Peter Andreas Thiel is an American entrepreneur, political activist, and author. He was ranked No. 4 on the Forbes Midas List of 2014, with a net worth of $2.2 billion. He co-founded PayPal. He also was part of Donald Trumps transition team. Charles Alan Murray is an American libertarian conservative political scientist, author, and columnist. His book Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950–1980 (1984), which discussed the American welfare system, was widely read and discussed, and influenced subsequent government policy. He became well-known for his controversial book The Bell Curve (1994) about IQ. Complete Video quoted under fair use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VTQ-… —–
The Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government cannot prevent states from allowing gambling within their borders. Does this mean more freedom, or just more vice? Want even more Right Angle each week? Become a member at BillWhittle.com! https://www.billwhittle.com/subscribe Right Angle is brought to you by the paying members of BillWhittle.com and by donations from viewers like you! Show your support by making a donation at: https://www.billwhittle.com/donate
•At least 9 people killed Friday morning in gunfire at Santa Fe High School. •30 miles south of Houston, Texas. •Area hospitals reported at least a dozen others were injured. •Police arrested a student suspect and detained a second person. •Victims include students and staff. •The attacker was armed with an AR-15-style rifle, a pistol, a shotgun and pipe bombs. •Police: “Evidently this guy threw pipe bombs all in there. We don’t know if any of them went off.” •First reports of the shooting came in around 7:45 a.m (local). •School police officer engaged attacker, wounded, shot in shoulder.
•Shooter identified as: 17-year-old Dimitrios (Dimitri) Pagourtzis. •High School junior class. •Member of Greek orthodox church. •Social media profile deleted. •Pictures Here •Pictures Here
National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow appeared on Fox Business earlier Thursday to talk about the ongoing U.S. China trade negotiations. Those who follow the Dragon -vs- Panda strategies of China saw earlier yesterday how Chairman Xi Jinping was positioning N-Korea as leverage for the current trade negotiations.
The DPRK dragon-play didn’t work because President Trump knows the dragon’s moves, and predicted their approach from the outset. Remember, POTUS Trump began executing a geopolitical economic strategy toward both North Korea and China well over a year ago. [During the first meeting with Chairman Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago (Feb, 2017)]
.
After over a year of discussions and structured way-points, China came into the current round of U.S. trade talks with outstretched steel fists. The line-up they sent to the negotiating table are some of the most loyal and die-hard communist leadership within their economic team.
It is obvious China is in dragon-mode knowing they are dealing with an entirely different administration than they faced before.
According to Reuters China presented an initial offer of $200 billion year-one trade deficit reduction. That’s just flat out narrative nonsense. Apparently the Chinese have spent too much time interpreting Trump through Western media who always focus on “deficit reduction” aspects. That type of approach pitches into Larry Kudlow’s wheelhouse but misses the actual substantive sector-based focus of Trump, Ross, Mnuchin and Lighthizer.
POTUS Trump uses the point of “deficits” because it has a familiar catch with the U.S. audience; however, President Trump knows the real issue is the amount of domestic production -vs- the amount of imported foreign goods. If the Chinese team frame their analytic offers from deficit reduction pitches, the actual deals will never materialize.
President Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer, and Trade Adviser Peter Navarro are looking at sector by sector trade issues. It is not simply an import-export equation; it’s about a longer outlook and more balanced and stable manufacturing base.
President Trump is not focused on enhancing interdependency models (deficits), he is looking at expanding independence models sector by sector. Can this sector thrive independent of a need for imported material (raw good, part, service or intellectual property)?
The U.S. goal is for each individual sector (goods or services) not to be necessarily dependent or co-dependent on international import. This America-first approach reduces risk exposure and enhances investment perspectives favorably toward the U.S. by creating long-term economic stability.
Meanwhile, in front of the White House, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue is riding his bicycle in slow circles and glaring in the windows…
QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; You said that the emerging markets are a huge problem that will lead to a Sovereign Debt Default. Can you elaborate on that statement?
Thank you for your insight
VU
ANSWER: The emerging markets are in far worse shape today than they were even back in 2008. They have issued heaps of dollar-denominated debt to sell particularly to US pension funds seeking higher yield. Some of the buyers have been state-run pension funds. The outstanding Emerging Market debt has exploded by 50%. The majority of the increase in emerging market indebtedness has been in local currency, which was more than $48.5 trillion as of the end of 2016 from around $43 trillion in 2015 and is pressing $50 trillion for 2017.
We passed $200 trillion in global sovereign debt back in 2016. All of these dollar bears that yell about the USA at $20 trillion, ignore where the world stands at and the fact the USA is still the only economy holding everything up. Both the Emerging Market and EU countries have used the cheap interest rates to just pile on more debt – not reform. This is why central banks have lost all capability of manipulating interest rates to direct the economy. All of those theories are entirely dependent upon DEMAND management. They may, in theory, be able to manage the “demand” of the consumer, but they have zero influence over government spending. They lower rates to stimulate private demand and simply underwrite government debt.
The world comes unglued ONLY with a dollar rally – not a decline. A drop in the dollar would be cheered by governments who would then issue even more debt. A dollar rally will cause the Sovereign Debt Crisis – not a dollar decline. Emerging Market defaults are once again on the timeline. They are economically in far worse shape today than they were in 2008. As interest rates rise, they will blow their budget out and they do NOT have the economies to support the debt repayments (excluding China).
COMMENT: You were here in Brussels a few weeks ago. Suddenly, the ECB is talking about the need to merge the debts to prevent a crisis. So your lobbying here seems to work.
RGV, Brussels
REPLY: I do not lobby. It is rather common knowledge I have made those proposals since the EU commission attended our World Economic Conference held back in 1998 in London. I focused on the reason the Euro would fail if the debts were not consolidated. So it is not a fair statement to say I meet in Brussels to lobby for anything. I meet with people who call me in because of a crisis brewing.
So everyone else understands what this is about, the ECB President Mario Draghi has come out and proposed interlocking the euro countries to create a “stronger” and “new vehicle” as a “crisis instrument” to save Europe. He is arguing that this should prevent countries from drifting apart in the event of severe economic shocks. Draghi has said it provides“an extra layer of stabilization” which is a code phrase for the coming bond crash. He has conceded that the legal structure is difficult because what he is really talking about is the consolidation of national debts into a single Eurobond market. There is no bond market that is viable in Europe after the end of Quantitative Easing. There will be NO BID.
There is no viable bond market left in Europe. The worst debt is below US rates only because the ECB is the buyer. Stop the buying and the ceiling comes crashing down. This is why what he is saying is just using a different label. He is not calling it debt consolidation, just an extra layer of stabilization to bind the members closer together.
It will be a hard sell and it may take the crisis before anyone looks at this. You have “bail-in” policies because of the same problem. If the banks in Italy need a bailout from Brussels, then other members will look at it as a subsidization for Italy which is unfair. There is no real EU unity behind the curtain which is when the debt was NEVER consolidated from day one. They wanted a single currency, but not a single responsibility for the debt.
Stephen Hicks is a Canadian-American philosopher who teaches at Rockford University, where he also directs the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. In 2004 he wrote a book named “Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault” which was e.g. recommended by Jordan Peterson for understanding postmodernism (cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPojl…)
The EU migration chief, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has demonstrated that politicians are just so out of touch with reality they are securing their own demise. Avramopoulos has made a speech that Europe is set to absorb massive waves of migration “for the decades to come” and that the EU will “never become a fortress” building walls to keep people out. He delivered this speech yesterday as the Euro broke the 118 level. By this very policy, the failed invasion of the Ottoman Empire back in 1683 has been fulfilled. Christianity in Europe will eventually decline to a second-rate religion. These people are just so far from reality refusing to admit that this decision is what is tearing the EU apart, that this refusal to admit a mistake is sealing the fate of the EU and will raise the stakes of disintegration by 2020-2021.
Naturally, the majority had to be wrong that the dollar was in this inevitable bear market. These prognostications were typically those who kept cheering gold higher and ignore everything else on the silver plate of politics. The implications of the Italian elections have been ignored by so many. They were a major blow against the European Union and no country has suffered more from the refugee crisis than Italy. The ballooning cost of the refugees was denied by Brussels to be an exception to the budget rules. Italy then threatened to give them all EU passports and send them north. This is the entire problem with the structure of the European Union. They want one federal government, one single currency, but none of the responsibility of a national debt.
The Benchmark Italian government bond yields have continued to push higher after a 16 basis point jump on Wednesday, There were reports that were subsequently denied that said the prospective Five Star/League coalition government had drafted an economic plan that would seek 250 billion euros of debt forgiveness from the European Central Bank. Despite the denials, there is a major issue beneath the surface that the entire refugee crisis was created by Merkel without member state consent. Then the member states have been ordered to pay their share. Consequently, publicly, the announcement is that such a debt forgiveness is not a realistic proposal or one that would remain in the coalition’s agenda. However, this is not entirely true. There have been rumblings behind the curtain concerning the debt and the reason for that debt escalating has been the refugee crisis.
The tone of the new Italian government’s position toward the Eurozone rules was seen as confrontational to say the very least. The economics behind the Eurozone is a complete disaster. The markets are reflecting that economic reality behind the curtain that nobody wants to pretend is even going on for fear what that will do to Europe. Two-year Italian government yields are now back in positive territory for the first time in almost a year despite Draghi’s ECB policy of keep buying until you cannot see anymore. Now we have for the first time Italy and Greece currently yielding above ZERO on their respective two-year Eurozone government bonds. Interest rates are going to EXPLODE when we look down the line!!!!!!!
The Euro has tremendous headline risk which will also include the elections coming up in Turkey where Erdogan’s post-election plans are appearing more like a dictatorship.
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
