Tag Archives: Illegal Migration

Oct 5 2022

North Korea Joins the Party


Armstrong Economics Blog/Uncategorized Re-Posted Oct 4, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

It is amazing to me that we seem to have complete idiots driving these events and they think that they can just intimidate whoever. All my sources state clearly that China and North Korea will join Russia against this climate change and authoritarian vision of a one-world government. Biden is incompetent and he just said he intends to run for a second term in 2024. Zelensky, who says whatever the Biden Administration writes on his teleprompter, that he will now only negotiate with Russia after they overthrow Putin. The theory that overthrowing dictators in the Middle East and the people will cheer us and celebrate with some ticker-tape parade has been the delusion of warmongers. They are once again doing the same thing in Russia, This time, the hardlines are not going to be as timid as Putin. My sources have NEVER been wrong!

North Korea has fired an unidentified ballistic missile over Japan demonstrating it could destroy Japan without repercussions. An escalation not seen in years prompted Tokyo to evacuate some residents as sirens blare for an airraid in the northern prefectures of Hokkaido and Aomori on Tuesday morning. Our models are showing January is a serious target in so many markets. This US attack on the Nord Stream is trying to completely undermine the economy of Russia to defeat it once and for all and the Zelensky change in demand for the overthrow of Russia is all counting on the US destroying its economy to force the people to do their work for them.

Many people have written in from around the world asking why none of this ever took place under Trump. The difference was that Trump was a businessman and he understood that only a vibrant economy will produce world peace as was the case under Rome. Onve all the provinces enjoyed free trade and the people prospered by being part of the Roman Empire which was a common marketplace, that produced the Pax Romana. The idiots we now have in power think that world peace is only accomplished by force of arms. This is a policy that is doomed and in the process, in every war, the civilian death toll is typically 10 times that of the soldiers on the battle field. Just one nuke hitting Philadelphia takes out New York City and Washington, DC.

Oct 5 2022

Musk Twitter Purchase Back on Table, Unfortunately with Plan for Everything App


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

The only thing I can do is research and write about it.  With an even stronger degree of certainty than originally expressed, and with all of the subsequent data points falling into alignment with the initial suspicions, the background of Jack’s Magic Coffee shop remains unchanged. {Go Deep}

Six weeks ago, the Twitter security ‘whistleblower’ came forward to congress.  The whistleblower is a former technology expert who came from within the research farm of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, is a well-known cybersecurity expert who left government work, entered the public world, and eventually became the head of Twitter security, reporting directly to the CEO. {Go Deep}

According to a recent SEC filing [LINK HERE], Elon Musk is now back to supporting the purchase of Twitter as the first step in creating the “everything app.”

{{{sarcastic voice}}} Gee, what could this be about?  I mean what could go wrong?….  We already know the infrastructure of Twitter’s operational database is tied into portals with the Dept of Homeland security {citation}, and now Musk wants to use that central infrastructure to create an all-inclusive “everything app”?

The bigger risk to the surveillance state is discovery that Twitter and the U.S. intelligence community are in a public-private partnership. The Dept of Homeland Security has access by design, not flaw.  How the stakeholder media are reporting on the issue shows the nature of the risk, (emphasis mine):

[…] The scathing disclosure, which totals around 200 pages, including supporting exhibits — was sent last month to a number of US government agencies and congressional committees, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. The existence and details of the disclosure have not previously been reported. CNN obtained a copy of the disclosure from a senior Democratic aide on Capitol Hill. The SEC, DOJ and FTC declined to comment; the Senate Intelligence Committee, which received a copy of the report, is taking the disclosure seriously and is setting a meeting to discuss the allegations, according to Rachel Cohen, a committee spokesperson. (link)

How would it damage the U.S. government if previous claims about the Chinese government having access to all user data on TikTok, are shown to be exactly identical to the U.S. government having access to all user data on Twitter?

Let that question settle in for a few moments, because that is exactly what I have been alleging since, well, 2011, when the U.S. State Dept first collaborated with Twitter in a joint public-private partnership to use the platform as a communication tool exploiting the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt, Libya and beyond.

The issue of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop is an issue of financial viability.  The business model of Twitter just doesn’t exist as a free social media discussion platform while running the ultra-expensive data processing system needed for millions of simultaneous users.  A global chat that requires exponential database responses as an outcome of simultaneous users is just ridiculously expensive. {Go Deep} However, if the computing system and massive database were being subsidized by the U.S. government, then the viability of the ‘free coffee‘ business model makes sense.

“Cloud computing is one of the core components of the strategy to help the IC discover, access and share critical information in an era of seemingly infinite data.” … “A test scenario described by GAO in its June 2013 bid protest opinion suggests the CIA sought to compare how the solutions presented by IBM and Amazon Web Services (AWS) could crunch massive data sets, commonly referred to as big data.” … “Solutions had to provide a “hosting environment for applications which process vast amounts of information in parallel on large clusters (thousands of nodes) of commodity hardware” using a platform called MapReduce. Through MapReduce, clusters were provisioned for computation and segmentation. Test runs assumed clusters were large enough to process 100 terabytes of raw input data. AWS’ solution received superior marks from CIA procurement officials”… (MORE)

♦ Legal Stuff – The issue of American citizen privacy and U.S. constitutional limits against the government listening in on communication is functionally obsolescent.  The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) prohibits communication intercepts on U.S. citizens without a valid search warrant.  However, if a U.S. citizen is engaged in a conversation with a foreign person, all privacy restrictions are essentially gone. [Insert example of Michael Flynn taking to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak here]

Your phone calls can be intercepted by the government from the foreign side of the call.  The govt can freely monitor the calls that involve foreign actors.  The only rule is that your privacy must be maintained. If the foreign actor is in communication with a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen must be “minimized” or not identified in any intercept.

However, what happens when the phone call is on a community line that is connected, and visible, to the entire world?   That’s the benefit of social media monitoring from a surveillance perspective. It is from that opaque and unresolved archaic legal perspective that surveillance authority of social media platforms, by the U.S. intelligence community, exists.   Now you see why the SSCI is taking an interest in the Twitter whistleblower, classic risk mitigation.

Hopefully, you can also see why the 200-page whistleblower document was leaked, by a Democrat staffer, to the Washington Post and CNN.

CNN defends the equity interests of the U.S. State Dept., and WaPo defend the Intelligence Community (CIA, DHS, etc).

Within the narrative as constructed you will note, “Zatko further alleges that Twitter’s leadership has misled its own board and government regulators about its security vulnerabilities, including some that could allegedly open the door to foreign spying or manipulation, hacking and disinformation campaigns.”

If the relationship between Twitter and the U.S. intelligence community is a public-private partnership, why would Twitter want to shut down the portals given to the Dept of Homeland Security?

Answer, they wouldn’t… Ergo the response from Twitter to the whistleblower complaint is (emphasis mine), “What we’ve seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context.”

Put another way, the “lacks important context” is the nature of the security risk, which is structural to the relationship between the intelligence community and the platform.  See how that works?

The integration between Twitter and the United States Intelligence Community has been hiding in plain sight:

July 26, 2021, (Reuters) – A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook (FB.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) is significantly expanding the types of extremist content shared between firms in a key database, aiming to crack down on material from white supremacists and far-right militias, the group told Reuters.

Until now, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism’s (GIFCT) database has focused on videos and images from terrorist groups on a United Nations list and so has largely consisted of content from Islamist extremist organizations such as Islamic State, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Over the next few months, the group will add attacker manifestos – often shared by sympathizers after white supremacist violence – and other publications and links flagged by U.N. initiative Tech Against Terrorism. It will use lists from intelligence-sharing group Five Eyes, adding URLs and PDFs from more groups, including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters and neo-Nazis.

The firms, which include Twitter (TWTR.N) and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube, share “hashes,” unique numerical representations of original pieces of content that have been removed from their services. Other platforms use these to identify the same content on their own sites in order to review or remove it. (more)

A shared hashing protocol is a form of data system integration.  The databases of the identified social media platforms are integrated with the U.S. intelligence system.

…. And now Musk wants to integrate an “everything app”?

Follow the bouncing ball and you enter the world of the comprehensive surveillance state.   But if you don’t do anything wrong, you’ve got nothing to fear right?  Insert example of non-vaccinated repercussions, Canadian truckers and Dutch farmers here.  Then add a digital identity, digital currency, energy resource apportionment and social equity.  Where do you end up?

All I can do is research and write about it.

Even the influential members of the ‘Rebel Alliance‘ used to think I was crazy….  Not any longer.

.

.

….Me Right Now

Oct 4 2022

Germany Hits Record Population Growth


Armstrong Economics Blog/Germany Re-Posted Oct 4, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

There are now 84 million people living in Germany, according to the German Federal Statistical Office. This has nothing to do with the birth rate, which is on the decline. Instead, the number of Ukrainians seeking refuge in Germany caused the population to grow by 750,000 this year.

The population in Germany grew by 0.1% or 82,000 in 2021. In 2022, the population has already increased by 1% or 843,000 people. Germany has not experienced such a large influx of refugees since 2015 when Angela Merkle welcomed all Syrians into Germany. Nearly one million people entered Germany in 2015, mostly fleeing war in the Middle East. It proved to be a disaster as Germany did not have the means to care for all the new arrivals, and the cultures did not integrate well.

Germany is not likely to see as strong of an influx since other European nations are opening their borders to Ukrainians. Poland has already permitted 6.56 million Ukrainians to enter their borders. Yet, Poland has reported that tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled are now returning. Those returning are likely men who want to fight. Germany reported that most of their new refugees are women (501,000) as well.

The culture integration is easier compared to the 2015 refugee crisis, but do these European nations have the infrastructure and financial means to support so many additional people? Those who fled Syria had nothing to return to as their nation did not receive endless funds from the West. On the other hand, Ukrainians who fled likely plan to return once the war is over. The question becomes when can I return as everything indicates that this war is only getting started.

Jun 2 2022

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.

Jun 2 2022

Americans Blame Biden for Inflation


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

Unfortunately for Biden, the Great Unwashed is not gullible enough to accept his explanation that Putin is to blame for inflation. A Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey found that most respondents (59.9%) believe Biden’s policies are the “leading contributor” to rising prices. Around 87.9% of Republicans and 61.1% of Independents cited Biden as the leading culprit, while only 55.2% of Democrats were ready to admit that Biden is destroying the economy.

Biden insists the American Rescue Plan and vast overseas donations did not contribute to inflation. He insists preventing America from being energy independent did not contribute to inflation. Even his own Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cannot stand by these lies. Yellen insisted in March 2021 that inflation posed a “small risk” for America. In May 2021, Yellen said inflation would not become a problem. Then the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was signed into law. Biden eliminated oil permits and allowed ports to clog.

This Tuesday, Yellen finally admitted she and the Biden Administration were wrong about inflation. “As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that boosted energy and food prices, and supply bottlenecks, that have affected our economy badly that I, at the time, didn’t fully understand,” Yellen told CNN. “But we recognize that now.”

Although they recognize the issue, there is no plan in place to implement policies to ease inflation. Upon meeting with Fed Chair Powell, Biden simply said that it is the Fed’s place to solve the crisis he created. “My plan to address inflation starts with a simple proposition: Respect the Fed. Respect the Fed’s independence,” Biden said. Since the Fed is independent of the government, he has no choice but to “respect the Fed’s independence.”

Jun 2 2022

More Pretending, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Pretends She Got It Wrong on Inflation, She Did Not


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

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has more financial and analytical resources at her fingertips than thousand hedge funds combined. When Secretary Yellen claims today that she “got it wrong” about inflation, what she is doing is continuing the game of pretending; she’s positioning the administration as incompetent, not deliberate.

The illusion of incompetence plays into the scheme of hiding the fact the administration is working through a purposeful strategy. In the game of pretending; and under the current circumstances; it is better to be seen as incompetent than recognized as working with malicious intent.  This is the illusion behind Joe Biden’s usefulness.

This is also the organized pretending game within DC that too few people will accept or admit. The Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chairman are not making mistakes, they are working on a specific agenda and economic plan. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was not late to raise interest rates, he waited on purpose. He waited for the political reason of waiting until the triggered 2021 inflation spike cycled through the full calendar year.

These are not monetary policy leaders making monetary policy mistakes. These are monetary policy political ideologues, carrying out a political agenda within the U.S. economy. This is part of what National Economic Council Chairman Brian Deese would call the “economic transition.” WATCH this through the correct prism:

Jun 2 2022

Ramstein Airforce Base Cancels Drag Queen Story Time Despite USAF and U.S. Marines Celebrating LBGTQ Pride Month


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on June 1, 2022 | Sundance

Comrades, if you were hoping to take the kids to the Drag Queen Story time at Ramstein Airforce base tomorrow in celebration of global Pride Month, unfortunately the 86th Airlift Wing has cancelled the event.

After initially telling everyone, “We’re celebrating Pride Month at the Ramstein Library with Drag Queen Storytime! Be sure to wear your brightest and most colorful outfits!,” apparently, the chief of public affairs, Lt. Col. Will Powell, now says the event did not go through the vetting process prior to the announcement.

According to the Washington Examiner: “The controversial event comes amid a growing ideological divide among liberals and conservatives about how and who should be teaching children about sexuality.

Conservatives have argued that these lessons should be left up to the parents, while some liberals in educational settings have begun teaching children about these topics according to their own views, at times without parental consent.” (more)

However, comrade binaries, all is not lost.  The United States Marines and the United States Airforce are putting their best boots forward and promoting inclusive wokeism as part of a new military outlook under the new leadership of a more progressive -and sensitive- commander in chief.

With additional military forward deployment and support for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a male pronoun comfortable in stilettos, the enlightened coalition will soon arrive in the rainbow fields of Ukraine to combat the horribly patriarchal Russian advancement.

The U.S. Marines are well positioned in the cultural battlespace as noted by their announcement earlier today:

The pesky Russians don’t stand a chance against a well choreographed advance reconnaissance team.  The few and very proud, with a well trained twerking division of soldiers ready to bare it all in defense of our allies, are practicing their line-dance formations as we speak.

Joint Chiefs’ Chair Mark Milley has assured Defense Secretary Austin that our fabulous troops will be well protected.  The angels on their shoulders have triggered rainbow air support.

Dear leader has yet to announce who will be bringing up the rear; however, we suspect the U.S. army will rise to the occasion.

Be afraid President Putin and Chairman Xi… be very afraid! 

…The loss of the Donbas is merely a flesh wound.

May 11 2022

Airlines Playing Russian Roulette with Passengers’ Lives


Armstrong Economics Blog/Vaccine Re-Posted May 11, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Airlines are playing Russian roulette with passengers’ lives after numerous pilots experienced heart attacks, which is believed to be a direct result of the vaccine mandate.

American Airlines Captain Robert Snow was flying an Airbus 231 carrying 200 passengers. An otherwise healthy Snow experienced a sudden heart attack six minutes after landing. Snow said he dreamed of teaching his daughter to fly one day but will likely never fly again.

The US Freedom Flyers are a group of volunteers within the transportation sector fighting to end vaccine mandates. They are warning the government that a tragedy could be on the horizon due to the FAA initially mandating vaccines under Biden’s guidance. The group would like all vaccinated pilots to receive medical clearance through EKGs and MRIs to rule out blood clotting issues. Once a pilot loses their FAA medical clearance, their career is over.

United Airlines even issued a “pilot incapacitation” manual and urged pilots and co-pilots to report incidents. As it stands, pilots are not permitted to fly for 48 hours after receiving the vaccine. However, the side effects could occur much later, and no one is seriously investigating why pilots are falling ill. “It’s as simple as standing up and saying NO! When we join together, we are an unstoppable force,” the US Freedom Flyers said.

Dr. Fauci was asked about the issue last October. “ I’m sure there is a very, very, very, very rare exception, but the long-term effects are really essentially nonexistent,” Fauci claimed. “Getting COVID is far, far worse than getting vaccinated for absolutely certain.”

May 11 2022

Nuclear Deterrence


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted May 11, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Hi Martin,

I work on defense issues for my job, but I am no Neocon. Second Strike works just fine too or more likely “Launch Under Attack” (LUA), and even with older weapons. Everybody goes down together and most likely via miscalculation especially given possible Nuclear Winter which given Volcano data actually looks plausible. No prior intention is required to commit National suicide. Read Admiral Richards (STRATCOM) latest Congressional testimony yesterday. A  “Crisis In Nuclear Deterrence” and it could be the Brits who initiate any escalation and not the U.S.by the way. Same Trident-D-5 SLBM’s and Russia could not tell them apart.

There are some Neocons who are aware of your work like Bill Kristol, and others. They will never allow the shift from West to East to occur. I have actually heard some of them say that. It is their hold card. By the way, could you clarify when you believe the full-scale war will break out? You have suggested Q-1 2023, 2024 (especially May 7/8 ECM turn), after 2024, 2027, and 2028. I understand it may escalate in stages, but how long does Socrates believe we have before it goes full scale? My guess is June 2024 as Economic factors are ignored by “The Post Cold Warriors”.

Best,
Ken.

COMMENT: Marty, you are right again. Admiral Richard agreed with you that nuclear arms are no longer a deterrent to war. The Ukraine conflict shows Russia was not afraid of nuclear weapons from NATO or the US. It is all economics.

Thanks for what you do.

KM

ANSWER: I know virtually every intelligence agency looks at Socrates. They all want to know the forecasts of Socrates, for it’s not my personal opinion. All I can hope to do is scream loud enough that perhaps I can reduce the amplitude of events. But Socrates has NEVER been wrong on any geopolitical forecast in my lifetime. Personally, we all have opinions. But that will also change week to week based on events. That’s why personal opinion will not cut it, for this is far more complex than we can even speculate.

I really do not care what the Neocons do. They will never prevent the shift of the economic power from the West to the East. China has surpassed Europe, and it is neck and neck with the USA now. This is a cycle that cannot be defeated. All they are doing is fulfilling the cycle with this nonsense. World peace is created by interdependency, as was the case with the Roman Empire and the Pax Romanum, Roman peace.

I am doing a full report on the question. Tensions are rising post-2020 after they got Biden in office. We will see escalation begin in 2023, but the prospect of a world war is more likely post-2024. I question if Putin will be there during that time more than Biden. Putin will be followed by even hardline advocates, for they are well aware that this Proxy War is really a war between the USA and Russia.

Yes, the head of U.S. Strategic Command Adm. Charles Richard, who does oversee the nuclear arsenal, warned Congress that the USA faces a heightened nuclear deterrence risk when it comes to Russia and China. The cutting of the defense budget and even Biden’s threat to dishonorably discharge any member of the military who was not vaccinated has shown that the US thinks it can control the world with the threat of nuclear weapons while reducing the conventional capability.

Adm. Richard warned: “We are facing a crisis deterrence dynamic right now that we have only seen a few times in our nation’s history.” He continued stating bluntly: “The war in Ukraine and China’s nuclear trajectory — their strategic breakout — demonstrates that we have a deterrence and assurance gap based on the threat of limited nuclear employment.” He further warned that China is “watching the war in Ukraine closely and will likely use nuclear coercion to their advantage in the future. Their intent is to achieve the military capability to reunify Taiwan by 2027 if not sooner.”

Nuclear weapons are no longer a deterrent. They did not stop the US from going into Iraq, the Vietnamese War, or this one in Ukraine. The idea that building nuclear capability will somehow compel world peace is a delusion. This is essentially what Admiral Richard has scolded Congress about. The US conventionally is not a match for Russia and China. North Korea alone has an army of 1.5 million. That is double the size of both sides in Ukraine right now.

May 11 2022

Texas Rep Chip Roy Explodes on Floor After House Democrats Create $40 Billion Ukraine Spending Bill and Demand Immediate Vote


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on May 10, 2022 | sundance