Tag Archives: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Removing Attorney Client Privilege

Apr 5 2023

Finland Officially Joins NATO Creating the Largest NATO Land Border Directly Attached to Russia


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance 

CONTEXT:  There is no currently visible outcome where the Build Back Better collective western global alliance energy policy can succeed without escalating to a direct NATO war against Russia.

The economic outcomes of the BBB agenda are currently being felt via western, energy driven, supply side inflation.  The monetary countermeasures to that inflationary damage, raising central bank interest rates, creates instability in finance and subsequent banking collapse.

Simultaneous to the ‘western’ central bank intervention, the BRICS alliance members are withdrawing from dollar dependency as a trade mechanism.  When all those unneeded dollars return home, the dollar value collapses – and all western economies attached to the dollar as a trade currency collapse along with it.

The Western bankers need a war to generate the industrial economic activity that uses the returning dollars.  Unless and until the dollar is digitized, there is no currently visible outcome where the Build Back Better agenda is not dependent on an expanded war with Russia.

(Via Axios) – Finland became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday — a once-unthinkable step that significantly changes the security landscape in Europe.

Why it matters: Finland’s membership more than doubles NATO’s borders with Russia and formally ends Helsinki’s decades of official nonalignment. It’s also a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin who, in launching the Russian invasion of Ukraine, vowed to block the alliance’s eastward expansion. It’s the alliance’s ninth enlargement since its founding in 1949.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sent a message to Moscow while officially welcoming Finland into the alliance: “President Putin wanted to slam NATO’s door shut. Today we showed the world that he failed, that aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite: more NATO. And our door remains firmly open.”

Finland President Sauli Niinistö said it was a “great day for Finland” but also an important day for the security and the stability of the alliance.

[…] Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier Tuesday called Finland’s NATO accession an “encroachment on Russia’s security” that would require Russia to take unspecified countermeasures.

Putin had previously said that Russia had no “territorial differences” with Finland or Sweden, so it was “up to them” whether they joined — but Russia would respond to any deployments of NATO military units or infrastructure to their territories.

The Russian embassy in Sweden issued an even more pointed warning last week, saying on Facebook that any “new members of the enemy block will become a legitimate target” of “Russia’s retaliatory measures,” including those of military nature. (read more)

Apr 4 2023

The End of the Petrodollar?


Armstrong Economics Blog/World Trade Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Another oil deal has been initiated without the use of the dollar. The India Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that their latest trade deal with Malaysia would be settled in Indian rupees. “This initiative by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aimed at facilitating the growth of global trade and to support the interests of the global trading community in Indian Rupees (INR),” the formal statement noted.

Indian has benefitted from the West’s distraction from the Ukraine war. The RBI is allowing 18 counties to open Vostro accounts and has been attracting new deals in trade and manufacturing. New Delhi and Moscow have strengthened their relationship as India is not imposing sanctions.  The Indian Commerce Ministry said its five-year plan is to “encourage” the use of the rupee on an international scale, while also planning to expand exports $2 trillion by 2030. Trading in rupees will also allow India to save on conversion spreads and limit the country’s dependence on the volatile dollar.

The BRICs treaty (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) remains strong and oil giants Saudi Arabia and Iran would like to join the partnership. The Saudis stated at the beginning of the year that they were open to settling trade in currencies other than the USD. “There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” Al-Jadaan said during Davos. As we have seen in recent months, Saudi Arabia is aligning itself with China over the US.

The Vietnam war and other government missteps made it impossible for the US to maintain the fixed price of gold established under Bretton Woods. The USD relative to gold fell as the supply of dollars grew, pushing Nixon to abandon the Bretton Woods system entirely. US government debt was rapidly rising as confidence in the dollar plummeted. America needed an enticing way to sell its debt, and that was when Nixon convinced Saudi Arabia, the largest crude exporter, to purchase Treasurys in dollars in exchange for military aid. Hence the “petrodollar” was born. The creation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) only further enhanced the dollar’s dominance in energy purchases.

Here we are yet again amid another war and a high budget deficit. The Saudis no longer need protection from America, and siding with Western interests would be a deterrent to its international deals with countries in the BRICs alliance and some in the OPEC+. Despite the green agenda, the world cannot operate without oil. The major oil exporters are now aligning and cutting out the US as their middleman.

Apr 4 2023

Would You Welcome a Refugee into Your Home? 


Armstrong Economics Blog/Immigration Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The refugee crisis has become a problem across the European Union. According to the UN Refugee Agency, over 72,000 people applied for asylum in the UK alone, which is double the number of applicants from 2019. However, these are simply the documented cases. Germany received the highest number of applicants among the EU at 127,730, followed by France at 96,510. In fact, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain took in 70% of all first-time applicants in the European Union. Using the UK as an example, refugees are not permitted to work and fully rely on state support. So how does a nation financially support a mass influx of refugees?

The UK provides asylum seekers with free housing and £40.85 per person, per week. That is barely enough to survive, especially with the current rate of inflation, but these people cannot legally work. They often do not speak the language and have trouble assimilating into a vastly different culture. The government is relying on taxpaying citizens to foot the bill, and some recognize that the UK simply does not have the resources to provide welfare to hundreds of thousands of incoming refugees each year.

Social justice warriors are up in arms about this situation. They believe that nations should simply open their borders and everyone can live in a land of rainbows and sunshine with unlimited resources. The video above is a great example of how these social justice warriors are promoting an agenda that they simply do not understand.

Not one protestor questioned in this video agreed to house a refugee. “Are you willing to adopt a refugee and take them into your home?” the reporter asked. Excuses range from not having the space to living in a rental. At one point, he tells a protester, “Oh, right, that’s someone else’s problem.” These people are clueless and do not understand the economic repercussions of open borders.

Apr 3 2023

The US Begins to Arm Taiwan


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Apr 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The evidence of the coming global war is overwhelming. In a move that will prompt a direct response from China, the US announced that it would deliver 400 Javelin man-portable anti-tank systems to Taiwan. The delivery is strategically planned to begin during the second half of this year into 2024. Reports claim that this deal was created under Trump, of course, but the timing could not be more on point for the international conflict our computers have been indicating.

These advanced weapons can penetrate armor 800 millimeters thick and come equipped with fire-and-forget technology. Ukraine has used these American-made missiles to repel troops and they are extremely effective. This is not intended to prevent China from invading. It is in preparation for when they do invade.

China will never relinquish Taiwan. It would be considered a great shame for the nation and an embarrassment on an international scale. They will do everything possible to keep Taiwan under the One China policy. China is taking notes on how Russia is operating in Ukraine. Russia had little time to prepare, whereas China has had 75 years. China is the second-largest economy in the world and will surpass the United States. The US is no longer a feared nation as it has lost every war since the second world war. The woke ideology prominent in American politics makes our nation appear weaker than ever before. America became the financial capital of the world after the second world war; China will secure that title after the third.

Apr 3 2023

Has Bakhmut Fallen? Zelensky the Real War Criminal


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Apr 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

There are yet unconfirmed reports that the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced late on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023. that his forces have raised the Russian flag over the administration building of the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine. There is no question that Bakhmut will fall. Zelensky has sent over 100,000 men to their death there desperate to keep the money flowing into Ukraine. It is a sad state of affairs when a high-heel dancing idiot orders generals to fight to the death all for his pride and money. The fall of Bakhmut is simply inevitable and the West’s propaganda that Russia would be defeated and that they were weak was all wishful thinking of the Neocons who can think of nothing but war.

Zelensky should be charged with treason and bribery. He was elected promising to end the war and broker peace. Once he got in, he sold his soul o the Neocons and filled his pockets to live forever comfortably. Some Ukrainians are wondering if he did this to punish Ukraine for its persecution of Jews.

He hid being a Jew before the election. Even made jokes about persecuting the Jews. This has a lot of people very confused since he suddenly became Jewish after the election. He married a non-Jew and had his children baptized. He jokes about the confiscation of property of Russians and Jews.

By the time he is finished, 500,000+ Ukrainian will have died because of him and his greed! He could swap his high heels for an army helmet and always appear in an army T-Shirt to get money. That did not give him the experience to win a war. Pray for all the Ukrainians he sent to their death.

CNN wrote:

The Kremlin saw Zelensky’s predecessor, outgoing President Petro Poroshenko, as representing the “party of war,” and the election results in Ukraine were greeted by official Russia with what could be described as cautious hope for a reboot in relations.

“There are chances to improve Ukraine’s interaction with our country,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Facebook. “What is needed for this? Honesty. And we need a pragmatic and responsible approach.”

The day before Putin launched his special operation, Zelensky announced to the world he would seek nuclear weapons to force Putin’s hand. This was all choreographed by the Neocons who always want war. They will never stop.

Apr 3 2023

Inditement Backlash


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Apr 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Trump said from the beginning that his arrest would blow up in Biden’s face. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would not honor any request to extradite the former president and called the situation “un-American.” “The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” DeSantis tweeted. News outlets, even those on the left, are bashing the inditement. The Washington Post released an article calling it “a poor test case for prosecuting a former president.” American voters seem to agree.

You know you screwed up when even George Soros wants no part of the scandal. The leftist billionaire came out to declare that he is not associated with Alvin Bragg in any way, despite being a donor to the Color of Change PAC that supported Bragg’s election. Both DeSantis and Trump accused Soros of supporting Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. “As for Alvin Bragg, as a matter of fact I did not contribute to his campaign and I don’t know him,” Soros told the media.

Trump stated: “I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Even the Democrats are now admitting that this is a witch hunt. Rasmussen Reports found that the public was split 49-47 in favor of charging the former president. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called the charges “an outrageous abuse of power.” He also called Braggs a “radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump.” Rasmussen also found that 46% of Democrats agree that what is happening is “an outrageous abuse of power,” and 55% of Independent voters also agreed. A poll by Breitbart News found that 59% of poll respondents see the charges as “politically motivated,” and 53% said it was “stretching a weak case.”

Could these charges actually cause the public to feel sympathy for Donald Trump? Republicans are standing strong behind him. Those in the middle are leaning to the right on this situation. The left wanted Trump gone, but not in such an overtly corrupt manner. Beating the charges would be a win for Trump and a nod to his promise to fight the establishment. This has become additional free publicity for Trump as it is hard to deny that the US government is already attempting to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

Apr 3 2023

Europe Wants War At Any Cost


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Apr 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Federal Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren of the Netherlands has handed the Netherlands Army to be subordinated by Germany. He put out the standard propaganda that he did so because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. They ignore the fact that it has been the West who started the civil war and propped up this fake leader in high-heels to send waves of Ukrainians to their death. All because the Western monetary system is collapsing and they desperately need war especially after keeping interest rates NEGATIVE since 2014 wiping out banks and pension funds throughout Europe. The “complete integration of all three Dutch army brigades into Bundeswehr structures” is a “milestone” they have declared.

On top of that von der Leyan will most likely take over NATO. She sold out all Europeans to Pfizer buying billions of doses of their vaccine using an executive order denying the people or parliament to even vote. They will never be used. What did she get in return? She will be a puppet for the highest bidder in the Neocon world. How such people can even look at themselves in the mirror has always astonished me.

NATO will now stage the largest military exercise in history by June. It will most likely create some excuse to wage war against Russia. They need this war desperately to restart a new monetary system that they have been planning with Bretton Woods II. There is no remorse for those who die in battle. They do not care about the families driven from their homes. This is all in the political game of kicking the can down the road and always blaming someone else.

Apr 3 2023

What Survives the Collapse of a Government’s Currency?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Gold Re-Posted Apr 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

I know a lot of goldbugs hate my guts because I do not constantly only say BUY and I point out that NOT only gold and silver survive the collapse of a currency.

I once had a German client who was a multimillionaire back in the 1970s. When the German government collapsed, he was buying all the old coins that were base metals for scrap. They were nickel and copper and some aluminum.  It was presumed that they were all then worthless.

The new government could issue the paper money, but they lacked the metal to strike a whole new coinage. They then announced that the old coinage would retain a value as fractions of the new currency. He became a multimillionaire overnight. I use to enjoy his stories of the transition since he lived through it there in Germany.

His stories of living through such monetary reforms helped me understand the mechanism behind such events. As I have explained, even in times of geopolitical stress, that is the period when we find the greatest number of hoards of even ancient coins.

Just like the stock market, gold has risen and fallen in value. The propaganda about Bitcoin was the same nonsense – the hedge against central banks and a “store of value” when it is simply no different from anything else that trades – it moves up and down. There is NO STORE OF VALUE in human history. Everything rises and falls. That was what Karl Marx was trying to stop – the Business Cycle of booms and busts.

Sorry, I am not a Marxist. There is a cycle to everything and that means that there is a TIME to BUY and a TIME to SELL. The stock brokers in the Great Depression told people to hold. The market always comes back. Others told them to average in. It took 25 years for the stock market to reach the old 1929 high (it exceed the 1929 high in 1954 on the Dow).

I buy gold but in coin form. The one consistent form of value historically has is generally been food if you go that far down the rabbit hole. However, a loaf of bread from 1930 will not do you much good today despite the fact it was just 12 cents back then. Now that was an investment if it would survive 100 years.

Precious Metals will do well, but I would prefer them in coin form. You may know what they are, but it is the other person who has to know before it has any value. That average person must be able to identify that it is real. That will be your problem. You won’t get change for a cup of coffee with a kilo bar of gold.

I have suggested the pre-1965 silver coins for small transactions. But real estate, art, ancient coins, antique cars, rare coins, and the stock market will all have some value being redenominated into whatever new currency emerges and that will depend on the government. The German stock market rose with hyperinflation and was re-denominated in the new currency in 1925. Like most other markets, it rallied and peaked going into 1929. So I’m sorry if the truth hurts. But the stock market will NOT go to ZERO and only gold will rise if the dollar crashes. There is no such period in history that hints at such nonsense. This is propaganda made up by those trying to sell gold and will say anything just like a used car salesman.

No matter what the tangible object might be,

it will rise and fall with the business cycle. It always has, and it always will.

Apr 2 2023

Col Macgregor on the Neocons


Armstrong Economics Blog/Neocons Re-Posted Apr 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Apr 2 2023

FIAT – What is it Really!


Armstrong Economics Blog/Foreign Exchange Re-Posted Apr 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Governments create their own sovereign fiat currency, to facilitate trade, among other reasons. So counterfeit is punishable, in some countries, by death, & at minimum, incarceration. Currency is supposed to be sacrosanct, created under the most exacting conditions. So what to do when your own gov’t engages in what is essentially officially endorsed counterfeit? I mean, the “money” has become almost meaningless, unless you’re on the receiving end. For non-insiders like me…buy PM.

HS

ANSWER: I have trouble with this misinformation always about the only money is gold and paper dollars are worthless fiats, which have rebuilt the world many times over since 1861 and the introduction of the paper dollar.

The propaganda of the goldbugs which has led so many to lose so much has been this nonsense that gold is the hedge against inflation. When the gold coin was money during the 19th century, it rose and fell in purchasing power no different than any paper currency. These people sell fiction like a used car salesman just to sell their product.  It honestly does not matter what money is. It always is just a derivative of barter. I give you this for that. You will accept paper money because you know that others will accept it from you. A woman tried to spend a $20 gold coin at Walmart and they refused to accept it because they did not know what it was. She then took them to the back and exchanged them for $20 bills.

Try going to Starbucks and spending a $20 gold coin and asking for change. Unless the salesperson knows what it is, they will refuse.MONEY has always been nothing more than a belief system. That’s all!

FIAT simply means by arbitrary decree. Just because a currency is gold or even silver, does NOT make its value intrinsic. Governments have debased their coinage and reduced the weight declaring its value shall be whatever they say. I have written about how Japan did that and eventually, the people refused to accept Japanese coins and they stopped minting them for 600 years.

The Romans reduced the weight of their silver coinage from 6.5 grams to 4 grams and only because they defeated the Greeks, the Roman monetary system became standard.

During the American Revolution, people accepted the Continental Currency. Money has always simply been predicated upon what people will accept.

Gold has no value whatsoever unless the other person also believes it has value. Gold or silver has no value intrinsically any more than a paper dollar or a bag of rice unless there is an unspoken agreement among people that it is a valuable medium of exchange.

This is the truth. All else is propaganda. Money has been many things throughout thousands of years from seashells to cattle and even slave girls.

StPatrick-tokens

Saint Patrick in the 5th Century AD upon his arrival in Ireland, found that MONEY was expressed in human slave girls. He wrote in his Confession, “I think that I have given away to them no less than the price of fifteen humans.” This passage shows something very important. First, MONEY is not defined as the Medium of Exchange exclusively. It also serves the purpose of a Unit of Account. This becomes the true function of MONEY even more so than what it is. MONEY is a language of value.

FIAT is when the government dictates what something is and that will be Digital Central Bank Currency. But if everyone accepts it, then it becomes the medium of exchange.