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The real danger to the current institutional order was just demonstrated in Sweden. While I’ve talked at length about the potential financial contagion stemming from the implosion of multiple emerging market currencies it is the growing political crisis in Europe that will shape our future.

Sweden is The Land where Socialism Works, or so I keep getting told by ignorant leftists who cling to the power fantasy that central planning is the only way to make the trains run on time.

Central planning does do that, but only to deliver people into the nightmare of social disorder brought on by the disruption of the natural flow of capital.

Venezuela, South Africa, Soviet Union, post WWII Britain … you get the idea.

But, the effects of the collectivist mindset are far more pernicious than those extreme examples. And it is important we understand how little policies grow into big problems over time due to shaping people’s decisions through government edicts.

Corps Insanity

There is no better example for what I’m talking about than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A completely useless organization which sucks up billions in tax money to straighten rivers, build dams and alter the landscape to fit the needs of whoever paid Congress the most in lobbying money that year.

They engage in projects that cannot easily be done in the free market, nor should be done. But their activity creates downstream effects from their meddling which multiply over years and lead to problems which are orders of magnitude larger than they would have ever become naturally.

The Red Tides occurring off the Florida coast now are a political cudgel being swung at Governor Rick Scott to prevent him from moving up to U.S. Senator over his ‘environmental record.’ Now I’m no fan of Skeletor, as we call him down here, but these charges are simply grandstanding.

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

BREAKING: The ENTIRE Swedish Home Guard Was Just Mobilized

June 6, 2018

BREAKING: The ENTIRE Swedish Home Guard Was Just Mobilized

A few weeks back, the government of Sweden sent out a booklet to every household in the country urging citizens to prepare for war or other crises. A few months back, they told citizens that they should be prepared to last for at least a week without any help from the government. Last night, in the most unsettling move yet, they mobilized the entire Swedish Home Guard for an “unannounced preparedness exercise.” All 40 battalions have been activated, effective immediately.

The report is on the Försvarsmakten website, which is the official website of the Swedish Armed Forces. Here’s the English translation:

For the first time since 1975, the Armed Forces carry out an unannounced emergency preparedness control of the entire Hemvärnet. All staff around Sweden who are part of one of the 40 home war battalions and who have the opportunity to attend the evening of 5 June and during the national day will be in charge of service. The alarm is ordered by the Armed Forces and participation in the exercise is voluntary.

“We are committed to strengthening Sweden’s defense and increasing our operational capabilities. This is a way to do it. This exercise is great in several ways. We are testing the emergency chain for almost half our intervention organization, we have not done since 1975, says Micael Bydén, the commander.

Initially, staff – from north to south – will be contacted and invited to stand for service. Thereafter, relations will begin to solve tasks, such as protection, guarding and patrolling. During the national day, home care personnel will be seen in many places around the country, from ports and airports to streets and squares. Since it is a voluntary exercise, the Armed Forces can not force anyone to settle, but the chief commander shows great confidence in his staff. (source)

What this means

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

Sweden Warns Every Single Household to Prep for WAR

May 22, 2018

Sweden Warns Every Single Household to Prep for WAR

The government of Sweden has produced a 20-page pamphlet which they’ll be sending to each of the 4.8 million households in the country urging them to get prepared for…WAR.

Although they haven’t been at war for over 200 years, for some reason, right now, they want their citizens to get prepped – and fast. This goes along with an article I wrote in January of 2018 when the government urged their people to be ready to cope “without help” for at least a week.

Shortly before Christmas, the Swedish government quietly published a paper called “Resilience.” Initially, the requirement had been for people to be prepared for 3 days without help, but it seems like that was a baby step. The government itself wants to be prepared for a 3-month long civil emergency and they’re urging citizens to take responsibility, too.

It really makes you wonder what is looming ahead, doesn’t it? (source)

This, however, is a direct approach, with the preparedness instructions delivered to their doors.

Here’s what the government of Sweden is recommending.

The booklet, titled, If Crisis or War Comes, is an updated version of one distributed in the 1980s. It was compiled by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and references several potential crises that could occur, according to the Swedish media:

disruptions to IT systems
incidents occurring in the rest of the world
climate change
increased tension in the Baltic region

The brochure warns Swedes of things that every prepper knows. “In the event of a societal emergency, help will be provided first to those who need it most. The majority must be prepared to cope on their own for some time.” Here’s what Swedish website The Local has to say about the warnings.

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

Thousands In Sweden Have Implanted Microchips Under Their Skin

May 20, 2018

Thousands In Sweden Have Implanted Microchips Under Their Skin

More than 3,000 people in Sweden have implanted tiny microchips beneath their skin to replace their credit card information, identification, keys, train tickets, among other everyday items, Agence France-Press announced Sunday.

The implant, which is about the size of a grain of rice, utilizes Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, also found in credit cards, debit cards, key fobs, and smartphones. This technology is considered “passive,” which means the microchip stores data that can be read by other devices but cannot read data themselves.

This might resemble an Orwellian nightmare to many, but in Sweden, residents are flocking to get these implanted microchips by “convenience over concerns of potential personal data violations,” AFP explained.

Governments in Europe quietly experimented with embedding the small chip in humans in 2015 in Sweden, and several other countries in the region, before the recent rollout.

“Swedes have gone on to be very active in microchipping, with scant debate about issues surrounding its use, in a country keen on new technology and where the sharing of personal information is held up as a sign of a transparent society,” AFP notes.

Ulrika Celsing is one of 3,000 Swedes with a microchip implanted in her hand — a process called “biohacking.” The 28-year-old told AFP, “It was fun to try something new and to see what one could use it for to make life easier in the future.”

Celsing explained that the microchip has turned into an “electronic handbag” and has even replaced her gym card.

She can even book a train ticket online, and then use her hand like a ticket to board a train.

Swedish rail company is trialing letting passengers use biometric chips as tickets. (Source: The Independent)

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

I Am Julian Assange

May 17, 2018

I Am Julian Assange

Carl Spitzweg The raven 1845

Julian Assange appears to be painfully close to being unceremoniously thrown out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London. If that happens, the consequences for journalism, for freedom of speech, and for press freedom, will resound around the world for a very long time. It is very unwise for anyone who values truth and freedom to underestimate the repercussions of this.

In essence, Assange is not different from any journalist working for a major paper or news channel. The difference is he published what they will not because they want to stay in power. The Washington Post today would never do an investigation such as Watergate, and that’s where WikiLeaks came in.

It filled a void left by the media that betrayed their own history and their own field. Betrayed the countless journalists throughout history, and today, who risked their lives and limbs, and far too often lost them, to tell the truth about what powers that be do when they think nobody’s looking or listening.

Julian is not wanted because he’s a spy, or even because he published a number of documents whose publication was inconvenient for certain people. He is wanted because he is so damn smart, which makes him very good and terribly effective at what he does. He’s on a most wanted list not for what he’s already published, but for what he might yet publish in the future.

He built up WikiLeaks into an organization that acquired the ultimate trust of many people who had access to documents they felt should be made public. They knew he would never betray their trust. WikiLeaks has to date never published any documents that were later found out to be false. It never gave up a source. No documents were ever changed or manipulated for purposes other than protecting sources and other individuals.

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

Even the World’s Most Cashless Nation Doesn’t Want to Go Fully Cashless

March 28, 2018

Even the World’s Most Cashless Nation Doesn’t Want to Go Fully Cashless

It’s too risky and systematically excludes the most vulnerable people.

There are small but growing signs that Europe’s “War on Cash” is not going exactly according to plan. First, a number of central bankers began voicing concerns about its potential ramifications. Now, even in Sweden, the first European country to enlist its own citizens as largely willing guinea pigs in an economic experiment — negative interest rates in a cashless society — public support is beginning to waver.

Initially, the plan was so successful that by 2017 the amount of cash in circulation had dropped to the lowest level since 1990 and was more than 40% below its 2007 peak, earning Sweden a reputation as the world’s “most cashless nation.” The declines in 2016 and 2017 were the biggest on record. An annual survey by Insight Intelligence found that in 2017, only 25% of Swedes paid in cash at least once a week, down from 63% just four years before; and 36% never used cash at all, or just pay with it once or twice a year.

But that doesn’t mean everyone is on board. In a recent survey, an overwhelming 68% of the respondents stated that they would not like to live in a fully cashless society. The survey, commissioned by Bankomat AB, an ATM chain company representing an alliance of Swedish banks that admittedly has a vested interest in preserving cash’s role as a means of payment, polled over 2,000 people aged 18-65.

Opinions differed markedly between age groups but in no single demographic was there a majority in favor of abolishing physical currency. Among the 18-29 year old respondents 56% declared that they still want to keep cash while 38% said they would welcome a cashless society. Among the survey’s oldest demographic, the 65-year-olds, 85% wanted to keep cash.

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

Sweden Unveils Plans For ‘Total Societal Mobilization’ Against Russia

March 21, 2018

Sweden Unveils Plans For ‘Total Societal Mobilization’ Against Russia

In yet another sign of what Russia expert Stephen Cohen has described as the escalating New Cold War, non-NATO aligned Sweden is initiating detailed plans to ready itself for total societal mobilization in response to military attack from a major external power. As Aaron Mehta points out in his exclusive for Defense News entitled Fortress Sweden: Inside the plan to mobilize Swedish society against Russia, that major external power is none other than Russia, whose heavily militarized port of Kaliningrad lies a little over 220 miles across the ocean from Sweden.

During past Cold War decades, Sweden (along with other non-NATO Nordic country Finland) was known for keeping painstakingly detailed survival readiness plans in case of a great power invasion, down to “how parking garages were designed so you could use them as shelters” according to Magnus Nordenman of the Atlantic Council. But the program was left derelict after the collapse of the Soviet Union and a new era of peace meant the end of such “total defense” plans.

Image source: Quora

But in 2017 a government sponsored commission was formed to investigate and lay the groundwork for plans to resurrect and update plans for total Swedish societal mobilization. Though the commissions findings were not set to be delivered until May 2019, it produced a 6-page preliminary findings report late last year (out of a total working report of 243 pages), likely in response to increased tensions between NATO and Russia in the Baltic region.

According to Defense News:

The report estimates that between 2021 and 2025, Sweden will need to invest 4.2 billion krona (U.S. $510.5 million) per year on its total defense proposals. While not a major spend by American defense levels, that is a serious investment for Sweden, especially considering it is additional money on top of what the country intends to invest in its armed forces.

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

Swedish Central Bank Voice Alarm

March 1, 2018

Swedish Central Bank Voice Alarm

QUESTION: Hi Martin,

Yesterday the Swedish Riksbank Chairman Stefan Ingves went on prime time TV expressing fear that public authorities are losing control over the Swedish currency! He also on prime time TV asked rhetorically -We have asked our self what is money?! Can you believe that!?

What the heck is going on? The Chairman of the WORLDS OLDEST CENTRAL BANK goes on prime time TV expressing fear for the public to lose confidence in the Swedish KRONA! Also saying that private companies are taking control over the currency and that cryptocurrencies are a threat.

I know the Swedish Krona is a small currency but one of the oldest still alive today. What does Socrates say about the Swedish Krona?

Stefan Ingves also yesterday published a long article in Dagens Nyheter, a national magazine expressing the same fear. A large finance paper published an article yesterday about this issue. Here is the link.

ANSWER: Sweden is the oldest Central Bank. That is where it all began. The first true banknotes for circulation appeared in Sweden, and these were actually used by the government to support its wars with Germany. In 1661, the government established a 30-year monopoly for its Stockholm Banco to issue these banknotes known as “letters of credit” that were to be payable in Swedish copper plate money that was extremely heavy weighing almost 15 kilos. It was not very practical for actual circulation. However, this practice was abused and ended up supporting the king. This led to the first banking panic in 1663 when there were more obligations than money to now redeem the notes. The bank was forced to close in 1664.

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

Is Sweden complicit in war crimes in Yemen?

February 22, 2018

Is Sweden complicit in war crimes in Yemen?

Despite the documented crimes of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Sweden continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A Yemeni man inspects the damage caused by an alleged Saudi-led air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 February 2018. Picture by Hani Al-Ansi/DPA/PA Images. All rights reserved. Despite Sweden leading a few special UN sessions in response to the acute humanitarian crisis in Yemen, it still has not demonstrated a political appetite to stop its arms sales to the most active warring parties in the Yemen war: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Swedish parliament is due to discussits governmental policies on Swedish arms exports, on the 28th of February – and anti-militarization Swedish groups are demanding that Sweden halts all its arms sales to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Human rights groups have documented serious attacks committed by both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis

In the course of the ongoing war in Yemen human rights groups have documented serious attacks committed by both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis against civilian sites. These attacks appear to have violated international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes. While the Houthis grew their military power ever since they overtook Sana’a on September 2014, with the support of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Saudi-led coalition’s military activities in Yemen were only possible because of their weapon supplies from several western countries – including Sweden.

The Yemen Data Project reveals that since 2015, nearly one-third of Saudi air raids hit non-military sites; such as schools, hospitals, weddings, funerals among many other civilian targets. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both documented dozens of unlawful coalition airstrikes, some of which may amount to war crimes.

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

Swedish Authorities Fear “Negative Spiral” As Society Goes Cashless ‘Too Fast’

February 21, 2018

Swedish Authorities Fear “Negative Spiral” As Society Goes Cashless ‘Too Fast’

In 1660, Sweden’s Riksbank was the first central bank in the world to issue paper currency.

In 2016, Sweden began to accelerate its transition from cash to digital currency.

At the time, Deputy Riksbank Governor Cecilia Skingsley warned:

“We need to do the homework because it’s not an option for the public sector to stay on the sidelines and see the private sector cut off access to central bank money for individuals.”

A year later, in 2017, cash in circulation was plummeting and establishment economists celebrated the battle in the war on cash.

Additionally, Riksbank was actively looking toward cryptocurrencies as potential government-backed money.

But now, in 2018, Swedish officials are worried that too much (or too little in this case) is a bad thing warning:

“If this development with cash disappearing happens too fast, it can be difficult to maintain the infrastructure” for handling cash.

As Bloomberg reports, Sweden is widely regarded as the most cashless society on the planet. Most of the country’s bank branches have stopped handling cash; many shops, museums and restaurants now only accept plastic or mobile payments.

But there’s a downside, since many people, in particular the elderly, don’t have access to the digital society.

“No cash accepted” signs are becoming an increasingly common sight in shops and eateries across Sweden as payments go digital and mobile.

Last year, the amount of cash in circulation in Sweden dropped to the lowest level since 1990 and is more than 40 percent below its 2007 peak. The declines in 2016 and 2017 were the biggest on record.

But the pace at which cash is vanishing has authorities worried.

“One may get into a negative spiral which can threaten the cash infrastructure,” Mats Dillen, the head of the parliamentary review, said.

“It’s those types of issues we are looking more closely at.”

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

‘No Cash’ Signs Everywhere Has Sweden Worried It’s Gone Too Far

February 19, 2018

‘No Cash’ Signs Everywhere Has Sweden Worried It’s Gone Too Far

Cash usage declining both as share of GDP and in nominal terms
Riksbank committee could publish report on issue in summer

Sweden ‘Most Cashless’ Society in the World

The value oof notes and coins in circulation are the lowest in nearly 30 years. Bloomberg’s Amanda Billner reports.

“No cash accepted” signs are becoming an increasingly common sight in shops and eateries across Sweden as payments go digital and mobile.

But the pace at which cash is vanishing has authorities worried. A broad review of central bank legislation that’s under way is now taking a special look at the situation, with an interim report due as early as the summer.

Going Cashless: Bad for Tax Cheats, Privacy, the Poor: QuickTake

“If this development with cash disappearing happens too fast, it can be difficult to maintain the infrastructure” for handling cash, said Mats Dillen, the head of the parliamentary review. He declined to give more details on the types of proposals that could be included in the report.

Sweden is widely regarded as the most cashless society on the planet. Most of the country’s bank branches have stopped handling cash; many shops, museums and restaurants now only accept plastic or mobile payments. But there’s a downside, since many people, in particular the elderly, don’t have access to the digital society.

“One may get into a negative spiral which can threaten the cash infrastructure,” Dillen said. “It’s those types of issues we are looking more closely at.”

Last year, the amount of cash in circulation in Sweden dropped to the lowest level since 1990 and is more than 40 percent below its 2007 peak. The declines in 2016 and 2017 were the biggest on record.

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

The UK’s Hidden Hand in Julian Assange’s Detention

February 13, 2018

The UK’s Hidden Hand in Julian Assange’s Detention

Photo by Billy Bob Bain | CC BY 2.0

It now emerges that the last four years of Julian Assange’s effective imprisonment in the Ecuadorean embassy in London have been entirely unnecessary. In fact, they depended on a legal charade.

Behind the scenes, Sweden wanted to drop the extradition case against Assange back in 2013. Why was this not made public? Because Britain persuaded Sweden to pretend that they still wished to pursue the case.

In other words, for more than four years Assange has been holed up in a tiny room, policed at great cost to British taxpayers, not because of any allegations in Sweden but because the British authorities wanted him to remain there. On what possible grounds could that be, one has to wonder? Might it have something to do with his work as the head of Wikileaks, publishing information from whistleblowers that has severely embarrassed the United States and the UK.

In fact, Assange should have walked free years ago if this was really about an investigation – a sham one at that – into an alleged sexual assault in Sweden. Instead, as Assange has long warned, there is a very different agenda at work: efforts to extradite him onwards to the US, where he could be locked away for good. That was why UN experts argued two years ago that he was being “arbitrarily detained” – for political crimes – not unlike the situation of dissidents in other parts of the world that win the support of western liberals and leftists.

According to a new, limited release of emails between officials, the Swedish director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, wrote to Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service on 18 October 2013, warning that Swedish law would not allow the case for extradition to be continued.

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

From the Moneyness Blog: Electronic Money Will Only Save Central Banks From Subjugation if it is Anonymous

February 9, 2018

FROM THE MONEYNESS BLOG: ELECTRONIC MONEY WILL ONLY SAVE CENTRAL BANKS FROM SUBJUGATION IF IT IS ANONYMOUS

50 SEK banknote issued by the Riksbank in 1960

“Do we need an eKrona?” asks Stefan Ingves, the Governor of the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. The Riksbank is probably the central bank that has advanced the furthest in discussions surrounding the introduction of a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC)—a new form of risk-free digital money for use by the public. Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the ECB, and China are also dissecting the idea, with more central banks to come in 2018.

Sweden is approaching the issue from a unique angle, says Ingves. It is the only country in the world showing a consistent decline in cash and coin usage. I’ve written about this interesting pattern here, here, and here. Below is a chart:

Ingves floats two theories. Either the Swedish public no longer wants central bank money, or alternatively they do want central bank money but not the type that is “made of pieces of paper,” preferring instead an as-yet non-existent digital alternative. If so, then it may be the Riksbank’s duty to provide that alternative, says Ingves.

Duty is an admirable motivation, but let me propose another reason for why the Riksbank is exploring the idea of an eKrona—self preservation. I think Sweden’s central bank is terrified that it will become powerless in the future. It is desperately casting around for solutions to resuscitate itself, one of these being an eKrona. This fear is rooted in the fact that declining cash usage has led to a collapse in the resources that the Riksbank believes that it needs to function.

These worries about powerlessness are shared by central bankers around the world, many of whom expect advances in private payments technology to lead them to the same cash-light world that Sweden is currently entering.

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

Sweden Is Preparing For A “Civil War”: PM Wants To Deploy Army In No-Go Zones

January 18, 2018

Sweden Is Preparing For A “Civil War”: PM Wants To Deploy Army In No-Go Zones

For the first time since World War II, Sweden is preparing to distribute a civil defense brochure to some 4.7 million households, warning them about the onset of war.

The booklet will serve as a manual of “total defense” in case of a war, and provide details on how to secure basic needs such as water, food, and heating, the FT reported. The manual also covers other threats such as cyber attacks, terrorism, and climate change.

“All of society needs to be prepared for conflict, not just the military. We haven’t been using words such as total defense or high alert for 25-30 years or more. So the knowledge among citizens is very low,” said Christina Andersson, head of the project at the Swedish civil contingencies agency.

The survivalist manual or better known by some as a preppers guide is called “If Crisis or War Comes,” will be published by the government in late spring. Its publication comes at a time when the threat of war from Russia is high, well, possibly, but that is what the mainstream media has conditioned many to believe.

What if the threat is not from Russia, but one that is domestic?

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that Sweden would do whatever it takes, including sending in the army, to end the wave of gang violence situated in the no-go zones around the country. Sweden’s murder rate has been relatively low over the years, but thanks to the migrant crisis, police are powerless in many areas across the country.

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

The Swedish Government Is Warning Citizens to Be Prepared for at Least a Week Without Help

January 10, 2018

The Swedish Government Is Warning Citizens to Be Prepared for at Least a Week Without Help

The Swedish government is warning its citizens to be prepared to survive on their own for at least a week, which is unusual advice for Sweden to dispense. Is there trouble on the horizon?

Shortly before Christmas, the Swedish government quietly published a paper called “Resilience.” Initially, the requirement had been for people to be prepared for 3 days without help, but it seems like that was a baby step. The government itself wants to be prepared for a 3-month long civil emergency and they’re urging citizens. to take responsibility, too.

It really makes you wonder what is looming ahead, doesn’t it?

A publication called SVT reported today:

“Because we have the security policy situation we have today, we say that we will make our planning at government level to face a security crisis for three months,” says Eva-Lena Fjällström, Deputy Director of the County Administrative Board in Västerbotten.

Previously, it has been said that citizens will be able to cope for three days in the event of a crisis. Now it’s extended to one week.

“I think it’s important that you can manage yourself. Society has changed and is vulnerable and complex with many dependencies. It can easily be a disturbance so we have to manage ourselves, “says Eva-Lena Fjällström. (source)

The same publication provided video instructions for putting together a “crisis box.”

The Swedish government is also urging young people to get better prepared.

It’s also interesting to note that back in November, an article introducing the idea of preparedness was published and geared toward 18-year-olds. (One must also wonder if this is a gentle nudge toward a potential draft?) It referenced a study done to measure the preparedness levels of the country’s young people.

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

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