Corbett Reporteers will be no stranger to the war on cash. I’ve made videos discussing it, conducted interviews about it, written articlesexamining it and dissected it on the radio.
The war has been waged through mainstream propaganda outlets, TV advertisements and even children’s games.
We’ve heard cash is dirtied by drug dealing, tarnished by terrorism, tainted by tax evasion (heaven forbid!) and just plain dirty. Not to mention sooooo outdated.
Just this week Norway has jumped aboard the cashless society agenda with DNB, the country’s largest bank, calling for a total end to cash. The story only sounds shocking because people haven’t heard the similar stories from Sweden or Denmark or India or Israel or any of the dozens of other countries whose banksters and (bankster-controlled) governments have openly lusted after a world of completely trackable, completely bank-controlled transactions.
But all of these stories, reported piecemeal here and there over the years, doesn’t give the full story about how this “war on cash” is being waged on every continent and in every country by the same banksters that stand to benefit from a cashless world. Let’s fix that by compiling a list of examples from around the world of how cash payments are being regulated, restricted and phased out. The list below will be updated as new stories come in.
CANADA – In 2007 the Canadian government stopped allowing payment of taxes in cash at government service centers. In 2010 Passport Canada followed suit. In 2011 56% of Canadians polled said they were happy to live in a bankster-controlled cashless society so the country killed the penny in 2012 and the Royal Canadian Mint started pimping the “MintChip” as a new form of electronic payment that will be “better than cash.” The Mint ended the program in 2014 but the Great White North is still on track to be a cashless society in the coming years.
DENMARK – In the 1990s about 80% of Danish retail purchases were made with cash, but these days it’s more like 25%. But if the Danish government has its way, that number will be 0% by 2030. That’s the year the Danish government has set for the complete elimination of paper money in Denmark.
FRANCE – In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks last year, the French government stepped up its war on cash. In March of last year, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin declared it necessary to “fight against the use of cash and anonymity in the French economy” in order to combat “low-cost terrorism.” As of September 2015 it is illegal for French citizens to make purchases exceeding 1000 euros in cash.
INDIA – India is one of the most cash-dependent economies in the world with a cash-to-GDP ratio of 12% almost four times that of fellow BRICS nations Brazil and South Africa). But it won’t be for long if the Indian government has its way. Last June the Indian Ministry of Finance posted a draft proposal to its website for facilitating the rise of cashless payments in the country. In his 2015 budget speech the Finance Minister declared: “One way to curb the flow of black money is to discourage transactions in cash. Now that a majority of Indians has or can have, a RUPAY debit card. I therefore, proposes to introduce soon several measure that will incentivize credit or debit card transactions and disincentivize cash transaction.”
ISRAEL – In 2014 a special committee headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff Harel Locker released a report examining how to reduce the use of cash in the country. The report advocates reforms (including restrictions and limits on cash transactions) as part of a strategy whose aim is “reduced use of cash, reduced use of endorsed checks, and increased use of electronicmeans of payment.”
NORWAY – Late last week Trond Bentestuen, a senior executive at Norway’s largest bank, complained to the VG Newspaper that the Norwegian central bank “can only account for 40 percent” of the Norwegian kroner in circulation, meaning “that 60 percent of money usage is outside of any control.” There’s only one conclusion, according to Bentestuen: “There are so many dangers and disadvantages associated with cash, we have concluded that it should be phased out.” Don’t worry, though, the nation’s Finance Ministry says it has “no plans to change the law in this area”…for now.
SWEDEN – Last year Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology released a report stating that the country is on track to completely eliminating cash transactions in the foreseeable future. Noting that there are now only 80 billion Swedish crowns in circulation in the economy (down from 106 just six years ago), the report highlights how digital person-to-person payment technology “Swish” (developed in collaboration with Danish banks) is already transforming the country’s banking sector, where there are now entire banks that do not accept cash.
Brazil has launched a door-to-door campaign executed by 220,000 soldiers to combat the spread of the Zika virus. The campaign launches as one of the nation’s largest newspapers reports that medical experts have recorded more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly in the nation.
The Zika virus spreads through bites from the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which also carries Dengue, yellow fever, and Chikungunya. The virus is common throughout Latin America and in the warmest parts of the rest of the hemisphere; only Canada and Chile lack an Aedes aegypti population. While medical experts long believed Zika to be a mild viral infection, with symptoms resembling a weaker Dengue fever, Zika appears to be extremely dangerous to pregnant women. Brazilian authorities have documented thousands of cases of pregnant women diagnosed with Zika giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a condition in which the baby is born with an abnormally small head. Children with microcephaly typically suffer severe mental damage.
O Globo reports today that Brazil’s health ministry has announced that the number of diagnosed microcephaly cases where the mother tested positive for Zika has surpassed 4,000, and that they are diagnosing 200 such cases a week. In response, the government will be launching an awareness campaign with the slogan “A mosquito is not stronger than a whole nation.”
President Dilma Rousseff has promised Brazil will begin “a real battle” against the virus this week, beginning with the soldier door-to-door deployment. The soldiers will distribute informational literature as well as insect repellant, and warn pregnant women especially to protect themselves by wearing long-sleeved clothing and avoiding outdoor activities in humid areas.
The Brazilian government announced that 400,000 women on government welfare will receive insect repellant, as well.
The World Health Organization, through its regional branch, has warned Zika will likely spread across all nations on the hemisphere save for the aforementioned Chile and Canada. Cases have been documented throughout the United States – particularly Illinois, Puerto Rico, and New York – though the cases outside of tropical territories have been travelers to nations known to host the offending mosquito.
The wars of the future will rely heavily on electronic targeting capabilities. The US Navy, in particular, will rely on sophisticated communication networks to coordinate missile strikes. Unfortunately, lax technology could leave Washington’s fleet dead in the water.
Historically, smaller naval ships have been used to escort larger vessels, such as aircraft carriers. This strategy presents a united front, and is easy for enemy forces to spot and target.
For potential future global conflicts, the US Navy has adjusted its strategy. Known as "distributed lethality" the Pentagon hopes to use smaller warships in a more scattered array. Dispersing across a wider area, smaller naval vessels could focus long-range missile attacks on a single target without that target being sure where the next attack will come from.
This kind of tactic requires advanced electronic communications capabilities. When covering such large distances, all ships within the fleet would need to have instant data-sharing capabilities, as well as with intelligence satellites and targeting aircraft.
The Pentagon is concerned that networking systems are highly vulnerable. One swift electronic attack could leave the entire fleet offline and adrift.
"It’s a huge priority," US Representative Randy Forbes, House seapower subcommittee chairman, told Breaking Defense. "It’s not just the Pentagon that’s concerned about losing our advantage [in electronic warfare].
"If you talk to some of the top CEOs at some of our most defense contractors, they would take it a step further and say we’ve lost our advantage and now we’re playing catch-up."
"Absolutely we have gaps," Vice Admiral Tom Rowden, commander of naval surface forces, said during the Surface Navy Association conference.
The Navy is considering a number of methods to ensure the safety of its ships. One option is the "low to no power" concept, which would force vessels to operate at reduced power to make it more difficult to detect electronic output.
Other world powers, including Russia and China, have advanced their electronic warfare capabilities at a faster rate, and the Pentagon may be forced to rely on more traditional means of naval combat.
In October, the US Navy announced that would begin retraining recruits to use celestial navigation, citing concerns that cyberattacks could knock out onboard computers. If attack systems are equally vulnerable, the Pentagon may need to develop similar backup strategies for offensive maneuvers.
Up to 6,000 troops are being sent to invade and occupy Libya, seizing oilfields allegedly threatened by terrorists NATO armed and put into power in 2011. The London Telegraph, almost as a footnote, reports of a sizable Western military force being sent in on the ground to occupy Libya in an operation it claims is aimed at fighting the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS). In its article, “Islamic State battles to seize control of key Libyan oil depot,” it reports:
One would suspect a 6,000-strong foreign military force being sent into Libya would be major headline news, with debates raging before the operation even was approved. However, it appears with no debate, no public approval, and little media coverage, US, British, and European troops, including Libya’s former colonial rulers – the Italians – are pushing forward with direct military intervention in Libya, once again.
As has been explained by geopolitical analysts since 2011, terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and their various rebrandings are far from being the West’s true adversaries. Besides being funded, armed, and backed by the West’s closest and oldest Middle Eastern allies – particularly the Saudis and Qataris – these terrorist organizations serve a two-fold purpose. First, they serve as a mercenary army with which the West fights targeted nations by proxy. Second, they serve as a pretext for direct Western military intervention when proxy war fails or is not an option.
This was first illustrated with the very inception of Al Qaeda in the 1980’s where it was used as a proxy force by the US and Saudis to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. In 2001, the presence of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan was used as a pretext for a US invasion and occupation that endures to this very day.
As of 2011, literally these very same terrorists were organized, armed, funded, and provided with NATO aircover to overthrow the government of Libya. From there, they were rearmed and shipped to NATO-member Turkey where they then invaded northern Syria, and more specifically Idlib and the pivotal city of Aleppo.
Fox News in a March 2015 report titled, “Herridge: ISIS Has Turned Libya Into New Support Base, Safe Haven,” would claim:
Herridge reported that one of the alleged leaders of ISIS in North Africa is Libyan Abdelhakim Belhadj, who was seen by the U.S. as a willing partner in the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.“Now, it’s alleged he is firmly aligned with ISIS and supports the training camps in eastern Libya,” Herridge said.
It is clear that the West is not fighting ISIS, but instead, has clearly both created it and is intentionally perpetuating it to help justify its military and geopolitical maneuvering across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and advance its aspirations toward regional and global political, military, and economic hegemony.
The very same technicals – armed trucks used in combat – bearing the Libyan “rebel” insignia, have literally just been painted over by images of ISIS’ flag, like props on a Hollywood set being used in a bad sequel. With the US-British and European intervention in a destroyed Libya overrun by terrorists – a Libya we were promised by NATO was bringing brought peace, stability, “freedom,” and “democracy” with its 2011 intervention, we see fully the danger of entrusting other nations to a similar fate wrought by Western intervention – most notably Syria.
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