Category World Economic Form

Feb 17 2022

Russia Asks Joe Biden for Next Ukraine Invasion Dates So They Can Coordinate Vacation Plans for Moscow Officials


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 16, 2022 | Sundance | 214 Comments

The Russians are having a little fun at Joe Biden’s expense, now that the deadline for invasion has expired without invasion.

Yesterday, the Russians reminded the Ukraine government to set their alarm clocks so they did not miss the invasion.  Today the Russian government asks the Biden administration for the invasion dates, they plan to use this year, so that Moscow can coordinate the vacation plans of key military and government officials.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked for the invasion schedule on Telegram: “I’d like to request US and British disinformation: Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Sun media outlets to publish the schedule for our upcoming invasions for the year. I’d like to plan my vacation,” the Russian diplomat said on her Telegram channel Wednesday.

However, on a serious note, the U.S. drumbeat over the invasion of Ukraine has seriously hurt their economy.  The Russian State News Agency, TASS reports:

[…] “This steady disinformation blitz by the Western media has already resulted in a sharp deterioration of Kiev’s economic situation, with investments and businesses fleeing Ukraine, while the energy prices in Europe are growing. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these statements as an “empty and groundless” escalation of tensions, emphasizing that Russia posed no threat to anyone.”

It’s almost as if the U.S. government wants to hurt the Ukraine economy so that the U.S. has stronger influence and can manipulate the internal politics of Ukraine… with 10% for the ‘big guy‘ of course.

Comrade Suspicious Cat remains, well, suspicious.

Feb 16 2022

Trudeau Will Freeze the Bank Accounts of All Protestors


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re-Posted Feb 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Desperate and unwilling to speak directly to the truckers, Justin Trudeau is now vowing to freeze the personal and business bank accounts of those involved in the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau is drunk with power and passed the emergency order despite the premiers of Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta stating it is an unnecessary move. Only Ontario’s Doug Ford supports the extreme measure. Quebec Premier Francois Legault believes the emergency order will “throw oil on the fire.”

This is the first time that a Canadian prime minister invoked the 1988 Emergencies Act, which is intended for an “urgent and critical situation” that “seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians.” Deeming a peaceful protest an act of terrorism is an act of free speech oppression. Trudeau believes he deserves praise for refraining from deploying troops to end the protest through violence. “We are not suspending fundamental rights or overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedom. We’re not limiting people’s freedom of speech. We are not limiting freedom of peaceful assembly. We are not preventing people from exercising their right to protest legally,” Trudeau said while speaking at Parliament Hill on Monday.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told reporters, “We would prefer that the emergency act not be invoked. But if it is, we would very much prefer that it not be applied to Alberta. It’s not needed. It could make the situation even more complicated.” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe stated that the police already have the tools required to remove illegal blockades, therefore, “Saskatchewan does not support the Trudeau government invoking the Emergencies Act.” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh supports Trudeau’s decision but said it points to a larger problem with the Trudeau Administration. “The fact that the Prime Minister is resorting to this measure is proof of a failure of leadership. The reason why we got to this point is because the Prime Minister let the siege of Ottawa go on for weeks and weeks without actually doing anything about it,” Singh told the press. “He allowed the convoy to shutdown borders without responding appropriately and in doing so, has allowed the convoy to dig in and get entrenched.”

Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, said that credit card companies will be required to report any activity that could be intended to help the protestors to Canada’s anti-money laundering agency. All vehicles involved will have their insurance suspended. Fundraising sites are not allowed to raise money to support the cause. Anyone can be accused of conspiring with the protestors and their funds will be frozen.

Hundreds of protestors remain in Ottawa. Tamara Lich, who began one of the first fundraisers for the convoy, said that the protestors will not leave until all COVID mandates are repealed. “There are no threats that will frighten us. We will hold the line,” Lich boldly stated.

Feb 16 2022

Ancient Fake News Still Dominates the Classroom


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ancient History Re-Posted Feb 16, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin,

Things have gotten so bad in governments around the world that I am starting to sympatise with Caligula who appointed his horse as a minister and staff member. A horse can not possibly be dumber than what we see operating as world rulers at this time.

Cheers,
L>

REPLY: You may not be so far off the mark. The story may not be true, but there was a tension where indeed Caligula (37-41AD) most likely felt his horse could do a better job than the contemptuous senators. Caligula is an interesting character who we are also told participated in incest with his three sisters. The problem with history is that the author is typically the victor. Nevertheless, there were still people who dreamed of restoring the Republic during his reign. The conspirators who murdered Caligula did not champion a replacement for Emperor. There were senators who were so unanimously determined to restore the Republic that the Consuls summoned the first assembly to the Capitol building rather than the Senate, which was named as the Julian Building after Julius Caesar. Many wanted all memory of the Caesars obliterated, and their temples destroyed.

We must actually put that story in its true context. Caligula’s comments concerning Proculus reveal this tension between those who still championed the Republic behind Caligula’s back. Thus, Incitatus, who was the horse of Emperor Caligula, was his favorite. We are told that Caligula loved him so much that he wanted to make him a consul (lawmaker) or at least a senator. The comment comes from the historian Suetonius (c. 69–122 AD) who wrote of Caligula:

To prevent Incitatus, his favorite horse, from being disturbed he always picketed the neighborhood with troops on the day before the races, ordering them to enforce absolute silence. Incitatus owned a marble stable, an ivory stall, purple blankets, and a jeweled collar; also a house, a team of slaves, and furniture – to provide suitable entertainment for guests whom Gaius invited in its name. It is said that he even planned to award Incitatus a consulship.

Later writers were keen to demonize Caligula, and he was hardly the most ‘balanced’ of emperors, so it is difficult to know whether he really meant it. Suetonius wrote, “The Lives of the Caesars” in 121 AD, some 80 years after Caligula was assassinated at age 28. On the contrary, there are earlier chroniclers who actually lived under Caligula, namely Seneca and Philo. Neither made any mention of this type of behavior despite their harsh criticism of the emperor. Even the historian Tacitus, during a lengthy diatribe against Caligula’s sister Agrippina, who became the wife of Emperor Claudius and mother of Nero, talks of her incest with her son but makes no mention of incest with Caligula.

So you see, fake news has been around for a very long time. Suetonius wrote “The Twelves Caesars” in 121 AD and dedicated it to his friend Gaius Septicius Clarus, who was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard in 119 AD. Curiously, perhaps he was inspired by the restoration of the coinage of the Twelve Caesars undertaken by Emperor Trajan.

This has always left a question in my mind given some of the slanderous comments in Suetonius’ text that he was perhaps trying to disparage the Twelve Caesars who were celebrated on the coinage by Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). Was this his real motive?

Feb 16 2022

The Fate of Canada Hangs in the Balance


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re-Posted Feb 15, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Trudeau has shown the entire world that he is unfit to be the leader of any pretend free democratic nation. He is invoking the Emergence Act not used for more than 50 years to cut off funding for truckers responsible for nationwide protests that have gridlocked the nation’s capital for weeks. But he may go further. Talk is circulating that he wants to cancel all paper currency to prevent bank withdrawals and to prevent people from handing cash to the Truckers.

NEVER before in history has there been such a justification to separate from Canada. Trudeau gets his orders from Schwab and the World Economic Forum. If he yields to the truckers, Schwab’s dream of dominating the world will start to come to an end. Trudeau is loyal to Schwab, not to his own people. While other nations are backing away from COVID restrictions and mandatory vaccines, Trudeau is trying to turn the screws even harder because this is not about COVID, it is about Schwab’s Agenda.

This is the end of the 3rd Wave. It is up to Canadians to seize the future they want to live under – freedom or tyranny. The burning question is will the Truckers now demand the separation from Ottawa altogether when they are clearly not represented by the federal government of Canada. The timing is correct. Let’s see the events from here on put. The idea target is April 18/19 which follows the Economic Confidence Model turning point of March 14th, 2022. We can see our Quarterly Projections on timed had shown a Double Directional Change in the first quarter of 2022. That appears to have been correct.

If Trudeau wants to show he is truly worthy of being the leader of Canada, produce the recording and transcript of all his telephone calls with Klaus Schwab. People would suddenly see who is really in charge of Canada and Trudeau is probably guilty of treason.

Feb 16 2022

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Refuses to Bring Emergency War Measures Act to Parliament for Authorization Vote


Posted Originally on the Conservative tree house on February 15, 2022 | Sundance | 216 Comments

Earlier today Conservative Party opposition leader Candice Bergen asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he planned to bring his declaration of the Emergency Act before parliament for authorization.  The Canadian Prime Minister refused to answer the question.  WATCH:

Consider this prior position from Justin Trudeau circa 2012:  “When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent, is when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern,” most Canadians would agree.

(LINK – To Put Him on Blast)

Feb 16 2022

Neil Oliver Discusses the Totalitarian Response of Justin Trudeau, They Are Trying to Save Face


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 15, 2022 | Sundance | 65 Comments

Neil Oliver gives his review of the stunning shift in Canadian politics, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduces government totalitarianism through his invocation of the Emergency Act.

Oliver notes the similarity between Justin Trudeau, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in their reactions to people demanding freedom from COVID mandates.  Good Discussion.  WATCH:

Feb 16 2022

Tow Truck Operators Who Do Not Comply With PM Trudeau Orders to Remove Protest Trucks Will Be Subject to Arrest


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 15, 2022 | Sundance | 543 Comments

The New York Times is reporting, “Tow-truck operators, who have been reluctant to cooperate with the police, will also now be compelled to work with law enforcement agencies to clear Ottawa’s streets and the border crossings at Coutts, Alberta. If they don’t cooperate, they could face arrest.” (link)

Meanwhile, the pontificating pustule of sanctimonious pomposity, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is doubling down on his position that in order to save democracy in Canada his administration must first destroy it:

(link)

Additionally, the Ottawa Police Chief, Peter Sloly, has resigned amid severe criticism from the far-left communists in Canada, because he did not crack down hard enough on the people demanding freedom from oppressive COVID mandates.

[…] Peter Sloly’s resignation as Ottawa police chief, which was confirmed by the minister of public safety, came after Mr. Trudeau took the rare step of declaring a national public order emergency aimed at stopping protests that have roiled Canada for weeks. (link)

The Minister of Public Safety and COVID Compliance says that Ottawa streets will soon be rid of the pesky commoners who think they are entitled to protest the COVID rules.  Those who do not willingly comply will join those previously arrested in reeducation facilities and jails.

CANADA – Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino sought to assure Ottawa residents Tuesday that the chaos in their city will soon end as local law enforcement, bolstered by the RCMP, works around the clock to restore order.

Empowered by the federal government’s move to invoke the Emergencies Act, police will soon establish “no-go” zones in the city’s downtown core to control unruly crowds associated with the anti-vaccine mandate convoy protest, the minister said. People who defy orders to leave, he added, will face fines or jail time, or both.

Mendicino said authorities will move with “great rapidity” to erect more concrete barriers and press private tow truck companies into removing the big rigs that have clogged Ottawa’s streets.

To starve protesters of the money that supports their activities, banks and financial institutions will stop the flow of funds to all convoy organizers, he said.  The government is also threatening to suspend corporate bank accounts and commercial licensing for truckers taking part in the convoy. (read more)

The Canadian government may indeed win the battle after they triggered the national Emergency War Measures Act.  However, all that has been seen cannot be unseen by a citizenry now witnessing the severity of their police state.  Prior to the freedom protest, the detention fences and government guard towers were invisible.  The rumors of their totalitarian state was scoffed at as conspiracy theory and ignored.

Now, the watchtowers are being seen by everyone… and many Canadians will sleep less comfortably knowing they are subject to the arbitrary whims of the dictators who have power and promised to confiscate their wealth for wrong-think.   Things will not return to ‘normal’ in Canada with so many realizing the state of their oppression.

The working class in Canada seem to be in an abusive relationship with their elected leaders.  These revelations cannot easily be ignored.

Let’s check the classic abuser checklist: 

Feb 15 2022

Schwab’s Admiration for Lenin


Armstrong Economics Blog/WEF Re-Posted Feb 15, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

I can verify that this photo going around of Schwab with a statue of Lenin on his bookshelf is genuine. He really does have that in his office.

This is based upon first-hand knowledge, not speculation of rumor.

Let me explain something very important for those who do not know their Russian history. Following the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolsheviks/Communists relied upon the dogmas of Marx and Engels to create a new world of equality. They too preached that they would change all the existing ways and customs far beyond politics and economics. They attacked human nature, as the left is doing once again. Suddenly, the very notion of human morality that formed the very foundations of a healthy society was to be forever altered.

Churches were seized, and religion was abolished. Everything that was the foundation of humanity that we call conservatism today was attacked by the Communists in Russia. This today is unfolding with the woke mobs in the West. The Communists’ goal was to destroy the very fabric that binds society together to ensure that the people would remain as individuals and afraid to ban together to overthrow the government. They indeed destroyed the age-old moral values of people. You no longer smiled and said hello when passing a stranger. Religion had to be abolished, for you were to only trust in the government. God was rendered nothing more than a superhero in a comic book.

They drove a wedge between friends and all social relations between people, including the complete rejection of family. Children were taught the State was their real parent, and if their biological parents ever spoke against the State, they were to turn them in. They turned parents against their own children looking at them as a government informant. All this was proclaimed by Lenin to be “progress” for the advancement of society and the State.

Lenin indoctrinated his leading feminist lieutenant, Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952), who became the first female commissar in the Soviet government. They took what the suffragettes were fighting for in the West as equal rights, and included that as part of the communist manifesto.  They equated marriage to slavery to divide even husband and wife, not just the children against the parents. Lenin, Schwab’s hero, wages an all-out war on “old and outdated” institutions like marriage and family, elevating the State as the dominant role. Instead of marriage, there would be more disposable “unions of affection and comradeship.” Lenin launched the “liberation” of the family and made divorce a natural step. Abortion on demand was brought in during 1920.

Alexandra Kollontai actually wrote: “The family is ceasing to be necessary either to its members or to the nation.” Capitalists, she said, “are well aware that the old type of family, where a woman is a slave and where the husband is responsible for the well-being of his wife and children, is the best weapon in the struggle to stifle the desire of the working class for freedom and to weaken the revolutionary spirit of the working man and working woman.”

The Bolsheviks insisted that women would have the right to vote, but that was meaningless when they eliminated all opposition and imposed the one-party rule. The liberation and equality of women’s right to equal wages became a joke for capitalism is based upon your freedom to pick your profession, whereas under communism, individualism is ignored. Women were quickly ghettoized into state-chosen professions; their wages went down with the freedom to decide their own futures.

The strategy behind destroying the family unit was that women without husbands could then be socialized much more easily. Destroying the family unit was critical to the success of communism. This is the man whose bust is on Schwab’s bookshelf — one of his mentors.

Feb 15 2022

The West is Crumbling & Putin Knows it


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Feb 14, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: It appears that Russia has shifted its focus claiming it may need to protect Russian citizens in Eastern Ukraine. You seem to have more insight than what I read elsewhere. Biden is now scrambling with Borris here in London on a way to appease Russia. Do you think this will succeed?

SL

ANSWER: This is the oldest excuse in the book which every government has used from the USA to Hilter’s invasions to protect Germans living in Czechoslovakia was a similar excuse. In the case of the Sudetenland, the Czechoslovak borderland, it was annexed in 1938 because the German local majority had the right to self-determination. Even in 1989, In December 1989, the United States invaded Panama Canal Zone to protect the Americans there. What Putin has declared is nothing new. Most major powers have acted on the very same grounds. However, by Putin saying this is precisely what I have been saying. He could just take the East and not bomb Kyiv. That would back that excuse to protect the Russians in East Ukraine.

Putin has already won. The West tried to call his bluff and rejected everything he asked for. The problem with this poker game is that Putin holds all the cards and he is a master chess player. Our model picked up this week as capital flows have been in a state of panic. But Putin has previously sold all US debt holdings and we did not witness a massive wholesale liquidation of US debt by China. Our model has not shown a sustained crisis and it appears that we do have a situation where the West is crumbling.

Reliable sources report that Putin could take Kyiv in less than one week if he wanted. He could be in Paris in a few weeks. But that does not appear in our models at this time. It does show that Putin is winning the war without firing a shot. Ukraine will not be allowed into NATO. Will the West agree to secretly pull back to 1997 levels? The West has no power and the leaders of the West are incapable of winning a game of checkers, no less chess.

Even in Canada, the Premier Doug Ford of Ontario has announced that the Truckers have won. He will lift all capacity restraints for indoor meetings and proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirements by March 1st. We are saddled with the most incompetent group of world leaders I believe in recorded modern history. This leaves Putin as the smartest by far. All he needs to do is wait and watch how the West is pandering because they cannot even mount any defense whatsoever.

Feb 15 2022

Trudeau Authorizes Bank Accounts Frozen for Social Media Posts in Support of Freedom Protests – Canadian Civil Liberties Association Denounce Decision


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on February 14, 2022 | Sundance | 415 Comments

The triggering of an official invocation of the Canadian Emergency Measures Act to eliminate protests is stunning.  Using the Emergency Act to target individual citizens in Canada, and their bank accounts, is yet again another level of astonishing. RESOURCES:

♦ Emergency Act HERE ♦ Summary Justification of Act HERE

♦ Press Release HERE ♦ Finance Minister Statement HERE

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has announced their opposition to the government declaration:

I am carefully reviewing the details of the authorization because according to the public statements by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, they have authorized banks, financial institutions and insurance carriers to suspend the accounts of Canadian citizens based on their social media postings.

Yes, you read that correctly.   Support of “blockades and/or occupations” are specifically noted.

Anyone in Canada (individual or business) who supports or “furthers” the Freedom Convoy or Freedom Protest on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other social media platform, is a target to have their bank accounts frozen and insurance policies nullified.

But wait, it gets worse.

Not only are people subject to get their bank accounts frozen, but the decision also to freeze the accounts is entirely up to the reviewer, and the reviewer is protected by the government from civil liability for their decision.

“Support” and “affiliated with” are loosely defined, and as a result a guy delivering pizzas to an Ottawa “occupation” truckdriver is also running the risk of seeing his bank account frozen simply for providing the food.  I can see why the Canadian Civil Liberties Assocation would take issue with this declaration.

A banking employee who does not like the politics of a customer as revealed by a review of their social media postings, and merely “suspects” the account holder of supporting or furthering the action, can -without any liability- block the bank accounts of any customer or account holder; and they do not need to provide an explanation.

Review this statement carefully (emphasis mine):

Freeland …”the government is issuing an order with immediate effect, under the Emergencies Act, authorizing Canadian financial institutions to temporarily cease providing financial services where the institution suspects that an account is being used to further the illegal blockades and occupations. This order covers both personal and corporate accounts.

Third: we are directing Canadian financial institutions to review their relationships with anyone involved in the illegal blockades and report to the RCMP or CSIS.

As of today, a bank or other financial service provider will be able to immediately freeze or suspend an account of an individual or business affiliated with these illegal blockades without a court order. In doing so, they will be protected against civil liability.

Federal government institutions will have a new broad authority to share relevant information with banks and other financial service providers to ensure that we can all work together to put a stop to the funding of these illegal blockades.

This is about following the money. This is about stopping the financing of these illegal blockades. We are today serving notice: if your truck is being used in these protests, your corporate accounts will be frozen. The insurance on your vehicle will be suspended. Send your semi-trailers home. The Canadian economy needs them to be doing legitimate work, not to be illegally making us all poorer.

We are announcing these measures after careful reflection. I spoke directly with the heads of Canadian banks and I would like to commend them for doing their part to uphold Canadian laws and Canadian democracy, and to protect our economy.” (more)

As you consider the term “illegal” in the paragraphs above, it is important to remember that the people who were hiding Anne Frank were breaking the law; and the people who killed Anne Frank were following the law.   As history tells us, laws in/of themselves are not always moral or correct.

Americans really need to pay attention to this example.  The Canadian government can force their citizens to take a medical procedure (Vaccination) in order to work, and if you protest that demand your bank accounts can be confiscated by the state.  How is communist China worse?

Today, the Canadian government became the tanks in this famous image: