How One Retailer Is Preparing For The Financial Apocalypse

Zero Hedge first revealed Overstock's contingency plans "in preparation for the next collapse" ten days ago. Today, the strategy outlined by Overstock Chairman Jonathan Johnson has resonated across the Atlantic and this morning as the Financial Times catches up to the story of an "online retailer hoarding gold as crisis defense" in which it calls the retailer a "redoubt of doomsday conservatism" adding its policy to prepare for the loss of central-planning control is "redolent of the small band of US survivalists preparing for the end of civilisation."

The FT reports that Jonathan Johnson, Overstock’s "anti-establishment leader", told the Financial Times it has "stashed away $10m in gold and silver coins as an insurance policy against financial apocalypse" and that it keeps "precious metals outside the banking system so the company could pay employees even if lenders slammed shut in a crisis." 

Mr Johnson, who is running to be Utah governor, said Overstock also kept extra freeze-dried food so it had enough to feed each employee and one family member for three months.

“We thought there’s a decent chance that there could be a banking holiday at some point caused by a crisis and it could last for two days or two weeks or who knows how long, and we wanted to be in a position where we could continue to operate during any such crisis,” he said. 

Overstock’s gold stash will resonate with libertarian conservatives who distrust the Federal Reserve and Wall Street and view gold as a refuge from government attempts to inflate and control the economy.

According to the FT, Overstock's stockpile "makes up about 10 per cent of the company’s liquid assets."

The Nikkei's most recent media acquisition also notes that in an "act of rebellion against financial convention", Patrick Byrne, its chief executive, "is a strident libertarian who champions bitcoin, the virtual currency, and its immunity from government money-printing."

Well, if the company had converted all of its fiat currency in bitcoin two months ago, it would have doubled in value as of yesterday now that the predicted Chinese exodus into the digital currency has been unleashed.

Mr Johnson said Overstock’s board had approved its accumulation of gold and silver after the last financial crisis when the Fed’s policy of quantitative easing, which he called dangerously “irresponsible”, was in full swing.

So with the Fed jawboning for a rate hike, and ZIRP expected to end in 6 weeks (the way it "ended" in Japan in August 2000), has Overstock's gloomy outlook changed? Not at all: "On the bullion hoarding policy, he said: “It was put in place during quantitative easing. It’s in place now and we don’t see a reason to change it.” 

“Gold is just one of the financial contingency plans that Overstock puts in place,” he said. “We also have contingencies if sales don’t come in as expected.”

The FT concludes by poking fun of preppers and those who think the world's biggest experiment in central planning intervention will end the way central planning interventions always have - in absolute disaster:  

"Overstock’s policy is redolent of the small band of US survivalists preparing for the end of civilisation, but Mr Johnson said he himself was not a “prepper”.

We'll spare judgment on Overstock's policy and Johnson's "prepperness" since the final chapter of the financial crisis - namely the so-called unwind of emergency measures - has yet to be written.

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Finally for those who missed it and who would rather make up their own mind about the strategy, here are the key highlights from Johnson's speech presented first here in late October:

We are not big fans of Wall Street and we don't trust them. We foresaw the financial crisis, we fought against the financial crisis that happened in 2008; we don't trust the banks still and we foresee that with QE3, and QE4 and QE n that at some point there is going to be another significant financial crisis.

So what do we do as a business so that we would be prepared when that happens. One thing that we do that is fairly unique: we have about $10 million in gold, mostly the small button-sized coins, that we keep outside of the banking system. We expect that when there is a financial crisis there will be a banking holiday. I don't know if it will be 2 days, or 2 weeks, or 2 months. We have $10 million in gold and silver in denominations small enough that we can use for payroll. We want to be able to keep our employees paid, safe and our site up and running during a financial crisis.

We also happen to have three months of food supply for every employee that we can live on.

His full presentation before the UPMA is below:

Credit to Zero Hedge

The White House Is Preparing for a Chinese EMP Attack

Why is the White House practicing for total darkness?

It is counterintuitive to believe that the Chinese would ever launch an EMP attack upon Taiwan or the United States for that matter. My closest colleagues believe that the Chinese would not destroy the power grid of a country that they own the country’s debt. My colleagues reason that China needs an intact America from which to collect its debt and therefore, no EMP attack is forthcoming. On the surface, I agree with my colleagues’ logic, but no matter how many times I dismiss the possibility of the use of EMP weapons by China, I keep finding strong evidence to the contrary.

In the last couple of days, Lisa Haven has been writing about how the Obama administration is practicing for a grid down scenario that involves the White House. This is yet, another confirmation of the fact that we are about to be hit by an EMP. Now Lisa, believes that any grid down scenario will result from natural solar flare forces and it might. However, the evidence continues to point in the direction of a controlled event resulting in the the use of EMP weapons on the United States and possibly Taiwan. The Chinese have their fingerprints all over this scenario. And as will be revealed, a total grid down scenario need not take place for the Chinese to target specific facilities through their development of localized EMP weapons.

Declassified Intelligence Reports Reveal the Chinese First Strike EMP Option

A declassified intelligence report, obtained by the private National Security Archive, provides details on China’s EMP weapons as well as the plans for their use.

The report details how much of China’s military is developing EMP weapons that the Chinese plan to use against  targeted U.S. aircraft carriers with regard to any future conflict over Taiwan. Parts of the National Ground Intelligence Center study on the lethal effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and high-powered microwave (HPM) weapons revealed that the arms are part of what China refers to as the “assassin’s mace”. This  arsenal of EMP weapons allows a technologically inferior China to defeat U.S. military forces while leaving much of the surrounding infrastructure intact. The report further states “For use against Taiwan, China could detonate at a much lower altitude (30 to 40 kilometers) … to confine the EMP effects to Taiwan and its immediate vicinity and minimize damage to electronics on the mainland.”

The  once labeled “top secret ” report, revealed that Chinese military writings have emphasized the importance of building low-yield EMP warheads. The report said that future Chinese EMP weapons should emphasize developing “any low-yield strategic nuclear warhead (or tactical nuclear warheads) could be used with similar effects. The DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile was prominently mentioned as a platform for the EMP attack against a country such as Taiwan”.  Of course, this strategy has definitive applicability in its use against the United States.

According to the report, this “trump card” or “assassin’s mace” weapons that are based on new technology, has been developed in high secrecy. Trump card would be applicable if the Chinese have developed new low-yield, possibly enhanced, EMP warheads, while assassin’s mace would apply if older warheads are employed, the report said.

The Chinese Are Producing EMP Weapons Which Target Humans

Americans have been told by our corporate controlled media that EMP weapons will have no impact on human beings. These reports are a bold faced lie as this same report went on to detail how the Chinese have conducted EMP tests on mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and monkeys.  The results of the mammal directed EMP test results produced eye, brain, bone marrow and other significant organ injuries. It stated that “it is clear the real purpose of the Chinese medical experiments is to learn the potential human effects of exposure to powerful EMP and high-powered microwave radiation.”  The report also concluded that these human based EMP tests may have been conducted to determine safety or shielding standards for military personnel or weapons.

My sources tell me that Chinese plans for nuclear EMP strikes against the United States are part of Chinese military doctrine and there is also evidence that China has already developed a set of super-EMP nuclear weapons that produce powerful EMP fields, but with EMP related effects that can be contained to specific geographic locations. There is no doubt  that the Chinese are perfecting task-specific EMP weapons to a degree that is now known outside of classified circles.

Conclusion

The Chinese Solar Energy Zones are no doubt part of the Chinese plans to  employ a localized EMP strike against America designed to disable its command and control as well as any local military forces which would resist a joint Chinese/Russian takeover of the United States. The missing nukes, as reported by Alex Jones, are the fail safe component of this plan.

I became very suspicious of the Chinese Solar Energy Zones when I discovered that they were adjacent to major military bases. For example, the planned Solar Energy Zone on the Bundy Ranch is located near Nellis AFB. The same is true as these Solar Energy Zones in Arizona which are located adjacent to Luke AFB flight operations. I believe that there can be no doubt that these Chinese Solar Energy Zones are being strategically placed, through the efforts of Senator Harry Reid, adjacent to major American defense installations in order to neutralize their military operations when the time is right. The neutralization element will consist of a localized EMP weapon. These suspicions are further enhanced as the Bundy’s are reporting the presence of Chinese soldiers on their ranch.

Chinese solar energy zones makes a lot of sense. If one was going to take the grid down through an EMP attack, alternative energy source would prove invaluable in the aftermath if military occupation is a goal.

Credit to Common Sense

Obama Sets The Stage For U.S. Showdown With Russia

Battleground between the United States and Russia, with the forces of NATO and the forces of Syria, Iran, and China backing the two powerhouses respectively. 

On the rape epidemic of Swedish women and children by Muslim

Sweden, as you know is the undisputed Muslim rape capital of Europe thanks to the mass importation of third world Muslim savages. Right now, one out of four Swedish women can expect to be raped by a Muslim.



Credit to Bare Naked Islam

Muslim Man Warns Germans: "We Will Marry Your Daughters And Conquer You With Births"

A week ago, we showed a video of what we hoped was not representative of the general sentiment among Germans towards the refugee crisis  as two ladies suggested, "Every year 2-3 million arrive...it’s generally about foreign infiltration." Now we have the other side as the following video shows a muslim man threatening a German that "his daughter will wear a headscarf and marry a Muslim and that Germans stand no chance with their low birth rate," adding that muslims will will "conquer Europe not with weapons, but with birth rates."

This, according to the mulsimman in the video, is the alleged punishment by Allah, the almighty god himself, for the acts of "colonizing and exploiting their countries so they can drive Mercedes and have digital cameras".

Given this video, whether right-wing propaganda or not, as we detailed previously, anger is spilling over to the common people: "In Freiberg in Saxony on Sunday evening demonstrators tried to stop asylum seekers reaching a refugee centre. The protesters tried to stop a bus with refugees from driving further down the road by staging a sit-in.

Some people threw apples at the bus, while others set off bangers, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

Around 50 counter-demonstrators also turned up to the anti-refugee sit-in and there were tense verbal stand-offs between the two groups, although police confirmed the situation did not escalate into violence."

Meanwhile in Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania, two local politicans have been threatened by people with presumed far right motives, reports the Hamburg Abendblatt.

...

And with xenophobia slowly on the rise, the far-right elements are stirring: "Meanwhile in Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania, two local politicans have been threatened by people with presumed far right motives, reports the Hamburg Abendblatt."

Patrick Dahlemann of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) had his car attacked with butyric acid. The foul smelling chemical was poured onto his vehicle.

On his Facebook page Dahlemann said that he would not be intimidated in his efforts to foster a “a real culture of hospitality” in the poor north-eastern state.

Party colleague Susann Wippermann also suffered threats when an unknown person wrote “traitor to the nation” on her car windscreen.

This follows a warning last week from the Federal Office of Investigation (BKA) which warned that politicians who support refugees face increased danger of attack from far right groups. Earlier in October Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker was stabbed while campaigning for election by an assailant with self-declared anti-refugee motives.

*  *  *

As Raul Ilargi Meijer recently noted, however, this ignorance and denial threatens to lead to a needless increase in nationalism, fascism, violence, misery, death and warfare. If we were to acknowledge that the change is inevitable, and prepare ourselves accordingly, much of this could be avoided.

There are two main engines of change that have started to transform the Europe we think we know.

First, a mass migration spearheaded by the flight of refugees from regions in the world which Europeans have actively helped descend into lethal chaos.

Second, an economic downturn the likes of which hasn’t been seen in 80 years or so (think Kondratieff cycle).

Negative ideas about refugees are already shaping everyday opinion and politics in many places, and this will be greatly exacerbated by the enormous economic depression that for now remains largely hidden behind desperate sleight-of-hands enacted by central bankers, politicians and media.

*  *  *

And now we have Merkel...

• *MERKEL SAYS REFUGEES IN GERMANY MUST STICK TO THE RULES
• *MERKEL: MUST BE CLEARER ABOUT RETURNING FAILED ASYLUM-SEEKERS
• *MERKEL: 2 EU PILLARS UNDER ATTACK IN EURO, FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
• *MERKEL: BUSINESS SHOULD SEE REFUGEE CRISIS AS OPPORTUNITY

In other words - you're welcome!

 Credit to Zero Hedge

Nearly 60 Percent Of All U.S. Adults Are On Prescription Drugs

If you have a health problem, even if it is just an imaginary one, some giant pharmaceutical company out there is probably making a pill for it.  According to shocking new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 59 percent of all U.S. adults are on at least one prescription drug, and 15 percent of all U.S. adults are on at least five prescription drugs.  These numbers have never been higher, and they tell us that the United States is the most drugged nation on the entire planet.  And it turns out that pushing these drugs on the American people is extremely profitable.  For instance, Americans spent 100 billion dollars on cancer drugs alone last year.  That isn’t “million” with an “m” – that is “billion” with a “b”.  The profits that some of these pharmaceutical companies are making are absolutely obscene, and it is our pain and suffering that is making them rich.

So why is prescription drug use rising so rapidly?  As noted above, 15 percent of us are now taking 5 or more of these drugs on a regular basis, but back in 1999 that number was sitting at just 8.2 percent.

This newly released report blames much of the problem on obesity…

The population is getting older, but that doesn’t explain it, Kantor said. The pattern looks more related to obesity, which is steadily rising, More than two-thirds of the adult U.S. population is overweight or obese, and many suffer the heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders that go along with being too heavy.

And without a doubt, we have an epidemic of obesity in the United States.  The following facts on American obesity come from from my recent article entitled “America #1? 36 Facts That Prove That The United States Is An ‘Exceptional’ Nation“…

#1 According to a brand new report that was just released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States has the fattest population in the entire industrialized world by a wide margin.

#2 That same report from the OECD also found that we are number one in child obesity.  In fact, at 38 percent our rate of childhood obesity is even higher than our overall rate of obesity.

#3 According to USA Today, the obesity rate in the United States has more than doubled over the past 25 years.

But the truth is that obesity is only part of the story.  Drug use of all types is soaring, and commercials for the latest and greatest drugs seem to run around the clock on virtually every television network.  Here are some more specific numbers from this newly released report…

In the study, blood pressure drugs were among the most prescribed, increasing from 20% of adults in 1999-2000 to 27% in 2011-2012.

Statins increased from 6.9% to 17%; antidepressants increased from 6.8% 13%; antidiabetic drugs increased from 4.6% to 8.2%;and tranquilizers and sedatives increased from 4.2% to 6.1%.

The increase in the use of antidepressants really disturbs me.  They are often prescribed needlessly, and they can have some extremely negative side effects.

In particular, I think that it is important to mention that nearly every single mass shooter in the United States in recent years has been on antidepressants.  The mainstream media never talks about this connection because the pharmaceutical companies purchase gobs of advertising time from them.  But the reality of the matter is that these drugs can cause people to behave in extremely irrational ways.  Even the Mayo Clinic admits this…

Most antidepressants are generally safe, but the Food and Drug Administration requires that all antidepressants carry black box warnings, the strictest warnings for prescriptions. In some cases, children, teenagers and young adults under 25 may have an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants, especially in the first few weeks after starting or when the dose is changed.

Of course that is a very watered down version of the truth, and if you start seriously digging into this you will soon discover a whole host of absolutely horrifying stories.

But the pharmaceutical companies are never going to stop what they are doing, because it is making them exceedingly wealthy.  As I mentioned above, Americans spent 100 billion dollars on cancer drugs last year, and the big drug firms love milking cancer patients for all that they are worth.  According to NBC News, two of the latest cancer drugs that have been developed “are priced at $12,500 a month“.

How do executives at those companies sleep at night?

They are getting rich from price gouging cancer patients.

How disgraceful is that?

Here are some more statistics about the drugging of America that come from one of my previous articles…

–According to the CDC, approximately 9 out of every 10 Americans that are at least 60 years old say that they have taken at least one prescription drug within the last month.

–There is an unintentional drug overdose death in the United States every 19 minutes.

–In the United States today, prescription painkillers kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined.

–According to the CDC, approximately three quarters of a million people a year are rushed to emergency rooms in the United States because of adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs.

–The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.

–Children in the United States are three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants as children in Europe are.

–A shocking Government Accountability Office report discovered that approximately one-third of all foster children in the United States are on at least one psychiatric drug.

–A survey conducted for the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that more than 15 percent of all U.S. high school seniors abuse prescription drugs.

–Many of these antidepressants contain warnings that “suicidal thoughts” are one of the side effects that should be expected.  The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 rose by close to 30 percent between 1999 and 2010.  The number of Americans that are killed by suicide now exceeds the number of Americans that die as a result of car accidents every year.

So what is your take on all of this?

Do you have any prescription drug horror stories to share?

Credit to End of the American Dream

BANKSTER MANIPULATION VS. CYCLES