Full screen recommended.
Steven Van Metre, 4/5/25
"JPMorgan Warns - You Will Lose 30% of Your Money!"
Comments here:
So, we rise from the rubble...
StatCounter
Saturday, April 5, 2025
"Big Banks Issue Massive Margin Calls, Prepare For Black Monday; Trade War Goes Nuclear"
Jeremiah Babe, 4/5/25
"Big Banks Issue Massive Margin Calls,
Prepare For Black Monday; Trade War Goes Nuclear"
Comments here:
"A Look to the Heavens"
“This shock wave plows through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. Moving toward to bottom of this beautifully detailed color composite, the thin, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge on. Cataloged as NGC 2736, its narrow appearance suggests its popular name, the Pencil Nebula.
About 5 light-years long and a mere 800 light-years away, the Pencil Nebula is only a small part of the Vela supernova remnant. The Vela remnant itself is around 100 light-years in diameter and is the expanding debris cloud of a star that was seen to explode about 11,000 years ago. Initially, the shock wave was moving at millions of kilometers per hour but has slowed considerably, sweeping up surrounding interstellar gas.”
"Yes..."
"Yes there is a meaning; at least for me, there is one thing that matters -
to set a chime of words tinkling in the minds of a few fastidious people."
- Logan Pearsall Smith"
Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
by Dr. Seuss
"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't
Because, sometimes they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike,
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
You're off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"
"150,000 Employees Have Been Fired As Everyone Cannot Find Jobs"
Full screen recommended.
Market Gains, 4/5/25
"150,000 Employees Have Been Fired
As Everyone Cannot Find Jobs"
Comments here:
“24 Life Lessons By An Old Greek Shepherd”
“24 Life Lessons By An Old Greek Shepherd”
by George Giotis, Greece by Greeks
1. “The road to the destination is never straight. To reach out to the winter shelter someone must take a lot of turns, travel along rough roads, suffer losses. You have to make sure that you always take food supplies with you.
2. Leave the past behind. If a wolf eats your goat, you can’t do anything about it. Just make sure that next time you will be more careful.
3. Don’t live just for saving money and don’t be stingy. Don’t postpone the tasting of joy for future times. Do it now, while you are still young. Make your hard work worth even more.
4. Struggle, fight. You are the only one in charge of yourself. Don’t be truant, don’t expect your dogs to do all the work in herding the sheep.
5. Ask for the respect you deserve, don’t let others use you as a doormat. Set limits, put up fences, protect your animals.
6. Blessed are the ones who make mistakes. Make mistakes. These are life lessons, we call these experience. Don’t forget who you were until yesterday. Start today and define with your actions who you are going to be from now on. Learn to forgive, starting with yourself. Don’t feel guilty, you have no time for that.
7. Blessed are those who doubt. Don’ t let your life be ruled by dogmas. Remember that if some people hadn’t doubted previous knowledge, mankind would have still lived in caves. Examine the information, be skeptical, think critically, think rationally, revise. You haven’t seen any fairies and ghosts in the forest, just wolves.
8. Be careful. Observe others. Look them in the eyes. Like a Greek saying, “If it is not shown in the goat, it is shown by the horn.”
9. Life is a journey, not a destination. And it is valuable. The previous word you read already belongs to the past.
10. Don’t advise the young constantly, it’s a waste of time. There is no right way to teach them pain or misery, solely experience will do that.
11. Go travel! Trips are experiences that stay with us forever. Get out, try, taste, savor images greedily. Let your senses free. Expose yourself, let it go, crumble, lose your self-control from time to time. Not just your self-control, but stop controlling others too.
12. You have been isolated enough in your winter shelter, get out. Go find your friends and companionship.
13. Do not try to control others. You condemn in anxiety and suffering not only yourself, but also those who you try to control. Let others live, and live for yourself. Leave the other flocks to their shepherds, take care of yours.
14. Life is not fair. The universe does not owe you any solace, and it is certain that at the end of the road you die. Hurry up.
15. You can be a winner. Learn from those around you. Become a child with children, play with them, but also go to the cafe and talk to the elderly. You can learn from their accumulated experience.
16. Do not take everything into account. Do not take everything seriously. You are probably overreacting today. What bothers you or you are afraid of now, most likely tomorrow will seem lukewarm or insipid. Try to see yourself from a distance, take a look at the sight of your flock from the hill.
17. Have patience. The goats do not give birth every month. But when that happens you need to be there because they need you.
18. Quarrel with your partner if necessary, it is not terrible, let the feelings be defused. Make decompression in anger. The fire is sometimes beneficial. If an area of kermes oak get burnt, spring will give again vegetation, fine food for goats and their young. Careful though, the words you say you can’t take them back. Watch what your goats eat, they don’t know how to pick. If they eat the shoots of trees, the forest cannot be created again, the place will be left bare fallow.
19. Be balanced. Enjoy the food and your drink. Do not forget that the world’s poor walk miles for their daily food while the rich walk miles to digest it.
20. There is no perfect time, the circumstances and conditions will never be ideal. Start from where you are now! Do not postpone.
21. Be polite. A smiling face reflects similar behavior. Make gifts. Even the gift of a good word is important. Behave well to the elderly, you will soon be like them. Behave well to animals, they are not mean or envious, they have no obsessions or selfishness. They forgive without limit.
22. If you know how to read, read a lot! Those who read live extra lives. Not only their own but also all of those who you have read about.
23. Be bold. The fear keeps you tied but it is not real, it just comes from the unknown which is not in your head.
24. Do not get attached to things. Life is like the path of the pastures and the shepherd’s bag. The more you fill it, the harder you will walk. Take only the necessary things with you. The flock keeps walking, it will not wait for you if you can’t move because of too many heavy things. Let them go, release them, feel more flexible and free.”
Translated by Eleni Vafeiadou
"I Keep Saying That..."
"Angel: Well, I guess I kinda worked it out. If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters... then all that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Now. Today. I fought for so long, for redemption, for a reward, and finally just to beat the other guy, but I never got it.
Kate Lockley: And now you do?
Angel: Not all of it. All I wanna do is help. I wanna help, because I don't think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.
Kate Lockley: Yikes. It sounds like you've had an epiphany.
Angel: I keep saying that, but nobody's listening."
"Curveballs..."
"Just when we think we figured things out, the universe throws us a curveball. So, we have to improvise. We find happiness in unexpected places. We find ourselves back to the things that matter the most. The universe is funny that way. Sometimes it just has a way of making sure we wind up exactly where we belong."
- "Dr. Meredith Grey", "Grey's Anatomy"
"How It Really Is"
Never in the history of the world has there been such a totally kind, compassionate, caring people as you, Good Americans! $350 billion for the neoNazis in Ukraine, God knows how many secret billions to the psychopathically degenerate genocidal Israeli monsters, US debt at $36.7 trillion to pay for the literally insane policies of the Left, all while our economy's being destroyed right in front of our eyes! Stores and restaurants closing everywhere; massive layoffs everywhere, millions jobless and homeless after losing their homes; 600,000 homeless people living in tents everywhere; 22 homeless veterans kill themselves every single day; 150,000 drug overdose deaths last year; violent crime exploding everywhere; inflation out of control and about to explode higher; elderly can't afford life saving medications; rents sky high; city and state governments bankrupt; food banks desperately getting empty and your kids are hungry; gas prices about to explode much higher; $860 billion a year, at least, for the military and its 800 bases around the world to spread "democracy" to the suffering masses everywhere; Wall St. thieves stealing TRILLIONS of dollars, including from the pension funds you foolishly believed you'd receive, and won't, and nobody's ever charged or goes to jail; and you go broke desperately trying to pay the electric bill. And yet, despite all this, Americans find it in their loving hearts to relieve other's suffering without complaining! No mass protests! My heart bursts, it bursts I tell you, with pride and admiration! Well, not exactly, but if I put here what I really feel about all this they'd instantly delete this blog...as they did the first one. - CP
"I Would Rather Have..."
"When a bull is being lead to the slaughter, it still hopes to break loose and trample its butchers. Other bulls have not been able to pass on the knowledge that this never happens and that from the slaughterhouse there is no way back to the herd. But in human society there is a continuous exchange of experience. I have never heard of a man who broke away and fled while being led to his execution. It is even thought to be a special form of courage if a man about to be executed refuses to be blindfolded and dies with his eyes open. But I would rather have the bull with his blind rage, the stubborn beast who doesn't weigh his chances of survival with the prudent dull-wittedness of man, and doesn't know the despicable feeling of despair."
- Nadezhda Mandelstam
Dan, I Allegedly, "Stock Up Now! Stores are Closing"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, AM 4/5/25
"Stock Up Now! Stores are Closing"
"Dollar stores are on the brink of big changes, and it's time to take action. In today’s video, I dive into why dollar stores are struggling and why stocking up now is more important than ever. From rising prices to supply chain disruptions, over 96% of merchandise comes from overseas, making it harder for stores to maintain inventory. Whether it’s toothbrushes, razors, or other essentials, this is your sign to grab what you need before it’s too late. I also share tips on preparing for the economic downturn, including building financial safety nets, avoiding new debt, and being proactive in your job search. The retail landscape is shifting fast - malls are emptier, major stores are closing, and a recession seems engineered. If you’re noticing these changes, you’re not alone, and it’s time to get ready. Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Remember to stay informed, stay prepared, and stay ahead of what’s coming.
Comments here:
o
Meanwhile, in unimaginable, incomprehensible contrast...
Full screen recommended.
Billionaire Insights 360, 4/5/25
"The Trillionaire Life of Richest Arab Kings On Earth"
Comments here:
Friday, April 4, 2025
Jeremiah Babe, "Will The Stock Market Keep Crashing? 401K's Wiped Out"
Jeremiah Babe, 4/4/25
"Will The Stock Market Keep Crashing?
401K's Wiped Out"
Comments here:
Canadian Prepper, "Alert! Global Market Crashing! War Imminent!"
Canadian Prepper, 4/4/25
"Alert! Global Market Crashing! War Imminent!"
Comments here:
Musical Interlude: Peter Leslie, "Jennifer Warnes, Joan of Arc"
Full screen recommended.
Peter Leslie, "Jennifer Warnes, Joan of Arc"
I have long adored this song by the late Leonard Cohen,
and performed impecably by Jennifer Warnes.
This is the performance at Night of the Proms in Antwerp in 1992.
Musical Interlude: Justin Hayward, "The Way of the World"
Full screen recommended.
Justin Hayward, "The Way of the World"
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Where did this big ball of stars come from? Palomar 6 is one of about 200 globular clusters of stars that survive in our Milky Way Galaxy. These spherical star-balls are older than our Sun as well as older than most stars that orbit in our galaxy's disk. Palomar 6 itself is estimated to be about 12.5 billion years old, so old that it is close to - and so constrains - the age of the entire universe.
Containing about 500,000 stars, Palomar 6 lies about 25,000 light years away, but not very far from our galaxy's center. At that distance, this sharp image from the Hubble Space Telescope spans about 15 light-years. After much study including images from Hubble, a leading origin hypothesis is that Palomar 6 was created - and survives today - in the central bulge of stars that surround the Milky Way's center, not in the distant galactic halo where most other globular clusters are now found."
"A Dreamer..."
"And why does it make you sad to see how everything hangs by such thin and whimsical threads? Because you’re a dreamer, an incredible dreamer, with a tiny spark hidden somewhere inside you which cannot die, which even you cannot kill or quench and which tortures you horribly because all the odds are against its continual burning. In the midst of the foulest decay and putrid savagery, this spark speaks to you of beauty, of human warmth and kindness, of goodness, of greatness, of heroism, of martyrdom, and it speaks to you of love.”
- Eldridge Cleaver
"We Must Marvel..."
“In our society, confidence leads to knowledge – which leads to power – which leads to pride – which leads to a fear of seeming ignorant – which constricts learning like an iron vise. We must understand that confidence is a blessing, for it is the embodiment of self-love, and through it we find the fuel for innovation and progress. We must realize that ignorance is merely the opportunity to learn more. And lastly, we must marvel rather than groan at the fact that there will always be more to learn… Only then will we be free of the intellectual prisons we have so readily caged ourselves within.”
- Zeb Reynolds
"Wake Up! Stock Market Is Crashing, Layoffs Surged 200% And We’re Being Warned A Depression Is Coming"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 4/4/25
"Wake Up! Stock Market Is Crashing, Layoffs Surged 200%
And We’re Being Warned A Depression Is Coming"
"I am trying to find the words to describe the economic carnage that we are witnessing right now. Even before President Trump unveiled his new tariffs, the U.S. economy was rapidly heading in the wrong direction, layoffs were soaring, and stock prices were steadily falling. But now it is as if enormous amounts of gasoline have been suddenly poured on the fire. Trump’s tariffs have caused a massive wave of panic on Wall Street, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,679 points on Thursday. That was the biggest decline that we have seen since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also experienced the largest declines that we have seen since 2020. Everywhere you look there is carnage. The small-cap Russell 2000 index has now fallen more than 20 percent from the peak, and that officially puts it in bear market territory. What we are witnessing is absolutely horrifying."
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports,4/4/25
"Gas Prices Going Up At The Worst Possible Time"
Comments here:
"When We Can No Longer Tell the Truth "
"When We Can No Longer Tell the Truth "
by Charles Hugh Smith
"When we can no longer tell the truth because the truth will bring the whole rotten, fragile status quo down in a heap of broken promises and lies, we've reached the perfection of dysfunction. You know the one essential guideline to leadership in a doomed dysfunctional system: when it gets serious, you have to lie. In other words, the status quo's secular goddess is TINA - there is no alternative to lying, because the truth will bring the whole corrupt structure tumbling down.
This core dynamic of dysfunction is scale-invariant, meaning that hiding the truth is the core dynamic in dysfunctional relationships, households, communities, enterprises, cities, corporations, states, alliances, nations and empires: when the truth cannot be told because it threatens the power structure of the status quo, that status quo is doomed.
Lies, half-truths and cover-ups are all manifestations of fatal weakness. What lies, half-truths and cover-ups communicate is: we can no longer fix our real problems, and rather than let this truth out, we must mask it behind lies and phony reassurances.
Truth is power, lies are weakness. All we get now are lies, statistics designed to mislead and phony reassurances that the status quo is stable and permanent. The truth is powerful because it is the core dynamic of solving problems. Lies, gamed statistics and false reassurances are fatal because they doom any sincere efforts to fix what's broken before the system reaches the point of no return.
We are already past the point of no return. The expediency of lies has already doomed us.
Honest accounts of hugely successful corporations that implode share one key trait: in every case, managers were pressured to hide the truth from top management, which then hid the truth from investors and clients. is the key dynamic in failed oligarchies as well: if telling the truth gets you sent to Siberia (or worse), then nobody with any instinct for self-preservation will tell the truth. If obscuring the truth saves one's job, then that's what people do. That this dooms the organization is secondary to immediate self-preservation.
A distorted sense of loyalty to the family, community, company, institution, agency or nation furthers lying as the solution to unsavory problems. Daddy a drunk? Hide the bottle. Church a hotbed of adultery and thieving? Maintain the facade of holiness at all costs. Company products are failing? Put some lipstick on the pig. The statistical truth doesn't support the party's happy story? Distort the stats until they do what's needed. The agency failed to fulfill its prime directive? Blame the managerial failure on a scapegoat.
Pathological liars and cheats rely on self-preservation and misplaced loyalty to mask their own failure and corruption. A hint here, a comment there, and voila, a culture of lying is created and incentivized.
Obscuring the truth is the ultimate short-term expediency. Now that it's serious, we have to lie. We'll start telling the truth later, we say, after everything's stabilized, we hope. But lying insures nothing can ever be truly stabilized, so there will never be a point at which the system is strong enough and stable enough to survive the truth.
We are now an empire of lies. The status quo,politically, socially and economically, depends on lies, half-truths, scapegoats and cover-ups for its very survival. Any truth that escapes the prison of lies endangers the entire rotten edifice.
In an empire of lies, leaders say what people want to hear. This wins the support of the masses, who would rather hear false reassurances that require no sacrifices, no difficult trade-offs, no hard choices, no discipline. The empire of lies is doomed. Lies are weakness, and they prohibit any real solutions. Truth is power, but we can no longer tolerate the truth because it frightens us. Our weakness is systemic and fatal."
"INTEL Weekly Wrap 4/4/25"
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 4/4/25
"INTEL Roundtable w/Johnson & McGovern: Weekly Wrap"
Comments here:
o
Dialogue Works, 4/4/25
"Mohammad Marandi, Larry Wilkerson & Chas Freeman
on Middle East Erupts: Iran Challenges Ultimatum"
Comments here:
"Meanwhile, Elsewhere..."
Meanwhile, in a sane, civilized society...
Full Screen recommended.
Lisa with Love, 4/4/25
"Novosibirsk, Russia: The Capital Of Siberia"
Today I am exploring Novosibirsk, the third largest
city in Russia that foreigners don't know.
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Window To Moscow, 4/2/25
"Moscow Today: The Russia They Don't Want You To See!"
Comments here:
Gregory Mannarino, "The Debt Has Been Fully Weaponized, The US Dollar Will Die"
Gregory Mannarino, PM 4/4/25
"The Debt Has Been Fully Weaponized,
The US Dollar Will Die"
Comments here:
Adventures With Danno, "Jaw Dropping Prices At Kroger"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, AM 4/4/25
"Jaw Dropping Prices At Kroger"
Comments here:
"Google Firing Over 30,000 Workers As They Dump Office Space"
Full screen recommended.
Market Gains, 4/4/25
"Google Firing Over 30,000 Workers
As They Dump Office Space"
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Market Gains, 4/4/25
"Millions of Workers Are Getting Fired
as Job Market Gets Worse"
Comments here:
Dan, I Allegedly, "This Is the Start of a Trade War - What is Next?"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, AM 4/4/25
"This Is the Start of a Trade War - What is Next?"
"Trade War Chaos! Is the new wave of tariffs going to cost YOU $3,800 this year? Let’s break it all down as we dive into how these changes could impact your wallet, your job, and even the price of your next big purchase. From Ford’s employee pricing to GM’s hiring spree, I’m covering it all - what’s happening, why it matters, and how YOU can prepare. Plus, I’ll explain why I believe this is just a negotiation strategy and how it could actually drive U.S. manufacturing back home. We’ll also talk about the $2,100 vs. $3,800 debate, inflation, layoffs, and how YOU can protect yourself financially. Want to know what this means for the auto industry, stock market, and even your rent? I’ve got you covered. Don’t miss my thoughts on interest rates, SBA opportunities, and why now might be the perfect time to make your big financial moves."
Comments here:
Bill Bonner, "Chaos"
"Chaos"
by Bill Bonner
From Aboard the Queen Mary II - "Tariffs, tariffs everywhere…What a rollicking good time for the press. And for Trump critics. The wires: "Stocks slide around the world as investors recoil from Trump’s tariffs." We watched the tape yesterday. The Dow was down 1,000…then 1,200…then 1,500. Where would it come to rest, we wondered. It ended the day down 1,679.
In his first term, Trump committed one of the biggest blunders in US economic history - shutting down the economy and replacing real output with an extra $4 trillion in phony, printed-up stimmy checks . The result? The worst inflation in fifty years.
And now…here comes Big Blunder No. 2. Doubters overseas and skeptics at home - all are having a field day. Raw Story: “This might be the single stupidest thing any of us will ever see," [Ian] Dunt argued. "It is stupid in every way: presentationally, intellectually, politically, methodologically, morally and of course economically. The word stupid doesn’t really suffice for the full level of idiocy we’ve now reached."
Trump’s tariffs are so dumb they are uniting Democrats and Republicans… free traders and protectionists…comedians and historians. Alternet: "Shortly after President Donald Trump issued Wednesday’s announcement of new tariffs, four Senate Republicans joined Democrats to extend a lopsided bipartisan rebuke to his trade policy. The Senate adopted a resolution by a 51 to 48 vote to block his proposed tariffs on imports from Canada, a longtime US ally. Now, former Vice President Mike Pence is further infuriating Trump supporters by calling out his new tariffs as “a tax.”
The tariffs are even making economists look smart. Finally, here is something that Paul Krugman - famously wrong about most everything - can be right about. Raw Story: "Based on what he said, he’s gone full-on crazy," wrote Krugman, a frequent critic of the president. "It’s not just that he appears to be imposing much higher tariffs than almost anyone expected. He’s also making false claims about our trading partners - not sure in this case whether they’re lies, because he may be truly ignorant - that will both enrage them and make it very hard to back down. Basically, he’s claiming that the rest of the world is placing very high tariffs on U.S. products, and that he’s imposing 'reciprocal' tariffs that are only half what they impose on us."
"The EU, like the United States, has generally low tariffs; the average tariff it charges on US goods is less than 3 percent," wrote Krugman. "So where does this 39 percent number come from? I have no idea. Many people speculated that Trump would count value-added taxes as tariffs, even though they aren’t - European producers selling to the EU market pay the same VAT as US producers, so it doesn’t discriminate and therefore isn’t protectionist. But even if you get that wrong, EU VAT rates are in the vicinity of 20 percent, so you still can’t get anywhere close to 39 percent." Where do Trump’s numbers come from? Some are nonsense. Some are irrelevant. Some are pure WTF. The Donald, for example, says Taiwan should get a 64% tariff.
On a total of $134 billion of back-and-forth trade in 2023, tariffs on imports and exports averaged 2% - even steven, coming and going. So, why a penalty tariff on our supposed ally? Trump: “We are going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they have been taking over the years.”
Business Insider: "Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's new reciprocal tariffs are just a response to how the US has been treated on trade." Laura Ingraham at Fox picks up the fight club angle. “Only Trump has the guts” to stop the foreigners from ripping us off, she says.
Get it? They’re Honor Tariffs… like honor killings, designed to reclaim America’s sense of fairness…justice…and honor. We’re going to teach them a lesson by imposing taxes – on ourselves! Because, the foreigners don’t pay the tariff penalties. US consumers do. Warren Buffett explains: “The Tooth Fairy doesn't pay 'em!”
And why are the feds’ getting involved at all? Donald Trump is the ultimate politician…always fighting for power, prestige, and money. That’s why he insists upon being a ‘winner.’ In politics, you are either a winner or a victim. Now, he thinks he can win by bludgeoning other nations with tariffs. But trade is not meant to be part of the political world. It’s part of the win-win world of commerce -- bargaining, negotiating, and trying to satisfy a customer. When an honest trade happens, both sides win. Each gets something he didn’t have before and gives up something he considers less valuable. Bringing in politics just queers the deal. And now that the politicians are on the case, you can expect them to make the same sort of mess of it that they made of Amtrak, Iraq, and the Covid hysteria. Expect lower growth, higher prices, and more chaos."
"The Destroyer Cometh: The Trade War Goes Nuclear; Stock Market In Freefall; Dollar Death"
Gregory Mannarino, AM 4/4/25
"The Destroyer Cometh: The Trade War Goes Nuclear;
Stock Market In Freefall; Dollar Death"
Comments here:
o
Market Data Center, Live Updates:
Jim Kunstler, "You Wouldn't Want to Be Him on That Dreadful Day"
"You Wouldn't Want to Be Him on That Dreadful Day"
by Jim Kunstler
“Perhaps history is teaching us that today’s popular leaders like Donald Trump and
Marine Le Pen are not the people’s last chance. They are the globalist’s last chance.”
- Kurt Schlichter
"Do you see the pattern? Populist party leaders all over Western Civ getting undone by the law courts - Călin Georgescu in Romania, election cancelled; Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, de-railed by President Lula’s stooge judges (with CIA help); Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia shot-up with five bullets in May last year (survived miraculously); the Alternative-for-Deutschland Party de-platformed by the Scholz-Merz ruling junta; then, this week, Marine Le Pen, leading candidate (by far) for President of France, defenestrated on Mickey Mouse charges in the Paris court. And, of course, since 2015, Mr. Trump, hounded relentlessly, but not yet overthrown, due to sheer pluck and testosterone (the official hated hormone of the Left).
International lawfare is about the last remaining tool in the “Globalist” kit-bag for “color revolution,” which means regime change by underhanded means, election interference being the favorite device. The poster child, of course, was the US CIA / DOD State department regime change operation in Ukraine, 2014, that ousted Russian-leaning elected President Viktor Yanukovych, eventually to the installation of coke-head Volodymyr Zelensky, and ultimately to the Ukraine War that has killed over a million people. These days, astroturf (i.e., fake) street revolution (e.g., Maidan in Kiev 2014) is out; lawfare is in.
By Globalist, let’s just say the broad alliance of the EU, the European Central Bank & friends, the WEF-and-cronies in the global corporatocracy, the US Democratic Party, billionaires such as George Soros and Reid Hoffman, and sundry residual mass-formation world-savors of the crypto-communist-green-bullshit persuasion.
The situation in our own country has grown particularly acute with the DC and other regional federal court judges lately arrogating the Article II executive powers of the president. You can see what the furthest strategic end-point is: the Democratic Party wants to induce President Trump to invoke a national emergency against this legal insurrection in order to force him to play the role of “fascist dictator.” Mr. Trump has been very careful to stay as much within-the-guardrails of the law throughout this long campaign to destroy him and his MAGA movement to purge corruption from the government.
The hinge on the conflict now is the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS), which is led by Chief Justice John Roberts. A whole lot of troubling info about CJ Roberts has blown up in recent days, much of it not exactly new, but buried and ignored by the likes of The New York Times, and its kindred blob mouthpieces. You’ve read in this blog recently how CJ Roberts’s chief factotum at SCOTUS, Sheldon Snook, is married to Mary McCord, involved officially in every lawfare prank against Mr. Trump since RussiaGate, when she was U.S. Assistant Attorney-General for National Security - and who then went on as counsel for Jerrold Nadler’s House Committee Trump Impeachment No. 1, and the J-6 House Committee, both actions of stupendous bad faith.
Turns out that CJ Roberts has been “besties” with Lawfare field marshal Norm Eisen, and for quite a long time, as far back as 2005. Eisen was special counsel on Impeachment No. 1, and chief strategist behind the janky cases staged last year against Mr. Trump by New York AG Letitia James, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, and Fulton County (GA) DA Fani Willis. You can bet that Eisen was at least an unofficial strategic advisor in the Special Counsel Jack Smith prosecutions, too, along with Mary McCord and Andrew Weissman of Mueller Commission infamy - Eisen, McCord, and Weissmann, the three Nosferatus of Lawfare. Eisen is coordinating most of the current lawsuit action against Mr. Trump in the federal courts.
Several alt-news outlets are reporting that CJ Roberts made two trips to visit Norm Eisen in Prague between 2011 and 2014 when Eisen was Barack Obama’s ambassador to the Czech Republic. The longest visit, a week, entailed a global conference on "American and European rule-of-law issues." Hmmmm. . . what could that possibly mean? Revolver News, Mike Benz on “X”, and a character styled as “The Researcher” on “X” have all reported on the Roberts-Eisen close friendship.
Also turns out that CJ Roberts is a club member at an elite, invite-only club for legal poohbahs called the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court, which is indirectly associated with an international Inns of Court network centered in London. (“Rule-of-law,” anyone?) Other members of the EBW Inn of Court in DC. include Judges James (“Jeb”) Boasberg, Beryl Howell, Amit Mehta, all of the DC District - all involved in current lawfare suits - and SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Do you suppose they have discussed any of these matters at their meet-ups, especially after the pass-around of legal beverages? Perhaps even strategized about them?
Doesn’t that make you a little queasy about CJ Roberts’s role presiding over cases coming any day before SCOTUS that have been designed and propelled by his good pal, Norm Eisen? Should CJ Roberts consider recusing himself from any of these pending cases on the SCOTUS docket?
Oh, yes, one other interesting sidelight: John Roberts has been found listed on the Jeffrey Epstein flight logs of the “Lolita Express” bound for Little St. James Island in the US Virgin Islands, Epstein’s supposed party shack for the celebrity elite. The allegation that the “John Roberts” listed in the flight log is the same as the Chief Justice is officially unsubstantiated. But here it is FWIW.
 |
Of course, no flight log would be required for a jaunt to Epstein’s New York City townhouse, in case CJ Roberts ever ventured up there from our nation’s capital, an easy car trip. It is established fact that Epstein was busy recording the various doings in the many bedrooms of these establishments, arguably not merely for his private entertainment. Is CJ Roberts perhaps under blackmail for any such activity recorded? Lord only knows, just now.
But it’s possible that FBI Director Kash Patel and his Deputy Director Dan Bongino know the answer to this abiding mystery, since weeks ago they assigned a thousand agents in the New York City FBI office to sort out the thousands of pages and other articles of evidence that the office had been suppressing for years until US AG Pam Bondi fired the top agent there, James Dennehey, for withholding it so long. It’s been awfully quiet over at the FBI and DOJ home office in DC since then. Of course, if any referrals are being considered, or any grand jury bound cases being prepared, you wouldn’t want that to leak out, would you?"
"20 Restaurant Chains That Are In Serious Trouble Right Now"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 4/3/25
"20 Restaurant Chains That Are In Serious Trouble Right Now"
"Never eat at these 20 places again, they’re falling apart fast! Imagine your favorite burger joint or pizza spot closing overnight, yep, that’s happening right now in 2025, and I’ve got the scoop on which chains are sinking like a bad soufflé. You’re about to find out why some big names like Hooters and Denny’s are in hot water, and trust me, it’s wild some have already filed for bankruptcy, others are shutting doors left and right, and a few are just hanging on by a thread. I’ve dug through the latest reports from reliable sources to bring you the real deal. Stick around, because by the end, you’ll know exactly which spots to avoid and what’s pushing them off the cliff plus, a twist that’ll make you rethink your next meal! So, picture this: you walk into your go-to spot for wings or tacos, and bam, it’s lights out, doors locked, gone.
That’s the reality hitting 20 restaurant chains hard in 2025, and I’m breaking it all down for you today. We’re talking places you’ve probably eaten at a million times some are already toast, others are teetering on the edge, and it’s all because of money troubles or just not keeping up with what we want to eat these days. I’ve got a list of 20—9 that are confirmed to be in deep trouble with stuff like bankruptcy papers filed, and 11 more that are waving red flags like crazy. Think Hooters, TGI Fridays, even Starbucks, yeah, the coffee king’s in this mess too! By the time we’re done, you’ll see why these chains are crumbling and what it means for your next food run. Ready?"
Comments here:
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Canadian Prepper, "This Is It, We're F**K*D!"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 4/3/25
"This Is It, We're F**K*D!"
Comments here:
Gerald Celente, "Markets Tumble; Dot-Com Bust 2.0; Wars Ramping"
Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 4/3/25
"Markets Tumble; Dot-Com Bust 2.0; Wars Ramping"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."
Comments here:
"Is American A Falling Empire? Stock Market Obliterated; Retirement Funds Lose Trillions"
Jeremiah Babe, 4/3/25
"Is American A Falling Empire?
Stock Market Obliterated; Retirement Funds Lose Trillions"
Comments here:
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Colorful NGC 1579 resembles the better known Trifid Nebula, but lies much farther north in planet Earth's sky, in the heroic constellation Perseus. About 2,100 light-years away and 3 light-years across, NGC 1579 is, like the Trifid, a study in contrasting blue and red colors, with dark dust lanes prominent in the nebula's central regions.
In both, dust reflects starlight to produce beautiful blue reflection nebulae. But unlike the Trifid, in NGC 1579 the reddish glow is not emission from clouds of glowing hydrogen gas excited by ultraviolet light from a nearby hot star. Instead, the dust in NGC 1579 drastically diminishes, reddens, and scatters the light from an embedded, extremely young, massive star, itself a strong emitter of the characteristic red hydrogen alpha light."
"Remember..."
“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.
That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.”
- Emily Kimbrough
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)