The Russian offensive in Ukraine grinds on, unstoppable, toward its inevitable conclusion, while Neocons offer excuses—we coulda won, we shoulda won, it’s just that—to general derision. The wheels of Trump’s peace offensive spin and spin. What could have been more predictable than that the Russians would talk, will continue to talk, but in the end will opt for strategic defense against the latest in centuries of Western assaults—on their terms. Trump’s threat list lengthens—Putin, Zelensky, Houthis, Iranians, Inuit, Danes, Canadians, Chinese. Everyone who’s not engaged in US sanctioned genocide. But is anyone listening? Meanwhile, the Eurocrats are frantically trying to suppress popular unrest—jiggering electoral levers—as Western economies flounder, while improbably threatening war on Putin and Trump simultaneously. What could go wrong—that hasn’t already? On the other hand, why take the chance betting on a return to the past order:
TF Metals Report @TFMetals
WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA
This can't be right.
This can't possibly be correct.
Could it?
No way.
Has to be a misprint by the @CME.
Has to be.
Right?
RIGHT??!!??
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1:37 PM · Mar 31, 2025
EEK! Who has the biggest stockpile of gold and is also the biggest producer? That’s right. China.
Philip Pilkington takes a victory lap of sorts. That may not be the right word, but:
… As the deadline for Trump’s new wave of tariffs draws closer, the Nasdaq index, the home of American technology stocks and the Magnificent 7, has dropped 16 percentage points since Christmas — four points from what is officially classified as a bear market. No wonder, then, that investors are moving their money into safe haven assets like gold, which has risen to about $3,120 an ounce.
Although Trump’s looming tariffs have no doubt contributed to this decline, the rot in Western markets runs much deeper. Many of the major companies on the Nasdaq have their own problems that are not related to tariffs. …
Over in Europe, the picture is more mixed. While it is true that European markets are outperforming America, that does not mean that the continent has suddenly regained its international competitiveness. Rather, investors are betting that the plans for enormous borrowing being floated by various European leaders to militarise the continent’s economy will provide a short-term boost. …
The Trump administration has tried to play down the financial turmoil in the markets, but officials fail to understand how fragile the American economy is right now. Thanks to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and the energy sanctions on Russia, the US economy is in a dire state. Take the example of mortgage delinquencies. With 6.1 million Americans now behind on their mortgages, this figure could end up approaching levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. …
These are highly uncertain times, and as far as one looks into the future, all that can be seen is troubled water ahead. We do not know exactly what will happen next. But if stock markets continue to decline and the fear in these markets spreads to the bond market, there will be a rise in interest rates. Only then will we know if a recession is on the cards and, at worst, a borrowing crisis for the US government.
Leave it to the Finns to get the fundamentals right—just a bit late in the day. Having spent a couple of years telling the Russians how much they hate them, inviting the US to man bases within easy missile strike range of important Russian ports, cities, and military bases, they’ve suddenly remembered that geographical units like countries can’t be relocated:
Finnish President Stubb said his country needs to "mentally prepare" to restore relations with Russia: “Nothing changes the fact that Russia is and will always be Finland’s neighbor, 1,350 kilometers of neighborly relations”
That ‘Duh!’ moment. When you decide it’s time to “mentally prepare” for … reality. When you realize that reality has already prepared for you.
Finland’s Estonian neighbors still don’t get it. We’re talking here about 25% of Estonia’s population, heavily concentrated in Estonia’s major (?) cities:
Some politicians can see which way the wind is blowing—don’t need a weatherman to … read the writing on the wall?
Philip Pilkington @philippilk
Pretty clear @matteosalvinimi sees the writing on the wall for @GiorgiaMeloni. He’s positioning himself as an actual Italian right-winger as Meloni gets thrown to the wolves by the people she thought were her friends.
Recall Hegseth’s excellent trip to Asia over the weekend, to set up a war command with Japan to target China?
Megatron @Megatron_ron
BREAKING:
 China begins naval blockade drills on Taiwan
China's military said it had sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for drills it said were aimed at practicing a blockade of the self-ruled island.
China also warns Taiwan independence ‘means war’ as launches drills around the island.
6:01 AM · Apr 1, 2025
It sure looks like Trump’s missile rattling isn’t gaining much traction in the Middle East—or may be generating blowback. Trump claims his war on Yemen is going excellently, but the Houthis continue their operations. And did you hear the one about the Houthis shooting down another $32 million dollar Global Hawk? Yep. That comes to something half a billion $$ worth of Global Hawks so far.
Megatron chronicles Iran’s evolving responses to Trump’s threats—Russia and China in the wings and probably in the loop:
Iran warns it could develop nuclear weapons if US attacks and will target the 50,000 US soldiers in the Middle East
"If the US makes a mistake on Iran's nuclear issue, it will leave it with no choice but to develop nuclear weapons, even though Tehran itself has repeatedly stated that it does not plan to do so," Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a member of the Assembly for Determining State Expediency of Decisions, said live on Iranian state television.
Also, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, issued a threat to the United States, stating that about 50 thousand American servicemen are within the range of Iranian missiles.
"The US has dozens of bases and 50,000 soldiers in our region. They are in a glass room. And those who live in a glass house should not throw stones," he said.
Let us recall that Trump earlier threatened Iran with massive bombings if Tehran refused the nuclear deal.
Meanwhile, Trump lets Americans know who his REAL base is:
Bishop Strickland has penned an open letter to President Trump urging him to stop supporting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and bombing Yemen.
“In Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of civilians – including women and children – has reached an intolerable scale. The people of Palestine, many of whom have no affiliation with terrorist organizations, suffer immensely. War cannot be waged without regard for the innocent.”
Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis @DrLoupis__
Bishop Strickland has penned an open letter to President Trump urging him to stop supporting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and bombing Yemen.
“In Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of civilians – including women and children – has reached an intolerable scale. The people of Palestine, many of whom have no affiliation with terrorist organizations, suffer immensely. War cannot be waged without regard for the innocent.”
Walter Kirn @walterkirn
The long and unreliable NYT piece on the "secret history" of the Ukraine war disproves the notion that history is written by the victors.
Quite often history is written by the losers trying to cover their asses.