Are riots coming to your hood?

Riots—Coming to a City Near You (Source thetrumpet.com) The community held a vigil for Brown Sunday afternoon, attracting large numbers of people. Hours later, the looting started. With darkness descending, a QuikTrip convenience store was looted and set ablaze. Rioting. Tear gas. Looting. Batons. Stealing. Squad cars. Fire. This was the scene that marred the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, Sunday night, after a vigil for Michael Brown, an unarmed black youth who was shot and killed by a police officer Saturday afternoon. Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were reportedly on their way home, walking down the middle of Canfield Drive, when a police officer ordered them to walk on the sidewalk. Ferguson is a predominantly black community with a predominantly white police force. Johnson, Brown’s friend, claims the officer was white. Many of America’s inner cities are boiling over with racial tension. Hooligans and criminals are quick to exploit the chaos. The mayor of Ferguson noted that “a lot of the people [rioting] aren’t even from our town; but they came in and stole from our businesses and left our town in ruins.”

Putin says the PetroDoLLAR must die

PUTIN SAYS THE PETRODOLLAR MUST DIE, “THE DOLLAR MONOPOLY IN ENERGY TRADE IS DAMAGING RUSSIA’S ECONOMY” (Source Zero Hedge)On one hand, despite initial weakness following Europe’s triple-dip red alert, futures declined only to surge higher after some headline or another out of Russia was again spun to suggest imminent Ukraine de-escalation (something which Russia whose only interest is to keep crude prices high, has absolutely zero interest in), perpetuating a rumor which was set off by a Russian media outlet tweet last week that has sent S&P futures over 50 higher in less than a week on. On the other, Putin just said the following, which no matter how one spins it, shows precisely how Russia is inclined vis-a-vis future escalations. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia should aim to sell its oil and gas for roubles globally because the dollar monopoly in energy trade was damaging Russia’s economy. “We should act carefully. At the moment we are trying to agree with some countries to trade in national currencies,” Putin said during a visit to the Crimea region, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine earlier this year. Countries such as China, India, Iran, Brazil, and virtually every other non-insolvent, that is to say “developed, Western” country. And now, bring on the Russian “isolation” (which is about to push Europe, not Russia, into a triple-dip recession) and further de-escalation.

 

 

 

 

 

Russia and the art of war

Aid convoy stops short of border as Russian military vehicles enter Ukraine (Source Guardian) Armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles cross the border, while the 280-truck convoy comes to a halt separately. The white trucks of humanitarian aid rumbled through Russia in a convoy stretching for miles, moving slowly southwards on the M4 highway, amid a landscape of fertile fields and Ladas stopped at the roadside – their boots overflowing with watermelons for sale. But, while the trucks came to a halt well short of Ukraine‘s border, a different Russian convoy did make the crossing into Ukrainian territory late on Thursday evening. The Guardian saw a column of 23 armoured personnel carriers, supported by fuel trucks and other logistics vehicles with official Russian military plates, travelling towards the border near the Russian town of Donetsk – about 200km away from Donetsk, Ukraine. After pausing by the side of the road until nightfall, the convoy crossed into Ukrainian territory, using a rough dirt track and clearly crossing through a gap in a barbed wire fence that demarcates the border. Armed men were visible in the gloom by the border fence as the column moved into Ukraine. Kiev has lost control of its side of the border in this area.

Time for Europe to unite

How Long Until the Euro Crisis Flares Up Again? (Source thetrumpet.com) The latest economic date proves that another round of economic crises in Europe is not a question of if, but when. Europe’s economy is not getting better, and even Germany is struggling, according to the latest reports by Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics agency, released August 14. The Eurozone’s economy did not grow at all between April and June of this year, Eurostat reported. Both Germany and Italy saw their gross domestic products shrink by 0.2 percent. Across the Continent, nations are being forced to reduce their forecasts for economic growth. Meanwhile, Greece, Portugal and Spain are officially in deflation, with Italy on the brink.Both these trends could dramatically weaken the economy of southern Europe. Europe’s economy is awash with problems. So far, its leaders have responded to the euro crisis with temporary fixes, which have bought a few quiet months. German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn’t want to deal with the crisis until after she had successfully weathered the German election in the autumn of 2013. The EU is currently in the process of replacing its top leaders, so it’s trying to put off making major changes until all the new leaders are in place. But the euro is still fundamentally flawed. A block of countries cannot successfully share a single currency in the long term without a single government. The euro was designed to force European nations to come together into a superstate. Economic crises will keep exploding until these nations are forced to unify under a single government.

American Households in a financial disastrous state

Disastrous Financial State of American Households. Result of Unemployment, Low Wages (Source globalresearch.ca) A typical American household cannot raise $400 without borrowing money or selling possessions, according to the results of a survey published Friday by the Federal Reserve, the US central bank. The Fed’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2013 points to the precarious state of the majority of US households, who risk poverty or bankruptcy in the event of job loss, accident or unforeseen medical expense. According to the report, nearly two-thirds of those under 45 did not have funds set aside to cover their expenses for a three-month period. The survey helps expose the fictitious character of the economic “recovery,” which has supposedly been going on for five years. Seventy percent of respondents said they were no better off than they were in 2008, during the depth of the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

IS to declare Jihad on America

IS To Declare Beginning Of ‘Jihad Against America (Source hstoday.us) ’The Islamic State, formally the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has yet to publish an official response to the US’s military strikes against it in Iraq, but sources close to the IS announced on Twitter Friday that IS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi will shortly be issuing an announcement declaring the beginning of “jihad against America.” “Pro-IS figures, on the other hand, began rallying over social media” immediately following President Obama’s announcement Thursday night that he authorized air strikes against IS to protect US interests and minority Christians and other religious groups threatened by the savage jihadist organization, said the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which monitors jihadist websites.

Russia could turn U.S. ‘into radioactive dust

Russia could turn U.S. ‘into radioactive dust,’ influential Moscow news anchor tells viewers (Source Yahoo) Just in case you weren’t taking the situation in the Ukraine seriously enough, an influential Russian news anchor reminded viewers that his country could reduce the United States “into radioactive dust.” Russia is “the only country in the world capable of turning the U.S.A. into radioactive dust,” Dmitry K. Kiselyov said in a shocking report Sunday night, complete with a mushroom cloud graphic. Kiselyov also said that U.S. President Barack Obama was very concerned about Russia’s nuclear arsenal, particularly its alleged “dead hand” system, Soviet Union-era technology to allow a nuclear strike even if government leadership is incapacitated. With its brinksmanship, bellicose rhetoric, threats and counter-threats, the crisis over Moscow’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula seems to have whisked the world back to the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union squared off in a high-stakes standoff that divided the world into two opposing camps.

Russia and China agree on currency swaps

RUSSIA, CHINA AGREE ON NATIONAL CURRENCY SWAPS (Source ITAR TASS) The Russian and Chinese monetary regulators have agreed a draft document on national currency swaps, the Central Bank of Russia said on Thursday.  “The draft document between the Central Bank of Russia and the People’s Bank of China on national currency swaps has been agreed by the parties” and is at the stage of formal approval procedures, the Russian regulator’s press office said.The volume of national currency swaps and the time of their launch will depend on the demand for this instrument, the press office said. The swap agreement will boost the potential for using Russian rubles and Chinese yuans in trade settlements, the press office said. The agreement will also serve as an additional instrument for ensuring international financial stability and offer a possibility to obtain liquidity in critical situations, the Russian regulator’s press office said. “The agreement will stimulate further development of direct trade in yuans and rubles on the domestic foreign exchange markets of Russia and China,” the press office said. Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward an idea in Shanghai in May this year to create new mechanisms for managing Russia’s and China’s foreign exchange reserves to help make the ruble and yuan more resilient and contribute to better stability of the global financial architecture.

Germany Building EU Army

Germany Is Building a European Army Before Your Eyes (Source thetrumpet.com) The Dutch army is being absorbed into the German military, and Poland’s could be next. The Dutch army is made up of three brigades, plus support staff and Special Forces. On June 12, one of those brigades, the 11th Airmobile, officially joined the German army. This was the first time ever that European country has handed part of its army over to another country. Germany’s Defense Minister Ursela von der Leyen has a similar goal. “Today we embark a new era of integration,” she said as the Dutch Airmobile brigade official joined the German Army back in June. “This cooperation will continue and even intensify. Our new partnership can also be seen as a model for Europe and its common security and defense policy,” she announced. Germany was already working on a European army before the Ukraine crisis. Now, there is a new urgency. Germany is once again a major power in the world and now, with the help of its neighbors, it is on the road to become a major military power. The cooperation Germany has initiated with the Netherlands could become a template for all of Europe—and now with added urgency provided by Russia.

Where are the fathers at? Please Stand Up”

Sperm Banks—Eradicating the Need for Fathers (Source thetrumpet.com) Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) announced a one-time $130,000 grant to a sperm bank based at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. The new sperm bank, National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT), will cater to both NHS patients and private clients. Heterosexual couples will be able to use this service, but it primarily targets “women who want to start a family without having a relationship with a man.” A large percentage of the clientele is anticipated to be professional, single women who desire children without a father. In essence, the Department of Health is promoting fatherless families. The NHS aid makes obtaining sperm more affordable and keeps recipients from searching for donors online. Online donors are considered more risky due to lower quality sperm. The average visit will cost $500, down $925 from the average private rate of $1,425. “Fatherlessness continues to destroy young people because leaders and experts will tell you it isn’t even a problem!” we wrote in 2007. “Rather than covering what happens when fathers disappear, our leaders and the media cover up the effects of fatherlessness, claiming there is no need for a traditional father, and that any ‘family’ arrangement will suffice.” The sperm bank will cater “designer sperm,” allowing women to chose sperm based on the donor’s height, age, ethnicity, skin tone, eye color, hair color and even his education and occupation. In most cases, no matter which donor “designer babies” come from, they will be missing a father figure.