Posted originally on the CTH on March 9, 2024 | Sundance
The leftists in Ireland had previously been having a lot of success pushing “progressive” wokeism and curtailing the ability of citizens to criticize cultural marxism.
Whether the issue was forced multiculturalism through immigration or making it unlawful to speak against the globalist agenda, the government of Ireland had been in strong control of the social narratives. However, as the globalists became increasingly confident, the country became increasingly alarmed.
That’s the context for a referendum that would have redefined what it meant in Ireland to be a woman or family. The voters rejected the attempted constitutional change.
Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (pictured left) said it was clear the two referendums were “defeated comprehensively.”
DUBLIN — Ireland’s effort to remove old-fashioned family values from its constitution suffered a double defeat Saturday as voters rejected the amendments on offer as maddeningly vague and threatening to property rights.
The leaders of Ireland’s three-party government conceded defeat as early returns from Friday’s referendums confirmed that an overwhelming majority of voters had said “no” to its proposed replacements for constitutional clauses on marriage and family care.
In final results announced Saturday night, the amendment to change the constitutional definition of family was rejected by 67.7 percent of voters. The proposed changes on family care took an even harsher drubbing, with 73.9 percent against — the greatest defeat of an amendment in Irish constitutional history. (read more)
Posted originally on Mar 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
Many people have written in asking if you can avoid World War III. In my experience with this model, the turning points are fixed in time. We cannot alter the cycle any more than someone can manipulate any market, altering it from boom to bust.
You cannot alter the cycle, but I believe that, from my observations, it may be possible to manipulate the amplitude. This would have been my concern if it had fallen into the wrong hands. I have grandkids. I would not want to leave behind another economic weapon Neocons can use to screw up the world even more. Perhaps you can make an event much worse. However, improving the situation and reducing the amplitude might also be possible.
Posted originally on Mar 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: Hello; I just wanted to comment that the arrays on Sweden have predicted the two-year wait for NATO, and it got it down to the month. I just wanted to say that all we have had here is doom and gloom, and Russia will attack any day now. The press claimed Sweden is neutral. I do not think they know our war history with Russia for several hundred years.
Thank you for Socrates. It always gets the time right.
PHM
ANSWER: I think you are correct. For those who do not know the history of Sweden, they used to be a major power. There have been 15 wars with Russia since 1475 – about one on average every 30 years or so. The Yearly Array was a major turning point and a Double Directional Change. That indeed marked this war-mongering for the past two years. Sweden has NOT been neutral. They have been supplying weapons to Ukraine to further advance the war against Russia. Neutrality means you stay out, and they have both feet in.
Yes, the war-mongering has been on schedule. You have your version of Neocons as well who also just want war at all costs.
March was the target, and we had a Directional Change in April. May is the next turning point, but we have a Panic Cycle in September, which is showing up internationally in many markets and virtually most countries. This was a dark day for Sweden. Your war-mongers cannot wait to start a war, and it looks like they may get it before the US elections.
We have such fools in all governments. They are being told to start a war and are too stupid to comprehend that there are those who want to eliminate 50% of the population to save the planet.
Posted originally on Mar 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
Those who follow this blog already knew that the Federal Reserve would not drop rates in the future due to unsustainable fiscal policies paired with America’s increasing involvement in foreign wars. All of the talking heads were preaching that rates would significantly decline to pandemic levels, as if that were the historical norm. Every fiscal policy in recent years has exacerbated inflation and the Fed cannot keep up with government spending. QE FAILED. The artificially low interest rates of the recent past were completely unsustainable and relied on outdated theories.
The outdated understanding based on Keynesian Economics remains to increase the supply of money and it MUST be inflationary. The Fed raises rates to reduce consumption and lower rates to stimulate consumption. It’s a very nice theory, but when actually tested, it utterly fails. Lower rates will NEVER cause people to invest UNTIL they believe that there is an opportunity to invest. We are watching the big players withdraw from equities, let alone government debt. We are in a private wave where money is running off the grid at a rapid pace.
The peak in interest rates took place in 1899 at virtually 200%. Yet, 1929 was the real bubble top and it peaked with 20% interest rates in call money on the NYSE. In theory, the biggest boom should have been met with the highest interest rate. In truth, the “real interest rate” as I have defined it is when the interest rates exceed expectations. If you think the stock market will double, you will pay 25% interest.
As you can see, while interest rates hit nearly 200% in 1899, the share market did NOT crash percentage-wise anything as it did following 1929. Look, there is a lot more to this than meets the eye. Everything must be addressed on a global scale for it all depends also on the direction of capital flows. There is just a lot more to this than simply the money supply and interest rates.
Now, Powell continues to explain to the public that VOLATILITY and economic conditions are beyond the control of the Fed. “We believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for this tightening cycle,” Powell said. “If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year. But the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured.”
All the news ofinflation waning, including recent data, is inaccurate propaganda intended to calm recessionary fears. Even by the government’s data, inflation is up 3.1% compared to last year. It was an unprecedented moment when Powell broke with Washington and criticized the government for their unsustainable spending. The Fed NEVER criticizes the government, despite the two being separate.
Hence, I say to stop blaming the Fed. They are not the ones creating all the money but are working to match monetary policy with unsustainable fiscal policies. We are looking at trillions in deficits per year. There is no restraint when creating new massive spending packages. Then people blame the central bank with no concept that it’s only a fraction of “money;” the real issue is CONGRESS.
Listen, interest rates cannot decline in the face of war. The 2020 yearly array showed a turning point for a high in 2022 and a possible correction into 2024. I explain this in more detail on the Socrates private blog but buckle up for the year ahead.
Posted originally on the CTH on March 7, 2024 | Sundance
I visited Warsaw twice last month and can provide some ‘boots on the ground’ background context for what is taking place as the Polish farmers begin protesting against the regime of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The first thing to understand is that Warsaw is to Poland almost exactly as Washington DC is to the United States – which is to say, a capitol subculture of leftists and WEF minded globalists totally disconnected from the social mindset of the rest of the country. The Warsaw of the 80’s and 90’s Solidarity Movement no longer exists, which explains the installation of Tusk in opposition to the generally lulled to complacency Polish people. Sound familiar?
“European agriculture policies and Ukrainian cheap grain, burning tires outside of Prime Minister Tusk’s office, as up to 100 THOUSAND more protestors expected to flood streets of Warsaw.”
The protests are not about Ukraine farm products (Western narrative); they are protesting the Build Back Better (Green New Deal) climate change nonsense regulations that will put them out of business and hurt the Polish people.
The German farmers and middle class workers organized their logistics brilliantly. The farmers approached Berlin from every angle, using all the arterial roads as points of entrance to surround the city. The German farmers came into each artery in two columns: column A at the front and column B in the back.
Column A drove into the city; column B remained outside the city blocking the streets. It was a smart way logistically to protest, and German officials could not respond because they were blocked. German truckers and transportation workers assisted the protest with non-compliance highlighting their support. The German government acquiesced to the farmers.
The French farmer protests learned from the Germans, and they too were successful in their logistical protest against the French government. The French government acquiesced to the French farmer’s demands.
However, the Polish government saw the effective strategy as it began spreading around the EU. Tusk brought into Warsaw an advanced police group. As the Polish farmers moved into the center of Warsaw, they encountered a heavily fortified Polish security force. Tempers flared and physical confrontation was the outcome.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland saw its most violent protest by farmers and supporters yet Wednesday as some participants threw stones at police and tried to push through barriers around parliament, injuring several officers, police said.
Police used tear gas and said they detained over a dozen people and prevented the protesters from getting through to the Sejm, the Polish parliament.
Farmers are angry over European Union climate policies and food imports from Ukraine that they say threaten their livelihoods. Such protests have occurred across the 27-member EU in recent weeks, but this one was decidedly angrier than earlier demonstrations in the central European nation.
Police noted on the social media platform X that its officers “are not a party to the ongoing dispute” and warned that behavior threatening their safety “cannot be taken lightly and requires a firm and decisive response.”
The deputy agriculture minister, Michał Kołodziejczak, said he didn’t believe that “real, normal farmers caused a riot in front of the Sejm today,” and that it was necessary to isolate “provocateurs and troublemakers.”
He did not say who he thought was behind the violence.
Farmers on tractors blocked highways leading into Warsaw while thousands of their supporters gathered in front of the prime minister’s office before marching to the parliament. Some trampled a European Union flag and burned a mock coffin bearing the word “farmer.”
Farmers were joined by miners, foresters, hunters and other supporters. They blew horns and set off firecrackers and smoke bombs, despite police warnings that the use of pyrotechnics was banned. Some protesters burned tires.
The protesters are demanding a withdrawal from the EU’s Green Deal, a plan meant to fight climate change and protect biodiversity, including with plans requiring farmers to reduce the excessive use of polluting chemicals to boost their crops. The protests have led politicians to water down some provisions. (read more)
The area around the U.S Embassy in Warsaw is no longer a place of well-kept landscape honoring Ronald Reagan and the Polish Solidarity Movement. All of those pesky vestiges of freedom are in disrepair or being removed.
That said, let us hope () the American resistance movement is watching the logistical success of the truckers and farmers in Germany and France.
Let the people enter the capitol for protest marches, while the support system infrastructure disrupts the arteries that encircle the core.
Posted originally on Mar 6, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
Everyone knows I became friends with Milton Friedman. Back in 1970, Milton exposed how Stakeholder Economics was inefficient and stupid long before Schwab claimed he invented it. Milton stated that such a role was that of government, not corporations, whose #1 fiduciary obligation was to its shareholders. Under Schwab, I could say, “OK, I will go public; everyone sends in money. I will give you shares in return and then say — OMG, there are people starving in Africa!” So, I decided to give 50% of all the profits to them and not my investors. This is Stakeholder Economics.
The New York Times wrote on September 13th, 1970:
“WHEN I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the “social responsibilities of business in a free‐enterprise system,” I am reminded of the wonderful line about the Frenchman who discovered at, the age of 70 that he had been speaking prose all his life. The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned “merely” with profit but also with promoting desirable “social” ends; that business has a “social conscience” and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers. In fact they are—or would be if they or any one else took them seriously— preaching pure and unadulterated socialism. Businessmen who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society these past decades.”
Posted originally on Mar 6, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
The Biden Administration implemented a new rule that will cap credit card late fees at $8. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has praised the measure, estimating it will save Americans over $10 billion annually in late fees, or around $220 annually per person as 45 million Americans have experienced these fees within the last year, but this measure may be more harmful than helpful.
Credit card debt in America is at an all-time high of nearly $1.13 trillion and continues to rise as around 56 million Americans carry credit card debt. The typical late fee payment is around $32, but this is merely the fee for missing a payment and does not account for compounded interest. It seems like common sense, but one must realize that the average person is not financially literate. The concept of basic finance is not a mandatory requirement for the public education system, leading many people to live off debt, well beyond their means, with no chance of recuperating. America has the leading median level of credit card debt among all developed nations. There is a widespread belief that one can afford certain goods if they are approved for a line of credit, which only benefits the banks.
Now, the banks are certainly profiting on late fees, which account for about 15% of credit card profits based on the CFPB’s 2021 Consumer Credit Card Market Report. Do these fees deter reckless spending? A 2022 ABA-led survey found that 46% of respondents said they made it a priority to pay off their credit cards on time to avoid late fees. That particular study found that a fee of $10 was enough to redirect one’s attention to their financial obligations. Another study by the Harris Poll and NerdWallet found that Americans were more likely to make a payment of their cards if a $30 fee was implemented.
Again, one must understand that the average person cannot compute the cost of compounding interest. Borrowing money is not a legal right and should be done with the utmost caution. Simply forgetting or dismissing financial obligations has consequences.
The banks will find a way to profit off the people in other ways. It is the nature of banking. Rob Nichols, the president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, explained that other measures could be implemented that will hurt everyone. “The Bureau’s misguided decision to cap credit card late fees at a level far below banks’ actual costs willforce card issuers to reduce credit lines, tighten standards for new accounts and raise APRs for all consumers – even those who pay on time,” Nichols said. This is yet another Biden Admin policy favoring the financially irresponsible at the expense of others.
So, what is the CFPB recommending as an alternative? CBDC. The agency is first suggesting digitizing banking so that consumers have instant access to their credit scores and spending habits. Again, these numbers are disregarded by a portion of the population. The agency is patronizing all Americans by stating we are not intelligent enough to know when to pay off our monthly debts without digital notifications and reminders.
Financial literacy is desperately needed in America. So, while the Biden Administration is breaking its arm patting itself on the back for this surface-level win for the everyday man, the ruling does nothing to combat the growing personal debt crisis.
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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
) the American resistance movement is watching the logistical success of the truckers and farmers in Germany and France.
Centinel2012 