If there has been any doubt that Ukraine is waging a proxy war for NATO, today has shown the true face of this war. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has carried out a mass drone attack on four Russian airfields on June 1st, right at the turning point of the ECM. They hit over 40 strategic bombers on their home bases, including in the Arctic and Siberia, after Ukraine, alleged with NATO help, created a drone with a 3,000-kilometre range. They targeted 41 strategic bombers that were lined up at four airfields inside Russia to destroy Russia’s ability to defend in the event of a NATO invasion.
Ukraine proudly said that “enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia”, adding that Ukraine is conducting “a large scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft.” These planes were not being used as a threat to Ukraine. This is a proxy war to destroy Russia and to weaken the country for the eventual conquest by NATO.
They targeted four airfields: Dyagilevo in Riazan region, Ivanovo in Ivanovo region, Belaya air base in Russia’s Irkutsk region, which is located in south-eastern Siberia over 4,000km east of the frontline, and Olenya air base in Russia’s Murmansk region, around 2,000km away from Ukraine’s border. They reportedly smuggled drones deep into Russian territory, hiding them and finally launching them remotely.
Just last March, Ukraine announced it had developed a new type of drone that can reach a range of up to 3,000 kilometres, but gave no details about its type or the size of its warhead. It has been confirmed from recent satellite images that Russian strategic bombers at the four bases were allegedly hit during the operation. This includes the Russian Tu-95, Tu-22M3, Tu-160, and A-50.
Take note that the peace deal was on May 15th, right to the day. Now, on the ECM target of June 2nd, we have this tremendous expansion of the war, and this is aimed at taking down Russia, not to secure some BS unconditional ceasefire. NATO has just declared World War III.
From the start of this year. Our computer targeted May 2025, and that aligned with the ECM on the war. Then it targeted June as the month when the rise in volatility would develop. May was the low point in the war. It all goes to hell fast and Zelensky does not give a shit about Ukraine or the people. He is taking orders from the NEOCONS and their retirement home – NATO. The Russian Neocons have long criticized Putin for not taking down Ukraine as the US did to Iraq. He was only trying to protect the Russians in the Donbas. This attack to destroy Russia’s entire fleet of strategic bombers is a major act of international war.
Our computer has been targeting June 2nd all year. This war is now going to escalate into August, and this is not going to look good as we head into 2026. I warned that Zelensky was the man they selected to create World War III from the outset. The computer has been correct, and all my efforts to try to avert this outcome have been a waste of time. As I have said many times, I have never been able to defeat my own computer even once.
European readers may want to get their cash out before it is too late. We can see those capital controls come into play as soon as August. Those with children may want to get out before they are drafted into a war that Europe will lose.
Posted originally on Jun 1, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT #1: Hi Marty,
Just observation form Croatia, it is just unbelievable how much lies MSM and Senators like Lindsey Graham are spreading about war in Ukraine.
Lindsey just visited Ukraine and labeled peace talks as a joke and he is saying that Russians are not trying to negotiate. As well he is voicing support for War against Russia and he is saying that Ukraine is not losing war. In my opinion at this stage of the war this is such an obvious lie. It is hard to understand and accept that someone as a USA senator can be so mean and hateful. What price we as USA will have to pay for such a senatorial behavior? For him to spread War Agenda vs Russia and China even thou he is hiding behind statements that he is supporting the peace talks that Trump is pushing, is just very mean.
I am now in Croatia and have to say that nobody here believes that war will spread. Whenever I mention that war will spread and it will escalate in to 2027 people here think that I am crazy. I think that lots of Europeans are the same they will be super surprised when this thing explodes during next year per Socrates.
Regards,
GD
COMMENT #2: Hello, Mr. Armstrong;
Thank you for doing podcasts here in Serbia. I can say that we are getting very concerned when Macron is telling Asia to forget about China and focus on Ukraine, and then Merz is handing NATO missiles to Ukraine, which will attack Moscow. The mood here is viewing the EU and NATO as the aggressors. You know that NATO bombed us into submission because Serbia is generally pro-Russia, since we saw NATO in action, and you are correct, never trust a Ukrainian. Your quote from Churchill is correct that the truth needs a bodyguard of lies to protect it.
Thank you for your courage. So few have that today.
VO
REPLY: The European press is doing everything to downplay the spread of the war spreading. They keep claiming Ukraine is winning and that Russia is failing. They run stories that make it sound as if Putin fears being hanged, as if a single person is waging this entire war. Zelensky tried to assassinate Putin on May 20th. They know the truth. Putin is the ONLY adult in the room, who may not be on Cocaine. Remove Putin, and you will have World War III, for the guys behind him are Russian Neocons.
The European press pretends this war is only about Ukraine. Yet, several European leaders have described the Russia-Ukraine war as a “proxy war,” but the most prominent and consistent figure using this terminology is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Back in July 2022, in a radio interview, he explicitly stated:
“This is a proxy war: the infrastructure is Ukrainian, but the money and weapons come from America, and the soldiers are Ukrainian.”
Orbán framed the conflict as a battle between the U.S./NATO and Russia, arguing that Ukraine is a “battleground” for larger powers. He has consistently echoed this view, criticizing Western arms deliveries to Ukraine and EU sanctions against Russia. He claims Hungary seeks to “stay out of this war” to protect its national interests.
French President Emmanuel Macron (June 2022) suggested avoiding humiliating Russia, warning that the conflict risked becoming a “proxy war” if diplomatic solutions were ignored. However, he later attempted to back out, clarifying his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Leaders of both Serbia and Belarus (non-EU) have also used similar language, warning that this has been a deliberate strategy to wage war against Russia. The fake news tries to mislead the public, claiming that it is a war of Russian aggression against Ukrainian sovereignty. If that was the case, Putin could have taken all of Ukraine instead of just protecting the Russians in the Donbas, for which he gets criticism from the hardline Russians.
Orbán’s stance has isolated Hungary within the EU/NATO, with critics accusing him of parroting Kremlin propaganda and undermining European unity. However, the EU needs this war and has not taken any measures to resolve the conflict or promote peace. Merkel even admitted that Germany and France never intended to honor the Minsk Agreement that would have prevented this war. Moreover, the NEOCON #1 rule is to avoid communication, ensuring there will never be peace. This is why not a single European leader will talk to Putin. It took Trump to open communications, and they are doing their best to push Trump into this war.
Sun Tzu in his Art of War states that sowing doubt, fear, and discord within the enemy camp is key. However, this is what the fake News and European politics are doing to their own people, pretending that this war is confined to Ukraine vs Russia and will not spread, yet pushing for NATO troops to enter Ukraine, which is starting drafts throughout Europe. A blind man can see that the Fake News narrative is indeed fake when the governments are doing the exact opposite. Putin was fooled once with the Mink Agreement that the West refused to honor, so he would be a fool to agree to any peace deal while they are constantly rearming Ukraine and boosting all their military preparations.
Sun Tzu prioritized indirect knowledge gathering (espionage) and strategic deception over open communication or negotiation with the enemy. His focus was on gaining an overwhelming informational and psychological advantage to win efficiently, often by making the enemy act against their own interests based on false beliefs. Direct communication was generally seen as a potential vulnerability or a lesser tool compared to the power of deception and superior intelligence.
Sun Tzu also advocated Winning Without Fighting. This is the NATO/EU strategy of using Eastern Europeans as pawns to reduce Russia, so they can later walk in without a fight. They are clearly positioning to force Russia to submit or make disastrous mistakes, making battle unnecessary between the EU, letting Eastern Europeans die for their objectives. This is why they intered into the Romanian elections so they too can use Romanians as pawns in this battle to conquer Russia. Trump will NEVER get a peace deal unless he wakes the hell up, for he is being played again by American NEOCONS. They cleverly got the two neutral countries during previous wars to put their citizens at risk for their goals – Switzerland and Sweden.
The Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch made the plain statement on Sky News:
“Israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the UK, just like Ukraine is on behalf of Western Europe against Russia. We have to get serious.”
While several figures have used the term, behind the curtain, most European leaders and NATO admit the Ukraine war is a “proxy war,” reflecting their unique stance within the EU. This framing remains highly contentious and is widely seen as undermining Ukraine’s legitimacy in defending its territory.
I have supported Trump because he was against the war. I fear he has taken a severe wrong turn and has taken advice from NEOCONS who are still in the closet. His harsh words against Putin are outright provocative, and this is not about negotiating a business deal. If he cannot open his eyes and see that it is the EU and NATO who are sabotaging any peace deal with Russia because they want war and do not give a shit about their own people, then we are watching World War III in the making as our ECM model turns on Monday – June 2nd.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, on Tuesday, appeared to warn Trump about the possibility of World War III as he is escalating tensions between the nuclear powers. He wrote on the social platform X: “Regarding Trump’s words about Putin ‘playing with fire’ and ‘really bad things’ happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,”Medvedev wrote Tuesday“I hope Trump understands this,” he added.
Medvedev has pointed out Trump’s inflammatory threats on Truth Social. Trump wrote that Putin was “playing with fire” after Sunday’s deadly Russian air strikes on Ukraine. I thought Trump had better instincts than this, but I suppose I was wrong. There can be no peace when the EU is stabbing Trump in the back and has even admitted that, as long as Kaja Kallas, the ruthless, bloodthirsty Neocon in charge of EU foreign policy, has outright said that the EU will not honor any peace deal Trump creates.
Trump will walks us into World War III with this bullshit. Kaja Kallas has openly stated that Russia is too big and it must be broken up. I do not know who is feeding Trump geopolitical advice, but they are manipulating him into World War III. I had hoped I could at last defeat my own computer, but I will fail again. This is not going to end well for the entire world.
Republican lawmakers have encouraged Trump to place additional sanctions on Russia, arguing that economic pressure could cause the Kremlin to ease up on the battlefield. Sanctions have NEVER worked even once in history. All they do is confirm to the Russian people that they are a piece of shit and the West is trying to get them to overthrow their government for what purpose? To allow Macron and his horde of pirates to invade Russia and strip mine its natural resources to propel the EU to the pinnacle of power and leave North America its vasal state?
Trump, who vowed to end the war in last year’s presidential campaign, and against whom the Neocons launched a criminal investigation to stop him, and even Dich Cheney endorsed Kamala for president because he did as she was told. The NEOCONS are in complete control of the EU. They are in Paris and London. If Trump does not know this, then he is being fed FAKE NEWS and it is not CNN, but Neocon sympathizers in his own ranks.
Trump responded when asked whether he was considering sanctions on Russia and Putin, Trump said, “Absolutely. He’s killing a lot of people. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him, right?” “He’s killing a lot of people, and I’m not happy with that.”
Trump has stepped up his criticism of Putin when he should be looking in his side and rear mirrors. Stating publicly that Putin has gone absolutely CRAZY was not conducive to a working relationship. I would slam the door on his ass.
If Trump cannot see what Europe is doing, then there is ZERO hope for peace, and the USA will be involved in World War III along with Canada. Putin would have to be insane to agree to any peace deal with Trump, while Europe does not want peace and is using Ukraine as a proxy war, and they do not care if a single Ukrainian survives as long as they take one Russian with them.
Putin should agree to peace when EVERY WU leader, except Hungary, is pushing for World War III? I do not know who is advising Trump, but they are a Neocon still in the closet who can taste Russian blood. The EU will collapse if it does not resort to war to try to unify its members. The EU needs war to stay together, for they can feel the power slipping through their fingers. Every podcast I do in Europe now asks WHEN will the EU breakup, not IF.
Trump is on the wrong side, and he will be the president of a bloodbath. China will join Russia because they know this is a war against NATO, not Ukraine. There is ZERO interest in any peace deal in Europe so Trump is on the wrong side of the negotiations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected Trump’s proposal of a follow-up at the Vatican, where the president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in April.
Then we have developments coming from Capitol Hill as House GOP members, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) say the U.S. should pull out of the war, despite a push from Trump and Senate Republicans for more sanctions on Moscow. The Hill reported Greene’s comments:
“With President Trump, both countries could be pursuing a peace deal that would lead to historic trade deals. That would be overwhelmingly incredible for the people of their countries. But instead, they are both crazy and pursue war. Shame on both of these countries and shame on any politician that wants to continue to engage America in more meddling actions in more foreign wars.”
“I along with most Americans want nothing to do with either of these countries while they are at war with one another. And I’ll extend that to any country that wants to engage in war with others. The people of the world want peace and prosperity and that’s what I support.”
Then there is the Neocon Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is eager to impose harsh sanctions on Russia, which has more than 80 co-sponsors. Graham would be in prison for a hate crime if he weren’t a Senator. Suppose he said that in London, he would be thrown in a dungeon to rot. And this is the impartial advice that Trump is listening to? I hope to God he is not. But I fear my computer will be right again. We are going down the path that leads to hell.
Posted originally on May 30, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: Hi Marty:
Long time no see, hope you’re doing well. I’m forwarding a short article to you. The one virologist who’s been right about Covid from the get go is Geert Vanden Bossche. He was world renowned until he went against the narrative. For over a year he’s been predicting a highly lethal Covid variant that would attack highly vaccinated countries. I read at Zerohedge last week that they call this strain “razor blade throat”. Maybe this ties in with your disease cycle in 2026. Looking forward to seeing you in the fall.
Atb,
Chris
REPLY: In all the studies I have run through the computer, no matter how I rephrase the inquiry, it always returns the same answer – Migration & War = Deadly Disease Cycle. I have input all the major plagues into the computer database from ancient times. The last “plague” that we were all taught in history class was the famous Spanish Flu of WWI: A Perfect Storm. WWI directly facilitated the virus’s global spread, intensity, and lethality. An estimated 50-100 million people died from the Spanish Flu – far more than the roughly 20 million military and civilian deaths from WWI itself.
A simple correlation of wars and migrations to disease demonstrates beyond opinion that these events have always been a major killer in wars (e.g., more soldiers died from disease than battle in many conflicts prior to the 20th century). Recent conflicts (e.g., Syrian Civil War, Yemeni Civil War) have seen the collapse of healthcare systems and the resurgence of diseases like cholera, polio, and measles. War is a powerful engine for disease spread. WWI provided the specific conditions – massive global troop movements, unprecedented crowding, malnutrition, shattered healthcare, and censorship – that turned the 1918 influenza virus into the deadliest pandemic in modern history. The connection between war and infectious disease is undeniable and devastating.
Emperor Lucius Verus’s campaign in the East, specifically against the Parthian Empire, for which this coin celebrated his victory, was directly linked to bringing the Antonine Plague (also known as the Plague of Galen) back to the Roman Empire around 165-166 CE.
Ancient historians like Cassius Dio and Ammianus Marcellinus specifically state that the plague broke out during the siege of the Mesopotamian city of Seleucia (near modern Baghdad, Iraq) in late 165 or early 166 CE. The plague rapidly infected the Roman legions. When Verus and his victorious army returned to the Roman Empire in 166 CE, they brought the plague with them.
The plague spread like wildfire throughout the Roman provinces and reached Rome itself. It raged for years (possibly decades, with recurrences), becoming one of the deadliest pandemics in antiquity. Estimates suggest it killed millions, including a significant portion of the Roman army and population. It’s widely believed to have contributed to the weakening of the Empire during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (who also eventually died from it in 180 CE).
Creating WWIII on top of this gain-of-function COVID-19 disease, will be the devastating impact that our computer is projecting heading into 2029, which will probably be Phase I, with Phase II heading into 2032, but the final Phase will
COVID-19 does not appear to be an intentional biological weapon. It was most likely a gain-of-function creation that leaked out. Back in 1546, De Contagione (treatise on syphilis) was written more than 300 years before the germ theory of disease emerged. In that work, Girolamo Fracastoro wrote: “There will come yet other new and unusual ailments in the course of time. And this disease will pass away, but later it will be born again and be seen by our descendants.”
Not only is 2032 the 6th Wave of 51.6-year groups, totaling 309.6 years, but there is also a fractal of 6 waves of 309.6 years, which encompasses 1857.6-year groups. At the end of the last 309.6-year wave in 1722.4, there was also the Great Plague of Marseille (1720-1722), which was the single most devastating plague event during this timeframe. There was also the famous Smallpox, which was a constant, major killer, with the Boston Epidemic (1721-1722) being a historically significant event due to the inoculation controversy, similar to how we now have the vaccinated being more vulnerable as we advance.
The period 1700-1725 was dominated by the Great Northern War and the War of the Spanish Succession. These were massive, multi-theater conflicts involving most of the major European powers and their colonies. They fundamentally altered the European balance of power, marking the dramatic rise of Russia under Peter the Great and Great Britain as major powers, while significantly weakening Sweden and exhausting France. Russia ultimately won that attempt to conquer it, marking the end of the 309.6-year wave. Typhus & “Camp Fever” were the diseases that were spread by lice in crowded, unsanitary conditions that were major killers in armies and among displaced populations during the frequent wars of the period, like the Great Northern War (1700-1721) and the later War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).
Going back to the previous wave that peaked at 1413.76, the population saw a virtual decline of 50% due to the Black Plague, also spread by war following the Mongol invasion of Crimea. They catapulted dead bodies into the Italian fort, and they fled, taking the plague back to Europe. Yes, I have said there remains the risk of a 50% decline in population as the Sixth Wave of the Economic Confidence Model concludes. This is historically standard. This is traditionally the combination of war and disease. The Black Plague or Death was the half-way point in this 1857.6 year wave.
Trump is being played like a fiddle. I do not know who in his camp is feeding him the Neocon agenda. I am screaming as loud as I can for the USA to stay out and let Europe exterminate itself and the EU. It will not win, and we have to stand back and let it happen. If we do not, China and Russia will join forces because they know this is NOT a war with Ukraine, they are an expendable proxy of NATO, as are Poland and Romania. This war will exacerbate the disease cycle, as it has always done throughout history.
This gain-of-function disease, COVID-19, may be the new Black Plague. I believe that those who will be the most vulnerable will be those who have been vaccinated. That’s just my opinion – not the computer. The computer has not identified the actual disease agent. Our politicians are IGNORANT of history, and if they ever bothered to look, disease ALWAYS spreads with migration. Just open a history book, and they might read that overwhelmingly, the historical consensus is that disease was the primary killer of Indigenous peoples in the Americas following European contact, responsible for a vastly greater number of deaths than warfare. Pre-contact population estimates for the Americas range widely (40-100+ million), but post-contact decline was catastrophic. Scholars generally agree that 80-95% of the Indigenous population died within the first 100-150 years after sustained European contact due to disease. This represents one of the most devastating demographic catastrophes in human history due to migration, and Europeans brought diseases unfamiliar to the American Indigenous population.
———- Forwarded message ——— From: geert vanden bossche from geert’s Substack <gvdb@substack.com> Date: Thu, May 29, 2025 at 7:26 AM Subject: Nobody seeing the drama unfolding right before our eyes?
I’m sure at least some of you have become aware of new COVID-19 (C-19) outbreaks in several Asian countries (Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Japan).
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for moreNobody seeing the drama unfolding right before our eyes?geert vanden bosscheMay 29READ IN APPI’m sure at least some of you have become aware of new COVID-19 (C-19) outbreaks in several Asian countries (Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Japan). But even in Australia, NB. 1.8.1 is now spreading, and it has already made landfall in the US as well. These outbreaks are continuing to rise rapidly and at least Taiwan has been reporting a sustained increase in severe and fatal cases too.While critics are rightfully concerned about the many direct side effects of the C-19 vaccines, few are aware of the threat posed by the large-scale and out-of-control gain-of-function experiment that has been triggered by irrational human intervention in highly C-19 vaccinated populations. After psychotic infection-prevention measures and insane C-19 mass vaccination drove viral escape from anti-SARS-CoV-2 (SC-2) immunity, making the virus more infectious, ongoing vaccine breakthrough infections now appear to be evolving in a way that facilitates immune deficiency against SC-2 altogether, thereby facilitating increased viral virulence of newly emerging, highly transmissible SC-2 lineages. As I always said: This is not going to have a happy ending (in highly C-19 vaccinated populations).Thanks for reading geert’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Pledge your supportgeert’s Substack is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell geert’s Substack that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won’t be charged unless they enable payments.Pledge your support
Posted originally on May 31, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: Marty, There seems to be a growing trend with States approving gold and silver coins as acceptable payment methods. You have always said that it would be coins and not bars. However Florida now states that the silver must be 99% pure. How will this affect the pre 65 constitutional coins like dimes, quarters and half dollars generally referred to a junk silver? Junk silver coins will of course be worth more if the price of silver increases however it appears that one may not be able to use them for any daily transactions. Would one be better off selling their junk silver and converting it to silver rounds immediately? What does Socrates or Socrates Jr think on this topic as it is certainly a new wrinkle. Thanks ! JimJ
ANSWER: I understand the act, and it only illustrates my point that when it comes to a silver bar, 99% of the people out there would NEVER know the difference between that and a bar of Nickel. That’s what I said; I prefer the pre-1965 silver coins because the average person can easily identify the date. They are ALREADY legal tender. So they are not demonetizing the silver coins.
The Roll of 20 – 2025 $1 American Silver Eagles are 99.9% silver. However, they are denominated as $1. This may be more confusing to the average smuck on the street. Personally, I have bags of silver coins, and I have a hoard of $20 gold coins that came from a central bank, which found them tucked away in the basement vault. They are all uncirculated 1924 Saints. This was a private offering.
Posted originally on May 30, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
Happening now: @GovRonDeSantis is in Apopka to sign HB 999 which “sets in motion #Florida’s full recognition of gold and silver as legal tender, giving Floridians the freedom to use precious metals for everyday transactions alongside traditional currency.”https://t.co/fRkQpDJE7Dpic.twitter.com/dOMajgwAsj
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared gold and silver legal tender. HB 999 maintains that these precious metals may be used in payments if they meet specific purity standards. The bill goes into effect on July 1, 2026, but many are confused as to what this will entail.
As stated in the legislation: “Legal Tender; Revising the sales and use tax exemption for certain coin or currency; specifying that a person who claims the sales tax exemption bears the burden for determining whether the gold coin or silver coin meets a specified definition; providing a presumption regarding the purity requirements of gold coin and silver coin, etc.”
“We are the first large state to step up and to get this done,” DeSantis said. “And this is right out of the Constitution of the United States. So this legislation will authorize money services business like check cashers or PayPal to transmit and accept payment in gold and silver.” State Rep. Bill Bankson sponsored the bill with the goal to “eliminate the tax burden and make it a functional means of transaction between willing parties.”
To begin, Florida is not the first state to declare gold and/or silver legal tender. Utah passed the Utah Legal Tender Act of 2011, which declared coins of either metal legal tender. Oklahoma passed Senate Bill 862 in 2014, recognizing U.S.-minted gold and silver coins as legal tender and exempting them from taxation. Kansas and West Virginia have similar policies. Texas has recognized these coins as legal tender and enacted legislation to protect them from state seizure. Wyoming treats gold and silver as currency and has exempted it from sales tax. South Carolina and Louisiana have similar policies.
Florida’s approach is a bit more structured. Gold coins must be at least 99.5% pure and silver coins at least 99.9% pure to qualify as legal tender. The weight and purity must be imprinted on the metal with the name or symbol of the mint refiner. Both will be exempt from sales tax. The state government may choose to accept silver and gold coins for payments on taxes, dues, charges, and debts. Yet, these transactions must be done electronically, and the coins will be held by a public depository while processing. A regulatory regime will be established to handle coinage, process insurance, record-keeping, licensing, and consumer disclosure agreements, which the Office of Financial Regulation will oversee.
Will Floridians see people using silver coins to check out at the grocery store? No. The law entails that payments in gold and silver coinage are entirely optional, and no person or business is required to accept them in payments. Merchants will not be required to attain knowledge on metal purity or have scales behind the cash register. The difference now is that businesses are allowed to accept them if they choose to do so. There are numerous tax benefits to choosing metal over cash.
If John Doe wants to purchase a boat from a dealership with gold, for example, the dealership must voluntarily accept the coinage but is in no way obligated to do so. Then the dealership has the burden of verifying the spot price of gold or silver rather than the state. However, if you go to a bank to cash a check, the bank will have the ability to offer clients payments in gold or silver coinage rather than cash. Another aspect to consider is that Florida will no longer add a sales tax on transactions in gold and silver, lowering the cost for businesses and consumers by around 6%.
This signals the ongoing loss of confidence in the federal government. States are rebelling against federal mismanagement and offering residents alternatives to move off the grid. People tend to hoard gold and spend paper. Gold and silver are not practical as daily commerce but are a symbolic store of wealth. We are entering a phase where sovereign debt will become toxic, and states will begin to prepare for the inevitable chaos coming from Washington.
Posted originally on May 30, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
Women across Build Back Better nations with open border policies are on high alert. The majority of migrants are single men who came from cultures vastly different from the West, with a particular disparity in how men view the opposite sex. Crime has been multiplying across these nations as unvetted unknowns fail to adjust to their new settings. In France, 80% of women would like the military to protect them from migrant criminals.
There has also been an uptick in drug trafficking due to unvetted foreigners. A CSA poll found that 76% of French citizens would like the army to begin battling drug trafficking in “disadvantaged neighborhoods.”
When you import the third world, you become the third world. France has moved to a point system for residency whereby points are awarded for French language proficiency, education, work experience, skills in high-demand fields, and so forth. Migrants are now required to take a test to demonstrate knowledge of French culture, laws, and traditions. Citizenship is no longer a guarantee, and migrants must live in the nation for seven years in most instances before seeking permanent residency.
‘”Street rapes” are a minority; nationally, most sexual violence is by French nationals,” has been a common claim by the globalists on the left who are attempting to dismiss the horrific crimes against women perpetrated by migrants. Women across Europe are afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods. The government’s attempt to curb migration is far too little, too late. Ten percent of France’s population, and therefore culture and traditions, has been replaced by foreigners who were outright encouraged to invade.
originally on Posted May 30, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
The US economy contracted by 0.2% from January through March of 2025. This is the second Q1 estimate provided by the US Commerce Department, with a third on the way on June 26.
Imports surged into the US during Q1 as corporations aimed to avoid incoming tariffs. The 42.6% uptick in imports marked the fastest pace of goods arriving in the US since Q3 2020. Business investment rose 24.4% in Q1, with business inventories adding 2.6 percentage points to overall GDP. Federal government spending fell by 4.6%, the largest drop in three years, but a deduction from overall GDP calculations.
Real consumer spending rose by 1.2%, albeit far less than the 4% posted during Q4 2024 and revised down from the first reading of 1.8%. Other reports indicate that Americans are spending far more on the essentials like utilities, health care, and housing. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure (PCE price index) rose 3.6%. Persistent inflation has led to cautious consumer behavior and a decline in demand for goods, contributing to the overall weakened reading for Q1.
Discretionary retail fell by 3% this quarter to 23% as consumers are less likely to purchase items like clothing, furniture, and electronics. Durable goods experienced a significant decline of 19%. The University of Michigan’s survey noted that decreased confidence has caused the demand for big-ticket items to decline. A lot of the demand we did see in Q1 was spending to offset anticipated tariffs. Autos, for example, rose by 11% YoY in March alone, and Q1 saw an overall 4.8% in auto purchases. That trend is not expected to continue as consumer sentiment is low.
April’s 2.3% CPI reading was the smallest annual increase since 2021, yet still above the 2% target set by the Fed years ago. The Fed isn’t fighting inflation. That phase is over. What they’re really fighting now is a collapse in confidence in the bond market, the dollar, and in the entire public sector. There will be no soft landing as once anticipated, as we are currently in a stage of stagflation.
Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell met Trump at the White House on Thursday to declare that rate decisions would be based on “careful, objective, and non-political analysis.” “I’ve never asked for a meeting with any president, and I never will,” Powell said. “I wouldn’t do that. There’s never a reason for me to ask for a meeting. It’s always been the other way.” Trump invited Powell to the White House to encourage him to cut rates at the June meeting. The markets were pricing in a rate cut in June but now that does not seem as likely.
Trump fails to realize that the Fed is attempting to preserve confidence in the US, primarily in the debt market. We are witnessing cash deficits of over $1 trillion per quarter. Moody’s recently downgraded the US and no longer believes that Treasuries are a certain bet. The government is broke and the Fed must maintain the illusion of solvency.
Posted originally on May 29, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
Think-tank the Lowly Institute found that the poorest 75 nations in the world are highly indebted to China, and the bill is almost past due. “Now, and for the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,” the report said. Of the $35 billion owed to China, around $22 billion must be repaid from the 75 poorest countries.
President Xi Jinping signed the majority of these loans under the Belt and Road Investment Program (BRI). China became the largest supplier of bilateral loans back in 2016, with a high of $50 billion in loans, surmounting to more than all creditors in the West combined. This was intentional as the BRI sought to gain influence in developing nations. Some estimates believe that China is owed a “hidden debt” of $385 billion through BRI initiatives, but China denies creating debt traps for nations it knew would likely be unable to repay their loans.
Argentina, Brazil, Congo DR, Mongolia, Indonesia, and others all have one major common factor—they are rich in natural resources. They also have limited access to international private capital and were more likely to turn to China for aid. In 2005, China held less than 5% of external debt, but that figure rose to 40% once the BRI was introduced.
The World Bank found that China is the largest supplier of bilateral debt for developing nations, accounting for over 30% of all loans in 2025. Out of 120 developing nations, 54 are indebted to China, with repayments exceeding the combined amount owed to the Paris Club bloc that factors in all major Western bilateral lenders. In 2023, 26% of all bilateral debt in developing nations was owed to China.
China offered these nations a >5-year grace period on repayments that would mature in 15-20 years, and since the bulk of these loans were granted in the mid-2010s, the bill is now due. The International Monetary Fund found that over 50% of the poorest and most vulnerable nations are debt-distressed. Servicing these massive debts has become unsustainable. As noted by the Lowly Institute, 3.3 billion people live in nations that spend more on servicing debt than on education or health care.
China is engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy,” whereby its loans have pushed nations into such severe debt that China now has significant influence over their geopolitical affairs. If nations cannot repay with cash, they can repay with military bases, access to valuable infrastructure such as ports and railways, minerals and mines, trade deals, and more. All of these nations will accept and adopt the One China policy. Pakistan has defaulted on debt numerous times, but China gave them money for strategic purpose. Debt is leverage and power, and China now has immense influence over most of the developing world.
California routinely selects groups of minimum wage workers and decides that their skill set is now worth tenfold. The state in general increased the minimum wage to $16.50 per hour on January 1, 2025, while certain cities have raised the minimum to $19 per hour. Lobbying efforts have prevented certain groups from seeing a drastic spike in minimum wage, but California has now decided that hotel and airport workers must be paid more than others.
Hotel and airport workers will receive a $2.50 per hour raise to $22.50 per hour at minimum, but that amount will rise to $30 per hour by July 2028. Additionally, employers must provide a $8.35 per hour health care stipend by June 2026. This means that payroll will increase by 69% in a two-month period. Low-skilled positions will now cost employers $38 per hour. The proposal will only give employers 60 days to adopt the new policy. “No industry can afford that financial uptick in such a short period of time,” the Hotel Association of Los Angeles stated.
Hotels are already struggling, experiencing only 79% of the traffic that they once enjoyed prior to the pandemic. The city shed 11,000 hotel jobs last year, and this proposal nearly ensures more jobs will be cut. This comes ahead of the 2028 Olympics that will be hosted in Los Angeles. Hotels have already agreed to room block agreements for the event prior to the announcement that minimum wages were to increase. “We agreed to certain rates at the hotels at that time, and it’s not viable for us to be able to agree to charge the same rates that we calculated based upon a $17 minimum wage that’s now going to be almost double that,” said Mitchell Hochberg, president of real estate investment firm Lightstone Group, which operates the Moxy and AC hotels in downtown Los Angeles—one of the properties withdrawing from the agreement.
Perhaps someone in the hotel industry should have donated to Newsom’s campaign. A fast-food bill was passed in September 2022 that set the minimum wage to $22 per hour for select chains with over 100 locations, later expanding to a $20 minimum pay for restaurants with 60 locations. California specifically exempts fast food establishments that contain bakeries, such as Panera Bread. Glenn Flynn is the largest fast food franchise owner in America with an empire of 2,600 restaurant locations that produce around $.45 billion in sales. Flynn, estimated to be worth around $1.1 billion, has strongly supported Gavin Newsom publicly since 2014, when Newsom was a lieutenant governor. Both men attended the same high school and have longstanding ties.
Bloomberg reported that Flynn donated $64,800 to Newsom’s personal re-election campaign and an additional $100,000 for conservative-led recall efforts. Flynn’s holdings in California only include two establishments – Applebee’s and Panera Bread. Applebee’s is exempt from the law despite its pre-frozen dishes since it is a sit-down restaurant chain. Panera Bread, on the other hand, is exempt due to this specific loophole that only excludes establishments that bake bread. This is what happens when lobbying is permitted and politicians are for sale.
Should a hotel maid earn more than a teacher in Los Angeles? Do the people constructing the hotel deserve less than those paid to book rooms? Does replacing towels and bedsheets or checking a boarding pass warrant an $80K salary? Pay grades are no longer based on skill and experience but on industry pandering. Businesses do not have the capital to provide every employee, regardless of their contribution to the company’s success, with large pay-outs, and many in Los Angeles are already discussing cutting their workforce, turning to automation, or simply closing their LA-based locations.
“We are seriously considering converting one of our hotel’s restaurants to a self-service breakfast model and closing at least one restaurant space at another property. The wage increase makes it difficult to sustain full-service operations,” Jon Bortz, CEO of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, told reporters. The Hotel Angeleno plans to eliminate valet parking and close its restaurant as well, eliminating dozens of jobs.
The latest move by California to arbitrarily raise the minimum wage only for specific sectors such as fast food and healthcare is yet another blatant act of economic discrimination driven by politics, not sound economics. When you rig wages by legislative decree and apply those rules inconsistently across industries, you are manufacturing instability.
California is specifically targeting industries with low-skilled labor and deliberately forcing them to slim down their workforces in the name of “equality.” A minimum wage increase that outpaces productivity growth is inflationary. California is forcing small and mid-sized businesses to raise prices, cut hours, or automate, which ultimately harms the working class.
Posted originally on May 29, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
Mark Carney’s call for aligning with the EU in a war against Russia reveals more about his ideological alignment than any strategic necessity. As a former central banker turned World Economic Forum alumnus, Carney has long abandoned the notion of free markets in favor of globalist control. He is keen to support the EU’s Marxist-style top-down approach, which has economically gutted Europe and driven capital flight, and is extremely eager to distance Canada from the United States in every possible way.
“Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That’s not smart,” Carney stated about his nation’s former top ally. He does not want the United States to remain the world’s superpower, per WEF protocol, as this sentiment was felt long before Trump. Carney would like to spend at least $1.25 trillion on defense over the next five years. “We’re making great progress on that, and by Canada Day, we’d like to see something concrete there,” Carney said, noting that Canada will be penning a deal with the European Union in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, US President Trump has offered Canada protection under his proposed “golden dome.” As he continues to pressure Canada to become a state, Canada runs further into the arms of the EU. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is also keen to find a way to support his plans for war without the support of the United States. Rutte is expected to ask the 32-member alliance to up current spending to around 3.5% of GDP.
Canada currently spends 1.37% of its GDP on defense, below the current 2% NATO target. Carney believes Canada can meet NATO standards by 2030, but NATO is increasingly requesting more. “We are going to have to spend more, sooner,” the prime minister said. “That’s one of the reasons why we will have a fall budget, not a budget tomorrow, because we’re part of deeper discussions on the defence side.”
Canada has already stationed troops in the Arctic on a near-permanent basis. Operation Nanook in the Far North has expanded as Canada attempts to secure its place in the Arctic region. Canada and Greenland are both in strong opposition of the current US administration as Trump continues to pressure both to abandon sovereignty. But the true nature of Arctic operations is to intimidate Russia.
“We want to be in the Arctic on a near permanent basis,” Lt.-Gen. Steve Boivin stated. “The current approach to Operation Nanook puts us in the Arctic for five to six months a year. We’re looking at being there 10 plus months per year.” The federal government has already spent an additional C$420 million on the operation.
In a way, Trump is receiving everything he once requester,d from increased NATO spending to forcing nations to defend their own lands without the support of the US. On the other hand, nations are now eager to begin offloading their increased defense budgets outside the US. The capital expended on war would funnel back into the US. NATO was not entirely a charity case for the US as it did receive those funds recycled back into the US economy.
It is clear that Carney is eager to join the alliance of nations taking their arms up against Russia. Russia poses no threat to Canada. Carney’s eagerness to join EU efforts has nothing to do with Ukraine and everything to do with consolidating power by forcing the West into a global war.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
Centinel2012 