Endless Proxy Wars – Not in Interest of US to Seek Peace


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Mar 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Madeleine Albright & Yugoslavia


Armstong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Mar 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: Hi Mr. Armstrong,
I hope you are doing well.
Talking about Neocons, as a boy, 12 years old, I’ve survived the Yugoslavia bombing by NATO 1999 and Madeleine Albright was one of the biggest influencers to attack Yugoslavia where many civilians died. She died on the same date when they decided to attack Yugoslavia 23 years ago. I guess cycles are everywhere.
Thanks for all that you do.
Best regards,
M

COMMENT #2: The US killed countless civilians in Yugoslavia. We will never for get that.

K

COMMENT #3: dear Marty, dear Team,
thank you for your unique analyses which help me to understand how our world really functions. please help me to understand what NEOCONS are. thank you. Victor

V

REPLY: Madeleine Albright I met once and the feeling I got was one of a deep seated coldness. She, along with Hillary, were Neocons, which are NOT the Deep State which tends to be the agencies who are more focused on domestic power. The Neocons cannot sleep at night worrying about international enemies who must be defeated. Albright would conjure up hatred for a leader to justify attacking them with no regard for all the other people who die in such conflicts.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright introduced Hillary Clinton at an event in New Hampshire, telling the crowd and voters in general: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!” President Bill Clinton named Albright the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations shortly after he was inaugurated in 1993.

Albright was true to her convictions that were immovable and she never had a problem waging war. Some would say she was more ruthless than any man just so she could climb that latter of equality. I think that certainly applies to Hillary.

The Neocons are on Both Sides & They Always Want War


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Mar 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Do you think Putin is a victim?

HJ

ANSWER: No, I think he has been played like a fiddle. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has come out and said:

“This is not about Ukraine at all, but the world order. The current crisis is a fateful, epoch-making moment in modern history. It reflects the battle over what the world order will look like.”

There is no black and white. BOTH sides have their Neocons who just always want war. Their lives are filled with hate. While the Neocons have control of the Biden Administration, make no mistake about it, the Neocons behind Putin want far more aggressiveness than what Putin has shown. They would nuke Kyiv in the blink of an eye as a warning to the West. Three high ranking people have all come out and threatened nuclear war. The #2 guy has praised Stalin’s Great Purge as necessary. Remove Putin, and you just may get someone far worse. Stalin could kill 10 million people in an afternoon and go celebrate with a fine dinner, caviar, and wine.

The Neocons know that getting you to hate Putin, they can use that to justify war. There is no justice in war. Even Wikipedia includes that Vietnamese never fired on us and Johnson remarked after lying to the nation that for all he knew, they were shooting at wales. That was a proxy war for they hated Communists. We lost over 50,000 boys for their games. Communism fell of its own inefficiencies – not because of Neocons who still hate China and Russia.

There was no Weapons of Mass Destruction to justify Iraq, nor did the Spanish blow up the Maine. Even Hearst told Fredrick Remington that if he supplied the photos, Hearst would create the war.

We have been plagued by people ON BOTH SIDES who are filled with hatred and just want to annihilate their opponent. I can scream all I want. I have tried to defeat my own computer and have been unable to do so even once.

If they have you hating Putin, that is their goal for they need that hatred to justify a Declaration of War which can only come from Congress. Once they get that, the missiles will fly. So be careful, they will appeal to your sense of justice that Putin should be punished, but that entails far more than they imagine. They NEVER think beyond that objective. They removed Saddam and created ISIS who he kept in check. They waged their war antics against Libya and Syria.They just always need to hate someone – that is what has consumed them.

NYC Mayor Announces Performers and Athletes No Longer Subject to Vaccination Mandate, but All Other Residents Remain Under Requirement


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 24, 2022 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams eviscerated the justification for the vaccination mandate because science demanded it – as he presented exemptions for NYC performers and athletes due to ‘fairness.’

As noted by MSM, “Ballplayers and other performers got the green light to apply their skills in New York City even if they haven’t been vaccinated against Covid-19.” however, all other residents are still required to live under the mandate. “Covid is a battle, our economy is a battle,” he told reporters at Citi Field in Queens, home of the New York Mets. “We need to recover our city from crime, from economic devastation, from uncertainty.”

Hopefully, someone, anyone, will file a lawsuit to remove the mandates and cite this economically purposed policy change as the evidence.  This is nuts.  Two tiers of citizens based on profession?  Elite athletes and performers exempt, but ordinary citizens remain under the vaccination mandate?

The New York Post has a headline story asking how this elitist policy change could possibly be okay. [SEE HERE]  The city fired thousands of workers over the mandate, and now they change the rules for the professional entitled class?

READ ARTICLE ]

President Trump Files a Massive Civil Lawsuit Against the Entire Russia Conspiracy Scheme Team


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 24, 2022 

President Trump named just about everyone connected to ‘Spygate’ and the manufactured ‘Trump-Russia’ fraud in a civil lawsuit filed today in the jurisdiction of Miami, Florida.

[108 page Lawsuit HERE]

“Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty,” the president states.  The ramifications could be significant as the Durham criminal probe continues to generate evidence that supports the Trump lawsuit.

“Under the guise of ‘opposition research,’ ‘data analytics,’ and other political stratagems, the Defendants nefariously sought to sway the public’s trust. They worked together with a single, self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump,” says one segment of the lawsuit.

All of the claims within the filing are substantiated by documents outlining the history of the events.  I’m not sure any defendant is going to be successful getting themselves out of the target zone on the lawsuit.  The suit alleges “racketeering” and a “conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood,” among other claims.

Defendants include: Hillary R. Clinton, HFACC, Inc., the Democratic National Committee, DNC Services Corporation, Perkins Coie, LLC, Michael Sussmann, Marc Elias, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charles Halliday Dolan, Jr., Jake Sullivan, John Podesta, Robert E. Mook, Phillipe Reines, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Peter Fritsch, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd., Christopher Steele, Igor Danchenko, Neustar, Inc., Rodney Joffe, James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith and Andrew McCabe

The suit was assigned on Thursday to U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks, who is based in West Palm Beach, FL, a Bill Clinton appointment.

Biden Turns Unstable and Angry When He Receives One Non Preapproved Question During NATO Presser


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 24, 2022 

Within the background game we are supposed to ignore, the people behind Joe Biden pre-select and pre-approve the questions he receives.  The approved journalists and questions are written on a sheet for him to use; today was no exception.  However, during the NATO press briefing the importance and subject matter of the venue put pressure on him to answer one non-approved question.

That singular question ‘triggered’ the angry Biden disposition to surface, when he was asked to reconcile his current sanctions regime against previous statements about sanctions being a deterrent to Russian aggression.  Biden gets agitated easily. WATCH (prompted):

Biden Briefs Media After NATO Summit Over Ukraine Crisis, Russia Status in G20 Challenged, Global Food Shortages Discussed


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 24, 2022

With less than a quarter of the U.S. population having any confidence in Biden’s ability to handle the Ukraine crisis [AP Poll], the installed White House occupant headed to NATO to discuss consensus opinion.

Cliff Notes from Presser – Biden was bullish about the NATO alliance, yet everyone essentially agreed to resist Ukraine’s call for them to enforce a no-fly zone in the country.  During the presser [VIDEO], Biden said he wanted Russia’s ouster from the G20 but conceded it likely won’t happen and deferred to the larger group. Biden unveiled new sanctions but acknowledged that they haven’t been and will not be a deterrent. Then said while his administration wants to get Europe to stop relying on Russian energy, he recognizes it can’t be done.

When Biden was questioned about potential food shortages, he admitted the discussion did actually take place. “With regard to food shortage… it’s gonna be real,” Biden said, while admitting the price of the sanctions is not just going to surface in Russia and Europe but is likely to show up in other nations including the United States.

Don’t downplay the food shortage issue.  The absence of food can change things very quickly.  How the various national leaders respond to food shortages, and/or prices for food that makes food insecurity a very real issue, is an unknown.  However, a food crisis -and the subsequent solutions- could change the direction of many policies.

Call me crazy or whatever, but when you watch and listen to all of these NATO members either individually or collectively, you can get the distinct impression that they’re waiting on advice from some other organization and/or entity that usually provides them instructions.

Should we Cheer for Putin to Lose?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Mar 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

While the Neocon strategy of DEMONIZING an adversary as they have done to Putin, the very same strategy was used to get people to absolutely hate Donald Trump. The more someone hates Trump still, the more susceptible they are to simple techniques of mind manipulation. This has led many to cheer for the Ukrainians to defeat Russians and we have the White House calling Putin a War Criminal when you could say the same thing about the US leaders that started the endless saga of wars on false pretenses or took out civils with drones when they wrongly thought they were terrorists.

The White House appears to be under the influence of the Neocons who just always advocate war. Make no mistake about it, these Neocons are not confined to just the Democrats or Republicans. They share a love for war and the hatred of everyone they perceive to be an enemy. It’s tempting to think that Putin will suffer a defeat and democracy could revive in Russia, but a more likely scenario is total world chaos. Russia is also comprised of Muslims who number about 14 million or roughly 10% of the total population. Then there are different cultures and you will see internal chaos and separatist movements armed with nukes.

Putin is not a fool and he is actually honoring his word. He is not trying to conquer Ukraine. His column of tanks had stopped as a show of force and intimidation. He has not ordered just total annihilation. The US strategy is we go in and flatten everything targeting water and power grid. Put took the power station but did not turn off the power. The West portrays this as Putin is stalled and the Ukrainians could defeat the Russians. But this seems to be propaganda all designed to wear down the moral of the Russian troops and sway public opinion for Ukraine.

While the press also portrays that Putin’s nation has now been subjected to an isolation greater than any nation has ever experienced by any major power in history, it was US sanctions to cut off the fuel to Japan that caused them to attack Pearl Harbor. There were later even Congressional investigations into FDR and did he deliberately try to create a situation to get the USA into World War II. Congress simply said the allegations were inconclusive.

Since late February, Russia has been hit with punishing economic, trade and financial sanctions. Putin struck back and said all energy sales to unfriendly nations will now be in Rubles. Saudi Arabia also agreed with China to sell oil in Yuan. These are historically critical events that have torn the world economy asunder. There will NEVER BE A RETURN TO NORMAL.

So while the Western Press cheers and reports that Russia is careering toward a debt default, they forget that the default will be on the West. A very rapid technological decoupling is also underway dividing the world economy and that will threaten free trade and the end of economic growth. Indeed, US GDP Growth rate peaked in real terms.

The mass withdrawal of American firms from Russia will have a profoundly negative impact moving forward and the world economy is shrinking rapidly. Russia isn’t some weak power like Iraq. Russia is a major power whose population was, until recently, deeply connected to its larger global environment. The White House thinks that Russians will blame Putin rather than Biden. Eastern European states like Serbia and in the Middle East are looking at the United States as the problem being arrogant and interfering in everyone else’s affairs. It is without question that the United States has declare war on Russia. This is how World War II began with countries attacking one another in the financial markets.

So while the Neocons lick their lips at the thought of overturning Putin and controlling Russia before they turn on China, they are clearly not looking long-term. They took out Saddam Hussein who kept the religious zealots in their place. Once he was removed, the Middle East saw the rise of ISIS. The US has been covertly funding the Ukrainian Nazis to keep up their fight against Donbass.

Let us may no mistake here. The Neocons pushed and funded through the CIS the Taliban for then they were the anti-Soviet resistance. The CIA Special Activities Division sent paramilitary officers to equip the Mujihadeen forces against the Soviet Army. The US therefore funded Taliban mainly to assist in ending the Soviet’s occupation in Afghanistan. However, the Neocons can never think past the end of their nose. They have no long-term strategies, only win what is immediately in front of them. The taliban benefited from expanded foreign military support from the United States. They then used that training against US troops who were in search of terrorists from 911.

The foolish view among the Neocons is they think bringing Democracy to the Middle East or now to Russia and China will somehow make them friends or stable is an absolute joke. The idea of creating a “Moscow Spring” by punishing the Russian people until they do what the CIS and Neocons demand does not make the costs of conflict lead worth it. Marx brought his ideas and it cost over 200 million lives to install communism. America is hated for its interference by the Neocons in many circles.

Both China and Russia have American arrogance as a common enemy and the Russian or Chinese people will not send them flowers and Xmas cards thanking them for destroy everything they have built since 1989. However, RELIABLE sources in the Middle East, the UAE, Egypt and even Israel are angry over Biden’s sanctions. Yet the Neocons claim that total isolation forced regime change in South Africa. However, they also had no military power to fight back. That is like claiming a fight is fair with one kid has a rubber band and the other a baseball bat.

Somebody in Washington needs to start thinking strategically and realistically about this endeavor to isolate Russia for all that is unfolding at a rapid rate is the disintegration of the world economy. In 1989, then President George H.W. Bush understood there were serious risks with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Communism. Russia is big and powerful enough that its role in the world economy is vital to the overall health of the international order . The US NEEDS Russia as an economic friend not and adversary for nobody will win with that result.

The Western propaganda is that Russia and China represent authoritarian rule. However, Western governments are no better. Sure, we have elections but then the candidate arrives in Washington and they are told they will vote according to the Party Agenda rendering the image of free elections only just that. In Europe, the people do not vote for the Commission which makes the laws nor for the head of state. We do not live in a Democracy for the people never are allowed to vote on an issue like war or peace.

The likelihood of Putin being overthrown and Democracy is sudden born has less than a zero change of ever being correct.

It’s Not Just Energy – It’s Also Metals


Armstrong Economics Blog/Base Metals Re-Posted Mar 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The outrageous sanctions imposed by Biden on Russia has undermined the entire world economy. Sanctions have never worked and this time they were designed to try to hurt the Russian people so profoundly that they would overthrow Putin. The Ukrainians are even naming Alexander Bortnikov, the Russian Director of the Federal Security Service and a member of Putin’s inner circle, as a successor to the president. Bortnikov has come out and said that Stalin’s Great Purge was necessary whereas Putin rejected Lenin. Be careful what you wish for, as they say.

Stickers are showing up plastered all over gasoline pumps throughout the USA despite Biden trying to blame Putin for his the disruption to the world economy. The US had no national security issue at risk with either Crimea nor DonBass. The Neocons just hate Putin and have used Ukraine as a proxy war toy to get at Putin. Even in Poland the government is pushing for war. Europe desperately needs war for 8.6 years of NEGATIVE interest rates has wiped out pension funds. NY banks will no longer lend against European sovereign debt. They cannot fund the governments any longer and the central bank cannot buy their debt endlessly. The only solution that they see is to default under the pretense of the Great Reset so they NEED war as the diversion with a new Bretton Woods.

But Biden’s sanctions have gone far beyond just energy. Nickel is a vital for it is the largest component in stainless steel production. Alloy steel is also called special steel. Nickel can increase the strength of the alloy and maintain its good plasticity and toughness. Then nickel is also used in the field of batteries, mainly nickel-hydrogen batteries, chromium-nickel batteries, and nickel-manganese batteries. Lastly, very fine nickel powder is often used as a catalyst in the chemical industry. Hence, nickel is vital and it goes beyond just the coins in your pocket which at these prices will be worth more in metal content soon enough.

Yet these sanctions that Biden swore would target only Russia, have disrupted the entire world and not just energy. Tsingshan Holding Group is a major producer of Nickel and it sold hedging position forward to secure its production. But prices doubled thanks to Biden and Tsingshan tried to buy back its hedging positions and that has set off a collapse of the Nickel market in London. Nickel was already breaking out thanks to COVID restrictions. Then the Biden Russian sanctions were insane and you can see the drastic price rally as Tsingshan tried to buy back its hedge.

Nickel prices began to soar after Biden’s sanction on Russia. The rally became a crisis for the LME as producers such as Tsingshan’s brokers desperately tried to buy those nickel contracts back causing a near 70% rise in a single session to stem losses and avoid escalating margin calls. The trading became erradic as brokers kept trying to cover short hedged positions. Hedge funds and other participants were frantically buying nickel, which only propelled the market even higher. Nickel prices had more than doubled reaching more than $100,000 a metric ton.

The LME was sent into crisis. Several smaller brokers were saying they would default at the 9 a.m. margin call if prices stayed at those levels. The LME was forced to suspend the market shortly after 8 a.m. local time or suffer a catastropiuc collapse of the exchange. The brokers could not meet the expected margin calls. Thus, the LME adopted the drastic step of canceling trades that took place before the suspension. They is said to have wiped out $3.9 billion in transactions. Of course, the hedge funds were furious for they were looking a huge unrealized profits. Because of the sudden price shock, the LME had no choice but to suspend trading in hopes that the brokers would collect the funds from their clients. However, the decision to wipe out trades that took place in a free market in good faith is really unprecedented and has shaken the confidence in free markets.

It may be true that the suspension and the canceled trades to settle the catastrophic damage to the free markets created by the Biden sanctions has prevented a near-term collapse of the LME. However, failing to do so may have brought down the entire exchange ending the market where producers can hedge forward.

Tsingshan still owes its brokers, which included JPMorgan, Standard Chartered and BNP as well as a unit of state-owned China Construction Bank Corp. The demand for cash to settle margin calls for a hedger who has sold future production presents a serious crisis. There are serious questions being raised if the price seen in this spike truly reflects the shortage in the supply or just an aberition created by a short-term panic.

Ironically, it was the great expanse of China’s economy which drove Nickel to $54200 a metric ton back in 2007. Nevertheless, where our computer has been bullish on Nickel and it elected even the third Quarterly Bullish Reversal at the end of the 3rd quarter 2021. There was no way the market was heading lower. Clearly, those in charge of hedging were calling the shots from an opinion perspective – not quantitative. For early 2021, Tsingshan began to accumulate a short position. It made statements on its website reflecting its view that the Nickel market was flush and prices should decline. Tsingshan’s short hedge position was equivalent to having sold about 190,000 metric tons on the LME. That would be worth $9.1 billion based on closing prices.

The forecasting view of Tsingshan regarding Nickel is just unfounded. Our model showed that we would start to see a rise in 2022 in price volatility but this is continuing into 2024. The price high may not arrive until 2023 and we may be looking at a new record. This is just another domino in the future of the world economy that just fell over. These Biden Sanctions are not going to be reversed and the pride of politicians is now threatening the entire world economy.

You have not made any comment about the LME Nickel market. In my opinion, this is onether chip of the domino falling which comes to confirm that the collapse of the West is in motion. The loss at Tsingshan is said to be about $8 billion. I have been called in to similar crisis where major corporations have lost billions due to improper hedging. This amount is staggering and clearly reflects that the firm has totally incompetent people in charge of hedging who may be listening to bankers and fundamentals rather than the markets.

Putin puts Biden’s King in Check


Armstrong Economics Blog/Euro € Re-Posted Mar 23, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The absolute stupidity of those in the Biden Administration will go down in history as probably the dumbest ever in the history of the world, not just the United States. Besides disrupting energy supplies, and subjecting the world to a shortage of wheat when Russia and Ukraine represent 30% of the world exports, Biden’s sheer stupidity in just reading what his staff of climate zealots tell him is beyond belief. There is a crisis unfolding even in base metals like nickel.

Removing Russian banks from SWIFT but leaving the energy intact so Europe has power, was so brilliant they obviously never played chess. Putin just put Biden’s king in check by ordering Europe to pay for gas now in Rubles. That will provide support for the Ruble, and undermine Europe and its Euro as well as the dollar in the long run.

First of all, when Biden freezes all of Russia’s reserves, why would you continue to get paid in dollars that Biden could freeze? That makes no sense. This is why I warned that using SWIFT as a political tool would destroy the world economy. There is no putting this back together again. The foundation of TRUST has been lost.

What I would do if I were Putin is to create a two-tier monetary system like South Africa once had with the Financial Rand and Domestic Rand. What I would do to put Biden in Checkmate would be to back ONLY the domestic Ruble with gold to restore confidence among the Russian people, but leave the Ruble float for international transactions – the opposite of what FDR did in 1934.

Biden has destroyed the world economy. This is so devastating going forward, that what comes post-2032 when the world economy finally crashes and burns because of these idiots, there will be a whole new regime change on a global scale.