Posted originally on May 3, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
Home prices in the US are near all-time highs. As I repeatedly stated, we can no longer look at real estate on the national level. Demand and value are contained to certain states and areas of certain states that the public has deemed most desirable, largely due to political factors such as taxes. Yet, at the moment, buyers are swiping up real estate where available. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller posted a 6.4% gain in February after January’s 6% spike, marking the fastest uptick in home prices since November 2022.
The 20-city composite jumped 7.3% on an annual basis, rising from January’s posting of 6.6%. The 10-city composite saw an 8% annual rise, up from 7.4% in January. February was the third consecutive month of rising home prices in all cities, with Washington D.C., New York, San Diego, and Los Angeles experiencing all-time highs in price.
San Diego saw an 11.4% annual rise in home prices, the largest jump in the 20-city composite. Detroit and Chicago posted 8.9% annual gains. Yes, we will eventually see the red states surpass the blue. Smart money is moving into assets like real estate. The downside of real estate is that they impose a property tax on it annually, but investors enjoy that passive income.
There is a notion of “now or never” among first-time buyers as it simply no longer makes sense financially to rent. A person’s ability to qualify for that first downpayment has diminished with rising rental costs. Rental costs increased 3.15% from February 2023 to February 2024, further rising to 3.6% annually in March of this year. This is close to the pre-pandemic growth rate of around 4.1%, but rental pricing is up 36.6% from the pre-pandemic era. While difficult to judge on a national basis, the average rental now costs $1,983 per month, but it is much higher in places like New York City ($3,206 average) or San Francisco ($3,024) hence why we are seeing people sweeping up real estate there.
Shelter is 34% of CPI. The April 10 release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that shelter costs have risen for the past 40 months. In March, shelter costs were the largest contributing factor for core inflation. Rising home prices will not benefit the economy or lead to any positive indicators that inflation is waning.
Posted originally on the CTH on May 1, 2024 | Sundance
You may have heard of the protests in Tbilisi, Georgia recently. The protests are framed around what the State Dept and CIA call “Russian favored” legislation.
The Georgia legislation essentially says that domestic lobbyists, NGO’s, entities, groups and individuals who are funded more than 20% by foreign interests need to register as such.
Essentially, the USA law we call the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), is what the country of Georgia is enacting in their own political landscape. However, the USA is not happy about the Georgia law to disclose the source of foreign funding (most of it anti-government) because the USA (specifically the State Dept and CIA) is the source of that funding.
This Georgia political scheme is yet another U.S. led color revolution in the same hues as 2014 Ukraine.
As noted by Global News, “in Georgia, protests have erupted over a proposed law requiring organizations with foreign funding to register their activities with the government. Critics compare the bill to similar legislation used to silence opposition groups in Russia. Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on Sunday to voice their opposition to the bill, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass protests against its expected passage.” WATCH:
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Dozens of people have been arrested in Georgia after police in the capital used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters who rallied outside Parliament to protest a controversial bill which they argue limits media freedom.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said 63 people were arrested Tuesday while they took part in a demonstration in Tbilisi. Levan Khabeishvili, an opposition MP, posted a picture of himself on his social media accounts with a bloodied face and heavy bruising. Members of his party said he had been assaulted by police.
Those arrested were taking part in the latest in a series of protests against a bill which would require media and non-commercial organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they get more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
The protesters have denounced it as “the Russian law” because Moscow uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the Kremlin.
If the bill is adopted, protesters are concerned that it will allow the authorities to more heavily control the media space as well as derailing integration with the EU after Georgia was granted candidate status in December 2023.
We know the US State Dept and CIA are behind this because we predicted it and wrote about it two months ago.
(March, 2024) – Having planted the seed for color revolution in Hungary, a European country that doesn’t want expanded war with Russia – therefore the U.S. needs to change the democracy, now Samantha Power moves to another European country for the same reason. This time it’s Georgia.
Georgia legislature recently passed a bill saying all funding for foreign intervention in the country’s politics, via Non-Governmental Agencies (NGO’s), needs to be made public and the funding registered as foreign agent lobbying. Essentially, the proposed Georgia law would mirror the U.S. Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).
However, because the U.S. is the funding mechanism for the anti-government agencies that operate within the country, the United States is against the effort. To make sure the U.S. can continue to covertly manipulate the political outcomes, the groups supported by Samantha Power attacked Parliament. [Power Tweet]
To highlight what Power is celebrating…. “Georgian protesters in their tens of thousands have gathered in the capital, smashing the windows of the Parliamentary headquarters and fighting local enforcement officers as the country erupts into chaos. The nation’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, rushed through its first reading of a “Kremlin-inspired” bill on Tuesday two days before the debate was scheduled to take place, causing carnage in Tbilisi as citizens fear their government is severing links to the West at a time of increased tensions with Russia.” (more)
So why is Samantha Power targeting Georgia now? Well, like Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili does not want expanded war with Russia. Therefore, just like Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Georgia must now be removed and replaced with a pro-war leader.
The U.S. has already installed a pro-war President in Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili. Now Samantha Power has the responsibility to replace the anti-war Prime Minister. [Please note we did the same thing in Poland]
The ruling Georgian Dream party has insisted it remains committed to Georgia’s EU and NATO membership. But a “foreign agent” bill reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics has in recent days sparked demonstrations, to which authorities have responded with water cannons and tear gas.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Thursday congratulated protesters in the Caucasus country after the government said it would drop the bill. […] worry has grown since Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s party tried to introduce the “foreign agent” law, even if for now they have withdrawn it. (link)
Yes, if you want to have a Foreign Agent Registration Act in a nation where the United States is the foreign actor, then you must be a Kremlin stooge. So goes the argument. It would be a lot more difficult for the U.S. to meddle in foreign countries if the people receiving the money from the U.S. had to disclose it to their citizens.
Hypocrisy thy name is…
…. And yes, it sucks to accept that we are the bad guys!
TEAM USA Suspicious Cat has, well, suspicion and shame sometimes.
Posted originally on Apr 26, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
The public has political fatigue. The 24/7 media cycle has been promoting political divide for years. The last election saw an outcome that was in contrast to the will of the people. No one on either side actually believes Joe Biden secured 81 million votes to become the most popular candidate in US history. Half of the nation deeply hates Donald Trump, and they have grown tired of seeing him appear on every broadcast whether it is in his favor or negatively. A new poll shows that interest in the upcoming presidential election has hit a 20-year low.
The NBC News poll found that Americans are largely dissatisfied with both top contenders. Immigration and inflation are the leading issues that concern voters. Only one of the two candidates would be willing to fix these issues, but half of the nation is already hell bent of seeing him lose. The Democrats never gave another candidate a fair chance. The DNC presented the public with a Biden-Harris ticket yet again and expected them to feign excitement.
This same NBC poll found a 74% interest rate in the elections during 2008, 67% in 2012, 69% in 2019, and 77% in 2020. Only 64% of registered voters say they are “highly interested” in the 2024 US Presidential Election. Young voters are especially disinterested in the election, as only 36% of registered voters aged 18 to 34 say they are highly interested in the presidential election.
Gerrymandering, mail-in ballots, thousands of votes cast on behalf of dead voters, prohibiting citizens from being required to show identification and therefore permitting illegals to vote – the last election was a complete disaster and this one will be no different. One in five Americans actually admitted to committing election fraud in 2020. Republicans were more prone to committing election fraud, but studies found that Donald Trump would have been the clear winner if mail-in ballots were prohibited.
Voters, especially the youth, have a “why bother” attitude toward voting as the elections appear rigged. Absolutely no one is excited about a Biden re-election. Biden is not debating at all. He is unable to speak and cannot carry a cohesive thought. The cognitive dissonance surrounding Trump is extremely strong and the people voting for Biden simply hate Donald Trump, but they are fearful of his supporters and a Trump victory because he has vowed to turn the nation in the opposite direction.
It matters not who wins. Neither party is going down without a fight this November. The Democrats have been attempting to put Donald Trump behind bars on ridiculous charges and even those on the far-left can see the overt corruption. Trump has been essentially barred from going on the campaign trail as he must stay in New York to attend meaningless hearings day in and day out. People hate Trump’s supporters openly and it has become taboo in many states to speak favorably of the former president.
America is completely divided. Inflation is a top issue, but the masses do not understand what has been driving inflation, and no, it is not corporate greed. Political fatigue has swept America as WE THE PEOPLE have little say in our political leadership.
Switzerland-based Nord Stream AG filed a lawsuit against the insurers for refusing to compensate the company. Nord Stream estimated the cost incurred by the attack to be between €1.2 billion and €1.35 billion and is seeking to recoup over €400 million in damages. The insurers, Lloyd’s Insurance Company and Arch Insurance Company responded that since the Nord Stream explosions were “more likely than not to have been inflicted by… a government,” they have no responsibility to pay for damages to the pipelines.
British insurers took the position that they have no obligation to honor their coverage of the Nord Stream pipelines because they were blown up in September 2022, because they were destroyed as an unprecedented act of sabotage, most likely carried out by a national government. They have contradicted reports of the Washington Post and others claiming that a private Ukrainian team was responsible for the massive act of industrial sabotage.
In their legal brief, you can download above, filed by Lloyd’s and Arch Insurance Companies, they state that the “defendants will rely on, inter alia, the fact that the explosion Damage could only have (or, at least, was more likely than not to have) been inflicted by or under the order of a government.”
Consequently, they argue, “the Explosion Damage was “directly or indirectly occasioned by, happening through, or in consequence of”the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and therefore falls under an exclusion relating to military conflicts. This is important because regardless of your insurance, going into war means they will never pay any claims. Personally, I have NEVER had any insurance company EVER pay what I was covered for. When I die, I am sure they will claim that he is a clone and he is hiding somewhere.
A tree once fell on my brand-new car in a storm. It was then sent to Bordentown Autobody to be repaired. They burned down with my car in it. Allstate Insurance screwed me because I paid cash for the car, and as soon as they knew no bank was involved, they claimed there were two deductibles and subtracted about 25%, knowing that would be my legal fees to make it UNREALISTIC to sue them. Insurance is ALWAYS a scam.
Posted originally on the CTH on April 19, 2024 | Sundance
165 Democrats voted for a foreign aid package brought to the floor by Republican Speaker Mike Johnson. The measure includes $26 billion more for Israel, $61 billion more for Ukraine and around $10 billion for Taiwan. 151 Republicans voted to support the aid bill.
There is almost $100 billion in total foreign aid and approximately $0 to secure the southern U.S. border. This is a “Republican” bill, that passed with Democrats, not Republicans. The ideological UniParty is very real in Washington DC, and this vote was entirely against the wishes of most Americans.
We are in an abusive relationship with our government. There really is no other way to look at it.
WASHINGTON DC – […] underscoring deep intraparty frustrations with Johnson’s strategy, 55 Republicans voted against advancing the package — a once unheard-of GOP rebellion that has grown more common given their single-digit margin.
Normally that would be enough to scuttle Johnson’s plan, but 165 Democrats voted to bring up the bills. It’s the first time they’ve done so during Johnson’s speakership — an alliance that is likely to fuel calls from his most vocal critics to strip him of his gavel.
The House is now slated to vote on the bills early Saturday afternoon, and Johnson will once again need substantial help from Democrats to get them over to the Senate. Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Friday that he plans to support the package, while Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) declined to state his position when asked.
“I’m pleased that we were able to come to a bipartisan agreement,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.). He added: “It’s working out the way the speaker wanted it to, which is that every member is free to vote their conscience … in a way they usually aren’t.”
The House structured the package so as to ease its consideration in the Senate, requiring less time and procedural votes to pass the upper chamber. While senators are scheduled to be out of Washington next week, there’s ongoing discussion about canceling that recess to take up the House plan if it passes. (read more)
It’s really not just Mike Johnson, the root of the issue is much deeper than just corrupt and detached Republican leadership. The issue extends to every aspect of life and politics in Washington DC. Every member is participating in a process to give money to other countries, regardless of whether the American voter wants that to happen or not.
There is a complete collapse of the governmental structure of the United States as it pertains to representative government. The concept of representative government is completely gone, not even considered any longer amid the professional political class from both wings of the UniParty vulture.
I have no idea how this structural collapse can be fixed. There doesn’t seem to be any entity willing to stop the nonsense as it relates to financial systems and U.S. foreign aid.
At a certain point amid all of this madness, you just have to elevate and accept the dollar-based U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (USCBDC) is going to happen…. in large part because UniParty spending like this makes central bank digital currency a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Too few people understand how that USCBDC issue will fundamentally change the dynamic of everything…
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
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
Centinel2012 