Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Authorities Want Remote Access To Californians’ Home CCTV Footage “For The Greater Good”

NAZI motherfuckers !  "they"  liked 2 "spy" 2  ..ya know fer the "greater " good ?

Authorities Want Remote Access To Californians’ Home CCTV Footage “For The Greater Good”

Spy On thy neighbor as thyself

Steve Watson | Infowars
A rather Orwellian council proposal in California would see police able to remotely access the feeds from home security cameras in San Jose, for the good of society.
Cops would be able to remotely access home security cameras
The idea, forwarded by City Councilman Sam Liccardo, calls for citizens to volunteer their own CCTV systems, registering them with local law enforcement, so police can monitor whatever the cameras are trained on.
While the proposal suggests that police would have access to the cameras after a crime, remote accessibility means that cops could potentially monitor camera feeds in real time, which would amount to a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The proposal is a desperate response to surging crime rates in the city. The idea came about after local business owners volunteered CCTV footage following a series of arson crimes in a downtown district.
“It became apparent that there’s a lot of evidence out there that residents want to provide,” Liccardo said, adding that costs would be limited because the security systems are privately operated.
Liccardo also suggested that a camera database would be compiled and maintained by existing city officials. The new database “is something that costs very little but could have a big impact in making San Jose safer.” the councilor said.
San Jose’s independent police auditor, retired judge LaDoris Cordell, lauded the idea, calling it a logical step and stating “You tend to behave when the cameras are on you.” Dismissing the notion that the proposed system would represent an “intrusion on privacy,” Cordell instead described it as allowing residents to “know what’s going on in their neighborhood.”
Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Hanni Fakhoury, noted that the proposed system is wide open to abuse. “Once you give the police unfettered access 24/7, you’re relying on them to exercise their restraint.” Fakhoury said.
“To me the really interesting and troublesome part of it is the way we are starting to privatize government surveillance — to enlist private citizens in a way that is kind of unprecedented and could be potentially really dangerous.” the attorney added.
The proposal is not limited to San Jose, cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago, as well as towns such as nearby Los Gatos and Monte Sereno have already launched similar systems of surveillance.
Officer Catherine Mann of the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department said “We haven’t had any negative responses, once we get it out to them that this is not a ‘Big Brother’ ” situation. “We’re not sitting around watching live videos from their home.” she added.
Police in San Jose say they are exploring the “merits of the idea”, which is set to be discussed by a City Council committee this week.
Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.

Forget Metadata … The NSA Is Spying On EVERYTHING

those motherfucker's  ...like'd 2 spy 2  ...no ?

January 29, 2014

Source: Washington's Blog

Don’t Get Too Distracted By The Details … The Government Is Spying On ALL Of Your Digital Communications
The NSA’s spying on everyone’s metadata can tell them just about everything about us … and it violates our Constitutional right to freedom of association.
But people are getting distracted from the big picture by focusing on metadata.
As security expert Bruce Schneier wrote yesterday:
What frustrates me about all of this — [the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board] report, the president’s speech, and so many other things — is that they focus on the bulk collection of cell phone call records. There’s so much more bulk collection going on — phone callse-mailsaddress booksbuddy liststext messagescell phone location datafinancial documentscalendars, [smartphone apps] etc. — and we really need legislation and court opinions on it all. But because cell phone call records were the first disclosure, they’re what gets the attention.
Indeed, Schneier confirmed last October what we’ve been saying for years … don’t get too distracted by the details, because the government is spying on everything:
Honestly, I think the details matter less and less. We have to assume that the NSA has EVERYONE who uses electronic communications under CONSTANT surveillance. New details about hows and whys will continue to emerge …but the big picture will remain the same.
He’s right.
As just one example, there is substantial evidence from top NSA and FBI whistleblowers that the government is recording the content of our calls and emails … word-for-word.
So what should we make of the government’s denials that it records content?
Given that the government has been caught lying about spying again and again, I’m not sure how much weight we should give to such denials.
NSA whistleblower Russ Tice notes:
They’re collecting content … word-for-word.
***
You can’t trust these people. They lie, and they lie a lot.

The Earth vs. The Nazi Flying Saucers – Moon Bases, Space Wars and the Moon Hoax

The Earth vs. The Nazi Flying Saucers – Moon Bases, Space Wars and the Moon Hoax

http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/2013/06/the-earth-vs-the-nazi-flying-saucers-moon-bases-space-wars-and-the-moon-hoax/

By Olav Phillips
warsMany years ago I was introduced to the amazing videos of Ed Grimsley, who at the time was discussing the idea that UFOs were engaging in some level of extra-atmospheric combat.  At the time I dismissed the idea, thinking if a alien ship had come all this way that alien ship would posses enough destructive power to render our defensive apparatus null and void and simply blow anything we could throw at it out of the sky.
Now many years later, and especially given recent research into the Secret Space Program as well as the actual composition of battle platforms in space that maybe Grimsley was on to something.  He was on to something but I suspect it was not aliens duking it out with earthmen but instead a space war between a breakaway civilization and its earthly brethren.
There are a couple of alternatives here.  It could be the United States vs. the Russians in a battle royal but I suspect not because a hot war in space should translate into a VERY hot war down here on earth.  Instead I have come to believe that the battle is between a Nazi derived breakaway civilization and the combined governments of NATO and the Russian Federation possibly even China as well.  So why do I believe this?  I know it sounds fairly far fetched but to answer that we need to take a small course in “Star Wars” both from a US perspective as well as a Russian perspective.  We also need to balance that against Gary McKinnon’s findings and the Nazi UFO research which has been of the forefront in my mind the last few years.
SPACE WEAPONS:  Glittering C-Beams off the Taunhauser Gate
Since the 1950’s both groups have embarked on a long range and costly journey to build weapons systems in space.  On the surface these programs were put in place to destroy or prevent destruction.  Billions of dollars have been spent on both sides to do some very interesting research, some of which will shock you.
 thorbProject Thor – Project Thor or Thor’s Hammer is a space based defense system utilizing tungsten rods to create kinetic energy weapons.  On the surface of it Thor was designed to hit Soviet installations and military forces using a very lethal but non-nuclear system.  In reality as quick as Thor can be used to target the surface of the Earth it could also be rotated to fire these rods out into space at slow moving targets or with the proper trajectory it could be fired against larger bodies like the Moon or even Mars, theoretically.
Project SeeSaw – Project SeeSaw was initiated by the JASON group to build particle beam weapons.  The project started in the late 1960’s and later was publically abandoned though it did find some success.  It falling out of public view may have been to deflect its true purpose.  Once implemented as part of the larger SDI program SeeSaw would have give us not only aircraft mounted particle beams but also orbiting defense platforms.
Project Sipapu – Originally an Army project to build land based particle beam weapons. This is the kind of weapons system which could be deployed to next generation fighting units on both a handheld basis or via modifying tanks to carry the weapon system. Its objective was to build space based weapons systems.
The “Chair Heritage” Program – Little is known about Chair Heritage outside of it being a Navy project to build particle beam weapons for ships.
BPBrilliant Pebbles  - Brilliant pebbles was a stroke of genius.  The essential theory behind Brilliant Pebbles was to build a delivery system which could fire a canister of high velocity pellets at a target.  These pellets or pebbles traveling at a high rate of speed would effectively shred the target in a cloud of kinetic energy weapons.  It is the same principle as Thor but on a smaller scale.
Solar Warden 1 – The information about this Solar Warden comes to us from a whistle blower who called into an interview I was a part of on the Ground Zero radio show.  He stated that in the 1970s he had worked, as an engineer, on a highly secret (protected by Federal Marshals) program to build a constellation of three satellites.  The first two satellites would be parked in an equatorial orbit and use a particle beam to hit targets (possibly the logical outcome of SeeSaw) while the third satellite was an autonomous hunter killer satellite which would patrol the skies. The whistleblower went on to say that the system was deployed with the rest of the SDI system successfully in the 1980s.
Solar Warden 2 – This is the infamous program stumbled upon by hacker Gary McKinnon which described offworld ships, troops and crews which functioned as a space fleet.  He located manifests, logs and registers of the ships including some rather odd ship names.  McKinnon’s findings are controversial but I believe they past the sniff test for many reasons but one of which is the lengths the United States government went to in order to attempt to try him. They wanted him gone, and they worked hard at it.  The other reason I believe there may be some validity to the claims is around what he found.  Much of what he found appears to be logistical in nature and while secret probably carried a lower secrecy rating then say specifications of the ships.  It should all be highly highly classified but one would suspect that logistical data would be a little lower and probably was the cause of the breech.
MANNED BATTLE PLATFORMS:  Have Space Canon, uh I Mean Particle Canon, Will Travel
mol480Ok so at this point we can see starting in the late 1950’s there was an aggressive line of research coming out of the military to build space based weapons.  At the same time the military, both Soviet and American, embarked on a manned battle platform strategy.
We’ll never know how successful the programs were, but conventionally we are told the plans were never completed or the carcass of the battle station was deorbited and burned up.  I can understand the logic of believing the conventional but I think in this case and given what we’ve seen over time I think there is a case which can be made that at some level these stations were built and are up there, or maybe they have been superceeded by automated defense systems.  We do need to remember that DARPA is almost 50 years ahead of us here in the conventional world.
So what did they come up with?
The Manned Observation Laboratory (The MOL) – United States Air Force project to build and later deploy a manned battle station equipped with a laser.  The two man crew, both Air Force astronauts, and yes the USAF does have its own astronaut corp.  were designated to spend three to six months onboard.  Armed with a laser canon, or possibly a particle cannon, their mission ostensively was  to be ready to attack then Soviet space based platforms or space planes (maybe even UFOs?).
The Almaz – The Almaz was the Soviet equivalent to the MOL.  It was indeed launched and crewed for sometime and was armed with a 23mm cannon.  The cannon was actually a massive engineering feet since the designers actually had to place rockets on the sides of the Almaz to counter act the force of the firing.  Cosmonauts who served on the Almaz report that it was quite an adventure to fire the canon and we know that it was indeed fired several times.
Personal conversations I’ve had with several people who worked on the Soviet space program indicate that there were possibly up to three Almaz stations in orbit and they were fully equipped to attack if ordered.  Were there MOL’s in orbit? Yes there was at least one, and the crew was carried up to it via a Gemini-B launch vehicle.
But what about SkyLab?  There are rumors that Skylab was armed as well but I have seen no concrete evidence of it, but that being said it stands to reason that it could have been.  It would make since especially considering the compositions of the crew, all military, and the proximity of the Skylab program and the ending of the MOL program.
1209730005_1Now the 2 billion dollar question, what is up there now?  We’ve heard over time from various researchers, including Bill Birnes who is definitely in the know, that there are stations in geosynchronous orbit over key sites.  Birnes has maintained for some time there is a station locked over Nellis AFB.  Which would make sense since there is a significant amount of research going on at Area 51 to this end and if the stations or to defend against an outside threat (i.e. Nazi’s) then it would make sense to park them in a stationary orbit over major defense facilities or population centers.  Given the technology today it also would not be beyond the pale to expect crew changes, a la Solar Warden, were being done via a next generation spacecraft.
The MOL and Almaz were very real projects with paper trails so we do indeed know both of these battle stations were placed in orbit so I think it is logical to assume others could have been built in orbit or on the Moon and ferried over. The will was there as was the funding.
 MOON BASES: No Really! There is a Moon Base.
The 1960’s was a turbulent time, unpopular wars, social unrest and apparently a vigorous space weapons program so it should not surprise us that even while the MOL was being operated both the Army and Air Force had also come up with plans to occupy the Moon. The Soviets had a program to!
project-horizon-lunar-outpost-02 Project Horizon – A US Army project to build a Moon base by 1967.  The base would have offensive and defense capabilities as was to be staffed by a crew of over 200 specially trained Army soldier/astronauts by 1965.  Again as we have seen this project was publically killed off but that doesn’t mean it didn’t enter the special access projects realm where there is lots of money and no oversight.
 Cover01Project Lunex – Project Lunex was the Air Force equivalent to Horizon and called for a crew of 21 to live on this underground defense station at a cost of a mere $7.5 billion.  The interesting part of this project is that it pre-dated the Apollo program and if operational may explain why the Moon Hoax theories swirl around even to this day.
 Project Zvezda – Zvezda was a Soviet project similar to Horizon and included, at least at some level, conversations between the Soviet space program and our own to jointly operate lunex1dand man the base.  Again I think its safe to assume, given the direction of weapons development, that this base too was almost certainly armed.
 THE MOON HOAX: Was there a Hoax and if so why?
When we look at the Moon theory one thing has always jumped out at me.  I don’t believe we fully faked the Moon landing.  I know that will draw the eire of some but I think there is penty of evidence we landed including the ability to use a telescope and see the junk left behind by the Apollo missions.  Its true you can use a telescope and see the junk we left behind.  Obviously these projects did not include the basic law of camping which is to leave it better then you found it.
457px-Apollo_11_Crew_During_Training_Exercise_-_GPN-2002-000032So why the falsification?
I think, given what we know about Horizon and Lunex it is not beyond the realm to believe that Armstrong and Aldrin may have indeed seen something they were not supposed to so steps were taken to coverup what they saw.
Think of how defeating it would have been to Armstong to jump off the LEM and pronounce “This is one small step man and one giant leap for mankind, oh what why are those guys standing on the ridge staring at us? This is the plausible scenario.
Apollo 11 was off course and missed its landing zone, so Armstrong had to manually land the LEM so they landed in an unprepared location.  So by landing in a unprepared location they, the astronauts, may have been exposed to technology or people they were unprepared for.  What followed was a tour de ‘force of covering up.  Fake photos, brainwashing, maybe even the involvement of Stanley Kubrick its all there for the asking.  In fact as evidence of the level of cover-up perpetrated on the Apollo 11 program there is an interesting story  Buzz Aldrin relayed while being interviewed on C-SPAN which I think does lend a level of credence to this line of research.
During the interview Aldrin was asked what it was like on the Moon, and he responded by talking about seeing the tiny blue dot of the earth and speaking about “Magnificent Desolation,” but he also said when he originally came back to Earth he was at a dinner party and someone had asked him the same question.  Aldrin said he didn’t know how to answer and started to panic, effectively having a panic attack, and headed off to the bathroom where he threw up.  This is a classic mind control block, and is placed over a memory to stop that memory from surfacing.  Instead the victim feels physically ill to deflect the topic.
Something was obviously up because shortly after the fanfare had died away Armstrong went into seclusion and only rarely granted interview.  Why would a national hero hide?  Because he is just a shy guy who doesn’t like the attention? Possibly but more then likely he knew that he had participated in something amazing, amazingly dangerous because he had seen things.
SUMMARY
Its obvious something is happening, I think we can only continue to overstate the obvious on that.  We have independent confirmation from sources that both NATO and the Russian Federation have a significant investment in exotic and space based weapons.
We are told that investment was for a missile shield, we are told that was for World War III but the truth is World War III never came.  There was no attack nor would there ever be because of the MAD principle (Mutually Assured Destruction).  War planners on both sides could see no end state where a limited nuclear exchange took place, to initiate that kind of armed conflict would only end with the destruction of the entire planet.
So why all the weapons and weapons programs?  Why is Ed Grimsley getting some amazing footage, consistently, of a battle in space?  I would argue that it is because those weapons are not to protect us from the Russians or vice versa.  Instead I would argue there is a war in space, right now and Grimsley has found a way to capture it.  But who is that war against?  I know it sounds like the plot of a recent film but I would say those platforms and weapons systems are design to keep people way and I think the best candidate for that break away group is some derivative of the Nazi regime.  A regime in hiding on the Moon or more likely Mars.
Need some proof?  In the 1990’s there was a slate of triangular UFO sightings across Europe and a few in the United States as well.  These UFOs tended to follow motor ways and hang out near military or telecommunications facilities.  They also were shoot beams of light into select grave yards.
Now I know what you are thinking, aliens would do that?  The obvious question is why?  Are they monitoring our nuclear reactors as space brothers sent from Venus who want to make sure we protect our environment?  Probably not, more likely they are Nazi ships watching our capabilities.  That makes sense and passes the sniff test.
valientthorI will also give you one final element to ponder.  Back in the 1950’s there was a man named Valiant Thor.  Valiant Thor claimed to have been from Venus, and maybe he was, but he was taken to the Pentagon and along with his two companions had some sort of briefing inside the Pentagon.
So who was he really?  If you look at Valiant Thor, he, like many aliens seen at that time, were called Nordics because they possess a Nordic look, they were tall had blond hair (sometimes brown)  blue eyes and were known to converse in a strange language which may  have indeed been German. We also need to look at his name Valiant Thor which represents the brave god of thunder (Thor) in Nordic legend. So its not surprising to me at least his name is derived from Nordic mythos if he is derived from a Nazi base.
ASKETNordics?  Nazi super soldiers?  Possibly, I think that is more likely then people from Venus unless of course there is a base there. It is also interesting to point out that many abductees from that era have claimed the aliens (Nordics) spoke in a funny language which sounded like German and in some cases had German accents.
I thinkits also fair to point out that many of the UFO’s seen during the contatee era largely match the designs of tha Haunebu style or Vril style of Nazi UFO!
al34These facts with the space based weapons leads us to a conclusion that they, the SDI systems, might actually be defensive weapons against German based saucers and if what Grimsley is seeing is accurate (and I have personally witnessed it) then I think we need to start to understand who is fighting who for what objective and I think we need to take aliens out of the equation.  This is a fight for ideology and technology not an advanced guard from the alien mothership coming down to take over out planet.
SUGGESTED LINKS:
http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/2013/05/ground-zero-disclosure-olav-phillips-and-rob-daven-on-solar-warden/
http://conspiracyhq.com/lasers-ufos-and-sdi-new-evidence-of-the-war-in-space-space-warden-and-the-hidden-military-machine-in-orbit-or-is-it-another-secret-space-program/

Jack Parsons: rocket pioneer and occult genius

Rocket scientist Jack Parsons was instrumental in creating America’s Cold War missiles. But Parsons’ meddling in occult magic and sex rituals would see him battle Howard Hughes, Scientology and the FBI before his mysterious death.
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There’s a large crater on the far side of the moon called “Parsons”. An unremarkable circle of grey rocks, it’s named in recognition of the pioneering work that rocket propulsion scientist Jack Parsons did in his lifetime. Yet for all of his scientific brilliance, there was a dark side to Parsons: he was obsessed with the occult, becoming deeply involved in what many call “black magic”.
Screen shot 2014-01-27 at 10.43.44
A key belief for Jehovah’s Witnesses was that the reign of kings would end on October 2nd 1914. The “Gentile Times” would end, Jesus would return and the end of the world would draw closer.
It doesn’t look like any of that actually happened, but Marvel Whiteside Parsons was indeed born on that fateful day in a Los Angeles hospital. Soon after the child’s birth, his mother discovered that her husband had been visiting prostitutes. In 1915, Parsons’ parents divorced. His maternal grandparents helped the family buy a large home in Pasadena’s “Millionaire’s Mile”. Instead of using “Marvel”, the name of his father, Parsons was called John, or Jack to his friends. Living a comfortable life with domestic servants, the young Parsons child would spend hours reading books on mythology, Arthurian legends and Eastern tales. As he developed an interest in science fiction and mythology, Parsons also became interested in the fledgling world of space flight.

Rocketry

Working weekends at the Hercules Powder Company offices, Parsons began to learn about how seemingly inert powder could be used to power rockets. A brief correspondence began between the young Parsons and German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, the man responsible for the V2 rocket project. The two would talk for hours on the telephone about their research, but their friendship cooled after they both refused to divulge technical details about their projects.
Wernher von Braun in his office
Wernher von Braun in his office
Working full time for the Hercules Powder Company, Parsons was sent to work in their manufacturing plant, but repeated exposure to nitroglycerine resulted in painful headaches.
After an aborted attempt at a degree in chemistry at Stanford University, Parsons set his sights substantially higher: forming a space rocket research team with students from Caltech. Dubbed the “Suicide Squad”, the team worked on dangerous rocket experiments during the day, and drank and smoked together in the evenings. Parsons also began to indulge his political beliefs, writing about his fondness for Communism.
Jack Parsons (right side, nearest to camera) and his "Suicide Squad"
Jack Parsons (right side, nearest to camera) and his “Suicide Squad”
At a dance held in a local church, Parsons met a pretty local woman named Helen Northrup. In the Summer of 1934, Parsons proposed and the pair were married the next year. But the marriage did little to dampen Parsons’ passion for rocket science, he spent most of his wages on the research group, even pawning his wife’s wedding ring for extra funds.
The “Suicide Squad” experiments began to attract the eye of Caltech, and they were given access to facilities on the University campus. But despite their motor tests yielding successful results, a fracture split the group when Parsons refused to join the American Communist Party.
jackparsons

Black magic

During his time with the young research group, Parsons had become interested in the Church of Thelema, an occult religion founded by the English occultist Aleister Crowley. A mysterious figure who had traveled across India, climbed mountains in record time and become a chess master, Crowley claimed to have been possessed by a spirit inside Egypt’s Great Pyramid. His teachings mixed Egyptian religion, Gnostic beliefs and what Crowley referred to as “sex magick”.
English occultist Aleister Crowley
English occultist Aleister Crowley
Parsons attempted to explain Crowley’s occult beliefs using quantum physics, believing that alternate realities had backing in science. The young man impressed Crowley, with the occult master writing that Parsons “is the most valued member of the whole Order, with no exception!”
Jack Parsons taking part in an occult ritual
Jack Parsons taking part in an occult ritual
Parsons’ rocket experiments had grown in scale, with the group’s research area now dubbed “jet propulsion”. The US military provided funding, requesting that the group prepare a feasibility report into JATO (jet-assisted take off). The military wanted to be able to launch rockets vertically, rather than having to build long runways for their planes. The experiments were a success. Parsons’ research into jet propulsion had grown into a commission from the US military for 2000 rocket engines.
watching rocker
With his rocket research proving a success, Parsons also grew his occult research. A Thelemic lodge was created in Parsons’ home, which was called “The Parsonage” by its residents. Parsons created a laboratory in the garage, where he could experiment in peace. The local police investigated the group after their cocaine-fuelled sex orgies became notorious. No threat to national security was found.
The walls of the lodge were adorned with daggers and swords, as well as a replica of The Stele of Revealing. Otherwise known as the Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, this Egyptian tablet was claimed to be an important Thelemic artifact by Aleister Crowley after he discovered it listed under catalogue number 666 in the Egyptian Museum.
The Stele of Revealing
The Stele of Revealing
One resident of the lodge was a young science fiction writer and Navy veteran named L. Ron Hubbard. He moved into the Parsonage, and entered into a relationship with Sara Northrup, the sister of Parsons’ wife.
L. Ron Hubbard during his years in the Navy
L. Ron Hubbard during his years in the Navy
In February 1946, Parsons wrote to Aleister Crowley, informing him that the young writer had begun to win over Parsons’ coterie of women:
“About three months ago I met Ron… He is a gentleman… He moved in with me about two months ago, and although Maggy and I are still friendly, she has transferred her sexual affections to Ron.”

The Babalon Working

After accepting L. Ron Hubbard into his inner circle, Parsons allowed the impressionable science fiction writer to act as scribe for Parsons’ most daring occult experiment yet. The Babalon Working used Crowley’s sex magick theories in an attempt to summon a manifestation of the divine female goddess Babalon. If the ritual was successful, a scarlet woman would make herself known to the pair. Parsons masturbated with sigils and magical tablets, with L. Ron Hubbard assisting by also masturbating and attempting to record any magical observances. To aide them in their search for the divine goddess, they played classical music, with Prokofiev a particular favourite. Crowley, notified in advance of Parsons’ attempt, warned him that its effects could be dangerous, yet the scientist continued.
After journeying out into the Mojave desert with Hubbard, Parsons finally declared the goddess summoned when he felt his feeling of tension suddenly dissipate at sunset on January 18th 1946. The pair hurried back to the house, eager to see what the other residents had observed.
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A tall, red-headed woman had arrived at the Pasadena lodge. Marjorie Cameron, a naval photographer who had suddenly been discharged from military service, had been recommended by a friend to drop by Parsons’ house.
Cameron starring in Kenneth Anger's 1954 short  "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome"
Cameron starring in Kenneth Anger’s 1954 short “Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome”
Parsons was immediately struck by Cameron’s red hair. The pair spent the next two weeks together in his bedroom. Unbeknownst to the directionless Cameron, she had been caught up in Parsons’ ritual.
Parsons obsessively documented his occult experiment in a book that would later be published as “The Book of Babalon”. Three days before the arrival of Cameron, the diary entry reads as follows:
“Jan 15. Invoked twice. At this time the Scribe developed some sort of astral vision, describing in detail an old enemy of mine of whom he had never heard, and later the guardian forms of Isis and the Archangel Michael. Later, in my room, I heard the raps again, and a buzzing, metallic voice crying ‘let me go free.’ I felt a great pressure and tension in the house that night, which was also noticed by the other occupants. There was no other phenomena, and I admit a feeling of disappointment.”

The con man

L. Ron Hubbard would go on to use much of what he learned with Parsons as the foundation for Scientology
Parsons invested his life savings in a company, Allied Enterprises, which he founded with L. Ron Hubbard and his former lover, his wife’s sister Sara Northrup. Parsons’ $20,000 went towards the purchase of three yachts, which they planned to purchase on the East Coast, sail through the Panama Canal, and then sell on for a profit in California. Hubbard and Northrup traveled to Florida alone, where it soon became apparent that they had no intention of returning the money to Parsons. With L. Ron Hubbard living the high life with his girlfriend in a yacht purchased with his money, Parsons was furious. Unable to pursue the pair, Parsons set curses on Hubbard. Whether the “Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram” worked or not, Parsons eventually resorted to suing Hubbard in a Florida court. Hubbard was so shocked to find out that his former friend and mentor had launched legal action against him that he managed to crash the stolen boat.
Eventually, Hubbard agreed to return part of Parsons’ money, but managed to keep the damaged boat. Northrup and Hubbard later married and L. Ron Hubbard would go on to use much of what he learned with Parsons as the foundation for Scientology, the religion that he founded in 1952.
The Church of Scientology has never denied L. Ron Hubbard’s involvement in the Babalon Working, claiming that the writer was on a top-secret Naval mission to bring down the black magic sect.

Downfall

Despite his brilliance, Parsons had fallen on hard times. After divorcing his first wife, Parsons married Cameron, the mysterious woman who appeared after the Babalon Working.
Jack Parsons and his second wife Marjorie Cameron
Jack Parsons and his second wife Marjorie Cameron
Continuing with his rocket propulsion work, Parsons contributed researched to the SM-64 Navaho missile program, which led to the creation of a powerful cruise missile that rivalled Soviet efforts in missile research.
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Parsons claimed that his sex magick transported him to the Biblical city of Chorazin, just north of Galilee.
But despite his brilliance, Parsons began to find it difficult to gain employment in federal research projects. As the Cold War loomed, a “red scare” spread throughout the US government and into the defence industry. The FBI had long held a file on Parsons, describing him as “potentially bisexual”. Parsons’ youthful interests in communism eventually outweighed his scientific knowledge, his clearance was revoked by the FBI and it became impossible for him to work for the government.
At the dawn of the 1950s, Jack Parsons was working as a car mechanic, finding it difficult to fund his wife’s creative endeavours and his own magical experimentation. Eventually his wife moved to Mexico to join an artists’ commune, leaving her husband to pick up odd jobs working with chemicals and explosives in the film industry and for local police forces.
But as his career reached new lows, Parsons was determined to continue his occult research. Continuing his research alone, Parsons began visiting prostitutes. In accounts published after his death, Parsons claimed that his sex magick transported him to the Biblical city of Chorazin, just north of Galilee. It was in this vision that Parsons became convinced he would go on to become the antichrist in seven years, but only if he remained alive.

The Israeli rocket program

An unlikely opportunity presented itself to Parsons after his security clearance was re-instated by his connections inside the government. A pro-Israel group of scientists offered Parsons a job within the Israeli rocket program, which Parsons gratefully accepted. However, his return to rocket research in the US had concerned the FBI, who accused Parsons of being a spy as he attempted to migrate to Israel.
At the time of Parsons’ involvement with the Israeli government, he was also working for the reclusive businessman Howard Hughes. Parsons was found to have smuggled out secret documents relating to projects that the Hughes Aircraft Company had been working on. An angry Howard Hughes went straight to the FBI, accusing Jack Parsons of being an Israeli spy.
CH 4 - FBI Jack Parsons Document
Despite later having the charges dropped, the Israel incident had permanently ended Jack Parsons’ career in rocket propulsion research. He returned to his work in the film industry, bored but glad to be reunited with his wife, who had returned from the commune in Mexico.
Jack Parsons successfully fought to have his Top Secret clearance returned to him
Jack Parsons successfully fought to have his Top Secret clearance returned to him

The explosion

Parsons managed to speak one final sentence before he succumbed to his injuries: “I wasn’t done.”
Cameron had returned to the home she shared with Parsons, yet she remained enchanted by the thoughts of a bohemian lifestyle in Mexico. Persuading Parsons to join her there, the couple packed up their belongings. Just before they departed, an urgent request reached them: a film desperately needed some explosives. On the night before their trip, June 17 1952, Parsons went to work on one last explosive concoction.
The official police report claims that Parsons was attempting to mix fulminate of mercury in a small coffee tin. Working quickly, and with sweaty hands, Parsons dropped the explosive mix. The blast ripped off his right arm, broke his left arm and both his legs, and left a “gaping hole” in his jaw.
Neighbours, alarmed by the explosion, rushed to Parsons’ aid. They discovered him conscious, but severely-injured. Groaning with pain, Parsons managed to speak one final sentence before he succumbed to his injuries: “I wasn’t done.”
The scene of the blast in the Pasadena apartment that killed Jack Parsons
The scene of the blast in the Pasadena apartment that killed Jack Parsons
Jack Parsons was declared dead around 37 minutes after the explosion. When his mother was informed, she overdosed on pills and died, distraught at losing her son. Cameron carried her husband’s ashes into the Mojave desert, scattering them at the intersection of two tall power lines.
Friends, colleagues and former lovers were unsatisfied with the official police report into Parsons’ death. Instead, they have their own theories as to what killed Jack Parsons.
Howard Hughes
Occult filmmaker and friend of Parsons’ second wife, Kenneth Anger believes that the reclusive American businessman Howard Hughes ordered Parsons’ assassination after he was caught leaking secret research documents to the Israeli government.
Last year, Anger repeated his claim, stating in an interview for Esquire:
Howard Hughes was the kind of man you didn’t say no to, or if you did, there would be consequences.
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Suicide
Parsons had been visibly depressed after the divorce and departure of his lovers. Knowing that L. Ron Hubbard had successfully won over the affections of many of his female friends, Parsons grew to resent the young writer. Left with Cameron, who insisted on living in Mexico, away from the desert and the rocket program, did Parsons instead kill himself to escape the future life that would have began the day after the explosion?
After Parsons’ death, UFO sightings across America skyrocketed
Aliens
Rumours have long persisted about Parsons’ involvement with Area 51, the US Air Force’s secret military base that conspiracy theorists suspect contains aliens and UFOs. It has been rumoured that as part of his top secret work with the US government, Parsons traveled to the desert base where he opened a portal to another dimension. After Parsons’ death, UFO sightings across America skyrocketed, fuelling the idea that the rocket scientist was involved in something extra-terrestrial. Another belief is that Parsons and Hubbard opened a portal to an alien world when they performed the Babalon Working in 1946. When they failed to close it, aliens could freely pass into our universe, which lead to the first UFO sighting by Kenneth Arnold in 1947.
Black magic
Parsons’ involvement in occult experimentation had begun to consume his life after his exit from government missile research. He had formed a new occult group, “The Witchcraft”, and had written new tomes that laid out his personal philosophy. Members of Parsons’ occult inner circle claim that on the day of his death he was working on creating a homunculus, a mythical miniature human.
Jack Parsons' black magic box, discovered after his death
Jack Parsons’ black magic box, discovered after his death
* * *
Today the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is an important part of NASA’s space exploration program. Six years after Jack Parsons’ death, JPL became part of NASA. Despite having such a large influence upon modern space travel and the American rocket program, Jack Parsons has never received the recognition that many of his former colleagues claim he deserves. Instead, he is remembered mainly in occult circles, in the underground groups that he sought solace in during his years as a leading light of the scientific research community.

U.S. Economic Hegemony: Consolidation and Deepening of the Pacific Alliance Trade Bloc

U.S. Economic Hegemony: Consolidation and Deepening of the Pacific Alliance Trade Bloc
By Dana Gabriel
(INTELLIHUB) — In a short period of time, the Pacific Alliance has emerged as one of the leading economic integration projects in Latin America. It aims to succeed where others have failed by creating a gateway to Asian markets and building a Pacific-rim trade deal. The U.S. and Canada are both pursuing deeper ties with the group and have been granted observer status. This is part of efforts to revive and expand their presence in Latin America. In some areas of integration, the Pacific Alliance has surpassed NAFTA. By merging the two together, it could be used to fill the void left by the collapse of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
The Pacific Alliance was officially launched by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru in June 2012. Its objectives include to construct, “an area of profound market-driven economic integration that will contribute to the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons.” The group also seeks to, “become a platform for economic and commercial integration as well as political coordination with global outreach, particularly towards the Asia Pacific.” A key requirement in joining the Pacific Alliance is to have free trade agreements with all existing member states. Costa Rica recently received approval to become a permanent member. Other countries have also shown interest with a growing number requesting observers status. The goal of the Pacific Alliance is to go beyond traditional free trade deals and pursue even more liberalized economic policies. 
The May 23, 2013 Pacific Alliance Summit in Cali, Colombia marked the next steps in the consolidation and deepening of the Latin American trade bloc. The presidents of the four founding member countries agreed to remove tariffs on 90 percent of the goods traded between them and to gradually eliminate duties on the remaining 10 percent. They also adopted measures to begin visa-free travel between member states and moved closer towards full labor mobility. In addition, the leaders announced the creation of a cooperation fund and ratified agreements to open up joint embassies and trade offices in Asia and Africa. They also pledged to continue to deepen regional financial integration. The stock markets of Chile, Peru and Colombia have already been merged together and Mexico is expected to join them within the next year. While other Latin American countries are seeking to curb U.S. influence, Pacific Alliance members have shown a willingness to maintain and increase ties with Washington.
Just days after the Pacific Alliance Summit, Vice President Joe Biden met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos where he praised the progress the economic bloc has made and also expressed interest in the U.S. joining as an observer country. On July 19, the Department of State announced U.S. participation as an observer in the group. While full membership may be far off, the U.S. is expanding cooperation with Alliance members. Over the years, there has been a steady erosion of U.S.-Latin American relations. Some analysts have pointed out that that both the U.S. and Canada’s grip on Latin America is loosening. This ties in with an article from Global Researchwhich noted that the Obama administration is stepping up its strategy of regime change against the left-of-center governments in the region. The U.S. could use the Pacific Alliance as a means to recover political and economic influence in Latin America.
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended the Pacific Alliance Summit in May, it was expected that he would request full membership. Canada already achieved observer status back in November 2012. While Harper acknowledged their accomplishments, he said that it was too soon to decide whether Canada should join the trade bloc. During his trip, Harper also took the opportunity to meet with mining company executives. The Conservative government has been criticized for not putting enough emphasis on corporate accountability with regards Canadian mining operations in the region. Maude Barlow explained that, “The Pacific Alliance, like Canada’s existing trade and investment deals in Latin America, puts the profits of those companies above anything else. The deals, like the Alliance, have nothing to say about the environmental and human rights impact of mining in the region.” The Pacific Alliance appears to be another attempt to accelerate the privatization of natural resources. It goes against the efforts of some Latin American countries that have joined together to fight the growing problem of investor-state privilegesfound in NAFTA-style trade agreements. These rules allow foreign corporations to sue for any potential profit losses related to government policies.
A recent article by Eric Farnsworth advocated linking NAFTA with the Pacific Alliance. He recommended that the leaders from both trade groups, “should consider meeting to forge a pragmatic economic agenda for cooperation. This offers an important opportunity to kick-start a common agenda with willing partners that has languished since the FTAA.” Farnsworth also described how, “building out a NAFTA-Pacific Alliance economic relationship would improve the collective regional approach toward the Asia-Pacific region, which currently includes precisely the same Western Hemisphere nations within APEC and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations except Colombia. It would also offer a means to improve market efficiencies and update NAFTA without the need to re-open or re-negotiate its provisions.” There is an overlap between the Pacific Alliance and the much larger TPP trade talks. Both initiatives seek to bridge the Americas with Asia and create Pacific-based trade blocs. With the possibility of TPP negotiations dragging on and the difficulty the deal might have getting ratified by the U.S. Senate, the Pacific Alliance could open new doors to trade with Asian countries sooner.
In Latin America, there is a growing divide over the future of continental political and economic integration. Some countries have banded together to resist U.S. imperialism and any attempts to destabilize the region. There is also a move to end the destructive cycle of investment treaties and replace it with an alternative economic structure that better respects the sovereignty of nation states. The Pacific Alliance stands as a counterbalance to some of the other regional integration efforts that are trying to protect against the dangers of globalization. It is designed to signal a commitment to free trade and open markets to its neighbours and to the rest of the world. In many ways, the Pacific Alliance represents a resurgence of the failed U.S. initiated FTAA which was part of an agenda to consolidate corporate control.
Dana Gabriel is a contributor to Intellihub News. You can also find his writings at Be Your Own Leader.

Enough Is Enough: Fraud-ridden Banks Are Not California’s Only Option

Region:
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“Epic in scale, unprecedented in world history. That is how William K. Black, professor of law and economics and former bank fraud investigator, describes the frauds in which JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has now been implicated. They involve more than a dozen felonies, including bid-rigging on municipal bond debt; colluding to rig interest rates on hundreds of trillions of dollars in mortgages, derivatives and other contracts; exposing investors to excessive risk; failing to disclose known risks, including those in the Bernie Madoff scandal; and engaging in multiple forms of mortgage fraud.
So why, asks Chicago Alderwoman Leslie Hairston, are we still doing business with them? She plans to introduce a city council ordinance deleting JPM from the city’s list of designated municipal depositories. As quoted in the January 14th Chicago Sun-Times:
The bank has violated the city code by making admissions of dishonesty and deceit in the way they dealt with their investors in the mortgage securities and Bernie Madoff Ponzi scandals. . . . We use this code against city contractors and all the small companies, why wouldn’t we use this against one of the largest banks in the world?
A similar move has been recommended for the City of Los Angeles by L.A. City Councilman Gil Cedillo. But in a January 19th editorial titled “There’s No Profit in L A. Bashing JPMorgan Chase,” the L.A. Times editorial board warned against pulling the city’s money out of JPM and other mega-banks – even though the city attorney is suing them for allegedly causing an epidemic of foreclosures in minority neighborhoods.
 “L.A. relies on these banks,” says The Times, “for long-term financing to build bridges and restore lakes, and for short-term financing to pay the bills.” The editorial noted that a similar proposal brought in the fall of 2011 by then-Councilman Richard Alarcon, backed by Occupy L.A., was abandoned because it would have resulted in termination fees and higher interest payments by the city.
It seems we must bow to our oppressors because we have no viable alternative – or do we? What if there is an alternative that would not only save the city money but would be a safer place to deposit its funds than in Wall Street banks?
The Tiny State That Broke Free
There is a place where they don’t bow. Where they don’t park their assets on Wall Street and play the mega-bank game, and haven’t for almost 100 years. Where they escaped the 2008 banking crisis and have no government debt, the lowest foreclosure rate in the country, the lowest default rate on credit card debt, and the lowest unemployment rate. They also have the only publicly-owned bank.
The place is North Dakota, and their state-owned Bank of North Dakota (BND) is a model for Los Angeles and other cities, counties, and states.
Like the BND, a public bank of the City of Los Angeles would not be a commercial bank and would not compete with commercial banks. In fact, it would partner with them – using its tax revenue deposits to create credit for lending programs through the magical everyday banking practice of leveraging capital.
The BND is a major money-maker for North Dakota, returning about $30 million annually in dividends to the treasury – not bad for a state with a population that is less than one-fifth that of the City of Los Angeles. Every year since the 2008 banking crisis, the BND has reported a return on investment of 17-26%.
Like the BND, a Bank of the City of Los Angeles would provide credit for city projects – to build bridges, restore lakes, and pay bills – and this credit would essentially be interest-free, since the city would own the bank and get the interest back. Eliminating interest has been shown to reduce the cost of public projects by 35% or more.
Awesome Possibilities
Consider what that could mean for Los Angeles. According to the current fiscal budget, the LAX Modernization project is budgeted at $4.11 billion. That’s the sticker price. But what will it cost when you add interest on revenue bonds and other funding sources? The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge earthquake retrofit boondoggle was slated to cost about $6 billion. Interest and bank fees added another $6 billion. Funding through a public bank could have saved taxpayers $6 billion, or 50%.
If Los Angeles owned its own bank, it could also avoid costly “rainy day funds,” which are held by various agencies as surplus taxes. If the city had a low-cost credit line with its own bank, these funds could be released into the general fund, generating massive amounts of new revenue for the city.
The potential for the City and County of Los Angeles can be seen by examining their respective Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs). According to the latest CAFRs (2012), the City of Los Angeles has “cash, pooled and other investments” of $11 billion beyond what is in its pension fund (page 85), and the County of Los Angeles has $22 billion (page 66). To put these sums in perspective, the austerity crisis declared by the State of California in 2012 was the result of a declared state budget deficit of only $16 billion.
The L.A. CAFR funds are currently drawing only minimal interest. With some modest changes in regulations, they could be returned to the general fund for use in the city’s budget, or deposited or invested in the city’s own bank, to be leveraged into credit for local purposes.
Minimizing Risk
Beyond being a money-maker, a city-owned bank can minimize the risks of interest rate manipulation, excessive fees, and dishonest dealings.
Another risk that must now be added to the list is that of confiscation in the event of a “bail in.” Public funds are secured with collateral, but they take a back seat in bankruptcy to the “super priority” of Wall Street’s own derivative claims. A major derivatives fiasco of the sort seen in 2008 could wipe out even a mega-bank’s available collateral, leaving the city with empty coffers.
The city itself could be propelled into bankruptcy by speculative derivatives dealings with Wall Street banks. The dire results can be seen in Detroit, where the emergency manager, operating on behalf of the city’s creditors, put it into bankruptcy to force payment on its debts. First in line were UBS and Bank of America, claiming speculative winnings on their interest-rate swaps, which the emergency manager paid immediately before filing for bankruptcy. Critics say the swaps were improperly entered into and were what propelled the city into bankruptcy. Their propriety is now being investigated by the bankruptcy judge.
Not Too Big to Abandon
Mega-banks might be too big to fail. According to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, they might even be too big to prosecute. But they are not too big to abandon as depositories for government funds.
There may indeed be no profit in bashing JPMorgan Chase, but there would be profit in pulling deposits out and putting them in Los Angeles’ own public bank. Other major cities currently exploring that possibility include San Franciscoand Philadelphia.
If North Dakota can bypass Wall Street with its own bank and declare its financial independence, so can the City of Los Angeles. And so can the County. And so can the State of California.
Ellen Brown is an attorney, chairman of the Public Banking Institute, and author of 12 books including The Public Bank Solution. She is currently running for California state treasurer on the Green Party ticket.

32 Statistics That Obama Neglected To Mention During The State Of The Union Address

Barack Obama State Of The UnionShow this article to anyone that believes that the economy has actually improved under Barack Obama.  On Tuesday evening, Barack Obama once again attempted to convince all of us that things have gotten better while he has been in the White House.  He quoted a few figures, used some flowery language and made a whole bunch of new promises.  And even though he has failed to follow through on his promises time after time, millions upon millions of Americans continue to believe him.  In fact, you can find a list of 82 unfulfilled promises from his previous State of the Union addresses right here.  Soon we will have even more to add to that collection.  At this point, you have to wonder if Obama even believes half the stuff that he is saying.  Of course it is extremely unlikely that he is going to come out and admit that he has failed and that he has been lying to us this whole time, but without a doubt the gap between reality and what he is saying to the public is becoming ridiculously huge.  To say that his credibility is "strained" would be a massive understatement.  No, things have not been getting better in America.  In fact, they continue to get even worse.  The following are 32 statistics that Obama neglected to mention during the State of the Union address...
#1 According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, only 28 percent of all Americans believe that the country is moving in the right direction.
#2 In 2008, 53 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be "middle class".  In 2014, only 44 percent of all Americans consider themselves to be "middle class".
#3 In 2008, 25 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 29-year-old age bracket considered themselves to be "lower class".  In 2014, an astounding 49 percent of them do.
#4 Right now there is approximately a billion square feet of vacant retail space in the United States.
#5 There are 46.5 million Americans that are living in poverty, and the poverty rate in America has been at 15 percent or above for 3 consecutive years.  That is the first time that has happened since 1965.
#6 Barack Obama says that the unemployment rate has declined to 6.7 percent, but if the labor force participation rate was at the long-term average it would actually be approximately 11.5 percent, and it has stayed at about that level since the end of the last recession.
#7 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has gone from 32 million to 47 million.
#8 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the percentage of working age Americans that are actually working has declined from 60.6 percent to 58.6 percent.
#9 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen from 19.8 weeks to 37.1 weeks.
#10 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, social benefits as a percentage of real disposable income has risen from about 17 percent to nearly 21 percent.
#11 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen to levels that we have not seen in nearly two decades.
#12 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, median household income in the United States has fallen for five years in a row.
#13 While Barack Obama has been in the White House, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline has gone from $1.85 to $3.27.
#14 At the end of Barack Obama's first year in office, our yearly trade deficit with China was 226 billion dollars.  Now it is over 300 billion dollars.
#15 Workers are taking home the smallest share of the income pie that has ever been recorded.
#16 Sadly, 1,687,000 fewer Americans have jobs today compared to exactly six years ago even though the population has grown significantly since then.
#17 One recent study found that about 60 percent of the jobs that have been "created" since the end of the last recession pay $13.83 or less an hour.
#18 Only 47 percent of all adults in America have a full-time job at this point.
#19 It is hard to believe, but an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.
#20 The Obama years have been absolutely brutal for small businesses.  According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration...
Bush Sr.: 11.3
Clinton: 11.2
Bush Jr.: 10.8
Obama: 7.8
#21 You can still buy a house in the city of Detroit for just one dollar.
#22 The U.S. cattle herd is at a 61 year low.
#23 It is being projected that health insurance premiums for healthy 30-year-old men will rise by an average of 260 percent under Obamacare.
#24 According to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49.2 percent of all Americans are receiving benefits from at least one government program each month.
#25 When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent.  Today, it is up to 101 percent.
#26 The U.S. national debt is on pace to more than double during the eight years of the Obama administration.  In other words, under Barack Obama the U.S. government will accumulate more debt than it did under all of the other presidents in U.S. history combined.
#27 Right now, there are 1.2 million students that attend public schools in the United States that are homeless.  That number has risen by 72 percent since the start of the last recession.
#28 Only 35 percent of all Americans say that they are better off financially than they were a year ago.
#29 Only 19 percent of all Americans believe that the job market is better than it was a year ago.
#30 According to a recent CNN poll, 70 percent of all Americans believe that "the economy is generally in poor shape".
#31 According to a recent Pew Research survey, only 19 percent of all Americans trust the government.   Back in 1958, 73 percent of all Americans trusted the government.
#32 According to another poll that was recently released, 70 percent of all Americans do not have confidence that the government will "make progress on the important problems and issues facing the country in 2014."
Barack Obama State Of The Union

If 3 Inches Of Snow Can Cause This Much Chaos In Atlanta, What Will Economic Collapse Look Like?

Atlanta Snowpocalypse - Photo Posted On Twitter by Ryan DuckworthThis week, three inches of snow “paralyzed” the ninth-largest city in the United States, and the highways of Atlanta “resembled a scene in a post-apocalyptic world” according to national news reports.  Hundreds of cars were abandoned on the side of the road, people were spending the night in churches and grocery stores, and many walked for hours in a desperate attempt to get home or find needed provisions.  So if three inches of snow can cause this much chaos in one of our major cities, what will a full-blown economic collapse look like?  Most Americans have no idea how fragile our way of life is.  In the event of a major natural disaster, a massive EMP blast or a complete economic meltdown, our lives would change very rapidly, and most people are totally unprepared for that.
In Atlanta, a relatively minor snowfall has resulted in the deaths of 5 people, more than 100 injuries, and some commuters reported being stuck in traffic for up to 18 hours.  According to USA Today, highways around Atlanta resembled “a post-apocalyptic world” at the height of the storm…
The usually bustling roadways in the Atlanta metropolitan area resembled a scene in a post-apocalyptic world during and after Tuesday’s snow and ice storm.
Cars abandoned at odd angles on side streets, thoroughfares and major interstates. People in this car-dependent city walked for miles, hunched over and huddled from the cold. Many had no coats, hats or gloves.
“It was a like a scene from The Walking Dead,” said Maura Neill, 38, referring to the television series about a post-apocalyptic world overtaken by zombies.
Once our normal routines are disrupted, it is amazing how rapidly people start thinking about supplies of food and water.  Just check out this report from CNN
“I’m eight months’ pregnant and have my 3-year-old with me,” Atlanta-area resident Katie Norman Horne said on SnowedOutAtlanta, a Facebook page set up to help stranded motorists.
“We’ve been in the car for over 12 hours. We are fine on gas but is anyone near on the road and might happen to have any food or some water?”
In Atlanta, 940 accidents were confirmed, with more than 100 of them involving injuries, the Georgia public safety commissioner said.
In Alabama, at least five people died Tuesday in weather-related traffic accidents. The governor deployed 350 National Guard troops to help motorists.
And because thousands upon thousands of commuters simply could not get home, many of them started seeking shelter wherever they could find it
Students camped out with teachers in school gyms or on buses and commuters abandoned cars along the highway to seek shelter in churches, fire stations — even grocery stores — after a rare snowstorm left thousands of unaccustomed Southerners frozen in their tracks.
You can see some incredible pictures from the “snowpocalypse” in Atlanta right here.
Remember, this was just a temporary “emergency” caused by just three inches of snow that everyone knew would soon pass.
So how will people respond when a real crisis strikes that is not temporary?
We live at a time when we tend to think that we are invulnerable because of our technology.
But that simply is not true.
For example, just because this winter was a bit colder than expected, it has created a shortage of propane heating fuel in more than 30 states
The governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, has called on President Barack Obama to act as bitter winter weather caused a shortage of propane heating fuel and a massive spike in prices in some of the coldest regions of the US.
Propane is used by more than 12m households across the country, according industry statistics, and its shortage has led to a state of emergency being declared in more than 30 states. Prices are up more than 17% from a year ago, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Ahead of the president’s State of the Union speech, Branstad has written to Obama expressing his concern about a crisis now sweeping the midwest: “Prices in some midwest locations have now exceeded $5 per gallon. Such prices are unsustainable for families, farmers and businesses,” he wrote.
So what would happen if a real crisis happened?
For instance, what would happen if something caused the trucks in America to stop running?
What would life look like?
Well, according to a report put out by the American Trucker Associations entitled “When Trucks Stop, America Stops“, life would get “apocalyptic” quite rapidly…
A Timeline Showing the Deterioration of Major Industries Following a Truck Stoppage
The first 24 hours
• Delivery of medical supplies to the affected area will cease.
• Hospitals will run out of basic supplies such as syringes and catheters within hours. Radiopharmaceuticals will deteriorate and become unusable.
• Service stations will begin to run out of fuel.
• Manufacturers using just-in-time manufacturing will develop component shortages.
• U.S. mail and other package delivery will cease.
Within one day
• Food shortages will begin to develop.
• Automobile fuel availability and delivery will dwindle, leading to skyrocketing prices and long lines at the gas pumps.
• Without manufacturing components and trucks for product delivery,
assembly lines will shut down, putting thousands out of work.
Within two to three days
• Food shortages will escalate, especially in the face of hoarding and consumer panic.
• Supplies of essentials—such as bottled water, powdered milk, and
canned meat—at major retailers will disappear.
• ATMs will run out of cash and banks will be unable to process
transactions.
• Service stations will completely run out of fuel for autos and trucks.
• Garbage will start piling up in urban and suburban areas.
• Container ships will sit idle in ports and rail transport will be disrupted, eventually coming to a standstill.
Within a week
• Automobile travel will cease due to the lack of fuel. Without autos and busses, many people will not be able to get to work, shop for groceries, or access medical care.
• Hospitals will begin to exhaust oxygen supplies.
Within two weeks
• The nation’s clean water supply will begin to run dry.
Within four weeks
• The nation will exhaust its clean water supply and water will be safe for drinking only after boiling. As a result gastrointestinal illnesses will increase, further taxing an already weakened health care system.
This timeline presents only the primary effects of a freeze on truck travel. Secondary effects must be considered as well, such as inability to maintain telecommunications service, reduced law enforcement, increased crime, increased illness and injury, higher death rates, and likely, civil unrest.
Sadly, most Americans have made absolutely no preparations for a major crisis of that magnitude.
They just have complete and total faith that the system will always be able to take care of them.
Someday when we do experience a great national crisis, those people will be totally blindsided by it.
Atlanta Snowpocalypse - Photo Posted On Twitter by Ryan Duckworth