Tag Archives: anti-American globalists

Aug 12 2017

War Against the Rich – Age Old Battle


Armstrong Economics Blog/Uncategorized

RE-Posted from Jul 28, 2014 by Martin Armstrong

Basil-II Image

The battle of class warfare has been raging for thousands of years. This is nothing new and it has tended to end is sheer disaster without exception. Basil II (b 958; 976–1025) really set the decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire in motion by engaging in such class-warfare to win popularity. Just as government desperately needs money today and are going after anyone they suspect has money, the same trend has happened countless times before.

basil-2 Histamenon nomisma

As a result of the failures of his immediate predecessors, Basil II found himself with a serious problem at the outset of his reign.  Basil’s laws protected small agrarian property owners and lowered their taxes while imposing what was known as the Allelengyou system whereby he made the rich pay taxes that anyone else could not afford. He only accomplished impoverishing the rich and the poor felt they no longer really needed to produce and the whole thing spiraled downward.  By imposing such taxation he discouraged investment and as such the economy continued to shrink. He caused capital to simply hoard and not investment because of the high taxation rates.

The Byzantine Empire under Basil II probably had a population of about 18 million people. By 1025, Basil II (with an annual revenue of 7,000,000 nomismata) was able to amass 14,400,000 nomismata (or 200,000 pounds of gold) for the Imperial treasury due to his abusive tax management.

Moscow-2

To gain military support, Basil made the decision to offer the hand of his sister Anna to Vladimir I of Kiev in exchange. This led to the Christianization of the Ukrainian Rus (Russians). The Kievan Rus thus became within the Byzantine cultural and religious tradition that still prevails to this day – Greek orthodox.

Therefore, raising taxes to the point that government discourages investment has ALWAYS been the kiss of death. This is the greatest problem in Europe right now and Obama is looking for any excuse to raise taxes sharply. These people have NEVER done any analysis of the consequences of such policies and there is unlikely to ever emerge such reason to prevent the crash and burn

Aug 12 2017

Kim Jung Un – : “Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war”.


Armstrong Economics Blog/War

Re-Posted Aug 12, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

In Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Mark Antony says in Act 3, Scene 1, line 273: “Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war”. What is truly astonishing is how the Democrats and CNN hate Trump so much they are praising Kim Jung Un and made him the hero an are actually saying he is more responsible than Trump. This is really just unbelievable how partisan politics has come to this.

The agenda of the Democrats and CNN is rather startling. They are supporting North Korea – not the United States. I do not think this has ever happened in the history of this nation. Democrat Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who is the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that Kim Jong Un is more responsible than Trump.

“You have this guy making bellicose threats against somebody else who has very little to lose over there. Kim Jong-un, the world always thought he was not a responsible leader well he’s acting more responsible than this guy is. And what I’m telling you is once you start seeing missile launches, you’re going to see—the time for cranking up the anti-war machine is right now. So if you don’t want to get caught, deer-in-the-headlights, start calling for diplomacy in North Korea immediately.”

If anyone is going to start a war, it will be the Democrats and CNN who keep putting politics ahead of the national security of the country and the world. North Korea’s threat to launch four intermediate-range ballistic missiles into the ocean near Guam I have stated would be a huge risk for North Korea. This will mark the first combat test of the most sophisticated missile defense systems of the United States and its Asian allies known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad. You can bet both Russia and China are hoping Kim is that stupid because they would love to see a test of this system live.

The launches would take just 17 minutes to reach their targets as the Hwasong-12 missile has a maximum range of 3,000 miles. North Korea’s Hwasong-12 missiles might fail, or the United States or its allies could destroy them even on the launchpad once they go hot. True, United States might also decide to do nothing and let the missiles splash harmlessly into the sea, but that would waste a fantastic opportunity to show the world the system is ready.

If Kim’s Hwasong-12s do make it off the ground, then the focus on stopping them will rely on hitting them on the way down, known as the “terminal” phase, rather than on their way up known as the “boost phase.” They are a liquid-fueled missile with a maximum range of 3,000 miles, but they reach a maximum altitude of about 470 miles. The velocity exceeds the speed of sound many times within just one minute. This is why it is impossible to shoot it down during the “boost phase.”

Once the Hwasong-12’s booster burns out ending the “boost phase” reaching the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere, it ceases to accelerate. This is the tricky part of the missile’s trajectory is called “midcourse.” This is actually the most difficult time for an interception, because a it can release decoy balloons that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. The United States and its Allies have SM-3 missiles designed for ballistic missile defense, which can hit intermediate-range missiles in midcourse.

However, to use an SM-3 IIA against missile targets in space requires the SM-3 to be closer to Guam not Japan or South Korea. The primary existing system to stop intercontinental ballistic missiles is deployed to protect the continental United States known as Ground-Based Midcourse Defense, which is based in Alaska and California. This would not be able to stop a missile targeting Guam. This system has not really been successful in all attempts.

Therefore, Kim could target the mid-Pacific. If the USA has an SM-3 to launch in that region that could target the “Terminal Phase”, then Kim could look very stupid. This is a high stakes game of politics with no real risk of life but ego.

Aug 10 2017

Zogby Analytics Poll – Trump Approval Climbing Simultaneous To Main Street Economic Gains…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 10, 2017 by

Zogby Analytics is out with a new survey of 1,300 “Likely Voters” and shows President Trump’s approval numbers are climbing and now around 45%.  However, the interesting aspect of the survey is the groups showing the highest gains in approval.

It won’t surprise you to discover the strongest gains in support for President Trump can be found amid the middle-class and working population of the U.S.  Those who are benefiting the most from Trump’s America-First Main Street economic policy are the constituent group with the largest gains in support.

Highlights:

♦Trump’s approval numbers have moved up slightly, especially among his base and a few other sub-groups not known for their support of the president.

♦When it comes to party, President Trump’s numbers are steady among Republican likely voters; he has a 76% approval/22% disapproval rating among Republicans, which is almost identical from our July poll. Among Independents, Trumps numbers have improved nearly seven points to 40% approval/50% disapproval. The president’s numbers are still down among Independents from a few months ago.

♦Trump’s numbers improved with Asian American voters surveyed; Trump’s approval stands at 43% approve and 55% who disapprove.

♦Trump saw one the biggest improvements among any sub-group with Hispanics; his approval increased 11% to 42% approval versus 55% who disapprove of Trump’s job as president.

♦When it comes to where voters live, large city voters-population >100k (39% approve/58% disapprove) and small city voters (44% approve/51% disapprove) are more likely to disapprove of President Trump. Small City voters (population less than 100k) were the largest increase in approval for Trum among sub-groups, with a 12% gain in approval since July. Trump does slightly better in the suburbs–47% approve/48% disapprove and he remains popular in the rural areas with 50% approve/44% disapprove.

♦Trump also continues to get higher marks among married voters-53% approve/43% disapprove versus single voters-31%approve/61% disapprove; homeowners-50% approve/47% disapprove versus renters-35% approve/59% disapprove, while NASCAR fans-58% approve/37% disapprove and Weekly Walmart shoppers-55% approve/43% disapprove.

♦Trump’s numbers also increased significantly among union voters from 43% approval to 51% approval in August. (full poll link)

These results don’t look good for the Democrat opposition party who see the largest part of their historic constituency benefiting immensely from President Trump.  It is no wonder the DNC and Democrat Leadership are now trying to steal President Trump’s middle-class economic platform.

Funny that…

What’s a good Vichy Republican to do?…

Aug 10 2017

Gordon Chang: President Trump “Fire and Fury” Comments Intended for China Not North Korea…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 9, 2017 by

Apparently CTH and Asian expert Gordon Chang are on the same intellectual page in analysis of the ongoing North Korea issues.  In this interview Mr. Chang outlines the dynamic between U.S. President Trump, North Korean President Kim Yong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Gordon Chang also agrees that mounting economic pressure on China will be the pathway to getting the DPRK into line.

.

The North Korean commentariat today has all been centered around a “response” to a precipitous strike by the United States. As previously outlined by Secretary Tillerson, via the “four no’s”, and backed up by the entire U.S. policy team, there is no intent on the U.S. to initiate a North Korean regime change. That leverage approach is China’s to utilize; while we hold China accountable.

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Aug 10 2017

Tillerson Deputy Attempts To Lower State Department Employee Anxiety…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 9, 2017 by

When we initially read this article yesterday our review began with an earnest and sincere effort to understand the concerns amid the career bureaucrats in the U.S. State Department; and also to understand the overall cultural climate that would need Secretary Tillerson’s Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to calm these officials….

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The No. 2 U.S. diplomat on Tuesday sought to allay concerns among the State Department’s rank-and-file employees over possible layoffs and perceptions of a lack of firm direction under the administration of President Donald Trump. (more)

…After all, this has to be about the eleventyth time either Secretary Tillerson or Deputy Sullivan has addressed these ‘climate assessment’ issues. It was less than a week prior to this latest effort by Sullivan when Tillerson himself was talking to the department.

I mean seriously, how much “talking to‘ could one organization need? These are obviously some seriously needy people. Then again, we’ve long discussed the overall liberal perspectives within the department; so the most entrenched liberalism inside government is definitively inside the Department of State.

These are, as we have always accepted, generational and career liberals.

The State Department is the furthest left of an entire governmental enterprise that is based on upward personnel evaluations the further an individual moves left ideologically.

To encapsulate, the article within Reuters winds through layers of internal employee concerns and ends with the following paragraph:

[…] In response to a question from an employee about State Department efforts for gay and lesbian couples posted abroad, Sullivan told employees he would do everything he can to make sure everyone is treated fairly, a remark that drew strong applause, one of the officials said. (link)

Nevermind.

Just close the entire department and start over.

It’s hopeless.

I cannot fathom the level of patience Secretary Rex Tillerson must possess to come from a private sector based on excellence and accountability, and yet work within such a dysfunctional snowflake culture of mediocrity and blame-casting.

Job

Aug 9 2017

North Korea – Beware August 2017


Armstrong Economic Blog/War

Re-Posted Aug 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

I have warned in the Cycle of War reports that for whatever reason, August is always the number one period where war tends to begin. Indeed, the world is holding its breath as fears rise with the crisis over North Korea potentially escalating in to global war after Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un made threats to trade missile strikes. The two key dates on our war model with North Korea to watch are August 12/13, 2017 and September 11/12, 2017. We must be on guard for these are the prime periods where a confrontation could emerge.

Pyongyang’s volatile dictator Kim Jong-un has warned he was ‘carefully examining‘ plans to make ‘an enveloping fire’ around the US island of Guam which is home to about 163,000 people and an important American military base. He made these comments following Donald Trump’s apocalyptic warning that North Korea faces ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen‘ over its nuclear program.

The US then released images of supersonic bombers flying over the Korean peninsula.Then Kim Jong-un said the training mission ‘proves that the U.S. imperialists are nuclear war maniacs‘. Kim, loves to boast that his intercontinental rockets can reach the west coast of America declaring that the US would ‘pay dearly‘ for UN sanctions it successfully imposed with the support for the first time of China and Russia.  In fact, Trump has managed to do what no president has done before – get the cooperation of both China and Russia. Nixon opened the door to China as a counter-measure against Russia – the old divide and conquer tactic. But Trump has pulled off a real politic coup globally despite CNN and Congress.

Beijing has joined Trump and staged ‘large-scale‘ military exercises with dozens of  warships, fighter jets and submarines adjacent to the Korean Peninsula on Monday. They have also moved 150,000 troops to its border with North Korea. Meanwhile, Russia moved military equipment including helicopters and combat vehicles to its southern frontier with North Korea. Putin has displayed its own massive military strength at a war games event in Siberia with a huge Navy Day parade in Vladivostok – about 100 miles from North Korean territory.

So why are these two dates coming up on our computer? The division of Korea between North and South Korea was the result of the allied victory in World War II in 1945, ending the Empire of Japan’s 35-year rule of Korea. The United States and the Soviet Union occupied the country, with the boundary between their zones of control along the 38th parallel. The United States supported the South, and the Soviet Union supported the North, and each government claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula. American troops occupy southern Korea, while the Soviet Union occupies the north, with the dividing line being the 38th parallel of latitude, which was established on September 8th, 1945 (1945,68). This arrangement proves to be the indirect beginning of a divided Korea which will lead to the Korean War in 1950.

The Korean War (1950–1953) left the two Koreas separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the later part of the Cold War and beyond. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 deprived North Korea of its main source of economic aid. Without Soviet aid, North Korea’s economy went into an economic free-fall in 1992 pretty much in line with the Economic Confidence Model calculated from the birth of the 38th Parallel.

 

At our Hong Kong WEC I went through the markets are illustrated that August would be the key turning point. The computer need not comprehend the fundamentals. It interlaces everything globally to product the result for turning points. This is just a time we need to be on guard about market reactions. (see private Blog Post later today)

Aug 8 2017

Mitch McConnell Complains President Trump Has “excessive expectations” of Republican Congress (video)…


Re-Posted from The conservative Tree House on August 8, 2017 by

During a Monday Rotary Club meeting in Kentucky senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took questions from audience members who asked McConnell to explain why Republican lawmakers have been unable to deliver major legislative accomplishments for the president.

Senator McConnell responded by saying President Trump’s expectations are too high.

“I’d ask for a show of hands, but I know everybody’s saying, ‘been there, haven’t done anything,’ which I find extremely irritating — and I’m going to tell you why. A Congress goes on for two years. Part of the reason I think that the storyline is that we haven’t done much is because, in part, the president and others have set these early timelines about things need to be done by a certain point.”

“Our new president, of course, has not been in this line of work before, and I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the Democratic process.”

Fortunately, this ridiculously elitist and arrogant establishment tone will likely not play well. This, along with a host of other ridiculous comments and realities could doom Luther Strange in the upcoming Alabama special election. Luther Strange is the loyal Decepticon favorite of Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove.  Mo Brooks and Roy Moore are more aligned with President Trump.

Aug 8 2017

Red Dragon Plays Panda: China States It Will Enforce U.N. Resolutions Against North Korea….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on August 7, 2017 by

We’ll see.  The red dragon has a tendency to say one thing publicly and manipulate another thing privately.  However, the baseline for China to take the role of Big Panda is the reception of Secretary Rex Tillerson’s “Four No” remarks on North Korea during his State Department briefing.

TILLERSON”S FOUR NO’S: The United States does not seek •regime change, •the collapse of the regime, •an accelerated reunification of the peninsula or •an excuse to send the U.S. military into North Korea.

So long as the ‘four-no’s’ remain visible and discussed in the international dialogue, the options for China are to comply or to be called out as a deceiving enabler.  The economic consequences for China to break the sanctions are looming and severely consequential.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will pay the biggest price from the new United Nations sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country, but will always enforce the resolutions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday that could slash its $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.

Speaking at a regional security forum in Manila on Monday, Wang said the new resolution showed China and the international community’s opposition to North Korea’s continued missile tests, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Owing to China’s traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution,” the statement cited Wang as saying.

“But in order to protect the international non-proliferation system and regional peace and stability, China will as before fully and strictly properly implement the entire contents of the relevant resolution.”

China has repeatedly said it is committed to enforcing increasingly tough U.N. resolutions on North Korea, though it has also said what it terms “normal” trade and ordinary North Koreans should not be affected.

The latest U.N. resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean laborers currently working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.

Wang said that apart from the new sanctions, the resolution also made clear that the six party talks process, a stalled dialogue mechanism with North Korea that also includes Russia and Japan, should be restarted.

That was promise that all Security Council members made, including China, Russia and the United States, and which ought to be carried out, Wang added. (read more)

Aug 8 2017

California Voter Fraud – 11 Counties Posted Votes in Excess of their Population


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Aug 8, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Judicial Watch has filed a letter of intent that reflects a very serious problem in California voting. Eleven California counties posted more votes for Hillary than the population. We are looking at massive voter fraud in California that could serious rock the nation when we consider that if we eliminate California, Trump won the majority of the vote everywhere else. This is not about supporting Trump. That is long since done. This is about going forward. Can any election be trusted any more?

If we can buy goods online in a secure manner, we can also vote on line. Even those who do not have a computer posses usually a smart phone which can also be used to vote. For those people who do not have either, then they can go to the public library or town hall to vote. Voting online will eliminate voter fraud for you cannot vote without a Social Security card. Plain and simple.

Aug 8 2017

Obamacare is Officially Destroying the Economy & Has Reached 60% of total Retail Sales


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption

Re-Posted Aug 8, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The retail sector has been stagnant and most people are blaming AMAZON. A closer look is really required rather than the typical superficial analysis. Today, online sales represent only 8.5% of total retail sales. Amazon comes in at $80 billion in sales, but this merely amounts to just 1.5% of total U.S. retail sales, since 2016 total retail sales were around $5.5 trillion. What John McCain did to kill the repeal of Obamacare is devastating to the economy. The Democrats refuse to review what they have done and cannot see past their ego that Obamacare is destroy the economy.

The health-care inflation is the greatest rising cost to everyone and the proliferation of high-deductible plans has devastated Millennials. Some are paying $300 a month yet have $3,000 deductibles. In effect, the cost of health-care has been one huge fraud that is enriching the insurance companies who are major contributors to the Democrats. Obamacare has drastically increased consumer direct health-care costs and further chipped away at discretionary dollars far more than AMAZON. Health-care spending in the U.S. is $3.3 trillion, and even a 3% rise in costs would be close to $100 billion. With total retail sales at $5.5 trillion, heath-care now consumes 60% of retail sales and it is retail sales that are the backbone of the US economy that is holding up the entire world economy. What John McCain has done is far worse than anyone in the media is even contemplating.

While politics just basks in the corruption and the Democrats will not review what they have done, from 2018 to 2021, the future is looking darker and darker. Heath-care is single-handedly destroying the entire world economy.