Posted originally on the CTH on April 17, 2023 | Sundance
Consider this an open thread on this interview which will broadcast tonight at 8:00pm ET, along with a good preview by Tucker Carlson below.
The topic of Musk is interesting from multiple perspectives, particularly in an era of universal deceit, pretending and openly exposed manipulation of information by government and govt stakeholders. I have my own keen reasons to watch the Musk dynamic closely, one of them pertains to the Twitter situation and what it means in the bigger sphere of communication.
Readers here will long remember my outline of the Twitter/Govt dynamic. However, lesser focused is my empirical belief that a collaborative financial relationship, a subsidy of sorts, had to exist given the nature of both public and private enterprises. The lesser discussed aspect to social media is the scale and cost of operations in proportion to the revenue the platforms can create.
Musk has essentially confirmed the basic premise I always believed about this public-private partnership; however, what has never been discussed is the financial subsidy for the data processing -and hardware- at scale. People shrug off this part of the equation, but if you look at the financial moves Mr. Musk is making through the prism of trying to break free of a background financial dependency/subsidy, while simultaneously maintaining viable platform operations, then suddenly some of his moves make sense.
If you are watching the interview tonight, use this thread to share opinion, and I will update with video after broadcast.
PS. We have already peered into the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a decade ago presented the image of what it looks like.
If you think about it to context, everything comes together in this very predictable dynamic.
As we shared more than a decade ago, pictures are worth a multitude of words.
Posted originally on the CTH on April 17, 2023 | Sundance
This is one of those reality moments when a few more people might scratch their puzzlers and, if we are lucky, possibly awaken themselves to the reality of World War Reddit.
It was not long ago when MSM headlines were all about how Russia was to blame for starving people around the world as a result of Ukraine farming shortages caused by war. As the narrative was told, specifically as it reflected in massive food inflation, the EU and corporate media said the global grain market was missing the farm output from Ukraine, ergo grain prices skyrocketed; ie. Russia bad.
Well, how does this story reconcile with that narrative? According to Reuters reporting, the EU is telling all member states they must take massive shipments of grain and excessive grain commodities into their country even if it collapses the market price. Poland and Hungary said they don’t want the excessive harvest outputs; the EU is telling them they must take them.
Funny how that global famine narrative now disappears under the weight of excessive commodity outputs from Ukraine. Farming output going well in Ukraine. Weirdest war outcome ever. lolol
WARSAW, April 16 (Reuters) – Unilateral action on trade by European Union member states is unacceptable, the bloc’s executive said on Sunday, after Poland and Hungary announced bans on grain and other food imports from Ukraine to protect their local agricultural sectors.
After Russia’s invasion blocked some Black Sea ports, large quantities of Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper than that produced in the European Union, ended up staying in Central European states due to logistical bottlenecks, hitting prices and sales for local farmers.
[…] “We are aware of Poland and Hungary’s announcements regarding the ban on imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine,” a spokesperson for the European Commission said in an emailed statement.
“In this context, it is important to underline that trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable.” “In such challenging times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU,” the statement added.
[…] Solsky said at the weekend that 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes of various [Ukraine] agricultural products cross the Polish border every month, including grain, vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, meat and other products. (read more)
Old narrative “Russia is starving the world”… New narrative “Excessive Ukraine harvests must be accepted”… Any questions?
Posted originally on the CTH on April 17, 2023 | Sundance
Two quick juxtapositions to contemplate:
Just accepting things as they are presented to be, without laying opinion on the table.
♦ Mr. Elon Musk is saying he spent $44 billion to purchase a platform without any prior knowledge the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) was operating on the backbone of the communication platform he was purchasing.
Additionally, all due diligence that may have been conducted before the biggest expenditure in the history of social media networks, did not reveal this intelligence community operation, to him, until after the sale was complete.
Everything thereafter is based on this predicate.
♦ Mr. Ron DeSantis is saying he had no idea the apparatus of political constructs was creating a presidential campaign process over a period of two years that would require his ultimate approval and participation, during the period when he genuinely claimed to be running for reelection to be the 2022 Florida Governor.
Everything thereafter is based on this predicate.
Whether you believe these assertions to be true or not is entirely up to you.
However, with these two points in mind, what does that say about the current state of our national pretense?
Expand the discussion. I am very interested in how intellectually honest people view these assertions.
The Biden crime family’s activities are coming to light after a bank with ties to China handed over records to Republican lawmakers. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa reached out to numerous banks for information without luck. “We are investigating the domestic and international business dealings of President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and other Biden associates and family members to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality,” they stated in a joint letter. Cathay Bank was the only bank that was willing to aid in the investigation.
Cathay Bank revealed that Rob Walker, a Biden family associated, received a $3 million payment from a Chinese firm. Walker distributed these funds to the Bidens the following day. The alleged payments were made to Hunter Biden for $610,692; the president’s brother James Biden for $360,000; Hunter’s mistress and wife of deceased son Beau, Hallie Biden, for $25,000; last of all, $70,000 was paid to an unknown Biden. Twelve additional transactions are currently under investigation.
The corruption began while Biden was Obama’s vice president. As indicated in the joint letter:
“The convergence of the Biden family’s political and business lives began during the Obama-Biden Administration. Obama Administration White House visitor logs show Hunter Biden’s business partner visited the White House at least 27 times during President Biden’s vice presidency. Hunter Biden’s business partner—Eric Schwerin—was later nominated for a position in the Obama-Biden Administration and handled then-Vice President Biden’s tax returns while he was in office and Schwerin was president of Rosemont Seneca Partners— another Hunter Biden-affiliated company. Republicans must track the dollars to uncover whether the current President himself benefitted from these transactions and whether the payments were from nations opposed to U.S. interests.”
Now-defunct CEFC China Energy, with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), wired $1 million to one of Hunter’s business ventures called Hudson West III. Northern International Capital Holdings, a CEFC associate, sent $5 million to Hudson West III. Hudson West III used the money to send $4.8 million to Owasco P.C. and Owasco LLC, and Lion Hall Group, owned by the president’s brother James Biden. Owasco P.C. sent over 20 wire transfer to Lion Hall Group. Hunter received a $500,000 a month retainer from Hunter West III on top of a $100,000 per month fee. I am assuming that is a lot of crack. James Biden received $65,000 per month.
Senator Johnson believes the CCP may have more dirt on the Biden’s and called this release a warning shot. “They willingly gave us the documents that backed up the Treasury records. Is that a Communist Party’s shot across President Biden’s bow? Listen, this is some of the information we have. If you don’t toe the line and do things that please us, we will release even more information,” stated Johnson. The House Oversight Committee needs to take this matter seriously. America’s national security is at risk if the sitting president is compromised.
“I’m not Meloni’s twin sister, I remain faithful to Salvini,” French politician Marine Le Pen said in regard to the Italian PM. Le Pen condemned Italy’s Meloni for supporting NATO and the EU, and while she condemns Russia’s actions in Ukraine, she does not believe that the proxy war should continue. Le Pen said that European countries should remain “Eurosceptic” as there is clearly a larger agenda at play that does not consider individual nations.
She also said that she is convinced France should leave NATO immediately and cease all weapon exports to Ukraine. Why?
“I would do everything possible for France to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict. For one simple reason: I don't see any other valid solutions.” “Or Russia – continues Le Pen – wins the war, and it would be catastrophic because all the countries that have a territorial conflict will think they can solve it with weapons. Either Ukraine wins, and this would mean that NATO has entered the conflict, and thus the beginning of the Third World War. It doesn't seem like a happy prospect to me. Or, we will continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and then we will find ourselves facing a new Hundred Years War which, given the human losses, would be a tragedy.”
This is the exact problem. No one is going to “win” this war and World War III is imminent as NATO continues to embed itself in the conflict. All NATO leaders are abandoning their domestic policies in favor of an international one that does not benefit their respective countries in any way. This entire proxy war the entire world is now fighting is merely a ploy to eliminate Russia and end fossil fuel production. I discuss these topics in depth in my book, “The Plot to Seize Russia,” which my publisher is currently working on completing. I will let everyone know once the book is available for purchase in the coming weeks.
Posted originally on the CTH on April 16, 2023 | Sundance
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, appears on Face the Nation to describe the current status of EU success in shrinking the economy to achieve parity with the shrinking of energy development. Ms. Lagarde is very happy with their ‘management of the transition’ so far, and sees slow economic growth combined with a citizenry happily accepting the lower standard of living, the new normal.
As Lagarde outlines, the lowered economic activity is helping the central banks support the objectives of the government officials and corporations who are giving the instructions. Overall, she is optimistic the common man and woman will continue accepting less ability to achieve personal economic and financial success, as the bankers and politicians continue managing the western transition. Things are going swimmingly. WATCH:
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by Christine Lagarde, former head of the IMF, now the president of the European Central Bank. Good morning.
PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Good morning, Margaret. Lovely to be back.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good to have you here, and your recovery is going all right?
MADAME LAGARDE: Yes, in a couple of days, I think I’ll be fine.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m glad to hear that. You have a long list of things ahead of you. And I want to ask you about the global recovery. You were speaking a few days ago and you said the recovery for the economy is fragile and uncertain in this country. The Fed thinks we’ll see a mild recession later this year. What is it that you predict?
MADAME LAGARDE: First of all, there is recovery. That’s, I think, a point that was not really firm only six months ago where we all assumed that there would be a recession, if only a technical one. If you look at all the forecasts at the moment, it’s all positive. It’s been slightly downgraded. But overall, we have a recovery and we are faced with high uncertainty because of multiple factors, you know, from all corners of the world. It’s the war in Ukraine. It’s the financial stability that clearly has been shaken up a bit by the US and Switzerland development. It’s inflation that we are fighting. It’s all that which really create a hollow of uncertainty around a recovery that we want to embed. That’s pretty much where we are.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So there were those recent bank failures here in the United States, also one in Switzerland. Given that, it sounds like you’re saying you don’t see a hard landing, you’re seeing a positive trajectory for the global economy?
MADAME LAGARDE: I think we have a narrow path to navigate, which requires that both the governments and the central banks around the world adopt the right policies.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OPEC just cut output.
MADAME LAGARDE: Hm?
MARGARET BRENNAN: OPEC just cut output, but you don’t see that as a disruption?
MADAME LAGARDE: I know. And- and we have to be very attentive. But in the meantime, if you look at- I’ll have to look at Europe at the moment. We have reduced our overall consumption of gas energy, for instance, by more than 15 percent. So it’s not as if we negotiated here or there. We just cut down our energy consumption, number one. Number two, we have renegotiated with multiple partners ranging from Norway to the United States of America, which is a big supplier of our energy. And I think that our dependency, which we learned the hard way about, has significantly declined. So I think that we moved from the illusion of plenty of energy, free money, to a time of resilience and building buffers. This is what has happened.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It’s interesting to hear that optimism. I mean, given the bank failures we just saw, you hear from bank CEOs in this country, this idea that they’re getting more cautious about lending money, largely that there’s some contraction in credit there. How concerned are you and how does that complicate your planning?
MADAME LAGARDE: It’s funny you should ask, complication because in a way it facilitates my planning and it complicates the future as far as growth.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Because it slows down business activity so you don’t have to raise rates as much or as frequently.
MADAME LAGARDE: We don’t have to reduce. We’ll see. Because we need to really measure what will come out of this- this financial events that took place recently. What impact will it have? How will banks react? How will they assess risk and how much credit will they lend? But if they don’t lend too much credit and if they manage their risk, it might reduce the work that we have to do to reduce inflation, okay? But if they reduce too much credit, then it will weigh on growth excessively. So it’s a fine balance to have between credit risk, good management on the one hand, and on the other hand, financing the economy as is expected by- by the business community. The business community wants to invest at the moment. Some of them have big buffers and they can use those buffers, others are going to need credit financing from the banking sector and the markets, both of them.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about the U.S.. And it’s not a political question, it’s an economic one. But there are predictions that the U.S. could default in its national debt as soon as June, some say September, and we have a political standoff in this country, virtually no negotiation happening on how to resolve this. Does that undermine your confidence in the United States? And what message does that send to the world?
MADAME LAGARDE: I have huge confidence in the United States. You know, ever since my year in this country, and this city in ’73, ’74, I have had confidence in this country and I just cannot believe that they would let such a major, major disaster happen of the United States defaulting on its debt. This is not possible. I cannot believe that it would happen. But if it did happen, it would have very, very negative impact, not just for this country where confidence would be challenged, but around the world. Let’s face it, this is the largest economy. It’s a major leader in economic growth around the world. It cannot let that happen. I understand the politics, I’ve been in politics myself. But there is a time when the higher interest of a nation has to prevail. I’m sorry.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And you think that will happen?
MADAME LAGARDE: I have huge trust in this country yet again.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re bringing a lot of optimism to a show where we don’t have a lot of optimism.
MADAME LAGARDE: Oh. I’m sorry (laughs)
MARGARET BRENNAN: No, I like it. It’s interesting. It’s a change. I want to ask you, though, about what you just said in terms of U.S. leadership. You look to the other side of the globe and Xi Jinping has said he wants China to be the world’s leading power by 2049. And Beijing is very interlinked into so many economies, particularly in Europe. Is the U.S. losing global influence?
MADAME LAGARDE: There is clearly a competition between these- these large economies. The U.S. is the first economy in the world. China is clearly competing, and is putting all forces in that competition. I think competition is healthy. It has to stimulate innovation. It has to stimulate productivity. But it’s inevitable that these two large economies are facing each other. What I hope very much is that they can have a dialogue because, you know, all these relationships, whether it’s trade, whether it’s politics, whether it’s economic development, whether it is financial stability, it’s a two-way street. We cannot ignore each other, and trade should not be confrontational. It has to be careful. It has to identify the areas that are strategic for one country or the other- or all the others. But it shouldn’t be confrontational. I’m on the same page as Henry Kissinger on that, or Kevin Rudd, the new Australian ambassador. Conflict is not unavoidable.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But there is, it seems, increased political pressure to choose between the United States and China in many ways in some of these political capitals. Is that even practical from an economic point of view?
MADAME LAGARDE: It would lead to economic downside, the amount of which is uncertain. Is the global economy going to be affected by one or X percent? There are multiple forecasts, all of them are negative. So the decoupling and the sort of bipolarization of the world would lead to less economic growth, less prosperity in the world, more poverty across the world. So I think that this is something that should be by all means avoided.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Madame Lagarde, it’s always wonderful to have you here. Thank you. We’ll be right back.
Delivering statistics on gun deaths among teenagers, NBC News Chuck Todd discovers that black teenagers are killing each other at a much higher rate than white and asian kids. Todd is shocked, shocked, at the outcome. WATCH:
The rumors of cultural violence have Chuck Todd perplexed….
Martin Armstrong pops in to tell us his story, including how he developed his Socrates trading algorithm which predicted the Russian financial crisis of 1998 as well as the details behind the circumstances that found him in contempt of court and thus incarcerated for 11 years. The interview starts about halfway into the podcast.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida escaped harm earlier today after a man holding what appeared to be two pipe bombs threw one near Kishida. Remarkable video from the event showed citizens and police apprehending the suspect after one of the devices was thrown. [Japan TV Story Here]
(Via Politico) – WAKAYAMA, Japan — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed Saturday after someone threw an explosive device in his direction while he was campaigning at a fishing port in western Japan, officials said. Police wrestled a suspect to the ground as screaming bystanders scrambled to get away and smoke filled the air.
Although no one was hurt, and Kishida continued campaigning Saturday, the chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which also came on a campaign tour and continues to reverberate in Japanese politics. Kishida was visiting Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to support his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, and the explosion occurred just before he was to begin his speech.
A young man believed to be a suspect was arrested Saturday at the scene after he allegedly threw “the suspicious object,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno refused to comment on the suspect’s motive and background, saying police are still investigating.
TV footage shows Kishida standing with his back to the crowd. His security detail suddenly points to the ground near him, and the prime minister whips around, looking alarmed. The camera quickly turns to the crowd just as several people, including uniformed and plainclothes police officers, converge on a young man wearing a white surgical mask and holding what appears to be another device, a long silver tube.
As they collapse on top of the man, working to remove the tube from his hands, a large explosion is heard near where Kishida had been standing. The crowd scatters in panic as police roughly drag the man away. (read more)
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