Category WEF Young Global Leaders

Jan 30 2023

Sunday Talks, SSCI Chair Warner and Vice-Chair Rubio Give Their Perspectives on Classified Document Issues and Control Operations


Posted originally on the CTH on January 29, 2023 | Sundance

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, SSCI, is the epicenter of the larger intelligence apparatus that controls government.  It was/is the SSCI who helped to create the weaponized system we call the Fourth Branch of Government.  The SSCI is the institutional origin where the outcomes of the FISA courts, domestic surveillance, and downstream consequences of the Patriot Act are supported and facilitated.

Because of their unique role in creating our national security state, where U.S. citizens are regarded as the potential threat to the interests of that state, the SSCI is a unique stakeholder in retaining the corrupt systems of domestic surveillance power.  No institution within the elected legislative branch of government has done more to destroy the freedom and constitutional protections within the U.S. than the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

The intelligence community interacts with the SSCI with that benefactor/beneficiary alignment in mind.  This is why the SSCI claims such bipartisanship, and why the corporate media herald the SSCI as an important functional tool. Without the assistance of the SSCI, the U.S. domestic surveillance state could not exist.  When the IC feels threatened, they run to the SSCI for protection.

The chair (Warner) and vice-chair (Rubio) of the committee are also members of the Gang of Eight, intelligence oversight group.  It is laughable to see Senator Mark Warner decry the possibility of national security leaks and compromises within the classified document issue.  Warner himself was the most consequential leaker during the Trump-Russia investigation (Wolfe leak of FISA application), and the SSCI facilitated everything that happened in the Mueller investigation.  [WATCH, Transcript Below]

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Let’s start on the news of the moment. I know the two of you were briefed by the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. Do you have any timeline in terms of when you will get visibility into the documents of classified material that both President Biden and President Trump had in their residences?

SEN. MARK WARNER: Margaret, unfortunately, no. And this committee has had a long bipartisan history of doing its job. And our job here is intelligence oversight. The Justice Department has had the Trump documents about six months, the Biden documents about three months, our job is not to figure out if somebody mishandled those, our job is to make sure there’s not an intelligence compromise.

And while the Director of National Intelligence had been willing to brief us earlier, now that you’ve got the special counsel, the notion that we’re going to be left in limbo, and we can’t do our job, that just cannot stand. And every member of the committee who spoke yesterday and I wanted the director to hear this, regardless of party said, we are united in we have to find a way to do our job. That means we need these documents, we need that assessment.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the intelligence community would say their hands are tied, because this is an ongoing active Justice Department investigation. So what would meet the level of- of addressing your concerns without compromising that?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Well, I don’t know how congressional oversight on the documents, actually knowing what they are, in any way impedes an investigation. These are probably materials we already have access to. We just don’t know which ones they are. And it’s not about being nosy.

You know, here’s the bottom line: if in fact, those documents were very sensitive, materials were sensitive, and they pose a counterintelligence or national security threat to the United States, then the intelligence agencies are tasked with the job of coming up with ways to mitigate that. How can we judge whether their mitigation standards are appropriate, if we don’t have material to compare it against, and we can’t even make an assessment on whether they’ve properly risk assessed it?

So we’re not interested in the timeline, the tick-tock, the who got what, who did that? Those are criminal justice matters, to the extent that that’s what it is. That’s not what we’re interested in. We deserve and have a right and a duty to review what the materials were so we can have a better understanding of not just, you know, what the agency is doing about it, but whether it’s sufficient.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does the director even know what the materials were?

SEN. WARNER: Well, we got a bit of vagueness on that because again, I believe you want to make sure the intelligence professionals and not political appointees were making some of that, that makes sense to me. But I would even think that if the- President Trump and President Biden would probably want to have this known if they say there’s no there there. Well, you know, there may still be violations on handling.

But we got to tell the American people and our colleagues, because we’re the only ones who have access to this information, that there’s not been an intelligence compromise. And again, this notion that when there was a special prosecutor appointed, they’re not exactly the same circumstances. But remember, this committee spent years doing the investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 election, and there was a special prosecutor and Bob Mueller’s investigation going on simultaneously.

SEN. RUBIO: Let me tell you how absurd this is, there isn’t a day that goes by that there isn’t some media report about what was found where, what some sort of characterization of the material in the press. I just saw one this morning again. So somehow, the only people who are not allowed to know what was in there are congressional oversight committees.

But apparently, the media leaks out of the DOJ are unimpeded in terms of characterizing the nature of some of the materials that were found, plus whatever the individuals involved are telling the media. So it’s an untenable situation that I think has to be resolved.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But, you know, there’s an argument that there’s a diminishing value to intelligence over time, some of it’s time sensitive. The idea that some of these documents go all the way back to when President Biden was a senator, does that suggest that there’s something more than a problem in the executive branch?

SEN. WARNER: Agreed. That’s why the notion of ‘We’re not going to give the Oversight Committee the ability to do its job until the special prosecutor somehow says it’s OK,’ doesn’t- doesn’t hold water. That’s not going to stand with all the members of Congress–

MARGARET BRENNAN: So do you want to see these 300 documents from Trump?

SEN. WARNER: I think we need to see- chances are, we have a right as not only members of the Intelligence Committee, but as part of the leadership to read virtually every classified document. We’re part of the so-called Gang of Eight. We may have seen these documents, we just need to know, are these the ones that were potentially mishandled, and that mishandling is not our responsibility, our responsibility is to make sure the intelligence and the security of the United States have been compromised. And you’re absolutely right that some of these may have been years old.

So this idea that we’re not going to get that access just, again, we all agreed, and I think the director heard lot- loud and clear from all of us. It’s just not tenable. And it begs the bigger question and again, which Marco and I have agreed to jointly work on, that we got- we got a problem in terms of both classification levels, how senior elected officials, when they leave government how they handle documents. We’ve had too many examples of this. And again, I think we’ve got the bipartisan bona fides, to say, let’s put them in place on a going forward basis, a better process.

SEN. RUBIO: And let me just add on the age of the documents, it’s true, the information in and of itself may be dated and irrelevant at this point. But the- but having access to that information reveals how you gathered, whether it was a human source or–

SEN. WARNER: Sources and methods.

SEN. RUBIO: And so the- the- even though the information itself might no longer be very relevant, it does reveal how we collect information and thereby cost us those accesses and potentially cost someone you know, again, we don’t know what’s in the material, potentially put someone in harm’s way.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you- you threatened to withhold some funding to some of the agencies yesterday.

SEN. RUBIO: Well, what I said is that, you know, I’m not in the threat business right now. But we certainly are- there are things we need to do as a committee every year to authorize the moving around of funds. I think the Director of National Intelligence and other heads of intelligence agencies are aware of that.

You know, at some point, I’d prefer for them just to call us this morning or tomorrow or whenever and say, ‘Look, this is the arrangement that we think we can reach so that the overseers can get access to this.’ I’d prefer not to go down that road. But it’s one of the pieces of leverage we have as Congress. I’m not, we’re not going to sit here and just issue press releases all day.

SEN. WARNER: And one of the things that I wanted Director Haines to hear and I think she was in a bit of an untenable position yesterday, she had been willing to brief earlier before the special prosecutor. I wanted her to hear that this was not just Senator Rubio and I, this was all of the members of the committee, on both ends of the political spectrum, saying, we’ve got a job to do, we’re going to do it, we’re going to figure out- we’re not in the threat business. But we’re going to figure out a way to make sure that we get that access so that we can not only tell the American people, but we’ve got another 85 U.S. senators who are not on the Intelligence Committee, who look to us to get those assurances.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How much are your hands tied, though, in terms of this part of government and classified- classification really being over in the executive to a large extent? Like, what is it that you as lawmakers can do? Is it new regulation when it comes to transitions–

SEN. WARNER: The Director of National Intelligence is the individual that’s the chief officer for intelligence classification. I think, and there’s been a number of other members of the Senate, both parties have been working for years, on the notion that we over classify the number of things that we read in a SCIF that somehow then appear in the newspaper begs the question, it’s kind of been an issue that’s been bubbling for a long time–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Over classification.

SEN. WARNER: –I think this, I think this series of events, pushes it to the forefront. And again, we have the power to write legislation, which then executive agencies have to follow–

MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of record keeping.

SEN. WARNER: In terms of record keeping. In terms, literally, at least guidance on classification issues. I mean, there has been, and again, this Director of National Intelligence, I’m going to give her credit, she has been at least acknowledging and long before this issue came up, said we need to work on this issue of declassification, over classification. Every director says it, and then it kind of gets pushed- pushed back, I think. One good thing that may come out of this is that we’re going to find a way to resolve this issue on a going forward basis.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So it sounds like we found one area of bipartisan agreement already here that there needs to be some kind of legislation around classified materials–

(CROSSTALK)

SEN. WARNER: I actually think you’re gonna find a lot- on our committee –

SEN. RUBIO: On our committee–

SEN. WARNER: –you’re gonna find an awful lot more than one.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Where does this rank in terms of priority? Dealing with the classified crisis?

SEN. WARNER: Well the immediacy of it right now, and the notion and again, I would- I don’t know what President Trump and President Biden are thinking about this. But I would think they would like some recognition that these documents, hopefully and as Marco said, are not disclosing sources and methods, are not so current that there may be a- a violation of American national security. We just don’t know.

So I think we need to get this resolved sooner than later. In terms of the specific case, the Trump and Biden documents, we’ve not really focused as much on the Pence documents. But who knows what additional shoes may fall.

SEN. RUBIO: Yeah, and I don’t want to speak for Mark. Obviously, the immediacy of this moment is big. But I think we- the- on the broader set of issues, we still have this reauthorization of [Section] 702, an important authority for our government.

And then more broadly, I just think the world looks so different than it did when I started out in this committee. When I first got to the Senate, the principal focus of foreign policy and national security issues were counterterrorism. And those are still very important, but we’re now in a world increasingly revolves around great power competition: China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and then some of the threats posed by Iran, North Korea and other rogue states.

So whether our intelligence agencies have adjusted quickly enough to that new reality, and- and the- and the- obligations that poses I think, is from a big picture perspective, in my mind, one of the things we really have to spend time on.

SEN. WARNER: And the thing that I think we’re getting- our committee has got some- some record on. I mean, I personally believe the competition, technology competition, in particular, with China is the issue of our time. And remember, it was this committee that first spotted, pointed out, the problems with the Chinese telecommunications provider, Huawei, as a national security threat.

And we built, frankly, even under President Trump, an approach to say we need to make sure that we get it out of our networks, and then convince our allies to do that. It was our committee, again, who first pointed out the challenges that, in the semiconductor industry, which we had dominated in this country–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Computer chips–

SEN. WARNER: In the- computer chips- in the 80s, and 90s, that we were falling behind, literally to the point that no cutting edge semiconductor chip was even being made in America. And we built them, the legislation around the so-called CHIPS bill.

I think there are other technology domains: artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced energy, synthetic biology, where we need to do the similar kind of bipartisan deep dives, to say, how do we make sure America and our friends stay competitive with a China that is extraordinarily aggressive in these fields and making the kind of investments, frankly, that we used to make post-Sputnik?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, and I want to ask you about that, because President Biden is reportedly close to issuing an executive order when it comes to restrictions on U.S. investments in- in China. But there’s concern about risking further escalation. What’s your view on how far that action should go? And where do you all pick up in terms of lawmakers?

SEN. RUBIO: Well, I think there’s two things. The first is the Chinese have found a way to use capitalism against us. As- as- and what I mean by that is the ability to attract investment into entities that are deeply linked to the state. That military commercial fusion that exists in China is a concept that we don’t have in this country. We have contractors that do defense work, but there is no distinction in China between advancements in technology, biomedicine, whatever it might be, and the interest of the state.

And then the second is obviously the access to our capital markets. And the third is the risk posed, we don’t up to this point, have not had levels of transparency in terms of auditing and the like, on these investments of- the- into these companies. What- when you invest in these companies in U.S. exchanges, you don’t have nearly as much information about the- the bookkeeping of those companies as you would an American company or European company, because they’ve refused to comply with those restrictions.

So there’s systemic risk to our investments, and then there’s also the geopolitical reality that American capital flows are helping to fund activities that are ultimately designed to undermine our national security. So it’s a 21st century challenge that we really have to put our arms around.

SEN. WARNER: And again, this is something- I think and I fall under this category, beginning of the 20th century, I was a big believer that the more you bring China into the world order, the more things will all be copacetic. We were just wrong on that.

The Communist Party, under President Xi’s leadership, and my beef is, to be clear, with the Communist Party, it’s not with the Chinese people or the Chinese diaspora wherever it is in the world, but they basically changed the rules of the road. They made clear in Chinese law that every company in China’s ultimate responsibility is to the Communist Party, not to their customers, not to their shareholders. We’ve seen at- at the level of 500 billion dollars a year of intellectual property theft. We have actually in a bipartisan way- over the- didn’t get a lot of attention- over the last seven years, have been out and we’ve done 20 classified briefings for industry sector, after industry sector, about these risks. Frankly, pre-COVID, we kind of got nods, but you know, some pushback because a lot of companies are making–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because companies just wanted access to the market regardless of the risk–

SEN. WARNER: Were making a lot of- were making a lot of money off Chinese tech companies.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Exactly. Exactly.

SEN. WARNER: Now, post-COVID, I think there is an awakening that this is a real challenge and I think the good news is that not only is there awakening, you know, in America, but a lot of our allies around the world are seeing this threat as well. So I think, you know, we need to build this kind of international coalition, because the technology- who wins these technology domains, I think will win the race in the 21st century.

SEN. RUBIO: I- I think those–

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you want restrictions on biotech, battery technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence?

SEN. WARNER: I want to have an approach that says we need to look at foreign technology investments, foreign technology development, regardless of the country, if it poses a national security threat, and have some place that can evaluate this. We kind of do this ad hoc at this point. You know, we- we- years back, there was a Russian software company, Kaspersky. Again, Marco was one of the first ones who said, ‘My gosh, we got to get this off the GSA acquisition list.’ We worked together on Huawei, I’m sure we’re going to talk about TikTok. We need a frame to systemically look at this. And frankly, if it goes just beyond the so-called CFIUS legislation about inbound or outbound investment.

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s a committee that looks at national security risks.

SEN. RUBIO: But understanding that for- you know, 20 years ago, everybody thought capitalism was going to change China. And we woke up to realization that capitalism didn’t change China, China changed capitalism. And they’ve used it to their advantage and to our disadvantage. And not simply from an old Soviet perspective to take us on from a geopolitical or military perspective, they’ve done so from a technological and industrial perspective. And so you have seen the largest theft and transfer of intellectual property in the history of humanity occur over the last 15 years, some of it funded by American taxpayers. That has to stop. It’s undermining our national security, and giving them an unfair advantage and these gains that they’re making.

SEN. WARNER: And let me just echo- you know- I’m old enough to remember- you know, the challenges with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was an ideological threat, and a military threat. It really was never a first class, economic threat. China, we have ideological differences. They have a growing military, but domain after domain, they are a- right with us in certain areas, even ahead of us, in this kind of technology, on much. And I agree with Marco again, the ability to kind of manipulate our system, the kind of combination of command and control with certain tenets of capitalism. They have an authoritarian capitalism that for awhile worked pretty well. I don’t think it works as well as our long-term system. But we have to inform all of our industry and frankly, all our allies about this challenge.

MARGARET BRENNAN: They have the biggest hacking ability program than any other nation. Intelligence community says they’re the world leader in surveillance, in censorship. How restricted should their ability to access this market be?

SEN. RUBIO: Let me put it to you this way, I think it is nearly impossible for any Chinese company to comply with both Chinese law and our expectations in this country. Chinese law is very clear. If you’re a Chinese company, and we ask you for your data, we ask you for your information, we ask you for what you have, or we ask you to do something, you either do it, or you won’t be around. (continue reading)

Jan 30 2023

Conniving in Public – Haley Makes It Too Easy to Spot


Posted originally on the CTH on January 29, 2023 | Sundance 

Short note, because Nikki Haley makes it too easy to spot her conniving, poll-testing positions.

In a Twitter video she pushed today [LINK HERE], notice the team around her blurred the chyron.

What is it she is attempting to hide?  Look:

Twitter sourcing video below

Nikki Haley was always going to run in 2024 for the GOP nomination – SEE OUR ARCHIVES – this was never in question.  All of her moves have been predictable since she left the administration in January 2019.   However, Nikki Haley is also not necessarily running for the office of the President, she’s running to be in a power position for the office of the President.  In the current construct, she’s positioning to be Ron DeSantis’ vice-presidential candidate pick.

2021: …”“I don’t think [Trump’s] going to be in the picture,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.” […] “We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she said. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”  (link)

A few weeks later: …”Out of respect I would never do anything to go against [Trump], he knows that. I would have a conversation with him and talk to him about it should we decide we want to pursue it; but, um, no, I have a great respect for him and I would never consider running against him.” (link) Video Prompted:

Thus, you see the conniving lying of Nikki Haley.  (Anticipate video disappearing)

In the role she has carved out and accepted, Nikki Haley is going to be the biggest attacker of President Trump on behalf of the management team protecting Ron DeSantis.  Nikki has a very specific set of skills, including her willingness to be nasty – that makes her perfect for this role.   Haley will be the tip of the spear, providing Ron DeSantis the opportunity to pretend he is just above it all.

Trump also knows DeSantis is pretending right now, and I have no doubt he can see the role Nikki Haley is positioned to play.  Watch Trump continue hitting DeSantis as Haley moves in for cover.

You might remember President Trump hitting Xi Jinping of China every time Kim Jong-un of North Korea did a directed by Beijing stupid thing.  He’ll do the same thing here.  DeSantis in the role of Chairman Xi and Haley in the role of Chairman Kim.  Each time Haley does the passive aggressive slaps, Trump will hit DeSantis with something.

Haley has no chance at the nomination.  Coastal establishment Republicans love her, but that only means she will have money, not votes.  The Republican voting base has seen through her schemes and wind-testing for years.   Haley is not stupid, she knows this.  Heck, even Liz Cheney polls higher than Nikki Haley.

Haley’s positioning right now is for 2023 power and influence despite her lack of base voter support.  The best she can hope to achieve in 2024 is a VP pick to get her in the target zone.

Trying to rewrite history is not going to help her.

Jan 30 2023

Sunday Talks, Neil Oliver Will Not Eat the Bugs


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on January 29, 2023 | Sundance 

U.K. pundit Neil Oliver used his weekend monologue to outline the great pretending being deliberately pushed by the groups of western leaders who attend meetings at the World Economic Forum.

The pretending outlined in the context used by Oliver is the classic ‘bait and switch.’  The people are baited into believing the purpose of policy or advocacy is one thing, but the true goal is something completely different.  What Oliver encapsulates as the ‘bait and switch’ is the underline for the modern ‘pretending’, where government officials pretend the end goal is something completely different than it is.

Oliver walks through examples of the ‘bait and switch’ as it is currently being deployed, and using those examples he culminates the discussion with the reality hidden behind the digital identity.  Once everyone can be assigned a digital id, then government can transfer income to a digital currency; then that same government can start introducing the restrictions on what may be purchased in order to ‘save the planet’, which is to say the real goal of total control surfaces.  WATCH:

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Jan 29 2023

Israel Attacks Iran


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 29, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

We are getting reports that Israel has launched drone attacks on Iran in an attempt to prevent it from achieving nuclear weapons. We are also getting disturbing reports from Asia. This General has come out and said there will be war with China by 2025 which has sparked an avalanche of emails asking if they are using our model, all I can say is everyone looks at it. Yes, we see international war at its worst between 2025 into 2027. But things are to begin here in 2023.

I laid this out at our 2011 WEC in Philadelphia. These are our COMPUTER forecasts – not my personal opinion. I am not in the business of trying to get people to buy something and scaring them into something to separate them from their money. I certainly do not run advertisements claiming this is the guy that predicted WWII do what does he say now!

Personally, I wish this was not happening. I have tried my best to argue against this, but the people we have cheering for war are just insane. Every war is longer and far worse than people think going in. Every war results in twice as many civilians being killed than soldiers.

When I was 13 and went to Europe with my family, etched into my memory was when I was staring at the bullet holes in a wall in Berlin. An old guy came up to me and started yelling – “You did that!” I saw the hatred in his eyes – the scare of war.

There are ONLY three ways to prevent World War III.

  • (1) the West stops this BS, honors the Minsk Agreement, lets the Donbas vote on their own status, or
  • (2) The Ukrainian overthrew Zelensky who was elected promising peace with Russia.
  • (3) Russia nukes Kyiv and pounds its chest asking – Is this where you want to go?

This insanity thinking that Russia can be easily defeated, we occupy Russia with troops, and peace will return is a fool’s dream. There are far more nationalists waiting to grab power and they will just as soon push the button and wipe out all of Europe no different than the dreams of American Neocons. Do you really want Russia in chaos and civil way with more than 6,000 nuclear weapons on the loose? Nobody seems to have thought about what really happens here.

None of this is my PERSONAL desire or forecast. My job is only to lay out what the computer projects.

Jan 26 2023

Hoards Are Vital to our Understanding of History


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ancient Economies Re-Posted Jan 26, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Why do you buy hoards? It is interesting. Just curious.

JY

ANSWER: The coinage is the ONLY way to truly confirm the history. Much of the most important periods like the 3rd century AD, the fall of the Republic, or the Revolution during the Debt Crisis of the 1st century BC known as the Social War, can only be properly understood through the coinage lacking really detailed accounts of financially what was taking place. By recreating the monetary system using coinage, I was able to answer the question – How did Rome Fall? Gradually? Or Catastrophically? By assembling all the coinage, and testing it out, I could establish what nobody else could due using documents or archaeological digs. Rome collapsed in just 8.6 years.

That was then observed in testing and using the same methods around the world. The collapse of the English coinage that inspired Gresham’s Law, bad money drives out good, also took just 8 years.

The Great Monetary Crisis of 1092 saw the gold content collapse also in just 8 years. The same pattern has unfolded time and time again. History repeats NOT because of wars or abstract theories. It repeats simply because human nature never changes – on technology.

The computer was about to forecast the fall of Communism in 1989.95 and it spread and took down the Berlin wall a few months after Tiananmen Square. People attributed that to modern communication. That was nonsense, The Roman Republic fell in 509 BC, and in the same few months in Athens, they too overthrew their tyrants, and Democracy was born.

The question is NOT how fast the information spreads. It could have traveled from Rome to Athens in a few days. The real question is how long does it take to filter through society to create political change?

Therefore, assembling the number of coins by examining hoards and the number of different dies multiplied by 15,000 will give us a good idea of the money supply at that time as illustrated above. Granted, this research project cost tens of millions of dollars to produce. Nonetheless, it has yielded a wealth of information that enabled us to see specifically what took place economically. Human nature has not changed. When Rome burned, Nero did visit the victims. Tiberius issued coins for the aid of Asia when a major earthquake devasted the region we call Turkey today.

I am finishing a book on the famous Battle of Actium where Mark Antony lost to Octavian giving birth to Imperial Rome. The number of dies and the amount of coins issued by Antony demonstrates that the entire wealth of Egypt was at his disposal and it was really an Egyptian proxy war against Rome. The number of silver denarii struck had to be at least 25 million. The sheer massive amount of the increase in the money supply thanks to Egypt was huge. Antony’s coins remained in circulation for decades, although very work. They were the most common coin found in hoards at Pompeii in 79AD about 100 years later. Hoards enable us to see the cost of that war and how it changed Egypt and Rome.

Where Rome began with bronze as its monetary unit and one pound was known as a Roman As, we can see that the price of the Punic Wars as what was one pound of bronze consistently declined. Here we found it was six waves of 51.6 years which are in themselves six waves of 8.6 years,  that produced the major wave of 309.6 years. So if we look from the beginning of the Roman As being 341 grams in 280 BC, by the time we get to Nero in 54AD, the Roman As was about only 10 grams.

Even looking at the reforms of Diocletian in 295AD, his introduction of the follis declines remarkably also following the six waves of 8.6 years. I have looked at the monetary systems of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. they have conformed to the Economic Confidence Model confirming that this is a cycle that clearly incorporates everything from war to climate change.

Even though Emperor Titus’ (79-81AD) reign was marked by a relative absence of military and political conflicts after his father, Vespasian (69-79AD) had defeated Judaea was defeated, there were several disasters during his brief leadership. On October 24 in 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and almost destroyed the cities and resort communities around Naples. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried under stones and lava in 79AD shortly after Titus (79-81AD) came to power. Titus made all efforts to help the victims of the volcano and donated large amounts of money from the imperial treasury. The emperor visited Pompeii right after the tragedy happened.

A single silver denarius was discovered in 1974 among the 180 silver coins buried in Pompeii. When it was cataloged, it overturned history. Titus’ father died on June 24th, 79 AD. Therefore, any coin of Titus as emperor would have to have the very first recording of his power “IMP VIIII” or 8th Imperator, which was a title that meant ‘leader of the army’ to the Romans. The coin discovered in Pompeii had the legend “IMP XV,” which was granted to Titus for the war in Britannia. Titus sent Gnaeus Julius Agricola who pushed further into Caledonia and managed to establish several forts there as recorded by Tacitus (Agricola 22). Therefore, Titus received the title of Imperator for the fifteenth time for this event, according to Cassius Dio (Roman History LXVI.20). This took place we know in September 79 AD about 3 months after becoming emperor following his father’s death. Obviously, if any coin was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii with “IMP XV” in its legend, then this provides absolute proof that the date for Vesuvius of August 24th, 79 AD cannot be correct.

Archeologists in Pompeii have discovered a remarkable inscription written in charcoal which has survived the catastrophe confirming that the eruption of Mt Vesuvius indeed took place in October 79AD as confirmed by the coin discovered and ignored by historians.  The charcoal writing, discovered on the wall of a villa during a new phase of excavations, adds weight to a theory that the volcano destroyed the town in October 79AD rather than August of that year in line with Cassio Dio and the denarius of Titus. The date of August 24th, 79 AD, came from a letter addressed by Pliny the Younger to the Roman historian Tacitus, originally written some 25 years after the event.

Titus devoted much of his silver coinage of Atonement to the gods for the disaster of Pompeii. There were four main Atonement issues commemorating the services of prayer and propitiation through which the emperor attempted to address the public alarm over the disaster. People often attributed such events to the gods being angry. The coinage showed emblems seeking the approval of Jupiter, Neptune, Apollo, and the deceased former Emperors to watch over the Roman people.

News actually spread rapidly around the Roman Empire. There were formal boards where notices would be posted in which important news and major events would be informed to the people much like such a board in a big company with notices to the employees. These boards were called the Acta Diurna and they were designed to inform the Roman people thereby avoiding fake news. We could call them ancient billboards in modern terms and even government officials would walk up and pin a written notice and the crowds would rush to see what is news. Thus, everyone knew of Pompeii in a matter of days. It did not take long for information to circulate.

Because the coin dies back then were hand carved, we are able to identify the number of dies in use during a given year because each is unique. Just look at these portraits on the famous Tribute Penny of Tiberius (14-37AD). It all depended upon the artistic ability of the engraver.

The coin itself has taken its name because Jesus, referring to a denarius, which the English translated to “penny” because that was their silver coin, asked: “Whose is this image and superscription?” When answered that the likeness was Caesar, He replied; ”Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:20-21). Thus, the coin has been called the tribute penny meaning that was how you paid your taxes.

Hoards have enabled me to (1) see what was in circulation at that point in time for the hoard can be dated to around the most recent coin in the hoard. (2) I also have a number of ancient Roman dies like this one of Tiberius. Studies creating modern dies to test how many coins could be struck from such a die before it cracked provides a picture of about 15,000 coins.

By completing die studies quantifying how many were in use, it then becomes possible to estimate the money supply. Here we can see that during the Social War of 90-87BC, there is a drastic increase in the quantity of coinage issued obviously to pay for soldiers. However, conducting metal testing on the coinage of this period, we find that Rome also debased the coinage slightly adding up to 10% copper to the silver. Therefore, studying hoards allows one to actually ascertain the extreme of monetary affairs.

The Social War of the First Century BC was a failed Revolution against the corrupt Republic. The rebellion was waged by ancient Rome’s Italian allies (socii) who were denied equal rights with the Romans, despite the fact that they also fought alongside Romans in battle. They were seeking to separate and thus they fought for independence. Here are the coins of the rebels. They are very rare. You can see the theme celebrating the female head of Italia.

The allies in central and southern Italy had fought side by side with Rome in several wars and had grown restive under Roman autocratic rule, wanting instead Roman citizenship and the privileges it conferred. In 91 BC, the Roman tribune Marcus Livius Drusus proposed granting them Roman citizenship. The arrogance of the Senators erupted into a heated opposition. They went as far as to even Drusus for daring to propose such a decree. That resulted in the revolution.

When I dug deeper, the coinage with the debasement also reveals that there was a financial crisis. In all honesty, it was the Debt Crisis that ended the Roman Republic. There was a Sovereign Debt Crisis during the Roman Republic period that resulted in a dictatorship and a debt default. The Roman Debt Crisis of the 1st century BC has left behind a vivid account of what took place. The volume of gold and silver in Italy had increased dramatically during the late 2nd century BC following the Punic Wars. We have the first real gold coins issued by the Roman Republic at that time.

However, this concentration of wealth, which was akin to the United States after World War I and II, was absorbed by commercial expansion and investment in Gaul and Asia. A period of excessive concentration of money and large profits came to an end with the rise of the Social War of 91-88BC which was a war waged between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities in Italy (no taxation without representation), which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries. The war was begun by the Picentes because the Romans did not want to afford them Roman citizenship, thus leaving the Italian groups with fewer rights. The war resulted in a Roman victory and genocide against the Samnites. However, Rome granted Roman citizenship to almost all of its Italian allies, including the Samnites, to avoid another war. Therefore, we find that the debt crisis was correlated with a separatist movement – which we are beginning to see worldwide starting in Europe, but will eventually become a contagion in the United States as the conflict between left and right erupts after the November elections.

The Social War led to the complete state bankruptcy of the Roman State. We can see the dramatic rise in the money supply created during this time of war. This turmoil was then followed by the dictatorship of Sulla who then imposed an attempt to control the debt crisis capping interest rates at 12%. The previous legal rate was capped at 8.5%, but obviously, the market had exceeded that limit and Sulla had to confront that reality in 88BC. The debt crisis continued and then in 86 BC, the government was compelled into default. This is when the Valerian Law came into play. The State debts were defaulted on and thus reduced to 25%.

Jan 26 2023

NATO the Greatest Threat to Civilization


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 26, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Marty,

I wonder if the downside of the US occupation of Europe since WW2 and US subsidization of military aid has produced a culture of pacifism. Germany’s reluctance to supply tanks to Ukraine suggests other motives.

The media focuses more on Russia and internal dissent against Putin. One reads about defections and men trying to escape the draft. The real symptom is the fraying of Nato and the US mission in Europe.

I seriously doubt Europeans want war. These military alliances die over time. Unless there is a perceived military threat, Nato appears to be a relic like the Maginot Line fortifications in France decades ago.

To my memory, no military alliance has ever lasted long. They usually die off from wars waged or the passing of time. NAto now is on the clock. I think it will die this decade.

MS

REPLY: NATO is the problem. Russia, and its people, have no desire to invade Europe. The day of communism and its spread as a religious cult is over, except in the West where Socialism is the means of the power of the state and to keep the people dependent upon that power the very exact way that communism worked. Despite the fact that communism collapsed it was so inefficient and deprived the people of even freedom to imagine and curiosity that is the seed of advancing society. Without that freedom to imagine and the curiosity to discover new things, society withers and dies.

The Neocons see only hatred and war. John McCain openly met with the Neonatzis of Ukraine and promised them the funding to destroy Russia. Nobody thinks about the people. It is always this ideological endeavor to destroy an opponent as if this were a Roman Gladiator Contest to the death. They expect the people to utter the same words – “We who are about to die, salute you.”

NATO is a relic. It has NO PURPOSE unless it can constantly argue that Russia is the enemy and it will conquer all of Europe without NATO. This to me is the same as Athens demanding tribute from Greek cities that became the Delian League.  That alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens was formed in 478 BC as a defense to a “possible” revenge invasion from Persia following the Greek victories at Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea during the 5th century BC. Persian never again even attempted such an invasion. But Athens extorted the Greek City States and moved the central Treasury from Delos to Athens and used all that tribute to build great monuments in Athens. The USA is like Athens. It defeated the German Nazis like Athens defeated the Persians. We created NATO to then defend against the Russian Communists, but have supported the Ukrainian Neonazis ever since and protected them from any prosecution.

That exploitation led to discontent and many then joined with Sparta to attack the arrogance of Athens. It was then that Persia supported Sparta to defeat Athens in 404 BC. The question is rather blunt. Will history repeat and Russia join with China to take down the arrogance of the West and make Stolenberg choke on his own words – “Weapons are the way to peace.” Sorry, but Rome showed us the way to peace – inclusion, and trade. The West has done nothing but rejects allowing Russia to enter the Western economy. Once the people are dependent upon trade, that is what creates peace – never arms.

Athens fell in 404 BC. The cost of defending itself against Sparta backed by the Delian League and Persia led to its debasement of the coinage when the silver was running out. The emergency issue was bronze silver plated. The most common denomination became the drachm – debased at that. If history repeats, then the monetary system of the West will likewise collapse as it pours unjustified money into Ukraine – a government consumed with hatred. Peace will only come when the Ukrainian people overthrow Zelensky and wake up that they are merely being sacrificed in the war of hatred against Russia that is propelled by propaganda.

Just listen to the propaganda being spread by the Prime Minister of Finland who is prepared to also sacrifice her people on the altar of the Neocons.

Jan 26 2023

Bang War Drums Loudly, Joe Biden Announces U.S. Sending Tanks to Ukraine as Deeping NATO War Against Russia Continues


Posted originally on the CTH on January 25, 2023 | Sundance

The Biden administration is pushing the United States into war against Russia to protect Washington DC’s political and financial interests in Ukraine.  None of this is a surprise as both Republican and Democrat politicians in DC continue to use Ukraine as a money laundering operation for key U.S. stakeholders.

Today Joe Biden announced he is sending 31 ‘Abram Tanks’ from the U.S. arsenal into Ukraine to further push the United States into direct conflict with Russia.  The potential for direct U.S. military engagement in Ukraine is now just a matter of formality, as the Abram’s tanks will be accompanied by military advisors, trainers, and the processes to sustain and maintain them on the battlefield.   WATCH:

[Transcript] – […] “today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion.

Secretary Austin has recommended this step because it will enhance the Ukraine’s capacity to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives.

The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. They’re also extremely complex to operate and maintain, so we’re also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks on the battlefield.

And we begi- — we’ll begin to train the Ukrainian troops on these issues of sustainment, logistics, and maintenance as soon as possible. Delivering these tanks to the field is going to take time, time that we’ll see — we’ll use to make sure the Ukrainians are fully prepared to integrate the Abram tanks into their defenses.

We also closely coordinated this announcement with our Allies. (read more)

We are being pushed into a war that few Americans want.

This is getting out of hand mostly because the Russians are defeating Ukraine in the war.  Without the U.S. operators and material involved, Ukraine cannot win.  However, the Biden administration view Ukraine as a U.S. proxy in Europe, and as such all of the corrupt DC systems are in alignment to continue escalating this conflict.

This is happening against the backdrop of Ukraine officials being caught stealing money given to Ukraine to fight the war.

None of this is good, and it is likely to get worse.

WASHINGTON DC – […] The decision to provide the tanks marks a stunning reversal for the Biden administration, which had previously argued they would be of little benefit to Ukraine.

But the decision to send the Abrams tanks helped get Germany to move forward with a separate effort to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which the U.S. had seen as benefitting Kyiv.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that Berlin would send Leopard tanks to Ukraine and allow for other European nations to also send the German-made tanks to Kyiv. (more)

Jan 24 2023

GLOBAL SATANIC ELITES EXPOSED


Drew Hernandez Streamed on: Dec 15, 8:59 pm EST

Drew Hernandez LIVE | Ep 156 | Drew exposes the SATANIC global cabal and their current movements

Jan 24 2023

The Good News Nuclear War Will Save the Planet


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy

Posted Jan 24, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

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Most of these people like Al Gore, Kerry, the mainstream media, Rhinos, democrats, and Bill Gates seem to actually believe in climate change for they are displaying the most stupid form of analysis invented by the lowest possible intelligence level of society. Hey, it’s warmer today than when I was a kid so we must be causing it. There has been ZERO research into climate on any of their parts to even test their theory. They all project that we are headed toward an environmental Armageddon if mankind does not immediately end fossil fuels. Not a single one has bothered to even consider that switching to electricity curiously makes society extremely vulnerable. If I were China looking to take down the West, I would be pushing this agenda at light speed. The first thing you do is take down the power grid and society will crumble in less than 72 hours. Using digital currency would mean you could not buy anything. Without an electric car you would be forced to walk to a store that then could not sell you anything without electricity and no new supply of anything would be able to move so there goes the supply chain – again.

The GOOD NEWS is you can then just nuke your opponent and actually save the planet all at the same time. Without electricity, your opponent could not even make a phone call to launch a response. But if we look at Chornobyl, the nuclear disaster restored the region which became a sanctuary for animals void of humans.

Bikini Atoll 70 years after nuclear tests is thriving. On July 24, 1946, Baker Test shrouded its formidable height over the U.S. Navy’s test fleet. The United States dropped 23 nuclear bombs on the island, including a device in 1954 that was 1,100 times larger than the Hiroshima atom bomb. Now a team of scientists from Stanford University has been stunned. They discovered an abundance of marine life apparently thriving in the crater of Bikini Atoll, which was declared a nuclear wasteland after the bombings.

Strangely enough, the same has been found at Chernobyl in Ukraine. It is starting to emerge that even setting off every nuclear bomb will not destroy the planet or turn Earth into space rocks. We can alter our environment by doing so and ridding the planet of humanity as the dominant species, but Earth will heal itself and life will adapt exactly as scientists have discovered in Ukraine at the site of Chernobyl. Wildlife has thrived because it sent humans running.

This new evidence emerging from Chernobyl and Bikini Atoll is demonstrating that we just may not be as smart as we think we are no less all-powerful. Obviously, the WEF and world leaders who are all pushing for World War III, are obvious far smarter than we are. They are really trying to save the planet from us. Exterminate humanity and we can save the bugs and crickets from becoming our next food source.