A Report on the Fall of Communism Published 1990


Posted originally on Mar 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

1990 Report

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, I know you knew my father. He had always been a big supporter of your work. He would do his part in homeschooling me part-time and show me your work on how the world functions. He passed, and I greatly appreciate your kindness in paying your respects. I’m sure he smiled from above, knowing you took the time to remember him.

I scanned this report of yours from June 1990, just a few months after you forecast the fall of Communism at the end of 1989. You have been teaching the world for a long time. I think it is time the world recognized you.

Thank you

HL

1990 Report Conclusion

REPLY: Thank you so much. I have tried to collect all the reports issued over the last 45 years. I will always remember your father and hope he can see I am smiling back at him. Good people are hard to find these days.

Does Trump Want to Damage Ukraine?


Posted originally on Mar 1, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Trump.Ukraine.Lose_

The media is very calculated with how it spins stories to shape the public perception. Donald Trump has said that his first piece of legislation, if elected, would entail ending the war in Ukraine immediately. One would think people would cheer for the end of a war that has claimed thousands of lives. Instead, the media is painting Trump as a former Soviet communist in disguise who wants Ukraine to lose the war.

The Atlantic published a propaganda piece entitled, “Why Is Trump Trying to Make Ukraine Lose?” The article goes on to say that Republicans are flying to Mar-A-Lago to take instructions from the former president before implementing policies that block aid to Ukraine. The author states that Trump is hell-bent on “damaging Ukraine” without a clear motive.

“In the week that the border compromise failed, I happened to meet a senior European Union official visiting Washington. He asked me if congressional Republicans realized that a Russian victory in Ukraine would discredit the United States, weaken American alliances in Europe and Asia, embolden China, encourage Iran, and increase the likelihood of invasions of South Korea or Taiwan. Don’t they realize? Yes, I told him, they realize.”

The author goes on to say that the collective of the European Union, 27 countries and counting, donate more to Ukraine than America. This is false, especially when looking at America’s backing of NATO.

The article speculates widely on Trump’s anti-Ukraine motives, with fantastical theories from wanting a piece of Russia’s lucrative oil market to damaging what remains of Joe Biden’s reputation. Liz Cheney receives praise for understanding the severity of the situation in Ukraine and promoting the anti-Russian ideology of her father. This is one of countless articles condemning anyone who believes the war in Ukraine is unjust and believes domestic policies should outweigh foreign interests.

Zelensky.Trump_.VeryDangerous

Trump is described as an “isolationist,” which to the left means not adhering to the globalist ideology of sacrificing one’s own nation under the premise of a centralized, one-world ruling power. It would be more appropriate to describe Trump as a nationalist who ensures his own nation is strong before offering help to others. You cannot pour out of an empty cup.

We saw groundbreaking diplomatic relations under Trump. He was the first US president to cross the DMZ zone into North Korea, he maintained peaceful relations with Putin, and although he had quarrels over trade with China, the CCP respected him as the leader of the free world. We experienced four years of peace.

Stretching America’s resources thin does not embolden our enemies. This was never our war. The US would not be “discredited” for backing away from an endless war and focusing on its own borders, a topic never discussed by far-left Democrats. Money is power, and sending blank checks to Ukraine further deepens America’s national debt, which continues to make record highs.

There were no discussions of war under Trump’s presidency. Trump does not have a grudge against Ukraine nor does he want to see it fall. His entire campaign is to “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” by redirecting the nation’s resources back to America. Desiring a strong America is now seen as problematic by a portion of the population who does not understand the severity of fanning the flames of war.

The Ukrainian people have nothing to gain in this senseless war. Tens of thousands of soldiers are dead, with the replenishment rate so high that Zelensky has resorted to conscripting 16-year-old boys. Zelensky ordered soldiers to their deaths, all to pretend he was winning for fear that the money would stop flowing. I received a lot of backlash for declaring that Ukraine cannot win this war. A Ukrainian victory was never the objective for the neocons like Liz Cheney. It does not matter how much money we send to Ukraine, as the outcome will not change. All we can do is decide how many more people must die fighting an impossible war before the vultures swoop in to claim what remains.

A European Pearl Harbar Event?


Posted originally on Feb 24, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Lithuiana PM Warns of Pearl Harbor Moment

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong: Nobody has sources like you. You warned that the West would create a false flag to start the war that they need. It took maybe one to two weeks for the news that Russia put nuclear weapons in space, and here, our leading politician came out and said there was going to be a sneak attack in Europe that would be our Pearl Harbor moment. I have come to understand why you are always right. It is because people do react the same way no matter what decade or century.

ačiū.

Thank you for the knowledge.

REPLY: Yes, we are approaching the ECM fate of May 7th, but also the ECM date on the Ukraine war – April 20, 2024. It is getting interesting from a research perspective but dangerous from a human perspective. If you really expected a Pearl Harbor Moment, which was also a deliberately created event to the US into WWII, you would think as head of state, you would seek peace rather than war. Nothing these people do anymore makes sense.

Russia is Getting Stronger – Not Weaker


Posted originally on Feb 24, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Russia More Powerful than ever

Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the new strategic long-range Tu-160M nuclear-capable bomber on Thursday, in a move likely to be seen in the West as a pointed reminder of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities. This is a new giant swing-wing type plane, where the pilots posted on the side “MY POMPEII,” referring to the destruction of Vesuvius.  NATO has codenamed it “Blackjacks” but this bomber is what Russia would deploy in the event of nuclear war to deliver weapons at long distances.

What is very clear and acknowledged behind the curtain is that there has never been a time of worse relations between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers, including during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The West appears to be led by mindless politicians who do as they are told by the Neocons for nobody is interested in any peace negotiations. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has repeatedly warned of the risk of a nuclear conflict with the West since 2014. That seems not to bother any Western leader, for the Neocons keep swearing that it is just scare tactics and that Russia will never resort to nuclear weapons even as NATO invades Moscow. Nobody in any leadership role even seems to have common sense.

Fiona_Hill Politicao 12 12 2023

The Neocon who also is always pushing for war is Fiona Hill. Politico asked: “What happens to the West if Putin wins?” She responded:

We’ll be at each others’ throats. There’ll be no way in which this is going to turn out well. There’ll be a lot of frustration on the part of people who thought that this was the easier option when we reel from crisis to crisis. There’ll also be the shame, frankly, and the disgrace of having let the Ukrainians down. I think it would create a firestorm of recrimination. And it will also embolden so many other actors to take their own steps.

2024_02_23_15_41_30_Nato_can defeat_Putin

NATO is a highly dangerous organization whose only purpose is war. They were created to defend against Communism. When Communism fell, they never changed their position and maintained that Russia still wanted to conquer Europe. Of course, if that is not true, then we no longer need NATO. They must keep up beating their war drums, or else they lose their purpose and revenue as members divert it elsewhere.

NATO F16s 2024
NATO_Gives_Ukraine_the_Go_Ahead_to_Cross_Putin_s_Red_Line 2 23 24

At first, we would provide F16s only to defend Ukraine. Now, after getting approval on those terms, they use the bail-and-switch routine as NATO now says Ukraine can fly directly into Russia to wage war as they pray for an excuse to start World War III. Even Newsweek has reported NATO grants Ukraine permission to invade Russia, knowing full well that Putin will be forced to respond. This is precisely what NATO wants – it is begging for Putin to PLEASE attack so we can start World War III ASAP. They want to create WWIII before the US election.

NATO ECM 2

NATO is headed into a major crisis by January 17th, 2027. What is most interesting is that the turning point 2022.746 was precisely September 30th, 2022, which was the very day when Putin declared the annexation of four Russian regions of Ukraine that were supposed to have been under the Minsk Agreement, which was signed September 5th, 2021 that the West negotiated in bad faith. That was 73.1 years into the NATO ECM. The Minsk Agreement came in 2021, which was precisely on the 72-Year Revolution Cycle.

Tribune POINT_Ukraine_can_win_here_s_how_and_91_more_pages_Personal_Microsoft_Ed

Nobody seems ever to ask, what if Russia loses? Medvedev made it very clear:

“Attempts to restore Russia’s 1991 borders will lead only to one thing – a global war with Western countries with the use of our entire strategic (nuclear) arsenal against Kyiv, Berlin, London, and Washington. And against all other beautiful historic places that have long been included in the flight targets of our nuclear triad.” 

2024_02_23_Hill Ukraine_can_no_longer
ECM Ukraine 8.6 R

When we look at the duration of wars, we see that World War I (1914-1918) was just under four years. World War II lasted on two fronts, Germany and Japan, so the combined war effort was from 1939 to 1945. However, the war with Germany lasted 5.679 years, whereas the war with Japan lasted 3.691 years. The Korean War lasted 3.087 years.

Ukraine_Hryvnia Q Array 2 24 24

We have a Double Directional Change in April coinciding with the major ECM turning point of April 20th, 2024. There is no way Ukraine will defeat Russia. Indeed, behind the curtain, that has been known from day one.  Ukraine has been used to weaken Russian forces for the ultimate confrontation with NATO. Nobody cares how many Ukrainians die—the more, the merrier, since that will serve as the justification for World War III. We will then commit countless people to die as revenge for Ukraine’s loss.

Ukraine_Hryvnia M Tech 2 24 24

Even looking at a chart of the currency, the Greenback keeps rising. There is no hope for Ukraine long-term. The Neocons have lied to them, and now over 1 million are dead, and millions have fled to Europe.

Alexei Navalny – behind the curtain


Posted originally on Feb 19, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

2024 1 18 Jamie_Dimon_tells_Dems_to_be_respectful_of_MAGA_supporters

COMMENT #1: “Tucker picked the wrong side. Guess Tucker won’t be going back to Russia for a while.” citing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny

anonymous

COMMENT #2: Tucker is supporting a criminal, and you should not publish anything this guy says.

anonymous

Brain Dead

REPLY: I really feel sorry for these people, for they have been brainwashed by the standard psychological warfare tactic they use all the time on everyone. Jamie Dimon came out and warned the Democrats that they are attacking ALL of Trump’s supporters and are attributing to everyone the personality traits of Trump. This is how they get people to hate others; it is the standard tactic always deployed in the war. They demonized Sadam Hussain to justify invading Iraq. They did that with Qadaffi and tried to demonize Assad in Syria by just invading that country, all for a covert pipeline. Russia could do that to ALL Americans and attribute to us the traits of the Democrats and Joe Biden – the hand puppet of the Neocons.

Alexey_Navalny_dies_prison 2 17 24

The Western Press has already decided, as CNN reported, that Putin killed the jailed “Russian opposition figure and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, who made global headlines when he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, has died aged 47, the Russian prison service said.” Navalny is now the excuse many use to launch World War III. I am hearing from Europe as well as America. Once again, the truth is nowhere to be found.

What the Western press omits is that  Navalny was also an OPEN SOCIETY. While the corruption in Russia took place on a grand scale before Navalny graduated from school in 2001, he did buy into the propaganda against Putin launched by Berezovsky and crew when their attempt to blackmail Yeltsin collapsed in 1998 and has been propagated ever since. I laid out the truth behind all the assassinations that people attributed to Putin when, in fact, the benefactor was Berezovsky, who even called me when I refused to invest $10 billion into their scheme to take over Russia.

Because of the 1998 Russian Financial Crisis in the midst of the Russian Bond Crisis August/September 1998, Yeltsin had to shift the leadership. He tried to reinstate Viktor Chernomyrdin (1938–2010) as Prime Minister, but the Duma rejected his appointment on September 7th, 1998. There was a rising sentiment to return to Communism, for capitalism had obviously failed. A very serious crisis was unfolding, and Yeltsin was forced to nominate Yevgeny Primakov (1929–2015), who was a right-wing conservative and anti-oligarchy communist at heart who was appointed Prime Minister September 10th, 1998. Primakov was moved from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Prime Minister in the wake of Russia’s default in August 1998.

Galina Starovoitova 1946 1998 Assassinated 11 20 98

Within a matter of weeks of Primakov coming to power, on November 20th, 1998, Galina Starovoitova (1946-1998) was preparing for the State Duma elections that were to be held the next year in December 1999. Galina tried to prevent the old communists from coming to power and was against the oligarchs. Galina opposed the direction of Russia moving from a communist to an oligarchy state and made this part of her political platform in “Democratic Russia.”

I believe Galina knew the nature and covert scheme of Primakov and the shifting sentiment to return to the USSR. I believe that, in fact, Galina’s assassination was to remove the head of the Democratic movement in the Duma that would have been the major obstacle to the rise of power of Primakov and the restoration of Communism under his vision of the USSR. Galina was gunned down in the entryway of her apartment building in St. Petersburg on November 20th, 1998. At first, the spin was she was really a puppet of a “Western financier,” who was supposed to be me simply because her son worked in my London office. She had checked my references with Margaret Thatcher before consenting to her son working in my firm. I had far more insight into Russia than most assumed.

The press refuses to reveal that they have been spreading the Berezovsky propaganda. It was on July 25th, 1998, when Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin (born in 1952) as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the primary intelligence agency of the Russian Federation. I believe this was done because of Galina Starovoitova’s (1946-1998) criticism of the FSB and to prevent another FSB coup, as they had pulled off against Gorbachev. Putin had worked for the KGB from 1975 until August 20th, 1991. He left because the head of the KGB, Vladimir A. Kryuchkov (1924–2007), was behind the major coup of 1991, arresting Mikhail Gorbachev and trying to return Russia to the USSR, which Putin opposed. Putin resigned in 1991 and entered civil service to support an old friend who was moving to be mayor of St Petersburg. However, more significantly, on October 1st, 1998, Vladimir Putin became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. This is why Yeltsin turned to Putin BECAUSE he knew he was against the communists and did NOT want to return Russia to the days of the USSR.

Geoff Kitney, writing for the Herald in Berlin, characterized Galina’s death a turning point in Russia’s fight to establish a post-Communist society. Indeed, Galina’s death was a significant turning point. It was clearly the attempt of the old guard and their reminiscent dream of Communist power they saw slipping away. It was very clear, that her death was an ordered assassination by the hardline. The fact that the spin claimed Galina was a puppet of a Western Financier, meaning me, was indicative of a communist who was Primakov, who was also the enemy of Berezovsky and his Seven Oligarchs attempting to take over Russia.

2022_The Plot to Seize Russia Overview

Navalny was against corruption that was created by the oligarchs – not Putin. His nemesis was Borris Berszovsky and his Seven Oligarchs, who were trying to seize control of Russia and were behind blackmailing Yeltsin with the whole Bank of New York scandal. If you look at all the assassinations I documented in the Plot to Seize Russia, it was part of the plan for Berezovsky to blame Putin in his attempt to seize control of Russia – backed by the American Neocons. Eventually, Berezovsky’s bodyguard said MI6 killed him after he wrote his begging letter to Putin apologizing and asking him to please allow him to return to Russia. When Edmond Safra was assassinated on December 3rd, 2999, that is when they created the contempt to prevent any trial in my case because they then realized this would create a political nightmare.

Nemtsov Boris 19059 2015
khodorkovsky_PENCIL

Boris Nemtsov (1959-2015) was involved with Hermitage Capital Management, the company I was being solicited to inject $10 billion. Nemtsov was named in a 1999 RICO suit Avisma Titano Magnes v. Dart Management. That lawsuit alleged that Bank Menatep, owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of Berezovsky’s Seven oligarchs, had a controlling interest in titanium producer Avisma. They forced Avisma to sell its titanium below market price to offshore companies that they secretly controlled. They then sold the titanium at market prices, funneling the profits back to the defendants and Bank Menatep.

Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital Management said that Nemtsov was his “indispensable ally” in pushing his Magnitsky Act, which indeed in itself created countless enemies by targeting private individuals in some revenge scheme. Plenty of people have criticized Putin, who has not been assassinated. In the Plot to Seize Russia, I went through all the assassinations, and they pointed to Berezovsky, whom I was warned not to get involved with. When I refused to invest $10 billion into Hermitage Capital Management, Berezovsky called me to try to pursue me to join the scheme where they would have all the riches of Russia from gold, platinum, diamonds, and oil flowing through their hands.

Three weeks before Nemtsov’s assassination, on February 10th, 2015, he wrote on Russia’s Sobesednik news website that his 87-year-old mother was not afraid Putin would kill him. Interestingly, she was scared because the former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky (born in 1963) was granted a pardon by Putin in 2013 and given a passport; hence, he fled to London. There was no explanation as to why he should fear Khodorkovsky.

However, the BBC interviewed Nemtsov on February 10th, 2015, 17 days before his death. He again repeated what he said in the Sobesednik newspaper. When asked if he himself feared for his life, he answered: “Yes, not as strongly as my mother, but still …” Following that interview, on February 25th, 2015, the Sobesednik posted an extended version of the original interview. There, Nemtsov added: “I am just joking. If I were afraid of Putin, I wouldn’t be in this line of work.” This does not support the West’s propaganda that Putin kills everyone.

Navalny Alexei Pencil

In addition, Nemtsov’s mother was also afraid of the anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny (1976-2024), who was the same activist who uncovered Voronenkov’s corruption. Did his mother understand more than what she was saying? Why was she afraid of one person who was part of the Yeltsin entourage and the other claiming to be against corruption?

Of course, on March 12th, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Resolution, and the Senate passed it on June 10th, 2019. The Resolutions were non-binding but were intended to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for his country’s actions, including a measure condemning the Russian leader and his government for their alleged roles in covering up the 2015 assassination of Putin’s political opponent, Boris Nemtsov. Anyone who ever criticized Putin has been alleged to have been assassinated even though they were of no serious consequence.

Alexei Navalny was after the corruption – but that was the Oligarchs, and Berezovsky had a long list of assassinations, even how he managed to get a hold of stock to build his empire. But the truth does not matter. They have attributed so many assassinations to Putin to cover up the connections of the West with Berezovsky and the Seven Oligarchs. Perhaps one day, the press will tell the truth instead of egging us on into World War III by attributing all Russians to the fake personality propaganda against Putin that was manufactured by Berezovsky and his Seven Oligarchs trying to strip mine Russia for untold wealth. I had a front-row seat to this saga.

Like the Weapons of Mass Destruction that never existed in Iraq, wars are routinely created on lies.

See the Plot to Seize Russia

Putin Endorses Joe Biden


Posted originally on Feb 19, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Vladamir Putin has endorsed Joe Biden as his choice for the 2024 US Presidential Election. “He is a more experienced, predictable person, an old-school politician,” Putin said during an interview, later saying that Russia will work with whomever the America people have confidence in.

Confidence is the keyword here as the people do not have confidence in Biden, and the people supporting him are mainly in the “anyone but Trump” camp. The Democrats believed Russia played a major role in the 2016 Presidential Election. Clinton and her team within the establishment produced the fake Steele Dossier without consequence, even when it was proven to be a falsified document. “The Russians have proved themselves to be quite adept at interfering and if [Putin] has a chance, he’ll do it again,” Hillary said, establishing a plan to blame Russia if the 2024 US election does not go as planned.

Biden Destoryed America

The truth of the matter is that Russia does not want an anti-establishment candidate in office. Why would you want to see your enemy succeed when their current leadership is destroying the nation from within? In the Tucker Carlson interview, Putin said it did not matter whether Trump or Biden won. His concern was the “elitist mindset” that wants domination and nothing else. He indicated the true leader of the US was not the president but the establishment promoted by intelligence agencies.

“A job is a job,” the Russian president stated when asked about his time in the KGB. He said that the CIA was their main opponent. Who had the motive and capability to blow up Nordstream? Who had the power to rig Ukraine’s election in 2014? Who follows the direction of NATO? There is not one man in charge of all of these but a group who maintains control over the establishment.

Congress has Once Again Hands Money to Zelensky Keeps US Border Open


Posted originally on Feb 17, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Tucker Carlson Visits a Grocery Store in Russia and Get’s Red Pilled – “Radicalized Against Western Leaders”….


Posted originally on the CTH on February 16, 2024 | Sundance

As Tucker Carlson talks about feeling “radicalized against western leadership,” I find myself rolling my eyes and saying, “welcome to the party pal.” But seriously, it’s good to see him awakening more people.

When I began talking about the western created propaganda in 2023 people had a difficult time understanding it.  {GO DEEP} As I began researching and explaining the futility and fraud of the Western sanctions against Russia, the confusion expanded. {GO DEEP}

Nothing makes sense until you realize we are being lied to by every element of Western review, government, media, corporations, academia, financial punditry, the works… all of their claims are based on lies and false information.

Tucker Carlson visits a grocery store in Russia {Direct Rumble Link} and immediately starts to get red-pilled on the truth. WATCH:

Keep in mind that Carlson is only looking at the ‘goods’ side of the ledger. On the ‘service’ side, the disparity in pricing is beyond jaw-dropping. {Example: A 30-mile cab ride for $5}.

From a production side perspective, Russia actually has a larger economy now than Germany, the largest EU nation. The cause for this is “autarchy” or self-sufficiency. Indeed, as the timeline of the sanctions completes the second full year, the Russian production economy is even stronger than when the sanctions began. Quite simply, they are making even more of their own goods now.

The sanctions typically fall into the service side of the economy, as well as financial and economic roadblocks. However, that aspect of the Russian economy was much smaller than most suspected and there were sanctions going back to 2014 which made the outcome of the 2022 western imposed restrictions far less impactful.

I’m very serious when I share with people that almost everything we understand about the geopolitical purposes and impacts of sanctions against Russian economic interests is entirely fabricated.  However, because the scale of the propaganda against us is so effective, breaking the mental/cognitive barrier is almost impossible.

It’s not that situations are ‘shaped’ or information is ‘manipulated,’ as in the definition of the term “disinformation.”  But rather  the entire construct of reality regarding the economic issues -as presented- is fabricated, created by massive financial interests, and flat-out lies; I mean, total unadulterated nonsense. Complete fiction.

This article from Reuters, and the accompanying graphic from ZeroHedge, only scratches the surface.

[SOURCE]

We are through the looking glass folks.  Literally captive to the narrative as sold by our Western government officials, and there’s a huge one-way mirror; beyond which, massive segments of the grey zone are looking at us as if we are pathetic victims of professional propaganda.

The worst part of this dynamic is how the USA looks insufferably weak, because we are playing this massive game of pretending that only the Yellow Zone is participating in.

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Almost all of Russia’s oil exports this year have been shipped to China and India, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday, after Moscow responded to Western economic sanctions by quickly rerouting supplies away from Europe.

Russia has successfully circumvented sanctions on its oil and diverted flows from Europe to China and India, which together accounted for around 90% of its crude exports, Novak, who is in charge of the country’s energy sector, told Rossiya-24 state TV.

He said that Russia had already started to forge ties with Asia-Pacific countries before the West introduced sanctions against Moscow following the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022.

“As for those restrictions and embargoes on supplies to Europe and the U.S. that were introduced… this only accelerated the process of reorienting our energy flows,” Novak said.

He said that Europe’s share of Russia’s crude exports has fallen to only about 4-5% from about 40-45%. (read more)

What Alexander Novak shares is stunningly accurate, only the ramifications are far more serious.  This is why I am spending so much time trying to break the issue down into digestible portions.

Russia and Iran are now trading oil (and other things) in their own national currencies, not the petrodollar.  This is the epicenter of a process initially triggered by the BRICS economic alliance and is now taking place in real time while the proverbial WEST pretends it is not happening.   Now, it might sound esoteric, as if it is a disconnected or academic issue that doesn’t have real substantive ramifications, but that’s not true.

I can literally see how global trade is now cost-shifting as the dollar starts to weaken (become less used) as a trade currency.  Again, like our domestic social issues, this de-dollarization process is “slowly at first,” but eventually this is going to come all at once.

As USA consumers we cannot see it yet, because we are inside an economic system that is entirely dependent on dollars.  However, as the devaluation of the dollar continues slowly to happen, outside our dollar-based economy, the cost of goods, products and stuff in the ordinary life of people within the GREY ZONE is now stunningly less.  It’s not showing up in currency markets (dollar -vs- fill_in_blank), because the currency trades are not part of the trade/cost dynamic outside the YELLOW ZONE.

Go into the grey zone and compare the price of “product X” to what you would pay in the United States for “product X”, and you will see the difference in the end consumer price is starting to widen faster.   Identical goods in the USA cost much more than goods outside the “west.”

As the de-dollarization continues (mostly driven by the lessening of oil sold using the petrodollar), the disparity in price will get even more stark.   As a result of this dynamic, wages in the USA (or the “west”) must necessarily rise faster; however, that’s only part of the issue.

If I took $200 into a Russian supermarket, buying only consumable food products, I would end up with about 3 shopping carts full of food.  Take that same $200 into the average USA supermarket and you get one shopping cart or less.  This is the scale of what is likely to happen in durable goods.  The “cleaving” is underway.

Let me say that again, the “cleaving” of dollar-based price/value is underway.

Starbucks pulled out of Russia.  The building still exists, the furniture still there, the equipment still there, just a different name, “Star Coffee” lolol.   Starbucks is roughly $6 for whatever, the StarCoffee is $1.  Same stuff.   A cab/uber ride in USA might be $25, or in EU might be €30, but outside the yellow zone around $6 to $10/max.  It’s getting crazy how big the difference is.

Now, the price disparity is not in everything, only in the products that do not originate from inside the yellow zone.  The increased price of the yellow zone goods transfers into the grey zone when the product is moved.  However, if the yellow zone and grey zone both produce an identical product (or service), that’s when you see the massive difference in price.  [And no, this is not a lower cost labor issue]

Conversely, prices of goods originating from the grey zone shipped to the yellow zone will be far less than the comparable product created from within the yellow zone.

What is going to happen?

I suspect we are going to import even more products from the grey zone at a greater rate, because there’s a lower origination price and greater opportunity for profit.  Wait and see.

China needs energy, Russia needs computer chips and tech.  They are trading thusly.  Now watch… if the sanctions are ever lifted, we will start importing Russian made electronic goods, because less expensive.  It’s nuts.

Remember, our ‘western’ government is doing this to us on purpose.

Rand Paul Gives His Perspective on the UniParty Ukraine Bill


Posted originally on the CTH on February 14, 2024 | Sundance 

Speaking to reporters February 12th, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tore into Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over his support for the $61 billion, Ukraine aid bill.  Rand Paul notes McConnell is going to Ukraine on Friday.  WATCH:

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Putin on Sanctions & the BRICS Boogeyman


Posted originally on Feb 13, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Tucker v Putin

I do not advise governments to use sanctions for leverage due to the economic implications that may take time to materialize. In April 2020, I wrote, Once you impose sanctions, you create a cold war. Look at Russia. Nixon opened China to divide and conquer. Are we really that stupid to close China and encourage them to join Russia in a cold war that will further destroy the world economy and most likely lead to real war?” The US and EU attempted to remove Russia from the global economy through sanctions and prohibiting them from the SWIFT network. Putin further explained in his interview with Tucker Carlson why this was a “grave mistake” for the future of the USD.

Using the dollar for political struggles dealt a blow to the USD that has not yet been felt. First, freezing the assets of Russians sent a signal to the whole world that the USD may not be the safest place to park your money if you happen to be in an “unfriendly” nation. Even our own allies have begun downsizing their dollar reserves.

SWIFT Banking Systems

The SWIFT system was never meant to be used as a political instrument. The West began looking into ways to remove Russia from this payment system back in 2014, and when they finally did, Russia began processing its payments elsewhere. Putin also correctly stated in the interview that China, not Russia, is the larger threat to the West in terms of size, population, manufacturing, and, most importantly, the growing power of the yuan.

The BRICS alliance is stronger than ever before as nations are collaborating without the need for the dollar. This does NOT mean that they are planning to replace the dollar, a myth that Putin termed the “BRICS boogeyman” as the Western media portrays the organization as a major threat to global security. However, this does mean that the yuan will grow in strength, as we have seen with the slow death of the petrodollar. The BRICS partnership means that members are no longer dependent on Western energy, and eventually, no one will be dependent on Western trade or debt. Only a fool would buy their enemy’s debt and expect to receive anything in return. Again, this will happen on target cyclically as nothing remains forever. The dollar overpowered sterling, and the yuan is next in line.

Putin Xi

There are boogeyman fables that cooperation with China will lead to the destruction of the West, yet that is happening as a result of our leaders abandoning all domestic policies for globalization. Every nation in the EU and North America has made decisions that directly hurt its own economy but are beneficial to the coming globalization that they wish to bring forth, as stated every year at Davos.

“You can’t choose your neighbors like you can’t choose relatives,” Putin stated in regards to China, “We have a centuries-long history of coexistence.” He correctly stated that China always looks for compromise. They are an independent nation that has not fallen to the globalist agenda and there are not neocons within the ranks looking to bring China into perpetual warfare. The media is afraid of the “no limits” alliance between Russia and China, but look at how China has remained relatively neutral since the war in Ukraine began when they could have easily aided their neighbor. Furthermore, Europe is now closer economically to China than Russia is, as Europe is desperate for solutions to its economic issues and sees China as an opportunity.

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Putin stated numerous times that US analysts are the ones discussing these problems, and he is simply repeating what he has read. I have not personally advised Putin, but I do believe his people read our work as he was attempting to explain cycles. “It is like the rise of the sun. You cannot prevent the sun from rising. You must adapt to it,” he said as one analogy. Cycles, indeed, are the operating system behind absolutely everything. Civilization does not change; war and periods of economic decline are inevitable. We can merely observe and learn from the trends to adapt accordingly.