Peter Dale Scott - The War Conspiracy - Suppressed By CIA
Friday, March 27, 2015
Is Israel democratic?
By Dan Perry, AP, Mar 23, 2015
JERUSALEM (AP)—Is Israel a democracy? The answer is not so straightforward, and it increasingly matters given the diplomatic fallout over hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election last week.
The displeasure felt in some quarters over his win has placed front and center the world community’s unwritten obligation to accept the results of a truly democratic vote. It is a basic tenet of the modern order which has survived the occasional awkward election result—as well as recent decades’ emergence of some less-than-pristine democracies around the globe.
For Israel, the argument is especially piquant, because its claim to be the only true democracy in the Middle East has been key to its branding and its vitally important claim on U.S. military, diplomatic and financial support. Israel’s elections, from campaign rules to vote counts, are indeed not suspect.
But with the occupation of the West Bank grinding on toward the half-century mark, and with Netanyahu’s election-week suggestion that no change is imminent, hard questions arise.
Republican Sen. John McCain reflected the traditional appreciation of Israel when he advised President Barack Obama to “get over it”—a reference to reports that the United States was reassessing relations with Israel in the wake of the result. McCain told CNN that “there was a free and fair democratic election” in Israel—“the only nation in the region that will have such a thing.”
But among Israelis themselves, there is increasing angst over the fact that their country of 8 million people also controls some 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians who have no voting rights for its parliament.
If the 2 million Palestinians of Gaza—a territory dominated indirectly by Israel—were added to the equation, then together with the 2 million Arab citizens of “Israel proper” the Holy Land would be home to a population of some 12 million, equally divided between Arabs and Jews.
Of the Arabs, only a third have voting rights. These are the “Israeli Arabs” who live in the areas that became Israel in the 1948-49 war, which established the country’s borders.
Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 but Israel never annexed them, both for fear of world reaction and due to concerns about millions more Palestinians gaining the vote.
Israelis argue that since the areas are not formally part of Israel, the goings-on therein do not undermine the democracy claim.
But critics increasingly consider it a little too convenient: Israel builds towns by the score in these non-annexed lands—communities which have bestowed an oddly controversial aspect upon the once-innocent term “settlements.”
Through an amendment to the electoral law, Israel allows the settlers who live in these places to vote in its elections even though it otherwise has no provision for absentee balloting. Several top Cabinet figures, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, are in this extraordinary fashion not technically residents of Israel.
And Israel holds undeniable power over the lives of West Bank’s Palestinians, despite their ostensive autonomy. In just one example, Palestinians with great fanfare built a new city in their territory—only for it to remain uninhabited in part because Israel has prevented the building of access roads and other infrastructure.
The supposedly temporary arrangement shows no sign of a change—at least not one initiated by Israel.
“Israel is galloping toward an anti-democratic, bi-national future saturated with hatred and racism,” wrote columnist Ravit Hecht in the liberal Haaretz daily, echoing the rising stridency that has taken root among liberals in the days since the vote.
Besides the West Bank, that “bi-national future” would include three other Arab populations:
— Gaza’s nearly 2 million Palestinians have been ruled by Hamas militants for most of the period since Israel withdrew settlers and troops in 2005. Many feel they are still occupied: Israel controls the airspace and sea access and together with Egypt blockades them by land. Israel’s not-unfounded fear is that Hamas, if allowed, would arm itself to the teeth. Already the sides have fought three wars.
— Israel annexed East Jerusalem, and its approximately 200,000 Arabs can have voting rights if they choose. Most have rejected it—whether out of solidarity with the idea of Palestine or for fear of future retribution.
— Israel’s Arab citizens are increasingly integrated and can point to success stories like Salim Jubran, the supreme court judge who presided over the election. But they also claim discrimination in a variety of ways—and are currently seething over Netanyahu’s election day efforts to fire up his nationalist base with warnings that Arabs citizens “are streaming to the polls” in an effort to bring down his rule.
The Palestinian issue was almost absent from the campaign. Decades of failed peace talks have left many Israeli voters skeptical and hostile; dovish politicians seem unsure of what they can sell, and nationalists don’t dwell on the messy situation much either.
But Netanyahu, trailing in the last campaign days, put it front and center nonetheless, declaring that no Palestinian state would arise on his watch because the region was too dangerous and the West Bank too strategically valuable. He has since tried to reverse himself—but trouble brews with the world community, not only because of his words but also his actions over the years.
A centrist coalition remains technically possible, but the talk for the moment is of a nationalist one with Netanyahu’s “natural allies”—and that promises a deepening of Israel’s hold on the land and a perpetuation of the status quo.
Under this arrangement, the vast majority of West Bank Palestinians live in islands of autonomy run collectively by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. The PA has full self-rule only in about 5 percent of West Bank land, centered on the urban areas where most Palestinians live. Another quarter of the land is under joint rule. Israel fully controls the rest, containing the settlements, much of the natural resources and open land.
Israel controls all entry and exit from the territory, whether with Jordan or Israel proper. It also controls the airspace, most water supplies and travel between the main urban areas. Checkpoints are set up at will—though less frequently than in the past—manned by soldiers whose decisions leave ordinary people with little practical recourse. It prevents the Palestinians from setting up an army and can limit the import of weapons or anything else.
It also controls roughly $1.5 billion in tax revenues that it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, over a third of the PA’s budget. Israel occasionally withholds these sums when it considers a punishment to be due.
Netanyahu’s security argument against concessions resonates strongly among Israelis, including many who vote for parties who would nonetheless seek to unload much of the land. They know that they face hostility among Palestinians that is likely to persist among radicals even after any peace deal. A reluctance to part with the territory is not difficult to understand.
But Israel has gone further, allowing, encouraging and subsidizing a settlement movement that increasingly entwines the territory with Israel proper.
Some 350,000 Israeli Jews now live throughout the territory. Some are fairly close to the old border and could be incorporated into Israel in a land swap. A third to half are deep inside, though, and many of these are religious or nationalist radicals who can be expected to refuse efforts to compel them to leave; Israelis can hardly contemplate leaving them behind, perhaps to be massacred.
Another four years of a Netanyahu government can be expected to add many thousands more settlers, complicating the prospects of a future pullout even more. That is causing a growing clamor among liberal Zionists who are the core of the Israeli opposition. It is difficult to tell what they fear more: the perpetuation of a situation that they increasingly compare to apartheid—or the emergence of a future, single, binational entity that in a trick of history would supplant the Jewish state.
JERUSALEM (AP)—Is Israel a democracy? The answer is not so straightforward, and it increasingly matters given the diplomatic fallout over hardliner Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election last week.
The displeasure felt in some quarters over his win has placed front and center the world community’s unwritten obligation to accept the results of a truly democratic vote. It is a basic tenet of the modern order which has survived the occasional awkward election result—as well as recent decades’ emergence of some less-than-pristine democracies around the globe.
For Israel, the argument is especially piquant, because its claim to be the only true democracy in the Middle East has been key to its branding and its vitally important claim on U.S. military, diplomatic and financial support. Israel’s elections, from campaign rules to vote counts, are indeed not suspect.
But with the occupation of the West Bank grinding on toward the half-century mark, and with Netanyahu’s election-week suggestion that no change is imminent, hard questions arise.
Republican Sen. John McCain reflected the traditional appreciation of Israel when he advised President Barack Obama to “get over it”—a reference to reports that the United States was reassessing relations with Israel in the wake of the result. McCain told CNN that “there was a free and fair democratic election” in Israel—“the only nation in the region that will have such a thing.”
But among Israelis themselves, there is increasing angst over the fact that their country of 8 million people also controls some 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians who have no voting rights for its parliament.
If the 2 million Palestinians of Gaza—a territory dominated indirectly by Israel—were added to the equation, then together with the 2 million Arab citizens of “Israel proper” the Holy Land would be home to a population of some 12 million, equally divided between Arabs and Jews.
Of the Arabs, only a third have voting rights. These are the “Israeli Arabs” who live in the areas that became Israel in the 1948-49 war, which established the country’s borders.
Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 but Israel never annexed them, both for fear of world reaction and due to concerns about millions more Palestinians gaining the vote.
Israelis argue that since the areas are not formally part of Israel, the goings-on therein do not undermine the democracy claim.
But critics increasingly consider it a little too convenient: Israel builds towns by the score in these non-annexed lands—communities which have bestowed an oddly controversial aspect upon the once-innocent term “settlements.”
Through an amendment to the electoral law, Israel allows the settlers who live in these places to vote in its elections even though it otherwise has no provision for absentee balloting. Several top Cabinet figures, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, are in this extraordinary fashion not technically residents of Israel.
And Israel holds undeniable power over the lives of West Bank’s Palestinians, despite their ostensive autonomy. In just one example, Palestinians with great fanfare built a new city in their territory—only for it to remain uninhabited in part because Israel has prevented the building of access roads and other infrastructure.
The supposedly temporary arrangement shows no sign of a change—at least not one initiated by Israel.
“Israel is galloping toward an anti-democratic, bi-national future saturated with hatred and racism,” wrote columnist Ravit Hecht in the liberal Haaretz daily, echoing the rising stridency that has taken root among liberals in the days since the vote.
Besides the West Bank, that “bi-national future” would include three other Arab populations:
— Gaza’s nearly 2 million Palestinians have been ruled by Hamas militants for most of the period since Israel withdrew settlers and troops in 2005. Many feel they are still occupied: Israel controls the airspace and sea access and together with Egypt blockades them by land. Israel’s not-unfounded fear is that Hamas, if allowed, would arm itself to the teeth. Already the sides have fought three wars.
— Israel annexed East Jerusalem, and its approximately 200,000 Arabs can have voting rights if they choose. Most have rejected it—whether out of solidarity with the idea of Palestine or for fear of future retribution.
— Israel’s Arab citizens are increasingly integrated and can point to success stories like Salim Jubran, the supreme court judge who presided over the election. But they also claim discrimination in a variety of ways—and are currently seething over Netanyahu’s election day efforts to fire up his nationalist base with warnings that Arabs citizens “are streaming to the polls” in an effort to bring down his rule.
The Palestinian issue was almost absent from the campaign. Decades of failed peace talks have left many Israeli voters skeptical and hostile; dovish politicians seem unsure of what they can sell, and nationalists don’t dwell on the messy situation much either.
But Netanyahu, trailing in the last campaign days, put it front and center nonetheless, declaring that no Palestinian state would arise on his watch because the region was too dangerous and the West Bank too strategically valuable. He has since tried to reverse himself—but trouble brews with the world community, not only because of his words but also his actions over the years.
A centrist coalition remains technically possible, but the talk for the moment is of a nationalist one with Netanyahu’s “natural allies”—and that promises a deepening of Israel’s hold on the land and a perpetuation of the status quo.
Under this arrangement, the vast majority of West Bank Palestinians live in islands of autonomy run collectively by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. The PA has full self-rule only in about 5 percent of West Bank land, centered on the urban areas where most Palestinians live. Another quarter of the land is under joint rule. Israel fully controls the rest, containing the settlements, much of the natural resources and open land.
Israel controls all entry and exit from the territory, whether with Jordan or Israel proper. It also controls the airspace, most water supplies and travel between the main urban areas. Checkpoints are set up at will—though less frequently than in the past—manned by soldiers whose decisions leave ordinary people with little practical recourse. It prevents the Palestinians from setting up an army and can limit the import of weapons or anything else.
It also controls roughly $1.5 billion in tax revenues that it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, over a third of the PA’s budget. Israel occasionally withholds these sums when it considers a punishment to be due.
Netanyahu’s security argument against concessions resonates strongly among Israelis, including many who vote for parties who would nonetheless seek to unload much of the land. They know that they face hostility among Palestinians that is likely to persist among radicals even after any peace deal. A reluctance to part with the territory is not difficult to understand.
But Israel has gone further, allowing, encouraging and subsidizing a settlement movement that increasingly entwines the territory with Israel proper.
Some 350,000 Israeli Jews now live throughout the territory. Some are fairly close to the old border and could be incorporated into Israel in a land swap. A third to half are deep inside, though, and many of these are religious or nationalist radicals who can be expected to refuse efforts to compel them to leave; Israelis can hardly contemplate leaving them behind, perhaps to be massacred.
Another four years of a Netanyahu government can be expected to add many thousands more settlers, complicating the prospects of a future pullout even more. That is causing a growing clamor among liberal Zionists who are the core of the Israeli opposition. It is difficult to tell what they fear more: the perpetuation of a situation that they increasingly compare to apartheid—or the emergence of a future, single, binational entity that in a trick of history would supplant the Jewish state.
Nusra Front quietly rises in Syria as Islamic State targeted
By Bassem Mroue, AP, Mar 24, 2015
BEIRUT (AP)—The Nusra Front, Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate, is consolidating power in territory stretching from the Turkish border to central and southern Syria, crushing moderate opponents and forcibly converting minorities using tactics akin to its ultraconservative rival, the Islamic State group.
But while the Islamic State group gets most of the attention largely because its penchant for gruesome propaganda, the Nusra Front quietly has become one of the key players in the four-year civil war, compromising other rebel groups the West may try to work with while increasingly enforcing its own brutal version of Islamic law.
Its scope of influence now abuts the Golan Heights bordering Israel, and its membership largely composed of Syrian nationals refuse any negotiations with the government of embattled President Bashar Assad, further complicating the brutal conflict.
“The Nusra Front will most likely outlast ISIS in Syria, and will represent a severe and existential threat to the aspirations of the Syrian people in terms of a pluralistic, democratic society,” said Fawaz A. Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group.
The Islamic State group helped create the Nusra Front, providing financing, manpower and military hardware in 2012. But the group and its patron eventually had a falling out in 2013 for ideological as well as strategic reasons.
In recent months, the group has overrun rebel strongholds in Syria’s Idlib province, trouncing two prominent, U.S.-backed rebel factions, Harakat Hazm and the Syria Revolutionaries Front. Following the deadly clashes, SRF leader Jamal Maarouf fled to Turkey and Hazm announced it was dissolving.
A Middle East-based Western diplomat said the Nusra Front began its attacks on moderate, U.S.-backed rebel factions after the American-led coalition began airstrikes in September targeting both the Islamic State group and the Khorasan group, which Washington says is a special cell within Nusra plotting attacks against Western interests. U.S. officials last week said airstrikes have hit as many as 17 separate targets connected to the Khorasan group.
The Nusra Front responded with a series of spectacular attacks targeting moderate rebel groups and forces loyal to Assad in northwestern Syria, the diplomat said.
It “has now created coherent control of a strategic area between Idlib and Hama (provinces) in northwestern and central Syria,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to brief journalists.
At the same time, the group has become increasingly aggressive toward local populations. In January, members of the group reportedly shot a woman dead in front of a crowd in Idlib after they accused her of being a prostitute. The group also has carried out public lashings, crucifixions and kidnappings—though it has not publicized the atrocities like the Islamic State group.
Activists in southern Syria say the Nusra Front was behind the January bombing that destroyed the shrine of a 13th century Muslim scholar. The Nusra Front issued a statement denying it was involved but activists say its members were seen placing the bombs.
“They’re trying to come across as rational, moderate, more dynamic,” Gerges said. “They don’t celebrate savagery in the same way like the Islamic State group.”
BEIRUT (AP)—The Nusra Front, Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate, is consolidating power in territory stretching from the Turkish border to central and southern Syria, crushing moderate opponents and forcibly converting minorities using tactics akin to its ultraconservative rival, the Islamic State group.
But while the Islamic State group gets most of the attention largely because its penchant for gruesome propaganda, the Nusra Front quietly has become one of the key players in the four-year civil war, compromising other rebel groups the West may try to work with while increasingly enforcing its own brutal version of Islamic law.
Its scope of influence now abuts the Golan Heights bordering Israel, and its membership largely composed of Syrian nationals refuse any negotiations with the government of embattled President Bashar Assad, further complicating the brutal conflict.
“The Nusra Front will most likely outlast ISIS in Syria, and will represent a severe and existential threat to the aspirations of the Syrian people in terms of a pluralistic, democratic society,” said Fawaz A. Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group.
The Islamic State group helped create the Nusra Front, providing financing, manpower and military hardware in 2012. But the group and its patron eventually had a falling out in 2013 for ideological as well as strategic reasons.
In recent months, the group has overrun rebel strongholds in Syria’s Idlib province, trouncing two prominent, U.S.-backed rebel factions, Harakat Hazm and the Syria Revolutionaries Front. Following the deadly clashes, SRF leader Jamal Maarouf fled to Turkey and Hazm announced it was dissolving.
A Middle East-based Western diplomat said the Nusra Front began its attacks on moderate, U.S.-backed rebel factions after the American-led coalition began airstrikes in September targeting both the Islamic State group and the Khorasan group, which Washington says is a special cell within Nusra plotting attacks against Western interests. U.S. officials last week said airstrikes have hit as many as 17 separate targets connected to the Khorasan group.
The Nusra Front responded with a series of spectacular attacks targeting moderate rebel groups and forces loyal to Assad in northwestern Syria, the diplomat said.
It “has now created coherent control of a strategic area between Idlib and Hama (provinces) in northwestern and central Syria,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to brief journalists.
At the same time, the group has become increasingly aggressive toward local populations. In January, members of the group reportedly shot a woman dead in front of a crowd in Idlib after they accused her of being a prostitute. The group also has carried out public lashings, crucifixions and kidnappings—though it has not publicized the atrocities like the Islamic State group.
Activists in southern Syria say the Nusra Front was behind the January bombing that destroyed the shrine of a 13th century Muslim scholar. The Nusra Front issued a statement denying it was involved but activists say its members were seen placing the bombs.
“They’re trying to come across as rational, moderate, more dynamic,” Gerges said. “They don’t celebrate savagery in the same way like the Islamic State group.”
Exclusive: Cardinal Burke says ‘manipulation’ at Synod was driven by agenda to undermine teachings on marriage
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/in-exclusive-interview-cardinal-burke-says-manipulation-at-the-synod-was-ag
Cardinal Raymond Burke , Catholic
Note: Sign the petition to Pope Francis on the Synod and the future of the family, also signed by Cardinal Burke, here.
ROME, March 24, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- In an interview with LifeSiteNews Paris correspondent Jeanne Smits, Cardinal Raymond Burke warns that confusion is spreading among Catholics regarding divorce and homosexuality.
In a wide-ranging interview published today in full on LifeSiteNews, the cardinal, who until recently was the head of the Vatican’s highest court, spoke of the “manipulation” that took place at the Synod of Bishops in October and also addressed contraception.
Smits simultaneously published a French version of the interview on her blog.
LifeSiteNews Paris correspondent Jeanne Smits and Cardinal Raymond BurkeOlivier Figueras / LifeSiteNews
Pointing to bishops whose statements in favor of homosexuality have gone “undisciplined,” Cardinal Burke said it was evident that “confusion is spreading, really, in an alarming way,” in the Church. And the confusion is having adverse effects. “I hear it myself: I hear it from Catholics, I hear it from bishops,” he said. “People are claiming now, for instance, that the Church has changed her teaching with regard to sexual relations outside of marriage, with regard to the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts.”
Cardinal Burke noted that while previously the “authority of the Church prohibited certain discussions,” now Catholics feel free to dispute even settled Catholic teaching such as that forbidding contraception.
Speaking of manipulation at October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Burke said, “It's clear to me that there were individuals who obviously had a very strong influence on the synod process who were pushing an agenda which has nothing to do with the truth about marriage as Our Lord Himself teaches it to us, as it is handed down to us in the Church.” He explained further, “That agenda had to do with trying to justify extra-marital sexual relations and sexual acts between persons of the same sex and, in a way, clearly to relativize and even to obscure the beauty of the Church's teaching on marriage as a faithful, indissoluble, procreative union of one man and one woman.”
Click "like" to support Catholics Restoring the Culture!
One of the frequent lines at the Synod from those who were suggesting change was that the change was merely pastoral and never doctrinal. For Cardinal Burke however, that “simply is a false distinction.” “There cannot be anything that's truly pastorally sound which is not doctrinally sound,” he added. “And so to say that we're just making pastoral changes that have nothing to do with doctrine is false.”
The cardinal encouraged married couples to be generous in having children, dismissing false notions of the ecological need for population control. “The truth is that if God has called a couple to marriage, then He is calling them also to be generous in receiving the gift of new human life,” he said. “And so we need many larger families today, and thanks be to God I see among some young couples today a remarkable generosity with regard to children.”
Burke said he was “very concerned” that “people are being led in a false way to think that they should practice some form of birth control in order to be responsible stewards of the earth.” Rather, “the fact of the matter is that the birthrate in most countries is far below what it needs to be to replace the present population.”
You can find LifeSiteNews' full interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke here.
Cardinal Raymond Burke , Catholic
Note: Sign the petition to Pope Francis on the Synod and the future of the family, also signed by Cardinal Burke, here.
ROME, March 24, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- In an interview with LifeSiteNews Paris correspondent Jeanne Smits, Cardinal Raymond Burke warns that confusion is spreading among Catholics regarding divorce and homosexuality.
In a wide-ranging interview published today in full on LifeSiteNews, the cardinal, who until recently was the head of the Vatican’s highest court, spoke of the “manipulation” that took place at the Synod of Bishops in October and also addressed contraception.
Smits simultaneously published a French version of the interview on her blog.
LifeSiteNews Paris correspondent Jeanne Smits and Cardinal Raymond BurkeOlivier Figueras / LifeSiteNewsPointing to bishops whose statements in favor of homosexuality have gone “undisciplined,” Cardinal Burke said it was evident that “confusion is spreading, really, in an alarming way,” in the Church. And the confusion is having adverse effects. “I hear it myself: I hear it from Catholics, I hear it from bishops,” he said. “People are claiming now, for instance, that the Church has changed her teaching with regard to sexual relations outside of marriage, with regard to the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts.”
Cardinal Burke noted that while previously the “authority of the Church prohibited certain discussions,” now Catholics feel free to dispute even settled Catholic teaching such as that forbidding contraception.
Speaking of manipulation at October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Burke said, “It's clear to me that there were individuals who obviously had a very strong influence on the synod process who were pushing an agenda which has nothing to do with the truth about marriage as Our Lord Himself teaches it to us, as it is handed down to us in the Church.” He explained further, “That agenda had to do with trying to justify extra-marital sexual relations and sexual acts between persons of the same sex and, in a way, clearly to relativize and even to obscure the beauty of the Church's teaching on marriage as a faithful, indissoluble, procreative union of one man and one woman.”
Click "like" to support Catholics Restoring the Culture!
One of the frequent lines at the Synod from those who were suggesting change was that the change was merely pastoral and never doctrinal. For Cardinal Burke however, that “simply is a false distinction.” “There cannot be anything that's truly pastorally sound which is not doctrinally sound,” he added. “And so to say that we're just making pastoral changes that have nothing to do with doctrine is false.”
The cardinal encouraged married couples to be generous in having children, dismissing false notions of the ecological need for population control. “The truth is that if God has called a couple to marriage, then He is calling them also to be generous in receiving the gift of new human life,” he said. “And so we need many larger families today, and thanks be to God I see among some young couples today a remarkable generosity with regard to children.”
Burke said he was “very concerned” that “people are being led in a false way to think that they should practice some form of birth control in order to be responsible stewards of the earth.” Rather, “the fact of the matter is that the birthrate in most countries is far below what it needs to be to replace the present population.”
You can find LifeSiteNews' full interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke here.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Escutar para Crescer
http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/escutar-para-crescer/
Uma compilação
Cessa, filho meu, de dar ouvidos à instrução e te desviarás das palavras do conhecimento. — Provérbios 19:27
*
O caminho do tolo é reto aos seus próprios olhos, mas o que dá ouvidos ao conselho é sábio. — Provérbios 12:15
*
Filho meu, atende à minha sabedoria, à minha razão inclina o teu ouvido, para que conserves a discrição, e os teus lábios preservem o conhecimento. — Provérbios 5:1–2
*
Por um dia, tente falar tão pouco quanto possÃvel. Tente não se concentrar em si próprio. Se sentir a tentação de contar uma história, faça uma pergunta. Se vier a vontade de dizer “Oh, já me aconteceu a mesma coisa…”, pergunte: “Como você se sentir nessa situação?” … No fim do dia, faça uma lista de tudo que aprendeu e veja quanto teria perdido se passasse o tempo todo falando de si mesmo — Linda Kaplan Thaler e Robin Koval[1]
*
Minha primeira regra para o diálogo é: nunca aprendo nada enquanto estou falando. A cada manhã percebo que nada que eu diga hoje me ensinará coisa alguma e, por isso, se quiser aprender muito nesse dia, terei de escutar…
Lembre-se das placas nas passagens de nÃvel nas pequenas cidades e nas áreas rurais: “Pare, Olhe, Escute.” Mostre para as pessoas com quem você está falando que você está interessado no que estão dizendo. Elas farão o mesmo por você. — Larry King com Bill Gilbert[2]
*
Escutar bem requer esforço. Repare nas caracterÃsticas das pessoas com quem você gosta de falar, os bons ouvintes. Elas demonstram interesse no jeito como olham, pela postura que têm e pela forma que reagem. É uma atitude que diz: “Gosto de escutá-lo. Você é importante para mim”. A tranquilidade e paciência que elas demonstram nos dizem: “Leve o tempo que precisar. Neste momento, não tenho nada mais importante para fazer do que ouvir o que você tem a dizer.”
Escutar é uma das melhores maneiras de cumprir a “Lei de Cristo”, que a BÃblia resume em “amarás ao teu próximo como a ti mesmo”. Ao escutar alguém para entender a essa pessoa, estamos fazendo o trabalho de Deus com o amor de Deus. — Autor desconhecido
*
Devemos aproveitar as crÃticas. Dois pares de olhos veem mais que um. Ninguém tem toda a sabedoria que existe no mundo. Por mais sábio que alguém possa ser, há outros que sabem algumas coisas mais do que ele e que podem dar sugestões valiosas e importantes, pelo menos com respeito a alguns aspectos do seu trabalho. O sapateiro nunca poderia ter pintado o quadro, mas pôde criticar a fivela diante da tela em exposição. E o pintor foi sábio o bastante para acolher a crÃtica e rapidamente corrigir o erro. … Teria sido muito tolo de sua parte fazer pouco das sugestões alheias sem querer se beneficiar com elas.
E isso não se aplica só às artes. O conhecimento de ninguém é de fato universal. Ninguém sabe mais do que alguns fragmentos da grande massa de conhecimento que existe. Há algumas coisas que outra pessoa sabe melhor do que você, por mais ampla que seja sua inteligência. Há pessoas muito humildes, que poderiam lhe dar boas sugestões sobre certas questões sobre as quais têm um conhecimento mais profundo do que você. Se você deseja aperfeiçoar o que faz, deve estar disposto a receber dicas e informações de qualquer um e de todos que possam contribuir com você.
É possÃvel, também, que os outros vejam falhas e imperfeições em nós que nos passem desapercebidas. Estamos excessivamente envolvidos com nossa própria vida e nosso trabalho para sermos observadores imparciais ou simplesmente crÃticos. Jamais poderemos alcançar o máximo e o melhor de nossas vidas, se nos recusarmos a aprender com ninguém além de nós mesmos. Um self-made man não é um homem muito bem feito, porque é o produto do pensamento de único do homem. Os pontos fortes de sua própria individualidade ficam susceptÃveis de serem enfatizados a tal ponto que se tornam idiossincrasias, enquanto os outros aspectos de seu caráter não se desenvolvem como poderiam. A melhor construção de um homem é aquela que, nos anos de formação, conta com o benefÃcio de crÃtica saudável. Sua vida é desenvolvida em todos os aspectos. As falhas são corrigidas, seus impulsos naturais contidos nos pontos em que têm a tendência de crescimento excessivo, e os pontos fracos são fortalecidos. Todos precisamos, não apenas como uma parte da nossa educação, mas ao longo de toda vida e trabalho, da influência corretiva das opiniões e sugestões dos outros. — J. R. Miller[3]
*
Muitas vezes, os lÃderes adoram falar. Gostam de ouvir suas próprias pérolas de sabedoria e insights. Às vezes, começam a acreditar em seus próprios “boletins de notÃcias”. E conforme crescem em autoridade, veem menos razão de escutar os subordinados. … Quanto mais pessoas você liderar, mais deve escutar. A liderança efetiva tem mais a ver com escutar do que com falar. Os lÃderes em sua própria natureza tendem a se afastar da linha de frente da batalha de suas organizações. Por isso, têm de escutar os que estão nas trincheiras e se apoiar nessas informações para tomar decisões sábias.
Nada estanca o progresso de uma organização mais rapidamente do que lÃderes que não sabem escutar. Como o endurecimento das artérias, o endurecimento das categorias (excesso de rigidez) e uma mente fechada destroem a credibilidade dos lÃderes. Se você não escutar seus liderados, a efetividade e satisfação deles estarão em risco. — Hans Finzel[4]
*
Sou o bom pastor e cuido das Minhas ovelhas — e cuido de você de uma maneira muito especial. Quando não dispuser de outro conselheiro terreno, posso ser seu guia. Conheço a estrutura do homem e que foi criado para precisar dos outros. Tem necessidades inatas de se comunicar, de se aconselhar, de buscar a ajuda dos outros, de buscar a oração com os outros. Assim Eu o guiarei, orientarei e lhe ensinarei lições valiosas.
Um homem sábio e próspero buscará bons conselhos e nisso terá segurança. Pelo conselho os propósitos se estabelecem e na multidão de conselheiros há segurança. —Jesus, falando em profecia
Publicado em Âncora em março de 2015.
[1] The Power of Nice (New York: Doubleday, 2006).
[2] How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere (New York: Crown Publishers, 1995).
[3] The Building of Character (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1894).
[4] The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 2007).
Uma compilação
Cessa, filho meu, de dar ouvidos à instrução e te desviarás das palavras do conhecimento. — Provérbios 19:27
*
O caminho do tolo é reto aos seus próprios olhos, mas o que dá ouvidos ao conselho é sábio. — Provérbios 12:15
*
Filho meu, atende à minha sabedoria, à minha razão inclina o teu ouvido, para que conserves a discrição, e os teus lábios preservem o conhecimento. — Provérbios 5:1–2
*
Por um dia, tente falar tão pouco quanto possÃvel. Tente não se concentrar em si próprio. Se sentir a tentação de contar uma história, faça uma pergunta. Se vier a vontade de dizer “Oh, já me aconteceu a mesma coisa…”, pergunte: “Como você se sentir nessa situação?” … No fim do dia, faça uma lista de tudo que aprendeu e veja quanto teria perdido se passasse o tempo todo falando de si mesmo — Linda Kaplan Thaler e Robin Koval[1]
*
Minha primeira regra para o diálogo é: nunca aprendo nada enquanto estou falando. A cada manhã percebo que nada que eu diga hoje me ensinará coisa alguma e, por isso, se quiser aprender muito nesse dia, terei de escutar…
Lembre-se das placas nas passagens de nÃvel nas pequenas cidades e nas áreas rurais: “Pare, Olhe, Escute.” Mostre para as pessoas com quem você está falando que você está interessado no que estão dizendo. Elas farão o mesmo por você. — Larry King com Bill Gilbert[2]
*
Escutar bem requer esforço. Repare nas caracterÃsticas das pessoas com quem você gosta de falar, os bons ouvintes. Elas demonstram interesse no jeito como olham, pela postura que têm e pela forma que reagem. É uma atitude que diz: “Gosto de escutá-lo. Você é importante para mim”. A tranquilidade e paciência que elas demonstram nos dizem: “Leve o tempo que precisar. Neste momento, não tenho nada mais importante para fazer do que ouvir o que você tem a dizer.”
Escutar é uma das melhores maneiras de cumprir a “Lei de Cristo”, que a BÃblia resume em “amarás ao teu próximo como a ti mesmo”. Ao escutar alguém para entender a essa pessoa, estamos fazendo o trabalho de Deus com o amor de Deus. — Autor desconhecido
*
Devemos aproveitar as crÃticas. Dois pares de olhos veem mais que um. Ninguém tem toda a sabedoria que existe no mundo. Por mais sábio que alguém possa ser, há outros que sabem algumas coisas mais do que ele e que podem dar sugestões valiosas e importantes, pelo menos com respeito a alguns aspectos do seu trabalho. O sapateiro nunca poderia ter pintado o quadro, mas pôde criticar a fivela diante da tela em exposição. E o pintor foi sábio o bastante para acolher a crÃtica e rapidamente corrigir o erro. … Teria sido muito tolo de sua parte fazer pouco das sugestões alheias sem querer se beneficiar com elas.
E isso não se aplica só às artes. O conhecimento de ninguém é de fato universal. Ninguém sabe mais do que alguns fragmentos da grande massa de conhecimento que existe. Há algumas coisas que outra pessoa sabe melhor do que você, por mais ampla que seja sua inteligência. Há pessoas muito humildes, que poderiam lhe dar boas sugestões sobre certas questões sobre as quais têm um conhecimento mais profundo do que você. Se você deseja aperfeiçoar o que faz, deve estar disposto a receber dicas e informações de qualquer um e de todos que possam contribuir com você.
É possÃvel, também, que os outros vejam falhas e imperfeições em nós que nos passem desapercebidas. Estamos excessivamente envolvidos com nossa própria vida e nosso trabalho para sermos observadores imparciais ou simplesmente crÃticos. Jamais poderemos alcançar o máximo e o melhor de nossas vidas, se nos recusarmos a aprender com ninguém além de nós mesmos. Um self-made man não é um homem muito bem feito, porque é o produto do pensamento de único do homem. Os pontos fortes de sua própria individualidade ficam susceptÃveis de serem enfatizados a tal ponto que se tornam idiossincrasias, enquanto os outros aspectos de seu caráter não se desenvolvem como poderiam. A melhor construção de um homem é aquela que, nos anos de formação, conta com o benefÃcio de crÃtica saudável. Sua vida é desenvolvida em todos os aspectos. As falhas são corrigidas, seus impulsos naturais contidos nos pontos em que têm a tendência de crescimento excessivo, e os pontos fracos são fortalecidos. Todos precisamos, não apenas como uma parte da nossa educação, mas ao longo de toda vida e trabalho, da influência corretiva das opiniões e sugestões dos outros. — J. R. Miller[3]
*
Muitas vezes, os lÃderes adoram falar. Gostam de ouvir suas próprias pérolas de sabedoria e insights. Às vezes, começam a acreditar em seus próprios “boletins de notÃcias”. E conforme crescem em autoridade, veem menos razão de escutar os subordinados. … Quanto mais pessoas você liderar, mais deve escutar. A liderança efetiva tem mais a ver com escutar do que com falar. Os lÃderes em sua própria natureza tendem a se afastar da linha de frente da batalha de suas organizações. Por isso, têm de escutar os que estão nas trincheiras e se apoiar nessas informações para tomar decisões sábias.
Nada estanca o progresso de uma organização mais rapidamente do que lÃderes que não sabem escutar. Como o endurecimento das artérias, o endurecimento das categorias (excesso de rigidez) e uma mente fechada destroem a credibilidade dos lÃderes. Se você não escutar seus liderados, a efetividade e satisfação deles estarão em risco. — Hans Finzel[4]
*
Sou o bom pastor e cuido das Minhas ovelhas — e cuido de você de uma maneira muito especial. Quando não dispuser de outro conselheiro terreno, posso ser seu guia. Conheço a estrutura do homem e que foi criado para precisar dos outros. Tem necessidades inatas de se comunicar, de se aconselhar, de buscar a ajuda dos outros, de buscar a oração com os outros. Assim Eu o guiarei, orientarei e lhe ensinarei lições valiosas.
Um homem sábio e próspero buscará bons conselhos e nisso terá segurança. Pelo conselho os propósitos se estabelecem e na multidão de conselheiros há segurança. —Jesus, falando em profecia
Publicado em Âncora em março de 2015.
[1] The Power of Nice (New York: Doubleday, 2006).
[2] How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere (New York: Crown Publishers, 1995).
[3] The Building of Character (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1894).
[4] The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 2007).
Immeasurable Love
Words from Jesus
Audio length: 10:03
Download Audio (9.2MB)
Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue and why that specific color gives you a feeling of peace when you look up at it? Have you ever wondered why the scent of a pine forest or the grass after rain brings calm and refreshing to your spirit? Is there some magical reason why the simple sound of a bird singing makes you feel happy inside? While there are scientific reasons that your body responds to a certain stimulus, the simple truth is that I created these things to have such pleasant effects on you because I love you.
I created your body to respond to certain colors, sights, sounds, and fragrances, and I placed all those things throughout creation that I knew you would enjoy. I placed them all around you in great abundance. Just like a doting parent gives his child all the good things that child wants and needs, so do I, your great and loving heavenly Father, give these abundant gifts to you. If you believe and understand that these are gifts from My hand, then you will increasingly begin to notice all of the wonderful things that I have placed in your life, even the hidden things which might not seem like blessings at first.
When you look up into the night sky, if all you saw was darkness, it might be a bit dismal and foreboding. The shine of the stars I placed in the heavens reminds you that even in the dark times, I am still there for you. In life, you have your dark times when it seems like all around you is black and there’s no way out, and if you’re only looking down, this is all you will see. But when you look up‚ you will see My hand in your times of darkness as well, and My touches of love that will shine as stars to guide you.
I can use everything in your life for good if you will let Me. There is pain and suffering in life that can be turned into joy and rejoicing when given to Me. I can unshackle your life from the chains of bitterness, hate, envy, jealousy, sickness, and suffering, and turn these things into bright stars that will guide others to Me.
Just as I didn’t create only one tree, or one mountain, or one flower, or only paint one sunset, so too I do not bless only one life or make only one person to shine with My love. I touch each life with My love so that they may be an encouragement to others. So join in the masterpiece of My love! Let My love fill your life, and let others see My light and love shine through you today.
There is so much beauty in the world; take time to enjoy it, and share your enjoyment with others. I take just as much delight in painting the majestic sunsets as I do in creating the tiniest flowers, so enjoy not only the big‚ awesome expressions of My love, but also the smaller, almost unseen things that I bring into your life. As you do, your life will be filled to overflowing with My joy.
Precious in My sight
You are precious to Me. You’re beautiful in My sight. There are many things about you that I love; if I were to enumerate them all‚ I could go on forever and ever! I created you, so I know everything about you, and I love you unconditionally.
I love the way you love My Word, and how your spirit longs for My truth. I love it when you get into your times in My Word and your times with Me, and then when the time is up‚ you feel it’s so hard to pull away.
I love your tenderness. I love how you reach out to others as much as you can, and how you want to love others more and show them My love more. I have put this desire in you, and I am so happy that you are embracing it and wanting to be that way more and more.
Thank you for staying close to Me. Thank you for loving Me and giving your life to Me each and every day. I love you dearly!
True beauty
This world’s portrayal of beauty has become so distorted‚ and people have become so easily dissatisfied with themselves due to the false standards of beauty they feel they must attain to. But you’re beautiful! I know you don’t think so highly of your looks or of the reflection you see in the mirror; however, I look at you and I see exquisite beauty.
I see your beautiful heart. A heart that gives and lives for others is always beautiful and emits a radiance that no outstanding physical attribute could ever compare with.
Your smile—it’s gorgeous! Each individual that I have created has a unique smile—a smile that makes you different from everyone else, that makes you who you are.
Your spirit—it exudes beauty! When you allow yourself to be free from the burdens of the day and the struggles of life by giving them all to Me, you then become light and carefree. You become filled with a spirit of freedom and happiness that will compensate for seeming physical flaws and will shine through with divine beauty.
Take a moment to try to see what I see when I look at you—the real and beautiful you. There’s so much to love and enjoy about you, and that’s why I created you. You’re always beautiful to Me. No matter how icky you may feel about yourself, or how dirty you may feel because of your sins and mistakes, I see your beautiful heart—the heart that I know loves Me. You’re beautiful to Me.
No measure
Never think that I’m far from you. Never think that I’ll tire of you. I know you often feel inadequate, or as if you don’t do enough, or aren’t good enough, or that you don’t learn your lessons in life fast enough, or that you’re not changing enough or in the way I want you to, or that if you did things differently, you would become more in My eyes or find more favor with Me. Please know that I don’t measure you like that.
I don’t judge you by how much you accomplish for Me or by what good works you do. I don’t compare you with others. I look at your heart, and the love you have for Me and for others, and your faith in Me; that’s what’s important to Me. Those are the important things in My eyes—not all your good works or efforts for self-improvement. All those things will come as a result of your love for Me and as a natural consequence of obeying and applying My Word.
So please don’t compare yourself to a standard that I have not set for you. Know that My love is not measured out in portions, according to how much you think you give to Me or do for Me. My love is not linked to any of that. It’s free and it’s abundant for you.
I’ve loved you from the beginning, and I will love you to the end of your days, and beyond that—through eternity! As you live your life for Me and experience My love for you daily, you will see how infinite it is‚ how free-flowing it is. I want you to accept it as is. Don’t even try to comprehend or understand it, for it is above your thoughts and human understanding.
Just know and accept that it’s there, that it’s never-ending, and then let it work in your heart. Let it change you, let it mold you, and let it inspire you to give to others also. You will see how it will compel you to reach out and share with others, and you will also see that it will never run out, that it will multiply as you give it away. The giving will not take away from it, but will add to it. That’s one of the marvels of My love. It’s heavenly and cannot be measured by any earthly means. That’s My love for you.
Originally published June 2008. Adapted and republished March 2015. Read byGabriel Garcia Valdivieso. Music by Michael Dooley.
Character Is Your Masterpiece to Build
By Jim Rohn, March 23, 2015
Could creating your character be likened to an artist creating a sculpture? I believe that character is not something that just happens by itself, any more than a chisel can create a work of art without the hand of an artist guiding it. In both instances, a conscious decision for a specific outcome has been made. A conscious process is at work. Character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you make that gradually turn who you are, at any given moment, into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you will still be somebody. You will still be alive but may have a personality rather than a character.
Character is not something you were born with and can’t change. In fact, because you weren’t born with it, it is something that you must take responsibility for creating. I don’t believe that adversity by itself builds character, and I certainly don’t think that success erodes it. Character is built by how you respond to what happens in your life—whether it’s winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing with hard times. You build character out of certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself—just like you would plant and water a seed, or gather wood and build a campfire. You’ve got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You’ve got to chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away the rock to create the sculpture that previously only existed in your imagination.
But do you want to know the really amazing thing about character? If you are sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you’ll not only create those qualities, but you’ll continually strengthen them. And you will recreate them in abundance even as you are drawing on them every day of your life. Character sustains itself and nurtures itself as it is being put to work, tested and challenged. Once it is formed, character will serve as a solid, lasting foundation upon which to build the life you desire.
Could creating your character be likened to an artist creating a sculpture? I believe that character is not something that just happens by itself, any more than a chisel can create a work of art without the hand of an artist guiding it. In both instances, a conscious decision for a specific outcome has been made. A conscious process is at work. Character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you make that gradually turn who you are, at any given moment, into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you will still be somebody. You will still be alive but may have a personality rather than a character.
Character is not something you were born with and can’t change. In fact, because you weren’t born with it, it is something that you must take responsibility for creating. I don’t believe that adversity by itself builds character, and I certainly don’t think that success erodes it. Character is built by how you respond to what happens in your life—whether it’s winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing with hard times. You build character out of certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself—just like you would plant and water a seed, or gather wood and build a campfire. You’ve got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You’ve got to chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away the rock to create the sculpture that previously only existed in your imagination.
But do you want to know the really amazing thing about character? If you are sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you’ll not only create those qualities, but you’ll continually strengthen them. And you will recreate them in abundance even as you are drawing on them every day of your life. Character sustains itself and nurtures itself as it is being put to work, tested and challenged. Once it is formed, character will serve as a solid, lasting foundation upon which to build the life you desire.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Sovereign Man- Notes from the Field
http://www.sovereignman.com/trends/more-capital-controls-as-france-declares-war-on-cash-16658/?inf_contact_key=e4f15d17d6aaf2bf97cab1c48de02d5fcd9b80c7c4600b92d2d180b337a580ec
March 24, 2015
Santiago, Chile
French paper Le Parisien didn't mince words in the headline: "La chasse au cash est lancee". Basically 'hunting season on cash is launched'.
Under the auspices of fighting terrorism, France's Minister of Finance, Monsieur Michel Sapin, has rolled out a series of eight new restrictions aimed specifically at minimizing the use of cash.
Among the new restrictions is a prohibition of making more than 1,000 euros in cash payments (down from 3,000 before).
Large cash withdrawls exceeding 10,000 euros per month will also now be monitored and reported to the French authorities.
Foreign exchange offices will now be required to obtain a copy of someone's ID to exchange more than 1,000 euros.
There are several more beyond this. And, just for good measure, they threw in a few controls that aren't even related to cash.
Most importantly, moving and transporting GOLD through France, even through a professional freight service, must now be declared and reported to French customs.
It's pretty obvious what's happening here.
Yes, of course they're saying that they're doing this in order to combat terrorism... because only terrorists use cash apparently.
But that's total BS. These restrictions are capital controls, plain and simple. And they're designed for one single purpose: to keep people's savings trapped in the banking system.
Interest rates in most of Europe are negative... and likely becoming even MORE negative.
Many banks across Europe have already dropped their deposit rates into negative territory as well... meaning that customers must now PAY for the privilege of loaning their hard earned savings to a poorly capitalized bank.
It's obscene. And no one in his/her right mind is going to put up with this for too long.
After all, what's the point of paying a banker NEGATIVE 0.25% if you can simply withdraw all of your savings in cash and hold it in a safety deposit box?
And as interest rates become even more negative, more and more people will realize that they're much better off holding physical cash instead of paying their banker.
Problem is, if even a tiny fraction of bank customers tried to withdraw all of their savings, it would bring down the entire banking system.
Banks simply do not have the money. They don't have OUR money.
The most basic principle of modern banking is for banks to take in money from depositors and gamble away upwards of 97% of it... whether making risky loans based on the latest investment fad, or buying the bonds of bankrupt governments.
They hold a very small portion of our savings in reserve. Everything else is gone.
This means that if customers actually... you know... wanted their own money back, it would cause a giant bank run.
Banks would have to start liqudating assets in panic sales trying to raise enough money to pay back their depositors. And many would fail in the process.
And if the last several years of their 'no banker left behind' policies is any indicator, governments will do anything they have to do to keep banks from failing.
Hence the capital controls.
Their aim is to close every door possible... to eliminate every alternative that people have to hold savings outside of the banking system.
If you want to save your money in a bank at negative interest rates, no problem.
If you want to buy stocks and bonds (again, bankers and governments profit), no problem.
BUT... if you want to hold cash (ironically—'legal tender'), they want to make it illegal.
And if you want to own gold, they're imposing all sorts of reporting requirements.
These are not the policies of governments with strong financial positions and stable banks. These are the policies of bankrupt governments and illiquid banking systems.
It's happening. And as Western nations continue to go broke, it's going to keep happening... the controls are only going to get worse. It's time to do something about it.
If you live in a bankrupt country, definitely consider moving at least a portion of your savings abroad to a low-debt country that has a strong, liquid banking system.
There are plenty out there, especially in the Asia-Pacific region (like Hong Kong, New Zealand, etc.)
You may also want to consider digital currencies as well.
If you have misgivings about this, remember that ALL currencies are digitial. The dollar, euro, pound, etc. are all basically digital. (That's why banks don't have any physical cash on hand).
The primary difference is that crypto-currencies are entirely decentralized... making it very easy to cross international borders with literally millions of dollars encrypted in a string of characters that you can store on your mobile phone.
Precious metals are also great alternatives to the banking system; think about storing gold abroad in an ultra-safe country like Singapore where your wealth can be free of government confiscation and capital controls.
Until tomorrow,
Simon Black
Founder, SovereignMan.com
March 24, 2015
Santiago, Chile
French paper Le Parisien didn't mince words in the headline: "La chasse au cash est lancee". Basically 'hunting season on cash is launched'.
Under the auspices of fighting terrorism, France's Minister of Finance, Monsieur Michel Sapin, has rolled out a series of eight new restrictions aimed specifically at minimizing the use of cash.
Among the new restrictions is a prohibition of making more than 1,000 euros in cash payments (down from 3,000 before).
Large cash withdrawls exceeding 10,000 euros per month will also now be monitored and reported to the French authorities.
Foreign exchange offices will now be required to obtain a copy of someone's ID to exchange more than 1,000 euros.
There are several more beyond this. And, just for good measure, they threw in a few controls that aren't even related to cash.
Most importantly, moving and transporting GOLD through France, even through a professional freight service, must now be declared and reported to French customs.
It's pretty obvious what's happening here.
Yes, of course they're saying that they're doing this in order to combat terrorism... because only terrorists use cash apparently.
But that's total BS. These restrictions are capital controls, plain and simple. And they're designed for one single purpose: to keep people's savings trapped in the banking system.
Interest rates in most of Europe are negative... and likely becoming even MORE negative.
Many banks across Europe have already dropped their deposit rates into negative territory as well... meaning that customers must now PAY for the privilege of loaning their hard earned savings to a poorly capitalized bank.
It's obscene. And no one in his/her right mind is going to put up with this for too long.
After all, what's the point of paying a banker NEGATIVE 0.25% if you can simply withdraw all of your savings in cash and hold it in a safety deposit box?
And as interest rates become even more negative, more and more people will realize that they're much better off holding physical cash instead of paying their banker.
Problem is, if even a tiny fraction of bank customers tried to withdraw all of their savings, it would bring down the entire banking system.
Banks simply do not have the money. They don't have OUR money.
The most basic principle of modern banking is for banks to take in money from depositors and gamble away upwards of 97% of it... whether making risky loans based on the latest investment fad, or buying the bonds of bankrupt governments.
They hold a very small portion of our savings in reserve. Everything else is gone.
This means that if customers actually... you know... wanted their own money back, it would cause a giant bank run.
Banks would have to start liqudating assets in panic sales trying to raise enough money to pay back their depositors. And many would fail in the process.
And if the last several years of their 'no banker left behind' policies is any indicator, governments will do anything they have to do to keep banks from failing.
Hence the capital controls.
Their aim is to close every door possible... to eliminate every alternative that people have to hold savings outside of the banking system.
If you want to save your money in a bank at negative interest rates, no problem.
If you want to buy stocks and bonds (again, bankers and governments profit), no problem.
BUT... if you want to hold cash (ironically—'legal tender'), they want to make it illegal.
And if you want to own gold, they're imposing all sorts of reporting requirements.
These are not the policies of governments with strong financial positions and stable banks. These are the policies of bankrupt governments and illiquid banking systems.
It's happening. And as Western nations continue to go broke, it's going to keep happening... the controls are only going to get worse. It's time to do something about it.
If you live in a bankrupt country, definitely consider moving at least a portion of your savings abroad to a low-debt country that has a strong, liquid banking system.
There are plenty out there, especially in the Asia-Pacific region (like Hong Kong, New Zealand, etc.)
You may also want to consider digital currencies as well.
If you have misgivings about this, remember that ALL currencies are digitial. The dollar, euro, pound, etc. are all basically digital. (That's why banks don't have any physical cash on hand).
The primary difference is that crypto-currencies are entirely decentralized... making it very easy to cross international borders with literally millions of dollars encrypted in a string of characters that you can store on your mobile phone.
Precious metals are also great alternatives to the banking system; think about storing gold abroad in an ultra-safe country like Singapore where your wealth can be free of government confiscation and capital controls.
Until tomorrow,
Simon Black
Founder, SovereignMan.com
