Debt Rattle May 12 2026
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Henri Matisse The Dessert – Harmony in Red 1908 • Trump to Iran: Time’s Up (Robert Spencer) • Trump: Iran Ceasefire ‘On Life Support’ (JTN) • Trump Mu
[See the full post at: Debt Rattle May 12 2026]The First Domino Has Fallen
The cascade we predicted in Two Wars is starting.Jay Martin
The United Arab Emirates is not broke.It has roughly $95 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, hundreds of billions in foreign exchange reserves, and access to trillions more through its sovereign wealth funds.
So why did it just ask Washington for an emergency loan?
Because this is not really about whether the UAE has money.
It is about what the UAE would have to sell to get that money.
And that brings us to the pressure point I wrote about two weeks ago: the U.S. Treasury market.
Here is a quick recap before we dive in:
Two weeks ago, in Two Wars, I wrote about a vulnerability in the U.S. Treasury market that most investors do not think about, but that I am now convinced will define the next twelve months of market activity.
The mechanism is simple.
When the U.S. government spends more money than it collects in taxes – which it does every single year, to the tune of trillions of dollars – it borrows the difference. It does this by selling IOUs called Treasury bonds.
A “10-year Treasury” is simply a promise from the U.S. government to pay you back in ten years, with interest. These bonds are considered the safest investment in the world because, in theory, the U.S. government will always pay its debts.
Here’s why this matters right now.
Countries around the world – Japan, the UK, China, South Korea, and dozens of others – hold roughly $9.4 trillion worth of these American IOUs. They bought them because Treasuries are safe, liquid, and denominated in dollars.
For decades, this system worked beautifully.
The U.S. borrowed cheaply. Foreign governments parked their savings in a safe asset. Everyone won.
Until everyone needs cash at the same time…
Let me ask you a question.
If you were running Japan’s central bank, and your country was suddenly staring down an energy crisis that threatened to shut down factories, power plants, and shipping routes – and you needed dollars immediately to buy oil on the open market – what would you sell first?
You would sell the most liquid dollar asset you owned.
You would sell U.S. Treasuries.
And that is exactly what is happening.
Foreign central bank holdings of Treasuries at the New York Federal Reserve have dropped to their lowest level since 2012. The decline began the month the war started. Countries short on energy and desperate for dollars are selling American government bonds to raise cash to pay for fuel.
Japan holds $1.2 trillion in Treasuries. The United Kingdom holds $895 billion. These are not small positions.
Now here is the problem.
When lots of people sell the same asset at the same time, the price drops. When the price of a Treasury bond drops, its interest rate – what Wall Street calls the “yield” – goes up.
That yield is the incentive investors receive to lend money to the U.S. government.
And because Treasury yields set the baseline for borrowing costs across the entire economy, everything gets more expensive: Mortgages, car loans, corporate debt, and government refinancing.
All of it.
Let me take a minute to break this down simply.
Put me in the position of the U.S. government.
I spend more than I make, so I need to borrow cash.
Let’s say you loan me $1,000, and I agree to pay you 5% interest – $50 a year – for five years. You earn annual interest, and you get your $1,000 back at the end of the term.
Good deal.
But two years in, you get a cash call. You need your money back now.
The problem is, I do not owe you your $1,000 for another three years.
So you go looking for someone to buy the loan from you.
You find a third party and say:
Jay owes me $1,000. He is paying 5% a year, and the full amount is due in three years. If you buy this loan from me, the payments are yours.
But the third party can smell your desperation.
He says:
“I’ll take it – but I’m only paying you $800. You will not get full value, but you will get cash today, which is what you need.”
So you take the deal.
Now think about what just happened.
That third party just paid $800 for a note that will pay him $1,000 in three years, plus the $50 annual interest along the way. His effective return – his yield – just went up because he paid less for the same stream of payments.
Now imagine this happening at scale.
Not one lender, but entire countries – Japan, the UK, South Korea – all desperate for cash to buy oil, all selling U.S. Treasury bonds at the same time, all willing to take less than full value.
And we are not talking thousands.
We are talking trillions.
Here is why that matters.
The United States is still spending more than it earns, so it still needs to issue new debt. But if investors can buy existing Treasuries cheaply on the open market, why would they lend fresh money to the U.S. government at effectively lower rates?
They wouldn’t.
Nobody would.
So the government has to offer higher interest rates on new debt to attract buyers. That raises borrowing costs for Washington at exactly the moment it can least afford it.
And because Treasury yields anchor the entire credit system – mortgages, car loans, corporate debt – everything gets more expensive all at once.
This is the predicament.
The U.S. needs to offer higher interest rates to incentivize other countries to lend it money. But paradoxically, higher interest rates can break their own economy.
The prediction we came to was this:
The longer the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, the longer the list of countries running short on food and fuel will grow. That creates an ever-larger population of Treasury bondholders who may need to start selling.
And now we are beginning to see the first pieces of validation.
The first domino
In late April, the United Arab Emirates approached the U.S. Treasury and asked for a wartime financial lifeline.
The UAE is one of the foreign holders we wrote about. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for 12 weeks. As a result, the UAE cannot sell oil as it used to, and it has bills to pay.
But here is the thing.
The UAE is a fabulously wealthy country. It has not run out of money in the conventional sense.
It holds roughly $95.6 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds alone. It has approximately $270 billion in foreign exchange reserves overall, and it controls trillions more through its sovereign wealth funds.
So the UAE is far from broke. But its cash flow has stopped.
And when your cash flow stops, you dip into your savings.
If the UAE had sold its U.S. assets to raise the cash it needed, that would have meant unloading tens of billions of dollars in U.S. Treasuries onto the open market during an already stressed moment.
The price of those bonds would have dropped.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury would have climbed.
The exact spiral I described earlier would have begun, and the UAE would have been the country that started it.
So instead, the UAE did something different.
It approached Washington with a proposal:
We did not ask for this war. We were dragged into it. If we run short on cash and you do not help us, we will have no choice but to raise it ourselves – and you know what that means for your bond market. Let’s avoid this.
So the UAE asked for a short-term loan, known as a currency swap line – an emergency credit facility that allows the U.S. Federal Reserve to lend dollars directly to a foreign central bank.
This is not a bailout of the UAE. It is a bailout of the Treasury market.
Let me explain.
What is a swap line?
Let me take a minute to break this down, because everybody is going to be talking about swap lines in the months ahead, and very few people will actually understand them.
A swap line is, in technical terms, an emergency loan between two central banks.
The U.S. Federal Reserve agrees to lend dollars to a foreign central bank. The foreign central bank pledges its own currency as collateral, locked at a fixed exchange rate. When the swap matures, the foreign central bank pays back the dollars with interest.
The exchange rate at maturity is the same as the rate at the start, regardless of how the currencies have moved in between.
Every swap line, or emergency credit facility, that the United States has offered in 2008 and 2020 has been repaid.
Sort of.
And as long as that is the case, they are not technically a bailout.
But I use the term “sort of” because, in 2013, the Federal Reserve quietly changed the terms on swap lines with five countries from temporary to permanent.
I am not sure there is a meaningful difference between a loan that is not repaid and a loan that does not mature.
But I will leave that with you.
I have another prediction.
Over the next year, the swap line program will expand dramatically, and with it, the standing roster of countries for which the United States has assumed responsibility during a dollar liquidity crisis.
If I am right, two things will happen.
First, the list of countries that the United States deems “eligible” for swap lines will grow.
It will expand beyond key U.S. allies like the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, and the Swiss National Bank, and begin to include a much wider net of less reliable partners with much less stable currencies.
And as the eligibility criteria drops, the fragility of the loan will rise.
Second, the number of swap lines that shift from temporary to permanent will also grow.
In that environment, swap lines do not get repaid in any meaningful sense.
They get rolled.
The Fed extends the maturity. The borrower draws a new swap to repay the old one. Each transaction shows as “repaid” on the books, but the aggregate balance never really goes down.
Wall Street has a name for this: Amend, extend, and pretend.
Amend the terms of the loan.
Extend the payment deadline.
Pretend everything is fine.
The evidence that this prediction is materializing will be simple:
The UAE gets its swap line approved. And Kuwait gets one next.
Why Kuwait?
Because oil revenues fund roughly ninety percent of Kuwait’s government budget.
Kuwait exported zero barrels of crude oil in April 2026 – for the first time in roughly thirty years. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation declared force majeure on its export contracts in March and extended it on April 20, telling clients it could not meet its contractual obligations even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
Kuwait holds $66.1 billion in U.S. Treasuries.
Read that again.
Kuwait now has zero oil revenue. Kuwait runs ninety percent of its government on oil revenue. Kuwait holds sixty-six billion dollars in U.S. Treasuries.
They will either sell their Treasuries, which is the trigger we wrote about in Two Wars, or they will follow the UAE’s lead and ask Washington for a swap line of their own.
Is a Swap Line a Bailout?
Critics will say swap lines are bailouts. US bulls will say they are not.
They are both right.
Because they are thinking about the bailout backwards.
A swap line looks like a bailout for the borrower because the borrower receives the dollars. But in this case, the real beneficiary is the lender.
Because what is the alternative?
The alternative is that dollar-starved countries sell the most liquid dollar asset they own: U.S. Treasuries.
They sell into a falling market. Treasury prices drop. Yields rise. Washington’s borrowing costs climb. Mortgages, car loans, corporate debt, and government refinancing all get more expensive at once.
That is the spiral.
So when the Fed opens a swap line, it is not merely helping a foreign central bank.
It is preventing that foreign central bank from becoming a forced seller of U.S. government debt.
This is not a bailout of the UAE.
It is a bailout of the Treasury market.
And if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the question is not whether more countries will need dollars.
They will.
The question is whether Washington chooses to let them sell Treasuries to raise those dollars, or quietly lends them the dollars first.
That is why the UAE matters. It is not the end of the story.
It is the first domino.
Honest question – what am I missing? Let me know in the comments.
That’s it for today,
Jay Martin
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“Sleepy
JoeDon”Col Douglas Macgregor: Iran TOO BIG TO INVADE” Daniel Davis / Deep Dive•51K•4h ago Whyyyyyyy?
Do we LOOOOOOOK like we are invading them? Do we look like we NEED to invade them??? Are there any men, anywhere on earth, to invade them? No, no, and no. You’re delusional, man, get off the sauce. How is it even POSSIBLE he can go on like this?
“Netanyahu Says He Wants To End Annual US Military Support For IsraelDarn you Trump!!!! Stopping US welfare for Israel AND bombs Israel flat? Well, I say sir, if that doesn’t prove he’s Netanyahu’s puppet nothing will. What happens is if you get a guy blackmailed with the Epstein Files you tell him to STOP paying you. Day 39.
“Fire Erupts At HF Sinclair Refinery In Tulsa
Again, tell me this is Iran. Please. And it should be easy since all terrorists bring their passports and leave them on the ground. It’s in the Union rules.
“Hegseth: Senator Mark Kelly Revealed Classified Information On US Munitions Stockpiles.
To be fair, All Congress always does this. It’s in THEIR Union rules. They they say “Why didn’t you inform Congress???” as far back as Tom Clancy or probably Ted Kennedy. Because you will always call Mandelson, who will insider trade on it with Epstein? That’s why?
“Tyson Sinks, Walmart Falls After Trump Moves To Temporarily Lower Beef Import Tariffs “Ranchers won’t love this”
Since no one can “Call” for a “Statement”, yes they will. Trump is going after the meat packers who have flipped from 20% to 80% of the profit using monopoly collusion. If Trump knocks them out, there will be far more money for ranchers than imports. There’s this place called “The White House” which has “A Press Office” which will tell you all about it in great detail.
“Judge Who Oversaw Utah Gerrymander Resigns For Affair With Plaintiff’s Attorney
You know what they say: “Couples who do major felonies together, stay together.” Worked for the Clintons.
Duran, Trump has mild helpful effect on calling a time out, arranging the Victory Day ceasefire.
As with me, we see that as a minor positive leading to other solutions for the first time. Great!
…They then say this is strange, why does Putin trust Trump at all since this is totally Trump’s war, because Trump wasn’t in office and was in fact busy being persecuted and arrested over the war, just like Putin/Russia was. That’s how you know it was Trump’s war, because: Not President, and who in fact tried to shut it down Hour 1 Day 1 with a dozen broadsides right in the political face, Jan 20, 2025.This of course means it’s STILL Trump’s war, because no money, men, or materials, and is leaving the European bases supporting it, therefore Putin’s behavior toward this guy who didn’t start the war and indeed used all his political capital to stop it, is truly inexplicable. Ah.
Europe of course, are little darlings only doing what the U.S. — that is to say, Trump himself wants. Europe always does whatever Trump says, right? That’s completely obvious. Thanks Alex2
Anyway, nice to have something reasonable and normal for the first time since (Biden) started it. Perhaps something can expand on this, and Putin seems to imply so.
Also, very hard confirm Russia is shutting off ALL gas to the West, Europe. Slovakia, etc, say y’all retarded, as we’re just going to buy Russia gas repackaged by the United States. Which we pointed out 6 months ago, but in fact Europe has INCREASED the purchase of Russian gas, but ALSO is giving Putin far more money for it.
Oh noes. Not the briar patch. War is when you buy all your goods from your enemy and pay MORE for it.
“Merz Promises Fico A Spanking For Slovak Leader’s Moscow V-Day Trip” “We will talk with him about this day in Moscow.”
Germany is running all the other nations and is telling them what to do. Hmmm. I’m sure that’ll be popular in Europe.
“’Mediator’ Pakistan Hosted Iranian Military Aircraft To Insulate Them From US Attacks, Graham Fumes At Islamabad
Hahahaha! Suckers! You mean a party to the conflict can’t also be the negotiator? Like all the times the U.S. has done this?
“What Decades Of Academic Literature, Military Doctrine Says About Effectiveness Of ‘Decapitation Strikes’
Decapitation strategies represent a cartoon, video game style approach to foreign policy.Step 1: Make up everything, generally against all available evidence.
Step 2: When what the other guy never intended doesn’t work, yell “Aha! This thing you never attempted never came to pass! You LOSER!”
Step 3: (Forthcoming) Everyone looks at you as if you’re a psycho and a crazy person. This behavior is Narcissistic Abuse 101.“Iran Deploys Combat-Ready Mini Subs In Hormuz As US Flexes Nuclear Submarine En Route” The Pentagon almost never reveals their locations…”
1) That’s because we were lying, the sub is already there. 2) We may have sunk every Iranian sub already, because concerning submarines, no one will ever say.
.
“Iran Executes Top Young Aerospace Scientist, Alleging CIA & Mossad TiesThis may seem over the top, but what was it, their Defense Minister or Top General was literally Mossad, from way back? That’s why the initial strikes were outrageously successful?
“Jeffries Calls On Half-Dozen Democratic States To Start ‘Aggressive’ Redistricting
It’s already been counted in: because the DNC had ALREADY gerrymandered all states, and like 10 States have no reps at all, they cannot now gerrymander AGAIN. But it’s fabulous you put your plans to do what you yourself say is illegal, into the headline news for us. Never stop talking. Get Carville on.“California Mayor Indicted, Will Plead Guilty To Being CCP Agent
But to be fair, all CA mayors (and Canadian mayors) are, as well as the Governor and all their congressmen, Fang Fang. Remember Newsom had no trouble cleaning S.F. for Xi, but never even tried before or since?
Alex Krainer interviews: Trump is an idiot who’s never had a plan and blundered into Iran. However, this is probably all going to work out great for him, because accidents always turn out that way 10/10 times on accident. China is going to help. Ah. Yes. The 99th time he slipped on a banana peel and did a backflip in a top hat and cane like a magician that it’s an Accident. Right.
Also Alex: “There is no reason for the Nasdaq to go straight up, it’s all QE bubble, no other possible explanation.” No, now I’m losing respect for you, more than the last one. YES that is a possible explanation, but not the only one, and IF there were any QE, the market and commentators would be all over it, screaming from the hills. It’s also very easy to see; ie numbers are reported. So no, that does NOT appear to be what’s happening. Or you yourself would say so, “Bessant has created new money-firehose project code named “Cash from Orbit’” etc. YOU KNOW THIS. This is Alex’s day job, and he’s very competent.
That leads to part one: he “just assumes” this must be the case because one of the major alternative options is: Europe is collapsing, the U.S. is winning in Iran, and all the world’s money is flowing to the United States. This happened in the 20s and gave us that bubble, see Armstrong. And “World money flows” is ALSO easy to see and track.
Why the Naz, AI, Dow? Because it’s all CURRENCY. So you’re Germany, you either see the problem or want to stock cash for a US car factory you’re going to make but can’t admit to German government you’re planning, bc they’ll assassinate you. Buy US Bonds? Well Europe is the top buyer of U.S. bonds, but we’re talking the “public” here. Why would I buy bonds at a low interest rate when I can be stocks? The money I’m going to make is on the CURRENCY changing. So you get stock AND currency gains. This is what Armstrong said in the 70/80s, you could buy a Porsche, it would be worth more AFTER you drove it than when you bought it bc the currency changed so much. How much better for Apple, which can also take the volume? And pays dividends?
Now I may not be right because I am NOT tracking these very easy numbers, as it’s not (no longer) my day job. But I can prove it’s not what Alex is saying. He does this because it’s unthinkable that the U.S. be successful and not destroyed. With him it’s not even the 20 years programmed hatred for all things American, it’s residual, and that’s a twin to his inability to perceive any upside – indeed any reason – to attack Iran, which would be that we sell oil and food and will get Rich AF? Not rocket science here. Mo’ Money Mo’ betta.
Comments:
Randomer: Yes, exactly. My example is Vietnam. But this is just illustrating soft power vs hard power. They couldn’t take the U.S. at that time and communist thinkers took a gambit they could make wars “unpopular” (that is, soft power, perception, PR, “Lies”) at home. They were right. And I agree those wars were stupid, corrupt, and probably the Iran war is too, no case has been made. But that’s exactly my point: it’s VOLUNTARY. You have to surrender for no reason at all. Multiples more in this case as we’re not losing 10 soldiers a week here or whatever it was in the Delta. This is also why it’s confused, as the two look identical. FStan was more: “Can anyone even define WTF we’re doing here?” A: Protecting the CIA’s heroin. Yeah, that’s a tough sell.“What happened to, what I thought as an agreed upon, notion that D & R are “two cheeks of the same ass”???
As I pick on Republicans daily, I’m doing my part. Or did I forget to mention Thune today?
“A negotiated settlement for a sovereign Iran is nigh impossible”
Yup. The war will still be going on when the sun burns out, a billion years from now. Trump Jr XXIV will still be fighting it against Khomeni XXIV in 2349AD. You’re fired. ALL wars are “negotiated settlements” and it doesn’t actually take all that long either. Maybe 8 years is the long side? But that’s when both sides have an army which is not the case right now. And allies (As the Revolutionary war) which both China and Russia are not.
“Iran is determined to achieve a ‘breakout’ from the ‘cage’ of 74 years of U.S. military encirclement”
You can want all kinds of things. I want stuff too. But I don’t usually get it because I also do not have an army.
“The U.S. desperately needs an exit-ramp”
Why on earth would we want or need an off ramp? So we don’t end up getting accidentally rich? Please never open the straits. We sell oil; the entire Middle East goes broke and China gets choked. Russia brings China to heel. Oh noes.
“Trump today seems torn between the prospect of ‘heavy’ military escalation”
Internal emotional state of Trump using Trump-Telepathy. Why? How? There is literally no indication of any such (Army, land-based) escalation. He will drop bombs on them from Missouri until the sun burns out. This is bad. What will Iran do with a “Heavy escalation” they cannot bomb back at NOR makes Trump unpopular since involves no troops, no deaths?
“Iran, on the other hand, has withstood the combined military pressure of the United States and Israel. Whereas Israel has failed to achieve any of its original war objectives.”
1) Yes, and more power to them and their famous force of will to withstand. Everyone respects the Persians. However, they can now shoot bows and arrows. 2) Sinking the entire Navy and killing every IRGC head 5 levels down, and more each day was never a “War objective”? You have a very strange sense of war.
Meanwhile: “RUSSIA achieved its Strategic Goals:”
WTF? I agree Russia did fine, however, they have NONE of their goals. They are not solidly at the Dnipr yet, as an easy take of all Donbas. Kiev continues to bomb their heartland daily, which is 100% different than the U.S. situation in Iran. They have big problems to resolve in Odessa, which they want and should. Ukraine is running and selling drone factories the world, and Europe is now mobilizing to a war economy, as eg Rhinemetal contracts. That’s a dozen serious problems although it’s going pretty well. This guy says they’re all solved.
U.S.: Most leaders killed, whole Navy sunk, Army completely sidelined = no objectives.
Russia, still has huge, viable, armed enemy killing 1k men/day on border, backed by entire force of combined Europe, daily bombings at home = All objectives met.“We Make S—t Up” according to our Feelz!” I WANT them to win, therefore they have!
“The US has been dragged into war by Israel” That’s odd because he seems to be bombing Israel and doing the war on behalf of the Gulf States. That is: the #Opposite.
“US & Israel Will Lose, If We Restart Iran War /Alastair Crooke & Lt Col Daniel Davis”
Say the same guys who’ve been screaming we’ve never LEFT the war. Now the war is over and we’re going to restart it? How will we lose since we’ve been running the war from Missouri?
“ANDREI MARTYANOV – IRAN WAR FIRES BACK UP” Again, never stopped but also starting. We seem at roughly the same simmer since Day 20 – so that’s despite Trump saying there’s a ceasefire. So it’s also not starting back up at all, it’s entirely unchanged. STOP MAKING STUFF UP. Andrei, does this make you look smart and informed? Maybe I’m wrong, and you can show me an incident chart or something, but I don’t think so. Shooting out over one tanker isn’t the same as everyone lobbing 80 heavy missiles a day.
“Alaska carries Trident missiles armed with nuclear warheads.”(in the Gulf)
Yes, but that’s not ALL they carry. Wouldn’t be much good if they did. Use your head. It’s possible they have NONE onboard at all right now precisely because they wanted to carry more Navy Seals, more tomahawks, whatever, they’re not going to tell you.
“The United States is funding the modernization of military bases in Cyprus in order to create an evacuation hub for the Middle East”
Are we though? We’re not going to tell you. This has to do with knocking out Turkey, a different thing. Now we’re positioning in force on Cyprus, where Turkey is occupying, toooooootally by complete coincidence they might get booted from there for “Reasons”.
“despite CIA assessments that Tehran was not building a bomb”
Well, we just boarded a ship China probably pointed out to us demonstrating Iran building mega-missiles as that was a whole ship of rocket fuel. Iran SAID they were building a bomb. THERE IS NO OTHER PURPOSE FOR REFINEMENT. The Iranian argument is “Yes we had 40 kilos of meth around the house, but we weren’t going to smoke it, officer.” No. No one on earth has discovered a second use for highly-enriched uranium. Now my perception was that they would keep it all in a basement somewhere, on tap ready to be assembled just in case. And that may be although recent behavior makes that less likely. However that’s the “Trust me Bro” plan. I wouldn’t have intervened because I don’t think the war is worth it, but other nations (apparently all the Gulf nations + Pakistan and Russia and China) DO, and I understand that. I’m like 60/40 on it, they are like 51/49, and we’re not much different. Turns out they were “right” in a sense, since my reluctance was based on the difficulty of intervening, which turns out to have been alarmingly easy.
“Russia and its Allies dealt a Crushing Blow to the US and EUROPE”
Yes, we lost the war we’re not in. The one Trump helped Putin harden themselves against war sanctions, gave Ukraine on bullet at a time, where we warned Putin ahead of time to stock oil, lifted their sanctions, and are buying their fertilizer. Europe, their aggressor, paid it all instead. Everything is an accident. All actions ever made are one big accident. That’s what we pay Intel Agencies hundred-billions for.
UK/Holocaust: For all the headline news about Jewish lobby, I can probably go out in the street and holocaust deny at the top of my lungs most days and no one would ever care or act. I’d just get tired. So yes, there’s still a lot of free speech here.
“Carter = war
Reagan = war
Bush = war
Clinton = war
Bush = war
Obama =war
Trump = war
Biden = war
Trump = war
For example”Quite so, and annoying. My point is, this isn’t new nor unique. Orange Man is not some new level, some fresh executive horror. You didn’t care last 5 Presidents, what’s the rush now? These are also not identical people and policies. What war was Carter in? Afghanistan? “Jimmy Carter is the only U.S. president to serve a full term without starting, fighting, or ending a war, though his 1977–1981 administration managed significant conflicts” (AI, guh)
“Doc D. You make an excellent grasshopper. Now, listen to the ants and STOP TYPING AND GO SHOPPING.
I told you. $6 Porterhouse. $6 flats of chuck rounds, non stop. Top gourmet coffee, $9/lb. Top cheddar, $4/lb. Chicken $2/lb. Potatoes and rice, nearly free. These are all national box stores. I can’t help that you CAN buy steak at $20, Starbucks at $20/lb, etc. TV pre-prep frozen dishes, even potatoes at $10/lb, Bologna at $12/lb — Don’t be an idiot. That’s always been true. Look in the phone book: go to the first Asian or Spanish store listed and get a start. I also do live in a high-cost area, believe it or not.
Hey, it’s Tuesday pre market and no coordination by Trump a Bessent to punish traders long oil. It’s a matter of national security to manipulate markets. Warsh takes over the Fed soon. The Lauder fam has a compound on Jupiter Island, near Tiger and not far from Mar Lago. Imagine that. Fleecing of Main Street will continue.
THE LEDGER OF SHADOWS: INSIDE AMERICA’S QUIET FINANCIAL ERASURE AND THE RISE OF A SURVEILLANCE-DRIVEN ECONOMY
Milan AdamsMay 11, 2026Did you ever pause to wonder how one group of people quietly packed and boarded trains while another group encouraged every atrocity with vigor?
I do not understand how so many find murder palatable should a flag be draped over a coffin.
“Do the mullahs still have any say? Or is it now really the IRGC?” i reckon Mr. Green has not heard about the military industrial complex. Easily overlooked.
““..maximum victory for the U.S. would look like, in addition to the other tiers of victory. “Regime change … empowering the Iranian people and giving us an Iran that could be a friend in the future..” Fitton-Brown. This dude has a phd in double speak. Lord of the Flies
I understand hope is foolish, I have never acquired a taste for despair Get your shorts ready to be wadded – blood thirsty savages run amok. freedom from people who want to murder, musings of a mad man.
Onward Christian Soldiers
Today:
DNC Congressional Map: Exactly what everybody has been telling them, including all Democrats, even DSA: GET A POLICY. They’ve been vote-rigging (let’s even pretend legally , like this) for so many decades, and the result is, they only do law and procedural, with no ground game, policy for actual VOTERS. There are plenty, so I’ll repeat “Medicare for All” again. And they’re the party of Billionaires, Government workers, and white PMCs, so yes they could give actual concessions BUT THEY DON’T HAVE TO. Just LIE!!! Lie, lie and lie s’more! Just SAY you care, you know healthcare, food, (lockdowns, chopping up your kids) then do it anyway! They always have before for 250 years, why not now? (A: Narcissists, mentally ill. They need you to KNOW they are grinding and power-over you)
Here they’re about to blow up in an epic pyre will be in history books forever and STILL won’t change, not even not change, like throw millenial kids a bone from Wall St, but WON’T EVEN LIE and PRETEND they care about workers. Breathtaking.Anyway, it may seem vote-rigging works great – cause it did! …But then this happens. You find out stealing is easy and steal more and more and more until you’re stealing so much, so carelessly, you get caught. Do the work, you can’t dodge the work, as I think DBS would say. You may think lying is fooling God and Reality: it’s not.
“Start arresting poll workers”...start arresting ANYONE. “Literally Hitler” where literally no one is arrested, for daily calling for the assassination of Hitler, then taking action to do so, with Congress and Judges helping, who are also not dissolved, rounded up and arrested. That’s just how Stalin would have done it, right? That’s what “Fascist dictator” means: arrests literally no one.
“Bankrupting the insurance Cartels. Something has to be done.”
He’s attacking the Food Packing cartel, openly. Well he’s also attacking all the other cartels. Hegseth hammered the Defense contractors. RFK is after pharma. Trump said he’s cutting off medical insurers, giving the money to the people instead. Etc. Now we need to see ACTION, when we’ve only got positive noise so far, but that’s more than 50 years.
“What happened in Germany? Has the left virus completely eaten their minds?”
I was thinking the opposite: why are any of the others still willing? I’m not fighting for Macron or Queer Stalin.
“Iran act like they’re winning.”Why are they lockstep, eerily identical to Ukraine? A: They’re both run by London. See “Boris Johnson”. And thus 2M will die in Iran too.
“as even the ceasefire is one of “the weakest, on life support”: President Donald Trump
Yes, one might even say there’s no ceasefire at all, it’s laughable. Why? The point was they needed “A war” at the 60-day mark to have “Soft Power” Congress vote to surrender. Trump needed a “Ceasefire”, real or fake on that day. Everyone just let Trump do it. As above, even the moronic Fox commentators act as if there was a break. Okay, another day you dips handed Orange Man another win, thanks. If you hadn’t been lying, you wouldn’t have done that. Just. Tell. The. Truth.
““There is no scenario in Islamic law in which a Muslim force and a non-Muslim one sign a treaty for a lasting peace, lay down their arms, and coexist.”
You might say this isn’t true, but ancient acts, and recently 20 years of history, demonstrate that’s essentially true. In modern practice, right this minute.
“The short version is that China is hurt more by the growing oil crisis than the U.S. is.”
Literally we win “The War against China” the “Thucydides Trap” without firing a shot. And get rich AF. I cannot possibly see any motive for this epic blunder, Alex3 says. Must be a big dummy. Golly gee.
“• Khamenei Orders Iran’s Army To ‘Continue Decisive Operations’ (Cradle)
I also give orders. And I wear my Napoleon Field coat when I do it. No one listens.
“• EU Prepares For ‘Potential’ Talks With Putin As US Slowly Reduces Troops (ZH)
I have nothing to point at so I don’t say it, but all the quiet position, decision, relative value of Russian strategy implies they are waiting, bringing, all Europe to heel as all Europe “collapses”. Maybe one by one, maybe all at once, maybe over 10-20 years, but it’s there. Europe will seriously decline. That’s why Putin doesn’t want to push and have it over in a hurry, although this costs him in priceless Russian men per day. If he did, and Europe was too strong, Europe would be able to push their advantage and harm Russia more, getting a second wind for 4 more years.
So add that to PCR’s “I’m ordering you to Shock and Awe and rush to occupy hostile Lviv and meet NATO at the Polish border.” Um, no. You idiot. I thought so too but I never gamed it out, and that was four years ago where I updated my map in weeks. He can be wrong every day and stay the same, which means he’s at a sore lack of being punched in the face to make him see and adjust to reality.
Watching these pointless deaths (and in Iran too) is my version of being emotionally punched in the face. However I also don’t lose my mind and cry. As a man, it’s my job to remain coldly rational and therefore coldly functional. Lighting my hair on fire for hate only helps the enemy, the real enemy: The Morningstar. Don’t do that. Hate is not the side of the angels.
““You ask for miracles, Theo? I give you the Virginia Democrats.” —Hans Gruber”
As in “Updating your mental map” everyone like Krainer is still saying Trump has to surrender to Iran to win the midterm. No. I mean, srsly, NO. And Trump clearly knew this all along. Maybe this is all from Epstein Files he has on USSC and SCVa, but the point is, he probably has 50 such cards in his hands he’s not playing yet. Everyone “Just says” he has nothing, every day since he knocked out 12 GOP candidates like paper in 2016, another “Complete accident”. They “Accidentally” withdrew from the race as a pure coincidence, like the day after he pointed out Ted Cruz’s father was in Dallas on assassination day. Apropos to nothing, Ted, a top candidate, withdrew the next day. But he’s an idiot and also didn’t have cards on the other 11, like Jeb Bush. For seriously???
“• Zelensky Touts That 20 Countries Seek Ukraine Drone Deals (ZH)
HOW, is this possible, and Russia doesn’t level the factories? JHC. Is this a war or a puppet show.
“• Trump Floats Making Venezuela The 51st State (ZH)
Big part of this is upsetting the Status Quo. We see this in Economy, in Hormuz. They say, “But everything was great before he came along.” Really? THAT is your argument? That from 1970- 2010 the U.S. was NOT getting worse and worse for everyone, every hour of every day, screwing everyone, killing millions of us, and become ever more a vicious war-making Empire? So you all DEFEND the status quo, every billionaire, CNN, Disney, Google, Bill Gates? This is how you, on the Right, ALSO “Resist”? With Nike’s slave-making plants in Asia?
I’m AGAINST the Empire, actually. I’m AGAINST the status quo. Like for reals. So when someone upsets it and breaks it, I’m HAPPY. Unlike, eg Jeff Sachs, who is super sad.
So saying things like this is just Trump’s general outlook: WHY do things have to be the way they’ve always been? Why NOT just make a deal to change them? Get everyone at a table and see what happens. Make everyone re-define what they WANT, for real, who they are, inside when put to it. Like Canada. Good example: WHO are you Canada? What do you WANT, for real, when put against the wall? No one’s asked in generations. So? What is it? What’s your greatest wish and what will you pay for it? Is there a deal where we both win?
But Greenland or Ven too. Or Cuba. Really Cuba should be the new territory and we can make Puerto Rico a full state. Of course Ritter says we must expel Puerto Rico from the U.S. by Friday and ruin all the U.S. citizens who live there, but who listens to him? I’d rather make them a full state instead of a money-laundering loophole that’s getting dumped on, where we shut their power off and laugh, warehouses full of water we won’t deliver, all kicked back to DC.
These are ideas: what do the People of those places want? And what does that mean? A few always will and a few always won’t. What does it mean to “Decide” for the whole place and people?
“• “You Just Can’t Earn a Billion Dollars”: AOC (Turley)
It’s pretty bizarre. Taking the other side, I’ll argue this is true: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Zuck, all MADE UP. Elon, all MADE UP. Either they were already billionaire families, OR lately, the Intel Agencies, CIA just print infinity money, kill all all your competition, real or metaphorically, and essentially HAND you the money. There is zero capitalism to be found anywhere. Too many cases to follow, but do we have Sherman anti-trust anywhere? I thought that was a thing? The Meat-packer cartel are lily-white jungle capitalism compared to the economy in tech, data, weapons, space, oil….
So AOC is right…if she were to say that. None of them invented the light bulb and made it against competition without outrageous government. Every one was born to a billionaire family.
“Barack Hussein Obama return $120 million that he allegedly earned through ownership related to “Obamacare.”
We’re hearing a lot of insider trading on oil this month. Anyone giving that back?
“FBI wiretapped Susie Wiles during a PRIVILEGED CALL with her lawyer without the consent of EITHER party.”
Are you kidding? I just assume they are always and haven’t been wrong. I assume if I had a traffic ticket they would do this. So because they did this, and nothing has happened, they’ve stopped now, right? Because: No arrests, no punishment? Yes, I’ve heard pearl clutching while letting them retire at old age with 6 figures and full health care causes reforms like that.
Hantavirus: Must be hard AF to get it. But Collum, John Cullen is worth watching though goes everywhere.
A footnote is that Hanta is probably super easy to fix and Japan already has the cure for pennies.
More relevant is that he follows Kirk where a Pentagon super-spy jet appears to have dropped high-speed, high tech Israeli military drones before Kirk, which were seen all over on film, then came in an picked them up again immediately after. So that’s odd. Who has control of the Pentagon’s top, top tech and jets? To kill Kirk? Boy sure seems like Trump is on a very short list there. Listen carefully would also explain the ‘bullet’.
““To keep people apart so they wouldn’t acquire natural immunity.” And die by millions.
Yes, we know. And no one has been arrested. Discuss?“what would you sell first? You would sell the most liquid dollar asset you owned.”
Yes, but the Treasury/Fed can eat this. IF – if if if if if – support for the US$ stays strong. But it can’t. Someone else would have to collapse if that were the case. Someone would have to be WORSE than the US$ — a LOT worse, and very, very large.
Yes, we know. They’re called “Europe”. It’s them or us and they’ve been plotting to kill us all for 20-30 years so too bad, so sad.
THE CORE CURRENCY FAILS LAST. Now which is it, US$ or Euro? Absolutely totally, rock-solid the Dollar. The Euro found out IT HAD NO TRACTION. All the “Euro” traffic was Europe/Russian oil trades. That disappeared, so did the uptake and use of the Euro. So no way. No f—ing way. The BRIICS just said the same. They’re not even trying to unseat the US$.
This was said in China dumping, Europe dumping. THEY BOTH TRIED and NOT A RIPPLE. So probably not.
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Mullahs Already
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Daoshi Already
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Rabbis Already
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Gurus Already
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Priests Already
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Shamans Already
• Dear Mr. President: Just Finish the Bhikkhu Alreadywe must be equal opportunity murderous thugs, after all.
[attention five eyes! this is sarcasm]
“I believe that there will be ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don’t think it will be based on the color of the skin.” ~ Malcolm X
tdk the god in the machine is already planning your list. One of the first parts of the human psyche put down after The Great Schism was contemplation. All of human emotion will be exorcised in The Great Ai Schism. The perfection of the roman church is upon us. I am prepared to be unable to buy or sell. And you?
well, mr “high cost area”, us folks down here in “po’ folk land” see other things.
(actually, this po’folk lives in a high cost area, but them rich folk really don’t want me here)
i remember the prices very, very well for the items i buy. i consider myself (ever so humbly) to be quite an adept shopper. for example, in february of 2020, i augmented my already considerable pantry considerably. thus, when the whole world was terrified, waiting in line outside costco six idiocies apart, i was sitting in my back yard “enjoying” the show..
i was away from food purchases for about two weeks. upon my return, the price of produce,
i.e. the stuff that will most immediately reflect inflationary pressures,
has gone up 20, 30, 40 and even 50%.
in
two
weeks.
tboc: i believe i understood your comment until “I am prepared to be unable to buy or sell. And you?”
with a little clarification, i will gladly respond.
ciao!
Mr. Meijer perhaps you will propose a more fitting piece of music for a theme song. The Theme for The Pink Panther was considered but after all it lost to Mary Poppins at the 37th Academy awards.
Chim Chim Cher-ee
I know, something by Wagner! Who doesn’t love the smell of napalm in the morning? Maybe The Beatles, Happiness Is A Warm Gun?
The Django-esque phrasing of the guitar in The Third Man Theme was a pleasant contrast to the simplicity of the motif.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a melody worth?
A scooter, a child, her father and a drone?Irony is not dead but metaphor…………
tdk i have the sense the insantiy of the moment strikes at the core of your being. Those who will not go along to get along are facing a tough row to hoe. The question “and you?” was for your internal contemplation, not an indictment. I truly hope to have the intestinal fortitude to resist, we shall see.
The protestants have no litany of saints such that most believe Christian martyrdom died with The Enlightenment. Hardly anyone understands the phrase, “do you have a stake in it?”. Who knows the name Giordano Bruno?
No offense was intended, please forgive if one was taken.
Secrets
2020 was the attempt of overthrow.https://x.com/Real_RobN/status/2053635138765062154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2053635138765062154%7Ctwgr%5Ed0e1178b858673a9ce16498882903159f84b70ea%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwtww.theautomaticearth.com%2F2026%2F05%2Fdebt-rattle-may-12-2026%2F
—————
hypocrisy and Lies
Stil Looking for a dance partner, Who is looking for an exit-ramp to peace?
Who listens?Iran’s demands for the war to stop, for the US to lift its blockade, and the release Iran’s frozen assets, remain legitimate..
—————–Hantavirus prediction in 2020.
At 15:15 time stamp – usual behavior of our “small hat crickets” followed by the short cover story that made title of the blog.
Enjoy.Tboc: no offense — far from it.
My studies of the saintly types are limited, so I just reached for clarification.
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Germ! We sure need you back..
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: “Couples who do major felonies together, stay together”.
Well, Don and Melania will also certainly be sharing each other’s sulphuric wretchedness for all of eternity. Hopefully the administrators of the fiery pits find them “nice” neighbors. Perhaps those friendly Obamas will fit into their high cost area.
Here’s my suggestion for a theme for the new, deproved [Ed. Unimproved] Automatic Zionist:
Oh, Lord, don’t let ’em shoot us
Oh, Lord, don’t let ’em stab us
Oh, Lord, no more swastikas
Oh, Lord, don’t let ’em tar and feather us![Chorus]
Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan
Name me someone who’s ridiculous, Dannie
Governor Faubus!
Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
He won’t permit integrated schools
Then he’s a fool!Boo! Nazi Fascist supremists!
Boo! Ku Klux Klan (With your Jim Crow plan)[Chorus]
Name me a handful that’s ridiculous, Dannie Richmond
Bilbo, Thomas, Faubus, Russel, Rockefeller, Byrd, EisenhowerWhy are they so sick and ridiculous?
Two, four, six, eight:
They brainwash and teach you hateH-E-L-L-O, Hello
Boo! Nazi Fascist supremists!
Boo! Ku Klux Klan (With your Jim Crow plan)[Chorus]
Name me a handful that’s ridiculous, Dannie Richmond
Bilbo, Thomas, Faubus, Russel, Rockefeller, Byrd, Eisenhower
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?
Two, four, six, eight:
They brainwash and teach you hateToo bad ranchers don’t live in high cost areas:
While that’s GOOD for consumers, it’s VERY bad for us cattle ranchers. Our input costs are still sky high. Think: Transport (diesel costs), tractor parts, labor, fertilizer etc. These costs DONT come down for us with this. It just makes us compete with lower cost, lower quality imported beef
Building the Ballroom has no tax payer money. However, …
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/11/politics/trump-ballroom-security-funding-congress
Senate Republicans weigh whether to swallow Trump’s $1B push for ballroom securityJ-kitchen-sink thrown at us as if we haven’t had enough.
But…. don’t look what we do….. you cattle!For Dr. D –
FWIW, Wikipedia says the SSBN ballistic missile submarine USS Alaska is not the same configuration as cruise missile submarines, aka “SSGNs capable of conducting conventional land attack and special operations.”
SSGNs capable of conducting conventional land attack and special operations… payload possibilities include new generations of supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles, and Submarine Launched Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles,[citation needed] unmanned aerial vehicles, the ADM-160 MALD, sensors for antisubmarine warfare or intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, counter mine warfare payloads such as the AN/BLQ-11 Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System, and the broaching universal buoyant launcher and stealthy affordable capsule system specialized payload canisters.
The missile tubes also have room for stowage canisters that can extend the forward deployment time for special forces. The other two Trident tubes are converted to swimmer lockout chambers. For special operations, the Dry Combat Submersible (which replaced the Advanced SEAL Delivery System), as well as the dry deck shelter, can be mounted on the lockout chamber and the boat will be able to host up to 66 special-operations sailors or Marines, such as Navy SEALs, or USMC MARSOC teams. Improved communications equipment installed during the upgrade allows the SSGNs to serve as a forward-deployed, clandestine Small Combatant Joint Command Center.
Chas has not translated to Nixon the whisper that he may have overheard: “Just let your greedy “job creators” bring all the manufacturing to us. We’ll fuck you up in a few decades or so.”
Greek tanker carrying oil from Iraq (not Iran) to Vietnam reportedly forced to turn back near Oman (at the US Navy’s blockade line) after getting through the Hormuz Strait.
According to multiple shipping and media reports, the vessel had been transporting Iraqi crude oil bound for Vietnam after departing Iraq’s Al Basrah terminal.
The tanker had successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz using a route authorised by Iranian authorities and travelled via officially declared shipping lanes, Iranian media reported.
However, ship-tracking data later showed the vessel abruptly changing course near the Gulf of Oman before eventually turning back, amid heightened naval tensions involving the United States and Iran. Reports linking the manoeuvre directly to intervention by the U.S. Navy have circulated online, although no official confirmation has been issued by U.S. authorities at this stage.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2026/05/12/agios-fanourios-i-tanker-oman-hormuz/?amp
* Trump Daily Synopsis
– TAE = Trump Always Everywhere
– Trump announces new Treasury auctions at gunpoint; Supply and demand
– Happy Bill; Dopey W; Bashful Barry; Sleepy Joe; Grumpy Trumpy
– Trump has such huge cojones he needs more ball room* Economics
– The first domino has fallen
– Market manipulation safeguards national security
– Surveillance drives the economy
– A rising tide drowns all sheep
– Prep now; It’ll soon be the grasshoppers vs the ants and the grasshoppers will be armed* Etc.
– Victory for the US in Iran will smell like napalm in the morning
– On Ted Cruz: I may agree with what you say, but I prefer a slow death to listening to you say it
– Power couples: The couple that slays together stays together
– AI will exorcise all human emotions so fast it’ll make your head spinToday I learned that a submerged nuclear ballistic missile submarine can receive launch orders from a special aircraft (such as a Boeing E-6A) using very low frequency communications.
Yesterday, one of those E-6A aircraft flew to Europe from the US, and today a US ballistic missile submarine was reported to have embarked on a “Mediterranean Patrol.”
“USS Alaska Leaves Gibraltar for Mediterranean Patrol as US Navy E-6A Arrival Raises Strategic Questions”
The ballistic missile submarine believed to be USS Alaska (SSBN-732) departed Gibraltar today heading east into the Mediterranean after arriving on Saturday, in a movement that comes just one day after the arrival in Europe of a US Navy E-6A Mercury aircraft.
Unlike attack submarines, SSBNs represent one of the core components of the American nuclear triad, designed to provide survivable second-strike capability. For that reason alone, deployments of this kind are always strategically sensitive, even when conducted routinely.
What makes the movement particularly interesting is the near-simultaneous presence in Europe of a US Navy E-6A Mercury tracked yesterday. The aircraft serves as an airborne nuclear command post capable of relaying launch orders to US ballistic missile submarines through very low frequency communications.
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