Category Destruction of Power Distribution System the Grid

Jul 29 2023

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.

May 28 2023

The Thirst For Truth – Big Picture Explanation of What Happened in the Past 15 Years That Flipped the Social, Cultural, Media, Leftist and Govt Relationship


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

Last night I participated in a conversation. This article is written as an outcome of that conversation, as requested by those who participated.

Essentially, the framework of the conversation, as I initially listened, is best described as a series of questions amid a group of smart intellectual types who are very understanding of the nature of our current situation.

In various forms they were asking each other the same question.  What happened in the last several years that caused Democrats, leftists and the traditional political left to switch positions on their advocacy?

Liberalism literally went from railing against Big Govt, to embracing corrupt Big Govt. Why and how did this happen?

In short, it was the same line of questioning I have seen asked by Tucker Carlson, Glenn Greenwald, Tulsi Gabbard and various traditionally liberal people as well as people on the right side of the continuum.

Why and how did traditional liberalism so suddenly flip from being, big picture – ‘anti-government’, to suddenly embracing corrupt government enterprise, and supporting the intelligence apparatus, federal govt (writ large), institutional oppressive law enforcement and FBI etc.?  What happened?

After listening to this conversation quietly, as I am prone to do, my remarks -with citations and examples- silenced the room.

At the conclusion of my remarks, everyone asked me if I had ever written about this, and if not – why not?   I did not have an answer, so consider this a promise fulfilled.  Perhaps you might find value.

In the 50 years that preceded 2008, traditional leftists, media activists, left-wing community organizing agencies, Democrats, liberals, progressives, or whatever label you want to assign, essentially railed against the U.S. government and all that it represented.  However, now, if you were to look at the issues from the 30,000-foot perspective, those same groups currently support the oppressive & weaponized system of government they formerly despised.

In the 50 years that preceded 2008, those same groups had an approach of distrust toward government, and the media apparatus had a very distinct supportive and cynical outlook, favorable to the leftist anti-government perspective.  Now, all of that has reversed – seemingly flipped.

In the 50 years that preceded 2008, media pushed a one-way narrative in defense of those who were “targeted” by the institutions and mechanisms of government.  As the activists railed against the regime, the media framed narratives to excuse the transparently guilty. Now, that entire dynamic has reversed.  Now we see the media pushing a narrative in support of weaponized government targeting, and – here’s the kicker – framing the transparently innocent.

The activists went from accusing government of wrongdoing and defending the transparently guilty – to aligning with government, excusing government wrongdoing, and helping to attack the transparently innocent.

As some continue to say with jaw agape, WTF happened?

The answer “why” is not complicated…. not complicated at all.

In 2008, the ‘activists’ took control of government.

In January of 2009, the leftists, community organizers and activists took control of the systems they had opposed for the preceding 50+ years.

In January of 2009, and inflection point took place; an inflection point that no one realized in forethought, scale or consequence.

Starting in 2009, all of the systems of federal government were now under the control of the people who previously fought against the systems of federal government.  Everything since is an outcome of that inflection point; that’s why everything flipped.

All of it, and I do mean every scintilla of the thing; every single granular detail and example you can put in front of me can be traced back to that moment when the activists were no longer outside government railing against the corrupt system they hated.

Starting in January of 2009, the activists took power over the United States government, and every outside institution, including media, necessarily and ideologically followed that inversion.

Starting in 2009, the systems and institutions of the U.S government now came under the control of the radical activists.

In the eight years that followed, the mission of every institution was changed.  Government was weaponized on behalf of the leftist activists who now took control of it.  Everything thereafter is a consequence of this change.

When I use the word “suddenly”, it is only for understanding the inflections point that came as a consequence.  In actuality, the severity of change inside each institution took place over several years.  That’s why the intensity of the weaponized and corrupt systems became worse over time.

As each institution was infiltrated to become more aligned with the mindset of the activists, the institutions became more radical in their targeting and weaponization.

The activists went from being outside government to being inside government.

Suddenly, the left-wing supportive media changed mission priority from railing against corrupt government, to defending the corrupt weaponization of govt.

Suddenly, the FBI went from targeting domestic threats, to targeting only the domestic threats defined as against the interests of the left-wing activists.

Suddenly, the outside activists went from being defined as social elements creating turmoil, to social elements now being defended and even promoted.

This is why we see outside activist groups like the Dream Defenders, New Black Panthers, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street and more recently ANTIFA, as protected and supported by the activists inside government now in control of the systems and institutions.

All of the social, cultural and political dynamics that changed traditional “liberalism” are easily understood once you realize and accept that activists took control of the power centers of the U.S. government.

Everything that followed, including our current state of social and political turmoil, is simply a natural conclusion of that fundamental change.

The radical activists are now in control of the institutions of power.  This core shift is what created the dynamic of a very visible two-tiered justice system.  Each institution was weaponized and continues to be weaponized against those who are not aligned with the activist ideology.

The Dept of Justice has been weaponized against people who are not in alignment with the radicals.

The federal police, known as the FBI, have been weaponized against We The People.

The Intelligence Community is now under the control of the radical activists.  The mission priorities change accordingly.

When Tucker Carlson, Glenn Greenwald, Tulsi Gabbard or any other person posits the question about ‘why’ the ideology of the left and media has shifted so suddenly, there is your answer.

It is not a complicated understanding.   Once you accept this fundamental change took place, everything seemingly falls into place….

…. At least that’s what the “ah-ha” audience told me.

May 6 2023

The Hate & Great Divide – Tearing Apart Even Families


Armstrong Economics Blog/Great Divide Re-Posted May 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: I see you are not a 100% diehard Republican or a Democrat. Not sure what that makes you. Perhaps you should run for president.

LR

COMMENT #2: The more I have looked into everything, the more I see your point. The majority of people think linearly. Everything is just a straight line. It seems hopeless to ever get humanity to advance and see the world of cycles.

PV

COMMENT #3: You are as biased as Tucker. Your day is coming too.

HN

COMMENT #4: These are trying times. I and my son no longer talk. He voted for Biden and I for Trump. He refuses to relent and we no longer have respect for one another. Never thought this would come to that.

WH

REPLY: First, I am sure you are being sarcastic. I think they would assassinate me before my hand ever got close to the book to swear in. I don’t have the passion to rule from the White House. I believe in cycles, not the authoritarian rule. The country is too deeply divided. I am middle of the road. I believe in individual freedom of speech, religion, and rights. Our company is like the UN. We have offices around the world with different races, creeds, and ethnic backgrounds. We all get along and we all respect each other. Our staff is there because they are qualified – not to fill some slot to pretend we are diversified.

One of my partners before he died out of the blue asked me to make sure that everything went to his second wife. He no longer was on speaking terms with his children. I have witnessed this many times. I remember growing up my father had a client who left everything to the woman who was his caretaker. When he dies, the kids ransacked the house punching holes in the wall and looking for hoards of cash they thought he had. The justice was, they had to pay for all the damage for he left them with nothing. Many have written in about how this Great Divide has divided their families.

It is not as uncommon as one might think. As some have said, you have a 50% chance they kids may be like your wife and if you split because you did not get along, then I suppose it makes sense. Another friend cannot speak with his children for they thought COVID was real and called their father a conspiracy nut. They refuse to admit they were wrong and just will no longer speak to their father.

When you try to tell people how to live and follow some rules arbitrarily created, you will infringe upon freedom. That is why there MUST be a separation of religion from state. Once any religion seeks to control the state, freedom ends. We have gone through so many upheavals in history outlawing drinking to outright religious wars that became gun battles on the streets in the United States. Even the Civil War was inspired by religion.

There were gun battles between Protestants and Catholics bringing the old hatred from England to America. Attacks on Muslims today is simply how history unfolds. Whoever the press demonizes, transforms into prejudice and then violence. The Muslims were demonized because of the Terrorists and we will see similar violence against Russians in the not-to-distant future. They locked up all the Japanese during WWII.

This is a video I would show at conferences over the decades. This illustrates the complexity of cyclical behavior.

There is such hidden complexity that it is impossible to regulate society and create whatever people dream of. To Marx, it was to eliminate the business cycle and he blamed the rich. Confiscating all the assets from people did not terminate the business cycle. Keynes followed Marx and tried to create a government to also eliminate the business cycle.

All I can hope is that we move toward a realistic form of government and STOP this leftist idea of authoritarian rule to create some utopia that is just impossible. The fools like Bill Gates who tries to reduce the entire world to CO2 illustrate for as smart as people think they are, they are still very primitive and have never tried to discover the true nature of the world in which they live.

I know a lot of people who hate me read this blog just to see what I have said now. Don’t worry, I have no interest in ruling the world. I am just waiting for Scotty to beam me up. The government tried to kill me once but I survived and woke from a coma. I’m sure they will try again when they no longer want to listen to the forecasts.

For you see, just as you hate me, I am not fond of the world you are trying to advocate. So go ahead – vote for Biden and let’s get WWIII over with ASAP. This is all part of the cycle and you are fulfilling your role in bringing this American experiment to an end. Somehow you lost the meaning of freedom. You just hate anyone who does not comply with your ideas.

Apr 26 2023

Biden 2024 – “Let’s Finish the Job” of Ruining America


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 26, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ChjibtX0UzU%3Ffeature%3Doembed

The worst president in American history is running for re-election under the premise of taking away our remaining freedoms. The media is already stating that the Democrats will not allow any serious challengers. Marianne Williamson, who lost to Biden in 2020, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both announced that they plan to run, but their own party will likely not back them or allow them to debate Biden. The Washington Post already announced Biden is “not expected to face any serious opposition from elected Democrats for the nomination, despite concerns from some in the party about his age and dissatisfaction among some liberals who say he has not pushed their priorities hard enough.”

Biden is not permitted to speak without a handler and carefully written notes. Journalists toss him easy questions and he still fumbles. Most importantly, the people do not want him to lead. Our way of life has drastically changed for the worse since he first stepped foot in the White House. NBC conducted a poll that found 70% of Americans do not want Biden to run for re-election. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 26% of Americans want Biden to remain in power.

Biden has a degenerative cognitive impairment that will only worsen. Already the oldest president in American history, Biden will be 86-years-old if he lives to the end of a second term. Biden was touted as the most popular president in US election history after receiving 81 million votes – let that number sink in as not many people today will openly say they voted for this man. At the time of this writing, Joe Biden’s YouTube channel has 700K subscribers and only 2.4K liked his re-election campaign announcement (they hid the dislike numbers after the Fauci debacle).

This will be one of the dirtiest elections in US history. Civil unrest will turn into division as the people are pitted against each other from every angle. No one will accept defeat, and the elites are fully backing Biden as their ideal puppet president. Gone are the days of fair elections. I must admit that no sitting president was ever ousted from office during a war, and our models indicate serious events unfolding right before the 2024 US Presidential Election. So buckle up because this next year is going to be a wild ride.

Apr 15 2023

A Message from the Lost Generation


Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion Re-Posted Apr 15, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: I am a Millennial, a demographic that never had an opportunity to succeed in America. The existential trauma began in middle school when our teachers huddled us into a room to watch the Twin Towers burn down in real time. We do not remember life before the Patriot Act or school shooter drills. The war in the Middle East progressed over the years, and I attended the funerals of former classmates who died in Afghanistan and Iraq. The military seemed like a valid alternative considering the once-in-a-lifetime economic collapse.

The Great Recession hit when we were in college, but most of us did not fully grasp what was happening. Many families suffered immensely, and some in the middle class experienced poverty for the first time, which instilled a permanent sense of scarcity. We piled on student debt for a degree that was nothing more than an expensive piece of paper. There were no jobs available once we graduated. We accepted what we could for pennies on the dollar as they fired the more experienced employees, our parents’ peers.

This caused older generations to have misplaced anger toward Millennials. They called us lazy and shouted how we could have a better life if we stopped buying Starbucks or avocado toast. No one realized that we were experiencing a different economic reality.

The pandemic hit once we settled into our careers after clawing up the corporate ladder. Another once-in-a-lifetime financial crash. We stayed in our apartments while the government sent insulting stimulus checks and businesses closed. Uncertainty and economic volatility engulfed our collective experience. Those who missed their chance to buy a home when prices were digestible are stuck as perpetual renters, as most of our income goes toward rent. We cannot save for an increasingly uncertain future due to shelter costs and overall inflation.

There is no financial nest egg for those not born into wealth. We have never felt financially secure. Our parents were established by the time they reached our age but we are the first generation to experience a lower quality of life than the last. People question why my generation is not having children or starting families. We can hardly support ourselves even with decent jobs. We are accustomed to these once-in-a-lifetime tragedies happening every few years. The future looks bleak and we expect the rug to be pulled out from us again. As you say, it is a matter of time.

Thank you for speaking out against the people who contributed to these events and providing guidance for the future. I do not want the war in Ukraine to spark another economic tragedy, as we are barely hanging on. We were fed a lie that you could work hard and succeed but life is far different for us than what we were promised. I feel more prepared for the upcoming downturn after reading your work and seeing that everything has a cycle. There are no once-in-a-lifetime events.

REPLY: Thank you. If we all understand that government cannot create a perfect linear world with only booms, and never a bust, and that when it comes to government, there is no need to follow science – just follow the money. The founding Fathers intended no salaries for politicians and the terms were just 2 years. In that manner, it would be a government of We the People. When they began paying themselves salaries, they became permanent fixtures in Washington and then came the plague of lobbyists like locusts that eat the entire crop.

Mar 21 2023

South Africa’s Power Grid is Failing


Armstrong Economics Blog/Africa Re-Posted Mar 21, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

South Africa is desperate for allies, economic allies. The country is failing and the people are suffering. There is international outrage right now misdirected at South Africa for its desire to host the Bric summit with Russia, China, Brazil, and India. The International Criminal Court (ICC) wants to arrest Putin for his war crimes, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is defending his position to invite Putin before the invitations for the event have even gone out. I warned that countries who were previously banned from discussions at the big table would turn to China and Russia for support since the West has abandoned them. “What about Ukraine!” the media cries. Well, what about South Africa? No one comments that the conditions in South Africa are WORSE than in Ukraine during an active war.

South Africa was in a bad spot economically long before COVID. GDP grew by a mere 1% between 2012 and 2021, according to the World Bank. The nation’s entire infrastructure is crumbling, and the power grid is on the verge of complete failure. Blackouts are common, and many blame state-owned power plant Eskom which routinely cuts off the power grid to produce “rolling blackouts” to conserve power. These “rolling blackouts” can last over 12 hours. This affects fuel availability, phone and internet coverage, traffic lights, power to hospitals, etc. It also limits the availability of food and water. Crime is more prevalent during blackouts as there are no cameras or security systems. Rape and crimes against women are disgustingly common. Civil unrest is so prevalent that the president issued a “state of disaster” warning on February 9, long after the situation became irreparable.

(click on the image for higher resolution)

Statistics vary but there are about 82 murders per day in South Africa. The South African Police Service reported 7,555 murders from October to December 2022. As you can see from the chart above, crime is rapidly escalating. People are murdering farmers and anyone with a surplus of food. “Most murders take place in a public place, such as a street or an open field or a parking area – or at the residence of the victim (including places known to the victim or perpetrator),” Business Tech reported. “The Purge” is essentially taking place in South Africa right now.

So what is the world police doing about this situation since they care so much about helpless nations? Nothing. The US government issued a warning that Eskom’s power grid will collapse. They are warning that there will be no water, sewage pumps, or fuel, and the nation will effectively come to a standstill. Eskom said that in the “best case scenario,” it would take 6 to 14 days to restart the power grid. Experts believe it will take longer if they can manage to restore the power at all. “What’s left after a blackout would be what was left after a civil war,” an anonymous source said.

Poverty and the ongoing conflict have destroyed South Africa. The media would like people to believe that the nation is an enemy of the West because it is remaining neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. How exactly is it supposed to offer any aid when its own people are starving? The West even had the audacity to ask South Africa to support the climate change agenda, as if they have access to stable energy. One can only hope that the Bric summit is permitted this year and Xi and Putin can offer aid to South Africa’s people.

Dec 1 2022

Comments from the Netherlands


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union Re-Posted Nov 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong


COMMENT #1: The “Dutch Farming Crisis” crack-down in Netherlands says it all.
As a former UK citizen repatriated to The Netherlands, life in Holland has been ideal, plenty on the super market shelves with a strong export market of food to rest of Europe.
Food growing science at it’s finest. Economical, productive and effective for all.

The recent crack down on farmers to curb use of Nitrogen base fertilizer (Nitrogen being the most abundant gas on the planet!!!) has come as an unexpected and unjustified shock, to Netherlands and the good of all. Within the time frame of one year, we have gone from a land of plenty to a land of maybe. Not wasting one once of food, meanwhile stocking up on goods in case the supplies are no longer there tomorrow. It’s not how I envisioned bringing up my two boys, but reflects strongly on the tales my parents told me of their experiences surviving the second world war.

Klaus and his rotten army have done what they set out to do. To bear hardship on the population.
But my parents survived and lived to see a better world, I too strive to follow in their footsteps.
PS. incidentally, Ammonia is a by-product of burning water as a fuel.

SW

COMMENT #2: Dear Mr. Armstrong,

Your article about the Dutch farmers is all true. But this story goes deeper. Is not about them stopping theirs farms because of these insane climate policies. All eyes are on the farmers while the big industries and airports aren’t even part of the discussion.
All this of course knowing that nitrogen is just another fake crisis.

What they really want is the land of the farmers. They claim they need it to build houses. There is an enormous shortage of affordable houses. Partly because these insane politicians claim houses can’t be build because of the nitrogen problems. All the while the same politicians are welcoming ten of thousands of refugees and immigrants. This while our own young people can’t even get or afford a house.

So in the end the farmers need to be removed of their company and property because our corrupt leaders are flooding our country with immigrants. Immigrants that are here because of the free money. They don’t share our values, they don’t want to work. They just want their free lunch.

It’s all part of their Great Reset.

Keep up the good work!
SL

REPLY: I have spoken with scientists in the field and this entire agenda is just so outrageous. I suppose this is our fault for electing people with ZERO experience to public office who just real the cue cards that are written for them. This only adds to the chaos our computer projected for 2023 which we first published back in 2019. I an stunned myself to witness how everything is unfolding as our computer forecast well in advance.

I have said before, I had the mandate from Hong King to negotiate with Australia to try to buy land for them to move before the hand-over back to China in 1998. I met with former Prime Minister Paul Keating. Nothing I proposed was acceptable. I finally asked – Is this racist? He said no! They are fleeing communism and would vote conservative. He was the Labour Government. Australia would not let Hong Kong move because it would have changed their politics.

All of this overwhelming hoard of refugees into Europe and what Biden is doing in the United States, is all about trying to shift the balance of power to the left assuming all of these people who have nothing will vote for them and shake ever last penny from those who have made our countries what they are today.

Between the Climate Change nonsense and this mass invasion of the have-nots, they are destroying our very way of life all to simply retain power.