Monthly Archives: June 2017

Jun 29 2017

ABC/Disney Co. Settles $1.9 Billion BPI Defamation Lawsuit – “Pink Slime” Case…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 28, 2017 by

Stunning win for Beef Products Inc (BPI) in a $1.9 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC news (Disney Co.)

The civil trial began June 5th and ABC legal executives must have see the writing on the wall as the initial $1.9 billion in damages could have potentially tripled under South Dakota law (treble damages) to $5.7 billion if they allowed the three week trial to continue.

The actual defamation settlement is undisclosed.  However, at the point of settlement all reasonable assumptions must be that BPI was well positioned to win far more than the initially demanded settlement amount of $1.9 billion.

(Reuters) – The U.S. ABC television network, owned by Walt Disney Co <DIS.N>, has settled its closely watched defamation lawsuit with Beef Products Inc over news reports on a processed beef product that critics dubbed “pink slime,” both companies said on Wednesday.

Terms of the settlement, which also covered the Beef Products Inc (BPI) claims against ABC reporter Jim Avila, were not disclosed.

Privately-held BPI had claimed that the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Avila defamed the company by calling its processed beef product “pink slime” and making errors and omissions in a series of 2012 reports. BPI calls the product “lean finely textured beef.”

BPI attorney Dan Webb told Reuters the settlement came together “quickly this week,” but declined to provide details, citing a confidentiality agreement signed by both parties.

The settlement came 3-1/2 weeks after the trial in the case got under way in Elk Point, South Dakota, around 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Sioux City, Iowa. BPI is based in nearby Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.  (read more)

The ramifications of this $1.9+ Billion defamation lawsuit victory will extend far beyond the media settlement in this case and will surely send a massive shock-wave through every media enterprise engaged in investigative and opinion journalism.

Next Up?

Jun 29 2017

EU Political Elites Worried President Trump May Form Alliance With Poland…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 29, 2017 by

President Trump is scheduled to visit Poland on July 6th prior to the upcoming G20 Summit in Germany.   According to a new Reuters report several top-level EU politicians are concerned Polish leadership and President Trump might just get along swimmingly.

2016: “I pledge to you a Trump Administration will be a true friend to Poland and to all Polish Americans.”  ~ Donald Trump

Poland is one of the few EU countries that actually spends the agreed upon amount of 2% GDP for NATO defense.  One of the concerns amid the non-compliant EU nations, is that the visit will present another opportunity for vulgarian President Trump to embarrass the superior EU intellectuals over their ongoing lack of financial support; while simultaneously engaging in fellowship with like-minded vulgarian poles.

(Reuters) […] Brussels diplomats view the July 6 gathering, dubbed the Three Seas summit because the countries involved border the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas, as a Polish bid to carve out influence outside the European Union with which the nationalist government has repeatedly clashed.

[…]  Most diplomats in Brussels dismiss the importance of the Three Seas project, co-hosted by Croatia, but are wary over Trump’s high-profile visit to participate in a project one senior EU official called Poland’s push towards “self-ghettoisation”.

“One cannot but feel a bit suspicious if it isn’t an attempt to break up European unity,” another EU diplomat said about the Three Seas project.

Within the Reuters report outlining the concerns from within Brussels, a few specific quotes provide a particular resonance of the inherent snobbery and elitism:

[…] “We encourage Mr Trump to get out and travel as much as he can. He needs to understand Europe and he can do that by getting out and speaking to people, to European leaders,” said one European official, who declined to be named.

“(But) he can’t do deals with individual countries over the head of the European Union,” he said. “In Hamburg, he will hear different arguments, we can clear up anything that has been misconstrued.” (more)

How typically condescending of the “unnamed” EU official?

How dare President Donald Trump talk to leaders of European countries without the expressed permission of the magnanimous Brussels proletariat?

Good heavens man, the unimaginable horror of it…

[…]  Underscoring Warsaw’s mistrust towards the EU, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo recently called an EU quotas policy for relocation of refugees from the Middle East “a madness of Brussels elites”, in a speech in parliament.

In turn, EU leaders delivered a snub to Poland’s government by steamrolling its objections and reappointing former Polish premier Donald Tusk to chair summits. Szydlo, acting on orders from party boss and long-time Tusk adversary Jaroslaw Kaczynski, had vowed to stop him securing a second 30-month term.

Warsaw portrayed the issue as one of fundamental principle, in which vital national interests had been ignored by a Brussels machine dominated by “German diktat”. Its crushing defeat showed how far the biggest of the ex-communist states that joined the EU after the Cold War appears isolated, even in Eastern Europe.

Deeply distrustful of Moscow, Poland hopes Trump, who once called NATO “obsolete”, will reconfirm his commitment to the alliance’s military build-up in eastern Europe, a deterrence policy against Russia, and possibly promise more.

The United States has about 900 troops on Polish soil as part of a rotating NATO contingent in eastern Europe.  (read more)

Poland is a proud and strong Christian nation filled with nationalists and patriots. And President Trump is rightly affording Poland global recognition for being on the leading edge of the right side of history!  WATCH:

Jun 29 2017

European Refugee Crisis Was Created in an Undemocratic Manner


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Jun 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The very issue of the European Refugee Crisis highlights the entire problem with the European Union. There is no democratic union whatsoever. The issue of accepting refugees was a unilateral decision by Merkel alone. It was never put to vote in Europe. Once the migration turned to a full blown crisis, Merkel then insisted that all member state had to accept their share.

The statistics show that 70% of the migrants are young men. Not families or women and children. This is resembling an invading army. Brussels is using the Refugee Crisis to push the federalization of Europe and suppress all member states to second class sovereigns subject to authoritarian power, denying the people any right to vote on any issue in Brussels.

This is now about seizing power in Brussels by virtual dictatorial means. The arrogance of those demanding the surrender of sovereignty over the Refugee Crisis is unbelievable. There is absolutely no consideration whatsoever for the consequences to European culture if they are wrong.

Jun 29 2017

India Taxing Gold (Hunt for Taxes)


Armstrong Economics Blog/Gold

Re-Posted Jun 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

India has been fighting the gold trade for the past few years. They have sought to highly restrict it to prevent the net capital outflow. They even attempted to impose a 18% tax. As of July 1st, 2017, India is imposing a tax on gold bullion be it in coin or bar form of 3%. Gold jewelry in India is subject to a 5% tax. Many families have been rushing to buy gold jewelry in particular before the tax comes at the end of the week, Gold has played a traditional role in Hindu weddings. The “wedding season” actually begins only in the winter, but the advent of the tax is causing a mad rush. We saw the same human response in Japan the monthly prior to the imposition of the sales tax.

Narendra Modi has not merely tried to outlaw cash as much as possible last November, he is also responsible for the introduction of new taxes on the trading of physical gold. Modi has been very repressive in his policy objectives. Over the past few months, several complaints have been filed that financial officials of the government confiscates gold stocks of citizens without giving reasons .

Modi is trying to force India into the 21st century to comply with G20 objectives of eliminating all cash to enable a more efficient tax collection effor

Jun 29 2017

South Australia in Financial Trouble


Armstrong Economics Blog/Australia & Oceania

Re-Posted Jun 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty; Thank you for doing your conference in Hong Kong. It made it really convenient for all us from Downunder. You are probably aware that South Australia is broke and they just imposed a huge tax on the banks. They are calling it the “surprise tax” of $280 million on the top 5 banks. Many who just hate the banks are cheering. You said at the cocktail party that South Australia was in deep trouble. While most cheer because they hate the bankers, they are missing the real krass here. The government is broke.

Thanks for a great conference, BTW, I attended your Adelaide conference in the nineties.

PK

REPLY: Yes, it is the “krass” point that South Australia is broke. They cheer taxing the bankers, but they are indeed overlooking the cause why they imposed the “surprise tax” in the first place. South Australia is struggling with the country’s highest unemployment rate, which has reduced tax revenues when they expected more.

I haven’t been to Adelaide since then. That was a good conference. I took some time to go into the bush. It was beautiful. Bought a painting of the landscape there I still have.

Hope you met Phil. He attended the Perth Conference around the same time I did that Australian tour

Jun 28 2017

Why is President Trump Threatening Assad Over Chemical Weapon Use?…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 28, 2017 by

There are people on all sides of the political continuum entirely missing the reason for President Trump to threaten Bashir Assad publicly.   Key word to understanding the Trump motive is: “publicly“.

President Trump, according to all high-brow punditry, is breaking diplomatic and national security norms by announcing the threat of punishment publicly instead of directly to Assad via a back-channel like Russia.  However, that approach appears entirely by design; not by some arbitrary dispatch or happenstance breech of security protocol.

Here’s the big picture.

♦ FIRST – Who benefits from the U.S. attacking, weakening or taking out Assad?

Four primary groups:

  • #1) Assad’s political opposition.
  • #2) Islamic Extremist groups (ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra et al) ie. The Muslim Brotherhood.
  • #3) Turkey and Recep Erdogan; and
  • #4) John McCain, Evan McMullin, Adam Kinzinger, the industrial war complex and neo-cons etc.

♦ SECOND – President Trump doesn’t want to engage in Syria beyond the elimination of ISIS (al-Qaeda, al-Nusra) etc.  Trump’s announced strategy is to defeat the Islamic extremists, ISIS; and then work on a regional governorship type structure toward a diplomatic internal political solution (Rex Tillerson).

[…]  In terms of the future of Bashar al-Assad, it is important to us that we undertake a political process that leads to the final conclusion of how Syria will be governed. It is our policy for a unified Syria that is governed by the people of Syria.

I think it is clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end; but the question of how that ends and the transition itself could be very important, in our view, to the durability, the stability inside of a unified Syria, and its stability and durability of the outcome going forward.

So that’s why we are not presupposing how that occurs, but I think it is clear that we see no further role for the Assad regime longer-term given that they have effectively given up their legitimacy with these type of attacks.  (more) ~ Rex Tillerson

However, all of the four aforementioned vested interests want a civil war type military conflict and the mutually beneficial opportunities arising therein.

♦ THIRD – Bashir Assad, and by extension Vladimir Putin and Iran, don’t want to see ISIS defeated (leading to space for a political opposition within the country).  So long as the fire that is ISIS remains, the fireman that is Assad has a purpose. Assad has a vested interest in containing, but not necessarily defeating, ISIS.

That’s why Russia and Assad made so much initial progress crushing ISIS then paused and preferred to just contain them. For several months Assad/Putin have NOT been working to eliminate ISIS or the Muslim Brotherhood.  ISIS has become the shield for Assad to remain in power with a purpose to sell to the rest of the world.

All of Assad/Putin’s recent military engagements have been targeted attacks against Assad’s political opposition, not extremists and jihadists.

• President Trump wants ISIS defeated; Assad/Putin, notsomuch.

•ISIS, Turkey, the EU and John McCain want Assad defeated (regime change);  President Trump, notsomuch.

Who has a vested interest in using Chemical Weapons that will draw the U.S. into removing Assad?  Answer: ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, Turkey, Recep Erdogan, John McCain, Evan McMullin, Deep State CIA and EU counterparts etc.

To counteract this interest President Trump tells the world publicly:

“If, however, Mr. Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.” (link)

In essence any entity that uses chemical weapons will trigger an attack against Assad.

So what’s Assad’s best play now?

Stop anyone from using Chemical Weapons.

What does that mean?

It means Assad/Putin needs to fight ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra etc. to ensure chemical weapons are not used.

This forces Assad to fight the and defeat forces he and Putin, in actuality, don’t want to fight (but Trump does).

If Assad doesn’t fight to defeat ISIS (al-Qaeda, al-Nusra etc.) he runs the risk of those people using chemical weapons to initiate Assad’s own demise.  Ergo it is now in Assad’s best interest to fight ISIS (al-Qaeda, al-Nusra etc.).

♦ Lastly, by making the threat as big, loud and unusually public as possible, it stops the rogue industrial war machine: CIA, Senator John McCain, Evan McMullin, Adam Kizinger and the Muslim Brotherhood crew, from using chemical weapons to force Trump’s hand.

The unusually public broadcast by President Trump makes it transparently clear that Bashir Assad wouldn’t be the most likely suspect, and increases the likelihood any covert false-flag operator would be fingered.

The McCain crew customarily prefer shadows, not sunlight.

In essence, Trump presents protection to Assad from the rogue Deep State CIA operatives who work with John McCain and crew on all of their regime change operations on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.

That’s why President Trump used the *unusual* public announcement approach.

If chemical weapons are used, the global community will question the motives of the user.  As a consequence, if chemical weapons are used President Trump has also given himself space to question the motives of the user.

Those who initiate war and regime change are usually successful.  Look at their success with the ‘vast Russian conspiracy’ in the U.S. election.  President Trump has no ambitions to be manipulated into such a position.  So,… go loud:

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Jun 28 2017

Chances Are you Are A Genius if you Read this Blog – It’s All in the Methodology


Armstrong Economics Blog/Education

Re-Posted Jun 28, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I too watched Genius on the life of Einstein. It also left me with the same feeling that it was a parallel to your life right down to the Russian girlfriend you had that the government cancelled her visa. You both seem to have accomplished things others could not see even existed. Your war cycle is amazing. You can feel the rise in tension everywhere from the clash between Hollywood and Johnny Depp boldly saying when was the last time an actor assassinated a president to Hindus and Muslims erupting in India because Muslims were slaughtering cattle. Is there some distinction between this parallel between you and Einstein seeing what other do not?

Thank you so very much

UT

ANSWER: The common denominator between myself and Einstein is the same with Adam Smith all the way back to Socrates. It is NOT some mystic level of intelligence that makes one smarter than everyone else. It is all about vision and the willingness to explore without bias or prejudice. To see the world for the first time like a child and stare at it in wonder. Anyone who thinks dynamically can do what I do or Einstein. It is all in the methodology.

What I try to do with this blog is show you the world and allow you to connect the dots to grasp how the same trends unfold and move around the world. We are all just human and subject to influences by others. Some call this the mob effect. We can choose with free will to just follow the mob, or breakout and think for ourselves.

Formal education imposes tests and you have to study facts as they perceive them. If you differ, you fail. All great minds rebel against traditional education. There have been studies on what people call “genius” and they have revealed that all such people do poorly in school and tend to get in trouble. The school records of the young Winston Churchill revealed the future war leader was a “naughty child” the teachers said would amount to nothing. In the case of Einstein, his Munich schoolmaster wrote in Albert Einstein’s school report, “He will never amount to anything”, back in 1895.

I have been compared to so many people who are regarded as a “genius” yet people have no clue what they are trying to arrive at. It has NOTHING to do with the level of intelligence. It is all about dynamic thinking and methodology. I have written before, if you read this blog, chances are you too fall into the category of being a “genius” for your thinking process. The difference is the majority of the world walk around with blinders on like a horse pulling a carriage in New York City at central park. They only can see direction what is in front of them. This is why A students work for C students, and B students work for government. William Manchest wrote in the Last Lion:

“Studies at the University of Chicago and the University of Minnesota have found that teachers smile on children with high IQs and frown upon those with creative minds. In­telligent but uncreative students accept conformity, never rebel, and complete their assignments with dispatch and to perfection. The creative child, on the other hand, is manipulative, imaginative, and intuitive. He is likely to harass the teacher. He is regarded as wild, naughty, silly, unde­pendable, lacking in seriousness or even promise.“

So if your child is smart, yet not the greatest student, remember that the qualities that make for great success are not taught in school, they are actually suppressed. The creativity comes from those who challenge the establishment, and never conform.

Remember also that we are only as old as we see ourselves in our own mind. You are as young as you see yourself. Once you see yourself as old, age will move much faster.

Albert Einstein had half a dozen girlfriends and told his wife they showered him with “unwanted” affection, according to letters released. Quite a bit has survived concerning his love life and to say he was prolific in that regard is a fair statement.

The last love of Einstein’s life before he died in 1955 was Margarita Konenkova who was a Soviet spy. My Russian girlfriend was not a spy. We met in Tokyo and had to speak Japanese until she picked up English.

True, the government cancelled her visa stranding her in Russia during Christmas to put pressure on me. It did not work. You cannot cut deals with people who are so corrupt and evil, there is no guarantee they would ever honor anything they ever say no less promise. I read the script for the movie. She made the cut. So yes, a curious parallel indeed.

Now, to answer the second part, take the war cycle. Understanding that in comprehending cycles, whatever the subject matter, alter the wavelength or frequency and you arrive at a different effect. This is basic fundamentals from physics and it is illustrated here with the electromagnetic wave variation.

The key is you do not begin with a predetermined expectation you are trying to prove.  You explore like a child in wonder and simply let the results carry you to a new discovery.

Do not ask me WHY there is a cyclical force that results in rising tension and war, albeit domestic (civil unrest) or international conflicts. You cannot reduce it to a single cause and effect any more than you can explain LOVE. It is a complex interaction of many aspects that combine to produce the result. The most dominant factor is always economics. Thus, war never comes when everyone is fat and happy.

 
Jun 28 2017

The Firm That Created the Dossier Refuses to Produce Docs to Congress


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Jun 28, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

 

The clandestine firm that created the false dossier on Trump is refusing to cooperate with Congress. They are refusing to turn over to congress information of not just how the report was crafted, but who paid for it.

The Senate Judiciary Committee threatened now to subpoena the firm, Fusion GPS, after it refused to answer questions and provide records to the panel. They have been ordered to identify who financed the fake dossier, which was circulated during the election and has sparked much of the Russian scandal now engulfing the White House cost untold millions so far in investigations.

The firm is clearly a partisan operation that is typical of Washington DC based research. They will turn out whatever they are told for big bucks. The firm has gotten caught with its hand in the cookie jar because the mainstream media has used the Russian scam to constantly bash Trump. Fusion GPS describes itself as a “research and strategic intelligence firm” founded by “three former Wall Street Journal investigative reporters.” You might as well say three cab drivers since being a journalist does not qualify as having experience in anything except English class.

This is one firm that may have flown too close to the political sun and it could find itself with melting wings and in prison.

Jun 27 2017

Undercover Video: CNN Producer Admits Russia Story is “Bullsh*t”, Manufactured For Ratings…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 27, 2017 by

Project Veritas and James O’Keefe has produced another explosive undercover story showcasing CNN producers who admit the Trump-Russia story is manufactured and promoted for ratings by the network.  Watch The Video

(NEW YORK) — Project Veritas has released a video of CNN Producer John Bonifield who was caught on hidden-camera admitting that there is no proof to CNN’s Russia narrative.

“I mean, it’s mostly bullshit right now,” Bonifield says. “Like, we don’t have any giant proof.”  He confirms that the driving factor at CNN is ratings:

“It’s a business, people are like the media has an ethical phssssss… All the nice cutesy little ethics that used to get talked about in journalism school you’re just like, that’s adorable. That’s adorable. This is a business.”

According to the CNN Producer, business is booming. “Trump is good for business right now,” he concluded.

Bonifield further goes on to explain that the instructions come straight from the top, citing the CEO, Jeff Zucker:

“Just to give you some context, President Trump pulled out of the climate accords and for a day and a half we covered the climate accords. And the CEO of CNN (Jeff Zucker) said in our internal meeting, he said good job everybody covering the climate accords, but we’re done with that, let’s get back to Russia.”

Bonifield also acknowledged: “I haven’t seen any good enough evidence to show that the President committed a crime.” He continues: (read more)

 

Jun 27 2017

May Forms Government To Retain Power in Britain


Armstrong Economics Blog/BRITAIN

Re-Posted Jun 27, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May has at last secured a governing majority in the UK Parliament by agreeing to spend £1 billion on top of £500 million previously promised to Northern Ireland. Of course the stability of the May government going forward will be delicate as Jeremy Corbyn does his best to bring down the May government and seize control for Labour.

The deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will provide its 10 members to back May’s minority government over the Queen’s Speech. This will relate to the national security of Britain and maintain Brexit. Theresa May made the public statement:

“I welcome this agreement which will enable us to work together in the interest of the whole United Kingdom, give us the certainty we require as we embark on our departure from the European Union, and help us build a stronger and fairer society at home.”