Tag Archives: U. S. Regionalism

Jul 2 2022

European Union Inflation Hits Record 8.6 Percent for All Nations Using the Euro


Posted original on the conservative tree house on July 1, 2022 | Sundance 

It is interesting to remember the recent comments from Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, who outlined the EU energy crisis as the heart of the current inflation rate in the eurozone.  Lagarde discussed inflation in Europe while drawing a distinction in COVID-19 spending between the EU and U.S.

Essentially, according to Legarde, the EU subsidized businesses to maintain employment; the EU covered payroll expenses during lockdowns, while the U.S. sent direct payments to the American people who were impacted by the lack of work (basically everyone).

Lagarde outlined this difference in spending approach to explain why the Eurozone inflation was less than U.S. inflation.

How long did that EU Central Bank explanation hold up? Approximately two months.

The U.S. inflation rate is currently estimated at 8.6%, and today the eurozone inflation rate just reached,…. wait for it,…  Yep, an exact match at 8.6%.

LONDON (AP) — Inflation in countries using the euro set another eye-watering record, pushed higher by a huge increase in energy costs fueled partly by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Annual inflation in the eurozone’s 19 countries hit 8.6% in June, surging past the 8.1% recorded in May, according to the latest numbers published Friday by the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat. Inflation is at its highest level since recordkeeping for the euro began in 1997.

Energy prices rocketed 41.9%, and prices for food, alcohol and tobacco were up 8.9%, both faster than the increases recorded the previous month.

Demand for energy has risen as the global economy bounced back from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made things worse.

European Union leaders agreed to ban most Russian oil imports by the year’s end, driving a price spike. The 27-nation bloc wants to punish Moscow and reduce its reliance on Russian energy, but it’s also adding to financial pain for people and businesses as utility bills and prices at the pump soar. (read more)

Keep in mind, the EU and the U.S. are both chasing the climate change energy shift as dictated by the World Economic Forum in the Build Back Better program.

If you factor in the dramatic impact in both the EU and the U.S. from energy policy; and then if you calculate the COVID-19 spending as a percentage of the GDP from both economies; what you will discover is the direct similarity that creates the 8.6% inflation match.

The EU spent less on their COVID-19 programs. However, as a percentage of their economy they spent about the same as the U.S.

Joe Biden spent more, but the U.S. economy is bigger than the combined eurozone.

The inflation hitting the EU is almost identical to the inflation hitting the U.S. because the Russian energy sanctions are almost identical in impact to the EU energy sector as Joe Biden’s energy policy (a blockage on energy development) is to the United States.

The current similarity in the inflation rate between the U.S. and EU is specifically because politicians in both regions followed the exact same instructions from the World Economic Forum.

The outcome is ironically a global synergy as the economies of the EU and USA start to collapse.

None of this is accidental.  All of this economic turmoil is running on an identical track -on a global basis- because the entire western plan was coordinated and followed.  What we are seeing right now is the outcome of the “Build Back Better” roadmap.  The “global inflation” is the outcome.

Jul 2 2022

Bill Gates Wins Legal Approval to Purchase Another 2,700 Acres of Farmland in North Dakota Bringing Total Ownership to 270,000 Acres


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 1, 2022 | Sundance 

It’s not a secret that billionaire Bill Gates wants to radically change the process and outcome of farming, agriculture and ultimately food humans consume, in order to follow his climate change ambitions.  Bill Gates has been advocating for the removal of cows, pigs and animal-based protein for multiple years.  This is not a revelation.

However, what is new, is the amount of farmland that Bill Gates is purchasing.  Why would an entrenched climate change ideologue who wants to change food production be purchasing over a quarter million acres of prime farmland?

North Dakota – Bill Gates has secured legal approval for the controversial purchase of thousands of acres of prime North Dakota farmland, after the deal drew fury from the state’s residents.

The state’s Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley had inquired into the land sale, and on Wednesday issued a letter saying the transaction complied with an archaic anti-corporate farming law. The Depression-era law prohibits corporations or limited liability companies from owning farmland or ranchland, but allows individual trusts to own the land if it is leased to farmers, which Gates intends to do.

Gates is the largest private owner of farmland in America after quietly amassing some 270,000 acres across dozens of states, according to last year’s edition of the Land Report 100, an annual survey of the nation’s largest landowners.

[…] North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum, a former Microsoft executive whose campaign received $100,000 from Microsoft co-founder Gates when Burgum first won in 2016, declined to comment on the farmland sale. (more)

Meanwhile, in related news…

(CANADA) – On May 26th, Aspire Food Group announced that it has completed construction of its alternative protein manufacturing facility. London, Ontario is now home to the world’s largest cricket production facility.

Aspire’s new plant will reportedly produce 9000 metric tons of crickets every year for human and pet consumption. That’s about two billion insects to be distributed annually across Canada and throughout the United States.  Aspire also reports that it already has orders for the next two years.  

Crickets are currently being explored as a protein-rich superfood. They contain fibre and are already found in grocery stores and restaurants, and have a smaller environmental footprint than traditional protein sources. (read more)

Jul 2 2022

Wall Street Advocates Begin Admitting Demand Side Economy is in Free Fall


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 1, 2022 | Sundance

Keep in mind as you review this article from the Wall Street Journal that every corporate (think Wall St) media outlet, has claimed for well over a year, that inflation was predominantly a demand side issue.  In essence, consumer demand was so strong that prices were rising because of it.

The demand side argument/justification for inflation was always false.  However, it was/is still the claim made by members of the Biden administration and almost every board member of the federal reserve.

All of them, almost universally, dismissed the supply side inflation argument which is the reality at the epicenter of inflation causation.

Inflation was/is an exclusive outcome of three supply side aspects which merged simultaneously: (1) the Joe Biden energy policy, (2) the Joe Biden promoted covid response via legislative spending, and (3) the promoted Biden administration monetary policy.

While the legislative spending did create artificial economic activity, all of these inflationary sources are supply side impacts.

The demand side claim for the origin of inflation was always a ruse, a con, a complete farce intended to backstop the claim that inflation would be “transitory” once consumer spending moderated.   From that perspective every approach from government toward controlling inflation was wrong.  Not wrong by accident, wrong as a matter of deceit and purposeful media manipulation in order to maintain the “Build Back Better” or “Green New Deal” agenda….. which, I might add, benefitted from the advanced Wall Street investment in both constructs, globally and domestically.

In short, a collaboration of purposeful ignorance and pretending not to know has culminated in the collapse of much of the global economy.  Now, with that result visibly and unavoidably surfacing, the controllers of policy, both here and aboard, need to shift and start making admissions.  Thus:…

Wall Street Journal – Factories around the world are reporting weakening demand for their products, a sign that the consumer-goods boom that kick-started the postpandemic economic recovery could turn into a bust as surging prices and interest rates erode spending power.

Surveys of manufacturers released Friday told a similar story whether the factory was in South Korea, Italy or the U.S.: Output is falling or is rising at a slower pace, driven by declines in new orders, and particularly those from overseas buyers.

When prices began to rise rapidly early last year, central bankers thought the surge would be short-lived because supply would increase to match higher demand. As higher inflation persisted, they stopped waiting and began raising borrowing costs to reduce demand.

Now it seems higher prices themselves appear to be having the same effect, weighing on purchases even in places such as the eurozone, where interest rates have yet to rise.

“Demand is now weakening as firms report customers to be growing more cautious in relation to spending due to rising prices and the uncertain economic outlook,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

U.S. factory activity grew in June at the slowest pace in two years, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s measure of U.S. manufacturing activity known as the purchasing managers index.

New orders fell for the first time in two years as customer demand weakened. Employment in the manufacturing sector also fell for the second straight month, the survey found.

A separate measure of U.S. manufacturing PMIs produced by S&P Global indicated that output stagnated in June as sales fell for the first time since May 2020. Expectations for future output dropped to the lowest level since October 2020. (read more)

U.S. inflation was/is driven -in the vast majority- by supply side impacts as a result of policy (Build Back Better).  The U.S. recession was/is now going to be driven by demand side impacts that are the result of increased supply side costs.  This is the natural economic truth being denied by all levels of political leadership.

Joe Biden policy makers, specifically the U.S. treasury secretary and the federal reserve chairman, have claimed -falsely- that current inflation was/is being driven by demand. In essence, and ironically, their position means consumers are to blame for high prices.  This has been their story and they have stuck to it.  However, remember monetary policy can only impact the demand side of the economy.  Monetary policy cannot impact the supply side, that aspect is led by Joe Biden policy.

The Federal reserve, having denied (pretended) the supply side causation, has effectively raised interest rates (0.75%) into an economic environment where consumer demand was already contracting.  CTH has been asserting this fundamental position all year.   Here is the evidence:

US Manufacturing PMI fell dramatically to 52.4 in June 2022 from 57 in May.  This drop is well below the market and economic expectations of 56, and now points to the slowest growth and steepest drop in factory activity in almost two years.  Contractions in output and new orders are pushing the index down.

Production and new sales declined for the first time since the depths of the pandemic in mid-2020 driven by weak consumer demand.  Inflation and a drop in wholesale and retail purchases have lowered purchase orders.  The gears inside the economy are slowing to a halt.

Look at the PMI trendline and you can clearly see what we have been discussing on these pages since March of 2021.   Consumer demand has been dropping in direct proportion to the dramatic rise in inflation (consumer prices).

At the exact moment that U.S. inflation began spiking in housing, energy, fuel and food, consumer demand for non-essential purchases, durable goods, started dropping.  This is a natural outcome that mirrors your own experience in checkbook economics.

When food, fuel and energy cost you more, you stop buying stuff and start prioritizing.

Following the path of the “build back better” agenda, the U.S. version called “Green New Deal,” meant the Biden administration had to continue denying that any demand side contraction was taking place.   However, it is clear from the indexes under the control of purchasing managers that orders for factory goods have been dropping.

The same is true on the services side of the PMI.  Demand for services are being prioritized, and demand for non-essential services are dropping.

The U.S. economy is contracting.  Denial abounds.

Infuriating does not adequately describe my sentiments toward these intentional liars.

We are in an abusive relationship with all levels of government and their media spokespeople.

Independent and honest journalism, the sharing of information that can empower people to intercede events with political liars, is quite literally the only thing that might save us from the catastrophic consequences of all this pretending.

Knowledge is power, and we need to build our arsenal with an urgency unlike any before in our lifetime.

Jul 1 2022

New York Prohibits Illegal Aliens from Voting


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jul 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

In a groundbreaking moment of enlightenment, New York lawmakers decided that only US citizens should be able to vote. “There is no statutory ability for the City of New York to issue inconsistent laws permitting non-citizens to vote and exceed the authority granted to it by the New York State Constitution,” wrote Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio.

The recent ruling has blocked over 800,000 non-citizens from voting, accounting for nearly one in nine of the city’s voting-aged 7 million residents. The vote was approved with a 33-14 majority. Imagine visiting another country, perhaps living there for a month, and having a say in who they elect in positions of power?

The only requirement for non-citizen voters of age under this failed proposal would be that they are authorized to work in the US and have spent a measly 30 days in the city. They were pushing for this bill to pass by 2023 to infiltrate the 2024 US Presidential Election, among others. Mayor Bill de Blasio questioned the proposal but said he would not use his veto powers if the measure passed. Republican minority leader of the City Council Joseph Borelli told the Associated Press that the bill “devalues citizenship” as “citizenship is the standard by which the state constitution issues or allows for suffrage in New York state elections at all levels.” Borelli accused certain lawmakers of using the bill to infiltrate the voting process.

Non-citizens do not need knowledge of the English language, and they do not need to have any real understanding of the US election process. This law violates the Constitution so blatantly that there was bipartisan skepticism. It seems only the “progressives” were firmly in support of this measure since everything is racist in their bloodshot eyes.

Jul 1 2022

A Red Wave is Coming


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jul 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

After examining 12 months of data from 1.7 million Americans, the Associated Press (AP) has found that people are fleeing the Democratic Party. The Democrats enjoyed a slight edge while Trump was in power, as the outspoken president seemingly polarized voters who felt the two parties represented good v. bad. Inflation is running at a 40-year high, people cannot afford rent, crime has skyrocketed, the borders are open, and we are in the midst of an energy crisis – the list of issues that the Biden Administration has created is endless.

It is no wonder that 1 million voters in 43 states have switched to the Republican Party in the past year. The poll noted that middle-class suburban dwelling voters have been even more likely to switch parties, which spells trouble for the Democrats who previously relied on this demographic in swing states. In swing state Pennsylvania, for example, party changers switched to the GOP from 58% to 63%.

Biden’s popularity seems to diminish weekly. Democratic lawmakers have lost control of their cities and crime will continue to rise with poverty. COVID fear-mongering worked for only so long. Now, people are disgruntled with the “new normal” and are shifting their political beliefs to align with traditional American morals.

Jul 1 2022

Will the Fed Reverse Course?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted Jul 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Marty, It seems like the Epoch Times is reporting nonsense. They just posted an article claiming that some analysis I never heard of claims that the Federal Reserve is “likely to reverse course and continue to print substantial amounts of money because doing otherwise would threaten the federal government with insolvency.” With the demand for US debt rising in the face of Europe, I do not understand this reasoning. Would you elaborate?

Thank you

IG

ANSWER: You are correct. This is the typical domestic analysis that only looks at the Fed and everything just inside the USA. The US is nowhere near insolvency at this time. That cannot be said for the rest of the world. The capital inflows are still pointing into the USA. Whenever there is war in Europe, capital flees to the United States. There is no way the USA is in danger of insolvency right now. That will eventually come, but that is post-2024.

This is the problem with the domestic analysis. It is the difference between a domestic fund manager and an international hedge fund manager who MUST be aware of everything taking place EVERYWHERE. The purpose of this blog is to show you that we are ALL connected globally, and what takes place in one region will impact the flow of capital globally.

The bull market into 1929, the 1989 bubble in Tokyo, and the dot.com bubble in 2000 were all created by the concentration of capital globally into that one region. That was the same for the Russian Financial Crisis of 1998. All the hedge funds and banks were buying Russian GKO debt at high rates of interest, assuming the IMF would never allow them to default. When they realized they were wrong and tried to exit, there was NO BID.

Hence, those hedge funds and bankers began to sell all investments everywhere else because they needed cash to make up for the losses from Russia.

This is why academics are ALWAYS wrong. They have never traded and do not comprehend how markets function. They always want to blame some mythical short-seller they have never found since the first investigation of the Panic of 1907.

When you call your broker, and he says there is “NO BID,” you are in the midst of a flash crash. Only a trader understands that.

Our computer has forecasted every such instance. There is no way the US is ready for insolvency. As the capital flows into the USA, the insolvencies are everywhere else such as Lebanon and Sir Lanka, for example.

Look closely at our capital flow map. Note that the capital is fleeing Europe. But also note that the sanctions imposed on private Russians have led to their liquidation of assets in the West, and capital is flowing back into Russia. Hence, as always, our politicians who listen to academics are doing everything precisely opposite of what they should be doing. Our Capital Flow Models, unlike any other tool, have identified that Biden’s sanctions have indeed already destroyed globalization. Even that has come out right on target — 72 years from the birth of globalization in 1950, which has created world peace and broke the back of communism.

Jul 1 2022

Cassidy Hutchinson = Amber Heard 2.0 = Perjury?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jun 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The story of Trump lunging for the wheel appears to be total perjury. The Secret Service said they would testify, but were not called because Cassidy Hutchinson appears to be the new Amber Heard 2.0 as she is starting to be called all over the place. She wanted to work in Florida for Trump a few days later after January 6th, but Trump rejected her application. Is this payback? She better be very careful now for if the Republics take back the Hill, I would call her to the stand and dig into all those who coached her on how to testify and what to say. That is the way prosecutors handle their witnesses.

Anyone familiar with this tump of limo knows that it would be impossible for anyone sitting in the bank to move all the way forward and then reach over the driver and try to grab the wheel. She was coached on what to say and how to say it. This is more fake news orchestrated by Cheney just like her father did to create the Iraq War and hand billions of dollars to the very company he headed. I believe her father was corrupt and an evil person and she is proving that the apple does not fall too far from the tree. Cheney is now asking Democrats to change their registration to Republican so they can vote for her.

COMMENT:  RE: Recent article on Cassidy Hutchenson’s hearsay testimony.
I Martin, Thank you for all that you do. One thing to point out, Cheney is pretty much alone with her antics. The people of Wyoming DO NOT support what she has done. She has NOT acted as a Representative of Wyoming People, she is doing her own show. Our Primary elections will be held in August and you will see Cheney be dissolved. The polls are against her recently by 28 points. So no Wyoming doesn’t want to join California. We are of a different cloth.

MO

REPLY: Thank you. Well, I normally stay clear of donating to politicians. However, I will be donating to whoever Trump endorses against this woman. If this was an honest mistake it is forgivable. But she is an attorney and she knows you CAN NOT introduce HEARSAY which is nothing but a rumor and if you ask Huctinsin, she cannot testify that what was said was true because she was not there.

Putting HEARSAY up like this is defamation of character and that is what is going on here because most Democrats will believe it simply because they hate Trump, which is what these people have been doing from the very start of his victory. This is NOTHING but propaganda to manipulate the Mid-Term Elections. I would haul Cheney into a real court and move for Conspiracy to commit treason against the United States. I for one would put her on trial for coaching witnesses and supporting perjury before Congress.

This has nothing to do with Trump anymore. This is about ending the propaganda from those who have occupied the Hill. Hopefully, by 2032 we get to start all over again. At least voting Republican will stop the WOKE nonsense and restore energy. However, they too will be cheering World War III simply because they will listen to the Neocons.

Jul 1 2022

During NATO Press Conference Joe Biden Blames Russia for Upcoming Global Food Shortage


Posted originally on the conservative tree house June 30, 2022 | Sundance

There it is folks.  I hope people can see the natural arc of this self-fulfilling prophecy now.  This also is why you should make sure you have potassium iodide tablets in your prep kit.

During a NATO press conference in Madrid [Transcript Here], today Joe Biden specifically attributed the upcoming global food shortage to Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Biden was emphatic when responding to a question about oil costs, western nation energy development and the pending food shortage.

BIDEN…”I think there’s a lot of things we can do and we will do.  But the bottom line is: Ultimately, the reason why gas prices are up is because of Russia.  Russia, Russia, Russia. The reason why the food crisis exist is because of Russia — Russia not allowing grain to get out of Ukraine.”  WATCH:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=swum3wMOaIo%3Ffeature%3Doembed

[Full Video Here – Prompted, if Needed]

Please understand… The food shortage is a done deal. We are beyond the point where current action could impact what is coming.  The timeframe to mitigate any global food shortage is in the rear-view.  Efforts to mitigate the food crisis should have been done months ago.  Nothing was or is being done.

The Western Alliance now needs a scapegoat, a justification for a food crisis that is almost certain to surface.  We do not know the scale of the shortage, but we do know global food supplies are going to be less than needed to feed the world population.

The direct cause of the food shortage is the Western government decision to prioritize climate change over food production.  The Build Back Better climate change agenda has created massive disruption with energy products (biofuel, fertilizer, diesel, natural gas etc) which are critical for the efficient production of food.  However, the western alliance cannot and will not take responsibility for the food crisis.  Instead, as you are seeing above, their plan is to blame Russia.

Stopping Russia from starving the world will be the justification for a physical escalation of conflict between NATO and Russia.  All of the signs and indicators point in this direction. None of the geopolitical or global economic signs point away from this direction.  A NATO led war with Russia is not a matter of “if”, it is a question of “when?”

The NATO and western alliance that is currently engaging in the military buildup against Russia is the exact same alliance of governments’ who are chasing the climate change agenda at all costs.

I know it sounds outlandish, but the World Economic Forum multinational corporations that influence and manipulate geopolitical politics are the driving force for this needed war with Russia.  Their holy grail of Climate Change policy, and the massive shift in global economic power that comes with executing the climate change agenda, is so consequential to the geopolitical world that such a massive move is needed.

More specifically, we already know there is going to be a global food shortage as a result of the new world order energy policy that underpins the Build Back Better agenda.  We do not know the extent of the food deficit; however, we do know less food, perhaps much less food, is going to be available on a global basis.

We also know the majority voices, including the United States, within the NATO alliance have decided it is more important to follow the climate change policy than it is to feed people. [Africa Example]  The U.K and Germany proposed trying to avoid further conflict by generating more food [source].  The U.S. and Canada have blocked the effort saying that maintaining the shift toward new western energy development is more important.

Maintaining the development of a new western energy system to drive economic activity is more urgent and important than the looming crisis of global famine.  Accepting that reality, understanding the priorities as outlined, are the keys to understanding why the western alliance need the war with Russia {GO DEEP}.

I cannot emphasize this enough.  If you do not accept the scale, scope and severity of the collective west’s entrenched commitment to climate change, you will be caught off-guard and not understand what is coming.

NATO and Western Govt, led by the policy of Joe Biden, have placed oil and gas sanctions against Russia. Those U.S-led Russian energy sanctions follow similar sanctions already in place against oil and gas from Iran and Venezuela.

Simultaneously the G7, Western Alliance will not allow Africa to develop their own use of natural gas to produce fertilizer to increase crop yield/harvest. [source] The G7 control food production in Africa by controlling the energy company investment needed to manufacture fertilizer. Again, as with the biofuel issue [source], the G7 and Western Alliance are prioritizing Climate Change energy policy over food production. Which will ultimately cause food shortages and famine.

However, within this forecast dynamic, now the “WEST” has an ideological problem. Sooner or later the issues will surface with massive interest. People around the world will figure this out. The absence of food will change things. People in all parts of the world will eventually get angry once they realize the absence of food is being caused by Western Govt prioritizing Climate Change over people.

Things will get intense. Things will get ugly. The Western “leaders” need a scapegoat, a way to focus the world’s anger away from them… and toward something else. Their advanced narrative messaging has already surfaced in the words of National Security Coordinator for Strategic Communication, John Kirby:

“President Putin is, no kidding, weaponizing food. Let’s just call it what it is: He’s weaponizing food. He’s got an essential blockade there in the Black Sea so that nothing can leave by sea — and that’s, of course, how Ukraine has historically gotten its grain to markets.” [source]

It is not coincidental that John Kirby was moved from Pentagon spokesperson to NSC strategic communications at the White House.  Kirby’s prior move into the White House is as much related to what is coming as the 101st Airborne deployment today.

Notice how the looming shortage of food is being blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin.  “He’s weaponizing food,” Kirby repeats, this is a significant and telling advance narrative.  What Kirby is outlining is the western government justification for the upcoming war against Russia.

The collective western leaders, positioned by the NATO talking points, are going to justify war against Russia as a needed fight to stop the global food crisis from worsening.  They will claim it is Russian President Vladimir Putin who has disrupted the world energy production.

NATO and the western alliance will claim Putin is the reason why food fertilizer is in short supply.  NATO will claim that Putin’s war in Ukraine is the source of the global energy, food and subsequent economic crisis.  Just like Putin has been blamed for higher energy and gasoline prices, so too will Putin be blamed for starving millions of people.

The war against Russia will be justified as the war to stop Putin from creating mass starvation.

If you cannot see how this is being constructed through all of the sub-links, citations and sources above, I cannot lay this out more clearly.

A NATO and western alliance war with Russia is not a matter of “if“, it is now a question of when?  Perhaps Vladimir Putin can outwit them somehow; but unless a massive number of people in the world begin to accurately see what is happening, no change in direction is likely.

Be proactive just in case.  Buy potassium iodide pills now, they will not be available when you need them.  Prepare for shortages in many essential products and most importantly, accept things as they are – NOT as you would wish them to be.  The Build Back Better global energy agenda is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

.

[Support CTH Research Here]

Jun 30 2022

The Untold War in Syria and Deserted Pipelines


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jun 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

We’ve heard of the refugees and people fleeing Syria for a better life, but the media rarely reports how dire the situation has become. Reuters recently reported that 1.5% of the Syrian population is DEAD due to the ongoing war. Estimates state that around 83 people (18 who are innocent children) die every day in Syria. So why has everyone overlooked this decade-long deadly battle?

I mentioned in 2013 how former President Obama wanted to invade Syria. In 2009, Qatar proposed a pipeline that would have sent energy to Europe from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan. Then Syrian ruler Assad, backed by Russia, began negotiating for a different pipeline with Iran that would run gas to Europe from Iraq and Syria. Russia saw an economic advantage to having the latter pipeline as the US was too closely linked to Qatar, and therefore, the Iranian pipeline became a priority for Russia.

Putin met with Obama in 2015 to ask him to support Assad against ISIS. Obama objected as that was not economically beneficial for the US and would give Russia almost a monopoly over European energy. Obama began suddenly lifting sanctions on Iran to break the forming alliance. Russia entered Syria on the exact day the ECM predicted, and the US began backing Assad’s opposition even though that meant funding the terrorist group ISIS.

There have been no developments on the Iran–Iraq–Syria pipeline (known as the friendship pipeline) since 2013. The Syrian people have been left to rot. There is so much virtue signaling for Ukraine, but numerous nations invaded Syria and left their economy and infrastructure in shambles. No politician cares about the people; nearly all decisions are made based on money. The US lost this battle as Russia remains an energy powerhouse with a stronghold on the entire energy sector. Thanks, Obama.

Jun 30 2022

Macron Tells Biden to Rethink Energy Plans


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jun 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

French President Emmanuel Macron pulled US President Joe Biden aside at the G7 summit to explain a few basic facts. Biden has been demanding Middle Eastern nations ramp up their oil and gas production to help offset the energy crisis his administration has created. It’s ok to drill and take from the environment as long as it is not on US soil.

A reporter recorded Macron explaining to Biden that the United Arab Emirates is already at maximum capacity and cannot produce more oil. He also told him that begging the Saudis for oil was a lost cause too. These were the only two OPEC nations left that the US thought it could tap into for more oil.

Journalist Michael Shellenberger tweeted part of the exchange between the US and French leaders: “I had a call with MBZ,” Macron said. (MBZ is the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.) “He told me two things. I’m at a maximum [production capacity] and [the] Saudis can increase by 150 [thousands barrels per day].”

Reporters were visibly in earshot when Macron spoke to Biden, which seems like a strategic move. It is a not-so-subtle effort to explain to the US, as the world is watching, that they have the power to ramp up production on its own without grappling for help from other nations.