President Obama

By the look on President Obama's face, Erdogan must have just announced the addition of dozens of coal-fired power plants...

In a broad-based press conference, President Obama is expected to address everything from climate change and fossil fuels to more mundane threats such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Turkey, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. As you watch the President explain how he is solving all these 'issues', bear in mind his statement from earlier today that the global pact on climate control is "an act of defiance" against terrorism that proves the world stands undeterred by ISIS. Yeah that really showed them, eh?!

Seek protection from the great threat...

A false capitalism reigns based on false capital - notional wealth where there is really no wealth; value where there is no value. Moments like this in history beat a path straight to currency collapse, and that will open the door to a greater collapse of all our familiar arrangements.

As goes Ford, so goes America?

• Dollar rises versus euro, oil drops before ECB, OPEC meetings (Reuters)
• Smog chokes Chinese, Indian capitals as climate talks begin (Reuters)
• Obama: COP21 Paris Climate Talks Could Be ‘Turning Point’ For Planet (BBG)
• China plans to launch carbon-tracking satellites into space (Reuters)
• Scientists Dispute 2-Degree Model Guiding Climate Talks (WSJ)
• At NATO, Turkey defiant over downing of Russian jet (Reuters)
• ECB Left With No Choice But Action After Draghi's Priming (BBG)

If we want to get to a world where terrorism isn’t such a regular tragedy, governments need to start recognizing the fact that the so-called “War on Terror” is a self-fulfilling prophecy destined to foment one thing and one thing only: more terrorism.

It's no secret that the US has played an outsized role in facilitating Syria's five-year civil war by funneling money and guns to a hodgepodge of opposition groups. It's also no secret that The Pentagon's latest "train and equip" program was a disaster of epic proportions. But rest assured, if Washington can make it worse, Washington will make it worse, which is why we weren't surprised that the 2016 NDAA authorizes more taxpayer money for the funding of "moderate" Syrian rebels.

Perhaps Voltaire said it best: "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?"

Another 'mass' shooting, and another outraged statement from President Obama proclaiming "enough is enough." With 9 injured, and 2 police officers and 1 civilian dead after the dreadful standoff at a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado Springs, the President took the opportunity to explain "we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period." Of course, any discussion of the shooter's mental health, the violent polarization towards and politicization of abortion among an increasingly micro-aggressive America were conveniently ignored.

As the US struggles to contain the Taliban, Kabul is set to receive a shipment of 10,000 Kalashnikovs from Moscow. Afghan lawmakers have also requested helicopter gunships and are now considering allowing Russia to participate directly in anti-terror ops. However, with Iran (The Kremlin's staunchest regional ally) having forged an unlikely alliance with the Taliban in an effort to subvert US influence and counter ISIS, questions abound regarding just who Russia would be targeting and who will be on the receiving end of the new AK-47s.

This is a chess match between ISIS, China and the U.S. using Taiwan as a game piece.

A society that is given the option to protect itself is not a fearful society, it is a prudent one. The victims of Paris were never allowed the option to protect their lives, nor were they fortunate to have armed defenders present or trained combatants to stop the attack before it reached them. People need the opportunity to secure their own safety since, as the past twelve years has shown, the State will fail them.

When it comes to NATO and the West you can always find a contradiction or two (or five) when it comes to foreign policy rhetoric which is why we weren’t at all surprised (although we were amused) with what we found when we decided to take a look back at what Erdogan said in 2012 after Assad’s air force shot down a Turkish F-4 phantom jet when it crossed into Syrian airspace.

With Americans facing a day of travel and giving thanks tomorrow, President Obama is set to make a statement we presume urging everyone to get out and spend... but be more alert to bad guys...