Sacre’ Bleu! – The French Peasants Have Revolted as Macron Dissolves Parliament and Calls for Immediate Snap Election


Posted originally on the CTH on June 9, 2024 | Sundance 

French President Emmanuel Macron was pulverized in the national election today.  According to exit polling, Marine LePen’s National Rally party will win around 32% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party will win around 15%.

A massive rebuke of the leftist government in France.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and called a fresh election on Sunday, following his party’s crushing defeat at the hands of far-right candidates in the European Union election.

The first round of the French Parliamentary election will take place on June 30. The second will be on July 7.

“France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony. To be French, at heart, is about choosing to write history, not being driven by it,” Macron said.

The far-right National Rally is projected to win the European election in France with 31.5 percent of the vote — more than twice the 15.2 percent Macron’s liberal Renaissance party is projected to win.

The National Rally’s share of the vote eclipsed the total for the second and third largest parties combined — with the center-left social democrats earning around 14 percent, according to early exit polls.

The decision to dissolve the National Assembly was met with disbelief by Macron’s supporters, with several people screaming “Oh no” as he spoke to a crowd in a televised address from his party headquarters in Paris. (read more)

Overall, in the EU elections this weekend the populist movement expanded seats and the leftist/green party’s lost seats.

(MSM) – […] Populist, far-right parties won record support in this year’s European Parliament elections, early exit polls and estimates indicated on Sunday.

The far-right Identity and Democracy group made major gains, while the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists saw a slight uptick in votes, according to the first official projection released by the EU at 8:30 p.m. local time.

The center-right European People’s Party is once again projected to win the most parliamentary seats, with a marginally bigger lead than before. If it’s able to repeat alliances with other centrist groups then it would retain a majority in the Parliament despite a surge from the far right.

The liberal Renew Europe and the Greens/European Free Alliance, meanwhile, are both seen losing a significant number of seats.

Here is the early 2024 vote breakdown versus 2019:

European People’s Party (EPP) — 181 seats, up from 176
Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D) — 135 seats, down from 139
Renew Europe (RE) — 82 seats, down from 102
European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) — 71 seats, up from 69
Identity and Democracy (ID) — 62 seats, up from 49
Greens/European Free Alliance — 53 seats, down from 71
The Left — 34 seats, down from 37
Non-attached members (NI) — 51 seats, down from 61

LINK

The last time there was a populist revolt in the EU system, the summer of BREXIT, it preceded the successful election of President Donald Trump.

Litmus Tests


Posted originally on the CTH on June 9, 2024 | Sundance

“Dear Sundance, could you please write an article that explains the policies that differentiate a GOPe RINO Establishment SIG/Bushie from an America First MAGA Patriot? It would be most beneficial to have a “litmus test” that can be easily used to compare candidates.”

At first blush this might sound like a familiar question that many would disregard.  However, let me emphasize a key point often overlooked.  The more severely you stop pretending, the more you realize the value of “litmus test” questioning.  When you ask a certain type of question in front of an audience, things opinions can change very quickly.

Additionally, when you know the questions that hit the pretending triggers the hardest, then you know how to create the most uncomfortable situations for professional politicians and people in general who rely on their ability to obfuscate language.  Lastly, when you know the material well enough to speak of the non-pretending dynamic in a way that doesn’t allow a pretentious lying response, it scares the heck out of the Alinsky/Lawfare tribe.

Brutally honest questioning is very valuable.  That said, let me provide a few situational questions that will immediately reveal who you are talking to.

Litmus Question #1:  Please, can you tell me your opinion of Robert Mueller?

If the (Republican) respondent replies with any positive about the character, action, purpose and intent of Robert Mueller in the role of special counsel, you can immediately qualify the respondent as a participant in the fraud.  There is only one honest response about anything Mueller.  Everyone in DC knows Mueller was the coverup operation.  No one, not one single person, in Washington DC does not know Mueller’s intent.

Litmus Question #2:  Was the 2020 Election manipulated?

If the (Republican) respondent replies with a long-winded answer, implying that some form of electoral manipulation might have been possible, you can immediately qualify the person as a participant maintaining fraud.  Pretending out of fear or favor is still pretending.

That’s it.  Look them straight in the eye, stand your ground, tell them you can see exactly who they are – then stop talking.  The discomfort in the room will always lay heaviest upon the shoulders of the deceivers.  You will likely be able to hear a pin drop.  The Truth Has No Agenda.

Also, one larger part (with multiple aspects) of the political dynamic is very important to keep at the forefront of your mind.  In all the important ways that matter, you know more about the subject matter of corruption within politics than the politicians you might question about it.

You know more than any Republican member of Congress and/or their staff, research team or investigative group.  You know more about all of it in the large picture and the granular details than they do.  It does not matter what their position within the DC system or what committee they sit upon, you know more.

You, the person reading this, knows more about intelligence system corruption than any member of the intelligence community Gang of Eight that sits in charge of oversight.  YOU KNOW MORE, than any person in any DC silo, and that is by design.

What people do not understand about DC is that only the entities within the DC system are permitted to engage in accountability.  Meaning, in the world of Republicans, Congress (or any other institution) cannot accept information from outside their silo operations.

Put simply, if a Republican congressional staffer does not originate the raw material evidence that highlights a corrupt activity, then the evidence does not exist.  Only the people within the silo system are permitted to discover information that targets any other silo participant.  This action/sequence is by design.

The Republican participants in DC will tell you that process is in place to ensure that no goofball material or evidence comes into the system.  However, in reality the purpose of this rule is to block any negative information from permeating the silo system.   The silo construct protects the silo inhabitants, and no detrimental information or crowdsourcing of evidence is permitted by allowed to be used by Republicans.

The Democrats do not hold themselves to this standard, and again this is part of the design.

The Democrat Party system exists to assemble power.  The Republican wing of the system exists to assemble money.  Democrats want power. Republicans want money.  The policy of Democrats drives their donor activity.  The donor activity of Republicans drives their policy.

When Senator Chuck Schumer wants Republican votes to secure policy wins, he buys those votes from Mitch McConnell.  When Senator Mitch McConnell wants Democrat votes to secure policy on behalf of the corporations who fund his team, McConnell sells policy (amendments) to Chuck Schumer.

Re-read that prior paragraph to understand how Schumer in majority gains policy victories, and Schumer in minority gains policy victories.

Democrats want power (policy), Republicans want money.  This is the nature of two wings of the UniParty and the core reason why people are starting to see how legislative policy shifts left regardless of which party is in power.

In order to maintain the process of gaining affluence, the Republicans within the silo system have rules that block information from reaching them. This is best described as the technical process that creates a Republican system of intentional willful blindness.

The Republicans do not want to be holding specific evidence of corruption because they cannot sell that; ergo, it has no value.  This is why Republicans do not factually construct any oversight mechanisms.  (See: Fast and Furious, IRS targeting, Benghazi, Spygate, Govt weaponization, etc).

Instead, the leadership of the Republicans writes out a list of what topics are valid for conversation and what topics are not.  Republican members then stick to the guidelines of the topics and nothing more.

In this era of great pretending, make them uncomfortable by not participating.

Senator Kennedy Asks Some Uncomfortable Questions to FBI Director Chris Wray


Posted originally on the CTH on June 8, 2024 | Sundance

From the outset, let me say in advance that I do not believe the current Director of the FBI has any clue what happens inside the modern FBI silo.  It’s not that Chris Wray is not contributing to the corruption, his willful blindness guarantees that he is; the bigger issue is more about what the purpose and intent of the organization is….  THAT IS WHERE you will find my attention piqued.

I do not believe the popular assumption that the FBI as an institution is part of a domestic law enforcement operation. Those days are over. I genuinely believe, like most modern criminal enterprises, specifically including drug cartel operations (not coincidentally), what we see about the FBI is the false front.  {GO DEEP} I suspect behind the facade and deep inside the FBI silo operation, is something else entirely.

The action of the FBI in several “sex case” instances, leads me to believe there is a strong operational element within their silo that directly links to Jeffrey Epstein.  Many of you may be aware that prior to the Epstein case getting massive publicity, he was in a long-time collaborative relationship with the FBI.   The FBI has admitted in court documents that Epstein was a source, and the relationship appears to have gone much deeper than just source level.  Techno Fog has deep dives on this aspect specifically {SEE HERE}.

Based on the conduct of the FBI, as an institution, I am increasingly convinced the DOJ/FBI (likely CIA, DoD and DoS) used Jeffrey Epstein as part of their intelligence gathering operation.  In essence, Epstein carried out the indecent activity that ensnared FBI targets; this is the collaboration.

Whether the IC target was determined prior to the operation, then instructions given to Epstein; or whether Epstein’s pre-existing files, recordings, and potential blackmail exploits were used as part of the IC target mission later on, after a target appeared on the IC radar, is unknown.  But using Epstein as part of what they would call National Security Operations would contextualize the term “collaboration,” and simultaneously explain every weird element which has never seemed possible to reconcile.

Against that context, watch this prompted line of questions.  WATCH:

.

Again, FBI Director Chris Wray doesn’t need to be a participating member of the FBI operational process in order to be FBI Director.  One of the more important aspects of understanding how the DC silos work, is to comprehend that they operate regardless of who is at the top of the silo.

Again, how do 40 career FBI agents work on the Trump-Russia collusion investigation, including the Weissmann/Mueller 2-year coverup operation, without a single FBI agent, member or employee saying the investigation is nonsense. If our historic reference point for the FBI operation is accurate, how was that even possible?  The short answer, that reconciles all of it, is to accept it was not possible.  Our prior reference point was fundamentally wrong.  {GO DEEP}

Jeffrey Epstein was not an FBI “informant.”  Jeffrey Epstein was an FBI “asset.”

Epstein carried out Intelligence Community operations.

.

The U.S. Dept of Justice and FBI are political institutions that have abandoned their originating mission in order to become the domestic equivalent of the Soviet-era FSB. Their joint targeting mechanisms have been redesigned to support the interests of Intelligence Community operations.  The IC radar sweeps off-shore and on-shore with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the DNI silo, maintaining the pivot point.

It was in June 2022, when Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter [pdf HERE] to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray, notifying them of whistleblower allegations from within the FBI that senior leadership in both Main Justice and FBI are involved in a coordinated effort to cover up criminal activity related to Hunter Biden.

The whistleblower allegations, in combination with the documented history of DOJ and FBI misconduct, culminate in Senator Grassley stating:

“If these allegations are true and accurate, the Justice Department and FBI are – and have been – institutionally corrupted to their very core to the point in which the United States Congress and the American people will have no confidence in the equal application of the law. Attorney General Garland and Director Wray, simply put, based on the allegations that I’ve received from numerous whistleblowers, you have systemic and existential problems within your agencies.” (LINK)

Grassley was clarifying what has been visible for years, if we just stop pretending.

Farage on Britain’s Future


Posted originally on Jun 8, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Immigration as a Political Tool


Posted Jun 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 
Illegal Immigration

COMMENT: Dear Mr Armstrong,
Thanks for your interesting blog and for all you
Are doing for all humanity…

Concerning possibility to come to USA, I would
Like to emphasize that while from day one of
Biden’s presidency, USA south borders are
Opened to anyone passing through, with no
need to have documents or declare real data,
Italians (and I guess european too) that want to
come to USA in order to work and live there, still have
a lot of  limitations and Regulations to adhere (even
if “called” from a US Firm… but I am sure you know it! which
finally make it Almost impossible to come even if specialized
And with clean record.
All the best!
Have a nice week-end!
Daniela

REPLY: I have spent more than $50,000 on lawyers trying to get my overseas staff into the USA. It very frustrating. I intend to file a lawsuit against Homeland Security for DISCRIMINATION and violating civil rights. What you say is correct. They refuse to even issue a visa in Russia, I had a German staff member who boarded a plane and then was pulled off. A British staff member refused to give a visa and refused to explain why, using the standard nonsense that perhaps they would not leave. I told my staff to put on a T-shirt, I voted for Biden and just walked across the Mexican border.

I can tell you I have seen instructions to Homeland Security that if anyone from Ukraine wanted to come to the USA, they MUST have a COVID-19 vaccine. However, if a Ukrainian walked across the Mexican border, no vaccine is required.

This policy is exactly what I encountered trying to negotiate for Hong Kong with the Australian government. It was ONLY about who they would vote for. Australia blocked them because they would vote CONSERVATIVE when the LABOUR government was in power.

What Kind of American Are You

I am so sick and tired of this nonsense that people from Asia and Europe cannot come to the USA simply because they would vote Republican. The USA will break up. This is unsustainable. That film scene from the Movie Civil War was really on point – What kind of American are you?

We may have to start doing conferences in Dubai and Mexico. So much for the land of the free.

Central Bankers & Politicians – Its Time for a Change


Posted originally on Jun 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Central Bankers BIS

COMMENT: It was great seeing you here in Europe. It was even more interesting to see how the central banks are starting to use the ECM rather than wait six to nine months before acting. Back in 2007, your model turned in February, but the Fed Funds Rate did not drop to 3% until one year later. I agree; you are impacting even though you cannot say who is or is not following your forecasts at that level.

Yesterday, the ECB lowered interest rates for the first time since 2019 during your target week of June 3. This represents a significant shift in the global economy’s monetary policy. With your Panic Cycle for the Fed meeting, it looks like they will follow suit.

Congrats. You are starting to get recognition for 50 years of work after the bankers tried to shut you up so they could constantly blow up the economy.

Paul

Gold Fluctuated

REPLY: Thank you. It was great to see you. With Keynesian Economics failing, rational men must look at other things. It is time we recognized that the Business Cycle incorporates everything from climate and weather to civil unrest and war. You CANNOT manipulate those things by raising and lowering interest rates to create perpetual prosperity, even under the Gold Standard, which failed because they could not prevent inflation when massive gold was discovered in the 19th Century in California, Alaska, and then Australia.

1715 FleetCobSet 2

Even when all the gold was pouring into Europe from the discovery in the New World, it wreaked havoc on the European Economy, causing major inflation. In the end, Spain became a serial defaulter and successfully, through fiscal mismanagement, converted itself from the richest nation in Europe to a third-world country. Sound familiar?

Schumpeter BusinessCycle Waves of Creative Destruction

Even Schumpeter attempted to explain the Business Cycle as waves of innovation. Someone invents something that takes the economy to new levels—steam engines, combustion engines, tractors, airplanes, and the Internet, to mention just a few. These aspects are not in the quiver of central banks to control. Paul Volcker conceded that the Business Cycle is about eight years. I had a long discussion about that with Paul back in 1999. His Rediscovery of the Business Cycle outlined how Keynesian Economics failed back in the 1970s. Even the previous Chairman of the Fed admitted that the Business Cycle ALWAYS wins.

Burns Arthur

It is time to Understand the Business Cycle and Learn How to Live With It!

Politicians Have to Wake Up – Socialism Destroys the Economy – Get Over It!

socialism.meme_

Build-to-Rent Communities Grow in Popularity


Posted Jun 7, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

BuildtoRentHomeStarts2022

You will own nothing. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have grown in popularity in recent years. America has recently imported a concept stemming from across the pond in the UK to pacify housing fears. Build-to-rent (BTR) communities are becoming a common development as the majority of Americans struggle to either afford or find housing.

Around 23% of Americans own property. YouGov conducted a poll that found that 60% of Americans believe the old model whereby 30% of one’s income would equate to affordable housing. That is simply not possible for over a quarter of Americans who spend far more than 30% on their mortgages. Almost half (49%) of renters spend 30% or more on shelter, while 19% spend over half of their take-home pay to the landlord. According to the survey, 46% of homeowners are worried about making their monthly mortgage payments, compared to 69% of renters.

Build-to-rent communities usually mimic a typical suburbia rather than an apartment complex. Amenities and property management is often included, which is why this concept was once reserved for retirees and the aging population. This is a deal for investors who may purchase homes within the development communities. They are usually priced higher than typical rentals as the home is within a more desirable community with stable tenants and a lower turnover. As for the tenants, they are not gaining any equity and are forgoing a valuable asset.

Fixr reported that build-to-rent communities are set to grow within the next two years based on data from the NAHB but will remain somewhat stagnant in 2023 due to massive growth in recent years. Over 119,000 homes using this model were built in 2022, marking a 50% increase from 2018. In the last five years, Charlotte, NC, experienced a 621% uptick in built-to-rent communities, followed by Jacksonville, Florida (353%), Greenville, South Carolina (265%), while Phoenix, Arizona, experienced a 280% uptick.

The younger generation, who want to begin expanding their families but cannot afford to own them, is primarily attracted to these growing complexes that provide the feel of homeownership without the asset. Everyone needs a place to live. Families, especially with young children, do not tend to move around as often with school zoning and other aspects. Homeownership and the traditional American dream of the house with the white picket fence have been transformed.

Tucker Carlson Interviews El Salvador President Nayib Bukele – “Western Civilization is Failing”….


Posted originally on the CTH on June 6, 2024 | Sundance

Tucker Carlson traveled to El Salvador to interview President Nayib Bukele about his ongoing efforts to eliminate corruption, crime, criminal gang activity and get rid of MS-13 gangs.

President Bukele initially used nationalized military to target criminal gangs and remove them from the streets. The social change, the outcome within the country, was stunning and fast. What was once the most violent crime ridden country, literally the murder capital of the world, changed in a few months and peace returned. President Bukele easily won reelection and Tucker Carlson traveled to hear his story. WATCH:

Chapters of Video:
0:00:00 Intro
0:04:47 Bukele’s Formula to Save El Salvador
0:09:50 The Satanic Side of MS-13
0:16:28 Bukele’s 3-Point Economic Plan
0:28:41 Is Western Civilization Dying?
0:50:10 Will Donald Trump Get Elected?
0:56:09 Bukele’s Advice to Trump
1:00:03 Americans Moving to El Salvador

Credit Card Delinquencies Spike Among the “Rich”


Posted originally on Jun 6, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

CreditCardDelinquency_byClass

Inflation can be felt at every tax bracket. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari came out this week and said the public “viscerally hates high inflation,” and for good measure. Everyone is seeing the impacts of inflation on their quality of life. Those defined as rich, the demographic one side of the political spectrum believes must be taxed into oblivion, have not come out of this inflationary cycle unscathed, as indicated by a new report from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Credit card delinquencies (missing a payment by over 30 days) have been steadily rising across America. The poorest Americans experienced the hardship first, and now those in higher tax brackets are also falling behind on bills. Delinquencies have increased for the last eight to 11 quarters, as indicated by the Fed. Among the poorest zip codes in the US, delinquency rose from 11% in Q2 of 2021 to 17.4% in Q1 of 2024 or 58%. Every region in America has experienced an increase in delinquencies by AT LEAST 32.2% in relative terms.

CreditCardDebt.Chart_

“The richest 10% of ZIP codes have experienced the greatest proportional increase; their delinquency rate climbed from 4.8% in the second quarter of 2022 to 7.4% in the first quarter of 2024, or 54% in relative terms,” the Fed noted. “For the poorest 10% of ZIP codes, the delinquency rate increased from 14.9% in the third quarter of 2022 to 21% in the first quarter of 2024, or 41% in relative terms.”

Credit card delinquencies are now exceeding pre-pandemic levels, and the Fed believes this suggests “that a trend which began prior to the pandemic has accelerated.” Discontent will grow as people are forced to stretch their dollars and watch their quality of life decline. The discontentment is fueling this political upheaval and the people can not vote their way out of this current situation because it is becoming apparent that the elections are not fair. We the people have been discarded by our government.

These delinquencies will fall on the banks eventually. The government does not realize that reckless spending and raising taxes has an impact on absolutely everyone. The people who push for more taxes and social programs fail to realize the larger implications.

Interest on US National Debt Hits New Record


Posted Jun 6, 2024 By Martin Armstrong

NationalDebtNYCVBillboard

Government spending has consequences. The US national debt has surpassed $34.6 trillion at the time of this writing and continues to grow every minute. America has never been in a deeper deficit. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) has reported that America was forced to pay $514 billion in the first seven months of FY2024 on interest costs alone.

This means that America paid more in servicing its debt than on any other program besides Social Security ($837 billion), which is a separate problem entirely. To put it into perspective, the US shelled out $498 billion on national defense, funding 2.5 wars, during this time. Around $465 billion was spent on Medicare, with an additional $355 billion spend on Medicaid, and neither surpassed the amount paid on simply holding onto debt.

US debt to China Buy Bullets
10 trillion Debt Crisis Default

What can be done when the government refuses to curtail spending? Biden audaciously labeled one of the largest spending packages in the nation’s history the “Inflation Reduction Act,” and expects the people to believe that it has not greatly contributed to the rising costs of goods and services. Every week, Biden signs a new check to Ukraine or a climate change agenda, but no one can stop him from draining the Treasury. Even the Federal Reserve is utterly helpless and can do nothing besides sit back and watch as America spirals down.

Imploding this situation is China’s rightful refusal to purchase US debt. Other central banks see how careless US politicians have become with their spending and question if they ever intend to pay off their growing debt. How could they at this point? No one in Washington has a clue on what to do. Instead, they will continue spending with no concern for the long-term consequences that are inevitable.