Tuesday, August 14, 2012

In The News: Financial Collapse, Rumors Of War, Civil Unrest

Today's news hits almost all of the main topics that we follow daily:


Remember: Big Crisis = Big Change (as we await the formation of the "10 kings" stage in EU development):

Banks, investors and companies are bracing themselves for the possibility that the euro will break up -- and are thus increasing the likelihood that precisely this will happen.


There is increasing anxiety, particularly because politicians have not managed to solve the problems. Despite all their efforts, the situation in Greece appears hopeless. Spain is in trouble and, to make matters worse, Germany's Constitutional Court will decide in September whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is even compatible with the German constitution.

On the financial markets, the political wrangling over the right way to resolve the crisis has accomplished primarily one thing: it has fueled fears of a collapse of the euro.

The fear of a collapse is not limited to banks. Early last week, Shell startled the markets. "There's been a shift in our willingness to take credit risk in Europe," said CFO Simon Henry.

One person who has long expected the euro to break up is Philipp Vorndran, 50, chief strategist at Flossbach von Storch, a company that deals in asset management.

For the past three years, Vorndran has been preparing his clients for major changes in the composition of the monetary union.

Is the U.S. Administration bracing for a similar crisis and subsequent "unrest"?



The Department of Homeland Security is rushing to finish the acquisition of 750 million rounds of high-power ammunition that has already raised many eyebrows. In one week, the DHS should start expecting an arsenal that will make some armies jealous.

The DHS does not, however, answer why exactly they want to give its federal agents tasked with counterterrorism around 750 million rounds of ammo. On paper the proposal says their request is to fulfill training exercise requirements, but why is the DHS equipping their officers with the know-how to shoot a basketball-size hole in a human body?

And for those not keeping score, already this year the DHS has asked for upwards of 150 sets of full-body armor specifically to prepare law enforcement for any protests at the 2012 Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the 2013 Presidential Inauguration and other events of national significance. Oh, and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has admitted that she wants the agency to accumulate more surveillance drones to conduct domestic surveillance for the sake of “public safety.

But don’t worry: millions of rounds of high-powered ammo, stealth surveillance craft and an army of heavily armored federal agents is all for your own security.

According to the 2001 Executive Order that established the DHS signed by then-President George W Bush, the agency “will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States.”




Fears that federal authorities are preparing for mass civil unrest have increased after it was revealed that the Department of Homeland Security is planning to buy a further 750 million rounds of ammo in addition to the 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets already purchased earlier this year.





The upshot, per Barry Rubin, means that we now have a de facto Islamist dictator in charge of the most important Sunni state in the Middle East:

There is no parliament at present. He is now the democratically elected dictator of Egypt. True, he picked another career officer but he has now put forward the principle: he decides who runs the army. The generals can still advise Mursi. He can choose to listen to them or not. But there is no more dual power in Egypt but only one leader. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which has run Egypt since February 2011 is gone. Only Mursi remains and Egypt is now at his mercy.

Oh and to put the icing on the cake, Mursi will apparently decide who will be on the commission that writes the new Constitution

This is a coup. Mursi is bound by no constitution. He can do as he pleases unless someone is going to stop him. And the only candidate–the military–is fading fast, far faster than even we pessimists would have predicted.




The Hizbullah terror leadership claimed Monday that its missiles can now reach all of Israeli territory.

Speaking at a ceremony in southern Lebanon, Nabil Ka'uk announced from the podium that “Hizbullah rockets can reach all Israeli settlements,” referring to Israeli towns and cities. The reference by Ka'uk, who is deputy director for Hizbullah's terror activities, included all territory, including that liberated in the 1967 Six Day War, and those that preceded it

IDF military intelligence experts have estimated that Hizbullah has stockpiled tens of thousands of missiles in varying ranges, all of which are pointed at various locations within the Jewish State.




The US would not necessarily join in were Israel to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, an unnamed source in the Obama Administration told Israel’s Channel 2 News on Monday.

Israeli media has been full of reports in recent days, based on leaks and off-the-record briefings by senior figures, suggesting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are close to deciding on an Israeli attack to thwart Iran — despite opposition from the US, and from current and former domestic security chiefs.


A second Israeli TV report on Monday night went so far as to specify the ostensible timeframe for a possible Israeli attack, based in part on a tentative meeting scheduled between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu is set to meet the president — in Washington, rather than as previously thought at the UN General Assembly in New York — between September 28 and October 1.

The timeframe for an Israeli attack, the report suggested, would thus be sometime between October 2 and the presidential elections on November 6. Immediately after the US elections, Israel could presumably not defy a newly elected president. And fairly soon after that, it might be too late for Israel to stop Iran because of the Iranians’ progress and the limitations of Israel’s military capacity.


Below we see a scenario which is entirely consistent with the expectations based upon biblical prophecy:


Channel 10 went on to predict the likely consequences of an Israeli attack in terms of retaliatory missiles fired by Iran and its allies such as Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

While Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah in 2006 saw 4,500 rockets and missiles fired into Israel, an Israeli attack on Iran would prompt the firing of 50,000 missiles into Israel, the report said, citing what it said were “assessments in Jerusalem.” The death toll would be estimated 500 Israelis, it said, citing a figure mentioned in the past by Barak.


Now we see a predictable response by the leader of the Gog-MaGog coalition:




Russia harshly criticized new U.S. sanctions against Iran on Monday, calling them “overt blackmail” and a "crude contradiction of international law," warning that relations between Washington and Moscow could significantly soar if Russian companies are affected.

"We are talking about restrictive measures not only against Iran but also affecting foreign companies and individuals working with it, including in the hydrocarbon extraction and transport, petrochemicals, finance and insurance industries," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"We consider efforts to ... impose internal American legislation on the entire world completely unacceptable," it said. "We reject methods of overt blackmail that the United States resorts to in relation to the companies and banks of other countries."



The Syrian opposition calls for international powers to impose a no-fly zone in areas bordering on Jordan and Turkey. The president of the Syrian National Council, Abdelbaset Sieda, the head of Syria's main opposition group in exile, made this call just hours after Washington said it was mulling exactly such a possibility.


During a visit to Istanbul on Saturday US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the establishment of a no-fly zone over some parts of Syria would strengthen the hand of the anti-Assad opposition. The creation of such a zone over Libya last year seriously constrained the use of pro-Gaddafi aviation and artillery. France, Britain and then NATO made ample use of it to eventually bring about a regime change in Libya and this is exactly what may now happen in Syria. Says Adzhar Kurtov, an expert with the Institute of Strategic Assessments in Moscow.

Americans may try to make it happen in circumvention of the Council, which will set the stage for a ground operation and we already see signs of this in the recent concentrations of armor and artillery along the country’s border with Turkey and Jordan"


Fighting broke out between Jordanian and Syrian forces in a border region between the two countries on Friday involving a number of armored vehicles on both sides. There have been no immediate reports of any one killed or wounded, but it is already obvious that the Syrian conflict is spilling over into neighboring Jordan.

Meanwhile, with war increasing around the globe and even more rumors of war, the U.S. will dramatically cut its defense budget:




23 comments:

gearedup2go said...

Hi family, I had surgery yesterday and would appreciate your prayers for my recovery.

jill said...

earthquake Iran, earthquake Russia,,,,,,, nuclear tests or God's warning shots over their bow

Gwenny said...

Hello gearedup2go. I just recently started posting comments here. I also asked for prayer for my husbands healing. He is doing much better. Praise the Lord! We will be praying for your soon recovery. Have a Blessed Day everyone! Gwenny & Don

GG said...

Many prayers for all families going through so much these days. May the blessings and the healing of the Lord be upon you all.

God Bless!!

GG

Anonymous said...

Scott... on the DHS ammo info, did you also see the report that the National Weather Service has ordered massive amounts of ammo as well? I'm not a big Alex Jones fan, but here's the link:

http://www.infowars.com/national-weather-service-follows-dhs-in-huge-ammo-purchase/

Rick

WVBORN56 said...

Continuing to pray for Gwenny and I will be lifting you up as well gearedup! God Bless!

So much is happening on every front but in a sense we also seem to be in a holding pattern. Our God is clearly demonstrtating his love and mercy for lost souls!

ChristineInCleveland said...

It seems this blog is drawing more of the faithful posting here as we huddle in the circle of love Christ's fellowship creates.... With all the frightening things in the news lately, it isn't hard to bring up our blessed hope in Christ's soon return for His faithful believers...and witness to itching ears as the Lord leads.... Time to be watching for any opportunity to share the Good News!
Gwenny, so glad for your answered prayers...Gearedup, praying for your swift recovery! ((hugs)) to all my brothers & sisters in Christ!

Dutch Treat said...

Just to add to what Christine posted (and I agree with everything she said) we also need to be alert for enemy attacks since he knows his time is almost up, be it out in the world or on this blog. Gwenny, so glad for the continued good news; and GU, will pray for a speedy recovery. Just be patient and let the healing process run its course.

GG said...

Hi Dutch~

Yes, I whole heartly agree. Now more than ever we need to watch and exercise caution in all our day to day activities. Use wise discernment in all we do. We have the opportunity to be great witnesses in these last days, and moreover, we have the ability to not be contributing to the hurt around us or on this blog. We can stop acting like the world as a way to guage things and remember the power of prayer has a great effect on everything in our lives :)

God Bless!!

GG

gearedup2go said...

Thank you for your prayers. This surgery is a walk in the park compared to my joint replacement I had last year. I'm already eyeing my mountain bike as the "recovery.bike" when it's time to get back on. I was able to ride 1000+ miles on my road bike within the year of my total knee surgery. I am sooo looking forward to riding more miles without the interruptions caused by a loose body floating around in my other knee. For those of you who have experienced joint replacement, you know how long the recovery is and you HAVE to be patient. My doc told me it would be a year to a year and a half before I'm fully recovered and I just passed the 1.5 year milestone. I am so thankful God allowed me to be alive in the age of medical advancements.

Thank you again for your prayers of support. It means so much to me and I pray for our family here as well.

Seek But Don't Hide said...

geardup2go, count on my prayers too. All of this news is not surprising to me at all.

Scott said...

Geared - sorry to hear about it (are you having another knee/joint replacement or something less extreme? Hopefully?)

Rick -- I did see that and I was going to post it but I was so confused - why in the world would the National Weather Service need ammo?? I really don't get that at all. I don't recall that the article explained the rationale for this (it makes no sense to me).

Alice said...

Scott and Rick,

The original article now has an update from The Washington Post. Also, a comment below the article points out that "if push comes to shove, the President has the authority to deputize any Federal employee as a Deputy US Marshall. The organization is in place all they need is the guns and ammo."

Scott said...

Alice. THanks for that. I'm speechless over that. Wow....

gearedup2go said...

Scott, I had arthroscopy of the knee to remove damaged tissue and the loose body that was like a rock in my shoe. All is well, all is good. :-)

Mommaw said...

Dont post much, but faithfully reading and praying for my brothers and sisters.

My husband is retiring in a month and we are preparing the house for sale. Much too big for us now and too much upkeep. Never thought I'd be doing this now. Thought I'd live here until Jesus came and got us. But need to sell and buy something much smaller (and less expensive) as income has drastically decreased. Neuro says I can not ever be an RN again. I can not drive now, she thinks I am not safe. Six months ago it was all OK, now I dont know. Pray for us, please.

Jec said...

Mommaw, there are many prayer requests lately and I will be praying for you along with the other requests here. Shingles, Knee surgery, Sin issues, and many unmentioned Struggles.

I know one thing for sure, that although the trials and tribulations we face on a regular basis, WE WILL NOT HAVE TO FACE the last 7 year TRIBULATION period!!!

How awesome is that?

Jec said...

Scott,

I thought this article was a bit funny: Obama set to assure Israel that, if all else fails, US will attack Iran by June 2013 — TV report

http://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-set-to-assure-israel-that-if-all-else-fails-us-will-attack-iran-by-june-2013-tv-report/

Scott said...

Geared - so glad to hear you had that done, and that all is well! I remember my brother going through that a few times.

JEC - funny and sad at the same time. And of course, I completely agree on the timing of the rapture :)

Anonymous said...

OK... here's another update about the NWS buying ammo... it is now claimed to be a clerical error and the request was actually from NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

Even with that it is a little disturbing that they would request that much ammo. But hey, it's our government and I don't believe much of what they say anymore anyway.

Alice... very disturbing also about the deputizing ... scary stuff!

Rick

Anonymous said...

Oops... forgot to post the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/national-weather-service-ammunition-solicitation-triggers-confusion/2012/08/14/3dc6b67e-e62a-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_blog.html

Rick

gearedup2go said...

Mommaw, I'm sorry to hear of your personal struggle and I am keeping you near in thought and prayer. It seems as if many of us are struggling with bodies that are rapidly breaking down and it's taking a toll mentally and emotionally. I can't wait for us to get our new bodies that will never know pain or loss. When we get over there, I'll put you on a mountain bike and we can go explore together. I'm pretty sure Jesus is a mountain biker since he climbed many a hill during his ministry here on earth. : )

Mommaw said...

Thanks for prayers all. GU-would love to ride mountain bike with you! Can't wait to get new body AND mind. It's my brain thats not good now. There is NO alzheimers in Heaven!