The Financial Jigsaw, Part 2 (27) – OFFSHORE FINANCE AND LOTS MORE I WON’T EVEN LIST THIS WEEK! - [08-17-24]

There is no art higher than to destroy your enemy without a fight by subverting anything of value in the enemy's country. [Sun-Tzu - 500BC]

Aug 17, 2024

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I can’t tell my Readers how hard it’s been these last few weeks in South Africa when moving off the mountain (after 20 years) and trying to find a place to stay nearby, so I will let the Beatles tell you all!

The 2008 crisis shone the spotlight on the psychopathic level of greed, vice, apathy and short-sightedness from those who wanted to play in the City of London and Wall Street casino houses. “Get rich quick and don’t care who the hell you screw in the process”, at the end of the day you’re either a winner or a loser. I worked in the City during the 1970s so I know first-hand the truth of these words.

Since the general public tends to consist of decent people, there is a widespread difficulty in comprehending how entire economies of countries have been hijacked by these psychopathic piranhas. We have hit such a level of financial crime that even people’s hard earned pensions, education, health-care, housing, and more are all being gambled away – LEGALLY!

Looking at investment bankers today, I am reminded of those sad addicts in the casino who are ruined and lost everything, except the difference is, the Banksters have the option to sell their neighbour’s family into slavery to pay off their debts. It’s no secret that much of the “finance” that goes through the City of London and Wall Street is dirty. The world is so evidently run by criminal activity that at this point we have become dependent on its dirty money to keep the world economy afloat.

Yet the politicians/regulators seem unable to address it; we are told that if they tried by breaking up and regulating the “Too Big to Fail” banks, then the whole economy would come tumbling down. But whatever is stored up in this life, it can never be taken with you at the end, when our Great Creator calls us to His House, where we can choose to reside (Psalm 91), then you must go and I am closer o this event than ever before! LOL

It is but a fleeting mortal existence in our Great Creator’s universe. (I can confirm this adage at my venerable age of 80, looking back, it’s passed by rather quickly!). “The span of our life is 70 years, or 80+ if one is especially strong. But they are filled with trouble and sorrow. They quickly pass by, and away we fly.” [Psalm 90:10]

If these bought-off, spineless leaders had any grain of honesty and integrity they would immediately re-instigate the Glass-Steagall Act which had proven so effective for 60+ years until rescinded in 1999 by the Clinton Crime Family. Despite its tendency to be scapegoated, the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act wasn’t the only contributor to the GFC. The repeal allowed banks to become substantially larger or "too big to fail."

Although the repeal allowed for much bigger-to-fail banks, it can't be blamed entirely on the crisis itself. The heart of the 2008 crisis was almost US$5Trillion (with a ‘T’) of worthless and fraudulent mortgage loans, among some other drivers:

Repealing the Glass-Steagall Act was a factor in the 2008 financial crisis.
Financial experts said repeal of Glass-Steagall allowed banks to grow too big to fail.
Glass-Steagall prevented banks operating as both commercial and investment banks.
Its repeal was just one of many factors that contributed to the meltdown in the 2008 housing market. Fraudulent sub-prime lending practices were the major contributor.
Since non-bank lenders originated the overwhelming majority of subprime mortgages, and the buyers of over half of them in the 10 years leading up to the 2008 crisis were not banks, commercial or investment.
The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act did impact the financial crisis in some ways because the repeal allowed for the consolidation of investment and retail banks via financial holding companies. This consolidation led to a few bloated financial institutions, like Bear Stearns, heavily invested in risky mortgage-backed securities.
The lack of valid mortgage requirements led to lots of borrowers getting mortgages they shouldn’t have, making large-scale defaults inevitable.
The root cause of the financial crisis was the subprime mortgage meltdown. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was at the heart of that problem, which required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase more "affordable" mortgages to encourage lenders to make loans to low-income and minority borrowers. Sources
Consequences of the Glass-Steagall Act Repeal https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/050515/did-repeal-glasssteagall-act-contribute-2008-financial-crisis.asp
Since the 2008 financial crisis, which is considered the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, many have not been able to go back to sleep after such a lucid nightmare. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2020/03/08/sugar-and-spice-and-everything-vice-the-empires-sin-city-of-london/
Financial Regulations: Glass-Steagall to Dodd-Frank https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/103015/financial-regulations-glasssteagall-doddfrank.asp

MARKET MELT-DOWN MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2024

Last Monday saw significant market turbulence. Japanese stocks suffered their second-largest one-day fall in history, and global equity markets shrivelled as panic spread. I’m not going to dig into all the reasons for this but check out this YouTube video or podcast if you want to understand why markets took fright.

Simply put, investors worried they had underestimated the risk of a US recession, while higher interest rates in Japan caught out some leveraged traders who rushed to close their trades. Some nervous commentators claimed this could trigger a massive, prolonged market crash. Others fretted that the Federal Reserve had waited too long to cut interest rates, endangering the so-called ‘soft landing’. But by the end of the week the world is still turning, whilst markets have recovered most of their lost ground, and the “crash” came and went without too much trouble.

A reliable warning sign of a brewing stock market storm comes from the CBOE Volatility Index, or ‘VIX’, as the pundits call it. The VIX measures how volatile traders expect the S&P 500 to be in the near future, with a higher reading indicating choppy market; it’s nicknamed the ‘fear index’ for a reason.

On the Monday, the VIX briefly spiked to over 65, a level only previously exceeded during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 market crash. But the panic was short-lived, it may have skipped a beat, but this was no heart attack.

Volatility tends to come in clusters, meaning the stock market’s best days often immediately follow their worst. And so it proved last week. On the Tuesday, Japan’s Topix index rebounded +9%, the most since October 2008. And later in the week, the S&P 500 notched up its biggest one-day gain since November 2022.

Japanese stocks are back in positive territory for the year, and the S&P 500 is up more than 10% since the start of 2024. The Japanese yen has steadily weakened since the start of 2022 as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept interest rates low while other central banks went on a hiking expedition. That was until the BOJ's surprise rate rise, hawkish messaging and massive currency market intervention set off a blistering rally over the last month.

The abrupt reversal in the yen’s fortunes wrong-footed markets, and traders who had speculated on currency markets scrambled to close their positions. The profitable ‘carry trade,’ where investors borrow money cheaply in one market (i.e. Japan) to invest in higher-yielding assets overseas, became much riskier as yen volatility spiked and triggered margin calls.

Once it starts, an unwind of this type of leveraged trade can be rapid and self-perpetuating. Investors are forced to buy yen to pay their margin and close the ‘carry trade’, further strengthening the currency and forcing more investors to close out their positions. Perhaps markets were reassured by the BOJ Deputy Governor, Shinichi Uchida saying:

“We won’t raise interest rates when financial markets are unstable. As we’re seeing sharp volatility in domestic and overseas financial markets, it’s necessary to maintain current levels of monetary easing for the time being. Personally, I see more factors popping up that require us [to be] cautious about raising interest rates.” [BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida]

The Fed tends to ignore markets. On that Monday, traders were pricing in as much as an 80% chance of a jumbo 50bps rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September. Some even called for Jerome Powell to press the emergency button and cut rates immediately. The Fed didn’t flinch. Markets now foresee a coin toss decision between a 25 or 50bps cut in September. But futures markets can be fickle. What can we learn from this crazy week?

Markets are nervous about the soft landing narrative, and any disappointing economic data could cause more sharp moves.
US stocks are still expensive. Investors continue to buy them anyway.
Investors sought safety in bonds. Treasuries successfully hedged the short-term stock market fall.
Japan is a unique market where small central bank moves can cause big currency swings. Leverage is hiding in plain sight and can have a destabilising impact on global markets.
Don’t panic. If this week scared you, you probably have too much invested in equities. The best time to adjust your asset allocation is in periods of calm, by the time markets crash, it’s too late. Are you prepared to stay the course when stock markets fall 30% or more?
The worst thing you can do is sell during a crash but we are all tempted to do it anyway.
When the spectre of a market crash is staring you in the face, “Keep Calm and Carry On”, which I remember from WW2.
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” [Upton Sinclair] Source:

All Wars Are Banksters’ Wars. I present the financial implications of wars and the involvement of International Banksters in financing conflicts https://biblescienceforum.com/2024/08/12/all-wars-are-banksters-wars/

FUN TIDBIT – A REMINDER

GOOGLE UNDER ATTACK for monopoly exploitation of its commanding market position as the lead search engine - Source

On August 5, 2024 the US District Court in Washington DC ruled against Google regarding their search engine related business practices. The media went into celebration on both sides. https://www.theburningplatform.com/2024/08/12/not-historic/

The Game Monopoly was originally envisioned as a stark warning about the power of unchecked economic privilege, rent-seeking, and inequality. But don’t try to teach the kids that as they plonk down in their hotel on Park Lane.

Somehow, over time, we forget the lesson the game’s creator, Lizzie Magie, was trying to impart. Similarly, in recent decades, antitrust regulators seem to have forgotten their job is to tackle the abuse of power by monopolists—until now.

This week, a federal judge ruled that Google’s search business violates US Antitrust law. Specifically, the court found the search giant’s exclusive deals with Apple and platform operators to be anti-competitive.

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” [US District Judge Amit Mehta]

Google pays Apple billions of dollars each year to secure its position as the default search provider on iPhones, providing a significant barrier to entry for rival search engines. It’s unclear what remedy the court will propose, but the days of Google’s default search dominance may be coming to an end.

Google was also found to have used its dominant position in search to charge monopoly prices for advertising. The company is also facing antitrust action over its ad-tech business and lost a case last year alleging anti-competitive practices in operating its app store. Unsurprisingly, Google plans to appeal the latest ruling.

In every era of American capitalism, a handful of giant companies have come to dominate new industries. Typically, the government steps in to cut them down to size or force them to play nice. Standard Oil, AT&T, and Microsoft all faced the wrath of regulators in the past.

I’ve long thought that antitrust regulators would pose the biggest threat to Big Tech’s dominance. The latest ruling against Google is one more step in that journey. No more ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ cards.

A UBS INSIDER BLOWS OPEN SWISS BANKING SECRECY!

Bradley Birkenfeld, a former wealth manager at UBS, became entangled in a massive offshore tax evasion scheme for US citizens. UBS actively helped these clients hide assets in secret Swiss bank accounts, exploiting strict banking secrecy laws to avoid US IRS taxes.

Disillusioned, Birkenfeld approached U.S. authorities in 2007 (He spoke to my group on ZOOM last Sunday evening - BST). His insider knowledge of UBS’s illegal practices exposed the bank’s underbelly and sparked a historic shift. Birkenfeld’s whistleblowing blew the lid off Swiss banking secrecy, leading to a landmark settlement. UBS paid a hefty $780 million fine and, along with the Swiss government, agreed to reveal the identities of thousands of suspected tax evaders.

Birkenfeld’s courage not only exposed a global financial wrongdoing but also earned him the largest whistle-blower reward ever awarded at the time – a staggering $104 million. In granting the award, the IRS explained:

“Birkenfeld provided information . . . that the IRS had been unable to detect, provided exceptional cooperation, identified connections between parties and transactions (and the methods used by UBS AG), and the information led to substantial changes in UBS business practices and commitment to future compliance. . . The comprehensive information provided by the whistle-blower was exceptional in both its breath and depth. . . The information provided by the whistle-blower formed the basis for unprecedented actions against UBS AG, with collateral impact on other enforcement activities . . .”

UBS Bank was considered the largest and most secretive Swiss bank in the world at that time when Birkenfeld blew the whistle.

The news of Bradley Birkenfeld’s record-breaking whistle-blower reward sent shockwaves through the Swiss banking industry. At a Geneva conference, the mood turned sour as bankers learned of the $104 million pay-out. Reports described them “seething” with anger, attacking Birkenfeld’s morals for exposing their practices. But beneath the fury, a new reality dawned. Banking leaders acknowledged that hefty whistle-blower rewards could change the game, particularly for U.S. accounts.

One respected consultant, international wealth management consultant Osmond Plummer, declared the U.S. client offshore program dead. “Banking secrecy is no longer there,” he stated bluntly. “Something has to change in Switzerland.” Birkenfeld, they grudgingly admitted, had struck a fatal blow to their once-impenetrable system.

Birkenfeld became the centre of international media attention after exposing the world's largest Swiss banking tax evasion scheme.

BIRKENFELD’S REWARD: A Seismic Shift in Tax Enforcement. The announcement of Bradley Birkenfeld’s record-breaking whistle-blower reward rippled through Switzerland. Swiss newspapers echoed the shockwaves. Blick, a tabloid, saw the award as evidence of the U.S.’s relentless pursuit of tax evaders.

Tages-Anzeiger, a Zurich paper, called it a “seductive offer for bankers,” highlighting the potential for future whistle-blowers. Le Temps, a French daily, agreed – the reward could incentivize others to speak up. But the most impactful voices belonged to the Swiss bankers themselves. They grudgingly acknowledged Birkenfeld as a national hero, someone who exposed illegal practices impacting American taxpayers.

Professor Dennis Ventry, chairman of the IRS Advisory Council, confirmed this narrative. Birkenfeld’s information, he said, formed the “treasure trove” that dismantled UBS’s illegal scheme. The U.S. government leveraged this information to great effect:

A $780 million fine and names of 250 high-profile Americans from UBS
An additional 4,450 names through a joint U.S.-Swiss settlement.
Over 120 criminal indictments
Billions recovered through the IRS whistleblower program.

Birkenfeld’s bravery triggered a domino effect – bank closures, program participation, and aggressive IRS action against tax dodgers. By 2018, more than 56,000 delinquent taxpayers had come forward, and the U.S. had collected over $11bn in back taxes and prosecuted numerous banks. The estimated total recovered: a staggering $16.19 billion. Birkenfeld’s Pioneering Case Paves the Way for Participant Whistle-blowers and he wrote a book about it.

Bradley Birkenfeld’s initial attempt to expose tax fraud backfired. His chosen legal team didn’t position him as a whistle-blower, leading to charges and jail time.

However, after hiring our firm, Birkenfeld’s case took a historic turn. Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto successfully argued that whistle-blowers could include “participants” in the fraud itself, a crucial distinction from the masterminds. This meant even bankers involved in opening secret accounts could qualify for whistle-blower rewards.

This landmark decision had a ripple effect. It was incorporated into the Dodd-Frank Act and became a beacon for future “participant” whistle-blowers. Previously hidden white-collar crimes, often reliant on insider knowledge, became more exposed. Now, participants could come forward with valuable information, protected from the initial prosecution Birkenfeld faced.

The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy (2020). As a private banker working for the largest bank in the world, UBS, Bradley Birkenfeld was an expert in Switzerland’s shell-game of offshore companies and secret numbered accounts. He wined and dined ultra-wealthy clients whose millions of dollars were hidden away from business partners, spouses, and tax authorities. As his client list grew, Birkenfeld lived a life of money, fast cars, and beautiful women, but when he discovered that UBS was planning to betray him, he blew the whistle to the US Government.

THE GREAT TAKING - How Central Bankers Will Steal Everything You Own. Hat Tip -Catherine Austin Fitts:

The video above features repeat guest Catherine Austin Fitts, a finance expert, and founder and president of the Solari Report. She’s one of the wisest persons out there when it comes to understanding finances and how to protect your wealth in the face of this global wealth transfer.

We also discuss the work of David Webb,¹ a former hedge fund investor and a good friend of Austin Fitts. He has written a book called “The Great Taking,” available for free as a PDF from thegreattaking.com, as well as a documentary by the same name, available on CHD.TV, Rumble and YouTube.

Webb’s book and film detail how the Federal Reserve influences financial markets, and how its money creation has outpaced economic growth of the U.S., which is a huge red flag indicating that the velocity of money (the rate at which money is circulating through the economy) is collapsing. In short, a major financial depression is at hand, and when it all falls apart, we will lose everything.

A Financial Coup Is Underway. Webb reveals how central bankers and other Globalists have, for at least five decades or more, carefully planned the coordinated takedown of the global financial system using highly sophisticated strategies, including the manipulation of derivative markets.

BUT IT IS ALSO AN OFFSHORE FINANCIAL WAR – This is how Russia can get its stolen money back while leaving the financial West to collapse all on its own!

Strategic Intelligence Editor, Jim Rickards told Steve Bannon of "War Room" last week that Russia has an easy and obvious solution to the West's attempted theft of Russian assets: put a lien on $40 trillion (with a ‘T’) at the Euroclear custodian, which will lead to financial chaos.

Western power brokers have schemed up a clever, but deceptive structured product concept, for their attempted theft of $300bn in frozen Russian assets that they plan to use to fund a $50bn "loan" to Ukraine. The glaring problem is that the structured product allows the West to steal the interest on frozen Russian assets.

"The way they're stealing the assets is a structured product," Rickards explained to Bannon, noting the similarities between this financial scheme and the one Western power brokers cooked up in 2008 to try to save themselves from the financial collapse. "You go back to 2008 with all those garbage mortgages out there – how could you turn them into AAA securities?” And Wall Street said “hold my beer and I'll show you how to do it, and they did, and of course it all collapsed." As for the situation with the frozen Russian assets, the US is basically trying to "lend" Ukraine $50bn, backed by U.S. taxpayers, of course, by siphoning all the interest collected on the $300bn in frozen Russian assets.

Time for Russia to drop the financial nuke https://www.planet-today.com/2024/06/this-is-how-russia-can-get-its-stolen.html

DID ANYONE EVEN NOTICE the News Story that Slipped by most People’s Attention on July 3, 2024? The Mail reports: “Starmer flew to Washington recently for a major NATO summit on his first international visit, said there was 'no more important duty' than safeguarding the nation. He announced that the government will launch a strategic defence review soon to assess the threats to the UK and the military capabilities needed to counter them.” The lunatics are running the asylum. “Prepare for War” says MSM!

The report reads: “The Dáil has approved a plan to allow Ireland to join an EU military initiative to defend critical seabed infrastructure against sabotage, terrorism and espionage. The move got the green light from TDs following a vote with 74 deputies supporting the motion and 58 voting against it.

The ‘Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection’ project is part of the PESCO framework where EU member states cooperate to improve the capabilities of their armed forces.2

Predictably, the UK’s newly installed PM, Globalist “Yes Man”, (Sir) Kier Starmer has hit the ground running, looking for trouble, shouting his mouth off about Putin while bragging about expanding war budgets.

However, Elon Musk held a casual conversation with Donald Trump recently and it was wildly popular. The Democrats and the Globalist deep state was in an absolute panic to try to censor the conversation. The reason why? Because none of their candidates are cognitively capable enough to hold a spontaneous, organic conversation without a teleprompter or a script.

We are now entering a Chapter of Extreme Censorship from the EU and UK, while Dems in the USA panic over losing control of online speech. These are signs of the final collapse of a desperate empire that cannot tolerate people speaking the truth about anything.

My sermon today covers God's warning to humanity on pushing fake news, lies and deceptions (all covered in the Book of Jeremiah). The word of Jehovah came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I sanctified you.*I made you a prophet to the nations.” But I said: “Alas, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah!

I do not know how to speak, for I am just a boy.”. Jehovah then said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am just a boy.’ For you must go to all those to whom I send you. And you should say everything that I command you. Do not be afraid because of their appearance. For ‘I am with you to save you,’declares Jehovah.”

UKRAINE IS IN SERIOUS FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY – War is expensive! But lets not forget what war really means on the frontline; Analysing Evil: Sergeant Barnes From Platoon:

The Russian forces now have the men and equipment to largely overrun the Ukrainian lines. But doing so would cost a significant amount of casualties. They are therefore just waiting for the Ukrainian army to exhaust itself and to fall by its own means. Only after a large scale breakdown of Ukrainian defenses will the order be given to proceed. Source

Ukraine SitRep: State And Military Continue to Deteriorate https://www.theburningplatform.com/2024/06/25/ukraine-sitrep-state-and-military-continue-to-deteriorate/

THE GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE RED SEA – SUDAN is the Key to Unlock Valuable Resources and Control of Global Shipping Routes [Hat Tip Amari Roos who lives in Europe, holds an MSc in psychology, and is a keen animal lover. She has been a contributing writer and editor at SOTT.net since 2012]

The general of the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF), al-Burhan (left), became the de facto ruler of Sudan as of April 2022. He leads the SAF against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Hemedti (right) who are carrying out continued attacks against the Sudanese army, with both parties pointing the finger at each other when it comes to civilian casualties.

Egypt and Iran support SAF, while the UAE supports Hemedti. In December 2023, Sudan expelled 15 diplomats from the UAE on allegations that the UAE has been funneling weapons to the RSF. Allegedly, the private mercenary company Wagner that operates independently from Russia is working with Hemedti/SAF.

The US wasn't pleased with Iran sending weapons to the Sudanese military. The U.S. State Department spokesperson said: "The United States opposes external involvement to support the Sudan conflict - it will only exacerbate and prolong the conflict and risks further spreading regional instability." Which is rich coming from the US, considering it's known for its external involvement in countries around the world for decades.

Nonetheless, with Sudan-Iran relations warming up, the de facto ruler of Sudan, al-Burhan, formally received Iran's new ambassador to Sudan on July 22, 2024, ending a diplomatic freeze of eight years.

Due to the political instability in recent years, plans of constructing a Russian base on the Red Sea were up in the air, however on May 31st, 2024, assistant Commander-in-Chief of the SAF said that Russia will support Sudan militarily in exchange for a Russian permanent naval base on the Red Sea.

In May, 2023, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that it would be a major gain for Russia's President Putin if Hemedti were to win the war in Sudan. He probably made a miscalculation to believe that al-Burhan wouldn't resume plans for a Russian naval base.

With the US and allies likely panicking, on July 23rd, 2024, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken invited Sudan's military to participate in proposed talks with RSF in Switzerland on August 14th. The talks would be hosted by Switzerland, co-hosted by KSA and with the African Union, Egypt, UAE and the US as observers.

The RSF agreed to attend, but al-Burhan said: "The government made clear that any negotiations before...full withdrawal and an end to expansion (by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces) will not be acceptable to the Sudanese people."

He did request meetings with US officials to discuss the agenda for the talks. In a tweet from August 5th, 2024, al-Burhan wrote (translated from Arabic by Google):

"I received a call from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and spoke to him about the necessity of addressing the concerns of the Sudanese government before starting any negotiations. I informed him that the rebel militia was besieging and attacking El Fasher and preventing the passage of food for the displaced people of Zamzam camp."

Knowing US' history when it comes to the invasion and destruction of other countries, it's hard to believe that Blinken is in any way interested in creating peace in the geo-politically strategic region. If anything, they likely want a puppet in Sudan (whether it be al-Burhan or Hemedti) who will work with them rather than with Russia, Iran and China

With Sudan being the third leading producer of gold in Africa, the recent Freudian slip by US Senator Todd Young may give an idea of US' intentions in Africa. It's to be hoped that, for the many innocent people in Sudan, peace will be achieved in the country and that whoever leads Sudan will align itself with the BRICS+ Multipolar World.

BUT WHAT ABOUT AMERICA versus CHINA? The US is Preparing for an Unwinnable War Against China

But what are the major objectives of so much institutionalised madness and mayhem? Here’s just one of the big multi-decade goals of the New World Order GLOBALIST CABAL1 - You had better know about:
THE KALERGI PLAN

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown disagrees. He says he is “fully confident” that the US would defeat China if war were to break out over Taiwan, even though the ‘Commission on National Defence Strategy’ predicts extreme losses on the US side.

Just last week he announced, My good friend, Kn“It’s going to take all the nation if we go to conflict with the PRC, and I’m confident, if we’re challenged, we will be there.”

“I play to win,” (As my good friend Ken in NC says) …he continued, after acknowledging that “these will be major conflicts akin to what we saw in WW2, and so we’ve got to come to grips with that.”

Born in 1962, Gen. Brown knows nothing of the horrors of WW2. For him, it’s words in a textbook– a game to “play.” For others, it will be lost limbs and terror. The US has been in near constant conflict since its inception, and our more recent wars paint an obvious vision of ineptitude. The only things Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan accomplished were widespread death and destruction.

Violence does not end just because war does, but hangs over communities like a spectre, negatively affecting the health and economic wellbeing of nations, as well as contributing to environmental harm.

While our government has been edging us towards war with China for some time, it’s not often we hear the words spoken so starkly. Gen. Brown’s point is clear: the US is preparing for war, and they’re not holding back. Source