Category You cannot hide from Big Brother.

Apr 4 2023

Masks Now Embedded in Japanese Culture


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Comment: You know, mask wearing in japan was officially ended 5 weeks ago. And there has been no change of practice whatsoever. Mask wearing continues at close to 100pct.

Especially among young people mask wearing seems to be here to stay, possibly forever. Somewhere a psychologist will write a book about this phenomenon. Never in my life could I have imagine that the great nation of japan would adopt this practice like people wearing shoes. People driving in their cars on their own are wearing masks for god Sake. Mask wearing is now the primary method of signaling that the wearer is careful, thoughtful and considerate of others.

Reply: The pandemic will go down as the greatest mass social experiment in history. Face masks have become an everyday essential item for most Japanese. Implementing the face mask mandate was seamless in Japan as masks for allergies and disease were already commonplace. Mask sales rose during flu outbreaks years before COVID, especially in high-density cities. Some people wore masks as a fashion accessory or to limit approachability in social interactions. A 2011 poll from News Post Seven found that 30% of those who wore masks did not cite health concerns.

It took three years, but the Japanese government no longer mandates masks. Yet, it has become embedded in the culture. The Japanese culture values respecting one’s community. The government has never admitted that masks did not prevent the spread of COVID in a meaningful way. Instead, politicians continue to wear masks at public appearances, and the prime minister is encouraging people to continue wearing masks around vulnerable individuals. “We are not forcing anyone to wear it or take it off,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters after the mandate ended. “I think there will be more occasions when I will take my mask off.” It is now seen as a respectful gesture for one’s neighbor.

Research institute Laibo conducted a study in February to determine why people are choosing to stay masked. Only 5.5% of 561 respondents said they would not wear a mask. Over half (50.2%) said that wearing a mask simply became a habit, while most (53.4%) said they are still afraid of catching the coronavirus. About 27.8% of respondents said they will wear their masks “unconditionally.”

Masks may have become a cultural norm in Japan. Everyone should have the ability to act on their own free will, but I suspect many feel the need to conform. The studies citing the ineffectiveness of mask usage have been swept under the rug. As the original commenter stated, masks now signal that the wearer is considerate of others. If only the government would come out and let the people know it is safe for both them and their neighbors to breathe in the air.

Mar 31 2023

President Trump Attorney Alina Habba Speaks to Tucker Carlson About Political Indictment


Posted originally on the CTH on March 30, 2023 | Sundance

Tucker Carlson frames the context of the accusations against President Donald Trump and then interviews one of President Trump’s civil attorneys Alina Habba. {Direct Rumble Link}

While Ms. Habba is not a criminal attorney for President Trump she notes the legal ramifications to the justice system from a radical leftist District Attorney running amuck. WATCH:

Mar 14 2023

The Ukraine People Must Overthrow Zelensky to Save Their Country


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Mar 14, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

This is the former adviser to Zelensky, Alexey Arestovich, who quit in protest. He has publicly stated that “The west deceived Russia. They promised not to push NATO to the east, and they did. They turned Ukraine into a huge anti-Russian country. If I was in Russia’s shoes, I would have done the exact same thing.”

The West’s Neocons have exploited Ukraine to wage war against Russia, for the sole reason they hated Russia, and even with the fall of the USSR, they have never changed their views. They tried to stop Reagan from meeting Gorbachev. I found myself back in 1999 to seize control of Russia by having the bankers, led by Edmond Safra, blackmail Yeltsin to step down and hand Russia to the boy, Boris Berezovsky. They tried to get me to invest $10 billion into their Hermitage Capital Management. When I refused, even Boris tried to call me to persuade me to contribute to their cause. When I refused, Edmond stole $1 billion I had on deposit at his bank and the NY press supported the Neocons, as always.

Ironically, they began their manipulation of Ukraine in 2014. It was the Neocons, not the CIA with this plot. John McCain was there meeting even with the Neo-Nazis in public and promising the crowd that America will stand with them if they overthrow their government – Regime Change has always been their agenda. It has NEVER worked out even once – Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Cuba, and Ukraine just to mention a few.

Mar 14 2023

Where to Go?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Forecasts Re-Posted Mar 14, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

A lot of people have been asking where to go, what bank is safe, and what’s next? This is by no means over. The fiscal mismanagement is off the charts and we have a major clash with the Marxist views of the Democrats who always want to punish the rich and then ask them for funding. Only in the Democratic Party can you have a $ 10,000-a-plate fundraiser and preach how evil inequality is and that the rich must be held accountable.

Those who keep calling for a gold standard are clueless. To have a return to balanced budgets means that the Democrats will have to completely reform. They DO NOT know how to govern without class warfare. Politics has deeply divided the United States to the point that the only reasonable solution will be to separate between the blue v red. As Lincon said, a house divided cannot stand. That is becoming so obvious that there will come a day soon when that will be the case. There are over 30 civilizations that have come before us. Every single one has collapsed. We are merely waiting for our 15 minutes in the spotlight.

We must understand that things are far worse outside the United States geopolitically thanks to the Neocons who have done nothing by conniving endless wars. They are ruthless evil people who have no problem sacrificing your family for their political aspirations. Short term, as they create World War III, the dollar will be the strongest currency as capital always flees from a conflict. We really need to IMPEACH Biden, because he is a dangerous puppet who reads whatever the Neocons write on the cue cards. Then we really need to launch an investigation of these Neocons who have usurped US foreign policy for decades and are never held accountable.

Now, many people have asked what is a small bank. They are typically local regional banks. The problem is if they just make decisions based on the talking heads on TV, then they will face tremendous problems ahead. To be diverse, for now into 2024, you may want to look at US T-bills 30-day to the 90-day max. Not every bank is in trouble. You should ask if they publish their portfolio. The big risk is that money was basically free, and they were investing that long-term. But as rates have risen, they have suffered losses.

Mar 10 2023

AI Surveillance Defiant Clothing


Armstrong Economics Blog/Police State Re-Posted Mar 10, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Fashion trends change to reflect new societal norms and self-expression. Today’s societal norm is constant government spying and mass data collection under the premise that we are all criminals who may defy our failing governments. One may first think of China and its vast array of CCTV cameras that are analyzed by Artificial Intelligence software to compile individual behavioral data that can be used to control the population. “Whoever owns enough data and computing ability can predict problems, predict the future, and judge the future,” Alibaba’s Jack Ma was quoted as saying. As the desire for privacy becomes a cultural norm across the West, fashion designers are finding a way to produce clothing that fulfills this need.

They say fashion in Milan always makes its way to the Americas. An Italian startup company called  Cap_able has developed a clothing line to prevent AI technology from accurately identifying individuals. The company would like to “educate the population on the importance of privacy and human rights by addressing the problem of misuse of facial recognition technology.” There are similar clothing brands that celebrities notoriously use to prevent the paparazzi from taking their photograph. However, this new genre of clothing is designed to confuse sophisticated AI software. This is not an attempt to shield criminals, as AI spying software is intended to target the entire population. The ethical question arises of whether the state has the right to track its citizens. “The protection of one’s privacy or the community: what comes first? However, isn’t the protection of the community born from the necessity to protect the rights of the individual?” the company questioned.

Researchers at Harvard and MIT published an article in Brookings entitled “Exporting the surveillance state via trade in AI.” Once the government or companies collect this data, they can freely export it. The study found that China is currently the world leader in facial recognition technology and has exported over 201 deals to use its programs. The US is second behind China with 128 deals to export facial recognition technology. The published study noted that AI recognition software could “undermine democracies, enhance autocrats’ aims of social control, and empower “surveillance capitalists.”’

The government can recognize your daily whereabouts and behavioral patterns to predict what you may do or where you may go. Social scores, as seen in China, seem far-fetched in the West, but look what happened during the power grab that was COVID when countless countries imposed QR codes to restrict the freedom of movement. Credit scores were not developed in the US until 1958 and were intended to predict whether a borrower could repay their loan. The idea of a credit score would seem far-fetched to people living just a few years prior, and now that same score can vary due to simply purchasing a car or looking up your score.

So AI defiant clothing may serve a purpose in the not-so-distant future if it actually works. It would come to the surprise of none if governments outlawed this clothing or simply updated their software to bypass the designs. There’s a chance that this could simply be a gimmick, as advanced AI can learn to detect and counteract patterns. You cannot hide from Big Brother.