The Globalization of War and the Global Economic Crisis. Is there a Relationship?

By Global Research

Global Research, January 24, 2015

Url of this article:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-globalization-of-war-and-the-global-economic-crisis-is-there-a-relationship/5426499

Global Research is launching a new book entitled:

The Globalization of War

America’s “Long War” against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

This new book describes America’s hegemonic project in the post 9/11 whereby the U.S.-NATO military machine coupled with covert intelligence operations, economic sanctions and the thrust of “regime change” is deployed in all major regions of the world. The threat of pre-emptive nuclear war is also used to black-mail countries into submission.

There is an intimate relationship between the Globalization of War and the Economic Crisis. This “Long War against Humanity” is carried out at the height of the most serious economic crisis in modern history. It is intimately related to a process of global financial restructuring, which has resulted in the collapse of national economies and the impoverishment of large sectors of the World population.

Michel Chossudovsky views “economic conquest” as an integral part of the US military agenda. The US military and intelligence apparatus consults with Wall Street and the Texas oil conglomerates. Conversely the IMF and the World Bank are in permanent liaison with the Pentagon and the US State Department.

Global Research Membership

The contribution of Global Research Members enable us to make CRG articles and videos available to the broadest possible readership. Becoming a member essentially constitutes an endorsement of the Global Research website.

New Global Research members (annual) will receive a copy of The Globalization of War together with “The Global Economic Crisis, The Great Depression of the 21st Century. Both titles will be sent to all those who renew their membership (annual). The Global Economic Crisis addresses the issue of oil prices, financial manipulation and economic warfare.

Thank you for supporting independent media.

Global Research Annual Membership $95.00/year

All new members (annual basis) as well as all membership renewal (annual basis) will receive a FREE copy of “The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century“, as well as a FREE copy of the new book from Global Research, “The Globalization of War: America’s “Long War” against Humanity“ by Michel Chossudovsky.

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER

The Globalization of War: America’s “Long War” against Humanity:

America’s hegemonic project in the post 9/11 era is the “Globalization of War” whereby the U.S.-NATO military machine coupled with covert intelligence operations, economic sanctions and the thrust of “regime change” is deployed in all major regions of the world. The threat of pre-emptive nuclear war is also used to black-mail countries into submission.

This “Long War against Humanity” is carried out at the height of the most serious economic crisis in modern history.

It is intimately related to a process of global financial restructuring, which has resulted in the collapse of national economies and the impoverishment of large sectors of the World population.

The ultimate objective is World conquest under the cloak of “human rights” and “Western democracy”.

Reviews:

“Professor Michel Chossudovsky is the most realistic of all foreign policy commentators. He is a model of integrity in analysis, his book provides an honest appraisal of the extreme danger that U.S. hegemonic neoconservatism poses to life on earth.”

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury

““The Globalization of War” comprises war on two fronts: those countries that can either be “bought” or destabilized. In other cases, insurrection, riots and wars are used to solicit U.S. military intervention. Michel Chossudovsky’s book is a must read for anyone who prefers peace and hope to perpetual war, death, dislocation and despair.”

Hon. Paul Hellyer, former Canadian Minister of National Defence

“Michel Chossudovsky describes globalization as a hegemonic weapon that empowers the financial elites and enslaves 99 percent of the world’s population.

“The Globalization of War” is diplomatic dynamite and the fuse is burning rapidly.”

Michael Carmichael, President, the Planetary Movement

The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century:

In all major regions of the world, the economic recession is deep-seated, resulting in mass unemployment, the collapse of state social programs and the impoverishment of millions of people. The meltdown of financial markets was the result of institutionalized fraud and financial manipulation. The economic crisis is accompanied by a worldwide process of militarization, a “war without borders” led by the U.S. and its NATO allies.

This book takes the reader through the corridors of the Federal Reserve, into the plush corporate boardrooms on Wall Street where far-reaching financial transactions are routinely undertaken.

Each of the authors in this timely collection digs beneath the gilded surface to reveal a complex web of deceit and media distortion which serves to conceal the workings of the global economic system and its devastating impacts on people’s lives.

The complex causes as well as the devastating consequences of the economic crisis are carefully scrutinized with contributions from Ellen Brown, Tom Burghardt, Michel Chossudovsky, Michael Hudson, Tanya Cariina Hsu, James Petras, Peter Phillips, Peter Dale Scott, Claudia Van Werlhof and Mike Whitney.

Reviews:

“This important collection offers the reader a most comprehensive analysis of the various facets especially the financial, social and military ramifications from an outstanding list of world-class social thinkers.”
-Mario Seccareccia, Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa

“In-depth investigations of the inner workings of the plutocracy in crisis, presented by some of our best politico-economic analysts. This book should help put to rest the hallucinations of ‘free market’ ideology.”
-Michael Parenti, author of God and His Demons and Contrary Notions

“Provides a very readable exposé of a global economic system, manipulated by a handful of extremely powerful economic actors for their own benefit, to enrich a few at the expense of an ever-growing majority.”
-David Ray Griffin, author of The New Pearl Harbor Revisited.

Copyright © 2015 Global Research

BREAKING: Congress Delivers Some Bad News to Eric Holder

BREAKING: Congress Delivers Some Bad News to Eric Holder

Sunday, January 18th,
2015

It's
about time!

If outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder thought that
tendering his resignation to President Barack Obama would be all it took to get
him off the hook for six years of irregularities in the Department of Justice,
he had another thing coming.

Rep. Sean Duffy, the
new chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House
Financial Services Committee, has planned hearings into the DOJ’s Operation Choke Point starting early in February.

And his subcommittee may not be the only one.

Duffy told Fox News
last week that the operation, originally targeted at shutting down fraudulent
business practices by targeting the businesses’ ability to obtain credit, has
been altered by the Obama administration into a tool to be used against any business of which the administration does not
approve.  “What they’ve done is they put
short-term lenders out of business, gun dealers out of business, ammunition
manufacturers out of business,” Duffy said. “Because in America, if you
can’t bank, you can’t do business.”

One example would be
Mike Schuetz, who opened an account with Heritage Credit Union for his gun store in
Hawkins, Wis.
Schuetz said that only a week after opening the account, credit union officials
informed him that “pressure from the National Credit Union Administration”
was forcing them to close it, according toBreitbart.

The CEO of Heritage Credit Union later denied that
claim, saying that the NCUA had nothing to do with the account closure, but
Schuetz said that he had “extensive audio recordings” of credit union employees
that prove otherwise.

Schuetz went on to
open an account at another institution, one that was not regulated by the NCUA.
But Duffy warned that option would only remain feasible until other Obama
administration regulatory agencies get on board with the way that Holder has
used Operation Choke Point to target businesses on the basis of his own morality.

“The story of Mike
Schuetz is only the tip of the iceberg,” Brian Wise of the United States
Consumer Coalition told Breitbart. “We believe there are thousands of
other victims who have lost their bank accounts due to Operation Choke Point
but don’t realize that this is the reason.”

Breitbart also
reported that Duffy’s committee may not be the only one to hold hearings on the
DOJ’s Operation Choke Point, citing to unnamed sources, but did not
provide specifics.

It’s hard to believe
that an agency of the federal government would be used for such specific
targeting of businesses of which President Obama and Eric Holder did not
approve.

It’s not as if other agencies had been used for such targeting, like, say, the
IRS, or …

Oh … wait.

http://conservativetribune.com/congress-bad-news-eric-hold…/

The Pacific Power Index

From moguls to migrants, Harvard to Huawei: 50 people shaping the future of the U.S.-China relationship.

By Tea Leaf Nation Staff | Portraits by Joel Kimmel | Icons by Elias Stein

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The world’s most important relationship isn’t the superpower showdown most analysts would have you believe. It’s a constantly shifting, symbiotic relationship shaped by millions of people, not just officials in Washington and Beijing. They range from the mayor of Wichita, Kansas to a hacker in Shanghai; from a self-described “Berkeley hippie” who defends modern Chinese communism to the Beijing-based inventor of e-cigarettes; and from an American casino magnate reshaping China’s version of Las Vegas to an unsung migrant worker in the gritty town of Dongguan.
But Foreign Policy’s inaugural Pacific Power Index is not a list of the 50 most powerful individuals in the U.S.-China relationship. Instead, it is a story about the power of that nexus itself, and its ability to impact American and Chinese lives. Each person recognized here has been profoundly shaped by the intersections — sometimes the collisions — of these two great powers. Taken together, their 50 stories illuminate the vast architecture that links the two countries, a largely invisible series of bridges spanning the realms of business, government, finance, military, media, and academia.

Media & Internet

Corporations

Culture & Entertainment

Education

Finance

Military & Government

U.S. Democracy Held Hostage By The Rich As Never Before

 

ACTIVISM

U.S. Democracy Held Hostage By The Rich As Never Before

Five years after the Supreme Court's Citizen United ruling, politicians increasingly court the rich.

ByBrendan Fischer / Center for Media and Democracy

January 21, 2015

This week, Republican presidential hopefuls like Gov. Scott Walker, Gov. Chris Christie, and Sen. Rand Paul will travel to an exclusive resort near Palm Springs, Florida to kiss the rings of David and Charles Koch. 

The New York Times calls it the "Koch primary."

Over the last five years, the Koch political network has evolved into what many have described as a shadow political party. The Kochs and their network of wealthy donors spent $300 million in the 2014 elections, after raising at least $400 million in the 2012 presidential races, with almost all of the spending passing through an array of political vehicles that are officially "independent" from candidates and political parties.

Today, candidates who receive the blessing of Charles and David can watch their political fortunes skyrocket, thanks to the huge financial resources the Kochs and their deep-pocketed allies can funnel into elections. Joni Ernst, for example, was a local elected official four years ago, yet this year was sworn-in as a U.S. Senator and delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union address--a rapid trajectory which she attributes to support from the Koch political network. 

If a "Koch primary"--where a handful of wealthy donors can determine political futures, regardless of political party--sounds more like an oligarchy than a democracy, you are probably right. 

The level of political influence made possible by such extravagant spending would have been all but impossible five years ago, before the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC. In that decision, a narrow majority of the Court struck down limits on "independent" spending, paving the way for Super PACs and dark money vehicles that can now spend literally billions of dollars influencing elections. 

Citizens United turns five on January 21. 

Citizens United Has Transformed American Elections

In the five years since Citizens United, Super PACs have spent one billion on federal elections, according to a Brennan Center analysis. Around 60 percent of that amount came from fewer than 200 people. Hundreds of millions more have been spent by so-called "dark money" groups--organizations that spend to influence elections but evade donor disclosure laws--and in the 11 most competitive U.S. Senate races in 2014, a majority of outside spending came from groups that keep their donors secret.

Although the Court's rationale in Citizens United rested on the notion that groups raising and spending unlimited funds would be "independent" of candidates and political parties, the reality is that around half of all Super PACs were formed to support a single candidate and are often led by the candidate's former staff, Public Citizen has found.

Besides the $1 billion-plus spent on federal elections after Citizens United, hundreds of millions more has been spent on increasingly expensive state races. David Koch's Americans for Prosperity, for example, spent $10 million supporting Governor Scott Walker in his 2012 recall election. In 2014, tens of millions were spent by outside groups in the Massachussetts governor's race, more than double the amount spent four years earlier.  

And, in the years since Citizens United, judicial elections have  increasingly been dominated by outside spending. At least $56.4 million was spent on state Supreme Court races between 2011 and 2012, according to Justice at Stake, raising serious concerns that justice is truly for sale. That concern is particularly pointed in Wisconsin, where the Court will be deciding a case potentially involving criminal liability for the majority's biggest supporters--and with it, ironically, deciding the future of Wisconsin campaign finance laws. 

Although the unlimited spending made possible by Citizens United  has allowed the Koch network to reshape U.S. politics and the Republican Party to advance their corporate and ideological interests, wealthy Democratic donors are increasingly stepping up their game. The political arena is becoming a billionaire's playground.

The Ruling Class: Tiny Slivers of Ultra-Wealthy Donors

As limits on money in elections continue to deteriorate, candidates must increasingly rely on big campaign spending from a tiny sliver of wealthy individuals like the Kochs. Elected officials, in turn, are far more responsive to the preferences of the wealthy--who bankroll their campaigns--than to the average voter, and a large body of research shows that the rich have different policy priorities than the general public, as Demos and Common Cause have documented. 

For example, vast majorities of Americans support raising the minimum wage and enacting paid sick days, but these policies are not a priority for the wealthy donor class, and are actively opposed by entrenched corporate interests (and big political spenders) like the National Restaurant Association. As a result, the federal minimum wage has remained stalled at $7.25 per hour, and the U.S. is the only developed country on earth that doesn't guarantee that workers can stay home sick without losing pay or their job.

Even worse, when cities and counties have tried to enact these laws in their communities, they've been thwarted by corporate-backed state legislators--most of whom are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council--passing "preemption" laws at the state level to crush local efforts to enact paid sick days or a higher minimum wage. (ALEC has also demanded that state legislators protect the "right" of corporate interests to anonymously influence elections.)

This big money politics means that elected officials are primarily responsive to the policy preferences of their financial supporters rather than average people. And, as Demos has described, this dynamic further hinders a truly multiracial democracy: major political donors, to both parties, are almost entirely white. Which means that policymakers are primarily responsive to the preferences of a rich, white donor class, and people of color and the poor have their voices marginalized, even as the country grows increasingly diverse.

Any Hope Is on the Horizon?

This week, thousands of people across the country are taking to the streets on this fifth anniversary to raise their voices against Citizens United. Five million people have signed petitions calling for a constitutional amendment to reverse the decision. And 16 states and over 500 cities have passed resolutions calling for an amendment, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, thanks to the work of Public Citizen, People for the American Way, Common Cause, Move to Amend, Communications Workers of America, American Sustainable Business Council and others.

On Wednesday, seven activists with the democracy movement 99Rise disrupted the U.S. Supreme Court, issuing a series of statements calling for the justices to overturn the unpopular Citizens United decision. Each protester stood up and presented a demand to the Court before raising their index finger in the air to signify one person, one vote as the basis for democratic representation.

And last September, a majority of the U.S. Senate voted to advance a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore the ability of Congress and states to put limits on electoral spending. Of course, that gesture was symbolic as the GOP-led House would never even take up that proposal.

But even as popular support is being expressed on the side of democracy, hundreds of super wealthy individuals are meeting this week with the Koch brothers, attracting scores of leading Republicans in Congress and likely presidential candidates. That comes in the same week that the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case on whether judicial candidates should be allowed to fundraise, as judges run for office in many states.

So even as there is popular support for democratic reforms, there is also tremedous momentum among the monied classes to perpetuate their power and influence.  

 

ISIS Hack of Pentagon Twitter Accounts Traced Back to Maryland

ISIS Hack of Pentagon Twitter Accounts Traced Back to Maryland

NSA implicated in latest cybersecurity scare?

by Paul Joseph Watson | January 12, 2015

13811,27147

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According to the group which identifies itself as Anonymous, the ISIS hack of the Pentagon’s Twitter accounts traces back to Maryland – home of the National Security Agency.

Twitter and YouTube accounts belonging to the U.S. military command that oversees operations in the Middle East were reportedly hacked by ISIS sympathizers earlier today, with messages being sent out for almost an hour before the accounts were temporarily shut down.

“American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back, ISIS,” the hackers posted on the U.S. Central Command Twitter feed.

USA Today reports, “A Twitter account from a group identifying itself as Anonymous said Monday it had tracked the source of the hack to Maryland, but that was not confirmed by official sources.”

Maryland is of course home to the National Security Agency, an entity that has perfected the art of hacking and is able to compromise and take control of different systems and platforms “at the speed of light”.

The hack coincided with President Barack Obama addressing the nation on the subject of cybersecurity as he prepares to announce new legislation at the upcoming State of the Union speech.

Just as last year’s Sony hack, which was blamed on North Korea yet had all the hallmarks of an inside job, was used to reanimate zombie legislation which would increase White House control over the Internet, the Obama administration will undoubtedly cite the ISIS hack as another reason why more prohibitive restrictions need to be introduced.

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71
FOLLOW Paul Joseph Watson @ https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet

*********************

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

CIA Insider: "Forget Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, and Syria this is where WWIII will start"

By MONEY MORNING STAFF REPORTS

Should the rise of conflicts across the Middle East and Ukraine serve as a warning sign that something much more dangerous is approaching?
According to Jim Rickards, the CIA's Asymmetric Warfare Advisor, the answer is yes.
In a startling interview he reveals that all 16 U.S. Intelligence Agencies have begun to prepare for World War III.
Making matters worse, his colleagues believe it could begin within the next 6 months.
However, the ground zero location for this global conflict is what makes his interview a must-see for every American.
Take a few moments to watch it below and decide for yourself.

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Jim Willie: Swiss De-peg Triggers Massive Derivative Crisis, Potential END OF THE EURO!

Jim Willie: Swiss De-peg Triggers Massive Derivative Crisis, Potential END OF THE EURO!

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Jean

Please  reference this recent post: RECORD BREAKING AMOUNTS OF FOREIGN GOLD ARE BEING REMOVED FROM THE NY FED as well as my recent statement made on January 17, 2015, which appears to look more and more accurate:

My somewhat informed point of view is that this will not lead to WWIII. I have been reading, listening, and studying . . . Very soon, the BRICS, CHINA Bank, will announce a return to the gold standard among themselves. This means the US will be forced to ‘do business’ with these countries in gold, gold I imagine that they must prove is honestly theirs. I’ve learned that it is likely they can only do this for a reasonably short period of time. When they can no longer pay in gold, there are other options, like paying substantially more in currency than the countries who belong to this financial system. 

During this time, the citizens of the USA will have the opportunity to get their country back under a valid Constitution (not the corporation under which we presently exist) and Treasury (not the Federal Reserve, which is illegal and outside the Constitution), a platform which Alfred Webre has recently suggested as part of a 2016 Presidential Campaign. When/if this is accomplished, then the US will be permitted to take part in the new monetary system.

Since we are already involved in a war — a currency war, and war is never a proscribed situation, this is only one of many possibilities that might surface. What I do not see, however, is the advent of WWIII. I think Putin has been very careful to avoid it, and I see no reason why he would want to bring about the almost sure destruction of this planet.

~Jean

UPDATE: Please don’t miss this video, as well. It’s got a great analysis of how Putin ‘works’, plus some wonderful, much deserved kudos for Peter Eyre: Alfred Webre: VIDEO – Leuren Moret: Putin Plan-HAARP the Fukushima radiation out of Russia. BRICS saves world from $collapse

Posted on January 19, 2015
by The Doc
Thanks to T.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In the wake of the Swiss National Bank shocking the market this week de-pegging the CHF from the Euro, the Golden Jackass Jim Willie joined us over the weekend for an Exclusive Interview discussing: 

• Willie explains why the Swiss are dumping the Euro in favor of GOLD, and that multi-hundred billion trading losses will result in MASSIVE DERIVATIVE LOSSES & CONTAGION!
• Swiss actions have brought a HUGE ACCELERATION of end game events-We’re looking at the potential END of the EURO!
• Swiss have front run the Global Currency Reset & GOLD REVALUATION!
• $2 TRILLION IN SUB-PRIME OIL BONDS ARE ABOUT TO EXPLODE!  Contagion will be bigger than sub-prime housing crash!
• Dollar Death-Spike: Fed has LOST CONTROL of the dollar!
• Coming European bank failures will result in a STAMPEDE INTO GOLD!
• 2015 Will be a repeat of Lehman- Several Western banks will go down, This is GAME OVER!
• When Putin flips his switch, the DOLLAR IS DEAD, and Gold Will DOUBLE!
• GREXIT will blow up the EU!

One of Jim Willie’s Most Dynamic & STUNNING Interviews EVER is below: 

The Doc began by asking the Golden Jackass his thoughts on the Swiss Franc de-pegging from the Euro: 
– tipped off on Draghi EuroCB decision to proceed with QE bond monetization
-Currency interventions are coming to a CLIMAX!
– could be as simple as Swiss bank noticing the physical gold flows
– Swiss act as gold coordinator (see Bank For Intl Settlemt) and guide for refiners
– could anticipate German departure from common Euro currency
– could anticipate Greek Exit and huge shock waves
– numerous factors could lead to widespread European bank failures
Willie made a STUNNING prognosis for 2015- Death of the dollar and GOLD REVALUATION: 
– energy trade gradually excluding USD
– key upcoming element is Saudi/OPEC acceptance of non-USD
– US losing control of USD and oil price (Petro-Dollar demise in full view)
– US oil industry at great risk ($2 trillion in shale bond all subprime)
– convergence of Brent & WTexas oil price signal in 2013
– US blocks all reset Currency & Gold market reform
– therefore East will force Gold Standard through trade channels
– Eastern capital development and asset acquisition will be done on USTBond tab
– East led by BRICS are to shun avoid reject the USD
– QE has accelerated all movements to remove the USD from trade and banking
The Doc then asked Will for his take on the upcoming Greek elections- will we see a GREXIT?  
– potential for European bank runs, bail-ins
– ELA is Emergency Liquidity Assistance
– four big Greek banks ask aid
– Syriza Party seeks to abandon austerity and probably the common Euro currency
– debt default likely following EUR 240bn bailout
– EU 195bn debt owed to EU nations = 4% of EU govt budgets
Germany 56.5bn,  France 42.4bn,  Italy 37.3bn,  Spain 24.8bn,  Dutch 11.9bn
- GREXIT     will blow up EU on fiscal side
– Swiss Natl Bank                        on currency side
– USGovt sanctions                     on economic side
– Germany                                    on monetary side
– Ukraine                                      on energy side

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