How much longer can the lies be sustained? And what happens when the are not? This is part of what is driving the increased calls for censorship. Along with all the other disastrous policies.
The BoJ and the ECB are ramping UP their QE programs at the same time the Fed is trying to tighten. That's worse than a wash sale, because last time I looked, cash is fungible. MMT is still alive and pumping.
Just not quite so clear to whom it's pumping towards....
There are definitely distinctions between the U.S. and Europe that condition how the Fed will operate vs. the ECB. For example, I have felt that the ECB would not raise rates or tighten at this point given current levels of sovereign debt on the "periphery" of the EU; I believed they would not risk "fragmentation" or national insolvency which might cause a break up of the EU especially given its current fragility. That seems to be true given Lagarde's strange statement a couple of days ago and today's ECB announcement. MMT thus fits nicely with their political agenda. But you probably have a better view of that than I do (and I have no expertise in economics).
It is interesting to speculate what the WEF thinks about all this. Some have speculated (for example, Tom Luongo (https://tomluongo.me/) that they might WANT the EU to collapse economically. Maybe so, but on their own timeline?
The Fed has a little more latitude but not much. They can raise rates and tighten a little bit but not enough to really put a dent in inflation. Most seem to feel they will pull back at the first sign of trouble (this is what the markets today reflected) - trouble being something like the credit markets starting to seize up. If the Fed is truly serious about bringing inflation down as much as it says, a lot of people invested in the U.S. markets could be in for a a really bad surprise.
I think people have forgotten what happened in 08 to EU countries: Spain, Portugal, Ireland and especially Greece were nearly bankrupted. The whole EU project has been propped up ever since by financial trickery. Yanis Varoufakis wrote a book about the fraud carried out under Merkel and the ECB that threw Greece under the bus - 'The Adults in the Room". EU is going to be the first house of cards to fall I think.
The amount of adverts for gold trading in the UK is crazy right now. Personally I'm deeply suspicious that the UK govt want citizens to buy up gold that they will then seize when it suits them. 2.5 years of craziness has made me paranoid.
And stock up on basics. Buy a few extra cans when you shop. It makes sense not just if the worst happens, but also from an inflationary point of view. Who knows what the same goods will cost next month?
Damn... now I'll have to continue to work until I'm 85 or dead. Doomsday approaches. I wonder if it would be better to be in a service industry vs. a manufacturing industry?
I recall in the 2008 bust our company gave $0 merit increases but allowed employees to keep their existing jobs. This seems worse than that.
What's the economic prediction for the world's oldest profession? Keep your responses semi clean please.
85, Cardigan? You slacker, you! I'm going part-time at 100 and will probably slave on till 120. I'm sure prostitutes will survive any situation short of a nuclear holocaust.
Agree mostly but caution. Don't buy the hype about Russia China. They arent pals. Far from it. They are purely convenient allies, and only so long as the Western Globalistas pose a threat to both.
China is weak weak weak. Even the highly filtered news from there is CrazyTown bad. They seem to be a few steps from economic collapse themselves.
And while Russia has a big advantage now w commodities, they dont trust China as far as the next bio lab. In a global depression, no one gets out alive.
The question we should all be asking is what are the realistic scenarios in the US when the S really HTF? Hopefully by now all of us have gotten prepared to survive as part of a defensible local community. That's baseline stuff. But what will we have to face in terms of a Regime takeover? This is the day these autocrats have been fantasizing about since 1945. How will they seize control and will we keep our heads down and hope it all turns out ok, or will we send delegates to Philadelphia?
I don't there are any friends at the international level, only allies, and often then, allies of convenience. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, would you be happy with your nation having "friends" like the UK and US?
Yes, funny you should mention Zeihan. I read his book in 2020 i think and took comfort at the time at all the geopolitical strengths for the US. Unfortunately Zeihan and his peers are a good example of smart people who see pieces and bits of information but fail to put together the larger picture. Yes, on paper the US is without parallel in resources, geography, riches of every sort--- truly God endowed this continent w amazing blessings. But all those blessings count for nothing in the face of a criminal Oligarchy determined to subjugate the people.
I read the piece linked by Mark and can't take it seriously. The author is another NoVA think tank expert producing what appears to be a mental exercise in what he hopes will happen between India, the US, and Russia. It's a fantasy, that's all.
At this point we have to accept that the OGUS (to use Michael Yon's term) is not a serious entity on the world stage. They are a joke. So is the EU and EC and UK for that matter. Oh we're in a multipolar world right now, but we've got a DC Regime under the delusion that it's 1991 and their word is Law and all nations exist to serve the Globalista New World Order. It really is that absurd. But people in DC cant see it, even when they're getting pummeled by reality. Russia is serious. India and China are serious. Maybe Brazil? That will be the power of the multipolar world. The US is going to fragment, without a doubt. If we're lucky, it may reassemble after some period of military rule that will reestablish borders, the rule of law, and flush out the gangsters from government. But I'm not holding my breath for such a rosy scenario. Hopefully the rest of the world will move on from the US and the EU like a demented ex spouse and let us get the therapy and healing we need so badly.
Ginned up, if you continue to simply post rants, without serious discussion, I will disallow you. "It's a fantasy, that's all" isn't a serious response in the face of solid facts--decades long cooperation between RF and IN compared to prickly relations between RF and CN for most of that period, repeated efforts by US to court IN. I'm getting fed up with your act. You're like a few others, constantly setting up black/white straw men, rather than looking at fluid dynamics.
Well, i appreciate the fair warning and it IS your substack, and a good one. That said, don't bother to disallow. I'll unsub. I admit ive lost patience w all the talking heads in places like American Conservative, American Thinker, American Greatness. I don't deny the essential facts from the article you linked. Yes, of course, Russia and India have strong connections for ex. My criticism is simply that the author's conclusions are fantasy. As you yourself have pointed out many times (and ive watched you move ever closer to my positions), we don't live in a world of responsible leaders who act for the good of the US. So what use is the author's analysis that pretends as if the USG is going to do anything like a reverse Kissinger? It's a mental exercise, ok, but will never happen bc it requires real leaders who act in the national interest. I think you have unfairly mischaracterized my opinions. I see mostly fluid dynamics all around us. But...it's your substack and you're entitled to see the world how you like, as am I.
You're welcome to continue commenting--if you clean up your act. Your response here typifies the problem. You write:
"My criticism is simply that the author's conclusions are fantasy."
But the fantasy appears to be on your part. The author doesn't offer a *conclusion;* he offers a policy recommendation:
"This historical precedent *should* inform U.S. policy towards India’s relationship with Russia."
You continue with your typical unsupported assertions:
"It's a mental exercise, ok, *but will never happen* bc it requires real leaders who act in the national interest."
And yet something of the sort did, in fact, happen during Trump's administration. Which means that it could happen again--a possibility that you reject totally out of hand without support. Leaders of nations are always flawed, because human nature is flawed. That's reality, but it doesn't mean that there can be no change nor that some leaders aren't better than others. I'm not interested in comments that fail to take reality into account.
I'm trying with this substack to draw attention to the dynamics behind current events. Saying that it's all fantasy misses the point entirely. Providing a platform for your posture that you and only you are correct and everyone else is a fantasist is not what it's about.
The level of stupidity among our "elites" is beyond belief. As Martin Armstrong, another person who is correctly reading the signs, has said on many occasions, we have the worst set of leaders in modern history. Sanctioning a nation upon whom we, especially in Europe, are completely dependent, must rank as one of the most insane foreign policy decisions in recent times. No one is more cynical than me about the pathetic sheeple who populate our democracies, but we are getting to the point when even they will wake up. Already there are rumblings with BoJo and Macron. Interesting times, folks!
That's my seat of the pants attitude. This has been building since the late 60s and may have got to the point of being beyond anyone's control, beyond choosing the least bad option--if there is such a choice.
"fantasists enraptured with an imaginary future detached from reality"
That's a good way of expressing it. Another is to say that they're ideologues who are drunk on the imagined power of their words/thoughts to create the reality of their ideological preferences without regard to the actual reality of real human nature that they hate. It's a rebellion against reality driven by hubris and will to power. To become as gods.
There will be a landslide but do you really expect excrement like McConnell et al to actually do anything positive with their newfound power? I'm afraid that we are way beyond election results.
I'd be willing to bet you $100 that 535 GOP members of Congress wouldn't do anything that would make a difference. Our problems are beyond political solution.
Agree steg. That's being optimistic. But if Americans could shake off the hypnosis that divides us against each other, we might find that 90% of us agree on 90%. This bitter divide is mostly confabulauted by the Regime.
I wish I was that confident, Ginn. I sort of believed that until two years ago. Then I saw how people whom I liked, trusted and respected because totally Covid zombies.
Did you read what the CEO of Chevon said about building new refineries? If our politicians continue to express that by 2035 we will be fossil fuel independent... well what's gonna power all those electric vehicle charging stations?
The most common word uses when news programs report economic news is “unexpectedly.” They don’t know crap.
Interesting - another shoe to fall? Covid Vax side effects and all the Covid Lies.
COVID UPDATE: What is the truth?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9062939/
hat tip Aesop…
https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-bitch-slap-of-truth-lands.html?m=1
How much longer can the lies be sustained? And what happens when the are not? This is part of what is driving the increased calls for censorship. Along with all the other disastrous policies.
NO. This is inaccurate and worse, incomplete.
The BoJ and the ECB are ramping UP their QE programs at the same time the Fed is trying to tighten. That's worse than a wash sale, because last time I looked, cash is fungible. MMT is still alive and pumping.
Just not quite so clear to whom it's pumping towards....
There are definitely distinctions between the U.S. and Europe that condition how the Fed will operate vs. the ECB. For example, I have felt that the ECB would not raise rates or tighten at this point given current levels of sovereign debt on the "periphery" of the EU; I believed they would not risk "fragmentation" or national insolvency which might cause a break up of the EU especially given its current fragility. That seems to be true given Lagarde's strange statement a couple of days ago and today's ECB announcement. MMT thus fits nicely with their political agenda. But you probably have a better view of that than I do (and I have no expertise in economics).
It is interesting to speculate what the WEF thinks about all this. Some have speculated (for example, Tom Luongo (https://tomluongo.me/) that they might WANT the EU to collapse economically. Maybe so, but on their own timeline?
The Fed has a little more latitude but not much. They can raise rates and tighten a little bit but not enough to really put a dent in inflation. Most seem to feel they will pull back at the first sign of trouble (this is what the markets today reflected) - trouble being something like the credit markets starting to seize up. If the Fed is truly serious about bringing inflation down as much as it says, a lot of people invested in the U.S. markets could be in for a a really bad surprise.
I think people have forgotten what happened in 08 to EU countries: Spain, Portugal, Ireland and especially Greece were nearly bankrupted. The whole EU project has been propped up ever since by financial trickery. Yanis Varoufakis wrote a book about the fraud carried out under Merkel and the ECB that threw Greece under the bus - 'The Adults in the Room". EU is going to be the first house of cards to fall I think.
They tried to hide their own predatory behavior by blaming the smaller countries.
Interesting.
Thanks for the input from outside the US.
Michigan Attorney General Calls for ‘A Drag Queen For Every School,’ Says They ‘Make Everything Better’
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4071361/posts
saw that. what a bunch of bunk.
Everyone should have some gold and silver at this point. In hand. Not at a bank, not at some investment house or a derivative.
3 precious metals you cant have too much of: Au, Ar, and Pb.
The amount of adverts for gold trading in the UK is crazy right now. Personally I'm deeply suspicious that the UK govt want citizens to buy up gold that they will then seize when it suits them. 2.5 years of craziness has made me paranoid.
Craziness will do that. It also dissolves bonds between citizens.
Amanda, the government may well try to seize our gold. Whether they managed to find it is another question.
And stock up on basics. Buy a few extra cans when you shop. It makes sense not just if the worst happens, but also from an inflationary point of view. Who knows what the same goods will cost next month?
Damn... now I'll have to continue to work until I'm 85 or dead. Doomsday approaches. I wonder if it would be better to be in a service industry vs. a manufacturing industry?
I recall in the 2008 bust our company gave $0 merit increases but allowed employees to keep their existing jobs. This seems worse than that.
What's the economic prediction for the world's oldest profession? Keep your responses semi clean please.
85, Cardigan? You slacker, you! I'm going part-time at 100 and will probably slave on till 120. I'm sure prostitutes will survive any situation short of a nuclear holocaust.
Hah... good for you. Enjoy the ride :>}
Here's something of an alternative view:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/a-reverse-kissinger-in-india/
India has huge society / economic challenges due to corruption, red tape, and caste issues.
Russia is starting to transport stuff via Iran to India.
And due to US sanctions India has been buying Russian oil instead of Iranian oil.
And the Iranian seizure of Greek ships will stop any non US seizing of Iranian ships. I was surprised Greece seized the Iranian ship.
Turkey has huge inflation, not related to the Ukraine mess.
Get India clout ticket.
@cass
Agree mostly but caution. Don't buy the hype about Russia China. They arent pals. Far from it. They are purely convenient allies, and only so long as the Western Globalistas pose a threat to both.
China is weak weak weak. Even the highly filtered news from there is CrazyTown bad. They seem to be a few steps from economic collapse themselves.
And while Russia has a big advantage now w commodities, they dont trust China as far as the next bio lab. In a global depression, no one gets out alive.
The question we should all be asking is what are the realistic scenarios in the US when the S really HTF? Hopefully by now all of us have gotten prepared to survive as part of a defensible local community. That's baseline stuff. But what will we have to face in terms of a Regime takeover? This is the day these autocrats have been fantasizing about since 1945. How will they seize control and will we keep our heads down and hope it all turns out ok, or will we send delegates to Philadelphia?
I don't there are any friends at the international level, only allies, and often then, allies of convenience. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, would you be happy with your nation having "friends" like the UK and US?
See the link at Cassander's comment upthread.
@cass and mark
Yes, funny you should mention Zeihan. I read his book in 2020 i think and took comfort at the time at all the geopolitical strengths for the US. Unfortunately Zeihan and his peers are a good example of smart people who see pieces and bits of information but fail to put together the larger picture. Yes, on paper the US is without parallel in resources, geography, riches of every sort--- truly God endowed this continent w amazing blessings. But all those blessings count for nothing in the face of a criminal Oligarchy determined to subjugate the people.
I read the piece linked by Mark and can't take it seriously. The author is another NoVA think tank expert producing what appears to be a mental exercise in what he hopes will happen between India, the US, and Russia. It's a fantasy, that's all.
At this point we have to accept that the OGUS (to use Michael Yon's term) is not a serious entity on the world stage. They are a joke. So is the EU and EC and UK for that matter. Oh we're in a multipolar world right now, but we've got a DC Regime under the delusion that it's 1991 and their word is Law and all nations exist to serve the Globalista New World Order. It really is that absurd. But people in DC cant see it, even when they're getting pummeled by reality. Russia is serious. India and China are serious. Maybe Brazil? That will be the power of the multipolar world. The US is going to fragment, without a doubt. If we're lucky, it may reassemble after some period of military rule that will reestablish borders, the rule of law, and flush out the gangsters from government. But I'm not holding my breath for such a rosy scenario. Hopefully the rest of the world will move on from the US and the EU like a demented ex spouse and let us get the therapy and healing we need so badly.
Ginned up, if you continue to simply post rants, without serious discussion, I will disallow you. "It's a fantasy, that's all" isn't a serious response in the face of solid facts--decades long cooperation between RF and IN compared to prickly relations between RF and CN for most of that period, repeated efforts by US to court IN. I'm getting fed up with your act. You're like a few others, constantly setting up black/white straw men, rather than looking at fluid dynamics.
Well, i appreciate the fair warning and it IS your substack, and a good one. That said, don't bother to disallow. I'll unsub. I admit ive lost patience w all the talking heads in places like American Conservative, American Thinker, American Greatness. I don't deny the essential facts from the article you linked. Yes, of course, Russia and India have strong connections for ex. My criticism is simply that the author's conclusions are fantasy. As you yourself have pointed out many times (and ive watched you move ever closer to my positions), we don't live in a world of responsible leaders who act for the good of the US. So what use is the author's analysis that pretends as if the USG is going to do anything like a reverse Kissinger? It's a mental exercise, ok, but will never happen bc it requires real leaders who act in the national interest. I think you have unfairly mischaracterized my opinions. I see mostly fluid dynamics all around us. But...it's your substack and you're entitled to see the world how you like, as am I.
You're welcome to continue commenting--if you clean up your act. Your response here typifies the problem. You write:
"My criticism is simply that the author's conclusions are fantasy."
But the fantasy appears to be on your part. The author doesn't offer a *conclusion;* he offers a policy recommendation:
"This historical precedent *should* inform U.S. policy towards India’s relationship with Russia."
You continue with your typical unsupported assertions:
"It's a mental exercise, ok, *but will never happen* bc it requires real leaders who act in the national interest."
And yet something of the sort did, in fact, happen during Trump's administration. Which means that it could happen again--a possibility that you reject totally out of hand without support. Leaders of nations are always flawed, because human nature is flawed. That's reality, but it doesn't mean that there can be no change nor that some leaders aren't better than others. I'm not interested in comments that fail to take reality into account.
I'm trying with this substack to draw attention to the dynamics behind current events. Saying that it's all fantasy misses the point entirely. Providing a platform for your posture that you and only you are correct and everyone else is a fantasist is not what it's about.
The level of stupidity among our "elites" is beyond belief. As Martin Armstrong, another person who is correctly reading the signs, has said on many occasions, we have the worst set of leaders in modern history. Sanctioning a nation upon whom we, especially in Europe, are completely dependent, must rank as one of the most insane foreign policy decisions in recent times. No one is more cynical than me about the pathetic sheeple who populate our democracies, but we are getting to the point when even they will wake up. Already there are rumblings with BoJo and Macron. Interesting times, folks!
That's my seat of the pants attitude. This has been building since the late 60s and may have got to the point of being beyond anyone's control, beyond choosing the least bad option--if there is such a choice.
"What is done is done." I think that sums it up!
"fantasists enraptured with an imaginary future detached from reality"
That's a good way of expressing it. Another is to say that they're ideologues who are drunk on the imagined power of their words/thoughts to create the reality of their ideological preferences without regard to the actual reality of real human nature that they hate. It's a rebellion against reality driven by hubris and will to power. To become as gods.
There will be a landslide but do you really expect excrement like McConnell et al to actually do anything positive with their newfound power? I'm afraid that we are way beyond election results.
I'd be willing to bet you $100 that 535 GOP members of Congress wouldn't do anything that would make a difference. Our problems are beyond political solution.
Maybe... but maybe not. I can see politicians getting burnt the same way the rest of us get burnt. That will be when both sides come together.
Exactly. The only "political" solution I can see is some kind of split in the nation along red/blue lines. And that won't be pretty.
Agree steg. That's being optimistic. But if Americans could shake off the hypnosis that divides us against each other, we might find that 90% of us agree on 90%. This bitter divide is mostly confabulauted by the Regime.
I wish I was that confident, Ginn. I sort of believed that until two years ago. Then I saw how people whom I liked, trusted and respected because totally Covid zombies.
Absolutely spot on. Learned a lot about people I thought I knew and a country too. Very enlightening
Did you read what the CEO of Chevon said about building new refineries? If our politicians continue to express that by 2035 we will be fossil fuel independent... well what's gonna power all those electric vehicle charging stations?