Tag Archives: Climate groups

Apr 29 2022

Stagflation Arrives, U.S. Economy Shrinks 1.4 Percent in First Quarter


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 28, 2022

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the First Quarter GDP figures today [DATA HERE] showing the U.S. economy contracted -1.4% in the first quarter.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the economy, minus the dollar value of goods and services we import.  The percentages discussed are percentages of change over time.

The first quarter result was an annualized rate of negative 1.4 percent, meaning the U.S. economy is shrinking.   However, this should not come as a surprise as the primary driver of our GDP is consumer spending.  With everything costing more, less stuff is purchased.  Less stuff purchased leads to less stuff generated.

While the first quarter result of -1.4% is not a surprise, in the commonsense perspective, the fact that BEA didn’t revise the fourth quarter result of +6.9% is a little eye opening.  There’s no way in an apples-to-apples valuation the U.S. economy goes from +6.9% to -1.4% in one quarter.  Instead, what we are seeing is the effect we mentioned when the Q4 result was announced.  The BEA is modifying their assumptions by increasing the inflation rate in their calculations of the value of goods and services.  They really didn’t have a choice.

You might remember my prior opinion that the Q4 numbers were very overinflated because of two factors: (1) they underestimated inflation; and (2) the December 2021 import data from the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) was missing [NOTE: remember, Buttigieg was there in November and POLA supervisors are on team Biden].  I said at the time that if my hunch was correct the first quarter 2022 import data would be magnified by the December POLA data being added.  Remember, imports are a deduction to the GDP equation.

Well, what shows up in Q1?  A massive increase in first quarter import data that surprised everyone.  Go figure… lol.

Let’s look at the data

♦ {TABLE 1 TOP LINES}  We can see the economy contracted by 1.4% overall.

When you look at the +4.1% growth in durable goods we must factor in the BEA inflation assumption.  Did more durable good units get sold, not likely.  It’s likely less units sold but at a higher price, therefore the aggregate value of the durable goods gives a false impression of an increase.

Consider nondurable goods declining by 2.5%.  Did less food, fuel and energy get consumed at higher prices?  Or was the inflation assumption wrong?

Also check out the Exports change from Q4 (2021) to Q1 (2022).  From +23.4 to -9.6.  That’s a big change in exports.

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♦ {Table 4 Tells a story}  Now we are looking at prices.

The value of our exports leaves the U.S. carrying the increased rate of U.S. inflation to produce them.  A whopping +22.9% in price.

However, the value of the imports (again in dollars) is only 15.9% higher.

All things being equal, there’s a 7% price difference between exports and imports.

Inflation is high globally; however, inflation is higher here in the U.S. than overseas.

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Remember, the GDP isn’t a measure of the actual outputs of stuff created, the Bureau of Economic Analysis is only measuring the aggregate value of the stuff, ie. what it’s worth.

  • 20 trillion units at $1.00 per unit equals $20 trillion dollars.
  • 20 trillion units at $1.05 per unit equals $21 trillion dollars.
  • An increase of 5% in economic valuation (GDP), but we haven’t created a single product more.

Did our economy contract by only 1.4% in the first quarter?  Or are we seeing inflation continually skewing the valuation of goods and services, while the actual outputs in the economy are shrinking by much more?

Did you pay 20% more at the grocery store and leave with more food stuff?  Or did you pay 20% more at the checkout and leave with less food stuff than previous?

I think we all know the answer to those questions.

Checkbook economics is the only economics that matters.

“Stagflation” is here.

Apr 29 2022

White House NSA Organizes Security Summit With 50 Nation Peers to Discuss Future of the Internet


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 28, 2022

Given what we discussed yesterday, this announcement {SEE HERE} should leave us all feeling warm and fuzzy… NOT!

(SOURCE)

What could possibly go wrong when the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, organizes a “minister level launch of the Declaration for the Future of the Internet.”   Put more succinctly, that would be 50 nation intelligence ministers getting together to decide what they will permit on the internet.

Apparently, a collective partner rule book is forthcoming.   Big Tech will be given specific instructions on how to comply.

The global rulebook on how to handle, define and eliminate ‘disinformation’, ‘misinformation’ and ‘malinformation’ on the world-wide internet.

Sounds like satire, but it’s totally legit.

This meeting provides more context for the formation of a Homeland Security “disinformation board.”

Apr 28 2022

The Useless Class


Armstrong Economics Blog/WEF Re-Posted Apr 28, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Yuval Noah Harari, a self-described historian and one of Schwab’s loudest mouthpieces, believes that we will see the rise of the “useless class.” Harari noted how during the industrial revolution, people went from working on the farm to working in a car factory. He described it as transferring from one low-skilled job to another low-skilled job.

Since automation is leading the new world, future job prospects in 20 to 30 years are unknown. Harari believes it is impossible to know what to teach children today to make them productive citizens in the future. There will be “a new massive useless class that has no military or economic usefulness, and therefore no political power,” he stated. This is another push toward the World Economic Forum’s goal of government control – you need us but we don’t need you.

History tells us that farming is certainly not a low-skill profession. Look at what happened when Mao killed off all the farmers in China. A low-paying profession does not mean it is low-skilled. Our society could not function without farmers or automotive workers. Additionally, he does not take into account the beauty of creative destruction cited by Schumpeter. The brick and mortar retail stores may be gone in 20 years, but new positions will arise and people will develop skills and adapt to those roles. As for education, schools can begin by teaching children to think independently and question everything (not their gender). Claiming that there will be countless people out of work, “useless” to society, opens the door to government welfare programs becoming commonplace.

I cannot help but to be reminded of Hitler’s classified “useless eaters.” Like those at the WEF, Hitler believed there was a class of humans among society who simply consumed but did not contribute. Instead of hoping they’d rely on government aid, he simply murdered them. Be on high alert when a global agency begins referring to portions of the population as “useless.”

Apr 28 2022

Foreign Money To Stop Fossil Fuels Pouring into Canada


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re-Posted Apr 27, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Apr 28 2022

Russia Stops Gas Supplies to Poland and Bulgaria Amid Ongoing Ukraine Battle


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 27, 2022

At the same time as Russia has targeted railway lines as part of the effort to block U.S. arms shipments into Eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has now followed through on the previous warning to stop Russian gas supplies unless payments are made in non-sanctioned Rubles.

Poland is obviously the primary target for retaliation here, as the NATO alliance is using Poland as the gateway for arms deliveries into Ukraine.

According to multiple reports from the EU Russia has halted gas shipments into Poland and Bulgaria.  (Reuters) “Gazprom Russia’s gas export monopoly, suspended gas supplies “due to absence of payments in roubles”, as stipulated in a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin that aims to soften the impact of sanctions.”

There are conflicting reports as to whether Germany is paying Russia, or whether they are trying to avoid running afoul of the NATO alliance by reducing Russian imports.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy is using the opportunity to reinforce his position that all European countries need to stop purchasing energy from Russia, or else they are not supporting Ukraine.   However, it’s not as simple as it seems because multiple EU countries are dependent on Russia for energy products and there are no immediate alternatives.  Russia is leveraging this dependency in an effort to break the western sanctions.

(NBC) – […]  After months of threats, the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to two European Union nations Wednesday and warned others could be next.  The long-feared move against the continent’s energy supply marks a dramatic escalation of Moscow’s bid to weaken the collective resolve of Ukraine’s allies as they send growing numbers of weapons to help Kyiv fight.

[…] Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom announced Wednesday it had halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for gas in rubles, something Putin had demanded last month in response to tough sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. European buyers condemned Putin’s demand, saying it violated existing contracts with payments usually agreed on in dollars or euros, and called into question Russia’s reliability as a supplier.

[…] Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of petroleum and natural gas, and Europe is heavily reliant on imports from Russia for its energy supply. “In 2021, the European Union imported 155 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Russia, accounting for around 45% of EU gas imports and close to 40% of its total gas consumption,” according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency. 

Meanwhile, Bulgaria imported more than 70 percent of its natural gas from Russia in 2020, E.U. data showed. In the same year, Poland relied on Russia for around 45 percent of its natural gas.

[…] Notably, the decision to cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria came the day after the United States and its allies gathered in Germany to pledge more heavy weapons for Ukraine as it steels its defenses for what could be a decisive battle in the eastern Donbas region.  (read more)

Somehow, on top of the $14+ billion in direct aid to Ukraine, Joe Biden is likely to figure out a way to put the U.S. taxpayer on the hook for most of the EU energy problems in an effort to save face for the White House in a U.S. proxy war against Russia.  Both wings of the UniParty congress are likely to support that effort.

FUBAR

(Reuters) – […]  So far, it was unclear whether Poland or Bulgaria will comply with Moscow’s demands. Both countries rely heavily on Russian imports via pipeline.

Polish gas company PGNiG, whose gas deal with Russia expires at the end of this year, has repeatedly said it would not comply with the new scheme. It has also said it would not extend the contract.  Poland says it does not have to cut supplies to customers. The country can source gas via two links with Germany including a reverse flow on the Yamal pipeline, a link with Lithuania with an annual capacity of 2.5 bcm that will open on May 1 and via an interconnector with the Czech Republic for up to 1.5 bcm.

Bulgaria also had a contract with Gazprom due to expire at the end of the year. The country relies almost completely on Russian gas imports, and has taken steps to find alternative arrangements for supply, its energy ministry said in a statement. Bulgaria consumes about 3 billion cubic metres of gas per year and imports over 90 percent of it from Russia.  Previously, Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov had said a counterpart in Sofia could handle transactions in roubles, without giving details. (more)

Apr 28 2022

New York State Appellate Court Rules Against Democrat Gerrymandering Effort, 2022 Primary Likely Delayed


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 27, 2022

New York state democrats attempted to mitigate the bloodbath coming their way in the 2022 elections by drawing a redistricting map that eliminated three republican congressional seats.   Today a New York State appeals court ruled the maps were unconstitutional efforts to gerrymander the districts and now the primary races will likely be delayed.

The 78-page ruling is available here.  The state appeals court ruled 4-3 against the democrats. The June 28, 2022, primary will likely be moved to August because the state now needs to redraw the congressional districts.

(Via MSM) – […] The New York State Court of Appeals said the three maps violated the state’s Constitution by creating political bias. The maps were “procedurally unconstitutional, and the congressional map is also substantively unconstitutional as drawn with impermissible partisan purpose,” the court said.

[…] With no more appeals and time running out, the court ordered the adoption of a neutral map by an outside expert. The court also recommended the state’s June 28 primary be moved to August.

“We are confident that, in consultation with the Board of Elections, Supreme Court can swiftly develop a schedule to facilitate an August primary election, allowing time for the adoption of new constitutional maps,” the court said.  (read more)

Apr 28 2022

The Man Who Abuses Power Daily, Decries The Abuse of Power


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 27, 2022

Joe Biden, the same authoritarian who mandated that every American worker undergo a medical procedure in order to qualify as a person who might earn a living, sits atop his high-horse and pretends that he has never abused his power.

I know Joe Biden would like to believe we do not remember the past year plus of unilateral dictatorship he carried out while hiding behind the shield of “emergency authorization,” but the American people are fully aware of the brutal reality.  WATCH (24 secs):

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Does he really think we have forgotten how he never once asked our representative government for authorization before triggering his unilateral fiats from CDC, FDA, TSA and OSHA?  The economic lockdowns, the loss of liberty, the collapse of freedom, the shutting down of any form of petition for grievance, the use and weaponization of the regulatory system, the manipulation of courts, the unilateral mask and vaccination mandates, the demands for compliance to some of the most ridiculous rules and regulations, and yes, even the lies and double standards his administration applied to the masses while they themselves ignored the rules they forced upon everyone else….  Does he really thing we have forgotten this?

Apr 28 2022

Representative Clay Higgins Questions DHS Secretary Mayorkas About Southern Border Crisis


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 27, 2022

The U.S-Mexico border is in a state of near collapse.  U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents are overwhelmed with thousands of illegal aliens crossing the border daily.  According to estimates the number of illegal aliens who crossed the border since Biden took office is somewhere between two and five million people…. and the crisis is only getting worse.

Today Louisiana Representative Clay Higgins (CD-03) asked Dept of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas to define border failure, if that is not what we have currently underway.  WATCH:

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The painfully obvious answer is – it’s not a DHS failure because the massive influx of illegal aliens is the success of the plan.  The border crisis is a feature, not a flaw, of the Biden administration agenda.

Apr 28 2022

Dinesh D’Souza Discusses His Perspective on the 2020 Election After a Full Review of the Illegal Ballot Harvesting


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 27, 2022 

Dennis Prager asks Dinesh D’Souza if his opinion of the 2020 election changed as a result of his research, organizing and collaborating with True The Vote, and reviewing all of the 2020 ballot harvesting work.  The results of the effort are assembled in the soon-to-be-released documentary, 2000 mules.

D’Souza explains that following the review of the specific precincts in the specific key targeted states, it became obvious the election was manipulated by an organized political effort to use fraudulently obtained ballots to stuff remote ballot collection boxes in those key precincts.   By taking this precinct level ballot harvesting action in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona the 2020 election result was a manipulated to provide Joe Biden a win.

According to D’Souza, the documentary will show the specific number of ballots that were fraudulently harvested in each of the key precincts, which then documents the precise number of fraudulent votes that were obtained by the ballot mules. WATCH:

Apr 28 2022

Deep State Response, Dept of Homeland Security Will Establish Disinformation Board with Obvious Agenda


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on April 27, 2022

I think we are now seeing the outlines of how the Fourth Branch of Government are planning to keep control over information, specifically public discussion on Big Tech platforms, even as Elon Musk moves to open the valves of information from the social media platform Twitter.

Previously the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a new Dept of Homeland Security priority to combat disinformation {LINK} on technology platforms including social media.

Many eyebrows were raised as the announcement appeared to be an open admission that the U.S. government was going to control information by applying labels, that would align with allies in social media, who need a legal justification for censorship and content removal.

This CISA announcement was quickly followed by various government officials and agencies saying it was critical to combat Russian disinformation, as the events in Ukraine unfolded.  In essence, Ukraine was the justification for search engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to begin targeting information and content that did not align with the official U.S. government narrative.

Previously those same methods were deployed by the U.S. government, specifically the CDC and FDA, toward COVID-19 and the vaccination program. All of this background aligns with the previous visibility of a public-private partnership between the bureaucracy of government, the U.S. intelligence agencies and U.S. social media.  That partnership now forms the very cornerstone of the DHS/CISA effort to control what information exists in the public space.  It is highly important that people understand what is happening.

In July of 2021 the first admission of the official agenda behind the public-private partnership was made public {Reuters Article}.

What we are seeing now is an extension of the government control mechanisms, combined with a severe reaction by all stakeholders to the latest development in the Twitter takeover.

For two years the control mechanisms around information have been cemented by govt and Big Tech.  Even the deployment of the linguistics around disinformation, misinformation and malinformation is all part of that collective effort.  The collaboration between the government and Big Tech is not a matter for debate, it is all easily referenced by their own admissions.   The current issue is how they are deploying the information controls.

We have COVID-19, the vaccination effort and now Ukraine as examples of the collaboration to control information, to control what people are permitted to question and discuss on the internet.  Now things are getting much more detailed, and more alarming.

Shortly after Elon Musk made a bid to purchase a single information platform, Twitter, and then expressed his intent to open the speech valves, former Obama administration intelligence officials wrote a letter {SEE HERE} warning about efforts to break up the information control by Big Tech and Social Media.

That letter was shortly followed by a speech delivered by Obama himself where he specifically demanded that government take a larger role in the control of information {LINK}, essentially promoting an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’ to control information in the public sphere.

The internet search engine operators have already agreed to align with the interests of the government.  That’s not debatable as in the examples of Google {LINK) and DuckDuckGo {LINK} to name just two.  Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have famously also expressed their intent to align with the control of information, based on the instructions and edicts of the same U.S. government agencies.   Again, this is not a conspiratorial claim, it is self admitted and we have all witnessed it.

Today, however, we are seeing the architecture of how they plan to organize the tools.

(POLITICO) – “DHS is standing up a new Disinformation Governance Board to coordinate countering misinformation related to homeland security, focused specifically on irregular migration and Russia. Nina Jankowicz will head the board as executive director. She previously was a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, advised the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as part of the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship and oversaw Russia and Belarus programs at the National Democratic Institute.” (link)

You can read more about Nina Jankowicz and her ideological alignment with the control mechanisms here and here.  The bigger picture issue is that DHS will now work around any independence of social media, vis-a-vis Twitter as a free speech platform, by defining the parameters of allowed conversation.   A bureaucratic board within DHS will now serve as the group who defines what can and cannot be discussed.

Here’s Ms. Jankowicz in September of 2020.    The head of the DHS governance board, Nina Jankowicz, claiming that color revolutions are an appropriate response to rigged elections, but they will never rise in the U.S.  WATCH:

It doesn’t take a deep thinker to see exactly where this is going.  Various U.S. government agencies will now define their interests.  The definitions will then be transmitted to the officers within big tech and social media, and any entity who dares to challenge that govt definition or govt narrative will be targeted for content removal.

Permitted speech will be defined by government agencies, and the mechanisms for controlling, targeting or removing speech that challenges that narrative will now lead to content removal.  The shift here, the part that must be emphasized, is the official justification in the terms and conditions of the social media platform operators will come from U.S. government agencies, not the platform itself.

Against this backdrop it is not a surprise why Elon Musk’s entry into the information space is now considered a risk.

…”The 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit vote that same year gave Silicon Valley executives, U.S. elected officials and the public a peek into what can go wrong when social media companies opt not to wade too deeply into what people say on their sites.”… (link)