Can Cryptocurrencies Survive WWIII?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Cryptocurrency

Posted May 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

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QUESTION: Hi Marty, You mention that cryptocurrency has been orchestrated to get people accustomed to cryptocurrencies for the end goal of the Great Reset – all digital currency so they can tax, absolutely every transaction. All popular blockchains are transparent and provide no privacy but there are some blockchains that do provide privacy and are uncensorable. Do you think crypto could ultimately live up to its name?

Alan

ANSWER: The sales pitch behind cryptocurrency is seriously flawed. (1) they depend entirely upon the government; with the stroke of a pen, they can all be seized; (2) They also depend upon a power grid; (3) they also become dependent upon others accepting them. But note that the last 12 years from 2020 to 2032 were dominated by a rising authoritarian level of government. That means you better not trust that they will simply standby and allow some alternative currency to defeat them. It’s not going to happen. Anyone who disagrees has unprecedented confidence in politicians. I’m amazed when people believe that government really cares about them.

The scenario they put out is that these are outside the fiat system and thus somehow surviving. The only thing outside the fiat system as they want to call it is EVERYTHING tangible from real estate, stocks, collectibles, and precious metals. There is a much greater track record behind those and how they survive than cryptocurrencies. If the world went to Hell in a hand-basket as they say, there is no power grid, then how is a cryptocurrency going to survive?

In a Mad Max event, the #1 store of value will be food. Forget anything dependent upon the power grid. When the United States wages war as in Iraq, the first thing they do is take down the power grid, the communications, and then the water supply. Step back and look at Putin and Ukraine. He seized the nuclear power station, the biggest in Europe, but he did not shut it down. He did not knock out the communications and he did not attack the water supply. All of that PROVES he had no intention of conquering Ukraine, but he was in fact defending the separation of Donbas.

If we were to get into a direct war with Russia or China, they will attack those three key sectors — power, communication, and water. How are cryptocurrencies going to survive such an event?

Call me old fashion, old-school, or just old. But the most PRACTICAL thing you can do is have pre-1965 silver coins that the average person can recognize and see the date knowing that it is valuable. We have all seen those videos where a person is offered a silver bar or a chocolate bar, and they take the chocolate. DO NOT judge everyone by yourself. Just because you understand something does not mean everyone does.

Cryptocurrencies are TRADING VEHICLES but not a long-term asset class. Our computer called the top in the cryptos, and it has been the ONLY unbiased forecaster out there. This is why so many major institutions and central banks look at our system — it has NO conflict of interest and NO HUMAN EMOTIONS (like Spock of Star Trek). Someone neck-deep in crypto will never see a decline because they are influenced by their own position.

Socrates independently writes over 1,000 reports every day covering markets around the world. We are NOT blocked in China or Russia because they KNOW this is written by a computer and it is objective. Here is a video providing just a quick overview of the various markets and economic statistics that are available. There are not enough analysts in the world to write these many reports daily.

Col Douglas Macgregor Delivers an Update on Ukraine from a Perspective Western Media Cannot Dare Advance


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

Over time, retired Col Douglas Macgregor has been shown to be quite accurate in his overall perspective of the war in Ukraine.  Appearing on OANN with Dan Ball, Macgregor gives another update on the current status that aligns with what little non-propaganda information is visible.

As Macgregor notes, Russia was always going to strategically win a war in eastern Ukraine for the same reason the United States would win a war in Mexico.  The scale of a determined military capability eventually wins, even with a strong resistance, specifically because: (a) Ukraine is connected to a common border with Russia, and (b) the citizens in the eastern part of the country are aligned with Russia.

Macgregor also identifies the financial motive for the government of Sweden to join NATO, even though the Swedish citizens would likely not support the effort if put to a referendum.  As the retired colonel also notes the lack of recent U.S. media talking positively about the status of Ukraine, is an indicator that Russia is solidifying the eastern part of the country with lessened resistance.  The segment with Macgregor starts at 04:00 (Direct Rumble LinkWATCH:

Joe Biden Welcomes Finland President Sauli Niinisto and Sweden Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to Join NATO Alliance Against Russia


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

Earlier today, the installed occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, flanked by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, said the two countries would “make NATO stronger.”

With great enthusiasm Biden called their applications join the NATO pact a “victory for democracy,” as the proxy war in Ukraine continues.  The speech transcript – is here, and the White House readout of the meeting – is here.

“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and warmly welcomed their applications for NATO membership, which will strengthen our collective security.  At this historic moment for both Finland and Sweden, the President underscored his commitment to support both countries as they seek formal NATO accession, including by working with NATO Allies and Congress to welcome them into the Alliance as quickly as possible.  The leaders also discussed their ongoing cooperation on shared global challenges, and their commitment to continued strong support for Ukraine.” (LINK)

Joe Biden also thanked Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell for their bipartisan support to affirm Sweden and Finland. “I greatly appreciate Senator Schumer and McConnell’s support, as well as Senator Menendez and Risch, to move this through the Senate as quickly as possible once the perspective of all Allies are addressed and NATO adopts the accession protocols,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to the same people, Russia putting a military base in Cuba is an existential threat to world peace.

Simply Epic, During Senate Energy Committee Hearing, Interior Secretary Haaland Questioned About Real Time Press Release Shutting Down Oil and Gas Exploration, The Secretary Has No Idea


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

The Great Pretense of Biden ~

CTH has been preparing to write about this for a week. Today a serendipitous event took place which highlights the dynamic within the current Biden administration.

During a Senate Energy Committee hearing today, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a woman specifically appointed for her progressive identity as a native American indian – with no skills to be interior secretary, was questioned by Senator Joe Manchin about a press release [LINK] from the interior department that took place in real time as Secretary Haaland was giving testimony.  Secretary Haaland had no idea what the press release was about. WATCH:

[The Press Release is Here]

The issue surrounds the U.S. Interior Department, which is filled to the brim with left-wing climate activists, pushing out a press release saying that any further oil and gas leases are not going to happen.  Secretary Haaland was telling congress the Interior Department was doing everything they can to allow oil and gas leases and expand drilling with additional permitting.

The press release from the dept says the proposal the Secretary was stating “is not a decision to issue specific leases or to authorize any drilling or development,” literally undercutting her testimony in real time, and reaffirming that no further oil drilling will be authorized.   Secretary Haaland was caught completely off-guard, stammered and admitted she had no idea what the bureaucrats in the dept were doing.

What this example reveals is something we have noticed and discussed but has become very clear in the past few weeks.

Everything about the Joe Biden presidency is a big game of pretending.  The media pretends Biden is running the executive branch, while the people clearly see he is not.

The Biden administration, and even the senior executives within it, are not in control of the functions of government.  As with this example of the Interior Dept., the Obama era group used eight years to fill the administrative positions in various agencies with devout ideologues.   The activists in the government are running the mechanics of the machinery toward their own ideological objectives.

One clear example came through a little more than a week ago.

On May 10th, Joe Biden delivered a national address on the topic of inflation. [LINK] Within the prepared remarks he read, Biden told the public he was committed to lowering costs by focusing on expanded energy development – to include additional drilling for oil and gas.  Literally hours later the Interior Dept cancelled oil/gas leases in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico [LINK], exactly the opposite of the Biden remarks.

As noted by CNN, “The cancellation of the previously planned Cook Inlet sale in Alaska, as well as the lease sales in the Gulf, ensures that millions of acres of offshore waters will not be developed for oil and gas — a significant victory for climate advocates.”

Biden gives a policy speech that is factually undermined within hours by the actions of the Biden administration.  The machinery of the government is operating autonomously, without regard for the president or any cabinet official.   What happened with Secretary Haaland today is just another example of this.

Joe Biden has no idea who is operating in any executive branch agency.  Nor does he have any idea what they are doing, or what their agenda consists of.  Biden is irrelevant to the objectives of the ideologues; and he is irrelevant by design.  This is why Biden was selected by Obama and then installed by the crew of Chicago activists who have spent their entire life designing a framework of government that operates for their intents regardless of the White House.

We The People are playing this grand game of pretense.  It is a Potemkin village, and it is held together in part by a willful media who support the framework.  Heck, they even installed a fake White House stage set on the White House grounds to help maintain the pretending.

This house of cards is also tenuous, very unstable.  If any media outlet were to ask Joe Biden any generally baseline question like: “who is your interior secretary?” Or “who is your EPA administrator?”  The house of cards would collapse visibly because Joe Biden has no idea.

The agenda inside the critical agencies like energy, transportation, interior and EPA, is pre-established and independently operating regardless of policy.

The mechanics of the executive branch are directed by ideological climate-change pilots at the controls.  THAT is our reality…

The Reason for High Gasoline Prices, Showcased in 54 Painful Seconds


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

Make identity politics the primary qualifier for cabinet positions, and this is what you get.  WATCH (54 seconds):

For those who don’t know, the interior department is in control of domestic oil and gas resource development.

Democrat Senator Jon Tester, Montana, Warns of Major Food Price Increases Later This Year


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

Montana Senator Jon Tester is deeply connected to the corrupt and multinational Big Agricultural (BigAg) lobby.  As a democrat connected closer to Wall Street, he is not a supporter of American farmers overall as it pertains to America First food security and domestic food prices.  However, that said, what Senator Tester says in the first two minutes of this interview is correct.

As Tester notes, the food “supply” issue is not as big a deal in North America as it will certainly be in food dependent regions.  Between the U.S, Mexico and Canada we produce more food than we consume, and with excellence in industrial farming we export food products to the world, eastward and westward.  The issue for the U.S. population is going to be massive increases in food prices in later summer and fall as the cumulative increase in costs at the field reach the stores.  WATCH (2 mins):

My own back of the envelope calculations put the third-wave price increase in the 35 to 40% range overall.  Based on the input costs, energy and transportation, a current $4.00 item is going to cost around $5.50 later this year.  That is the approximate scale of price increase in foodstuff we should be anticipating.

Food insecurity, as an outcome of food pricing, is going to be the election issue that might supersede the gasoline price issue.  That’s going to be the crisis, and we are going to need to be very careful; because depending on the scale of the crisis there are going to be massive numbers of people demanding the government step in to solve it.   Our current government is being run by economic socialists; we do not want their equitable distribution solutions.

Conduct your affairs accordingly….

Watch the Other Hand – Twitter Tells Employees Musk Sale is Going Ahead as Scheduled, Then Company Executives Announce Internal Ministry of Truth to Control Information


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

Despite the request from prospective purchaser Elon Musk to verify the number of fraudulent accounts supported within the Twitter social media platform, company executives told employees the purchase is going forward regardless of Musk requested verification.

(Bloomberg) – Twitter Inc. executives told employees on Thursday that the $44 billion deal to sell the company to billionaire Elon Musk is moving forward as planned, and that it won’t renegotiate the agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share.

Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s top lawyer and head of policy, also told workers at an all-hands meeting that there is “no such thing as a deal being on hold,” according to people who attended the meeting. She was pushing back on claims from Musk over the past week that he is pausing the deal while he learns more about the number of bots and spam accounts on the social-media service. (read more)

Immediately after the executive meeting with employees, and perhaps in a proactive effort to control any content changes to the platform, the executives then announced a new internal “crisis misinformation” team {LINK}.  Essentially new rules that will give Twitter censors new tools and justifications to block and control content.

[TWITTER] – […]  During moments of crisis, establishing whether something is true or false can be exceptionally challenging. To determine whether claims are misleading, we require verification from multiple credible, publicly available sources, including evidence from conflict monitoring groups, humanitarian organizations, open-source investigators, journalists, and more. 

Conversation moves quickly during periods of crisis, and content from accounts with wide reach are most likely to rack up views and engagement. To reduce potential harm, as soon as we have evidence that a claim may be misleading, we won’t amplify or recommend content that is covered by this policy across Twitter – including in the Home timeline, Search, and Explore. In addition, we will prioritize adding warning notices to highly visible Tweets and Tweets from high profile accounts, such as state-affiliated media accounts, verified, official government accounts.

[…] People on Twitter will be required to click through the warning notice to view the Tweet, and the content won’t be amplified or recommended across the service. In addition, Likes, Retweets, and Shares will be disabled.

[…] Content moderation is more than just leaving up or taking down content, and we’ve expanded the range of actions we may take to ensure they’re proportionate to the severity of the potential harm. We’ve found that not amplifying or recommending certain content, adding context through labels, and in severe cases, disabling engagement with the Tweets, are effective ways to mitigate harm. (read more)

This new approach toward information control at Twitter comes a day after the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) said they were pausing the “DHS Disinformation Governance Bureau,” and appears to be a private sector effort by the social media platform to maintain the same purpose.

Put together the two actions by the company appear to be: (1) force Elon Musk into a position of purchasing the company at the previously agreed price regardless of the fraud that may be represented in the company financials; and (2) in case Musk goes ahead anyway, put systems in place to block any attempt to restructure the platform.

While this is only one company amid several; this is a battle inside the social media sphere that highlights just how extreme the control mechanisms are, and the entrenched position of Big Tech to avoid any challenge to their stranglehold on information content.

The ideological war continues.  We have two generals putting their wealth into the game and leading the fight, Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Senate Passes $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Package Expected to Last Five Months, Vote 86-11


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

The $40 billion UniParty aid package for Ukraine pass the senate this afternoon in a vote of 86-11 (vote tally below).

The Biden administration had originally requested $33 billion, but congress did not feel he was spending enough. The House added an additional $7 billion and passed the $40 billion legislation last week.  Today the Senate voted 86-11 to approve the package which is targeted to last 5 months and includes U.S. taxpayers funding the salaries and pension benefits for officials in the Ukraine government.

11 republican senators voted against the massive money laundering operation. They were Senators Blackburn (R-TN), Boozman (R-AR), Braun (R-IN), Crapo (R-ID), Hagerty (R-TN), Hawley (R-MO), Lee (R-UT), Lummis (R-WY), Marshall (R-KS), Paul (R-KY), Tuberville (R-AL).

What Did Mothers do Before Baby Formula?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civilization Re-Posted May 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin! Thank you for all you do. I was discussing the baby formula shortage with my 94-year-old Italian grandmother, and it opened my eyes to how resourceful people can be when left with no alternatives.

Baby formula was not an option in Sicily when her children were born. In fact, she did not learn about baby formula or disposable diapers until she immigrated to America. Disposable diapers were still not an option for poor immigrants and she cleaned each diaper by hand. As for formula, as most mothers know, occasionally it is not possible to produce enough milk for the day. Cow’s milk was never an option as they thought it would harm the baby.

My grandmother explained how she would put a piece of bread in a pot of boiling water, remove the bread, and use the water to feed her baby. Everyone in the town knew one another, and if a woman was having trouble producing milk, she simply would bring her baby to another woman in the town. I asked her if the women charged for their milk and she looked at me as if I were crazy. They did it from the goodness of their heart. There was such a strong sense of community that everyone in the town worked together. I cannot see that happening in today’s society.

REPLY: Times certainly have changed. German chemist Justus von Liebig invented baby formula in 1865 but it was not widely marketed or trusted for decades. Formula was taboo before companies like Nestle launched global marketing campaigns to push mothers to choose formula over breastmilk.

Wet nurses have existed throughout history. Lactating women were often hired by aristocrats or wealthier individuals to feed their babies. It was not uncommon for poor women who were unable to breastfeed to temporarily give up their baby and become a wet nurse for a different family, hoping to earn enough money essentially to buy her child back. Slaves throughout history were also forced to act as wet nurses for the families they served.

In ancient Rome, they had the columna lactarian (milk column) where mothers could bring their babies and receive milk from a wet nurse. More troubling, the site also became a notorious location for mothers to abandon their unwanted children.

The profession of wet nursing still exists, although you will not find listings on job application sites. The concept of having another women breastfeed a baby is still taboo in modern society and largely unregulated. According to numerous sources, women in the United States will pay a minimum of $1,000 per week to hire a wet nurse, making the option still only feasible for the wealthy. We may see a resurgence of the profession as alternative options no longer exist and people are desperate for additional sources of income.

Biden’s Disinformation Governance Board Suspended


Armstrong Economics Blog/Censorship Re-Posted May 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Freedom of speech won this Wednesday after the Biden Administration suspended its controversial Disinformation Board. Former disinformation tzar Nina Jankowicz announced her departure today, citing an uncertain future, and, of course, disinformation. “It is deeply disappointing that mischaracterizations of the Board became a distraction from the Department’s vital work, and indeed, along with recent events globally and nationally, embodies why it is necessary. “I maintain my commitment to building awareness of disinformation’s threats and trust the Department will do the same, Jankowicz said.

Jankowicz has a long history of spreading false news and gaslighting the public to believe that the Bidens are not a completely corrupt family. She firmly denied the existence of Hunter’s laptop, and perhaps it is no coincidence that the contents of that laptop are slowly being leaked to the public.

Although this Orwellian plan has been temporarily suspended, censorship will continue discreetly.