The United States Of Empire: “We’re Getting Close To The End Now”

Authored by Jonathan via LesTraveledRoad.com,

We’re getting close to the end now. Can you feel it?  I do.  It’s in the news, on the streets, and in your face every day. You can’t tune it out anymore, even if you wanted to.

Where once there was civil debate in the court of public opinion, we now have censorshipmonopolyscreaminginsultsdemonization, and, finally, the use of force to silence the opposition. There is no turning back now. The political extremes are going to war, and you will be dragged into it even if you consider yourself apolitical.

There are great pivot points in history, and we’ve arrived at one. The United States, ruptured by a thousand grievance groups, torn by shadowy agencies drunk on a gross excess of powerrobbed blind by oligarchs and their treasonous henchmen and decimated by frivolous wars of choice, has finally come to a point where the end begins in earnest. The center isn’t holding… indeed, finding a center is no longer even conceivable. We are the schizophrenic nation, bound by no societal norms, constrained by no religion, with no shared sense of history, myth, language, art, philosophy, music, or culture, rushing toward an uncertain future fueled by nothing more than easy money, hubris, and sheer momentum.

There comes a time when hard choices must be made…when it is no longer possible to remain aloof or amused, because the barbarians have arrived at the gate. Indeed, they are here now, and they often look a whole lot like deracinated, conflicted, yet bellicose fellow Americans, certain of only one thing, and that is that they possess “rights”, even though they could scarcely form an intelligible sentence explaining exactly what those rights secure or how they came into being. But that isn’t necessary, from their point of view, you see. All they need is a “voice” and membership in an approved victim class to enrich themselves at someone else’s expense. If you are thinking to yourself right now that this does not describe you, then guess what? The joke’s on you, and you are going to be expected to pay the bill…that “someone else” is you.

In reality, though, who can blame the minions, when the elites have their hand in the till as well? In fact, they are even more hostile to reasoned discourse than Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, or Antifa. Witness the complete meltdown of the privileged classes when President Trump mildly suggested that perhaps our “intelligence community” isn’t to be trusted, which is after all a fairly sober assessment when one considers the track record of the CIAFBINSA, BATF, and the other assorted Stasi agencies. Burning cop cars or bum-rushing the odd Trump supporter seems kind of tame in comparison to the weeping and gnashing of teeth when that hoary old MIC “intelligence” vampire was dragged screaming into the light. Yet Trump did not drive a stake into its heart, nor at this point likely can anyone… and that is exactly the point. We are now Thelma and Louise writ large. We are on cruise control, happily speeding towards the cliff, and few seem to notice that our not so distant future involves bankruptcy, totalitarianism, and/or nuclear annihilation. Even though most of us couldn’t identify the band, we nonetheless surely live the lyrics of the Grass Roots: “Live for today, and don’t worry about tomorrow.”

The “Defense” Department, “Homeland” Security, big pharma, big oil, big education, civil rights groups, blacks, Indians, Jews, the Deep State, government workers, labor unions, Neocons, Populists, fundamentalist Christians, atheists, pro life and pro death advocates, environmentalists, lawyers, homosexuals, women, Millenials, Baby Boomers, blue collar/white collar, illegal aliens… the list goes on and on, but the point is that the conflicting agendas of these disparate groups have been irreconcilable for some time. The difference today is that we are de facto at war with each other, and whether it is a war of words or of actual combat doesn’t matter at the moment. What matters is that we no longer communicate, and when that happens it is easy to demonize the other side. Violence is never far behind ignorance.

I am writing this from the bar at the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna, Austria. I have seen with my own eyes the inundation of Europe with an influx of hostile aliens bent on the destruction of Old Christendom, yet I have some hope for the eastern European countries because they have finally recognized the threat and are working to neutralize it. Foreign malcontents can never be successfully integrated into a civilized society because they don’t even intend to try; they intend to conquer their host instead. Yet even though our own discontents are domestic for the most part, we have a much harder row to hoe than Old Europe because our own “invaders” are well entrenched and have been for decades, all the way up to the highest levels of government. That there are signs Austria is finally waking up is a good thing, but it serves to illustrate the folly of expecting the hostile cultures within our own country to get along with each other without rupturing the republic. Indeed, that republic died long ago, and it has been replaced by a metastasizing mass of amorphous humanity called the American Empire, and it is at war with itself and consuming itself from within.

Long ago, we once knew that as American citizens each of us had a great responsibility. We were expected to work hard, play fair, do unto others as we would have them do unto us, and serve our country when called upon to do so. Today, we don’t speak of duty, except in so much as a slogan to promote war, but we certainly do speak of benefits for ourselves and our “group” of entitled peeps. We will fail because of our greed and avarice. The United States of Empire has become quite simply too big, too diverse, and too “exceptional” to survive.

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Facebook’s New Troll-Crushing “War Room” Confirms Surveillance By Corporation Is The New America

Facebook on Wednesday briefed journalists on its latest attempt to stop fake news during the election season, offering an exclusive tour of a windowless conference room at its California headquarters, packed with millennials monitoring Facebook user behavior trends around the clock, said The Verge

This is Facebook’s first ever “war room,” designed to bring leaders from 20 teams, representing 20,000 global employees working on safety and security, in one room to lead a crusade against conservatives misinformation on the platform as political campaigning shifts into hyperdrive in the final weeks leading up to November’s US midterm elections. The team includes threat intelligence, data science engineering, research, legal, operations, policy, communications, and representatives from Facebook and Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Instagram. 

“We know when it comes to an election, every moment counts,” said Samidh Chakrabarti, head of civic engagement at Facebook, who oversees operations in the war room.

“So if there are late-breaking issues we see on the platform, we need to be able to detect and respond to them in real time, as quickly as possible.” 

This public demonstration of Facebook’s internal efforts comes after a series of security breaches and user hacks, dating back to the 2016 presidential elections. Since the announcement of the Cambridge Analytics privacy scandal in March, Facebook shares have plunged -14.5% It seems the war room is nothing more than a public relations stunt, which the company is desperately trying to regain control of the narrative and avoid more negative headlines. 

The war room is staffed with millennials from 4 am until midnight, and starting on Oct. 22, social media workers will be monitoring trends 24/7 leading up to the elections. Leaders from 20 teams will be present in the room. Workers will use machine learning and artificial intelligence programs to monitor the platform for trends, hate speech, sophisticated trolls, fake news, and of course, Russian, Chinese, and Iranian interference. 

Nathan Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity, told CNBC the company wants fair elections, and that “debate around the election be authentic. … The biggest concern is any type of effort to manipulate that.” 

In the first round of presidential elections in Brazil, Facebook’s war room identified an effort to suppress voter turnout: 

“Content that was telling people that due to protest, that the election would be delayed a day,” said Chakrabarti. “This was not true, completely false. So we were able to detect that using AI and machine learning. The war room was alerted to it. Our data scientist looked into what was behind it and then they passed it to our engineers and operations specialist to be able to remove this at scale from our platform before it could go viral.” 

The war room has been focused on the US and Brazilian elections because it says misinformation in elections is a global problem that never ends. Gleicher warns that Facebook is observing an increased effort to manipulate the public debate ahead of US midterms. 

“Part of the reason we have this war room up and running, is so that as these threats develop, not only do we respond to them quickly, but we continue to speed up our response, and make our response more effective and efficient.” Gleicher adds that it is not just foreign interference but also domestic “bad actors” who are hiding their identity, using fake accounts to spread misinformation. 

“This is always going to be an arms race, so the adversaries that we’re facing who seek to meddle in elections, they are sophisticated and well-funded,” said Chakrabarti.

“That is the reason we’ve made huge investments both in people and technology to stay ahead and secure our platforms.”

Big Brother is watching you: surveillance by corporations is the new America.

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Johnstone: An Embarrassing End May Soon Be Near For Russia-Gaters

Via CaitlinJohnstone.com,

After more than two years of mania about Russia stealing the 2016 election for Trump and demonization of anyone who questioned it, an embarrassing end may soon be near for the Russia-gaters…

In a new article titled “Mueller report PSA: Prepare for disappointment“, Politico cites information provided by defense attorneys and “more than 15 former government officials with investigation experience spanning Watergate to the 2016 election case” to warn everyone who’s been lighting candles at their Saint Mueller altars that their hopes of Trump being removed from office are about to be dashed to the floor.

“While [Mueller is] under no deadline to complete his work, several sources tracking the investigation say the special counsel and his team appear eager to wrap up,” Politico reports.

“The public, they say, shouldn’t expect a comprehensive and presidency-wrecking account of Kremlin meddling and alleged obstruction of justice by Trump – not to mention an explanation of the myriad subplots that have bedeviled lawmakers, journalists and amateur Mueller sleuths,” the report also says, adding that details of the investigation may never even see the light of day.

So that’s it then.

An obscene amount of noise and focus, a few indictments and process crime convictions which have nothing to do with Russian collusion, and this three-ring circus of propaganda and delusion is ready to call it a day.

This is by far the clearest indication yet that the Mueller investigation will end with Trump still in office and zero proof of collusion with the Russian government, which has been obvious since the beginning to everyone who isn’t a complete fucking moron. For two years the idiotic, fact-free, xenophobic Russiagate conspiracy theory has been ripping through mainstream American consciousness with shrieking manic hysteria, sucking all oxygen out of the room for legitimate criticisms of the actual awful things that the US president is doing in real life. Those of us who have been courageous and clear-headed enough to stand against the groupthink have been shouted down, censored, slandered and smeared as assets of the Kremlin on a daily basis by unthinking consumers of mass media propaganda, despite our holding the philosophically unassailable position of demanding the normal amount of proof that would be required in a post-Iraq invasion world.

As I predicted long ago, “Mueller isn’t going to find anything in 2017 that these vast, sprawling networks wouldn’t have found in 2016. He’s not going to find anything by ‘following the money’ that couldn’t be found infinitely more efficaciously via Orwellian espionage. The factions within the intelligence community that were working to sabotage the incoming administration last year would have leaked proof of collusion if they’d had it. They did not have it then, and they do not have it now. Mueller will continue finding evidence of corruption throughout his investigation, since corruption is to DC insiders as water is to fish, but he will not find evidence of collusion to win the 2016 election that will lead to Trump’s impeachment. It will not happen.” This has remained as true in 2018 as it did in 2017, and it will remain true forever.

None of the investigations arising from the Russiagate conspiracy theory have turned up a single shred of evidence that Donald Trump colluded with the Russian government to rig the 2016 election, or to do anything else for that matter. All that the shrill, demented screeching about Russia has accomplished is manufacturing support for steadily escalating internet censorship, a massively bloated military budget, a hysterical McCarthyite atmosphere wherein anyone who expresses political dissent is painted as an agent of the Kremlin and any dissenting opinions labeled “Russian talking points”, a complete lack of accountability for the Democratic Party’s brazen election rigging, a total marginalization of real problems and progressive agendas, and an overall diminishment in the intelligence of political discourse. The Russiagaters were wrong, and they have done tremendous damage already.

In a just world, everyone who helped promote this toxic narrative would apologize profusely and spend the rest of their lives being mocked and marginalized. In a world wherein pundits and politicians can sell the public a war which results in the slaughter of a million Iraqis and suffer no consequences of any kind, however, we all know that that isn’t going to happen. Russiagate will end not with a bang, but with a series of carefully crafted diversions. The goalposts will be moved, the news churn will shuffle on, the herd will be guided into supporting the next depraved oligarchic agenda, and almost nobody will have the intellectual honesty and courage to say “Hey! Weren’t these assholes promising us we’ll see Trump dragged off in chains a while back? Whatever happened to that? And why are we all talking about China now?”

But whether they grasp it or not, mainstream liberals have been completely discredited. The mass media outlets which inflicted this obscene psyop upon their audiences deserve to be driven out of business. The establishment which would inflict such intrusive psychological brutalization upon its populace just to advance a few preexisting agendas has proven that it deserves to be opposed on every front and rejected at every turn.

And those of us who have been standing firm and saying this all along deserve to be listened to. We were right. You were wrong. Time to sit down, shut up, stop babbling about Russian bots for ten seconds, and let those who see clearly get a word in edgewise.

*  *  *

Thanks for reading! The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My articles are entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, checking out my podcast, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal,buying my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone, or my previous book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.

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McConnell And Wife Berated In Packed Restaurant; Diners Side With Mitch

A group of protesters confronted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife on Friday night at a Louisville, KY restaurant – however the crowd wasn’t having it. 

A woman who recorded the incident said that the protester “slammed his fists on McConnell’s table and threw food out of the restaurant after accusing McConnell of killing people with his views,” according to Fox News

Video obtained by TMZ shows at least one diner berating McConnell on issues such as Social Security at a restaurant in Louisville. The video starts with him yelling at McConnell and arguing with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — to whom McConnell is married. The outlet reported that four men first confronted McConnell.

“Oh yeh, why don’t you get out of here? Why don’t you leave our entire country,” the protester tells the couple.

As Chao argues with the protester, McConnell appears unperturbed and sips on a drink. But other diners begin yelling at the protester, telling him to “leave him alone” and making shoo-ing gestures. –Fox News

Following the incident, McConnell reportedly thanked some of the supporters, shaking their hands before leaving. 

“The Leader and Sec. Chao enjoyed their meal in Louisville last night and they appreciate those who spoke up against incivility,” McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement via Fox News. “They hope other patrons weren’t too inconvenienced by left-wing tantrums. As the Leader often says, the Senate will not be intimidated by the antics of far-left protestors.”

Mitch the magnet

Friday’s incident marks the third time McConnell has been heckled by protesters. In June, several protesters at Georgetown University ambushed Chao and McConnell as they left a dinner, which resulted in Chao shouting at them: “Why don’t you leave my husband alone?”

 The man who recorded the video identified as “Roberto,” interned at the Soros-funded “open borders” group, United We Dream. 

And in July, McConnell was confronted by protesters after leaving a Louisville, KY restaurant.  

Instead of retracting into his shell, McConnell tweeted: “I see what they did here. They waited until Elaine wasn’t around. -MM”

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Visualizing The 8 Major Forces Shaping The Future Of The Global Economy

Authored by Jeff Desjardins via VisualCapitalist.com,

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

– Jimmy Dean

The world is changing faster than ever before.

With billions of people hyper-connected to each other in an unprecedented global network, it allows for an almost instantaneous and frictionless spread of new ideas and innovations.

Combine this connectedness with rapidly changing demographics, shifting values and attitudes, growing political uncertainty, and exponential advances in technology, and it’s clear the next decade is setting up to be one of historic transformation.

But where do all of these big picture trends intersect, and how can we make sense of a world engulfed in complexity and nuance? Furthermore, how do we set our sails to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this sea of change?

THE INTERSECTION OF DATA AND POWERFUL VISUALS

Interpreting massive amounts of data on how the world is changing can be taxing for even the most brilliant thinkers.

For this reason, our entire team at Visual Capitalist is focused on using the power of visual storytelling to make the world’s information more accessible. Our team of information designers works daily to transform complex data into graphics that are both intuitive and insightful, allowing you to see big picture trends from a new perspective.

After all, science says that 65% of people are visual learners – so why not put data in a language they can understand?

While we regularly publish our visuals in an online format, our most recent endeavor has been to compile our best charts, infographics, and data visualizations into one place: our new book Visualizing Change: A Data-Driven Snapshot of Our World, a 256-page hardcover coffee-table book on the forces shaping business, wealth, technology, and the economy.

The book focuses on eight major themes ranging from shifting human geography to the never-ending evolution of money. And below, we present some of the key visualizations in the book that serve as examples relating to each major theme.

1. THE TECH INVASION

For most of the history of business, the world’s leading companies have been industrially-focused.

Pioneers like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison innovated in the physical realm using atoms – they came up with novel ways to re-organize these atoms to create things like the assembly line and the incandescent lightbulb. Then, companies invested massive amounts of capital to build physical factories, pay thousands of workers, and build these things.

The majority of the great blue chip companies were built this way: IBM, U.S. Steel, General Electric, Walmart, and Ford are just some examples.

But today’s business reality is very different. We live in a world of bytes – and for the first time technology and commerce have collided in a way that makes data far more valuable than physical, tangible objects.

The best place to see this is in how the market values businesses.

As you can see above, companies like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft have supplanted traditional blue chip companies that build physical things.

The tech invasion is leveraging connectivity, network effects, artificial intelligence, and unprecedented scale to create global platforms that are almost impossible to compete with. The tech invasion has already taken over retail and advertising – and now invading forces have their eyes set on healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and education.

Will atoms ever be more valuable than bytes again?

Interesting Facts:

2. THE EVOLUTION OF MONEY

Money is arguably one of humanity’s most important inventions. From beaver pelts to gold bars, the form and function of money has constantly fluctuated throughout history.

In the modern world, the definition of money is blurrier than ever. Central banks have opted to create trillions of dollars of currency out of thin air since the financial crisis – and on the flipside, you can actually use blockchain technology to create your own competing cryptocurrency in just a few clicks.

Regardless of what is money and what is not, people are borrowing record amounts of it.

The world has now amassed $247 trillion in debt, including $63 trillion borrowed by central governments:

In today’s unusual monetary circumstances, massive debt loads are just one anomaly.

Here are other examples that illustrate the evolution of money: Venezuela has hyperinflated away almost all of its currency’s value, the “War on Cash” is raging on around the world, central banks are lending out money at negative interest rates (Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, etc.), and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are collectively worth over $200 billion.

How we view money – and how that perception evolves over time – is an underlying factor that influences our future.

Interesting Facts:

3. THE WEALTH LANDSCAPE

Wealth is not stagnant – and so for those looking to make the most out of global opportunities, it’s imperative to get a sense of how the wealth landscape is changing.

The modern view is either extremely healthy or bubbly, depending on how you look at it: Amazon and Apple are worth over $1 trillion, Jeff Bezos has a $100+ billion fortune, and the current bull market is the longest in modern history at 10 years.

Will this growth continue, and where will it come from?

Here’s one look based on projections from the World Bank:

Despite these estimates, there is a laundry list of items that the ultra-wealthy are concerned about – everything from the expected comeback of inflation to a world where geopolitical black swans seem to be growing more common.

Here’s why those building and protecting wealth are rightly concerned about such events:

But the wealth landscape is not all just about billionaires and massive companies – it is changing in other interesting ways as well. For example, the definition of wealth itself is taking on a new meaning, with millennials leading a charge towards sustainable investing rather than being entirely focused on monetary return.

How will the wealth landscape look a decade from now?

Interesting Facts:

4. EASTERN PROMISES

The economic rise of China has been a compelling story for decades.

Up until recently, we’ve only been able to get a preview of what the Eastern superpower is capable of – and in the coming years, these promises will come to fruition at a scale that will still be baffling to many.

Understandably, the scope of China’s population and economy can still be quite difficult to put into perspective.

The following map may help, as it combines both elements together to show that China has countless cities each with a higher economic productivity than entire countries.

In fact, China has over 100 cities with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. These cities, many of which fly below the radar on the global stage, each have impressive economies – whether they are built upon factories, natural resource production, or the information economy.

As one impressive example, the Yangtze River Delta – a single region which contains Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, Ningbo, Nanjing, and Changzhou – has a GDP (PPP) of $2.6 trillion, which is more than Italy.

Interesting Facts:

5. ACCELERATING TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS

As we’ve already seen, there are many facets of change that will impact our shared future.

But here’s the kicker: when it comes to technological progress, the rate of change itself is actually getting faster and faster. Each year brings more technological advancements than the last, and once the exponential “hockey stick” kicks into overdrive, innovations could happen at a blindsiding pace.

This could be described as a function of Moore’s Law, and the law of accelerating returns is also something that futurists like Ray Kurzweil have talked about for decades.

Interestingly, there is another offshoot of accelerating change that applies more to the business and economic world. Not only is the speed of change getting faster, but for various reasons, markets are able to adopt new technologies faster:

New products can achieve millions of users in just months, and the game Pokémon Go serves as an interesting case study of this potential. The game amassed 50 million users in just 19 days, which is a blink of an eye in comparison to automobiles (62 years), the telephone (50 years), or credit cards (28 years).

As new technologies are created at a faster and faster pace – and as they are adopted at record speeds by markets – it’s fair to say that future could be coming at a breakneck speed.

Interesting Facts:

6. THE GREEN REVOLUTION

It’s no secret that our civilization is in the middle of a seismic shift to more sustainable energy sources.

But to fully appreciate the significance of this change, you need to look at the big picture of energy over time. Below is a chart of U.S. energy consumption from 1776 until today, showing that the energy we use to power development is not permanent or static throughout history.

And with the speed at which technology now moves, expect our energy infrastructure and delivery systems to evolve at an even more blistering pace than we’ve experienced before.

Interesting Facts:

7. SHIFTING HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Global demographics are always shifting, but the population tidal wave in the coming decades will completely reshape the global economy.

In Western countries and China, populations will stabilize due to fertility rates and demographic makeups. Meanwhile, on the African continent and across the rest of Asia, booming populations combined with rapid urbanization will translate into the growth of megacities, holding upwards of 50 million people.

By the end of the 21st century, this animation shows that Africa alone could contain at least 13 megacities that are bigger than New York:

By this time, it’s projected that North America, Europe, South America, and China will combine to hold zero of the world’s 20 most populous cities. What other game-changing shifts to human geography will occur during this stretch?

Interesting Facts:

8. THE TRADE PARADOX

By definition, a consensual and rational trade between two parties is one that makes both parties better off.

Based on this microeconomic principle, and also on the consensus by economists that free trade is ultimately beneficial, countries around the world have consistently been working to remove trade barriers since World War II with great success.

But nothing is ever straightforward, and these long-held truths are now being challenged in both societal and political contexts. We now seem to be trapped in a trade paradox in which politicians give lip service to free trade, but often take action in the opposite direction.

To get a sense of how important trade can be between two nations, we previously documented the ongoing relationship between the U.S. and Canada, in which each country is the best customer of the other:

With the recent USMCA agreement, the two countries seem to have sorted their differences for now – but the trade paradox will continue to be an ongoing theme in economics and investing at a global level for many years to come, especially as the trade war against China rages on.

Points to Consider:

HOW YOU CAN VISUALIZE CHANGE

The forces behind change are not always evident to the naked eye, but we believe that by fusing data, art, and storytelling together that we can create powerful context on the trends shaping our future.

If you enjoyed our summary above, you can explore these ideas further with our book “Visualizing Change”, which offers 256 pages of infographics, data visualizations, and charts on the future direction of the global economy and technology.

Our book makes a great holiday gift. Get it on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, or even customize a bulk order with your logo

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“Largest Ever Ponzi Scheme In Maryland” Rocks Investors, $345 Million Vanishes

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last month the indictment and arrests of three people, including a Baltimore man, involved in the largest-ever Ponzi scheme in Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. 

More than 230 people have been taken for a financial rollercoaster as three men ((Kevin B. Merrill (“Merrill”), Jay B. Ledford (“Ledford”), and Cameron Jezierski (“Jezierski”) raised $345 million, more than $90 million was invested by over 200 individual investors (including small business owners, restauranteurs, construction contractors, retirees, doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, talent agents, current and former professional athletes, and financial advisors); approximately $52 million by family officers; and nearly $203 million from feeder funds, said the SEC.

According to an indictment from Federal prosecutors in Baltimore, Merrill and Ledford touted their experience in collecting on and reselling consumer debt to investors, with the promise of significant profits. The pair operated a web of companies they owned and/or controlled, including Defendants Global Credit Recovery, LLC; Delmarva Capital, LLC; Rhino Capital Holdings, LLC; Rhino Capital Group, LLC; DeVille Assets Managment LTD; and Riverwalk Financial Corporation, which they then sold securities to investors. 

Merrill and Ledford used the corporate entities and 55 bank accounts to shift investor money, deceive investors, and continue their Ponzi scheme that only survived with the influx of greater and greater investor cash inflow. 

Here is how the Merrill – Ledford scheme worked: 

Documents show the men used a web lies, forgeries, and fake documents to conduct the fraud since 2013, using investor money for exotic cars, high-end real estate, private jets, private clubs, casinos, and funding their lavish lifestyles. 

“We allege defendants engaged in a brazen fraud, deceiving investors to perpetuate their wrongdoing and line their pockets with ill-gotten gains,” said Kelly Gibson, the associate regional director of the SEC’s Philadelphia office. 

The SEC stated approximately $200 million of the money was used to pay prior investors and deceive current investors that their money was generating high returns. 

Merrill owned five mansions, 25 exotic cars — including Bugattis, Ferraris, and Rolls Royces — private jets, powerboats, and more, according to filings. 

Merrill’s mansions- 

Merrill’s cars- 

  • 2014 Ford Explorer 
  • 2014 Lamborghini Aventador Roadster 
  • 2014 Mercedes-AMG S63
  • 2015 BMW S1000R Motorcycle 
  • 2015 Harley-Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Special Edition Motorcycle
  • 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB
  • 2017 Audi R8 5.2 Plus
  • 2017 Lamborghini Huracan Spyder
  • 2017 Land Rover Range Rover
  • 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  • 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S
  • 2017 Rolls-Royce Dawn
  • 2017 Rolls-Royce Wraith
  • 2018 McLaren 720s
  • 2008 Bugatti Veyron
  • 2013 Ferrari California 
  • 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe
  • 2014 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
  • 2014 Pagani Huayra
  • 2015 Mercedes-AMG S63
  • 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV
  • 2017 Ferrari 488 Spider
  • 2018 Lamborghini Huracan

Ledford’s cars- 

  • 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB
  • 2016 Tesla Model S
  • 2015 Bentley Flying Spur

If Merrill, Ledford, and Jezierski are convicted, their assets, will be seized by the U.S. Government. In the latter stages of a credit cycle, fraud schemes are usually not sustainable and go bust — an ominous sign that an economic downturn is nearing. 

 

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As Deep State Hysteria Builds, Trump “Knows This Thing Is Rigged To Blow”

Via USAWatchdog.com,

Radio host Dr. Dave Janda says everybody in Washington knows the next big crash is right around the corner. It’s been 10 years since the Fed reflated the last meltdown, and Dr. Janda says President Trump is already blaming the Federal Reserve for killing the economy that his policies revived.

Dr. Janda explains, “President Trump has been pointing the finger at the Fed. He’s been pointing the finger at the Fed, and that is exactly where he should be pointing…

The globalist syndicate’s tentacle is the central banking system, and, in particular, in the United States, the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is one of the entities that is directly responsible for this financial mess our country is currently in. You would never see Obama or the Bushes, or Bill Clinton, point at the Fed and say what Trump has said.

Trump said, ‘I think the Fed has gone crazy. I think the Fed is making a mistake. They’re so tight with interest rates. I think the Fed has gone crazy.’ Just the other day, Trump said, ‘My biggest threat is the Fed. . . . The Fed is raising rates too fast, and it’s too independent.’ Now, wait a minute, listen to that. It’s too independent. When was the last time a president of the United States said the Fed was too independent? . . . . Banking groups, that is their priority. So, when the President says the Fed is raising rates too fast, and it’s my biggest enemy, and too independent, what he is saying is they are looking out for their own interests. They are not looking out for the interests of our country or for you or for me or for any American, and he’s right. I don’t know of any other president that has had the guts to say this.”

So, what happens next?

Dr. Janda says, “Trump knew this thing was rigged to blow, the economy, the financial system, and when the right time came, he would start pointing the finger at the globalists, the Fed. I believe that’s where we are right now.”

On the Democrats taking back control of the House, Janda says the blue wave will turn into a red tsunami. One Democrat after another, including Hillary Clinton, has threatened violence if Democrats do not take back the House of Representatives. Janda says,

“These are not statements from people that are in positions of power or people that are riding a blue tsunami to victory in the midterm election. These are people that are potentially drowning in a red wave, and they know it because their internals are telling them that. This is why they are acting out.”

On the subject of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the short story is he has flipped and is working on the Trump team.

In closing, Dr. Janda says, “I would say we are winning. The reason I say that is all these judicial appointments…

I believe we have a five to four rule of law majority in the Supreme Court. I believe (DOJ prosecutor) Huber has been working on these indictments behind the scenes, and they will be unsealed as soon as the declassification occurs. I believe military tribunals have been set up and will become more overt in their operation, but that doesn’t mean we have already won. We are winning, and we are in the process of winning. We have not won.

That’s why I believe these midterm elections are so important. This is why we are seeing the hysteria out of the Deep State players that are the mid-level puppets. This is why we see the Bookers, the Clintons, the Obamas and Bidens all lashing out.

They know if people vote for rule of law candidates across the board and don’t buy into this agenda that the globalists are putting forward such as no border security, sanctuary cities, raising taxes, and if you don’t vote for us, we are going to beat the hell out of you, if they don’t buy into that agenda, the Deep State players know the rule of law will be implemented like it’s not been implemented for decades in America. The Deep State globalists are in the crosshairs of a true justice system as opposed to a justice system that is just smoke and mirrors.

Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with Dr. Dave Janda, host of the popular radio show “Operation Freedom.”

(Program note: The interview is nearly 1:45 minutes long, but it is packed with cutting edge information and analysis.)

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Futures Slide After Report Trump Has No Intention Of Easing China Tariffs

After closing Friday’s session unchanged, S&P futures have slumped 0.4%, or 10 points, to 2,757 dipping below both Thursday’s and Friday’s lows…

… with the Nasdaq down -0.6% so far in early trading…

… after an Axios report poured cold water over enthusiasm that the upcoming G-20 meeting between Trump and Xi could lead to some progress in the ongoing trade war.

According to Axios, and contrary to recent hopes of a detente in the ongoing trade war between the two superpowers, Trump has no intention of easing his tariffs on China. Instead, Axios’ sources say “he wants Chinese leaders to feel more pain from his tariffs” which he believes need more time to fully kick in.

He wants them to suffer more” from tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods Axios said, citing a source with direct knowledge of Trump’s thinking, and the president believes the longer his tariffs last, the more leverage he’ll have.

In other words, Trump’s trade war with China is at the “beginning of the beginning,” and his team doesn’t expect much from the tentatively planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires next month.

So why are the two leaders meeting?

The Trump economic team has done no substantive planning so far for the bilateral meeting’s agenda, largely because the purpose of the meeting is for Trump and Xi to reconnect, eyeball each other, and feel each other out amid their escalating trade war.

“It’s a heads of state meeting, not a trade meeting,” a source with direct knowledge told Axios.

As another source explained, “Trump is thinking about this meeting as a personal reconnection with President Xi, not a meeting that’s going to evolve into detailed discussions” and added that “the sides are very far apart. … Right now, there’s not the common basis for proceeding.”

Reading between the lines suggests that if anything, the G-20 summit could lead to an even worse outcome as Trump isn’t focused on the details of a potential China deal, “he’s focused on creating more leverage” which could mean adding even more sanctions, especially if Trump is content with the outcome of the midterm elections.

One way, perhaps the only way, Trump has been gauging who is hurt most from the trade war is the stock market, and here China – where the Shanghai Composite recently dropped 30% from its January highs, is clearly the biggest loser.

The generic point Trump makes to aides, per a source with direct knowledge: “‘We are strong and they are weak.’ … He believes more pressure will bring them to the table to make a deal.”

That’s unlikely: instead of preparing concessions to Trump, China has been more focusing on boosting investor confidence in the stock market, although the recent rout shows there is much more work left. On Sunday, none other than president Xi Jinping joined this confidence boosting exercise and vowed “unwavering” support for the country’s private sector, the latest response from Beijing to concern over the outlook for the economy.

“Any words and practices that negate and weaken the private economy are wrong,” Xi said in a letter to private entrepreneurs, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday. “Supporting the development of private enterprises is the Party Central Committee’s consistent policy,” Xi said quoted by Bloomberg.

Xi’s remarks came after top officials moved to shore up confidence with a rare show of coordinated comments on Friday after a furious margin call-driven sell off on Thursday. Among them, Vice Premier Liu He said China would support the development of private enterprises. At a meeting with policy makers on Saturday, he added that authorities need to accelerate the implementation of measures to encourage healthy development of the economy, according to a statement on the State Council’s website.

Meanwhile, the key negotiators have not made any progress whatsoever: while Treasury officials have had contact with key Chinese negotiator Liu He’s camp to exchange information, there’s been “nothing close to real negotiation” sources said.

“There is some contact with mid-level Chinese, but not much. … I wouldn’t overestimate the planning process.”

Worse, Mnuchin’s negotiating team has told the Chinese there’s no point in them floating plans to buy U.S. products as the key priorities — structural issues like IP theft and market access — must be addressed. And since China will never concede on this issue, especially as it would mean admitting US accusations of IP espionage, there is virtually no hope of any resolution in the near-term.

As Axios summarizes, “all signs suggest the trade war between the U.S. and China is just getting started,” and is unlikely to end any time soon because as Axios’ Jonathan Swan notes, “nobody I’ve spoken to has heard Trump express any concerns” over whether his tariffs could backfire due to Chinese retaliation against American consumers or companies – a position Trump will hold until China does retaliate again.

And finally, confirming that there is absolutely no hope of any near term resolution, in an interview with the FT, Larry Kudlow accused China of doing “nothing” to defuse trade tensions ahead of the G20 meeting in Argentina next month. A detailed list of asks “basically hasn’t changed for five or six months. The problem with the story is that they don’t respond. Nothing. Nada.

“It’s really the president and the Chinese Communist party, they have to make a decision, and so far they have not, or they have made a decision not to do anything, nothing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

And with futures on the back foot, we now await China’s open which after Friday’s furious “verbal intervention” rally are set for another move lower as trade fears re-emerge.
 

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A 10% Drop In Stocks Would Send GDP Sharply Lower In 2019, Goldman Finds

In addition to boosting the intangible “wealth effect” by raising consumer confidence and encouraging spending, rising stock prices have a benign effect on the broader economy by directly stimulating US economic growth and GDP. And vice versa: when stocks drop, tightening financial conditions, US GDP is impacted adversely.

That’s the observation made in a Friday note from Goldman economists, which tries to quantify the growth effect of the equity sell-off, and finds that “the stock market is likely to turn from a significant contributor to strong growth at the start of the year into a modest drag next year, barring a further rebound in equity prices.”

Picking up where another recent Goldman note left off, which as we discussed yesterday concluded that the Fed will have to hike rates more than the market expects in order to substantially tighten financial conditions and slow down the economy, bank  economists Jan Hatzius and Dean Struyven write that “the 6% decline in the stock market since late September has been the most important driver of the recent tightening in financial conditions.” As a result, the bank now estimates “that the 0.5% boost to GDP growth from higher equity prices at the start of the year has already disappeared.”

As shown in the chart above, Goldman explains that the run-up in the equity component, i.e. rising stock prices, of the Financial Conditions Index drove most of the 185 basis points easing from the start of 2017 till late January, when the index hit its record low. Conversely, the 6% sell-off in the S&P 500 since the September all-time high has been the biggest factor in the tightening of financial conditions and has accounted for two thirds of the roughly 50bp FCI tightening over the last month (other factors include the rise in rates and the dollar which account for about half of the -1.5% swing in the FCI impulse from +0.75pp at the start of the year to -0.75pp in the first half of next year).

Looking ahead, between the Fed’s own tightening  posture and potential continuation of the equity selloff, Goldman expects a decline in the equity impulse to real GDP growth to about -0.25% in the first half of 2019. This assumes that the equity component of the Financial Conditions Index stays at current levels, which is “roughly consistent” with Goldman’s forecasts for a 2019 year-end level of 2,850 on the S&P 500 and $159 EPS by end-2018.

Considering the reflexive nature between the stock market and the broader economy, Goldman also looks at the sensitivity of the equity impulse and its growth forecast to future stock market moves, i.e. what happens if stocks rise notably above or below this 12-month 2,850 price target.

First, the good news: should the recent market weakness fade, and stocks rally, Goldman assumes that the S&P 500 can rise about 4% per quarter to 3,350 by end-2019, roughly 15% above the September peak. In this case, the growth impulse from equities will rebound to +0.25pp in the second half of next year, and the continuation of the bull market “will likely keep GDP growth in 2019 well above potential at 2.4% on Q4/Q4 basis.”

Next, the not so good news: should the sell-off continue and stock prices fall an additional 10% in Q4 to around 2,500 and stay flat, some 15% below the September all-time high, Goldman estimates that the growth impulse from equity prices would turn from a neutral factor today to a -0.75pp drag by Q2 2019, as shown in the chart below. According to its calculations, Goldman concludes that such a decline would push GDP growth down to 1.6% in 2019 on a Q4/Q4 basis, below our estimate of potential and well below our 2.0% baseline forecast.

Summarizing its findings, Goldman’s economists warn that “the stock market has turned from a key growth contributor to a roughly neutral factor, and will likely be a modest drag by early next year”… or a substantial drag if equities drop another 10% or more. Which is probably why the bank’s economists appear to have turned somewhat skeptical on their otherwise cheerful economic outlook.

Further sharp stock market moves represent an important two-sided risk to our forecast that growth will gradually slow to potential by end-2019.

What is odd, is that this report came out at the same time as Goldman’s other assessment of Fed hiking risks, which concluded that Powell will hike another 5 times before year-end 2019, or 2 more hikes than the market is currently anticipating. That forecast has yet to change, which begs the question: is Goldman’s latest note confirmation that it will revise its Fed rate hike estimates in the coming days if the selling persists, and, by extension – is the market now on the verge of a steep correction should the Fed keep raising rates?

While it remains to be seen whether Powell will be as easily swayed by market gyrations as his predecessor, the above analysts explains president Trump’s increasingly belligerent posture vis-a-vis the Fed’s tightening plans, because as Goldman’s analysis reveals, any further selling in US stocks will have a prompt, and adverse, impact on strong US growth which has so far been the biggest achievement of Trump’s administration (granted with the benefit of some $1.5 trillion in fiscal stimulus).

In other words, if stocks do tumble, and GDP in early 2019 prints sub-2.0%, below Goldman’s estimate of potential and well below its 2.0% baseline forecast, expect the war between the White House and the Marriner Eccles building to escalate dramatically in the coming months and certainly ahead of the 2020 presidential election. The question then will be whether Powell will end the hiking cycle, or – to indicate the Fed’s independence from the White House – will keep pushing rates higher, until the market cracks far more than just 10%.

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NYU Hosts Marx Birthday Bash… During The Wrong Month

Authored by Andrew Lawrence via Campus Reform,

New York University is hosting a two-week celebration of Karl Marx’s May 5th birthday… from Oct. 17-28.

NYU Skirball, formally known as the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, will host a two-week celebration of the communist philosopher in commemoration of his 200th birthday.

The birthday bash, titled “On Your Marx,” will feature a number of performances and events, including a “dance party,” a professor-led lecture on “racial capitalism,” and a performance highlighting socialism.

Admission to these events will be free, and students will be instructed to “pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth,” according to the NYU Skirball. Attendees will receive a note featuring the cost of every facet of production and can then decide upon the production’s value, representing its demand, a process that the event description suggests will help artists learn how to earn money. 

This structure is based on Marx’s philosophy encompassed in a quote featured on the event website:

“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money.” 

NYU held the premiere event, titled “P Project” on Wednesday. Audience members were given cash if they participated in performances with Ivo Dimchev, a Bulgarian-born performing artist.

“P Project (2012) is an escalating, interactive performance where actual cash fuels participation based on several P words, such as Piano, Pray, Pussy, Poetry, Poppers, and so on,” the description reads.

“The People will be offered several opportunities to Participate in the P Project, for which they be [sic] Paid quite well.”

NYU’s Tamiment Library will host a “racial capitalism” lecture, led by NYU faculty professors Arun KundnaniMichael Ralph, and Nikhil Singh, on Thursday. 

The school is hosting “Let Us Eat Cake” in honor of Marx on FridayDJ AndrewAndrew, a New York City-based creativity team will be “spinning the finest Marxist tracks” and there will be “readings from the masterworks Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto,” according to the event page.

The two-week celebration will also include a number of discussions on a wide range of topics, including labor, aesthetics, and consumption. NYU faculty members Lisa DailyDean Saranillio, and Jerome Whitington will lead a discussion on climate change and global capitalism in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis on Oct. 23.

As the celebration draws to a close, NYU will host an event titled “Courtesy the Artists: Popular Revolt” on Oct. 26. 

“As we free fall into fascism, let’s imagine alternative moves. In this collectively produced performance, the assembled performers take socialism as a ‘fake it ’til you make it’ proposition,” the event description says.

“Popular Revolt addresses an increasingly distracted public with the riotous, rebellious power of liveness. Popular Revolt re-invests revolutionary urgency into historic models of Marxist theater to dismantle Neoliberalism, the global economic force shaping our every day.

Several NYU Office of Communications representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

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