George Soros taking his money out of the market

US Sends "Tankbuster" Jets To Europe Over Russia Fears After Germany Says "A Large Scale War Could Develop"

Karl-Georg Wellmann, a lawmaker in Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union has warned that, despite its efforts to avoid arms being provided to Ukraine, Germany "will no longer be able to stop weapons deliveries from from the U.S. and Canada."Almost too coincidental to these comments, CNN reports, the U.S. Air Force is sending its A-10 "tankbusters" back to Europe in order to"increase rotational presence in Europe to reassure our allies and partner nations that our commitment to European security is a priority." As Wellmann ominously concludes,seemingly confirming Putin's warning yesterday that if Kiev aims at a military solution, war will never end, "a large-scale war could develop out of that."

As Bloomberg reports, Germany May Be Unable to Stop Weapons to Ukraine, Lawmaker Says

Karl-Georg Wellmann, a lawmaker in Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and chairman of the German-Ukrainian parliamentary group, tells newspaper Tagesspiegel that Germany won’t be able to halt U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine to fight Russian-supported separatists.

"We will no longer be able to stop weapons deliveries from from the U.S. and Canada" after rebel gains in the strategic town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine, Wellmann tells Tagesspiegel in interview

"A large-scale war could develop out of that," Wellmann says

Wellmann says further economic sanctions against Russia are "unavoidable," Tagesspiegel says

And so, as CNN reports, The US is sending in the Warthogs...

The U.S. Air Force is sending its "tankbusters" back to Europe.

The service's European Command said this week that 12 A-10 Thunderbolts would be deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which was formed after Russia's intervention in Ukraine over the past year.

"The Air Force is increasing rotational presence in Europe to reassure our allies and partner nations that our commitment to European security is a priority," Lt. Gen. Tom Jones, vice commander, United States Air Forces in Europe -- Air Forces Africa, said in a statement.

The Air Force said besides operating in Germany, the A-10s will be forward deployed to other partner nations in Eastern Europe. U.S. forces have operated out of bases in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland, among others, in the past year.

The A-10, also known as the "Warthog," was designed in the 1970s to support ground troops in Europe against the tanks and armored vehicles of the then-Soviet Union. Though the jets can carry a variety of bombs and missiles, they are best known for their nose-mounted, seven-barrel 30 mm Gatling gun that can fire almost 4,000 rounds per minute, enough to quickly blow apart a tank. The planes are also durable, with the pilot protected from ground fire by a wrapping of titanium often called "the bathtub." And they are designed for easy maintenance in battlefield areas, with interchangeable parts for the right and left sides of the aircraft.

*  *  *

Not exactly the act of a peace-seeking force following a "truce"? But then again... Washington was not included in the Minsk Summit so apparently feels free to stir things up explicitly.

 Credit to Zero Hedge

Super Black Moon Today

Deadline To Avoid Financial Chaos In Europe Is March 1st

Europe is on the verge of a horrifying financial meltdown, and there are only a few short weeks left to avert total disaster.  On Monday, talks that were supposed to bring about yet another temporary “resolution” to the Greek debt crisis completely fell apart.  The new Greek government has entirely rejected the idea of a six month extension of the current bailout.  

The Greeks want a new deal which would enable them to implement the promises that have been made to the voters.  But that is not going to fly with the Germans, among others.  They expect the Greeks to fulfill the obligations that were agreed to previously.  The two sides are not even in the same ballpark at this point, and things are starting to get very personal.  It is no secret that the new Greek government does not like the Germans, and the Germans are not particularly fond of the Greeks at this point.  

But unless they can find a way to work out a deal, things could get quite messy very rapidly.  The Greek government has about three weeks of cash left, and any changes to the current bailout arrangement would have to be approved by parliaments all over Europe by March 1st.  And the stakes are incredibly high.  

If there is no deal, we could see a Greek debt default, Greece could be forced to leave the eurozone and go back to the drachma, the euro could collapse to all time lows, all the banks all over Europe that are exposed to Greek government debt could be faced with absolutely massive losses, and the 26 trillion dollars in derivatives that are directly tied to the value of the euro could start to unravel.  In essence, if things go badly this could be enough to push us into a global financial crisis.

On Monday, eurozone officials tried to get the Greeks to extend the current bailout package for six months with the current austerity provisions in place.  Greek government officials responded by saying that “those who bring this back are wasting their time” and that those negotiating on behalf of the eurozone are being “unreasonable”…

A Greek government official said that a draft text presented to eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday spoke of Greece extending its current bailout package and as such was “unreasonable” and would not be accepted.

Without specifying who put forward the text to the meeting chaired by Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the official said: “Some people’s insistence on the Greek government implementing the bailout is unreasonable and cannot be accepted.”

Most observers have speculated that the new Greek government would give in to the demands of the rest of the eurozone when push came to shove.

But these new Greek politicians are a different breed.  They are not establishment lackeys.  Rather, they are very principled radicals, and they are not about to be pushed around.  I certainly do not agree with their politics, but I admire the fact that they are willing to stand up for what they believe.  That is a very rare thing these days.

On Monday, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis shared the following in the New York Times…

I am often asked: What if the only way you can secure funding is to cross your red lines and accept measures that you consider to be part of the problem, rather than of its solution? Faithful to the principle that I have no right to bluff, my answer is: The lines that we have presented as red will not be crossed.

Does that sound like a man that is going to back down to you?

Meanwhile, the other side continues to dig in as well.

Just consider the words of the German finance minister…

Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, accused the Greek government of “behaving irresponsibly” by threatening to tear up agreements made with the eurozone in return for access to the loans which are all that stand between Greece and financial collapse.

“It seems like we have no results so far. I’m quite skeptical. The Greek government has not moved, apparently,” he said.

“As long as the Greek government doesn’t want a program, I don’t have to think about options.”

Global financial markets are still acting as if they fully expect a deal to get done eventually.

I am not so sure.

And without a doubt, time is running short.  As I mentioned above, something has got to be finalized by March 1st.  The following comes from the Wall Street Journal…

Any changes to the content or expiration date of Greece’s existing €240 billion ($273 billion) bailout have to be decided by Friday, to give national parliaments in Germany, Finland and the Netherlands enough time to approve them before the end of the month. Without such a deal, Greece will be on its own on March 1, cut loose from the rescue loans from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund that have sustained it for almost five years.

So what happens if there is no deal and Greece is forced to leave the eurozone?

Below, I have shared an excerpt from an article that details what Capital Economics believes would happen in the event of a “Grexit”…

• The drachma would be back. The euro would be effectively abandoned, and Greece would return to the drachma, its previous currency (it might take a new name). The drachma would likely tumble in value against the euro as soon as it was issued, and how much the government could print quickly would be a big issue.
• It would have to be fast, with capital controls. There would be people trying to pull their money out of Greece’s banks en masse. The Greek government would have to make that illegal pretty quickly. The European Central Bank drew up Grexit plans in 2012, and might be dusting them off now.
• European life support for Greek banks would be withdrawn. Greek banks can currently access emergency liquidity assistance from the ECB, which would be removed if Greece left the euro.
• Likely unrest and disorder. Barclays expects that this sudden economic collapse would “aggravate social unrest”, and notes that historically similar moves have caused a 45-85% devaluation of the currency. Capital Economics suggests that the drop could be more mild, closer to 20%, and Oxford Economics says 30%.
• Greece would resume economic policymaking. Greece’s central bank would probably start doing its own QE programme, and the government would likely return to running deficits, no longer restrained by bailout rules (though investors would probably want large returns, given the risk of another default).
• Inflation would spike immediately, but both Capital Economics and Oxford Economics say that should be temporary. It might look a bit like Russia this year — with the new currency in freefall until it finds its level against the euro, prices inside Greece would rise at dramatic speed. The inflation might be temporary, however, because with unemployment above 20%, Greece has plenty of spare labour slack to produce more.

That certainly does not sound good.

And once Greece leaves, everyone would be wondering who is next, because there are quite a few other deeply financially troubled nations in the eurozone.

David Stockman believes that Spain is a prime candidate…

In spite of the “recovery” in Spain, close to 24% are still unemployed. That statistic explains Pessimism in the Streets.

The crisis is here to stay according to significant majority of Spaniards. The general perception is that the current situation in which the country is negative and far from getting better, can only stay stagnant or even worse.

A Metroscopia poll published in El País makes it clear that the Spanish are unhappy with the current state of the country. Five out of six (83%) see the economic situation as “bad”, while more than half of the remaining perceive “regular”.

Right now, Europe is already teetering on the brink of an economic depression.

If this Greek debt crisis is not resolved, it could set in motion a chain of events which could start collapsing financial institutions all over Europe.

Yes, we have been here before and a deal has always emerged in the end.

But this time is different.  This time very idealistic radicals are running things in Greece, and the “old guard” in Europe has no intention of giving in to them.

So let’s watch and see how this game of “chicken” plays out.

I have a feeling that it is not going to end well.

Credit to Economic Collapse

Vandals set fire at Florida church, write 'Allahu Akbar'

MELBOURNE, Fla. -

A possible hate crime is under investigation after a fire was set at a Central Florida church, where vandals also spray-painted "Allahu Akbar."
The incident happened around 3 a.m. Monday at the New Shiloh Christian Church in Melbourne on Sarno Road. About 1,500 members attend the church.

Melbourne police said officers and firefighters discovered the blaze after a fire alarm sounded. Arson was the expected cause, police said.

Fire sprinklers helped contain the flames to a storage unit connected to the 125,000-square-foot building.

The words "Allahu Akbar" were spray-painted on the storage unit. "Allahu Akbar" is an Arabic phrase typically translated as "God is great" and is a common expression used in various contexts.

A swastika was also scrawled on church property. Inside the swastika was written, "We see u."

"To find something like that in 2015 is unbelievable. It's just disheartening," said New Shiloh Christian Church Bishop Jacquelyn Gordon. "They told us that this is definitely a hate crime and that they're going to patrol our area even more and just look out for us and they thought it was senseless and I feel the same way."

Police have not confirmed to Local 6 that the case is being investigated as a hate crime, but say they are investigating the fire and vandalism as arson and criminal mischief.

"I would just say that everything is being looked at. All avenues are going to be explored. If it meets that criteria, that would be something that would be looked at," said Lt. Cheryl Trainer.



Police told Local 6 they are hesitant to label the case as a hate crime because they don't want to alarm the public. They said they will determine if the graffiti was done at the same time as the vandalism and arson to determine if it is, in fact, a hate crime. At this time they are calling it arson and criminal mischief.

Damage to the church property was estimated to be about $5,000.

Gordon said her staff tried to spray paint over the message to hide it.

"It really took a lot out of me when I drove up and I saw that sign on the side of the building because I'm preaching God is love, why would someone take the time to put a sign up to show hatred," Gordon said.

No information about the arsonist or arsonists was known, and a police investigation is ongoing.

The FBI told Local 6, “We are aware of the incident and reviewing the matter.”

Gordon said is the second time in less than two weeks that vandals have targeted her building, which is in the process of being remodeled.

The church said it plans to increase security while members are there. The bishop said he will tell congregants Wednesday evening what happened.

"The one thing I really want them to do is not to be afraid," said Bishop Jacquelyn Gordon. "We're going to have people walking around surrounding the area every time we have service here to make sure people are safe and nothing happens on our watch."

Credit to Clickorlando.com

Cyborg Control "Brain Implants"

NETHERLANDS MP Geert Wilders vilifies Dutch Parliament over its “cowardly cuddling of Islam”

“A month ago, I called on this government to wake up. To recognize ISLAM as the cause of all the terror and misery in the world today.” 

**Some Excerpts**

I called on government to close our borders. End Islamization. Let Jihadists leave and never allow them to return to the Netherlands. Nothing changed. And the Netherlands now faces the biggest threat since World War II, the result of  incredibly dangerous political correctness. All we see are double standards, a selective indignation, a cowardly cuddling of Islam.

Meanwhile, the dhimmi government is providing extra support to Muslims in the Netherlands. As if nothing has happened. As if the problem in our country is that we have not enough Islam.  

This government is still refusing to acknowledge that Islam, this sick ideology of Allah and Muhammad, this ideology of hatred and violence, is the cause of all the misery and terror. Everyone who is critical or even dares to be critical about Islam or its so-called prophet Muhammad, depicts him in a cartoon, ridicules or insults him, signs his own death warrant. That these are not empty threats we have recently seen in Paris.

Research now reveals that there are as many as 100,000 Muslims in the Netherlands who in their faith find justification to use violence. We already knew that 80% of the Turkish youths in the Netherlands consider violence against Christians, Jews and non-believers to be OK. And that three quarters of those who leave to wage jihad are Moroccans.

Stop Islamization. Stop immigration. Stop the tsunami of asylum seekers. Do not allow the building of hate palaces, such as the Gouda mosque, anymore. Enough is enough!

Credit to Barenakedislam.com