Chemical Weapons Plot Foiled In Switzerland, War-Grade Weapons Seized In France, No-Fly List: Shades Of Nazi Germany

More Attacks Coming: Chemical Weapons Plot Foiled In Switzerland; War-Grade Weapons Seized in France

The Paris attacks last month were just the beginning. With tens of thousands of undocumented middle eastern migrants swarming Europe it is only a matter of time before there’s more carnage.

In Geneva, Switzerland authorities have arrested two Syrians suspected of being involved in a possible chemical weapons attack. The Daily Mail reports:

Two suspected Syrians were arrested in Geneva on suspicion of transporting ‘explosives and toxic gases’ as part of a probe into a terror threat.

Switzerland’s attorney general said the men were also suspected of making and hiding the dangerous materials.

…the two men, who spoke Arabic and had valid Syrian passports, had just arrived in Geneva.

They were subjected to extra checks because of their ‘behaviour and their nationality’,

And to reiterate: they are not the only ones. Just a day earlier French police shut down mosques and raided scores of residences searching for terror suspects, weapons caches and intelligence. According to the Daily Wire, “a lot of war-grade weapons” have been seized:

Over the last few days, they kicked down doors, closed three mosques (with plans to close potentially more than a hundred), and in the process found an alarming number of weapons, ammo, and terrorist propaganda. 

In an effort to “close the net on Islamic extremists,” French authorities have begun the process of shutting down radicalized mosques and raiding locations suspected of housing Muslim extremists. France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the raids in recent weeks have resulted in the seizure of an unprecedented number of “war-grade weapons.”

Even if less than one-percent of those who have migrated to Europe have ties to terror groups like the Islamic State and Al Queda there are likely hundreds of jihadists now in the region preparing for Holy War.

Syrian Warplanes Bomb Daesh Strongholds Across Homs, Aleppo, Hama

The Syrian Air Force intensified its bombing campaign of Daesh positions across the provinces of Homs, Hama and Aleppo, Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

“The ISIL [Daesh] positions in Maheen and Quaryatayn in the Central Homs province came under several air attacks by Syrian bombers, inflicting heavy damage on the terrorists’ sites,” FARS news agency reported citing sources as saying.

Similarly, Khneifis and Hama province saw a heavy bombardment of the Daesh terrorists’ defense lines, resulting in the killing and wounding of many militants.

“The Syrian air fleet also carried out combat flights over the ISIL [Daesh] centers in Ein al-Jamajmeh and al-Nejarah in the Northern Province of Aleppo, in which dozens of militants were killed or wounded and their military grid was also destroyed,” the sources said.

At least 33 Daesh terrorists were killed in the Syrian air attack on the three provinces. Earlier reports said that the Syrian fighter jets conducted several combat sorties over Daesh centers in at least four key battlefronts in Homs province, and bombed them heavier than ever, FARS rep

The air attacks have paved the way for the country’s ground forces to retake the towns and villages and move towards the ancient city of Palmyra.

ISRAEL TESTS ICBM INTERCEPTOR

[Video link]

The other layers include the operational Iron Dome System, David’s Sling Weapon System, which is close to being deployed operationally as well as the operational Arrow-2, according to the release.

“The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) and the… MDA have engaged a ballistic missile target with the Arrow-3 interceptor on December 10, 2015… from an Israeli test range,” the release stated on Thursday.

Chuck Baldwin -- No-Fly List: Shades Of Nazi Germany

Democrat Congressman Mike Thompson (CA) and Republican Congressman Peter King (NY) are trying to push a bill through Congress that would deny gun purchases to people who are on the federal government’s “no-fly” list. President Obama took to the national airwaves a few days ago to further pressure Congress to pass this legislation. King introduced H.R. 1076 back in February of this year. Now, after the shootings in California, Thompson has filed a discharge petition in an attempt to force a vote on the bill. Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to muster support for the bill in the upper house of Congress.

The “no-fly” list was created by President G.W. Bush and when he left office contained 47,000 names. Today, the list has climbed to over 700,000 names. There are no specified reasons why someone’s name is added to “the list.” In fact, the criterion for determining who is added to the list is totally secret. Not even Congress knows what it is. 

The technology website TechDirt.com estimates that at least 40% of the list is comprised of individuals who have absolutely no connections to terror groups or activities. In other words, they are American citizens just like you and me.

And I’ve had it better than some. The trials and tribulations of tens of thousands of innocent air travelers whose names have made it to “the list” are legendary.

For example, the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s name was on the “no-fly” list, and he was denied a boarding pass numerous times. Can you imagine: a U.S. senator?

I could see not letting Ted Kennedy have a driver’s license--but a plane ticket? Get real!

And lest you think that denying a fundamental liberty to people on a government watch list is a good idea, remember, YOUR NAME MIGHT BE ON THE LIST. Or if it’s not now, it could be added at any time and for any reason. Some of the people whose names are on “the list” are people who, coincidentally, have taken contrary political positions from those in power. 

No. People in OUR government would never stoop to adding those with differing political opinions to a government watch list, would they? Like Hades they wouldn’t! They would, and they do.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares, “No person . . . [shall] be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Depriving an America citizen of his or her liberty to purchase a firearm (thus denying the fundamental right of self-defense) by the simple act of a government bureaucracy adding one’s name to a list (with no criminal conduct being committed) smacks of totalitarian regimes such as Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia, and Mao’s China. Such a thing is repugnant to the very heart and soul of America’s historic ideals and principles.

Writing for The Washington Post, Philip Bump writes, “[T]he no-fly list is a secret list that uses secret criteria to determine who finds a home on it. So if you link banning guns to the no-fly list, the scenario presented is completely feasible: The government could theoretically add anyone it wants to the no-fly list, even broad categories of people, and thereby prevent them from owning a gun.”

Bump continues saying, “Particularly when applied to the ability to own a firearm, many would argue that the no-fly list is a violation of the 5th Amendment, which guarantees the right to due process before people are deprived of life, liberty or property. During the ACLU's lawsuit, the government admitted that people are added to the list speculatively, before they've actually done anything wrong.”

We need to ever remember the sage counsel of Benjamin Franklin, who said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Syrian war as testing ground for Russia’s latest sea and air weapons

Like other manufacturers of advanced military weaponry, Russia has sought - and found in the Syrian conflict - a live battleground for testing and exhibiting its latest and most advanced tools of war. The two most sophisticated Russian armaments on full operational display in recent weeks are the Kalibr NK cruise missile and the Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback fighter-bomber.

Western sources commented Sunday, Dec. 13: The cruise missiles launched from a Kilo-class submarine provided visible proof of how President Vladimir Putin is using his intervention in Syria as a showcase for Russian military prowess..

In terms of flexing muscle, the Kalibr NK subsonic cruise missile, or as it is known in the West, the SS-N-30As, takes the prize. Its debut launch from a warship in the Caspian Sea on Nov. 20, not only hit Islamic State and rebel targets, but allowed Russian warships to show their paces in delivering long-range missiles, capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, to targets at a distance of between 990 km (620 miles) and 1,467 km (923 miles) away.

It also conveyed the message to NATO that nuclear cruise missiles fired from Russian Black Sea Fleet warships were capable of reaching any target in Europe.

1. The Russians are capable of firing advanced cruise missiles from submarines as well as surface warships, and 2.  Russia has established a chain of warships and missiles running 2.500 km from Kaliningrad in the north to the eastern Mediterranean, via the Black Sea.

To boost the air power Moscow is investing in the Syrian war, Russian has brought over half a dozen Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback warplanes. This fighter-bomber is designed primarily for striking ground and naval targets. It excels in destroying small moving targets. Under the conditions in Syria, The Su-34’s rare ability to pinpoint small ISIS or rebel convoys as well as big ones is especially apposite.

This is a brand new warplane, which entered the service of the Russia air force only two years ago. It is being tested in Syria for the first time in real combat conditions. So far, the SU-34 has stood up to Russian expectations. They are now testing it further to find out if it can replace the older Su-24 fighter bombers.

The Global Commodity Crash Tells Us That A Major Deflationary Financial Crisis Is Imminent

If we really are plunging into a deflationary global financial crisis, we would expect to see commodity prices crash hard.  That happened just before the great stock market crash of 2008, and that is precisely what is happening once again right now.  

On Thursday, the Bloomberg Commodity Index closed at 79.1544.  The last time that it closed this low was 16 years ago.  Not even during the worst moments of the last recession did it ever get so low.  Overall, the Bloomberg Commodity Index is down more than 28 percent over the past 12 months, and it has plummeted by more than half since mid-2011.  As a result of this stunning commodity collapse, extremely large mining companies such as Anglo American are imploding, giant commodity trading firms such as Glencore and Trafigura are in full-blown crisis mode, and huge portions of the global financial system are in danger of utterly collapsing.

In recent days, I have been trying to stress that many of the exact same patterns that we witnessed just prior to the great stock market crash of 2008 are happening once again.  This includes the staggering crash of commodity prices that we are currently witnessing, and even CNN acknowledges that there are parallels to what we experienced seven years ago…

The last time raw materials like copper and oil were this cheap, an economic depression loomed just around the corner.

It’s no secret that commodities in general have had a horrendous 2015. A nasty combination of overflowing supply and soft demand has wreaked havoc on the industry.

But prices for everything from crude oil to industrial metals like aluminum, steel, copper, platinum, and palladium have collapsed even further in recent days.

We are plunging into a deflationary financial crisis in textbook fashion.  And if the Federal Reserve actually does decide to go ahead with an interest rate hike next week that is just going to make things even worse.

But most people are not patient enough to watch a process play out.  Most people that write about “the coming economic collapse” hype it up like it is going to be some sort of big Hollywood blockbuster that is going to happen over a week or a month and then be over.  That is definitely not the way that I see things.

To me, “the economic collapse” is something that has been happening for decades, that is still in the process of happening right now, and that will continue to happen as we move forward into the future.  The long-term trends that are ripping our economy to shreds continue to intensify, and our leaders are not doing anything to fix our underlying fundamental problems.

And the financial crisis that I warned would start during 2015 and accelerate in 2016 has already begun.  More than half of all major global stock market indexes are down by at least 10 percent year to date, and some of them have plummeted by more than 30 or 40 percent.  Trillions of dollars of wealth has been wiped out around the globe, and this is just the beginning.

All of the numbers tell us the same thing.

Big trouble is ahead.

The Parisian Follies

In a moment of rare candor following his usual exhortations about the need for urgent action to address climate change, Secretary of State John Kerry admitted the obvious.  No matter what drastic steps the United States takes to reduce its own carbon emissions, the problem said to be created by man-made carbon emissions will remain basically the same:

“The fact is that even if every American citizen biked to work, carpooled to school, used only solar panels to power their homes, if we each planted a dozen trees, if we somehow eliminated all of our domestic greenhouse gas emissions, guess what – that still wouldn’t   be enough to offset the carbon pollution coming from the rest of the world.

If all the industrial nations went down to zero emissions – remember what I just said, all the industrial emissions went down to zero emissions – it wouldn’t be enough, not when more than 65 percent of the world’s carbon pollution comes from the developing world.”

Yet, despite this admission, the Obama administration has led the way to an agreement that drastically ties down only the developed countries in the immediate future and picks their taxpayers’ pockets. In return, the developing countries offer meaningless voluntary pledges that they will do something about their own carbon emissions in their own time if they get paid to do it.