Carnage in Norway – Refreshing the Narrative

So let us fight together with Israel, with our Zionist brothers against all anti-Zionists… – Manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik War-making storylines tend to lose their steam. Sustained warfare requires more than just a plausible Evil Doer. A credible narrative is also essential. To remind us who to hate, who better than a murderous Nordic Muslim-hater? Far-fetched? How many Americans had heard of the Taliban before March 2001 when destruction of the ancient Buddhas at Bamiyan was reported worldwide as a ‘Cultural... Read article

Inside Job

This is the final part of a four-part series… A popular documentary, Inside Job, captured kudos at the 2010 Academy Awards. Its hard-hitting analysis marked a milestone among filmmakers for shining light in the dark corners of Wall Street. Writer, producer and director Charles Ferguson provided a public service by exposing key perpetrators. Laudable yet incomplete, Ferguson’s popular film left unaddressed the all-important “how.” The storyline left moviegoers with the impression that the film’s... Read article

Induced Fraud

This is the third in a four-part series… Even as the Berlin Wall was being reduced to rubble, the forces that have since dismantled the US economy were gaining power. Driven by the all-pervasive force of a consensus mindset, US firms embraced financial returns as their sole metric of success. By that measure, corporate performance steadily improved even as the US economy steadily declined. With the collapse of communism and access to new pools of low-cost labor, firms found themselves forced by competitive forces to... Read article

Imbedded Crises

This is the second in a series of four articles… “Our financial health is directly related to our national security.” – Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs Those old enough to remember the promise of a post-Cold War peace dividend also recall how we segued seamlessly from a global Cold War to a global War on Terrorism. The fiscal cost for the US component of the Cold War topped $20 trillion in 2011 dollars. But for the Cold War, what might America have accomplished with those resources? Though... Read article

Crisis By Consensus

This is the first in a series of four articles… Greece is in crisis because it has too much debt. The US is in crisis because it needs to issue more debt. The debt-hobbled economies of Europe are known as the PIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Their fiscal health may determine the future of the euro. Like the euro, the dollar suffers from a fiscal cold poised to become financial pneumonia. The US could soon have $16.7 trillion in government bonds secured by our full faith and (ahem) credit. The deficit for... Read article

The U.S.-Israeli Train Wreck

President Obama hopes to head off a train wreck in September at the U.N. General Assembly. That’s when member nations plan to press for an independent Palestine. The Israel lobby is furious. Critics doubt that the General Assembly has the authority to recognize Palestine. Yet protection of member sovereignty has been a goal of the U.N. since its founding. Thus the priority that Israel placed on U.N. recognition after President Harry Truman acknowledged Israel on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after the Zionist enclave declared... Read article

Is Pakistan Being Cast as the Next Plausible Evil Doer?

Conspiracy theorists assure us that Osama bin Laden was killed in December 2001 and his body put on ice in—of course—an undisclosed location. If the recent killing of bin Laden was a lie, who were the liars? All 79 members of SEAL Team 6, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. State Department, the White House and 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. All conspired to have us believe that he was killed in Pakistan. “Who you gonna believe,” the theorists ask, “me or your lyin’ eyes?” The killing or capture of Osama bin... Read article

Israel Strikes Back

Timing is everything when waging war “by way of deception,” the motto that has long guided Israeli war-planners. Whenever Israel’s geopolitical goals are threatened, chaos is assured. In national security terminology, the January 24th bombing at Moscow’s busiest airport was “out of theater repositioning.” First among Tel Aviv’s priorities is their need to maintain traction for the latest geopolitical narrative: a “global war on terrorism” against “Islamo-fascism.” The fact that America’s two latest... Read article

The Seduction of the Knowledge-Based Society

The most promising trend in geopolitics is the transition from hydrocarbon-based economies to knowledge-based societies. Leadership for that change is emerging from Arab nations. The appeal of the Knowledge Society is apparent. Who could object to nations preparing their citizens for the 21st century? Yet unless knowledge is changed, the result could worsen an already dangerous situation. The sharing of values and knowledge has long been the best way to bridge cultures and promote peace. That strategy is now essential to... Read article

Commonsense Money

Since 1913, debt has been the only way that we in the U.S. have known to create money. Choking on debt yet short on money, Americans are reeling from too much monetary theory and too little commonsense. Those who sold us the theory also ensured recurring recessions. Each debt-induced cycle features rich-get-richer booms followed by debilitating busts. We designed our way into this mess. We can design our way out. As yet, there’s no sign that policy-makers know a way out. Nor do their advisers. Over the past century, every... Read article

The Enemy Within

The phrase “enemy within” brings to mind the image of a shadowy spy stealing military secrets. That was the case for Israeli master spy Jonathan Pollard jailed for 1980s espionage that compromised U.S. Cold War strategy. That phrase also describes those involved in a form of psy-ops that is not easily detected because it operates so brazenly. For instance, the well-timed release of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks displaced reports of Israeli obstinacy in peace talks with reports of a need for war with Iran. That operation... Read article

A Commonsense Solar Defense

Three days before Christmas, the U.S. Congress authorized $725 billion in defense spending for 2011. Adjusted for inflation, that’s the most since 1945, the last year of World War II. With numbers that large, making comparisons is difficult. Yet consider this. The United Nations reports that 1.5 billion people still live without electricity. For less than $100, a solar panel can power a cell phone charger and four high-efficiency LED lights. At that price, 1.5 billion people could become partially electrified for $150... Read article

Why Is Israeli Spy Jonathan Pollard Back in the News?

Over the past two months, Benjamin Netanyahu has mentioned the fate of jailed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard six times in meetings with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Israel lobby also mounted a letter-writing campaign on Pollard’s behalf. When Pollard was arrested for espionage in the 1980s, Tel Aviv swore he was part of a “rogue” operation. Only 12 years later did Israel concede he was their spy the entire time. That insider espionage by a purported ally damaged U.S. national security... Read article

Deflation, Inflation – Take Your Pick

U.S. stock markets rallied to recent highs on news that the U.S. Federal Reserve planned to pump up to $900 billion more cash into the economy. Financial markets reflect today’s appraisal of tomorrow’s cash flows. More cash means more flows. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke conceded early on in 2008 that the Fed was “printing money.” That candor proved unsettling. This latest cash infusion instead is “quantitative easing” or “QE2.” “QE1” stabilized financial firms that cross-collateralized massive layers of... Read article

Class Warfare or Financial Narcissism?

Is America the target of class warfare? That claim, though widely made, misses the point. The problem is more serious and the long-term effects far more troubling. Though the facts are compelling, that conclusion is misleading. In 2007, 1% of U.S. households claimed 24% of the national income. Those figures were compiled well before a debt-induced recession cost the jobs of millions of Americans. And well before the payment this year of a $144 billion bonus to Wall Street’s elite. The topmost 1% now owns 34% of all private... Read article

Mindset Warfare

At the close of World War II, the U.S. was home to 50% of the world’s productive power. That economic strength assured America’s dominant financial position for at least two decades. That strength included the ability to issue the world’s top-rated bonds. Look at us now. The financial cost to the U.S. of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is projected to top $3 trillion—all of it borrowed. The interest expense alone could reach $700 billion. The U.S. Congress is debating whether to authorize the borrowing of $700 billion... Read article

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