Let's face it - the world is continuing a long, slow, steady movement towards the Tribulation. Massive spying on citizens, loss of freedoms, rise of military/police state, world currency/financial system, rise of Islam, rise of Russia and the newly formed Russian/Chinese alliance, efforts to devalue and collapse the U.S. dollar, consolidation of Israel's enemies, widespread persecution, violence, overbearing regulations, draconian taxation, loss of land rights, daily rumors of war and on and on that list goes.
Much of this effort has taken place quietly and behind the scenes as citizens of the world struggle to make ends meet.
We see this process taking place on a daily basis, and today (like every day) is no different.
It is clear and obvious that the antichrist (whoever he is) is lurking and watching and waiting for his moment. He must be 'licking his chops' at the opportunity presented before him, given the current state of affairs in the world.
In just a small sample of today's news:
[The same can be said about the EU]
Most Americans wake up every morning believing that they live in a democracy. We have the right to vote, the right to work, and the right to freely express our opinions without threat of imprisonment or worse. Our political leaders often tout the United States as being a democracy of and for the people (Editor's Note: America is a Constitutional Republic that uses some democratic processes). We even spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year spreading this democratic influence to the rest of the world.
But a new study from researchers at Princeton and Northwestern University titledTesting Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizensstarkly contrasts the notion that America provides an equal playing field for every citizen, as it was intended to do at its founding.
After a multivariate analysis of key variables involving 1,179 policy issues the results provide “substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination,” wherein economic elites and organized groups representing business interests maintain “substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy,” while average citizens have little or no independent influence.
Essentially, you as an average American citizen have no say whatsoever as it pertains to public policy, legislation, or regulation.
A study, to appear in the Fall 2014 issue of the academic journal Perspectives on Politics, finds that the U.S. is no democracy, but instead an oligarchy, meaning profoundly corrupt, so that the answer to the study’s opening question, “Who governs? Who really rules?” in this country, is:
“Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts.
Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But, …” and then they go on to say, it’s not true, and that, “America’s claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened” by the findings in this, the first-ever comprehensive scientific study of the subject, which shows that there is instead “the nearly total failure of ‘median voter’ and other Majoritarian Electoral Democracy theories [of America].
When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”
To put it short: The United States is no democracy, but actually an oligarchy.
Given that even the Federal Reserve announced this morning that their policies make the rich much richer and the poor poorer, can anyone really argue with the fact that the political and socio-economic systems of this country are specifically designed to benefit the interests of the elite?
Those convicted of petty non-violent crimes like possession of marijuana could spend a lifetime in prison, while the individuals responsible for wiping away 40% of America’s wealth in the 2008 crash have not only avoided prosecution, but are rewarded within their respective organizations.
Whistle blowers spreading the truth to the masses about the the duplicitous nature of politics and business have to hide in non-extradition countries to avoid prosecution for releasing “sensitive” material, all the while the elites who engaged in criminal acts like bribery, conspiracy and murder are hardly even given a second look.
And just last week we saw a perfect example of elite domination in the form of a land grab when hundreds of government officials converged on the ranch of a family that has been engaging in the same activity for over a century without any trouble. That is, until a conniving Senator with ties to foreign companies determined it was in the best interests of his pocket book and legacy to force a rancher off public lands and put thousands of people in harms way just to achieve his ends.
The stories of such corruption and overreach against average Americans are countless and prove without a shadow of a doubt that, while we may call the United States of America a “democracy” or “republic,” it’s now only rooted in rhetoric and not reality.
Economic and political cyclical analyst Martin Armstrong warns that it is this very effect of moving power from the people to the elites that led to the failure of previous ‘democratic’ societies:
Dealing with Washington over the years taught me a lot. I have been inside the belly of the beast as well as on the outside. I have seen it all from every angle.Government is not run by democracy – it is a republic oligarchy pretending to be a democracy. Now a study is coming out an it confirms what I have seen over the years that this is just an American Oligarchy.
There is no hope of honest politics until there is major serious reform. We are at the same point in our history as the fall of the Roman Republic and for the very same reasons – outrageous corruption..
When we surrender our power, influence and money to the elite as we have done in modern day America, then we have likewise surrendered to them our liberty.
The EU launched its Sentinel-1a satellite from French Guiana on April 3 as it began the rollout of its advanced fleet of Earth-monitoring satellites. Once the Sentinel-1a’s sister satellite, the 1b, is launched, the pair will be able to give radar images of anywhere on the Earth within three to six days.
They’re part of the EU’s Copernicus project which aims to give the EU an extensive view of the Earth’s surface.
“There is no Earth-observation project as big as this,” said Prof. Anne Glover, the EU’s chief scientific adviser.
We should remember that any system designed to study the Earth in detail for scientific reasons is also very useful militarily. The publicity for these launches focuses on the environment, global warming and disaster response, but the EU admits, in the small print, that these satellites have “intelligence” and even “military” applications.
...said Ben Hayes of the civil liberties groupStatewatch. “But it’s already abundantly clear that the new system will also be used for military operations and surveillance purposes, some of which are highly controversial.”
The Copernicus program used to be known by the much less catchy name of GMES(Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). At first designed to support “environmental security,” but, as a European Parliament document noted, this mission was adjusted ever so slightly: It now aims to support “the environment and security” (original emphasis). The system’s declared military uses include “EU peacekeeping operations”—i.e. European military missions, as well as “border monitoring outside the EU” and resource monitoring. The latest sentinel satellite will serve these purposes.
The EU will, of course, use its new satellites for environmental monitoring. But they are also vital intelligence resources that will be used in planning and carrying out military missions. In assembling this constellation of satellites, the EU is quietly extending its military power and diminishing its reliance on the U.S. for accurate satellite data. Copernicus is just one of many satellite projects underway within the EU.
Once Europe’s Copernicus and Galileo satellite systems are complete, according to EU officials, they will be the most technologically advanced systems in operation.
Space is an important theater for any aspiring military. Watch for the EU to continue to expand on this frontier. For more details on Europe’s space program, see our article “The Quiet Space Race.” ▪
Russia is rolling out two major projects – a gas pipeline and a Crimea deep water port – with China, as EU countries and the US weigh options on economic sanctions.
Russia’s ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told EUobserver on Wednesday (16 April) that work on the “Power of Siberia” pipeline and the Chinese construction of a 25-metre-deep port in Crimea are proceeding as normal despite the Ukraine crisis.
Describing the pipeline as a “mega-project”, he said it will pump 60 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year from the Kovykta and Tchayandinskoe gas fields to Russia’s far east, with a branch line to deliver up to 38 bcm a year to China.
He noted that Gazprom and China’s CNPC have a “legally binding” agreement from 2013 and that exploitation of the Tchayandinskoe field should start in 2019.
Ukraine crisis has also done nothing to slow Russia’s plan to launch a “Eurasian Union” with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan next year.
“The Eurasian Economic Union is due to be launched on 1 January 2015 regardless of the situation in Ukraine or any other country not involved at this stage in the integration process … Negotiations on accession of Armenia are expected to be completed soon and those with Kyrgyzstan are also under way,” he said.
His statements came on the eve of high-level talks between the EU, Russia, Ukraine and the US in Geneva on Thursday.
Police closed the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors and tourists on Thursday as a precaution against a repeat of violent clashes at the site the day before.
The move was made even though there were no disturbances during the morning, Israel Radio reported.
The closure order came as tens of thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall plaza for the traditional priestly blessing ceremony that takes place during the Passover and Sukkot festivals. Following the ceremony, the Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbis were scheduled to publicly meet and greet those who arrived for the event.
On Wednesday, riots broke out on the Temple Mount compound, as Palestinians protested a visit to the holy site by Jewish pilgrims and tourists.
Dozens of Palestinian protesters and an Israeli policeman were wounded during clashes, the second such incident in a week.
Police arrested six Palestinians overnight in connection with the riots.
Police said they responded with stun grenades after Palestinians threw “stones and firecrackers” when the walled compound’s gates were opened. A small number of Jewish visitors had toured the site before the violence began.
Israeli security officials told Channel 2 news Wednesday that they would ultimately have to force their way into the al-Aqsa mosque, atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, because hundreds of young Palestinian men are now routinely stockpiling large quantities of rocks and slabs of stone there to attack security forces.
Tensions have grown lately with an increased number of Jews arriving to pray on the Temple Mount as well. Israel permits Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount for visits, but they are barred from praying at the site. These visits often stoke rumors that Israel is preparing to take over the site.
However, the Israeli security officials said young Palestinian men were being allowed to hide out in the mosque by the authorities from the Waqf, and that they used the holy place as a stronghold for what have now become routine attacks on Israeli security forces.
Jordan on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to end Israeli “escalation” at the compound.
It didn't take long for Putin to respond to the latest news from the west that NATO was about to boost its military presence in proximity to Russia. Specifically he said that Putin does not see a reason to fear NATO which was to be expected. But the even more predictable punchline: Russia must respond when NATO moves closer to country’s border, President Vladimir Putin says during annual televised call-in show.
The Russian president made his views clear during a nationally televised question-and-answer session in Moscow on Thursday, ahead of the Geneva two-day meeting during which the Ukraine problam is (again) supposed to get a diplomatic solution (it won't). During the Q&A Putin also accused the Kiev government of committing "a serious crime" by sending in troops to quell unrest in Ukraine's east, as a clash overnight left three pro-Russian protesters dead and 13 wounded.
Among his other comments, Putin said that the East and South Ukraine were parts of the Russian empire until becoming part of Ukraine under the USSR, with a heavy hint that either the East and South would soon be part of Russia, or that the second coming of the USSR is in the cards, both of which should make the Ukraine government quite nervous.
While many GOP politicians remain mum on the Federal response to Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s refusal to pay grazing fees, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized the government’s actions this week.
During a radio interview, Paul called out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and questioned why the government has so many armed personnel.
After a tense standoff between Federal agents and Bundy supporters, some of whom were armed, culminated in the government backing down and releasing the rancher’s livestock, Reid said Monday that the standoff is far from over.
“Well, it’s not over,” Reid told KRNV. “We can’t have an American people that violate the law and then just walk away from it. So it’s not over.”
American citizens shouldn’t violate the law, Paul agreed— however, the government shouldn’t either.
“I think there’s an opposite thing to what Harry Reid said, and that’s the federal government shouldn’t violate the law, nor should we have 48 Federal agencies carrying weapons and having SWAT teams,” Paul said Tuesday in a radio interview with the Kentucky-based WHAS.
The lawmaker went on to say that the disputed land, which the Bundy family had leased from the county before a Federal takeover, should be returned to local control—a goal he believes can be best achieved in court.
“Can everybody decide what the law is on their own? No, there has to be a legal process,” he said. “But I think there is definitely a philosophic debate over who should own the land.
“I hope it’ll go through a court. But if it were in a court, I would be siding and wanting to say that look, the States and the individuals in the State should own these lands,” he continued.
A series of emails from ex-IRS official Lois Lerner, who twice refused to answer questions from Congress about her targeting of conservative groups, reveals she was in contact with Eric Holder’s Department of Justice about prosecuting those organizations, according to the Washington watchdog group Judicial Watch.
“These new emails show that the day before she broke the news of the IRS scandal, Lois Lerner was talking to a top Obama Justice Department official about whether the DOJ could prosecute the very same organizations that the IRS had already improperly targeted,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton Wednesday.
Fitton said the IRS emails show the Department of Justice is now implicated and conflicted in the IRS scandal.
“No wonder we had to sue in federal court to get these documents,” he said.
Judicial Watch said a new batch of internal IRS documents show Lerner, who has been referred to the full House of Representatives for a vote on contempt of Congress charges, “communicated with the Department of Justice about whether it was possible to criminally prosecute certain tax-exempt entities.”
Also see:
2 comments:
Have you heard the latest? All Jews in Ukraine are now supposed to register just like in Nazi Germany prior to world war 2
I've seen that in a couple of places - so far everybody is denying it - we'll have to see how it shakes out
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