Who is Funding Ukraine? 


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Apr 7, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Every week, there is a new announcement of the US pledging additional aid to Ukraine. Biden has provided Zelensky with a blank check to fund this war while his own country’s infrastructure crumbles. The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative led by the Department of Defense is providing Ukraine with another $2.1 billion for funding. The announcement came the same day that Finland joined NATO, and Russia promised retaliation. This means Zelensky will have both hands out begging for more at your expense.

“Russia alone could end its war today,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement. “Until Russia does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Longtime warmonger Blinken knows that Russia will never retreat. The war will go on until something catastrophic occurs. It is hard to determine how much the US has spent on Ukraine but the CBO estimated the amount was around $113 in 2022. If there are 131.2 million households in America, that means each household paid around $861 to fund a war that does not involve America or any of America’s allegiances. Obviously some pay more and some pay less based on the constantly changing tax brackets. Those who read this blog understand, but for those who think the money is coming out of the politicians’ pockets…

YOU ARE FUNDING UKRAINE! Your name is on the blank check! When you file your taxes this year, know that a portion of what the government withheld went directly to a foreign war. In fact, every day you work, you’re giving a piece to Zelensky. There is no account of exactly how they are using these funds. Meanwhile, American infrastructure is crumbling. Our schools are underfunded, homelessness is rampant, shelter costs have soared, poverty rates are rising, our medical system bankrupts families daily, millions of unaccounted aliens are crossing into our country, and your taxes are rising to pay for it all!

You will pay more money every year that this senseless war wages on. So if someone with no personal connections to Ukraine waves their yellow and blue flag and claims Biden is defeating big bad Russia, ask them if they’d like to pay your portion of the proxy war effort. The people never voted for these measures that have gone far beyond any aid we have sent to a foreign war effort.

FEC Commissioner Undermines Entire Manhattan Prosecution, The Trump-Daniels NDA Is Not an Election Campaign Violation


Posted originally on the CTH on April 6, 2023 | Sundance 

If the other substantive weaknesses in the politically constructed Manhattan case against Donald Trump do not lead to a pre-trial dismissal, this one should collapse it.

The Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) explicitly states the payments by President Trump to Stormy Daniels are not an election campaign violation.

WASHINGTON DC – A key member of the Federal Election Commission today rejected the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment of former President Donald Trump as a violation of federal election laws.

“It’s not a campaign finance violation. It’s not a reporting violation of any kind,” said FEC Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor.  In trying to stretch the law to make it look like a violation, he added, District Attorney Alvin Bragg “is really trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole.”

In a 34-count indictment of Trump, the first criminal case ever against a former president, Bragg charged that a $130,000 payment made by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels, which Cohen went to jail for in a plea deal, violated several campaign finance laws that splashed onto Trump. [T]he FEC and Justice Department already considered the case and tossed it.

First, he said, Cohen took the blame in his plea deal. “At the end of the day, there’s the person who committed the crime, and there’s the person who is behind bars because of it,” Trainor said of Cohen.

Second, the paperwork violation in question came well after Trump’s 2016 election, so it couldn’t have been done to help his election.

Third, it is not obvious that the reason for the payment and the reimbursement to Cohen was to influence the election, thus failing the “objective standard” of law. “It has to be something that anybody on the street can look at and say the only reason you did that was to influence the campaign,” said Trainor. “There’s a lot of reasons that he could have done it that aren’t related to him being a candidate for president, and so therefore, it wouldn’t have met the standard as campaign expenditure under federal law,” he added. (read more)

Epic Panda!


Posted originally on the CTH on April 6, 2023 | Sundance 

This is the funniest thing in months.  Take the time to enjoy and laugh folks… Really, take the time.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in Beijing for an official state visit and his geopolitical priority is to break, or at least weaken, the China-Russia alliance. Yes, the western alliance sent diminutive Macron for this task.  That is funny enough… but what comes next is buckets funnier.

In order to give power to their position, the brilliant NATO minds decided that President Macron should take European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as a way to express the united ‘western alliance’ message that Macron was intended to leverage in his efforts.  Obviously cunning Panda knew the intent, and the way China literally diminished the effort is not only funny in diplomatic action, but also in the optics they present.  LOOK:

Upon arrival in Beijing, and customary with keeping good panda face, Macron “was given the full red-carpet treatment this week in Beijing, fêted at a state banquet, and greeted by military parades and firing cannons on Tiananmen Square. When Macron’s plane touched down, China’s foreign minister personally welcomed him.”  However, “when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived, she got the ecology minister — at the regular passenger exit.” [link]

Big Panda is subtle like a brick through a window. lolol.

(Politico) – […] While Macron’s schedule was overflowing, von der Leyen’s was bare-bones. While Macron was attending a lavish state banquet Thursday night with Chinese President Xi Jinping, von der Leyen was giving a sober press conference at the EU delegation’s own headquarters. While state media trumpeted the Sino-French relationship, Chinese social media demonized von der Leyen as an American puppet.

The distinction illustrates the difficulties Europe is having in dealing with China. The EU’s 27 members have an array of opinions about how to approach China — and Beijing knows this. And in the case of Macron and von der Leyen, Beijing sees a greater chance to make headway with the French leader, rendering the EU executive to a somewhat subordinate position.

The strategy was on full display Thursday, as Xi descended the outsized steps of the Great Hall of the People to greet the French president with smiles and a handshake. Below a line of flapping red flags, the two leaders exchanged greetings with a gathering that included some of Macron’s advisers. 

Not present: von der Leyen. She would join later for the meetings, walking up the Great Hall stairs in solitude. (read more)

The only world leader who was/is able to diminute Chairman Xi Jinping, was U.S. President Donald Trump.

This entire effort by Macron and Von der Leyen is an exhibition in painful and slow-moving Panda humiliation.  Even Politico had to note the cringe factor that surrounds the diplomatic undressing.

Even if you don’t like Big Panda, and obviously we do not, you still have to give them credit.  It really is funny.

Well played, big panda… Well played. 

Protests Continue in France Against Macron’s Unilateral Decision to Raise Worker Retirement Age


April 6, 2023 | Sundance

The labor unions are trying to maintain the momentum against French President Emmanuel Macron’s unilateral decision to raise the retirement age.  However, despite nationwide majority support, on the 11th day of a national strike there are fewer protests disrupting commerce.

On the positive side, the offices of Blackrock were targeted and torched.  So, we know the focus is generally on the right multinational target.  Meanwhile, President Macron is in Beijing, China, getting slapped around by the panda paw.

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PARIS (Reuters) -Clashes erupted in Paris next to a Left Bank brasserie favoured by French President Emmanuel Macron during a day of nationwide protests against a pension bill that he has pushed through despite widespread opposition.

La Rotonde, whose awning was briefly on fire as protesters threw bottles and paint at police, is well known in France for hosting a much-criticised celebratory dinner for Macron when he led the first round of the 2017 presidential election.

Protests since January have gathered huge crowds against the flagship reform of Macron’s second term, which lifts the retirement age by two years to 64.

But the rallies and strikes have also coalesced widespread anger against the president, who is often the target of banners and chants.

“Strike, blockade, Macron walk away!” protesters chanted in the western city of Rennes, where police fired tear gas at protesters who threw projectiles at them and set bins on fire.

The protests have otherwise been largely peaceful, though violence has broken out on the fringes in cities across France. On Thursday, a Credit Agricole bank branch was ransacked in Paris.

Polls show a wide majority of voters oppose the pension legislation and the government’s decision to push it through parliament without a vote. But a source close to Macron said that was not what mattered.  (read more)

White House Releases 11-Page Review of Biden Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal, Blaming Trump for Biden’s Bad Decisions


Posted originally on the CTH on April 6, 2023 | Sundance 

Because of course… Despite the Biden White House having complete control over the issues and events during their withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which included the murder of 13 U.S. servicemen during a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport, the Biden administration has to blame Donald Trump.   Pathetic doesn’t even begin to appropriately outline the issue, and even U.S. corporate media can see it.

Without announcing the release in advance, the White House dropped an 11-page after action report [SEE HERE] claiming the prior administration was in control of all their decision making in the summer and fall of 2021.   As noted by the Daily Mail, “The disastrous Afghanistan evacuation that led to the death of 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of civilians was Donald Trump’s fault – and the scenes of Afghans falling from planes and the Taliban shooting people in the streets wasn’t chaotic, the White House said Thursday.”

Kirby said the administration was ‘proud‘ of how U.S. forces carried out the withdrawal, as the Taliban toppled the American-backed Afghan government the U.S. spent trillions over 20 years to keep stable.  WATCH:

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All this talk of chaos, I just don’t see it,’ Kirby said in a White House briefing, referring to the withdrawal that culminated in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that 13 Americans and some 170 others dead. ‘I just don’t buy the whole argument of chaos.’  (read more)

Make ‘smite’ Great Again.  These people are vile.

Criticizing Government Leaders is now a Crime #MacronOrdure


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Apr 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Free speech no longer exists. People are now scared to speak out against their government as if they were in the old USSR. Emmanuel Macron is an absolute tyrant and the French people have had enough. The protests in France over pension reforms receive little news coverage by design. The elite do not want the people to see how tyrannical governments across the world have become.

A French woman is facing criminal charges for simply speaking out against Macron on her personal Facebook page. “L’ordure va parler demain à 13 heures, pour les gens qui ne sont rien, c’est tjrs (sic) à la télé que l’on trouve les ordures,” the post read (translation: “This piece of filth is going to address you at 1:00 pm… it’s always on television that we see this filth”). French police went directly to the woman’s home to arrest her. “I asked them if it was a joke, I had never been arrested,” she said. “I am not public enemy number one.”

She has been charged with “insulting the president of the republic” and will face trial in June. She could be forced to pay up to 12,000 euros for saying the president was “filth” (other English translations say “garbage”) She did not incite violence or do anything other than post her views on social media. Clearly, the government wants to make an example out of this woman. Will the people of France be forced to frame pictures of Macron in their homes as they do with Kim Jung-Un in North Korea?

This innocent woman is claiming now that autocorrect changed “l’or dur” (“hard gold”) into an insult and is pleading for forgiveness. “I did make this post but I wanted to make a pun and write “hard gold,” the proof-check changed it and I didn’t proofread it before sending. Besides, I don’t even mention him.” French Politician François Ruffin denounced the trial by stating, “Soon the return of the crime against the crown?” In fact, insulting the crown was a criminal offense in France until 2013.

The French people are doubling down on their protests, and #MacronOrdure has gone viral on Twitter. We have seen countless world leaders across “free” nations do everything in their power to silence opposition. We are not free when our politicians can control our speech.

Alan Dershowitz Delivers a Solid Review About the Ridiculous Nature of the Trump Indictment, and the Remaining Cases as Constructed


Posted originally on the CTH on April 5, 2023 | Sundance

Often when legal professor Alan Dershowitz appears on media segments he is short on time to give context to his review.  However, in this lengthy interview by Steve Bannon {Direct Rumble Link Here} Mr. Dershowitz has the time to walk through the cases against President Trump and deconstruct the foundation of them.

It’s a good overview for the average person to understand.  WATCH:

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Tucker Carlson Outlines the Ramification of Trillions in U.S. Treasury Bonds No Longer Needed as Global Securities


Posted originally on the CTH on April 5, 2023 Sundance

For his opening monologue and first interview tonight, Fox News host Tucker Carlson outlined the ramification of non-western nations now trading in alternative currencies to the U.S. dollar.   {Direct Rumble Link Here]  As the dollar diminishes in value, and as an outcome of Biden using U.S. treasury bonds as part of the sanction regime against Russia, various non-western nations now perceive holding dollars as exposing themselves to risk.

Carlson is joined by Luke Gromen who accurately notes the dollar as a global trade currency may continue, but foreign nations holding U.S. treasury bonds as an asset will likely start contracting.  The result of U.S. treasury bonds returning after maturity with no repurchase, would be an inability of the U.S. to borrow against their sale. This could, perhaps likely will, severely diminish the amount of money the U.S. congress can spend.  WATCH:

None of this should come as a surprise to those who have paid attention. Factually, in March of last year, one month after the Russian sanctions were announced, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Deputy Managing Director said the sanctions against Russia are likely to undermine the US dollar’s global dominance as a trade currency.  Everyone could see this coming.

(Inside Paper) – March 2022 – […] “The dollar would remain the major global currency even in that landscape, but fragmentation at a smaller level is certainly quite possible,” Gopinath said in an interview with the Financial Times.  She went on to say that some countries have already begun to renegotiate the currency in which they are paid for trade.

According to Gopinath, the drastic restrictions imposed by Western countries in response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine may result in the formation of small currency blocs based on trade between individual groups of countries.  Furthermore, the use of currencies other than the dollar or the euro in global trade would result in a further diversification of central banks’ reserve assets. (read more)

The efforts of NATO and the western alliance to crush the Russian currency have failed.  The Russian ruble currency has jumped back from the sanctions and is now even stronger than before the sanctions were put into place.

With China and India supporting ongoing trade with Russia, and with Saudi Arabia responding coldly to the U.S. working on a deal with Iran for nuclear weapons, the geopolitical strategy of NATO, G7 and the proverbial western alliance increasingly looks like it will backfire.

Yellow Team -vs- Gray Team: Remember, China just brokered a deal to lessen hostilities between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The fulcrum of that agreement was economics.

Meanwhile in North America, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador has said he was not willing to join the energy suicide pact pushed by Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau…. A policy break in the trilateral relationship which suddenly, and not coincidentally, aligns with the timing to make Mexico a pariah to the U.S. vis-a-vis a renewed media push on the drug cartel narrative.

BIG PICTURE NOT BEING DISCUSSED – The western politicians followed the climate change instructions of the WEF multinational corporations and banks (Build Back Better) and post-pandemic immediately started reducing energy development. The central bankers then began raising interest rates to shrink the economies of the same western nations to the scale of the now diminished energy production.

The raising of interest rates is now hitting the national and multinational banks impacted by government policy that was following WEF orders. Now the western politicians are stepping in with the government controlled central banks to backstop the national banks and multinationals. Can you see the dynamic?

Team yellow is suffering the consequences of their own ideological policy as enacted. Team grey is not going to help team yellow get out of a crisis team yellow created, which was intended to hurt team grey.

…. And we continue watching.

Mexican President Lopez-Obrador Joins Hungarian Prime Minister Orban in Slamming President Trump’s Arrest


Posted originally on the CTH on April 5, 2023 | Sundance 

You know, it’s funny.  If you viewed the world through the prism of western corporate media, aside from North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, the other world leader to draw the strongest criticism from President Trump was Mexican President Lopez-Obrador.  Yet, both Chairman Kim and President AMLO are two of Trump’s strongest defenders against the leftist regime of Joe Biden.

Secondly, I have to give heaps of credit to President Lopez-Obrador for his comments about the Biden administration’s targeting of President Trump.  If there was one leader who was closest in proximity to feel genuine retaliation from the American targeting operation, it would be AMLO.   Yet for two years this guy has faced-down the Biden administration, undressed Biden verbally and publicly while refusing to acquiesce to the #1 priority of the current U.S. regime around energy policy.

I will admit, with all of my former reservations about the soft-socialist tendencies of AMLO, he has been a far better steward for the interests of the ordinary Mexican people than I ever suspected he would be.  On the economics of the issues critical for Mexico in the long term, Lopez-Obrador has been solid as a rock.

WASHINGTON DC – Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday slammed the history-making charges against former President Trump, but as U.S. politics is consumed by the indictment, most world leaders have been largely silent on the issue.

[…] López Obrador spoke Wednesday, doubling down on comments he made last month before charges against Trump were announced and saying the case is political.

“Supposedly legal issues should not be used for electoral, political purposes,” López Obrador said. “That’s why I don’t agree with what they are doing to ex-President Trump.” “It should be the people who decide,” he added.

López Obrador has been joined by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in publicly speaking out about the charges.

“Keep on fighting, Mr. President! We are with you,” tweeted Orban, a Trump ally whose authoritarian rule has been celebrated by many in the U.S. far right. (read more)

When the reckoning comes, and believe me the reckoning will come, Viktor Orban and Lopez-Obrador will be standing on the right side of history.

My favorite picture of AMLO in the United States:

McConnell DeceptiCon Foot Soldier Roy Blunt Takes Role with DC Lobbying Group


Posted originally on the CTH on April 5, 2023 | Sundance

A case study in the DeceptiCon politics that we discuss amid these pages surfaced today.

WASHINGTON DC – Former Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Wednesday joined Husch Blackwell Strategies, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm with close ties to the veteran GOP senator.

Blunt will lead a newly launched strategic advisory practice at the firm, which is run by Gregg Hartley, Blunt’s former chief of staff in the House, and Andy Blunt, his son. Blunt will also reunite with Stacy McBride, his chief of staff in the Senate who joined the firm last month.

Blunt recently retired from Congress after 26 years in office. He held several prominent roles, chairing the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Republican Policy Committee and serving as the No. 2 Republican in the House. He was a trusted adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Blunt is the third senator from the 117th Congress to announce a new gig. Former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) joined lobbying and law firm DLA Piper in a similar advisory role. Former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) joined the American Enterprise Institute as a public policy fellow.

The Missouri Republican, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, will maintain his security clearance and continue to advise the intelligence community separate from his role at the firm. He’ll also stay on as the recently elected president of the State Historical Society of Missouri. (read more)