CBDC & the Fall of Western Society


Armstrong Economics Blog/Cryptocurrency Re-Posted Jul 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: You said that when Rome fell it took 700 years before gold coins reappeared. Are we facing something like that again?

PO

ANSWER: Yes, when Rome fell, gold continued in the East under the Byzantine and Islamic Empires. However, in Europe, the last Western emperor was Romulus Augustus (475-476AD) who was a puppet anyhow. He was a young son, whereas today, we have senile leaders who are puppets and incapable of independent rational thought. The first gold coin to reappear in Western Europe was that of Frederick II of Sicily (1231-1250AD). The Augustale was a gold denomination of about 5 and a half grams which Frederick II introduced to Sicily in 1231AD, and it was primarily issued for international trade.

Fibonacci-1

Actually, Fibonacci (1170-1240 AD) published in 1202 his “Liber Abaci” (Book of Abacus). He introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals into Western culture. Suddenly, this allowed the calculation of numbers that were not taught in schools and was unknown in Christian circles. Only a very small group of intellectuals had access to translations of the Arab mathematician al-Khwarizmi (780-850 AD). The techniques that Fibonacci introduced were groundbreaking to re-establish a culture that lost its identity with the fall of Rome. Fibonacci illustrated practical problems on how to calculate profit margin, money changing, barter, conversion of weights and measures, partnerships, and, last but not least, interest. He also introduced some geometry and algebra.

However, Fibonacci’s work was so earth-shattering it became the topic of discussion and caught the attention of King Frederick II of Sicily. I believe it was Fibonacci’s introduction to mathematics that also inspired Frederick II to even reintroduce gold coinage in order to trade with the outside world. At the time, that included the Arabs as well as the Byzantines. The gold dinar was the Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in 696–697AD by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan with a weight of 4.25 grams. Frederick II made his coin about 1 gram heavier in order to project economic power.

The introduction of CBDC is highly dangerous in war; even a nuclear blast also sends out an EM pulse that will destroy electronics. If I were Russia or China, I would NOT move to any sort of digital currency and then use an EMP against the United States. The entire economy would collapse. People would not even be able to buy anything. We have idiots in power who are so greedy, looking at the power this will place in their hands, they are ignoring the risks. This could mark the collapse of Western society, sending us back to the days of Barter.

The Post-2032 era would most likely be fragmented rather than national states as we know them today. There will most likely emerge regional currencies, as we have witnessed throughout history many times. Even during the Great Depression, over 200 US cities resorted to issuing their own money.

Mr. Speaker!…


Posted originally on the CTH on July 27, 2023 | Sundance 

I tap my glass loudly with a spoon from the back of the room….

The House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee has a team of lawyers and staff.

Evidence in public shows the sitting president of the United States took payments from foreign business interests in a scheme to use the power of the U.S. government to influence foreign government policy and protect/enhance the business interests of the people who paid him.

To wit…. The Republicans in the House of Representatives have thousands of Joe and Hunter Biden bank records, hundreds of trace records for wire transfer statements and payments, hundreds of reported U.S. Treasury suspicious activity reports, thousands of emails and subpoenaed text messages, audio and video recordings, thousands of photographs, access to the laptop of Hunter Biden and all the content therein, documented witnesses to the activity, testimony under oath corroborating how the Bidens collected tens of millions from foreign nations as unregistered foreign agents which was subsequently laundered through 20 shell companies.

The House committee also has FBI witness reports (FD-1023) from verified and reliable Confidential Human Sources who documented the intent and purpose of the transactions, along with US government attorneys in Philadelphia who investigated and confirmed the substance of the confidential human source allegations therein. Additionally, the Republicans in Congress have sworn affidavits and testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who testified the US attorney in Delaware was working with the U.S. Dept of Justice in Washington DC to bury the results of the investigation.

Lastly, and most recently, the Republicans have a transparently corrupt federal plea agreement rejected as presented by U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, because the intent of the construct was to protect the son of the President of the United States from legal exposure within the business that provided the material wealth for himself and the family of the President, providing immunity for their Foreign Agent Registration Act violations…

….And the Republican Speaker of the House is letting the Republican controlled Congress go on vacation for the next two months.

All of this,…. ALL OF THIS…. while the former Republican president and current 2024 election front-runner is being railroaded by the same Dept of Justice the Speaker refuses to confront.

Why Would NBC Be Stalking Members of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Grand Jury?


Posted originally on the CTH on July 27, 2023 | Sundance 

Just a small detail, apparently of no consequence for those who seemingly overlook such things; however, NBC is admitting to not only knowing the identity of the DC grand jury, but actually following them around and noting their activity. [SOURCE LINK]

Nothing like a little spotlight pressure to keep all the DC participants on the right path.  Nudge-Nudge, Wink-Wink, Say-no-More.

Worth noting Valerie Jarrett’s daughter, Laura Jarrett, is a member of the NBC surveillance team [link here], reporting her findings to NBC headquarters.

Lest we forget, it was NBC who ended up getting caught for tracking and conducting surveillance on jury members in the Kyle Rittenhouse case [link here], eventually leading to the judge needing to ban them from the courthouse.  Just saying.

[Source Link]

I doubt the DC grand jury pool needs guidance from the media on what the community expectations are.  👀

Details of Now Collapsed Federal Plea Deal with Hunter Biden Leaked to Politico


Posted originally on the CTH on July 27, 2023 | Sundance 

UPDATED – To add court transcript for context.

First things first, it’s Politico!  When the Dept of Justice or FBI need to frame a narrative particular to their interests they use Politico and the New York Times. Keep this in mind.  When Main Justice needs to position themselves, they leak to NYT and Politico. All leaks are purposeful.

Politico has received a copy of what is claimed to be the original Hunter Biden plea agreement between the USAO in Delaware and the Biden defense team.  This is the plea agreement that was challenged by U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was concerned the structure of the deal appeared to be creating immunity from prosecution for crimes that might come out of a now admitted, ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden; those crimes may include FARA violations.

[Politico Article Here]
[Plea Agreement and Attachment #1 Here]
[Diversion Agreement and Attachment “A” HERE]

The core issue centers around what appears to be clear coordination between the USAO, likely with the approvals of Main Justice (Monaco, Garland) and the Biden defense team, to structure the wording and placement of legal mechanisms inside the plea agreement to not only excuse the current criminal infractions, but also protect Hunter Biden from future criminal liability.

Essentially, all previous activities by Hunter Biden would be immune from prosecution, up to the date of his signing of the plea agreement.  A blank slate retroactively, with all exposure for criminal conduct removed.   The conduct surrounding the immunity is outlined in “Exhibit 1” and the “Attachment A” which was filed under seal.

[Source Link]

Attachment A” as above, was filed under seal.  Apparently, leaked to Politico – despite not being part of the public court record.  It is obvious to those who deal in such matters, the attachment was likely written by the Biden defense team and not the US Attorney Office in Delaware.

“Exhibit 1”, assembled with the statement of fact, is highlighted below and represents the second set of standards to frame the legal immunity from prosecution.  Despite an ongoing investigation, anything that would fall into the parameters of Attachment-A and/or Exhibit-1 would be part of what the DOJ is saying would not be criminally prosecuted.

Biden would be excused from “any federal crimes” that touch on these issues and result from the ongoing investigation.  This is what the judge ‘reportedly‘ took exception to.

[Source Link]

While the gun crime and the tax violations are the face of the legal immunity (the admission of guilt and plea), avoiding criminal liability for the underlying activity that created the income is the issue that appears to be structured by the plea as an ancillary, albeit purposeful, protection.

UPDATE: The transcript of the court hearing shows the context of the dynamic at play. [TRANSCRIPT LINK] U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika is questioning USAO David Wise about the nature of this plea agreement, and the construct of how the agreement not to prosecute is buried in paragraph 15 of the diversion agreement.

It will be interesting to see how this goes.

This is a critical moment for the DOJ, particularly Deputy AG Lisa Monaco and Attorney General Merrick Garland, as the transparency of the “dual justice system” is represented within the collusion between the USAO in Delaware and the representatives of the Biden family.

There is an obvious intent by Main Justice to protect the Biden family, a political motive, as well as maintain protection of the corrupt DOJ institution itself behind the shield of an “ongoing investigation.”   Questions cannot be answered because an investigation is “ongoing,” you know the game.

Hunter Biden Business Associate to Testify as Witness that VP Joe Biden Was on Phone Calls Organizing Influence Needs


Posted originally on the CTH on July 24, 2023 | Sundance 

Devon Archer was a good friend and business associate of Hunter Biden. According to reports from the New York Post, Archer is now scheduled to deliver witness testimony that he was present during approximately two dozen phone calls where Joe Biden was organizing business operations with his son Hunter Biden.

Joe Biden has previously denied any involvement with the business affairs of Hunter Biden. The business of Hunter Biden essentially boils down to Hunter selling various business executives on the ability of his father to use his political position to influence government action. Devon Archer was part of the conversations and a witness to the phone calls between various executives, Hunter and Joe.

(Via New York Post) – […] Hunter Biden would dial in his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on speakerphone into meetings with his overseas business partners, according to testimony expected before Congress this week from Devon Archer, the first son’s former best friend.

Archer, 48, who is facing jail for his role in a $60 million bond fraud, is scheduled to testify to the House Oversight Committee about meetings he witnessed that were attended by Joe Biden either in person or via speakerphone when Hunter would call his father and introduce him to foreign business partners or prospective investors.

“We are looking forward very much to hearing from Devon Archer about all the times he has witnessed Joe Biden meeting with Hunter Biden’s overseas business partners when he was vice president, including on speakerphone,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the committee chairman.

One such meeting was in Dubai late in the evening of Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, after a board meeting of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, which was paying Hunter $83,000 a month as a director.

Archer, who also was a director, is expected to testify that, after dinner with the Burisma board at the Burj Al Arab Hotel, he and Hunter traveled six miles north to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach to have a drink with one of Hunter’s friends. (read more)

In the big picture, setting aside impeachment or other political fallout, there’s very little likelihood Joe Biden could ever win reelection.   Beyond the issues of increased visibility on the bribery, corruption and influence peddling aspects, the issue of Biden’s cognitive decline and physical inability, represent the proverbial cherry on the cake.

It is an intellectually honest position to say Joe Biden is extremely unlikely to be the DNC club nominee in 2024.  The issue for that part of the political discussion then centers around how he would exit – or be exited.

Failing health would be the most transparently obvious justification to remove Biden that affords him and the corrupt circle around him the ability to avoid the scrutiny for the illegal conduct.  However, there are quite a few alternate possibilities depending on the willful acquiescence (or refusal) of the Biden syndicate.

The corporations, multinationals, billionaires and global elite institutions who determine the illusion of choice in the U.S. election system, have likely already assembled the narrative process for Biden’s removal, and we simply await deployment.  Under the guise of Biden health issues, there is no rush for removal.

California Governor Gavin Newsom appears to have been positioned as the beneficiary of the club support; we just have to wait and watch for the rollout.

In my opinion, if the plan is generally something close to this outline, the timing of the triggering is more likely contingent upon the removal of Donald Trump from the right side of the illusion construct.

Something like a Newsom -vs- DeSantis 2024 race has always presented as the best option for those who control the illusion of choice, of course that structure is dependent on the removal of Donald Trump.  So far, DeSantis is unable to fulfill his requirement to achieve the desired club outcome; the Sea Island billionaires are not pleased with the inability of the DeSantis handlers to effectively manage this process.

It certainly looks like the outcome for Joe Biden is in a holding pattern, as those who need to pull the trigger for his removal are waiting to see what Lawfare and the DC system can do to support the DeSantis side of the objective.   If they lose DeSantis completely, can Sea Island replace with a Tim Scott or similar?  Would this be their better play?

There are a lot of variables in the background, but the Joe Biden removal process itself all points in one direction – toward a foregone conclusion.

Hillary and Bill were guilty of selling political influence for financial gain, the FBI protected them, they rode off into the sunset.

Hunter and Joe are guilty of selling political influence for financial gain, the FBI have been protecting them, we wait their departure.

There’s a pattern to this.

Sunday Talks, Robert Kennedy Jr Discusses the Intelligence Community Power in DC and His Intent to Dismantle It


Posted originally on the CTH on July 23, 2023 | Sundance 

Robert Kennedy Jr. appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss his Democrat campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination.  Within the interview, RFK Jr. outlines his perspective on the national security state control over Washington DC and his campaign platform.  WATCH:

RFK Jr’s positions on the First Amendment (speech) and Fourth Amendment (privacy) are good.  However, do not be lulled into thinking his positions on the Second Amendment (gun ownership) and/or his positions on radical climate change, can be reconciled against the prior two.

As a rabid anti 2nd amendment voice who believes in gun confiscation as a government power over the people, in combination with his radical positions on the urgency of climate change/global warming, a position that by its own nature is anti-economic freedom, RFK Jr. positions himself more to harm liberty and freedom more than protect it.

The corporate agenda behind Fox News promoting RFK Jr. is likely an effort to shave a few more voters away from the America First platform by lulling voters into the position of RFK Jr. as a moderate alternative.  Robert Kennedy Jr. is in alignment with the far left on most issues, other than Speech and Privacy.

To me, it looks like the corporate BIG CLUB agenda is using RFK Jr. as a tool to pull MAGA Democrats away from Trump – not an intent to pull centrist Democrats away from Biden.

Report Showing Massive Dark Money Group Funneling Large, Potentially Foreign, Cash Donations into Biden Super PAC


Posted originally on the CTH on July 22, 2023 | Sundance 

As the network of Joe and Hunter Biden’s financial influence scheme through various LLC’s and dummy corporations continues to puzzle investigators, a similar scenario arises within the political campaign fundraising for Joe Biden’s Super PAC.

Fox News digital has some of the preliminary information extracted in a recent article [SEE HERE] and when you couple those big donations with the information previously shared by James O’Keefe [SEE HERE], what emerges is a system of top-down money laundering.

(Via Fox) – A super PAC crowned as the primary outside committee backing President Biden’s re-election efforts has received large sums from a dark money nonprofit that has acquired tens of millions of dollars from a mysterious entity, Fox News Digital has discovered.

Biden and his confidants elevated the Future Forward super PAC as the central outside political fundraising vehicle to back his candidacy, the New York Times reported. Senior White House adviser Anita Dunn told the publication it “really earned its place as the pre-eminent super PAC” to support his 2024 efforts.

“In 2020, when they really appeared from nowhere and started placing advertising, the Biden campaign was impressed by the effectiveness of the ads and the overall rigorous testing that had clearly gone into the entire project,” Dunn said.

In recent years, The Future Forward PAC’s related nonprofit arm, Future Forward USA Action, has pushed tens of millions of dollars into the super PAC’s coffers while concealing its donors’ identities. These actions could continue during the 2024 cycle, which means the public would remain in the dark about major benefactors financially assisting the leading outside group backing Biden as the election draws closer. 

While Future Forward USA Action hides its contributors, Fox News Digital has discovered that a significant amount of its cash was passed through a web of dark money nonprofits overseen by the Arabella Advisors consulting firm, adding an extra layer of secrecy that further masks its original donors. One such Arabella-managed entity, however, appears to have flown entirely under the radar. It contains no online presence outside its incorporation records and tax forms.

The shadowy group, called the Impetus Fund, quietly formed in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2020, records show. According to its tax documents, Ezra Reese, an attorney at the Elias Law Group, acts as the group’s president. Its board consists of three other individuals, including general counsel Saurabh Gupta, who is Arabella Advisors’ chief legal counsel and compliance officer, and secretary Andrew Schulz, who formerly served as general counsel of the Arabella-managed New Venture Fund but appears to have moved to the Adler & Colvin law firm.

During the 2020 election cycle, the Impetus Fund received $67 million from what appears to be a single anonymous donor, its tax forms show. It turned around and disbursed nearly all of its cash to a handful of nonprofits such as America Votes, Center for Voter Information, Vote Tripling Action Fund, ACRONYM and the Cooperative Impact Lab. (read more)

So large sums of money come into the network from a small group.  That money is then transferred through various mysterious entities into smaller groups, albeit still receiving large sums of money.   The smaller groups then need to launder the money into directed objectives and goals.

This is where James O’Keefe’s research starts to take on a context.

The O’Keefe Media Group broke its first story investigating what appears to be a national plot to utilize senior citizens matching a similar profile as vehicles to launder millions of dollars into political campaigns.” [link]

James O’Keefe uses publicly available FEC data to locate donors who are reported to have given thousands of donations to Act Blue.  However, the people listed on the FEC reports have no idea why there is a massive difference between the number, frequency and scale of their contributions, compared to their actual donations.  The differences are massive.

One of the possible explanations is that people inside ACT BLUE use previous organic donor activity to fraudulently launder donations that come from larger networks.

By breaking up large donations into smaller amounts, it gives the appearance of a larger support base (small donors) and washes the fingerprints away from the identity of the originating large donor, individual, group or institution.

.

What is the possible, perhaps most likely, source of the originating MASSIVE influxes of Biden cash?

But congress has their ‘top men’ on the money trail.

Right?

A Pundit With a Point


Posted originally on the CTH on July 15, 2023 | Sundance 

Generally speaking I skip most punditry stuff nowadays simply because it is fraught with too much pretending. Factually, when the baseline of the review is grounded on a false premise, the sequential review of potential outcomes is flawed and generally irrelevant.

That said, this is one of the rare punditry opinions that hits close to accurate {direct rumble link}.  Everything in this brief segment is close to the mark, Ned Ryun is at least one of those pundits who actually hits the target.  The flaw, part of the pretending that he misses, is in the outlook that if “republicans” -implying the RNC- can generate a ballot harvesting operation to compete, then Trump will defeat Newsom.

The issue Ryun misses is that professional republicans, the private corporations that are assembled under the unity banner of the professional republican apparatus (RNC), when given the Trump vs Newsom scenario, do not want Trump to defeat Newsom.  The win/win scenario for the multinationals is a Trump defeat, irrelevant of the victor, that’s the major flaw within the pretending issue inherent in almost all political analysis.  WATCH:

The Least Popular President in 70 Years        


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jul 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Every poll imaginable shows Biden and Harris steeply declining in popularity. Biden’s favorability is now lower than the past 13 presidents. I cannot imagine any sane person supporting him after what he has done to the nation in the past three years. No one can honestly say they are better off under Biden.

This man received more votes than any other president in US history. Despite his rapidly declining poll numbers, he refuses to campaign. His handlers know that they do not need to campaign because the election results have already been decided. They want to keep him far from the public eye because he embarrasses himself at every speaking engagement.

White House physician Kevin O’Connor stated Biden was “fit for duty,” but he clearly is in a state of cognitive decline. A YouGov survey showed 67% of voters, 48% of who identified as Democrats, believe Biden is too old to run for a second term. His age is the least of his worries as there is clearly an underlying degenerative disorder. Biden slipped up and admitted he “sold a lot of state secrets.” Information has been pouring in about Biden’s illegal dealings with Ukraine and China. He campaigned on the Build Back Better platform and has run America into the ground to the point where it will be extremely difficult to ever build it back, let alone better.

It really all comes down to finances. Biden has been on a rampage of a spending spree since he took office. None of his policies eased inflation. Shelter, food, fuel, and all the basic necessities of survival are at unsustainable levels. People may have hated Trump all they wanted, but at least they could afford to fill their fridges and pay rent. Under any other circumstance, the POTUS would campaign as much as their schedule permitted to win over the people. He is not doing that because they know a false flag event will happen before the 2024 US Presidential Election to ensure one of the least capable presidents in history remains in power.

Biden: I Sold A Lot of State Secrets


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jun 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Okay.  We — I was just thanking the — anyway, I started off without you, and I sold a lot of state secrets and a lot of very important things that we shared.  (Laughter.)

The only time Joe Biden speaks the truth is when he goes off script. He has said it before that his people would be mad at him for speaking without direction. Biden is currently (not) under investigation for selling state secrets to Ukraine and China. We know without a shadow of a doubt that his son Hunter obtained lucrative business contracts overseas while traveling on Air Force Two. We’ve heard, “10% for the big guy,” with no investigation. Now, the POTUS is openly mocking us for being above the law.

“We’re — we’re going to see more technol- — technological change — you’ve heard me say this a number of times — in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50 years — and maybe in the next few years — the last 50 years,” Biden eloquently said. “Sometimes it’s a little difficult to say too much in front of all the press present here,” Indian PM Modi responded, likely glad he has the BRICS pact to rely on after seeing Biden’s mental decline on full display. You can see Modi’s absolute shock when Biden ADMITS to selling state secrets. That was not a joke but a slip of the tongue.

Biden embarrassed the entire nation during his meeting with Modi in India. He saluted the Indian national anthem before slowly lowering his hand after his handlers told him that “The Star-Spangled Banner” was not playing. He refused to let go of Modi’s hand after walking down the podium, and his wife Jill was clearly flustered, not knowing where to stand. America looks weak because our leader is weak.

Biden has made a mockery of America and the due process of law. He implemented laws as a senator to punish men for crimes his own son committed without penalty. He has had his political opponents arrested in true dictator fashion. The intelligence agencies work for him, or at least for the deep state propping him up. And now, days after the WhatsApp message revealed Hunter used his father’s name for power, he “jokes” about selling state secrets. To quote Joe Biden himself, “This man cannot remain in power.”