US War In Afghanistan Is Fueling Global Heroin Epidemic & Enabling The Drug Trade

Thanks Bush.  Thanks Obama.  Thanks Clinton.  And thanks to many other neocons.

http://www.mintpressnews.com/global-war-terror-created-heroin-epidemic-us-afghanistan/218662/

Al-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

I thought Al-Qaeda was the enemy?  This is what U.S. foreign policy has come to.  We're funding the enemy--our most bitter ones.  The same ones who allegedly caused 9/11.  The same ones we hunted down.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-30/al-qaeda-backers-found-with-u-s-contracts-in-afghanistan.html

“They may be enemies of the United States but that is not enough to keep them from getting government contracts,” according to the agency’s report.

China's Zhou Yongkang visits Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai

This photo is a sure sign that American foreign policy is failing:  Afghanistan's Karzai is shaking hands with China's Zhou.  I hear Afghanistan is mineral-rich.

Click on Image to Enlarge

US fury as Karzai backs Pakistan

Niiiiice...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1027/breaking19.html

While Criminal US Bankers Receive Golden Parachutes, Barbarian Afghanistan Has Just Arrested Executives Of Failed Kabul Bank

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/while-criminal-us-bankers-receive-golden-parachuttes-barbarian-afghanistan-has-just-arrested

I guess we need to re-define what is barbarian:  institutionalized theft or enforcement of banking laws.

J.P. Morgan's hunt for Afghan gold

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/11/jp-morgan-hunt-afghan-gold/?section=magazines_fortune

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/05/10/f500_afghanistan_mining.fortune/

Another reason to be bullish on gold

First, the Fed has dropped short-term interest rates down to 0%. Then, the Treasury is injecting up to $7.4 trillion in additional capital, literally out of thin air, to support ailing (and failing) industries.

Capacity issues are creeping in, as farmers lose crops due to drought, mines dry up, and exploration for new resources are stalled due to the financial crisis. All these factors point to inflation. However, fears of deflation rule the day.

Yet, gold prices keep trending up. Shares of gold mining companies have shot up even more--up 100% in some cases.

The markets are betting on deflation of asset values, including equities and real estate. Hence, both are likely to remain low for some time. And crude oil and other energy sectors have been battered. Agreed.

But looking forward (instead of through the rearview mirror), oil won't remain below $40/barrel forever. And when that dynamic reverses course, inflation will rule of the day.

And today, we had other things to worry about. Palestinians are shooting rockets at the Israeli border. Pakistani troops have abandoned the Afghanistan border and re-aligning themselves along the Indian border. The price of gold shot up over $20/oz within minutes of the news.

Today, we found out gold is not only a great hedge against inflation, it is also the currency of last resort in times of financial and geopolitical crises.