Posted originally onApr 28, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
Countless nations have increased their customs requirements as the freedom of movement slowly becomes restricted. The European Union now requires ETIAS for entry. The United Kingdom now requires an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). The United States has recently made headlines for enforcing stricter border patrol, but the stories are extremely misleading and intended to paint the United States as increasingly authoritarian under the Trump Administration.
The US Embassy in Tokyo announced that Japanese individuals applying for a DS-160 or nonimmigrant visa may need to submit their social media accounts. Travelers may be asked to submit any form of social media they’ve used during the past five years. The US government can deny entry to anyone who fails to comply with the requirements. This has produced misleading reports that the US government is specifically targeting Japanese travelers, but the government has the authority to search anyone from any nation, including US citizens.
The US Department of State (DOS) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began conducting limited social media account reviews for visa applicants and immigrants in 2019, although these searches are rare. Border Patrol has the right to inspect the electronic devices of any traveler. However, this was not a requirement for entry.
“We are looking solely for social media identifiers. Consular officers will not request user passwords. The information will be used, as all information provided during a visa interview and on the visa application, to determine if the applicant is eligible for a visa under existing U.S. law. Collecting this additional information from visa applicants will strengthen our process for vetting applicants and confirming their identity,” the FAQ’s on the updated 2019 guidelines stated. “Consular officers cannot deny visas based on applicants’ race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, political views, gender, or sexual orientation,” the original guidelines state. One must question whether political views will be ignored in 2025.
“Any traveler entering the U.S. is subject to CBP inspection,” CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham said in a statement to USA TODAY. “CBP follows strict policies and directives when it comes to searching electronic media. These searches are rare, highly regulated, and have been used in identifying and combating serious crimes, including terrorism, smuggling, human trafficking, and visa fraud. Any claims of politically motivated searches are completely unfounded.”
Additionally, the United States is NOT the only nation that can search through social media accounts. The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) outright asks travelers to submit their social media history. Social media information is now required for visa-free travel authorization under ETIAS. Actual searches at the border are thought to be less common because the governments already have that information.
The Tokyo embassy’s report led to numerous Japanese travelers angrily taking to the internet to claim that they will never travel to the United States, as they are being specifically targeted. It is fake news. The media is keen to run any story regarding travelers turned away at the US border, but nearly all of those cases are the result of improper documentation. We never hear stories of Americans turned away at foreign borders, but it happens every day. You cannot enter a foreign nation without proper documentation — end of story. Legacy media is attempting to mislead the world into believing the United States is a dangerous nation under a fascist dictator who is eager to deport anyone without a red MAGA hat to El Salvador. It is all absolute nonsense. There should be far more concern regarding the new ETIAS and ETA programs if anything.
Posted originally on Apr 28, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
California recently surpassed Japan to become the World’s fourth-largest economy behind the United States, China, and Germany. The International Monetary Fund believes California’s nominal GDP is $4.1 trillion, surpassing Japan’s $4.01 trillion.
While many businesses have fled California due to excessive taxation and regulation, it remains the home of 57 Fortune 500 companies, which is more than any other state in the US. Apple, Alphabet (Google), Chevron, Meta, Nvidia, Netflix, Molina, Qualcomm, Intel, and others have headquarters in the Golden State. While five Fortune 500 companies departed from California last year, it gained 9 new entrants.
California has attracted over 40% of US venture capital, becoming the home of many startups in AI and biotech. In Q1 of 2024, 59.25% of all new US venture capital was raised in California, up from 37.9% on an annual basis. Startups in California generated $20.9 billion in Q1 of 2024, the highest quarterly total on record. For 2024 as a whole, California claimed 48.79% of the nation’s venture capital, raising over $43 billion.
Tourism is another money maker for the state, raking in $156.7 billion in 2024, a 4% annual increase and an all-time high. International spending on tourism generated $27.8 billion as the state has finally recovered from the post-pandemic dip in travel. Domestic spending accounted for $129 billion in tourism last year, a 4% annual uptick. California’s tourism sector alone provides 1.15 million jobs.
Agriculture is a major cornerstone of the state’s economy as well. Over 40% of the state’s land is used for farming, totaling 40 million acres, including 8.5 million irrigated acres. The state heavily relies on migrantworkers to maintain these farmlands, leading to political differences with Washington. California produces 75% of America’s fruits and nuts, and 40% of vegetables. The Golden State generated $59.4 billion from agriculture in 2023. The state directs 40% of its water usage to farmlands, and water usage will become a key item to consider going forward.
“California isn’t just keeping pace with the world — we’re setting the pace. Our economy is thriving because we invest in people, prioritize sustainability, and believe in the power of innovation,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “While we celebrate this success, we recognize that our progress is threatened by the reckless tariff policies of the current federal administration. California’s economy powers the nation, and it must be protected,” he added.
Newsom believes the US economy will shrink by $100 billion annually as a result of tariffs. California is suing the Trump administration to overturn tariffs, along with Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont. Newsome is suing the Trump Administration for its deportation efforts as well, as his state’s economy needs migrants for its agriculture sector. California has launched its own tourism marketing campaign geared toward Canadiansto separate the state from the federal government.
California also hosts the largest deficit of all US states. It relies heavily on Washington for financial support. If California were to secede, it would not be a utopia. It would be a fragmented region with massive capital flight, internal divisions (North vs. South California). Not to mention, the state does not have a military or currency of its own. Still, California’s strengthening economy and desire to separate itself from Washington will result in louder chants for succession and independence.
Posted originally on Apr 28, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has launched a new employment program as the nation braces for thousands to return home amid America’s deportation campaign. BBVA Research believes there are around 4.1 Mexican nationals illegally residing in the US, accounting for around 37% of the total undocumented population. Sheinbaum’s new proposal has been met with much criticism by the Mexican people, as they believe the government abandoned rural areas long ago.
The Conexión Empresarial Paisano platform is listing 63,880 new job openings through 220 companies across all 32 states. The current plan is to provide 50,000 of these new openings to people deported or willing to return from the United States. “Mexico wants them to know they are welcome and that they can find dignified, well-paying work,” said Francisco Cervantes Díaz, president of the CCE, to Síntesis.
Salaries are pennies in comparison to US minimum wage, although the cost of living in Mexico is drastically less. Operational roles will begin with a monthly salary between $424 and $843, while tech jobs will earn between $800 and $1,600 monthly. The average cost of living in Mexico for a single person is around $1,300 per month, according to some estimates, with a family of four averaging a bit beneath $3,000. One-bedroom rentals range from $329-$563 monthly, while a three-bedroom could cost upward of $990. Naturally it is cheaper to live outside major cities, as monthly housing costs in places like Monterrey or Mexico City are much higher.
It is clear to see why people fled Mexico for a better life in the United States, with even the lowest paying part-time jobs offering more. Based on 2024 data from BBVA Research, 35% of Mexicans fell in the “working poor” category, which is a historic low. Yet, in 2022 43.5% of the population lived in poverty. The average person earns a mere $373 monthly or 7,441 pesos.
It will be difficult for someone earning a living in the US on the USD to return to a nation offering a fraction of the pay in pesos. Millions were sending dollars back to their families in Mexico, aiding the Mexican economy in general. People are justifiably upset that the government is now offering jobs to people who have already chosen to flee the nation, believing this is merely political virtue signaling.
Posted originally on Apr 28, 2025 by Martin Armstrong
The Failure of the London peace talks last Week was a critical defining moment. The “peace talks,” which were meant to take place in London on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, collapsed as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Wytkoff cancelled their attendance. Instead, Wytkoff headed for Moscow for his fourth meeting with Vladimir Putin. This was indeed what some will refer to as a watershed moment for European powers, demonstrating that they are not about to lure Trump into supporting their war of conquest and vengeance against Russia for the days of the Bolsheviks.
Zelensky now knows that he cannot play Trump as a fool. Now he has cleverly tried to con Trump into still creating World War III by changing the label again. He met with Trump at the Vatican for the Pope’s funeral. Zelensky’s new scheme is to get NATO protection without being a member of NATO. His proposal is now that he could not join NATO, which will provide the security guarantees with pretend peace-keepers against future Russian aggression, when this entire war began with Ukrainian aggression against the Russians in the Donbas.
The solution has always been to honor the Minsk Agreement, which Merkel and France intentionally lied about when they negotiated, playing Putin for a fool while Ukraine built an army. Honor that peace agreement, and 1.1 million Ukrainians would still be alive today, and 8 million would not have had to flee their country.
Putin even tried to explain the importance of the Minsk Agreement to avoid conflict. Zelensky understood that he was throwing his country into the meat-grinder all on the orders of the Neocons and NATO, who he now says they acknowledge he cannot join NATO, so they will provide the same protection just as a security guarantee without membership.
Allow the Donbas to vote and separate, as took place in former Yugoslavia, also resulting in countless deaths in the Kosovo War. It was the West that lied and wanted this war, pretending that they were defending Ukraine’s territory, which they could have also said about the breakup of Yugoslavia. Why not oppress all those ethnic groups to stay together?
It was former German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) who in 1888 foretold of a coming great world war that would “come out of some damned foolish thing in the Bakans.” The ethnic hatreds in this entire region are insoluble.
Ukraine MUST be divided like Yugoslavia, or there will NEVER be peace. Zelenksy is playing Trump as the fool all over again. He does not propose NATO’s Article 5 protection, but he did express optimism that there could be guarantees that were like the protection it offers. Trump between not just count his fingers shaking hands with this piece of shit determined to create World War III and the NATO protection as Article-5-like guarantees would still bring all of NATO into Ukraine if it is still not a member. You cannot trust Zelensky or any of the EU leaders, including Starmer.
Trump – you cannot be this stupid!!
The EU was hoping to get Trump to fund the insane war against Russia, as they are building their military in preparation for what will become World War III, the same strategy they pulled with the Minsk Agreement to buy time for Ukraine to create an army. This time, it is an EU army. The phrase “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” is attributed to Anthony Weldon, who wrote about it in his 1651 book, “The Court and Character of King James.” The saying emphasizes the importance of learning from past mistakes to avoid being deceived again. They are playing both Trump and Putin for fools once again.
Starmer, Macron, and Zelensky were hoping to fool Trump into providing an open-ended security guarantee for a Zelensky regime while Europe bought time to create its EU Army. They honestly think they are clever and more intelligent than everyone else. Moreover, they were seeking to defraud the United States with Ukraine’s rare earths pretense promising to sign some deal with Trump when last January 16th, 2025 Keir Starmer flew into Kiev and signed a 100-year partnership with Kiev worth £3 billion a year indefinitely while Zelensky signed over the bulk of Ukraine’s resources and infrastructure capital to British interests – not American. The deal was part of this idea of resurrecting Europe to rise against as the leader of the world, as if they were Charlemagne trying to revive the old Roman Empire.
The deal was supposed to boost London’s financial markets. However, as always, they expect the USA to fund the expenses while they reap the profits. Even Boris Johnson explained, without the US security guarantee, “not a penny can flow from this investment.” Indeed, Starmer also confirmed that the “US backstop is vital” for London to reap the profits, which would include rare earths that they would then mark up and sell to the USA. As Marco Rubio explained, “President Trump isn’t going to take that. He’s not going to get gamed. He hopes Zelensky isn’t trying to hustle the United States; that’s not going to be productive here.” This is an outright fraud against the United States.
Of course, Zelensky is a Neonazi and he gets his instructions from the Neocons and London. He pretended to be Christian and joked about confiscating the assets of Russians and Jews. He announced he was suddenly Jewish ONLY after he became president.
This is what the Ukrainians were doing to Jews. They killed the woman and threw her child into a grave alive, so they did not waste bullets on Jewish Children. This is what Zelensky would joke about on stage before becoming president.
These horrible world leaders, willing to sacrifice their own people for personal hatreds, should be in prison. They think that they are smarter than Trump. Sorry to say – he is not Biden! Playing Trump for the fool, both Britain and France had to back off from sending in their peace-keeping troops to Ukraine, which would have protected this deal of strip-mining Ukraine. So now they have revised their scheme to get Trump to agree to NATO protection in an Article-5-like proposal, which they will still use to blame Putin as the aggressor, so they can strip-mine Russia, or so they believe.
They have also played Putin for the fool, assuming he, too, is stupid and would agree to their terms. At the same time, they build a European army to achieve their ultimate goal of conquering Russia and gaining the $75 trillion in assets that Russia has in natural resources. Getting their hands on that, they believe, will elevate Europe to rule the world since that is twice the value of the US national debt.
Upon the death of Pepin, Charlemagne (768-814 AD) became king of the Franks in 768 AD, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. However, Carloman suddenly died unexpectedly and unexplained in December 771, conveniently leaving Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He then began to expand his empire, conquering tribes. He became the King of the Lombards in 774 AD, and then Emperor of the Romans from 800 AD. It was about three intervals of the 309.6-year cycle until another Frenchman sought to conquer Europe – Napoleon. Here we are, 224 years later, with eyes once again on conquering Russia.
Putin is also not dumb. I would NEVER agree to such a proposal involving the EU, which has never told the truth, has its eyes on the conquest of Russia, and I would sign a mutual agreement with China that if one is attacked, the other will come to their defense. Then the old Cold War will rise again, but the EU is just not trustworthy.
Ukraine is engaging in terrorism, not warfare. They are violating every principle of international law, targeting even an engineer in Trussia who worked on the modernization of Russia’s electronic warfare in Ukraine. This is NOT a legitimate target in war. Ukraine is NOT an honorable adversary. All rules of engagement should be forgotten. So, people who design weapons in Ukraine are legitimate targets for assassination now? That was not how wars were fought.
Moscow will dictate the terms of peace if that can even exist. Zelensky has betrayed the Ukrainian people for all the money. He is so hated in Ukraine, and he knows he would never win an election, so he keeps extending the Martial Law, and the politicians who support him keep filling their offshore accounts with untold amounts of money. Zelensky would have to flee Ukraine forever, and even that will not guarantee his safety. It will be a Ukrainian who assassinates this ruthless individual. If he were an Albanian, they would kill Zelensky, his wife, children, and the dog. Just as Ukrainians are engaging in targeted assassinations of civilians, this places all Ukrainians on a list for assassination.
My ADVICE to Trump: insist that an election take place, and send in Americans to monitor the voting. We have the technology to allow online voting securely. All Ukrainians would be allowed to vote in the Donbas, as well as the 8 million hiding in Europe. Let the Ukrainian people vote on their future – not this obvious piece of shit and that disparages “shit” for he is far worse.
Despite all the fake news, Ukraine is losing and will NEVER survive this Neocon war.
This is NOT my opinion – this is the Computer forecast!
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America