Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 24, 2022 | Sundance
This interview is gag-worthy as two condescending leftists wax philosophically about how progressive U.S. foreign policy should dictate global society. However, it does show just how flawed the ideology of the interventionist political leftists has become, and why their expansionist ideology always culminates in conflict.
Example: Right now, China is threatening to put military bases in the Solomon Islands. Australia and the collective west are aghast and ready to draw “red lines.” At the same time the U.S/NATO put military forces ever closer to Russia and are shocked that Putin would eventually respond to the red lines he previously drew. The geopolitical hypocrisy is ridiculous.
That hypocritical example above highlights the ironic point made in an interview between Margaret Hoover and former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as they discuss President Trump.
If Trump had won reelection, there was no reason for Putin to invade Ukraine because Donald Trump was not trying to expand pressure on Russia or any other foreign government. Yovanovitch admits directly that Trump foreign policy did not create conflict; yet, Yovanovitch pretends not to see the cause and effect in her leftist intervention advocacy. WATCH (prompted to 14:42):
Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 21, 2022 | Sundance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the International Monetary Fund today he needs $7 billion per month in global subsidy in order to supplement the economic losses currently being incurred.
(VIA CNN) – “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine needs $7 billion per month in financial assistance to make up for the economic losses from the war.
In a virtual address to a World Bank forum, Zelenksy also said that it would take “hundreds of billions of dollars” to rebuild his country later.
He said every country must be prepared to break all relations with Russia and that Moscow should “immediately” be excluded from all international financial institutions including the IMF and the World Bank.” (link)
The revelations pouring out from John Durham is very enlightening which has confirmed that the Democrats for four years led by Hillary Clinton, set in motion the strategy to constantly attack Trump an d thereby prevent him from carrying out his goal to drain the swamp. John Durham has revealed that the “A secret Trump server is communicating with a Russian bank” was a totally fic ticious claim put out their by Hillary which had no basis in fact whatsoever. It was just totally made up.
In a new filing, Durham revealed that the CIA concluded that cellphone data and Internet traffic provided by Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann was “not technically plausible” and “user created.” This proved to be deliberately fabricating evidence which was the same strategy behin the notorious Christopher Steele dossier, twhich they also fabricated facts. Of course, the CIA was against Trump as was the NSA because they were on the agenda of creating war with Russia. Despite all of this evidence which is surfacing, still those on the left continued to ignore these facts and will not relent when it comes to bashing Trump. Clinton’s team simply invented the entire story, forged evidence, and then presented it to the FBI and CIA as if it was something worth pursuing, derailing a presidency for years.
The Director of the CIA, John Brennan, a former aide and campaign advisor to President Obama, had stated that his agency believed the Russians were behind the hacking of the Democrat’ servers. The Democarts even blamed Wikileaks and pushed to imprison Julian Assange for life. WikiLeaks denied that Russian hackers were the source of the emails. But the Democrats were relentless. Trump disagreed with the CIA claim, tweeting that “these are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.” Now the Durham report demonstrates that the CIA lied and misled the nation.
There is a serious question is all of these characters have not engaged in treason against the United States. These people will be remembered by History and held in the same regard as Benedict Arnold by future generations when the dust settles. Their names will become synonymous with “traitor” after was the case with Benedict Arnold when his betrayal became public. Benjamin Franklin wrote that “Judas sold only one man, Arnold three millions.” However, these people have done far more damage than merely creating Russiagate.
Because of these people, in 2019, Gallup Poll showed that the Majority of Americans had considered Russia as a critical threat which is mandatory to justy waging war. The nonsense of imposing sanction of Russia under the theory that will force the people to overthrow Putin, are simply out of their minds. Now two-thirds of Russians see the United States as the enemy of Russia. The independent Levada Center published their poll confirming that 70 percent of respondents pointed to the United States as the greatest threat to Russia.
These attitudes have been the byproduct of Russiagate. This is HIGHLY dangerous for the Neocons will get what they dream of – World War III. These people have put out nothing but hatred and this is unfortunately what we the people of the world, Americans and Russians, are the victims of these hateful manipulations of society to press their desire for war.
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 18, 2022 by Martin Armstrong
The plot behind Ukraine is far deeper than anyone is willing to talk about publically. Yanukovich was corrupt and his sons were acting like a protection racket. Yanukovich was keen on joining the EU but the treaty had a clause in there that would have put Ukraine in NATO through the backdoor. Ukraine would have to comply will all the rules and regulations of NATO without formally being admitted. Worse still, Ukraine was to trade exclusively with the EU when Russia was its main trading partner and its fuel came from Russia. This was the first attempt by the West to bring Ukraine into NATO.
That is why Yanukovich backed out and that is what began the whole uprising. To appease the protestors, Yanukovich agreed to early elections in nine months. This is where the US Neocons were hard at work to actually see the uprising as an opportunity and they wanted to install their own people. That was all in the leaked phone call of Victoria Nuland.
Zelensky was elected with overwhelming support to create peace which was exactly OPPOSITE of the objectives of the American Neocons. The Ukrainian Nationalists (Nazis) threatened to kill Zelensky if he pushed for peace with Russia. Zelensky did a political flip-flop and yielded to the Nazi movement. Reliable sources insisted that the Nazis threatened to kill Zelensky to prevent any peace with Russia.
Don’t forget McCain and Lesley Graham even addressed the Ukrainian Nazis promising them to support back in December 2016 after Trump was elected, but before he was sworn in. The Neocons were hard at work to ensure that there would be no peace with Russia.
The entire Russiagate has been discredited but we must understand the reality of international relations. Hillary, who is a Neocon and was friends with John McCain to the point he is the one who handed the fraudulent Steel Dossier to James Comey at the FBI, was instrumental in the failed takeover of Russia by the bankers blackmailing Yeltsin and interfering in the 2000 election which brought Putin to power. Hillary clearly concocted the whole theory that Trump was a puppet of Putin. The Neocons even spun the story that Putin was ex-KGB and that meant he wanted to resurrect the old Soviet Union which was also a lie.
With the seriousness of these actions, we are now heading into war over fake news. Obama had refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and the entire Russiagate was to box in Trump who was then advised to provide military weapons to Ukraine to prove he was not a puppet of Putin. It was the Neocons who were trying to push Trump into an eye-to-eye confrontation.
What Kennedy did to the Neocons was reject their advice and in the Cuban Missle Crisis, this resulted in a monumental shift in US-Russian relations. It forced both parties to realize that they needed each other and that confrontation was not the answer. The Neocons disagreed. This probably cost Kennedy his life. I believe the Neocons had him killed and Oswald was hinted that he was somehow connected to Russia. The CIA refused to release the files and the only reason is to hide the fact that the Neocons took out Kennedy.
Before he died, Robert McNamara (1916 – 2009) was a leading Neocon that pushed the country into the Vietnam war. He was famous for saying: “I learned early on never answer the question that is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked of you. And quite frankly, I follow that rule. It’s a very good rule.” McNamara finally admitted that they were wrong particularly in their assessment of Russia as a threat. The perception that Russia is a threat is still dominating the agenda today and there is absolutely no attempt to create world peace.
By creating Russiagate, the main objective was to prevent Trump from working any peace deal with Russia. That was the same objective of McCain and Graham running to Ukraine now that Trump was elected to promise aid to the Ukrainian Nazis to keep up their war against Russians. Can you imagine if the Cuban Missile Crisis took place during the Trump Administration, the Neocons would have been in their glory warning Trump any peace deal would confirm he was just a puppet of Putin. That would have e guaranteed war – not peace. This was the strategic move – a checkmate against Trump seeking peace as did Kennedy.
Reliable sources also claim that the transcript of the phone call between Trump and Zelensky that was used for impeachment was not the full conversation. Trump had assumed that Zelensky was serious about peace and would have supported that decision. But this would have been seen as making Trump the puppet of Putin. This scenario was vital to prevent peace and eventually put the pieces in place for the war that now clouds the horizon.
The DEMONIZING of Trump began to PREVENT world peace and to strip Trump of any ability to reach a peace deal with Russia. Putin did NOT want to reestablish the old Soviet Union, but instead, he saw the rise of China economically and sought to bring Russia into an economic player on the global scale. He wanted to be remembered for being the leader who brought Russia to its economic greatness – not the reestablishment of the USSR which was the dream of Stalin, not Lenin nor Putin.
The image of Trump and Putin had to be manipulated to direct the world into the new political agenda leaving these two leaders who wanted to make their respective nations great again. So far, they have accomplished their goals with strategic cunning and manipulation. To this day, there remain people who are just obsessed with their hatred of Trump. They refuse to come up for air remaining below the surface in the darkness of the depths. To see the plot, they first have to realize that Trump is no longer president and the Neocons will do everything in their power to prevent him from ever running again. That’s what the January 6th hearings are all designed to do – charge him with INSURRECTION to prevent him constitutionally from ever running again. But with that failing, they would more likely than not assassinate him. These people are playing for keeps and they see their goal – the destruction of Russia and China – within their reach.
Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 17, 2022 | sundance
While no media have a good track record of outlining the conflict in Ukraine, retired Col. Douglas Macgregor has the most consistent perspective that reconciles what little factual information is visible with the reality on the ground.
In this recent interview, Macgregor notes the Russian operation is currently focused on securing the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, where fighting has been taking place since 2014. During an earlier interview on CNN, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy noted the largest and most experienced elements of the Ukrainian army are located in this region. According to Zelenskyy, approximately 44,000 Ukrainian troops are there; oddly, Zelenskyy seemed to concede that he has no control over what’s happening there.
During this segment, Macgregor notes the current Russian objective is to encircle those eastern Ukraine forces, cut them off from western supply lines, and then slowly and methodically eliminate them – while separating them from Russian speaking citizens in the region. Macgregor notes a particular concern once those Ukraine forces are eliminated. WATCH:
What Col. Macgregor states toward the end rings very true to the practical events being discussed.
The most dangerous time will be when the Russians are close to achieving their objective in Eastern Ukraine, and the western media will be faced with having to reconcile the difference between the propaganda they have been selling to western citizens and the actual truth on the ground. That’s when the western alliance is likely to do something drastic.
The world has gone completely nuts and now even Republican Marco Rubio is drafting legislation to sanction China. Biden’s sanctions have totally destroyed the world economy, bringing globalization and world peace to an abrupt end. I have written to Marco Rubio in response to his Tweet, but I seriously doubt he will ever respond.
“I realize that the chances of this ever being answered are minus zero. I will nonetheless publish this on ArmsatronEconomics.COM. I have advised nations and I have testified before the House Ways & Means Committee. These sanctions on Russia have already destroyed the world economy ending the integrity of the SWIFT system. Sanctions have NEVER worked even one time in history and every president before Biden sought world peace where now all we see is world war III. All of this nonsense has only ensured the end of the United States as the leader of the world economy. Even SWIFT told Obama no way in 2014 would they remove Russia from the system. Now SWIFT has committed suicide and Biden has divided the world economy. This will never return to normal and your proposal to sanction China is insane. In fact, the arrogance of the United States as the policeman of the world has only led to our inevitable demise. SWIFT is no longer the foundation of the world economy and this is ending the economic status of the dollar and the United States. No nation lasts forever and just as the arrogance of Athens led to the Peloponnesian War; we too have become far too arrogant sealing our own fate out of stupidity. Sanction China and you guarantee their alternative to SWIFT and once you terminate the goodwill, then without trade, they no longer have the incentive to participate in the world economy and thus it is no longer a threat to bit the hand that feeds you.”
The European Union’s relations with China have also plunged to unprecedented new lows. The US has also floated these theories with allies in Europe to sanction China, with absolutely ZERO understanding of how the world economy even functions. World peace is established not by threats and a show or nuclear weapons. It is free trade that bound the Roman Empire together where conquered lands found it beneficial economically to be part of the Empire than on the outside, chucking spears across the border. By removing Russia from SWIFT and now threatening China with sanctions, if they dare to allow Russia to use their alternative, all I can say is the United States is doomed. Biden called Putin a war criminal, yet under this theory, President Johnson was a war criminal for the abuse of soldiers in Vietnam. There are allegations of war crimes against Americans from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria for starters. So is Obama also a war criminal? These sorts of allegations GUARANTEE there will be no peace — EVER!
Marco Rubio mentioned that he is mulling legislation to sanction China if it helps Moscow circumvent SWIFT sanctions. Once the trade is severed, there is no incentive to work together. The only thing that then resolves such disputes is war. We are watching India among many nations viewing the arrogance of America as a deterrent and pushing them into the arms of the alternative economy that is forming.
The US has been funding the Ukrainian Civil War because the Neocon hates Russians. They are now poking China and have the audacity to think threatening China with the same sanctions will cause them to fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness. This thinking is absolute lunacy. The American people are TIRED of endless wars. The US has been sending National Guard troops overseas. Reservists and National Guards are being sent overseas because we do not have the troops necessary. These are people who have families — not 18 years boys sent to die. These are also National Guard troops, who are NOT defending the nation, but other people.
Looking closely at the National Guard’s website informs us that it has not one but two missions. The “state mission,” which you remember from your service, is to “provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise required by law.” There is also a “federal mission” to “maintain properly trained and equipped units available for prompt mobilization for war, national emergency, or as otherwise needed.” We have had National Guard troops overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere being called in on the basis of this federal mission yet it is questionable if that is legal without a declaration of war.
We need to be mindful that our politicians are quick to send people to die with no regard for their families left behind. There seems to be no serious thought about what is taking place, and it is all playing to the sound-bites.
Smart Investor talks to legendary cycle analyst Martin Armstrong about Corona, war and reshaping the world
Smart Investor: Mr. Armstrong, in 2015, The Forecaster, a powerful film about your life, was released. We interviewed you extensively in Smart Investor 5/2015. How have you been doing in the meantime and what are your current projects? Armstrong: I was involved in a sequel to the film that will be out later this year. Otherwise, we have expanded our services and have now launched our computer system, which is the system that the government wanted for itself. It now produces over 1,000 written reports every day all over the world without human intervention. We now use it in over 40 countries, which means we probably have the largest institutional customer base in the world.
Smart Investor 5/2015
Smart Investor: Would you briefly explain your forecasting approach to our readers again? Armstrong: In the 1980s and 1990s, I was one of the top international hedge fund managers, even being named hedge fund manager of the year for predicting the collapse of Russia, which triggered the 1998 hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management crisis. During that time, I’d watched global investment capital refocus on markets and then move on—leaving Japan in 1989, Southeast Asia in 1994, and Russia in 1998, followed by the euro. All of this was fueled by capital flows. One can follow these movements of capital and see how they cause the boom-bust cycles around the globe.
Smart Investor: The topic of Corona has kept us under its spell for more than two years. Was this turning point, or a drastic event like this, visible in your cycle model? Armstrong: Yes, I warned at our own World Economic Conference that if our model flipped in January 2020 (= year 2020.05) the market would crash. We were even able to pinpoint the exact day for the March 2020 bottom. Had an event like Corona happened during an uptrend, it would have been largely ignored. But if something like this happens while the model is turning down, then sentiment is inherently bearish. We also warned that there would be a scarcity-based commodity cycle from January 2020 to 2024.
Smart Investor: In our perception, major pandemics occur with a certain regularity. Have you thought about some kind of plague cycle and how it might continue? Armstrong: Such epidemics have always existed – but never in history have governments reacted so madly. The global lockdown has cost jobs and created bottlenecks in supply chains that will persist for several years to come. It was an absurd response that was proven wrong and caused a lot more damage. Most people know someone who got sick from COVID but didn’t die from it. Those who died would likely have died from any form of respiratory disease, such as occurs during the annual cycle of influenza. It was not a dangerous plague that killed 30% to 50% of the population like smallpox or the black plague in the 14th century.
Smart Investor: Now a new dominant event has been triggered with the hot war in Ukraine. How does this war fit into your model, specifically the war cycle? Armstrong: That too came at exactly the “right” time. Our model showed 1/16/2022. Unfortunately, instead of trying to bring peace to the world, the West has demonized Putin. The claim that Putin wanted to restore the old Soviet Union was pure propaganda. For the past 22 years he has made no attempt to restore communism, only calling Lenin himself a communist. He did not try to expand the borders but warned against NATO encroachment. In war, both sides spread propaganda, and it is always important to be objective about the claims of both sides. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was consistent with his warnings and came four days after US Vice President Harris recommended Ukraine join NATO. That was totally irresponsible.
Smart Investor: Can you see in your models which regions or countries will suffer the most in this conflict, who will get off lightly and who will be the beneficiaries? Armstrong: On both sides there are what we call neocons, people who just hate the other side. They cannot sleep at night as long as their enemy exists. Unfortunately, the deteriorating economic outlook is a reminder that war has often served as a diversionary tactic in the past. It looks like China is allying itself with Russia. I believe the confiscation of Russian private property was a serious violation of international law. Others, too, will realize that their assets could be confiscated if their country got into a dispute with the West. This would, of course, lead to a drop in global investment. It is precisely this process that seems to have started and, according to our models, will only get much worse over the next ten years. Disputes between countries are likely to remain at this level. The arrest of individuals simply because they are Russian is reminiscent of the internment camps for Japanese in the US during World War II solely on the basis of their ethnicity. It is very detrimental to the world economy when free investment is hampered.
Smart Investor: If we understand it correctly, the cycles develop largely independently of the specific actions of individuals. It’s hard to imagine, but would an escalation have been inevitable even if the Russian President hadn’t given the order for the invasion? Armstrong: That’s right. Demonizing Putin is absurd. There have been far worse leaders in history, like Hitler or Stalin, who could kill millions of people without thinking twice. The development of things is primarily determined by the economy. Normally you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. But imposing sanctions on Russia has exactly the opposite effect: they isolate Russia and sever economic ties, leading to casualties and in turn evoking anger and retaliation. Rome survived for 1,000 years because the conquered provinces benefited from selling their products to Rome. The confiscation of Russia’s currency reserves is above all a warning to China to be very careful in its dealings with the West. For China, the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT system only means that it is working flat out to introduce its variant of CIPS. Saudi Arabia just agreed to sell oil for yuan. These measures only guarantee that conflicts will continue to escalate and the world economy will be split in half.
Smart Investor: As investors, we try to prepare for strong cycles like these. Which asset classes or sectors should one avoid in this situation and where can one expect safety? Armstrong: Government bonds in particular are to be avoided. Governments will default and you will get nothing back. The loans from European governments from before the Second World War are now just an attractive wall decoration. When a company goes bust, its assets are sold and at least you get something back. But you can’t just run into the art museum and steal Picassos in the government. In times of war and geopolitical conflict, real assets are the best security.
Smart Investor: Gold is considered the safe haven, and Bitcoin is also perceived as such in some places. However, these two assets are also more of a thorn in the side of our governments. What do you think of the idea that the Russia argument could make life difficult for investors here in the future? Armstrong: Gold has lost its mobility – so you can’t hop on a plane and fly somewhere with a briefcase full of gold coins or bars. Cryptocurrencies are vulnerable, because without a power grid, credit cards are a thing of the past. The government is trying to switch to digital currencies and they will not allow competition so they will confiscate cryptocurrencies. The best is paper money or small denomination silver coins that are recognizable to the average person. Tin cans will also have an exchange value if there is no electricity grid.
Smart Investor: Gold and cryptocurrencies are also the main alternatives to paper money, which the war is putting additional pressure on. Will the US dollar and euro survive this? Armstrong: The US dollar will outlast the euro, but if we get into a real world war, the paper dollars could lose their value too. Europe has historically canceled its fiat money, while the US dollar has never been cancelled. Even Canada is now nullifying its currency.
Smart Investor: The Great Reset, the World Economic Forum and Prof. Dr. Klaus Schwab are making waves in Europe. During the corona pandemic, the government measures literally dismantled the medium-sized economy. What do you think of the corporations’ “Big Plan” and are the actors’ ideas compatible with the cycles? Armstrong: The Great Reset is indeed a real goal. It’s not a conspiracy theory. The three stumbling blocks along the way were Trump, Putin and Xi. They got rid of the first one, and now the propaganda has turned to demonizing Putin and Xi. They believe that if they get rid of these two leaders, they can unite the world under the United Nations. Our models have warned that authoritarianism will rise in this final decade. But they will fail. Marx succeeded only because serfdom in Russia did not end until 1861, while in Europe it only lasted until the fourteenth century. So the people owned nothing, and it was easy to confiscate the wealth of the aristocrats. Today people own their own houses, cars and save for the future. The slogan “You will have nothing and be happy” propagated by the WEF is a red herring. Governments can no longer borrow indefinitely and there will be a default. To disguise this fact, the impression is given that all debts are being forgiven and that they are doing it for you. The guaranteed basic income will be there to replace the pension funds that hold government debt today.
Smart Investor: Thank you very much for your very interesting explanations.
In stock market circles, the American Martin Armstrong (born 1949) is considered a legend. As early as the early 1980s, he correctly predicted the stock market crash of 1987 – and in the midst of the panic he predicted new highs for 1989. He also predicted the bursting of the Japanese stock bubble at the end of 1989. He made his forecasts using the “Economic Confidence Model” (ECM) he developed himself, which is based on a database on the history of coins, which Armstrong used to reconstruct the (financial) history. You can find his daily updated assessments on the blog https://armstrongeconomics.com .
Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 13, 2022 | Sundance
Yesterday in Iowa, Joe Biden called the Russian military operation in Ukraine a “genocide,” which has a very specific set of legal definitions to it.
When asked if he had seen enough evidence to support that statement Biden responded:
“Yes, I called it genocide. It has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being — being able to be Ukrainian. And the amount — the evidence is mounting. It’s different than it was last week. The — more evidence is coming out of the — literally, the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine. And we’re going to only learn more and more about the devastation. And we’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.” (link)
Several ground reports from European journalists indicate the U.S. military is running all of the combat operations inside Ukraine. A French reporter said on Euro News, “I thought I was with the international brigades, and instead I was facing the Pentagon.” Now today, Joe Biden announces he is arbitrarily sending U.S. combat helicopters into the conflict.
(WHITE HOUSE) – I just spoke with President Zelenskyy and shared with him that my Administration is authorizing an additional $800 million in weapons, ammunition, and other security assistance to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military has used the weapons we are providing to devastating effect. As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself.
This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers. I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters. In addition, we continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from our Allies and partners around the world. The steady supply of weapons the United States and its Allies and partners have provided to Ukraine has been critical in sustaining its fight against the Russian invasion. It has helped ensure that Putin failed in his initial war aims to conquer and control Ukraine. We cannot rest now. As I assured President Zelenskyy, the American people will continue to stand with the brave Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom. (link)
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki was asked about this escalation earlier today:
.
The Biden administration is all-in for this Ukraine proxy war, taking all actions to highlight a zero-sum position.
QUESTION: We elected Zelensky who promised to end the civil war. It looks like the West is telling him not to compromise and let the Russian section go.
DH (from Ukraine)
ANSWER: On Sunday, CBS News program “60 Minutes” aired an interview with Zelensky. I believe Zelensky is still claiming evidence of Russian war crimes, saying: “We are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world.” Despite what the press says, this is a Proxy War against Russia and the US, along with the EU and Britain. They are quite happy to use the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder. There is no possible way all of these countries would allow Zelensky to address their own people UNLESS this was a Proxy War.
The Dnieper River which runs 1,423 miles and today is the border between Belarus and Russia, was also the border of Ukraine with Russia during the Tsarist Empire at the time of Mikhail I (1613-1645) of the Romanov Dynasty. Zelensky’s claims that Putin has invaded a sovereign nation are debatable. Eastern Ukraine today was assigned to it for administrative purposes during the USSR. It was never Ukrainian territory. It is very hard to see why it is worth killing your own people for a territory that has been occupied by Russians for centuries.
This is obviously a Proxy War, and despite whatever the press says, the West is using the Ukrainian people as the Vanguard in this battle against Russia. They cannot declare war on Russia legally, so they have used Ukraine. Zelensky seems happy to accommodate, blaming civilian deaths on Putin when he shared responsibility for this war.
In Crimea, the population is predominantly Russian and Tatars where there is a population of about 250,000, accounting for about 10% of the total.
Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 12, 2022 | Sundance
I want to be very careful here, because multiple people have sent me a version of this outline asking for opinion. Basically, is David Friedberg correct?
The discussion in this video surrounds farming as a construct of global caloric creation. Meaning, with all that is taking place in the farming system on a global scale, will there be dramatic food shortages? It is a complex issue. In the larger picture what Friedberg, a former scientist within the Monsanto organization, explains is accurate; however, I would inject some nuanced dissension as it relates to U.S. farm production specifically.
The first four and a half minutes of the video are an accurate representation of the global state of farming, albeit with a little too much weight on the Ukraine-Russia aspect. There was a preexisting issue long before Russia entered the picture. The price of fertilizer was already skyrocketing, Russia-Ukraine has made that already looming issue, worse. WATCH First 04:30 minutes:
The problem described, about farmers deciding not to plant, is weighted more heavily in less developed countries where access to the financing for a future crop is not stable {AP Article Here}. For most of the developed world farming will continue; it is the end product where prices will reflect the additional costs of bringing a harvest to market. Bottom line, as the futures market is showing, crops will be more expensive.
There is going to be a problem in the same areas of the world where food stability and dependency is already an issue. Yes, the convergence of current farm challenges will make those areas more vulnerable. We do not know, to what extent.
The notation about a 90-day supply of food on a global basis (Northern Hemisphere) is slightly askew, as countries like the United States have a much deeper reserve and storage capacity. We discussed this last year {Go Deep}.
Essentially, in the U.S. we operate approximately one full harvest cycle ahead of demand. However, our problem is the COVID lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 disrupted the two food delivery systems by shutting down restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, hospitality venues, entertainment, school lunchrooms etc and limiting capacity for six months. The government intervention seriously messed up our food supply chain. {Go Deep}
In North America I do not foresee any major scarcity of total food availability, certainly not in the fresh food supply side. There may be shortages on specific segments within the processed and manufactured food supply chain, but those would be nuanced based on specific ingredient issues.
What we will see is continued increases in price and a demand for U.S. agricultural products to fill the voids in global markets that result from less developed nations needing the products our North American farming experts can deliver. There will be a higher demand for us to export food materials, and when combined with the already increased cost for the harvest, that means much higher prices still coming.
Our North American farmers are awesome in their ability to maximize yield, with the customary and appropriate qualifier that ultimately mother nature will determine success or failure. Our U.S. and Canadian farmers and ranchers are the best of the best. Their ability to feed our nation is a national and strategic advantage, unparalleled in any other region. They know how to do it, if the government will just get out of the way and let them work.
If it was a priority for the U.S. government to ensure U.S. food stability, they could spend a few billion by securing fertilizer and reasonably priced energy (diesel) for our farmers, simply to offset the upfront and increased production costs. Then, just turn North America loose, pray a little bit, and let them create as much product as possible for the overall market. Let the market demand determine the crop, and get government out of their business.
Farmers in the U.S, Mexico and Canada have the capacity to drive higher yields. Unfortunately, the politics of war, Wall Street – and the influence of the international banking system – takes a higher priority for DC than simple farming commonsense. Unfortunately, as we saw today, turning corn into gasoline additive just exemplifies the stupidity of the DC mindset.
On one hand, we have serious people concerned about global famine. On the other hand, we have a narcissistic occupant of the oval office, and a tribe of DC idiots worried about gasoline prices and the mid-term election. These issues do not have to be mutually exclusive, and there is a reasonable solution for both of them. However, all that reasonableness evaporates once the people behind a fraudulently elected DC politician walk in the room.
Will there be a dangerous level of food shortage globally? Yes
Will there be a dangerous level of food shortage in North America? No, but there may be some scarcity.
Will there be higher prices? Absolutely.
Unleash the farmers and unleash the energy experts and all of this maddening anxiety ends. Unfortunately, those actions are adverse to the Build Back Better agenda.
We are in an abusive relationship with our government.
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 