Tag Archives: Neo-Conservatives

Sep 19 2017

USTR Robert Lighthizer Outlines U.S. Trade Priorities – Trump Administration Willing to Confront WTO Multinationals…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on September 19, 2017 by

In about a week Round #3 of NAFTA renegotiations begin in Canada.  Dispute settlement and country of origin rules are widely anticipated to be key points of disagreement.

For those who follow trade and economics closely, the latest Trump trade policy outline from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is buckets of good news. President Trump, Commerce Secretary Ross and USTR Lighthizer willing to confront the World Trade Organization (WTO), the epicenter of multinational economics and globalism.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The WTO dispute settlement system is “deficient” and has often ruled in favor of free trade that overlooks details of a trade agreement, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said on Monday.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lighthizer, a trade lawyer, made clear that the administration was poised to push for major changes to the global trade system during upcoming meetings of the Geneva-based trade body. WTO member countries will meet in Buenos Aires on Dec 10.

U.S. President Donald Trump called the World Trade Organization a “disaster” during his presidential campaign and his administration has sought to unilaterally go after countries like China that it thinks is breaking trade rules.

“There are a number of issues on which there is pretty broad agreement that the WTO dispute settlement understanding is deficient,” said Lighthizer, highlighting problems with WTO staffing and transparency.

“The United States sees numerous examples where the dispute settlement process over the years has really diminished what we’ve bargained for or imposed obligations that we do not believe we agree to,” he said.

He added: “There have been a lot of cases in the trade remedies laws where in my opinion the decisions are really indefensible.”

Since its launch in 1995 the WTO has become the main venue for resolving trade disputes between countries. The Trump administration has begun to launch trade investigations under statutes seldom used in the WTO era, including a “Section 301” probe of China’s intellectual property practices.

Lighthizer did not threaten a U.S. withdrawal from the WTO, but emphasized his own dissatisfaction with some of its rulings.

In a letter in March, the Trump administration made clear that U.S. law supersedes WTO rules — a view that could be invoked should Congress adopt policies that are later challenged by other member countries as violating WTO rules.

“We’ve had tax laws struck down, we’ve had other provisions where the WTO has taken…the decision they were going to strike down something they thought shouldn’t happen, rather than looking at the agreement as a contract,” he said.

Lighthizer emphasized that the Trump administration was reviewing all trade agreements and would seek to renegotiate those that did not benefit U.S. workers and businesses.

“I believe, and I think the president believes, that we must be proactive,” he said, “We must demand reciprocity in home and international markets. So expect change, expect new approaches and expect action.” (link)

Sep 19 2017

China a Different Breed of Government


Armstrong Economics Blog/China

Re-Posted Sep 19, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Why do you say China will replace the West when their government is still the communist party?

ANSWER: China is no more communist than Donald Trump. There is a cycle of life through which we all pass including governments. China revolted against communism. The government may retain that name, but they are no communist in that sense of the word.

I have explained before that Russian communism was concerned about what you thought where as China adopted the tall poppy policy. If Stalin thought you would be a threat to his power you were killed. In China, you could think what you wanted provided you did not step up publicly.

China is not at the same place in the cycle of life as we see in Europe and America. Therefore, China is on the rise and will replace the West which is burdened with socialism they cannot possibly afford.  China learned its lessons and is moving forward despite the name of the government party.

If things got worse in the West, I would apply to China for political asylums.

Sep 19 2017

Judge Suspended for 30 days for Wearing a Trump Hat


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada

Re-Posted Sep 19, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

 

A judge in Ontario, Canada was suspended for 30-day without pay for wearing a Trump hat – Make America Great Again. This certain raises the question would he have suffered the same penalty had he worn a Hillary hat?

Sep 17 2017

Merkel Encountering Rising Violent Protests


Armstrong Economics Blog/Germany

RE-Posted Sep 17, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Violent protest are starting to rise in Germany against Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. Keep in mind that Merkel has never won 51% of the popular vote. She rules Europe solely by a coalition. DWN reports that she was confronted with shouts of  “Hau ab!”, whistles and “hatred”. They are appearing with poster reading “Merkel hatsten Deutschland”.  It is unusual for German to engage in such civil unrest.

When Martin Schulz  became the leader of the SPD, it rallied sharply to 31%, which was just one point behind the CDU/CSU at 32% back in March 2017. As people I know in the EU Parliament told me, wait until the Germans get to know Schultz. That threshold seems to have arrived.

CDU/CSU now polls at a staggering 16-point lead with 37% of the popular vote, compared to just 21% for the SNP. Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are trailing well behind the main parties at 11%, down from 15% back in January 2017.  However, the AfD is polling well above the five per cent margin required to win seats in Parliament. The party rose to prominence two years ago at the height of the European migrant crisis and the wave of populism that came partly as a result of the influx of refugees into Germany. Therefore, we are looking at the first time since WWII that a far right party even get one seat in Parliament.

The DAX is clearly targeting the week going into the election but the Euro appears to be ignoring the German election.

Chancellor Angela Merkel rules Europe by a grand coalition government in the German Bundestag relying on the FDP. While the CDU will win the majority of seats, it will still not be enough to rule alone. Note that the FDP has taken a sharp drop and the AfD has risen sharply. Therefore, Merkel’s grand coalition is not yet a shoe-in. There will have to be some backroom manipulation to keep the status quo.

Germany has a notoriously very complex voting system for electing its Bundestag, or lower house. The system seeks to combine the benefits of both direct and proportional representation while guarding against the electoral mistakes of German history, which saw political fragmentation during the Weimar Republic between WWI and WWII. While the turnout for the last two election fell sharply to just 70%, this election is far more heated and should see a sharp increase – which is not good for Merkel’s Grand Coalition.

A person casts their vote for two candidates, The German ballot is divided into two columns. The first column is black and the second column in blue, each representing a direct vote for a candidate and then for a political party. Worst still, Germans while on the surface you may be casing a vote with two choices – one for a district representative and one for a party, there is more to it than just that.
The first vote or “Erststimme” for the district representative, follows a first-past-the-post system like elections in the United States. The voter selects his or her favorite candidate to represent their district in the parliament. Every candidate who wins one of Germany’s 299 constituencies – which are divided up per 250,000 inhabitants – is guaranteed a seat.

To fill the other half of the 598 seats in Germany’s Bundestag, voters then cast their ballots in the second vote or “Zweitstimme.” This vote goes to a political party instead of a single candidate. It also determines the percentage each political party gets in the Bundestag.

Now comes the complexity. The ballot also allows voters to split their vote among parties!. So you can split your vote casting one for their local CDU candidate in the first vote, but casting their ballot for the Liberal Democrat FDP in the second vote. This is how Merkel maintains the Grand Coalition.

Therefore, we clearly have the risk of the AfD wining seats for the first time. So while Merkel will most likely still be Chancellor, the mix is going to cause some backroom deals.

Sep 17 2017

Farage at AfD in Germany


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Sep 17, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Nigel Farage Speech at AfD w/Q&A – 8th September 2017

Sep 16 2017

Horsepucky News Courtesy of Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal…


RE-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on September 16, 2017 by

This stuff is beyond ridiculous at this point.  Remember, there are trillions of dollars at stake and all of the vested financial interests, writ large, have positioned themselves to do anything possible to draw down the support for President Trump’s ‘America-First’ agenda.

Don’t kid yourselves or sell your intelligence short; it ain’t about Donald Trump per se’, the opposition is against the policies of President Donald Trump.  Trump’s ‘America-First’ policies are adverse to the interests of multinational corporations and the multinational financial institutions who underwrite those corporations. Yes, this includes Rupert Murdoch, aka “Mr. Wall Street”, the proprietor of the Wall Street Journal and all around self-indulgent billionaire.

The latest approach is for the Wall Street Journal to write an article about Trump reconsidering pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement based on, wait for it…. the conversations with an “EU official”. Un huh.   “International Climate Officials” they say. Ohhh… Journalistic standards now dispatched and not even an inquiry to the White House prior to publication.  Go figure. {{{eyeroll}}}

Seriously folks, if we want to help President Trump and the agenda we voted for, then inoculate yourself -and your family- from this ridiculous corporate media ‘gaslighting’.

It’s lower than fake news, it’s horse-pucky news.

If President Trump was flinching, if president Trump was even positioned toward the place where flinching begins, I swear to you CTH would be all over it like bluebottle flies on a flattened possum.  He ain’t, and we’re not.

COMMENT – “I’m not an educated person. I never graduated high school. I got my GED because the Army wouldn’t let me join without either a diploma or a GED. Went to basic training at Ft. Benning when I was 17. Did a tour in Iraq when I was 18 and 19. It was not a pleasant experience. After my tour, I got discharged for what I will euphemistically call “medical reasons”, if you catch my drift.

Hard times followed. I was basically homeless for a while. Lived in a friend’s van for about a year. I felt like that guy in that “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” movie when he said, “Things just seem to get worse and worse and nobody knows what to do about it”. I felt like the Forgotten Man. I was hopeless. My spirit was crushed. I had pretty much given up.

That all changed for me in June of 2015. I saw a man and his beautiful wife come down the escalator. I saw a man who, like me, was as mad as hell. And he really really wasn’t going to take it anymore. I saw a man who stood up fearlessly against everything that was wrong in the world. I saw a man who gave up a life of luxury to be slandered and threatened every day. I saw a man who was a cheerleader, not for the lobbyists and donors, but for people like me. I thank God for sending this man. Things were getting worse and worse alright. But here was a man who knew what to do about it.

Day one I was hooked. I said, “This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for. This is my guy. He’s fighting for me, so I’m fighting for him. I’m all in.” And since that day I have never seen that man waver. He has never let me down. And I hope I never let him down.

This movement has been an incredible journey. Everyday is a wild ride and I’ve loved every minute of it. And there’s so much more to come. I look forward to every day now. I wake up with a smile on my face every day because Donald J. Trump is my President.

Sorry to get so personal, but for me this is personal. I’ve never met the man, but Donald J. Trump is more than just my President. He’s my friend.

Call me a fanboy, call me a cheerleader, call me whatever you want. You bet I’m a cheerleader for my President, my friend. He lifted my spirit in a way I didn’t think possible. He gave me hope. He inspires me everyday. I intend to be his biggest cheerleader. It’s the least I can do. Frankly, I don’t know where I’d be without him.

I don’t feel like the Forgotten Man anymore. I have a friend. And he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m proud of my President. I’m proud of my friend. I stand with him 100%. (link)

Sep 16 2017

North Korea – The Crazy Boast Nobody Takes Seriously Anymore


Armstrong Economics Blog/North Korea

Re-Posted Sep 16, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Gold has now declined with the constant threats from North Korea. The lastest missile was fired over Japan and reached an altitude of about 770km (478 miles), travelling 3,700km past the northernmost island of Hokkaido before landing in the sea, according to South Korea’s military. The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting, and unanimously condemned the missile launch as “highly provocative”but did not add new sanctions which do not seem to do anything anyway.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong-un said the test proved that the entire US was within striking range, yet experts warn that his missiles cannot accurately hit targets. However, this missile was launched at night perhaps to put on a show for their TV. Yet, this is the first missile fired from Jagang province, which now indicates a previously-unknown launch site is also operational.

There really is no indication that Kim Jong-un has any intention of actually starting a war – hence gold fatigue. This night launch clearly shows he is putting on a show for the people as a sign of strength. We will review the models on North Korea moving forward since he acted precisely on the last two target weeks.

Sep 16 2017

Trump Tower Meeting & Half Truths – Another Untold Story


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Sep 16, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Bloomberg News is reporting that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into a client of the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, and Paul Manafort. The attorney  Veselnitskaya also had a client with  and undisclosed a U.S. criminal investigation into possible Russian Money laundering, which began back in 2013 but went nowhere. The statute of limitations has run out by now, which is 5 years. The twist is how they say she met with Trump’s people and thus somehow she met for all her clients – not just one.

Hermitage_Capital_Management

The Money laundering was involving Hermitage Capital, which Edmond Safra was the main share holder. That was the company Safra and his Republic National Bank was trying to get me to invest in but I declined.

 

This involved the attempted takeover of Russia, Yeltsin was shown how to steal $7 billion from the IMF loans and wired the money to Geneva. Republic National Bank steered the wire through Bank of NY and then ran to the Feds to report Bank of NY did a $7 billion Money laundering. The Feds rushed in and quickly found themselves trapped. I had a meeting with the prosecutors on that whole mess.

They were played for fools. I even told them it was the minister of the Russian Interior who was blocking them from getting information because it led to Yeltsin. That why the case never really went anywhere but went quietly into the sunset with nobody going to jail.

Safra-Berezovsky

 

I believe it was Safra with co-conspirators who were blackmailing Yeltsin to put Bereszovsky in as President of Russia and Yeltsin would step down. When Yeltsin realized it was a set up, he turned to Putin and that is how Putin became the head of Russia. Putin seized Hermitage Capital, which I believe was really a front to try to takeover Russia and the core of their Russian scheme to get the gold, oil, and diamonds. Safra’s connection with the US government have left a dark cloud over how far the US government was involved in interfering in the Russian election of 2000.

 

When you look at the plea of Bank of NY, the cover-up becomes obvious.  The two Bank of NY people were given house arrest. The $7 billion Money laundering they said was the ransom for a Russian business man and the judge never asked any name.

William Felix Browder seems to have obtained a political favor from Congress to try to get his money back by passing the Magnitsky Act. 

 

Now Bloomberg is spinning this loosely to try to implicate Trump based upon the fact that one of  Veselnitskaya’s clients is prejudiced by the Magnitsky Act. This is really getting very low and once again it is a half-truth to keep the fake news flowing.

Sep 15 2017

Supreme Court Backs Trump on Immigration


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law

Re-Posted Sep 15, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

 

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, you were correct. The Supreme Court supported Trump on the travel ban.

REPLY: The entire issue was political. The six countries were targeted by Obama to begin with. The President has absolute power over that issue and it was a joke that any lower court would dare to intervene. The 4th Circuit proved just how political courts can be in ruling against Trump they had the audacity to write that his travel ban “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.”

The 4th Circuit is notoriously against civil rights and will never overturn a conviction based upon constitutional rights. Even the former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s conviction was upheld by the 4th Circuit denying that he did not receive a fair trial. Nobody overturns any criminal case in the 4th circuit. So for them to rule against Trump saying his order was religious discrimination was stunning when they are the least compassionate court standing along side of New York.

It’s very simple. Anyone with actual contacts and a green card cannot be banned. That was common sense. The entire issue was at first highlighted by Obama and Trump sought to put in only a 90 day ban pending review. Ask any immigration attorney – Obama deported far more people than any other president in history. That is never put in the press because it does not fit their agenda. Obama was even called in legal circles “deporter in chief”  it was that bad. Obama’s record against immigrants stands as the WORST in modern history, yet nobody says a word about it

Sep 10 2017

Contempt & the Rule of Law – You Have ZERO Rights!!!!!


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law

Re-Posted Sep 10, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The majority of Federal judges are the most ruthless people you will ever encounter. They have ZERO respect for human rights and on this point I seriously disagree with Trump and his undying support for the law enforcement divisions in this country. If you have not been exposed to the Judicial System, you are clueless.

The US government relies on the contempt power claimed by judges asserting right as if they were pre-revolution judges of the kind. The prosecutors are keeping a former police officer in prison until he dies because he claims not to be able to remember the code to decrypt two hard drives under investigation.

Francis Rawls, the former sergeant in the Philadelphia police department, has spent nearly two years in prison for contempt of court after refusing to provide the passcode for two hard drives the Feds took from his home back in 2015 during an investigation into child abuse images.

Rawls claims he can’t remember the passcode for the two drives, encrypted using Apple’s FileVault system. The government says that he’s stalling because he fears that the contents could see him in serious trouble with his former employers. That’s speculation, but what happened to the 5th Amendment since the mere possession of a file is a crime.

Sure, we may have no sympathy for this particular issue. However, the precedent is set and they can do this to you for taxes. They government can claim you have an account on Bangladesh and you say you do not. The judge then throws you in prison for life until you tell them the location of something that may not even exist. They need not prove anything any more, they rely on the judge claiming he has inherent power to effectively kill you. What next – off with your head?