Tag Archives: Economic Collapse

May 31 2023

South Africa Offers Putin Diplomatic Immunity Ahead of BRICS Summit


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted May 31, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, Iran, China, South Africa) alliance is stronger than ever. The 15th annual meeting will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, and government leaders are urging all to attend. However, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has an outstanding warrant for the arrest of Vladimir Putin and South Africa is a member state.

President Cyril Ramaphosa understands the importance of the BRICS alliance and considered abandoning the ICC entirely before backtracking on his stance. Instead of leaving the ICC, South Africa now declares that it will grant diplomatic immunity to Putin to permit him to attend. “It is hereby published for general information that the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, in terms of section 6(2) of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act 2001, has recognised (the meetings),” the department said. The terms in the United Nations Convention should prevent the ICC from arresting Putin, who is considered a war criminal for the invasion of Ukraine.

Specifically, the ICC charged Putin “for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute).” Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC for the same charges. The Kremlin has denied that the deportations were forced and said that they were attempting to save Russian children living in Ukraine. Ukraine only entered the ICC in March of 2022, but numerous countries, including China and the United States, do not recognize “the court of last resort.” Lvova-Belova told news outlets that she was proud of her work in removing children from an active war zone. “It’s great that the international community has appreciated the work to help the children of our country, that we do not leave them in the war zones, that we take them out, that we create good conditions for them, that we surround them with loving, caring people,” she stated.

So, will Putin take the risk? On the one hand, his presence would signal that he is unafraid of international law. On the other hand, the Neocons would delight in an opportunity to arrest the Russian president to begin WW3. A country would need to be extremely careful to arrest the head of a country with nuclear capabilities in the middle of a war.

May 31 2023

Mexico’s President v Ron DeSantis


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted May 31, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) of Mexico is asking people to vote for a candidate who turns a blind eye to the US-Mexico border crisis. It is out of character for a world leader to dictate to his constituents how to vote in a foreign election, but migrants will be voting in the upcoming election whether we like it or not.

AMLO previously had a cordial relationship with former President Trump. However, he is accusing the GOP of being “very hypocritical” for condemning illegal immigration. “[T]hose who persecute migrants, for those who don’t respect migrants, because a migrant – as it says in the Bible – deserves respect,” Mexico’s president stated. More specifically, he does not want people to vote for Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has promised to deliver on Trump’s promise to build a border wall, stating he will declare a national emergency on his first day in office if elected. “I hope that Florida Hispanics wake up and don’t give him a single vote,” said the Mexican president.

Cartels are bringing fentanyl into America, but AMLO insists they are not using the Mexican border as their Silk Road. “(DeSantis) also came out with the same thing, about fentanyl, thinking that he’d get votes with it,” AMLO declared. “Let him start to see, because fentanyl is arriving via Florida (which does not border on Mexico) and we have to be informing people so that they don’t offend Mexico, so that they learn to respect us.” Wishing for a deadly drug to plague your neighbor does not sound like something we would see in the Bible either.

Former President Vicente Fox famously told reporters, “I’m not going to pay for that f—ing wall!” and it seems AMLO agrees. Florida currently has one of the strictest laws in the US to prevent illegal immigration under S.B. 1718, which many call the “anti-immigration bill.” Yet there is a distinctive difference between legal immigration and breaking federal laws by illegally entering a foreign land.

May 31 2023

Byron Donalds and Chip Roy Are Furious About McCarthy Debt Ceiling Deal – House Freedom Caucus Says “NO”!


Posted originally on the CTH on May 30, 2023 | Sundance 

As details begin to emerge, many of the House Republicans are furious at Kevin McCarthy for the deal to lift the debt ceiling he has brokered with Joe Biden.

Suddenly, the prior battle and construct of the House Rules Committee is becoming important.   While Kevin McCarthy may have the 218 votes on the floor of the House to pass the deal, he first has to get it out of the House Rules Committee (HRC).  If three Republicans oppose it in the HRC, McCarthy cannot get it to the floor.  Chip Roy and Ralph Norman are on the HRC and oppose the bill.   Thomas Massie is also on the HRC but appears to be supporting Kevin McCarthy (lol, because muh principles).

Byron Donalds also delivered a strong rebuke of the McCarthy deal, as outlined below:

WASHINGTON DC – […] The powerful House Rules Committee will spend Tuesday afternoon debating and — ultimately working to pass — the bipartisan debt deal, requiring a simple majority of at least seven votes on the panel to come to the floor. But some conservatives, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a committee member, have signaled they may use their power on that panel to block the debt plan from receiving a full House vote.

“I’m going to do what’s in the best interest and this bill is not in the best interest of the country. That is why Democrats are voting for it,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another conservative who sits on the Rules panel and has suggested he will oppose the bill during the panel’s meeting.

[…] Under the panel’s current makeup, Rules Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) can lose two GOP votes — along with all four Democratic votes — and still advance the bill.

Senior Republicans believe that’s exactly what’s going to happen, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Norman and Roy haven’t explicitly said they will oppose, though Massie is expected to vote in support of the measure going to the floor.

GOP Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said that he is “confident” that the bill will hit the floor on Wednesday, noting that Rules would be considering amendments. Members submitted more than 55 amendments to the debt deal, most of them from Republicans but some from Democrats as well. (read more)

Rep Dan Bishop: The bill is bad

May 31 2023

Porkulous – Ernst Rides with Ron


Posted originally on the CTH on May 30, 2023 | Sundance 

In the annals of Freudian graphic design, this apropos logo is one for the history books.

As one of the qualified Diversity Equity and Inclusion spokepeople for Mitch McConnell’s DeceptiCon group, Joni Ernst has always had a very specific role to play.  Today she announces Ron DeSantis is joining the porkulous parade, an apropos name for a pork-filled United States budgetary process that has replaced regular order since fiscal year 2008.

That is correct folks.  All of these debt ceiling arguments, continuing resolutions, stop-gap spending bills, and generally corrupt UniParty spending outcomes, are the result of congress dropping the budget process after fiscal year 2008.  For the past fifteen years in a row, specifically as part of the Obama ‘fundamental change’ process, the budgetary order in the U.S. government has been eliminated.

[SOURCE]

Everything associated with federal spending is a corrupt and arguably unconstitutional system of base-line budget growth, continuing resolutions, no budget constraints and debt ceiling increases.  The media like to play the budget narrative game without ever mentioning the source of the issue.

Can you think of a more apropos logo to represent the interests of Washington DC and the right-wing of the UniParty agenda?

Quite a remarkable and Freudian optic.

We are in an abusive relationship with our government.

I digress…

May 31 2023

Sea Island


Posted originally on the CTH on May 30, 2023 | Sundance 

Sea Island, GA, is a go-to place for those who operate in the background of U.S. politics. Similar in purpose to Jackson Hole, WY.  Sea Island serves as an East Coast meeting place where the globalists strategize and the paid for performance politicians are given instructions.

We do not have details. However, even for the exclusive Sea Island high security protocols, this notice is unusual. 

Given the timing, watch for news that follows.

May 30 2023

Biden on Gay Marriage (2006)


Armstrong Economics Blog/WOKE Re-Posted May 30, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Politicians echo the popular opinion of the time to gain votes. They act in their own self-interest and do not care about the people. Joe Biden now prides himself of being the wokest president in American history, but those views are not his own. Biden in 2006 is a completely different person from Biden in 2023, highlighting his steep mental decline in recent years that prevents him from speaking clearly. “I can’t believe the American people can’t see through this,” Biden said in 2006.

Biden repeatedly states in this video that he firmly believes “marriage is between a man and a woman.” People can love who they want and society has progressed since this video. However, the current definition of progress has taken the gay agenda so far that it threatens basic rights for those in the gay community. We went from gay marriage to discussing childhood castration for kids who “feel” they are a different gender. There was gay and straight, man or women, and now we have 107 different gender identities. The website linked italicizes currently as there will be more than 107 in the years to come as people completely lose touch with reality. In comparison, there were only 72 genders to choose from last year.

There are endless issues facing our nation and the only reason they harp on the woke agenda and promote the CEI score is to create a cultural divide in America that has now become a cultural war. “We already have a law, the Defense of Marriage Act,” a clear-headed Biden said. “We’ve all voted — not, where I’ve voted, and others have said, look, marriage is between a man and a woman and states must respect that. Nobody’s violated that law, there’s been no challenge to that law. Why do we need a constitutional amendment? Marriage is between a man and a woman.” Biden admitted that no one was challenging anyone’s way of life and it was a misuse of Congress’ time to harp over such issues. Yet now something about LGBTQ comes up during every White House press briefing (Joe Biden never attends or addresses the people), and the nation is experiencing a mass mental health and identity crisis.

May 30 2023

The Real Hidden Agenda – It’s Time to take the Red Pill


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted May 30, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Martin,
I’m gay and I agree with you on this transgender drivel, especially letting male-born athletes compete in women’s sports. It is becoming scary for those of us who are just gay. We are being thrown in the same category as this transgender agenda. I too have been to Thailand. The Ladyboys in Thailand are numerous and are accepted in society. They are smart enough to not make a political issue of it as is taking place here in America.

As for your view of Trump as the only hope to save our politics, I profoundly disagree. I think he is arrogant and ignorant. He doesn’t care if what he says if it is true or not.

CP

REPLY: With respect to Trump, you have to separate the individual from the politics. I understand people hate Trump. The media have spread this BECAUSE he is a threat to the Washington political establishment. Nonetheless, not even Trump can stop the decline and fall of Western Civilization.

People get offended by his crude statements at times. But at least you know what he really thinks. Is it better for a career politician to say everything you want to hear and then look at you as a stupid fool and do the opposite?

I have worked in Washington. There is ABSOLUTELY nobody who is a career politician in either party who will really stand up for the people. They are under pressure all the time to conform to the unelected party bosses.

I have met many heads of state in my 40 years. I have said the truth. Trump was the ONLY such person who ever impressed me as actually being human. His statement that he wanted to bring our boys home from Afghanistan because he was tired of writing letters to their parents to thank them for their son’s sacrifice of dying for his country. He actually said what are we doing there? They are fighting over borders for a 1,000 years. What difference will we make?

No head of state EVER spoke about the people. It was always about their policy. I have come to see that we are just the pawns – expendable pawns at that. There are always more of us to come. They look down upon the people as stupid scum. This whole digital currency thing is to track everything we do.

So you may find Trump’s statement and his arrogance at times as distasteful. We will never find someone perfect. But all of this is irrelevant. For there is NOBODY coming on some white horse to save the day. Trump’s quality was that he was NOT a career politician and what he was doing was for his personal legacy from ending wars to building a wall to protect our borders.

So all I can say is to those who hate Trump so much, you better look closely at the others for they have nothing but contempt for you.


Back in the ’70s, I hired a death mute – Danny. He taught me sign language and we could communicate and laugh together. I had a major surgeon as a client and he said that he probably could restore his hearing. I offered to pay for everything for him and he declined. He was afraid to hear sounds. He grew up that way and was in his late 20s and did not want to change. He taught me that what I thought would be a generous offer was really just me thinking that normal was the ability to hear. We cannot judge others by ourselves.

One of our staff who is black, was rather upset about the whole Black Lives Matter movement. She explained that it was being usurped by non-blacks. There was clearly a strange agenda behind the curtain. Soros and his defund the police agenda was to create civil unrest and cause the country to get prepared for this one-world government.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg was the first woman to make it to the Supreme Court. She was an advocate for women’s rights. But she came out and explained that the entire Abortion Movement was a fraud. They called it women’s rights and have indoctrinated many women who passionately take that position. They have been cleverly manipulated by the Gates crowd and the Rockefeller Foundation for their real goal was to reduce the population. Gate’s father started the whole Planned Parenthood and placed them in minority areas to reduce their population on a racist basis.  Like his father, Gates has targeted Africa to reduce population.

Now, the total number of people who identify as Transgender is 1.6 million out of a population of 331.9 million (2021). That is 0.0048%. Now, how has this become such a major issue? There is absolutely NO WAY this Transgender group had the money or the clout to turn this into such a huge issue. Diving deep behind the curtain and you will find, just like abortion, it is being funded for the purpose of reducing the population – and has NOTHING to do with Pride or gay rights. They are being exploited just as women were told it was their right to have an abortion – kill that baby and save the planet.

This Transgender nonsense is in fact destroying the right of the Gay Community because they are being thrown in with this Transgender nonsense advocating changing children’s sex without parental knowledge all before puberty. Let’s get real here. This agenda is to promote the reduction in the population and has NOTHING to do with the Gay Community or their rights to inclusion and equality.

This is always the same strategy – manipulating society to achieve its undeclared goal be it war, politics, or women/transgender rights. It is like LIFE Insurance which is really DEATH insurance. They sell fire, accident, theft, and hurricane insurance. But they could not sell DEATH insurance so they called it LIFE insurance and people brag how much they have.

Video Player

00:00

00:55

Remember the lockdowns? The whole COVID nonsense was a scam to end commuting and terminate offices bringing in virtual work from home all to reduce gas consumption. That was also a manipulation of society for climate change – not for health. There are people still to this day wearing masks driving alone in a car. They have been mentally damaged by these tactics.

NOTHING is ever what it seems. We are the fools and they are always using sophisticated tactics to manipulate society to achieve objectives that they will never reveal.

It’s just time to take the Red Pill and wake up if you EVER hope to survive as a viable human being or take the Blue Pill and live in your fantasy that government actually cares about you.

May 30 2023

Turkey & the Election


Armstrong Economics Blog/Turkey Re-Posted May 30, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I’m not sure if you remember me. I was with the Islamic bank that our board ordered we were to open a branch in Turkey and we turned to you to create a hedge since the Turkish Lira was not a tradable market. You saved the bank a fortune and I think that was the first synthetic hedge anyone ever created back in the ’80s thanks to your computer correlations.

The press was claiming that Erdogan would lose and that would be a victory for democracy that would send a message to strongmen rulers in other parts of the world. Well, they got that one wrong and we have the same type of democracy that the rest of the West has – career politicians entrenched for life. Now the press is all flustered saying this victory for Mr Erdogan is sending a message to people like Modi in India as he faces his third general election within the next year that he too can win.

I remember the forecast you told the bank back then that come 2026, Turkey might break with NATO and align with Russia in hopes of restoring its former glory of the Ottoman Empire. Well, I thought that was rather way out there back then. Today, I see how that is now perhaps a 50/50 bet.

Has anything ever changed in your computer on that very long-term forecast since the other one you had said the British pound would fall from $2.40 to par and that seemed farfetched as well but the computer was correct.  Would you care to comment on Turkey?

ABD

ANSWER: Oh yes, I remember you. The ’80s were the wild times. If I am correct, we bumped into each other in the early ’90s in an elevator in London. No, nothing has changed. This was the turning point and it still appears to be building up but a break with NATO is still possible post-2024 increasing in intensity for 2026. Your memory is very good still. Erdogan is not a fool. He sees the Ukraine mess and how the West is deliberately creating WWIII. He sees the opportunity ahead even if he does not articulate it publicly. We have reached the 340-year mark from the 1683 attempt of the Ottoman Empire to conquer Europe. We are approaching the 4th wave from 1683 and that is 344 years. So we are on target and nothing has changed.

May 30 2023

Russia Issued an Arrest Warrant for Lindsey Graham


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted May 29, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham and quite honestly, it is not a surprise. Graham has NEVER seen a Russian he did not want dead. He has been one of the hardline Neocons who always is willing to throw American lives away for his constant agenda of conquering the world to promote the fake US version of democracy where we NEVER have a right to vote on anything important from debt ceilings to war.

Zelensky’s office edited the videotape and put two separate comments that Graham made together that “the Russians are dying” and U.S. military assistance to Ukraine is “the best money we’ve ever spent.” That’s what he gets for backing the most vile and corrupt government in Europe hellbent on creating World War III.

Communism fell in 1989. Neither the people of Russia nor China are interested in ever returning. Instead of promoting peace as the Roman Empire showed us how to do when everyone is interconnected economically, that is how peace is created. It is to everyone’s benefit to work together. Graham and McCain never paused even once. They continued the cold war. Graham has no problem sending American boys and girls to die in Europe for his dream of destroying Russia and razing it to the ground. NEVER have Graham or McCain EVER sought peace – just endless wars.

May 30 2023

The Odd Questions Never Asked About the DeSantis Operation – And a Florida Grassroots Activist Explains the Sense in the Sunshine State


Posted originally on the CTH on May 29, 2023 | Sundance 

It always puzzles me when I come across an obscure data point that comes directly from the mouths of people who follow politics, and yet watch them not ask the obvious question.  In this video segment, the first 20 seconds by podcaster Patrick Bet-David are interesting.

The video was recorded on Monday May 22nd, two days before Ron DeSantis officially launched his campaign (May 24).  The meeting being described by Bet-David is on Thursday May 18, approximately four days before the interview, and six days before the campaign launch.

PBD notes he was invited with 10 to 15 other people to “watch Governor Ron DeSantis, work” in the governor’s mansion.  In essence, it seems like someone from the DeSantis campaign was continuing to reach out to ‘influencers’ in advance of the announcement the following week.

QUESTION:  Why do none of these influencers ask why they are being invited to “watch” DeSantis?  It just seems odd.   The podcast segment is a pretty good discussion with Sebastian Gorka, but watch the first 20 seconds.

.

What PBD outlines rather casually is exactly what I drew attention to last year.  The DeSantis operation was clearly working in the latter part of 2021 to seed the landscape for the 2024 election, including the January 6, 2022, influencer meetup.  Yet for some odd reason, none of the participants questioned what the purpose of the unsolicited engagement request was.

I first wrote about this last July and August, it’s all just weird.

If you have followed the management and branding efforts of the team around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the protestations today by campaign official and registered foreign agent Christina Pushaw are quite bizarre.

In early January of 2023, the Daily Beast wrote an article [SEE HERE] about how Ms. Pushaw organized an astroturf campaign of support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which included the recruitment of several conservative influencers.  The substance of the article is generally well known.

In late 2021, early 2022, Ms. Pushaw invited a group of “influencers” to spend time with Governor DeSantis.

It’s not a debatable event. Factually, the collective group took gleeful pictures of their first visit on January 6, 2022, and continued to post frequent pictures on their social media of events throughout last year.  The group went to the reelection celebration and inauguration of DeSantis in January before the Daily Beast article.

However, for some odd reason, likely more concerned about people realizing the ‘organized‘ nature of the creation, in a bizarre turn of events, Ms. Christina Pushaw was denying she ever organized the assembly.  Then she stated, without any documentary evidence proving she organized it, saying she organized it was a conspiracy theory. [Tweet Link]

If Ms. Pushaw is to be believed, the random group of Florida conservative “influencers” just happened to show up at the Governor’s office on January 6, 2022, without any invitation, organization or coordination on her part.

Even lacking the invitation details, hanging your defense on the absence of a paper trail under these circumstances seems like a very odd position to take.

Why does the DeSantis team fear sunlight on the origin of how this outreach and subsequent meetings took place?  Very odd.

I sincerely doubt this group just randomly showed up at Ron DeSantis’ office, on January 6, 2022, without an invitation or organizing.

The same group then continued meeting throughout the year….

.

Nothing about their recruitment, continued meet-ups and aggressive promotion of Ron DeSantis for the GOP nomination in 2024, would be that interesting or even noteworthy if Ms. Christina Pushaw didn’t paint them all into a box by denying she ever organized their first assembly.

And there’s the rub…  Why was Christina Pushaw denying she first organized them on behalf of the political aspirations of her boss, Ron DeSantis?

The only logical reason to make such an outlandish and transparently false claim, was if original 2022 assembly was intended as seed material to use the “influencers” for another purpose, like a 2024 presidential bid.  This truth would cut through the pretense of the “book tour”, national branding launch and subsequent nonsense.

However, with Ron DeSantis announcing his candidacy for the GOP nomination, suddenly all these background moves look like proactive steps on behalf of the management team.  The January 6, 2022 meeting would then infer the presidential aspirations went as far back as December 2021.

In combination with the $200+ million in Wall Street money assembled by DeSantis, it certainly appears that hiding the long-constructed 2024 plan was the motive for the absurd denial.  To give you an idea of how Florida voters feel about this campaign fraud, watch this twitter video:

That Trump-supporting DeSantis organizer is exactly how the majority of Florida grassroot activists feel.   He’s 100% spot on.