Category U. S. CIA-NSA-FBI

Jul 5 2022

Let Them Eat Crickets


Armstrong Economics Blog/Agriculture Re-Posted Jul 5, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Bill Gates’ dream of a meatless Utopia is coming to fruition one insect at a time. Aspire Food Group of Canada announced that it has created an “alternative protein manufacturing facility.” They are not referring to soy or plant-based alternatives but are encouraging the consumption of crickets.

The facility will produce 9,000 metric tons of crickets annually for both pets and humans. I personally would not even allow my dog to eat this pest. So, the plan is to distribute two billion bugs across the US and Canada. Crickets were previously sold to fish bait and pet shops (reptiles) for around $12 for 250 crickets, according to some estimates. The average female lays up to 10 eggs per day for the duration of her short lifespan. One square feet can hold an estimated 1,000 crickets, making this a much easier alternative to raising traditional livestock. Crickets require less space than cattle and allegedly produce less CO2 despite the fact that livestock is not the main culprit.

While other nations have eaten insects for centuries due to a lack of alternatives, the West has not been exposed to this diet. An article in Farmer’s Weekly noted that bacteria contamination is associated with both wild and farmed insects, including the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Lactobacillus, Erwinia, Clostridium and Acinetobacter, as well as members of the family Enterobacteriaceae.

Expect the media to normalize eating bugs. Perhaps Ina Garten will do a special on how to roast them for your next gathering. However, we have always had the resources to eat fresh produce and animals that are traditional to Western culture. The idea that eating insects will somehow save the planet from mass climate destruction is absurd.

Jul 5 2022

Dutch Farmers Intensify Protests, Form Transit Blockades on Roads, Bridges and Ports, Angered by New Energy Mandates and Forced Livestock Reductions


Posted on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 

The politicians in Dutch government recently passed sweeping new climate regulations that will result in more than a third of farmers losing their business. The government announced a €25 billion plan to radically reduce the number of livestock in the country in order to curtail emissions.

As the Guardian reports, “A deal to buy out farmers to try to reduce levels of nitrogen pollution in the country had been mooted for some time,and was finally confirmed after the agreement of a new coalition government in the Netherlands earlier this week.” The plan is to reduce farming in the Netherlands, by a “one-third reduction in the numbers of pigs, cows and chickens in the country.”  However, the farmers are fighting back.

The unorganized grass-roots groups have been randomly blocking roads and transportation hubs for the past three days.  They have also been dropping truckloads of manure at the entrances of government businesses.  In a show of solidarity, the fishing industry is now blocking ports.  Additionally, the farmers are starting to block the distribution centers of supermarkets and key roads forming a cauldron where transit is at a standstill.

As grocery store shelves go empty, the government is now asking the military to intervene and stop the farmer blockades.  However, the Dutch people overwhelmingly support the farmers.  Things have evolved into a social and economic war between the farmers and Build Back Better government ideology chasing climate change goals.

(Reuters) – Dutch farmers angered by government plans that may require them to use less fertilizer and reduce livestock began a day of protests in the Netherlands on Monday by blocking supermarket distribution hubs in several cities.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France (AIRF.PA), have advised travellers to use public transport, rather than cars, to reach the airport, as farmers’ activist groups said on social media they planned to use tractors to block roads.

Several traffic jams were reported on highways in the east of the country and on ferry routes in the north, but none near Schiphol during the morning commute.

Dutch and European courts have ordered the Dutch government to address the problem. Farmers say they have been unfairly singled out and have criticised the government’s approach.  Monday’s protest is widely supported by farmers’ groups but not centrally organised.  (read more)

You can follow more on The Dutch Uprising HERE.

Jul 5 2022

UPDATE: Suspect Captured, Highland Park Suspected Shooter Identified as 22-Year-Old, Robert E Crimo III, Suspect Vehicle 2010 Silver Honda Fit


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 

UPDATE: Suspect Captured. The suspect in the Highland Park, Illinois, mass shooting has been identified as 22-year-old Robert “Bobby” E Crimo III.  An active manhunt is underway for his capture.  Crimo is reportedly driving a silver 2010 Honda Fit (pictured below).

Update – A person of interest has been identified in Monday’s deadly mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade outside Chicago, authorities said.

Officials said he was 22-year-old Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III and is believed to be driving a 2010 silver Honda Fit.

The gunman opened fire with a “high-powered rifle” while standing on a roof just minutes after the parade began in the tony suburb of Highland Park, where six people were left dead and 24 others injured.

The killer “was very military-style, methodical in the way he was crouched and shooting,” an attendee told WGN TV. Investigators found a rifle at the scene that is believed to have been used in the massacre. (read more)

Looks like a typical Antifa type.

Opened fire in a predominately Jewish neighborhood.

Manhunt ongoing.

Check out his abandoned Twitter Before It’s Scrubbed: https://twitter.com/awake_________

Soundcloud Account [LINK]

Jul 5 2022

Senator Lindsey Graham Returns from Turkey Hopeful to Close Deal on F16 Sales


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 


Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) was apparently in Turkey around the same time as the NATO summit.  According to a Twitter announcement by Graham he has returned to the U.S. hopeful to close the deal on selling F-16”s to Turkey now that Turkish President Recep Erdogan has removed opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

“I will do all in my power to support the Biden Administration’s decision to sell F-16s to the Turkish Air Force,” Graham writes.

Also adding, “These fighter jets, in the hands of our NATO allies, will create a sense of stability and provide capability to the Turkish military that is most definitely in America’s national security interests.” {link}

On Tuesday of last week Turkey removed their block of Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, and on Wednesday Joe Biden agreed to sell Turkey 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes:

Newsmax – The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden.

Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary for Defense for International Security Affairs at Pentagon, said strong Turkish defense capabilities would reinforce NATO’s defenses.

“The United States supports Turkey’s modernization of its fighter fleet because that is a contribution to NATO security and therefore American security,” she said. (read more)

Finland now represents an additional 1,340 km (830 mi) long direct border with Russia.  The border runs mostly through uninhabited taiga forests and sparsely populated rural areas.

Jul 5 2022

Manhunt Underway as Suspect Shoots 16 People During July 4th Celebration in Highland Park, Illinois


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance

During a July 4th celebration in Highland Park, a suburb north of Chicago, a gunman has opened fire shooting at least 16 people and reported killing 6 people.  A press conference is pending.  The shooting took place during a parade to celebrate the Fourth of July.  {Press Conference Livestream}  The shooter is NOT in custody.

Suspect description: White Male, 18 to 20 years of age, long black hair, small build, white or light blue t-shirt.   A manhunt is underway to capture the suspect. According to local officials the shooter was positioned on a rooftop when he opened fire.

Illinois (via NBC) – […] Sixteen people were shot and at least five people were killed Monday morning in a shooting at Highland Park’s Independence Day parade, officials confirmed, urging residents to continue to “shelter in place” as the gunman remains at large.

The shooting happened just after 10 a.m. in downtown Highland Park, according to reports. A large police presence from the state and neighboring suburban Chicago departments was seen along the parade route.

“Highland Park Police are responding to an active shooter incident that occurred in downtown Highland Park during the 4th of July parade,” the city of Highland Park wrote in a statement. “This is an active incident. All individuals are advised to shelter in place. Law enforcement agencies are searching for the suspect; evidence of a firearm has been recovered. Numerous law enforcement officers are responding and have secured a perimeter around downtown Highland Park. 16 people have been transferred to the hospital; 5 individuals are confirmed deceased.” (more)

Jul 5 2022

Facing Defeat in Lysychansk Ukraine Military Retreats, Russia Takes Full Control of Eastern Ukraine Region of Luhansk


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 

Separatists in Luhansk had been embroiled in a bloody civil war against the Ukraine military since 2014.  On Sunday Russia announced its military forces and allies had taken control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region after capturing the final Ukrainian holdout of Lysychansk.   Based on ground reports showing celebrations of Russian troops and the citizens of Lysychansk, the end of that regional conflict appears confirmed.

According to Politico, “Ukrainian troops have retreated from Lysychansk, the last major Kyiv-controlled city in the eastern Luhansk region, the country’s military command said Sunday. “In order to preserve the lives of the defenders of Ukraine, a decision was made to withdraw,” according to a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces.” {link}

Previously Moscow media were reporting that Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin Luhansk had been “liberated”, after earlier statements saying the military had captured villages around Lysychansk and encircled the city.

Politico – […] Ukraine’s military command said that given the great “superiority” of Russia’s troops in terms of weapons, ammunition and personnel, attempts to prolong the defense of the city — which had a pre-war population of around 100,000 — “would lead to fatal consequences.

The eastern region of Ukraine is a major target for Russia: Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014 in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that make up the key industrial area of Donbas, and Russia’s recognition of the self-styled people’s republics there preceded its full-scale invasion of the country this past February.

[…]  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that “there is a risk” that the whole Luhansk region could be fully occupied by Russian troops soon. “There are such risks, and we realize them,” he said at a press conference after a meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Kyiv.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported earlier on Sunday to President Vladimir Putin that “full control” had been established over Lysychansk as well as “a number of nearby settlements,” and declared “the liberation” of the whole Luhansk region. (read more)

(Telegraph, India) – […] Russia also reported explosions on Sunday in its city of Belgorod, about 40km north of the border with Ukraine, that killed at least three people and damaged and destroyed homes.  Senior Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas accused Ukraine of shelling Belgorod and called for a stern response.

Russian regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that five homes were destroyed in the city and at least 11 apartment buildings and more than 30 houses were damaged.

“The sound was so strong that I jumped up, I woke up, got very scared and started screaming,” a Belgorod resident told Reuters, adding the blasts occurred around 3am.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of numerous attacks on Belgorod and other areas bordering Ukraine. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility but says such incidents as payback, after Russia has pounded Ukrainian urban areas into rubble.  There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the latest Belgorod incident. Reuters could not independently verify the Russian accounts. (link)

Meanwhile there are even more reports of the Ukraine military burning crops in Eastern Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Ukraine66251776/status/1543212713177976833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1543212713177976833%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconservativetreehouse.com%2Fblog%2F2022%2F07%2F04%2Ffacing-defeat-in-lysychansk-ukraine-military-retreats-russia-takes-full-control-of-eastern-ukraine-region-of-luhansk%2F

Keep in mind….  (New York Times) […] “as the Biden administration has declared it will not deploy American troops to Ukraine, some C.I.A. personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly, mostly in the capital, Kyiv, directing much of the vast amounts of intelligence the United States is sharing with Ukrainian forces, according to current and former officials.” {link}

Jul 4 2022

Sunday LIVE: Biden the Groomer, Recession, Single Issue Dems? etc (Superchat Q&A)


Styxhexenhammer666  Published originally on Rumble on July 3, 2022 

Jul 4 2022

Sunday Talks, John Kirby Defends White House Energy and Economic Policy


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 4, 2022 | Sundance 

John Kirby is the former Pentagon spokesperson who is now the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications.  The people in/around the White House have shifted Kirby, a very good spinner of parseltongue, into a place where he can give the media an impression of White House competency.

The LGBTQ, racially inclusive and woke checkbox hires are not up to the task of their positions.  Incompetence is running amok.  As a result, it is somewhat ironic and representative the Biden hypocrisy, that Kirby is needed to take the pressure away from administration checkbox hires.  In this interview Kirby defends the White House policy on the Russia-Ukraine war, interventionist and dependent foreign policy, and the energy policy that has resulted in high gas prices.

Video prompted to 04:05, where the topic of Biden’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia is discussed.  WATCH:

Jul 4 2022

Biden Plan to Cap Russian Oil Prices Could Seriously Backfire, Which Means It’s Likely to Happen


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

The G7 plan to create another economic sanction against Russia by capping the price anyone could pay for Russian oil has a serious downside.  If Russia slows down the export of oil, global oil prices will jump dramatically.   That policy outcome would mean a massive increase in the price of gasoline for U.S. consumers.

Because the consequences are horrible, that’s precisely the reason Joe Biden might push to have the Russian price cap.  Every policy Joe Biden has historically supported, has been the exact opposite of what should have been done.  Biden has a profound and innate ability to screw up anything.

[Bloomberg] – Global oil prices could reach a “stratospheric” $380 a barrel if US and European penalties prompt Russia to inflict retaliatory crude-output cuts, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts warned.

The Group of Seven nations are hammering out a complicated mechanism to cap the price fetched by Russian oil in a bid to tighten the screws on Vladimir Putin’s war machine in Ukraine. But given Moscow’s robust fiscal position, the nation can afford to slash daily crude production by 5 million barrels without excessively damaging the economy, JPMorgan analysts including Natasha Kaneva wrote in a note to clients.

For much of the rest of the world, however, the results could be disastrous. A 3 million-barrel cut to daily supplies would push benchmark London crude prices to $190, while the worst-case scenario of 5 million could mean “stratospheric” $380 crude, the analysts wrote.

“The most obvious and likely risk with a price cap is that Russia might choose not to participate and instead retaliate by reducing exports,” the analysts wrote. “It is likely that the government could retaliate by cutting output as a way to inflict pain on the West. The tightness of the global oil market is on Russia’s side. (link)

[Poll Source]

Jul 4 2022

Fed Chair Ignores Impact of Build Back Better Energy Policy on Supply Side of Inflation


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

Much has been made of comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in his brief explanation of what the Fed got wrong.  Last week Powell made comments during a European Central Bank forum on bank policy, implying the absence of unvaccinated workers returning to the labor force is part of the US inflation problem.

Powell’s comments seem to align with the government vaccine mandate position which ignored the rights of the worker. Considering the responsibility of the Fed to anticipate price and labor issues, Powell’s sense of credulity toward those workers who dropped out of the labor force rather than inject an untested vaccine into their body is quite remarkable.  Inartful and arrogant are soft terms for his commentary.

However, there’s a bigger “tell” in the segment of what the Fed got wrong, when you listen to Powell talk about the supply side issues and how the Fed Reserve had no model to predict the mandated lockdowns, economic activity stoppages and consequences.   Notice how Powell completely dismisses the structural energy policy, the Build Back Better agenda, that lies at the heart of the current supply side inflation issue.  Video Prompted to 01:03:34, WATCH:

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Throughout the discussion the primary focus to control inflation is reliant on a demand side cause.   The goal to reduce demand is seen as a way to mitigate and reduce inflation.  Thus, this worldview, as mistaken as it was/is, explains the justification for why the Fed waited to increase interest rates.  They never saw the radical energy policy as a structural driver of supply side inflation.

According to Powell, they thought the supply side issues would moderate quickly, without giving any consideration at all to how a radically new energy policy would embed.  He just ignores the issue completely; again, pretending not to know.  But perhaps it’s actually worse.  Perhaps he really doesn’t see a radical new energy policy as a driving force behind current inflation.  If that’s true, and he genuinely does not see it, then Fed policy in the future is going to make the recession much worse.

If you ignore massive energy price impacts, the FED will keep interest rates high despite demand dropping, and then eventually get to a place where demand has dropped so low the recession is deep, while turning toward each other and asking why are prices still so high?

Keep that disconnect in mind.