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The Global Explosion Of Hate Is Yet Another Sign That We Really Are Living In The End Times

November 1, 2023November 1, 2023 by Michael

What we are witnessing is truly frightening. In my entire lifetime, I have never seen as much hate as I have over the past few weeks. It is almost as if a very large chunk of the global population has suddenly gone mad. But of course all of this hate did not come out of a vacuum. It has been simmering for many years, and now the war in the Middle East has brought it to the surface. Humans were created to love and to be loved, and so if you find yourself consumed with hatred you are part of the problem. Of course we knew that this global explosion of hate would be coming. The Bible warns us repeatedly about what the condition of humanity will be like in the end times. One example of this can be found in Matthew chapter 24…

⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows.

⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

¹⁰And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

When Jesus spoke these words, He was speaking to Jewish believers.

And right now we are seeing a tremendous outpouring of hatred toward Jews and Bible-believing Christians all over the planet.

October 7th was not a one time thing.

Ultimately, radical Muslims will never be satisfied until they have annihilated every single person that is not willing to submit to Islam.

Even though their focus is on wiping out Jewish people living in the land of Israel right now, it will definitely not end there.

So the things that Hamas official Ghazi Hamad recently said on LBC TV should chill all of us to the core…

Ghazi Hamad of the Hamas political bureau said in an October 24, 2023 show on LBC TV (Lebanon) that Hamas is prepared to repeat the October 7 “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation time and again until Israel is annihilated. He added that Palestinians are willing to pay the price and that they are “proud to sacrifice martyrs.” Hamad said that Palestinians are the victims of the occupation, therefore no one should blame them for the events of October 7 or anything else, adding: “Everything we do is justified.”

This is a man that has been totally consumed by hatred.

And there are millions upon millions of others just like him all over the world.

Since October 7th, we have seen an explosion of anti-Jewish acts that is truly unprecedented…

In Los Angeles, a man screaming “kill Jews” attempts to break into a family’s home. In London, girls in a playground are told they are “stinking Jews” and should stay off the slide. In China, posts likening Jews to parasites, vampires or snakes proliferate on social media, attracting thousands of “likes”.

These are examples of incidents of antisemitism, which have surged globally since the attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on Oct. 7 and subsequent war on the Islamist group launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Thanks to very foolish immigration policies, major cities all over the western world are now absolutely teeming with radical Muslims.

We have been warned for a long time that this would cause massive problems, and now Jewish communities everywhere are living in fear.

In France, large numbers of homes and businesses that are owned by Jewish people are being marked with paint…

France already documented 819 ‘latent’ antisemitic attacks since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7, according to Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.

In Jewish homes on the outskirts of Paris, multiple blue Stars of David have been painted on homes and stone fences.

Swastikas have also been sprayed next to Jewish institutions, and students have been publicly harassed outside of Jewish schools.

Sadly, this isn’t just happening in France.

Similar things are taking place in Germany…

Recent weeks have seen Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, vow to take a “zero tolerance” approach to antisemitism, citing the responsibility towards Israel given Germany’s role as the perpetrator of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered.

Other national leaders have echoed those concerns.

In recent days Scholz has doubled down on the pledge, after assailants hurled two molotov cocktails at a synagogue in central Berlin and the Star of David was found daubed on the facades of several buildings where Jews live in Berlin.

There is no rational way to explain the intensity of this hatred.

And that is because it is spiritually inspired.

If you find yourself hating Jews or Christians, it is probably because you have opened up a door to very dark spiritual forces.

Unfortunately, what we have witnessed so far is just the beginning.

As the war in the Middle East really ramps up, I believe that we will see some truly dramatic terror attacks all over the world.

On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned members of Congress that the threat of terrorism inside the United States has reached “a whole other level”…

Terrorist threats against the U.S. reached “a whole other level” after the Hamas attack on Israel, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Tuesday, saying the big players in terrorism have all renewed calls to attack America and its interests.

He said the level of threats has heightened since President Biden took office, though U.S. law enforcement is “better prepared to deal with them.”

“The reality is that the terrorism threat has been elevated throughout 2023, but the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of attack on Americans to a whole other level,” Mr. Wray said.

From this point forward, things are going to start getting really crazy.

We really are living in the end times.

But that is not bad news.

God warned us about all of these things in advance, He has a plan, and He is in control.

So even though darkness is rapidly growing all over the world, we should never give in to fear.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “End Times” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book I have written six other books that are available on Amazon.com including “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending copies as gifts to family and friends. Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible. I have also started a brand new Substack newsletter, and I encourage you to subscribe so that you won’t miss any of my articles. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is definitely a great help. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

Living Paycheck To Paycheck Has Become “The Main Financial Lifestyle” For U.S. Consumers

October 31, 2023October 31, 2023 by Michael

Despite the fact that our politicians in Washington have been borrowing and spending trillions of dollars that we do not have in a desperate attempt to prop up the economy, living paycheck to paycheck has become a permanent lifestyle for most Americans. In other words, well over half of the country is literally living on the brink of financial disaster. When you are living paycheck to paycheck, there is no room for error. A job loss, a business failure or a medical emergency can mean complete and utter financial ruin if you don’t have a cushion to fall back on. That is why the results of a brand new survey are so alarming. According to a report that was just released by LendingClub, 62 percent of all U.S. adults were living paycheck to paycheck last month…

High inflation and higher interest rates continue to weigh on American households.

As of September, 62% of adults said they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report.

For years, people like me have been warning Americans not to live like this.

Living paycheck to paycheck only works if the paychecks keep coming in every month.

Once they stop, you are at risk of losing everything.

Unfortunately, living paycheck to paycheck is “the main financial lifestyle among U.S. consumers” at this point…

“Living paycheck to paycheck remains the main financial lifestyle among U.S. consumers,” the report said.

When you live on the edge, even a relatively minor event like an unexpected vehicle repair can become a major crisis.

That probably helps to explain why a different survey found that a whopping 74 percent of all Americans are “stressed about finances”…

Some 74% of Americans say they are stressed about finances, according to a separate CNBC Your Money Financial Confidence Survey conducted in August. Inflation, rising interest rates and a lack of savings contribute to those feelings.

When millions of workers lost their jobs in 2008 and 2009, vast numbers of Americans that were living paycheck to paycheck lost their homes because they could no longer pay their mortgages.

Unfortunately, another wave of massive layoffs has begun.

In fact, this month it appears that tech layoffs have started to surge once again…

In October, Nokia announced it was laying off 14,000 employees following a quarter that saw profits drop by 69%, and other major tech companies like Qualcomm, Qualtrics, and LinkedIn also announced significant layoffs.

Unfortunately, much greater economic troubles are on the way, and most Americans are deeply concerned about what the months ahead will bring.

According to a survey that was just released by Chapman University, 55 percent of Americans are either “afraid” or “very afraid” that we are heading into an economic or financial collapse…

Meanwhile, economic concerns in America are increasing, the survey showed. Since the first such survey by Chapman University in 2013, at least one fear related to the economy has appeared in the top 10.

This year, fear of economic or financial collapse was second on the list, increasing from last year when it ranked number 8. This year, nearly 55 percent of respondents said they were very afraid or afraid of the matter.

“Considering this year’s high interest rates, high inflation, and unexpected banking crisis; economic recession was something a lot of Americans were afraid of, helping to explain why fear of economic/financial collapse ranked so high,” Mr. Andrus said.

We have already been through some intense economic turbulence over the past few years.

But greater pain is on the way.

At this point that is so obvious that even the normally rabidly optimistic National Association of Business Economists is warning of “a more challenging business environment as the economy slows”…

The nation’s leading economists stopped short of forecasting a full-blown recession, but they do see headwinds for the U.S. economy.

“The October 2023 Business Conditions Survey results suggest a more challenging business environment as the economy slows,” said National Association of Business Economists (NABE) president Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist, Morgan Stanley.

For once, they are right on target.

The U.S. economy really is slowing down.

And the European economy is slowing down too…

The euro area economy risks falling into recession later this year after official data Tuesday showed that output shrank slightly in the third quarter.

Gross domestic product across the 20 countries that use the euro fell 0.1% in the July-to-September quarter compared with the previous three months, according to an initial estimate published by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office.

The dip follows a rise of only 0.2% in the April-to-June quarter and highlights the fine line between contraction and growth in the eurozone. GDP was stagnant in the final three months of 2022 and the first quarter of this year.

Even in a best case scenario, the path ahead is going to be very rocky for the global economy.

But what is going to happen if the flow of oil from the Middle East is restricted or cut off for an extended period of time?

As I discussed yesterday, that really would be an economic nightmare for the whole world, because 31 percent of the world’s oil comes from the Middle East.

A global oil crisis would deeply affect all of us, because our entire way of life is predicated on cheap energy.

So it will be important to watch events in the Middle East very closely.

If Hezbollah and Iran join the war, things are going to start getting really crazy very rapidly.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

This War Will Push Rapidly Escalating Global Food Prices Into Overdrive

October 30, 2023October 30, 2023 by Michael

The only way that we can continue to have cheap food is if we have cheap energy. We use energy to grow our food, to harvest our food, to produce our food and to package our food. And transporting all of that food from the farm to the factory and then to the stores takes lots of energy. Of course it isn’t just our food supply that depends upon cheap energy. Ultimately, our entire way of life is predicated on a cheap energy paradigm. If you take cheap energy away, everything changes.

That is why this war in the Middle East could represent such a critical economic tipping point.

31 percent of the world’s oil comes from the Middle East.

If that supply is restricted or completely cut off for an extended period of time, we will be in for a world of hurt.

But don’t just take my word for it. At this point, even the World Bank is sounding the alarm…

Oil prices could be pushed into ‘uncharted waters’, which could lead to higher food prices worldwide if the violence between Israel and Hamas intensifies, the World Bank has said.

The bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook found that while the effects on oil prices should be limited if the conflict does not widen, the outlook ‘would darken quickly if the conflict were to escalate’.

In a worst case scenario, the World Bank says that the price of oil could go as high as 157 dollars a barrel…

In a ‘large disruption’ scenario – comparable to the Arab oil embargo of 1973 – the global oil supply would shrink by six million to eight million barrels per day and prices could go up by 56 per cent to 75 per cent, or $140 (£115.51) to $157 (£129.53) a barrel, according to the report.

Other experts are projecting that the price of a barrel of oil could eventually go as high as 300 dollars a barrel.

If energy prices start to scream higher as more parties join the war in the Middle East, global food prices will go far higher than they are right now.

Of course they have already reached absurd levels.

This month, a lot of Americans are complaining about ridiculously high candy prices. Over the past year, they have risen by 13 percent in the United States…

Halloween candy inflation is up by double digits for the second year in a row, with prices 13% higher this October compared to the same time last year, according to new data.

Prices of candy and gum in October 2022 had already increased by 14% from the previous year, The Associated Press reported over the weekend, citing data from retail price tracker Datasembly.

“The price of candy has gotten to be outrageous,” small business owner Jessica Weathers, who lives in the 14,400-resident village of Shiloh, Illinois. “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend $100 on candy.”

But that is nothing compared to what is happening to orange juice.

Since March 2020, the price of frozen orange juice concentrate is up 388 percent…

Orange juice futures hit a record high of $4.1195 per pound, up 10% on Monday morning. The frozen orange juice concentrate has soared 388% since March 2020 as weather and disease crush citrus supply in Florida, the biggest producer of oranges in the US.

David Branch of Wells Fargo recently told Yahoo Finance that Florida’s orange crop is expected to come in around 713,000 tons, the smallest since the 1936-37 season.

Ouch.

Do you remember the days when we could all afford to drink orange juice on a regular basis?

Sadly, those days are long gone.

At this stage, even a meal at McDonald’s has become painfully expensive.

If you can believe it, a Big Mac combo meal at one location in Connecticut now costs 18 dollars…

However, McDonald’s — which has 13,513 restaurants in the US and over 38,000 abroad — did not disclose how much the franchiser has increased its prices, which generally vary between locations.

One branch in Darien, Conn., charged as much as $18 for a Big Mac combo meal, which includes medium fries and a medium soft drink.

Meanwhile, that same Big Mac combo will run hungry patrons $13.69 at a McDonald’s in Times Square.

Thanks to these skyrocketing food prices, more Americans are going hungry than ever before.

This week, we learned that the number of Americans “suffering from hunger and food insecurity” increased by more than 10 million from 2021 to 2022…

The number of Americans suffering from hunger and food insecurity exploded by more than 10 million under President Joe Biden, according to a U.S. Agriculture Department report this week that provided fresh evidence of inflation‘s impact of a basic staple of life.

The report found 44.2 million Americans were living in food-insecure households in 2022, compared to 33.8 million the year before.

“From 2021 to 2022, there were statistically significant increases in food insecurity and very low food security for nearly all subgroups of households described in this report,” USDA reported Wednesday.

So if things were that bad in 2022, how high is that number today?

My guess is that we are well beyond 50 million at this point.

And what we have experienced so far is just the beginning.

Unfortunately, most Americans simply cannot comprehend what is happening.

Our stores have always been packed to the gills with mountains of cheap food, and so for many people it is really hard to understand that era is ending.

If you have not already done so, I would very much encourage you to stockpile supplies of food while you still can.

Because this war in the Middle East is just getting started, and food prices will soon be shooting up to levels that would have once been considered unimaginable.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Now That Israel Has Entered Gaza, All Eyes Are On Hezbollah, Iran And Turkey

October 29, 2023October 29, 2023 by Michael

Now we are going to find out who was bluffing and who was not bluffing. Israeli troops have gone into Gaza, and we are being told that this is a war that could last for months. Of course it could easily last a lot longer than that. If the stated goal is to eliminate Hamas, that certainly won’t be easy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling this a second war of independence, and he just told the world that “Never Again is now”…

Netanyahu said troops that he has met in the field are determined to make Hamas pay for its actions on October 7.

“They are determined to eradicate this evil from the world, for our existence and, I add — for all of humanity.”

Netanyahu continued: “We always said, ‘Never Again’. Never Again’ is now.”

So Israel was clearly not bluffing.

Now we shall see what Hezbollah does.

Hezbollah officials have warned multiple times that they will enter the war if Israel goes into Gaza.

Was Hezbollah just bluffing?

So far, a limited number of rockets have been fired back and forth along Israel’s northern border since Netanyahu made his speech…

Several rocket volleys were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Sunday, and the Israel Defense Forces said it hit terror cells and sites belonging to the Hezbollah terror group, as skirmishes continued on the northern frontier and the army continues its war with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip in the south.

According to the IDF, rockets were launched from Lebanon at the upper and western Galilee several times throughout the day, setting off sirens in towns including Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Shlomi, Tuba-Zangariyye, Rosh Pina, Ayelet Hashahar, and Hatzor Haglilit.

If this is all that Hezbollah does, the Israelis will greatly celebrate.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe that Hezbollah was just bluffing, and I think soon we will see some major moves from them.

I also don’t think that Iran was bluffing.

On Sunday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi publicly stated that the Israelis have “crossed the red lines” that Iran had established…

Israel has “crossed the red lines” in Gaza, which “may force everyone to take action,” Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said Sunday, while US national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned of an “elevated risk” of a spillover conflict in the Middle East.

Okay, so your “red lines” have been crossed.

What are you going to do about it?

So far, the answer is not much.

But the Iranians are conducting “massive war games” right now…

IRAN has staged massive war games with 200 helicopters and missile launchers as tensions rage over Israel.

Tanks, aircraft and troops were deployed by the Islamic Republic for the exercise dubbed “Authority 1402”.

During these war games, the Iranians have been firing new versions of their domestically-made missiles…

Tehran’s military launched the drills – including using upgraded versions of their domestically-made missiles, Dawn and Diamond.

They also tested new bombs as well as attack helicopters.

The choppers launched missiles in the dark and destroyed the pretend enemy using night vision systems.

Of course these war games are not going to intimidate anyone.

If the Iranians intend to stop what is going on, they are going to have to take action.

For now, the Iranians are limiting themselves to conducting strikes on U.S. bases in the region through their proxies…

Attacks on US military outposts in Iraq and Syria have continued over the weekend. Al-Mayadeen news and other regional outlets have reported that there have been several attacks by Iran-backed militias on Saturday and Sunday. Russian media has also reported on the fresh attacks, calling recent Pentagon airstrikes on Syria an “unsuccessful bid to deter the militias.”

A statement by a coalition of Shia paramilitary groups said, “The Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted the American occupation base in Al-Tanf, Syria, with two drones, which directly hit their targets.” They carried out the attack from just across the Iraq border into Syria.

Reports say separately that the al-Shaddadi base in eastern Syria was also hit with two drones, and al-Omar base and oil field was struck. The latter was reportedly attacked a mere hours after the US airstrikes.

Al-Mayadeen had says ago cited a statement from the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades which said the group is willing to fight “a war of attrition against the enemy that will extend for years.”

The recent U.S. airstrikes were supposed to put an end to this.

Obviously that did not work.

So what is Joe Biden’s next move?

Meanwhile,Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making all sorts of noise.

At a pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday, he declared that Israel is “a war criminal”…

Türkiye will introduce Israel to the world as a war criminal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Speaking at “Great Palestine Meeting,” a pro-Palestine rally in Istanbul, Erdogan said: “Israel, we will also declare you as a war criminal to the world, we are preparing for it, and we will introduce Israel to the world as a war criminal.”

Erdogan stressed that the Western world mobilized its politicians, and media to legitimize the massacre of the innocent people in Gaza, adding: “Israel is committing war crimes.”

And Erdogan also threatened Israel with potential military action…

In comments that have prompted Israeli outcry, and led the country to withdraw its diplomatic presence, president Erdogan suggested assaults on Gaza constituted a “massacre”.

In the same speech, he reportedly said that Turkey can “come at any night unexpectedly” to ecstatic reception from hundreds of thousands of attendees.

The footage, which is currently circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, purportedly showed the pro-Palestine crowd responding with the chant: “Turkish military to Gaza.”

Would Turkey actually do such a thing?

Erdogan is completely nuts, but I can’t imagine that he would want to risk a direct conflict with Israel.

If Turkey does attack Israel, would the U.S. strike Turkey?

The U.S. and Turkey are both members of NATO, and so that would create quite an awkward situation.

My friends, we have truly entered unprecedented territory.

A major war has erupted in the Middle East, and now we shall watch to see what all of the interested parties do next…

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

We Are About To Witness One Of The Most Pivotal Moments In Modern History

October 26, 2023October 26, 2023 by Michael

Most people don’t seem to realize that one of the most important moments that any of us have ever witnessed is about to happen. When the Israeli invasion of Gaza officially commences, nothing will ever be the same from that point forward. The entire Middle East will erupt in flames and the global economy will go completely haywire. But Israel doesn’t have a choice in this matter. If our babies were killed, our women were raped and our grandmothers were kidnapped, we would be going to war with Hamas too. Unfortunately, much of the Islamic world is uniting behind Hamas, and so Israel could soon find itself literally fighting a war of national survival.

I know that Israel does not want to fight a multi-front war against multiple Islamic enemies.

But once again, after what Hamas just did to Israeli women and children, there is no choice.

Hamas must be destroyed, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the timing of the ground invasion has been decided…

“We are preparing for a ground incursion,” he said in a televised address to the nation. “I won’t specify when, how, how many. I also won’t detail the range of considerations, most of which the public is not aware of. And that’s the way it is supposed to be. This is the way, so that we protect our soldiers’ lives.”

However, Netanyahu said the war cabinet and chief of staff had reached a decision on the timing that was unanimous.

He added that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Unity Government partner Minister Benny Gantz, the security cabinet, the chief of staff and heads of the security organizations were “working around the clock” to achieve the main war aims of “eliminating Hamas by destroying its military and governance capabilities and to do everything possible to get our hostages back.”

Of course it is entirely possible that whatever date they have set could be pushed back again.

The Israelis really want to rescue the hostages if possible, and they desperately want to prevent Hezbollah from attacking from the north.

But without a doubt, an invasion is coming.

In fact, the IDF just moved troops and tanks into northern Gaza temporarily in a raid that was designed to “prepare the battlefield” for the coming invasion…

Israeli troops and tanks briefly raided northern Gaza overnight, the military said Thursday, engaging with Hamas fighters and targeting anti-tank weapons in order to “prepare the battlefield” before an expected ground invasion.

The third Israeli raid since the war began came after more than two weeks of devastating airstrikes that have left thousands dead, and more than 1 million displaced from their homes, in the small, densely-populated territory.

It is being reported that these forces went about a kilometer deep into Gaza territory, and there were no casualties.

So the raid was a success.

The following is what the IDF had to say about the raid on Twitter…

In preparation for the next stages of combat, the IDF operated in northern Gaza.

IDF tanks & infantry struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts.

The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory.

Sadly, the civilians that remain in northern Gaza appear to be trapped there.

According to one account, Hamas is literally shooting at those that attempt to evacuate south on the main road…

The report explains, “In the call, the IDF officer tells Muhammad that to ‘ensure your personal safety, I’m asking you to urgently go towards Khan Younis’ in the south.”

The Gazan says, “All roads are blocked.”

“When asked if Hamas is blocking the roads, he answers in the affirmative, saying that Hamas was preventing passage south through Salah al-Din Road, the main north-south highway running through the Gaza Strip,” the report says.

And, the Gazan adds, “They are shooting at people.”

Hamas is so evil.

They even hate their own people and want to use them as human shields.

And now more evidence has emerged that appears to directly link the Iranians with the Hamas attacks on October 7th.

The following comes from the Wall Street Journal…

In the weeks leading up to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, hundreds of the Palestinian Islamist militant group’s fighters received specialized combat training in Iran, according to people familiar with intelligence related to the assault.

Roughly 500 militants from Hamas and an allied group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, participated in the exercises in September, which were led by officers of the Quds Force, the foreign-operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the people said.

Senior Palestinian officials and Iranian Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, the head of Quds Force, also attended, they said.

If this is true, the Iranians need to be held accountable.

Groups that are “affiliated with Iran” have also attacked U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria “more than a dozen times” during the past couple of weeks…

U.S. forces based in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than a dozen times by Iranian proxies in the Middle East within the last two weeks, according to the Department of Defense.

Between Oct. 17 and Oct. 26, U.S. and coalition forces have been attacked at least a dozen times in Iraq, while troops in Syria have been attacked four times in that period via a mix of one-way attack drones and rockets, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Thursday. He declined to name the group or groups responsible for the attacks specifically but said they are “affiliated with Iran.”

The Iranians are either really stupid, or they are trying to spark an apocalyptic war.

Once the IDF starts storming Gaza, events are going to start moving very rapidly.

And the Biden administration continues to prepare for a worst case scenario. Earlier today we learned that the Pentagon will be sending 900 more U.S. soldiers to the region…

In the Pentagon’s latest move to bolster US defenses in the Middle East against the ‘Iran threat’ – given the increased instances of Tehran proxies attacking US troop installations in Iraq and Syria over the last week – some 900 more Americans soldiers will be dispatched to the region.

A CBS correspondent has cited Pentagon Press Secretary, Gen. Patrick Ryder, who says 900 US troops have deployed or in process of deploying to bolster missile defense in CENTCOM’s mideast region of operations. They are expected to man Patriot, THAAD and Avenger missile systems. Earlier this week US defense officials said these extra missile batteries are being deployed to the theatre ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.

The CBS reporter noted “This comes as Iranian-backed groups continue to attack US miliary in Iraq and Syria.” Fears are growing that a major IDF push into the Gaza Strip would unleash broader retaliation strikes on US bases in the region.

There are some that believe that Hezbollah and Iran are bluffing and that a wider war will not erupt once the Israelis invade Gaza.

I wish that I could believe that.

Sadly, there is no turning back now.

The IDF really is going to conduct a massive ground operation in Gaza.

Then Hezbollah and other parties will start joining the conflict.

We really are on the verge of the unthinkable, and so I would encourage you to prepare accordingly.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

The Final Countdown: Has An Apocalyptic Confrontation Between The U.S. And Iran Become Inevitable?

October 24, 2023October 24, 2023 by Michael

It is becoming clear that the U.S. is going to be heavily involved in the war in the Middle East, and it is becoming clear that this is going to mean a direct confrontation with Iran. Are you ready for that? Are any of us really ready for such an apocalyptic scenario? Hamas and Hezbollah wouldn’t be anything without funding and arms from Iran. So Iran is the “big dog” that is ultimately responsible for all of the terrorism. On the other side, the U.S. is the “big dog” that funds and supports Israel. In the end, it was probably inevitable that the two “big dogs” would tangle eventually.

According to CNN, U.S. officials have intelligence that indicates that Iranian-backed terror groups “are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East”…

The US has intelligence that Iranian-backed militia groups are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East, as Iran seeks to capitalize on the backlash in the region to US support for Israel, according to multiple US officials.

The militia groups have already launched multiple drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria.

But the US now has specific intelligence that those same groups could escalate even further as the war between Israel and Hamas continues.

Of course Iranian-backed terror groups have already been attacking U.S. forces over and over again in recent days.

In fact, U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have been assaulted by such groups a total of 13 times within the past week…

U.S. troops positioned in the Middle East have been attacked 13 times in the last week with a mix of one-way drones and rockets, according to Pentagon officials.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed Tuesday that troops in Iraq had been attacked 10 times between Oct. 17-24, while during the same period troops in Syria had been attacked three times.

Pentagon officials said Monday that all the attacks on U.S. troops have Iran’s fingerprints on them, though there is no evidence at this time showing the country’s leaders ordered the attacks.

That last sentence makes me sick.

It doesn’t matter if Iran’s leaders specifically ordered the attacks or not.

These groups only exist because of Iran.

They get their funding and weapons from Iran.

So they are going to do what the Iranians want them to do, and they are not going to do what the Iranians don’t want them to do.

The bottom line is that Iran is responsible.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised that the U.S. would respond “swiftly and decisively” to any attack from Iranian proxy groups…

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday warned Iran that the United States would respond “decisively” to any attack by its proxies, as tensions rise with the Israel-Hamas war.

“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack US personnel anywhere, make no mistake. We will defend our people, we will defend our security — swiftly and decisively,” Blinken told a UN Security Council session.

Really?

So do it.

Iranian-backed terror groups have already attacked our forces 13 times.

Go get them.

Do you need an engraved invitation?

Needless to say, the Biden administration isn’t eager to fight the Iranians and the terror groups that they sponsor, because that could potentially spark the apocalyptic phase of World War III.

That probably would not be good for Joe Biden’s chances of winning in 2024.

And as the war in the Middle East fully erupts, there are hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens that may need to be evacuated…

The administration, despite its forceful public support for Israel, is deeply alarmed by the prospect of escalation, and in recent days it has turned its attention in part to the complicated logistics of abruptly having to relocate a large number of people, according to three people familiar with the discussions. There were about 600,000 U.S. citizens in Israel and another 86,000 believed to be in Lebanon when Hamas attacked, according to State Department estimates.

Personally, I don’t know why any U.S. citizens would still be in the Middle East at this point.

If you are there right now, you need to understand that a major war is about to erupt.

The death and destruction that we will witness will be off the charts.

So get out while you still can, and you can return once the fighting is over.

Earlier today, I was stunned to learn that French President Emmanuel Macron is interested in putting together an “international coalition” to fight Hamas…

French President Emmanuel Macron calls for the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group to be expanded to also fight Hamas after the October 7 assault on Israel.

Macron, speaking after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, said that countries fighting ISIS “should also fight against Hamas.”

But I don’t think that it will happen.

I think that Europe will sit this one out, because I think that most western European nations would prefer to stay out of the war in the Middle East.

So it will be the U.S. and Israel on one side, and the Iranians and their proxies on the other.

And it won’t be pretty.

There is one more thing that I wanted to quickly mention before I close this article.

In the year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the number of legal abortions in the United States actually went up…

In the year after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, something unexpected happened: The total number of legal abortions in the United States did not fall. Instead, it appeared to increase slightly, by about 0.2 percent, according to the first full-year count of abortions provided nationwide.

Our nation had an opportunity to change direction, but that did not happen.

And now as we prepare to fight World War III, we should not expect our efforts to be blessed.

Of course Iran is not the only opponent that the U.S. has to deal with.

Conflicts with China and Russia are looming as well.

I can definitely understand why the Biden administration is hesitant to start hitting the Iranians and their proxies, but they aren’t going to stop hitting our troops.

So either the Biden administration is going to have to pull all U.S. forces out of Iraq and Syria, or U.S. forces are going to have to start striking back.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

We Haven’t Seen A Subprime Borrower Meltdown Of This Magnitude Since The Last Financial Crisis

October 23, 2023October 23, 2023 by Michael

It is happening again. All over America, borrowers are getting behind on their payments. In particular, subprime borrowers are having a very difficult time paying the bills. Does that ring a bell? That should, because the last time we witnessed anything like this was during the last financial crisis. When things start to go bad, those at the bottom of the economic food chain feel it first, and that is why the numbers that have been coming out lately are so alarming.

For example, the percentage of subprime borrowers that are at least 60 days behind on their auto loans reached 6.11 percent last month.

That figure is the highest ever recorded…

The percent of subprime auto borrowers at least 60 days past due on their loans rose to 6.11% in September, the highest in data going back to 1994, according to Fitch Ratings.

“The subprime borrower is getting squeezed,” said Margaret Rowe, senior director with Fitch.

Let this sink in for a moment.

We never saw a number this high during the Great Recession.

And we never saw a number this high during the COVID pandemic.

So this is really bad.

Credit card delinquency rates at small banks have also hit an all-time record high…

Credit Card Delinquency rates at small banks have reached 7.51%, the highest level ever recorded

Once again, we never saw a number this high during the Great Recession.

And we never saw a number this high during the COVID pandemic.

Needless to say, it isn’t the wealthy that are getting behind on their credit card payments.

Instead, it is ordinary Americans that are deeply struggling to pay the bills in this harsh economic environment.

Alarmingly, early-stage mortgage delinquencies are also spiking…

Meanwhile, early-stage delinquencies (30 and 60 days past due) continued to increase. In September, 48,800 (+5.1%) additional borrowers were 30-days late on their mortgage payments, while 8,700 (+3%) were 60-days late on their mortgage payments. These rates have been going up for the past four months and six months, respectively.

And foreclosures have started to jump at a pace that is absolutely breathtaking…

Home foreclosures are on the rise as Americans continue to grapple with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

That is according to a new report published by real estate data provider ATTOM, which found that foreclosure filings – which includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – surged 28% in the third quarter to 124,539.

Foreclosures are up 34% from the same time one year ago.

Just like we witnessed in 2008 and 2009, millions upon millions of Americans have gotten way too overextended.

Even though everyone knew that the cost of living was rising much faster than paychecks were, a lot of people out there just kept spending like they always had been.

They thought that things would eventually work out okay in the long run, but instead they just kept getting deeper and deeper into debt.

Now a day of reckoning has arrived, and there are many that simply cannot keep up with all of their payments.

And many are falling out of the middle class altogether.

In all my years of writing, I have never seen poverty increase in the U.S. as fast as it is rising right now.

Recently, we learned that the percentage of Californians living in poverty jumped from 11 percent in 2021 to 16.4 percent last year…

Poverty has increased dramatically in California and the nation, a surge that new studies attribute to the expiration of pandemic-era federal relief programs such as the expanded Child Tax Credit.

The spike has been particularly steep among Black and Latino Californians and children across all ethnicities.

Researchers found 16.4% of Californians were living in poverty last year, up from 11% in 2021. The rate of child poverty more than doubled last year.

What will the final number for 2023 be?

Will it be above 20 percent?

The economy is moving in the wrong direction very rapidly now, and the war in the Middle East hasn’t even fully erupted yet.

So what in the world will conditions look like once that happens?

Our economic prosperity is completely and utterly dependent on cheap energy.

Without it, everything will change.

Once the flow of Middle Eastern oil stops due to the war, the price of oil is going to go completely nuts.

And once that happens, a nightmare scenario could quickly unfold.

In a recent article, Tuomas Malinen detailed what he thinks might happen…

The conflict escalates into a regional war with the U.S. becoming directly involved.

OPEC responds with an oil embargo.

Iran closes the strait of Hormuz.

The price of oil reaches $300/barrel.

Europe succumbs into a full-blown energy crisis due to LNG shortage.

Massive spike in energy prices reinvigorates inflation with central banks responding accordingly.

Financial markets and the global banking sector collapse.

Debt crisis engulfs the U.S. forcing the Federal Reserve to enact yet another financial market bailout.

Petrodollar trade collapses.

Hyperinflation emerges.

I don’t think that he is too far off the mark.

We were already facing a major crisis even without the war in the Middle East.

As I discussed the other day, U.S. banks are closing hundreds of branches and are laying off thousands of workers.

And the truth is that the banks are the beating heart of our entire financial system.

We are so close to a full-blown economic meltdown.

The only thing that could really save us now is if peace broke out in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, this is not going to be a time of peace.

This is going to be a time of war.

So that means that extremely harsh economic conditions are ahead of us, and most Americans are completely and utterly unprepared for such a reality.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

Fighting Has Erupted On Multiple Fronts As Israel Braces For A War Of National Survival

October 22, 2023October 22, 2023 by Michael

It is becoming clear that Israel is going to have to battle enemies on multiple fronts, and that means that this war is going to look a whole lot different than a lot of people thought that it would. If the fighting could have been confined to just Israel and Hamas, there still would have been a lot of death and destruction, but everyone knows that Hamas is no match for the IDF. But if Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and the Palestinians in the West Bank all jump into the conflict, all of a sudden this becomes a war of national survival for Israel, and in such a scenario it is much more likely that weapons of mass destruction will be used. So it should deeply alarm all of us that fighting has now erupted on multiple fronts.

On Sunday, IDF troops clashed with Hamas terrorists inside the Gaza Strip…

Hamas fighters and Israeli forces engaged in limited clashes inside Gaza on Sunday as the Israeli military ramped up airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave ahead of what its spokesperson described as the “next stage” of its war on the militant group.

Hamas claimed its fighters had destroyed two Israeli military bulldozers and a tank in an ambush near the Gazan city of Khan Younis, forcing Israeli troops to retreat without their vehicles. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its forces had been operating inside Gaza during the incident, and said an IDF tank struck militants who had fired on its troops.

The episode appeared to be one of the first skirmishes between the two sides on the ground inside the strip since war broke out after Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel which killed more than 1,400 people. On October 13, the IDF said it had carried out raids inside Gaza.

According to the IDF, this raid was part of the preparation for a full-blown ground invasion.

And I think that we are very close to the moment when that full-blown ground invasion will be launched.

Meanwhile, the Israelis have evacuated more towns and villages near the northern border in anticipation of a war with Hezbollah…

On Sunday, the defense minister confirmed that another 14 towns and villages have been told to evacuate, in addition to the 28 initially ordered to do so last week. “According to the IDF and Defense Ministry, the 14 communities being added to the list are: Snir, Dan, Beit Hillel, She’ar Yashuv, Hagoshrim, Liman, Matzuva, Eylon, Goren, Gornot HaGalil, Even Menachem, Sasa, Tziv’on and Ramot Naftali,” Times of Israel details.

Evacuating those areas is a wise move, because fighting along the northern border just continues to escalate…

Fears mounted Sunday that the Israel-Gaza war could swell into a wider conflict amid rising cross-border attacks on Israel’s north from Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and expanding Israeli airstrikes across the region.

On Sunday, Hezbollah released video of a particularly disturbing attack on the Biranit barracks that happened on Friday…

Israel sees Iran-backed Hezbollah as its most serious threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus accused the group early Sunday of “escalating the situation steadily.” He said the recent cross-border skirmishes had produced both Israeli troop and civilian casualties but did not provide additional details.

Hezbollah on Sunday posted a video of what it said was a Friday attack targeting the Biranit barracks near the Lebanon-Israel border, the command center of the Israeli military’s northern division. Footage shared by the group showed an overhead view of a strike on what it described as a gathering of soldiers.

Fighting Hamas and Hezbollah at the same time would be difficult enough, but it appears that Israel will be forced to tangle with Syria as well.

Iran sends enormous amounts of weapons and supplies to Hezbollah by flying them into airports in Syria, and on Sunday the IDF bombed the international airports in Damascus and Aleppo for the third time in ten days…

Syria said it was forced to shut down international airports in Damascus and Aleppo because of the Israeli strike. The Syrian Transport Ministry said landing strips at both airports were damaged by missiles and one civilian worker was killed and another wounded at Damascus International Airport. Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began, citing the need to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas.

We have also seen clashes directly along Israel’s border with Syria in recent days, and I fully expect an intensification of fighting in that area during the week ahead.

On top of everything else, fighting has also erupted in the West Bank…

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed at least five people there early Sunday, according to the local Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which the Israeli military said belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks and were planning another one.

Can the IDF handle enemies coming from all directions at once?

I don’t know.

We shall see what happens in the days ahead.

But I think that it is quite likely that if Hezbollah enters the war the U.S. military will intervene.

Over the weekend, we learned that the Biden administration has decided to send even more air defense assets to the region…

The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Saturday, in response to recent attacks on U.S. troops in the region.

The United States has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.

The Biden administration had been trying to delay a full-blown ground invasion of Gaza for a couple of reasons.

Number one, there was hope that negotiations could secure the release of more of the hostages.

Number two, there was hope that diplomacy could keep Hezbollah out of the war.

But now the time for talk is ending, and the IDF is gearing up for a major ground campaign in Gaza.

Once that happens there will be no turning back, so brace yourselves for what is coming next…

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

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