Category The decline & Fall of the United States

Jan 6 2023

The Coming Revolution – The End of Brazil


Armstrong Economics Blog/Central America Re-Posted Jan 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The leftist press immediately claims that any assertions of a rigged election in Brazil are as baseless as the Hunter Biden laptop. Our model shows that the election was in fact bogus and it was in a series of global elections that are being rigged to create this global leftist agenda. For any newspaper to immediately proclaim Bolanaro left the country amid “baseless” claims shows that they are just propaganda and part of the agenda.

Our model showed a serious Directional Change would take place in 2023, but we are looking at the complete collapse of Brazil and a major revolution unfolding in 2030. Leftist governments have ALWAYS, and without exception, resulted in declining economic growth. NEVER has even just one ever produced any economic benefit to the whole of any nation. Brazil has sealed its fate and it will take the rest of the continent with it. South and Central America have been plagued with Marxism and that is why the continent has been unable to rise from its knees. Even the Pope has been infected with this philosophy which is why he is always commenting on the economy rather than religion. This has led to many Catholics now saying – He Ain’t My Pope.

Jan 6 2023

The Real Cost of War


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Good Morning Mr. Armstrong, a long-time reader and client of Socrates and your conferences. I just read your entry for Belarus drafting 18 to 60-year-olds. I had a feeling that eventually, that would take place here in the states. I can tell you without a doubt, I will never comply. My family has served in WWII and Vietnam. We have given enough. I absolutely despise our government. I am wondering if this is part of the continued collapse of the government. With such low recruitment levels and the political fallout from the past few years, they must realize people will not be forced to serve. Especially those with the means to defend themselves. Is this a main component of civil unrest here with separatist movements? Just curious if you can elaborate on what you think will happen when they institute a draft here.
All the Best.

J

REPLY: My family has fought in every war since the American Revolution. My cousin still has the musket on his wall from the American Revolution. I lost half of my high school friends to Vietnam and my father and his three brothers were all in World War II and my grandfathers on both sides of the family were in World War I. There is no question that in a time of war, the first shot fired is both silent and never against an enemy. It is always against any truthful reporting of events.

The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contain records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. The government propaganda site, Wikipedia also directed by the Deep State, has low-balled the casualties claiming in total, all US and allied military deaths reached 282,000. We claim that is a victory for the VC lost 444,000 to possibly 666,000. The civilians who died have been low-balled with estimates of 405,000 up to 627,000. Just turn to Britannica and you get:

“In 1995 Vietnam released its official estimate of the number of people killed during the Vietnam War: as many as 2,000,000 civilians on both sides and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters.”

President Lydon Johnson knew there was no reason to enter Vietnam. He knew we could not get out easily. Still, he committed the country to war because the Neocons wanted it.

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This is a famous photograph from Vietnam that is probably the most memorable of all time. You see South Vietnamese forces following terrified children. At the center is 9-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phùc, as she and other children are running from an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. The plane accidentally dropped napalm on South Vietnamese troops and civilians. As always, just the collateral damage of war. The terrified girl had ripped off her burning clothes while fleeing. This photo was taken by Nick Ut of The Associated Press that captured the horror of Vietnam worldwide. It was 1972 when President Nixon said enough and promised to bring the troops home.

This 9-year-old make girl running from napalm, Phan Thi Kim Phúc, had profoundly changed her forever. Such people are tormented for a lifetime. They wake up at night dreaming over and over about the horror of those events for the rest of their lives. Kim Phúc was bitter and full of hatred she said. Later, she picked up the Bible and converted to Christianity. Today, she lives in Toronto with her family and helps other children victims of war around the world. It is those who survive who are profoundly tortured for the remainder of their lives. That is the real cost of war that nobody cares about.

The official estimate of civilian deaths in World War II stands at a total of 70–85 million. The actual military deaths were 21,000,000 to 25,500,000. There is ALWAYS an equal amount of civilian deaths in times of war. Those in power never want to talk about that.

Jan 6 2023

Bidenomics – Amazon Announces 18,000 Layoffs, and They Are Not Alone – Imports and Exports Drop


Posted originally on the CTH on January 5, 2023 | Sundance 

That slow grinding creak you hear in the background; that’s the U.S. economic engine running without oil and beginning that slowdown phase just before it stutters and stalls completely.  Alas, the pretending continues…

As noted by the Wall Street Journal, an economic gaslighting institution with a central mission to maintain pretenses, “business surveys show U.S. factory activity declined in December, the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global both said this week. Separately, S&P Global said Thursday that U.S. services-sector businesses reported a decline in output for the third month running in December.” This comes as “U.S. imports dropped more, by 6.4% on the month, as Americans cut back on holiday-related purchases, including items from other countries such as computers and autos.”

Keep in mind, November retail sales—which included consumer spending at stores, online and at restaurants—fell 0.6% from the prior month for their biggest decline of 2022, according to the Commerce Department. Manufacturing output declined in November as well, the Fed reported, while U.S. home sales fell for a record 10th straight month.

Into this mix of economic metrics, driven by a collapse in disposable consumer income and high energy prices, now we begin to see the number one business expense being curtailed.

(Market Watch) […] Amazon.com Inc layoffs will affect more than 18,000 employees, the highest reduction tally revealed in the past year at a major technology company as the industry pares back amid economic uncertainty.

The Seattle-based company in November said that it was beginning layoffs among its corporate workforce, with cuts concentrated on its devices business, recruiting and retail operations. At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported the cuts would total about 10,000 people. Thousands of those cuts began last year. (more)

Amazon is not alone, “Vimeo said Wednesday that it will cut its workforce by 11% as part of a broader effort to reduce costs, citing deteriorating economic conditions” (link).  Additionally, Salesforce Inc. is laying off 10% of its workforce and reducing its office space in certain markets, extending a brutal period for tech job cuts into the new year.”

We can anticipate more reports like this from Reuters, “Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s quarterly profit will likely plunge 58% to its lowest in six years as a global economic downturn saps demand for electronic devices and clouds the outlook for the memory chip industry.  With consumers and businesses reducing spending and investment in the face of high inflation and climbing interest rates, smartphone makers and other clients held back memory chip orders, while smartphones sold for less as demand suffered, analysts said.”

Electronics, cars, furniture, durable goods of all types and varieties are plummeting in sales.  Consumers are being squeezed by inflation, housing, energy and food costs, and spending priorities are being reevaluated yet again.  Compare the impact on ‘real wages’ -vs- the 2007/2008 economic crisis.

From a purely fraudulent accounting perspective, however, the drop in U.S. imports will help boost calculations of U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter because trade deficits subtract from overall output, or gross domestic product.

U.S. consumers not purchasing imported goods makes the health of the U.S. economy look less bad; but it’s an illusion akin to smiles in the bread lines.

In other economic news, I did some real estate analysis over the past several days and it’s safe to say there is a steep downward trajectory in the data I use.   Again, home values are nuanced on a regional level, but my model is pretty close in averaging.

If buyers do not absorb the seller’s loss in equity (which no one should ever do), in my SWFL area a $450k home listing is going to sell around $380k at the high side (actual value based on economic indicators and buyer ability).   That rough estimate, while slightly offset due to general inflation, should trend nationally over the next 12 to 18 months.   That means macro home prices dropping around 15 to 20% nationally over the next 12 months.

If you are a home buyer, put your offers around 15 to 20% below current asking price without any emotional attachment to it.  Don’t flinch, remain ambivalent and walk away if refused.   The recovery to current price will take around a decade.  If you are a seller and get an offer within -10% of asking, consider yourself lucky and jump on it.

Jan 5 2023

Breaking! New documents show the cover-up is even WORSE than we thought | Redacted News Live


Redacted News Published originally on Rumble on January 5, 2023 

A BOMBSHELL new report shows that the Department of Defense controlled the COVID-19 Program from the very beginning… and everything we were told was political theater to cover it up. These documents were obtained by a former executive of a pharmaceutical Contract Research Organization Sasha Latypova. You can visit her substack here: https://substack.com/profile/50868935-sasha-latypova

Jan 5 2023

Nunes: Schiff pushed Twitter to ban journalist for exposing his fake Ukraine whistleblower


Devin Nunes Published originally on Rumble on January 4, 2023

The corruption just keeps pouring out of the DC Swamp, you wouldn’t think that much crap could exist in one spot, but it does!

Jan 5 2023

Zelensky – The Man Behind World War III


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jan 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Zelensky is just an actor and he has been playing the entire world into handing him money without any accountability. He claims he is fighting for freedom and democracy when he refuses to comply with the Minsk Agreement which falsely was to allow those in the Donbas to vote on their own future. Now he has empowered his government to shut down all dissent. Upon his return from meeting the Biden Administration, he took back some needed advice – restrict ALL media, block ALL websites that expose the truth, and order Big Tech to censor all negative comments about him or Ukraine. This site is not blocked even in China – it will be in Ukraine. So much for freedom, democracy, and free speech.

It was Kyiv that started the war by sending troops to attack the Donbas in 2014 and that was the West’s installed “temporary” government that started the war – not any elected Ukrainian government. Zelensky was elected promising to pursue peace and end corruption. He has done exactly the opposite. So much for campaign promises. They always say whatever they need to win, and then do the exact opposite. When Zelensky was elected, the Russian press cheered. They thought this actor would actually seek peace.

Zelensky Realized it Was His Opportunity To Become a Billionaire

Jan 5 2023

Inflation & the Tricks of the Trade


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Jan 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Our inflation models came in at 32% for 2022. This does not include things like paper clips to bring down the entire average. This number is the basic core inflation that consists of food, energy, and transportation. We do not include housing values which rose about 11% in 2022, but because that is the national average, it understands places such as Texas and Flordia and over states California and areas such as Chicago.

Our index attempts to reflect the national core inflation of things that most people use. The largest increase was obvious fuel between gasoline and diesel used in trucking and homes averaging 65%+, eggs were up nearly 50%, flour rose by 25%, cooking oil 23%, Butter was up 35%, Chicken by 14%, and Rice by 18%.

The more things you throw in, the lower the inflation rate. The national average rise in rental rates was 7.8%, in Florida it was 8.5%, and in NYC 1.5% when controlled.

If we broaden the list to include rents and coffee, which was up 15%, we can bring it down to about 27%. The Fed broaden the scope so widely that the rate come down to about 7%. The more you include, the lower the inflation rate. The object is to reduce government spending which is indexed to the CPI.

Jan 5 2023

Belarus Drafts Every Male 18 to 60 for the Inevitable War


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Belarus has issued a Draft for all men 18 to 60 years old. This war that our leaders are determined to create is going to be beyond anything previously contemplated. Even the US will most likely adopt a draft and it will be highly probable that it will be to at least to age 45 but perhaps even higher.

The Ukrainian people are FOOLS! Zelensky has been paid off to sacrifice his entire country. He is the modern-day Judas betraying his own people for a handful of silver. The West wants this war and they are using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder to weaken Russia before they make their invasion to seek justice and retribution for Ukraine. There was a Donbas Referendum of 1994, in which the whole world turned a blind eye to those people who have been denied basic human rights because they are ethnically Russian. This is a premeditated war that they need to collapse the monetary system and get to create Bretton Woods II with digital currencies and sovereign debt will all simply evaporate.

Welcome to the real world that these people are openly trying to create where they solidify their authoritarian control and the end of any right to vote.

Jan 5 2023

House Republicans Remove Nancy Pelosi’s Metal Detectors and Other Optics Intended to Support J6 Extremism Narrative


Posted originally on the CTH on January 4, 2023 | Sundance 

In the aftermath of the 2020 election House democrats led by Nancy Pelosi directed a national pantomime from Washington DC that extremists were running amok and terrorizing congress.  The January 6 Committee was intended to further establish that narrative.

Pelosi called up the national guard, put fences and barbed wire around congress then installed metal detectors, all as part of the theater for manufacturing the domestic violent extremist narrative.  The media engineered the supportive narrative and the ridiculous pantomime continued throughout the past two years.   However, as congress now changes hands and republicans take control, the fences are taken down and the metal detectors are being removed.

Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert highlights the return of normalcy. {Direct Rumble Link} WATCH:

Rep. Boebert: “We’re turning Pelosi’s House back into the People’s House.”

However, against the backdrop of revelations from the Twitter Files where the intelligence apparatus, Dept of Homeland Security and FBI were part of the government operation to influence public opinion, the possibility of an FBI inspired and coordinated attack against the Capitol is now more likely than previous.

Jan 4 2023

Ukraine & Fake News


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jan 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty, I am impressed. Your contacts are unsurpassable. You put out two months ago that Ukraine lost 100,000 soldiers. Some did not believe you. It turns out that was classified information. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU, had released a video and then edited it deleting that very information at the request of Zelensky. All this is to hide the fact that Ukraine has been losing the war as you said. With its armed forces down at least one-third.

Here is the video that is now going around.  You also said that Bucha was another false flag where Ukraine killed Russian Ukrainians and left their bodies on the streets to blame Russia. You said there were videos that NATO had and was hiding. My hat is off to you. You really do have reliable sources.

Pete

REPLY: You have to understand that creating false flags is the #1 occupation of Ukraine. They shot down the Malaysia fight and tried to blame the Russians. They shot a missile into Poland and claimed it was a Russian attack on NATO.

On March 31, 2022, the mayor of Bucha was joyful in announcing that the settlement had been liberated. He does not talk about any corpses on the roads and the terrible destruction of mass graves. It was two days later when suddenly photos and videos of people lying along the road appear and horrendous stories about hundreds of dead being thrown in mass graves. These reports did not surface until two days after the Russians left. The Ukrainians were staging another false flag. Why did the mayor appear joyous and made no mention at first of these atrocities?

It is to the advantage of Zelensky who appears before every parliament he can ask for money. In Italy, he claimed Russians were capturing children and torturing them. That allegation vanished. He says whatever he can to get money. He could have just complied with the Belgrad and Minsk Agreements but he is determined to lead the world into war. The US Pentagon has come out and even said that they CAN NOT independently verify what took place in Bucha. There is no way to verify anything in Bucha and there are videos that show people laying in the street pretending to be dead with no blood and then there are videos showing they get up when the camera passes.

The Ukrainians are out to create World War III. They are desperately trying to get the West to invade Russia and their goal is to utterly destroy Russia and the Russian people who they hate passionately. Look at this propaganda video they used to tell the world Russians killed Ukrainian civilians. In this video, the bodies are people just laying down. You see no blood. , the “corpse” on the right is moving his arm  At the 30th second, look in the rearview mirror. The “corpse” sits up! This is why the Pentagon remains silent. NATO has videos also confirming Bucha was a Ukrainian false flag. The rumor is that when the Ukrainians did enter Bucha, they themselves killed any ethnic Russian Ukrainians there.

All of this propaganda is to enrage the people to call for World War III. Zelensky has even called on NATO to launch nuclear weapons and wipe out Russia . Zelensky will destroy the Ukrainian people with this insanity.  He is lying to the world about the devastation of the losses and is searching for a way to get NATO to invade Russia. He uses this propaganda to gain support worldwide. The US has handed him $113 billion when Russia’s annual military budget is at best $65 billion and Germany’s is $56 billion. The US is spending untold amounts of money for the total destruction of Russia.