Jen Psaki asked if White House Feels any Responsibility for Border Death of National Guardsman Bishop Evans, Responds Well, He Wasn’t Working for us


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 25, 2022

The Biden administration has created a crisis at the U.S-Mexico border by enticing migrants, removing the remain in Mexico policy, and doing nothing to stop the massive influx of illegal aliens.

When asked if the White House feels any responsibility for the death of National Guardsman Bishop Evans, who drowned while attempting to rescue two drug smugglers, a callous, cold and dismissive Jen Psaki says:

...”I would note that the National Guard worked for the states, and so he is an employee of the Tex- — Texas National Guard, and his efforts and his operation were directed by there, not by the federal government, in this — in this effort, in this apparatus.”

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The level of callousness in this response is sickening.  Bishop Evans would never have been in that situation if it wasn’t for the specific ideological policies creating unlawfully open borders by the Biden administration.

Elon Musk Successful Deal to Purchase Twitter for $44 Billion Likely to be Announced After Stock Market Close at 4pm Today


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 25, 2022

According to multiple media sources Twitter has reached a deal with the representatives of Elon Musk for the tech billionaire to purchase the social media company.  According to the Wall Street Journal, over the weekend the outlines of the deal were agreed and last night the final assembly of the purchase came together.

Keep in mind that Twitter is slated to report first-quarter earnings this Thursday, and originally the board was going to wait until after that earnings announcement to respond to the bid.

Something changed.

My suspicion is the financials of the Q1 earnings report will not support the $54.20 high end evaluation offer originally proposed by Musk.

If the low Q1 earnings rumors are accurate; and if Twitter had declined or fought the offer; the board would have been in the position of declining a deal that was substantially higher than the company market value, a tenuous position legally.   Thus, a deal was made.

(Wall Street Journal, update) – “Twitter is in advanced discussions to sell itself to Elon Musk and could finalize a deal Monday, people familiar with the matter said, days after the billionaire unveiled his $43 billion bid for the company.

The two sides worked through the night to hash out a deal that would be valued at $54.20 a share, or $44 billion, the people said. Assuming there isn’t a last-minute snag, the deal is expected to be announced after the market closes Monday, if not sooner.

It’s not clear why the total value of the deal has increased slightly from prior expectations, but it could be related to an updated share count.” (link)

Elon Musk responded to the rumors of the finalized deal with a tweet earlier this afternoon: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”

Meanwhile, the professional political leftists who use the platform are having a complete mental breakdown.  Thousands of them are promising to leave Twitter and find a safe place if the deal goes through.

As CTH has continued to evaluate this entire scenario, the internal tech architecture is the aspect that is the most interesting.   As this develops there is a great deal of interest into not just the controlled speech system that Twitter background operators have assembled, but also what underlying tech systems on the platform are connected to the public-private partnership.

We know there is a connection between the U.S. government and Twitter….  the question is, how is all of that being operated?

Should Russian Oligarchs Fund Ukraine?


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Apr 25, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

As the war in Ukraine continues, so does the need for funding. Zelensky’s people are now asking for $7 billion in funding per month. The World Bank estimates that it will cost $60 billion to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure and the war is still ongoing. Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva said they secured the $7 billion in funding for two months already with funds from other nations. Who will pay for the rest?

The $60 billion estimate is over three times the amount of Ukraine’s GDP. They could never recover on their own. Some would like to use the forfeited assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the war. US Treasury Secretary Yellen warned that doing so would be a “significant step” that would require careful consideration among nations. This yet again brings NATO members one step closer to fully entering the war.

Former hedge fund manager Bill Browder, who has advocated freezing oligarch’s funds, also once warned long ago not to tamper with the oligarch’s funds after seeing their retribution firsthand. “You don’t want to take [the oligarchs’] money because if you lose it, they’ll kill you,” Browder stated. Hedge funds are now required to freeze the assets of Russian oligarchs but have not received direct advice on how to manage those frozen assets. This leaves funds open to future lawsuits if not violence if the sanctions are ever lifted. Some are pointing to the hedge funds and private management companies for collecting the money in the first place, regardless of whether it was earned in a perfectly legal manner.

For all intents and purposes, the people who lost their life savings are mostly private citizens who have been a victim of circumstance. They did not fund Russia’s invasion. This could be considered an act of war by Russia for it would certainly be a complete violation of international law. Using assets seized by private citizens to fund a war opens the door to a new form of warfare that will only cause people to refrain from investing in countries that allow this to go on. Welcome to the total collapse of globalization. We are staring into the eyes of a Great Depression that would make the 1930s look like a dress rehearsal.

Georgia confiscated the property of people who supported the king during the American Revolution. Because of that, Georgia remains one of the poorest states for it took over 100 years before capital began to return to Georgia.

Rhode Island Lawmakers Propose Doubling Taxes for Parents of Unvaccinated Children


Armstrong Economics Blog/Uncategorized Re-Posted Apr 25, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Democrats in Rhode Island have prepared legislation that could double taxes for parents of unvaccinated children. Senator Sam Bell, who is championing the bill, claims that there is a need for a universal mandate. Under the proposed law, unvaccinated residents would face a $50 monthly fine for noncompliance. Employers would also be required to mandate vaccines for all employees or face a $5,000 fine per violation. The biggest burden – “Any person who violates this chapter shall be required to pay a monthly civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) and shall owe TWICE THE AMOUNT OF PERSONAL INCOME TAXES.”

To receive an exemption for a minor, three separate doctors must confirm that the child is “not fit for immunization.” Then the state would need to investigate each claim and determine whether or not the parents should be financially ruined. So even if three different doctors say that a child should not be vaccinated, the state may override them.

Biden lost his bid to implement a federal vaccine for employers last year, but the battle is not over. State lawmakers still have the capabilities to force compliance through any means possible. Bell wants to make the state of Rhode Island unlivable for the unvaccinated. While this is unlikely to pass, the fact that they are still attempting to force vaccinations in April 2022 shows that the war on medical freedom has not ceased.

Israel Added Yuan to Reserve Currency Portfolio


Armstrong Economics Blog/China Re-Posted Apr 25, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Israel has now moved to add the Chinese yuan to its reserve currency portfolio, which will create a natural hedge against the risk of insanity pushing for war by the United States and Europe. Adding the yuan to the reserve portfolio will automatically reduce the exposure to the dollar and especially to the euro, thereby creating a natural hedge, whereas a decline in the dollar and euro would imply a rise in the yuan and even the ruble.

The Middle East is divided and Zelensky pretends to be the Jewish hero, yet before the war, at the United Nations, Zelensky maintained a firm anti-Israel position. In 2020 alone, he voted for Ukraine affirming UN resolutions condemning the Israeli “occupation” of Judea and Samaria. He also opposed the Israeli “occupation” of Jerusalem and the Israeli “occupation” of “the occupied Syrian Golan.” After the war began, he suddenly became Jewish, asking for money and equating the Russian invasion to the Holocaust. Then Zelensky has the audacity to criticize Israel for not sending more money to his personal piggy bank. He tells everyone that World War III has already begun so, therefore, send all your money to him in Ukraine – no refunds accepted.

Zelensky is a fraud, and he was as corrupt as the rest of the lot in Ukraine. Corruption in Ukraine is certainly in the top 5 in the world. I was told that you MUST pay bribes and if you do not pay them to the right people, they will still retaliate against you. NEVER send money to Ukraine. It is as bad as all the fraud from Africa with people claiming they have millions and nobody to leave it to. He knows how to act always appearing in an army T-shirt and unshaven to pretend he is roughing it.

Zelensky had stashed $15 million in offshore accounts and that was before the war (See Gravitas). The rumor is his target is to stash at least $100 million now demanding $7 billion per month from the West. He has NO incentive to end the conflict and will not seek peace and as long as he is filling his pockets. What Zelensky has actually done is putting Israel at risk, for now, even Egypt has turned to Russia and is holding joint military exercises. The old Arab states that were against Israel in previous wars are now aligning with Russia as the US appears to be using Zelensky as its proxy to start a war with Russia. This is now turning up the heat for World War III to also engulf the Middle East.

It is curious that the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, which pours dollars into the finances of the Jewish state on an annual basis, has realized that there is a risk to having only dollars and euros. Economically, Israel appears to have been awakened to the reality that the Neocons have divided the world economy and the sanctions on Russia will NEVER be removed, resulting in the total destruction of the world economy and the end of globalization. Including the yuan in their reserve currency portfolio is an acknowledgment that the Biden Administration has in fact destroyed the world economy as we have known it.

The Chinese yuan in Israel’s reserves at the central bank is just the beginning of a major change in the monetary distribution of its reserves since the collapse of Bretton Woods. Israel added the Chinese yuan, along with other currencies creating a natural hedge. Their reserves include the US dollar, the euro, and the British pound but will also include the Canadian and Australian dollars, the Japanese yen, and the Chinese yuan.

The Israel Monetary Commission has added the pound and yen, which will represent 5%, and the currencies of Canada and Australia will have 3.5% each. The yuan will be set at 2% of the portfolio. This shift has resulted in the decline of the euro’s share falling to 20%, declining from 30%+, while the dollar is declining to 61% from 66.5%. While the headlines talk about the dollar declining, they generally do not reporting the most drastic decline was in the euro which was over 33%. The British pound weight, on the other hand, almost doubled to 5%, returning to the level it last saw in 2011.

Likewise, Saudi Arabia agreed to price oil also in yuan as it is in a Petroleum Alliance with China-Russia. It should be noted that the change coincided with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions on Russia. They have come to realize that the Biden Administration has singlehandedly destroyed the world economy rendering SWIFT to be just a political tool undermining its integrity. This has led China to push its alternative system that our model warns will eventually supersede SWIFT post-2032. Obviously, Israel has seen the handwriting on the wall and is attempting to gradually become independent of the SWIFT system itself.

The International Monetary Fund has also warned that the sanctions on Russia are undermining the dollar’s share of total world foreign exchange reserves which is rapidly falling to its lowest point in two decades as we are witnessing the rise of the Chinese yuan.

Before Obama’s Neocon War on Russia


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

Before Obama started the New Cold War against Russia following Hillary’s failed attempt to take over Russia by interfering in the 2000 election, the world was much safer before all of this Neocon nonsense began when Obama came to power in 2008. Ever since then, Hillary, a staunch Neocon, did everything in her power to destroy the relations between the United States and Russia.

Disney Loses Special Privileges


Armstrong Economics Blog/North America Re-Posted Apr 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Disney lost its battle in the Florida House after legislation was passed to remove its special district permissions. The Reedy Creek Improvement District was etched out in 1967, which permitted Disney to operate independently from government. Disney has gone toe-to-toe on numerous political issues with Florida in recent years, but its opposition to the Parental Right in Education (liberally termed “don’t say gay”) was the final straw.

The legislation will go into effect on June 1, 2023. Disney will now be required to pay all its taxes to Orange and Osceola counties rather than splitting it between the two and the Reedy Creek Improvement District. A second bill has been opened that repeals Disney’s big-tech law privileges by making it vulnerable to lawsuits if it censors information.

It appears that Disney executives discredited the threats made by DeSantis and thought their 55-year untouchable reign would continue. There have been calls in recent days to replace CEO Rob Chapek. Disney shares have fallen 30% in the past year, despite the S&P rising. The company’s attempt at inclusivity has alienated a portion of its clientele, and it would be wise for them to back away.

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.

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.”

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.