Just when you thought it might be safe to go outside again, the resilient Neocon Kagan family has reappeared to urge ever greater ME wars. Robert Perry at ConsortiumNews.com reports on the latest re-emergence of the first family of global warfare, the Kagans.
Giving war makers a soapbox and megaphone, the Washington Post publishes a long Op-Ed by Robert Kagan, founder of the Project for the New American Century, calling for boots on the ground invasion of Syria.
Most creative is the brilliant rending of truth and twisting of reality into a shape where killing a few hundred thousand more human beings in the Middle East is reasonable, necessary and right.
Let me digress for a moment and lay out my understanding of what happened.
Insiders at the DNC and the Clinton Foundation, probably Bernie supporters, leaked two big batches of emails to WikiLeaks (possibly Seth Rich was the leaker of the John Podesta emails). Craig Murray reports that he picked them up at a park in Washington DC and delivered them by hand to WikiLeaks. They revealed that the DNC was committed to HRC getting the democratic nomination and ensuring that Bernie Sanders did not, and that insiders used dirty tricks to ensure this outcome. They also revealed the depth and breadth of the system of bribery in play with the Clinton Foundation system called “pay for play.” (One example, is the removal of Algeria from the US terror watchlist by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the week after Algeria donated 25 million dollars to the Clinton Foundation.) The result was that the DNC candidate lost the election to a man with an 81% disapproval rating and little to no political skills or experience.
The DNC was embarrassed by this leak, BUT NEVER DISPUTED THAT THE EMAILS WERE TRUE. It was not “fake news.” It was “true news” of corruption in a process that pretends to be democratic, but is not.
However, the Neocons seem to have recovered from the defeat of their champion and now the Kagans are Back. And being very intelligent and creative, and allied with the network that owns the news media, decided to spin the story around a familiar anchor point: the evil Russians and how they attacked us.
Russia leaked the DNC emails to WikiLeaks. …
Russian tried to interfere with the US election. …
Russian “hacked” the US election. …
This is a mater of national sovereignty. …
Not just sovereignty, but national security, as this is cyberwarfare.
Cyberwarfare is just as real an attack as those by warships, tanks or bombers.
We must defend ourselves.
We must defend ourselves from this grievous national security assault from Russia by invading Syria and recruiting MORE proxy fighters to overthrow Assad.
Robert Kagan in WaPo:
“The most important question concerns Russia’s ability to manipulate U.S. elections. That is not a political issue. It is a national security issue. If the Russian government did interfere in the United States’ electoral processes last year, then it has the capacity to do so in every election going forward. This is a powerful and dangerous weapon, more than warships or tanks or bombers.
Frederick and Kimberly Kagen in the WSJ:
On Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, Robert Kagan’s brother Frederick and his wife Kimberly dropped the other shoe, laying out the neocons’ long-held dream of a full-scale U.S. invasion of Syria...
But the neocons have long lusted for “regime change” in Syria and were not satisfied with Obama’s arming of anti-government rebels and the limited infiltration of U.S. Special Forces into northern Syria to assist in the retaking of the Islamic State’s “capital” of Raqqa.
In the Journal op-ed, Frederick and Kimberly Kagan call for opening a new military front in southeastern Syria...
I have found by polling my co-workers, that an unsubstantiated assertion, and even a fraudulent assertion, if repeated often enough by enough different "trusted commentators" will come to be accepted as true. Such is the power of the human need to snuggle ourselves into the group consensus.
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Neoconservative goals and aims in the ME cannot be understood unless we see that they are a militant Zionist faction. However, most Jewish people are not Neocons. But the Neocons are an American political force that grows out of the RED/BLUE militant vision of Zionism. It is not about a religion. It is a military and economic domination project that takes its origins in a tightly-identified ethnic group. (And, my GREEN Meme friends, it is OK to talk about it. This is not "religious intolerance.")
The destruction of the Middle East has been a long term Zionist goal. See the Oded Yinon plan or the origins of the Iraq Invasion coming out of the long-term militant vision of Greater Israel.
Peace through military domination is never stable. Most of us, of all religions, actually know this.
Well, true to form, DB went nowhere today, basically just wobbling along very flat finishing with a very modest loss that is notable for being correct if only the decimal point were slid over one spot.
The ability of the authorities to hold these ““markets”” in line is really astonishing right now. While DB couldn’t sell the necessary shares at the true market price, somehow that same market price didn’t budge.
Very weird.
Controlling the flow of money is power. Things have gotten very lopsided in terms of who has the wealth & power. The 99% are pissed, especially the folks at the lower end of the spectrum. People are much more aware of the inequities in the system these days. So, what are TPTB to do? The common people have power in numbers. Together they are very strong, but apart they are very weak. This is why the TPTB will continue to play the divide & conquer card particularly on social issues…race baiting, transgender bathroom debates, etc.
I am a writer. I would like to submit one of my political/economic writings to you. Can you give me some guidance on how to do so?
Thank you,
Tom Prouty
It's even easier for the non-religious to know. For an extremely compelling story of the non-religious of 2000 plus years ago and the nastiness of religion 600 years or so ago, I highly recommend The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt. Although it was written by a Harvard professor it is not on any of the University library shelves here in the Pacific Northwest. Hmmm...
So Janet Yellen just poured more gasoline on the anti-bank fire smoldering in my heart…
Speaking today at the 10th Biennial Federal Reserve System Community Development Research Conference in Washington, D.C, she delivered a short speech titled “Strong Foundations: The Economic Futures of Kids and Communities”. In it, she focuses on the difficulties of growing up poor and is clearly trying to present herself as an advocate for raising families out of poverty.
Really, Janet? Really???
What about the record-low interest rates you've presided over?
The ones that have destroyed all incentive to save?
The ones that have starved American households of savings income, especially for those on a fixed income?
The ones that have created asset bubbles everywhere, making it nearly impossible for young families to buy a house and sending the cost of rent and other living expenses skyrocketing?
The ones that have made it tremendously cheap for companies to borrow and invest in automation, gutting future demand for unskilled/low-skilled workers?
The ones that have led to the greatest wealth disparity in our country's history?
This is a classic example of the shameless pathological hypocrisy/evil of those running our monetary and financial systems. It's akin to a bloody-handed serial killer lecturing to his dying victims “You know, someone should really do something about the murder rate in this town”)
Yellen's gasbagging can be listened to below:
n. derivative of the word fuck
Absolute bullshit; utter nonsense; something rather suspicious that can bring forth uneasy, angry, or irritated feelings. The stunt pulled by people who don't know how to tell the truth or enjoy messing with people's heads as a hobby.
n. derivative of the word fuck
Absolute bullshit; utter nonsense; something rather suspicious that can bring forth uneasy, angry, or irritated feelings. The stunt pulled by people who don't know how to tell the truth or enjoy messing with people's heads as a hobby.
As a teacher, I always find it helps to put new vocabulary in context:
Janet Yellen engaged in fuckery today while she was discussing the issues of working-class Americans and the problems of poverty in America.
Somehow, your post there makes me uneasy and distrustful that you are really on the up-and-up about the English language.
Is that definition real? Or are you just making some nonsense up off the c…
… okay, I’m practicing for the first of the month.
We need to reawaken each other to his writings. I wonder whether Chris could find an Ivan Illich scholar to do a podcast for us. His paper entitled “Energy and Equity” is my favorite.
Rheba, you are absolutely right about Ivan Illich. My favorite Illich work is “Deschooling Society” but he also wrote about the medical “establishment” in a way that explains the evolution of the American Racketeering system. (maybe the latter is “Medical Nemesis.” Because of your comment, I now would like to download his energy writing, but cant find a good source. It was easy to download a pdf copy of “Deschooling Society”… maybe you found a good site for “Energy and Equity?”
Of all the websites on the internet, I found that Charles H Smith (oftwominds.com) seems to present the ideas of Ivan Illich most clearly. I recommend oftwominds.com “blog” and to contribute $, since he is an extremely rare non biased-by-subscription-income-requirement blogger that represents true unbiased news and information. Haven’t found anything better so far.
Ivan Illich’s writing are so powerful yet so under-appreciated and mostly unknown… I would like to create or join a skype based discussion group of his writings. Anyone else interested in this?
Mots
Rheba and Mots;
where do i sign up? A CBC producer, David Cayley, has done a number of radio programs on Ivan Illich and I believe written a book on him. His thinking is very similar to William Stanley Jevons. As a economist and logician, he has excellent grasp of the human condition, akin to Illich’s. Required reading for all who wish to find solutions to our situation.
Dear Uncle
I have not heard of these guys before, too much information… if not much time, which single document do you suggest reading or program for watching?
Mots
I’m with Rheba; Energy and Equity will put you on the first step to enlightenment. Much of his stuff can be an effort to follow, but once you catch his drift - eye-opening.
I wasn’t going to comment on this, but since I’ve spent so much of today dealing with this very subject, I will. What’s another lost billable hour at this point?
I’m trying to re-fi my house. I started the process late last year (Nov-Dec). We’re still not there. Three reps later and multiple lost files, on-going and unique information requests and other miscellaneous underwriter hang ups, we could maybe close in May, though now I’m thinking I’ll back out. A month ago the lender offered me a discount because I was ready to walk away then. I told them I wouldn’t sign anything until I saw updated disclosure and settlement agreements. Their level of incompetence was beginning to scare me.
I have a mortgage with a lender. I’m trying to re-fi with the same lender. My initial loan was $290K. It stands now at $239K. The house appraised two months ago at $335K. I pay on time every month, have since origination. I usually pre-pay $200-$500, but never less than rounding up the extra $80 to get to the next even $100. I’m self-employed and had two surgeries last year, one major, so my $500/month, 12-year payoff hopes hit a giant snag between lost income and $9K in out of pocket medical expenses. At least we have insurance. (Tax tip: if you have an HSA, pay attention to the max contribution/distribution. Uncle Sam doesn’t care if post-surgery codeine and banking don’t mix. He’ll charge nasty penalties if you fly past the max on accident. It’s not so much insult to injury as just more injury.)
I got the Disclosure document on 3/21 and the Settlement (closing) documents today. They tipped me from fear of incompetence to recognition of evil. Start by noting how hard it was to compare apples to apples. Then see the fees change. Here’s my email to them from today without names.
(Supervisor),
(3rd Lending representative) just sent me the attached ALTA Settlement. This document is significantly different than the Loan Disclosure Document. Rather than the $820+ less I was expecting as noted in your email below, the total closing costs have increased by $2,739.80, even as the mortgage payoff has decreased by $1,082 and will decrease again as I make a payment before this loan closes.
I am comparing the Loan Disclosure (Disclosure) document to the ALTA Settlement (Settlement) document.
Loan Costs – No Discount Applied
With respect to loan costs, the original Disclosure loan costs were $3,072. Less the $820 discount, that should be $2,252, not the $2,350 listed in your email below. The Settlement costs still reflect loan costs of $3,072. The $820 discount is not reflected.
(Loan costs = Origination fee, Points, Credit Report, Flood Certification, Tax Service to Core Logic, Title Charges & Escrow/Settlement Charges)
Other Fees – County Taxes and Homeowners Insurance
The increases from the Disclosure to the Settlement are all listed as “Other” costs in the Disclosure. (In the Settlement document the “Other” costs from the Disclosure are listed variously as Loan Charges (pre-paid interest), Impounds, Government Recording and Transfer Fees, Payoff(s) and Payment(s), and Miscellaneous.)
County property taxes are double counted in Impounds and Miscellaneous. The Miscellaneous section correctly notes that the first half year taxes ($1,434.64) are due April 30th. Given the Settlement document expects pre-paid interest until 5/1, my County taxes will be paid prior to the loan closing out of my existing escrow.
The escrow balance as of May 1st will be $1,132.80. The total 3/27 escrow amount was $2,284.60. Add to that the April escrow payment of $282.84, and the April balance prior to paying first half year County taxes will be $2,567.44. The first half year County taxes will be deducted in April ($1,434.64), so by the end of April but before the May mortgage payment, the escrow will be $1,132.80. Let’s just pretend this thing closes before 5/1 and not include the May escrow payment in our figures.
The next ½ year taxes are due in October. May, June, July, August, September and October equals 6 months at $239.11/mo or $1,434.66 – not the 9 months listed in the Settlement document.
Homeowners insurance is due August 30th. May, June, July and August are 4 months, not the 11 listed on the Settlement agreement. Four months at $43.73/mo = $174.92.
Add up those two ($1434.66 for taxes and $174.92 for insurance) equals $1,609.58, not the $2,633.02 listed on the Settlement. These numbers include the extra two months required to fund escrow between the May closing and the July funding dates. That $1,609.58 pays the escrow needed in full, even without the $1,132.80 surplus existing in the escrow account on May 1st which allows both fees to be paid in the month prior to the due date.
Please explain how you calculated the number of months of required escrow for both the Homeowner’s Insurance and the County Property Taxes within the Impounds section of the Settlement document. The difference between the Loan Disclosure document and the Settlement document for these two line items is $3,152.66.
Other Fees – Prepaid Interest
Prepaid interest is double counted and grossly inflated. The Disclosure document has a prepaid interest fee of -$59. This fee appears twice in the Settlement document, once under Loan Charges ($731.95) for interest from 4/6 to 5/1 and then again under Payoff(s) and Payment(s) as ‘Interest Per Demand to 4/30/2017’ ($2,098.52). Together pre-paid interest goes from a Disclosed -$59 to a Settlement total of $2,830.47, a difference of $2,889.47. Can you explain?
Other Fees – Previously Undisclosed Fees
Within the Payoff(s) and Payment(s) section of the Settlement document, I was under the impression PMI goes to FHA, not the lender. Neither the $88 Recording fee to the lender, nor the $228.30 PMI fee to the lender were disclosed in the Disclosure document. These additional undisclosed fees total $376.30. I understand both of these fees are reasonable and customary as PMI is a feature of my existing loan.
Total Costs
The total closing costs went from a Disclosed $5,466 to a Settlement amount of $8,205.90, a 150% increase from disclosure to settlement. Borrower fees at close went from -$1,620 to -$150.60.
Finally, despite the fact that I’ve paid down the loan in the last several months, and was supposed to see a discount, my total loan amount remains at $248,000. That seems dubious.
We won’t be signing any documents until these discrepancies are adequately explained and addressed. Please address your response to me in writing. I will not discuss this over the phone.
Hi Urbanplanner
Thanks for commenting. I agree with you but point out that it is useless to waste time wringing hands or lamenting or expecting “law” to solve problems. I am a lawyer too but have watched the globalists (and others) destroy the good that I had found about my area of the law (intellectual property). Cant fight a decomposition process. Need to walk away and start the Next Big Thing, which is self sufficient or at least resilient communities based on real law and real truth (“natural law”), which we obtain via philosophy and science.
There is no justice in America… No equity. No fairness. No truth (only false news). No “society” per se. Just the smelly unpleasant rottenness of a former society that is decomposing. The dark ages have arrived but no one got the memo.
“Didn’t there used to be a law about this?”… We used to have some useful man-made laws that helped us build a wonderful society. That is all gone. However, natural law remains and we can build based on real truth, real equity real justice based on natural law.
Michael Greer has a great understanding of a path forward, based on a contrived “religion” wherein each person focuses on this natural law, from which things like truth, beauty, fairness arise. His Druid religion has a goofy name and strange history but in practice, a practitioner must study the biology/chemistry/physics (ie. natural law) of his/her immediate environment and apply that knowledge with philosophy to prosper (via a local resilient community). This in fact was the formula for success in the last dark ages. Need to withdraw from the rot, and build locally. In my opinion, it does no good to give or receive speeches in the UN or on Capital Hill or expect the racketeers to “give” us truth, justice etc. Sure, there used to be a law about this and many things, but in my opinon the solution to the problem is to move on and not look back so much…
When the Titantic was sinking it made no sense for an individual to float in the water and try to hold the boat up up with his hands. The best strategy was to move away as fast and as far away as possible (if any lifeboats seats leftover after rich pick the best) to avoid getting pulled under and sinking with the ship.
Mots
Mots - thanks. I completely agree. I was being rhetorical. My closest and best connection and community comes from the CSA organic farm I work with a dozen other ladies (plus Randy). Those farm days I go from muck boots to evening hearings in make up and a suit are crazy, but I love showing up to the bench (I’m a hearing examiner) with a farmer tan. My life is resilient in odd ways.
PS I’m not a lawyer; I just play one with varying degrees of credibility. WA State lets us AICP (American Institute of Certified Planner) types with additional legal training adjudicate land use disputes and sometimes (bizarrely), simple misdemeanors.
