Mike Pence Is a F*cking A$*hole

(ANTIMEDIA Op-ed) U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is a fucking asshole — for more than one reason. Most Americans who aren’t also assholes have known about Mike Pence for while. He thinks you can “cure” gay people with therapy — as if being gay is a condition in need of a remedy. He thinks gayness can be “prayed away,” […]

OUTBREAK ALERT: Military Deployed As Norovirus Strikes Winter Olympic Security Guards

South Korea, the home of the 2018 Winter Olympics, has deployed 900 military personnel after 1,200 security guards contracted the highly contagious norovirus. Although the guards were pulled from their duties at the Winter Olympic facilities in Pyeongchang, the virus is still spreading.

“The military personnel … will be responsible for security checks of the 20 venues as they take up jobs such as security searches, previously done by civilian safety personnel until the patients’ condition is normalized,” a statement from the Pyeongchang Olympics committee said.

The norovirus is an infection which causes the sudden and severe onset of diarrhea and vomiting; symptoms which begin within 12-48 of exposure and can be painful. The virus is highly contagious and commonly spread through food or water that is contaminated during preparation or contaminated surfaces. You can also be infected through close contact with an infected person. Most people will cover without treatment in three days, however, hospitalization can occur if victims are infants or elderly.

Organizers said this viral infection is particularly bad. Of the 1,200 guards removed from duty, 41 had suffered a sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhea on Sunday and all had been taken to a hospital. The outbreak comes just days before the opening of South Korea’s 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday.The Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a statement Monday that the 41 security guards had been staying at the same building in Pyeongchang. “KCDC dispatched an immediate response team to the Pyeongchang site to check additional people for symptoms, check the origin of the exposure, take measures to control infection, and prevent spread,” the statement said.

It’s still not clear how the security guards become infected with the virus in the first place. Water and food at the accommodations sites are currently being tested. Meanwhile, the Winter Olympics committee said it would strengthen checks on sleeping quarters for staff working at the games to prevent further infections.

Global Crisis Events: The Weird Keeps Getting Weirder

This report was originally published by Brandon Smith at Alt-Market.com

While the mainstream media and general public tend to assume that every new day is bringing us closer to a better future, many alternative analysts focus on the underlying weirdness of our world and all of the crisis factors that average people don’t want to think about. I have to say, in my view the “weirdness” has been escalating rather swiftly lately, and I don’t think that very many analysts, alternative or mainstream, appreciate the potential consequences.

The most important issue of course has always been the global economy. With nearly every sector of our system resting on massively inflated financial bubbles driven by central bank fiat printing and artificially low interest rates, there is only one question that really needs to be asked: How long before a geopolitical or economic shock event takes down the entire house of cards?

The mainstream philosophy seems to be that the economy is now impervious to such events. As the media now argues often, stock markets in particular do not appear to care whenever international threats present themselves. I would argue that this is because nothing substantial has actually happened quite yet. We have had a steady build-up of domestic and global political tensions, but the markets have so far been presented with a world that is comfortably predictable. It is a dangerous world with numerous potential pitfalls, but still predictable nonetheless.

And this is the very odd position we find ourselves in. A system which grows progressively more unstable year by year, and a society that has grown ignorantly used to it. To wake people up to the threats ahead would require a surprise, a slap to the face, something entirely unexpected. Here are a few developing powder kegs around the world that may present such a shock.

U.S. Debt Ceiling And The Government Shutdown Battle

I think a lot of people are missing some major points on the government shutdown situation. First, consider this — every new deal to keep the federal government funded offers a shorter stopgap than the last. The latest deal would only keep funding in place for three more weeks, then the same conflict over budget and spending initiatives happens all over again. It is not outlandish to expect that one day soon we will be faced with weekly or bi-weekly funding battles in D.C., while the greater problem of the U.S. debt ceiling is generally ignored.

You see, the “fight” within the federal government is not so much over whether or not more debt is a “bad thing.” In fact, both sides support more debt and bigger government. Instead, the fight is over the allocation of funds (debt) to certain projects and away from others. Who gets the money? And how can a government shutdown be used as leverage to gain the upper hand politically?

The thing is, this is all theater. There are no “sides” to the debate in Washington, and there is no battle. This is all designed to condition the American public into believing that the two parties are separate and opposed when they are in fact not. Beyond that, the shutdown battle also achieves a certain stress factor for the economy that many people are not aware of.

Among alternative analysts, cynicism runs rampant over a government shutdown. “Who cares?!” many of them will say, “Let it shut down!” But there are some concerns here, primarily the concern of full faith in U.S. debt issuance.

While I am all for the notion of the federal government going the way of the Dodo bird, I do not think many alternative analysts are considering the trade-off required when the system does in fact “reset.” For example, while the U.S. Treasury is supposed to remain functional during a government shutdown and certainly remains functional during stop gaps and debates over funding, this internal conflict though theatrical in nature can still produce a lack of faith in Treasury bonds and the dollar internationally. And frankly, faith is all that our economy has left to sustain itself.

If the funding battle continues with ever shorter stop gaps or with an extended period of government shutdown, there is a possibility that the largest foreign investors in U.S. debt and the dollar will begin dumping their holdings. When this is done, it will be done quietly and will be fully denied if questions arise. If China, for example, begins decoupling from U.S. debt, we will not find out until it is far too late. The Chinese would seek to be the first to dump their holding in order to avoid a vast international rush for the exits. They would want to be the first to sell, not the last.

Again, if the funding fight continues to become more aggressive and more absurd, eventually we will see a foreign dump of U.S. debt, and with it an unprecedented crisis. Whether or not this “needs” to happen is not what I am debating here, only that when it does happen, there will be consequences for us all, and being prepared for them is essential.

Syria Back On The Table

So, if you thought the Syrian situation could not get any weirder, the past week might have been a surprise.

The last major development was Vladimir Putin’s orders to pull a large percentage of standing Russian troops from the region, leaving the Assad government particularly vulnerable. This move did not surprise me in the least. In fact, I predicted that Russia would step aside in Syria in interviews last year. I also wrote about the possible problems this would cause in my article ‘A Review Of The Most Disturbing Events Of 2017’. One of these problems would be Putin leaving the door wide open for a foreign force to invade Syria, drawing in other nations like Iran or Lebanon into the fight and expanding the war tenfold.

What did surprise me, though, was the brazen launch of forces into the region by Turkey in particular. Erdogen has been pecking away at Kurdish tribes in Syria for quite some time, but his latest measures are something entirely new. Keep in mind that Turkey is still technically a NATO member and an ally of the U.S., despite Erdogen’s anti-NATO rhetoric and threats to leave the multi-nation defense pact. Also keep in mind that the U.S. government is giving monetary and weapons support to the Kurds. So, to clarify, a U.S. ally is ignoring the tense situation in Syria and the possibility of triggering a wider regional war to hunt and destroy another U.S. ally, all while Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, etc., hover on the periphery waiting to jump into the fray.

This is not a recipe for diplomatic discourse. This is a recipe for disaster. Will Syria lead to WWIII as some people suggest? Probably not in the way most of them imagine. War takes many forms, including sporadic region by region conflicts, as well as economic conflicts. Global nuclear war is unlikely considering such an event would virtually vaporize decades of investment by the elitist establishment in control grids around the world. But, constant regional combat and financial disasters? THAT is a strategy that benefits them greatly.

North Korea And The Olympic-Sized Target

First let me say that the very fact that South Korea and the Olympic committee feels compelled to continue the games in the region at a time of such heightened tensions is extremely odd to me. The notion may simply be that the games will “heal” divisions in the Korean peninsula. I am not so sure about that…

I recently wrote about the North Korean war scenario and the potential false flag event during the Olympics in my article ‘Olympic Games In South Korea – Perfect Opportunity For A False Flag Attack?’. I would add to my analysis another interesting development; the negative response by South Koreans to the North’s participation in the Olympic games.

I have continually had to remind people that a war in North Korea would be the most effective trigger event for economic downturn and global distraction, though some skeptics seem to think the situation is going nowhere. Yet, all the elements are now present, including an array of naval forces ready for kinetic response, the escalation of North Korea’s missile technology to include ICBMs capable of striking the U.S. mainland, the war rhetoric grows on both sides, with the Department of Defense being the most aggressive, and now even the South Korean citizenry seems to be shunning diplomacy as they burn photos of Kim Jong Un during Olympic processions and demand a stop to cooperation with the North during the games.

This is a rather sharp break from the mainstream narrative in the U.S., which has told us that South Koreans are seeking generally passive and diplomatic relations with the North, and that the US involvement is universally unwanted. That is to say, the desire for conflict is not limited to U.S. warhawks and North Korean “fanatics,” it is also a large portion of the South Korean population that appears to prefer less-than peaceful solutions.

Add to this the latest CIA claims that North Korea’s nuclear weapons technology will be a full threat to the U.S. in a matter of months, and the news that North Korea’s armies are confiscating food stores from the citizenry at a greater rate than usual, and anyone with any sense can see what is developing here. CIA director Mike Pompeo has asserted that the Trump Administration will act to prevent North Korea from developing an arsenal of ICBMs capable of striking the U.S.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: This is going to end in war. There is no way around it.

The U.S. Dollar Continues Its Rapid Decline

I outlined this interesting development a couple weeks ago in my article ‘The Strange Case Of The Falling Dollar – And What It Means For Gold’, and so far it seems that the downward spiral of the dollar is continuing, now falling at a speed not seen since 2003.

This trend is very strange for a number of reasons – the most prominent being the fact that the dollar index is ignoring policy moves by the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates and reduce its balance sheet. Under normal economic conditions, this should trigger a dollar spike, not a dollar collapse. I predict that the Fed, under “new leadership” through Jerome Powell, will pursue highly aggressive fiscal tightening measures in 2018, including expanded interest rate hikes in the name of tempering the dollar’s decline.

If this takes place, the insane stock market bubble now in full steroid mode will feel a sudden swift kick to the nether regions. However, such a move may still not stop the dollar’s decline. This could be the first stage of the stagflationary crisis I and a few other alternative analysts have been warning about for years.

Growing Accustomed To The Weird

I think if you asked most people if they would have believed the developments of today were possible five to 10 years ago, they would say no. The danger is that when a society becomes too accustomed to instability and conflict, they become complacent in terms of their own security and their own freedoms. They might not even notice until it is too late that both necessities have been stolen away from them.

That great global slap in the face is coming, make no mistake, but the question is, can we prepare enough people for it in time to make a difference in the outcome? Reporting on these issues is often compared to “doom and gloom,” but really, it is an act of optimism. I and many other analysts are operating on the assumption that we can tip the balance by informing the public and creating a shield against calamity. Maybe this is a foolish assumption, maybe not. We shall see in due course.

***

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Olympic Games In South Korea – Perfect Opportunity For A False Flag Attack?

This report was originally published by Brandon Smith at Alt-Market.com

The war rhetoric surrounding North Korea on both sides of the Pacific has never been more aggressive than it has been the past year (at least not since the Korean War). There are some people that see the entire affair as a “distraction,” a distraction that will never amount to actual conflict. I disagree with this sentiment for a number of reasons.

North Korea is indeed a distraction, but still a distraction in the making. That is to say, the chest beating and saber rattling are merely a prelude to the much more effective distraction of live combat and invasion in the name of regime change and “national security.” As I noted in my article “Korean War Part II: Why It’s Probably Going To Happen,” the extensive staging of military assets to the region that has not been seen in over a decade, the extremely swift advancement of North Korean missile technology to include ICBMs capable of reaching the mainland U.S., the strange and unprecedented language by China indicating that they will not intercede against an invasion of North Korea by the U.S. “if Pyongyang attacks first….” All of this and more shows a clear movement of chess pieces into place for a sudden action.

According to these factors, I am led to believe that a false flag event blamed on North Korea, or a prodding of North Korea into taking an attack posture, is likely. The purposes behind such a war would be many-fold. Primarily, the final implosion of the vast financial bubbles created by central bank stimulus measures could be undertaken while the banks themselves escape public blame or prosecution.

A geopolitical crisis large enough would provide a perfect scapegoat for an economic crisis that was going to develop eventually anyway. And, if this geopolitical crisis were initiated by a “rogue state,” along with the poor decisions of a conservative “populist” president (Trump), then the historical narrative would be complete. Future generations would talk about the “great blunder” of sovereign states and nationalists and how hubris and greed and ego led to a global fiscal disaster and unnecessary destruction. The rationale for a one world governmental authority would be planted in the minds of the populace.

Will a war in North Korea be the trigger event for this narrative? It’s hard to say, as there are so many potential geopolitical powder kegs around the world. However, ample assets to initiate this kind of event are present around North Korea. And, unlike hot spots like Syria and Iran, North Korea offers the most immediate and tangible threat in the minds of many people with its nuclear arsenal.

The pure panic and mindless reactionary thinking that can be provoked in the unprepared when the danger of nukes is present is quite powerful. This could not have been made more clear than this past week when an “accidental” warning of a live ICBM launch occurred in Hawaii.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency now claims that this false alarm was started by a single employee, who has not been named. How? They somehow “pushed the wrong button” … twice!

I find this explanation absurd. I can only find one example of a false alarm similar to the one in Hawaii, and this took place way back in 1971 with a mix-up of tapes leading to a broadcast warning of imminent attack on the U.S. After this event, the alert system was subject to streamlining and stopgaps designed to prevent it from ever happening again. During the false alarm of 1971, over six attempts were made for cancellation broadcasts, the first one within about ten minutes of the initial false alarm. In Hawaii, no cancellation was attempted for nearly 40 minutes.

To add to the overall strangeness, there was yet another false missile alarm in Japan within the same week! Yet again, this alert was immediately attributed to North Korea, but at least this time the alert was corrected 5 minutes later instead of 40.

To me, this smells of a psyop; a test to gauge public reactions to a threat, as well as planting preconceived notions of a particular bogeyman. The public did not disappoint.

Eye witnesses described people “running and crying in the streets,” completely bewildered as to what to do. An associate of mine (who is also experienced in preparedness) was in Hawaii at the time of the event. She related to me that her family decided to shelter in place because there were no indications that fallout shelters were available anyway. Other people tried to lower their children into the sewers in an effort to escape a nuclear blast. Here is a video showing the false missile alert causing hysteria in Hawaii:

(As a side note, sheltering in a sewer during an actual nuclear event is the height of stupidity. Nuclear blasts send irradiated particulates into the air. These particulates then settle in the streets or are washed out of the air by rainfall. This water becomes a highly concentrated dose of irradiated particulates which are then drained down into the sewers. You might survive the initial blast, you might not, but you are certain to die from radiation if waiting out the attack in a sewer. Shelter in a dry basement instead with as much matter density between you and the outside as possible. Keep in mind that whatever place you choose to shelter is where you will likely have to stay for at least two weeks, or until the nuclear half life of the particulates has run its course.)

Obviously the average American is completely unprepared for a real attack of a minor magnitude, let alone the magnitude of a nuclear blast. Perhaps this reaction in Hawaii was so prevalent because Hawaii tends to be left leaning to the extreme, and leftists are generally poorly prepared for anything beyond a cancellation by their manicurists. That said, the fact that this “mistake” happened to take place in Hawaii and Japan which are already under stress due to the ballistic missile tests of North Korea is an interesting coincidence indeed.

Seeing what the reaction in Hawaii was like, a real attack presents an alluring opportunity for the establishment. The pure terror involved in just the potential of a nuclear attack is palpable, and this fear makes the masses easy to manipulate. Should a real attack take place, either by North Korea or by other agencies through false flag, when is the most advantageous time?

The history of Korean conflict suggests a surprise attack is a probable strategy. North Korea is a nation trapped in time, and North Korean authorities remember the success of the surprise attacks they used to launch the first Korean war in June 1950. These attacks allowed North Korea communists to overrun South Korean forces within days.

In terms of a false flag event, these seem to occur in the midst of other “training exercises” or distracting events. I can’t think of anything more distracting for South Korea than the Winter Olympics, set to take place February 9-25 in Pyeongchang.

I would note the sudden friendly demeanor between North Korea and South Korea just before the Olympics, including the offer by North Korea to participate in a joint women’s hockey team during the games (something that has never happened before). Would it not be a shame if this ember of goodwill was snuffed out by a North Korean missile test or attack of some kind? The “betrayal” would be excellent war fuel, like a new Pearl Harbor.

As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated recently, the threat of war with North Korea is “growing” despite the recent “thaw” in relations due to the Olympic Games. The thaw is partially predicated on the North Korean demand that all South Korean and US military exercises be cancelled during negotiations.

The typical response by skeptics will be that any attack by North Korea would be met with massive nuclear response. I would point out that a full-scale nuclear response is unlikely in the region. First, a nuclear onslaught on North Korea also puts its neighbors (our allies) at risk of considerable radiation exposure. The argument may be made that only a conventional assault would be safe for the surrounding countries, not to mention the Pacific U.S., which could see radiation exposure as well.

Second, a nuke attack is not necessarily going to prevent the need for a ground invasion. North Korea has more than 8,000 underground facilities that we know of and has been preparing for bombardment for over 60 years. Its mountainous terrain also presents serious doubts as to the effectiveness of bombardment. This is not just my assessment but the assessment of the Department of Defense. The idea that one big nuke button is going to solve the problem is childish delusion by people who watch too many movies.

Hopefully, the Olympics will conclude without incident and the skeptics are proven correct on North Korean tensions being nothing more than a sideshow amounting to a lot of bluster. But for now the level of conflict staging over the past year should be taken seriously, and the panic that could develop if a war does erupt should be concerning to us all. In times of crisis, people act stupidly and they beg for help from anyone offering, even if it is someone with malicious intent. Fearful individuals will give up almost anything to escape uncertainty, including their freedom and their common sense. And nothing causes fear quite so much as thoughts of war and mushroom clouds.

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You can contact Brandon Smith at: brandon@alt-market.com

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‘Kids Sacrificed, Abusers Protected’: USA Olympic Dr. Pleads Guilty to Massive Child Rape Scandal

The doctor at the center of a child sex abuse scandal involving 125 victims within the USA Gymnastics Program has pleaded guilty molesting multiple girls.

North Korea’s ‘Unpredictability’ Scares Winter Olympics Visitors

North Korea’s antics are having an effect on the Olympics.  With less than three months before the Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the Games are struggling to draw visitors from home and abroad, largely because of fears about the secretive and unpredictable neighbor to the North just 50 miles away.

As of November 16, organizers say they’ve hit just 41% of their sales target of 1.06 million tickets, with sales in South Korea even weaker than those by international tourists, according to USA Today.  Anbritt Stengele, the founder of Sports Traveler, a Chicago-based travel agency, said she’s never seen such a sluggish market.

“The interest level is very low for this Olympics,” said Stengele. “We had Sochi (Russia) in 2014, and that interest level was lower than Vancouver (in 2010). But this one is even lower than Sochi. I would just classify it as extremely light interest. Sales have been stagnant.” She and other travel agents say there are a few factors that are affecting interest in the Winter Games, and a good many are from fears about North Korea aggression.

Stengele said North Korea is a big factor, as global tensions are running high over threats exchanged by President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim has conducted a record number of ballistic missile tests this year, as well as a test of its most powerful nuclear weapon to date. Both leaders have threatened to annihilate the others’ country if they order a first strike.

North Korea also has a massive artillery aimed directly at South Korea, and that’s unsettling to travelers who wish to see the games.  Stengele also said she’s heard concerns about whether travel insurance will cover cancellations in the event of a “disruption” by North Korea and the lack of accommodation options such as name-brand international hotel chains at the venue locations.

It isn’t just American tourists who are cutting their travels to South Korea because of fears that the chubby dictator in North Korea could start launching missiles anytime. South Korea has been suffering from a massive drop in visitors from China, in large part because of  the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defense system last May that has angered the communist government in Beijing