When an Intransigent Resistance Meets an Immovable Object – EU Trade Team Accepting Baseline Tariffs


Posted originally on CTH on July 6, 2025 | Sundance

The intransigent European Union is hitting a dead end with immovable Trump on the issue of tariffs.  The resulting dynamic is what we would expect given 75 years of the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Plan) as part of the EU’s only point of reference.

In order for the EU to maintain its socialistic form of government, it needs to continue the economic benefits from one-way tariffs that exploits the American consumer market.  President Trump’s plan to force reciprocity is against its entire economic foundation.  The EU simply cannot fathom life without the status quo.

In many ways the EU is in the same position as Canada. From its perspective, economic reciprocity is not sustainable; it would have to change its social compacts. This is the core of the conflict.

The EU trade delegation hit a brick wall in Washington DC, as the U.S. trade team reiterated the baseline tariffs are not something within the negotiation dynamic.

BRUSSELS — The European Union is weighing a provisional trade deal with the United States that would maintain a 10 percent tariff on most exports, the European Commission told EU ambassadors on Friday.

The EU executive reported back after a crucial round of talks in Washington on Thursday, in which Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič sought to head off a threat by President Donald Trump to impose a 50 percent tariff on all European goods from July 9 if no deal is reached.

In addition to the baseline tariff, conversations would continue on providing relief to specific industry sectors such as cars, two national officials cited top Commission officials as saying.

The outcome fell short of expectations in European capitals after the Commission’s trade negotiating team had previously said the possibility of “up-front” tariff relief for some industries was under consideration. The U.S. levies 25 percent tariffs on cars and 50 percent on steel and aluminum. (read more)

As we highlighted in term-1, these ongoing negotiations with the EU on the issues of trade are extremely challenging.  However, in term-2 President Trump’s position is much simpler; why keep arguing about the same problem only to end up in negotiations of intransigence?

Instead, if the EU is going to continue negotiations as a collective, President Trump is now favoring just sending the EU a letter informing them of the tariff rates applied to each of their industrial sectors.  This is the most direct and impactful way to end the stalemate.

The EU cannot fathom the new level of ambivalence carried by President Trump, and by extension his trade team, toward the conversation.  There is no level of countervailing tariffs the EU can announce that impacts the position of Trump.  Even if the EU were to end all trade with the USA, that only feeds into the goals and objectives of the Trump administration.

The EU has no power in this dynamic beyond its purchasing power, and if the EU doesn’t want to level the purchasing – thereby maintaining a trade deficit, then Trump will equalize the financial imbalance with tariffs.

Canada is in the same position, hence its alignment with the EU.

Elon Musk Announces The Creation of a Third Party


Posted originally on CTH on July 5, 2025 | Sundance

Elon Musk, the richest man with visions of grandeur, has announced the creation of a new political party, “The America Party”.

[SOURCE]

With President Donald Trump capturing the overwhelming majority of middle-America within the new MAGA movement; essentially taking over the Republican party apparatus, I would consider that Musk’s assembly will likely be a collection of never-trumpers, alligator emojis and disgruntled former Republicans.

The impact is undetermined, but the assembly itself was entirely predictable.

Watch Larry Ellison.

Death Toll Rises from Catastrophic Texas Floods Along Guadalupe River


Posted originally on CTH on July 5, 2025 | Sundance

A painful update from Kerr County officials in Texas.  The death toll has risen to 27, with 18 adults and 9 children killedUPDATE: 32 killed. 18 adults and 14 children.

The region was beset by death and disaster on Friday after months’ worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours, leaving search teams to conduct boat and helicopter rescues in the fast-moving water that overtook riverfront communities and children’s summer camps.

The US National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for parts of Kerr county, located in south-central Texas Hill Country, following the heavy downpours.  Officials in Kerrville, Texas deliver an update press conference.

UPDATE 3:00pm CT – Officials in Texas called the severe flooding a “mass casualty event” and said between 23 and 25 people were still missing from a summer camp. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other authorities provided an update.

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10:00am CT

A Kerrville city official said during this morning’s press conference that there will be two more briefings today, to update the public about the flood and rescue efforts.  The next press briefing will be at 2pm Central time and the following will be at 6pm Central time.

Authorities say more than 1,000 rescuers are on the ground in Texas, searching for missing people as rains continue to fall outside of San Antonio, the Associated Press reports. Flash flood warnings remain in effect.

Twenty-seven girls from Camp Mystic remain missing, officials say, as authorities have rescued more than 850 people during operations so far.

The destructive fast-moving waters along the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes before dawn Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger is not over as torrential rains continue pounding communities outside San Antonio and flash flood warnings and watches remain in effect for parts of central Texas.

When the Drones are Coming, They Turn Off the Internet


Posted originally on CTH on July 5, 2025 | Sundance 

Some thoughts on what I would call ‘modern warfare’ for citizen preppers.  Some of this experience may pertain to urban areas, some perhaps pertinent overall.

Dimitri’s wife is grabbing her purse to go to the grocery store, when he casually says “it’s 5:45.” She just as ordinarily replies, “I’ve got cash.”  Dimitri sees the slightly puzzled look on my face and flippantly notes, “they turn off the internet at six thirty now,” shrugs, and goes back to reading his paper.

Perhaps similar to London life during the blitz. Various municipal govts coordinated the shut down of lights and people wait. Others got about doing what they needed to do, sirens notwithstanding.

There is a familiar life amid modern drone warfare, and with the similar control of electricity comes the need to add internet.

When the drones are coming they turn off the internet.

As I contemplate the contrasts in social resilience, my most familiar reference point is life after a hurricane.  In Florida when we are dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane, no power, no water, no internet, etc., you adapt to life without modern technological conveniences.

If you’ve ever lived amid the aftermath of natural disasters, you understand the need for a plan and quick adaptation. Do it a few times and adaption becomes ordinary. Horrible in ways, yes; awkward, certainly. But you take things in stride; overcome, figure out the optimal solution and keep moving.  However, not everyone is prepared to consider a disruption an ‘inconvenience’ and many people who need consistency to retain stability end up in panic.  I think long term readers well understand the reference.

As Dimitri goes back to the paper my mind shifts to stuff I’ve heard in bits and pieces but never given context before.

I think about this U.S. ‘Space Force’ thing, and now realize there are people who have gamed out modern warfare more than we discuss as a western technological society.

My mind also thinks about those reports I read a few years ago about various western govt offices concerned about the ability of Russia to target U.S. satellites.  Suddenly I realize cell phone and telecommunication is not their concern.

There’s no internet; the problem is bigger than a temporary outage of Uber. I wonder how the commercial air traffic between Kazan, Moscow and St Petersburg is not disrupted.  Old school stuff applies. Meanwhile, the kids, lots of them are playing outside as kids do – apparently life amid modern drone warfare is resilient.  No one is staring at the sky.

It is very odd to see how quickly a non-technology driven society can adapt to no electricity and no internet as an ordinary part of daily life.  An entire nation just figures out the optimal solution, in part because their time between analog and digital has been short.  Russians have a totally different context of dependency.

I’m also starting to realize how the flexibility within a non-technological society is an asset in modern warfare.  Turn off the internet in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or any major metropolitan area – how would life be impacted?

I can only imagine the reactions from a generation who has never known life without wi-fi.

It would be a very good intellectual exercise to think carefully about what your life would be like without cell phone coverage or internet services.  There are more than a few people who have never learned to read a clock with hands.

In Russia when the drones are coming they turn off the internet and sometimes the electricity.  Stores stay open; people do the ordinary things people do, the trains still run, the busses stay on schedule and you can still get a hot coffee and a sandwich just about anywhere, albeit sans Starbucks.  Private taxis, Uber equivalents, switch seamlessly to line up at pick-up points without issue. Try to duplicate that rapid on/off precision in Boston, Miami or St Louis… see my point?

Then extend those thoughts to Paris, Frankfurt, Warsaw or Helsinki.  Dimitri is thinking about ordering a pizza, while I’m starting to realize why NATO countries are going bananas.

Can Russia beat Europe in modern warfare?

Well, turn off the electricity, turn off the internet and see what happens to social society in Prague, Rome or any region in Europe when the sirens start.  Yeah, NATO is going bananas as Putin’s best non-discussed weapon just looms quietly.

Putin’s strongest weapon is essentially a social infrastructure akin to a nation full of people who can live in the aftermath of a hurricane without needing a digital screen to provide directions to the next six hours of their life.

Again, somewhere, in some office complex deep in the bowels of some agency or bureaucracy, someone has ran models of this and yet I cannot find a reference anywhere to ordinary people talking about it.

In the glovebox of every taxi in Russia you will find a paper map; when was the last time you saw one in the USA?

When the drones come, they always turn off the internet and sometimes the electricity.

How would we deal with that…

Think about it.

President Trump Impromptu Press Gaggle Aboard Air Force One – Post July 4th Celebrations


Posted originally on CTH on July 5, 2025 | Sundance

President Trump held an impromptu presser aboard Air Force One traveling to New Jersey after July 4th celebrations. Interesting comments about Ukraine and Russia as President Trump took several questions.

At 07:51, “Mr President, are you confident you will be able to find a way to end the fighting in Ukraine?”  President Trump responds, “That’s an interesting question”….  WATCH:

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Catastrophic Flash Flooding Hits Texas High Country – 13 Dead, Dozens Missing


Posted originally on CTH on July 4, 2025 | Sundance

There are several summer camps currently with active search and rescue teams working through multiple areas in/around Kerr County, Texas.   The area around the Guadalupe River is directly impacted.

Devastating flooding from torrential rain has hit the area hard.  Officials from around the region are sending in assistance and resources to assist the local rescue teams.  The rescue work is ongoing using multiple assets.

(Via ABC) – Thirteen people have died after heavy rain pounded Kerr County, Texas, early Friday, leading to “catastrophic” flooding, the sheriff said.

Children are among the dead, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has taken on the duties of acting governor.

There are several major camps in the area, and at one of them, Camp Mystic, about 23 of its 750 campers are unaccounted for, according to Patrick.

“That does not mean they’ve been lost — they could be in a tree, they could be out of communication. We are praying for all of those missing to be found alive,” Patrick said at a news conference.

Camp Mystic said in a letter to parents, “If your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified. If you have not been personally contacted, then your daughter is accounted for.” (more)

Polling Patriotism – A Stunning Contrast Between Democrats and Republicans


Posted originally on CTH onJuly 4, 2025 | Sundance

CNN broadcast a rather remarkable polling outcome that hits on the issue of pride and patriotism.

The collapse of pride in America from the Democrats polled is only 36% percent. Compared to Republicans 92% proud to be an American. What a contrast.

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President Donald Trump Signs Big Beautiful Bill – 5:00pm ET Livestream


Posted originally on CTH on July 4, 2025 | Sundance 

Details around this are scant and unpredictable; however, White House Press Secretary previously said President Trump would be signing the historic Big Beautiful Bill today around 5:00pm.  RSBN livestream below.

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America – Thank God!


Posted originally on CTH on July 4, 2025 | Sundance 

The colonies had been in conflict with England for over a year in June of 1776. A Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on June 7 of that year. Richard Henry Lee from Virginia offered up a resolution with these now famous words:

“Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

Lee’s words spurred the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. A committee of five was appointed to draft a statement making the case for the colonies, a statement to the world of the intent and the reason behind that intent.

Members of the Committee were John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Jefferson took on the task of actually drafting the document as we know it today.

The Continental Congress reconvened on July 1, 1776, and on the following day, the resolution for independence by Lee was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, with  New York not voting. Minor changes were made to the Jefferson document.

Work on the document continued through July 3 and into the afternoon of July 4, when the Declaration was officially adopted by the Congress. Of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, two — Pennsylvania and South Carolina — voted No, Delaware was undecided and New York again abstained.

As we all know, John Hancock, President of the Congress made his signature large enough for King George to read “without his spectacles.”

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. – Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The complete list of those who signed were:
John Hancock (president of the Continental Congress), Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery, Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott, William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris, Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark, Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross, Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean, Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton, William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn, Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton.

Check out this link for the sobering fate of many of those who so pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.

Those are the facts about our Declaration of Independence, the history that we as school children have learned since the creation of this great nation that we celebrate, that we love and honor so.

Often we cannot adequately find words to express our own sentiments, let alone those of a nation and successive generations to come, but Jefferson and that Continental Congress did just that.

The words have stood throughout several centuries as a clarion call for freedom, for breaking free of tyranny, for men to put aside their individual causes and join together to battle for the right of every man, woman and child together to become a people united in goal and resolve.

Today as we celebrate, today as we pledge allegiance to a flag that has gone from 13 stars to 50, may we remember not only the sacrifice, but the resolve. May we honor not only the words, but the unity and deeds of our forefathers. May each of us dig deep into our hearts and work out our differences for the betterment of our nation and our children and grandchildren.

Say a prayer for America today. Rekindle hope today. Honor the past by determining the future.

Today we are just Americans; God loving and joyfully visible Americans, honoring our blessed country, its founding and within every moment, each other.

America!

Thank God!

Transformational – President Trump Holds Quiet Meeting with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, MbS Younger Brother


Posted originally on CTH on July 4, 2025 | Sundance

It was reported last night that President Trump held a quiet meeting with Saudi Arabia Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in the White House Thursday. This meeting is reported to cover discussions around de-escalation with Iran, the conflict in Gaza and what comes next.

The meeting also comes on the heels of President Trump having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and work throughout the middle-east region by President Trump Emissary Steve Witkoff and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

(Via Fox News) Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman secretly met with President Donald Trump and other key officials in the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, multiple sources confirmed with Fox News.

Khalid, also known as KBS, is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

[…] The talks were also reportedly about ending the war in Gaza and negotiating the release of the remaining hostages – whether dead or alive – and about working toward peace in the Middle East. (more)

Previously it was reported by Israeli media that President Trump was working on a comprehensive solution to Gaza that would encompass peace in the middle-east by normalizing ties with Israel, isolating Iran and giving them fewer options for regional instability.  Expanding the Abraham Accords provides the diplomatic vehicle for this approach.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on Monday, July 7th.

It is strongly rumored that Syria and Lebanon would soon join the Abraham Accords, with the possibility of Saudi Arabia joining thereafter.  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) is a key figure hoping to bring a new era to the middle east absent of conflict and focused on prosperity.

According to Israel Hayom, there was a 4-way call (Trump, Netanyahu, Rubio, Dermer) after the Iran strikes. President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to “fundamental principles in general terms” including:

♦ “Gaza hostilities will conclude within two weeks.” ♦ “Four Arab nations (including Egypt and the UAE) will administer the Gaza Strip, replacing the murderous Hamas terrorist organization.” ♦ “The remaining Hamas leadership will face exile to other countries (possibly Qatar and Turkey), while the hostages gain freedom.” ♦ “Multiple nations globally will accept numerous Gaza inhabitants seeking emigration.” ♦ “Abraham Accords expansion will bring Syria, Saudi Arabia, and additional Arab and Muslim countries to recognize Israel and establish official relationships.” ♦ “Israel will declare its willingness for future Palestinian conflict resolution under the ‘two states’ concept, contingent upon the Palestinian Authority reforms.” ♦ “The United States will acknowledge limited Israeli sovereignty implementation in Judea and Samaria.”

Saudi Arabia was previously on the cusp of signing up to the Abraham Accords, but retreated from the agreement when the Israeli-Hamas war erupted within Gaza.  It would not be surprising to see them come back to that agreement with President Trump’s guidance and request.

If we think about the status of Syria, we can clearly see how President Trump has enticed the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa to the peace table based on economic benefits (sanctions removed).  In fact there are large billboards all over Tel Aviv thanking President Trump for his efforts in the embattled nation. It is rather remarkable.

Put all that together, and yes there are significant indications well beyond the report by Israel Hayom that something rather remarkable is possible within the middle-east and specifically as they relate to Israel.

With Iran now effectively removed from their ability to antagonize the region, and with President Trump as the enforcer to stop their extremist tendencies, the path toward regional peace seems much more likely.  This opens the door for a new era in mid-east politics.

(VIA WSJ) – […] Ms. House compares MBS to the 17th-century Russian czar Peter the Great, and the comparison is apt. Both men are best understood as modernizing autocrats, driven to shake up traditional societies and so enable them to withstand the competition and stress of a rapidly changing geopolitical scene. Like Peter, who built St. Petersburg to serve as Russia’s bridge to the West, MBS hopes that his new city—known as Neom—will make Saudi Arabia a dominant force in technological innovation. And like Peter, who asserted political control over the Russian Orthodox church and personally shaved the beards of aristocrats resisting modernization, MBS has ruthlessly imposed his vision on both religious and tribal leaders skeptical of change.

[…] While earlier rulers took small steps to wean the economy from oil, MBS believes the time for half-measures has passed. Saudi Arabia, as MBS grasped years ago, cannot live by oil alone. But to lessen its dependence on oil, the social contract between Saudi citizens and their government has to change. New sources of revenue, like tourism, will have to supplement oil wealth. New industries, like data centers, will need to be welcomed into the kingdom, and new cities to house them will either have to grow from existing ones or, like Neom, be invented.(more)

If you think about the geopolitics behind much of the global conflict you may identify the U.S, U.K and EU as the historic source of influential instability.   In the big picture BRICS was created as an economic hedge against this troubling influence, an alternative alignment of partners.

With U.S. President Donald J Trump challenging and changing the objectives of the ‘western alliance’, and indeed fracturing the western trade markets and the underlying economics therein, a new picture begins to emerge.

A strategic USA political and economic realignment based on peace, growth and independent stability, can unite America, Russia, Saudi Arabia and many emerging economies.  However, the old financial guards within the UK, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia will likely fight this geopolitical shakeup.

All of that said, the ‘old guards’ biggest weapon to fight back against a global economic and peace realignment would be their control over the western-developed intelligence networks.

Is that the dynamic we have been seeing?

When contrast against visible recent events, that is a very interesting question to ponder.

Hence, President Donald Trump’s departure from this picture is almost allegorical.  Remember, President Trump departed the G7 in Canada just before this entire ‘western-aligned’ crew showed up.