Once a year I take time out from my normal news analysis to update World Affairs Brief subscribers to the “big picture” of events in the world, including specifically my projections for the next World War, which is the real threat we have to prepare for—not individual terrorism. More than ever, I still consider the nuclear attack on America as inevitable, both because the real axis of evil (Russia and China) are still building for that attack, and because our own government is controlled by those intent upon destroying US sovereignty and delivering our nation over to a socialist New World Order (NWO). The foundational document upon which this update is based is entitled “Strategic Threats of the Coming Decade” and is found on this webpage in the column to your right. For a one-time sample copy of these briefings, send an email to “editor@worldaffairsbrief.com” and request it.

 

World Affairs Brief December 28, 2007. Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief.

THE BIG PICTURE: 2007 UPDATE

Once a year I take time out from my normal news analysis to update World Affairs Brief subscribers to the “big picture” of events in the world, including specifically my projections for the next World War, which is the real threat we have to prepare for–not individual terrorism. More than ever, I still consider the nuclear attack on America as inevitable, both because the real axis of evil (Russia and China) are still building for that attack, and because our own government is controlled by those intent upon destroying US sovereignty and delivering our nation over to a socialist New World Order (NWO). The foundational document upon which this update is based is entitled “Strategic Threats of the Coming Decade” and is found at http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com/keytopics/threats.html.

A Larger World View of the Coming World War: Each year we see the US engaged in extensive military and covert intervention in nearly every country of the world–either under the guise of spreading democracy or promoting US interests. This intervention is the real source of hatred against America, not our freedoms. However, the true globalist purpose of all this intervention is to antagonize the world, control essential resources necessary for a future war, and to induce a massive nuclear retaliation against the US military that will create a world conflict sufficiently horrible to induce Western nations to yield essential sovereignty to a NWO. As I documented in recent briefs, however, that strategy was halted, temporarily, for the first time that I can remember. The US was planning on a massive air assault on Iran this winter but decided to postpone that attack, perhaps out of fear that another aggressive intervention and unpopular war, based on manipulated intelligence, could affect the upcoming primary elections in favor of Ron Paul–the only Republican anti-war presidential candidate–who is already dangerously close to breaking out of the single digits in the polls. I believe it was also feared, correctly, that the fragile state of the US dollar could not handle another trillion dollars in deficit spending while the establishment was busy funneling at least a trillion dollars into the world economy to bailout subprime mortagage holders and the banks that brokered these debt instruments (still ongoing).

The Bush administration has used the phony war on terror as a pretext in a seven year campaign of devious and manipulative legal wrangling to undermine Constitutional protections of the people and to incite false patriotism.

We take notice that even in yesterday’s assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, government agencies from Pakistan and some in the US were quick to pin the act on al Qaeda. How can anyone make such a claim without evidence and when the killer is dead? Bhutto did receive a letter from “friends of al Qaeda” on Oct. 23, threatening more suicide attacks. But, how hard is that to fake?

The PTB don’t miss an opportunity to keep raising the specter of organized terror. It’s too bad that only a few savvy thousands understand that al Qaeda is controlled terrorism (at the top) and used to further political purposes.

True, Pakistan is an essential key for the US, but not in the War on Terror–as claimed–but rather, in the controlled and manipulated war on terror for globalist conflict management purposes. Gen. Musharraf and his ISI spooks manager the arms pipeline to controlled enemies of the US, to create the appearance of terror and havoc. This is the real reason why Musharraf is being supported at all costs.

While Bhutto was no true friend of liberty either, she was a major figure competing with Musharraf for power and had to be eliminated to preserve his fragile base. The commonly stated pretense for assassination by al Qaeda or Muslim militants is that Bhutto was seen as a collaborator with the Americans. But even if true it is even more applicable towards Musharraf himself, who has not been targeted. This leaves only Nawaz Sharif in the opposition role, and he had better watch his back. Several analysts are predicting that this will give Musharraf another excuse to postpone the election.

This continual drum beat about the threat of Islamic terror is extremely effective at keeping Americans compliant and unthinking. With it all, President Bush has slowly accustomed Americans to accept near dictatorial powers for himself under the guise of “Commander in Chief.” Presidents used to require a declaration of war to exercise this power, but no more. The combination of a continual and unending “War on Terror,” with numerous broad-ranging war power resolutions allows the United States to be kept under a continual state of war and emergency.

The Executive branch’s only restraint on using that power is the fear of engendering on open revolt from the small but growing minority of disaffected Republicans, Democrats and Independents who “won’t take it anymore.” In any case, the executive still controls secret forces (the dark side of government) that can and does carry out illegal surveillance, warrantless searches, secret detention, and even torture–all under the cover of “national security.”

Part of that dictatorial authority came in the Patriot Act, and some in last year’s Military Commission’s act. By changing the Insurrection Act, Bush has effectively overturned the Posse Comitatus Act which bars the president from deploying troops within the United States. He can now declare martial law at will and employ US troops within the nation to carry it out. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 also allows Bush to take control of the National Guard which has always been under the purview of the state governors. Bush now has nearly absolute power over all armed troops within the country, a state of affairs which the constitution purposely tried to prevent.

That said, those that keep predicting the president will use those powers soon will continue to be disappointed. The manpower simply does not presently exist to run any comprehensive form of martial law, and the early use of that power without sufficient public justification would cause a huge backlash against presidential power. We need only look at the disaster the government made out of the Katrina hurricane evacuation to see that backlash. New Orleans has still not recovered, and smart people who got out aren’t coming back. Moreover, savvy people know not to get caught in FEMA shelters (which quickly turn into mini-prisons). In my opinion, we will only see the broad use of martial law during the big war that’s coming, when America itself is attacked. Until then, it is essential that the American people be kept passive and unsuspecting about government tyranny.

World centers of power are still alive and growing: There are still three major centers of power in the world: Russia, China, and the Anglo-American Globalists (US/UK). All other nations are subservient to or allied with one or more of these ‘Big Three’ powers. However, I need to add that each uses numerous surrogates to mask their control mechanisms. This year we have seen the Western Globalists broaden their direct support and control over Europe. France and Germany have joined Britain as surrogates for US globalist policies–almost universally against the will of their own peoples. Each of these countries has been found to be cooperating with CIA
rendition and torture flights. In the latest rounds of elections, challenges from the far Left have been defeated in major countries (except Italy) and pro-globalists have gained ground.

Not only do the globalists have a dedicated yesman in British PM Gordon Brown, who replaced Tony Blair, but the White House also seems to have the total allegiance of France’s PM Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s PM Angela Merkel. All other European powers are relatively insignificant when compared to the influence of these Big Three economic powerhouses in Europe.

Russia and China are still allied in a deadly pact to strike the West with nuclear weapons as soon as the best opportunity presents itself, but not before 2009, in order to take maximum advantage of the propaganda value of the 2008 Olympics. My more realistic estimate is that the threat of a pre-emptive nuclear war against America will not reach it’s full potential before the middle of the next decade, primarily because China isn’t ready yet–and that may yet slide again depending on China’s desperate need for oil supplies outside its borders.

China continues to buy up oil rights in Africa, South America and Southern Asia, but is also facing severe economic constraints due to its near out-of-control growth problems, tainted with political and industrial corruption and lack of sufficient electrical power. Environmental problems are reaching epidemic proportions in China, but China is reluctant to waste any resources on the problem, except in Beijing where a massive restriction on automobile and truck use is to be implemented only during the Olympics–for show.

China’s semi-secret military expansion is going forward at a fast pace, but slower than what the Communist leaders want. China still has a long way to go to upgrade its air power and build a blue water navy outfitted with the latest electronic weapons and detection systems. It takes time to steal and implement the technology necessary to accomplish these upgrades, even with the US helping out by looking the other way as the Commerce Department continues to facilitate duel use technology transfers to China.

The US also continues the treasonous practice of allowing China and Russia to visit US weapons labs, and infiltrate our best technology universities with student-spies from China. According to our own Department of Defense (DOD), “Many of China’s new generation of scientists, engineers, and managers receive training and have experience in the United States and other countries. In 2004, the United States granted 35,578 F-1, J-1, and M-1 student or exchange visas to PRC nationals, according to the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics.

Russia, in contrast, continues to share only non-cutting edge military technology with China, knowing that China is still a competitor for world power. Russia is hoping to keep China under its thumb of mutual dependency (no small task).

The Hudson Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank, in its report, “China’s New Great Leap Forward: High Technology and Military Power in the Next Half-Century,” is warning that the US government is too preoccupied with its “war on terror” and democratization of the Middle East and Central Asia [to counter China]. I think that, in reality, this is part of a concerted plan to downplay the Chinese threat, or at least give it a low priority.

The difference between the 2006 and 2007 DOD report to Congress on the Chinese Threat is telling. In 2006, they relayed the threat in fairly open and graphic terms, though it did not get much coverage. In 2007, the spin artists within the DOD began to add a lot more material about China’s dependence on world trade, trying to downplay the significance of the threat–or at least feeding the reader with the false hope that prevails widely in the business community, that China would never shoot itself in the foot by attacking the West–the source of its prosperity. These optimists need to read what the Chinese leaders are saying which indicate the deceptive plans they operate under.

The US report to Congress in 2006 mildly complains, “The Chinese leaders have yet to adequately explain the purposes of their military expansion.” So what? Why should US analysts wait for an explanation (that would surely be disingenuous) when they could draw their own conclusions from the obvious. At least they ought to be savvy enough to suspect the worst when the report states, “Estimates place Chinese military expenditures at two to three times officially disclosed figures.”

The DOD report even quotes Deng Xiaoping’s tactical advice to his military and political leaders, without attempting an in-depth explanation: “Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.”

Rather than utter even a hint to Congress that this kind of language reveals deeply deceptive and bellicose intentions, the DOD spinmeisters are simply content to fret about Chinese lack of clarity. They certainly ought to be able to see by the raw evidence of military growth that Chinese intentions are hegemonic. Here’s a sample of what is widely known about China’s military progress:

Peter Ford, of the Christian Science Monitor writes, “A sleek, swept-wing fighter-bomber dubbed the Jian-10, unveiled here last week, is more than just another jet plane. It is China’s calling card, announcing Beijing’s arrival among the top ranks of military manufacturers. Powered by Chinese engines and firing Chinese precision-guided missiles, the locally built Jian-10 has ‘allowed China to become the fourth country in the world’ to have developed such a capability, ‘narrowing the gap with advanced nations.’

“The latest fruit of a military modernization drive that has produced an indigenous Chinese nuclear attack submarine, early warning aircraft, frigates and destroyers, cruise missiles, and computerized command and control systems, the Jian-10 is ‘a decisive step by China toward becoming an aviation power,’ the official Xinhua news agency declared. The plane is also a new symbol of China’s role-reversal in the global arms industry. ‘Most technology analysts have been surprised by the speed with which China has gone from being an arms-buying country to one with real promise of being a producer of front-edge military technology,’ says Denny Roy, senior researcher at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.” They shouldn’t be surprised. Everyone who does business in China knows that every contract is designed to facilitate Chinese access to the technology any business imports to China.

Bill Gertz writes that, “Commercial satellite photos made public recently provide a new look at China’s nuclear forces and bases–images that include the first view of a secret underwater submarine tunnel. A Pentagon official said the photograph of the tunnel entrance reveals for the first time a key element of China’s hidden military buildup. Similar but more detailed intelligence photos of the entrance are highly classified within the U.S. government, the official said. ‘The Chinese have a whole network of secret facilities that the U.S. government understands but cannot make public,’ said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ‘This is the first public revelation of China’s secret buildup.'” Of course, the reason the US chooses not to make it public is not to keep the secret from the Chinese, but to keep the American people asleep about the real threat.

Max Boot adds, “Newer anti-ship cruise missiles such as the Russian-made Yakhont, Sunburn, and Uran are even deadlier because they have faster speeds, greater stealth capabilities, and more accurate, GPS-enhanced targeting. Russia is selling these missiles to customers abroad and some nations like China are developing their own versions.

“The threat to shipping, civil and military, is increased by diesel submarines. The latest diesel submarines [Yuan Class] have ultra-quiet electric engines that make them hard to detect with sonar, and they are much cheaper to buy or produce than a nuclear-powered submarine. Russia has exported Kilo-class diesel-electric subs to China, India, Iran, and Algeria, among others. China is producing its own Song-class diesel submarines in a bid to challenge U.S. naval hegemony.”

According to the DOD report of 2006: “China is acquiring eight additional KILO class diesel electric submarines from Russia to augment the four previously purchased units. The new KILOs are equipped with the supersonic SS-N-27B ASCM, and wire-guided and wake-homing torpedoes.

In October 2006, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy SONG-class diesel-electric submarine broached the surface in close proximity to the USS KITTY HAWK aircraft carrier in waters near Japan.” What was the US official reaction to this embarrassing security breach? “This incident demonstrated the importance of long-standing U.S. efforts to improve the safety of U.S. and Chinese military air and maritime assets operating near each other.” Nonsense. Calling this incident a failure to coordinate and communicate acts as if this was an accident rather than a deliberate attempt by the Chinese to demonstrate their penetration capabilities. I trust my readers can compare the US attempts to exaggerate and amplify every act of “aggression” by Iran and yet downplay stronger provocations by China such as this, not to mention forcing down US surveillance aircraft, launching missiles and conducting nuclear tests.

The most egregious example of downplaying threats occurred this year when China demonstrated the capability of shooting down a satellite in space. The DOD dutifully reported that, “In January 2007, China successfully tested a direct-ascent, anti-satellite (ASAT) missile against a Chinese weather satellite, demonstrating China’s ability to attack satellites operating in low-Earth orbit.” But then blandly stated that “The test put at risk the assets of all space faring nations.” Indeed it did, but was there any drum beating about “refusing to tolerate” China’s acquisition of these technologies and threatening to destroy them if not dismantled? None at all.

Other DOD reports on China’s military progress report that “China has received its first of two Russian-made Sovremenny II guided missile destroyers (DDGs), with the second expected by the end of 2006 or early 2007. These DDGs are fitted with advanced anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) and sophisticated, wide-area air defense systems, which represent a qualitative improvement over China’s earlier Sovremenny-class DDGs purchased from Russia.”

“China is modernizing its longer-range ballistic missile force by adding more survivable systems. The road-mobile, solid-propellant DF-31 intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) achieved initial threat availability in 2006 and will likely achieve operational status in the near future, if it has not already done so [We are still guessing]. A longer range variant, the DF-31A, is expected to reach initial operational capability (IOC) in 2007. China is also working on a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, the JL-2 (IOC 2007-2010), for deployment on a new JIN-class (Type 094) nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, also in development.

The DOD openly admits that two supposed US allies are helping arm China. “In addition to Russia, Israel has also been a supplier of advanced military technology to China. Although Israel began the process of canceling the PHALCON program with China in 2000, Beijing is working to complete the development of an AWACS variant built on an IL-76 airframe. The Israelis transferred HARPY UAVs to China in 2001 and conducted maintenance on HARPY parts during 2003-2004.” What the DOD doesn’t say is that what Israel did had US secret approval.

Just as the Mossad does illegal black operations on behalf of the CIA, the Israeli Defense Industries do technology transfers to future US enemies so that the US can claim they had no part in the transfer.

Incredibly, the DOD has not published a threat document on Russian military advances since the cold war. The US intelligence community continues to treat Russia as a complete ally, despite their knowledge of Russian advanced nuclear and biological weapons. Expressions from President Putin have been increasingly hostile, and include the pulling out of yet another weapons treaty (INF Treaty), and the continued productions of the world’s most formidable ICBM, the Russian Topol-M. If you ask US intelligence what Russian missile and nuclear warhead numbers are, you will find they are suspiciously match to what nuclear disarmament treaties say Russia has agreed to–even though they don’t know for sure. The Russians have backed out of all or portions of all disarmament treaties and will continue to do so unless it is to their advantage. The US State Department continues to affirm the falsehood that Russia is in compliance with all treaties. Assertions of compliance are purely political since US inspectors have never been allowed inside the newest and most sensitive Russian underground facilities–especially Yamantau Mountain.

Yamantau and Kosvinsky Mountain (both located in the Ural mountain range) are the two largest Russian mega-bunker complexes. These sites are not only built to survive the effects of the West’s submarine launched missiles, which cannot penetrate Russia’s main bunker cities, but they also contain, in my analysis, whole factories for the next generation of biological, chemical, nuclear and missile production facilities and munitions depots.

The Russians are planning on not only surviving any US counter attack, but continuing arms production in underground safe havens. Russia has also numerous underground bunkers to shelter about a fourth of its critical labor and military personnel in and around its major cities. So, while Russia admits to only 3 new Topol M missile deployments per quarter, the number being built underground could be many times that number.

The West, led by the US, is still the leader in high-technology military weapons, a superiority which rests on somewhat limited quantities of expensive smart weapons (a point of vulnerability not lost on our enemies). China has huge advantages in terms of potential military manpower, while Russia has overwhelming superiority in numbers of conventional weapons. Additionally, Russia is only a little bit behind in high tech weapons –thanks to both its continued espionage as well as strategic technology transfers between the US and Russia, facilitated by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

This year Russia made significant strides in a number of areas. Its newest fighter is the SU 30/35 and is every bit as maneuverable as our new F-22. The Russians are expected to have fifth generation fighter (similar to our F-35 joint strike fighter) by 2009.

Despite its pretensions of weakness, Russia has at least a 5-to-1 advantage over the West in terms of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, including missile delivery systems. This latter advantage is critical because, with America’s suicidal doctrine of absorbing a nuclear first strike (PDD-60) in effect (Bush has not rescinded it), combined with America’s lack of any viable anti-ballistic missile system (we have only six missiles, none of which have explosive warheads, compared with Russia’s understated arsenal of 3,000 missiles), it means that Russia has the capability to destroy 90 percent of the entire US military machine in a single day.

In summary, Russia and China are still preparing for war against the West as we speak, and our own leaders in the US are simultaneously downplaying the Chinese threat while outright denying any Russian threat. They are setting America up for a fall, incredible as that kind of treason may appear.

The US and British globalist strategy is to secretly facilitate Russia’s pre-emptive nuclear attack on America and use the ensuing war as an excuse to justify the institution of a new global system of governance by “Third Way” socialist control (combining some free markets with overall government control), ostensibly to “save” their own terrorized people from the horrors of war. At some point prior to this war, Russia must emerge from its deception about the fall of the Soviet Union and reestablish that Union. Secretly, Communist leaders are still active in each of the former Soviet States ready to deliver over their nations once again to Russia during the first stages of the war. It won’t happen fully or in public view, but already the ground is being prepared. Naively, many eastern European nations are being allowed into NATO, reminiscent of the epic tale of the Trojan Horse.

Increasingly, dissidents in Russia complain about the consolidation of power under Putin. This year we saw Putin’s preparatory moves to continue ruling Russia as its new Prime Minister, choosing a docile yes man to replace him in a figurehead-like presidency. Many years from now, in hindsight, everyone will see what was happening. But, for now, as in pre-WWII years, the world is watching as the enemy grows, and its power and intentions explained away. There are ALWAYS simple reasons to explain away evil conspiracies in the short term.

With all the media attention given Putin as Russia’s new strongman, don’t forget that Putin is just a puppet, like Bush (though not nearly as poorly spoken), and controlled by other powers behind the throne i.e.: Boris Berezovsky and other “oligarches” who were real Communist bosses who engineered the “fall of Communism.”

Under Putin, the KGB/FSB has regained full strength, and democracy is increasingly just a facade in the Duma, Russia’s Parliament. The Communists secretly run all of the major opposition parties in Russia, except for the smallest libertarian parties. In addition, the continuing Soviets still have puppet leaders posing as pro-Western globalists in the former Soviet states. Thus, as NATO brings in these Eastern bloc nations, the alliance will be naively facilitating spies for Russia.

The US and British globalists intend, in my opinion, to allow the Russian pre-emptive attack to occur unimpeded, except by a few puny ABM missile interceptors that will do little good against an overwhelming Russian and Chinese missile barrage in the thousands.

Western leaders will emerge from their bunkers following the attack, and feign being shocked: “The Russians and Chinese deceived us! We didn’t know they were preparing for war”, and immediately call for a worldwide patriotic war against the “new” evil alliance. They will rally the public in the name of God, Country, and the Constitution – but under the banner of the United Nations (because US military might is gone). They will exhort US and European survivors NOT to submit to Russian pressure to cut a deal and spare their cities, but to fight back and win.

For their part, Western survivors of the nuclear strikes will willingly submit to any new draconian controls suggested by their leaders, just as fears of the CIA-created al Qaeda attack on 9/11 have induced the American public to succumb to a continual erosion of their constitutional rights. Even pacifist Europe will join in the fight, as no one wants to live under Russian rule. All this will begin with a suitable trigger event either in the Middle East or centering around Taiwan or Korea.

Meanwhile, the newly empowered UN will emerge from the attacks an even stronger global entity, drawing support from those areas in the Western world that have not been hit and marshaling those forces while America recovers. Even when recovery is achieved, however, America will no longer be the global powerhouse it has historically been. Disarmed by the pre-emptive strike and subservient to a stronger UN and an emerging New World Order, America will in the future only be harnessed for the global good. It will never again be allowed to dictate its own destiny. Its leaders will become leaders of the dreaded New World Order, and they won’t be working for US interests.

Yes, there will be new economic growth and power, but some type of oath of allegiance to the New World Order will be required to participate in that rebuilding. This will drive anti-NWO people into an economic underground. Expect to see a media campaign launched against those “anti-government forces” who enter the new “black market” and who evade global taxation. Crackdowns and arrests will follow and concentration/holding camps presently being built by our government will begin to be filled with these “traitors” and “dissenters, who refuse to support our troops.”

To avoid this inevitable dragnet, true conservatives need to develop (in the few remaining years left for peace) informal networks of people they can trust, and who are prepared to be mutually supporting in such a crisis. They also need to be prepared to relocate to safer locations where patriots will congregate and band together for mutual protection. As I point out in Strategic Relocation, avoid creating formal structured preparedness of militia organizations that can be targeted. Keep things informal and casual.

In summary, just as there are various earthly power structures with competing strategies influencing events in the world, there are competing spiritual forces at work as well (God and Satan), with their own agendas and purposes to accomplish. The existence of these powerful spiritual forces means it is much more difficult to project a clear time frame for this coming war than it would be if we had only earthly influences to consider. Although the globalist conspirators, prodded by Satan, seem anxious to propel the world into war, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Lord caused the time frame I’ve described to slip even further, for His own purposes.

If He does, don’t be tempted to give up and say, as many will, “I guess it’s never going to happen!” As long as these grand predators are still preparing and building for war, and our government keeps lying to us about the real threat and their real intentions, I will continue to warn my subscribers, and update them regarding the timing as I see it each year.

The Economy: All of the things I foresaw in last year’s Big Picture have come true: “The Powers That Be (PTB) will pull out all the stops to flood the economy with liquidity to arrest the fall of the housing and subprime mortgage meltdown.” The result, as I and others predicted, was a rapidly declining dollar and inflation at home. The PTB are barely staving off a banking and derivative collapse, but the only reason they have been able to do so is that international fear of collapse gives back-handed support for the dollar no matter how much US debases the currency. The dollar hasn’t collapsed completely mostly because the holders of large blocks of dollars can’t get rid of them without precipitating a total rout of the dollar, which would destroy the dollar’s value before any of the large holders can successfully dump their holdings. Thus, the holders of large blocks of dollars are held hostage to the sheer outstanding quantity of dollars in the world.

Here is what I said last year on why deficit spending is so essential to the globalist control over Americans: “The PTB in the US use debt for another essential purpose, which they aren’t about to give up or let slip away: deficit spending allows massive military and political intervention around the world WITHOUT having to raise taxes. If every American felt the direct pain of the Iraq war by paying a direct tax for war costs (about $3600 for a family of four per year, and growing) there would be an instant cry for a pull-out. If you add to that an equal amount for foreign aid to other countries, we’d have the makings of a huge tax rebellion and a return to minding our own business. The PTB will never allow Americans to feel the financial pain, directly.” I believe that evil rationale still stands.

The manipulation of government: Without reviewing all of this year’s briefs, 2007 brought a continuous parade of government lying, deception and manipulation of public opinion to justify and/or conceal the real intents of an evil government conspiring to undermine essential liberties. Here is a litany of the major evils we witnessed:

  • Concealing an illegal total surveillance system by focusing on a legislative battle over minor reforms of the FISA law.
  • Demanding immunity for telephone companies involved in providing government direct taps on internet fiber optic cables.
  • Insidious lying about torture and justifying its use under “enhanced interrogation” techniques.
  • Denying basic due process and habeas corpus principles to a citizen and Guantanamo detainees.
  • Presenting a controlled judge Michael Mukasey as a replacement to Alberto Gonzales, whose first act was to stonewall the investigation of the destruction of video tapes showing CIA torture of overseas detainees.

We also witnessed a continual campaign to justify continued intervention in Iraq, and explain away all the failings, including egregious killings of civilians by private military contractors like Blackwater. We witnessed the Democrats in control of Congress fail to stop this war or deny to the president “war powers” for attacking Iran. Instead, the administration’s barrage of conjured intelligence attempting to justify a war against Iran went relatively unchallenged by the opposition.

We saw continued manipulation of polls and news articles about presidential candidates, enhancing a corrupt Rudolph Giuliani, suppressing the Ron Paul revolution and resurrecting failed candidates like John McCain and Mike Huckabee with deliberate positive coverage not merited by the facts.

In short, we have witnessed a government consumed with covering up it’s illicit crimes and evil agenda. It is not conservative of liberty and certainly not Christian. Conservatives don’t torture. They don’t invent intelligence to justify wars of aggression. They don’t cover-up for illegal acts and errors. They keep their word. The don’t use foul language in the White House. They don’t pardon drug dealers while keeping innocent Border Patrol agents in prison.

What can we do? The best thing we can do at present is support the Ron Paul revolution. I don’t think we’ll ever get another opportunity like the present one. Paul is the only candidate for President you can trust to really shut down unconstitutional government powers. If the PTB are successful in suppressing his campaign (very likely) we must prepared for a take-down of liberty through war and suppression of internal dissent.

It’s OK to have hope in a positive outcome as long as you don’t neglect essential preparations in case we fail. In the past I have outlined many specific preparedness recommendations, which you can access in past year-end briefings. These are found in the “Latest Brief” archives on the website. Click on the last brief in December of each year. Those recommendations are still valid. Stockpile a wide range of supplies (to lessen your need for future money and to provide barter items), get out of debt, ride inflation when you can in real estate, and accumulate some moderate amounts of gold and junk silver as barter items and hedges against inflation.

This year I will concentrate on your needs to prepare to relocate to safer areas. With the temporary respite from price inflation on land and homes, now is a good time to get out of high priced unsafe urban markets and relocate to cheaper, safer, rural areas. Prices are still too high everywhere, but with current rates of inflation above 10% I don’t think waiting will bring significantly lower prices–especially since many of the better relocation states in the West are still experiencing real estate appreciation.

The states experiencing the highest percentage growth are Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and Colorado. However, those percentage gains are due in part to the lower total populations in these states. It is easier to show a 2.9% growth rate in states that only have 2-5 million people than in states with 25-50 million. However, the top destinations for growth in terms of total numbers are still Texas and California which grew 500,000 and 300,000 respectively. California’s actual increase would be much higher if it were not for the high rate of exodus–people retiring and cashing out on high profits from the sale of their homes.

It is also important to note why growth is occurring in some states and declining in others. The natural exodus from cold climate, waning industrial states of the North to the warm Southern states (Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas) has been going on since before WWII and is still continuing, though slowing. A significant portion of the growth in the Western states is due to illegal immigration spreading out from California and Arizona. The Intermountain West (all high desert states) are also the preferred destinations of the millions selling and moving out of California. California homeowners who sell have to move out of state to realize the maximum profit from their sale. Nevada is the primary California exodus destination, followed by Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Washington and Western Colorado.

While there are no fully “safe” states or guaranteed safe places, some places are definitely safer than others. In general, the West is a lot safer than the East because of much lower population densities. The Midwest and South are the cheapest locations for overall cost of living, but will have to absorb most of the dislocation from the high population centers of the East as those people flee westward and run out of transport and fuel.

High population densities in any large metro area guarantee massive social unrest in a society totally dependent on government services and highly efficient food and fuel distribution services. The best places in the West are in rural counties that are hundreds of miles from major metro areas. That is why my highest rated states are in the Intermountain West–hundreds of miles away from the California Coast to the West and Denver to the East. If you need more detailed guidance, you may want to consider getting a copy of my book Strategic Relocation–North American Guide to Safe Places. Go to www.joelskousen.com for a description and online ordering. I also have a book called The Secure Home–700 pages of detail and drawings on how to make your home or retreat more secure and self-sufficient.

Even if you don’t want to move just yet due to job and family ties, you may want to consider tying up land for a future move in advance of trouble. This is an especially good strategy for those who are living in high priced markets where price declines make it a problem to sell just now. They will rebound later due to inflation. In the meantime, you can locate preparedness property for eventual relocation, tie it up at today’s flat or declining prices, and then sell your current residence later when prices rebound. If you have the opportunity to move now to a safer area (and still can make a living) and can sell your city property at a profit, go ahead and do so.

But if you can’t, tying up your future property now while selling the existing property later allows you to leverage against inevitable inflation–as long as you can manage the increased financial load of carrying the future property while waiting. If you have savings that you can apply to the future property and avoid debt, so much the better. Here’s wishing you all God’s blessings to make good choices and have a better New Year. [END]

 

Related Audio:

Joel Skousen discusses some of this and more at Radio Liberty with Dr. Stanley Monteith, which should be available for approximately one month.

Date: 12-27-07
4:00: Joel Skousen: Year end summary