Plastic Bag Ban


Armstrong Economics Blog/Climate Re-Posted May 4, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: The grocers near me have banned plastic bags. Off timing. Grocery bills are more than I’ve ever seen ..ever. I wont buy as much if theres a few bags per trip. We are lucky to own our homes. Climate change or the food crisis? I see it as a new distraction since they talked of banning them for a long time .. so why now?

REPLY: It is not a far-fetched theory to wonder whether the push to eliminate plastics goes beyond the climate change agenda. Grocery stores have begun banning plastic bags at a time when food inflation is in the double-digits, and the supply chain stalemate has dampened availability. Think about it – the typical American will fill up their grocery cart with food. In other nations, they purchase the ingredients they need for a few days instead of going on major grocery hauls. Limiting American consumers to the bags in their possession could lead to fewer items purchased. This would lower the visibility of inflation and overall consumption.

Over the pandemic, Americans became more self-reliant and began cooking at home 49% more, according to the US Grocery Shopper Trends report. The powers that be, such as Bill Gates, have been pushing for a major change in grocery trends by requesting that first-world nations refrain from eating meat. Gates also cites climate change and not his massive investments in farmland and meat alternatives.

The Environment Agency of the UK released a report in 2011 that found reusable cotton and paper bags have a higher carbon footprint than single-use plastics. A cotton bag, for example, would need to be used 131 times to lower its impact on the environment. While no one is saying plastic bags are ideal for the environment, the rush to ban them is not entirely due to climate change concerns. I believe they are also aiming to change consumer habits at the grocery store.

2000 Mules – Another Banned Movie?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted May 4, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Tucker Why We Are in Ukraine – Payback for Hillary


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted May 3, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Hungary Will Continue Purchases of Oil and Gas from Russia, Zelenskyy and European Union Furious


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 3, 2022 | Sundance

Defying threats from the European Union, Hungary has announced they will not stop purchasing oil and gas from Russia and join a blockade of energy products by the 27 member EU alliance.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary will not support sanctions that would make Russian oil and gas shipments to Hungary impossible, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a statement on Tuesday.

Speaking in Kazakhstan, Szijjarto said Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline accounted for about 65% of the oil Hungary needed and there were no alternative supply routes that could replace that. (link)

Slovakia has also announced they will not participate, which makes any collective EU action problematic.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is reported to be using his connection to the U.S. and Joe Biden in an effort to force the EU to deliver additional sanctions.   Essentially, if an EU country does not fall in line, Zelenskyy will instruct Biden not to support that EU country with the money congress is preparing to use as blackmail.

The polish government has collapsed under the pressure of Joe Biden and the NATO alliance. However, if you look closely at the $33 billion spending demand from the White House, it’s clear to see the U.S. State Dept, specifically those who are currently operating the proxy war along with the CIA, are positioning the funds for use as bribes to EU allies.

Any deal on Russian oil would require the consent of all 27 EU members, meaning it could not pass without Hungary and Slovakia’s approval. The bloc agreed on an embargo on Russian coal in the fifth package last month, while it has not yet ventured into gas.

[…] Ministers from other EU states have spoken of sympathising with oil-reliant neighbours but urged unity during the crisis. Hungary and its Russia-friendly leader Viktor Orban have irked Ukraine with an equivocal stance on the war. (more)

Musk Goes Full Galt, Challenges Woke Activists Who Pressure Corporations with Sunlight


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 3, 2022 | Sundance 

CTH has been watching carefully for several weeks; looking, reading and observing the expressed priorities of Elon Musk in an effort to evaluate his free speech intents and purposes.  After careful and cautious consideration, I can now say Elon Musk is the closest thing to John Galt in our lifetime.

Today, Mr. Musk drew attention to one of the central cancers. Musk is highlighting the strategy leftists use to target corporations, demand they withdraw advertising dollars, and force them into compliance against any unapproved platform designated by the woke mob.

[CNN Story Here – MMfA Letter Here – Elon Musk Tweet Link Here]

David Brock’s Media Matters for America (MMFA) has organized an activist campaign against companies who advertise on Twitter. [SEE LETTER HERE]  Their intent is to assemble all of the radical activist groups, directly target any company who would advertise on Twitter and by extension force woke compliance by the social media platform Musk is purchasing.

The letter urges advertisers to make their next ad deals with Twitter contingent on changes to platform policy under Mr Musk.  However, Musk is pushing back against the effort by asking, “who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let’s investigate.” He then goes on to tweet, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

(CNN) – Some of the nation’s biggest brands including Coca-Cola (CCEP), Disney (DIS) and Kraft (KHC) are facing calls to boycott Twitter if the company’s soon-to-be owner, billionaire Elon Musk, rolls back content moderation policies limiting hate speech and election misinformation.

In a letter sent to brands Tuesday ahead of the 2022 NewFronts digital advertising conference, more than two dozen civil society groups said marketers should secure commitments from Twitter to retain its most critical policies, including on civic integrity and hateful conduct, and threaten to withdraw funding if Twitter does not comply.

“As top advertisers on Twitter (TWTR), your brand risks association with a platform amplifying hate, extremism, health misinformation, and conspiracy theorists,” the letter said, adding: “Your ad dollars can either fund Musk’s vanity project or hold him to account.” (read more)

Musk has advocated for increased transparency on the mechanisms and algorithms within the Twitter platform, in order to gain public trust.  Everyone knows that Twitter management manipulates the platform based on ideology.  Even the original creator of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has admitted the political preferences within the company are directly connected to the control mechanisms that have been built within it.

One of the key tell-tale sentences in the MMFA led letter is this:

“Consider the implications of full-scale public visibility into Twitter’s algorithm”..

The left-wing organizations and activist groups are worried about what public disclosure of the Twitter censorship and control mechanisms might mean. As a result of their fear, their strategy is to ask advertising corporations to pressure Elon Musk into keeping the background engineering hidden from review.  There is no incentive for Musk to do that as a private company, except this type of blackmail effort.

The need for control is a reaction to fear.  MMfA and their allies fear a free, open and uncontrolled information platform; and they fear that people will discover just how much has been done to tilt the discussion in their favor by controlling and silencing their opposition.

I can appreciate that Musk is taking the issues of free communication seriously. He is dealing with challenges of incredible consequence, he yet he carries on that battle with a light spirit and does not take himself seriously.  That is a remarkably valuable skillset.

If the full purchase deal can be finalized, Musk will take the company private. However, Musk has also reportedly shared that after a few years of private ownership, he would be willing to make the company a public offering again. Per the Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Musk said he plans to stage an initial public offering of Twitter in as little as three years of buying it, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal is expected to close later this year, subject to conditions including the approval of Twitter shareholders and regulators, the company has said.

[READ THE LETTER HERE]

Supreme Court Issues Statement on Draft Opinion Leak – U.S. Marshal Launches Investigation


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 3, 2022 | Sundance

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued the following statement:

Supreme Court – “Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case. Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., provided the following statement:

“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.

We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.

I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.” (LINK)

Why is CASH King in Times of War?


Armstrong Economics Blog/USD $ Re-Posted May 3, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Dear Martin,

So refreshing to see some theory regarding silver other than crazy goldbugs claiming JP Morgan artificially putting down t silver prices for XX years. Still what I find interesting is the weakness of the US stock market. Bonds getting dumped, Precious Metals getting dumped, EM’s getting dumped so everyone is just holding USD as cash? Take care.

Best,
Sant

ANSWER: In times of war, UNCERTAINTY is always dominant. It is interesting that the Romans’ Temple of Janus had two doors, and in times of war they were left open, symbolizing that the future was uncertain. Hence, the winds of war could pass freely through the temple, warning they could also lose. During times of peace, the doors were closed, symbolizing security. This is why CASH becomes king in times of war. Even the ancient coin hoards are typically stashed during times of war.

While some think that the Cuban Missile Crisis was when Kennedy took the nuclear deterrent to direct confrontation with Russia rather than attacking Cuba, I suggest that they look at the film the “Courier.” Kennedy did not reject the advice of his advisors to bomb Cuba, there was information flowing from a Russian dissenter who was concerned about nuclear war and the ideology of Khrushchev that communism would conquer the world. This is a totally different time. Putin is not a Communist, and he has no desire to conquer the world with an economic theory. Kennedy was following the advice of his advisers, who were NOT advocating to bomb Cuba. They knew they were fighting against an economic theory to conquer the world, which ironically is the objective of the World Economic Forum and Klaus Schwab.

Freezing assets as Biden has done to all Russians is unproductive. Nobody seems to have ever asked, “Have sanctions ever worked?” On July 24, 1941, Tokyo decided to strengthen its position in terms of its invasion of China by moving through Southeast Asia. On July 26, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt seized all Japanese assets in the United States in retaliation for the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China. That was followed by Pearl Harbor less than five months later. It seems that our leaders are deliberately pushing the world into war. They need to justify the collapse in their fiscal mismanagement of the global economic system.

The dollar rose during World War I and during the Great Depression when most of Europe defaulted on its debt in 1931. The dollar spiked higher in 1940, but then the US government imposed controls during World War II. They even instructed the Fed to buy US debt at par which they finally rejected in 1951. Note that once the controls were lifted, the dollar soared again post-war.

The dollar on a CASH basis has been the safe haven during war, mainly when the rest of the world is collapsing. This war will NOT be a rerun of the last two. Moving to digital currencies will be the kiss of death and render the financial system completely vulnerable to cyber attacks. The last time, there was counterfeiting of an opponent’s currency to undermine its ability to fund its defense. Even the British were counterfeiting the Continental Currency during the American Revolution.

Politico Obtains Draft of Supreme Court Majority Opinion, Indicating Potential Reversal of Federal Abortion Law


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 2, 2022 | Sundance

Consider this sketchy right now.  Politico is reporting they have “obtained” a draft copy of the Supreme Court majority opinion which would reverse Roe -v- Wade federal abortion law and return the decisions on abortion law to the individual states.  {Uploaded Draft pdf Here}

While it is 98-pages, it is only a draft opinion.  The decision of the individual judges could change at any time based on their view of the severity of the outcome, wording and other inputs that would be provided. A draft opinion from internal deliberations has never, ever, been leaked before from inside the supreme court; and that alone should send warning flags to everyone.

Personally, I doubt any draft from February would be pertinent today.  This entire scenario just sounds massively sketchy.

POLITICO received a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document. The draft opinion runs 98 pages, including a 31-page appendix of historical state abortion laws. The document is replete with citations to previous court decisions, books and other authorities, and includes 118 footnotes. The appearances and timing of this draft are consistent with court practice.”

According to the draft, written by Justice Alito after the February oral arguments in the Dobbs -vs- Jackson’s Women’s Health case, five justices are aligned to overturn the 1973 ruling (Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett); three justices are in dissent (Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan); and Chief Justice John Robert’s position is undetermined.

[…] The document, labeled as a first draft of the majority opinion, includes a notation that it was circulated among the justices on Feb. 10. If the Alito draft is adopted, it would rule in favor of Mississippi in the closely watched case over that state’s attempt to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

A Supreme Court spokesperson declined to comment or make another representative of the court available to answer questions about the draft document. (read article)

Again, this leak is very sketchy.

Abortion on demand is the holy grail of social policy for the most extreme radical and violent leftists.  If this is a real leak from a staffer inside the Supreme Court, the explosive intent would be to railroad the final decision before it becomes public, and/or create some form of government intervention in congress.

{The Link to the pdf HERE}

Election 2022, Catherine Englebrecht Outlines Devastating Evidence of Corruption by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 30, 2022 | Sundance 

Catherine Englebrecht appeared on The War Room with Steve Bannon {Direct Rumble Link} to outline the evidence of election fraud that took place in 2020 through the use of ballot harvesting and ballot mules.   The receipts Englebrecht and True The Vote have gathered are the primary evidence in an explosive documentary that is going to be released shortly called “2000 Mules.”

The 2020 vote in key county precincts was manipulated by illegal and fraudulent ballot harvesting.  Wayne county, Michigan; Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania; Maricopa county, Arizona; Clark county, Nevada; Dane county, Wisconsin; and Fulton county, Georgia.  True the Vote has the documentary evidence, and video from the drop boxes, outlining how the ballot harvesting took place.  However, corrupt local and state officials have refused to investigate the evidence because the political scandal is extreme in consequence.

Importantly, during the interview with Steve Bannon, Catherine Englebrecht notes the systemic corruption by Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp, and his entire administration, as one concrete example of the willful fraud that cuts across party lines.  WATCH:

Incumbent Governor Brian Kemp is seeking reelection for the governors office. The primary is May 24, 2022.  He is being challenged by David Perdue, who has been endorsed by President Trump.  Unfortunately, Georgia utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party’s primary.  It is highly likely, to a predictable certainty, that Democrats in Georgia will be activated to vote for Brian Kemp in May, setting up a general election contest in November between Kemp and Democrat Stacy Abrams who is running unopposed.

I hope you will invest 20 minutes of your time watching the discussion to get a more fulsome perspective on the scale of political corruption that Ms. Englebrecht and her group have been fighting for more than a year.  The discussion about the GOPe corruption in Georgia is sickening.

Many people have pushed a narrative that essentially says we must move on from the 2020 fraud.  However, there is no moving beyond the illegal activity that surrounds a completely fraudulent election.  The issues from 2020 must be brought to the full sunlight of the American people in order to provide accurate context for all the current Biden administration activity, that, at it’s core, is intended to protect the U.S. government from what took place.

All the unconstitutional activity the U.S. government is doing now, from issues around censorship, to the J6 committee objective and the control of information, to the border crisis and events in Ukraine, are essentially downstream consequences from a stolen 2020 election.

EXAMPLE: Motor-voter registration (including the issuance of drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens) is used to manipulate the voter roles…. that fraudulent registration creates ballots….. those ballots are then used by political activists to generate votes….  those votes are not from the illegal voter, they are from political groups who then drop them in ballot boxes or voting precincts.   In many cases illegal aliens are not physically doing the illegal voting, the ballot is cast by political activists using the identity of the alien registration.   Everything starts with corrupted voter roles.

Beyond a Slush Fund, Biden $33 Billion Ukraine Package Includes $8.8 Billion to Establish State Dept Global Disinformation Bureau, and International Civil Asset Forfeiture


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 2, 2022 | Sundance

This is why Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff were in Kyiv yesterday…

The details of the Joe Biden $33 billion supplemental budget allocation have been released.  I would strongly urge everyone to read the proposal which now heads to congress for passage {SEE pdf here}.

The spending request outlines a massive amount of money for various ideological foreign policy initiatives under the guise of Ukraine relief (it isn’t).  The proposal outlines a kickback and bribery scheme.

Some of the spending includes an allocation of funds to the State Dept including funds to USAID to “provide $8.8 billion to the Department of State for economic support and assistance to the people of Ukraine and other affected countries, including direct budgetary support, as well as support for food security, democracy, anticorruption, cybersecurity, counter-disinformation, human rights, atrocity documentation, energy, and emergency infrastructure needs.” {pdf page 41}  The request specifically authorizes the transfer of these funds globally, outside of Ukraine.

{READ SOURCE DOCUMENT}

Apparently, the State Dept is going to set up an international version of DHS “disinformation governance board.”  But wait, it gets worse…

U.S. taxpayers are also going to subsidize farming in Europe and fund the climate change initiatives by paying for the development of alternate energy sources. “This would include [$500 million] support for small- and medium- sized agrobusinesses during the fall harvest and for natural gas purchases by the Ukrainian state energy company.” {page 44}

Mechanisms to legalize defense contractor kick-backs: “This request would authorize Ukraine to utilize Foreign Military Financing Program funds appropriated in this Act and prior Acts to the Department of State to contract directly with U.S. companies to procure defense related materials which would facilitate the delivery of military assistance and security sector support.” {page 48}

Mechanisms to spread the money all over government institutions without prior approval: …”This request would provide the authority to reprogram funds appropriated in this Act and prior Acts making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for assistance to Ukraine without regard to any minimum amounts specifically designated in such Acts. This authority would provide the needed flexibility to match resources with evolving needs and decrease reliance on new appropriations.” {Page 50}

The last segment is a massive change in the U.S. government power to seize Russian private property and assets, sell them to whoever Biden chooses, and then give the proceeds of the sales to U.S. politicians, friends, family members, or perhaps Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It is an international version of current DOJ civil asset forfeiture.  The United States government (DOJ, Dept of Treasury and Dept of State) takes ownership of any targeted Russian asset, sells the asset (to whoever they choose, including personal family members) then take the proceeds and distributes them to whoever they choose in the U.S. or Ukraine government.

Example:  Confiscate a $200 million oligarch yacht, sell it to Hunter Biden (or Black Rock / Vanguard) for $50,000, give the $50k to Zelenskyy and then have Black Rock / Vanguard deposit $10 million in James Biden or DNC bank account.  {Page 52}

No, I’m not joking.  Sit down and read how they are legalizing this process.