we are on a heading for a troubling confluence of declining global production and accelerating global demand. The price of energy must rise.

You need precious metals to reestablish a believable monetary system. For investors, your only protection is to imitate the behavior of the global powers. It is imperative that you acquire resource-based assets, gold and silver, as the smart money is doing. A wealth preservation approach of this kind is the only chance that your money will weather the turmoil and financial destruction that lies ahead.”

Let the Headlines Speak
Dec 17th, 2012
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Upcoming UN Climate Change Report Leaked Online
I believe that the leaking of this draft is entirely legal, that the taxpayer funded report is properly in the public domain under the Freedom of Information Act, and that making it available to the public is in any case protected by established legal and ethical standards,” Rawls wrote on his website, while encouraging anyone interested in reading the report to download a copy in case it is “removed as a possible terms-of-service violation.”

Scientists Investigate Arctic Hurricanes’ Impact On Climate Models
According to scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the storms, which are also known as Arctic hurricanes, contain areas of extremely low barometric pressure and can produce massive waves capable of sinking smaller ships. They are difficult to forecast, occur frequently and tend to be absent from most existing climate models.

Earthquake: 3.0 quake strikes near The Geysers
A shallow magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported Sunday afternoon two miles from The Geysers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 4:03 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 1.2 miles.

Tourists Flee, Residents Prepare As 'Monster' Cyclone Bears Down On Fiji Read more: http www.businessinsider.com/tourists-flee-residents-pr
Fijian authorities scrambled to evacuate tourists and residents in low-lying areas Sunday as a monster cyclone threatened the Pacific nation with "catastrophic damage" after causing devastation in Samoa.

MSNBC Guest Says We Should Profile ‘White Men’ as School Shooters
“The issue with it will be, politically, I think; the profile is white men. That’s a profile that’s not, essentially, in America allowed to be profiled. That’s the one profile in America that’s not allowed to be profiled.”

David Brooks: "I Think If We're Going To Control Guns, We Really Have To Do It Massive"
I think I\'m all for getting rid of the assault weapons and machine guns and all that tough, but if we want to prevent something like this, we have to really think seriously about drastically reducing the number of guns in our society, and particularly -- this is an old Patrick Daniel Moynihan idea -- the number of bullets. It is very hard to control 300 million guns. The bullets are a little easier to control.

Sun storm threat to GPS: Space agency plans global network to study effects of \'solar max\' on satellite communications
Scientists are gearing up for fierce solar storms next year by setting up a worldwide chain of monitoring stations to study the so-called solar maximum'. Massive increases in the numbers of sunspots are expected to cause changes in the Earth's ionosphere, the shell of plasma at the top of our atmosphere.

Ecuador declares volcano alert
ECUADOR has issued an orange alert -- the second-highest warning level -- for towns near the Tungurahua volcano, as its level of activity rose, civil defence officials say.

Strong earthquake hits off eastern Indonesia
An earthquake of 6.1 magnitude has been detected off the eastern Indonesian island of Sulawesi. There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties. (AP)

"First we take Damascus, then Tel Aviv"
The leader of the radical Salafist movement in Jordan, whose organization actively supports the Syrian rebels\' efforts to topple President Bashar Assad's regime warned Sunday that once the Damascus opposition achieves its primary goal, it will set its sights on Israel.

Japan election winner fires early warning to China
Shinzo Abe, who returns to power after leading the Liberal Democratic Party to victory..., said there was no doubt about Japan's ownership of the islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan, but the Diaoyus in China... "China is challenging the fact that (the islands) are Japan's inherent territory," said Mr Abe. "Our objective is to stop the challenge. We don't intend to worsen relations between Japan and China."

Attorney General Secretly Granted Gov. Ability to Develop and Store Dossiers on Innocent Americans
In a secret government agreement granted without approval or debate from lawmakers, the U.S. attorney general recently gave the National Counterterrorism Center sweeping new powers to store dossiers on U.S. citizens, even if they are not suspected of a crime, according to a news report.

Boehner offers debt-ceiling increase in cliff compromise
House Speaker John A. Boehner has offered to push any fight over the federal debt limit off for a year, a concession that would deprive Republicans of leverage in the budget battle but is breathing new life into stalled talks over the year-end “fiscal cliff.” The offer came Friday, according to people in both parties familiar with the talks...

Hungary's Jews face down new extremism
A week after a leader of Hungary's far-right Jobbik party called for lists of prominent Jews to be drawn up to protect national security, Janos Fonagy stepped forward. "My mother and father were Jewish, and so am I, whether you like it or not," the state secretary of the Development Ministry told parliament, explaining he did not have dual citizenship with Israel and was not religious.

EU in major free trade deal with Singapore
The EU and Singapore have clinched a free-trade agreement (FTA) - the second such deal between the 27-nation bloc and a major Asian trading partner. Last year EU-Singapore trade was worth about 74bn euros (£60bn; $97bn). Singapore is the second largest Asian investor in the EU after Japan. The EU Commission says the deal - not yet signed by politicians - will help EU exports of cars and financial services.

Pakistan blast: Market bomb 'kills 17' in Khyber
At least 17 people have been killed and more than 70 hurt in a car bomb attack on a market in the Khyber tribal area in north-west Pakistan, officials say. Women and children were among those killed in the blast at the market in Jamrud, the main town in Khyber. The explosion took place close to the offices of the tribal administration. The injured have been taken to hospital in the nearby city of Peshawar.

Libya orders borders in south closed
Libya's parliament has ordered the temporary closure of southern borders and declared seven southern regions restricted military areas. A parliament spokesman, Omar Humidan, said the move was aimed at stemming the flow of illegal immigrants and goods. There was no indication of how long borders with Chad, Niger, Sudan and Algeria would remain shut.

Newtown shootings: Obama says tragedies must end
President Barack Obama has said the US must do more to protect its children in the wake of Friday's shootings at a school in Newtown, Connecticut. Speaking at an inter-faith vigil in Newtown, Mr Obama said he would use the powers of his office to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. He told residents that the nation shared their grief.

Gun control debate begins to simmer after massacre
Democrats say meaningful action in the wake of last week\'s elementary school shooting must include a ban on military-style assault weapons and a look at how the nation deals with individuals suffering from serious mental illness.

2 Kansas officers fatally shot outside market
Two Kansas police officers were fatally shot outside a grocery store Sunday while responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle, authorities said. Topeka Police Chief Ronald Miller called the shootings of Cpl. David Gogian and Officer Jeff Atherly "unspeakable." He said both Gogian, 50, and Atherly, 29, were shot in the head by a gunman who opened fire on them within minutes of their arrival to investigate the vehicle.

Car Bomb Kills at Least 17 in Pakistan Tribal Region
A powerful car bomb exploded near government offices in a town in the northwestern tribal belt on Monday, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens, local officials said.

Japan election result knocks vulnerable yen
The yen fell to its lowest in more than a year and a half versus the dollar on Monday after a landslide election victory for Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, which is committed to aggressive monetary easing.

Syrian vice president says neither side can win war
Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said that neither the forces of President Bashar al-Assad nor rebels seeking to overthrow him can win the war which is now being fought on the outskirts of Assad's powerbase in Damascus.

Israel Uneasy Over Obama Selection of Kerry and Hagel
Dec 17th, 2012
Daily NewsIsrael Today - Ryan Jones
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

There has been much unofficial reaction in Israel in recent days to the expected appointment of Senator John Kerry as America's next secretary of state and of former senator Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense.

In both cases, Israel is not all that thrilled by President Barack Obama's choices.

While Kerry is generally seen as a friend of Israel in the US Congress (his voting record on Israel is "clean"), there are some problem spots as far as Jerusalem is concerned, and Kerry has been somewhat condescending regarding Israeli concerns in the past.

Most of the concern over Kerry stems from his spearheading an effort at the start of Obama's first term to revive ties between the US and the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. In hindsight, that was a very poor assessment of the situation on the ground, and it is fortunate for US interests in the region that his agenda failed.

But there are indications that as secretary of state, Kerry would repeat his mistake by promoting engagement with groups like Hamas and pressing Israel to compromise its security.

Kerry also rejects the notion that Jews have a right to live in Judea, Samaria and the eastern half of Jerusalem, despite the fact that those areas constitute the biblical heartland of ancient Israel.

More worrisome is Republican Chuck Hagel, who has made no secret of his disdain for America's "special relationship" with Israel, and has become a poster boy for Israel's antagonists in the US.

Among those hailing the choice of Hagel is Harvard Professor Stephen Walt, who co-authored the book The Israel Lobby, which criticizes the US for so staunchly supporting Israel and blames the situation on an "all powerful" pro-Israel lobby.

Last week, Walt wrote that by choosing Hagel for secretary of defense, Obama had effectively "paid back" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for, as Walt put it, being uncooperative.

That Hagel is bad for Israel, especially at a time of such sensitivity regarding the Iran nuclear threat, is apparently widespread knowledge in Washington.

When Obama first ran for president in 2008, his Jewish outreach director, Ira Forman, stated that \\\"if [Hagel] was taking a policy position, we'd have real concerns."

Hagel is on record as calling for engagement with Iran's current leadership, and has repeatedly downplayed the danger of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic. Threats by Iraq's religious and political leadership to annihilate Israel have been all but dismissed by Hagel.

'First We Take Damascus, Then Tel Aviv'
Dec 17th, 2012
Daily NewsYnet News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Anti-Israel

Salafist leader warns that once rebels topple Assad's regime they will set their sights on Israel; says We won't rest until Palestine is liberated'

The leader of the radical Salafist movement in Jordan, whose organization actively supports the Syrian rebels" efforts to topple President Bashar Assad's regime warned Sunday that once the Damascus opposition achieves its primary goal, it will set its sights on Israel.

The group's leader, Abed Shihadeh, who is also known as Abu Muhammad al-Tahawi, spoke at the funeral of a Jihadist who committed a suicide attack in Amman last week.

"We tell Benjamin Netanyahu, the (Israeli) prime minister, get ready. The army of the Prophet Mohammad is coming your way."

Commenting on the United States' decision to add the al Qaeda-linked Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra to its terror watch list, Shihadeh said that "Allah blesses the heroes of Jabhat al-Nusra.

"America is the mother of all terror in the world," he added, further blaming the US for standing by Assad and the Jews."

Shihadeh added: "Those carrying explosives in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan will find you, Allah willing," he added. "The next fight is between us and you."

The jihadist leader further pledged to "Take over Damascus and then head to Tel Aviv… As far as we are concerned, Palestine stretches from river to sea, from Rafah to a-Nakura. We will not rest until Palestine is liberated."