Let’s be honest, quite a few Americans love a good war, especially those Americans who have never had to bear witness to one first hand. War is the ultimate tribally vicarious experience. Anyone, even pudgy armchair generals with deep-seated feelings of personal inadequacy, can revel in the victories and actions of armies a half a world away as if they themselves stood on the front lines risking possible annihilation at the hands of dastardly cartoon-land “evil doers”. They may have never done a single worthwhile thing in their lives, but at least they can bask in the perceived glory of their country’s military might.

This attitude of swollen ego through proxy is not limited to the “Right” side of the political spectrum as some might expect. In fact, if the terrifyingly demented presidency of Barack Obama has proven anything so far, it is that elements of the “Left” are just as bloodthirsty as any NeoCon, and just as ready to blindly support the political supremacy of their “side” regardless of any broken promises, abandoned principles, or openly flaunted hypocrisies. No matter how reasonable or irrefutable the arguments against a particular conflict are, there will ALWAYS be a certain percentage of the populace which ignores all logic and barrels forward to cheerlead violent actions which ultimately only benefit a select and elite few.

They do this, though they rarely openly admit it, because of unbalanced and irrational biases which drive their decision making processes. In the case of the wars in the Middle East, the common public argument boils down to one of “self defense”. “They are coming to get us!” At least, that is what we are constantly told. And I’m sure that some Americans out there truly believe this. However, in their heart of hearts, others instead relish the idea of imposing their world views and philosophical systems upon others, even if it means using cluster bombs and predator drones.

Some people simply hate Muslims, for one reason or another. Some people believe that war will bring with it economic gain. Some are so afraid of what they do not comprehend that they only feel secure by attacking it. Some believe that the U.S. citizenry is morally obligated to become entangled with governments like Israel’s, and support them without question as if they are infallible, though they are often just as corrupt as the governments we are directed to despise. And yet others (for religious purposes), actually clamor for Middle Eastern destruction in the desperate hopes that their version of biblical prophecy will be vindicated.

Ultimately, most Americans who support continued destruction in the Middle East, or anywhere else for that matter, do so out a selfish need for private absolution and elevation, not out of a sincere sense of patriotism, and not because nations like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, or Iran present a legitimate danger to their safety.

These men and women have invested their very identities into the mechanizations of collective war. They will not be swayed by evidence or honorable arguments. Any criticism of the actions of the collective will immediately be treated as a personal attack on their individual character, causing their minds to shut down completely.

As far as Iran is concerned, I am not here to convince the war-drum pounding zombie hoards infesting the mentally impotent sewage soaked wastelands of my country that their rationalizations for raining laser guided death on the third world is a “reprehensible thing”. Given their impenetrable biases, which I listed above, that would be a complete waste of time.

I could, indeed, point out how in 1953 the U.S. and Britain overthrew the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mossaddegh, because he refused to allow global corporate interests to exploit his country’s oil resources. I could outline how the forced CIA installation of the Shah in Iran and the creation of his secret police led to the torture and murder of thousands of innocent people. I could list similar covert activities over the past 100 years or so, in countries all over the world, which have created the now universal disdain the third world has for the U.S. government. I could even show them a PBS special from 1987 which effectively details this history and warns of what is now going on today. The kind of mainstream news coverage that networks currently blacklist honest and daring journalists for:

But what about all the nuclear talk being shoved down our throats lately? Doesn’t this supersede any historical concerns between Iran and the U.S.? What if the terrorists get their hands on “the bomb”?!

On this issue, I could easily interject the fact that countries supposedly hostile to the U.S., like North Korea, have long had nuclear capability, and certainly the means to use infiltrators to deliver that technology, yet, we haven’t sent the Western war machine after them. I would also set the record straight by mentioning that the ONLY country in the world that has used a nuclear weapon against another is the U.S. I could educate these people on the exposure of secret Israeli nuclear weapons programs since the 1970′s, and the fact that Israel even attempted to illegally sell this technology to Apartheid South Africa.

I could try to clear the air by reminding the uninformed that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently admitted that Iran has no nuclear weapons capability. And, that this fact was repeated by an Iranian nuclear scientist, Sharhram Amiri, who defected to the U.S. in 2010 with the help of the CIA in the hopes that he could be used to disseminate propaganda on “secret” nuclear weapons programs in his former homeland. Instead, he only reinforced the assertion that there are no such programs.

With the CIA made to look foolish, they have now decided that Amiri is “peripheral” to the Iranian nuke programs, and is no longer a solid source of information. I could follow by pointing out how decidedly convenient this is…

What about all the similarities between the lies on WMD’s in Iraq and the rhetoric against Iran today? What about the disinformation put forward by the IAEA and its cadre of foreign policy yes-men?

What about the fact that back when Iran was run by our own puppet leader, the Shah, an iron-fisted sociopathic dictator, we were more than happy that the country was developing nuclear power plants:

Sorry, but sharing this information with the warmongering percentage of our American culture is futile. None of this data means a thing to them. For these people, it’s not about facts; it’s about foggy perception, uncontrolled emotion, and false identity. Understanding the situation only complicates their pursuit of the next collectivist high; that frenetic freak frenzy that takes hold of a population and makes them swarm like mad bees, or hungry piranha, poisoning and devouring everything in their path.

With this in mind, the only recourse I could possibly think of to wake them up to their philosophical and moral folly is to expose them to very real and debilitating consequences they will face in their everyday lives in the wake of expanded conflict on the part of the U.S. That is to say, you may hate Iran, you may hate Iranians, you may despise Muslims, you may be driven by a childish need to live vicariously through the exploits of your government, or, you might actually believe the hype that Iran is in league with Al-Qaeda, that they really are after nuclear weapons in a diabolical plot to harm Americans, and you might truly believe that Israel is that “beacon of freedom” in the Middle East and that all its neighbors must be pacified for the sake of democracy. At bottom, whatever your deepest intentions, and whatever you might think, this is irrelevant in the face of the inevitable costs of war. If you support such a war, here is how it will affect you when it breaks loose…

Exploding Oil Prices

The U.S. has had a ban on Iranian oil imports since 1979, however, Iran still supplies about 5% of the global oil market. This might not seem like much, but Iran also has the means and ability to shut down the Straight of Hormuz, which is one of two major petroleum choke points in the world. Around 17 million barrels of oil per day are shipped through the Straight of Hormuz, or about 20% of all oil traded worldwide.

In 2006, during the last major Iran war scare, experts predicted gasoline price increases in excess of $10 a gallon if Iran was invaded.

This would devastate the U.S. economy, which is already hanging by a thin thread. Iran has announced this past weekend it will cease all oil shipments to Britain and France in protest of their support of economic sanctions. This alone is causing oil to spike today. A global energy crisis will financially decimate average citizens who will have their savings sapped by extreme price inflation, not just in gasoline, but in all goods that require the use of gasoline in their production and shipping. If you like this idea, then by all means, support an invasion of Iran.

War Domino Effect

In January of 2010, I wrote an article for Neithercorp Press entitled “Will Globalists Trigger Yet Another World War“. In that article, I warned about the dangers of an invasion of Iran or Syria being used to foment a global conflict, in order to create a crisis large enough to distract the masses away from the international banker created economic collapse.

In 2006, Iran signed a mutual defense pact with its neighbor, Syria, which is also in the middle of its own turmoil and possible NATO intervention. Syria has strong ties to Russia, and even has a revamped Russian naval base off its coast, a fact rarely mentioned by the mainstream media. Both Russia and China have made their opposition clear in the case of any Western intervention in Iran or Syria. An invasion by the U.S. or Israel in these regions could quickly intensify into wider war between major world powers. If you like the idea of a world war which could eventually put you and your family in direct danger, then by all means, support an invasion of Iran.

Dollar Collapse

Make no mistake, the U.S. dollar is already on the verge of collapse, along with the U.S. economy. Bilateral trade agreements between BRIC and ASEAN nations are sprouting up everywhere the past couple months, and these agreements are specifically designed to end the dollar’s status as the world reserve currency. An invasion of Iran will only expedite this process. If global anger over the resulting chaos in oil prices doesn’t set off a dump of the dollar, the eventual debt obligation incurred through the overt costs of war will. Ron Paul has always been right; it doesn’t matter whether you think invasion is a good idea or not. We simply CANNOT afford it. America is bankrupt. Our only source of income is our ability to print money from thin air. Each dollar created to fund new wars brings our currency ever closer to its demise.

This combination of disastrous economic policy and disastrous foreign policy has actually been used before. Great Britain once sat in the position of economic authority that the U.S. sits in today, and the pound sterling was once considered the world reserve because it was required in the global trade of oil, just as the dollar is now. However, British intrigues in the Middle East, and more specifically in Egypt, led them into extreme debt. In the 1940′s and 1950′s, international banks led by America and France threatened to dump British Treasury Bonds in response to their efforts to dominate Middle Eastern oil. Does any of this sound familiar?

This ultimately led to considerable devaluation of the pound. In 1967, the death blow was finally delivered when Prime Minister Harold Wilson artificially reduced the British exchange rate by 14% overnight! Meaning, in the span of a single evening, British citizens lost 14% of their buying power, and every product they went out to buy the next day would cost them 14% more.

It would be practical to mention that the move to destroy the British pound came right in time for the implementation of new programs for the construction of the European Union, and the Euro, the new supranational currency which would later become the standard. The EU and the Euro never could have come about while the Pound Sterling remained a world reserve. Just another amazing coincidence I’m sure, and one that couldn’t possibly have any relation to what is happening to the dollar in 2012, right…?

So, if you like the idea of losing 14% or more of your buying power overnight, and having that financial loss blamed on the tides of war, rather than on the corporate bankers who actually created the mess, then by all means, support an invasion of Iran.

Civil Liberties Destroyed

Do you like being able to walk down the street without having to suffer through constant pat-downs by low wage, brain-dead cretins in blue gloves? Does it make you feel good to know that if you are ever arrested, whether you are guilty or not, you are guaranteed by law to receive a fair trial by your peers in a civilian court with a lawyer by your side? Do you enjoy taking a long drive with the family without facing check points, and predator drones constantly overhead every time you put the top down to feel the wind in your hair? Don’t get too comfortable, folks! These “luxuries” will soon be a thing of the past, especially as the U.S. financial situation deteriorates and war escalates. Think of all the new threats the elites in our government can use to rationalize the usurpation of Constitutional protections when war with Iran, or Syria, or Russia, or China, or all of them at once, breaks out.

The term “terrorist” will take on a whole different dynamic. Great national dangers often facilitate broader definitions of who is and who is not an “enemy of the state”. Crisis gives wings to legislation like the NDAA. In this kind of despotic environment, no one, even those citizens who support the state in nearly all of its enterprises, is safe. Maybe you love the idea of war with Iran, but at the same time, hate the idea of having a TSA goon manhandling your wife or daughter in a train station or on a street corner. Good luck with that. Speaking out could be treated as disruption of national security measures. Off to the gulag with you!

The “greater good” somehow always entails the dissolution of civil liberties for the common man. Invariably, the establishment in power favors no one, save a highly connected few. Being pro-establishment does not necessarily protect you from a government given free reign to do whatever it pleases in wartime. In the end, everyone is fair game.

If this is the kind of America you want to live in, by all means, support an invasion of Iran.

If You Can’t See The Big Picture, You Can’t See A Thing…

The relentless drive for war in the Middle East is not about “spreading democracy”. It is not about terrorism. It is not about oil (at least for the most part). It is not about Israel (at least, not the Israeli people). It is not even about corporate profiteering by the Military Industrial Complex. War in the Middle East is about changing the way our country and our world operates, culturally, socially, financially, and politically. War opens doors to social re-engineering that could never be accomplished otherwise. War creates fear, panic, rage, and allows dystopian fallacies to reign supreme. War, unjust and dishonorable war, makes countries weak, and ripe for violent change.

Iran is not a threat to our way of life, and never has been. But, war in Iran could easily upset the core of our entire country, and leave us wayward strangers in the land we were born.

While much of the rhetoric of preemptive invasion that America has been awash in these past few months is carefully crafted and disseminated by government entities whose intentions are far from honest, its effectiveness is mute without the helping hand of a thoughtless subsection of the public. Every decade or so, a new generation of idiot spawn comes of age to be willingly sacrificed on the chopping block of globalist conquest. This new decade brings with it the promise of not just more of the same, but perhaps the most costly tithe to the gods of war ever made in our country’s history. This is not our fight. This is a fight we are being conned into undertaking for the profit of others, and thus, it is a fight we cannot win. Perhaps when the blind mobs of this nation feel the abrupt sting of their foolishness in their narrow day-to-day existence, they will finally understand…

Regards,

Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.com

Brandon is the founder and chief strategist behind the Alternative Market Project. His goal is to create a barter networking hub and educational gathering place for every American across the country who wishes to decouple from our current collapsing financial system and build something better. Getting people out of their homes and meeting face to face to organize meaningful relationships, and eventually, entire free market communities designed to shield cities and states from economic and political danger; this is the mission of the Alternative Market Project.

Consequences to Expect if the U.S. Invades Iran was originally featured on Whiskey and Gunpowder. Visit Laissez Faire Books for the best selection of libertarian book titles.

February 22, 2012
Santiago, Chile

“[T]he more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become.”

Benito Mussolini
Grand Fascist Council Report, 1929

When I was a kid, the morning announcements at my taxpayer-funded public school dragged on for a good 15 or 20 minutes. They announced the birthdays. They told us what was for lunch. For some reason they even told us the weather, as if a bunch of 6-year olds cared what the relative humidity was.

Then we broke out into the propaganda. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we sang the national anthem. Then we sang America the Beautiful. THEN we sang the state anthem, “Texas our Texas”. I still hear it in my sleep from time to time.

It’s bizarre, when you think about it. Children are indoctrinated from such a young age to subordinate themselves to the ‘republic,’ a system of government. They learn that the state is paramount above all else, and the belief is inculcated at a time when young minds are typically incapable of rational analysis.

It seems difficult to heavily distinguish such practices from those of the Deutsches Jungvolk section of the HJ– the Hitler Youth organization for 10-14 year old boys that instilled loyalty to the Third Reich above all else.

Children learn that the United States stands for liberty… the land of the free. It’s simply not questioned. That’s what they’re told, that’s what they grow up believing. But as Hayek wrote in the early 1940s,

“Freedom and liberty are now words so worn with use and abuse that one must hesitate to employ them to express the ideals for which they [used to stand.]”

‘Freedom’ now comes with all sorts of strings attached, special stipulations. These days, we’re told: “You’re free. Now follow all of these regulations that are interpreted at the exclusive discretion of hundreds of executive agencies under the penalty of imprisonment and/or financial penalties so egregious that you’ll be paying for the rest of your natural life.”

The rule of law no longer exists– not in the United States, not in the western world.

In the EU, member states and unelected, supranational agencies are now routinely violating their own charters and international agreements to bail out, print, and borrow however much they want, whenever they want, irrespective of what the law says.

Moreover, hundreds of US government executive agencies and their ever-expanding authorities are creating a complex ‘shadow code’ system of policies and regulations, each of which can be interpreted in the sole discretion of a single bureaucrat who’s out to get you.

Consider:

• US-based Gibson Guitar Corp has twice been raided by FBI agents on suspicion of importing wood that violates India’s trade regulations. They don’t care that Gibson’s CEO has a memo from the Indian government approving the deal. The wood remains confiscated, even though charges have never been filed.

• There’s a regulation on the books, buried deep within the system, requiring you to first fill out a form with the Census Bureau of all places. It’s rarely (if ever) enforced, but it exists… and anyone who doesn’t do it is subject to fine and/or imprisonment at the pleasure of the Census Bureau.

• A few months ago, a fisherman from New Bedford, Mass. accidentally caught an 800-pound bluefin tuna in his trawl gear after setting out from dock. It was freakish good fortune, albeit short-lived. The man was relieved of his tuna by the National Maritime Fisheries Service because there is ‘no permit that allows catching bluefin with a trawl net.’

• Even having too much cash now can be considered a criminal offense. There are countless stories like Anthony Smelley’s, who in 2009 was pulled over on I-70 in Putnam County, Indiana and found with $17,500 in cash. He was able to prove that the money was his, legitimately. It didn’t matter. He was relieved of the cash, but charged with no crime. 

• You can’t so much as apply for a passport now without being threatened with “fine and/or imprisonment under U.S. law including the provisions of 18 USC 1001, 18 USC 1542, and/or 18 USC 1621.”  The same goes for ‘alteration of a passport’ or even using a passport ‘in violation of the restrictions contained herein..’, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

This is not the land of the free. The US government’s extraordinary network of codes, regulations, and policies has created a nation of citizens who live in a state of constant violation, governed by criminals who have the authority to defraud them.

A few months ago, one obscure police agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was found having spent several hundred thousand dollars of funds and assets that were confiscated from fishermen (without charge) to buy a luxury boat that was used for pleasure cruises and barbecues.

In 2008, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives submitted a request for bids to purchase 2,000 Leatherman pocketknives for its agents. The ATF wanted the knives to be inscribed with the phrase “Always Think Forfeiture”, as in ATF.

The order was rescinded after it was reported in the Idaho Statesman… but it’s emblematic of how government agencies view their role… and ours.

At this moment, you are guilty of dozens of crimes and/or regulatory violations.  Such rules are selectively enforced; the rule of law means nothing, it’s all about who your connections are, whose palms are greased, and whose campaign you enriched.

Like a cheap credit card offer, all the song and dance about ‘land of the free’ comes with fine print at the bottom of the page– “terms and conditions may apply, void where prohibited.”  This is not freedom. It’s freedom*

Retirement withdrawals were up to 7% in 2010, a 2% increase from 2005. And in the same period, the number of outstanding loans from 401(k) participants rose 6%, from 22% to 28%.

Since unemployment rose during the economic recession, some people had no choice but to raid their retirement funds. But doing it willy-nilly can add up to serious fines and debt later.

As a general rule, when one dips into retirement before age 59 ½, on top of income taxes there will also be a 10% penalty for withdrawing early.

But not always. There are exceptions to this, and with careful research and planning, the 10% penalty can be avoided altogether.

First, there are some situations that are simply out of your control.  For example, if you become permanently disabled, require money for medical expenses, or have an IRS levy, there will usually be no penalty for withdrawing from an IRA or 401(k) early.

Additionally, IRAs allow withdrawals for the unemployed to pay for health insurance, to buy a first home, or to pay for college.

But some retirement plans also allow you, with careful planning, to receive yearly withdrawals in what are called “substantially equal periodic payments.”

This means that, on a very basic level, you can come with a payment plan to receive periodically according to the amount in your retirement plan and your life expectancy (determined according to age).

The catch is that you can’t stop the withdrawals once you set them up, and you will receive them for either 5 years or until age 59 ½.

But this plan allows you to avoid the 10% penalty. Of course, you should certainly research your own retirement plan or plans before jumping into this, just to be sure the risks aren’t greater than the benefit.

Another way to begin receiving payments early from a 401(k) is if you leave the company at age 55. You would still pay income tax, but the penalty could be avoided. But this option is very austere about the age restriction of 55. You can’t be any younger when you leave the company, or the penalty will become applicable.

You can also avoid penalties with an ESOP, or employee stock ownership plan. They use employer stocks to fund the plan, and the employee can receive payments at any time without a fee.

And another way to withdraw early is through QDRO, or Qualified Domestic Relations Order, payments. 

This applies only to people paying alimony or child support. But it allows people to withdraw early without penalty so long as some or all of the payment is going to a former spouse for one of those purposes.

Again, make sure to look into your specific plans before taking action to withdraw, particularly if you have more than one. Research can be your best friend when you’re looking to owe as little as possible.

Gil Charney of H&R Block stresses the importance of getting all the facts:

“It can be very confusing, and in some cases we’re talking about pretty big dollars.  Sometimes it’s better to take a distribution from an IRA where a penalty exemption exists than thinking broadly that the penalty exception will exist for the 401(k) when it doesn’t.”

So if you’re looking to withdraw from your retirement fund, consider whether any of these options apply to you, and then look at your own plans.

Of course, it’s better to avoid withdrawal altogether if you can. But sometimes you simply need the cash...

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is cleary fed up with Warren Buffett's repeated calls for the super-rich to pay more taxes. 

While appearing on CNN to discuss New Jersey tax issues, he bluntly told Buffett to "write a check and shut up."

He added that the top 1% of the state of New Jersey pay 41% of the income tax. Watch the fiery exchange below:

We recently reported that the Fed was up to something mysterious....

Recent activity has all but confirmed our suspicions: The Fed is “swapping” dollars for euros in a covert method to bailout Europe's big banks.

According to a former Fed official's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Reserve is indeed bailing out Europe by operating in the shadows, which is going mostly unnoticed by American citizens...

By participating in a currency swap, the Fed cannot technically be accused of loaning money to the ECB.

Former Vice President of the Federal Reserve bank of Dallas, Gerald O'Driscoll recently reported on the swap-situation in an interview with the Wall Street Journal:

The Fed is using what is termed a “temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap arrangement” with the European Central Bank (ECB). There are similar arrangements with the central banks of Canada, England, Switzerland and Japan. Simply put, the Fed trades or “swaps” dollars for euros. The Fed is compensated by payment of an interest rate (currently 50 basis points, or one-half of 1%) above the overnight index swap rate. The ECB, which guarantees to return the dollars at an exchange rate fixed at the time the original swap is made, then lends the dollars to European banks of its choosing.

***

The two central banks are engaging in this roundabout procedure because each needs a fig leaf. The Fed was embarrassed by the revelations of its prior largess with foreign banks. It does not want the debt of foreign banks on its books. A currency swap with the ECB is not technically a loan.

Watch this video to see why Mr. O'Driscoll believes this arrangement is wrong for various reasons:

This is especially risky to America because if the Fed loses money, the nation's taxpayers lose money. It's a simple philosophy and the risk is quite real and the consequences are imminent.

The ECB could struggle to pay the swaps back in dollars in due time...in which case, money is lost and everyone here suffers.

Essentially, this means you are assisting in the European bailout and you unwillingly share the Fed's risk of losing money in the currency exchanges going on now...

This past Christmas, the Fed handed over $600 billion to Europe in a single day. Meanwhile, you're losing your retirement savings and paying higher taxes to compensate for this lost money.

Watch below as Bernanke ducks and weaves to avoid disclosing details to the American people who want to know where the money is going...