Tag Archives: Propaganda

Mar 20 2026

Israel Unilaterally Strikes Iran/Qatar South Pars Gas Field – President Trump Is Not HappyPosted originally on CTH on


Posted originally on CTH on March 19, 2026 | Sundance 

The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world’s largest natural gas field, with ownership of the field shared between Iran and Qatar. According to the International Energy Agency, the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of in-site natural gas.

President Trump is not happy about Israel’s unilateral decision to strike at the Pars gas field; however, pay attention to what Trump diplomatically describes as the motive:

[TRUTH SOCIAL] – “Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen.

Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.”

“NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar – In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.

I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

The joint economic relationship over the Pars gas field is part of the connective tissue between Iran and Qatar and underpins why Qatar has always been an intermediary for all issues of deconfliction that surround the U.S and Iran.

Factually Qatar was always the mediator, and within that mediation relationship the USA used Qatar as the bank to receive the confiscated funds Obama delivered when he lifted sanctions.  There are hundreds of examples of the USA using Qatar as the intermediary for Iran policy, just as there are hundreds of citations and examples available for Qatar supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

It is only recently, very recently, like only in the era of Donald Trump as U.S. President, when Qatar started pulling away from a very friendly relationship with Iran.  So recently, that for the past 15-months, since long before it even made sense, CTH has been calling attention to this weird Qatar -vs- Israel division dynamic within USA domestic politics.

Then this happens….

The United States and Israel are working together on the targeting and military objectives of Operation Epic Fury.  But, for some unknown reason the United States did not know Israel was going to strike the Qatar Pars gas field?  Interesting.

President Trump assigns the motive for the Israeli attack as “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East.” However, Israel has another, perhaps opportunistic motive, worth billions.

[SOURCE]

Israel is set to achieve record natural gas production in 2026, with expansion projects in the Leviathan and Tamar fields expected to push total output above 3 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) for the first time ever. According to the experts, the Chevron (NYSE:CVX) operated fields are expected to add a combined 600 million cfd in the coming months, with the bulk of the extra gas piped to Egypt after the removal of bottlenecks in the export pipeline network. Israel’s gas output in 2025 is estimated to have dropped slightly from a record 2.587bn cfd achieved in 2024 as fields were shut-in during Israel’s conflict with Iran in June.

Chevron and its partners NewMed Energy (OTCPK:DKDRF) and Ratio Energies (OTCMKTS:RTEXF) confirmed a $2.36 billion Final Investment Decision (FID) in January 2026 to expand the Leviathan field, increasing production capacity from 12 bcm to roughly 21 bcm annually. The expansion involves drilling three additional offshore wells, installing new subsea infrastructure and enhancing the platform’s processing capabilities. The expansion aims to significantly increase natural gas exports to Egypt and Jordan. The companies managed to boost production at the Tamar field to increase capacity from approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) to 1.6 bcf/d in 2025.

Debottlenecking of the export pipeline network is enabling higher volumes to reach Egypt, helping to fill their domestic supply gapsKey projects, including upgrading the Ashdod-Ashkelon pipeline and constructing the Nitzana pipeline (expected to be operational by 2028). The projects are designed to boost exports to Egypt and Jordan by 1.8 billion cubic feet per day. The 46-km offshore natural gas Ashdod–Ashkelon pipeline is undergoing upgrades scheduled for completion in the current year to handle increased capacity. Approximately 55% of the gas flows through the offshore Eastern Mediterranean Gas (EMG) pipeline, while 45% is transported via the Arab Gas Pipeline through Jordan.

[…] The Leviathan and Tamar gas fields are key Israeli offshore natural gas assets, with current capacities of approximately 12 billion cubic meters (BCM) per year and 11 BCM per year, respectively. Both fields are expanding, with Leviathan projected to increase to 21–23 BCM annually to meet rising regional demand and exports. Still, the Middle East oil giants have potential for higher gas production. (SOURCE)

Did Israel bomb the collaborative Iran-Qatar gas field “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East.” Or did Iseael just diminish an LNG competitor?

President Trump is not happy with this one Bibi.

We’ll keep watching…

Mar 19 2026

Representative Don Bacon Says if Trump Left NATO “There Would Be a Civil War in The Republican Party”


Posted originally on CTH on March 18, 2026 | Sundance 

Representative Don Bacon is openly and publicly in opposition to every President Trump policy.  Bacon is a ‘professional republican’, a traditional DeSantis republican.

Appearing on CNN the Nebraska Republican says if President Trump were to leave NATO, “there would be a civil war in the republican caucus.”  WATCH (prompted):

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Mar 17 2026

Megyn Kelly Said Mark Levin Has a “Micropenis”, President Trump Stands in Support of Levin


Posted originally on CTH on March 16, 2026 | Sundance 

I dislike Mark Levin immensely.  Long-time CTH readers know I have a very valid reason to dislike Mark Levin immensely. My approach was to essentially ignore “old yeller” as he shouts and rants about all the things he always shouts and rants about.  I dislike Mark Levin very much; beyond what most here would define as immense.

That said, I also accept that -for whatever reason he has- President Donald J Trump does not hold the same opinion of Mark Levin.  In fact, Donald Trump seems to like Mark Levin.  As a consequence, I retain my peace and ignore everything that circles around their time together.  However, this is also an ¹opportunity.

Mr Levin’s audience has been shrinking quite fast.  The downward spiral has been happening with greater speed and increasing slope for around 15 years.  The diminutive Mr Levin is now a visual representation of the Black Knight Monty Pyton skit. If the name was raised, I quietly just stared in southern.

♦ Within the great podcaster war of 2026, apparently Mrs. Megyn Kelly and Mr Mark Levin have been having a very public feud.  I don’t know the details but given the reality of the past 12 months it probably surrounds Mr Levin’s Israel-First approach toward everything political.  In the latest drama du jour, Mrs Kelly is said to have mentioned that Mr Levin has a small penis, a “micropenis.”

Mr Levin apparently picked up the phone and called his loyal friend, President Donald Trump. Likely looking for an ally of considerable consequence to boost his member-ship status.  After all, Levin’s circle of influence is rather, well, small and shrinking.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Mark Levin, a truly Great American Patriot, is somewhat under siege by other people with far less Intellect, Capability, and Love for our Country. Mark is Tough, Strong, and Brilliant, hence the nickname, “THE GREAT ONE,” conceived by our MAGA friend, the wonderful Sean Hannity, after years of dealing with Mark in Legal, Media, and other capacities. Mark would often do Sean’s show, speaking as a lawyer, and Sean realized then, as did others, that he was special.

Mark Levin was not looking to do Television, Radio, or anything else, but he was drafted by very smart people who understood that there are few like him. He is a true Conservative, and Intellect, far smarter than those who criticize him but, above all, he is a man of Great Wisdom and Common Sense who truly loves our Country.

When you hear others unfairly attack Mark, remember that they are jealous and angry Human Beings, whose “sway” is much less than the Public understands, and will, now that they know where I stand, rapidly diminish. Other than for his wonderful wife and family, Mark Levin only cares and wants one thing, GREATNESS AND SUCCESS FOR AMERICA!

Those that speak ill of Mark will quickly fall by the wayside, as do the people whose ideas, policies, and footings are not sound. THEY ARE NOT MAGA, I AM, and MAGA includes not allowing Iran, a Sick, Demented, and Violent Terrorist Regime, to have a Nuclear Weapon to blow up the United States of America, the Middle East and, ultimately, the rest of the World.

MAGA is about stopping them cold, and that is exactly what we are doing. GOD BLESS OUR GREAT MILITARY, WHICH I HAVE REBUILT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MY FIRST TERM, TO ACHIEVE EVERLASTING PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

…””micro” is such an unfair characterization”

President Trump is well known to be loyal.  I will just leave it at that, because I choose to leave it at that.

¹Pulling back to the Bigger Picture:

From decades well outside the wire, researching – boots on the ground, alone, deep in the weeds, carrying a rusty machete, looking at the unpopular truth while being snarked at from all sides… I can share a fundamental thing experience has taught me:

When “it” seems chaotic and mad, really confusing, conflicting and topsy-turvy chaotic, you can reasonably be sure there’s a focused intelligence operation swirling around “it”.

“It’s” not random, or organic…. EVER!

There is an absolutely true algorithmic boosting, an intentional shaping, underway in the background of all social media platforms.

The algorithms are manipulated to give increased influence, views and impressions to particular viewpoints.

The financial rewards within social media are specifically tailored to viewpoints that increase impressions and content creators end up following the narrative that rewards them.  Simultaneously content creators stay away from viewpoints that are algorithmically disliked.  This manipulation is obvious at this point.

Rewarding specific content is how the control levers are being manipulated.

It’s not organic or natural at all. The reality of what you see online, particularly in social media, is being controlled and influenced.

The “why” is a debatable aspect. Who and for what purpose is for each person to decide. I have my own opinions on who and why this is being done. However, whether it is happening is inarguable and the data affirms it.

From my perspective the division is all connected. Remember, Nick Fuentes is banned from the same platforms that now algorithmically boost accounts that mention him. Ideological hypocrisy within the algorithm outcome is one of the ways you can spot the manipulation.

Nick Fuentes is banned from TikTok, Instagram, Face Book, Google, YouTube, Meta etc., and as a consequence any prior account mentioning his content would not organically get a lift…. yet now it does.

This all started in June 2025, shortly after the Qatar vs Israel friction became visible as a wedge. Social media accounts who promoted Nick Fuentes on the same platforms that banned him, started getting increased impressions; something was turned off. This highlights the inorganic nature of the boost.

For others, like Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson, it is entirely possible they only see the lift in impressions (and financial reward therein) and could ultimately believe their content is creating natural increases in support without realizing they are being boosted algorithmically as part of an intentional operation.

That is what I see as the most likely scenario.

Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, et al, are simply doing more of what creates revenue, possibly without realizing those who are delivering the revenue might have ulterior motives for boosting them.  Ego, pride and/or willful blindness can also play a role.

A strategic political manipulation campaign could spend $5 billion trying to push up a candidate (traditional route), or they could spend $5 billion fracturing the opposition (modern splitter approach using social media).

Last point. The people around President Trump know absolutely nothing about how this operation is being conducted.  Instead, as represented in the Truth Social post above, they are inadvertently providing fuel for it.

Mar 16 2026

President Trump Notes How ‘World War Reddit’ Works Both Ways


Posted originally on CTH on March 15, 2026 | Sundance

World War Reddit works both ways. In Ukraine the manipulation was to give the illusion of success for Zelenskyy. In Iran the manipulation is to give the illusion of failure for Trump.

The bottom line in both scenarios is the illusion being disconnected from reality.

[Truth Social] – “Iran has long been known as a Master of Media Manipulation and Public Relations. They are Militarily ineffective and weak, but are really good at “feeding” the very appreciative Fake News Media false information. Now, A.I. has become another Disinformation weapon that Iran uses, quite well, considering they are being annihilated by the day.

They showed phony “Kamikaze Boats,” shooting at various Ships at Sea, which looks wonderful, powerful, and vicious, but these Boats don’t exist — It’s all false information to show how “tough” their already defeated Military is!

The five U.S. Refueling Planes that were supposedly struck down and badly damaged, according to The Wall Street Journal’s false reporting, and others, are all in service, with the exception of one, which will soon be flying the skies. Buildings and Ships that are shown to be on fire are not — It’s FAKE NEWS, generated by A.I.

For instance, Iran, working in close coordination with the Fake News Media, shows our great USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean. Not only was it not burning, but it was also not even shot at — Iran knows better than to do that! The story was knowingly FAKE and, in a certain way, you can say that those Media Outlets that generated it should be brought up on Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information!”

“The fact is, Iran is being decimated, and the only battles they “win” are those that they create through AI, and are distributed by Corrupt Media Outlets. The Radical Leftwing Press knows this full well, but continues to go forward with false stories and LIES. That’s why their Approval Rating is so low, and I can win a Presidential Election, IN A LANDSLIDE, getting only 5% positive Press — They have no credibility!

I am so thrilled to see Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), looking at the licenses of some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic “News” Organizations. They get Billions of Dollars of FREE American Airwaves, and use it to perpetuate LIES, both in News and almost all of their Shows, including the Late Night Morons, who get gigantic Salaries for horrible Ratings, and never get, as I used to say in The Apprentice, “FIRED.” Thank you for your attention to this matter!” President DONALD J. TRUMP

Mar 16 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Boasts About Blocking 10,000 IRGC Members from Entering Country


Posted originally on CTH on March 15, 2026 | Sundance 

In the midst of the two pontificating princesses of Parliament verbally slapping each other with cashmere sweaters, Prime Minister Mark Carney made a rather remarkable statement.

According to the Canadian Prime Minister, he has blocked ten thousand IRGC members from entering Canada {at 1:00 minute of video below}. Now, why would 10,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards think it was a solid option to exit the conflict for safety in Canada? WATCH:

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Mar 16 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Boasts About Blocking 10,000 IRGC Members from Entering Country


Posted originally on CTH on March 15, 2026 | Sundance 

In the midst of the two pontificating princesses of Parliament verbally slapping each other with cashmere sweaters, Prime Minister Mark Carney made a rather remarkable statement.

According to the Canadian Prime Minister, he has blocked ten thousand IRGC members from entering Canada {at 1:00 minute of video below}. Now, why would 10,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards think it was a solid option to exit the conflict for safety in Canada? WATCH:

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Mar 11 2026

Volkswagen Loses Half Their Profit, Now Plan to Cut 50,000 Jobs Over Next Four Years


Posted originally on CTH on March 10, 2026 | Sundance

The origin of this issue goes back to 2021 and the relaunch of the Build Back Better European green energy program to fight the non-existent climate change problem.  We have been highlighting the consequences within the EU auto sector.

We noted in October of last year, the EU’s mandated fines against auto manufacturers who do not hit their production goals for electric vehicle sales began in 2025.  EU automakers unable to meet the regulatory compliance goal began purchasing carbon credits to avoid stiff EU fines.  Many of those carbon credits were purchased from Chinese EV automakers, who then turned around and started using the extra EU revenue to discount Chinese cars sold in Europe.

At the same time as Chinese autos hit record highs in Europe, EU car sales are flat or declining.  Now, Volkswagen is announcing they lost half their profits in one year and will be cutting 50,000 jobs in the next four years.

(MSM – Europe) – Volkswagen just revealed its operating profit sank like a stone last year, dropping by more than half as tariffs, Chinese competition, and shifting strategies took a serious bite out of the bottom line. And that performance now has the VW Group’s execs reaching for the cost-cutting scissors, including plans to shed 50,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

The German automaker reported an operating profit of €8.9 billion ($10.3 bn at current rates) for 2025. That’s down a hefty 53 percent from the year before and well below what analysts were expecting. Revenue, meanwhile, barely moved, slipping only slightly to around €322 billion ($374 bn). (read more)

This was very predictable. In essence, EU car companies buy Chinese car company carbon credits, to avoid the EU fines.  The Chinese car companies then use the carbon credit revenue to subsidize lower priced Chinese EVs to the European car market, thereby undercutting the European EV car companies.

The EU tariff applied to gasoline powered cars or hybrids from China is 10%.  That tariff is not enough to stop the imports. The Chinese hybrid autos are substantially less than European car brands, and there’s no financial incentive for China to build auto plants in the EU zone especially when you consider the EU is subsidizing those cars by purchasing carbon credits.

When analyzed from a cost and consequence, the entire EU dynamic toward car companies is a little funny.  However, for Germany this is a serious issue, and with the German industrial economy already stagnant – every impact to their auto industry only makes the situation worse.

When you overlay the big picture of their expensive “green energy” costs, the EU find themselves in an unescapable downward spiral.  Quite literally, all commonsense seems to have been lost in their green energy chase.

By focusing on energy targets, specifically by trying to force production of European electric vehicles that are not favored by European car purchasers, the EU is shrinking their economy to the benefit of Beijing exploitation.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently travelled to China for a discussion with Chairman Xi Jinping.  Chancellor Merz returned to German with a stark message about how the nation needed to quickly get productive in order to meet the far superior work ethic he saw in China.

At the same time, the EU has destroyed its energy sector by chasing windmills and solar farms instead of maintaining the much cheaper coal and gas alternatives.  Overall, Europe has made a series of really bad decisions, but those consequences will surface the hardest within the largest industrial economy, Germany.

They’ve got major problems now.

Mar 8 2026

Right Now, Russia is Like Amazon During COVID


Posted originally on CTH on March 7, 2026 | Sundance

We like the deep weeds, most do not.  The geopolitical ramifications of the U.S. confrontation with Iran are vast and complicated; however, to encapsulate one of the most interesting dynamics consider this ‘tldr’ statement to open the discussion with your friends: Right now, Russia is like Amazon during COVID-19.

What follows is not me saying President Trump and President Putin are holding nightly conversations, discussing steps or details, or even obliquely coordinating measures as Trump eliminates the generational threat posed by Iran.

However, I am saying that given the nature of all contact and communication between Trump and Putin, including extensive contacts by their representative emissaries, both Putin and Trump are well aware of each downstream effect from the Iranian confrontation.

Two days after the U.S./Israel began Operation Epic Fury, President Vladimir Putin said Russia should consider shutting down oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments to the EU in advance of the previously scheduled April deadline date when the EU would stop purchases.

♦ First, remember ‘force majeure’ contract nullification is in place for every producer, supplier and transporter in the middle east. Second, with shipments from the Gulf of Oman greatly reduced, LNG prices along with oil prices are increasing rapidly.  The result – ships filled with oil and LNG currently on the water are diverting in real time as international bidding for the content of the ships take place.

If Putin stops selling LNG to Europe, and Europe cannot get LNG from the Gulf of Oman, and China/Asia are LNG dependent (not exporting), then where is Europe going to get the LNG to replace what Russia will no longer provide?

Answer: The United States, and to a lesser extent, Norway.

[SIDENOTE: now does President Trump continuously smacking Great Britain about shutting down their North Sea oil and gas operations take on context?  Geopolitical foresight? I digress. END SIDENOTE]

The European Commission’s decision to phase out and ultimately stop purchasing Russian oil/gas was made in 2025 prior to the Iran conflict triggering.  Europe’s replacement plan included increased LNG purchases from the U.S., Norway and middle east; the latter supply option is now void.

Europe’s decision to stop buying oil/gas from Russia puts them in a very precarious position.  The supply option for Europe is suddenly very limited, and Putin’s statement about stopping the flow early was obviously made with this understanding in mind.

Answer: The United States, and to a lesser extent, Norway.

[SIDENOTE: now does President Trump continuously smacking Great Britain about shutting down their North Sea oil and gas operations take on context?  Geopolitical foresight? I digress. END SIDENOTE]

The European Commission’s decision to phase out and ultimately stop purchasing Russian oil/gas was made in 2025 prior to the Iran conflict triggering.  Europe’s replacement plan included increased LNG purchases from the U.S., Norway and middle east; the latter supply option is now void.

Europe’s decision to stop buying oil/gas from Russia puts them in a very precarious position.  The supply option for Europe is suddenly very limited, and Putin’s statement about stopping the flow early was obviously made with this understanding in mind.

[Go back to the sidenote above.  Without question President Trump already knew that an LNG supply restriction from the middle east would disproportionately hurt Europe.  Both President Trump and President Putin would understand this geopolitically obvious fact/reality.]

If Europe now has to purchase more LNG from America (at higher prices) President Trump’s leverage over Europe increases.  If both oil and LNG prices increase substantially, the price of oil/LNG currently on the water increases.

[SIDENOTE #2 – Previously the EU confiscated their holdings of the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund, value €210 billion held in Euroclear and another €50 billion from other G-7 countries; total €260 billion.  From those seized assets the EU created a €90 billion loan scheme to Ukraine with no repayment mechanism, because the EU predicts Russia will be forced to pay reparations for war and the negotiated settlement will deduct the €90 billion loan scheme from the balance.

Hungary, a Trump ally, is currently blocking the transfer of funds; but this payment scheme -created by the EU holding the assets- underpins why the EU will not permit the conflict to end without their approval. END SIDENOTE]

♦ To increase distribution of oil/gas “currently on the water” President Trump and Secretary Bessent have dropped the sanctions against Russian oil and LNG.  India and Southeast Asia, not coincidentally both with new U.S. free trade agreements, are suddenly bidding customers for previously sanctioned oil/gas.

Here it is important to note that ‘sanctioned’ oil and gas sales were done in the transactional currencies of the selling and buying country (see BRICS).  However non-sanctioned oil/gas, traditional OPEC market oil/gas products, are bought and sold using petrodollars.  If Russia is suddenly allowed to sell to OPEC market customers, then petrodollars will likely back the transaction.  Who wins, Putin (higher prices) & Trump (leverage and petrodollar).  Who loses, the EU.

Now, you know how much I love timelines to explain things…. So consider:

On August 15, 2025, Vladimir Putin and President Trump met in Alaska. One of the key points that followed the meeting was both Trump and Putin discussing a realignment of strategic interests surrounding energy development.

On August 18, 2025, three days after the Alaska meeting:

[SOURCE]

We do not believe in coincidences at this level.

We have been waiting.

Two days ago, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the easing of sanctions against Russian oil/LNG exports, specifically toward Asia in order to relieve some of the global supply constraints. {SOURCE} Yesterday, Moscow announced the redirection of Russian oil/LNG exports to Asia {SOURCE}.

“Our companies are considering opportunities, ​without waiting for ​further restrictions from Europe, to conclude ‌new long-term contracts with ​our partners ​and redirect some of the gas from Europe to other countries, including India, Thailand, ​the Philippines and ‌the People’s Republic of China,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak ​said.

♦ Before February 28, European Title Transfer Facility (TTF) liquified natural gas traded around 35 euros per megawatt hour. As of March 6, TTF settled at 52.81 euros, a 50 percent monthly surge in the value of LNG to Europe.

Asian Japan Korea Marker (JKM) spot cargoes, the benchmark LNG price assessment, are trading above $20 per million BTU, with Bangladesh paying $28.28 for emergency deliveries.

The difference between Russia selling LNG to hostile Europe or selling Russian LNG to friendly Asia at post gulf crisis premiums is the widest it has been since the post pandemic (2022) ‘Build Back Better” energy crisis.

Russia supplied 13.8 million tonnes of LNG to Europe in 2025. The EU is phasing Russian gas out: short-term contracts banned beginning in April, full LNG ban by year end 2025, pipeline gas fully banned by 2027.

Russia is not fighting the EU bans; Russia is finding new customers at higher prices. Every tonne Russia redirects to Asia before the EU ban was scheduled to begin creates a potential long-term contract at a premium price with a buyer who will not legislate Russia out of the relationship.

Qatar and all shippers and suppliers declared force majeure after Iranian drones struck Ras Laffan facility on March 2, 2026.  Approximately 20% of global LNG went offline. Asian buyers are now bidding against Europe for every tanker “on the water.”  Russia has a lot of supply on the water and the ability to put a lot more into the market quickly.

Hormuz is closed, at least temporarily, through forced reinsurance withdrawal triggered by the U.K (Lloyds insurance market). And Russia, the one major energy exporter whose supply chains run through neither the Gulf nor the Strait, is the only non-western producer that can deliver to Asia without navigating a war zone.

Right now, Russia is to energy supplies for Asian customers as Amazon was to U.S. consumers during COVID.  Both selling to an isolated and captive customer base, who were regulated out of options.

SUMMARY: 

(1) Upon reelection President Trump told all U.S. energy providers to “drill baby drill” and maximize energy production. Trump then deregulated the industry for maximum efficiency: Secretaries Burgum (Interior), Wright (Energy) and Zeldin (EPA).

(2) Trump then meets with Putin in Alaska Aug 15, 2025.  Three days later, Aug 18, 2025, Putin restarts Russia’s flagship Arctic project, the LNG export facility via the Northern Route to Asia.

(3) President Trump then signs contracts with Finland for the urgent start of Arctic icebreaking ship manufacturing in the USA and emphasizes the prior conversation about taking over Greenland which infuriates the Danes and EU.

(4) President Trump then triggers the Venezuela operation, captures Nicholas Maduro and -in addition to other benefits- forms a new strategic oil development relationship with the interim Venezuela government.  Russia stays silent.

(5) President Trump then triggers Operation Epic Fury against Iran; completely changing the geopolitical landscape that surrounds energy partnerships.  Energy flows through the Gulf of Oman are impacted.

(6) President Trump then removes specific sanctions against Russia permitting Russian oil and LNG to be sold (in petrodollars) into the Asian market.  Meanwhile, the European Union is forced to increase LNG purchases from the United States.

Sure, it could all be just coincidence… or not.  One thing is certain, the FIVE-EYES opposition do not think all of this downstream benefit that flows to Russia and the USA is coincidental.  The FIVE-EYES opposition see all of this as a strategic realignment between the USA and Russia, and they are going to do everything in their power to stop it.

Now does this sudden news story make sense?

(Reuters) – “Russia is ready to divert oil to ​India to offset Middle East supply disruptions, with about 9.5 million barrels of Russian crude in vessels near Indian waters and able ‌to arrive within weeks, an industry source with direct knowledge told Reuters.  The source declined to say where the non‑Russian fleet cargoes were originally headed but said they could deliver to India within weeks, giving refiners rapid relief.”

There are trillions at stake!

Mar 7 2026

Division, Derision and the Economics of the Thing


Posted originally on CTH on March 6, 2026 | Sundance

Do you remember this moment during the 2015 republican presidential debates when all of the candidates were on stage and leading control outlet Fox News (Bret Baier) purposefully asked the candidates:

…”is there anyone on stage, unwilling tonight, to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the republican party, and pledge to not run an independent campaign against that person.  Again, we are looking for you to raise your hand now if you won’t make that pledge tonight.”

[The moment in video is here] The need for control is a reaction to fear.  The question was intentionally constructed to create both an optic and a narrative Fox News, Rupert Murdoch and the republican party were purposefully shaping.  Collectively the professional republicans were desperately afraid Donald Trump would run as an independent candidate.

I bring us back to that moment because it is the key to understand where we are even today.  This was the core of the matter. This is the “trillions at stake” aspect.  This is the economics of the thing as it first manifest.

Why did Donald J Trump stand against them all?

For many years before that moment, a small group of us had been outlining why it was urgent for MAGAnomics to take charge of the U.S. economy; because underneath both wings of the UniParty in Washington DC was a system that few understood.

♦ Prior to 2016, the United States Chamber of Commerce (U.S CoC), a private K-Street lobbying consortium, were the negotiators for every single trade deal done from the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

The U.S. government (USTR, POTUS and Congress) was the trade stakeholder who signed the agreements; however, the actual nuts and bolts of what the trade deal included, the terms and conditions, were negotiated by the US CoC.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce represented the corporate interests of their Wall Street clients. After all, the corporations paid the CoC and the business model of the CoC is dependent on the corporations.

This is the larger background for how decades of trade agreements ended up with offshoring, the Rust Belt, diminished domestic manufacturing, and increased corporate profits. This is the core mechanics of how a U.S. manufacturing economy was shifted to a “service driven economy.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was writing the trade deals. The CoC would then fund the politicians who would approve the trade deals. The CoC would also finance the presidential candidates.

When President Trump ran for office in 2016, his trade, manufacturing and economic policies were against the interests of the entire business network that controlled trade. The U.S. CoC poured money into Hillary Clinton’s campaign and their main GOP partner in the enterprise, Mitch McConnell.

When Trump won the election, he completely shut out the CoC from any involvement in U.S. trade negotiations. Trump literally put himself, Wilbur Ross, and Robert Lighthizer in control.

The CoC was apoplectic but powerless to stop this action. CoC President Tom Donohue could not even get an appointment to see President Trump in the White House.

The only thing the CoC and Tom Donohue could do was to fund anyone who would assist them in removing the existential threat that Trump represented. That’s what they did.

With the CoC removed from influence, President Trump, Wilbur Ross and Robert Lighthizer began the painstaking process of taking the Wall Street profit tentacles off U.S. trade policy.

In essence, President Trump put the interests of the American citizens back into the top priority of the U.S. govt, as it pertained to the biggest of all big picture items, the U.S. economy. That’s why in 2018 and 2019 the U.S. economy was on fire with growth.

All of that MAGAnomic background remained in place when President Trump retook control in 2025, and now we are starting to see the positive economic effects again resurface.  However, that collective UniParty opposition still remains, albeit significantly diminished by the refusal of President Trump to move away from America-first policy.

The core of the opposition to all of President Trump’s actions, remains almost exclusively an outcome of the economics of policy the DC system no longer controls.  It’s about the money.  It will always be about the money.  The division we are encountering in the MAGA ranks, is specifically driven by those same financial interests who opposed candidate Donald Trump a decade ago.

When it came to trade policy, economic policy, tariff policy and the confrontation with China, there was not one iota of difference between any of the 17 republican candidates in that 2016 election.

There was not one degree of divergence from the traditional corporate economic policy of the 30 years that preceded that moment on stage.  Every one of the republican candidates aligned with the CoC message.

♦ CTH had previously identified our assembly as “The Last Refuge” specifically because there was no information space, no website, no organized group, no podcast, no functional assembly who understood the basic problem and simultaneously rejected the noisy pontificating baseline notion that our status was doomed to remain as a “service driven economy.”

We rejected that notion here.  So too did Donald J Trump, and subsequently we championed him.

His intention in this MAGAnomic regard has never wavered, flinched or diminished.  President Trump has focused on delivering real, actionable economic benefits due to a radically shifted policy approach toward jobs, trade and the underlying blue-collar economy.

As President, Donald Trump has never stopped being Main Street First in all policy outcomes.

What we are witnessing now with the division, derision and conflict goes right back to that original set of policy distinctions.

In 2016 we did not use the term “influencers,” but they existed inside every team for every republican candidate.  Dick Cheney’s daughter worked for Ben Carson. Mark Levin’s son worked for Ted Cruz. The daughter of Fox News Executive Producer for Political Content, Bill Sammon, worked for Marco Rubio.

All of those campaigns and every person in the professional republican apparatus that worked inside those campaigns had one very unique thing in common, they all adhered to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce constructs of economic policy.

Not a single candidate ever mentioned China as a strategic economic threat until Donald Trump kept hammering it.  Not a single Republican ever said economic security was national security, until Donald Trump made it core policy.

Remember this core difference when you see all of these voices who backbite, bitch, complain and protest that Donald Trump is not focused enough on American interests; it’s bullshit. It is all bullshit.

Not a single republican candidate ever cared about any of this stuff until Donald J Trump made it his mission in life to fundamentally restructure the economics of everything.  This is still his primary focus, and if you watch him work you will see it unfold in the outcomes of every single policy, even the foreign policy engagements.

President Trump is delivering a global shift, a multigenerational shift, in the return of U.S. power and financial WEALTH to our nation.  And, he’s unbelievably good at it.

MAGAnomics! The rest is just noise.

Mar 7 2026

Orban Intercepts Zelenskyy’s Money Laundering Operation – Zelenskyy Threatens to Send Ukraine Special Forces to Assassinate Orban


Posted originally on CTH on March 6, 2026 | Sundance 

The origin of the latest development goes back several weeks.

Ukraine (Zelenskyy) was angry at Hungary (Orban) for blocking the €90 billion EU loan (a loan with no payback clause) which was backed by confiscated Russian sovereign wealth funds.  A splendidly European financial scheme.

To get back at Viktor Orban, Volodymyr Zelenskyy destroyed an oil/gas pipeline hub in Ukraine that transferred Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia (Robert Fico).

Hungary and Slovakia were furious, and Zelenskyy said repairs were too complicated to be easily fixed.  Viktor Orban and Robert Fico then doubled down on blocking Ukraine funds and Ukraine’s assentation to the EU.

When Zelenskyy was questioned about Hungarian or EU inspectors visiting the site to evaluate the repairs, Zelenskyy said they would not be allowed access.

Zelenskyy further noted when he was told Patriot Missiles were in short supply, he did not get to visit the inventory; implying his lies were similar to lies told by the United States.

Caught in a lie, Zelenskyy followed up by saying he didn’t care, it was Russian oil so get lost.

Two days ago, Hungary then intercepted two Ukraine vans carrying $40 million in cash dollars, €35 million in cash Euros, and 9 kg of gold – presumably a money laundering transfer intended to fund Zelenskyy and his intelligence chiefs.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stating that “since January, $900 million and €420 million in cash, as well as 146 kilograms of gold, have been transported across Hungary.”

The shipment apprehended by Hungary included 40 million U.S. dollars as well as 35 million euros and 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold — worth around $1.5 million at current prices — according to a separate statement by Oschadbank.

Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration confirmed Friday that it had detained the Ukrainian citizens and seized the two armored cash-transport vehicles. It added it was conducting criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering. {LINK}

Upon hearing of the intercept yesterday, a highly angered Volodymyr Zelenskyy then threatened to send Ukraine “special military operators” to the home of Viktor Orban to extract revenge.

Zelenskyy’s threat caused the European Commission to issue an unusual rebuke of the Ukraine dictator.

“Specifically in relation to the comments made by President Zelenskyy, we are very clear as the European Commission that that type of language is not acceptable. There must not be threats against EU member states,” Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters Friday, in a rare condemnation of the leader in Kyiv. {link}

Zelenskyy, with pants down and visibly on fire, now missing all the money/gold, retreats from the originating position that started this mess and says he will repair the oil transfer station he destroyed, if Hungary will permit Ukraine to get the €90 billion loan (not a loan) from the Russian sovereign wealth fund.

[…] After his emotional outburst on Thursday, Zelenskyy said he was ready to repair and restart the pipeline in a month if the EU officially requests it and promises Orbán will unblock the €90 billion loan.

Ukraine is expected to run short of funds by the end of March as it resists Russia’s full-scale invasion, and EU leaders have pledged to cover Kyiv’s financial needs for the next two years — a pressure point the Commission sees as partly explaining Zelenskyy’s anxiety over the veto and potentially prompting his remarks.

Speaking from the podium in the Commission’s Brussels headquarters, Gill urged both sides to cool it. {LINK}

Then…

Trying to give diplomatic western impressions but stuck with the Ukraine Nazi mentality at the forefront and visible, Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily says he will help U.S. allies with anti-drone technology and strategy, but only if the United States will provide him with Patriot Missile batteries.

[…]  ““Our appeal is very simple: we would like to quietly obtain, – from countries we can name and countries we cannot name, – obtain a deficit for ourselves, those Patriot missiles and give them the equivalent number of interceptors. Yesterday I had consultations with everyone: the Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of Defense, our military, management, intelligence, and so on. We clearly understood how much we need and how much we can additionally produce very quickly if we have this kind of dialogue with our partners. Aside from that, we will definitely provide expertise — specifically in protecting civilians and oil infrastructure, which, as you can see, affects the entire world. We will definitely provide our expertise.

– Zelenskyy on Thursday, March 5th, 2026.”

[Pictured Above – intercepted money laundering funds]

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