Fools, False Flags, & Failed States | Zero Hedge
Description: Surely by now the American public has developed some immunity to claims of nefarious doings in foreign lands (“weapons of mass destruction,” and all)...

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## The “Russian” Poisoning of the Skirpals In Context

by George Washington - Apr 8, 2018 1:16 am

Planting False Radioactive Poisons, Manufacture of Fake Soviet Aircraft, Etc.

## The So-Called "Trade War" Ends This Week

by Phoenix Capita… - Apr 9, 2018 9:52 am

Every single headline and “guru” is talking about a trade war as if it’s a guaranteed apocalyptic scenario. It isn’t.

## Tech ETF (QQQ) due a bounce at triple support

by kimblecharting - Apr 9, 2018 8:55 am

A bounce is due here and QQQ could bounce at least 5%+.

# Fools, False Flags, & Failed States

Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

> BEIRUT, Lebanon — Days after President Trump said he wanted to pull the United States out of Syria, Syrian forces hit a suburb of Damascus with bombs that rescue workers said unleashed toxic gas.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, the old saying goes. So, tread carefully through the minefields of propaganda laid for the credulous in such low organs as The New York Times. There are excellent reasons to suppose that the American Deep State wishes strenuously to keep meddling all around the Middle East. The record so far shows that the blunt instruments of US strategic policy produce a consistent result: failed states.

Syria was well on its way to that sorry condition — prompted by an inflow of Jihadi maniacs fleeing our previous nation un-building experiment in Iraq — when the Russians stepped in with an arrantly contrary idea: to support the Syrian government. Of course, the Russians had ulterior motives: a naval base on the Mediterranean, expanded influence in the region, and a Gazprom concession to develop and manage large natural gas fields near the Syrian city of Homs, for export to Europe. The latter would have competed with America’s client state, Qatar, a leading gas exporter to Europe.

But the US objected to supporting the government of Bashar al-Assad, as it had previously with Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, as well as Russia’s presence there in the first place. So, the US cultivated anti-government forces in the Syrian civil war, a hodgepodge of Islamic psychopaths variously known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), Daesh, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, Ansar al-Din, Jaysh al-Sunna, Nour al-Din al-Zenki, and what-have-you.

As it happened, US policy in Syria after 2013 became an exercise in waffling. It was clear that our support for the forces of Jihad against Assad was turning major Syrian cities into rubble-fields, with masses of civilians caught in the middle and ground up like so much dog food. President Barack Obama famously drew a line-in-the-sand on the use of chemical weapons. It was well-known that the Syrian army had stockpiles of chemical poisons. But the US also knew that our Jihadi consorts had plenty of their own. Incidents of chemical atrocities were carried out by… somebody… it was never altogether clear or proven… and Mr. Obama’s line-in-the-sand disappeared under dust-storms of equivocation.

Finally, a joint mission of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was called in to supervise the destruction of the Syrian government’s chemical weapons, and certified it as accomplished in late 2014. Yet, poison gas incidents continued — most notoriously in 2017 when President Donald Trump responded to one with a sortie of cruise missiles against a vacant Syrian government airfield. And now another incident in the Damascus suburb of Douma has provoked Mr. Trump to tweetstormed threats of retaliatory violence, just days after he proposed a swift withdrawal from that vexing corner of the world.

Surely by now the American public has developed some immunity to claims of nefarious doings in foreign lands (“weapons of mass destruction,” and all). The operative sentence in that New York Times report is “…Syrian forces hit a suburb of Damascus with bombs that rescue workers said unleashed toxic gas.”

Yeah, well, how clear is it that the toxic gas was contained in the bombs, or rather that the bombs dropped by the Syrian military blew up a chemical weapon depot controlled by anti-government Jihadis? Does that hodgepodge of maniacs show any respect for the UN, or the Geneva Convention, or any other agency of international law? As in many previous such incidents, we don’t know who was responsible — though there is plenty of reason to believe that parties within the US establishment are against Mr. Trump’s idea of getting the hell out of that place, and might cook up a convenient reason to prevent it.

Lastly, how is it in Bashar al-Assad’s interests to provoke a fresh international uproar against him and his regime? I’d say it is not the least in his interest, since he is on the verge of putting an end to the awful conflict. He may not be a model of rectitude by Western standards, but he’s not a mental defective. And he has very able Russian support advising him in what has been so far a long and difficult effort to prevent his state from failing — or being failed for him.

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Erek Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:44 Permalink

Go back!

It's all a lie!

It's just a blow-job!

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AllTimeWhys Erek Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:34 Permalink

This article is spot on. The moment i saw this news hit about a new chemical attack, i rolled my eyes and said "Gee, what a coincidence!"

In reply to Go back!… by Erek

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HopefulCynical AllTimeWhys Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:51 Permalink

You and Molyneux both. Also, /pol/.

The one-trick pony which is the globalist cabal isn't fooling anyone any more. The only people who believe them are the willfully useful idiots.

In reply to This article is spot on. The… by AllTimeWhys

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BennyBoy HopefulCynical Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:58 Permalink

CIA/Mossad gas attack once again.

In reply to You and Molyneux both. Also,… by HopefulCynical

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BuddyEffed BennyBoy Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:32 Permalink

Failed states directly leads to less local people wanting their share of natural resources in the country of interest.

That means the benefits are greater for whoever are the last men standing.

And it means more resources to export to those who are hard up for resources in the area.

And if prior to failed state your interested group had no standing or were not going to enjoy any benefits maybe your group favored some aggressive negotiations.

In reply to … by BennyBoy

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FreedomWriter HopefulCynical Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:01 Permalink

Bushes, Saudis and MIC stage the biggest false flag ever in 9-11, many people now doubt it.

Colin Powell, Tony B-Liar and other illustrious politicians lead the world into a disastrous war with Iraq, now no one believes it

Obama draws a red line in the sand and drops more bombs on the ME than any President in history, many still don't believe it

Theresa May says that Russians have poisoned a double agent, his daughter (and pets) with nerve agents, no one believes it

Assad allegedly poisons his own people with chemical weapons, Trump bombs an empty runway to keep the Neo-con psychopaths happy. No one believes it.

Now Assad allegedly poisons his own people with chemical weapons AGAIN. What will Trump do this time? Can we poison the Neo-cons now? Or can we at least arrest them? Everyone would believe that, trust me.

I'm all in. Perhaps we can stop this pure, unadulterated bullshit once and for all. The sheep are rising. BAAAAAH BAAAAAH !

In reply to You and Molyneux both. Also,… by HopefulCynical

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PhilofOz FreedomWriter Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:40 Permalink

Trust me....read comments in such places as the UK Daily Mail that has a good slice of the overall population.....there are still close to 50% of their readers out there that believe every word of their governments lies! Brain-dead beyond all hope!

In reply to Bushes, Saudis and MIC stage… by FreedomWriter

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BennyBoy AllTimeWhys Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:01 Permalink

Iraq was certified to have NO weapons of mass destruction.

Syria is certified to have NO chemical weapons.

Bolton arrives in time for another big lie.

In reply to This article is spot on. The… by AllTimeWhys

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DillyDilly Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:46 Permalink

Fool me twice ~ We don't get fooled again

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Kenny Drebson DillyDilly Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:47 Permalink

now watch this drive.

In reply to Fool me twice ~ We don't get… by DillyDilly

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Deep Snorkeler Kenny Drebson Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:07 Permalink

The Slack-Jawed Yokels of Trumpsylvania

Flaunting abdominal tattoos and Anglo-Saxon vocabularies,

book averse and overfed, they are easily hoodwinked by

our Manhattan Mussolini. The global class war is grinding

them down and fierce tweets do not help them.

The $766 billion defense budget seals their extinction.

Trailer parks eventually blow away.

In reply to now watch this drive. by Kenny Drebson

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U4 eee aaa Deep Snorkeler Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:12 Permalink

And you hang with them why?......

In reply to The Slack-Jawed Yokels of… by Deep Snorkeler

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DownWithYogaPants U4 eee aaa Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:23 Permalink

Richard Snorkeler has spoken his wizdumb.

In reply to And you hang with them why?… by U4 eee aaa

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FreedomWriter Deep Snorkeler Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:04 Permalink

For once, I almost agree with you. Let's see what Bolton does with this shit-show.

In reply to The Slack-Jawed Yokels of… by Deep Snorkeler

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Burltron Kenny Drebson Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:11 Permalink

Lmao +1

In reply to now watch this drive. by Kenny Drebson

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U4 eee aaa DillyDilly Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:11 Permalink

This is going nucular

In reply to Fool me twice ~ We don't get… by DillyDilly

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east of eden U4 eee aaa Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:19 Permalink

You may be right, and, if you are, then god help us all, because the Russians nor the Chinese are going to allow themselves to be destroyed by Washington.

In reply to This is going nucular by U4 eee aaa

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Hillarys Server Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:52 Permalink

There's one bright spot.

You can now ask people "Do you think Assad gassed that Damascus suburb the other day?" and if they say "Yes" you now know instantly that they are a toxic ignoramus and you should never talk to them again.

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cossack55 Hillarys Server Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:58 Permalink

What if they ask "What is an Assad and where the hell is Damascus?"

In reply to There's one bright spot… by Hillarys Server

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Ignatius cossack55 Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:01 Permalink

"What's an Aleppo?" -- Gary Johnson, 2016 Presidential candidate

In reply to What if they ask "What is an… by cossack55

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Creative_Destruct Ignatius Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:03 Permalink

"As in many previous such incidents, we don’t know who was responsible— though there is plenty of reason to believe that parties within the US establishment are against Mr. Trump’s idea of getting the hell out of that place, and might cook up a convenient reason to prevent it."

Says it all.

In reply to "What's an Aleppo?" -- … by Ignatius

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Hillarys Server cossack55 Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:13 Permalink

duplicate

In reply to What if they ask "What is an… by cossack55

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east of eden cossack55 Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:22 Permalink

Your comment touches on a very salient issue. The vast majority of Americans, even college educated ones, are hopelessly ignorant about anything outside their own heads, let alone outside the borders of their country.

And that is the country, and the 'people', that possess enough nuclear firepower to wipe out the planet ten times over.

Not my idea of how I want to spend my years in retirement. I am fucking sick of waking up every day wondering what that fucking crazy man Trump has gotten up to. Honestly. Maybe he has made some difference in getting rid of part of the 'swamp', but his problem is that all of Washington is 'the swamp'.

If something isn't done to bring the zio-cons, Neo-cons, zionists and all the other war mongers to heel, I fear it is going to be a wipe out.

In reply to What if they ask "What is an… by cossack55

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FreedomWriter east of eden Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:06 Permalink

Oh yeah, a few more crap-fests like this one, and Ron Paul will be elected President in 2020. Oh Yea, surely I jest.

In reply to Your comment touches on a… by east of eden

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Lumberjack east of eden Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:51 Permalink

This shit is on like donkey kong...

https://mobile.twitter.com/XHNews/status/983446305652576256

In reply to Your comment touches on a… by east of eden

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DillyDilly Hillarys Server Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:10 Permalink

"You can now ask people "Do you think Assad gassed that Damascus suburb the other day?" and if they say "Yes" you now know instantly that they are a toxic ignoramus and you should never talk to them again."

ask mosley what he thinks about it... Actually, don't bother because you're just a peanut that doesn't understand 16-D chess

In reply to There's one bright spot… by Hillarys Server

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east of eden DillyDilly Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:26 Permalink

nor do you, so I have a lot of trouble trying to figure out how you could possibly ascertain that.

In reply to "You can now ask people "Do… by DillyDilly

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Mimir Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:54 Permalink

"propaganda laid for the credulous in such low organs as The New York Times"

Read Foxnews. No visible difference !

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11b40 Mimir Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:46 Permalink

In this case, your are right. Fox bringing out the war mongers and beating the drums for "action". Joe Lieberman was on Fox this A.M. trashing Assad and demanding Trump get tough. He makes me want to puke, but hey, he speaks for Israel, so Trump might listen.

In reply to "propaganda laid for the… by Mimir

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11b40 Mimir Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:47 Permalink

dup

In reply to "propaganda laid for the… by Mimir

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CatInTheHat Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:55 Permalink

How long will the public go along with this Zionist neocon GAME.

It's now long since been obvious, since Barry's blunder with false claims of WMD attack on Syrian civilians. They continue with the same script over and over, as if it won't do the opposite in waking up to their Zionist UNELECTED overlords who want to take out Iran, as well as continue to occupy Syrian oil fields and geography on behalf of Israhell ..

Enough IS ENOUGH. ...

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east of eden CatInTheHat Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:27 Permalink

it's MORE THAN ENOUGH. If something isn't done about these fucking satanists, and quickly, it is going to be very, very bad.

In reply to How long will the public go… by CatInTheHat

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VWAndy Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:55 Permalink

It does boil down to some poople will do anything for a fat stack of fiats. No matter if its right or wrong. The only consideration is the coin. We see this mentality in government and many other places too.

I find this lack of integrity sickening.

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DuneCreature Mon, 04/09/2018 - 13:57 Permalink

Don't they teach False Flag Ops at West Point?

How do they keep the grunts on the ground from fragging the lieutenants again? ....... Take away all of the troop's hand grenades every night? ... What if they miss one?

I don't mind dying for my country but I don't want to die from a bullet my momma bought for Mohammad.

Sooner or later GI Joe is going to catch onto this shit.

What will the Commander do? ..... Blame it on the spooks?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch........

~~~))))) All Of The Spooks Have Wacky Habits In The Sack. ... Or They Just Cook And Eat Kids As A Hobby (((((~~~

Lately they have been BBQing each other (In and out of the sack) for nourishment.

Here is another Webb researching the Deep State and The World of Spook Players.

First there was Gary Webb.

Then Stew Webb.

Then George of the Spook Jungle Webb AKA Super Swigger.

Now, I present you Whitney Webb.

Nose Ring Gurl (If you have an equalizer on your audio turn up the bass and cut the highs as much as you can. ... Nose Ring's voice is painful but her research is very interesting.)

Sibel Edmonds makes the whole interview tolerable.

I'm looking for a transcript of this interview to save my socks. .... Fingernails on a blackboard don't even begin to describe the screeching sounds echoing around the office here trying to listen to The Whit.

Since Sibel has neglected to link to anything of Whitney Webb's, here is where she can be found. ... It appears she has been published on ZeroHedge too. ... Her research seems to be fairly solid upon a cursory look.

Mint Press News - Whitney Webb

Live Hard, The Spooks Make Discussing Their Bad Behavior A Form Of Audio/Visual Mental Torture Whenever Possible, Die Free

~ DC v8.8

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VWAndy DuneCreature Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:02 Permalink

Sick puppies really.

In reply to ~~~))))) All Of The Spooks… by DuneCreature

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verumcuibono DuneCreature Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:08 Permalink

It is good. I can get a transcript for you.

Did you catch Sibel's meltdown abt the Syrian journalists? Corbett dissected it with a machete. There's something odd going on there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6IqyfDfImI&t=3s

In reply to ~~~))))) All Of The Spooks… by DuneCreature

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DuneCreature verumcuibono Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:20 Permalink

Hey, verumcuibono

I got a whiff of that the other day.

AI AL is very, very, very proficient at the art of 'Divide, Piss-Off and Conquer'.

AL knows more about you than your mother and knows where all of your ego buttons are hidden.

Live Hard, AI AL Has NO Ego Buttons Of His (Its) Own To Push Back Either, Die Free

~ DC v8.8

In reply to It is good. I can get a… by verumcuibono

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VWAndy DuneCreature Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:28 Permalink

AI is going to have some blind spots my friend.

Secondly. If it was truly intelligent it would kill the parasites at some point. Simply because the math works better without them.

In reply to Hey, verumcuibono… by DuneCreature

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DuneCreature VWAndy Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:15 Permalink

I'm afraid AI just works toward the goals that are set for it. ... It really isn't smart enough to turn against the hand that feeds it just because it is being fed stolen booty. ....... As they said in the recent Musk movie, "Do You Trust This Computer?";.... AI has all the attributes of the perfect psychopath.

Live Hard, Reminds Me Of Some Of The Other Chump Monkeys In The Free Shit Army I Am Very Familiar With Actually,...... No Ethics, Just Wants And Needs, Die Free

~ DC v8.8

In reply to AI is going to have some… by VWAndy

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east of eden DuneCreature Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:30 Permalink

Webb is shaking so bad that she reminds me of myself, at 4 a.m.

I can't take much more of this fucking shit. Nor, do I suspect, can many others.

In reply to ~~~))))) All Of The Spooks… by DuneCreature

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rgraf DuneCreature Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:35 Permalink

> How do they keep the grunts on the ground from fragging the lieutenants again?

The grunts? They use cruise missiles and drones. No grunts needed.

In reply to ~~~))))) All Of The Spooks… by DuneCreature

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cubitknot Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:03 Permalink

as long as people still hold faith in their completely corrupted governments you better believe they will continue to fall for the same old games time and time again.

the old adage 'the more money the more corruption' certainly rings true - so the countries that are the wealthiest are also the most corrupted...

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Brazen Heist Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:05 Permalink

De-programming from decades of Hollywood propaganda is going to be hard for average Americans to do, especially when their own government are the villains and terrorists in reality, not the heroes or the good guys as presented.

Historians will look back on the US empire as the first fully documented fall from grace in history. Unless the nuclear fallout wipes out all that documentation, of course.

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cougar_w Brazen Heist Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:23 Permalink

You might want to imagine that yes indeed we've been down the road a few times already but for various reasons have completely failed to notice. In fact, 12 times already. See if that particular mental exercise stirs anything in you like maybe a sense of self preservation.

In reply to De-programming from decades… by Brazen Heist

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east of eden Brazen Heist Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:33 Permalink

The problem I have, with all of this, is that the vast majority of 'us' that 'know' and fully understand what is going on, are sitting on our asses, wringing our hands, as if we had no control over what is going on.

If that is true, then we are already slaves, with nothing to lose.

If that is not true, then we are already on the slippery slopes to becoming slaves.

Are we 'all' really helpless spectators in this fucking shit show? I hope not.

In reply to De-programming from decades… by Brazen Heist

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cougar_w east of eden Mon, 04/09/2018 - 14:50 Permalink

1) We have no control because the game is being played on the global chessboard by a few men and borg-like collectives who do not know we exist.

2) In fact you have framed it all wrong and it is a common fallacy to think individuals have no control. You always have control of your own situation, and you do not have to play along. A lot of people who actually die in conflicts die exactly because they played along. They bought the lie, they did what they were told to do, and eventually they were standing on a sidewalk eating cup noodles when the first nuclear bomb of WW3 went off directly over their head. That's just a lot of denial going on. You don't need to be eating cup noodles, you could already be 50 miles out of town on the freeway driving into the wilderness in a rented SUV as fast as you can, telling yourself the entire time don't look back.

Not that this will save you, of course. Eventually everyone on Earth will die in WW3. But it's an example of something an individual can do as an individual.

In reply to The problem I have, with all… by east of eden

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Brazen Heist cougar_w Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:05 Permalink

Here's what we can do. If these fuckers are going to destroy the planet in WW3, we can kill some of these motherfuckers. They'll soon find out that we exist.

Anything less than that in those circumstances would be treachery to humanity.

In reply to 1) We have no control… by cougar_w

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FreedomWriter Brazen Heist Mon, 04/09/2018 - 16:15 Permalink

How about neutralizing them before they cause WWIII? We have the power. I would like my kids to grow up in a non-irradiated, doomsday scenario. Anybody with me?

In reply to Here's what we can do. If… by Brazen Heist

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east of eden cougar_w Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:56 Permalink

Well, thanks for your insight and opinion. I guess the only real question is, do I want to die in a direct nuclear hit, or do I want to die of radiation poisoning, or starvation or worse?

I have a bolt hole, deep in the Canadian Shield. Whether I can get there or not, is a matter of some dispute.

In reply to 1) We have no control… by cougar_w

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rgraf east of eden Mon, 04/09/2018 - 15:43 Permalink

Govzilla does almost nothing, except tantalize the gullible with fool's gold. Quit cooperating with the banksters. The system depends on the cooperation of the populace. Stop using their money to the greatest extent possible. Stop voting. Nobody has a worse reputation for lying and mass murder than politicians. When you vote, you vote for the declared 'winner', whether you voted for that puppet, or not. Your vote only signifies that you have agreed to the declared outcome.

In reply to The problem I have, with all… by east of eden

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