Tag Archives: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Removing Attorney Client Privilege

Jan 12 2023

Russian Black Fleet Heads to Sea


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Jan 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Russian Navy ships and submarines have suddenly left their base at Novorossiysk, in the Black Sea, en-masse. This is highly unusual and many fear that this is a change in tactics. The Western Press keeps trying to paint Russia as losing the war so, quite frankly, they can get more people to volunteer to join the military if they think they are on the winning side.  There is no question that the US and Russia are waging the most intense confrontation since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Our model on that confrontation aligned with our major war model showing that 2014 was the end of that period and the beginning of this new period as we head into World War III.

The hardliners are not happy in Russia and President Vladimir Putin is being pushed into a corner. Either he gets more aggressive, or they could be a coup. The hardliners are using nuclear threats and other escalations in what they know is now really a proxy war of the USA and NATO against Russia using Ukraine as the pawn they are willing to sacrifice.

Washington is wielding its own array of pressures to paint Putin as a loser. The good news is that, so far, both strategies have been fairly carefully calibrated. The bad news is that America and Russia are still on a collision course because the end goal is actually to conquer Russia.

Sweden has now instituted a draft. Poland is building its army of up to 250,000 men. All of this is based on the expectation that Ukraine can reduce the Russian army and that will make it a cakewalk to invade and drive tanks from Poland right into Moscow.

Sweden will boost military spending by around 40% over the next five years from 2016 and double the numbers conscripted into the armed forces as it looks to beef up its defence amid growing tensions with Russia post-2014. Meanwhile, France, Italy, Latvia and Lithuania scrapped conscription as they concluded that large-scale defence was no longer necessary before 2014, but now they have all reversed policies.

The Joe Biden administration pledged to defend “every inch” of Nato territory. That has complicated matters for Putin to interfere with Ukraine’s supply lines through Romania and Poland. The Western Press keeps pitching the same propaganda that Putin is spiralling toward defeat in Ukraine and may not survive that outcome politically. Yet I know that the hardliners are there and if Putin does not become more aggressive, they may indeed replace him by May and then holy hell will break loose.

Putin is warning Washington as well as Kyiv that attacks on those territories are tantamount to attacks on Russia itself. The Biden administration has opted not to listen to anything from Putin and only seeks war instructing Zelensky to sacrifice his own people and to reject any peace talks whatsoever. If the US hands Zelensky long-range missiles, he will use them to attack mainland Russia and that will begin World War III.

EVERY President throughout my entire life has always sought peace. The Biden Administration and NATO only talk about pushing war. NEVER have I ever witnessed such irresponsible leadership for this is really about Climate Change.

Jan 12 2023

The Real-World


Armstrong Economics Blog/Forecasts Re-Posted Jan 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty,

Your point about foreign money buying US assets and then adding back money to domestic circulation is quite profound. The inflows from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe are enormous. These monies had to come from somewhere. They were a result of globalization, accumulating dollar assets offshore, or having to convert their currencies into US dollar assets. This was never taught in any of my economics, trade, or finance classes back in the 1970’s. Then, the US economy was still a manufacturing-based one and the concept of money taught then was still the Fed and how it conducted OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS. Today, the Fed competes with so many forces it can’t possibly do the job it was designed to do, which was to make the money supply elastic across the US…forget about international money flows, which today are so large, their vast team of financial experts can’t possibly measure much less track them.

The money supply and what is taught in schools are the problem. They have these terms for it: M1, M2, and M3…when in fact in a debt-based economy, money is debt, not paper. What gives it utility is the ability to facilitate exchange, But at its core, the key is confidence in the country that issues it and the citizens who produce the wealth that backs it.  The politicians in the US have worked to destroy the currency by consistently abusing it, by spending money without limit, and by convincing people, there is no cost in doing so as long as the US fights every war and defends open markets.

I agree with you that the US dollar will be the last man standing. Because every other country’s currency is simply inferior and the countries that issue it don’t produce enough wealth to consistently make it competitive in world markets.

MS

REPLY: I know. People want to argue with me based on what they read in school or what the press reports. I have been taught by my clients. Being called in to solve problems around the world, I have been fortunate to see how capital really moves. I have met with many central banks, and the IMF, testify before Congress on these subjects, and even attended an OPEC meeting and was called into China for the Asian Currency Crisis. I have been called in by heads of state and summoned by Presidential Commission investigating Crashes. I was even asked if I would teach at one of the most prestigious universities in the world and when I asked why I was told that they “know what they teach doesn’t work.”

Our major clients know this. It takes perhaps someone with experience like you to grasp the reality of the world economy and how it truly functions. We are plagued by Marxist ideas for every economist then thinks that their job is to manipulate society to create the perfect world. Here is Larry Summers saying you cannot predict the economy and if you could, then everyone would follow it and make it so. This is the problem with academics. It is all theory and no real-world experience. This is why they have accused me of manipulating the world because if the forecast is correct, then it’s because I influenced it with our clients. That is why the bankers told the CFTC I had to be silenced. They wanted to manipulate the world, and when they lost, it was always my fault.

Jan 11 2023

The War on Populism


Glenn Greenwald Streamed on: Jan 10, 7:00 pm EST

Elitist Corporate Media Attacks Populism, Briahna Joy Gray on Dem v. GOP Dissent | SYSTEM UPDATE #19

Jan 11 2023

Gold v Dollar


Armstrong Economics Blog/Gold Re-Posted Jan 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION #1:  Marty,
Thanks for your interesting post about gold and China.
Which do you think will perform better this year, gold or the dollar?
Thank you.

DM

QUESTION #2: Marty, obviously the motive behind China buying gold is critical. I tried to explain that to a goldbug. It went in one ear and out the other.  Russia and China have separate motives from the rest of the world. Correct?

Lee

ANSWER: Absolutely. Only a goldbug thinks motives are irrelevant as long as gold rises. Short-covering is not buying buy squaring off positions. Then you have retail buying and institutional buying. I was helping the Japanese circumvent the US trade sanction threats by purchasing gold on COMEX and then selling it back in London. It did not matter what you bought. The trade statistics only measure money flows – not goods. So, I was using gold to reduce the trade surplus of Japan buying gold in NYC (as it it was a product) and shipping it out to London. The buying was irrelevant to the trend. Just because someone buys gold does not make them bullish at all.

What you need to understand is that China is not buying gold because they are bullish on gold. They cannot hold US or EU debt and therefore you will continue to see them liquidating Western sovereign assets. That will not be the case for others inside the West. They will remain holding debt that pays interest where gold does not. Those who have been brainwashed about fiat and gold and inflation are so entrenched in their thinking, they will never see that the difference in motive has nothing to do with gold at all, but geopolitical events as we head into 2032. So they keep looking at balance sheets at the Fed and inflation and miss the real trend altogether.

We have private interests that do NOT have the same motives as China or Russia. Those are high net-worth individuals and institutions who will prefer the more liquid assets of equities and short-term debt like T-Bills. We have NOT reached the point where there is a total collapse in the faith of the dollar or the US government as of yet. Keep in mind that 50% of Americans still believe in Biden somehow and are consumed with their hate of Trump which prevents them from seeing the real trend.

Society is being so dumbed-down by the media that we are sleepwalking into WWIII and cheering it at the same time. They think war is a video game. We bomb and kill people elsewhere and it never affects us at home.

The dollar is not finished. It is the most hated currency perhaps in history. But that is also because people have been manipulated into thinking that money is fiat and keep preaching the days of returning to some sort of gold standard. The problem with that theory is it demands fiscal responsibility and you will NEVER sell that idea to politicians. They cannot survive without bribing people for votes. That means they MUST end Democracy and that is the main objective of Schwab and the WEF.

The backing of the dollar has NOTHING to do with commodities. If that were the case, Japan and Germany should never have risen to the top tier in the world economy. I am NOT an academic. I have worked on every continent and actually visited more central banks than probably any analyst ever. What I have seen is how things work, not theory. That is why some people hate my guts. The TRUE wealth of every nation is its people and their productive ability. The more leftist the government, the worse the economic growth and the lower the standard of living. That is the power behind the dollar and it has NOTHING to do even with the quantity because 70% of paper dollars reside outside the USA.

Remember the Money Plane. Skids of $100 bills were being sent to Russia every week to satisfy the demand. When the new $100 bill took place, anyone flying internationally saw videos on planes telling them that the old $100 bills were still valid and were NOT canceled as they do in Europe.

Perhaps by 2028, you will see the dollar fade away into the sunset. But for now! These insane world leaders are pushing for war. Sweden has just announced a military draft. Europe is not going to survive this one.

Jan 11 2023

Hoards in History


Armstrong Economics Blog/Hoards Re-Posted Jan 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: I find it fascinating how you bring much more detail to life in your work. I have read your latest book Plot to Seize Russia. I knew many of those events took place but never the background. What an excellent job. You have to get this out in paperback for the world to see.

My question is about hoards of ancient coins. What was the biggest hoard ever discovered?

PH

REPLY: The First Edition is sold out. We are rushing the Second Edition to our publisher and it will be on a less expensive paper to try to bring down the cost. It will then be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc. Probably the most famous was the Boscorelli Hoard.

The biggest hoard of Roman gold coins ever discovered was the Hoxne Hoard is the largest cache of late Roman gold found anywhere in the Roman Empire. It was discovered by a metal detectorist in Hoxne in Suffolk, England, in the east of England in 1992 containing 14,865 late-4th and early-5th century AD Roman gold, silver, and bronze coins. There were also 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewelry items. The hoard amounts to a total of 7.7lb of gold and 52.4 lb of silver. He reported his discovery immediately and the cache was professionally excavated by archaeologists and conserved soon afterward so the vital context of the objects and their condition were preserved. The coins were the source to date the hoard to the early 5th century AD in the aftermath of the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. Hence, the political chaos inspired the owner to stash his fortunes. Obviously, he did not survive.

Perhaps one of the most famous discoveries from Pompeii is known as the Boscoreale Treasure. This discovery came to light in 1895, when the treasure was uncovered among volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. In 1895, excavations at a Roman villa at Boscoreale on the slopes of Vesuvius unearthed a remarkable hoard of coins, 109 items of silverware, and over 1,000 gold aurei, the latest of which dates to 78 AD with many pieces dating back decades prior, such as the gold aureus of Nero (54-68 AD). The villa that held the coins lay undisturbed until 1876, yet the coin hoard lay undiscovered for almost another 30 years. The original owner hid the treasure in a wine tank prior to the eruption, so it was not immediately discovered.

Unfortunately, there was never a formal study of the Boscoreale coins prior to being dispersed into the market. Consequently, we do not know the full extent of the find. Nevertheless, the coins are easily identifiable for a distinctive feature of this hoard from Boscoreale is their deep red toning, and the term “Boscoreale” is now used in auction catalogs to describe similar discoloration on any Roman gold. The coinage of Boscoreale does tend to be well preserved.

Boscoreale Cups

The Boscoreale treasure included a remarkable set of tableware reflecting the quality of Roman silverwork in the 1st century AD. The decoration on these two cups illustrates a most curious theme. There are Epicurean maxims (engraved in dots) and the skeletons of poets and Greek philosophers, representing an invitation to enjoy the present for death comes to us all.

These two silver cups pictured here, are famous for their strange decoration. A Latin inscription on the base of one of the cups gives their weight and the name of their owner, Gavia.

The ring of skeletons depicted on these two cups has similar and complementary decorations depicting tragic and comic poets, as well as famous Greek philosophers, beneath a garland of roses. Greek inscriptions engraved in dots form captions and are accompanied by Epicurean maxims such as, “Enjoy life while you can, for tomorrow is uncertain.” Clotho, one of the Fates, looks on as Menander, Euripides, Archilochus, Monimus the Cynic, Demetrius of Phalera, Sophocles, and Moschion provide a caustic and ironic illustration of the fragility and vanity of the human condition. But the main message of the cups’ decoration is that life should be enjoyed to the fullest. Zeno and Epicurus, the founders of the Stoic and Epicurean philosophies in the 4th century BC, confront each other before two mating dogs — a detail of some significance, as it represents the triumph of Epicureanism.

Silver and gold coins from ancient times have survived, as well as bronze. Silver can be affected by the sea and at times when it is debased. Bronze requires certain conditions to survive in good form. So if you intend to bury your gold and silver in the backyard, keep in mind that humanity has been doing this in times of trouble since before recorded history.

Jan 10 2023

Brazil Election Fraud


Armstrong Economics Blog/South America Re-Posted Jan 10, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The riots in Brazil over the rigging of the election are on point. You cannot allow a razor-thin pretend majority to completely go against the opposite and inflict a leftist agenda. This is the abuse of our election process of a worldwide basis. Governments no long represent ALL the people, but one group violently against another. This same process is undermining both the United States, Canada as well as Europe. This leftist agenda is destroying our civilization and this is right on schedule – 34 years from the collapse of communism. It is now our turn for this abuse of government to divide the people and the nation and ONLY will lead to civil war.

Bolsonaro 2019 WEC & Why He Had to be Removed as President

Bolsonaro was targeted by the WEF and their consortium. The Brazilian elections were rigged. They had to remove Bolsonaro at all costs and now we will witness the price for those corrupt elections. The violence is likely to escalate into March.

Jan 10 2023

What’s Going on with Gold?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Gold Re-Posted Jan 10, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The goldbugs are cheering that there has been a central bank buying of gold. They think somehow that this is because they are bullish on gold. What seems to be going over their heads is what I warned before – when China starts to sell US debt, war is coming.  I have made it very clear that the precursor to war is always capital flows. That will be on steroids this year.

My clients taught me how capital and war move. At conferences, I stated that we were advising the Universal Bank of Lebanon. They found a ledger in the basement where someone wrote down the price of the Lebanese pound every day into the 19th century. They asked if we could build a model. I said sure! Here is a chart from back then. Our model warned that their currency would drop dramatically in 8 days. I thought there was something wrong with the data. Needless to say, I formed the client what the computer said and I commented that something had to be wrong. Very calmly, they asked what currency would be best. I said the Swiss franc. 8 days later the civil war began. The computer was correct. Then the same thing happened with the Iraq-Iran war.

By 1998, I understood the model’s ability to forecast war. I have never created a model to do that. It figured it out all on its lonesome. I stood up in June 1998 in our London WEC and warned that Russia would collapse in about 30 days. The London Financial Times reported that forecast and that became the collapse of the Russian debt market and Long-Term Capital Management debacle.

I have warned that if China was preparing to invade Taiwan, then they would start to sell off all US government debt. They would not risk owning US government bonds and watch Biden freeze it all and then claim it will be used to rebuild Taiwan as they are doing to Russia. So China began selling off US debt at the end of 2021. They have been buying gold because they cannot hold US or EU debt in time of war. It is as simple as that. The gold is simply neutrality, for it also does not pay interest. – So much for the inflation nonsense.

Jan 9 2023

Zelensky’s Holy War – Seizing Russian Churches


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jan 9, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty, I just read that Ukraine seized control of a Russian Orthodox Church that has been there for a century. You were correct. Zelensky has also made this a holy war. The Ukrainian people should rise up against this guy. He is killing them all for hatred.

SH

REPLY. I have had staff on both sides in Ukraine. I have been well aware of the hatred and animosity that I do not see will ever be resolved. This is like the battle between the Shite v Sunni in Islam or the Catholic v Protestants in Christianity. Zelensky has shut down free speech and has seized control of the main cathedral and monastery in Kyiv which has always been Russian. It has always been affiliated with the Russian Orthodox patriarchate and allowed its Ukrainian rival group to use it for Orthodox Christmas services. The cathedral is the oldest Orthodox church in Kharkiv. This was constructed in the Baroque style at the expense of the community in 1771-1777  long before Ukraine was even an idea. The old church was destroyed and dated from the middle of the 17th century.

This is no different from the French King seizing the Vatican and moving it to France at Avignon. Zelensky outright hates Russians and has even called on NATO to NUKE Moscow in a sneak attack. Zelensky said a nuclear attack on Russia is “needed so that [the Russians] know what awaits them if they use nuclear weapons” during an event with the Australian think tank the Lowy Institute. “Not the other way around, waiting for Russia’s nuclear strikes and then saying, ‘Oh, you’ve done that, then get this.’”

This is the guy we are to send any missiles to? He is consumed with hatred and is the most dangerous head of state perhaps surpassing even Stalin and Kruschev.

Jan 9 2023

Stirring the Pot For War


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 9, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Many people have written in and asked why have I been unable to convince governments to avoid war. Quite frankly, they think they can win and more importantly, they need this because the entire socialistic system is collapsing. They rely on people buying their bonds year after year with no intention of paying anything back. This is just our time to collapse the same as communism collapsed in 1989 in China and Russia. We have run our course and the clock is running out of time. This is the 34th year since 1989. Socialism will collapse. It has no other choice here in 2023.

I have received videos from Ukrainian soldiers who are threatening to go after Zelensky. I was not given permission to post them so I do not want to get anyone in trouble. They are dying in far greater numbers than the rigged press is reporting and they are freezing.

Strategically, the US is attempting to create the Asian version of NATO aligning with Japan and the Philippines to rely on their soldiers to fight China. Meanwhile, in China, there is absolutely no question that they are preparing to take Taiwan and I believe this was accelerated by the Biden Administration (1) abandoning the one-China policy maintained since Nixon and allowing Pelosi to fly to Taiwan just ahead of the elections in China which was an absolute brain dead stunt. Consequently, China is gearing up for military action to take control of Taiwan because the Biden Administration has actually called their bluff. President Xi Jinping secured a historic third term last year and has made it clear he plans to retake Taiwan. Pay attention in May.

Meanwhile, with respect to North Korea, we would have to take into account their 1.2 million-man Korean People’s Army, which is organized into nineteen corps-sized units, including nine infantry corps, four mechanized corps, one armored corps, one artillery corps, the Pyongyang Defense Command, Missile Guidance Bureau and Light Infantry Instruction Guidance Bureau. More than half of these forces, particularly the mechanized, armor, and artillery forces are located near the DMZ, making an early cross-border assault unattractive. Kim and Putin have come to an agreement and will support each other. On the 72-year anniversary of the Koren War when they prevailed against the United States, Kim condemned “aggression moves” by Washington and Seoul, vowing to take revenge at a time of rising tension on the Korean Peninsula. Here too, it appears that Kim is preparing for war against at least the South and possibly expanding into Japan – a hated enemy.

The Middle East is heating up with Iran preparing for war against Saudi Arabia. This has prompted even Israel and Saudi Arabia to consider a joint defense agreement. Meanwhile, Iran and Russia have come together to also form an alliance. We may also expect that Syria will join on the side of Russia in the Middle East.

Looking at Iran just from the 1979 confrontation taking American hostages, the turning points for the last three waves, which are always the most intense, lined up with the 2014 turn on the Global War Model. The next wave was November 3rd, 2022 and here we see widespread civil unrest. In fact, the United Nations called it a critical situation on November 22nd, 2022.

The world is dumbfounded as to why in the hell we have world leader cheering war on every continent. I put forth a solution, some did not like it, but there is no other way out of this other than Schwab’s “Great Reset” which is really all about defaulting on all the national debts, the end of socialism, and the push for a one world government to end democracy so government retains power. Under my solution, the government would relinquish power. They did not like that. Schwab’s way leaves it necessary to create World War III, reduce the population escapes the pension liabilities, and start over with a new Bretton Woods II.

In 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in calling for better regulation of global financial markets.

“We urgently need what you might call the ‘new Bretton Woods,’ so that we can restore confidence in the system while dealing with the areas that have been exposed in recent weeks.”

I posted this video 5 years ago. It has only gotten worse.