In the post-war Anglo-American order those ideas came together. In many ways, it was the product of Anglo-American exceptionalist thinking: the "city upon a hill" meets "this sceptred isle". Nato, the IMF, the World Bank and the Five Eyes intelligence community all stemmed from the Atlantic Charter signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in August 1941.

The liberalised free trade system that flourished after the war is often called the Anglo-Saxon model. The post-war world global architecture, diplomatic, mercantile and financial, was largely an English-speaking construct. In recent weeks, however, the Anglo-American order has looked increasingly weak and wobbly. The unexpectedly messy result of the British election makes it look still more fragile, like a historic edifice left tottering in the wake of a major quake.

There is uncertainty in Westminster, and something nearing chaos in Washington because of the Russian probe at the White House and on Capitol Hill. Neither Britain nor America can boast strong and stable governments. Neither have the look of global exemplars. In the six weeks since Theresa May called her snap election, the global tectonic plates have shifted fast, leaving Britain and America increasingly adrift.

Winston Churchill, during the 1946 speech in Fulton, Missouri, in which he coined the phrase "special relationship" (and also the "iron curtain"), noted: "It is necessary that constancy of mind, persistency of purpose, and the grand simplicity of decision shall guide and rule the conduct of the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in war. We must, and I believe we shall, prove ourselves equal to this severe requirement."

Right now, both the United States and the United Kingdom seem to be failing that Churchillian test. These English-speaking nations no longer speak with such a clarion voice, and the rest of the world no longer takes such heed. A new world order seems to be emerging that is being articulated in other tongues.

“Lavrov expressed his categorical disagreement with the US strikes on pro-government forces and called on him to take concrete measures to prevent similar incidents in future,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, as reported by Reuters. The US has struck pro-Syrian troops numerous times in recent weeks and just recently shot down a Syrian drone — blatant acts of war against a sovereign nation.

A Russian general also claimed that the US may even be colluding with ISIS, allowing them safe passage to leave Raqqa as the US military besieges the Syrian city. As Anti-Media has explained countless times, the US has no legal justification to be bombing the Syrian government and its associated forces within Syria’s territory.

It certainly cannot claim the right to self-defense inside another country — one the United States willingly invaded without authorization. International law is supposed to apply to all countries that are parties to the UN, not a select few adversaries and non-compliant states.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka slammed Brussels’ decision and called its plan to deal with migrants “dysfunctional,” Reuters reports. “The European Commission blindly insists on pushing ahead with dysfunctional quotas which decreased citizens’ trust in EU abilities and pushed back working and conceptual solutions to the migration crisis,” the news agency cited Sobotka as saying in an email statement.

In September 2015, EU ministers took up a plan to relocate over 100,000 migrants who have already reached the continent, throughout Europe. However, not all EU states have found the measures acceptable, saying that the migrant crisis cannot be solved through obligatory quotas.

The Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary have been staunchly opposing the plan. Despite warnings from Brussels, Budapest is determined to tighten its policy towards asylum seekers and carry on with its own border fence plan.

Sadly, most Americans have no idea that a new financial crisis is starting to play out over in Europe, because most Americans only care about what is going on in America.  But we should be paying attention, because the EU is the second largest economy on the entire planet, and the euro is the second most used currency on the entire planet. The US financial system is already teetering on the brink of disaster, and this new financial crisis in Europe could turn out to be enough to push us over the edge.

If EU regulators had not arranged a “forced sale” of Banco Popular to Santander, we would probably be witnessing panic on a scale that we haven’t seen since 2008 in Europe right about now. There are so many experts that are warning about big economic trouble in our immediate future.  I would like to say that all of the experts that are freaking out are wrong, but I can’t do that.

I have not seen an atmosphere like this since 2008 and 2009, and everything points to an acceleration of the crisis as we enter the second half of this year. 

Both have been labeled nationalists, demagogues and even dictators-in-the-making. And both of them question NATO’s capacity to act as an effective defensive force. Since taking office in 2015, Duda has consistently pushed for a stronger NATO presence in Poland. He used his first major English-language interview as president to push for Poland to replace Germany as “the real eastern flank of the alliance” ...

Ironically, European leaders bristled last month in Brussels when Trump publicly and privately berated them for not spending enough on defense. Now, despite their overwhelmingly negative response to Trump’s demands, they are calling for more European spending on defense. But “calling for” and “doing” are two different things. European leaders specialize in calling for. America is better known for doing.

And of course Rogers is far from alone.  Previously, I have written about several other prominent experts that are warning that a new financial crisis is imminent, and I have also discussed how a number of big investors are quietly positioning themselves to make an enormous amount of money when the markets crash.  Could it be possible that all of these incredibly sharp minds could be wrong?  Yes, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

I was actually quite stunned when I first learned what Jim Rogers had told Henry Blodget of Business Insider during a recent interview.  Rogers has built up a tremendous amount of credibility, but now he is putting that credibility on the line by warning that a great stock market crash will happen by the end of next year. 

It has been said that those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  As a society, we certainly didn’t learn much from the horrible financial disaster of 2008, and now so many of the exact same patterns are repeating once again. An unprecedented financial crisis is most definitely heading our way, and the only thing left to be answered is how soon it will get here.

His comments come after Donald Trump called on the bloc to contribute its “fair share” to NATO-led defense. Juncker said that Washington had “fundamentally changed” its foreign policy long before President Trump was elected to office. “Over the past decade it has become crystal clear that our American partners consider that they are shouldering too much of the burden for their wealthy European allies. We have no other choice than to defend our own interests…” he said.

Things have changed. NATO is no longer a defensive alliance; it is an offensive force in other parts of the world… In Germany, there is an ongoing debate. German soldiers don't want to fight French wars in other parts of the world. And we do not want to have German soldiers for American and British wars. Such a debate will be very crucial in Europe.

German troops have been deployed in locations ranging from Lithuania to Afghanistan and Mali. And Merkel has promised to raise German defence spending. But Germany and its Chancellor face a fundamental problem. Most Germans are very reluctant to go down this road.

...Werner Kraetschell, who knows Angela Merkel and her thinking well, says she wants a "strong German army able to take international responsibility". But her difficulty is that "the German people are against the army". Perhaps the Germans will continue a unique historical experiment, trying to become a growing international power without significant military effort.

For the past still weighs heavily. Whatever happens, there'll be no brash marching into action abroad. Instead, Germany's military will tiptoe warily into a highly uncertain future.

"A written request to assess the sovereignty of the FRG [Federal Republic of Germany] was sent to the European Commission in order to find out what impact limited or lacking sovereignty could have on the legality of the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Treaty of Rome and the Lisbon Treaty, the European Community and the European Union, as well as the eurozone," Voigt's press service stated.

Voigt also wants to clarify whether the European Commission considers the 1990 Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany — signed by the FRG, the GDR [German Democratic Republic], as well as the USSR, the United States, Great Britain and France — to be in force. The European Commission is expected to respond to his request within six weeks.

Earlier, the politician said that Germany lacks sovereignty and is dependent on Washington, especially when it comes to military issues. Voigt, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 as a representative of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), described Germany's status as one of "postwar occupation" by the US, adding that the country "to this day is subject to the provisions of the Allied postwar occupation law."

"Especially in the military field, all the requirements come from Washington, and the federal republic has, at best, vassal status. German patriots have never claimed anything else," Voigt noted.