End of the World

by D Thomas Jewett

  He found it. A reservation for Lord Delmar and accompanied by 5 other men for Chateau de La Antibes – located in the French Mediterranean. But the Waiter wanted to know more.

  The Waiter pulled up a database client and connected to the Agency's server. He typed in the appropriate query statement and hit the 'enter' key. It was a short wait before a database entry appeared, giving the man’s home address and contact. And then a listing of his next three months’ itinerary appeared.

  The Waiter found data for the other men using the same technique – he captured the data and copied it to a flash memory thumb drive, and then he copied it yet again. Finally, he deleted the files from the computer.

  For the benefit of any onlooker, the Waiter continued to look busy for yet another fifteen minutes. Then, he switched off the computer and walked out of Gladys’ office. He stopped by Ms. Glass' office. “Alright, ma'am. I'm finished,” he pronounced.

  “Oh my, but that was quick!”

  “It was a simple matter, ma'am. She shouldn't have any problem now.”

  “Thank you, ah – Mr. Markham,” she replied.

  The Waiter nodded to her. “Good day, ma'am.”

  * * *

  Later, the Waiter perused the files he captured at the Agency; discovering a wealth of information about the travel plans of Lord Delmar. But in particular, he noticed that Delmar and at least some of his associates had booked travel to Switzerland – the Swiss Alps to be exact – for two months hence. There was an entry in the notes section: destination Chateau Delmar.

  The Waiter leaned back in his chair as his mind drifted to another time ...

  “... Sir? Sir!,” the sheriff's voice was stern, “when you give me the keys to the house, you'll be free to go.” The sheriff paused. “The keys, sir. You no longer have title to the house!”

  Chapter 16 – Stolen Money

  “I’m Greg Hunter, welcome to USA Watchdog.com. With us, I have a brand new guest ... who I have on now has a Phd in Economics, he specializes in public finance, government budgets. He is Dr. Mark Skidmore. Dr. Mark Skidmore, thank you for joining us today on USA Watchdog.com.”

  Dr. Skidmore: “Thanks, Greg. I’m really glad to be on your show.”

  Greg Hunter: “You’re at Michigan State University. Er, just a little background for you; um, you’re an expert in public finance, you have done a *deep dive* on what Catherine Austin Fitts has been talking about all these years, all this missing money, all these missing transactions – these unauthorized transactions – say what you will. She had said – ah, er, $6 Trillion dollars, $9 Trillion dollars. And you were out to prove her wrong; and you used government documents; government accessible links on the Internet – all of the stuff anybody could do – but you had to know what you know to do this – to find out a big wad of transactions and monies, that’s, really, unauthorized. $21 Trillion that’s from HUD, the Department of Housing, and the DoD. Tell me about your story. How did you get into this, um, this kind of work. I mean you’ve got $21 Trillion dollars of transactions that you don’t know how they happened and who authorized them.”

  Dr. Skidmore: “Well, I would say my story really goes back to the financial crisis (of 2008); you know, after all of that had happened, you know I – I wanted to take some time and back up, um, and there was so much that was unknown through traditional media sources, etc., and (I) just thought I have to find some other ways of getting authentic credible information, I learned about your show, for example, and – ah – (I) just started doing more homework.

  “Ah, anyways, as part of that I got to know a little bit about Catherine Fitts’ work, ah, and I think most of your audience know she’s the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; um, and has had some really interesting and really awful experiences I think is worthwhile for your readers to know about. Um, you can read about her, and I’ll give you the source documents for some of the resources we collected regarding the missing money, as well as some more information about her website.

  “But, in short, last June I was listening to an interview with Catherine, and, um, she referred to a report that had come out in 2016 – um, by the Office of the Inspector General – and the charge of the OIG office is to provide some accountability and tracking of financial activity for the federal government. And so, she had referred to a report that indicated in FY 2015 that the Army, which has about $122 Billion dollar budget, had $6.5 Trillion dollars in adjustments. And, um, I’m familiar with state and local budgets; I’ve taught budgeting processes to new county commissioners, and I know sometimes things happen within government that, you know, sometimes it’s not always up-and-up, or sometimes you have an adjustment because you don’t have adequate transactions so the auditor – you know, receipts, etc. – and so the auditor will say this is an unsupported adjustment, we have to account for this, and usually it’s just a small portion of authorized spending; you know, maybe 1 percent at the most. So for the Army, 1 percent would be about $1.2 Billion dollars of, of transactions you just can’t account for, you don’t have adequate documentation.

  “So when she said, $6.5 Trillion, I said (to myself) ‘that cannot be right. It doesn’t even; you know, it’s not even in the realm of maybe she meant $6.5 Billion – and that would be a lot of money – and so I looked up the report myself, and started reading it, and sure enough it was $6.5 Trillion; and I thought ‘what? How can this be?’

  “And so I started digging in, and so I sent her a note and asked if it would be useful to, um, have a couple of graduates students, take some time and sift through the thousands of OIG reports. Um, so we agreed we would work together on this, and, um, we spent the summer sifting through thousands of reports, trying to identify – the reports that indicate, um, an unsupported journal voucher adjustment amount.

  “There are many reports that say there were adjustments, but for public consumption, it didn’t really say very much, and there’s always a reference to an official, ah, accounting statement or report, or audit report that is available. I have a FOIA request, for example, that’s, ah, for a couple of these reports. I’m hoping that they will send them to me at some point. But anyway, she was – she was right, and we dug in, and, um, pulled all of the documents that we could find, and it’s an incomplete list.

  “We decided to go back to 1998 because there were some changes in the financial disclosure laws at the federal level that occurred in the 90’s, that Catherine was a part of, um, um, helping to implement; and so we went from ’98 through 2015, at the time that was the most recent available reports, and so, um, we did it for HUD and DoD, and then sometimes, we wouldn’t do it for DoD as a whole, you’d find it in Army, or Navy, or Air Force, um, and so this is incomplete, and we found, um $21 Trillion of adjustments, over that whole period. Um, the biggest chunk is for the Army; we were able to find 13 of 17 years, and we found about $11, $11.5 Trillion just for the Army.”

  Greg Hunter: “Could, could this be money – could some of this money just be squirreled off to other projects and other budgets, and other people, and you know, they say we have a dark space program, we have DARPA, we have weapons programs, we have national security stuff – could this stuff just be whisked away to spend stuff on that Congress doesn’t even know about?”

  Dr. Skidmore: “Ah. You know, these reports don’t really say much about that at all, of course. It’s very possible that money could be used for other purposes, or, you know, we could, we could take some guesses and others, who are on the inside might have a more informed guess than I do.

  “Um, my take on it is, whatever it is, these reports suggest there’s something really wrong in the budget process. Right? Even though, even if you don’t think there’s something nefarious going on, something that’s not good, or very hidden in a dark project, or laundering, ... if you don’t believe any of that stuff, how can you do a proper program evaluation with these kinds of numbers? You just can’t; like – where did this money come from? What is it used for? How do we account for thi
s? And, um, so from my point of view, it – it – it’s very nontransparent, and the Constitution says that all spending needs to be approved by Congress; and, and from my teaching of local government finance and budgeting processes ...”[51]

  * * * * *

  The old man stopped talking and coughed. Then he leaned over, hacking up an indescribable ‘something’.

  Tim and Squirt looked on, waiting for his coughing spell to subside. Tim said, “Hey old man. Are you okay?”

  The man coughed again as he looked up at the two. He said, “I need some more pills. My ankle – it’s feeling a might better, but I need to keep the swelling down.”

  “You gotta keep it propped up,” Squirt replied, staring dubiously at his ankle.

  Tim handed him a couple of pills and a glass of water. “Here, take these. I’ll go get that other ice bag.”

  He stepped out and immediately returned, holding the bag in one hand. “It’s ready to go,” he announced.

  Tim spread the bag across the old man’s ankle.

  The old man smiled. “Ahhh! That there feels better.” He paused, then continued, “Hey Sonny, why don’t you get us some coffee?”

  “I’ll do it,” Squirt chimed in. She heated up some more.

  Along with small talk, the coffee was soon poured into cups.

  Squirt sat down next to Tim, then said, “That FDIC guy didn’t fare so well against the Fed Chairman, did he.”

  The old man grunted, then replied, “Nope, he sure didn’t.” He paused. “But that’s the way it always goes when you’re dealin’ with the bankers. And that’s truth!”

  “So, what happened next?” Tim asked.

  Well, they were able to keep interest rates low for several years; especially by the judicious use of that stolen $21 Trillion.”

  “$21 Trillion!” Tim and Squirt spat out in unison.

  “Yep. Twenty-one trillion dollars. It was at least that much that was stolen from the government.”

  “Naw, that couldn’t be,” Tim replied. “That’s just some conspiracy theory.”

  The old man looked at the two, then sipped on his coffee.

  “Could it?” Squirt asked.

  “Truth!” The old man said, nodding. “It was reported by Dr. Mark Skidmore, economics professor, in an interview with Greg Hunter. He and several graduate students scoured the government’s books and identified that amount – missing just from the DoD and HUD budgets. Other people have said the figure is closer to $40 Trillion, missing.”

  “But that’s just not possible.” Tim replied, leaning forward. “I mean, the federal budget was only about $5 or $6 Trillion before the collapse. So you’re talking about an amount several times the yearly budget.”

  The old man sipped on his coffee, then said, “Truth. That’s all I bring is truth!”

  “But – but, what’d the government say about it?”

  The old man giggled, then he replied, “They didn’t say a word; just removed it from the Internet and designated it as classified.”

  “Huh? But – that means they’re not denying it.”

  “That’s right,” the old man replied, nodding. “We figured they used the $21 Trillion to rig all the markets – bidding up the stock market to 26,000, buying more bonds, and buying off gold and silver contract holders.”

  The room grew silent. Then Squirt said, “What happened next?”

  “Well, during this time the world debt grew to $247 Trillion. Of course, the debt created a drag on the economy, driving it further into depression.”

  “But they always said more money printing would help the economy,” Tim replied.

  “Yeah, they would say that,” the old man admitted, nodding. “But it’s really just more brainwashing.”

  “Brainwashing?” Squirt said.

  “Yeah,” he replied, gazing at Squirt. “You’ve been brainwashed.”

  He inhaled deeply, then continued, “As the debt grew larger, the interest payments sucked more out of the economy – it got so a dollar of debt actually created MORE poverty. Hell, just look at the headlines at that time – even the mainstream media declared the middle class was dead!”

  “Yeah ...” Tim chimed in. “I remember reading that.”

  “So,” the old man continued, “that’s when people demanded their gold. Then we got hyper-inflation, and the credit markets froze up. That’s truth!”

  “So how did it go down?” Tim asked

  “Well, it went like this ...”

  * * * * *

  Part 3 – Disintegration

  If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

  ---- Thomas Jefferson

  Chapter 1

  FOUR MEN OF ASIAN DESCENT walked into the hotel. Impeccably dressed with black wing-tip shoes, styled brushed-back hair, leather briefcases, and Rolex watches, they proceeded through the five-star lobby. Each man wore a dark blue suit – a business suit of a precise and expensive cut; and with clear eyes and a quiet but firm focus in demeanor and stride, they confidently entered the corridor marked ‘Meeting Rooms’.

  They talked amongst themselves, but in a language not well understood in this corner of the world. We could listen in, but we could not know what they were saying.

  The men came upon conference room ‘K’ and entered. Each taking a seat, they waited, patiently.

  * * *

  The limousine pulled up to the Excelsior Hotel. The hotel doorman opened the car door, and out stepped one, and then two beautifully proportioned female legs wearing three-inch pumps. The legs were immediately followed by Mikaela; dressed in a tailored skirt and coat, her hair, makeup, and nails impeccably groomed and showing all of her womanly assets to her advantage. Josh emerged behind her, dressed in a finely tailored business suit.

  Josh's long strides glided alongside Mikaela's shorter step as they walked into the plush lobby of the hotel. Like most hotels, this was designed with an array of conference rooms, all in one section of the building. They obtained appropriate directions and proceeded to the conference room area.

  They entered conference room ‘K’, where they met the four well-healed investors from China. Of the four, only Lin spoke English. And so it was Lin who assumed the task of translating between the two groups. The two groups bowed to each other, and then each group sat on the opposite side of the conference table.

  Mikaela opened. “Gentlemen. We propose to settle these contracts by paying cash. Is this something you’re willing to consider?

  Lin cleared his throat. He focused his dark eyes on Mikaela and said, “Just two years ago, the Peoples Republic of China announced that Chinese firms were no longer obligated to honor their derivatives contracts where the contract was deemed fraudulent. Frankly, Ms. Bradford, for you to offer cash in lieu of delivery tells us that you Westerners are still using fraudulent business practices. It has become difficult for us to trust you.”

  “In short,” Lin continued with a firm gaze. “You have no honor.”

  Mikaela was taken aback. She paused before speaking. “Lin. Many commodities contracts are settled in cash rather than product. We are merely seeking to know your preferred method of settlement.” Mikaela looked at Lin earnestly. “Please know that we can make it worth your while to settle in cash.”

  Lin leaned back and spoke to the group. And for a minute or so the group talked amongst themselves.

  Lin turned and addressed Mikaela and Josh. “What do you propose?”

  Josh was silent up to now, but began speaking. “Lin, we propose a settlement of the contract price plus 10%.”

  Lin leaned back and again the group talked amongst themselves.

  He then turned his attention to Mikaela and Josh. “We have decided that we want delivery of physical metal; an
d that a cash settlement, no matter what the price, is not acceptable.”

  “You see,” Lin smiled as he spoke, “we already have lots of dollars and lots of pounds. We want silver. We do not desire more of your paper money.”

  Josh and Mikaela leaned back in their chairs, as if to ponder Lin’s words. Josh finally replied. “Lin, will you consider a settlement of an equivalent value in gold?”

  Lin leaned back and again the group talked amongst themselves.

  He turned back to Mikaela and Josh. He folded his hands together as he began to speak. “Two years ago we purchased a large quantity of gold from the LBMA.[52] During the assay, we found most of the bars were gold-plated tungsten. We had to return them and demand real gold; and it took the LBMA a long time to deliver real gold to us.”

  “Thus,” Lin continued, “we have decided that we want real silver bars delivered, as specified in our contracts.

  Josh watched Mikaela as her lips became pinched. “Lin,” she said with hesitation in her voice, “we do not have sufficient silver to deliver. If you press us on this, we will have no choice but to declare force majeure.”

  Lin was taken aback. He looked at Mikaela and then Josh in turn. And then turned to the group and they chattered back and forth. ‘Agitated’ is the word that came to Josh's mind.

  Lin turned his attention back to Mikaela and Josh. He stared them down with a cold, hard expression; and then he hissed, “It seems you still have no honor. You are still untrustworthy!”

  Lin continued with a voice hard as nails. “You have five business days to deliver on your agreements. This discussion is ended.”

  Lin turned to his group and muttered a few words. The men rose in unison and walked out of the conference room.