Category U. S. Politics

Mar 21 2022

The Largest Humanitarian Crisis That No One Discusses


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

Yemen has been at war for the past seven years. A once great land of ancient trade, Yemen has become one of the poorest nations in the Arab world. Their GDP for 2021 was expected to reach only 26.9 billion USD. The World Bank estimated that over half of Yemen’s population lived in poverty prior to the pandemic, and that figure has now reached 71% to 78%.

The United Nations recently declared that 19 million people will go hungry in the coming months. Yemen is completely reliant on exports for basic necessities and 90% of its food supply is imported. One-third of imported wheat comes from Ukraine and Russia. The World Food Programme (WFP) said five million people are at “immediate risk” of slipping into famine-like conditions, and that their program needs $887.9 million to feed 13 million people over the next six months. Over 20.5 million people are without safe water as well.

Around 75% of the $14 billion donated to the nation came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and the European Commission. The World Bank expects inflation to reach 45% in Yemen this year but the rial is already worthless and the nation has yet to adopt a safe reserve currency.

I have yet to see a Yemeni flag or virtue signaling for the people living in this particular war-torn country as it is not part of the agenda. The media rarely reports on Yemen and most journalists likely would not be able to recognize Yemen’s flag. People are not driving around with “We Stand With Yemen” bumper stickers, and schools are not requiring children to make sense of this war. The public does not discuss or shed tears for the people of Yemen who live in unfathomable conditions because they are not a piece of the larger agenda and no one can profit off of their suffering at this time.

Mar 21 2022

Premier of Alberta Calls on Biden to Reimplement Keystone XL Project


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

Jason Kenney, premier of Alberta, Canada, is calling upon President Joe Biden to reimplement the Keystone XL pipeline project. “If President Biden had not vetoed that project, it would be done later this year – 840,000 barrels of democratic energy that could have displaced the 600,000 plus barrels of Russian conflict oil that’s filled with the blood of Ukrainians,” Kenney stated. Kenney seems confident that the project could be completed by Q1 2023.

“None of this makes sense, so I will be speaking truth to power in the bluntest terms possible,” Kenney said. “If the U.S. administration wanted instead of going cap in hand to the Venezuela, Saudi and Iranian dictatorships to replace Russian conflict oil, we could turn this around, I believe in less than a year,” the premier stated. Meanwhile, the White House maintains that America should simply reduce its reliance on fossil fuels when there are no other alternatives available.

These nations might as well continue purchasing gas from Russia opposed to funneling money to other dictatorships. Kenney also noted how Canada was supposed to be America’s closest ally. Maduro of Venezuela hates the US and is an illegitimate leader. Both Venezuela and Saudi Arabia have asked the US for help in recent years, and none was provided. Iran is one of the world’s top funders of terrorism and turning to them should be considered a threat to national security.

Categories: Energy

Mar 21 2022

Clueless Celebrities Attempt to Worsen Energy Crisis


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

City National Bank is considered Hollywood’s “bank to the stars” and was acquired by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in 2015. A group of over 65 clueless celebrities thirsting for attention are attempting to create a movement called “No Dirty Banks” to dissuade the RBC from investing in fossil fuels – period.

Their message is as follows:

As Canada’s #1 fossil fuel bank, and the fifth largest in the world, RBC is deeply implicated in the Canadian tar sands – one of the most toxic sources of oil on the planet, that has devastated Indigenous lands, and destroyed pristine boreal forest.

Though RBC claims to be a leader in climate-conscious banking, since acquiring CNB in 2015 RBC has spent over $160 billion, making it one of the world’s most aggressive financiers of the tar sands and fossil fuel extraction.

RBC and CNB must stop funding fossil fuel projects, especially fracking and tar sands. At the source of extraction, Alberta tar sands exacerbate the climate crisis, and are why Canada is unable to meet its international climate commitments.

Between the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the end of 2020, the world’s 60 biggest banks, including RBC, financed fossil fuels to the tune of $3.8 trillion. Fossil fuel funding fuels climate chaos and threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions.

Bankrolling Coastal GasLink is just the latest example of RBC covering up their role in violating Indigenous rights, not upholding free, prior and informed consent as outlined in UNDRIP, and making the climate crisis worse.

These celebrities are known to live lavish lifestyles and are frequently spotted on private jets and yachts. They live in massive homes and drive numerous cars. The self-declared elite wants the peasants to curb their energy usage while they continue to consume far more than the average taxpayer. These people have no idea the implications of reducing funding for fracking and a pipeline amid a serious energy crisis. The average person feels the burden at the pump or while paying their monthly utilities, while the liberal Hollywood puppets do not. This is another example of the liberal stronghold on Hollywood as publicists continually ask their “stars” to promote the Build Back Better agenda in a twisted attempt to seem empathetic.

Mar 21 2022

Sunday Talks, Zelenskyy Says Willing To Talk to Russian President Putin, but if Talks Fail It Would Mean World War III


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 20, 2022

Appearing on CNN, the official state broadcast network for the U.S. State Department, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the DoS Public Relations spokesperson Fareed Zakaria that he is willing to sit down to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  However, in the worldview of Zelenskyy, if those talks failed it would mean World War III.

That’s an odd statement by Zelenskyy considering that any WW-III triggering would need NATO and the U.S. to enter it.  Why would Zelenskyy speak on behalf of the United States and NATO unless he has received that message in advance?   If the U.S. and NATO have assured Zelenskyy they would directly engage in a war with Russia, wouldn’t that be something the citizens of those countries -especially us- would have to be consulted on?

Either: (1) the statement by Zelenskyy is undiplomatically presumptuous; or (2), he’s trying to drag us into his war; or (3), U.S. government officials speaking on our behalf have already made those assurances.  None of those scenarios are good.  WATCH:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=e5JM4MKY0Yg%3Ffeature%3Doembed

(Via CNN) […] “I’m ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war.  I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.” 

Mar 21 2022

Adam Kinzinger Threatens U.S. Aid to Israel if They Do Not Support NATO War in Ukraine


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 20, 2022

Representative Adam Kinzinger has a message for Israel, threatening U.S. support if they do not get into line and support the NATO objectives in Ukraine: (Source)

Akin to: ‘Nice Jewish homeland you’ve got there Israel; it’d be a shame if something happened to it.’

Kinzinger will likely win increased support, as if he didn’t already have it, from the far-left progressive movement who hate Israel.  However, as people start awakening to the reality that the U.S and NATO alliance have now aligned themselves with the ultranationalist Nazi’s in Ukraine, there might be a modicum of pushback from the Orthodox Jewish community.

The pressure on Israel to support the Ukraine nationalists came first from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy:

Of course, this position directly aligns with the recent changes by Google, Facebook and Twitter to support the Nazi movement in Ukraine by promoting the actions of the Azov battalions now being armed by the U.S. and NATO.

The Reuter’s article notes: “Emails also showed that Meta would allow praise of the right-wing Azov battalion, which is normally prohibited, in a change first reported by The Intercept.  Meta spokesman Joe Osborne previously said the company was “for the time being, making a narrow exception for praise of the Azov Regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine National Guard.” (link)

March 10 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms (FB.O) will allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, according to internal emails seen by Reuters on Thursday, in a temporary change to its hate speech policy.

The social media company is also temporarily allowing some posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, according to internal emails to its content moderators.

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

The calls for the leaders’ deaths will be allowed unless they contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method, one email said, in a recent change to the company’s rules on violence and incitement.

The temporary policy changes on calls for violence to Russian soldiers apply to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, according to one email.

[…] “We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when: (a) targeting Russian soldiers, EXCEPT prisoners of war, or (b) targeting Russians where it’s clear that the context is the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentions the invasion, self-defense, etc.),” it said in the email. (read more)

Mar 20 2022

Ukraine the Key to WWIII


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Mar 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong, I remember you had a Ukrainian girlfriend who attended the WEC in Berlin back in 2015. Obviously, you have ties to Ukraine and have an inside view of their feelings and culture. Is this why you have little respect for Zelensky when the world calls him a hero?

HS

ANSWER: Thanks for the picture. I have known a number of Ukrainians on both sides from Kyiv and Donestk. Nevertheless, back in 2013, I warned that our model had highlighted Ukraine as the region to focus on for war. So yes, when our computer had targeted Ukraine, I naturally sought to understand its history and culture. Even learning the spoken language gives you tremendous insight into the thinking process.

My father was a colonel under General Patton from North Africa into Berlin. He told me how Patton read Romel’s book on tactical warfare and beat him. It is NEVER what you think, it is always what your opponent thinks. This nonsense that Ukraine can defeat Putin is propaganda and it seems to cheer every death of a Ukrainian to justify hating Putin and all Russians even more. This is not just reckless, but highly dangerous for the world. It ensures that you will lose. Read Putin’s biography, “Vladimir Putin. Life History” where he states: “I just understood that if you want to win, then you have to fight to the finish in every fight, as if it was the last and decisive battle…you need to assume that there is no retreat.”

Zelensky is a fool who is too caught up in his own celebrity to make rational decisions for his own people. This has become a media blitz for him and you can see he is enjoying it. This is not the quality you want in a leader. But we seem to be plagued with the worst crop of world leaders in human history.

There was much hope when he was elected that the inherent corruption would come to an end. The leadership was either the puppet of Russia or the United States and both sides had an interest in playing. The people did not share this entrenched idea that the Donbas had to remain Ukrainian. There was a deep resentment toward Russia from the days of Stalin who starved Ukraine to pretend Communism was succeeding. I suggest you watch the film, Mr. Jones.

Most Ukrainian were raised and knew how to speak Russian as well as Ukrainian. When Yanukovich became President, he was corrupt and his sons were running protection rackets. But he was Russian ethnically and could only speak Ukrainian with an accent. He pushed the language law to make the official language both Russian and Ukrainian. Zelensky push the opposite view and passed the Ukrainian ONLY law which was a slap in the face to Donbas.

Zelensky is a puppet. He has done NOTHING to avoid war. All he has done is poke the bear intentionally. He knew well that the Belgrade Agreement required Ukraine was to remain neutral. It gave up its nuclear weapons when it was the 3rd most powerful nuclear power for it had more nukes than even China. The deal was that it would neither join NATO and for the first time, it would become an independent nation free of Russia. By pushing to join NATO Zelensky KNEW that it was breaking the Belgrade agreement of 1991 and he was refusing to allow the Donbas to vote to seek its own independence since that region was Russian. So Zelensky was playing empire claiming to hold that territory which was created by Kruchev in the first place along with Crimea which was always Russian territory.

Clearly, Zelensky has not done what he was elected for and he has constantly been trying to create World War III demanding NATO action. He is more concerned about his image than his people. Some feel that if enough Ukrainian blood is spilled, then perhaps NATO will respond and all of this for what purpose? To keep the Donbas when he has even outlawed Russian as an official language? He is either a puppet taking orders or a complete egotistical fool enjoying the world stage and not thinking about the end game. There is no defeating Putin. Putin does not believe in retreat. If he retreats it is only leading to a trap. There must be negotiation and the surrender of Donbas and Crimea and the Belgrade Agreement must be maintained – UKRAINIAN NEUTRALITY.

Many in Ukraine feel that he is taking orders from some master. Is it the World Economic Forum, the EU, NATO, or the CIA? There are plenty of rumors flying around. In the end, the truth will surface. Until then, all we are left with are our opinions. We must be careful that we are not driven to conclusions that are being fed to us by the media to achieve a particular goal determine those who pull the strings behind the curtail. What I can say is this demonizing Putin is highly dangerous and it is a physiological war tactic that is necessary to get the people hating the opposition so they will rush in to kill them without remorse.

Mar 20 2022

Tenuous Winter Wheat Crops Could Become Problematic


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

Wheat is an essential grain harvest in the overall food chain.  Winter wheat is planted in October and harvested the following June and July, however, the U.S. crop this year is in a tenuous position because of severe drought in the plains.  Kansas represents about a quarter of the U.S. harvest and is currently suffering through an extended dry season.

Last week, “Kansas Governor Laura Kelly declared a drought emergency, warnings and watches for every county in Kansas on Thursday due to dry conditions causing high fire danger.” (link)

We need to keep an eye on this, and it would be wise to make proactive preparations now for the possibility of a severe shortage.  This potential is what has driven the price of wheat futures, and when combined with the issues in Europe’s largest wheat producer, Russia, there’s a very real possibility of a global shortage of wheat.

The early March warnings are beginning to become more important.  “The world has grown hugely dependent on Ukraine and Russia for their wheat, a crop used in everything from bread to couscous and noodles. The nations account for a quarter of global trade. They are also cheap suppliers, which makes their exports favorites for importers in the Middle East and North Africa, including in Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat buyer.” (link)

Back to the U.S.A:

March 14 (Reuters) – A worsening drought in the southern U.S. Plains is threatening the region’s winter wheat crop just as the Ukraine crisis dents global supplies.

Some farmers in southwestern Kansas, the top U.S. wheat producing state, have not received much measurable rain or snow since October. Winter wheat is planted in autumn, lays dormant in winter and begins sending up green shoots in spring. Proper soil moisture is critical at this stage for the crop to thrive.

More than half of Kansas was classified as under severe drought or worse as of March 8, the driest conditions since 2018, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Severe drought is also covering three-quarters of Oklahoma and more than two-thirds of Texas, both of which also are large wheat producers.

Water woes follow a freak December windstorm that swept away some topsoil in parts of the U.S. wheat belt, damaging some cropland.

U.S. hard red winter wheat represents nearly half of the country’s overall wheat production and is milled mainly for bread flour. A reduced crop could further stoke food inflation that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said was the highest-ever in February. The FAO’s Food Price Index averaged 140.7 points last month, a 20.7% increase from a year earlier and surpassing the 2011 record.

U.S. wheat futures soared to the highest levels in 14 years early last week as the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed two of the world’s largest wheat exporters out of the market, leaving importing countries scrambling for replacement sources.

Meanwhile, the winter wheat crop in China, the world’s largest producer of the grain, is expected to be among the worst ever after heavy rainfall delayed planting. (read more)

We need to watch this one closely, and it would not be a bad idea to purchase some of your own bread making supplies a little earlier for storage.

Wheat, corn and soybeans are the foundation of the U.S. food supply. They are primarily used as ingredients in processed foods, oils, and are fed to the cattle, hogs, and poultry that supply meat and eggs for the American diet.  When those grain harvests go up in price, the downstream increase in price is far reaching.

Mar 20 2022

Lara Logan Gives a Brutally Honest Assessment of Ukraine and U.S. Politics


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

Lara Logan is not the type of journalist who will pull punches when she shares insight and information.  Logan cuts to the chase and avoids pretending the issues are something other than what reality exists.

In this short interview segment, Lara Logan outlines her brutally honest perspective on why Ukraine is ultimately so important to people in power within the DC system. {Direct Rumble Link Here}  WATCH:

Mar 20 2022

Russia Appears To Be Using Hypersonic Missiles in Ukraine


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 19, 2022 | Sundance

Russia is reportedly now using hypersonic missiles to reach underground weapons storage bunkers Western Ukraine {BBC Report}.

Additionally, as a result of a missile attack on the location of the Ukrainian 79th Airborne Assault Brigade in Nikolaev (aka Mykolaiv), at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BbrXLk-z8Yg%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Western media, including Fox News, continue claiming that innocent civilian populations are being intentionally targeted by the Russian military.  However, there is scant evidence to support the claim of civilians being intentionally targeted.  That narrative appears to be part of the unfortunate western media propaganda campaign to keep support for Ukraine in the headlines.  The currently confirmed facilities targeted by Russia all appear to be military targets.

Warning graphic image below of Mykolaiv aftermath:

Mar 20 2022

Bloomberg Has Inflation Advice for Proles Making Less Than $300k a Year – Shut Up, Eat Lentils, Ride the Bus and Kill Your Pets


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 19, 2022 | Sundance

You might wonder what the ruling class thinks of how inflation is hitting middle America.   For insight into their perspective, Bloomberg News just published some suggestions for all the unwashed masses – as defined as those who don’t earn $300,000 per year.

The advice includes, shut up about the price of food, and eat lentils instead of meat. Quit bitching about gasoline prices, and just ride the bus, and the coup de grâce, “If you’re one of the many Americans who became a new pet owner during the pandemic, you might want to rethink those costly pet medical needs.”

Yeah, they said that.  Us pesky proles and our pets are just mucking up the planet for the rest of them.

[ Tweet Source Link – Article Link ]

The ‘inflation sucks, but that’s your issue, not ours’ article is authored by Teresa Ghilarducci.  According to her self-described bio, she “is the Schwartz Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research. She’s the co-author of “Rescuing Retirement” and a member of the board of directors of the Economic Policy Institute.”

So, the think-tank economists who shape policy have a solution for all the complaining scrubs earning less than $300,000/yr who are now dealing with the inflation that leftist policy has created.  The elitist arrogance, in the “no one said this would be fun” approach, is quite remarkable.  However, it does show the snob-set no longer feel the need to filter their elitism.

The class gap has always existed, and whenever leftist policies are in place, that gap gets wider every second.

It would appear that somewhere in the recesses of Ms. Ghilarducci’s frontal cortex, she has snuffed out the glowing ember of the common sense particle given by her parents.  In the brain of the Bloomberg author, the synapse for the common sense particle was pinched between the ‘Smarter than thou tumor‘ and the expanding grey brain matter of moral relativity needed to sit and type this bulls**t.

Within her diatribe, you can see the author is lacking a guilt hypothalamus, which removes any feeling of being uncomfortable in her elitist pontifications. She types away, without a clue, as the party groupthink metastasizes in her brain.

The working class really, I mean REALLY, needs to stop servicing the group who hold this mentality.  I’ve said this before and I’ll repeat it again. Don’t do their shopping, don’t make them coffee, don’t pick up their trash, don’t clean their pools, cook their meals, accept their laundry or dry cleaning, or facilitate any process in their lives.

Don’t serve them, don’t wait on them, don’t deliver to them; instead, make them do everything themselves, and you know what will happen – they’ll collapse.