Neil Oliver, When You Accept That Modern Western Government Considers Citizens Their Enemy, Then All the Outcomes Make Sense


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 4, 2022 | Sundance

For his weekly monologue Neil Oliver hits on a subject very near and dear to the heart of CTH.  Mr. Oliver is making his acceptance known today, CTH has been making our acceptance of the reality known for over ten years; hence, the name “The Last Refuge.”  The bottom line, governments now represent corporate interests – not people.  The policy makers now consider the interests of the state, not the interests of the people.

Anyone who is still pretending, particularly post-COVID examples, that any western government is applying a principle of citizen representation to their policy is lying.  There are many people still pretending government is designed to represent the people; however, their pretense is based on their inability to cope with the alternative.  All around us are the signs showing traditional, representative, western government has collapsed.  We are in this weird place where we pretend it hasn’t.  WATCH:

[Transcript] – “If you cannot – simply cannot – understand what’s happening in this country and in the world now, I might have the explanation.

You may, at least until recently, have been labouring under the misapprehension that the State has your back – that those in power have your best interests at heart. Let me make it clear that I use the word State deliberately. These words are not directed solely at the Government, or even just Parliament – but at the whole edifice of those in positions of power – elected and not.

If like me you no longer believe the State has your back, it’s at least likely that you know, indeed are surrounded by, many that still do. You, or those around you, may still believe that decisions are being taken, plans set in place, by those at the top of the food chain, with a view to securing and perpetuating the world your ancestors worked for, in some cases gave their lives for. You or they may have thought that the indigenous culture of these islands, nurtured for a thousand years, was still held dear by those occupying positions of power and responsibility.

But no, as far as I’m concerned, that is no longer the case and hasn’t been the case for a good long while. Understand and accept this much, at least, and the otherwise bewildering sense of confusion goes away at once. It is such a relief.

So much of what is happening now – crashing economy; livelihoods destroyed; dismal care of physical and mental health; educations compromised or worse; a so-called green agenda prioritised at all costs and regardless of harms done by subsidies on bills – those subsidies that are the only, absolutely the only reason any private company ever raised a wind turbine, or invested in solar panels for British skies; VAT on fuel; spiralling costs of food and essentials; deliberately destructive setting aside of farmland and discouragement of farmers and farming as an industry in a time of global food insecurity.

Domestic and international travel made so problematic as to be hardly worth the bother; the looming prospect of digital IDs; the rise of digital currencies instead of money – all of these troubling realities and more – all of it makes sense once you apply the “Keep It Simple” principle.

What we are witnessing is no longer a State working to serve us and to protect our shared heritage, institutions, culture and way of life. Rather we are watching their deliberate destruction and dismantling ready for replacement with something else.

Many of those in place in our institutions – in government, in parliament, civil service, academia, even the Church – evidently loathe this country. It’s that simple. They loathe what this country has been; what, to some extent at least, it still is. Furthermore, they despise those who value what has been and who wish to see all of that conserved and handed on to future generations.

These islands are presided over now by idealogues committed to the wholesale demolition of what has been Britain and British, and its replacement with the product of some parasitic ideology shaped in their own image.

In times such as these, there is often an appetite for and calls for revolution. I would advise against such means. Revolutions are for the birds, always a disaster in the end. Revolutions devour their children, as a wise man said.

The preferable solution is to maintain all that is good, all that has served us well. Maintain the foundations of the old house and as much of the structure above as is still sound. Root out the rot and treat the woodworm, repair and replace what is broken, but keep as much as possible of what has stood the test of time, what has worked.

The bitter irony is that it appears that a revolution is indeed being planned – in fact has been long in the planning and is now being rolled out. In the past it was kings and nation states that feared revolution by the common people, the slaves. Now it is the State itself that is fomenting revolution, from within. The rot is at the core, at the heart. By contrast it is the people, we the people, who want the country and the culture and the heritage saved and who must therefore resist the State-sponsored revolution with all the strength we have.

We are told, by them, that pain is coming – and that that pain must be endured. Suddenly they’re all saying it at once, all over the world, yet another script parroted in unison – like Build Back Better – only worse. But that pain is for us alone, we the proles. Those with the money and power will glide above it all in their private jets, leaving in their wake contrails of CO2 that might as well scribble on the sky the message:

“Suck it up, peasants”.

They’ll push burgers made of bugs at us – while they sit down to Cote de Boeuf. We’ll have real pain and they’ll have champagne. We’ll have nothing. And they’ll be happy. Or so they like to think.

Again and again, I turn to the Keep It Simple philosophy – what some call Occam’s Razor. If it seems to make no sense that 30 million petrol and diesel cars might be replaced with electric alternatives powered by a non-existent infrastructure … that’s because the simpler explanation is that almost none of us are meant to have cars at all – electric or otherwise. If you wonder why in the US and here in Britain we are turning our backs on fracking and other sources of power under our feet and beneath our surrounding seas, it is because the intention is that we in the troublesome West should have much, much less energy available to us as ordinary people than before. The intention is not to go green. The intention is that we should go without.

As part of their revolution, the State is laying plans to hinder any protest or dissent. The so-called Online Safety Bill is nothing less than a whole new way to ensure the censorship and silencing of any who would challenge the hobbling of our rights and freedoms, our herding like cattle towards a digital slavery in which our every financial transaction, every communication, every movement, every meeting, every word, might be monitored in real time and also judged against a code of behaviour drafted by people we do not see and cannot know. We stand to be judged against standards set to curtail every aspect of our being and whenever it suits the State, we will be found wanting and punished as a consequence.

This is the weekend of the Platinum Jubilee. Jubilee is a word with an interesting back story. It has deep roots in the Hebrew word Jobel, which is a ram – or more specifically a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. In ancient times, thousands of years ago, the Jobel was sounded to announce the Year of Atonement – a regular event when all debts were written off, unconditionally and completely, thus freeing those who had been enslaved to rich people because they owed them money.

US economist Michael Hudson has written that as long ago as the time of the Assyrians, 4,000 years ago, it was understood that economies always became unstable, and ultimately collapsed, when too many people simply could not settle their debts to the rich, and through no fault of their own. The solution, understood and applied for thousands of years, was that periodically all debts had to be cancelled – this was a jubilee.

Jesus Christ understood the need to write off debt to save society. The older, Greek version of the Lord’s Prayer says, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”. Only much later, when the Church had made it a matter of craven morality to repay every debt, were the words debts and debtors replaced with trespasses and trespassers. By then, the church was in cahoots with the rich. In his first sermon in the synagogue Jesus told the congregation he had come to bring a clean slate debt cancellation – what he called the Year of the Lord. This, the cancelling of otherwise unpayable debt to Rome and the Romans, was the basis of his message of hope to the downtrodden.

The economic mess we’re in now is not the fault of we, the little people, but of the banks and their ruinous recklessness in pursuit of obscene profit. In 2008 they got to write off their mistakes, with the help of eye watering amounts of taxpayers’ money, to cancel their debts. Those same banks don’t want to do the same for us, though. Far from it. The bankers and the rest of the super-rich elite want to foreclose on those in debt. When that happens, the rich elite will own everything, and we will own nothing. Sound familiar?

In this year of Jubilee, I would say we have a lot to learn from ancient wisdom – to remember that our ancestors knew the fight that mattered was to prevent the population falling into bondage to the elite, who wanted to own everything. I very much doubt that a jubilee for the people, an unconditional cancelling of all debt, is quite the great reset those of the elite have in mind. They need us to owe them, so that they own us. Bankers always say debts must always be paid, or there will be chaos. They would say that, wouldn’t they?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. This is the time of waking up and understanding that the state is not to be trusted – not anymore and not for a long time.

All of this is the stuff they used to call Conspiracy Theory. Call it as much if it blows your skirt up. I no longer care. In my book, those they call Conspiracy Theorists are more accurately described as the ones who saw it all coming.” (link)

Neil Oliver has picked up THE TRUMPET

“A Paradigm Shift is needed – Urgently.   It cannot be provided to you, you must develop it within your own mind – and you’d better do it quick; or you will lose.”   ~ Sundance 2012

Biden Implies Ukraine May Need to Cede Territory to Russia During Negotiated Settlement


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 4, 2022 | sundance 

During press remarks yesterday, Joe Biden implied that Ukraine may need to cede territory in Eastern Ukraine to Russia as part of a “negotiated settlement.”

The statement came at the end of remarks centered around the May jobs report and Biden’s claim that U.S. consumers were in the best economic position of the past decade, therefore the government must begin increasing direct subsidies to offset energy costs and massive inflation pressure.  When Biden was asked, “does Ukraine have to cede territory to achieve some peace?” he stated:

[Transcript] – [F]rom the beginning, I’ve said and I’ve been — not everyone has agreed with me — nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.  It’s their territory.  I’m not going to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.

But it appears to me that, at some point along the line, there’s going to have to be a negotiated settlement here.  And what that entails, I don’t know.  I don’t think anybody knows at the time.

But in the meantime, we’re going to continue to put the — the Ukrainians in a position where they can defend themselves.  Thank you all so very much. (link)

It has been obvious from the outset that annexing Eastern Ukraine, the region containing a majority pro-Russia population, was always the intended objective of Russian aggression.  With Biden making this admission public, it raises the question then why did we agree to send $40 billion?

Russia’s hold on the Eastern Ukraine Donbas region is now essentially complete.  This is the area that had been in a state of civil war since 2008, and the Russian annexation would essentially bring that conflict to an end.

Any Ukraine-Russia negotiation would come down to Ukraine acquiescing to the territory already lost.  It’s not like Russia is going to give it back.  The “negotiated settlement” amounts to the Ukraine and western NATO alliance admitting Russia has accomplished its intended objective.

It seems doubtful that Joe Biden sought approval from the U.S. State Dept, CIA and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, specifically those who are conducting this proxy war, prior to this statement.

Remarks at 18:13 of video. WATCH:

WEF Praises Quiet Lockdowns


Armstrong Economics Blog/Tyranny Re-Posted Jun 4, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

In a deleted video posted on the World Economic Forum’s website, the group praised the lockdowns for offering a quiet atmosphere.

The dystopian post-apocalyptic setting certainly seemed quiet at times. Here is what the latest lockdown sounded like in Shanghai for those who have already forgotten:

Joe Biden Says Today, “Americans Feel More Financially Comfortable than Any Time Since 2013”


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 3, 2022 | Sundance

There was a really bizarre dichotomy on display today within the teleprompter script prepared for Joe Biden to use.

Dear Leader took to the microphones to brag about his economic accomplishments and remind Americans how all good thinking people should be feeling:

“Since I took office, families are carrying less debt; their average savings are up.  A recent survey from the Federal Reserve found that more Americans feel financially comfortable than at any time since the survey began in 2013.”

[Source Transcript] – {Direct Rumble LinkWATCH:

Do you hear what he is saying?  Americans have less debt, their savings are up, and they are more comfortable financially today than ever before.

If those remarks were based on reality, then why was the following segment stated exactly 52 seconds later in the same script?

…”one way we can make things a little better for families is by helping them save on other basic items their family needs on a monthly basis, like their utility bills, their Internet bills, their prescription drug bills, and other costs like housing. My goal is to make sure that at the end of the month families have a little more breathing room than they — than they have now.” (link

These are not two different speeches; these are two paragraphs a few moments away from each other in the exact same speech. [Full Transcript Here]

This speech should ring massive alarm bells, not because of what is being said – but because the people behind Biden are just phoning in the propaganda now and not even trying to hide it or give the illusion of a president in control.  No president, in command of the office and the issues, would read those two paragraphs of a prepared speech and not point out the literal hypocrisy his handlers were telling him to read.

Full Remarks, filled with denial, lies and some of the weirdest gaslighting to date.

.

Examples from speech:

…”The price of gas is up $1.40 since the beginning of the year when Putin began amassing troops at the Ukrainian border.  This is the “Putin price hike.”

Example #2:

…”Putin’s war has raised the price of food because Ukraine and Russia are two of the world’s major breadbaskets for wheat and corn — the basic product for so many foods around the world.” 

May Employment Report Shows 390,000 Job Gains, with Losses in Sectors Reliant on Disposable Incomes


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 3, 2022 | Sundance 

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) has released the May jobs report {DATA HERE} showing a net 390,000 jobs added overall.

The leisure and hospitality sector gained 84,000, as restaurants and hotels appear to be recovering from the massive pandemic losses.  However, within the reporting there is concern about the sectors that are now showing signs of increased employment weakness, including 61,000 job losses in retail.

The unemployment rate remains the same at 3.6% in May. About 330,000 people joined the labor force, however the participation rate remains below prepandemic levels.

Most analysts like the Wall Street Journal are explaining the contradictory sector specific numbers by saying, “Consumers, who loaded up on goods such as televisions and furniture early in the pandemic, have started to shift their spending to in-person services such as travel or restaurant meals.”  While there may be some truth to that outlook, it appears that most macro-perspectives are still discounting the extreme increases in price that are now baked into this new ‘transitional economy.’

Consumer purchasing is very prioritized because food, fuel, energy and housing are now eating up much more of the average person’s paycheck.  People cannot pay 30 to 50% more at the gas station and grocery store and still retain disposable income for durable goods purchases.  That’s the basic issue.

The durable goods sector shows the contraction in employment due to the loss in disposable income.

Here’s the main graphic [Table-B] showing where the jobs are being gained and where the jobs are being lost.

The Personal Savings Rate is at Great Recession Levels 


Armstrong Economics Blog/North America Re-Posted Jun 3, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Saving money has become impossible for many amid 40-year high inflation. According to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the personal savings rate reached 4.4% in April after steadily declining from the 6% level seen in January. This marks the lowest rate on record since September 2008 amid the Great Recession.

People hoard and save when they are pessimistic about the future. That innate desire to save is not possible with inflation at 8.3%. For example, in April 2020, the lockdowns began to take a stronghold on the US. People were losing their jobs, basic necessities such as toilet paper were in short supply, and no one knew when life would return to normal (spoiler: it never will). Fears were high, but inflation was only 4.2%. The personal savings rate at that time reached a historical high of 33.8%, partially due to government handouts, social programs, and payment moratoriums.

People can hardly save with the current cost of living. If the economy continues to slide into a recession, survival will be the main concern rather than saving.

Yellen & Inflation


Armstrong Economics Blog/ECM Re-Posted Jun 3, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Marty; I have been a follower for years. Your model has correctly forecasted every major trend from civil unrest to disease. But your forecast that this wave would be commodity inflation based on shortages years in advance, proves that you deserve the Noble Prize. Absolutely no analyst did that although many now pretend they are forecasting this trend. I have to ask. Why is the government refusing to use your model?

HK

ANSWER: The entire economic field sells itself as the solution. They reject the idea of any defined business cycle BECAUSE that means there can be no manipulation. Just look at Schwab and his World Economic Forum, which will be one day cast as the evil emperor in some future version of “Planet of the Manipulators.” If they listened to this model and followed it, they would reject Schwab’s obsession with Marxism. As long as the economy is random, then they can manipulate it. Following my model strips them of that power.

There are still people in the former Iron Curtain countries that miss communism. Why? It is the same in prison. You become institutionalized and have no responsibilities, including taxes. Someone hands you a broom, you sweep the street, and it takes not a single mental thought of how to actually do the job. You can’t even be fired.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Warns to Prepare for Economic Hurricane as Biden Administration Switches U.S. Economy to Green New Deal Agenda


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 2, 2022 | sundance 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon warned of a “hurricane” as the economy struggles against fiscally induced growth, quantitative tightening and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr Dimon was delivering remarks at a conference sponsored by Alliance Bernstein Holdings Wednesday.

Higher oil prices, higher fuel prices, higher energy prices and much higher food prices are all looming over the horizon as the Biden administration switches the baseline for the U.S economy from oil and gas to the Green New Deal energy program. Things are going to get worse, the question is, how much worse? WATCH:

The White House is pretending the U.S. government does not have full control over what is happening in the economy.  The media are pretending not to know that the White House is avoiding admitting the agenda and economic pain is intentional and unavoidable.  The republican politicians are pretending the Biden economic transition program is because the White House is incompetent.  All of these -and so many more- are just pretenses.

What is being done by the government, in this decision to switch from an oil and gas economy into a wind and solar economy, is being done on purpose. Yes, everyone at every level of government, both political parties and every agency within it, and the entirety of the corporate media are pretending not to know this is the Green New Deal taking place.

Small Business Payrolls Collapse in New ADP Report for May, Total Employment Result Far Below Expectations


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 2, 2022 | sundance

You do not need anyone to affirm that Main Street is in trouble, you can see it all around you.  Inflation is crushing blue-collar and white-collar workers as prices continue to rise on essential goods. Consumer spending is now prioritized around the higher cost of housing, energy, gasoline and food.  Family earnings are spent before the paychecks arrive for most Main St workers, and now we are starting to see the alarming result economic contraction, beginning with small businesses.

That’s the message within the ADP private sector payroll report released today [DATA HERE], which shows a contraction in small business employment.  Economists were looking for private payroll increases in the 300,00 range; but the result was far lower at 128,000.   Small businesses lost 91,000 jobs in May.  Main Street is in trouble.

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in May, which would suggest demand for labor was starting to slow amid higher interest rates and tightening financial conditions, though job openings remain extremely high.

Private payrolls rose by 128,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Thursday. Data for April was revised down to show 202,000 jobs added instead of the initially reported 247,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls increasing by 300,000 jobs. (read more)

Is Russia on the Defensive?


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jun 2, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is warning the US that they have become instigators in the Russia-Ukraine war. “We believe that the U.S. is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian,” Peskov recently told reporters, according to Reuters.

Peskov’s warning comes shortly after Russia deemed most “unfriendly” nations as “hostile,” and with good cause. In an interview with PBS, Peskov said that President Biden’s suggestion to remove Putin from power was taken as a personal insult as the people of Russia, not the president of a foreign nation, determine Russian leadership.

Peskov speaks clearly and confidently; he does not seem like a madman hell-bent on war. In fact, he stated that Russia never wanted war. For decades, Russia has told the West that they are “afraid of NATO” moving closer into their territory. “Please take care of it and do not push us into the corner,” the Kremlin spokesman explained. In Russia’s eyes, they are on the defensive. Putin strictly warned other nations not to interfere in Russia-Ukraine relations. Peskov now states that the West, not Ukraine, is “leading the war against us.”

As for the claim that Russia will launch nukes, Peskov made it clear that Russia has no plans to do so, but would under an existential threat. He clarified that the “existence of the state” and “special military operations in Ukraine” have nothing to do with one another. Ukraine certainly cannot back Russia in a corner to which it feels it must implode its way out, but the West does and is pushing that boundary daily.