Crafting A Cartel, Part I

Originally posted at Dispatches from Reality, by Scipio Eruditusdfreality.substack.com


“Who are these people? They are the group that is popularly called the Enterprise. They are in and outside [the] CIA. They are mostly Right Wing Republicans, but you will find a mix of Democrats, mercenaries, ex officio Mafia and opportunists within the group. They are CEOs, they are bankers, they are presidents, they own airlines, they own national television networks. They own six of the seven video documentary companies of Washington, DC and they do not give a damn about the law or the Constitution or the Congress or the Oversight committees except as something to be subverted and manipulated and lied to.

They abhor sunlight and love darkness. They deal in innuendo and character assassination, and planted stories, the incomplete thought and sentence. They burn and shred files if caught, they commit perjury, and when caught they have guaranteed sinecures with large US corporations.

Continue reading “Crafting A Cartel, Part I”

Italy Totally Fine Thanks To Universal Healthcare

Via The Babylon Bee

ITALY—A new report has found that Italy is doing completely fine with no problems whatsoever thanks to its lauded universal healthcare system.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the world, countries are going on lockdown, but not Italy. Its universal healthcare program means that everybody is doing great, “incredible even.”

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NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF

Customers waited in line at a Costco in Burbank last week to buy water and other supplies for fear that COVID-19 would spread and force people to stay indoors. Image result for nothing to fear but fear itself coronavirus

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”- Franklin D. RooseveltMarch 4, 1933

Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke these words during his first inauguration at the depths of the Great Depression in 1933. The narrative taught in government schools is how FDR’s words invigorated the nation and inspired the people to show courage in the face of adversity. His terminology was that of a general leading his troops into battle.

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“We’re All Going To Get It”: Life In Italy’s Coronavirus ‘Red Zone’ Getting ‘A Little Crazy’

Via ZeroHedge

With Italian cases of coronavirus surpassing 800 on Friday and 21 dead, life inside northern Italy’s so-called ‘red zone’ has ‘taken on a surreal air,’ according to the Washington Post.

Italian soldiers and police control the traffic in a checkpoint in the red area near Lodi, Italy on Wednesday. (Marco Ottico/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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Italian Soccer Club Plays First Match In An Empty Stadium

Via ZeroHedge

Sports fans might want to get used to this.

Italian Serie A soccer team Inter Milan cemented its spot in the next round of the Europa League last night, but not a single fan was present at San Siro Stadium to watch, according to CNN.

As Lombardy, Italy’s hardest-hit region, struggles to contain the virus before a cluster emerges in Milan, Italy’s most densely populated city, the Milanese football club was forced to play the match without anybody there to witness it, as Italians wrestle with the fact that these ’emergency measures’ will likely remain in place for some time.

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“It’s Total Panic” – Store-Shelves Empty As Virus-Spread Sparks Panic-Buying Food & Masks Across Italy

Via ZeroHedge

Update (1050ET): It’s not just food. As Bloomberg reports, in the tiny hamlet of Cassago Brianza, half way between Milan and Lake Como, Giovanni Casiraghi was taken aback to find a long line of customers waiting when he opened his industrial equipment store on Monday morning.

They all asked for the same thing: a mask typically used in building sites or factories.

In less than 30 minutes, he had sold more than 500 of them.

“We sell industrial equipment and I know most of our clients, so I was astonished when people I’ve never seen before asked for these professional masks,” the 71-year-old said.

“Someone told me that I was one of the few shops to still have protective masks. Panic is spreading even here, far from the epicenter of the outbreak.”

Continue reading ““It’s Total Panic” – Store-Shelves Empty As Virus-Spread Sparks Panic-Buying Food & Masks Across Italy”

2 gorgeous countries with ‘high quality’ health care — where you can live on less than $2,500 a month

Via Marketwatch

Retirees have a healthy concern for their health care options.

Health is the No. 1 concern for retirees, according to a survey by T. Rowe Price. Indeed, 70% of retirees felt concerned about both their health and the cost of health care heading into retirement, the financial firm found.

For those considering retiring abroad, that’s no less true — and they must contend with the fact that it can be hard to figure out how good the care is in other countries, as there is no perfect ranking of health care. Plus, often the countries that rank the highest on health care according to a variety of measures — including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Australia — are very pricey to live in.

Continue reading “2 gorgeous countries with ‘high quality’ health care — where you can live on less than $2,500 a month”

“I’ll Carry Out A Massacre”: Bus Full Of Italian Children Set On Fire By Senegalese-Born Driver

Via Zero Hedge

A bus full of school children in Italy was set on fire by its driver in the outskirts of Milan on Wednesday in protest of migrants who have drowned due to the country’s hardline stance on blocking migrant vessels, according to Reuters.

Police were called to the scene and quickly managed to get everyone to safety before arresting the man.

The driver, Ousseynou Sy, a 47-year-old Senegalese-born Italian with a criminal record, reportedly shouted “Stop the deaths at sea, I’ll carry out a massacre” according to police spokesman Marco Palmieri.

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Democracy Is Fighting to Survive the Rise of Western Authoritarianism

Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts

The European peoples whose governments were paid to sell out the sovereignty of their nations to the EU are experiencing great difficulties in being permitted to govern themselves.

As the result of Italians’ frustration with the self-serving elite who have ruled Italy for decades, the recent democratic elections in Italy brought to power two anti-establishment political parties, Five-Star and Lega (League), that have solid majorities in both houses. However, the Italian president, an operative for the EU, attempted to appoint the prime minister independently of the election results, tried to himself appoint a “technocratic cabinet” that would ignore the democratic outcome, and succeeded in blocking the anti-establishment winners of the election from forming a government for three months.

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Three critical lessons from Europe’s recent mini-meltdown

Guest Post by Simon Black

Trying to trace the origins of the latest political crisis in Italy is like… well… trying to trace the origins of the decline of the Roman Empire.

There simply is no good starting point.

You can’t talk about the decline of Rome without a lengthy discussion of how destructive Diocletian’s Edict on Wages and Prices was in the early 4th century.

But you’d have to go further back than that and discuss all the lunatic emperors preceding him, all the way back to Caligula.

But you can’t talk about Caligula without bringing up the effects of the civil war between Octavian and Marc Antony… which was a direct result of the previous civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompeius Magnus.

Before long you’ve gone back in time more than 500 years trying to figure out why the Roman Empire collapsed.

Continue reading “Three critical lessons from Europe’s recent mini-meltdown”

New ‘Italy First’ coalition wants to deport 500,000 migrants

Via Voice of Europe

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On the 18th of May, the Five Star-Movement and the League struck a deal to form a populist government. One of their government’s pledges is to deport half-a-million migrants.

A few days before the deal, EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos stated that he wished Italy would “not change its migratory policy”.

The government deal not only changes the migratory policy of Italy, it revolutionises it. The programme calls for the deportation of the 500,000 migrants present in Italy.

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A BIASED 2017 FORECAST (PART TWO)

In Part One of this article I discussed the failure of our brains to think rationally due to our biases and the relentless propaganda flogged by our Deep State ruling class. Viewing the future through the looking glass of the Fourth Turning keeps you focused on the three catalysts which will drive all events in 2017 and beyond. I’ve addressed my 2017 Debt forecast in Part One. Now I will make some guesses about what might happen in 2017 related to Civic Decay and Global Disorder.

Civic Decay Forecast

“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

The presidential election and its aftermath tell you everything you need to know about the level of civic decay overtaking this country. The country is as divided as it was after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. There is virtually no common ground between liberals and conservatives. The pure hatred and contempt between the winners and losers in the recent election does not bode well for the country over the next four to eight years.

The social fabric of the country has been torn asunder. The Clinton supporters believe anyone not on their side is deplorable, racist, misogynist, and fans of Hitler. Trump supporters believe anyone not on their side is low IQ, Muslim loving, deceitful, math challenged, and fans of a criminal. The gulf between the two sides is unbridgeable.

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FOURTH TURNING – THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS NOT PASSED – PART FOUR

In Part One of this article I explained the model of generational theory as conveyed by Strauss and Howe in The Fourth Turning. In Part Two I provided an overwhelming avalanche of evidence this Crisis has only yet begun, with debt, civic decay and global disorder propelling the world towards the next more violent phase of this Crisis. In Part Three I addressed how the most likely clash on the horizon is between the government and the people. War on multiple fronts will thrust the world through the great gate of history towards an uncertain future.

War on Multiple Fronts

“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning

The drumbeats of war are pounding. Sanctions are implemented against any country that dares question American imperialism (Russia, Iran). Overthrow and ignominious imprisonment or death awaits any foreign leader questioning the petrodollar or standing in the way of America spreading democracy (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Egypt). The mega-media complex of six corporations peddle the government issued pabulum about ISIS being an existential threat to our freedoms; Russia being led by the new Hitler and poised to take over Europe; Syria gassing innocent women and children; and Iran only six months away from a nuclear bomb (they’ve been six months away for the last fourteen years). Hollywood does their part with patriotic drivel like American Sniper, designed to compel low IQ unemployed American youths to swell with pride and march down to enlistment centers, located in our plentiful urban ghettos.

The most disconcerting aspect of Fourth Turnings is they have always climaxed with total destructive all-out war. Not wars to enrich arms dealers like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, but incomprehensibly violent, brutal, wars of annihilation. There are clear winners and losers at the conclusion of Fourth Turning wars. Leaders mobilize all forces, refuse to compromise, define their enemies in moral terms, demand sacrifice on the battlefield and home front, build the most destructive weapons imaginable, and employ those weapons to obtain victory at any cost.

It may seem inconceivable that war on such a scale will happen within the next ten years, but it was equally inconceivable in 1936 that 65 million people would die in the next ten years during World War II. We valued all the wrong things and made all the wrong choices leading up to this Crisis and during the early stages of this Crisis. The accumulation of unmet obligations, unpaid bills, un-kept promises and unresolved issues will provide the fuel for an upheaval that will shake our society to its core and transforms the country’s direction for the next sixty years. The outcome of the conflict could be tragedy or triumph. Our choices will make a difference.

There will be war on many fronts, and they have already begun. The culmination will likely be World War III, with the outcome highly uncertain and potentially disastrous.

Continue reading “FOURTH TURNING – THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS NOT PASSED – PART FOUR”

BLACK MONDAY?

Germany is coming to their senses. They have run their country the right way, while the PIIGS have lived far above their means for decades. The entire European Union rests on the back of Germany. They’ve bailed out Ireland. They’ve bailed out Greece. It looks like they are going to tell Italy to fuck off. Most people don’t realize how big Italy is. They have the 8th highest GDP in the world. Their GDP is $2 trillion. Germany’s is $3.3 trillion. Germany will bankrupt itself trying to save the Italians. Plus, Germany knows that Spain is in worse shape than Italy. They have the 12th largest economy in the world.

If Germany is balking, then European stocks will crater on Monday. Asian stocks will crater in anticipation that Europe and the US markets will collapse on Monday. The earliest indication we have is Saudi Arabia, whose market is down 5.5%.

You can bet that the phone lines are buzzing between Timmy Geithner, Bennie Bernanke and their friendly puppet master CEOs – Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, Vikrim Pandit, Ken Lewis, John Mack. These are the people trying to retain their wealth and power. They DO NOT care about you, the country, or the long term best interests of our nation. They care about their billions. This is a game to them. They are agreeing on a plan of attack to manipulate the markets on Monday.

It is highly likely that the markets will plunge at the opening as a knee jerk reaction to the S&P downgrade. The criminal Wall Street banks will then instruct their computers to buy stocks and an unbelievable rally will commence. This is supposed to pump confidence back into the investing public. CNBC will do their part and tell you to buy the fucking dip. This is all a show.

The S&P downgrade should have happened two years ago. The US is a  bad long term credit. We will default by printing money and paying interest to gullible foreigners in worthless pieces of paper. The US economy is in recession. Stocks fall 40% during recessions. The wheels are coming off this bus. It doesn’t matter whether stocks finish up or down on Monday. They will be at least 30% lower in the next year. You can Buy the Fucking Dip or you can focus on the facts and the truth. 

It Just Went From Bad To Far, Far Worse As Germany Says Italy Is Too Big For EFSF To Save, Refuses To Carry Euro Bailout Burden

Tyler Durden's picture

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/06/2011 12:20 -0400

Remember when we said (yesterday) that Germany will soon balk over the fact that it is pledging its entire economy to bail out an insolvent Europe? Well, that moment has come.

Dow Jones just hitting the tape referencing Spiegel

  • German Govt: Italy Too Big For EFSF To Save – Spiegel
  • German Govt: Doubts Whether Tripling EFSF Would Help It Save Italy
  • German Govt: Italy Must Make Savings, Reforms To Exit Crisis – Spiegel
  • Italy Debt Guarantee Could Raise Doubts Over Germany’s Finances – Spiegel
  • German Govt: EFSF Should Only Help Small, Mid-Size Countries – Spiegel

As a reminder, yesterday’s stopgap announcement by the ECB to expand its SMP purchases of secondary market Italian and Spanish bonds was merely as a precursor to full EFSF monetization until its comes fully online in September (or sooner) in a vastly expanded format (between €1.5 and €3.5 trillion).

If Germany is now against this, which appears to be the case, it pretty much means, well, game over.

Add the uncerainty over the unwind of the Europe rescue “gamechanger” as one of the more naive CNBC anchors said yesterday, and Monday is now guaranteed to be a bloodbath.

As for those saying China will gladly step in and fund a $5 trillion EFSF shortfall, they may want to read the following article from Reuters:

Italian Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said on Thursday that Asian investors are reluctant to buy Italian bonds because it sees they are not being bought by the European Central Bank.

Speaking at a news conference, Tremonti also said it would be desirable for the central bank to follow the lead of the Japanese and Swiss central banks in taking expansionary steps to tackly the euro zone’s crisis.

“I note that the Bank of Japan today launched quantitative easing and the Swiss cen bank cut rates to zero, we are waiting for decisions if possible, but desirable (from the ECB),” Tremonti said.

When you talk to Asia they say: “We don’t understand what Europe is,” he continued. “The second point is that they say ‘if your central bank doesn’t buy your bonds, why should we buy them”?

P.S. Time to unwind that Bund short we suggested yesterday. In fact, if true, it is time for a big rush to safety.