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The horrific attacks in Paris on Friday have, predictably, led to much over-reaction and demands that we do more of the exact things that radicalize people and make them want to attack us. The French military wasted no time bombing Syria in retaliation for the attacks, though it is not known where exactly the attackers were from. Thousands of ISIS fighters in Syria are not Syrian, but came to Syria to overthrow the Assad government from a number of foreign countries — including from France and the US.

Ironically, the overthrow of Assad has also been the goal of both the US and France since at least 2011.

Because the US and its allies are essentially on the same side as ISIS and other groups – seeking the overthrow of Assad – many of the weapons they have sent to the more “moderate” factions also seeking Assad’s ouster have ended up in the hands of radicals. Moderate groups have joined more radical factions over and over, taking their US-provided training and weapons with them. Other moderate groups have been captured or killed, their US-provided weapons also going to the radicals. Thus the more radical factions have become better equipped and better trained, while occasionally being attacked by US or allied planes.

Does anyone not believe this is a recipe for the kind of disaster we have now seen in Paris? The French in particular have been very active in arming even the more radical groups in Syria, as they push for more political influence in the region. Why do they still refuse to believe in the concept of blowback? Is it because the explanation that, “they hate us because we are free,” makes it easier to escalate abroad and crack down at home?

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

As CO2 Levels Rise, Obama Still All Talk And No Action

November 16, 2015

As CO2 Levels Rise, Obama Still All Talk And No Action

After joining Facebook last week, the President used his very first video post to address the issue of climate change. The President said in the video: “Now, we’ve made a lot of progress to cut carbon pollution here at home, and we’re leading the world to take action as well. But we’ve got to do more. In a few weeks, I’m heading to Paris to meet with world leaders about a global agreement to meet this challenge.”

While the President’s detractors attacked him for believing something so foolish, the people who have been paying attention to Obama’s actions in recent years have an entirely different, and legitimate, reason to question the President’s message. Namely, President Obama has done very little to fulfill his lofty promises about tackling climate change.

Yes, we got a rule from the EPA to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants. Yes, the Keystone XL pipeline has been rejected (for now.) And yes, we finally have a President of the United States that both accepts the science of climate change and believes that we should do something about it. But that’s roughly where the accomplishments end.

As President Obama was recording his urgent Facebook plea to act on climate change, a new report came out that received far less fanfare than the President’s social media prowess. This new report, from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), tells us that global CO2 emissions hit record highs in 2014, and that 2015 is on track to at least match those same levels.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Syria, climate change and the horror in Paris

November 16, 2015

Syria, climate change and the horror in Paris

As the world mourns those who died in Paris last week in a killing spree for which the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility, reporters and commentators have been discussing the motivations behind the attacks. I’m not sure that any so far has considered whether one can draw a straight line from a severe drought in Syria to these mass killings. My own answer is that if the line is there–and I think it is–then it has taken many twists and turns before arriving in Paris.

Even so, it might be worthwhile for those who will soon be gathering in this bereaved city in order to negotiate a new worldwide climate treaty to understand any such connection. For in the background behind these events, there is a Syria starved of water almost surely because of climate change.

A study released earlier this year suggested that the first link in the causal chain that led to the current conflict in Syria was a severe drought lasting from 2006 through 2009, a drought that yielded some of the strongest evidence yet for the link between climate change and increasingly extreme droughts.

As The New York Times reported last March:

Some social scientists, policy makers and others have previously suggested that the drought played a role in the Syrian unrest, and the researchers addressed this as well, saying the drought “had a catalytic effect.” They cited studies that showed that the extreme dryness, combined with other factors, including misguided agricultural and water-use policies of the Syrian government, caused crop failures that led to the migration of as many as 1.5 million people from rural to urban areas. This in turn added to social stresses that eventually resulted in the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

How to Survive a Terrorist Attack

November 16, 2015

How to Survive a Terrorist Attack

When horrible events happen, people want to know why. Why was a random group of people targeted to have their innocent day destroyed by violence and terror? Why did the culprit choose that group of victims, that day on the calendar, that specific location? And who? Who was the mastermind behind the event? Who were the members of the group that perpetrated the horror?

This is always followed by the speculation that things are not as they have been presented to us. Most people in the preparedness world have a very valid mistrust of the corporate-sponsored mainstream media. We look to other sources for our news, and rightly so.

Every time, that speculation includes accusations that our own government is behind it, pulling the strings. Other frequent theories are that the events never actually happened at all and that the victims are 100% made up of crisis actors.

The pursuit of the truth is an important quest. Some journalists have dedicated their entire lives to uncovering the Machiavellian plots of those who pull the strings and it’s a noble and meaningful calling.

And that is why what I’m about to say is controversial and probably won’t be well-received.

Strictly from a survival point of view, it doesn’t matter at all who committed the acts of terror that occurred on 9/11, on the streets of Boston, or on the other evening in Paris. It doesn’t matter whether the shooting at Sandy Hook was perpetrated by a kid with behavioral issues or by operatives with an agenda.

If your focus is preparedness and survival, the most important thing you can be doing right now is learning from these events.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Paris Attack Will Foster an Orwellian Police State

November 16, 2015

Paris Attack Will Foster an Orwellian Police State

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Since November 13, 2015, France entered a state of shock. Friday the 13th will no longer be only associated with exploitation Hollywood horror flicks, but will become forever linked in the collective psyche to the mayhem in Paris that occurred on that fateful night. It took only about 10 people, plus a few more to organize the logistics of it, to bring France to a worse predicament than the one that was created by the attack on the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo in early January 2015. The French press wrote sensationalist headlines stating that the new tragedy, which killed more than 200 people and seriously injured more than 80, was a declaration of war.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) quickly claimed the seven coordinated attacks, and some social media accounts linked to ISIS mentioned France as one of its primary targets. As ISIS identified itself as the culprit, the macabre message sent by the organization and its implications for worldwide public opinion was rather simple: we can hit anywhere, at anytime, and any target will be considered fair game. The French government’s reaction was both panicked and swift, and it immediately embraced repressive authoritarian measures similar to those that had been set up by the Bush administration in the aftermath of 9-11-2001. Just like 9-11 in the United States, it seems that the way France’s bloody Friday will be exploited matters more than the tragedy itself. There is no better justification to crack down on civil liberty, freedom and other principles that define the essence of democracy than the good old permanent global war on terror.

French President François Hollande’s cabinet met at midnight and issued some decrees. A nationwide state of emergency was declared, as well as the establishment of tight control at all French borders.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Widespread Terrorism Is Just Part Of The Perfect Storm That Is Now Descending On The Western World

November 16, 2015

Widespread Terrorism Is Just Part Of The Perfect Storm That Is Now Descending On The Western World

Words cannot adequately describe the utter horror that was unleashed on the streets of Paris, France on Friday. CNN is calling it “the worst violence witnessed in France since World War II“, and even though it happened a couple of days ago now, many of us are still having a really tough time processing what took place. Somehow, a small group of less than 10 radical Islamists was able to unleash a coordinated wave of attacks that killed at least 129 people and injured at least 350. All of this comes less than a year after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, and many in the western world are now starting to understand that something has fundamentally changed. Even though France has a highly advanced anti-terrorism infrastructure, and even though it also has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in Europe, none of that did anything to prevent these attacks. Despite all of our advanced technology, the openness of our society makes us highly vulnerable to Islamic terror. And as more waves of refugees from the Middle East are absorbed by both Europe and the United States, it is inevitable that there will be more attacks like this.

According to Google, the definition of a “soft target” is “a person or thing that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable, especially to military or terrorist attack.” And as we just saw in France, the western world is literally teeming with soft targets. I am talking about sporting events, concert halls, schools, churches, shopping malls, power stations, water treatment facilities, mass transit, etc.

For those that wish to create terror, the opportunities are endless.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

No Serious Financial Repercussions from the Paris Attacks? Don’t Be Too Sure

November 16, 2015

No Serious Financial Repercussions from the Paris Attacks? Don’t Be Too Sure

Global sentiment might switch decisively from “risk-on” to “risk-off” with far-reaching consequences.

Goldman Sachs has helpfully announced that any financial repercussions from the attacks in Paris will be short-lived, and the political repercussions will be medium-term: Increased uncertainty likely to weigh on activity and increase market volatility in the short run (via Zero Hedge).

The analogies invoked to support this rosy view are the attacks in Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005–tragedies that weighed very briefly on the global orgy of financial gains between 2003 and 2007.

But isn’t it obvious that the world of November 2015 is not the world of 2004?The global economy is not in a cycle of robust expansion of debt, wages, consumption, profits and stock valuations as it was in 2004.

Now, debt is softening or being revealed as impaired, wages are stagnant for the bottom 90%, real sales are down once subprime-auto-loan enabled vehicle purchases are subtracted, profits and forward projections for sales are crumbling, along with stock valuations.

The global financial system is fragile and vulnerable. Any number of relatively modest changes could push the entire shaky contraption off the cliff:

1. any increase in private-sector interest rates, for any reason

2. any faltering of global sentiment

3. externalities (disruptions from weather, war, shortages, a.k.a. grey swans)

4. unexpected crises (a.k.a. black swans)

5. any toppling-domino-like failure of counterparties as defaults pile up

Does this weekly chart of the S&P 500 look remotely bullish? Stochastics have rolled over in a “sell” signal, and MACD couldn’t even claw its way above the neutral line. Now MACD is also poised to roll over into a sell.

Does this chart of stocks, wages and real final sales look remotely bullish?Notice that all three have turned down, echoing the recessions and stock market collapses of 2001 and 2008.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The French Campaign Begins: Hollande Launches “Massive Bombardment” Of ISIS Capital

November 15, 2015

The French Campaign Begins: Hollande Launches “Massive Bombardment” Of ISIS Capital

Moments ago, reports began to surface on social media that the ISIS “capital” of Raqqa was under siege from the sky.

It wasn’t hard to guess whose planes were carrying out the strikes. As we noted ten days ago, in a statement by the French presidency following a meeting of its defense cabinet, the government said it would send its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle warship, to the eastern Mediterranean for operations against Isis in both Syria and Iraq. And as you might imagine, that’s not the only place Paris has warplanes stationed in the region.

Just yesterday we said that with the only French aircraft carrier already en route to Syria, meant to support to mission against Assad ISIS, France is oddly prepared for an all out attack to take out the Syrian president. Most importantly, it now has the outraged, incensed public’s blessing to do just that.

Sure enough, we just got confirmation that France, with the help of US intelligence, has commenced a “major” bombing campaign against Raqqa.

Daniel Sandford

✔@BBCDanielS

AFP are reporting a “massive bombardment” of the IS stronghold of Raqqa tonight by French jets, sourced to the Defence Ministry

3:39 PM – 15 Nov 2015

And so it begins.

From WSj, earlier today:

The U.S. is expanding intelligence sharing with France and has agreed to speed the delivery of detailed targeting information in support of possible French retaliatory strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, officials said.

In response to Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, the U.S. has started sharing so-called “targeting packages” with France, identifying Islamic State targets for strikes by French warplanes. It also plans to roll back restrictions that impede intelligence sharing to make it easier for France to intensify its air campaign.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

How Saudi/Gulf Money Fuels Terror

November 15, 2015

How Saudi/Gulf Money Fuels Terror

Exclusive: With the death toll in the Paris terror attacks still rising, French President Hollande is condemning an “act of war” by the Islamic State, but the underlying reality is that France’s rich friends in the Persian Gulf are key accomplices in the mayhem, writes Daniel Lazare.

In the wake of the latest terrorist outrage in Paris, the big question is not which specific group is responsible for the attack, but who’s responsible for the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in the first place. The answer that has grown increasingly clear in recent years is that it’s Western leaders who have used growing portions of the Muslim world as a playground for their military games and are now crying crocodile tears over the consequences.

This pattern had its beginnings in the 1980s in Afghanistan, where the Central Intelligence Agency and the Saudi royal family virtually invented modern jihadism in an effort to subject the Soviets to a Vietnam-style war in their own backyard. It was the case, too, in Iraq, which the United States and Great Britain invaded in 2003, triggering a vicious civil warfare between Shi‘ites and Sunnis.

Today, it’s the case in Yemen where the U.S. and France are helping Saudi Arabia in its massive air war against Houthi Shi‘ites. And it’s the case in Syria, the scene of the most destructive war game of them all, where Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states are channeling money and arms to Al Qaeda, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh), and similar forces with the full knowledge of the U.S.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

A Message to Europe – Prepare for Nationalism

November 15, 2015

A Message to Europe – Prepare for Nationalism

Although everyone watching has been convinced that Europe’s disastrous economy and related debt crisis would be the spark to unravel the European Union project, it appears history has its own plans.

While EU technocrats have demonstrated an uncanny ability to scheme, threaten, kick the can and lie their way around the debt crisis, the migrant crisis will prove to be a much graver threat to the project. Strikingly, all it took was a few weeks of unrelenting migrants crossing into EU borders to put an end what is essentially the only achievement of the European Union — the Schengen system of borderless travel.

Without that, what is the EU really? A collection of nation-states forced by bureaucrats to pretend they are part of an artificial fantasy superstate called Europe? An amalgamation of debt serfs and technocratic overlords? See what I’m getting at?

– From the post: Does the Migrant Crisis Represent the End of the European Union?

Before I get into the heart of this post, I want to make something perfectly clear. I am not cheering on any of what I see coming to the European continent. It will most likely be ugly, divisive, reactionary and potentially violent.

I am no more happy about what may become of Europe as I am happy about the destruction of the middle class in America. Or the decimation of civil liberties in the post-9/11 surveillance state. I could have echoed happy thoughts of solidarity and hope for the past five years of Central Bank, Wall Street and government theft as opposed to exposing oligarch crimes, but that wouldn’t have saved the American middle class either. Likewise, happy thoughts and positive thinking will not help Europe.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Blowback or False Flag in Paris?

November 14, 2015

Blowback or False Flag in Paris?

It’s too soon to know for sure. Given French complicity with ongoing US state terror throughout the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere, odds strongly favor the latter.

Multiple likely well-planned Friday night attacks in Paris had a disturbing aroma to them – including France’s knee-jerk police state reaction. More on this below. Here’s what happened.

At least seven apparently well-coordinated attacks occurred, gunmen with automatic weapons and suicide belts killing over 150 victims. Many others were injured. Stade de France stadium was struck during a football (soccer) match between France and Germany.

So was the Bataclan theater during a concert, restaurants full of patrons, a cinema, and pedestrians on Bichat Street, the Avenue de la Republique and Boulevard Beaumarchais.

Reports indicated other Paris locations were attacked, including the Forum des Halles shopping area attracting an estimated 150,000 daily visitors.

The predictable aftermath so far includes French President Francois Hollande declaring a state of emergency – effectively suspending constitutional rights under martial law.

“Two decisions will be taken,” Hollande announced. “The state of emergency will be decreed, which means several places will be closed off, and traffic will be limited in certain areas.”

“The state of emergency will apply across the country. The second decision I have taken is to close the borders, so that the people who have committed these crimes can be apprehended.”

“We know where this attack came from. We must show compassion and solidarity, but we must also show we are united. There is much to fear, but we must face these fears as a nation that knows how to muster its forces and will confront the terrorists.”

Heavily armed French soldiers were deployed around key Parisian locations. Five metro lines were shut. Orly airport flights were suspended. All city schools and universities were closed.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

It’s Just The Beginning: Martial Law Declared In Paris; Borders Sealed; Weapons Caches Found In Camps

November 14, 2015

It’s Just The Beginning: Martial Law Declared In Paris; Borders Sealed; Weapons Caches Found In Camps

A Friday night in Paris, France turned into a bloody rampage when at least two Muslim men armed with assault rifles left 160 dead and scores wounded. Some reports also indicate that suicide bombers were to blame for multiple explosions heard by witnesses.

A de facto state of Martial Law now exists in France, with mandatory curfews and the country’s borders sealed for the first time since the 1962 Algerian war. Paris authorities also announced a closure of all schools and universities in the French capital. Armored vehicles have been deployed around the city.

This is likely only the beginning for a wave of terror that could sweep the region in coming months and years. With hundreds of thousands of unidentified, fighting-age men having entered European borders in the last six months, the zones’ citizens from Germany to Hungary are, quite literally, up in arms.

In October we reported that Europeans were scrambling for guns amid the Islamic immigrant invasion and that Austrians were so desperate for personal protection that long guns across the entire country sold out within weeks.

In early November officials reportedly found a weapons cache at a Swedish migrant center, suggesting that citizens panicking to get firearms was completely justified.

Just hours before the Parisian massacre Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blasted European Union member states, claiming that there is a “master plan” for a political takeover of the continent:

The migrant invasion to Europe from the Middle East and Africa may be part of a left-wing plot to pack the continent with sympathetic voters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told Swiss magazine dieWeltwoche

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

French President Declares State Of Emergency, Enforces Curfew, Closes Borders, Reinforces Army

November 13, 2015

French President Declares State Of Emergency, Enforces Curfew, Closes Borders, Reinforces Army

In the wake of the stunning wave of bombings, shootouts, and hostage situations unfolding in Paris on Friday, French President Francois Hollande has closed the French border.

Addressing the nation, President Francois Hollande called on everyone to remain strong and show “compassion and unity.”

“There is much to fear, but we must face these fears as a nation that knows how to muster its forces and will confront the terrorists,” the president said.

He has also declared a state of emergency and called for more army assistance.

HOLLANDE SAYS STATE OF ALERT IMPOSED IN FRANCE
HOLLANDE SAYS CLOSING FRENCH BORDERS
HOLLANDE REQUESTS MILITARY REINFORCEMENT

The dramatic move comes amid an ongoing situation in the streets of Paris that will likely go down in history as one of the more daring terrorist attacks in history.

A series of bombs echoed through the streets followed by sporadic gunfire. What unfolded afterwards turned the streets into a veritable war zone with dozens killed thus far and a hostage situation involving some 100 people.

The move to close the border will likely serve as a rallying cry for those who oppose the accommodation of the millions of refugees seeking asylum in Europe.

The President ended his speech with “Vive la Republique et Vive la France.”

Burning Down the House

October 21, 2015

Burning Down the House

“To address the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve air quality, the District has teamed with other public and private stakeholders to … sequester carbon from biomass waste in a highly stable biochar, and produce renewable energy from the energy-rich byproduct syngas. “

It is no secret we live in house on fire.This December in Paris world leaders will meet for the 21st time in 22 years in an ongoing attempt to form a bucket brigade and put out the fire. Each time the fire is larger and less easy to control, and each time they end up going home without throwing a single drop of water. Among the issues are where the buckets are, who will be at the front of the line and who at the back, whether those less responsible for starting the fire can opt out of the work, or even rekindle the fire if it starts to lag, and whether, on a cost-risk-benefit analysis, it might be better to let it burn for a few more years before taking time away from profitable economic activities.

At the outskirts of this debate will be those of us in the UN Observer community who are yelling at the muddled delegates standing around watching the fire to please, will you, just do something! Of course, among the screaming rabble will be those who are quite certain there is no problem and doing nothing is the right course, and those who have placed their fate and the world’s in the hands of an all-knowing bearded Superman who can be relied on to save His chosen, even if everything else goes up in smoke. Their voices will blend with ours to make the cacophony even harder to parse.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Will the Paris Climate Talks Be Too Little and Too Late?

September 15, 2015

Will the Paris Climate Talks Be Too Little and Too Late?

At the upcoming U.N. climate conference, most of the world’s major nations will pledge to make significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But serious doubts remain as to whether these promised cuts will be nearly enough to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.

It’s Paris or bust. Climate diplomats are preparing for a United Nations climate conference in the French capital in December that scientists say is probably the last realistic chance for the world to prevent global warming going beyond 2 degrees Celsius. Some kind of a deal will probably be done. But will it be one more diplomatic fudge or a real triumph for the climate?

In the run-up to Paris, governments have been asked to deliver pledges to cut emissions of the greenhouse gases known to cause climate change. The pledges, covering the period between 2020, when the agreement should enter into force, and 2030, are known asIntended Nationally Determined Contributions, or INDCs in the U.N. jargon.

Getty Images

Christiana Figueres, U.N. chief climate negotiator

Major nations including the United States, China, the European Union, and Russia have submitted their INDCs. But unlike the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which only set targets for industrialized nations, all countries are expected to make pledges before Paris.

Many of the pledges sound ambitious, but analysis suggest they fall far short of what is likely to be needed to prevent warming beyond 2 degrees C (3.6 F) later this century — a goal set by nations at the Copenhagen climate negotiations in 2009. “It is clear that if the Paris meeting locks in present climate commitments for 2030, holding warming below 2 degrees could essentially become infeasible,” Bill Hare of Climate Analytics, a think tank, said during preliminary negotiations held in Bonn, Germany, this month.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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