Tag Archives: The Hunt for Taxes

Jul 16 2017

French Riots Erupt in 20 cities


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest

Re-Posted Jul 16, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The riots is France has been forming for the last two weeks and have now erupted violently with protesters carrying banners that read “Break Destroy Ravage” that is similar to the destructive forces unleashed in Hamburg. The police report that the mob is composed of the youth. It is hard to see how these people can practice restraint when unemployment among the youth is so high because of taxes and regulation prevent small businesses from forming.

Jul 13 2017

Germany Begins to Censor the Internet


Armstrong Economics Blog/Germany

Posted Jul 13, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Merkel’s attempt to silence any internet site that disagrees with her government seems to be the resurrection of the idea of East Germany where she grew up. Freedom of speech was outlawed. When I went behind the Berlin Wall, people would speak freely only when nobody else was close enough to listen. Today they have listening devices that can be pointed at you for 100 yards away. Trying to visit certain sites in Germany you will see this pop-up warning from the government. This is very disturbing and inconsistent as it seems to be a very desperate measure by a government that welcomed refugees.

Signs of this is what unfortunately we are facing. As government mismanagement comes to a boil, they become increasingly desperate to retain power. This is yet another sign of the times that what we are facing is the collapse of government. If everything was fine, they would not care what you have to say. The mere fact that we are looking at this crisis in government is why we suddenly see outright censorship now appearing on the internet.

Jul 12 2017

China & The Rule of Law


Armstrong Economics Blog/China

Re-Posted Jul 12, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I read your analysis of Country Risk. It was truly fascinating. You are correct. We do not consider investing in Syria or Iran no less North Korea because they are not safe places to do business. That is clearly the first decision which shuts down any further consideration.

So I must ask. What is your next advice to China? And will you be coming to Shanghai for a conference anytime soon?

Thank you

ANSWER: My advice to China is now to formalizing the Rule of Law, establish courts with true independent judges nominated only by the private sector, and their terms should be a maximum of 2 years and out – barred from ever holding any government job again. I am aware that Federal judges from New York went to China to explain how to establish the court system modeled on the USA. Do NOT listen to such advice. American judges cannot be trusted.

Absolutely no legal right should be subject to the oscillating wishes of a judge. Sir William Blacksone wrote in 1776: “That the king can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution.” That is fundamentally at odds with what he also wrote: “It is better that ten guilty escape than one innocent suffer.”

We must be mindful that perhaps the most honest ruler to have have held power with respect to the Rule of Law was Julian II (360-363AD) known as the Apostate, because he rejected Christianity after he family, related to Constantine I the Great, were murder the night he died by his son to prevent any rival to the throne. When Julian II came to power, he was the most brilliant ruler ever. In the criminal trial of Numerius, governor of Gallia Narbonensis, who was accused of embezzlement, Numerius had successfully defended himself against the prosecutor Delphidius. The prosecutor did not like to lose and said anyone could be found guilty if they only denied the charges. Julian’s response, quoted in Book XVIII of Ammianus’s History, “Can anyone be proved innocent, if it be enough to have accused him?”

Julian said that not even the emperor was above the law. This should be fundamental to the Survivability of any society. We must understand that those in the judiciary call themselves “honorable” without ever having to demonstrate that they possess such as distinction.  For I think prosecutors and judges, act in their own little bubbles to the detriment of society, yet give very great pleasure to themselves in wielding power and always being correct.

Established the best UNBIASED Rule of Law and capital will pour into China fleeing the corruption of the West.

Jul 12 2017

The Destruction of Hamburg is Massive


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest

Re-Posted Jul 12, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The destruction of Hamburg has been massive. There is much going on behind the scenes politically with the focus now on intensely monitoring and censorship to be imposed. The degree of violence many view as unprecedented since the raid on Jewish businesses during the Nazi era. Inquiries are now looking into the organizers behind the scenes and where this originated from.

If funding came from any group inspired to create political unrest, we will see some head perhaps roll, but if that head is Soros, it will be swept under the rug with a bunch of money. Someone had to pay for the banners “G20 Welcome to Hell” which clearly illustrates this was premeditated and not spontaneous.

Jul 11 2017

Catalonia to Move to Referendum October 1st to Break From Spain


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Jul 11, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The Spanish region of Catalonia is preparing to hold a second referendum on separating from of Spain on October 1st, despite warnings from Madrid. Naturally, the EU is against any such separation. However, the regional tensions are historic and Catalonia is the rich and prosperous region of Spain with Barcelona being perhaps the most beautiful city in Europe. The separatist movement are generally small but rising on a global scale primarily because of governments going broke everywhere.

 

Spain was actually formed by the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs of Queen Isabella I of Castile (Spain) and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in general. Both regions were historically two separate nations. That distinction has lived on and it is economics that is driving the separatist movement as we see in Canada with Quebec and in the United States with movements building in Texas and California, albeit small minorities so far. Catalonia was not part of Aragon but to some degree much more isolated from Madrid as you can see on this map.

The government in Catalonia will immediately declare independence from Spain if the majority of the citizens vote for that result in a second referendum planned for October. However, if the majority of citizens voted against independence, new elections would have to be held in the region. Madrid opposes any separation for it would devastate their budget since they extract more revenue from Catalonia which is being forced to support the rest of the country, including the corruption and pension in Madrid.

The point is not whether or not the referendum votes to separate, The point is that such a separatist movement has risen to this level at all.

Jul 11 2017

France Agrees to Pay All Costs for Turkey to Sign Paris Climate Accord


Armstrong Economics Blog/Climate

Re-Posted Jul 11, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not ratify the Paris Climate Accord unless Europe paid all costs to Turkey. France agreed to pay Turkey compensation for the cost of implementation when signing the agreement. If Erdogan does not receive any financial funds, he said that his Parliament will not ratify the treaty.  Erdogan is demanding money from Europe for anything these days including to stop allowing refugees to travel to Greece.

Jul 9 2017

G20 Hamburg Protest was Closer to the Start of Civil War


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest

Re-Posted Jul 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

 

There is a rumor going around that the extreme violent protests in Hamburg, which resembled a Civil War, were funded allegedly  by Soros. It is just a rumor with no proof as of yet. It may in fact be true that his organization funded in part these protests but did not direct them to be violent.

On Saturday, more than 70,000 came out to protest to demonstrate that they could be peaceful after the carnage of two days before. Clearly, there is rising discontent targeting capitalism and supporting a totalitarian state. This in itself is very distressful.

Jul 7 2017

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Provide G20 Debrief of Putin Meeting…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Three House on July 7, 2017 by

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hold an off camera press conference to debrief media on the sideline discussions within the G20 meetings.   T-Rex outlines the content of the Trump/Putin meeting at length.

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for 2 hours and 15 minutes extending their conversation by four times the length anticipated.  Both leaders covered a lot of geopolitical ground. The length of the meeting has U.S. media in meltdown mode.

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*Note* Until today virtually no-one was emphasizing the important role of Secretary Mnuchin amid all of the international issues. Again, we remind everyone, against international finance issues -including economics- Mnuchin plays the largest national security role in the cabinet. Tillerson, Mnuchin, Ross, Mattis, Kelly et al are all in sync with the larger President Trump approach toward ‘America-First’ policy and security.

Jul 7 2017

Weasel Boy Being Weasel Boy – Embarrassingly Juvenile Behavior By Emanuel Macron on World Stage….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on July 7, 2017 by

French President Emmanuel Macron left his position during the G20 group picture in an effort to place himself next to US President Donald Trump and make himself more important on the international stage.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel watches as Emmanuel Macron abandons his position in the rear right and weasels his way down to the front row so that he can be pictured next to U.S. President Donald Trump.  Leaving a hole in the picture where he should have been standing.   Too funny…. weasel boy.

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It did not go unnoticed by U.S. Media:

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Jul 7 2017

G20 Leftist Protesters Turning Violent


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest

Re-Posted Jul 7, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The left is engaging in violent protests at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Both the police and G20 opponents were mutually responsible for the escalation of violence, as politicians are demanding harsh punishments for the violent protests with many arguing for prison time.

The protesters blocked the routes of the delegations in several places. Other places attacked the police and they erected barricades. The protesters have been smashing windows in the city as well. A police helicopter was attacked with laser pointer nearly blinding the pilot. The heavy riots had begun on Thursday evening and so far some nearly 160 police officers have been injured. This morning, some 60 mobs in the Altona district attacked police officers with bombs and stones. The protesters are throwing Molotov cocktails setting cars on fire.

The G20 opponents made a statement: “We have reached our goal and set a clear signal against the madness of the G20.” Most are wearing masks to hide their faces. We should expect to see increasing civil unrest especially in Europe going forward.