Mar 312023
 
 March 31, 2023  Posted by at 9:12 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,


Pablo Picasso Dora Maar au chat 1941

 

NYT: Donald Trump Has Been Indicted (Techno Fog)
The Impact of Sanctions on the De-Dollarization of Int’l Trade (Gonzalo Lira)
Saudi Arabia Makes Move Towards Russia-China Bloc (RT)
Brazil and China Sign Pact To Abandon Dollar (RT)
Russia, China Have To Take Measures To Protect Relations – Zakharova (TASS)
Beijing Demands That US Stop Provoking China (TASS)
Senior Orthodox Bishop Invokes Woe On Zelensky (RT)
Kiev Demands Cut Of Western ‘War Profits’ – Politico (RT)
Kuleba: If US Stops Supporting Ukraine, World Order Will Collapse (Az.)
Ukraine’s Military Losing 500 Troops Daily Near Bakhmut – LPR (TASS)
Russian General Staff Says No Plans To Hold Second Wave Of Mobilization (TASS)
Russian Central Bank Reveals How It Braced For Western Dollar Grab (RT)
London Totally Ruined Architecture Of Relations With Moscow – Ambassador (TASS)
The Most Dangerous International Treaty Ever Proposed (Kingsley)
Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century (Siegel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

PCR

Hoeg

 

 

 

 

Jordan Peterson
https://twitter.com/i/status/1641206079844483073

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How much longer will the States remain United?

NYT: Donald Trump Has Been Indicted (Techno Fog)

Breaking news from the New York Times today: “A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges. The felony indictment, filed under seal by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, will likely be announced in the coming days. By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, will have asked Mr. Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now.”


A felony indictment. We’ll have more information and more analysis after the indictment is unsealed. But as we stated yesterday regarding the reported “delays” and the potential charges: “In New York, the falsification of business records is a misdemeanor that is subject to a two-year statute of limitations. Bragg, however, is supposedly pursuing felony charges against Trump for falsifying business records to conceal federal campaign finance violations. The felony has a five-year statute of limitations, one which Bragg can manipulate to perhaps apply to Trump.” The indictment is an absolute scandal, the banana republic on parade, the prosecutor using the weapons of his office to attack his political opponent.

Whitlock

Bragg and his predecessor’s slow-walking of the investigation, with its inception by Manhattan DA goes back to 2019, evidences both the dubious nature of the case against Trump and the political motivations for prosecuting Trump. Theoretically, this should be a simple case. Yet the investigation went on for nearly five years, despite what they’ve possessed: overzealous prosecutors who wanted to charge Trump with racketeering, the cooperating witnesses, the likely millions of pages of materials from the Trump Organization. Now suddenly, the insanely pro-criminal Manhattan DA, who demanded his prosecutors reduce charges for violent criminals, is prioritizing law and order. It’s hard to believe there are legitimate reasons – for prosecutors, that means seeking justice – for that transformation. Why bring the case now? It’s the start of the 2024 presidential campaign season.


[..] Don’t be surprised if the trial date is set for the first half of 2024. And don’t understate the danger to Trump, who will face a jury of Biden voters. Biden won Manhattan 86.7% to 12.3% according to the New York Times. The jury of Trump’s peers will be friendly to the prosecution. That’s all the Manhattan DA might need to secure a conviction. Trump could very well win on appeal but the damage – which carries national repercussions – might already have been done. And that’s the whole point of this dirty scheme.

Read more …

Twitter thread. Russian sanctions drive countries away from the dollar.

The Impact of Sanctions on the De-Dollarization of Int’l Trade (Gonzalo Lira)

The Russian sanctions have caused a worldwide de-dollarization, as countries are unable to use dollars to buy essential commodities from Russia. This has led to countries signing treaties to trade in yuan, as it is a more reliable currency. This de-dollarization has caused a decrease in demand for dollars overseas, leading to American domestic inflation and an inability to continue piling on debt, which will ultimately lead to dollar hyperinflation. Why are so many countries all of a sudden turning to the yuan to buy their essential commodities? Why is the world de-dollarizing so quickly? Simple — the Russian sanctions.

Russia is the biggest single commodity producer in the world — they have oil AND gas AND agro AND minerals AND anything else. But because of the sanctions, Russia CANNOT take dollars (or euros) for sales of their commodities. First, the sanctions disconnected Russia from SWIFT, meaning Russians can’t pay for things they would want to buy with dollars. So why would Russia take dollars for their commodities — if they can’t buy stuff with those dollars. Plus their dollar assets get confiscated in the West. So why hold dollars, and dollar assets to park them in, if they will be stolen? So because of sanctions, Russia has been FORCED to de-dollarize. Russia didn’t want to de-dollarize — they were obliged. By the West. But Russia still has to trade, because it still has to acquire things it cannot produce at home, and still has a surplus of commodities with which to acquire these foreign goods.

Apart from the West, Russia’s major trading partners are China and India. So it makes sense for Russia to sell its commodities in yuan and rupees: Sell oil/agro/gas in yuan, and buy Chinese goods with those yuan. Same with India. But why are OTHER countries signing treaties to trade in yuan, like France and Brazil in the last few days? They’re getting ahead of the curve. As more commodities trading takes place in yuan and rupees, the more demand for those currencies. Hence it becomes smart to cut a deal with China NOW — to fix an exchange rate of yuan. In essence, these deals are longs on the yuan. The effect is, these trade deals eventually lead to more de-dollarization—which becomes a self-reinforcing cycle, as dollars become less valuable (because they can buy less commodities) so more countries want yuan, leading to more de-dollarization, leading to a weaker dollar.

All this leads to the collapse of the dollar into hyperinflation. The dollar was valuable BECAUSE it was the currency in international commodities trade, which created the demand for dollars and dollar assets outside the US — thereby financing the enormous American debts. With trade de-dollarization, there’s no longer as much demand for dollars overseas, leading to American domestic inflation and an inability to continue piling on debt. Ultimately, the Federal Reserve will be forced to simply print — which will lead to dollar hyperinflation. BTW, Russia didn’t cause this. The sanctions which triggered this worldwide de-dollarization was just the final straw. It didn’t help that American leadership seems capricious and hysterical, making other countries very nervous that they might be sanctioned too.

Read more …

Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Naledi Pandor: “Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria want to join BRICS.”

Saudi Arabia Makes Move Towards Russia-China Bloc (RT)

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has signed the documents granting Saudi Arabia the status of “dialog partner” with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – the political, economic and security bloc currently chaired by China. The king signed off on the memorandum of understanding at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, held at the al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, the Saudi Press Agency reported. In addition to formalizing the partnership, King Salman also approved the technical and vocational training with China. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman thanked Beijing for mediating the talks with Iran, which culminated in the re-establishment of “good neighborly relations” earlier this month. The Saudi state agency also said that Iran was set to join the bloc “soon.” Tehran had applied for membership in 2021.


The SCO was created in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It has since expanded to India, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan as full members. The status of dialog partner was created in 2008, and includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Türkiye. The bloc initially focused on security concerns, primarily terrorism, separatism and extremism. It has an agreement with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on jointly addressing security, crime and drug trafficking. Over the years, it began fostering cooperation in matters of trade, economics, and culture as well. In addition to taking a step closer to the SCO, Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in joining the BRICS group – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – Russia’s ambassador to the kingdom, Sergey Kozlov, said in February.

Read more …

“25 countries are already making settlements with China in yuan.”

Brazil and China Sign Pact To Abandon Dollar (RT)

Beijing and Brasilia have signed an agreement on trade in mutual currencies, abandoning the US dollar as an intermediary, and are also planning to expand cooperation in the field of food and minerals. According to media reports, the deal will enable the two BRICS members to conduct their massive trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging renminbi for real and vice versa instead of using the greenback for settlements. “The expectation is that this will reduce costs… promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” AFP quoted the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency as saying on Wednesday. The countries also reportedly announced the creation of a clearinghouse that will provide settlements without the use of the US dollar, as well as lending in national currencies.


The move is aimed at facilitating and reducing the cost of transactions between the sides, and getting rid of dollar dependence in bilateral relations. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced earlier that such arrangements will boost the usage of the renminbi for cross-border transactions between enterprises and financial institutions in the two countries, and further facilitate bilateral trade and investment. China has been Brazil’s largest trading partner for more than a decade, with bilateral trade hitting a record $150 billion last year. According to the Secretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Brazil, Tatiana Rosito, 25 countries are already making settlements with China in yuan.

Read more …

“..both sides view the strengthening of relations as a “natural process,..

Russia, China Have To Take Measures To Protect Relations – Zakharova (TASS)

Moscow and Beijing have to take adequate measures in current geopolitical circumstances in order to protect their multifaceted cooperation from the harmful effect of illegal unilateral sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing Thursday. “In current geopolitical circumstances, Moscow and Beijing have to take adequate measures in order to protect the positive groundwork of multifaceted cooperation, which took many years to accumulate, from the harmful effect of illegal unilateral sanctions,” the diplomat noted.


Meanwhile, the spokeswoman underscored, both sides view the strengthening of relations as a “natural process,” defined by long-standing ties and geographical proximity. “Unlike the westerners, we seek to build cooperation with external partners exclusively based on principles of equality, mutual consideration of each other’s interests, instead of building some coalition or some exclusive clubs with an ‘anti-‘ prefix,” Zakharova noted.

Lavrov
https://twitter.com/i/status/1641539345101324288

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“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will take all necessary measures to protect national sovereignty and security and will resolutely defend peace and stability in the South China Sea..”

Beijing Demands That US Stop Provoking China (TASS)

The US Armed Forces must stop provoking China in the South China Sea, otherwise they will bear responsibility for any potential incidents, Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Tan Kefei warned on Thursday. The comment was Tan’s response to a US Navy vessel that allegedly sailed near the China-controlled Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. “We sternly demand that the United States immediately stop such provocations, otherwise it will bear full responsibility for all the serious consequences of their causing a potential incident,” the Chinese Defense Ministry quoted him as saying on WeChat. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will take all necessary measures to protect national sovereignty and security and will resolutely defend peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Tan assured.


The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius passed near the Paracel Islands last Friday. China’s top brass claimed that the US warship did this without the Chinese government’s permission and had violated China’s sovereignty. The US 7th Fleet replied by saying in a news release that the US destroyer had acted in line with international law, while conducting a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP). Beijing has disputed the territorial jurisdiction of some islands in the South China Sea where large hydrocarbon reserves were found with Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia. The most disputed territories are the Xisha Islands, also known as the Paracel Islands, the Nansha or Spratly Islands and Huangyan Island (Scarborough Reef).

Read more …

“You’ll disappear like dew in the sun, because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword..”

Senior Orthodox Bishop Invokes Woe On Zelensky (RT)

A senior bishop in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has issued a strongly-worded rebuke to President Vladimir Zelensky over his role in a crackdown that the country’s largest religious denomination is currently facing. “I am telling you, Mr President, and your entire pack, that our tears will not fall to the ground, but on your head,” Metropolitan Pavel said in a video address on Wednesday. “You think today that after taking power on our backs, [based] on our wishes, you can treat us like that. Our Lord will not forgive this action, neither to you nor to your family,” the bishop warned. Pavel heads the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the largest Orthodox monastery in the country. The Ukrainian ministry of culture denied the UOC a renewal of tenancy in the property, which means that some 220 monks living there would be “kicked out to the streets,” as Pavel described it.

The deadline for the expulsion comes this week. The bishop blasted the president for refusing to meet senior UOC clerics to discuss the situation. This was particularly hypocritical, he remarked, considering that, as a presidential candidate, Zelensky had sought and received the blessing to run for office from Metropolitan Onufry, the Church leader. “You have failed to stop the culture minister, who is possessed by hateful malice and devilish fury. This means he is acting with your permission; Woe to you, have fear,”the bishop said. The minister, Aleksandr Tkachenko, has said that UOC monks could stay at Lavra if they agreed to defect to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), a rival schismatic organization backed by Kiev.

The OCU received recognition as a legitimate church in 2019 from the Constantinople Patriarchate, causing a major schism among the Orthodox faithful of the world. Metropolitan Pavel has also accused Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople of having given impetus to the crackdown with this move. “Woe and shame on you, so-called patriarch [Bartholomew], because everything done today is done with your ill-fated and evil blessing,” he said. The bishop also likened the current detractors of the UOC to the Bolshevik and communist leaders, who’d cracked down on all religions when they were in power. He expressed faith that his church will survive the new period of suppression, just like it had the previous one. “You’ll disappear like dew in the sun, because all who take up the sword will perish by the sword,” he said, quoting in the same sentence from the Ukrainian national anthem and from the Gospels.

Pavel

Read more …

“..the record profits had been achieved purely because of the conflict in his country..”

Kiev Demands Cut Of Western ‘War Profits’ – Politico (RT)

Major oil companies have made record profits as a result of the conflict in Ukraine and should pay to rebuild the country’s war-torn infrastructure, Ukrainian Minister of Energy German Galushchenko said on Wednesday in an interview with Politico. According to Galushchenko, oil and gas majors have generated windfall profits of more than $200 billion due to wild swings in global energy prices, and should transfer some of those funds to Ukraine. Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the past year in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine have sent energy prices soaring. In 2022, oil majors Shell, BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and TotalEnergies posted a combined profit of $196.3 billion, marking an all-time high for the industry.


“I think it would be fair to share this money with Ukraine. I mean, to help us to restore, to rebuild the energy sector,” Galushchenko said on a visit to Brussels, adding that the record profits had been achieved purely because of the conflict in his country. According to the latest assessment by the Ukrainian government, the World Bank, the European Commission, and the UN, the estimated cost of the country’s reconstruction and recovery will be over $400 billion. The Ukrainian energy minister also called on the West to take further steps to plug sanctions loopholes that allow Russian energy producers to continue exports.

IAEA
https://twitter.com/i/status/1641206842415108098

Read more …

And the sun will stop shining too. Insert biblical reference.

Kuleba: If US Stops Supporting Ukraine, World Order Will Collapse (Az.)

If support for Ukraine does not continue after the US presidential elections next year, world order and security will collapse, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, Report informs via RBC-Ukraine. He said the matter is not only about the fate of Ukraine: “We must also consider international security. If the support for Ukraine stops, the countries will know that they can invade the neighboring country. If so, world security will collapse.”

Austria

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“It continues replenishing the losses that the Ukrainian army is suffering..”

Ukraine’s Military Losing 500 Troops Daily Near Bakhmut – LPR (TASS)

The Ukrainian military is daily losing 500 fighters in the area of Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) people’s militia retired Lieutenant-Colonel Andrey Marochko said on Thursday. “In my estimates, about 500 personnel daily [as casualties] there [in the Artyomovsk area]. These are both sanitary and irretrievable losses,” the retired officer said in a live broadcast on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio. The Ukrainian military experiences a shortage of fighters due to huge casualties and continues replenishing its troops, Marochko said. “It continues replenishing the losses that the Ukrainian army is suffering,” the retired officer said. Marochko told TASS on March 27 that the Ukrainian military had lost as many as 1,500 soldiers in battles with Russian forces in the Artyomovsk area over the week.


Artyomovsk is located on the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and is a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. Fierce fighting for the city is underway. Yan Gagin, military-political expert and adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on March 22 that the city had been practically sealed off by Russian forces and all approaches to Artyomovsk were under Russian artillery control. He earlier said that Russian forces controlled about 70% of the city. Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin has repeatedly said that there is no evidence of the Ukrainian army’s plans to leave Artyomovsk. Meanwhile, Kiev claims that the city’s defense will be bolstered. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier said that Ukrainian troops would not surrender Artyomovsk and would fight for it as long as they could.

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..”the number of citizens who decided to join the Russian armed forces under the enlistment contract has increased significantly as of lately.”

Russian General Staff Says No Plans To Hold Second Wave Of Mobilization (TASS)

The Russian General Staff is not planning to hold the second wave of mobilization, because the current number of volunteers and servicemen is sufficient for fulfilling the tasks of the special operation, said Rear Adm. Vladimir Tsimlyansky, the head of the Russian General Staff’s main organization and mobilization department. “I would like to assure you that the General Staff’s plans do not include the second wave of mobilization. The current number of conscripts and people who volunteered to participate in the [special] operation is sufficient for fulfilling the objectives,” he said during a briefing devoted to Russia’s spring draft. In his words “the number of citizens who decided to join the Russian armed forces under the enlistment contract has increased significantly as of lately.” This year’s spring draft in Russia will be held during its usual timeframe of April 1 – July 15 for a total of 147,000 Russians aged between 18 and 27.

Polish TV

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The need for dollars is already shrinking.

Russian Central Bank Reveals How It Braced For Western Dollar Grab (RT)

The Bank of Russia had been preparing for an escalation of Western sanctions since 2014 and was beefing up additional funds as a hedge against future restrictions on its foreign exchange reserves, the regulator revealed on Wednesday. Amid “increasing geopolitical risks” the central bank ramped up investments in assets “that cannot be blocked by unfriendly nations”and transferred part of its reserves to gold, Chinese yuan and foreign currency in cash, the regulator announced in its annual report. The central bank managed to stash billions of imported dollars “in volumes limited by logistics capabilities,” the report said without specifying the amount of accumulated funds. Alternative reserves in dollars and gold bars have been stockpiled in the vaults of the Bank of Russia.

“This safety cushion was created in the form of alternative reserves – less liquid and convenient in everyday life, but more reliable in the face of a tough geopolitical scenario,” the regulator explained. It was impossible to abandon reserves in dollars and euros, as these currencies were used for settlements in international trade as well as in the domestic financial sector, the central bank added. “Therefore the structure of foreign exchange reserves needed to take into account the needs of citizens and businesses,” the regulator concluded. The central bank could have “unloaded” part of this money to banks during the first wave of Western sanctions to stabilize Russia’s banking system and offset the withdrawal of dollars and euros by “panicking depositors,”the chief analyst from Ingosstrakh-Investment, Viktor Tunyov, believes.

According to some estimates, last year almost $20 billion was withdrawn by depositors from the country’s second largest bank, VTB, alone. In 2022, Russia was hit by sweeping Western economic sanctions, which included measures to cut the Russian central bank off from the international financial system, while around $300 billion of the bank’s foreign reserves were frozen. Moscow has criticized the seizure of its assets, saying it constitutes theft.

Read more …

“Because it leads to wrong decisions, to the wrong decision-making process. They need to hear what we say, our arguments, then they will have a broader perception of the real state of affairs..”

London Totally Ruined Architecture Of Relations With Moscow – Ambassador (TASS)

Russia and the UK have no political dialogue after London completely ruined the architecture of relations between the countries, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin said in an interview with RTVI television on Thursday. “We now in principle have no political communication, no political dialogue, unlike it was with the UK in the past, about key aspects of international affairs,” he said. The ambassador said “London ruined the entire architecture of bilateral relations.” “It broke it down in the economic area, the humanitarian area, the scientific one, the educational one and the political one first of all. It was purely its initiative – the destruction of that architecture,” Kelin went on to say.


“We are in contact with the Foreign Office. Russian diplomats, including the ambassador of the Russian Federation, are forbidden from going to parliament. This is so by a decision of the parliament’s speaker. This is very bad, because the British people, British officials, British lawmakers, they remain uninformed about the other side, uninformed about the situation as a whole,” the ambassador said. According to Kelin, this is a “categorical mistake.” “Because it leads to wrong decisions, to the wrong decision-making process. They need to hear what we say, our arguments, then they will have a broader perception of the real state of affairs,” Kelin said.

Read more …

“..there would be no requirement for an “actual” health emergency [..] it would be sufficient for the DG, acting on his or her discretion, to have identified the mere “potential” for such an event.::

The Most Dangerous International Treaty Ever Proposed (Kingsley)

Human history is a story of forgotten lessons. Despite the catastrophic collapse of European democracy in the 1930s, it appears that the tale of the twentieth century – in which citizens, cowed by existential threats, acquiesced in the rejection of liberty and truth in favour of obedience and propaganda, whilst allowing despotic leaders to seize ever more absolutist powers – is perilously close to being forgotten. Nowhere is this more evident than in relation to the apparent nonchalance which has greeted two international legal agreements currently working their way through the World Health Organisation: a new pandemic treaty, and amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations, both due to be put before the governing body of the WHO, the World Health Assembly, in May next year.

As concerned scholars and jurists have detailed, these agreements threaten to fundamentally reshape the relationship between the WHO, national governments, and individuals. They would hardwire into international law a top-down supranational approach to public health in which the WHO, acting in some cases via the sole discretion of one individual, its Director General (DG), would be empowered to impose sweeping, legally binding directions on member states and their citizens, ranging from mandating financial contributions by individual states; to requiring the manufacture and international sharing of vaccines and other health products; to requiring the surrender of intellectual property rights; overriding national safety approval processes for vaccines, gene-based therapies, medical devices and diagnostics; and imposing national, regional and global quarantines preventing citizens from traveling and mandating medical examinations and treatments.

A global system for digital ‘health certificates’ for verification of vaccine status or test results would be routinised, and a bio-surveillance network whose purpose would be to identify viruses and variants of concern – and to monitor national compliance with WHO policy directives in the event of them – would be embedded and expanded. For any of these sweeping powers to be invoked, there would be no requirement for an “actual” health emergency in which people are suffering measurable harm; instead it would be sufficient for the DG, acting on his or her discretion, to have identified the mere “potential” for such an event.

Read more …

Fighting disinformation with ….disinformation. Long article.

Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century (Siegel)

No one thought Trump was a normal politician. Being an ogre, Trump horrified millions of Americans who felt a personal betrayal in the possibility that he would occupy the same office held by George Washington and Abe Lincoln. Trump also threatened the business interests of the most powerful sectors of society. It was the latter offense, rather than his putative racism or flagrant un-presidentialness, that sent the ruling class into a state of apoplexy. Given his focus in office on lowering the corporate tax rate, it’s easy to forget that Republican officials and the party’s donor class saw Trump as a dangerous radical who threatened their business ties with China, their access to cheap imported labor, and the lucrative business of constant war. But, indeed, that is how they saw him, as reflected in the unprecedented response to Trump’s candidacy recorded by The Wall Street Journal in September 2016:

“No chief executive at the nation’s 100 largest companies had donated to Republican Donald Trump’s presidential campaign through August, a sharp reversal from 2012, when nearly a third of the CEOs of Fortune 100 companies supported GOP nominee Mitt Romney.” The phenomenon was not unique to Trump. Bernie Sanders, the left-wing populist candidate in 2016, was also seen as a dangerous threat by the ruling class. But whereas the Democrats successfully sabotaged Sanders, Trump made it past his party’s gatekeepers, which meant that he had to be dealt with by other means. Two days after Trump took office, a smirking Senator Chuck Schumer told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that it was “really dumb” of the new president to get on the bad side of the security agencies that were supposed to work for him: “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday of getting back at you.”

Trump had used sites like Twitter to bypass his party’s elites and connect directly with his supporters. Therefore, to cripple the new president and ensure that no one like him could ever come to power again, the intel agencies had to break the independence of the social media platforms. Conveniently, it was the same lesson that many intelligence and defense officials had drawn from the ISIS and Russian campaigns of 2014—namely, that social media was too powerful to be left outside of state control—only applied to domestic politics, which meant the agencies would now have help from politicians who stood to benefit from the effort.

Immediately after the election, Hillary Clinton started blaming Facebook for her loss. Until this point, Facebook and Twitter had tried to remain above the political fray, fearful of jeopardizing potential profits by alienating either party. But now a profound change occurred, as the operation behind the Clinton campaign reoriented itself not simply to reform the social media platforms, but to conquer them. The lesson they took from Trump’s victory was that Facebook and Twitter—more than Michigan and Florida—were the critical battlegrounds where political contests were won or lost. “Many of us are beginning to talk about what a big problem this is,” Clinton’s chief digital strategist Teddy Goff told Politico the week after the election, referring to Facebook’s alleged role in boosting Russian disinformation that helped Trump. “Both from the campaign and from the administration, and just sort of broader Obama orbit…this is one of the things we would like to take on post-election,” Goff said.

Read more …

 

 

 

 

Fact checkers
https://twitter.com/i/status/1641376196758847489

 

 

 

 

Candace

 

 

Fox
https://twitter.com/i/status/1641123059011817472

 

 


China High Speed Trains

 

 

Lions
https://twitter.com/i/status/1641192412356681731

 

 

Chromatophores

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle March 31 2023

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  • #132438

    Pablo Picasso Dora Maar au chat 1941   • NYT: Donald Trump Has Been Indicted (Techno Fog) • The Impact of Sanctions on the De-Dollarization of In
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle March 31 2023]

    #132439
    Red
    Participant

    Had a little trouble logging in this morning. I had to close out and reload, hopefully it is just on me!

    #132440
    Red
    Participant

    Something isn’t right here. V and Germ usually posting early, two plus hours, still no posts?

    #132441
    Dr. D
    Participant

    “Trump is Indicted.”

    Well thank God. I wonder how much he had to pay Bragg to get back on schedule. Pence also comes out against it by making perfect soundbites about “Campaign Fraud,” “Porn Star” etc. Classic. Do they actually think we don’t know who Pence is? Or Liz Cheney?

    “Russia was fighting WITH us.” — Trump.

    Huh, that’s interesting. Yet you put sanctions on everything? That just happened to isolate them from the war and the present banking collapse? Did they pay you to do that, or was it just part of you being allies? Allies against some third party that somehow doesn’t seem to be named.

    “Russia didn’t cause this.” The American sanctions on Russia caused this. — Lira

    Yes. What a coincidence. And when this happens, the nationalists win and Davos loses. Such a pity.

    Speaking of: first test of Luongo hypothesis. We’re a week out, and Ed Dowd and others say they are going to take out all the mid-size or even small banks and consolidate into the big six Fed Banks. In order to roll out the Digital ID and CBDC. Good theory, we know they’ve published this. So? Where is it?

    I don’t want to jump the gun but if they wanted to sink everyone, they wouldn’t have saved them. Or the saving would have been a fig leaf, not quite good enough to work. Instead, no bank runs (yet). Why not? Contrarywise, Luongo says it’s the BIG banks that are sound right now with 15 years of pumping, fixing their books. The small banks are also relatively sound, but due to the basic structure, ANY raise in rates MUST destroy them all. 1) They are legally required to own U.S. Bonds, 2) any raise in rates will blow up housing and commercial R.E. to which they are wildly overexposed. 3) 1 compounds 2 which compounds 1 in Recession.

    Bank runs: not. Instead, Powell, knowing this MUST happen to them, has back-doored an unlimited backstop of all small banks to carry them through the rate hikes he needs for other reasons. Why would he do that if the big six are going to eat everybody? Why would he do that if all banks worldwide are on the same page? Wouldn’t that blow up all Europe? Leaving America mostly untouched? Decide for yourself.

    There are no White Hats except for the Black Hats keep not winning for some reason.

    “Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Naledi Pandor: “Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria want to join BRICS.”

    No coups, no assassinations in any of those places. Not like all the “died suddenly” when African leaders embarrassed Pfizer by testing a goat-oil-papaya. This is a worldwide RSVP that the U.S. is dead. Powerless. Which the nationalists here approve of. It’s no good to say it; you have to show it.

    “25 countries are already making settlements with China in yuan.”

    How you went bankrupt: “Slowly at first, then all at once.”

    “Beijing Demands That US Stop Provoking China (TASS) “

    Fly a kite: we’re still in international waters. You can’t claim everything out to Hawaii and expect us to take you seriously. Yes we’re provoking China, but this is not the way.

    “Jan. 6th Political Prisoner Jacob Chansley, has been FREED—14 months early”

    Now will he talk about some other interesting things: like HOW was he talking to Pelosi, DNC that morning, was specially escorted by 7 Capitol policemen and didn’t find that strange to him at all, and why as a AGW, Environmental Extremist, he thought MAGA was the right fit for him.

    “How much longer will the States remain United?”

    A long time yet. Remember, only ~12 Blessed Cities have all the gun violence, all the crime, all the failed schools, most of the racism, most of the decay and despair, and all 12 are surrounded by a sea of 95% Red counties. Chicago being a good example. Remove those 12 Blue Islands, and you have: no gun crime, little racism, no violence, less poverty, more graduations with literacy, etc. Yet THEY control the nation? How does that work? And the States don’t “Break Up.” They’re supposed to be mostly independent as a point of unchanged, existing law; just that no one is following any “law” anymore.

    Whitlock: clearly Trump’s support among Black voters is still rising from the doubling while he was in office. Hispanic support had tripled. So now tripled among Blacks and quadrupled for Hispanics?

    Without the Black vote – whom like workers, they trample for 50 years and take for granted – the DNC will never win again. Remember: Biden decides who is Black and who isn’t. He’s the Decider and arbiter on all races. He tells all minorities who they are and how they’re allowed to vote. You know: like the old Plantation Sharecroppers. Because they’re too weak and stupid to have opinions of their own, he needs to “help” them.

    Donald Trump is now the first former President of the United States ever to be indicted.”

    Remember when it was argued he’d have to be impeached even after? I don’t agree but see how that disappeared. And we arrest the first one who did NOT kill 1M people in Iraq and did NOT drone strike an American child overseas and open the world’s first modern slave market? Really? This is your priority?

    Hokey

    If the support for Ukraine stops, the countries will know that they can invade the neighboring country. If so, world security will collapse.”

    Pretty ironic for a nation that openly invaded and openly paid for an illegal, national coup d’etat, then said “F the EU” and installed leaders against all democratic process. So it’s not an invasion or a coup or illegal when we do it? Yeah, if countries can get away with that in Granada, they might try Iraq. If Iraq, they might try Syria or Ukraine.

    “Austrian deputies left the parliament in order not to listen to Zelensky.”

    Pretty childish, but it got in the news, so it made the point.

    Ukraine’s Military Losing 500 Troops Daily Near Bakhmut – LPR (TASS)

    500/day = 15,000 a month from this one location alone. On a 500 mile front.

    [Poland] hate to see the West of Ukraine falling under Russian jurisdiction. So, they suggest cannibalising the country.”

    Russia cannot have this. Poland is in NATO, so half of Ukraine is NATO. Russia must continue until NATO falls, therefore Poland is irrelevant, and Finland, Sweden are an international embarrassment. Could take time tho. To avoid WWIII they need to bleed them out and have done so wonderfully.

    “London Totally Ruined Architecture of Relations with Moscow – Ambassador (TASS)”

    Yes, but London needs to be properly discredited or nothing will change. Their theft of all national assets worldwide, Ukraine, Libya, Venezuela, clearly was not enough. The brazen theft of multi-billions in Russia – to forestall their own glaring and incredible insolvency – was finally enough for nations to take action. They didn’t ruin RUSSIAN relations – that was irrelevant – they ruined Worldwide Financial Center relations. That is the “Architecture” that was destroyed. Bye-bye London. Trump visited the Queen and told her. Told her he held the cards. Now he’s just laid them down because no one was bluffing.

    She intelligently positioned to save the most, but Charles, a fascist, is not that smart. They’ve installed all anti-Britons in England, Scotland, and elsewhere.

    Despite the catastrophic collapse of European democracy in the 1930s”

    Interesting statement as the bad leaders were put in by democratic vote. It was the failure of a Bill of Rights that allowed them to go too far. This is precisely the Founding American’s fear and dread of actual “Democracy” – mob rule unrestrained as we see on Twitter daily. We SAID they’re a transphobe, so therefore we shoot 9-year-olds an hour later. No process, no rights, no rule of law. “The People Voted”. 51% on my chat board said you get the guillotine, so there you are: “Democracy.”

    Stanford Law just did this because somebody visited Kavanaugh, a Supreme Court Justice. The sort of guy you have to meet and deal with as a lawyer. A guy who’s voted Liberal +3x in critical cases already. Not believing in “law” or “due process”, neither “Innocent until proven guilty” Stanford simply SAID he’s a rapist, uncharged, unproven — hey, they’re a law school, THEY can bring the charges – and therefore we convict him without a courtroom, process, law, or authority. That’s what Stanford Law teaches: the complete #Opposite of all Western Law, pretty much through all time straight back to Rome. We now decide your guilt using “Democracy”, we vote if we think you’re popular, and if you’re not popular enough, you’re #Guilty. …Of whatever we make up.

    We’re not supposed to be a “Democracy.” We’re supposed to uphold the law and Rights of Man.

    “Trump horrified millions of Americans who felt a personal betrayal in the possibility that he would occupy the same office held by George”...Bush and Richard Nixon. Huh?

    Trump was a life-long moderate Union Democrat and a long-time winner of Black Service awards until the day he declared against Hillary, the way #Hillary told him to. As Naomi Wolf yesterday, shouldn’t you apologize for believing all this stuff? Without checking a thing? I mean are you 5 years old, or just emotionally incapable of embarrassment?

    Trump also threatened the business interests of the most powerful sectors of society”

    Did he? Because those were his key backers. The Nationalist oligarchs, as opposed to the Internationalist Oligarchs you see in the Derp State and Defense contracts. Again, WHO, precisely? Yes, some disliked his anti-China re-nationalization of American manufacturing, especially, you know, China. Meaning Apple, Google, etc. But the AMERICAN business DID like that.

    “Trump had used sites like Twitter to bypass his party’s elites and connect directly with his supporters.”

    Why? That’s odd. Wasn’t Twitter completely controlled by his enemies?

    “Immediately after the election, Hillary Clinton started blaming Facebook Russia for her loss.” Fixed it. And Obama blamed Facebook for his win only the year before.

    Candace: Both he and she believe in the “Single drop of Black Blood” theory. They and the KKK agree. If you have a single drop, you’re contaminated. If you have a single drop of White blood, you aren’t White at all.

    China high speed trains. Opposite of the U.S. 1930-1970. They were running coal-fired express 70mph 100 years ago. Somehow – shucks – we just forgot how to do that! Too complicated now, although we used to do it with men walking the rails with a prybar. But you can PRETEND you’re in Chicago now, by looking at your phone. Same thing, right?

    “In 40AD Philo of Alexandria wrote of his general worries about global catastrophes, including Climate Change and the end of trees, which could only be cured by strengthening the Empire.”

    Spoiler alert: the Earth didn’t warm and for 1,000 years the trees won.

    #132442
    aspnaz
    Participant

    I have never voted Tucker. I am hardcore MAGA tonight. M-A-G-A. They want to turn this country into a Communist Marxist hellhole. This is tyranny. This is BULLSHIT.

    Trump is run by the tribe. The justice system is run by the tribe. Soros is the tribe. Work it out: they are promoting Trump, they are working for Trump, they are ensuring he cannot fail in 2024.

    #132443
    aspnaz
    Participant

    King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has signed the documents granting Saudi Arabia the status of “dialog partner” with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – the political, economic and security bloc currently chaired by China.

    MBS is the best thing to happen to Saudi in a century. He will ensure the survival of the country, and as someone who has worked there, in my opinion it needed someone with balls to move it forward.

    #132444
    oxymoron
    Participant

    Can Jordan Peterson not say “we” did all these things?. “I” am part of we and “I” did none of those things. Getting tired of being excluded as untermensch in popular culture.

    Wow, who knew lions loved cold concrete floors with pale green tiles?

    Candace really made that professor dude look like a crazy person. Like he did even know he hallucinates about reality.

    https://vicparkpetition.substack.com/p/to-my-unjabbed-heroes

    #132445
    aspnaz
    Participant

    The minister, Aleksandr Tkachenko, has said that UOC monks could stay at Lavra if they agreed to defect to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), a rival schismatic organization backed by Kiev.

    As if you needed any more proof that the USA is the evil empire. Anti-democracy, anti-religion, anti-nature … yet the US people let their country do this, they are complicit in their inaction. We need the USA to be removed from the map in order to restore humanity to its rightful order.

    #132446
    Oroboros
    Participant

    I don’t normally comment on the painting of the day but this has to be said to Pablo

    .

    #132447
    zerosum
    Participant

    Blinkers are two pieces of leather which are placed at the side of a horse’s eyes so that it can only see straight ahead .
    ———-
    Nothing to see/to read/to hear/to think/to do.
    ————-
    Obey. Opposition is futile.
    ———
    liberty, freedom, democracy
    Definition of liberty
    1. the power to do as one pleases.
    2. the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges.
    3. the power of choice.
    4. freedom to do as one desired
    ———
    Read more … the information war
    https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/guide-understanding-hoax-century-thirteen-ways-looking-disinformation

    • Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century (Siegel)
    Thirteen ways of looking at disinformation
    BYJACOB SIEGEL MARCH 28, 2023
    ———————
    Trump had used sites like Twitter to bypass his party’s elites and connect directly with his supporters. Therefore, to cripple the new president and ensure that no one like him could ever come to power again, the intel agencies had to break the independence of the social media platforms. Conveniently, it was the same lesson that many intelligence and defense officials had drawn from the ISIS and Russian campaigns of 2014—namely, that social media was too powerful to be left outside of state control—only applied to domestic politics, which meant the agencies would now have help from politicians who stood to benefit from the effort.
    The lesson they took from Trump’s victory was that Facebook and Twitter—more than Michigan and Florida—were the critical battlegrounds where political contests were won or lost.

    ———–

    #132448
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Couldn’t resist comparing China’s high speed rail network to the Canuck Cucks ‘high speed rail’ system

    Opps!

    High speed rail is always handy on a huge vast landmass, just not Canuckistantard®.

    They prefer the ultra high-tech HSSS: High Speed Snow Shoes®

    Hahahahahahahaha!

    .

    #132449
    Red
    Participant

    @aspnaz “We need the USA to be removed from the map in order to restore humanity to its rightful order.”
    A bit too general I think. It would appear that it is their foreign policy and those who support it is where the trouble begins. That policy is sold to the burro politic as good for the average citizen. The outside world sees it a bit differently and the average bloke on the American street corner is kept as much in the dark about the real consequences as humanly possible. With the control over information flows and the fact that most don’t have the time to do adequate research required to see the leash. Too busy trying to make ends meet in the so called land of plenty. Life gets in the way.

    #132450
    Mr. House
    Participant

    @ Dr. D

    Something to consider, perhaps another angle:

    How to Wreck a “Big Old” GSIB Bank…

    #132451
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Oh Cana-dada!

    Obergruppenführer Justus Turdeau

    Leading the Chosen Frozen North People back to the 12th century

    .

    .

    #132452
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS: Thanks for the Ren transcript/lyrics yesterday. I did listen intently, which gives the force and thrust, but specific words may be reflected on better with this text added.
    When I looked up “Ren”, I could not find specifics of his “psychosis”, but found chronic fatigue syndrome and Lyme disease. He is clearly quite cogent in this video, so his psychosis was transient, as it could be withmanic psychosis or drug-induce psychosis. Scizophrenia does not resolve, so it can’t be that.

    #132453
    Oroboros
    Participant

    “..the record profits had been achieved purely because of the conflict in his country..”

    • Kiev Demands Cut Of Western ‘War Profits’ – Politico

    Wow, sicker than sick

    They said the silent part out loud.

    Nazilensky wants his cut of the Vig!

    Hahahahaha!

    .

    #132455
    Oroboros
    Participant

    Great Rant on the Plandemic

    Some comic relief from the grief

    COVID Is Over Party

    Styxhexenhammer666

    #132456
    Formerly T-Bear
    Participant

    Concerning ‘De-Dollarization’:
    Great care must be given by all parties re de-dollarisation if by that the dollarU.S. ($US) is abandoned as an inter-mediatory currency between the primaries of a transaction having differing currencies. What is the danger is abandoning the $US as measure of value, as the $US is the universally accepted successor to commodity gold as the universal measure of all commodities, labour or value. To change from the $US to anything else would entail establishing a universal agreement for any/all substitute to it. Destroy the dollar as a medium of exchange undermines any value it has as a currency and without currency the modern concepts of economics fail to work. A fine mess that would be. Indeed, you may be here, now.

    #132457

    From last night: “I thought that “April fool’s jokes” were only done on 01 April.”
    That made me laugh, zerosum.
    “corny republic”. That did, too.
    Can anyone here call up a really detailed article on the WHO “treaty”? I had one over on substack, but I had to restart my machine, and now I can’t find it. (search history isn’t doing it)

    #132458
    Oroboros
    Participant

    The Empire of LIES has destroyed ‘price discovery’ a while back with it’s total corruption.

    The Truth is strong, Lies are weak

    The dollar can’t measure value anymore because it’s inflating to Infinite and beyond.

    The dollar’s core value is only backed by PR & Bullshit.

    Not Gold, it’s all gone from Ft Knox, they stole it and rehypothecated

    Not Oil, ‘shale oil’ is crap and it’s gone baby gone. Doesn’t even pay for it’s extraction.

    Maybe the Dollar is backed by a weak, retarded Military Mafia that designs weapons for profit not performance. A Cut ‘n Run outfit that couldn’t control the goat herders in the Afgan after 20 years of ‘trying’.

    Hey, how much you want for that fine looking Cow Pie over there?

    I got a wheelbarrow of dollars I’ll trade you for it.

    .

    #132459
    Germ
    Participant

    Normal

    HAWKS YOUNGSTER SIDELINED FOR MONTHS AFTER HEART ISSUE DIAGNOSIS

    “A specialist has diagnosed the 20-year-old with pericarditis, an inflammation of tissue within the heart …”

    https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/03/30/hawks-youngster-sidelined-for-months-after-heart-issue-diagnosis/

    TVASF

    Thanks to those who chimed in on the Zinc yesterday.
    I will adjust – and add a touch of copper!

    #132460
    Dr D Rich
    Participant

    I get it wasn’t a drone strike overseas but she was killed by a SEAL strike overseas…..

    Let’s not forget the Tuesday Death Council/Murder by Drone Barack ordered the HIT, but Trump didn’t turn off the operation conducted on his watch as one of his presidency’s first signature moments.

    …Nawar al-Awlaki
    …….8 years old
    ………light of the world, hope for the future
    …daughter of Cleric Anwar al Awlaki whose murder was ordered by Barack Obama
    ……sister of 16 yo Abdulrahman whose murder was ordered by Barack Obama

    So, the Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg can crow all he wants about equal protection, due process and the rule of law while convincing the world of the monumentally stupid ass he is.
    However, he is no closer to throwing His buddy Barack Obama in jail with Trump for murdering Anwar and his two children than his puny brain is to remembering the names of those two dead children.

    What a monumental distraction…hat tip to zerosum

    Always universal and timeless
    “If we in America have reached the point in our desperate culture where we must murder children, no matter for what reason or what color, we don’t deserve to survive and probably won’t.

    #132461
    Noirette
    Participant

    Trump indictment. Stormy Daniels.

    Some time before Covid, don’t remember the date, I was in train in CH, going to Vallorbe (N. CH, border town), it was a school train, filled with children, teens.

    The landscape was snowy and frozen, it was very cold, we are all wearing boots, bulky jackets, capuchons, etc.

    These ‘Regio’ trains are v. ‘lux’ as compared tot trains elsewhere, there is room to sit, tables to write, it is warm, etc. Digital screens give Intl. news clips, weather predictions warnings, train connection info, ads for State Initiatives, and so on.

    Stormy Daniels, flash news, appears full screen!

    She speaks (no sound on these clips, some vague sub-titles), giving her version of her relation with Trump.

    How come trains in Switz. have screens that clarion personal, trivial, sex relations, between power-ppl, half a world away?

    Many answers are possible but Idk what one should pick,

    #132462
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    @JohnDay

    Ren talks about those “bad old days” experiences quite freely and is sure that the psychoses was induced by the Lyme disease infection because when he recovered (assisted by heavy dose antibiotics) from the Lyme’s Disease the brain fog and psychosis and other debilitating symptoms went with it.

    #132463
    Germ
    Participant

    “The Vaccine Injured Have Been Abandoned” – Dr. Pierre Kory

    TVASF

    #132464
    Bishko
    Participant

    I fear that there is a new Horseman of the Apocalypse coming over the horizon.
    Hyper-inflation.

    #132465
    Maxwell Quest
    Participant

    “Finally, that orange-faced ogre is going to get his comeuppance!” Neighbors are doing chest bumps in the street and rubbing their hands in eager anticipation. Let’s compare notes on the delicious news of his indictment, “Did you hear the latest?”

    Their Trump hatred had been pushed aside the past few years, displaced by selfish, anti-vaxxers and evil Ruskies. It’s energy had waned and grown cold. But now, at long last, new life has been breathed into their smoldering Trump hatred. All it took was a few puffs from the media billows to reignite the glowing embers into a blazing fury. “Let’s kill the Trump and drag his entrails through the streets!” Is it just me or does it make you feel all warm and cozy inside, too.

    Such is the life of the TDS crowd, those useful idiots that are the joy of politicians and extended warranty salesmen. Easily manipulated because they have no grounding and are ruled by their emotions. Having no guiding principles with which to self-manage, and no roots into reality, they are easy prey to authority figures who are more than happy to use them as they please. They are psychological children in adult bodies.

    Dark Side

    #132466
    Germ
    Participant

    America’s Fossil Fuel Economy is Heading for Collapse – It Signals the End of the Oil Age

    America’s Fossil Fuel Economy is Heading for Collapse – It Signals the End of the Oil Age

    True ‘Dat !

    #132468
    John Day
    Participant

    “Deweaponizing The Dollar” https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/deweaponizing-the-dollar
    (Gaps between dot and com so links will upload. You see ’em here today anyway.)

    Did Big Banks Take Over the US Treasury? Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai (with transcript , extensively excerpted here) Thanks Christine.

    Hudson.. The banking system is now a branch of the US Treasury with the whole value of the US Treasuries behind the banking deposit— there’s no more risk essentially.
    It wouldappear at first glance that she’d(Yellen)nationalized the banks.
    But really what happened was that — it wasn’t reported in the newspaper,[but it’s almost as if she’d] just taken a mid-level job at Wells Fargo — maybe it was at Citibank — saying the Treasury is now a subgroup of Wells Fargo, Chase Manhattan, and the large banks, [pledging all its credit so that uninsured depositors will not take a loss.]
    The banking system has cannibalized the Treasuryand mobilized thewhole of Treasuryfor its banking.
    People had, for a long time, wanted the idea of public banking.They wanted banking to be a public utility. But now the Treasury itself has become privatized as a banking utility…

    Desai.. Michael. You put it so well. Because basically, when you can’t have banking as a public utility, then inevitably what happens is the government becomes a private utility. That’s exactly what’s going on…

    Hudson.. It’s as if the whole objective of corporate industry today is to get consumers to run into debt and make money off the interest that you charge for consumers rather than to make profits…
    ..That’s why we’ve been deindustrializing and painted the US economy into the corner that it really can’t re-industrialize without replacing the banking system that is in the middle of showing that it doesn’t work…

    ..And of course it’s very hard to have a huge financial superstructure [without] an industrial base. And if you have a superstructure on a teeny base, at a certain point it’s going to collapse.
    And that’s finally what we’re saying today. The idea of a post-industrial economy making money purely on financial engineering instead of industrial engineering ends up with more claims for payment than the economy can pay.
    That’s been the theme of all of our shows and that’s exactly what you’re seeing today. Ponzi schemes work until somebody wants to withdraw their money..

    ..You’re seeing [Rothschild banker] Mr. Macron in France facing riots when he’s trying to say, “Well, we can’t afford to pay social security because the banks needed more money for the bailout, so we’re going to extend the retirement age.” …

    ..Ever since Obama bailed out the banks and not the economy — ever since he didn’t write down the debts to what can be paid —ever since he refused to let the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation take over Citibankand refused to declare that the largest banks — Wells Fargo, Chase —all these banks were insolvent — that refusal led to the whole debt overhead— what they called the“jobless recovery”…

    ..Their policy is to put the financial sector first, and the job of the entire economy is to reduce its living standards, cut back its corporate investment, cut back any spending except the flow of money into the financial sector…

    ..The houses of eight million American families were bought out by private capital companies and turned from owner-occupied housing into rental housing. The shape of the economy changed.
    This is much more than lower interest rates. It was a transformation of the American economy from a homeowner’s economy to a rental economy — from an industrial economy to a financial economy.
    The Obama administration ended permanently any hopes for an American industrial takeoff until such time as his acts can be undone and you wipe out the debt overhead that is the same thing as the savings overhead of the banks in the financial sector…

    Desai.. I should also say that the voices that have been talking about that also go back to the 1980s. I mean, remember Ross Perot and him saying that if the United States wants to have an economy as competitive as Japan’s, it’s going to need industrial policy, and that implies a very different financial system…

    Hudson.. Well Obama did something much worse. The Federal Reserve in 2009 started the practice of actually paying interest on bank reserves held at the Fed.
    So a bank could borrow from the Fed at a low rate of interest, redeposit the money at the Fed and actually make an arbitrage gain.
    This is, again, a transformation in the structure. It’s not just a lower interest rate — it’s not just that. It’s lowering interest rates in a way that gives banks a way to make free money by borrowing cheap from the government and lending back to the government.
    This was a gigantic $9 trillion subsidy to the banks at the same time that the Democrats said, “We cannot afford to forgive student debt”… “We can afford to forgive the debts of the banks that have gone under. But not the students, not the homeowners that couldn’t pay, not the victims of junk mortgage loans.”

    This is the choice that both the Democrats and the Republicans are following, and that is what makes a recovery impossible for the United States without a change in policy. I don’t see how it can occur without a revolution…

    ..Well you could say it goes back to the founding of the Federal Reserve. That was the fatal detour that the American economy took.
    If you read the government reports of the National Monetary Commission at the time, the purpose of the Federal Reserve was to take monetary power out of Washington and put it in the financial centers in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. And the Treasury was not even allowed as a board member on the Federal Reserve. The idea was to privatize finance and essentially replace the Treasury with the private banking system…

    ..We have an economy slowed down. The function of the central bank today isn’t to provide money to the economy, it’s to provide money for the banks to make money financially at the economy’s expense…

    ..So if Janet Yellen now says, “Well the Treasury will make good all of the bank’s losses that have been a result of raising interest rates from Obama’s zero interest rates” — then there’ll have to be another $9 trillion.
    Well with $9 trillion you can forget Social Security, forget Medicare, forget social spending — you’ll only have a government doing military spending and paying money to the banks…

    ..We can’t restructure the banking and credit system and leave the current bailouts in place, and the current debts in place.
    The enormous amount of debts that have grown as a result of the Obama bailouts — the huge $9 trillion in debts — cannot remain in the economy without [preventing the economy from developing].
    This whole buildup of debt, sponsored by zero interest rate policy, has to be wiped out.
    If you keep that debt, if you don’t let the banks go under, if you do not wipe out this debt, there is no way that the economy can afford to be competitive [with] other countries.
    And all that will be left [with] to relate to the international economy will be military power. There’s no way that it’ll have export power, or even a financial power that is viable…

    Desai.. There has to be a root and branch reform of the financial system. Only that is going to solve the dilemma which we are in today.

    The Treasury Privatized?

    Saudi Arabia makes move towards Russia-China bloc

    King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has signed the documents granting Saudi Arabia the status of “dialog partner” with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – the political, economic and security bloc currently chaired by China.
    The Saudi state agency also said that Iran was set to join the bloc “soon.” Tehran had applied for membership in 2021.
    The SCO was created in 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It has since expanded to India, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan as full members. The status of dialog partner was created in 2008, and includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Türkiye.

    The bloc initially focused on security concerns, primarily terrorism, separatism and extremism.It has an agreement with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on jointly addressing security, crime and drug trafficking.​ (CIA activities.)​ ​https://www.rt. com/news/573879-saudi-arabia-china-russia-sco/

    Brazil and China sign pact to abandon dollar Beijing and Brasilia have signed an agreement on trade in mutual currencies, abandoning the US dollar as an intermediary, and are also planning to expand cooperation on food and minerals…

    ..“The expectation is that this will reduce costs… promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” AFP quoted the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency as saying on Wednesday.
    The countries also reportedly announced the creation of a clearinghouse that will provide settlements without the US dollar, as well as lending in national currencies. https://www.rt. com/business/573852-brazil-china-abandon-dollar/

    The deals were waiting for the agreements to be signed. More will come on their heels.

    In a quick succession this week, Beijing unveiled ground-breaking deals to further its efforts to promote the yuan and ditch the US dollar.

    To be sure, the yuan’s market share in the global system remains minuscule. But the direction is clear.

    As Victor Xing at Kekselias Inc. put it: “The key characteristic of the present geopolitical development is ideological, rather than based on economic calculus. Therefore, it is harder to de-escalate, and it means the disruptions and decoupling has momentum to go on for a longer period of time.” https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/pozsars-warning-dollars-waning-sway-comes-true

    #132469
    John Day
    Participant

    Warehouses of hundred dollar bills shored up Russian banking, and they barely touched those piles. (I’m entertaining the thought that Russia left that $300 billion where the west could iimpound it, just to tempt them, like FDR tempted the Japanese in Pearl Harbor, but secretly removed the aircraft carriers and modern ships ahead of their attack.)
    Moscow stockpiled gold, yuan and foreign currency in cash to offset Western sanctions, the regulator has revealed
    Amid “increasing geopolitical risks” the central bank ramped up investments in assets “that cannot be blocked by unfriendly nations” and transferred part of its reserves to gold, Chinese yuan and foreign currency in cash, the regulator announced in its annual report.
    The central bank managed to stash billions of imported dollars “in volumes limited by logistics capabilities.”
    https://www.rt. com/business/573870-russia-central-bank-alternative-forex-reserves/

    ​ ​The European Union is in danger of “criminalising” the use of physical cash with its new anti-money laundering laws, an MEP has warned.
    ​ ​Dr Gunnar Beck, a representative for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has warned that the EU appears to be pushing for the “criminalisation” of the use of physical cash with its new anti-money laundering (AML) laws.
    ​ ​Politicians in Brussels have long been pondering an upper legal limit on the value of cash transactions within the bloc, with lawmakers detailing plans to ban Europeans from spending over €10,000 in physical tender as part of a single transaction.
    https://www.globalresearch.ca/eu-pushing-criminalisation-physical-cash-new-anti-money-laundering-law/5814355

    Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo saved a man’s life Tuesday at the Florida Capitol.
    Willie James Davis Jr. on Tuesday morning suffered a cardiac event during a children’s event near the Capitol Courtyard.
    Ladapo, passing through the area, rushed to aid the 57-year-old. He performed chest compressions and stabilized Davis using a defibrillator, according to the incident report.
    “I’m grateful I was at the right place at the right time,” said Ladapo. “I love being a doctor and I especially appreciate times when my experience makes a difference.”
    Ladapo visited Davis at the hospital the following day.
    “A perfect stranger made a decision to give aid and saved my life,” said Davis. “I believe he already has his wings. Again, I thank God for the blessing of continued life and the angel He sent me.”
    https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2023/03/29/florida-surgeon-general-saves-man-at-state-capitol

    Ben Gvir’s Militia
    More worrying is the difficulty Netanyahu faced in even arriving at such a temporary “pause.” In order to prevent the government from collapsing, under the threat of resignation by Itamar Ben Gvir, Netanyahu agreed to Ben Gvir’s demand for the creation of a private militia under his direct control.
    The creation of this private militia has long been a goal for Ben Gvir, and his desire for it only grew after being told that his position as Minister of Police was not enough. He was specifically informed that the Minister of Police only sets policy and must leave the actual implementation of policies to the police.
    ..The prospect of directly channeling vast amounts and resources to thugs and violent settlers, granting them official sanction and authority is truly frightening. For many years, these elements have enjoyed the tacit support of the army and its complicity. To grant them now direct authority is frightening not only for Palestinians but for the army and the police authorities themselves, who have often viewed Ben Gvir as a convicted terrorist, inciter to violence, and a problematic agitator who creates headaches for them. He was rejected for army service, convicted for terrorism and incitement. He was a politician who has built a reputation for openly calling for near-genocidal practices. He famously went to Sheikh Jarrah, promising a Second Nakba (referring to the ethnic cleansing of 1948) while waving his pistol around. He promised greater violence once he joined the government. It was bad enough that he became Minister of Police and his equally dangerous colleague Bezalel Smotrich was given control over COGAT with direct responsibility for security in the West Bank, but now Ben Gvir is being given his own militia with direct operational authority over its members. Smotrich publicly stated that the recent pogrom at Huwara, and even erasing it (employing a biblical phrase), should have been done not by private citizens but by the government itself. Maybe he had Ben Gvir’s militia in mind.
    https://www.fosna.org/the-fosna-blog/bengvirsmilitia

    Amal Oraby is usually a fixture at street protests. But as tens of thousands of Israelis have demonstrated for months against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, Oraby is sitting this one out.
    An activist and lawyer, Oraby is one of the many Palestinian citizens of Israel who have stayed on the sidelines of some of the country’s largest and most sustained demonstrations — a glaring absence in a movement that says it aims to preserve the country’s democratic ideals.
    “I don’t see myself there,” Oraby said…
    ..“In this demonstration, we don’t talk about occupation. We don’t talk about racism. We don’t talk about discrimination,” said Sami Abou Shehadeh, a former legislator in Israel’s parliament. “And they call it a struggle for democracy.”
    https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-netanyahu-protests-courts-overhaul-occupation-8a3d4cbe3c19074d24c9db82c990c946

    #132470
    John Day
    Participant

    Israeli Airstrikes Hit Damascus for Second Night in a Row (Can Israelis cooperate on another war against Syria for awhile?)
    The intensified Israeli airstrikes in Syria come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a political crisis at home. After massive protests and dissent within the Israeli government, Netanyahu delayed his controversial judicial overhaul, but unrest in the country continues.

    Israeli Airstrikes Hit Damascus for Second Night in a Row

    Rare Rebuke Of Israel By White House Riles Republicans
    The political fallout continues after President Biden’s controversial and rare criticisms of Israel, which included on Tuesday his urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon his governing coalition’s judicial overhaul policy which critics say will destroy any semblance of checks and balances and thus is a threat to Israeli democracy itself. The plan is now on “pause” as deep divisions in Israel simmer.
    Biden had said he hoped Netanyahu “walks away from” the plan which has brought hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters into the streets over the last couple weeks. But he really riled Israel-supporters by emphasizing that he has no intention of welcoming Netanyahu to the White House “in the near term.” Typically newly elected Israeli prime ministers can expect to meet with the US president fairly quickly after entering office.
    “Like many strong supporters of Israel, I’m very concerned, and I’m concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road,” Biden had told reporters.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/rare-rebuke-israel-white-house-riles-republicans

    The liberal justices all supported the corporate lynching.
    The US Supreme Court Just Legalized Private Corporate Prosecutions. Activists Beware. Steven Donziger
    In a major blow to the rule of law, the US Supreme Court this week let stand Chevron’s private prosecution and 993-day detention of me after I helped Amazon communities in Ecuador win the historic $9.5 billion pollution case against Chevron. There was a great dissent by Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh who declared: “Our Constitution does not tolerate what happened here.” While I am dealing with a major disappointment on a personal level, I want people to know that the underlying environmental case against Chevron is still alive after being affirmed unanimously by Ecuador’s highest court and Canada’s Supreme Court for enforcement purposes.
    https://stevendonziger.substack.com/p/the-us-supreme-court-just-legalized

    RFK, Jr. to Buttigieg: Airline Safety Is ‘Not a Partisan Issue,’ FAA Must Investigate Spike in Pilot Health Emergencies
    Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. called on U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to investigate the spike in near-misses and narrowly averted airline accidents resulting from pilots incapacitated by health emergencies since 2021, coinciding with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the U.S.

    RFK, Jr. to Buttigieg: Airline Safety Is ‘Not a Partisan Issue,’ FAA Must Investigate Spike in Pilot Health Emergencies

    #132471
    John Day
    Participant

    @DBS: CNS Lyme could cause antibiotic-reversibe psychosis.
    Lyme is caused by a spirochete, so it can act similarly to syphilis in weird ways.

    #132472
    Figmund Sreud
    Participant

    Here we go, folks! John Rubino, … discussion with:

    https://www.youtube.com/live/6lBkpVSN22g?feature=share

    … bonus, John Rubino’s substack:

    https://rubino.substack.com/

    F.S.

    #132473
    Oroboros
    Participant

    I keep reciting the fact that the Empire 0f Lies Military Mafia is design for profit not performance.

    Well, so is the Medical Industrial MAfia Complex.

    “The Vaccine Injured Have Been Abandoned” – Dr. Pierre Kory

    With a population that had a phenomenally damaged attention span before the Plandemic through decades of propaganda and BS, now the Sheeple’s attention span is sub-childlike.

    The Ministry of Propaganda can memory hole anything in one news cycle.

    Never happened, keep moving, oh look!!!!, a transgendered rainbow Squirrel!!!

    People with damaged attention spans, entire nations with damaged attention spans, don’t remember past mistakes.

    It makes them easy marks for Total Destruction®

    Real Learning is Truth

    Real Stupidity is Lies

    The Collective West is now a testament to collective memory loss of their heritage.

    It’s not premature senility, it’s a willful divorce from a remembered hard won lineage of experience.

    It’s disrespecting and spitting in the face of your ancestor’s sacrifice that got you to this present moment.

    .

    #132474
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    My mind may be a dim bulb but with enough focus and concentration I can usually narrow the beam sufficiently to understand practically anything, so long as that thing is sufficiently small and simple. Luckily, even big complicated things are comprised of small simple things, so all that I really need to eventually comprehend even the toughest mystery is time, lots of time. Lots and LOTS of time. Lousy quickdraw artist. Pretty good sniper.

    #132475
    zerosum
    Participant

    Looking for the control system that worked
    Who/what was used in Trade, financing, trade in mutual currencies, banking, money system that was so good that it outlasted their civilization. (don’t say gold)

    https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-ancient-civilizations-2079395

    This is an alphabetically ordered list of ancient civilizations. It includes types of cultures, traditions, and industries as well as more traditionally defined civilizations.

    #132476
    zerosum
    Participant

    Feeding the trained crocs in Costa Rica for the entertainment of the tourists

    #132477
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    The decision has been made by Russia to use nuclear weapons should NATO ‘peacekeepers’ be installed anywhere except western Ukraine and to “fight the US to the last Russian.”

    Is the US/NATO ready for that? (as the collective west rapidly sinks in the quagmire of collapse that is the product of fraud, corruption, lies and gross incompetence of its own making over many decades).

    #132478
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    In the fog of war, it appears that Wagner have taken advantage of the bad weather and have liberated more of Bakhmut.

    #132479
    Afewknowthetruth
    Participant

    “They’re up to not following the law.”

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