Our leadership at the White House, CIA, Pentagon, and State Department are unbelievably incompetent, reckless, and corrupt. I just can’t make this up. In another example of the absolute rampant stupidity emanating from the White House and Department of Defense, it appears US policy is now to conduct another unsanctioned military invasion of Libya ostensibly to fight ISIS. Apparently, the US is preparing to provide weapons and training to support select Libyan forces to help them repel the radical Islamic forces Washington previously backed in Libya in 2011. You read that correctly. Just like in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, the US is now arming factions to fight the very same radical Islamic jihadist factions it armed and supported just five years prior. Watching this train wreck of policy unfold, I can only sarcastically ask, “what could go wrong?” Read more
Constitutional Win for Gun Rights in the District of Columbia
In a rare win, residents of the District of Columbia won a court ruling against the District’s draconian gun laws. In short, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled that a key provision of the current law was likely unconstitutional. Specifically, the Judge found that requiring a citizen to show “good reason” to exercise a constitutional right violates the essence of a “right.” In respect to the Second Amendment, like all others, there is no burden upon the citizen to show the “need” to exercise and enjoy such rights. As such, the District’s requirement for citizens to show grounds to obtain a carry permit based on the government’s criteria is unconstitutional.
This ruling is sure to be appealed; however, it has strong implications across the nation where other such laws have been upheld. Judge Leon was absolutely correct in striking down this provision and re-establishing what a “right” is supposed to be. Hopefully, this ruling will be used to bring suit against other currently standing laws and overturn them in communist states such as Maryland and New York. The Bill of Rights exists to specifically limit the government’s powers. Neither the Second Amendment nor any other “right” requires the “permission” of the government to exercise. Can you imagine having to first get the government’s permission based on very limited criteria, to openly discuss your opinion on a political subject or to attend church? Any legal deviation toward government gatekeeping of the free exercise of rights is exceedingly dangerous and opens a direct precedent for undermining the very essence of the rule of law derived from the Constitution and the powers and authorities it explicitly gives and limits to the federal government. Today, Judge Leon is celebrated as a hero for defying his political masters and standing up for the rights of citizens.
By Guiles Hendrik
May 17, 2016
Can North Korea be allowed to develop a functional nuclear weapons capability?
Lately, in political circles I have been posing a very important policy question. The question I ask is what does the world look like if North Korea is allowed to possess a viable nuclear weapons capability that truly threatens the United States. As of now, that world does not exist, but it soon will. My question is designed to force policy makers to address this impending crisis situation while it still can be contained. Disturbingly, it appears there is no real consensus on the issue and most seem to just hope that if they don’t acknowledge the problem, it will go away. Well, I have news. North Korea is only going to become a bigger problem for the world with disastrous consequences within five years. Policy makers must seriously tackle this issue now before a nuclear war becomes a reality.
US policy toward North Korea is exceedingly complex and is becoming more dangerous by the week. The fact the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un is as close to a true irrational actor as the contemporary world has witnessed only makes the situation more volatile. Any policy missteps could cause anything from headaches to nuclear war for our allies like South Korea and Japan. Further, China could quickly become involved in a major war against the US, which will be nuclear if it occurs. Even worse, North Korea is now known inside of intelligence circles as a proxy for Iranian nuclear development. It is no coincidence that since the Obama Administration freed up frozen Iranian assets that North Korea suddenly has had the funds to test multiple ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs. Let me be clear, with every nuclear advancement North Korea makes, it not only destabilizes the Korean Peninsula, but it further destabilizers the Middle East and makes a massive war involving both Saudi Arabia and Israel against Iran even more likely. If not averted now, the world will have one more reason very soon to expect a nuclear war that kills millions of people. Read more
Uber Update: Uber Confirmed to be providing your private travel data to the government
Last year I wrote a piece entitled “Why the government elite love Uber: Your travel is now a searchable public record.” Read it here: http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/2015/08/13/why-the-government-elite-love-uber-your-travel-is-now-a-searchable-public-record/ In it, I warned that with the convenience of Uber comes the inevitable loss of privacy and government surveillance. It was just too juicy a target for Big Brother’s mass surveillance and data collection and I predicted Uber was here to stay because the government was reaping too much information about you from Uber. Well, it didn’t take long for my prediction to prove prescient.
Just last month (April 2016), it became very public across the internet that Uber had in fact been providing data from over 12 million users to the US Government. Read it here: http://www.infowars.com/uber-admits-it-gave-data-on-12-million-users-to-u-s-government/ Read more
It is time to use antitrust acts to break up the most powerful monopoly in the United States…the two-party political system
Today’s post is perhaps one of the most important pieces I have ever written. In it I write to how we as a nation can peacefully use the elements of our tattered legal system to reclaim our government from the establishment for the people it was designed to serve. Right now, we are at a critical crossroads politically in our nation. One road promises to be the fast and easy route to the good life where everything is free and no one is responsible, but this road only leads to our nation’s destruction. The other road is small, difficult to navigate, and is very rough, but ultimately leads us back to a better place and salvation as a nation. The question is will America make the hard choices necessary for long term prosperity and freedom or will it like so many other nations collapse into tyranny, corruption, poverty, and bloodshed. Ominously, if historical precedent is any indicator, the future of our nation is a bleak.
I want everyone to think about how detrimental the consolidation of power by the establishment into two overtly separate, but covertly unified political parties in the US has been to our freedoms and liberties. For over two hundred years we have been witness to a perpetual erosion of rights and freedoms while the government has exponentially grown, stolen incalculable amounts of wealth from its citizens, and created an insulated political class of elites. All this time, as the power of the US Government was being consolidated into fewer and fewer hands, the government has perpetually attacked giant corporate monopolies and broke them into smaller companies. This was done allegedly to promote fair competition, which has been generally viewed as acceptable government regulation of business for the good of the people. Whether oil, telecommunications, or transportation the government has for over a hundred years waded into disputes using antitrust laws to regulate the conduct and organization of corporations to promote fair competition for the benefit of the people. Ironically, nowhere is there a greater monopoly acting deliberately to limit fair competition at the expense of the people than in our two-party political system. If you want a peaceful solution to fix our broken, corrupt, and rigged political system, it is absolutely critical, we the people, open antitrust lawsuits against these modern day political robber barons of our most precious liberties.
Why no one has suggested using the antitrust legal route to break up the political control of the party elites is up for debate. However, I for one am going to lobby strongly for it and ask each of you to do your part to demand suit is brought against both parties. Not once has this bar against monopolies been equally applied to our political system where it is needed most. By suing both the Republican and Democrat National Committees as a business monopoly operating at the expense of the people, we actually could use the force of law to break the gridlock in our political system. Imagine if a court broke the parties into a dozen pieces like Standard Oil, struck down their gerrymandering of districts, instituted term limits, removed the ability to receive huge amounts of cash from anonymous political action committees, and abolished the parties’ self-serving election regulations. For the first time in generations a real election, with real candidates, could be put forward by the actual citizens of the US to run for office. There could actually be a chance to see genuine quality candidates compete for the duty to serve their fellow citizens.
For those that are skeptical this is an applicable approach and can work, let’s look at the purpose of the antitrust acts. First, antitrust acts are specifically designed to restrict the formation of cartels and prohibit other collusive practices regarded as being in restraint of trade. Second, they restrict the mergers and acquisitions of organizations which could substantially lessen competition. Third, they prohibit the creation of a monopoly and the abuse of monopoly power. Considering the purpose of antitrust acts, do they relate to our current political system? Does the political monopoly in the US not represent a cartel that uses its influence to destroy any competition and rig the system like a cartel? Does the political monopoly not put in place rules and regulations that prevent other parties and independent candidates from challenging their status quo control of power? Does the political monopoly not abuse its power to favor the elites? Does the political monopoly not openly reject the will of the people in popular elections and claim the ability to appoint whomever they choose to office? Does the political monopoly not obliterate the ability to have free and open democratic elections? Does the political monopoly not abuse the intent of a representative government to run only establishment favorites as elected “representatives?” Does the political monopoly not enrich its senior members just like a corporation? Does the political monopoly not restrain free trade? Does the political monopoly not use its control of government to establish favorable trade agreements and deals for its establishment cronies at the expense of true free trade? Does the political monopoly not accept tons of favors and donations from lobbyists to unfairly restrict or support mergers and acquisitions designed specifically to substantially lessen competition? Ultimately, does the political monopoly not harm the citizens of this nation?
Both the Democrat and Republican political parties are every bit of a political monopoly and are a direct detriment to not just free trade, but a free republic. If we can wake enough people up to the fact these corrupt parties of the establishment are no different than a giant cartel and should be broken apart using antitrust acts, we may have a legal avenue to directly attack the entrenched establishment at its core. I see no quicker way to break up the political stranglehold these two parties have over our nation than to have a court rule against them in favor of the people using the legal precedents established in our antitrust acts. I certainly don’t see a more peaceful way. I can promise you this; we aren’t going to fix these parties by voting and playing by their rules. The parties have had over two hundred years to make the rules of the game work in their favor. This election year has demonstrated the parties’ grip on power quite well to all but the most blind and ignorant amongst us. However, the establishment missed this legal vulnerability. Please become active and take concrete steps to create this debate and push for antitrust action against both political parties. At this point, we must exhaust all peaceful options at our disposal to try and avert the collapse of our country into a cesspool of leftist tyranny.
By Guiles Hendrik
April 14, 2016
News You Need to Get: April 7, 2016
I am not a huge fan of the major news consolidators because they tend to mask important content with frivolous content of dubious accuracy and reliability. Further, you tend to get a lot of repetitive reporting of the same “news.” However, having a list of targeted news articles of substance is very valuable. As such, on a semi-regular basis, I will continue putting together a list of important links to articles and information that went under reported in the American media. They will cover a range of topics, but will all deal with critical issues that are going to shape events in each of our lives.
http://www.dailymails.xyz/wires/afp/article-3396210/Israel-gets-fifth-German-submarine.html
Israel on Tuesday took delivery of its fifth German-built submarine, an advanced Dolphin-class vessel said to be capable of remaining submerged for up to a week.
Speaking at an official welcome ceremony at the northern port city of Haifa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the undersea fleet allows Israel “to deter enemies who seek to destroy us.”
“They should know that Israel can strike very hard indeed at anyone who tries to harm it,” he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-to-hack-an-election/
On the question of whether the U.S. presidential campaign is being tampered with, he is unequivocal. “I’m 100 percent sure it is,” he says.
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Confessions-Economic-Hit/dp/1626566747
“Mr. Perkins’s core message is that American corporations and government agencies employ two types of operatives: ‘economic hit men,’ who bribe emerging economies, and ‘jackals,’ who may be used to overthrow or even murder heads of state in Latin America and the Middle East to serve the greater cause of American empire. . . . [This} book seems to have tapped into a larger vein of discontent and mistrust that Americans feel toward the ties that bind together corporations, large lending institutions and the government — a nexus that Mr. Perkins and others call the ‘corporatocracy.’”
—The New York Times
While there is no sign of an imminent threat, several recent papers suggest that the eventual emergence of a contagious human cancer is in the realm of medical possibility. This would not be a disease, like cervical cancer, that is set off by the spread of viruses, but rather one in which cancer cells actually travel from one person to another and thrive in their new location.
https://theintercept.com/drone-papers/
The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars.
Russia has promised to protect Kurdish fighters in Syria in case of a ground offensive by Turkey, a move that would lead to a “big war,” the Syrian group’s envoy to Moscow said in an interview on Wednesday.
“We take this threat very seriously because the ruling party in Turkey is a party of war,” Rodi Osman, head of the Syrian Kurds’ newly-opened representative office said in Kurdish via a Russian interpreter. “Russia will respond if there is an invasion. This isn’t only about the Kurds, they will defend the territorial sovereignty of Syria.”
“We are concerned by the size, sale and frequency of Russia’s snap exercises,” a NATO official told CNN in May. “Three of them have included over 80,000 troops. Some of them have been used to deploy troops to annex Crimea, mass forces on Ukraine’s border and support the [pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine].”
The International Monetary Fund anticipates a possible Greek default on its bailout will coincide with the UK’s referendum on Europe, according to a leaked transcript.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/japan/2016/japan-160403-presstv01.htm
A Japanese submarine, along with two guided-missile destroyers, has docked at a Philippine port near the South China Sea, where there is a territorial dispute with China.
https://www.rt.com/news/338831-montreal-police-brutality-protest/
A demonstration against police brutality in Montreal, Canada, led to cars being set alight in the streets and a police station being attacked. The protest was sparked by the death of a black man who was killed by a police rubber bullet last month.
https://www.rt.com/news/338833-chemical-gas-aleppo-shelling/
A neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which is held by Kurdish YPG militias, has been shelled with chemical agents from territory held by Islamist and FSA factions, a local journalist on the ground has told to RT.
“The attack was carried out between 11.30 and 12.00 local time. The gas that was used in this attack, caused choking and malaise among those affected. This indicates that the poisoning substances were used in the attack,” journalist Nawrouz Uthman reports.
Uthman adds that 23 people were killed and over 100 injured in Thursday’s attack.
Now is the time to split the Democratic Party and defeat the Leftists, but prepare for violence and chaos
Forget for the moment the broken Republican Party and focus on the civil war brewing within the Democratic Party. Pending the outcome of the primaries in Wisconsin and New York where Bernie Sanders may not just do well, but beat Hillary Clinton; the Democratic Party may be headed for a major showdown. In particular, if Bernie wins New York, it will be interesting to see if the delegates still vote for Hillary as many have publicly declared. What is for sure is that Hillary must soundly win New York to prevent a disastrous split for the Democrats within the party. In the event of a popular vote win for Bernie and a delegate win for Hillary, the party may fracture into violence or even split with Bernie launching an independent bid if Hillary remains the anointed nominee. This would be a best case scenario for Republicans. When Sanders’ anti-establishment success is considered holistically with Donald Trump’s popularity, it should give everyone hope that the people are finally waking up and rejecting the malignant establishment destroying our nation regardless of each voter’s specific motives. In short, the opportunity presented by Sanders’ recent victories to split the Democratic ticket cannot be wasted. However, as you will read, the awakening of the masses also is a harbinger of the evils an establishment unwilling to cede power will bring upon our nation so be aware and prepare. Read more
Thank you Obamacare: Drug shortages increasing in USA and will only get worse.
Readers of Last Minute Survival will know that I have discussed on many occasions the long term detrimental impacts of socialized health care. Some of the most serious problems that inevitably arise are increasing costs of care (to the point of unaffordable), serious shortages in both drugs and doctors (to the point of unavailability), a decrease in the quality of care (to the point of forced acceptance of lower standards), and an increase in wait time for procedures (to the point of patients dying before than can get definitive care). These problems are endemic to socialized healthcare systems and can be contemporarily witnessed in places like Venezuela where the ability to obtain toilet paper and sutures has become impossible since the socialist takeover of the country’s government. Now, contrary to the rosy picture the Obama Administration has painted of its signature healthcare reform package, the US has begun to demonstrate those very same predictable symptoms of a healthcare system beginning to collapse. In particular, this article looks at the unprecedented spike in drug shortages that have not so coincidentally occurred since Obama took office. Is it time to panic? No, but it is time to take note and reverse the socialist course of governance in the US. Failure to reverse course will lead to the destruction of the US healthcare system in short order. As this article documents, the drug shortages have already begun to dramatically increase. Read more
Obama’s pick to head CENTCOM testifies his strategy to fight ISIL will be to use the previous failed strategy to fight ISIL. Can it get any worse for the military?
President Obama picked General Joseph Votel, the current commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), to succeed General Lloyd Austin as the new head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) pending Senate approval. This was a genuine opportunity for Obama to change the strategic trajectory of US failures in the Middle East. However, after hearing Gen. Votel’s comments, I can say without any doubt the man is an incompetent commander that was politically chosen as a policy “yes man.” In short, Gen. Votel does not have a viable strategy to achieve victory and therefore should be fired as a commander, not promoted. Gen. Votel will not be the man to defeat ISIL unless he takes credit for the good work the Russians, Kurds, and Syrians are doing. Even then, I have full faith and confidence that the White House will manage to scuttle Russia’s successes too for the time being. What it means if Gen. Votel is confirmed by the Senate is that you can expect more of the same series of failures and continued perpetual indecisive wars across the globe. I urge every one of you to make it clear to your senators that Gen. Votel is NOT the man for the job or he will be confirmed and you will see another one of my predictions come to pass. Tell your senators we need a CENTCOM commander that will break from the failed strategies of the last 15 years. Congress must know Gen. Votel is incapable of charting a strategy for decisive victory, which our nation requires.
I am sure that some of my readers, which are well meaning, but loyal brainwashed company men of the military establishment, are cussing me for my blasphemy against such a vaunted general. However, I can say that anyone that places stock in military commanders that fail to achieve victory against a force as inept as the Taliban is a qualified idiot. Further, if they are currently serving in the military and support these professed students of what I refer to as a defeatist military strategy, they are suicidal. How weak minded must someone be to buy into the rhetoric that the Taliban are a super human force that would require a generation to defeat? Only by choosing to lose could that be a reality for the US military. This is strategic dereliction and I will not accept it even if the best Army post graduate students are too institutionalized to see the truth. At times, it is far more effective to be tactful in commentary; however, this is a case where blunt honesty is needed because lives will be lost because of this mockery of a commander. Incompetence left to its own devices is forgivable, but I will give no quarter to incompetence that seeks the power to sign the death certificate of a single life.
Gen. Votel was in charge of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) before taking over SOCOM and should know that our current strategy of training rebels isn’t working unless you are taking into account the number of ISIL and Taliban fighters we armed, trained, and equipped. Gen. Votel’s professional pedigree sounds superb until you consider “brilliant” losers like General McChrystal came from JSOC as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love the superbly professional organization JSOC has become and can say from working with their phenomenal operators around the globe that they are “tactically” the best in the business. However, the special operations cult worship has to end on Capitol Hill. Special operators regularly do take on missions of vital strategic importance, but they do not decisively operate at the strategic level. The distinction is crucial. Special operators are an extremely valuable warfighting tool, but have become the defacto tool for supporting the flawed notion that you can fight a war on the cheap and win decisively with a handful of special operators training foreign armies and rebels. Part of this comes from the fact many special operators trace their roots to traditional Army Special Forces units where their primary “special” mission is training and advising indigenous forces to support COIN and Foreign Internal Defense (FID) missions even if the historical data now overwhelmingly shows the COIN and FID tactics and techniques don’t work. The bottom line is unless said special operators are launching a strategic nuclear strike, the strategy simply isn’t working at a strategic level and over 15 years of failed war attest to this fact. Neither JSCOC nor SOCOM is designed or capable of giving us a decisive strategic victory against ISIL. Only, a through a true total war of attrition will you finally turn back and utterly defeat the Islamic Holy War against the West.
Specific to Gen. Votel’s demonstrated incompetence, in testimony Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Votel told lawmakers that he supports moving forward with a revised effort to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels battling Islamic State militants. Gen. Votel described the “new” approach as a “thickening effort” as opposed to just raising a large force. What that exactly means is anyone’s guess, but this much is clear. This is the same “old” counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy the US has been peddling since Vietnam, which has never led to anything but total strategic failure. This is repeating a failed and completely discredited strategy and expecting a different result, which is insanity. Gen. Votel should know that there are no “moderate” rebels that will effectively challenge ISIL. He should also know that the only effective fighting force has been the Kurds and Washington is about to double cross them again on behalf of the Turks, which will blow back horribly on our anti-ISIL efforts. How, after billions of dollars were spent overtly and covertly on the failed strategy to arm, train, and equip rebels to fight ISIL in Iraq and Syria, can Gen. Votel honestly believe it will be different this time? Even Gen. Austin, the retiring CENTCOM commander, admitted in Congressional testimony the entire plan only trained four of five fighters! Not even Gen. Votel can be this naïve. Only someone that has sacrificed their integrity at the gates of politics would continuing such a ridiculous policy be possible.
Gen. Votel’s testimony did not improve. He went on to testify, “But I do think it is helpful to have people who have been trained by us, who have the techniques, who have the communications capability, and the resources to link back into our firepower.” The trained fighters, Votel explained, present the Islamic State with added “dilemmas.” This is a very disturbing conclusion by the general considering the historical record shows that US trained forces repeatedly failed when tested in battle and also defected in most cases without even a fight. Worse yet, these indigenous forces took all of our training, techniques, communications, and firepower to the enemy when they defected. In fact, based on the US track record, it would be more accurate to say that it is only helpful to our enemies.
Gen. Votel’s lack of integrity and or lack of good sense will rightfully earn him the blame for the failure of US strategy (or lack thereof) in the Middle East against ISIL. Mark my words, Obama has never accepted responsibility for his growing list of strategic failures and isn’t going to start now. Gen. Votel is signing on to a disastrous strategy that cannot work. Obama will hang this around Gen. Votel’s neck just like he has done with nearly every other commander. If Gen. Votel is even a bit savvy as a strategic thinker, he should clearly see that he is being set up as bad as the disgraced General Petraeus and run for the door or get a new strategy right now.
As with most articles I write, I try not to just criticize and point out flaws, but offer solutions. This article is no different. The links at the bottom of this article are a short list of key articles I have written that accurately predicted the progression to the state of affairs as it stands now in the Middle East with regards to ISIL. A key part of those predictions has been to repeatedly warn that President Obama’s strategy was never a “strategy” and would ultimately fail in a very predictable fashion, which has played out exactly as I predicted over two years ago. This should serve as my bona fides for correctly assessing and accurately predicting events years in advance. Second, I have also included an outline of what a real strategy for a decisive strategic victory would look like. I hope that these articles end up in the right hands of individuals that actually have power over policy, but it suffices for now that the public is being educated about the military’s lies. Whether or not Gen. Votel is confirmed, I will continue to extend the offer to step up and advise anyone actually serious about defeating ISIL going as far as staking my reputation to a winning strategy, which to date, no one has had the courage to do. It is time for our senior policy makers to show real courage and leadership by breaking away from the old caste of establishment beltway characters and seek some fresh, independent perspectives because to date, nothing the snake oil salesmen have provided has worked and it never will. Until then, in the least, call your senators and explain that we need a real military commander in charge of CENTCOM and that Gen. Votel should not be confirmed.
By Guiles Hendrik
March 10, 2016
http://www.blackboxwire.com/2014/08/30/islamic-extremism-and-what-lies-ahead-part-i-iraq/
http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/2014/10/01/islamic-extremism-and-what-lies-ahead-part-ii-the-war-on-isis-and-syria/#more-699
http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/2014/11/18/update-on-the-third-iraq-war-against-isilisisisaqsyriaetc/
http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/2015/11/21/how-to-defeat-isil-civil-military-strategy-101/
Massive and devastating escalation of War in Syria looms as Syrian Forces backed by Russia are poised to retake Aleppo: Saudi Arabia and Turkey prepare to deploy armies to Syria in response
This is an alert to all of my readers of a potentially imminent global crisis. We are not at the point of a full blown crisis yet, but I am telling everyone they need to not get, but, BE ready for things rapidly to turn very bad within 30-60 days. I will be closely monitoring this situation and will provide updates as necessary.
While most Americans are distracted by the Super Bowl and the disgusting Jerry Springeresque political theater we call an election process, the world is rapidly descending toward a major, devastating war that will ultimately involve more Americans than both Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Make no mistake, the situation developing in the Middle East is extremely grave and the US government has lost all control. I have warned repeatedly about ignoring the last off ramps to peace in the Middle East and what the result would be. Well, now another prediction has come to pass as Russian backed Syrian troops are poised to retake Aleppo from the murderous Islamic savages and Saudi Arabia and Turkey prepare to militarily join the fight.
One quick look at a map will demonstrate the strategic significance of Aleppo for rebels fighting in Syria. Most critical to the mix of rebel elements still holding Aleppo is that it provides access to key supply lines originating in Turkey. If Aleppo falls, the primary rebel supply line will be cut and the rebels will face a near imminent defeat. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar are the primary backers of rebel forces in Syria and know this means their policy is about to collapse and Shia Iran will become the region’s hegemon. This also petrifies countries like Israel that have remained mostly quiet about the civil war even though they too are deeply involved. As a result, these countries are preparing to commit military forces to prevent Aleppo’s fall. As I have repeatedly warned, this will escalate the conflict significantly and rapidly. See: http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/?s=syria
Make no mistake; the US has been on the wrong side of this war. I welcome the advance of Russian backed Syrian forces smashing the rebel forces, which are primarily composed of radical Islamic extremists that have been brutally murdering thousands of innocent people to include Christians. However, as I have repeatedly predicted, if one side in the proxy war primarily between Iran and Saudi Arabia gains a decisive advantage, it would force the other to quadruple down (they have already doubled and tripled) on their policy. At this point, that means putting their troops in actually face to face battle. As I warned for years and literally predicted, Saudi Arabia has now announced it is preparing to deploy its troops to Syria. See: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/general-saudi-arabia-set-deploy-troops-syria-160205042542486.html
The arrival of Gulf Arab armies in Syria will be in a single word, catastrophic. The US long ago lost effective control of the conflict it in large part created, but MUST stop this deployment or risk the outbreak of a full scale regional and possibly world war. The notion that an alliance of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait, the same countries that have collectively spent billions arming and supporting ISIL, will now move to destroy ISIL defies all logic. In fact, it is so politically ridiculous that it is in fact a thinly veiled lie. Instead, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will lead an army into Syria with only one goal and that is to overthrow President Assad. Rather than fighting the radical terrorist elements such as ISIL, they will back them by recasting them as “moderate rebels.” Russia, Iraq, Iran, and Hezbollah will not be fooled by this and proportionally escalate. This sets the stage for a massive and devastating escalation. Read more
Drones Ordered Shot Down in Super Bowl Airspace
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that in addition to establishing a no fly zone over the Super Bowl, it may shoot down any drones that violate the airspace. In what is a dangerous precedent setting move, the FAA has made US airspace an apparent war zone. For those of you that dare to fly your DJI Phantoms, watch out because you may become the next target for a bored F-16 pilot. I am afraid to speculate now how long it will be before the government takes the next step and begins to shoot down radar blips that turn out to be manned civilian aircraft.
I have to admit, as long as no one was hurt, I would be interested to actually see the FAA “shoot down” a drone. Of course I think the entire thing is an absurd waste of resources and a very dangerous precedent to set in what is supposed to be a free country. By “shoot down,” I hope the FAA actually means through the use of electronic jamming because the idea of a half million dollar Sidewinder missile being wasted on a $1,000 drone only seems reasonable to Raytheon, the Sidewinder’s primary manufacturer. Further, the idea of an almost 200 pound missile with a 25 pound warhead detonating over a densely populated area sounds reckless and stupid and most likely would cause far more damage than any civilian drone. Read more
Fire starters for survival: The lighter versus the fire steel
I get asked a lot about what my preferred techniques and tools are for starting a fire. Many items are on the market from old school flint and steel to lighters, matches, and magnesium fire steels that shower your tinder with hot sparks. So for “last minute survival,” what would be my best choice if I could only choose one? Further, why are there so many fire steel “sparker” devices? Are they really that good and should I have one? The good news is I have a definitive answer for you so read on.
My answer is that in a survival situation, your best fire starter is whatever gets the fire reliably started in the quickest and most energy efficient manner. What works is what I carry and that is a simple lighter. In fact, it is one of the three items I never go anywhere without and always have on my person. What I have witnessed in the real world over and over is that for the average person, a simple lighter is by far your best choice. Even when instructing experienced outdoorsman, the lighter is still the choice fire starter and the one that most people see the quickest and most consistent success when starting a fire. This isn’t an accident. The lighter is very convenient, works well, and most people are comfortable operating one even in complete darkness. Lighters are also very forgiving and can allow one to maintain the flame to light larger tinder items that spark type ignition methods are not capable of igniting. Lighters are small and light enough that a person can carry a small backup lighter in a waterproof container in their pack and still always have a primary on their person. Further, you can operate a lighter even when your dexterity is diminished such as during the mid to late stages of hypothermia when getting a fire started immediately is critical to survival. Lighters also can still operate after being wet if allowed to dry out and they can also provide some temporary light. They don’t get soggy and absorb moisture like matches. Finally, lighters are available all over the world and are one of the cheapest fire starting tools available. Read more
Covert Nuclear Arms Race in Middle East Now Overt
Here I go again, “just as I previously warned” (See: http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/?s=nuclear+arms+race+in+middle+east), Saudi Arabia announced that it will not rule out pursuing nuclear weapons pending any “nefarious” actions by Iran. Naturally, Saudi Arabia wasn’t keen on publicly discussing its most sensitive national defense plans with respect to its greatest threat, Iran; however, it was clear that Saudi’s are not denying they would pursue nuclear weapons.
Whether or not Saudi Arabia has already or intends to obtain nuclear weapons is of huge concern to the region and world. Without doubt, Iran is carefully analyzing these latest statements by Saudi Arabia and there is no way they will be taken as a positive sign in Tehran. As such, the Saudi statement made the region one step more paranoid, which equals one step closer to war. If the Saudis are trying to create the conditions for their own demise, they are doing a great job of it. Clearly, if Yemen is any indication, the new king is not capable of handling the complex geopolitics of the region and may indeed walk the region right into a major war.
By Guiles Hendrik
January 19, 2016
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Saudis-not-ruling-out-nuclear-option-if-Iran-gets-bomb-442087
Food Prices Spike in Canada as their Dollar Weakens
Think cheap oil is good for the economy? Not when it is caused by low demand from economies in free fall. This may come as a surprise to some Americans currently enjoying the price of much cheaper gas, but if you are a Canadian, you are suffering as your currency is rapidly losing its value. The Canadian lesson should serve as a reminder that this can and will happen even in First World countries.
How would it affect you to see your grocery bills increase by 5%, then 10%, then 30%, then even higher? Canadians are suffering this reality today. Prices of food items increased as much as 38% in 2015. (See: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/econ155b-eng.htm) However, this is using the government’s averaged figures and totally discounts areas in Canada where prices have spiked far higher. What is worse, 2016 is already on track to see even higher price spikes and Canadians literally unable to afford even the basic food staples. Soon Canada could be experiencing a true food emergency. Read more
