- Despite Central Bank Cuts, UK Credit Card Rates Hit Highest Levels In 13 Years
Despite Central Bank Cuts, UK Credit Card Rates Hit Highest Levels In 13 Years
Credit card interest rates in the UK have hit the highest level in 13 years, according to the Financial Times.
Per the report, the average annual percentage rate (APR) reached 24.7% in September – the highest since financial website Moneyfacts.co.uk began recording data. The average APR was 23.4% this time last year.
“Consumers who turn to credit cards for their everyday purchases will find that the cost to borrow is starting to rise, as the most lucrative low rate cards have worsened,” said moneyfacts’ Rachel Springall.
“In fact, over the past quarter, we said goodbye to the lowest rate purchase credit card on the market and have seen rates increase on these lucrative offers.”
This decoupling of soaring credit card rates from flat-to-falling wholesale money rates echoes that of the US where credit card rates have exploded higher in recent months…
Source: Bloomberg
Lenders, meanwhile, have been eliminating low-interest rate deals after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enacted new rules designed to clamp down on spiralling debts.
Tesco Bank recently pulled its 5.9 per cent Clubcard credit card, which was the lowest rate card on the market. Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds Bank increased the purchase rate on their credit cards from 6.4 per cent to 9.9 per cent.
Ms Springall pointed out that consumers may be making more efforts to move their debts to an interest-free alternative or clear their balances altogether. According to recent findings from UK Finance, the industry body, there has been a decline in the proportion of credit card balances that bear interest, falling from 54.6 per cent to 53.4 per compared to a year ago. The annual growth rate of outstanding balances has also fallen to 3.6 per cent, down from its peak of 8.3 per cent at the start of 2018. –Financial Times
“Once you are a customer, your card provider can increase your rate if they feel there has been a change in your financial circumstances and they see you as a greater risk,” said personal finance expert and founder of consumer website MoneyComms, Andrew Hagger, who added “For those people struggling with their finances, the last thing they need is a higher rate on their plastic.“
Tyler Durden
Thu, 09/19/2019 – 02:45 - Turkey: Alarming Crackdown On Journalists, Desperate Appeal To UN
Turkey: Alarming Crackdown On Journalists, Desperate Appeal To UN
Authored by Uzay Bulut via The Gatestone Institute,
International human-rights and press-freedom organizations recently appealed to the United Nations to take action against the ongoing abuse of journalists by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In a letter to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on September 3, eighteen organizations — led by the group ARTICLE 19, which promotes freedom of expression — called on “all Member and Observer States committed to media freedom, democracy and the rule of law” to “speak out and address the Turkish government’s repressive campaign against freedom of expression” in the forum of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention during the UNHRC’s 42nd regular session.
The letter reads, in part:
“The right to hold and express dissenting opinions and to access information has been systematically undermined by the Turkish government in an intensive crackdown on journalists and independent media, academics, civil society, oppositional voices and the judiciary. Since 2016, the human rights situation in Turkey has steeply declined, facilitated by the misuse of sweeping emergency powers and the concentration of executive power. At the time of writing, at least 138 journalists and media workers are imprisoned, with hundreds more currently on trial facing lengthy sentences on manifestly unfounded terrorism charges … Access to thousands of websites and platforms has been blocked after a government decree authorising removals and blockages of websites without judicial oversight.”
Providing “background,” the letter goes on:
“In July 2016, a state of emergency was imposed in Turkey after a failed coup attempt, which was followed by mass arrests and mass dismissals of judges, prosecutors and civil servants perceived to be in opposition to the government. Many of those arrested are reported to have been subject to torture and ill-treatment in detention and have faced politicised trials falling well below fair trial standards. Since then, President Erdoğan’s government has sought to tighten its grip, shutting down media outlets and imprisoning journalists on an alarming scale…
“In 2018 alone, 59 journalists were sentenced to a collective total of 419 years and 8 months in prison for ‘being a member of a terrorist organisation’, ‘managing a terrorist organisation’ or ‘aiding a terrorist organisation’. Trumped up terrorism charges are routinely used against journalists expressing critical or dissenting opinions, and result in lengthy prison terms…
“Independent media has been all but wiped out. Under State of Emergency Decrees at least 170 media outlets including publishing houses, newspapers and magazines, news agencies, TV stations and radios were closed. Only 21 of these have been able to reopen, some of them only on the basis that they agree to major changes in their management boards.Many independent outlets have been permanently silenced, through the liquidation and expropriation of all their assets…
“These arrests and trials are taking place in the context of the absolute collapse of the rule of law in the country, where there is no prospect of a fair trial for defendants.”
Recent examples of the above repression include:
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On September 12, Barış İnce, a journalist with the newspaper Birgun, was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days in prison for “insulting president Erdoğan.”
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On September 11, Max Zirngast, an Austrian university student and journalist with the Jacobin magazine, was acquitted by a Turkish court of “being a member of an armed terrorist organisation.” Zirngast was detained last year and spent three months in jail, until he was released, but subject to an international travel ban, pending trial.
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Also on September 11, journalists Ayşegül Doğan, program coordinator of IMC TV, which was shut down, and Yusuf Karataş, a columnist for the daily Evrensel, had their hearings, which lasted only five minutes. The two members of the media are charged with “establishing and leading an armed terrorist organization” as part of their journalistic activities and face up to 22 and a half years in prison. The next hearings are slated for December 25.
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On September 11, as well, columnist Özlem Albayrak resigned from the pro-government daily, Yeni Şafak, after the paper refused to publish her article criticizing the nearly 10-year prison sentence imposed on Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the Istanbul head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), for her social media posts. After her resignation, Albayrak said: “It appears that there is no tolerance left even for constructive and genuine criticism that is not hostile. And that is worrisome. But it would be delusional to think that this is restricted to Yeni Şafak alone. In recent years, we have been expected to engage in hooliganism, not journalism.”
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On August 29, Ümit Uzun from the Demirören News Agency was detained by Istanbul police while reporting on a story. Uzun was handcuffed as he was interviewing the owner of a store into which a car had crashed, and was accused of “disrupting the scene of the accident.” He was released after being interrogated.
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On August 28, journalist Levent Uysal, the owner of the newspaper Yenigün, was attacked by armed assailants, who shot him in the leg, leading to his hospitalization. The Balikesir Journalists’ Association called the assault “planned,” “organized” and “a serious threat to the people’s right to obtain information.”
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On August 22, Taylan Özgür Öztaş, a reporter for Özgür Gelecek, was taken into custody in Istanbul after covering the protests against the government’s recent dismissal of the mayors of Mardin, Diyarbakir and Van. Tunahan Turhan, a reporter for the Etkin News Agency, was detained during the same demonstrations. Both reporters were later brought to court and released under judicial control measures.
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On August 20, Mezopotamya reporters Ahmet Kanbal and Mehmet Şah Oruç, JinNews reporter Rojda Aydın, and journalists Nurcan Yalçın and Halime Parlak, were arrested in Mardin while covering the same demonstrations against the government’s removal of the mayors from office. The journalists were released on August 26, after giving their statements at the local police department.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was held on September 13. Sadly, no one at the meeting addressed the persecution of journalists in Turkey — not José Guevara Bermúdez, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, nor Béla Szombati, who represented the European Union, nor any other participant.
The 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, which ARTICLE 19 has appealed to, is scheduled to continue until September 27, and the next session of the Working Group is scheduled to take place in November.
Amnesty International recently tagged Turkey the “world’s largest prison for journalists.” The UNHRC, if it wishes to change its image from that of a laughing stock, should put at the top of its agenda calling Ankara to task. Meanwhile, however, Erdoğan’s violations of freedom of speech need to be exposed daily and loudly condemned — not only by members of the UN and the media, but by any and all allies of Turkey — and freedom of expression — in the West.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 09/19/2019 – 02:00 -
- Attention: US GAO Informs Public About Hypersonic Weapons
Attention: US GAO Informs Public About Hypersonic Weapons
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a new report about hypersonic weapons, including hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) and hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs), and their development as the race for hypersonic technology heats up with Russia and China.
Hypersonic weapons fly between Mach 5 (3,836 mph) and Mach 10 (7,672 mph) and have the ability to out outmaneuver the world’s most advanced missile defense systems, such as the US MIM-104 Patriot and Russian S-400 missile system.
As shown in the GAO diagram, the HGVs and HCMs fly at lower altitudes and unpredictable flight paths than a traditional ballistic missile that flies typically at an arch from launch to target.
Hypersonic weapons have extreme maneuverability capabilities which make it difficult to defend against.
GAO said HGVs are hypersonic gliders that are initially propelled with a rocket to altitudes between 25 and 60 miles.
High-speed engines power HCMs during the entire flight. Can fly at altitudes between 12 and 19 miles.
“For most HCMs, a rocket would accelerate the missile to Mach 3 or 4, and then the HCM’s own ramjet or supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engine would take over. A ramjet uses the speed of the vehicle to “ram” and compress air with fuel, which is burned to produce thrust. A scramjet is similar, with air moving at supersonic speed,” the report said.
The GAO cited a recent update from the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board that said: “the core technologies needed for the development of a tactical range HGV have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 out of 9. The board expected the remaining subsystems for such a weapon to reach TRL 6 or higher by 2020. According to GAO best practices, TRL 7 is the level of technology maturity that constitutes a low risk for starting system development. It indicates that technology has achieved form, fit, and function, and has been demonstrated in an operational environment.”
GAO lists several important features of hypersonic weapons, and how these weapons will make warfighting against major adversaries easier.
- Penetrate defenses: Hypersonic weapons would likely enable U.S. warfighters to penetrate existing adversary anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems because of their speed, maneuverability, and altitude (above typical anti-aircraft defenses and below interception points for ballistic reentry vehicles).
- Strike fleeting targets: The speed of hypersonic weapons would allow them to hit targets that are only vulnerable for a limited time, such as mobile, high-value military targets and adversary weapons systems.
- Agile targeting: A traditional missile needs to be launched with a target in mind, but a hypersonic weapon could be maneuvered later in flight. This could provide U.S. decision-makers more time and make it extremely difficult for adversaries to prepare.
- High travel speeds: Piloted hypersonic vehicles would allow for very short travel times and may have commercial applications. Such vehicles have essentially been limited to certain spacecraft reentering the atmosphere and experimental aircraft.
GAO also lists the challenges of developing a hypersonic weapon, and are likely some of the reasons why the U.S. is losing the weapons race against Russia and China.
- Heat-tolerant materials: At hypersonic speeds, the exterior temperature of a hypersonic vehicle or weapon can exceed 2,000°F, necessitating advanced materials that will protect interior electronics. Such materials also need to be mechanically strong and efficient.
- Propulsion technology: Refinement of engine technology is needed for HCMs. This includes increasing the reliability and efficiency of scramjet engines. New types of engines that allow for propulsion from standstill to hypersonic speeds are also being developed, which would eliminate the need for rockets to provide the initial launch.
- Weapon tracking: Defense against a hypersonic weapon would involve tracking and intercepting it, but current radar and satellite systems are inadequate for this task.
- Limited testing resources: There are limited places to perform ground tests and flight tests of hypersonic weapons and vehicles in the United States. Currently, there are limited wind tunnel facilities in the country capable of running propulsion tests of hypersonic weapons and vehicles.
- Safety and control: Hypersonic velocities require additional improvements of aircraft control and guidance to help ensure the accuracy of hypersonic weapons and to
Within the Department of Defense (DOD), several top-secret programs by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force, the Navy, and the Army have received billions of dollars in the last several years to develop hypersonic weapons.
GAO warns that these technologies aren’t mature and it could take time until deployment.
Meanwhile, Russia and China have been testing and deploying such weapons, signaling that the U.S. is rapidly losing its global air supremacy, and another reason why the world is marching closer to war.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 09/19/2019 – 01:00 - Who Really Benefits From The "Iran Attacked Saudi Arabia" Narrative?
Who Really Benefits From The “Iran Attacked Saudi Arabia” Narrative?
Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,
After 9/11, the concept of the “false flag attack” gained prominence in American culture, and ever since, more and more people are starting to question the official narrative whenever new crisis events occur. It is possible that this is why there has not been another attack in the US on the scale of 9/11 since 2001; not because the government is doing a better job with security (there was ample security in operation on 9/11 that for some reason was not utilized), but because it’s harder for government agencies to get away fabricated disasters or scapegoating the wrong people as the culprits.
That said, sometimes governments don’t need to create a false flag from scratch. Sometimes disasters not of the government’s making can be turned into false flags, as long as they can pin the blame on the target they most want to attack.
The elites only need to get away with one major false flag every couple of decades to push the populace into a war or a cultural crisis which can be exploited.
This was essentially the strategy outlined by the “Project For A New American Century”, a foreign policy think tank in the 1990’s made up of Neo-Cons and ghouls from the Council On Foreign Relations which called for a “new Pearl Harbor” that would give the US a rationale to enter the Middle East militarily and change the entire political landscape. As Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never want a serious crisis go to waste…”
Of course, they got their Pearl Harbor, but contrary to popular opinion I think it’s wrong to assume that the PNAC was designed to open the door to American hegemony. Rather, I think the intention was to cause the opposite – the eventual fall of American geopolitical influence. After all, what happened to the Soviet Union after they bungled into a land war in Afghanistan? Only a long and costly quagmire that ultimately contributed to their economic downfall. This is exactly what is happening to the US today. Are we to believe the elites are completely unaware of this outcome?
To put it another way, perhaps the real goal of efforts toward American hegemony is to sabotage the US image over time, as well as sink it into bankruptcy? But let’s examine the underlying factors a little further…
US involvement in the Middle East thus far has led to nothing but disaster. While total financial costs are often debated, general estimates of the combined costs of US involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan are in the area of $5 trillion (a conservative estimate in my opinion). The civilian body count from the Iraq war alone stands at around 208,000 people according to Iraqbodycount.org. US, Israeli and Saudi Arabian covert agencies involved in Libya and Syria trained, funded and armed the same militants that would eventually give rise to ISIS under a program called Timber Sycamore. And, though we continually hear about Trump’s intentions to pull US troops out of the region, tens of thousands of soldiers and private contractors remain in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria to this day.
No person in their right mind could claim that US foreign policy in the Middle East has been successful. In fact, the US has lost considerable face and economic stability during these conflicts, which have been perpetuated by BOTH Republican and Democratic administrations. And now, the potential for a war in Iran is rising; a war that could devastate the US economy once and for all.
I would point out here that whatever a person might believe about the details surrounding 9/11, Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with it and the US invaded the nation on false pretenses. Evidence was faked, the only WMD’s the Iraqis had were those the US sold to them in the 1980’s, and Saddam had no verifiable ties to Al-Qaeda. The claims of Western intelligence agencies cannot be taken seriously after such a farce, and we must apply the same skepticism to any accusations they make against Iran.
John Bolton, a primary advocate of the PNAC, was the National Security Adviser to Donald Trump until only a few days ago. I hardly find it coincidental that Iran, one of the final targets on the PNAC hit list, is now being blamed for the latest attack on Saudi Arabian oil production right after Bolton exits the White House. It is often the case that elitists within an administration will jump ship right before their agendas are implemented so that they can redirect any blame for the consequences.
Needless to say, just because John Bolton has left the building doesn’t mean his schemes are gone, or that the supposed “disagreement” between Trump and Bolton was even real. Bolton is but one of many puppeteers controlling the Trump Administration…
Wars are not always started through Pearl Harbor-like ambushes on the American people – sometimes they are started through alliances and engineered confrontations on the other side of the world designed to drag the American people kicking and screaming into conflict. The attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil processing plants, the largest processing plants in the world, stands as another potential “linchpin”, as RAND Corporation would call it. An event that sets a domino effect in motion that leads to a global crisis. In this case, it is probably a linchpin that is being exploited as a crisis of opportunity. Or to put it it another way, it is a linchpin because the establishment is MAKING IT into a linchpin.
Initial reports of the attack indicated that it was launched by Yemeni Houthi rebels using drones. The Houthis have publicly accepted responsibility for the attacks. The Houthi rebellion started out as a protest movement against the hard line Yemeni government, which has long been a proxy for Saudi interests in the region. The Houthis demanded free speech rights and greater representation in government. The government responded by trying to imprison the protesters and killing their leadership.
This is not to say that I agree with the Houthi ideology, but I can see the reasoning in their revolt. The Saudi and US drone strikes and bombings in Yemen against the Houthis have been relentless and go widely unreported by the mainstream media. US officials claim that the strikes are aimed at “fighting Al-Qaeda”, but Al-Qaeda is used as a convenient label for just about any group that stands against US interests or allies.
US strikes on the Houthis accelerated under the Obama Adminsitration after a supposed “failed missile attack” on the destroyer USS Mason. The Houthis denied any involvement in the attack, saying it did not originate from their area of control. US strikes in Yemen have continued under Trump.
Political opponents in Yemen and the Saudis have consistently accused the Houthis of being proxies for Iran, and while Iran has publicly supported the Houthi rebellion, the Houthis have ignored Iranian advice on numerous occasions, indicating they are not as controlled as some would like the Western public to believe. I would note that the same media outlets that are screaming today about Iran as the villainous mastermind behind the Houthi insurgency were arguing against that claim only a couple years ago.
The narrative of “state controlled” insurgents is a common one for governments to use when faced with a rebellion they cannot defeat outright. In the war of propaganda, the last thing any establishment controlled dictatorship wants is for the public to view the rebels fighting them as common people and “heroic underdogs”. So, they conjure a story in which the rebellion is actually an evil conspiracy forged by a foreign power. Many conservatives and liberty activists might be able to relate to this, as numerous leftist media outlets have recently accused us of being nothing more than an “astro turf” movement created by the Russians, or at the very least, unwitting dupes manipulated by the Russians.
One of the most important aspects of a rebellion against the establishment is the ability to raise public awareness of the establishment’s crimes, but once they are successfully pigeon-holed as a proxy controlled by a foreign power, few in the public will listen to what they have to say no matter how factual it may be.
Saudi Arabia and the US have been exposed for funding and training militants (ISIS) in Syria to start a violent revolution against Bashar al-Assad, so it is a bit hypocritical of them to demonize Iran for any influence they may have with the Houthis. Last I checked, at least the Houthis aren’t guilty of committing genocide, cannibalism, nor are they guilty of large scale attacks on civilian targets (though there are plenty of unsupported accusations of attacks on civilians by the Saudi government). Frankly, if they were responsible for the attack on Saudi oil production as they claim, this represents a strike against a legitimate military target, not a terror attack.
But the real point here is that it does not matter if the Houthis are legitimate, or that they have real grievances against Saudi Arabia, or that they take full credit for the attack on Saudi Aramco – The establishment is going to rewrite the narrative to fit their agenda anyway.
Currently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has named Iran directly as being the culprit behind the strikes on Saudi Arabia (still no hard evidence available to verify this). Even though the Saudis stated right after the attack that 10 drones were used, and this corroborates what the Houthis have stated, the story is being quickly “adjusted”. Now, US officials claim that the attack was accomplished with 17 or more “cruise missiles” that originated from the direction of Iran. How the Saudis were able to confuse cruise missiles for drones remains a mystery.
The new official story is being tweaked everyday to counter any predictable skepticism. For example, the new claim of “terrain hugging” cruise missiles helps to counter anyone who asks how the attack could have thwarted the billions in American Patriot missile systems on Saudi soil? Patriots are not specifically designed to stop low flying missiles.
However, the Saudis have also purchased AN/TPQ-53 Quick Reaction Capability Radar systems from the US. This is next gen radar technology that is able to track low flying missiles, aircraft and drones. But still, the Saudi radar net was somehow defeated? If this is the case and the accusations are true, then one would have to conclude that Iran has military hardware capable of slipping past some of the best defense technology the US has to offer.
The bottom line is, a Houthi drone attack just doesn’t do it for the establishment. Even if they could substantiate hard military ties between Iran and the insurgents in Yemen, they would not be able to justify war based on the relationship alone. They have to connect Iran to the attack directly.
Clearly, the goal of this narrative is to create a rationale that allows the Trump Administration to commit to a war with Iran, probably starting with limited air strikes and escalating from there. When Trump finally gives his statements on evidence that supposedly points to Iran, I suspect he will not say much in terms of what the US reaction will be. The public (and the markets) will be left to assume that nothing substantial will happen and that it will all fade away. We will simply wake up one morning to discover that initial strikes against Iranian targets have been launched and that war has begun. The only other scenario that makes sense at this stage is that another strike against Saudi Arabia will take place within the next couple of weeks and that this will be used as the “final straw”.
It was only a matter of time. With the heavy influence of globalists in Trump’s cabinet, every major event in the region has been somehow tied to Iran, from attacks on random oil tankers to Palestinian and Lebanese opposition to Israel and so on.
Trump could not use a downed drone to start a war, that was not enough to convince the American public. Those people who applauded Trump as some kind of peacemaker for not initiating strikes on Iran for a single downed drone missed the bigger picture. War with Iran is baked into the cake; it is simply a matter of finding the right trigger. Perhaps skyrocketing oil prices in the face of “Iranian sponsored terrorism” will be exactly what the globalists needed.
Is it coincidence that this event is being hyped by the establishment as an Iranian agenda right after John Bolton leaves the White House? Is it a coincidence that it is being hyped after Russia recently warned that oil might drop to $25 a barrel on falling global demand? Is it a coincidence that it is being hyped right after Iran announced it was utilizing advanced Uranium centrifuges? Is it a coincidence that Trump now has an excuse to not reopen negotiations on Iran sanctions?
And, as noted at the beginning of this article, if you believe as I do that the globalists are seeking to completely destabilize the US with Donald Trump at the helm in order to destroy the image of the conservative movement and sovereignty activists by association, then a war with Iran would surely do the trick.
As covered in my article ‘Globalists Only Need One More Major Event To Finish Sabotaging The Economy’, published in May, a conflict with Iran would be a perfect catalyst for a final plunge in US markets in the midst of trade war tensions and tight Fed liquidity. Also, a war in Iran would inevitably lead to a shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz through which around 30% of the global oil supply flows, increasing oil prices exponentially along with international anger at the US. It would further galvanize China and most of the world to decouple from the US economically and eventually dump US treasuries and the dollar as the world reserve currency.
At the same time, the globalists will have effectively exploited the Trump Administration, which they may not intend to remain in office after 2020 anyway, as a tool for launching a war they have long wanted but could not trick the American public into supporting. Right now, it doesn’t matter if the American public agrees or not.
This is the true strategic brilliance of using Trump as a puppet president. Under Trump, the globalists can take actions they have always wanted to pursue and then lay all blame at the feet of conservatives. With Trump, it’s irrelevant if the White House loses face. He has been built up as a “populist” and anti-globalist, therefore any disaster he oversees will become the fault of populists and anti-globalists. This is why people should expect war in Iran in the near term. The temptation for the globalists to light the fuse with Trump as president must be overwhelming.
To understand why the elites would want the fall of the US, I suggest reading my article on the globalist end game HERE. While OPEC may benefit from higher oil prices in the face of dwindling global demand, and the Neo-Cons may benefit from seeing their PNAC plans for destabilizing the Middle East come to fruition, it is truly the globalists that have the most to gain by linking Iran to the Saudi Aramco attack and plunging the US into a war it cannot survive economically.
Simply put, they see crisis and chaos as the fastest stimulants of fear, and the most useful engines for global change. They are seeking to kill two birds with one stone – Break down the old world order to make way for their “new world order” while wrapping the catastrophic effects on the populace around the necks of their biggest ideological enemies.
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Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/18/2019 – 23:55 - First Footage Of Notorious Criminal Charles Bronson In A Decade Surfaces Online
First Footage Of Notorious Criminal Charles Bronson In A Decade Surfaces Online
A convicted drug dealer who is running several social media accounts from a UK prison using a contraband cellphone has published what appears to be the first footage of notorious UK criminal Charles Bronson, whose decades of violent crime have been the subject of movies and TV shows.
In the video, Bronson appears to coyly object to being filmed, covering his face with his arm and exchanging good-natured expletives with the cameraman, drug dealer Sam Walker, as the two prisoners seek to pass the time at their prison in the Midlands of the UK, according to the Daily Mail.
Some have questioned whether it is really Bronson, known as Britain’s most dangerous prisoner, who was reported to be in HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes for the past year. Bronson has a far more gruff voice than the man in the video.
But if it really is Bronson, this would be his first appearance in more than decade.
Walker has 45 convictions for 130 offenses. He notoriously fled to Africa after authorities tried to arrest him, then taunted police while he was on the run in Africa. He’s back in prison serving a 33 month sentence.
Walker’s twitter account has 19,000 followers, and his YouTube account, where he posted the video of Bronson, has 1,000 subscribers.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/18/2019 – 23:35 - "Killer Robots" Could Commit "Atrocities" Says Former Google Engineer
“Killer Robots” Could Commit “Atrocities” Says Former Google Engineer
Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,
Laura Nolan, a former Google software engineer who left the company in protest of Project Maven, Google’s since-abandoned artificial intelligence development program for military drones, says killer robots could commit atrocities. If governments turn control of their weapons systems over to fully-autonomous machines, we may face devastating, unintentional calamities or acts of war.
Nolan told The Guardian this week that there should always be a human finger on the trigger or else the technology can do “calamitous things that they were not originally programmed for.” But humans commit atrocities too. Democide, or people being killed by their own government/authorities is the leading cause of human death other than natural causes. Humanity has been notoriously violent and forceful with each other.
Even though most scientists want autonomous weapons completely banned, governments have no intention of doing so. It would limit their ability to commit mass murder. Major military powers including Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have invested heavily in autonomous weapons, military drones, and battlefield robots.
“You could have a scenario where autonomous weapons that have been sent out to do a job confront unexpected radar signals in an area they are searching,” Nolan told The Guardian.
Nolan was illustrating a hypothetical problem area, suggesting that a machine might mistake hunters for enemy combatants and open fire. But governments are the ones developing these machines and the humans who make up government have “made mistakes” and slaughtered innocent people during war too.
“Very few people are talking about this but if we are not careful one or more of these weapons, these killer robots, could accidentally start a flash war, destroy a nuclear power station and cause mass atrocities,” Nolan added.
It isn’t the robot that’s morally corrupt here; it’s humanity and always has been.
Until we evolve past the idea that people have the right to murder and enslave and steal as long as they are voted for by a majority, we will experience atrocities committed by those who were given power that wasn’t theirs to have in the first place.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/18/2019 – 23:15 - Small Businesses Left Scrambling After $35 Million Disappears In Massive Payrolls Fraud
Small Businesses Left Scrambling After $35 Million Disappears In Massive Payrolls Fraud
A rumored fraud at a small payrolls processing company located in remote Clifton, New York, drained the bank accounts for thousands of employees at companies that use its service. According to WSJ, money intended for employee paychecks and tax payments disappeared after an online payrolls company known as MyPayrollHR mysteriously folded.
All of a sudden, roughly 8,000 workers at 400 companies who relied on the service to get their paychecks by direct deposit saw hundreds of dollars taken out of their accounts instead of being deposited into their accounts, according to Nacha, the organization that oversees the ACH Network used to move money from one bank account to another.
James LaFlamme
Small business owners were left scrambling, CBS News reported. And many of their employees couldn’t pay their rent.
The Hometown Diner in Rindge, New Hampshire, is closed on Tuesdays – that’s when owner Bonnie Rosengrant pays her 23 employees. Today was the first time in days she was able to do that.
“It was very hard because I know a lot of my employees are paycheck to paycheck,” she said.
Rosengrant was surprised to learn that none of her employees had been paid because MyPayrollHR had folded, taking its customers’ assets (some $35 million) with it.
The FBI have launched an investigation into a suspected fraud at the company, and a team of agents have raided the upstate New York home of Michael Mann, MyPayrollHR’s owner.
In a tweet sent earlier this week, the FBI’s Albany bureau asked all business owners impacted by the fraud to fill out a questionnaire.
As we continue to seek information regarding the alleged activities of MyPayrollHR and its affiliates, the #FBI is asking all impacted business owners to please fill out the questionnaire linked below. https://t.co/zHLGJFnuiW
— FBI Albany (@FBIAlbany) September 13, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Mann’s attorney, Michael Koenig, said his client is cooperating with investigators, and will continue to do so. “Michael Mann has voluntarily and proactively met with and is cooperating with the U.S. attorney’s office in order to fully address the consequences of recent events.”
What exactly happened remains unclear, and some of the employees impacted by the MyPayrollHR’s closure are joining a class-action lawsuit, arguing that the incident caused them to be late with rent and credit-card payments.
Meanwhile, many of the business owners who were impacted were forced to take out loans to cover the shortfall, per WSJ.
Mike Walls, the owner of a home-care agency and an assisted-living facility in Lake Jackson, Texas, said he took out a $50,000 line of credit to deal with any short-term problems.
[…]
Mr. Walls said he wrote checks to five of his 75 employees so that they could pay urgent bills and provided workers with letters they could show landlords or creditors. All except two employees have had their money returned, Mr. Walls said Monday.
“I can deal with this as a business owner, but my employees are profoundly affected,” he said. “The snowball that could come from this is so scary.”
Another employer, James LaFlamme, said he threw down $100,000 of his own money to cover employees.
James LaFlamme said he advanced about $100,000 to replace missed paychecks for the roughly 60 employees of his two Vienna, Va., businesses. Mr. LaFlamme said he immediately filed a fraud claim with SunTrust Banks Inc. after $14,000 of his own pay was withdrawn from two personal bank accounts.
While Mr. LaFlamme said he still isn’t sure when the bank will reverse those withdrawals, he said many of his employees had money returned to their accounts Friday. Some of those employees came to the office Monday with checks to repay the advances.
“We were able to scrape enough cash together to make the last payroll this past Friday, but if all the money doesn’t come back to the employees, then there could be a problem with payroll coming up,” Mr. LaFlamme said.
WSJ said the incident will draw attention to a critical but lightly regulated area of the economy: The payroll-processing industry, which is both sprawling and lightly regulated. Competitors in the space range in size from publicly traded giants like ADP and Paychex to smaller players like MyPayrollHR.
Cachet, one of the firms that manages the flow of payroll funds through the ACH system, said it found evidence of fraud in MyPayrollHR’s file that caused some of the purportedly stolen money to be diverted to accounts controlled by MyPayrollHR, instead of the employees of its clients.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/18/2019 – 22:55 - Putin's Multipolar Offer To Saudi Arabian Exceptionalism
Putin’s Multipolar Offer To Saudi Arabian Exceptionalism
Authored by Tim Kirby via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
Global Islamic Terrorism is universally recognized as today’s big threat and has been the justification for all sorts of changes, especially to life in the West after 9/11. The Islamic terrorists whom we are supposed to fear on a daily basis more or less believe in some form of Wahhabism, which grew up in and is spread from Saudi Arabia. Surprisingly the US and the Saudis have been and still are staunch allies.
This makes little sense on the surface but Saudi exceptionalism extends to Russia as well. Russia and former parts of its territory have been some of the biggest victims of Wahhabism and still fight it to this day and yet President Putin just vowed to protect them from air threats via Russia’s top of the line equipment. So this raises the question by what logic would Russia want work with the Saudis who prop up the ideas that murder their citizens? The short answer is Multipolarity.
During the Cold War we saw two great powers with massive spheres of influence dividing the planet between themselves. This Bipolar (in the literal sense) structure forced everyone on America’s side to be Capitalist / Western-style Democratic and everyone on the USSR’s side to be Communist. So for every Communist revolution that succeeded Moscow’s sphere of influence grew while Washington’s shrank.
Now in the 21st century this dynamic is much different as the sole Hyperpower is fighting against any upstarts who challenge its status, which means that every nation that succumbs to the Washington status quo is a victory for Monopolarity, while any nation that begins to act on its own or under the influence of anyone besides the US/NATO/The West is a victory for Multipolarity.
This is why today, unlike during the Cold War Russia has a policy of being open to working with anyone who is willing to work with them regardless of ideology. Of course during the Cold War the US and the Soviet Union would work with countries outside their political theory of preference to some degree, but now Russia is free from the burdens of Communist ideology and is thus free to associate with anyone and Moscow is willing to work with anyone because any nation that rises up to a high level of sovereignty creates another crack in the monolith of Monopolarity.
This is why Moscow has been cooperating with Turkey who at times has been very aggressive towards them, shooting down a Russian plane, forcing their way into Syria and working against Assad’s and Russia’s interests in the region, and opening Turkish Universities across parts of the Former USSR challenging Russian cultural influence. These all sound bad, but Moscow has a bigger fish to fry and the upstart Turks, despite being in NATO are beginning to push for a more powerful sovereign pro-Turkish foreign policy, which is bad for Russia in doses, but on the whole is a huge stride towards a Multipolar World that Russia so desperately needs.
And this is the logic that applies to the Saudis. True the Saudi Wahhabism and loud inaction in terms of containing Wahhabism have lead to the deaths of many Russian-speaking people the world over, but the Multipolar mission takes precedence, thus Putin offered the Saudis to buy Russian S-400 systems because “Our (Russian) air defenses can protect you, like they do Turkey and Iran” and that “These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack.”
Syria and Turkey are both major Multipolar victories so perhaps in Putin’s words there is a hint that Saudi Arabia could jump on the Other World Order’s boat by buying these defense systems. The S-400s in question could be used to defend against a local neighbor, but we could suppose that a massive surface-to-air set up would best be used to defend against NATO, who is the only serious missile launching threat.
To an extent it is very possible that this offer by President Putin to the parties indirectly responsible for a great deal of suffering in Russia could actually be an invitation to the Multipolar World.
Saudi Arabia has been very much the exceptional Arab nation in the Middle East when it comes to NATO’s actions, but nothing lasts forever. The Saudis have oil and little means to defend it, while at the same time maintaining an ideology that has been demonized by the Mainstream Media for almost 20 years, prepping the West with a casus belli when the time comes. The fear of Monopolar aggression could force the Saudis to buy into team Multipolarity.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/18/2019 – 22:35 - Secret Service Wants Jet Skis For Mar-a-Lago & Hamptons As Trump Family "Very Active In Water"
Secret Service Wants Jet Skis For Mar-a-Lago & Hamptons As Trump Family “Very Active In Water”
A Secret Service memo has requested the need for jet skis to protect President Trump’s family and friends — while at vacation properties at President Trump’s exclusive south Florida Mar-a-Lago Club and other properties in the Hamptons.
The memo said the agency needs two jet skis and a trailer to “enhance safety/security for protective assignments on the water.”
The agency has requested two Kawaski jet skis that retail for more than $10,000 per unit. The request noted security challenges that special agents face while traveling to President Trump’s golf courses and resorts.
“President Trump and his family spend several weeks throughout the year in Mara Largo FL and Hamptons NY. The First Family is very active in water sports,” the request states, which was first highlighted by WRC-TV reporter Scott McFarlane.
Previously, Secret Service agents have rented jet skis with their own money, the memo said.
“Several family members along with their guest participate in open water activities for which USSS Special Agent Rescue Swimmers are responsible,” the request continues.
“SA’s have rented watercraft with their own personal funds to allow them to be near our protectees in various water environments to fulfill the USSS Rescue Swimmer mission.”
The Secret Service said the 4-stroke, 4-cylinder 1498cc jet skis will be stored at the agency’s training center in Beltsville, Maryland.
To protect President Trump’s family and friends at golf courses and resorts, the Secret Service must adapt to their luxurious lifestyles.
Special agents have found themselves increasingly putting around on E-Z-GO golf carts and jet skis over the last several years.
According to Trump Golf Count, President Trump has visited golf courses about 217 times since his inauguration, with evidence of playing golf on at least 101 visits (the data runs through Sept. 15).
The Secret Service has protected President Trump and his family at Mar a Lago at least 91 times and at his Bedminster course 75 times since his inauguration.
As a reminder, President Trump made this promise to the American people in 2016: “I’m going to be working for you. I’m not going to have time to go play golf.”
So far, President Trump’s golf outings have cost taxpayers nearly $109 million. Maybe it’s time for the president to start picking up some of the tabs, like jet skis for the Secret Service.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 09/18/2019 – 22:15
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