Who Is Ultimately Behind the Mass Death and Destruction Coming to America?

Jan, 2015
by Dave Hodges

I never would have believed that I would see the events of today’s world racing towards Armageddon in the truest and Biblical sense of the term/place. However, where humanity is at is undeniable. Putin has been placed, by the bankers, in a position to win World War III and at the same time, America has been placed in a position of certain defeat by its own leadership. Eliminating America’s freedoms and its spirit of entrepreneurial independence must be extinguished before ushering in the final push for the full establishment of the New World Order can be completed.

In the first part in this series, I detailed how Putin is preparing to defeat the United States in World War III. The Federal Reserve and the other Western central bankers may be the antagonist in world affairs in places like Ukraine, but this is a meaningless debate about who is right. This article will dispel the myth that there is such a thing as the moral high ground as the world moves towards World War III. What is coming is about power, not morality. And the only thing that you have control over is the final destination of your soul and that is where any moral debate should be centered. I strongly suggest that each individual make peace with God because this is where most of us are likely headed.

The Starting Point

In the independent media, many make the mistake of speaking about the “banksters” as if they were one entity all working towards the same goal which is the establishment of a singular economic system which controls the planet through rabid debt management. Generally, this is true. However, the process of international banking is compartmentalized and when goals are not met, we see divisions emerging and this is exactly what we are witnessing at the present moment.

Before we can effectively analyze how Putin is in the process of putting himself in charge of the world’s chessboard, we need to first take a very brief look at how international banking is organized.

Level One: The Bank of International Settlement

International banking has three major levels. The executive directors of this grand economic scheme, the Bank of International Settlement, from Basel, sit at the head of the table. The BIS sets global economic policy by manipulating currency exchange rates (e.g. IMF), establish lending rates, picking national winners and losers, etc. The singular mission of the BIS is to march the world’s central banks into the New World Order that they control. And just who are these people. Some call them the Rothschild’s but this goes much deeper.

It can be said that the forces, both known and unknown, are the economic rulers of the planet. These people control the Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Monetary Fund which sets the rates of currency exchange, the World Bank, the Club of Rome, the United Nations, etc.

What do all of these entities have in common as a philosophy? Their think tank groups are the originators of Agenda 21, sustainable development and the depopulation agenda which seeks to reduce the size of the population by 90%. Why? Because they seek to install a planetary government and a one world economic system and they feel they need the population to be greatly reduced in order to effectively manage their idea of Utopia. The system they seek to install is inspired and devoted to Satan. Yes, at its heart, the battle for the control of this planet is spiritual at its root. The people connected to the BIS are indeed evil to the core. Please consider the following quotes from the United Nations Agenda 21 brain trust which support their depopulation agenda:

“The present vast overpopulation, now far beyond the world carrying capacity, cannot be answered by future reductions in the birth rate due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, but must be met in the present by the reduction of numbers presently existing. This must be done by whatever means necessary.”

Initiative for the United Nations ECO-92 EARTH CHARTER

“One America burdens the earth much more than twenty Bangladeshes. This is a terrible thing to say in order to stabilize world population, we must eliminate 350,000 people per day. It is a horrible thing to say, but it’s just as bad not to say it.”

Jacques Cousteau, UNESCO Courier

“A reasonable estimate for an industrialized world society at the present North American material standard of living would be 1 billion. At the more frugal European standard of living, 2 to 3 billion would be possible.”

United Nations, Global Biodiversity Assessment

“A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline would be ideal.”

Ted Turner, founder of CNN and major United Nations contributor

Most of the recent human history, post-1900 to the present, is dedicated to the planetary unification of every resource, institution, power base, religion under the Satanist philosophy of the BIS creation. Their final push for planetary unification under their control commenced with extreme debt enslavement which has impoverished the central banks and ultimately the nation states that these central banks control.

The credit swap derivatives debt was the creation of the BIS. It enticed the central banks to make some very easy money by participating in the latest of their ponzi schemes. A few of the brokers and bankers which participated in the credit swap derivatives, made a lot of money. However, central bankers were lured into this practice like a bunch of crack cocaine addicts and their staggering money losses led to the need for the infamous bail-outs, the encroaching bail-ins, the MERS mortgage fraud and on and on… Today, the derivatives debt totals $1.5 quadrillion dollars and the interest associated with this debt is growing faster than nations can steal money from their people to pay the debt. And what do central banks and the nations that they control do when they cannot pay their bills after stealing as much as they can from the citizens? They go to war! An economic collapse will trigger martial law. All opposition to a World War will be eliminated and World War III will commence.

The unfolding New World Order will lead this planet into a war in which most will die. There will be no civil liberties. You will buy and sell using the mark. There will be no open practicing of Christianity. There will be FEMA Camps with all of their intended purpose and it is all Satanically inspired.

“No one will enter the New World Order unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he will take a Luciferian Initiation.”

David Spangler, Director of Planetary Initiative, United Nations

If the globalists are able to carry out their sociopathic agenda, they will create a world that none of us have any desire to live in. The specter of transhumanism will come out of the closet and rear its ugly head. Since the globalists have not learned to harness the soul, transhumanism is their default position. In the final stages, the human race would seek to exist as we know it, if it were not for the divine intervention of Jesus in the Second Coming.

Level Two of the Power Structure: The Central Banks

The second level of power on this planet consists of the global central banks including the Federal Reserve which is an unelected cabal of private bankers who have wrestled the financial power of this country away from Congress and control the nation’s money. It is the same in every country. And of course, if an entity controls the money of a nation, they also control those who use their money through the establishment of a predatory debt enslavement system. You learned this principle of finance as a teenager when your parents told you, “For as long as you live under this house, you will do what I say.” The power of the purse determines who controls behavior. The world’s central banks take their marching orders from the Bank of International Settlements because the monetization of the fiat currency that each central bank controls is determined by the BIS.

The BIS has placed the central banks on Sun Tsu’s infamous concept of “death’s ground”. The debt owed to the BIS has made the central banks desperate. This is why they are engaged in stealing all that they can from the citizens of their respective countries. Their final step is to prey upon each other as a means to acquire assets in order to stay one step ahead of the proverbial burning bridge.

It can be accurately stated that the central banks are rulers of nations and represent mid-level management in the hierarchy of the process. They will be the ones who will ultimately steal all of your assets, sacrifice your children in the upcoming World War III and they will bring the world to the brink of annihilation. The central bankers are desperate because they owe a derivatives debt equivalent to 16 times the entire value of the planet. If it is your fate to die in World War III, I thought you had the right to understand the forces at work.

It is interesting that when the proverbial poop hits the fan, the people will blame their neighborhood banks. They will string up a few bankers as if these are the people to blame.

Level Three: The National Banking Industry

BANKSTERS AThe third level of power in this unholy system are the financial institutions of a nation. In our case, this would be institutions such as Goldman Sachs, other lesser Wall Street investment houses as well as the megabanks (e.g. Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.). Policies that are developed in Basel are implemented by these institutions.

The investment houses conduct the day to day management of the polices which flow downhill from the BIS.

Finally, there is everybody else and that would be the sheep of this country who know nothing of how any of this works. Don’t hold your breath on a sudden level of developing awareness, most of us are all too brainwashed by the system to achieve this level of awareness.

Putin vs. the Western Bankers

Yesterday, I wrote an article which detailed 30 ways that Putin is preparing to militarily defeat the United States. The article was solely written about Russian military preparedness and a number of people wanted to turn the topic into a moral debate. The amount of Putin cult followers in the United States is mind-boggling as they are gulping the KoolAid from this despot.

The moral argument looks like this. The western banking establishment (BIS) controls Obama and all the key points of government. They control the price of oil, the price of gold and the enactment of financial policies designed to plunge the world into a war of final unification. Putin and the BRICS are using gold as their medium of exchange. Putin has rebuilt the Russian economy based upon energy and gold. And who controls the price of energy and gold on this planet? It is none other than the proxy institutions of the BIS. Putin is just as much under control of these unholy bankers as is Obama and the rest of the West.

Most know how we got to where we are today as Putin attacked the Petrodollar by getting Iran to sell oil for gold. The West retaliates by starting a CIA led revolution in Ukraine. The BIS forces the price of oil to plunge in further retaliation. This forces Putin to use his gold reserves. He retaliates by shutting off the gas to Europe, thus placing millions of innocents at risk. Putin readies for war that he knows is coming. In this scenario, Putin is pitted against the central banks of the West.

The failure of the central banks to corral and control Putin has made World War III the only game in town. As Putin continues on the path of destroying the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, what will the Federal Reserve do? There will be a war to preserve the status quo. As China, Russia and the United States are drawn into a confrontation, the world’s economy will be obliterated along with billions of lives. In the aftermath of the coming global holocaust, the supreme financial rulers of the planet will be waiting to create order, the New World Order, out of chaos. All of these parties are pawns of the BIS.

Putin is a willing pawn of the New World Order. Putin is no more of a hero than is Obama. He is doing exactly what is expected. Make no mistake about, the BIS controls the central banks, world finance and Putin. And we are headed down the path towards World War III, the final war of planetary unification.

A Specific Word to All American Citizens

One fact I neglected to mention, in yesterday’s article on Putin’s military preparations to win World War III, has to do with where he is getting his money to carry out his military buildup. The Rubble is in shambles and Putin is racing through his gold supplies to compensate for falling oil prices which has rendered his stash of oil to be worthless. How could Putin be spending what is approaching a trillion dollars on military hardware? With his economy in distress, there is only one place that he could turn to in order to borrow the money needed to do what he is doing militarily. He is undoubtedly borrowing this money from the bankers at the BIS.

As Putin is preparing to win World War III, America has been set up to lose and this will be the topic of next part in this series. Therefore, as an American citizen, you may wish to reconsider your cult-like allegiance to Putin. In order to keep his country afloat, this former KGB/Russian Mafia thug will think nothing of standing over the mass graves of American citizens as Putin fights for his survival.

Should Christians Obey Criminal Government?

Should Christians Obey Criminal Government?

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." —Romans 13:1

“We have not government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” —U.S. President John Adams

It is tragic that most Bible-believing Christians today are misguided concerning Biblical submission to government. God never intended for Christians to blindly yield to government tyranny, blatant abusive of power and treason against it's own citizens. What ever happened to the Bill of Rights?

America's founding father's took matters into their own hands, reviling and revolting against the higher powers. The overthrow of British rule by America's founding father's violates the philosophy of nearly every pastor and Bible-scholar today, who teach that Christians ought to unquestioningly submit to government. Hypocritically, these same religious leaders heartily enjoy freedoms which were secured only through bloodshed inflicted by rebellion and revolt against the abuse and tyranny of the higher powers (i.e., England). Freedom isn't free!!!

Interpreting Romans 13:1-3 in Proper Biblical Context

Romans 13:1-3 reads:

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same."

Please notice... "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil." This phrase is critically important because it reveals the context in which the Bible is speaking, i.e., appropriate government is only a terror to evil works; but not to good works. Good government is NOT a terror to good works. In other words, when a government is run amuck with crime, tyranny and injustice, we are not Biblically obligated to submit anymore. The Apostle Paul deliberately broke the law. Acts 18:13, “Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.” We ought to obey God rather than men. Thus, sometimes Christians must rebel against man in order to obey God. To teach otherwise is to condemn America's founding father's, who if they hadn't revolted, there would be no America today. Think about that.

Communism is a terror to good works. When Daniel was told it was against the law to pray to God, he prayed anyhow (Daniel 6:10). When Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego were commanded to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's 90-foot golden statue, they broke the king's law by refusing to bow (Daniel 3:18). When Herod ordered the 3 wise men to return with information regarding the whereabouts of the Christ child, they didn't return. It takes a good man to break laws made by bad men. Romans 13:1-3 commands believers to obey the "higher powers" as long as the rulers are a terror to evil works, and not to good. God is the highest power. Acts 5:29 plainly states... "We ought to obey God rather than men."

In December of 1993, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno made the following shocking statement...

"Waiting periods are only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of private firearms is the goal." —Former U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno

So much for the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, i.e., the right to bear arms. Are you going to surrender your firearms? Is this pleasing to God... to voluntarily get on the train to Auschwitz? The bigger questions is: What are they planning on doing to us that would make us want to have guns? Why are they building concentration camps in America? I ask you... where, at what point, do we as believers have a God-given “right” to defend and fight to retain our freedoms; when we see the whites of their eyes? ...

(I would also add Luke 22:36)
Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword (side-arm), let him sell his garment, and buy one.
(side-arm is the sword of the day (that could be a handgun or a AR-15, tomorrow something else), also remember that Simon Peter and some other apostles were carrying Roman swords, that were Illegal under Roman Law, and when Jesus told Simon Peter to return his side-arm to his sheath (holster), He did not say discard it. John 18:10-11 )


"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." (William Prescott, Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775)

Well, even the founding fathers of America weren't stupid enough to surrender their firearms. I'm tired of reading books by Christian leaders, about how believers are supposed to blindly submit to criminal government, when the very existence of “The Land Of The Free” was secured through revolt, resistance, and bloodshed. How hypocritical. Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God! There is a theology of cowardliness circulating in many of our churches today, making excuses and explaining away Scriptures, in an attempt to exempt themselves from the call to battle.

"...Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?" —Numbers 32:6

Freedom verses Rights

Although God created mankind with the freedom to make his own choices; God never intended for man to have the "right" to be immoral. All sin is immoral. God "commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30). Liberty is a gift from God. Liberty is the gift of God to make our own decisions. Freedom is a reward for making the right decision.

We hear a lot nowadays about a woman's "right to choose"; but what about the baby's "right to life"? It's a baby, not a choice! What makes the mother's life any more precious or valuable than the infants life? The abortion "pro-choice" mentality is synonymous with the same attitude which Nazi's like Adolf Hitler had, i.e., that certain classes of people are higher (better) than others in the evolutionary process, and therefore, have a right to kill off the weaker class. Please read, Devilution. There is much talk about legalizing infanticide (killing children out of the womb).

Abortion is an evil work. Just because the government allows such wickedness doesn't make it right in God's eyes. Just because pornography, booze, fornication and casino gambling are allowable by law doesn't make it morally acceptable to God. Just because California's Supreme Court just ruled that gay-marriage is legal won't make them legitimate marriages in God's eyes. The only "gay-marriage" is between and man and a woman. Remember, God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Homosexuality is a work of the Devil, which degrades humanity lower than animals. No wonder NDAA was just passed into law.

The government can pass all the laws it wants granting sinners the freedom to sin, but God's Law still condemns them (Romans 1:32). No one has a God-given "right" to be immoral. God has the right to decide what is right. Much immorality and wickedness has been allowed in the name of "equal rights." Equal rights with who, the Devil? It all boils down to whether a nation truly has faith in God or not. Freedom, prosperity and faith in God are inseparable, as failed Communist societies have proven. Our founding fathers never intended for separation of Church and State to mean separation of God and State. God is supposed to be in government. 2nd Samuel 23:3, “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”


Thinking Outside the Box

It's high time for Christian believers to start thinking for themselves, instead of solely relying on Bible-scholars, commentaries and such to educate them. I'm not against Bible-study aids; but today's theologians have been tainted with Zionism, perverted bibles, ecumenism, and a blind loyalty to government. We need to use some common sense when studying the Bible, because God is not a nut. Do you really think God wants you to submit to evil government? Would you have handed over your child to be slaughtered by Pharaoh? (Exodus 1:22), or would you have rebelled as Moses mother did (Exodus 2:2,3) when she hid Moses? She broke the law.

One must reconcile Romans 13:1-3 with such Scriptures as Psalm 94:16, "Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" Does this not include evildoers in government? re we only supposed to rise up against workers of iniquity who don't hold a government office?

It was Adolf Hitler who said...

"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." —Adolf Hitler

Ruthless dictators like Adolf Hitler would absolutely love the attitudes of most pastors and Bible-teachers in America today, who believe that Christians ought to unquestioningly submit to every form of government. For those who want to have their minds filled with brainwashing propaganda, to become bonafied idiots, be sure to watch FoxNews every day. For the truth, you've found my website ministry.

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis — a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? And they are not to be violated but with His wrath.” —U.S. President Thomas Jefferson

The Apostle Paul and Ananias

But you say, what about Acts 23:1-5 where the Apostle Paul apologized for speaking out against the high priest, Ananias? Upon careful study of this Scripture passage, it is evident that Paul realized his mistake to threaten violence against the high priest (i.e., "God shall smite thee"); but Paul in no way was wrong to assert his rights as a Roman citizen. Paul defended his "rights" as a Roman citizen in Acts 22:25 (also, see Acts 16:37), and again as a "free born" citizen of Rome in Acts 22:28. Certainly, it would be an injustice to the Scriptures to claim that Paul was willing to remain silent and passive concerning the violation of his "rights" as a Roman citizen.

Please read, What Does Acts 23:1-5 Mean?

When Will People Wake Up?

“Communism is not [and never was] a creation of the masses to overthrow the Banking establishment, but rather a creation of the Banking establishment to overthrow and enslave the people.” —Anthony J. Hilder

Please read: Communism & NWO—Wall Street's Utopian Hoax! The Banking Cartel (who own and control the Federal Reserve Bank) are evil to the core. Here's a free eye-opening video about the criminals who own the Federal Reserve System... The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Lecture on the Federal Reserve (download: Real Audio | MP3). G. Edward Griffin exposes the most blatant scam of all history. It’s all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. Again, let me quote to you one of the most ruthless mass murderers who ever lived, Adolf Hitler:

"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise." —Adolf Hitler, "Mein Kampf" (1926)

Woe unto America, for we are an ignorant, sinfully proud, stiffnecked people! Love for sin always causes a society to become apathetic and complacent concerning morality, justice and freedom. It's high time for America's Christians to wake up, because America is largely Communist today and few people realize it.

Please read: Biblical Submission to Government.

It was Patrick Henry who said: "Give me liberty or give me death." I agree.

Here are some words of wisdom by Evangelist John R. Rice...

"As an honest Bible preacher, obeying the plain commands of God, I must speak out against corruption and immorality. Waste, corruption, the taking of men's freedom and the seizing of men's property, these sins every honest preacher must condemn and every honest Christian must disavow.

SOURCE: Dr. Rice... Here Are More Questions, by John R. Rice, pg. 249, Sword Of The Lord Publishers (1973)

As Christians, we must consider that OUR government does what they do in OUR name and with OUR money; therefore it is OUR business.

Any Effort To Restore Liberty Without Morality Is Anarchy

The U.S. Constitution is also a higher power than the federal government, intended to preserve our freedoms and prevent corruption through a series of checks and balances. Unfortunately, even the U.S. Constitution cannot benefit an immoral people.

Our First President who had presided over the Constitutional Convention in his farewell address declared, "

“Reason and experience forbid us to expect public morality in the absence of religious principal.” —U.S. President George Washington

Our Second President, John Adams, whose wisdom was key to the drafting of our Constitution said...

“We have not government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” —U.S. President John Adams

What a true statement! Now you know why our nation has fallen apart politically, morally, economically and in every other way. Ultimately we will fail if God is not with us in our pursuit to restore liberty. Without God on our side, we are doomed. No amount of human effort is going to deliver us from bondage if we continue to embrace wickedness.

Adolf Hitler voted MAN OF THE YEAR by Time Magazine in 1938, and Joseph Stalin in 1942!

Every Generation Must Rediscover the Truth!

Obama Security Proposals 'Will Create Cyber Police State'

Obama delivers a range of proposed updates to internet security law – Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Thomas Fox-Brewster
Forbes Staff

Yesterday, President Obama announced plans to “modernize” laws supposed to protect innocents from cyber attacks like the one that tore Sony Pictures apart towards the end of last year. But according to security experts, the proposed legislation could be used against anyone with the slightest link to digital crime.

Central to the problems with the recommended updates to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) are vague terms that could easily be interpreted to prosecute innocents, no matter how weak their links to actual criminal activity. Anyone who “intentionally exceeds authorized access to a protected computer, and thereby obtains information from such computer” could be charged. That sounds acceptable on first inspection, but the definition of “exceeds authorized access” includes using a computer with proper authorization “to obtain or alter information” the relevant party is not entitled to look at, “or for a purpose that the accesser knows is not authorized by the computer owner”.

This muddled legalese would seemingly allow for very broad application by lawyers. Rob Graham, from Errata Security, suggested anyone clicking on a link to leaked data would be deemed in breach of the law. If this was applied to those who rummaged through Sony Pictures’ data, leaked after a catastrophic attack in November, thousands could have been arrested, including your reporter.

But even those who send a link to certain kinds of information, or transmit passwords that aren’t their own, would likely break the CFAA too. Any party who “knowingly and willfully” sent a “password or similar information, or any other means of access” to a computer, “knowing or having reason to know that a protected computer would be accessed or damaged without authorization” would have committed an illegal act, under Obama’s proposals.

Another of Obama’s recommendations could see offenses covered by the CFAA included in prosecutions under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. According to Graham, just being linked to a hacker group would land you in danger of a 20-year prison sentence. As many innocent researchers and interested parties hang around in the same chatrooms and forums as criminal hackers, this could again ensnare many who don’t deserve to have their online activities criminalised.

The US government has seemingly offered some compromises, one being the addition that only those who illegally obtained information worth more than $5,000 could be prosecuted. That should lead to limits on the number of those who could be charged for, say, sending a link to leaked passwords. But it’s easy to ratchet up the value of data, especially if the information provides access to accounts. Not to mention the increase of a maximum penalty for circumventing access controls from five to ten years.

All this isn’t dissimilar from what the law says in the UK. For instance, under the Computer Misuse Act, those who access material they “know” they haven’t been authorised to see can be hit with a six months jail sentence or a £5000 fine. “It was considered poorly thought through at the time… The US is just proposing the same thing. I wish there were more digitally literate folk in parliament,” said professor Alan Woodward WWD -2.13%, a security expert from the University of Surrey.

The CFAA has already caused plenty of consternation amongst professional hackers, better known as penetration testers, who seek to find weaknesses in digital tools to encourage speedy resolutions. Forbes has previously heard complaints from the security community researchers have been threatened with legal action for simply doing their job. “Protecting computers often means attacking them. The more you crack down on hackers, the more of a chilling effect you create in our profession. This creates an open-door for nation-state hackers and the real cybercriminals,” Graham said.

“If this comes true, it’s going to have a devastating effect on the offensive security industry, as developing or even just being in possession of a copy of a security testing tool such as Metasploit could potentially be interpreted as conspiracy to commit a crime,” added Andreas Lindh, a consultant for I Secure Sweden.

Others are a little less pessimistic. Jon Oberheide, co-founder of Duo Security, said he didn’t believe the changes would have “a significant impact on researchers’ ability or appetite to do what they do”. “Cyber security law is out-dated and already has a lot of grey area. But the written letter of the law is a minor aspect compared to how that law is put into practice and prosecuted. Security researchers care much more about the implementation of the law than the text,” he told Forbes. “After all, we make a living poking holes in implementations, even if they have secure designs. So unless security researchers start being prosecuted, I don’t think many will blink.”

A number of high profile cases have tested the adequacy of the CFAA. The late freedom of speech and open internet activist Aaron Swartz was prosecuted for downloading files from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) he believed should have been open to all. Defenders of Barrett Brown believe he has been kept in jail for simply copying a link related to the breach of US government contractor Stratfor from one chatroom to another.

The security community had hoped the Obama administration would bring more context into hacking laws so researchers and other innocents weren’t implicated by simply going about their normal online lives. But with the stalling of Aaron’s Law, a bill named after Swartz that was supposed to rethink cyber legislation in favour of legitimate research and freedom of information, those hopes had started to fade as of summer 2014. With Obama’s proposals, security professionals’ optimism has all but evaporated. “In short, President Obama’s War on Hackers is a bad thing, creating a Cyber Police State,” added Graham.

You Could Be Quarantined and Forced to Take Toxic Drugs

January 13, 2015
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Scientist wearing protective suitA new federal executive order expands the list of illnesses for which you could be detained, isolated, and treated against your will if you are entering the US or traveling between states—even if you are completely healthy. Some states have similar or worse laws that would even allow entry into your home.

President Obama has signed an executive order expanding the list of illnesses that could result in forced detention, isolation, and quarantine for anyone exposed, even if they are not sick. It updates a Bush-era executive order, adding “severe acute respiratory syndromes” except for influenza to the list of detainable communicable diseases.

The Public Health Service Act allows the government to apprehend and detain individuals based on communicable diseases named in the Act, or named by presidential executive orders. Executive orders do not have to get congressional approval.

Not only can people with the disease be forcibly isolated, but the CDC also has the power to quarantine anyone who may have been exposed. The new executive order allows detentions for “diseases that are associated with fever and signs and symptoms of pneumonia or other respiratory illness…capable of being transmitted from person to person, and that either are causing, or have the potential to cause, a pandemic, or, upon infection, are highly likely to cause mortality or serious morbidity if not properly controlled” [italics ours]. In other words, if you have been exposed to one of the listed communicable diseases—even if you do not show symptoms—you may be forcibly detained and quarantined.

This is broad authority, as the CDC notes: “In addition to serving as medical functions, isolation and quarantine also are ‘police power’ functions, derived from the right of the state to take action affecting individuals for the benefit of society.” And since this is federal law, it covers people entering into the United States and people traveling between states as well.

Even worse, because of various draconian state laws, individuals can also be detained against their will within their state—which includes being forced from their home. Once in quarantine, a potentially toxic drug regimen is generally enforced. While detention authority and scope differs from state to state, some have excessively broad powers. For example

In Alabama, the governor or state board of health may proclaim a quarantine whenever it is deemed necessary. The board of health has full powers of enforcement, and may formulate any rules it believes necessary.
In Idaho, the state reserves the right to enter an individual’s home by force if an occupant may have been exposed.
Maine reserves the right to impose emergency regulations at the mere threat of an outbreak.
New York can also detain patients in a locked ward at Bellevue hospital.
In 2009 the Massachusetts Senate considered a bill allowing the police, during a declared public health emergency, to arrest people without a warrant if they have “probable cause” to think they’re not complying with orders (including verbal orders from the public health commissioner or local public health authority). Under this bill, citizens could have been detained for as long as necessary for the public authorities to “convey information to you regarding the disease.” Happily, because of grassroots activists like you and opposition from the Massachusetts House, the bill did not pass and was never reintroduced.
Of deep concern is that, in most instances, natural treatments will be denied in favor of state-mandated treatments. In New York, for example, a patient with tuberculosis was placed in mandatory isolation for two weeks—and now, even after being released from isolation, he still must take three powerful antibiotics every day and is monitored by health officials via smartphone from his home. In Arkansas, for those under mandated treatment for tuberculosis, “disorderly conduct” can be punished with confinement of up to six months. Does disorderly conduct include not accepting the state-mandated treatment? We don’t know for certain, but it seems likely.

Keep yourself healthy! Vitamin D is an excellent preventive treatment for influenza and other viral diseases, and is being studied as a powerful tool to treat and prevent tuberculosis and other communicable diseases and potential pandemics. For other viral treatments, see our recent article on the Ebola virus.

What Will You Do When Government Tyranny And Terrorism Work Hand In Hand?

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 02:44 Brandon Smith


I was in the middle of working on an article covering real U.S. economic stats versus manipulated statistics when the Charlie Hebdo shootings took place. And though I knew the implications of the event would be far-reaching, I was originally undeterred from my financial subject matter. I had already covered in previous articles the inevitability of ISIS attacks on Europe and America, including the “warnings” of Saudi Arabia in August of last year that jihadists would target the EU within months and the U.S. a month later.

In September of last year, ISIS publicly urged attacks on French and U.S. citizens.

I have also published extensive analysis on the covert funding and training of ISIS militants by Saudi Arabia and Western intelligence agencies, including my article “The Time Is Ripe For A False Flag Attack On American Soil.”

The bottom line is the Paris attack was not surprising in the slightest. I have no doubt whatsoever that such attacks are going to increase in frequency, that the U.S. will be hit soon, and that our government will do little to nothing to stop such tragedies. However, a Reuters article titled “White House to hold global security summit Feb (sic) 18: U.S. official” caught my eye. And after reading it, I’m afraid I have to set aside my financial piece until next week and break down the insanity that is now taking place in the world of geopolitics.

It is clear by the language being used by the political elite that the “global summit” called in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks is about far more than radical Islamic terrorism. Set aside the fact that our government essentially created ISIS in order to destabilize Syria. Set aside the fact that globalist middlemen like John McCain and “former” covert ops goons like Gen. Paul Vallely have met directly with groups like the Nusra Front that are providing support for ISIS. Set aside the fact that Saudi Arabia has been openly funneling cash and arms to Syrian terrorist factions tied to ISIS, and realize that the mere existence of ISIS, regardless of its origins, is being used as a rationale for the erasure of civil liberties and the establishment of martial law on both sides of the Atlantic. Such federalized reactions CANNOT be allowed to continue, regardless of the threats each nation faces.

As far as the Reuters article is concerned, one does not need to read very far between the lines to see the true message being conveyed.

First, the focus of the summit is not necessarily indicated as “Islamic terrorism.” In fact, the word “terrorism” is barely mentioned. Now politicos are shifting their language to the term “extremism,” which is far broader in its implications. It should be noted that while the terrorist label has been bandied about rather liberally by both the Bush and Obama administrations, “extremism” offers greater cover for governments to persecute or attack political opponents. A terrorist is generally someone who initiates or at least plans a large-scale attack designed to illicit a fear response in a population. An extremist, on the other hand, could literally be anyone who holds views or initiates activism outside acceptable forms of mainstream thought. Attorney General Eric Holder did not use the words “terrorism” or “jihadist” in his announcement of the global summit in February; he used the phrase “violent extremism”:

We will bring together all of our allies to discuss ways in which we can counteract this violent extremism that exists around the world…

Throughout history, “violence,” according to governments, is often attributed to ideas as well as actions. The point is the change in vocabulary over to the extremist label is not accidental or coincidental. The establishment is conditioning the public to think in broad terms and to identify numerous groups as the enemy, rather than focusing on radical Islam. As I have said for years, Islamic terror is nothing but an advantageous excuse for governments to make war on all of us. Do not forget, constitutionalists are often referred to in the mainstream media and by Orwellian institutions like the Department of Homeland Security as “extremists.” How long before we are artificially linked as being suspect? How long before Charlie Hebdo-style attacks come to the U.S.? How long before the liberty minded are categorized as accessories to terrorism due to our anti-corrupt-government philosophies?

It is disturbing to witness the lack of conviction in principles in the average person. Self-proclaimed leftists railed against the degeneration of civil liberties and constitutional protections under George W. Bush, but rallied in support of the same weakening of freedoms under Barack Obama. Self-proclaimed conservatives today are shocked and infuriated by the trampling of the constitution through executive orders displayed by the Obama administration. Yet, I suspect that many of them will willingly jump on the fascist bandwagon in the event of “Islamic” attacks on American soil. Neither side seems to grasp the reality that the disruptions of liberty we enact in the name of stopping jihadists today will eventually fall back on the rest of us tomorrow.

The lockdown of the populace is already ramping up. The EU is currently discussing the creation of a European Passenger Name Record database (national ID database), meaning officials hope to create a centralized database with a file on every single citizen. Think the no-fly list is a terrifying concept? Wait until it becomes publicly accepted for all web comments, Facebook posts, and blog posts to be added to an ongoing record that determines whether you are allowed to travel. Wait until it becomes a mainstream notion that every travel destination you visit is tracked, recorded on permanent record, and scrutinized by some pencil necked bureaucrat who then determines whether or not you are suspect. Apparently, French officials are supportive of the idea. And given the proclamations of “unity” surrounding the upcoming summit, I suspect actions undertaken in Europe will eventually be exported to the United States. Reuters reports:

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said after the meeting that European interior ministers had agreed to boost cooperation in an effort to thwart further jihadist attacks.

“We all agree that we need to put in place better control on certain passengers, on the basis of objective criteria and with respect for fundamental liberties and without disrupting cross-border travel,” he said.

He said Europe needed urgent progress in establishing a European Passenger Name Record database, which would facilitate the exchange of data about passengers between member states.

“We are convinced of the need for such a tool, to follow those who travel to terrorist operating theaters or who return from there,” he said, adding that this database would also be useful in the fight against other serious crimes.

Unfortunately, travel is the least of our concerns. Free speech is a primary target for the elites, and the Internet is clearly outlined as a threat by politicians claiming concern for public safety. This comes in the form of one of the oldest rationalizations for tyranny - the trade-off between freedom and security. The French argue that while free speech is important, some “exceptions” must be made in order to thwart extremist ideas:

Cazeneuve said the Internet needs to remain a space for free expression, but that Europe should fight against abusive use of the web (sic) to spread hate speech, anti-Semitic messages and the recruiting vulnerable young people for violence.

“We need to work more closely with Internet companies to guarantee the reporting and if possible removal of all content that amounts to an apology of terrorism or calls for violence and hatred,” he said.

Who gets to determine what speech amounts to an “apology of terrorism?” Who is the all-benevolent and wise sage who gets to decide what we can and cannot say? Will he be fair and just? Or will he use the power of censorship to attack any and all websites critical of the establishment? What do you think the most likely outcome of such legal precedence would be?

Again, how long before websites like the one you are reading now are vilified by the extremist label? How long before liberty-minded speech is categorized as violent speech or hate speech?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the White House are now kindly warning the public that terrorist “sleeper cells” have been activated and that some are present in the United States. On CNN, Feinstein said:

So I think this calls for vigilance. It calls for seeing that the national security organizations of our country, the intelligence community is funded fully, is directed ably, is cooperating with whether it be British intelligence, French intelligence, German intelligence, as we do.

And the French are good at it, and so are the British and the Germans. So, we can even be more active in terms of doing those things which enable us to find terrorists, to see who they’re communicating with in this country, and to track that.

She means mass Internet and phone surveillance, the same National Security Agency surveillance exposed by Edward Snowden, which now has a convenient justification in the form of an ever-present fear of terrorism.

Finally, it is only a matter of time before a militarized response is activated in the U.S., just as it has been in France. One shooting event has led to the fielding of over 10,000 French troops on French soil, as well as an extra 5,000 heavily armed police.

Frankly, this is where I — and many people like me — draw the line. Martial law is not acceptable under any circumstances. I don't care if we one day see a mushroom cloud over an American city, there is no measure of government security (false security) that is worth the degradation of essential liberties. I suspect the loss of liberty, usurping of the constitution and the deployment of the military on U.S. soil would trigger revolution — a revolution I’m sure the establishment would attempt to marginalize as mere terrorism. Ultimately, though, there is no other option.

As I have been discussing constantly over the past several months, community preparation and organization comprise the only action plan worth the effort and energy at this time. The French are disarmed and utterly socialized. Millions of them march in Paris in a display of solidarity, but solidarity behind what solution? Even more government; the same government that created the problem in the first place? Even more centralization? The globalization of despotic security policies? The French have dug their grave, and now they are going to have to lie down in it.

Americans do not have to follow the same path.

We do not need more government. We do not need more surveillance, more police militarization or more troops on the streets. What we need is to take back responsibility for own defense. The French government could not or would not protect the staff of Charlie Hebdo, and the U.S. government will not protect you. That means you must train to protect yourself and those you care about. Whether we face a false flag attack or a legitimate terrorist action, the response is the same: Fight back. It is times like these that separate the courageous from the cowardly; those with principles and conscience versus the treacherous and self-serving. Make no mistake; as I wrote in my last article, many illusions are about to be shattered. You can be caught up in the storm as a helpless spectator and victim or you can become a barrier, a wall of defense against the dangerous riptides. These are your choices. Choose wisely.

WILL FREEDOM SURVIVE 2015?

By Chuck Baldwin
January 15, 2015
NewsWithViews.com

Something as precious and valuable as a nation’s freedom is not lost in a day--or even in a year. There is no single event that turns citizens into slaves. Oppression and tyranny are always long in the planning--and even longer in the making. Granted, there could be a single chain of events that results in a people’s enslavement: Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 Russia, Mao Zedong’s Communist Revolution in 1949 China, for example. But these events did not take place spontaneously or in a vacuum. Conditions for these enslavements had been ripening for years. Old barns don’t collapse without years--even decades--of mitigating factors (very obvious and noticeable factors). Neither do nations.

They say that we begin to die as soon as we are born. And in a philosophical meandering sort of way, I suppose that’s true. And if that maxim is true for individuals, it’s also true for nations. For example, the tyrant and betrayer of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, Abraham Lincoln, planted the seeds for the globalist Woodrow Wilson, who planted the seeds for the socialist Franklin D. Roosevelt, who planted the seeds for the corrupt Lyndon Baines Johnson, who planted the seeds for the narcissist Bill Clinton, who planted the seeds for Mr. Police State, George W. Bush, who planted the seeds for the Marxist Barack Obama. And all along the way there were Supreme Court justices, congressmen and senators, international bankers, and most of all very lethargic and lazy pastors, who facilitated and abetted the diabolical and duplicitous deeds of the aforementioned presidents.

In a very real and practical way, the American republic was birthed as a strong and healthy body amidst the blood of the patriots in 1775 and ‘76. Suffice it to say, the free republic of our forefathers is a very weak and diseased body today.

The malady that eventually takes the life out of a sick and diseased man may not have, by itself, been deadly, but coupled with years of preceding sicknesses, it is the one that is listed on the death certificate by the coroner as the cause of death. Such is also the case with a nation.

The numerous ostriches that are so quick to dismiss every national warning as being just another Chicken Little false alarm continue to dismiss any new attempt to awaken a distracted people with what should be obvious to anyone who can see. In truth, the vast majority of Americans are behaving exactly as did the very rich and pompous passengers on board the Titanic. As the stewards were rushing room to room and cabin to cabin warning passengers that the ship was sinking, they continued to frolic and dance, completely deaf and indifferent to the cries of the porters.

On the whole, the American people have ignored the warnings of freedom’s faithful stewards such as Barry Goldwater, Pat Buchanan, and Ron Paul. For the most part, the criers of liberty on the Internet and in talk radio are also ignored.

There are several reasons why so few seem to even see the water rushing up the floors of the ship of state. For one thing, too many of our men have abdicated their manhood. In the glorious history of liberty, when one would observe men with painted faces, they were marching into battle. Today, they are marching into football stadiums. Sports are more than a pastime; they are an addiction. Today’s American men are so beset by sports and pornography that they can barely see the reality that is staring them in the face.

A lying, deceitful, and deliberately conspiratorial national news media is also a major contributor to the collapse of the American republic. No doubt about it! Nazi Germany’s Joseph Goebbels had NOTHING on the propaganda machinery of the American mainstream news media. Put our public (and many private) education system on the list, as well. Yes, the entertainment pimps, who have sold their souls to lust and perniciousness and who love to corrupt the morals of young people, should also be on the list. And, last but not least, a very passive, indifferent, feel-good, corporate Church might possibly be the worst offender of all.

As we enter into 2015, all of the above are already eating the flesh away from Lady Liberty. The condition is near-terminal. Even worse is the recent prognosis of what can only be regarded as the final stage for this morally and politically cancerous-ridden body: the Police State.

Just recently, Ron Paul wrote, “If Americans were honest with themselves they would acknowledge that the Republic is no more. We now live in a police state.”

See Dr. Paul’s excellent column here: Inner City Turmoil And Other Crises: My Predictions For 2015

Ron is right! “We NOW [emphasis added] live in a police state.” We are not HEADED for a Police State; we are IN a Police State.

Perhaps not surprisingly, people who escaped totalitarian regimes in other countries and fled to America are the ones who more readily recognize the rise of totalitarianism here in the U.S. than those of us who were blessed to be born here.

Realizing the ostriches will bury their heads in the sand after reading what I’m about to say, I’ll say it again, anyway: the problem is NOT drugs; the problem is the WAR on drugs. The problem is NOT Muslim countries; the problem is an interventionist foreign policy which has waged WAR on Muslim countries for decades. The problem is NOT poverty; the problem is the WAR on poverty. The problem is NOT terror; the problem is the WAR on terror; the problem is NOT racism; the problem is the WAR on racism. The problem is NOT political correctness; the problem is the WAR against political incorrectness. The problem is NOT America’s Christian heritage; the problem is the WAR against America’s Christian heritage. The problem is NOT free speech; the problem is the WAR against free speech. The problem is NOT the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights; the problem is the WAR against the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The problem is NOT firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens; the problem is the WAR against the Second Amendment. The problem is NOT that people hate us because we are free; the problem is they hate us because we make WAR against their freedom when it doesn’t comport with the globalists in Washington, D.C., New York, and London.

A Police State is the practical result of everything mentioned in the paragraph above. And a Police State is the final stage of a nation that is losing its liberty.

And in case someone is forwarding this column to a friend or relative who is still in the dark that, yes, America is ALREADY living under a Police State, I invite them to keep an eye on the Police State page on my website for continuing examples of that reality.

See it here: Emerging Police State

But I warn you: be prepared to spend a lot of time getting current, because the facts and realities that America is already a Police State are multitudinous.

The only remaining question is when will the PTB (Powers That Be) decide to collapse the curtain? Will it be 2015?

We are being set up BIG TIME for another faux-9/11 event: Ferguson; the Paris attacks; ISIS; Senator Dianne Feinstein talking about terror cells already being in the states; Senator Lindsey Graham’s fear-mongering; Senator John McCain’s fear-mongering; the media’s ubiquitous assault against the Second Amendment; the Supreme Court’s continuous rubber stamping of domestic spying; an arrogant White House that illegally acts with impunity against the liberties of the American people; a cowardly and complicit Republican Party that works to protect the big-business interests of Wall Street more than the liberties of the people on Main Street; ad infinitum.

No, I suppose there is one last question: will the American people ever wake up? And, of course, the even greater question is, will the Church ever wake up?

Folks, when the Police State is fully functioning, there is no place to go except into submission or revolution. But revolution without righteousness is no solution at all. Rightly did Patrick Henry call it, “the holy cause of Liberty.” Without an understanding of the undergirding Natural Law principles of liberty, without an understanding of the rightness and justness of liberty, without a moral and reasoned conviction in the hearts and minds of men regarding liberty as the divine will of our Creator, no revolution could be blessed of Heaven. And that’s where the pastors and churches come in; and that’s where the pastors and churches are failing--and failing MISERABLY.

Will freedom survive 2015? There have been a myriad of contributing factors to America’s demise extending over a long period of time, but a Police State is the last and final stage of a diseased and dying nation. We are in that stage NOW. And America’s pastors are the only antidote.

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This is no game, folks. If you believe in liberty for our country and for your children, you must get out of these corporate churches that are dancing with the devil and letting the forces of hell obliterate our liberties. If your pastor isn’t preaching the Biblical Natural Law principles of liberty, find one who will.

Let me ask it this way: will freedom survive 2015 if it depended on the pastor of the church that you now attend? If the answer is “No,” why are you still there?

P.S. Faithful readers know that I am currently engaged in helping start non-501c3 churches and fellowships and in also helping 501c3 churches get out. We have a list of non-501c3 churches on the website. The list is a short one now, but it will be growing rapidly. We are working with groups of people all over the country. The process begins by filling out the online application.

See the Liberty Church Project website here.

Investment Guide For The American Dystopia: Go Long the 1%, Short The Middle Class

Submitted by Daniel Drew of Dark-Bid.com
Investment Guide for the American Dystopia: Go Long the 1%, Short the Middle Class



Would you short the Brady Bunch? I would.

Mike Brady is supporting nine people on one salary in a large two story house in an LA suburb. It would have been a difficult feat in 1970 and impossible in 2015. In 2006, he might have been able to pull it off with a subprime mortgage, but eventually, a modern version of Mike Brady would be utterly screwed.

The middle class is being wiped out as the 1% take control, aided by a Federal Reserve which supplies them with all the monetary ammunition they need to take over the world. The economy is like a Toyota with a jammed accelerator pedal. It will either collide with reality or the pedal will somehow disengage. Even if it disengages, it will become clear there is no one at the wheel to steer us to safety.

As long as the Fed's liquidity pedal is stuck, the 1% party is on. The middle class will continue to be decimated, and the ranks of the retail slaves will swell. The effects show up in the data, and the stock prices of particular companies show clear trends. When our Toyota hits the wall, or the Fed takes away the punch bowl, then all bets are off.

The Long/Short Strategy for the New Reality

1. Go long companies that cater to the 1%.
2. Short companies that cater to the middle class.
3. Go long companies that cater to the poor.
Rich Door, Poor Door

No, it's not a book about why it's your fault you're not rich. It's a real situation that's unfolding in Manhattan. It's exactly what it sounds like: a door for the rich and a door for the poor. If you're old enough, perhaps it will remind you of colored entrances and colored water fountains. The reason for these architectural gymnastics is money of course. If the developer provides affordable housing, they get to collect tax breaks and subsidies. But apparently, there's no requirement that there be a common entrance - probably because the lawmakers considered that kind of ridiculous behavior to be ancient American history. But as we all know, history has an irritating way of creeping up on us.

Rich Classifieds, Poor Classifieds

Want to sell your Maserati so you can move up to the next model? Post it on POSH - the rich man's Craigslist that exists inside Bloomberg.



The Craigslist for the average person looks a little different: old chairs and an old Nissan. And forget the discounted goods; it looks like there's an entire discount store for sale. Maybe someone got cancer and needs $85,000 as a down payment for treatment.



Luxury Products

The top 10% control 86% of the nation's wealth, and they account for over 50% of all consumption. That's the definition of an exploitation society. It's the socially acceptable pillaging of the common person in a silent war on America.

Here are some current trends in conspicuous consumption for the elite.

Jet Flipping

I first saw this reported in June 2008 before the worst of the crash. In November 2013, this story resurfaced. Buy a Gulfstream jet for $66 million and sell it for $72 million. Obviously, this is bad news for Gulfstream. They don't want others profiting from their goods if they can help it. In an effort to discourage flipping, Gulfstream said customers are not allowed to sell jets until they have taken physical delivery of them. But the folks at Gulfstream underestimated the persistence of the 1% when it comes to violating the spirit of the law and upholding the letter. To get around the new rules, they created shell companies - basically a rite of passage for 1 percenters. The shell company would buy the jet. Then they would sell the entire fake company to the eager buyer. And it was legal. When Gulfstream discovered this, they adjusted their contract yet again to require the buyer to be involved in the final delivery. But the 1% will eventually get their way somehow. They always have, and they always will.

Luxury Car Sales

The United States remains the world's largest market for luxury cars. In 2014, Lamborghini announced an all-time high in V12 sales with 1,001 deliveries of Aventadors. A few days ago, Rolls-Royce announced a 12% gain in 2014 sales, a record 4,063 vehicles. The average Rolls-Royce sells for more than $250,000. In 2013, Maserati had sales growth of 145%. Mercedes-Benz sold a record 1.4 million cars. BMW also had a record-setting year with 1.6 million cars sold.

A New Southern California Housing Bubble

A record breaking number of homes were bought for $2 million or more in the last several months. Sales worth $10 million or more were 100% higher than from the heights of the 2007 housing bubble. Cindy Ambuehl, an agent with Partners Trust in Brentwood, said, "It's pretty mind-blowing." In 2010, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire doctor, bought 3 acres in Brentwood for $29 million. The LA Times called certain parts of the Westside a "playground for the rich." A record 1,436 homes worth $2 million or more were sold in the six-county Southland in the second quarter, according to CoreLogic DataQuick. Selma Hepp, senior economist at the California Association of Realtors, said the housing market moves at two speeds: "fast for the high end, sluggish for the rest."

Excess in the High End Art Market

Perhaps no other market depicts the Fed-induced desires of the rich as clearly as the high end art market. The stock of Sotheby's, the fine art auction house, is quite possibly one of the purest ultra beta plays in the stock market. The surges and crashes of the stock mirror the broader bubble economy almost perfectly.



Sotheby's Stock

One of the most speculative practices in the art market is when the auction house guarantees the seller a minimum price for the work in an effort to attract their business. If the art is eventually sold at a higher price, the auction house splits the difference with the seller. As you can already see, it's a dangerous game - yet quite alluring. David Kusin of Kusin & Company, a research firm that specializes in the economics of the art market, called it a "brutal business." The auction houses have become so enamored with their inventory that they have effectively assumed ownership of it and have become speculators themselves. The line between dealer and speculator has never been so blurry. Auction houses should study the practices of drug dealers. In Biggie Smalls' song "Ten Crack Commandments," rule #4 is "Never get high on your own supply." In this case, the supply is Impressionist and Modern art like Alberto Giacometti's sculpture "Chariot," which infamous hedge fund manager Steve Cohen bought for $101 million a few months ago. I call it "anorexic stick man."



Giacometti's Chariot

In its November postwar and contemporary art sale, Christie's auction house directly guaranteed 23 works that accounted for 44% of the sale's $853 million in revenue. Sotheby’s covered minimum prices on works that made up 43% of the $422 million in revenue at its Impressionist and Modern art sale. Sotheby's CEO William Ruprecht said, “Auction guarantees have been meaningfully profitable to the company.”



Christie's Guarantees

Dark Bid Wage-Adjusted Unemployment Rate

The guarantees also create rigged markets with unequal information. Sometimes, the auction house will arrange for an outsider to guarantee the price. These outsiders are allowed to bid on a work they are guaranteeing, which is essentially a double bid. It creates a false sense of demand and is a simple way to bluff the rich art buyers. The double bidders know what the floor price is because they have set it. Meanwhile, the legitimate bidders have no idea who the guarantor is or what the floor price is. The auction houses attempt to defend themselves by disclosing which art is guaranteed and whether or not the guarantor is the house or an outside party. They are essentially saying, "Disclaimer: This is a rigged market" without telling them the necessary details. The legitimate bidders remain at a huge informational disadvantage in this high stakes game to prove who has the most money, ego, and artistic sensibility.

Lessons From Before the Crash

When you look back at what was going on before the crash and what is happening now, you'll see the lessons offered by the crash have already been forgotten. It was so ridiculous that the rich were flipping yachts in 2007. Billy Smith, a partner in Trinity Yachts, said, "The risk, I guess, is that the yacht market collapses, but with all the wealth that's being created, there are no signs that that will happen." Yep - no signs at all - unless you had the slightest involvement in the mortgage industry and could see the storm coming. It's too bad the bubble didn't last long enough for subprime yacht lending to emerge. And don't think it wouldn't happen.

The art auction houses are not immune from the infectious investment amnesia. In 2008, Sotheby's reported losses of $52 million from its guarantees. Christie's also reported millions of losses. They said they would cut back on client dinner parties, global art tours, and staff. The management was okay with gambling the shareholders' money on Warhols, but when it came time to deal with the fallout, the shareholders and the lower-level staff took the losses, while the managers stayed on. Like a bunch of duplicitous gangsters, the auction house managers created a classic game of "heads I win, tails you lose." Sotheby's CEO Ruprecht said they would stay out of the guarantee business for awhile because it's "too hard to predict what tomorrow looks like." And yet here we are - three quantitative easings later - and Sotheby's is up to its neck in nearly half of its art sales.

But maybe this is all part of the plan. From the 2009 low to 2015, Sotheby's stock has gone from $5 to $45, no doubt boosting the stock option compensation of the executives. Some analysts think there is "hidden turmoil" in the art market with "razor-thin" profit margins. The CEOs of Christie's and Sotheby's have both recently announced they will step down from their positions. They probably realize their businesses were just caught in the rushing rapids of Fed-induced liquidity, and with 2008 in the back of their minds, they decided to jump ship. Ruprecht gets a $4 million severance package. On December 15, he sold 15,000 shares of Sotheby's stock for $583,000. He still has 179,000 shares left at a value of $7.6 million. I can't help but wonder if he will completely bail out once the Fed music stops.

The S&P Global Luxury Index

You can see the tidal wave of liquidity in this chart. Forget the average stock. Look at the luxury stocks of companies that cater to the rich. The associated ETF is the Amundi S&P Global Luxury ETF, which trades in Paris.



S&P Global Luxury Index

Middle Class Malaise

Empty malls are probably the most iconic images of the downfall of the middle class. About 80% of the country’s 1,200 malls are considered healthy, with vacancy rates of 10% or less. In 2006, 94% of malls were considered healthy, according to CoStar Group, a data provider for the real estate industry. But which stores are leading the way? Steven Lowy, Co-CEO of Westfield, said, "Our business is more regional and high-end focused. Anything that's caught in the middle of the market is problematic." Lowy knows his stuff. If you look at the 5 year stock chart of Sears, JC Penney, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree, you will see everything you need to know. Middle class focused Sears and JC Penney have been obliterated, despite the efforts of hedge fund managers Eddie Lampert and Bill Ackman, who each learned the meaning of "catching a falling knife." Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, where the poor buy their groceries, have seen huge gains in their stock, with Dollar Tree leading the way at 322%. All the middle class who used to shop at places like Sears and JC Penney have dropped down to dollar stores because that's all they can afford with their McJob wages.

Middle Class Retail vs. Lower Class Retail



Source: Yahoo Finance

The Middle Class Auto Market: In Over Their Heads

While the rich buy record amounts of Lamborghinis and Maseratis, the average American is taking on record amounts of debt to finance their Fords and Hondas. According to Experian Automotive, which tracks millions of auto loans, the average amount borrowed by car buyers in the fourth quarter of 2013 reached $27,000 for the first time. A record 20% of all new car loans were more than six years in length. Not surprisingly, nine months later in the third quarter of 2014, both Experian and Transunion showed an increase in the number of car buyers who are 60 days or more behind on their car loans. Transunion reported a 13% increase in delinquent loans, and Experian reported a 9% increase. Even worse, 36% of new car loans are now made to subprime borrowers.

Payday Loans: The Final Stop on the Road to Poverty

Payday loan businesses exemplify some of the worst of capitalism. It makes the Muslim case for a total ban on interest seem less ridiculous. In the mid-1990s, the payday loan industry consisted of a few hundred lenders. Today, 20,000 storefronts clutter the landscape of America's poorest neighborhoods.

No one loves a one-sided deal more than hedge fund managers, and it wasn't long before they made their way into this legalized loan-sharking. Attracted by interest rates as high as 700%, a company called American Web Loan funneled profits through a chain of entities: from American Web Loan to an Indian tribe called Otoe-Missouria to MacFarlane Group, which is owned by Mark Curry, who is backed by a New York hedge fund called the Medley Opportunity Fund II LP. The fund was founded by the late Richard Medley, who was an adviser to George Soros. Now the fund is run by twin brothers Brook and Seth Taube. Curry's loan shark business has allowed him to buy a mansion in a Las Vegas suburb. He later moved to Puerto Rico. Curry said his clients are making "very educated decisions." Joshua Wrenn, who was trying to make a car payment, said, "I didn't ever see a contract."

Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky is investigating Medley Opportunity to see if it violated any laws. This won't be the first time Medley has faced scrutiny. In 2012, Fintan Partners sued Medley to redeem its $45 million investment after Medley allegedly violated a side letter agreement. Jay Eisenhower and Matthew Morris of the shareholder rights law firm Grant & Eisenhofer said tens of billions of dollars remain locked up in illiquid "zombie hedge funds" that suspended redemptions. These funds sit on their assets and produce small returns while collecting management fees.

A Brady Bunch Divided

If the Brady Bunch represents the American middle class, then the modern Brady Bunch would be divided. They wouldn't even live in the same neighborhood. One half would drive across town to where the other half lives so they could mow their lawn, wash their Maserati, and clean their 10,000 square foot home. That's the way we became the Brady Bunch.