Month: February 2019

Deutsche Bank: The Market’s Rally Makes No Sense

On Friday, when discussing the market’s miraculous reversal from the worst December since the Great Depression to the best January since 1987 (just a few months prior to Black Monday), we pointed out that “something strange happened: at a time when stocks had continued to surge of 6 consecutive weeks, investors were not buying it the market’s latest miraculous recovery, and according to EPFR, this week saw wildly risk-off flows with $9.4 billion allocated to bonds while $15.0 billion was pulled out of equities.“

Furthermore, as Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett pointed out in his latest Flow Show, not only were billions pulled out of US equity funds, with outflows on 10 of the past 11 weeks, culminating with $12.1BN in ETF outflows and $2.9BN in mutual funds outflows this week, but US equities have suffered record outflows in the past 3-months, amounting to $82.0BN, equivalent to a whopping 2% of all AUM, i.e. consistent with US equity bearishness at “events” & “big lows” of past decade.

Which prompted us to ask the question: was the recent rally just one giant short squeeze?

One look at the recent action in the dramatic surge in the most shorted stocks since the December 24 lows, certainly would suggest that with investors seemingly pulling money out of stocks, the move higher was largely if not entirely due to a panic scramble to cover shorts, due to Mnuchin’s appeal to the “plunge protection team” on Dec 23, and then to the Fed’s dramatic dovish reversal.

While we don’t know the answer – yet – we do know that this question of just who it was that bought stocks is puzzling not just us. As Deutsche Bank’s Parag Thatte writes in his latest weekly flows report, echoing precisely the question we raised on Friday, while the S&P 500 rallied +15% since late December, equity funds have continued to see large outflows. As Thatte elaborates, “US equity funds in particular have continued to see large outflows (-$40bn) since then, following massive outflows (-$77bn) through the sell-off from October to December.”

To Thatte this is rather bizarre because, as one would expect, “strong rallies eventually prompt inflows.” This is hardly a shock: after all, it is only human, and trader, nature that historically there is a strong correlation between equity market returns and fund flows. In other words, all else equal, this rally does not make sense.

As the Deutsche Banker points out, there have been very few periods when the market rose more than 5% accompanied by outflows. In two of those periods, after the early 2016 growth panic and the European financial crisis, inflows eventually returned with a few weeks lag. An exception was in early 2015 when outflows persisted as US data continued to weaken significantly.

That said, outflows have to (or at least, should) reverse soon for two reasons according to the DB strategist:

  • One, data surprises have turned up from negative to neutral and flows typically follow. The outflows in the last few weeks were in line with US data surprises turning negative. Data this week however has bounced up, especially with payrolls and the ISM surprising to the upside and our index of US data surprises, the MAPI, has returned to neutral again.

  • Two, with rates no longer falling hard the equity to bond rotation should abate. Falling rates and therefore fixed income rallies tend to draw inflows. Rates fell rapidly from November with the market re-pricing Fed expectations, and this week’s Fed announcement brought validation.

Of course, it is quite possible that outflows persist, in which case it is only a matter of time before the squeeze fizzles and the net selling returns, sending stocks lower once again. Until then, however, at least the hedge funds are enjoying their (brief) moment in the sun, with Equity long/short hedge funds having had the strongest month (January) since December 2010.

As Deutsche Bank notes, after a challenging 2018 – the worst year for the 2 and 20 community since the financial crisis – equity L/S kicked off 2019 with a strong start as returns of +3.7% were the strongest month since December 2010.

That said, the spike in HF performance wasn’t thanks to alpha generation, i.e. value added, but instead PMs invested in US equities were likely helped by the beta rally, long-short factor rally, and gross re-risking. In other words, the surge in the market coupled with the short squeeze helped net long funds. Some other observations: Deutsche Bank’s proprietary long-short Hedge Fund factors rallied as top $-longs outperformed top $-shorts; 1M Reversal rallied strongly YTD, while 12M-1M Momentum experienced a significant drawdown reflecting a strong reversal in winners and losers versus Jan-Nov’18.

* * *

So where does this put us?

Well, somewhat ironically, even though Donald Trump urged Americans to buy stocks on December 25, saying it’s a “tremendous opportunity to buy. Really a great opportunity to buy” – and in retrospect he was spot on – few did as the president adivsed, as the selling accelerated ovver the next month… and yet stocks did surge, as shorts got steamrolled and hedge funds had their best month in almost a decade.

How much longer will the “non-sensical” Trump rally continue? Perhaps the moment flows reverse, and investors start allocating capital to equities – as one would expect in any normal market – it is a safe bet to assume that that would mark the market peak, and the retest of the December 2018 lows will be on deck.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2t3znix Tyler Durden

Massive, Dueling Rallies Engulf Venezuela As Maduro Attempts Election Concessions

Massive dueling rallies filled the streets of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Saturday reflecting a deep divide over embattled President Nicolas Maduro’s rule as the country plunges further into unrest. But it appears Maduro has shown signs of bowing to the pressure as in a speech before supporters he floated the idea of holding early elections for the opposition-controlled National Assembly. 

Pro-Guaido protest in Caracas on Feb.2. Image source: Elyangelica News

Maduro said in a speech before thousands of supporters that he “agreed” and was “committed to holding parliamentary elections this year,” as demanded by the National Assembly. “They (the opposition) want to bring forward elections, let’s have elections,” he said defiantly just ahead of the Sunday deadline set by European nations to hold fresh presidential elections, though he stopped short of any reference to fresh presidential elections.

Mr Maduro addressed a rally in Caracas on Saturday and proposed bringing forward parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2020, to this year, as he sought to damp down demands for presidential elections.

He said the constituent assembly, which he controls, would debate ordering elections in the rival national assembly, which is opposition controlled and headed by Mr Guaido.

The suggestion will likely have little impact, however, as he ignored Mr Guaido and his supporters’ demands to resign, and stopped short of the four EU nations’ demand for presidential elections. — The Telegraph

Meanwhile Guaido’s massive level of support was not in dispute on Saturday. He personally addressed huge throngs in Caracas neighborhoods.

Supporters of Juan Guaido gathered in Caracas on Saturday. 

The morning began with headlines announcing the defection of a top air force general who declared US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido the sole legitimate head-of-state in a social media video which further urged the military to overthrow Maduro.

While there’s yet to be signs of any wave of military defections coming after Gen. Francisco Yanez, identified as part of the air force’s high command, urged the armed forces to change loyalties, anti-Maduro crowds filling streets throughout the country but mostly in Caracas have been estimated at between 400,000 and 600,000 people, with some journalists speculating that over a million nation-wide are in the streets in support of Juan Guaido.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton seized on the moment to say via Twitter just hours after: “The US calls on all military members to follow General Yanez’s lead, and to protect the peaceful protestors supporting democracy.” This came after Bolton announced late Friday that the US will begin humanitarian aid shipments into Venezuela, despite Maduro denying acceptance of such aid.

Guaido on Saturday said he would receive the aid to be shipped through Brazil and Colombia as “interim president” — though it remains unclear how this will happen other than via covert means so long as Maduro remains in charge of his loyal security forces and military. 

Live shots of pro-Madruo demonstrations were carried throughout the day by Russian media, however a number of western journalists disputed the apparent large size of the protests.

Bolton further appealed on Saturday directly “to the Venezuelan military high command” urging it to immediately “stand on the side of the Venezuelan people” in order to “defend the constitution and democracy for Venezuela!” — according to a tweet.

Social media was flooded with images of large anti-Maduro protests on Saturday.

Video in some cities appeared to show the police siding with the anti-Maduro demonstrations after reportedly refusing to disband the protests. 

While what seem’s like Bolton’s now full-time position as White House cheerleader for a coup has fueled new optimism and momentum inside Venezuela, there were also significant but reportedly much smaller pro-Maduro protests varying in size held across cities on Saturday, a trend the media has paid scant attention to the past weeks. 

However, the AFP confirmed massive rallies on both sides even as a number of analysts downplayed Maduro’s level of support:

Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Caracas on Saturday in rival displays for and against embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as an air force general became the highest-ranking officer to recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido as the crisis-torn country’s acting president.

The rival rallies, convened in different parts of the city, come on the eve of a deadline set by the EU and other European powers for Maduro to call “free elections” or have them recognise Guaido.

As journalists and analysts, most of them thousands of miles away from the streets of Venezuela, continue to debate online which side has more support, the real determining factor will be the loyalty of the military, which at this point doesn’t appear to be folding. 

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2WBQPrY Tyler Durden

Exhumed Remains Of Karl Marx To Run For US President

Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

Yesterday morning, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker became the latest socialist to throw his hat in the ring for the US Presidency…

He announced his candidacy with a new website and two-minute video full of the usual collective hoopla.

Bear in mind that Booker raised taxes by 20% while serving as mayor of the City of Newark, and as Senator he has been vocally in favor of everything from nationalized healthcare to so-called ‘baby bonds’ where the US Treasury manages savings accounts for new-born babies.

Booker joins an unparalleled group of socialists that are all coming for your wealth… Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Kristen Gillibrand.

And like the other candidates who have already called for a 70%+ progress income tax and a flat tax on wealth, Booker will no doubt support higher taxes.

(Booker has already proposed an increase to the US federal estate tax, a.k.a. ‘death tax’, to an unbelievable 65%!)

We’re still waiting for Bernie Sanders to officially announce– though he did make headlines yesterday calling for his own massive increase to the estate tax…

I mean… this group is so socialist I’m starting to think that someone is going to enter the exhumed remains of Karl Marx into the US Presidential race.

If you’ve been reading Notes, you know I believe the rise of socialism is one of the most important and threatening themes today.

There’s a big reason for this: wealth and income inequality continue to grow.

Over the last ten years, wealth of the richest billionaires more than doubled. Meanwhile the total wealth of the bottom 50% of the world’s population shrunk by 11% just in the last twelve months.

It’s always important to understand that this is nothing new. Throughout history, wealth has always been amassed by a small minority through either talent, brains, ambition, graft, or dumb luck.

And time is generally on their side. Wealthy people become wealthier year after year because they’re able to invest almost all of their net worth.

The average person in the middle class or working class can’t do that– they earn a fixed salary and have to spend almost all of it (if not more) on living expenses, leaving very little capital left over to invest.

They also have very little time left over to start a new business, or even learn new skills that could lead to higher income.

So their situation stagnates, especially as inflation creeps higher. Meanwhile the wealthiest individuals can keep reinvesting and compounding their gains.

That way, over time, wealthy people almost invariably become wealthier.

But 6,000 years of human history shows us that whenever too much wealth becomes concentrated at the top, it always gets redistributed by either socialist policies or violent revolution.

That’s what’s happening today.

And this new batch of Presidential candidates, gunning for the 2020 seat, want higher taxes, guaranteed employment, free education, free healthcare, universal basic income…

These are all wonderful concepts. But somebody has to pay for it all.

Already, even with an economy that’s been booming for the past several years, the US government is $22 trillion in debt and running $1+ trillion deficits. A recession, which is becoming more likely by the day, on its own would push the deficit into multi trillions of dollars.

And a host of socialist programs would send the thing into orbit.

This trend is only building. We’ll soon be living through one of the greatest redistributions of wealth in modern history.

The real insanity here is that, again, history shows that these approaches don’t work.

Elizabeth Warren wants to implement a wealth tax. But wealth taxes don’t work. Even Denmark, which people love to hold up as the shining example of Socialism, dumped its wealth tax because it just doesn’t work

But hey, why let facts get in the way of a terrible idea?

These people also want the government to run America’s already-crumbling healthcare system… because, if you can’t trust your life to the folks who spent $2 billion on a failed website, who can you trust?

To borrow from an old World War I saying, right now the situation is serious, but it’s not hopeless.

There’s still time to buttress your life and your livelihood against the second coming of Karl Marx.

And to continue learning how to ensure you thrive no matter what happens next in the world, I encourage you to download our free Perfect Plan B Guide.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2GjkKj5 Tyler Durden

Conflict Is Inevitable

Authored by Addison Flame via Off-Guardian.org,

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been absolutely apoplectic this past week watching the United States orchestrate a coup in Venezuela. It has been truly horrifying to watch these things play out in real time. How bold and brazen these thugs have become! They are doing this right out in the open, they hardly even try to hide it.

Sure, they try to whitewash it with their typical propaganda. They obfuscate key facts. They paint Maduro as a criminal. They pass around cheap slogans. Where once we heard, “You’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists”, now it’s, “either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem”. It’s disgusting.

It’s disgusting and horrifying and saddening, but if there is one thing we gain by watching this tragedy unfold, it is a certain clarity about the state of affairs in the world. It makes it clear that conflict is inevitable. I’m not talking about conflict in Venezuela, although conflict is likely to unfold there too, I’m talking about a much larger conflict. I’m talking about a global conflict that must eventually occur between two ideologically incompatible groups.

There is one group of people which considers war both necessary and routine. Some members of this group make their money building and selling bombs and guns and tanks and missiles. These people need wars, otherwise they don’t make any money. Other members of this group make their money by taking and selling the natural resources of other weaker nations. These members need wars to ensure they get easy access to the resources they want. Other members of this group make their money enslaving the poorest people in these subservient conquered nations, putting them to work in factories with inhumane working conditions for inhumane wages. Other members of this group are facilitators, working in government or media. They plan, organize, fight, and sell these wars to a largely unwitting public. All these groups of people have formed a close knit coalition, working together to control and exploit the people of the world for their own collective material gain.

But there is second group of people which is the polar opposite of this first group. These people hate war and love peace. They hate the idea of exploiting the poor. They hate the idea of destroying lives for profit. These people cannot and will never accept such exploitative behavior. Period.

Herein lies the conflict. One group wages wars for profit, the other cannot bear to see people slaughtered. One group exploits the poor, the other cares for the poor. One group destroys the environment and pollutes the earth, the other cares about sustainability and the health of the planet. One group rules by might, the other by principles of individual sovereignty, equality and justice.

This is the inevitable conflict which must eventually occur. These two groups will eventually clash, because there is no way for the one to reconcile with the other. As long as one group is making war, killing people for profit, the other group must struggle against them.

Of course this struggle is already taking place, probably it began a long time ago. Certainly battles between these groups raged in the 1960’s during the anti-war and civil rights movements, but for a time the people of peace were largely beaten back. For a few decades the rulers of this world went largely unchallenged, but tensions are rising again as the battle resumes.

For now the battle is being waged mostly as an information war. The peace loving people are fighting to expose the truths of what is occurring around the world, and the war mongers are fighting to keep those truths hidden. For some decades the rulers mostly maintained information superiority, they managed to keep the truth of their affairs hidden, but lately they are making mistakes.

Hence the silver lining to this Venezuela coup. It is truly disgusting to behold, but it is being done very carelessly and very much out in the open. Hopefully it will fail, hopefully Guaido will realize he’s a stooge and have a change of heart, hopefully the people of Venezuela will come together and not be overcome by the U.S. imperial efforts to destabilize their nation, but if this coup attempt does lead to chaos in Venezuela, it might nonetheless work against the war-mongers in the end. The whole world is watching these events unfold, people in all the nations of the world can see ever more clearly what is being done by these criminals, and they will not remain silent forever.

The people saw what happened in Iraq, they saw what happened in Libya, they saw what happened in Syria, and now they’re seeing the U.S. imperialists go to work on Venezuela. Each time, with each new intervention, the truth about what is actually going on becomes clearer, and this inevitable conflict gets nearer.

That this conflict is inevitable is obvious. That tensions are rising, especially as the imperialists have in recent years gone into a kind of militaristic overdrive, is also quite clear. What I believe is not so clear to many people, especially the peace loving people of the world, is that this conflict will eventually be incredibly violent. So this is the final point I want to make in this piece, that eventually this conflict is going to become violent, even for us peace loving folk.

That this conflict will eventually become violent derives from the very nature of the war-mongers who currently control the world. These people end human lives for profit. If some group of people joins together to stop them, what do you think their response will be? Will they simply step down? Will they acknowledge their crimes and submit to their fate? Will they relinquish their positions of power without a fight?

Why do you think the police all over the Western world have been militarized? Is it really, as they say, simply a kind of accident, the result of having a surplus of military equipment, or have they been preparing for an eventual popular uprising all along? These people are in the business of controlling populations. Do you think they have not considered the possibility that people might one day stand up against them? But of course they have considered this. They know as well as anyone that this conflict is inevitable, and so they have taken measures, well in advance, to protect them when it happens.

So this is the point, whoever is on side of peace needs to be prepared. Conflict is rising, and soon it will come to a head. When it finally does come to a head, there will be a great struggle, and great violence will be perpetrated against all those who stand up for peace. All of us should expect this, and we should prepare for it. If we truly want to succeed in this, if we want to end their tyranny once and for all, we need to be prepared to meet it and overcome it.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2S9ap0b Tyler Durden

Did Bezos’ Mistress’s Trump-Loving Brother Leak Explicit Texts To National Enquirer?

It has been a few weeks since we last checked in on the ongoing leak-fest surrounding Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his new squeeze, former “So You Think You Can Dance?” host Lauren Sanchez, but there have been some amusing developments in recent days that we believe warrant your attention.

Following a series of leaks of steamy text messages between Bezos and Sanchez, the furious billionaire tech CEO reportedly ordered his top security guru, Gavin de Becker to investigate the provenance of texts and determine who exactly leaked them to the National Enquirer. It’s believed that the texts were shared by somebody close to Sanchez, perhaps a close friend with whom she shared details about her not-so-secret relationship.

Sanchez

Lauren Sanchez and Bezos

But in the latest tawdry development in this story, de Becker purportedly traced the source of the texts to none other than Sanchez’s Trump-loving brother, Michael Sanchez, a Hollywood publicist and manager.

Sanchez

Michael Sanchez

Sanchez denied the allegations in an angry statement to Page Six, where he said he had told his sister to fire de Becker for dreaming up this “crazy conspiracy theory”

“I am not dignifying de Becker’s passive aggressive allegations or his crazy conspiracy theories,” Michael said in a statement to Page Six. “I’ve recommended that Lauren fire him as security for her and [her] children.”

De Becker, of course, has years of experience with this type of thing: He counts numerous Hollywood A-listers, including Madonna, as clients.

The security contractor responded to the statement by confirming that he had spoken with Michael, but that the investigation is ongoing. However, De Becker said that he strongly suspects “political motives” helped spur the leaks.

“Michael Sanchez has been among the people we’ve been speaking with and looking at.”  De Becker stressed that the investigation is ongoing. But he confirmed that “strong leads point to political motives.”

Since the texts were published, this snippet from the steamy exchange has become ingrained in the public consciousness and become the subject of countless jokes on Twitter.

“I want to smell you, I want to breathe you in. I want to hold you tight,” and “I love you, alive girl. I will show you with my body, and my lips and my eyes, very soon.”

Seemingly nobody is safe from scrutiny in De Becker’s probe. He has even investigated Lauren herself for possibly leaking the texts to the Enquirer, though the probe has reportedly uncovered “no evidence” that this was the case – or that Sanchez’s phone was hacked.

But allegations of political disagreements aside, somewhere, President Trump is reading the New York Post and quietly chuckling to himself.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2Typnd3 Tyler Durden

These Billionaires Are Issuing Terrifying Warnings About Global Debt Levels

Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

We write a lot about global debt levels at Sovereign Man.

In fact, the very first Notes from the Field I ever wrote, in June 2009, was about how broke the US was… and the severe consequences that eventually face a nation that recklessly spends money it doesn’t have.

And debt has been a major theme in this publication ever since.

As you know, since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, debt levels have only gotten worse. But not just for governments.

Sovereign debt, corporate debt and consumer debt are all at all-time highs.

The US government has $22 trillion of debt and is running $1 trillion+ deficits every year. There’s a record $15 trillion of corporate debt. And the US consumer has racked up around $4 trillion of debt (not including mortgages).

And you don’t have to take my word for it that this is all going to end badly…

Last week, one of the most respected hedge fund managers in the world came out with a warning scarier than anything we could have dreamed of.

Seth Klarman runs the $28 billion hedge fund, Baupost Group. The guy is famously secretive (and conservative). So the fact that he went out of his way to make this public statement means you should pay attention.

Also, Klarman’s fund is closed (he’s actually been returning money), so he’s not doing this to scare people into investing in his fund.

In a 22-page letter to his investors, Klarman warned that government debt levels, particularly in the US (where debt exceeds GDP), could lead to the next global financial crisis.

“The seeds of the next major financial crisis (or the one after that) may well be found in today’s sovereign debt levels,” he wrote.

In addition to debt levels, Klarman is worried about the increasing social unrest (something we’ve written about in detail) and the public’s inability to decipher who is telling the truth these days between politicians and the media… both of which make it difficult for a capitalist system to thrive.

Who knows what will ultimately bring the system crashing down, but let’s focus on the US government’s exploding deficits…

In 2018, the federal government’s deficit hit $1 trillion. But these are “good times,” with soaring asset prices, solid corporate profits and record-low unemployment.

What happens when a recession inevitably occurs. Our friend Jim Grant of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, says the deficit will blow out to $2 trillion.

So, $22 trillion in the whole and a $1 trillion deficit in a good year. Not to mention, interest rates are rising, which means all of this debt is just getting more expensive.

Eventually, people will simply refuse to lend Uncle Sam any more money… because they know there’s no way they’ll be repaid.

And we’re already seeing signs of that.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in the first eight months of 2018, overseas buyers of US Treasurys only bought half the amount they did over the same period in 2017.

From Klarman:

“There is no way to know how much debt is too much, but America will inevitably reach an inflection point whereupon a suddenly more skeptical debt market will refuse to continue to lend to us at rates we can afford…”

And when fewer people want your bonds, that means it’s more expensive to borrow. But the government can’t afford to pay any more…

The government already spends 28% of its revenue just on interest (at a time when interest rates are near all-time lows).

Ultimately, Klarman believes the debt (along with the massive wealth disparity caused by a 10-year asset price boom) will lead to social unrest…

“It is not hard to imagine worsening social unrest among a generation that is falling behind economically and feels betrayed by a massive national debt that was incurred without any obvious benefit to them.”

Again, this isn’t Sovereign Man speaking… it’s a bespectacled hedge fund manager out of Boston.

Another line from Klarman that comes straight from Notes… “By the time such a crisis hits, it will likely be too late to get our house in order.”

But Klarman isn’t the only billionaire alerting the public right now…

At the recent Davos gathering, Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, said he thinks the next downturn will be worse than the Great Depression.

And like Klarman, Dalio says the problem comes down to too much debt…

“The biggest issue is that there is only so much one can squeeze out of a debt cycle and most countries are approaching those limits”.

The world is drowning in debt. And there’s no austerity measures in sight. In fact, a rising tide of socialist politicians want to explode government spending (paying for free healthcare, education and everything else under the sun).

We don’t know when this monetary experiment will end. The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan both essentially reneged on their plans to start tightening monetary policy. And yesterday, the Federal Reserve has signaled it will stop hiking rates.

Global central banks, it seems, have already given up on their weak attempts to tighten… fearing the economy wouldn’t hold up.

If they step back on the gas of QE, I believe that’s the point when people lose faith in fiat… and the US dollar specifically.

And while this all goes down, the central banks (who control the printing press) have been buying gold at the fastest pace in years. You may want to consider doing the same.

Gold is one of the few asset classes that hasn’t risen to absurd heights. But it may be coming back to life… the metal rallied to an eight-month high this week.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2RCcXyS Tyler Durden

French Yellow Vests March To Denounce Police Violence; Promptly Get Beaten By Riot Cops

One week after a Yellow Vest organizer was “handicapped for life” by French police, protesters dedicated Saturday’s demonstrations to denouncing police violence – only to be beaten and gassed by said police.

There have been 1,900 protesters and around 1,000 police injured since the movement began in November, and 10 fatalities, including an 80-year-old Marseille woman who was killed when a police tear-gas canister was launched into her apartment window while she was trying to close the shutters. She was taken to a nearby hospital but died during an operation after suffering shock, according to a local media report.

Police used several weapons against the activists on Saturday, including rubber bullets and Flash Ball weapons. The French Interior Ministry said that 80,000 security officials had been deployed across France, including 5,000 in Paris. 

In Valance in the south of France, the mayor said measures had been taken to prepare for about 10,000 demonstrators. Authorities fear up to 1,000 of those could be violent rioters. –Daily Mail

Protesters in Paris began chanting “Macron Resign” Saturday morning as they threw bottles and other projectiles at police, resulting in the deployment of tear gas. 

“We want him out, but we also want the police to stop wounding us with their Flash Ball weapons,” said 33-year-old Yellow Vest Jacques Caron. 

Yellow Vest organizer Jerome Rodrigues, 40, was “handicapped for life” last weekend after being struck with a projectile fired by police, which his attorney said was a flashball. Rodrigues addressed a Paris crowd on Saturday before the day’s protests. 

Like others who have been mutilated in recent months, he said he was hit by a so-called Flash Ball – rubber projectiles fired from police guns.

A bid to have them outlawed failed last week, and numerous officers were seen carrying them today.

Dramatic video of the Rodrigues incident led to other Yellow Vests calling for a ‘mass uprising’ against the Macron administration.

In turn, police suggest that a non-lethal grenade exploded in front of Mr Rodrigues, and he was hit by shrapnel. –Daily Mail

Earlier in the week Rodrigues said that he had received messages of support from several French police officers. “The police have orders but I know there are men behind the armour,” Rodrigues told RT. He was placed in an artificial coma following the incident at the Bastille monument last Saturday. 

Yellow Vest organizer Eric Drouet, meanwhile, said that French police had “aimed at the head,” telling BFM-TV that it was a “homicide attempt.” 

“When we aim at the head, we try to kill. How should this weapon be used? We must not aim our head.” 

Drouet says that Rodrigues incident justifies “a mass uprising without precedent by all useful and necessary means.”

On Friday, France’s top administrative court ruled that police could continue to use rubber bullets blamed for dozens of injuries during the protests. 

The French Council of State justified the use of police force due to the threat of violence which has accompanied the protests. 

“Contrary to what the applicants claimed, the organisation of operations to maintain order during the recent demonstrations did not indicate any intention by the authorities not to respect the strict rules governing the use’ of such ‘less-lethal weapons,” said the court, which added that the use of specialized “defense ball launchers” (LBDs) “is particularly appropriate for responding to these types of situations, as long as the rules governing their use are respected.” 

Protesters have been joined by extremists from the far Right and the ultra-Left, as well as anarchists intent on causing as much damage as possible.

The independent Mr Macron, leader of the Republic On The Move party, won the French presidential election in a landslide in 2017, but he is now dubbed the ‘President of the Rich’ with polls showing his popularity rating struggling to get above 30 per cent.

Today’s ugly scenes are typical of ugly scenes that have regularly reduced Paris and other towns and cities around Paris to a war zone. –Daily Mail

“These less-lethal weapons are essential, they allow us to keep protesters and rioters at a distance, or to approach them for arrest without having to use weapons that can kill,” said junior Interior Minister Laurent Nunez in an interview with RTL Radio. 

 

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2S6L4E2 Tyler Durden

“We Are The Meteor… They Are The Dinosaurs…”

Via The Saker blog,

This comment was chosen by moderator HS from the post “Appeal of Nicholas Maduro to the people of the USA”. The moderator felt the comment summed up the geopolitical world quite well.

Comment by Anonymous…

The dinosaurs that are in control of our nation are old and do not understand any other way of life other than vicious imperialism.

They do not understand compassion, empathy, understanding, respect, or love. The world has been this way for thousands of years. We are attempting to transition from the old ways of conquering, war, domination, and enslavement into an entirely new dimension, but the Old forces are not allowing this transition to come easily.

They are fighting with everything they have. They have full control over our nation’s mainstream media establishment, and furthermore they have full control over the world’s global financial system and how it operates. This gives them incredible power to get away with almost anything they want to get away with.

The reality is that most Americans, and I agree with you it’s not right, don’t pay attention to what is actually going on in the world. They have their cars, their houses, and they don’t think too deeply about the world around them. For the have-nots, aka the poor, they are too disenfranchised and homeless or whatever to do anything about it. Nobody is united. There are only small groups, and small pockets of resistance here and there.

Previous attempts to break this mold, which were led by John F Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, ended in assassination. Not enough people questioned the official narratives, at the time, surrounding these assassinations. Very few question the events of 9/11 and very few people take a look at what is happening outside of what the mainstream media is telling them. People’s needs are generally taken care of, and that’s all that matters to them.

The only real hope now lies in the younger generations. Those who grew up with the internet. They are a little less brainwashed. They read alternative media. They have access to more information, and therefore, the truth. They are questioning things. They are angry about what is happening and what their country is doing. Furthermore, there is a growing sense amongst the general population that the “powers that be” and the mainstream media do not serve their interests. (Which is why Trump was elected). So I would not say that all hope is lost and the US is doomed to start WW3.

Whatever you do, don’t give up.

There is a growing awareness in the USA about what their country has become. People are tired, and pissed off with the status quo. It would take only a single charismatic leader, who can unite the people, an American Putin if you will, to completely change everything. The rise of such a leader, who could unite the tens of millions of those in the younger generations, who truly want change, and lead them against the forces of oppression and death, could change everything before you even know it.

The empire will not be able to continue destroying nations when it faces a civil war in it’s main center of power (the US). This time is now fast approaching. I believe it must, and that it will happen. The alternative is that the Elite, who are desperate to hang onto power and avoid paying for their crimes against humanity, will start WW3 and we will all be forced to experience the horrors of a nuclear war. Then nobody wins.

But that won’t happen. There is going to be a movement of true change in the United States that will be sparked when everyone least expects it, in what will seem to be the darkest hour for mankind. Just in time to save this “doomed” world. Believe it. It is coming.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2S2ZHZc Tyler Durden

Top Venezuela General Defects, Calls Guaido Head-of-State And Urges Military To Follow

For the first time since the recent crisis triggered by embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection to a second six-year term began which a dozen countries led by the United States condemned as “illegitimate”, a high ranking general in the country’s armed forces has defected while declaring loyalty to opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim head-of-state.

Air Force General Francisco Yanez

Air Force General Francisco Yanez, identified by Reuters as part of the air force’s high command, published a short video via Twitter on Saturday wherein he called on Venezuela’s armed forces to follow his lead in recognizing Guaido. Notably Gen. Yanez is identified on public state military information web pages as the air force’s head of strategic planning, making him the highest military official to break from the Maduro regime in months. 

In the video Yanez urges other members of the military to defect in opposition to “dictator” Maduro’s rule immediately as “the transition to democracy is imminent.” He held up Guaido as the true president of Venezuela. His statement claims further that “90 percent” of Venezuela’s military is against Maduro; however there’s yet to be any signs of a mass waves of defections. 

“The people have already suffered enough”, he says further in the video, describing famine-like conditions for lack of food and basic necessities such as medicine in the severely mismanaged and corrupt socialist country. “Do not repress (them) any more,” he asserts. 

Also notable is that Gen. Yanez says “Mr Maduro has two planes on standby to flee the country” should his regime crumble, and Yanez follows by saying “he should go” as “the time for democracy is now.”

Meanwhile Caracas was quick to hit back, as the country’s Twitter account for the Air Force’s High Command issued an alert saying Yanez has committed treason. News of his defection came Saturday morning as opposition protests gained momentum across the country. 

Previously the only military defection of note was the Jan. 26 defection of Venezuela’s top military attaché serving at country’s Washington D.C. Embassy. National Guard Col. José Luis Silva, who told reporters “enough already!” and declared, “As the Venezuelan defense attaché in the United States, I do not recognize Mr. Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela.” He urged security forces to join the mass anti-Maduro protests taking place, and to ensure the state doesn’t resort to violence, saying “My message to all armed forces members, to everyone who carries a gun, is to please let’s not attack the people.”

Last month National Assembly leader and now US-recognized “Interim President” Guaido first began appealing to the military to switch sides following a local and short-lived attempt of 27 officers to lead a revolt on Jan. 21, quickly put down by security forces after they stormed an armory and police checkpoint.

To encourage more such defections, which so far hasn’t appeared to penetrate the top layers of military leadership, Guaido has offered amnesty protection to any officer previously accused of corruption or human rights abuses should they defect. 

And another significant development came Friday night when US National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted that the United States will begin humanitarian aid shipments into Venezuela, despite Maduro denying acceptance of such aid.

This comes after opposition leader Guaido declared his willingness to accept the aid as “interim president” – despite the United Nations days ago reaffirming that Nicolas Maduro is the only legitimate head of state, contradicting the White House position.

Bolton tweeted on Friday: “Pursuant to the request of Interim President Juan Guaido, and in consultation with his officials the US will mobilize and transport humanitarian aid_medicine, surgical supplies, and nutritional supplements for the people of Venezuela. It’s time for Maduro to get out of the way.”

This raises the interesting scenario or possibility of the US initiating covert humanitarian shipments across the border, likely from ally Colombia, in defiance of Maduro’s ban on such aid. And it further raises the question: how long until Syria-style US covert weapons shipments make their way into the “humanitarian” supply line? 

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2WCNSaH Tyler Durden

Socialism Is The Fyre Festival Of Ideologies, And Millennials Are Falling For It Too

Authored by Kurt Schlichter via Townhall.com,

Resolved: Millennials are the worst of all possible generations, and I say that as a baby-boomer (by a week).

Unconvinced? Then check out one or both recent documentaries on Hulu and Netflix about their generation’s Woodstock, the infamous Fyre Festival, and watch how thousands of credulous millennials got suckered by social media “influencers” – actors, rappers, models, whatevers – who talked them into plunking down enormous wads of cash to attend a fabulous dream concert/party/rave in the Bahamas. The ads promised hot models frolicking, exciting musical acts like “Major Lazer” and whatever a “Migos” is, luxe accommodations, and gourmet food prepped by acclaimed chefs. What they got was drunken dudes and dudettes from the cargo shorts ‘n backward cap set, no tunes, moist FEMA tents, and famously forlorn cheese sandwiches.

But in a stunning turn of events that no one could foresee, except everyone who wasn’t a millennial, the promises of these cultural influencers turned out to be wet garbage. People tried to warn them, but no. The warnings of people who probably didn’t even wear ironic t-shirts weren’t stopping our millennials! If there’s one thing millennials are, it’s supremely confident in their own intelligence, which is why so many of them ended up out several grand for the privilege of shivering in a glorified refugee camp telling each other their pronouns while not listening to the dulcet tones of “DJ Kaytranada.”

So, there was an upside.

Here’s how dumb these children, who are the future, were…Blink-182 figured out it was a con job and pulled out. Blink-182 was the voice of reason here. Blink-182. That’s like losing at chess to Mazie Hirono.

Well, maybe the Emily Ratajkowskis and the Ja Rules and the rest of the pop culture titans led us astray about this Caribbean bad music party, but there’s no chance at all that an ideology this same cultural zeitgeist is embracing could possibly turn out bad! Right?

Wrong. The millennials are falling for socialism just the same way they fell for the Fyre Festival.

“Whoa, someone’s going to give all this wonderful stuff to me? I’m not going to harsh the buzz by asking questions like ‘Has this ever been done before?’ or ‘Aren’t things that sound too good to be true usually too good to be true?’ All these models on Instagram are saying it’s cool, and since I have no religion, their consumerist lifestyle imagery fills the void in my soul and I must obey. On to Great Exuma to party with whoever ‘Lil Yachty’ is! Oh, and yah Marxism, too!”

On to a bold future of socialist wonderfulness. Who could go wrong backing an aging USSR tongue-bather like Bernie Sanders who advocates an ideology scribbled out by some nineteenth century German weirdo? Today’s socialism is touted by the same kind of weaselly grifters who pushed the Fyre fraud on Generation Sucker. Billy McFarland, the world’s worst con man, was truly innovative in the way he made up for his manifest (at least to everyone over 30) scamminess. You watch the documentaries, and all these middle-aged people sit there talking about how they pegged this guy as a fake within about ten seconds. But McFarland targeted millennials, who couldn’t wait to hand him their money like the beautiful and famous people on the social media told them to.

And now these same knuckleheads are nodding their heads, jaws slack, in time with the beat of the rambling nonsense that they get from the tweets and videos of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Yeah, everyone who’s given socialism a spin in the last century has failed, at the cost of 100 million lives, but do you know who has the brains and savvy to pull it off this time and finally get it right?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Gosh, my generation couldn’t manage to make a week-long concert happen, but I think I’ll hand them the keys to remake all of society because reasons and Kardashians!”

Now, you might imagine that watching Venezuela degenerate into a toilet paper-free nightmare of oppression and zoo animal-devouring would give the millennials pause about the ideology that made one of the richest countries in the world into one of the poorest in the space of a decade. But if you did, then you don’t get millennials. Who needs your history and experience when they have retweets and feelz?

Like many others, I saw the corpse of communism up close while deployed. Marxism is an enemy, whether foreign or domestic, and our oath hasn’t expired. If socialism does come here, the nice part is that I and other patriots won’t ever see it, because our dead bodies will be lying on heaps of empty brass having gone down fighting.

Then again, the deadliest weapon system most millennials are proficient with is a snarky tweet. But if socialism does manage to infect America in spite of our efforts, there is one thing I’ll regret missing out on. That’s seeing the millennials looking surprised at what happens to them next.

I show what socialism in America would look like – brutal and insanely SJW-focused – in my latest novel, Wildfire, and in my earlier installments People’s Republic and Indian Country. The good guys win in mine (because they take no guff, unlike certain cruise-shilling weasels in real life – Ahoy!), but if you want a graphic cautionary tale, check those novels out.

via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2HZYbmb Tyler Durden