The Global Liquidity Squeeze Has Begun

Squeeze Globe - Public DomainGet ready for another major worldwide credit crunch.  Today, the entire global financial system resembles a colossal spiral of debt.  Just about all economic activity involves the flow of credit in some way, and so the only way to have “economic growth” is to introduce even more debt into the system.  When the system started to fail back in 2008, global authorities responded by pumping this debt spiral back up and getting it to spin even faster than ever.  If you can believe it, the total amount of global debt has risen by $35 trillion since the last crisis.  Unfortunately, any system based on debt is going to break down eventually, and there are signs that it is starting to happen once again.  For example, just a few days ago the IMF warned regulators to prepare for a global “liquidity shock“.  And on Friday, Chinese authorities announced a ban on certain types of financing for margin trades on over-the-counter stocks, and we learned that preparations are being made behind the scenes in Europe for a Greek debt default and a Greek exit from the eurozone.  On top of everything else, we just witnessed the biggest spike in credit application rejections ever recorded in the United States.  All of these are signs that credit conditions are tightening, and once a “liquidity squeeze” begins, it can create a lot of fear.

Over the past six months, the Chinese stock market has exploded upward even as the overall Chinese economy has started to slow down.  Investors have been using something called “umbrella trusts” to finance a lot of these stock purchases, and these umbrella trusts have given them the ability to have much more leverage than normal brokerage financing would allow.  This works great as long as stocks go up.  Once they start going down, the losses can be absolutely staggering.

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Food Chain Catastrophe: Emergency Shut Down Of West Coast Fisheries: “Populations Have Crashed 91 Percent”

ocean-die-offEarlier this week Michael Snyder warned that the bottom of our food chain is going through a catastrophic collapse with sea creatures dying in absolutely massive numbers. The cause of the problem is a mystery to scientists who claim that they can’t pinpoint how or why it’s happening.

What’s worse, the collapse of sea life in the Pacific Ocean isn’t something that will affect us several decades into the future. The implications are being seen right now, as evidenced by an emergency closure of fisheries along the West coast this week.

On Wednesday federal regulators announced the early closure of sardine fisheries in California, Oregon and Washington. According to the most recent data, the sardine populations has been wiped out with populations seeing a decline of 91% in just the last eight years.

Meeting outside Santa Rosa, California, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to direct NOAA Fisheries Service to halt the current season as early as possible, affecting about 100 fishing boats with sardine permits…

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Putin To Give Athens €5 Billion For Advance Gas Pipeline Fees

With Greece teetering on the edge of insolvency and forced to raid pension and most other public funds, ahead of another month of heavy IMF repayments which has prompted even the ECB to speculate Greece should introduce a parallel “IOU” currency, a white knight has appeared out of nowhere for Greece, one who may offer $5 billion in urgently needed cash. The white knight is none other than Vladimir Putin. “Just because Greece is debt-ridden, this does not mean it is bound hand
and foot, and has no independent foreign policy,” Putin said previously.

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Iranian ship convoy moves toward Yemen, alarming US officials

U.S. military officials are concerned that Iran’s support for Houthi rebels in Yemen could spark a confrontation with Saudi Arabia and plunge the region into sectarian war.

Iran is sending an armada of seven to nine ships — some with weapons — toward Yemen in a potential attempt to resupply the Shia Houthi rebels, according to two U.S. defense officials.

Officials fear the move could lead to a showdown with the U.S. or other members of a Saudi-led coalition, which is enforcing a naval blockade of Yemen and is conducting its fourth week of airstrikes against the Houthis.

Iran sent a destroyer and another vessel to waters near Yemen last week but said it was part of a routine counter-piracy mission.

What’s unusual about the new deployment, which set out this week, is that the Iranians are not trying to conceal it, officials said. Instead, they appear to be trying to “communicate it” to the U.S. and its allies in the Gulf.

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Iran unveils self-developed knockoff of S-300 missiles

Undated photo of a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system on display in an undisclosed location in Russia (photo credit: AP, File)

The Iranian army displayed on Saturday a self-developed version of the advanced Russian S-300 missile system during a military parade south of the Tehran, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Tehran decided to design its own version of the S-300 missile, the Bavar 373, following a postponement by Russia of the sale of the anti-aircraft weaponry to Iran five years ago. Earlier this week, Russia announced it would finally lift the ban and deliver S-300 systems to Iran, in a move that would give the Islamic Republic’s military a strong deterrent against any air attack.

On Wednesday, Iranian Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan stated that the Bavar 373 air missile shield possesses similar features to the Russian S-300, Fars reported. The Iranian news outlet said that the Iranian missile system has “increased mobility, agility and reduced launch-preparation time” than its Russian counterpart.

“Iran’s Air Defense Base has carried out great task in recent years, including the designing and manufacturing of Bavar 373 air defense missile system, which has the same capabilities as the Russian S-300,” the Iranian commander said.

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It appears that Putin’s lifting of the Russian S300 missile ban to Iran was just a feint. John Kerry’s “concerns” about the pending Russian “sale” make the US secretary of state look like the elitist fool that he is.

David DeGerolamo

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One Last Look At The Real Economy Before It Implodes – Part 5

by Brandon Smith

Since I began writing analysis for the liberty movement more than eight years ago, I have always said that we will know when the endgame of the globalists is upon us when the criminals come out into the light of day and admit to their crimes. At that moment, it will be because they no longer fear either the repercussions or their plans being obstructed.

As I plan to show in this installment of my series on the hidden fiscal collapse of America, the endgame has indeed arrived. At the very least, the international elites seem to think success is within their grasp, for they now openly expose their own criminality. But they do so in a way that attempts to divert blame or to rationalize their actions as being for the “greater good.”

In Part 4 of this series, I discussed the reality of the false East/West paradigm and the fact that the “conflict” between Eastern and Western interests is nothing more than Kabuki theater constructed by globalists and designed to mesmerize the masses. You see, the problem with most people is that they tend to let their innate sense of tribalism drive them to take sides in war without understanding the fundamental root of that war. In most cases, they believe one side must be “good” and one side must be “bad.” Globalists understand this weakness of human collectivism, and they exploit it as often as possible. They create conflicts from out of the void, conflicts in which BOTH sides are controlled. Then, they let the masses fumble like idiots trying to set the noose around the other guy’s neck.

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“We’re All Frogs In Boiling Water” Santelli Says After Lacy Hunt Warns “This Is Far From Over”

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History Channel’s Alone Series

It appears that the History Channel has made their video private since the original posting of this article. I will update the video when it becomes available.

Alone is coming this Summer.

Follow ten brave people as they challenge themselves to survive in the wilderness completely #Alone.

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The Appalachian Messenger – April 17, 2015

apr17-11X17_Page_1
The current edition of the Appalachian Messenger is out. Click here for the full edition.

There are links on the site to downloadable PDFs in both 11×17 and 8.5×11 formats. We encourage everyone to download and spread this information freely.

David DeGerolamo

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Meet the latest country with negative interest rates

Financial-Bank-Account

Let’s talk about idiots.

Somewhere out there, some absurdly well-paid banker just placed his investors’ capital in yet another financial instrument which is guaranteed to lose money: Australian government debt.

47 investors participated in the Australian government’s $200 million bond tender; the participants typically bid the amount they’re willing to pay, and the highest bids win the auction.

In this case, and for the first time in Australia, every single one of the 47 bidders offered a price so high that it implies a negative interest rate.

Even the lowest bid in the auction, for example, implied a net loss… or an effective yield of NEGATIVE 0.015%. The highest price implied a yield of negative 0.085%.

What’s really bizarre is that this particular issue was for ‘inflation-linked’ bonds. Which means that if the government’s official monkey math shows that inflation is falling, the yield could actually become even MORE NEGATIVE.

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Greece Enters Twilight Zone as Visions of Euro Exit Take Shape

Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s finance minister

With Greek officials hinting they could be forced from the euro and the country’s creditors growing frustrated with the government’s foot-dragging, analysts are asking what might happen if talks break down.

German officials are “taking just about everything into consideration,” Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview this week as he urged Greek leader Alexis Tsipras to stop offering his people false hopes. Economists such as UniCredit Bank AG’s Erik Nielsen say it may be just a matter of time before Tsipras’s cash supplies run out and he’s forced to print a new currency.

Adopting the euro was always supposed to be a one-way ticket, so there is no legal precedent or political roadmap for an exit. If you’re waiting for a formal announcement of a clear resolution, you may be waiting a long time.

Next steps for Greece range from retaining the euro to catastrophic divorce; half-measures like having multiple currencies circulate, with aid recycled to repay foreign-currency debts, are also in the cards.

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Open Letter to NC Citizens

Dear citizens of North Carolina,

In response to the mis-information you are being given by Rep. Harry Warren (and others), about House Bill H328 – Highway Safety/Citizens Protection Act, make no mistake, this bill IS about “undocumented immigrants”, their ability to drive to the jobs they have taken away from unemployed citizens of N.C. and about making it easier to come to and remain in N.C.

In fact, under section 6 § 20-37.8A. (c) (5) (i) of this bill, it directly states: “A State agency or official shall not use any information submitted as part of the application process for a restricted identification card to seek the removal from the United States of the applicant or for any purpose other than the issuance of  the restricted identification card. Nor shall a State agency or official release information pertaining to the immigration status of an applicant for a restricted identification card, except where expressly required by law to do so. “

How do you like them apples?

Section 6 of this bill also allows for any and all illegal aliens in the State of North Carolina to be eligible to receive a “restricted” North Carolina Driver’s License/permit and/or N.C. ID card. This bill is not about licenses/permits/ID cards for the DACA approved illegal aliens in N.C. They are already receiving their “restricted” N.C. driver’s licenses/permits/ID cards. Upwards of 50,000 of them have been issued so far.

The reason the word restricted is in quotation marks is because the NC. driver’s license/permit/ID cards do have some limitations on them.

Those are:

1) it can not be used to register to vote (you and I know that, but how many people who are registering people to vote, are going to know that or even abide by it?)
2) it can not be used as a legitimate ID to enter government buildings (big penalty huh?)
3) it can not be used to board aircraft (well, yes it can and the TSA in California is already allowing it: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/01/29/democrats-lie-illegals-fly-new-ca-licenses-accepted-by-tsa/

Other than that, it is the exact same license as you and I received. It can be used as official identification and/or for driving purposes just like the one you have. There are no driving restrictions placed on the “restricted” driver’s license/permit. The Reps supporting it like to mince words and say it is “NOT A LICENSE”. It is a “RESTRICTED driving PERMIT”. Well what’s the difference if those are the only restrictions placed on it?

This has nothing to do with the “broken immigration system” or “the failure of Washington to do their job” excuses the Reps are espousing. The Supreme Court of the U.S. has ruled that States DO HAVE THE RIGHT to protect themselves by enforcing those very same Federal laws against illegal immigration, at the State level. In fact, anyone who fails to enact and enforce those laws at the State level is just as guilty of a dereliction of duty as our Legislators in D.C. are.

Quite frankly, lawmakers who actively support making it easier for illegal aliens in N.C. are, violating the U.S. Constitution (Title 8 – Chapter 12 – Subchapter II – Part VIII – § 1324 – Aiding, Abetting, Harboring, or Encouraging Illegal Aliens).

They are violating their N.C. oath of office:

“I, __________, do solemnly swear affirm that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the Constitution and laws of North Carolina not inconsistent therewith; that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the State of North Carolina, and to the constitutional powers and authorities which are or may be established for the government thereof; and that I will endeavor to support, maintain and defend the Constitution of said State, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, to the best of my knowledge and ability; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my office; so help me, God.”

And they are violating North Carolina General Statute N.C.G.S. § 14-230. (willfully failing to discharge duties), North Carolina Constitution Art I Sec 5 (Allegiance to the United States) and Sec 29 (Treason against the State) and as such are guilty of misbehavior in office and should be charged with such.

On the one hand H328 offers some very good enforcement measures that deter illegal immigration into N.C., and on the other hand it offers a huge incentive for illegal aliens to come to N.C. , all within the same bill.

Why jump through all these hoops to accommodate illegal aliens who shouldn’t be here in the first place. Simply enforce the law, they will leave, and we won’t have to go through all these contortions.

Why are we rewarding people who have broken the law, with a North Carolina driver’s license/permit?

Unless you agree with this type of action by your lawmakers, I urge you to contact your State Representative and demand they “Remove section 6 and THEN pass the bill”.

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This Is Bad: U.S. lawmakers agree on wording of bill key to TPP Pacific trade deal

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), who is attending his first hearing as chairman after the retirement of Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) makes opening remarks as on hearings on President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2015 Budget, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, March 5, 2014…. REUTERS/MIKE THEILER

Senior U.S. lawmakers reached agreement on Thursday on the wording of a bill aimed at giving the White House “fast track” authority to negotiate a Pacific trade pact that is central to President Barack Obama’s strategic shift toward Asia.

The agreement, over six months in the making, sets the stage for a bruising legislative battle over Obama’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and similar trade deals, with many Democrats opposed to the legislation along with a small but vocal contingent of Republicans.

The TPP, a potential legacy-defining achievement for Obama, would connect a dozen economies by cutting trade barriers and harmonizing standards covering two-fifths of the world economy and a third of global trade.

The bill gives lawmakers the right to set negotiating objectives, but would restrict them to a yes-or-no vote on trade deals such as the TPP.

The Obama administration announced in late 2009 that it was entering TPP negotiations with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

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Signs That The Elite Are Feverishly Preparing For Something BIG

Police State Riot Control Exercise - Public Domain

What in the world are the elite up to?  In recent days, we have learned that the New York Fed is moving a lot of operations to Chicago because of concerns about what a “natural disaster” could do, the federal government is buying 62 million rounds of ammunition commonly used in AR-15 semi-automatic rifles for “training” purposes, and NORAD is moving back into Cheyenne Mountain because it is “EMP-hardened”.  In addition, government authorities have scheduled a whole host of unusual “training exercises” all over the nation.  So are the elite doing all of this in order to prepare for something really BIG, or should we just chalk up all of this strange activity to rampant government paranoia?

First, let’s talk about what the New York Fed has been doing.  What kind of natural disaster would be bad enough to completely shut down the operations of the New York Federal Reserve Bank?  It would have to be something very unusual, and apparently the New York Fed is very concerned that such an event could happen.  According to Reuters, the New York Fed has been transferring personnel to Chicago and building up its satellite office there just in case a “natural disaster” makes it impossible for normal operations to continue in New York…

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It appears that the “elites” are about to replace the ballot box with the cartridge box. Got Faith?

David DeGerolamo

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Global Futures Slide After Worldwide Bloomberg Outage, China Tumbles

Just as China was closing for trade and Europe was opening, something previously unseen happened: no, not another another GPIF or Virtu inspired marketwide stop squeeze, those are quite recurring these days. It was every Bloomberg terminal around the globe suddenly going dark.

This promptly led to widespread panic among traders mostly in Europe, who were flying blind and unable to chat with other, just as clueless colleagues (the one function used predominantly on the terminal is not charts, nor analytics, but plain old chat).

It got so bad that in a world in which everything has become automated, Europe was forced to delay or cancel pricing various bond deals.

As the WSJ observed, the U.K.’s Debt Management announced in a statement Friday morning that it was postponing a scheduled buy-back of government debt ”due to ongoing technical issues with the third party platform supplier,” and that bids already submitted would be declared null and void. A spokesperson confirmed that the supplier is Bloomberg.

In short if the “terrorists” want to take down the financial world, all they have to do is crash the chat system used by global bond traders. As a reminder, equity “traders” speak in nanosecond bursts of binary, and don’t need Bloomberg.

The WSJ continued: “It’s scary how dependent we have become on our Bloomberg screens,” said Anthony Peters, a strategist at London-based capital markets adviser SwissInvest. “We had [bond] deals which are not going ahead due to this,” one London-based banker said, other bankers said that trading volumes had fallen as a result of the outage.

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