Posted originally on Jun 11, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
The world’s bread basket is facing significant food inflation. Prices on groceries in Ukraine rose 22.1% in May compared to the same time period last year. Overall, CPI rose 15.9% on an annual basis as well. Fruit prices alone have soared by 17.6%, with authorities claiming it is primarily due to poor weather conditions that reduced harvests.
Ukraine and Russia are both relying on imports to offset the uptick in food prices. Ukraine exported around 10.6% of the nation’s food supply last year. The European aggregate came in at an estimated $5 billion in food exports for the year, with Poland, Germany, and France becoming top suppliers. In fact, 51.3% of all food imported to Ukraine came from the EU.
Food inflation for Russia, as of April, hit 12.66%, with general inflation resting at 10.2%. This does not account for the soaring prices of staple food products like potatoes, which have tripled in price over the past year. “On a daily basis, people are not buying smartphones and television sets,” Central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said. “They are buying food. If prices there are growing faster, it forms high inflationary expectations.” This is precisely why I note that issues like the Japanese rice crisis are causing overall confidence to erode.
The average Russian household spent around 35% of its income on food this past April, a five-year high, as reported by the Romir think-tank. Russia is seeking exports from its remaining trade partners. Egypt exported 274,000 tonnes of potatoes to Russia this May, a 4.5X increase from the same period one year prior. Egypt also provided Russia with 13,000 tons of onions and has become a major supplier of nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Other meal staples such as carrots, beets, and cabbage have seen a surge in prices.
China has also been working to solve the potato shortage by sending Russia 65,000 tons throughout the first six months of the year. Georgia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Armenia have also begun to ramp up food exports to Russia.
Both China and Egypt have profited heavily from this war from an agricultural standpoint, as each is providing both sides with much-needed food imports.
Russia’s agriculture minister believes prices will begin stabilizing in July. As RCB Governor Elvira Nabiullina explained, the average person will first notice surging prices at the grocery store. It becomes a daily reminder that there are breaks in the system. The Russians and Ukrainians lost confidence long ago, but the situation is not improving for them. We see it everywhere with food prices leading to unrest. The reasons contributing to rising prices do not matter as the people will immediately blame the government. We saw it in the US, for example, with people outraged over the price of eggs. The Japanese are livid that the price of rice has multiplied.
The French Revolution began when bread prices surged beyond what the people could afford. The Arab Spring ignited not because of political ideology, but because food became unaffordable. Socrates picked up a shift in food inflation in 2019 before the COVID lockdowns and I have warned that it would be wise to stockpile food as that inflationary cycle did not end with COVID. While we are not at a point of revolution just yet, food prices have a major impact on overall confidence and high prices correlate with high unrest. The people will not obey when they are hungry.
Posted originally on Jun 11, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
The Japanese government announced that it has been forced to release 200,000 metric tons of reserves from its rice stockpile once again, as the nation has been unable to reverse shortages. The government last released over 300,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency reserves, that was intended to last through July, in addition to the 310,000 tons released since March, but this is not sufficient to meet demand, and consumers are highly dissatisfied with the government’s response.
Retailers and local rice sellers with milling capacity will receive the first 100,000 tons of rice from the 2021 harvest. “We want to continue responding without slowing down so that the stockpiled rice can reach consumers quickly and at a low cost,” Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said during a press conference. “We must never allow the virtuous cycle of prices and wages in the Japanese economy as a whole to break down. If the cause lies with rice, then I believe we must address such issues promptly.”
Poor weather conditions in 2023 led to a significant decline in crop yields. The Japanese government placed high tariffs on imported rice, and Japanese consumers strongly prefer domestic varieties. Japan reluctantly began importing rice to meet demand. In February alone, Japan imported roughly 40% of what it imported in FY2023. Japan was self-sufficient in rice production, but was forced to purchase rice from South Korea for the first time in 25 years. Japan has also turned to the United States to fill the gap. Panic buying remains prevalent despite the high cost of rice, as it is a staple in the Japanese diet. A mass uptick in tourism following the end of COVID has also been blamed for increased demand, with foreigners increasing by a record 342,000 in 2024.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications noted that rice prices rose 92.1% year-on-year in March, and despite releasing reserves, prices continued to rise. In mid-April, a 5kg bag of rice reached ¥4,220 (about $29–$30), over an 80% YoY increase. Rice prices hit a record high of ¥4,285 yen ($29.97) for 5kg of rice during the week ending on May 18, with some premium brands like Koshihikari exceeding ¥5,000 yen ($35). As of June 1, the average 5k bag of rice cost about ¥4,223 yen, a 50% annual increase.
This is an extremely serious issue in Japan. The rice crisis controversy is causing the public to lose confidence in the government at large. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Administration approval rating sunk to an all-time low of 27.4%. Japanese Minister Taku Etō was forced to resign after stating that he personally has no concern for the rising price of rice. The Upper House election takes place in July, which is certainly unfavorable for the Liberal Democratic Party (LPD) who has been in power since 1955.
The next major rice harvest will be in August. The situation is pessimistic as only 1.458 million hectares were harvested, the lowest on record since at least 1900.
Farmers have been protesting against the government’s policy of rationing harvests. The EU and US allow farmers to produce as much as possible, and the government subsidizes any losses, while Japan has taken an opposite approach. The Japanese government believes it would lose $2.65 billion per year if it were to subsidize harvests, but it is already paying farmers $2.32 billion to ration production. Rice paddies are increasingly abandoned as the next generation has no desire to enter a low-paying industry that they believe has been stifled by government regulation. The Mi/OP: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has asked many farmers to focus on rice instead of other crops, but it will take years to replenish the reserves.
Japan has a much more serious issue on its hands as the nation is at risk of an outright default on its outstanding debt. For now, the rice crisis has caused the average person to become disgruntled with the leadership. They say the public is quiet and content when everyone is fat and happy, but now, every meal is a reminder of government mismanagement.
“Every single Democratic governor agrees,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X along with a letter supporting the rioters. Every single Democrat received the memo that the plan to “fight Trump” entails permitting their minions to burn down another city.
In addition to 4,000 National Guard troops, the White House has deployed a group of 700 Marines to save the city of Los Angeles. Yet, every single Democratic governor does not care about the welfare of our troops or legal citizens. Multiple police officers have sustained injuries after these political activists pelted them with rocks and bricks. Someone even attempted to set a police horse on fire. The scene is completely uncivilized, depraved chaos that not one Democratic governor will condemn.
I reported how this is state-funded chaos with California paying NGOs millions to raise hell with taxpayer funds. We are witnessing the Black Lives Matter chaos repeat with precisely the same actors. We saw similar events at college campuses last year. Professional agitators are leading the riots and ensuring that they continue. A group of masked individualsdistributed riot shields and gas masks to the mostly peaceful protestors. Witnesses say that local law enforcement failed to intervene as the masked individuals distributed tactical gear. A group is arming “civilians” to fight back against the US military. This means that an outside influence, perhaps foreign in the case of Soros, has chosen to attack American forces. This is blatant terrorism at best, and an act of war at worst.
#BREAKING We just saw people arrive in Downtown L.A. with truck loads of Bionic Face Shields that demonstrators quickly grabbed.
It certainly seems like gear you'd wear if you're preparing for conflict with police.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell admitted that professional agitators are fueling the literal fires. “When I look at the people who are out there doing the violence, that’s not the people that we [see] during the day.”
BREAKING: LAPD Chief Admits Professional Left-Wing Anarchists Are Fueling the Violence in Los Angeles Riots
This reeks of a Soros op.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell just exposed what many already suspected—the chaos unfolding in Los Angeles is being escalated by professional leftist… pic.twitter.com/7vx7lnoyfA
He continued to say that the LAPD is not battling the typical civilian. “These are people who are all hooded up. They’ve got a hoodie on. They’ve got face masks on. They’re people who do this all the time. Get away with whatever they can. Go out there from one civil unrest situation to another, using the same or similar tactics frequently. They are connected. Some would call them anarchists. They’re people that we run across routinely, city to city, and this is what they do. Many of the people who are doing this come in from other places just to hurt people and to cause havoc.”
The people are not fighting back against Trump or ICE. Rather, a select group of paid actors has been incentivized and ordered to destroy a city for political purposes. Thousands of people did not simply take to the streets over deportation. This was a carefully planned and well-coordinated political movement. The Democrats are allowing it to happen and speaking favorably of the paid agitators who they want the public to believe are outraged liberal voters.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the city of LA as “under siege,” and promised to hunt down the mostly peaceful protestors who are physically attacking federal officers and government buildings. Unlike the Black Lives Matter protests, we have some semblance of law and order across the Trump Administration, and those responsible will hopefully see their day in court. More importantly, those responsible for creating the event need to face their day in court. These are often foreign entities that are deliberately meddling in US politics. Imagine if this were the response to any conservative cause? It would never happen. The extremists on the left have been permitted to unleash terror when they feel they are losing power without repercussion. America’s enemies are watching with enthusiasm as they see how broken our system has become. One party in our two-party system is ready to wage war against the other and is counting on the situation to escalate. How far will they go?
COMMENT: The next moron in charge of nato… Rutte… with a psycho propaganda quote: “invest now, or learn Russian later”
Let’s rephrase this with a counter slogan “let’s learn Russian now, let’s listen to Russia and de-escalate, let’s not betray Russia anymore, let’s not waste our money in a bottomless nato money pit based on western lies, and let’s enjoy wealth and freedom later”.
RB
REPLY: While the Democrats embrace alien criminals just because Trump wants to deport them, in Europe, it is NATO and the EU which does everything to undermine Trump and any possible peace in Ukraine. This all brings to mind Smedley D. Butler’s “War Is a Racket” which captures the essence, power, and enduring relevance of war and also civil unrest when it always comes down to money. Butler’s brutally honest book was written in 1935 by one of the most decorated Marines in U.S. history. After a 34-year career fighting in nearly every major U.S. conflict from the Spanish-American War through the “Banana Wars,” Butler reached a shocking conclusion.
Butler came to see that war is not primarily fought for democracy, freedom, or national defense. Instead, it is a carefully orchestrated “racket” – a criminal enterprise designed to generate enormous profits for a select few at the expense of the many. Butler’s critique carried immense weight precisely because of who he was. As a Major General, two-time Medal of Honor recipient, and commander of major expeditions, he had seen the inner workings of war from the highest levels. He couldn’t be dismissed as a naive pacifist.
The “Racket” had three phases, which he identified as:
Lobbying for War: Powerful business interests (bankers, arms manufacturers, industrialists, resource extractors) pressure governments into conflicts that will protect or expand their markets and investments overseas.
Profiteering During War: The same interests make obscene profits selling weapons, munitions, ships, loans, and supplies to the government (funded by taxpayer dollars). Soldiers pay with their lives; civilians pay with blood, suffering, and taxes.
Profiteering After War: These interests often control the post-war settlement, securing lucrative concessions, resource rights, and loan arrangements from defeated nations (reparations), further enriching themselves while saddling populations with debt.The Costs are Borne by Others: The young men who fight and die, the families who lose loved ones, the taxpayers who foot the astronomical bill, and the societies left shattered bear all the real costs. The profits are privatized; the losses are socialized.
Butler pulls no punches, as they say. His language is direct, vivid, and often scathing. He uses stark figures to expose the grotesque disparity between war profits and human cost. (“Out of war nations acquire additional territory… the newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the self-same few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war.”)
Butler’s first-hand experience draws powerful examples from his own service in Cuba, the Philippines, China, Central America, and the Caribbean, showing how U.S. interventions directly benefited specific corporations (e.g., United Fruit, sugar interests, banks).
The critique of the Military-Industrial Complex (a term Eisenhower popularized later) is central. The dynamics Butler described – corporate influence on foreign policy, war profiteering, the manipulation of patriotism, the human cost vs. private gain – remain potent issues. They still dominate this proxy war against Russia, as Boris Johnson openly stated that Britain is at war with Russia.
Naturally, anyone who speaks the truth will have critics who argue for the continued carnage and bloodshed. Critics of Butler argue that he reduces complex geopolitical events to solely economic motives. While he powerfully exposes a crucial driver often overlooked, factors such as ideology, nationalism, genuine security threats, and diplomatic failures also play significant roles in wars. There is always an economic element. When everyone is fat and happy, there is no war.
Butler’s proposed solution was that the only way to stop the racket was to make war unprofitable. When young men are conscripted to die, wealth should be conscripted to pay for the war. Limit wartime profits to a small, fixed percentage. He also argued for restricting military deployment. Only allow the military to defend U.S. soil. No more expeditions to protect corporate investments abroad. “Take the profit out of war.”
Only those registered for frontline service should be allowed to vote on whether to go to war. Not those who profit from war.
It remains a foundational text for understanding the critique of the Military-Industrial Complex, corporate influence on foreign policy, and the inherent injustice of war profiteering. It forces readers to question the official narratives of war and consider the powerful economic interests that often lurk beneath the surface. While perhaps not the only factor in wars, Butler highlights a factor that is frequently overlooked or downplayed. Mainstream media beats the war drums, and they too profit from sensationalizing war to get readership. The Spanish-American War was created by Pulitzer and Hearst competing for readership, creating biased yellow journalism.
In short, “War Is a Racket” is a short, essential, and provocative read. It’s a powerful dose of uncomfortable truth from a man who knew war intimately. Its message is as relevant and disturbing today as it was in 1935. It’s less a book to agree with on every point, and more one to grapple with and be challenged by.
I, for one, will strongly object to ANY federal funds going to California to rebuild LA. Let Newsom raise taxes in California even more to pay for his protection of non-Americans. He forgot that he swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. He has rejected that and all responsibility to enforce the law simply because he disagrees with whatever any Republican says – he just has to take the opposite, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. It would be nice to expel California from the United States and let it take in all illegal immigrants who cannot possibly have a legitimate job without citizenship or a Greencard. He supports illegal aliens against Americans – plain and simple. He is violating the civil rights of Americans and for that he could even be criminally charged.
The segregation of the South refused to honor the Constitution. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the Department of Justice (DOJ) powerful tools: filing lawsuits against states, cities, businesses, and school districts; withholding federal funds; and sending federal marshals to protect activists and enforce court orders. The Supreme Court consistently upheld the constitutionality of these laws, especially their use of the Commerce Clause (e.g., Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S., Katzenbach v. McClung for the CRA ’64) and the enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (e.g., South Carolina v. Katzenbach). This judicial backing was essential.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 demolished the legal framework of segregation in public spaces, schools, and employment. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 smashed the political system built on Black disenfranchisement. Together, backed by federal enforcement, court rulings, and sustained activism, these laws broke the legal backbone of Jim Crow segregation in the American South, transforming the region and the nation. However, the fight for true racial equality continues.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a significant U.S. law that prohibits racial discrimination in voting, aiming to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, and has been amended several times to strengthen its protections against discriminatory practices. The Supreme Court just ruled for straight woman who claims she was subjected to reverse discrimination.
What Newsom is doing in California could land him in prison for a very long time. He is engaging in REVERSE DISCRIMINATION against American citizens when illegal aliens are NOT entitled to voting rights any more than I can vote in London just because I got in and refused to leave. Newsom has violated his oath of office, and this is what Democrats do just to win at all costs anymore, for they feel they MUST oppose whatever Trump does, no matter what..
Posted originally on CTH on June 10, 2025 | Sundance
This indictment summary reads like a movie script.
A member of the Chinese Communist Party, Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario California, came to the USA on a student visa in 2012; he never left.
Wen remained in the USA illegally, while somehow purchasing “a firearms business in Houston, paid for with money sent through intermediaries by one of Wen’s North Korean contacts.”
After organizing a covert life in the United States, and after purchasing the firearms company, Wen began sending weapons and sensitive military hardware to China, where it was transshipped by prior agreement and sent into North Korea. You just have to read the DOJ press release to review the unbelievable system Shenghua Wen had put into place.
“Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter, or other aircraft, and could be used for reconnaissance and target identification.” [READ MORE]
Wen plead guilty to the charges and now faces “a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the count of violating the IEEPA and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 18.”
Posted originally on CTH on June 10, 2025 | Sundance
According to a statement by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a grand jury has indicted Representative LaMonica McIver (N.J) on three charges related to her involvement in a violent stunt at an ICE facility.
Previously the Dept of Homeland Security released body camera footage showing LaMonica McIver, instigating a violent confrontation with DHS and Immigration Customs and Enforcement officials in Newark, New Jersey. The indictment today is another step in President Trump’s promise to continue targeting and deporting illegal aliens.
Posted originally on CTH on June 10, 2025 | Sundance
Apparently, the prior narrative that everything was fine, there’s nothing to see here, just didn’t work. As footage of looting, arson, violence and riots against law enforcement continues to highlight the false presentations of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, the mayor has now declared a local state of emergency – with an immediate 8:00pm curfew, starting tonight. WATCH:
The same people burning cars, breaking into businesses, destroying property and throwing objects at law enforcement, are suddenly going to adhere to a curfew! Huh, imagine that.
Posted originally on CTH on June 10, 2025 | Sundance
This is actually a very surprising development. The World Bank (WB) is a heavily controlled multinational exploit of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Economic Forum assembly (WEF). This could be looked upon as the WTO/WEF taking a knee as they finally accept Godzilla Trump is not going to relent. Remember, the Build Back Better agenda was a construct from the WEF/WTO.
Looking a little more deeply at the people behind the latest shift in tone and paying close attention to the wording they are using, there’s an inference the World Bank is telling Europe to stop being intransigent or they will lose U.S. military support. A very unusual shift in WB tone.
In my first review opinion, as the legal arbitration system for trade complaints, the WB are trying to mitigate President Trump’s full-frontal assault on the global trade imbalance that brings the global trade wealth back to the USA.
NEW YORK POST […] – Top economists at the international institution, which helps finance low and middle-income countries, acknowledged that many nations do not provide reciprocal trade access to the US.
“This [situation] could not be sustained indefinitely,” the World Bank’s chief economist, Indermit Gill, said during a news briefing, the Washington Post reported.
[Gill] contended that Trump’s actions were merely a response to uneven trade access between other countries and the US.
Other experts at the World Bank concurred with that assessment and indicated that Europe, Japan and China should all take steps to reduce trade barriers on the US, while calling for an across-the-board rollback on tariffs on all sides. (more)
Posted originally on CTH on June 10, 2025 | Sundance
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be departing London, leaving Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to finalize the details with the Chinese trade delegation.
Apparently, the talks have been very productive according to Bessent and extended well beyond the previously scheduled timeline as they get very specific with the expectations and terms of compliance.
LONDON – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday he is departing ongoing trade talks with China because he has to travel to Washington, D.C., to testify before Congress the next day.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will remain in London to continue the negotiations with Beijing, which are still underway after two lengthy days of talks, Bessent said.
Lutnick said earlier that the parties were “trying to finish” by Tuesday evening.
The talks have been “productive,” Bessent said as he left the ornate Lancaster House near Buckingham Palace where the discussions are taking place. The remaining negotiators “are continuing as needed with the Chinese delegation,” he added.
The two economic superpowers are meeting for the second time in as many months as they seek to sort out key differences during a volatile moment in their ongoing trade war.
The discussions are expected to center on hashing out an agreement to ease U.S. controls on exports to China in exchange for Beijing committing to free up its export of key minerals known as rare earths.
Disputes over rare earths and export controls emerged in the weeks after trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland, led both sides to temporarily pare back most of the tariffs on each others’ goods.
The Chinese delegation included Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang. (LINK)
Apparently, the pandas do not want face time with Peter Navarro. lol
While each of the trade Wolverines have teeth, Howard Lutnick is the enforcer. The prior issue of importance surrounded promises made in Geneva to Bessent and Greer on the continuation of mined and refined rare earth minerals from China needed in batteries.
The addition of Lutnick is akin to President Trump saying, go ahead and make the promise again – only this time Lutnick will be there to spell out the consequences of inaction.
President Trump did not send Peter Navarro, yet, because Beijing hates him too much. It would be impolite to expose the Pandas to their arch nemesis. However, if things don’t go well, we might just see Navarro on the upcoming trip to China with President Trump. lolol
Posted originally on CTH on June 10, 2025 | Sundance
Earlier today, California Governor Gavin Newsom claimed President Trump never called him prior to the President’s decision to take control of the national guard. A few hours later President Trump showed the screen capture of his telephone call with Newsom proving the governor was a liar. President Trump was asked about it as he departed Fort Bragg returning to Washington DC.
On the military in Los Angeles: “I just want to see peace. If there’s peace, we get out. If there’s even a chance of no peace, we stay there until there’s peace.” “I called in the military in Minneapolis, but it was seven days. I waited for this guy — the same guy that ran for vice president, who’s a very dumb person. He’s a Low IQ Individual like many Democrats are.” WATCH:
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