Tag Archives: Money Is Being Redefined

Nov 7 2023

The Coming Great Crash? Re-Posted Nov 6, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 


Galbraith Great Crash

I fully understand that there are now so many calling for a Great Crash of all time as they have during each correction, big and small, for over 30 years, and they just never get it right, even once. Some tout the rise in interest rates. Others look at this chart and nothing else. If there is a Great Crash, then the dollar rises, for you are selling assets for cash. They overlook the fact that in 1929, the US had a balanced budget. The world was buying dollars because Europe defaulted on its debt, which rippled through the financial system, causing 9,000 US bank failures in the United States just as the Mortgage Crisis in the US hit European banks.

So, if there was a Great Crash, does that mean you want to sell all tangible assets, from stocks to real estate, and go to the dollar and government bonds? Is that what you really want to do with Biden throwing money out the window in every direction BUT the domestic economy?

US 1920 1950
FED Interest Rate 1929 1932

Most of these pretend analysts only look at the chart of 1929 and keep predicting a 90% crash. The dollar went up from 1929 into 1931 when the Sovereign Debt Crisis occurred. I had to read The Great Crash in high school. It was not until I found a copy of Herbert Hoover’s memoirs in an antique bookstore in London that changed my life.  Nowhere in Galbraith’s book was there ever any mention of a Sovereign Debt Default because, like FDR, they were trying to see Marxism and blame everything on the private sector, so the government was the promised land.

Between 1929 and 1931, you sold private assets and moved to cash. However, look at what happened when the Sovereign Debt Crisis hit in 1931. The dollar fell with the stock market into 1932. People did not want either and assumed that most of Europe defaulted on their debt, so surely the US would be next. The fall in the dollar meant GOLD declined since there was a gold standard. Roosevelt was elected, and then he CONFISCATED gold BECAUSE he planned to devalue the dollar to inflate his way out of the Depression.

Most of what you hear about the coming Great Crash is distorted history. Some tout rising interest rates. Well, the Fed lowered rates from 6% to 1.5%, and it did NOT support the market. In fact, as always, the Bull market into 1929 took place with rising interest rates. When Trump took office, they called it the Trump Bull Market, and the Fed raised rates throughout his administration.

There is a lot more to this than superficial analysis. We will include a detailed review at the WEC.

Hoover Quote
WEC_2023_Sovereign Debt Crisis
Nov 4 2023

Weirdness Abounds – New York Judge Engoron Expands Gag Order to Stop Trump Defense Attorneys from Discussing Instructions from Court Clerk


Posted originally on the CTH on November 3, 2023 | Sundance 

The judge in the New York City case against Donald Trump and the Trump organization has transparently been a little goofy.  From the first day when he posed for the cameras, to the sketchy application of legal review within the case, Judge Arthur Engoron exhibits the classic traits of being weird and unstable.

There is a pattern amid the deployment of Lawfare that deserves some background context.  Whenever Lawfare is deployed there are always background characters who are seemingly needed to keep the bizarre interpretations of Lawfare tactics on track.

We saw this play out with Debra Katzenberg, Monica McLean and David Laufman controlling Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey-Ford.  We saw it again with Mary McCord playing the role in the background of the Trump Lawfare impeachment to guide Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff.  We saw it again with Andrew Weissmann and Norm Eisen guiding Special Prosecutor Jack Smith from the backbench of Lawfare.  In each case the principal activity is guided by Lawfare ideologues who use position to influence.

In the Judge Engoron example, court clerk Allison Greenfield has been passing notes and instructions to Engoron as the case has progressed.  The activity has become so disconcerting that Trump’s lawyers have called it out in court as it happens {Breitbart Link}.  In response to the sunlight upon the visible activity, Judge Engoron has now expanded his gag order to prohibit Trump’s lawyers from drawing attention to the activity of Ms. Greenfield.

NEW YORK — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s ongoing civil fraud trial issued another gag order on Friday — this time prohibiting all lawyers working on the trial from “from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me.” (link)

The issuance of the gag order is weird because the entire dynamic of the clerk instructing the judge is weird.   The gag order is an effort by Engoron to stop people from noticing it….  Yeah, that’s exponentially weirder.

POLITICO – [Trump Attorney Chris] Kise complained about Greenfield’s habit of passing notes to Engoron during proceedings, suggesting she is improperly influencing his decisions. Engoron reacted sharply to that complaint, telling Kise, “I have an unfettered, absolute right to consult with my law clerks” and saying he wouldn’t tolerate future comments about his staff.

Kise, though, continued to argue that he needed to state objections on the record for the purposes of an eventual appeal. “If notes are being passed at certain specific times or they’re being passed in a way that might indicate some bias,” he said, “that’s a record that needs to be made contemporaneously.” (more)

As noted by Henry Rossof from inside the court today, “Judge Engoron said he will note a continuing objection to his consultation with his clerk but does not want anything more said about her… he will still consult.”

“I have an absolute, unfettered right to consult with my law clerks anywhere, anytime,” Engoron noted. “There’s no more need to make a record” [of it within the court when it occurs] he concluded.

After this series of exchanges today, Engoron then expanded his court order to forbid the Trump lawyers from telling the public about what was happening between him and his clerk in the court.

Yup, weird, sketchy and fitting right in with the pattern of how Lawfare is deployed.

These people are ideologically not stable.

Nov 4 2023

DC Appeals Court Overrules Judge Chutkan Gag Order


Posted originally on the CTH on November 3, 2023 | Sundance

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s gag order prohibiting Trump from criticizing the special counsel, Jack Smith, or “any foreseeable witness” in the case. [2-Page Opinion Here]  In my opinion, it was the generalized “foreseeable witness” part of the Chutkan order that became the central issue for the appellate court.   Jack Smith could name anyone as a potential witness, just to silence the accused.

President Trump’s team previously indicated in their filing to the appeals court that they are prepared to seek immediate relief at the Supreme Court. However, at least now, that approach will not be needed as the DC Appellate Court has blocked the gag order.

[ SOURCE LINK ]

It is a win for Donald Trump amid a highly political DC Circuit.

If the appeals court had ruled to uphold the gag order, they would have opened the door for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in and potentially overturn the lower rulings.  Therefore, appeals court was most likely not willing to see their own credibility rest on the language of a motion written by Judge Chutkan.

In the ruling, the appeals court will accept briefings and oral arguments prior to making their own ruling on the matter.  That will make any advancement to the Supreme Court much less likely to succeed.  There’s a bit of court credibility and preservation playing out in this dynamic.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a gag order reining in Donald Trump’s comments about the criminal election-subversion case pending against him in Washington.

At the former president’s request, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily lifted U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order prohibiting Trump from using his public statements to target special counsel Jack Smith and his team, court officials and potential witnesses in the case.

The appeals court’s action makes it likely that the gag order, which Trump contends violates his First Amendment rights and those of his supporters, will be sidelined for more than two weeks and perhaps longer. Trump has also complained that the order interferes with his rights as a presidential candidate to argue to voters that he is being politically persecuted by the Biden administration.

The D.C. Circuit set oral arguments on the gag order issue for Nov. 20. The panel issuing the order consisted of two Obama appointees — Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard — as well as the court’s newest member, Biden appointee Bradley Garcia. (read more)

…”No court in American history has imposed a gag order on a criminal defendant who is actively campaigning for public office—let alone the leading candidate for President of the United States. That centuries-long practice was broken on October 17, 2023, when the district court entered its Opinion and Order, A1 (the “Gag Order”), muzzling President Trump’s core political speech during an historic Presidential campaign.

Given the Gag Order’s extraordinary nature, one would expect an extraordinary justification for it. Yet none exists. President Trump has made months of public statements about this case, but the Department of Justice (“the prosecution”) submitted no evidence of any actual or imminent threat to the administration of justice. Instead, when asked about the supposed threat to the case, the prosecution admitted, “of course this prejudice is speculative.”

Based this speculation, the district court entered a sweeping, viewpoint-based prior restraint on the core political speech of a major Presidential candidate, based solely on an unconstitutional “heckler’s veto.” The Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and over 100 million Americans who listen to him.

President Trump’s uniquely powerful voice has been a fixture of American political discourse for eight years, and central to the American fabric for decades. The prosecution’s claim that his core political speech suddenly poses a threat to the administration of justice is baseless. The prosecutors and potential witnesses addressed by President Trump’s speech are high-level government officials and public figures, many of whom routinely attack President Trump in their own public statements, media interviews, and books.

President Trump’s viewpoint and modes of expression resonate powerfully with tens of millions of Americans. The prosecution’s request for a Gag Order bristles with hostility to President Trump’s viewpoint and his relentless criticism of the government—including of the prosecution itself. The Gag Order embodies this unconstitutional hostility to President Trump’s viewpoint. It should be immediately stayed.

President Trump requests a ruling on this motion by November 10, 2023, and requests an administrative stay pending the Court’s ruling. President Trump has notified the prosecution, who note that they oppose this motion. President Trump respectfully asks that this appeal be expedited to the greatest extent possible.”..

~ President Donald J Trump, Legal Team 

Nov 4 2023

Jobs, Wages and Official Labor Reports Continue Showing Major Disconnects from Reality on Main Street


Posted originally on the CTH on November 3, 2023 | Sundance 

I have not written as much about the economic analysis coming from the official institutions of government because, well, quite frankly, none of it has made sense for several months.  In this era of great pretending, I am reminded of the official catchphrase which began in 2021, “managing the transition.”

When you contemplate that “managing the transition” can also equate to controlling public opinion, and when you overlap the dynamic of large U.S. institutions manipulating information in order to control that opinion, then suddenly the trust in the data evaporates.   When the reality of the economic situation you can measure, gauge, and sense on Main Street is increasingly detached from the government data about what’s happening on Main Street, things get weird.

EXAMPLE TODAY – Bureau of Labor and Statistics: “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.9 percent.” That’s the topline as announced.

Then you drop to the adjustments on the same report: “The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down by 62,000, from +227,000 to +165,000, and the change for September was revised down by 39,000, from +336,000 to +297,000. With these revisions, employment in August and September combined is 101,000 lower than previously reported.”

September and October are generally significant upticks in labor, as the process for holiday preparation (shipping, transport, etc.) are underway.  However, that historic pattern is no longer applicable.  We see consumer trends in a downward direction, general uneasiness of the economic situation is relayed by businesses and consumers who are the key to reality, and yet the official reporting reflects something entirely different.  Thus, you must ask yourself if this is part of the aforementioned “managing the transition.”

Additionally, staying with the bigger (non-pretending) picture, the U.S. government intentionally imports 7.5 million illegal aliens.  Where are they in the data of employment conditions?   Is there a metric that can evaluate the impact of a non-skilled labor influx that takes place simultaneous to a negative economic reality of inflation and diminished wages felt by those traditionally measured.

When you look carefully at the data provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Dept of Labor (DoL) and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), what you come away with is the data-driven impression of something that you cannot actually see in the reality of the economic world around you.  Quite simply, none of it makes sense.

If you begin talking about the disconnect, you enter a sphere of sounding like a conspiracy theorist.   Would the official institutions of economic analysis actually manipulate data as an outcome of the larger goal to “manage the transition”?  For me the answer is an emphatic, yes.   However, how do you quantify that disconnect when the people with a vested interest in hiding any conflict are the same people who control the release of the data?

It is a reality that 75% of the American people feel their economic situation has worsened and continues to be worse.  Many people are increasingly incapable of staying ahead of increases in cost of living.  Govt institutions say inflation has come under control, yet the prices continue skyrocketing and everyone can feel it.  Financial insecurity is the new normal amid a growing population, while the managers of the transition say, ‘all is well.’

The only thing that brings a person back from the world of crazy speak, is a review of actual ground reports on Main Street from people who are living their daily lives and trying to cope with the costs of maintaining that standard.  Almost everyone expresses having more difficulty keeping their financial head above water.  Yet the data released by government paints a different picture.   The distance between reality and ‘official data’ has never been wider than it is today.

Fewer goods are being manufactured.  Fewer goods are being shipped.  Fewer sales are taking place.   In a naturally contracting cycle this would mean less jobs.  However, the data shows job growth.

♦Health care added 58,000 jobs in October, in line with the average monthly gain of 53,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health care services (+32,000), hospitals (+18,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+8,000).
♦Employment in government increased by 51,000 in October and has returned to its pre-pandemic February 2020 level. Monthly job growth in government had averaged 50,000 in the prior 12 months. In October, employment continued to trend up in local government (+38,000).
♦Social assistance added 19,000 jobs in October, compared with the average monthly gain of 23,000 over the prior 12 months.
♦In October, construction employment continued to trend up (+23,000), about in line with the average monthly gain of 18,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in specialty trade contractors (+14,000) and construction of buildings (+6,000).
♦Employment in manufacturing decreased by 35,000 in October, reflecting a decline of 33,000 in motor vehicles and parts that was largely due to strike activity.
♦In October, employment in leisure and hospitality changed little (+19,000). The industry had added an average of 52,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.
♦Employment in professional and business services was little changed in October (+15,000) and has shown little net change since May. Employment in temporary help services changed little over the month (+7,000) but is 229,000 below its peak in March 2022.
♦In October, employment in transportation and warehousing was little changed (-12,000) and has shown little net change over the year. Over the month, warehousing and storage lost 11,000 jobs, while air transportation added 4,000 jobs.
♦Information employment changed little in October (-9,000). Employment in motion picture and sound recording continued to trend down (-5,000); the industry has lost 44,000 jobs since May, at least partially reflecting the impact of an ongoing labor dispute.

DATA

What do you see happening in/around your area?   How are the employment conditions nearest you?

Nov 3 2023

Over 250,000 Dead Americans Re-Posted Nov 3, 2023 By Martin Armstrong


America has lost the war on drugs as overdose-related deaths have quadrupled in the past decade. Overdoses from fentanyl are now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. There was even a 109% increase in childhood deaths (10-19) from 2019 to 2021. Around 106,699 Americans died from drug usage in 2021 – more deaths than the number of service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. About 80,411 of those deaths (75.4% of all overdoses) were due to opioids like fentanyl. There is an internal enemy within our borders that no one discusses. Where is the outrage?

Perdue and the Sackler family have blood on their hands. The Sackler family owns Perdue Pharmaceuticals and was responsible for creating a pushing the sale of lethal drugs such as oxycontin. The Sacklers hired consulting firm  McKinsey & Company and sales agents to “turbocharge” the sale of Oxycontin. McKinsey & Company initially wanted to payoff the insurance companies $14,000 per overdose or patient turned addict. The drug was initially marketed as SAFE AND EFFECTIVE. They claimed less than 1% of patients would become addicted.

Companies such as Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen were forced to pay $26 billion in their role in the opiod crisis. However, no company was as influential as Perdue. The family paid $225 million for civil claims but has not faced any criminal charges. Now, the opioid epidemic is in the hands of cartels and foreign actors who bring drugs over our border.

The situation in America has become so dire that the Biden Administration would like to train school teachers on using the overdose revival drug, naloxone. “Our schools are on the frontlines of this epidemic, but our teachers and students can be equipped with tools to save lives,” the letter notes. Unlike the original opioid epidemic, consumers of the substances do not know what is in their counterfeit drugs. Cartels add fentanyl because it is cheaper and makes the product stronger, resulting in countless accidental overdoses.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has said numerous times that the majority of fentanyl in America is produced in China and then shipped to Mexico where they smuggle it into the United States. India is also producing fentanyl and being closely monitored. “China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States. Seizures of fentanyl sourced from China average less than one kilogram in weight, and often test above 90 percent concentration of pure fentanyl,” the DEA report notes.

“Fentanyl production and precursor chemical sourcing may also expand beyond the currently identified countries as fentanyl lacks the geographic source boundaries of heroin and cocaine as these must be produced from plant-based materials,” the report concluded. Smugglers can simply walk across the border and back, as we have absolutely zero national security. Where is the outrage? Over 1,500 Americans die each week because we have permitted out enemies to enter our border and destroy the nation from within.

Nov 3 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Found Guilty on All Seven Counts


Posted originally on the CTH on November 2, 2023 | Sundance

Crypto conman Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The evidence was overwhelming and the three former executives who worked side by side with him testified against him.

Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, said SBF directed them to commit crimes, including the looting of FTX and lying to lenders and investors about the companies’ finances.

NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on Thursday of defrauding customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record, a verdict that cemented the 31-year-old former billionaire’s fall from grace.

A 12-member jury in Manhattan federal court convicted him on all seven counts he faced after a monthlong trial in which prosecutors made the case that he stole $8 billion from the exchange’s customers out of sheer greed. The verdict came just shy of one year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a swift corporate meltdown that shocked financial markets and erased his estimated $26 billion personal fortune.

The jury reached the verdict after just over four hours of deliberations. Bankman-Fried stood and clasped his hands together as the verdict was read.

Bankman-Fried had pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy.

The conviction represented a victory for the U.S. Justice Department and Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who made rooting out corruption in financial markets one of his top priorities. (read more)

…”FTX cofounder Gary Wang, who was FTX’s chief technology officer, revealed in his testimony that Bankman-Fried directed him to insert code into FTX’s operations so that Alameda Research could make unlimited withdrawals from FTX and have a credit line up to $65 billion. Wang said the money came from customers.”… ~ Politico

Nov 3 2023

Sanctuary City Mayors from Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and Houston, Demand Federal Bailout


Posted originally on the CTH on November 2, 2023 | Sundance

The hubris here is actually quite stunning.  A group of Mayors from sanctuary cities are requesting that all taxpayers in the USA support them as they try to cope with the impact of mass illegal alien arrivals.  They created themselves as “sanctuary cities” for illegals, now they want everyone to pay for it.

[SOURCE]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York are pressing to meet with President Joe Biden about getting federal help in managing the surge of migrants they say are arriving in their cities with little to no coordination, support or resources from his administration.

The Democratic leaders say in a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday that while they appreciate Biden’s efforts so far, much more needs to be done to ease the burden on their cities.

Migrants are sleeping in police station foyers in Chicago. In New York, a cruise ship terminal was turned into a shelter. In Denver, the number of migrants arriving has increased tenfold and available space to shelter them has withered. With fewer available work authorizations, these migrants cannot find work that would allow them to get into proper housing. (read more)

How about, NO!

Nov 2 2023

US Treasury Secretary Unclear on the Concept of a “Deficit” Re-Posted Nov 2, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 


I have both good and bad news. The bad news is that the US government is continually spending with no end in sight. The proxy wars have eliminated even a level-headed discussion of anything akin to a real budget. In a move that angered Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (also good news) Republicans introduced legislation to reduce funding toward Biden’s IRS army through the Inflation Reduction Act. They still plan to spend billions of taxpayers’ money, but that money will now go toward Israel instead of hunting down those who fund the organization.

IRS.FootballField

A bit of luck for those who do not want to be harassed throughout the year by 87,000 new IRS agents for something trivial like selling something over $600. The proposal will redirect $14.3 billion in funds to Israel instead of doubling the IRS, angering Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who insists America has money for two wars and a standing IRS army. The news comes one week after Biden pledged $105 billion to fight the West’s war in the Middle East. Per usual, these aid packages drastically increase weekly and our elected officials are able to make these crucial decisions without approval from the people.

“We cannot let our national security be undermined in an attempt to weaken our efforts to modernize the IRS – efforts which reduce the deficit, improve customer service for Americans, and make sure that wealthy tax cheats pay what they owe,” Yellen posted to the social media platform, X.

I always question how this woman has a job. She insists Americans are happy with their economic situation, and called the US debt downgrade “arbitrary.” Above she is promoting the propaganda about inflation being transitory. Do not dare to mention the deficit when you continually support massive spending packages with hidden agendas. Yellen herself admitted that the Inflation Reduction Act was really a method to support climate change. “The Inflation Reduction Act is, at its core, about turning the climate crisis into an economic opportunity,” Yellen admitted.

US national debt spiked by $4.8 trillion since Biden took office, and yet he continues to pass multi-billion dollar spending packages that in no shape or form benefit Americans. It is safe to say that those in charge see the people, the Great Unwashed, as enemies of the state. Yellen wants to spend billions on harassing law-abiding Americans because she believes what you earn belongs to the government.

Nov 2 2023

Geopolitics and Antisemitism – Chinese Student Arrested in New York for Vile Death Threats Against Jewish Students


Posted originally on the CTH on November 1, 2023 | Sundance 

There are a myriad of geopolitical interests exploiting the Israeli war against Hamas terrorists.  The intelligence operation we noted in Dagestan, Russia, was one small element of a larger dynamic.  Here we dig into the geopolitical exploits of China and other interests.

Yesterday, a Chinese student at Cornell University in New York was arrested for posting vile death threats against Jewish students. Patrick Dai, age 21, a junior at the university, posted some of the most horrible threats against Jewish students threatening to kill, rape and conduct a mass shooting on the campus.  The overarching dynamic, amid many U.S. colleges, has been to support the Hamas terrorists – such is the leftist infiltration and indoctrination that has essentially been unchecked for the past several years.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Patrick Dai, age 21, a junior at Cornell University who is originally from Pittsford, New York, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.

[…] The complaint alleges that Dai posted threatening messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion site, including posts calling for the deaths of Jewish people and a post that said “gonna shoot up 104 west.” According to information provided by Cornell University Police and other public information, 104 West is a Cornell University dining hall that caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center, which provides residences for Cornell students. In another post, Dai allegedly threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish babies. In that same post, Dai threatened to “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews.” (read more)

Obviously, the context here is disturbing.  Dai is just one student, but the ideology represented is carried by many of the professors and university faculty throughout mainstream U.S. universities; albeit perhaps with a less direct use of violent verbiage to describe their mindset.  However, the Chinese social media platforms are a current hotbed for antisemitism and extreme expressed hatred for Jews.

The Diplomat (Asia-Pacific) – […] Hateful online content is a global scourge. The Chinese information space, however, is unique in that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tightly controls the messages circulating on social media platforms through both automated and manual tools, meaning the hate speech that remains uncensored reflects the regime’s decisions. In Freedom House’s newly released Freedom on the Net 2023 report, China was ranked as having the world’s worst environment for internet freedom – for the ninth straight year.

Amid the new round of conflict, Jin Canrong, a prominent international affairs professor with 2.7 million followers on Weibo, wrote, “Israel right now is crazed with killing, the U.N. can’t be of much use this time.”

“Hitler truly knew the Jews” was the most liked comment in response to Jin’s post.

Chinese social media platforms, which are quick to delete content that the government deems politically sensitive, have done little to restrict antisemitic content that clearly violates their community standards prohibiting hate speech or speech that might incite racial discrimination or violence.

Instead of condemning antisemitism, the Chinese government, through the state media, has only exploited the conflict to play up antisemitic tropes and spread disinformation. On October 10, in a program on “uncovering the Israel element of U.S. elections in history,” the state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) alleged that “Jews, who represent 3 percent of U.S. population, control 70 percent of its wealth.” Similarly, during an outbreak of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in May 2021, China Global Television Network (CGTN), the government’s primary foreign-language news channel, aired a program in English on Israel-U.S. relations, attributing the two countries’ close ties to the notion that “Jews dominate finance, media, and internet sectors” in the United States. (read more)

One cannot be intellectually honest and avoid noticing the overarching geopolitical dynamic that is exploiting the framework of the Israel vs Palestinian conflict.

China, as part of the BRICS economic alliance, is connected by self-interest to the government of Russia, Iran and elements within the Middle-East that were predominantly under the influence of U.S. political policy.  The relationship between China and Yemen is one example where the extremist Islamic sentiment aligns with the interest of Beijing.

President Obama and Hillary Clinton aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood in the formative phase of the Arab Spring.

As the consequences of the Obama, Clinton, Biden policy surfaced throughout the Middle East (Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria), the national leadership of the region were pushed into extremist turmoil.  Obama seemed to view this collateral damage as acceptable, despite his claims to the contrary.  The U.S. relationship with Qatar was one example of the aligned interests of the White House that looked favorably toward the Muslim Brotherhood.

A dynamic of turmoil always creates new alignments, and this became very visible when Egypt and then Saudi Arabia started to push back against Obama/Clinton U.S. policy.  When Obama aligned favorably with opening the big cat cages of Islamic extremism, the leaders of multiple Mideast nations, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, were quickly looking for an alternative, perhaps more stable, geopolitical alignment.

The opening created by Obama, Clinton and Biden’s short-sighted chaos, left room for China and Russia to expand the footprint of their pre-existing influence. Ultimately, those relationships have grown over the past several years, in combination with BRICS and the investments by Beijing for their own geopolitical interests.

Inside this dynamic, and directly as a result of U.S. policy as executed, Israel has been becoming increasingly more isolated.  The only thing that happened to change that dynamic was the election of Donald Trump and a new ‘peace view’ that began pulling all of the Arab nations together via the Abraham Accords.

President Trump was making great strides toward removing the chaos with a balanced approach that targeted ‘extremism‘ as the common enemy.  The Trump Doctrine was pragmatic, only targeting extremism and those who created chaos.  Thus, ISIS and other radical elements were confronted/eliminated, but good relations were developed amid reasonable minds.

With President Donald Trump’s policies supporting the absence of turmoil, things settled down, and violent extremism stopped.  Within this dynamic, Israel was more secure; the lack of violence created a blanket of stability. However, the team behind Joe Biden, essentially the same team behind Obama, quickly returned to the former ‘chaos as a tool of influence‘ policy.  Now we are seeing the consequences.

China along with most of the Arab nations support a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict.  Obama/Biden also support the two-state solution, and all of the expressed and hidden Biden policies are designed to paint Israel into a corner where the two-state option is their only option.  The result is an increasingly isolated Israel once again, and that reality fuels global antisemitism.

The Biden term presents a one-time disposable opportunity for the anti-Israel ideologues to advance rapidly.  We can be relatively certain that as Hamas looks out into the larger global world, they are very happy to see Russia, China, the United States, and other EU political leadership in alignment with their desire to eliminate the independent Jewish state.

WASHINGTON DC –  Joe Biden and top aides have discussed the likelihood that Benjamin Netanyahu’s political days are numbered — and the president has conveyed that sentiment to the Israeli prime minister in a recent conversation.

The topic of Netanyahu’s short political shelf life has come up in recent White House meetings involving Biden, according to two senior administration officials. That has included discussions that have taken place since Biden’s trip to Israel, where he met with Netanyahu.

Biden has gone so far as to suggest to Netanyahu that he should think about lessons he would share with his eventual successor, the two administration officials added.

A current U.S. official and a former U.S. official both confirmed that the administration believes Netanyahu has limited time left in office. The current official said the expectation internally was that the Israeli PM would likely last a matter of months, or at least until the early fighting phase of Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip was over, though all four officials noted the sheer unpredictability of Israeli politics.

Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv last month was one largely of support, but privately he also urged Netanyahu to proceed cautiously and not widen the war, according to the two senior administration officials. The president pushed the prime minister to prioritize a two-state solution and be mindful of the steps beyond an effort to decapitate Hamas, including the challenges of any sort of future occupation of Gaza.

At one point during the trip, Biden advised Netanyahu to consider the scenario he was leaving for his successor — an implicit suggestion that Netanyahu might not be in power for the duration of what will likely be a lengthy conflict. (read more)

Benjamin Netanyahu is in a very tenuous place.

Nov 2 2023

Senator JD Vance Vows to Block All DOJ Nominees While Biden Uses Weaponized Justice to Target Political Opposition


Posted originally on the CTH on November 1, 2023 | Sundance

More of this is needed.   Today, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) and Ohio Senator JD Vance (R) confronted each other in the upper chamber over DOJ nominees that Senator Vance refuses to advance with unanimous consent.

Durbin was furious at the blocks JD Vance was putting in front of the Joe Biden nominees for U.S. Attorney and criticized Vance for campaigning on “law and order” while blocking those DOJ nominees advanced by Durbin.  In response, Senator Vance delivered remarks promising to block every DOJ nomination as long as Joe Biden continues weaponizing Main Justice and the USAO nominations to target his political opposition.  WATCH [prompted to the Vance response]:

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JD Vance has some tenuous network affiliations in his background that give me a little pause; however, on the substance of this issue, he is righteous in this approach.

There has been little, if any, Republican push-back to the radical nature of the onslaught brought forth by Biden, DAG Lisa Monaco and AG Merrick Garland.  Factually the Lawfare tactics have increased in weaponized intensity throughout the Biden term in office.

The Republican House has the ability to block the funding mechanism, and the Republican minority in the Senate have the ability to block the nominees. Until now, we have seen little, if any, effort by either chamber to bring the Biden rogue elements to heel.  Perhaps this is the start.  Regardless, it is at least a step in the right direction.

This is a time of great consequence, deliberate choosing and decisions to be made.

History will long remember where each of the participants in our governmental bodies stand in these moments of crisis.

A based Senator JD Vance is making a good decision.