Category U. S. Deep State

Apr 22 2022

Zelenskyy Says He Needs $7 Billion Per Month Western Government Subsidy to Sustain Economy


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)

Plus, “10% for the big guy”.

Apr 22 2022

These are the Twitter board members fighting Elon Musk’s takeover bid


Posted originally by New York Post  on Rumble on April 21, 2022

These are the Twitter board members fighting Elon Musk’s takeover bid

Apr 22 2022

Elon Musk Unveils Financial Bid for $46 Billion Deal to Purchase Twitter, Through the Board or Directly to Shareholders


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 21, 2022 | Sundance

There is still doubt if Elon Musk really does want to purchase the Twitter social media platform.  However, Musk himself seems to be putting a lot of his own credibility on the line as he announces the construct of his $46 billion purchase proposal.

It looks like Musk has created a second alternative to the purchase if the Twitter board of directors refuses the original offer.  Within the secondary construct, a tender offer, Musk would be able to bypass the board and go directly to shareholders.

(YAHOO) – Elon Musk has secured commitments for $46.5bn (£35.5bn) that would allow him to bypass Twitter’s (TWTR) board and go directly to the social media company’s shareholders with his takeover bid.

Musk said he would personally provide $21bn of equity for the deal with another $12.5bn coming from margin loans, according to paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Banks, including Morgan Stanley, have agreed to provide another $13bn in debt secured against Twitter itself, according to the filing.

Musk has not yet determined if he will make a tender offer for Twitter or whether he will take other steps to further the proposal, the filing states.

Tender offers involve making a bid to purchase some or all shares of a company directly from its shareholders. (read more)

There are two ways to buy a publicly traded company. The simplest and most common is a board-approved merger. Talks start in secret, the two sides haggle and then arrive at a deal. Shareholders get to vote, and it is an all-or-nothing affair. Typically with a simple majority, the buyer walks away with the entire company. If the vote fails, the buyer goes away empty-handed.

A tender offer instead makes a direct appeal to shareholders to sell—or tender—their shares at a specific price. It can be used in friendly deals, but its real value is to hostile bidders when the target company’s board won’t engage. Tender offers simply go around them.

And they aren’t all or nothing. A buyer can bid for, say, just enough shares to cross 50%, thus seizing control. From there it could replace intransigent board members with friendlier ones, though in practice, it rarely gets that far. If a tender offer looks likely to succeed, reluctant boards tend to capitulate and negotiate a deal.

Mr. Musk would, with some regulatory paperwork, announce the offer at a specific price. The offer has to remain on the table for at least 20 days.

Those documents would lay out the number of shares he is soliciting. If Mr. Musk, who owns more than 9% of Twitter, takes a bare-bones approach, he would seek another 41% or so.

Meanwhile, Twitter would have 10 days to make its own recommendation to shareholders regarding the tender offer—in this case, presumably that it doesn’t accept it.

If not enough shares are tendered, Mr. Musk could cancel the offer or amend the terms.

The New York Post has details on the ideological opposition:

[…] “After backing out of an agreement to take a seat on the board, Musk is threatening to cut board salaries to zero, a move he says will save the company nearly $3 million a year. Each non-employee board member earned $225,000 in stock in 2021, according to Twitter’s public filings. Directors, with the exception of Dorsey and his co-founder, CEO Parang Agrawal, also received $12,500 in cash, plus extra fees, ranging from $2,500 to $7,500, for serving on various board committees.

So who are these Twitter board members fighting Musk’s hostile bid? Twitter — which has come under fire for censorship, in part for banning the New York Post’s coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop — is filled with a motley mix of tech vets, retail gurus, academics, philanthropists and former government officials.” (read more)

Do you remember that weird dynamic when President Trump was dealing with North Korea and Kim Jong-un while at the same time having to pretend publicly that Beijing (Chairman Xi Jinping) wasn’t in control of Chairman Kim?   There are some similarities here with Elon Musk.

Musk likely has some of the best tech people in the world working for him and advising him.  He has to know that Twitter is only operationally viable insofar as the twitter simultaneous user processing systems remain on the backbone of U.S. government big data architecture.  Twitter most definitely is not financially stable as a business without govt data-processing subsidy; it’s just too costly and the Twitter service is free for most users.

If you accept that Musk is well aware of the cost issue, then he has to have some plan to deal with it – via at least a vision down the road where Twitter is financially viable – or, he’s going to end up needing the same data processing subsidy from the govt, which would inevitably maintain the same ideological underpinning he is trying to remove.

Assuming Musk is legit in his motives, his only leverage in this game of pretend and conquest, is knowing both the provider (govt) and recipient of the subsidy (Jack) do not want the full scope of the public-private partnership exposed.

I have no idea how this is going to end, but we can all see the Deep State is going bananas.

Apr 22 2022

CNN Subscriber Platform Will Shut Down April 30th


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 21, 2022 | Sundance

Keep in mind…. a more assertive, deliberate, strategic and determined MAGA movement is being noticed everywhere.  There are new combat rules in response to the leftist onslaught toward our children.  Cold anger has turned hot.  Some have called this ‘Dark MAGA‘!

Meanwhile…

Leftist favorite Netflix, is hemorrhaging users and just lost 30% of its value.  Spotify just refused to renew the leftist idols, the Obamas.  The ultra-leftist Disney Corp just lost their special district status in Orlando, and leftist Twitter is on the verge of a hostile ‘free speech’ takeover by Elon Musk.

The political culture wars are raging, Biden’s support amid the American people is collapsing even more, and Dark MAGA is not relenting.  Now this:

(SOURCE)

CNN spent $300 million to launch a subscriber-based platform that didn’t even survive a month:

“CNN+, the streaming service that was hyped as one of the most significant developments in the history of CNN, will shut down on April 30, just one month after it launched. CNN+ customers “will receive prorated refunds of subscription fees,” the company said.”

Apr 22 2022

Secretary Yellen Notes the Sanctions Against Russia Backfiring Against the EU Via Unsustainably Higher Prices


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 21, 2022 | Sundance

There comes a time when ideology runs headfirst into the monolith of unwavering reality.  Today, during a press briefing as a part of the IMF World Bank Meetings [TRANSCRIPT HERE], Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was forced to admit the sanctions against Russia have hurt the EU more than Vladimir Putin and the Russian economy.

Secretary Yellen was asked about the need for increased western government bans against Russian exports.

Yellen was faced with the discomfort of admitting the global market is still open to receiving Russian products, specifically oil and gas, and that banning the EU from receiving those products only drives the EU prices higher, which has already led to unsustainable inflation.

Key Segment:

…”Europe clearly needs to reduce its dependence on Russia with respect to energy. But we need to be careful when we think about a complete European ban on say oil imports. We want to harm Russia – that would clearly raise global oil prices would have a damaging impact on Europe and other parts of the world. And counterintuitively it could actually have very little negative impact on Russia because although Russia might export less, its price for its exports would go up.”

The EU is already experiencing massive energy price increases.  Yesterday, Germany announced manufacturing price increases of more than 30% following increased energy costs exceeding 80%.  The current western government sanctions against Russia are hitting the EU economy harder than they are hurting Russia as alternative customers (India, China) for Russian energy exports are still purchasing.

In essence, the EU has partly removed themselves as a customer, but the seller, Russia, is still selling; only now they are getting higher prices because the EU and U.S. are disrupting oil and energy production in an effort to chase their climate change goals.

Putin’s Ukraine timing, to coincide with the progressive west trying to limit oil/gas development, was perfect.   The citizens of the nations, who are participating in the sanctions against Russia, are seeing higher energy inflation.   Ultimately this is going to lead to massive food inflation and overlay the increased costs of farming production via fertilizer, and, well, support for more sanctions against Russia only makes things worse.

WASHINGTON – […] “Despite wide-ranging sanctions on the Russian government financial sector and the mass exodus of dozens of businesses, Russia has been able to limit the economic damage thanks to a steady stream of oil and gas revenue. But the U.S. has resisted pushing Europe to ban Russian energy imports despite growing pressure from lawmakers in both parties and the pleas of Ukrainian government officials.

“Proceeds from sales of oil and gas are an important source of income for Russia. It would be very useful to try to devise a way to reduce Russia’s proceeds from those sales,” Yellen said.

“That really is the proper objective of a ban. But if we could figure out a way to do that without harming the entire globe through higher energy prices, that would be ideal. And that’s a matter that we’re all trying to think through together,” she continued. (read more)

Apr 21 2022

Fannie Mae Forecasts “Modest Recession” in 2023


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted Apr 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Fannie Mae forecasts a “modest recession in the latter half of 2023” and believes the house-buying frenzy will begin to cool in the US. The Federal Reserve’s hawkish direction to curb inflation has led the agency to believe that a “soft landing” for the US economy is unlikely.

“With the most recent inflation readings at levels not seen since the early 1980s and wage growth exceeding that which is consistent with a 2-percent inflation objective, we believe the odds of a soft landing are even lower. Returning to the Fed’s policy target, therefore, likely necessitates economic growth slowing sufficiently to lead to a rise in the unemployment rate, which would cool wage and price pressures.”

Naturally, they see mortgage rates rising. Home sales for 2022 are now predicted to decline 7.4% compared to their initial forecast of 4.1%, while sales in 2023 are expected to decrease by 9.7% (initial projection: 2.7% decline). Adjusted for inflation, Fannie Mae sees house price growth approaching 0% by the end of next year.

Mortgage credit is not a factor as it was during the Great Recession and the checks and balances are in place after the 2008 scare. New construction is also expected to help with the “eventual recovery” as there is a lower inventory relative to demographic demand. Mortgage rates are now hovering around 5% after rising 1.95 percentage points since the December low. A similar spike in mortgage rates occurred in 2013 and 2018 and led to a downturn in home sales.

Interestingly, Fannie Mae has specified that the coming “modest recession” is “COVID-driven” and even admitted that the business cycle is at play:

“We have previously posited that the current business cycle would likely be shorter than those of the past few decades. GDP growth surged in 2021 after the relaxation of many COVID restrictions – also supported by historic income transfers and monetary policy easing – which led to a swift recovery but also planted the seeds of inflation. Therefore, despite only two years having passed since the COVID-driven recession of 2020, the economy has already moved into what could be described as the mature stage of the business cycle. Specifically, the unemployment rate is below the “full employment” level, inflation is accelerating as growth slows, and the Federal Reserve is beginning to tighten policy. These conditions typically mark the beginning of the end of an economic expansion.”

Apr 21 2022

Global Digital Identity of Persons and Objects


Armstrong Economics Blog/AI Computers Re-Posted Apr 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Economic Forum (WEF) recently published a report that encourages the use of a global digital identity program for persons and objects. The report centers on global trade but is the first step toward introducing global AI tracking. Under the guise of COVID, the two organizations claim that trade can be streamlined with their TradeTech technology.

Their recent report, “The Promise of TradeTech: Policy Approaches to Harness Trade Digitalization,” states their next goal:

“End-to-end trade digitalization requires a global approach to digital identities of natural and legal persons as well as of physical and digital objects sending or receiving electronic information to avoid creating digital identity silos.”

The only reason to trace persons as if they were objects is control. They first attempted to control the masses using the pretense of a pandemic to implement digital vaccine passports, but now they need stronger backing. Schwab’s Great Reset infiltrated governments globally, and they are indeed making decisions to smolder the world economy — Bring Back Better.

Now that the global economy is on the decline, these organizations promise to improve the living standard with the caveat of accepting their version of Utopia and agreeing to be tracked as an object

Apr 21 2022

Does Zuckerberg Belong in Prison?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Apr 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

We cannot even donate $10,000 to a political candidate, but if you are Mark Zuckerberg, you can help to manipulate elections. He was able to prevent the break up of his company by pouring hundreds of millions into the election and then blamed Russia for buying advertisements on Facebook during the 2016 election. Mark Zuckerberg dumped more than $400 million into manipulating the 2020 presidential election where the money was typically funneled by Democratic operatives. These were often areas where there was voter canvassing in the get-out-the-vote effort for Biden.

The deep concern here is that the DOJ will NOT investigate Zuckerberg but when the Republicans get back in, Zuckerberg could find himself in prison for interfering in the election where the districts targeted were far too often voting in excess of the normal trend. It has been acknowledged already that private funds were distributed on a truly historical level. I, for one, will NEVER advertise anything on Facebook.

When a public company allows itself to be a political activist, which ONLY reflects the decisions of the board, as Disney is doing in its feud with Florida, then this is an abuse of its fiduciary duty to shareholders when the company is being usurped for personal political agendas. Another one is Salesforce pushing Schwab’s Great Reset.

These companies are violating the very principle of shareholder investment. If I went public and then used company money and policy for a personal objective or gain, that is considered fraud. Merely the fact that such an objective is politics makes no difference – it is using corporate funds for personal gain.

Apr 21 2022

Florida Senate Passes Bill to Remove Disney Special District Status, House Vote Likely to Approve Thursday


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 21, 2022 | Sundance

The multinational Disney corporation decided to target conservative lawmakers in Florida after the legislature passed a bill to stop the sexualization of children K-3 in public schools.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called for the legislature to consider the removal of Disney World’s special district status in a previously scheduled special session.

Today, the Florida Senate approved a bill to revoke Disney’s ‘special district’ status in the Orlando area.

(Via Wall Street Journal) – The Republican-led Florida Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would eliminate a special tax district that allows Walt Disney Co. to govern the land where its theme parks sit, as lawmakers target the company for opposing legislation restricting classroom instruction on gender and sexuality.

The GOP-led House will likely vote to approve the measure Thursday. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called for lawmakers to consider such a bill in a special session he convened this week, has made clear he would sign it.

Losing the nearly 40-square-mile district near Orlando could be a major blow to Disney’s Florida operations.

[The special district] allows Disney to construct new buildings and expand its parks without having to adhere to state or county regulations related to construction, wastewater management and drainage. It encompasses four theme parks, two water parks, a sports complex and hotels, stores and restaurants. (read more)

Apr 21 2022

Biden Administration Will Appeal Federal Court Ruling and Attempt to Reinstitute Federal Mask Mandate


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 20, 2022 | Sundance 

Ideological leftism is contingent upon appeasing the most insane elements of the extreme left.

As a consequence, the Biden political CDC has announced they need the Biden political DOJ to try and get the federal mask mandate put back into place.

CDC Announcement: “To protect CDC’s public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al. It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.” (LINK)

According to NBC News, “the Justice Department said that it has filed a notice of appeal “in light of today’s assessment by the CDC” in a statement late Wednesday afternoon.” (LINK)

The Covidians who define themselves by their adherence to the dictates of the U.S. government, are happy.  However, in an election year where the overwhelming majority of the American people have had enough of this political science, this decision fuels an angry rebuke.