Tag Archives: progressives

Apr 3 2021

Ideological Follower of Louis Farrakhan Attacks White House, One Officer Killed – Capitol Hill Police Cannot Find Motive, Media Deflect Identity of Suspect


Posted originally on the conservative tree house April 2, 2021 | Sundance | 310 Comments

A follower of Louis Farrakhan named Noah Green attacked the White House and Capitol Complex earlier today killing one police officer and wounding another.  The suspect rammed his vehicle into a police barricade before exiting the vehicle with a knife and being shot by responding officers.

Had this been a white male suspect the manipulative narrative about the need for capitol hill security would have been the preferred narrative of the media.  However, with the race and ideological characteristics of the disturbed suspect now identified by independent sources, all useful pretense will be dropped and the story will disappear soon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A motorist rammed a vehicle into U.S. Capitol police on Friday and brandished a knife, killing one officer and injuring another and forcing the Capitol complex to lock down in an attack that police said did not immediately appear to be terrorism-related.

Police responded by firing on the suspect, who died.

Yogananda Pittman, acting chief of the United States Capitol Police, told a news conference that he drove into the officers then hit a barricade and got out of the car, lunging at them with a knife in his hand.

One officer was killed and the other was injured, she said.

“It does not appear to be terrorism-related but obviously we’ll continue to investigate,” said Robert Contee, acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington.  Police said the suspect was unknown to them, they had yet to determine what had motivated him, and they did not identify him.

“Clearly this was someone who was actively trying to just get at whoever or whatever – we just don’t know right now, so we have a responsibility to investigate that to get to the bottom of this. Whether the attack was at law enforcement, or whoever, we have a responsibility to get to the bottom of it and we’ll do that,” Contee said. (read more)

Apr 2 2021

Europe’s COVID Lost Decade


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union Re-Posted Apr 2, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

Europe faces a Covid Lost Decade economically inspired by Kalus Schwab and his World Economic Forum. As purely academics who never walk among the great unwashed, their view of the peons below is one of just looking upon the masses as a herd of sheep. They have no comprehension of the social and cultural upheaval they have unleashed upon the world. They have inspired the growing inequality since those who provide the physical labor cannot work remotely. The claim that they want to create a Marxist world with inequality eradicated is folly. All they are actually doing is accelerating the inequality, and they are clueless about how to help people find new employment in their “Green” new world order.

Those in power are deepening economic deprivation and one must ask, “Are they really this stupid? Or perhaps they are just diabolical and this is part of their idea of depopulating the world?” They have never understood Adam Smith and the invisible hand that states to create an economy it comes from the people — not above. Marx tried that and millions starved because bureaucrats knew nothing about farming — what to plant, how, or when. Fascists at least allowed the ownership of industry to be retained by the people. They simply overruled policies and regulated. Hence, Fascists did not wipe out millions of their own people because of incompetent bureaucrats, as was the case with communism.

Major changes to the way society functions have unfolded in the wake of this convenient pandemic and the deliberate destruction of the economy to end tourism and travel to reduce CO2. This is such a drastic departure in economic theory, and they fail to grasp that they are following the path of Marx, which will not end well for human society. They are incapable of understanding how the economy works. Instead, they are trying to make it conform to their vision by sheer force.

Apr 1 2021

Socialist Revolution On Target


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted Apr 1, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT:

When I hear Bill Gates state on video, that if other countries had “followed the procedures of Vietnam, New Zealand, and Australia, there would have been lesser deaths…”

it is obvious to me that what he really was saying is ‘if other countries had followed the POLITICAL MOVES of Vietnam, New Zealand, and Australia’ bla bla bla, etc, and bla.

With the information available on alt and social media it is also obvious to me, that those countries have gone full on Nazi/Stazi/Police state based upon zero actual medical reasons.

It doesn’t take any imagination to then hypothesize and extrapolate that the WHO, WEF, UN, Gates and other uber-wealthy people are the designers and movers of this takeover worldwide. Additionally the huge global corporations (with interlinking BODs) are going along with the scheme and doing what some conservative governments will not/cannot do.

This was all planned in advance, it’s got very little to do with an actual virus, but primarily for propaganda sake. The scheme covers politics, social conditioning, financial re-engineering, setting up an unaccountable soviet style polit bureau of world governance, CCP level technical population control, and adoption of a fully operational socialist/fascist systems.
– The mask will become the shot.
– Food shortages will become the normal, and hunger will begat compliance.
– Sporadic violence will be the catalyst for a general police state and then gun/2A removal.
– Political unrest and social chaos will seize any governments that attempt to object, and likely will usher in UN troops to oversee the chaos.

If a few years ago I would have imagined a successful worldwide scam to take control of the world would happen in 2020 – I may have called myself a little bit nuts or a great fiction writer!

But now…?

What really scares me is to extrapolate any further on the effects of what seems to planned, and even more, the success thus far.

Very big thank you for all you do and your writings!

G

REPLY: Never in my life have I ever witnessed such a political coup to take over the world and impose their vision of a socialistic, green environment. The last time something like this occurred on an international contagion basis was the Revolution of 1848. Our models forecast that we would see global civil unrest in 2020, and this was 172 years on schedule (2 x 8.6 – 17.2). The previous target was 1934, which was the Socialist revolution where FDR even confiscated gold in January 1934. However, the 1848 event was more of a contagion.

I have said many times that humans cannot forecast what they have never seen. I personally am shocked at the magnitude of this movement. Just watching the Democratic Convention makes me see that conducting business in the future will become impossible unless you are doing something they approve of.

People do not grasp the dangerous road we are heading down. Socialists cannot tolerate dissent nor will they tolerate opposition. Socialism requires TOTALITARIANISM to take hold. Just look at anyone who posts anything against this movement, from health to facts about the Obama Administration illegally trying to create Russia Gate. Facebook and YouTube immediately take them down. They are idiots, for they think they are helping their Democratic cause, but they will soon discover that Socialists will not tolerate free speech, and they too will end up suppressed. They are fools, for they have NEVER picked up a history book — ever!

The Socialist Revolutionary movement began in Italy with a local revolution in Sicily in January 1848. The movement caught on as a natural contagion spreading to France by February.  This revolution became a contagion rather than organized by a single group as we have today. The movement extended throughout the whole of Europe, with the exception of Russia, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries. In France, by June 26, 1848, the revolution resulted in more than 10,000 people were either killed, which included 1,500 troops. It was successful in creating the Second Republic.

The Socialist Revolution of 1848 took hold and spread worldwide, as we are witnessing again today under the pretense of this coronavirus. The 1848 Socialist Revolution engulfed the following countries, among many others, which even included Canada:

Italian states
France
German states
Denmark
Schleswig
Habsburg Monarchy
Hungary
Galicia
Sweden
Switzerland
Greater Poland
Romanian Principalities
Belgium
Ireland
Spain
South America

There was rising tension in the United States, but this was offset by the California Gold Rush after the discovery in 1848. Many people just picked up and left. Nevertheless, there was also a political polarization, with Democrats and reformers in favor of socialism. However, they were deeply concerned about the violence involved in Europe. The opposition came from conservative elements, especially Whigs, southern slaveholders, orthodox Calvinists, and Catholics. The most interesting aspect was that thousands of Germans fled the Socialists in Europe and migrated to the United States, later becoming Republicans, which also helped suppress the Socialists.

The 1848 Socialist Revolution sent people fleeing Europe to the United States for safety. Today, a takeover by the Socialists in the United States will lead to yet another migration between states, but there is no new land for people to flee. It is more likely to result in nations splitting and civil wars.

Apr 1 2021

Food Crisis of 2021 in Europe


Armstrong Economics Blog/Agriculture Re-Posted Apr 1, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

We are staring in the face of a serious food crisis in Europe as food prices rise continuously, and with further draconian COVID measures within the EU, they are bringing the food supply chains to a standstill. Our models have been warned that this 8.6-year cyclical wave into 2024 will be one of commodity inflation due to SHORTAGES rather than speculative demand. All the indications that the world is heading for a serious food price crisis are in play. The Food Price Index (FFPI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) averaged 107.5 points in December 2020, an increase of 2.3 points (2.2%) compared to November 2020, which represents an increase for the seventh consecutive month.

With the exception of sugar, all sub-indices of the FFPI recorded slight gains in December, with the sub-index for vegetable oil again rising the most, followed by that for dairy products, meat, and cereals. For 2020 as a whole, the FFPI averaged 97.9 points, a three-year high, 2.9 points (3.1%) higher than in 2019, but still well below its 2011 high of 131.9 points. It is also interesting that the FFPI in 2002 was still 53.1 points. It only increased significantly from the financial crisis of 2007/08, only to then level off in the 90-point range. Since May 2020 it has increased by 18%.

Our models project that the upward trend in the FFPI will intensify going into 2024. With the coronavirus mutating, as we warned ALL viruses do, as such, we have these various strains from Africa, Brazil, UK, and even California, are inspiring politicians to use this as an opportunity to restrict the population even further. These corona measures have extended to the food supply chains, disrupting them just as we see in electronics. For example, the German Fruit Trade Association sees the supply of fruit and vegetables from abroad is at a substantial risk whereby imports are suspended. The reason is the tightening of the corona entry regulation by the federal government. The tightening of the lockdown in Europe is beginning to restrict the supply chains reducing the food supply

Apr 1 2021

Collectibles Going Crazy?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Collectibles Re-Posted Apr 1, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

This June, Sotheby’s will be auctioning off three of the greatest rarities in the stamp and coin field. The 1933 Double Eagle $20 gold coin, the unique British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta, and the unique Inverted Jenny 1918 Plate Block. This is truly an incredible offering from a single collector to have captured three of the rarest and most unique collectibles in history.

It is a bit unusual that a unique stamp from a less than the mainstream region has emerged as the rarest and sole-surviving example of the British Guiana One-Cent Magenta from 1856. It was last sold in 2014 at Sotheby’s for $9.48 million. While it was rediscovered by a 12-year-old schoolboy living in South America in 1873, perhaps due to fantastic marketing, it has emerged as one of the most important stamps in famous collections that have ever assembled. In 1873 L. Vernon Vaughan, a 12-year-old schoolboy living with his family in British Guiana found the stamp among a group of family papers bearing many British Guiana issues. The young philatelist would later sell the stamp for several shillings to another local collector. The British Guiana then entered the UK in 1878, and shortly after, it was purchased in Paris by Count Philippe la Renotière von Ferrary who many considered to be perhaps the greatest stamp collector in history. Then following the war, France seized Ferrary’s collection, which had been donated to the Postmuseum in Berlin, as part of war reparations due from Germany following World War I. The stamp was then sold in 1922 at auction when it was purchased by Arthur Hind, a textile magnate from New York, for its first auction-record price of $35,000. The stamp changed hands moving from the collections of the Australian engineer Frederick T. Small; then a consortium headed by Irwin Weinberg; then by John du Pont of the famous chemical company. Du Pont paid $935,000 for the stamp in a 1980 auction, before it was last sold at auction to Weitzman for the record-setting price of $9.48 million.

Interestingly, a tradition emerged where previous owners of the British Guiana signed the back of the stamp. Weitzman added his own personal mark to the reverse of the stamp inscribing his initials “SW” along with a line drawing of a stiletto shoe as a nod to his legacy in fashion.

This 1933 Double Eagle ($20 gold coin) is the only example that may be legally owned by an individual. It was the coin acquired by King Farouk of Egypt. Stuart Weitzman purchased the coin at a Sotheby’s/Stack’s auction in 2002 for a world record price of US$7.59 million, nearly doubling the previous record. The Director of the United States Mint signed a Certificate of Monetization that, in return for twenty dollars, authorized the issuance of this single example.

In August 2005, the US Mint announced the recovery of ten additional stolen 1933 double eagle gold coins from the family of Philadelphia jeweler/coin dealer Israel Switt, who was the illicit coin dealer identified by the Secret Service as a party to the theft who admitted selling the first nine double eagles that were recovered. Israel Switt had many contacts and friends within the Philadelphia Mint. As the story goes, the Secret Service found that only one man, George McCann, had access to the coins at the time and served prison time for similar embezzlement in 1940. Israel Switt somehow obtained the stolen 1933 double eagles. One theory is that McCann swapped the previous year’s Double Eagles for the 1933 specimens prior to melting, thereby making sure the count was correct. The US mint began striking Double Eagles on March 15, 1933. Roosevelt’s executive order to ban gold was not finalized until April 5. Therefore, on March 6, 1933, the Secretary of the Treasury ordered the Director of the Mint to pay gold only under a license issued by the Secretary, and the United States Mint cashier’s daily statements do not reflect that any 1933 Double Eagles were paid out.

In September 2004, the claimed owner, Joan Switt Langbord, heir to Israel Swift, tried to sell the 10 coins and they had to be surrendered to the Secret Service. In July 2005, the coins were authenticated by the United States Mint after working with the Smithsonian Institution, as being genuine 1933 double eagles. Joan Switt Langbord claimed to have found them in a box and she went to court to have them returned. On October 28, 2010, US court ruled and the issue went to trial in July 2011. On July 20, 2011, after a ten-day trial, a jury ruled unanimously in favor of the United States government and Lanford appealed. At first, the Court of Appeals overruled the jury, but then it went En Banc and the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the government. The Langbords appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on April 17th, 2017 denied certiorari.

Hetty Green’s son, Edward Howland Robinson Green (1868-1936), was not so frugal and spent $3  million on coins and stamps. He was an avid collector and bought the famous sheet of 100 inverted airmail stamps in 1918, paying $20,000. The last time this Plate Block appeared on the market was 16 years ago when it sold at auction for $2.97 million.

Meanwhile, the classic Ferraris from the 1980s have nearly doubled in price over the past year.

Mar 31 2021

The Best form of Government


Armstrong Blog/Gov’t Incompetence Re-Post ed Mar 31, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

One person wrote, “Have you ever realized that you are the first true psychohistorian ever, as in Asimov’s Foundation?” Many others are writing in and asking if I could elaborate on my recent statement, “So just start planning now for the next real Great Reset which will be the overthrow of the republic.”

I must confess, I never read Asimov’s Foundation. From reading the cliff notes, I gather it was based upon the fall of Rome. Psychohistory seems to describe an amalgam of psychology, history, and related social sciences and the humanities all combined. Quite honestly, history repeats as I have said many times because the passions of man never change. A mother still cries for her son who dies in battle today as she did in ancient times. To me, in order to understand history you must connect the dots, and to do so that requires an understanding of the thinking process of the time WITHOUT imposing your interpretation based upon what is now.

I have given the example of the city of Philadelphia they named because in Greek it meant “brotherly love,” so the Quakers interpreted that in a Christian sense that yes, I love my brother. The true interpretation at that time in ancient Greece meant incest. They called Ptolemy II Pheladelphos because he married his sister. Context is everything, just as it was wrong to interpret the ancient Egyptians as Pagans or the Greeks saying they worshiped many gods, which was not true. The Egyptians believed in one god they called Rha being the sun, because it gave life. The others represented an individual sin or trait but were never seen as gods of creators.

The Sistine Chapel has as its centerpiece Michelangelo’s “God Creating Adam.” All of our representations of God are symbolic. Nobody actually knows the face of God. The Greeks also never saw their many gods as creators. They were really seen as Titans who were mischievous to put it politely. When you died, you were judged, but not by Zeus, but by the three fates. So many ancient statues are beheaded because the ignorant early Christians thought every statue was a God.

Psychohistory examines the “why” of history, which in my mind involved the intention and actual behavior of why people and governments act the way they do. Effectively, what I have discovered is that when confronted with a similar set of events, those in power will always respond in the same manner.

Republics are the worst form of government because they always collapse into oligarchies. Even a dictatorship is better, for they are not prone to such corruption. Republics allow people to be elected, but there is no way to prevent them from doing things that are against the very people who elected them. When the bribes are too tempting, they simply can be bought, and that is always their fate. Unfortunately, the Founding Fathers believed Cicero which was the fake news of the day because he was an Optimate and part of the oligarchy. Hence, he distorted the account of Caesar for when he crossed the Rubicon. In reality, the Senate fled, and the people cheered Caesar as their savior from a debt crisis. (see: Anatomy of a Debt Crisis).

The only form of government that deserves a try in the face of the Democrats insisting on mail-in ballots is a direct democracy. The people must vote on every bill proposed, and there can be no adding of nonsense that has nothing to do with the bill. The Social Security Act was 16 pages. Obamacare was at least 33,000 pages. Nobody reads that type of legislation, and they make it that long to hide bombshells.

Mar 31 2021

Who Raises Taxes During a Pandemic Already Creating Economic Turmoil? JoeBama, That’s Who


Posted originally on the conservative tree house March 30, 2021 | Sundance | 243 Comments

Think about the logical insanity of this position for a moment….  According to the Biden administration the economy is in trouble, people are struggling, and congress needs to spend trillions to bail out state, local and federal governments along with sending income subsidies to all Americans as the economic crisis around COVID continues.

Due to policies on energy, regulation and the COVID virus, simultaneously food prices are going higher, fuel prices are up 30 percent, overall energy prices are rising, transportation costs increasing and the inflationary impact on the middle-class is eating up their limited paychecks.

AT THIS EXACT MOMENT the same administration is now proposing a tax increase.

THINK ABOUT THE LACK OF LOGIC HERE.

(VIA AXIOS) […] The biggest-ticket item would raise the corporate rate from 21% to 28%. That’s worth $730 billion over 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center.  The other three would:

  • Impose a global minimum tax on profits from foreign subsidiaries: $550 billion.
  • Tax capital gains as regular income for the wealthy and tax unrealized capital gains at death: $370 billion.
  • Return the top individual rate for those making more than $400,000 to the pre-Trump rate of 39.6%: $110 billion.

[..]  Democrats close to the White House don’t expect Biden to fight as hard for other expected proposals, including one that could raise some $740 billion by imposing new Social Security taxes on the wealthy.

  • His campaign plan to impose a 28% minimum rate on the wealthy, which would raise $220 billion, is unlikely to cross the finish line.
  • And making it harder for small businesses to claim deductions, which would bring in $140 billion, will likely encounter serious roadblocks.
  • Changing the ways estates are taxed, which would raise $220 billion, may not make it into the final legislation. (read more)