From The Ramparts

                                                        From The Ramparts

                                                       Junious Ricardo Stanton

                                                           2014 Predictions

            I don’t profess to be a fortune teller, an exotic Swami or professional prognosticator. I do know human beings are creatures of habit and if you discern people’s values, habits, patterns and/or proclivities you can reliably predict their future behavior. With that in mind, I am offering a few predictions for 2014 based upon past attitudes, values and behavioral patterns.

Looking at the West, especially the US with its history of open and clandestine invasion, genocide, neo-colonialism, neo-liberal imperialism and warmongering, we can safely say it will continue into 2014. The US will use even more drones to bomb innocent men women and children in places like Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan as they continue the totally bogus War on Terrorism.

The US will stay in Afghanistan to continue to reap record opium crops (60% of the world’s opium supply) that make the CIA, organized crime and Wall Street banksters so rich. In fact the US CIA World Factbook lists opium as Afghanistan’s leading crop. But Afghanistan is also awash in mineral resources such as: iron, uranium, cooper, cobalt, lithium, natural gas and some oil. Don’t count on the US vacating Afghanistan in 2014.

The American government in cahoots with the international bankers and multi-national corporations will put an even deeper palm print on the continent of Africa in: the Central African Republic which has abundant resources of timber, diamonds and cotton. The US will create pretexts to send more troops, drones or “aid” to Mali to ensure they keep tabs on the uranium, phosphate and gold there, Nigeria will be a focal point because the elites want to protect the Anglo-American oil interests there. Libya will be on the Western imperialists clip board as the consequent societal collapse following the 2011 US toppling of Qadhafi worsens.  Of course the kleptomaniacs also want the oil and gold there. The vampire elites are looking at South Sudan and will attempt to destabilize it further to gain full access to the oil deposits there while Israel covets the water from the Nile River. South Sudan also has gold and diamonds as well as fertile land that make it irresistible to the corporate theives. South Africa will be in the cross hairs for several important reasons: one they have linked with Brazil, Russia, India and China to form the BRICS powerful trading and economic block. The BRICS are talking about establishing a global bank that would rival the IMF, World Bank and Bank of International Settlements. That’s a no no that could lead to war. The BRICS pose a nominal threat to the Western banking cartels. Look for the Western shot callers to attempt to destabilize these countries internally. You may see or hear about riots, demonstrations and clashes with police but know the West is behind most of this! The West views South Africa as a weak link in the coalition. South Africa is also being watched because there is turmoil in the platinum mines with workers demanding higher wages. The thugs in the corporate suites won’t tolerate that. As we close out 2013, news about what’s happening in Congo and Uganda is being suppressed. Look for incidents in that region to make news early in 2014.

Expect tensions to escalate between Japan its US ally and China over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Recently China initiated an Air Defense Zone in the East China Sea and requested other nations apprise them of their military flight plans and have their military planes identify themselves when approaching the area. Japan and the US immediately indicated their refusal to comply and within hours sent planes and bombers into the area without notifying China. There were no confrontations but the next time Japan and the US did it, China scrambled jets to intercept and shadow their aircraft. China recently sent its only aircraft carrier into the region. On another occasion China sent three ships to confront a US Navy guided missile cruiser supposedly in international waters. This has the potential to escalate into full scale hostilities. A war with China that also involves Japan, South Korea, Viet Nam and the US would be one way for the US to get out from under the trillions of dollars of debt it owes both China and Japan. Don’t think I’m using hyperbole, the oligarchs are really that sick.  Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

The global economy will teeter back and forth on the brink of collapse as the insolvency of sovereign nations and the “Too Big To Fail” banks pose an ever growing threat. The unregulated over leveraged global derivatives trade took AIG and Lehman Brothers down in 2007. That situation has not been resolved despite the bailouts, and ominously the derivatives bubble has grown to between 600 trillion with a “T” and 1.5 quadrillion dollars. That gargantuan total is bigger than the total global GDP of all developed and developing nations put together!  If it comes unraveled like it did in 2007 it will mean the end of the Western economic system as we know it. This news is being suppressed by the corporate media. You won’t find it anywhere except on a few sites like http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-coming-derivatives-panic-that-will-destroy-global-financial-markets and http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/derivatives/bank_exposure.html  The derivatives bubble will inflate even larger in 2014 bringing the world closer to financial Armageddon.

Keep your eyes on Detroit. In 2014 the one per cent vampires and vultures will pick that once great city clean leaving pensioners strapped, services cut to the bone and the poor in a lurch. This is the template the financial oligarchs plan to use on the state, local and federal levels. Keep in mind there are numerous municipalities, counties and states on the brink of insolvency. Over one hundred public worker pension funds are underfunded around the country by trillions of dollars. Politicians cannot raise enough tax money to cover the shortfalls. Keep in mind the US government is broke, it cannot pay its debts (that’s why they have to raise the debt ceiling). The federal government doesn’t have the money to pay for Social Security or Medicare!  In effect the US government is already in default to its own citizens!! So to forestall the inevitable, they will usher in austerity programs. For a preview, watch what they do to Detroit.  

In 2014 the Kleptocratic corporate elites and their cohorts in Congress will write and pass legislation that further undermines the social safety nets on the local, state and federal levels.  In 2014 more and more people will become knowledgeable about Frankenfoods the so called Bio-Technology industry that is destroying the global ecosystem. A grass roots movement will generate opposition to GMOs but the Obama administration will side with Monsanto and the other bio-tech giants.

Lastly there will be calls for Obama’s impeachment. Whether or not they will be successful is not clear. A certain foreign nation and their powerful lobby want to frighten Obama into following their “Middle East” war agenda. If he refuses they will sic their dogs in Congress and the media on him. 

The good news for 2014 is, more and more people will awaken to their/our divinity. Many more folks will discover and actualize their innate potential on a practical and meaningful level. Yes many will continue to live in ignorance and decadence; many will die prematurely but in 2014 more people will empower themselves in a mighty way. Many will dabble in urban gardening and organic farming. More people will live better, healthier happier lives. In 2014 many will wake up and empower themselves despite the collapse going on around them. Oh by the way, Happy New Year!