The Great De-Dollarization


Armstrong Economics Blog/USD $ Re-Posted Apr 23, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

All we hear is the same claims that the dollar is dead and it will be totally worthless any day now. Over the last few weeks, all we hear from the majority now is that the dollar is finished. Virtually every page you turn or site you visit claims the death of the dollar. They are calling this the de-dollarization of the world economy and that the future of the US dollar as well as the American empire itself is now collapsing. The general claim is that the group of economically-aligned nations known collectively as BRICS is a major threat to the greenback. That was the same story we heard about the Euro back in 1997.

As their scenario goes, the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa] have moved to form an anti-dollar colation and Saudi Arabia is considering jumping on board. They insist that once that happens, the “petrodollar” will die and cease to be a reserve currency.

This is then followed by the forecast that the economy will suffer and that any bounce in exports will be short-lived simply because the dollar will be dead for the long term. Of course, this has been the favorite forecast that they keep putting out since Bretton Woods collapsed. They were wrong back then for the dollar rose between 1972 and 1976 against the British pound, with the collapse of Bretton Woods. To try to explain why the dollar did not collapse, that is when they claimed that the dollar was backed now by oil rather than gold. That was just an excuse as always to cover up their wrong forecast.

They sold that story to Newsweek and now the dollar rally was because of oil which replace gold. Suddenly the dollar became de facto backed by oil. They needed an explanation to explain why all the old theories were wrong. They sold this theory and it made the front cover of Newsweek. Everyone said YES! That must be the reason. OPEC priced oil in dollars! Naturally, everything was priced in dollars because, under the fixed exchange rate of Bretton Woods, everything from wheat and corn to copper and gold was all priced in dollars.

Now they are saying the American empire is threatened by the potential commercial real estate collapse and the BRICS anti-dollar venture. So they are forecasting a great depression-style crash is possible in the not-too-distant future. They spin this to forecast the end of the America Empire. The London FT, always anti-American/Pro WEF, reports that the dollar as a reserve currency has declined from  73% in 2001 to around 55% by 2021. Yet the FT did state an obvious fact:

“But if you are a reserve-rich central bank elsewhere that isn’t going to be a lot of comfort. Moreover, would you really feel more comfortable in, say, the renminbi? Even if it was fully convertible and liquid, would you honestly feel more sure that Beijing will behave lawfully than DC? The dollar still looks like the proverbial least dirty shirt in the closet.”

COVID actually has played a major role in shifting the world economy. In 2020, the US economy was 24.75% of the world’s GDP. By the start of 2022, it had fallen marginally to 24.15%. What these dollar-forecasting jockeys do not understand, is that if they were correct and the dollar collapsed, then the very BRICS would collapse even further. Economically speaking, when the United States gets a head cold, the rest of the world catches ammonia. You can’t have it both ways. The strength of the dollar is not gold or oil, it is the American consumer.

The risk to the entire world is runaway inflation thanks to Biden pouring untold amounts of money into the black hole known as Ukraine. The Neocons, who control Biden, are planning to launch a war against Russia and China before 2024. This will only continue to accelerate inflation. That reduces the spending power of the American consumer and in the process, the US economic growth declines in real terms and with it, the rest of the world plunges into recession.

While Macron has figured it out that the Neocons are in charge of US foreign policy and he is telling Europe to stop being the puppet of the USA, that all sounds nice but Europe is marching into war with Russia. NATO is firmly in control of the American Neocons and they need war or face losing power. With Trump in the lead, they must stop him at all costs for he is anti-war, would haul the Neocons out by the necks, and defund NATO, as well as stop the climate change agenda.

The US dollar in the global economy has been supported by the size and strength of the US consumer-based economy. Its stability and openness to trade and capital flows without restrictions and it has never been canceled, are the major foundation of the dollar in addition to strong property rights and the rule of law. That is why Russians and Chinese buy US property for they are secure in their ownership of US property which cannot always be guaranteed outside the US.

Consequently, the depth and liquidity of US financial markets remain unmatched. For institutions parking billions, the United States represents a large supply of extremely safe dollar-denominated assets. Are they really going to switch to China or buy debt from Brazil?  Not a single institutional client will take that bait.

China has been divesting of dollar reserves because it KNOWS that the American Neocons want war. You do not fund your adversary who intends to wage war against you. China cannot shift reserve assets to Europe or Japan. They have been buying gold because it is geopolitically neutral territory. They are NOT buying gold as an investor thinking it will rally. That is irrelevant. If gold drops 25%, that does not translate into them becoming a seller.

The dollar in international reserves stood at 60+% at the start of 2022 against the US share of GDP at 24.25%. This comparison belittles the argument that the dollar is finished. Eventually, the US will lose the wars it is starting and the dollar will be replaced perhaps as soon as 2028. The IMF is already licking its lips and rubbing its hands together eager to get control of the reserve currency. But they too will collapse. We have a Directional Change next year and a Panic Cycle in 2025. So buckle up.!

Remember one thing, even with the debasement and collapse of the Roman Denarius between 260AD and 268AD, it still took 224 years for Rome to completely collapse. When war breaks out, capital flight will still be to the dollar. It will not be to public assets, but private. The United States is still supporting the entire world economy. The BRICS need the US consumer to keep their economies functioning. All this talk of the dollar being finished is really nonsense. That day will come, but when the US consumer no longer buys.

Remember 1997? The Euro was going to dethrone the dollar. They claimed the new EU will be a bigger economy than the US. The problem was, they lacked a consumer economy, and low taxes, and they routinely canceled their currency to force people to pay taxes. It is always the same story over and over again.

The Contagion of War


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Apr 23, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: You have suggested that we will end up at war with China, Russia, North Korea, and even Iran simultaneously. How does Socrates conclude such an event that perhaps never happened in the past?

ER

ANSWER: Your assumption that such a thing has never happened is not correct. Periods of war of this nature unfold like a contagion of the flu. The English Civil War (1642-1652) which ended with the beheading of the King in 1649 was instigated using religion as the rallying cry.

In France, there was also an uprising that dramatically interrupted monarchy in 1648 by the uprising of a series of challenges to the absolutism of the King that came to be known collectively as the Fronde.  The Fronde (1648-1653) plunged France into civil disorder.  The king was even driven from his capital as several provinces revolted. This was a revolution demanding a right to participate in government. When the Fronde ended, the king was restored to absolute royal authority.

Of course, the Fronde may not have changed the French system of government, but it set the stage for the final French Revolution. Nevertheless, the American Revolution then spread with that spirit to overthrow monarchy becoming the France Revolution in 1789.

Throughout history, if we correlate the civil uprisings and forget about the claimed cause, we will see an amazing correlation. Throughout Europe, there was the communist revolution that spread to all the countries in 1848. When you allow the computer to correlate the world, what pops up is that the same Communist Revolution spread to Spanish Latin America, with Revolutions that appeared in New Granada that led to the fall of the government there.

Looking closer, you will see in Brazil there was the Praieira Revolt between 1848-1852. You also see the Mexican-American War, which was also in part inspired by the Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836).

If we look closely, we will see that 1848 was a”world revolution” for revolutions broke out almost simultaneously in fifty countries from Europe down to Brazil. This era created resentments that lingered beyond domestic revolution and international war just as the reparation payments demanded by the French following WWI led to the rise of Hitler and WWII. The Revolutions of 1848 set the stage for the period that continued into 1880, marking a bloody century with 177 different conflicts.

Even the American Civil War ended slavery and became a contagion that spread to Russia and inspired the 1861 termination of serfdom in Russia.

Socrates has correlated everything. I am sad to report that we are looking at a global uprising. This time, it will be our pretend democracies that are no different than authoritarian monarchies that meet their demise post-2032.

Tucker Carlson Keynote Speech During 50th Anniversary Celebration of The Heritage Foundation


Posted originally on the CTH on April 22, 2023 | Sundance 

Fox News #1 rated television host Tucker Carlson delivers a keynote speech at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Heritage Foundation.  Strong off-the-cuff remarks.

While outlining the largest challenges that we all see and feel surrounding us, Tucker Carlson notes there are some positives that deserve to be recognized.

First, no matter how widespread the herd mentality is; no matter how entrenched it becomes amid the mass population; there will always be those voices who do not bend to the pressure of the effort.  There will always be those people who have strength of character, the strongest internal compass heading, that refuse to kowtow to the acceptable narrative.  When you see those people, recognize them, celebrate them, hold them up and cherish their strength.

Second, accept that our current status is no longer a battle of ideas.  Our current battle is a contest between good and evil.  Once you make this admission, first to yourself, then to those around you, only then can you select the correct armor to defeat that enemy.  This is critical, even for the nontheological minds that approach the issues of largest consequence.  The war around us is bigger than an argument about social constructs.  This is a fight between two universal forces, good and evil.

Every action taken within what at times will be an insurgency, must be predicated against these acceptances.  WATCH:

Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks.  For we are not fighting against human beings, but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers of this dark age.  So put on God’s armor now.  Then, when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground“…

Neil Oliver – ‘Nice Life You’ve Got There, It’d be a Shame if Something Happened to It”….


Posted originally on the CTH on April 22, 2023 | Sundance 

Neil Oliver returns from a few weeks of holiday to hit this monologue out of the park.  It’s almost as if Neil and I had sat down and shared a cup of tea.

Comrades, in this wake-up monologue Oliver hits on the key dynamic we have discussed, we are in an abusive relationship with government.  We are being oppressed and held captive by our inability to come to terms with the nature of this relationship.  We are suffering through battered citizen syndrome, thinking that if we just bear through the next round of beatings the abuser will change.

Neil Oliver hits another key point, something you also might find familiar.  The gaslighting around us that feeds and maintains the nature of the abusive relationship is based on the entire community around us “pretending” we are not being abused.  Oliver then folds in the bigger picture and agenda behind, Build Back Better. WATCH:

It’s desperately necessary for our survival that we become disillusioned–and quickly.

Think about that word: Dis-illusioned. Having illusions exposed and removing them from the decision-making process.

Getting disillusioned quicky is important, because when illusions are defended, protected and argued for, instead of being exposed, they will always take us to default decisions that are inherently based on non-reality. This is where the pretending comes from.

Isaac Newton said that passivity in objects was predictable. Perhaps passivity in troubled humans is predictable as well.

Newton said it this way with regard to objects: “An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless an unbalanced force act upon it.”  So, it appears we need an unbalanced force to act upon these passively willing objects that are content to remain at rest.  That unbalanced force is Donald J Trump.

INTERVIEW – WORLD WAR 3 IS WHAT “THEY” WANT AND ARE ON TRACK TO GET IT


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Apr 22, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Bud Light Marketing VP Replaced Following Controversial Transgender Rebranding Effort, Heinerschied Now On Leave of Absence


Posted originally on the CTH on April 21, 2023 | Sundance 

Well, this is interesting.  We are now two more weeks into the consequence phase of Bud Light VP of Marketing Mrs. Alissa Heinerscheid rebranding the formerly popular beer as a beverage for transgender and transvestite beer drinkers. {Go Deep}

There is still very little empirical evidence of the financial outcome.  There are anecdotal reports of diminished sales; however, VP of Bud Light marketing, Mrs. Heinerscheid, has now been replaced.  This would seem to indicate the brand damage is structural, and the financial ramifications are going to be long lasting.

The traditional beer drinking consumer is no longer buying Budweiser Light products, because the new brand image of “tranny fluid,” a beer for transgender drinkers, creates the side-eye from other people if a beer drinker is noticed holding one.  Using the free rainbow koozie doesn’t seem to help the problem.

The information comes from Ad Age, an insider trade magazine that tracks all things that happen in and around the advertising and marketing world.

VIA Ad Age – Anheuser-Busch InBev has changed marketing leadership for Bud Light in the wake of controversy over the brand sending a can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney with her face on it.

Alissa Heinerscheid, marketing VP for the brand since June 2022, has taken a leave of absence, the brewer confirmed, and will be replaced by Todd Allen, who was most recently global marketing VP for Budweiser. Heinerscheid did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The brewer has also streamlined its marketing function to reduce layers “so that our most senior marketers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brand’s activities,” a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding that “these steps will help us maintain focus on the things we do best: brewing great beer for all consumers, while always making a positive impact in our communities and on our country.”

The statement noted that “we communicated some next steps with our internal teams and wholesaler partners,” adding that “we made it clear that the safety and welfare of our employees and our partners is our top priority. (read more)

STATEMENT FROM Anheuser-Busch:

...”“Today, we communicated some next steps with our internal teams and wholesaler partners,” per A-B spokesperson. “First, we made it clear that the safety and welfare of our employees and our partners is our top priority.

Second, Todd Allen is appointed Vice President of Bud Light reporting directly to Benoit Garbe, U.S. Chief Marketing Officer.

Third, we have made some adjustments to streamline the structure of our marketing function to reduce layers so that our most senior marketers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brands activities.

These steps will help us maintain focus on the things we do best: brewing great beer for all consumers, while always making a positive impact in our communities and on our country.”.. [source]

.

“Guys, come back, I identify as a Platypus now” !

Tennessee Officials Report the FBI Is Hiding the Transgender Manifesto Outlining Objective for Mass Murder


Posted originally on the CTH on April 21, 2023 | Sundance 

In the most recent weeks, we have discovered how the FBI worked inside Twitter, Facebook and social media to control information, remove content and manipulate opinion on behalf of the U.S. government – all political.  We have also learned the FBI is taking active measures to suppress information about the Hunter Biden laptop story and control any negative consequences for the Biden regime – again, political.

Now, we discover the FBI are the control officers hiding the release of the Audrey Hale manifesto which outlines the deep psychological motives she held within her transgender mindset.  A belief system that culminated in the targeting and murder of children and teachers.  The FBI motive for hiding the manifesto, politics!

[…] “Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, told the New York Post the FBI was behind the delay while calling for the documents to be released to grieving loved ones and Congress. The manifesto “could maybe tell us a little bit about what’s going on inside of her head,” he told the newspaper. “I think that would answer a lot of questions.” (more)

The U.S. Dept of Justice and FBI are now political institutions that have abandoned their originating mission in order to become the domestic equivalent of the Soviet-era FSB. Their joint targeting mechanisms have been redesigned to support the interests of corrupt DC politicians, specifically the interests of democrats.

It was in June 2022, when Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter [pdf HERE] to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray, notifying them of whistleblower allegations from within the FBI that senior leadership in both Main Justice and FBI are involved in a coordinated effort to cover up criminal activity related to Hunter Biden.

The whistleblower allegations, in combination with the documented history of DOJ and FBI misconduct, culminate in Senator Grassley stating:

“If these allegations are true and accurate, the Justice Department and FBI are – and have been – institutionally corrupted to their very core to the point in which the United States Congress and the American people will have no confidence in the equal application of the law. Attorney General Garland and Director Wray, simply put, based on the allegations that I’ve received from numerous whistleblowers, you have systemic and existential problems within your agencies.” (LINK)

Grassley was admitting what has been visible for years.

Senator Grassley is telling the corrupt DOJ-FBI leadership that people in the organizations are outlining the detailed behavior of their corrupt leadership.  However, with zero oversight involved, and with Democrats in charge of all committees that would be responsible for such oversight, and with institutional media in alignment and agreement with the corrupt institutional intents of the DOJ/FBI, the frustrating question becomes, “and“?

I mean, who are we kidding?…  If Republicans were in charge of the Senate Judiciary, Reform/Oversight, or Intelligence committees, do we really believe that anything would be different?   Before responding to that cynicism remind yourself, they were for four years, January 2015 through January 2019, Republicans were in charge of oversight.

It was exactly when Republicans were in charge of Main Justice and FBI oversight that Main Justice and FBI were targeting political candidate Donald Trump.

In July 2021, the DOJ OIG produced an absolutely damning Inspector General investigation of FBI conduct in the rape and sexual assault of U.S. Gymnasts, revealing how FBI agents facilitated Nassar’s sex crimes by taking no action despite numerous witness statements to them.

Worse yet, the FBI never reported the sexual assaults to local law enforcement… and to top it off, the rank and vile FBI agents lied during the investigation of their conduct, and the DOJ under AG Bill Barr, and now under AG Merrick Garland, refused to prosecute the FBI liars.

The entire IG report [Must Read pdf Here] reveals layer-upon-layer of FBI wrongdoing, misconduct and false statements in an effort to cover up their activity when the internal investigation of their conduct began.  This report is a total condemnation of the FBI rank and file.  It really is quite stunning.

BACKGROUND on FBI –  As we discovered in January of this year, the FBI was fully aware of the terrorist who was planning to shoot the synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, and yet they did nothing.

The FBI knowledge of the shooter, Malik Faisal Akram, who was known as Faisal Akram, was confirmed by The Daily Mail. Akram ranted, prior to his travel to the U.S, that he wished he had died in the 9/11 terror attacks. He was a regular visitor to Pakistan, and reportedly a member of the Tablighi Jamaat group set up to ‘purify’ Islam. To say the U.S. intelligence system knew Faisal Akram would be an understatement.

The FBI was also fully aware of the Boston Marathon bombers, the Tsarnaev brothers, before they executed their plot.  The FBI took no action.

The FBI knew about the San Bernardino terrorists, specifically Tashfeen Malik, and were monitoring her phone calls and communications before her and Syed Farook executed their attack killing 14 people and leaving 22 others seriously injured.  The FBI took no action.

The FBI knew Colorado grocery store shooter Ahmad Alissa before he executed his attack.  The FBI took no action.

The FBI knew in advance of the Pulse Nightclub shooter (Omar Mateen) and were tipped off by the local sheriff. The FBI knew in advance of the San Bernardino Terrorists (Tashfeen Malik). The FBI knew in advance of the Boston Marathon Bombers (the Tsarnaev brothers) tipped off by Russians.  The FBI knew in advance of the Parkland High School shooter (Nikolas Cruz). The FBI knew in advance of the Fort Hood shooter (Nidal Hasan), and the FBI knew in advance of Colorado grocery store shooter Ahmad al-Aliwi Alissa.  The FBI took no action.

The case of the first recorded ISIS attack on U.S. soil was in Garland, Texas in 2015.

The FBI not only knew the shooters (Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi) in advance, BUT the FBI ALSO took the shooters to the venue and were standing only a few yards away when Simpson and Soofi opened fire.  Yes, you read that correctly – the FBI took the terrorists to the event and then watched it unfold.  “An FBI trainer suggested in an interview with “60 Minutes” that, had the attack been bigger, the agency’s numerous ties to the shooter would have led to a congressional investigation.”

Remember, shortly before the 2018 mid-term election, when Ceasar Syoc – a man living in his van – was caught sending “energetic material that can become combustible when subjected to heat or friction”, or what FBI Director Christopher Wray called “not hoax devices”?

Remember how sketchy everything about that was, including the child-like perpetrator telling a judge later that he was trying to walk back his guilty plea, because he was tricked into signing a confession for a crime he did not create.

Or more recently, the goofball plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer that involved 18 suspects, twelve of them actually working for the FBI as the plot was hatched?  And we cannot forget the January 6th. DC protest turned insurrection effort, which is clearly looking like an FBI inspired and coordinated effort; and unlike Syoc, despite the numerous CCTV cameras and resources in the area, they cannot find who placed the pipe-bombs?

Have we forgotten the Atlanta “Olympic Park Bombing”, and the FBI intentionally setting up transparently innocent, Richard Jewel?

What about the FBI failing to investigate the assassination of U.S. Ambassador Christop Stevens in Benghazi.  Did we forget when Robert Mueller’s FBI waiting 19 days after the attack before showing up at the compound?…. All evidence long destroyed.

Then, there’s the entirety of the FBI conduct in “Spygate”, the demonstrably evident FBI operation to conduct political surveillance against Donald Trump using their investigative authorities; and the downstream consequences of a massive institutional effort to cover up one of the biggest justice department scandals in the history of our nation.   The original effort against Donald Trump used massive resources from the DOJ and FBI.  Heck, the coverup operation using the Mueller/Weissmann special counsel used more than 50 investigative FBI agents alone.

And of course, the FBI still had 13 extra agents available to rush to a NASCAR racetrack to investigate a garage door pull-down rope that might have been perceived as a noose; but the serial rape of hundreds of teenage girls, eh, not-so-much effort – even when they are standing in front of the FBI begging for help.

[At this point, I am increasingly convinced by evidence there are elements within the FBI that are enablers involved in sex trafficking, human smuggling, abduction, counterfeiting and money laundering as part of their operational mission.]

The FBI didn’t make a mistake or drop the proverbial ball in the Olympic gymnast case, they intentionally and specifically maintained the sexual exploitation of teenage girls by doing absolutely nothing with the complaints they received.   This is not misconduct, this is purposeful.

Then, as if to apply salt to the open wound of severe FBI politicization…. what did the FBI do with the Hunter Biden laptop?

[Notice I’ve set the issue of the disappearing Huma Abedin/Anthony Weiner laptop –in the known custody of the FBI– over there in the corner, next to missing investigation of the Awan brothers.]

More recently, the FBI executed a search warrant on the home and office of Project Veritas and the founder James O’Keefe.  While the raid was taking place, a New York Times reporter called O’Keefe to ask him about his thoughts on getting raided. The same New York Times journalist, a few days later, then begins writing about the confidential attorney-client privileged information illegally retrieved then leaked by the FBI during their raid.

My point is this…

What the Federal Security Service (FSB) is to the internal security of the Russian state; so too is the FBI in performing the same function for the U.S. federal government.

The FBI is a U.S. version of the Russian “State Police”; and the FBI is deployed -almost exclusively- to attack domestic enemies of those who control government, while they protect the interests of the U.S. Fourth Branch of Government.  That is the clear and accurate domestic prism to contextualize their perceived mission: “domestic violent extremists pose the greatest threat” to their objective.

Put another way, “We The People”, who fight against government abuse and usurpation, are the FBI’s actual and literal enemy.

Let me be very clear with another brutally obvious example.  Antifa could not exist as an organization, capable to organize and carry out violent attacks against their targets, without the full support of the FBI.   If the FBI wanted to arrest members of Antifa, who are actually conducting violence, they could do it easily – with little effort.

It is the absence of any action by the FBI toward Antifa, that tells us the FBI is enabling that violent extremist behavior to continue.  Once you accept that transparent point of truth, then you realize the FBI definition of domestic violent extremism is something else entirely.

The FBI is not a law enforcement or investigative division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  The FBI is a political weapon of a larger institution that is now focused almost entirely toward supporting a radical communist agenda to destroy civil society in the United States.

The current mission of the FBI is to facilitate, preserve and protect the administration of Joe Biden.  Anyone who continues to push the fraudulent “honorable FBI rank and file talking point”, is, at this point in history, willfully and purposefully operating to deceive the American people on behalf of government interests who are intent on destroying us.

It is not a difference of opinion any longer.  Personally, I have lost the ability to sit comfortably or intellectually with anyone who pushes or accepts the ‘mistakes are made’ nonsense.  The FBI is not making mistakes, they are doing well what is important to them.

To me, it comes down to a simple matter of accepting what is continually staring us in the face.

Additionally, as we watched the outcome of the Michael Sussmann trial, we should never lose sight of the fact that 40 FBI agents were involved in the Mueller-Weissmann probe to investigate the fraudulent construct created by Hillary Clinton and crew.  40 agents? And, according to the outcome of the Sussmann trial, the FBI knew it was all a ruse.

This is why and how the Fourth Branch of U.S. Government is now the superseding apparatus above all other branches.  {GO DEEP} This is why and how Barack Obama, John Brennan and Eric Holder created it, cemented it, and made it impervious to any effort to remove it.

Remember when Henry Cuellar was critical of the Biden administration open border policies that were hurting his Texas district?  Less than a month after going public with his criticisms, the FBI raids on his home and office began.  The same FBI that raided the home of James O’Keefe while coordinating their search with the New York Times.

The Fourth Branch of Government is corrupt; heck, the J6 committee was defending the corrupt FBI, participating with the corrupt FBI, selling a joint J6 operation that involved the FBI.  The corrupt media have aligned with the corrupt FBI, and the justice institutions in/around this legal framework are self-aware and fully autonomous.

As the Twitter files show, the DOJ and FBI through the authority of DHS now have the ability to monitor every single aspect of every life that might seek to challenge or destroy the corrupt system.

In essence, Skynet -the ultimate end game of political surveillance and targeting outlined by Edward Snowden- has been activated.

Jackboots are very real, and they are increasingly visible wearing FBI logos on their shirts.

Cleopatra – Was she White or Black?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ancient History Re-Posted Apr 21, 2023 by Martin Armstron

For whatever reason, people have tried to claim that Cleopatra was black. That is the most absurd proposition that distorts history beyond belief. When Alexander the Great died, his empire was split among his generals. Egypt went to General Ptolomey. There was perhaps a sense of prejudice by the Greeks against those that they conquered which did not turn simply on skin color. Adding to this, there was a custom in Egypt among all classes in society that you were very fortunate to have a sister to marry for that was one means of keeping the wealth in the family. A 2015 study of even the royalty of Egypt which predated Ptolemy shows that there was extensive inbreeding among the ancient Egyptian royalty.

The inbreeding among the Pharaohs of Egypt was usually done to emulate the god Osiris who married his sister Isis. Ramses II married his own daughter Meritamen. He did have other wives, who were related and some way, and there was also a wife for political purposes being a foreign royalty. It is also believed that Hatesphut’s mother was possibly her half-sister. Interestingly, inbreeding was also because women carried the royal bloodlines so the man was advantaged to marry the most royal woman he could, often a close relative – hence a man was very fortunate to have a sister. Thus, this inbreeding, consanguinity, was well documented. According to Smithsonian magazine, Egyptian law, and tradition “decreed that pharaohs marry their sisters. Cleopatra married her oldest brother after the death of her father, and she married her youngest brother after the death of her first brother.” When Julius Caesar showed up, Cleopatra VII was married to her younger brother  Cleopatra, now married to her brother Ptolemy XIV, was restored to her throne after Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile. Ptolemy XIV died in 44 BC and her co-ruler became her infant son, Ptolemy XV Caesar – often known as the son of Caesar called Caesarian.

The whole taboo of inbreeding came from the Romans – not the Greeks. Roman civil law forbade couples from marrying if they were within four degrees of consanguinity. From the mid-9th century AD, the church even raised this limit to the seventh degree and the method of calculating degrees was also changed. Without question, incest in Egyptian culture was in fact (1) mimicking the Greek gods, and (2) among the wealthy, to retain the wealth within the family.

The coinage of the era reflects the portraits of the various rulers and they are highly accurate. The engravers had images of the person to work from. A collector can immediately recognize the person before even reading that caption on the coinage.

We can easily see the resemblance between Cleopatra to the surviving sculpture. We can see from the coinage and the bust of Mark Antony the depiction of his curly hair.

Here is another coin of Marck Antony and Octavian, the heir of Caesar. Once again we see the curly hair. The portraits on the coinage reflect accurate images of the people concerned.

This is a bronze drachm of Egypt depicting Cleopatra VII. We can once more easily see how the portrait reflects the true image of Cleopatra.

JUBA II was King of MAURETANIA and the son of King Juba I of Numidia. His father had supported Pompey against Caesar in Africa and continued to support the Pompeians even after the death of Pompey. Following Caesar’s victory, Juba I fled to Zama after the Battle of Thapsus where he had a slave kill him. But his son, Juba II, was taken to Rome in 46 BC as a child, following the death of his father. There he lived under the protection of both Caesar and Octavian while he was educated in Roman tradition. He was extremely intelligent and quickly gained the reputation for being one of the most learned men in the world. He became an early supporter of Octavian in his war against Marc Antony and Cleopatra. In 30 BC, following Octavian’s conquest of Egypt, Juba was married to Cleopatra, the daughter of Marc Antony and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Here again, is a coin depicting his mother-in-law.

Juba’s marriage to the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony was clearly political in nature. We can see the resemblance in her portrait on this denarius from MAURETANIA. Octavian sought a means by which he could stabilize Africa. Octavian, therefore, sent the prince to rule his own people. In 25 AD, however, Octavian, now known as Augustus (27BC-14AD), traded him Mauretania for Numidia, which had long been a source of gold for the Egyptians. Juba held Mauretania, including Gaetulia, as a loyal client of Rome. His reign was noted for its intellectualism and for Juba’s reliance upon Rome to keep the throne in the face of public unrest.

There are clearly Greek coins depicting black Africans. While everyone asserts that the oldest profession is prostitution, the second oldest is not lawyers to make sure the prostitutes get paid, but soldiers-for-hire are also known as Mercenaries. There were black mercenaries who served in many wars. We know from contemporary accounts that the barbarians of the North were fearsome. These Celtic Mercenaries were hired by Egypt during the reign of the ethnically Greek Ptolemaic dynasty. Celtic Mercenaries became a part of Egypt’s official army. During the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes, Celtic Mercenaries played a very decisive role in conquering Syria as well as Judea. The Greek historian Polybius tells us that many Celtic Mercenaries actually settled in Egypt and took Egyptian or Greek wives. The Greeks saw them as a mixed race and referred to their offspring as e pigovoi.

We also know from Herodotus that he visited Egypt during the 5th century BC. He made it clear that the Greeks were one of the first groups of foreigners that ever lived there. Egyptian painting show white, brown, and black races. It is amazing that people would distort history to insist that Cleopatra was black when the Ptolemy line was Greek and they certainly did not intermarry with the locals regardless of their color.

There are clearly black empires inside Africa. Northern Africa was colonized by the Greeks for centuries before Alexander showed up. Even the legendary Queen of Sheba was from Ethiopia which depicted people of the black race. In order to even get elephants, they traded with black cultures deeper inside Africa.

This whole WOKEISM is going way too far as NETFLIX is now doing a show with Cleopatra being black. Why don’t we picture Julius Caesar as transgender? Why NETFLIX is even allowing a total distortion of historical facts is damaging to our understanding of the past. History can be confirmed from the coinage. Perhaps people fail to understand that coinage has even survived.

Chicago Prepares for Second Weekend of Mayhem


Armstrong Economics Blog/USA Current Events Re-Posted Apr 21, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Hundreds of teens stormed the streets of Chicago last weekend, wreaking havoc on the crumbling city. People were assaulted, shot, there was countless property damage, and Mayor-Elect Johnson completely sided with the criminals. Johnson made excuses for their bad behavior, and while a few arrests were made, Johnson has done absolutely nothing to prevent this from happening again. There are now calls across social media for a “part two” this Saturday since these kids know that they can get away with actual murder.

Ald. Ray Lopez of Chicago said the police were completely overpowered last weekend. “It was a complete breakdown of leadership in the department for not having a plan, not knowing how to execute containment, and not getting those individuals who are committed to acts of violence and disrupting life in the city of Chicago and extricating them from the situation,” said Lopez. There are no laws restricting this behavior and the politicians refuse to acknowledge how big of a problem these “teen mobs” have become.

Let us also not forget that cops in blue cities are reluctant to act out of fear of being “canceled” or fired because crime is part of the woke agenda. The left is attempting to create civil unrest so that they can promise to fix the problem during their next election. The local government does not support efforts to curtail crime and the police cannot create laws. Gun control is strict and many people cannot adequately defend their families against these violent mobs. Biden has been silent on the topic because he does not want to admit that American blue cities are no longer safe.

In the video below, a witness said cops ignored pleas to help a couple being brutally beaten by a crowd of teenagers. She took them to the hospital since an ambulance was not on the way–first responders cannot keep up and are afraid. There is no “good guy with a gun,” cops, or anyone coming to help. These kids have been taught to believe that their neighbors are the enemy, and they truly believe they are the victims.

“Chiraq” is another crime-ridden city under a Soros-backed DA (Kim Foxx). Chicago certainly does seem like the perfect location for the DNC for the 2024 election since it is a prime example of what happens to blue cities that are light on crime and strict on gun control. Some estimates believe up to 1,000 youths gathered at Millennium Park last weekend, and the unofficial “Purge” may grow because these extremely disturbed individuals want to see how far they can go. Their leaders and school curriculum have brainwashed an entire generation into believing they are victims of an unjust society and deserve to act out their rage on others. You get what you vote for and the people voted for pro-crime politicians. Who thought it could get worse than Lightfoot? In fact, Lightfoot refused to call the situation “mayhem.”

“The vast majority of the young people who came downtown came downtown because it was great weather and an opportunity to enjoy the city. That’s absolutely and entirely it,” Lightfoot said. Unbelievable! 

Stay inside this weekend if you are unfortunate enough to live in Chicago.

Christians Prevented from Adopting Children in America


Armstrong Economics Blog/Religion Re-Posted Apr 20, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Those who think the war on Christianity is simply hyperbole must look closer. Adoption agencies are now preventing some Christians from adopting children due to their “extreme” views. Oregon’s Department of Human Services has begun giving hopeful adopters an ideological litmus test to ensure children are only placed in families with woke ideologies.

A woman in Oregon recently attempted to adopt a child. The adoption agency asked the woman if she would accept and support a child’s decision to change genders. They asked her if she would allow her adopted child to transition to a different sex, take them to LGBTQ+ events, and use the child’s preferred pronouns. When the woman said that ignoring biology violated her beliefs as a Christian, the state of Oregon turned her away. The woman then asked if she could adopt a child without imaginary woke needs, and her request was denied.

Oregon may be acting illegally as they condemn an entire religion from adopting children because they can define “man” and “woman” without confusion. Christians are twice as likely to adopt children in America, and the state of Oregon has over 8,000 children awaiting homes. Technically, this litmus test will prevent anyone affiliated with any religion from adopting children. One must question why it would be preferable to keep children in orphanages instead of placing them with Christian families.