Monthly Archives: December 2017

Dec 16 2017

The Practicality of Cryptocurrencies – Not Really Ready for Prime Time


Armstrong Economics Blog/Cryptocurrency

Re-Posted Dec 16, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Trying to actually use Bitcoin in the economy is anything but something that will replace any government currency. The transaction fees are outrageous typically 3 to 4 times that of a cash withdraw from an ATM. In this video, a journalist tries to actually use Bitcoin. The pizza ends up costing him $76.16 and the fee to use Bitcoin is $9.47.

To use Bitcoin, there are middlemen who are the equivalent of a foreign exchange broker. It can take hours to get a simple order in to buy a pizza.

From a practical viewpoint, cryptocurrencies are not quite ready for prime time. They are all hype and offering a futuristic vision of beating the governments, but the computing time it takes to actually use cryptocurrency and the complexities, demonstrate that what we are dealing with is by no means some instant success story that has beaten paper currency or a credit card, which is really also electronic money.

Dec 15 2017

A Curious Case of Counterintelligence – Bill Priestap…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on December 15, 2017 by

In the past few weeks, thanks to some revealing information amid the various investigators of the DC swamp, we have been introduced to some previously unknown people.

Names like FBI Agent Peter Strzok; his mistress FBI Attorney Lisa Page; their ideological comrade Asst FBI Director Andrew McCabe; along with DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr; and his wife, Fusion-GPS contract employee Nellie Ohr.  These are a few of the recent names that have hit the headlines as a result of ongoing investigations into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.

But there’s one name conspicuously absent, FBI Director of Counterintelligence, Bill Priestap.

When you understand how central Bill Priestap is to the entire 2016/2017 ‘Russian Conspiracy Operation‘, the absence of his name, amid all others, creates a curiosity.  I wrote a twitter thread about him recently because it seems rather unfathomable his name has not been a part of any of the recent story-lines.

Bill Priestap is the head of the FBI Counterintelligence operation.  He was FBI Agent Peter Strozk’s direct boss.  If anyone in congress really wanted to know if the FBI paid for the Christopher Steele Dossier, Bill Priestap is the guy who would know.

Helpful IG Releases:

♦Release #1 was the Agent Strzok and Attorney Lisa Page story; and the repercussions from discovering their politically motivated bias in the 2015/2016 Clinton email investigation and 2016/2017 Russian Election investigation.

♦Release #2 outlined the depth of FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page’s specific history in the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton to include the changing of the wording [“grossly negligent” to “extremely careless”] of the probe outcome delivered by FBI Director James Comey.

♦Release #3 was the information about DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr being in contact with Fusion GPS at the same time as the FISA application was submitted and granted by the FISA court; which authorized surveillance and wiretapping of candidate Donald Trump;  that release also attached Bruce Ohr and Agent Strzok directly to the Steele Dossier.

♦Release #4 was information that Deputy Bruce Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was an actual contract employee of Fusion GPS, and was hired by F-GPS specifically to work on opposition research against candidate Donald Trump.  Both Bruce Ohr and Nellie Ohr are attached to the origin of the Christopher Steele Russian Dossier.

♦Release #5 was the specific communication between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page.  The 10,000 text messages that included evidence of them both meeting with Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe to discuss the “insurance policy” against candidate Donald Trump in August of 2016.

In April 2016 Hillary Clinton paid Glenn Simpson with Fusion-GPS to dig up dirt on Donald Trump.

In May 2016 Fusion GPS hired Nellie Ohr, wife of DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr, to lead the opposition research effort.  That same month, Fusion GPS contracted with retired British MI6 Agent Christopher Steele to write the ‘Trump Russia Dossier’.

In late June 2016 the first draft of the Steele Dossier was shared back with Fusion GPS and presumably Nellie Ohr was one of the recipients.   According to Robby Mook, the partial dossier information was also given to the DNC and Clinton Campaign.

In July 2016 candidate Donald Trump won the GOP nomination.  That same month the FBI Counterintelligence Division began an investigation they later described as a counterintelligence operation looking at Russian interference in the U.S. election.  However, from 10 months of researched documentation, much of it in the MSM, we now know it was an FBI counterintelligence operation against candidate Donald Trump.

Also in July 2016, immediately following candidate Donald Trump’s successful bid to win the GOP nomination, a FISA application was denied.  The timing here is far too coincidental (the later narrower version clearly evidences), the FISA application was to wiretap, monitor and conduct surveillance on candidate Trump and his campaign.

In August 2016, the lead FBI Agent in charge of that counterintelligence operation, Peter Strzok told his FBI Attorney and mistress:  “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

The “insurance policy” appears to be the ongoing counterintelligence operation that later utilized the Steele Dossier to get the FISA warrant and actually begin the wiretaps and surveillance.  The conversation referenced between Strzok and Page took place in FBI Assistant Director Andrew “Andy” McCabe’s office.

All of this information is really just a recap.  Everyone now sees this construct clearly.  The Timelines are brutally obvious.  Congress and DC investigators, including the years-long OIG investigation, are currently in the phase of nailing down the players and putting the final touches on the evidence.  The outline is clear as day.

However, within this brutally obvious outline there’s a name missing.  That name is the FBI Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap:

FBI Asst. Director in charge of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap was the immediate supervisor of FBI Counterintelligence Deputy Peter Strzok.

Bill Priestap is #1. Before getting demoted Peter Strzok was #2.

The investigation into candidate Donald Trump was a counterintelligence operation. That operation began in July 2016. Bill Priestap would have been in charge of that, along with all other, FBI counterintelligence operations.

FBI Deputy Peter Strzok was specifically in charge of the Trump counterintel op. However, Strzok would be reporting to Bill Priestap on every detail and couldn’t (according to structure anyway) make a move without Priestap approval.

On March 20th 2017 congressional testimony, James Comey was asked why the FBI Director did not inform congressional oversight about the counterintelligence operation that began in July 2016.

FBI Director Comey said he did not tell congressional oversight he was investigating presidential candidate Donald Trump because the Director of Counterintelligence suggested he not do so. *Very important detail.*

I cannot emphasize this enough. *VERY* important detail. Again, notice how Comey doesn’t use Priestap’s actual name, but refers to his position and title. Again, watch [Prompted]

FBI Director James Comey was caught entirely off guard by that first three minutes of that questioning. He simply didn’t anticipate it.

Oversight protocol requires the FBI Director to tell the congressional intelligence “Gang of Eight” of any counterintelligence operations. The Go8 has oversight into these ops at the highest level of classification.  In July 2016 the time the operation began, oversight was the responsibility of this group, the Gang of Eight:

Obviously, based on what we have learned since March 2017, and what has surfaced recently, we can all see why the FBI would want to keep it hidden that they were running a counterintelligence operation against a presidential candidate.   After all, as FBI Agent Peter Strzok said it in his text messages, it was an “insurance policy”.

REMINDER – FBI Agent Strzok to FBI Attorney Page:

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

So there we have FBI Director James Comey telling congress on March 20th that the reason he didn’t inform the statutory oversight “Gang of Eight” was because Bill Priestap (Director of Counterintelligence) recommended he didn’t do it.

Apparently, according to Comey, Bill Priestap carries a great deal of influence if he could get his boss to NOT perform a statutory obligation simply by recommending he doesn’t do it.

Than again, Comey’s blame-casting there is really called creating a “fall guy”.  FBI Director James Comey is ducking responsibility in March 2017 by blaming FBI Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap for not informing congress of the operation that began in July 2016. (9 months prior).

At that moment, that very specific moment during that March 20th hearing, anyone who watches these hearings closely could see Comey was creating his own exit from getting ensnared in the consequences from the wiretapping and surveillance operation of President Donald Trump.  In essence, Bill Priestap is James Comey’s shield from liability.

But more curiously for current discussion, there has been NO MENTION of Bill Priestap in any of the recent revelations, despite his centrality to all of it.

Bill Priestap would have needed to authorize Peter Strzok to engage with Christopher Steele over the “Russian Dosssier”.

Bill Priestap would have needed to approve of the underlying documents that were used for both FISA applications (June/July and Sept/Oct).

Bill Priestap would be the person to approve of paying, or reimbursing, Christopher Steele for the Russian Dossier used in their counterintelligence operation and subsequent FISA application.

Without Bill Priestap involved, approvals, etc. the entire Russian/Trump Counterintelligence operation just doesn’t happen. Heck, James Comey’s March testimony in that regard is also evidence of Priestap’s importance.

In addition, when Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates testified (with James Clapper), she too spoke of the importance of Bill Priestap as her liaison and contact within the FBI on the counterintelligence operation. [Yates never mentioned Peter Strzok – not once.] Even though it was FBI agent Peter Strzok who interviewed Michael Flynn on January 24th, [link] Sally Yates never mentioned him. EVER.

However Deputy AG Sally Yates did talk about Bill Priestap during her testimony.

Yates testified she and Bill Priestap traveled together, Jan 26th, to the White House to inform Don McGhan (WH Counsel) of Michael Flynn “misleading statements” (based on Pence media reports and Flynn prior ambush interview Jan 24th).

According to Sally Yates testimony, she and Bill Priestap reportedly presented all the information to White House General Counsel Don McGahn “so the White House could take action that they deemed appropriate.”

So we all can see that Bill Priestap is a central figure. FBI Director James Comey defers to him; Acting Attorney General Sally Yates relied on him; FBI Special Agent in Counterintelligence Peter Strzok reports to him; Yet there’s absolutely no mention of Bill Priestap in any of the explosive investigative story-lines in the past two weeks.

Why?

Bill Priestap is the FBI Director of Counterintelligence. There’s no way he hasn’t been caught inside the investigative net.

Bill Priestap’s boss, Andrew McCabe has been caught. Bill Priestap’s subordinate, Peter Strzok, has most certainly been caught. And in March 20th 2017 FBI Director Comey pushed Priestap directly in front of the congressional oversight bus.

My hunch is either Bill Priestap is going to be the attempted fall-guy for the entire scheme. -OR- Bill Priestap saw the bus coming and is assisting the swamp-draining DC investigators:

On the home-front: FBI Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap is married to Sabina Menshell a self-employed “consultant” with a history of donations to Democrat candidates, specifically to Hillary Clinton.

Bill’s wife Sabina comes from a Goldman Sach’s connected family, which must be why Bill and Sabina can afford to live in a $3.2 million home in Washington DC.

Would be a little difficult to afford a $3,000,000.00 mortgage on a G-Man’s payroll.

Just sayin’…

Dec 15 2017

T-Rex: “Around The Globe” End of Year Briefing and Deep Dive on North Korea Policy…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on December 15, 2017 by

We are so fortunate to have Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.  Stunning mastery of global events, policy, strategy, and diplomatic nuance at both the big and granular levels.

During a keynote address, “Meeting the Foreign Policy Challenges of 2017 and Beyond” at the 2017 Atlantic Council – Korea Foundation Forum, Secretary Tillerson takes the opportunity to provide another eloquent “walk around the globe” outline of current foreign engagements and ongoing U.S. policy therein.  If you watched the first one, you’ll also enjoy this one.

The first 38 minutes consist of T-Rex taking a “jog”, as he put it, around the globe to help everyone understand “what’s going on”.   With simple note cards for reference Tillerson walks through the most important challenges in foreign policy.  The last 20 minutes of the video is also well worth watching because T-Rex goes into great detail on the subject of North Korea and how each angle of nuance plays a part of the larger dynamic.WATCH:

(FULL Transcipt is Available HERE)

Dec 15 2017

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley Outlines Evidence of Growing Threats From Iran…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on December 15, 2017 by

In a stunning display of international transparency, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley presents actual, physical, incontrovertible and, yes, uncomfortable, evidence of Iranian weapons that have been used by proxy fighters against allied nations.  The presentation takes place at joint base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC and consists of formerly classified intelligence gathering presented openly to the international community.

Ambassador Nikki Haley presents an assembly of actual Iranian missiles and weapons that have been fired against mid-east allies within the peace coalition.  After a brief speech outlining the material on display, Mrs. Haley takes questions from international media.

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[Transcript] It’s really important that you be here today, because we have a story to tell, and the story is a very important one. And it’s not just important for the United States, it’s important for the entire international community. As President Trump announced on October 13, the United States is taking a new approach to Iran by focusing on all of the regime’s destabilizing behavior. That means we are focused not just on the nuclear program.

We’re also taking a hard look at Iran’s ballistic missile program, its arms exports, and its support for terrorists, proxy fighters, and dictators.

Our new strategy was prompted by the undeniable fact that the Iranian regime’s behavior is growing worse. The nuclear deal has done nothing to moderate the regime’s conduct in other areas.

Aid from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to dangerous militias and terror groups is increasing. Its ballistic missiles and advanced weapons are turning up in warzones across the region. It’s hard to find a conflict or a terrorist group in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints all over it.

Four days ago, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif wrote an op-ed assuring the world that Iran has been misunderstood. He wrote, “Iran’s military capabilities comply with international law and are entirely defensive.”

Instead of stoking violence, Zarif promised that Iran and its partners, “labor to put out fires [while] the arsonists in our region grow more unhinged.”

But the United Nations just released a new report that tells the opposite story. It tells the story of Iran as the arsonist. The report shows the Tehran regime not putting out fires, but fanning the flames of conflict in the region.

This was the Secretary-General’s fourth report detailing Iranian compliance – or noncompliance – with UN Resolution 2231. That resolution places specific prohibitions on Iranian conduct.

In its strongest language yet, the Secretary-General’s report describes violation after violation of weapons transfers and ballistic missile activity.

The United States welcomes this report, as should every nation concerned about Iranian expansion. We are grateful for the depth of the UN’s inspection and analysis. Most telling, the report makes a convincing case that Iran is illegally providing the Houthi militants in Yemen with dangerous weapons. The report provides devastating evidence of missiles, conventional arms, and explosive boats of Iranian origin used by the rebels in Yemen – all of which violate UN resolutions.

The United States and our partners went to great lengths to support the UN investigations into Iranian violations by declassifying evidence so that the world could better be informed of the extent of Iran’s malign activities.

As you know, we do not often declassify this type of military equipment recovered from these attacks. But today we are taking an extraordinary step of presenting it here in an open setting. We did this for a single, urgent purpose: because the Iranian regime cannot be allowed to engage in its lawless behavior any longer. International peace and security depends on us working together against the Iranian regime’s hostile actions.

The fight against Iranian aggression is the world’s fight. The United States is acting today in the spirit of transparency and international cooperation that is necessary to defeat this threat.

In this warehouse is concrete evidence of illegal Iranian weapons proliferation, gathered from direct military attacks on our partners in the region.

Behind me is an example of one of these attacks. These are the recovered pieces of a missile fired by Houthi militants from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. The missile’s intended target was the civilian airport in Riyadh, through which tens of thousands of passengers travel each day.

I repeat: This missile was used to attack an international civilian airport in a G-20 country.

Just imagine if this missile had been launched at Dulles Airport or JFK, or the airports in Paris, London, or Berlin. That’s what we’re talking about here. That’s what Iran is actively supporting.

What is most revealing about this missile is what’s not here. This is a short-range ballistic missile. It is missing the large stabilizer fins that are typically present on these kinds of missiles.

The Iranian Qiam missile is the only known short range ballistic missile in the world that lacks such stabilizer fins and includes nine valves that you will see running along the length of the missile. Those valves are essentially Iranian missile fingerprints.

On your walk through, you will also see missile debris stamped with the logo of Shahid Bagheri Industries, an Iranian manufacturer.

Those are just two of the many pieces of evidence that tell us of this missile’s Iranian origins.

It was made in Iran, then sent to Houthi militants in Yemen. From there it was fired at a civilian airport, with the potential to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in Saudi Arabia.

You will see more than that. In this warehouse there is also material from an anti-tank guided missile. Such missiles have a range of over two miles and can destroy tanks, and even buildings. You will see material from an unmanned aerial vehicle, also known as a kamikaze drone, that can take out radar sites. You will see material from a SHARK-33 explosive boat. These are boats with a warhead inside them that explodes on impact. They can blow six feet wide holes in the hulls of ships.

All of these weapons include parts made in Iran, some by Iran’s government-run defense industry. All are proof that Iran is defying the international community. And not just one time. This evidence demonstrates a pattern of behavior in which Iran sows conflict and extremism in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

In just a minute, Laura Seal from our Defense Department will walk you through the items gathered here and explain their connection to the Tehran regime. We welcome a thorough examination of this material, not just by the members of the press here today, but by the international community.

Several countries will be sending delegations here to view this material in the next few days. Some have already been here. We are inviting the entire UN Security Council to see it for themselves. And we are inviting all members of Congress to view it.

This evidence is part of what has led the U.S. intelligence community to conclude, unequivocally, that these weapons were supplied by the Iranian regime.

The evidence is undeniable. The weapons might as well have had “Made in Iran” stickers all over it.

The United States stands ready to share what we know to further the cause of peace. We ask our friends and our allies to do the same. Iran is determined to undermine the international consensus against its conduct.

We must speak with one voice in exposing the regime for what it is: a threat to the peace and security of the entire world. We call on all nations to join us in a united front resisting this global threat.  (read more)

Dec 15 2017

Interstate Banking & Changes to the Federal Reserve


Armstrong Economics Blog/Central Banks

Re-Posted Dec 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: 

Hi Marty,

You say, “The one-size-fits-all policy of central banks with regard to interest rates pits East v West in both Canada and the United States. Farmers, oil producers, and miners are forced to pay higher interest rates when their economies are declining because of speculative booms in Toronto or New York.”

I can see how regional Central Banks could have supplied different stimulus in different regions back in the time of the Fed’s formation when the mediums of communication were not what they are today, but how would that work now. With the ability, today to borrow money electronically from where ever it is cheapest, wouldn’t people in the high-interest regions simply borrow in the regions where the money was cheapest defeating that strategy?

Regards,

F

ANSWER: About 70% of small business are routinely turned down for business loans. The small farmers, miners, and oil producers cannot simply borrow from the cheapest source. I myself always found banks calling me asking if wanted to borrow money when things were great and I never needed it. If you are watching your business model decline, nobody will lend to a ship taking on even a little water. There is a huge difference between a consumer loan on credit cards and a small business.

Consumers already pay interest rates set by a bank which are usually covering various regions. It is true, after the collapse of 9,000 banks with the Great Depression, thereafter banks were prohibited from Interstate Banking. Indeed, Interstate Banking allowing banks across state lines became widespread in the mid-1980s, when state legislatures passed legislation that allowed bank holding companies to acquire out-of-state banks on a reciprocal basis with other states. I had been on the board of a regional bank in the early 1980s. After Interstate Banking was allowed, a New York bank came down and put in a bid for Capital State Bank. It was sold and everyone cashed-in on their shares.

The main point is that there remain regional lending problems. The banks will lend to a market that is booming and will shun away from the regions in trouble. Today, a major bank in New York goes down and it impacts the entire country thanks to Interstate Banking.

So yes, you are correct – things are different today. The regional approach served the local economies. Even the S&L industry was regional and intended to serve the local economies. Today, the restructuring of the central banks eliminating and responsibility for regional disparities combined with Interstate Banking produces a completely different set of problems that will fuel the various separatist’s movements. In Europe, we see a huge disparity between the local economies of Southern Europe v Northern Europe and there too they are trying to impose the one-size-fits-all approach to central banking. Wherever we see economic disparities, we will see separatist movements

Dec 15 2017

The Dow & Trump Tax Reform


Armstrong Economics Blog/Dow Jones

Re-Posted Dec 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The Trump Tax Reform reducing the corporate tax to 21% and taking effect January 1st, 2018 rather than being delayed until 2019, will be one of the biggest positive catalysts for US equities in decades. This is very interesting because it is now fundamentally validating what our computer has been projecting for highs going up to the 40,000 level on the Dow back in 2009.

Many of the domestic and institutional investors overseas are NOT in this market. They will now be forced to reposition their portfolios once the bill is passed. How to Trade a Vertical Market is absolutely critical at this point in time. This is by no means going to be easy.

We are already above the top of the Upward Channel and this will be 21,017.30. Our projections for 2017 stood at 25,648.40 and this rises to 28,045.71 for 2018. This is the next area of resistance. Once we push through that projection, the market will come back to test it. That will be the start of the slingshot upward.

The same model produced the projection at 195.97 for 1928. The year 1928 opened above the projection at 203.40, fell back to retest it dripping to 194.50, and then entered the slingshot running to 301.60 intraday and closed that year at 300.00. Keep in mind our project model gives us 25,648.40 so we are not yet through that level.

This is why I have always warned AGAINST fundamental analysis. The fundamentals ALWAYS unfold to validate what our computer forecasts to start with. Our forecast that BREXIT would win and Trump back in 2016 was possible ONLY because the computer was picking up the change in public sentiment which is driven by economics. The Trump Tax Reform is a reflection of the discontent underlying the economy. The Democrats will naturally vote in block against it because they simply like the higher taxes even if it produces fewer jobs and lower economic growth. They cannot change their color now.

NOBODY could have forecast this back in 2009. Barron’s though we were crazy back in 2011 forecasting the Dow was off to new record highs. Socrates can beat anyone, even me. So why will mainstream media not report our model’s success? Because it is not in the self-interest of themselves or government. Why interview people with opinions to fill their pages if all you have to do is try to figure out why the forecasts Socrates puts out will unfold on schedule? Don’t worry about it. Our big clients prefer that our forecasts are not on their front pages.

After the New Year, we will produce a special report on the US share market for 2018 with the turning point and price objectives for the year.

Dec 15 2017

Australia gives Parking Ticket to Man in His Own Driveway


Armstrong Economics Blog/Police

Re-Posted Dec 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Once upon a time, police aspired to protect society. Today, police, in general, are more interested in harassing the public to raise money for the government. In Australia, a man was given a parking ticket in his own driveway. The incident has gone viral in Australia and the government claims his car partially blocked the sidewalk.

I had friends who were police decades ago. Something has changed. They were never vindictive and nasty. Today, you literally take you like in your hands just being pulled over by a cop. Every encounter I have had that never ended with any ticket I have found the police starts with an attitude and the assumption everyone is up to something

Dec 15 2017

The Separatist Movements in Canada & One-Size-Fits-All of Marx


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada

Re-Posted Dec 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Many people are aware of the various attempts of Quebec to separate from Canada. What they are unaware of is the supporters of the Western Independence Party of Alberta. There has been an undertone of the separatist movement in Alberta which actually stems from the Great Depression usurpation of the Federal Reserve by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

 

Why is the Western Canada separatist movement caused by Roosevelt’s usurpation of the Federal Reserve? Everyone looks to the United States and assumes whatever structure they adopt must be correct. The Euro was crafted because the USA has a single currency. They did not consolidate all the debts and that has created a nightmare. Canada, likewise, assumed the one-size-fits-all policy of Roosevelt and has been paying the price regionally ever since.

So what is the link with the structural usurpation of the Federal Reserve? When the Fed was created, it was the solution to the Panic of 1907, which was set in motion by the disruption of the internal domestic capital flows caused by the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The insurance companies were in New York. Consequently, the cash flowed to the West and a shortage developed in the East.

The original structural design of the Fed was to establish 12 branches to manage the capital flows domestically. Interest rates would decline where there was an excess of cash and rise where there was a shortage. This, they believed, would cause capital to move between the branches to balance the national capital flows and economy. Each branch acted independently to manage the capital flows. When crops would come to market, then Kansas would have an excess of cash and rates would decline as we can see from the table showing the rates set by each branch in August 1927.

When Roosevelt comes to power in 1933, he wanted to control the economy for his socialist agenda. He usurped the power of interest rates from the various branches of the Fed and consolidated then into Washington DC making it one-size-fits-all. He, therefore, abandoned the structural design of the Fed and ever since the capital flow focus has been internationally, not domestically.

As a result, the regional problems have resurfaced. The central bank raises interest rates to stop real estate or stock market bubbles in New York and that harms the commodity regions in middle America. When commodities have boomed, the financial regions are normally suppressed. The Fed raises rates to stop stock speculation in New York and prevents farmers from running their operations when commodity prices are at their lows. Canada has done the same thing raising interest rates to stop real estate booms in Toronto while the commodity-based economy in Alberta is sent into bankruptcy.

I have called this the Texas-New York arbitrage. Here is a chart showing when oil peaks in price, it is typically counter-trend to the financial markets. Oil peaked in 2008 when the stock market was crashing. Once again, oil prices are down and Alberta suffers while the financial markets are booming in Toronto.

What is resurfacing is the regional differences within Canada as well as the United States. The one-size-fits-all policy of central banks with regard to interest rates pits East v West in both Canada and the United States. Farmers, oil producers, and miners are forced to pay higher interest rates when their economies are declining because of speculative booms in Toronto or New York.

This is the root cause of the regional separatist movements we are witnessing in Canada. The structure of the central banks was originally intended to manage the domestic capital flows. That has been part of the whole socialit agenda to abandon that policy and create the one-size-fits-all policy of Marxism.

Dec 14 2017

Stunning MAGAnomics – Holiday Sales Nearly Tripling Previous Forecasts…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on December 14, 2017 by

On the same day that DoLS reports unemployment claims are at their lowest level in 45 years; and on the same day when Reuters economist panel admits that wages are indeed going up quickly now; well, the November holiday sales results are being reviewed and the results are stunning.

(Reuters) U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November as the holiday shopping season got off to a brisk start, pointing to sustained strength in the economy.

[…]  The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.8 percent last month, with households buying a range of goods even as they cut back on purchases of motor vehicles. Data for October was revised to show sales gaining 0.5 percent instead of the previously reported 0.2 percent increase.

Retail sales accelerated 5.8 percent on an annual basis. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales increasing only 0.3 percent in November. (link)

5.8% growth over last year is BIGLY yuge.  We’re talking about massive numbers. To move them almost 6% is bigly. Remember, retail sales account for approximately two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity within our GDP valuation.  We are the world’s largest market economy.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended Dec. 9. That was the lowest reading since mid-October when claims dropped to 223,000, a level not seen since March 1973.

[…] Last month’s increase in core retail sales suggested a strong pace of consumer spending in the fourth quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is being supported by steady wage gains as the labor market tightens.  (read full article)

Dec 14 2017

An Investigative Pattern Emerges…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on December 14, 2017 by

During a recent rally in Pensacola President Trump remarked off-the-cuff: “we have a rigged system, we really do, we have a rigged system and we’re working hard to change it“. Against the backdrop of recent revelations with the stunning politicization of the FBI and DOJ, those words ring notes of truth, and also caution.

Over the past two weeks we have seen releases from the DOJ Office of Inspector General that appear to be building toward a much more consequential outcome. The corruption is jaw-dropping. The very heart of the U.S. system of Law (DOJ) and Order (FBI) is now being questioned. I would argue the IG obviously understands the need for caution within these discoveries and the recent releases are all purposeful, timed, planned and targeted.

Consider what is at stake; and further consider that you were given the task of revealing the outcome of an investigation of such consequence.  How would you introduce the findings to the larger U.S. electorate?   Given the timing of the releases from the IG’s investigation, I think that’s what we are seeing in the past two weeks.  A prosecutor laying out his case over the course of multiple media cycles.

For the past year plus, we have heard generalized terms of investigations.  However, since the beginning of December the information shifted and we begin hearing about specific names caught within the IG investigation.

Focusing only on the names from within the IG concern we find:  FBI Agent Peter Strzok; FBI/DOJ Attorney Lisa Page; DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr; his wife, Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr; FBI Counterintelligence Director Bill Priestap; and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.  Each of these people appear to have been captured within the net at the heart of the politicization investigation.

Now, there’s bound to be more details; however, those names are all likely to face some form of congressional scrutiny, questioning, and possibly criminal charges.  Charges that will likely be based, in part, on the outlined information within the IG releases.

Oh, sure there are many other names, including current possible partisan usurpers within the Robert Muller probe: DOJ/SC Andrew Weissman, DOJ/SC Jeannie Rhee, DOJ/SC Aaron Zebley etc. that are also concerning.  However, for this discussion we focus on the IG targets identified.  Discussion of Mueller is for another day.

Remember, the OIG investigation is specifically looking at actions taken, or actions not taken, by DOJ and FBI officials that reflect specific evidence of politicization by the leadership within each agency (James Comey, FBI and Loretta Lynch, DOJ), and/or their subordinates writ large.

(LINK)

These offices represent the “Law and Order” divisions of our national government.

There is a pattern in the released OIG information and how we retrieve it from the media.

♦Ahead of FBI Director Christopher Wray appearing before congress the IG released the information about FBI Agent Strzok and his mistress FBI/DOJ Attorney Lisa Page.

♦Just before Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe was going to appear before congress the IG released information about DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr and his wife Nellie Ohr.

Andrew McCabe ducked out of the hearing, and will now appear next week. Boy-oh-boy that one should be interesting.  If he’s still employed. (anticipating more releases here)

♦Just before DOJ Asst. AG Rod Rosenstein appeared before congress the IG released the actual text messaging information from Agent Strzok and Lisa Page.

See the pattern?

There have been approximately FIVE big releases from the IG office, that seem to be released in a very specific manner.  It looks just like a prosecutor laying out his case against the identified names, and WE, the American People, are the jury.

Consider:

♦Release #1 was the Agent Strzok and Attorney Lisa Page story; and the repercussions from discovering their politically motivated bias in the 2015/2016 Clinton email investigation and 2016/2017 Russian Election investigation.

♦Release #2 outlined the depth of FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page’s specific history in the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton to include the changing of the wording [“grossly negligent” to “extremely careless”] of the probe outcome delivered by FBI Director James Comey.

♦Release #3 was the information about DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr being in contact with Fusion GPS at the same time as the FISA application was submitted and granted by the FISA court; which authorized surveillance and wiretapping of candidate Donald Trump;  that release also attached Bruce Ohr and Agent Strzok directly to the Steele Dossier.

♦Release #4 was information that Deputy Bruce Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was an actual contract employee of Fusion GPS, and was hired by F-GPS specifically to work on opposition research against candidate Donald Trump.  Both Bruce Ohr and Nellie Ohr are attached to the origin of the Christopher Steele Russian Dossier.

♦Release #5 was the specific communication between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page.  The 10,000 text messages that included evidence of them both meeting with Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe to discuss the “insurance policy” against candidate Donald Trump in August of 2016.

Again, see the pattern?

The OIG is laying out the case for further inquiry, investigation and more importantly questioning, of each of the aforementioned officials.

Timing the information to drop in conjunction with the open and public congressional appearances of FBI Director Christopher Wray, FBI Asst. Director Andrew McCabe and Asst. AG Rod Rosenstein puts sunlight upon the content of the releases that doesn’t require MSM for broadcast.

See the strategy?

The IG has no prosecutorial authority, that decision is up to the Attorney General.

However, in this strategy the IG is laying out his prosecutable case before the American public via TV and congressional appearances.  In my humble opinion none of this is accidental.  This is strategic white hat distribution of material that is immensely important to the larger U.S. electorate.   The subject matter is so consequential, it needs to be absorbed in small digestible portions.

And here’s where it gets really interesting.

As Ohio Rep Jim Jordan stated yesterday (after the Rod Rosenstein questioning), the next move is to put each of the named people in front of congress for questioning.   Andrew McCabe, Bill Priestap, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr, and possibly Nellie Ohr and Glenn Simpson, are questioned about the details behind the specific information provided by the IG releases.   Get them under oath, get them on-the-record, and get them committed to one story.

Most likely, just like Lois Lerner, this crew will plead the fifth.  However, unlike Lois Lerner the underlying evidence will exist from within the Inspector General’s year-long investigation.   Against 1.2 million pages of documentation, we know of so far, it really doesn’t matter if they cooperate or not.

Their compliance with congress is irrelevant to their possible outcome.  The IG investigative report provides all the needed substance to consider indictments.

Cooperate or not, the U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, will now be in a position to accept the exhaustive evidence provided by the IG report – and make a decision on whether or not to indict them.

Secondarily, as an outcome of their indictment, the larger cases against Hillary Clinton and company are now subject to reopening and plea bargains from the indicted FBI and DOJ conspirators can then be leveraged to gain additional information against the larger group.  [And yes, this potentially touches President Obama depending on how the concentric circles of defense collapse.]

I would be remiss if I didn’t remind people that Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills have voided their prior immunity deals by provably lying to the FBI. Lying voids immunity.

Additionally, if former AG Loretta Lynch, and/or Asst. AG Sally Yates, and/or FBI Director James Comey are not captured within the IG investigative outcome (still undetermined), the seeds for their capture are most definitely created by it – because the next tier of leadership appears already captured.

Based on what we already know: Bruce Ohr, Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, Bill Priestap and Andrew McCabe are already captured.   Depending on the specifics, non-government entities Nellie Ohr and/or Glenn Simpson might also be captured under federal conspiracy or racketeering laws.

Bill Priestap (counterintelligence director), Bruce Ohr (DOJ Deputy), and definitely Andrew McCabe are in position to help net Sally Yates.

[IMHO Yates is the next one (per pattern) to get entangled with additional IG releases].

Director Comey seems to be in a very precarious position because the entire operation against Trump was a counterintelligence operation run from within the FBI albeit using DOJ assistance.  Additionally, the non-indictment of Hillary Clinton, due to the political manipulation of evidence by Agent Strzok, becomes the second liability of James Comey.

If the FISA warrant used to gain wiretaps and surveillance on Donald Trump was obtained using false, manipulated or fraudulent information, which currently seems highly likely, the entire operation becomes a criminal conspiracy and the question(s) become who knew what, when, and how far up was that authorized.

Based solely on what is public information right now… Andrew McCabe and Bill Priestap are way out on the edges of legality.  The issues around the Steele Dossier underpinning the FISA warrant would remove any legal defense they might have.

The Big Ugly

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PS. All of this is separate from the ongoing leak investigations from the new unit established within the FBI and DOJ.  (see here)