Planet Lockdown – Full Interviews Available


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Apr 2, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Planet Lockdown has released the full interviews from their documentary, including the ones that did not make the final documentary. Click here to view the full interviews (translations available in numerous languages).

Additionally, the producers have made the film available free of charge. Click here to view the full documentary (translations available in numerous languages as well).

Hope for Humanity


Armstrong Economics Blog/ECM Re-Posted Apr 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Is there any hope for the future? Between war, digital currency, authoritarianism, and financial collapse, it doesn’t seem like there is much hope for our children. Please let us know what Socrates says, is everyone doomed? Is there anywhere our children can go to escape this madness?

B

ANSWER: Yes! I know this can sound depressing, but this grand scheme to alter the world will fail. What lies ahead is not all dark and gloom. The clouds will part and the sun will shine. This is not the END of civilization; it is the next cycle of civilization. It will be up to us to reshape society, for we will see all these Republican forms of government collapse just as the Roman Republic collapsed. Our computer has never been wong in these broad political forecasts.

This current wave began with the Plaza Accord and the formation of the G5 – now G20 in August 1985. Tokyo Crashed on the first wave in 1989.95, SE Asia peaked in 1994.25, then Russia crashed in 1998.55, 2002.85 began the real estate rally that peaked in 2007.15, which was the precise day of the high of the Shiller Real Estate Index. Then 2011.45 marked the high in gold, and 2015.75 was the very day Russia came to the aid of Syria. Trump was sworn in on the precise day of Pi 2017.05, and 2020.05 marked the start of the COVID scheme, the rise in civil unrest globally, and the commodity boom as we head into 2024.35. Putin’s term will be up in 2024, and it is propaganda that he is the madman threat — he is the only one with common sense. Remove Putin and you will find the Russian Neocons who could come to power in 2024, and that would bring direct confrontation with the West into 2028 in the face of a Russia-China alliance.

It will be up to us to create not a new Bretton Woods, as Schwab wants to hand all power to the United Nations, but to push for a real direct Democracy and end these corrupt Republics. These people in government call themselves Honorable when in fact they use their families for all the corruption as is surfacing from the Laptop from Hell. A Congressman cannot be on the board of a private company, so their spouse or children do that like Hunter Biden. They create their Foundations like the Clintons and John McCain and tell people to pour millions into there, and then they live off of the perks. They also get to keep all money donated to them for elections that they did not spend – tax-free. I have been to political “dinners” where everything is there but as long as we stand, it is not a “dinner” for it is illegal to buy a politician dinner. It is always a dog & pony show.

In the end, no government has EVER survived. This is our turn to become the Founding Fathers for generations to follow.

Brett Baier Asks Volodymyr Zelenskyy About Azov Battalion Reportedly Shooting POW’s


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 2, 2022

The question was asked during an interview between Brett Baier and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday evening.  However, you will not find this segment on the rebroadcast of the interview at Fox News [Website Here] they took it out.  You will also not find this segment on the Fox News upload of the interview to their YouTube account [See Here] again, they took it out.

In fact, if someone had not uploaded a livestream copy to Rumble {Direct Link Here} there would be no other evidence the question was even asked, let alone the very flippant answer from Zelenskyy, “they are what they are“; where “they” is the neoNazi Azov battalion that have been merged with the Ukraine regular military. WATCH:

March Jobs Report Shows Increase of 431,000 Jobs Added


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 1, 2022 | Sundance 

My apologies in getting late to this but the BLS has completely revamped the way they calculate employment and all of the familiar data tables are revised. So, it takes a little longer to get to cut through the clutter and get to the data that matters.

Overall, the BLS report [DATA Here] shows 431,000 jobs regained in March from the government closures during the pandemic.

Despite the job regain number being less than expected, it’s not bad at all.

As expected, leisure and hospitality jobs [Table B-1] showed the strongest rebound with 112,000 jobs. With 25,000 job gains in hotels and 61,000 in food services (restaurants).  A little more than 2 million jobs have been regained in the last year from the COVID-19 lockdowns in this sector.

There are a few troubling indicators like a decrease in residential building jobs (-2,600), and a surprising decrease of 6,000 jobs in trucking and transportation.  Retail overall gained 49,000 jobs with most of them in the food and beverage sales sector.  However, retail furniture stores lost 1,600, electronics stores lost 1,300 and garden supply stores lost 1,900.

The retail job pattern would seem to indicate consumer spending being squeezed and priorities on spending leading to job losses in non-priority retail shops.  Boosting the disposable income concern, is a statistically significant loss of 5,000 jobs in the retail beauty and personal care stores.

On the upside, business and professional service jobs in March had a nice lift with 102,000 jobs added.

Overall, as we would expect, the national employment picture looks much like the economy that overlays it.  Jobs in food creation, sales and distribution are holding strong as a consumer priority.   However, jobs in convenience stuff, indulgent stuff, and luxury sector items are contracting.  Meanwhile the job losses in trucking are a little odd.

Wages have increased 5.6% on a yearly basis, but still significantly lags inflation.   The average workweek and overtime declined slightly in March (0.1/hrs), so there’s not any real demand side pressure visible upon the manufacturing workforce.

Finally, a White House Journalist Ask a Direct and Pertinent Question About Rising Prices and Inflation


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 1, 2022 | Sundance

Apparently, this question was asked by Jacqui Heinrich (Fox News) at the tail and of the White House presser.  The question is the first time this year that a stenographer for the regime has accurately put correct context on the inflation talking points from the White House.

As each datapoint from the economy has been reported, the White House has blamed Russia and Vladimir Putin for the bad economic data.  However, as Heinrich accurately states, none of the resulting impact from the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been quantified in the data.  That post Russian invasion data begins in March, will not surface until reports later this month.  WATCH:

Good question. Finally.

White House Ignores Inflation


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Apr 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

No one expected the recent 25-basis point rise in rates to curb inflation in a meaningful way. There are numerous variables contributing to this situation that are simply out of the Fed’s control at this point. The personal consumption expenditure price index (PCE) rose 5.4% in March on an annual basis. That is the most significant leap since April of 1983. Headline PCE spiked 6.4%, the fastest pace since January 1982, as gas and food costs are on the rise.

Consumer spending, accounting for over two-thirds of US GDP, rose by a marginal 0.2%. The plan to destroy America to Build Back Better has caused significant damage to our economy. Visiting the White House website shows that our alleged leaders are still focusing on the agenda of Klaus Schwab rather than the people. In the listed priorities, COVID remains top on the list, followed by climate change. Only the policies surrounding both are harming America rather than the issues themselves. The third priority is racial equity, and down at number four is the economy.

“President Biden will take bold steps to address the inequities in our economy and provide relief to those who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The President will also work with Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan to change the course of the pandemic, build a bridge towards economic recovery, and invest in racial justice. And, he will build our economy back better from the pandemic and create millions of jobs by strengthening small businesses and investing in the jobs of the future.”

In other words, the Biden Administration is doing absolutely nothing to curb inflation and it is not a top priority. At the time of this writing, there is only one article on the homepage loosely involving inflation: “President Biden’s Plan to Respond to Putin’s Price Hike at the Pump.” They cannot even take responsibility for the damage they alone have caused.

The Federal Reserve admittedly acted too slowly and lost all leverage by artificially lowering rates. Unsettling, but the people in charge are not concerned with the declining living standards for Americans. The focus is on propelling the Great Reset.

One in Five of Americans Broke Before Payday


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Apr 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Inflation is at a 40-year high with no indication of slowing. People are feeling the lower buying power of the USD as one in five Americans now run out of liquid funds before payday, according to a survey by Salary Finance as reported by CNBC. Over three-quarters stated that they have been feeling the effects of inflation this past year. Around 20% of the 3,000 respondents said that they run out of money between paychecks, marking a 15% uptick since 2021.

Around 25% are finding it difficult to afford essential items such as food, gas, and health care. The price of automobiles is at an all-time high due to the chip shortage, and gas prices seem to rise daily. One-third polled cannot afford to put any money toward savings, and those who can likely are contributing less.

Without savings, the possibility of homeownership is out of reach for many. Housing prices increased over 7.02% since 2020, according to the Labor Department, but that is factoring in prices across the board. In reality, any desirable area costs more.

Although wages have increased around 5%, the cost of living surpasses any additional funds. Let’s not forget that taxes have not decreased either and those in charge are continuously planning to spend money on agendas that do not promote the taxpayers’ quality of life. Gone are the days when lower to middle-income Americans could work hard and afford a comfortable life; people are simply trying to stay afloat.

(Fed Chair Powell admitting inflation was no longer “transitory” in November 2021)

International Monetary Fund Warns Russian Sanctions Will Undermine U.S. Dollar Global Dominance as Trade Currency


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 31, 2022 

Comrade rebels, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Deputy Managing Director says the sanctions against Russia are likely to undermine the US dollar’s global dominance as a trade currency.

As we have outlined, this is ultimately the counter strategic goal of Russia and Putin’s economic allies.  It’s a feature, not a flaw, in the process that Joe Biden has triggered.

(Inside Paper) – […] “The dollar would remain the major global currency even in that landscape, but fragmentation at a smaller level is certainly quite possible,” Gopinath said in an interview with the Financial Times.  She went on to say that some countries have already begun to renegotiate the currency in which they are paid for trade.

According to Gopinath, the drastic restrictions imposed by Western countries in response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine may result in the formation of small currency blocs based on trade between individual groups of countries.  Furthermore, the use of currencies other than the dollar or the euro in global trade would result in a further diversification of central banks’ reserve assets. (read more)

This outcome, in combination with the realization the western alliance will also necessarily lose leverage for their climate change goals, is ultimately what triggered the G7 energy ministers to demand that Russia continue using euros and dollars.

The efforts of NATO and the western alliance to crush the Russian currency have failed.  The Russian ruble currency has jumped back from the sanctions and is now even stronger than before the sanctions were put into place.  Now, with demands that Europe pay for oil and gas in rubles, Europe and the western alliance find themselves in a position of vulnerability.

With China and India supporting ongoing trade with Russia, and with Saudi Arabia responding coldly to the U.S. working on a deal with Iran for nuclear weapons, the geopolitical strategy of NATO, G7 and the proverbial western alliance increasingly looks like it will backfire.

Meanwhile, Putin’s domestic favorability within Russia is climbing as the Wall Street Journal noted:

(Wall Street Journal) – President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating in Russia has soared since he launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24—to 83% from 71% last month—according to independent Russian pollster Levada Center.

Surveys by Levada Center and state-backed pollsters indicate that around two-thirds of Russians back Mr. Putin’s war, which the Kremlin refers to as a special military operation. Experts have cautioned against taking current Russian polls on face value, given that Russian authorities have pursued a crackdown against dissent, including a media blackout of any reports contrary to the Kremlin’s narrative about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin’s approval rating had for the past few years hovered in the 60s, according to Levada, which has tracked the longtime Russian leader’s rating since he became prime minister in 1999.

[…] Levada, which was designated a foreign agent by Russian authorities, also found that the percentage of Russians who believe the country is moving in the right direction increased since the war began: 69% of Russians now believe Russia is headed in the right direction, compared with 52% in February and 50% in January, the poll showed. (link)

Who knew fracturing the globalist ‘new world order‘ alliance would be so popular?  Apparently, the timing was perfect.

When you consider the same leaders within the western alliance have been acting as authoritarian dictators for the past two years, with their COVID rules, mandates, fiats and unilateral decrees that undermined the “democratic norms and rule-based order” they claimed to represent, it is not a surprise to see them standing naked to their enemies.

The western leaders have no credibility to stand atop their soapboxes and rail against autocracy when they have been acting like autocratic dictators for the past two years.   Their proclamations are falling on the deaf ears of the citizens they abused.

Embracing tyranny has consequences.

Unified Message From White House and Democrats – Save the Planet, Crush the Middle Class, Eliminate Use of Oil for Energy


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 31, 2022 | Sundance

In an effort to take advantage of the energy crisis they have created, the entirety of the Democrat political apparatus is singing in unison.  WATCH these three soundbites from today (30 seconds each):

Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said we can’t let higher gas prices be an “excuse” to produce more American energy…

President Joe Biden’s director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese said we need to do everything we can to reduce and eliminate fossil fuels

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President Joe Biden’s White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said fossil fuels are “not sustainable”…

.

The federal takeover of healthcare, via Obamacare, was the ‘big move in Obama’s first term’.

The federal takeover of all energy production and delivery, via climate change ideology, is the ‘big move in Obama’s third term.’

Biden Announces Plan to Lower Gasoline Cost, Release 1 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day for Next Six Months From Strategic Petroleum Reserve


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 31, 2022 

The White House occupant took to the literal stage today to gaslight the American people and state it is not his energy policy that has created massive increases in gas prices.  Instead, chief of staff Ron Klain has convinced the puppet to claim Vladimir Putin is to blame for the increase in oil costs.

The manipulative effort to distract the nation from his energy and economic policy outcomes is brazen. However, like most things recently, the blame-casting is likely to be believed by approximately 25% of Americans.

In an attempt to slow down the rising price of gasoline, the puppet on the stage-set near the white house, announced a plan to release 1 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve every day for the next six months. {Details}

As admitted, the goal is to “bridge the gap.” Unfortunately, most will not recognize exactly what the destination is on the other side of the bridge.

Inflation is a measure of price at a moment in time relative to the same time one year ago.  Ron Klain is trying to keep the tar and feathers away until the White House policy team can cycle through the inflation comparison to the fall of 2022. That’s when the comparison flips to comparing prices to the fall of 2021.

Prices skyrocketed in the last half of 2021. If Ron Klain can keep the electoral torches from reaching the White House until the fall of 2022, the rate of inflation will look better because they will be comparing this year’s high prices to last year’s high prices. The rate of change will lessen; the rate of inflation will look better.  Unfortunately, the high prices will remain – forever.

WATCH (prompted):

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Biden on stage.  Once you see the strings on the marionettes, you can never return to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.