Category Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop
It’s Snowing in Middle East for First Time in History
Armstrong Economics Blog/Climate Re-Posted Dec 29, 2022 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, I just wanted to inform you as a loyal reader of your blog, it is snowing here in Kuwait for the first time in history. Your computer is the only non-passionate forecaster I have ever encountered. It relays just the facts without an agenda.
Thank you so much. You have a large group of supporters here in the Middle East.
SBB
REPLY: This entire climate change agenda is a hoax. They are not interested in the truth. This is about using climate to restructure society into the one-world order which is why they are supporting Ukrainian Nazis that follow the same beliefs as Adolf Hitler. We have turned 180 degrees from our basic fundamental values.
I am deeply concerned that by calling this global warming and now they are experimenting with shooting particles into the atmosphere to “cool” the planet, we may be pushing ourselves into an ice age much faster than anyone suspects. Napoleon was defeated by a Volcanic Winter. These people are risking the entire planet for several volcanoes erupting, and we may not survive by deliberately shooting particles into the atmosphere. All of this is because our current debt system cannot be sustained.
White House Flies 4,000 Page Omnibus Bill to Virgin Islands for Biden Signature
Posted originally on the CTH on December 29, 2022 | sundance
According to recent media reports the $1.7 trillion omnibus budget and legislative bill was sent to the White House late Wednesday night. However, Joe Biden and his familial entourage had already departed DC for their holiday vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
However, the continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill needed to be signed by December 30th in order to fund government without technical interruption, so the White House sent the bill all the way to St. Croix for signature via Spirit Airlines.
(Via Daily Mail) – The White House flew the federal budget to St Croix for President Joe Biden to sign into law ahead of the December 30 deadline, so the government didn’t shut down over New Year’s Eve.
The 4,000-page, $1.7 trillion omnibus package to fund the government through September 2023 arrived at the White House on Wednesday evening, after it completed the legislative enrollment process. On Thursday, it was flown to St Croix, where Biden is spending the holiday week in a luxury villa owned by a billionaire Democratic donor.
The bill arrived in the US Virgin Islands via Spirit Airlines on Thursday evening around 5:30 pm Eastern time. A little over an hour later, Biden’s POTUS Instagram account posted a picture of the president signing the bill.
The caption of the Instagram post read: ‘Today, I signed the bipartisan omnibus bill, ending a year of historic progress. It’ll invest in medical research, safety, veteran health care, disaster recovery, VAWA funding – and gets crucial assistance to Ukraine. Looking forward to more in 2023.’
The only Spirit Airlines flight that landed in St Croix this evening emanated from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It landed on the islands at 5:40 pm.
A senior administration official confirmed DailyMail.com on Thursday that the White House had officially received the bill. (read more)
Everything this Biden administration does is a last minute, messed up, crisis managed, urgent fiasco, made worse by selfish stupidity and a lack of planning. This administration is in a perpetual state of critical chaos where everything is always urgent, except in the mind of the principle. I cannot fathom what staff burnout must be like in this mess. It must be exhausting.
Western Financial System to Mexico: Nice Peso You Got There, it’d be a Shame if Something Happened to It
Posted originally on the CTH on December 29, 2022
As we’ve been saying for seven months, keep watching how the globalists respond to Mexico. AMLO doesn’t want to join the economic suicide pact known as Build Back Better, or the North American version “Green New Deal.” This puts him in a precarious place.
This sentence from a recent financial analysis article in Reuters is telling, “concerns about a U.S. recession and a trade spat Mexico is embroiled in with the United States and Canada over Lopez Obrador’s energy policy, which critics call nationalist, muddy the outlook for the peso.” A “nationalist energy policy”?
What exactly is a “nationalist energy policy,” and why would international financial people be having fits about it?
In the past year the Mexican peso has outperformed the U.S. dollar, in part because Mexico is not following the economic roadmap, a World Economic Forum inspired united inflationary malaise as an outcome of unified energy policy. [Side Note: The Brazilian currency was also outperforming the western bloc and dollar; but that situation has been rectified now, Bolsonaro removed, and the central bank will start contracting the economy.]
The global financial control mechanisms now start to look at the Mexican non-compliance:
(Reuters) – Mexico’s peso, which is ending 2022 with one of its strongest performances in a decade, could have its gains wiped out in 2023 after an expected end to the Bank of Mexico’s rate hikes cycle and a possible recession in top trade partner the United States.
The peso last month clawed its way back to pre-pandemic levels and has appreciated over 5% versus the U.S. dollar in 2022, making it one of the best-performing global currencies alongside Brazil’s real.
But the peso’s impressive run may be ending as markets expect the large capital flows to Mexico in recent months, attracted by the Bank of Mexico’s restrictive monetary policy stance, could soon start to slow.
[…] Banxico, as the central bank is known, has been increasing its benchmark interest rate since June 2021 to stem inflation, and hiked it to a record 10.5% at its last policy meeting.
In the coming months, Banxico is expected to end its rate hiking cycle and likely decouple from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is seen continuing to increase rates. That would narrow the rate differential and could spark an outflow of capital.
Concerns about a U.S. recession and a trade spat Mexico is embroiled in with the United States and Canada over Lopez Obrador’s energy policy, which critics call nationalist, muddy the outlook for the peso.
“The perception of risk could rise due to the consultations in the framework of the USMCA (trade deal), which could lead to the imposition of measures against Mexico,” said Banco Base.
Traders at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, considered a bellwether of market sentiment, have started to bet the peso will begin depreciating. (read more)
There is no upper limit to the amount of pressure the Western Alliance will put upon Mexico.
Treasury Dept Makes Rule Determination Undermining Premise of EV Tax Credits Within Inflation Reduction Act
Posted originally on the CTH on December 29, 2022
Treasury Dept Makes Rule Determination Undermining Premise of EV Tax Credits Within Inflation Reduction Act
December 29, 2022 | sundance | 132 Comments
We accept the named legislation “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) is a legislative misnomer intended to obfuscate the true construct of the bill. The IRA was factually the ‘green new deal’ program packaged under the guise of an ‘inflation reduction’ premise. However, in order to discuss the outcome of the content we have to play the game of pretending around the purpose of the legislation.
Within the IRA there was a $7,500 tax credit for American made Electric Vehicles. The intent of the legislation was to provide incentives for U.S. consumers to purchase ‘sustainable’ and environmentally friendly electric cars, trucks, SUV’s etc made in America.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the bill with this legislative intent in mind. However, the Treasury Department is now taking apart the granular details of the legislation in order to qualify foreign made vehicles for the $7,500 credit. The rules interpretation from the Treasury Dept essentially negates the CBO score, and the outcome is going to be much more expensive than initially stated.
Because the $7,500 comes in the form of a tax credit, the IRS (Treasury) is the institution making the determinations for qualification. Treasury is changing the qualifications to permit basically any EV to qualify, by parsing a difference between a leased vehicle and a purchased vehicle. Additionally, Treasury is changing the battery sourcing aspect by qualifying essentially any trade agreement as a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), saying the term Free Trade Agreement was undefined in the legislation.
As an outcome & simply cutting to the chase, EV batteries from just about anywhere, inside EV vehicles from basically anywhere, that are purchased as leases from just about any auto manufacturer, will qualify for the $7,500 credit. It’s all a shell game, with the Biden administration determining where the pea is located.
Dec 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday that electric vehicles leased by consumers starting Jan. 1 can qualify for up to $7,500 in commercial clean vehicle tax credits, a decision that makes those assembled outside North America eligible.
The announcement is a win for South Korea and some automakers that earlier this month sought approval to use the commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access. Automakers said the credit could be used to reduce leasing prices.
The $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August ended $7,500 consumer tax credits for purchases of electric vehicles assembled outside North America, angering South Korea, the European Union, Japan and others. The new Treasury guidance does not change the definition of what constitutes North American assembly to make more vehicles eligible for EV purchases.
Treasury said it was using “longstanding tax principles” to determine consumer leasing could qualify for the EV tax credit.
The IRA also imposes significant battery minerals and component sourcing restrictions, sets income and price caps for qualifying vehicles and seeks to phase out Chinese battery minerals or components. The commercial credit does not, however, have the sourcing restrictions of the consumer credit.
Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who chairs the chamber’s energy panel, urged Treasury to pause implementation of both commercial and new consumer EV tax credits and said they had bent “to the desires of the companies looking for loopholes” and would seek new legislation that “prevents this dangerous interpretation from Treasury from moving forward.” (read more)
From the Wall Street Journal, “One of the documents released Thursday pointed out that because the legislation doesn’t define what a free-trade agreement is, the Treasury Department might consider other types of trade agreements to expand the eligibility. The department didn’t provide examples of such agreements, but trade lawyers have suggested that the 2019 bilateral trade agreement with Japan and the World Trade Organization’s government procurement agreement could be candidates.” (link)
I am reminded of the words from Democrat Congressman Alcee Hastings during the construction of the ObamaCare legislation. WATCH (10 secs):
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LET’S DO THIS! Kari Lake, Brendan Miller, Pleb AND MORE! VIVA IS BACK!
vivafrei Published originally on Rumble on December 27, 2022
Katie lake won the election just like President trump won the election in 2020. The Corruption in the political system is now totally out of control and if we can’t fix it the republic is gone.
The Rising Hatred of Trump is Spreading
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Dec 29, 2022 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: I can see what your model is predicting. It is just becoming in your face. I had a one time friend who is so consumed with his hatred of Donald Trump he is incapable to seeing anything else. The country is so divided we are no longer friends and I am middle-of-the-road and not a Trump worshiper.
GD
REPLY: We must understand that those who are just consumed with hatred for Donal Trump are victims of physiological warfare the very same tactics employed by Hitler. It is very true that Hitler was an extremely gifted speaker. He would mesmerize and totally captivate many people with his beating of the lectern symbolizing how the German people were wronged. Hitler’s primary tactic was to tap into people’s emotions and this became his inspirational tactic to win over the people. Hitler would praise Christian heritage as well as the German Christian culture. He would tie himself to a belief in Jesus Christ.
Hit was a master at getting people to hate. Hitler used Christianity as a central motivation for his anti-Semitism and this was how he managed to get so many people to view Jews as the enemy. Hitler’s strategy was to create the conception that Jews were in fact the enemies of all civilization. His speeches were emotional and in so doing, he used Christianity to support his policies as if this were a Holy War. In Hitler’s public speeches, he influenced others using their emotions by recasting that Jesus was a fighter against the Jews.
He became exceptionally adept at telling people what they wanted to hear just as we see unfolding today with demonizing Trump and in the process, extending that to all Republicans dividing the country just as Hitler learned how to do. Hitler used the theme that this was a Jewish-Marxist plot to conquer the world. The Reichstag Fire he blamed on a communist which he linked with the Jews thanks to Karl Marx. He exclaimed that this was a betrayal of everything German culture stood for.
They have demonized Trump and as soon as Biden took office, he went out of his way to do whatever Trump had done, which had to be reversed despite the fact that it was reasonable for the country. They have opened the borders, but only to South America hoping to flood the country with immigrants who they are counting on will vote Democrat against those who actually produce. I met with the former head of Australia, Paul Keatings, and tried to negotiate on behalf of Hong Kong to buy land to allow them to migrate. He declined, When I asked WHY? Is this Racist? He said not. They were fleeing communism so they would vote conservative and Keating was a Labour Government fearing that an influx would change the demographics.
The Democrats are using that strategy. They believe all these people are coming for a free handout. If they had assets, they would not come. So they want the poorest of the poor to change the politics of the United States.
As long as they keep people blinded but their hatred of Trump, they get to do whatever they want. It is the Hitler strategy all over again.
One reader from Texas wrote:
QUESTION: What does Socrates say about immigration? I can’t believe the hordes of people coming into Texas, but no one in Washington cares. Our governor is seen as a terrible human being by the media because he sends busloads of immigrants to “blue” cities, but those people would freeze to death in El Paso where people are crammed into civic centers, schools, churches, and the airport. They have run out of blankets and clothing to give to them and their volunteers are exhausted. Smaller border towns have even greater problems because they have fewer resources. The immigrants only shot at survival is to leave El Paso. Why don’t people in other states see what is happening? Why do they think Texas has a place for all these people? And why do they think Texas has received money to take care of these people when it is charity organizations who picks up the tab?
For people who believe that immigrants add value—Texas has been educating immigrant children for years and we have very high school taxes. Immigrants appear at hospital ERs and expect treatment, which has resulted in the closing of many rural hospitals. They drive without insurance and often don’t follow traffic laws. Our insurance rates go up.
If Texans complain we are called racist, however, a plurality of Texans are Hispanic. The border counties are 90-95% Hispanic. People who live along the border are tired of the invasion and are increasingly voting “red.” It’s really hard to see what Washington is trying to accomplish unless they want to see Texas leave the union.
JBM
ANSWER: This will be a major factor on the separatist movement building in the United States. This is part of the destruction of society and we would expect that post-2024.
Exposing the Real Reasons the RNC Ignores You (Pt. 1) | Harmeet Dhillon | POLITICS | Rubin Report
The Rubin Report Published posted originally on Rumbal on December 26, 2022
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to candidate for RNC Chair Harmeet Dhillon about why the RNC suffered major losses in the 2022 midterm elections under the failed leadership of RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel; how she would change the political strategy of the Republican National Committee; why Republicans don’t seem to know how to win an election; and the free speech litigation she has done on the behalf of the Daily Wire and Project Veritas.
Exposing This State’s Secret Enemies List (Pt. 2) | Harmeet Dhillon | POLITICS | Rubin Report
The Rubin Report Published originally on Rumble on December 28, 2022
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to candidate for RNC Chair Harmeet Dhillon about how the Twitter files have confirmed the suspicions of the Center for American Liberty’s lawsuit against Twitter; how she exposed the state of California’s secret enemies list; why she is representing Rogan O’Handley (aka DC Draino) in his fight against big tech censorship; how Republicans dropped the ball in dealing with big tech regulation; how section 230 of the communications decency act needs to be reformed; and why we need a social media bill of rights.
Understanding the Neocons
Armstrong Economics Blog/Uncategorized Re-Posted Dec 28, 2022 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: I saw you on TV here in Russia. I think you are more respected in Russia than in the United States. You are the only person ever to say that war is created by politicians and not the people. Do you see any hope of avoiding war?
VR
ANSWER: Unfortunately, no! The only real question is how bad does it get?
As I said at our World Economic Conference, nobody has tried to defeat this model more than me. I have come to see that you really cannot change the long-term because nobody will act for the future. They only react to immediate news and propaganda. Congressman Adam Kinzinger said that NATO could take out Russia in only three days. Kinzinger is the new John McCain. He always advocates war and is clueless. His statement that NATO could take out Russia in 3 days is the most absurd statement I have ever heard.
Kinzinger acts as if NATO could completely destroy Russia in 3 days and they never get a shot off? It is beyond me why these people always preach war and have ZERO regards for the consequences. These people should be barred from ever holding office even for a dog catcher. They live in a delusional world. They also hate China. So they are supposed to wait until NATO destroys Russia in 3 days and then we turn to destroy them in 5 days? Then we also ask North Korea and Iran to please wait their turn for destruction.
The US, Europe, Russia, China, and even Iran all have their Neocons. We should gather them all up, throw then in Madison Square Garden, sell tickets and bet on who is the last one standing. Anyone else who wants to be a Neocon should just be put in the line for the next match.
Centinel2012 